Does Anyone Know What Time It Is?

Well, I haven't blogged lately because I don't think anyone really reads it, and I don't think anyone really cares. I guess I could say that I'm doing this for my own benefit, but I already know what I think, and the time spent blogging could be better spent on other tasks. But anyway, maybe I will blog some more later — maybe I won't. Here is a message I posted recently on the Atlanta Leavers discussion list, which sums up how I'm feeling today:

Alan & Brian,

Belatedly, I wanted to thank you both for your thoughts (Alan on Gaia and Brian on Today v. Tomorrow people).

I do believe that after trillions of years, our Universe and the ones before it, have created a consciousness, which some call Gaia.

This week I did a lot of reading on parallel universes. For an excellent summary of this theory, visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/paralleluni.shtml

The point being, a lot of the great mysteries of the Universe can be approached when you factor in multi dimensions (11 of them) and parallel universes. Once we get more atom-smashers online, I think we will begin to learn how our matter exists on many planes, and what we see with our five senses, and even with our technology, is only a small piece of the pie.

I am trying to tie all this into perspective of current world events. We talk a lot about the New Renaissance. However, what I see now is that the extremists of the Abrahamic faiths are determined to lead us into a third world war. Once Iran gets nukes, other Arab nations will quickly nuke up, which is an easy task since the oil-addicted West will continue to give them unlimited financing. And if we don't, hell, India and China will.

So, I'm trying to put energy, religion, overpopulation, and Gaia into perspective. I'm trying to understand why humans are determined to destroy themselves and their Planet, all in the name of their version of Gaia.

I really started my journey at age 10 with a simple question: "Why are humans destroying so much of nature so quickly? If they have taken so much just in my few years here on the Planet, what will the Earth be like in 100, or, say, 1,000 years?"

My journey took me on a road to environmentalism, overpopulation, women's rights, sustainability, Daniel Quinn and Deep Ecology, human behavior, God, space, and to now, interaction with multiple dimensions and universes.

I believe that the more we dig, the better we will understand ourselves. However, I no longer believe there are enough progressives on the Earth to avert the impending war.

Yellow Canary



"I think it's pretty lousy to wake up at age sixteen and realize you've already been screwed. Not that there's anything terrifically unusual about getting screwed at this age. It seems like everyone inside fifty miles is bent on doing you in. But not many sixteen-year-olds get screwed in this particular way. Not many have the OPPORTUNITY to get screwed this way. I'm
grateful, I really am."

-- opening of "My Ishmael

I Tried To Warn Ye

You Guys Is Being Used

Okay, I've written about this many times but I'll go over it again.

You good Christian Conservatives are being USED by business interests. I first stumbled upon this in 2003 while doing research.

The great master of manipulating Christians to support business interests is Ralphie Reed, former director of the Christian Coalition. See, Ralphie knows how to work up his "base" with emotionalism and get them to the polls.

Most recently, he used this ploy during his work as a so-called "political advisor" in Texas. See, he got his Christian fundamentalist foot soldiers all worked up about keeping gambling casinos out of Texas Indian reservations. What he didn't tell anyone (and says he didn't know) is that funding for this initiative was coming from Louisana Indian casinos who didn't want the competition in Texas.

An e-mail from Michael Scanlon (friend of superlobbyist Jack Abramoff) reads:

"Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them. The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the Internet , and telephone trees."

See, good Conservative Christians, you are faithfully serving business interests, and the lobbyists don't even respect you. They are calling you "wackos." They know how to touch the "gambling button" and "Christian morals button" and whatever button they want to get you to jump up and do exactly what they want.

YOU ARE BEING USED!!!

So now, Ralphie, who was involved with all of this, is running for Lt. Governor of Georgia. He knows the system, he knows how to work the single-issue voters. This time, don't fall for it. Please! These people use Christians for financial enrichment. It's like the "Christians" who swindled my mother's life savings in an investment scheme. Yes, they are working you and playing you for a fool.

Don't fall for it, and don't vote for Ralphie.

"The corrupt lobbyists who were leading this effort were counting on the gullibility of Christian conservatives and the ignorance of everyone else."

Boy, that says it all.
Source: Jan. 20, 2006, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Iran, Please Don't Nuke Us!

Now, this new Iranian president is a real
piece of work. Bush don't pay any attention
to us tree-huggers, but this guy sure can
get his attention.


