Boycott Whole Foods because the CEO opposes President Obama’s healthcare plan. That’s what a blog posted by a Facebook friend said. Hit ‘em where it hurts: their pocketbooks.
The blogger even suggested an alternative – ironically, another national chain – where consumers could still get the upscale organic items they crave. That supposes the CEO of Trader Joe’s is in full support of Obama’s plan, I guess.
But that darned Whole Foods CEO wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal – and he does not support the healthcare system being debated in Washington (gasp!).
That was enough to prompt several people to re-think their shopping ways:
“I needed a reason to stop spending so much money there,” one commenter wrote.
“I don't shop there much anyway, but after reading this I'll definitely avoid doing so,” posted another person.
“I’m going to Trader Joe’s!” posted a third person.
“Just freakin' great. Now I have to start shopping at Whole Foods. I hate Whole Foods,” posted another person.
The link was included in the original blog posting. The editorial was short, one printed page, and straightforward, with numbered points. I Read The F’ing Article*.
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey does not support the healthcare plan being debated. His initial point of opposition was our growing deficit, which he called unsustainable. He wrote, more or less, we cannot afford to add to the country’s debt at this time by providing universal healthcare.
Mr. Mackey listed possible improvements for the current system and gave comparisons to socialized systems in Canada and Europe. He suggested improvements for Medicare, Health Savings Accounts, tax write-offs (allowed for company-provided plans but not for insurance purchased by individuals) and proposed making insurance portable (from state to state) and reducing excessive lawsuits against doctors.
He does not believe healthcare is a right, in America or any other country, yet Mackey provides insurance for the majority of his employees (based on hours worked) – and he shares numbers. His editorial includes details based on his experience.
Whether I agree with his premise or not, his piece is well-reasoned and detailed.
I disagree with his deficit argument as reason to oppose universal healthcare. It’s about priorities and I can think of several places (Iraq being top of mind) where we could stop sending money that could instead be used at home.
However, I think he brought up some interesting points. And just for expressing them to the WSJ, I don’t feel compelled to boycott Whole Foods.
As for our healthcare system, I don’t know if Mackey or anyone else knows how to fix it but I do know it is a mess. It's expensive. It's unfair. And it's too complicated.
But my lingering impression is not about healthcare. It is about how quickly people leap to conclusions. How we rush to judgment, based on what someone else says.
Have we programmed ourselves to be so quick to respond that we no longer reason – or even bother to check the facts (any facts) for ourselves?
Finally… someone commented on the content of the editorial that sparked the blog, boycott and all the postings and comments:
“Not a Whole Foods shopper, but I suggest actually reading the editorial...noticed on Daily Kos that many commentators jumped on the bandwagon without reading (much less considering) Mackey's points first.”
*RTFA… then maybe we can have a discussion.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Making the (Cat) Call
Wed. July 15, 2009
After nearly 3 years and a dozen death threats, Maxine seems ready to go. She struggles to stay upright and wobbles on four bony legs. Her fur is thinning, gray-specked and no longer shiny. Her eyes look distant and hazy.
I don’t want to keep her here longer than she wants to be here. I don’t want her to suffer.
Max has fluid around her heart and lungs and digestive problems. This year the vet also found tumors. But she did not seem to be in pain and even purred at the vet that day, a definite first. She ate well and played with her mousy. She was not ready to go yet.
It's amazing she's lasted this long. After she was hospitalized in 2006 following a spewing spree that left her dehydrated, we worked out a regiment of steroid pills and Pepcid. Dr. Whisler gave her an estimated 3 to 6 months to live.
No heroic measures or invasive procedures. She wouldn’t want it that way. I wanted to maintain some dignity for my beautiful girl, who has been at my side for 15 years.
The 3 extra years meant sleepless nights when Max got sick or woke me up because she was hungry again, a sign that the steroids were working. Or she would fight or fuss with her new roommates, two rescued kittens we adopted that entertain and annoy her in equal measure.
I will let her go, I’ve said, if she will just tell me when it is the right time.
Last week was bad but she rebounded and started eating again. I left notes for the catsitter to that effect when we left town Thursday. She once again seemed to defy death.
Day one. “She seems normal,” texted our catsitter of several years and several long trips. “No problems.”
Day two, my cell phone didn’t get any text messages so I thought all was well.
Day three my husband picked up a facebook message from Saturday: “Hard time pilling Max today, she hid under bed. I had 2 resort 2 using broom 2 get her out. Got her pilled under dining room table. Gave shot, b/c she's grumpy.”
A broom? A pill and shot? The shot was to be given once a week instead of pills, an extra large dose if needed. The steroid reduces inflammation and makes her hungry; it’s not a happy pill. However, Maxine seemed fine when we got home Sunday night and happy to see us.
But not for long. She ate little and has not kept steroid pills down since we got back. She’s thrown up every night and morning. With no food in her system, a white foamy liquid comes out. I gave her Pepcid to settle her stomach, and she kept that down, thankfully.
Max has taken to hiding, under the bed or dining room table when I come out of the kitchen. She knows where the pills are. She’s made it clear she wants no more of them. I want to respect her decision.
But no more steroid pills… means the end is very near.
Max is on hunger strike rations. She eats to please me, but barely. She eats from my fingertips. She sips tuna juice. She licks gravy from Fancy Feast cans. Then she walks, crookedly, away.
I wonder when to call the vet. Reason for appointment? To put her to sleep.
It seems logical and humane but also awful --- scheduling her death.
Is it better to let her die at home or help make it peaceful and painless – and planned - with both of us present? The latter always made sense and I want to be there at the end to comfort her. And I want my husband to get us there and comfort me.
I had the vet’s number in front of me all morning and couldn't make the call. Is Thursday better or Friday? For Jack’s work schedule? For me? For Maxine? Either... Neither.
When I got myself together enough to call, it was 12:23. Uptown Animal Hospital closed at Noon. I sigh in relief, but I know it is temporary. I’ll be in this same place tomorrow.
Her face is still beautiful with big blue eyes, white eye liner and black mask. But her scrawny body is a shell of her former healthy self. She still purrs instantly when I pet the top of her head.
I look in her eyes and believe she is ready to go. I got the message, Max, thank you.
I thought I was ready to let her go... but this is still a hard call to make.
Postscript - Fri. July 17 - 10:00 a.m.
I've just returned from the vet, with an empty carrier. My girl is gone. She fell asleep purring with me and my husband at her side this morning. I am not making this up: the vet was crying when he came in the room. She was really skinny, he noted, as well as jaundiced and unsteady.
She was still so beautiful, even at the end, that it made the reality harder to believe. But she is gone and I am now on the roller coaster ride that is grief. Rest in peace, pussycat.
After nearly 3 years and a dozen death threats, Maxine seems ready to go. She struggles to stay upright and wobbles on four bony legs. Her fur is thinning, gray-specked and no longer shiny. Her eyes look distant and hazy.
I don’t want to keep her here longer than she wants to be here. I don’t want her to suffer.
Max has fluid around her heart and lungs and digestive problems. This year the vet also found tumors. But she did not seem to be in pain and even purred at the vet that day, a definite first. She ate well and played with her mousy. She was not ready to go yet.
It's amazing she's lasted this long. After she was hospitalized in 2006 following a spewing spree that left her dehydrated, we worked out a regiment of steroid pills and Pepcid. Dr. Whisler gave her an estimated 3 to 6 months to live.
No heroic measures or invasive procedures. She wouldn’t want it that way. I wanted to maintain some dignity for my beautiful girl, who has been at my side for 15 years.
The 3 extra years meant sleepless nights when Max got sick or woke me up because she was hungry again, a sign that the steroids were working. Or she would fight or fuss with her new roommates, two rescued kittens we adopted that entertain and annoy her in equal measure.
I will let her go, I’ve said, if she will just tell me when it is the right time.
Last week was bad but she rebounded and started eating again. I left notes for the catsitter to that effect when we left town Thursday. She once again seemed to defy death.
Day one. “She seems normal,” texted our catsitter of several years and several long trips. “No problems.”
Day two, my cell phone didn’t get any text messages so I thought all was well.
Day three my husband picked up a facebook message from Saturday: “Hard time pilling Max today, she hid under bed. I had 2 resort 2 using broom 2 get her out. Got her pilled under dining room table. Gave shot, b/c she's grumpy.”
A broom? A pill and shot? The shot was to be given once a week instead of pills, an extra large dose if needed. The steroid reduces inflammation and makes her hungry; it’s not a happy pill. However, Maxine seemed fine when we got home Sunday night and happy to see us.
But not for long. She ate little and has not kept steroid pills down since we got back. She’s thrown up every night and morning. With no food in her system, a white foamy liquid comes out. I gave her Pepcid to settle her stomach, and she kept that down, thankfully.
Max has taken to hiding, under the bed or dining room table when I come out of the kitchen. She knows where the pills are. She’s made it clear she wants no more of them. I want to respect her decision.
But no more steroid pills… means the end is very near.
Max is on hunger strike rations. She eats to please me, but barely. She eats from my fingertips. She sips tuna juice. She licks gravy from Fancy Feast cans. Then she walks, crookedly, away.
I wonder when to call the vet. Reason for appointment? To put her to sleep.
It seems logical and humane but also awful --- scheduling her death.
Is it better to let her die at home or help make it peaceful and painless – and planned - with both of us present? The latter always made sense and I want to be there at the end to comfort her. And I want my husband to get us there and comfort me.
I had the vet’s number in front of me all morning and couldn't make the call. Is Thursday better or Friday? For Jack’s work schedule? For me? For Maxine? Either... Neither.
When I got myself together enough to call, it was 12:23. Uptown Animal Hospital closed at Noon. I sigh in relief, but I know it is temporary. I’ll be in this same place tomorrow.
Her face is still beautiful with big blue eyes, white eye liner and black mask. But her scrawny body is a shell of her former healthy self. She still purrs instantly when I pet the top of her head.
I look in her eyes and believe she is ready to go. I got the message, Max, thank you.
I thought I was ready to let her go... but this is still a hard call to make.
Postscript - Fri. July 17 - 10:00 a.m.
I've just returned from the vet, with an empty carrier. My girl is gone. She fell asleep purring with me and my husband at her side this morning. I am not making this up: the vet was crying when he came in the room. She was really skinny, he noted, as well as jaundiced and unsteady.
She was still so beautiful, even at the end, that it made the reality harder to believe. But she is gone and I am now on the roller coaster ride that is grief. Rest in peace, pussycat.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Perfectly… pigmented?
“So, what’s the deal… with your face?”
I hadn’t seen my brother in several months as our gang didn’t have our usual Easter gathering this year. He and his wife had arrived at our condo just a few minutes before he asked me this in the kitchen.
At first I didn’t know what he was talking about, or if he was serious. Then I realized what he meant… the dark blotches of skin on my face.
It was not a sunburn or patchy tan. I wish!
It was not rosacea or reddish-pink coloring on my cheeks, which I have had in the past from heat, alcohol or exercise. That always went away.
This site about rosacea - http://www.rosacea.org/patients/materials/triggers.php - lists just about everything I eat as a possible trigger. That’s why I’d ignored the problem till now.
It was not an allergic reaction, as my brother suspected. My sister in law has allergies that include cats, for which I gave her a Benadryl (as 3 felines roam our home). Again, I wish.
None of the above. These spots showed up in the last 9 months – and never went away.
Brown patches along my cheekbones almost to my ears, above my upper lip and, biggest and most obvious, a devil-horned shape in the middle of my forehead. The last one is the most disturbing – and distracting – when I look in the mirror each morning.
I keep hoping the spots will disappear and I’ll look in the mirror one day and see my old self. But I’m starting to lose hope. And seek help.
I look younger than my nearly 42 years and am still carded, which people tell me is a great compliment. My skin has been one of my best assets, until now.
For many years I’ve put lotion on my whole body after I shower and also on my face, particularly around my eyes, which have few signs of wrinkles. My “almost makeup” contains lotion and an SPF of 15 and I use it almost religiously.
My olive skin tends to brown easily and not burn. Except for a painful lapse in Tahiti and occasional minor breakouts, my skin and face have been healthy and happy.
But something happened after my last birthday. The pink cheeks turned beige then brown and other patches and spots appeared.
It is called “hyperpigmentation.”
The cause is unknown, it is often genetic, is exacerbated by sunshine, and once it shows up it’s there to stay. That’s what the aesthetician said at Allyu Spa - http://www.allyuspa.com/ - after an extensive 7-part, hour-long treatment and review under lamps.
“Your skin is perfectly healthy,” she said. “It’s not at all oily or dry, which is rare, and there is no visible sun damage.” Great, except for those big distracting brown spots.
A dermatologist might figure out the cause, she continued, but 90% of the time it is genetic (thanks, Mom?) and won’t go away on its own. Most derms use chemicals or lasers to lighten or remove spots.
According to a professional dermatologists site - http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/hyperpigmentation.html - the condition is called “melasma” and is most often caused by hormonal changes, often in pregnant women. Which I am not.
For more natural approaches, I could try salon products (expensive) or add a few drops of lemon to my lotion for lightening effect. There is also a succulent plant related to aloe the aesthetician called stonecrop or ‘chicks n’ hens’ that might be worth a try.
I’ve got lemons in the fridge and am fighting the urge to cut one open and juice it on my forehead.
First I’ll try the plant, which I picked up at Gethesmane last week - http://www.gethsemanegardens.com/ . It’s cuter than aloe with rounded leaves spreading from its center like a desert rose and small babies ("chicks") hanging on the sides. The leaves can be snapped open like aloe to reveal a cool liquid inside.
I’ve used it twice after washing my face and massaging it in to increase circulation (as my chiropractor suggested). This clearly isn’t Harry Potter magic and I've seen no changes yet.
I asked a friend about her dermatologist, highly recommended. It's good to have options and information. Rosacea and melasma are listed as treatable conditions on the derm's site, http://www.lincolnparkdermatology.com/ , so maybe that's a good sign. I'm going to make an appointment.
“You could also get a tan,” the aesthetician said, chuckling. “That would cover it up.”
I'm hitting the beach today with a friend. But I’m keeping tabs on those lemons, just in case.
I hadn’t seen my brother in several months as our gang didn’t have our usual Easter gathering this year. He and his wife had arrived at our condo just a few minutes before he asked me this in the kitchen.
At first I didn’t know what he was talking about, or if he was serious. Then I realized what he meant… the dark blotches of skin on my face.
It was not a sunburn or patchy tan. I wish!
It was not rosacea or reddish-pink coloring on my cheeks, which I have had in the past from heat, alcohol or exercise. That always went away.
This site about rosacea - http://www.rosacea.org/patients/materials/triggers.php - lists just about everything I eat as a possible trigger. That’s why I’d ignored the problem till now.
It was not an allergic reaction, as my brother suspected. My sister in law has allergies that include cats, for which I gave her a Benadryl (as 3 felines roam our home). Again, I wish.
None of the above. These spots showed up in the last 9 months – and never went away.
Brown patches along my cheekbones almost to my ears, above my upper lip and, biggest and most obvious, a devil-horned shape in the middle of my forehead. The last one is the most disturbing – and distracting – when I look in the mirror each morning.
I keep hoping the spots will disappear and I’ll look in the mirror one day and see my old self. But I’m starting to lose hope. And seek help.
I look younger than my nearly 42 years and am still carded, which people tell me is a great compliment. My skin has been one of my best assets, until now.
