Weekly 2/21/08 - 5

Yo Salon Weekly readers*!  We have some amazing pieces in the Articles section (BLUE, below)... On the presidential race.  Don’t miss them.  See table of contents at the beginning of the Articles section.  (*Did you know there are nearly 650 of you?  Amazing thing is how well it is being read, not just subscribed.  We appreciate  you!  Ellen)

Salon Weekly

~ In 4  Color-Coded Sections:

• Table Notes
• Events & Opportunities
• Articles, Letters
• Books, Reviews, Films, Magazines
• Tri-State Treasures: events compiled by Jim Kesner
  

A Weekly Email Publication of The Lloyd House: Circulation:  613.  Growing out
of the Wednesday Night Salon .  For info about the Salon, see the bottom of
this email. Join us at the Lloyd House every week of the year at 5:45 for pot
luck and discussion. 3901 Clifton Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio.   To Submit events
for the Weekly, send (not attachment) me email, subject line
"Weekly-Events:(description)", in Times New Roman font, Maroon color.  FOR ARTICLES, send me, in Times New Roman, Navy color.   to ELLENBIERHORST@LLOYDHOUSE.COM,. Saves me a
lot of work that way. Send submissions by Wednesday evening.

To: Friends on our Pot Luck Salon list (c. 600)... Now in our
seventh year),

(to unsubscribe see below, bottom of page).
................................................... Section One: Table Notes ............................................................................ (Note: these notes were taken at the table and have NOT been approved or corrected by the speakers.  Reader beware of inevitable misunderstandings and misrepresentations.  E.B.)
At the table Wednesday 2/6/08
Roberta Paolo  schoolgarden@fuse.net
Ginger Lee Frank.,  Mr. G.,  Sam Bach, Elaine Bradford, Spencer Konicov, Ellen Bierhorst, Mary Biehn, Bob Witanowski, Mimi Rook, Chris Metzger, Mira Rodwan.

Mary: read the preamble.  
Announcements at table

Ellen: Yvonne’s painting exhibition.  Also, anyone who knows Khassa Selassie, raw food chef, please read announcement below...he is in jail and needs letters of character reference.  
Mary new documents have emerged re Kennedy assassination showing connection between Oswald and Ruby.  
Bob  having to do with the phone companies’ immunity re. wiretapping.  ... Rights of privacy.  Bill passed congress giving immunity.  
Ginger thanks for the food  you fixed me last week when I was sick.  
I’ve been reading a lot about vit. D.  Best to get 10 min in the sun on face and hands in summer will do it for you.  Incredible applicatins.  NYTimes calls it “nutrient of the decade”.  The MDRs are too low.  Vit D 3 is the best.  Aperture the big photography magazine just out, with my 10 p article.  Will be online.  
Mr. G.  about vit. D.  A holistic type doctor said lI should have a Vit. D test, and they found I was low.  I was on supplements a couple months... Now on a one a week 50,000 IU.  My PCP said practically everyone he tests has a deficiency of D.  Available over the counter.  The gov’t recommends 400 units.  Per day.  
    Ginger...take at least 2000 units/day.
Mr. G  Carbon footprint.  Diane Rhem show or another show.  It is not always true that shipped in produce, flowers has a larger carbon footprint than local stuff.  Many factors.  E.g. A flower shipped from Denmark was lower in carbon impact than local flower.  Has to do with our “dirty” power sources...coal.  
Sam I like to fly radio controlled model airplane.  
Elaine Happy 24th birthday to my son David.  Happy 29th birthday to my dau. Annie.  
Spencer  Sat I was in Cols., visiting Barrie and Billie.  Commitment ceremony.  ... I 71 was closed for 10 hours due to a bad accident with hazardous material.  

GRANNIES GARDEN SCHOOL IN LOVELAND

Roberta Paolo:
I am not an expert.  Raised 3 kids.  Grandkids.  Found much solace from gardening.  Grew perennials from seed...  Lived in poor neighborhood, gardening there.  Folks said, “the kids will destroy it”, but they didn’t.  
We had a gang problem in Loveland at that time.  Hang out by my house.  One day they were out there talking tough...I picked a bunch of flowers and walked up in the middle of them.  “My grandkids are here and I don’t want them to hear this language...”  passing out flowers at the same time.  I did that a couple times and never had a problem afterwards.  
    Saw an ad in the paper for free seedlings.  Free plants.  Next year I had extra perennials, annuals, put ad for free plants.  Many people came.  I was teaching these people about gardening.  ... Started having “gatherings”.  Sharing knowledge.  I learned of the power of flowers.  I let kids pick the flowers.  
    ...my grandchildren started at the school up the street.  (pictures of the school...sterile school yard.)  I thought, Wow, look at all this ground!  One day a library worker was putting mums in a bed in front of the school.  Told her I wanted to have flowers the kids could pick.  ... Principal Kyle Bush... Got permission.  K – 4 students, 1100 there.  Talked to the grounds people.  Made a deal.  Then presented to the school board.  That was 2002.
    Today the whole school is ringed with gardens.  50 class gardens 10 x 20’.  Teachers bring the kids out to garden, part of their lessons.  Have connected the gardening with the curriculum at each grade level.  E.g. In Sept we have a weeding thing.  Identification of plants; graphs of this info.  Measuring exercises (measure the weeds.)  
    The class gardens are all veg. gardens.  Okra, kairobi, potatoes, sweet potatoes.  
    Started Dalia program when we got donation of  hundreds of bulbs.
    From Kroger we get donation of sweet potatoes for each child to have one.  First graders plant their seedlings in a patch.  In the fall, they harvest.  ... Now we sell sweet potato shoots to Turner farm and to Grailville.
    Flowers.  We take flowers to businesses, police officers etc.
    Kids pick bouquets, put them in little tubes.  E.g. Mint, zinnia, etc.  Delivered with meals on wheels.
    On grand parents day, they pick a bouquet of flowers for the grandparents.  
    Teacher day.  When kids meet their new teachers before school starts.  We pick 2000 flowers and pass them out to the kids to give to their teacher.  Helps the kids feel more confident.
    Granny’s Garden School started as my passion.  I can use all my skills.  My gardening, my wood working (trellises), building web sites... http://grannysgardenschool.com
We are not financially supported by the school system.
(?) is this during the school day?
Yes, all of it.  
(?) many school gardens have a problem because of the summer break.
Yes, now we have summer programs for families to come once a week.  A number of camp programs.  “Granny’s Victory Garden Camp”,  Granny’s Victory Garden Cooking Camp” and a craft camp, and a nature walk camp.  
This last summer I hired a woman to water over the summer, and reseed.
    We are a non profit.  You cannot count on volunteers.  My dream is to build a structure so it will continue after my death some day.  I always say, “Put your money in staff, not stuff.”  
Want to establish a school garden network for this region.  No need to reinvent the wheel.
(?) a complete cycle from seed to table.
Yes.  E.g. Sweet potatoe cycle.  Lettuce, onions, peas from the garden in the spring to eat.  Fresh raw okra.  
We let the children eat stuff right out of the soil.  Kids love the vegetables.  Expanding their knowledge of variety vegetables.  
When we have extra, e.g. Cherry tomatoes, they go to the lunch room.  
    In Oct. a whole month learning about harvest activities.  They have a harvest party in each classroom.  Feed the party with guests out of their gardens. Powerful stuff.
    70-80% of teachers participate.  
    Kids are very respectful of the gardens.  They are allowed to pick the flowers.
    They are learning that you can have a cool thing right their place, don’t have to get in a car and drive and pay money.
    I just met with the Habitat for Humanity head.  My kids are going to grow perennials for Habitat homes.  
    All our knowledge and plans are free on our website.  Lesson plans.  

    the Bees.  We were given six large apple trees from Natorp’s.  Wanted to put them in front.  Admin. Didn’t want them in front because were scared of the bees.  
    The eagle scouts come and do all sorts of things.  Possible projects for them are on our web sites.  E.g. Bridges, tables, benches.  

    We are 100% organic.  No insecticides, no fertilizer.  We use leaf compost.  All paths are woodchips.
    We provide over 20,000 client hours a year.
    We have 30 coordinators; volunteers to work with the teachers.  Mostly parents.  



    FINANCES
    I am not a retired rich widow, as some imagine.  I wrote a grant, got salary money.  Donations, grants, a benefactor.   Now have a couple part time employees.  We are now funded until the end of this school year.  We need a way to be sustainable.  Grant money runs out, and granting agencies don’t like to pay salary.  Sources:  Greater Cinti. Foundation.  Ohio Environmental...  Scott Foundation.  
    Dream : to be able to focus on the program not funding.  We need to grow our board.  Not people who are on 6 other boards.  Not people who want to tell us what to do.  Want people to roll up sleeves.  Really need a treasure right now.  
(?) Mayerson
They are not into our kind of project.  But they like what we do.  We are not in the right zip codes .
They like to serve “underserved” locations.

    An endowment would be awesome. Need a fund raiser/financial officer.  General board development.  
Also need donations large and small.  See our web site.  We are a 501c-3 corp.  Tax deductable donations.  (?) need 65-70,000 $.  
(Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?)  Yes.  Do you know them?  (I know someone who knows them.)
I am asking for people to commit to only 6 months for Board service.  

    Loveland schools is not financially supporting this project at all.  They just don’t have it.  And it is better for us to be independently funded.  
(And Mimi, who brought us Roberta this evening, sends this “introduction”:
Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard say everything I believe about what Roberta is doing with her garden school - it all starts w/ our children!!! I quote:
 

" Our kids are being indoctrinated by fast food values. It's not just the food they're eating that's unhealthy. They're learning a set of values--and it's about fast, cheap and easy. it's the idea that everywhere you go, food should be the same. It should have no relation to the seasons. It should be a narrow range of things you're eating. It should be available all the time. It's OK to waste; there's always more where that came from. Advertising confers values. All of these things, they're learning.
 
We need to bring in a curriculum that teaches kids about stewardship of the land. They need to learn about nourishment. They need to learn about communication at the table. They need to learn about conserving natural resources...just a set of values that helps us share this planet with a lot of other people.
 
I'm not telling them what to eat; it's about bringing them into a new relationship with food. They can fall in love with the beauty of nature--with our cultural traditions. And good health will be the outcome of this love affair.
 
When kids grow it and cook it, they eat it! That I know. It's the hands-on experience that really changes their attitudes and their habits. And I think they're hungry not just for food, but for people to care about them--and food is about care, should be about care. The people who are out there in the fast food nation aren't concerned about that. They're just concerned about profits."
 
Right there, is exactly what Roberta's Garden school is teaching the primary school kids in Loveland. My dream is that it spreads to every public school in the area. Maybe from there to the Midwest region. Maybe from there, we can connect the dots into other regions. In this vision, I don't see just children benefitting from this, I see the whole planet becoming a much better place to call home.

Mimi))
(now back to the table discussion.  Ellen)


GINGER.  THE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL.
   They mayor is doing a project on global warming and Cincinnati’s part.  “Mayor’s climate protection steering committee”, with 5 task teams, e.g. The transportation committee.  Office of environmental quality on city’s website to see when the conference is, in a few days.  ... In the transportation group we are talking about bike paths, etc.  alternative fuel, etc.  I want them to consider not importing stuff from far away... Building materials, food, etc.  
“UN on global warming.  It is unequivocal.  25% of species will go extinct.  Nations on islands will be obliterated as the oceans rise, etc. etc.  As much as transportation and office buildings power usage combined is meat.  Livestock production is responsible for over 18% of greenhouse emissions.  Need to develop a local and wider policy with respect to diet and global warming.  80% of the deforestation of the world is due to animal production.  “You save more water by skipping 4 Big Macs than by not showering for a year, even with a low-flow shower head.”  “ A meat eater on a bike does more ecological damage than a vegan in a Hummer.”  

