October 4 Dujour & Michael Moore letter
Tuesday October 4, 2005
We will all be spending the day today, which just happens to be Rosh Hashanah, with the Moon in the free-fall zone of Void. At 5:03 p.m. this evening, she will jump back to work, but until then she needs to gather her ‘Chi’. When she heads into the next sign, which is Scorpio, she will be a very busy rock, as the celestial canopy is studded with planets in fixed signs, all waiting for her to respond to them.
With my teeny tiny knowledge of Jewish holidays, I know only that Rosh Hashanah is the ‘Holy New Year’. It is a time of repentance and fresh starts. All religions have special holidays where there is a custom of ‘re-booting’…and I personally think that it is a GOOD thing to have a fresh canvas. From what I have read, Rosh Hashanah is a bit like a 12 step program. It is the day that you ‘return to the scene of the crime’ and make things right by correcting your ‘unfinished business’, or ‘off choices’ you may have made in the past (otherwise known as ‘mistakes’). This seems quite enlightened, and I think it is interesting that this holiday comes on the cusp of Virgo (sorting, getting clear) and Libra (putting into balance that which is out of alignment).
So, happy Rosh Hashanah to all of you who practice this enlightened holiday, and for all of us of Other spiritual ways, it is good to check regularly to see if our inner worlds match our outer worlds. It is the best way I know to be happy, and it is the one way I know to avoid getting ‘lost’ in the universe!
All of the aspects of this day have all ready occurred as I write this Dujour. Actually, I am writing under the influence of a Moon/Jupiter conjunction! How apropos that I speak of religion, and balance, as this is the exact combination of the meaning of Jupiter (religion) and Libra (balance).
After Luna’s air connections (conjunct Mercury in Libra at 4:29 a.m.; sextile Pluto at 2:05 a.m. and conjunct Jupiter at 8:15 a.m.) there’s just nothing else to do today until this evening!
This void is a clear, lunar-free zone and actually the biggest aspect today is one that will be exact tomorrow. It is Mercury conjunct Jupiter, both traveling through the late degrees of Libra.
This is most likely the big Ta-Da of the courts….Libra is the sign of ‘justice’. We have Roberts starting as ‘Chief Justice’ and Bush’s personal lawyer about to head on in and take up a seat. This will be convenient for him if he ever gets impeached. Never hurts to put all of your best friends in all of the key positions. Can’t fault him for his logic, or for stacking the deck. WE are the ones who seem to sit idly by and let it be. I have my ‘Revolution in a Box’ kit sitting here, just waiting to use it! (It’s not really that exciting, for me, it’s just this old keyboard—it is personally freeing to be able say stuff) What of course, the revolution lacks is a leader that the motley crew of free thinking individuals would follow. That is a bit of a task.
Being a hippie-pinko-liberal-bleeding-heart sort, I nominate Michael Moore. He is on the scene DOING STUFF…for those of you who are not on his mailing list, I am including his most recent letter at the end of today's Dujour.
I really just want to say one thing and be clear (must be the influence of Rosh Hashanah—oh no, that’s Catholism—my old Alma Mater--it’s my need to confess!) As far as politics go, here is my belief in a nutshell: I am totally opposed to spending 8/10ths of the money in our country on weapons to kill/maim/torture in the name of “security, peace and justice”. I want that money to go for schools, medicine and social programs, and for science and ART!!!! There is my entire political agenda.
You know, I was watching this great show a while back on Venice. Do you know that it is built on a swamp, and could not be farmed? Those creative Italians (I claim relations, ahem) drove huge trees down into the swampy land to create a foundation. It is, in fact, built on a forest of petrified wood!!
We all know that Venice, which could not be used for traditional agricultural purposes, got clever and being in the trade route, began to develop their merchant-ways. Everyone needed to stop over on this patch of ‘land’ and these Venice natives got VERY RICH. Okay, here’s my point. Do you know what they did with all of that money?
THEY FED THE POOR!!!! THEY SUPPORTED THE ARTS!!!!
They had it goin on.
So, here’s to Ancient Venice and its enlightened ways, and here’s to Rosh Hashanah and its enlightened ways. In spite of the strange times we are in, as long there are those who honor and respect others and take responsibility for their choices, and as long as there are those of our species who value ART, we just might survive ourselves.
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Michael Moore's letter:
10/4/05
Friends,
My staff has been down in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast for nearly a month now setting up and running our own relief effort with Veterans for Peace. The overwhelming response from so many of you has directly affected the lives of thousands of people. Here's what we've been able to do with your help:
** Over 500 tons of food, water, clothing, medical supplies, baby products, feminine hygiene products, cleaning supplies, power tools, and a boat and trailer for reaching those still flooded by water have been distributed directly to those in need
** Over 10,000 aid packages have been sent by you via UPS and FedEx to our camp and distributed
** Over two million dollars in donations, food, water, and supplies have been sent and distributed
** Tractor trailers, dozens of 20 foot trucks, six school buses, and other vehicles arrived loaded with supplies. Most stayed on to help distribute donations
** Over 200 chainsaws, 100 generators and 2,000 gallons of bleach have been distributed
** Over 100 people were walked through the FEMA application process
** Doctors, Physician's Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, Registered Nurses, LPNs Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Social Workers have volunteered from across the country and joined forces to create several mobile medical units providing prescription medication, first aid supplies, diabetic testing equipment, insulin and tetanus shots for those digging through the rubble of their homes
** 14 people were reunited with their families
But beyond all these statistics are the personal testimonies of what my staff has witnessed. Electricity was provided to a family whose young son suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, allowing him to continue his treatment until electricity in his neighborhood was restored. A 60 year old woman on a respirator was found, still in her home despite a gaping hole in the roof. We patched the roof and gave her food and water. Supplies were delivered to the Houma Indians, who had received no help (not even a visit) from the Red Cross or FEMA. A roof was put on their Cultural Center in Golden Meadows and a generator was provided to keep a years supply of seafood from spoiling in the sun. A man in Lefitte was found sitting on his porch, the house surrounded by four feet of water. A canoe-load of supplies was paddled to his doorstep by two of our volunteers. New Orleans evacuees joined our efforts. They served as our guides, leading us through now decimated communities and taking us to the areas of greatest need.
You can read more of these in the diaries on my website.
The harsh truth that I must report to you is that the federal government and Red Cross relief efforts are still a disorganized, embarrassing mess with little or no help reaching most people -- this more than a month after Katrina. It is the freelance guerilla efforts like ours that are getting through. We aren't waiting for approval and we aren't stopping. We will make sure Bush and Co. pay for their failure later, but right now hundreds of thousands are homeless, hungry and in need of medical attention. And the rest of us have a responsibility to help them.
We have joined forces with Saving Our Selves Katrina (S.O.S.), an organization that began as a temporary coalition of pre-existing community organizations. They are doing amazing work with volunteers and believe that concrete aid from community church-based organizations must fill the gaps when the government fails us. They have become, with your help, a bright light offering immediate relief to the families who have lost everything. Find out what SOS and other similar relief groups need, right now, from you.
Thanks again, everyone, for lending a hand. We won't give up and we know you won't either.
Yours,
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