A letter from Bill Ayers...

Dear friends,

Here is a lovely collections of words from William Ayers published in an op-ed in the New York Times. You may recall that during the 2008 presidential election campaign, President Elect Obama's rival resorted to making tenuous allegations of "guilt by association" for being tied to Bill Ayers, going as far as to label the professor of education "a terrorist." William has some remarkably insightful thoughts on the politics of fear, which were made quite apparent by both Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin throughout the campaign. I love his reference of the "Two Minutes Hate" from Orwell's "1984," but the greatest part of this article is how hopeful Mr. Ayers sounds, despite being made into a tool of fearful political rhetoric... he claims "Demonization, guilt by association, and the politics of fear did not triumph, not this time. Let's hope they never will again. And let's hope we might now assert that in our wildly diverse society, talking and listening to the widest range of people is not a sin, but a virtue."

Enjoy.

Love,
David

P.S. Yes, I'm at home, sick. That's how I was able to find time to update my blog. I'm going to go down some more vitamin C. Have a great afternoon and drive safely out there on those snowy roads!

---

New York Times Op-ed:

IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama. I refused, and here's why.

Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama's campaign, his opponents invented a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a man of charm, intelligence and skill, but with an exotic background and a strange name. The refrain was a question: "What do we really know about this man?"

Secondary characters in the narrative included an African-American preacher with a fiery style, a Palestinian scholar and an "unrepentant domestic terrorist." Linking the candidate with these supposedly shadowy characters, and ferreting out every imagined secret tie and dark affiliation, became big news.

I was cast in the "unrepentant terrorist" role; I felt at times like the enemy projected onto a large screen in the "Two Minutes Hate" scene from George Orwell's "1984," when the faithful gathered in a frenzy of fear and loathing.

With the mainstream news media and the blogosphere caught in the pre-election excitement, I saw no viable path to a rational discussion. Rather than step clumsily into the sound-bite culture, I turned away whenever the microphones were thrust into my face. I sat it out.

Now that the election is over, I want to say as plainly as I can that the character invented to serve this drama wasn't me, not even close. Here are the facts:

I never killed or injured anyone. I did join the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s, and later resisted the draft and was arrested in nonviolent demonstrations. I became a full-time antiwar organizer for Students for a Democratic Society. In 1970, I co-founded the Weather Underground, an organization that was created after an accidental explosion that claimed the lives of three of our comrades in Greenwich Village. The Weather Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs in empty offices — the ones at the Pentagon and the United States Capitol were the most notorious — as an illegal and unpopular war consumed the nation.

The Weather Underground crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps even of common sense. Our effectiveness can be — and still is being — debated. We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks .., never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war.

Peaceful protests had failed to stop the war. So we issued a screaming response. But it was not terrorism; we were not engaged in a campaign to kill and injure people indiscriminately, spreading fear and suffering for political ends.

I cannot imagine engaging in actions of that kind today. And for the past 40 years, I've been teaching and writing about the unique value and potential of every human life, and the need to realize that potential through education.

I have regrets, of course — including mistakes of excess and failures of imagination, posturing and posing, inflated and heated rhetoric, blind sectarianism and a lot else. No one can reach my age with their eyes even partly open and not have hundreds of regrets. The responsibility for the risks we posed to others in some of our most extreme actions in those underground years never leaves my thoughts for long.

The antiwar movement in all its commitment, all its sacrifice and determination, could not stop the violence unleashed against Vietnam. And therein lies cause for real regret.

We — the broad "we" — wrote letters, marched, talked to young men at induction centers, surrounded the Pentagon and lay down in front of troop trains. Yet we were inadequate to end the killing of three million Vietnamese and almost 60,000 Americans during a 10-year war.

The dishonesty of the narrative about Mr. Obama during the campaign went a step further with its assumption that if you can place two people in the same room at the same time, or if you can show that they held a conversation, shared a cup of coffee, took the bus downtown together or had any of a thousand other associations, then you have demonstrated that they share ideas, policies, outlook, influences and, especially, responsibility for each other's behavior. There is a long and sad history of guilt by association in our political culture, and at crucial times we've been unable to rise above it.

