Will Humans Make It?

What's It All About, Alfie?

Here I am, just one of 6.4 billion humans, living on a Big Blue Marble that's floating through space. The Human Story has so far been interesting. I often wonder how it's going to unfold. Like everyone else, I'll only be on this Planet for a short while, so I have no idea how it's all going to end.

As I drive to work or as I lay in bed, I often try to figure out "what it's all about." One thing I know is that studying history provides a big piece of the puzzle, so I spend much time watching the History Channel and reading up on the web. What I see from, say 10,000 years ago, is an interesting human progression. As I see it, the human scenario will end in two ways: We will either experience unprecedented success and populate the barren Universe, or we will become extinct in the next 100-200 years. That's all there is to it.

All my life I've been a futurist, and I've dreamed of humankind's destiny. What a joy it will be to travel the Universe, set up colonies, and expand our civilization infinitely. Space is really the ultimate goal and the ultimate joy for our species.

Getting My Head Out of the Clouds

Whew, it's wonderful to dream, but when I come back to Earth I see an ugly, complicated, BIG mess. Humans are a dysfunctional lot and seem more bent on self-destruction than on progress. We humans are destroying our environment and reproducing ourselves with reckless abandon, at the expense of our Planet's health. Without question, I think the number one problem facing humankind is premature overpopulation. By "premature" I mean, yeah, sure, one day we can have trillions of people but only when we can begin settling the Galaxy. Right now, our Planet cannot support infinite growth without doing two things: hurting other species and harming the biosphere that supports us (possibly permanently). We just can't seem to get it into our head that the size of our family has a global impact. We simply can't make the connection between cute little babies and increased traffic congestion and rainforest destruction. "Oh, MY CUTE LITTLE BABY isn't causing these things," we say as we hold little junior into the air. "NO, NOT MY KID, DAMNIT!"

The Second Biggest Challenge

The number two greatest problem facing humans is our pre-programmed dogma. We just can't seem to get our ancient beliefs and habits out of our head, even though they are causing us to walk head-on into a wall. It's really time for us to pull all this crap out of our brains and start all over again. Now, granted, there is a lot of good collective knowledge and ideals that we've collected over the years, but we've also accumulated a lot of destructive garbage. We really need to sit down and sort things out, and say to ourselves, "Now, what is good for the community and the future, and what is hurting us and holding us back?"

Of course, religion is a huge part of "pre-programmed dogma." We've created these religious stories and characters to personify all the great things we have learned, like "love one another." But at the same time, we all use our religions to beat each other over the head. Religion provides yet another excuse for us silly humans to fight, judge, murder, and basically do bad things to one another. In short, religion sucks.

Other Challenges

Somewhere over the past hundreds of years we've gotten this crazy idea that we are above all the other animals. As a result, we've disrespected and abused the millions of other living species that we share the Planet with. Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong to eat other animals because it's not. But it's damn sick when we push other species to extinction or we poison their habitat to the point where they are sick and miserable. Now, for those of you who are always looking for a good sin to point a finger at, well, that's a BIG SIN. It's WRONG! Please don't pull out some Bible verse out of context to try to justify it because species destruction is one of the most horrible things that we humans are doing. Yes, it is genocide.

Along these same lines, within the last few decades we've lost our connection with nature. This is the greatest, heartbreaking tragedy of all. We've created this massive, climate-controlled environment and we rarely get outdoors. We've filled out lives with tons of trivial busyness, and as a result we no longer take time to enjoy a sunset or the twinkle of the stars. We fill our lives with rented movies without realizing that we our numbing our soul in the process. We no longer appreciate nature, and what's worse, we don't respect it. This is the greatest problem of all with modern humanity, and losing our love for nature may very well lead to our destruction.

This quote really sums up my thoughts today, and it's so true:

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught."
— Baba Dioum, Monterey Bay Sanctuary

Remember That I'm Not Insane

The lord musta blessed me with it.

What The???

I had a wonderful evening tonight celebrating my daughter's 19th birthday at a favorite restaurant. Some of her friends brought male companions and I was introduced to a guy who is a salesman for Atlanta Hummer.

ATLANTA HUMMER? My GOD, those gas-guzzling vehicles are a symbol of everything that we environmentalists oppose. Hummers make our skin crawl. Hummers represent all the excess, craziness, and everything that is wrong with America. So, was I going to jump over the table and whoop this guy's butt? Were we going to have a cowboy saloon fight right in the middle of the restaurant?

Naw, I figured what the heck. I was just nice and pleasant to the guy, and I even shook his head. I figured he probably didn't want me lecturing him about how the Hummers are making us more dependent on foreign oil and filling up our atmosphere with greenhouse gases. See, the auto industry only knows that bulk means profit, and the dealers have to move bulk. BULK, LOTS OF BULK, and screw air quality, the future of our world, or anything else. Detroit has to move bulk. Who am I to argue with THAT?



Tom DeLay - the new breed of Christian.
Me want to be just like him when I grow up.