Chris  I am vegetarian.  People get more angry at me for that than for my other strident political views.  I don’t think humans learn much from facts.  I gave up eating meat because of a spiritual experience.  But I despair because it is easier to deal with coal plants, with nuclear plants, than to get people to give up meat.  

Ellen take heart.  In 1968 I couldn’t FIND a vegetarian in Cincinnati. Now there are huge numbers of them... In this very room.  4 vegetarians!  So take heart.  Things have changed a lot in the last 40 years.  




Closing song “Building Bridges” (for Elaine B., the words:  Building bridges between our divisions, I reach out to you will you reach out to me... With all of our voices and all of our visions, Friends we could make such sweet harmony.)

~ End of Table Notes~

Hugs to everyone,
Ellen

---

---

Section Two: Events & Opportunities

---

Dear Friends of Khassa Selassie, Acquaintances of Khassa and Truly Caring People,

Unfortunately Khassa is currently in the Hamilton County Justice Center, and we need your help.  Khassa was in a car where a gun was found.  There was no hint of violence; however, the charges are federal and serious.  Apparently anyone with a prior felony record who is in a place where a gun is found, is charged with being a felon in possession of a fire arm.  The charges against Khassa make him sound like a violent person which he is not.
 
If you don’t know a lot about Khassa, then please let me tell you.  When Khassa was 18 he was in a fist fight which put the other guy briefly in the hospital and Khassa in prison for a number of years.  This was his only act of violence, and it was 14 or 15 years ago.  Today no one on the planet Earth is injured or harmed as a result of Khassa.  No one is the worse as a result of knowing him and in fact many people are a lot better off.
 
In prison Khassa became a vegetarian and later vegan; he studied yoga and meditation and all kinds of health alternatives.  He discovered ways to control his own very painful sickle cell anemia through diet, fasting, relaxation techniques, exercise and more.  When he was released from prison he studied raw food, became a raw foodist and in fact Cincinnati’s most accomplished raw food chef.  He opened The Living Room, a mostly raw food restaurant.  He has held a number of creative jobs in the vegan food business. He has catered weddings and other events, presented 10 raw food seminars at my house and many more after that.  He has spoken at EarthSave Cincinnati on panels and other events.  He has taught many people how to eat healthfully and he has taught some how to make a large assortment of his own delicious original recipes.  
 
Khassa has the ability to communicate with diverse groups of people and to help them find solutions to all kinds of problems – physical, emotional, spiritual.  I know people who say that he changed them from sickly to healthy, from angry and destructive to productive and self confident.  Those who know him well know that he lives to help others in any way he can.
 
We need letters written to the judge, but the letters need to go first through his lawyer.  The judge is Judge Susan J. Dlott, Federal District Court Judge in Cincinnati.
The lawyer is C. Ransom Hudson, Federal Public Defender Office, 2000 URS Center, 36 East Seventh Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, 513-929-4834.  Also please send a copy of your letter to Ali Rashid Abdullah of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, City Hall room 158, 801 Plum Street, Cincinnati 45202 or simply email: alirashid_abdullah@yahoo.com.
 
We may need some people to come to court and speak in Khassa’s behalf.  We may want to circulate a petition.  If you are willing to help in any way, please email me or phone me at 513-591-3003.  
 
We need your help.
Thanks.
 
Mary Ann Lederer

    (From Ellen: Khassa is a small, skinny 40-ish man who presented at the Salon about 18 months ago.  His story about suffering from Sicle Cell disease and surmounting a most difficult start in life was inspiring. His passion for raw foods is infectious. This is not a violent man.  A bit disorganized perhaps, but not dangerous.)

---

Free Chamber Music Concert Sunday
Dear AccentX alumni and friends:
    
    We are in the final stages of planning Accent08.  It will mark our seventh anniversary, and we will celebrate with quite a few interesting new offerings. Accent08 will take place June 15-21, 2008.  Look for current information on our website! We’ll continue to update it as new details become available
http://www.ccm.uc.edu/musicx/accent/
 
I would like to invite you to the
    Accent08 Celebratory Concert
This Sunday February 24 at 7:30 pm
At St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church
(320 Resor Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220),

which will open the Accent08 season.

    Please plan to attend!  Members of the Accent08 faculty – including CCM faculty pianist Michael Chertock, composer Joel Hoffman, and CCM graduate assistants Jennifer Jolley, Wenhui Xie and Leah Branstetter – will open the concert, with colleagues Kyle Collins, Dawna Ferguson, Christopher Karp, and KristenTanner.
    This concert will also feature the talents of the young ensemble players from the Accent Chamber Music Program – some of whom toured in Europe last summer.
    Enjoy masterworks by Barber, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and new music by Accent08 faculty Hoffman and Xie!
    A reception will follow, courtesy of the ACMP families.  Musical entertainment before and after the concert will be provided by Accent Chamber Music Program students of all ages, performing works by Bach, Busoni, Holst, Joplin, and Von Call, and more.
    This event is open to the public free of charge.  Donations for the Accent08 scholarship fund will be accepted at the door: we will raise scholarship money for deserving Accent08 students.
    Would you like to get involved?

Here is how you can help: any of the following will be very appreciated!
-plan to attend
-invite friends, family and neighbors
-bring your most favorite food for the potluck
-bring your baked goods for the bake sale
-volunteer to help at the t-shirt table, or at the bake sale table
-help set-up, or clean-up
-make a contribution for our scholarship fund
-purchase some of our brand new Accent08 T-shirts
-volunteer to perform after the concert: any solos or ensembles are welcome—students, parents, faculty, friends are welcome to join in.  Just let me know!
-let your young musician friends know about Accent08, apply with them as a group (you save 10%).

I am looking forward to seeing you this Sunday!
   Best,
    Dorotea
---
Dorotea Vismara Hoffman
Director,  Accent Programs
University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music
http://www.ccm.uc.edu/musicx/accent

---

Concerned about the Superdelegates? Moveon.org (heros of mine) are working to head off a miscarriage of democratic process.  Consider signing their petition.  Ellen

--The MoveOn.org Political Action Team


...the "superdelegates" who could end up deciding the Democratic nominee.

The superdelegates are under lots of pressure right now to come out for one candidate or the other. We urgently need to encourage them to let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama—and then to support the will of the people.

I (ellen) signed a petition urging the superdelegates to respect the will of the voters. Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/superdelegates/?r_by=12150-1331624-REXakn=confemail

<http://pol.moveon.org/superdelegates/?r_by=12150-1331624-REXakn&rc=confemail>

---

Judy Cirillo, Salonista, sends juicy announcements:
Hi Ellen,
... some of the announcements here sound really important and worthwhile. Thought you might pass them on to the Salon group, in case I'm not there. Many thanks, Judy


Truth in Recruitment Workshop: How to Dispel Myths & Expose the Realities of Military
Service
Saturday, February 23, 2008 12:00 noon &#150; 5:00 pm
Topics to be covered:
The Poverty Draft
Core Organizing Skills
Campaign Strategy
The cost for this workshop is $10 which includes copied materials and lunch.  For low
income participants and students who cannot afford this cost, the fee will be $5.00 for
lunch.
 
Mack Memorial Church
1717 Salem Avenue
Dayton, OH

Contact Barb Roberts ,American Friends Service Committee
937 278-4225
broberts@afsc.org
 
 
******************************************
WRITE FOR RIGHTS
Saturday, February 23 &#150; 8-11 PM
Art exhibit & spoken word poetry, with open mic, performance, & dance. Featuring Elament &
live music provided by Aalias & Souse, smooth acoustic music upstairs & fabulous jazz
downstairs. A light buffet will be provided. $10 suggested donation. Provocative &
entertaining.
At the Greenwich, 2442 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info or to exhibit art @
513.582.9978 & sammyike@hotmail.com.
 
 
******************************************
FEB 28
1968: THE YEAR OF REVOLUTIONARY HOPE
What can the struggles of the past tell us about how to move forward today?
7-8pm
McMicken 127, University of Cincinnati
For more info call 859.409.0191 or email  iso_nati@yahoo.com
ISO at UC will be hosting ISR Associate Editor Joel Geier for a discussion on the 40th
anniversary of 1968. Here's a snapshot:
In April, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and 100 cities rose in rebellion. In
May, a student rebellion in Paris ignited a general strike by French workers, the largest
in that country's history. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's cops' attacked peaceful antiwar
demonstrators at the Democratic convention, In August Czechoslovakian students led
protests that temporarily democratized the country until it was crushed by Russia, 200-300
students were massacred in Mexico at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the Tlatelolco
section of Mexico City, ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics celebrations in Mexico
City, etc.
WHO IS JOEL GEIER?
Joel Geier was an organizer of the Freedom Rides of the 1960's that challenged the racist
segregationist south and he also worked along side Dr. Martin Luther King. Joel was a
leading figure of the Free Speech Campaign in 1964 at the University of California,
Berkley. This student protest laid the foundation for academic freedom and civil liberties
for students on college campuses nationwide.
In 1968, Joel served as European correspondent for Independent Socialist Magazine and
actively participated in the Comites d' Action in May 1968 in Paris. In Prague, Joel was
involved with the Clubs of Committed Non-Party Members. Joel has written for In These
Times magazine and served as the American correspondent for Pagina Um in Lisbon, Portugal
during the Portuguese Revolution of 1973-74.Since its launching in 1997, Joel has served
as a writer and Associate Editor of The International Socialist Review. Joel has also been
a frequent public speaker in recent years at several major educational institutions such
as: Columbia Univ., UMASS, U Cal Berkeley, Northwestern, Univ of Illinois, Brown Univ.,
etc. Joel's eyewitness coverage of the struggles of 1968 is arguably unmatched.



****************************************************************

EMPTY SHIRTS, LOST LIVES
5TH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ WAR OBSERVANCE
March 19th marks the fifth year of the Iraq War.  This anniversary is a somber occasion
for the US, Iraq and the world; the loss and suffering of the past five years will weigh
on each of us in a special way.  To face this burden together, and to express our
continuing opposition to the war, IJPC will coordinate a special observance.

Details are still being finalized, but please mark your calendar for Wednesday March 19th.
 There will be an interfaith prayer service at 4:30 PM at St. Monica St. George.  From
5:30 to 6:30PM we will stand along Clifton Avenue, from McMillan north, displaying one tee
shirt for each US soldier killed in the war. The empty shirts will tangibly represent our
society's loss of a young person and all that his/her life would have brought to our
world.  Sadly, the line of shirts will extend for more than two miles.  We mourn the fact
that the total loss of life on all sides of this conflict far outstrips our ability to
represent the dead.

To accomplish this moving portrayal of America's loss, we need your help.  We are asking
individuals and groups to commit to this project.  Please respond to Kristen@ijpc-cincinna
ti.org or to 513-579-8547 if you can provide the materials and people needed for the shirt
display.  Each unit of the display will require ten clean tee shirts, clothespins, a
length of rope and four or more people to hold the shirt display.  Sadly, we will need
about 400 groups of 10 shirts each to symbolize the US dead.  Ideally there will be some
larger institutions that can commit to multiple units, while families and small groups
will provide a single unit.  A detailed "how to" packet will be sent to parties
indicating their willingness to help with our community's commemoration of the fifth
anniversary.

***************************************************
INFORMATION ABOUT TWO NATIONAL ANTI-WAR EFFORTS :

--TAX RESISTANCE:       Code Pink is sponsoring the "Don't Buy Bush's War"
campaign.  It  calls people of conscience to take a stand against the war in Iraq or the
threat of war in Iran by signing a pledge that when joined by 100,000 other signatories,
they will refuse to pay their taxes until the US gets out of Iraq (a fully operational
plan begun). The campaign offers safety in numbers and a firm stand against the
Administration's funding of the war. Go to www.dontbuybushswar.org to learn about the
campaign.

