May 28, 2003
Oro Valley, Arizona, USA1:04pm. This morning, I worked the net, made busy-ness cards, talked to mom on the phone, and then borrowed a slide projector from the school across the street for my show tonight at the HIVE arts center. We're calling it "Campfire on 4th street". I've met so many amazing people here in Tucson; it is truly a radical hub. I've been told that "everyone comes here --no one is from here." That may be why people are so open and friendly; it's not about old clicks.
Last night I did a free show at a shelter for teen mothers where my friend AJ works, and then although I was tired and didn't feel like doing another, I knew I needed to..., and set up on the sidewalk on 4th street. A crowd of a dozen viewers formed and I was quite pleased. It is a great way to meet people. A guy came forward asking me to lead a trip for the group home where he works. Likely I can't do it this time around, but I'm stoked about the connections I'm making.
Preparing to organize The FAR OUT School, I've been seeking a new model, thinking a lot about how to lead without control. Yesterday at AJ's house, I picked up an anthropology book and read about variations in political organization, which generally can be classified into four principal types of organizations: Bands, tribes, Chiefdoms, and States. Band organization greatly interested me because I don't like hierarchy due to the opportunity for abuse of power and the idea of followers, although recently I read a sign in the Congress Hotel that got me thinking, which stated, "An elite is inevitable". Here's some of what the book says about a band:
Some societies are composed of a number of fairly small and usually nomadic groups of people. Each of these groups is called a "band" and is self-sufficient and autonomous. The band in such societies is the largest group that acts as a political unit. Since most contemporary food collectors have band organization, some anthropologists contend that band organization characterized nearly all societies before the development of agriculture, or until 10,000 years ago.
Societies with band organization have a number of features. First and foremost, such societies are the hunter-gatherer (or collecting) level of food getting technology. This means that they have to find food by prodding it out of the earth. , taking it out of the water, or hunting it down, wherever nature has placed it. Consequently, bands are almost always nomadic. They move from place to place in a regular seasonal pattern, following migratory game or exploiting seasonal varying plant or animal life, and carrying their few possessions with them.
Societies with band organization are generally egalitarian; all individuals of a particular age-sex category have equal access to prestige and resources. Typically, the concept of private property is alien to band society. If there is any concept of resource ownership--ownership of land, for instance--that resource is thought to belong to the band as a whole. Thus among hunting and gathering peoples, sharing of virtually all resources is a rule. All members of the band, for example, share in the distribution of game that is killed, even though all members were not directly involved in the hunt.
Political organization within the band is generally informal. The "modest informal authority" that does exist within the band can be seen in the way that decisions affecting the entire group are made. Since the formal, permanent office of leader generally does not exist within a band, decisions such as when camp has to me moved or how a hunt is to be arranged are either agreed upon the community as a whole or are made by the best qualified member. Leadership, when it is exercised by an individual, is not the consequence of "bossing" or of throwing one's weight about. Each band may have its informal headman, or its most proficient hunter, or its old man most accomplished in rituals. He may be one and the same or he may be several persons, but he, or they, will have gained status through the community's recognition of his skill, good sense, and humility. Leadership, in other words stems not from influence, not from office but from admired personal qualities.
This lack of authority is characteristic of political organization at the band level. A man will not acquire or maintain influence unless he has the abilities needed by the rest of the band.
Although the position of headman is often hereditary among the !Kung Bushmen, the authority of the headman is extremely limited; the position it's self offers no apparent advantages and is not actively sought after. Like all Bushmen, the headman fashions tools and shelters, carries his possessions, and hunts for food. Indeed, the !Kung headman goes out of his way not to be envied for his possessions of material goods.
However, while the authority of the !Kung headman is tenuous, he nevertheless has certain duties which are at least symbolic. He is generally held responsible for the way the band makes use of it's food resources, although most of his decisions will be dictated by nature, long-standing custom, or consensus of members. If there is a theft by some person not affiliated with the band, he is expected to cope with the problem. And his consent is necessary for an outsider to be admitted to the band. If he lacks the special abilities needed to lead in a given situation, the band turns to another person quite informally. No man of influence within the band, however, has formal authority or receives special privileges. At most, the headman is first among equals; at the least, as one headman was overheard to say, "All you get is blame if things go wrong."
