|
Pardon
Me, But Your (Grass) Roots are Showing
by columnist Lynn Nichols
One
rainy Wednesday night in September, Don and I headed down
to Northampton for a "meeting." When we got to
the Good Thyme Deli, it was after hours so the door was
locked. We knocked tentatively, gave the secret password,
and quick as you can say "Sam sent me" we were
ushered inside.
No,
it wasn't a speakeasy, although I must admit it kind of
felt like one. More than 50 people had gathered on that
night for a Meet Up. What's a meet up, you ask? It's an
affinity group set up by an organization called meetup.com.
There are meet ups for all kinds of groups, including
witches and people who own collies. But this particular
Meet Up was for supporters of Howard Dean.
From
the get go, I have to say that Don and I aren't rabid Dean
supporters, and we're certainly not endorsing him in
Valley Viewpoint. Our trek to the Meet Up was an
exploratory one — to see what this guy who wants so much
to be President of These United States is all about.
The
evening started innocently enough, with name tags and a
sign-in sheet. Then we listened to the "agenda"
for the festivities, heard an update about Dean's
activities in New England and broke into small groups for
a discussion of all things political, with a focus,
obviously, on how Dr. Dean can cure all of our country's
ills.
After
a couple of hours, the meeting broke up. But as we walked
away, we found we weren't as impressed with Dean the
candidate as we were with the process itself. Here is a
man that truly believes in the power of the grassroots.
Besides these Meet Up events (held the first Wednesday of
every month in four locations in the Valley), Dean has
been shunning contributions from special interests in
favor of raising money (and awareness) on the Internet. In
the last quarter alone, which ended last week, the Dean
campaign raised $15 million dollars on the Internet,
mostly from single contributors giving $25, $100, $500.
From a mainstream political standpoint, this is a stunning
achievement. Of course, it won't match up to the millions
that Bush and his cronies will raise to oppose his
democratic challenger. But it's heartening to know that
someone feels strongly enough about the power of the
individual over the corporation that he bases his entire
campaign around it.
I
don't know if I'll vote for Dean in the Massachusetts
primary. There are other candidates whose positions and
political agenda are just as attractive. But I was
energized by the Dean Meet Up — more politically
energized than I've been since my days of working on the
ill-fated McGovern campaign (OK, so I've just dated
myself). Witnessing so many people come together to get
information on a candidate for public office in an age of
political apathy and disgust is a wonderful thing.
Whatever
the result of the upcoming Presidential race, the Dean
campaign is proving that ordinary folks can change the
political landscape. And though it's been said many times
before, it bears repeating — Power to the People!
In
this Issue of Valley Viewpoint:
And
don't forget to check out all the exciting EVENTS
coming to a Pioneer Valley near you!
Our
Viewpoint: It's Time to "Take Back Your Time"
A
new study commissioned by the non-profit Center for a New
American Dream finds that an alarming percentage of
Americans feel pressure to work too much. Americans are
willing to put their money where their mouths are,
however. According to the survey, more than half of the
adults in this country would trade a day's pay in exchange
for a day off from work.
"Americans
win the prize for being overworked and overstressed,"
said Diane Wood, the Center for a New American Dream's
executive director. "As a result, we're finding it
incredibly difficult to strike a balance between work and
family - three out of five Americans surveyed feel
pressure to work too much and more than four out of five
wish they had more free time to spend with their family.
The unfortunate fact is that ours is a work and spend
culture that has serious implications for our quality of
life, our environment and the health of our
communities."
As
the only industrial country without any minimum paid time
off laws, Americans average only two weeks off a year of
paid leave, and more free time is not an option for many.
In fact, more than 4 in 10 Americans (46%) say they don't
know or could not afford even a small pay cut. Food,
housing, healthcare, and saving for retirement are some of
the costs that keep Americans from considering a pay cut
in exchange for more free time and less stress, according
to the study.
Click
here for more on the study and Take Back Your Time Day
^^top^^
Making
a Difference: All Out Adventures
By Columnist Lynn Nichols
It's
a beautiful fall day – perfect for a bike ride, a hike
or a paddle. You grab your gear and head for the trail
or the river, so as not to waste a moment of the Pioneer
Valley at its most spectacular. But what if were
physically or developmentally challenged? Or in a
wheelchair? It would make an afternoon of outdoor
activities a much more daunting experience.
...continue
reading
^^top^^
Alternative
Media Watch: Where to Find the "Real" News
by columnist Lynn Nichols
I
don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired of
what's being passed off as news on TV these days. CNN's
American Morning show has become little more than a few
news headlines wrapped around features like "90
Second Pop." MSNBC is full of loudmouth commentators.
And forget about the networks. Though I like Brian
Williams just fine, I just don't feel like I'm getting
enough meat (or truth) in my half- hour nightly news
update on NBC.
