TonyPalmeri.Com Update For June 7, 2005
1. Join the Gannett Protest: Rebecca Katers, the most valuable player of northeast Wisconsin activism, is the contact person for a Green Bay citizen rally for balanced and complete news coverage: http://www.tonypalmeri.com/gannettprotest.htm
Yes, this is a rally against the Gannett Corporation, owner of every major newspaper in the Fox Valley. This will not happen on June 8th, but a few people have started discussing the future possibility of launching simultaneous protests outside the offices of every Gannett paper in the Valley. If anyone is interested, please email me.
Gannett's Green Bay Press Gazette actually did a feature on Becky Katers back in April of 2004: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/pcb/local_15669126.shtml
2. Rally for Real Democracy in Wisconsin on June 11th in Oshkosh. From the Lake Winnebago Green Party:
contact: Julie Stockwell julestockwelll@yahoo.com
OSHKOSH – Activists and concerned citizens from across the state of Wisconsin will converge at Riverside Park in Oshkosh Saturday, June 11 at 10 a.m. to participate in the Rally for Real Democracy in Wisconsin.
The rally is in direct response to the Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention being held the same weekend in Oshkosh. “The Democratic Party states that they have a lot to celebrate, yet in the past year Wisconsin has seen some of the worst attacks on the environment and the UW system in history, while other issues such as health care and campaign finance reform have not even been mentioned,” stated Lake Winnebago Green Party co-spokesperson Julie Stockwell.
The rally will focus on the following issues:
The Rally for Real Democracy will take place at Riverside Park, Oshkosh, directly behind the Park Plaza Convention Center, One North Main St, Oshkosh. For directions visit: http://www.parkplazaoshkosh.com/Directions.htm. Organizers of the rally include the Lake Winnebago Green Party, the Oshkosh Campus Greens, and active citizens from across the state.
3. Radio Commentary on Hiatus until Fall: Because the UW Oshkosh campus radio station, WRST-FM, will this summer be remodeled to become ADA (Americans with Disabailities Act) compliant, all locally produced programs have been discontinued until fall. Rearranging the studio equipment proved to be a logistical nightmare and so the decision was made to suspend local programming until the remodeling is complete. Many thanks to you who listened to the show and provided me with feedback. Hopefully we'll be back in the fall.
Applying Oshkosh Northwestern Editorial Board Logic (?), the fact that I am no longer doing the radio show frees me up to teach another class! (Actually, I AM already teaching a summer class from June 13-July 1).
4. The Cobblestoner Blues: Cobblestoner is the pejorative term given by Gannett to anyone who disagrees with their definition of "progress." So here are some blues lyrics for the cobblestoners http://www.tonypalmeri.com/cblues.htm Maybe I can get Robert Cray (Robert's doing some political music now, but I don't think he'll ever top "Strong Persuader" from 1986) to write the music.
5. Little kids are mutilating themselves. That's the Valley Scene cover story for June (sadly, what the story describes is not unique to northeast Wisconsin): http://www.valleyscene.com/cover.html
6. Oshkosh News: Community News Project Update. Check it out. http://www.oshkoshnews.org/blogs/oshblog/archives/2005/06/community_news_3.html
7. Clarence Thomas gets it right in Marijuana case (yes, it's true!). I know in this age of "let the partisan hacks and lobbyists do all your thinking for you," people on my side of the fence are supposed to have lifetime contempt for the Clarence Thomas' of the world. But here at TonyPalmeri.Com we don't jump on bandwagons and we calls 'em as we sees 'em. On Monday, in what I think was an abominable and immoral decision, the Supreme Court by a 6-3 vote outlawed medicinal marijuana (with all the so-called "liberals" on the court voting in the majority). But check out Clarence Thomas' dissent:
"Respondents Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything--and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers . . . The majority prevents States like California from devising drug policies that they have concluded provide much-needed respite to the seriously ill. It does so without any serious inquiry into the necessity for federal regulation or the propriety of 'displac[ing] state regulation in areas of traditional state concern,' . . . Our federalist system, properly understood, allows California and a growing number of other States to decide for themselves how to safeguard the health and welfare of their citizens. I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals. I respectfully dissent."
