Kate Anne FOR Peace, Justice and Nonviolence ~ Weblog

Do yourself a favor and check out the Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Garden -- worth the trip to the Bronx: beautiful orchids of all different sizes and colors -- healing and peace-restoring! Metro North has a special stop -- or take the subway and walk. (I went with Lucy DeFrancesco and her family as we celebrated her birthday -- and got a ride to boot: wonderful!)

On a personal note, I've been working on my to-do list: building a website for WQIDC and using some of FlyLady.net 's ideas to bring peace to my home and private life. I can only give it to the world, if I have peace myself.

"Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."

It begins with an appreciation of creation -- orchids and birds at my bird feeder and spring bursting forth soon, the magic of Christo's saffron gates in Central Park Thursday evening during the snow storm, AND simplification of my life. For the more formal peace and justice political stuff, check out my links page and watch for more notes blogged shortly. As for now, however, I am allowing myself to proceed at a reasonable and doable pace. None of us can do it all and peacemakers burn out if they aren't careful.

Peace, birdsong, floral blessings, and joy -- with hugs,
Kate Anne

The other night before falling asleep I listened to AirAmericaRadio.com's Mike Malloy and his guest Ward Churchill who has been harangued and misinterpreted for speaking what sounds like truth to me: 9/11 as chickens coming home to roost on some hateful US military/political policies. On 9/11 and the days following, as the wind blew the scent from the still burning site all over town, New Yorkers bonded together and would speak to total strangers who were sharing our grief and disbelief. In this climate, we speculated on the who's and why's and I sadly noted to a number of strangers (as well as friends) -- and was not rebutted! -- that "we aren't entirely innocent". I knew I was putting mildly and p-c-ably what I really felt -- shades of what Churchill stated in his early post 9/11 reflection, Some People Push Back ( http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill.html) now expanded into book form as On The Justice of Roosting Chickens. We don't like to admit it -- no, we HATE to admit it, that our great country has been guilty of great evil. I like to be positive but it is a question of yin and yang, light and shadow. We like to think of ourselves as so good, and we most assuredly have done good, but looming is the truth of what Ward Churchill says. Read the original and you might wish to read his January 31st explanatory statement first, which Mike Malloy read before he announced Churchill would be his guest: http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/ward_churchill_responds.html

Okay, he gets a bit extreme with his mini-Eichmann reference, but like it or not, folks, to the most part, Churchill's comments are potent and credible. From our early days of Indian-killing by giving them gifts of blankets imbedded with the small pox virus to the more recent Panama and Granada, even Vietnam (read Churchill for a longer list) -- sad, sad stuff. Even as the truth of the Bush administration's pre-knowledge of the possibility of a 9/11-like event seems to be finally coming out in the mainstream media (including stuff from the 9/11 Commission which was not released before the 2004 election because "they" knew it would have most assuredly given Kerry a victory too big for Bush to steal), we still cling to the American Dream -- and yes, we -- all of us -- should be able to live that dream and share it with the world: peace and justice, food and shelter, good health and affordable healthcare, some money to spend on frivolous and life enhancing items. We all deserve that. Not just a few corporate CEOs or Wall Street investors, but we, the worker bees, in America and everywhere, deserve a slice of Mom's American apple pie. And we won't be getting it anytime soon, if our tax dollars go to funding the war machine and our children are sent to die for oil and empire. We need peace, we need justice, we need to atone for our sins -- those sited by Churchill and all of our sins. Yes, we have done good -- thank God -- but we have been misled and done wrong, too. So let's create the better America and the better world that is possible, let's remember the WHOLE quotation by 19th century politician Senator Carl Shurz and act upon it:

"My country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right—when wrong, to be put right."

Meditate on that quotation and where it should take us. Please remember the bumper sticker observation, "The religious right is neither" and seek a truly more compassionate path for America, not present in Bush's anti-middle class, anti-poor policies -- and budget. Remember that God is Love and open our hearts to the God of us all. And give thanks and pray for Academic Freedom -- and discussion and debate.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Bush's State of the Union -- couldn't listen to it. Instead I re-watched Groundhog Day -- a classic Bill Murray film about repeating stuff in your life until you get it right. Have also been spending more time with my iPod and Nancy LaMott's newly released "Live at Tavern on the Green" and to her re-released "Listen to My Heart" -- her early death a few years ago is a loss to the world, but her music lives on, thanks to David Friedman, her producer, and her big fan Jonathan Schwartz who plays her frequently on his NPR shows. Her singing brings peace to my heart and I have added "We Can Be Kind" to my peace playlist. I'm not avoiding reality, I am preparing for it. A peaceful Kate Anne can help heal the world.

Answering Bush's lies, William River's Pitt did a good job at his blog site at http://www.TruthOut.org/FYI -- see February 2nd. And anyone with any sense of economics knows one of Bush's whoppers is his Social Security Crisis ploy to earn mega dollars for his Wall Street cronies at vast cost to US taxpayers and elderly. There is NO CRISIS!!! Economist and NY Times essayist Paul Krugman has consistently posted great stuff on the topic -- his latest picked up at TruthOut.org: Many Happy Returns -- http://truthout.org/docs_2005/020105E.shtml

As someone aptly brought up to Randi Rhodes on AirAmericaRadio.com -- the working poor would especially be hurt by Bush's latest assault on the Middle Class. People can barely pay their rent and eat let alone find money for healthcare -- and then find more to invest?? And even if they did would their money be matched by their employers like Social Security?? CommonDreams.org has some good stuff on the subject, too. But let's all contact our Senators and Congress members and say a resounding NO to privatization, personalization, or whatever the latest term Bush chooses to disguise his dismantling of the Social Security safety net.

Now to play my iPod, calm down, and go to work. (And check out my links and FreePress.org for more on the post election Ohio followup -- yes!)

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne