TONIGHT: City Council meeting!

Maggie says:
I'm hoping to see lots of you fellow planning nerds out at the City Council meeting tonight. There are not one but two important items on the agenda:

• Extending the City infrastructure tax to fund Albuquerque's Modern Streetcar project
• Passing a moratorium on ugly big boxes until appropriate design regulations can be established (I already wrote about it here)
  

My laptop hates the Council Chambers wireless network, so instead of blogging I'll probably be finishing up my ultra-nerdy congressional spreadsheets for tomorrow night. I can't wait for Wednesday morning... if only so I can BREATHE again. (Insert half-capacity sigh here...)

YOUR FRIENDLY MIDNIGHT UPDATE: If anyone's keeping score, the streetcar passed and the big box moratorium was rescheduled for the beginning of the next Council meeting.

Perspective: It's Just a Galaxy Away

Mikaela says:
I finally got some perspective. I had to leave our solar system to do it.

Last Thursday, Lodestar Planetarium invited a bunch of folks to preview their newest slate of shows that have just now come on-line to the public. (Hint: Start lining up!)

There is nothing that can compare to leaving your planet and being confronted with the vastness of space -- the puny reach of human beings ending within the neighborhood, cosmically speaking -- to understand again how little politics matters and how utterly absurd (however deadly) war is.

With Enchanted Skies, Lodestar uses this great new software that combines all known astronomical data with an interface that allows you to fly all over space, and we did on Thursday night. Our planet -- small, blue-green beauty -- looks nothing like anything else. It's a unique confligration of qualities that allow life, as far as we know (and we know more and more), yet ... we fight over what?

If there really is a God and a Jesus or a Mohammed, how often do they watch earth, with trillions of other planets to watch? How much does the violence of war disturb them when supernovas are exploding all over the place to become the centers of every galaxy? Violence on a cosmic scale makes our violence so ... avoidable.

I admit I loved getting away, contemplating the universal navel, realizing yet again what sorry sorry star splinters we really are. Yes, politics matters. It just strikes me again how ignoble intolerance at all levels really is. Vote for connection and community and science. This really is all we have.

Get some perspective at the Lodestar Planetarium dome:

Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity with
Wonders of the Universe

Shows on the hour from noon - 3 pm

Enchanted Skies: The Digital Universe

Shows 10 am, 11 am, and 4 pm

For information: 841-5955 or visit www.lodestar.unm.edu

WHERE: LodeStar Astronomy Center, in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain NW

HOW MUCH: Admission to each show is $6 adults, $5 seniors and $3 children 3-12

Starting on Saturday, Nov. 18, admission will be $7 adults, $6 seniors and $4 children 3-12.

Dia de los Muertos Marigold Parade

marjorie says...

It was another beautiful day today, just perfect for the Dia de los Muertos Marigold Parade in the South Valley. I love this parade. It is so homegrown, so do-it-yourself. And SWOP's float always epitomizes that. Kudos to Victoria for leading the way on making participation a tradition every year. This year I had a really good time with Moc taking pictures. Afterwards we came over here to Flying Star to see what we came up with...and here they are. More of our pictures are on SWOPblogger.

"To speak the name of the dead is to make them live again"

Aztec dancers lead the way

Front of SWOP truck
SWOP in the parade

Side of SWOP float


Sandra and her grandsons, Ruben and Herman

Cars...

and more Cars

demanding justice for the murdered women of Juarez

Silviana and her friend

Face painting

Paraders:

Getting stuck in Iraq: how...stooopid. Not!

marjorie says...

