The Ojai Post

From Mother Jones, a photo essay...

The photos on these pages are selected from photographer Brian Ulrich's Copia project, which began after 9/11. "In 2001, citizens were encouraged to take to the malls to boost the U.S. economy through shopping," he says, "thereby equating consumerism with patriotism. The Copia project, a direct response to that advice, is a long-term photographic examination of the peculiarities and complexities of the consumer-dominated culture in which we live."

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Posted by Mike Didj at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

In a news story written by Nao Braverman in Friday's Ojai Valley News, "owners of the Ozena Valley Sand and Gravel Mine and the Virgilio Family Trust filed a lawsuit against Ventura County last week, for allegedly changing the scope of their permitted operations without prior notice, hearing or environmental review, according to the lawsuit. They are also filing charges against the county for restricting the use of State Highway 33, which is allegedly in excess of the authority granted to the county, according to the legal petition."

(Anthony Virgilio, courtesy of Ilumination News Investigative Service & the WorldWideWeb)

The OVN reports that, "the county’s position is that they have not done anything wrong, said District 1 Supervisor Steve Bennett. Since 2001, the Ozena Valley Mine’s conditional use permit allows project-related trucks to travel on Highway 33 through the Ojai Valley, Monday through Friday between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. "

For the full story go to:

http://ojaivalleynews.blogspot.com/2008/03/gravel-truck-owners-suing-county.html

"The plaintiffs believe this to be a reinterpretation of their permit requirements, by which they have been operating their business for seven years according to the lawsuit."

In a letter of January 17, 2008 to Scott Eicher of “Stop the Trucks,” by Kim Rodriguez, the head of the Ventura County Planning Division, she makes several key declarations and acknowledgements. First that although there was some past confusion among department staff as to the interpretation of the hours listed in the 2003 CUP Modification #1 of 2003, the Planning Division has determined that Condition 72 (Days and Hours of Operation) will be enforced using a strict and literal reading of the conditions which prohibit “All Project Related Travel on Highway 33 between Casitas Springs and the City of Ojai on weekdays at any time other than 6:00am to 7:00 am and 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and Saturdays from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Ms. Rodriguez goes on further to indicate that if Ozena was in regular and routine violation of the CUP that the Department would take appropriate action against the mine, beginning with a hearing before the Planning Commission to either modify, suspend, or revoke the permit for cause. If corrective action were not taken it is unlikely that the Planning dependent staff would recommend approval of the CUP Modification Request to the Planning Commission.

Last October the agent for Ozena, John Hecht stated in a letter to the Planning Division, “The applicant has relied on the county’s staff’s previous actions and interpretations in operating the project. If staff positions on Condition 72 changes and the limitations become absolute and bi-directional, it will severely harm the applicant and render this project un-economic.”

In an analysis of the Ozena situation sent to the County earlier this year, "Stop the Trucks," concluded that:

A) Not only is Ozena trying to shift blame onto the County's Planning Division for any possible non-compliance, they have clearly put themselves in a double bind:

B) If Ozena has been running a successful and economically viable operation for seven years without violating the terms of the CUP, there is no need for them to expand the scope of their operations or change the limitations on hours as proposed in the new Modification #2.

C) If on the other hand they have been economically viable only because they have been interpreting the CUP in their own (and unjustified) manner), then it is clear that they have been in violation of the terms of the original CUP and Modification #1 and they should have their permit terminated and the request for Modification #2 denied.

D) Based on this analysis and prior to any Planning Division EIR of Modification #2, there should be a thorough, open and public investigation of whether or not Ozena has in fact complied with the existing CUP conditions.

E) The review should include at a minimum 2 continuous months worth of weigh tickets and billing records for the same time period. Preferably these tickets should be from July and August of 2007 and should specifically include the days immediately before and after the August 14th Complaints. Although the Coalition raised serious questions about the credibility of the weigh tickets, obtaining two months worth along with financial data such as billing records for the same time period should enable a credible analyst to determine if in fact there was true compliance.

F) If in fact the operators are found to be out of compliance, proceedings should be initiated to immediately suspend their current permit and deny their request for Modification #2 and the Aquaculture CUP.

G) There should be a review by Planning Division staff and County Counsel, if needed, to assess the ownership rights of Tony Virgilio. If found lacking, the permits should be denied.

H) There should be a review by California Fish and Game to determine compliance with that agreement and again, if found lacking all permits should be terminated and/or denied.

I) Should the Mine be found in compliance then better means for reasonable and feasible monitoring of the mine operation must be implemented at the operator’s cost. This should include cameras not only at the mine but also in Casitas Springs, in Ojai and at the junction of Lockwood Valley Road and Route 33. Cameras should be accessible online by the public with digital back ups for every day archived by the County for later review. Under no circumstances should the cameras be under the control of the operator.

J) The “Stop the Trucks” Coalition should be prepared to take whatever steps are necessary, including legal action to insure that a full review as noted in B) – H) occur as soon as possible and prior to any other consideration of the Ozena permits.

(Image provided courtesy of Daly Road Graphics & Ray Smith)

Who Are the Members of the “Stop the Trucks Coalition”: The “Stop the Trucks” coalition is composed entirely of citizen volunteers such as yourselves. The coalition and its executive board represent the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce; the City of Ojai; the Ojai Valley Unified School District; the Ojai Valley Board of Realtors; Los Padres Forestwatch and many other citizens and affiliated groups. We are represented by a top environmental law firm.

Why are you Raising Money: Members of the coalition are all volunteers who have donated their time because like you, they believe the Ojai is worth saving. Our fundraising efforts help pay mounting legal expenses in our efforts to challenge the Ozena Mine and others from trying to gain approval to send hundreds of mine transport double hopper trucks through Ojai as well as our efforts to challenge Caltrans so that the City of Ojai may end up reasserting control and jurisdiction on whether or not massive industrialization or our two major road arties can proceed.

How can I Help or Donate Funds: The Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce is helping the coalition collect funds. Please either call the office at 640-2524 or see our “Pledge Form” at:
http://www.ojaipost.com/2007/05/stop_the_trucks_pledge_form.shtml

How can I File a Complaint about Trucks that Appear to be Violating the Rules: We have posted a “Catch the Trucks” complaint form at: http://www.ojaipost.com/2007/06/catch_a_truck_violation_report.shtml

What are the Rules: Some of the mines currently have little or no restrictions imposed upon them. On weekdays Ozena is limited to sending trucks in either direction between Casitas Springs and Ojai from 6:00 am to 7:00am and from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

How can I Contact “Stop the Trucks”: You can call “Stop the Trucks” at 640-2524. Leave a message if no one is available or you can email at smythe@ojai.net and we will try to direct your query to the right person. For periodic news updates or for background information go to: http://www.ojaipost.com/stopthetrucks.shtml

Posted by Howard Smith at 08:47 AM | Permalink

Up to 54 cents of every dollar you send to Uncle Sam this tax season will go to the United States military in some way, and yet even as militarism is touted as a solution to the world's ills, we live in a time of unprecedented global unrest. The Ojai Peace Coalition invites you to spend an evening discovering the connections - both personal and collective - between the world's violence and our own hard work, and what nonviolent means are available for resistance.

Joseph Maizlish of Southern California War Tax Resisters and Norman Bauer of the Ventura County Committee to Stop the War will co-present about protesting war through tax resistance and counter-recruitment at a private home in Ojai on Saturday, April 5th, 2008.

Contact me for exact location and time.
This event is FREE, with donations accepted.

Posted by evan austin at 08:09 AM | Permalink

the following guest editorial was submitted by Jeff Furchtenicht and Sean P. Keenan.

Its a beautiful Saturday. We're strolling downtown, for our first cup of coffee, a chat with friends and neighbors, the usual in our bucolic 'burb.

Oops, not this morning. The Minutemen have arrived in Ojai.

There they are, dragging the American flag on the ground, standing on a corner where members of our community gather for work, yelling and screaming.

Please. Not in our town. And not before our first cup of coffee.

First, their ostensible purpose is to prevent anyone who might be looking for day labor this morning from getting any work. Apparently they have discerned that anyone who is looking for day labor is an illegal alien. We asked them how they knew that. The answer: "Are you trying to play the race card?"

"Well, no. I'm asking you how you know that anyone looking for day labor in Ojai is illegal."

A woman got in our face. "I'm half Mexican. Are you calling me a racist?" She paused, then she said: "This is about protecting the white man."

No way. Did she really just say that?

Yep. She did.

I asked if any of them would like some work today. I told them I could probably find something for them.

None of them wanted to work. "I don't work for slave wages," said one, the tall skinny guy who looks like he's been meth-ravaged.

Well, okay. $8 an hour? The minimum wage? $10 dollars? $15 dollars an hour?

Not interested.

Hey, can all of you prove you are citizens? That you are here legally?

"We don't have to," they said. But they looked pretty sheepish for a second. Then one pulled out his drivers' license. Another said he had a social security card. Not a passport or birth certificate in the bunch.

They went back to their refrain. "We don't have to prove we're legal."

(Perhaps La Migra/ICE ought to haul these people down to a detention center until they can prove their citizenship or legal residency.)

We pressed on. "How do you know people looking for work are or are not illegal?"

One juts forward. "Statistics show 99% of these people are illegal."

What people? People in Ojai looking for work? I've never heard of that study.

Final question: "Hey, do any of you live in Ojai?"

This shut them up. They all piped down and got sheepish, for just a second. One guy spoke up: "I live in Ventura County."

One woman then let her American flag drag on the sidewalk. She had a can of what she said was pepper spray in her hand. What's that for?

Anyone who is "unAmerican."

She didn't use it on herself of her friends though. Instead, she lamented, our town seems to have gone "all blue." She thanked God however that Elton Gallegly had decided not to retire. "At least he's with us," she said. Indeed.

Anyway, by this time, plenty of our good citizens had already turned out with signs and posters countering these people. The minutemen are outnumbered in Ojai. We can be proud.

Sadly there was more than one passing vehicle that honked or waved in sympathy with these kooks. (A word of advice, people: If you are driving a shiny Porsche and have jowls, giving a thumbs up to the Minutemen as you turn onto Montgomery just looks really ugly.)

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (128)

I've been here in Ojai for 5 years - and summer is my favorite time of the year. My kids come to visit, and we love walking into town and buying ice cream cones, while enjoying a stroll together through the shops. However, every time we walk by the "Ojai Ice Cream & Fudge company" (the only ice cream cone place in town), I get knocked out by all the artificial aromas coming from the place. I feel sorry for all the visiting adults and kids, as I watch them licking some blue/green bubble-gum concoctions made of artificial colors and flavors.

I actually tried their ice cream once and started sneezing after taking a couple of licks. I'm sensitive to artificial flavor and color. What a drag! It's so disappointing that in such a lovely-organic-home grown natural town like Ojai (where we pride ourselves in good healthy food); we can’t offer a fresh, natural ice cream cone made with natural un-chemicaled (possible even organic) ice cream. You’d think? Why don’t we let a Haagen Das, McConnell’s, Reed’s or even Breyers ice cream open shop? Anything but the artificial mess we have now posing for ice cream. It just ain’t healthy!

I’m sure I’ve probably overstepped my bounds, after all, I’m a new comer in town – but why hasn’t this ever come up before? Don’t we all like fresh healthy ice cream cones in the summer? Anyway, maybe you can help me understand the situation a little better, as I’m sure the owners are probably great people, who serve the community and love kids. I know I'd like them, but how come they don’t know who makes the pink bubble-gum blue green artificial chocolate chip ick-scream cones?

Posted by Dvorah Adler at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

The corner of Montgomery Street and Ojai Avenue is ALIVE right now, and it's not just the heavy morning traffic. That collection of corners informally make up what some call a DLS, or Day Laborer Site, and there are at least three different groups there this morning, representing many sides of the immigration issue.

Save Our State and No More Invasion chose that corner in Ojai for an anti-illegal-immigration protest this morning, and their message seems to be heightened border security, more strict laws to deal with people who are currently here illegally, and mass deportation. These two groups are known for working together and for embracing tactics of fear and intimidation, including having used pepper spray on someone in recent months. They also videotape much of their protests and post the videos on YouTube.

One of the group's emails was intercepted, and so a second group present is the "ad-hoc anti-fascist coalition" which i believe is based in Ventura. They are mostly young people, dressed in much black and metal, and equipped with banners, signs, flags, and a bullhorn. This group equates SOS and NMI with fascists, Nazis, and white supremists, and so their call is for these Minutemen to go away.

A third, very small group is comprised of some locals who have a distaste for the negative and violent energies of the previous ones, who desire to stand in solidarity with the day laborers in a spirit of compassion. A fourth group is of course the laborers themselves, who were made aware of the impending protest within the past couple of days both by local activists and police. They are mostly quiet, having receded from the corner and watching in a loose group as the Minutemen and anti-fascists have their yelling match. Ultimately, they are not able to be on the actual corner where it's easiest to be picked up, so in a sense the Minutemen have succeeded for today.

The protests will last at least until noon...if you're going through downtown Ojai, you can't miss it.
Photos coming soon.

Posted by evan austin at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (80)

Saturday, March 29, 2008, 8-9pm local time.

http://www9.earthhourus.org/

Posted by evan austin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

...graciously provided by reader m...

