To those who voted for and otherwise supported Donald Trump, some questions:
To my friend down the street who, next year, will lose the only health care insurance she’s been able to afford since her divorce - Obamacare - and who has no other affordable options for health care insurance, what do you say to her?
To the raped women, the women who discover their fetus is stillborn at 7 months (late term), and all the other women that need to abort their pregnancies - what do you say to those women?
To the gay people who will want to get married and have all the legal protections granted other married couples, as is the law now but won’t be at some point after Jan of next year - what do you say to those people?
To your son who proudly says, "I grabbed a girl at school by the pussy, just like our President elect!", what do you say to him? And what do you say to the girl he assaulted?
To your pre-teen daughter who sees photos of the first lady naked, with her finger stuck in her vulva, what do you say to her?
To those working in this country as an illegal immigrant, who know the soon-to-be first lady worked as an illegal immigrant in the USA for a few years, what do you say to them?
To Khizr and Ghazala Khan, what do you say to them?
To the child who was brought over illegally by a parent, and is now 25, has never been in trouble, has finished high school, is working and paying taxes, has never been to the country of her birth, and speaks only English, but in the next four years, will be deported: what do you say to her?
To those who make a living exporting goods to other countries, who will be financially decimated by the falling dollar and the retaliative protectionist measures other countries will take, who will have to close their businesses and lay off American workers, what do you say to them?
To journalists who are threatened with bodily harm for negative reporting against the government - not in Syria or Afghanistan or Russia but right here in the USA, as has been promised by your candidate, what do you say to them?
To my colleagues in Ukraine who suffer every day under military assaults by Putin, who must constantly battle his relentless online propaganda machine that drives business and money away from their country to the point that they are on the brink of financial collapse, what do you say to them?
To Syrian refugees, who have lost their homes and businesses - the doctors, the farmers, the nurses, the teachers, the government workers, the computer programmers, the food sellers, the janitors, the mechanical engineers, the biologists, the university instructors, and on and on - who have family and neighbors who have been murdered, who have been brutalized, who are desperate for help and safety - what do you say to those people?
To the members of Daesh, which you mistakenly call ISIS or the Islamic State, who have recruited young Americans by feeding them a steady diet of messages that says the USA hates Muslims, that the USA wants to punish Muslims - do you compliment them on being right?
To my dear friend from Afghanistan, who helped me so much when I worked there, who I was going to see again for the first time in a decade because she was invited to come to speak at a conference in Sacramento in May, but will not be able to get into the USA because the visa situation will change next year regarding Muslims - what do you say to her?
What do you say to each of these people?
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
could small towns flourish again?
I have this fantasy... a fantasy that doesn't involve Benedict Cumberbatch... but I guess it could... anyway, I have this fantasy that my husband (not Benedict Cumberbatch) and I find this dying little town full of empty, historic buildings and houses, in Kentucky or Pennsylvania or Missouri ... or even a dying neighborhood in a big city that isn't considered cool, like Detroit. And many of our friends and their families move there too. We all buy houses. I open and manage a small European-style bed and breakfast. My friends open and manage a coffee shop that also serves light breakfast food all through lunch, a UPS store, a convenience and ice cream store, a pub with at least two pool tables, a gas station, a campground, and any other business they want to. We stay there, we work together, we run for local office, we socialize regularly, and we delight when others move to our little piece of paradise and join in making it work. Our town becomes a day trip destination, or a great place to stop for a day or an evening. More people move there. The people already living there aren't upset that city people are moving to their rural paradise, or at gentrification; they're happy at the restoration of economic vitality and community.
I retreat into my little fantasy sometimes when I'm feeling down. I think I owe someone a cup of fantasy sugar or something I borrowed...
I love traveling back roads and visiting small towns. I've loved such long before I became a motorcycle rider. As we road through rural Idaho a few months ago, we went through small towns that were quaint and lovely and compelled us to stop. And we went through small towns that looked empty and dying and sad.
How are some small towns hanging on while others are dying?
I now live in what I consider a small town, population 21,083. What this town has that dying small towns around us don't have:
Vernonia, Oregon is about 30 miles away from us, and it has a lot of what the town where I live has, even though it's much smaller. In addition, it's the end of a 21-mile paved, car-free trail for hikers, bicyclists and horse riders. It's Oregon's first rail-to-trail, and it's turned Vernonia into a highly desirable weekend destination, with some very good restaurants and a gorgeous setting.
