Dear Senator Durbin :
Thank you for your continued replies to my emails. In particular your reply on 12/10/07 in which you wrote:
" There is no doubt that Attorney General Mukasey will face difficult choices in the coming months as we continue to fight the war on terrorism. At his confirmation hearing, Attorney General Mukasey promised to resign if prevented by Bush Administration officials from enforcing the law and upholding the United States Constitution. I hope he fulfills his promise should such a situation arise."
I know that you did not vote for him, but perhaps now would be a good time to ask him to resign? Why wait another year? He doesn't know the law, or he does and doesn't care to follow it.
The Senate had their chance to block this and now we officially have a new LEGAL enabler to Bush's torture policies.
This blog post from Scott Horton at Harpers summarizes my feelings completely:
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/01/hbc-90002285
I do not feel that we are any longer living under the rule of Law, and even worse, I no longer have a hope that Congress will take any recourse to recover and protect its constitutional duties from the President. If you pass a new law he will just do what he wants...How can you and your colleagues stop this?
L.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Bill Clinton again- no way!
Wow -way to go NYT!
Mr. Clinton’s public declaration undercut both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record by, among others, Mr. Clinton’s wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Within two days, corporate records show that Mr. Giustra also came up a winner when his company signed preliminary agreements giving it the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom.
The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said.
Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton’s inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges
This is why I cannot vote for Hillary - even assuming she knew absolutely NOTHING about this and was against it.
Even if Obama was not in the race, and I liked her more personally - a big IF - - her husband's wheeling and dealing during and after his presidency just makes me think that if she was president for the next 4-8 years we would have nothing in the news but this kind of @!#% hitting the fan every single day. NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will get done. No more lies and duplicity... please spare us. Bill, just go away and do your deals and make money on the sly. We do not need to hear about it for the next 8 years!!
Mr. Clinton’s public declaration undercut both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record by, among others, Mr. Clinton’s wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Within two days, corporate records show that Mr. Giustra also came up a winner when his company signed preliminary agreements giving it the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom.
The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said.
Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton’s inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges
This is why I cannot vote for Hillary - even assuming she knew absolutely NOTHING about this and was against it.
Even if Obama was not in the race, and I liked her more personally - a big IF - - her husband's wheeling and dealing during and after his presidency just makes me think that if she was president for the next 4-8 years we would have nothing in the news but this kind of @!#% hitting the fan every single day. NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will get done. No more lies and duplicity... please spare us. Bill, just go away and do your deals and make money on the sly. We do not need to hear about it for the next 8 years!!
Debt and Sacrifice
I just went through some expenses and a review of personal spending yesterday.I decided I'm going to save my refund for J's college fund, and start cutting back, make sure I have enough saved to give to my charities at the end of the year.... . Unpatriotic?, so be it.
sacrifice now or sacrifice later... (dailyKos by zic)-regarding the " tax rebate "
I agree. I want to yell : "America: Take Head Out of Sand"
Our federal government does know how to ask us to sacrifice, it just refuses to ask. Because if they don't ask, if they pretend it's not needed, If they don't disturb us too much, of the young just sit still a few days longer, they can take a little bit more to fill their emptiness. They can buy our complicity a few more days while they try and steal a bit more of the future away from our children.
If the rest of us are gonna get back some money -- it's a rebate, we've got it coming to us -- to spend now, and you know what? it's another part of the national debt that those young Americans are being asked to pay down the road. But just mabye it will jump the economy enough so that our theft of their future won't be noticed for a few more days.
Back when I was young ( early '20's) there used to be a political organization called Lead or Leave, lobbying for the middle-agers and old folks not to screw us over with the debt. This was in the pre-internet days so that fact that I even found out about it once to go to a meeting in San Diego was something. Well, the chickens are coming home to roost. I hope the Republican Gen-Xers receive the inheritance they were expecting from their wealthy parents. Now we all can pay for their free drugs and free rides on Metra too. Young people need to VOTE, there is no other way to get this balanced out. The politicians will give the benefits to the generation that votes in the largest numbers. That said, I'm not young anymore but that doesn't mean I'm not looking out for my daughter! I just wish more of the older generation had done the same for us. Debt clock link. Now the debt/GDP is at least 10% higher than it was in the early 90's, even though the economy has obviously grown over that time. Can't afford it.
sacrifice now or sacrifice later... (dailyKos by zic)-regarding the " tax rebate "
I agree. I want to yell : "America: Take Head Out of Sand"
Our federal government does know how to ask us to sacrifice, it just refuses to ask. Because if they don't ask, if they pretend it's not needed, If they don't disturb us too much, of the young just sit still a few days longer, they can take a little bit more to fill their emptiness. They can buy our complicity a few more days while they try and steal a bit more of the future away from our children.
If the rest of us are gonna get back some money -- it's a rebate, we've got it coming to us -- to spend now, and you know what? it's another part of the national debt that those young Americans are being asked to pay down the road. But just mabye it will jump the economy enough so that our theft of their future won't be noticed for a few more days.
