Hartsongs

In the face of disaster. Nary a comment or reaction to the severe flooding we are experiencing in Washington and Oregon...is it because they're 'Blue' states?

Local communities, by contrast, line up to help their neighbors.

At least seven tractor-trailer trucks will head Thursday from Renton to those flood-stricken areas, as well as others, so Salvation Army and local officials can give the items to those in need, news director Holly Gauntt said.

"The community has been unbelievable," she said, referring to donors. "This is part of us being problem solvers and working for our community."

As of Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the station had received thousands of pounds in clothing, baby food, bottled water, blankets, shovels, rakes and cleaning supplies.

Area residents had donated more than $50,000 in cash, as well as gift cards.

People started dropping off items Wednesday morning at the IKEA store in Renton and collections were accepted through the station's 11 p.m. newscast, she added.

Teamsters and the Mayflower moving company provided the trucks, and donors often waited up to 30 minutes to contribute, Gauntt said. "It's been a trail of cars," she said.

in a manner of speaking...

Riverbend has posted an update after a long silence. She's now in Syria, and has had to go through too much heartache as a result of bushco 'freeing' her country...

along with a video
and a request to sign yet another petition.

"Barack Obama is not fit to be Senator -- not to mention the next President of the United States.

Obama has declared his presidential intentions, but it is up to well-informed and energetic conservatives like you to spare our nation from the scourge of a far-left President Barack H. Obama."

"bin Laden" tries to attend APEC...and the same crew tries again with cardboard cars...

Riverbend has finally posted again. She and her family have gone to Syria.

I sneaked a look at my mother sitting beside me and her tears were flowing as well. There was simply nothing to say as we left Iraq. I wanted to sob, but I didn’t want to seem like a baby. I didn’t want the driver to think I was ungrateful for the chance to leave what had become a hellish place over the last four and a half years.

Madeline L'Engle

Because of the very nature of the world as it is today our children receive in school a heavy load of scientific and analytic subjects, so it is in their reading for fun, for pleasure, that they must be guided into creativity. These are forces working in the world as never before in the history of mankind for standardization, for the regimentation of us all, or what I like to call making muffins of us, muffins all like every other muffin in the muffin tin.

Pavarotti

UPDATE: The Colbert Report has a clip on this story: Nailed Em: Northern Border. If that doesn't load, you can also see it here.

Andrew's son, 'bongo poet' Marcel, wrote an article about the filming, and his band, 'Black Kite', has a website here.

(skippy, they're in your territory...;)

(cross posted @ Blah3)
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“I should warn people that the electronic footprint you leave on the Net will be used against you. It cannot be erased.” Andrew Feldmar

It was the furthest thing from a threat to our nation when the soft-spoken Doctor traveled to Seattle (or tried to) to meet an associate at the airport last August.

Andrew Feldmar is a man of many letters, much study, is well respected, and world renown. He's been invited to work with the United Nations, has counseled victims of Chernobyl, and has maintained a thriving practice in psychotherapy in Vancouver, B.C. for many years.

He's worked with Fritz Perls, R.D. Laing, Leon Redler, and Francis Huxley, among others, and has taught many classes, led many workshops, and given many lectures in his field, and has conducted seminars and workshops in Hungary, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Canada and the U.S.

I was fortunate enough be able to attend some of those presentations, and consider him to be a mentor.

Born in Budapest, 1940. WWII tore his family apart, and his parents were deported. The little boy was hidden by a lady who gave him the pseudonym Andras Igaz (Andrew the Truthful).

After the world war he left Hungary at the age of 16. He graduated in mathematics, then studied philosophy and psychology. An event in 1976 changed his life significantly - he met the famous psychiatrist R.D. Laing. Andrew immediately became Laing's pupil, colleague and friend until his professor's death.

Andrew Feldmar lives, practices and gives lectures in Vancouver now. He has published a large number of books and articles on psychology. The documentary "There is Life before Death" - made about him several years ago - is still being screened at movie theatres in Budapest. His ideas often elicit extreme emotional responses...

This quiet, unassuming man has never been arrested, never been in trouble anywhere in the world, yet the border guard played judge and jury in evicting this non-violent gentleman from our country, admonishing him in the process that he is never welcome within our borders again.