Soooo... on that note, my biggest concern with forming an organization that specializes in adventure travel and working with "youth at risk" is what will happen when things go wrong... cuz they will. People always want to find someone to blame, as if that will fix the problem, and opportunists who will take advantage, easily finding a lawyer to help them sue. It is a shame that in this day and age when we have the opportunity to do so much, many adventurous neighbors to teachers rather not take responsibility for a field trip because "it is not worth the risk." Being a leader takes a lot of faith and courage, because you become a target, but if no one takes a stand because they are self-oppressed by fear, we've already lost the freedom that makes life worth living. Maybe the answer isn't leaders, but empowering each other with knowledge and skill sharing in small autonomous collectives, or bands, that tie us together forming tight communities.
Mr. Bush, the headman of this divided nation, is a target, but the problem is... he is just a puppet, easily replaced by the greedy profiteers who master the money-system. How did a guy like this become headman? Why is he needed? Does he know something we don't? Or, do "they" want to keep the masses in fear of faceless terror, so the masses will want the protection of the king's men. It is crazy, and it is real. There is a dark side and it is powerful. There is a battle going on for people's souls. Many believe the answer lies in education and the lack of. Why is there money for warplanes and not for schools? The following are a few examples of the propaganda that's going around:
George W. Bush's Resume
Past work experience:
Ran for congress and lost.
Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.
Bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas, company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.
Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using tax-payer money. Biggest move: Traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago White Sox.
With fathers help (and his name) was elected Governor of Texas.
Accomplishments: Changed pollution laws for power and oil companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the Union. Replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog ridden city in America. Cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas government to the tune of billions in borrowed money. Set record for most executions by any Governor in American history.
Became president after losing the popular vote by over 500,000 votes, with the help of my fathers appointments to the Supreme Court.
Accomplishments as president:
Attacked and took over two countries.
Spent the surplus and bankrupted the treasury.
Shattered record for biggest annual deficit in history.
Set economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.
Set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock market.
First president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
First president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.
First year in office set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history.
After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, presided over the worst security failure in US history.
Set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips than any other president in US history.
In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.
Cut unemployment benefits for more out of work Americans than any president in US history.
Set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12 month period.
Appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.
Set the record for the least amount of press conferences than any president since the advent of television.
Signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any president in US history.
Presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.
Presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have. Cut healthcare benefits for war veterans.
Set the all- time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.
Dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.
My presidency is the most secretive and un-accountable of any in US history.
Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history (the 'poorest' multi-millionaire, Condoleeza Rice has an Chevron oil tanker named after her).
First president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt.
Presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any market in any country in the history of the world.
First president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation.
Created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
Set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any president in US history.
First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the human rights commission.
First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the elections monitoring board.
Removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.
Rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.
Withdrew from the World Court of Law.
Refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
First president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US elections).
All-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.
My biggest life-time campaign contributor presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
Spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.
First president in US history to unilaterally attack a sovereign nation against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
First president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)
First US president to establish a secret shadow government.
Took the biggest world sympathy for the US after 911, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
With a policy of 'dis-engagement' created the most hostile Israeli- Palestine relations in at least 30 years.
Fist US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.
First US president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the US than their immediate neighbor, North Korea.
Changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
Set all-time record for number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling huge investments in corporations bidding for government contracts.
Failed to fulfill my pledge to get Osama Bin Laden 'dead or alive'.
Failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders of our country at the United States Capitol building. After 18 months I have no leads and zero suspects.
In the 18 months following the 911 attacks I have successfully prevented any public investigation into the biggest security failure in the history of the United States.
Removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.
In a little over two years created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided the US has ever been since the civil war.
Entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.