For many years I’ve put lotion on my whole body after I shower and also on my face, particularly around my eyes, which have few signs of wrinkles. My “almost makeup” contains lotion and an SPF of 15 and I use it almost religiously.
My olive skin tends to brown easily and not burn. Except for a painful lapse in Tahiti and occasional minor breakouts, my skin and face have been healthy and happy.
But something happened after my last birthday. The pink cheeks turned beige then brown and other patches and spots appeared.
It is called “hyperpigmentation.”
The cause is unknown, it is often genetic, is exacerbated by sunshine, and once it shows up it’s there to stay. That’s what the aesthetician said at Allyu Spa - http://www.allyuspa.com/ - after an extensive 7-part, hour-long treatment and review under lamps.
“Your skin is perfectly healthy,” she said. “It’s not at all oily or dry, which is rare, and there is no visible sun damage.” Great, except for those big distracting brown spots.
A dermatologist might figure out the cause, she continued, but 90% of the time it is genetic (thanks, Mom?) and won’t go away on its own. Most derms use chemicals or lasers to lighten or remove spots.
According to a professional dermatologists site - http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/hyperpigmentation.html - the condition is called “melasma” and is most often caused by hormonal changes, often in pregnant women. Which I am not.
For more natural approaches, I could try salon products (expensive) or add a few drops of lemon to my lotion for lightening effect. There is also a succulent plant related to aloe the aesthetician called stonecrop or ‘chicks n’ hens’ that might be worth a try.
I’ve got lemons in the fridge and am fighting the urge to cut one open and juice it on my forehead.
First I’ll try the plant, which I picked up at Gethesmane last week - http://www.gethsemanegardens.com/ . It’s cuter than aloe with rounded leaves spreading from its center like a desert rose and small babies ("chicks") hanging on the sides. The leaves can be snapped open like aloe to reveal a cool liquid inside.
I’ve used it twice after washing my face and massaging it in to increase circulation (as my chiropractor suggested). This clearly isn’t Harry Potter magic and I've seen no changes yet.
I asked a friend about her dermatologist, highly recommended. It's good to have options and information. Rosacea and melasma are listed as treatable conditions on the derm's site, http://www.lincolnparkdermatology.com/ , so maybe that's a good sign. I'm going to make an appointment.
“You could also get a tan,” the aesthetician said, chuckling. “That would cover it up.”
I'm hitting the beach today with a friend. But I’m keeping tabs on those lemons, just in case.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Biking, beaches and... babe?!
I took my bike to Navy Pier Thurs. night to see Cirque Shanghai at the Skyline Theater. It was the first time I’d hit the lakefront path this summer heading south.
I’d planned to bike to work this summer… once I got caught up after my Peru trip, hit my big work deadline and the intense heat and humidity passed. But as any Chicagoan knows the weather forecasters are as likely wrong as right and circumstances will never be perfect. We just have to get out there and do our thing anyways.
At my Montrose starting point, there is a lot of park between Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan and a lot of paths, paved and unpaved. But as you head south, the lake waters get closer to the drive and funnel all park-goers and -doers into a narrow concrete band.
It’s a chaotic mix of joggers, walkers, bikers, bladers and sunbathers when you reach North Avenue Beach. Many seem blissfully unaware that anyone else is using the path - or of any conventions or courtesies for sharing roads, such as staying to the right and allowing others to pass on the left.
I wonder how many collisions, injuries or other troubles occur on this path on an average summer day - and who keeps track of such things. Chicago Magazine, for starters: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2009/Lake-Advisory/
Some people point out that it is the Chicago LAKEFRONT Path not Bicycle Path. But the painted images of bicycles on the paved path along the drive with dashed-yellow-line (like a road) suggest otherwise.
Bike Chicago, which rents bikes including 4-person big rigs seen along the lakefront, says Chicago’s lakefront is a “biking paradise.” And this site applauds the city’s great 18-mile bike trail: http://www.great-trails.com/lakefront.shtml .
Bike Chicago also organizes tours including one of President Obama’s ‘hood with sights such as the Osaka gardens, DuSable Museum and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House as well as the Obamas’ home and the place Barack and Michelle had their first kiss (who could resist that?): http://www.bikechicago.com/tours/
“No swimming after 7.”
As I biked between Fullerton and North avenues I heard a booming male voice over the speaker system say the beach was closed. No swimming after 7:00 p.m., it said, but feel free to come back tomorrow when the beach re-opens at 11:00 a.m. Wait, huh?!
There are thousands of people out and dozens in the water getting much-needed exercise and fresh air --- and the park district is forcing them onto dry land - when it’s still in the upper 80’s and humid?!
It is true, according to the Chicago Park District beach site -http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/resources/beaches/ - it says: “Starting this season swimming is allowed at beaches from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise posted.”
According to the site, Montrose and 5 other beaches open early, at 9:30 a.m. The others are: Leone, North Avenue, 31st Street, 63rd Street, South Shore and Calumet. My guess is lifeguard hours were cut to save money due to budget shortfalls - but it seems harsh to have our already short summers and summer activities cut even shorter.
I pedaled along.
A woman walked a tiny dog, barely visible in the dimming light as it weaved back and forth. Adults with kids walked in the middle or on the wrong (their left) side of the path. Bikers talked – even texted – on cell phones with no hands on their brakes despite the crowds and congestion. It seemed like one accident-waiting-to-happen after another.
The ferris wheel at the pier came into view as I rounded the curve of LSD, pleased to have navigated successfully and safely through the crazy crowds. I was trying to count the neon-capped lap swimmers near Oak Street Beach as a gray-haired biker approached. As he zoomed by, he called out “On your left, babe.”
Thanks for the heads up, dude, but skip the nickname next time. Let’s leave it at left.
I’d planned to bike to work this summer… once I got caught up after my Peru trip, hit my big work deadline and the intense heat and humidity passed. But as any Chicagoan knows the weather forecasters are as likely wrong as right and circumstances will never be perfect. We just have to get out there and do our thing anyways.
At my Montrose starting point, there is a lot of park between Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan and a lot of paths, paved and unpaved. But as you head south, the lake waters get closer to the drive and funnel all park-goers and -doers into a narrow concrete band.
It’s a chaotic mix of joggers, walkers, bikers, bladers and sunbathers when you reach North Avenue Beach. Many seem blissfully unaware that anyone else is using the path - or of any conventions or courtesies for sharing roads, such as staying to the right and allowing others to pass on the left.
I wonder how many collisions, injuries or other troubles occur on this path on an average summer day - and who keeps track of such things. Chicago Magazine, for starters: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2009/Lake-Advisory/
Some people point out that it is the Chicago LAKEFRONT Path not Bicycle Path. But the painted images of bicycles on the paved path along the drive with dashed-yellow-line (like a road) suggest otherwise.
Bike Chicago, which rents bikes including 4-person big rigs seen along the lakefront, says Chicago’s lakefront is a “biking paradise.” And this site applauds the city’s great 18-mile bike trail: http://www.great-trails.com/lakefront.shtml .
Bike Chicago also organizes tours including one of President Obama’s ‘hood with sights such as the Osaka gardens, DuSable Museum and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House as well as the Obamas’ home and the place Barack and Michelle had their first kiss (who could resist that?): http://www.bikechicago.com/tours/
“No swimming after 7.”
As I biked between Fullerton and North avenues I heard a booming male voice over the speaker system say the beach was closed. No swimming after 7:00 p.m., it said, but feel free to come back tomorrow when the beach re-opens at 11:00 a.m. Wait, huh?!
There are thousands of people out and dozens in the water getting much-needed exercise and fresh air --- and the park district is forcing them onto dry land - when it’s still in the upper 80’s and humid?!
It is true, according to the Chicago Park District beach site -http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/resources/beaches/ - it says: “Starting this season swimming is allowed at beaches from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise posted.”
According to the site, Montrose and 5 other beaches open early, at 9:30 a.m. The others are: Leone, North Avenue, 31st Street, 63rd Street, South Shore and Calumet. My guess is lifeguard hours were cut to save money due to budget shortfalls - but it seems harsh to have our already short summers and summer activities cut even shorter.
I pedaled along.
A woman walked a tiny dog, barely visible in the dimming light as it weaved back and forth. Adults with kids walked in the middle or on the wrong (their left) side of the path. Bikers talked – even texted – on cell phones with no hands on their brakes despite the crowds and congestion. It seemed like one accident-waiting-to-happen after another.
The ferris wheel at the pier came into view as I rounded the curve of LSD, pleased to have navigated successfully and safely through the crazy crowds. I was trying to count the neon-capped lap swimmers near Oak Street Beach as a gray-haired biker approached. As he zoomed by, he called out “On your left, babe.”
Thanks for the heads up, dude, but skip the nickname next time. Let’s leave it at left.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Machu Picchu calling
Sun shining in the window of seat 2F warms my legs and toes. I settle in to the wide leather seat on American flight 757 to Miami with my book, journal and itinerary. Gingerale and warm mixed nuts appear at my side, brought by a smiling attendant, who offers earphones for the movie.
Our flight is delayed out of O’Hare as they fix some switch or something in the cockpit, which might bother me if I were an anxious traveler. But I am not.
It’s the start of a 2-week trip to the Andes Mountains and Amazon Jungle. I brought more pharmaceuticals than I’ve ever had in my house at one time, got geared up for all conditions, walked many flights of stairs, read travel books and real-life stories of Peruvian explorers and missionaries, took camera classes and practiced Spanish.
I planned this much-anticipated trip with surprisingly little input from my husband, who sits beside me reading a sci fi novel. He is already in vacation mode, and we haven’t left the city. This is the way to go international... but you have to book early and I booked this in December.
Machu Picchu beckoned. So did the historic and still-used Inca Trail that would take us there. Hiking 4 days in mountains and through cloud forests created a powerful mixture of physical challenge and natural beauty I could not resist. It’s also a spiritual connection with the earth – or "pachamama" to the native Quechua - that at times I struggle to feel in so-urban Chicago.
The trail showed Inca life, past and present. Some locals that live by the trail set up rest areas where they sell water, Gatorade and sometimes "chicha,"a corn-based brew women make by chewing the grain to help ferment it (saliva helps break it down). Locals take llamas along the trail and carry mantas (tablecloths) with goods, food and children slung onto their backs.
Ruins and terracing lie all along the trail and more are still being discovered, or UN-covered. It is hard to fathom how such huge rocks - on such high mountains -could be so perfectly carved and fitted together even using today's tools and technology.
The topography changed from dry desert with eucalyptus trees like in Southern California to gracefully flowing grasses like in the American plains to mosses and molds like in Ireland or other boggy areas to the magical cloud forest on our way to camp the 2nd night, where I enjoyed the most beautiful sunset - and the briefest moon rise and set - from my tent.
Machu Picchu was the destination that the journey made all the sweeter. It was a stroke of luck that trains from Cuzco were not running the day we got there (due to worker strikes). We had this wonder of the world practically to ourselves, with busses departing every 5-10 minutes to take us back to hot showers and civilization, in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes.
It was a disparate trip in many ways. Luckily, I like contrasts and contradictions.
For starters, flying first class to go camping, where for 3 nights we would sleep on the cold, hard ground (wearing winter hats to stay warm), be unable to bathe, wake before the sun and relieve ourselves in outhouses that were simply holes in the ground with walls around them.
Even in cities we visited, if bathrooms had flush toilets we would often need our own toilet paper. If there was running water, we still needed to sanitize our hands and boil, purify or buy water to use or drink. No problem: I was armed with wet wipes, tissues and sanitizer.
The people and accommodations may have been smaller and simpler than North American standards, but there was a warmth and ease with our hoteliers, hosts and guides that felt distinctly South American.
Los Ninos Hotel in Cuzco, http://www.ninoshotel.com/ was where we stayed before and after the Inca Trail. With hotel proceeds, the owner provides food, education and medical care to more than 500 kids, for whom we collected and brought clothes, school supplies and toys. We met a few of the kids, some young and some grown up, during our tour of nearby facilities.
The hotel staff brought us coca tea, which helps reduce altitude sickness, in the lovely courtyard and put us in a room by 9 a.m. at no extra charge. They stored our luggage while we were on the trail and paid for our laundry that was dropped off while we were out at dinner after the trail.
Textiles, jewelry and other goods sold on side streets, sidewalks and small stores were well-made, often by hand, and remarkably cheap. Converting Nuevo Soles to dollars did not help us comprehend or bridge the financial gap between local Peruvians and ourselves.
A suggested tip on the trail was 30 Soles, about $10, for 4 days of hard work for the porters who, though small in stature and some wearing sandals, lugged all our gear and camp supplies up and down the trails – leaving us in the dust and in awe -as they did so. We tipped more than 100 Soles, but we still wondered if it was fair.
Heroically called chaskies after the traditional messengers that ran from village to village, they set up camp before we hauled our butts and legs in at dusk and brought bowls of warm water, soap and clean towels to our tents. They also delivered hot coca tea to our tents for our morning wake-up calls, asking if we wanted sugar, one spoon or two.
Just-popped popcorn and six-course nightly meals included fresh soups, vegetables, eggs, rice, pasta and meat dishes. We had breakfast, snacks and lunch along the trail, usually in a big blue tent at a long table with stools (also carried by chaskies on the trail) that fit 16 of us plus super-guide Saul and his sidekick for this trip Eder of SAS Travel Peru, www.sastravelperu.com/ .
The disparity continued in the Amazon Jungle, which we visited via Tambopata Nature Reserve. We flew from Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, which was surrounded by brown mud roads, faded houses and all conceivable types and shapes of green foliage.
For a place so teaming with plant and animal life, the soil was a surprising reddish-brown color and clay-like texture and filled the rivers, including the Tambopata River we boated to our eco-lodge, Refugio Amazonas, http://www.perunature.com/ .
The lodge only uses a generator from 5 to 9 p.m. each day and has no exterior walls, so it’s open for people, birds and animals to commingle at will. A bat circled the lodge as we sat at the bar, considering which fruity drink to ask our friendly bartender Fernando for next.
Despite the simplicity and lack of electricity, the lodge and guest rooms were elegant and comfy and nightly room service included pulling mosquito nets down around each bed and lighting the 3 oil lamps that lined the exterior wall along the corridor. Rooms had curtains in place of doors.
Frogs frequented the guest bathrooms and all kinds of crazy bird calls could be heard from our open-ended rooms (open to the jungle on the far side), giving visual but not audio privacy that we were used to at this point in our trip. Most critters stayed in the forest and entertained us from a distance.
We walked through mud sporting Wellington boots provided by the lodge and – surprise!? – it rains a lot in the rainforest! Here 4 a.m. was a popular wake-up time – to see the critters. I got a massage before I turned in one night at 9 p.m. (when the power goes off ) – another nice luxury.
Our last night was in Lima, hub for international flights. Our visit was very short – about 12 hours – and very sweet - we got Swiss chocolates from our luxury taxi driver and chocolate-covered strawberries in our rooms at the 5-star Swissotel.
We had food and drinks on the executive club level and the only sightseeing we did was from our hotel rooms. A wonderful way to return to reality. Can you blame us for not wanting to leave?
I could not resist a giant bubble bath. I basked in the luxury, cleaned jungle mud and trail dirt from nails and hair - and reflected on a trip well done. Months of planning paid off, we had everything we needed, stayed mostly healthy, got around and along well, used our Spanish, hiked the Inca Trail and in the Amazon Jungle – and had an amazing time!
