Domestic Terrorism

It's time we called it what it is: domestic terrorism. But since they're AMERICANS, they won't be thrown into a hole and tortured. At least not in this country. Apparently.

First the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-choice extremist. Now the murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum by a white supremacist.

These are two horrifying acts of right wing domestic terrorism in as many weeks. No wonder the Department of Homeland Security issued a report last month labeling "rightwing extremism" the "most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States."

And, as we all know, these acts of terrorism were carried out with guns. Scott Roeder, who's being held for the murder of Dr. Tiller, has a history of mental illness and threatened violence against abortion providers a week before he allegedly shot Dr. Tiller. James W. von Brunn, who allegedly killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum, has his own white supremacy website and is a convicted felon (he stormed the Federal Reserve Bank in 1981).

Why is it so easy for domestic terrorists to get hold of guns?

Here's one way to make it harder. The Brady Bill requires criminal background checks before the purchasing of guns. But there's a tremendous loophole for gun shows and similar events — a loophole that criminals know only too well how to exploit.

Currently, there's a bill in Congress to close this loophole — H.R. 2234, "To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at gun shows." We need this law to reduce future attacks like those on Dr. Tiller and at the Holocaust Museum, but it won't go anywhere without significant support in Congress — and right now it has only seven sponsors.

Click here to tell your representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2234. We need swift action to keep criminals from getting more guns.

Thank you for working to build a safer world.

Kate Stayman-London, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

I wonder if we should put Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and FOX News, etc. into this category of domestic terrorists? They may not commit the acts, but they are inciting people to violence.

Celebrate growing older

Time for another one of those somewhat sappy, somewhat poignant, funny, sad, but mostly true lists of thoughts to live by. This one was sent to me by my father, and I must say, I prefer to get these kinds of emails from him over the hard-rightwingnut bullshit that he usually send.

Often, the authenticity of these things is questionable, but it really doesn't matter that much. Are the sentiments "true" for you or not? There have been many times when I am reminded of that comment often attibuted to Bette Davis that I used to laugh at, but no longer: "Growing old is not for sissies." In many ways, it's a real pain.

While I am usually agnostic but occasionally atheist, I won't censor the "God" comments. To each their own...

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12 It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40 If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift

Square Foot Box #2

On May 31, wifey and I dropped a number of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds into 15 containers and established our second Square Foot Box. We're calling it SFB2. We've taken some of the basic tenets of Square Foot Gardening and gone from there. As with SFB1 (that we planted on 3/8/09), we used only one seed per container. SFB1 had a 95% germination rate, and that was using a hodge-podge of seeds gathered over the years. Not bad.

We dish the dirt. Lots of it.


The difference between SFB1 and SFB2 is that, this time, for SFB2, ALL of the seeds are from only one vendor: Baker Creek.

Four of the 15 containers are outside of the box, but close to it. Yes, we are thinking, and planting, outside the box. I like having the 4' by 4' box to serve as a general sense of order out of the chaos. It's a way of grouping things together, and even if the containers that we use to start get scattered, it helps to have a general pattern to follow. That, and the box works very well to anchor down bird netting we have draped over SFB1 to protect our precious tomatoes from the predatory birds.

This time, for SFB2, unlike SFB1, we mixed a portion of compost in with the potting soil at planting time. And we also mixed some tomato food directly into the soil for the three new tomato plants.

SFB2 ready to launch.


We have sown (not in the order you see them above)...

1) Cinnamon Basil
2) Lemon Basil
3) Feverfew
4) Teddy Bear Sunflower
5) He Shi Bunching Onion
6) New Zealand Spinach
7) Golden Zucchini Squash
8) Table Gold Acorn Squash
9) Isis Candy Cherry Tomato
10) Green Sausage Tomato
11) Dr. Carolyn Tomato
12) Sweet Passion Melon
13) Plum Granny Melon
14) D'Alger Melon
15) Katanya Watermelon

We have been wildly successful with the tomato crop this year grown in SFB1. They have been coming in like gangbusters on the Better Bush and Rutgers plants...


...and the Health Kick Hybrid, planted after SFB1, but moved under the netting with the other two tomato plants, has about 40 roma-style fruits developing.

Judging by the number of flowers we see on the Health Kick, we could get upwards of 100 fruits from those two plants sharing one container.

We've also had our share of failures. Witness the carrot fiasco...


...but we're beginning to feel like real urban farmers. We're starting to get cocky and think that we can grow anything on the roof. How absurd! Did I mention the carrots? I will be amazed if we can produce some (any?) of these melons, and the Katanya watermelon. This is our first try with melons, and our first tries don't...uh...turn out so great. I think we'll need to let them roam a bit.

As of today, 6/6/09, 11 of the 15 new plantings have sprouted. I'll bet the rest will sprout soon. We didn't set up a dripper system this time on the new kids in the box. Just relying on the sprinkler coming on at noon, and hand-misting the children each morning before work. We could still set up the drippers if we feel like we need more consistent watering.

Rastafarian?

Some day this nation will finally pull its collective head out of its ass about marijuana. But I think I will dead for a long, long time before that happens. Found the story below via the Universal Life Church website.

Thou Shall Not Use Religion in Defense

A medicinal marijuana farmer in Lake County, California was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Monday, May 18th. Charles “Eddy” Lepp, who is 56 years old, was arrested in 2004 with 32,000 marijuana plants growing on his property.

Lepp was operating within the parameters of California State Law (not Federal Law), and is a practicing member of the Rastafarian Church, using marijuana in accordance with his religious beliefs. The U.S. District Judge presiding over the trial, Justice Marilyn Hall Patel, rejected Lepp's argument for religious freedom.

[Justice Patel] didn't think the defendant had been candid with the court because he didn't display a depth of knowledge about Rastafarianism.

"I was in the Rastafarian church since 1998," Lepp said.

"I'm talking now," Patel answered.

(Law.com)

We take strong objection to the dismissal of Lepp's religious defense. There is no clause in the First Amendment that gives the government the authority revoke Lepp's religious freedom simply because of doubt in authenticity of his religious beliefs. It is not possible for the government to read the mind of a defendant in order ascertain their religious sincerity. So long as an individual’s religious practices are inflicting no harm, where is the crime?

Patel gave Lepp until July 6 to report to prison and said she would reconsider the sentence if Congress changed the law, which requires a 10-year term for growing at least 1,000 marijuana plants.

(SFC)

Admitting that the punishment for Lepp’s crime is “excessive,” Justice Patel explained that she is bound by Federal sentencing guidelines.

-Law.com
-San Francisco Chronicle