Archive for the 'personal' Category

An inspirational weekend for sure

Published
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Peace Chicken
on April 25, 2008
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What a great (and busy) weekend it’s looking to be!

Tonight: Reading my newly-arrived and long-awaited copy of Ron Paul’s new book, “The Revolution: A Manifesto.”

Saturday: Some Earth Day volunteering with my World Can’t Wait and Ohio Freedom Alliance friends.

Sunday: Going to see a play called “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” depicting the life and work of a 23-year-old American peace activist, one of my heroes, who was killed trying to stop Israeli bulldozers from tearing down a Palestinian home.

This is an amazing opportunity for people in Columbus, we’re very fortunate that this play is being performed here! I highly encourage you all to come out and see it (it’s free!) It’s at the Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Ave., at 3pm.

Last but not least…
I finally sat down and fixed my computer (bad power supply which = completely dead), just in time to download Ubuntu 8.0, just released yesterday. So nice to have my precious computer back in my life!!

Let the weekend begin!

Snow Day

Published
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Peace Chicken
on March 9, 2008
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I feel like I used to include a lot more personal posts on my site, then it became taken over with 9/11 Truth and Ron Paul all the time. Great topics, indeed, but perhaps it’s time for a personal post or two?

Like mostly everyone I know, I’ve been completely snowed in all day. My car is blocked by 20 inches of snow— I’m not going anywhere.

Being holed up inside for the past 24 hours, I’ve learned just how many things I’m addicted to. As addictions go, I’ve only realized their existence once I was unable unable to satisfy them. I’m house-sitting and forgot my phone charger, so my phone is dead, hence I haven’t talked to anyone or sent a single text message all day. That’s hard to fathom, yes, but the hardest tribulation I’m experiencing— I haven’t had coffee all day!! Though there’s a Caribou Coffee and a Starbucks within a mile, without a car and with 20 inches of snow to walk through, they’re still out of range. And lastly, I’m hungry. I’ve been subsisting on lots of toast and orange juice, but my newly veganized body is craving so much more and I just can’t get it right now. What I wouldn’t give for a veggie burrito bowl from Chipotle and a vanilla soy latte from Starbucks! That’s such a snotty American thing to say, I know, I can’t help it.

Thank goodness I have some semblance of an internet connection or I would be going totally crazy. That is one addiction I’m well aware of.

Perhaps this blizzard would be more fun if I hadn’t just read “The Power Failure From Hell” yesterday? I did enjoy standing outside and watching the snow fall last night, however. I love the silence that comes with storms, when everyone is inside hiding. I’m always amazed when Mother Nature decides to remind us who is in charge. We can build Space Stations. We can fly across the country in four hours. We can decode the entire human genome. But a foot of snow falls from the sky and entire cities come screeching to a halt. Whole newscasts become devoted to marveling at the ramifications of such weather phenomenon. Humans are strange and inconsistent creatures indeed.

In closing, I haven’t yet commented on Ohio’s Primary Day, I know. I guess I have too much in my head right now to try and express. As Rand Paul has pointed out, however, it’s not over.

“Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
- Mark Twain

The MSM is of course jumping all over Ron Paul’s latest campaign video update, saying the campaign is done and over.

If only it were that easy! We have only just started educating ourselves. Meeting other like-minded citizens. Convening. Brain-storming. Inspiring. Planning. Building. I’ll say it again: we have only just begun. The real work for real change lies ahead of us still, daunting and unflinching as ever. And it will most certainly not be over by November 4th.

More thoughts on all that to come later…

Creating a New Paradigm

Published
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Peace Chicken
on July 8, 2007
in personal and political
. 1 Comment

I’m reposting this wonderfully motivating article from WantToKnow.info because I think it’s time for some inspiration. The entire website is beautiful and their approach to such daunting topics as 9/11 Truth, the war, mass media cover-ups, etc. isn’t confrontational or depressing. Rather, they view activism from an empowerment and awareness perspective, one that holds a lot more promise than the endless struggle between “Us” and “Them.”