As we soaked in the tub, with bubbles halfway to the ceiling, my husband asked "Is this what you had in mind (when I proposed in a bathtub 12 years earlier)?" I replied: "Exactly..."
Our flight is delayed out of O’Hare as they fix some switch or something in the cockpit, which might bother me if I were an anxious traveler. But I am not.
It’s the start of a 2-week trip to the Andes Mountains and Amazon Jungle. I brought more pharmaceuticals than I’ve ever had in my house at one time, got geared up for all conditions, walked many flights of stairs, read travel books and real-life stories of Peruvian explorers and missionaries, took camera classes and practiced Spanish.
I planned this much-anticipated trip with surprisingly little input from my husband, who sits beside me reading a sci fi novel. He is already in vacation mode, and we haven’t left the city. This is the way to go international... but you have to book early and I booked this in December.
Machu Picchu beckoned. So did the historic and still-used Inca Trail that would take us there. Hiking 4 days in mountains and through cloud forests created a powerful mixture of physical challenge and natural beauty I could not resist. It’s also a spiritual connection with the earth – or "pachamama" to the native Quechua - that at times I struggle to feel in so-urban Chicago.
The trail showed Inca life, past and present. Some locals that live by the trail set up rest areas where they sell water, Gatorade and sometimes "chicha,"a corn-based brew women make by chewing the grain to help ferment it (saliva helps break it down). Locals take llamas along the trail and carry mantas (tablecloths) with goods, food and children slung onto their backs.
Ruins and terracing lie all along the trail and more are still being discovered, or UN-covered. It is hard to fathom how such huge rocks - on such high mountains -could be so perfectly carved and fitted together even using today's tools and technology.
The topography changed from dry desert with eucalyptus trees like in Southern California to gracefully flowing grasses like in the American plains to mosses and molds like in Ireland or other boggy areas to the magical cloud forest on our way to camp the 2nd night, where I enjoyed the most beautiful sunset - and the briefest moon rise and set - from my tent.
Machu Picchu was the destination that the journey made all the sweeter. It was a stroke of luck that trains from Cuzco were not running the day we got there (due to worker strikes). We had this wonder of the world practically to ourselves, with busses departing every 5-10 minutes to take us back to hot showers and civilization, in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes.
It was a disparate trip in many ways. Luckily, I like contrasts and contradictions.
For starters, flying first class to go camping, where for 3 nights we would sleep on the cold, hard ground (wearing winter hats to stay warm), be unable to bathe, wake before the sun and relieve ourselves in outhouses that were simply holes in the ground with walls around them.
Even in cities we visited, if bathrooms had flush toilets we would often need our own toilet paper. If there was running water, we still needed to sanitize our hands and boil, purify or buy water to use or drink. No problem: I was armed with wet wipes, tissues and sanitizer.
The people and accommodations may have been smaller and simpler than North American standards, but there was a warmth and ease with our hoteliers, hosts and guides that felt distinctly South American.
Los Ninos Hotel in Cuzco, http://www.ninoshotel.com/ was where we stayed before and after the Inca Trail. With hotel proceeds, the owner provides food, education and medical care to more than 500 kids, for whom we collected and brought clothes, school supplies and toys. We met a few of the kids, some young and some grown up, during our tour of nearby facilities.
The hotel staff brought us coca tea, which helps reduce altitude sickness, in the lovely courtyard and put us in a room by 9 a.m. at no extra charge. They stored our luggage while we were on the trail and paid for our laundry that was dropped off while we were out at dinner after the trail.
Textiles, jewelry and other goods sold on side streets, sidewalks and small stores were well-made, often by hand, and remarkably cheap. Converting Nuevo Soles to dollars did not help us comprehend or bridge the financial gap between local Peruvians and ourselves.
A suggested tip on the trail was 30 Soles, about $10, for 4 days of hard work for the porters who, though small in stature and some wearing sandals, lugged all our gear and camp supplies up and down the trails – leaving us in the dust and in awe -as they did so. We tipped more than 100 Soles, but we still wondered if it was fair.
Heroically called chaskies after the traditional messengers that ran from village to village, they set up camp before we hauled our butts and legs in at dusk and brought bowls of warm water, soap and clean towels to our tents. They also delivered hot coca tea to our tents for our morning wake-up calls, asking if we wanted sugar, one spoon or two.
Just-popped popcorn and six-course nightly meals included fresh soups, vegetables, eggs, rice, pasta and meat dishes. We had breakfast, snacks and lunch along the trail, usually in a big blue tent at a long table with stools (also carried by chaskies on the trail) that fit 16 of us plus super-guide Saul and his sidekick for this trip Eder of SAS Travel Peru, www.sastravelperu.com/ .
The disparity continued in the Amazon Jungle, which we visited via Tambopata Nature Reserve. We flew from Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, which was surrounded by brown mud roads, faded houses and all conceivable types and shapes of green foliage.
For a place so teaming with plant and animal life, the soil was a surprising reddish-brown color and clay-like texture and filled the rivers, including the Tambopata River we boated to our eco-lodge, Refugio Amazonas, http://www.perunature.com/ .
The lodge only uses a generator from 5 to 9 p.m. each day and has no exterior walls, so it’s open for people, birds and animals to commingle at will. A bat circled the lodge as we sat at the bar, considering which fruity drink to ask our friendly bartender Fernando for next.
Despite the simplicity and lack of electricity, the lodge and guest rooms were elegant and comfy and nightly room service included pulling mosquito nets down around each bed and lighting the 3 oil lamps that lined the exterior wall along the corridor. Rooms had curtains in place of doors.
Frogs frequented the guest bathrooms and all kinds of crazy bird calls could be heard from our open-ended rooms (open to the jungle on the far side), giving visual but not audio privacy that we were used to at this point in our trip. Most critters stayed in the forest and entertained us from a distance.
We walked through mud sporting Wellington boots provided by the lodge and – surprise!? – it rains a lot in the rainforest! Here 4 a.m. was a popular wake-up time – to see the critters. I got a massage before I turned in one night at 9 p.m. (when the power goes off ) – another nice luxury.
Our last night was in Lima, hub for international flights. Our visit was very short – about 12 hours – and very sweet - we got Swiss chocolates from our luxury taxi driver and chocolate-covered strawberries in our rooms at the 5-star Swissotel.
We had food and drinks on the executive club level and the only sightseeing we did was from our hotel rooms. A wonderful way to return to reality. Can you blame us for not wanting to leave?
I could not resist a giant bubble bath. I basked in the luxury, cleaned jungle mud and trail dirt from nails and hair - and reflected on a trip well done. Months of planning paid off, we had everything we needed, stayed mostly healthy, got around and along well, used our Spanish, hiked the Inca Trail and in the Amazon Jungle – and had an amazing time!
As we soaked in the tub, with bubbles halfway to the ceiling, my husband asked "Is this what you had in mind (when I proposed in a bathtub 12 years earlier)?" I replied: "Exactly..."
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
To Abt and Lowe's we go!
Over the river and past the woods (forest preserves), out shopping we did go... with detailed list, measurements and credit card in tow! With the extra day off afforded us by President's Day and a screaming deal on a rental car, we hit the stores. (Ouch).
First we ordered a new screen door - because ours is old, ugly and inefficient. The back door is next to the pantry, so we added this to the project. The new door is thicker and the screen retracts so cold air doesn't seep in all winter long as it does now. For brushed steel handles rather than brass, it takes a 2-week special order. For around $300, we wonder why we didn't do this sooner.
Next we found a reverse osmosis water filtration system, which will be mounted inside the reclaimed wall of our pantry - which abuts our sink - so we don't lose storage space. This will also save counter space our Brita box takes up. The counter company will drill a hole for the separate spigot. And we'll have fresh filtered water at our fingertips 24/7.
After tracking down Lowe's employees a half dozen times, we got to sinks, wishing to compare the estimate from Greenmaker's supplier. With a dish strainer, our estimate was around $1,000 and we thought that seemed high. Stainless steel sinks are just a few hundred bucks, right?
Well, undermounts cost more. Maybe they're trendy, maybe they're more functional or maybe they just look better. Our idea is to have a (custom?) cutting board over the sink for extra prep space - and easy access to the disposal. We found the same brand, Franke, for a lower price. Two bowls, about the same size and shape, but without a sales rep available, I wasn't positive.
Then onto faucets. A huge wall O' faucets. My husband said he didn't want two temperature handles (I had no idea!) but I dislike the modern one-spout-with-attached-sprayer designs. I got dizzy looking at all the options. Or maybe I should have eaten before we left the condo.
The truth is, I don't recall what the faucet we selected earlier looks like. Lowe's faucets, too, were less expensive - $50 or so - than our estimate. But the thought of starting our decision process over freaked us out --- and we decided the extra dollars were worth it for peace of mind, staying on schedule and spousal harmony. Ohm....
Next stop: Greenmaker! We ordered our countertop - the one we first picked because the price difference between it and our 2 other choices was not that drastic and we really like sea shells mixed in with the specks of glass in the light concrete. We said Yes to the sink and faucet combo and were on our way.
We tossed a coin to pick glass for our few cabinets - going with a clear one with air bubbles that look like water drops. Out of several dozen choices, we made this one pretty easily.
Tiles for the backsplash we knew would be tricky. We wished for an artist friend to stop by or my mother, a great designer. Gwen held up one tile after another until we all agreed. It helped to have a sample of our countertop, wood stain and floor tile for this part. We selected a neutral and 2 colors of fire clay tiles to mix throughout the entire backsplash, including a larger green organic "wetlands" color to anchor it and a bluish accent tile to bring in the gray/blue/flecked floor.
After paying deposits of half the cost for these items, we left Greenmaker, literally *spent.*
After a day of rest, we headed to Glenview for the last big-ticket items for our new kitchen: appliances. Doing research online and an earlier scouting visit saved us time and money. For instance, one of the appliances on our list was on sale on the Web site since our last visit AND I found a rebate that will give us $200 back for our purchases.
It also doesn't hurt to ask the sales rep if they can take anything else off the price - and this saved us another $50 to $100. We upgraded our range - got a GE with a fifth burner and a super sleek look. Everything was Energy Star rated and fit our existing kitchen plans and dimensions.
Abt will call when the stuff is ready and coordinate delivery once we have a clearer timeline. They even take appliances up stairs (we're on the second floor of a vintage walk-up) and take away the boxes and packing material, which is always tricky to break down for our recycling hauler. Oh, and delivery in Chicago is FREE!
After spending the biggest bulk of our rehab budget in 2 days, we were ready to head home. With cabinets expected the 1st week of April, we anticipate the contractor on site after Easter (which is early, March 22). And hopefully we'll *just* be sans kitchen for a month.
The countdown to demolition day has begun....
First we ordered a new screen door - because ours is old, ugly and inefficient. The back door is next to the pantry, so we added this to the project. The new door is thicker and the screen retracts so cold air doesn't seep in all winter long as it does now. For brushed steel handles rather than brass, it takes a 2-week special order. For around $300, we wonder why we didn't do this sooner.
Next we found a reverse osmosis water filtration system, which will be mounted inside the reclaimed wall of our pantry - which abuts our sink - so we don't lose storage space. This will also save counter space our Brita box takes up. The counter company will drill a hole for the separate spigot. And we'll have fresh filtered water at our fingertips 24/7.
After tracking down Lowe's employees a half dozen times, we got to sinks, wishing to compare the estimate from Greenmaker's supplier. With a dish strainer, our estimate was around $1,000 and we thought that seemed high. Stainless steel sinks are just a few hundred bucks, right?
Well, undermounts cost more. Maybe they're trendy, maybe they're more functional or maybe they just look better. Our idea is to have a (custom?) cutting board over the sink for extra prep space - and easy access to the disposal. We found the same brand, Franke, for a lower price. Two bowls, about the same size and shape, but without a sales rep available, I wasn't positive.
Then onto faucets. A huge wall O' faucets. My husband said he didn't want two temperature handles (I had no idea!) but I dislike the modern one-spout-with-attached-sprayer designs. I got dizzy looking at all the options. Or maybe I should have eaten before we left the condo.
The truth is, I don't recall what the faucet we selected earlier looks like. Lowe's faucets, too, were less expensive - $50 or so - than our estimate. But the thought of starting our decision process over freaked us out --- and we decided the extra dollars were worth it for peace of mind, staying on schedule and spousal harmony. Ohm....
Next stop: Greenmaker! We ordered our countertop - the one we first picked because the price difference between it and our 2 other choices was not that drastic and we really like sea shells mixed in with the specks of glass in the light concrete. We said Yes to the sink and faucet combo and were on our way.
We tossed a coin to pick glass for our few cabinets - going with a clear one with air bubbles that look like water drops. Out of several dozen choices, we made this one pretty easily.
Tiles for the backsplash we knew would be tricky. We wished for an artist friend to stop by or my mother, a great designer. Gwen held up one tile after another until we all agreed. It helped to have a sample of our countertop, wood stain and floor tile for this part. We selected a neutral and 2 colors of fire clay tiles to mix throughout the entire backsplash, including a larger green organic "wetlands" color to anchor it and a bluish accent tile to bring in the gray/blue/flecked floor.
After paying deposits of half the cost for these items, we left Greenmaker, literally *spent.*
After a day of rest, we headed to Glenview for the last big-ticket items for our new kitchen: appliances. Doing research online and an earlier scouting visit saved us time and money. For instance, one of the appliances on our list was on sale on the Web site since our last visit AND I found a rebate that will give us $200 back for our purchases.
It also doesn't hurt to ask the sales rep if they can take anything else off the price - and this saved us another $50 to $100. We upgraded our range - got a GE with a fifth burner and a super sleek look. Everything was Energy Star rated and fit our existing kitchen plans and dimensions.
Abt will call when the stuff is ready and coordinate delivery once we have a clearer timeline. They even take appliances up stairs (we're on the second floor of a vintage walk-up) and take away the boxes and packing material, which is always tricky to break down for our recycling hauler. Oh, and delivery in Chicago is FREE!
After spending the biggest bulk of our rehab budget in 2 days, we were ready to head home. With cabinets expected the 1st week of April, we anticipate the contractor on site after Easter (which is early, March 22). And hopefully we'll *just* be sans kitchen for a month.
The countdown to demolition day has begun....
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Sticker Shock: Green Means $$$
We first ventured out before the holidays to see what green has to offer or, more specifically Greenmaker Supply. The small warehouse/showroom at 2500 N. Pulaski is in a sort of strip mall with other building supply stores. Greenmaker sells low-flow toilets, low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, energy-efficient lightbulbs. And kitchen rehab materials.
The on-site display kitchen has sustainably-grown and harvested wood cabinets produced in neighboring states so it isn't trucked all over the country. One display countertop is made of bamboo and the other of concrete with recycled glass and seashells, which is quite pretty despite the sound of it. The lights catch the embedded materials and they sparkle like jewels, a far cry from the ugly particle board countertop I've used for almost 11 years.
We loved the unique designs for wall and floor coverings - made of recycled glass, aluminum and other materials. Although the showroom is small, there were plenty of options in design and detail. The Urban Prairie cabinets had local flavor with style names such as Bucktown, Lakeview, Lincoln, Logan Square and Edgewater.
