Thoughts and Expressions
VOTE!!!!!!
With all the focus poised full steam ahead to the Grand Election of 2008 it could be easy to miss the seemingly little pit-stop of 07.Mid-Term elections are very important....they keep us strong and poised for the bigger battles. Stand behind your local candidates...these are the people that really represent us on our local level....they are the ones that fight our local battles, whatever they may be....the battles that really effect our everyday life....the ones that keep the foundation strong when it comes time for the larger elections.,,,,
EXERCISE your right to vote. .......help to rebuild the muscles of democracy (at the moment it's kind of like physical therapy because there has been so much damage and atrophy.)
Polls are open till 9 tonight in NY State.
Biking to Work
I have been blessed this year to land a job 8 minutes from my house by car....AND as the weather got warmer this spring and a co-worker rolled into work one day on a bike I thought...ya know...I could do this too!! Now I have and I can tell you it is a most joyous thing for so many reasons.Upon arriving to work, having already gotten a nice half hour of fresh air and excercize, I feel refreshed and ready to start my day. My mood is vastly improved. I don't feel like I've just dragged myself out of bed, and I don't feel quite as frenzied about having to make time to excercize later... and when I do, I feel REALLY good.
It is also quite satisfying to look at all the car-free days I've racked up - less money to big oil - more in my pocket - and less greenhouse gasses going into the air.
On beautiful days my rides home are often a little adventurous. I find that I don't quite want to get off the bikes. I have explored side roads that I had never known about....only leading to more fresh air and more excercize.
For those who can, I highly recommend biking to work.
What's Going On?
Yesterday; Memorial Day I was enjoying a beautiful evening in Hasbrouk Park with my husband and a couple of friends. We had had a lovely picnic, and were pleasantly suprised to find out that there was a music concert scheduled to happen that evening. The first band was a fun swing-style blues band that got me and my friend up and dancing barefoot in the grass, and they were followed by a very impressive and joyful band of local high-schoolers playing fun ska-style music. We really enjoyed them. There were a fair number of people young and old on blankets and chairs enjoying the evening and the music. A bunch of high school students joyfully dancing....a truly wholesome scene...no substances any more offending than the bottle of pinot grigio we brought along to go with our chicken dinner....The evening however came to a very infuriatingly dissapointing end when three cops came by and rudely interrupted the young band in the midst of their second or third number, challenging them for a permit. The older gentleman in charge of the event had gone through the channels he thought he'd needed to go through and had gotten the permission he thought he needed through the village board...however it was apparently not good enough and the concert came crashing to a halt due to the cops who had answered the complaint of some local crank and were "just doing their job."
I forgot to mention that it was about 7:30 in the evening and there is no noise ordinance in place in our village until at least 9:00.
Dissapointing when I think about the pride I've had thinking that I lived in New Paltz.... a place more tolerant than most...I thought.
We all wondered whether the same would have happened had this band been 10 or 20 years older. Gee...you would think that people would welcome kids doing something for the community in this way...staying our of trouble, adding to the richness of our local culture. Maybe they should've stayed home and sat in front of the television, played their video games???
I see the young increasingly pushed out of society. They are "worshipped" so long as their money is spent on the hot new clothing...the cool new gadgets...but not allowed.. not wanted in public places. Perhaps if we could all remember we were there once.....
Maybe it's just the general uptight time we seem to be living in when everything is increasingly about insurance, permits and security. It is very sad that people can't just enjoy life. Why should we get in trouble for swimming at our own risk? Making music in the park in the early evening?? I'm not proposing a lawless society and I do believe noise ordinances after a reasonable hour. I believe in no smoking rules in public places...but if you live in a thriving, living village.....not some stuffy little suburb where people only emerge to board their cars....you need to expect people to live an breathe around you.
Whatever the reasons.... I think it may be good to step back... to gain some perspective on the cauldron of oppression we are slowly boiling in.......
Food for thought.
We did it!!!!!
It was one of the most amazing thing I've ever been involved with...and one of the most important things I've ever done. I had the opportunity to work on the campaign effort of newly elected Congress member, John Hall. John narrowly defeated 12-year incumbent, Sue Kelly; a somewhat bubble-brained Bushie with money and big business behind her. John's campaign consisted of a devoted and passionate army of volunteers....who raised money donation by donation...$20 here...50 there....people who gave up time, took time off from work to make phone calls and go door to door. The candidate himself was always accessible...a gentle soul with a strong and focused message who would drop, almost unnoticed, into the Beacon headquarters and mix with the dozens of volunteers who crowded around the desks and tables with their laptops and telephones. The office was home to many of us for weeks...complete with tables of chips and fresh fruit, and a resident pug that would wander from one volunteer to the next flashing sad eyes until she scored a handout. Phone banks sprouted up all over the district......Poughkeepsie, Goshen......I spent the weekend in Goshen, where my husband had very successfully managed to put together and fill with volunteers, 5 phone bank locations. I will never forget my last election night phone call...8:30 pm....1/2 hour between the closing of the polls....a woman who hadn't voted......"I don't know if I'm registered" she told me. She had moved to the area last year. She WAS on the list. I told her where her polling place was and convinced her to get there. She said she would get her neighbor to take her. I GOT ONE!!! In such a close election...it really may have made a diffefrence. Election night was a nail-biter....the all-told, thousands of volunteers gathered in Courtland Manor under a large screen showing election results on RNN. Numbers were close, and no one was sure what was happening when the candidate finally emerged, making his way through the crowd accompanied by his wife and other family members who followed him to the stage. Sure to thank the volunteers...the hundreds of union members who showed up in force to canvass for him (I saw them myself in Poughkeepsie....working fellows proudly donning their Union T-shirts)...then he broke out into song...joined by his wife and family and all of us...uniting us all...there was barely a dry eye in the house...and we all knew that WE had done it. It is an experience that has truly restored some of my hope in the power of true, grassroots democracy.We have some tough work ahead.....but here we are, in a position to do it.
Let's Take Back Congress!!! Support John Hall
Dear Friends,This is an important election year. Congress is up for re-election and we who believe that change is needed have an important opportunity to make it happen by electing or otherwise supporting candidates that will be strong voices in Washington, and will truly represent our interests.
If you are not already aware of him, I would like to introduce you to one such candidate. His name is John Hall and he is running for Congress in New York State's 19th District.
You may have seen him on the Comedy Channel's Colbert Report, singing duets with Steven Colbert (if not, check it out at www.youtube.com/watch ). John is a former member of the 70's rock group, Orleans, but he is more than someone with a nice singing voice...he is a sustantial voice for change in this country who is well versed in the important issues such as the war in Iraq, healthcare, education, civil rights, the environment and women's reproductive rights.
For John Hall's stance on the issues, please check out his website at www.johnhallforcongress.com, and then, please join me in supporting him for congress. If you live in his district (or anywhere else for that matter) please get out and vote. If, like me, you are not in his district, you can still support John by contributing to his campaign, or volunteering (information for doing either of these things is on the website).
www.johnhallforcongress.com
The time is now!!! We can do this!!!!!
Peace,
Laurie