Ojai Unified School District Superintendent Tim Baird spoke for two hours to about 150 people who jammed Chaparral auditorium Wednesday night (March 26, 2008) to hear about possible cuts to Ojai public schools, including the suggested closure of two elementary schools – either Meiners Oaks or Mira Monte, and Summit in Upper Ojai. A final decision by the school board on closures could come as early as May 13, he said. Hard choices have to be made because proposed state budget cuts, declining enrollment and increased costs in areas such as employee health benefits and utilities equal a nearly $2 million hit to the district’s annual budget of about $25 million.

The time line for the Ojai Unified School District board of trustees to make budget decisions is short, with the next school board meeting set for April 1, with possible additional special meetings in April. Trustees could take certain proposed cuts off the table at the regularly scheduled May 6 school board meeting, Baird said. Then, he would likely call for a special school board meeting May 13 “where some pretty tough decisions are going to have to be made,” he said.

Projected savings are $300,000 for closing a large elementary school and $30,000 for closing the smallest – Summit.

The school board has opposed school closures in the past, Baird said. However, the budget crunch means the board needs at least to look at economies of scale, he said. Closing schools is “not an educational decision,” he said. It would be “an economic decision.”

Referencing a handout of possible cuts, Baird said, “Everything you hear tonight is bad…. Bad for kids, bad for the community.” However, he said that nothing on the list, which he and his staff generated, has been prioritized or approved by the school board.

He then went over the projected deficit, which has grown since the first list went out to the public at a March 4 school board meeting. As of Wednesday, projected deficits in the general fund totaled $1,942,055.

Nordhoff High School would absorb “most of the cuts on the list,” Baird said, adding, “Every school is on that list – one way or another.”

People should be paying attention to the cuts, even if they believe they are not affected because, Baird said, “By the time you get around to it mattering to you, it will be too late.”

Roughly half the estimated nearly $2 million OUSD shortfall is due to declining enrollment and the other half to anticipated state budget cuts, Baird said at the March 4 school board meeting.

Baird’s message was similar to the one he delivered at the March 4 and 18 school board meetings. On top of the projected state cuts, the district has had declining enrollment for about nine years. State funding for school districts is largely allocated by the number of students, so fewer students means less money.

Because the district has been dealing with declining enrollment and declining revenue longer than any other school district in the county, “There is no fat to cut,” he said.

Besides not knowing what the final state budget will be, the district is also estimating an 8 percent increase, or $371,000, in the cost of health benefits for employees, but will not know for certain until the end of the month, Baird said.

California is already 46th in the nation in per-pupil funding and, if the state budget cuts of 10 percent across the board are implemented, it will rank 49th, Baird said. “Something is very wrong with that equation,” he said, adding that California does not have a spending problem; it has an allocation problem. “We certainly don’t have a spending problem in our schools.”

Although the school board has said it does not want to increase class sizes from the 20 students-to-1 teacher ratio for K-3 and ninth-grade English and math, class sizes in other grades could be increased to about 35 students per class, Baird said.

Christel Kelsey, a parent of children at Mira Monte, echoed the comments she made at the March 18 school board meeting that, before the board considers closing elementary schools, it should consider K-8 configurations at the elementary schools and close Matilija Junior High School.

Baird said a committee has been looking at grade-school configurations and he will make a report to the board at a future date about possibilities. He said that any decisions about grade configurations, though, would be “curricular, not economic.” Parents’ assumption that closing Matilija Junior High would save the district money may not be accurate, he said, noting, “There are a lot of pieces to that puzzle.” He added that, “Closing Matilija doesn’t mean another school might not be closed.” Matilija itself could become a K-8 school, he said.

Glenn Fout, a parent of a Meiners Oaks student, said the K-8 decision “is more than just a curricular decision. It’s a community decision. It’s about the well-being of our communities.” By closing Matilija, the district “wouldn’t come out of it any worse than closing elementary schools.”

Another person in the audience suggested adding sixth grade to the junior high.

Fout also said that one option listed on the district’s projected budget deficit worksheet for saving $90,000 is one workday reduction. “I’m impressed we could save $90,000 with one day,” he said.

Fout also asked Baird about the impact of local resources to assist the district and “what is the point of no return to keep a campus open?”

Baird said that it is possible community donations could keep schools open, but that the money would be needed before salaries had to be paid. “We could not fund a school on a bake-sale model,” he said.

Asked about criteria for closing a school, Baird said that is “the $64,000 question” and a discussion for the school board, but typically includes issues such as schools’ proximity to other schools, geographical region, projection of future enrollment, physical plant and how students get to school.

One parent cautioned the Ojai school board to consider how Pleasant Valley School District’s decision to save money by closing two schools last year backfired. Closing schools does not always result in anticipated savings. It can actually cost the district a lot of money, she said, noting that the defection of more than 300 students to a charter school that disaffected parents started has ended up costing the Camarillo school district more than $1 million a year. “Why not take all the negative energy school closures will engender and funnel that into positive energy to help the board, not fight the board? This is, after all, Ojai,” she said.

Another parent also asked whether the board would consider putting another parcel tax on the ballot. Baird said that is a possibility and that there were some missteps the last time it was floated a few years ago, one being that a senior exemption was not included.

Another asked Baird if the city of Ojai could pitch in. Some other city governments have helped their school districts raise money, Baird said, so that while it is unlikely, given the city's own financial challenges, it is possible.

“I know this is going to get ugly,” Baird said. Before that happens and people “splinter into groups,” he asked that they write to the governor and their legislators that the proposed state budget cuts are “totally unacceptable and we won’t stand for it.” That got the most applause of the evening.

San Antonio School parents have already printed neon-green postcards addressed to local legislators, needing only a community members’ letter and a postcard stamp.

One positive note, Baird mentioned, is that declining enrollment at OUSD appears to have hit bottom and that enrollment is now moving up, with higher-than-anticipated enrollment of kindergartners, especially.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 04:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

This story is gathering some serious steam. Hillary Clinton touts her experience and says she is the one to pick up the phone at 3am. But when called on a bluster in Bosnia, she says she "misspoke" because she was sleep deprived. Clinton's campaign is perilously close to the edge...

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)

a child of Goddess Moon, born in circular whole-sum-ness of nurture and nature.

you young journeyers from Nordhoff High too will unfold unimaginable lives of artistry and exploration ... limited only by the depths of your inner wells of peace ... gift of mountain and river, chaparral and oak, scrub jay and bluebelly at play.

my first two years away from the valley these hands 'only' learned to assemble electronics circuits, to type at a typewriter, to program a computer, and repair TVs and stereos.

arriving in 1975 and UC Berkeley Space Sciences, I was given the chance to 'try out' those soldering skills on the S3-3 space plasma probe satellite. [apparently I made no serious errors ...]

then 1976 to help in the assembly of the now-famous ISEE (Intl Sun Earth Explorer) spaceprobe, later renamed and re-commissioned the ICE, Intl Cometary Explorer.

the 1980s did not provide much hands-on with spacecraft, accept art and designs and business plans on the computer. it wasn't until 1989 and 1990 that I worked on the Liberty expendable rocket, then the 'SkyRocket' rocketplane, both Gary Hudson designs. also on the OTS electromagnetic co-axial launcher.

my contribution to the Roton VTOVL (vertical takeoff vertical lander) project was in 1996-97, at which point I moved my work to Aotearoa/New Zealand ... land of the long white (ultraviolet) cloud.

in 1999 I finally got around, age 44, to solving the rocket equations -- previously relying on the work of my elder/mentors Hudson, Gomersall, Sanger, Salkeld, Bono, Woodcock and others. thus I launched FireShips International Ltd, and promoted an air-refueled spaceplane service for Hamilton New Zealand.

for someone whose goals were intimately linked with technology and money, the knowledge that the energy cost to deliver one kilogram to orbit was only 20 cents -- compared to the $20,000 that NASA charged -- this awareness of physics and (political) economics was a great driver.

the Year 2000 brought the attentions of the Times of London, and radio and press worldwide, and the publication of my "SpacePlane Equation" editorial. in the following year, in my TV studio at Waikato University, I 'sculpted' essentially all of the X49 plasmajet spaceplane designs in Cinema 4D, aired them locally, and circulated them worldwide.

see spaceplane designs and concepts at:

X49sAndOtherSpaceplanes

back in California and Japan in subsequent years, witness no hands-on and no significant spacecraft design work in this decade.

the StarShip designs are only roughly illustrated and conceived, and though much of the interstellar flight physics is finished, the final design of the propulsion systems (integrated with body/fuselage shape) has yet to be 'penned', sketched, revealed ...

to all our sacred relations.

Posted by Millennium Twain at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)

from ForestWatch, check it out...

Los Padres ForestWatch, a local nonprofit organization working to protect the Los Padres National Forest, is excited to announce a creekside barbeque in Ojai on Saturday afternoon, March 29, 2008. The event will take place at Thacher School's picturesque Diamond Hitch Camp at the base of the Los Padres National Forest.

The afternoon will feature appetizers and beer and wine followed by a barbeque supper under the oak trees. The Iron Mountain Boys will play live bluegrass, and wagon rides and a pre-barbeque guided nature walk are also available.

The event will conclude with three auction items guaranteed to enhance your enjoyment of the Los Padres National Forest. Featured items include a 3-day 2-night guided pack trip into the Sespe Wilderness with Los Padres Outfitters; a 2-night stay at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in the Ventana Wilderness between Big Sur and Carmel.

Tickets are $75 per person, and reservations are requested. All proceeds from the event will help Los Padres ForestWatch continue its work to protect wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and wilderness landscapes in the Los Padres National Forest. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Jeff Kuyper, Executive Director at (805) 617-4610 or visit our website at www.LPFW.org

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

Tomas Young's BODY OF WAR

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03212008/watch.html

I'm too undisciplined to have a television around the house but I do my best to catch "Bill Moyers Journal"
on PBS every Friday night. Of all the segments I've watched over the years, last night's show was the most moving footage I have ever seen.
This is the story of Iraq war veteran Tomas Young who was shot and paralyzed less than a week into his tour of duty. Three years in the making, BODY OF WAR tells the poignant tale of the young man's journey from joining the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan, to living with devastating wounds after being deployed to Iraq instead.

March 21, 2008
Bill Moyers interviews former talk show host Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro on the true cost of war and their documentary, BODY OF WAR, depicting the moving story of one veteran dealing with the aftermath of war. With extensive excerpts from the film, the filmmakers talk about Iraq war veteran Tomas Young who was shot and paralyzed less than a week into his tour of duty. Three years in the making, BODY OF WAR tells the poignant tale of the young man’s journey from joining the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan, to living with devastating wounds after being deployed to Iraq instead.

Here is the transcript of the show. The links above will take you to the video. I promise you it is worth watching.

BILL MOYERS: Welcome to THE JOURNAL.

Five years ago this week, President Bush invaded Iraq because, we were told, Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was plotting with Al Quaeda terrorists to attack America. We were told the war would be quick and tidy - and that grateful Iraqis would welcome their liberators with flowers in the streets.

Well, now the war is into its sixth year. We're spending over ten billion dollars a month, with the long-range cost reckoned in trillions. For Iraqis and for American soldiers and their families, the human toll is even harder to calculate -- numbers alone don't do it: 4,000 soldiers dead, nearly 30,000 wounded. But numbers aren't personal; the only way truly to understand the human cost of this war is to know someone who is bearing it. Someone like Tomas Young.

Thomas Young grew up in Kansas City. After the attacks on 9/11 he enlisted in the army because he wanted to fight the terrorists in Afghanistan. He was sent to Iraq, instead. And five days after arriving there, he was shot in the chest and severely wounded. He was 24 years old at the time and will spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair.

Tomas Young's story is told in a film called BODY OF WAR that premiers in Washington, DC on April 2 and then rolls out in cities across the country. It took three years for Ellen Spiro and the long-time television host Phil Donahue to make this film — you'll meet them later in the broadcast.

But first I want to show you some excerpts that will give you a sense of Tomas Young's story, as told in BODY OF WAR. Here he is arriving for a speaking engagement at the Layfayette Presbyterian church in Brooklyn, New York.

[Choir]

TOMAS YOUNG: Ah, well, thank you all for coming. Uh, I, uh, on the way down here I was, I was kind of worried that I would be, get here and I'd be speaking to an empty church it took me so long. But for the few minutes I got to here this wonderful choir behind me, well it began to dawn on me that you all would have been pretty good even if I hadn't had shown up.

You'll have to excuse me for a little bit, I get a little lightheaded every now and again. So hold on.

I'd also like to, that during this speech I may say the word uh a lot and stammer a little bit, so forgive me for sounding a bit presidential.

I called my recruiter on around September 13th, 2001 when if you all can remember the president stood on the ruble with the bullhorn and said we were going to get the evildoers that did this.

And, oh man, hold on a second, I'm starting to Argh...Thank you. Alright, let's hope that's a little better.

But I, and he led the rah rah around the country and got everybody really excited and I was excited. And I wanted to go to Afghanistan and get the people that did this to us. But, after I joined the Army it became clearer and clearer to me that we weren't going to go to Afghanistan. That we were going to go to Iraq.

And more and more began to feel with statements like George Bush saying that he sought the approval of a high father than his own and things like that, it really concerned me that President Bush was trying to use Jesus Christ as an advocate for the war.

But I always remembered, at least from the Bible that I read, Jesus Christ was always about peaceful things and love and, and whatsoever you do unto the least of my brother you do unto me.

And it just shocks me that a man who tries to live his life by such a devout Christian philosophy seems to skew so much on this one issue.

I, I don't really ... I have to excuse me again. Sorry, it's a little hard to regulate my body temperature and it is hot up here.

But, I heard somebody once say that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. So just everybody keep together and stay strong and one day we'll get what we need to get done.

