HeiBlog

On the corner of Harrison Ave. and E. Newton St. in the South End there was a little gassy plot, right next to the Art Block (converted school). A few days ago with the late spring here in Boston they were in full bloom. I’d guess they were about 30 plus years old.

I had heard from a shop owner that they were planning to put living space on that lot and I feared that the trees might be gone one day. There was hope though since they were right next to the side walk, I was picturing a little entry courtyard that would preserve the trees.

Well my fears were realized. By the end of Thursday the trees were down, cut to pieces and ripped up by their roots, all while in full bloom. Can’t stand in the way of progress in the South End, there’s money to be made. Call me The Lorax for caring, but they were really nice trees.

Maybe I should not had read 1984 in 10 grade and been fascinated by dystopian societies sense then, but it seems that each year since 9/11/01 we as a nation are getting closer and closer to a police state where the government doesn’t function for the benefit of the people and operates simply out of self-preservation. At what point do the people no longer become the holder of the real power and become a commodity to be consumed for the protection of the State (which of course says that it is acting for the benefit and protection of the People).

First we get the Patriot Act. Now both houses of Congress are pushing through a fun little bill. Cnet ran an artical highlighting the House and Senate versions of the new bill today. The basic function of the bills is to reform communication between branches of the intelligence gathering arms of the US, some of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.. Databases will be integrate, offices linked, and access facilitated. They say that they will “preserve civil liberties”, but if the Patriot Act is any example what constitutes a civil liberty they seem up for interpretation.
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A few weeks ago I joined up with a group action organization, called True Majority started by Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry’s fame. Their basic mission is to give people a venue to have some voice. They pick issues and ask the membership to act on them. In there last email they had a new Flash movie that asked the question of why we were at war with Iraq and why people who protest this action are considered by many to be trouble makers and in the worst case terrorists.
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This has been in my craw for a while and I need to comment about it. Here is Massachusetts there is a battle to allow homosexuals to legal marry. The gay community seems to be after more than just the all the legal rights of marriage (a la civil union). They want the full title of marriage. If you don’t know the full story… In short the Supreme Judicial Court passed a ruling that the current state practice of not issuing marriage license to same-sex couples was a violation of the state constitution. This started a movement in the legislature to propose a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. Even an amendment that would allow for civil union ended in a deadlock. All polls of Massachusetts residents that I have seen show an even split between for and against same-sex marriage. States across the country and trying to take similar actions with local, pro same-sex marriage officials making taking action in their jurisdictions by issuing licenses based on loose interpretations in state law (as in the case of San Francisco, Oregon, and one city in upstate New York).

I pose the question, is same-sex marriage really harmful to society or are people just uncomfortable and threatened?
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