anarcha-pigeon-blog

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

The thing that had stopped me from becoming vegetarian sooner was that I thought it would be a limitation on my freedom, another dogma to have to follow...but the truth is, vegetarians and vegans have no rules. When you commit to a vegan lifestyle, all of a sudden there is a wide-open culinary frontier to explore. You are sort of forced into checking out new cuisines, cooking methods, and ingredients from all over the world, on your mission to seek out nourishing, interesting, and satisfying flavors. Before I was vegan, there were probably twenty to thirty different things I would eat. Now I have the freedom and inspiration to check out everything this earth has to offer. Rather than being limited to my choices, I am finally really free! And while you can't consume dead animals, you also no longer want to. You are aware of the suffering you cause by harming animals, and it's just not something you feel okay with anymore. Once you are aware that you can live a happy, fully satisfied life without causing harm to animals, being a carnivore is a tough thing to justify.

Adam Sobel, from Street Vegan: Recipes and Dispatches From the Cinnamon Snail Food Truck

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

To Earn a Living

I take issue with the phrase, "earn a living." Let us examine the phrase.

One's "living" of course refers to one's wages, which in our society  is what allows us to acquire sustenance. "Living" of course means the act of being alive, but when we say "a living" we mean that which by proxy allows us to continue living, i.e., money.

To "earn" means multiple things. It can mean "to receive as return for effort", and it can also mean, "to become worthy of" gaining something. Either way, you put forth effort, you are rewarded.

In the case of wages, you put forth effort (work), and you are rewarded "a living" (money, which is used to purchase food and shelter owned by those who do not usually produce these items themselves).

So what does that say about people who cannot "earn a living"? If to earn means to become worthy, does that mean that those who cannot work or do not work are implied to not be worthy enough of obtaining their means of survival? Under capitalism it seems logical then that those who do not work or cannot work are seen as "lesser."

I just was thinking about this after watching a safety video at work that told us to remember to take care of our bodies, because they are "machines that allows us to earn a living."

My body is not a machine, it is my body.

TL;DR I hate being a wage slave. I just think it's a really fucked up way of viewing a human. That we are machines that have to earn our ability to live. We are ALL inherently worthy of life and I think it's ludicrous that our worth is determined by our ability to contribute to the death machine that is capitalism.

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Omg you guys, this pot pie I just made.

Cooking is annoying and time consuming sometimes but man the rewards are so much better than anything I've ever eaten. If you have the time, you can make home-cooked meals, that are healthy, delicious, and cost-effective. The only thing is time constraints, and of course travel, if you need to go to a different store for some part of it, or if you don't have a grocery store close to you.

I am fortunate that I live in a city that has many options for groceries and I have access to a vehicle. I don't make a lot of money but I make enough to just get by, without having anything for savings.

As time goes on, I am learning and practicing more ways to cut costs but I will never let it sacrifice the quality of my food so long as I can help it. Food is one of life's pleasures, we all deserve to eat well.

And the more knowledge I obtain on eating healthfully, deliciously, and plant-based, on the cheap and with limited materials, I will share it with others. No one deserves to eat McDonalds. You deserve so much better! I want to help make that happen. I'm gonna try to make some pamphlets or zines or some damn thing. Maybe the VegFund could help me with this, if I came up with a proposal and plan.

Hmmmm....

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

“but your doctor needs to know what genitals you have or were born with!”

I agree, and I think this supports the ousting of the female/male dynamic.

The only people who need to know about your genitals is your doctor (and your partners that you’re sexually involved with), this is done through conversation and discussion. There is no need to have the F/M distinguishers on paperwork, IDs and the like.

“how will doctors know???”

By doing their jobs and talking to you, by doing their jobs and running tests. It’d change nothing.

This concept that “you’re a woman but biologically male!” is so convoluted that its disgusting. “Female” denotes woman and “male” denotes a man. These two terms are so heavily gendered that there’s nothing truly “scientific” about it, and this split of gender and biological sex only is out to support a misgendering view of trans bodies.