After selecting a cabinet style, you can choose from seven types of wood: maple, cherry, hickory, red oak, alder, beech and lyptus. Each wood type has a selection of finishes from ash white to java - 48 options in all. That part was easier to narrow down than it would seem. We aimed for Sauganash style with a honey finish but later switched to Lakeview, with its smaller decorative edging, to save money and keep a cleaner line in our small kitchen space.
The first estimate for the cabinets was between $4,000 and $5,000 for 10 cabinets to snugly fit in our 14-foot galley kitchen, before taxes, delivery or extras. With adjustments, assistance from the designer and our hopefully-will-be contractor - and a discount - the cost went down a good amount - only to be bumped back up later when we added 3 glass doors, stronger pull-outs for the pots and pans and other minor finishing touches.
The real sticker shock was the countertop.
You think concrete and recycled glass, right, like you could find in any dumpster or blue bag in town - how much could it cost? The answer is: plenty! I haven't priced this out, but I hear you can get marble at half the price. Well, just one slab, we were told, runs around $1200. But that was only a fraction of the total cost.
Ice Stone countertops are poured, cut, made-to-order and installed(!) by the manufacturer's representatives. But knowing that - which I learned along the way - did not prepare me for the almost $3,000 price tag! That's about the cost of all of our appliances, which just seems wrong.
The "Green Remodeling Guides" on the City of Chicago's Web site (see kitchen guide link below) points this out: 1) Expand your definition of cost (roger that!) and 2) Do your homework.
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/GreenRemodeling_Kitchens_1.pdf
I would also see if you can RE-USE anything in your current space. If you have wood cabinets, maybe they can be stripped and re-stained (they do it on HGTV!) or re-faced? Ours are hideous so that's a "no go" for us. But we are keeping the over-the-range microwave hood we bought a few years ago and will get appliances to match.
We are also keeping the tile floor - well-installed and even level - by previous owners - an exception in our somewhat haphazard condo building. It's gray flecked - not color(s) we'd have picked but to save resources (financial and environmental), we are going to work with it.
Appliances, almost as surprising in their low cost as the countertop on the other end, I will cover another day. For now, I'll just say no to the depot and let Energy Guide guide you.
After a full-day of remeasuring, re-thinking, revising and quadruple-checking, we both signed off on our cabinet order (they asked both spouses to do so - wonder if they had issues in the past - probably a story there!) - we faxed it in to Gwen at Greenmaker yesterday. And made our down payment. So... ready or not, the Green Rehab 'game' is ON!!
The on-site display kitchen has sustainably-grown and harvested wood cabinets produced in neighboring states so it isn't trucked all over the country. One display countertop is made of bamboo and the other of concrete with recycled glass and seashells, which is quite pretty despite the sound of it. The lights catch the embedded materials and they sparkle like jewels, a far cry from the ugly particle board countertop I've used for almost 11 years.
We loved the unique designs for wall and floor coverings - made of recycled glass, aluminum and other materials. Although the showroom is small, there were plenty of options in design and detail. The Urban Prairie cabinets had local flavor with style names such as Bucktown, Lakeview, Lincoln, Logan Square and Edgewater.
After selecting a cabinet style, you can choose from seven types of wood: maple, cherry, hickory, red oak, alder, beech and lyptus. Each wood type has a selection of finishes from ash white to java - 48 options in all. That part was easier to narrow down than it would seem. We aimed for Sauganash style with a honey finish but later switched to Lakeview, with its smaller decorative edging, to save money and keep a cleaner line in our small kitchen space.
The first estimate for the cabinets was between $4,000 and $5,000 for 10 cabinets to snugly fit in our 14-foot galley kitchen, before taxes, delivery or extras. With adjustments, assistance from the designer and our hopefully-will-be contractor - and a discount - the cost went down a good amount - only to be bumped back up later when we added 3 glass doors, stronger pull-outs for the pots and pans and other minor finishing touches.
The real sticker shock was the countertop.
You think concrete and recycled glass, right, like you could find in any dumpster or blue bag in town - how much could it cost? The answer is: plenty! I haven't priced this out, but I hear you can get marble at half the price. Well, just one slab, we were told, runs around $1200. But that was only a fraction of the total cost.
Ice Stone countertops are poured, cut, made-to-order and installed(!) by the manufacturer's representatives. But knowing that - which I learned along the way - did not prepare me for the almost $3,000 price tag! That's about the cost of all of our appliances, which just seems wrong.
The "Green Remodeling Guides" on the City of Chicago's Web site (see kitchen guide link below) points this out: 1) Expand your definition of cost (roger that!) and 2) Do your homework.
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/GreenRemodeling_Kitchens_1.pdf
I would also see if you can RE-USE anything in your current space. If you have wood cabinets, maybe they can be stripped and re-stained (they do it on HGTV!) or re-faced? Ours are hideous so that's a "no go" for us. But we are keeping the over-the-range microwave hood we bought a few years ago and will get appliances to match.
We are also keeping the tile floor - well-installed and even level - by previous owners - an exception in our somewhat haphazard condo building. It's gray flecked - not color(s) we'd have picked but to save resources (financial and environmental), we are going to work with it.
Appliances, almost as surprising in their low cost as the countertop on the other end, I will cover another day. For now, I'll just say no to the depot and let Energy Guide guide you.
After a full-day of remeasuring, re-thinking, revising and quadruple-checking, we both signed off on our cabinet order (they asked both spouses to do so - wonder if they had issues in the past - probably a story there!) - we faxed it in to Gwen at Greenmaker yesterday. And made our down payment. So... ready or not, the Green Rehab 'game' is ON!!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Small Kitchens Unite!
After making due aesthetically and ergonomically in the typical vintage kitchen in our typical vintage condo in Chicago for 10 years, the appliances started to strike. Not a full-out, walk off the job, but a definite slow-down. The kitchen sink was in on it too, especially the faucet, which we have bribed and coaxed along for years.
The refrigerator, the big guy on our small 14-foot kitchen block, has been dripping for about a year. But we can take it - and at least it's inside so it only ruins our stored vegetables, tortillas and leftovers and not the floor or walls that lead to the unit below. A well-placed but somewhat precarious Tupperware container takes care of this problem, more or less.
But old fridge has it rough because what is to its immediate right side but the range. As things heat up on the stove or in the oven, fridge keeps cycling on and off, trying to do its job and keep things cool. This means ice formations on yogurt, olives, eggs and other items unlucky enough to fit on the upper shelves and soggy items throughout as water drips and flows from shelves to so-called crisper bins, where it pools and breaks down our veggie stash in record time. Up above that means freezer burn - and lots of it.
We tried to appease the kitchen gods with a new garbage disposal and microwave with a vent above the range. My husband did the work himself, and he's surprisingly handy given the opportunity and inclination. We scrubbed the oven. We pulled out the refrigerator and cleaned the coils in the back and got rid of all the dust bunnies and cat toys that had cleverly hidden underneath.
But it was only a matter of time.
When the dishwasher got in on it, leaving spots of beverages and glops of food here and there, I had had enough. And since we were refinancing our place - and could easily pull out some of our hard-earned equity - it took little convincing for me to agree to rehab the kitchen.
It sounded simple enough. We'd do it right, do some work ourselves - and go "green!" It would be worthwhile, maybe even fun, we said. Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, I hear the appliances softly laughing...
The refrigerator, the big guy on our small 14-foot kitchen block, has been dripping for about a year. But we can take it - and at least it's inside so it only ruins our stored vegetables, tortillas and leftovers and not the floor or walls that lead to the unit below. A well-placed but somewhat precarious Tupperware container takes care of this problem, more or less.
But old fridge has it rough because what is to its immediate right side but the range. As things heat up on the stove or in the oven, fridge keeps cycling on and off, trying to do its job and keep things cool. This means ice formations on yogurt, olives, eggs and other items unlucky enough to fit on the upper shelves and soggy items throughout as water drips and flows from shelves to so-called crisper bins, where it pools and breaks down our veggie stash in record time. Up above that means freezer burn - and lots of it.
We tried to appease the kitchen gods with a new garbage disposal and microwave with a vent above the range. My husband did the work himself, and he's surprisingly handy given the opportunity and inclination. We scrubbed the oven. We pulled out the refrigerator and cleaned the coils in the back and got rid of all the dust bunnies and cat toys that had cleverly hidden underneath.
But it was only a matter of time.
When the dishwasher got in on it, leaving spots of beverages and glops of food here and there, I had had enough. And since we were refinancing our place - and could easily pull out some of our hard-earned equity - it took little convincing for me to agree to rehab the kitchen.
It sounded simple enough. We'd do it right, do some work ourselves - and go "green!" It would be worthwhile, maybe even fun, we said. Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, I hear the appliances softly laughing...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Public Peace Violation by Keri Lynch*
More than four years after the Iraq war started, federal legislators are still trying to figure out how to resolve the conflict. In Chicago, more than four years after a massive march took place to protest the start of the Iraq war, lawyers are still trying to resolve a lawsuit that resulted in the arrest or detention of nearly one thousand individuals. The class-action lawsuit, like the conflict itself, marches on.
“After we had been standing there for some time just quietly asking to leave, more officers came in and they made like a U-shape into the crowd and then suited up with riot gear after they were already standing in the crowd with, you know, visors down, holding batons, and it was very scary to me,” said Jody Ditthardt, a then 30-year-old paralegal. “I thought I was going to get beaten.”
This is what it was like for one individual detained by Chicago police on March 20, 2003. Hundreds gave similar accounts of what really happened near the intersection of Michigan and Chicago avenues that night.
Several attorneys got phone calls on March 20, 2003 from people who had marched - and some who had not - stating they were being detained by police officers. Those calls were the start of a long and costly lawsuit, known as Kevin Vodak vs. City of Chicago, filed April 10, 2003 in U.S. District Court by attorneys Janine Hoft, Joey Mogul, James Fennerty and Melinda Power.
“On March 20, 2003, I got phone calls from people who were detained in the street, surrounded by police in what some people nicknamed the “pig pen,” said Joey Mogul, an attorney for the People’s Law Center and a member of the National Lawyers Guild. “People were saying ‘I think we’re going to be arrested. They’re not telling us what’s going on. We just want to leave.’”
Mogul turned on the news. Reporters near the scene said people were penned in and unable to leave. Other activists and attorneys were getting phone calls too. Janine Hoft, a colleague at People’s Law Center, called Mogul to figure out how they could help. Other guild attorneys, who were serving as march observers, were also being detained.
“I called the 111th Street police station and said I understood there were going to be mass arrests,” Hoft said. “The officer said they were just holding people until they could get traffic flowing again and then they would let everybody go. He was really patronizing. I said maybe he would need some help there, to facilitate, and he said ‘Oh no, that’s not going to happen.’”
Another attorney was waiting for a bus on State Street around 7:30 p.m. that night. As he spoke on his cell phone, a string of about 15 police cars went by with lights and sirens on, heading north. He didn’t think much about it and got on a bus for home, but the bus was rerouted near Chicago and Michigan Avenues.
Curious about what was happening, the attorney got off the bus, as it wasn’t every day a person saw a big demonstration. He walked to the Water Tower. As he stood there, the attorney, who will be called Smith, saw a large contingency of police officers and a large group of demonstrators coming down Chicago Avenue from Lake Shore Drive.
Officers had formed a wall of policemen at Michigan Avenue to block further movement, Smith said. There were some cars and a few busses, but police and demonstrators let them through. Demonstrators were a pretty good-humored group, he said, but tension began to mount when the police line pushed demonstrators back about 70 yards so they could stage more officers.
Smith said police kept arriving and bringing in busses and paddy wagons, plus mounted police and many more in “Robocop” uniforms. He took pictures and walked around. He never witnessed anyone being aggressive toward the police but he did see police officers beat individuals with billy clubs. Smith said teams of two or three officers would go into the crowd, grab people and arrest them.
One demonstrator was Sophia Sieczkowski, a member of a peace group, Chicagoans Against War in Iraq (CAWI). She marched on her own, her husband was out of town, and was surprised that police officers directed people onto Lake Shore Drive. They had motioned with their hands to enter the Drive and stopped traffic for the group, she said.
“On Lake Shore Drive, police were leading the march and walking alongside as if they were protecting us,” Sieczkowski said. When the crowd got off the Drive, things changed. “Suddenly we’re seeing these black ninja turtles (police in riot gear). The contrast between the friendly guys in blue and the ninja turtles in black, it changed the whole tenor of the situation.”
Meanwhile, phone calls continued to come in as people were being detained and arrested. For 24 to 48 hours, guild lawyers, including Mogul and Hoft, found out about the charges and who was being held and released. They learned that 800 to 1,000 people had been arrested and many were forced to pay a $100 cash bond to be released.
“Most people arrested for misdemeanors who don’t have arrest records or criminal histories get released on their own recognizance, what’s known as an I-bond,” Mogul said. “In this case, the police wanted to make everyone put up $100 when most did not have criminal histories. People were being arrested on misdemeanor charges, which we are adamant were completely false and fabricated.”
Within weeks of the arrests, the National Lawyers Guild attorneys organized a meeting at the Chicago Temple. Hundreds of people who had been arrested or detained packed the church and filled out forms describing the events March 20, any charges or court dates. More than 300 people faced criminal charges. Mogul said the Guild would help with all the cases – and this was the start of what demonstrators call the “March 20th Lawsuit.”
“A lot of people were freaked out and didn’t know what would happen in court,” Hoft said. “That’s when Joey (Mogul) promised everyone we would provide representation. We were successful and most of the cases were dismissed outright.”
Although criminal charges were dropped against most demonstrators, some had to go to court up to three times, some lost property including bikes and an American flag, and some were injured during their arrest or detention. Many pages of court documents and depositions state – consistently – that demonstrators were prevented from leaving the area. Under oath, individuals testified that they were not given an opportunity to leave and they did not hear an order to disperse.
There was no notice to disperse according to Smith, who said he was close enough to have heard if any announcement was made. The City trapped people, he said, and there was no way to get out. Even during the arrests the crowd was well-behaved, Smith said, but the police overreacted and it was clear that people were wrongfully arrested.
Male arrestees were taken to the 111th Street station. Several said it was uncomfortable in crowded jail cells but not a terrible experience. Many were not processed until morning or, in some cases, the police didn’t even ask their names. Some used cell phones in the police wagons to tell friends and family members they had been arrested. Others took pictures and said they were laughing and talking with one another.
Female arrestees did not fare as well at the Grand and Central Station. Some officers on duty said they were unhappy to be working overtime and treated arrestees harshly. Besides not being allowed phones calls, many women were questioned, fingerprinted and photographed and, in the process, moved from crowded cell to crowded cell, according to court documents and arrestee statements.
The City admitted arresting more than 500 people for “reckless conduct,” according to court documents. CPD also admitted boxing in protesters, forming a “skirmish line” to contain the crowd and randomly selecting individuals to arrest. Officers testified that they gave each individual the “opportunity to leave” and refusal to do so was grounds for arrest. Most arrest reports contained the same “boilerplate” allegations.
Arrest reports for about 300 males stated: “The above subject was arrested for reckless conduct and he endangered the bodily safety of citizens by acting in such a reckless manner as to disrupt vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic. The defendant acted with total disregard for the personal safety of motorists and pedestrians.”