What's
the answer? No, I'm not ready to throw out my TV. I'm way
too addicted to Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, the
Sopranos, 24, and now Carnivale to do that. But I've
started to limit my time in front of the box and get my
news from Internet news sites and e-mail newsletters.
There's a lot of great information out there, if you know
where to look. I receive daily updates from BuzzFlash (www.buzzflash.com),
AlterNet (www.alternet.org),
and the best of the bunch TruthOut (www.truthout.org).
I get less frequent but still excellent updates and calls
to action from MoveOn (www.moveon.org)
and Act for Change (www.actforchange.com).
For environmental and social actin news, I subscribe to
newsletters from Planeta (www.planeta.com)
and Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.com).
Here's
a sample of the "real news" stories you can find
on the Web:
From
TruthOut:
Max
Cleland | Welcome to Vietnam Mr. President
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/100203A.shtml
Why
Joseph Wilson's Wife was Outed
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/100203B.shtml
From
AlterNet:
THIRTY-TWO
YEARS AFTER ATTICA
Peter Wagner and Rose Heyer, AlterNet
Thirty-two years after Attica prisoners demanded that the
prison guards reflect the population, there are more
African-Americans in prison than ever before, but not as
guards.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16830
TIME
TO ACT
Paul Loeb, AlterNet
The increase of work hours is creating a society with no
room to deliberate, reflect, or do anything except to
place ourselves at the mercy of the market.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16875
RACE
AND HEALTHCARE
Sally Lehrman, Institute for Justice and Journalism
Genes aren't the whole story when it comes to explaining
disparity in illness among different ethnic groups.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16868
From
BuzzFlash:
David
Corn, Author of "The Lies of George W. Bush:
Mastering the Politics of Deception" and Washington
Editor of "The Nation"
A BuzzFlash Interview
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/03/09/25_corn.html
Did
Colin Powell Lie to the U.S. and the U.N.?
A BuzzFlash News Analysis
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/09/24_powell.html
Let
us know what alternative media sources you've found!
^^top^^
Event
Watch:
—
Traprock Peace Center Anniversary
— Piece of the Pie Day
— Valley Appearance of Columnist and Activist Jim
Hightower
 Traprock
Peace Center's 24th Anniversary
"Disarming Realities, Lessons Learned" —
Scott Ritter is speaking at Traprock's 24th anniversary
celebration and fundraiser on Tuesday, October 7, 2003,
at Frontier Regional School, 113 North Main Street,
Deerfield, MA. This event will combine views from a
former US Marine, an organic farmer and a Nuclear Freeze
organizer.
 The
keynote speaker will be Scott Ritter, former U.N.
weapons inspector in Iraq and U.S. Marine Intelligence
Officer, sharing crucial insights and lessons that could
save lives in the years ahead. The public program begins
at 7:00 PM. Randy Kehler and Juanita Nelson will offer
introductory remarks on the theme of disarmament.
Traprock's first director (then the national Freeze,
later joining with SANE, which became Peace Action)
Randy Kehler, looks back and forward, reflecting on the
continuing importance of social disarmament.
 Juanita
Nelson of Deerfield (pioneer with her beloved husband,
the late Wally Nelson, in the civil rights and tax
resistance movements) proposes simple living and the
challenge of personal economic disarmament as an
alternative to the tragedies of war. She is a co-founder
of Peacemakers (1948), the Pioneer Valley Community Land
Trust, the Greenfield Farmers Market and the Pioneer
Valley War Tax Resisters. The acclaimed filmmaker of An
Act of Conscience plans to film the event.
In
the past year, Traprock staff and supporters have
collaborated with colleagues organizing educational
forums on alternatives to war in ten cities and towns
from Boston to Baltimore, and from Gloucester to
Indianapolis. Ritter's inside analysis reveals the
process of disarmament as a painstaking but workable
alternative to the chaos and tragedy of protracted wars.
A
fundraising reception supporting Traprock's national,
regional and local work for individual donors of $50 or
more will be held before the Anniversary event from 5:15
- 6:15 PM on Tuesday, October 7th. RSVP at 413-773-7427
for details. www.traprockpeace.org
-----------
 Piece
of the Pie Food Bank Benefit
— Help The Food Bank fight hunger by going out to eat!
Thursday, October 9th is Piece of the Pie day. More than
150 restaurants will donate 10% of breakfast, lunch,
dinner receipts to The Food Bank. More information and a
list of all restaurants in at www.foodbankwma.org.
This is one of the Food Bank's major yearly fundraisers,
so we urge you to participate!
-----------
On
Thursday, October 23rd, radio commentator and columnist
Jim Hightower discusses his book Thieves in High
Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take
It Back at 7:30 p.m., in Chapin Auditorium at
Mount Holyoke College. Doors open at 6:30 PM. This
appearance is a fundraiser to benefit Western Mass Jobs
with Justice. Requested donations: $1-$25 for students,
$5-$50 for community members; no one will be turned away
for lack of funds. The event is co-sponsored by the
Odyssey Bookshop, Western Mass Jobs with Justice, and
the Politics Department, the Student Coalition for
Action, and People Opposed to War at Mount Holyoke
College.