The Old Paradigm

Together, we can and will build a new paradigm on Earth. Yet in order to give meaningful suggestions for this, we first need to speak candidly about what’s happening in the world at present. It appears that there are factions within the world’s power elite which desire to exert as much control as possible over the world. Their primary means for establishing control are through promoting fear, secrecy, and polarization, and through distracting people from their deeper purpose in life. As these factions gain ever greater power and control, our freedoms and liberties are increasingly taken away, sometimes without our even realizing it.

Fear is used as a powerful tool of control by these factions of the global elite. “The terrorists want to kill us all. Your job, savings, and retirement are no longer secure. You are either for us or against us. We might be attacked at any time.” All of these messages push us towards fear. And by encouraging us to focus blame on others such as terrorists and “evil” leaders, the global power brokers push us away from feeling in control of our lives and towards the role of powerless victims. The more we slip into fear and being victims, the easier it is for us to be manipulated.

Secrecy leads to control through preventing the exposure of hidden agendas, and through breeding distrust, suspicion, and paranoia in the world. In the name of “national security,” we are told ever more frequently that we should not know what is happening behind closed doors in government. Yet we are encouraged to keep vigilant watch over our neighbors, over those who question the government, and over those who look or act different from us, as they could secretly be terrorists in sheep’s clothing. Rampant suspicion and secrecy are causing us to lose touch with the common humanity we share with all around us.

Polarization leads to “us vs. them” ways of thinking. Divide and conquer is a tactic that has been used successfully by the power elite of the world for centuries. As long as people focus on blaming and attacking “the enemy,” they are not likely to look for the deeper causes of their problems. Controlling factions of the power elite work to keep public and media attention focused on issues which divide us into two polarized camps, so that their greatest concerns of power and control go unnoticed. The power brokers then control both sides of the divided public by assuring that corporate ownership of the media and key candidates from all political parties support their deeper power and polarization agendas, which often involve war profiteering.

A final subtle, yet powerful method of gaining control is to distract people from their purpose in life. Consider that television, radio, and movies are filled with ever more greed, violence, and empty sex. Our educational system increasingly prioritizes passing tests over developing intelligence and creativity. Excessive corporate control of the media limits what news we receive, and often shapes our decisions and the way we think. Our attention is subtly being diverted from our deeper purpose in life to the more superficial attractions of sex, consumerism, and money.

As people succumb to fear, secrecy, and polarization, and as they lose touch with their sense of purpose in life, elements of the global elite are able to exert ever more control over our lives and world.

The New Paradigm

What can we do about all this? Ultimately, it is the collective fear, secrecy, polarization, and loss of purpose within all of us that has allowed leaders to take power who would subvert democracy, and who would take away our freedoms and liberties. By each one of us making a commitment to work on these issues both inside of ourselves and out in the world—and to inspire others to do the same—we can change our collective direction and build a solid foundation for a brighter future. Several actions can help us to take firm steps in that direction.

Continue reading ‘Creating a New Paradigm’

Taking Truth to the Suburbs

Published
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Peace Chicken
on May 28, 2007
in personal and political
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This Memorial Day, dedicated members of Columbus911Truth.org participated in the Powell Parade, which moved through the main streets of downtown Powell, an upper class suburb north of Columbus.

Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theoriesThis is a village that donated over three times more to Republicans than Democrats in the 2004 elections. The same Powell that Bush visited a year ago to help with a DeWine fund raiser. And yes, Republican Congressman Pat Tiberi was in the parade as well. Did I mention it’s a predominately Republican town??

The highlight of our display was a seven foot tall reproduction of the 9/11 Commission Report, complete with the required holes throughout, some VERY LARGE (e.g. two planes – three buildings = one has to wonder.)

The book rode in the bed of a pickup that was adorned with banners all around. The left and right sides featured Bush’s very fitting quote:

“We must speak the truth about terror. Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September the 11th.”

You will know the truth and the TRUTH will set you free.The back banner read:

“You will know the truth and the TRUTH will set you free. - John 8:32.”

The front banner read:

“9/11 Truth will end this war.”

The truck/display was preceded by:

“Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave? O’er the land of the free? And the home of the brave?”

Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave? O'er the land of the free? And the home of the brave?Obviously we weren’t short on banners. They were all made possible by a generous donation from a 9/11 Truther in Toledo, along with an amazing deal given to us by Signs Columbus. The materials used to build the Commission Report were paid for by another generous donation from a member of our own group. (I would love to name these two individuals, but I won’t until I get their permission.) And of course, the book didn’t build itself— the design and physical labor was provided by Aaron, Sherry, myself, and lots of Red Bull!

There was only a little bit of trouble in the beginning before the parade started. The main organizer came over to let us know a veteran had voiced concern over our being there. She said we couldn’t include anything anti-war (don’t think too hard about the lack of logic of that request.) While Sherry talked with the organizer about our already-agreed-upon involvement (we had approved registration like everyone else) and our refusal to take ourselves out of the lineup, a man walking by with his little Boy Scout son overheard the conversation. He stopped and said “Censorship? No, let them stay!” It was wonderful to see such support, he even went so far as to suggest something about a court order. Fortunately it didn’t get that far and we were able to clear up the concern.

9/11 Truth will end this war.Along the parade route we passed out as many flyers, DVDs, CDs, and Deception Dollars as we could, although the pace was faster than expected (intentional or not?) The crowd was for the most part very accepting, with only a few strongly opposed to our presence. One man said to me “can I have a few more flyers? So I can throw them all away? You people disgust me, you shouldn’t even be here.” Little does he know— comments like that are easily overshadowed and outnumbered by many grateful thumbs up and “I’m with ya!”

Over all, our group was extremely satisfied and motivated by our efforts and we definitely look forward to doing more parades in the future. This was only the beginning of a very active summer!

We really think all 9/11 Truth groups should be doing this. It’s a great way to work yourselves into the community and engage hundreds of people in a short amount of time. Our work (and ultimate success) really depends on involving ourselves in the many small communities that make up our nation.

We will win this.

For all of those killed and wounded in NYC and DC, all of the soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the innocent civilians that have been killed or wounded as a result of this horrific lie — Columbus911Truth.org honors you.

More pictures can be found here.

Kent State & Cindy Sheehan

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on May 8, 2007
in personal and political
. 1 Comment

This past Friday I attended the commemoration of the Kent State shootings 37 years ago. A major reason for going was to hear Cindy Sheehan speak. I may have mentioned her a few times on here… I remember the first time I read about Cindy and the rally we had for her shortly after. Little did I know we would meet her, talk about being speechless!

It was very surreal, in addition to the rest of the day’s context. She’s a quiet woman, seemingly tired from years of fighting the Bush Co. war machine, meeting so many people, etc. But when your son is killed in an illegal war based on lies what else do you do but devote your life to stopping the Administration that killed him?

Of course it was ironic that the group I was traveling with was harassed by the police before we even left Columbus. We were parked in a Tim Horton’s parking lot (ironic, yes?) and two cops decided to be jacka$$es and interrogate one of us (for making a shooting gesture with her hand, she was talking about Kent State), park us in, write down the plate number, etc. There’s more to the story but they don’t deserve any more space on my site.

The police harassment in the morning— hearing the words of a mother who lost her son to the greed of Big Oil and American Empire— and of course remembering the 4 students killed at Kent State all combined to form one big reminder of the Police State that we’re living in.

A rising police state is only part of the 2+2 equation, however. I have a new bumper sticker that says “Wake Up and Smell the Fascism.” People like to give me a hard time about it, I think because they don’t actually know what fascism is and therefore can’t see it staring them right in the face. Our educational system has assigned a negative connotation to the word, but when asked for specific reasons why fascism is bad, people are hard-pressed to give an answer. They get red in the face, wave their flags, and get extremely defensive at the mere suggestion that the United States is now a Fascist country. “Doublethink” it’s called. Works out pretty well for the government, wouldn’t you say?

I’ll conclude with the text of Sheehan’s speech, and a link to my photos from the day.

First of all, I would just like to say that I am not only in favor of impeaching George Bush and Dick Cheney, but of trying them for war crimes and locking them both up in Guantanamo for the rest of their lives! I also agree with Tom (Hayden) that an “anti-war” movement is basically a self-destructive movement, because when our objectives are achieved, the movement is over. That is why we must call ourselves a “peace” movement so our movement will never end. There will always be a need for people who commit their lives to peace as strenuously as they commit their lives to the anti-war movement.