NONVIOLENT ACTION & CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Nonviolent Action and Civil Disobedience in Washington DC
Wednesday, March 19
United by common demands and organizing principles, groups are encouraged to participate
in nonviolent mass actions and/or organize their own actions in coordination with others.
There could be sit-ins, die-ins, blockades, pray-ins, bike blockades, street theater,
poetry readings, puppets, speak-outs and more at government agencies, war profiteers,
corporate media, military recruitment centers, or other pillars of war and empire in DC.
Unleash Your Imagination!
Start organizing affinity groups and local meetings now. For more information about the DC
actions on March 19th contact: www.5yearstoomany.org
dc@5yearstoomany.org

---

Subject: Businesses can soon call your cell phone. Get
on the DO NOT
 CALL list!
 
 Cell phone numbers going public tomorrow
 REMINDER....all cell phone numbers are being
released to
 telemarketing
 companies tomorrow and you will start to receive
sale calls.
 
 ....YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
 
 To prevent this, call the following number from your
cell phone:
 

888-382-1222.

 It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only
take a minute of
 your time It blocks your number for five (5) years.
You must call
 from the cell phone number you want to have blocked.
You cannot call
 from a different phone number.
 
 HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
 
 It take about 20 seconds.

---

---

There is now every Sunday morning an open weekly Tai Chi practice session at the Lloyd House in the third floor zendo at 10:15 am.  Everyone welcome.  Group is led by Jackie Millay   She is excellent!  Only three of us.  Come join us.  Raise the chi, warm yourself up this winter.  ellen

---

Articles

---

Contents:

• Anna Sher (my dau.) and Julie Murray talk about Hillary vs. Barack
• David Sher (my son, age 23, DAAP student) responds to Anna and Julie
• Gene Bierhorst (my bro. in NY) responds to David
• “Bill” (?) is for Obama... Interesting points.
• David Loy is against Obama... Very sobering. Cites actual voting record etc. for Obama.  
• David Rosenberg: but where do Barack, Hillary stand on Nafta, Cafta, etc.?
• Robin Morgan (Ms editor) breathing fire, supporting Hillary

• ---

  ---

Barack vs. Hillary

Anna Sher talks with Julie Murray...

From: Julie Murray [mailto:julimurray@aol.com]
Sent: Wed 2/20/2008 7:34 PM

 
Dear Anna,
I am continuing to search, think, feel, consider, agonize.... I felt so much grief as I returned last night from a "Hillary campaign volunteers" and watched Barak's 40 minute speech from Texas...I so want to believe that what he promises is possible...but I fear it is not.  Take a look at what follows, from the woman who organized the meeting last night down at her dad's home on Lafayette.
Julie Murray

-----Original Message-----
From: Amy Pearl <pearl@cs.stanford.edu>

Dear Family and Friends - It is make or break time for
our Hillary. She must win Ohio and Texas on March 4 or it is Game Over. It is
hard for me to believe that someone as brilliant and accomplished as Hillary
could be outcampaigned by someone who has been in national politics for only 3
years. In such dire times, people are so desperate that they are looking for
easy answers, but it is exactly the wrong response at this time and emotionally
much like the 2000 election. 
Please take a look at this moving video that was created by an
individual and posted on Youtube. I hope if you are not a member of Youtube you
will register and that everyone marks the video as a favorite. If you are as
moved by it as I was, and if you are confident that Hillary is our best chance
at a better tomorrow with real experience and real plans -- and not just
flowery rhetoric, please make a donation to Hillary's campaign NOW. She
must have all the resources she possibly can to compete in Ohio and Texas,
whose primaries are in TWO WEEKS, on March 4. Any amount, even $25 can help.
But each individual can contribute up to $4,600 to the campaign (half for the
primary, half for the general, the campaign tracks it for you).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLAn5a_Kcc

(this video seems to keep disappearing and reappearing on
Youtube, so if the link isn't valid, search "Superwoman Hillary"
and that should get it for you)

..............................
Anna Responds:

Me too, Julie, even though our primaries are over.  Everyone looks now to Ohio... and thus to you.  I checked out that video, and then others, including Obama's 'Yes We Can' on You tube.  Have you see it?  I have avoided hearing Obama speak, to be honest, because of fear that I would be lulled, seduced.  I have prefered to make my political decisions based on policy, on experience, on logic.  Sigh.  He is a powerful speaker, indeed.  

The question, for me, is the obvious one so many are asking: Just how powerful are these words?  Could they heal our ailing nation?  Electing a woman to the Whitehouse may be transformative (certainly a huge step for this country), but on the global scale, might we actually jump over this milestone to accomplish another, possibly more profound, by electing a dark-skinned person?  The world would gasp, no doubt.  

I have talked to two Republicans who would vote for Obama but not Clinton (over McCain), in part because they too are excited by the potential sea-change it would represent and that they feel he could inspire.  They don't see Hilary as being such a big change, and they feel the need for big change (or they are sticking with their party).   My boss at the Gardens (an inspiring leader himself) said something very interesting to me yesterday in the context of what it means to be a good leader (I'm paraphrasing): What makes an excellent leader is not about the person him or herself.  It is what they lead others to do, inspire others to do.   My boss doesn't know much about plants or gardens, or maybe even non-profits, but he has managed to turn a very sick organization into one that is thriving.  He sees Obama as one who could do the same for our nation.  Once I saw that comparison, I began to see him in a different way.  

I'm still conflicted, but I'm just beginning to think that maybe what we need more than a superior health care plan (Hillary's) is deep healing (Barak's)

Here's the video: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/illwilly


Anna A. Sher  (My daughter in Denver.  Ellen)

www.anna.sher.com

Assistant Professor
University of Denver

Director of Research, Herbaria & Records
Denver Botanic Gardens

---

David Sher responds to Anna and Julie about Barack vs Hillary
This conversation reminded me of book I read a while ago called the Lucifer Principle.  It's a very interesting look at how psychology, sociology, and genetics work together to explain some very confusing aspects of human behavior, mainly through the implementation of super-organism theory.  One interesting proposition it made was concerning the relationship between the current health of a community and how conservative or progressive it's ideologies were.  To summarize, the book claimed that if a community was doing well (i.e. out-performing competitors, rising in the pecking order, etc.), that it would tend to be more progressive and/or experimental in it's behavior.  Likewise, if a community is doing poorly, they are more likely to be more conservative (sticking with what works, trying to re-create the "good ol' days", etc.).  To help explain this, the book uses a bird analogy: if a bird is starving, it will only eat foods it knows to be safe, since it could not afford to take a chance on something that might make it sick, even if that food is more readily available.  On the other hand, if a bird is well fed, it can afford to try new foods, since it would be better able to survive possible food poisoning.
Now, I don't have strong feelings in support of one candidate over the other; I see good and bad points to both.  However, it would certainly seem that of the two, Obama is the more radical candidate, and that if the above hypothosis is true, his nomination would be an indicator that our country is doing well.  Whether or not he'd give us food poisoning, on the other hand, I couldn't say.

David

---

Gene Bierhorst in NY (Ellen’s brother) comes out for Barack; answers David:
   Dear David,
   You live in Ohio.  Your vote in a couple of weeks probably will be the most important of your lifetime (and mine).  So, figure it out and get everybody you know on board.  Right now.  You and Lee, get on this.  Please.  
   I am sort of shifting towards Obama, and I have premised it on ability to beat McCain.  (but, in terms of which would be the better pres., I don't know--I just focus on getting him/her to be the president).  That may sound cynical, but since both would be good, I move past that.  Also, if H.'s health plan is better, and I think it is...then if Ob. gets in...he'll deal the cards he's dealt and move to what he can do and emerge with whatever plan we can get--and hopefully it will be good.  That's all we can really hope for from H, also, right?  Her advantage to me in this crucial area is more her experience with the power groups and also her general experience...with all power groups, by the way, in all areas.  It's hugely important, that experience of hers, but...so is his ability to lead/inspire people...compared to her perceived lesser ability along those lines (I'm told that in small groups she is actually quite wonderful with this ability--and small groups is a lot of what counts...  Hard to weigh that against O's ability to galvanize a huge crowd/movement--that can be wonderful-- [deluding, scary, oops?])
   So, I'm back to electability.  He is kind of teflonish (they used to say Reagan was teflon--so crap wouldn't stick to him).  For instance, McCain last time was smeared (falsely) with having fathered a black kid.  That kind of stuff won't even be thrown at O.  And every kind of sexist thing does and will get thrown at H.  (Chelsea got called a pimp the other day. "Iron my shirt" gets shouted at H at a rally--O will never hear "shine my shoes."  [am I dreaming?]--).  
   Finally, we/I tend to disregard O.'s amazing trajectory--his popularity is accelerating--it's wrong to evaluate him based on the moment.  We have to assume that his popularity tomorrow will show an increase over today's--like he zoomed up today compared to yesterday. I guess he will get the Hispanics.  I guess a lot of women will love a good-looking young guy.  I guess youth and good looks always beats old and crippled.  I never give that JFK stuff enough credit.  
   Please stay on this Ohio business.  Now.  Do electability as the criterion.  Even if you do agree with me on that, deciding which one is more electable is just not easily arrived at or easily salable to others.  In addition to all the above, I have recently imagined that the bitter, vitriolic hatred of women for every conceivable personal psychological ill is so deep that it can infect and spread--blossom. Look at all the internet jokes about men hating their wives (see attachment for a lite one).  In Spanish, I recently got emailed to me a list of about 40 words for various things where the feminine version of the thing means "whore."  Fox (zorro) vixen (zorra=puta= whore).  Hey, it lurks in English on that one, doesn't it..."she's quite the vixen."
   I've imagined that if she would just speak softly and let the audio people turn up the volume (instead of shouting hoarsely, trying to imitate the worst thing about men) then she would bring out the soft part of men who, after all, each did have a mother.  On the other hand, a.) they had mothers all along, didn't they?--and that didn't stop their craziness but only fed it and b.) she is not doing my speaking-softly thing--I'm just dreaming she will.  Misogynism is rooted deeply and personally.  
   The racial hatred thing, on the other hand, is unknown, personally, to most of us (whites).  It is a romantic idea from the past and helped by Hollywood, that is not based on personal experience.  And where it is known personally, in the south and select northern urban areas, it is nuanced  And you can't even water that hatred seed because it symbolizes shame.  So.  Teflon.  
   The misog. thing can also be further seen as the tip of a NEW iceberg that is ready to burst on us because of the shift in the workplace.  More women graduate from high school than men, same for college, 47% of the M.I.T.(!) students are gals.  Similar stuff for law and medicine.  And because women can usually be gotten for less pay than men, even any idiot male employer knows that women are the best deal.  If the general social consciousness doesn't express this, still, isn't it just barely beneath the surface, subconsciously?  This is a 50,000 year-old speedball suddenly hurtling at us from out of nowhere (out of the technology dawn...I guess...since nothing else has changed...well...other than childbirthing mortality and availability of abortion).
   Women collaborate.  They talk.  They listen.  They're patient.  God!
   That's why we have to kill them.  
   You have to do this work in Ohio.  You will feel remorse for the rest of you life if you don't help.  I was hitch-hiking once from Cinti. to N.O., passed thru Tuscaloosa, Ala.  Got dropped off at an intersection in the middle of town.  Cop directing traffic.  A car with six large, heavy black people filling it slowed to a crawl as it approached us, the cop came over.  My friend, a Jew from Brooklyn--I tell him to stay quiet, let me talk, "I can sort of do a southern accent."  The cop says "Don't you know enough to ride with our own kind? Where you boys from?"    I answer,  "From Louisville, heading  to New Orleans."  "Well, then that's the way out of town, just stay right on this road."  He waved on the creeping car full of blacks.  Not one minnow would have fit into that full car.  The driver was just being extra-obedient to all whites (us and the cop).  A couple of hours later that morning Governor Wallace gave his horrible racist speech on the school steps, baring the black kids.  In Tuscaloosa. Civil rights workers from all over the country were there and many gave their lives in those years.  We hitched a ride and left.  
   The one saving that you will have if this election gets lost is that it was so hard to figure out that you blew it because of forgivable incapacity.  
   The problem is that looking back years later, nothing is forgivable.  
Love,
--Gene

---

Somebody named “Bill” is for Obama... Interesting points:
Feb 15
 
I think the "answer" to Obama is that he is not a politician but a community organizer. This is how he has developed a campaign organization which is deeper and more effective than the Democratic Party's organization run by the Clintons. He knows how to gather people together into action. If he is elected President, I think he will circumvent the Congress when he can by organizing and mobilizing the people through his FDR-like "fire side chats" - visionary challenges; in other words, he will - I think - get the grassroots people behind his ideas and work "deals" for health care, employment, and especially forge a very new foreign policy with countries and their leadership. I may be crediting him with too much but I do think "Community Organizing" has been and will be the way he decides to lead.
 
