I visited the loveliest village this week, and in spite of what I saw at Toomer's Corner, my soul has been restored.
I was in Auburn for a book signing at the Gnu's Room, for my novel, Those Others. While there, I visited the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, and saw an exhibit of Audubon works of birds and mammals, among other things. Oh, and this Dale Chihuly chandelier that hangs in the lobby.
At Toomer's corner, of course, I saw the once mighty oak trees now fighting for survival.
But while on campus I also discovered this tree.
Tucked in a corner of the campus Arboretum, (one of my favorite haunts when I was a student) is this tree, called the Founders Oak.
The plaque you see in the picture reads as follows.
This post oak started growth in 1850 and was 6 years old when East Alabama Male College was established. It was 33 years old when the Alabama Agricultural Station was established, 91 when the nation entered World War II, and over 100 when this site was made an arboretum. In 1975 Hurricane Eloise wreaked havoc in the arboretum but the Founder's Oak withstood the storm. It was 150 years old at the start of the twenty-first century and is expected to be here at the start of the next century.
Also in the arboretum I saw this beautiful Pond Cypress and observed its "knees" between it and the pond.
Beautiful flowers were blooming.
I spent some time in Samford Park, of which I have fond memories. Here is Samford Hall, behind a burst of fall color.
I enjoyed the most wonderful fresh squeezed lemonade on earth.
These were the places I went to regain my sanity when college life seemed to be overwhelming. I'm glad that they are mostly unchanged (other than the oak trees on the corner) and still there for unwinding by current students.
Remember how when the Tea Party was being born...no, I'm sorry, I won't take you back to that time.
Now we have the Occupy Wall Street protests spreading around the country.
Picture credit Diane on Facebook
This is Diane and her three rescue dogs, on the tundra near Bethel, Alaska.
She said, "The day is chill. The sentiment is solid. Find your spot. Occupy it. Even if it is only your own mind. Keep this going."
Locally, the effort started last week with just a few people.
Picture credit Occupy Birmingham on Facebook
People in Birmingham (at least Birmingham people on Facebook) have been waiting for years for something like this.
Oh yeah, what I was going to say about the Tea Party; remember when they were forming and people complained that no one knew what they stood for? Well, I had my theory, but others determined it had to do with taxes.
People are saying the same thing about the 99% and Occupy; that they don't know what the movement stands for. Well, Rich has explained it in this Occupy Birmingham blog post.
Editorial: "What IS the 99%, Exactly?"
I’ve seen a significant amount of misunderstanding on the concept of the
claim that “we are the 99%”. Most of the misunderstanding seems to
come from skeptics as to the movement’s purpose and effectiveness (which
is rather annoying, actually). So, to combat the confusion, I thought
I’d take a little bit of time to explain the concept in a little bit of
depth.
Simply put, the wealthiest 1% is placed on one end of the equation, and
the remaining 99% is placed on the other. Why go after the top 1%? Why
not the top 3% or the top 10%? The graph to the right shows that the
top 1% is significantly different in terms of average household income
(before and after taxes). Their income has risen dramatically over the
last 30 years while everyone else’s (the 99%)…. hasn’t. As you can
clearly see, the 1% is… special. In effect, they made themselves “the 1%”; not the occupation movements which have sprouted all over the planet in recent weeks.
The editorial continues
We function as individuals. Those that you see marching, protesting,
and occupying have elected to do so on their own accord. Those who are
against the protesters and disagree with the occupiers are still a part
of the equation and therefore the movement. Their ideas are taken in
and reviewed on the individual level and are considered just as
important as everyone else’s.
Now I think that most of us understand that part of the problem lies in Washington. For example, recently Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby both voted against President Obama's Jobs bill, thus voting against 18,800 jobs that would have been created in Alabama. Of course, the Republicans have their hands in the back pockets (where the wallet is) of corporate America, so it's all related.
Many of the occupiers have a problem with corporate funding of elections. The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United in 2010 was the final straw for some of us. This case held that the First Amendment protects corporate funding of political ads (and films).
Justice John Paul Stevens dissent summed up the feelings of many. Here is the conclusion of his dissent.
At bottom, the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense
of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent
corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and
who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of
corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a
strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is
imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought
its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.
Others are upset at the financial crisis and resulting unemployment caused by the financial industry. And that no one has been held accountable.
Now the media is more interested in covering things like the disagreement over moving protesters out of parks (in New York) for cleaning rather than focusing on the real issues.
Regardless, there will be a protest in Birmingham (not Bessemer) Saturday at 2:00, at Railroad Park. And more than just a few people are expected. Here is part of the crowd at another Occupy Birmingham event.
Picture credit Occupy Birmingham
If you don't like your government being bought and paid for by corporations, and if you are concerned about the state of the economy and unemployment, and even if you are just concerned about the injustice caused by HB56, you should be there. After all, you ARE part of the 99%
This morning I heard Joe Scarborough say, “Born Southern, by
the grace of God.”
Well, I fall under that grace, I guess, having been born in
Montgomery, Alabama.A year later Rosa
Parks refused to obey a bus driver and a movement was started in that city.