And thank you all for waiting and I hope that I didn't disappoint.

TOMAS YOUNG: Hey, wow. Here it is. That is massive. But when I made the phone call on September 13th it was because I saw the pictures of him standing on top of the pile saying that we were going to smote the evildoers out that did this to us and we were going to find them in their caves. But if it weren't for this I wouldn't had joined the Army, which means I wouldn't of gone home on Christmas leave to go to a bar to meet Brie. All that had to happen so I could fly 10,000 miles away to not shoot a round because all I saw were women and children running away from gunfire before I took a bullet myself.

RADIO HOST: Momentarily we're going to speak with Tomas Young, a 25-year old disabled Iraqi War Vet. He's here on his honeymoon.

TOMAS YOUNG: I can no longer control my body temperature. And when I go outside in the heat I have to wear a cooling jacket that has frozen gel inserts to keep my body temperature regulated and cooled. They tell me the feeling dizzy after warm days and all this will go away eventually once I get used to my injury. God, I hope they're telling the truth.

Nice to meet you all. I'm Tomas Young.

PERSON: Nice to meet you.

TOMAS YOUNG: I'm Tomas by the way.

QUESTIONER: Hey, you've got time to do an interview?

TOMAS YOUNG: I called my recruiter on September 13th. I wanted to go to Afghanistan. And I only maybe spent five days in Iraq until I got picked to go on my first mission. There were 25 of us crammed into the back of a two and a half ton truck with no covering on top or armor on the sides. For the Iraqis on the top of the roof it just looked like, you know, ducks in a barrel.

PERSON: Yeah.

TOMAS YOUNG: They didn't have to aim.

TOMAS YOUNG: I've got meetings. I guess I'm a busy man.

BREE YOUNG: We're coming, we're coming.

CINDY SHEEHAN: I also want to introduce Thomas Young he was fighting in Sader City and was wounded the same day Casey was killed. And he was part of the first Calvary too.

TOMAS YOUNG: I also would like to demand a meeting with the President because I feel that he owes me some explanations as to why a soldier can volunteer to go over and fight for his country and loose his ability to walk plus a lot of other important functions and why I am not worth the funding for stem cell research. Sorry, we're going to have to cut this short. I need to go find a table to lean on for support. So are we good here?

PERSON: Thanks a lot.

TOMAS YOUNG: Thank you.

CATHY SMITH: You know what?

TOMAS YOUNG: What?

CATHY SMITH: You could have been there. I'm sorry. I can't -

CATHY SMITH: It's just, I mean his picture could be there just like that. And I could be going over to put flowers on his cross, you know? And instead I'm here with him. That's, you know. Mm. It's just so, it's so overwhelming. It just really is overwhelming. I just can't, these are just pictures to so many people. They're not babies, they're not kids, they're not fathers and brothers. And, and to see it in this chain of 2,000. You know? 2,000. And that doesn't include the 14,000 that are injured and in wheelchairs and Ohh, yeah. I had to have a cigarette first. Okay. I think I'm ready. Oh.

PERSON: I want to meet you. I thank you so much.

TOMAS YOUNG: Thank you. And I'm terribly sorry for your loss.

PERSON: Thank you. You know what? I'm glad you're alive. I'm glad you're alive. I really am. And I want to make sure you get the help that you need.

TOMAS YOUNG: Thank you.

CATHY SMITH: I noticed in Washington when we were there with the Goldstar Mothers for Peace and the MFSO who's babies have not come home from husbands have not come home. I noticed them touching Tomas, kissing him, hugging him, wanting to be near him. And I think there was a connection there because he came home. And their family members didn't.

TOMAS YOUNG: The army's chief goal is to get you in. But once it comes time for you to get out, they don't really care if they take care of you or not.

CATHY SMITH: Is there anything I can get for you? Something to drink or

TOMAS YOUNG: No. I'm going to mark this as one of my red letter days in my calendar. This place affects my mood so negatively.

CATHY SMITH: Oh I know. So why are they having you wait? Just to take your blood pressure to make sure you're stabilized?

TOMAS YOUNG: Just to make sure I'm to make sure the anesthesia doesn't kick back in I guess and I fall asleep while driving, which they told me not to do.

CATHY SMITH: You want me to go talk to them?

TOMAS YOUNG: No, because you'll just try to make sense of it and they'll go, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah, wah. And you'll be like Charlie Brown and you'll go, yes ma'am.

TOMAS YOUNG: That's right.

CATHY SMITH: This would be the PTSD kicking in, that you don't have.

TOMAS YOUNG: Yes it is.

CATHY SMITH: Yeah.

TOMAS YOUNG: It's the PTSD that the psychiatrists say I don't have that apparently I have now.

CATHY SMITH: Yeah.

CATHY SMITH: Someone with PTSD will lash out at the people that they feel are safest. They can't lash out necessarily at a doctor or at a for a first sergeant that caused this. They can lash out at Brie or myself, you know, the family members. It's okay because we'll still be there. We may get angry, we may, we may yell. But he knows deep down that we're still there.

TOMAS YOUNG: Well what I'm waiting for right now is for a doctor to come and tell me some aftercare instructions. Like I mean when I got my tattoo or my piercing, [laughs] they told me what to do afterwards to help take care of it. I haven't heard word one here.

TOMAS YOUNG: There are a lot of times that I sit back there in my back bedroom laying in bed just, uh, crying with very little control. Usually happens after my body does something to show how much it disagrees with me. Happens sometimes when I watch people walk down the street. I'm jealous of people that can walk.

BILL MOYERS: Here are the filmmakers who tell Tomas Young's story in BODY OF WAR: Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue. Ellen, who took her camera and practically moved in with Tomas and his wife in Kansas City, is always pushing the boundaries of the documentary form. You can read all about her on our Web site at PBS.org.

Phil Donahue, we know, changed the face of daytime television back in 1967 with the first daytime show to invite the audience to participate. He went on to tackle all the controversial subjects in more than 7,000 hours of daily television, winning 20 Emmy Awards, a Peabody, and a huge audience over 41 years. This is his first independent film.

Welcome to THE JOURNAL.

PHIL DONAHUE: Thank you.

ELLEN SPIRO: Thank you for having-

BILL MOYERS: Why did you make this film?

PHIL DONAHUE: I made this film because I met this young man at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. And I learned of the gravity of his injuries, paralyzed from the nipples down. This young man was lying in bed you could almost — it was hard to find him. He was as white as the sheets. His cheekbones were visible. He was whacked on morphine. I'm not sure he remembers the visit at all. And that's when I met his mother and learned about the gravity of his injury.

BILL MOYERS: It's not just that he can't walk. He can't cough. His bodily functions are paralyzed. His bladder has to be emptied manually. And he said to you, Ellen, "Come and film me"?

ELLEN SPIRO: Not exactly. I think, though, that he wanted to tell his story. But it was Phil's initial contact with him and Phil's visits after the initial meeting at Walter Reed that I think built up the initial trust that allowed us to go and spend a lot of very intimate time with him.

PHIL DONAHUE: I just couldn't get over what I was seeing in this bed at Walter Reed, you know? I had never been this close. And-

BILL MOYERS: This close to?

PHIL DONAHUE: This — it blows you back. I mean, bowel and bladder. He has erectile dysfunction. He's 27 years old. Prime of life. He went from a life of loud music and singles bars to puke pans — ED, a bowl full of pills — morning nausea every morning. I mean, it just goes on and on My inspiration for this film was the naked child running from the napalm. Remember that Vietnam picture? I mean, terrified, this little girl is totally naked. You can see the black smoke in the back. That picture won a Pulitzer Prize. See the pain. Don't sanitize the war.

If you're gonna send young men and women to fight for this nation, tell the truth. That's one of the biggest reasons for the First Amendment. And we haven't been. And so I thought I will tell the story, the real story of the harm in harm's way.

BILL MOYERS: There's that moment when he and his mother are in the van, and she is helping put the catheter in

CATHY SMITH: Okay, what do I need to do?

TOMAS YOUNG: Alright. I'm going to lift up and you're going to set that under me.

CATHY SMITH: Okay.

TOMAS YOUNG: Okay.

CATHY SMITH: Okay.

BILL MOYERS: I felt uncomfortable watching that, but they didn't seem to mind.

ELLEN SPIRO: We were in the van; Tomas needed to change his catheter. He needed help. I had the little, tiny camera with me. And I said, "Can I film?" And he said, "Sure." I said, "I promise not to look." So I actually wasn't looking through the camera while this was happening. And something about what happened during that scene, they take control of it and they laugh. And they turn it into humor. And it's the audience that feels uncomfortable. The reason it works is that the power dynamic is reversed. So they're not uncomfortable but the audience is very uncomfortable watching.

TOMAS YOUNG: Are you nervous?

CATHY SMITH: Yeah.

TOMAS YOUNG: Oh.

CATHY SMITH: I've never done this before.

TOMAS YOUNG: Okay.

CATHY SMITH: Is it coming out?

TOMAS YOUNG: Yeah, it's coming out.

CATHY SMITH: Oh.

TOMAS YOUNG: Hey mom. Mom!

CATHY SMITH: [Laughs]

TOMAS YOUNG: We generally tend to watch what goes on up there.

CATHY SMITH: I'm trying to move it so it just doesn't go just everywhere.

TOMAS YOUNG: Good plan.

CATHY SMITH: [Laughs]

TOMAS YOUNG: I saw that that worked swimmingly.

CATHY SMITH: [Laughs]

TOMAS YOUNG: Look at that. You've got pee in your hand.

CATHY SMITH: [Laughs] I know. You know what? It's not the first time I've had your pee on my hand.

PHIL DONAHUE: What you see in our film is taking place behind the closed doors of thousands of homes in this country. Homes occupied by people who've come home — signed up, proud Americans all, of varying political persuasion — who went and answered the President's call. Their injuries alter their lives. But they also alter the lives of the entire family, as you see in our film. I mean, this whole family's lives have been changed forever because of Tomas's injury.

BILL MOYERS: What did you learn about human nature from Tomas and his family?

ELLEN SPIRO: Well, everything. I mean, when you're faced with those circumstances and you can emerge intact and Tomas can find his voice in the public sphere as an activist, and you leave with hope. You leave with some hope in the democratic process. And you leave with hope for Tomas and his family.

BILL MOYERS: You know, I think you just said something that reminds me of why we do documentaries. You find people who are looking for their voice, and you help them find it and be heard, right? Is-

ELLEN SPIRO: Yes.

BILL MOYERS: Do you feel you were doing that?

ELLEN SPIRO: It's the power of listening. I mean, there's no such thing as not have when you're a documentary filmmaker and you go into a situation, there's no such thing as not having an effect. Listening has an effect. But I like to think that listening has a positive effect. Just being there. Nothing inserted there but just the power of someone listening-- helped him come to speak and become articulate and find what he wanted to say and to say it.

PHIL DONAHUE: Ellen doesn't knock over furniture. She comes in under the radar. So much of the honesty and the intimacy of this film is a direct result of, you know, the fact that the people with whom she was working trusted her.

BILL MOYERS: Well, there are amazing moments with Thomas and his wife, with his mother, with his brothers. You had to almost disappear to be able to get those moments, right? I mean, they weren't performing for the camera.

ELLEN SPIRO: No. But in a way it's the opposite of disappearing. I mean, you become a part of the family. I fell in love with every member of the family, the mother, Thomas, his brother.

BILL MOYERS: Tell me about his mother. What did you come to understand about her? She came from a long time two generation military family, right?

ELLEN SPIRO: Cathy Smith, incredible woman. One of the things I admire most about her is how she balances her two sons and her husband-

BILL MOYERS: Tomas and Nathan.

ELLEN SPIRO: Tomas and Nathan. Tomas-

BILL MOYERS: And there's a third little boy --

PHIL DONAHUE: Yes there is, Timmy and we'd better get his name in, too.

BILL MOYERS: Right, I saw him-

PHIL DONAHUE: And Lisa is a teenage daughter.

ELLEN SPIRO: This family is a microcosm of America. You've got red and blue in the same family. You've got step-dad Mike and son Nathan, very pro-Bush, very pro-war. And you've got mother, Cathy, and her son Tomas that turned against the war in the middle of it.

CATHY SMITH: We have now become a nation of imperialists. You know we're going to be at war forever.

MIKE: That's crap baby.

CATHY SMITH: Why is that crap?

MIKE: We want peace. That's why we're there. Keep terrorism at bay rather than right here in Kansas City.

ELLEN SPIRO: And Cathy, as the mother, manages to keep this family together. So it's also a story about family and how love can transcend politics. They love each other. The step-father and the brother just came to our premier in Kansas City. They support the film because they support Tomas. They love Tomas. They can disagree and still be a family.

BILL MOYERS: Who is the older veteran he goes to see?

PHIL DONAHUE: He goes to see Bobby Muller, which a young man, by the way, who was on the DONAHUE show a hundred years ago.

BILL MOYERS: A Vietnam vet?

PHIL DONAHUE: A Vietnam vet who took a bullet and his injury's almost like-And you know so here's our scene. And they call themselves gimps. The old gimp meets the new gimp, you know? They're rolling in. And, you know, in the brief moment they met, Bobby Muller gave Tomas an awful lot of valuable information.

PERSON:? Bobby Muller.

BOBBY MULLER: Hey guys. Come on in. How are you?

PERSON: This is Tomas Young.

PHIL DONAHUE: You can imagine, here's a guy who's in the chair for 38 years. And here's this young man who just less than a year ago wound up in a chair.

