+newsblog

11.20.08 - We have no one to change but ourselves

Apropos yesterday's post, I've posted a little something to combat the oft-discouraging nature of our current culture.  It's nothing that many of us haven't thought before, and indeed is very simple, but it never hurts to make public this sort of sentiment.

Our society may be full of happenings and institutions that make level-headed, forward-thinking people want to scream.  It may be full of corruption and fat cats and wannabes trying to scam their way into wealth and power.  But in the end, if we don't want to go crazy thinking about it all, the best we can do is try and live our own lives in a way we feel best serves our sanity, future generations, and the entire planetary community (including but not limited to humans), and not necessarily in that order.  We can only change so much on our own.  Trying to do too much is counter-productive - it wears us thin, makes us unhappy, presents us as a rather poor example to the world at large.  Realizing that is a challenge I've had to personally face - taking it to heart is a challenge I've yet to overcome.

If we, as level-headed, forward-thinking people, simply live in the manner that we feel is conscionable, just, and healthy - taking into account, of course, all the circumstances of modern society that often make it hard or impossible to live that lifestyle - without worrying ourselves sick over what we cannot personally change, we will not only live happier, healthier lives.  We will serve as good examples of what types of lifestyles can belong to a happy, well-rounded individual, and perhaps change some perceptions along the way.  Directly, at least, we have no one to change but ourselves.  Once we've engaged in the process of doing that, we may indirectly change many, many others.

So.  Be happy; live justly; think critically; and let your happy self serve as an example of what a thoughtful, caring person can be.  There is time to organize, to stand with many others, to have massive effect through massive numbers.  Right now, on your own, change your own little sphere in the world.  --Posted by Joey

11.19.08 - We have no one to blame but ourselves 

The current state of affairs in our country is a bit disheartening, to say in the least.  Take these two current happenings, culled from current news headlines:

1. A "Fire Sale" of some of our most beautiful land:  Ah, the American West.  Sweeping mountain vistas.  Grand peaks and majestic desert.  Oil rigs.  Blue skies... wait, oil rigs?  That's right - despite the fact that much of Colorado's western slope and Utah are already covered with oil and natural gas drilling equipment, the ill-named Bureau of Land Management is auctioning off 40-45 new parcels of Utah land for oil and gas development, much of it along or close to the borders of three National Parks.  Visitors to Arches, Canyonlands, and Dinosaur National Parks may soon see the barren silhouettes of oil rigs alongside long-prized views of Delicate Arch or the high cliffs of Desolation Canyon.  Many are viewing this as the Bush Administration's last big laughing gift to the fossil-fuel industry (and I personally don't find that too far from the truth).  Park Service officials were just as surprised as everyone else to find out about the 350,000+ acres up for lease - and none too happy, either.  But hey, we have no one to blame but ourselves - we won't drive less or cut fuel consumption, so we may as well destroy our own land in the process, instead of limiting our resource exploitation to other peoples' countries.  (Never mind that the relatively small amount of fossil fuel present under Utah rock will have a net effect of absolutely nothing on our dependence on foreign oil.)

2. On the other side of the country - Detroit, to be exact - Chrysler is begging for taxpayer (read: yours and mine) "bailout" cash with one hand while simultaneously writing $30 million worth of bonus checks to top executives with the other hand.  Don't know about you, but I'm not exactly fond of this idea - something seems a bit fishy here.  Far from being the only one, Chrysler is joined by Ford and GM in groveling before Congress and the Senate Banking Committee, claiming that without bailout money, they'll be done for - and so, it's implied, will the American economy.  Let it be so, say I - let the Big Three sink or swim.  I'm generally not in much agreement with the Republican side of things, but I'm liking what I'm hearing from their side in this battle.  I'm agreeing with Mitt Romney, for goodness' sake.  In his words, "Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check."  I couldn't have said it better myself.  But hey, we have no one to blame but ourselves - at least some of us kept on buying Hummers and F-350's, long after they became practical or even conscionable.  Apparently enough of us kept buying the damn things that Detroit kept on making them.  And not enough of us were (or are) outraged enough by the huge discrepancy between executive payout and worker salary, or the huge break between meaningful performance and exec bonuses, to change this obviously broken system before it got to this point.  And this point, it should be made clear, is where the pigs want our money to bail out their sinking, bloated ship, weighed down by years of gold-plated fixtures and four-ton vehicles.  Sigh. 

I'm still trying to find the silver lining in the cloud here.  Stay tuned - I'll get some related yang to this post's yin up soon.  --Posted by Joey

11.17.08 - WOC Bike Program finally off the ground 

Everything is finally settled with our long-awaited WOC Bike Program.  We're set to give away bikes to folks who want to ride for transportation but cannot afford or justify the cost of a reliable bicycle!  We've inked a deal with the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, and the program is officially a 501(c)(3) non-profit under their umbrella.  We're able to accept tax-deductible donations for the program, and we're also accepting used bikes for use in the program.  Since Wheels Of Change is not a non-profit - due to our oft-political nature - the non-profit program's page is hosted elsewhere.  You can find out more about the program, including how to apply or donate, by visiting the program page here.  You can go directly to our PPCF credit-card donation page by clicking here.  Thanks for the support, and even if you don't need to apply, please refer others who may want to!  --Posted by Admin

11.13.08 - A new Video/Article 

We found a video from 1945, filmed by the U.S. Department of War Information, that we think is really interesting.  Not necessarily because of the content - although, coincidentally filmed in co-founder Joey's hometown, the content is interesting too - but because of the message of this propaganda film, and the contrast it shows to the military propaganda of today.  Check out the video, form your own conclusions, and read ours by clicking here.  --Posted by Admin

11.10.08 - A New Michael Pollan Article - Plus, WOC Bikes Application Up  For all you Michael Pollan fans out there, we have a new article of his posted.  It's a letter to the President-Elect concerning our broken food system and how to fix it for the health of us all.  Fairly long, but very interesting and worth the time!  Click here to read it.

Also, we posted more info on the WOC Bikes program today, including the application for anyone who'd like to be put in consideration for our next bike giveaway.  Check out the program page for more info, including the link to the application.  --Posted by Admin

11.07.08 - An enlightening read 

I just finished reading Three Cups Of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin Books, 2007).  The book tells the true story of Greg Mortenson's efforts over the last 15 years to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  In 1993, after a just-barely-failed attempt to summit K2 - the second-highest peak in the world, in the heart of Pakistan's Karakoram Range - a sick, weakened, and lost Mortenson wandered alone into a small, impoverished Pakistani mountain village.  Given a warm-hearted welcome and nursed back to health by the village's inhabitants, he asked the village leader what he could ever do to repay the kindness shown him.  Mortenson was told that the village desperately needed a school, and he promised on the spot to come back and build a school in the village of Korphe.  It took a few years, but after living in his car to save money, overcoming many huge obstacles, talking to many people, two trips back to Korphe, and finding a wealthy donor for the project, Mortenson finally kept his promise.  Instead of stopping there, he founded the Central Asia Institute, and on a shoestring budget, proceeded to build, as of 2008, 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan that have served over 28,000 children.  The CAI is still active in the area, building schools, helping with other projects, and focusing on rural education and literacy for girls and women in particular.

