The
following is an update from Suzanne Taylor and TheConversation.org Making
Sense of These Times [http://www.theconversation.org] Website. Thank you for
your interest. If you wish to be removed from this list at any time, just let us
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July 16, 2002
CROP
CIRCLE DIARY ENTRY:
Pictures and reports about one of the best
formations ever, which we've already reported on, that arrived on July 4:
I've passed along to the Crop Circle Connector this comment from a
listmember, which isn't reported on their site (yet):
Elihu
Edelson wrote:
An
immediate flash from looking at this latest crop circle picture. Hitherto none
of the circles I'd seen looked like familiar symbols. This one, however, has
clear repetitions of the Hebrew letter Yod , which is also
God's initial (YHVH). For what it's worth, the design is also based on sixes,
the number of points on the star of David. Yod also has the numerical value 10.
Has anyone else picked up on this?
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FEATURED CONVERSATION -- WALTER
STARCK:
Walter writes:
Suzanne
responds:
Walter writes:
Another thought for The Conversation:
America seems more and more headed in a worrying direction. A
questionable presidential election, terrorism, and economic problems exacerbated
by large scale high level corporate dishonesty have the nation in a bad mood.
Since 911 any criticism of government risks accusation of being unpatriotic and
questioning anything regarding the "War on Terrorism" seems tainted by shades of
treason.
A recent survey indicates a majority of Americans are now
willing to curtail some of their rights in the interest of security. While this
might seem on the surface a patriotic sacrifice, it is in effect quite the
opposite. The sanctity of the individual, the right to live one's own life as
one wishes and to be able to freely express oneself, is the bedrock of freedom.
Government answerable to the governed is basic to democracy. Giving up our
rights amounts to selling out what America stands for in return for a promise of
security. Asking such a price or considering acceptance of it is the true
disloyalty.
To surrender America's most valuable possession so readily
would be to hand terrorism a cheap and easy victory. Worse yet, even the payoff
is bogus. Curtailing of rights can do little to prevent determined terrorism.
Terrorism in more prevalent in police states than it is in free societies and
giving up rights is a decided step in that direction. Without strong rights it
is all too easy to suppress any dissenting opinion as a threat to security.
As terrible as were the events of 911 we need to put them in
perspective. The number of people killed by terrorism is a small fraction of
those killed every year by cigarettes or firearms or automobiles. If we want to
give up something for the common good there is a whole list of things that would
have far greater effect than curtailing rights to fight terrorism.
When
politicians and government officials seek to dispense with basic rights and
question the loyalty of any who disagree, it is time to carefully consider where
is the greatest danger and who is really betraying our ideals.
Suzanne
responds:
You're an articulate spokesperson for the
progressive alternative. I and many others in America and world-wide are your
allies.
I was heartened by Howard Zinn's piece, A Break-in For
Peace, about the Camden 28, that I
posted. It really affected me. Now I have an image of our success, where
"thousands and thousands and thousands of small acts" can tip the scale. At the
same time, things are too critical not to try to speed up the activity of the
resistance. How could we take command?
About surrendering rights, I
think Americans are deeply trusting in the America of our ideals. It seems like
an overstatement for progressives to warn that we could go the way of Hitler
Germany, for instance. The violations
going on, however, are so alien to those fundamental ideals that they contribute
to the resistance to this regime, which is alive and getting stronger all the
time.
Another thing to be aware of is that there is a cosmic drama being
played out -- of rectitude finding its way. The excesses of self-encapsulated
people serve to make us mad enough to break free of our entrapment in this way
of thinking. There is higher ground, and many have gotten to it. Finding those others in fact helps
me live in a world that is stifling to me.
Have I mentioned The
Universe Is A Green Dragon? A must read. [I read the entire book on my
Making Sense of These Times Webradio site at http://www.theconversation.org/dragon.html.] You remind
me of author, Brian Swimme [http://www.theconversation.org/swimme.html]. Maybe I
can start to weave some people together.
Here's a little vintage Brian
in his intro to a great tape series he calls "Canticle to the Cosmos":
"At key times in history, consciousness
advances in spurts. In Athens, the foundations for western civilization were
laid. At the School at Chartes Cathedral, the vision of the Middle Ages was
given form. In the Florentine Academy, Renaissance humanism was brought forth.
We are in the midst of such a spurt. Human creativity today gives birth to a
new vision of reality, a new cosmology, one that will guide us out of the
terrors of the late twentieth century. The creation of a new planetary
mythology is an organic process requiring the intelligent participation of
millions of minds...If we were attempting to create a new cosmology a hundred
thousand years ago, we would meet in a cave, at night, and tell our stories in
the flickering lights of the fire. In just such a setting, the most advanced
hominid forms gave birth to the first true humans. I think there is something
to be said for this tradition. My suggestion is that you gather as a group and
reflect together, in the night. If these flickering images and words evoke
some of the deeply rooted creativity that is necessary for our advance, this
series would have served its purpose."