Reports for more than 160 women stated: “The above subject, along with thousands of persons, endangered the safety of others in that they blocked access to a fire station, positioned themselves in front of the water pumping station and blocked access to the emergency entrance to Northwestern Hospital and refused to leave after being ordered to do so.”
Based on hundreds of affidavits and 120 depositions, Mogul and Hoft said everyone they spoke to said they had no intention of getting arrested on March 20. They simply wanted to express their first amendment right to oppose this war and, after marching and standing for several hours, many were tired and just wanted to go home when they reached Chicago and Michigan Avenues.
“Many people that were part of the march that weren’t detained or arrested said it was a wonderful event, it was a peaceful event, and they were proud to be a part of it,” Mogul said. “It was something useful in being able to express their dissent for the war – and then it was trampled and stomped on by the Chicago Police Department by falsely detaining and massively arresting people. We fear that it will intimidate others from expressing dissent with this government ever again.”
Plaintiff attorneys have deposed Anthony Bouza, a former police chief in New York and Minneapolis who has handled hundreds of mass demonstrations and written eight books on police procedure. Bouza reviewed case documents and CPD records to prepare for testimony and wrote a report of his findings. First and foremost, Bouza said, police need to understand the community they are trying to police in order to evaluate the challenges and identify possible troublemakers.
“For the police to move in mass against the demonstrators in mass means that they’re making no discrimination between honest citizens and the few troublemakers in their midst,” Bouza said. “That’s where they make their mistake. Because they inevitably respond mistakenly to the mass (and) the mass are decent patriotic citizens.”
CPD did not have a clear vision of what they wanted demonstrators to do, Bouza said. He also noted the limited influence of group leaders at such a large and spontaneous event and that negotiations would therefore have limited impact. The vast majority of marchers were law-abiding citizens, he said, who would not knowingly break the law and would think that walking on city streets is perfectly legal.
The crowd was estimated at 10,000 in Federal Plaza, according to Bouza and other reports. Although he said CPD ran a “rather sloppy operation,” they did allow people to march on Lake Shore Drive, which is not necessarily an offense or breach of law, even if marchers did interfere with traffic or lack a proper permit, as the city contends in its defense and counterclaim.
“I think they allowed it for very good reason,” Bouza said. “That the priority of public safety was best served by doing that, by suspending the rights of vehicle traffic for a moment and permitting citizens to march. I think that’s a great example of the police massaging a situation into a reasonable outcome.”
Regarding CPD penning or boxing in a group of individuals, Bouza said this type of action violated standards of law enforcement conduct. Police should always allow a safety valve or an escape hatch, he said, and penning a bunch of people is “terrible police practice” that “escalated the danger beyond any reasonable limit.”
Police officers testified that they were wearing their “BDU’s” or black riot gear the night of the demonstration, which included clubs, shields and plastic hand restraints. Officers were instructed to form lines, some said up to five deep, and then were sent in to arrest people in tactical teams, with instructions to arrest no more than 10 to 15 individuals, depending on the officer. Officers prepared for the mass arrests at the “staging area” on Chicago Avenue just east of Michigan Avenue.
Several reports from arrestees mentioned the increasing concerns and anxieties of people in the penned in area, particularly as police lines pushed in and pressed people closer and closer together. Excerpts from the court testimony of several individuals detained or arrested that night illustrate the tension.
“I was up against the brick wall (by the pumping station) and this girl was really getting kind of hysterical,” said Michael Galvin, then a 52-year-old cable technician. “We were pretty jammed in there.”
“After we had been standing there for some time just quietly asking to leave, more officers came in and they made like a U-shape into the crowd and then suited up with riot gear after they were already standing in the crowd with, you know, visors down, holding batons, and it was very scary to me,” said Jody Ditthardt, a then 30-year-old paralegal. “I thought I was going to get beaten.”
“We were just all pressing up against each other. There was nothing we could do,” said Prudence Browne, then 29, who said she was not protesting that night. “We were pressed up against each other body to body. People who were currently sitting on the curb had to then stand because you would get trampled if you were sitting.”
As some people were being arrested and others detained, an occasional person was allowed to leave the area, according to police and demonstrators, what police called a “trickle out.” However, leaving individual members of a crowd with no route of exit created a situation “likely to cause panic,” Bouza said and “crowds do panic and trample and people die.”
As part of their defense, CPD submitted videotapes taken at the scene which showed people milling around and having exchanges with police officers. Bouza reviewed the tapes and police reports, made before anybody knew there would be a lawsuit, and said police commanders boasted about outflanking the demonstrators and penning them in. They backed off of their claims when they learned of the suit.
“So the reality is that they knew by penning them in that they were doing something atrocious,” Bouza said. “But they thought it was clever and they thought they would get away with it, and they didn’t.”
Bouza said the CPD actions were legitimate in Federal Plaza, on Lake Shore Drive and even on Oak Street, where there was a temporary standstill after marchers exited the Drive. Bouza concluded, and concurred with reports from hundreds of demonstrators and bystanders, that things completely changed at Chicago Avenue.
“From the point that they (CPD) outflanked them, sealed them in, and very arrogantly and proudly claimed that they committed some brilliant military maneuver and then began to order mass arrests, then you’re looking at a police atrocity,” Bouza said. “Completely wrong, unacceptable bad faith.”
CPD claimed protestors were “hostile” or “about to become a mob.” They cited public safety concerns, although cars, busses and fire station vehicles easily passed out of the area. They claim organizers did not have a legal permit to march or gather. They claimed protestors were given orders to disperse, collectively and individually, and that those who refused to do so were subject to arrest despite hundreds of witnesses stating they heard no such order and were not given an opportunity to leave.
“I think the notion of mass arrests, sweeps and round-ups, indiscriminate, are really the hallmarks of irresponsible police behavior,” Bouza said. “They have an obligation to secure evidence of a crime and evidence of the guilt of the accused, as an individual act.”
A March 26, 2003 police report labeled “Public Peace Violation – Public Demonstration” included charges of criminal damage to vehicles but found only two cases of minor damage. There was a report of property damage to federal buildings or adjoining property, but the review found none. Finally, their investigation claims “acts of civil disobedience occurring in the 1st and 18th districts … culminated in the mass arrests of 543 individuals.”
Despite the attempt to use CPD reports and videotapes to bolster its case, the plaintiff’s attorneys believe it has had the opposite effect. Mogul and Hoft say that the CPD’s “myth” that it was an out-of-control mob is demonstrably false and can be proven by videos, testimonials and the volumes of documents produced for this case that the City of Chicago has already spent $2 million to defend.
“It is not just the money they are spending, but it is the arguments the City is willing to make that are so repulsive,” Mogul said. “Essentially they are trying to say that any time anyone is going to march on the sidewalk or the street, they need a permit to do so. They are trying to use technicalities which do not support their argument but still they’re proffering these technicalities to try to demonize and criminalize ten thousand people who marched that night.”
As far as the CPD behavior that night, Bouza said he’d never seen anything like it and he believes there was no basis for ordering this mass arrest. The fact that about one third of arrestees were released fairly quickly, one third were released after detention without charges and one third were not prosecutable, he said, proves it. He also noted that the deliberate falsification of police records in the case, which included references to individuals not present at the events in question, suggests fraud.
Instead of sitting down with the guild attorneys, as judges have encouraged, the City continues to fight the lawsuit and opposed class certification, which makes the case more manageable for all involved. Guild attorneys successfully argued and Judge Virginia Kendall ordered class certification on April 17, 2006. The suit contains three sub-classes of individuals: those that were detained, those that were arrested and those that were charged.
Mogul and Hoft expect to complete legal briefs soon. The next step is to file a motion for summary judgment stating that CPD violated people’s fourth amendment rights to be free from unreasonable seizure by not allowing them to leave that night. Although the case received class status a year ago and has been going on for more than four years, there is no way to predict when it will end. If it doesn’t settle, the attorneys say it will go to trial.
“We are very confident that we will prevail in this case,” Mogul said. “We are looking forward to getting this resolved as soon as possible and having our day in court.”
This pending case may have impacted how CPD manages demonstrations, attorneys said, since this kind of incident has not reoccurred in the last four years. The attorneys hope that this case can lead to a roadmap of instructions for CPD and other police departments that they cannot engage in mass arrests and detentions.
“It’s the criminalization of any dissent and the criminalization of street protest that I really think is at war in this lawsuit,” Mogul said. “That’s what we are fighting for: people’s right to amass in protest in the street.”
*About this story: The reporter was on the scene (but not on duty) March 20, 2003 and was arrested along with several family members. For this story, she interviewed attorneys working on the case, an attorney who witnessed the arrests and individuals detained and/or arrested.
The reporter also reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents including: original complaint, depositions from both sides, judge's order granting class certification, police testimony, police expert Tony Bouza's testimony and Chicago Police Department's investigation report on possible property damage entitled 'Public Peace Violation,' from which she got the title of her story.
Stories posted following the event contained factual errors and incorrect assumptions (such as the arrests were made for not having a permit or that those arrested were involved in civil disobedience and/or confronted police officers). Since the real story was not being covered - that hundreds of law-abiding citizens were detained/arrested without rights for expressing dissent in a democracy - this reporter felt obligated to investigate and 'set the record straight.'
Here is an update on the lawsuit from an Aug. 21, 2007 court proceeding:
http://chicagokeri.blogspot.com/2007/08/citys-move-may-chill-class-action.html
(c) Keri Lynch
“After we had been standing there for some time just quietly asking to leave, more officers came in and they made like a U-shape into the crowd and then suited up with riot gear after they were already standing in the crowd with, you know, visors down, holding batons, and it was very scary to me,” said Jody Ditthardt, a then 30-year-old paralegal. “I thought I was going to get beaten.”
This is what it was like for one individual detained by Chicago police on March 20, 2003. Hundreds gave similar accounts of what really happened near the intersection of Michigan and Chicago avenues that night.
Several attorneys got phone calls on March 20, 2003 from people who had marched - and some who had not - stating they were being detained by police officers. Those calls were the start of a long and costly lawsuit, known as Kevin Vodak vs. City of Chicago, filed April 10, 2003 in U.S. District Court by attorneys Janine Hoft, Joey Mogul, James Fennerty and Melinda Power.
“On March 20, 2003, I got phone calls from people who were detained in the street, surrounded by police in what some people nicknamed the “pig pen,” said Joey Mogul, an attorney for the People’s Law Center and a member of the National Lawyers Guild. “People were saying ‘I think we’re going to be arrested. They’re not telling us what’s going on. We just want to leave.’”
Mogul turned on the news. Reporters near the scene said people were penned in and unable to leave. Other activists and attorneys were getting phone calls too. Janine Hoft, a colleague at People’s Law Center, called Mogul to figure out how they could help. Other guild attorneys, who were serving as march observers, were also being detained.
“I called the 111th Street police station and said I understood there were going to be mass arrests,” Hoft said. “The officer said they were just holding people until they could get traffic flowing again and then they would let everybody go. He was really patronizing. I said maybe he would need some help there, to facilitate, and he said ‘Oh no, that’s not going to happen.’”
Another attorney was waiting for a bus on State Street around 7:30 p.m. that night. As he spoke on his cell phone, a string of about 15 police cars went by with lights and sirens on, heading north. He didn’t think much about it and got on a bus for home, but the bus was rerouted near Chicago and Michigan Avenues.
Curious about what was happening, the attorney got off the bus, as it wasn’t every day a person saw a big demonstration. He walked to the Water Tower. As he stood there, the attorney, who will be called Smith, saw a large contingency of police officers and a large group of demonstrators coming down Chicago Avenue from Lake Shore Drive.
Officers had formed a wall of policemen at Michigan Avenue to block further movement, Smith said. There were some cars and a few busses, but police and demonstrators let them through. Demonstrators were a pretty good-humored group, he said, but tension began to mount when the police line pushed demonstrators back about 70 yards so they could stage more officers.
Smith said police kept arriving and bringing in busses and paddy wagons, plus mounted police and many more in “Robocop” uniforms. He took pictures and walked around. He never witnessed anyone being aggressive toward the police but he did see police officers beat individuals with billy clubs. Smith said teams of two or three officers would go into the crowd, grab people and arrest them.
One demonstrator was Sophia Sieczkowski, a member of a peace group, Chicagoans Against War in Iraq (CAWI). She marched on her own, her husband was out of town, and was surprised that police officers directed people onto Lake Shore Drive. They had motioned with their hands to enter the Drive and stopped traffic for the group, she said.
“On Lake Shore Drive, police were leading the march and walking alongside as if they were protecting us,” Sieczkowski said. When the crowd got off the Drive, things changed. “Suddenly we’re seeing these black ninja turtles (police in riot gear). The contrast between the friendly guys in blue and the ninja turtles in black, it changed the whole tenor of the situation.”
Meanwhile, phone calls continued to come in as people were being detained and arrested. For 24 to 48 hours, guild lawyers, including Mogul and Hoft, found out about the charges and who was being held and released. They learned that 800 to 1,000 people had been arrested and many were forced to pay a $100 cash bond to be released.
“Most people arrested for misdemeanors who don’t have arrest records or criminal histories get released on their own recognizance, what’s known as an I-bond,” Mogul said. “In this case, the police wanted to make everyone put up $100 when most did not have criminal histories. People were being arrested on misdemeanor charges, which we are adamant were completely false and fabricated.”
Within weeks of the arrests, the National Lawyers Guild attorneys organized a meeting at the Chicago Temple. Hundreds of people who had been arrested or detained packed the church and filled out forms describing the events March 20, any charges or court dates. More than 300 people faced criminal charges. Mogul said the Guild would help with all the cases – and this was the start of what demonstrators call the “March 20th Lawsuit.”
“A lot of people were freaked out and didn’t know what would happen in court,” Hoft said. “That’s when Joey (Mogul) promised everyone we would provide representation. We were successful and most of the cases were dismissed outright.”
Although criminal charges were dropped against most demonstrators, some had to go to court up to three times, some lost property including bikes and an American flag, and some were injured during their arrest or detention. Many pages of court documents and depositions state – consistently – that demonstrators were prevented from leaving the area. Under oath, individuals testified that they were not given an opportunity to leave and they did not hear an order to disperse.
There was no notice to disperse according to Smith, who said he was close enough to have heard if any announcement was made. The City trapped people, he said, and there was no way to get out. Even during the arrests the crowd was well-behaved, Smith said, but the police overreacted and it was clear that people were wrongfully arrested.
Male arrestees were taken to the 111th Street station. Several said it was uncomfortable in crowded jail cells but not a terrible experience. Many were not processed until morning or, in some cases, the police didn’t even ask their names. Some used cell phones in the police wagons to tell friends and family members they had been arrested. Others took pictures and said they were laughing and talking with one another.
Female arrestees did not fare as well at the Grand and Central Station. Some officers on duty said they were unhappy to be working overtime and treated arrestees harshly. Besides not being allowed phones calls, many women were questioned, fingerprinted and photographed and, in the process, moved from crowded cell to crowded cell, according to court documents and arrestee statements.
The City admitted arresting more than 500 people for “reckless conduct,” according to court documents. CPD also admitted boxing in protesters, forming a “skirmish line” to contain the crowd and randomly selecting individuals to arrest. Officers testified that they gave each individual the “opportunity to leave” and refusal to do so was grounds for arrest. Most arrest reports contained the same “boilerplate” allegations.
