By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Here we are again, a three-day weekend at hand, little flags waving in cemeteries country-wide to remind us why we get that extra day to sleep in. I’ve read a few articles recently calling Memorial Day a time to relax, usually accompanied by a humdinger of a recipe to break up the hamburger/hot dog monotony at that first picnic of the season. We’ll nod our heads along with a bit of martial music this weekend, salute the last few members of the Greatest Generation while secretly wondering if it really was, and gratefully take that extra day of rest, along with a slice of watermelon.
Here in the Pea Patch, where the VFW still gathers the remaining vets from WWII and Vietnam to dress the graveyards, stores have filled an aisle or two with red-white-and-blue faux-bouquets to honor our beloved dead. Little plots of headstones — dotting the country landscape like convenience stores do urban neighborhoods — present a riot of color from flowers, real and silk. They’re hung with bird-feeders, alive with whirligigs and Mylar balloons, streamers dancing in the air. And so, once again, with eyes wide shut, we count the cost of our addiction to war without contemplating the cause.
As with many of our holidays, not everyone knows or cares why they’re being celebrated, which seems a grievous complaint against our educational system, not to mention our self-absorbed culture. Memorial Day, once known as Decoration Day, began as a day to honor the Civil War dead only three years after that war ended. It was deemed a federal holiday in Washington, D.C. in 1888 and declared a national holiday by Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1971. On this holiday each year, a wreath is laid at the tomb of the unknown soldier and a speech is given commemorating the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for their country, because — well — because freedom isn’t free, doncha know.
Let me be candid: I get really tired of hearing that catch-phrase, celebrated in country music, recruiting videos and anything starring Carlos “Chuck” Norris. Adults know that every choice exacts a cost of some kind, and SHOULD know that those who defend freedom don’t always wear a military uniform. Sometimes they stand up to tear gas and riot gear, sometimes they tell the truth even when the information is unwelcomed.
Some defenders of liberty even have to give their up their own freedom, spending time in prison or in Russia or in an obscure foreign embassy. As became clear early in this new century, one man’s patriot is another’s traitor, especially as the First Amendment becomes less relevant with each trade-off for national security. At this rate, it won’t be worth the velum it’s inscribed on by mid-century.
As a stark reminder of Dubby’s little venture into “spreading freedom,” the Patriot Act is back on our plates, for renewal or revision. I suspect many readers would rather we revise this rogue legislation, which has cost us reputation, treasure, privacy, Constitutional rights and the high road in ethical behavior, all in the name of safety. The bill is set to expire, with an improbable non-partisan mix of legislators questioning the validity of the sweeping surveillance it put in place under Bush and Company. McConnell has threatened to keep members from leaving town if they don’t pass some kind of extension before Friday evening as the legislation will expire by the time Congress retuns from break. As I write, the situation remains up in the air.
An attempt to remedy the worst of the Patriot Act, the USA Freedom Act was introduced to Congress late in 2013, as the nation became aware of the vast NSA surveillance. It included specifc limits on data collection. It was re-worked, backed by the Obama administration, and brought up again this year, with hopes that a bi-partisan vote would bring it to the floor for discussion. It has passed the House but seems to have little traction in the Senate. On this issue, interestingly, Boehner and McConnell are at odds. [UPDATE: The Freedom Act was voted down near midnight on Friday, putting the whole of the legislation in jeopardy. McConnell has scheduled another vote early on May 31 in an attempt to salvage it.]
Like a bout of PTSD, all that Patriot Act business has renewed our memories of ‘Shock ‘n Awe.’ And thanks to the fire and brimstone pushed by radical Islam in the Iraqi provinces — and an unexpected Bushism of the Jebby kind — the longest war in our history is being re-thought. When asked by a reporter whether, if he’d known then what he knows now, he would have gone to war with Saddam, Dubby’s little brother said, yeah, sure. This has brought BushWar II back to the forefront, and the Bush Family Business into focus. We used to think of Jeb as the smart Bush, the one Poppy burst into tears over when discussing the state of the nation. Little did we know. (I suspect we’ll have the same kind of vertigo next year around this time if we think of him as the moderate Republican candidate, by the way — he certainly is not!)
