UC Davis Bike Co-op In Trouble

http://urbanvelo.org/bike-church-gets-eviction-notice/

A press release i got forwarded from some friends...

The Davis Bike Church is a volunteer-run bicycle cooperative and

toolshare that has served our community for the past five years by

keeping people on their bicycles and out of their cars. We believe in

bicycling as a primary form of transportation, and repair and reuse of

materials. Through sharing bicycle parts, tools, and knowledge, we

have become an integral part of Davis.

The Church helps hundreds of people every month. Every Wednesday and

Saturday, people come by the dozens to exchange parts and bike

know-how. Volunteers guide cyclists of all stripes through

maintenance through various procedures as intensive as building a

bike from scratch, or as simple as oiling a chain. Outside of normal

operating hours, our volunteers are serving the community in variety

of ways. We have participated in multiple 'Bike to School' days with local

schools. In conjunction with the University, we built a pedal-powered

laptop station, and have received grants from the UC Davis

Sustainability Advisory Committee to build infrastructure and obtain

solar energy to power the Church. Volunteers have started other

important bike programs in Davis such as the Davis Bicycles! advocacy

group, the Velolution radio show, and built pedal-powered ambulances

to serve communities in Africa. We support local bike shops by

keeping people on their bikes and showing them how to recognize when

they need parts and maintenance. We were voted the #1 bike shop in

Davis by the Davis Wiki in 2008. Above all, we are a collective of

volunteers dedicated to teaching the art of the wrench.

After five successful years on the property of UC Davis, University

administrators are in the process of evicting the Church from its

location at the Domes. As we are finding a solution to this issue, we need

your support.

You can show your support and solidarity simply by riding your bike,

but in this time of need, we are asking for extra help. We are

collecting letters of support to present to the University, and to

obtain support from the City of Davis should we need to move to a new

location. You can send letters to the Bike Church, c/o Tom Denton, 2

Baggin's End, Davis CA 95616, or send an email to

bikeministry@ucdavis.edu <mailto:bikeministry@ucdavis.edu>. You can also

sign the online petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/SaveDBC/petition.html.

We will continue holding services Wednesday and Saturday from 12-6pm;

get information and directions at daviswiki.org/bikechurch

<http://daviswiki.org/bikechurch>.

News articles:

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1380958.html

The Ballot, the Bullets

Less than 12 hours before the election and I'm being bombarded with emails from friends telling me to remember to vote...Specifically for Obama.

*sigh*

Most of the emails are forwards from the likes of groups like MoveOn.org with links to videos extolling how wonderful Obama is, how he's gonna change this country around, and bring about a brighter future. Sure. Whatever.

On days like this, I wish there was some alternative organization against voting that would sponsor a youtube video extolling how voting is for the most part, a total waste of time, and that when it comes to the stuff that really matters, you really have NO choice. Maybe a mash up of Noam Chomsky and George Carlin, just something to shake up American's delusional belief that entering a polling booth once every 4 years is the personification of civic duty.

And yeah, I'll be a relieved when Obama deals McCain a knock out blow tomorrow - Obama's clearly an intelligent, decent human being. The problem is, he's an intelligent, decent human being taking control of a position that is inherently authoritarian and always a breath away from unleashing massive amounts of violence against helpless people (whether they be in Kabul or Oakland). To me, a black man becoming president of a historically racist and patriarchal country doesn't make the country any less racist or patriarchal, no more than hiring black police officers guarantees that black civilians will be safer from police brutality (Ask anyone in Inglewood if they believe that). It's the system that's the problem - Listening to my liberal friends talk about how wonderful an Obama presidency is gonna be, I can't help but think of peasants arguing over whether the new king is going to be a bad one or a good one when, at least to me, no king would be much better.

And just so anyone reading this doesn't think this is simply an ill-informed petty argument from an apathetic anarchist, here's a couple of things that didn't get discussed during this past election cycle, and will most likely not be discussed or addressed after tomorrow's election (and the one after that, and the one there after):

- The United States will continue to maintain over 700 military bases throughout the world.

- The political system within the United States will continue to be controlled by two-ruling parties that will conspire whenever possible to keep any other upstart political entities from gaining power.

- Corporate media, food, clothing, and culture will continue to dominate the thoughts and conversations of the average citizen via commercial television, billboards, and the internet.

