Congressional and Whitehouse faxes and switchboards were swamped today, with the first ever "Virtual March on Washington" . But I wonder, even though hundreds of thousands of Americans are makin news by voicing their desire for a slightly less belligerent approach, is it going to have any impact on the decisions made by our dear friend Gee Dubya? Oh yeah, by the way, does anyone have an extra $95 billion lying around?

This has to be one of the coolest grassroots tactics I've ever seen. Listen to this:
(better yet, go to www.truemajority.com and click on Parade. I wanna drive around in the big piggy!!)

THE PARADE GOES ON TOUR TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.
EARTH TO BUSH: DON'T ATTACK IRAQ
True Majority Parade: Overview

We are four who have been chosen from around the country to embark on an epic road trip in the name of social awareness and change. We are traveling to major cities and points in between, visually confronting people on the issues of education, environment, and wasteful military spending. Our unique theme vehicles are amazing in generating attention and interest. Our mission is to get people registered to our free web service, which monitors Congress and notifies our members when their voice needs to be heard in Washington. By use of the Internet we aim to strengthen the collective voice of individuals, much like ourselves, who care about current issues but feel disillusioned and detached from the government. If it is thought that social change will only occur in Washinton "when pigs fly" now True Majority offers America "a pig that drives." Be sure to register your name and keep an eye out for the True Crew coming to a city near you.

The four vehicles, listed as they appear on the street, are:

The Natural Gas Vic. A 2001 Ford Crown Victoria, which runs on compressed natural gas is our lead vehicle. It is covered with thousands of tiny people representing the unheard voices of so many Americans. This vehicle plays crowd stopping music and generates bubbles from the bubble master 2000.

The Treeus. A 7 foot tree is mounted on a 2001 Toyota Prius which is a hybrid gas/electric car that gets 48 miles to the gallon, (without the "roof mounted tree" option). With "Reduce our Dependence on Oil" written on the side, we aim to encourage people to branch out and explore alternative energies.

The Mothership. Our RV is our home away from home as we travel across the country. As congress considers resolutions to action in Iraq, the mothership carries a message to the president; "EARTH TO BUSH: DON'T ATTACK IRAQ."

Rolling Piggies. A 1999 Chevrolet Express Van has been transformed into a 12-foot tall piggy bank labeled “Pentagon” representing military spending. It pulls a trailer with a piggy bank 1/10th the first piggy’s size labeled “Education”, which in turn pulls a little-bitty piggy labeled “World Hunger”, which represents America’s paltry humanitarian foreign aid budget.

Of Aid for AIDS

President Bush's State of the Union address was falsely convincing that he is committed to helping in the AIDS cause around the world. However, he plans to only drop pennies in the big fat bucket, and plans to make everything political, as he is favoring unilateral approaches over multilateral, more effective approaches. When multilateral organizations and physicians get together, things happen and poor people who had no hope before can finally get AIDS drugs. Comments?

HOKEY POKEY REDUX

(something to chant next Saturday at the protest in New York City!)

You sent inspectors in
You pulled inspectors out
Now more inspectors in
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

You put sanctions in
You take the children out
You put sanctions in
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

Homeland Security's in
Civil Rights are out
Homeland Security's in
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

You put Empire in
You take democracy out
You put Empire in
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

You put fear in
Take human rights out
You put fear in
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

You put New Europe in
You take Old Europe out
Call it a coalition
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

You'll put bombs in
You'll take the oil out
You'll put bombs in
and you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

We want justice and peace
Now the people are out
We're gonna stay in the streets
and we'll shake things all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
that's what its all about (clap clap)

just like crop circles, those nude women pop up everywhere.

ST. PETER AND HIS HMO

Two doctors and an HMO manager died and lined up at the pearly gates for admission to heaven. St. Peter asked them to identify themselves. One doctor stepped forward and said, "I was a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and helped correct deformities in children." St. Peter said, "You may enter."

The second doctor said, "I was a psychiatrist. I helped people rehabilitate themselves." St. Peter also invited him in.

The third applicant stepped forward and said, "I was an HMO manager. I helped people get cost-effective health care." St. Peter said, "You can come in too."

As the HMO manager walked by, St. Peter added, "You can only stay three days."

(thanks to shipra for this one!)

Wow, when it comes to the legality of medical marijuana, our court systems seem to suffering from a bout of dissociative identity disorder. Take the case of Ed Rosenthal, who, as an officer of the City, grew a little weed in Oakland, California to distribute to the Bay area's medical marijuana clubs. Too bad, his jury wasn't allowed to be told during the trial that he was doing his job. Because the judge decided that the Cali law meant squat in a federal trial, his poor confused jury convicted him . And now, upon discovering the truth they're chewing their hair out over their "horrible mistake" and are trying to get him a new trial. Who want's to bet this is gonna go to the Supreme Court??

An update on 6/5/03: Well, the jury begged for leniency, and surprise, surprise-the judge listened. Mr Rosenthal was sentenced to one day of jail and a $1000 in fines. Now this felon is on his way towards battling the feds to make all marijuana-medicinal and recreational-100% legal, while continuing to appeal his case in the courts. We'll see what happens...

Hi there, here's a little somethin to earn brownie points with on our ob-gyn rotations...