Mortenson's work results in more than just a heartwarming story.  Working, as it were, in the Taliban's backyard for the past 15 years, he and his fellow workers have seen the rise of extremism, the construction of madrassas, the indoctrination of children in the ways of jihad, and the terrorism that results.  The CAI's mission is to educate children who need and want an education, and a major side effect of this mission is to help end terrorism and extremist thought.  Instead of using war and terror in return, as our own country has done, the CAI works at the root of the problem, providing children with a balanced education that respects their own culture while discouraging ignorance and violence.  Every village that receives help from the CAI provides workers and teachers, is an integral part of the process from planning to construction to operation, and is counted upon to sustain the initial effort put forth by CAI.  This work does not involve handouts - it involves catalysts.  In this way, the school is assured to be by the people, for the people, and they value its presence and learning potential, making each school a very real detriment to terrorism. 

The story told in Three Cups Of Tea is extraordinary in many respects.  For me, the most inspiring part was the realization that one man, with virtually no resources, was able through sheer determination to positively change the world in a very real way.  Another realization, although not explicit in the book, comes about upon reflection:  The same forces that create Islamic fundamentalist terrorists are at work in our own country today.  The vast majority of Muslims are kind and peaceful people; a tiny percentage of them, through ignorance and violence, become what we call "terrorists".  The same could be said for the proliferation of Christian fundamentalism in America today.  Nowhere is this more easily seen than in many recent rallies for John McCain and Sarah Palin this campaign season.  Instead of intelligently contrasting their policies with those of their opponents, McCain and Palin constantly made attacks on Barack Obama, effectively calling him a terrorist, socialist, Marxist, and other names, all born of willful ignorance (or at least the willful intent to create ignorance).  Some people in the crowds that showed up at their rallies make an even better example of my point; how do cries of "Kill him!" and "Bomb Obama!" not sound like ignorance and violence?  Keep in mind that these cries are almost undoubtedly coming from people who consider themselves staunch Christians, who profess belief in a supposedly loving and kind God.  Other rhetoric of this campaign season that shows a clear abundance of ignorance:  The claim that Obama is an Arab; the silly "name games" somehow suggesting that because his middle name is "Hussein" and his last name rhymes with "Osama", Obama is a terrorist; and, not least, the underlying reluctance to accept someone as leader who is intelligent, respectful of other cultures and beliefs, has an international heritage, and has traveled and lived outside of the USA.  In my mind (and many others), those things are what make Obama the potentially excellent leader he is.

Anyhow.  Not trying at all to turn this into a political post, but all of that is still fresh in my mind, and it relates to the story told in Three Cups Of Tea.  I believe that our own culture would benefit by having more people like Greg Mortenson around, and I certainly think that the lessons - implicit and explicit - gleaned from his book are applicable, valuable, and needed in our country today.  I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Three Cups Of Tea at the library or the bookstore soon - you won't regret it.  For more info on the Central Asia Institute, visit www.ikat.org. --Posted by Joey

11.05.08 - An interesting time to be alive 

As everyone knows, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States last night.  It was an extremely historic election - Obama is the first African-American to ever hold our highest office.  But that alone does not make this election everything it was.  The election of Obama as our next president is a pivotal move in our nation's history.  After eight years of one reigning philosophy; after eight years of, by world consensus, confrontational, uncommunicative, and deeply flawed leadership; after eight years of regression into fear and hate, the light is showing at the end of the tunnel.  While Obama will not be able to single-handedly turn our country around, we the people now have a chance at doing so.  Obama's acceptance speech said as much; he called for help and a "spirit of sacrifice" from the people.  While the concept of "sacrifice" may seem stifling or overwhelming to our latest generations, it is something that is needed and is certainly not out of line with our country's history.  During WWII, for example, our nation pooled resources and pulled together in a way not seen since.  We saw a tiny bit of this positive attitude shine through in the aftermath of 9.11, before it was stifled by fear-mongering war drums, turning the national attitude into one of negative fear and blind obedience.  While we may not be in a war as large or as resource-hungry as WWII, we still need this positive "yes, we can" attitude.  What matters more than the war in Iraq is that we have been, and are still in danger of, sliding into a self-righteous, willfully ignorant, hateful dark age, ignoring or misusing our importance in world affairs.  To pull out of this - to bring ourselves back to a positive, respected, and good standing in the world - we must band together.  We must realize that our actions have consequences, small and large, local and global.  We must realize that in this truly global community of the 21st century, we cannot afford to think or act on prejudice or ignorance.  We must realize - nay, remember, for we have known this in the past - that with great power comes great responsibility.  We have great freedom - now let us use it towards good ends, not evil.  While our heritage as Americans is by no means unstained, we do have great things in our past to be proud of.  In light of those, let us move forward in kind.  Barack Obama understands these things, and has the potential to be the leader that puts them into action.  Part of the realization of that potential is up to him; part of it is up to We The People.

John McCain gave a very interesting concession speech last night.  It reminded many people of the McCain present in the 2000 primaries, the McCain that people could be proud of.  Had McCain retained his integrity throughout this campaign, he may well have won the presidency.  However, he instead became a tool of the GOP ultra-conservative machine, fear-mongering along with all the others, leaving actual Republican principles behind in favor of negative attacks on Obama's character.  I personally wondered, watching McCain's speech, if he was feeling any regrets, any of that spark of despair felt when one knows he's sold himself out, however temporarily.  I applaud McCain for the very gracious speech, and hope that his efforts to unite the American people behind Obama don't end there.  As for Palin - the "shock and awe" on her face were a bit too obvious last night.  Her little presidential-dreamin' bubble was burst last night, and unless there's another, kinder, less-confrontational Sarah Palin under the mask we saw during this campaign, I hope she disappears to Alaska, never to be heard from again.  I'm all for intelligent debate and diverse ideas; I'm not for the kind of frenzy-whipping, ignorance-encouraging, outright lying that she showcased for much of 2008.  She does not in the slightest represent what is good about the United States of America, but does represent much of the bad.  I wish her well, so long as it is outside of positions of national importance.