President-elect Obama and I sat on a board together; we lived in the same diverse and yet close-knit community; we sometimes passed in the bookstore. We didn't pal around, and I had nothing to do with his positions. I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I wish I knew him better.

Demonization, guilt by association, and the politics of fear did not triumph, not this time. Let's hope they never will again. And let's hope we might now assert that in our wildly diverse society, talking and listening to the widest range of people is not a sin, but a virtue.

William Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Ugly election incidents show lingering U.S. racism

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Two weeks before an election that could install the first black U.S. president, scattered ugly incidents have reflected a deep residue of racism among some segments of white America.

View Original Article

Pretending to be color-blind does not solve the problem... it's like pretending you aren't sick while cancer is spreading throughout your body.

That is all I have to say on that.

Love,

David

P.S. Anyone know of an adequate paying job that would suit me well?  =D

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Dear Washington...

Dear Washington,

First, congratulations! By treating the public as infantile and stupid, you have only helped to alienate yourself further and create more dissent against the government - and, thus, more support for the republican cause of "smaller government." Good work if your goals are to put yourself out of a job and further the ever-growing anarchist movement.

Secondly, if you expect your constituency to approve 700 billion dollar checks coming from our pockets, please explain to us the name we need to write in the field labeled "To."

I know that none of you EVER forget that we are a REPUBLIC and that you all have a great deal of power as our representative officials...

...but you seem occasionally to forget who gives you the orders - the very public that you repeatedly alienate.

Thanks... and better luck next time!

Peace in,
David

Interesting...

How racism works

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said “I do” to? What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama were a member of the “Keating 5”? What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

— Kelvin LaFond, Fort Worth

---

Something to think about...

Peace.

Love,
David

The Hoober-Bloob Highway

I need to get to bed here, but I just had to share this one:


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Liz and I have spent much of the night reveling in nostalgia and reminiscing about the days of Muppet Babies and Inspector Gadget...

However, this short film probably has the strongest connection to my youth. I watched it repeatedly as a child and loved it to no end.

...I still feel the same way about it. =)

I hope you enjoy.

Love,
David

P.S. Gotta love that music! =P

Mandate?! Seriously?!

I need a new job...

Love,
David

On a lighter note...

...this is our new car. It's amazing. I still can't believe we are driving it.

I hope I still have his optimistic attitude when making the monthly payments! =S

I'm going to go get some stuff down around the apartment... and maybe grab a snack as well.

Peace.

Love,
Dave

9/11 TM

"Terrorists are not what you, John McCain, fight. Terrorists are what you, John McCain, use." -Keith Olbermann

Thank God somebody is finally holding this man accountable for what he says. Obama is certainly no saint and has even been accused by some to be the Antichrist, but at least he doesn't claim that he alone knows how to capture Bin Laden and he will only be willing to help bring him to justice if he is elected.

The republican ticket, to put it as gently as possible, is a farce. John McCain, once a very honorable senator from Arizona, has now given way to his own form of terrorism, using and abusing the republican brand of 9/11 TM.

McCain is terrorizing his own nation with his scare tactics... (Here is one example as well as another just in case the first wasn't enough.)

...and I have hope that a majority of our great nation will see this for precisely what it is.

Thanks to my good friend Ryan for bringing Keith Oblermann's "9/11 TM" soliloquy to my attention.

Peace, love, and understanding, my friends.

-Dave

Life...

So, how are you? I can't complain. Well, I suppose I could, but who
would listen? Everyone has something in their life worth complaining
about. I am just growing so tired of being the person that everyone
complains TO at work... staff and patients alike.

However, on a brighter note, Liz and I made the single largest
purchase of our marriage and our lives in general! We are now the
proud owners of our cute little 2009 Pontiac Vibe. It's truly a
wonderful addition to the happy Filkins family.

