Happy Birthday, Alice Walker !

It's thanks to a Howard Zinn page on facebook, the Zinn Education Project, that I realized this birthday.

I will post that link later today.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
This is the page that Howard Zinn page offered, an interview of Alice Walker by Amy Goodman from Democracy Now....

Ok, I am going to try to post the interview on its own....--

I was either in high school or college when I first read Ms. Walker's fiction & poetry.

Her poem, *Expect Nothing*, was introduced to me by a colleague when I was a counselor at Indian Brook, one of the Farm & Wilderness Camps in Vermont. I was 18 or 19. Those lines have helpfully danced in my head for 30 years!

* Live frugally on surprise. *

“Wouldn’t you wish that everyone be equally blessed?” -- Equal Rights for Rhode Islanders

I have been friends first with Nancy and now John Green for many years. When my son was an infant, they watched him on more than one occasion when he couldn't accompany me ...

He has shared on kmareka his testimony at the Rhode Island State House this week.

Today, let us be mindful of the many things we often take for granted. I’m asking all of you here, for whom this applies–to just consider for a moment– your material comforts, your health care, education– all the rights, privileges and protections under the laws you enjoy by simple virtue of the fact that you live in a great state–within an even greater country. I would ask that you give thanks for being married to someone you love and for having that union and family legally sanctioned everywhere by the powers that be. If all this applies to you, the only question I have is–“Wouldn’t you wish that everyone be equally blessed?”

My answer is yes–because there isn’t anything good and fine in my life that I wouldn’t want everybody to have. So I am here today, happy to lend support in favor of marriage equality. I came of age down South in the sixties. And for better and for worse, that experience imprinted me with an indelible awareness of boundaries. Racism, like all forms of bigotry, has a way of doing that–to its victims and benefactors alike, by purposely creating an unequal and unjust caste system of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. I share with gay people– firsthand experience –of what it means and how it feels– to be on the outside looking in.

One thing I believe that sets America favorably apart in the eyes of the world–is the spirit of our laws, which over time not only champions the individual and recognizes our diversity, but does not overlook and wisely safeguards the legal and civil rights of minorities too. One’s sexual orientation, like the color of one’s skin, is not something over which any of us has a choice. I don’t believe it’s fair or reasonable to exclude anyone on this basis. I am also disheartened whenever I see otherwise bright, well meaning people– misusing religion and science to justify bigotry and the denial of rights to others–which is, after all, the real issue here.

I have 5 sisters and 3 brothers. Many summers ago when I was a boy, we were out playing when our Dad unexpectedly showed up. He asked, “Who wants ice cream?” Of course we all said we did. So Dad was off to the store. Upon his return, we eagerly crowded about him as he led us inside to the kitchen table. As he reached into the bag, he told us there were only 2 half-gallons left in the whole store. We were dumbfounded when we realized Dad had only brought back 1 carton. Reading our faces, he simply smiled and told us that, “On a hot day like this, I figured somebody else might want some too.” I remember feeling a little chagrined, then I smiled, thinking to myself about somebody out there we didn’t even know, who like us, was benefitting from Dad’s thoughtful gesture and from the importance he placed on sharing. And isn’t that what inclusion is all about?

It’s always the right time– to stop behaving as if compassion, fairness, and equality are finite natural resources, to be doled out bit by bit and then– only to those of a select status. Our state’s motto is HOPE. I choose to believe– that this expectation is meant to apply equally to every soul living within its boundaries.

Thank you, John Green, and everyone who testified on behalf of civil rights.
Thank you, kmareka.

Young man from Iowa has Wisdom for Rhode Island

At least five of my friends have shared this on facebook. I hope the number grows and grows. This nineteen year old is so clear and eloquent.

If this video isn't working here, please, someone let me know. Thanks !

"Where Love resides..." Listening to Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish

Thanks to Richard Silverstein's tremendous site, I was able to watch a video of this Palestinian man who has suffered unimaginable violence and who has a message of love and family to share.

