SPICEblog

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/arts/20Rich.html?8hpib


Frank Rich writes: "The enduring legacy of Enron can be summed up in one word: propaganda. Here was a corporate house of cards whose business few could explain and whose source of profits was an utter mystery - and yet it thrived, unquestioned, for years. How? ...." Enron "was fixated on its public relations campaigns." It churned out slick PR videos as if it were a Hollywood studio...."

Rich continues: "If this Potemkin village sounds familiar, take a look at the ongoing 60-stop "presidential roadshow" in which Mr. Bush has "conversations on Social Security" with "ordinary citizens"....As in the president's "town meeting" campaign appearances last year, the audiences are stacked with prescreened fans; any dissenters who somehow get in are quickly hustled away by security goons....the preparations are even more elaborate than the finished product suggests; the seeming reality of the event is tweaked as elaborately as that of a television reality show."

Frank Rich notes above that both Enron and this White House build a case for their cause not by honest discussion, but by slick PR dressed up as reality.

Friends pride ourselves on Speaking Truth To Power. Shouldn't we also demand that Power Speak Truth to us?

Coverage of the Fayetteville Peace March:

From the Chicago Tribune:
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Two years ago this weekend, Michael Hoffman, then a U.S. Marine, was marching across the border of Kuwait as the war in Iraq began. On Saturday, he marched through the streets of this military town with other veterans, military family members and anti-war activists protesting the invasion he now believes was wrong.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0503200526mar20,1,1659035.story?coll=chi-news-hed

And from WRAL:

FAYETTEVILLE -- An anti-war rally organized in part by veterans and military families drew about 3,000 people to a park near Fort Bragg -- home to more than 40,000 soldiers and thousands of other dependents...."I can't remain silent on these issues, slap a yellow ribbon on my car and call it supporting our troops,'' said Kara Hollingsworth, the wife of a soldier serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. "I support our troops by making sure they are not put in harm's way unless absolutely necessary.''

http://www.wral.com/news/4298320/detail.html

Everything I own, owns me, says a DailyKos reader.

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/3/17/11340/5067

Robert Scheer writes about the corrupting power of money and greed in "The Bankruptcy Bill: a Tutorial in Greed: Lesson No. 1 -- Campaign cash is worth more than family values."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0315-27.htm

It is common knowledge that the recent bill was the creation of credit card companies. Will giving up our credit cards, except for emergencies, promote simplicity? Will it make us more mindful of what we are spending?

What is Government Information and What is Government Propaganda?
Molly Ivins weighs in. What do you think?

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0316-34.htm

Wolfowitz Appointed to the World Bank. How Will This Affect Relationships of the Wealthy Countries With the Rest of the World? The U.S. Relationship With Europe? How Will the World's Poor Be Affected?
Reuters reports.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-10.htm

"Senate Votes to Open Alaskan Oil Drilling"
by H Josef Hebert


Senate Votes to Open Alaskan Oil Drilling

As the above piece notes, the Senate has voted to drill in the Arctic Refuge. However, according to a new Gallup poll, a large majority of Americans believe that Conservation is a better approach to solving our nation's energy problems:

http://pollingreport.com/ (see graphic, posted on 3/17/05)

Lester R. Brown, a prominent environmentalist, spoke at Friends General Conference this past year on challenges facing our environment and approaches to solving the energy problem. He has a book out entitled Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (Link).

How do our current policies reflect Brown's thesis? How can we work to ensure a respectful relationship to our earth?

Is war obsolete? Robert C. Koehler asks the question in "The perfect weapon: Our love affair with depleted uranium masks a war crime in progress," his chilling piece on depleted uranium:

The perfect weapon

An Idea for Local Peace Groups and Local Peace Activists
by Ralph Nader. What About His Ideas?

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0316-33.htm

Is the Meeting a joyful place where members and attenders feel they belong and willingly share in the work of the meeting community?

We have created this blog as a place where we can discuss the Quaker Testimonies.

Simplicity

Peace

Integrity

Community

Equality and Environment

(Let me know what you think).