There’s no reason a trans woman can’t put a F on her medical forms. It’s arbitrary information and doing anything else only serves to publicly “out” her to possible hostile environments and people.

A doctor that paid attention in school will know what a penis is, they will be able recognize a post genital surgery by looking at such; and if a doctor can’t distinguish that without some arbitrary letter on a paper, then they need to go back to school.

There is no logical reason to be calling trans women male. To do so is transphobic.

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Pondering At Night, Tomorrow is Friday, Woo-hoo! I’m gonna work on a Webcomic, but for now...

"Sonoita, Arizona: 5 Pakistani Nationals and 1 Afghan National Detained by US Border Patrol, Officials Say Two smugglers were also detained Monday, officials said. "Records checks revealed no derogatory information about the individuals," the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement." --From my 11/19/15 Facebook Trending News Why the news is formatted this way? Or rather, what can we tell about what the news is teaching us based on headlines alone? Most people are not trained to look at differences in the way language is presented. But from what I have learned so far, written language is one of the most common human ways of passing along information. We use language in general to convey ideas to one another. Some language is used to convey emotions or perceptions--that's what we call "body language". Many people assume these two "languages" are separate and very different. But perhaps we can classify them simply: Written language expresses complex thought. Body language expresses our common experiences. It is our biological "code" of behavior. Something we see so universally and logically understand--it just makes sense to us. When we see someone weeping, we feel sad. When we witness someone backed into a corner, we understand they are showing fear. We can empathize. We have communicated without thinking. So let me examine the way this article's headline is structured. Let's keep in mind I am reading it on a social networking website--one of the most sold-out social networking websites that is out there. It is probably one of the most widely-used and recognizeable websites today (Youtube and Google of course being likely as well) and one of the most heavily utilized by governments globally, particularly that of the United States, for monitoring citizens and directing commerce. See, advertisements aren't just those 60 seconds you see on TV, the pages in magazines, or the billboards along the freeway. Advertising is also inherent in the act of a corporation paying for air time. Not just in commercials. There is so much happening, all over the world, always. Stuff you are not even aware of. And probably never will be. There is no way that one television channel is going to be able to show you everything. So they prioritize. You understand that means they must divide the time spent on television into smaller and smaller pieces of the larger time "pie". And priority does go to the ones who speak the loudest. Or, are the strangest/most shocking/most violent. Because it does increase viewers. And often it is influenced by who offers the most money. News is a business, under capitalism, and will always be, as long as capitalism is our way of life. Anyway, because of this, what you see is limited, and what you see is brief. They have a short amount of time to convince you of something. Humans, in most cases, require time to develop trust of something new, whether it's information, a new type of creature they've never interacted with, or a new person who has different views. The more different from what they're used to, the longer it typically takes, unless they are particularly prone to examining unfamiliar territories. Some people are more comfortable with this than others. That's okay either way. But because advertising, news, is so brief, they have to do it the most effectively they can. They only have an instance in many cases. "Trending" grabs your attention. You see words you recognize. You focus on those words and read some more. If you're really affected, you delve into the article and take it into consideration. It makes you feel a certain way. Well. It's meant to do that. They have it down to a science, it's not that hard to figure humans out. We're animals like any other, we're just more adept at figuring out the world around us. We're also self-aware, meaning we can control one another. Scary, but we're smart. It may ultimately be our folly if we are yet so short-sighted. On online news, it's rendered more effective due to your feedback. Don't like what you see? Click "not interested." That way you'll only see what you want to see. But still a variety they want. Oh, you aren't interested in oranges? Here, try grapes. Try lemons, or even exotic Asian Pears, or Rambutans, or Durians? How about, what if I don't want fruit? what if I want vegetables or beans or tofu or ice cream or something else. What if I don't want to eat, what if I want to lay in the sun in the grass, or you know, 10000 other wonderful things we are capable of when we have and can afford leisure time. But what you see is only what you get. And what you get is what they want you to see. Your time, your interests, are bought. Your mind is a commodity on sites like these. "Sonoita, Arizona: 5 Pakistani Nationals and 1 Afghan National Detained by US Border Patrol, Officials Say" This