Goodness Gracious Alive

So, I've been reading a lot on Iran lately. Yeah, they are a real thorn in America's side, a real pain in the butt. Funny thing is, and this just hit me today, is that all the SUV owners are driving us to nuclear war. See, I was shocked to learn that Iran has the second largest oil reserves in the world, so they have endless money and a lot of power. They put out 4.2 million barrels a day on the world market.

Thus, when you drive around in your gas-guzzler, you are giving Iran more leverage and more bargaining power. We need that oil more than anything, but it's just paving the way for them to build nukes. And they surely plan on nuking Israel, so when they do it, the Christian yuppies in their SUVs can go around screaming, "Armageddon, Armageddon, see I told ya so!" Wow, talking about a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Let me now wander no more. I'm so disgusted by this crazy world and the mindless masses who don't "get it" that I'm about to go nuts. Why do we humans want to destroy ourselves so badly? Why can't we keep on learning, progressing, sharing, loving, and caring? Why does it all have to end in a nuke showdown between theocracies?

On A Happier Note

I'm not really big on the immigration issue because I see it as simply a side-effect of our global population explosion. But, nevertheless, I really like this witty letter to the editor in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Most people will read this and go, "Huh, I don't get it." But I sure do.

Dear Editor,

Jay Bookman believes my objecting to subsidizing labor costs of the construction, poultry, and other industries makes me an immigrant basher and a bigot.

I belive the the house-building boom has generally been a bad thing for Georgia and an environmetnal disaster for a town once known as "a city in a forest." I reject the argument that illegal labor is essential to our "prosperity." Bulldozing our forest to build new subdivisions, or selling out our citizenship for cheap chicken nuggets, isn't the kind of "prosperity" we need.

D. Lee Smith
Jonesboro

Happy MLK Day

We march for our future.

A Special Day

I'm really tired, overworked, and burnt out. Everyday is a repeat of the last day, and when you get older it seems to go in fast motion. I wish I could have been there in the MLK parade — it's been several years since I've marched.

It's like constantly I have this guilt on my shoulders that I have to try and save the world, but there are times when I'm just trying to survive, trying to hold my job, trying to stay afloat financially, trying to keep up with the hundreds of things that never get done, and I'm just thinking that, well, maybe I should just let it go for this one afternoon, but I can't. I think that maybe there are some politicians out there doing the job of saving the world, but I know there aren't. There ARE a handful of people trying to make the world better, but most of them are only programmed to save a small part of it, and they don't work toward the overall goal. But each in their own way contributes. Every single person in the picture above is a big winner in my book because they are actually DOING SOMETHING, yes, DOING FUCKING SOMETHING to make the world better.

And then there are the millions and millions of innate people. Yes, the Republican Party is the party of greed, and the party of the innate. And God bless my dear brother friend Jack Clark, who has a weekly podcast called Blast the Right, and each week he exposes more of the pathetic Hard Right hypocrisy. So, yes, Jack is doing something beautiful because he is standing up for truth and justice, and he is exposing the lies and the evil, and the Machine that wants it all.

So, half the time I'm not really doing anything, and blogging doesn't count toward saving the world, it's really a waste of time. But I still do a lot of volunteer work for the environment, and I still give a lot more time then most people, but it's not nearly enough. And then I think about all the things I COULD be doing with my God-given talents to organize, but I'm not using them, so really, I am just wasted brain matter. But every thing takes time, it requires driving, and it requires a lot of energy. It is so much easier just to stare blankly at the boob tube and watch the nightly garbage, like the millions of other innate Americans. I should just snuggle in front of the TV and watch 24, whatever the hell that is.

But I can't .... because .... I can never get over that guilt of not doing .... enough ... to save the world.

A Little Bif of Activism

Shame on you Travis.

Gotta Watch These Guys

Okay, I'm blogging less these days because I'm trying to spend more time being an ACTIVIST again. I mean, it's fun to live here in cyberspace where I can vent on my blog, debate on discussion boards, and play with my website, but the real difference is made when you get out into the real world and ADVOCATE.

So, I'm proud of myself. I actually left cyberworld and wrote a letter to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Okay, they received over 600 letters this week and mine somehow didn't make it, but I no less felt good writing it.

Okay, I already do SOME work in the real world: I do a lot of administrative volunteer work for the Georgia Sierra Club. I no longer have the heart to work on local issues like I used to, because I feel that such work only accommodates more growth. So, for a while I was working on global population, then I switched to sustainability, and lately I'm now focusing on new ways of thinking. Or, to use a term from a friend, I want to reengineer memes*.

