December 22, 2005
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THURSDAY WHATEVERThey may be losing their habitat to global warming but thanks to something they’ve never heard of – The Filibuster – oil drilling will not be coming to an ice field near them as soon as Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens (R) hoped it would. Cleverly attaching ANWR drilling to the annual defense spending bill that included $453 billion for the Defense Department, plus $29 billion for Hurricane Katrina victims, money to combat avian flu and more than $2 billion to help poor people pay their energy bills, he was sure it would get through. Just for the record, dear bears, you have Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who faces re-election next year, to thank for leading the opposition to Arctic drilling. Senator Ted Stevens is pretty pissed off. He said he was “drawing a line now with a lot of people I’ve worked with before.” And Alaska has a commitment from congressional leaders to consider ANWR again next year (this fight has already been going on for over 20 years). So it’s a temporary reprieve, but if the bears are lucky, the proponents of alternative energy sources (solar, wind power, geothermal, hydroelectric, tides) will make headway in time to save them for good. And all they stand for.
Deep Thought: “Sometimes the beauty of the world is so overwhelming, I just want to throw back my head and gargle. Just gargle and gargle, and I don’t care who hears me, because I am beautiful.”
Today I am grateful for: Calcium + D
Guess the Movie: “Let me say this out loud, ’cause I wanna get it straight in my head. You’re saying that Mr. Blonde was gonna kill you, then when we got back, he was going kill us, take the satchel of diamonds, and scram. I’m right about that, right? That’s correct? That’s your story?” Answer: Reservoir Dogs, 1992.
Winner: lostyetlooking.
Here I am, George… Come and Get Me
by Kim Redigan
Far be it from me to ask the government to take money it needs to wage war and enrich the arms industry to track down yet one more peace activist. Therefore, I consider it my civic duty to say, “Here I am, George. Come and get me.” No need to squander cash that could be spent on refining the techniques of torture on costly surveillance projects and electronic wiretaps to track the likes of me.
That overweight middle-aged woman in bifocals standing on the street corner and marching in demonstrations would be me.
Age 48, married, mother of four, high school religion teacher, Catholic, garden-variety activist. (Rest of article here.)
End of Day: 8:13 pm
+ = Everything but stuffers wrapped.
- = Still have to clean whole house.
Comments (14)
And did you hear that Stevens called yesterday “the saddest day of [his] life”? I don’t know about you, but if that was the saddest day of his life? I want to be Ted Stevens.
Reservior Dogs!! I watched it under protest, but i remember…
hey,
i just read through some of your autobiography…let me tell you how excited i am to have found someone on xanga who has lived such a life as you have!!! Especially reading through your metamorphasis section, I was truly inspired. I am 24, and feel as though I am experiencing my early-mid 20′s in a similar flavor that you did. And seeing how you have continued to live your life, and just the very nature of your blog, has also struck some kind of a chord.
i do feel very old in many ways…i’m certainly not the smartest or best educated person (i’m working on that), but i have always felt wise because i’ve tried to think about life as most young people fail to do. Now that my grandfather is living home w/ us (his wife, my grandmother, passed away of a stroke only a month ago), I am realizing again how nothing in life really matters beyond good conversation with good people. While I certainly still want to travel, and reading you story has further inspired me, I no longer feel as though I need to simply wander lost around the world…that’s how I was a bit 2 yrs. back, when I spent 6mos in S. Africa. I loved the experience, but realize now that place is less important than your mindset and attitude, and I feel that I can spend the rest of my life around NYC and be quite content. But…were it not for travelling in the first place, I may not have come to some of the realizations I have now. My semester abroad in London did things to me personally that it didn’t do to most people that I went abroad with.
Anyways…thanks for leaving a comment on my site, I know we had commented to each other a while back, I believe it was about educational alternatives for your grandkids, I forget, but I look forward to reading more from your site and hearing your comments on mine!
-dan
Every time I think of ANWR, I ask myself this question: “How did oil get up there in the first place?” I guess I’m more interested in the science than the politics.
Reservoir Dogs indeed!
Yay!
*wiping brow*
Whew! The good guys do win every once in awhile!
I wish everyone would leave those poor bears and the Arctic alone. I have a very tender place in my heart for animals and nature. I love them both and I’m so afraid that by the time I’m having kids there will be no place left for them to see that’s been untouched by humans and their stupid machines.
My husband let out a great big hoot of glee when he heard the ANWR drilling didn’t pass. And when he told me there was all sorts of joyous jigging going on in our household!
Didn’t Ted Stevens promise to resign if this didn’t go through?
Good to hear the polar bears won’t be messed with!
I’m so glad that it didn’t pass. Alternate energy really has to be looked into. The picture of the polar bears is just too cute. Love it.
I visited…I commented.
Gargling at beauty. Do they happen to have a beverage around in case they see something pretty?
Yes….one more time the reserve was saved…….I’m sure next year will bring more attempts but hopefully “they” will see there are some of us serious about protecting it….I was glued to c-span watching the senate debates & way to frustrated to even blog about it!!
Sure hope you have a great Christmas and an enjoyable time with your family!! Donna