tells us 6 foreigners were detained. No details about their character or what they were doing in the US, if they were returning from a visit to family, or if they were coming here on vacation, nothing yet. "Two smugglers were also detained Monday, officials said. Who are these "officials", for instance. Police officers? The people who detained them? A press conference reporter? We just assume they are what they are portrayed as. "Officials." It sounds official enough, right? "Records checks revealed no derogatory information about the individuals," the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement." So the customs agents who detained the people said that their background checks were clear of anything "derogatory" which means they were just ordinary people trying to live their fucking lives and they got detained because our government and public are saturated via the news with the idea that brown people and Muslims and people from the Middle East are all terrorists and religious extremists out to blow up the statue of liberty or some nonsense. No. If you associate brown person automatically in your head with "potential terrorist/crazy person" then guess what? The propaganda machine is working. They want us to be at war. They make money from it. Don't fucking listen to them. This site is nothing more than another volunteer-run (that's YOU) database for people to make money off of YOUR preferences, YOUR interests, YOUR family life, YOUR tastes, musical preferences, hobbies, POLITICAL INTERESTS, and so on. You spend time here, they make money. You pay nothing, they use you. You are a money-making machine. Fuck that. Social media is a valuable tool but until Capitalism and the concept of The State ceases to exist, we are vulnerable to exploitation, we are slaves to a machine that is the reason there are millions of refugees homeless and suffering across the world from us right now. People our age, people like you and me. They could be you. And the more I learn about history (even within recent decades and our current decade), the more terrified I become of our future. If we continue our path, our lives will look like theirs do now. We're feeling it, slowly. Notice how so many people right out of college are struggling to make ends meet. Families have to rely on food banks and food stamps. You have to cut costs, tighten your belt. It comes slowly, but it is without warning. Economic inequality is not always sudden and explosive. It is very much unpredictable. This is chaos we live in. I know a way to order. Many others do too. We're developing our ideas and we will share them as we learn more. It is our duty to learn what we can and share it with you. Educate, agitate, organize, persist, and so on. Whatever the future calls for is our responsibility. History is not in the past--it is right now. You are already dead. Tomorrow you could die in an instant and what would your life have meant to those who survived you? Don't you want to be more? Aren't you tired of taking the same shit every day? What do we have to lose? Stop acting like life is never going to end--because it will. You may as well accept you are dead, because we cannot escape death. (Contrary to popular belief, we CAN escape taxes--by destroying capitalism.) Your life is worth more than what they can squeeze from your interests and distill into some barely-recognizable essence of who you are? You are not a series of lists. You are not just your appearance. You are an intellectual, creative, beautiful person with a depth of personality, and you deserve to treat yourself better than this. Get off this site if you can do it. Find other ways to visit the ones you care about. I know it's hard. I have social anxiety. I manage. It's easier than I thought it would be. Social media (like facebook, twitter, tumblr, etc.) is a tool but we can make better tools. This one is so covered in rhinestones and gold that it barely serves its purpose anymore. If you can't get off them, or choose not to for a variety of valid reasons, that's totally cool. You gotta do what you gotta do. But please, for your own sake, do some independent study. Some reading. Talk to people. Learn about media and language and propaganda and news. Histories they don't tell you about. Listen to people you didn't want to listen to before because you thought they were just too different it made little sense to bother. If you can bear it. Do whatever small thing you can to contribute. For your own mental health. You are worth more than anything money can buy. You are not a commodity. People who choose to utilize this tool--such as fellow anarchists, comrades, fellow workers, leftists, and even people who don't consider themselves any of those things-- heed my advice, or at least consider it. Take some time to think it over. Because unlike a commercial, decisions take a lot of consideration. You've been trained to do things so quickly. But you'll miss a lot that way. Slow down. Read the "fine print". Examine how they say what they are telling you. Who is saying it? Ask more questions--never be afraid to ask questions. Always do it in a way that will keep you and the person you are asking, safe, no matter the situation, and that goes for how you word things, too--it's best to be respectful to strangers, as you cannot predict them. That said, I am also learning that one of the reasons I think I come across as a jerk online is because I speak very formally online, but informally IRL. I must synthesize the two so I can