I love Flagstaff’s underground music scene, but there are striking divisions that aren’t very logical. Nobody really talks about this, but I think it is time we start.

I go to all kinds of shows in basements, living rooms, kitchens, and many other hole-in-the-wall places that, in my opinion, successfully combat the fact that in this town, there are little options for all-age venues. I know Tacos Locos is also shaping up to be a great alternative. Though, admittingly, I haven’t been to a show in a few months, I love going to them. I see people there from 14-years-old to 35 and older. You don’t grow out of punk, as they say, you just move to the back. Punk at these shows is always varied slightly – from conventional punk like Killer Dreamer to psychedelic punk like Triclops, folk punk like Andrew Jackson Jihad, and even the hip hop stylings of Hawnay Troof. I always have a good time at these shows. At these shows the PBR flows like rain mixed with sweat.

Periodically, I went to shows at the 321 house or that other house up the hill and the crowds were always strikingly different (I say “went” because I haven’t been in a while and I don’t even know if they still have shows). This is the house whose label preaches “music for social change.” This is a passionate bunch who write songs about racism/sexism/homophobia/ and any other social ill you can think of. Despite their celebration of individuality, however, there are a lot of conventions that, after a while got a little annoying to me. Black. Always where black. Fliers, patches, and t-shirts are always black with white writing, usually the writing is illegible. Black metal, thrash, crust music and little else. Aside from that stuff, I have to say that when I went to those shows, people were always very nice to me. I found it much easier to talk and relate to the people that go to these shows because they are usually very socially conscious and those conversations are simply more interesting than talking about why Tacate tastes better than PBR. One time I went to a Body Parts show there and someone in the crowd was being disrespectful to a woman. The whole crowd immediately kicked him out of the house. I thought that was really cool. Then I got to thinking, if their goal is social change, maybe that wasn’t the best tactic. Anyway…another big difference is that most of these shows do not allow alcohol (this is mostly a precaution so when the cops come, nobody runs and/or gets arrested).

On Friday night, I went to a fundraiser for Táala Hooghan Infoshop. It was an all-ages show with a few bands from out-of-town, and of course Blackfire. There were tables set up, Food Not Bombs, free zines, other stuff, and short films from Outta Your Backpack Media. Present were people of all races, ages….families, hipsters, hippies, moms, dads, kids, punks….I even bought a book that is amazing so far. It’s called Columbus and Other Cannibals.

From all the shows I go to, I was surprised that I recognized only TWO people at this fundraiser. Granted, everyone and their mom have seen Blackfire by now, but there were two other bands, one from Tuba and another all the way from NYC. And this was a fundraiser for the Infoshop for christ’s sake. My girlfriend looked at me and asked, “Where are all your punk friends? I thought punks care about important stuff?” Well, some…

I tried to explain that the music scene is divided. Some people get together because they want to rock out and drink beer. Some get together for a purpose, social change. Even if their approach can be misguided at times, they’re looking for more than a new 7-inch and a hangover. Granted, I love drinking and rocking as much as the next guy, but divisions like this are detrimental to a city as small as ours. I understand much of the divisions stem from some scattered incidences and confrontations. I remember a while back there was a lot of controversy about cocaine in the punk scene. And if you care about social change, coke is obviously very problematic. Plus, it reeks of class privileges and it’s just gross.

There are a few people, and I mean a small group of people that can float freely between the two underground scenes, but many people are trapped on either side. Many of these divisions were forged by people who don’t even live here anymore. It’s time people got over themselves and came together. Stop with the knee jerk reactions to people that might be new to complicated ideas. Everybody grows at their own pace, but everybody grows. This town is too small for that kind of drama.

And if you care about anything remotely important, and we all do, support the infoshop. If they can’t pay their rent, they’ll be gone and the community will lose a very valuable resource.

The public lands bill that was defeated early last month was reworked and signed yesterday.

This afternoon President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, one of the most sweeping pieces of conservation and public land management legislation in decades.

The measure protects two million acres of wilderness in nine states and a thousand miles of rivers, a 50 percent increase in the wild and scenic river system. It establishes new national trails, national parks and a new national monument and provides legal status for the National Landscape Conservation System, which will protect some of the country’s most spectacular landscapes.

This is fantastic news, but Obama’s “environmentalism” makes me a little uncomfortable. He said:

“As Americans, we possess few blessings greater than the vast and varied landscapes that stretch the breadth of our continent,” said President Obama.

Which is cool, but read on.

“Our lands have always provided great bounty – food and shelter for the first Americans, for settlers and pioneers; the raw materials that grew our industry; the energy that powers our economy.”

Ugh. Obama is great at using vaguely agreeable terminology. To me, it seems to confirm that age old theory that wilderness is protected, not for the sake of wilderness, but to secure future development of natural resources. It’s like buying a big meal, taking a bit, and saying, “wrap it up for me, I’ll finish’er off when I’m a little more hungry.”

