Liberty And Justice For All?

I originally planned to post a note about a 'Technology Sabbath'. I am strongly considering participating. It would be interesting to see how I respond to a day away from so much technology. I might get more work done in the garden. I might connect to people on a real level as opposed to electronically. Ideally the trend spreads and is observed by many. I feel like participating in large positive group events/movements, sends out a very powerful positive intention and energy. I like being a part of that. I guess because it feels empowering.

But after reading the latest news about Lieutenant Dan Choi, we all felt we should write something about his situation.
Lt. Choi was discharged from the military one year ago for coming out as being gay after serving honorably under Don't Ask Don't Tell for ten years. Yesterday he handcuffed himself to the fence in front of The White House in peaceful protest. Today he's being held under arrest with Jim Pietrangelo and until recently, 5 others as well. A good place to get quick updates on developments in the case is the getEQUAL facebook page. Their latest post says:

GetEQUAL Breaking!! Offered $100 fine, Dan & Jim plead NOT GUILTY and demand a jury trial. We do not plead guilty for equality. Trial set for April. More to come.

This morning over coffee, all three of us called both our US Senators and submitted our comments to the White House contact page We would urge you to voice your concerns over the treatment of Lt. Choi as well.
This is how we feel. We're appalled that the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy exists to begin with. How degrading and insulting to expect an entire arm of the organization to pretend to be something else and hide their reality from their peers, denying them the full self expression and equality of choice afforded everyone else in this country! We're appalled that people are being treated this way. Men and women who've served us and protected our country and our freedom, are being ostracized, dismissed and worse. That makes us wonder what century we're in. And to see Lt. Choi arrested & mistreated because he staged a peaceful protest on the sidewalk just makes us shake our heads! Why is this even an issue?! Why does this man have to handcuff himself to the fence and get attention and be noticed? Our country has had one group or another fighting for equality since it's birth! And equality always wins! Make no mistake, equality will win in this case too. Those who oppose equal rights for LGBT people are on the wrong side of history and soon, time will catch up with them. Just as it did for those against the lowly colonists first, then those against the slaves gaining equality, and those against the rights of women... That's how we feel.
So why did Lt. Choi handcuff himself to the fence one year after his discharge? If I were guessing, I would guess his answer might be something like this: Because people can only affect change when they know a problem exists. Well hello everyone, Dan Choi is asking for your attention for just a moment. He would like to tell you this is a problem. He would like his equal rights now please. Just like we've been proclaiming since Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence! Are we really a nation still refusing to recognize that hypocrisy? These discriminatory policies may not have been instituted by us, but as a nation, these policies stand in our name and reflect on us as a group. Since I'm a part of that group, I'd like these policies changed! Don't Ask Don't Tell is a specific example with a clear answer: Repeal. But it's not the only issue of equality the LGBT community faces. Issues like California's Proposition 8 abound all over the nation and these are more examples of things that need to change!
We hope you'll write to the white house about repealing DADT, as well as about fair treatment for Lt. Choi. We also hope you'll take a moment to call your representatives. It's so easy. This morning we called and said we were constituents of the senator etc, we heard of the Lt Choi arrest and didn't think this was just, also we wanted to urge the Senator to work toward repealing DADT immediately etc. It's a very quick phone call to a sweet-voiced young lady taking messages. To get the number to call your Senators, click here. To find a number for your US House Representative click here, enter your zip+4 in a box near the top left and you will get a link to your Representative. Mine had his contact numbers and addresses listed at the bottom of his page - I called the Washington DC office number. And I did all of it while I sipped my coffee. I don't think that's too much to do to further the cause of equality in a country which claims that as one of it's founding principles.

-Flora

Resource Consumption

Reading some of the comments on the recent recycling post made us think more about consuming resources and our habits as a society.

It scares me a little the way we consume resources and generate waste. ... Science is telling us we’re facing dwindling resources, especially if we continue to consume at the rate we are. Not a pretty picture it paints of the future...

Currently the United States makes up approximately 4.5% of the world population but consumes nearly a quarter of all energy resources. And China with their 1.3 billion people make up almost 20% of the worlds population. China puts a half million new cars on the road every day. They want the consumer lifestyle of cars and toys and things. So now lets do some very rough math. If China consumes at the rate we Americans seem to think is acceptable, this will require we use 110% of the worlds resources to maintain that. It's pretty staggering when you think about it. Now consider this. India wants the live that same consumer lifestyle as their country progresses too! Why not? And their population is around 1.15 billion or another 16%. Very roughly, that is a need of near 200% of the worlds resources! Now I know that with politics and budget spending the way it is these days, we might think consuming 200% is a viable option. But let me remind you we're not talking about paper money and deficits here, we're talking about real, physical, finite resources. When they're gone, they're gone - there's no option for us to just go into debt. And because we're happy to go on doing what we've always done and we refuse to see what gasoline engines are doing to our environment, we're killing the planet. Plain and simple. And at the very least we're facing the gas lines of the 70's all over again. I don't want a hybrid, I want a solar/wind powered car! Or one that runs on saltwater! Develop an engine that runs on saltwater! That would be awesome. It's time to stop thinking like we did 100 years ago. We know so many things we had no idea of 100 years ago and it's time to take those things into consideration and pull our heads out of the sand!
-Flora

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Remember?

Today is garbage day here at Coffee and Controversy. Both garbage and recycling pick up on Fridays and as I look out my window, I see two recycle cans and seven garbage cans. There are eight houses in this circle and two that appear to use their recycle cans at all. Interestingly, those two houses probably put trash out only about every other week. This week mine is out and my neighbors is not, but as I said before, we're once again the only two people with our recycle cans out.
I remember when I was a kid we had to request a curbside bin and pay for pick-up. It was tiny and they only picked up every other week. Now my recycle can is the same size as my garbage can, it picks up every week, it's included in my waste utility bill and they'll take almost anything. Really, there's no guess work on plastic - they take every number, one through seven. The only thing I can't recycle curbside is glass. So with how easy it is, are there really 6 houses in my tiny circle that don't recycle at all? I mean, okay, don't be the zealot I am about it, saving every paper gum-wrapper for when I get home so I can put it in the recycling. But you can't toss in your milk jugs, egg cartons, 2 liter bottles, cereal boxes, newspapers... These are kind of no-brainers people! According to EPA statistics, nearly 14% of landfill waste is recyclable newspaper. And they further estimate that nearly one third of household waste is paper. Wow. That is a lot of paper unnecessarily going into our landfills. Is it laziness? Is it obliviousness? Is it willful rejection of any green habits? I'd really like to know. Because the 2 out of 8 scenario really amazes me.
-Flora

Why Coffee?

Why did we choose coffee to accompany our controversy you ask? Well because everyone loves coffee right? I'm pretty sure it's right behind water for the most-consumed beverage on the planet.

According to coffee-statistics.com:

"The first coffee tree in the Western Hemisphere was brought from France to the Island of Martinique in the 1720's."

Well thank you France!

As for us we love everything about it! We love the smell as it brews, we love doctoring it up in all kinds of sweet ways, we love how it goes with anything you want for breakfast and we love how it stimulates the conversation each day!

I was wondering today if there is any feeling finer than that first sip of coffee in the morning? We want to know what you love about coffee.

-Flora