Note: This is an archived site. Only articles recommended directly by Richard, Lisa, Marcelle or Arnold should be read in April and May. Pieces were posted for specific audiences for very specific purposes, and without the proper context what’s here may appear puzzling or off-putting.

Special Note for Sonia: Dr. Wallace J. Nichols is one of TOSCA’s grandest supporters. “J” is one of the twelve citizens who will be serving in our 12-person gubernatorial coalition, but his preference is to not be our working figurehead candidate for Governor or Lt. Governor (the coalition members citizens will actually vote for). People on my end are thinking that you and/or Q’orianka might be appropriate candidates for TOSCA voters in 2010. All else being equal (and, granted, much must be discussed), I see you both as gifts from the electoral gods. Truly. Without spending a dime, and without distracting either one of you at all from your immediate personal priorities, if you were heading our TOSCA ticket, I can guarantee that we could garner at least a million votes in November… which would be DOUBLE what ALL third parties ever collected combined in the entire history of the U.S. in any given gubernatorial contest. [Pause.] That means that even in a losing effort — and I am not at all conceding anything at this juncture — we would grab a spotlight that would enable us to create historic ripples worldwide vis-a-vis Climate Change, the homeless, etc. THIS WAS WRITTEN IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. IT IS NOT EDITED. IT IS FAR FROM WHAT I WOULD CREATE FOR YOUR KIND CONSIDERATION, SONIA, IF MY LITTLE BOY WASN’T TUGGING AT MY ARM FOR HIS BREAKFAST. Bless you for understanding, for having a vision. I pledge to honor what is so dear to your heart and Q’orianka’s heart.

An Excerpt from An Imagined Speech by Sonia Rockwell
Dedicated to my imagined moment… when Governor Rockwell speaks on behalf of the immiserated, and to our urgent need to address challenges… following a new paradigm
by The Ox

We have a State of Emergency in California on several fronts. But tonight I’m going to address just one.

There is no need for anyone to be homeless in California. I have a plan whereby we can get everyone — and I mean EVERYONE — off of the streets before the cold of our 2011 winter sets in. Perhaps before the next cold night makes an appearance, seasons aside. We want to move expeditiously on this matter, and — as we do — we will have an impact on other states in the union.

Here’s how we’re going to begin. I’ve already set it up so that many vacant government buildings are made available to the homeless throughout the state. As head of the Regents of the University of California, I was able to secure the approval for a number of buildings at UCSC, UC-Davis and a few other campuses immediately… so that citizens can begin utilizing that valuable space that’s been lying fallow, not warming hearts and hands like shelter should. Oh, folks, we should thank those Regents… let’s hear a round of applause… for they’ve inspired a number of citizens already to come forth with offers of private property which we can put to similar use. [Pause.] Yes, there’s a snowball rolling through the Golden State as I speak!

And speaking of volunteers, we should also give a very loud hand to those citizens who have agreed to supervise the various spots that have been made available. Great souls!

Yes, we’re going to be vulnerable to all sorts of litigation — the state — if this or that should go wrong. BUT… BUT… that’s so much of what this administration is going to be about ‘cross the board. We’re going to set a shining example for one and all. Just like we got into office on a zero budget… showing citizens that they could do something, something significant, make a difference without money — Imagine that!!! — we’re going to put financial concerns out of our minds, as we forge ahead doing the right thing, putting the needs of humanity before the cruel dictates of Moloch. We do not have to sacrifice our humanity out of an obsession to avoid all possible complications.

It’s just like that old tired concern with some welfare mother cheating the system. All sorts of guards were put in place for so long to prevent this one or that one from getting away with financial murder when NOTHING was done whatsoever to address the real murder under our noses, both financial and literal. [Pause.] In case it’s not clear, I’m speaking about the murder of the homeless, the murder of innocents abroad courtesy of corporations’ policies whilst they — simultaneously — rip off the public trough to a degree that far, far exceeds the criminality of anything all welfare recipients could possibly dream of getting away with. People in need require our heartbeats, not our self-serving, self-righteous caution.

The point is that we’re not going to worry about the nooks and crannies of what might happen — large or small — as we move in solidarity to honor our common humanity. We’ve been guilty of doing that for much too long. It’s become a habit, a horrible habit. And like the great Samuel Beckett said in his Waiting for Godot, habit is the great deadener.

We’ve been dead too long, dead to what needs to be done. What can so easily be accomplished. And now we’re going to take our revived heartbeats in tandem, take our first new steps together… to show the world — the whole world — what can be done when heart, head and soul are in a healthy place.

Contact Ox at tosca.2010@yahoo.com or impelus@gmail.com. Or telephone 831-688-8038 in Aptos, California AT ANY HOUR. Personal note: Just noticed that Turning the Tides is listed as an affiliate of Sonia’s and Q’orianka’s Bag Lady Bags operation. On that note, Sonia’s speech above could easily have ended by having her introduce the next speaker, Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, an ocean expert fully prepared to delineate HOW their gubernatorial team intends to make the use of plastic bags in the state illegal… or something of the sort. [With or without the cooperation of unconscionable politicians.]