Regarding my spiritual life and interconnectedness with the " higher
power," I am finding myself lately more able to dive into the
concepts of mindfulness, interdependence, and peacefulness while at
work. This is especially hard when working at an already difficult
job where the administration in their infinite wisdom find it best to
decrease the staff-to-patient ratio while increasing the amount of
work required of the direct care staff and considering the possibility
of going to "magnet status" where they could pay all staff members
even less than what little scraps we are tossed from the table after
all of our toils. (Phew! What a run-on sentence!)

Perhaps I am finally learning that meditation is not SEPARATING my
mind from my body and its sensations of the world around it, but
instead learning to EMBRACE my experiences (both the good and the less than ideal) and learning also to control my emotional responses. It
is only then when I feel I can even begin to understand just what my
personal spirituality is all about... and I will be the first to admit
that I don't have the foggiest idea what 'god' is all about.

So, can I continue down this road of spiritual enlightenment and
emotional self-control?

I can only hope.

So, here is where I end tonight. May peace find all of you on this
beautiful evening.

Love,
Dave

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

I feel WICKED!

Dear [instert your name here],

I just got back from Chicago with my hot wife, my sweet sister, and her awesome boyfriend Nick. We all had a great time, despite being there for less than 24 hours! I saw Wicked (which was wickedly amazing) and ate some seriously delicious pizza at Giordano's Pizza. Absolutely incredible, let me tell you!

The main reason I am posting, however, is that I have lost my cellular phone and cannot find it anywhere. So, if you want to get a hold of me, either send an e-mail or call Liz.

Peace.

Love,
David

Marriage, justice, and psychiatric care...

Greetings to everyone - my friends, faithful readers, and random folks who happened to stumble upon my tiny little corner of the Internet... as well as anyone else I may have left out.

Since I last saw you -

1. MARRIAGE

Yeah, I'm married now. Liz and I ventured bravely into the brave new world of matrimony, hand in hand, on the most beautiful Saturday afternoon I have ever lived to see. June 14th was the date and here we are, one month plus one week later, still madly in love and facing each day together. It's a wonderful feeling to know that when I get back from a day at the psych hospital, I have somebody who will be there to be MY care provider.

2. JUSTICE

Believe it or not, I actually have very little to say on the subject of justice... only that I encourage all of you who are of the impression that your current beliefs regarding justice are solid and unrelenting, please go see the films "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." These films will not outright change how you feel about the concept of good versus evil per se, but they certainly inspire a great deal of internal dialogue about issues surrounding morality and justice, while also providing supremely entertaining and simply incredible pieces of artwork.

3. Psychiatric Care

First off, let me state clearly that I do not envy those in positions of authority, except for the fact that their paychecks are significantly larger than the ones I take home. With that out of the way, I want to pose a question: Which do you believe should have more staff members to oversee, a Starbucks Coffee Shop or an adult acute psychiatric ward with over 20 patients? Well, in the brilliant minds of the administration of my employer, they are equivalent. Don't get me wrong - the traffic of customers that grace a Starbucks counter greatly overshadows the number of faces I may encounter in a single day, but how many jobs does a Barista have when compared to a care provider? Or a psychiatric nurse?

I'm sorry for that last one - most of you probably are blissfully unaware of the happenings of psychiatric hospitals until the horrible effects of their understaffing practices are made painfully aware through the completely misguided media outlets, many of whom seen to exist only to find blame and point fingers. I suppose that I would rather precede the expectation that our hospital will keep making staff cutbacks until enough tragic events occur that they realize the error of their ways. Instead of reducing staff pay increases for the installation of a million dollar conference centers with ridiculous and completely unnecessary features and building new units anf reallocating funds toward them, perhaps said organization should consider increasing their staffing ratio to better serve those who really need the support - the patients themselves.

