We received the call in the afternoon of Wednesday, December 26th for a 9 month old girl named Sanbate. We have sent her referral off the University of Minnesota for a report and await a "good" assessment. In other words, if the doctors feel that she is "reasonably" healthy or has medical issues that are treatable we will accept. She is a stunningly beautiful baby and we hope that she will be our child.

Steady hearts.

This year I made most of my Christmas presents.
I asked my husband for one thing (boots) and one thing from my mom (clothes steamer so we could do our dry cleaning at home).

Well, after seeing this really cute short film I feel a little guilty for asking for any
STUFF.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Today we performed the Shepherd's Play. I was Mary. It was lovely.
We are next on the waiting list for referral.

The Hatches strike again!
Gingerbread house making with Hatches really puts me in the mood for Christmas despite the fact that our cats peed on the box of ornaments this morning.

" President Bush declared an emergency in Oklahoma on Tuesday, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts."

"This is a big one. We've got a massive situation here and it's probably going to be a week to 10 days before we get power on to everybody," said Ed Bettinger, a spokesman for Public Service Company of Oklahoma. "It looks like a war zone."

Excuse me?
A war zone?
I am sorry have you seen a war zone lately?

This is because the midwest was hit with a whopping ice storm and many states, especially Oklahoma have lost power.
Can I remind you that many people in the world live without electricity? That a war zone is not a place where winter is happening but when human beings are being maimed and killed and tortured.

Please folks! A little perspective!

Today is the last day of our long kriya meeting in Berkeley until after the Holidays and I just don't feel like going. I like staying home on Mondays. I don't like driving at night. Mr. D is gone into the city to meet a friend and attend a workshop. I am still making Christmas presents.

All excuses. Sometimes I buy the excuses and sometimes I don't. I wonder what I will do tonite.

The darkness closes in.

Every couple of months or so we hear a knock on the door and there are young people collecting money. The child at risk "programs" they are collecting for don't sound fabricated but there is never any literature or a phone number that verifies the organization's existence. In fact, usually what they do have, doesn't add up.

For example a young man of say age 19 came today as the trainer of young woman who shook my hand. I understood they were collecting money for children in Richmond who are at risk and also for those children's Christmas presents. They young man said he was once a youth who benefited from this program and he handed me his identification. His id was old and water stained and looked very low tech and uh...sketchy.

When I questioned his lack of literature and poorly maintained id he said he had collected 400 dollars just the other day. I confided to him that I generally didn't give money at the door but often sent money to organizations I had researched and further that his id looked like it had been swimming on numerous occasions and that didn't give me confidence in him.

As he walked down the stairs he mumbled the website of the organization but I didn't catch it.

Is one obliged to give money to avoid the ire of those at risk young people?

What does it mean when the families who obtained their immigration (I-600A) approval one month ahead of you, are at the top of the referral list?

Perhaps it means you will receive your approval in two, three or four months.
Perhaps it means that the list is real and people really do finally reach the top.
Perhaps it means we may be given the chance to adopt after all.

Or am I just playing mind games?
This wait time has become a game of Maya (illusion).

We had a little run in with the law at the beginning of this week.
No, we weren't pulled over by the cops. In California, the surveillance cameras installed at many intersections will take your picture if you are crossing an intersection at a yellow light and it turns red before you have finished crossing. This week it happened to me on Sunday after getting Dosas in San Francisco and to Mr. D while going to Satsang in Berkeley. Just another reminder that the long arm of the law has just gotten longer.

For more information on this new fascist trend in traffic regulation check out Highway Robbery, which includes this great quote,

"Traffic rules account for most of the contact by average citizens with law enforcement and the courts. Enforcement of laws which are widely perceived as unreasonable and unfair generates disrespect and even contempt toward those who make and enforce those laws."
The Appellate Department, in People vs. Goulet


The National Motorists Association agrees that Red Light Tickets do not improve road safety.

Mr.Traffic feels the same way I do.

Tonite
while driving from rehearsal
the setting sun and lights from the city
were especially vivid
I don't know
it made me feel its beauty
but sad
because you and Jonathan weren't here
to see
that on the western side
of our huge and troubled country
things are beautiful too
and shouldn't we be together?

The kids are rioting in the suburbs of Paris again and from what I can read it seems that it is a resurfacing of old wounds. Two Algerian boys were killed very recently in a motorcycle "accident" involving a police car. Two other boys were killed escaping the police in 2005 which also sparked a riot.

The last time our oppressed American brothers rebelled against the police Fred Hampton was shot to death (in his sleep) with multiple rounds by the police.

It makes me ask many questions.

FROM AMERICAN GANGSTER TO GREAT DEBATER, WHICH ONE YOU WANT?
I am pleased Denzel Washington is also doing a movie, "The Great Debaters" that can be inspiration to African Americans who are sick of being portrayed as violent or lazy in the media.

"From two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and an ensemble cast lead by Washington that includes Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker, comes "The Great Debaters." Inspired by a true story, "The Great Debaters" chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and ferocious teaching methods as well as his radical political views." Rotten Tomatoes review

Thank You Mask Man


While my brother and sister were here we went to Amoeba Music and purchased many items. My brother and sister bought movies from our past like Planet of the Apes, Wizards and The Poseidon Adventure. I bought a Lenny Bruce DVD which included the short animated feature Thank You Mask Man written and performed by Lenny Bruce.

Thanks
for giving me
the worst pecan pie ever made.

The day my brother and sister were expected to arrive we suddenly had hours to wait as their first two flights were "rescheduled". As a gesture of forshadowing, we used that wait time to see the movie "Darjeeling Limited" which is about three brothers and their family dysfunction. Once my siblings arrived we were able to witness our own interpersonal trials.

