A Mommy Moment

As little feet get big and start to walk away,
Mom feels the sad side of happy.

Why the heck can't I put a blank line here? HA! Found a way.

It's summer and school's out, and I am getting to spend a lot of time with my kids. And it's good times, too; no homework hassles, lots of Beautiful Day outdoor time, lots of time to love. But man, they are growing up!

8yo doesn't need me to read to him anymore, and made potato gnocchi from scratch for the family the other night.

Shy 10yo got back from her first week at "away camp" all aglow, wanting to go back next summer.

12yo embarks on a three week trip to England tomorrow with some school classmates and a couple of amazing teachers. He doesn't even seem nervous.

14yo speaks with a deep voice, and sleeps in a lot. Once awake he is working on becoming power-tool-dude-the-second. He built some stairs that actually work.

Ever wonder where your brussel sprouts come from?

Right here. Taken on the coastal bluff trail in Wilder Ranch State Park.

West Coast Deer, East Coast Deer

West Coast deer: East Coast deer: here

Why Jim Wallis gives me the creeps

Yes, he’s got better values than the religious right.

Yes, it's great that he wants to reduce poverty.

But the Presidential Forum on Faith and Politics he recently organized and broadcast on CNN scares me.

We are supposed to have no religious test for office in this country. And yet his presidential forum put the three leading candidates on trial in front of a “special panel of religious leaders.” Eeuw. Kind of like the Inquisition, huh?

The whole set-up made me squirmy, not to mention the questions that were asked: about the candidates’ greatest sins! About the content of their prayers! Today it is the candidates in the hot seat of judgment. Tomorrow it could be me, a citizen.

It didn’t help that all three candidates are Christian, and every panelist who asked a question was Christian. I am not a Christian. I’m not very religious at all. But I have deeply held beliefs and values, and faith that my life has meaning. I would make a good president if I were so inclined.

This nationally broadcast presidential forum left me feeling like an outsider in my own country…even in my own political party.

So, what am I going to do about it?

I’ll sign the petition at First Freedom First in support of

real Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State.

Another beautiful beach

...with flowers.

Wow.

I hope the colors come through on your screen. On mine, I need just the right angle to see the deep blues. This is the California coast, just north of Santa Cruz. There is a flat, easy bike trail along these bluffs, and a new "wow" around every corner.

Family photo (minus me and 8yo):

OK, it doesn't suck to live in California, that's true. But I'd like to see some Beautiful Days in your part of the world too. Any suggestions for an html illiterate like myself? I was thinking you could email me a photo and a note about it and I could post it here. Or I could link to your blog if you post it there. Thanks to Cunning Runt for already giving us a nice taste of Western Massachusetts!

Don't even think about doing this until you've written your Blog Against Theocracy post, though!

Miss you!

Hey blogosphere. I'm playing with my family...not far from home, but spending much time outdoors on many beautiful days. Brought the camera, brought the computer, forgot the cable.

Just wanted to say that I miss my blog, your blogs, and comments (here and elsewhere).

I'll be back as soon as I can!

Happy Summer Solstice

Welcome to my church of the Summer Soltice. This is where I went yesterday evening to appreciate the longest day of the year.

It is my favorite local nature place, and it is where I was headed (but didn't get to) on one of my first days as a blogger, when I posted California Poppies instead.

Imagine creek sounds.

More from San Francisco

This one is a bit post-card-typical, but I guess there is a reason so many post-cards of San Franciso look like this. It's gorgeous.This one is more interesting. My 10yo daughter took it. In fact three of us took pictures of this bizarre sculpture made of scrap metal, but hers was the most interesting.

Beavers

The animals. Recently, I took a walk through Lundy Canyon (near Mono Lake, on the Eastern side of the Sierra Mountains). We saw this beaver dam in the lake,

and then we saw this,

and this.

And then we started seeing chewed off tree stumps everywhere.

I don't know about you, but for me, beavers had only really existed in cartoons and Narnia. So I had a back-to-childhood experience (meaning I got ridiculously excited) seeing real life evidence of real life beavers doing their real-life thing.

San Francisco on a Beautiful Day

Today I get to share some pictures of San Francisco on a beautiful day. Both are of the Golden Gate Bridge.

This shot is from the SF/Sausalito Ferry, and this one is from Telegraph Hill.