I’m sure you’ve all noticed the latest “he said/she said--someone has to apologize”…stink between the R’s and the D’s, this time about what John Kerry said at a campaign rally. Here’s the quote that has the Republicans self-righteously shrieking that John Kerry, who is an actual Vietnam combat veteran, insulted all U.S. military personnel:

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

The R’s claim that Kerry, in essence, is calling the troops “stupid” while the D’s claim that Kerry simply botched a joke that was supposed to be aimed at Bush. In this instance I have to like the stink actually, because Kerry's comment is so blatant. Unfortunately, the stink never addresses the real issue...which should be no surprise given the unwillingness of the American public, much less either party, to address it: the lot of uneducated (and less affluent) people in this country is to fight our wars for us, with all the incumbent risks…such as death or being subjected to a lifetime of trauma and ill-health.

That is what Kerry is saying here. And he is right. Both parties think that is ok and they don't want to dwell on it. And there are a lot of Americans who think it’s ok too. Do the majority of us think that? I know that the ignorant “pull yourself up by your bootstraps or die” mentality is alive and well. But I like to think that more of us understand the structural inequality built into our system.

Take education as an example, since Kerry brought it up. Structurally, our system does not allow everyone to get a decent education. If it were based on equality, we wouldn’t glorify brainwashed Harvard-ites, as one example, and we’d funnel a lot more money into public education. Is smarts synonymous with education? Kerry shows his Ivy League background on that one…thankfully there are plenty “uneducated” people out there who recognize just how stupid his statement is, who recognize that “getting stuck in Iraq” has a lot more to do with access and opportunity than it does with making “an effort to be smart.”

Attention voting enthusiasts!

Maggie says:
I just found an activity that all us voting nerds can take part in next Tuesday: the Polling Place Photo Project. Sounds way better than going to work that day, if you ask me. (Although I suppose some of us will just have to do both...)

The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that seeks to empower citizens to capture, post and share photographs of democracy in action. By documenting their local voting experience* on November 7, voters can contribute to an archive of photographs that captures the richness and complexity of voting in America.

With citizen's images and the information that accompanies them, the Project becomes a research tool on how voting happens in America and how it can be designed to be easier, less confusing and more enjoyable. The project intends to collect photographs of every polling place in America, so you are encouraged to participate no matter where you vote, how large or small your polling place is, what kind of ballot you use, or what your party affiliation.

Get your cameras ready. Election Day is November 7, 2006. We need your photographs!

What a great idea! And in town, let's see your photos up on the Duke City Fix Flckr Pool, too. I mean, what else are you going to do while you're waiting in those long lines?

Read what some folks are saying about the PPPP here.

*As the fine print explains, laws surrounding photography near polling places differ by municipality. Anyone know local laws in Albuquerque?

Big Business vs. Not So Big Labor

marjorie says...

Here are the top donors for each party in the California governor's race, reprinted from the San Francisco Chronical:

Schwarzenegger (R) total: $113.4 million.
Top donors:

• Alex Spanos, Stockton developer and San Diego Chargers owner, $2.5 million
• William Robinson, founder of DLH courier service, $2.4 million.
• Jerry Perenchio, owner of the Univision television network, $2.3 million.
• Henry Nicholas, president, NS Holdings LLC, $1.5 million.
• Ameriquest Capital Corp., $1.2 million.
• California Republican Party, $1 million.
• B. Wayne Hughes, chairman of Public Storage Inc., $1 million.
• Lawrence K. Dodge, chief executive officer, American Sterling Corp., $965,900.
• New Majority Political Action Committee, a moderate Republican group composed largely of businesses and business executives, $869,600.
• T. Gary Rogers, chief executive officer of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, $579,600.

Angelides (D) total: $32.9 million.
Top donors:

• Democratic State Central Committee, $1.8 million.
• Laborers union, various locals: $334,900.
• United Food and Commercial Workers, various locals, $311,500.
• Hollywood producer Stephen Bing, $311,200.
• Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, $283,000.
• Service Employees International Union, various locals, $256,000.
• Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, various locals, $206,800.
• Sheet Metal Workers, various locals, $154,900.
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, various locals, $130,600.
• Carpenters union, various locals, $94,600.

(Tsakopoulos also made $6.1 million in independent expenditures to support Angelides' campaign for governor this year.)

