I Love Mountains Day

I went to Frankfort, KY, early on Valentine's Day in a van with several other Madison County Kentuckians for the Commonwealth members. There was plenty of chatter about the day's events, what to do when we get to speak with legislators, and how exciting the day will be for all of us. For some of us, it was our first time ever lobbying at the Capitol. We arrived, picked up packets, wrote postcard Valentine's to our legislators asking them to support and move HB 164 into session, and then we delivered the cards to them, getting a chance to speak with some of them in person. The Madison County chapter was quite busy with a question and answer session with two legislators, Lonnie Napier and Don Pasley. Afterwards we all gathered outside on the steps for the Rally... Teri Blanton leading chants and getting the crowd riled up, Wendell Berry giving a motivating speech, Rick Handshoe and Bev May speaking about their own experiences dealing with Mountaintop Removal Mining near their homes, Ronnie Banks reading a poem, with Public Outcry, Clack Mountain String Band, and Randy Wilson providing music. I recorded video, took a lot of pictures, and took part in the chanting, the cheering, and had a good time with my fellow Kentuckians who are also concerned about mountaintop removal mining and saving our streams.

Randy Wilson leads the rally at I Love Mountains Day in a song.


Wendell Berry speaks at the rally at I Love Mountains Day.


Rick Handshoe speaks at the rally at I Love Mountains Day.


More videos to come.

Also, view some photos in my Flickr album.
Randy Wilson coming down the steps and hallway lined with I Love Mountains supporters.

Kate Larken and Jessie Lynne Keltner of Public Outcry performing at the rally.

Teri Blanton speaking at the rally: Who's Mountains? Our Mountains! Who's Streams? Our Streams! Who's Government? Our Government! Who's Future? Our Future!

Clack Mountain String Band playing "Sow It On the Mountain, Reap It In the Valley."

Former Massey exec tapped for DOE seat

"Former Massey exec tapped for DOE seat"
By Samira Jafari, Associated Press

ABOUT THE JOB

If confirmed by the Senate as assistant secretary, Suboleski would oversee projects such as developing clean-coal technologies and carbon sequestration, and polices related to fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels supply 85 percent of the nation's energy.

Suboleski would make $145,000 a year.

PIKEVILLE - President Bush's pick for a top Department of Energy post is a former executive from Massey Energy, a company with a lengthy history of mine safety and environmental violations.

Bush this week nominated Stanley C. Suboleski to be the point person in developing policies related to coal and other fossil fuels.

Suboleski, chief operating officer at Massey from 2001 to 2003, continues to work as an independent consultant with Massey. The company faces an estimated $2.4 billion in threatened federal fines for more than 4,000 alleged U.S. Clean Water Act violations within the past six years at its West Virginia and Kentucky coal operations.

Suboleski's nomination to be assistant secretary for fossil energy is drawing fire from environmental and other watchdogs, but the White House defended its decision.

"Dr. Suboleski is well qualified for this position," said Blair Jones, a White House spokesman. "He has decades of experience in the energy sector, serving in a number of private and public roles that has included a term on the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, an important health and safety position which the Senate
confirmed him for in 2003."

The Virginia native was at Massey mines in two states this week and didn't return phone and e-mail messages from The Associated Press.

The coal industry would benefit from a voice in the fossil fuels office, which seeks cheap and efficient energy sources as part of its mission, said Luke Popovich, spokesman for the National Mining Association.

Read the rest of the article here.

Doing the Green Thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc3Q3qRdgTM

Mountain Witness Tour mosaic

Visit my Flickr album to see more photos from the Mountain Witness Tour at Island Creek, Pike County, Kentucky, on Saturday, December 1, 2007.

Salba Seeds

I managed to stumble across an interesting health conscious news bite about Salba seeds (the seeds that grow on Chia Pets). Check out the linked articles below:

Seeds Of Wellness: Return Of A Supergrain
The Aztec civilization may never rise again, but part of its ancient legacy may be a gift of better health to those who have rediscovered the secret of its prized "running food." By Ted Kreiter, From The Saturday Evening Post, November/December 2005 Issue
Click here for more of the article.