Imagine the perfect, soft breeze for the full, pleasing effect.

Methods of transportation we used today:

• Car
• Bus
• Ferry
• Cable Car
• Trolley
• Foot (almost never uphill, though...good planning!)

Bring back Joycelyn Elders!

Cunning Runt left this comment on one of my previous posts.

No doubt you've heard of The Shrub's nomination for Surgeon Freakin' General, a reeel perfeshin'l feller who thinks gays can/should be "cured" by reprogramming. That ought to bring some sorely-needed sanity to the table.

Sigh. Remember Joycelyn Elders? What a cool lady. She's the ex-Surgeon General who suggested the ABCD's for sexual health: A-abstinence, B-be faithful, C-use a condom, or D-do something else. She got fired for that last one because God forbid that anyone in government acknowledge the safest and most common sexual act of all.

What a comparison, eh? Here's a place you can click-and-send or compose your own letters to your Senators, asking them to reject Dr. Holsinger for Surgeon General. Or maybe you're one of the 43,445 people who have already sent their letters.

Happy Michael Tolliver Day!

I was so sad when I finished the last of the six books in Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” series. I mourned. I grieved. I turned back to page one and started over again. I did not want to part with his characters.

But today, 20 years later, I can stop grieving and start celebrating (and reading). In honor of Maupin’s latest book, “Michael Tolliver Lives,” Mayor Gavin Newsom has declared June 12 "'Michael Tolliver Day' in San Francisco."

For those lucky enough to have not yet read the books, “the City” is San Francisco, in the 80s. Many of the characters are gay, and the stories begin before the AIDS epidemic, and continue through it. The central character is Michael Tolliver, nicknamed, “Mouse.” The story lines are crazy, hilarious and touching.

More importantly, these were the first gay and lesbian characters I’d ever read about who were not portrayed as disturbed in some way. What a wonderful, liberating feeling that gave. What a gift to be handed a whole new set of people living funny, happy, sad, full, wonderful lives. Some might say I’ve taken these silly fictional books way to seriously, but…hey, I live in my books!

Happy Michael Tolliver Day! Read the books. They are perfect for summer reading!

Sometimes, on a Beautiful Day, ...

...the thing to do is to build yourself a catpult. So that's what 8yo and I did, with help from power-tool-dude (Dad).

Too bad I won't post videos of my kids here, because the first attempts were priceless.

1) We didn't have anything to stop the catapult arm, ... except the concrete ... so we launched the water balloon right into the concrete. Well, actually, the bowl that holds the water balloon tried to keep going, past the concrete, but couldn't, so some parts went right, and some went left. We got a new bowl.

2) The springs that provide the force to swing the arm around were pulling in a direction to KEEP the arm in the firing position, so 8yo let go to fire and .... nothing happened.

3) The springs were in the right position, but didn't pull hard enough, so the ball "doinked." 8yo cried, "Aaaw, that sucked!"

4) After a few more tries, we got it go about 30 feet. 8yo's verdict: "That was pretty good!"

Activism takes a break

I hope you enjoy this taste of the High Sierra. This is Elizabeth Lake, and behind it is Unicorn Peak, in Yosemite National Park.

Don't Agonize, Organize...

I stole the title for this post from BAC, over at Yikes. I don't think she'll mind.

So, after feeling wilty for a while, I got mad and swirled into action.

This is me, calling congress about the impending increased funding of ineffective, amoral abstinence-only education programs.

With friends like these, who needs conservative Republicans?

James Wagoner, of Advocates for Youth, says it so well, at RH Reality Check:

"Today, the House Democrats will waltz into the mark-up of the Labor HHS Subcommittee and proudly present a bill that puts their stamp of approval on domestic abstinence-only-until-marriage programs—an ideological boondoggle that threatens the health and well-being of America's youth.

The most appalling aspect of this sell-out is that that the Democrats will not only fully fund the worst of the failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs—they'll give them a $27 million increase—the first in three years!

Shame on Congressman David Obey for brokering this "deal;" shame on Congresswoman Nita Lowey for agreeing to it; and shame on those other Democrats on the Appropriations Committee who have already promised not to offer any amendment that would cut funding for abstinence-only programs and thus "upset" the deal.

In one inglorious motion, the Democrats have sold the health and well-being of young people down the proverbial drain, delivered a public slap in the face to evidence-based public health, and made a mockery of their "prevention first" message.

