Mix it up on the Fourth: A DIY list.

Seems I don't actually make mix tapes anymore, but I do still like to think them up. Here's my suggestions for marking this holiday, which I call ...

Independence ... For Whom?

Songs of Freedom / Bob Marley
Red White and Blue Dream / Kimya Dawson
Freedom Rock / Frank Black
Rocket from a Bottle / XTC
Reject All American / Bikini Kill
Bomb the World / Michael Franti
Fireworks / Animal Collective
Bad Politics / Yo La Tengo
The Government Totally Sucks / Tenacious D
Red Eyed and Blue / Wilco
Revolution / Bob Marley
Peace In Our Time / Ray Davies
I’m Free Now / Morphine

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Seems I'd forgotten one of the biggest perks of no longer being employed by the MSM (mainstream media) industrial complex: I'm free to publicly say whatever I like about whatever I don't like.

To that end, be careful out there this Fourth -- don't step in the muck being tossed around by the so-called Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, as they make a last-ditch effort to get a ban on affirmative action on the November ballot. Nebraskans United's web site has information on how to report unruly petition circulators, as well as a link to remove your name if you unwittingly signed the petition, believing it was actually about equal rights.

Earlier this week, I went to a discussion at the Coffee House led by the publisher of one of my favorite 'zines: Bitch. She's on a driving tour across the Midwest, collecting input from readers. It was so inspiring to hear a group of mostly just-post-college-age women wax enthusiastic on the "F" word (feminism, that is) and what we could and should be doing in our communities. A couple of older women as well, including the proud grandma of one cool young dyke who is successfully introducing diversity education to the insurance giant where she works. And a nun from an apparently extremely strict sect (here in Lincoln, she's an order of one) who did her best to proselytize, and I was so proud to see the rest of the group turn not to hatred and division but to an attempt at inclusion.