3 Reasons to Eat Chia Seeds
Sprinkle these seeds on a salad to add healthy fats
By Andrew Weil , Dr. Weil is clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona and director of its Program in Integrative Medicine.
Question: "My friend told me that chia seeds are good for you and are loaded with omega-3s. Is this true?"
Answer: Yes, it certainly is. The word chia often conjures visions of those terra-cotta figurines that, when slathered with chia seeds, grow green "hair." In reality, these healthful, edible seeds are a better source of omega-3 fatty acids than flaxseed (the fats protect against inflammation and heart disease). Chia seeds come from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, a member of the mint family that grows in southern Mexico.
Click here for more of the article.

Simple grain offers health benefits to diabetics
Updated Thu. Nov. 15 2007 10:00 PM ET; CTV.ca News Staff
An ancient grain that was once the staple of the Aztec diet is not only surprisingly nutritious, it can also help regulate blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease in diabetics, Canadian researchers report in a new study in the journal Diabetes Care.
Click here for more of the article.

Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies on a Request from the Commission related to the safety of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed and ground whole chia seed as a novel food ingredient intended for use in bread (October 5, 2005)
http://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/208/efsa_opinion_on_chia_salvia_hispanica_l_seeds.pdf

Land of Confusion

Thought this was an interesting video I found online. Enjoy!

Group Project: Land of Confusion

Video Text Link

Reaching for Higher Ground

"Reaching for Higher Ground:Youth Activism in the Mountains"
3 minutes, 49 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DahUTco3bpk

"Reaching for Higher Ground, produced by youth, tells the story of a group of young people who are fighting to save their communities' water.

Background:
Appalshop's Appalachian Media Institute had been training young people from Lotts Creek in video production for several years. The goals of these trainings was to have the video makers create works which would serve their community. At the same time a citizens' group named Kentuckians for the Commonwealth had been working on an organizing project against mine blasting and a deep-mine permit which would destroy the community's watershed. Through communication and working together the two groups, young and old, were able to come together and begin sharing ideas and resources.

In October of 1999, working with media artist Nick Szuberla, a new group of students participated in a series of AMI workshops designed to teach them basic camera skills, team work, image framing and in-camera editing. The students spent time outside hunting for images and running relay-races with cameras around their school grounds.

During the months of November and December, the participants began to form their topics and do community interviews.The young video makers picked two topics. One group began to document the history and founder of their community school--Alice Slone. The other group began to record local residents' struggle with the effects that blasting from coal mining is having on water quality and community health. They called people to be interviewed, set a time to stop by, and prepared questions on the topic.

Between January and April the students shot interviews, created selects tapes and began to rough cut their tapes together. During one interview with a community member who was having problems with blasting, the students came across inspectors for the State Department of Surface mining who told the young video makers that they need to turn their camera off. The students later wrote the State Office of Surface Mining and requested an interview with the inspectors. The interview took place after a series of letters and communications from the state's lawyers...

During February the students produced a community showing of their work and had many of the people they interviewed come for the screening. The showing turned into a community meeting on the history of the school and issues faced by people in regards to coal mining. Both young and old people agreed that it was important for the community to fight against the permit which would threaten their watershed. Later in the month the students produced a one hour radio call in show on WMMT, where they played segments of their interviews over the air.

In June the young people, working with KFTC, organized a surprise trip to the Frankfort, KY, Office of Surface Mining to confront officials about the permit that would destroy the Kelly Fork watershed.

In all, over thirty students, community members and ten community-based artists boarded a bus and traveled to Frankfort. Armed with creative tactics and video cameras the young people held a two hour meeting/protest with government officials where they demanded the pulling of the proposed permit. The young people left the building chanting "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, you sink us, and we will sink you." A student later reflected that she felt this was one moment where "we were all together as one... just for one day."

In the following months youth participants in Appalshop's AMI project produced a documentary on youth activism. Building upon the work that came before them, they interviewed the participants in the organizing project and used their peers' video footage to create a piece which spoke to the power of youth organizing."

Are FEMA trailers toxic?