A Loving Reminder

A Canary friend sent me the following. It does seem to have a sharp, cynical edge to it, but it makes a good point. All I can say is that when I look at Tom DeLay, who is supposed to be this good, moral Christian, I am totally disgusted. Why aren't the Christians and clergy and religious conservatives demanding his ouster? To the contrary, they place his icon on their holy shelves and they worship him. But I tell ya, Tom DeLay is corrupt, the U.S. Congress is corrupt, and the caustic religious system that supports DeLay and his Republican brood are corrupt. Rep. DeLay played his Terry Schiavo card and pacified his base. So now, all is well in America. Sleep tight.

Teaching of Christ

Love your enemies.
Turn the other cheek.
Feed the poor.
Help the sick.
Do not judge people, just help them, God will judge when the time comes.
Be suspicious of Churches that acquire wealth.
Don't dwell on personal wealth. It would be better to give it all to the
poor (specifically he said the poor, not the church.)
Pay your taxes.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Teachings of American Conservatives

Wars to get more oil are OK.
Wars to stop genocide are not OK.
If the rich get richer everyone benefits.
Big corporations are good for America.
Drug companies need to make a big profit so they can do research even though
government funds the research.
HMO's and Insurance Companies don't need regulation.
The property rights of polluters are more important than the property rights
of those who live down stream or down wind.
Poor people deserve to be poor because they are lazy.
Poor children deserve to be hungry because their parents are lazy.
Lowering taxes is more important than the environment, education or anything
that helps children.
Poisoning the environment is OK if it's profitable. Besides the rich always
live upstream.
It is Ok to regulate what people can do in their bedrooms, but not OK to
regulate guns or corporations.
It is important to make a big public display about loving Jesus, but his
teachings are often a problem. It is better to stick to the Old Testament's
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth while condemning homosexuals and
others different from you. You can still call yourself "Christian" and most
people won't notice the difference.

Canary Sez: Don't call me insane, baby. I ain't insane. If you support Tom Delay and his brand of selective, perverted moralism, than you'ze insane. Honest.

America the Whore

They is public high rises. Well, we gotta put everyone somewhere.

Yankee Ingenuity? My foot

All my life I've heard all this talk about America being successful because of our talent, our brainpower, and our hard work. Maybe that was once true, but in the last few decades, there's only been one way that we mainly create wealth — we feed our open land to the developer mongrels. We convert land into houses, stores, warehouse, and industrial complexes. Lots of people get rich, and these are the people who influence the government, so everything is cool.

And America grows, like a big bloating monster. Our liberal immigration policy, our denial of the need for sex education in schools, and our downright greed keeps our favorite industry exploding in growth — construction. As the construction sector thrives, it trickles money into every other economic sector. See, we cannibalize our own land, and everyone makes money. Farmer John sells his farm to some developer with alligator skin shoes, and then Farmer John buys a Lincoln and visits Hawaii. Hell, everyone's happy.

Like a big Hoover vacuum, that wonderful construction industry sucks in mass legions of foreign labor to lay the sod, lay the bricks, and dig the ditches. White America loves this, but then they don't. White America doesn't like all the "different" people moving into their neighborhoods, so they flee to the outer suburbs, and the foreign labor is needed to build their yuppie getaway communities.

Our great gift and asset in this country is our beautiful countryside, yet we are whoring our land away and not giving it a second thought. This is land that once provided the world's breadbasket, and land that provided habitat for a vast array of wildlife. But who cares, because this whoring business is making us MONEY!



We ARE genius because we know how to tear apart our own country.


Let's pack America with people

Three states — Florida, California and Texas — would account for nearly one-half (46 percent) of total U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2030, according to Census Bureau state population projections released today. Consequently, Florida, now the fourth most populous state, would edge past New York into third place in total population by 2011; California and Texas would continue to rank first and second, respectively, in 2030. These three states would each gain more than 12 million people between 2000 and 2030. Arizona, projected to add 5.6 million people, and North Carolina, with 4.2 million, would round out the top five numerical gainers. As a result, Arizona and North Carolina would move into the top 10 in total population by 2030 — Arizona rising from 20th place in 2000 to 10th place in 2030 and North Carolina from 11th place to seventh place. Michigan and New Jersey are projected to drop out of the top 10. The projections indicate that the top five fastest-growing states between 2000 and 2030 would be Nevada (114 percent), Arizona (109 percent), Florida (80 percent), Texas (60 percent) and Utah (56 percent).
— Press Release, Spatial News.com, April 22

Now, I'm not opposed to immigration. It's just that if there was more equity in the world, the migration flows wouldn't be a problem. But right now, millions are pouring into the United States to help fuel the construction industry. They are doing the hard and dirty work of building White America — building the new shopping malls for the whoremongers.

Then there's the cute babies

Of course, there's no sense in building a bunch of golf communities and McNasty restaurants if you don't have lots of people. Thus, our government and its religious and corporate masters, continue to push pro-fertility policies. Millions of babies are needed for the economic war machine. No wonder our Republican-controlled government opposes abortion — those little babies are needed.

