posted by C for T

hello folks,

this will be brief, as there is much to do here and little time to do it.

i have grown quite used to living in the ditch. i like it here now. i have a great tan, and get plenty of exercise. i have lost seven pounds at last check.

all our food and water is donated from people all over the world. today we received over 3500 roses that were sent from mothers all over the world to place at the crosses in the ditch.

i have a photo of me and lt. sid franklin. who would ever have believed that i would have made such a good friend in a small town sheriff. when i get my stuff downloaded, i'll send you all a photo of us with our arms around each other.

i have had the opportunity to spend nearly a week in close proximity with joan baez. i have a photo of us together. i also gave russell means a tour of our ditch just the other day.

today we had two weddings, one in the big top tent at camp 2 and the other at down in the ditch.

the folks in the ditch refer to me as either sergeant major, or the ditch witch, depending.

i spend much time with the young vets that come in from the ivaw (iraq vets against the war) they don't seem to like it up at the big tent at camp 2 much, they love it down in camp casey... i've been trying to get one that used to only visit at night to come in the day, and just the other day, he was here for a few minutes. all of his fingers are blown off, one of his legs is, one arm is twisted, as is the other leg. his torso is a mass of burn scars.

his name is adam. the first time he came he would not allow me to touch him. he would not say his name and only stayed a short while. the second time, he told me his name and that his wife left him because he was too ugly now. the third time he came he said that wanted to talk to one of the vets. none of the young ivaw were there, but i got a vietnam vet for him. he only stayed a few minutes. 2 days ago, he came during the day, he touched my hand and let me hug him and kiss his check. he gave me his phone number. he was going to come back on saturday, but did not, and when i called him, i found him in the hospital recovering from seizures and let him talk to cody camacho of the ivaw on the phone.

Today I spoke with Jeremy, who was camped out with a very friendly chocolate lab along 4th St. between Capitol and Washington. He described for me the process of trying to work while homeless.

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Previous interviews here and here.

The annual hempfest came to Olympia today, and everyone was looking very freaky. There were many booths selling barely legal paraphernalia. (Three kids actually asked me if I would buy a bong for them, which is kind of odd, 'cause I look pretty straight). There was also music, but I noticed that not many people were dancing. It looked a little sad and empty. Here's a bunch more pictures from a person (a bit paranoid, I might add) who attended the fest.

The Olympian has a bio piece on John Winn Miller, the new publisher of the Olympian (now part of the Knight-Ridder organization). The piece mentions two specific values that Miller holds: accountability and technology:

When he toured The Olympian earlier this month, Knight Ridder chairman and chief executive Tony Ridder talked of his commitment to the watchdog role of journalism, of giving voice to the voiceless, uncovering corruption and holding public officials accountable for their actions.

It's a commitment Miller shares.

"I want journalism to focus on the watchdog role," he said in an interview last week. "We need a vigorous and free press that challenges authority."

At Knight Ridder's Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, Miller helped to expose the inequities of Kentucky's school financing system that penalized poor counties. The investigative series "Cheating Our Children" helped to spur reforms that addressed those inequities.

As a first-time publisher in the Internet age, Miller said, he has grown to believe that the electronic medium complements rather than threatens print journalism.

Newspaper Web sites expose more readers to the power of a newspaper's journalism, Miller said.

"It gives you a reach that nothing can match," he said. "If done correctly, they (Web sites and newspapers) can complement each other. There's room for both kinds of services."

On the water in Olympia

See the little guy that does all the work at Olympia Harbor Days, which honors the humble tugboat Friday-Sunday, Sept. 2-4 in Olympia.

Take a historic tugboat tour Saturday or enter the Swantown Regatta, a 2,500-meter human-powered boat race. Bring your own pedal boat, kayak or canoe. Tugboat races are Sunday. Tugs are built for power, not speed, so when they race they produce impressive wakes. A caveat: to really see the races you must watch them from a boat.

Besides all the agua action, you can also take in 120 arts and crafts booths, an international food court and a music stage at Percival Landing and Port Plaza. See historic tugboats moored at Percival Landing and a model tugboat demonstration with 25 model tugs all three days at Port Plaza. Tour and cruise the Lady Washington, a replica of the original Washington/Lady Washington merchant brig that sailed around 1750-98. Tours are free 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday; tours 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday are $4, $2 for age 12 and younger, $8 per family. Event hours: 5-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Race starts at 10 a.m. at Swantown Marina. Free admission, $20 per boat with adult and child for regatta, $15 per person; $45 sail on the Lady Washington, $35 age 62 and older, $25 age 12 and younger. More info: 1-800-788-8847, www.harbordays.com

Here is a little more information from the Olympian about the "values ordinance" mentioned in a previous post:

If passed, the proposal could be the first in the nation, though other communities have regulated businesses in other ways, including capping the size of stores, limiting the number of chain stores that can come in at one time or requiring that businesses of a certain size contribute to employee health insurance.