"Are FEMA trailers toxic?
Congress investigates formaldehyde danger in FEMA trailers as residents complain of health problems. CNN's Susan Roesgen reports."

Are FEMA trailers toxic?

Video Link

Seasons of Love

A friend on YouTube created a video to bring awareness to an issue that is still prevalent in society now. With all the other political and social issues in the press, people seem to forget some of the health issues we need to always be aware of and stay informed about. Do not let myth and fiction interfere with finding out the facts about AIDS and HIV.
-------------------------------
"The education of AIDS and HIV seems to be a thing of the past. We cannot, as one world, stop teaching our youth the things we already know! We can't forget hose who have died, and those who suffer everyday. HIV/AIDS doesn't not discriminate.
Please take note: This song is called "Seasons of Love", and it's the theme song for the play Rent."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZEPLuBYF7k

Informative Links:
AIDS:
Medical Encyclopedia: AIDS: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000594.htm
AIDS Quilt: http://www.aidsquilt.org/
AIDS.org: http://www.aids.org/
AIDSinfo: http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/
AllAfrica (AIDS related issues): http://allafrica.com/aids/
The Body, Complete HIV/AIDS Resource: http://www.thebody.com/

HIV:
HIV.com: http://www.hiv.com/
Medical Encyclopedia: HIV Infection: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000602.htm
Center for Disease Control & Prevention, HIV: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/
HIV InSite: http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/
The Body, Complete HIV/AIDS Resource: http://www.thebody.com/

Suheir Hammad

This exceptional spoken word poet really gets into you. I stumbled across the clip of "What I Will" some time ago and just now realized I never linked it here. Hope you can appreciate her poetry. I do. This is Suheir Hammad's official website.

Def Poetry - Suheir Hammad - Revision of "First Writing Since"
5 minutes, 50 seconds


Def Poetry - Suheir Hammad - "What I Will"
1 minute, 30 seconds


Def Poetry - Suheir Hammad - "Mike Check"
1 minute, 36 seconds

Virginia Tech Shooting

Virginia Tech Shooting Leaves 33 Dead
By CHRISTINE HAUSER and ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Published: April 16, 2007
At least 33 people were killed on the campus of Virginia Tech today in what appears to be the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. Many of the victims were students.

"The shooting at Virginia Tech comes in the same week, eight years ago, as the April 20 shooting at Columbine." - New York Times

The Story Of Timbuck

One of my video-blogging friends wrote a story and put it to video. I really like his presentation of this, and how it is at the same time sad but hopeful. Enjoy.

The Story Of Timbuck

Women and the Media

I just remembered I haven't linked to this video here. I like -- and agree with -- this woman's lecture about the media. It is short, so take a few minutes to watch and listen. Thanks.

Carbon Monoxide and Red Meat

Although this is old news, I only recently came across it.

CARBON MONOXIDE & Meat

But be sure to also read over these article links:
2006:
* FDA Is Urged to Ban Carbon-Monoxide-Treated Meat - WashingtonPost.com
* FDA Asked to Prohibit use of Carbon Monoxide in Red Meat - ConsumerAffairs.com
* "Carbon monoxide meat" still in the news - The Daily Table Blog
* Carbon Monoxide and Meat - Accidental Hedonist Blog (I like her last point.)
* FDA defends policy on allowing use of carbon monixide - Food Production Daily - USA.com
* Ban Carbon Monoxide in Meat - Food and Water Watch
* Supermarket Chains Refuse To Sell Carbon Monoxide-Treated Meat - ConsumerAffairs.com
* Keeping Meat In The Pink Without Carbon Monoxide - Science Daily

I cannot seem to find any articles on this topic for late 2006 or early 2007, nor anything that states if this has changed or has continued. While searching for a 2007 article I found this relating botulism, diced raw potatoes and carbon monoxide, among other gases.
"Dignan DM. 1985. Evaluation of the botulism hazard from diced raw potatoes preserved by gas exchange (sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide). Diss Abstr Int 46(4):1011B." It is on the List of References page of a report by U. S. Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, September 30, 2001, titled "Analysis and Evaluation of Preventive Control Measures for the Control and Reduction/Elimination of Microbial Hazards on Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce."
Isn't that interesting, just what that dissertation title implies.