Records:
At least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
AWOL from National Guard and Deserted the military during a time of war.
Refuse to take drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.
All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.
All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.
All minutes of meetings for any public corporation I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.
Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public review.
Personal References:
Please speak to my daddy or uncle James Baker (They can be reached at their offices of the Carlyle Group for war-profiteering. ) ==============
** Two mullet haikus
Horse outside Wal-Mart
Kimmy Lynn's favorite ride
Need 'nuther quarter
My favorite cousin
Man your ass looks great in that
Wal-Mart uniform
Budget writers approve education cuts
05/23/2003
Associated Press
AUSTIN - House and Senate budget negotiators inched toward the finish line Thursday by approving some scaled-back public education spending.
The panel OK'd $50 million in state and federal funding for reading, math and science programs; approved a smaller health insurance program for school employees; and eliminated money for after-school programs for at-risk students.
But the budget conference committee grappling with a $9.9 billion shortfall has yet to agree on some major parts of the spending plan.
More Texas politics Among them: how to pay for the Children's Health Insurance Program, higher education, textbooks and the Foundation School Fund, the state's main source of money for public schools.
The regular session will end June 2, and the budget is the only bill that legislators are required by law to pass.
Negotiators also adopted the Senate version of proposed budget cuts for health insurance programs for active and retired educators:
¤ The $1,000 that public school employees get for health insurance would be reduced to $500 for full-time employees and $250 for part-time employees. Administrators would lose the bonus.
¤ Teachers and school districts would have to pay more to the state's educator pension fund, and there would be a 90-day waiting period for new school employees for the insurance money.
Educator groups complain that the moves shift more than $800 million in health care costs from the state to educators and school districts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/politics/state/stories/052303dntexbudget.c18b.html
It's been one year since the Seattle protests...
What do you know about the WTO?Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization
by Juliette Beck and Kevin Danaher
Printed from Globalize This!1. The WTO advances corporate-managed trade at all costs. The WTO is not a democratic institution, yet its policies impact all aspects of society and the planet. WTO rules are essentially written by corporations who have inside access to the negotiations. For example, the U.S. Trade Prepresentative relies on its 17 "Industry Sector Advisory Committees" for input on trade talks. These committees are made up of business representatives. Citizen input by consumer, environmental, human rights and labor organizations is ignored and requests for information are denied. Even worse, the Clinton-Gore Administration has chosen to appeal a recent court decision requiring environmental representatives on two advisory committees that deal with forest issues.
2. The WTO is a stacked, secretive court. The WTO's dispute panels rule on whether or not a nation's laws are "barriers to trade" behind closed doors with no public input allowed. The panels are comprised of three trade bureaucrats who are not screened for conflict of interest. For example, in the tuna/dolphin case that Mexico filed against the U.S. (which forced the U.S. to repeal its law barring tuna caught by purseseine nets that needlessly kill hundreds of thousands of dolphins per year), one of the judges was from a corporate front group that lobbied on behalf of the Mexican government for NAFTA. In all its cases to date involving laws protecting public health and the environment, the WTO has ruled in favor of corporations.
3. The WTO tramples over labor and human rights. WTO agreements forbid the regulation of a product based on the way it's produced, regardless if the product was made with child labor or by workers exposed to toxic chemicals. A Government Accounting Office study found that the U.S. law banning products made with forced labor vilated WTO rule. Furthermore, governments are not allowed to take human rights into consideration when deciding how tax dollars should be spent; purchasing decisions can only be based on commercial consideration such as quality and cost. The Massachusetts law against contacting with corporations that do business with the brutal dictatorship of Burma is currently being challenged in the WTO. International labor issues are relegated to the the International Labor Organization, which unlike the WTO has no enforcement capacity. The ILO has found Burman in violation of key labor standards, but Burma is still considered an equal member of the WTO.