My hometown of Henderson, Kentucky was dying when I was a kid in the 1970s. Now, I'm floored when I go for a visit: there are restaurants downtown, shops, and amazing festivals: the W C Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival, a bluegrass festival, a songwriter's festival, a performing arts center., and the world’s largest displayed collection of John James Audubon art and artifacts, and a gorgeous, landscaped river front, none of which it had when I was growing up there.
Growing up in Henderson, my family made fun of Paducah, Kentucky. "I spent a week there one day" my father would say. Now, Paducah has an Artist Relocation Program that offers incentives for artists to relocate to its historic areas. The program has become a national model for using the arts for economic development. It has a improv group and, dare I say it, a flourishing comedy and music scene. It's a lovely little town!
We visited Wallace, Idaho, population less than 1000, earlier this year. Every downtown building in Wallace is on the National Register of Historic Places, and many have been beautifully restored. The 72-mile Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes paved bike path passes through it. Interstate 90 goes over it, and they've turned the area into a massive vendor area for their annual flea market. It's not only a must-stop if you are in the area, it's worth going out of your way for. It's one of my favorite small towns ever - and I've been to a LOT of small towns.
By contrast, we also went through Oakley, Idaho, about the same size and also billed as a historic town. It does have some lovely homes. But downtown was dead. Were the restaurants open? Was anything open? We couldn't tell as we drove through - no sandwich boards on the sidewalks, no obvious, easy-to-see "open" signs, no colorful banners... Oakley is near City of Rocks, and we loved camping in that reserve, but a lot of people would probably prefer to camp at a place with flush toilets and bathrooms and a restaurant nearby. Supposedly, Oakley has an RV park, but we never saw a sign for such. The town looked and felt dead.
One coffee shop or one antique store isn't going to transform a small town. But one obviously-open restaurant, with a patio, is going to compel a lot of people stop. A sign that shows camping nearby means campers might come back through for breakfast or supplies the next day - if they know just by glancing around as they pass through that they can get such. A "bikers welcomed!" sign really does make motorcyclists stop at a restaurant or hotel with such rather than a place that does haven't such - and motorcyclists often stop where they see other bikers stopping.
Many small towns in the USA are dying, and people are lamenting that fewer and fewer people, particularly families, are living a rural life, or even interacting with rural people. But I've seen some small towns thrive - because they knew they had to change, that they couldn't be exactly what they were 50 years ago. People need paid work, and they need health care coverage, and for most families, that means they must live in a big city. But people have different needs and desires at different phases in their lives, and I think a lot of small towns are missing out on prosperity because they aren't willing to change and to think about what would make them attractive to new families - including immigrant families.
I retreat into my little fantasy sometimes when I'm feeling down. I think I owe someone a cup of fantasy sugar or something I borrowed...
I love traveling back roads and visiting small towns. I've loved such long before I became a motorcycle rider. As we road through rural Idaho a few months ago, we went through small towns that were quaint and lovely and compelled us to stop. And we went through small towns that looked empty and dying and sad.
How are some small towns hanging on while others are dying?
I now live in what I consider a small town, population 21,083. What this town has that dying small towns around us don't have:
- a high school (and two junior highs and a few elementary schools)
- a grocery store
- restaurants (not many, but we have some!)
- reliable, frequent mass transit to get to metropolitan areas
- thriving farmer's market lead by and championed by a nonprofit
- immigrants
Vernonia, Oregon is about 30 miles away from us, and it has a lot of what the town where I live has, even though it's much smaller. In addition, it's the end of a 21-mile paved, car-free trail for hikers, bicyclists and horse riders. It's Oregon's first rail-to-trail, and it's turned Vernonia into a highly desirable weekend destination, with some very good restaurants and a gorgeous setting.
My hometown of Henderson, Kentucky was dying when I was a kid in the 1970s. Now, I'm floored when I go for a visit: there are restaurants downtown, shops, and amazing festivals: the W C Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival, a bluegrass festival, a songwriter's festival, a performing arts center., and the world’s largest displayed collection of John James Audubon art and artifacts, and a gorgeous, landscaped river front, none of which it had when I was growing up there.
Growing up in Henderson, my family made fun of Paducah, Kentucky. "I spent a week there one day" my father would say. Now, Paducah has an Artist Relocation Program that offers incentives for artists to relocate to its historic areas. The program has become a national model for using the arts for economic development. It has a improv group and, dare I say it, a flourishing comedy and music scene. It's a lovely little town!