I find these lists interesting for a couple of reasons. The obvious one is how well they show the money difference between Republicans and Democrats. Nothing new there. But they also bluntly show how little unions give *compared* to big business...and why Republican rhetoric about "Big Labor" is, frankly, a bunch of BS. When Republican politicos try to change the rules to limit union political campaign contributions, we should remember a couple of things:

1. Labor unions almost always give to Democrats. Why? Because as ridiculous as I feel while saying this, it's the Democrats who will support pro-worker legislation by and large...such as minimum wage increases, health coverage expansion, safety regulations on the worksites...etc. All you had to do was follow the minimum wage debate in Albuquerque and then statewide last year to realize this.
   
2. The Republicans are beholden to Big Business much more than Democrats, simply because Democrats are also beholden to labor. Sure, Democrats get plenty from Big Business, but if this list shows us anything...its that the Republicans are tucked the most in the business pocket. It's in their best interest for Republicans to oppose labor because that's what their corporate sponsors want.
   

The declining numbers of unionized workers in this country result from a complicated set of factors, the biggest of which is the simple elimination of our manufacturing base. It's a big problem for the future of the working classes, in my mind. Organized labor, as problematic as it may be, has always been a strong advocate for the rights of workers as a whole. If organized labor ceases to exist...who will hold the line against the inevitable rolling back of benefits, wage levels, and rights that we all take for granted today? For a serious answer to that question, you probably don't want to ask the Republican party...which is almost entirely on board with the Big Business objective to eliminate organized labor.

Shocking exposé: Optimism at m-pyre!

Maggie laughs:
'Burque Babble has sounded the alarm: we wear rose-colored glasses at m-pyre! Now it's true - I know I have a few pairs... but Marjorie and Mikaela would probably be horrified at being accused of rosiness. Back from vacation and feeling the need for reprieve, Scot's requesting we go negative. Problem is, I don't know if I can... And in my own way, I'm already pretty bitchy. Didn't comparing Heather Wilson to John Lennon in a Nehru jacket a while back count? And I did ask readers to kill some woman in Kansas last year. Hmmm...

But hey: I'll admit it. There are things I'm nervous about. Next Tuesday is going to give lots of folks heart attacks around here, including me. I feel better about the national outlook, but maybe only because there's some distance there. I'm not a good eleventh-hour player, never have been. That's why I was never a great athlete, either. No killer instinct when it counted. I guess that's also why I asked readers to destroy Kay O'Connor instead of saying I'd do it myself.

Okay, now I just feel lame. Thanks, Scot.

But really, thanks for always making me smile. (Dammit! Optimism again!)

Enough with 'fiction'al outrage!

Maggie says, still annoyed after not having time to write about this last week when it was news:

You know, I'm really not sure what bothers me more: a party with its head buried so deep in the sand that it simply doesn't understand how outraged, depressed, and frustrated Americans are with this administration's policies at home and in Iraq, or that party's sputtering indignation over the fictional writing of Democratic candidates because of some sex-related passages.

As we've all heard by now, Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen accused his Democratic opponent Jim Webb of “dehumanizing men, women, and even children” through his fiction. Webb, a Vietnam veteran, is the author of six novels, most of which have military storylines. Implicit in Allen’s charge is the accusation that Webb spent his writing career demeaning women and writing about sex rather than uplifting humanity through glorious prose. And of course, that it’s impossible to write about sex and uplift humanity at the same time.

A few things backfired for good ‘ol George Allen last week, though:

1. Virginia voters are more concerned about real issues than fictional ones: The weekend poll shows Jim Webb ahead of George Allen even after his pathetic smear attempt.

2. Seeing a pattern here? Apparently Virginia voters are also more concerned about words out of real men’s mouths – like the racist ones George Allen himself is known to have used – rather than what fictional characters might say in make-believe stories.

3. Oops! Not everyone thinks Jim Webb dehumanizes men, women, and children: Turns out the so-called “obscene” Fields of Fire is on the United States Marine Corps-sponsored reading list!

