remember tim dechristopher?

the university student who went to a BLM land aution and decided to bid on a bunch of properties to keep them out of the hands of oil and gas companies?

he's been sentenced to two years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine. his entire sentencing statement is truly worth reading:

Mr Huber [the prosecutor] claims that the seriousness of my offense was that I “obstructed lawful government proceedings.” But the auction in question was not a lawful proceeding. I know you’ve heard another case about some of the irregularities for which the auction was overturned. But that case did not involve the BLM’s blatant violation of Secretarial Order 3226, which was a law that went into effect in 2001 and required the BLM to weigh the impacts on climate change for all its major decisions, particularly resource development. A federal judge in Montana ruled last year that the BLM was in constant violation of this law throughout the Bush administration. In all the proceedings and debates about this auction, no apologist for the government or the BLM has ever even tried to claim that the BLM followed this law. In both the December 2008 auction and the creation of the Resource Management Plan on which this auction was based, the BLM did not even attempt to follow this law.

hit-and-run kills 25 year old cyclist in santa cruz

this is horrible.

from KSBW: Zachary Parke, who is not a UCSC student, was returning home at midnight from the campus after hanging out with friends, his mother April Parke said.
...
Another bicyclist found Zachary Parke's body at 8:05 a.m. on Wednesday and called 911.

police are seeking a burgundy/maroon infiniti or nissan with front end damage and a missing side-view mirror; call (831) 622-0511 or (831) 796-2160.

and please, please, please, be careful out there. drive slower. look where you're going. don't drive if you're intoxicated or if you're really tired.

ALSO: if you ever hit someone, STOP. STOP AND CALL FOR HELP. we'll never know what could have happened, but there were eight hours between the likely time of the accident and when another cyclist called 911. if you've hit someone, the very least you can do is make sure they're being attended to. i can't believe it's even necessary to spell that out.

parke leaves behind a mother, a sister, and a lot of friends. these people's lives will never be the same, and it didn't have to be this way. parke's boss remembers him. to those people: i'm so sorry this happened.

equal marriage rights: not just an abstract question

courage campaign institute: ed watson and derence kernek on the importance of lifting the prop. 8 stay

california's prop 8, which took away the right of gay people to get married in the state of california, was a crushing political defeat for people who believe in equal rights. the california state supreme court is considering a challenge to prop 8, but not until after they take a six month summer vacation—sorry, for judges it's apparently called a summer recess—and in that time, some people have gotten the idea that the ban on marriages while the court case is being settled should be lifted.

and here's one example of why. ed and derence have been together for forty years, but ed has alzheimer's disease and it's progressing quickly. he and derence want to get married before ed's health deteriorates further. note that this video might make you cry.

but i think it's really important to consider that forbidding gay marriages is impacting the lives of real people. it's not just a fascinating legal matter with vast social and political implications. depriving people of equal rights harms them and our society. and it's categorically the wrong thing to do.

more stories and the opportunity to submit your own here.

another way of thinking about voting on same-sex marriage

"Sinead's Hand," from MarriagEquality (Ireland)

[did i tear up? yes i did.]

internet, help catch a hit-and-run driver who hurt a 4 year old and broke his dad's back.

yesterday a woman ran a red light and hit a father and his four year old son who were riding their bicycles on a green. the father's back is broken. his son is not seriously injured, thank god.

don't depend on the police to find the driver. there were witnesses who left before the cops arrived, and we need to find them. help find her.
---
Contact Andrew Bennett at (415) 939-4700 OR mailandrewbennett@gmail.com with any information on the below.

Hit and Run of Two Cyclists, One aged Four, at 18th And Valencia

On Wednesday, July 1st 2009 at 11:30am a Silver PT Cruiser sped through at red light going westbound on 18th across Valencia in the Mission District of San Francisco.

This vehicle struck an adult riding a grey steel frame bicycle which had a blue childrens add on tandem bike ridden by a four year old boy. The cyclists were traveling through the intersection on the green light going northbound on Valencia at 18th street, July 1/2009 at 11:30am

The driver sped up to run a red light causing severe injury to at least one of the cyclists.

Many people witnessed the accident and gave aid, several said that they got a plate # but when SFPD interviewed, the only people present had incomplete information. It is believed that witnesses with complete info left the scene believing that those remaining had complete info.