The video was made by Todd Boyle.

I have now failed several times to download the video successfully, and it seems that the audio is not always clear.

Here is the link to Richard's post which contains the video of Dr. Abuelaish speaking in Washington State on the 17th.

In my attempts to bring it to this blog ( it is on my facebook profile ) -- I have listened to much of it more than once. That it made me shed many tears doesn't convey how much clarity and intimacy there is in this speech.

His wisdom and work are a faithful tribute to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thank you Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish for your Faith and Love.

"We are all human." ~ Armando Galarraga

Do you have to be a baseball fan to understand how rare a Perfect Game is, and how one mistake by an umpire will always be remembered ?

I read this essay by Amy Nelson of ESPN and was moved to tears.

Here are a few paragraphs [with my choices for bold/italics] from the middle:

He[Jim Joyce] chooses to give the media rare access to the umpires' locker room. He takes full responsibility for kicking the call. When the media leave, Leyland comes in for a beer. He tells Joyce that he blew the call and that he needs to move past it. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski visits, too, concerned for Joyce's well-being. Both men have known Joyce for decades and, like the players in the league who voted him the top umpire in an ESPN The Magazine poll, hold enormous respect for him.

Joyce appreciates the gestures, but his mind is on one person. He asks Dombrowski whether he can talk to Galarraga.

Dombrowski leaves, and a few minutes later he returns to the umpires' room with the 28-year-old pitcher from Venezuela. Galarraga walks up to Joyce and while hugging him says, "We are all human." Joyce, crying, apologizes in English and Spanish and then leaves the room, unable to speak.

Thank You & All Healing Wishes to Pam Spaulding

Pam, is the Blogmistress of Pam's House Blend.

We have never met, but thanks to her blog ( and to a lesser degree, facebook ), I know quite a bit about her family, including, of course, the dogs, her passions ( justice and more ) and her surgery today.

It may be happening as I type this, might be over, might be on the edge of beginning.

It is supposed to be laproscopic which is the way my son's appendectomy was....

'The Blend ' is very much a community affair, and always worth visiting.

I cannot remember how I first found it, but I think it was thanks to Jesus' General. Then again, it may have been Pam's House Blend which introduced me to the General.

On occasions, I have found certain public computers have filtered out Pam's House Blend, and I have complained each time.

Dear Pam, I wish you Healing and Peace and all the best to Everyone in your family.

Thank You for Bringing Wisdom and Good Humor into our lives and for your Activism....

Young, Jewish, Proud - Loud and Clear in New Orleans

A group of young leaders from within Jewish Voice for Peace has formed, and has published a Declaration.

Here is the first paragraph:

I. we exist.

We exist. We are everywhere. We speak and love and dream in every language. We pray three times a day or only during the high holidays or when we feel like we really need to or not at all. We are punks and students and parents and janitors and Rabbis and freedom fighters. We are your children, your nieces and nephews, your grandchildren. We embrace diaspora, even when it causes us a great deal of pain. We are the rubble of tangled fear, the deliverance of values. We are human. We are born perfect. We assimilate, or we do not. We are not apathetic. We know and name persecution when we see it. Occupation has constricted our throats and fattened our tongues. We are feeding each other new words. We have family, we build family, we are family. We re-negotiate. We atone. We re-draw the map every single day. We travel between worlds. This is not our birthright, it is our necessity.

Members of this group spoke up loudly during a speech by Benjamin Netanyahu at a Jewish General Assembly in New Orleans.

The disruption is documented on the website.

I posted the video on my facebook profile, also because I agree with these statements.

The Loyalty Oath delegitimizes Israel.

Silencing Dissent delegitimizes Israel.

Occupation delegitimizes Israel.

The Siege on Gaza delegitimizes Israel.

The Settlements betray Jewish values.



I recommend visiting the site and viewing the videos and the articles explaining the action in detail some by the participants and supporters, and others from national and international media.

