I'm having terrible difficulty deciding whether or not my music is on too loud.The best way I know to cope with depression is to leave for another place with the help of the happy herb, put on loud music, dance, write, draw, and get lost.
When I'm really bad it doesn't work, but when I have the choice of being averagely down and depressed, or drifting off, I'd rather drift off. I can get things done. I can be myself, without the parts I don't like getting in the way. Nothing is icy, nothing piercing, nothing strangling at me: no vines twining their way around my feet and tripping me, pulling me down.
In the news, I read
Jesus was almost certainly a proponent of the medicinal properties of cannabis, according to a study of scriptural texts.
And a great piece on SUVs and their drivers... Have you ever wondered why sport utility vehicle drivers seem like such assholes? Also on SUVs and the motor industry: How Corporate Greed And Political Corruption Paved The Way For The SUV Explosion
Ah heck, and here's a whole piece for ya:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Stations Reject TV Ads That Connect SUVs to Terrorism
by Joan Lowy
Television stations in New York, Detroit and Los Angeles are refusing to air ads that link driving sport utility vehicles with supporting terrorism, producers of the ads said yesterday.
The two ads were produced for The Detroit Project, a media campaign organized by author and columnist Arianna Huffington and Hollywood movie producer Lawrence Bender, among others. Both ads were modeled on hard-hitting anti-drug public service announcements produced by the Bush administration that equate drug use with support for violence and terrorism.
In one ad, a man pumps gas into his SUV while a voice says that every time he fills up he makes money for oil companies who buy oil from countries that support terrorists. A map of the Persian Gulf shows Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran.
"What kind of mileage does your SUV get? Oil money supports some terrible things," the ad says.
The second ad, in an ironic vein, features supposed SUV owners proudly claiming responsibility for blowing up nightclubs and putting U.S. troops in harm's way. It concludes: "What is your SUV doing to national security? Detroit, America needs hybrid cars now."
Stations who have refused to air the ads are WABC in New York; WDIV in Detroit; and WABC and WCBS in Los Angeles, Huffington said.
"I guess it takes courage to go up against the auto manufacturers and some of these networks don't have that kind of guts," said Bender, who produced the hit movies "Good Will Hunting" and "Pulp Fiction."
Art Moore, programming director for WABC, said the station has a policy against running any "controversial" ads.
Officials for the three other stations declined to comment on their reasons for rejecting the ads.
The media campaign is part of a growing national backlash against SUVs, which now account for 27 percent of the U.S. car market. When combined with minivans and small pickups, sales of so-called "light trucks" now exceed new car sales.
The United States produces 25 percent of the world's man-made carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
"We're asking the public to connect the dots between our behavior as consumers and national security," Huffington said. "We're not trying to demonize SUVs."
Huffington said she drove a Lincoln Navigator until shortly after Sept. 11, when a friend persuaded her that driving gas-guzzlers undermines national security. She now drives a Toyota Prius, a four-door hybrid electric that gets about 50 miles per gallon.
On Monday, General Motors, the world's biggest automaker, announced that it plans to offer a variety of hybrid cars over the next four years. However, automakers reject any connection between gas-guzzlers and national security.
"Eighty percent of refined oil (used in the United States) comes from outside the Persian Gulf," said Eron Shosteck, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "We as an industry are doing our part by offering consumers choices. We offer more than 30 different models that get 30 miles to the gallon or better, but very few consumers buy them."
The corporate average fuel economy standard for SUVs and other light trucks is 20.7 mpg, versus 27.5 mpg for other cars.
The Bush administration has opposed increasing fuel economy standards except for a token 1.5 mpg increase for light trucks to be phased in over several years.
