About Our Food

"Bill Moyer's Journal" on Public Television is always required viewing for me. Being the techno-geek that I am, I record the programs on my Tivo, and subscribe on my iTunes. This week's program is Michael Pollan, author of  In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma talking about our food and how government subsidies contribute to the growing of food that is bad for our health, environmentally unsound, and socially irresponsible. This is an issue that Obama appears to have backed away from because the food lobby is so powerful that it would have upset his campaign. It now falls to us citizens to take up this cause and force our government to do the right thing. The link below will take you to PBS where you can view the entire one hour program.

CLICK HERE

And go here to read the "New York Times" article on the subject.

CLICK HERE

Amy Goodman did a segment on Pollan in February.

CLICK HERE

Obama's Thanksgiving Message to All of Us

Here is a Thanksgiving message that says what I want to say better than I could myself. Isn't it wonderful that it comes from the leader of our country. Give it 5 minutes of your time.

Two More for the Obama Economic Team

Here are the hatchet men who are going to go over the federal budget with a fine tooth comb. John McCain should be very happy with these anti pork barrel types. Obama is worth listening to, so here he is:

The Economic Team

Today, Barack Obama announced his new economic team. Having scanned through a variety of the corporate media's response there is a remarkable agreement on the part of people who have expertise in the field of economics that this is a very capable team to lead us forward. It is now apparent that Obama is not going to wait until the end of January to assume the reins of government and I view this as a very good thing.

Here is a little visualization I'd invite you to try: Imagine a president elect McCain announcing his economic team. What feelings does that generate in your gut? When I did this little exercise the sense of impending doom was nearly overwhelming. This, dear friends, is the bullet we just dodged. Think about that as you consider what it will take to get fair and unbiased elections in this country in future years.

Obama's weekly fireside chat

Here is a very sobering assessment of our situation and Obama's plan for getting us out of the hole we find ourselves in. I urge you to watch. It's only a little over 5 minutes of your time. My thought question for the day is: "What can I do to make these ambitious plans and dreams a reality?" I'm posting this video as one small thing that I can do. What can you do?

Election Reform

Having survived (almost) another election that often teetered on the brink of collapse, was rife with unethical and deceptive practices on all sides, and still delivered the will of the people in spite of all the attempts to subvert the system, we citizens of the US must begin the task of truly making our system for election of government officials transparent and universal throughout the country.

I vividly recall President Carter's response when he was asked if his organization could monitor US elections in the way it has so often abroad. Carter said that US elections did not meet his organization's minimum requirements before they would consider such monitoring. I am not suggesting that future elections should be monitored by the Carter organization, but that our system be brought up to their minimum standards or better.

There are organizations dedicated to reforming our system and I urge you to consider working with one or more of them to ensure that we will never again have the likes of hanging chads, voter machine "malfunction," and outright fraud in future elections. Fair elections are well within reach if only we demand an improved system. The newly elected congress should take this issue up immediately and we, as informed citizens, should demand that they do so.

Here are two organizations you can look into if you want to be a part of the solution. CLICK HERE, CLICK HERE.

Here is Barack on Climate Change and Green Technology

The Obama Transition Team

I just received this email from the Obama folks asking for donations to support their transition team's efforts. I think it is important that a large number of citizens support this effort to show that the Obama administration is not in the pocket of big corporations and lobbyists. A small contribution of $25 from millions of us will be a strong message of hope for the people of this country. How about giving them $25 (or more, if you can do it) to send this message of citizen-sponsored government? Just click on the link below. Thanks for all you do.

The Obama-Biden Transition Project is a nonpartisan entity whose purpose is to facilitate the transition to a new government and prepare for the next administration.

In the past, efforts like these have often been very secretive and funded by the D.C. lobbying and corporate community.

But, like in the campaign, we've decided to do things differently.

For the first time, transition efforts won't be financed with donations from Washington lobbyists and PACs -- which means we'll need to keep asking for your help. Your generosity during the campaign helped get us here, but building a more transparent and open government means continuing to rely on a broader group of people to do this the right way.

We only have a few weeks to assess the state of the federal agencies, prepare our agenda, and staff key positions in the new administration. Your support right now will be crucial to helping us accomplish these goals.

Will you help support the urgent mission of our transition team with a donation of $25 or more?

CLICK HERE

New Features on Blog

I've added a few new features on Having Fun . . . In the first place there is a "Reactions" added to each post. You can now respond to each post with a single click. I'm experimenting with a few discrete ads that are supposedly geared to the content of the blog. I've also added a "Followers" feature, which allows you to sign in as a follower of the blog. I'll be interested in your response to these new features. Let me know.

