All Politics Is Local
Or: As Ojai Goes, So Goes The World
The Ojai Valley News reports that a potentially gang-related vandalism and assault incident took place on Tuesday on Santa Ana Road in Oak View, resulting in one arrest.
This comes on the heels of the Ojai Valley community's first major International Peace Day celebration, convened by the Retreats of Ojai, the Ojai Peace Coalition, and the Ojai Interfaith Alliance and titled "Living Peace in Ojai". The weekend-long event included the awarding of the first-ever Noble Peace Prize to local activists Clive and Marion Leeman, performance of the nation-traveling play "The Gift of Peace" which explores and urges support for the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace, and a well-attended and inspirational interspiritual gathering.
The Peace Alliance's campaign to establish a Cabinet-level Department of Peace - which holds "Effectively treat and dismantle gang psychology" as one of its foundational efforts - is led by Ohio Congressman and Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who was in Ojai over the weekend for two appearances. At the Ojai Retreat on Sunday afternoon, Dennis outlined his philosophy of "Strength Through Peace" to over 100 local supporters. Later that evening at the Glen Muse estate on Libbey Ave, a more informal gathering left many feeling uplifted and hopeful for the Kucinich's new post-election home.
MORE after the jump!
The White House will soon see a $23 billion package that contains a nation's-worth of water- and flood-control projects, one of which is the $144.5 million removal of the Matilija Dam. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill because it's expensive. Meanwhile, war costs us $259 million every day.
War is the subject, or at least a main character, in no less than four (and as many as six) of the over 50 feature films, shorts, and videos in this year's Ojai Film Festival, which runs from October 4th through 7th with screenings at Libbey Bowl, the Ojai Arts Center, Matilija Junior High School, and the Ojai Playhouse. Brief descriptions of the films are HERE, and the schedule is HERE.
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Comments (20)
"All Politics Is Local
Or: As Ojai Goes, So Goes The World"
Evan- does this statement meet the requirements of deductive logic?
Or is it wishful thinking?
Comment #1 Posted by: Anonymous | September 27, 2007 06:03 PM
What does it mean "after the jump", what jump? When will there be a jump?
Comment #2 Posted by: Anonymous | September 27, 2007 07:45 PM
anonymous 6:03, The first part (All politics...) is a quote/truism often attributed to former Speaker of the House Thomas O'Neill Jr., but which actually was passed to him by his father, Tom Sr.
i'm not sure why deductive logic is the standard here, but if you could explain what you mean by your statements perhaps we could dialog about it a bit more clearly.
anonymous 7:45, the "jump" is the electronic equivalent to the "fold" in a newspaper. in the latter, some parts of the article may continue "below the fold", where in the former the full article is available "after the jump".
Comment #3 Posted by: evan austin | September 27, 2007 08:42 PM
I think that it could mean that people tend vote their interests, that politics are provincial: I vote for what benefits me and my group. If the money is flowing to my state, then the greatest good has come to the greatest number (in my neighborhood).
A more positive slant would be that peace and prosperity, it its broadest sense, begin at home. We can't change the world, but we can affect our neighborhod, our watershed, our ecosytem.
Remembering old Tip, my guess is that he believed the former.
Comment #4 Posted by: Dennis Rice | September 27, 2007 09:02 PM
I get the "All Politics is Local" bit.
I just don't grok the "As Ojai Goes, So Goes The World"
I'm afraid to think it's small town presumptiveness
I can easily accept that "As Ojai Goes, So Goes Ojai"
Comment #5 Posted by: Anonymous | September 27, 2007 10:58 PM
I just re-read Dennis Rice.
It helped me get closer to the "As Ojai Goes, So Goes The World" notion.
I'm an Aries. I tend to see things from a very personal perspective.
