The 411

The 4-11

Yes, that's the date today. Information day.
I went to college at San Diego State, majored in English with a minor in Journalism. I was taught that the most important obligation in joining the ranks of the esteemed 4th estate is, objectivity. The facts, and nothing but the facts.

In news today we have a plethora of opinionators who funnel facts through a selective sieve and squeeze out the the details that don't align with their agenda. While I chose not to be a journalist, I do enjoy this editorial position. I do not pretend that I report the news I simply comment on it. The news comes to us here at KZYX through the efforts of local reporters here in Mendocino and at our sister station KMUD in Humboldt. We all remember the timber wars brought to us via the silver tones of Annie Esposito, then came the cutting edge of Christine Anistad, (Both now editors of Mendocino Country, the newspaper left to us by our outrageous and beloved Richard Johnson, May he rest in peace), and our most recently retired news director Paul Hanson.

At the moment we are looking to fill that precious seat with one who knows us well, who respects and understands the woven history of this county and it's wild, active and restless inhabitants. Someone with a keen curiosity and sharp vocabulary. Are you out there?

It seems as though investigative reporters are an endangered species. The blogosphere has become the popular format of professional and amateur journalists of late and Many on the ground journalists are under fire and die trying to tell the story. Almost 150 journalist were killed since 2009 and many kidnapped. Reporters without Borders do their best to go where the danger is and document, witness and do their best to keep us informed. It's terribly courageous to tell the truth these days.

Just think about Bradley Manning who, as we speak, sits in solitary confinement subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, still only accused of leaking vital news information, or Julian Assange who brings us Wikileaks. Straight from the horses mouth, or should I say ass. Journalists in Mexico killed for reporting on the drug wars. Pakistani reporters are extremely vulnerable right now, 11 killed since April. And many may remember the killing of Spanish Journalists at the Palestine Hotel in Iraq when the war was first getting under way. Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl beheaded by Al Queda. CNN's Anderson Cooper beaten in Egypt. Yes, it takes courage.

This radio station brings you Amy Goodman, Free Speech radio News, NPR, comity news, Alternative Radio, TUC. Jounalists from Maria Gallarding to Mitch Jesowitz, to Cyntyhia Elkins bring you as much information from those who are directly affected by current events. Amy Goodman's producer, Sharif Abdul Kaduz, present in Tahrir square, during the Egyptian revolution.

Then there's me, not a reporter, but doing my best to bring the 411 from the Elders, the seekers, the solution makers, the grandmothers, the dreamers. Good news and honest discussion that reminds you of your own responsibilities and roles to change the world and make it a better place.

Of late we have the phenomenon of TMI, shorthand for Too much information. like posting how your fart smelled when you first woke up this morning. Sometimes I get that feeling when I'm surfing the WWW. There's just to damn much information and people including myself can get tangled in the web and then have the blood sucked out of us by the spiders of doom, despair and disaster. Or we spun out on stupid silly strings, or get hooked on the fangs of Facebook, but here on the radio, it's like a companion, a friend, a very smart, focused friend, with a balance of information and entertainment. A friend that gives us the 411 and then sings us the sweetest songs to soothe the savage beast, stories that make us laugh, human voices, flaws and all. familiar voices that we have built a mutual trust with and when the shift hits the fan, will be there as long as the transmitters stay up. Hey, I'm not saying that this radio station is perfect, I'm saying it provides the 411 that I need, the most succinct, present, local, global, vital information that we can get. I hope the next news director understands and appreciates the timing here.

As we turn to face 2012 and that they deliver the news and information with a clear intelligent mind and integrity bringing us basic facts and current events. And leave the editorializing to me.

Gulf Leak plugged, Wikileaks unplugged.