Last but not least:  We gave out the first WOC bike yesterday, to a fellow named Taran who needed a way to get to and from work.  For more info on our initial giveaway and the WOC Bike Program, click here!  --Posted by Joey

10.31.08 - An open letter to our friends and supporters  It has been a long time since I posted anything of consequence here.  Ever since we began talking with the Pikes Peak Community Foundation back in July, I haven't really posted anything about politics, current events, or anything at all.  To talk politics to the degree that I normally do would be to jeopardize PPCF's status as a 501(c)(3) organization.  To be completely truthful, this non-profit idea isn't working out exactly - or even somewhat - as we had imagined.  We wanted to be under a non-profit's umbrella so that we could accept tax-deductible donations; we needed donations to fund community programs that we had thought up, such as WOC Bikes.  We had big ideas for WOC.  However, our personal routines, priorities, and possibilities (mine especially) have undergone so many changes since July that we're not exactly sure what's happening in our very lives, much less with WOC.  Sandhya is extremely busy with her senior year at Colorado College; I've started my own business as a sole source of income and have been spending the vast majority of my time trying to make that work.  We both are sensing a major turning point in our lives as her graduation nears and I grow increasingly aware of a need for something fundamentally different.  As it turns out, I had more time, energy, and passion to devote to WOC before this summer's changes and before we decided to sign the non-profit agreement with PPCF.  Now I have less time, less energy, and my hands are somewhat tied in regards to what I can talk about, which (if you know me) makes me somewhat less-than-excited about the idea as a whole.

So.  What to do?  We've decided to take Wheels Of Change back into our own hands, so that we can be free to make decisions completely on our own.  We feel that in our current culture and political climate, political discourse and action are inherently necessary components needed for change; the political world is simply too interwoven with what has happened, what is happening, and what needs to happen culturally to ignore it altogether.  At this point in time WOC will mostly just be the information on the website and actual action on whatever issues we personally dig into in our community - things that take only time.  However, for programs and other ideas that require funding, we're negotiating with PPCF to be our non-profit sponsor on a project-by-project basis.  This way, we can opine and take action freely, PPCF can be 100% behind the program, and everyone can be happy!

Next steps:  We'll hopefully be finishing up negotiations with PPCF soon.  We'll be putting actual work into the WOC Bikes program and getting it off the ground.  We'll also be posting more frequently here again with our take on current events and with new articles.  So what can you do?  Keep checking back here - we'll be trying to make it interesting.  But most importantly, go out in your own community and create positive change!  --Posted by Joey

10.31.08 - An abbreviated, opinionated, and common-sense account of recent political history  As per the above post, we are no longer restricted politically, and as such, the floodgates are open.  (To reiterate briefly, we have given up our non-profit status in light of our belief that the political is inextricably intertwined with the cultural, and as such, we cannot in good faith ignore the political, as non-profit status requires we do.)  In less than one week, we will - provided we don't have a rerun of the 2000 election nightmare - know who will be the next president of our United States of America.  Crunch time is here, as it were, and here at WOC, we have lots of lost time to make up.  So in lieu of a summer's worth of current events posting, we have put together a timeline of sorts, complete with our most restrained sort of commentary, and with an absolute minimum of tongue-in-cheek-cheekiness.  Mostly, anyway.

August, 2008:  Russia engages in a limited conflict with neighboring Georgia over the disputed region of South Ossetia.  President Bush manages to keep a straight face while saying that the United States and its allies "stand with the people" of war-torn Georgia against Russian "bullying and intimidation"; he also manages to infer that in the 21st century, it is unacceptable for one nation to invade another sovereign nation without just cause.  Hmmm.  Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the conflict over South Ossetia and our own war in Iraq would have to see the irony in comments like that.  Or so you might think... After spending much of August as merely the "presumptive" DNC presidential nominee, Barack Obama is officially named as the Democratic contender in Denver at the end of August.  Hillary does an admirable job of quieting down her more rabid supporters and trying to unify the party behind the duly chosen candidate... John McCain has trouble remembering exactly how many houses he owns, but expects us to believe that one-home Obama is an "elitist" for reasons not exactly clear... Joe Biden is chosen as the Democratic running mate, showing a certain acknowledgement by Senator Obama that he is wise enough to shore up any "lack of experience" by choosing a dedicated and honorable statesman with many years of foreign policy experience...

September, 2008: ...Not to be outdone, McCain shows his own decision-making wisdom and promptly goes about finding the least-experienced VP candidate possible, ending up with first-term Alaska governor and self-proclaimed hockey mom Sarah Palin.  Besides her extensive experience shooting moose and wolves from helicopters, Palin's qualifications reportedly include foreign policy (Russia is visible from her state), economic policy (she refuses that bridge to nowhere, thanks but no thanks - but whoops, somehow forgot to give back the $223 million allocated for it), executive ethics (found guilty of abuse of power in the infamous "Troopergate" case, despite her best efforts to 1. Postpone the proceedings until after the election, and failing that, 2. Completely ignore the conclusions of the legislative committee, publicly misstating the verdict), and women's issues (she's a woman, duh - no matter that she is certainly not on the same side of the ideological fence as 99.9% of women who wanted to see Hillary in office).  Palin's penchant for leavin' the "g" off of certain words, and winking charismatically to avoid the deer-in-the-headlights look (what's the Bush Doctrine, Charlie?) endears her to the same sort of voters that somehow find blue-collar brethren in multi-millionaire corporate execs and silver-spoon military-government types.  For possibly the first time in American history, the VP candidate is more popular than the presidential candidate himself - among right wingers because of her admired supposed ability to "take on Warshington insiders", and among left wingers because we are wondering in what parallel universe can one find Palin admirable at all... In more worthy news, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! is arrested at the RNC - pre-emtively, at that.  If a kindly and diminutive woman like Ms. Goodman is subject to pre-emptive arrest on virtually fictional grounds, the rest of us better watch our backs... In late September, the bottom drops out of the market.  Fears that we are sliding into another Great Depression-sized financial canyon are soon allayed by the decisive action of none other than W. and his right-hand financial man, Henry Paulson, opting to spend what turns out to be $800+ billion of taxpayer (yours and mine) cash to "bail out" companies whose reckless actions created the problem in the first place, throwing the American ideals of responsibility and accountability in the corporate shredder in the process...

October, 2008:  ...Oh wait, scratch the "fears are allayed" part.  The market continues to tank.  A newly-emboldened Paulson decides that what is needed is a "direct injection of capital" into several of America's largest banks.  The purported idea is to give the banks the money needed to begin making loans again; never mind that the average American consumer is staying as far away as possible from taking loans, and that the banks have no intention of giving more loans anyway.  Encouraged by the cash "injection", a hearty round of banking cannibalism ensues, bringing us closer to a system of nationalized mega-banks - and this from supposed financial conservatives?  Where is the Republican outrage?  Apparently it's all busy being directed at Obama's meteoric campaign, in the form of rabid and nonsensical attacks on Obama's personal character... Who is William Ayers?  A "warshed-up old terrorist", according to McCain, who he "[doesn't] care about".  If that's true, it's unclear why he spends so much time harping on the issue of a man who bombed some federal buildings when Obama was in second grade, and then, a lifetime later, served on the same non-profit board as Obama, along with a host of other high-profile community leaders, including several Republicans.  For a guy who doesn't like to talk about the past (specifically, the ancient history of the Bush Administration), McCain sure uses up a lot of energy blabbing on about something that happened four decades ago... October, among other things, turns out to be a month of debates, presidential and vice-p alike.  These are generally unfruitful, as McCain shuffles around looking and sounding old and washed-up, all the while forcing Obama to repeat himself over and over, just to keep the facts of his campaign promises straight.  Obama, for his part, doesn't say anything groundbreaking, but comes across as consistent and reasonable as opposed to McCain's wandering focus and generally frustrated demeanor... All the polls point to an Obama victory, increasingly so toward the end of October, but there is a dark spot on this brightening horizon.  Allegations of voter fraud abound on both sides of the fence, but nowhere is more actual evidence seen than in the efforts of the Bush Admin to purge voters from the rolls in Ohio or in the six separate incidents of Diebold machine "malfunctions" in West Virginia alone during early voting...