"legitimizes" is an acceptable word, according to the blogging program, but not "delegitimizes".

Hmmm....

The Declaration says:

We will not call this liberation.

My question: What is wrong with "liberation" ? For me it is very much within Jewish values . . . and a very good thing...

New Blog In *Town, A Selfish Altruist, Welcome ~

* I am going to abstain from exclamation points for an indefinite period.

Thank you for understanding.

* "In Town" is a proverbial expression.

The blog's name is A Selfish Altruist.

Its author is someone I met serendipitously on facebook and for whom I feel kinship and fondness, and the occasional confusion due to the language barrier.

She has wit and insight and, very likely, computer skills greatly exceeding my own.

Small praise, that last bit, but not sarcastic or sardonic.

I will be adding the link to my Extended Family section.

It's Valerie Tutson's Birthday! (January 29)

Happy Birthday, Valerie!

Rhode Islanders reading this blog will probably know who Valerie Tutson is.
And Valerie is known nationally and internationally as well...

Here is an excerpt from the biography on her site:

Valerie Tutson was graduated from Brown University with a Masters Degree in
Theatre Arts and a degree in a self-designed major—Storytelling As A
Communications Art. Valerie has been telling stories in schools, churches, libraries,
festivals and conferences since 1991. She draws her stories from around the world
with an emphasis on African traditions. Her repertoire includes stories and songs she
learned in her travels to South Africa, her experiences in West Africa, stories from
African American history. In addition, she is gaining quite a reputation for her
exciting retelling of age-old Bible stories. She not only delights listeners with her
tale-telling, she also teaches workshops and classes to students of all ages, and
hosts CULTURAL TAPESTRY, an award-winning show for COX 3 celebrating the
diverse cultures around us. Valerie has most recently served as the co Director of the
National Black Storytelling Festival in Providence, RI

Her website is:
http://www.valerietutson.com/

And if you use facebook, you can follow it on NetworkedBlogs.

I cannot even remember when I first saw Valerie perform at Rites & Reason Theatre...but she was phenomenal.

We know that Valerie hails from Connecticut, but We Claim Valerie as a Rhode Islander, thank you very much.

Wherever you are, Valerie, I hope that you have a Joyful day and know how Grateful we are for your many Gifts.

Somewhere Marsha Z. West smiles.

Howard Zinn Presente!

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… And if we do act, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents."

~~Howard Zinn

Visit his site. Then click where it says. "Click here to continue to Howard Zinn's Site".

We will carry his work forward.

Hopeful Message from Port au Prince

Although I am rarely there, I am an attender of the Providence Monthly Meeting of Friends, and an active reader of emails on the listserv (yecch sorry about that word). Elsie sent this out, and it is very moving. I do not know the author, but this person wants this message shared, and I am happy to do so!

Addendum: 4:05 P.M. [still Thursday the 21st]
Here is the link to Sasha Kramer's blog and within, more information about Sasha's history and that of S.O.I.L...

Sasha Kramer sent a message to the members of Sustainable Organic Integrated
Livelihoods (SOIL).

--------------------
Subject: Kouraj cherie: Update from Port au Prince

January 19, 2010

This afternoon, feeling helpless, we decided to take a van down to Champs
Mars (the area around the palace) to look for people needing medical care to
bring to Matthew 25, the guesthouse where we are staying which has been
transformed into a field hospital. Since we arrived in Port au Prince
everyone has told us that you cannot go into the area around the palace
because of violence and insecurity. I was in awe as we walked into
downtown, among the flattened buildings , in the shadow of the fallen
palace, amongst the swarms of displaced people there was calm and
solidarity. We wound our way through the camp asking for injured people who
needed to get to the hospital. Despite everyone telling us that as soon as
we did this we would be mobbed by people, I was amazed as we approached each
tent people gently pointed us towards their neighbors, guiding us to those
who were suffering the most. We picked up 5 badly injured people and drove
towards an area where Ellie and Berto had passed a woman earlier. When they
saw her she was lying on the side of the road with a broken leg screaming
for help, as they were on foot they could not help her at the time so we
went back to try to find her. Incredibly we found her relatively quickly at
the top of a hill of shattered houses. The sun was setting and the
community helped to carry her down the hill on a refrigerator door, tough
looking guys smiled in our direction calling out “bonswa Cherie” and
“kouraj”.