Unless more information is gained, the driver will not be found. If you witnessed this accident, or know someone who did, please, please come forward by contacting Andrew Bennett at (415) 939-4700 OR mailandrewbennett@gmail.com AND by calling the SFPD hit and Run Unit at (415) 553-1641. Case Number 090669569 (ask for Inspector Custer).

One of the cyclists has a fractured spine. We need your help in bringing the driver who hit a father and son and left the scene to justice. An injury to one is an injury to all.

it's sunbeam, not terrorist.

like anyone else with a heart, i was disgusted to read about the murder of dr. george tiller, who was gunned down this morning in his church. he was serving as an usher. he leaves behind his wife, four children, and ten grandchildren.

violence against abortion providers, seekers, and supporters, is terrorism and should be identified as such. the fact that anti-abortion terrorists are frequently white and christian should not stop them from being treated like their non-white and non-christian counterparts. it is a striking, though not altogether surprising, example of incredible double standards to do otherwise.

mark juergensmeyer, a ucsb professor in global and international studies, sociology, and religious studies, and director of ucsb's orfalea center for global and international studies, has studied religious violence extensively. i'd recommend his book, terror in the mind of god: the global rise of religious violence (berkeley: university of california press, 2001), in which he explains that every religion has within it the potential for violence. juergensmeyer calls religion "crucial," noting that "it gives moral justifications for killing and provides images of cosmic war that allow activists to believe that they are waging spiritual scenarios" (xi).

and this is precisely what anti-abortion terrorists are doing. and what they have been doing for years. and what they are likely to continue to do.

the ap complied a timeline of selected acts of anti-abortion terrorism in the last 16 years:

Recent cases of abortion-related violence

A look at recent cases of abortion-related violence:

May 31, 2009: Prominent late-term abortion provider George Tiller is shot and killed in a Wichita church where he was serving as an usher. The gunman fled but a city official said a suspect is in custody.

April 2007: Authorities say Paul Ross Evans placed a homemade bomb in the parking lot of the Austin Women's Health Center in Texas. A bomb squad disposes of the device, which contained two pounds of nails. There are no injuries.

Oct. 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian is fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. Militant abortion opponent James Kopp is convicted of the murder in 2003 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Jan. 29, 1998: A bomb explodes just outside a Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic, killing a police officer and wounding several others. Eric Rudolph later pleads guilty to that incident and the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He justifies the Alabama bombing in an essay from prison, writing that Jesus would condone "militant action in defense of the innocent."

Jan. 16, 1997: Two bomb blasts an hour apart rock an Atlanta building containing an abortion clinic. Seven people are injured. Rudolph is charged by federal authorities in October 1998.

Dec. 30, 1994: John Salvi opens fire with a rifle inside two Boston-area abortion clinics, killing two receptionists and wounding five others. Sentenced to life without parole, he kills himself in prison in 1996.

Nov. 8, 1994: Dr. Garson Romalis, who performs abortions in Vancouver, Canada, is shot in the leg while eating breakfast at home.

July 29, 1994: Dr. John Bayard Britton and his volunteer escort, James H. Barrett, are slain outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic. Barrett's wife, June, is wounded in the attack. Paul J. Hill, 40, a former minister and anti-abortion activist, is later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Aug. 19, 1993: Dr. George Tiller is shot in the arms as he drives out of parking lot at his Wichita, Kan., clinic. Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon is later convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

March 10, 1993: Dr. David Gunn is shot to death outside Pensacola, Fla., clinic, becoming the first U.S. doctor killed during an anti-abortion demonstration. Michael Griffin is convicted and serving a life sentence.

these people and their accomplices are obviously able to justify their actions to themselves, most of them blaming it on jesus, but here's the thing: killing people is wrong. no exceptions. if you can find me the part in the gospels where jesus kills someone because he doesn't approve of their choices, then i'll consider re-thinking this. but i've read those books quite a few times, and i still don't see the part where killing (or even injuring) someone is acceptable. ever.

the less openly-militant wing of the anti-abortion movement is also alive and well. randall terry, the former leader of "operation rescue" has been back in the news again, telling reporters at notre dame that "Obama is the premier promoter of child killing in the western hemisphere. When you have that kind of epic thing going on, it demands a response from the whole Catholic world." obama promotes child killing? more than anyone else in the western hemisphere? really? expect to see more of this rhetoric, as the militant right struggles to come to terms with the fact that bush never made good on his promises to them, and obama isn't even going to pretend like he'll give them what they want.

i don't have a lot of patience for people who want to restrict abortion rights, even through peaceful means. it is an issue of basic bodily autonomy for a woman or a girl to decide whether or not she is going to carry a fetus to term. and making abortion illegal will not magically end abortion; it will just drive it underground. anyone who is genuinely concerned for the health and well-being of women wants to avoid this at all costs.

rest in peace, dr. tiller. and may your family find comfort and healing in this time of unacceptable loss.

the defenders of marriage

the defenders (2009)

from jesse danger.

this movie gets me teary at the end every time.

you too can get one of these stickers, for free (free shipping, even!) here.

you can also order 5 for $5 or 50 stickers for $25, with proceeds going to the fight for marriage equality.

or, if you already ordered a sticker a few weeks ago like i did, you can just sit and watch the number of stickers ordered going up in real time. that feels pretty good, actually. (today i looked around noon and 27,000something had been ordered. less than three hours later, it's just reached 37,000).

from the "wtf srsly?!?" section of my favorite state:

"California Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Same-Sex Marriage"

ugh. i feel gross. after watching the public arguments about proposition 8, i wasn't feeling very optimistic anyway, but having it confirmed is pretty discouraging.

i don't really have the energy to write much about it right now; sometimes i'm ready to argue about it for hours but right now i'm just sad. another day.

but anti-equality folks: you should be ashamed of yourselves. maybe you think gays are icky, that the bible is against homosexuality, or perhaps you just lack any sort of meaningful capacity for empathy or fail to place any value on fairness—whatever's wrong with you that makes you want to deny basic rights and recognition to other people, people who are just like you, with hopes and dreams and families and crushes, i hope you get that looked at.

where would i go if i were in albuquerque on march 11 or march 13?

i'm so glad you asked! unfortunately, i continue to not be in albuquerque, but maybe you will be. from the always excellent, rad and radical mike butler:

Food Not Bombs Albuquerque Facing Fines and Arrests!!

Hey Comp@s,
Food Not Bombs Albuquerque was recently notified that we are facing having to pay $3,000.00 in fines and we will be "forcibly removed" from the area near the UNM Bookstore if we continue to share free healthy food. We are asking for all of our friends and supporters to bring video cameras, cameras, instruments like drums and guitar, and join us as we share a free healthy meal with the community Wednesday March 11 @ 11am and Friday March 13 @ 12 noon at the UNM Bookstore.
Thanks so much for your support in the past and we hope to
see you in the streets!
Mike Butler
Food Not Bombs Albuquerque
(505) 242-0497 or fnb_505@yahoo.com

this is one way to deal with the government auctioning off public land to be destroyed by oil and gas companies:

(ap story, via huffington post) a 27 year old university of utah student named tim dechristopher went to a bureau of land management auction in december and starting bidding on parcels of federal land that were being sold to oil and gas companies. he won 13 of them, and managed to make others much more expensive than they would have been otherwise.

"I thought I could be effective by making bids, driving up prices for others and winning some bids myself," the Salt Lake City man said.
snip
DeChristopher snapped up 22,500 acres of land around Arches and Canyonlands parks but said he could afford to pay for only a few of those acres. He owes $1.7 million on all of his leases.

he's expecting federal charges, he says, and he's "willing to deal with that."

somewhere, edward abbey is smiling.

because i respect honesty in headlines:

from the san francisco chronicle: "Power plant has no plans to stop killing fish"

can we all just agree that rick warren is an unacceptable choice for obama's inauguration?

i agree that it is important to build bridges between people with different opinions. i know that this is a particular strength of barack obama, and i admire him for it. at this point, i've given up on the idea that an american president would be as progressive as i'd like. i get it. i'm going to be disappointed sometimes.

but seriously. rick warren?

from a beliefnet interview published december 17, 2008:

WARREN: The issue to me, I'm not opposed to that as much as I'm opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I'm opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

BELIEFNET: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?

WARREN: Oh, I do.

seriously, obama? that was who you thought would be a good choice for your inauguration? rick warren? who this week compared same-sex marriage to incest, pedophilia, and "fundamentalist mormon" marriage? was rick santorum not available or something?

equality california's got a petition demanding that warren be uninvited here.

i'm still in shock about this one. what a slap in the face to gay and lesbian people and their allies. for shame, obama.

can we all just agree that something big is happening? or, prop 8 thoughts.

i was devastated at the passage of proposition 8. sad and hurt and angry and ashamed and generally miserable. wednesday was a horrible day.

in my head, i know some things: this can't last forever; this is a struggle that's been going on for a long time, much longer than i've been alive; society will come around eventually; people have to be patient; etc etc etc.

and as much as it is horribly unfair to tell people that they have to continue to wait for full acceptance and full recognition of their worth as human beings, i do understand, at least on an intellectual level, that the fight for civil rights is continuing, and will ultimately succeed.

the distance between head and heart, as usual, is pretty huge. my heart broke last week as i talked to friends and heard their hurt and confusion, and feelings of danger and rejection. and as much as i thought i'd be ecstatic over an obama victory, i have been so upset over the success of prop 8 that i've hardly felt anything over obama's election at all.

but i realized something tonight, as i heard about and read about still more protests and campaigns against prop 8 and for equality: proposition 8 has touched off something huge. there are many people who have been diligently working toward equality for decades, and now, as never before, there is a groundswell of popular support for equality. and more straight allies are emerging than ever before.

the next days and weeks and months are sure to be exciting and scary times, for many reasons. but this is just another one.

something big is happening. i feel it.

post-election thoughts

i've never been proud to be an american and ashamed to be a californian before.

seriously, no on 8.

today i got a yes on 8 mailer. and i'm still pissed about it. i can't really write logically about it right now because i'm too damn angry. but:

for anyone interested in helping stop prop 8:

1. donate: your money puts ads on the air. the mormon church has pumped millions of dollars into the yes campaign, and turned public opinion from 38% in favor/55% opposed in mid-september to a majority in favor today. donations are being matched dollar for dollar until midnight tonight (10/31.)

2. call voters: the yes on 8 campaign mobilized thousands of people (many from out of state) to call and knock on doors, spreading lies about prop 8. you can sign up online to call people, either at a phone bank or from your own home. for calling from home, they use a fancy calling system that means that your number doesn't show up on people's caller id, and you pay no long distance fees. i've been doing it, and although it makes me nervous, i am proud to be a part of this effort.

3. talk to your friends and family about prop 8: i've definitely got friends who support/considered supporting/used to support prop 8. there are still people who haven't really heard about prop 8, since there's so much noise about this election. others have only heard from the yes on prop 8 people, and may be convinced that without prop 8, all elementary school classes will be replaced with mandatory, non-age appropriate sex ed. (for the record, parents have always, and will always have opt-out rights in the state of california...remember those permission slips you had to return before awkward sixth grade sex ed time? still the law.)

i talked to both of my parents about it. my mom donated, and my dad's thinking about it.

for more information: http://www.noonprop8.com

vote no on proposition 4 (again.)

in november 2006 i wrote this about proposition 85, which can be seen as the parent of proposition 4. (proposition 73 is the grandparent, i suppose; anti-choicers have been trying to force through a parental notification law in california for a long time) [i only changed the proposition numbers and the date references; the rest is vintage 2006 c.w.a.j.a.?.]:

so two years ago, california voters rejected prop 85. and this year, i hope we reject prop 4 as well. it's a law that would require parental consent for all minors seeking abortions. and it's a bad plan. in a super ideal world, no minors would have to seek abortions, period. (you know, that world in which no one is ever a victim of sexual assault, and all birth control is 100% efffective? that super ideal world.) in an ideal world, all minors would be able to talk to their parents and those parents would be supportive, emotionally and financially, if a minor decided to seek an abortion.

but here's the thing: we don't live in either of those worlds. sometimes girls can't talk to their parents about needing an abortion. because sometimes their parents would kick them out of the house, or kill them, or force them to keep a baby they didn't want and couldn't care for. and sometimes, those dads or stepdads are the fathers of the babies, or those moms or stepmoms are the ones who knew that girls were being raped and didn't stop it.