Their trip included a hike around Muir Woods(pictured here), tour of Alcatraz,the hills of San Francisco and Haight St., Berkeley, Wildcat Canyon, an al fresco thanksgiving dinner and the worst pecan pie ever made.

Volunteers continue to clean up the remaining live birds oiled by the container ship crash but its business as usual for the tourist industry.

Patriotism: Here is what I am talking about.
Keith Olbermann on waterboarding, if you care to hear an American for whom you can be proud.

Another beautiful Waldorf Harvest (Holiday) Faire!

Happy Diwali!
Happy Birthday to my mom and sister-in-law!
Unhappy day for the birds in our neighborhood, many of whom will die. Another d**ned oil spill. Please see the article in the San Francisco Chronicle: Container Ship Oil Leak.

Oiled Wildlife Care Network is an organisation that is trying to help.

My question is, If people can't be trusted to navigate these precious waters why are they being allowed to do so?

NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE PROCESSING OF ORPHAN PETITION:

IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO FURNISH PROPER CARE TO AN ORPHAN...

We are officially off hold.

Oh yeah. Finally.

We just received a notice from our agency stating that parents picking up their children in Ethiopia who are not staying at the orphanage cannot bring their children back to the hotel while the adoption is in process.

I guess some people are creating some bad press with the locals in Addis Ababa. I am so curious what went down. What did the Americans do this time?

The
Coolest
coin by far
is the Wyoming quarter.
A smooth, elegant outline of a rodeo rider.

It made us think, my Chicago comrade and I.
What would our coin look like? What would our symbol and few choice words be?

As for me my coin would contain these words:

Belongingness
Responsibility
Generosity

It would be simple like the Wyoming coin with a picture of an adult holding a child's hand overlooking a garden. At least one is a person of color.


Now onto my Rock album...

Prayer vigil for Dunbar Village

Although Dunbar Village in West Palm Beach is still Hell on earth for many African Americans, especially women and children at least some community members are trying to bring some healing to this place and there is a fund for the victims of the Dunbar Village torture.

Dunbar Village Victim's Assistance Fund
Checks can be made payable to the Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund-St. Ann. They can be dropped off at any Wachovia branch or mailed to: St. Ann Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The church’s phone number is (561) 832-3757.

CHILD.
We are still waiting. I thought for sure the I-600A would arrive by now since we were already cleared by the state of MA. And the wait time for Ethiopian infants continues to increase every month. Sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I stop and feel as though I am disappearing.

Last night we went to a sports bar/brewery pub to watch the Patriots play the Colts since we don't have cable and Mr.D is into football (a little).It seemed we were surrounded by Colts fans and when the Colts jumped ahead toward the end of the game we were deafened by the cheers. Unfortunately for them their joy was short-lived. The Patriots pulled ahead during the last few minutes and won the game.

When we arrived home I insisted on watching the Marx brothers movie, The Cocoanuts because there are auditions for this show at the Contra Costa Civic Theater and I wanted to see if there are any good parts.

I am totally taken by Harpo, who I think was an absolute genius, (not to take away from the brilliance of Groucho or Chico). But how many actors (Not MIMES) can communicate intensity without speech? I really dislike the three stooges but not because I don't like physical humor. I appreciate the art of physical comedy (Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin etc.) but I don't enjoy cruelty or stupidity (3 Stooges). The Marx brothers aren't dumb or even out of touch. I am. For just having discovered them.

Mr. D discovered last week that in San Francisco if you find yourself involved in a fender bender you DO NOT CALL THE POLICE! They do not have the funding to attend to fender benders unless someone is injured and needs an ambulance. My theory is that there are so many minor traffic accidents (because of the lawlessness of the California driver) the police could not possibly staff the reporting. I have not been a fan of intersection cameras in the past (having fallen victim in Canada during our honeymoon) but in California I believe it is necessary. Who is at fault when both parties claim innocence? Mr. D needed a photographic record or witness to vouch for the recklessness of the driver passing him (on the left)in an intersection as Mr.D was turning left.

The driver who met fenders with Mr. D was a US Postal Worker speeding to keep up with the demands of the job, (or Netflix).

California,
CALIFORNIA! (sung by Joni Mitchell)

Today I drove to El Sobrante to work on crafts for the Waldorf Harvest fair.
I made lanterns from old paintings. I handed over some sweaters that had been felted in the washing machine and turned into vests. I made 10 blossom fairies. And gnomes. Other people were making jewelry or labeling items for the fair.

Ha ha! I stole this picture from my chicago comrade's blog!

Halloween
When you were young:
Dusk approaches.
There is a chill in the air
and you are becoming someone or something else.
A witch with a green store bought mask three years in a row (ages 7,8 and 9)
A hobo with a sac on a stick (I didn't even know what hobo meant, age 10)
One of the members of the band Kiss (lots of black and white make up age 11)
A detective (overcoat for hiding eggs and such age 12).

And then each progressing year it became more and more
"What your parents don't want you to turn into".

Favorite Halloween:
Milwalkee ave. Chicago (age 27 Puss-in-boots)loft party.
Mr. Cates is talking to a man in a chicken mask. The man in the mask is from France but he did not learn english and speaks in small sentences. Mr. Cates does not know it but the masked chicken man is his brother, just flown in from Scotland for a surprise. Those of us who do know are painfully giddy. We are good friends with Mr. Cates and his brother. I am doubled over laughing until my stomach aches, tears streaming. It is unbearably funny.

(Skip forward 15 years)
Halloween
A middle aged woman, tasteful head-scarf, real jewelry, cardigan sweater and off-white pants.
Its dark.
You are sitting in your parked car under the BART tracks waiting...
to pick up your husband returning from a late meeting in the city.
Scary.

