Sonia Sotomayor and Mission Bay Park

At first glance, most people won't see a connection between the current debate about the role of ethnicity and gender in Obama's selection for his first Supreme Court nominee, but when I walk in Mission Bay Park I think about race, culture and the changing times quite a bit due to the cross-section of San Diegans enjoying time along the bay.

The east side of Mission Bay Park is packed with picnickers at this time of year. Small picnics - a couple or parents with their kids. But there are also large picnics to celebrate birthdays and weddings, anniversaries and holidays. No doubt some of the picnics are just an occasion for friends and family to spend some time in Mission Bay Park, eat, visit, let the kids play, and just wile away the day with cool ocean breezes.

There seems to be two types of large picnics when it comes to race and/or ethnicity. All white picnics. Or picnics with some combination of Hispanics, African-Americans, Filipinos, Caucasians, etc. and a bunch of multi-ethnic children running around. The former is much fewer in numbers than the latter these days.

Which brings me to the charge that Ms. Sotomayor's rulings will be shaded by her ethnicity. Of course it will. And by her gender. And by her life experiences. When a white male is nominated for the Supreme Court, why don't people worry that his gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class will shade his rulings. I don't believe any human lives completely outside their experiences and let's be real here: gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class create your lived experiences.

I think the words "ethnicity" and "gender" are code for the fear that if privileged white Americans no longer control the Supreme Court, the interests of the wealthy will no longer take precedence over the issues of all Americans. This opinion is probably justified, but I'm ready for a Supreme Court that represents the variety of lived experiences, ethnic backgrounds and genders that make up the USA. I live for the day when a transvestite is nominated to the Supreme Court.

As to lived experiences, if the myth of America is that everyone has a chance if they work hard enough, then let's start rewarding those who started life with few advantages and excelled in spite of the obstacles instead of the sons and daughters of the wealthy who were given everything that Ms. Sotomayor worked her ass off to achieve.

This is the American dream.

McCarthyism Redux

Communist threat = war on terrorism. Will we never learn?

How much does the US Government spend on us?

By "Us" I mean the Rainbow Gathering. People often ask how much the US Government spends on the Rainbow gathering. From time to time when the feds really piss me off, I FOIA information. For those not in the know, FOIA - Freedom of Information Act, allows you to request copies of government information. Most branches of the federal government have a FOIA officer tasked with providing information. For a general overview on how to file your own request, visit this website.

Well this year in Wyoming, the feds pissed me off big time. So I made a couple of FOIA requests. I had meant to do more, but seemed to have run out of time. At any rate, the information I received is available on my website for your information and use in whatever legal battles you may be fighting. Both documents are large PDFs, so make sure you have the bandwidth to download them. Please download and distribute as you see fit.

Wyoming Court Costs - this only includes the special court the feds so thoughtfully set up for us in Farson and is by no means all the costs involved in trying cases arising from the gathering.

USFS Totals Expenses by Year

Enjoy!

Toll Road Killed

From today's Los Angeles Times.

U.S. Commerce Department rejects Foothill South toll road
By Susannah Rosenblatt
10:33 AM PST, December 18, 2008

The controversial Foothill South toll road, proposed to connect south Orange County with north San Diego County, was handed a major blow this morning when the U.S. Commerce Department announced it would uphold the state Coastal Commission's rejection of the plan.

Thank you Southern California. We came together and said no toll roads through our parks and sacred places. Job well done. A huge shout out to Surfrider for all their hard work.

One Person at a Time

There’s been a growing movement of churches and other mainstream groups engaging in social justice and issues of environmental protection. From the UN Summit for Religious and Spiritual Leaders to the various incarnations of the Social Forums, people of faith have been creating grassroots movements that focus on what we, the people, see as critical issues of social justice, equality, health care and protecting the earth. That’s the beauty of a right wing president who doesn’t understand the web of life or society for that matter – it forces the people to rise up and create a better world.

When Senator Obama stepped onto the world stage, he was riding the wave of thousand of activists with the dream that a better world is possible. Instead of telling people to work for him, he plugged in to swells rippling throughout our society and caught the wave to shore. A few wobbles here and there, but basically a clean ride.

But the shout out goes to all the people organizing on the ground for a future befitting the vision of the American dream. You are my heroes. And a brief word of warning. Just because we elected a Black man as president doesn’t mean we can let up on what we are doing. As Senator Obama said in Grant Park on November 4 "… you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead." So let the celebrations ring out and then let’s get back to our social forums and activist community meetings, our habitat restoration and sharing food with the hungry.

For as someone wise once said, "if the people lead, the leaders will follow." And lead we did, one step at a time, one person at a time. The only way that change is possible.

Peace out!

Marriage for All Who Want It

Personally, I'm not a fan of marriage. During my life I've met a handful of people whose lives seem to be more fulfilling, more creative, more exciting because they were married. I've met thousands of couples whose marriage seems nothing more than something to gripe about, like potholes in the road.

