THANK YOU ALL! -- ACTIVISM IS THRIVING

The times they ARE a'changing

I want to say thanks to each and every one of you.

"House on Fire" has grown faster than I ever expected. It now has 100 followers and has reached 40,000 pageviews. This is really encouraging for a small blog that started without any fanfare or a ready-made support base. The "hits" are growing exponentially. Thank you so much for the support!


This is an Ad-Free Zone

Apparently Google is well aware of this success and has been hitting me up to run ads. I won't do this. I am essentially against all commercial advertising. I would not be against non-persuasive information about worthwhile products and services available to us but it just isn't like that. I won't be a part of the con. "House on Fire" will remain completely independent and I will write it for all the right reasons, not for payment.

That said, I WILL consider running "ads" for non-profits and worthwhile causes if people want to contact me. No, I won't run political ads for the elitist nimrods running for president. However, I will run ads for Norman Solomon's run for Congress if he wants me to because I know him personally and I know he is going to get to Capitol Hill and raise some hell. Solomon is a lifelong activist and one of the finest people I know.

Of course, being the "techodumbo" I am, I will have to work out how to put such ads on my page. I can barely operate this blog as it is! :-) (I'm like the guy in the classic Christopher Guest parody movie "For Your Consideration" who says: "The Internet. That's the one with email, right?")


The Better Angels of Our Nature

Above all, I want to thank you all for your compassion. For caring. The feedback I get -- apart from the folks on the far right who want to get their hands around my throat and call me all kinds of nasty names that I guess are supposed to make me blush or tremble or something -- is so encouraging: not just for me personally but for our bid to make the world a better place. There are so many great people out there and we are going to win!


The Future of "House on Fire"

As I've said before, this blog is going to be rolled into a very special activism site that I've been planning for years. That day is getting closer. If I can raise the necessary funds, it may be born in six months. It has already been endorsed by Noam Chomsky, Medea Benjamin, Father Dan Berrigan, and the late Howard Zinn. I'm expecting more such endorsements from prominent activists. If my projections are even close to the mark, in years to come this site will scare the crap out of the Establishment.


Upcoming Posts

Finally, I have several things I'm planning to blog about: Palestine's bid for statehood, the Wall Street Protests, the importance of small actions, another tragic instance of gay bullying, the dangerous decay of our First Amendment rights, and much more. I am behind on these subject because, as you'll have noticed, I've been devoting "House on Fire" to Troy Davis' cause recently. His execution is one of the most disgusting domestic examples of the violence our governments and courts are capable of that I've witnessed in a long time. This was state-sanctioned murder. To euphemize what happened with more palatable words is to join with the spirit of the crime against Troy. Troy Davis wanted us to continue the fight against capital punishment: We must honor his memory by doing just that until this abomination is eradicated not only from the United States but from the entire world. (GO HERE to sign the ACLU's Pledge to End the Death Penalty.)

But again, I thank you. I was moved by the hits that my blogs about Troy received. Again, not for me, but because it was further evidence of the collective care that exists. It inspires me and I know that good will always triumph over evil, even if we have to fight like hell to get there.

So thank you, 40,000 times. I am committed to finishing what I started with this blog and doing my small part to, yep, change the world. And you are all a part of that. You rock!

Have a great weekend (but keep the activism going),
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might also like to take a look at THE REVOLUTION IS KNOCKING -- PT. 2.

CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Heraclitus Wringing His Hands Over a Globe of the World

Heraclitus, a philosopher of Ancient Greece, said that character is destiny.

Was ever a truer word spoken? What you are "made of," and what you can summon up in terms of courage, integrity and grit, will determine in which direction you head in life and what your destination will be.

And at the end of your life, I gotta think that's going to mean something. Much more than how many cars you have or how hard you partied (not that fun shouldn't be a part of life too).

Right now, as the planet teeters on the edge of environmental collapse and is besieged by various other preventable poisons, right now is the time for character. Not the flag-waving, follow-the-bogus-leader kind. The kind that is inside us all and gives us our true power, both as individuals and as members of the human family.

Put another way, we really are the sum of our actions.

Now is the time for action not ignorance. Now is the time to "dig deep." Now is the time to find our true character.

There is no other way out of this for us and our children. The writing is splashed across the wall in massive red letters.

So be an activist every day of your life: in how you think, what you do, how you spend your money and where you shop, how fervently you seek truth and pass it on, in how benevolent you are toward the needy, in how loud you shout at the Establishment to stop destroying the world for their own profit, and on and on.

We can do it. Millions are already doing it. And the payoff will be pretty damn glorious.

Character is destiny. Even if it simply turns out to be the final destiny of your conscience.

Are you in?

Take care,
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might like to take a look at A DIFFERENT KIND OF CANDIDATE.... REALLY!

READ THIS BOOK!

Read it and be inspired

I've read a lot of books on social change, activism, politics of all flavors, and on down the line.

And in this blog I try and recommend reading materials that inform and "fire up." I'm reading a book right now that I feel is very well worth recommending for a few reasons: 1/ It's easy to read; 2/ It introduces the reader to real activists doing practical things about real problems; 3/ It's inspiring -- instead of weighing you down it makes you think, "Yeah, there is real hope and I can make a difference."

