Fall in Maine

• Since coming home from my trip to Russia I've been editing our next Global Network newsletter Space Alert!  It is being designed by Nancy Randolph who does a great job.  When MB and I moved to Maine in 2003 Nancy called me soon after we arrived and said, "You are probably going to need new business cards and stationary."  Right I said and we've hired her ever since to do our newsletter and our annual Keep Space for Peace Week posters.  She's always a pleasure to work with and is very talented.

• Yesterday it was quite cold with the ground partially frozen.  I figured it was time to bring in the rest of the carrots from the garden so I dug into the half-frozen dirt and removed what was left.  By the time I finished my fingers had nearly froze.  We still have parsley, kale and collard greens in the garden and all of them are still in good shape despite having had a couple of cold nights.

• Our realtor has brought two different people so far come look at our house that it is up for sale.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.  It would be amazing if it sold rather quickly - before the harsh winter begins.

• We had a great Non-violence training on Saturday at the Friends Meeting House in Damariscotta.  Eighteen people attended - all of them are on the list of people seriously considering doing civil disobedience at the next 'christening' of a Navy destroyer at Bath Iron Works here in town (date of the ceremony not yet known).  At this moment we have 53 names on the list.  Obviously, depending on the date of the 'christening' not all of them will be able to attend but I'd venture to guess that a high percentage of them will be there.
• I was listening to the radio this morning (National Public Radio) and the words 'Militarized minds' came to me.  The show was interviewing some musicians who compared an orchestral arrangement on one of their songs as being similar to the military using tanks and rocket launchers to increase their delivery power.  Similarly in baseball I often hear coaches and players talk about a particular player having several 'weapons or bullets' to describe their ability to run, hit, throw, etc - meaning they had many different skills in their tool box.  It reminds me just how much the American mind has been militarized.  Even some entities like the Red Cross or other civilian organizations talk about 'deployment of assets' when they are responding to emergency situations like hurricanes.   I often hear peace activists refer to the Pentagon and the Department of War as being the 'Department of Defense'.  The Pentagon long ago left the realm of 'defense' - its currently all about 'offense'.  We all should think about how much our own language has become militarized.

Bruce