properly convey my knowledge to others. Online organizing is a thing, but nothing will be more effective than real life organizing, day to day, over life's little injustices. And the bigger injustices, especially. Form solidarity with others over things like bullshit treatment at work, try to recognize each other's similarities before dismissing someone because of their differences. And if you need to, step away from someone who is toxic to you. Because you need to make sure you are okay to deal with people too. Understand you have boundaries, and everyone should respect them, and you should do the same for them. (Side note: I need to make a commitment to stop gossiping. Spreading information is important but there's a difference between that and gossiping. It only divides us. TL;DR version (aka things I'm learning) = Don't be afraid to question everything. Question your first impressions. Learn more about something/someone before dismissing it/them. And for my fellow misguided millennials and trouble-makers, be careful, particularly in upcoming years, decades, your life time, etc. There are people reading this who are not your friends. They don't give a shit about how awesome you are. They'd love to see people like me shut up and dead in a ditch. Because we call them out for what they do, and they can't stand someone challenging their power over us. That's what power does. We can eliminate that inequality, as well. Trust in me. I know it to be truth. But if you know what kind of beliefs you have, they also know what kind of beliefs you have. Every little fun colorful quiz you take that asks you seemingly random questions--that has the potential to filter more information about YOU, the customer, the volunteer agent of corporate influence, their tool (this is how they see you, okay?). Not only is it a great way for someone to have access to your security questions of your bank account (Oh so the first street I lived on, Main Street, that is just a random word that means the first word in my fictional band name, haha, it's funny! Except to them that's data that's used to link your identity to other information about you. Jessayin, be careful. Every thing you click on or whatever you write, that conveys information, which is stored. In multiple locations all over the world, particularly in the US. They can access it for as long as they have their facilities open. Even after you delete it. I'm sorry. If you realize you're against capital, they already know it too, based on the things you've shared and liked and commented on, what kind of person you are, how much of a risk to them you are. You are an enemy of the state, that is how they see you. The enemy of THEIR order, they are the only ones who have order, we live in chaos, under their influence. It's of course not as simple and sinister as I make it sound, but you get what I mean. It's not Hollywood. It's not a movie. There are people being tortured right now all over the world for speaking out against injustice and the destructive qualities of statism and capitalism (among other things). History shows us that when times of crisis happen, leftist individuals are targeted by governments and regimes, and are systematically "disappeared", tortured, imprisoned, and/or murdered. So if you are okay with that, and you know that ultimately our collective future as a species is more important than your life, and maybe you're as bat shit crazy about life and compassion as I am, make some noise, cause chances are we're already fucked and on some database somewhere, and dammit we need to get out of our digital closets and into the streets. Knock some tables over, do something crazy. But we have to do it together, and in return, we must support each other when things get rough. Cause we're the only ones fighting for us, y'hear? Working people, poor people, disabled people, people of all colors, genders, ethnicities, religious beliefs or lack thereof, we're oppressed under capitalism, under statism/government. Do anything and everything you can, but we must do it TOGETHER. That means getting to know people around you. I challenge you to push yourself, a little bit, every day--change your life in some way. Show yourself that you are capable of it, because I know you are. Because I was capable of it, and I still am. Every day I try to improve myself in some way. There should be no such concept as perfection, because it is in the experience and process where we see the most gain. Being finished is not perfection, either. Don't seek perfection. Do what you enjoy. Just do it, you'll get better at it. That means cutting things out of your life that are detracting from that, if need be. Prioritize, cause work doesn't give us much time, until we abolish it! Follow me, I know a way out! I'm speaking to those of you who know this stuff already, too. Let's keep getting better! Improve your health, or your mental health, your habits, your impact on others, anything. But always, always, start small. See the gains you make along the way. Celebrate the triumphs and accept failures as part of the process of learning. We are allowed to make mistakes. It's OKAY. Let's make hella noise cause if I'm doomed to misery, failure, and inevitable death, dammit I'm gonna have fun living and I'm gonna give people hell who would try and oppress me and my loved ones. And my loved ones include YOU. Solidarity, One Love, and let us one day come together as a world of brilliant and beautiful minds. I have faith in you. --Felix the Stray