Then, to really stoke the flames of the conservative masses, the GOP turns abortion into a moral issue, while at the same time they cut Title X (reproductive benefits for low-income women) and they push the unproven Abstinence Only programs (probably knowing full well that at-risk teens are still going to have sex whether or not they get a wait-till-marriage lecture at school).

See, this whole thing is cleverly engineered. The Karl Roves and other behind-the-scenes manipulators know how to work their voter base. They know that promoting family planning services would REDUCE abortions. But abortion is a nice hot button for single-issue voters that has continually played well for the GOP.

What are you trying to say, Canary?

I'm saying that growing population, and converting forests, pastures, and farmland into brick and asphalt is BIG BUSINESS. I'm saying that it's no coincidence that we have the highest fertility rate among Western nations. For the government, babies mean tax base, for corporations, it means profit, and for organized religion, well, it's an opportunity to energize congregations with saliva-throwing lectures about "values."

The Whore of Babylon...
"For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
— Revelations 18:3, Holy Bible

Canary sezs: At them big fancy churches, no one wants to admit who the Whore of Babylon really is.

Narcissistic Christianity - Is there A Problem Here?

Oh boy, let's live the American lifestyle. Let's buy big
houses, big cars, move to the suburbs, and go to a
fun church with lots of "programs."

"And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
— Quoted by Jesus Christ, conveniently forgotten by material-addicted Americans


"To keep me from becoming conceited ... there was given me a thorn in my flesh ... to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
— Apostle Paul, also forgotten by the money-worshippers


I find it puzzling that those who are so quick to ruthlessly and harshly judge me seem to conveniently forget their own dogma. See, I grew up in church too, but I kind of got a different take on Christianity. The one thing I admire most about my Jesus Christ was His beautiful humility. Jesus owned nothing except a tunic, robe, sandals, and a walking staff. Yet, today's American Christians seem obsessed with owning their trophy house, SUV, big-screen TV, and whatever else they can go into debt to buy. When I see giant vehicles with a fish on the back, when I see their mega-million fancy church buildings, when I see their golf course lawns, and when I see them pack the malls during Christmas season, I'm just wondering where the hell is the humility?

The Prayer

Family members and friends have called me "jaded and cynical," but, come on, am I really? Here I am living in a culture that is full of selective ethics, paradox, and hypocrisy. And when I question this, I'm called a cynic??? My sister recently called to say she was buying a trophy house, a house she can barely afford. "We really prayed about it," she said. Wow? Is God now telling people to buy trophy houses? Is He telling people to go deeper in debt?
Again, where is the humility?

As I have grown older, the American obsession with comfort, wealth, and buying "things" has come to disgust me. This is not about Christianity. And don't give me that crap about God has blessed you with wealth. I don't believe for a second that God rewards people with money. Hello, doesn't anybody get it? The entire ministry of Christ was about the heart, not the wallet, and not politics. If you are to be blessed, it will be a blessing of joy, grace, internal peace, and an overwhelming feeling of love — not a high definition TV or a new Hummer!

White Flight

Where I live in metro Atlanta, white flight continues as the White People continue to move farther out into the farmlands to create their little bedroom communities, complete with McMansions and a strip shopping center at every corner. Why would white Christians want to flee the Blacks, Mexicans, and other immigrants? Shouldn't they seize this opportunity to witness to diverse peoples? What is particularly troubling is to see churches packing up and moving out with them. If a church was really Christian, shouldn't it stay put and develop ministries to reach out to these newcomers to the community? I know of two churches who have done just that — they ran. Once in Heaven, will Christians still be running away from people who are different than them? And then I hear people say, "But the crime is bad." So, what are you doing about it?

The irony is that these people of color are humble, just like God wants us to be, and have a wonderful sweet spirit about them. Yes, my town is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, but I have made the decision not to run. I would much rather live in a community of poor, humble, and diverse people rather than to move to the boonies and exist in an artificial, double-standard, yuppie, sprawl, hell.

So...

The pursuit of wealth is a self-consuming, selfish, and destructive habit. Yet, many conservative Christians will go to extremes to justify their narcissistic and hypocritical addiction to materialism.

"Narcissism is the pattern of traits and behaviors which involve infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance, and ambition."
— Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another Canary Martyred

Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis's comments during a speech in San Diego, remarking that "it's fun to shoot some people," in reference to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are appalling. At a time when the United States military is trying to win hearts and minds in both countries, and when Iraqis think that American forces are trigger-happy, his words are counterproductive. For our troops who are dying every day, making war sound like a sport is beyond distasteful.
— Marla Ruzicka, February 5, 2005



Marla Ruzicka, 28, a great activist for the people,
died in a car bomb blast in Baghdad two
days ago.


My tears and broken heart go out to Canary sister Marla Ruzicka, founder of the Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict (CIVIC). At great personal risk, she had spent the last years of her life conducting surveys of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan (known as "collateral damage" in military terms).

