Invasion Of The Pines 2007

"Silverada"... Your correspondent.

















"Panzi" - originator of the annual Pines Invasion.
Welcoming Pines Boys crowd the harbour.

On Patriotism

Happy Independence Day to all. Today is largely a day to celebrate, with back yard barbecues, the beach, family get togethers, etc. But it's also a time to reflect upon the meaning of the day, and our individual feelings about what it means to be an American. I consider myself a patriot, even though for much of my life I have found myself at odds with my country's government and its actions both at home an abroad. So for me, patriotism has mostly been about exercising my individual freedom and responsibility as an American to speak up against that which is wrong with the course that this once great country has embarked upon during my lifetime. Today I believe that America is in serious trouble, on the decline, and on the wrong path. Our course can be corrected and we can begin the process of reversing the damage done to America's image over the past 40 or so years, if we as a nation become less arrogant and self-satisfied, and we realize that now more than ever we have work to do to sustain our great American experiment in democracy. We must listen to to others instead of dictating to them. We must identify and elect a new breed of leadership, one that has a vision of returning America to its former greatness. It will be tough to do this with such an uneducated populace so easily manipulated by the dark forces of conservative thought. However, we once were great and it is helpful to reflect upon our sometimes glorious history. In perhaps our most shining moments we led the world in the fight against our Nazi and fascist enemies in WWII, we repudiated slavery, and we celebrated the successes of our own oppressed citizens in their struggle for civil rights, a struggle which continues to this day. These were, quite simply, challenges that we met as a people with right on our side and justice as our goal. Unfortunately, we as a nation have lost sight of these basic values. We no longer care about what is right and what is just. Hopefully, it's not too late to reverse this, but time is precious as we face severe challenges in this new century. We must all be patriots, which means we all need to demand a return to American greatness.

Jim

July 3 Invasion Preparations

It's been a busy day here in Cherry Grove. Dan's brother Bill and his partner Bob came out to stay a couple of days. Tomorrow is the annual "Invasion Of The Pines" so everyone is busy getting their drag together. We're also caught up in a social whirl this week seeing friends, having dinner out, and entertaining ourselves. Tomorrow we'll be hosting after the invasion. I hope I get a chance to post some photos in between all of the activities.

Jim

Time to go George!

I'm not sure how to articulate the disappointment I feel right now in our entire government.

In case you've been sleeping for the past 8 hours, GW Bush changed/commuted Scooter Libby's sentence to no jail time. The Bush administration's VP also successfully avoided any implication in the whole sordid Valerie Plame outting (by the way, I consider Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson absolute American Hero's). Sorry Dick, double jeopardy doesn't apply to your judgement.

Here's a picture of Scooter Libby getting out of the jail time he so deserves after kissing the bigger alligators ass in front of him (the VP).

While not terribly shocking, I am suprised that our populace will put up with this. Plain stupidty and ignorance are the only things I can chalk up as to why we aren't showing these guys the door.

GW Bush, Cheney, Frist, Liberman and all of the scumbags inbetween need to be shown the door and than maybe a jail cell. We need to do a better job of educating our kids; they need to not give a shit about Paris Hilton's sunglasses and care about horrifying decisions and deceptions like the one our scumbag in chief made today.

People are dying and others are getting rich as a result of these wrong decisions. Never before have elected officials been more detached and NOT leaders. Here's a few synonyms that come to mind: cheat, filcher, knave, pilferer, purloiner, racketeer, robber, rogue, scondrel, shark, swindler, thief, villain.

Although a Yiddish word stands in my mind above all others to describe the current rulers in the White House: Gonifs. The literal Yiddish translation of Gonif is a person who transgresses moral or civil law (and a thief plus a scoundrel). Transgressing both morality and civil law is on today's menu for the Bush Administration. History is going to be a very, very harsh judge.

Marc

The Obama Money Train

Here's another in my series of photos of interesting houses in the Fire Island Pines, Actually, Dan suggested the photos. It is interesting to look at them in snapshots because you notice different things about them, the setting, etc.

We went off island early today to do some errands. The big political news over the weekend seemed to be the fund raising being done by the major presidential candidates, with Barak Obama raising over $32 million this quarter. This will guarantee that he will be in the race for the long haul. Now he has to figure out how to be a more commanding presence in debates and at other forums and events. He's smooth but he seems to lack real substance. Can money buy that?

Jim

Michael Moore: We Need Different Priorities

Here's another interesting house - this one is on the beach near the center of The Pines.

Michael Moore's "Sicko" has opened to big crowds and good reviews. There's no movie theater out here in Cherry Grove. Therefore, I'll have to wait to see it until I begin spending more time off island in the Fall. Here's a great quote from Michael about the public's reaction to the film:

"British MP, Tony Benn, says, "If we have the money to kill people (with
war), we've got the money to help people." That line always gets the loudest
applause in the theater. It is estimated that, before Bush's War is over, we
will have spent two trillion dollars on it. Let me say this: I NEVER want to
hear again from ANY politician that we "don't have the money" to fix our
schools, to take care of the poor, to provide health care for every American.
Clearly, the money IS there when we want to illegally invade another country and
then prolong a disastrous occupation. From now on, we have to demand that our
tax dollars be there for the things we need, not the things that make us one of
the most detested countries on earth."

