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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Did I just feel a Draft in here?

With the press and many people feeling that Barrack Obama is going to be our next President. There has been some talk of the Democratic parties desire to renew a draft. By and large such talk draws contempt and disgust at the idea of such a thing. The sheer audacity of such a thing is enough to raise the blood pressure of any self respecting Libertarian and most Republicans as well.

But, hold on, I say lets consider this idea. What about rather then a military draft. Instead tacked on to the end of ones high school experience. There is a 2 year or 4 year, depending on the program, contract that either involves going to trade or university. Or volunteering in some other form or manner in a way that would benefit America. Then when the time is up you are free to do as you like, but ideally and it would not be the case for some. These people might find that they enjoy what they are doing and they will have learned a useful job skill at the same time.

As well as being able to give back to this America that has provided them with schooling and safety and allowed them to live in a world where frankly we are very lucky to be living in. Would it be to much to ask for a person of a certain age to give back to the system. To help support the system in which they grew up? I do not think so. I, in fact, would argue that the eventual result would be one of more patriotism then exists now along with a greater understanding of what is needed to provide the services that most of us take for granted.

I do not claim to have all the answers and often what I write is an experiment to allow me to dialogue with others who think the same or even those who think differently then me. So please add your thoughts and help me to refine mine because with out discussion nothing can be achieved.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Less then a month!!

With less then a month to go until the Presidential elections things are beginning to look interesting. It appears that more then a few pundits are predicting an Obama victory and one wonders if that will be the case or not. I am refraining from a prediction because I am just not sure how the American people will vote. I live in Oregon and the state tends to go Democratic so I do think Obama will win here. But we are a small electoral total state so it does not really mean a whole lot to win Oregon. Does anbody have any thoughts or predictions out there about the eventual outcome?

Sunday, October 05, 2008

RIP AMERICA 1776-2008

I received this email, soon after the American government chose to bail out Wall St and passed a bill that was packed with more pork then my Grandma at Easter dinner. It is a little rough in spots but there are some interesting ideas to be gleaned from it. Please let me know what you think about the ideas. Now be forewarned there is a fair amount of crazy mixed in here as well as some oddly anti-religious talk but some of the concepts and thoughts are pretty interesting. So check it out, just some food for thought.

"Dear friends:

On 3 October 2008, the first experiment in democracy since the days
of ancient Athens came to an end.

The Grand Experiment of Government of, by and for the People ended
on
the floor of the House of so-called "Representatives. " After over
eight years of blatant contempt for the working people of this
country, those who swore an oath to defend its highest laws gave us
all the biggest and most obvious "F**K YOU" in modern history.

Wall Street - whose executives' unbridled, unregulated greed and
reckless gambling has brought the world to the brink of financial
ruin, whose fortunes have increased to obscene levels on the backs
of
starving people, whose behavior is destroying the planet - was "too
big to fail."

Those of us who work for a living, making the machinery run, do our
best to contribute to society, take care of our families, cannot
access health care and wind up becoming debt slaves for the rest of
our lives because korporate profits for a privileged few on that
which rightfully belongs to ALL OF US together and NONE OF US alone
are more important than life itself - we were "too small to matter."

I called and visited the offices of my so-called "Representative" ,
Mr. Brian Baird, REPEATEDLY. I BEGGED HIM to vote NO on this
welfare
check for billionaires. I SHOWED HIS STAFFERS an appropriate "New
Deal" that would bring about REAL, BOTTOM UP CHANGE and ultmately
allow EVERYONE to share in this nation's prosperity - not just the
400 individuals at the "top" that control as much wealth as the 150
million at the "bottom."

I pointed out that Reagan's "trickle-down" economic theory DOES NOT
WORK, HAS NOT WORKED IN THIRTY YEARS, and WILL NOT WORK NOW.

I may as well have been jerking off.

Like the other cowards in Congress who have been threatened and
bribed by lobbyists able to purchase their own "democracy," Mr.
Baird
decided he was more afraid of his korporate overlords than his
constituents, believed the lies and propaganda filth spewed out by
FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC, and voted to hand 800 billion dollars over
to
the SAME PEOPLE who CAUSED THE DAMAGE in the FIRST PLACE!! (They
wouldn't even add a mere one-quarter of one percent tax to all
stock
market transactions - which would have gone a long way toward
making
these parasites pay for cleaning up their own mess.)

