Bittner's Blog

New Location

2006-09-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

Bittner's Blog on blogspot.com is closing down. Since I started this blog, I have learned how easy it is to create and maintain a real website. I will soon begin maintaining a personal news and commentary feature (a blog) on my website, www.BrianBittner.org. See you there.

Things I Don't Need #2

2006-09-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

My bowling bag. To be perfectly honest, my other bowling bag. One is enough to hold my bowling shoes and favorite bowling ball.

Things I Don't Need #1

2006-08-12T18:36:00.000-04:00

The Pizza Cutter.

One of my most recent acquistions, the pizza cutter, raises some issues I think are important for this exploration and provides an excellent opportunity to write about my girlfriend Shanna. She is awesome in many ways and never said a word about sleeping with bedbugs and, later, on a tiny vinyl mattress. She is also an excellent example of simple living and appreciation for things we do need. The other night we made pizza and I thought I should get a pizza cutter. This fascinating little thing is small, unassuming, and fairly simple. That's an important trick the junk makers have used to fill my house with little Things I Don't Need. Like the frog that will not go into boiling water but will stay in the cool water that is slowly heated up, a consumer would never stand for a ton of gadgetry dumped into their living room at once. If things looks appealing and unassuming at the same time, they will fill up inches of your drawers until there is no room left. And you'll never know what has happened until the drawers won't close.

Of all the Things I Don't Need, I think this one might actually be the most useful and helpful. It is a well-designed solution to the pizza-cutting problem. But I bought it mostly because I was embarassed that I didn't have a specialized tool that cuts pizza without knocking a little bit of cheese off the edge of each slice. One thing I hope to learn is what real problems are, and the pizza-cutting problem is not one of them.

Things I Don't Need

2006-08-12T17:49:00.000-04:00

"Absent from the U.S. for so long that some thought they were a myth, bedbugs are back. Entomologists and pest control professionals are reporting a dramatic increase in infestations throughout the country, and no one knows exactly why." And just in case you were wondering, "Experts say bedbugs are not necessarily an indicator of unsanitary conditions." So don't feel bad when you get them, but be ready for a lot of exasperating work to get rid of them.

You might just arrange a deal with your landlord or mortager to allow you to leave your residence at any time with no penalty, because you will be ready to leave. Even if the bugs aren't biting, which they weren't after I threw away my mattress and boxspring, to get rid of them you'll have to remove everything you own from its spot and pack it up in a plastic bag in the middle of the room. So just pack it all in a truck and move away instead. But even if you can't arrange such a deal, you'll still get a chance to become intimate again with every thing you've ever bought or acquired.

So now I'm emptying these bags and putting things back where they belong. And some of these things belong in the landfill, or at least with someone who needs it a lot more than I do. So as I (slowly) unpack, I will try to keep a running list of the Things I Don't Need. If you (really) need them, you can have them. But you probably don't, and maybe my experience might help you reflect on our world, which at the moment I think is preoccupied with producing things that almost none of us need.

Another Letter

2006-08-07T02:44:00.000-04:00

From The Aegis, August 9, 2006...

Dear Editor,

I would like to thank all the Harford County residents who met with the Harford County Green Party at the Farm Fair and signed our ballot access petition. According to state election law, all political parties must sumbt thousands of signatures to remain certified, run candidates, and organize their members. (The Republican and Democratic parties, who appoint the members of the state Board of Elections, are exempt from this requirement.) Minor party organizers and candidates like myself are forced to spend time fulfilling these requirements instead of campaigning, creating an endless cycle of two-party dominance and third-party weakness.

Thank you to the hundreds of Farm Fair visitors who signed the petition and voiced their support for another choice in state and local politics. Anyone over the age of 18 can also help collect signatures to maintain our ballot access. You can download petitions and instructions at http://www.mdgreens.org/ and learn more about our local group at http://www.harfordcountygreenparty.com/.

Brian Bittner
Abingdon
Candidate for County Council District B

Honking For Peace

2006-07-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

Here we are at the Just 4Peace vigil last Friday. That's me behind the flag just to the right of center. Shanna is deftly hidden behind a sign at the other side of the flag. More pictures will be available at www.just4peace.org.

Call in the Troops?

2006-07-19T00:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a portion of an article in this morning's Baltimore Examiner, and a letter I wrote to the editor in response.

EDGEWOOD RESIDENTS ARE FED UP WITH VIOLENCE, OTHERS ‘DON'T CARE’

Edgewood, Md. - An Edgewood man claims the level of violence that exists in the Harford County community has reached such a peak that residents of the area are victims of terrorism.
Sam Gibson, a resident of Nuttal Avenue and member of the Edgewood Community Council, told The Examiner Monday that Edgewood residents are living in a state of terror, a problem he felt should be addressed in the same way the national war on terrorism is being handled — through the use of military force.

“What we need up in [Edgewood] is some National Guard, maybe a police command post. Is it not terrorism when somebody can’t sit outside on their porch because they’re afraid? Is it not terrorism when someone is shot in the leg while sitting in their living room? Is it not terrorism when a mother loses her son? That’s why we need the National Guard, more police or some action. Like I said, if I don’t hear of some action in two days, I’m taking this to Annapolis myself,” Gibson said.

Frustration mounted for Gibson after he attempted to find out what Harford County sheriff’s deputies were doing to stop the violence. Were more deputies patrolling Edgewood? Were more being stationed at the sheriff’s office Southern Precinct? He claimed all he got was “the run-around.”

Bob Thomas, a spokesman for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that Gibson had contacted him regarding what police were doing in Edgewood to fight drug activity and violent crime; however, Gibson wanted to know where, and how many, deputies are deployed throughout Edgewood, Thomas said. He said this information is not available to the public.

