HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope everyone had a great holiday. My brother is still alive and that is a great thing - for the kids. To be completely honest, he really is a decent human being. He has the right politics, is great to his kids, and is not going to kill anyone with an ax. I just don't like him.
Personally, I don't like to be insulted or fought with every time I make a comment. Seriously, I talk about how I might be furloughed as of July 1st, and his comment is "That's bad for you, but it might be the best thing to happen."(not a word for word quote) He has a point, when things stop getting done because people have to be furloughed or laid off when there is no money, then perhaps the public might realize the importance of their taxes. But there is this thing called tact and my brother doesn't have it. When someone has a mortgage, health issues requiring treatments every eight weeks, and no one else to help her out (except for parents if need be), she really don't want to hear how great a furlough is.
Enough about my brother, I can wallow, or move on.
CNN - Did you hear that CNN fired it's entire science, technology, and environmental news department? Admittedly CNN has been playing to the lowest common denominator in the news (have you watched them lately) but geesh, what a sad move when science is one of the most important issues of the day. Their excuse, they have the "Planet in Peril" series with Anderson Cooper, so they don't really need science journalism. This makes me sad. I'm glad they have a show all aimed towards the planet and the environment, but science is so much more and there are so many more issues to look at. What about nanotechnology, new medical break-throughs, space exploration, and more. If these stories come up, and you don't have people who understand the science, then you might get someone who extols the virtues of a great discovery, who's only problem is that “Many scientists say the technology violates the basic laws of quantum physics.” Hmmm, anyone see a problem with this?
This "Planet in Peril" program, of course, has advertising. I looked on the website and Dow, a chemical company, had a big 'ol ad right there. Can't we have some journalism, articles, environmental show, etc. that is not dependent on advertising? Is it possible?
I'm following Debora Blum and her boycott of CNN. It's not going to make much of a difference, but at least I'll feel better.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Political Party Update
Hello all,
I am now back in the wonderful world of blogging. No more class and no more training. That is of course until January. But do you really expect me to stop running? Heck no, I'm going to do my next half marathon in less then two hours and my next full sometime in May hopefully in less then 4:15. (I hear there's a good one in San Diego). And yes, I am taking a class next semester. But I promise not to complain. It's writing for publication, once a week, pass/no pass. These blogs will hopefully be my fodder for that class so there really won't be any extra work, just a lot more editing and it's obvious that when it comes to these blogs, I need editing. :-)
A few weeks ago, I threw a wonderful election celebration and still have 4 champagne bottles to boot (anyone want to come over for New Years?). At this party I asked for ideas of things to do in the future. Now that we have voted for change, we need to help make change possible. Just getting the right person in office doesn't mean anything unless we work to make this a better place. So the following are the ideas that came out of this meeting, plus my own comments. Feel free to take offense, I'm okay with that.
1) Moratorium on Propositions - For the most part, I hate propositions. You all know that. But there can be some good ones. I mean my job is funded by one (prop 99, tobacco tax) and the result was exactly what it was supposed to be. My question is do we want a moratorium which, is just to put it on hiatus for a while, get rid of all of them, or completely change their structure? Is there some way to have some propositions but also make people responsible and aware of the outcomes? Propositions are half of what has gotten us in to this budget mess, but I bet very few people realized that.
2) Don't let the law change to require a 2/3 majority to change the Constitution. - I am assuming this is aimed at the propositions since it does require a 2/3 majority in the Assembly and Senate. I have a hard time with this one. I agree, considering I really want to overturn Prop 8, if the courts don't do it, and changing things to 2/3's would make that hard. But do we really want it to be that easy to change our constitution? Part of me wants to make it hard to change the constitution.
3) Run for office - I've talked about this a lot, but I don't think I will ever run for office. I think someone needs to be outgoing, extroverted, over confident, and at least slightly slimy. Plus be really thick skinned. Anyways, I've worked at Renaissance Faire. Think of all the stories that would be made of that, even though I remained sweet and innocent throughout my time there. I don't think I have what it takes. Now, to be an advisor to someone in office, that would be really cool. Does that mean I have to get a PhD?