Arrest reports for about 300 males stated: “The above subject was arrested for reckless conduct and he endangered the bodily safety of citizens by acting in such a reckless manner as to disrupt vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic. The defendant acted with total disregard for the personal safety of motorists and pedestrians.”
Reports for more than 160 women stated: “The above subject, along with thousands of persons, endangered the safety of others in that they blocked access to a fire station, positioned themselves in front of the water pumping station and blocked access to the emergency entrance to Northwestern Hospital and refused to leave after being ordered to do so.”
Based on hundreds of affidavits and 120 depositions, Mogul and Hoft said everyone they spoke to said they had no intention of getting arrested on March 20. They simply wanted to express their first amendment right to oppose this war and, after marching and standing for several hours, many were tired and just wanted to go home when they reached Chicago and Michigan Avenues.
“Many people that were part of the march that weren’t detained or arrested said it was a wonderful event, it was a peaceful event, and they were proud to be a part of it,” Mogul said. “It was something useful in being able to express their dissent for the war – and then it was trampled and stomped on by the Chicago Police Department by falsely detaining and massively arresting people. We fear that it will intimidate others from expressing dissent with this government ever again.”
Plaintiff attorneys have deposed Anthony Bouza, a former police chief in New York and Minneapolis who has handled hundreds of mass demonstrations and written eight books on police procedure. Bouza reviewed case documents and CPD records to prepare for testimony and wrote a report of his findings. First and foremost, Bouza said, police need to understand the community they are trying to police in order to evaluate the challenges and identify possible troublemakers.
“For the police to move in mass against the demonstrators in mass means that they’re making no discrimination between honest citizens and the few troublemakers in their midst,” Bouza said. “That’s where they make their mistake. Because they inevitably respond mistakenly to the mass (and) the mass are decent patriotic citizens.”
CPD did not have a clear vision of what they wanted demonstrators to do, Bouza said. He also noted the limited influence of group leaders at such a large and spontaneous event and that negotiations would therefore have limited impact. The vast majority of marchers were law-abiding citizens, he said, who would not knowingly break the law and would think that walking on city streets is perfectly legal.
The crowd was estimated at 10,000 in Federal Plaza, according to Bouza and other reports. Although he said CPD ran a “rather sloppy operation,” they did allow people to march on Lake Shore Drive, which is not necessarily an offense or breach of law, even if marchers did interfere with traffic or lack a proper permit, as the city contends in its defense and counterclaim.
“I think they allowed it for very good reason,” Bouza said. “That the priority of public safety was best served by doing that, by suspending the rights of vehicle traffic for a moment and permitting citizens to march. I think that’s a great example of the police massaging a situation into a reasonable outcome.”
Regarding CPD penning or boxing in a group of individuals, Bouza said this type of action violated standards of law enforcement conduct. Police should always allow a safety valve or an escape hatch, he said, and penning a bunch of people is “terrible police practice” that “escalated the danger beyond any reasonable limit.”
Police officers testified that they were wearing their “BDU’s” or black riot gear the night of the demonstration, which included clubs, shields and plastic hand restraints. Officers were instructed to form lines, some said up to five deep, and then were sent in to arrest people in tactical teams, with instructions to arrest no more than 10 to 15 individuals, depending on the officer. Officers prepared for the mass arrests at the “staging area” on Chicago Avenue just east of Michigan Avenue.
Several reports from arrestees mentioned the increasing concerns and anxieties of people in the penned in area, particularly as police lines pushed in and pressed people closer and closer together. Excerpts from the court testimony of several individuals detained or arrested that night illustrate the tension.
“I was up against the brick wall (by the pumping station) and this girl was really getting kind of hysterical,” said Michael Galvin, then a 52-year-old cable technician. “We were pretty jammed in there.”
“After we had been standing there for some time just quietly asking to leave, more officers came in and they made like a U-shape into the crowd and then suited up with riot gear after they were already standing in the crowd with, you know, visors down, holding batons, and it was very scary to me,” said Jody Ditthardt, a then 30-year-old paralegal. “I thought I was going to get beaten.”
“We were just all pressing up against each other. There was nothing we could do,” said Prudence Browne, then 29, who said she was not protesting that night. “We were pressed up against each other body to body. People who were currently sitting on the curb had to then stand because you would get trampled if you were sitting.”
As some people were being arrested and others detained, an occasional person was allowed to leave the area, according to police and demonstrators, what police called a “trickle out.” However, leaving individual members of a crowd with no route of exit created a situation “likely to cause panic,” Bouza said and “crowds do panic and trample and people die.”
As part of their defense, CPD submitted videotapes taken at the scene which showed people milling around and having exchanges with police officers. Bouza reviewed the tapes and police reports, made before anybody knew there would be a lawsuit, and said police commanders boasted about outflanking the demonstrators and penning them in. They backed off of their claims when they learned of the suit.
“So the reality is that they knew by penning them in that they were doing something atrocious,” Bouza said. “But they thought it was clever and they thought they would get away with it, and they didn’t.”
Bouza said the CPD actions were legitimate in Federal Plaza, on Lake Shore Drive and even on Oak Street, where there was a temporary standstill after marchers exited the Drive. Bouza concluded, and concurred with reports from hundreds of demonstrators and bystanders, that things completely changed at Chicago Avenue.
“From the point that they (CPD) outflanked them, sealed them in, and very arrogantly and proudly claimed that they committed some brilliant military maneuver and then began to order mass arrests, then you’re looking at a police atrocity,” Bouza said. “Completely wrong, unacceptable bad faith.”
CPD claimed protestors were “hostile” or “about to become a mob.” They cited public safety concerns, although cars, busses and fire station vehicles easily passed out of the area. They claim organizers did not have a legal permit to march or gather. They claimed protestors were given orders to disperse, collectively and individually, and that those who refused to do so were subject to arrest despite hundreds of witnesses stating they heard no such order and were not given an opportunity to leave.
“I think the notion of mass arrests, sweeps and round-ups, indiscriminate, are really the hallmarks of irresponsible police behavior,” Bouza said. “They have an obligation to secure evidence of a crime and evidence of the guilt of the accused, as an individual act.”
A March 26, 2003 police report labeled “Public Peace Violation – Public Demonstration” included charges of criminal damage to vehicles but found only two cases of minor damage. There was a report of property damage to federal buildings or adjoining property, but the review found none. Finally, their investigation claims “acts of civil disobedience occurring in the 1st and 18th districts … culminated in the mass arrests of 543 individuals.”
Despite the attempt to use CPD reports and videotapes to bolster its case, the plaintiff’s attorneys believe it has had the opposite effect. Mogul and Hoft say that the CPD’s “myth” that it was an out-of-control mob is demonstrably false and can be proven by videos, testimonials and the volumes of documents produced for this case that the City of Chicago has already spent $2 million to defend.
“It is not just the money they are spending, but it is the arguments the City is willing to make that are so repulsive,” Mogul said. “Essentially they are trying to say that any time anyone is going to march on the sidewalk or the street, they need a permit to do so. They are trying to use technicalities which do not support their argument but still they’re proffering these technicalities to try to demonize and criminalize ten thousand people who marched that night.”
As far as the CPD behavior that night, Bouza said he’d never seen anything like it and he believes there was no basis for ordering this mass arrest. The fact that about one third of arrestees were released fairly quickly, one third were released after detention without charges and one third were not prosecutable, he said, proves it. He also noted that the deliberate falsification of police records in the case, which included references to individuals not present at the events in question, suggests fraud.
Instead of sitting down with the guild attorneys, as judges have encouraged, the City continues to fight the lawsuit and opposed class certification, which makes the case more manageable for all involved. Guild attorneys successfully argued and Judge Virginia Kendall ordered class certification on April 17, 2006. The suit contains three sub-classes of individuals: those that were detained, those that were arrested and those that were charged.
Mogul and Hoft expect to complete legal briefs soon. The next step is to file a motion for summary judgment stating that CPD violated people’s fourth amendment rights to be free from unreasonable seizure by not allowing them to leave that night. Although the case received class status a year ago and has been going on for more than four years, there is no way to predict when it will end. If it doesn’t settle, the attorneys say it will go to trial.
“We are very confident that we will prevail in this case,” Mogul said. “We are looking forward to getting this resolved as soon as possible and having our day in court.”
This pending case may have impacted how CPD manages demonstrations, attorneys said, since this kind of incident has not reoccurred in the last four years. The attorneys hope that this case can lead to a roadmap of instructions for CPD and other police departments that they cannot engage in mass arrests and detentions.
“It’s the criminalization of any dissent and the criminalization of street protest that I really think is at war in this lawsuit,” Mogul said. “That’s what we are fighting for: people’s right to amass in protest in the street.”
*About this story: The reporter was on the scene (but not on duty) March 20, 2003 and was arrested along with several family members. For this story, she interviewed attorneys working on the case, an attorney who witnessed the arrests and individuals detained and/or arrested.
The reporter also reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents including: original complaint, depositions from both sides, judge's order granting class certification, police testimony, police expert Tony Bouza's testimony and Chicago Police Department's investigation report on possible property damage entitled 'Public Peace Violation,' from which she got the title of her story.
Stories posted following the event contained factual errors and incorrect assumptions (such as the arrests were made for not having a permit or that those arrested were involved in civil disobedience and/or confronted police officers). Since the real story was not being covered - that hundreds of law-abiding citizens were detained/arrested without rights for expressing dissent in a democracy - this reporter felt obligated to investigate and 'set the record straight.'
Here is an update on the lawsuit from an Aug. 21, 2007 court proceeding:
http://chicagokeri.blogspot.com/2007/08/citys-move-may-chill-class-action.html
(c) Keri Lynch
Thursday, August 23, 2007
John Perkins Q&A
Introduction:
I caught up with John Perkins, trained shaman, environmentalist and former “economic hit man” at the Chicago Green Festival on Earth Day. After leading trips to the Amazon, Andes and elsewhere to work with indigenous peoples for 15 years, Perkins now travels to meet with world leaders and shakers.
Through books and lectures, Perkins shares shamanic techniques and stories - with five books under his belt on these subjects. In more recent books, he exposes the inner workings of the modern American empire. His latest book, Secrets of the American Empire, followed his best-selling Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
Q: Do you miss the trips and visits with indigenous people?
I miss the trips very much. I still go to Latin America a lot. I spent New Years Eve 2007 with Eva Morales, the President of Bolivia. I was just in Nicaragua with President Ortega’s people and I’m going to Ecuador to meet with President Correa. I’m still very involved in Latin America but Confessions of an Economic Hit Man opened up a new arena. My roots are still very much with the indigenous people and indigenous people have played a major role in the Bolivian politics and Ecuadorian politics.
So it’s been natural for me to move into this arena along with them. The shamanic work I started in the 60’s was when shamanism was pretty ‘out there.’ Even in Ecuador and Bolivia, shamans were outside the mainstream economy and mainstream politics. Since then, both they and I moved into looking at a global picture, the political picture and the governmental picture. I think there is a certain synchronicity and magic, in that shamanism believes in the power to transform, to shape-shift individuals and cultures, which is really what we need to do now, shape-shift culture.
In South America, there has been a major shape-shift. In the last elections, seven countries representing over 80 percent of the population of South America voted for the anti-corporatocracy president. These are not anti-American presidents, contrary to what our press often calls them. They welcome Americans with open arms and they love our ideals. They love what our Declaration of Independence expresses but they hated being exploited by corporations - and that’s what they voted against. That’s what they’re trying to put an end to: exploitation.
Q: After writing 5 books on shamanism, were there challenges shifting to your current books?
For years I delayed writing about my life as an 'economic hit man' (EHM) because the time didn’t seem right, I was bribed, legally, by being hired as a consultant, and I had a young daughter. And I didn’t think anybody would pay attention. During those years, I wrote books on shamanism because I wanted to express those ideas and I was always aware there was a large part I wasn’t telling, which was my economic hit man story. Nonetheless, I was telling an important part of it, to me, about transformation, about believing in change; the story of indigenous people.
I was with the indigenous people on 9-11 and when I came back to the states, I immediately went to Ground Zero, still smoldering, still smell burning flesh. As I stood there looking down on that awful pit, I realized I could no longer postpone writing about things that I knew about EHM and the creation of this empire. Because I realized that most Americans have no idea why we are resented and even hated in so many parts of the world and I needed to get the story out so Americans could understand.
This isn’t in any way to condone mass murder, whoever committed it at Ground Zero, but it is to say that at that point, I knew it was time to write the book I had put off writing for so long. In doing so, it really integrated the shamanic belief in transformation and shape-shifting with what I knew about shamanism and what I knew about globalization and building the American empire and the extreme importance of changing all of that.
Q: You’ve written about the prophecies of indigenous people, such as the “Eagle and the Condor.” What do these legends say?
The legend of the eagle and the condor and legends in every indigenous group I have ever worked with - in the Himalayas, Inuit peoples, in the Middle East, Central and South America and North American people like the Hopi. Legends in all these cultures say we are in a time with great potential for transformation. All these legends tell us that this transformation is really about connecting the heart and mind, which have been separated for a long time. Some cultures in the world have gone the way of the heart – the condor culture in that legend. Other cultures have gone the way of the mind or science - the eagle culture in that legend. These prophecies tell a story that at about the time of 2000, these two cultures – the eagle and the condor – have potential for coming together and taking us to new levels of consciousness. So we soar, we evolve into a new species with a new level of consciousness.
Q: Are the indigenous people feeling hopeful?
They are very hopeful. That’s why throughout the world, so many indigenous people have come out and are sharing their stories with us. They’re sharing their belief systems, their healing techniques, they’re sharing so much with us. I was deep in the Amazon on 9-11 and we learned what was happening at the Trade Center because I was on a 2-way radio at that very hour talking to our pilots in the Andes to make sure the planes were going to fly in 2 days later and pick us up. While I was on the shortwave radio with the pilots, they were listening to a commercial radio station and they said “Your country is under attack.” For 20 minutes, they stayed on as they relayed messages they were getting from commercial radio to me.
The Shuar people, and a couple days later the Quechua people, both said this is the beginning of the realization of the legend of the eagle and the condor. As they said, if I’m an eagle and you’re a condor and I’ve been raping you for 500 years, which is what the legend said would happen starting in the 1490’s with Columbus, the eagle would threaten to drive the condor into extinction. If you’ve been raping me for 500 years, and suddenly you say ‘let’s fly in the same skies.’ My response is: prove it. Prove that you really want to.
The way they look at it is that 9-11 was a test to see how eagle people would respond. I often hear as I travel around the United States that eagle people feel they have not responded well and we immediately attacked Iraq. But condor people tell us that is just the U.S. government and that 9-11 has awakened the eagle people and, in fact, the war in Iraq has awakened us. It’s been 6 years since 9-11. They’ll say, that’s a very short period. The way they look at it is that although our government responded one way, the vast majority of eagle people have not bought into that. 9-11 has helped shake us awake.
Q: Switching to American politics. Do you have a dream ticket for the 2008 Presidential race?
I don’t have a dream ticket. My basic premise is that, at least up until now, it really hasn’t mattered whether we have a Republican or a Democrat in the White House or running Congress as far as creating this global empire has been concerned and as far as this very small percentage of the world’s population consuming such a large percent of the world’s resources and creating so much pollution. That goes on under all administrations. And at least until now our politics have been run by corporations, so every major politician in this country is beholden to big money at one level or another and they’re all very aware of this. So the solution is to change the goal and basic premises – of corporations.