DAY

You woke up today
on your birthday
but it wasn't a day
you wanted

You wanted a day
that woke you up
with bright sunshine
not overcast and dreaded
like today

the well empty
running out of friends
who can help you
enter back into a life
of usefulness

But you are still sleeping
love!
You are a shaft of golden light
imbued with cosmic mysteries
and earthly blessings.

And Very Necessary.

Happy Birthday love
Wake Up!

Sunsets. And saying goodbye.



Why am I such a sap? Every time I say goodbye to a friend or family member (I like) I always get that, "No! Don't go!" feeling. I am sure it has to do with my "issues".
Anyway, it was hard dropping my longtime friend off at the airport and coming home to her empty bedroom.

Can someone show me how to use our camera? I would like to be able to take pictures of the full moon and other night time glow things.

Another torturous night of loud rock music in San Francisco,(earplugs not included), this time at The Independent to see Meshell Ndegeocello. Our friend Chris Bruce, recently extricated from Seal's "band", is now touring with Ms. N.and it was his playing (magnificent) that made the evening possible. Ms. N sings about the things I thought about when I was in college, i.e. sex and lies.

The next morning Mr. D and I woke with non alcohol related hangovers. To make things better Chris and I went for breakfast at a french soul restaurant, Brenda's. They served the best grits and biscuits I have ever eaten.

In the afternoon I drove to Oakland to pick up another long-time comrade from Chicago, who is here now among us.

Big Star (Not at Fillmore) singing "Why don't you come back from way out west..."

Good question.

The Fillmore on Geary Street in San Francisco is known for its psychodelic posters and its intimate rock shows. On October 20th Alex Chilton's Big Star played to a civilized crowd.

We sat in the balcony and I enjoyed the show, as it brought back fond memories for me of the Metro in Chicago and all of the wonderful rock and power pop I imbibed. Mr. D used makeshift earplugs and plastered on his most tolerant face.

Last week at the East Bay Waldorf School was very exciting,(and exhausting). I followed around the Handwork teacher and assisted in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. It was extremely hard not being the "I" in the class and I am glad for the experience. Although I hope my after class comments to the handwork teacher aren't offensive. As a class teacher one forms a pretty clear boundary line, while subject classes need to be a little less disciplined. It is also very hard conducting a "traveling show" instead of having the classes come to the teacher. Handwork is especially hard to carry around.



Last night while we ate quesadillas on the back porch there was a dear little hummingbird keeping us company. I tried to catch her in flight but only caught part of her.


Yesterday I finished a dreadfully written fantasy story, INKHEART. I do not recommend it even if it is being made into a major motion picture. The characters are poorly written and the descriptive passages are weak and repetitive.

Example:

Meggie sees her mother after 9 years and stares
(end of page 444) "as if nothing else in the world existed".


Meggie's father finds a photo of his wife and realizes she is alive and it seemed
(page 491)"as if nothing else in the world existed".

The use of quotes at the beginning of each chapter from classic books like Huck Finn or the Tolkien trilogy does not make this book more credible. It makes it more desperate for credibility.

Why did I read the entire book if I disliked it so? Because I have a plot driven nature and needed to see it through to the end.

It is Monday and I am off to the East Bay Waldorf School to help the handwork teacher make lanterns with the school. The Lantern walk is coming up soon and I am ever so curious to see what kind of lanterns we will be making. Something like this?

I have forgotten how to use the windshield wiper. It has not rained for 4 months, (since we moved) and when it finally started raining this week I was like a new driver. This lever does what?



I also have forgotten how to knit, (see the beginning of my first sock here)and was reminded this morning at The East Bay Waldorf School where I will be volunteering as an assistant to the handwork teacher (who is married to Spencer Hatch). I am glad to be back with "my people".

On Tuesday we were fingerprinted and now we are waiting for our approval and I-600A orphan petition document from California's immigration office.

My Vashon Island friend just informed me that someone received a fine for boating dangerously close to 2 Orcas off the coast of San Juan island. This is good news for Orca friends because this kind of behavior happens daily and goes unpunished. An earlier blog of mine stated that Orcas are negatively affected by the multitudes of boaters in their habitat and that they can't hear each other over the din of the boats. See article for more details.

Last Night Bad guy dropped by...

Like MAGIC the morning glory blossom appeared this morning. I hope she has many brothers and sisters as I have been checking every morning for a month to see if they would flower.

Another weekend full of sunshine, marital conflict, and music.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is a weekend festival for which you will want to arrive early. We showed up at noon when the event was in full swing and could not find a seat anywhere near the (star)stage in which Los Lobos was playing. We sat next to a couple of New Englanders, one a montessori teacher and behind a couple with lots of friends/family with young kids. The music was excellent; John Prine, Keller Williams, Bela Fleck and my favorite Los Lobos. Lots of cowboy hats and characters including a blue fairy. There was even a dog that looked like my Ima.

I am feeling a little misty right now having finished the 6th HPotter so if anyone wants to call and console me I am here.

We received our (hopefully) last fingerprinting appointment with California's immigration department for our orphan petition (I-600A) next week. After we are fingerprinted and approved we will be taken off hold and ready to roll.

This weekend is the FREE Hardly, Strictly Bluegrass concert in San Francisco.
Click on the schedule to see evidence of the awesome lineup. The picture here is of Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings from another year at this same festival.

We have figs.
In our yard.
And they are strange.
They don't taste like the figs you buy at the store.
They are sweet.
Too sweet?
The birds don't think so.
I picked some
and stuffed them with blue/cream cheese.
And topped them with pecans.
Sounds good huh?
Fresh from the great out of doors,
straight to our table
and directly to the garbage bin.

ew.