November, 2008:  Scenario one:  Obama wins, no contest.  At least 51% of the nation and 90% of the rest of the world breathes a collective sigh of relief as the reign of fundamental idiocy gasps its last, at least for the next four years.  We get down to rebuilding our nation and its position in the world.  Scenario two:  McCain wins, but there are many more questions than answers about how exactly that happens.  In the best case, recount/legislative action/investigations show that Obama is the rightful president-elect, and the election's result is reversed.  In the middling case, McCain stays put, we have another four years in the dark ages, and he doesn't die and somehow muddles through to 2012.  In the worst case, McCain takes office but dies, leaving Palin as president.  The United States of America summarily goes to hell, and a second American Revolution is not out of the question.  Scenario three:  McCain wins, no contest.  At least 49% of the nation and 90% of the world feels a gigantic sucker punch to the gut.  A large percentage of Americans no longer feel any allegiance to what America apparently stands for in the year 2008 and beyond.

And just to put some icing on the cake, here are some other opinions on happenings we've culled from the past few months:

- It is sad to see the amount of hypocrisy put out there by the GOP and its followers.  Examples:  1. Think they're against "pork-barrel" earmark spending?  What do you call Palin's $223 million "bridge to nowhere" that she was absolutely for before being recruited by McCain's campaign?  More philosophically, how can they be so against spending in principle yet be okay with a defense budget that accounts for nearly half of federal expenses?  2. Why is "abstinence-only" advocate Sarah Palin's pregnant 17-year-old daughter Bristol getting a free ride from the GOP?  If any Democratic candidate's unwed teenage child was pregnant, the attack dogs would be calling them all sorts of horrible names and making many repugnant accusations.  Instead, Palin fans coo "Aww, she chose life"... forgetting that had ol' hockey mom's sex-ed philosophy worked, Bristol wouldn't have had to choose in the first place.  3. They're Mavericks, eh?  Righto.  If twenty-plus unfruitful years in the Senate and a 90+% agreement rate with W. doesn't convince you of the utter falseness of this sales pitch, well... we're not sure what will.  Suffice to say that any tiny bit of Maverick that John McCain may have ever had got outta Dodge when he got nominated.  4.  Joe the Plumber.  Oh brother.  This ignoramus is nothing more than a puppet of the McCain/Failin' ticket.  His original claim to fame?  He told Obama that his taxes would be raised under Obama's tax plan, citing plans to buy his boss's plumbing biz, which supposedly made more than $250K a year.  However, after a short time in the media limelight, he was shown to be a complete ass:  He personally makes $40K a year (tax cut from Obama!), has no concrete plans to buy his boss's business (which, by the way, makes more like $100K a year - tax cut or at least no increase), apparently hates the idea of taxes enough to just not pay them (he owes back taxes), and to top it all off, doesn't actually hold a plumber's license, in a town where licenses are required.  Sounds like a stand-up citizen to me.  Despite all that damning factual evidence, the GOP has pulled him into their little circle to stump - albeit ignorantly - for them.  Wonder how much they had to pay him?

- McCain and Palin like to talk about how different they are from the Bush Administration, and how they'll stand up to the GOP.  Here's the deal - beyond the details of legislation, beyond the ideology (although they are quite similar, in fact, to the White House's occupant for the past eight years), there is one major thing that makes this ticket the same as the last two.  Fear.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  The GOP apparently knows this and has taken it to heart.  Whether it's terrorists, Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, socialism, a black man as president, or a Democrat-controlled-government, their arguments are low on substance and extremely pumped full of fear-mongering measures.  If they can scare us enough, they can make us do whatever they want.  Another politician who knew this?  Adolf Hitler.

- If McCain/Palin are somehow elected/installed into the White House, Palin will be but one 72-year-old heartbeat away from being arguably one of the most powerful people on earth.  This is slightly more than troubling, given her social and religious views.  From a Pentecostal background, Palin is among the most extreme right-wing Christian ideologues, that group that believes whole-heartedly in righteous holy destiny, witches, demons, divine intervention in everyday life, ready damnation for anyone not like them, and - for an amazingly large percentage of the people in this national circle - that the world will end within their lifetimes.  I, for one, do not want someone who thinks we're living in the end times to have access - or even potential access - to the red button.  They don't live in the same world I do - indeed, the same world that most of us do - and I don't understand why ANYONE outside of their little extreme religious faction would want someone like that in a position of national leadership.

Should you have not guessed by now, we're making an official endorsement:  Vote for Barack Obama on November 4.  He is not perfect; he is not The Fix; he is not going to change everything overnight.  However, he is an extremely intelligent, compassionate, and thoughtful man, and he will be a huge step in the right direction for America.  --Posted by Joey

10.31.08 - A little piece by Nikki Alexander  We thought this was actually pretty good, thought-provoking, and true to boot.  The original was a bit longer - we've left in only the parts that we know to be factual.  The author doesn't really follow up on the facts in this piece, but the intent is not hard to tease out - what WOULD you think if you had seen these things happen in, say, the Middle East, or the Eastern Bloc of Europe?  What makes the United States any different?

How would your mind perceive the following sequence of events if you were watching this unfold in another country?

Supreme Court judges betray their oath and prevent votes from being counted in a national election to install an unelected president. (Coordinated nationwide election fraud provides him a second term.)

Nine months later a spectacular mass murder takes place in a major city that involves three skyscrapers imploding into their own footprints within ten seconds each, pulverizing all of the non-metallic constituents into a fine powder that covers the city. Evidence from the crime scene is immediately removed and the unelected regime obstructs investigation into the crime for over one year. Without evidence or trial, foreign patsies are blamed for the crime by a Commission appointed by the unelected president.

The unelected president and his regime relentlessly invoke the memory of this shocking event to justify:

The most radical reconstruction of the Government in fifty years;

Systematic destruction of civil liberties and constitutional protections;

Systematic transfer of government services and functions to private corporations;

Ongoing seizure and privatization of public assets by corporate and foreign entities;

Dictatorial seizure of unconstitutional Executive authority with presidential signing statements;

Government surveillance of citizens: phone, Internet, banking, medical records, library records;

Government infiltration, harassment and arrest of peace groups;

Arrest and murder of journalists; seizure of their equipment and film;

Government kidnapping, detention and torture of harmless citizens;

Wars of aggression perpetrated under false pretenses;

Blackwater mercenary bases within the country's borders;

Regional Fusion Centers used by police to collect information on every citizen;

Secret Government databases mark many citizens as 'terrorists';

Military units deployed to control the civilian population;

Unconstitutional Presidential control of State National Guards and local police;

Relentless propaganda that misinforms the public through controlled media outlets;

The regime is filled with ideological extremists and political appointees:

The Attorney General refuses to denounce torture or enforce Congressional subpoenas;

The Secretary of DHS is granted authority to waive all laws without judicial oversight;

The citizen who leased the demolished skyscrapers is awarded billions of dollars in insurance claims by the Judge who concurrently forbade victims to file claims against the government;

The White House Chief of Staff recruits Goldman Sachs colleague as Treasury Secretary; and

Trillions of dollars disappear from Pentagon accounts under the Comptroller of the Currency.