Notice that his record in the US Senate is "more liberal" than Hillary's but that often if abstained. My guess he did that tactically as a US Senator. My guess is that he will know how to tackle issues and overcome "more taxes" talk by focusing the way community organizers focus: you've got to pay the price if you want to change the system.
 
By the way, when he was campaigning for the US Senate in Illinois, he went downstate into Republican territory and convinced them to vote for him using the same message you now hear as he is running for President. So this is not new. He has a vision and a tactical method which is not political (parties, platform, etc.)
 
Just some reflections.
Bill
 

---

And from the local Buddhist Peace Fellowship, very much against Obama:  CITES OBAMA’S ACTUAL RECORD

 
     1a.  OBAMA: WHY CHEERING IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH
 
  
Message
 
      1a.   
OBAMA: WHY CHEERING IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH  <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bpfcincinnati/message/644;_ylc=X3oDMTJxNWdkdDVvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzE5NDIyODYxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA3NDAwMARtc2dJZAM2NDQEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIwMjgyNTI1MA-->

Posted by: "david_loy" david_loy@yahoo.com   <mailto:david_loy@yahoo.com?Subject=%20Re%3AOBAMA%3A%20WHY%20CHEERING%20IS%20BAD%20FOR%20YOUR%20HEALTH>   david_loy  <http://profiles.yahoo.com/david_loy>
 
Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:28 pm (PST)

Dear bodhisattvas,

The following expresses my  concerns about Obama quite well...

David (David Loy is a salonista, Buddhist, prof. at XU)

(I don’t know who these writers are--Sam Smith, Paul Street-- or the accuracy of their data.  Just that David Loy sent these articles and I do trust David.  Ellen.)

OBAMA: WHY CHEERING  IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH

by Sam Smith

Two essential facts about the  presidential campaign:

1. Of the present candidates who could  possibly be elected, Barack
Obama is clearly the best.

2. This is  more cause for concern than for hope.

Symbolizing the new Middle Ages  in which we live - in which thought
and action are guided by media-driven  myth (as opposed to the
church-driven myth of the earlier medieval era) -  Obama has arrived at
his status without record, without programs and  without a vision
beyond a collection of trite but effective evangelical  cliches. He is,
however, of the right mythical looks, age and  color.

Early in the campaign, I compared him to Chauncy Gardiner aka  Chance
the Gardener, an earlier manifestation of magnificent nothingness  to
appear on the American political scene - albeit the fiction of  Chance
was safely contained in the movie "Being There" while Obama  was
running for election to a real White House.

In the final  scene, reports Wikipedia, "Chance is seen apparently
walking across the  surface of a lake while the most important movers
and shakers in the USA  discuss running him for President. This scene
continues to generate  discussion and controversy. Clearly we see
Chance walking on water, an  act with a clear biblical reference. . .
Is there a prosaic explanation,  such as hidden stepping-stones? Or is
Chance the Savior (as so many of  the characters are looking for)? Does
he truly possess some special  grace, given his simple innocence and
simply being present to each moment  without filters and ideas? In his
2001 book, The Great Movies, Roger  Ebert argues for the latter
interpretation. Another view is that the  director (and the author) are
simply asking the audience: "How much more  would you have believed?
We've been kidding you all along you  know!"

The novel upon which the movie was based was written over  thirty years
ago by Jerzy Kosinski. The Obama candidacy may elevate  Kosinksi to one
of the most prescient political authors of modern times.  After all,
what is more Obamesque than the sort of phrase that got  Chance
started? - "In the garden, growth has its seasons. First comes  spring
and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get  spring
and summer again."

If you think that's an exaggeration,  consider this from Chauncy Obama:
"If you're walking down the right path  and you're willing to keep
walking, eventually you'll make  progress."

So here we are. We don't know what we have and we don't  know what
we're going to get. But to many it looks great.

Yet one  thing is certain. The current mindless infatuation of Obama's
supporters,  while harmless enough with a rock star, will do our
politics and our  lives no good.

We have, after all, some experience with this. Obama  isn't the first
Democratic candidate to try to ride into town on the back  of hope.
Bill Clinton brought the whole town of Hope with him but by the  end of
his first term the word had all but dropped from  sight.

Instead, Clinton mangled the social democracy of his  predecessors,
raised corruption to new heights and paved the way for the  Bush
regime, aided in no small part by the groupiesque infatuation  among
the liberal class.

If there was one thing we should have  learned from the Clinton years
is the danger of adoring politicians  instead of pragmatically using them.

Sadly, however, the last  presidential candidate to even hint at this
was Eugene Debs who said  once, "Too long have the workers of the world
waited for some Moses to  lead them out of bondage. He has not come; he
never will come. I would  not lead you out if I could for if you could
be led out, you could be led  back again."

Instead, we have a candidate who declares, "We are the  ones we've been
waiting for. . . We are the change that we  seek."

Instead, we have a candidate who says, "My job this morning is  to be
so persuasive . . . that a light will shine through that window,  a
beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience  an
epiphany, and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the  polls
and vote for Barack."

As Joe Klein noted in Time, "the  campaign is entirely about Obama and
his ability to inspire. Rather than  focusing on any specific issue or
cause - other than an amorphous desire  for change - the message is
becoming dangerously self-referential. The  Obama campaign all too
often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign  is."

The blogger Barhu writes, "What I find interesting about Obama  is how
narcissistic he is with his own rhetorical gifts. With so  many
millions of people finding so much inspiration in his rhetoric,  what
is it, exactly, that he is trying to inspire them to do? Has he  made
appeals to his young followers to join the military, the Peace  Corps,
Teach For America? Has he inspired them to give back to his  country,
to seek out public service, to serve, as John McCain has  implored his
followers, a cause greater than ourselves? Has he inspired  his
over-educated, overpaid followers to raise money for victims  of
Katrina or the tornadoes, to lobby for higher taxes, to sacrifice  any
of their wealth or intellect in the service of America? Has he  tried,
in any way, shape or form, to use his gifts to inspire his minions  to
become apart of the fabric of public service, to improve our  nation
through volunteerism, charitable donations, self service of any  kind
whatsoever?

"No. The only thing Barack Obama has ever  inspired anyone to do is
vote for Barack Obama."

This is the  technique of generations of hustlers, many of them
generating their con  from the pulpit, others leading
pseudo-psychological workshops, and  a few - the most dangerous - with
whole armies behind them. If you listen  to Obama with any sense of
history, you can not but be  concerned.

Still the alternative is the atrocious Clinton or the  egregious McCain
and there is no suggestion here that these are better  choices. Only
that voters - instead of being reduced to hand clapping,  check writing
automatons - understand what they are getting with their  vote and
that, if that vote succeeds, they must be constantly on guard,  know
when to oppose and when to, as Pogo once put it, stand up on the  piano
and demand outrage action. We are not getting a savior, but at best  an
occasional ally.

We should be no less cautious of our  politicians than the Roman Church
is of its potential saints. The  Guardian described John Paul II as
having to go through the  following:

"Theological experts will review John Paul's published  works to
determine if they are theologically sound, a historical  commission
will gather information to document his life, and Rev D'Alonzo  and
Monsignour Oder will start interviewing witnesses.

"When the  material is gathered, the Vatican appoints a commission to
review the  case and make a final report to the Pope for him to decide
if John Paul  led a life of 'heroic virtue'".

"If he does, and the Vatican then  confirms a miracle has occurred
after John Paul's death thanks to his  intercession, he can be
beatified. A second miracle is needed for him to  be made a saint."

Mind you, we are choosing something far more  important than a mere
saint; we are selecting a president - and,  theoretically, not one to
serve but to serve us. To the extent we ignore  this difference, we
approach the point described by Albert Camus to a  German friend after
the Second World War: "This is what separated us from  you; we made
demands. You were satisfied to serve the power of your  nation and we
dreamed of giving ours the  truth."

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

THE  REAL OBAMA

MONEY, ECONOMY & LABOR

AUDACITY OF HOPE -  "Conservatives and Bill Clinton were right about
welfare"


PAUL  STREET - He opposed an amendment to the Bankruptcy Act that would
have  capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent.

Obama voted for a  business-friendly "tort reform" bill that rolls back
working peoples'  ability to obtain reasonable redress and compensation
from misbehaving  corporations

THE NATION - John Edwards and Hillary Clinton are  pledging substantial
federal resources to stabilize the mortgage market  and intervene on
behalf of borrowers. Barack Obama's proposal is tepid by  comparison,
short on aggressive government involvement and infused  with
conservative rhetoric about fiscal responsibility. As he has done  on
domestic issues like healthcare, job creation and energy policy,  Obama
is staking out a position to the right of not only populist  Edwards
but Clinton as well. . . Though he has been a proponent of  mortgage
fraud legislation in the Senate, he has remained silent on  further
financial regulations. And much like his broader economic  stimulus
package, Obama's foreclosure plan mostly avoids direct  government
spending in favor of a tax credit for homeowners, which  amounts to
about $500 on average, beyond which only certain borrowers  would be
eligible for help from an additional fund. . .

Obama's  disappointing foreclosure plan stems from the centrist
politics of his  three chief economic advisers and his campaign's ties
to Wall Street  institutions opposed to increased financial regulation.
David Cutler and  Jeffrey Liebman are both Harvard economists who
served in the Clinton  Administration, and they work on market-oriented
solutions to social  welfare issues. Cutler advocates improving
healthcare through financial  incentives; Liebman, the partial
privatization of Social  Security.

Austan Goolsbee, an economist at the University of Chicago  who calls
himself a "centrist market economist," has been most directly  involved
with crafting Obama's subprime agenda. . . Robert Pollin, an  economist
at the University of Massachussets, believes "these three  advisers
generally reflect Obama's very moderate economic program,  similar to
Clintonism." Wall Street apparently has come to a similar  conclusion.
Obama had received nearly $10 million in contributions from  the
finance, insurance and real estate sector through October, and  he's
second among presidential candidates of either party in money  raised
from commercial banks, trailing only Clinton. Goldman Sachs,  which
made $6 billion from devalued mortgage securities in the first  nine
months of 2007, is Obama's top contributor. When asked if Obama  would
hold these financial institutions accountable for losses incurred  by
homeowners and investors, his campaign refused to comment.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080211/fraser

PAUL  STREET - Obama has lent his support to the aptly named Hamilton
Project,  formed by corporate-neoliberal Citigroup chair Robert Rubin
and  "other Wall Street Democrats" to counter populist rebellion
against  corporatist tendencies within the Democratic  Party.