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Right Wing Educators: No! I will not teach this liberal version of history! I want to teach the wrong version of history!

Left Wing Educators: No! I will not teach this conservative version of history! I want to teach the wrong version of history!

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Coming Soon

It is the year 2015... ...and corporate governments rule the globe, determining the fate of humanity as we will watch.  Humankind are witnessing the largest mass extinctions in their history. Meanwhile, governments/corporations are experimenting with influencing culture via mass media. It began small. What was observed initially were the effects on culture via commercial slogans. This is what captured their attention. So they started creating and spreading language. “o.k.,” “coca-cola”, “finger lickin’ good”, beef, it’s what’s for dinner. Fourthmeal. Their goal was to study the spread of new information.  Memes were particularly helpful for this. Memes, viral videos and news all spread the fastest, particularly with the help of social media. Soon it became commonplace to spread false information to see how quickly even rudimentary education could be reduced. Cognitive dissonance was induced, providing a means for observing the effects of its sustained presence. They tested their powers and tools to change the citizens’ beliefs about fundamental truths they had learned in school once, and began believing what they were told, and whatever spread the fastest. Vaccines cause illness. Poverty is justified. War creates peace. They had perfected their greatest weapon: the human mind. There is no chemical weapon that creates slavery. But this would be a neurochemical weapon. It was clean, untraceable, cost little compared to most weapons, and was more effective as it kept its user alive and directed their ambitions toward sustaining the parasite.  Capitalism...the movie. 

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Never forget your fellow human beings.

Today I got to read a response from one of my prison pen pals. Apparently he just recently lost his son, who was killed at only 16 years old. He is incredibly heartbroken. I am going to read up on grief so that I can properly respond. However, I wanted to share this last part of his letter with y'all:

"There are some good dudes in here who just made a mistake as a kid and will never go home, but when everyone found out my son died, I had nothing but outgoing support from my fellow slaves of this euphemism they call "correctional" institution. If you all only knew how much of y'all tax dollars are wasted in this prison system. I'll give you all in the group [He's referring to the prisoner support group I’m in with the local IWW] the numbers and facts, and what really goes on, and I believe it is our duty to one another as human beings, and as Americans, to stand up when we see something wrong. We have to hold these politicians accountable, it's unfair what Scott Walker did and is trying to do to unions--it's organized crime. I'm aware of everything that goes on, my grandpa was a Teamster until 2005.

I just wanted to tell you that sometimes family isn't always blood, and if it means anything I'm family to you, I'm your brother, and I have so much respect and admiration for you, _____. I know it hurts to have family turn their backs on you, but you have to be proud of yourself. Too many people hide who they are and are miserable. You made a choice to be who you are, you are brave, and you are being you, be happy. There's nothing wrong with you, there's something wrong with what you went through. I'm proud to have you as a friend. I mean that. Enclosed is a copy of my first parole hearing, I just want you to see a piece of my life. Feel free to show it to the group. Tell them all I thank them for reaching out, for you all have given me hope, and made me a better person.

One love.”

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Vegan Rant - Skip if need be.

You know what, I am about to be very blunt and honest, because I'm feeling pretty upset with the world right now, so if this upsets you, I haven't much to say except I will not feel ashamed of these words, but that if you feel you must remove me from here for it, that is acceptable, do what you need to do.