Congress systematically destroys financial sector regulations that protect the public;

The unelected president declares authority to suspend the Constitution and take over financial institutions;

The Federal Reserve Chairman and Treasury Secretary encourage and protect Wall Street fraud.

By Nikki Alexander

--Posted by Admin

09.19.08 - New event  Gandhi Retreat in January 2009, Santa Barbara, California. Wheels of Change is part of an awesome event coming up! Interested in devoting one week to learning about Gandhi and experimenting with communal living and personal discovery in beautiful southern California? For more info about this event, click here.  --Posted by Sandhya

09.10.08 - A big step  Today we signed the papers with the Pikes Peak Community Foundation that will allow us to operate as a non-profit organization under their 501(c)(3) umbrella.  This move has been a couple months in the making, and we're exceedingly happy to see it actually happen.  We will now be able to accept tax-deductible donations, and we're proud to be aligned with an organization as beneficial to this community as PPCF (check out their website and work here).

As our homepage indicates, we are going to start our community outreach programs with WOC Bikes.  In this program we will take old bikes, repair them so that they are serviceable, fit them with racks, fenders, and lights, and give them to people who want to use bikes for transportation.  More to come on this as autumn sets in and the craziness of summer winds down.  --Posted by Admin

08.19.08 - Change at a slow pace  Although it may look like nothing is happening at WOC, we are progressing.  Work on our forthcoming and inaugural WOC Bikes program is coming along.  We're working with another organization on some behind-the-scenes stuff.  The most visible progress, of course, comes with the site's small facelift and scattered reorganization.  We found that too many people were confused by WOC's homepage - that many folks weren't sure what we are about and what our purpose is.  So we changed the homepage to make it more clear and moved our rant-y Newsblog page to a dusty corner of the site.  This way, everyone's happy - WOC can pursue its true purpose, newcomers can figure WOC out, and I (Joey) can still rant away when the need arises, which seems to be frequently nowadays.

In any case, enjoy the site, check back for the inevitable updates, and have a great day!  --Posted by Joey

07.21.08 - Busy, busy.  Sure, we haven't posted here in a bit.  Things have been crazy lately - lots of research, pursuit of ideas, and a residence change all at once seems to fill up the calendar nicely.  Even so, I managed to take time to go to Venetucci Farm last week and work for a few hours.  Something about sitting in the dirt, pulling carrots, watching a huge thunderstorm make its way down the face of Cheyenne Mountain, is very relaxing and even comforting.  Being outside, in the elements, on the ground, makes me feel connected in a way that is very easy to lose when lost in the abstract world of non-profit research, business start-ups, signing leases, and so on.

The American culture as a whole has lost this connection.  We spend so much time immersed in abstraction, caught up in the day-to-day steps of what we call reality, that we forget exactly what reality is.  Our lost connection with that which sustains us - the earth - is dangerous and is steering us on a collision course with reality.  It would do us all good to take some time now and then to go to a farm, to the woods, to the wilderness - anywhere we can realize just how much we depend on the planet and just how little we actually matter in the grand scale of things.  To feel humbled and intrinsically connected is a good feeling, and one that fits much more realistically with our actual place in the world.

So check out a local farm.  Go backpacking in the wilderness for a few days.  At the very least, find a local farmers market and spend some time really looking at the produce, really talking to the farmers, really interacting with fellow humans.  Actively pursue that grounded feeling, and not only will you have a better attitude towards the world, but you'll feel much better as well.  I know I certainly did.  --Posted by Joey

07.10.08 - Back to the future  George Orwell's 1984 seems more and more like reality here in the first decade of the 21st century.  On one hand, we have the revised FISA bill signed just today, which grants immunity to huge telecommunication companies for helping the government spy on American citizens.  This is despite a Democratic Congress, which although weakly vocal against the bill, still managed to go ahead and pass it anyway, including a for vote by suddenly-center-reaching Barack Obama.  Thanks a lot, guys - way to be Republican Lite.

On the other hand, we have eerily familiar "lies are truth"-type thinking coming out of Dick Cheney's office, this time in relation to climate change, greenhouse gases, and detrimental health effects.  Just think - if we don't know about it, it won't hurt us!  Right?  Right??

I generally try to end my blog posts with a positive, encouraging message - but honestly, I'm somewhat discouraged right now.  Discouraged and angry.  Anger, I think, can be healthy at times - and I believe that the American people could use a little stirring up.  So be angry once in a while.  Work towards change in your daily life, etc., etc., but don't forget to just cause a scene every so often.  So long as we appear complacent, we probably are - so show a little righteous unrest!  --Posted by Joey

07.09.08 - Bicycle Patriotism  It's five days after the 4th of July and I'm being "patriotic":  I'm driving in a huge 15 passenger van from Colorado to Texas with gas prices currently over $4 per gallon.  As we fly South down Highway 25 we zip past a bicyclist wearing a stars and stripes jersey and waving a large American flag from the back of his bike.  I only have time to read the first few words painted on the back of his trailer, "On the road till our troops come home..."

I pause.  Who is this guy?  How long has he been on the road for?  And how long will it be until HE comes home?  A second wave of thought hits me.  Does this man's outfit of red, white and blue and the statement on his trailer strike me as contradictory or commentary?  What does patriotism really mean?  At least they're causing me to think about it.

Searching online I couldn't find out any information about this guy, but I do know one thing:  He's sending out a powerful message to those of us in gas-guzzlers as he pedals by completely fuel-independently.

If you have any information about this cyclist or see him on the road, please write to us at Wheels of Change.  --Posted by Sandhya

07.08.08 - Sign of the times  "Free scooter with every purchase!"  This is what a large, brightly colored sign read at a local car dealership this afternoon.  Riding my bicycle by, I did a double-take at what I thought had to be a joke - but nay, there were two pickup trucks proudly displayed by the road, each with a Vespa-type scooter lashed upright in the bed.  "70 mpg!" read the sign's next line.  My mind took a few seconds to work through all the implications and ironies, and then I couldn't help but to laugh out loud, partially in amusement at such a hare-brained scheme, and partially in joyous recognition of change on the breeze.