Well, I have been obsessing again. This time about an outfit (shown left)I have been sewing. Sewing yes. I am not really an abstract-minded person so sewing tends to be a real challenge. I can't really "see" things spacially so these projects are good for me as they make me feel like I am a true idiot. The pattern for the pants was extremely simple. However that may be I still needed to rip out every step of the pattern and redo. The dress was more complicated and the collar was a complete disaster. Using unused fabric I fashioned a cover up collar to hide the construction site. I also had to redesign the sleeves because they made me look like I was sprouting little wings. I may be a complete git but damn I can make do with utter cr*p. This must be my mechanical side. I imagine myself as an astronaut in space with duct tape having the time of my life.

Also had to read HPotter book 4 and 5. This took a few days.

Because you need to know I haven't lost my sense of humor I give you this story brought to me by my favorite wise-acre mom Mimi Smartypants.

Ok so now I have got the you tube thing down I can post some short films. A lot of debate has come out of the Jena 6 story and the bloggers that most speak my mine are What About our Daughters and Sandra Rose, both of whom have been given grief and harassed by some of their male African American colleagues (bloggers).

Here is another good one for the sisters.

Dunbar Village
Please watch. And tune into whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com
for the latest on what the media and our leaders don't want to discuss.

I have been reading a lot of news and editorials regarding what is happening between our brothers and sisters in the name of racial inequities and I have been alerted to my own lack of awareness on many of the issues, (Jena 6, Genarlow Wilson, Dunbar Village). Help these boys lord please!

Some people are saying it is a matter of educating the African American youth and helping to fund higher security for housing projects.

Some are saying that it is a case of African American Man against African American Woman or AAWoman against AAMan, (Gina McCauley writes about this extensively in her blog : whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com)

Some say that we as a nation are still enslaving people, (see the US judicial system and the media ON THAT ONE).

I say it is an ecomomic i.e. material war that is underlying ALL the battles in our country. The mainstream focus in our country has been on the value of material wealth and the system that continues the oppression of those that do not have economic wealth. Our acceptance of the capitalistic one-party system has led us down this road to a no party system, where you vote for those that take bribes from corporations or your candidate loses.

Materialistic thinking has spread to the (supposed) spiritual communities as well. When a minister needs millions of dollars to guide his devotees we need to ask questions. But how could we as human beings be aware of God's plan? and further What is the effectiveness in supporting the notion of "A chosen People"?

As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of Art of Living has stated, the solution lies with this:

Socialize business (Companies empowering communities)
Spiritualize government (Leaders with an ethical foundation in humanity)
and
Secularize Religion (No Religion dominates over any other)

"When attention is given to the spiritual aspect of one's life it
brings
responsibility, a sense of belonging, and compassion and caring for the
whole of humanity. Spirit upholds and sustains life. It makes you
strong
and solid. It breaks down the narrow boundaries of cast, creed,
religion,
and nationality, and gives you an awareness of life present everywhere.
It
is only through this awareness, this uplifting of consciousness, that
wars
can be eliminated and human rights restored in the world today."
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

They Cut Down the Tree on the Jena High School Campus

An estimated 20,000 people will head to Jena, Louisiana, this week to protest for the
JENA 6. Below is one report from The Nation.

The rally in Jena, Louisiana is planned for September 20, the date on which Mychal Bell had been scheduled to be sentenced for attempted second-degree battery. The 17-year-old high school football star, who a year ago was being eyed as a top prospect for Division I scholarships, has been in jail since December for answering a classmate's racial taunts with a punch in the face. But on Friday, pre-empting a public outcry against the impending sentence of up to fifteen years, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals responded to an emergency writ filed by Bell's counsel and vacated his conviction.

The rally is going ahead as planned, but it's not immediately clear how its message has changed to reflect the court's ruling. Although the occasion will now be a sort of victory rally, the case is far from resolved. Bell remains in jail, and the prosecutor, District Attorney Reed Walters, has stated his intention to press on with an endgame of appeals. Plus, the other five black students who were involved in the fight--Robert Bailey Jr., Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Jesse Beard--are still awaiting trial on similar charges. None of their cases will be directly affected by Friday's ruling, which addressed the jurisdictional problem of trying Bell, a juvenile at the time of the fight, as an adult. (Beard is being prosecuted as a juvenile; the other four of the so-called Jena Six were 17, the age of majority in Louisiana.)

"This is a moment to show that people are in it for the long haul," says James Rucker, executive director of Color of Change. One of the first activists to enter the fray, Rucker is coordinating bus trips to Jena--a rural town of 3,000 mostly white residents--and encouraging members who can't make it to organize locally. His web-savvy organization has collected more than $130,000 for the Jena Six Defense Fund and more than 212,000 signatures for a petition demanding that Walters drop all charges and asking Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to intervene. "If this kind of pressure weren't there," he says, "the process would be going much slower, and it would be more of a crapshoot as far as the results are concerned."

Louisiana NAACP president Ernest Johnson, who is helping to organize Thursday's march in conjunction with a coalition of civil rights groups--including Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH, Al Sharpton's National Action Network and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference--says he has received more calls since Friday's ruling than in the days leading up to it. As news about the case spreads, he explains, the scope of the campaign is broadening. "I think people are coming to show strength and unity against these types of injustices," he says. "They're coming to send a message to other Jenas throughout the country. To the Jena in New York
, the Jena in Washington, in California--there are a lot of Jenas out there."

Rich with symbolism and iconic images, the case of the Jena Six certainly makes for a compelling parable of racial injustice in America. And as more and more people identify with the story, its meaning becomes more and more personal. Given the number of Americans who feel they have a stake in this case, it's no wonder that presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have issued statements expressing their concern.