IDEOLOGY

PAUL STREET - Obama was recently hailed as a  "Hamiltonian" believer in
"limited government" and "free trade" by  Republican New York Times
columnist David Brooks, who praises Obama for  having "a mentality
formed by globalization, not the SDS." . .  .

POLITICS

PAUL STREET - He had to be shamed off the "New  Democrat Directory" of
the corporate-right Democratic Leadership Council  by the popular left
black Internet magazine Black Commentator.

He  lent his politically influential and financially rewarding
assistance to  neoconservative pro-war Senator Joe Lieberman's struggle
against the  Democratic antiwar insurgent Ned Lamont. Obama has
supported other  "mainstream Democrats" fighting antiwar progressives
in primary  races

He criticized efforts to enact filibuster proceedings  against
reactionary Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

Obama  "dismissively" referred-in a "tone laced with contempt"-to the
late  progressive and populist U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone as
"something of a  gadfly."

He opposed an amendment to the Bankruptcy Act that would  have capped
credit card interest rates at 30 percent.

WASHINGTON  TIMES - Barack Obama, the senatorial candidate of 2004,
might have a bone  to pick with Barack Obama, the presidential
candidate of 2008. Videotapes  of debates and speeches that were
obtained by The Washington Times show  that Mr. Obama took positions
during his Senate campaign on nearly a  half-dozen issues ranging from
the Cuba embargo to health care for  illegal aliens that conflict with
statements that he has made during his  run for the White House.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Obama voted to make  John Negroponte the National Intelligence Director.

PAUL STREET - He  voted for the appointment of the war criminal
Condaleeza Rice to  Secretary of State.

He refuses to foreswear the use of first-strike  nuclear weapons
against Iran.

WASHINGTON TIMES - In 2004, Mr.  Obama told an audience at Southern
Illinois University, "I think it's  time for us to end the embargo with
Cuba. . . It's time for us to  acknowledge that that particular policy
has failed." However, he stopped  short of calling for an end to the
embargo in a Miami Herald op-ed in  August. He said he would rely on
diplomacy, with a message that if a  post-Fidel Castro government made
democratic changes, the U.S. "is  prepared to take steps to normalize
relations and ease the  embargo."

NEDRA PICKLER, ASSOCIATED PRESS - Democratic presidential  candidate
Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would possibly send troops  into
Pakistan to hunt down terrorists. . .

BUSH REGIME

AP-  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama laid out list of
political  shortcomings he sees in the Bush administration but said he
opposes  impeachment for either President George W. Bush or Vice
President Dick  Cheney. . . "I think you reserve impeachment for grave,
grave breeches,  and intentional breeches of the president's
authority," he  said.

HEALTH

PAUL STREET - Obama claims to oppose the  introduction of single-payer
national health insurance on the grounds  that such a widely supported
social-democratic change would lead to  employment difficulties for
workers in the private insurance industry-at  places like Kaiser and
Blue Cross Blue Shield. Does Obama support the  American scourge of
racially disparate mass incarceration on the grounds  that it provides
work for tens of thousands of prison  guards?

WASHINGTON TIMES - Mr. Obama told an AFL-CIO group in June  2003: "I
happen to be a proponent of a single-payer, universal health  care
plan." But in a recent debate he said he has never endorsed such  a
plan. "Senator Obama has always said that single-payer universal  care
is a good idea because it would increase efficiency in the system,  but
the problem is that it's not achievable," Mr. Vietor  said.

CIVIL LIBERTIES

He voted to confirm Michael Chertoff as  head of HSA

PAUL STREET - Obama voted to re-authorize the repressive  PATRIOT Act.

He opposed Senator Russ Feingold's (D-WI) move to  censure the Bush
administration after the president was found to have  illegally
wiretapped U.S. citizens.

WASHINGTON TIMES - In an  October 2003 NAACP debate, Mr. Obama said he
would "vote to abolish"  mandatory minimum sentences. "The mandatory
minimums take too much  discretion away from judges," he said. Mr.
Obama now says on his web site  that he would "immediately review
sentences to see where we can be  smarter on crime and reduce the
ineffective warehousing of nonviolent  drug offenders."

WHAT OTHERS SAY

WASHINGTON LOBBYIST - Big  donors would not be helping out Obama if
they didn't see him as a  ?player'. . . What's the dollar value of a
starry-eyed  idealist?

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

PAUL STREET - Obama  assiduously supported the ethanol-promoting
objectives of the  Illinois-based firm Archer-Daniels Midland, which
has provided him with  private jets on at least two occasions. He has
also defended the  interests of Illinois' gigantic electrical firm
Exelon, America's leading  nuclear plant operator and a company that
has given more than $74,000 to  his campaigns.

NUCLEAR ENERGY

Obama voted for a nuclear energy  bill that included money for bunker
buster bombs and full funding for  Yucca Mountain.

DALLAS NEWS - Barack Obama says nuclear power should  be explored as an
energy option. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she's  "agnostic" on whether
more nuclear plants should be built. . . "They've  gone from 'no' to
'yes, but,' and some even describe themselves as  agnostics, and that's
a big improvement," said Derrick Freeman,  senior director of
legislative programs for the Nuclear Energy Institute,  which supports
the nuclear industry. . .

SOURCES OF  FUNDING

PAUL STREET - His top career sponsors include Goldman Sachs,  Exelon (a
leading Midwestern utility and the world's leading nuclear  plant
operator), Soros Fund Management, J.P Morgan Chase & Co., a  number of
leading corporate law and lobbying firms (including Kirkland  & Ellis,
Skadden Arps, and Sidley Austin LLP), top Chicago investment  interests
(including Henry Crown & Co and Aerial Capital Management)  and the like.

HIS BOOK

PAUL STREET - Obama relates youthful  discomfort with his college
roommates' "irresponsible" criticism of  "capitalism" and then
confesses respect for Ronald Reagan's supposed  success in embodying
what Obama calls "American's longing for order" (p.  31)

Obama commends "the need to raise money from economic elites  to
finance elections" for "prevent[ing] Democrats...from straying  too far
from the center" and for marginalizing "those within the  Democratic
Party who tend toward zealotry" (p. 38) and "radical  ideas"

Obama praises fellow centrist Senators John F. Kerry (D-MA)  and Hilary
Clinton (D-NY) for "believing in maintaining the superiority  of the
U.S. military" and embracing "the virtues of capitalism" (p. 38).  He
applauds his "recognizably progressive" Third Way hero Bill  Clinton
for showing that "markets and fiscal discipline" and  "personal
responsibility [are] needed to combat poverty" (pp. 34-35).  

Obama contends that defense of New Deal and Great Society programs  is
contrary to "the changing circumstances of globalization"  (p.38).

Obama claims that the 1960s New Left expressed the same  self-indulgent
"more absolutism" (pp. 26-33) that animated the New  Right.

The American people, Obama argues, harbor only modest  expectation of
their government (p.7), reflecting little concern (by  Obama's account)
with traditional left goals of social justice and  equality.

In Obama's brand of "progressivism," serious concern  over the nation's
harsh disparities is consigned to leftist "cranks" and  other assorted
"unreasonable zealots" ? people walking in the  "absolutist" footsteps
of Marx, the New Left, and (though Obama would  never acknowledge this)
the democratic socialist Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Obama praises the United States' founders for "recognize[ing]  that
there were seeds of anarchy in the idea of individual freedom,  an
intoxicating danger in the idea of equality." If "everybody is  truly
free, without the constraints of birth or rank and an inherited  social
order," Obama asks, then "how can we ever hope to form a society  that
coheres?" (pp. 86-87)

The Bush-Cheney gang-bangers are  "possessed," Obama says, "of the same
mix of virtues and vices,  insecurities and long-buried injuries as the
rest of us."

Obama  roots the greatness of America in its "free market" capitalist
system and  "business culture."

It is left to alienated carpers, "cranks" and  "moral absolutists" of
the "unreasonable" left (Obama's basic  understanding of radicals) to
observe the terrible outcomes of "our"  distinctively anti-social (and
incidentally heavily state-protected)  "market system."

Obama criticizes "left-leaning populists" like  "Venezuela's Hugo
Chavez" for daring to think that developing nations  "should resist
America's efforts to expand its hegemony" and for trying  to "follow
their own path to development." Such dysfunctional  "reject[ion] [of]
the ideals of free markets and liberal democracy" will  only worsen the
situation of the global poor, Obama claims (p.  315).

THE MESSIAH AND HIS GROUPIES

I've been following  politics since I was about 5. I've never seen
anything like this. This is  bigger than Kennedy. [Obama] comes along,
and he seems to have the  answers. This is the New Testament. - Chris
Matthews

It's almost  like the Messiah, you know? - Jan Young

He looked at me, and the look  in his eyes was worth 1,000 words -
Field worker

You don't need to  debate policy or discuss the day's headlines. You
have a very personal  reason for investing your time and energy in this
campaign ? that is the  most compelling story you can tell. - Obama site

The New Kennedy -  Morgenpost, Berlin

"Obama's finest speeches do not excite. They do  not inform. They don't
even really inspire. They elevate. They enmesh you  in a grander
moment, as if history has stopped flowing passively by, and,  just for
an instant, contracted around you, made you aware of its  presence, and
your role in it. He is not the Word made flesh, but the  triumph of
word over flesh, over color, over despair. The other great  leaders
I've heard guide us towards a better politics, but Obama is, at  his
best, able to call us back to our highest selves, to the place  where
America exists as a glittering ideal, and where we, its  honored
inhabitants, seem capable of achieving it, and thus of sharing in  its
meaning and transcendence. - Ezra Klein

When you listen to  Barack Obama, when you really hear him, you witness
a very rare thing.  You witness a politician who has an ear for
eloquence and a tongue dipped  in the unvarnished truth - Oprah Winfrey

HERETICS AND  ATHEISTS

OBAMA MESSIAH
http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

JOE  KLEIN: INSPIRATION VS. SUBSTANCE
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1710721,00.html

GLEN  FORD: THE MANIA AND THE MIRAGE
http://www.counterpunch.org/ford01192007.html

BARACK  OBAMA IS NOT JESUS
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/05/barack_obama_is_not_jesus/#more

JAKE  TAPPER: AND OBAMA WEPT
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/05/barack_obama_is_not_jesus/#more

PAUL  STREET ARTICLES
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2007/street0207.html
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=12687
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=11936

---

David Rosenberg: Where are Hillary and Barack on Trade issues?

As the good citizens of America join in the corporate media’s revelry celebrating the “choices” we will have at the next election, this persistent and painful question continues to surface in my head, “Where’s the beef?”.  Has anybody heard where our visionary candidates stand on NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO, etc.?  Other than campaign finance reform, which so far also has not been addressed well in this presidential campaign, this is my #1 political issue.  Where are the voices of the Al Gores promoting fair, not free, trade?
Maybe that these trade agreements hurt our economy, or maybe not.  But where’s the open debate on this issue?  Just to be clear, the debate is substantive and lively in the developing world.  I’d guess that at least half of those people believe that unbalanced trade agreements have already wrecked their communities; and they’re risking life and limb to say something about it.  Have you heard about this in your favorite news broadcast, even NPR?
The article below that appeared on the FoodFirst.org webpage sheds some light on these matters.  I wish our mainstream media would begin to give the American people some understanding of why so much of the rest of the world is so unhappy with the current state of affairs.
 