Anyway, back to the letter. See, the road building lobby in Georgia has a front group called Georgians for Better Transportation. Just the name of this organization makes my skin crawl because they don't care at all about better transportation. They only support alternative transportation just enough to camouflage their real intent — which I call "window dressing."

Regretfully, Country music star Travis Tritt was the headliner at their big event Thursday at the Fox Theatre, where they threw a big party for state politicians and local highway officials. Oh, and who really finances Georgians for Better Transportation? Surprise - the big grading companies. You know, the asphalt kings. God bless 'em. The following is my letter:

Dear Editor,

I was disappointed to see that Travis Tritt has sold out to the road-building lobbyists by performing for their party at the Fox. I happen to live near Mr. Tritt’s house, and I doubt he would like a five-lane road paved in front of his residence.

What’s particularly troubling is the name of this asphalt-pouring group: Georgians for Better Transportation. This is a bit cynical, since road building is the only form of “better transportation” that this group honestly advocates. The powerful asphalt lobbyists may bring personal enrichment to themselves, but for Georgians they only offer eternal road congestion and reduced air quality.

The least they can do is have a more sincere name, like “Contractors for More Roads.”

Sincerely,

Yellow Canary

*Meme: A cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one generation to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation); "memes are the cultural counterpart of genes"

P.S. I just read that Baby 300 Million will be born in the U.S. in October. Hurray, let's have a party.

Simply Amazing

Simply Amazing

I am back out in full exploration mode. I'm visiting people, I have several lunches lined up, I am visiting churches, and going to meetings. My wife bought me a little laptop so I can begin recording my experiences and taking names and phone numbers, and storing tons of information.

The problem, however, is that I'm either a withdrawn hermit in my backyard office or I'm overextended, and then get burnt out. I wish I could find a happy medium. It's so hard not to overcommit.

To end my rambling for today, here is an excerpt from Canary Brother Brian:

It is amazing how religion (chrisitanity in this case) has developed a defense mechanism capable of deflecting any doubt, regardless of facts. One argument that christianity developed was believing things on faith, when all else fails. It makes arguing impossible, when someone that gets backed into a philosophical corner looks at you and say "i don't care about the facts or logic, I believe it on faith." There is no reply.

"Thought Contagion" was a very influential book for me, outlining how memes take hold in various aspects of society, including religion. If you buy the concept, memes can explain most of our behavior, especially religion. Memes become like an organism in itself, competing for organisms to obey and spread its rules. Very interesting. Are you up on mematics?

And an interesting article that Canary Brother Gene sent me: http://www.michaelcrichton.com/speeches/complexity/complexity.html

Yeah, I think it's B.S., but the article is interesting.

Finally, a "shout out" goes to my fellow blogger Brett, who closed down his wonderful blog "Three Decades Later." He is a great writer - I will miss his entries. May his good blog rest in peace.

Yellow Canary

2006: A New Year Arriveth

Me at a German restaurant in Helen, GA, with a lemon
in my mouth. I took my daughter to see Helen during
her Thanksgiving holiday. The whole place is a cheesy
tourist trap, but it was still fun.

What do I want to do for 2006? I suppose I want to continue the good fight. But since 2003 I've experienced a burnout and I just can't seem to muster the strength, energy, and passion that I once had. For six years I went full throttle as an environmental activist: Political campaigns, zillions of meetings, demonstrations, conservation work. I still want to help the cause, but I just don't have that drive in me anymore. One way I know that I can help is to be an encourager and mentor to others. If I've hit a wall, maybe there's someone else out there that I can positively influence to lead the Sustainability Movement. I know that I was never destined for greatness and never had a desire to be a politician or some famous leader. That goes against my humility pledge, which is to be total dirt. That is how I understand Christianity - total humility.

My friends in the environmental movement are my family and community. To help and take care of them is the best thing I can do. Besides, I LOVE being around like-minded people.

Yellow Canary Reviews

I did get a very nice review of my website and blog a couple of months ago. The nice person said I appeared amazed that so many people haven't considered or accepted what I believe is the obvious. Well, this good person is very perceptive because that is the bottom line. I am AMAZED, truly amazed that people live their lives and simply don't "get it." I'm talking about the big issues, like global warming and overpopulation, and how they are having a huge impact on our daily lives. People don't understand why manufacturing jobs are going overseas, or why people in South America hate us. They totally don't get it, and they react to these situations in a totally ignorant and bizarre fashion. A perfect example is Pat Robertson, who said that the president of Venezuela should be assassinated. That says it all right there, and the Rev. Robertson is the perfect spokesperson for a massive, mindless, majority. Thank you, Pat.