When we got back to Matthew 25 it was dark and we carried the patients back
into the soccer field/tent village/hospital where the team of doctors had
been working tirelessly all day. Although they had officially closed down
for the evening, they agreed to see the patients we had brought. Once our
patients were settled in we came back into the house to find the doctors
amputating a foot on the dining room table. The patient lay calmly, awake
but far away under the fog of ketamine. Half way through the surgery we
heard a clamor outside and ran out to see what it was. A large yellow truck
was parked in front of the gate and rapidly unloading hundreds of bags of
food over our fence, the hungry crowd had already begun to gather and in the
dark it was hard to decide how to best distribute the food. Knowing that we
could not sleep in the house with all of this food and so many starving
people in the neighborhood, our friend Amber (who is experienced in food
distribution) snapped into action and began to get everyone in the crowd
into a line that stretched down the road. We braced ourselves for the
fighting that we had heard would come but in a miraculous display of
restraint and compassion people lined up to get the food and one by one the
bags were handed out without a single serious incident.

During the food distribution the doctors called to see if anyone could help
to bury the amputated leg in the backyard. As I have no experience with
food distribution I offered to help with the leg. I went into the back with
Ellie and Berto and we dug a hole and placed the leg in it, covering it with
soil and cement rubble. By the time we got back into the house the food had
all been distributed and the patient Anderson was waking up. The doctors
asked for a translator so I went and sat by his stretcher explaining to him
that the surgery had gone well and he was going to live. His family had
gone home so he was alone so Ellie and I took turns sitting with him as he
came out from under the drugs. I sat and talked to Anderson for hours as he
drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point one of the Haitian men
working at the hospital came in and leaned over Anderson and said to him in
kreyol “listen man even if your family could not be here tonight we want you
to know that everyone here loves you, we are all your brothers and sisters”.
Cat and I have barely shed a tear through all of this, the sky could fall
and we would not bat an eye, but when I told her this story this morning the
tears just began rolling down her face, as they are mine as I am writing
this. Sometimes it is the kindness and not the horror that can break the
numbness that we are all lost in right now.

So, don’t believe Anderson Cooper when he says that Haiti is a hotbed for
violence and riots, it is just not the case. In the darkest of times, Haiti
has proven to be a country of brave, resilient and kind people and it is
that behavior that is far more prevalent than the isolated incidents of
violence. Please pass this on to as many people as you can so that they can
see the light of Haiti, cutting through the darkness, the light that will
heal this nation.

We are safe. We love you all and I will write again when I can. Thank you
for your generosity and compassion.

With love from Port au Prince,
Sasha

I was going to select certain lines and put them in bold face or italics, because they particularly captured me, but as I reread this, I think the entire letter deserves attention.

How To Use The Past

Here is a quote which I received in my email and have never seen. If anyone knows its origins, I will gladly give that person(s) credit:


"El pasado te podrá servir como trampolín, nunca como sofá."
Anónimo (Personaje desconocido)

My translation is:

"The past can serve as a trampoline, never as a sofa."

Anonimous (Unknown author)

The source was the 'citadeldia' feature of this site. Their list of enlaces[links] is helpful.

Lou Gehrig's Wisdom

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."


~Lou Gehrig

http://lougehrig.com/

This disease claimed the life of my friend Mona a few years ago. If we put the kind of resources into medical research that we do into weapons development wouldn't we have some treatment already...

Celebrating with Iowa !

The Iowa Supreme Court has done the right thing.

Rich has a hockey and music filled post at Everybody.

