Climbing Jamaica's Blue Mountain as a child
What I remember first is driving through a rocky, flooded river in an open jeep. I remember a long period of waiting through a long discussion before we started across, and then a profoundly...
View ArticleSupporting the NRA through opposition
I haven't engaged much in the Sandy Hook discussion. Naturally, I find this attack very upsetting. On a personal level, I work with a number of schools, and don't always go through the front door. If...
View ArticleIt's easier to make enemies than allies
I have, as likely many among us, always been committed to the cause of justice. I have stood up for others, I have spoken up when others didn't, I have chosen a life path that is for me more morally...
View ArticleThe Maroons - Jamaica's Freedom Fighters
Imagine an alternative history for America, where slaves brought from Africa escaped the plantations, built strongholds and villages in the mountains, sowed terror among slaveholders through periodic...
View ArticleBeing with deer in Nature
Thinking Fella's excellent diary about getting close to a deer, and the discussion in the comments, got me thinking about my experiences with deer. I live in the DC area, where deer have thrived...
View ArticleRenting Energy Inefficiency
I just moved, in many ways to a better place. The move was a surprise to me, but I found a good new place, thanks to my social network. Now I'm in a place that's less treed, and farther out from the...
View ArticleAn Albertan's view of Keystone and the Tar Sands
Well, not exactly an Albertan's - I've been living in the States for so long that when I go back, my accent, my driving style, my attitude all give me away as a "Yank". As in Yankee. But that's where...
View ArticleWhy Oppose Keystone XL? To those who think it's pointless
this started as a comment, but got so long I decided to make it a diary.The starting point for me is basically, you have to start somewhere. I've been involved in several long-term campaigns against...
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Best Protest Poster Ever! Pics and thoughts on today's Keystone rally in DC
(For those looking for the best protest poster ever, it's down at the bottom of this diary...). The weather was cold today, but the mood was very warm - there was a big crowd of all ages - families...
View ArticleThoughts on leaving anonymity on DK?
I've been on DK for awhile now, and am thinking about "going public". I've enjoyed participating in the DK community anonymously, and have kept diaries of real world experiences vague enough to make it...
View ArticleWhat was your last most beautiful moment?
It's been awhile since I've done one of these, so here's the background - what was the last most beautiful moment that you experienced? It's easy to get caught up in the grind and slog of all the...
View ArticleWhy Chechnya matters
You may have clicked on this diary expecting a detailed, insightful discussion of Chechnya's history, culture and politics, and how the relatively recent First and Second Chechen wars, connected with...
View ArticleMartinique - A moment in time
It must be wonderful to walk down the same street every day, and greet people as you go, to have the same conversations year after year, slight variations on a familiar timetable, a regular path worn...
View ArticleCicada Summer
I think I've posted this on DK before, ran into it recently as I realized to my regret that the Cicada Brood II tide had not reached my shores. I'm always grateful for the comments and support from DK...
View ArticleMeeting the swarm
I work with an afterschool eco-club, creating and maintaining a school courtyard, among other projects. We have vegetable gardens, a variety of representative native ecosystems, and several...
View ArticleUrban schools and Sustainable meals
Today I helped with a Sustainable Food presentation to 8th-grade classes in a DC Public School. This was part of an educational program where we created and planted raised-bed gardens with the...
View ArticleLast Most Beautiful - Flower-eating edition
For those new to this, the Last Most Beautiful is a very erratic diary series, wherein we share moments of beauty, in celebration and recognition of Beauty, and That Which Keeps Us Going, and Why We...
View ArticleTrekking Bhutan during the Dot-Boom - Part 1
Back in another life, during the Dot-Boom, I put a poster of Bhutan up on the window in front of my computer, at the start-up ISP I was working at. We had racks of modems attached to phone lines,...
View ArticleTrekking Bhutan - Part 2 - Day Hike to Phajoding Monastary
Part 1Dogs and dishes wake me at 6am. After breakfast, I watch the Thimphu street life start up. An old man seated in the middle of a field of sand slowly pulls off his pants and starts filling paper...
View ArticleOn conflict: Water is another option.
I'm generally pretty good about staying away from the DK conflicts, mostly because that's not why I come to DK. I come for information, and different perspectives, really interesting stories and...
View ArticleOn behalf of an anonymous organ donor
My dad donated a kidney anonymously, a year ago today. We celebrated with a nice dinner, a bottle of wine, and a bonfire. We didn't talk too much about the experience, but he did mention something that...
View ArticleWhy is an unsubstantiated diary alleging police brutality against teachers on...
There is a diary currently on the rec list that claims that police beat and arrested teachers at an ALEC protest in Chicago today. The comment thread is full of outrage, naturally.However, there is a...
View ArticleWasp Encounters - the last most beautiful hymenoptera experience
I spent part of yesterday engaged in locating a yellow-jacket nest, in an overgrown courtyard. I'd been weeding it with a group of middle-school students, and two of them had gotten stung. After they...
View ArticleWhat was your last most beautiful moment on DailyKos?
I've been thinking recently about what I appreciate and value about DK. This is pretty much the only place where I write and participate in an online community. And there's plenty that I find...
View ArticleThis isn't about sockpuppets. It's about civility and respect.
I feel that there's a simple solution to the recent pie fight about "sock puppets" (not the correct term, imho), which is for DK community members to practice civility and respect. That's definitely...
