Venice, Louisiana (CNN) — Frustrated Louisiana officials Sunday demanded the federal government approve their plans to dredge up walls of sand to protect delicate inland estuaries from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“Either the Coast Guard has to side with its American citizens and protect its communities, or it has to side with a major world corporation named BP and betray American citizens in that process,” St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro told reporters.

With oil sloshing ashore along the state’s barrier islands and seeping into marshes around the mouth of the Mississippi River, state and parish leaders want to use dredges to close channels between the Gulf and the coastal estuaries.

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The vaginal barbell, invented by Betty Dodson. Weighing about one pound, the barbell serves two purposes: you can use it to exercise your PC muscles, or you can use it as a penetration toy. No matter how hard you cum, this thing will stay put in your body and not go flying across the room; you can dependably relax and forget about it. Photo created at the opening party for "My Sexual Revolution" by Betty Dodson; picture by Eric Francis.

Hello!

I’ve been meaning to post this all weekend but time has been snug. New readers may be wondering: Who exactly is this Betty Dodson?

She is something of a patron saint of women, of sex and of Planet Waves. Known most popularly as the author of Sex for One, Betty was the first person to come out with a book affirming masturbation, sexuality and the sexuality of women in particular — all with a focus on self-pleasuring and emotional autonomy. It’s a long story and I will tell it again some time, but there has been an approximately 400 year campaign to malign masturbation, and Betty was the first person to answer the issue with some sanity. Since then she’s done many videos; they’re mostly really sexy and fun, though my favorite (my Aquarius Moon talking, I guess) is a lecture she gave in Seattle a few years ago called Betty Dodson: Her Life of Sex and Art. She is really, really funny — the last time I watched it my friend and I laughed ourselves silly at her understated wit, her friendly sarcasm and her salty approach to sex and communication. This one is a keeper, and it’s suitable for showing to teenage kids.

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And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their world
Are immune to your consultations
They’re re quite aware of what they’re going through
– David Bowie, “Changes,” from the album Hunky Dory

By KRISTEL FOSTER

TUCSON, AZ — Arizona is making international news. At the moment it’s known for something besides the Grand Canyon: we have a new law legalizing, indeed, requiring racial profiling. The state government has just banned ethnic studies classes in our classrooms. Orders have been given from our Department of Education to remove teachers with heavy accents. The famous immigration law passed here also requires schools next year to report citizenship status of their students, essentially turning educators into immigration officials. And next there’s word of challenging the 14th Amendment, taking away citizenship of children born on Arizona soil if their parents don’t have the right papers.

So, what’s a pueblo to do? It’s an overwhelming battle against these extremist politicians and their personal agendas. Who will lead us in the fight? Who will take charge for change? Our town has its share of activist organizations, fine established groups that dutifully inform the public and diligently fight the fight. And we have our fare share of politicians, the majority of whom have been very, very quiet. But these past weeks, there’s been a new face at the forefront of the march.

The protest movements began when the bill banning ethnic studies arrived on the governor’s desk. Students organized a sit-in. Following in the footsteps of those they had read about in their history books, they planned a 24-hour human chain, wrapping their high school outside in an all night candlelight vigil. I spent some time with them that night. These kids are strong and smart, focused and fearless.

Five days later, at the last hour, the governor signed the act into law, banning them from class, prohibiting them these studies that represent the line for so many between poverty and success, as 80% of the students who participate in these classes go on to college, compared to the national average of 25%.

The personal is political in Arizona. Tucson Unified School District has the only ethnic studies program in our nation’s public schools, and our State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, has had a personal vendetta against them for years.

Unfair immigration laws have been written during the course of his tenure, but in the past always vetoed by our former Governor Janet Napolitano. When he promoted her to the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Obama opened a window for these attacks to become law.

Mr. Horne himself planned to visit the very next day.

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Today’s Oracle takes us back to the Leo monthly of October 28, 2008

Much of what I know about Leo, I know from homeopathy — specifically, from the remedy aurum metallicum, or pure gold. Most of the rest comes from having working relationships with Leos, wherein I have learned that there exists something of a gold standard, and one that is described in the properties of the remedy aurum. It is not quite about perfectionism but rather about giving all you have as a matter of common sense. You do something, you do it well. You commit to something, you come through. It’s a more practical approach than trying to be perfect. People other than Leos have these values, but few take it to heart so deeply, with such pride and with the capacity to feel so poignantly any sense of failure. Apropos of Pluto ingressing Capricorn, your solar 6th house, you need to pace yourself; to balance effort, recovery and recreation; and most important, to let your mind carry the weight of your process more than your body. This is a transit about refining your method, purpose and message of something vital in this world — service. The key to these years of your life is about restructuring your world such that it supports your goals. You may already be onto this one, but the time has come to put your plan into action. You know what is possible. You believe in yourself. And you trust your own strength. Focus your intention and the rest will come.

(The Daily Oracle is a random selection from one of 10,000 Eric Francis horoscopes. New horoscopes by Eric are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves Astrology News and Planet Waves Light. The Oracle itself is a divination tool available to subscribers to either of these services.)

Today’s Oracle takes us back to the Capricorn weekly of October 4, 2001

Your mother knows. If for some reason you can’t talk to her, talk to her relatives, peers or a spiritual mother. What does mother know? She knows why you feel the way you feel now. She knows why you seem to be desperate or holding grief when the world is offering you so much. She knows why you might be reluctant to engage with a person who seems totally safe and caring — because she knows what happened to you as a child. In particular, she knows about one betrayal that now needs your loving attention and forgiveness.

(The Daily Oracle is a random selection from one of 10,000 Eric Francis horoscopes. New horoscopes by Eric are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves Astrology News and Planet Waves Light. The Oracle itself is a divination tool available to subscribers to either of these services.)

Today’s Oracle takes us back to the Libra weekly of October 31, 2003

We tend to play by the rules we were taught. Occasionally a really innovative person rewrites the rules, or breaks them, but most people who do that successfully know the original requirements and thus have an idea what the meaning and impact of their rebellion will be. I see a potential dilemma in your life between playing along with the game or revolting and doing things your own way. You need to do both, I think, particularly in the capacity of your life wherein you’re expected to be a leader or person of authority. Authority means the power to authorize — to give or withhold your blessing. That takes confidence, which is the ultimate revolt.

(The Daily Oracle is a random selection from one of 10,000 Eric Francis horoscopes. New horoscopes by Eric are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves Astrology News and Planet Waves Light. The Oracle itself is a divination tool available to subscribers to either of these services.)