Once again, we humans pull out of the continuum a discrete moment as somehow more important than the infinite flow, this one
where night and day balance each other. Here’s wishing you more balance in your own life.
At the precise nanosecond of the
equinox — so powerful is science to measure — at that precise moment, MR and I will be wading the Alamosa Creek in the vicinity of the
Monticello Box, celebrating the temporary stopping of the relentless profiteers, wishing the wolves were there,
but glad they’re only an easy trek away. Science, bless it, could tell you our precise location in at least 4 dimensions; its child,
medicine, could tell you what it does to our state of being. But nothing can recreate it or preserve it forever. peace, mjh
PS: I’ll balance my happiness
by sending you to j f l e c k : : a t : : i n k s t a i n: Annual Heartbreak
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Categorically, All Things Uncategorized.
Slash and Burn
Some good news regarding the impact of
“Healthy Forests” in the East Mountains. mjh
ABQjournal: Thinning Cut Back In Cibola Forest
Journal Staff
Report
The Cibola National Forest has scaled back a planned project to reduce fire danger and improve forest health by
thinning thousands of acres west of Tajique in the mountains southeast of Albuquerque.
The changes will be the topic of a
meeting at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Torreon Community Center.
A proposal to build 28 miles of new roads was eliminated, and the
project will be reduced from 17,000 to about 13,500 acres, said Mountainair District Ranger Vicky Estrada.
“We’re going to
use existing roads only,” she said. “That’s a big change.”
The change was made partly in response to concerns raised by the
environmental group Forest Guardians of Santa Fe and by some local residents.
In addition, the Forest Service now has more
information about its road network and has determined it can get farther into the forest from existing roads, Estrada said.
“No new roads is definitely an improvement but as far as we’re concerned I think that’s only half the battle,” said John Horning,
executive director of Forest Guardians.
“We still believe the real focus of all these projects should be a quarter mile at
most around people’s homes and fireproofing people’s homes, not fireproofing the forest because we can’t fireproof the forest.”
—–
ABQjournal: Bandelier Burn Set For This Fall By
Russell Max Simon, Journal Staff Writer
The first prescribed burn in Bandelier National Monument since the devastating Cerro
Grande Fire in 2000 will be performed late this fall, Bandelier officials announced Wednesday. …
Bandelier staff members pointed
to vastly improved inter-agency cooperation and communication as among the biggest changes since the Cerro Grande Fire. The Inter-Agency
Fire Center, where National Park Service and Forest Service employees, among others, train together, is one example Koontz mentioned.
“There’s a lot more communication and collaboration on all levels,” Koontz said.
The burn will
take place along N.M. 4 near the head of Frijoles Canyon. Staff members will wait for an appropriate weather window sometime from mid-
October through December in which to perform the burn.
I really want to have faith in this process, but
Katrina is on my mind. mjh
Dream
In the dream, I was moving about
a 4-story house. People were on each floor. I was looking for pen & paper to write down a poem.
As I moved up the stairs, the
situation seemed to become more frantic. Now I had 2 — 3 — no, 4! — poems in mind. And no pants.
At the highest level, mind
whirling, I passed a man, played by William Shatner, who called out a lament. His wife sobbed, “why are you doing this to yourself?” His
son grabbed me and said, “this isn’t at all like you said it would be.”
Make the people disappear and give me a pen! Just then
the alarm sounded.
What follows is the only remotely poetic fragment to survive the chaos. I offer it as evidence of how much
better dreams are than reality. Still, it has some humor and a complex touch; somehow, it involves 5 people in 5 lines.
When I met
my brother’s
ex-girlfriend’s husband,
I said,
“oh, brother,
are you lucky.” mjh
National Rifle Association slams New Orleans for confiscating guns
National Rifle Association slams New Orleans for confiscating guns
The National Rifle Association slammed New Orleans
authorities Monday for seizing firearms in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, saying that citizens must be able to “protect themselves”
during a time where there is “breadown of law and order,” RAW STORY has learned.
The release was issued on their website Monday.
“What we’ve seen in Louisiana – the breakdown of law and order in the aftermath of disaster – is exactly the kind of situation
where the second amendment was intended to allow citizens to protect themselves,” NRA chief Wayne LaPierre said in a statement.
“When law enforcement isn’t available, Americans turn to the one right that protects all the others – the right to
keep and bear arms,” LaPierre added. “This attempt to repeal the Second Amendment should be condemned.”
A Louisiana state
statute allows the chief law enforcement officer to “regulate possession” of firearms during declared emergencies, the NRA notes.
But, quipped the NRA’s chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, “regulate doesn’t mean confiscate.”
“The NRA will not stand idly
by while guns are confiscated from law-abiding people who’re trying to defend themselves,” he said.
“Local
authorities in New Orleans are turning nature’s assault on human life into man’s assault on human rights,” LaPierre added. “Four million
NRA members intend to stop this unconstitutional power grab.”
I wondered days ago what the NRA thought
about this. Why did it take them so long to react?
“The one right that protects all the others”? These guys really believe that,
don’t you know. So, instead of standing idly by, what are they going to do — shoot someone? No, they’re going to use the Media and the
Courts — the real tools for defending freedom, not your gun. mjh
mjh’s blog — What Does the NRA Think? (Friday 9/9/05)
Political Yard Signs Belong in YARDS
MR and I have discussed this issue for many election cycles (the full story is below). We believe yard signs belong in yards, not in public spaces. So, starting with this entry, I intend to highlight candidates who violate this simple guideline: put your yard signs in someone’s yard — nowhere else.
When you see a candidate’s signs in many yards, you know that candidate has real people supporting him or her. When you see yard signs in public spaces, you know that candidate has at least one hard working volunteer and some money to waste — but possibly no support whatsoever. The way to get signs in people’s yards is to meet them; the way to get signs in public spaces is to sneak around at night, like those exuberant Bush supporters who nailed Bush signs high on telephone poles in my neighborhood to make them hard to remove. Turns out it was quite easy with a golf club.
Today’s inaugural violator is Wayne Johnson. On my morning bike ride, I saw many, many of Wayne Johnson’s yard signs in various public spaces and only one in a yard (Wayne’s own yard?).
Mr Johnson: I will not consider voting for you until you remove your signs from public spaces. peace, mjh
The back story:
Continue reading Political Yard Signs Belong in YARDS
Santa Fe City Council Approves Poet Laureate
ABQjournal: Around Northern New Mexico
Council Approves Poet Laureate
Santa Fe city councilors approved the concept of having a poet laureate by giving the OK to the city Arts Commission’s long-range plan Wednesday.
A poet laureate is an official appointed by a government and often expected to compose for special occasions. Santa Fe’s post is intended to raise awareness about poetry and to promote literary arts.
The poet laureate would be charged with an educational mission. Special projects for the city poet could include public readings, writing workshops or work with Art Works, a city arts program for school children.
Corporate Censorship
News Hounds: We watch FOX so you don’t have to.
Here’s the Ad ABC Didn’t Want You to See
ABC refused to air an advertisement for the film, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, during the March 13, 2005 episode of “Boston Legal.” That night, Boston Legal was about Fox News and the media, and it featured short clips from Outfoxed.