View ArticleBreaking - "CIA admits role in 1953 Iranian coup"
I couldn't come up with a better title. The Guardian is on fire. Here's the link: http://www.theguardian.com/... I used their title because I couldn't come up with anything better...I only ran into...
View ArticleAny military action in Syria will be limited
to air and missile strikes, possibly with training and resources being provided to rebels in Syria. That's certainly not a good thing, but it's not cataclysmic. There's also a strong possibility that...
View ArticleThere is no vast corporate propaganda conspiracy
Let me start off by saying that I'm a big fan of John Carpenter's "They Live" - it's a great commentary on corporate manipulation of the public, and there's a fantastic 3 minutes of 2 guys hitting each...
View ArticleThe Daily Kos Rec Community
This is basically a response to Ray Pensador's recent diary, The Daily Kos "Rec" Police which triggered lots of discussion. The diary addresses the perceived problem ofa very small group of users here...
View ArticleWhy I believe that the Assad regime used chemical weapons
Allow me to preface this diary by saying that I knew that the Bush administration's pretext for invading Iraq, the claimed existence of WMD's, was bullshit at the time. It didn't take much research to...
View ArticleHolding the line on the debt limit increase
I'll start by conceding that I don't have a fully clear understanding of the underlying machinations associated with the debt limit increase, but I haven't seen any convincing evidence against Obama...
View Article(Corrected) There may be a government shutdown on Monday.
Update - various commenters who are federal employees have informed me that the federal agencies are making preparations for a shutdown. This undermines my core thesis, but I figured I'd leave the...
View ArticleThe Wisdom of Youth - When did you lose faith in Republicans?
Turns out to my surprise that I'm getting old and grizzled, and while the current government shutdown threat is an interesting development, it's nothing I haven't seen before. Which is why I'm not...
View ArticleAl Jazeera tells it straight: "Shutdown coverage fails Americans"
I've been following Al Jazeera since it's recent US launch, and they've been doing good coverage. My main news site now is the Guardian - I used to follow the Washington Post and NYT, until they put up...
View ArticleThe War against the ACA is the Tea Party's Iraq
This started as just a riff on Harry Reid's reference to the Iraq War, but this did get me thinking about how we could start tying the current gov't shutdown/debt limit crises to overarching narrative...
View ArticleSo how does this all play out?
Resolved within a week, both the debt limit and the shutdown. And the main reason is the polls. Reid and probably Lew deserve full credit for holding the line, and Obama gets lots of points for having...
View ArticleLast Most Beautiful Moment in Nature
It's been awhile since I've done one of these, partly because there haven't been many for me recently, but a few days back I stopped on the way back from the dentist for a run along the Potomac River,...
View ArticleWhat does serious climate change look like?
In Ondaatje's Running in the Family (an amazing book - highly recommended), the father at one point describes a persistent delusion where his family is surrounded by a cloud of poison gas, but he's the...
View ArticleUkraine - Popular Uprisings/Revolutions are Messy
I've been following the events in the Ukraine with interest, but no particular expertise. I'm half-European, and have decent knowledge of the history and current socio-political dynamics. I've been...
View ArticleOn Civility, and Constructive Engagement
A DK commenter reminded me of a diary I wrote a while back, suggested I repost it. These are just suggestions and guidelines that I try to follow, things that I've found are helpful when I get involved...
View ArticleOn Suicide
This is a slightly edited repost of a diary I posted a few years back - The comments in the previous diary are worth going back to read. Robin Williams' suicide is of course on my mind, I spent part of...
View ArticleA Day in the Life of Dorian Johnson - Walking While Black in Ferguson
I just finished reading Dorian Johnson's testimony to the Grand Jury concerning the Ferguson Police Shooting, and found myself moved by his account of the day. Dorian comes across as a decent young...
View Article(Updated) Why is a diary promoting a right-wing CT video on the Rec list?
(Update)The diary in question, by Democrats Ramshield has been deleted. This is a common tactic by diarists who are unwilling to take responsibility for what they have written, or how they have...
View ArticleTravelling to China, looking for VPN
Hi all, this is a bit off-topic, but I'm researching VPN services for friends who will be visiting China. They were frustrated on their last visit by not being able to access western news sites and...
View ArticleWhat comes next? Taking it to the next level...
Hey all, it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya, but as the Mueller investigation heats up I’ve been thinking about what comes next. The news around the Nunes memo suggests that we may be coming up...
View ArticleYour last most beautiful moment in nature
Hello? Been awhile. I lost two draft of this so far today so I’m just going to start with hi.Soundtrack: xxYouTube Video
View ArticleCrowsback
I want. I take. I need. I fake.I was thinking about the crow two-step, how crows were smart enough to just learn the Trickster two-step. Mens kept on stepping, three step four, they never stopped...
View ArticleTap tap? Mike Check? Mike check. Checking the mike....
Hello Ummm...Scrolls. Scrolls again. Is it here? Wait I have already lost three lazy riffs in this Orange Malevolence, cut & paste to TextEdit, brb!Taptap. Scratchscratch. mike check? I hate this...
View ArticleWhat lies before us?
What lies before us.Where do we, in this time of great turmoil and uncertainty, stand? What have we chosen to protect, to stand close to? What are the worlds that we have chosen to focus on, how has...
View ArticleDon't trust the trickster! Everything's fine!
Don't trust the trickster, but let them teach. Choose what you learn. Choose who you teach.Just keep calm, just keep listening, everything is fine. Nice and comfortable. Peaceful and quiet. Scratch...
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