BOBBY MULLER: Did you go to the demonstration?

TOMAS YOUNG: Uh, yeah, we marched on it.

BOBBY MULLER: You know, you go to a parade, you go to a demo. Wheelchairs up front. You know, standard routine. Put the gimps on the front end of the game. Because... No, that, that

TOMAS YOUNG: Someone else who says gimps.

BOBBY MULLER: Yeah, that's the visual. You know, they've got to have the visual, you know?

BOBBY MULLER: When you got shot, what was it like?

TOMAS YOUNG: All of a sudden my body just went completely numb. I couldn't feel anything. I dropped my M16, I tried to pick it back up but I couldn't move my hands.

BOBBY MULLER: Where did you get shot?

TOMAS YOUNG: Right underneath the left collarbone. That's where I got shot.

BOBBY MULLER: The bullet came here and went through the spinal cord as it went out. So we got, we got the angle and trajectories are a little bit different, but we've got very similar things.

TOMAS YOUNG: And shortly after that I was out for about a week. Woke up in Walter Reed Army Hospital. That was where they kind of started to do a little rehab with me. I had a, a physical and an occupational therapist. They would come and they'd take me out of my bed and put me in this weird chair and just leave me there for two hours. That was my physical therapy at the very beginning.

BOBBY MULLER: How long were you in the hospital?

TOMAS YOUNG: Um, let's see. A week and one-half in Germany, a month about two and one-half, three months separated over different hospitals.

BOBBY MULLER: That's I was in the hospital for over a year. And then I went on an outpatient basis for another nine months. You got, you got short shrift.

BILL MOYERS: You think that's typical of these veterans coming back from Iraq, that they're getting short shrift when it comes to treatment?

ELLEN SPIRO: Yeah, they're dealing — it's no fault of any person at the VA. But they've got several generations of injured people to deal with. And they're just overloaded. So the response is to treat people with pills. He wasn't getting physical therapy, nothing. And when we met Tomas he wasn't very articulate. He was pretty much addicted to morphine. And he on his — with his own willpower — started to wean himself from the morphine because he knew he wasn't going to be an effective voice if he couldn't form a sentence.

There's this great line that goes around the VA-- "Nothing's too good for a veteran, so nothing's what they'll get." This is a line in Eddie Vedder's song-He's the lead of Pearl Jam. And he wrote this song for a film. And he used that line in his song "No More," which is the main song in our film.

PHIL DONAHUE: This is one of the big breaks. I mean, I had a lot of breaks making this movie. Here's the first big break that I had. I have no idea. And she didn't really-- she's seen me on television. But imagine. I mean, we're coming totally strange, never having met each other. We meet at-

BILL MOYERS: And a stranger connected you, right, on the plane, I understand.

PHIL DONAHUE: Yes. Yes, on the way home from a media reform conference in Saint Louis. These are young people who believe that corporate media is ruining democracy. That's their banner

BILL MOYERS: So you're on this plane coming back.

PHIL DONAHUE: I'm coming back. And I'm saying I met this young man to this woman, who's sitting next to me. And I said, "I think I wanna do a film on this, but I've never made a film." And she gets her book out and her name is Deedee Hallack, long-time activist from northern — up near Woodstock.

BILL MOYERS: Deep Dish Television-

PHIL DONAHUE: Deep Dish is-- is Deedee

BILL MOYERS: Really alternative media.

PHIL DONAHUE: Right. So she gives me Mobilus Media phone number in Austin, Texas.

BILL MOYERS: That's her company.

PHIL DONAHUE: I call and the female voice answered. And I say, "Hi, it's Phil Donahue." And she knew who I was, thank god.

ELLEN SPIRO: But I-

BILL MOYERS: She's too young to know who you are.

PHIL DONAHUE: I-- well, I worried about it.

ELLEN SPIRO: No, I thought he was-

PHIL DONAHUE: I worried about it.

ELLEN SPIRO: --a crank caller actually.

BILL MOYERS: A crank? A lot of people would think that-

ELLEN SPIRO: I thought he was someone-impersonating Phil Donahue. It was fictional, you know? Like getting a phone call from Pippi Longstocking. Phil Donahue?

PHIL DONAHUE: So, anyway, here we are. Here we are. And, by the way, we're co-directors. Now, I mean, do you have any idea what it's like to co-direct with me? I mean, here's-- I mean, I-

BILL MOYERS: I bet Bernadine, your editor, wanted to throw you out-

ELLEN SPIRO: She was our couples therapist.

PHIL DONAHUE: Oh, Bernadine-

BILL MOYERS: My editors wanna throw me out.

PHIL DONAHUE: We were on the 14th floor and I locked the window about three weeks into our-- oh, man. It was — it really-- and then you've got a young man who's coming-- trying to come up from the ashes, you know? And failure is not a stranger to me. But you don't wanna take this young man over the side with you. You know? You want this to work 'cause of him.

But Tomas did not want a poor lad, oh, lad, how sad movie. He wanted a political movie. He wanted to make a statement. And, obviously, I did, too.

So this was wonderful. I mean, that I found myself in the company of someone who was as interested in, as I was, in making a film that had bite, a film that said something. And that accounts for this film's exposure of the dialogue in the Senate and the House during the October 2002 Iraq War resolution.

BILL NELSON: The threat posed by Iraq grows with each passing day.

VOICE: Mr. Bayh, Ay.

JOSEPH PITTS: It's a danger that grows every day.

VOICE: Mr. Bennett, Ay.

JOHN MCCAIN: Each day that goes by he becomes more dangerous.

MIKE DEWINE: More diabolical.

JOSEPH PITTS: Every day Saddam Hussein grows stronger.

JOHN MCCAIN: His capabilities become better.

VOICE: Mr. Biden, Ay.

JOSEPH PITTS: Every day Saddam Hussein builds more chemical and biological weapons.

JOHN MCCAIN: The longer we wait the more dangerous he becomes.

VOICE: Mr. Bond, Ay. Mr. Breaux, Ay. Mr. Brownback, Ay. Mr. Bunning, Ay. Mr. Burns, Ay. Mr. Campbell, Ay. Ms. Cantwell, Ay. Mrs. Carnahan, Ay. Mr. Carper, Ay, Ay, Ay.

ROBERT BYRD: Wait! Slow down! Don't rush this through.

BILL MOYERS: You watched all the CSPAN coverage of the debate back in 2002. What did you see?

PHIL DONAHUE: I saw a very superficial, bumper sticker debate on the floor of both chambers of Congress. And you will see it as well when you see our film.

BILL MOYERS: As we listen to the debate now it seems almost like a script was being read. What's your explanation for that?

PHIL DONAHUE: So many House members and Senators accepted the White House talking points. You see them reading it. A smoking gun will become a mushroom cloud. These are Senators, grown people. Action-- inaction is worse than action. The longer we wait, the more dangerous he becomes. Holy cow, we better go get this guy. And as Byrd says, he was never a threat to this nation.

GEORGE BUSH: We've learned that Iraq has trained Al-Qaeda members in bomb making.

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN: Saddam Hussein's regime trained Al-Qaeda operatives in bomb making.

STEVE ROTHMAN: Saddam is now training Al-Qaeda in bomb making.

GEORGE BUSH: We know that Iraq and Al-Qaeda have had high level contacts that go back a decade.

FRED THOMPSON: Senior level contacts between Iraq and Al-Qaeda going back a decade.

BILL FRIST: The Iraqi regime has been in contact with Al-Qaeda for at least a decade.

GEORGE BUSH: Saddam Hussein is harboring terrorists.

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN: Harbors these terrorists.

HILLARY CLINTON: Aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists.

GEORGE BUSH: We know that Iraq and the Al-Qaeda terrorist net network share a common enemy. The United States of America.

TOMAS YOUNG: My, uh, pill box separates them out for the week. This is Carbamazepine. It is a nerve pain medication.

VOICE: Ms. Collins, aye.

TOMAS YOUNG: This is a drug called Kumadin and it's a blood thinner.

VOICE: Mr. Craig, aye.

TOMAS YOUNG: This is Tizanidine. It's an anti-spasm medication.

VOICE: Mr. Crapo, aye.

TOMAS YOUNG: This is Gabapentin.

VOICE: Mr. Daschle.

TOMAS YOUNG: It's a nerve pain medication.

VOICE: Aye.

TOMAS YOUNG: This is Bupropion.

VOICE: Mr. DeWine.

TOMAS YOUNG: It is an antidepressant.

VOICE: Aye.

TOMAS YOUNG: This is Omeprazole.

VOICE: Mr. Dodd.

TOMAS YOUNG: It's for morning nausea.

VOICE: Aye.

TOMAS YOUNG: And this is morphine. It's a narcotic. And in this situation the effect is not to get high but to kill pain. And so I have to take more and more of it to stop the pain.

BILL MOYERS: There were exceptions to the drumbeat of war, and one of them you feature in the film: Robert Byrd.

PHIL DONAHUE: The longest-serving human being in the history of the United States Senate. Nine times elected to a six-year term. And he's cast thousands and thousands of votes. And he stood up during this resolution, and he begged his colleagues. And he begged the people. You know, he pointed to the CSPAN camera. He said, "Get out there and let this leadership know."

ROBERT BYRD: Let the leadership of this Congress know that you don't want this revolution rammed through this Congress before the election. The life of your son may depend upon it. The life of your daughter may depend upon it. Get out there and let this leadership know!

PHIL DONAHUE: You know, he's the only member of the Senate that can do this kind of — or if anybody else did, they'd throw a net over him. But he's fabulous in his oration and he said, This resolution will be a blotch on the Congress and the executive branch forever. And he's right.

BILL MOYERS: And there was Pete Stark of California, member of the House.

PHIL DONAHUE: Oh, my. Pete Stark takes the wall-- the well, and he turns around and he said, "You're giving

PETE STARK: You're giving an inexperienced desperate young man in the Whitehouse the execution lever to kill thousands of Americans. Some of you did that and you can look at the 50,000 names on the wall down in the Mall. Don't do it again!

PHIL DONAHUE: Certainly the White House scheduled this vote to precede the the November 2002 election. You know? How is it you've got Congress people facing reelection in three weeks. Now, how do you vote on the war? And how does that influ-- remember, we're an angry nation. This is October 2002 — the election being November. How are you gonna vote no on the pressure, especially when you remember how angry we were. - I mean, it was very difficult to say no or dissent in this country at that time.

BILL MOYERS: There is a sequence in the film of the White House Correspondent's Dinner, the annual dinner. And I'd be frank, it made me cringe because I remembered as I watched it that in the build-up to the Vietnam War, '65/'66, we were having those parties in Washington. We were dancing at the Smithsonian. And the Tomas Youngs of our era were getting blown to pieces along with a lot of Vietnamese in Vietnam.

GEORGE BUSH: Those weapons of mass destruction have gotta be somewhere.

GEORGE BUSH: Nope, no weapons over there. Maybe under here.

LAURA BUSH: I said to, to him the other day, George, if you really want to end tyranny in the world you're going to have to stay up later.

LAURA BUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife.

ELLEN SPIRO: Seems very ironic that the people who are governing and making the laws are so disconnected from the reality, the reality of a Tomas Young. And that's what's so painful about this scene where you see them in Washington celebrating, making jokes about weapons of mass destruction, and then we see Tomas at home in his wheelchair watching this. And you sort of, you know, get a sense of his inner world at that point and why he feels betrayed.

PHIL DONAHUE: It's not the first time that this has been observed. But if there's any institution in the world that has a responsibility to tell the truth, even if it hurts, it's the United States press, protected as we are by the First Amendment. This President said you can't shoot the — you can't take pictures of the coffins coming home. And the entire mainstream media establishment said okay. There's no fight. You know? And if you're a boardroom person overseeing a large media company, antiwar programs are not good for business. Antiwar personalities are not good for business. You wanna, you know, support the war and sell your products. Be popular.

BILL MOYERS: This is an indictment not just of the administration but of a political system of a country, right? I mean, it's-

PHIL DONAHUE: Oh, man. We've got people acting tough and sending other people's kids to war to make the case. People — the loudest drum beaters for this war are people who would never think of sending their own kid to fight it. The hypocrisy is overwhelming. We're in arguments now about wearing lapel pins. If you don't wear a flag, you know, you're not quite as patriotic. This — we're having arguments about whether waterboarding is torture, you know? This is not the nation my parents raised me to pledge my allegiance to.

BILL MOYERS: You seem to be saying over and again, "Pay attention. Pay attention. This is the particular cost of a war we talk about abstractly."

BILL MOYERS: There's this sequence in which Tomas's brother, Nathan, is on his way to Iraq.

PHIL DONAHUE: His younger brother.

BILL MOYERS: His younger brother. And he's on the way to his first tour, right?

ELLEN SPIRO: Yeah.

BILL MOYERS: How can that be? His brother is in a wheelchair for life because he was there. How can it be?

ELLEN SPIRO: Someone said that this administration is treating our soldiers like toys a rich kid gets for Christmas. They come home fine, send them again. And send them again, you know, use them until they're broken.

TOMAS YOUNG: We were close as kids. The first day of school when grandma put us in Velcro shoes, white socks, fluorescent, well I had fluorescent shorts. You had dark black looking shorts. And we both wore stupid shirts.

NATHAN YOUNG: We picked those clothes out though.

TOMAS YOUNG: Well, okay

CATHY SMITH: You guys are so cute.

TOMAS YOUNG: Regardless of the fact whether I picked out fluorescent shorts and a black T-shirt, how are you going to let a fourth grader go, yeah, I think this matches.