Really does make me wonder what happened to this issue. Is it being regulated and notated on the packages of meat in the supermarkets? Even if it is, there is no knowledge of what kind of meat is being used in fast food chains and restaurants.

My opinion is that if you're doing something to meat or produce simply to change its color for consumer appeal, then it is not worth it to purchase. The risk of long-term (and unknown) effects might be too high. And considering carbon monoxide is poisonous in all other situations, why would we insert it into our food?

Education Rant

Yesterday I was talking with a barista at one of the coffee shops about books. I asked her what titles was she required to read in high school and she honestly told me that the ones she was required to read she had not read. She also said she cheated on the computer tests for these books by having friends who did read the books take the test for her. I have forgotten to ask what titles were assigned, but instead I asked her if any of the books were ones I remembered reading or being required to read. Books such as George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, stories like "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe, Lord of the Flies, and goodness, she has never read or heard of T. S. Eliot, nevermind his "Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock" and The Wasteland. She'd never read Wuthering Heights, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and A Separate Peace. No Fahrenheit 451 for her. I wasn't going to bother asking if she'd read Crime and Punishment, Madame Bovary, Heart of Darkness, The Awakening, or anything by Thomas Hardy. Can't bother with Emerson or Thoreau. I really am curious. I want to give her a test, one she can't pass or fail but would satisfy my curiosity of which books that I was once assigned to read are still being assigned to high schoolers. I am indeed curious.

I am sure my mother's generation might have wondered the same thing when they saw what books I was required to read and that the list did not include books they were required to read in high school. These are books which made me grow, look around myself at a larger world, appreciate other cultures and contemplate relationships. Thoreau and Walt Whitman brought out the nature-lover in me, lover of landscapes: pastures, forests edging creeks, mountains in the distance, desert sunsets, and especially the simplicity of a single tree. I was the only one in my senior A.P. World Literature class that had actually read Crime and Punishment (not the Cliff Notes) and loved it. Yes, loved it. I summarized it as a psychological thriller. But I will delve into more bookish memories in childhood memory posts for another date.

This particular individual I spoke with also told me that she doesn't like to read anyway. I couldn't fault her for that, since not everyone finds enjoyment in a good book. But I was surprised that she'd never heard of these other books, which led me to think that the school she attended did not include them on the required books for reading list or even the optional one. What happened? They cannot be archaic as I can claim that many of the stories can still apply today. Many of the lessons to be learned in those books still apply today. Many of those lives are still present in our society now, just in a slightly different representation.

So what happened to good reading? Why are these books abandoned?

Choice

It took me a while to decide whether or not to participate in this particular blog endeavor. It is not that I am not a supporter of this issue -- I am a supporter -- but that it is a very controversial issue that causes people to instantly judge a person's character if they support or don't support pro-choice. I have never felt that abortion should be used as another means of "contraception," but there are times when a woman is physically incapable of carrying a child out through pregnancy at the cost of her own life, or her current socio-economic status would not only create a burden on her own well-being but also on the well-being of the child. Many people will profess adoption, but it is much easier said than done. There are many ways for a woman to get pregnant, and some of them can also be of no fault of her own. Mistakes happen, condoms break, and birth control can be ineffective. It is not always about irresponsibility or promiscuity. Sometimes it is about immaturity, naivety, curiosity, mistrust, rape, incest, and other reasons unimaginable unless one finds oneself in that position.

All of that aside, if we as human beings are allowed to pierce and tattoo our bodies, smoke or drink most of our adult lives, eat high cholesterol food that increases risk of heart attacks and diabetes... If we are allowed to make all these choices to do as we wish with our bodies... Then women should have the right to be in full control of their bodies. Who owns our bodies? I own my body. No human owns my body or can lay claim to it. And when faith is part of the picture, then that is a decision between the woman and her personal faith in God. I have known women who prayed and made decisions as they understood were right after much prayer. Yes, I am pro-choice for those friends and family who may one day have to face a situation which causes them them worry, but I do hope that they never have to make that decision. But the choice to be able to make the decision should be there.