Back when I was young ( early '20's) there used to be a political organization called Lead or Leave, lobbying for the middle-agers and old folks not to screw us over with the debt. This was in the pre-internet days so that fact that I even found out about it once to go to a meeting in San Diego was something. Well, the chickens are coming home to roost. I hope the Republican Gen-Xers receive the inheritance they were expecting from their wealthy parents. Now we all can pay for their free drugs and free rides on Metra too. Young people need to VOTE, there is no other way to get this balanced out. The politicians will give the benefits to the generation that votes in the largest numbers. That said, I'm not young anymore but that doesn't mean I'm not looking out for my daughter! I just wish more of the older generation had done the same for us. Debt clock link. Now the debt/GDP is at least 10% higher than it was in the early 90's, even though the economy has obviously grown over that time. Can't afford it.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I'm on track for an UPswing
I just sent this email to my sis and best-est friends. One way to look on the bright side and cheer up my pals:
Ladies :
Did you see this on the news? ... Science research update-for-the-day: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22896014/
" Middle age is miserable for many, according to a study using data from 80 countries showing that depression is most common among men and women in their 40s" "It looks from the data like something happens deep inside humans. For the average person in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year. Only in their 50s do most people emerge from the low period. But encouragingly, by the time you are 70, if you are still physically fit then on average you are as happy and mentally healthy as a 20 year old. Perhaps realizing that such feelings are completely normal in midlife might even help individuals survive this phase better."
also, http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/researchers_find_that/
" In the US they found a significant difference between men and women with unhappiness reaching a peak at around 40 years of age for women and 50 years of age for men"
- hey we should be on the Upswing by now!!!
Come next May, instead of crying about being another year (or 4-6 months!) older than most of you, I'll be really and truly much happier that I'm that much closer to climbing out of my "middle-age" funk. By the time we're 70 we should be as happy as we were when we were 20-yr-olds! Woo Hoo!
Even better- by comparison we can look forward to NOT driving around in pea-green Pinto-hatchback-death-mobiles (Trish!) or barf-brown Volare station wagons (mine- aargh!) from the 1970's ;~) Hey as long as we're not in wheel-chairs everything should be A-OK peachy keen by then. Hopefully! (Then our kids can be depressed for us.... aahh the circle of life.)
Let's not wait until we're 70 to have some fun though...
L.B.
Here's a pic I found online that's similar
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Kennedy family historic endorsement x 2
interesting historical context (in The Guardian, by Elana Schor) between the Kennedy's and Obama's:
The bond began with Kenyan labour leader Tom Mboya, an advocate for African nationalism who helped his country gain independence in 1963. In the late 1950s, Mboya was seeking support for a scholarship program that would send Kenyan students to US colleges - similar to other exchanges the US backed in developing nations during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Mboya appealed to the state department. When that trail went cold, he turned to then-senator Kennedy.
Kennedy, who chaired the senate subcommittee on Africa, arranged a $100,000 grant through his family's foundation to help Mboya keep the program running.
"It was not a matter in which we sought to be involved," Kennedy said in an August 1960 senate speech. "Nevertheless, Mr Mboya came to see us and asked for help, when none of the other foundations could give it, when the federal government had turned it down quite precisely. We felt something ought to be done."
One of the first students airlifted to America was Barack Obama Sr, who married a white Kansas native named Ann Dunham during his US studies. Their son, born in 1961 and named for his father, has only once mentioned his Kennedy connection on the campaign trail.
"[T]he Kennedys decided: 'We're going to do an airlift,'" senator Obama said during a March speech in Selma, Alabama. "We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is. This young man named Barack Obama [Sr] got one of those tickets and came over to this country."
Very cool. "Full circle" as they say.... Yesterday Ted and Caroline Kennedy endorsed him.
The bond began with Kenyan labour leader Tom Mboya, an advocate for African nationalism who helped his country gain independence in 1963. In the late 1950s, Mboya was seeking support for a scholarship program that would send Kenyan students to US colleges - similar to other exchanges the US backed in developing nations during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Mboya appealed to the state department. When that trail went cold, he turned to then-senator Kennedy.
Kennedy, who chaired the senate subcommittee on Africa, arranged a $100,000 grant through his family's foundation to help Mboya keep the program running.
"It was not a matter in which we sought to be involved," Kennedy said in an August 1960 senate speech. "Nevertheless, Mr Mboya came to see us and asked for help, when none of the other foundations could give it, when the federal government had turned it down quite precisely. We felt something ought to be done."
One of the first students airlifted to America was Barack Obama Sr, who married a white Kansas native named Ann Dunham during his US studies. Their son, born in 1961 and named for his father, has only once mentioned his Kennedy connection on the campaign trail.
"[T]he Kennedys decided: 'We're going to do an airlift,'" senator Obama said during a March speech in Selma, Alabama. "We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is. This young man named Barack Obama [Sr] got one of those tickets and came over to this country."
Very cool. "Full circle" as they say.... Yesterday Ted and Caroline Kennedy endorsed him.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Beef & E. coli
Note to self (AGAIN!)- try harder to Eat Less Beef... originally published in the DesMoines Register today:
The USDA's undersecretary for food safety, Richard Raymond, said he thinks distillers grains are one of several factors behind the spike in recalls."There is just something different" going on, he said in an interview last week in Arlington, Va., where he was attending a special industry conference on the E. coli problem.
Healthy cattle carry E. coli bacteria in their intestines. It isn't harmful to them but it can be deadly to people, especially children and the elderly, who eat undercooked ground beef. The bacteria get into the meat when it is processed. Proper cooking destroys the germ.
The government has not released information on the number of E. coli-related illnesses in 2007.
Raymond said the government had no intention of restricting the use of distillers grains even if the E. coli link is confirmed, and would instead leave it to the industry to decide how to address the issue. One possibility, he said, is to vaccinate cattle."I'm not about to tell the cattlemen what they are going to feed their cows," he said.
No E. coli vaccine has yet been approved or use in cattle.
argh.