As reported on National Public Radio, Marla used her own personal savings to finance her first trip overseas, where she would go door-to-door to assess civilian losses. Her work inspired Congress to appropriate $10 million in aid to victims in Iraq. In Afghanistan, she worked with the human rights organization Global Exchange, where she helped pressure the U.S. government to provide funds for Afghan war victims. Prior to these projects, she worked for USAID.

I guess what really touches is me is that while most Americans are watching TV and stuffing their faces with Big Macs, Marla gave her life to help others, probably knowing that she was in great personal danger. She had courage, and she wasn't just talk — she did incredible things in her short life.

I wonder if I have the courage of Marla in me. I wonder if I would risk my life to help others like she did. Few people would. I think about all the overweight, sloppy lazy, judgmental people in my country. Tonight they are waiting for the peas to sizzle in their TV dinners and they aren't even thinking about Marla. They don't even care — they are more upset about gas prices going up and the red wine stain on their carpet.

To Marla: you dedicated yourself to help others and ease the suffering of your fellow humans. While providing aid and easing the suffering of innocent civilians, you died a most horrible and violent death. Thanks, Marla, for setting an example for all of us. Thank you for showing courage.

Okay, America, get back to your ham sandwich, Mountain Dew, and Sex in the City reruns. Sorry to interrupt your evening with my little outburst of sorrow.

The Legacy of the Pope

"Of course there are also a very few people with genuine consciences who still call themselves Americans, but they really would be better off just calling themselves humans. Forget the national label. Let evil people call themselves Americans as they goosestep down the street for The Homeland. Patriotism is primitive tribalism. Nationalism is nothing more than collective egocentricity."
— From the freespeech.org network


Hello to everyone out there in TV land! It's been two weeks since I blogged — sorry to keep you hanging. During this time Terry Schiavo's feeding tube was removed and the Pope died. Both events provided raw meat for a bored and shallow press.

I'm not sure what to say about the Schiavo case — I mean, who really wants to die? But at the same time, what's the point of living in a "vegetative state." The husband was the legal guardian, he made the call, and it should have ended there. As for all this talk about "Culture of Life," give me a break. That is the most selectively used and hypocritical term I've ever heard.

As for the Pope, he mirrors religion as a whole — he did a lot of good, but his brutal "Culture of Life" positions will ultimately do more harm than good. Opposing condoms for people at-risk for AIDS in Africa, buying hospitals in the U.S. and then cutting off their family planning services ... well, what may seem like a Culture of Life now is really a Culture of Death. The long-term effect of human overpopulation will cause far more deaths and suffering in the long-run, yet the Pope and the upper echelons of his organization oppose ANY type of birth control.

Not to mention the refusal to ordain women — that sends out a message of ancient caveman male superiority. Nothing else. As for the glazing over of priestly pedophilia, well, I'm thinking that there may be a little problem with the entire institution.

"[The Vatican] also disseminated misinformation claiming that condoms could not stop the AIDS virus and condoned the burning of condoms in Catholic churches in AIDS-racked Africa."
— Caryl River, Women's News columnist

So, I commend the Pope for his social justice work, opposing the death penalty and Iraq war, and for reaching out to Jews and Muslims. These attributes make him a great spiritual leader. But, again, his War on Birth Control negates this good. My uncle died of AIDS in 1994, and I can tell you it is a horrible disease. And because of the Vatican's policies, many more in Africa have and will experience this horrible fate. So, when I hear the term "Culture of Life," this is what I think about. I also think about the dreadful future that our religious institutions are creating for us.

Yellow Canary

Power and the Obvious

Let's settle this right
here and now, oh ye
American.

First, an Aside

The Canary would like to interrupt his usual programming for a short rant:

I've heard a lot of discussion this past week about the two recent spats of violence: the shootings at the Federal courthouse in Atlanta and the mass murder at the school in northern Minnesota. Most of the talk has been about how we can better detect and prepare for humans who suddenly snap and turn violent. At the Easter Service I attended at church, the pastor even used these acts of violence as examples of how humans are flawed (I disagree this). So, anyway, the point being, no one happened to mention the OBVIOUS: That it was easy access to GUNS that lead to these deaths. GUNS, GUNS, GUNS! Now, out of the billions of humans on this Earth, I believe that there will always be a few rabid people that become violent. Certainly, we should address the risk factors and the root causes that leads to violence, but more importantly, we should GET RID OF THE GUNS! Now, in both of these recent cases, the mad humans would have done far less damage without a hand gun. Maybe they could have slashed one or two people with a knife, but that would have been it.

Last week there was also a lot of discussion about rising fuel prices. A few days ago, gas surpassed the $2 mark and the talking heads in the media were blaming it on investors and rapidly growing economies. Amazingly, no one mentioned the REAL reason gas prices are going up — our exploding national and global population. There are more people competing for limited resources. If everyone showed responsibility and held their family size to two or less children, the energy problem could be solved.



When talking about rising gases prices and other world ills,
the media always fails to mention this little problem.