4)Propositions require 51% of registered voters to pass - Hmm. Not just 51% of the people who voted, but those registered. Interesting concept. Thoughts?
5)Talk about politics with people who don't agree with you - Unfortunately I think this is an absolute must. We need to understand the people who disagree with us and give them a chance to realize that we are not bad people. We must take the high road on this and be decent to the opposition. Yelling and screaming just makes us look bad, rigid, angry, and very unopen to others. Yet we are, or at least I am, trying to say that I accept and acknowledge all people. It is not for me to judge any group of people. Just don't do this at an airport with a right wing bible thumping Christan after drinking a very strong martini on an empty stomach. Sigh. I am good for a few laughs if nothing else.
6)Legalize Hemp - Considering I work for the tobacco control program, am i allowed to support this? :-) Actually, I think it's a good idea, but under very controlled circumstances. If we taxed the stuff, could we solve our budget crises?
7) Overturn 8 - Yep! This has to be changed. But I do truly believe prop 8 will eventually die a lovely death. Think of it, 20 years ago we would have never mentioned marriage for gays and now we are so close that even with false advertising and great "Yes on 8" marketing that we are almost 50% there. We'll get there. It just might take a little more work and time. But we will eventually set it up so all people are treated the same.
8) Repeal "No Child Left Behind" - I think NCLB has been horrible and done horrible things. I don't know if it was the act itself or just the implementation, I've heard different opinions on NPR. I don't know if NCLB should be completely repealed or just amended. Others will have better answers.
9) More Lasagna Parties - i'm all for it. Although I might want to instill some variety and cook something other than lasagna. Chili and Health Care next?
10) Proposition Parties - More Lasagna!! No really, just a party where we get together before an election and go through the propositions. Maybe assign a person to each one, hoping they can be fairly impartial, and that person explains it to the group. I of course would contribute, take notes, and post the results on the blog. I'm up for it (I guess these means more parties. I need something besides lasagna and chili, suggestions?)
11) Educate the people who voted on 8 in the affirmative about civil rights - Okay, but I think we would need to frame it differently. They don't see it as civil rights, they see it as protecting something sacred. How do we change that?
12) Make it easier to vote - I think it's pretty easy to vote. Of course coming from the background of wealthy white people who've voted in every election possible - that may not mean anything. I think the most important part is making sure people don't believe the false information that's spread, such as there will be police at the voting places to arrest you if you vote, etc. I need examples of how this would work.
13) Play Munchkin More!!! - I heartily agree. Wouldn't it be cool if our leaders, instead of sending 20 somethings out to kill other 20 somethings, they had to beat each other at a game like munchkin, or chess, or risk, or settlers? Wouldn't that be awesome?
14) Go to things (like political lectures) - I admit, this is one I need. People, if you hear of good "things" to go to, please inform me. I'm all ears.
15) Get Carol-anne and Ramsey to become citizens - Hey, we voted for change with out ya, we don't need ya. JUST KIDDING, we always need your vote (and friendship, but hopefully I get that even though you aren't citizens). I'll even help you study for your test and learn a lot in the process too.
16) Be an American not an American't - Does this mean I have to stop being a pessimist? I did swear never to threaten to leave the country again, didn't I? Okay, okay, I will always leave room for hope (darn it all).
17) Write letters to our Congresspeople - I want to do this. I want to write a letter a week (which might end up being a letter a month, on a good month) to the people in charge. Boxer, Feinstein, Matsui, and maybe some on the local level (Ray Tretheway, Darrell Steinberg, and Roger Niello). I might even consider posting some of the letters on here for comments and so you can steal them for your own use. The more letters, the better!
That's it for the party, but not for me. I have joined a group, name is still to be determined, who are the Sacramento Obama Campaign alumni and they want to work for change in CA. What I like about them is they are not wedded to a person. They say, if Obama is a bad president, we will organize to vote him out. Good people in power are more important than friends in power. This group wants to organize to make changes at local, state, and federal level. I am going to volunteer and help make this change happen.