Corporations need to be good citizens instead of having as their goal to make a few rich men a lot richer. We need to transform ourselves from imperialistic capitalism where a few men make all the decisions to democratic capitalism where the goal is to make a better world for everybody - Everybody – whether they live in Kenya or the Philippines or Bolivia.
From that standpoint, the personalities of the people in Congress and our White House haven’t been terribly important during the last two or three decades. Every one of them had to raise phenomenal amounts of money, and most of that came from people who run big corporations.
Obama seems to be pursuing a course to change it. But we’ve never seen that happen successfully. I don’t know if it will be successful in the next election or not, but I do know we must change our corporations. I’m extremely hopeful we can do that because we’ve been doing it on specific issues: Protecting forests, getting rid of aerosol cans that destroy the ozone layer, cleaning up rivers, bringing women and minorities into more powerful positions in the corporate world. We’ve done a great deal to change corporations. We need to recognize that they are completely dependent on us to consume whatever they are selling. They’re dependent on us for labor pools, money and financing so we have a lot of power with these corporations.
We also need to remember that running these corporations are human beings. All of the people I’ve ever met who run these corporations are concerned about future generations. They have children or they have nephews and nieces. And they don’t want to be bad people. They don’t want to destroy rainforests so children don’t have good water or clean air to breathe – they don’t want that. But they operate under an assumption which we’ve all basically agreed to and that is that maximizing short-term profits is the goal of corporations. There is no reason for that to be the goal. There is no law that says that holds sway over corporations, so we need to give these people a new mandate. We the people need to do this.
Q: What are some of the most exciting ideas, people or businesses on your radar right now?
In the Secret History of the American Empire, I discuss NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) that have changed corporate America significantly, such as Rainforest Action Network, Pachamama Alliance, Amnesty International, Moveon.org, and Civil Rights Movement. I think these are the real harbingers of what is to come. They’ve been extremely successful and have paved the way for us to know how to move to the next phase. They’ve taught us how we can successfully foment change.
Now we need to jump to a new level, which is not to simply zero in on more Band-aids for the wounds, which is what most of them have done successfully, and very necessarily, to stop the hemorrhage and bleeding. Now we all need to zero in on changing the system, which is the true disease, the root cause, the idea that five percent of the world’s population is consuming so much of its resources. These organizations have all been pathfinders. They have guided a path and an approach that can be successfully used to turn this whole thing around.
Each one of us needs to follow our own passion. Some of us want to work for animal rights, some for children’s rights, some for women’s rights, some for Portuguese rights or the rights of colored people or whatever, some of us are fighting hunger, some of us are fighting oil companies, some are fighting for peace – and they’re all important.
So every person out there should make a commitment to join one of these movements and support it with your time, energy, money or all of these – whatever appeals to your passion. Then look inside of yourself and see what your talents are. Some people have the talent of having a lot of money and they can donate to the cause. Others can write, others can sing, others can organize. We each need to offer those talents to the movements we most believe in.
(end) (c) Keri Lynch 2007
I caught up with John Perkins, trained shaman, environmentalist and former “economic hit man” at the Chicago Green Festival on Earth Day. After leading trips to the Amazon, Andes and elsewhere to work with indigenous peoples for 15 years, Perkins now travels to meet with world leaders and shakers.
Through books and lectures, Perkins shares shamanic techniques and stories - with five books under his belt on these subjects. In more recent books, he exposes the inner workings of the modern American empire. His latest book, Secrets of the American Empire, followed his best-selling Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
Q: Do you miss the trips and visits with indigenous people?
I miss the trips very much. I still go to Latin America a lot. I spent New Years Eve 2007 with Eva Morales, the President of Bolivia. I was just in Nicaragua with President Ortega’s people and I’m going to Ecuador to meet with President Correa. I’m still very involved in Latin America but Confessions of an Economic Hit Man opened up a new arena. My roots are still very much with the indigenous people and indigenous people have played a major role in the Bolivian politics and Ecuadorian politics.
So it’s been natural for me to move into this arena along with them. The shamanic work I started in the 60’s was when shamanism was pretty ‘out there.’ Even in Ecuador and Bolivia, shamans were outside the mainstream economy and mainstream politics. Since then, both they and I moved into looking at a global picture, the political picture and the governmental picture. I think there is a certain synchronicity and magic, in that shamanism believes in the power to transform, to shape-shift individuals and cultures, which is really what we need to do now, shape-shift culture.
In South America, there has been a major shape-shift. In the last elections, seven countries representing over 80 percent of the population of South America voted for the anti-corporatocracy president. These are not anti-American presidents, contrary to what our press often calls them. They welcome Americans with open arms and they love our ideals. They love what our Declaration of Independence expresses but they hated being exploited by corporations - and that’s what they voted against. That’s what they’re trying to put an end to: exploitation.
Q: After writing 5 books on shamanism, were there challenges shifting to your current books?
For years I delayed writing about my life as an 'economic hit man' (EHM) because the time didn’t seem right, I was bribed, legally, by being hired as a consultant, and I had a young daughter. And I didn’t think anybody would pay attention. During those years, I wrote books on shamanism because I wanted to express those ideas and I was always aware there was a large part I wasn’t telling, which was my economic hit man story. Nonetheless, I was telling an important part of it, to me, about transformation, about believing in change; the story of indigenous people.
I was with the indigenous people on 9-11 and when I came back to the states, I immediately went to Ground Zero, still smoldering, still smell burning flesh. As I stood there looking down on that awful pit, I realized I could no longer postpone writing about things that I knew about EHM and the creation of this empire. Because I realized that most Americans have no idea why we are resented and even hated in so many parts of the world and I needed to get the story out so Americans could understand.
This isn’t in any way to condone mass murder, whoever committed it at Ground Zero, but it is to say that at that point, I knew it was time to write the book I had put off writing for so long. In doing so, it really integrated the shamanic belief in transformation and shape-shifting with what I knew about shamanism and what I knew about globalization and building the American empire and the extreme importance of changing all of that.
Q: You’ve written about the prophecies of indigenous people, such as the “Eagle and the Condor.” What do these legends say?
The legend of the eagle and the condor and legends in every indigenous group I have ever worked with - in the Himalayas, Inuit peoples, in the Middle East, Central and South America and North American people like the Hopi. Legends in all these cultures say we are in a time with great potential for transformation. All these legends tell us that this transformation is really about connecting the heart and mind, which have been separated for a long time. Some cultures in the world have gone the way of the heart – the condor culture in that legend. Other cultures have gone the way of the mind or science - the eagle culture in that legend. These prophecies tell a story that at about the time of 2000, these two cultures – the eagle and the condor – have potential for coming together and taking us to new levels of consciousness. So we soar, we evolve into a new species with a new level of consciousness.
Q: Are the indigenous people feeling hopeful?
They are very hopeful. That’s why throughout the world, so many indigenous people have come out and are sharing their stories with us. They’re sharing their belief systems, their healing techniques, they’re sharing so much with us. I was deep in the Amazon on 9-11 and we learned what was happening at the Trade Center because I was on a 2-way radio at that very hour talking to our pilots in the Andes to make sure the planes were going to fly in 2 days later and pick us up. While I was on the shortwave radio with the pilots, they were listening to a commercial radio station and they said “Your country is under attack.” For 20 minutes, they stayed on as they relayed messages they were getting from commercial radio to me.
The Shuar people, and a couple days later the Quechua people, both said this is the beginning of the realization of the legend of the eagle and the condor. As they said, if I’m an eagle and you’re a condor and I’ve been raping you for 500 years, which is what the legend said would happen starting in the 1490’s with Columbus, the eagle would threaten to drive the condor into extinction. If you’ve been raping me for 500 years, and suddenly you say ‘let’s fly in the same skies.’ My response is: prove it. Prove that you really want to.
The way they look at it is that 9-11 was a test to see how eagle people would respond. I often hear as I travel around the United States that eagle people feel they have not responded well and we immediately attacked Iraq. But condor people tell us that is just the U.S. government and that 9-11 has awakened the eagle people and, in fact, the war in Iraq has awakened us. It’s been 6 years since 9-11. They’ll say, that’s a very short period. The way they look at it is that although our government responded one way, the vast majority of eagle people have not bought into that. 9-11 has helped shake us awake.
Q: Switching to American politics. Do you have a dream ticket for the 2008 Presidential race?
I don’t have a dream ticket. My basic premise is that, at least up until now, it really hasn’t mattered whether we have a Republican or a Democrat in the White House or running Congress as far as creating this global empire has been concerned and as far as this very small percentage of the world’s population consuming such a large percent of the world’s resources and creating so much pollution. That goes on under all administrations. And at least until now our politics have been run by corporations, so every major politician in this country is beholden to big money at one level or another and they’re all very aware of this. So the solution is to change the goal and basic premises – of corporations.
Corporations need to be good citizens instead of having as their goal to make a few rich men a lot richer. We need to transform ourselves from imperialistic capitalism where a few men make all the decisions to democratic capitalism where the goal is to make a better world for everybody - Everybody – whether they live in Kenya or the Philippines or Bolivia.
From that standpoint, the personalities of the people in Congress and our White House haven’t been terribly important during the last two or three decades. Every one of them had to raise phenomenal amounts of money, and most of that came from people who run big corporations.
Obama seems to be pursuing a course to change it. But we’ve never seen that happen successfully. I don’t know if it will be successful in the next election or not, but I do know we must change our corporations. I’m extremely hopeful we can do that because we’ve been doing it on specific issues: Protecting forests, getting rid of aerosol cans that destroy the ozone layer, cleaning up rivers, bringing women and minorities into more powerful positions in the corporate world. We’ve done a great deal to change corporations. We need to recognize that they are completely dependent on us to consume whatever they are selling. They’re dependent on us for labor pools, money and financing so we have a lot of power with these corporations.
We also need to remember that running these corporations are human beings. All of the people I’ve ever met who run these corporations are concerned about future generations. They have children or they have nephews and nieces. And they don’t want to be bad people. They don’t want to destroy rainforests so children don’t have good water or clean air to breathe – they don’t want that. But they operate under an assumption which we’ve all basically agreed to and that is that maximizing short-term profits is the goal of corporations. There is no reason for that to be the goal. There is no law that says that holds sway over corporations, so we need to give these people a new mandate. We the people need to do this.
Q: What are some of the most exciting ideas, people or businesses on your radar right now?
In the Secret History of the American Empire, I discuss NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) that have changed corporate America significantly, such as Rainforest Action Network, Pachamama Alliance, Amnesty International, Moveon.org, and Civil Rights Movement. I think these are the real harbingers of what is to come. They’ve been extremely successful and have paved the way for us to know how to move to the next phase. They’ve taught us how we can successfully foment change.
Now we need to jump to a new level, which is not to simply zero in on more Band-aids for the wounds, which is what most of them have done successfully, and very necessarily, to stop the hemorrhage and bleeding. Now we all need to zero in on changing the system, which is the true disease, the root cause, the idea that five percent of the world’s population is consuming so much of its resources. These organizations have all been pathfinders. They have guided a path and an approach that can be successfully used to turn this whole thing around.
Each one of us needs to follow our own passion. Some of us want to work for animal rights, some for children’s rights, some for women’s rights, some for Portuguese rights or the rights of colored people or whatever, some of us are fighting hunger, some of us are fighting oil companies, some are fighting for peace – and they’re all important.
So every person out there should make a commitment to join one of these movements and support it with your time, energy, money or all of these – whatever appeals to your passion. Then look inside of yourself and see what your talents are. Some people have the talent of having a lot of money and they can donate to the cause. Others can write, others can sing, others can organize. We each need to offer those talents to the movements we most believe in.
(end) (c) Keri Lynch 2007
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Can We Handle "The Truth"?
Or maybe it should be truth with a small ‘t’ like democrat with a small ‘d’ to reflect a more subtle, organic, or personal position. Because, *truth* is – let’s face it – hard to find these days, even hard to de-fine (as in Stephen Colbert’s term “truthiness”) or the ‘based on a true story’ story written by James Frey.
Truth can be: elusive, shifty, open to interpretation, individualized, dependent on circumstances or point of view. Memory comes into play. Plus experience and emotion. We relate to things based on our own worldview and with our own unique filter(s). We can’t help it. Think of going to a movie with people you know and each coming out with a different impression or opinion. Same with ‘real’ life.
I thought about truth this week as I watched the State of the Union; as I talked with my mother and my husband; as I heard how Oprah felt “duped”; as I consider what to divulge in my job search; as I read articles (2 listed below). It’s an interesting and complex subject, to be sure.
The first article was about the mass arrests in Chicago on March 19, 2003, at the start of the Iraq war. Thousands marched on Lake Shore Drive; hundreds were detained and arrested. My uncle’s story of that night’s events was recently posted at “ChicagoFreeSpeechZone.” I read it with interest, though not in complete agreement as to the sequence or details, even though I was at the event with same uncle! His recollection of that crazy evening can be found here*:
http://www.chicagofreespeechzone.com/html/the_tale_of_the_upside-down_fl.html
*There’s a photo of Uncle Scott with his flag next to a CTA bus full of peace signs, which includes my then pony-tailed husband, my aunt and myself. It appeared on the Chicago Tribune’s website, though I didn’t see it in the paper. There’s a good shot of MANY marchers on Lake Shore Drive here: http://www.chicagofreespeechzone.com/
I saw another article on truthout.org by Cindy Sheehan. It was also about being arrested. She shares HER version of her arrest at the State of the Union; it doesn’t exactly coincide with the media’s version: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020106Z.shtml
Sometimes, the basic facts of a story are clear, and we can point and say “that is true.” Much of the time, it is not so clear-cut or simple, as stories get spun out of control, out of context, or out of proportion, intentionally or not. It happens all the time, like the telephone game you may have played as a kid. Even if people try to tell the truth, it often gets distorted down the line.
I guess what I’m saying is we may be able to ‘handle’ the truth, if we could get our hands on it! It’s a worthy goal, and a full-time job. So, let’s get to work!
Truth can be: elusive, shifty, open to interpretation, individualized, dependent on circumstances or point of view. Memory comes into play. Plus experience and emotion. We relate to things based on our own worldview and with our own unique filter(s). We can’t help it. Think of going to a movie with people you know and each coming out with a different impression or opinion. Same with ‘real’ life.
I thought about truth this week as I watched the State of the Union; as I talked with my mother and my husband; as I heard how Oprah felt “duped”; as I consider what to divulge in my job search; as I read articles (2 listed below). It’s an interesting and complex subject, to be sure.
The first article was about the mass arrests in Chicago on March 19, 2003, at the start of the Iraq war. Thousands marched on Lake Shore Drive; hundreds were detained and arrested. My uncle’s story of that night’s events was recently posted at “ChicagoFreeSpeechZone.” I read it with interest, though not in complete agreement as to the sequence or details, even though I was at the event with same uncle! His recollection of that crazy evening can be found here*:
http://www.chicagofreespeechzone.com/html/the_tale_of_the_upside-down_fl.html
*There’s a photo of Uncle Scott with his flag next to a CTA bus full of peace signs, which includes my then pony-tailed husband, my aunt and myself. It appeared on the Chicago Tribune’s website, though I didn’t see it in the paper. There’s a good shot of MANY marchers on Lake Shore Drive here: http://www.chicagofreespeechzone.com/
I saw another article on truthout.org by Cindy Sheehan. It was also about being arrested. She shares HER version of her arrest at the State of the Union; it doesn’t exactly coincide with the media’s version: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020106Z.shtml
Sometimes, the basic facts of a story are clear, and we can point and say “that is true.” Much of the time, it is not so clear-cut or simple, as stories get spun out of control, out of context, or out of proportion, intentionally or not. It happens all the time, like the telephone game you may have played as a kid. Even if people try to tell the truth, it often gets distorted down the line.