 I honestly do not understand why, in this age of technology where we can order food delivered to our doors, where we have servants (or ARE servants) being paid poverty wages to bow to our appetites and cook our overworked selves a salt-laden, pre-formed combination of leftover animal tissue and filler, why on earth does ANYONE condone hunting or fishing? Beyond misinformed excuses ("we need to cull them because they are overpopulated and will starve"--we can start by not encouraging population growth in order to keep hunters happy), beyond the excuse of "needing it for survival" (which duh I condone but jfc you'll never be on a deserted island okay) , there are no excuses.

Hunting is not a sport--in a sport, both sides know they are playing. Hunting is not honorable or wholesome. You are killing a timid creature that never caused you any injustice, a being with its own consciousness that desires to live. I think that it is depraved that we teach children to destroy the empathy they have within themselves as young as they are. Encouraging children to kill is horrible, and I seriously do not trust anyone who thinks desensitizing children to violence is okay or admirable. People say it's done in the name of tradition. If your tradition involved human sacrifice, would it be justifiable to continue? Tradition is an excuse, not an argument. Or is it entertainment? Enjoying the environment? You know who's better at enjoying the environment? VEGANS. We actually give a shit. You just pay the Earth lip service. You think we're self-righteous? Fuck off, you never hear anyone whine more than meat-eaters.

You can't introduce yourself as vegan to anyone without getting bombarded with questions, rude comments, and snide remarks. If anyone tells you the truth about your food choices, and maybe forces you to think about the effect you're having on the people and other animals around you, and you own life, you look at them in derision, pity, or disdain. Why? I am not missing anything from my life as a vegan except the apathetic ignorant bliss I had as an omnivore. Yeah, somedays I probably do sound self-righteous. But mostly I whine a lot because you all incredibly frustrate me sometimes. You all decided to support me when I came out as transgender, and many of you decided to take some time to learn what you could about being transgender. And you know what? That was really great of you, I'm really appreciative of the support, and many of you have gone above and beyond in helping me. I really, genuinely mean this. Thank you.

But I wonder how many people I interact with in life have responded the same way, when I said I'd gone vegan. Did you seek to learn as much as you can as to why I was doing this? Or did you make fun, like everyone else? I know it's scary to question your beliefs. But you can do better than this and you aren't trying. Unless you have a legitimate medical need to consume animal proteins (and I know a couple of you do, so please understand I am not trying to be harmful with my words here) you can honestly be eating less meat and dairy and trying more vegan recipes and foods and trying to avoid products that test on animals, or SOMETHING. You don't need it to be made of "real" leather, you WANT it to be made of leather, in spite of the fact it came off of someone's body. You can go one day a week without eating meat, or even cheese. It's really not that difficult. You are afraid of trying. Veganism is not weakness, it is tremendous strength in the face of society that doesn't seem to actually give a shit about animals or the environment, we just want to SAY we give a shit. That is more weak and cowardly than anything. Try harder. Stop making excuses. Fucking watch Earthlings already. Try to learn more about the world you live in. You want to have an impact? You want to do good things? Try to learn more about veganism. Because your addictions are going to kill us all, seriously. No exaggeration. I kind of care about humans and, you know, living. Do you want to see ecological collapse in our life time? You want to eat all these chicken nuggets now, because you don't want to try something new. (I'm not talking to people who have literally no grocery store or source of fresh food in their part of the city except for a convenient store and a mcdonalds, okay.) You don't want to go vegan? Fine. Go vegetarian. You don't want to do that? Fine, just try to eat less meat and dairy. But you make excuses.

Do you care about life? Listen to me. Because if you manage to outlive me I want you to look back on your life and ask yourself if you think you did enough to make life better for those around you, or whether you just cared about yourself.

Hunting is cowardly, humans are capable of cultivating plants which more than satisfy our dietary needs. Farming animals is barbaric and irreconcilable.  We eat more chicken in one week today than we did in a year 100 years ago. You do not need to eat so much meat. You choose to. You've been raised to. You are told to by every disgusting meat and dairy commercial that makes jokes about a "pork-cast" or tells you absolute bullshit like how chocolate milk is supposedly the "best choice for athletes" after a workout (I am not fucking kidding these commercials exist in Wisconsin right now on the radio). You can do better than that. Don't you WANT to be better than that? How does it feel being sold?

