"Truth & Honesty at the Inauguration" by Jessica F [Bronx, NY]

Well, as promised, I stood with a big sign "HONESTY" just about at curbside where the motorcade passed, and Paul B came along and he held up "TRUTH"... and of course we were with many others who shared our sentiments about this administration (Bush supporters were a minority where we were standing). As the motorcade came by, we showed how we felt to the media truck (they looked horrified to see us as we were just around the corner from the White House, and only a few took photos) and of course we got to give the thumbs down sign for Trent Lott, Tom Delay and Frist booing loudly all the while. The best part was hearing the boos starting way up the street as the motorcade proceeded toward us... it was kind of like a giant wave of booing, and thumbs down waving and back turning!

We of course went all out for Dick Cheney and Bush1 and Bush2. They were trying to pretend we were supporters with their plastic smiles and staged waves, but the booing, thumbs down and turned backs were unmistakable. HONESTY and TRUTH were just there to be reminders. It was glorious if not surreal, because all around us were the trappings of a dictatorship. The elaborate fencing systems, the snipers on the rooftops, the heavily armed police. This was all the proof anyone needed to know that the "leadership" being claimed was hotly disputed. There were many Kucitizens from NY including Mary G, Laurie T, Thomas G, Ahmed (and his wife), Danielle, the Ithaca folks, and I know there were others but I'm blanking (sorry), and the next day, we found even more at the Progressive Democrats of America Summit (see http://www.pdamerica.org ).

Riding on the Metro with our signs (which were plain blue...blue state blue of course, on one side and white with our blue lettering on the other) elicited conversations with many sympathizers. It felt really good to hold them up for the obvious fur-coat wrapped Republicans, who grimaced and squirmed! After all... HONESTY and TRUTH are Christian values aren't they...? We spent the weekend driving around D.C. going to and from the Summit with HONESTY in the back window of the car and all the way back to NY. It seems fitting to leave it for a few more days anyway.

The PDA Summit was a terrific energizer! Informative, inspiring and reinforcing. It is just the vehicle we need, so the Progressives can begin to meet and organize. Many chapters/caucuses should begin sprouting up around the NY region soon. I'll be looking to get one started up here in the Bronx. One of our early projects will be to support the PDA position demanding a paper ballot (with Braille) to ensure that NYS does not get saddled with electronic voting systems, that cannot be made secure and which have no voter verifiable paper trail. I look forward to participating in the next phase of activating more progressives and hope many of you will join in supporting PDA. Please go to their site for more information about joining!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought. Graham Greene, British Journalist

Global Warming by Josee [Ottawa, Canada]
Don't you love it when people say, "there's no proof of global warming"? I just don't understand these people. It's almost like smokers or an alcoholic rolling their eyes when you tell them their bad habits are killing them, their addiction prevents them from seeing reality.

I think, in the case of global warming, perhaps people just simply hope it will go away. Or maybe the sense of despair about the whole thing is so overwhelming that scientific evidence is just too much too bear. But it's not only that we have scientific evidence to prove that global warming is happening and that it is threatening life on this planet, but all we have to do is pay attention. It's pretty damn obvious. You can't deny that winter is not what it used to be. If you live in a place with a winter climate, ask your parents or your grandparents what winter used to be like.

There is a big difference. Floods, fires, mudslides, tsunamis...all these occurrences are "natural", but just as your body is effected by what you eat, this planet is affected by the way we live. I'm tired of politicians with big wads of corporate money in their pockets telling me that there is nothing wrong with the fact that the weather changes by 20 degrees in two days, or that it was warmer in the North Pole than it's been here all winter. Drastic events change the way we deal with security, what drastic event is it going to take to make people realize how big an issue climate change is?