So I was standing at the box office last night and I heard myself say “Two for Capitalism” and I thought that doesn’t sound right.
I liked most of the movie a lot, especially the swing version of “The
Internationale.” Just googled it and found it was sung by a New Jersey
lounge singer named Tony Babino. Far out. Then we got to the Berkeley
High parking lot at 10:40 and the gate was closed—usually we go to
earlier movies. So we started to walk home, me grumping about the cold
because the reason I was at a movie instead of chorus is that I have a
cold and can’t sing. Then a truck drove by and a guy said, “You have a
car in the lot?” “Yes!” “I’ll open it.” So we walked back to the gate.
The guy said, “I have to close the gate at 10:30 but if I see anybody
around I open it again.” Claudia told him we thought the movie would get
out earlier. He said, “What movie did you see?” “Capitalism!” We all laughed. He said, “Capitalism sucks!” It made my day.
Now I want to get some crime scene tape.
What I forgot to say last week about the Children’s Music Network gathering is that in Sarah Pirtle’s
workshop, “Music as a Bridge over Troubled Waters,” she asked us at one
point to think of a song that got us through bad times, or that got us
teary-eyed, and I couldn’t think of a particular song until some other
folks had said and/or sung theirs and I thought of a song that chokes me
up every time: “The Internationale.”
I don’t know all the words—even to the first verse—but I started it and
others joined in and we got through that verse. A couple of old lefties
stopped me afterwards to thank me for starting it. I vowed to learn the
verse but was reminded in conversation that it sounds so much better in
French that I want to learn it in its original language.
Here’s an interesting pair of web sites: costofwar.com has three meters running, and I do mean running, showing
the mounting cost of all wars since 2001, of the Iraq war specifically,
and of the war in Afghanistan. You can also break the cost down by
community, and then see what the trade-offs are. According to the site,
“Taxpayers in Berkeley, California will pay $4.4 million for proposed
ballistic missile defense in FY2009. For the same amount of money, the
following could have been provided: 62 Music and Arts Teachers for One
Year” So which will make us more peaceful, missiles on the Polish border
or music and art in the schools? The other site is visuals of a million, a billion and a trillion dollars in stacked $100 bills. A real eye-opener.
Back in the eighties Lou Gottlieb asked me to write a song about SDI (Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense scheme).
I had just gotten a mailing about it, saying that to better imagine the
cost, you could think of it as a million dollars a day for the next
400-odd years. So I wrote lyrics for “A Million a Day” And Lou wrote the
music and he and the Limeliters recorded it and used it in their shows.
What would you do with a million a day?
Would you offer it up or sock it away?
Would you feed the poor or keep up with the rich?
Would it make you a saint or a son-of-a-b? etc.
I’m
determined to get over this cold in time to go to the local
manifestation of the International Day of Climate Action this Saturday.
They are up to 4452 actions in 172 countries—pretty much all the
countries there are. The Maldives held an underwater Cabinet meeting on
Sunday to draw attention to the danger of rising sea levels to their
island nation. Our action in Berkeley won’t be that cool, but very
Berkeley: an hour of meditation at the West Berkeley Senior Center at
11:00 a.m. then the usual sign-waving at a University Avenue
intersection (Sixth Street this time) but I want to be part of it. Find
your local action at 350.org.
That number, 350, is the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere deemed safe by scientists. We’re at 390 ppm now, which is why
the ice caps and glaciers are melting.
A COUPLE OF WINS
A
small one: in response to many letters, Amazon stopped advertising a
demeaning “illegal alien” Halloween costume (at $40!). A big one: Joe
Biden is proposing a national solar program
based on Berkeley’s sensible model in which the loan to install solar
in a building is paid for by tax assessments, so the debt goes with the
building, not the owner, if the building is sold.
©2009 by Nancy Schimmel
2 Comments 
Nancy Schimmel
When
I was making a sandwich for lunch, I remembered the surprise in
Capitalism: A Love Story. Alvarado Street bread, our favorite
store-bought bread, is made by a workers' cooperative. We didn't
know--we just liked the flavor. Try the sprouted whole wheat.
Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 12:48 PM
Thursday, October 22, 2009
CAPITALISM AND BIG NUMBERS