Consider this irony. The first domestic policy the Democrats will endorse on the prevention front will be to fund abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for young people up to the age of 29! ..." read more; it's worth your time

"Now is the time for advocates to hold these Democrats accountable. It would be the height of hypocrisy to go mute when this kind of damage is done to young people because "our friends" are in power."

TAKE ACTION!

Sigh...and a CALL TO ACTION

This is how I feel, having heard that Congress appears poised to increase funding for domestic abstinence-only education, despite a recent report showing that it is ineffective and deprives our youth of life-saving information about prevention of unintended pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases.

I agree with what this commenter at the RH Reality Check blog says about the democrats:

"They are trying to dodge responsibility for capitulation on the war in Iraq, but they have just capitulated on one of the easiest issues to deal with in the Culture Wars."

TAKE ACTION HERE !

Hello.

OK, I couldn't limit it to one photo. And you need to understand why.

Mark Twain said this about Mono Lake:

"Its sluggish waters are so strong with alkali that if you only dip the most hopelessly soiled garment into them once or twice, and wring it out, it will be found as clean as if it had been through the ablest of washer woman's hands."

We joked a lot about those ablest of washer women this past weekend.

And we made sure to rinse off the Mono Lake water. It is so alkaline (like Lye soap), and salty, it eats away at stuff. Mark Twain's "soiled garment" probably would have dissolved if he'd dipped it one more time.

So picture me, my little camera in a water-tight box hanging from my neck. I get into position to take a photo (using my best, but novice, paddling skills), stop paddling for a moment and:

• shake Mono Lake water off my hands


• open water-tight box


• remove camera


• turn on camera


• zoom camera


• frame shot
  
  Oops. My kayak has drifted.
  


• hang camera by its strap from my teeth


• maneuver kayak back into position


• frame shot


• click


• turn off camera


• put camera back into water-tight box and close it


• find even better angle


• repeat
  

Don't feel sorry for me; it was great fun! Having this blog makes me look at the world more closely. Thank you for being here and giving me a reason to really see things.

Oops. Sorry. Well, maybe it's ok.

Did any one sign up with IdealBite at my recommendation? Some recent tips have me feeling like maybe I recommended a targeted marketing list (...sorry, didn’t realize at first).

Here are the guidelines for products recommended in their tips. They're pretty good.

So, while I don't like getting tips like "Nip/Tuck Alternatives," I do like getting tips like this one, "Insider Trading," on how to swap and trade rather than buy things new.

·BookCrossing - leave used books in designated public places for other email-alerted bookworms to pick up.
·Freecycle - join a local group of swappers online.
·LendList - a share site where you compile a list of things you have to loan out, then send the list around to your friends.
·Swapagift - someone give you a gift card you'll never use? Swap it for cash here.
·Zunafish - swap books, CDs, DVDs and video games for $1/trade, plus shipping.

How the heck do you pick one photo from a weekend like this?

What an awesome weekend. Here's the photo I picked for the "I'm back from Mono Lake" post.

I figured it was similar enough to the professional shot below to demonstrate that I am truly an amateur, but it's still pretty cool.

Mono Lake

Inspired by my nightmares of impending climate doom, I am determined to enjoy our lovely planet while it stays that way. So this weekend I'm going kayaking on Mono Lake.

I borrowed this photo from professional photographer, Dan Heller. Check out his website for more spectacular photos of Mono Lake.

My photos won't be as amazing as Dan Heller's...but they'll be mine. I'll be out of commission until Monday.

Last summer, Mono Lake was pronounced "SAVED" (If you lived in the West in the 70's and 80's, you have seen the famous bumper stickers that said "SAVE MONO LAKE;" they were on every other car). This article tells the history of Mono Lake. The ecology, the activism, and the success make for an inspiring story.

Another great graph

This is from a report by Media Matters, called "Left Behind: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media" The bars show the number of quotes/interviews/mentions in major newpapers of a selection of conservative and progressive religious leader. The picture really says it all. Red bars are conservative leaders, blue bars are progressive leaders. There are several graphs like this in the report that are broken down (only quotes, only interviews, TV, etc), but this one is representative.