I guess what I’m saying is we may be able to ‘handle’ the truth, if we could get our hands on it! It’s a worthy goal, and a full-time job. So, let’s get to work!
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
This is a Democracy! and THIS is Freedom?
I went to see Medea Benjamin, a courageous woman, activist, and co-founder of Code Pink: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Two quick stories that Medea shared about her visits to the Middle East (where she brought family members of American soldiers who died (recently) in Iraq, for peace-keeping purposes – an historical first) and an incident at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil (an event the U.S. media didn’t bother to cover at all).
First: “This is a Democracy” from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre Brazil in January, 2005:
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as “Lula”) (For more info: http://www.brazil.org.uk/category.php?catid=1 or google him ) was a keynote speaker. Supporters and protesters gathered side by side as “Lula” spoke to the entire gathering. Protesters were unhappy with some things their President has done in office, saying that he has not done what he promised. They held signs, yelled, and carried on during his entire 45-minute speech. Medea watched. She saw police move in and expected them to arrest, detain or remove the protesters. They did nothing. For the entire speech. As a regular protester and activist in the U.S., Medea was shocked, as she herself has been fined, arrested and otherwise detained for various protest activities, and has come to expect it. She was shocked that nothing like what’s happening in the U.S. to dissenters occurred.
After the speech, Medea went to the Brazilian group and first spoke to the protesters. She asked: “Weren’t you afraid you’d be arrested for protesting?” They responded “No, this is a democracy.” She then talked to supporters and asked if they thought to somehow silence the protesters or get them taken away. Their response: “Sure, it was hard to hear what the President had to say and the protesters were distracting. But this is a democracy.” Medea then approached the police officers and asked why they didn’t arrest the protesters. Their response: “We are here to protect their right to free speech. This is a democracy.”
It brings tears to your eyes, doesn’t it? And makes this American appreciate how much our rights and freedoms (especially free speech) have been eroded, exploded, or completely taken away. I wonder, do I still live in a democracy??
The other story is part of the peace delegation that Medea organized to the Middle East, an historic event that few Americans will ever hear about (sadly). After spending two weeks in Fallujah, at great risk to his own life and the lives of his Iraqi hosts, Code Pink’s videographer returned to the U.S. with tapes full of footage about what really happened in Fallujah (the city was literally demolished, the U.S. may have tested chemical weapons, and many other atrocities, again, that most Americans will NEVER hear about). They wanted to share these tapes to help get out the truth. Alas, that will never happen.
Why? Because the first night the videographer got back to California, while he was out at dinner, his car and hotel room were broken into. The only things taken: the videotapes. All of them.
I don’t know what to say and will let you think on that for yourselves. Stunning, though, isn’t it?!
So the next story I would call “This is Freedom?” and invite you to read Code Pink’s blog, first-hand accounts by people – brave, peace-loving Americans – who were in the war zone. Carry on…. For peace! --- Keri
…. “This is the freedom?” Many who were persecuted under Saddam initially had hope that America had come as liberators, only to feel betrayed as day-by-day they saw their loved ones being killed, disappeared, or tortured, their homes being raided or destroyed and their livelihoods gone. The lack of water, electricity, and gasoline and having to live with the constant fear of death or kidnapping has turned their lives into a daily hell. … “
For the rest of this entry, go to: http://codepink.utne.com/archives/000060.html
Two quick stories that Medea shared about her visits to the Middle East (where she brought family members of American soldiers who died (recently) in Iraq, for peace-keeping purposes – an historical first) and an incident at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil (an event the U.S. media didn’t bother to cover at all).
First: “This is a Democracy” from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre Brazil in January, 2005:
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as “Lula”) (For more info: http://www.brazil.org.uk/category.php?catid=1 or google him ) was a keynote speaker. Supporters and protesters gathered side by side as “Lula” spoke to the entire gathering. Protesters were unhappy with some things their President has done in office, saying that he has not done what he promised. They held signs, yelled, and carried on during his entire 45-minute speech. Medea watched. She saw police move in and expected them to arrest, detain or remove the protesters. They did nothing. For the entire speech. As a regular protester and activist in the U.S., Medea was shocked, as she herself has been fined, arrested and otherwise detained for various protest activities, and has come to expect it. She was shocked that nothing like what’s happening in the U.S. to dissenters occurred.
After the speech, Medea went to the Brazilian group and first spoke to the protesters. She asked: “Weren’t you afraid you’d be arrested for protesting?” They responded “No, this is a democracy.” She then talked to supporters and asked if they thought to somehow silence the protesters or get them taken away. Their response: “Sure, it was hard to hear what the President had to say and the protesters were distracting. But this is a democracy.” Medea then approached the police officers and asked why they didn’t arrest the protesters. Their response: “We are here to protect their right to free speech. This is a democracy.”
It brings tears to your eyes, doesn’t it? And makes this American appreciate how much our rights and freedoms (especially free speech) have been eroded, exploded, or completely taken away. I wonder, do I still live in a democracy??
The other story is part of the peace delegation that Medea organized to the Middle East, an historic event that few Americans will ever hear about (sadly). After spending two weeks in Fallujah, at great risk to his own life and the lives of his Iraqi hosts, Code Pink’s videographer returned to the U.S. with tapes full of footage about what really happened in Fallujah (the city was literally demolished, the U.S. may have tested chemical weapons, and many other atrocities, again, that most Americans will NEVER hear about). They wanted to share these tapes to help get out the truth. Alas, that will never happen.
Why? Because the first night the videographer got back to California, while he was out at dinner, his car and hotel room were broken into. The only things taken: the videotapes. All of them.
I don’t know what to say and will let you think on that for yourselves. Stunning, though, isn’t it?!
So the next story I would call “This is Freedom?” and invite you to read Code Pink’s blog, first-hand accounts by people – brave, peace-loving Americans – who were in the war zone. Carry on…. For peace! --- Keri
…. “This is the freedom?” Many who were persecuted under Saddam initially had hope that America had come as liberators, only to feel betrayed as day-by-day they saw their loved ones being killed, disappeared, or tortured, their homes being raided or destroyed and their livelihoods gone. The lack of water, electricity, and gasoline and having to live with the constant fear of death or kidnapping has turned their lives into a daily hell. … “
For the rest of this entry, go to: http://codepink.utne.com/archives/000060.html
Friday, February 18, 2005
Soldier's Father on U.S. Choosing Iraq War
This soldier's father challenges our country's choice to go to war. It's clear when you read this, yet so many people accept the excuses, the rationalizations, the lies. Stay the course, even if it's wrong?! Blasphemy!
This article, 'The Return of the Draft', gives an overview of our military's next steps, starting with a selective service draft, beyond the 'back-door' draft in use now: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6862691
Why war? Why Iraq? Why now? What's next?
#####(clip from full article, below)####
" .... Please Don't Ask. Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now. "
########################
Published on Monday, February 14, 2005 by the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
How Dare Some Say, 'Support our Troops'? by Dexter J. Kamilewicz
Someone recently informed me that they didn't know that my son was being deployed to Iraq and asked why I hadn't told them. I really didn't have an answer.
That is when I began to be annoyed by those ever-present, good-intentioned but mindless ribbons stuck on the back of cars and SUVs exhorting, "Support Our Troops."I find those magnetic messages to be offensive when I think of parents and friends of National Guard soldiers who purchased expensive Kevlar armor for their soldiers while Donald Rumsfeld said they didn't have any in stock. Those marketing messages seem so empty when soldiers are told to"up-armor" their Humvees because the Department of Defense had not asked the manufacturers if more could be done.
I am saddened when veterans wait over a year for appointments at veterans' hospitals and soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and places like Walter Reed Hospital are required to pay for phone calls and emails home. I bet Rumsfeld doesn't have to pay for calls and e-mails back home, and I find it unbelievable and unacceptable that Rumsfeld has not been fired while the troops have been treated so poorly. Support our troops?
I accept that there are justifications for going to war. However, I cannot find anyone who can give me a solid reason to justify our going to and continuing the war in Iraq.
Seeking Reasons
There seems to be no question in America more avoided, particularly by elected officials, than a discussion of the war in Iraq. I asked Maine's members of Congress those questions. U.S. Rep. Tom Allen said the war was not justified, but to abandon Iraq and its people now would be a mistake. Sen. Susan Collins said that going to war in Iraq was a problem of faulty intelligence, but the chaos in Iraq required us to stay. Sen. Olympia Snowe blamed Saddam Hussein as the revised apparent rationale for invading Iraq, and she focused on the need for global support for the U.S efforts in Iraq. U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud agreed with Snowe.
Those answers translate that we got there by mistake, and we are staying there by mistake. There is no plan, there is no discussion and there is no leadership. Didn't we go into Iraq to protect ourselves from weapons of mass destruction and because of Iraq's connections with the terrorists, reasons that have been found to be utterly in error? Support our troops?
The pointless death and maiming of this war is pure insanity and probably even criminal. In this war, many times those who died in theWorld Trade Center have been wounded or killed. Over 1,400 American soldiers are dead, over 10,000 soldiers are physically wounded while uncounted others are psychologically wounded, and, by some estimates, over 100,000 Iraqis have been killed and maimed. How can the killing be justified? Are we going to destroy a nation and kill its people to save it? We tried that once before. Support our troops?
I am afraid for my son. I certainly worry about his being killed, but I am also worried about his being placed in the position of killing,too. Most of all, I am angry that we are sending our soldiers to a war that nobody can justify. Most Americans, especially members of Congress, do not have to worry about a loved one in the middle of this war, and they duck the tough questions.
Why do we permit a defacto back-door draft of the National Guard and recycle them, too? We were lied to once before, and we must avoid being lied to again. Will President Bush be this generation's RobertMcNamara? I hope not. Will the Congress have the courage to ask the relevant questions? I hope so. Support our troops?
Please Don't Ask
Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now.
This article, 'The Return of the Draft', gives an overview of our military's next steps, starting with a selective service draft, beyond the 'back-door' draft in use now: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6862691
Why war? Why Iraq? Why now? What's next?
#####(clip from full article, below)####
" .... Please Don't Ask. Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now. "
########################
Published on Monday, February 14, 2005 by the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
How Dare Some Say, 'Support our Troops'? by Dexter J. Kamilewicz
Someone recently informed me that they didn't know that my son was being deployed to Iraq and asked why I hadn't told them. I really didn't have an answer.
That is when I began to be annoyed by those ever-present, good-intentioned but mindless ribbons stuck on the back of cars and SUVs exhorting, "Support Our Troops."I find those magnetic messages to be offensive when I think of parents and friends of National Guard soldiers who purchased expensive Kevlar armor for their soldiers while Donald Rumsfeld said they didn't have any in stock. Those marketing messages seem so empty when soldiers are told to"up-armor" their Humvees because the Department of Defense had not asked the manufacturers if more could be done.
I am saddened when veterans wait over a year for appointments at veterans' hospitals and soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and places like Walter Reed Hospital are required to pay for phone calls and emails home. I bet Rumsfeld doesn't have to pay for calls and e-mails back home, and I find it unbelievable and unacceptable that Rumsfeld has not been fired while the troops have been treated so poorly. Support our troops?
I accept that there are justifications for going to war. However, I cannot find anyone who can give me a solid reason to justify our going to and continuing the war in Iraq.
Seeking Reasons
There seems to be no question in America more avoided, particularly by elected officials, than a discussion of the war in Iraq. I asked Maine's members of Congress those questions. U.S. Rep. Tom Allen said the war was not justified, but to abandon Iraq and its people now would be a mistake. Sen. Susan Collins said that going to war in Iraq was a problem of faulty intelligence, but the chaos in Iraq required us to stay. Sen. Olympia Snowe blamed Saddam Hussein as the revised apparent rationale for invading Iraq, and she focused on the need for global support for the U.S efforts in Iraq. U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud agreed with Snowe.
Those answers translate that we got there by mistake, and we are staying there by mistake. There is no plan, there is no discussion and there is no leadership. Didn't we go into Iraq to protect ourselves from weapons of mass destruction and because of Iraq's connections with the terrorists, reasons that have been found to be utterly in error? Support our troops?
The pointless death and maiming of this war is pure insanity and probably even criminal. In this war, many times those who died in theWorld Trade Center have been wounded or killed. Over 1,400 American soldiers are dead, over 10,000 soldiers are physically wounded while uncounted others are psychologically wounded, and, by some estimates, over 100,000 Iraqis have been killed and maimed. How can the killing be justified? Are we going to destroy a nation and kill its people to save it? We tried that once before. Support our troops?
I am afraid for my son. I certainly worry about his being killed, but I am also worried about his being placed in the position of killing,too. Most of all, I am angry that we are sending our soldiers to a war that nobody can justify. Most Americans, especially members of Congress, do not have to worry about a loved one in the middle of this war, and they duck the tough questions.
Why do we permit a defacto back-door draft of the National Guard and recycle them, too? We were lied to once before, and we must avoid being lied to again. Will President Bush be this generation's RobertMcNamara? I hope not. Will the Congress have the courage to ask the relevant questions? I hope so. Support our troops?
Please Don't Ask
Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Compassion translated into action
In the wake of the tsunami, and all the events and issues of the day, I am feeling washed out, emotionally and physically. And I am stuck wondering what I can do to bring something positive and hopeful to the world. Something besides sending money, as if throwing money at a problem will make it go away (though certainly it can help make some, very practical and mundane, things better). For me, sending a donation does not feel satisfying, or sufficient. What about the bigger questions, the bigger connections, our place(s) in the world, and our roles and responsibilities in it? And what can I do, from my condo in Chicago, to make a difference in this big, crazy, beautiful world? That's what I want to explore.
I read only one other blog, and am creating this one to help get over my technophobia, and to prove to my geeky friends and husband that I can do it, which is similar to how Tom Englehardt started his blog, from which I pulled this small quote below that speaks truth to me. The link for Tom's blog and this posting is at the end (it's a bit long but very well researched, thoughtful and thought-provoking). If Tom can do it, so can I! So, here's my humble beginning...
Susan Sontag wrote, "Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. People don't become inured to what they are shown -- if that's the right way to describe what happens -- because of the quantity of images dumped on them. It is passivity that dulls feeling." (end quote)
I found the above quote at tomdispatch.com, a.k.a. Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Sontag and Tsunami: http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2095
I read only one other blog, and am creating this one to help get over my technophobia, and to prove to my geeky friends and husband that I can do it, which is similar to how Tom Englehardt started his blog, from which I pulled this small quote below that speaks truth to me. The link for Tom's blog and this posting is at the end (it's a bit long but very well researched, thoughtful and thought-provoking). If Tom can do it, so can I! So, here's my humble beginning...
Susan Sontag wrote, "Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. People don't become inured to what they are shown -- if that's the right way to describe what happens -- because of the quantity of images dumped on them. It is passivity that dulls feeling." (end quote)
I found the above quote at tomdispatch.com, a.k.a. Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Sontag and Tsunami: http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2095
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