Now Let's Talk About China ...

Well, the People's Republic of China is controlled by an authoritarian regime that operates under the guise of communism. The United States of America is run by a corporate-controlled regime operating under the guise of democracy.

Remember this: The sole purpose of power is to preserve comfort.

The elite, privileged, and wealthy of both nations — China and America — have entered into a mutually beneficial relationship that preserves the "comfort" for both ruling parties. China gets money and trade from the United States. They put their endless masses of people into workshops to make cheap products for the Americans. The U.S. corporate warlords now have cheap products to sell, and they enjoy greater profits.

Even though China is a repressionist society that deprives their citizens of basic human rights, well, we occasionally slap their wrist, but in the meantime we give them billions of dollars to buy their cheap goods. Maybe our American leaders figured that an intensive trade relationship would help avoid a war.

But we can NEVER forget Tibet, Falun Gong, and Tiananmen Square!

The power structure of China is bent on preserving their COMFORT, and for the most part the United States coalesces with the Chinese rulers for mutual economic benefit. This isn't about the people — this is about the rich getting richer and the powerful becoming MORE powerful.



Unquestionably, this is the most classic photo ever taken of
the People standing up to THE MACHINE. The peaceful
demonstrators of Tiananmen Square are among the world's
greatest heros and should never be forgotten.



A Canary brother is martyred
on June 4, 1989.


Lesson Learned ...

We think that a Tiananmen Square could never happen in the U.S., but don't be surprised. But then again, would the populace even BOTHER to hold a mass, peaceful demonstration? Well, not as long as THE MACHINE keeps them content, or screws with their minds enough.

I don't blame the Chinese government for their brutal suppression of the student demonstrators. After all, THE MACHINE was only trying to protect its POWER. What I do blame is the mass Chinese citizenry who did not come to the aid of the peaceful protesters. I'm sure THE MACHINE used all its favorite tactics to keep the rest of the population passive. They probably tried to brand the student democracy activists as criminals, traitors, etc... See, THE MACHINE is an expert at playing with people's heads.


"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

— Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher (1729-1797)

Neocons

Let's conquer the world! On
to victory!

Neocon? Neo Nazi? Is there a difference?

I've been reading a lot about Neocons the past two weeks and what I'm learning really scares me. Most frightening, when I was at lunch a couple of days ago I was behind a good ol' boy pickup truck with a bumper sticker that read: "Condoleezza Rice For President - 2008." Now that really scares me because while I would love to see an African-American woman as president, I just don't think Dr. Rice is the right candidate. In fact, her words, actions, and attitudes are that of a true Neocon. My mom says she likes Dr. Rice because she is a "Christian." So, what a great candidate the Neocons have for 2008 — someone who will attract more woman, minority, and conservative Christian voters. With her as a candidate, the Republicans might attract just enough voters to win yet another election and thus, KEEP THE NEOCONS IN POWER!

What is a Neocon, Canary?

Neocons make my feathers stand straight up. They are the complete opposite of everything I believe in. When I see a group of them gathered at a White House press conference, I can't help but see the parallels to Hitler and his inner circle. There are a lot of similarities between the Neocons and Nazis.

Attributes of a Neocon:

• Believe that the U.S. is God-ordained to dominate the world.
• Don't like the UN.
• Not afraid to use military force to advance their agenda.
• Are masters of deception.
• While screaming "values" they work toward the corporatization of the U.S. government.

A Lesson Learned

My thought for the day: "Those who have the power will do anything to keep their power." This explains the "Condi Rice for President" movement. This explains the recent nomination of Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfwitz to lead the World Bank. See, the Neocons are simply trying to broaden and perpetuate their power.

George Orwell's 1984

I read this book in 1984. Now, it's terrifying to see it all come true 21 years later.

From a recent letter writer to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Orwell described a society based on misinformation, suppression of truth, distortion of reality, calling something the opposite of what it is, and playing on fear to manipulate people's perceptions. The Orwellian society is also characterized by loss of personal freedoms, egregious intrusions into private life, and complete state control by an elite who believe they alone are qualified to lead. This describes what is happening now in America with the radical corporatization of the state.

In the Orwellian state, the basis and purpose of government is to serve the ideology and interests of the wealthy and powerful. In this country, the parallels are sobering.

Does That Surprise You, Canary?

Well, if you'll read my blog entries and web site, you'll see that I was quite freaked in 2003 when I first discovered what was going on in my country. Now, I'm used to it. It no longer surprises me to think that a group of people have taken over the U.S. government and they want to mold it to: first, re-engineer government to be the slave of corporations and second, to push their so-called "values" on the rest of the world. What they are really trying to do is make the world submissive and subservient to the U.S. and her economic interests. Rest assured, this isn't about democracy — ultimately it's about MONEY.

And it no longer startles me when Neocons play the Christian card to get the votes they need to keep "their people" in power. And it no longer surprises me to think they will find minority and female candidates to run for office to again, attract more voters.

