I AM NOT THE BOSS OF YOU
but we must move our collective butt expeditiously, nonetheless
by Richard Martin Oxman (with the aid of Payal Sampat)

“You are not the boss of me!” — Anarchist character (?) played by Will Farrell

“It’s in the water, stupid!” – From a script the author would like to write about one of the many environmental sources for cancer (given virtually no attention by prestigious institutions such as The American Cancer Society)… if he weren’t busy trying to make a singular difference with TOSCA (Taking Over the State of California)

FOR THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY ON BOARD WITH TOSCA AND PRESSED FOR TIME, YOU CAN JUST JUMP DOWN TO WHAT’S BELOW IN CAPS AND BOLDFACE, IF YOU LIKE, or scroll further… to where the #s begin.

San Jose, California, is the capital of the world’s high-tech industry. I used to live right on its border. I am now still not a sufficiently safe distance from it.

As you drive into the city, it may be hard to imagine that the squeaky-clean veneer of the computer industry conceals a dirty underbelly: Silicon Valley has more Superfund sites than any other area its size in the United States. Its worst pollution is reflected not in smokestacks* but in the contaminated aquifers** beneath the valley.

*Though the air ranks in the 90th percentile nationwide respecting carcinogens.

**This aquifer dynamic — multiplied horrifically throughout California and elsewhere — is just one of many reasons why we are at great risk of cancer with both water from our faucets and virtually all bottled water.

The above is sufficient reason for taking over the State of California (TOSCA) as per http://oxtogrind.org/archive/336, for no career politician will give this abominable desecration/danger the urgent attention it begs for… for one and all. Our coalition of a dozen citizens serving in tandem as Governor will have a shot at doing the trick, as they say.

I HAVE MORE ON THIS UPON REQUEST, BUT I WANT TO MOVE EXPEDITIOUSLY REGARDING TOSCA NOW.

My son Marcello (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM-Hdn7h7tU#GU5U2spHI_4 and www.marcelsgeo.blogspot.com) often wears one of my favorite T-shirts. It has an image of a school desk on it, and the copy reads Ancient Torture Device. But… he has no future — none of the children do — unless more kids get home schooled in a cool way. For they don’t have a chance in hell of learning about things like the dark side of Silicon Valley* moving through traditional educational channels… and, then, no chance of doing something about it

*Thousands of underground tanks that leak chlorinated solvents and other chemicals that are stored or discarded by electronic firms are virtually ignored by state and federal government officials. In industrial countries, waste that is too hazardous to landfill is routinely buried in underground tanks. But as these caskets age, they eventually spring leaks. As of February, 2000 (providing the last reliable figures for this subject that I know of), there were about 386,000 confirmed leaks from underground storage tanks in the U.S. In Silicon Valley, local groundwater authorities found that 85 percent of the tanks they inspected had leaks. These facts make the area uninhabitable, fancy veneer and misleading PR notwithstanding. THAT’S why we must take over the State of California in solidarity. For that reason, and… as you know… for many other reasons.

On that note, and with your knowing that I’m not into what school teachers generally do, permit me to hand out assignments (in no special order):

#1. Howard Zinn, please contact Arundhati Roy… to get her proactively on board. And if you run into Matt Damon or Danny Glover… tell them not to be strangers.

#2. Michael Parenti, please contact Mike Davis… to find out if he’ll consider being on our ticket.

#3. Mickey Z, please connect me with EVERYONE who you know who lives in California, and maybe try to hit up Amy Goodman for a plug… somewhere down the line. I’d bet a word from you would resonate with Cynthia McKinney too.

#4. Derrick Jensen, please put in a good word for TOSCA in your upcoming appearances.

#5. Noam Chomsky, please write a major article putting the spotlight on TOSCA. [Woops, Noam's not yet on board! Perhaps someone can nudge Howard Zinn to help pull him in; rhyme -- or chutzpah -- will be the death of me.]

#6. Ronnie Cummins, please ask all of the celebrities on your OCA site to consider having a free lunch on me in our lovely garden… so that I can sell them on our bill of goods, keeping in mind that I WANT ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY FROM THEM.

#7. Michael Stocker and Wallace J Nichols, please urge all well-intentioned, together organizations devoted to the health of our oceans to support TOSCA in every imaginable way… as one of their very top priorities [Huge payback to be had soon, I promise!]… as if their lives depended on the project… as if the existence of non-human life in our oceans were contingent upon it.

#8. Dave Lindorff, please nestle up to Jeffrey St. Clair, remind him that I’m sorry for past indiscretions, and that I’d be honored if he’d put in his two cents plus.

#9. Tom Hardy, please consider using a cinematic version of Howard Zinn’s Emma as a vehicle in the next step of your incomparable career, and touring California to tell one and all why you are doing so. OR… ask Ken Loach to film our presumptuous efforts.

Thanks for your kind consideration of the above.

Gotta go play with Marcello now,
Ricardo The Ox
headburg@yahoo.com