The story, rehearsed by now in newspapers around the globe, begins at an assembly last fall, when a black freshman asked if he was allowed to sit under a large tree on school grounds that he had heard was "whites-only." He was given permission, but the next day three nooses were found swinging from its branches. The principal tracked down the offenders, three boys from the rodeo team, and recommended expulsion. But superintendent Roy Breithaupt opted for a three-day in-school suspension. "Adolescents play pranks," he told the Chicago Tribune. "I don't think it was a threat against anybody."

Racial tensions continued to escalate throughout the fall. A group of black students organized a sit-in under the tree to protest the white students' light punishment. Fights broke out in school and at parties; a white man waved his gun in a confrontation with black students at a convenience store; and on November 30 one of the school buildings was suspiciously set ablaze. Then, on December 4, Bell slugged Justin Barker, a white student who had been taunting him with racial slurs and defending the noose-hangers, and the other members of the Jena Six joined in. During the skirmish, Barker smacked his head on the pavement and suffered a concussion. He was treated at the local hospital and released a few hours later, and was in good enough shape to head out and socialize that evening.

District Attorney Walters, who had earlier that fall threatened black students at school that he could "take away your lives with a stroke of my pen," pushed for maximum charges. The Jena Six were expelled, arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy--their shoes were described as potentially lethal weapons. Bell, the first to face trial, saw his murder charges reduced to aggravated second-degree battery. No attempt was made by his public defender to contest the racial makeup of the jury pool, nor did he call any witnesses during the trial. Bell was convicted by an all-white jury in June.

"There are several issues in this case," says Bob Noel, one of five attorneys who signed on as Bell's new counsel after the trial. "One of the biggest is disproportionate treatment. People may think of a similarly situated kid, maybe middle-class, maybe white, and they think, Oh, let's give him another chance. When he's poor and black, it's not necessarily the case. Another is funding for indigent defense: If there's no money to adequately pay lawyers, to have support staff for them and resources they can use, they're always at a major disadvantage. And the other is the issue of race in America."

Throughout the summer, as the media glare intensified and a muscular team of attorneys assembled on the side of the defendants, Judge J.P. Mauffray and Walters dug in their heels. James Rucker, who sat in on some of Bell's motion hearings during the appeal, was shocked to see the LaSalle Parish brand of justice at work. "You'd watch this judge grill the defense attorney. It felt like he was trying to trick him," Rucker says. "And then he would set up the DA, so that all he had to do was say yes to a question. It was like they were a team."

In the first two weeks of September, however, Mauffray began to show some signs of concession; he threw out the conspiracy charge against Bell and reduced the charges against Shaw, Jones and Bailey to attempted second-degree battery. But he held firm on Bell's conviction until last Friday, when the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him. How Mauffray and Walters will adjudicate the remaining cases in light of last week's decision, and the intense scrutiny that this week's protests will bring, remains to be seen. Many voices, most prominently Al Sharpton, are calling for an investigation of prosecutorial misconduct.

Yesterday was a lazy blogsurfing day. I discovered some amazing sites. One was an extremely thought-provoking satiric site that just made me happy due to the dialogue, (a lot of it angry)to which it was opened. Everyone seems to react to it differently and that is the magic of it!

BLACK PEOPLE LOVE US

Hi folks! Ready for another review? Well this one really took something out of me because this book was pretty intense for someone about to adopt transracially, or is it triracially? I am getting so confused. I used to read these kinds of books in my twenties and got a lot of fire from their heat. I am older now and have a more mellow perspective on the world.

I like that this book “Outsiders Within” is available and has received some good press. But I think that there are some moments when the book doesn't really serve those for whom it speaks. It is ok that bell hooks (quoted in Chapter 10 Shopping for Children in the International Marketplace ) tells us “white people” that we are adopting internationally because we are looking to spice up our bland sterile lives. She has every right to her opinion but what she does when she makes this kind of statement is judge in the same way that people who are marginalized are judged, that is, without a thought to them as multi-layered human beings doing the best they can.

I can't imagine anyone being foolish enough to go through the agony of international adoption and the demands of multiculturalism because they had a craving for something “exotic”.Perhaps there are people like this who want “trophy” children but I have never met them. As a woman of European American heritage married to a Gujurati Indian, I have a lot of “flavor” in my life already. Our reasons for adopting from Ethiopia are very personal and complex. We are and will always be happy to share our feelings about it with family and friends when they ask. But some of the statements made by the authors in this book indict parents when it is faulty governmental policies and a lack of research that needs to be held accountable.

Why is it so hard to adopt?
Why is reproductive therapy so anti-woman?
Who is making money from the sorrows of the impoverished mother and the woman who cannot be a mother?
Why do some still cling to the idea that all "white" (I really hate this term) people want to harm people of color?
How can someone born into priviledge help to change the system without joining with those that are born into poverty?

This book doesn't answer these questions exactly but it does something more important. Over and over again it states something obvious and crucial. Children who are transracially adopted need to be “seen” in ways that biologically born children do not. In the book “Black baby white hands- A view from the Crib” Jaiya John tells us how he and his brother, the first African American children adopted into a “white” family in New Mexico, were not SEEN. The colorblindness of their (loving but ill informed)family and friends made the subject of their race taboo and created a crisis within them as to their identity.

This is something that was not made clear to those adopting internationally/transracially by the agencies representing them in the years the authors of these books were raised. Things have improved, that is, thanks to books like these, research and the lessons learned by adopting families. Their tales are stones that lead us out of the woods and help us to "See" our children and our children to see themselves in others.

I have a response to bell hooks for her statements regarding my ilk.

