300,000 rally for peace in D.C.
Check out Stephen Fournier’s “Current Invective” for a first-hand account of the huge peace rally in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. Lots of photos too. According to Fournier:
Compared with other rallies I’ve attended–a couple of dozen big ones over the past 35 years–this one had a more diverse population, many more mainstream types, veterans, mothers, teenagers, whole families. Even active-duty GI’s in civvies (their haircuts are distinctive). Half the people on my bus (43 riders) were mothers, one of them marching with the group Military Families Speak Out, which had a very high profile. Lots of guys with military insignia, many of them in their 70’s and 80’s.
. . .
I saw peace groups and veteran’s groups with signs and banners from all over the east, south, and midwest, plus Arizona and California. One labor union, SEIU 1199, turned out at least 1000 people (they were wearing purple caps and assembled as a group, and you could count the ones you could see). No other union was prominent among the 100,000 or so people I saw up close. White-haired people in abundance, more women than men, all skin colors, more white than non-white, but less white than usual. Plenty of kids. One sixth-grader made an eloquent speech during the hour of speeches from noon to one.
And from Bob Herbert, columnist for the New York Times:
You can say what you want about the people opposed to this wretched war in Iraq, try to stereotype them any way you can. But you couldn’t walk among them for more than a few minutes on Saturday without realizing that they love their country as much as anyone ever has. They love it enough to try to save it.
When the people lead, the leaders will follow. I said that.
Monday, January 29th, 2007Keep hope alive!
Check out this short video on YouTube created for United for Peace and Justice in support of the January 27 peace rally in Washington, D.C. Click the play button at the bottom left of the screen below to watch.
Keep hope alive!
Sunday, January 28th, 2007Simpler Living: How I quit relying on our trusty Acura and learned to love my bike
All right, a new record! Yesterday I drove our car for the first time in eight days. For more than a week I either rode my bike, walked or caught a ride with someone else to every destination. Yes, given where we live, its relatively simple to do so. Downtown Asheville, Jubilee!, Greenlife Grocery, the YMCA and just about all of our other primary destinations are within a 1.5 mile radius of our home. Of course, the convenient location was one of the primary motivators in choosing the townhouse we live in, plus the quiet neighborhood and the forest outside our back door for the kitties to play in.
Shonnie and I have made some other conscious choices in order to walk more gently on the earth. In fact, our move from Austin to Asheville in 1997 was probably the first of these choices. Subsequent ones include:
- Sold, donated or threw away everything that doesn’t fit comfortably in our home
- Took steps to make our home as energy efficient as possible
- Installed compact fluorescent light bulbs
- Added insulation overhead
- Replaced leaky windows with thermopane windows
- Installed storm door
- Installed programmable thermostat
- Installed foam switch plate and outlet covers
- Purchase green energy
- Reduced our dependence on fossil fuels by selling one of our two automobiles
- Committed to walk or bike whenever possible so that now we often go days without getting in our car
- Made choice to eat lower on the food chain and move toward veganism
- Buy local, natural produce whenever possible from grocery stores, farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture
- Committed to using natural cleaning products
- Recycle and compost to the extent that we generate garbage in quantities that require us to take it to curbside only every six to eight weeks.
- Use remanufactured, recycled and reusable products whenever possible
- Simplified our wardrobes, wearing more natural fabrics that don’t require dry cleaning
- Quit our jobs at large organizations to pursue our passions and work at home
- Shonnie resigned from her job in the marketing and communications department at Mission Hospitals to become a full-time life and business coach
- I resigned from his job as director of communications for a local non-profit healthcare organization to become a full-time writer
- Write and blog about the importance of simple living
- Support local businesses and eschew big box stores
- Make charitable contributions rather than buy Christmas and birthday gifts
- Invest in socially-responsible mutual funds
- Support local, state and national political candidates who understand the importance of living simpler lives
Our goal is to continue to reduce our carbon footprint, the measure of our impact on the environment, until we are carbon neutral. Right now our carbon footprint is 6.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year for our household according to the carbon calculator at Al Gore’s An Incovenient Truth website. The national average is 7.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year, however, a typical German household creates approximately half that amount of carbon dioxide per year, and a Swedish household creates approximately one-quarter of the American total.
We’ve still got a way to go, but more practical measures are at hand at the Climate Project website. Check it out!
Friday, January 26th, 2007“When the President Talks to God” by Bright Eyes
Check out “When the President Talks to God” by Bright Eyes on YouTube. Potent message for the mainstream media, namely NBC-TV, to be airing. A few lyrics:
When the president talks to God
Does he ever think that maybe he’s not?
That that voice is just inside his head
When he kneels next to the presidential bed
Does he ever smell his own bullshit
When the president talks to God?
You can download this song for free at iTunes. The times they are a-changin’.
Saturday, January 20th, 2007Our national TV debut
Shonnie and I are scheduled to appear on Simple Living, a PBS show that is broadcast nationally. Below is Shonnie’s post from our I Do! I Do! blog. By the way, if you live in Western North Carolina, the Simple Living show on which we will appear airs this Sunday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m. on UNC-TV, Channel 8.