I understand that corporate America has infiltrated our government. They have collected the best minds to figure out ways of controlling and manipulating the American people, with the primary goal of keeping them submissive.

Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
— Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

But I Have Hope



The beautiful thing is that the real power is ultimately in the hands of WE THE PEOPLE. The people with the POWER will try to manipulate us and lie to us, so that they can keep us subservient. But when we get angry enough, we can go to the polls and vote them out, we can go on strike and shut down their industry, and we can go to their capital to demonstrate. When they see thousands of peaceful demonstrators in the streets, in most cases they will back down (but not always).

The recent peaceful demonstrations in the Ukraine and Lebanon have been beautiful events. In both cases, the people stood up to corrupt and unjust governments and said ENOUGH! Both mass demonstrations made positive accomplishments. As for the hippy movement and peace marches in the U.S. during the Vietnam War, again, that was a beautiful thing. The people stood up to an unjust war and a corrupt establishment and said ENOUGH!

The Canary thinks it's time to hit the streets again. The Power mongers know how to play the game better — they can do a better job of keeping us passive. But maybe not for long.

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?"
— Excerpt from Nuremberg Diary

Drilling De Arctic

It's an ugly place, really, it is. Honest. It's not
like we can build condos there.

The End is Really the Beginning

I can't express enough my anger and exasperation over the U.S. Senate vote this week to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On National Public Radio I heard plenty of Republican Senators justifying their votes, and, well, all their arguments are STUPID. The point being, is that not hardly a word was mentioned about CONSERVATION.

See, the Senate Republicans don't mind rolling over the environmentalists and screwing the local Native Americans who live in the region, but they won't dare stand up to the auto and oil companies. After all, they are the "milk tit." And may I remind everyone that now that the Senate is packed with more Republicans, this long-time controversial issue finally passed by a vote of 51-49.

"This project will keep our economy growing by creating jobs and ensuring that businesses can expand," Bush said in a statement. "And it will make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, eventually by up to a million barrels of oil a day." — AP Wire

So, this is the usual trite Republican propaganda that has no bearing on reality. See, SURPRISE! The world's resources are finite and we can't keep growing forever. I know this is a shock to tunnel vision conservatives, but the reality of the next few decades may sober them up. The truth is, the population and economies of the world are exploding in growth and the poor oil pumps and refineries can't even keep up. This is causing oil prices to rise and the oil sucked up and sold to SUV owners will only make a small dent in overall demand.

Come on — oil demand is increasing, global population is skyrocketing, and industrial economies are expanding. What, OH WHAT do you think is going to happen?

I will tell you. The days of cheap oil are ending. So, about everything in your life is connected to oil, including the tons of plastic you throw in the trash every day. Not to mention your car, your airlines, your tires, your dandruff shampoo. OH MY GOD! We are all going to have flaky heads and have to walk everywhere.

In the next three decades we will see intense competition for the remaining oil, fresh water, food, and other natural resources. There will be wars, terrorism, mass environmental ruin, endless crowding, new diseases, and mass misery. Millions, if not billions, of people will die.

We could change our ways now and make a sharp U-turn. But the religious conservatives who now control the money, the government, the largest religious institutions, and the corporations, well, they are thick-headed and will have to learn the hard way.

To President Bush and your "base," mark my words: On March 19, 2005, I, the Yellow Canary, have warned thee. You can either heed my warning and make major changes, or you can continue living in your Business-As-Usual fantasy world.

"So, what happens, Canary? How does the story end?"

After the end of The Oil Age, the surviving humans will learn to live VERY differently. These will be mainly humans who lived in remote places and planned for this event. They will learn to live a lot more peacefully and sustainably. Technology and material wealth will mean little to them, and spiritual values will take precedence. They will discover that fulfillment in life is not about material possessions, but rather, the sheer joy of living and learning to live in communion with other animals and nature..

I would like to sum up my rant with the words of a fellow Canary named Tom. He does a perfect job of expressing my sentiments for today:

The opening of the ANWR to drilling is a sad milestone in the the history of human civilization. Please remember, however, that there is no "end of Nature."

This event symbolizes civilization's war on the rest of the world, and as they say, Nature bats last. In this case, geology plays a central role. For almost two centuries, civilization has "industrialized" using fossil fuels, and I am convinced we are now entering civilization's final phase, where cheap petroleum becomes harder to obtain and civilization's generally-accepted notion of unlimited "progress" becomes painfully naive to many.

Our leaders have no Plan B, other than to enact ever-more-desperate attempts to hoard what material wealth remains and prolong the business-as-usual. In their minds, civilization is non-negotiable, and the opening of ANWR to drilling proves this mindset.

I feel a sense of loss, but not so much for the nonhuman inhabitants of the ANWR. Eventually, the grass pushes through the cracks in civilization's abandoned parking lots; the dams are breached; the steel bridges rust. The caribou may even find their way home. I feel for the real losers: us and our heirs--especially those who have no clue about what's happening.

If you have not already done so, now is a good time to imagine what steps you'll take if our System does fail--either gradually or suddenly. And keep an eye on the news about oil prices...