Oh, and here is an excerpt of the nice review of my website, written by a brother:


Your website is impressive, both interesting and enlightening, clear, concise and funny. I like it. Most importantly, your writing style is non-confrontational. You are able to portray your opinions as self evident facts, that you are amazed many people haven't considered or accepted. I like your quick guide to agree to reducing our footprint, it hits the big items that people can act on. This website will increase awareness of pressing environmental problems. Do you have much traffic on it? How long has it been up? Why did you choose the metaphor of yellow canary?

A Little Housekeeping

This blog is entirely about one person's quest to achieve global sustainability. Every entry is related to this topic. When I first started this blog I had a couple of entries not related to this subject, so tonight I removed one and modified the other to fit (is that allowed)? This blog is really an open diary of my search for answers: Not the mystery of life, but how humanity and the Earth is going to ever survive. Right now, humanity is living unsustainably. In other words, we cannot go on living the way we are now indefinitely. We can't keep throwing away tons of plastic, wasting water, having large families, and wasting ungodly amounts of energy. Despite what the clueless economists suggest, we can't keep growing indefinitely. In fact, GROWTH IS NOT GOOD. Yes, we are programmed to believe this, but it is untrue.

Wise up, oh ye humans. You all are in for a big shock.

The Geese

Ode To the Geese

Every time I see a formation of geese or any birds my heart is broken. I always wonder if their habitat will still be waiting for them at the end of their migration. Then I wonder if they will still have a home when they return.

Humans are destroying nature around the world at a dizzying pace. There is no longer a balance between humanity and nature. This has become the greatest grief of my life. I know life is a daily crap shoot and at any time I could lose a loved one or I could face a terminal disease. But I don't think even my greatest personal pain can equal the pain I feel for the death of nature. Humans kill, destroy, pillage, and rape the natural world with an unimaginable frenzy. This is all done for comfort, or sometimes survival, and mainly to accommodate our skyrocketing human population. When I see the limitless humans everywhere I turn, I don't see life, I just see death.

After hitting a real low in August, I promised myself I would no longer waste time in despair, defeat, withdraw, depression, or cynicism — but gosh, it's so much easier that way. It's so easy to just do nothing, and say to myself, "Nothing can be done." I will always remember my first Earth Day as an environmental activist. I was tabling for the Sierra Club's Sprawl Campaign, and a passing bypasser said, "There's nothing you can do about it." So, I've spent years, especially this year, reflecting and trying to figure out if he is right or wrong.

I believe he is wrong, because every week I meet and learn about environmental, social, and peace activists who are coming out to try and make a difference. I just read about another guy in today's newspaper. I don't know if something is getting triggered internally to make more people take action, or if there's always been activists like this. All I know is that I think I'm seeing the early beginnings of a Movement, and I have to believe it will take off. As for the Establishment that opposes us, they are powerful, but they are also cocky, sloppy, arrogant, vulnerable, and prone to make huge mistakes. The forces who oppose us at every turn can be turned into our partners. While there are many bad, greedy, and indifferent corporations, there are also many good companies capable of great good. There are also a few good, progressive, and visionary leaders in Congress. There is hope.

So, anyway, getting back to the geese. I cried for them last night. I don't know why, I just did. I just suddenly realized that I had an incredible love for them, and for my world, and for babies, and for Muslims, and African Americans, and Mexicans, and every one of my fellow humans. I read another article today about how a guy is running a peace ministry, where he gets Jews and Palestinian kids to play basketball together. It was mentioned in the article that people have to be "taught" to get along. This has really stayed in my mind. Perhaps, too, people must be "taught" to respect the environment. Maybe people must be "taught" to recognize their own bigotry and hypocrisy.

I have hope. I don't know why, but I just do.

Guest Message





My friend Snail Darter has been a great influence in my life. A great environmentalist who has held some impressive titles and positions, I respect and think about everything he says. He recently changed his name from Alan to Snail Darter and wrote the following beautiful ode to this famous endangered fish:

Since I have taken his name, I've been thinking about the little guy and his importance.