—————————————————————-
The Marriage Vow Workbook I coauthored with my phenomenal husband, Bruce Mulkey. We now use the book to coach couples through the writing of their wedding vows and preparing for marriage (a healthy, happy, fulfilling marriage, of course). Of course we do workshops for couples, relationship teleclasses, book signings and media appearances. Many of these events are regional, so you likely haven’t met us yet. Well now is your chance . . . because we’re going to be on a television near you as we make our
national television debut!
So, if you’re looking for free, inspirational, and practical ideas for your wedding, be sure to watch the Simple Weddings episode of Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska. It’s a PBS show televised in most markets nationwide. It is due to air sometime between January 15 and January 22. To find out when it airs in your town, click here.
Here are some of the wedding resources you’ll find on the show:
- Be inspired by the wedding of Eddie McGee and Anna Nixon. This couple involved friends and family in creating their wedding ceremony. Their vehicles of choice after the reception were their bicycles.
- Marriage experts, none other than yours truly, Shonnie Lavender and Bruce Mulkey, share insights on how to write your own wedding vows and plan for a successful marriage right from the start.
- Get tips from wedding experts on creating a ceremony that is green, meaningful, and even low cost.
Please pass the word along to any friends who are engaged and looking for ideas on creating a meaningful, unique, and magical wedding. Feel free to stop by our blog after the show and let us know what you thought.
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007Martin Luther King Day
Today is s a holiday marking the birth date of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., observed in the U.S. on the third Monday of January each year. In Asheville on this past Saturday, Shonnie and I participated in the 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast at the Grove Park Inn. It was an inspiring event, the largest of its kind, with over 1,000 people in attendance.
Mayor Terry Bellamy said a few words as did our newly elected Congressman, Heath Shuler. But the featured guest, Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary gave a spellbinding speech on post-traumatic slave syndrome, a wake up call to white folks and black folks alike. According to Dr. Leary:
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) is a condition that exists as a consequence of multigenerational oppression of Africans and their descendants resulting from centuries of chattel slavery. A form of slavery which was predicated on the belief that African Americans were inherently/genetically inferior to whites. This was then followed by institutionalized racism which continues to perpetuate injury.
I’m reading Dr. Leary’s book, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, and her thesis rings true to me. From her website:
In her book Dr. Leary first exposes the reader to the conditions that led to the Atlantic slave trade and allowed the pursuant racism and efforts at repression to continue through the present day. She then looks at the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that our ancestors faced as the result of the slave trade. Next she discusses the adaptive behaviors they developed, both positive and negative, that allowed them to survive and often even thrive. Dr. Leary concludes by reevaluating those adaptive behaviors that have been passed down through generations and where appropriate, she explores replacing behaviors which are today maladaptive with ones that will promote, ensure and sustain the healing and advancement of African American culture.
By the way, if you’re from the Asheville area, and you want to move beyond racism with understanding and respect, sign up for the next session of Building Bridges beginning on January 29. For more information visit the website or e-mail info@buildingbridges-asheville.org.
Finally, to listen to Dr. King’s evoking “I have a dream” speech, click here.
Monday, January 15th, 2007Back from Al Gore’s Climate Project training in Nashville
I just spent more than two days in Nashville with former Vice President Al Gore, The Climate Project staff and 200 folks from 43 states and several other nations being trained to present the slide show that is the basis for the movie, An Inconvenient Truth.
It was an exciting and informative experience, made more so by the presence of Mr. Gore, who spent one full day explaining each slide and the science that undergirds it. He may be something of a policy wonk, as he readily admitted during this session. But don’t buy the BS about him being condescending, distant and humorless. He is a brilliant, passionate, accessible, very funny man who authentically shared himself with us time and time again.
The facts on climate change and global warming are clear. The atmosphere is becoming thicker due to the carbon dioxide, methane and other gases we humans are pumping into the air by burning carbon-based fuels. This thicker atmosphere is holding more heat in, and a gradual warming is taking place. In fact, 2006 in the hottest year on record in the United States. This warming of our planet is already having deleterious effects, including hotter temperatures, melting of ice at the poles, stronger and more frequent storms, species loss and the spread of diseases.
So there’s the bad news: Humans are causing global warming and its negative impact on our planet. Now here’s the good news: Humans are causing global warming. And if we’re causing it, we can stop it. What can you do? I suggest that you visit The Climate Project to learn more about climate change and what you can do about it. And while you’re there, be sure to contribute to the effort. Project Director Jenny Clad and Mr. Gore’s long-time Chief of Staff Roy Neel are doing a great job, having now trained approximately 1,000 presenters in the U.S. I think it behooves us to support them in any way we can.
Please contact me if you’re interested in a presentation on global warming regardless of where you live. If, for some reason, I’m not available, I’ll help you find someone who is. As Mr. Gore said in his evoking closing remarks to us in Nasheville, the earth is slipping from our grasp, and it is up to us to hold on tight and refuse to let go.
Update: Here in Asheville we’re into our third day of temperatures in the mid-60s, approximately 20 degrees warmer than our average January high of of 47 degrees. Some shrubs are currently blooming, flowering plants are pushing through the soil and a number of local ski areas have suspended on-slope activities. More importantly, the warming trend in our region threatens our spruce fir forests as well as species such as the northern flying squirrel.
Thursday, January 11th, 2007