We visited Wallace, Idaho, population less than 1000, earlier this year. Every downtown building in Wallace is on the National Register of Historic Places, and many have been beautifully restored. The 72-mile Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes paved bike path passes through it. Interstate 90 goes over it, and they've turned the area into a massive vendor area for their annual flea market. It's not only a must-stop if you are in the area, it's worth going out of your way for. It's one of my favorite small towns ever - and I've been to a LOT of small towns.
By contrast, we also went through Oakley, Idaho, about the same size and also billed as a historic town. It does have some lovely homes. But downtown was dead. Were the restaurants open? Was anything open? We couldn't tell as we drove through - no sandwich boards on the sidewalks, no obvious, easy-to-see "open" signs, no colorful banners... Oakley is near City of Rocks, and we loved camping in that reserve, but a lot of people would probably prefer to camp at a place with flush toilets and bathrooms and a restaurant nearby. Supposedly, Oakley has an RV park, but we never saw a sign for such. The town looked and felt dead.
One coffee shop or one antique store isn't going to transform a small town. But one obviously-open restaurant, with a patio, is going to compel a lot of people stop. A sign that shows camping nearby means campers might come back through for breakfast or supplies the next day - if they know just by glancing around as they pass through that they can get such. A "bikers welcomed!" sign really does make motorcyclists stop at a restaurant or hotel with such rather than a place that does haven't such - and motorcyclists often stop where they see other bikers stopping.
Many small towns in the USA are dying, and people are lamenting that fewer and fewer people, particularly families, are living a rural life, or even interacting with rural people. But I've seen some small towns thrive - because they knew they had to change, that they couldn't be exactly what they were 50 years ago. People need paid work, and they need health care coverage, and for most families, that means they must live in a big city. But people have different needs and desires at different phases in their lives, and I think a lot of small towns are missing out on prosperity because they aren't willing to change and to think about what would make them attractive to new families - including immigrant families.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Things I'm barely putting up with these days
- Restaurants that don't make it clear that they are open or closed, that don't have a lit sign, even more than one sign, that you can see as you near it, not just as you are passing by. And restaurants in remote locations that don't have something out near the road as well, clearly showing that they are open.
- Candidates running for local office that don't have a web site that tells me who they are and what they want to accomplish as a candidate, and give me a clue as to whether or not they are progressive or a Republican.
- People posting wildly inaccurate information and illustrations about late-term abortion and why women sometimes must choose to abort a second or third trimester pregnancy.
- People that talk or play music after 10 p.m. in a camp site where I'm trying to sleep.
- My neighbors that won't call the police on youth or adults tearing something up, trespassing on private property, etc.
- People that believe in conspiracy theories and urban myths and woo woo pseudo science, like chem trails or homeopathy or natuopathy or that vaccines cause autism.
- Tax breaks for the Ark Encounter
Sunday, September 25, 2016
#describeyourselfin3fictionalcharacters
Three movie characters that I think represent me?
Just three?
Impossible!!
I’m:
I debated over Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) in The Way We Were. Much of it I so identify with - but not where she date rapes Hubbell. I hope I'm not that creepy.
I'm not Princess Leia nor Annie Savoy in Bull Durham, but I aspire to be.
Just three?
Impossible!!
I’m:
- Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) in A Face in the Crowd
- Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) in Meet John Doe
- Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) in His Girl Friday
- Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) in Broadcast News
- Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) in Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) in The Mary Tyler Moore
- Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) in Sherlock
- Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) in Parks and Rec (yes, the dude)
- often, I’m both Thelma AND Louise….
- and lately, I’ve been feeling a lot like Norma Desmond and Blanche DuBois…
I debated over Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) in The Way We Were. Much of it I so identify with - but not where she date rapes Hubbell. I hope I'm not that creepy.
I'm not Princess Leia nor Annie Savoy in Bull Durham, but I aspire to be.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Motorcycle Adventure Mostly in Idaho
This year's two-week motorcycle adventure tour? Idaho! And it was amazing. A couple of people gave incredulous responses when we said we were going to Idaho for our vacation. After motorcycle trips to the Yukon and back, to Jasper and Banff, Yellowstone, national parks in Utah, and, of course, travel all over Europe, we were going to Idaho?
Yes. It was my idea. I was ready for an adventure closer to home, one that didn't require us to ride for 700 miles over two days on the Interstate just to start a vacation. We'd seen a bit of Idaho every time we went over Lolo Pass for other trips, and we'd been to Craters of the Moon already, which we hugely enjoyed. If we concentrated mostly on Idaho for two weeks, we would, at last, see Hells Canyon, a legendary destination for motorcycle riders, and allow us to explore more the North East of Oregon, something we hadn't done yet since moving here in 2009.