So I wrote...

Dear Editor,

I think Sam Gibson and the people of Edgewood deserve answers. He has raised important questions about how Harford County's law enforcement resources are allocated throughout the county. While militarizing county law enforcement might not be the best answer, change is clearly needed. One reason detectives encounter residents who "don't care" about the county's investigation is that the people's requests go unanswered by the county. If Harford County wants to be a place where communities come together to create a safe environment, the county itself must take the first step. It is time for Harford officials to open themselves to an honest dialogue about their policies and the ways they protect communitiessuch as Edgewood.

Brian Bittner
Candidate for Harford County Council

Trading This Place Away

2006-07-10T19:36:00.000-04:00

I just got back from four days in Ocean City, Maryland. Although the town was named an All-American City in 2001, there are a lot of foreigners living and working in Ocean City. I don't like it. Which is odd because I like foreigners.

There are not enough young and unskilled local people to employ in Ocean City's hundreds of pizza parlors, french fry huts, beachwear stores, temporary airbrushed tattoo dens, and God-forsaken crappy t-shirt shops. I don't want to visit a place that can't sustain it's own level of consumption without importing thousands of workers from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Bloc.

But we all live there already. I have spent a lot of time on the Eastern Shore beyond Ocean City near the headquarters of the Perdue chicken empire, which cannot sustain itself without the labor of thousands of Mexicans who live in shabby homes throughout Del-Mar-Va.

Don't the people who work in chicken processing plants or sell "Federal Boob Inspector" t-shirts want to be here? Isn't this the land of opportunity? Many days I wish that I had the opportunity to live in a place with a thousand years of history, towns that refuse to build McDonald's, and some sense of humility. Very rarely have I ever wished for an opportunity to work at Dunkin' Donuts. I don't need it and this place can't afford it.

Beautiful Game

2006-06-09T14:19:00.001-04:00

If I were a sport, I would be soccer. Soccer is simple. It requires very little gear. Games are easy to plan your afternoon around. Soccer is strategic but not really. It's most important to observe what's going on and take advantage of opportunities when they happen. Soccer is a long restful observation punctuated by explosive action. Hooligansim is rampant. America learns from the world. In all places, our soccer is the underdog. Look anywhere, it can be found. At its best it is beautiful, but it struggles with its dirty little secrets. If I were a sport, I would be soccer.

For World Cup coverage, check out http://soccernet.espn.go.com/worldcup/fixtures?&lpos=wcnav&lid=gn_sn_WC+fixtures&cc=5901. Go Yanks.

Oslo's Birthday

2006-06-01T19:07:00.000-04:00

Today is Oslo's birthday. He is 3. Right now he's sitting in my lap because he's a little nervous during thunderstorms. Here's a particularly funny picture of him.

No Substitute for a Good Education

2006-05-26T20:58:00.000-04:00

Today I was a substitute government teacher with the greatest assignment of all time: to show students a video called Presidential Bloopers. It was a backstage look at some of the White House's wackiest moments.

Highlights included George H.W. Bush getting bitten by a crab, Richard Nixon (unsuccessfully) playing with a yo-yo, Bill Clinton tripping over Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan falling asleep at the United Nations, Margaret Thatcher getting pooped on by a koala bear, and Gerald Ford falling headlong down the steps of Air Force One (about six times).

Click here order your own copy!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002234I6/104-1922290-4705559?v=glance&n=130

P.S. I had a wonderful birthday.

Birthday Boy

2006-05-25T00:02:00.000-04:00

Today is my birthday. My grandmother sent me a card and a special mass said just for me at the Passionite Monastery of Chicago, Illionis.

Peace Process

2006-05-21T21:12:00.000-04:00

I would like to thank my Towson folks who came to Bel Air on Friday and joined the Just4Peace demonstration on Main Street. Forty of us lined the street and advertised our distaste for war. It can be a hard thing to say sometimes.

Some people might say that a few dozen old hippies and college kids standing in front of the courthouse aren't that special (some people, it turns out, will go out of their way to boo or make obscence gestures at a peace rally) but I felt like being one of 40 people on the main street of the place where I grew up was more significant that being one of 300,000 in New York City three weeks ago.

You can get updates about the next demonstration from Just4peace@clearviewcatv.net

I'm Spoiling For A Fight

2006-05-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

"Americans are interested in having more voice in the political process and the question is, 'How is that going to happen?' We are dealing with an electoral system that is fragmented into 50 pieces - 50 federal pieces - but hasn't really been updated or rethought in generations. In many ways we're living with something that was created for us two centuries ago and it's really anachronistic. We're used to having choices in every other aspect of our lives, but when it comes to politics, it's Coke or Pepsi. And sometimes the difference between the two parties is as significant as the difference between Coke and Pepsi. This can't last forever..."

-Micah Sifry, author of Spoiling for a Fight (Marc Steiner Show, WYPR, 5.8.2006)

http://www.wypr.org/M_Steiner.html

Six Months

2006-05-07T23:05:00.000-04:00

Six months until Election Day. The campaign begins tomorrow. I've established a six step plan for electoral success:

1. Finish the paperwork. Plan enough fun to keep people coming back all summer.
2. Build a loyal army of supporters. Preferably willing to forfeit dignity for no pay.
3. Hear as many viewpoints as possible. Four days sweating at the county fair.
4. Hit the streets. Paint the town green.
5. Stay in the news.
6. GOTV.

There is not another day to waste.

http://www.hyfntrak.com/neilyoung2/AFF24046/

Bittner's Got a Blog

2006-04-24T15:15:00.000-04:00

Bittner's got a blog.