The best part of our meeting on Monday was when we separated into groups. In my group we only had about 15 people but they ranged from an 24 year old looking for a job in Sac. to an 80 year old who was pushinh for change 40 years ago and hopes we can do better.
I think we can. Let's hope for a place where intelligence, learning, debates, and questioning are all honored. Let's hope for a time beyond war. Lets hope for acceptance of all people. Let's hope for, well, hope.
I am now back in the wonderful world of blogging. No more class and no more training. That is of course until January. But do you really expect me to stop running? Heck no, I'm going to do my next half marathon in less then two hours and my next full sometime in May hopefully in less then 4:15. (I hear there's a good one in San Diego). And yes, I am taking a class next semester. But I promise not to complain. It's writing for publication, once a week, pass/no pass. These blogs will hopefully be my fodder for that class so there really won't be any extra work, just a lot more editing and it's obvious that when it comes to these blogs, I need editing. :-)
A few weeks ago, I threw a wonderful election celebration and still have 4 champagne bottles to boot (anyone want to come over for New Years?). At this party I asked for ideas of things to do in the future. Now that we have voted for change, we need to help make change possible. Just getting the right person in office doesn't mean anything unless we work to make this a better place. So the following are the ideas that came out of this meeting, plus my own comments. Feel free to take offense, I'm okay with that.
1) Moratorium on Propositions - For the most part, I hate propositions. You all know that. But there can be some good ones. I mean my job is funded by one (prop 99, tobacco tax) and the result was exactly what it was supposed to be. My question is do we want a moratorium which, is just to put it on hiatus for a while, get rid of all of them, or completely change their structure? Is there some way to have some propositions but also make people responsible and aware of the outcomes? Propositions are half of what has gotten us in to this budget mess, but I bet very few people realized that.
2) Don't let the law change to require a 2/3 majority to change the Constitution. - I am assuming this is aimed at the propositions since it does require a 2/3 majority in the Assembly and Senate. I have a hard time with this one. I agree, considering I really want to overturn Prop 8, if the courts don't do it, and changing things to 2/3's would make that hard. But do we really want it to be that easy to change our constitution? Part of me wants to make it hard to change the constitution.
3) Run for office - I've talked about this a lot, but I don't think I will ever run for office. I think someone needs to be outgoing, extroverted, over confident, and at least slightly slimy. Plus be really thick skinned. Anyways, I've worked at Renaissance Faire. Think of all the stories that would be made of that, even though I remained sweet and innocent throughout my time there. I don't think I have what it takes. Now, to be an advisor to someone in office, that would be really cool. Does that mean I have to get a PhD?
4)Propositions require 51% of registered voters to pass - Hmm. Not just 51% of the people who voted, but those registered. Interesting concept. Thoughts?
5)Talk about politics with people who don't agree with you - Unfortunately I think this is an absolute must. We need to understand the people who disagree with us and give them a chance to realize that we are not bad people. We must take the high road on this and be decent to the opposition. Yelling and screaming just makes us look bad, rigid, angry, and very unopen to others. Yet we are, or at least I am, trying to say that I accept and acknowledge all people. It is not for me to judge any group of people. Just don't do this at an airport with a right wing bible thumping Christan after drinking a very strong martini on an empty stomach. Sigh. I am good for a few laughs if nothing else.
6)Legalize Hemp - Considering I work for the tobacco control program, am i allowed to support this? :-) Actually, I think it's a good idea, but under very controlled circumstances. If we taxed the stuff, could we solve our budget crises?
7) Overturn 8 - Yep! This has to be changed. But I do truly believe prop 8 will eventually die a lovely death. Think of it, 20 years ago we would have never mentioned marriage for gays and now we are so close that even with false advertising and great "Yes on 8" marketing that we are almost 50% there. We'll get there. It just might take a little more work and time. But we will eventually set it up so all people are treated the same.
