Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. Well, we’re glad to see that the ninth anniversary of 9/11 passed with relatively no violence. That Florida evangelist minister decided not to hold a rally and burn the Muslim equivalent of the Bible and there were no calls from the Muslim world for a jihad or holy war.
On America’s news and commentary television program Face the Nation the morning after, host Bob Schieffer, in remembering 9/11, remarked about how not only New York City, but the entire nation pulled together, including the American Muslim community. He observed that in the nine years since, we seem to have lost that ability to focus, to unite behind the same threat to the American Way of Life the destruction on September 11, 2001 represented.
He was referring to the Recession, among other things. Mr. Schieffer is not just one of America’s most astute and unbiased political reporters, he is also a student of history. He knows that there are two ways the mightiest of nations can die. They can be conquered from without or they can decay and collapse from within.
If we ~ as Americans ~ cannot put aside those “differences” we think divide us and pull together to end this Recession, provide adequate health care for our population and make peace with our neighbors so that our sons and daughters will not die ~ or in some cases, survive ~ in such far flung and distant lands as Afghanistan and Iraq, all our enemies can pretty much take a holiday.
We will have done to ourselves something in their wildest dreams they could not have done to us. And we will have no one but ourselves to blame for the demise of potentially the greatest democratic republic in the history of humankind and nations.
BP has apparently decided that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the result of a chain of mistakes by all of those involved. Skeptics are calling their 103-page report detailing specifics a blueprint of how the industry giant intends to defend itself in future criminal and civil litigation. A source with whom I spoke under condition of anonymity feels that while it may indeed be that, it is also a good look at how this particular fossil fuel gets from gusher to gas tank, as it were. He contends that as such, it might also provide the basis for regulatory review and remedial action, as well. For more and for the report itself, go here.
A tip of the tam as it were to California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on his announcement of a new website devoted to green jobs. Called Clean Energy Jobs, it lists 48 programs which provide training for jobs in the recycling, clean transportation and renewable energy jobs and one of its stronger points is that it represents a cooperative and comprehensive effort among community colleges, local workforce investment boards and private industries to meet a growing demand for these positions as California continues to lead the nation in the evolution of an environmentally safe and stable state economy. For more, go here.
If Washington State ever decides to take the face of its American namesake founding father off its flag, there’s a good chance it will be replaced by a salmon. Which salmon ~ chinook, king, sockeye, et all ~ will likely be a matter of some debate. It is to us what beef cattle are to other parts of the country, except that these fish were here long before we arrived. Under these seven flags, everyone has a “salmon.” To see what we’re doing to preserve and perpetuate ours, yep, go here.
SURVIVING HARD TIMES
Sometimes the most devastating way to NOT survive hard times is to be under informed and to keep trying things that don’t work or looking for jobs that simply are no longer there. Bad news is hard to take on the sunniest of days and there’s an understandable reluctance to look at such things as economic forecasts, job reports and other vital information simply because they’re often depressing. That certainly fits this Associated Press story headlined “Future jobs: More skills or less pay”. I read it, though, and I’m glad I did.
Does having less to spend really need to be a cause for depression, anxiety or loss of self-esteem? Apparently not, according to economics blogger Trent Hamm. His The Simple Dollar column talks about 48 things frugality has taught him. It’s a romp to read and the kind of good-natured approach which could restore thrift to its rightful place as a virtue to be emulated. Yep, go here.
ON THE CANCER FRONT
This has got to come as good news to breast cancer patients. Malignant cells treated with peach extract or plum extract died but the healthy cells around them did not. This is a dramatic departure from traditional chemotherapy, which eradicates both and in so doing, reduces the body’s ability to fight off other infection. This new treatment also doesn’t involve the level of pain either. Yep, for more on this one.
RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
Cancer Research Journal
National Cancer Institute (American)
Fighting Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories
Science Daily: Health & Medicine News
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
I’m not sure whether this is good news or bad news. Maybe you can help me decide. According to a report released by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after some 40 years of continual declines, smoking rates among Americans have finally stabilized. What I found both interesting and alarming about this is who still smokes and who’s had the sense to quit. I’m in the process of moving from one to the other so this was particularly interesting to me. Yep, go here.
Okay, this one hit me as weird but then again, it does sometimes pay to keep an open mind, as dangerous as that can also be in this house. Apparently, gin-soaked raisins are effective in easing the pain of arthritis. I’m saying nothing more about this one because this story does it far better than I ever could. Yep, go here.
SEATTLE SCENES
University District Sunset Sky
Photo by Merritt Scott (Rusty) Miller
SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
Seattle Geography & Climate
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State
CRITTER STUFF
We’ve had several requests now for information on creating critter-friendly gardens and mini-wildlife refuges. Depending on where one lives and the extent to which concrete and steel have taken over, it can be as simple as letting the grass grow or as complex as a good family project involving restoring the chosen site to its pre-Industrial Revolution condition. National Wildlife magazine has an outstanding website which seems to cover it all. Yep, go here.
Well, those skeptics of global warming might want to talk to the tens of thousands of walruses which have come ashore in northwest Alaska because the ice they normally hang out on has melted. It’s quite a visual, trust me. For the whole story, yep, go here.
Recommended Related Links:
Go Northwest: Northwest Wildlife Websites
BBC’s wildlife finder
National Geographic Daily News - Animals
Retrieverman’s Weblog: Engaging articles on domestic & wildlife in the American South
YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP
One of the reasons I enjoy living in Seattle as much as I do is that there is a quiet resonance which, at a time when the world seems so ready to kill for historical precedents, seeks to set things right in that regard, as it were. This story involves a long overdue apology and a wall of remembrance. It’s our way of saying we never want to make this mistake again. It may, as well, explain why we’re not going to be stampeded into bigotry in the name of homeland security. If you’re still curious, yep, go here.
Well, that’s it for this week. Our sincerest thanks to the Albert Coyne Foundation for their generous donation to this week’s Northstar Journal.
Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for the ear. Before you leave, if you’re in a shopping mood and into some interesting choices? We’ve got a “reader stocked” General Store that you might want to check out. If you’d like to sell something with us or know someone who does, email us at minstrel312@aol.com and we’ll see what we can do.
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Rusty
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