The USDA's undersecretary for food safety, Richard Raymond, said he thinks distillers grains are one of several factors behind the spike in recalls."There is just something different" going on, he said in an interview last week in Arlington, Va., where he was attending a special industry conference on the E. coli problem.
Healthy cattle carry E. coli bacteria in their intestines. It isn't harmful to them but it can be deadly to people, especially children and the elderly, who eat undercooked ground beef. The bacteria get into the meat when it is processed. Proper cooking destroys the germ.
The government has not released information on the number of E. coli-related illnesses in 2007.
Raymond said the government had no intention of restricting the use of distillers grains even if the E. coli link is confirmed, and would instead leave it to the industry to decide how to address the issue. One possibility, he said, is to vaccinate cattle."I'm not about to tell the cattlemen what they are going to feed their cows," he said.
No E. coli vaccine has yet been approved or use in cattle.
argh.
Detention of US Citizens
Chilling !!
The story of how immigration officials decided that a small-town drifter with a Southern accent was an illegal Russian immigrant illustrates how the federal government mistakenly detains and sometimes deports American citizens.
U.S. citizens who are mistakenly jailed by immigration authorities can get caught up in a nightmarish bureaucratic tangle in which they're simply not believed.
An unpublished study by the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York nonprofit organization, in 2006 identified 125 people in immigration detention centers across the nation who immigration lawyers believed had valid U.S. citizenship claims.
This is what always bothered me about the secondary stop before San Onofre going between San Diego and Orange County on the I-5. If you looked like you're not American -- and you don't travel with a birth certificate because you are NOT crossing an international border, because you're in your own country -- who is to say some border agent just could decide you look suspicious and take you in for a day or two until someone finds your birth certificate at home. I guess it didn't bother me as much in the 1990's because I always thought of it more as a drug enforcement check to keep drugs from getting to LA from TJ. But I'm sure its a lot scarier now after 9/11 to go through? (From 1989- 1995 I used drive from SD to Irvine every single week and it just got to be a routine drive through Camp Pendleton with a great view of the ocean. Its the only place left undeveloped on the Southern California coastline. ) But if I were an American of Hispanic ancestory I would feel like I wouldn't want to be driving between SD & LA very often. I think people want to keep the drugs out, but they also don't want to be "profiled" or thought of with suspicion either. Over 1/3 of the population of CA is hispanic.
I was looking for a picture of this sign because its stayed in my memory ( that's how you know you're getting close to the border stop) and found this interesting story about the sign and what it means to different people: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050410/news_1n10signs.html
Midway is better
Regarding a previous post on Air Travel, the Trib had an article just today by John Hilkevitch confirming my hunch that Midway is a better bet for on-time travel, vs O'Hare.
Those numbers translate into vastly different flight arrival rates to O'Hare and Midway. The number of planes that land on average at Midway is consistent, from a low of 28 planes to a high of 36 planes each hour, based on weather conditions and other factors, according to the FAA. But at O'Hare, depending whether two or three runways are used for arrivals, the landing capacity fluctuates from as few as 50 airplanes during a snowstorm to as many as 100 planes arriving each hour on a blue-sky day.
"One big difference that many people don't realize is that Midway is a one-runway arrival and a one-runway departure operation. It makes things steady and predictable, usually right around 32 to 34 flights an hour, all day long," said Bob Flynn, the FAA's traffic management officer for all Chicago-area airports.
Those numbers translate into vastly different flight arrival rates to O'Hare and Midway. The number of planes that land on average at Midway is consistent, from a low of 28 planes to a high of 36 planes each hour, based on weather conditions and other factors, according to the FAA. But at O'Hare, depending whether two or three runways are used for arrivals, the landing capacity fluctuates from as few as 50 airplanes during a snowstorm to as many as 100 planes arriving each hour on a blue-sky day.
"One big difference that many people don't realize is that Midway is a one-runway arrival and a one-runway departure operation. It makes things steady and predictable, usually right around 32 to 34 flights an hour, all day long," said Bob Flynn, the FAA's traffic management officer for all Chicago-area airports.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Electronic Frontier Foundation, FISA & privacy
I'm on the EFF email list... lot's of stuff going down this week.
Since I already know that Durbin's fighting against the FISA Telecom Immunity Bill I just called a left a message with Obama's offices -at his DC office, his Chicago office, and an #800 they gave me to pass along my feedback to the campaign. This would be a very good way to demonstrate "presidential-ness". No lame excuses to avoid the vote even if they don't have enough votes. He could be in there influencing the vote of his colleagues right now- as could Senator Clinton!
Glenn Greenwald from Salon.com is also on the case!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Climate Change
Found this thru GristMill
James Hansen is the same Professor who was on 60 minutes (video link) this past Sunday
stating that the Bush Administration was trying to make his research conclusions about global climate change sound less dire than he thinks they are.
Its a very persuasive letter, scientist to scientist. I didn't know Germany's Chancellor Merkel was a scientist. Very Cool. Anyway its a good letter. We need leadership to solve this problem. Its kind of sad when many of our nation's top leaders don't listen to our nation's top scientists about something so important. So we need to ask other world leaders to step up to the plate. Aargh.
This is WHY there should be a presidential Science Debate.
Speaking of which, this is a very cool show on the Science Channel, Invention Nation. Check it out! I was looking for link to a picture of this wind turbine they showed and I found one... I don't see why this wouldn't work!? Must investigate.