First a quick history lesson: The Snaildarter was placed on the endangered species list in 1977 and the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in 1978 saying that even though the fish, being only 3/5 inches long and mainly just eating snails in clean water, had no economic or cultural valve to humans his habitat must be spared and the huge dam project/land grab/boondoggle on the Telco River must be abandoned. This sweet victory turned to defeat when Congress responded by making his home exempt from the Endangered Species Act, and the beautiful Tellico River, its valley, plus the farms and villages along her were drowned so people could water sky and make a little electricity. Still the Snaildarter shall ever be a symbol of the earth's struggle against human excesses.

Dear little fish, how quickly you scurry along the river's floor. I see you crawling on your leg like fins. Were your ancestors the first to come on land? Are you the seed that we dry walkers sprung from.

You're colored like the rainbow, so quick, so confident that you can elude bigger fish, while you dine on snails. I weep for the death of your home, clean, cold waters flowing over rocks now replaced by a dead lake where they throw hatchery fish so humans can have something to catch in a place devoid of natural life.

You still exist in a few special places and someday when humans fail to maintain their power beast it will fall and the river shall flow again clear and pure while you hunt snails as before. You are God and we are despoilers of God.

I apologize for my kind, for we know not what we do and I take up your name as my own. Snaildarter.

Happy Winter Solstice

We little evolution monkeys jumped out of de
text book so we can dance to Christmas music.

So There I Was...

Last night I attended my first Winter Solstice event and you know what, I LOVED it! When you celebrate the Winter Solstice you connect with nature and the very essence of your being. When you celebrate Christmas, you connect with malls, maxed out credit cards, and happy go-lucky shoppers who will fight you to the death for a parking spot.

As I was talking to this Buddhist girl and enjoying the Solstice party, I realized just how far I've come since I broke away from my old life eight years ago. Now, I am free. Now, I have real peace in my heart. I hate to say it but it's mind-numbing and demoralizing to sit in a pew year after year and listen to sermons that always have the same central theme — you must do more and give more. In a Baptist church, I know full well why no one sits in the first three rows. It's not just to humiliate the late people. Nosiree, it's to avoid getting sprayed by the preacher as he goes on and on about tithing, repenting, not skipping services, and so on. I mean it, one day we arrived late at my sister's church and lo and behold, that meant walking up to the front row in the middle of the service. My wife was so mad that she kept monkey-pinching me, and every time she did it I would let out a squeal of pain, and the pastor just thought I was getting into the message. And man, he screamed LOUD about if I didn't get saved right then, I could get killed in an auto accident on the way home and go straight to hell. Shit, there I'd be all alone with Hitler, serial killers (except for Ted Bundy, who went to heaven), and a billion Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and all the other folks who were born into the wrong religion. So in addition to giving me a second shower, all of this really had the net effect of scaring the crap out of me, especially that part about the lake of fire. See, you burn and feel the pain, but you really don't die (maybe because you're already dead), and just whither in pain for billions and trillions of years. Yes, all this makes perfect sense to me, but I'm just glad I'm free of it.

So, the point being, the switch from nature-based religions to anthropocentric religion has really been horrible for Western humanity because we've lost touch with who we are. In the United States, we have millions upon millions of people who have no environmental ethic and no connection to the moon and stars and the beauty of nature. When I began questioning these things in 1997, my Sunday School teacher said I should "worship the Creator and not the Creation." But I'm not trying to worship nature, only connect with it — and become a part of it again. But in the world of conservative Christianity, any celebration of nature is still connected with Paganism, and that word still has bad connotations. When your grandma used to grab a switch from the yard and start whacking you silly for stepping in her flower bed, didn't she used to scream, "You naughty little Pagan?" Yeah, Pagans have a bad reputation, still. But our ancestors and indigenous people today have and had something special that we've lost. They have a sense of "connection" — the beautiful feeling of being a part of some massive organism that reaches out to the stars. It's really much more beautiful and satisfying than the fear-based religion I was raised in.

Don't be afraid to be free, and to study different religious ideas. Don't be afraid to break out. It will be the most rewarding step that you ever take.

The Yellow Canary

Changing the World

Smile For Zee Camera

Wow, my dear friend Bro. G sent me an article tonight about a relatively new phenomenon — video podcasting. First, there was audio podcasting, which is suddenly giving millions of people a voice, and now, even better, there is video casting. Now, anyone in the world can create a short video, and you can view it on your computer or iPod. It's really neat how companies like Apple Computer are quietly changing the world. The whole podcast movement is just in time, since corporations and government are controlling the media more and more. Fox TV has become the official news agency for the U.S. government, just like TASS was for the Soviet Union.