In 1959, we moved to Birmingham, actually to a suburb of the
Magic City. A few years later, dogs and fire hoses were keeping black people at
bay and churches were being bombed and little girls being killed.
And we are supposed to feel fortunate to having been born
here?
“By the grace of God” is a phrase that has its modern roots
in the legitimization of Christian monarchs who through Divine Right ruled over
their subjects. So the phrase as applied to Southerners might infer that we
have a Divine Right to the “rich heritage” and “way of life” that we Southerners
enjoy.
That way of thinking is aristocratic; in fact, it’s offensive.
Did the young black men whose lives were documented by Douglas
Blackmon in “Slavery by Another Name” feel that they were “born Southern, by
the grace of God?”
Are the Hispanic middle school students who were born in
Marshall County and now being withdrawn from public schools convinced that
they, too, were “born Southern by the grace of God?”
Being born Southern might have some advantages, among them
the good food that we enjoy, but even that has left many of us obese. By the
grace of God, I guess.
Picture credit Joe
And what about the 522 infants who died during the first
year of their life during 2010 in Alabama? Yes, our infant mortality rate has
improved during the past few years, but still, for over 500 babies whose mother
could not access the resources to have a healthy pregnancy and child; it doesn’t
seem that the grace of God was enough.
The 1901 Alabama Constitution begins by “invoking the favor
and guidance of Almighty God.”
Is it God’s favor that has brought Alabama to where it is
today;ranking near the bottom in
education, ranking among the most obese, ranking among the worst in toxic air
pollution, ranks near the last in internet access. In fact, Alabama ranked 48th
in overall quality of life for children, which includes issues like health
care, education and poverty.
No, it is not by the grace of God that we are born Southern.
In fact, it is just by chance that any of us are born anywhere. There is no
divine guidance in the race of the sperm to the egg.
And that one’s place of birth should determine their chance
of making it through their first year of life, their chance of receiving a good
education, their chance of developing obesity (and all the health issues that
come with it), the chance of living in an area with clean air and water; is unfortunate,
if not immoral.
Don’t insult God by implying that what we have in the South,
and in particular Alabama, is the best he has to offer. If that were the case, I would expect our
state to rank highest in quality of life issues, and we are far from that.
Republican presidential candidates held their third debate last night. I watched.
For those who missed it, here is the debate in 100 seconds.
Remember how President Obama was criticized for not holding his hand over his heart during the National Anthem? This picture was taken during last week's debate.
Can we assume that Rick Perry is un-American? Is his patriotism questionable?
And Joe My God points out what we've heard from the three debates.
CHEERS for the death penalty. CHEERS for letting people die without insurance. BOOS for active duty gay soldiers.
I cannot believe that Republicans would boo an active duty soldier who is putting his life on the line every day for our nation. Of course, last week I couldn't believe they cheered for letting an uninsured 30 year old man in a coma (hypothetical) die, or that they would cheer because Texas murders a lot of it's citizens.
Seriously, though, while the president is out promoting his jobs plan around the country, his foes are not offering any solutions to the problems the country faces. All they can do is bash the administration. And they can't even be honest while doing it.
Some statements from last night's debate; there are more from this source.
BACHMANN: "President Obama has the lowest public approval ratings of any president in modern time."
THE FACTS: That's true, if you leave out Harry Truman, Richard Nixon,
George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald
Reagan, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. All of them at some point in their
terms dipped lower than Obama's low point of 38 percent job approval,
according to Gallup's comparison.
ROMNEY: "I don't support any particular program that he's
describing," he said, disputing Perry's claim that Romney favors some of
President Barack Obama's education initiatives, specifically the Race
to the Top program.
THE FACTS: Romney was reluctant to tell Republican primary voters he
doesn't hate every Obama policy. Romney does indeed support some of the
specific policy changes encouraged by the Race to the Top program and
said as much earlier in the week. Speaking in Miami on Wednesday, he
praised the president's education secretary, Arne Duncan, for the
program. And during the debate, Romney acknowledged supporting elements
of the initiative, including teacher evaluations and charter schools.
BACHMANN: "I didn't make that claim nor did I make that statement,"
she said when asked by a moderator if she stood by her comment that the
HPV vaccine against cervical cancer was "potentially dangerous."
THE FACTS: Bachmann can't escape the tape. Bachmann used that exact
phrase during the last debate when she criticized Perry for trying to
order pre-teen girls to get the vaccine in Texas. "Little girls who have
a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug don't get a
mulligan. They don't get a do-over," Bachmann said then. Bachmann has
tried to distance herself from remarks she made after the debate linking
the vaccine to mental retardation — a claim debunked by scientists. She
said then and now she was relaying the story of another mother whose
daughter had the shot.
PERRY: It's not the first time that Mitt has been wrong on some
issues before. And the bottom line is, we never said that we were going
to move this (Social Security) back to the states."