8) Repeal "No Child Left Behind" - I think NCLB has been horrible and done horrible things. I don't know if it was the act itself or just the implementation, I've heard different opinions on NPR. I don't know if NCLB should be completely repealed or just amended. Others will have better answers.
9) More Lasagna Parties - i'm all for it. Although I might want to instill some variety and cook something other than lasagna. Chili and Health Care next?
10) Proposition Parties - More Lasagna!! No really, just a party where we get together before an election and go through the propositions. Maybe assign a person to each one, hoping they can be fairly impartial, and that person explains it to the group. I of course would contribute, take notes, and post the results on the blog. I'm up for it (I guess these means more parties. I need something besides lasagna and chili, suggestions?)
11) Educate the people who voted on 8 in the affirmative about civil rights - Okay, but I think we would need to frame it differently. They don't see it as civil rights, they see it as protecting something sacred. How do we change that?
12) Make it easier to vote - I think it's pretty easy to vote. Of course coming from the background of wealthy white people who've voted in every election possible - that may not mean anything. I think the most important part is making sure people don't believe the false information that's spread, such as there will be police at the voting places to arrest you if you vote, etc. I need examples of how this would work.
13) Play Munchkin More!!! - I heartily agree. Wouldn't it be cool if our leaders, instead of sending 20 somethings out to kill other 20 somethings, they had to beat each other at a game like munchkin, or chess, or risk, or settlers? Wouldn't that be awesome?
14) Go to things (like political lectures) - I admit, this is one I need. People, if you hear of good "things" to go to, please inform me. I'm all ears.
15) Get Carol-anne and Ramsey to become citizens - Hey, we voted for change with out ya, we don't need ya. JUST KIDDING, we always need your vote (and friendship, but hopefully I get that even though you aren't citizens). I'll even help you study for your test and learn a lot in the process too.
16) Be an American not an American't - Does this mean I have to stop being a pessimist? I did swear never to threaten to leave the country again, didn't I? Okay, okay, I will always leave room for hope (darn it all).
17) Write letters to our Congresspeople - I want to do this. I want to write a letter a week (which might end up being a letter a month, on a good month) to the people in charge. Boxer, Feinstein, Matsui, and maybe some on the local level (Ray Tretheway, Darrell Steinberg, and Roger Niello). I might even consider posting some of the letters on here for comments and so you can steal them for your own use. The more letters, the better!
That's it for the party, but not for me. I have joined a group, name is still to be determined, who are the Sacramento Obama Campaign alumni and they want to work for change in CA. What I like about them is they are not wedded to a person. They say, if Obama is a bad president, we will organize to vote him out. Good people in power are more important than friends in power. This group wants to organize to make changes at local, state, and federal level. I am going to volunteer and help make this change happen.
The best part of our meeting on Monday was when we separated into groups. In my group we only had about 15 people but they ranged from an 24 year old looking for a job in Sac. to an 80 year old who was pushinh for change 40 years ago and hopes we can do better.
I think we can. Let's hope for a place where intelligence, learning, debates, and questioning are all honored. Let's hope for a time beyond war. Lets hope for acceptance of all people. Let's hope for, well, hope.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A Carol
This is probably the first time I've heard this song and absolutely loved it.
P.S. I'll be back to blogging once I'm done with this silly anatomy and physiology class. One exam and one final to go. Wahoo!
P.S. I'll be back to blogging once I'm done with this silly anatomy and physiology class. One exam and one final to go. Wahoo!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Marathon
Goal - 4:22:26 - 10:01 minute miles
Gun time (from start of race to when I cross the finish) - 4:21:23
Chip time (when I cross the start to when I cross the finish) - 4:18:41 - 9:52 minute miles.
Not bad, if I do say so myself. :-)
Gun time (from start of race to when I cross the finish) - 4:21:23
Chip time (when I cross the start to when I cross the finish) - 4:18:41 - 9:52 minute miles.
Not bad, if I do say so myself. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