He's Back ...

I'm back...

So much has taken place in the last two weeks. I'm glad things are slower now.

Me little racing mind has many thoughts:

• Making Changes. How can I expect the World to make the big changes needed for a sustainable future, when it's so hard for me to even make the little changes? Starting an organic garden and riding public transportation one day a week would be a big step toward my goal, but these things require time, and my life is full and crazy. On those rare times when I do have a free moment, I just want to go, "Ahhhh" and chill.

• The Middle East. President Bush is evolving "his story" about Iraq. Now it's a noble cause to promote democracy in the Middle East. But, you know what, I can't help but agree with him. I really do believe that democracy is a beautiful thing, but war is not the way to achieve it. However, while I disagree with 99% of the President's policies, I did like his speech today — about no longer being afraid and about the great struggle against authoritarian rule. And I am happy for the students of Lebanon who are standing up against the Syrian occupation. Maybe we should applaud those Iraqis who are standing up against the American occupation? Whoops, I know that is a bad thing to say, but doesn't the double standard just kill ya?

• Infinite Growth. So, the cover story of Georgia Trend magazine says that metro Atlanta will be up to 6 million people by 2030. Wow, that's a lot of people! The north Georgia plateau is badly overdeveloped, yet humans are going to keep multiplying and spreading their sprawl until the whole of north Georgia is gone!!!! All the country people will finally get to sell their land and make big bucks, and the developers will get new luxury cars, and the illegal immigrants will get work, but as for the residents and the environment — we are screwed. We will drown in our own excrement — our millions of septic tanks will foul the groundwater, our millions of cars and our power plants will continue fouling the air, and we will spend half our day in gridlocked traffic. Yet, couples will still continue to have three and four kids, and still won't have a clue that their family size ultimately has an impact on their quality of life. People just can't make that connection between the number of children and traffic congestion. And then there's the drunken county commissioners who take a swig from the bottle and scream, "Growth," and when their county is built out they start screaming "Quality Growth," and then in their sleep they scream, "We need more JOBS!" See, politicians just can't let go of the "GROWTH" thing. It seems to be ingrained in these leaders that growth is ALWAYS good and that it should be infinite. But look around you, damnit. You've scalped the Earth, the trees are gone, your streams are yellow and your sky is purple. That is your legacy.

• Human Existence. Hmmm, they are doing a fund-raiser this weekend to help prevent underweight births, which is the leading cause of infant death. Now, the loss a child is a horrible thing and this is a worthy cause. However, why aren't there fund-raisers for family planning? Why aren't there education programs linking family size to environmental impact? Why aren't people with seven children publicly shamed? After all, their selfishness and ignorance is, in effect, stealing "life quality" from future generations. Do you REALLY think we can all keep having millions of babies indefinitely? Do we REALLY think that resources on the Earth are infinite? Come on, wake up! And as for all these people who have "accidents," my God, it's not like you hit somebody's bumper. Accident? More accurately, I think it's a DISASTER. Yes, I love children dearly, but aren't two enough? Do you need a little brochure to read? Or don't you have the courage to get a VASECTOMY?

• Human Export. I am generally opposed to immigration reform, but I do see one reason for it. I won't name names, but there are SOME countries who have the technology and finances to provide family planning to all citizens. Yet, it's not "in the culture" so what happens is that these nations become net exporters of humans. In effect, they are the world's incubators. The United States is a recipient of several nations' excess population. When the U.S. is filled up, they will just move somewhere else — maybe Antarctica? Yes, children are cute, a joy, and help to feed the ego, but again, why can't we just stop at two???

Well, I'm just sour grapes because I came back from my trip on Sunday and found a bunch of new developments going up. For the record, those who engage in this greedy, ravenous development are murderers and rapists. They are selling out our environment and future so that they can have a second home and a boat in Florida.

"Are you feeling angry tonight, Canary?"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Understanding Is Better Than Hating

When I get old they going to
kill me, process me, and shape
me into a McNugget and some
little kid's gonna eat me at
McNasty's.

Final Message For A While

With some major projects and traveling coming up, this will be my last entry for a couple of weeks. Before I sign off for a while, I'd like to leave a parting thought.

HATE

For most of my life I've grown up seeing the subtle hate, discrimination, and prejudice aimed at African-Americans. Sometimes it was in the form of a joke or off-handed comment. But in the last decade, targeting Blacks has been forgotten. Instead, folks have turned their prejudices on Mexicans and Muslims. Sometimes I get e-mails from people I barely know. Under the guise of "immigration reform" I often see and hear things that disrespect Mexicans. And under the name of "patriotism" I see and read hate-filled comments about Muslims.

First off, Mexico is our next door neighbor. I do not recognize human-made borders — we are all one people. If Mexicans come here to get jobs to feed their families, more power to them. Humans have always migrated, usually in search of a better life. I sometimes hear comments about the Mexicans "invading our country" and "destroying our culture." Come on, don't be silly.

