Am I the only one who wonders what on earth the Tomales Bay Watershed Council is doing for all the public money it spends? Their mission statement (per their web site) is "working collaboratively to protect and restore the waters and lands of Tomales Bay watershed." They also say they are studying "biodiversity." Well, golly, if that is so, why didn't they use DNA sampling of the Bay to pinpoint the source pollution? From what I can gather, they didn't want to actually find out where the pollution is coming from because they didn't want to have to confront any particular polluter. Wow, that's sure worth all the public money being spent!
The State, which doesn't have the same dainty disdain for reality, has recently issued a draft advisory warning for people to limit their consumption of certain types of bottom-feeding fish from Tomales Bay because they may contain high levels of toxic mercury. The State is only one of several organizations that have taken a serious look at the degradation of the Bay. Why is it that too many so-called environmental organizations right here in West Marin are allowed to continue to be lauded for actually doing relatively nothing substantive or original except solicit more money?
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Quite a few Bay Area letters-to-the-editor end with "November, 2004 cannot come soon enough." I assume they mean they want to see a regime change in Washington. More and more Americans of all political persuasions are coming to that conclusion, on the basis of the evident incompetency of the Bush Administration, both domestic and international. Quite a few conservative Republicans (real conservatives, not the phony neo-cons) are appalled at what the Bushies are doing. They don't understand planning, strategy or using our troops well. And they don't seem to care about how many of 1) our young soldiers are wasted or 2) Iraqi women and children are sacrificed.
Note that the Bush Administration has recently instituted serious sanctions against Syria, the neighbor of Iraq. These are the same sanctions that were previously instituted against Iraq and which were a precursor to the latest War on Iraq. Guess what country is "next" if Bush wins the White House in November! Although the potential bankruptcy of the United States treasury via both the trade gap and the out-of-control deficit, along with a continued quagmire in Iraq, might forestall widening the war to Syria.
The US seems to be mirroring the Ariel Sharon government in Israel. Do we all really want to be like Israel at this point? We need to take a hard look at the huge amount of money flowing to our politicians from AIPAC (i.e. money from supporters of hardline Israeli policies). If this continues, perhaps we should consider Israel the 51st state.
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West Marin gets its water from North Marin Water. But we live among Marin Municipal Water lands. Might I suggest to MMWD that they open the gate to the entrance to Kent Lake off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near Lagunitas? I understand that it is kept closed most of the year due to "kids and such" using the parking area as a place to drink and party. The obvious solution is to open the gate during the day for hikers, etc. and close it at night. Duh. To keep it closed all day makes it necessary for hikers to park on the edge of SF Drake and then walk on the edge, dodging fast-moving traffic. Not safe. So how about it, MMWD?
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At Washington High in San Francisco, and UC-Berkeley, I remember seeing "The Truth Will Make You Free" carved into the sides of buildings over and over. Actually, all the years of my life have taught me that the truth will NOT make you free UNLESS you take strategic and effective action to make it so. Just bitching and ranting to each other will get us (i.e. liberals and progressives) nowhere. Take a Republican to lunch!
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Art Hoppe, who is sorely missed, once said, "I would hope the day will come when I can once again believe what my country says and once again approve of what it does. I want to have faith once more in the justness of my country's causes and the nobleness of its ideals." Hoppe said that in the context of the Vietnam War. But I repeat it in the context of the War on Iraq. Amen.
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DVD RECOMMENDATION: The Magdalene Sisters: It is a searing indictment of the Irish sisters who tortured and sexually harassed their young charges for years and years. The modern expose of sexually-predatory priests is only the latest installment of a long-standing problem, too-long swept under the rug. And take a look at Fog of War, an amazing analysis of Robert McNamara's Vietnam policy....and why so many people died even though the government knew the war was unwinnable/useless. Timely.
