Anybody else feel like a canary in a coal mine?

[kohodog]

I'm kind of on edge lately. Maybe seriously on edge. Maybe I've read too much and don't feel comfortable about the direction of the country or my own situation. There's nothing concrete about any of this, but so many people around me are going about life as though everything is fine.

But as much as I await the Fitzgerald announcement, I realize that it will be only one small part of the healing that is necessary. The earth needs healing too. And our DLC candidates are not really calling for meaningful corrections. No, they won't send us into the abyss as fast as the neo-cons, but they are still headed in that direction. If the BFEE is taken down there will still be almost as much work to do.

[ljm2002]

1. Yes I do...

...and I agree with you wholeheartedly about the DLC: they are not as bad as the neocon fascists we have right now but they are not at all what we need, either. They truly live up to the accusations thrown by Republicans that our party "stands for nothing at all". They are a large part of the reason that message was so successful, sadly. They gave up any meaningful defense of the natural Democratic base a long time ago, and went for the money.

As for the canary in a coal mine feeling, here's one illustration. This afternoon I was driving around running errands and had NPR on. There was an interview with some evangelical Christian leader who is starting a movement within the church to preserve the environment. Yes, you heard right, now that the hurricanes are lining up in record numbers, now that the ice caps are melting, now that the rain forests are being destroyed at a record pace, *now* all of a sudden the glimmer of light comes on and they're gonna start a movement within the church.

Okay, that's a good thing. But here's what rubbed me so wrong. When the interviewer asked, "Why would the Republicans listen to you?" (and note, he did say Republicans, not government, as though they were synonymous), the Christian man replied, well, we're not enviro wackos, and we can deliver 100 electoral votes to them.

And that's exactly what gave me that canary in a coal mine feeling: we've been shouting ourselves silly, metaphorically speaking, about the condition of Mother Earth, and now this group waltzes up and says their religion commands us to be stewards of the earth, and now they think anyone's gonna listen because of *who they are*. And of course they're a little late to the party as well.

Pisses me off, in case you couldn't tell.

[preciousdove]

2. I rejoiced and then cried today when my d-i-l told me she was expecting.

I am trying to be pragmatic and hopeful but it sure is hard right now. Until we make some progress on either the voting machines or actually convicting some of our elected criminals.