The book is "Global Uprising: Confronting the Tyrannies of the 21st Century -- Stories from a New Generation of Activists." Basically, the book is a series of short -- a few pages -- profiles of activists doing great things on all kinds of issues. It's co-authored by Neva Welton and Linda Wolf but many of the words come straight from the activists themselves.

It's entertaining, uplifting, practical and motivating. Sure, there are some stark realities contained between the covers, but this book is all about hope and the reality that change can happen.

The book is published by New Society Publishers. They have some great books on their site but this one is out of print. It was published in 2001.

You can buy it here or do a Google search for it and buy it from wherever you wish.

So don't just sit there and feel overwhelmed -- we've all done that at times. Get this book and give yourself a real lift.

Of "Global Uprising," the wonderful historian and activist, the late Howard Zinn, said: "For anyone despairing of the rule of money ... here is a testament to the spirit of resistance."

And remember the words of Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men [and women] do nothing."

Happy reading, happy life,
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might also like THIS IS HOW WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD or EDMUND BURKE'S ETERNAL TRUISM.

DID YOU ENJOY YOUR ELECTION DANCE?

Election Horrors: They're gonna make you watch it.

Daylight Saving just ended but it seems our politicians are always turning the clock back on us anyway.

Let's look at the just-passed mid-term elections. Ah yes, it was just like yesteryear... again.

Money was thrown around, begged for and blown, and the ads just kept on comin'. Yep, even recipients of last year's big bailout gave political donations. Does anybody else think that's kind of sick?

They (e.g. GM) even gave it to pols who were anti-bailout (e.g. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell). So why would you trust anything the vast majority of the Capitol Hill monkeys ever say?

There were great rallies and speeches and the prez town-hopped like he was touring with the Stones. Nothing like a good show with lots of little flags being waved to get to the heart of the country's problems.


A Bad Right Turn

The mid-terms also saw the continuation of a dangerous shift to the right -- something that feeds into people's emotions in tough times. The so-called Tea Party (Do they get caps or not? No journo seems sure); candidate henchmen stomping on activists' heads; and real gems like Sharron Angle (Nevada) who tried to grab Harry Reid's Senate seat and went close.

Angle did a heavy duty profiling job on Hispanics in broad-stroke, illegal-immigrant fear ads that would have made Goebbel's proud.

But she's not finished with Harry.

Angle has filed a voter intimidation complaint with the Justice Department alleging that Reid and gambling giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. did a little negotiating whereby Harrah's would make it pretty clear to its employees who they should vote for.

Yep, business as usual in Nevada. And everywhere else. Need a shower yet?


Party on the Plaza

Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) had a big rally in D.C. It was a positive but didn't exactly inspire the poor to go out and get fitted for new suits.

To me, the main weaknesses were these: 1/ The whole thing lacked a certain depth. For example, Stewart's summation speech made some good points but didn't address the age-old question of "What now?"; 2/ Because that question wasn't addressed, it was a case of Opportunity Lost. We all love rallies and to feel invigorated. Problem is, without direction to go with that fleeting motivation, most folks just leave feeling better about themselves and go home and flip on the tube and do nothing.

To some degree, it was showbiz as usual. But that's politics U.S.A. And while I'll take any change I can get, Stewart doesn't really talk about anything nearly radical enough to improve the lot of the poor or save us from being strangled by factory emissions. Let's give him a C- for at least doing something.


The Bottom Line

The Repubs grabbed the House and that is likely bad news at the perimeter of things. But anyone who thinks choosing between the two same, cynical parties -- the "two arms of the Business Party" -- again and again is going to one day deliver The Big Fix must be living in a bunker.

It's the system that's broke!

George Carlin the comedian -- a smart guy and good soul -- used to boast that he didn't vote. He wasn't going to support any of the clowns. I'd be all for that if it could be a movement of tens of millions. Otherwise, the lesser of two evils is probably our best, marginal move within this marginal game we're presented. And yes, there are some decent people in Washington -- like independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The media were awful as usual. Focusing on the wrong stuff, spinning things for their own agenda, giving us fluff rather than facts.

But all is not lost. Grassroots activism is what all those D.C. money grabbers fear. Let's work together for campaign finance reform, grassroots candidates, alternative parties, outstanding people like Green Party dynamo Jill Stein of Massachusetts, and just keep networking and networking and networking until we create a din that cannot be ignored.

That's when things will get interesting.


A DAYLIGHT SAVING TALE

A light note to finish off. As Daylight Saving ended last night, my fiancee Shelley scampered round her house adjusting her clocks before going to bed.

The Lovely Lady of Clockland.

By the time she was done, it was almost time to put the clocks forward again. She has so many clocks it's like they're breeding in front of your eyes. You can face just about direction in any room and see a clock.

She's actually sort of painted herself into a corner because there is no way she can ever use the excuse "I lost track of the time" with anyone.

It's really kind of cute and I hope time is always on her side.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp
IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might like to take a look at EDMUND BURKE'S ETERNAL TRUISM.