I can’t begin to tell you how honored I am to have been invited here to speak on this historic occasion with the other speakers who have also felt the sting of war and the pain of loss and lingering regrets. I am indescribably moved to be adopted into the Kent State family and invite you all down to Camp Casey in Crawford this August to join our family!

Before the program started I took the chance to climb the hill and spend time at the places where Allison Krauss, Jeff Miller, Bill Schroeder and Sandy Scheuer each fell and I would like to share some thoughts that I had up there with you.

My first thought was of the randomness of violence. The four students who were killed that day just happened to occupy the same space as a National Guard bullet at the same time. Unlike those wounded, some pretty badly, those that perished that awful day were struck by the bullets in vitally important parts of their bodies. The places where the four fell, never to get up again, are marked in memoriam to the stupidity and permanence of violence. One day, I hope to travel to Sadr City, Baghdad to see and stand in the spot where my son, Casey’s, brain collided with an insurgent’s bullet, taking his life by the same shapeless and dark entity that stole the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, on the same day: April 04.

Continue reading ‘Kent State & Cindy Sheehan’

Columbus 9/11 Truth trip to Ann Arbor

Published
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Peace Chicken
on April 8, 2007
in personal
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Yesterday, four members of Columbus 9/11 Truth, including 3 OSU Alumni and one current OSU student, traveled 3.5 hours up to Ann Arbor, to the forbidden campus of the University of Michigan. We attended Ann Arbor 9/11 Truth’s event, “Truth Strikes Back” which included a film festival, talks by Kevin Ryan, Dr. Kevin Barrett, and a presentation by William Rodriguez.

Kevin RyanKevin Ryan is former Site Manager for Environmental Health Laboratories, a division of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the company that certified the steel components used in the construction of the World Trade Center towers. Ryan, a Chemist and laboratory manager, was fired by UL in 2004 for publicly questioning the report being drafted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on their World Trade Center investigation.

Kevin BarrettAlso present was Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, the founder of MUJCA (Muslim Jewish Christian Alliance), and a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth.

Ann Arbor 9/11 Truth intended to hold a debate, with Barrett & Ryan going against defenders of the government’s official story of 9/11 put forth by the 9/11 Commission. They sent invitations/requests to Univ. of Michigan physics professors, engineering professors, and the “Young Americans for Freedom” group but none would come to defend the 9/11 Commission Report.

William RodriguezThe last part of the event was an extremely moving presentation by William Rodriguez, a janitor who worked at the North Tower of the World Trade Center for 20 years.

By stroke of luck or fate, he was late for work that day and was still in the basement when the plane hit, rather than being at the top where he would’ve been any other day. He saved countless lives, including rescuing two men trapped in a basement elevator, a co-worker burned extensively by the first explosion in the basement, confused office workers on upper floors who didn’t know how to get to the stairs, and most notably by leading firemen up the stairwells and unlocking the fire doors with his master key. He is thought by many to be the last man out, surviving the collapse by diving under a firetruck and hiding his face under his shirt to avoid being suffocated by the ensuing dust that followed.

After fighting alongside many others, including fellow survivors and families of the victims, for an official investigation by the government, he testified before the 9/11 Commission. His story includes hearing multiple explosions inside the building, in the basement and upper levels, both before and after the plane hit. His testimony was held behind closed doors and was completely omitted from the final report. He has fought for fellow survivors and the victim’s families since day one— wanting a new, open, independent, and inclusive investigation. If anyone is hesitant to doubt the official story before hearing him, they wouldn’t be afterwards.

It was an honor and a privilege to meet Mr. Rodriguez and we hope to bring him to Columbus soon so others may have the experience of hearing his story.

Columbus 9/11 Truth with William Rodriguez

Click here to see more pictures from the event.

Up @ 6am… going to Ann Arbor

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on April 7, 2007
in personal
. 3 Comments

Why in the world would I want to do that on a Saturday??

Well, for one, to see a talk by William Rodriguez, the last man out of the WTC North Tower, a janitor with the only master key who led firefighters up the stairs and unlocked the firedoors to the stairways (they were locked, hmm that’s odd)… also seeing a 9/11 debate and a film festival.

Minus the cold and 7 hours of driving, should be an exciting day!