It's Valerie Tutson's Birthday! (January 29)

Happy Birthday, Valerie!

Rhode Islanders reading this blog will probably know who Valerie Tutson is.
And Valerie is known nationally and internationally as well...

Here is an excerpt from the biography on her site:

Valerie Tutson was graduated from Brown University with a Masters Degree in
Theatre Arts and a degree in a self-designed major—Storytelling As A
Communications Art. Valerie has been telling stories in schools, churches, libraries,
festivals and conferences since 1991. She draws her stories from around the world
with an emphasis on African traditions. Her repertoire includes stories and songs she
learned in her travels to South Africa, her experiences in West Africa, stories from
African American history. In addition, she is gaining quite a reputation for her
exciting retelling of age-old Bible stories. She not only delights listeners with her
tale-telling, she also teaches workshops and classes to students of all ages, and
hosts CULTURAL TAPESTRY, an award-winning show for COX 3 celebrating the
diverse cultures around us. Valerie has most recently served as the co Director of the
National Black Storytelling Festival in Providence, RI

Her website is:
http://www.valerietutson.com/

And if you use facebook, you can follow it on NetworkedBlogs.

I cannot even remember when I first saw Valerie perform at Rites & Reason Theatre...but she was phenomenal.

We know that Valerie hails from Connecticut, but We Claim Valerie as a Rhode Islander, thank you very much.

Wherever you are, Valerie, I hope that you have a Joyful day and know how Grateful we are for your many Gifts.

Somewhere Marsha Z. West smiles.

"Too Liberal For Obama" or I Rarely Promote T-Shirts, But This One is Special

Thanks to the blog, No Blood For Hubris, I have learned about this t- shirt:

Here is the link to order them, and you can give No Blood For Hubris credit, and they will benefit financially.

If you visit that site, I strongly recommend her blogroll, even though this little blog isn't yet there...We can dream. (chuckle).. I first found NBFH thanks to Jesus' General.

Hopeful Message from Port au Prince

Although I am rarely there, I am an attender of the Providence Monthly Meeting of Friends, and an active reader of emails on the listserv (yecch sorry about that word). Elsie sent this out, and it is very moving. I do not know the author, but this person wants this message shared, and I am happy to do so!

Addendum: 4:05 P.M. [still Thursday the 21st]
Here is the link to Sasha Kramer's blog and within, more information about Sasha's history and that of S.O.I.L...

Sasha Kramer sent a message to the members of Sustainable Organic Integrated
Livelihoods (SOIL).

--------------------
Subject: Kouraj cherie: Update from Port au Prince

January 19, 2010

This afternoon, feeling helpless, we decided to take a van down to Champs
Mars (the area around the palace) to look for people needing medical care to
bring to Matthew 25, the guesthouse where we are staying which has been
transformed into a field hospital. Since we arrived in Port au Prince
everyone has told us that you cannot go into the area around the palace
because of violence and insecurity. I was in awe as we walked into
downtown, among the flattened buildings , in the shadow of the fallen
palace, amongst the swarms of displaced people there was calm and
solidarity. We wound our way through the camp asking for injured people who
needed to get to the hospital. Despite everyone telling us that as soon as
we did this we would be mobbed by people, I was amazed as we approached each
tent people gently pointed us towards their neighbors, guiding us to those
who were suffering the most. We picked up 5 badly injured people and drove
towards an area where Ellie and Berto had passed a woman earlier. When they
saw her she was lying on the side of the road with a broken leg screaming
for help, as they were on foot they could not help her at the time so we
went back to try to find her. Incredibly we found her relatively quickly at
the top of a hill of shattered houses. The sun was setting and the
community helped to carry her down the hill on a refrigerator door, tough
looking guys smiled in our direction calling out “bonswa Cherie” and
“kouraj”.

When we got back to Matthew 25 it was dark and we carried the patients back
into the soccer field/tent village/hospital where the team of doctors had
been working tirelessly all day. Although they had officially closed down
for the evening, they agreed to see the patients we had brought. Once our
patients were settled in we came back into the house to find the doctors
amputating a foot on the dining room table. The patient lay calmly, awake
but far away under the fog of ketamine. Half way through the surgery we
heard a clamor outside and ran out to see what it was. A large yellow truck
was parked in front of the gate and rapidly unloading hundreds of bags of
food over our fence, the hungry crowd had already begun to gather and in the
dark it was hard to decide how to best distribute the food. Knowing that we
could not sleep in the house with all of this food and so many starving
people in the neighborhood, our friend Amber (who is experienced in food
distribution) snapped into action and began to get everyone in the crowd
into a line that stretched down the road. We braced ourselves for the
fighting that we had heard would come but in a miraculous display of
restraint and compassion people lined up to get the food and one by one the
bags were handed out without a single serious incident.