Here are some key findings:

• Combining newspapers and television, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed in news stories 2.8 times as often as were progressive religious leaders.
• On television news -- the three major television networks, the three major cable news channels, and PBS -- conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed almost 3.8 times as often as progressive leaders.
• In major newspapers, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed 2.7 times as often as progressive leaders.

Why is this important? From the executive summary of the report:

"As in many areas, the decisions journalists make when deciding which voices to include in their stories have serious consequences. What is the picture of religious opinion? Who is a religious leader? Whose views represent important groups of believers? Every time a journalist writes a story, he or she answers these questions by deciding whom to quote and how to characterize their views."

Check out the report. Spread the word! And sign the petition to protect religious liberty for all (even non-believers) by safeguarding the separation of church and state at First Freedom First.

Ohlone Food Processor

Along Sanborn Creek, is evidence of early Ohlone Indian settlements. Archaeologists have dated Ohlone Settlements in the area of Sanborn Creek (the Santa Clara Valley) as early as 8000 B.C. (4000 years before the planet was even created !! - I won't link to any pseudo-proof of that!)
From the National Park Service, on the history of the Santa Clara Valley:

"The Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Mountain Range created a sheltered valley. Located south of the San Francisco Bay, Santa Clara Valley offered shelter from the cold, damp climate of the San Francisco region and coastal areas west of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and was no doubt inviting to the first human inhabitants. Historically, the Tamien-speaking Ohlone Indians were the first documented inhabitants of the Santa Clara Valley region, although the oak lined hills and valley undoubtedly had known earlier Indian inhabitants and migrations, now lost to history and prehistory. Archeological discoveries place Ohlone Indian settlements in the region as early as 8000 BC."

I look at this rock, with it's "Ohlone Food Processor" mortars carved into it, and imagine three or four Ohlone women sitting around it, chatting, as they grind their acorns...thousands of years ago!

What do you think they were talking about?

No Redwood Trees, but a nice view

I spent the day yesterday at Sanborn-Skyline County Park. I hiked up the Sanborn Trail, and saw this beautiful view. Later in the day, along Sanborn Creek, I took the shot of the Redwood Trees I posted yesterday. More on the creek tomorrow.

Redwood Trees

It's very difficult to take good pictures of Redwood Trees, but today I went out and tried anyway. Here's one I liked.

Wildflowers

I'm pretty sure these California wildflowers are called "Buttercup." This pictures was also taken in the Mt. Hamilton area.

Cheating, a bit

Cheating, a bit, because I did not take this picture today. I (or maybe my husband) took it in 2005, in the hills surrounding Mt. Hamilton, just south east of Silicon Valley. The Nature Conservancy is working to protect this land, which is threatened by development on both sides: Silicon Valley on one side, and the Central Valley on the other.

Worth protecting, just for scenic value alone, huh? ...not to mention all the critters that live there.

Oranges vs. orange juice, and all that it implies

So, these days, our local grocery store is selling really good oranges. My 14 year old enjoys them, as do the rest of us. My last two trips to the store, I’ve noticed that my 14 year old (14yo) has written “O.J” on the shopping list. I ignored it. Why buy orange juice (which is processed in a factory, using energy; bottled in a plastic container made of petroleum products, etc. etc.) when I can buy delicious oranges?

I am living my beliefs by not buying O.J. while oranges are still in season. This is good. I’m doing my (small, yes) part to save the planet.

But then I was thinking about Separation of Church and State. How does my not buying orange juice relate to that principle, which I so strongly believe in?

As primary food shopper for my family, I am kind of like an elected official. I have the trust of my family, a certain power over what they eat, and a responsibility to them. So should I impose my O.J. philosophy on them?

Believe it or not, I actually gave this some serious thought.

It is my deeply held belief that each of us should take the small steps that we can, and it is my “faith” that if we all did that, we could save the planet, humanity, etc. So I am really tempted to impose this on my family. But I decided that would be wrong. I’ll still try to persuade them, by explaining and modeling the behavior I believe in, but I can’t force them to follow my beliefs.

I tried to explain this to my husband and 14yo last night. They just wanted to debate O.J. vs. Orange Juice.

It took quite an effort (and a moment of will over shaky voice) to explain that the point I was trying to make had little to do with O.J., but everything to do with power, and resisting the temptation to use it, despite my personal beliefs.