TOMAS YOUNG: Now I guess we have these experiences that we share and we've become closer again.

CATHY SMITH: Made your peace with God?

TOMAS YOUNG: Nathan has always in every situation he's been in thought he was ten feet tall and bulletproof. I'm, I'm scared. I know what can happen. I know what, what can happen both physically and emotionally and mentally. And I couldn't let him see that because that was the time for him to have his mom cry and be scared over him.

CATHY SMITH: You've got a phone card with you? Just call me every chance you get. Let me know you're safe.

NATHAN YOUNG: All right.

CATHY SMITH: And we'll write.

TOMAS YOUNG: I couldn't let him, the guy that he looks up to so much, see that he was scared.

CATHY SMITH: Let me know what you need and I'll send it.

CATHY SMITH: It's very scary having him go. And many people have suggested that I can get him out because Tomas has been injured. And I could. Nathan could get out. But he doesn't want to. He wants to go.

CATHY SMITH: C'mon. One more. One more hug.

NATHAN YOUNG: All right.

CATHY SMITH: All right.

TOMAS YOUNG: There you go.

CATHY SMITH: Okay. Both hands and everything.

NATHAN YOUNG: See you later big bro.

TOMAS YOUNG: Same here. Stay up. You'll be alright.

CATHY SMITH: That's right, be careful. What did he say?

NATHAN YOUNG: What?

CATHY SMITH: Be careful. Always am. That's right.

NATHAN YOUNG: I'm outta here.

CATHY SMITH: Okay. Bye, baby. I love you.

NATHAN YOUNG: I love you too.

ELLEN SPIRO: I was trying not to cry when I was shooting it 'cause it was just tragic to see him go off. And this war is different from previous wars in that most of these soldiers have families, kids, wives. And you see in this scene they don't wanna go. They're leaving their three year old or their four year old behind or their pregnant wife.

BILL MOYERS: But he's been back a second time?

ELLEN SPIRO: Yeah, he's been back a second time. And he's going back a third time. I constantly think about Kathy, you know, his mother-and, yeah, thank god he came back alive. And now he's going off again And we-- we had a guy show up for our screening in Kansas City who came home from his tour in Iraq and was agoraphobic. He couldn't leave the house for two years. His first time out of the house in these two years was coming to our screening in Kansas City. And there's just-- so Tomas, you see the visibly what's happened, but there's so many people for every Tomas that have come back with various mental and emotional issues that-

BILL MOYERS: 28,000 I believe I read, 28,000 wounded-

ELLEN SPIRO: Yeah.

BILL MOYERS: I mean, seriously wounded.

ELLEN SPIRO: What's amazing about Tomas is that-- and what's so hopeful about this story is that he takes his pain and-- and turns it into something positive. He takes his pain and his anger and becomes an activist.

BILL MOYERS: He is angry?

ELLEN SPIRO: Yeah. He's-- he's got pretty good reason to be angry.

PHIL DONAHUE: Oh, yeah.

ELLEN SPIRO: But he transforms it. And we see this transformation in the course of this film. When Tomas says, "Bring the troops home," it means something different than when anyone else says it because he's talking about his younger brother.

BILL MOYERS: Help me understand what you've learned from doing this film, from Tomas, about why it is patriotism leads a young man or a woman to volunteer for a war?

ELLEN SPIRO: For Tomas it was about pride, you know? He loves his country. His grandfather served in the military. He saw that we were attacked, and his immediate 25-year-old male response was to go get them. And he wanted to protect his country. And he was stirred up by the fear. And the fear is what got this whole country behind the war, even though we learn now that the evidence was false and that it was manufactured and that everybody in Washington was following a script.

And the reason that we included that material that Phil watched so painstakingly and edited, which now looks like an expose, even though it was there for anybody to see, is that it shows how we got there. And it makes the story really not about 2002. It makes the story about the future.

BILL MOYERS: How so?

ELLEN SPIRO: Let's not let it happen again. Let's see how we got there and let's not let it happen again.

PHIL DONAHUE: The saddest — the scene in our movie that I have — I still can't get through. It, you know, makes me-- well up to talk about it. Tomas goes to an antiwar demonstration in Washington. And at the end of the demonstration he's wheeled up to a rope behind which are Gold Star Families, people who have lost loved ones in the war. They're holding their pictures up. And they're touching Tomas. It's a vicarious way to touch their loved one who didn't come home. And Tomas is available to them. He lets them. He gets it. I was so impressed with his empathy and you know, I mean, not every 20-something male is gonna get this, and he did. And it's another example of what is admirable about this young man.

BILL MOYERS: What's Tomas doing now? Have you stayed in touch with him since the film was finished?

ELLEN SPIRO: Oh, sure. We saw him yesterday. Tomas has executive produced a music album that has about 24 artists on it. Of -- multiple generations.

PHIL DONAHUE: On the album. Bruce Springsteen. Yoko Ono signed for-

ELLEN SPIRO: John Lennon.

PHIL DONAHUE: --for her husband.

ELLEN SPIRO: Neil Young.

PHIL DONAHUE: Neil Young.

ELLEN SPIRO: System of a Down, Michael Franti, Bright Eyes. Some bands that are so young, you know, I haven't heard of them.

ELLEN SPIRO: And he's getting involved in his passion, which is music. And it's these songs that he put together for the album that helped him get through both the time when he was about to go to Iraq, his time in Iraq, and when he got home and dealing with his injury. This was the soundtrack of his survival through all this.

PHIL DONAHUE: By the way — they offered — the music people said to Tomas, we have $100,000. What would you like to do with it? And Tomas said, "I wanna give it to IVAW, Iraq Veterans Against the War." You know? This is a well-raised citizen. This is the patriot right here. This is a man who believes in the framers, who wants America to come back to their original vision. And I think he's done that in our film.

BILL MOYERS: Phil Donahue, Ellen Spiro, and your remarkable editor, Bernadine?

ELLEN SPIRO: Kolisch.

BILL MOYERS: Kolisch.

PHIL DONAHUE: Kolisch.

BILL MOYERS: Thanks to the three of you for a marvelous film.

ELLEN SPIRO: Thank you for having us, Bill.

BARBARA BOXER: The rush to say to the president, go at it alone. Don't worry about anybody else. I think it's hurting this debate. And I think that this debate looks political.

MARCY KAPTUR: Three weeks before election seems to be an odd time to be authorizing war.

BARBARA LEE: I urge you to oppose this rush to war. It is morally wrong, financially irresponsible and is not in our national security interest. We have options and we have an obligation to pursue them.

BOB MENENDEZ: What is our post Saddam strategy in a country that has separatist desires by Kurds and Shiites, how long will we stay?

BARBARA BOXER: How much will it cost?

KENT CONRAD: How will we pay for this?

BOB MENENDEZ: Are the estimates of $200 billion to prosecute this war the floor or the ceiling?

NANCY PELOSI: We must focus on building our own economy before we worry about Iraq's economy after we invade Iraq.

STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES: Mr. President, what happened to Osama Bin Laden? Do we know how long a war in Iraq would last? Has there been any assessment for the American people of how much a war in Iraq will cost our economy? Do you have any idea of the human loss we should expect

CONGRESSMAN: The time for the gentle lady has expired and I will remind members to address their remarks to the chair and not to the president.

ROBERT BYRD: In, in the name of the people of this country, in the name of the young men and women whose lives may be put on the line.

VOICE: Mr. Ensign, Ay. Mr. Enzi, AY

ROBERT BYRD: By the decision that this senate will make is too weighty, is too far reaching, and it's only fair to the people of America who are going to be asked to give in some instances everything that they've got, everything they have, if, if a war ensues, and I tell you my friends I don't want that on my conscience. Not I.

BILL MOYERS: If you go to our Web site at pbs.org you can find out where to see BODY OF WAR and learn more about Tomas Young's story. You can also find links to names of every American soldier killed in Iraq over the past five years.

That's it for THE JOURNAL. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again next week.

I'm Bill Moyers. ;;

Posted by Suza Francina at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

(Words & Images courtesy of Daly Road Graphics & Ray Smith)

When is a truck not a truck? When it's a-wanderin'.
Sometimes they get lost and take the scenic route through Ojai.

I've spotted the tandems in unlikely places, and yesterday I decided to
follow one with my camera.

I picked it up northbound at the intersection of Foothill and El Paseo,
a block north of E. Ojai Ave.

Apparently, he missed the turn north at the "Y".

He went north on Foothill past startled pedestrians, until the intersection of Foothill and Fairview.

A sign there says no outlet, and since there is no room to turn around
on narrow residential streets, he turned onto Fairview and hoped for the
best.

Over hill and dale westward, until he came across 33, and headed south.
--Ray

SEND YOUR PICTURES OF GRAVEL TRUCKS IN OJAI TO "STOP THE TRUCKS:"

Smythe@Ojai.net

Posted by Howard Smith at 06:41 PM | Permalink

OJAI FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT HONOREES
Richard + Lauren Shuler Donner
and Ray Bradbury

Early Entry Deadline for Filmmakers April 15

(Ojai, CA) Ojai Film Festival has announced it will produce two Lifetime Achievement Awards programs to honor high powered producers, Lauren Shuler Donner and Richard Donner, Friday, Nov. 7 as well as an American icon, Ray Bradbury on Saturday November 8 as part of its ninth annual event set to run November 6 through 9, at the five-diamond resort – the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa.

Chairman of the Festival Board, David Shor enthused, “I am pleased and honored to announce, Ray Bradbury and the Donners' have accepted our invitation to be honored at the Ojai Film Festival with a Lifetime Achievement Award for their amazing bodies of work that have inspired and entertained so many people around the world. All the honorees have one thing in common – they can’t be categorized in any one genre. These are major developments for our festival.”

As a true definition of a ’power couple,’ in Hollywood, The Donners’ were married in 1985, and have done solo and paired projects throughout their relationship as well as each having hefty resumes with comedies, dramas and action-adventures exploring genres too numerous to name. [Sample: Lethal Weapon franchise – all four films. He did first three and they combined for the fourth; Superman I & II Richard; X-Men, combined efforts and Free Willy, all three films.] Richard Donner began his career in TV as an actor and directed episodes of classic television series such as, Gilligan’s Island, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, Perry Mason, and the forerunner Twilight Zone, among many others.

Shuler-Donner burst on the scene with the block buster comedy Mr. Mom, and was responsible for two of the most popular "Brat Pack" movies of the '80's, St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink, both of which garnered platinum records for their soundtracks. In the early '90's, Shuler Donner produced the box office smash hits, Dave and Free Willy, which were two of the top ten films of 1993. The critically acclaimed Dave was nominated for both an Academy Award (Best Original Screenplay) and a Golden Globe (Best Picture-Comedy). Most recently, she produced She’s the Man, to high critical acclaim.

Together they are also known as philanthropists and have been honored by Mikhail Gorbachev's environmental organization, Global Green USA, with their 2000 Green Cross Millennium Award for Entertainment Industry Environmental Leadership for their tireless efforts to protect the Earth for future generations. They were also honored in September of 2005 by PETA.

Ray Bradbury is best known as the author of extraordinary science fiction -- Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles but his work is so much more than this one genre. For instance, in the world of film, Bradbury wrote the screenplay for the classic Moby Dick. Bradbury is a prolific writer ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001969/bio) with a total literary output close to 600 short stories, more than 30 books and numerous poems and plays. In 2004 Bradbury received a National Medal of Arts. He was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6644 Hollywood Blvd. An asteroid is named in his honor, "9766 Bradbury", and the Apollo astronaut named a crater on the moon "Dandelion Crater", after his novel, Dandelion Wine. Bradbury also received: the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement; the Grand Master Award from Science Fiction Writers of America; an Emmy Award for his work as a writer on The Halloween Tree,’ and many other awards and honors. His works were translated to more than 40 languages and sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. Bradbury currently resides in Los Angeles, California. He has never driven a car and does not have one. He writes daily.

Hottest addition to this year’s festival will be the Celebrity Golf Classic and Malcolm McDowell will serve as the Honorary Chair and Host at the prestigious Ojai Valley Inn & Spa (OVIS) Golf Course. McDowell noted “The Ojai Valley Inn Golf Course is one of the finest resort golf courses in the country. Designed by the brilliant George Thomas - who designed Riviera, Bel Air and the L.A. Country Club courses - Ojai is the jewel in the crown with spectacular views and very taxing course but a fair one.” He declared, “We’re trying to make this one of the really more interesting festivals and with our association with Ray Bradbury, who is to America what Jules Verne is to France, I think this is an exciting time for the Ojai Film Festival and I’m happy to be a part of it as I have been from the beginning.”

McDowell bounded onto screens in Lindsay Anderson’s If, in 1968, worked with Stanley Kubrick on his masterpiece Clockwork Orange, and continues to work diligently and intelligently with acting credits in every nook of entertainment, all the while playing complicated levels of characters in every situation and in every century. He can be seen on previous seasons of HBO’s comedy series skewering the Hollywood system on Entourage, as Terence – Ari Gold’s former agency boss played to the hilt.

The Celebrity Golf Classic gives the festival added stature and transforms the festival to a five-diamond “destination for film & golf lovers.”

VIP Packages for the Festival and Celebrity Golf Classic are already on sale at the website: http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/ticketing.html. Early Bird incentives are only in effect now through June 1.

Purchasers of the VIP Platinum Pass gain entry into all screenings, plus the Opening & Closing Night Party, Lifetime Achievement Award Special Events & Screenings, Friday After Party, Awards Ceremony & Brunch, VIP Seating and entry into the Celebrity Golf Classic on November 6. Enticing patrons to plan ahead, the early bird ticket buyers pay $825. ($205 savings).