David Rosenberg

Thousands of People Protest NAFTA and defend Food Sovereignty in Mexico

By Angie Rodriguez
On Thursday January 31st, thousands of people took the streets of Mexico City as part of the mobilization to demand the renegotiation of the agricultural chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In what was called March in Defense of Food Sovereignty, several labor unions, university students, teachers, civic organizations and members of the opposition parties, joined dozens of farmers organizations such as the National Confederation Of Farmers (CNC) and the National Union of Agricultural Workers to protest the elimination of trade barriers on corn imports.
On January 1st of this year, the last tariffs on corn, beans, sugar and milk were lifted under the North American Free Trade Agreement, completing the transition to an open market between Mexico, Canada and The United States, which initiated in 1994.
Under the slogans “Without corn, there is no country”, “No to NAFTA” and “Defending our country’s sovereignty”, approximately 200,000 protestors marched towards the Zocalo - Mexico City’s main square- to express their disagreement with NAFTA’s agricultural chapter, which they consider only creates an unfair competition between them and the farmers of Canada and the U.S.
Almost 30 percent of the Mexican population works the land, and for them –according to the organizers of the protest- food sovereignty becomes an issue of national security. In that sense, the elimination of trade barriers on corn imports will open the door to U.S. products and put more Mexican farmers out of business. “The Government’s unwillingness to promote the renegotiation of NAFTA’s agricultural chapter, sheds light on its decision to maintain an excluding economic policy that only benefits international producers and their wealthy Mexican business partners” says a document signed by the organizers of the rally. In the same document, the organizations called for the creation of a movement in defense of food sovereignty, workers’ rights, and democratic freedom that will keep mobilizing people in the upcoming months.
“The ongoing neoliberal model only increases inequality, poverty and unemployment for the marginalized sectors of the urban and rural populations, which are the majority in this country. The deterioration of the environment and the handing over of our natural resources to foreign investors only aggravates our social problems, and today it is time for us to stop all that” adds the document.
Protestors noted that their U.S. counterparts receive almost 20,000 dollars each in annual subsidies, while the Mexican producers only receive less than $ 700. The vast disparity in government support between Mexican campesinos and U.S. producers, along with the high costs of fertilizer and electricity creates an unfair competition against Mexican farmers on the international and local markets.
The mobilization in defense of food sovereignty in Mexico started last year when a coalition of social organizations launched the campaign Sin maíz no hay país (without corn, there is no country) to create awareness on the population about the consequences of NAFTA on Mexico’s agriculture. So far, the Mexican government has refused to negotiate with the organizations, and in turn launched its own media campaign to express that “since the introduction of the NAFTA, the quality of the products in the Mexican market has increased”.
Thursday’s demonstration in Mexico City was accompanied by smaller protests in other states that included the blockage of streets and other civil disobedience activities in border crossing points on the U.S.- Mexico border and some government buildings.

---

Robin Morgan, Ms. Magazine Editor, feminist, activist... Breathing fire,  supporting Hillary.  Excerpted by ellen.

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT  by Robin Morgan



"Goodbye To All That" was my (in)famous 1970 essay breaking free from a politics of accommodation especially affecting women."
 
 
 
"During my decades in civil-rights, anti-war, and contemporary women's movements, I've avoided writing another specific "Goodbye . . .". But not since the suffrage struggle have two communities--the joint conscience-keepers of this country--been so set in competition, as the contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) and Barack Obama (BO) unfurls. So ....
 
 
 
 Goodbye to the double standard . . .
 
 
 
--Hillary is too ballsy but too womanly, a Snow Maiden who's emotional, and so much a politician as to be unfit for politics.
 
 
 
--She's "ambitious" but he shows "fire in the belly." (Ever had labor pains? )
 
 
 
--When a sexist idiot screamed "Iron my shirt!" at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted "Shine my shoes!" at BO, it would've inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint  analyzing our national dishonor.
 ...


Surprise! Women exist in all opinions, pigmentations, ethnicities, abilities, sexual preferences, and ages--not only African American and European American but Latina and Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Arab American and-hey, every group, because a group wouldn't be alive if we hadn't given birth to it. A few non-racist countries may exist--but sexism is everywhere. No matter how many ways a woman breaks free from other oppressions, she remains a female human being in a world still so patriarchal that it's the "norm."
 
 
 
So why should all women not be as justly proud of our womanhood and the centuries, even millennia, of struggle that got us this far, as black Americans, women and men, are justly proud of their struggles?
 
 
 
Goodbye to a campaign where he has to pass as white (which whites-especially wealthy ones--adore), while she has to pass as male (which both men and women demanded of her, and then found unforgivable). ....
 
So goodbye to conversations about this nation's deepest scar - slavery - which fail to acknowledge that labor - and sexual - slavery exist today in the US and elsewhere on this planet, and the majority of those enslaved are women.
 
 
 
Women have endured sex/race/ethnic/religious hatred, rape and battery, invasion of spirit and flesh,  forced pregnancy;  being the majority of the poor, the illiterate, the disabled, of refugees, caregivers, the HIV/AIDS afflicted, the powerless. We have survived invisibility, ridicule, religious fundamentalisms, polygamy, teargas, forced feedings, jails, asylums, sati, purdah, female genital mutilation, witch burnings, stonings, and attempted gynocides. We have tried reason, persuasion, reassurances, and being extra-qualified, only to learn it never was about qualifications after all. We know that at this historical moment women experience the world differently from men -- though not all the same as one another -- and can govern differently, from Elizabeth Tudor to Michele Bachelet and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
 
 
 
We remember when Shirley Chisholm and Patricia Schroeder ran for this high office and barely got past the gate - they showed too much passion, raised too little cash, were joke fodder.  Goodbye to all that. (And goodbye to some feminists so famished for a female president they were even willing to abandon women's rights  in backing Elizabeth Dole.)
 
 
 
Goodbye, goodbye to . . .
 
--an era when parts of the populace feel so disaffected by politics that a comparative lack of knowledge, experience, and skill is actually seen as attractive, when celebrity-culture mania now infects our elections so that it's "cooler" to glow with marquee charisma than to understand the vast global complexities of power on a nuclear, wounded planet.
....
Goodbye to the shocking American ignorance of our own and other countries' history. Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir rose through party ranks and war, positioning themselves as proto-male leaders. Almost all other female heads of government so far have been related to men of power - granddaughters, daughters, sisters, wives, widows: Gandhi, Bandaranike, Bhutto, Aquino, Chamorro, Wazed, Macapagal-Arroyo, Johnson Sirleaf, Bachelet, Kirchner, and more. Even in our "land of opportunity," it's mostly the first pathway "in" permitted to women: Reps. Doris Matsui and Mary Bono and Sala Burton; Sen. Jean Carnahan . . . far too many to list here.
 ...
 Goodbye to women of any age again feeling unworthy, sulking "what if she's not electable?" or "maybe it's post-feminism and whoooosh we're already free." Let a statement by the magnificent Harriet Tubman stand as reply. When asked how she managed to save hundreds of enslaved African Americans via the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, she replied bitterly, "I could have saved thousands-if only I'd been able to convince them they were slaves."

 
 
I'd rather say a joyful Hello to all the glorious young women who do identify with Hillary, and all the brave, smart men-of all ethnicities and any age--who get that it's in their self-interest, too. She's better qualified. (D'uh.) She's a high-profile candidate with an enormous grasp of foreign- and domestic-policy nuance, dedication to detail, ability to absorb staggering insult and personal pain while retaining dignity, resolve, even humor, and keep on keeping on. (Also, yes, dammit, let's hear it for her connections and funding and party-building background, too. Obama was awfully glad about those when she raised dough and campaigned for him to get to the Senate in the first place.)
 
 
 
I'd rather look forward to what a good president he might make in eight years, when his vision and spirit are seasoned by practical know-how--and he'll be all of 54. Meanwhile, goodbye to turning him into a shining knight when actually he's an astute, smooth pol with speechwriters who've worked with the Kennedys' own speechwriter-courtier Ted Sorenson. If it's only about ringing rhetoric, let speechwriters run. But isn't it about getting the policies we want enacted?
 
 
 
And goodbye to the ageism . . .
 
 ....
Older woman are the one group that doesn't grow more conservative with age-and we are the generation of radicals who said "Well-behaved women seldom make history." Goodbye to going gently into any goodnight any man prescribes for us. We are the women who changed the reality of the United States. And though we never went away, brace yourselves: we're back!
 
 
 
We are the women who brought this country equal credit, better pay, affirmative action, the concept of a family-focused workplace; the women who established rape-crisis centers and battery shelters, marital-rape and date-rape laws; the women who defended lesbian custody rights, who fought for prison reform, founded the peace and environmental movements; who insisted that medical research include female anatomy, who inspired men to become more nurturing parents, who created women's studies and Title IX so we all could cheer the WNBA stars and Mia Hamm. We are the women who reclaimed sexuality from violent pornography, who put child care on the national agenda, who transformed demographics, artistic expression, language itself. We are the women who forged a worldwide movement. We are the proud successors of women who, though it took more than 50 years, won us the vote.

We are the women who now comprise the majority of US voters.
 

 
Hillary said she found her own voice in New Hampshire. There's not a woman alive who, if she's honest, doesn't recognize what she means. Then HRC got drowned out by campaign experts, Bill, and media's obsession with All Things Bill.
 
 

So listen to her voice: (quotes from Hillary)

 
 
"For too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words.
 
 
 
"It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls. It is a violation of human rights when woman and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution. It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small. It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war. It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide along women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes. It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.
 
"Women's rights are human rights. Among those rights are the right to speak freely--and the right to be heard."
 
 
 
That was Hillary Rodham Clinton defying the US State Department and the Chinese Government at the 1995 UN World Conference on Women in Beijing (the full, stunning speech: http://www.americanr <http://www.americanr> hetoric.com/speeches/hillaryclintonbeijingspeech.htm).
 
 
 
And this voice, age 22, in "Commencement Remarks of Hillary D. Rodham, President of Wellesley College Government Association, Class of 1969" (full speech: http://www.wellesley <http://www.wellesley> .edu/PublicAffairs/Commencement/1969/053169hillary.html)
 
 
 
"We are, all of us, exploring a world none of us understands. . . . searching for a more immediate, ecstatic, and penetrating mode of living. . . . [for the] integrity, the courage to be whole, living in relation to one another in the full poetry of existence. The struggle for an integrated life existing in an atmosphere of communal trust and respect is one with desperately important political and social consequences. . . . Fear is always with us, but we just don't have time for it."
 

 
She ended with the commitment "to practice, with all the skill of our being: the art of making possible."
 
 
 
And for decades, she's been learning how.
 
 
 
So goodbye to Hillary's second-guessing herself. The real question is deeper than her re-finding her voice. Can we women find ours? Can we do this for ourselves?  "Our President, Ourselves!"
 
 
 
Time is short and the contest tightening. We need to rise in furious energy--as we did when courageous Anita Hill was so vilely treated in the US Senate, as we did when desperate Rosie Jiminez was butchered by an illegal abortion, as we did and do for women globally who are condemned for trying to break through. We need to win, this time. Goodbye to supporting HRC tepidly, with ambivalent caveats and apologetic smiles. Time to  volunteer, make phone calls, send emails, donate money, argue, rally, march, shout, vote.
 
 
 
Me? I support Hillary Rodham because she's the best qualified of all candidates running in both parties. I support her because her progressive politics are as strong as her proven ability to withstand what will be a massive right-wing assault in the general election. I support her because she's refreshingly thoughtful, and I'm bloodied from eight years of a jolly "uniter" with ejaculatory politics. I needn't agree with her on every point. I agree with the 97 percent of her positions that are identical with Obama's-and the few where hers are both more practical and to the left of his (like health care). I support her because she's already smashed the first-lady stereotype and made history as a fine senator, and because I believe she will continue to make history not only as the first US woman president, but as a great US president.


 
As for the "woman thing"?
 
 
 
Me, I'm voting for Hillary not because she's a woman -- but because I am.
 