Almost immediately, Jeb began to back up, saying he misunderstood the question. It took several days and several different answers before he finally settled on, “No.” Jeb’s political DNA no doubt cowered at the possibility of insulting the troops, dissing his brother or annoying the base, especially when others like Cruz and Huck and Rubio have the evangelicals in their camp. It should come as no surprise — more like a dire warning with flashing lights and sirens — that both Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, the neo-cons who carefully orchestrated Dub’s run-up to war (entirely responsible for Cheney’s insistence that we would be met with flowers in Baghdad), are now consultants to Jeb’s campaign (not to mention most of George’s other advisors. Again, NOT a moderate, just a bit more housebroken than the rest of the candidates on the right).
The war itself has now come under new scrutiny, not that the majority of Americans (left, right and center) don’t consider it a failed military experiment that, essentially, destabilized the Middle East. Jonathan Chait, hardly a tree-hugging minion, wrote a piece for New York Magazine titled “Was the Iraq War a Crime or a Mistake? Yes.” In it, he not only stapled the error of the Iraq misadventure to the page of epic failures in our history books, but warned that thinking of it as an intelligence failure rather than opportunistic adventurism is a slippery slope. Will Pitt used more candid terms when he described it as ” … a deliberate smash-and-grab robbery, writ large.”
Yes, Jeb’s baggage is hard to bear, and heavier by the day. Earlier in the week, a young lady corned Bubba and told him his brother was responsible for creating ISIS. Clearly, given that the hasty deBathification of Iraq let loose a group of tough combat veterans who would better have been charmed than insulted, she has a point. Add that the news from Iraq is grim.
While ISIS has its weaknesses (like the Pubs, neither interest nor ability to govern stands first and foremost), it now counts Ramadi — capital of the Anbar province — as the newest addition to its ‘caliphate,’ putting Baghdad in the cross-hairs. The Pentagon, State Department and Administration have downplayed the loss, calling it a temporary setback and insisting that Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) will take back the territory eventually, with our help of course. Yet it wasn’t that long ago that Mosul hit the skids in a similar fashion, falling into the radical’s hands. Its liberation is now considered out of the question.
In Iraq, the Achilles Heel within the ISF is the same as it’s always been: warfare in the Middle East is religious, dividing loyalties, and the political culture has only shape-shifted to the Western model on the surface. It has been, and is still, thick with corruption and tribal nepotism, religious bias simmering just under the skin. When the ISF cut and ran, leaving Ramadi to the conquerors, it was not the first time such an exodus had occurred. Had we understood that first sentence fully in 2003, the region might still be stable, the war might never have been fought and millions — including 4,000 dead Americans, with hundreds of thousands wounded and maimed — would have been spared the Bush Doctrine.
As it is, there is no good win in Iraq now that the genie is out of the bottle, and most of us know that — not even the military industrial complex, still busy making money hand over fist, is bothering to hide its cynicism. In the end, this is Iraq’s war to lose, with Iran picking up the pieces. It’s inevitable.
But what of America and her dependence on big oil, on corporate dominance, on militarism and resources not her own? What of America with her brash romance with drama and tragedy and horror, fighting an internal battle with the distancing techniques we’ve put in place to keep sorrow and outrage at bay? What of the children raised on violence and surrounded by gunplay? Is the cerebral cooling of the blood that we’ve embraced a way to diminish future war or simply to ignore its consequences?
When Ramadi fell, leading to the expected brutal purge of unbelievers and threat to historical treasures, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, keeping a low profile, downplayed its loss as “not symbolic in any way.” This infuriated at least one mother, that of Marc Lee, a Navy Seal who died in Ramadi in 2006. She wrote an angry, impassioned letter to Dempsey, which read in part:
You, sir, owe an apology to the families whose loved ones’ blood was shed in Ramadi. Ramadi matters to us and is very symbolic to us. You need to apologize to our troops whose bodies were blown to pieces from IEDs and bullet holes leaving parts and pieces behind, Ramadi matters to them…
You and this administration have minimized that Ramadi could fall, now you are minimizing that it is falling, but you, Sir, WILL NOT minimize the sacrifice my son Marc Lee made or any of our brave warriors!
