A night view, Martin Luther King Day 2021
Still rather cloudy around here.
Changes
Ammon Bundy Comes Out in Support of BLM, Calls to Defund the Police
Ammon Bundy, an anti-government activist who lead the 41-day armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge back in 2016, expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and for defunding the police in a recent acebook video.
He said in the video that he had considered attending, near his home in Boise, Idaho, “a rally with the Black Lives Matter in support of defunding the police because yes the police need to be defunded.Θ He decided not to attend the rally, citing concerns about potential violence from fellow “PatriotsΘ who have criticized his stance on the issue.
Anyone who doesn’t understand his support for the movement “must have a problem,Θ he said.
“You must have a problem in your mind if you think that somehow the Black Lives Matter is more dangerous than the police," he said. “You must have a problem in your mind if you think that Antifa is the one going to take your freedom.'
Phil Ochs – Crucifixion (Live)
βItβs a song about Christ-killing, how all America and even, especially, New York loves to create heroes to moralize to them and then kill them violently, bloodily and dig the death so much, every detail of the death. Itβs a song about Jesus Christ. Itβs called The Crucifixion. Itβs a song about Kennedy. And maybe a song about Dylan.β
- Phil Ochs
How the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike Expanded the Civil Rights Struggle – HISTORY
On ebruary 12, 1968, 1,300 Black sanitation workers in Memphis began a strike to demand better working conditions and higher pay. Their stand marked an early fight for financial justice for workers of color as part of the civil rights movement. The strike also drew Martin Luther King, Jr. and fatefully became the setting for his “I’ve Been to the MountaintopΘ speech and his assassination.
Hauling trash, sometimes in the pouring rain, was a taxing and dirty job. Yet the city of Memphis expected garbage collectors to work long hours for meager wages and without overtime pay. Their compensation, 65 cents per hour, was so low that many were eligible for welfare and food stamps.
May 68 – Wikipedia
Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which have since become known as May 68, the economy of France came to a halt. The protests reached such a point that political leaders feared civil war or revolution; the national government briefly ceased to function after President Charles de Gaulle secretly fled France to Germany at one point. The protests spurred movements worldwide, with songs, imaginative graffiti, posters, and slogans.
I didn’t think 2020 was all that bad of a year
I didn’t think 2020 was all that bad of a year … I thought it it was kind of fun ! π
Everywhere you go, you here people moaning about how awful 2020 was as a year. They didn’t like the decisive election, the shutdowns of community programs and businesses due to the COVID-19. We lost some great people this year from the virus, and it forced us to rethink how did businesses and lived our lives.
Remote work was kind of an experience, especially not having Internet at home. While I did eventually a week ago get hotspot service for my phone, I spent a lot of the summer and autumn working at various free-wifi locations, and also using my phone and occasionally using the work hotspot a fair amount. It really taught me how to use the internet efficiently and liberated me from my bedroom.
With tonight, it work out to 63 nights in 2020 that I wilderness camped. One night I did camp at the Cherry Ridge Camping Area in Brookfield and three nights at Stony Pond in Madison County, but those forest camping areas are still pretty dispersed. It was fun, although sometimes a bit crazy trying to plan my day around work, making sure I had good cell service and enough power in my battery bank.
I will forever remember those days sitting at Lake Pleasant, with my feet in the sand and the laptop in my lap, running out to the lake to go for a swim. Those hot summer days working in my truck, sitting next to fan, trying my best to stay cool, or shivering come late autumn. Those nice spring days working out back. That week I worked from deep in Green Mountains, and managed to burn a hole in my brand new screen tent when I had that grease fire. Well, that wasn’t so pleasant, but I got it patched.
It was an incredibly busy year with work, some late evenings, and some crazy days working into the weekend, fielding client calls including once when I was out hiking to the Pig Rock on NY 30 through the Speculator Tree Farm. It had it’s share of hot and buggy days, and then before you know it days got short and cold.
Honestly, it looks like a while before things get back to normal. Remote work will continue through the end of January, at least, and while it will be difficult to do much camping in January due to cold and road closures, it will still be kind of nice working from home. But I do look forward to a more normal year next year — I kind of miss my colleagues at work, I miss the time to myself taking the bus back and forth to work, and I miss going down to the library and being able to work inside until closing time at 9 PM. But I do think those days will be back again, just like those lazy, crazy days of summer.
NPR
Native American civil rights advocate Hank Adams died at the age of 77 this week.
Once referred to as the "most important Indian" by Native American rights advocate and author Vine eloria Jr., Adams was central to the fight to uphold tribal treaty rights during the 1960s and 1970s.