Laura's Page

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to di… Continue

So...for about a year I blogged about environmental issues in New Mexico. There are a number of reasons why I started doing that, and a number of others why I stopped. But really, none of those reasons are very important right now, when I'm trying to procrastinate work on a Sunday afternoon and when I have an Inbox full of emails from people who are writing to me about environmental issues in their communities or about events going on within their organizations. (And I'm not even going to get… Continue

I'm psyched about the plant growth these days -- the vegetable garden is in and everything is currently thriving. The flower seedlings (such as cosmos and nasturtium) are coming up nicely and there are even flowers already blooming around the yard, brightening things up after what s… Continue

Will's post yesterday made me think that I should share this with DCFers, just in case anyone out there has some good ideas: Update: I just heard the deadline was extended to June 1. -------- Greetings and best wishes! I'm writing to let you know about a new anthology project I've recently started. Facing the Change: Grassroots Encounters with Global Warming will be a completely new kind of book ab… Continue

For those still mourning the Albuquerque Tribune, check out this story in the latest issue of American Journalism Review. It's titled, When Heart Isn't Enough. The writer, journalist Tony Davis, worked at the Trib from 1987-1996. (And in the interest of full disclosure, Tony is a friend of mine. He emailed me the story this morning, and I thought I'd share it with DCFers.)

Just the other day, I saw an ad for R.Crumb-illustrated Monkey Wrench Gang tee shirts, (and also the R.Crumb-illustrated version of the Ed Abbey book), and then I got an email about this upcoming event. It can only be a sign. The birth of a movement: Jack Loeffler at Albuquerque Little Theatre April 18, 2008 Jack Loeffler will present “Adventures with Ed” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the Albuquerque Little Theatre. The program is… Continue

For whatever reason, this isn't getting much attention...but is anyone else confused as to why the Democratic Party and Gov. Richardson have called off the April 25 summit about what went wrong with the party's caucus? The only place I've read about the cancellation is on Joe Monahan's blog (I know, I know). You have to scroll down to April 9 to see the post. Perhaps I've missed the rest of the coverage about the issue -- if so, would som… Continue

I realize that I could look that information up on the National Weather Service website, but I'm wondering if anyone remembers that last time it rained here in Albuquerque? I remember waking up to heavy rain early, early one morning--that was sometime during duck hunting season, because my husband had already left the house. But has it really not rained since before duck hunting season ended? What's your last memory of rain?

woo hoo! Dirty Dozen is one of my favorite bands in the whole world (right alongside Rebirth Brass Band) and they're coming to Abq next month. If you're in the mood for some great New Orleans style music, you absolutely have to go see DDBB. And since I'm totally out of touch with things going on around town lately, I would have never even known they were coming if I hadn't seen the sign for the show outs… Continue

Someone at the New Mexico Environmental Law Center emailed this to me yesterday and I just now had the chance to read through it. I think this is really neat for a number of reasons (and not only because I've been writing about uranium mining and activism on the Navajo reservation over the past few years). It's an inspirational example of youth activism and it's also a reminder of how activists can use the Internet in a personal way. Networking and emailing and blogging isn't just about being c… Continue