Hi, again, folks. Well, depending on which side of the issue you’re on, it’s been either a really good past week for the homicidal fringe of the Pro Life Movement and the Brotherhood of Bigots or it’s been a week of sorrow and outrage for every decent human being on the face of the planet in reaction to the murders of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum guard Stephen T. Johns.
As far as the Northstar Journal is concerned, there is absolutely nothing to justify what happened in Wichita, Kansas and Washington, DC last week. We mourn for and with the families of the victims of these acts of domestic terrorism and whatever else it’s called, these two violent hate crimes are precisely that.
Domestic terrorism is not always about conspiracies, plots, cabals and coups. It can be, as it was in these two cases, the empowerment of a single individual ~ through hate speech; physical, emotional and philosophical support, and the silent sanctions of those who stand by and do nothing when wrongs are committed.
We’re not going to glorify either of the perpetrators of these acts by naming them. And however tempted, we are NOT evoking the Code of Hammurabi (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) by asking that both of these individuals be hung from the nearest tree or lamp post and be left swinging long enough to make it a good day for buzzards.
And unfortunately, Hell doesn’t seem to be offering any guided tours so it’s highly unlikely we’ll get to watch these two damned souls roasting over a slow fire for eternity. We leave it to Lady Justice and a legal system which, however imperfect, is not likely to fail those who believe in it now and in these regards.
Lighten up, Rusty? Perhaps. But forgive? No. And forget? Well, that would be about as easy as one of us forgetting the bloodbath that was Ireland during The Troubles and the burning tires atrocities of apartheid in South Africa.
It would be, for another of us, never recalling the violence that was Vietnam, the Watts Riots, Peoples Park in Berkeley and other headline news of the Sixties and Seventies. And the genetic memories of The Masada, The Famine, Bolland’s Mill and Buchenwald.
For the third of us, it would be choosing not to remember three generations of Minnesota farmers from Germany and Switzerland, who live closer to Fargo than to Eden and him himself closing his heart to the Vietnamese refugees he’s helped acclimate to new homes in the Pacific Northwest.
In short, it ain’t gonna happen folks. Caring may not always be cost-effective or energy-efficient but it’s never NOT been cool. At least not in the America we believe in.
And speaking of compassion, twenty volunteers from Western Washington left last Saturday to drive ten refurbished emergency vehicles, including four police cars, three ambulances and a fire truck 3,000 miles to “our other border” and on into Mexico, where they’re being donated to small towns which need them. There’s another real human element to this story so if you’re interested, check it out. They’re also going to be blogging their trip and I’ve got a feeling that’s going to be real interesting to follow.
And for the critter lovers among you ~ and from the emails and IMs we get, that seems to be a whole bunch of you ~ you’ll be delighted to know that there’s a town in Washington which has just conferred honorary citizenship on The Cle Elum Seven. Nope, not bears. Chimpanzees. As in chimps rescued from a medical research facility and brought to this rural Northwest community to heal. The ceremony marked the 36th birthday of Negra, the oldest of them.
We did receive, from a totally unreliable source, a tip that politics may have played a hand in this. It seems as though some in Cle Elum are not totally happy with the town council and are hoping that these seven honorary citizens will eventually become registered voters. I’m not quite sure whether that compliments the monkey or slanders the constituency. Not altogether sure I want to go there, either.
And under the category “truth in advertising,” we raise the Starbucks cup (Don’t wince, it’s symbolic) to Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability in partnership with Solar Oregon, the Oregon Department of Energy, and Energy Trust of Oregon. for using federal funds to contract CH2M Hill to create a map of Oregon showing where solar power works best. Those DC dollars are available to other communities in the United States and the prototype’s up and working.
Well, that’s it for this week, yahoos and yahoo-ettes. It’s been a pleasure and we are honored by your society. You folks take care now, stay well and God Bless. See you next week, God willing and the crick don’t rise.
Rusty
As far as the Northstar Journal is concerned, there is absolutely nothing to justify what happened in Wichita, Kansas and Washington, DC last week. We mourn for and with the families of the victims of these acts of domestic terrorism and whatever else it’s called, these two violent hate crimes are precisely that.
Domestic terrorism is not always about conspiracies, plots, cabals and coups. It can be, as it was in these two cases, the empowerment of a single individual ~ through hate speech; physical, emotional and philosophical support, and the silent sanctions of those who stand by and do nothing when wrongs are committed.
We’re not going to glorify either of the perpetrators of these acts by naming them. And however tempted, we are NOT evoking the Code of Hammurabi (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) by asking that both of these individuals be hung from the nearest tree or lamp post and be left swinging long enough to make it a good day for buzzards.
And unfortunately, Hell doesn’t seem to be offering any guided tours so it’s highly unlikely we’ll get to watch these two damned souls roasting over a slow fire for eternity. We leave it to Lady Justice and a legal system which, however imperfect, is not likely to fail those who believe in it now and in these regards.
Lighten up, Rusty? Perhaps. But forgive? No. And forget? Well, that would be about as easy as one of us forgetting the bloodbath that was Ireland during The Troubles and the burning tires atrocities of apartheid in South Africa.
It would be, for another of us, never recalling the violence that was Vietnam, the Watts Riots, Peoples Park in Berkeley and other headline news of the Sixties and Seventies. And the genetic memories of The Masada, The Famine, Bolland’s Mill and Buchenwald.
For the third of us, it would be choosing not to remember three generations of Minnesota farmers from Germany and Switzerland, who live closer to Fargo than to Eden and him himself closing his heart to the Vietnamese refugees he’s helped acclimate to new homes in the Pacific Northwest.
In short, it ain’t gonna happen folks. Caring may not always be cost-effective or energy-efficient but it’s never NOT been cool. At least not in the America we believe in.
And speaking of compassion, twenty volunteers from Western Washington left last Saturday to drive ten refurbished emergency vehicles, including four police cars, three ambulances and a fire truck 3,000 miles to “our other border” and on into Mexico, where they’re being donated to small towns which need them. There’s another real human element to this story so if you’re interested, check it out. They’re also going to be blogging their trip and I’ve got a feeling that’s going to be real interesting to follow.
And for the critter lovers among you ~ and from the emails and IMs we get, that seems to be a whole bunch of you ~ you’ll be delighted to know that there’s a town in Washington which has just conferred honorary citizenship on The Cle Elum Seven. Nope, not bears. Chimpanzees. As in chimps rescued from a medical research facility and brought to this rural Northwest community to heal. The ceremony marked the 36th birthday of Negra, the oldest of them.
We did receive, from a totally unreliable source, a tip that politics may have played a hand in this. It seems as though some in Cle Elum are not totally happy with the town council and are hoping that these seven honorary citizens will eventually become registered voters. I’m not quite sure whether that compliments the monkey or slanders the constituency. Not altogether sure I want to go there, either.
And under the category “truth in advertising,” we raise the Starbucks cup (Don’t wince, it’s symbolic) to Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability in partnership with Solar Oregon, the Oregon Department of Energy, and Energy Trust of Oregon. for using federal funds to contract CH2M Hill to create a map of Oregon showing where solar power works best. Those DC dollars are available to other communities in the United States and the prototype’s up and working.
Well, that’s it for this week, yahoos and yahoo-ettes. It’s been a pleasure and we are honored by your society. You folks take care now, stay well and God Bless. See you next week, God willing and the crick don’t rise.
Rusty
1 comment:
I wrote yesterday about the uptick in hateful rhetoric lately. I agree with you completely.
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