But, alas - I am convinced that many in this organization have long lost sight of what our true mission is supposed to be. The last time I saw any of our administration on the unit was when there was an investigation into a mishap that was due to an understaffed unit. Perhaps a little more administrative supervision would save the organization's reputation while also finding ways to provide better care to the generally under-served populations we are called to heal.

Enough from me - I could rant about that all day.

Perhaps I just need a new job. =( It's too bad, because I love what I do. I just hate that the organization expects all of these workers, who are doing this because they have a heart, to work to the point of exhaustion, then force staff to work extra shifts and sometimes do the work that was once designed to be done by two or three staff. That is completely unethical for the staff and unfair to the patients who far too often go ignored except for the 15 minute checks.

I need to stop.

Now I'm all worked up.

I'm going to play the guitar for a bit. Maybe that will help.

I'm sorry if you read all of this. You should get off the web and go see "The Dark Knight" instead. It would be a much better use of your incredibly valuable time.

Have a wonderful night. I will try to as well.

Love and peace,
Dave

P.S. I love Barack Obama, and I have not been (even in all of his imperfections - in fact, possibly because of his imperfections) this fired up about a political figure. He is the Bobby Kennedy of social change without the burden f being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I just hope that he can live up to the high hpes of citizens across the United States when he's elected as president this fall...

WHO SHOULD BE MY PREZ?

You know me and those online presidential quiz things... well, here's the latest.

2008 President Selector http://selectsmart.com/president/2008.html Rankings:

1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100 %)
2. Dennis Kucinich (withdrawn) (93 %)
3. Barack Obama (90 %)
4. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (85 %)
5. Christopher Dodd (endorsed Obama) (81 %)
6. Joseph Biden (withdrawn) (78 %)
7. John Edwards (withdrawn) (76 %)
8. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (72 %)
9. Hillary Clinton (71 %)
10. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (70 %)
11. Mike Gravel (65 %)
12. Al Gore (not announced) (64 %)
13. Bill Richardson (withdrawn, endorsed Obama) (60 %)
14. Elaine Brown (54 %)
15. Ron Paul (concedes nomination not possible) (42 %)
16. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (37 %)
17. Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) (31 %)
18. Rudolph Giuliani (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (31 %)
19. John McCain (27 %)
20. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Giuliani) (25 %)
21. Wayne Allyn Root (20 %)
22. Mitt Romney (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (18 %)
23. Alan Keyes (16 %)
24. Chuck Hagel (not running) (16 %)
25. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (16 %)
26. Fred Thompson (withdrawn) (12 %)
27. Tom Tancredo (withdrawn, endorsed Romney) (11 %)
28. Duncan Hunter (withdrawn, endorsed Huckabee) (9 %)
29. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (6 %)
30. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (6 %)
31. Stephen Colbert (campaign halted) (0 %)

I just had to double check and make sure that I'm not supporting the wrong candidate here. Especially since I'm going to the Van Andel Arena in two days to go see him at a rally here in Grand Rapids.

Yeah. Uber pumped. So's Liz.

Sweetness.

Well, I'll talk to you all later. It's time for beddy-bye, since I gotta work in the morning.

Love and peace (but not necessarily in that order),
David

STOMP OUT STIGMA!

Stomp Out Stigma Walk for Mental Health - May 17

Pine Rest is co-sponsoring the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan’s annual “Stomp Out Stigma” walk.

The walk will be held on Saturday, May 17 at 8:30 am at the Grand Valley State University Pew Campus, located in downtown Grand Rapids. The objective of the walk is to show support for “Stomp!” during National Mental Health Month and to decrease the stigma of mental illness.

Last year, the Mental Health Foundation raised $34,000, with a goal of $50,000 this year. The proceeds will help continue grant programs.

If you are interested in participating by sponsoring this walk, please feel free to contact the Mental Health Foundation at 616-774-3790 or www.ti-gr.com for a registration form.

That's all. Have a great night.

Love,
David

P.S. Go check out the film "Canvas." Peace.

Check it out!

Good night.