Of course, Mr. Baird and his fellow cowards will argue that this
welfare check comes with benefits for "Main Street" - but if you
look
carefully at the language, you'll see that
it "reccomends, " "encourages, " and "advises."

NOWHERE DOES IT REQUIRE ANYTHING!!

Our "Representatives" have continually handed the hateful little
boy
king George W everything he wanted - and now, all of us have
another
$4000 in debt to deal with (while Wall Street will continue to reap
the benefits).

Let's see what all that money would have done for We The People,
shall we?

It would have provided UNIVERSAL, SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE to EVERY
MAN, WOMAN and CHILD in the country.

It would have PAID OFF the mortgages for those who are struggling.

It would have provided a FULLY-PAID COLLEGE EDUCATION for EVERY
STUDENT (something that Denmark already does).

The Reagan Revolution is over, and has succeeded brilliantly.
Ronald
Reagan believed in "orders and classes," ruled over by an elite
oligarchy.

Today, our "Representatives" in "CON"-gress gave the Reaganists
everything they've been working toward for thirty years.

On the 3rd of October, 2008, the United States of America died of
cancer, aged 232 years and three months. Oh, no doubt the heart
will
continue beating for some time...we will have an election in about
a
month, which will most likely be stolen again and given to McCain
and
Palin - meaning that by this time next year, we will be well on our
way to an Orwellian nightmare world that is 1984 meets the
Handmaiden's Tale.

But for all practical purposes, the nation we embraced and in which
we grew up - a nation that was once the greatest in the world, that
HAD IT ALL and PISSED IT AWAY FOR THE BENEFIT OF ECONOMIC
ROYALISTS -
is as dead as a proverbial door nail.

Yes I am angry. Yes, I CURSE those whores in Congress who sold us
out, their korporate pimps, their offspring and their descendants
for
the next 20 generations (which is about how long it will take to
dig
out from under this).

But in the end, that's just beating one's head against the wall.
There is no Universal justice, no God that cares for any but the
wealthy and the powerful (and unborn fetuses, apparently), no real
Balance in the Cosmos - and nothing we mere mortals can do is going
to change that.

So...what to do now?

The USA is as dead as the Soviet Union, yet another greedy,
grasping
Empire that overreached itself and finally came apart. As dead as
Yugoslavia, now split into Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia.
As
dead as the Iraq it murdered - which I predict is fated to split
into a Sunni, a Shia and a Kurdish state (and probably should).

Since the korporate coup d'etat that placed King George W on the
throne in December of 2000, similar fissures have begun appearing
in
North America.

Vermont and Texas, both independent nations before they VOLUNTARILY
joined the USA, have significant separatist movements.

Hawaii, a sovereign kingdom before forcefully and illegally being
taken over by the USA on behalf of korporate interests now has its
own groups agitating for the haole to leave their islands.

In Alaska, we heard a good friend of Sarah Palin express his hatred
for the Amerikan government - and her own husband is himself an
Alaska Native with ties to an Alaskan Independence movement.

This past February, there was a meeting in Memphis, Tennessee in
which resurrection of the old Confederacy was seriously discussed.

The Mormons in Utah have long dreamed about having their own
theocratic Kingdom of Deseret.

In Idaho, there are neo-nazis who still want their own "Aryan
Nation."

The Lakota Sioux have already declared their independence, and have
contacted governments in South America regarding diplomatic
recognition.

Do I agree with Mormons and so-called Aryans? Absolutley NOT! Do I
think they should have the right to have their own societies,
living
their own beliefs regardless of how warped and abhorrent I
personally
may find them?

As long as they keep to themselves and don't insist on imposing
their
beliefs on others, YES!

For you see...NOTHING is as warped as the NeoConservative Reaganist
agenda of Korporate Rule and debt slavery, and imposing that on the
entire world, using the vengeful God of Abraham - a god they
themselves do not necessarily believe in - to justify it.

Opposition to global korporate fascism makes for odd bedfellows.

Like the Lakota, the Aryans and the Mormons, I too have a vision
that
has long been shared by others - people here in the Pacific
Northwest.

That vision is "CASCADIA."