But that being said, I don't think anyone has a right to define marriage for all people under the eyes of the court.

The eyes of the church, any church, are different. Some churches decree only one marriage is valid before God, and if that's what a subset of people believe, I have no problem with that. If your faith believes marriages should be arranged between consenting adults, I have no problem with that. If you believe alcohol should not be served at a wedding, I have no problem with that.

If, as some people postulate, the point of marriage is to stabilize society and provide for children, I have no problem with that.

I guess about the only thing I have a problem with, is people trying to impose their faith on me. I'm OK with my beliefs, thank you very much. So feel free to create your own church and make your own rules about who and how to marry. Just don't expect your rules to apply to everyone.

On a more practical level, marriage provides jobs for thousands of people, from caterers to divorce attorneys. With the way the economy is, we should all be promoting weddings as a way to stimulate the economy.

And while you're at it, Vote No on Proposition 8 - why shouldn't my homosexual friends have the same rights to be in a fucked up marriage as everyone else?

Arnold Schwarzenegger & the DMV

When Governor Gray Davis was recalled from office and the steroid fueled characteture of an action hero ran for Governor, his rallying cry was repeal the car tax because when Gray Davis repealed the discount - during a bust cycle - he was villified for it.

Well first off it wasn't a car tax, it was a discount on our annual registration fees that had been granted to the people of California because the state had so much funds, they didn't need it. But the law required the discount to be repealed when the budget wasn't so fat.

Well guess what, in typical California boom and bust cycles, we've gone bust again this year and the discount has been repealed. Last year I paid $48 to register my 1956 van that I bought in 1997 for $300, this year the state is charging me $62.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's the right thing to do, but after having to listen to the muscle man campaign on the evils of his predecessor for repealing the discount, I'm amazed this wasn't all over the headline news. In fact, I only found out about it today when I reviewed my Vehicle Registration Renewal Notice.

Talk about a double standard. Does this mean it's time to recall Schwarzenegger? Some people think so. Apparently the California State Prision Guard's Union submitted a petition calling for the man's recall - unfortunately, the state rejected it for not meeting the legal requirements. But's it's not only prision guards who are mad at Arnie, apparently his approval rating is just above that of GW, and the president of the California Republican Assembly refered to him as a complete failure according to the Houston Chronicle in today's paper.

I guess that's what happens when people elect a movie star for high office. I personally want smart people running things. People who are smarter than I am - a whole lot smarter than I am. Since when did being smart disqualifying a person from holding elected office?

Can't the City of San Diego Get Anything Right?

City Council has resurrected their plan to rid the city of RVs, gardeners, plumbers and the rest of us messy folks. I guess the pension mess is resolved, we now have money to pay our Liberians and repair our parks, and the streets are no longer riddled with huge holes.

From R.V.’s United For Fair Parking:

Proposed Parking Ordinance Affecting All of San Diego!

This ordinance would prohibit ALL oversize vehicles, trailers, and recreational vehicles from parking on public streets between 10 pm and 6 am, 7 days a week! An over sized vehicle is defined as being over 7 ft high OR over 22 ft long. A permit to park your RV in front of your house overnight is available (72 hour max). Each permit would cost you $3.50 and you are restricted to 24 per year.

COMMERCIAL vehicles are included in this ordinance. NO permit is being considered for them. Your plumbing vehicle, tow truck and or gardening trailer will be banned from overnight parking on city streets.

I don't know about you, but when I come home at 9 PM or 2 AM, there is no parking in front of my house. So the person with the Hummer can park in front of my house for free, while I have to have a permit. What's up with that?

This is an issue the city keeps bringing up and I've attended many of the meetings over the years. The people opposed are a cross section of our community and their reasons as different as their lives. Seems to me this ordinance is geared towards our working class communities. People with enough land around their houses to park on their own property with a $250,000 RV will not be impacted. But me with a small, but tall van living in a crowded neighborhood get regulated to death.

The next thing you know we'll have to pay to park our bicycles at the beach.

STAND UP!

I'm Angry

And very sick to my stomach.

The corporate bailout has me fuming. When I fume I write letters to people. Since I read the San Francisco Gate online to remind myself of what twenty first century people think, I wrote them to vent my anger at my elected officials and anyone who cares to read. Find my letter online under the title US of C.

Here's the letter that was published by the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, October 3:

US of C

Editor - I can't believe the Senate supported this horrendous bailout of large companies.
Small business is the engine that runs the American economy, and they bail out the large corporations? What kind of insanity is that?
In an economy when our future has been hocked by President Bush, the Senate just sentenced us to living with his mistakes for the next 20 years. How can they justify that? I'm guessing it's because the companies they are bailing out are the major contributors to their campaigns. Democracy is dead in the United States of Corporations.
KARIN ZIRK
San Diego

Senatorial Credulousness

Senate approves bailout after revisions, 74-25.

~ Need I say more....

How personal is the political?

Looking back on writers like Anais Nin and the women's movement of the late sixties and into the seventies, a common mantra was the personal is political and if you examine the personal closely enough, you find the common humanity of all.

