Sunday, December 04, 2005

Dean Corps

It's cold in Springfield, MA. The snow, that went on for most of the day, has stopped and several people on the street are plying snow blowers. According to weather.com, at 2:45 p.m. Less than five minutes ago as I write) it was 28 deg. F (felt like 23 deg.) and cloudy.

I love watching the snow, and especially waking up to find the world white. Of course, I'm perfectly comfortable and safe. Though my family has never subscribed to the "turn the thermostat up to 80 in the Winter and down to 60 in the Summer) theory of home climate management, and though I often need a cardigan or pullover even with a wool turtleneck here in our hard-to-insulate, 110 year-old Victorian, our house is seldom uncomfortably cold. Once in a while the furnace goes out, or the electricity does so, taking the furnace with it. But, such inconveniences are rare and last only a few hours at most. They are soon remedied and soon forgotten.

At 2:45 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, it was partly cloudy. The temperature was 13 deg. And felt like 3 deg.

At Pine Ridge, the houses are less solidly built than my house. The electricity is far less reliable than in Springfield. Some homes have no electricity at all. And the explosive rise in heating fuel prices, that has my father turning the thermostat still lower and rushing to hang insulated curtains, means at Pine Ridge that many people cannot afford heat at all.

I've been vaguely mulling over potential Dean Corps projects for us to undertake. Collecting phone cards for hospital-bound veterans strikes me as a fabulous idear, even if it did originate at They Whom I Do Not Name. Donating books and magazine subscriptions to hospitals has also occurred to me; as well as the musicians in our ranks donating time this month to entertain at hospitals, shelters, and prisons.

The principal problem with all these idears lies in the very nature of Deaniacs for America/Howard Empowered People. We are scattered all across the country. How would we coordinate any drive? Would each member donate time, money, goods, etc. to a cause in her/his own hometown? Would we select one place (one VA hospital, say) and direct all our donations there? The logistics of any organized action defeated my non-organizer's brain.

Then, Susan suggested helping out the Friends of Pine Ridge association's web site. Susan's chief concern is heating fuel. But, the projects page lists a number of other needs as well.

While it is true that Pine Ridge is only one reservation, and its residents represent only one small pocket of desperate need, the truth of the matter is that we can't do everything. We can't help all those who are cold and hungry and houseless in the U.S. this Winter, not to mention all those in need elsewhere in the world. We can help our sisters and brothers at Pine Ridge, though.

Remember the heady days when BFA members would break a bat in a matter of hours? And, for what? To support some candidate or other. It seems to this Deaniac that we could easily make a tremendous difference at Pine Ridge if we used the bat mentality. We wouldn't be able to see it, unless JC and Renee can rig some sort of bat-like meter that shows dollar amounts disassociated from names. But I'm sure we could raise several thousand dollars for Bob's Gas Service's fund for the elderly, for instance.

Other things we can see. The college library needs magazine subscriptions. As of today, six of the magazines on the list have not yet been donated. They are:


Having sent a subscription myself, I'd very much like to see the rest of these magazines listed as donated by Saturday evening. Hell, knowing Deaniacs, they could all be taken care of by midnight tonight. Don't forget to e-mail to let the folks at FPRR know which magazine you've sent.

When I wrote, I identified myself as a member of DAFD. It might be a good idear for people to do this in general; identifying oneself as a member of Deaniacs for America, DAFD, Disabled Voters for Dean, Blankets for America, Poets, Artists and Musicians for Democracy, etc. The names won't mean anything to the FPRR folks at first, but gradually they may come to recognize and associate the names.

In any case, I propose that, whatever other projects we undertake, we adopt Pine Ridge for a period - one year, three months, whatever, and during that period send whatever we can whenever we can. Though this is not support of a candidate, it is nonetheless a political act, and a profoundly good one.

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Posted by Catreona at 8:48:00 PM