4. Glass house alert: When your party’s “Second Lady” has lesbian affairs in her own literary closet (not that she’ll openly acknowledge her real-life lesbian daughter’s open door), Republican hopefuls might want to watch what they say. Seeing Lynne Cheney squirm (I'm not a fan, as you might remember) last week was priceless.

You know, what we’re really seeing with these low-ball politics is absolute arrogance at play. Republicans are still operating on the outdated strategies of old: go for below-the-belt character attacks (that coincidentally almost always involve actual below-the-belt parts, which we're not supposed to admit that we have, I suppose) to get the “values voters” out in droves, and you’re guaranteed to win.

The problem is, this year the real values in question are a little more important than erotic fictional scenes. They involve an unjust war, now-record U.S. military deaths, massive civilian deaths, big-money corruption, dinner-table struggles in the face of record corporate profits, and a morally bankrupt power center controlling this country and destroying our role in the global community. American voters get this; half of the folks running for office just don’t.

Talking about novels at a time like this seems a little shameless, doesn’t it?

Not to mention desperate.

Worst Congress Ever

Maggie says:
I somehow managed to read and appreciate the much buzzed-about Rolling Stone article "Worst Congress Ever" without realizing that it's a cover story. I finally saw the cover for the first time, and wow: it's a great one. Check out the article for more reasons why next week is so important. I can't remember any non-political rag in recent history being so outwardly damning of current politics, and on the cover at that.

...The end result is a Congress that has hijacked the national treasury, frantically ceded power to the executive, and sold off the federal government in a private auction. It all happened before our very eyes…

And if you're counting, Rolling Stone lists its ten biggest congressional offenders:

1. Dennis Hastert - The Highway Robber (R-IL)
2. James Sensenbrenner - The Dictator(R-WI)
3. Don Young - Mr. Pork (R-AK)
4. William Jefferson - The Bribe Taker (D-LA)
5. Jerry Lewis - The King Of Payoffs (R-CA)
6. Tom Tancredo - Mr. Bigotry (R-CO)
7. Dick Pombo - The Enemy Of The Earth (R-CA)
8. Curt Weldon - The Conspiracy Nut (R-PA)
9. Hal Rodgers - Homeland Security Hog (R-KY)
10. Marilyn Musgrave - The Queen Of Gay Bashing (R-CO)

Yamming in East Texas

marjorie says...

As Mikaela pointed out, last week I once again found myself back in East Texas for the annual Yamboree. The Yamboree is a county fair that's been held continuously since 1935 in Upshur County. The county seat is a town of roughly 5,000 people and both sides of my family are from there. I've heard in the past that over 100,000 people show up at the Yamboree at some point or another over the course of its four days. As I've told y'all before, for me its kind of a reunion...I can go home on that weekend and see all kinds of relatives without planning a thing, and I often meet relatives that I never knew before.

I don't know why really, but Maggie and Mikaela have for years tried to get me to dress up as the Yam Queen for Halloween. And actually, that's not a bad idea...these small town "Queens" are kind of appropriate for Halloween.

The Yam Queen...what can we do other than shrug our shoulders and sigh? You see, this girl is always the richest girl in town. The way it works is this...every year a group of girls "run" for Yam Queen, but what they are really doing is seeing who can "sell" the most tickets. Or, in other words, who ever hands over the most cash gets to be the Queen. And the rest get to be Duchesses. They all get to adorn a float in the "Queen's Parade" on Saturday mornings. But the Queen gets to go first of course. So, in essence, the town parades its richest girls on floats every year in the big parade as if they are somehow truly special. What kind of message does this send to all of the other girls in Upshur County...those who never in a million years can even consider being Yam Queen because they aren't from the wealthier families?

This aspect of the Yamboree almost invariably comes up among the family, every year. And at that moment there's a lot of raised eyebrows and shrugging, with the final pronouncement that this is the way the Yam fest gets paid for...what is a town to do?