When did we start shopping for a child?
I guess this was after we decided against cloning ourselves at the Reproductive laboratory.

Why did we decide to adopt transracially?
Well, it all began when the Hindu male proposed to me and I thought to myself, “How exotic! What a great opportunity to experience domestic servitude like in India here in my own home!”
I accepted of course, and then after the test tube baby debacle we decided it would be best to adopt domestically. But I began to have strange visions of our white son saying something to my husband like, “Listen Darky, shine my cricket shoes or else!” in a British accent no less.

Why Ethiopia?
We've always watched the Boston Marathon. Religiously! And frankly, we want a winner.

That boy sure knows how to stroll!

Last Sunday we walked to the Solano Stroll, a street fair in Albany that has been ongoing for many years. It kicked Oakland's street fair, Art and Soul, into last weeks scrambled eggs and was FREE. The crowd was more diverse, and well everything was more diverse. Yes, there were more rich people there but money makes the world go around and as long as everyone comes we should be glad.

I was glad to be there with Mr. D and he got his falafel and baklavah so he was happy too. Every few blocks there were bands like the one in the video.

I am told East bay Californians like to schedule their fairs for early fall because the weather is warm and sunny. Last Sunday was certainly that.

HAPPY YEAR 2000 ETHIOPIA!

Today September 11, 2007 marks the Ethiopian Millenium or Year 2000. I discovered an amazing site for photos of Ethiopians in their homeland and in America. The photos are protected so I cannot paste them here but for a peek click on Ethiopia pictures.

Millennium torch lighting ceremony held in Bahir Dar
Monday, 10 September 2007


Bahir Dar, September 9, 2007 (Bahir Dar) - Amhara State Chief on Sunday handed over a torch, a symbol of new hope and a vision Ethiopia has in the new millennium, to youth in Bahir Dar town. The torch lighting ceremony was accompanied by mass walk, a brass band tuning music.


Members of the state cabinet, patriots, artists, as well as members of the defense forces and state police forces attended the two-hour mass walk. Ethiopian air force helicopters added color to the event by distributing millennium greeting cards from the air.



Bahir Dar university community accorded a warm welcome to the crowd that accompanied the millennium torch.



Students of the Bahir Dar University received the torch from the hands of the state chief and his cabinet members on behalf of the new generation.



In a speech they delivered to the public, State Chief Ayalew Gobeze, Deputy Chief Demeke Mekonnen and Speaker of the State Council, Dr. Misrak Mekonnen said the new generation is entrusted with the historic national responsibility of making poverty a history and creating a prosperous Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Millennium Day in Toronto, Y2K Celebration, Christie Pits Park, Toronto Canada, Saturday, September 8, 2007

Our social worker came today and gave us some good news. She will prioritize our homestudy in order to get it processed as soon as possible and we are to call the office at the end of next week to see if it has been submitted to CIS (Center of Immigration Services) as part of our orphan petition.

I also checked Wide Horizon's referral waiting list to see where we are on the list. Our application was accepted September 22, 2006. This is our official "start date". As of the 3rd of September the families who had a start date of July 28 will be receiving their referrals next.

When we began this process in March of 2006 the wait time for referral was 0-3 months. Now it is up to 13 months. We would like to blame it on the famous mega-media star mommas. Or the bureaucrats that make money off of us childless folks. But the truth is our baby isn't quite ready for us yet. The baby that is our one, that is.

More later...

Labor Day Weekend '07 Oakland and San Francisco

We decided to check out Oakland's Art and Soul festival on Saturday and enjoyed the company of two new friends but weren't impressed at all with the festival itself. The Zydeco Flames were delightful but were scheduled to play for only 30 minutes and this was how most of the bands were slotted. The food was poor and mostly junk food i.e. meat. This was no "Taste of Oakland" and to top it off the charge for entrance to the venue was 10 clams. This was our first visit into the famed Oakland, heartland of east bay's most violent crime. The downtown area looked similar to San Francisco's downtown and did not cause us alarm. Attendees were mostly families (lots of kids ) and community members.

On Monday we took our bikes into San Francisco on the BART and rode to the Golden Gate Park. Mr. D almost gave up on the hills but prevailed in the end. We had tea at the Tea Garden and rode through the park to the beach, (which seemed a little sketchy to me). We had a late lunch at The Cliff House and walked to the "Sea Cave" next door. Cycling back to the station was all downhill, riding the brakes with not a few prayers.

San Juan island rocks,
Gloucester driftwood,
Okinawa seashell,
New Hampshire shelf mushroom,
California ivy,
three bamboo plants for each year and Happy Anniversary flowers fountain


and with a lunar eclipse no less!

Five Stones
(To Amy and Hamish)


Five Stones
stacked one on the other
make a lady
and five stones mean something.
So he stacks them like love letters
around the garden.

Six dogs, all girls,
talk into the night and delight
in him, the stick thrower, the fire maker, the gardener and chef.

Three cats, one girl who wants to love you all day
and two boys, one who is being coaxed messily by you back into life
and the other who is cat-god handsome.

Salmon and fresh garden vegetables for dinner.
Blackberries and huckleberries for dessert.

Mirror colored balls float around the pond as the bullfrog and goldfish evade our view.
Reflections of the Western Red Cedars.

Jack in the beanstock Kiwi in the back climbing 30 feet and counting.
Giant fallen Hemlock behind, its roots exposed and ancient. As big as a Volkswagen.

The prickers got me and we called out for him to machete us out as I was only wearing sandals.
I would like a machete and five stones.
Hack me out of this limbo and make a woman of stone who doesn't mind the rain at all.

