flickerbulb

The change from a print-based to an image-based society has transformed our nation. Huge segments of our population, especially those who live in the embrace of the Christian right and the consumer culture, are completely unmoored from reality. They lack the capacity to search for truth and cope rationally with our mounting social and economic ills. They seek clarity, entertainment and order. They are willing to use force to impose this clarity on others, especially those who do not speak as they speak and think as they think. All the traditional tools of democracies, including dispassionate scientific and historical truth, facts, news and rational debate, are useless instruments in a world that lacks the capacity to use them.

Forget Red vs. Blue — It’s the Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda | Media and Technology | AlterNet

classy move, bush.

just fantastic:

Animals and plants in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams, highways and other projects don’t pose a threat, under regulations the Bush administration is set to put in place before President-elect Obama can reverse them.

The rules must be published Friday to take effect before Obama is sworn in Jan. 20. Otherwise, he can undo them with the stroke of a pen.

The Interior Department rushed to complete the rules in three months over the objections of lawmakers and environmentalists who argued that they would weaken how a landmark conservation law is applied.

Bush To Relax Endangered Species Regulations Before Obama Can Reverse Them

Then my mom called. You might imagine I don’t get along all that well with my mother, and you’d be right. We’re cordial enough, but we don’t really talk about anything meaningful. It was time for that to change. I told her about my work, and about my next project, a game that would literally change the course of history.
 
Then we talked about Obama. I told her that I felt Americans were living in the Matrix, working long hours, eating pablum, and dying useless for having fed the parasitic machine draining the lifeblood of a withering planet.
 
I told her that Obama was the first president in my lifetime I could look to for inspiration. I told her about seeing people like myself get involved in the politcal process for the first time. I told her about getting to know the truth about money, the economy, and consumption.
 
I told her I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, where the boom-bust cycles of exploitative capitalism gave way the steady, sustainable happiness of altruistic capitalism.
 
Then she got biblical, which was her undoing. No one can quote scripture like an atheist. Without getting into the full multi-hour explanation, I showed her that McCain fits the description of the antichrist much better than Obama.
 
Finally it came down to abortion and gay marriage. I explained that first, understand that Roe v. Wade is not a case about abortion, but about the federal government’s ability to enforce the Constitution at the state level. Most laws are like this — their issues are far more complicated than will fit on a sign.
 
Still, it brings up a greater issue. It is not your job to govern other people’s morality. The Bible is explicitly clear on this subject. Not only does it repeatedly warn against judging others, it also makes clear that vengeance is the exclusive prerogative of God.
 
You are being controlled, I told her, by people telling you how to think, how to feel, and how to act. Use your God-given mind to make your own decisions.

Butterflies

anyone who’s had a real conversation with me about the web, or space travel, or time travel, or religion, in the past three years has heard something now backed up by data:

if we human beings intend to make it to the last days of the universe, we’re going to have to waste less and use resources better.

now i can cite a peer reviewed article, instead of just spouting off:

“Effectively, the Earth’s regenerative capacity can no longer keep up with demand – people are turning resources into waste faster than nature can turn waste back into resources.

“A moderate business-as-usual scenario, based on United Nations projections of slow, steady growth of economies and populations, suggests that by 2050, humanity’s demand on nature will be twice the biosphere’s productive capacity.”

Earth Can’t Cope, New Planets Needed | LiveScience

“If ordinary plastic bags would rot away like banana peels there’s no doubt a host of environmental problems would be solved, the fate of the turtle above included. And one 11th grader from Canada set out to make that dream come true as part of his school science project. A wildly successful endeavor he figures will make them decompose in just 3 months.

But how did this extraordinary young scientist named Daniel Burd pull it off?”

Teen Finds Way to Decompose Plastic Bags in Just 3 Months! : TreeHugger

the above is a joke.

the below is not:

we got a new mower and i love it.

it burns calories instead of gasoline.

it has zero emissions, except for sweat.

it’s safe and light enough for J2 to mow with.

it hearts the earth.

i have been boycotting wal*mart for years, and the story quoted from below is just one more reason to keep it up.

what a horribly evil company:

Debbie Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident 8 years ago that robbed her of much of her memory. She cries every time she’s told that her son was killed in Iraq, as if hearing the news for the first time.

After winning the lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the accident, her husband put the money in a trust to pay for Debbie’s long-term care.

And now, retail giant Wal-Mart wants that money…

Neatorama » Blog Archive » Wal-Mart Wants Disabled Woman’s Long-Term Care Money Back

February 7, 2008—To call attention to Japanese whaling practices, the Australian government released video captured on the ocean near Antarctica. Warning: graphic imagery.

Video: Grisly Whaling Video Released

the video linked to above is simply disgusting.

it’s hard enough to think about killing animals, even for food, but to think about how these very intelligent animals who are self-aware struggle to get away after being caught…

it’s sad and gross.

Technorati Tags: gross, japan, killing, killthewhales, whailing, whales

i am a big proponent of eating food that is grown and produced within 100 miles of home whenever possible.

i just fell in love with this place:

It may be easier to give you an idea of what you won’t find. Just to give you an idea you won’t find tomatoes in January, you won’t find blood oranges in June, you won’t find asparagus in November and you won’t find brussel sprouts in August. Basically, if it’s not in season go to Marsh. You will find produce that has been selected for quality and wholesomeness. We only scout for organically grown, certified organic and locally grown produce. Our produce selections change frequently, kind of like the seasons. Is that weird or what?

Welcome to Goose The Market.com

A Silicon Valley start-up called Nanosolar shipped its first solar panels — priced at $1 a watt. That’s the price at which solar energy gets cheaper than coal. Curious that this story is not on every front page.

At $1 per Watt, the iTunes of Solar Energy Has Arrived

If you do have to drive, minimize the amount of time you sit in idle. Here’s a pretty easy general rule of thumb to remember: if you’re car’s running and you’re not moving, your gas mileage has dropped to zero mpg. I know for many of this, this is probably easier said than done, especially considering it’s pretty tough to avoid the daily rush hour traffic. However, if you find yourself stuck at a stoplight or know that it’s going to be a minute or two before you get moving again, turn off your car (assuming it’s safe to do so). Essentially, it takes about ten seconds worth of idling to use as much gasoline as it would to restart your car; this means if you’re going to be sitting at a stoplight for a minute or two, it’s best to shut the car off and save gasoline.

>   The Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Gasoline Consumption by Daily Fuel Economy Tip

In Tippecanoe County, Ind., there are 250,000 more parking spaces than registered cars and trucks. That means that if every driver left home at the same time and parked at the local mini-marts, grocery stores, churches and schools, there would still be a quarter of a million empty spaces. The county’s parking lots take up more than 1,000 football fields, covering more than two square miles, and that’s not counting the driveways of homes or parking spots on the street. In a community of 155,000, there are 11 parking spaces for every family.

The environmental and social costs of parking your car | Salon News

that’s it
i’ve got
i know what i need now
i had reservations before
but now there’s no doubt
i need to find me a woman who drives a choice hummer
i huge belching beastling with fat tires and a snout

it’s perfect
it’s manly
it’s just what i need now
all of the other cars
are just way too darn small
i need to find me a woman who drives a choice hummer
i can ride to the grocery and i’ll be so very tall

the good thing about hummers
is you don’t have to care
if there’s an escort or sunfire in your way
you can pretty much assume that they’ll move or be sorry
so you’re free to talk on your cellphone all day!

meanwhile,
i sit in a big comfy chair
sad that the girl i love ignores me
getting fat on anti-depressants

when most of the people who’ve ever lived
have died of hunger