Crawford update

As explained in my previous post about my pending visit to the Bush ranch, I needed money to help me get there and back. I got some donations tonight, enough to feel like I can go without being in constant panic mode over money. And it looks like I got a travel companion as well. Folks at Camilo’s talk at Mayflower UCC were very jazzed about what’s happening in Crawford, and made donations to help the Peace Center there keep the demonstrators as comfortable as possible.

If you are thinking about contributing, send me a note privately through the contact page on this site. If something happens and I need your assistance, I can contact you. That would give me some backup, but not make this a profitmaking enterprise. Otherwise, save your dough for another cause another day.

A visit from Camilo

Tonight I attended a potluck dinner followed by a talk by Camilo Mejia, the conscientious objector who was imprisoned for nine months here in Oklahoma for following his conscience and refusing to return to fight in Iraq. He is one of my heros and it was great to see him again, and to get more details about his journey — and further to see him reach ever more people with his message of personal morality and empowerment. I’ll post a story at www.okimc.org with more details about his talk as soon as I get a chance.More photos

Help an Okie shake up Texas!

Well, I just swallowed my pride and made a mass appeal for donations via email to the greater activist community in OKC. I’ve needed to do it just to get a new computer, because the one I use to do a dozen or so web sites for grassroots organizations, now even on the national level, is so old and periously close to break down.

But the thing is, I really want to go be with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford TX and I have an opportunity at this very moment in time I don’t ordinarily have. So, that’s what I based the appeal on. Who knows what will happen. But hey, I’m even willing to camp out, that’s how much I want to do this. I’m not a camping kind of girl, so recognize that even in my impoverished condition, I am willing to make sacrifices!

So below is the letter I sent. I hope I haven’t embarrassed myself too much. Anyway, if you can help, hit the donations link.

Good folks,

I am goin’ to Crawford to be with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who is outside Bush’s ranch demanding an “audience” with him. (It’s been all over the news, but for more background, see www.codepink4peace.org and/or www.meetwithcindy.org) She’s reportedly has been threatened with arrest on Thursday, so maybe I will be too — Guilt by Association.

I am “without means”, and thanks to out-of-state family visiting, without responsibilities for much of August. Fortunately this gives me the freedom to make this trip, but unfortunately not much in the way of resources to undertake it, so if you would like to help me out, your donations will help with gas, food (unless I decide to join the hunger strike) and maybe even bail!

If you are supportive, and can afford it, please toss a few coins in my Paypal hat:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=gypsyresort%40yahoo%2ecom&item_name=Re%20Collection%20support&no_shipping=1&cn=Comments&tax=0&currency_code=USD&charset=UTF%2d8&charset=UTF%2d8

That link is so long, it may break; if it does, go to http://www.gypsyresort.com/re and look for the “donations” link under “Welcome” near the top.

While in Crawford, I will report for www.okimc.org, and other alternative news sources, and will take pics and share what I get newswise when I have internet access.

Most of you getting this know me and know of my activism and community work. But for the rest of you, here is some of my contributions to local progressive causes, as way of bona fides for my appeal:

Web sites created/maintained for:
OK Greens, Oklahoma Code Pink, Herland, Green Commons, Green Bloggers, Oklahoma Committee for Conscientious Objectors, Oklahoma Indymedia, Oklahoma Progressive Network (pending), Peace House

Organizing work for: OCCO, OK Greens, Oklahoma Progressive Network, Code Pink

And if you can’t send $, please send moral support via your thoughts and/or email! I’ll probably need it. Thanks!

Serena Blaiz
http://www.gypsyresort.com/re

Bridging the GDI divide

Ken Sain, partly due to the prominence of his blog in the Green world and partly due to his experience as a professional journalist, has taken the lead in trying to fairly present the two strains in the Green Party today, and work to bring them together.

After hearing a report from a meeting of his own local, the DC Statehood Party, which he could not attend, he has again issued a call for mediation and cooperation.

This is the most concise and even-handed statement on the matter I’ve seen. I completely agree with Ken and I hope that GDI will not continue its hardline and antagonistic stance on the matter. To do so would serve to confirm the worst suspicions of those who think that the GDI leaders might not have the best interests of the Green Party at heart.

A-fucking-men!

To what Shakespeare’s Sister says about Bush’s pseudo-faith.

Vets for Peace Convention in Dallas

“What Have We Done?”, a question that will ever haunt those who have gone to Iraq on our behalf, due to the greed and corruption of this administration. This story from Electronic Iraq includes fantastic quotes from the vets who now work for peace, including Camilo Mejia, a truly heroic human being that I am proud to know.

Murrow lives

This sounds exciting: a new movie about the McCarthy era, with Edward R. Murrow as the hero. Back when journalists were still able to be heroes, before money corrupted news from a public service into just another business enterprise.

Good Night, And, Good Luck.

BTW, I knew when I heard about Clooney’s behavior at the fundraiser after 9-11 (he organized and managed the whole thing practically single-handedly) that great things were in store from that man.

Back to Murrow. If you ever get a chance to see the documentary he did on migrant farmworkers, it’s still great and unfortunately still relevant. It’s called Harvest of Shame and shows up sometimes on Sundance and/or PBS.

Update: A great write-up on Murrow and how he inspired a generation on George Clooney’s site.

Okie blog awards

Mike at Okiedoke is a great promoter of Oklahoma and bloggery — he’s even organizing the 2006 Oklahoma Blogger convention — so who better to institute the Okie Blogger Awards? Good thing he’s taken his own out of contention, or the rest of us wouldn’t have much of a chance.

I don’t do nearly enough browsing of the blogs of my fellow Okies, despite the fact that Mike and K at BlogOklahoma make it their mission to keep track of them for us. I have become quite partial to Okiefunk since its debut this year. Kurt’s profiles of radical Okies really are something special, and the one of Woody Guthrie was so good I copied it to OKIMC.

My friend James Branum was kind enough to vote for me in two categories, which only makes me think he hasn’t been doing much blog surfing lately either. The categories were “unusual” and “culture.” Hmmm, I wondering about that! But I do appreciate the thought.

But if there was a category for most blogs created and/or maintained, I could really be the hands-down winner. To wit:

www.gypsyresort.com
www.peacearena.org
www.herlandsisters.org
www.okgreens.org
www.okobjector.org
okcodepink.blogspot.com
ruralgreens.blogspot.com
www.okimc.org/blogs
www.okimc.org/network
www.greencommons.org
www.greenbloggers.org

There are others that are no longer active, and thus not eligible, including okprogressive.blogspot.com and www.gypsyresort.com/shoot66/.

There are probably a couple of other live ones I’m forgetting at the moment, but I think I’ve made my case.