So many beautiful stories in the world, the beauty makes me cry as much as the devastation. I know some people had a strong condemnation toward our Women weeping by the water, but I can tell you a full blown emotional life with all it's,sorrows, pathos, slapstick, and absurdities makes this life so satisfying. I would love to see more and more people experience the fulfillment that I know regularly because of my connection to humanity, the earth and the cosmos. I believe one can be emotional and powerfully effective at the same time. It is the lack of emotion, or depression that tends to destroy our inner lives. I know a majority of you love to be touched, entertained, you love a good story and the juicier the better. Would you buy a ticket to a show that had no emotion, no dramatic arc, or are you more interested in a story, say that starts with utter hopelessness that by some twist of fate or will becomes a heroic triumph. And according to the signs I'm seeing, Yes, we are on the verge of a climax here. I'll be the first to admit that my latest editorials are fraught with deep dark emotions but at the same time A psychic once told me my rose colored glasses have rose colored clip ons there is a kind of optimism that always accompanies me.

I see great evidence of consciousness rising and that kind of behavior reflected. in current events. Today, the VA announced that Veterans have the right to use Marijuana to help deal with PTSD in 14 States where it is legal. Huge leap forward. Last week the front page of the Ashland Newspaper, Daily Tidings, told us Northwest airline hubs will be using biodiesel to fuel their airplanes. Exciting. New York opens it's first electric vehicle charging station while New Jersey mounts 200,000 solar panels on utility poles. Illegal timber trade has dropped %50 in the Amazon! The California legislature is poised to pass AB 1998, banning single-use plastic bags. Governor Schwarzenegger has said he'll sign it,Yeah! There was An article last week in the Press democrat about a significant increase in Vaginal births after C-section. I'm always inspired when I see positive news about vaginas in the newspaper. Tropical storm Bonnie spared Gulf residents a terrible beating and the cap on the bp oil leak is holding. Everyday people are coming up with creative solutions to clean up the gulf. And in other water news, Salmon returning to the columbia Snake river in record numbers. Then there's the case of Shirley Sherrod who was unjustly accused of Racism regarding her speech to the NAACP. the source of course for that nasty spin was fox news. This set off a chain of unfortunate events that led to her firing, but, then drum roll please, the President of the United States called her and apologized and offered her job back. Wow, can we take a moment. I remember reporter after reporter asking George Bush if he made any mistakes his answer was a standard and absolute No. But Barack Obama and his minions made a mistake and addressed it. If Ms. Sherrod accepts his apology and returns to her post at the USDA that would be an extraordinary lesson for America. To err is human. To forgive, divine. We are at this moment also being appraised of the Truth of the War in Iraq and Afghanistan through the eyes of Wikileaks. There are over 90,000 pages documenting extreme war crimes against innocent people. While that in itself is an undeniable horror, the outcome may surprise us. The footage is all over the internet and the newspaper and Robert Gibbs White house Spokesman has been fielding questions about it all day. We cannot live in denial of that facts, just the facts. and here they are all dressed up with everywhere to go. The light is shining in the darkest places. Thank you internet, thanks to the people who care enough to risk there lives, livelihoods, reputations to bring us inconvenient truths. How appropriate that Today We are in a full moon 3 degrees of Aquarius and according to it's Sabian symbol, another drum roll please is "A Deserter From the Navy: according to the website Lincoln's This and That Astrology, "This is a symbol of human independence carried to a point of extreme rebellion against things as they are, here emphasized in a disregard of all consequences for the sake of an immediate liberation of the spirit. There is a demand for a more rewarding expression of individuality, and the reversed symbolism suggests that any late acceptance of full and personal responsibility for life is better than none at all. Except as man creates his own allegiances, his destiny holds no depth. The keyword is defiance. When positive, the degree is genuine psychological courage in a repudiation of all meaningless loyalties, and when negative, complete inability to follow the rules of any game." After watching one of the leaked wikileaks on You Tube called Collateral Murders, Wiki leak, Iraq. I am even more emboldened to speak up, speak out. Act out. This universe is calling. We can respond, everyone of us with truth and beauty as Rob Brezny says on his www.freewillastrology.com website. I am in the process of gathering data and quickly turning my attention to the creation, to the symbolic as an offering to you as a gift. My job is to enlighten you, provoke you, engage you, inform you and turn you on to the marvelous possibilities that are offered to us everyday.