 
 
Robin Morgan
 
February 2, 2008
 
New York City

---

• ---

Books,Movies, Reviews
It’s up to you folks to send me blurbs.  I know you are reading.  What?  Is it good?  Ellen

---

Tri-State Treasures

Tri-State Treasures is a compilation of unique local people, places, and events that may enrich your lives.  These treasures have been submitted by you and others who value supporting quality community offerings.  Please consider supporting these treasures, and distributing the information for others to enjoy.  And please continue to forward your Tri-State Treasures ideas to jkesner@nuvox.net.

Information about Tri-State Treasures and how to submit Tri-State Treasures is at the bottom of this email.  Please help me by providing all basic information, and formatting your submissions as described below.  Thank you.

Sincerely,  Jim

~~~~~

Cincinnati Public Schools Earn National Attention: CPS gets a lot of negative publicity. So as we approach the vote for the school levy on March 4th, it is worth noting a story on CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” in which they visited CPS to find out how it "turned its once struggling high schools into crown jewels." Withrow University High School provided a focal point for the news segment, which also featured Superintendent Rosa Blackwell. Go to video 2/3 the way down the page @ www.cpsboe.k12.oh.us/.

Mondiale International Nightclub [every Saturday @ 11 PM - 2:30 AM]: Late night music lovers will enjoy this adventure into modern international music in an elegant, classy, safe, & comfortable environment. Emphasis is on African dance music, but the DJ will play any CD you bring. Dance to irresistible world music from all parts of Africa, Latin Salsa & Meringue, Caribbean Soca & Reggae, Asia, Middle Eastern Hip-Hop, European & American Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul, & Pop. Bring your country’s music & they’ll play it. Meet & mingle with a friendly crowd from all corners of Africa & the rest of the world. In the ROXZZZ Lounge, Cincinnati North Hotel, 11911 Sheraton Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45246 (off Route 4 from I-275). More info @ 513.671.6600 & www.mondialeclub.com.

~~~~~

Race Movies [Thursday 21 February @ 6:30 PM]: Three documentaries tell the story of African-Americans in the film industry through their own eyes. The documentaries: "Midnight Ramble: Oscar Michaux & the Story of Race Movies," "That's Black Entertainment," "&  "Black Shadows on a Silver Screen." Discussion with producer Pamela A. Thomas will follow the films. Free. In the Harriet Tubman Theater, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info & RSVP @ 513.333.7710, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

Hamilton County Go Green Challenge Luncheon [Thursday 21 February @ 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM]: Network with local organizations working to reduce their environmental impact. At Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info & RSVP @ 513.946.7734, susan.schumacher@hamilton-co.org, & www.parkandvine.com.

Honky Tonk Laundry [February 21 – March 9; Thurs-Sats & Wed 5 Mar @ 8 PM; Sun @ 2 PM]: Lana Mae & Katie are up to their elbows in soap, suds, & cheatin’ boyfriends. When these 2 country angels join forces, they turn their good ol’ laundromat into a boot-scootin’ honky-tonk, guaranteeing every customer a good, clean time. Featuring the music of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, & more. Play by Roger Bean. Starring Karie Lee Sutherland & Stephanie Cohen Coffey. $21 for adults, $19 for seniors & students. At the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Avenue, West Price Hill, Cincinnati, OH 45238. More info & tix @ 513.241.6550, jenniferperrino@covedalecenter.com, & www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.

War & Trauma [Friday 22 February @ 7 PM]: A 4-part film & book discussion series examines the psychological effects of war. The first installment is “Under Fire,” a film documenting WWII Soviet women combat veterans. Discussed by Reverend Noel Jules Dehner, the film’s producer & writer, & Joanne Lindy, PhD, LISW. Moderator will be Jacob D. Lindy, MD, Psychoanalyst, past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies & clinical professor of psychiatry at UC College of Medicine. The other 3 installments will be the novel “Coal Black Horse” [Friday 28 March], the film “Letters from Iwo Jima” [Friday 18 April], & the lecture “The Trauma of War” [Friday 30 May]. Presented by the Association for Psychoanalytic Thought. Wine & cheese reception @ 6:30 PM. Free for members, $5 for non-members. At the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute, 3001 Highland Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219. More info & reservations @ 513.531.0415 & assnpsathought@aol.com.

SqueezePlay Accordion Band [Saturday 23 February @ 7-9 PM]: Cincinnati's biggest accordion band will be performing at Mecklenburg Gardens Restaurant, which is over 150 years old & on the National Registry of Historic Places. They'll be playing in the back banquet room where you can help yourself to a German buffet. Spend a few hours listening to some interesting music, eating some tasty food, & drinking your favorite beverage. Reservations recommended. At Mecklenburg Gardens Restaurant, 302 East University Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219. More info & reservations @ 513.221.5353, www.squeezeplaymusic.com & www.mecklenburgs.net.
 
Write for Rights [Saturday 23 February @ 8-11 PM]: Art exhibit & spoken word poetry, with open mic, performance, & dance. Featuring Elament & live music provided by Aalias & Souse, smooth acoustic music upstairs & fabulous jazz downstairs. A light buffet will be provided. $10 suggested donation. Provocative & entertaining. At the Greenwich, 2442 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info or to exhibit art @ 513.582.9978 & sammyike@hotmail.com.

Chinese New Year Celebration - Year of the Rat [Saturday 23 February @ 6:30 PM]: Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce is hosting this elegant celebration, a great opportunity to network with professionals in the business community & with GCCCC members while celebrating the Lantern Festival to end the Chinese New Year celebration. The celebration will feature gourmet Chinese dinner buffet, Chinese cultural performances, exotic tea tasting, raffles for great door prizes, dragon & ballroom dancing, a pre-event VIP reception, & keynote speaker Michael R. Oestreicher (member of President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy & Negotiation). $48 members, $480 corporate table of 10; $68 future members, $680 corporate table of 10. Send reservations by 21 Feb (name, company, phone, fax, email, number of tickets) & check payable to GCCCC to: GCCCC, 2200 PNC Center, 201 East Fifth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Celebration will be held at Millennium Hotel, 141 West Sixth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.852.4100, 513.852.4101 (fax), & chinesechamberoffice@gmail.com.

Gina Ruffin Moore - Speaker [Saturday 23 February @ 2 PM]: A Cincinnati native, Ms. Moore is a freelance writer specializing in local Cincinnati history. In addition to her current work, "Cincinnati," from The Black America Series, Ms. Moore has authored 2 teacher's guides on black history. A book-signing will follow the presentation. Free. In the Grand Hall, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202-3414. More info & RSVP @ 513.333.7710, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

Learn from Civic Garden of Greater Cincinnati [Saturday 23 February @ 10-11 AM]: Get the dirt on converting yard, garden & kitchen waste into soil-building compost from the CGGC staff. At Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info & RSVP @ 513.721.7275, info@parkandvine.com, & www.parkandvine.com.

Reiki I [Saturday 23 February @ 9 AM - 5 PM]: Learn to help heal yourself & others with this ancient energy healing modality. Taught in the Usui tradition by Reiki Masters Pam Bronner & Bob Buring. Teaching methods include lecture, video, & hands-on practice using pendulums & dowsing rods to locate the aura & chakras; Reiki practice on each other. Fee is $125 & includes book, other instructional materials, lunch, & certificate. Held in Erlanger, KY. More info, location, & register @ 859.727.1062 & herbnurse@fuse.net.

Tibetan New Year Celebrations (Losar) - Year of Earth Mouse 2135:
    Smoke Offering & Installing New Prayer Flags [Saturday 23 February @ 9 AM]:
    New Year Dinner Party for Community [Sunday 24 February @ 6 PM]: RSVP, limited seating only.
Both events are at GSL Monastery Gaden Samdrup Ling Monastery, 3046 Pavlova Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45251. More info @ 513.385.7116, gsl@ganden.org, & www.ganden.org.
 
The David Munnelly Band in Concert [Sunday 24 February @ 7 PM]: Cincinnati Folk Life kicks off the “St. Patrick’s Season” by presenting “the most exciting band to come out of Ireland in many years,” noted for their award-winning precision musicianship & for "bringing new energy to Irish traditional music." The David Munnelly Band has been making waves on both sides of the Atlantic with their exuberant style of playing traditional music, based in part on the Golden Age of Irish music of the 1920's & '30's. Led by button accordion wizard & composer David Munnelly, who toured with The Chieftains from the age of 21-25, the David Munnelly Band has been delighting audiences across America & Europe, performing at festivals & concert halls including The Kennedy Center, where families danced in the aisles to the band’s infectious music. Featured on PBS, NPR, & BBC. General admission is $25; CFL members pay $20. At 20th Century Theater, 3021 Madison Road, Oakley, Cincinnati, OH 45209. More info & tix @ 513.533.4822, cfl@zoomtown.com, & www.CincinnatiFolkLife.com.

Magnify Your Personal Energy [Sundays 24 February & 2 March @ 1-3:30 PM]: Mort & Barb Nicholson lead this 2-part workshop in using the energy around you to increase your own energy level. Learn about grounding, chakras, releasing unwanted energy, connecting to unlimited universal energy & movement. Fee is $49. At Beacon of Life Spiritual Center, 5701 Murray Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45227. More info @ 513.543.6500 & http://BarbandMortNicholson.byregion.net. Register @ 513.218.2128 or info@beaconoflife.org.

Slavery in America - Past & Present [Monday 25 February @ 7 PM]: Dr. Michael Eric Dyson & Given Kachepa will speak about slavery in America both in a historical & modern day context. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is a renowned scholar, minister, cultural critic, radio host & New York Times best-selling author. Given Kachepa is a survivor of contemporary slavery. Free. At Xavier University’s Schiff Family Conference Center, Cintas Center, 1624 Herald Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45207. More info & RSVP @ 513.333.7710, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

Claude to Cézanne: Transformations in French Landscape Painting [Wednesday 27 February @ 7 PM]: If you are a lover of French Art or wish to learn more about French Art, this Alliance Française event is for you. Their French Art program begins with a lecture by Benedict Leca, Ph.D., the new Curator of European Painting, Sculpture & Drawings at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Using the Museum’s outstanding holdings in French landscapes, Dr. Leca will describe the remarkable transformations in landscape painting that occurred in France from the 17th century through the Impressionist & Post-Impressionist periods. $10 for Alliance Française & Art Museum members; $20 for general public. At Fath Auditorium, Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ ann.bjornson@fuse.net & www.france-cincinnati.com/af/regist_Art_Museum.htm.

Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to Speak [Wednesday 27 February @ 6:30 PM]: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host, narrator, co-producer of the PBS series “African American Lives” & one of the most powerful academic voices in America will discuss “The African American National Biography." Gates has most recently received popularity for recounting the personal stories & tracing the roots of 8 accomplished African-Americans including Whoopi Goldberg, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Quincy Jones, Chris Tucker, & Oprah Winfrey on “African American Lives.” Gates has dedicated his life to bringing African-American culture to the public. In 1997, Gates was named one of Time Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Americans." Free. At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info & RSVP @ 513.333.7710, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

The Practice of Poetry: Writing as a Spiritual & Creative Practice [Friday-Sunday 29 February - 2 March]: Grailville Retreat & Education Center offers a weekend retreat to help women use the “practice of poetry” to support their spiritual & creative lives. Led by poet Pauletta Hansel, use creative writing as a tool to listen to your heart’s wisdom, as you might in meditation or prayer. Learn to revise poetry by crafting the words to describe your life’s journey & learn ways to craft your live. Find new meaning in experiences; make room for inspiration & careful discernment in the decisions that affect your spiritual & creative live. Reservations required; tuition (includes meals) is $250 double occupancy or $200 commuter; limited single occupancy is $300; limited scholarships available. At Grailville, 932 O’Bannonville Road, Loveland OH. More info @ 513.683.2340, lb.grailville@fuse.net, & www.grailville.org.