FIrst Pooch and a Grandma

Here is the most personal and intimate part of the 60 Minutes interview. It deals with who is moving in and even some football. Again, you can go full screen by clicking on the icon on the lower right of the screen.


Watch CBS Videos Online

And Now for Something Lighter

See below for the first half of the 60 Minutes interview with Barack Obama. It covers the serious policy issues. This is much more personal and family oriented. I love to see these two people interact with each other. There is so much love, respect, and affection between them that they are a beacon of hope for families all over the world. Again, you can make it full screen by clicking on the icon on the lower right of the screen.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Obama on 60 minutes

Having just watched the Obama appearance on 60 minutes I recommend it highly. You can watch it here (make it full screen by clicking on the icon on the lower right of the screen below):



Watch CBS Videos Online

Back from the Road

Here we are, back in Santa Fe after 11 days on the road with no daily news fix. The news I've seen so far is full of fluff about the presidential puppy, grandma in the White House, and will Joe Lieberman have to pay  a price for his turncoat activities on the campaign trail. It does almost look like all Obama all the time. Every one who gets the bid to come to Chicago to speak with the next president is instantly in contention for a cabinet post. Hillary is in the running and even Bill is being mentioned. All this will keep the talking heads busy from now until the end of January.

Behind all this are a set of deadly serious issues that will need to be dealt with, including the issue of Guantanamo and what to do about all those detainees who have been tortured, but may not have committed any crime. Do we turn them all loose after 7 years of maltreatment and just hope that they don't have revenge on their minds? A really knotty problem with no easy solution. Also, what do we do about all those who have been a part of the torture--including the sitting president. There is much talk about the possibility that Bush may pardon everyone who might have been involved, including himself. Another knotty problem if he chooses to issue that pardon.

Then, of course, there is the continuing tanking of the economy, with hundreds of thousands of new foreclosures, rapidly rising unemployment, the US auto industry going down the tubes, and everyone, including some states wanting a piece of the bailout prize.

What would you do if you were in Barack's shoes now? We must wait and hope that he can thread his way through this total disaster and bring us back to something like a stable country. Stay tuned and wait for the first batch of naysaying Republicans to start their unending chorus of doom and gloom. I hear they are even preparing articles of impeachment, which is really rich, considering that impeachment is reserved for high crimes and misdemeanors of sitting presidents, and Obama has not sat down yet.

Looks like there is no end in sight for stuff for me to write about. I may have to start a politics only blog and turn this one back into a more personal account of my adventures. In the meantime, thanks for hanging in there with me.

On the Road

Elyn and I have been on an extended road trip, first to Boulder, CO for a workshop with R. J. Stewart, and now to Irvine, CA for a visit with Elyn's son, Jesse, his wife, Yui, and our beautiful grand daughter, Sophie. We plan to return home on Sunday and I'll be catching up with the blogs and other business. Stay tuned.

Obama Wins!!!

Yes, the improbable happened--Obama actually won an election that may have been less rigged than the two previous elections in the US. A big part of that may be due to the election eve deposition of Mike Connell, Carl Rove's computer guru who has been accused of rigging the election results in the 2000 and 2004 elections in several states. Mr. Connell is accused of using a computer hacking scheme called The Man in the Middle by computer geeks. This is a scheme where a data stream (perhaps from one election center to another) is intercepted and sent to another computer (the man in the middle), where it can be manipulated before being sent on to the second center. This scheme could be used to change voting totals in any way the "man in the middle" chooses. If you want to read more about this scheme and Mr. Connell CLICK HERE.

Observers have noted that Rove changed his tune markedly from an optimistic prediction to one that put Obama in by a landslide in the final days before the election. Did he know that the jig was up for Connell and company? Only time will tell. Now we will have a few years to bring all the fraud and other illegal activity of the past eight years to light. The tactics of the Republican Party for the past eight years will not stand having the clear light of day shown upon them. Now it is time for citizen patriots to get out their search beams and keep them trained on the criminals.

It will also be time for us to make very certain that the Democrats don't engage in similar activities. Our voting and vote tabulating mechanisms are woefully out of date, given the many tricks of our advanced digital technology. We desperately need for the computer geeks among us to lead the battle toward enhanced security measures for ensuring the accuracy of the vote.

I, for one, still like the old paper ballots that are stored away and available for a recount. That seems to me to be one of the best ways to ensure accuracy. Sometimes the old ways may be the best ways!