I'd love to turn my little shed office into a studio and make little broadcasts for video iPod owners around the world to download and watch. This is a great source of alternative media, and yes, it gives me hope!!!!

New Perspective (Or Not New)

After spending several months thinking about the "next step" in my activism, I've gone full circle. I mean, in the last few weeks I played with the "just do nothing" idea to "let's approach this on some mysterious deeper level" approach, and now I'm back to my original premise: Making the world better will simply take a lot of love, a lot of positive energy, grassroots organizing, and dogged persistence. After really feeling sick during August and September, I have my energy and drive back. I feel good — I can swim, take long walks, do yardwork. God has blessed me with energy, which is the most precious resource there is. It is up to me, and to all of us, to use our limited time and energy in the way we are felt called. I wish it were all that simple, but the problem is that there is some other goober out there who feels "called" to work against me. As I struggle to get the Sustainability Movement going, some fundamentalist is going to be working to make America a strong theocracy, and there won't be room for folks like me in this new religious order. But, yeah, that's the one thing I've learned about life: nothing is black and white, and nothing is simple. There is always the dreaded "X" element - the law of unintended consequences, the big freaking "what if."

The following was on the signature line from an email that I received from an activist leader. I just thought it was interesting, and have no idea who Paulo Freire is. Oh, I just Googled him — he is a famous Brazilian educator, and said to be the most influential thinker about education in the late 20th Century. Wow.

"Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people--they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress."
- Paulo Freire

My Take on Christmas

Damn..

Okay, the so-called Right Wing backlash on Christmas this season is totally nuts. For the record, Christmas was hijacked from a Pagan holiday called Saturnalia by the Romans. The Romans, in turn, stole the holiday idea from various ancient European traditions. In recent years the corporations stole the holiday and turned it into a profit center. Now, mass media blitzes try to get you to buy LOTS of junk and they don't care if you run up your credit card in the process.

For a long time I've ranted about the perverse relationship between industry and religion, and there is no greater example of this than Christmas. This is a holiday about materialism, consumerism, excess, indulgence, and extreme narcissism.

Yes, this holiday has NOTHING to do with the teachings of Christ. So, don't get pissy when a store clerk says, "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." See, it's their holiday now, but they don't want to just confine it to Christmas because if they offend other religions they might lose sales. It's not about political correctness, it's about BUSINESS.

So, if you are one of those fundamentalist Christians involved in the great Christmas counter-movement, I say that you should just relax. Drink some eggnog, watch some football, and just chill out a little. It really doesn't matter — honest, it really doesn't.

Well, I'm not anti-Christmas; I just don't like the commercialism part. Let's just cut out the mass merchandising and recognize Christmas for what it is — a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and enjoy a really fun winter holiday with some neat traditions. It's okay to eat cookies, sing some carols off key and get smashed at an office party. But PLEASE, don't freak out when stores put "Happy Holidays" in their ads. Sheesh, come on.

Yellow Canary

"The harbinger of danger, the carrier of glee, the avian nut case ... yeah, the bird, man."

The Big Issue In A Peanut

Peanuts, man, peanuts!

Okay, I haven't posted in a while. That's because much of my posting time has been spent reading and participating in the great discussion on the Atlanta Leavers list. More on that later.

Tonight, I dedicate my blog to Sister Canary Cecilia of Florida. Cecilia really inspired me when I first took on the population issue in 1997. She went to a town hall meeting and got into the faces of politicians and started asking them population-related question. Of course, the central Florida good ol' boys were kind of taken aback by that and really didn't know what to say.

Anyway, here is a wonderful excerpt from an article that Sister Cecilia wrote. It really says it all.

From Cecilia:
I am passionate about population issues and work very hard to see that the Bush administration stop withholding funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). I am a staunch advocate for access to contraception and birth control measures, in large part, to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unwanted abortions. To prevent abortions is to prevent unplanned pregnancies. In my humble opinion, the vast majority of the world's ecological problems are the result of too many people jeopardizing the carrying capacity of our planet. So many children enter the world in an impoverished condition and so many die because of the lack of adequate health care, clean water and adequate nutrition. This needs to be addressed nationally and globally. If any one cares about the future of children and our world, one MUST be willing to address population and the carrying capacity issue. Helping families to plan for the size of their families will ripple across the globe so that we can have a sustainable world and a healthy population.
Thank you, Cecilia!