It's small town charming on the surface, but when you really think about it...well it shows just how grossly classist our society really is. Is that harsh? Perhaps. I figure it sounds harsh to those who never question the rich/poor world we live in, those who just figure that's the way it always has been and always will be. Its probably easier to just go with the small-town charm angle--why ruin an otherwise nice event? That's the implication of the looks many give when you bring it up. And of course it isn't fair to single out the Yamboree...this is a common thing. But that's really it right there...it is common so it should be questioned. And the folks in Upshur County should change how they raise funds for the Yamboree, and how they select the Yam Queen.

I often wonder when I see the Yam Queen ride by on her float if there is actually another girl just a little bit wealthier who just couldn't bring herself to do it...who sees it for what it is. Or is it the case that a year has never gone by that the senior girl with the greatest access to resources wasn't the Queen? In my fantasies, the girl's parents buy her the Queenship with the notion of showing off their offspring so magnificently, and then she insists that the poorest girl in town ride the float in her place. Silly musings I know.

Anyhow...as you can see, one thing I enjoy about going home the third week in October are the always fascinating moments of contemplating class in America afforded by the Yamboree and its Queen. But I would be remiss if I left the impression that East Texas is all about one type of people. In fact its full of a wide variety. For instance, as you can see from this picture of an old truck and its owner...there are even Anti-War, Anti-Factory Farming, NON HIPPIE Liberals there. Yes! That's Right! His front bumper had an Expose Exxon bumper sticker on it. Of course, its a rare thing to see so I did have to take a picture ...nonetheless, something tells me there's an activist progressive underground back home. I just know it...!

Another thing I always enjoy is seeing how things continue to change in East Texas. For one thing, the ethnic mix is changing...rapidly. This has become increasingly evident to me over the past few years. And as you can see, there is an actual Tortilleria on the square now...long gone are the days of the domino halls. It's a new day in East Texas! And the $1.50 you can pay for a big steaming bag of corn tortillas just a few blocks from the house is certainly one very cool outcome for my family. The fellow behind the counter told me it was his very first Yamboree...

As ever, I enjoyed roaming around the square at night taking in the carnival lights and watching the children in my family on the rides. Things were a little slower this year because my dad just had major surgery and is a little slowed down. But we still seemed to never stop going.

Rumsfeld to the American Public: BACK OFF

marjorie says...

Rumsfeld Tells War Critics to Back Off.

Last time I checked, that would be the majority of the people living in the United States.

Madrid-Wilson debate notes

Maggie says, from the sick bed couch:
7:10 p.m.: I'm SO glad the audience just burst out laughing to Wilson's "It's not you who wants to attack Denver, it's Al Qaeda" retort. This is why it's good I'm never in the actual audience for these things... I have too hard a time keeping my groans in check.

I try and be careful about making fun of Wilson's appearance, because I feel like as women we shouldn't really go there... But really, how hard would it have been for someone, anyone, to suggest a color that doesn't completely wash her out on TV? Shouldn't she be better at this by now?

Audience laughter: Score for Madrid.

7:15: So, vote for Heather Wilson and be protected against smallpox? Lame...

7:18: I'm so glad Madrid just said "Stay the course." I've been giggling all week at how by trying to remove that phrase from the discourse, the administration has made it stick that much more. Good job Tony Snow!

PS to Heather: "Orderly transitions" are not possible in Iraq anymore. Do you even watch the news?

7:20: Madrid: "A Congress exercising no oversight..." That's good, especially given this month's highest-ever U.S. casualty numbers. It brings it home and makes that number Wilson's responsibility.

Wilson's use of "Mrs. Madrid" is bugging me. A clear dig that's absolutely transparent.

7:23: Oooh, I just hope Wilson keeps on talking about how much progress we've made. That's the best way to piss people off enough to vote against her. Progress, are you kidding?!

7:26: Madrid's response on North Korea was far too weak. She should%2

Thanks, Debbie

Maggie says:
Once again, I've just gotta say it:

That's my councilor!!!