I am just sick and tired of people giving me shit for being vegan. Y'all have no clue just how significantly toxic and wasteful your diet is. You have no idea how many lives are damaged and destroyed just to satisfy your disturbing fetish with bacon and your careless, insecure addictions. As someone who has eaten cheese my entire life, I know you can do better. And further than all of that, you all have no idea just how much heart ache you cause for me by your careless disrespect for life. And I don't care if I lose friends for this. Think about stuff more, think about it harder. Stop being so damned afraid and stand for something.

I'm being very blunt. I normally make more than most people's effort to not tread on anyone's heels, as ANYONE who knows me in real life can acknowledge. I am more apology than person on most days.

That's all, I'm off this website again, changing my password so I don't log back in for a while. I need to stay away from the internet for a while. Leave a message for when I get back, if you want. Peace out. If you read all this and are tired of my shit, well, nice experiencing you, I'll smell ya later.

To those who stick by me in spite of my crabbiness, thank you. I hope you know you are loved.  

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.

Nelson Mandela

Remembering the unvarnished truth of Mandela’s words means refusing to let anybody sanitize his legacy. As the United States attempts to piggyback on Mandela’s revolutionary spirit, never forget that it was the CIA who helped jail him for 28 years. His sentiments toward our imperialist government reflect what our government remorselessly tries to keep we citizens from seeing, that indeed "…the United States now feels that they are the only superpower in the world and they can do what they like“ regardless of who we harm in the process.  

Here are a few more quotes we are unlikely to see in the mainstream press: 

“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”

“A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favor. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”

“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

“No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.”

“If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don’t ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.”

(Read more courtesy of Common Dreams here)

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty

“Indeed, conceit, arrogance, and egotism are the essentials of Patriotism. Let me illustrate. Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little specks, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular speck, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting any other speck. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on the chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others.” 

Source: Emma Goldman, “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty”, Making Speech Free, 1902-1909

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

This is a good post. 

This argument about militant atheists is too narrow. The problem is the use of “militant”. Too much is assumed for any possible precision.

I don’t buy that it’s religion slaughtering, you know. It’s patriarchs often practicing tribalism and their followers. Leaders form violent states wherein they attempt to wrangle total control, using murder and torture on behalf of a religious identity they don’t actually honor but one that affords them authority. To pick out religion and claim that’s the problem is an error. This thinking is what leads to identifying violent Israel state behavior as Jewish behavior, by the way. It also is the the foundation of Islamaphobia. I think it’s ahistorical.

Atheist imperialism is similarly an attempt at total control. New Atheism is the intellectual arm of militant atheism. It *is* white supremacist and patriarchal. Atheists seek to demystify all aspects of the social order and science on behalf of capitalist patriarchy.

Religious and Atheist is not a dialectical opposition.

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

HRT Self medication (”DIY”) hormone resources

Currently www.inhousepharmacy.vu ships without a script (click the “transgender” tab)

Getting blood work without costly doctor visits

http://www.privatemdlabs.com

The Center of Excellence for Transgender Health has an article on hormone administration, which includes detailed dosing protocols.

http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/trans?page=protocol-hormones

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

I’ll be sayin this about every ten years or so. 

apology to anyone who knew me years ago because i was a fucking embarrassment

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

i am an evil vegan genius (shout out to my fellow workers)

I'm satisfied that being vegan has given me the confidence to take on other challenges. And I think I'm doing pretty well at kicking the facebook habit. But mostly because I'm starting to put other priorities ahead.In related news, as I fiddle around on photoshop, I narrate my actions like how a disney-villain-style wizard might say."Yes...apply the transformation..."  In related news (sponsored by Industrial Union 420 -- I AM 100% serious about this statement but it so beautiful makes a double entendre and oh...*feels so good*) listening to Beyonce makes my photoshop wizardry seem 10x more powerful. I'm 99% certain the most genuine evil geniuses listen to Beyonce.