That's right on target. One of the rationales used by the conservative justices on the Supreme Court for basically overturning or gutting the historic "Brown vs. Board Of Education" desegregation decision this past week was that we need to fix all our schools. That's right of course, but the justices didn't mandate that, they just threw out Brown. As Michael Moore says, we do have the money to fix our schools, but we're squandering it in Iraq. He's right: we have to demand a change in our country's priorities.

Jim

The Antics Are Non-Stop

I was disheartened to see our congress continue to treat the Gay Community as second class citizens (see Jim's article from today).

I put up this photo from the Church of Ireland because it represents the thinking that is consistent with today's politicians.

The gated door was added in the last 150 years. The arch was where the original door/entry way was. This particular arch has a sordid history in Ireland. As I recall, it was where people with Hansens Disease, better known as Leprosy were allowed to listen to sermons and church activities. Of course, they weren't allowed in the church; somehow they had sinned and brought all the hurt and pain and eventual death on themselves.

Sound familiar? Ignorance is timeless. While I am in no way equating Gay anything to Leprosy, the treatment is the same. Isn't it time we evolved from the 17th century?

By the way, I've been reading about why gay men and women aren't being treated equally. I'm finding that it is very 17th century. Of course, there's the usual bias and fear of the unknown. Or just plain fear. Let me put a different spin on an old bias; who really wins when one group is treated with prejudice?

Let me throw out one tidbit to consider. The almighty dollar. It was a revelation I had when I started looking at which Congressman didn't approve of Gay Marriage and the like. Shockingly, their constituency is comprised of not only John Q Public (most of whom could care less about what happens in someone else's home or bedroom) but of some very large insurance carriers and drug firms. You know, the one's that would have to insure partners in same sex marriages and pay for prescription medication and have to pay for hospitalization and have to pay for preventive care and on and on. Look who donates to the campaigns and the lobbyists working for the healthcare industry.

Jim is disappointed in Democrats; I'm not suprised. Maybe we should separate parties not by Liberal or Conservative, Republican or Democrat but by Bribe Taker or Public Servant. Judge our elected officials by Martin Luther King's measure: the content of their character.

The flow of money should not be the moral compass in our society.

Marc

Betrayed Once Again By Our "Friends"

Some gay and lesbian observers are bitterly complaining about the fact that 40 Democrats in the House just voted to include an anti-gay provision banning money for benefits for domestic partners in the Washington, DC appropriations bill. Not one Democrat rose to speak against the gay bashing, while both Democratic and Republican members spoke in favor of it. Where is the leadership of the new Democratically controlled congress, they ask? It just goes to show you how our community is taken for granted by the Democratic Party. I've never believed that the Democrats are our friends. I've been lied to by Democrats, betrayed, and been bitterly disappointed in them. So, this latest jab comes as no surprise to me. Some day gay community leaders will demand accountability from the Democratic party in exchange for our support and for our votes. Unfortunately, we're not there yet.

Photo: Another interesting house in The Pines

Jim

To This We've Come

The current issue of The New Yorker (June 25, 2007) has an article penned by Seymour M. Hersh focusing on what happened to the general, Antonio M. Taguba, who was given the task in early 2004, of investigating what happened at Abu Ghraib prison.

Excerpts:

In January, 2006, Taguba received a telephone call from General Richard
Cody, the Army's Vice-Chief of Staff. "This is your Vice," he told Taguba "I need you to retire by January, 2007."

"...the president had to be aware of this (torture at Abu Ghraib." (Taguba)

"I know that my peers in the Army will be mad at me for speaking out, but
the fact is we violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the
tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles and we violated
the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I
believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable." (Taguba)

We sank, at Abu Ghraib, to the level of that which we are fighting, and the responsibility for the poisoning of the American soul goes straight to the top at the Pentagon and the White House. This is what George Bush has wrought. This will be his legacy.

Photo: There are many beautiful houses in the Fire Island Pines. This house we affectioately refer to as "The Blue Dot House." We've watched over the years as the owners changed the appearance of this beautiful house.

Jim

NGLTF Report: Presidential Candidates On Gay Issues

Click on the title of this blog entry above to view the full report. Here are a few interesting excerpts:




“Marriage has got historic, religious, and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been: between a man and a woman.” - Hillary Clinton





“If a couple of lesbians or gay men want to get married, and they love each other, they should have the right to do that and enjoy all the legalities in our society that go along with that. I have no problem with that at all.” “I think that people who create these problems of homophobia and the likes of that do us a disservice,” Gravel continues. “We are all human beings
and one of the things that should motivate us, most of all, is love.” - Senator Mike Gravel



“Rudy Giuliani believes marriage is between a man and a woman. He does not - and has never - supported gay marriage.”


“I support the right of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons to have the full protections and rights afforded under civil law including the right to marry the person of their choice.” - Dennis Kucinich

Photo: I'm interested in Ikebana, the art of Japanese floral arrangements. This is one of my recent creations

Jim