In
his new book, Thieves in High Places, national
radio commentator and columnist Jim Hightower takes on
Bushites, Wobblycrats, and corporate Kleptocrats and
digs up behind-the-scenes dirt that the corporate media
overlooks--like BushCo's "Friday Night
Massacres," what's happened to our food, and the
Bush plan for empire. The bestselling author of "If
the Gods
Had
Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us
Candidates" also offers grassroots solutions,
drawing on his Rolling Thunder Down-Home Democracy Tour,
a traveling festival of rebellion against every tentacle
of the corporate-politico power grab. All over America,
Hightower has tapped into the thriving activist networks
that are our country's grassroots muscle, and Thieves
in High Places tells their uplifting stories of
retaking control of their communities. With his unique
blend of wit and outrage, Jim Hightower "lights a
prairie fire."
National
radio commentator, columnist, public speaker, and best selling
author Jim Hightower has spent three decades
battling the Powers-That-Be on behalf of consumers,
working families, environmentalists, small business, and
just-plain-folks. Twice elected Texas Agriculture
Commissioner and known as
"America's Most Popular Populist," Hightower
spreads the message of progressive populism all across
the American grassroots. His daily radio commentaries
are carried on more than 100 commercial and public
stations, on the web, Armed Forces Radio, Radio for
Peace International, One World Radio, and
Sirius Satellite Radio, and he frequently appears on
television and works with alternative media. Each month,
he publishes a populist political newsletter with over
100,000 subscribers; The Hightower Lowdown is the
fastest growing political publication in America and has
received the Alternative Press Award and the Independent
Press Association Award for best national newsletter.
Hightower frequently delivers speeches to colleges,
union meetings, environmental groups, citizen rallies,
farm and food organizations, social justice gatherings,
teachers, legal activists, and community groups, and his
newspaper column is carried in over 75 independent
newspapers and magazines. He is also a frequent
contributor to The Nation. Hightower was raised
in Denison, Texas, in a family of small business people,
tenant farmers, and working folks. A graduate of the
University of North Texas, he worked in Washington as
legislative aide to Sen. Ralph Yarborough of Texas
before returning to his home state, where he was editor
of "The Texas Observer". For more info: www.jimhightower.com.
For
info on Jim Hightower's appearance at Mt. Holyoke,
contact Joan Grenier at (413) 5340-7307 Western Mass Job
with Justice info: call Jill at (413) 262-7689 or jill_jwj@fastmail.fm
^^top^^
Simply
Living: The Conscious Consumer Website
In
today's global marketplace, we rarely see what is behind
the stuff we buy. Where does a particular product come
from? What are the working conditions for the person or
people who created
it?
What impact has the materials' extraction had on the
natural environment? On nearby communities?
If
you're tired of standing there in the aisle, confused
and feeling vaguely guilty, there's a new website from
the Center for a New American Dream — http://www.newdream.org/consumer/
— that will make it easier to know your stuff.
The
Conscious Consumer site features 10 short films that
introduce you to the people and communities that produce
the consumer products we take for granted. These films
portray the hidden environmental and personal costs of
the world economy and the consumer culture that drives
it.
But
this new site isn't just to bring that guilty feeling
into sharper focus. The fact is, the Center for a New
American Dream wants to make your life easier. The
sobering pieces are all paired with empowering resources
and practical tips. The site will plug you into products
that will help you reduce your impact on the environment
and contribute to improving labor conditions-with links
to online and local sources of all sorts of goods and
services that are better for the planet and the people
who live on it.
It
also provides info on how to recycle just about anything
you can think of, loads of information on eco-friendly
labeling, as well as environmental and social
responsibility ratings on many of the
major
corporations you buy things from every day.
http://www.newdream.org/consumer/
^^top^^
Town
Spotlight: The North Quabbin
Woods
By Columnist Lynn Nichols
This
month's spotlight focuses on an area that's home to a
vibrant forest resource — the North Quabbin. It covers
the Pioneer Valley towns of Orange, Warwick, Erving,
Wendell and New Salem plus Athol, Petersham, Phillipston,
and Royalston. Why groups these towns into one region?
The "North Quabbin Woods" is a marketing
designation to be sure, but one with a lofty and
worthwhile goal. A project of the New England Forestry
Foundation, North Quabbin Woods hopes to revitalize the
North Quabbin economy based on the sustainable use of
local forest resources.
Among
its many activities, the North Quabbin Woods project
educates landowners about sustainable forest management
through workshops on topics ranging from forest thinning
and timber taxes to chainsaw safety.
...Continue
Reading
^^top^^
|