It would be so fine to sit around
the campfire and spin a new yarn. Brian also says, "In our time, with the
invention of electronic information technologies, groups everywhere can
participate directly in the evocation of this new form of consciousness." Maybe
there is a way.
________________________________________
COLUMN FROM ARIANNA
HUFFINGTON: Undercover Brothers:
The Anti-Reformers Blend In --
July 11,
2002
Suzanne's comments:
Read this for a fascinating and informative rundown on
how slippery the powers-that-be are, where the force to reform in the face of
our corporate scandals may seem to be operating, but the entrenchment in the
status quo is stronger. And the echoes of the call to the rest of us are
reverberating, a la Howard Zinn in the last Update, showing us how the tide can
indeed turn when the masses get mad enough. "The only thing that will make it
possible for the handful of real reformers to keep the corporate swine at bay is
public outrage. It's up to us to keep demanding that the stirrings of reform are
not stillborn."
Other quotes drawn from the
column:
Any politician with an instinct for self-preservation (and what
other kind is there?) can no longer be seen as standing against corporate
reform. So the "genius of capitalism" crowd has adopted a new strategy: publicly
embrace reform while working diligently behind the scenes to undermine it...Call
it How To Succeed in Killing Reform While Looking Like a Reformer...
Instead of strict new laws, the chief executives came out in favor of --
surprise, surprise -- industry self-regulation...
The enemies of reform
will be spending millions of dollars -- and every waking hour -- making sure
there are enough loopholes in the small print to keep the pigs gorging at the
trough.
________________________________________
FIVE STAR PIECE:
Clearing the Air: Why I Quit Bush's EPA, Eric
Schaeffer -- July,
2002
Suzanne's comments: This is a shocking
eye-opener, as only someone from the front lines could report. If you've got
your dander up about what Bush has let corporations get away with, it may pale
by comparison to what he's doing to environmental controls. This piece, by the
resigned director of the EPA's Office of Regulatory Enforcement, is a clear,
detailed indictment of this beyond the beyond administration. Read it and weep
for our beautiful world. "The administration's own tone-deafness to the frequent
conflict between the public good and private interests --
reminiscent of the early Reagan years
-- have made this a "teachable
moment" for those who believe that big companies need oversight...the White
House won't support a federal environmental enforcement program unless failing
to do so will carry political costs. But as that example showed, pressure from
Democrats and voters can force positive
changes.
Other quotes
drawn from the piece:
It became clear that
Bush had little regard for the environment--and even less for enforcing the laws
that protect it. So last spring, after 12 years at the agency, I
resigned.
...when the EPA last year overturned Clinton-era regulations to
reduce arsenic in drinking water, the public reaction was so intensely negative
that Whitman eventually backed off. But these public efforts to roll back
regulations are only half the story. Behind the scenes, in complicated ways that
attract less media attention (and therefore may be politically safer), the
administration and its allies in Congress are crippling the EPA's ability to
enforce laws and regulations already on the books. As a result, some of the
worst pollution continues unchecked.
...diesel engine manufacturers,
power plants, refineries, large animal feeding operations, and others were
rather systematically ignoring the law. This is not to say that corporations are
inherently evil; they simply follow the economic path of least resistance and
are likely to cut corners where government oversight is lacking...
Environmental law, just like any other, is a dead letter if not
enforced. The Bush administration's first step was weakening the government's
ability to uncover violations of important requirements...Cutting the
enforcement budget by 13 percent, as President Bush has proposed, would hobble
the EPA's ability to uncover and stop such malfeasance...
Congressmen
have become de facto lobbyists for home state polluters...
Once, over
drinks, a state enforcement manager confessed to me that his governor had
instructed him to bash the federal EPA, no matter what it did. This has always
been a problem, but Clinton officials were less likely to pretend that states
could do everything...
Under Clinton, the EPA reasoned that the best way
to get polluters to comply with the law was to sue whole industries, not just
individual companies. Under Bush, that reasoning has cleverly been reversed. If
entire industries are not complying with environmental laws, goes the Bush
philosophy, then there must be something wrong with the laws...
While
the president talks ceaselessly about innovation, partnerships, and voluntary
programs in public, privately his administration questions the costs and
challenges the benefits of any worthwhile environmental
rule.