The scheme will probably work, at least for a little while.  It will work so long as the American people view high gasoline cost and oil shortages as temporary problems.  They will buy the big gas-guzzling pickup truck for their normal life and assume that they'll use the scooter when "things get bad".  The thing is, they're not temporary problems.  They are big, permanent problems, problems we've been building up since the Industrial Revolution, and they are just beginning to rear their extraordinarily ugly heads.  Sure, we'll see a downturn in the price of crude oil, of gasoline.  But mark this:  They will not last.  There is no objective information out there that paints a rosy picture of fossil fuel extraction, use, and future reliability.

So why buy the truck in the first place?  Detroit just wants to sell their latest behemoth, fresh off the outdated line.  Using a fuel-saving, energy-efficient transportation device to sell a fuel-guzzling, wasteful transportation device is ridiculously ironic.  That's like selling Twinkies on the virtue of the free organic vegetables you're giving away with them.

This doesn't have to be as complicated as it's made out to be.  Oil is finite.  We use too much of it.  We have two options - keep going the way we are, ignoring verifiable truth, and bring ourselves to the brink; or, we can change.  Change can be complicated or simple as well:  Complicated with proactive legislation that takes forever to become law, severe crisis management if we push it too far, and an absolute reluctance to tear ourselves away from the gasoline pump; or, simple in its grassroots viability, personal changes chosen before they are forced, and the eventual turning of the people's will towards a healthier, commonsensical world.  This last is what we at Wheels Of Change want to see, and what we work towards with all of our heart, caring, and might.  --Posted by Joey

07.04.08 - Independence Day  We need a new one.  A new Independence Day, that is.  Two hundred and thirty-two years ago we declared our independence from the oppressive rule of a tyrannical government that was completely out of touch with the things we cared about.  Today, we are under the oppressive rule of a corporatocratic government that is completely out of touch with the things we care about.  Placing profit and power above all else, the past couple decades of political operations have brought us corporations more powerful than countries, the undermining of our legal rights, sub-human treatment of non-Americans, government-sponsored spying on American citizens, a widening gap between the ultrarich and the destitute, and much more.  We are - economically, culturally, practically, completely - dependent upon oil, a finite resource that must be imported from very unstable parts of the world, and that destroys our living environment and our health as we use it.  We are engaged in wars over oil, wars that harm, oppress, or kill the people who live in the countries who happen to have oil.  We are a consumer culture dependent on materialism.  We are dependent on a broken and wasteful system for our very sustenance, our food.  We are an effete people, living in a way that is unsustainable and harmful to our fellow humans in other parts of the world.  We are, in short, not independent in any way that matters.

How shall we change this?  It won't happen overnight.  But to not start simply because the journey is so long is to be defeated in the worst way possible - by a thorough breaking of the will.  Spirit broken, unwilling to try for a better world, the American culture instead resorts to cheap patriotism - fireworks, flag-waving, shallow swellings of pride in our chests where a fiercely independent spirit used to reside.

Think I'm wrong?  Your will is still intact?  Prove it.  Make some change today.  Keep it going tomorrow.  Work towards a better world, even if the change only affects your little circle of the world.  Need ideas?  Check out the Resources section.  And be sure to read this new essay, Beyond Patriotism, by Peter Sprunger-Froese - it will open up some new doors in your mind.  --Posted by Joey

06.30.08 - "Massive" Saudi oil field will end all of our problems  No, really.  At least that's what you might think after reading a recent Associated Press article about the Khurais oil field in Saudi Arabia.  This "giant" oil field, along with two smaller ones nearby, contains about 27 billion barrels of oil "encased in solid rock 5000 feet below the baking desert".  The article goes on to inform us that the Saudis are building the infrastructure necessary to tap the field so that they can increase supply to meet surging global demand.  There's only one problem with this whole thing.  The entire underlying premise - that oil supply should and can rise to meet demand - is wrong.

We can do the math.  A 42-gallon barrel of crude oil produces about 19.5 gallons of 87-octane gasoline.  Given current US consumption levels, the 27 billion barrels in the untapped Khurais field would supply the USA alone for just over four years - hardly the panacea you might imagine after reading the AP article.  Furthermore, the estimated 260 billion barrels left under Saudi soil - the largest reserve on the planet at 25% of the total - would only last the USA alone for about 40 years at current consumption levels.  Factor in the inevitable rise in annual American consumption, current demand from the rest of the world, and the future tsunami of demand from China and India, and even the simplest mathematician can see that there is no way this is going to end well, and it will end soon.

Why do we continue to fool ourselves?  There is no magical land where limitless, previously unknown oil reserves are going to come bubbling up through hot sand.  So instead of burying our heads in that hot sand, looking for an answer we want so desperately to be true, let's stand up straight and tall.  Let's look at the problem at hand with clear eyes and realize that we simply cannot consume as much of a very, very finite resource as we currently do - not, at least, for very long.  Let's realize that instead of listening to AP fairytales about increased production, lower prices, and untapped oilfields, we should be preparing ourselves for the time when the oil industry's house of cards will crumble.  Conserve.  Drive less or not at all.  Buy local products that don't require long-distance transport.  Eat small-farm organic food that doesn't require energy-intensive farming practices and products.  There are so many ways to make a difference - all we have to do is take that first step!  --Posted by Joey

06.23.08 - Tin soldiers and Bush is comin'  Early 2003.  The scene: Fear and fear-mongers everywhere you turn.  Terrorists.  Indeterminate satellite photographs.  Weapons of mass destruction.  Promises of "shock and awe" tactics leading to a quick and bloodless (for us) war.  The smell of testosterone hangs heavy in the air, especially above Washington.  Saddam Hussein is "linked" to Osama Bin Laden.  Mainstream media is overrun with images of patriotic flags waving, soldiers in camouflage snapping to attention, fighter jets screaming through the sky like ferocious eagles.

We all know where this scene led us - into an ill-conceived war with Iraq.  Pre-emptive aggression, fueled at the top by greed and personal vendettas, fueled among the people by lies and ignorance, carried us into a new age, one where we can and will attack any sovereign nation just because we want to.  The "quick and bloodless" war we were supposed to have is, five years later, still going strong, with hundreds of thousands dead, including thousands of our own.  It would seem that the Iraqi people didn't really want or need to be "liberated".  Operation Iraqi Liberation, indeed - otherwise known as O.I.L.

Here it is, 2008.  Somehow the ethically-demented administration that was around in 2003 is still around.  And in the relative twilight of their reign over the corporatocracy that is the USA, they are still beating on that old, profitable war drum.  This time they want to attack Iran, ostensibly because Iran has a nuclear program that will supposedly lead to a nuclear weapon.  This is despite the fact that Iran insists that their program is simply for the development of nuclear power plants.  This is despite the fact that a December 2007 report by US intelligence agencies found that Iran's work on nuclear weapons ended in 2003.  This is despite the fact that our military is already close to the breaking point with the prolonged conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This is despite the fact that only 17% of the citizenry thinks our country is headed in the right direction.  This is despite the fact that we ourselves are an aggressive country that has nuclear weapons.  This is despite the fact that they've been wholesale liars before and should know better than to try it again.  That they are trying again shows what little regard they have for the intelligence of the people they are supposed to be serving.