On Memorial Day, she — and others like her — will not just visit gravesites to deliver faux-flowers; they will march and growl and call for more blood in an effort to soothe their pain. Simple grief and contemplation are much too cerebral for such a day. The wounds are too fresh, the senses too raw among the warrior class. This is the same emotion that keeps the death penalty alive, the same outrage that finds no harm in killing ‘thugs’ in Ferguson. It’s our most primitive response: desire for vengeance.
While this mother has every right to throw her full support behind the “us or them” philosophy that got us all into this jam, perpetuating the attack/defend consciousness that simply MUST come to an end if we are to survive, I worry about how very intellectual all this has become in the chattering class. How cut and dried death is to those of us who witness, but do not fight. How easy it seems to fight a war now, not with boots on the ground, but with drones in the sky sent from a continent away.
This kind of cool analysis simply MUST NOT BE the energy signal of a new Aquarian Age, a technological disconnect from the shadow side of our grief, our anger, our pain. Water finds the path of least resistance, and so does human consciousness. We must not allow brutality and churlishness — cultural, political, military — to take us down this dark path when we have intent to lift ourselves up into the Light. There is too much at stake to devolve into a country intent on vengeance, looping endlessly in wars that have numbed our senses and turned our hearts cold.
On this Memorial Day, remember someone who fought for their country. Honor them, alive or dead. I am not ‘military minded,’ as it were, and I cannot but view the bright untested patriotism of the young who enlist, fight and die as expendable pawns for our geopolitical adventurism as tragic reality, but — like those who tithe to dishonest religious organizations, for instance — the dishonor is not theirs, but belongs squarely on the shoulders of those who use them so badly.
For many, the military is a stepping stone out of poor circumstances, a place to experience pride, camaraderie and discipline. If we have not taught them a higher octave of honor than nationalism, it is not their fault, it is ours. And so, for them — many of whom I know — I will honor those who serve. On the last day of this long weekend, then, I will fly the American flag in honor of the dreams of her children and their higher aspirations. I will fly the Stars and Bars in honor of what this nation can be, and I pray will be, one fine day to come.
Well said! We out here in the backwoods appreciate your memory Jude, and that you don’t let us forget the shame associated with our country’s action, or in some cases in-action. Did you happen to watch Rachel Maddow’s show last night which ended with the story of a huge construction project in Iraq, that even the Army didn’t want but was built anyway and never used? Construction started near the end of the war and yet they didn’t stop it in spite of the protest of Generals. Certain corporations were determined to get their millions by goddess, war or no war.
Lots of my school friends were drafted to fight in wars, something that few young people understand today. Boys feared their number would be chosen; some willing to get married or leave the country in order to avoid almost certain suffering, if not death. We ARE detached from the brutality/reality of this profiteering now, and young people watching films about those old wars are emotionally unscathed. That was History.
Noting on Thursday that the U.S. had 5 (out of a possible 8) major U.S. (Sibly chart) Progressed retrograde planets, those being Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, I should have added that U.S. Progressed Mercury will be stationing direct in early 2017. Our long look back will end, lessening the foot-dragging dialogue that stymies progress in the Legislative Chambers of this country. Still, the retrograde Progressed U.S. Jupiter-Saturn , symbolizing societal structure and growth, will languish for another decade until Jupiter stations direct at 15+ Cancer (opposite where transiting Pluto is right now).