4. WTO policies are widening the gap between the rich and poor. The UN Development Program's Human Development Report for 1999 states: "The top fifth of the world's people in the richest countries enjoy 82% of the expanding export trade and 69% of foreign direct investment, while the bottom fifth get barely more that 1%. These trends reinforce economic stagnation and low human development." In the U.S., a pro-free trade economist has determined that 29% of the increase in income inequality can be attributed to trade. Studies have shown that employers often use the threat of relocation to low wage countries to ratchet down wages and benefits.
5. The WTO is anti-environment. The WTO is being sued by corporations to dismantle hard-won environmental protections. In 1993, the very first WTO panel ruled against a regulation of the U.S. Clean Air Act, which had required both domestic and foreign producers alike to produce cleaner gasoline. Recenly, the WTO declared illegal the provision of the Endangered Species Act that requires shrimp sold in the U.S. to be caught with an inexpensive "turtle excluder device" that allows endangered sea turtles to excape shrimp nets. The WTO ruled against the law, calling it an illegal encroachment on the sovereignty of other governments for the U.S. to set rules for what can be sold in the United States.
6. The WTO rules undermine public health. The WTO's fierce defense of intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights and trademarks) comes at the expense of health and human lives. The WTO's support of pharmaceutical companies against governments seeking to protect people's health has serious implications for places like sub-Saharan Africa, where 80 percent of the world's new AIDS cases are found. In the WTO ruling against the European Union's ban on beef grown with hormones, the WTO completely disregarded the common sense notion that chemical additives should be proven safe before they are used ("precautionary principle").
7. The WTO was undemocratically established. During the U.S. Congressional debate in 1994, Public Citizen offered a $10,000 donation to the charity of choice of any Congressperson who has read the entire GATT/WTO legislation. Colorado Republican Hank Brown accepted the challenge. Although he originally planned to vote in favor of the GATT, after reading the text, he was appalled and could not support it. The WTO implementaing legilation made many changes to U.S. laws that most lawmakers were unaware of. Had the agreement been voted on as a treaty, requiring two-thirds Senate majority, it would have been defeated.
8. The WTO is undemocratic and unaccountable. The WTO claims that it operates by consensus, but the Seattle debacle illustrates how the WTO really functions. After much of the ministerial declaration was drafted in private "green room" meetings with select countries present, African and Caribbean countries effectively banded together for the first time. They denounced the closed-door process and blocked the launching of a new round. The WTO boasts of its interference with the democratic process within countries as well. Their website states: "Under WTO rules, once a commitment has been made to liberalize a sector of trade. It is difficult to reverse... Quite often, governments use the WTO as a welcome external constraint on their policies: "We can't do this because it would violate the WTO agreements."
9. The WTO hurts countries in the Global South. Leaders of the global South are developing a new consensus that free trade policies result in great wealth for a few, and impoverishment of the many. Under WTO rules, developing countries are prohibited from following the same policies that industrialized countries pursued, such as protecting young, domestic industries until they can be internationally competitive. Local policies aimed at rewarding countries that hire a certain percentage of local residents, transfer technology and use domestic resources are essentially illegal under the WTO.
10. The tide is turning against free trade and the WTO There is a growing international backlash against the WTO and the corporate globalization over which it presides. Movement-building by coalitions such as People's Global Action, the Direct Action Network, and the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs & the Environment are growing fast while public support for a corporate-managed global economy dwindles. A January 2000 opinion poll by Business Week found that 52% of Americans sympathized with [the] protestors at the WTO conference in Seattle.
After the slide show a bunch stuck around to paint the Dragonfly and pick my brain about general advice and places to go in Mexico. Kevin, a homeless alcoholic I'd met last week came along and was stunned that I remember his name. He said he was on his way to mess with someone... anyone... but that totally changed his mind. He sat with us and told the kids about his experience in Mexico. Every body wants to be liked and feel needed--- to feel that they are valuable, worth listening to and remembering. People love to talk to me because I listen. I ask open ended questions seeking something they will want to talk about. People love to talk about themselves. I do. Makes you feel important. But you don't want to be a big mouth and control the conversation. Everyone knows that is not cool.