Greetings!

Yeah, it's been a while... the wedding is coming up fast!  June 14th seems just around the corner...

Work went smoothly today, which was a much needed change of pace.  Then, I got to hang out with the "in-laws-to-be" tonight, which was great.  An interesting movie with Dr. Bob and wonderful dinner with the family at Max & Erma's.  Now, I'm totally exhausted.

I found a very interesting quiz... here are my interesting results:

1. New Age (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (96%)
3. Liberal Quakers (96%)
4. Neo-Pagan (90%)
5. Secular Humanism (85%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (81%)
7. Taoism (77%)
8. Mahayana Buddhism (77%)
9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (70%)
10. Orthodox Quaker (68%)
11. Jainism (61%)
12. Scientology (61%)
13. Nontheist (60%)
14. Bahá'í Faith (56%)
15. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (56%)
16. New Thought (53%)
17. Sikhism (49%)
18. Reform Judaism (47%)
19. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (36%)
20. Hinduism (32%)
21. Orthodox Judaism (30%)
22. Islam (27%)
23. Seventh Day Adventist (26%)
24. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (24%)
25. Jehovah's Witness (24%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (7%)
27. Roman Catholic (7%)

Feel free to share your own results. =)

Oh, by the way (since I feel I should stick to the eclectic and manic method of writing I have already established in this post)... Upton Sinclair is my new favorite author. 'effing amazing.  His methods are what amaze me most.  Perhaps the sociological methods and the progressive nature of his work is what truly draws me to this enigmatic socialist and "muckraker" as President Theodore Roosevelt ever-so-kindly chose to nickname the man.

That's all for tonight.  I'm SOOO tired.  Plus, I work bright and early.

Love,

Dave

P.S.  Doesn't Mr. Sinclair look an awful lot like Paul Dano?  I find this exceptionally ironic with the fact that Mr. Dano portrayed two completely dialectical (yet, frighteningly similar) characters in the cinematic adaptation of Upton Sinclair's epic novel brilliantly titled Oil! in the film with just as brilliant of a title, which happens to be "There Will Be Blood."

Phone = @*&%!!!

Yeah, my phone is dead... it gives me a screen that displays the following:

+-----------------------+
| --Download started--  |
| Emergency @ USB       |

|                       |

|                       |

|                       |

|                       |

|                       |

|                       |

|                       |

|  Bootblock Version:   |
|  u420 bb:ZH09.2       |

+-----------------------+


I'm going to Alltel to get this taken care of. If you need me... well, I'll be at the Alltel store on 28th Street.

Peace in, amigos.

Love,
Dave

Wassup?!

Yeah... so, here's what I've been up to lately.

Working a hell of a lot at Pine Rest. In fact, I just got over a bout of pharyngitis or something. Probably from my difficult job as senior care provider... Ugh.

Practicing with my band "First to the Fence." Possible gig on 2.22.8 @ The Break Room on Plainfield Ave. near Leonard. More info as I get it...

Recent films: I am Legend (4/5), AVP:Requiem (3/5), Margot at the Wedding (4/5), Juno (6/5 - Yeah, you got that right), El Orfanato (aka. 'The Orphanage' for the non-Spanish speaking minority of the world) (5/5), August Rush (2/5), and Cloverfield (4.5/5).

Wedding plans are coming along well. The music is lined up, the guys suits are ordered (booyah!), working on the invitations and realized that the ones we like are available at 50% off because of Liz's awesome friend (thanks, Laur!)... yeah, coming along just peachykeen. =D

Well, that about wraps it up. Hope all is well with everybody. Shoot me a message sometime or give me a call. I'm not guaranteeing that I'll be available, but I promise I will get back to you soon.

Peace in.

Love,
David

P.S. Here's a pic of that extremely frightening creature from Cloverfield. I call her "Clovie."



Yeah... it's pretty intense, I know. Not a half-bad movie, my friends. If you're a fan of giant monster movies, then this is a must-see for you.