UNLIKE the Aryans and the Mormons, the Republic of Cascadia that we
envision is a society in which diversity is embraced and
treasured... a society which recognizes the fundamental RIGHTS of
ALL
humans regardless of skin color, personal spiritual beliefs or
mating
inclinations, to:

- FREE education and healthcare
- nutritious, unadulterated food
- decent housing
- a healthful and decent standard of living
- the legal protections of family structures that are NOT narrowly
defined according to an antiquated theology
- the benefits of technology
- a CLEAN environment with CLEAN WATER and CLEAN air
- free access and enjoyment of the natual environment (as well as
responsibility for its stewardship)
- self government without the interference and undue influence of
global korporate interests
- protection of our native industries through a system of tariffs

Have I missed anything?

It has been clearly demonstrated over the past eight years -
culminating in the fiasco of 3 October 2008 - that these CASCADIAN
values are NOT shared by those in Washington DC, and in fact are
ANTITHETICAL to the values of the United States government - a
governement that consistently acts with CONTEMPT for Labor while
kneeling to administer the tenderest fellatio to Kapital.

Does anyone remember the real issues behind the revolt of England's
North American colonies in 1775?

In a nutshell, the British Parliament at that time was bending over
backwards to please the big global korporate Wal-Mart of its time,
the British East India Company - while economically raping the
small
business owners in the colonies.

And now it happens again. Do not be misled; we are once again taxed
without our consent, without representation.

We are once again subject to economic rape for the benefit of
global
korporations.

It's 1775, all over again.

Thomas Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must from time to time
must be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and patriots."

Nonetheless, bloodshed and violence is also antithetical to
Cascadian
values. After all, it is what Washington DC and its korporate
overlords stand for and what we are resisting. As much as my
primitive urge is to grab some korporatist neo-con by the throat
and
pound his smirking face into a pulp, I must rise above my reptilian
impulses and acknowledge that ultimately, such violence is the last
refuge of the incompetent.

India achieved its independence without bloodshed. It took 31
years,
but it was achieved. Serbia also was initially able to break with
Tito's old empire without bloodshed. Poland's non-violent Solidairy
Movement resulted in the overthrow of Communist Fascism in that
country.

The time has come for the Free Republic of Cascadia to do the same -

and to set an example for the rest of the world that the USA had
done
at one time.

My allegiance to what was left of the USA died along with the
pretense of Amerikan democracy on 3 October 2008. I am henceforth a
Cascadian. When this body of mine wears out and gives up to ghost,
it
will be wrapped in the Doug Flag and cremated in the shadows of
Tahoma on the shores of the Salish Sea, or on the Banks of
Enchewanna
beneath the glaciers of Wy'eest.

I call upon my fellow Cascadians in the former states of Washington
and Oregon (and the province of British Columbia - interestingly,
the
last province to join Canada - if they would join us, being as
Stephen Harper is nothing more than King George W's catamite) at
this
point to simply CONSIDER - not necessarily to take action, but to
start READING and CONSIDERING the idea of a free and independent
Cascadia. Go to:

http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/Cascadian_ Bioregionalism/

There is a discussion group there as well as a great many resources
(including a sound file and sheet music for the new Cascadian
Anthem,
Kwanesum Chinuk Illahi [Cascadia Forever], written and composed by
yours truly).

Also, download the free e-book, Nonviolent Struggle: 50 Crucial
Points at:

http://www.canvasop edia.org/ content/special/ nvstruggle. htm

Start reading. Learn how we can make change simply by our mass,
unified refusal to grant korporate tryants the obedience they
demand.


The Government of the late, great United States no longer
represents
our interests, and no longer even pretends to do so. We are NOTHING
to them except as a source of slave labor and materiel to feed the
insatiable greed of their korporate whoremasters. The only thing
that matters to Washington DC is big korporate money - obscene
wealth
and power.

Let the Evergreen Revolution start NOW.

KWANSUM CHINUK ILLAHI!

In solidarity,

Skukum Tamanawis

P.S. While you're at it, visit http://www.cayoosh. net/hiyu/ and
start
learning something about Chinook Jargon. Ikt chinuk wawa is likely
to
be one of the official languages of Cascadia (Chinuk Illahi) along
with English and Spanish.