Councilor Debbie O'Malley is proposing a series of site design standards for new big box development in Albuquerque. As the Journal article explains, the proposal would set standards for street connectivity, pedestrian access, size restrictions, more humane parking lots, landscaping, facades, outdoor storage, and more.

This proposal is loooooong overdue, as anyone driving around 95% of Albuquerque can attest. What's so frustrating about planning in the city and county is that we have tiny pockets where good planning and design is happening, and the rest is left up to (let's hear it, Marjorie!) "the market" to decide. We all know how that turns out... And don't get me started on the missed opportunities to add critical design and building standards that were left on the table in certain local planning efforts... by the planners themselves. Ugh. This proposal would set a standard for citywide development and not just leave every decision up to the consultant or community group working on their own plan. Additional tweaking could always be added into smaller sector plans, but what Albuquerque desperately needs is a better standard to raise the bar for every neighborhood.

This weekend with my out-of-town best gal in my car, we found ourselves up in the Heights on an errand, an area I'd never take guests wanting to see what Albuquerque has to offer. Sure enough, sitting in endless traffic at endless strip mall stoplights, I felt compelled to apologize for how ugly everything was. In my view, we weren't even in Albuquerque, we were in Anyplace. But as those of us who love Albuquerque for its funky charm know, this City deserves much, much better. We all do. Thanks to this proposal, we might be finally inching toward some progress.

Stay tuned for updates on this one.

Architectural History + Performance Art = Haunted House

Mikaela shares:
I'll admit I'm gullible. My first instinct is always to believe -- yes, even though I'm a liberal!

So when I got a flyer inviting me to pay money for a re-enactment of ghoulish murders that took place in a South Broadway house, my first instinct was to suck my teeth a little. I mean, really, capitalizing on murder and tragedy! It's a little distasteful. I struggled all day yesterday between my nerd-self that thought it was a pretty good idea to research a house's history and turn it into a haunted house fundraiser, and my liberal guilt side that thought the whole thing was less than PC.

Then I was gently put to rights, spoiling the magic a little, but satisfying my prim side. Now I can support the event in good conscience and let both sides feel the chill of fake fear!



Here's the story:

Trifecta +, an Albuquerque based Production Company presents MURDER HOUSE a multi-media, live, interactive, haunted house style reenactment of the grisly history of the famous Albuquerque Murder House.

The Murder House, 1016 Walter St. SE, in the South Broadway neighborhood, has a long history of unfortunate events that include murder, suicide and pedophilia. You've probably heard of the "murder house" because of the infamous "Pickler," the cannibal/serial killer who lived there in the 1950's. But after some extensive research, we've discovered that there is a lot more to the story of the murder house.

The house was built at the turn of the century and originally inhabited by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hightower and their daughter Eunice, who came to Albuquerque on the advice of their doctor because Mr. and Mrs. Hightower were both suffering from Tuberculosis. After Mr. Hightower’s death from the disease, Eunice apparently went mad from the stress of her father's death and her mother's illness. She stabbed her mother to death with a pair of sewing scissors. She was convicted of the murder and confined to the state hospital for the criminally insane. She died in the hospital at the age of 16.

After this event, the house was purchased by the Gaunt family in 1908. The Gaunts lived in the house until 1916, when Edward Gaunt murdered his wife and her sister before killing himself. In the 1930s, the house became a home for the mentally ill. In 1936 one of the patients initiated a murder spree, torturing and killing 8 fellow patients after trapping them inside the house.

Natalie Seward purchased the house in 1945. She was drowned in her bathtub in 1946. Although the coroner's office deemed the death accidental, there was some evidence that her husband Harold had murdered her.

In the 1950s, the house was inhabited by Lazarus “Larry” Mercer. Mercer became known as “The Pickler,” when various parts of over fifty humans and animals were found soaked in vinegar in the kitchen. In 1966, the bodies of thirteen missing children were found underneath the estate. The bodies had been placed there by a known sex offender.