His 'crime'? Having put pen to paper. Andrew published a scholarly article detailing his experiences in experimenting and researching with LSD back in the '60's and early '70's, which came up in a 'Google' search done by the border guard, who then spurned him; he was held for four hours, fingerprinted, scolded, and in spite of the fact that two of his children reside in this country, told never to darken our door again.

Andrew could go through the lengthy and demeaning process of applying for a waiver, but has chosen not to.

I checked with some lawyers on both sides of the border and found out that the waiver process is an extremely degrading process...an indefinite process of harassment for nothing I waited a bit because I don't like to be cut off from my children. if anything happened to one of them I would be really upset if I couldn't immediately go to them...so I thought I might apply and go through the trouble anyway just not to be barred from them but just recently I decided I'm not going to do that and that's when I consented to some interviews and that's when I came public basically to warn people that what you put on the internet now can be used against you in this paranoid over-reaction of the U.S. government...What I feel that I'm punished for is not the actual ingestion of these substances, which I did...I got punished for writing about it...I think we are entering the dark middle ages...it's a silencing technique...

In typical Bush fashion, the Resident and his family decided to invite the Sarkozy family over for a 'down home' country picnic.

"We're at my mom and dad's house, fixin' to sit down with the president of an ally...We're going to give him a hamburger or hot dog, his choice...If he'd like some baked beans we've got that, as well...If he feels like it, he can have him a piece of blueberry pie..."

"Native Maine corn," chimed in Laura Bush.

The President's wife begged off, claiming she and her children were ill, only to be spotted walking about town later, having made a swift recovery.

Perhaps she had seen enough Bush talking with his mouth full (and chewing with it open) that she decided not to have her children influenced by a psuedo-sophisticate. One can imagine the conversation leading up to her phone call...

Nicolas: So what are we going to do about that lunch tomorrow?

Cecilia: The bush-league bar-b-que? Really, Nicolas, I'd rather not go.

Nicolas: How will it look if we don't? Laura invited us two months ago.

Cecilia: Nico, darling. Do you really think I care whether or not I impress little Laura? Honestly. Those people are so nouveau riche...his idea of quality cheese is some gummy processed slab tossed onto a slice of bread.

Nicolas: I know, but even so, I'm quite obliged to go. Mon Dieu, do they really think this will make up for the 'Freedom Fries'?

Cecilia: And that husband of hers...such atrocious manners!
I really don't want the children around such crude behavior.

Nicolas: Darling, you do whatever you want. After all, we are supposed to be on vacation; and it's not as though we'd be socializing with them otherwise...

"there appears to be minimal or no health risk to humans..."

I remember hearing that back in the late '60's, early 70's, when concerns first arose about mercury contaminating the St. Clair River. Then I learned from a very reliable source (my father was the news director for a major radio station) that there was a blackout on reporting the actual levels because they were so high. It wasn't 'in the public interest' for people to know, and any station reporting on how high they were faced losing their licenses. I didn't believe those 'assurances' then, and I believe them even less, now.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have learned that byproducts from pet food manufactured with contaminated wheat gluten imported from China have been used in chicken feed on some farms in the state of Indiana. This information came to light as part of the continuing investigation into imported rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten that have been found to contain melamine and melamine-related compounds.

As well as being aware of where your 'Cordon Bleu' is coming from, if you're craving a BLT, you may want go organic...

Igudesman and Joo

Mad Kane is hosting another Limerick writing contest; this one promises to be twice the fun, as Billy the Blogging Poet has decided to join in and double the prize money.

When we were growing up my parents always told us that it was important to listen to both sides of an issue in order to be able to form an opinion and to stay informed, and difficult as that is sometimes, I still follow that advice.

This leads to occasionally tuning in to the 'Faux News' channel, which has to be taken in small doses. (Side effects may include nausea and vomiting)

Last night the integrity of Olberman was offset by the ramblings of O'Really, who couldn't get over the fact that Libby was found guilty of perjury: "I still don't know why he was even hauled in!" "Why was Libby convicted? The fact of whether or not she was a covert agent wasn't even proved!" "Fitzgerald knew he had no one to prosecute unless he caught someone in a lie...if there was no crime, why bother with a grand jury at all?"

And on and on...of course, it was different back in the day...

"This is about honesty and cruelty. For Mr. Clinton, it was about undermining the justice system."

Of course, Libby never did that...