- The United States will continue to have a prison population that hovers around 2 million people, by far, the largest in the industrialized world.

- Genetically modified food will remain unlabeled and widely diffused throughout the American food supply.

- The United States will continue to supply Israel with machines that can kill a lot of people very quickly, thereby perpetuating Arab nations utter hatred for Americans.

- The United States will continue to execute people.

- The destruction of wild spaces in the search of riches - be it mineral, energy, timber, whatever, will continue.

- Most people will continue to work meaningless dead-end day jobs for at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (if they're even lucky enough to find employment), then go home to microwaveable dinners, and spend hours alone on the couch watching TV - A completely regimented, mechanized existence. The 20 hour work week will remain a personal fantasy...

- The energy debate will continue to revolve around whether we have enough, and how can we have more, rather than questioning whether we really need as much as we consume.

- The state, from the national, to the local level, will continue to retain the right to punish people for every minor act, whether that be walking on the grass, to sleeping in their cars.

These things just come with the territory of the presidency and the modern industrial state. They are not negotiable. And yet, the emails keep pouring in...Obama is going to change everything! Sure, whatever.

In Remembrance

"That which is remembered lives."

A friend set up this ofrenda at the Bike Church this week in remembrance of all of this year's fallen bicyclists. If it's still standing after Friday's storm, go check it out...

$20 Rider Rebate

If you're a regular rider, by now you've surely heard about how as part of last weeks $700 "Oh fuck, screw public opinion, the house is on fire!" BILLION dollar bailout by Congress, bike commuters will be eligible for a $20/month tax credit/rebate/reimbursement for bike expenses.

The SF Chronicle article is here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/10/09/BA1D13DRO7.DTL

Here's some more info:
http://www.bikesbelong.org/node/1222278

Dubbed the "Bicycle Commuter Act," the legislation has been in the works for almost a decade by Oregon house reps but didn't get passed until, well, Nancy Pelosi REALLY needed the votes. Or to put it another way, these being desperate times, Congressional "leadership" (and really, that's a stretch) was willing to cut deals with Congressmen and women who were against the unpopular bailout - Not so much because they give a flying fuck about us, but because they might be tarred and feathered when they come home and have to explain to their constituents why they voted to throw money at something that ultimately hasn't made one iota of a difference.

Call it pork barrel spending or good old fashion politiking - "Um, I can't vote for this bill unless every child in my district gets a pony and a red balloon." I think bribery or extortion might be a better word for it - Extortion for the most obstinate (principled?) House Reps like Brad Sherman
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFstmclOQG8) and bribery for us bicyclists.

While most bike folks I've talked to are stoked about the bill, I think we sold ourselves short. I mean, if you're gonna bribe us, $20 a month is nice and all, but I'd be just as happy if you taxed the shit out of Hummer drivers or Lockheed or Monsanto and gave the money to local schools. Or better yet, how about kicking some money down for bike path infrastructure (you know, like the ones they have in the Netherlands?) so I don't have to flirt with death every time I ride to work....?

*sigh* fine, I'll take the twenty bucks, but I still want a pony.

UCSC Bicyclist Shot Dead

I just heard about this today...

www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_10597772

A UCSC graduate and bicyclist was shot dead outside his Richmond home. Don't know what to say or think - I've heard Richmond is a rough town but, well, this is horrible.

Viva Bicicleta Banditos!

Sweet!!!

Sunday Car Free Streets in Mexico City:

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-mexbike26-2008sep26,0,2301785,full.story

San Francisco is also closing down their streets to car traffic on the weekends too:

http://www.sundaystreetssf.com

Sigh, it almost makes me miss living in a big city.

Spineless

The Democrats have once again put their tail between their legs and caved in to the Bush Regime/Oil Companies demand that the offshore drilling ban be lifted.

From Democracy Now:

"...congressional Democrats say they’ve agreed to let a ban on offshore drilling expire. The move would pave the way for oil drilling just three miles off both coasts unless the next president reinstates an executive ban. Democrats say they caved to the White House to avoid a showdown over the broader government funding bill....Both Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have come out in support of oil drilling, although Obama has called for stricter limits."

Wow. You know, I've come to expect such behavior from the jackasses, but not when they're the majority party in both the House and Senate. The only difference I can see between Nancy Pelosi and her invertebrate cousin the worm, is that worms are useful in breaking down shit. The Democrats do the opposite.