A Trapdoor In The Sun

by Paul Hawken When I was invited to give this speech, I was asked if I could give a simple short talk that was “direct, naked, taut, honest, passionate, lean, shivering, startling, and graceful.” No pressure there. Let’s begin with the startling part. Class of 2009: you are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on earth at a time when every living system is declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating. Kind of a mind-boggling situation… but not one peer-reviewed paper published in the last thirty years can refute that statement. Basically, civilization needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades. This  planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously de...

I'm going on the record as of now and stating implicitly that I do not support the health care bill as it was passed by Congress and signed in by the Obama Administration. Do I believe that health care is important and a necessary security blanket for all individuals? Absolutely! However, what was passed in DC is so far removed from the original concept of a single-payer system that, in my opinion, it is nothing more than a give away to the Insurance Industry and Big Pharma. So what if they have to drop their pre-existing conditions clause? Insurers don't care because THEY HAVE MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF NEW PEOPLE ENROLLED! And for those who can't afford their premiums, Uncle Sam will subsidize them and pay for them with borrowed money.  Quite frankly, I find it disgusting and I feel betrayed. We voted for change, but it seems that Obama is picking up the baton of corporatism dropped by Bush Jr. and sprinting for that finish line. Along with the recent SCOTUS decision to gi...

I was listening to this earlier on my iPhone. I really, truly, love this song. I can't put it into words. It's very simple and childlike. When I listen to the words, I fall back to a simpler time as a kid growing up in Florida. We would take these trips to Walt Disney World every couple of years for our vacation. I remember the long drive back home, late at night, after a long day in the Magic Kingdom. My sister Jennifer and I would lay down in the back of the parent's AMC station wagon and watch the starry night sky through the back window. I remember how good the cool summer breeze felt coming through the cracked windows. I recall falling asleep on the long drive home, trying to pick out Orion and the Big Dipper from a black-blue sky full of gems and rhinestones. I miss those days. I miss not having to worry about bills or making it to work on time. Everything seemed perfect. I roll the window down And then begin to breathe in The darkest country road And the stro...

Well, today marks the 10 th anniversary of the release of Trent Reznor's "The Fragile". This double album was way ahead of it's time sonically, although so was The Downward Spiral. What sets The Fragile apart is the composition of the songs. They are more detailed and intricate than anything on The Downward Spiral. There are moments of beauty, such as La Mer , well you can tell that the sun is peaking out from the dark places in Trent's soul. And of course, there are the angry screamers like No You Don't and Starfuckers , Inc that definitely reflect Trents aggro writing style. Overall, though. This was a really decent record, and one of the best prior to the Orwellian stuff he has gotten into lately with Year Zero. Trust me, Trent. We've already got Muse covering that. Leave it alone and go back to what you do best.

I picked up the new Pearl Jam album, Backspacer, over the weekend. I have to admit I was a little bit worried that I may not be able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Not because I expected a lesser effort from the band than they put out with their self-titled album, but because I've been on a Pearl Jam moratorium for a few years now. Pearl Jam was the one band that I shared with an ex I had dated for six years. We were both enthusiastic Jammers, attending some 13 shows around the country between 2000 and 2006. We went through a pretty brutal break up during the bands last tour. I guess I was worried that I would associate the new material with those memories and it would sap the enjoyment out of it. The good news is that the whole album seems fresh to me and I don't feel even a twinge of emotional heartache when listening to it. By far, the earworm on the album is a rocker called "The Fixer". My take on the song is somewhat personal. As men, it seems like we spen...

Welcome to the day after. You are probably waking up right now and feeling that exact feeling of dread that I felt in 2000 and 2004. I don't envy you. But at least look for the silver lining. Now the Limbaughs, Hannitys and Savages have enough fodder to keep them employed for at least the next four years. Think of this as job security. I've read a few very angry and hateful posts this morning on Multiply. I don't understand why some people take it so personally that in a democracy as the United States happens to be, their neighbor or friend or relative may have voted for 'that guy' instead of McCain. Perhaps they do not understand that when it comes down to it, there are much more important issues at hand than a so-called racist preacher, a washed-up former domestic 'terrorist', a birth certificate (which to my knowledge has still not been proven to be false), and other below the belt associations and accusations. Shut down the propaganda mill. The whistle j...

A forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ordered on White House stationery and probably came from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a new transcript of a conversation with the Central Intelligence Agency's former Deputy Chief of Clandestine Operations Robert Richer posted Friday. read more | digg story

The vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. health care system, and 82 percent think it needs to be overhauled, a new survey found. "There is a broad view by the public that our health care system needs a full overhaul, either to be totally rebuilt or reformed." read more | digg story

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/politicians/helms/story/1135443.html RALEIGH - L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, defying a directive sent to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley. When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms. After several hours' delay, one of Eason's employees hung the flags at half-staff. The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed eight of his employees in the state standards lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on things as widely varied as gasoline and hamburgers. "Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to ...

http://wonkette.com/401018/anti-gay-alabama-attorney-general-caught-being-gay Anti-Gay Alabama A.G. Caught Being Gay This may come as a shock, but a prominent anti-homosexual Republican attorney general has apparently been caught having homosexual sex intercourse with his homosexual gay male assistant. Bonus: The dude’s wife caught him, in their bed. This is the rumor that the AG’s office has officially denied, so now of course everybody is spilling the sordid details. AG in question is Troy King, who, of course, is only interested in outlawing homosexuality and sex toys. His gay lover is either a college “buddy,” or a very young youngster and “Homecoming King” from Troy University. What are the odds of a dude named Troy King getting caught in bed with a Homecoming King from Troy University? This seems like a wacky sitcom plot, on a gay porn channel. (Is this what that Will & Grace was about?)

Are we in the 70's again? Should I break out some platform shoes and start wearing wide ties? Today's crunch feels like '70s By Michael E. Kanell The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 07/13/08 High oil prices, a sluggish economy, persistent inflation , an unpopular president and the Eagles are out on tour. Sounds like a rerun of the 1970s. But it is also a snapshot from the summer of 2008 —- even if it does conjure images from the past. "The similarities are there," said economist Gerald Lynch of Purdue University. "That was a miserable time for the economy. And the clothes were ugly, too." Wide ties may not be making a comeback, but hints of the era's economics are in the air. One of the stars of that original '70s show was stagflation, a term invented to describe a mix of rapid inflation and near-stagnant growth. The word has re-entered the economic vocabulary of late. "As far as I can see, the wheels have fallen off ...

When we openly accept a system that allows faceless corporations to place the bottom line in front of human beings, I feel that we have sold out freedom, democracy and everything that being an American stands for. Yet, this story repeats itself over and over...whether it be Enron executives walking all over it's employees and investors of Chevron's direct involvement in the torture and murder of Bowoto protestors in Niger, it seems like the larger a corporation becomes, the less it's leadership feels it should be responsible. Employers use federal law to deny benefits Workers -- and some judges -- frustrated in legal fights over benefits with large employers WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer. "He was obsessed with dotting every `i' and crossing every `t'," Melissa Amschwand-Bellinger recalled about her husband, who...

Regulators Cries in the Dark How serious is America's energy crisis? These four voices want to make sure policymakers don't dismiss it -- again. By  NEIL KING JR. June 30, 2008; Page R15 The oil shock of 1973 came and went. So did the panic after the Iranian revolution six years later, when oil prices shot to record highs. Gone, too, is the brief flurry of fear that followed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. After each, voices in Washington that cried out for big changes in U.S. energy policy were slowly drowned out. James Schlesinger, the first U.S. energy secretary, has said for decades that when it comes to energy policy, the U.S. toggles between complacency and panic. THE JOURNAL REPORT   •  See the complete  Energy  report. Will it be different this time around? With oil soaring above $130 a barrel and fears spreading of a long-term supply crunch, a new cadre of energy Cassandras in Washington argues that America faces deep and potentially wrenching challenges that n...

How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb? 1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed. 2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed. 3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb. 4. One to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs. 5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the new light bulb. 6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: Light Bulb Change Accomplished. 7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark. 8. One to viciously smear #7. 9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along. 10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.

Houston, We Have an Oil Problem Posted on: Wednesday, 18 June 2008, 03:00 CDT By Steve Huff huff.column@earthlink.net The other day at least three of my patients could not afford the gas to come to the doctor. On the way home I glumly pumped $44.85 into my Mini Cooper. That night I paid $600 for a plane ticket that used to cost $275. It was a flight to Houston where my sister lives. An oil town, new buildings had popped up across the skyline, old buildings enjoyed facelifts, luxury services flourished and Chevy Suburbans ruled the road. Houstonians haven't seen a boom like this since 1982. Clearly, $130 a barrel is not bad for everyone. With profits at record levels, Big Oil feels little incentive to do anything except find more oil. Beyond petroleum? Renewable energy projects have long since degenerated into forays to the Rocky Mountains to wring out shale. That, I believe, is where windfall oil profits become reprehensible. Sure, a profit margin of 10 percent is respectabl...

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/16/news/economy/oil_speculator/index.htm?postversion=2008051615 Oil prices: Wall Street's game Big fund money is flowing into oil markets sending prices to levels never seen before. Is it profiteering or an essential way to ensure supply? By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There's no question about it: A new breed of speculator is pouring money into the oil market. What's less certain is whether this new money is responsible for driving up prices or essential to a healthy market. Many blame record prices on Wall Street investors new to the oil market, saying they're bidding up gas prices to artificially high levels - and soaking drivers. As oil nears $130 a barrel, some say $10 to $70 of that price is due to Wall Street speculation. But that's not the whole story. Nearly everyone agrees that speculators have always been essential to a functioning market and that oil prices could be much higher ...