General tickets and passes for four-pack and six-pack film screenings will come on sale later in the year as the festival line-up gets established. Individual passes for some of the Festival events are also available online at discounted pricing.

Film Lovers Only will want the VIP Gold Pass which will get you entry into all of the Festival related events that the VIP Platinum Pass covers, except for the Celebrity Golf Classic ($100 savings). VIP Gold Pass is $350. until June 1. Click on this Link: http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/ticketing.html

“The Ojai Film Festival Celebrity Golf Classic at the OVIS golf course brings the dream of Hollywood to Ojai,” said Bill Monot (Board member & chair for the golf tournament). “A round of celebrity golf with a weekend of great films…what could be better?” he asked. As celebrities are confirmed names will be released. Added Shor, “Malcolm McDowell’s friends are sure to populate the list of golfers on the celebrity menu as well as some other surprise names from the world of rock n’ roll courtesy of Board member Monot’s connections as an agent of Paradise Artists”.

Screenings, panels and the Ojai Film Festival Hub will all be centered at the 220-acre OVIS resort and will utilize all of the public spaces for the Festival on the high-end property as well as the usual venues in town, the Plaza Theatre, the Matilija Auditorium and Ojai Arts Center. Panavision remains on board as a major sponsor/title sponsor of “Limelight” bringing new filmmakers to the forefront and celebrated at the festival. Ojai Film Festival has steadfastly maintained the theme of Enriching the Human Spirit Through Film as its focus; however, the Festival also welcomes all subjects in any genre.

Deadlines for submissions are as follows: April 15 Early deadline; May 15 Regular Deadline; June 15 Late Deadline; July 15 Extended Deadline. http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/entries.html

With the new host partnership created between the nine-year-old film festival and the premiere destination resort, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, the Ojai Film Festival is setting the barre higher than in past years and will continue to make more leaps and bounds culminating on November 6 – 9. So be sure to watch the website for developments. (www.ojaifilmfestival.com).

www.ojaifilmfestival.com www.ojairesort.com www.mcfaddenpr.com

Posted by Howard Smith at 06:25 PM | Permalink

I just finished watching “Borders” a DVD with Jennifer Lopez about the senseless border murders of hundreds, if not thousands of young women in Juarez, Mexico. Apparently very little is being done about it, because of all the political and financial hypocrisy and ramifications of investigating the murders.

The injustice, unfairness and misery in the world is staggering. No wonder we are losing so many beautiful people to various drugs, depression, alcoholism and life debilitating choices. It’s hard for “sweet people” of conscience and good will, especially the impressionable young to continue to hope and progress in such a negative, unkind world environment. Many times the cry for help all over the world is deafening and overwhelming.

Many become disillusioned and feel no matter what they say or do, or who they vote for, or how much they cry out in frustration for justice and fairness, the Big Guns continue to win. Pain and suffering continue to exist, and it’s hard to bear the fact that our fellow beings (and animals) are suffering, in spite of our spiritual and religious beliefs geared to console us. The need for help all over the world is overwhelming. What can we do to save our own psychology and heart, so we can make a difference to others?

(An Anecdote and possible solution)
David & Larry were walking on a beach covered with thousands of starfish that landed on shore dying. David picks up a starfish and throws it in the water.

“Why’d you do that? What differences does it make, there are millions of them?” shouted Larry.

Larry throws another starfish in the water, “It makes a difference to That One!”

Every little bit of effort counts. Every little bit of good-will counts. Every helpful thought counts. Every kind heart counts. Every bit of happiness we can muster up counts. And every helpful action counts! We do what we can. And we can only serve to our own capacity and each person knows what that is. If we get angry, mean or confused, relax, the next moment is a chance to be Happy and do what we can.

Some of us fall apart because we can’t do enough – and that’s where the doubt and depression begins to creep in. It’s ok, if in-between taking care of our children or being at our job for 9 hours, we go to a yoga class, instead of passing out leaflets against the war. It’s ok, if we send $30 to “save the children” instead $150, when we know it will cause hardship for ourselves and the family. It’s ok to take care of ourselves first, so we can have enough energy and happiness to make others second, and serve them with a genuine helpful smile, instead of a waning one. It’s ok, if we can only throw in 10 starfish instead of a hundred.

A formula that’s helped me in the midst of this obvious injustice, hopelessness and heartbreaking cry for help is: Laughing openly, speaking freely, screaming and yelling regularly, regretting momentarily, giving unconditionally, taking graciously, crying gratefully, Loving deeply, absolutely always eating chocolate daily, and doing what I can, knowing that many others are also doing what they can.

Posted by Dvorah Adler at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

EASTER 2008

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).
This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Here’s the interesting part.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here are the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!). 2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Happy Spring, Happy Full Moon Everyone!

Posted by Suza Francina at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

BEDRIDDEN 1

One would think that the word would imply that one was rid of the bed rather than confined to it, but owing to its probable Gaelic source there is no telling. Dylan Thomas’ Great-Great mumbled it out within the hearing of a dullard in charge of the church no doubt, sometime around 1217 and the rest is for me to conjure. There is always the urge to turn the four legs of the bed into an animal you then ride, but that is a hideous stretch.

I have been in bed for four days and I don’t much feel like leaving it. The flu brought me here, tentatively. On Sunday I was down and then it being Monday I decided to pretend and picked a box of salad at Gozo, then watched the sprinklers go round while having a pleasant enough chat with the plumber about a price too steep to consider. With the seeds wet we went by separate trucks to Mano and picked some more until I began to have trouble seeing and thought I better get back home while I could. So John did the rest. Either of us usually does. He was sick earlier, and now recovering, and he is young.

The first few days flat were obligatory. I ate a lot of Advil and Tylenol and still had headaches, then I forgot to eat more medicine because I could no longer think. John came to get my signature on a check and asked if I was doing any writing. I said I would if I could think first. There is a thinking part of writing that is very elusive, and when you start writing about it you no longer can write. I knew I was getting out of the can today when I wrote a FORAGER for the CSA and it turned out OK, but you can judge for yourselves when you encounter it at the end.

I have been fairly alone with merely myself to talk to, which is not terribly unusual because I talk to myself all the time, which is the reason why, when I am involved in a live conversation and I stumble, looking for a hidden word it is probably because too many things are arriving at the spark plug of cognition for any sense to be made of the stream. Its may be somewhat like starting your car when its already running.

The ceaseless silence is beautiful because of its novelty. Beauty astonishes us only anew until we get used to it. If we are not too heartless it will make a lasting impression. In the imposed quiet I am able to think a thought and then either think it again or go on at leisure to the next. The current experience is different from kneeling in a carrot patch cutting weeds with a knife with only the wind blowing because there one encounters much immediacy and proposition while even at such mundane tasks. Crap calls out to you for remedy like refugees surrounding a truck full of rice. Here the dryer is whirring but I would have ignored it if it had not been the subject. Radio Free Fonteyn has also been silent these past few days. I would not compare that silence to anything but going to the beach and watching waves break without any roar and tumble. The continually encyclopedic repartee and reflection is mutually addictive. I have missed the laughing gas at some level, but like my taste for coffee or ability to read the Marquez book, I am not quite capable.

I acknowledged two days ago that I had left my cell phone in the truck and in the evening of the third day I retrieved it, dead, and discovered 23 attempts to reach me and 17 messages, not a single one of which I really had much use for, flu or no flu. The isolation of bedrest has reacquainted me with my own mind. Oh and it is such a storm out there, a place no one who truly loves their own brain would expose the poor helpless thing to. I would agree, there is more to it than just the brain. There is the soul, and don’t you know how the fiends come after you like you were the only 20 amp outlet in the world.

I like the doors closed and the cell in the truck. Olivia’s friend Marsha called on the land line from Port Townsend, and that was nice. And I spoke a few times to cold-calling stalwarts who wanted to help me re-fi or rip out my energy-inefficient windows. One woman was thunderstruck when I told her my wife had me take out the central heater, so our efficiency was 99th percentile. Ta-ta!

I fed the cat and gave it new water for the first time in three weeks. Chill. She has plenty of fresh water to drink from, just so long as she does not fall into the unchlorinated hot tub. I closed the hot tub lid after I gave her all that water. It was filtered water too. And I fed her salmon. But she still killed another bird. Its tortuous, lying in bed reading about the March Madness brackets while every songbird in the County is going off in my backyard and I can not immerse myself in their noise entirely because I know Chippewa is out there, stealthing in the bamboo, like she was straight out of a Cabela catalogue.

I am an omnivorous glutton who wishes we had room for a deep fat fryer, so you would not suspect that I have a fondness for ascetism that is so unusual it is like sin. Deprivation happens and I enjoy wandering around temporarily within its confines. If I fast, its usually forced. In the past four days I have eaten two servings of oatmeal, a bowl of corn chowder, three tangerines, two grapefruit, a cara-cara orange, an apple, a corn tortilla, a coffee candy, 12 Advil, 4 blue Tylenol Flu and Cold tabs, 48 saltine crackers and washed it down with 30 glasses of water and 6 cups of black tea. Today I put some honey in the tea for the first time. It is Bill Moses’ honey, none better in the world, but I did not have tongue for it until today. Olivia wanted to do something for me. Her sister Kathy, who is an RN, recommended an antiviral, Tamiflu, which I also consumed despite the fact that it cost one hundred dollars and I was going to get better anyway. I honestly suggested we should take it back to the pharmacy because it was too expensive, which would have played well with Olivia because she is thrifty. But the little pills were as much a measure of her interest in my welfare as anything so I began to consume them. I am still not hungry. Just thirsty.

I took a shower after four days. Where did the dirt come from? It always cascades off my hair looking like a Texas creek at flood stage-slight, timely meteorological reference there, in case you have observed the floods. Just continuing this effort at confession, you see, this unannounced glimpse at reality: a life-flasher. I have other dirt that washes less. I looked like I had not eaten much in four days. I stared in the mirror and did not care much one way or the other, except my hair felt better. Then I returned ATONEMENT to the Ojai Video, three days late. When I saw a woman pushing a baby carriage I did not fully grasp what I was observing until I gave myself a chance. Maybe it was the dusk.

I have had plenty of time to watch Barack Obama give his speeches, research the heretofore obscure Revered Jeremiah Wright, read dozens of commentaries and blogs, listen to Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann and Afro-American preachers, Al Sharpton not being one of them. I love Al. I know why Mr. Wright bothers people, but I must say I agree with him entirely about the thugs stealing the airplanes. The last eight years have been stolen by revenge. I was as mad as sad when those towers fell over because I knew we had brought the calamity on ourselves by our ineptitude. Should anyone want further proof, just look at what happened afterward. It’s a good thing nobody in my congregation is running for president, but if you want to, please feel free to distance yourself.

Say, are there still anonymous participants on Ojaipost? I can smell you from here.

Tomorrow I think I will venture out. Four days away from my particular little drama is like months. If the vacation must come with delerium, so be it. Maybe I will just make the rounds, show my face, be grateful that people cared, eat a cookie. I need to drag the brassicas out of the green house and harvest some more of the broccoli seed before all the incoming bird flights eat it all and figure out what to do with that employee who is driving us both crazy, again…..but wait. That’s not what my bedridden solitude has informed me. I have been burning out the bearings in my hampster cage too long. But it felt so right to rush and fret, eating anti-inflammatories and drinking just enough tequila to dilute the pain, and resolve to plunge every toilet, wolf every sandwich, finish everyone’s job, psyche out every dilatory, insolent teen, respond to every lame question, parry the slights of posers, save every cabbage! Pick up every sputem-soaked napkin! Answer every plea to post notice of the Support Group’s Fundraising Concert and Bake Sale on the front window! Deal! Forgive!

Its nice to take a little break from my little crutchie-wutchies. You might think that the prior paragraph indicates I may need to self-medicate soon though. Bed is a panacea. I had been sober for seven or eight years straight, yea years gone, as an adult, so there is no bragging to be done here about not smoking the marijuana, drinking the beer, numbing my errant lumbar region with agave for a mere four days. But the bed ride has been quite providential. A back-breakers boon. Haven’t missed that nip of beguiling silver at sundown. Nor at noon. Though the old piercing spasm runs lightning like from hip to ankle every time I cough, I have been able to measure a diminished intensity. Bed is good. Bed is friendly. I observed that I felt no pain upon returning from the kitchen this afternoon with a glass of water. Quin thinks I should quit. Save myself. Obtain a life change. Prepare for the chaos.

Posted by Steve Sprinkel at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Posted by Mike Didj at 06:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (74)

"Those worried about protecting their savings should spread them across a number of banks ..." !!! The Guardian, 19 March 2008

US Economy Back To 1930

And the Telegraph:

Money To Burn ...

And no one is coming to the rescue of Gangster Carlyle!

Finally, the World refuses to support the Oil/War World Eco-Rape Machine ... nor do they care that the US economy is now collapsing -- neither 'American' Rockefellers nor European Rothschilds et al.

The US Corporate [Non-] Intelligence State can learn respect -- of an entire WORLD of culture and environmental legacy -- or dissolve in its self-generated bile of acidity ...

Posted by Millennium Twain at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Obama delivered a brilliant speech today, transcending politics-as-usual and the scorched earth policies that dominate the American political landscape. An excerpt below...

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

You will find this woman incredible, Jill Taylor.

I challenge our post readers not to become sophomoric in the thread and have some dignity and respect for this woman.