It ended up being a pretty good discussion. Maybe I was inspired by the Teaching Tolerance website I was looking at yesterday. Certainly also by the First Freedom First campaign.

Speak up, even if your voice shakes

I just love that advice...maybe because sometimes when I speak up, my voice shakes...

I read that line in an article at Teaching Tolerance (a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center). It's from their online parenting resource for teaching tolerance. This particular story is a success story of a teen who did speak up (not sure if her voice shook or not).

Amazing Bubble Chart (ABC)

What an amazing visual display of information.

OK, it's better if you go to the source, where you can actually read the text, and you can click on each bubble for more information.

It really is impossible to read here, so I'll tell you what it says. The horizontal axis is the effect on Energy Security (to the right means increased security, to the left means decreased security). The vertical axis is effect on the climate (up means a positive effect, down means a negative effect). The size of the bubble is the size of the effect. See the big bubble at the far right, and at the top? That says that if we increase CAFE standards, it will have BIG, POSITIVE effect on both energy security and climate.

If you want to compare all the different energy solutions being considered, and how they relate to energy security and climate change, this is a great summary. Check it out for yourself.

This was put together by World Resources Institute, a well respected "environmental think tank that goes beyond research to find practical ways to protect the earth and improve people's lives" (in their own words).

Get that dead tree off the top of my blog!

Here is more Oak landscape. I live near Redwood tree habitat too, so I'll try to provide a change of scenery soon. I'm not sure how to do justice to Redwood trees with a camera, but I'll try.

An Ex-Tree

This tree is no more.

I'm not so confused anymore!

So the comment link is back again, but not on those two posts. Any idea how to add it to them?

later...

Thanks BAC, for pointing me to the "post options" link at the bottom of the editting window. That fixed it.

What happened to comments?

I have no idea where the comments link went.

I would love to hear your comments on the two posts below, but the comment link has gone away, and I don't know how to bring it back!

Email advise and comments to karen.bdr@gmail.com

Thanks.

Save Darfur: Go Green

Hope that last post doesn't sound preachy.

I've been thinking about Darfur, lately, thanks to Quaker Dave and his Daily Darfur. Also, my husband recently read Jared Diamond's "Collapse" (and told me a lot about it) and then there was this article in yesterday's paper.

What both Collapse and several retired U.S. Generals say is, basically, it is a lot easier for people to work out their differences and get along when they are not being flooded out of their homes and countries, or dying of thirst and famine. On the flip side, when those things do occur, people follow demagogues, they fight, there is genocide.

So my second post today, is "Safe Darfur: Go Green." The idea being that if we don't stop climate change, what is happening in Darfur will start happening all over the place.

As I wrote in my first post here, my nightmare is of the planet flooding and my being left standing on the last dry inch of land, on my tippy toes. Before that happens, though, there will be another kind of nightmare: fighting everywhere. displaced people everywhere. heat. hunger.

So, be green: go outside, ride your bike or walk your dog. Save Darfur.

Draft SUV Drivers First

I used to drive an SUV around town. It mostly made sense, because we had two cars, for two adults, and one of them needed to seat our family of six, especially for long trips to the snow. It didn't seem wise to buy a third car just to drive around town. But the more I drove around in that SUV, most of the time alone, knowing that we're in Iraq because of oil, the sicker I started to feel.

So, the first big step on my path to a greener life was to buy a Prius. I'm lucky, and I didn't have to sell the SUV to afford the Prius, so we can still use the SUV when we really need it. If I weren't so lucky I would replace the SUV and rent or borrow one when needed, which turns out to be only a handful of times a year.

Recently a friend gave me a hard time and asserted that my family's three cars pollute more than her one car. We have the SUV, a Prius, and a Honda Civic that runs on compressed natural gas. She has a Volvo station wagon. We drive more than she does. We pollute less.

So if you're thinking of buying a new car anyway, shop green. You can find a green rating of cars at Yahoo Auto (this list was compiled by the folks at Environmental Defense, so you can rely on the information here).

Water, finally.

I've posted two photos of my recent trip to the beach, and neither one showed any water. So here it is: the Pacific Ocean, just south of San Francisco.
This beach is an amazing place to go with dogs and kids. The dogs are able to run off leash, and the kids are able to climb the sandy cliffs, as well as all the usual beach things (except swim, because there can be bad rip tides and it's FREEZING). It's called "Fort Funsten" after the fort that used to be there to defend us against the Japanese during WWII. It's on Highway 1, just south of San Francisco.