In regards to radical Muslims who engage in violence, I have the very lowest regard for those who harm others. While the violence is wrong, I think it is important to study history and understand the climate that created so much hate. You have to understand how the Jews were essentially DRIVEN from Europe and had few options but to establish a state. You have to understand how the Middle East was abused and exploited by colonial powers, and how they were later used as pawns and proxies during the Cold War. You have to understand how the U.S. is viewed as a blatant hypocrite — talking about democracy while at the same time supporting Middle Eastern monarchies.

What We Need..

There needs to be more civility, more dialogue, more efforts to understand and learn about one another, and less hate. By participating in racism and prejudicism, you are only making the problems of our society worse. I urge everyone to give up the "hate" and replace it with a desire to "understand." There's been enough hate in the history of the world — perhaps it's time to try something different.

Utopia or Destruction

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN you can't find God up there?
Keep looking!" "Actually, Mr. Whipple, we can't
find ANYTHING up there. I will have to assume that we are
the only intelligent life in this Universe."


So MUCH to report since my last blog entry on Tuesday, but here are the highlights:

• New Religion - Okay, this guy in Birmingham, AL named Ford Vox has engineered a new religion, called United Universist (not related to Unitarian Universalist). This religion seems to contain elements of both Daniel Quinn and Freethinkers. On their extensive website is a passage that has become the thesis of my life:

"Universists are inspired by our evolution as conscious beings in a universe of matter and energy with nothing holding us back from eventually working our way towards utopia, or destroying everything. Universists believe that we have ultimate power and ultimate uncertainty."

• Planting Seeds - I love watching PBS in the late evenings. The specials on Black History Month are inspiring. I never realized that African-American intellectuals started planting the seeds for emancipation as far back as the 1820s. It really took several generations for the idea of "freedom" to take hold in the U.S.. Slavery was so extremely institutionalized that I'm sure both Blacks and Whites were thinking, "This is the way it's always been."

I was extremely inspired learning about David Walker (1785-1830), a Black abolitionist and idealist. I do not condone his support for violence, but I'm sure he had come to the conclusion that war would be the only way to free the slaves. The wicked institution was just too ingrained and economically viable to be given up without a bitter fight. I love how Mr. Walker published his pamphlet, titled "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World" and then found creative ways to smuggle it into the South. When his booklets began showing up, Southern states reacted by passing legislation prohibiting the circulation of Abolitionist literature (freedom of speech be damned), and they also forbid slaves to learn how to read and write. There were threats on David Walker's life, and he was mysteriously found dead near his shop — many believed he had been poisoned.

I have been for years troubling the pages of historians, to find out what our fathers have done to the white Christians of America, to merit such condign punishment as they have inflicted on them, and do continue to inflict on us their children. But I must aver, that my researches have hitherto been to no effect. I have therefore, come to the immoveable conclusion, that they (Americans) have, and do continue to punish us for nothing else, but for enriching them and their country. For I cannot conceive of anything else. Nor will I ever believe otherwise, until the Lord shall convince me.
— David Walker, 1830 (written soon before his mysterious death)

The point of this story is that David Walker was a seed planter. I like to think that myself and others in the Sustainability Movement are seed planters too, and we have to accept the fact that it may take another 40 years before our ideas for a better future take hold — and we will never get to see this Great Awakening. We must keep doing what we know in our heart is right.

• An Engineered Oil Puppet - Also on PBS this week, I saw a documentary on the history of Saudi Arabia. Okay, the point being that 9/11 was 50 years in the making, and that Saudi Arabia was used as a pawn during the Cold War. I remember vividly as a kid the long lines at the gas pump during the 1973 oil embargo. No one ever told me the embargo was ordered in response to the United States airlifting supplies to Israel during the Yom Kippur War. And no one ever told me that the Saudi's ended the boycott after America used a carrot and stick approach (the stick being a threat of invasion). Anyway, the boycott backfired on the Saudi's because conservation measures in the U.S. reduced demand, and at the same time, higher oil prices made it viable for other nations to develop their oil fields.

But the point being, is that this whole idea of a Royal Family is bull crap — "royal" insinuates that some family is God-ordained to rule. That is nonsense. In Saudi Arabia, one family is ruling the country with the backing of our country. Just how democratic is THAT??? The family gets to be filthy rich, and the U.S. gets oil. A nice, dysfunctional relationship.

A final statement from The Canary...

Getting back to the slavery thing, WHERE WERE THE CHRISTIANS during this time? Yes, there were a few Christians involved in the abolitionist movement, but where was the VAST MAJORITY (called "Moral Majority" today)? And where were the Christians during the Holocaust? Yes, there were a noted few who resisted, but for the most part there was SILENCE and even COLLABORATION!!! So, now, it's 2005 and Christians are telling me that gays are committing sins and are EVIL, but look at the track record. Where is the credibility? For the most part they were silent on the enslavement of millions of Blacks and the murder of millions of Jews, and NOW THEY ARE SCREAMING ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE???? Talk about selective morality!