Public Comment

More Tents, Less Tension: The Sprawl at Sproul
With the news that a pro-Palestinian/anti-genocide occupation of the Sproul Steps was underway, I donned one of my tattered, decades-old Free Speech Movement T-shirts and trotted off to reconnoiter with some of my fellow FSM vets to show my support for the current generation of student protesters.

Recent days had been filled with apocalyptic scenes of police crackdowns as peacefully protesting students (and some faculty) were being falsely accused of supporting Hamas and promoting anti-Semitism, I was concerned that I might find Sproul Plaza playing host to a hoard of campus, city, and state cops, sheriffs, and troops.

Instead, the visit to the "tent-in" at Sproul Hall was a refreshing break from the plethora of video clashes that have been flashing on media screens from colleges and universities across the nation. Instead of another crackdown involving pepper-spray, batons, tasers and tie-downs, the tent city on the sanctified "free speech steps" of Sproul Hall was calm, quiet, and kempt.

Instead of hand-to-hand tussles with the fuzz, students were writing slogans on the Sproul Steps with an array of colored chalk. Instead of lines of chanting students, a single loudspeaker was placed on the steps, above the seated and passing students. Instead of a line-up of fiery orators, a series of calm, pre-recorded addresses streamed from the amplifier—somewhat garbled by a background noise that sounded like a weed-whacker. (Intentional electronic interference?)

Everyone was in good spirits, including a few homeless souls who visited the support tents to pick up some free fresh fruit. And, topping if off, the Cal Band's horn-and-drum team showed up to perform the Golden Bears' fight song and a stage-worthy rendition of ABBA's "Dancing Queen."

And there was much information available in handouts, flyers, and posters. One handbill advised hummus-lovers: "Don't dip into Israeli Apartheid." Instead, boycott Sabra and Tribe brand spreads. The pro-active pamphlet also contained a recipe for home-made hummus next to a photo of a picket sign reading "No Justice. No Chickpeas."

With all the violence at Columbus, Yale, Austin, USC and UCLA, it was a relief to see the authorities at UCB responding with non-confrontational acceptance. It looked like the lessons of the Free Speech Movement had left a lasting legacy here in Berkeley—an abiding respect for protest and debate limited only by the constraints of "time, place and manner." An exemplary model for other citadels of learning. 

Fashion Plates
PIX13
SAIL SF
LND ART
SMALLER (On a Mini Cooper)
AMNPLMN (Amen P. Lemon?)
HUIS[Palm symbol]23 (Who Is Psalm 23? Jesus?)
JHC1951 (Jesus H Christ? Born again in 1951?)
6FUHOO2 (Don't know what it means. It's just fun to say "Six Fha Hoo Two') 

Bumper Snickers
Don't Worry Be Hopy
Smile. You're on Dash Cam
Please Don't Honk. I'm Sensitive
Do You Follow Jesus This Closely?
My Ex-Wife's Other Car Is a Broom!
You Just Got Passed by a Bad Driver
My Bumper Sticker Is More Ironic Than Yours
Back Off Bumper Humper. My Brakes Are Good. How's Your Insurance? 

Lexiconfusion 

I just heard the word "fraternal" used to reference a gathering of members of a fraternity. That got me wondering—would the equivalent word for a gathering of members of a sorority be "sororital," "sororinal," "sororial," "sororitical? 

Kid Cudi's Chronic Condition
The Chronicle is known for placing puns in its headlines but sometimes the word-play sneaks into the copy as well. On April 27, under the headline "Kid Cudi postpones tour after stage-jumping injury," the Chron reported that Cudi broke his foot at the Coachella Valley Music festival forcing him to delay the "kick off" of the "North American leg" of his concert tour. 

In the same edition of the newspaper, reporter Kevin Fagan (who moonlights as a band member of "The Irish Newsboys") contributed a write-up about Congressmember-and-Senate-Candidate Adam Schiff having his luggage stolen from his car, which had been left in a parking garage. Schiff was forced to appear before an elegantly attired audience and deliver a fund-raising speech "in his shirt sleeves and a hiking vest." 

As Fagan phrased it, Schiff "was unruffled by the kerfuffle." Which is so much cooler than being "nonplussed." 

"Billions for Bullets": Not a Life-Saver
A New York Times headline on April 24 raised the question: "Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?" 

The funds in question were proffered as a means to improve the Ukraine's military response to resurgent Russian forces. As the Times put it: 

"Congress approved a new aid package after months of delay, potentially throwing the county a lifeline in its war with Russia." 

One might question the NYT's choice of words here: Throwing a "lifeline" to prolong and expand a savage and bloody war? Instead of a lifeline, I'd say spending more on war would be a case of tossing "death throes" not throwing lifelines. 

How about Billions for Bedrooms? 

Each year more than 1,000 tornados rage over the US. The 2023 tornado season caused more than a billion dollars in property damage. According to Forbes, it costs around $300,000 to rebuild a house (clearly an underestimate for many of the towns and cities located in Tornado Alley). 

The House and Senate recently approved the President's $95 billion aid bill, most of which will go to waging wars in Ukraine and Palestine while preparing for a future war with China. Instead of investing borrowed billions that will only add to the country's already unsustainable $274 trillion national debt, wouldn't it be prudent to invest some of these billions to help US victims recover from the ravages of Big Oil's Climate Catastrophe? 

Let the Gaza Peace Flotilla Sail! 

Code Pink activist and former Bay Area resident Medea Benjamin recently posted an online video-plea for assistance. The video was recorded in a street in Türkiye where Benjamin and 800 other Freedom Flotilla Coalition volunteers from 40 countries found themselves stranded during an attempt to reach Gaza with 5,500 tons of food and medicine for the millions of displaced Palestinians facing death by bombardment or starvation. (Given the scale of the project and the international nature of the participants, it's disturbing that the Flotilla has received virtually no publicity in the Western media. See the video below for more background.) 

"The US government has been putting pressure on Türkiye to stop us from sailing," Benjamin explains before making a plea to call the US State Department demanding support for the humanitarian effort. 

I called (202) 501-4444 and reached an "information specialist" who listened to my concerns about the millions of suffering Palestinians and heard my appeal for the US to cease pressuring Türkiy and allow the flotilla to continue its life-saving mission. His dismissive response: "You will have to speak with the Türkiye Embassy." 

On April 26, the United Nations joined the International Court of Justice in demanding that Israel offer safe passage for the ships to sail to Gaza. 

But there are reasons to be concerned for the safety of the flotilla's crew and activists. In 2010, Israel troops boarded and attacked the Mavi Marmara—a Freedom Flotilla ship sailing in international waters—shooting and killing 10 activists and wounding others. Among those murdered was Furkan Doğan, a 19-year-old American videographer.