During the food distribution the doctors called to see if anyone could help
to bury the amputated leg in the backyard. As I have no experience with
food distribution I offered to help with the leg. I went into the back with
Ellie and Berto and we dug a hole and placed the leg in it, covering it with
soil and cement rubble. By the time we got back into the house the food had
all been distributed and the patient Anderson was waking up. The doctors
asked for a translator so I went and sat by his stretcher explaining to him
that the surgery had gone well and he was going to live. His family had
gone home so he was alone so Ellie and I took turns sitting with him as he
came out from under the drugs. I sat and talked to Anderson for hours as he
drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point one of the Haitian men
working at the hospital came in and leaned over Anderson and said to him in
kreyol “listen man even if your family could not be here tonight we want you
to know that everyone here loves you, we are all your brothers and sisters”.
Cat and I have barely shed a tear through all of this, the sky could fall
and we would not bat an eye, but when I told her this story this morning the
tears just began rolling down her face, as they are mine as I am writing
this. Sometimes it is the kindness and not the horror that can break the
numbness that we are all lost in right now.

So, don’t believe Anderson Cooper when he says that Haiti is a hotbed for
violence and riots, it is just not the case. In the darkest of times, Haiti
has proven to be a country of brave, resilient and kind people and it is
that behavior that is far more prevalent than the isolated incidents of
violence. Please pass this on to as many people as you can so that they can
see the light of Haiti, cutting through the darkness, the light that will
heal this nation.

We are safe. We love you all and I will write again when I can. Thank you
for your generosity and compassion.

With love from Port au Prince,
Sasha

I was going to select certain lines and put them in bold face or italics, because they particularly captured me, but as I reread this, I think the entire letter deserves attention.

Who Sponsors Rush?

As readers of this blog are surely aware, a certain commentator (? to be euphemistic) named Rush made some explicit statements discouraging people from contributing to Haiti relief efforts and using this tragedy to attack Barack Obama. It is easy to find the comments. One can search "Rush...comments...Haiti" and then see thousands of entries.

My blogging friend MaryScott O' Connor has thoughtfully provided information on his sponsors.

Lending Tree: 704-541-5351
Web Form Email: http://www.lendingtree.com

Life Quotes: 800-670-5433
... See More
e-Harmony: 626-795-4814; Fax: 626-585-4040
usersupport@eharmony.com

Inverness Medical: 800-899-7353
51 Sawyer Road, Waltham, MA 02021

OnStar: 800-947-AUTO
(GEICO)

Hotwire Corporate Headquarters: 877-468-9473
333 Market Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94105
advertising@hotwire.com

CARBONITE, Inc.: 617-587-1100
177 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
david.friend@carbonite.com
Direct Dial Office: 617-587-1100 EXT:1115

Select Comfort: 763-551-7460
d/b/a Sleep Number Bed: 800-438-2233

The Neptune Society of Northern California
Stewart Enterprises
12070 Telegraph Road, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670

Oreck Corporation: 800-289-5888
100 Plantation Road, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123

Smart & Final, Customer Relations
PO Box 512377, Los Angeles, CA 91001-0377
(Heard on KFI 640 in Los Angeles)

Mid-West Life Insurance Co. Tennessee: 800-733-1110
9151 Grapevine Hwy, North Richland Hills, TX 76180
(Web banner ads on rushlimbaugh.com)

AutoZone Inc.: 901-495-7185; Fax: 901-495-8374
P.O. Box 2198, Memphis, TN 38101
investor.relations@autozone.com

Mission Pharmacal (Citrical): 800-531-3333
P.O. Box 786099, San Antonio, TX 78278-6099

LegalZoom
800-773-0888; Fax: 323-962-8300
Site has a Web Form

Blue-Emu: 800-432-9334

Lumber Liquidators: 877-645-5347
Web Form Email

Citrix Online (GoToMyPC)
6500 Hollister Avenue, Goleta, CA 93117
Phone: 805-690-6400; Fax: 805-690-6471
info@citrixonline.com

American Forces Network
Contact Us: @MyAFN.net

Also, Rush is to be a judge for the Miss America Pageant.
Scheduled for January 30, 2010.
Contact person is Sharon Pearce: sharon@missamerica.org

Here are more sponsors:
Show Your Support to Rush's Sponsors (his site)... See More
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/...