FIVE STAR PIECE: Powell:
'Bastards won't drive me out,' David Wastell -- July 1,
2002
Suzanne's comments:
I was surprised that
I hadn't seen this story about Colin Powell in the American press. Did I miss
it, or is this oh so American tale too hot for the American media to handle?
This is details aboout Colin Powell's war with the administration. Wow. "Colin
Powell, the beleaguered Secretary of State, has delivered an angry riposte to
the Pentagon hardliners responsible for his recent string of policy defeats -
insisting to allies that he 'won't let those bastards drive me
out.'"
Other quotes drawn from the
piece:
...the
first clear sign that he acknowledges the damaging criticisms he has taken from
a combination of Mr Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary, and
Dick Cheney, the vice-president.
In public he has appeared unperturbed
by his setbacks but privately he has expressed concern at the gyrations he has
been forced to perform...
The most dramatic problem was over the Middle
East, on which Mr Bush jettisoned Gen Powell's advice and declared in a
long-awaited speech last month that there could be no negotiations with the
Palestinians until Yasser Arafat was replaced as leader. Just days after Gen
Powell argued that America must work with the Palestinians' own chosen leaders,
he was forced to do a public reverse...
Gen Powell is regarded overseas
as a lonely voice of moderation and pragmatism within a strongly unilateralist
administration, and his departure would dismay most foreign capitals...The
departure of the former Gulf war chief and America's first black secretary of
state would also be a blow to the White House - no least because his ratings are
better than those of the president himself...
One former State
Department official said: "I can't see why Powell is putting up with it. He is
losing every argument that matters. He'd do more good now if he did resign - it
might just give the White House the jolt it needs."
FIVE
STAR PIECE: The Insider Game,
Paul Krugman -- July 12,
2002
Suzanne's comments: More exposure of
the insider corporate game that Bush now presides over. Hopefully, layer by
layer, the protections that have served him will be peeled away by great
journalists like Paul Krugman. I think most of us are getting a real education
in what has been murky about just how the game is played. I know I am. This
piece contributes. "The current crisis in American capitalism isn't just about
the specific details -- about tricky accounting, stock options, loans to
executives, and so on. It's about the way the game has been rigged on behalf of
insiders. And the Bush administration is full of such insiders."
Other
quote drawn from the piece:
The closest
thing to a substantive proposal in Mr. Bush's tough-talking, nearly content-free
speech on Tuesday was his call for extra punishment for executives convicted of
fraud. But that's an empty threat...Accounting issues are technical enough to
confuse many juries; expensive lawyers make the most of that confusion; and if
all else fails, big-name executives have friends in high places who protect
them.
FIVE STAR
PIECE: Market Extremists Amok and How to
Best Dethrone Them, Kevin
Phillips -- July 15,
2002
Suzanne's comments: More of my education, and
perhaps yours. Do you know the history of our market economy that has America so
twisted in the wrong ideology? Read this to understand how we got to this
untenable place, where our democracy has been co-opted by the elite. And think
of subscribing to the "The American Prospect," an excellent biweekly magazine
where this article appears. "Market mania has emerged as the both the pivotal
crippler of U.S. democracy and the driving force behind the upward
redistribution of U.S. wealth. It has made the egalitarian principles and
patterns of the 1950's and 1960's vanish in a cloud of dust."
Other quotes drawn from the
piece:
Over the last 15 years,
market-based excesses have run the gamut from crony-driven privatization of
public assets and attempts to remold U.S. law into a branch of laissez-faire
economics to even bolder efforts to recast U.S. election finance as a
marketplace...
Gambling analogies pervaded the early financial markets
(and still plague current ones)...The term "blue chip" used in the stock market
came from the highest denomination chip in the Monte Carlo casino. One can only
wonder at the gall of the American and British think tanks and pundits who have
held out "markets" as an alternative organizational basis for society (to
replace the notions of state, polity, and community developed over 2,000
years)...
The sages of The Wall Street Journal editorial page told
readers in the mid-1990s that voters wanted to be treated as customers, not
constituents...
Extreme politics, in this new form as in others before
it, has a distinct regional home. As much as the ideological excesses of the
left in the 1960s evoked Berkeley, and the militia groups on the right were a
Rocky Mountain phenomenon, the market mania of the last two decades has centered
on Texas -- economic Lone Ranger country, where market fundamentalism and
religious fundamentalism have joined to create a uniquely strident culture...
It isn't often that a major issue in U.S. politics -- perhaps even a
potential watershed issue -- comes with such a juicy related scandal. Not long
ago, this vulnerability of Texas royalty and Texas philosophy would have been
hard to imagine. Now, market extremism is in the dock of public opinion. The
question is not whether a coherent and powerful indictment can take form, but
whether the Democratic opposition in Washington is capable of shaping and
voicing it.
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