I am furious. Furious. Again.
I'll tell you now. This diary has no point. It's nothing I haven't said before. Except for this: I am doing something entirely un-American. I am boycotting my car. Bush pushed me over the edge.
I drove to work yesterday. I try to bike most days but it was barely above freezing when I woke up. At 3pm I saw an article titled Bush eases environmental rules on gasoline. I called my friend Jonny and I told him I am walking home. He said he's with me.
This is war. Remember the day after 9/11? Bush said go shopping. I know how to take my revenge.
Is anyone else feeling it?
I've been talking up conservation for a while (you know). I even made a
website all about conservation and a
second website that looks like it's about cooking but I was motivated to make it by conservation. I've made a lot of changes in my life. But, my car? Who the hell gives up their car in freezing Wisconsin?
Well, Bush, I am not going to use a car or ride in one during six days of the week from now on unless my work requires it. My car is in the parking garage at the office where I left it. I am drying my clothes by hanging them on my four poster bed. I am washing my dishes by hand.
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the pump. He also halted for the summer the purchase of crude oil for the government's emergency reserve.
I don't think I read the rest of the article. Just that much made me cross-eyed with anger.
Every goddamn thing that happens in this country, Bush uses it as an excuse to pay off his rich buddies, give no-bid contracts, suspend the Davis-Bacon act, suspend environmental regulation, and fuck the population of entire world right in the ear. Katrina, gas prices, education, everything.
This week a friend told me her experiences with NCLB when she worked in a public school in Baltimore. She only lasted a few months on the job. How can children who received a lousy education up to the 9th grade magically improve in two years so they are at an 11th grade level? The school closed down. It's an excuse to divert public education funds right into the pockets of Neal Bush.
It might be relevant to say that the right answer to helping oil prices are exploring alternative forms of energy, fixing CAFE standards, improving public transportation, or the most immediate way to fix it - making the oil companies pay a windfall tax. But we discuss those in other diaries and it's not like Bush is listening any time soon. Any president with a 32% approval rating obviously does not give a damn what is best for Americans or what Americans care about.
The man doesn't understand reason or logic. He doesn't have any empathy. He understands fighting and war. We've tried peaceful protests, we voice our opinions on the radio, on the internet, on the TV (when they let a liberal on) and in the newspapers. Bush doesn't read. I think he gets something like a 3x5 of news every day and then a little DVD with a couple of clips on it. Better give him the message using a medium he understands - war.
I don't have a lot to do. I vote. I stay up on the news. I blog. But I inject a few tens of thousands of dollars into Bush's economy every year. And I'm not willing to do that anymore.
I will drive one day a week from now on. Just one. And I carpool. Yes, Bush, the C word. Carpool. Take that!
Saturday, Jonny and I are going to the Farmer's Market to pick up our CSA box and swing around to my favorite vegan coffeeshop for the world's best ice coffee, head to the coop for anything that you can't get at the market, and then home from there.
To further reduce my need for oil, I am buying used or locally produced products whenever possible, if I buy anything at all. I've already got the food thing down. I can't imagine that I need much else.
The less I buy, the less the oil companies can profit by producing it and bringing it to me. I don't need more stuff. I have too much stuff. I have a suit to wear in Detroit, business casual to wear in San Diego, and PJs to wear around the office at home (yes, really). I have more cooking shit than any one person should have (although I use all of it, except perhaps the mixer, since I am fully capable of using a spoon and some good old-fashioned elbow grease.).
Instead, I am trying to get rid of all of the extra things I have. Shoes i haven't worn in years. Clothes I haven't worn in years. An extra air mattress pump. Glasses I won't use because they aren't dishwasher safe. Martini glasses I don't use because I don't like martinis. Candles that don't really fit in my new place.
Someone told me once that candles were the new cats to a single girl. First I stocked up on candles, then I just threw in the towel and got two cats. I've been trying to get rid of them by burning the candles (NOT THE CATS), but hell, I'll just give them away.
I am taking what I can to Goodwill (which is on the way to the Farmer's Market) and I am getting rid of the rest on my office's Classifieds board and Freecycle.org. I will help others boycott the economy (even if they aren't consciously doing so) by buying used or getting things for free.
You want war? Here's war Bush. I buy from the bulk bins so I can reuse the containers I have. I have tote bags and organic cotton produce bags to use at the store. I registered with the DMA to end the junk mail coming to my house. I use handkerchiefs instead of Kleenex (surprisingly less gross than I imagined). Unfortunately, I still need to buy and waste toilet paper.
Do you want to fight too? You want to hurt Bush? Withdraw from the economy. Just withdraw. Shop locally. Donate your extra stuff to charity. Get things from Freecycle.org or buy them used. Don't enter a Target. Don't enter a mall. Use a landline. Fuck cell phones that have to be replaced every two years. Walk or ride your bike. Don't drive. If you need a bike, get a used one. Borrow books, DVDs, and magazines from the library. Buy organic if you can afford it. Especially corn, soy, papaya, and canola. Non-organic is support for Monsanto, frankenfoods, and Roundup.
This summer, my extra money is going to pay down my mortgage. Every penny. My vegetables were bought in advance from the CSA. I planted my herbs and tomatoes last week. I am learning how to can and pickle foods. I'm dehydrating and freezing the rest that I can't eat. Next winter, I'm going to eat the foods saved from this summer. I refuse to eat processed foods. Plus, I just went vegan. That uses fewer resources than any other diet.
I can have my fun for free. I enjoy riding my bike. I love cooking. I love eating. I love hanging out with my friends. My favorite weekends are spent petting my cats and cooking for Jonny, who is always kind enough to bring over a bottle of local wine or a sixpack of local beer. I patronize the local breweries and wineries more than I should. Maybe it's just luck that my favorite beers and wines are local. I like walking along the lakes and having picnics. I don't have a TV and my laptop with DVD capabilities is currently functioning as a paperweight until Dell does something about it. If I could only get laid, that would be fun too. I'm not depriving myself of anything. I'm not giving anything that I want up. I'm just taking revenge.
I'm taking revenge and I'm gonna have a great time doing it. I'm going to enjoy my friends, enjoy the good weather, get in shape, and eat healthier foods. I'm going to save money and invest in my house. Talk about win-win. Help myself and fuck Bush all at once.
I'm just one person. But I'm tens of thousands of dollars a year that is NOT going to Bush's cronies. It's all I have to do and I'm going to fucking do it.
Who's with me?