Mamacita helps me find Hamish

Habituated foxes like this one, will walk up to your car for food. They are beautiful to look at but sad because they trust people and are (obviously) much more vulnerable than wild foxes.

SEARCHING FOR ORCAS
For the next 24 hours our lives revolved around sighting Orcas from land. I say this because the whale watching industry has interfered with the general well-being of the Orca and watching these creatures from land is the only guilt-free way to experience them, unless you work for Soundwatch in which case you would be out on a boat seeing the orcas while chastising boats that are too close to the whales.
We did indeed see the whales on the west side of the island in case you were wondering but did not get any pictures. In addition to whales we saw a sea otter, two foxes and some gorgeous island birds.

This photo is being entered into I *Heart* Faces, the Face Photo Website where this week their are doing not just kids and adults but pets! Check it out!!!



There have been so many changes here! A new pond and I went crazy with the camera and used up my battery.

Amy and I ferried out on Thursday to Friday Harbor on San Juan island. We took an early morning ferry to the mainland and drove out to Anacortes to take the ferry to San Juan. We arrived at noon and drove out to the Lime Kiln lighthouse to eat our picnic and wait for the Orcas to swim past us. While waiting for the whales that did not arrive we watched the harbor seals. Later in the afternoon we realized we needed to find lodging. We sat in my car with my laptop and after an hour we discovered a farmhouse called States Inn and Ranch that still had a vacancy and drove out on West Valley to secure our room, fed alpacas, collected eggs for breakfast and headed out again in search of ORCAS!

There are a lot of creatures to love here on Amy and Hamish's Vashon home; the handsome cat, Monk as well as two other cats, momma kitty( passionately affectionate) and Dexter,(very sick at the moment and hanging in there).

This morning started out very quiet. My friend Amy had gone off to work and Hamish and I had breakfast and a dog walk by noon. Dogs (Rooti, Lulu, Isabel, Mamacita, Sandy, and Chica) snoozed. I read the New Yorker. Hamish drove into town to buy mulch and worked in the garden. Mr. D and I instant messaged each other occasionally. This is August. Everything moves slowly. I got a tour of all the new fruit trees and flowers around the property which has changed a great deal since I was here 7 years ago.

I have returned to Vashon Island, my home away from home. Maybe it is islands in general or maybe it is this island in particular but taking that ferry ride and driving up the driveway to my friends' (Amy and Hamish) house gave me a delicious contented feeling. Or again it could be that I am missing friends and these last few days have been so satisfying seeing such people. The dogs, (Rootin'toot tooti, Isabel, Lulu, Mamacita, Chica, and Sandy) welcomed me in like good lovin' doggies. Even the cats are sociable and affectionate with me, all unknown to them.

Hello from Seattle!
I am staying with friend Mary, (see photo left, taken in Fair Oaks, CA) and her cats, Delia and Gracie. Today we went to Green Lake Park and then on to Half Price Books to find some books on tape:

(Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell, some Garrison Keillor, and Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson) for the drive back home.

I was also able to visit with my Auntie Gail before I took the ferry over to the island.

On Friday I arrived in Portland at about 7pm after a very LONG drive up 101 and east to route 5. My cousin and his wife entertained me until my departure on Sunday morning. Most exceptional was the visit to the Japanese tea house in Portland and the lovely company. It has been a lonely two months and having family and friends to visit has been wonderful. Seattle and Portland seem very different to me. Portland seems more provincial and Seattle more funky like Berkely. As my friend Mary says, "Portland got planned, 'Seattle just happened."

Portland! with cousin and his wife. A wonderful time.

WANT SOME FUN?
TRY ROUTE 101

I packed the car this morning prepared to be away for 11 days. I brought food for the road trip to the Redwoods and then on to Portland, Oregon tomorrow. The Redwood forest is incredible.

This land is your land
This land is my land
From the Redwood forest
To the New York islands...

My first song, (my mother taught me) when I was 3 and living in California was, This Land is Your Land. I love that song and hummed it to myself as I hiked in the park today trying not to hug every single old growth tree I saw.


Tonite I am staying in Brookings, Oregon at the South Coast Inn
and just had a lovely meal at Cafe Kitanishi. The sushi chef and I chatted while he made my hand rolls. Now I am going to choose some pictures from todays adventure to post here. I think the banana slug must be included! These guys can be as big as bananas!

The Roosevelt Elk is alive and well at the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. On two separate occasions I was surprised by them as they are not afraid of walking very close. There are signs warning people not to approach them but maybe there should also be signs for the elk "Don't startle humans"

For more information go to www.nps.gov/redw

Our new homestudy caseworker has postponed our last homestudy visit another two weeks. This is after an already extended gap between the first homestudy. It feels as though our adoption is stretching out longer and longer as time moves on.

When we do finish the homestudy, (September first week) we will be able to complete the application for our new I-600 in California. In about 2-4 weeks the powers that be will give us another fingerprinting appointment, (we have already been fingerprinted for Dep. of FBI and Child Services). After we are fingerprinted they will process our orphan petition (I-600) and ideally within 2 months grant us an approval and we will be ready for our referral.

Now that we are on hold, we don't know what our wait time is (where we are on the list). Until we come off hold we won't be told. So, this means we could be off hold between October end and November end. If we receive our referral in November we will be flying to Ethiopia in December, just in time for Christmas. Maybe before or after.

We have family flying out for Christmas. They have already booked flights. I don't know what it means in regard to flying to Ethiopia. I am trying not to calculate or think too much about it but if you know me you know I plan plan plan and then see it all fall apart.

Our case worker looks like a dark haired Uma Thurman librarian. She is very "nice" but I sort of laid it on heavy when she rescheduled.