List of Radio Staions that Air Him
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/...

FCC Consumer Complaint:
http://esupport.fcc.gov/...
Includes "Obscene or indecent programs" and "unfair/biased" broadcasts.

Syndicated By: 1) Premier Radio Networks: 818-377-5300
http://www.premiereradio.com/
Corporate office: 15260 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Syndicated By: 2) Clear Channel: 210-822-2828
http://www.clearchannel.com/
Corporate Office: 200 East Basse Road, San Antonio, TX 78209

Maryscott's detailed, colorful, opinionated site, My Left Wing: A Liberal Translation
is simply a work of art!

Did Pat Robertson Really Say This About Haiti?

Please tell me this is not true.

PZ Myers also posts about this.

"Harriet Jacobs" a production in Massachusetts with Rhode Islanders...

This looks wonderful!

Harriet Jacobs

A collaboration between Underground Railway Theater and The Providence Black Repertory Company, this East Coast Premiere by Lydia R. Diamond brings Harriet Jacobs' astonishing true story, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, to the stage. This "immensely sophisticated" play about human oppression, and how certain people rise above it, allows Jacobs to reach out to us from her own era and compel us to look at our history as if for the first time in her unsparing yet beautifully poetic coming-of-age story.

Adapted by Lydia R. Diamond
Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian
Set and Object Design by Susan Zeeman Rogers
Lighting design by David Roy
Costume design by Chip Schoonmaker
Original music by Clarice LaVerne-Thompson
Movement design by Melody Ruffin Ward
Stage Managed by Dominique Burford



Featuring:
Kortney Adams, Ramona Alexander, Sheldon Best, De'lon Grant, Obehi Janice, Mishell Lilly, Kami Smith, and Raidge.

There is a facebook page

Wishing Henry Shelton Health in 2010 !

Henry Shelton, one of the bravest, kindest, wisest people in all of Rhode Island (yes, we are small, but we have population density!) is in the hospital and is not surprisingly continuing to organize.

Belated Happy Birthday to Carol!

Here is a link to a personal essay about history, nonviolence and the Jewish community of Zakynthos.

The George Wiley Center
is worth supporting in any way possible...


The snow is falling in Providence. I hope this is a peaceful New Year's Eve for everyone. Thank you for your patience and faith and activism.

Howard Zinn Documentary -- December 13!

This looks wonderful!

"The People Speak"

will premiere on Sunday, December 13, 2009, at 8 pm (7 pm central), on the History Channel.

ABOUT THE PEOPLE SPEAK

Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, the documentary feature film THE PEOPLE SPEAK gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice.

Narrated by acclaimed historian Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, A People's History of the United States and, with Anthony Arnove, Voices of a People's History, THE PEOPLE SPEAK illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today and reminds us never to take liberty for granted.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK is produced by Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Chris Moore, Anthony Arnove, and Howard Zinn, co-directed by Moore, Arnove and Zinn, and features and dramatic and musical performances by Brolin, Damon, Rosario Dawson, Bob Dylan, Michael Ealy, Lupe Fiasco, Morgan Freeman, Jasmine Guy, John Legend, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Sandra Oh, Viggo Mortensen, Bruce Springsteen, Marisa Tomei, Kerry Washington, and many others.

Check out Howardzinn.org

I have met this wonderful man many years ago and heard him speak in person...

Third Annual Ciara Durkin Toy Drive is December 5!

The 3rd annual Ciara Durkin Toy Drive will take place on Saturday, December 5 from 12-2pm at the Kennedy Senior Center, 440 East Squantum St Quincy, MA to benefit Toys for Tots.

Special guests will be in attendance for pictures and autographs.

There will be a raffle to benefit the Quincy Crisis Center

Enter to win a Matt Light autographed football or a Luis Tiant autographed baseball!



Watching President Obama give his speech a few days ago, I wondered what Ciara would think of it all...

A Rhode Islander Blogs From California...

Thanks to facebook, I have rediscovered my friend Karen from Cranston who moved to California many years ago. She has a wonderful blog, Tour de Farce.

Another site I recommend is Left Take
"Leftake is dedicated to showcasing the creativity, humor, and viewpoints of the progressive community."

Vigil Against the War: December 2

Yesterday, I received from the local chapter of the American Friends Service Committee the email below...