Bush is spouting off anti-Iran rhetoric almost every time he appears in public.  Cheney has been pushing for war behind the scenes for quite a while.  Our best buddy in the Middle East - Israel - recently conducted what they call a routine training mission, but what the rest of the world sees as a dress rehearsal for an attack on Iran.  While most of the globe is calling for moderation, diplomacy, and measured actions, the USA and its precious few remaining allies are ready to kill at a moment's notice.  We all know how that turned out the last time.  We should know better.  We are The People - this is supposed to be our country.  We cannot let another unjust war happen in our names.  Fool us once, shame on you, Bush Administration.  Fool us twice, shame on us.

We're smarter than that.  Create an outcry - contact your political representatives, put up signs, talk about the truth of the matter, make it a major public debate.  I don't want Iranian blood on my hands.  Do you?  --Posted by Joey

06.19.08 - In brighter news...  Things are happening here at Wheels Of Change.  Sandhya returns from India next week after months away volunteering for the water conservation organization GRAVIS.  We look forward to her return and the ideas and help she'll bring.  We are working on several big ideas right now behind the scenes; look for more info on a new WOC program within a few weeks.  There's a bit of a buzz in our little community about WOC right now - thanks for the support!  --Posted by Admin

06.19.08 - Something's backwards here.  According to a recent Associated Press report, American CEO pay rose in 2007, despite the fact that the American economy did very poorly.  The economy slowed to a crawl; profits across the board were down; stockholders lost money.  Everything points to the leaders of the American business world - corporate CEOs - doing a very poor job.  Except, of course, for their pay, which rose almost without exception.  The ten best-paid CEOs in America collectively made more than $500 million last year.  Half of them lead companies whose profits were dramatically down from previous years.

How long will we stand by and watch this kind of wholesale corruption?  CEOs are nothing special.  They are not inhuman (except, perhaps, for their lack of ethics).  If they can't do their job well, slash their pay.  They already make hundreds of times more than the average worker at their company.  They aren't hundreds of times more important.  Why do they receive a raise for poor performance?  Hold them to the same standards that most other people are.  Poor results, poor pay; if compensation isn't tied to job performance, what is to make them even care about their jobs?

What can we do?  Simple.  Whenever possible, don't support large corporations.  Instead, support small, local businesses.  Help out your fellow community members, keep everything transparent, and cut out the rotten, corrupted part of American business that brings us all down.  --Posted by Joey

06.09.08 - Reality comes through in the form of $4 gas  National average gasoline prices hit a record $4 a gallon over this past weekend on the heels of a huge surge in the price of crude oil.  Crude oil demand from countries like China and India shows no signs of slowing down, even as worldwide oil production does.  We in the United States still have it relatively easy - a gallon of gasoline in the UK costs about $10 - but we are so used to cheap, federally subsidized fossil fuel that even the $4 mark has the nation reeling in disbelief.  There's talk of how or if the economy can withstand such a blow; sales of SUV's and other large vehicles are falling off sharply; and George W. Bush is taking special trips to the Middle East to beg the Saudis for more oil production.  The big question is, how have we managed to not prepare for just this circumstance?  Indeed, anyone with the smallest foresight and basic logic could have seen where this was headed - and should be able to see where it will go from here.  Make no mistake, the price of oil will simply continue its upward spiral.  There will be downswings in the price - and people will go out and buy more Hummers, provided GM is still making them - but overall, the price will continue to rise, and there will be no long-term solution that relies on fossil fuel.

In bicycle shops around the country, more first-timers than ever are walking in and buying bikes for transportation use.  This has been evident in my town from a ground-level perspective as soccer moms, college kids, and out-of-shape businessmen pour in looking for ways to ease the crunch on their wallet.  Sales of Breezer commuter bikes - not an inexpensive bike, by any means - are skyrocketing as people begin to see the cash value of commuting by bicycle.

Good, I say; it is about time we began coming around to reality.  Now's the time - the sooner the better.  Check out your local bicycle shop.  Research public transit options in your area.  Try walking on short errands.  It's better to do it now, when you still have a choice, than later, when you may be absolutely forced to comply with the reality of fuel shortages.  Check out our primer on bicycle utility here.  Take action!  --Posted by Joey

06.03.08 - Congratulations, Mr. Obama.  After a hard-fought primary season, Barack Obama has become the Democratic presidential nominee.  We at WOC are happy to finally have someone we can vote for instead of against; we're proud to stand behind Obama as the best possible next president.  --Posted by Admin

06.01.08 - One new recipe and behind-the-scenes work  The DIY ethic doesn't stop short of food.  Make yourself a delicious dessert by following the newest recipe on the Recipe page (at the bottom of the page).  Our thanks to Jackie Pitts for the contribution - our taste buds are still happy from last week's batch of Chocolate-Chip Walnut Banana Bread.

We've been busy working behind the scenes on future WOC programs and projects.  As new as WOC is, we've plenty to do just following idea leads and bringing some of those ideas closer to reality.  In the meantime, new material on our website will be appearing sporadically as we get time to write, gather, post, and so on.  Thanks for the support!  --Posted by Admin

05.24.08 - Greenwashing in the automotive world  In yesterday's Gazette, Colorado Springs' daily newspaper, there was an automotive review of the 2008 Lexus LS 600h L.  As the article's writer noted, "There's a new snob factor for today's well-heeled, luxury car buyers - it's all about being green."  The point, of course, is that this $108,000 Lexus is a hybrid - it utilizes an electric motor as well as a gasoline engine.

Well, cool, I thought.  Perhaps greener methods of dragging 5000-pound boxes around everywhere are beginning to catch on.  Then I noticed the gas mileage rating: 20 mpg city/22 mpg hwy.  I looked at that hard for a moment, and realized that - and this is no joke - the 1977 Chevrolet Nova I owned as a teenager had the same fuel efficiency, even as a 20-year-old relic from the muscle car era.

There's something really wrong with that.  Does having the ability to claim your car as a hybrid really matter if it still gets half the gas mileage of a full-gas, 1988 Honda CRX?  Hybrids are supposed to save fuel overall, not allow you to drive an even bigger, more powerful vehicle than before.  The Lexus in question has V8 engine and a 5.5-second 0-60 time.  Neither of those are necessary for the intended application, and both are ridiculous.  Including hybrid technology as part of this vehicle is nothing more than a marketing ploy, for all those snobs who want to claim they're "green" without actually doing anything of consequence.