I do believe that abstinence-only sex education in schools contributes to the problem of teenage pregnancies. Teenagers are naturally curious about what their bodies are doing and what they are feeling when they are attracted to someone. A proper sex education class should allow discussion, understanding, and knowledge. Many youngsters would feel embarrassed to talk to someone in their family about these questions. So believe me, talking to a teacher/counselor that they can trust would offer that outlet. And a proper sex education class would highly recommend teenagers to abstain from sex because they are not ready for the consequences, BUT... "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Teenagers still do need to know how to protect themselves if they do decide to jump the fence and experiment sexually. They need to know about condoms, dental dams, birth control, and other ways to safely play without intercourse.

I have heard many times over the naivety of both boys and girls concerning sex and I hopefully set them straight on their facts. There are myths circulating that have yet to die. Education and discussion is the only way these myths will die and young people will make more responsible decisions.

Check out these other blogs about this same issue. Many of them provide arguments I also agree with:
Blog for Choice - Pro-Choice for Life...
Blogging for Choice in the US and UK!
Women Choose to Control Our Own Bodies
Am I pro-choice? damn straight.
Tycie's Story
Blogging for Choice in Pittsburgh

Women and Violence

Yesterday I met a woman who is a writer, actress, survivor of domestic violence, and director of the 2003 University of Tennessee college campaign of "The Vagina Monologues." She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, an active member of the Knoxville Writers' Guild, and a performer of monologues, poetry, song and dance. Last night I was one of several guests at a fellow friend's house to have dinner and meet Kali Meister. After chatting around with people, catching up on their creative work and interests, I talked with Kali for some time about domestic violence, poetry, theater, and writers' guilds. We shared stories of witnessing violence against women in the communities we have lived in. She's an inspiring individual and to listen to her stories is to be inspired.

Today she came to Berea College to perform some excerpts from her production, Exposed. The stories were raw and emotional, some reflecting a friend's experience while others exposed her own childhood fears and nightmares. The monologues and poetry made you sad and some made you laugh a little chuckle. Her exposé delved into sexual abuse, domestic violence, and family relationships. Even the song lyrics for "Into the Night" by Benny Mardones was quoted. She sings a few lines of it,

"She's just sixteen years old
Leave her alone, they say"

And then she says something to the effect: "Yeah, leave her alone you scumbag pedophile! She is just sixteen!" This one left the audience both surprised at the lyrics and laughing uproariously. Later, the audience saddened by the vision she cast of a girl hiding in her closet with clothes pulled on top of her, only to be found in the dark of night by her drunk stepfather. Kali's performance is both brave and shocking. Her bravery in telling her own story, not just in print but in performance, is inspiring and encouraging.

When I chatted with her Wednesday evening I told her about a festival already in its planning stages. This festival will take place mainly in Lexington, Kentucky, but it will also have some events all over the state. It is called Until The Violence Stops. The goal and purpose of the festival is to raise awareness and to inform people of violence against women and girls. Some of the events will be a play full of monologues and stories by national and local authors, another play written and directed by University of Kentucky students telling their stories, monologues from women in prison who were incarcerated for killing their abusers, the day of the Latin woman, a poetry slam, a tree planting ceremony for elementary students, a writing competition for middle or high schoolers, a bicycling event, a golf event, and numerous other events. This will take place the last two weeks in August 2007. I am hoping that one of my contributions to getting this event underway is gathering some Kentucky authors and poets to participate one way or another in the festival. And I can many of the students here going up to the festival on the weekends, helping out and enjoying the events. Oh, there's even a fashion show.

And did I mention that only two states are producing this festival in 2007? One is Kentucky, and the other is Ohio. Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues" is taking the success of V-Day one more step forward into a festival that draws in people, gets them involved, informs and educates, and changes peoples' lives. The first UTVS festival took place in NYC. Afterwards, a poll asked, "If you witnessed violence against a woman or girl, would you interfere in one way or another?" Many said that before the festival they wouldn't have gotten involved in the situation, but after the festival 1 out of 3 individuals said that they would do something to stop the violence. That's a pretty good statistic. It'd be good the festival has a really powerful affect on people throughout Kentucky.