When the U.S. Mercury DOES start moving forward in early 2017, it will be at 20+ Aquarius. On and around Christmas Day, 2016, transiting Venus will also be at 20+ Aquarius, transiting Jupiter will be at 20+ Libra (conjunct the U.S. Juno who opposes U.S. Chiron), transiting Saturn will be at 20+ Sagittarius (sextile both Venus and Jupiter), transiting Uranus will be at 20+ Aries (conjunct U.S. Chiron opposite Juno) and transiting Chiron will be at 20+ Pisces (square trans. Saturn). I’m hoping to see some redress of how war veterans are attended to on all fronts; health, homelessness, employment, etc.
All those transits in late 2016 aspecting each other, activate the U.S. natal planets of Chiron (wounding/healing/) and Juno (lack of equality). The U.S. Progressed Mercury, stationing direct, will stimulate the great minds of political leaders as well as the populace of the U.S., and that Progressed Mercury is located (right now and when it stations) in the Sibly chart’s 2nd house of Values, personal property, security and stability. Patience is a virtue, right?
Hope you enjoy that first picnic of the season Jude, and we’d like to see that humdinger of a recipe too!
be
Ed Snowden is impressed with the flap over the Freedom Act, the first real opening to limit surveillance … which brings me to an apology for having forgotten a critical piece of the puzzle: the federal appeals court judgment last week, ruling data-mining of phone records illegal. That wobble in the Force opened the way for legislators to push the Freedom Act forward.
We still don’t know how it will turn out, but according to Snowden, the ” … moves by the federal court and the House of Representatives marked the first time since the 1970s there had been a reduction rather than expansion in the powers of the surveillance agencies. “In our modern era, that is without precedent,”” he said. Very encouraging!
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/22/edward-snowden-nsa-reform
it’s another of those signs that we’re ‘waking up’ to some reality, be — and yes, it takes patience for sure, hard to muster when everything feels like an emergency. Here in the Patch (FOX News country) we don’t get MSNBC (can’t imagine why!!!) but I’d read the story of the multi-million dollar project, seen the blueprint. Me, I’ve never gotten over the IMMENSE amount of money and care that went into the US Embassy in Baghdad, never properly manned or attended — we were planning on STAYING a spell, weren’t we! Best laid Bushie plans, yes sir!
As for warring, the draft makes all the difference, I think. I too had many friends tagged to go to Nam, some never returned. And then — seized by glandular override, me’ thinks — I went and married an Airman, who was in line to go just as he mustered out. Today’s kids don’t get how it was then, with life ‘interrupted’ by service to one’s country … or to the geopolitical ambitions of old men, IMHO. I think everything would look differently if that was the case now.
I DO think we’re getting where we need to go — Snowden’s pronouncement making plain how long its been since we pushed back — and I don’t want to be the one ‘shaming’ my country or fellow citizens, since most of us were most HAPPILY unaware of what the government was doing in our name.
Seemed we’d made enough strides after the Civil Rights Act that we didn’t need to police the police — seemed we’d had enough wake-up when we had to leave Nam in a clusterfuck frenzy, staring down our many misinterpretations, our errors and arrogance. So we took a little couple-decade breather and look where it got us! I’d just like to remind everybody that this isn’t how it was supposed to turn out, nor is what we’re seeing the way it MUST turn out. We never give ourselves enough credit nor realize our own power!
Got a melon at the store today, be, and I’ll think of you as I eat that first slice — probably not the best so early, but I’ve got a couple of baby plants just getting started that should produce something more appealing by Labor Day. And the picnic will probably be on the living room rug, thanks to rain — wish I could pack some up and send it to California!
Stopped at a Garage Sale on the way home and found an old book, Day Of The Dolphin. Anyone remember that movie? Must have seen it a dozen times — cried each time — and once seen, it’s not really possible to un-see. We’ve had warning after warning of mind control, black ops and political shadow government — decades worth. The NSA simply COULDN’T have been a surprise.
Good holiday to you, and I’ll hunt up a humdinger by tomorrow. Check back for nummy stuff!