Yeah, yeah, I know Thomas often resorts to a vulgar "states rights" framework that in the past and today was/is used to justify discrimination and a host of other undesirable things. But just because the states rights framework is sometimes abused, it does not follow that an appeal to states rights is never proper. In the case of medical marijuana the states rights argument makes total sense, given the oppressive "War on Drugs" federal statutes on the books and especially given that the chance of the US Congress passing a federal medical marijuana law is very slim. Besides, before the 20th century local growth and consumption of marijuana was common. As noted by Thomas, "In the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession, and consumption of marijuana." The majority decision and Thomas's dissent can be found here: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-1454
8. Calorie Wars: Fast Food Burger Beats The Fast Food Salad. Picture this: It's the year 2105, and the United States has long been relegated to third world status after squandering its wealth on preemptive, never ending wars, weapons production, and eliminating all taxes on corporations and the wealthy. In an effort to pacify an increasingly restless population, Congress in 2065 officially ends the "War on Drugs" and replaces it with a "War on Negativity." To end negativity, Congress not only mandates the building of amphitheaters in every city in America, but they also legalize marijuana and make it illegal NOT to consume the drug after potent brands that produce laughter without paranoia are discovered in the mideast colonies. Some plants were even discovered in underground bunkers where only 60 years earlier it was thought weapons of mass destruction would be found. Marijuana now replaces oil as the chief import.
The only problem is that the US obesity problem becomes worse as growing numbers of people get the "munchies." Fast food joints start to market "healthy" alternatives. But activists discover that as early as 2005 it was known that the salad was not always healthier than the burger. As noted in a 2005 Business Week: "Salads sold by the fast-food biggies aren't really big calorie-savers at all. For instance, Wendy's Homestyle Chicken Strips salad totals out at 670 calories and 45 grams of fat, including the creamy ranch dressing. That's a lot richer than the chain's Big Bacon Classic burger that weighs in at 580 calories and 29 grams of fat."
I should also note that in 2070, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" replaces the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem. However the song is slightly rewritten to say "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life Under God." All amphitheater performances begin with local home schooled children (all children are home schooled in 2070) singing the anthem from the stage.
9. The Organic Trade Association Presents "Store Wars": Check out this charming little story featuring "Cuke" Skywalker and Obi Wan Canoli http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html
10. Downing St. Memo Update: Democracy Now had an excellent feature on this on Monday:http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/06/1328242
There's also a good website now available with daily Downing St. Updates http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/
11. An Actual MSNBC Gaffe: You can't make this stuff up http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/sic/msnbcs_white_ho_reporter_22236.asp
12. Depressing News From Iraq From Former Cheerleader. Rod Nordland of Newsweek was an Iraq War cheerleader for a long time. As he departs Iraq, he leaves a sobering assessment of the conditions there. He says in part:
"The four-square-mile Green Zone, the one place in Baghdad where foreigners are reasonably safe, could be a showcase of American values and abilities. Instead the American enclave is a trash-strewn wasteland of Mad Max-style fortifications. The traffic lights don't work because no one has bothered to fix them. The garbage rarely gets collected. Some of the worst ambassadors in U.S. history are the GIs at the Green Zone's checkpoints. They've repeatedly punched Iraqi ministers, accidentally shot at visiting dignitaries and behave (even on good days) with all the courtesy of nightclub bouncers—to Americans and Iraqis alike. Not that U.S. soldiers in Iraq have much to smile about. They're overworked, much ignored on the home front and widely despised in Iraq, with little to look forward to but the distant end of their tours—and in most cases, another tour soon to follow. Many are reservists who, when they get home, often face the wreckage of careers and family." The full essay is here http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8101422/site/newsweek/
The Wisconsin Greens will be launching an effort to get advisory anti-war referenda placed on ballots http://wisconsingreenparty.org/blogs/WIGPnews/archives/000402.shtml
13. Buy-cott Citgo: Jeff Cohen tells why http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm
Peace,
-Tony