I'll work on my "globality"
Comment #6 Posted by: Anonymous | September 27, 2007 11:25 PM
are we conversing with the same anonymous here? :)
i'm an aries, too! welcome to globality!
what struck me about much of the local news and goings-on was how much Ojai is connected to the national and world scene...both influenced by and influencing things at much larger levels. if we can believe that Ojai is both a special place AND a very normal place - characterized by the same kinds of people, same types of work and businesses, same social and political attitudes, same struggles, same hopes, etc - as most other places, then we can rather easily use our own community experience (our own group or neighborhood, to borrow from Dennis) as a microcosm from which to gauge the general state of the bigger picture. specifically, i'll borrow from Dennis again: "...peace and prosperity, it its broadest sense, begin at home. We can't change the world, but we can affect our neighborhood, our watershed, our ecosystem." Every change at the world level had to start in someone's backyard. be the change.
Comment #7 Posted by: evan austin | September 28, 2007 07:29 AM
You said it, brother!
"be the change"
I'd like to see that on a T-shirt or bumper sticker...
Comment #8 Posted by: LTOR | September 28, 2007 07:51 AM
there are lots of stickers with the full Gandhi quote, but i haven't seen one with the condensed version...maybe i'll make one! thanks, LTOR!
Comment #9 Posted by: evan austin | September 28, 2007 08:22 AM
Do it! I'll slap it on the back of my nephew's BUCK FUSH T-shirt...
I know, I know - not in the spirit of Ghandi, but desperate times...
LOL
Comment #10 Posted by: LTOR | September 28, 2007 08:48 AM
Don't you people have jobs? Me thinks you have WAY to much time on your hands!!!
Comment #11 Posted by: Gainfully Employed | September 28, 2007 01:02 PM
i'm actually at work RIGHT NOW, Gainfully! i'm on my lunch break, so the answer to your question is YES. other than that, thanks for sharing your thoughts and the free judgments!
Comment #12 Posted by: evan austin | September 28, 2007 01:12 PM
Out sick this week, Gainfully, and a fever to boot! I DO have way too much time on hands, and nowhere to go, unfortunately. But, hey, thanks for asking!!!
Comment #13 Posted by: LTOR | September 28, 2007 01:31 PM
Jobs?
work?
WAY overrated...
Comment #14 Posted by: Anonymous | September 28, 2007 02:41 PM
Vince Foster murder
White Water
Susan McDougal
Travel Gate
Juanita Broderick (Rape Victim of slick willy)
Gennifer Flowers
Paula Jones
Famous Monica Lewinsky
Invasion of Bosnia (Illegal War)
Raised taxes on peopel earning over $200,000 a year.
Supports Killing of babies
(Partial Birth Abortion)
= Hillary Rodham Clinton
We cannot trust this criminal...
Comment #15 Posted by: evan the great | September 28, 2007 04:16 PM
Me thinks you have WAY to much time on your hands!!!
Me thinks you need to learn the difference between "to" and "too".
Comment #16 Posted by: bored | September 28, 2007 06:33 PM
evan' ( you need a theme song that follows you around. then we could all hum along when you're not there...
Comment #17 Posted by: free chain stores | September 28, 2007 06:48 PM
Greetings neighbors! Saturday September 29th is the United Way Day of Caring. Volunteers are needed at HELP of Ojai's Little House on Santa Ana and Blanche. The clean-up of the grounds at Little House starts at 9 and a bar b q lunch wraps up the event at HELP's West Campus on Baldwin Road where volunteers are also needed. Free T-shirts and lunch for three hours of your time...the opportunities to make a positive difference by being a caring neighbor...come volunteer if you have some extra time on your hands.
Comment #18 Posted by: Beth Scott | September 28, 2007 08:24 PM
evan,
Time for an "Open Thread"?
FREE BURMA!
FREE AUNG SAN SUU KYI!
Comment #19 Posted by: LTOR | September 28, 2007 08:25 PM
"All Politics Is Local
Or: As Ojai Goes, So Goes The World"
I just realized that Beth Scott and I posted simultaneously. How appropro...maybe this is the best "Open Thread" of all.
Good luck today, Beth!
Comment #20 Posted by: LTOR | September 29, 2007 06:15 AM