Well, if my personal astrology (and life) are any barometer for the masses (Venus, Chiron, Merc in AQ?) then we may be on the road to find out (Cat Stevens?)……where we fit; how things fit; how this all becomes real. One can wish and hope anyway with Neptune empowered and Merc making us take a second look. I’ll memorialize The Past this weekend, I think. The future is unknown but feeling more solid — and more full of questions — than ever before.
I’m efforting at pacing myself, not jumping at anything (how I feel here, renting a place to live; nothing) But a humdinger sounds great, no matter whether picnic-fare or good news about just about anything.
Married to my second VN vet, from the same small town, the wounds are still fresh, flare up, and ooze from time to time. Hoping we all get beyond hollow parades and fake flowers, and learn to treat the cause of war, not just symptoms.
Thank you both for sharing your gifts, you’ve helped me through some patches.
“Ma Love Pa”
I meant “Fa loves Pa”…
Perfect! Made my heart skip ..
Seismic political and civil liberty tremors, happening now! This NSA stumble is a BIG F’ING DEAL, you guys! I don’t want you to miss it. The Senate’s failure to extend the Patriot Act — even with a white-knuckled McConnell trying to herd his cats into a last-minute pre-June vote to extend it — has thrown the gears into play that winds down bulk data collection!
Unless McConnell (who the NY Times sez has lost control of his Senate, partly due to 5 possible presidential wannabe’s and newbie Baggers from November trying to make a name, and party due to his own hubris in announcing he can bring functionality back to the process) can get them on the same page by midnight on May 31st, the whole Act sunsets! The Times suggests that McConnell’s victory in Fast Tracking the trade agreement won’t mean much if he loses the PA because of poor management.
As usual, the Pubs want more spying to prevent possible attack (and to keep the dreaded horde from establishing Sharia law here on our shores,) while the Dems want the end of bulk collection, which has yet to yield useful intelligence and steps on the Constitution. We should all extend appreciation to Libertarian Rand Paul, by the way, who stood up for 11.5 hours (a mini-filibuster, counting down the pre-vacation clock) slamming invasion of privacy — he was on the side of the angels, here, even if much of it was a fund-raising event.
Now, due to the stumble, AP reports that the NSA has already begun to vibrate in anticipation of halting a major portion of their duties, throwing the FBI and new Attorney General Lynch of the DoJ into apoplexy. Safe to say that the Patriot Act is at the center of the octopus arms reaching out into all areas of national life in the name of security. It’s a seriously BFD, kids — let’s be aware!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/23/nsa-phone-records_n_7429392.html
And another ‘happy’ to report: on Sunday pundit TV, Bernie Sanders gave CNN viewers — and I wish it had been mandatory watching for the nation — a lesson in cutting through the bs to get to the heart of things. That’s what Bernie’s best at, and — GOSH! — he made my day!
In an interview with one of the ‘new’ (less canned-celebrity) CNN guys, he discussed the media’s responsibility in reporting actual news that effects peoples lives rather than political-fluff, like who said what about whom. When the interviewer asked how he’d propose keeping the public’s attention on these policy choices, Sanders cited a poll last year asking people which party they blamed (red House, blue Senate) for congressional inaction and 66% didn’t know which party did what. Sanders sez media must change that by curtailing fluff and presenting actual, critical conversations about policy that trickles down into their lives. A systems-breaker of a politician (as the CNN guy mentioned, by the way) and breath of fresh air, that Bernie!
aWord, so glad you found a way to join us, now that you’ve landed in your new spot (and didn’t fall into the ocean.) Hope the humdingers above — both good news — brought you some encouragement. Yes, changes, prompted by little pushes from star-energy and soul-purpose, to take us into new territory. You’re in the right place at the right time, my dear — on the path to new insights and discoveries!
Hi Deborah, thanks for another reminder that freedom isn’t free for those who come home with life-long trauma — perhaps we need to ask ourselves if the price is worth it (which I suspect the drone-keepers would use to justify their activity, and they have a point, just not the “cause” you mention, and which we must all get to eventually.)