Here is the route we went. Unfortunately, this map doesn't have many city names on it.All of the photos from the trip are online, with descriptions; in fact, I also put all the photos for Silver City, Idaho into their own photo album as well.
Here are the travel point highlights:
- Hells Canyon drive from Oxbow Bridge along the Snake River to the Hell's Canyon dam and then back over Oxbow dam to Cambridge, Idaho
- Historic Silver City, Idaho
- Bruneau Dunes State Park, Idaho
- City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho
- Sawtooth Scenic Byway, Idaho
- Salmon River Scenic Byway, Idaho
- Historic Custer, Idaho
- Ft. Missoula, Montana
- Wallace, Idaho
- Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
- White Pine Scenic Byway, Idaho
- Hell's Canyon Overlook, Oregon
- Joseph, Oregon
- Painted Hills, Oregon
- Little Crater Lake, Oregon
Monday, September 19, 2016
Explore the Oregon Desert Trail - Oct 10, 2016, Portland, Oregon event
Eastern Oregon beckons for your next adventure!
The Oregon Natural Desert Association and the Mountain Shop invite you on to learn about new opportunities to explore your public land on the 750 mile Oregon Desert Trail on foot, by bike or packraft, via an October 10th event at the Mountain Shop, 1510 NE 37th Ave, Portland, Oregon. Doors open at 5 p.m., with the panel beginning at 6 p.m. Space is limited, so register for the free event at ODTBootsBikeBoat.eventbrite.com.
Join bikepacker Gabriel Amadeus, ultra-runner Christof Teuscher, thru-hiker Brian “Tomato” Boshart, and packrafter Renee “She-ra” Patrick for a panel discussion about their adventures in the high desert, and the importance of public lands for recreation.
Enjoy free beer from Base Camp Brewing, explore lightweight gear options from Six Moon Design, and score some great raffle prizes from Six Moon Designs, Oboz, Sawyer, Clif Bar, TOAKS, Gerber, Gossamer Gear, Trail Butter, Superfeet and more.
The 750 mile Oregon Desert Trail traverses some of the most spectacular natural areas of the state’s dry side, including Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Steens Mountain and the Owyhee Canyonlands. Thanks to thousands of volunteer and staff hours, the guide material, maps, GPS tracks and waypoints, and town information are all freely available for anyone to create his or her own Oregon Desert Trail adventure. With a western terminus in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and an eastern terminus in the Lake Owyhee State Park near the Idaho border, this route crosses mountains, vast deserts, rivers and canyons. It links existing trails, old Jeep tracks, historical wagon roads and cross-country navigation, and is accessible at different points by bicycle, horseback and raft in addition to foot. Some sections offer easy walks along well-marked paths. Other areas require GPS skills, significant outdoor experience and serious preparation, particularly for water sources.
The Oregon Desert Trail guide
Also of note, the Oregon Natural Desert Association has asked federal agencies to consider designating the Oregon Desert Trail as a National Recreation Trail "Connecting Trail" linking the existing Fremont National Recreation Trail and the Oregon High Desert National Recreation Trail. (See othis Nov. 8, 2013 letter.) This would result in the more formal adoption of the route, allowing for signage, inclusion on federal maps and more.
The association wants feedback from users and from the communities surrounding the trail so they can work with land management agencies to refine the ODT and offer the best information possible to visitors to our public lands: Please contact the organization at renee@onda.org. And consider sharing your adventures on the trail on our High Desert Trip Reports page.
The Oregon Natural Desert Association and the Mountain Shop invite you on to learn about new opportunities to explore your public land on the 750 mile Oregon Desert Trail on foot, by bike or packraft, via an October 10th event at the Mountain Shop, 1510 NE 37th Ave, Portland, Oregon. Doors open at 5 p.m., with the panel beginning at 6 p.m. Space is limited, so register for the free event at ODTBootsBikeBoat.eventbrite.com.
Join bikepacker Gabriel Amadeus, ultra-runner Christof Teuscher, thru-hiker Brian “Tomato” Boshart, and packrafter Renee “She-ra” Patrick for a panel discussion about their adventures in the high desert, and the importance of public lands for recreation.
Enjoy free beer from Base Camp Brewing, explore lightweight gear options from Six Moon Design, and score some great raffle prizes from Six Moon Designs, Oboz, Sawyer, Clif Bar, TOAKS, Gerber, Gossamer Gear, Trail Butter, Superfeet and more.
