En Las Noticias

I used to write a different blog.

Yes! It's true. It's not my first time. Do you still love me? *sniff*

The old blog was anonymous, and mostly private, in the sense that I didn't share it with my friends here in the way that I share this one. It was much more of a "Dear Diary" sort of place than this is, and through my experience of writing it I discovered the distinct, 21st century cathartic satisfaction of pouring one's heart out to a circle of (mostly) far-flung strangers.

At some point, though, that sense of satisfaction wore thin and I realized that all the covert disclosure, all the connecting-under-the-cover-of-darkness made me feel, well, shrouded, like I was telling all these truths but the telling was somehow inappropriate or unwelcome in polite company.

So at some point I just said fuck it. I love to write more than most other activities, I have this bizarre compulsion to share the truths and the discoveries and the meanings that occur to me every day as I stroll through my funny little life, and I have an incredible community of people who I love and who also love me more than I've ever been loved before by people who were not my parents.

I declared (to all 5 people who were reading my old blog): I'm gonna write, and I'm gonna tell people about it!

And so here we are.

Perhaps by now you are a bit titillated, sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for me to tell you some intimate, heart-wrenching, vividly-detailed story about my life. Oh, dear reader, I can spin those yarns anytime. For whatever reason, I just *love* doing that. Maybe someday I'll write a whole book. And normally, just for you, because I want you to be happy, I would oblige.

But not today.

No, today I am interested in resurrecting a feature of the old blog that I particularly enjoyed. It wasn't a regular occurrence, but the need for it would arise every so often, when enough juicy tidbits had accumulated from my obsessive cruising of online news sources. (Hi, my name is Caitlin, and I'm cracked out on current events.) And so every so often, my five fabulous readers would be regaled with all the obscure, off-color, momentous-to-somebody-somewhere stuff that caught my attention.

Lately, a lot of stuff has caught my attention, folks. And so, without further ado, I give you:

IN THE NEWS, 2.o!

*Ahem*

First, we have a story that is near and dear to my heart: suddenly, without much advance warning, the state announced yesterday their plan to halt all spraying of urban areas, at any time, for the light brown apple moth!

This is simultaneously a hugely fabulous piece of news, and also just another sneaky tactic by the government to dispel activist energies. While it is *totally awesome* that we don't have to fight against the risk of having BHT and TMAC land on our homes and bodies and babies this autumn, the state and federal governments still plan on doing aerial spray of forested areas (meaning all that nasty stuff lands on rivers, lakes, animals, trees, insects -- even after we saw that last fall, hundreds of birds and pets up and died after the sprayings in Monterey and Santa Cruz), and are still planning to do ground treatments using incredibly toxic chemicals like permethrin. All because of a little moth that's not even a threat to agriculture!

And even though this is a victory, we're still living in the context of a regulatory system in which the profits of big ag and big chem are valued above human and ecological health. In my months of research on this issue (I have taken to calling myself "moth lawyer") I have looked into the very heart of the pesticide behemoth, and let me tell you, dear readers, it is a dark, dark heart. Our federal pesticide governance regime is probably one of the most corrupt, secretive, and undemocratic systems of rules in the entire federal government. It boggles my mind, the extent to which decision-makers value profit above health, and even above life itself, as so much of this stuff is endocrine-disruptive and causes infertility.

So our work is very much still cut out for us. But for now, yes indeed, there is cause for celebration! I wonder if I should leave the "Stop the Spray" bumper sticker on my car, though.

Next on our news docket: gay marriage! Yep, gay and lesbian couples all over California (excepting Kern County) have been able to tie the knot since Tuesday morning. I have been jubilant about this major progressive step towards equality and justice for all in our great state, but what's been the most enjoyable to see are the pictures.

There are so many wonderful shots in all the newspapers of people who are so clearly in love with each other, so pleased to finally have validation of that love from the community (and all the attendant healthcare and legal benefits), and just so cute! I tell ya, nothing brings a tear to my eye like seeing images of people who are totally head over heels for each other, and who can finally choose to affirm their love with a legal bond, just like everyone else.

The funniest part has been reading all the arguments against gay marriage, which mostly boil down to: it's not traditional, it's not historical, it's not in the bible. Oh GAWD. That's all you got? Blah blah blah, insert usual litany of responses to such allegations (i.e. if we were still acting all biblical we'd be keeping slaves, stoning people to death, et cetera). It's such a curious phenomenon, this way in which some people need to harass other people about "morality" and lifestyle choices. What's the big fear? Let me assure you all, The Gay is not actually contagious.

Anyway, yeah, lots of joy about that one.

And finally, I could certainly insert here a nod to the various crises of the day: skyrocketing oil prices, water shortages, worldwide hunger as food prices spike, escalating brutality and misery in the war without end, devastating floods in the midwest, China's attempt to rebuild from the earthquake, and all of the various, quiet atrocities that may never even get picked up by the AP.

But you can scan NYT or LAT or SFChron and find out about all that stuff for yourself.

So instead, I will leave you with this exemplary piece of journalism, a veritable model of the kind of intrepid reporting that makes the world a better, or at least more interesting, place.

And that's that. Stay tuned!