FISA update
Update on a previous post about FISA :
Received an email form letter today from my "other" IL senator, Dick Durbin :
Dear Ms. Z____:
Thank you for contacting me about amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Protect America Act. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.
President Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance of communications made by American citizens living within the United States. At the time of the President's authorization, FISA required the government to seek a warrant from a special court in order to conduct electronic surveillance of communications between American citizens and anyone outside the country. The NSA did not obtain approval from the FISA court or from any other court before initiating its domestic surveillance program.
In August 2007, the Administration proposed amending FISA with a bill known as the Protect America Act. I believed the bill provided too much opportunity for excessive intrusion and potential abuse by the NSA and other intelligence officials. I voted against the measure, as did Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Nonetheless, Congress passed the bill and the President signed it into law.
The Protect America Act expires in February 2008, and Congress is now considering legislation that would amend FISA and provide relief to the telecommunications companies that allegedly participated in the NSA program.
I oppose retroactive immunity for these companies. Under current law, telecommunications companies already receive absolute immunity for assisting the government with lawful surveillance. Retroactive immunity would only aid companies that have assisted with unlawful surveillance. During the Senate Judiciary Committee's consideration of the legislation, I opposed an amendment that would have provided these companies with retroactive immunity. This amendment ultimately was rejected by the committee. I supported an amendment adopted by the committee that would prevent reverse targeting of Americans inside the United States without a warrant. The committee's version of the bill and a competing version are now being debated by the full Senate.
I am deeply concerned about the manner in which the Executive Branch has initiated and conducted the NSA surveillance programs. I continue to believe that companies that participated in unlawful surveillance should not receive retroactive immunity. When the President and his Administration order actions such as the surveillance of American citizens, these actions must be conducted in a manner consistent with the rule of law and the Constitution's commitment to civil liberties.
I also will continue to support measures that shed light on any illegal actions that were taken in furtherance of the NSA program. We must work to ensure that government surveillance of American citizens is conducted in a manner consistent with the Constitution, the rule of law, and our security needs.
Thank you again for sharing your views on this issue with me. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/tf
P.S. If you are ever visiting Washington, please feel free to join Senator Obama and me at our weekly constituent coffee. When the Senate is in session, we provide coffee and donuts every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as we hear what is on the minds of Illinoisans and respond to your questions. We would welcome your participation. Please call my D.C. office for more details.
Thank you for contacting me about amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Protect America Act. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.
President Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance of communications made by American citizens living within the United States. At the time of the President's authorization, FISA required the government to seek a warrant from a special court in order to conduct electronic surveillance of communications between American citizens and anyone outside the country. The NSA did not obtain approval from the FISA court or from any other court before initiating its domestic surveillance program.
In August 2007, the Administration proposed amending FISA with a bill known as the Protect America Act. I believed the bill provided too much opportunity for excessive intrusion and potential abuse by the NSA and other intelligence officials. I voted against the measure, as did Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Nonetheless, Congress passed the bill and the President signed it into law.
The Protect America Act expires in February 2008, and Congress is now considering legislation that would amend FISA and provide relief to the telecommunications companies that allegedly participated in the NSA program.
I oppose retroactive immunity for these companies. Under current law, telecommunications companies already receive absolute immunity for assisting the government with lawful surveillance. Retroactive immunity would only aid companies that have assisted with unlawful surveillance. During the Senate Judiciary Committee's consideration of the legislation, I opposed an amendment that would have provided these companies with retroactive immunity. This amendment ultimately was rejected by the committee. I supported an amendment adopted by the committee that would prevent reverse targeting of Americans inside the United States without a warrant. The committee's version of the bill and a competing version are now being debated by the full Senate.
I am deeply concerned about the manner in which the Executive Branch has initiated and conducted the NSA surveillance programs. I continue to believe that companies that participated in unlawful surveillance should not receive retroactive immunity. When the President and his Administration order actions such as the surveillance of American citizens, these actions must be conducted in a manner consistent with the rule of law and the Constitution's commitment to civil liberties.
I also will continue to support measures that shed light on any illegal actions that were taken in furtherance of the NSA program. We must work to ensure that government surveillance of American citizens is conducted in a manner consistent with the Constitution, the rule of law, and our security needs.
Thank you again for sharing your views on this issue with me. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/tf
P.S. If you are ever visiting Washington, please feel free to join Senator Obama and me at our weekly constituent coffee. When the Senate is in session, we provide coffee and donuts every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as we hear what is on the minds of Illinoisans and respond to your questions. We would welcome your participation. Please call my D.C. office for more details.
Organ Donation & Stem Cells
Good news on the Organ Donation front today.... Chicago Tribune article by Judith Graham
Yeah for stem cells!
A new transplant technique has enabled five kidney recipients to survive for several years without taking drugs that suppress their immune systems, scientists reported Thursday.
Doctors produced the groundbreaking result by injecting transplant recipients with blood stem cells taken from their donors' bone marrow. The stem cells multiplied and protected the transplanted organ from an immune system attack.
Normally, recipients must follow a lifelong regimen of immunosuppressant drugs for their transplanted organs to survive. Those drugs greatly increase the risk of infections, cancer, high blood pressure and other serious medical problems.
The cost of the drugs is a very expensive component of post-transplant complications, that and the fact that they mess with your system and cause all these complications that can lead to the organ failing and need a new replacement! The cool thing too is that the donor doesn't even need to be a close match to the recipient ( HLA types etc). Soon this could help people already on the list who are waiting for a kidney from a non-living donor because if they did have a potential donor (but they didn't match!) now they might be able to go forward with it. The insurance companies should be all over this because they are going to save a ton of money not having to pay out for all those multiple drug prescriptions that normally would have been necessary to take for the rest of that kidney recipient's life!
