just to let y'all know, i saw don the canman go by my home. he wasn't draggin, overmuch, neither.
today was a spectacular day. i took my houston aunt to see a hundred foot waterfall, and then to maryhill museum, which was built by sam hill on the hill overlooking the columbia river. an albino peacock greeted us at the door. inside, we perused objects of interest, and kept tight reign on the fledgling kids.
today is the birthday of kevin richey, a beautiful soul.
feliz, mi amigo. paz.
spring into which we are flung....take us slow into summer's sun
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Monday, April 25, 2005
AWOL salmon in canada
the chinook salmon are AWOL! The projected return of 250, 000 fish has so far amounted to around 11,000 fish passing the ladder at bonneville dam on the columbia river.
notice of this story appeared recently on the front page of the sports section of the Oregonian.
couldn't the salmon get a mention on the Religion page? it is a vital part of various Native peoples seasonal celebrations, their rights spelled out in treaty and soverign law.
let our prayers, or best wishes, be with the salmon still at sea; wondering whether to make their celebrated runs, or just hang out at sea, and wait for us to evolve to the point where we're
worthy of their lives, their bodies which are numbers in our dreams.
notice of this story appeared recently on the front page of the sports section of the Oregonian.
couldn't the salmon get a mention on the Religion page? it is a vital part of various Native peoples seasonal celebrations, their rights spelled out in treaty and soverign law.
let our prayers, or best wishes, be with the salmon still at sea; wondering whether to make their celebrated runs, or just hang out at sea, and wait for us to evolve to the point where we're
worthy of their lives, their bodies which are numbers in our dreams.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Thursday, April 14, 2005
waiting for the canman to return
this morning i got the weedeater busy and cut back the thick crop of grasses surrounding my home. rain and sunshine'll do it to this yard, evertime. the plants were so moist, i got my pantlegs splattered green, and decided to hose off my boots.
while i was doing this, i thought of someone: "the canman," otherwise known as Don.
you see, about a week or two ago, he came up and rung my doorbell and when i opened the door to talk to him, he rummaged out of a blackish garbage bag an unopened bottle of wine with a cork in place...he pointed at the cork and mumbled askance...his voice, or throat, was damaged....he couldn't really talk.
he's been stopping by for our recyclables for a couple years...we leave our bottles in a crate for him to gather. in the winter, we pass along clothes, food, spare change, and invite him in and inquire about what's new with him. he has several cats, and a nice tent, he says.
he usually says. this day, he just wanted to get into that bottle, even though he was ailing. i gave him a spare corkscrew, and he went on his way. i haven't seen him since. i added to our recycling stash and noticed that last weeks stuff was still there. now i wonder...did that old vinegared wine do our roveing canman in?
i really hope not. he seemed to be a decent man, getting by, and enjoying a few of life's offerings,
minding his own business of gleaning along the streets of this small northwestern town. the world is full of characters, and this guy is a few of them, wrapped now into one.
while i was doing this, i thought of someone: "the canman," otherwise known as Don.
you see, about a week or two ago, he came up and rung my doorbell and when i opened the door to talk to him, he rummaged out of a blackish garbage bag an unopened bottle of wine with a cork in place...he pointed at the cork and mumbled askance...his voice, or throat, was damaged....he couldn't really talk.
he's been stopping by for our recyclables for a couple years...we leave our bottles in a crate for him to gather. in the winter, we pass along clothes, food, spare change, and invite him in and inquire about what's new with him. he has several cats, and a nice tent, he says.
he usually says. this day, he just wanted to get into that bottle, even though he was ailing. i gave him a spare corkscrew, and he went on his way. i haven't seen him since. i added to our recycling stash and noticed that last weeks stuff was still there. now i wonder...did that old vinegared wine do our roveing canman in?
i really hope not. he seemed to be a decent man, getting by, and enjoying a few of life's offerings,
minding his own business of gleaning along the streets of this small northwestern town. the world is full of characters, and this guy is a few of them, wrapped now into one.
Monday, April 04, 2005
no fishing for terrorists in portland, unless you suspect they're all guilty until registered republican
in portland, mayor tom potter and the city council are considering whether to continue working with the FBI's joint-terrorist taskforce. oregon law prohibits investigating people for political and religious beliefs, and as the FBI uses oregon cops to do these things, the mayor wants clearance to know what is happening. the FBI hasn't granted this security clearance to any other city governments across the US...but portland is a bit different.
yes, we had "the portland seven," a looseknit group of muslims, some of whom tried to travel to afghanistan to join the taliban.
but portland's also home to brandon mayfield, an anglo-muslim lawyer who was "held as a material witness" in connection with the madrid train bombing. the FBI claimed that his fingerprints were found on a bag at the bombsite and kept him locked up for weeks. mayfield was also, oh-so-coincidentally, a child-custody lawyer for one of the portland seven...and an active muslim.
and then there was mike hawash, an intel computer employee held incommunicado for weeks on end, while he was investigated...he eventually plead guilty to something...anything...
portland's mayor and council have a seriously valid point. if their employees are being asked to
spy on citizens of the state of oregon, then the elected officials must follow state law. if the FBI feels the need to spy on someone, it should share its information with the local cops...and adhere to state law. if the FBI wants to go fishing for info by spying on muslims, political activists, environmentalists, socialists, whistleblowers, and other malcontents...it must solely use its own federalized agents(who can ignore state law, but not the US constitution.)
just because one suspects that there are a few malcontents in the pond doesn't give the feds the right to dragnet the entire state, store the gigareams of information, and arrest US citizens while giving them no rights to hearings or lawyers. HOORAY for our officials, in representing the concerns of the citizens...
yes, we had "the portland seven," a looseknit group of muslims, some of whom tried to travel to afghanistan to join the taliban.
but portland's also home to brandon mayfield, an anglo-muslim lawyer who was "held as a material witness" in connection with the madrid train bombing. the FBI claimed that his fingerprints were found on a bag at the bombsite and kept him locked up for weeks. mayfield was also, oh-so-coincidentally, a child-custody lawyer for one of the portland seven...and an active muslim.
and then there was mike hawash, an intel computer employee held incommunicado for weeks on end, while he was investigated...he eventually plead guilty to something...anything...
portland's mayor and council have a seriously valid point. if their employees are being asked to
spy on citizens of the state of oregon, then the elected officials must follow state law. if the FBI feels the need to spy on someone, it should share its information with the local cops...and adhere to state law. if the FBI wants to go fishing for info by spying on muslims, political activists, environmentalists, socialists, whistleblowers, and other malcontents...it must solely use its own federalized agents(who can ignore state law, but not the US constitution.)
just because one suspects that there are a few malcontents in the pond doesn't give the feds the right to dragnet the entire state, store the gigareams of information, and arrest US citizens while giving them no rights to hearings or lawyers. HOORAY for our officials, in representing the concerns of the citizens...