Most of those who have fought “over there” (wherever that is) will tell us, despite their personal cost, that SOMEONE must defend the country. Even the most grievously injured still have the ‘band of brothers’ mentality, and there’s a lot of science that explains that, a lot of psychology — but in terms of spiritual growth into peace-seeking instead of militarism — there are other ways to deal with aggressive nations than trying to beat them into submission.
Obama (who I’m miffed at, presently, regarding the trade business) still has my confidence in attempting ‘another way’ to deal with the international community. Unless we BREAK that dependence on guns (and threats and throwing money into corrupt hands) to keep power as a nation, we cannot begin to mend our transgressions or grow into enlightened governance.
And I’m VERY happy to hear that you’ve found what you needed here from time to time, Deborah. Thanks for sharing your thoughts this holiday.
So, barbecue being rained out, here’s my humdinger of a desert recipe, which seems to find a new incarnation each year as fresh fruit becomes more available. Fruit Pizza, not too sweet and a work of art as well — great for company and good for breakfast too. YUM!
Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix 3 cups finely crushed pretzels and 2/3 cup sugar. Cut in 1 1/4 cups chilled, cubed butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a 14-in. pizza pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack, pre-cut into 8 pieces with a pizza cutter and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut your favorite fruit of the season — kiwi, berries, peaches, pears, pineapple, whatever — into bite-sized pieces, the more color the better, and put in a colander to drain for awhile. If you want to add bananas, do it just before serving and toss them in a bit of lemon juice to retain color.
Whip 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and 2 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth. Slowly beat in 1/2 cup honey. Cover and refrigerate, then spread over cold crust, but avoid getting too close to the edge; keep in fridge until ready to serve, then arrange the fruit in a pattern that pleases you — happy face, peace symbol, American flag, whatever. Google this and you’ll find all kinds of colorful ideas.
If you’re not a food purist, you can exchange sugar for honey in the cheese mixture, or fold in a cup of Cool Whip instead; if you fancy a thicker cream layer, double the recipie. And if the end result is too tart, put a couple of heaping spoons of powdered sugar in a small-gauge strainer and tap lightly to ‘frost’ the fruit pizza with additional sweetness. Yum! Once more, Yum!
PS –If you’re a flat-out sugar junky, you can use a tube of sugar cookie dough for crust (and put somebody on speed-dial to talk you down off the ledge later!)
Yes, Judith, let’s all keep tabs on NSA. My vet retired from the DoD in 2007 after working on nuclear subs with high security clearance, so our phones have been tapped for years. After my private email was frozen, I had to prove I was me before they released family photos, recipes, and George Bush political cartoons. I’ve since started “living out loud” on Facebook and address the NSA directly. Also I still answer the phone, “Hello, and fuck you, J. Edgar!”
I’m also miffed at our president for his petulant attitude toward Liz Warren, as well as his stand on arctic drilling. How many guns are to his head on trade and oil policies, I wonder? Perhaps the Santa Barbara spill will get big media attention to spark a new conversation on pipelines, infrastructure, and renewables; especially since Brangelina’s 11-acre ranch is a mile from that beach. So sad, disturbing, and sickening to watch fish, wildlife, and ocean, die in front of our eyes…more deaths to mourn this weekend.
Thanks for your take on all things relevant…all that wisdom and dessert too! You take the cake.
I had a nap-time dream that I shook Rand Paul’s hand Jude! Today! I was baffled that he seemed truly nice – extended his arm (as did I) over a great deal of space and objects. It was an effort for both of us to do it. Do you suppose. . . . . . . ?
That recipe sounds like something I could actually accomplish as well as sounding delish and refreshing. And wish I’d known Bernie was on CNN (probably while I was napping!), so thank you for your report as well as the recipe my dear.
Deborah, I’m getting lots of boo’s for my theory that Obama and Warren are playing “good cop, bad cop”, but it’s not just my Venus-square-Neptune talking…there’s astrology to back it up, such as his Moon in trickster Gemini square her Ceres/Saturn in Virgo and opposite her Chiron in Sagittarius (which trines her Pallas in Leo which conjuncts the U.S. North Node). That T-square between them induces action (like in a cuckoo clock) even though the planets are in mutable (transition) signs. I’m certain all is not what it seems.