I'm going to send this to my friends at Gift of Hope. (BTW the researchers in this study used bone marrow blood stem cells NOT embryonic stem cells.)
Also, if you haven't signed up yet to be an organ donor in your state - DO IT ! (if you live in IL go here: https://www.iamareyou.org/
Data by state & how many people are waiting, and dying (!) because not enough people choose to donate
:~(
Air Safety
Air Traffic Safety vs. Capacity
This is interesting.... makes sense to me...
" ....there is an absolute limit to the number of airplanes any runway can handle, per hour, even in perfect weather. At an absolute minimum that limit should be enforced -- by rule and regulation -- for every commercial airport in the country. Currently it is not and -- unbelievably -- airlines are allowed to schedule more flights than the runways can handle in even perfect weather. It is madness."
Aha- so its not the weather only as we've been told so often. They built this system with NO leeway...
Even though I often think of flying in & out of O'Hare or Midway as equivalent in terms of MY time to get to the airport, check in etc...Probably Midway is a better bet in terms of flights being ON TIME... not as many big planes for International flights to mess up the time sequence. Airlines should only be allowed to sell seats for capacity, not over-capacity. But there is not really any incentive for them to do it the right way because all of their competitors are in the same situation. That's why there needs to be better safety regulations and oversight.
My cousing is a flight attendant for American and her husband is a pilot at American too. I'll definitely ask them about this. (I've had to call them last summer to ask for logistical help when my flight from Boston was completely cancelled -I was stranded and the weather wasn't even bad).
This is interesting.... makes sense to me...
" ....there is an absolute limit to the number of airplanes any runway can handle, per hour, even in perfect weather. At an absolute minimum that limit should be enforced -- by rule and regulation -- for every commercial airport in the country. Currently it is not and -- unbelievably -- airlines are allowed to schedule more flights than the runways can handle in even perfect weather. It is madness."
Aha- so its not the weather only as we've been told so often. They built this system with NO leeway...
Even though I often think of flying in & out of O'Hare or Midway as equivalent in terms of MY time to get to the airport, check in etc...Probably Midway is a better bet in terms of flights being ON TIME... not as many big planes for International flights to mess up the time sequence. Airlines should only be allowed to sell seats for capacity, not over-capacity. But there is not really any incentive for them to do it the right way because all of their competitors are in the same situation. That's why there needs to be better safety regulations and oversight.
My cousing is a flight attendant for American and her husband is a pilot at American too. I'll definitely ask them about this. (I've had to call them last summer to ask for logistical help when my flight from Boston was completely cancelled -I was stranded and the weather wasn't even bad).
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Local Science vs. Earmarks/Pork
update on previous post about the Science Debate:
As part of my effort to take baby action steps, not just complain, I had sent an email to several science & health reporters at the Tribune and also cc'd IBIO in hopes that they would pass it along to their membership.
Dear Tribune:
Here's a story suggestion for you.... Science and Politics. I would LOVE to see this happen. http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=6
Maybe there is a local angle? http://www.bio.org/members/biomembers.asp?list=ILhttp://www.bio-link.org/centersIL.htm
Sign on and Pass it on...
Your loyal reader,
L.Z.
I did get a reply from a reporter Jon Van, ( I love it when that happens!!)
L- ,
The local angle is that Fermilab and Argonne as well as other places have been badly hurt by a budget battle in Washington that has inadvertently done a great deal to set back this country’s science and technology competitiveness.
I have written a story about this that should run within the next several days.
Thanks for your interest,
Jon Van
The local angle is that Fermilab and Argonne as well as other places have been badly hurt by a budget battle in Washington that has inadvertently done a great deal to set back this country’s science and technology competitiveness.
I have written a story about this that should run within the next several days.
Thanks for your interest,
Jon Van
I remembered to check today, (because I was out of town last week) and here's his article. National politics is LOCAL.
The budget cuts that enraged and demoralized lab employees also caught the attention of America's corporate technocracy leadership, which is concerned that this country is already letting its long-standing leadership in science innovation slip away.
Noting that Congress passed a $250 billion farm bill "to support industries of the 19th Century," Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel Corp., asked in letters to congressional leaders "isn't it time we pull our political leadership together to start supporting the industries of the 21st Century?"
Looking at budget cuts for science, Barrett warned that "industry is listening carefully to your deliberations. If there is no government support to these areas that will dictate our competitiveness for the next century, then we might as well just accept that and make our investments elsewhere."
Not that I have any say in it, but the company I work for outsources tech support AND software development... It's a "competitive edge" to staying profitable... But as with other new industries that aren't so new anymore.... biotech/pharma is doing more and more outsourcing even of bench lab science. I guess these are the types of worries I have to look forward to as someone who has been in this industry for almost 20 years. Its definitely a two-sided coin.
History & Totalitarianism
Very interesting article in WIRED (h/t Instapundit) about a project to find out what was written on all the East German Stasi reports on their people- alot of them were ripped up or shredded and now they are trying to piece them all back together with technology. This caught my attention for 2 reasons. (1) I finished reading "1984" by George Orwell a couple of weeks ago. It was certainly THE most depressing book I've ever read - (... well, OK "Sophie's Choice" is a close second). But I'm really glad I read it because its so relevant to our times,... issues about privacy, terrorism, torture, PRESERVING HISTORY. I'm still absorbing it. It certainly inspires me to NOT take any government actions for granted, benign or otherwise. (2) I loved the movie referenced, "The Lives of Others"! Its a foreign film I rented on Netflix last summer and its one of those that also really sticks with you long after you watch it, Highly Recommended!