Scholarship Competition in the Creative or Performing Arts [deadline for applications is Saturday 1 March]: The St. Elizabeth Arts Foundation is hosting a scholarship competition for high school juniors & seniors with demonstrated motivation, outstanding talent in the creative or performing arts, & financial need. The winning student will receive a package of support & training from a team of local professionals working in the field. This will include private tutorials twice-monthly, plus meetings with a support team to offer encouragement, constructive criticism, & guidance in their artistic pursuits & educational career. More info including applications @ douglas@stelizabetharts.com & www.stelizabetharts.com/arts/art-education.

Carnival of Puppets [Saturday 1 March @ 11 AM]: Hand Puppets & trick Marionettes will perform songs, dances & comical routines as part of the Covedale Center's Saturday Morning Children’s Series. The Frisch Marionette Company uses a variety of puppetry styles, from hand & rod puppets to shadow puppets & marionettes. Exquisite puppets strut their stuffing to some of the most beautiful music ever created. $7 for adults, $5 for children. At the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Avenue, West Price Hill, Cincinnati, OH 45238. More info & tix @ 513.241.6550, jenniferperrino@covedalecenter.com, & www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.

Day in Spirit [Saturday 1 March @ 9 AM - 5 PM]: A day of sharing, learning, & healing with Reiki, featuring Susan Evans leading the group in Tai Chi & meditation. Experience alternative healing methods & enjoy the company of like-minded people. Reiki practitioners, other healers, & those interested in alternative healing methods are welcome. Cost is by donation. Sponsored by New Moon Wellness. Held in Erlanger, KY. More info, location, & register @ 859.727.1062 & herbnurse@fuse.net.

Introductory Course on Buddhism [Saturdays in March & April @ 2 PM]: Gaden Samdrup Ling Buddhist Monastery is offering a 9-week introductory course on Buddhist philosophy & meditation. It will cover a wide array of subjects including compassion & bodhicitta, interdependence, karma, understanding sufferings, rebirth, the 3 poisons, meditation, & the nature of mind. The course will be very engaging, & will include assignments, discussion & sharing experiences. It will focus on how to incorporate Buddhist teachings into everyday lives to achieve peace & happiness. No previous knowledge of Buddhism is required. This course is part of Joyful Path 2008, a series of events to raise funds for our new monastery project. For this course, a suggested donation of $75 is requested, but not required. All are welcome; registration required; limited space. At GSL Monastery Gaden Samdrup Ling Monastery, 3046 Pavlova Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45251. More info @ 513.385.7116, gsl@ganden.org, & www.ganden.org.

Understanding & Practicing Nonviolent Communication [Saturday 8 March @ 10 AM - 5 PM]: Experience Compassionate Communication during a day of introduction & immersion into this innovative, powerful process developed by Marshall Rosenberg. The workshop, led by Theresa Horan-Sapunar, will offer an opportunity to move beyond defeating & negative relating patterns to a place of open-hearted & honest communication. Participants will learn to recognize their blocks to open, direct, honest, kindhearted communication & will practice the alternative method offered by this process that fosters respect, attentiveness & empathy, & engenders a mutual desire to give from the heart. The Workshop is valuable for couples & those in close relationships (work or familial). Ms. Horan-Sapunar has been a psychotherapist & marriage counselor for 30+ years & is a longtime retreat facilitator, Grail member, & co-founder of the Center for Personal & Spiritual Growth in Cincinnati. She trained with Marshall Rosenberg (among others) & finds this approach to be a communication process, a conflict resolution tool, a guide for personal development, & a spiritual practice. Fee is $90 ($80 if paid by 23 Feb); limited scholarships available; lunch included in the registration fee. Co-sponsored by the Center for Personal and Spiritual Growth. At Grailville, 932 O’Bannonville Road, Loveland, OH, 45140. More info @ 513.683.2340, lb.grailville@fuse.net, & www.grailville.org.
 

Ongoing Tri-State Treasures

Body of Work: The Human Form in Contemporary Art [thru Friday 22 February]: The human form has been central to artwork long before it was called "art." Artists have found infinite ways to provide forms of self-reflection to society. Body of Work invited artists to submit works in any medium or genre that investigate or incorporate the human form. Manifest received over 450 entries, ranging from purely academic anatomical figure drawings to conceptual & less-obvious interpretations. The exhibit includes 17 works by 12 artists from 8 states & the UK: painting, sculpture, collage, drawing & printmaking. Refreshments will be served. At 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info @ 513.861.3638, jason@manifestgallery.org, & www.manifestgallery.org.

Appetite & Consumption [thru Friday 22 February]: Manifest Gallery presents a solo exhibit of large-scale works on paper by Kelly Jo Asbury. An intimate drawing room experience of larger than life scale, this exhibit will present works which the artist states are intended to arouse & discomfort the viewer by means of subtly familiar imagery & suggestions of sensuality. The artist writes: "These paintings/drawings explore our primordial link to water & our relentless search for one another. The use of symbolic references to water, metamorphosis & adaptation are linked conceptually to... amphibians through various cultural views (especially Mayan) of fertility, growth & birth." Refreshments will be served. At 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info @ 513.861.3638, jason@manifestgallery.org, & www.manifestgallery.org.

Endangered Cincinnati: Can These Buildings Be Saved? [thru Friday 22 February]: This exhibit by Cincinnati Preservation Association & Betts House Research Center focuses on endangered landmarks, their importance, & what can be done to save them. At Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.721.7275, dan@parkandvine.com, & www.parkandvine.com.

The Unusual Suspects [thru Friday 29 February]: Artwork by Ursula Roma. Found object wall sculptures & paintings. At St. John's Unitarian Church, 320 Resor Street, Clifton, Cincinnati, OH 45220. More info @ ursularoma@fuse.net.
 
Daddy's Dyin' Who's Got the Will [thru Sunday 2 March; Thu-Sat @ 8 PM, Sun @ 2 PM]: The Footlighters community theater presents this "comedy with meaning" set in 1986 Texas, featuring the Turnover family who fare best when apart, but are drawn together at the family farmhouse after their father's illness. Tickets are $17. At the Stained Glass Theater, 802 York Street, Newport, KY 41071. More info @ 513.474.8711 & www.footlighters.org.
 
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption Concert Series [Intermittent Sundays thru 9 March 2008 @ 3 PM]: The Series presents instrumental & choral music from the rich traditions of western liturgy & inspired classical music, presented in a suitable visual & acoustic environment. Donations support all series expenses & costs to preserve the Historic Matthias Schwab Organ (1859). In other words, the Cathedral Concert Series combines music of extraordinary range & quality in arguably the region's most magnificent space. Concerts include Musica Sacra Chorus & Orchestra, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols, An Epiphany Epilogue, Concert in Memory of Dr. Louis Schwab, & JS Bach's 323rd Birthday. At St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, 1140 Madison Avenue, Covington, KY 41011. More info @ 859-431-2060, timbrel@fuse.net, & www.cathedralconcertseries.org.

Redtree Gallery Art Exhibit Opening Reception [thru Sunday 9 March]: Local artists in a variety of media. Live music & food. At Red Tree Gallery, 4409 Brazee Street, Oakley, Cincinnati, OH 45209. More info @ 513.321.8733, mbusch@redtreegallery.net, & www.redtreegallery.net.

“Afterlife” Discussion [Wednesdays thru 12 March @ 7:00-8:30 PM]: Emanuel Swedenborg’s “Heaven & Hell” was published 250 years ago in 1758 & has been continuously in print ever since. This highly regarded work contains the essence of what Swedenborg "disclosed" of the realities of life after death & the structure of the realms which remain invisible to us while we live in our body. Swedenborg promised: “What I have been saying in this book about heaven will be clear to people who delight in knowing about spiritual truths, especially to people who love truth because it is true.” Become enriched after absorbing the lessons you will learn as a group of people read “Afterlife,” an abridged version of “Heaven & Hell,” then gathering to center, reading out loud, share, & journal. Attend any of the gatherings; "each will give your spiritual life energy & grounding." Facilitated by Clark Echols. $13 for the book. Glendale New Church, 845 Congress Avenue, Glendale, Cincinnati, OH 45246. More info @ 513.772.1478, clark.echols@newchurch-cincy.org, & www.newchurch-cincy.org.

Miami University Italian-American Film Festival [Wednesdays thru – 30 April @ 7:30 PM]: Curated & presented by Professor Sante Matteo. Free & open to the public. In 102 Benton Hall, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056. This venue is a newly refurbished auditorium with very comfortable seating & convenient adjacent parking. It is on the north side of High Street (Route 27 N from Cincinnati) at the intersection of Tallawanda Street. More info & map @ matteos@muohio.edu & www.miami.muohio.edu/about_miami/campusmap/.
    Feb 27: Raging Bull (1980, Martin Scorsese)
    Mar 5:  Rocky II (1979, Sylvester Stallone)
    Mar 12: The Son of the Sheik (1926) & “Short Subjects,” with Rudolph Valentino
    Mar 26: Robin & the Seven Hoods (1964, Gordon Douglas, with Frank Sinatra & the Rat Pack)
    Apr 2: Little Caesar (1930, Mervyn LeRoy)
    Apr 9: The Brotherhood (1968, Martin Ritt)
    Apr 16: The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola)
    Apr 23: Goodfellas (1990, Martin Scorsese)
    Apr 30: The Sopranos (episodes from the TV series, David Chase)
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tri-State Treasures is compiled by James Kesner.

—    Submit Tri-State Treasures, or request your email address to be added or removed from the list by sending an email to jkesner@nuvox.net; please specify "Tri-State Treasures."

—    Email addresses are posted in BlindCopy to protect their identity.  Email addresses are not shared, given, or sold without explicit permission from the owner.

—    Tri-State Treasures are typically transmitted on Wednesdays; submissions should be received as soon as possible for best probability of being included.

—    Please help me by submitting your Tri-State Treasure in the following format; because my time is limited, formatted submissions typically have a better chance of being included in the email transmission.  Thank you for your help:
Brief Title of the Treasure [date @ time]: Brief description of the treasure; what is it; why is it wonderful & unique. Cost. Sponsor. Location including address & zip code. More info @ telephone, email, & website.
A Fictitious Example:
Fabulous Film Festival [Friday 3 May @ 8 PM]: The first & best fabulous film festival in the city of Cincinnati will present live-action, documentary, & short films. Blah, blah, blah. Presented by Flicks R Us. Tickets are $8. At The Theatre, 111 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH 45200. More info @ 513.111.2222, info@filmfestival.com, & www.filmfestival.com.

---

The Lloyd House Salon (usually about 12 people) Meets on WEDNESDAYS at 5:45,
EVERY Wednesday, 52 WEEKS/YEAR come hell or high water, as my mother used to say.

We of the Lloyd House Salon gather in a spirit of
respect, sympathy and compassion for one another
in order to exchange ideas for our mutual pleasure and enlightenment.  

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Our Salon blog is a promising interactive site:   http:lloydhouse.blogspot.com
  Also, we have an Interactive Yahoo Salon group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LloydHouseSalon

For Pot Luck  procedures including  food suggestions, mission and history visit
http://home.fuse.net/ellenbierhorst/Potluck.html   .

You are invited also to visit the Lloyd House website:  http://www.lloydhouse.com
> To unsubscribe from the Lloyd House Potluck Salon list, send a REPLY message
> to me and in the SUBJECT line type in "unsub potluck #".  In the place of  #
> type in the numeral that follows the subject line of my Weekly email.  It
> will be 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7or 8.  This tells me which sub-list your name is on so I can  
> delete it.  Thanks!   ellen bierhorst