The 750 mile Oregon Desert Trail traverses some of the most spectacular natural areas of the state’s dry side, including Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Steens Mountain and the Owyhee Canyonlands. Thanks to thousands of volunteer and staff hours, the guide material, maps, GPS tracks and waypoints, and town information are all freely available for anyone to create his or her own Oregon Desert Trail adventure. With a western terminus in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and an eastern terminus in the Lake Owyhee State Park near the Idaho border, this route crosses mountains, vast deserts, rivers and canyons. It links existing trails, old Jeep tracks, historical wagon roads and cross-country navigation, and is accessible at different points by bicycle, horseback and raft in addition to foot. Some sections offer easy walks along well-marked paths. Other areas require GPS skills, significant outdoor experience and serious preparation, particularly for water sources.
The Oregon Desert Trail guide
Also of note, the Oregon Natural Desert Association has asked federal agencies to consider designating the Oregon Desert Trail as a National Recreation Trail "Connecting Trail" linking the existing Fremont National Recreation Trail and the Oregon High Desert National Recreation Trail. (See othis Nov. 8, 2013 letter.) This would result in the more formal adoption of the route, allowing for signage, inclusion on federal maps and more.
The association wants feedback from users and from the communities surrounding the trail so they can work with land management agencies to refine the ODT and offer the best information possible to visitors to our public lands: Please contact the organization at renee@onda.org. And consider sharing your adventures on the trail on our High Desert Trip Reports page.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Hillary as President
So, I'm back to saying, yes, I'm going to vote for Hillary Clinton. No, I don't feel enthusiastic about the vote. And, no, I am not going to stop criticizing her for her positions and actions that are counter to the progressive values and future of the Democratic Party - like her choice of Vice President. I'm not going to stop during the election, and if she's elected, I'm not going to stop while she's President. And don't you dare accuse me of picking on her because she's a woman. I judge people by actions far more than words, so quit sending me her campaign quotes - look at her record. The truth is always in actions.
And I stand by my belief that you do not HAVE to vote for her. You don't.
But I can't vote for any of the smaller party candidates: I'm not at all a Libertarian, Dr. Jill Stein's comments about vaccines are deeply disturbing, aand if the Socialist Party USA makes an unusable web site, they can hardly be expected to run a country.
I'm not going to say Hillary Clinton is the lesser of two evils and that's why I'm voting for her. Because it's not why I'm voting for her. I'm voting for her because, of every person running for office, including the smaller parties, she's by far the most-qualified and has the most in common with me in terms of political beliefs. She's pro-choice enough for me, I don't think she's going to flip flop on gay marriage or any LBGT issues again, and I don't think she's going to be fooled by Putin. I think she will appoint qualified people for most positions. I believe I'll agree with at least 70% of her environmental and economic policies. I believe she's got the credentials, the understanding, the temperament and the knowledge to be President. For the record, while I did NOT support him, I felt the same about Mitt Romney and the first George Bush. But not the second George Bush. And I do NOT feel this way about Donald Trump AT ALL.
But I say again: quit demanding people vote for her. If she wants people's vote, let her work for them. Respect and votes are something you earn. Emphasize the vision from the Democratic Party Convention, not just fear-mongering about Trump. LEAD.
And I stand by my belief that you do not HAVE to vote for her. You don't.
But I can't vote for any of the smaller party candidates: I'm not at all a Libertarian, Dr. Jill Stein's comments about vaccines are deeply disturbing, aand if the Socialist Party USA makes an unusable web site, they can hardly be expected to run a country.
I'm not going to say Hillary Clinton is the lesser of two evils and that's why I'm voting for her. Because it's not why I'm voting for her. I'm voting for her because, of every person running for office, including the smaller parties, she's by far the most-qualified and has the most in common with me in terms of political beliefs. She's pro-choice enough for me, I don't think she's going to flip flop on gay marriage or any LBGT issues again, and I don't think she's going to be fooled by Putin. I think she will appoint qualified people for most positions. I believe I'll agree with at least 70% of her environmental and economic policies. I believe she's got the credentials, the understanding, the temperament and the knowledge to be President. For the record, while I did NOT support him, I felt the same about Mitt Romney and the first George Bush. But not the second George Bush. And I do NOT feel this way about Donald Trump AT ALL.
But I say again: quit demanding people vote for her. If she wants people's vote, let her work for them. Respect and votes are something you earn. Emphasize the vision from the Democratic Party Convention, not just fear-mongering about Trump. LEAD.
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