The house has remained vacant since the 1980s, when a contractor remodeling the house hung himself in the bathroom.

Isn't that well done? Here's hoping the performance art is on par with the history!

First "the Internets," now...

Maggie snickers:
Okay, so we all love to say "the Internets," a Bush-ism that allows us to release our hidden inner elitist and Bush-bash at the same time. Now there's a new technology term out there, thanks again to our esteemed leader:

One of the things I've used on the Google is to pull up maps. It's very interesting to see that. I forgot the name of the program, but you get the satellite and you can -- like, I kind of like to look at the ranch on Google, reminds me of where I want to be sometimes.

He was responding to a broader question on how often he uses the Internet and e-mail.

Really, W? Don't use the Internets much, huh? Never would've guessed... Although I probably could've found that out myself by doing some research on the Google.

Weekend Perspective

Maggie says:
This weekend I had lots of great examples of perspective. Here we go:

• I thought I was fairly relaxed... until I spent three hours in various states of zendom in Betty's soaking tubs, sauna, and lounge chairs in the October sunshine. Yeah, I had no idea about relaxation before that.
  
• I thought I had a good idea of what decadence tasted like... until I sank my teeth into a rasberry and white chocolate scone at Gold Street Cafe. On a beautiful morning with my high school best friend beside me at an outdoor table watching tough-guy dads take their daughters to flamenco dance practice next door, it was pretty much perfect.
  
• I thought I had lots of girl power... until I saw the ladies of Burlesque Noir in action at the Launchpad for the Boolesque Spooktacular show. Damn! Loved watching them do their thing... I was hoarse from cheering the next morning. Here's the difference between strip clubs and burlesque: women usually feel terrible about themselves if they're in a strip club, but you can't help but feel damn great about yourself watching burlesque. Love it!
  
• I thought I was pretty nerdy... until I read about Fantasy Congress. I've got nothing to worry about anymore, that's all I'm saying...

Get Ready to Yam Cam!!!

Mikaela reports:
Hey, there Albuquerque!!! You ready to Yam Cam??

Don't know what I'm talking about? What kind of m-pyricist do you think you are??

Our esteemed marjorie returns to her annual hometown Yam Festival, which has embraced 21st century technology by installing a Yam Cam, with multiple views of the Town Square.

Look for our Miss Marjorie in blue sweater and jeans, standing in the sunlight.

Click here.

The conservative conscience

Maggie says:
For so many of us, our problems with Republicans lie as much with the resoluteness of their righteousness and their angry condemnation of any opposition as it does with their policies. So often, I seek out some intelligence, some global perspective, something besides macho talking points in their directives, and I nearly always come up empty. I want the intelligent debate, I want the clear differences in philosophy being presented as honest options for Americans to side with. Yet with the Right, I hear only rabid calls of patriotic strength on the one hand and self-righteous moral lecturing on the other. Their middle - or rather, their honest core - is so often unheard.

But in this fascinating Salon interview, we hear the compelling thoughts of Andrew Sullivan, a conservative pundit who sees the error of his ways and admits his mistakes in supporting the administration. Besides making some damning points about the turning tide for gay Republicans – Andrew Sullivan is gay himself – he offers the following really remarkable statements about Iraq. Read the interview for the full breadth of his thoughts… they’re worth it. And I can only ask: what would American rhetoric look like if the other side was willing to be as humble as Sullivan is here?

This question that you put your finger on is going to be the critical historical debate. Was this adventure so conceptually flawed that there was no way it could win, or was it so fantastically screwed up in its execution that it was a good idea just wrecked?

I don't want to be wishy-washy about this. I certainly think that the way Rumsfeld and Cheney ran it made it impossible for it to succeed, because they refuse to provide the manpower and resources for what needed to be serious nation-building. I think they essentially sabotaged the war out of their own arrogance, because they'd rather lose a war than concede a point. That's the pettiness of these people.