This is an absolute must-watch. Set aside 18 minutes and prepare to be floored. Consensus among TED’sters is that this may be the most memorable and important TED Talk ever. It was certainly the most talked-about presentation among those at TED2008. Enjoy and share with others. And let Jill’s experience inspire, motivate, and change the way you look at life.

http://www.microclesia.com/?p=320

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Posted by Raymond Powers at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

have at it, Ojaians...

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (39)

Ques Que Se?

Ques Que Se Electricite?

this River of life, experience, which we name an electric current.

a helicoidal (spiral aka vortex) flow of spirit and fire; light-aether waves and electronic and protonic charges (ions, nucleons, current elements) --

phase (signal) and group (power, fire, plasma) sensations, communications, receptions, transmissions, feelings, thoughts ...

this Medicine of the Seer, Aboriginal GrandMother, Priestess, Shaman ...

our/their Sacred Songline of longitudinal (forward flow) hearing-
experiencing-singing-creating ...

witnessed in the transverse (amplitude or intensity) ocean wave 'bumps' of the drum, melodious keys of the piano, heartfelt strumming of Her guitar, enrapturing twining of virtue's violin ...

all electrifying, magnetizing in that 'double-transverse' universal connection of spin, rotation, torsion, flux -- electricity --

Electricite?

Electricidades?

ElectriciMames?

inward, centripetal, formation-sculpting -- begatting and evolving ...

outward, centrifugal, entropic, dissolving, extinguishing, vanishing, 'giving-up-the-ghost' ...

the life-long 'spectral possession', spectre, witness, experience, consciousness, of being ...

which the electrical engineers name Inductance (where-is generated, stored, released our Magnetic field), and Capacitance (where-is separated, collected, amplified, conducted our Electric field) ...

and the Impedance (reactance, resistance, susceptance, conductance) of our dance of interconnectedness ...

defining the RESONANCE of our 'bodies-helicoidal' -- the notes, strings, winds, chimes, chords of our torsos-topological ...

the Voice of your nature,

episong of our Creation ...

HER Divine Creation

..

see full-size chart at:

http://groupkos.com/mtwain/WOW/WholeElectroVerse.jpg

"The Whole ElectroVerse Spectrum ... Including the ElectroMagnetic Wavelengths (Frequencies) for Interplanetary, InterStellar and InterGalactic Propulsion Systems ('AntiGravity' Drives) ..."

http://thunderbolts.info/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=41

Discussion of more details at:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/NuclearStructure/message/509

Posted by Millennium Twain at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

From a post on the Heart-Centered Business blog I receive:

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon..

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon . In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important
role.

More tips after jump...

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the
exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell........................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 11 7,740,000 barrels
Amoco............................62,231,000 barrels

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco..................0 barrels
Conoco................. .0 barrels
Sinclair..................0 barrels
BP/Phillips.............0 barrels
Hess......................0 barrels
ARC0.....................0 barrels

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to
state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

Posted by Raymond Powers at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Come on down to Libbey Park and write down a couple names!

Posted by Mike Didj at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

What say you, Ojai?

Posted by Lisa Snider at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (66)

...and only entrant, Raymond Powers, with this delightful entry...

It was Spring, yet I had lost that in my step. In my driveway lay a blue dragonfly, motionless and rigid like the brown earthbound autumn leaves. I picked up the winged one and placed it in my palm. So light, it's weight imperceptible in my hand. It seemed strange to have one born of flight, of air and river life, leave it's remains on an asphalt grave. A metaphor, my life in my hands. Breathing three times, gentle, warm, across the cross that lay so still. Then, a tremble, a tickle, a straight vertical ascension, above the treetops and out of sight. This is where the miraculous meets the mundane, and the future moves beyond our imagination.

Congrats, Raymond. Please stay on the line and our producer will get your info and send you a package.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

(All pictures are courtesy of Maureen and Dan Smith, Wheeler Hot Springs)

In July of 2007, as reported in the Ojai Valley News, Caltrans District 7 investigators concluded in a now controversial traffic study that State Route 33 is maintained to provide safe travel for all motorists, and is designed to accommodate large trucks.

In February of 2008 a portion of Route 33 collapsed into the river. Below are a dozen photographs of the damage done, indicating the collapse was far more significant than originally reported.

According to the study of the roadway geometry last year, Caltrans found the roads to be in very good condition.

In a letter from Doug Failing, Caltrans District 7 Director, to Supervisor Bennett, the Caltrans chief concluded, "As long as trucks and vehicles abide by the existing regulatory and warning signage, the travel through the subject corridor can safely accommodate the design envelope of the 'California Legal' truck."

The collapsed portion of Highway 33 will take several months to repair, according to Caltrans

Recent OVN stories quote Caltrans officials that "Years of erosion by the creek below caused the slope underneath the road to give way, and the part of the road to collapse"

The Stop the Trucks coalition has repeatedly questioned whether the vulnerable road should be open to heavy gravel trucks. The Coalition has also wondered why the possibility of such a failure,had not been predicted during the Caltrans study of the safety of the mountainous portion of Highway 33.

The study of the Highway from the five points intersection through Pine Mountain and its descent into Lockwood Valley, released at the end of May 2007, after taking over three months to complete, determined that, according to Caltrans, the road was indeed safe for all motorists.

Maria Raptis, spokesperson for Caltrans District 7 said that the study had focused exclusively on the geometric design of the road for safe and orderly movement of vehicles. According to Caltrans engineers it did not focus on the stability of the roads or the hydraulics."

When the "Study" was concluded last year, mining advocates and some County Planning officials in both Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties cited the study to reinforce their positions.

Scott Ellison, a planner with the Ventura County Planning Division that issued the Conditional Use Permit for the Ozena Mine was quoted in the Ventura County Reporter last year as saying, “They concluded it was safe for the trucks, as long as they followed the posted limitations.” Ellison added that Caltrans examined the “radius of the turns, the way the turns are sloped — road geometrics, looking at the height of the tunnels, for instance, blind curves, these sorts of things. They felt the road geometrics were safe for the trucks. As a local agency we’re not likely to challenge a Caltrans safety study that’s two weeks old that looks at the road segment we’re interested in.”

Gary Kaiser, the Santa Barbara County Planner who led the drafting of the 2007 staff report on the proposed Diamond Rock Mine apparently thought so little about the safety issues related to Route 33, that they were practically ignored in his draft.

By way of contrast, Michael Shapiro, the current chair of "Stop the Trucks," wrote in an op ed piece last summer,

"After months of stalling, Caltrans has responded to Ojai’s request for a safety study of Route 33, finally releasing six-pages to conclude that the highway is, in fact, safe and appropriate for heavy, large-scale, industrial trucking. Taking its cue from the industry and industry lobbyists who desired that finding - without regard to the health, safety and welfare of the people here in the Ojai Valley - the Caltrans “study” is a patently outrageous travesty and a whitewash."

You be the judge, Ojai…

Posted by Howard Smith at 08:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

This is one of my all-time favorite media surfers: writer/thinker/digital rights activist. Cory speaks freely on carbon footprints, online activism, wiretapping etc..

Posted by Mike Didj at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hey, it's time for a book thread for you literary types. What have you been reading? I've been flipping back and forth between "Einstein's Dreams" by Alan Lightman, "Desolation Angels" by Jack Kerouak and "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)

A Yoga in the Ojai Valley DVD Review

EARTHLINGS
Nature Animals Humankind MAKE THE CONNECTION

Watch the movie here: http://freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=119

Written, produced and directed by Shaun Monson.
Narrated by Academy Award Nominee Joaquin Phoenix.
Music by critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.

This is the single most powerful and informative movie about society's treatment of animals! A must-see film for anyone who cares enough to know.
-- Woody Harrelson

The Humane Society calls EARTHLINGS "The definitive documentary film of all times that Americans don't want to see. "

If I had to name one movie that I want everyone to see, including my family, friends and yoga students, it would be EARTHLINGS . Then they would understand why I am so adamant that human beings must speak out on behalf of animals.

I saw EARTHLINGS with a friend. We are both animal advocates and have seen footage of slaughterhouses, fur farms, and other atrocities in other documentaries. We thought we were mentally prepared to see this film. We were not. We both wept and had to take periodic breaks. Several weeks have passed and even now, when I lie down on my yoga bolster and close my eyes, I cannot get the images I saw on EARTHLINGS out of my mind.

Narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix, EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humankind's absolute economic dependence on animals raised as pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research. Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. It includes segments on pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and experiments by the medical and scientific profession.

EARTHLINGS is the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. It is by far the most powerful and informative movie about society's treatment of animals that I have ever seen. And, although much of the movie is difficult to watch, there are many uplifting parts, especially at the beginning and end.

EARTHLINGS is a masterpiece. If enlightenment begins with disillusionment, I guarantee you will be well on your way after you see EARTHLINGS!

For features, clips and a transcript of the film, visit www.IsawEarthlings.com.

Philosophically, EARTHLINGS reflects the writings of naturalist and author Henry Beston,

We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.

Note:
A transcript of the film appears on the website.This quote is originally from Henry Beston's book, The Outermost House

Posted by Suza Francina at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

"Effective September 19, 2007, the time announcement information service has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience."

What the F? How did i not know about this, and how am i to calibrate my clocks with carefully synchronized phone-holding, listening, and button-pushing-or-dial-turning? Is this a Republican plot to make us lose track of time and therefore be unable to know how long we've been at war or without health care? What does it have to do with the new studies showing that daylight savings time doesn't actually increase useful working hours, and actually raises utility bills?

What time IS it? Ack!

Posted by evan austin at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

A reader writes in. Let's find this dog his home. - tyler

A nice beagle was found at the Farmer and Cook on Friday night. He has a collar but it looks like the ID tag fell off (ring but no tags). He may have been recently neutered and seems well fed. We can't keep him, and if we can't find his owner soon, will have to take him to the shelter.

He wandered in to the Farmer while Fred Schmitt was playing on March 7, sometime between 7 and 9 pm. The owners could call Fred at 805-746-4566 to coordinate a return.

UPDATE: (from reader Lynn) Found the owners! Dog is named Duke and apparently he follows his nose, wherever it goes (maybe he should be called fruitloop?) Hound and owner happily reunited. Yay!

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Dear Moms: These articles are for you; for your love, your sweetness and your natural talent for healing. I’m here to remind you how smart, intuitive, beautiful and capable you are - and to lighten up about this whole thing called parenting, which has become such a concern for so many.

We take our roles as parents so seriously, because of the media, our friends, our family, Oprah, and the latest experts, who bombard us with their new theories on how to raise our children. They discuss endlessly how difficult this parenting job is and unfortunately many of us have fallen for all the rhetoric. I propose that, parenting is easy when you discover who you truly are to your children. You are “THE HEART, SOUL, JOY AND SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION of those Kids!

That means you can play this parenting game any way you want (I ‘m talking about loving parents who want the best for their children and that is most of us). These children came into your life - you didn’t come into theirs. They came into your house, your lifestyle, your consciousness, your craziness. And that is completely wonderful! Because they need a foundation to start their life from, and your life is their foundation (exactly as it is confusion and all!)

It’s time for you to stop apologizing for who you are and how you live your life. So what? - if you don’t keep your house sparkling clean and dishes washed all the time? So what - if you don’t have that great job or extra money to get those Nike’s? So what - if you didn’t marry Mr. Perfect and ended up getting a divorce then a boyfriend? And So what - if you’re impatient with your little darling after telling her for the hundredth time to put on her shoes or she’s going to be late for school? One big SO WHAT?

Next time your in-laws, friends, the experts and the rest of “your judges” give you advice on how to raise your children, you can say very “sweetly” but firmly: “I’m the Mom, I love you, but I’m doing my best, and this is how we are going to do it today.” Now that doesn’t mean that we don’t take opinions and ideas under consideration. And it doesn’t mean that we don’t do the best for our children. It does mean however, that we honor ourselves, our space and our lives and know deep in our heart that we are in fact “The Heart, Soul, Joy and Spiritual Foundation” of our Children and want the best for them. Even little Buddhas, need their Mom to teach them how to eat properly, say grace and tie their shoelaces.

As Mamas we need to feel more comfortable with ourselves, and not be afraid of parenting “our way”. Most important of all – we need to relax about this whole “intellectual mess” that has become parenting. Take care of yourself, your mind and body. Take a nice long refreshing deep breath when it’s all too much, and take a break. Remember the simple truth that: “When you feel good, your children feel good.” Love Dvorah

NO CHARGE (a short story from Chicken Soup of the Soul for Mothers).

Our little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his moms dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:
For cutting the grass $5
For cleaning my room $1
For going to the store
for you $1
Babysitting my kid
brother for you $1
For cleaning the yard $2
Total owed: $10

Well, his mother looked at him standing there
expectantly, and all the memories flashed through her mind. So she picked up the pen, turned over the paper he’d written on, and this is
what she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me, No Charge.
For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you, No Charge.
For all the trying times, and
all the tears that you’ve caused through the years, there’s, No Charge.
When you add it all up, the cost of my love is No Charge.
For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the
worries I knew were ahead,
No Charge.
And when you add it all up,
The full cost of real love is,
No Charge.
Well, when our son finished
reading what his mother had
written, a tear fell down his cheek, and he looked straight up at his Mom and said,
“Mom, I sure do love you,” and then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:

“PAID IN FULL.”

Posted by Dvorah Adler at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)

I recently attended the Rubicon Theatre Company's latest production, Bus Stop, starring Angela Christian, Jason Chanos and Ojai's own John Bennett Perry, the cowboy troubadour of the Ojai Valley Boys (and Matthew's dad).