As I watch the media staged events that are the campaign for president of the United States, I've started to reframe my own life. For the last nine and a half years, I've been looking at all my problems as my own personal failure to be able to juggle full time work, full time caregiving, and part time projects such as writing, environmental activism not to mention a social life. But listening to some of the speeches floating around, I am beginning to wonder, if there might not be a balance that comes from the direction the President is supposed to provide our country. So I wonder, if for the last eight years we'd had a president who wasn't a spoiled little rich brat, maybe somehow my life would be easier.

Maybe, a descent paying 75% job would be available, because in this job market, it's either work fifty hours a week at a livable wage or work thirty hours a week at the same wage I earned in nineteen eighty. Maybe, there would be health care without a co-pay for calling your doctor on the phone. Maybe, the caregiving burden I am taking off the government's back would be recognized for something - either earnings towards my own retirement or caregiving subsidies. Maybe I would be making more in real terms now than I was twenty five years ago. Maybe we would have had a president who was smarter than me and could come up with ways to lift a burden placed on my shoulders by the failed health care systems.

Or maybe not. Maybe I'm to blame. After all, I could just work and care for my mom, not try to save a creek or write a novel or organize my community. Maybe if I was happy working for a corporation so the CEO could vacation in the Bahamas every year, I wouldn't feel so frustrated with my options.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those crack pot dreamers who thinks that there is a way for people to live fulfilling lives, love and be loved, to follow their bliss and still support themselves, and that maybe, just maybe, my hard work will help someone else someday, somehow. That's been an unpopular belief these last eight years. I hope it won't be forever.

To my sister who blazed that trail ~~ RIP Shirley Chisholm ~~ you will not be forgotten. And to all those who have come since, don't forget whose shoulders you're standing on.

YES! Magazine and What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

YES Magazine's tag line is "Supporting you in building a just and sustainable world" and when the latest issue arrives in my mail box I inhale the stories of the rebirth of Students for a Democratic Society, a female president in Chile, autonomous social movements in Argentina, the real scoop on energy usage, and the solutions to the health care crises in this country and I want to be one of the heroes between the covers of the 100% recycled, post-consumer waste, process chlorine-free paper, example of journalism that digs deep and uncovers the peaceful but dramatic social movements taking place under the radar of mainstream media.

As I read, I look for career opportunities that would allow me to pay my mother's caregiving bills while blending my skills in communication with my desire to be one of the people creating a future that respects the planet and the creatures who scurry across her belly. I analyze the careers people have created in their quest to save the planet and each other and try to figure out where I fit in while putting in forty hours a week in the computer trenches as a database administrator.

Once upon a time I had a quote over my desk that talked about the future as something not found, but created, the roads to it are built by those taking the journey and the journey changing both the traveler and the destination and believe it to be true. As Robert Frost said all those years ago, "I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

My zig zag journey from the streets of San Francisco to the mission of restoring the native habitat in my ten foot by fifteen foot front yard leaves me middle aged and plodding through the woods, creating a path and dragging a hundred and twenty pound weight behind me. I tramp through the jungle looking for paths between trees and tigers and wonder how I ended up in the this part of the jungle and why. Some days I am weary and I sit down and contemplate finding the energy to climb over one more rock, traverse one more mountain range or swim across another river.

Then I read about tree sitting in South Central Los Angeles, interfaith movements of environmental activists and the purpling of America in the latest issue, grab a hold of a tree and pull myself up and get back to writing and tree planting and caring for another generation while I figure out who I want to be when I grow up.

What's Wrong with the US Government

Today's rant is about the postal service.

I have a friend in Wyoming hiking and camping. He's been there for three weeks and is planning on staying for another two months. I promised to send him his mail from time to time, but never know where he's going to be.

My friend called me the other day and said "send it General Delivery to Pinedale, Wyoming." I put everything in an envelope and rode my bike to the Pacific Beach Post Office to mail it. They couldn't help me. Apparently the United States Postal Service has no ability to find the zip code for general delivery in Pinedale, population under two thousand people. Now Pinedale is a small town as are most towns in Wyoming so I know there's only one post office. I told the postal worker this and she asked her co-workers and they all decided I needed to go to the Midway Post Office, which is six miles away. Now six miles to you rural folks might not sound like much, but for us city folks, six miles of stop signs, traffic signals and up and down hills and back again in under an hour (when I had to be home) wasn't going to happen on my bike. I guess I could have ridden home, started up a car and driven there, but then it would by seven miles there and seven miles back getting close to rush hour.

I felt like I was in the twilight zone. If a person cannot not obtain a zip code from a United States Post Office, then where, I ask, would I find one? So I rode my bike three blocks to the library, got on the library computer, went to the USPS website and searched for the zip code for the street address of "General Delivery" in Pinedale, Wyoming. And I had the zip code.

Then I had to go back to the Post Office to mail the package. Am I the only person who sees something wrong with this picture?