so seriously, california voters, think about this. sometimes girls will not be safe, and cannot get what they need, from their parents. awesome for you and your kids if that isn't your situation. but realize that this isn't the case for everyone. think of the girls who can't talk to their parents. and vote no on prop 4. it's a horrible idea, just like props 85 and 73 were two and three years ago, respectively. no on 4.

and there you have it. the bottom line is this: not all girls can safely tell their parents that they are pregnant. although proposition 4 provides an option for girls to seek a waiver from a judge, that is an unacceptable solution. the last thing a scared, pregnant girl needs is to have to navigate our legal system and then be forced to justify herself before a judge, who may or may not decide that she has to tell her parents because he finds her explanation why she can't uncompelling.

oh. also: making it harder for teenagers to have abortions isn't going to reduce the number of teenagers having abortions. it will just reduce the number of teenagers having saving, legal abortions. if prop 4 passes, more girls will turn to unsafe methods, and their lives will be in danger. no on 4.

vote no on gender auditors, and no on proposition 8.

courage campaign, "gender auditors"

via the always excellent meh-wee-uhn at hai voluto la bicicletta, which used to be called "sleep is the new sex", and which is still wonderful.

please pay attention to the rnc protests.

amy goodman explains what happened

journalists, photographers, community activists, food not bombs volunteers, and plenty of other folks are being arrested right now. don't watch this happening silently.

action alert from mike:

"So things are getting worse in ST. Paul and we need to support our friends can you please post the following on your blog. Feel free to edit it but make sure to include the media links and the phone numbers as it is extremely important to get as many people as possible to call!

Peace, love, Unity,

Mike Butler

RED ALERT!!!

THERE IS A FASCIST POLICE STATE IN ST. PAUL

http://twincities.indymedia.org/

http://news.infoshop.org/search.php?mode=search&type=stories&topic=dncrnc2008

http://indymedia.us/en/index.shtml

http://www.democracynow.org/

Also Watch Democracy Now! Tomorrow as police have arrested a journalist with that show!!

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON: FREE OUR FRIENDS!!

Hennepin County Jail: 612-348-5112

Ramsey County Jail: 651-266-9350

FLOOD THE MAYORS' OFFICES ASAP

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman

651-266-8510

Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak

(612) 673-2100

(612) 673-3000 outside Minneapolis

Sunday

3:30pm: Plymouth police refusing to let IWW union workers off train taking them back to Bloomington Station. Diabetic who needs insulin also not allowed. (Twin Cities IMC)

2:30pm: Cops have surrounded train to get at reinstated IWW organizer and escorting friends and fellow union workers. (Twin Cities IMC)

1:30pm - Cops moved in on demonstration of around 30 people in intersection at 6th and Washington. Intersection cleared, no arrests.

Nine arrested from vets march detained

RNC protest groups file court order to stop police seizures

Sixth person arrested in anarchist investigation; advocate says one is being denied meds and vegan food

Saturday

10:45pm: Permaculture bus impounded? No reported arrests.

RNC Welcoming Committee Organizers Seek Sanctuary From Illegal Arrests

Complete search warrant from Minneapolis raid today

Coldsnap: NLG lawyers ejected from press conference. 2 NLG lawyers kicked out of law enforcement press conference in St. Paul!

3:30pm: One more WC member grabbed on street by police squad.

9:45am: House raid occurring at 3500 Harriet Ave S. Approximately 20 people

9:45am: One person arrested, taken to jail from Food Not Bombs House. One person from Food Not Bombs House Arrested, Charged with Four Counts of Conspiracy

9:45: People from 17th Ave. House Charged with Conspiracy to Riot

Friday night

St. Paul: 10:30 pm CDT: Convergence center on Smith Ave. has been raided by the cops. They have a warrant. The cops have handcuffed everybody at the center and are processing people to get their names and identification. No arrests at this time. Twin Cities Indymedia reports: The convergence space is currently being raided. Police burst in and are using force against people. Everyone inside has been handcuffed. Estimates of people inside currently vary between 20-70. One block radius around the convergence space has been blocked off. Lawyers, legal observers and media are on the way. More updates as they come.

St. Paul: 10:30 pm CDT: No arrests during Critical Mass ride, though there were several crashes."