" Requests dipped in the late 1990s, but the Oscar-winning 2006 film The Lives of Others, about a Stasi agent who monitors a dissident playwright, seems to have prompted a surge of new applications; 2007 marked a five-year high. "Every month, 6,000 to 8,000 people decide to read their files for the first time," Bormann says. These days, the Stasi Records Office spends $175 million a year and employs 2,000 people.
This being Germany, there's even a special word for it: Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or "coming to terms with the past." It's not self-evident — you could imagine a country deciding, communally, to recover from a totalitarian past by simply gathering all the documents and destroying them. In fact, in 1990 the German press and citizen committees were wracked by debate over whether to do just that. Many people, however, suspected that former Stasi agents and ex-informants were behind the push to forgive and forget.
By preserving and reconstructing the Stasi archives, BStU staffers say they hope to keep history from repeating itself. In November, the first children born after the fall of the wall turned 18. Evidence suggests many of them have serious gaps in their knowledge of the past. In a survey of Berlin high school students, only half agreed that the GDR was a dictatorship. Two-thirds didn't know who built the Berlin Wall."
Monday, January 21, 2008
Martin Luther King Day - 2008 - Where is the Love?
I heard MLK's great speech on WBEZ on the way back from my chiropractor appointment this morning: Beyond Vietnam speech . Absolutely mesmerizing. (text here) .... I'd never heard it before. I want to hear it again! It was a political speech he gave exactly one year before his death. It focused on Vietnam, but it was so so relevant for today. His predictions seem to have come true:
The recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: "A time comes when silence is betrayal." And that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.
The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.
And some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.
.....
It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin...we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.
A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say, "This is not just."
Listen to the WHOLE thing!
It was definitely one of those driveway times when you just can't pull yourself out of the car because you don't want to miss one single word. Where are our leaders? Who could do this today? Why do only politicians have a soapbox to stand on, ....
With my sister, we do a 15 minute music session for the 2nd -5th graders before their Sunday school classes. Yesterday we decided to have them listen to Springsteen's version of "We Shall Overcome" and sing it together. I also had downloaded a 3-min snippet .mp3 of Dr. King explaining the significance of this song in civil rights history. So I think it was surprising to some of them to actually hear his voice. I wish we had had more time to do more,.. it was a little out of the ordinary lesson for them. But whatever! That's the teacher's prerogative!
I wanted to play this Black Eyed Peas video too, but we didn't have time!
Iraq & the campaign - how long?
Glen Greenwald -Salon - how long will we stay in Iraq?
One of the aspects of the presidential campaign that makes it so tiresome and depressing is that virtually none of this is even part of the debate, nor can it be. There are some differences about what to do about Iraq, but the basic thrust of American foreign policy is unchallenged by any of the remaining viable candidates in either party.
Yet until we stop operating on the premise that the world is our playground to run and control through military force -- for invasions, bombing campaigns, wars and occupations to be commenced whenever we perceive it to be in our "interests," however broadly that might be defined -- the only real question is how quickly these problems are going to worsen, how severely the accompanying erosion of our national character will become. A country that is defined by endless war and world military hegemony is inevitably, unavoidably, the Nation of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and Torture and Renditions and Limitless Presidential Power and Secret Black Sites and Blackwater. You can't have one without the other.
One of the aspects of the presidential campaign that makes it so tiresome and depressing is that virtually none of this is even part of the debate, nor can it be. There are some differences about what to do about Iraq, but the basic thrust of American foreign policy is unchallenged by any of the remaining viable candidates in either party.
Yet until we stop operating on the premise that the world is our playground to run and control through military force -- for invasions, bombing campaigns, wars and occupations to be commenced whenever we perceive it to be in our "interests," however broadly that might be defined -- the only real question is how quickly these problems are going to worsen, how severely the accompanying erosion of our national character will become. A country that is defined by endless war and world military hegemony is inevitably, unavoidably, the Nation of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and Torture and Renditions and Limitless Presidential Power and Secret Black Sites and Blackwater. You can't have one without the other.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
it was good for me, YES it was!
Oooh Andrew linked to a good one today - a poem! I'm not a big poetry reader but I like them. Credit to Sharon Brogan
http://www.sbpoet.com/2008/01/i-have-this-to.html
READ IT!
This hits at so many levels... its an inside wink and a nod to both the duplicity of women at hiding things from men, but also how its just so cool that women will vote their own conscience when push comes to shove, or push comes to pulling the lever on a voting machine or pulling the curtain in the voting booth to be in the privacy of their own opinions and vote for what they think is best for the country, state, county, town, school district etc etc.
It was good for me! ;~)
Let's say a prayer or a toast to the suffragettes who paved the way!
http://www.sbpoet.com/2008/01/i-have-this-to.html
READ IT!
This hits at so many levels... its an inside wink and a nod to both the duplicity of women at hiding things from men, but also how its just so cool that women will vote their own conscience when push comes to shove, or push comes to pulling the lever on a voting machine or pulling the curtain in the voting booth to be in the privacy of their own opinions and vote for what they think is best for the country, state, county, town, school district etc etc.
It was good for me! ;~)
Let's say a prayer or a toast to the suffragettes who paved the way!