I don't know why, by the way, the angriest people in this country are not those who opposed the war but those of us who supported it. I mean, we were completely deceived. It never occurred to me that they would not send enough troops to keep the peace or establish order, or, when presented with the evidence that they needed to do so, would simply refuse to entertain the argument. It's still incredible to me.

I do believe that the case many of us made for the Iraq war -- those of us who didn't have access to inside intelligence -- was made in good faith, based on what we were told. Obviously, I feel differently now. And I feel a deep sense of responsibility for not being more skeptical about the Bush people and what they were telling us before the war. I think I was way too gullible. I wanted, in a time of war, to give the president every benefit of the doubt. I was dumb to do so. And I certainly also feel, as a supporter of the war, extreme anguish about the lives that are currently being lost in that country by innocent people, as well as the horrible betrayal of American values.

Comments and comments

Mikaela says:
Hey, all you m-pyricists. Announcing a corner of m-pyre to call your own...

Maggie, our blog maven, has added your most recent comments to the sidebar through the magic of new-fangled technologies! Find it underneath the entertaining Zoom Cloud. Now, no need to go hunting through TWO YEARS worth of stories for the latest comments... they're all right there at your finger tips! Thanks, Maggie, for your always awe-inducing genius and acumen.

Also, take a look at the zoom cloud today... a neverending source of joy for my word-nerd nature. Here are the goodies:

• Local Lamont love
• i love iran
• swop sex toys (in the imperative voice!)

The Danger of Industrial Food Production

Mikaela raves:
Great article today in the NY Times by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. I've heard amazing things about this book, and this article lights a fire under my behind to read it right away.

In todays article, Pollan explains the imminent danger of contamination of our food supply, seen on a small scale in the latest not-so-little e.coli outbreak, but ultimately at risk from the nature of our industrial food production itself as well as the outside threat of terrorist attack.

The rational conclusion is to decentralize food production and support local farmers and producers, including changing the regulation structure so that small-scale producers do not bear the disproportionate burden of rules made to protect us from the dangers of highly industrialized producers. (Excerpts below reordered for clarity in brief)

[T]he way we farm and the way we process our food, both of which have been industrialized and centralized over the last few decades, are endangering our health.

The lethal strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, responsible for this latest outbreak of food poisoning, was unknown before 1982; it is believed to have evolved in the gut of feedlot cattle. These are animals that stand around in their manure all day long, eating a diet of grain that happens to turn a cow’s rumen into an ideal habitat for E. coli 0157:H7. (The bug can’t survive long in cattle living on grass.) ...

Wendell Berry once wrote that when we took animals off farms and put them onto feedlots, we had, in effect, taken an old solution — the one where crops feed animals and animals’ waste feeds crops — and neatly divided it into two new problems: a fertility problem on the farm, and a pollution problem on the feedlot.

Today

• 80 percent of America’s beef is slaughtered by four companies,
  
• 75 percent of the precut salads are processed by two and
  
• 30 percent of the milk by just one company.

In effect, we're washing the whole nation's salad in one big sink.

Keeping local food economies healthy — and at the moment they are thriving — is a matter not of sentiment but of critical importance to the national security and the public health, as well as to reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

[I]t’s easier to find a technological fix than to address the root cause of such a [contamination] problem. This has always been the genius of industrial capitalism — to take its failings and turn them into exciting new business opportunities.

It’s easy to imagine the F.D.A. announcing a new rule banning animals from farms that produce plant crops. In light of the threat from E. coli, such a rule would make a certain kind of sense. But it is an industrial, not an ecological, sense. For the practice of keeping animals on farms used to be, as Wendell Berry pointed out, a solution; only when cows moved onto feedlots did it become a problem. Local farmers and local food economies represent much the same sort of pre-problem solution — elegant, low-tech and redundant. But the logic of industry, apparently ineluctable, has other ideas, ideas that not only leave our centralized food system undisturbed but also imperil its most promising, and safer, alternatives.