ROMNEY: "Well, it's different than what the governor put in his book
just, what, six months (ago), and what you said in your interviews
following the book. So I don't know. There's a Rick Perry out there
(who) ... says that the federal government shouldn't be in the pension
business, that it's unconstitutional. Unconstitutional and it should be
returned to the states."
THE FACTS: In his book Perry heavily criticized Social Security,
advocated states' rights and suggested federal entitlements were
unconstitutional in general, but he never tied these beliefs together as
succinctly as Romney claimed.
Even so, he danced close to branding Social Security as
unconstitutional. He called Social Security the best example of a
program that tosses "aside any respect for our founding principles of
federalism." He also lamented: "If only the New Dealers had been kind
enough to allow workers to make their own choice about whether to
participate." And he said the program was introduced "at the expense of
respect for the Constitution and limited government."
Republicans will have to choose one of these clowns as their candidate (or someone who has not entered the race yet). But American's will have the final choice, and surely we will not be fooled. We must re-elect President Obama.
No, gays are not the barbarians, as Michele Bachman's husband infamously said.
State governments that continue to execute citizens are barbaric.The individuals that sanctioned these executions, and that did nothing to prevent them from happening (i.e. SCOTUS, governors, boards of pardon) are barbarians.
This is 2011. We live in an educated and supposedly civilized society, yet today, in the Birmingham News, are at least 4 stories that reflect our culture of government killing its own citizens.
The most heart wrenching story is the execution of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia, who by most accounts is not guilty of the crime for which he was killed, and by all accounts had reasonable doubt established as to his guilt.
In this country, in which a vocal segment of the population claims to be "pro-life," isn't it odd that many of those same people are "pro-death." And isn't it even odder, that so many of those same people claim to be Christians, yet their book of inspiration speaks of forgiveness and loving your enemies and commands us not to kill and not to seek retribution.
Last night in Texas white supremacist Lawrence Russell was killed for the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., an African American who, along with Matthew Shepard are recognized in the name of the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act which strengthened the existing law and added LGBT protections. Governor Rick Perry, who gloats over his states record on killings to wild cheering from supporters, is probably dancing today.
In Alabama Derrick Mason is scheduled to die at 6:00 pm today. Mason apologized to his victim's family years ago and gave his life to God. The state (or an employee of the state) will insert a needle into his vein, and inject a liquid into his body that will kill him. How can a person do that? Are they any better than the person they are killing? Even if it is rigged so they don't actually push the plunger, or know who starts the process, whatever they do to try to absolve their role in killing another human, it fails.
Also in Alabama the lawyer for a man charged in Shelby county of killing 5 people is asking for the trial to be moved. This is a death penalty case, and the prosecutor will ask the jury and judge to let the state kill him.
It may be hard to imagine how one might feel if a loved one was murdered. But that doesn't matter. We need to take the emotion out of the picture, and step back. Look at the process. The state does not like a citizen, or what he did, so the state kills him. That is sick. Again, this is 2011, and we live in a society that claims to be civilized. It's hard to make that claim, however, today.
These photos were taken at the Rally for Alabama's Future: Repeal HB56. They are self explanatory.
Leviticus 19:33-34 - When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Work has begun on the Norfolk Southern Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility near McCalla. One local resident (who was admittedly against the facility) is sounding alarm bells because "large equipment" is mesmerizing the kids on the playground. Pat Breeden is the PTA president for McAdory Elementary School, and she says the "dust, noise, traffic and distractions" are "harming the children."
On a radio talk show the other day she said children (more than one) are coming home with "nosebleeds" and respiratory problems.
If you remember, in the plans we saw a berm that would be landscaped and have fencing to hide the facility and cut down on noise.
However, current plans include barriers or earthen berms, which will provide a variety of mitigation benefits including aesthetic improvements, security, and noise suppression, along much of the access road and around part of the Automatic Gate System (AGS) area. These barriers or landscaped berms, combined with existing vegetation and the distance between the road and residents in the area are expected to reduce sounds from the trucks to near ambient levels for those residents.
Norolk Southern is not Disney. They cannot wave a magic wand and create the berms. Earth must be moved. This is August. It's 100 degrees. The ground is dry. Dust is going to fly.
Breeden is quoted in the Birmingham News, "reports from children being so curious that during P. E. when walking or running the track they stop and stare at the large equipment. Again, we were very concerned about the distractions and proximity in the playground and how it could and does affect the students."
The kids need to get out more. They apparently have never seen large equipment.
What a teaching opportunity this could be. Kids, especially the boys, love big yellow construction equipment and this could put their pretend play with Tonka toys into reality!
The classes could study methods of transportation and how our nations goods are moved. Some history could be included regarding trains and how they have progressed from steam engines to modern diesels. This is a cool video of a steam engine barking up a hill.
The importance of the environmental study that was completed could be taught in science class. Here is an example of elementary kids studying the environment. It would be so easy to incorporate the environmental work leading up to the railroad hub into an elementary school project.
That is how it could be.
Instead, the kids are hearing (and they do hear and know what goes on) that Norfolk Southern is evil and causing sickness and dirtyness. How sad.