Monday, January 14, 2008
6 years of Guantanamo
6 years on ... This sucks!
6 years of Guantanamo.... Scott Horton@ Harpers:
Around the world, Guantánamo is viewed as a stain on the honor and reputation of the United States. It stands as visual evidence of a decision by the United States to repudiate its human rights commitments and the human rights standards that every modern American administration up to the arrival of George W. Bush had championed. Britain’s Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, the senior law officer in the English-speaking world, called the existence of Guantánamo a “shocking affront to the principles of democracy.” And he and others have pointed to the opinions handed down in American courts that sustain and nurture Guantánamo as evidence of the corruption and collapse of the integrity and independence of American courts. This criticism is painful for American lawyers. Doubly painful because of its certain truth.
And clear evidence of the putrefaction that has set in came on Friday. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which has emerged as a bastion of Republican movement conservative jurisprudence, picked the anniversary of the opening of the Gitmo camps as the day to celebrate them and the abuses perpetrated there.
6 years of Guantanamo.... Scott Horton@ Harpers:
Around the world, Guantánamo is viewed as a stain on the honor and reputation of the United States. It stands as visual evidence of a decision by the United States to repudiate its human rights commitments and the human rights standards that every modern American administration up to the arrival of George W. Bush had championed. Britain’s Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, the senior law officer in the English-speaking world, called the existence of Guantánamo a “shocking affront to the principles of democracy.” And he and others have pointed to the opinions handed down in American courts that sustain and nurture Guantánamo as evidence of the corruption and collapse of the integrity and independence of American courts. This criticism is painful for American lawyers. Doubly painful because of its certain truth.
And clear evidence of the putrefaction that has set in came on Friday. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which has emerged as a bastion of Republican movement conservative jurisprudence, picked the anniversary of the opening of the Gitmo camps as the day to celebrate them and the abuses perpetrated there.
Too much stuff, too much food, too much info
I've got most of these problems, including "infomania". Aargh.
Remember this....!
I've gradually started to wean myself off of the celebrity news sites, I used to read PerezHilton and EOnline every day. I don't really miss it... plus if anything major happens I'm sure to read about it on a regular "news" site like msnbc.com, or cnn.com. I guess I've always had the too much info thing....it can certainly be anxiey provoking if all you're reading is BAD news. Sometimes its hard to step away from the computer. But I LOVE to read pop-science stuff like this. Go figure.
streamline material possessions
eat slower and less
drag yourself away from the computer once in awhile!
RTWT
Remember this....!
I've gradually started to wean myself off of the celebrity news sites, I used to read PerezHilton and EOnline every day. I don't really miss it... plus if anything major happens I'm sure to read about it on a regular "news" site like msnbc.com, or cnn.com. I guess I've always had the too much info thing....it can certainly be anxiey provoking if all you're reading is BAD news. Sometimes its hard to step away from the computer. But I LOVE to read pop-science stuff like this. Go figure.
streamline material possessions
eat slower and less
drag yourself away from the computer once in awhile!
RTWT
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
DuPage democrats
So last night at the O:TDB meeting I officially got my marching orders to start the process of becoming a Democratic Precinct CommitteMAN for #44 in DuPage County. A "PC" ! ;~)
I've got a bunch of postcards to hand out with my name on them, an address list and they'll be sending out more materials later.
These are the people I need to learn about so I can inform the precinct:
6th Congressional District:
http://www.jillmorgenthaler.com/
http://stanjaglaforcongress.com/
County Board, District #4
http://www.rldunn.com/
Also there is an A. Ghani running for Cronin's state senator seat in 21st Legis Dist- but I can't find a website yet.
This is what a precinct committeman does:
Precinct Committeeman
The grass roots and foundation of the political parties are its precinct committeemen. They serve as the foot soldiers to the most fundamental political unit of government, the precinct. The precinct committeeman helps shape party policy and participates in the selection process of candidates. A precinct committeeman is elected to a two-year term in the even-year primary elections.
Expectations of a precinct committeeman:
Represent the party's voters at the county central committee convention to elect the county central chairman and its officers. The precinct committeeman casts a total number of party votes, (weighted vote), as cast in the precinct at the recent primary election
Attend and become involved in the party's Township meetings
Become a voter registrar and register all qualified constituents
Appoint and fill vacancies of election judges for the precinct polling place
Provide candidate and election information to the voters
Circulate petitions for candidates prior to the primary election
Become familiar with the elected officials and legislatures so the concerns of the voters can be passed on to them
I've got a bunch of postcards to hand out with my name on them, an address list and they'll be sending out more materials later.
These are the people I need to learn about so I can inform the precinct:
6th Congressional District:
http://www.jillmorgenthaler.com/
http://stanjaglaforcongress.com/
County Board, District #4
http://www.rldunn.com/
Also there is an A. Ghani running for Cronin's state senator seat in 21st Legis Dist- but I can't find a website yet.
This is what a precinct committeman does:
Precinct Committeeman
The grass roots and foundation of the political parties are its precinct committeemen. They serve as the foot soldiers to the most fundamental political unit of government, the precinct. The precinct committeeman helps shape party policy and participates in the selection process of candidates. A precinct committeeman is elected to a two-year term in the even-year primary elections.