At the time the local residents of Santa Barbara went out to clean up their beaches (since nobody else was), the Moon (caring people) in Gemini (more than one; a surface fix as opposed to in-depth; communicating) was in a T-square with Chiron (wounding, healing) in Pisces (water) opposite Black Moon Lilith (unacknowledged) in Virgo (service). Lots and lots of minor interest at the time too, like Photographica (pictures) and Hybris (hubris) at 15+ Sagittarius trine Sila-Nunam (god of breathing, goddess of Earth), Niobe (humbling lessons), Juno (partner) and Jupiter (overreach) at 15+ Leo (show and tell). Also, Photo and Hybris were conjunct the Great Attractor (irresistible), so yes, all meant to “spark new conversation on pipelines, etc.”
aword, so glad you are in a safe place now where you can regroup. Healing is quickest when the soul is serene, surely!
be
Thanks, Ms. be. You may be right about the good cop/bad cop theory…now, who might play the good cop in the arctic drilling drama?
Had originally thought the Santa Barbara spill would be my topic this week, Deborah, so … synchronicity, I s’pose. The spill was under-reported, under-attended and come to find out, no auto turn-off valve was available on this pipeline, par for the course. This particular spill highlights TRANSPORTING this gunk (seems to me an extension of the conversation about the trains last week, a very ‘Mercury’ bit of business.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/23/pipeline-shut-off-valve_n_7429362.html
The pictures are sickening, aren’t they! A revered bit of coast-line befouled and wildlife poisoned — heard today the sea lion that everyone was rooting for died. This particular pipeline company had THREE TIMES the normal ‘incidents’ but we allowed the line to sit like a time bomb, targeting one of California’s premiere beach-fronts? Just shows how LONG we’ve been corrupt (and short-sighted.) But … pony in the horseshit … this is the PERFECT time to see what might — will — happen in the pristine arctic if we allow Shell it’s way.
And yes, there’s a gun to his head or someone Obama loves — we too often see him step back from his own agenda to implement something written by the business class. Also fits his own historical imperative that things change slowly over time; that “you can’t push the river,” an academic approach. I appreciate that Obama’s got that Long View, but I’m not nearly that patient — change is slow but we aren’t required to prolong dangerous activity for the sake of ‘grading on the curve.’
And there’s an ‘intellectual’ conceit, here, as well. I listened to analysis on Charlie Rose at the beginning of the week that faulted Warren and others for making the TPP only about money, when in fact it was more about having a national vision for the future (self-preservation and exceptionalism, I presume.) That kind of intellectual shape-shifting extends to energy concerns, too, I suspect. The big progressive changes we’re asking for surely feel destabilizing to those who have invested everything in prolonging the old way of business, served cold and for immense profit.
And bless you, Deborah, for your courage! I do hope J. Edgar’s friends are listening! The meme that this is all undercover and covert, super-double-secret-spy stuff, needs a kick in the pants and it appears we’re … at minimum … looking that giant posterior over to see where to place it. With luck and with wings crossed.
Goodness, be — a Paul hug? Well, he’s more palatable to us than he is to the Pubs, even though the Baggers claim him. The left could live without war; the Pubs? Not so much.
As regards the spill, I keep thinking about Sedna — was surprised it didn’t show up in your rundown. As regards Bernie, I think you can go over to CNN and search for a transcript, although you may have to wait a few days. I’ve done that in the past. And if you make the yummy thing, be, drain the fruit really well or it will mess up the crust later.
Taking a clue from Ms. be, then, for tonight … happy dreams, dearhearts!
It remains to be seen Deborah, the artic drilling drama doesn’t have a handle (specific date) that I’m aware of to base a chart on. Still, Jude mentions Sedna who at 24+ Taurus, is presently sextile the U.S. Sibly chart’s Mercury at 24+ Cancer, so as long as we keep the discussion going, eventually we will get one.
