CS2

Julie Edgar is passionate. So are most activists, you might say. She is smart. So are most activists. She is able to step back and see the big picture – she doesn’t lose the forest for the trees. Only some activists can do that. She can think on her feet and under pressure without getting flustered. Only a few activists have that gift. She has that indefinable thing we call presence. You know what I’m talking about. That certain individual who walks into a room and commands  attention by their mere presence. JFK used to have that. Whatever that is – Julie has it. Almost no activists have that. In addition, she is engaging, likable and has a fine sense of humor.  What I’m telling you, folks, is that Julie has the whole package, and because of that she is destined to become a leader in the sustainability movement. Which means you’ll know about her someday. Why not meet her now?

In this, the first of a two-part interview, Julie talks about her personal odyssey that led her into becoming an activist. She also talks about the effect her activism has had on her relationships with the people in her life.  Next month Julie will talk about the issues that have made her the passionate activist that she is. Don’t miss it. You’ll also like the “sassy” shot of Julie on our cover.

When people of liberal persuasion talk in generalities about the “powers that be”, those of conservative bent, Republicans and Democratic apologists roll their eyes and act if they are in the presence of a nut-case.  Immediately, they lump you in with wild-eyed conspiracy theorists and other assorted crackpots. You know what I’m talking about. If you say, “They want want to drown social programs in the bath tub,” or “They want to force unwanted choices on the American people,” immediately you are accosted with demands to know who “they” are.  By the tone of their voices you know that you’ve already been relegated to la-la land in their minds. That is why I take my hat off and bow deeply at the waist to Dory Hippauf because in the area of her expertise, fracking, Dory tells you who “they” are. She takes no prisoners and makes no excuses. Want to know who is willing to destroy your environment to make a quick buck? Dory tells you. Want to know who threatens the safety of your drinking water as they pursue their insatiable greed? Dory tells you. Want to know who makes false claims about there being energy security and 100 years’ worth of natural gas in America? Dory tells you. Want to know who is buying up your politicians in Harrisburg, Washington and around the country? Dory tells you.  Before reading Part 3 in Dory’s groundbreaking series Connecting the Dots: The Marcellus Shale Gas Play Players, go back and read parts one and two. Print them out. Keep them handy. Taken together they make a great reference guide for the movement. Heroism is standing up to the powers that be while the war is on. The war for our environment and against the corporate takeover of our democracy is on now.  And Dory is standing tall. That makes her a heroine.

Ron Stouffer and Rosie Skomitz prove month in and month out that the best place to keep yourself informed about the single-payer movement is right here in CS2. This month is no exception.  Those who watch the Republican primaries (What are you-masochists?) know that Obama’s health care bill has become a political football. Obama has admitted that his health care bill was modeled on Romneycare in Massachusetts. I laugh when I think back to when I was a member of a Democratic club. When Romneycare was passed in Massachusetts they screamed “sellout to Wall Street”.  When Obama passed Romneycare for the whole nation they cheered “landmark legislation!” When I pointed out that it was Republican health care, they got really angry with me. Now Obama admits as much. In order to be a member in good standing for a club in either of these parties, you need to check your brains at the door. The amount of self-delusion that is required to accept the crap that they put out is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, Ron & Rosie set Romneycare straight and show you what real health care reform looks like. Be sure to check out Shall We Dance.

Book reviewer James Patrick is here with Reflections:  A Year in Reading. He takes short looks at A. S.Byatt, Christopher Isherwood, Gore Vidal and Jonathan Franzen. See if you agree with his assessments.

Jack Lindeman is here with more excellent observations in his regular cultural and literary criticism column. If you’ve never read Jack, you’re in for a treat. Check out: Progress is (?) a Comfortable Disease.

Ordinarily, CS2 does not tout political candidates. Why, you may ask? I’m going to answer even if you didn’t ask. I have a very low opinion of the clueless clowns that both the Democrats and Republicans put before you on a regular basis. By and large they’re dishonest shill men and women who have been bought and paid for by corporate America. Their chief asset seems to be the ability to slavishly serve the big money people who have purchased them and  our democracy, all the while making you believe that what they do is for you. That’s quite a talent when you think about it. I have even less respect for those who go out and knock on doors for these corporate whores. I think of them as stooges for the corporate state. Watching them “up close and personal” during 2010 made me so disgusted I had to close CS2. I was speechless after watching people I knew man phones and knock on doors for the “stand for nothing” Trivedi campaign as well as other campaigns that were as bad or worse than Trivedi’s.

Well, election time is rolling around again. We’ll see what happens this time.  Anyway, this month I make an exception to the rule and ask you who live here in Pennsylvania to rally behind a candidate in the 187th State Representative’s race. His name is Bill Bispels. I know him personally, and I can vouch for his integrity. To my “fracking movement” friends, you should knows that Bill stands for a ban on the practice. Not a moratorium. Not a “sell-out” Republican impact fee. Not a “sell-out” Democratic severance tax. A ban! He’s also for single-payer health insurance. Read Bill’s statement Announcing His Candidacy.

CS2 favorite Walter Brasch takes up the defense of Joe Paterno by examining those who were so quick to convict him in public opinion during the Penn State scandal. Read: Sanctimonious Hypocrites Can’t Diminish the Warmth for Joe Paterno.  Walter also weighs in on a disturbing trend with Outsourcing America’s Health Care.

Harriet Rauenzahn wants to take on the right wing for making things up out of whole cloth. She does so in The Pick Ax:Taking on the Right Wing.

Rosie Skomitz is here with a look at a recent activity by Occupy Reading. Check out: Occupy Reading Occupies the Court.

I guess readers can figure out how much I enjoy Jack Lindeman’s poetry because I’m always publishing it. But this month I think he’s outdone himself. His poem about Hegel is one of my all-time favorites. Don’t miss At His Graveside in East Berlin.

Paul A. Heise is here with his assessment of Mitt Romney. See if you agree that Mitt is The Ideological Pragmatist.

We wrap up the issue with a most unusual piece that kind of defies description. You’ll have to make up your own mind about this one. Check out God on Facebook by Karen Henninger.

Well, that’s it for this month.

Until next month, keep on keepin’ on.

Charlie