There is nothing wrong with using a resource – by definition, a resource exists so you can use it. That’s problematic of course, because that is our word for the trees, animals, rocks, and others who do not see themselves as resources. Still, even if we are to think of a resource as something that exists for our use, like all resources, they must be preserved so that others can also use them. They must be used wisely and sparingly if we expect future generations to be able to live here too.

Then Obama quoted President Teddy Roosevelt, who nearly 100 years ago said, “I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”

Right on. That’s a great quote, but the truth is, resources have been wasted. They continue to be wasted, and we steal them from other countries now too. The quote is a 100 years old. We are the future generation he is speaking of and we are pissed. We are pissed that previous generations made rivers and streams unsuitable for drinking. We are pissed about the radiation, the cancers, and the chemicals. We are pissed about the clearcuts and the death of the oceans. We’re still building coal plants and pulling uranium out of the ground. We’ve banned some toxins and created some new ones. And they still want to talk about “generations that come after us?” They’ll be horrified, you can bet on that. If we really care about future generations, we need to create a world that will support their lives. And this one won’t.

If you don’t know Mickey Z, then you don’t know sarcasm at it’s best. I love this guy.

Before we get to 2076, first things first: Hail Obama, our brilliant, articulate, eloquent, half-black savior and prince.

Okay, so maybe St. Barack is a tad less progressive than we imagined but you have to admit he’s brilliant and eloquent and half-black. And c’mon, folks, he’s not even in office yet. Give the poor guy a chance. Once he’s in, we’ll hold his feet to the fire and make real progress. We’ll get permits to hold weekend protests (with none of those nasty anarchists invited) and we’ll give voice to the voiceless…in our designated free speech zones, of course. President Obama will hear us, I’m sure. He’ll prove there is a difference between the two parties. After all, you can’t tell me you didn’t shed a tear when you saw all those young people celebrating in the streets. The youth have spoken! The future has arrived! Bushism is dead!!! Let’s rejoice!!! Let’s sing along with Ani DiFranco’s amazing new song, “Yes We Can”!!!

In fact, I’m willing to go out on a limb right now and boldly predict that by the year 2011, the number of US combat troops in Iraq will have decreased by at least 10-15%. To those who want more, I ask: We can’t expect Obama to simply withdraw those brave, heroic, gallant, valiant, superhuman men and women in one shot, can we? No way, there’s no cut and run for America. (And remember: we wouldn’t be in this mess if that damn egotistical Ralph Nader hadn’t ruined everything in 2000. He shouldn’t be allowed to run. Make it illegal, I say.)

At least Obama is forming a strong centrist coalition. “A team of rivals,” they say. Some may nitpick and point out that every single appointee is a Washington retread who supported the war and could’ve just as easily been chosen by John McCain had he won, but Obama is clearly in charge and he’s brilliant. He makes the decisions and he’s so articulate. He promised hope and change and, being that he’s so eloquent, I’m positive he will deliver. It would be negative, bitter, and cynical to think otherwise. In fact, anyone not thrilled with the historic election of a half-black man should not be allowed to breathe our precious oxygen. (Ain’t that right, Tim Wise?)

Looking ahead, we’ll have bumps in the road (like many years of recession, escalation of the war on Afghanistan and subsequent blowback, reinstitution of the military draft, drastic cuts in social programs, an ongoing policy of torture and extra-judicial trials, the use of US troops to quell dissent by US citizens on US soil, to name but a few) but I’m confident we’ll have the brilliant, inspirational Obama in office until 2016…followed by America’s first female president—Hillary Clinton—until 2024. Hooray!!!!! What a proud moment for the world’s greatest nation. Gender equality is ours!!! No more patriarchy!!!

Read the rest here.

Bush, in his final months as President, is quickly passing as many as 20 rules and regulations. The rules deal with issues as diverse as abortion, auto safety and the environment.

One particular rule, which Obama opposes, “would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.”

And there is much more. “One rule would make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas.” Lets not also forget the fire sales, which make the land on the fringe of National Parks available for oil exporation.

“Another would reduce the role of federal wildlife scientists in deciding whether dams, highways and other projects pose a threat to endangered species.”

Another narrows the scope of services that can be provided to poor people under Medicaid’s outpatient hospital benefit.

At first, one might think, well Obama will just reverse all this stuff when he’s president. There is a lot out there to suggest that it might not be so easy. In many cases, for example, “It could take Obama years to undo climate rules finalized more than 60 days before he takes office.”

It sure is a windy election day. Cold too! If you can get a glimpse of the peaks as clouds pass over like sailing ships, you should see a dusting of snow.

So I just got back from the elementary school wear I vote. I arrived second in line at 4pm. Those working the polls, apparently don’t have people helping them. The same people who opened the polls this morning are the same that will close it tonight. You’d think they’d have more people helping them out.

I was happy to get a paper ballot; I wouldn’t trust those machines. It was also nice to see 5 candidates for president on the ballot. Though it would have been nicer to hear them all debate together.

I heard a couple guys talking out front before I walked in about how confusing the language is for many of the propositions. They are, indeed; that’s why I figured it all out before hand. I suggest you do the same.

Then I got a sticker that, apparently, I can redeem for free coffee at Starbucks. Keeping America wired for the results!