Actually transiting Pholus at 25+ Sagittarius retrograde is heading back into a yod position with US. Mercury and transiting Sedna, and he will be at the apex or release point when he lines up with them. When it happens (and it surely will) we may find our candidate for the good cop. In fact, transiting Pallas and Cupido share the same degree with Pholus and they are retrograde too. When it is reached, that degree (24+ Sagittarius) will be the hot spot where the yod action to adjust (quincunxes of yod) or shift will manifest. It could happen any day now.
Looking ahead to the Summer Solstice chart for June 21st has Mercury at 8+ Gemini, along with Klotho (the Fate who starts a new thread of life) conjunct the U.S. Uranus, and trine the Solstice Ceres at 8+ Aquarius retrograde. That almost guarantees that Earth’s resources will be a hot topic over the summer period. Add in the Solstice grand fire trine between transiting Uranus (conjunct the U.S. Chiron) and Pallas and Jupiter, and the Solstice sextile between Moon and Mars that will form a yod with the U.S. Pluto in Capricorn, something will surely bubble up regarding the environment.
That Solstice chart’s Saturn at 29+ Scorpio retrograde will be squared by the Solstice Moon at 29+ Leo opposite the U.S. Sibly Moon in Aquarius, leaving the Taurus leg of this fixed T-square open for suggestions. That’s pretty darn close to where transiting Sedna is. Transiting Saturn will continue his retrograde back to 28+ Scorpio, passing over Obama’s MC and stationing direct there, then return direct, activating the 29 Scorpio position again before the Fall Equinox takes place. Maybe the President will be the Good Cop for this project!
In any case, Jude will keep us well-informed on whatever happens regarding Shell’s objectives for the Artic so we must stay tuned in to her. Oh, and the suggestion/reminder to drain the fruit is noted, thank you, and I believe I will wait until the Farmers Market brings in some summer fruit for this dish. . . 4th of July maybe?
be
Exactly, this conversation needs to be had with our friends, families, and communities. Unfortunately, emotions can distort the discourse. Therefore, the conversation must continue to move, and evolve. My goal is to feel comfortable openly discussing how I feel about sensitive issues like ‘honoring our veterans’, or ‘supporting our troops’. You handle the issue with care Jude, thanks for setting an example.
Jude, couldn’t sleep for thinking of Sedna re: Santa Barbara coast desecration, so, just for you:
(TNO) Rhadamanthus (per Phil Sedwick, “A member of a tribunal of judges that judged the merits of mortals and souls”) in Libra (the Scales of Justice) and retrograde (pause and regroup), was/is sextile Pholus (small cause, big effect), also retrograde and in Sagittarius (get to the Truth), and they both are quincunx (calls for adjustment) Sedna (goddess of sea life) in Taurus (value and beauty) and soon to be retrograde. Together they form a yod (an accident waiting to happen) now and at the time of the coastal citizens cleanup effort.
In addition, Sedna (helpless) in Taurus (Earth) was in a grand trine with Magdalena (tears) in Virgo (Earth) and Memoria (remember) in Capricorn (Earth), easy enough to figure out. Sedna was/is also square Damocles (dare we?) in Aquarius (future of mankind) and retrograde. “How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand”?
Off to nap, again and dream of Rand, again.
be
Hope everyone has enjoyed their day. I’m posting a couple of in-depth reads on the problems faced by today’s military, for those interested. The first is a revealing and informative article from the LA Times about the shifting demographic of the ‘warrior class’ and the disconnect between military and civilian. We’re reinstituting our tribes, little pockets of humankind that only understand and value one another — and yet, in order to heal, those walls must fall.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83609720/
And here’s another from TruthOut, about taking on the work of healing the psychic wounds that effect us all.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/30721-transforming-the-wounds-of-war-a-veterans-retreat-with-claude-anshin-thomas
Thanks all who read and contributed this weekend. Blessed be!