Homeless make a buck selling Humor Times

We've been working with an organization that helps out homeless people in San Francisco, giving them copies of the Humor Times to sell on the street. It gives them a way to make a few bucks, while spreading the title around and hopefully making a few new fans of the paper.

It's feels good to be able to help unfortunate folks help themselves. People walking on the street like to help out homeless people more when they see that they are being productive in some way. They might even discover they like political humor too!

Call it our little stimulus package -- stimulating the economy on the street, while stimulating your funny bone at the same time!

We hope to be able to duplicate the effort in other localities. Let us know if you have any good ideas for us. And if you see a homeless man or woman offering you the Humor Times one day, don't ignore them, help them out. Buy a copy, and then share it with a friend.

The good vibes will just keep spreading out that way! And Lord knows, we need more of that these days. Thanks.

18th Anniversary Issue of the HUMOR TIMES out now!

I'm very proud and excited to announce that the 18th Anniversary Issue of the Humor Times is out now!

That's right, the Humor Times has come of age. It's been a great ride, and we're looking forward to the next 18 years, assuming the world doesn't implode before then. The way things are going, who knows?

But that's exactly why it's a good thing the Humor Times is here to lighten things up! We tackle current issues with gusto, look at the news sideways, and lampoon politicians with glee -- all just to poke fun... at the media, at our elected officials, at celebrities and ultimately, at ourselves.

Talk about a stimulus -- we've been stimulating the nation's funny bone since 1991!

If you've never seen a copy of the Humor Times, I tell people it's kind of like the Daily Show in print. It's a completely irreverent look at politics and current events, so it never gets stale.

Right now, we've got an Anniversary Special going -- sign up for a year's subscription (12 issues), delivered right to your door, for only $15.95 ($2.00 off)!

Just use "HTanniv" in the discount code blank to receive your discount!

Or, try it out for three issues for only $4.95 (reg. $5.95)!

Do you prefer getting your reading material online? Sign up for the PDF edition of the Humor Times for only $7.95/year (reg. $9.95)!

Of course, no matter what you do, you'll want to sign up for our free "Cartoon of the Week and More" email newsletter, and we hope you visit our website at www.humortimes.com often!

Demonstrations at offices of major banks Thursday nationwide!

Tomorrow, Thursday, March 19, 2009, Americans in cities nationwide will hold demonstrations at the offices of major banks and other corporations to demand more responsible corporate behavior and call on Congress to enact the change that will make it happen. Employee free choice and health care reform will also be issues that are emphasized. Click here for info on some cities where demonstrations are planned.

A populist sentiment is rising once again in America, and that's a good thing. For various reasons, we've been far too complacent for far too long. Now's the time to take advantage of the popular anger over the economic shenanigans of corporate thieves on Wall Street and all over the world -- we need real, systemic changes, NOW -- and this is the best opportunity in years to make it happen.

Let's get out on the street for some good ol' fashioned protests. Get your poster boards, magic markers and paint out, meet your neighbors and raise some hell!

Change We Just Can't Believe In: HR 875 Could Make Organic Farming Illegal

According to reports coming out from food activists, HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 would criminalize organic farming and the backyard gardener.

They say that Big Ag corporations like Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, Sodexo and Tyson are pushing HR 875, which would effectively create a food police department within the Department of Health and Human Services, to be called the “Food Safety Administration.”

This bill is currently sitting in committee, and knowing how Congress does its business, most representatives will probably not bother to even read it, depending instead on what lobbyists from their largest campaign donors have to say. This is what passes for “representative democracy” these days.

According to cryptogon.com:

What this will do is force anyone who produces food of any kind, and then transports it to a different location for sale, to register with a new federal agency called the “Food Safety Administration.” Even growers who sell just fruit and/or vegetables at farmers markets would not only have to register, but they would be subject inspections by federal agents of their property and all records related to food production. The frequency of these inspections will be determined by the whim of the Food Safety Administration. Mandatory “safety” records would have to be kept. Anyone who fails to register and comply with all of this nonsense could be facing a fine of up to $1,000,000 per violation.

Activists are urging citizens to contact their representatives at 202-224-3121 and ask them to oppose HR 875 and the Senate bill, S 425.

I guess this is what happens when Obama, trying to appear “centrist,” appoints people like Tom “I Fly with Monsanto” Vilsack to Secretary of Agriculture, instead of looking for people with alternative points of view.

Earth: The Sequel – inspiring, well done

On Wednesday night, The Discovery Channel aired its one-hour documentary based on Fred Krupp's best-selling book Earth: The Sequel.

If you didn't catch it, they're repeating it again this Sunday. It goes through many of the latest innovations for producing alternative energy, and is quite inspiring. It really gives us -- excuse the overused term (in these days of Obama) -- "hope."

If these already proven technologies could be launched on a massive scale right away, we would not only stand a chance at avoiding the worst of global climate change (and yes, it is still real, despite right-wing nut jobs insisting it's already "over"), AND we could put people to work in good-paying, meaningful, long-lasting jobs and careers.

In fact, I think the entire stimulus should have gone to this effort. Screw the banks, let 'em fail. (Alright, some help should go directly to homeowners facing foreclosure and the unemployed to help them survive through the worst of this.) Let the failed, corrupt financial institutions go bankrupt, let the government restructure them, bring in new people, and start over. That way, CEOs will know there are consequences in the future, and will act accordingly.

Meanwhile, if Obama had launched what Al Gore suggested months ago, we could be on the way to a complete environmental and economic transformation.

It is continually being suggested that we'll need another stimulus package. This should be it.

He's B-A-A-A-C-K!

Yes, I'm back. And blogging once again. Sorry for the long absence... I get lazy sometimes, I admit it. If anyone is out there reading this, leave a comment now and then -- if I know you're out there, I'll be more inspired to write!

I am not an Oprah watcher, although I have nothing against her -- she's done some good things with her fame, so good on her. This clip from her show came to my attention recently, and I wanted to share it.

It's about the 'tent cities' springing up everywhere, this one is in Sacramento. I rode by it recently on my bike, it's MUCH bigger than these filming angles show. I saw what looked like hundreds of tents. A few months ago, there were only a handful.

Lisa Ling, a former Sacramentan, does this report, and her interviews are heartbreaking, but worth watching, as I think we tend to "other-ize" the homeless -- that is, think of them as a different sort of people. Most of those living in this growing tent city had lost jobs recently, and their homes. They're just like you and me.

http://www.oprah.com/media/20090218_tows_tent-city