Africa America We Belong To You

Today I made a realization that I hadn't made before and that is about the judgment that will occur not only on behalf of my European American and my Asian American brothers and sisters but also my African American brothers and sisters. Because our family is different. Because we don't belong to one nation.

But one thing we do belong to is the family of humanity. Art of Living teaches us that we are a one world family and are home everywhere. This is true whether we believe it or not.

I am saddened by the groups of people who are bound only by their perception of their own oppression. When we go to peace rallies we cannot enter into violence, be it violence of mind or body. When our brothers or sisters are tortured and killed, is torturing and killing of the murderers then justified? The joining of the Iroquois Nation was a profound lesson in forgiveness and required that many deaths go unavenged. But it forged an enlightened unity among warring tribes and is a lesson to us now and into the future.

The Oneida, are one of the original five members of the Iroquois League, being situated in what today is upper New York State. The traditional lands of the Oneida were the second most easterly of the Iroquois, situated between the easternmost Mohawk and the Onondaga. Their name means either, the "People of the Boulder" or "People of the Standing Stone". This refers to a significant rock formation found within the lands of the Oneida.

Even in the glory days of the Iroquois League, long before there was ever United States, the symbol of the Oneida people was a great tree. This continues right up to today. The tree is a white pine; this tree was selected by Deganawada, the Peacemaker because its needles stay green forever. The Peacemaker had a vision of the tribes coming together in peace under a "great tree". It is Deganawada and Hiawatha who are credited with uniting the Iroquois nations in the 16th century. The Peacemaker, according to legend, instructed the nations of the Iroquois to "bury their weapons of war under the sacred roots, and never unearth them again to use on each other".

We are becoming a world without nations. Our children do not want to stick solely with their own ethnic group, gender orientation or culture but to belong to many. Our children want to be responsible for the earth and All who inhabit it.

I hope that our “Clubs” disintegrate and our “Non-resident” status becomes invalid and that people will act not out of loyalty to their skin but out of integrity and conviction for doing what is right. Human beings are NOT animals. To be human does not mean to be naturally violent in word or deed but rather to carry within a compassion and an ability to choose beyond personal desire. Some believe poverty takes away this choice but I have seen otherwise.

My investment is with the children. They are the ones that will show us our folly. They already know this world better than we do and have chosen to reach out to their brothers and sisters regardless of our personal constraints. Please ask them. Don't shut them off from people who are different. We belong to you.

September Carnival: The Mis-Education of the Negro in the 21st Century

August 7, 2007 at 21:7 p

Posted by Asabagna

In an effort to have more focused discussions over at Afrospear, we are starting a monthly carnival with rotating topics. As I understand it, the way a carnival works is that those who wish to participate, post an essay on the topic on your blog page and forward the link to us at Afrospear@hotmail.com. We will post all the links and then have a discussion on the essays which have been submitted.

I am re-reading “The Mis-Education of the Negro” by Carter Woodson. The first edition was printed in 1933. I am stunned by how many of the issues he discussed then, appear to be relevant today…. in 2007.

It has inspired me to submit for the first topic of our monthly carnival, the issue of education with the Black/African community. Some questions to consider: Are we currently suffering from mis-education? What is your opinion and/or perspective on how our young are being educated? Are they being mis-educated and if so, what are the dynamics and results of this process of mis-education that you see? Does education have the power to change our lives and if so, do we, as a people, truly value and take advantage of that opportunity? What solutions and/or strategies do you propose to the education dilemma which is facing our community(ies)? It would be beneficial and enlightening to hear from different regions of the Diaspora and from the Motherland itself.

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Let Me Be Diverse
For the monthly carnival
by EJDoshi

I am going to jump on the diversity wagon because I think it is the ONLY way we can overcome the issues we all face in this country. And when I speak of diversity I am speaking of economic, ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity. How can we overcome the alienation and ignorance that allows us to continue to feed the illusion that we are all different unless we can come together to solve problems? I am in favor of opening our ears to the sounds of grief AND joy, chaos and true silence. But I say this with a caution. It is the hardest thing we will ever do. The reason for this is that we will make mistakes and be misunderstood and find conflict just as soon as we learn something profound. Until we look at the pain we cannot heal. Please lets not have African American Education for African Americans and by African Americans. This limits the healing and does not allow others to learn. Just as America as a country needs to learn how to be a leader and rise above its privilege and nationhood, African American Educators need to lead by rising above the pain of being marginalized and tap the absolute power of the soul of love of humanity and gratitude for the earth and bring to light strategies that reveal the potential of humanity.

The Children of today need to love their teachers and this happens when their teachers understand them. The teachers need to develop curriculum that is appropriate for the age of the child, NOT what is hip and cool in the media. Children need powerful archetypal stories that speak of the evolution of the human being not as represented by one ethnicity but by ethnicities throughout the unfolding of humanity. Children need to play and pretend and create when they are young. Teachers need to be artists, craftspeople and storytellers- HEALERS. For these children are being poisoned by the media and by the violence that materialism incites. Young children need to be surrounded by beauty and truth. They need to develop the skills that their hearts inform their hands so that when the age of reason unfolds in them they receive their lessons with a strong sense of compassion.

Young adults/adolescents need their teachers to be someone in the world and to be, above all, people of integrity. If their teachers are going home at night to watch television and do not have a rich life of their own outside the school it is a lost cause. The young people of today can see us very clearly and what we are up to no matter how hard we try to hide it. Let us speak to them of revolutions and of remarkable people. Let us give them opportunities to discover the wonders of science and mathematics first hand, (not by rote). Let them learn the speeches of very great and wicked people so that they can take measure of the world. Let us do all this so that the adolescents can be inspired to make something of themselves and be proud to do good work for the benefit of all humanity.