And Dave has a Friday Celebratory Interlude, too.

Thank You, Congressman John Lewis (Love is Love)!

From Pam's House Blend comes a wonderful post with a quote from the tremendous civil rights leader, John Lewis:

"It is unfortunate that a segment of our society fails to see that we all should be treated like human beings, that we all are citizens of the United States of America. I've taken the position and I've long held this position that I fought too long and too hard against discrimination base on race and color not to stand up and speak out against discrimination based on sexual orientation. It doesn't matter if someone is gay or straight or whether someone believes in a different philosophy or different religion. We're one people, we're one family, and we're one house. There is not any room in American society for discrimination based on sexual orientation. It doesn't matter whether someone is gay or happens to be lesbian or transsexual. We're one people; we're one family, the American family.

You call it what you want, discrimination is discrimination and we have to speak up and speak out against discrimination. You have too many people in this society saying they're against same-sex marriage. If people fall in love and want to get married, it is their business. Martin Luther King Jr. used to say races don't fall in love in love and get married; individuals fall in love and get married. So if two men or two women want to fall in love and get married it's their business. Some people say it is a threat to the institution of marriage, and some of these people who go around saying that same sex marriage is a threat to the institution of marriage, which marriage or what marriage are they talking about? Some of these same individuals have had several marriages and I don't think individuals that happen to be gay are a threat to anybody's marriage. Love is love. It is better to love than to hate, it is better to be together than to be divided.

Here's the link to his website and to the wikipedia entry about him.

Rhode Island Children Deserve Certified School Nurse-Teachers

The following is the text of a letter my son brought home:

February 12, 2009

Dear Parents & Guardians,

The Providence School Board is scheduled to layoff [sic]certified school nurse-teachers in anticipation of the passage of Article 23 in the Governor's supplemental budget proposal.

The Governor has proposed lowering the educational standards and requirements for school nurses. Nurses are now required to have a four year college degree, be registered by the state and in addition, certification by the Rhode Island Department of Education. On going [sic] education is required to renew school certification. Nurses must have years of nursing practice before being considered for a position.

Lowering the educational requirements could affect the health and well being of your school age students. Please take the time to contact members of your school board and request that the educational requirements for school nurses not be lowered.

Minimum requirements for nurses caring for your children should not be acceptable in the Providence Schools. There is nothing more important them the health and safety of your children. Please contact the: Providence School Board Members as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
~~~~ ~~~~~~~ R. N.
School Nurse

Here is a link to the RI Certified School Nurse-Teachers.

I am not always a believer in the need for certifications; but this method of saving money is penny wise and pounds foolish.

Climbing Out of Nazism, There and Here...

This little article moves me greatly. When I reflect on the power of different speakers/teachers/nurturers in my life, I just dissolve into a tearful puddle. In the midst of all the anger and destruction, I can't hear too many of these stories.

Here's the post with link to the Ohio story and a book review...

Last night, at Rites and Reason, we shared our rehearsal with an audience including several academics, a rabbi or two, members of the Muslim community, and more. The conversation afterwards surprised me.

Three cheers for Noam Dorr and Everyone associated with this production.

Visit a new Blog: Signs of the Times

Nezua has founded a new blog.

I am one of thirteen authors, but there's plenty of room...

Here's my humble post:

potholes in providence
31 January


The potholes in the roads of Providence, Rhode Island are something Fierce. My grandmother used to say, “well, it gives people work”…

RI has a 10% unemployment rate. That’s the official rate.

Nezua, thanks for starting this

Israeli Soldiers Refuse...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cMs0nai4JQ

David McReynolds sent me this. Possibly Richard Walton did too...

i Jim Rice In Hall Of Fame, Por Fin !

http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090112&content_id=10858&vkey=hof_news

This is good news. Non-Rhode Islanders may not realize that Jim Rice played with the Pawtucket (RI) Red Sox, before reaching the Majors. Once some one has played for Pawtucket, we claim them forever more.