Green tip for the blue lady of the house

Blue Gal, daa'ling. When you polish the silver for your next Salon, check out this tip at IdealBite:

Still searching for your knight in shining armor?

The Bite:
Can't help you with the knight part, but we're all over the shining armor. Natural metal polishes leave your brass, silver and steel sparkling, and they're non-toxic so you don't need to suit up in your chain mail before using them.

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• Effective cleaning. Tarnish doesn't stand a chance.
• Safer ingredients. Non-toxic formulas are free of
  chems like lung-irritating ammonia.
• Cleaner water. The EPA estimates each U.S. household
  disposes of 1 lb of hazardous waste per year (including solvent-based polishes), which can make its way into groundwater if washed down the drain. more here

Just rocks and sand...

Mother's Day at the Beach

A lovely Mother's Day at the beach. Hang-gliders floated above us. The hang-gliders always remind me of one of my favorite books, "Sister of My Heart" (or is it the not-quite-as-good sequel, "The Vine of Desire") by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The "sisters" are actually cousins, who grow up together in a traditional Indian family in India. Together, they wonder what more there might be to life than what is expected of them by their traditional upbringing. Eventually, they both end up in California, where the courage and freedom of the hang-gliders inspires one of the sisters. What I love about all of Chitra B. Divakaruni's writings are the portrait of old and new cultures: the conflicts, the challenges, and how the characters face them.

Corn cups

Huh?

I recently learned about these cups, made of corn. They look just like plastic drink cups, but they are compostable (180 days in a municipal compost facility, or 1 year if home composted).


They are also made from a renewable resource, rather than petroleum, and they cost the same or less than plastic cups.

Warning: nothing decomposes in a landfill, so it's still better to use reusable cups and dishes!

But if you're planning to enjoy any upcoming beautiful days with an outdoor party, and you're planning to use plastic cups, utensils and/or paper plates (or if you know a community group that is), check out the renewable, compostable products at WorldCentric:

Plates made from sugar cane pulp (that would otherwise be burned, contributing to green house gas pollution).

Utensils made from potato starch

You get the idea...there's more at the store.

Start with the State Flower

I didn't quite make it to my destination before I had to turn back to meet the school bus, but I did see this clump of California Poppies on my abbreviated bike ride.

My Grandma and I once walked up a really big hill full of California Poppies. I mean, it must have been about 30 feet high (I was four at the time)!

School bus is here, gotta go.

I love it when they overreach!

When the federal governent funds abstinence-until-marriage for 19-29 year olds...they almost make it too easy to mock them! Although, Advocates for Youth did a spectacular job with this ad.




The "pet your dog, not your date" stuff is for real. You could (if you wanted to) actually purchase a t-shirt (at new, reduced prices!) that says "Pet your dog, not your date" from the Abstinence Clearinghouse (sorry, no linky).

OK, I'm really gonna try...

Yes, this blogging thing is scary, but you know, I enjoy other people's blogs so much, that I'm really going to try this and see how it goes.

I've been thinking about what I can add to the "scene."

I think we have enough political blogs, and besides, I couldn't compete. I don't know how you all keep so up to date with the world, blog about it, and keep up with each others blogs. However you do it, I appreciated it much, so thanks, and keep it up!

I was thinking of the outdoors and my beautiful day rule when I started this blog, so I'm going to contribute nature to the blogosphere. I will post photos taken on beautiful days, and share my path towards a greener life with all of you. Hopefully I'll take some unexpected side roads along the way.

Gotta go charge the camera battery...

Habeas Schmabeas

Today definitely qualifies as a beautiful day,

so I went for a short hike. This is what I listened to. It's "This American Life: Habeus Schmabeus." Even if you're up on the subject, it's worth listening to this show. It's an updated version of one they did a year or so ago. Two former prisoners at Guantanamo are interviewed. Really nice guys; could be bloggers! One of them was "sold" to the U.S. government for something he wrote in a satirical political magazine.

After you've listened to the show (or even if you don't), you can sign this petition at the ACLU website, to help find Habeus and bring him back.

A nice plus about this petition form: when you pull down the selection of titles, you can choose from the usual titles, plus "Mr. and Mr." or "Ms. and Ms."