Month: January 2006

  • SUNDAY GOOD NEWS

    First of all, I wish anyone who reads this a year filled with success in meeting the inevitable challenges that will come to us all and plenty of respite to just feel peace. Happy New Year!

    I was reading an article that listed 10 good things about this past year in our world and thought I’d abbreviate them here to keep it simple:

    1. Hugo Chavez has shown how an oil-rich nation can use the country’s wealth to provide education, health care and small business opportunities for its people.
    2. Bolivians have, for the first time in their history, elected an indigenous president, Evo Morales.
    3. Anti-war activists now represent the majority of Americans who agree that the war in Iraq was a mistake and the troops should come home as soon as possible.
    4. The climate summit in Montreal ended with even stronger measures to combat global warming.
    5. The Senate ended the year with a spurt of defiance, refusing to permanently extend the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, blocking the Republican maneuver to attach Arctic oil drilling to a defense spending bill, and passing John McCain’s anti-torture amendment.
    6. George Bush’s approval ratings are still below 50%, his economic agenda has unraveled, key cronies have fallen from grace, and 2006 might just put impeachment back into the congressional lexicon.
    7. Labor, community activists and women’s groups have mounted a spirited campaign against Walmart.
    8. SUV sales have plummeted, the sale of hybrids has doubled, and the US House of Representatives actually held a forum on the “peak oil theory”.
    9. In a great win for farmworkers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers forced the fast food giant Taco Bell to raise the price for picking tomatoes (nearly doubling many workers’ salaries) and now they’re ready to take on an even bigger bully: McDonald’s.
    10. The global movement for peace and justice proved it was alive and kicking.

    Here in Oregon my day has been peaceful except for blowing out my right front tire when I drove over a pothole bringing my grandchildren home from breakfast out. Luckily I was very close to home and it can get fixed tomorrow. Soon I’m getting picked up by good friends to go see a movie. The sun has peeked out a few times today. The birds and the squirrels are thriving in the back yard. There’s a fire in my fireplace. All’s well for the moment. Hope your day is too.

    Deep Thought: “Instead of a welcome mat, what about just a plain mat and a little loudspeaker that says “welcome” over and over again?”
    Today I am grateful for: Celebrations
    Guess the Movie: “ I cut it a little roomy for the free movement; the fabric is comfortable for sensitive skin; it can also withstand a temperature of over 1000 degrees. Completely bulletproof; and machine washable, darling. That’s a new feature.” Answer: The Incredibles, 2004. Winner: AskDennis.
    US and Iran: Is Washington Planning a Military Strike?
    Recent reports in the German media suggest that the United States may be preparing its allies for an imminent military strike against facilities that are part of Iran’s suspected clandestine nuclear weapons program.     (Rest of article here.)