From the Web site:
"Bus Stop is the 1950s romantic comedy about a group of travelers tossed together during a Kansas snowstorm. The film, by Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner William Inge, starred Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray. While exuberant and comical on the surface, at its core this play is a tenderhearted tale of love, loneliness and longing, revealing our deep hunger for companionship and understanding. Rubicon’s production stars Broadway and West End actress Angela Christian and regional theatre sensation Jason Chanos, with screen veteran and Ojai resident John Bennett Perry as Virgil. Let the warmth of this great American classic melt your winter blues!”

It's a wonderfully acted play and the production values are quite impressive. A very strong ensemble cast provides a lot of punch (literally, at one point), and two and a half hours of solid entertainment. I highly recommend you take a trip into Ventura to see it before the final performance on March 16.

For tickets, call the box office at 805.667.2900 or reserve online.

While acquainting myself with the Rubicon, I discovered they do a lot of community outreach. What really caught my eye was the upcoming Intermediate Playwrighting class, taught by Scott Patrick Wagner (you have probably read his column in the VC Reporter). As you know, I've been dabbling in this medium, so I'm signing up. It seems like there is an interest amongst the readers here in the craft of writing, so I thought I would share with all of you in case anyone else might be interested in joining the class.

Posted by Lisa Snider at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow! What a great conversation about possibilities for the Dahl's Market in Oak View. I'm hearing through the grapevine that the new owners are in conversations with potential new tenants for a new market there, and will happily share any updates I get on what's happening when I hear anything certain. (And of course welcome anyone else who might know with certainty before I do to share concrete news -- I'm not in the "inner sanctum" of grocery conversations locally, just trying to...er....foment!) :-)

But, the interest in all of this leads me to my next question..

Downtown Oak View is, by all accounts, rode hard and put away wet right at the moment, in spite of ongoing efforts to increase its curb appeal. How can we all help to change that?

A couple of thoughts:

1. March 18, 6:30 PM An open meeting on the beautification of Oak View at the Oak View Park and Resource Center on Mahoney Avenue. Please go if you can!

2. There are a number of empty storefronts in town. What else would make sense in Oak View's downtown? What other businesses are missing? What would help to keep our community buying local by providing the goods/services/doodads/necessaries here that would allow us to buy them from local merchants? What would you like to see in town?

3. Is there a way to think about a unifying sense of identity/design for Oak View's downtown? Ojai has gone the way of Spanish Revival...I keep thinking that a more rustic sense of aesthetics for Oak View would make sense, both because of its history and as a way to differentiate it from Ojai...for example, one of my fantasies has been a wooden Western style facade on the Dahl's strip, with a covered walkway and wood planking as the surface...fun, a little silly, but a way to break up all of that concrete and asphalt. Anybody have any wishful thinking about how to build a little unification here...not to Disney-fy, but to imagine amplifying Oak View's sense of identity through its downtown...???

4. I love Dennis' idea of the "Bring the Oaks Back to Oak View" movement...

Any thoughts?

Posted by Leigh Melander at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

McCain gets the GOP nod. Obama takes Vermont, Hillary takes RI. Texas is tight, Hillary looks good in Ohio. SPK, whaddawegot?

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

A nice new local website, www.ojai-style.com, has launched for artists and artisans. I know a few of these artists, and the video profiles accompanying the 3500+ items are a nice touch. Give 'em a look...

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Today, Noon --

see: http://www.ojaigarden.com

Posted by Millennium Twain at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 9th Annual Village of Tales Ojai Storytelling Festival is coming May 1-4, 2008. I'm looking forward to attending this year - I've heard so many fun stories about it, but haven't made my way down to Libbey Bowl yet.

I have a pair of tickets to give away to the March 22nd Bill Harley and Niall de Búrca benefit, with proceeds to go to the Village of Tales Storytelling Festival. Bill Harley is a nationally acclaimed storyteller and winner of a Grammy Award while Niall de Burca is considered one of Ireland’s treasures.

Let's try this for the giveaway. In honor of The Ojai Post's upcoming ten thousandth comment (today or tomorrow), leave a story in this thread, 100 words or less. I'll pick a couple impartial judges and the winner will get the tickets.

Some basic ground rules - the story must be yours. It has to have happened in Ventura County. No plagiarism, embellishment accepted. Points for style, wit, humor and pathos. Contest closes at the end of Monday, March 10.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)

California has a new plan for massive disasters. Abandoned elderly, emptying beds for higher priority patients, veterinarians setting bones and stitching people up. Not a pretty sight.

Older, sicker patients could be allowed to die in order to save the lives of patients more likely to survive a massive disaster, bioterror attack or influenza pandemic in California.

It's not how nurses and doctors are accustomed to doing things, nor how Californians expect to be treated. But it is part of a sweeping statewide plan being praised for its breadth, even as it rankles providers who will have to carry it out.

The new "surge capacity guidelines" released by the state Department of Public Health, depict a post-disaster health care environment that looks and feels nothing like the system most Californians depend on.

It provides for scenarios in which patients could be herded into school gymnasiums for life-saving care or animal doctors could stitch up the human wounded and set their broken bones.

The 1,900-page document lays the practical -- and ethical -- groundwork for local and county health departments, hospitals, emergency responders and any able-bodied health care worker likely to be called upon in a catastrophe. Striking in its specificity and its frank focus on the need to suspend or flex established laws and to ration health care, the plan is being hailed as a model for the rest of the nation.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 03:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

I was lucky enough to catch local yoga teacher Amy Arani at the SoCal Musician showcase at the Ventura Theater Friday night. Amy plays piano and was backed by three Ojai musicians (Will Makiling on drums, Chris Foley on guitar, Dave Anter on bass) for most of her set. Amy's rich voice reminded me at times of Natalie Merchant, Cher, Sarah MacLachlan, Siouxie Sioux (remember the Banshees?) with a touch of Tori Amos.

Comparisons aside, her voice is fantastic. Amy will be graduating from UCSB in a couple of weeks and hopefully focusing more on her music. Meantime you can visit her at http://www.myspace.com/amyarani . She's playing this Wednesday at the Experimental Cafe in Oxnard at 9:45pm.

Posted by Heather McKenzie at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

........We also scout on hands and knees to really get in touch with that modest universe at our feet. There we observed today aphids that had been parasitized by a wee wasp that flies around laying her eggs on the aphids heads. ........

F o r a g e r

Gozo-Mano Farm CSA Newsletter, Meiners Oaks, California,
27 February 2008

IF you happen to drive by one of our farms and you observe someone spraying crops at the end of the day be not overly concerned. Its only kelp. Maybe a little Neem. A dose of bacillus Thuringiensis, perhaps, or some sort of approved soap. We even make our own potions when the moon is just so, out of weeds and flax and molasses. Even organic farmers are allowed to spray , but its what’s in the tank that matters. We got issues out there once in awhile. Take the aphids. They have begun to inhabit the chard, kale and collards. We have observed their populations grow over the past few weeks and wondered if some beneficial insect ally or Act of Gozo would rescue the poor things. I counted the ladybug larvae on the chard today and realized that there was no way for them to gain the upper hand on the aphid. The rain helped to wash the buglets off, but face it, its Spring and stuff has got to live. The birds are doing their thing, the myriad winged creatures are all abuzz, but today we recognized that we had reached the tipping point. Indeed it is time for change.

There are many products that have been approved for use on organic farms that we do not use. These materials are in solution with what are known as inert ingredients. These inerts as they are called are secret synergists and nefarious chemicals that pesticide companies use as carriers to fill up the bottle of stuff. They are considered proprietary so the manufacturers have been given a bogus exemption by the USDA and the EPA. We asked them to divulge the ingredients long ago, but it was so hush-hush only the Chinese know. The active ingredient might be a mere tincture obtained from a humble chrysanthemum, providing pyrethrum, for example, which is only 2.5% of the total mystery. We solve this puzzle by not using these materials. We blow the aphids off with water or soak them in kelp and molasses. You see, the target critter breathes through its pores, so if you gum up their shell with sticky stuff they are nearly just as doomed as they would be if Lannate ( its bad) was applied. We also keep planting crops once older plantings are reaching that point where they are tired out and susceptible to infestations. We also scout on hands and knees to really get in touch with that modest universe at our feet. There we observed today aphids that had been parasitized by a wee wasp that flies around laying her eggs on the aphids heads. The baby wasp pupates on into the host, lunching away in the noonday sun. Here we decide to only spray kelp but no soap because we want to allow the wasps to proliferate. Patience in the past has paid well. In the past I have much enjoyed watching the big red wasps going from lettuce to lettuce looking for loopers, occasionally hauling off the wriggling prey to a nest of sleeping young, who, when they awake, will find lunch ready for them.

This week’s recipe is offered by Leslie Davis:

beet salad
3 large beets (or a whole bunch of small ones), roasted, steamed or boiled
1 bunch kale, steamed
1 large carrot, shredded

into a salad bowl, cut up beets into chunky pieces, chop the kale a bit, grate in the carrot, add the dressing.

dressing
blend:
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic
1 large clove garlic
some chopped up parsley or basil
salt and pepper

*top with toasted pumpkin seeds

Posted by Steve Sprinkel at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Mexican woman reacted to the suggestion as if she had been preparing for some time. She seemed to have filled a large stainless bowl with organic corn masa and started to run water in it before the end of the question had been posed. She had the flat cakes on the stove in subnano time.

If you have stood watching in fascination as a Latin American woman makes tortillas by hand you understand the vital good of the product and that the making of them is a history lesson, a spiritual act and a sporting event rolled into one.

Rosa has been cleared to make tortillas. The Farmer and The Cook might soon be known as El Sembrador y La Cocinera.

You could lay responsibility on Robert Garcia, Doc Chocolate as he is sometimes known hereabouts. Master of Mole. Put an accent on that e, please and pronounce it. Robert comes to work not with an ingredients list but a farm plan. We should make him work in his own room. Everybody wants to stand around and watch El Artiste. And that's just the Hetero Men.

We will have planted seeds for 2000 chile plants by the end of this week and plan on plenty more. The Ancho, The Guajillo, The Jalapeno, the Nueveo Mexicano: We are going spice. We got your epasote, your cilantro and oregano up. The tomatoes are alive.

We are staying with the pizzas, the pastas and the ensaladas. We have musical evenings on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Damian Rice came up with his friends last weekend. He did not play. He wanted to enjoy the local scene, the Fritta Mixta, the Fettucine al Ajo, have some wine. We did a good job of ignoring him. Emy Reynolds did not. She was on stage at the time. She later said she has a Damian Rice poster in her bedroom. That must have been sort of buzzy.

Oh yeah. We are going to have a big music festival at the farm on the 20th of April, EARTHDAY. 10-7. Hope you can come. Olivia is planning her menu. Its going to be legit.

See you at THE FARMER AND THE COOK
call for reservations: 640-9608

Posted by Steve Sprinkel at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Last night, I noticed a "For Lease" sign in front of Dahl's Market in Oak View.

Since Bert Dahl's retirement, the market has changed hands a couple of times. The latest store owners are a very nice family (who also own the Corner Market in Oak View), but to say that this has been gloriously successful store is an overstatement -- it's been more of a large quick mart than anything else.

Oak View could really use a legitimate -- if not inspired -- place to buy groceries. I've had some fantasies about what might happen there, but haven't known who to talk to...anyone in the Ojai Post community interested? Read on...

Before I get into my flights of fancy about what might happen at Dahl's, I wanted to make a general plea on behalf of Oak View residents (myself included) for a real grocery store. As I talk with neighbors, this has been a source of frustration for many years here, and I know if there was a viable, appealing store, it would get lots of local biz. (I'm guessing also from folks on the general western end of the Valley, if they could stop in on their way home from work and not have to drive in to Ojai.)

(So, if there's someone out there quivering about running a local market in the valley and looking for space, know that you've got at least one loud-mouthed cheerleader!)

Beyond that, into fancy:

I lived for a while in Philadelphia, which had lots of good eats. One of my favorite places was Reading Terminal Market -- a permanent, installed Farmer's Market, that offers everything from Amish produce to Italian sausage to a Greek restaurant to a diner and the ubiquitous cheesesteaks and soft pretzels... It's a magical place, and is packed to the gills every day.

http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/

I've had a fantasy about a market like that in the Ojai Valley, that celebrates local and regional food in a permanent setting -- some grocery and some prepped foods -- that becomes a spot to get lunch or your veggies for the week and meet friends and grab a freshly made brownie...

Westridge and Rainbow Bridge come closest to this, as great locally owned markets...

This building is the very first business you see when you enter the Valley proper, and a lively, creative spot could be a really fabulous gateway into the Valley, rather than a tired, half-empty anchor to an old strip mall.

There is ample parking (enough, actually, such that there could be a weekly farmer's market outside, if a creative grocer was open to that)...it's large enough that you actually could stock it well...with a facelift, the interior would be just dandy...

The last time it came up for lease, there was talk about Red Barn Liquor leasing it --we sure don't need another glorified liquor store in town. Right now, in spite of some really concerted efforts by Oak View business owners, our downtown isn't a downtown -- it's a strip that people drive through really fast on their way into the Valley. Having a vibrant grocery that attracted business throughout the day could be a beginning to change that!

Anyone willing to jump in? If there is someone who around who has the resources, I'd be happy to help you reach out into the community to get a sense of how it would be supported...

Posted by Leigh Melander at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)