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

tonight on twitter. this trend is golden.

[anarcha-pigeon-blog]

No Man’s Land: The Last Tribes of the Plains

As industry closes in, Native Americans fight for dignity and natural resources

Photos by Matt BlackWritten by Trymaine Lee

Chase Iron Eyes, a young activist and lawyer who has become something of a thorn in the sides of local tribal politicians, walked through the Sioux Village housing projects where he spent part of his youth. A gaggle of smiling, scruffy young children surrounded him almost immediately, some wrapping their arms around him while others peppered him with inquiries about going on a bike ride or run with him the next day. A couple asked for money.

Since moving back to the reservation from Colorado more than a year ago with his wife, Sarah Jumping Eagle, a local pediatrician, Iron Eyes has become something of a prodigal son. He grew up a typical “rez” kid, fighting, drinking, getting into the kinds of trouble that kids with not much guidance or much to do can get into. He ended up spending a short stretch in prison for a house break-in he committed while blinded by alcohol. He emerged sober and with his eyes wide open to what he needed to do. More than anything, he said he wanted to return to the reservation and help spark some sort of change to break the cycle.

Detail from a pictograph of the “Long Soldier” Winter Count. Winter counts are calendars in which histories are recorded by pictures, with one picture for each year. They are called waniyetu wowapi by the Lakota.

He helped push for a Lakota language immersion school for young children. He started the Last Real Indians blog and website aimed at progressive young Indians. He’s harangued the tribal council for what many young Lakota see as an abandonment of the younger generations and complacency when it comes to lifting the tribe’s overall sorry economic state.

His efforts haven’t gone without pushback from the establishment, he said. Iron Eyes, some elders say, is smart but rebellious, sometimes abrasive.

“That’s a very radical idea for a tribe, to want to provide for itself,” Iron Eyes said. Lamenting the current tribal government, which is bound by its relationship to the United States, Iron Eyes said the system is largely “inept at meeting the needs of our citizens.”

“Modern day reservations, it’s like Puerto Rico. The U.S. treat us like we’re a ward and they are our guardians. That’s how it’s been for the last 100 years,” he said. “The United States has asserted supreme rights to our land. And we don’t have the military might to fight back. There are things we can do as a tribal nation, but the court of reprisal is the oppressor’s court.”

Part of that oppression, he said, has been the government’s cinching of the tribe’s control of its natural resources.

“The goals are lofty. But I just want something practical that says we are our own nation and we can provide for ourselves. Since the buffalo were killed off we haven’t been able to provide our own food, our own shelter or our own energy,” Iron Eyes said. “Most human beings, we react to our appetites. If your food and your house are uncertain things, you don’t have time to think about the higher order pursuits like freedom.”

One by one though, Chase is trying to shake awake tribal members. He recently came up with an idea that could help spur economic freedom and development for the tribe — growing industrialized hemp.

But his plan has a few hurdles and hiccups. It’s not currently legal to grow hemp on the reservation. Many have balked at the idea, linking industrial hemp to its more illicit cousin, marijuana. And, as Iron Eyes put it, the establishment is too scared to shake things up on behalf of the tribe.

Iron Eyes has started a petition to force a hearing by the Tribal Council on a handful of referendums he hopes will be introduced during the upcoming elections. He needs 450 signatures to force the hearing. In recent weeks, he was just a few dozen away. On that day at the housing projects he knocked on doors and explained to folks what he was trying to do and how he planned on achieving it. In the couple hours he spent that day going door to door or catching people in their yards, not a single person refused to sign.

“Poor people have not been able to fight with the tools that they’ve been handed. We lost our natural medicines, farmland, and fertile river bottom land. We lost a way to provide for ourselves,” he said. “When talking about poverty, the death of the buffalo, the flood and colonization, they’ve essentially been erasing Native dignity. We’re the ones that suffer. We’re the ones that live here. We’re the ones who have to change that.”

READ THE REST HERE