Average American vehicle fuel mileage has actually gone down over the past two decades, even in the face of increasingly expensive and decreasingly available fuel.  Contact your political representatives - urge them to support various legislation raising the fuel mileage bar.  Refuse to buy newer vehicles with insanely low mileage numbers.  If you must have outrageous performance for your daily commute - and can afford $108,000 - look into the Tesla Roadster, which is a beautiful full-electric hot rod that's faster than most Porsches and Ferraris, and is 50 times more efficient than the average fossil fuel car.   --Posted by Joey

05.23.08 - Why is this a common theme?  Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but I'm wondering why the subject of assassination and Barack Obama seems to be a common theme in the political scene currently.  The latest invoker of such idiocy is none other than the Republican-Lite (technically Democratic) presidential nominee candidate Hillary Clinton.  Speaking Friday in South Dakota about the possibility of dropping out of the race, she referred to the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy as a reason to continue campaigning despite sharply dwindling chances of winning the nomination.  Implicit, of course, was the idea that Obama may well be assassinated before election day - especially coming on the heels of a similar-material comment by Mike Huckabee.

What is this country we live in?  Are there so many racists among us that, here in the 21st century, in our global and diverse community, a black man cannot run for president of the United States without intense fear for his life?  Or are there so many fear-mongers among us that we are afraid to vote for him because we truly fear for his life?  Or is it both?  This country is supposedly a democratic, tolerant one.  This country supposedly respects all kinds and believes in the innate equality of all.  This country currently is and believes none of these things.

Stand up, fellow Americans!  Don't stand for this ridiculous subversive takeover of our minds and wills through subtle psychological methods.  Don't give in to manufactured fear.  We need a change - of policy, of politics, of people in power.  For the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama is our best chance for that change.  McCain is more of the same; Clinton is more of the same.  Should Clinton become the nominee and get elected president, we will have been under Bush or Clinton "leadership" for over 20 years.  That's approaching some sort of twisted monarchy.  Our current system isn't working; let's not perpetrate it.  Vote for change!  --Posted by Joey

05.21.08 - Bad Jokes and Good Happenings  By now you may have heard about GOP member Mike Huckabee's joke about Barack Obama getting shot.  That's right - Huckabee, speaking to 6000 NRA members in Louisville, Kentucky, was interrupted by a loud noise.  Pausing for a moment, he then said, "That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he - he dove for the floor."  While his outrageous "joke" raised a fair bit of commotion in the progressive community, the mainstream press hardly picked up on it at all.  So, let's get this straight:  The Reverend Wright, associated with Obama, makes some fiery and incendiary, but not threatening, remarks and the mainstream press raises a huge fuss about Obama's suitability to be president.  On the other hand, Huckabee, associated with the entire GOP/conservative/Republican side of things, makes a joke about Obama getting assassinated, and the mainstream press ignores it.

We are nowhere near as over the race issue as we think we are.  Will anyone who actually thinks Huckabee's comment was funny or even appropriate please stand up and raise their hand?  I want to know who you are.  Had the roles been reversed, Obama would have been loudly branded as a radical racist.  But good ol' boy Huckabee simply made an "offhand comment".  Huckabee then went on to talk about the lack of morals in our country and how we cannot live in a "moral vacuum".  Hmmm.  Righto.  Is blatant racism an example of good moral fiber?

In more encouraging news, I've recently been noticing and talking to a lot of people using their bicycles for utility purposes.  Not just any people, either - people who you would definitely not expect to ride bicycles at all.  I've heard many reasons, ranging from personal health to environmental concerns to fuel prices.  Whatever the reason, it is nice to finally notice a significant increase in the number of average citizens who understand the many benefits of staying out of those big metal boxes we call automobiles.  Want to joint the ranks of everyday people who are being smart and using bikes?  Click here for our primer on bicycle utility!  --Posted by Joey

05.14.08 - Hillary Wins Big In West Virginia - But Why?  The latest news from the Democratic presidential nominee race is of Hillary Clinton's big win in West Virginia, beating Barack Obama by over two to one.  In a close race that is dividing the Democratic party and showing the candidates' true colors, we should take this not as a sign of Clinton's worthiness to be president, but as a sign of effective marketing on her part.  Clinton has resorted to negative campaigning and vicious attacks on Obama to carry her this far, even as Obama has tried again and again to take the high road and keep the race honorable.  In West Virginia, Clinton's tactics worked well with the electorate, which was 95% white and has significantly lower levels of education and income than in many other places.  Clinton has traditionally done well with low-income, "blue-collar" voters - the question is why.

Anyone who can just loan their campaign $11.4 million of their own money - as Clinton has - certainly can't be considered blue-collar.  Clinton certainly shouldn't be considered as "in touch" with what the average blue-collar worker has to deal with on a day-to-day basis.  She - and Obama as well - is a wealthy politician, and is in no way truly representative of the majority of the people living in our country today.  Within her typical voting base, Obama is often viewed as an intellectual, out of touch with the public, a white-collar "super-liberal", and perhaps most insidiously and quietly, a black man.  Somehow Clinton - certainly not un-educated - escapes this sort of labeling, even though she is educated herself and as white-collar as one can be. 

Besides - when did it become uncool to be educated?  To believe in diplomacy?  Just because Obama speaks eloquently and has nuanced takes on things does not mean that he is a pie-in-the-sky intellectual.  It means he's a smart man who is more than qualified to be president, just on virtue of attitude and intelligence alone.  After the slash-and-burn politics of the last eight-year administration, however, many voters seem more than ready to elect yet another ham-handed, negative, unrealistic president - like Clinton would be.  After all, someone who will suspend the gas tax - a simple-minded ploy for simple-minded votes if ever there was one, and one of the reasons for Clinton's win in WV - in the face of many excellent reasons to not do so, is obviously ready only to pander to whomever she needs to in order to get what she wants.  What will happen when the people are replaced by lobbyists?  Will she pander to their special interests as well, and as easily?  That answer seems an obvious yes.

Let's elect a president who can look beyond instant gratification of our zero-attention-span citizenry.  Let's elect a president who can, in the tradition of the great presidents of the past, use diplomacy as an effective tool and military force only when needed, instead of the other way around.  Let's elect a president who doesn't have to resort to mud-slinging.  Let's elect a president who doesn't pretend he's something he's not.  Let's elect Barack Obama.  --Posted by Joey

05.12.08 - First Day's Response  Wow.  The first day's response to the launch of Wheels Of Change has been overwhelming, to say in the least.  Thanks to everyone who's checked out the site and emailed with thoughts!  We certainly appreciate the positive feedback and the motivation that it brings.  --Posted by Admin

05.11.08 - Welcome to Wheels Of Change!  We're trying to make a difference in the world.  We believe that positive change can happen from the ground up.  We're just getting started!

You're looking at a website that represents several things:  1. The beginnings of what will hopefully become a meaningful organization aimed at helping bring positive change in the social and environmental spheres.  2. The manifestation of the idealism of a couple of young, energetic, and hopeful people.  3. What will eventually become a large resource base, created by many knowledgeable, interested, and involved parties.  Finally, you're looking at a work in progress.  This site will be changing often as we add material.  Keep us in mind and check back frequently.  By all means, if you have something to contribute, use the link above to contact us!

To get an idea of who we are and what we're trying to do here, browse through the links above, starting with the About section.  Thanks, enjoy, and take action!  --Posted by Admin