Action Alert: AFSC and many other groups have mobilized thousands of calls to the White House to
plead for no escalation and for an end to the occupation of Afghanistan. It appears that the President is not listening to the people and will indeed escalate the war. If that is the announcement made on Tuesday, there will be demonstrations across the country the following day. Please join us.

President Obama will not be going to West Point on Tuesday to announce the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Instead, it is widely anticipated that he will be doing his best to sell the escalation of the war to the U.S. people.

This will be a tragic moment in our history and for the future of our country, Afghanistan and other nations.

As even many leading figures in the Democratic Party recognize, the war and its escalation cannot make U.S. Americans safe. With the vast majority of Afghans alienated from the corrupt Karzai government and angered by the foreign military occupation, the war cannot bringing development, democracy, security, or women's rights to Afghanistan. It is killing Afghan civilians and U.S./NATO troops. It is stealing badly needed funds from housing, jobs, health care, and climate protection.

Call your Congressional Representative and Senators, who have the power to not fund what the President calls for, at 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121. Tell them to demand

* A timeline for withdrawal of U.S./NATO forces
* No additional troops sent to Afghanistan
* Pursuit of talks with all parties to the conflict
* Provision of generous civilian-led development funds

President Obama will speak on TV at 8pm Tuesday night. Assuming that he will announce an escalation of troop levels, as predicted by the media, we will protest the next day, Wednesday, from 5-6 pm.

Providence: Burnside Park at the corner of Kennedy Plaza and Exchange Streets (the end toward the Post Office and Federal Court House).


Cape Cod: Gather at every town hall.

Bring candles, signs and your determination to insist on an end to the madness.

Martha Yager
AFSC-SENE
PO Box 3692
S. Attleboro MA 02703
508-399-6699

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. Rabindranath Tagore

Providence College Hockey Alum Finds His Gay Pride

It has been a long time since this blog touched on Providence College, but this story is deserving.

This is by John Buccigross of ESPN:

"I hope the day comes, and soon, when this is not a story." -- Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke

Imagine this.

Well before you are born, your dad plays college hockey at Providence College and wears the "C" for Friars coach and Hockey Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello. Your dad is then a member of the Calder Cup-winning Maine Mariners AHL team. He admits to having little skill, but contributes rough and tough qualities. You know, like pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence. He's a man, baby.

My knowledge of hockey and hockey culture is minuscule, but this story fills in a few gaps. Some day this kind of story will be uninteresting and not newsworthy, but we haven't gotten there yet.

This One Should Close: The "School" Of the Americas

The School of the Americas (SOA) has been training people to commit unmentionable crimes since 1946. It has a new name, Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation with new acronyms, and the curriculum now includes 8 (eight!) hours of human rights instruction. The wikipedia entry is worth visiting.

Among the links that article offers are to the official website and to its defenders...

Four people were arrested there this weekend. Thank You to all who were present there this weekend and for past vigils. I found an article from 2003 by Richard Dujardin about two Rhode Islanders who participated then...

I hope and pray that President Obama and his staff pay serious attention to this Institute. The best thing we could do is to have it closed, and to try to learn from its horrors.

Rhode Island Gets Good Press

The powerful blog, GRACE PALEY: Pressing The Limits of Action has posted the text of the Providence Journal article from yesterday, and the accompanying photo.

This blog is followed and discovered by readers of Grace Paley's poetry and fiction, and by her many students and friends and family members.

Carcieri's veto was publicized by Stephen Colbert, PZ Myers, and many others.

Vigil And Funeral Procession Against gov. Carcieri's Veto

Update:

Here's a blog with a photo from last night.


As has been widely acknowledged outside of our fair state:


On Tuesday November 10, 2009, Governor Donald Carcieri
killed a bill that would allow non-married couples the right
to plan the funerals of their deceased partners. Please join in solidarity for a vigil and funeral procession this Thursday.

I have just learned of this vigil and funeral, thanks to Providence Daily Dose


Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Location: Statehouse sidewalk facing the Providence Place Mall.

There is a facebook page for this "event".

Rhode Island's Buy Nothing Day Approaches!

