Current Terror Alert Level:
I used to bother with specifics on the Bush Administration, but now that the evidence is piled broader and deeper than a New Jersey landfill, I just summarize: Impeach the lot.
On to better things:
"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Click here for a respite from such syntactical atrocities.
On the domestic front... Some of my favorite recipes.
Links to an eclectic selection of Web sites.
A few of my favorite things (does not include raindrops on roses.)
Here's Luis catching some sun.
In honor of the Bush administration's recent budget cuts (announced on a Friday afternoon, natch) I encourage everyone to read Jonathan Swift's classic bedtime story, A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.
Maybe the Armageddon freaks are right: the Antichrist walks among us. Here are some ways you can fight him.
Cut up your MBNA credit card. Don't get all sentimental because it's affiliated with your alumni association. You can still donate to your college without supporting the nation's top credit card company, which has lobbied against consumer-privacy legislation and donated $1,133,800.00 to the Republican Party's 2004 efforts.
Spend less. If the Bush administration follows through on one of its "ownership society" promises, there will soon exist a tax break for interest earned on savings accounts. Take advantage of this and sock away as much as you can. You'll need it when you finally get to retire at age 77.
Tune in, turn on, drop in. Don't like how Bush is spending your money? Turn the tables and spend his instead. Quit your job, take out a student loan and go back to school. Imagine how much the government would learn to appreciate the "urban elites" if they all went on such an education strike over the next four years.
Spend wisely. Research a company before you decide to do business. Does it donate money to Republicans? Are its employment practices fair? How does the company's business affect the environment and the health of its customers?
And if you have any energy left to fight the medievalists for another four years, here's a list of places to start.
34 Million Friends of the United Nations Population Fund is a grassroots idea hatched by a teacher and a lawyer when Bush cut off $34 million in funding that would have helped prevent 2 million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 abortions and 4,700 maternal deaths. So far over $2.5 million has been collected from people like you and me.
American Atheists includes news on the ever-murkier separation of church and state, online letter-writing campaigns and directories of politicians.
American Civil Liberties Union has a convenient direct-fax feature.
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations is running an online letter-writing campaign.
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence contains news and a Ten-Minute Activist page.
Bush Watch has unfortunately been taken off the air.
Campaign to End the Death Penalty contains a calendar of events and a directory of local chapters.
Center for Responsive Politics includes information on campaign donors, whom you may wish to support - or boycott.
Catholics for a Free Choice USA provides statistics on the vast numbers of Catholics who support reproductive choice and suggests ways to promote open discussion and critical thinking.
Causes That Matter is an action-oriented site sponsored by several organizations. This is the site that right-wing extremists shut down on the first day it went live.
Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Foundation supports stem cell research. In a speech he gave in October 2001, Mr. Reeve stated unequivocally, "In the absence of strong leadership in government, we need a grassroots movement." He was a one-man grassroots movement and I am very saddened by his untimely death.
Code Pink lampoons the color-coded National Security Alerts and lends a Pink Ladies edge to the peace movement.
Feminist Majority Foundation has a Take Action page with online letters you can send.
Greenpeace USA has an Action Center with online letters.
League of Conservation Voters tracks Congress members' voting records on the environment and includes an action page.
League of Women Voters advocates campaign and voting reforms, among other vital issues.
NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly National Abortion Rights Action League) includes an action page and information on the April 25, 2004 March for Freedom of Choice.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is taking on several issues of national importance.
National Council of Jewish Women addresses a range of significant issues. It lists action alerts and also provides information on raising community awareness.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force gives profiles of Cabinet nominees and links to Senators' e-mail addresses.
National Organization for Women contains news highlights, action alerts, and an online letter you can send in favor of expanding hate-crimes legislation.
PFLAG provides support for parents, family and friends of lesbians and gays, and also has a "take action" section.
Planned Parenthood has a Legislative Action Center where you can send an e-mail or fax. There is also a petition in support of reproductive freedom.
Political Parrhesia is a news analysis site run by my friend Craig.
Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth) has information on demographics, Wal-Mart's refusal to fill emergency contraception prescriptions, Bush's gag rule on international family planning organizations, and online letters you can send.
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition lists action alerts and the coalition's current projects.
Sierra Club includes a Take Action site for contacting politicians, plus information on how you can work to prevent sprawl in your community and protect wildlands.
Third Millennium is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization launched in July 1993 by young adults to offer solutions to long-term problems facing the United States.
Updated 8/23/06 by Jennifer Reid