This text I lift from the Green Party website:

13th Annual Buy Nothing Day
Winter Coat Exchange
Friday, November 27th, 2009 10:00am - 2:00pm
Buy Nothing Day logo
If you have a coat to give, please drop it off.
If you need a coat, please pick one up.
State House lawn (directly across from Providence Place mall)
* Rain/Snow sites: St. Patrick's School, 244 Smith Street, Providence
& The Blackstone Valley Visitor's Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket
Other Coat Exchange Sites:
Newport: St Paul's Church, 12 Marlborough Street
Wakefield: St. Francis Church, 114 High Street 10:00am - NOON
Woonsocket: St. Ann's Arts & Cultural Center, 84 Cumberland Street

And here's some info in Spanish:

13th Evento Anual Día de No Comprar Nada
Intercambio de Abrigos de Invierno
Viernes, Noviembre 27, 2009 10:00am - 2:00pm
Buy Nothing Day logo
Si usted tiene un abrigo que no usa, por favor tráigalo.
Si usted necesita un abrigo, por favor recójalo.
Área verde de la Casa Estatal (directamente enfrente del centro comercial Providence Place)
Ubicación en caso de Nieve/lluvia: St. Patrick's School, 244 Smith Street, Providence
y Blackstone Valley Visitor Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket
Otros Sitios de Intercambio de Abrigos:
Newport: St Paul's Church, 12 West Marlborough Street
Wakefield: St. Francis Church, 114 High Street 10:00am - NOON
Woonsocket: St. Ann's Arts & Cultural Center, 84 Cumberland Street

El 27 de noviembre, el día más atareado en el calendario Americano de ventas y el inicio internacional no-oficial de las compras de Navidad, miles de activistas y ciudadanos concientes, en 65 países, se desintoxicarán del consume durante 24 horas, como parte del Día de no Comprar Nada, un fenómeno global que se originó en Vancouver, Canadá.

Las razones para participar en el Día de no Comprar Nada son tan variadas como las personas que eligen participar. Algunas lo ven como un escape de los trucos mentales de mercadeo y de la histeria de consumismo que caracteriza la época y nuestra cultura en general. Otros utilizan la oportunidad para exponer las consecuencias ambientales y éticas del exceso en consumo.

En Providence, como parte del Día Internacional de no Comprar Nada, llevamos a cabo un intercambio de abrigos en el área verde de la Casa Estatal, directamente enfrente del centro comercial Providence Place. Contamos con más de 60 co-patrocinadores del evento — organizaciones comunitarias, iglesias, grupos ambientales y promotores de la paz, así como voluntarios que ayudan en la actividad.
Información Para Contacto:
Providence: Greg Gerritt (401)331-0529, gerritt@mindspring.com
Providence: Phil Edmonds (401)273-4650, philwhistle@juno.com
Pawtucket: Arthur Plitt (401)724-8915, kingarthur02940@yahoo.com
Newport: Maggie Bulmer (401)849-3537
Wakefield: Tom Abbott (401)364-0778
Woonsocket: Roger Bonin (401)728-8328

I have added the Rhode Island area code...cuatro cero uno...four oh one...

Spam Spam Spam Spam Oy Vey

Alas, this blog has been receiving increasing robotic sales and porn pitches. This would bother me less if the readership was also growing significantly.

Ironically, the spam seems to be drawn to one of Democommie's posts...

Once last year there was a spam comment that was so brief and polite that I decided to leave it in peace.

The current crop is lengthy and super-annoying. I have changed the comment moderation and hope that this is a deterrent.

My friend Dnaz has had the identical problem.

Rhode Islander, John McDaid, Celebrates Birthday at Blogging Conference

Belated Happy Birthday to Portsmouth's John McDaid!

Yesterday was his birthday, and he went to an event in New York...

Did they sing Happy Birthday to him?

His blog:
hard deadlines
localblogging Portsmouth

is just a wonderful place to visit whether or not you live in Rhode Island.

Providence Celebrates the Hudson Street Delicatessen

I blogged a few months ago about the departure of the famed Hudson Street Market and the hope that something good would be born in its place (space?)...

And Yes, we have a Friendly Neighborhood Delicatessen:

The Hudson Street Delicatessen already has a facebook page!


There is one very funny little typo on the wall of that page. The first person who posts the typo in the comment section wins a prize from me. It will be something edible from the Deli, perhaps...


It will not be a Willow Street Wrap, however, I ate one yesterday and it was splendid.

Stopping Military Bulldozers Is A Good Thing: Support Ezra Nawi

Grace Paley, Harold, Rhett Jones and Marsha Z. West would all be supporting this man.

And my Bubbe, whose birthday is next week, would too.

Here's a short piece about Ezra Nawi.

And here's the Free Ezra site from Jewish Voice for Peace.

Oops! I just found a link to the Support Ezra site, which has more information and links....