Expectations of a precinct committeeman:
Represent the party's voters at the county central committee convention to elect the county central chairman and its officers. The precinct committeeman casts a total number of party votes, (weighted vote), as cast in the precinct at the recent primary election
Attend and become involved in the party's Township meetings
Become a voter registrar and register all qualified constituents
Appoint and fill vacancies of election judges for the precinct polling place
Provide candidate and election information to the voters
Circulate petitions for candidates prior to the primary election
Become familiar with the elected officials and legislatures so the concerns of the voters can be passed on to them
NH primary recap & the Press
Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com is a voice of sanity in this crazy election - and the year is still young! This post about pundits being wrong and self-analyzing themselves a bit is a very worthwhile read. I have to admit I was very happy, almost ecstatic when Obama won Iowa less than a week ago. Now Hillary has won NH ( by 2% points!). I agree that there should be a much thicker line between Journalist and Pundit.
Are Gloria Borger and Chris Matthews and Howard Fineman and Wolf Blitzer suddenly going to abandon their desire to impose shallow, melodramatic narratives on our elections and spend their time, instead, analyzing the candidates' responses to Charlie Savage's questionnaire on presidential power, or the dominant, corrosive role lobbyists and large corporations play in our political culture, or the widening rich-poor gap, or the strain and stain on our country from our imperial policies? The question is so absurd, so laughable, that to ask it is to answer it. None of them could remotely do that even if they wanted to, even if they were allowed to, and they don't and aren't.
I saw Chris Matthews and Tim Russert on TV briefly last night. My first reaction was just surprise at how animated they were... so surprised and maybe almost pumped up (in a happy way) that they were wrong about underestimating Hillary. In the end perhaps their underestimation is of the voters, and the viewers...?
...
and I just updated with this mea culpa post from my favorite blogger... bottom line... women don't want to be taken for granted.... (from one of his readers ...
....But, by Monday night, I was sputtering that "we are not electing Jesus here" and was appalled/furious at the undisguised and creepily malevolent glee that the talking heads (Fox bobbleheads/barbies and Chris Matthews deserve particular mention; and you, sir, do not come out unscathed) were throwing up as "analysis" of the "Hillary meltdown" and of their frankly undisguised loathing of her. I thought it was sexist and so did every woman I know.
You dismissed the Steinem editorial as "old-line lefty". Newsflash: there were twenty copies of that editorial in my in-box before breakfast yesterday morning – all of them from women who are ardent Obama supporters. We remain Obama supporters and will work "until the last dog dies" (thanks, Hillary!) for his nomination. However, we are just about done with a media that cannot report, analyze or provide information on candidates without first filtering it through its self-aggrandizing, inside-the-beltway-fantasy- filter about what would provide a better election narrative. Okay, so much of the media does not like Hillary? Neither do I. They just have to stop with the comments about tears, wrinkles, brittleness, legs and her alleged cackle. I may not want to vote for her—but I have always respected her.
Are Gloria Borger and Chris Matthews and Howard Fineman and Wolf Blitzer suddenly going to abandon their desire to impose shallow, melodramatic narratives on our elections and spend their time, instead, analyzing the candidates' responses to Charlie Savage's questionnaire on presidential power, or the dominant, corrosive role lobbyists and large corporations play in our political culture, or the widening rich-poor gap, or the strain and stain on our country from our imperial policies? The question is so absurd, so laughable, that to ask it is to answer it. None of them could remotely do that even if they wanted to, even if they were allowed to, and they don't and aren't.
I saw Chris Matthews and Tim Russert on TV briefly last night. My first reaction was just surprise at how animated they were... so surprised and maybe almost pumped up (in a happy way) that they were wrong about underestimating Hillary. In the end perhaps their underestimation is of the voters, and the viewers...?
...
and I just updated with this mea culpa post from my favorite blogger... bottom line... women don't want to be taken for granted.... (from one of his readers ...
....But, by Monday night, I was sputtering that "we are not electing Jesus here" and was appalled/furious at the undisguised and creepily malevolent glee that the talking heads (Fox bobbleheads/barbies and Chris Matthews deserve particular mention; and you, sir, do not come out unscathed) were throwing up as "analysis" of the "Hillary meltdown" and of their frankly undisguised loathing of her. I thought it was sexist and so did every woman I know.
You dismissed the Steinem editorial as "old-line lefty". Newsflash: there were twenty copies of that editorial in my in-box before breakfast yesterday morning – all of them from women who are ardent Obama supporters. We remain Obama supporters and will work "until the last dog dies" (thanks, Hillary!) for his nomination. However, we are just about done with a media that cannot report, analyze or provide information on candidates without first filtering it through its self-aggrandizing, inside-the-beltway-fantasy- filter about what would provide a better election narrative. Okay, so much of the media does not like Hillary? Neither do I. They just have to stop with the comments about tears, wrinkles, brittleness, legs and her alleged cackle. I may not want to vote for her—but I have always respected her.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
In Defense of Food!
Michael Pollan - one of my top non-fiction book writers....
He has a new book out this month - In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto which I'm actually going to BUY instead of get at the library because I loved his other books SO MUCH!
Our Decrepit Food Factories - NYT
Whenever we try to rearrange natural systems along the lines of a machine or a factory, whether by raising too many pigs in one place or too many almond trees, whatever we may gain in industrial efficiency, we sacrifice in biological resilience. The question is not whether systems this brittle will break down, but when and how, and whether when they do, we’ll be prepared to treat the whole idea of sustainability as something more than a nice word.
He has a new book out this month - In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto which I'm actually going to BUY instead of get at the library because I loved his other books SO MUCH!
Our Decrepit Food Factories - NYT
Whenever we try to rearrange natural systems along the lines of a machine or a factory, whether by raising too many pigs in one place or too many almond trees, whatever we may gain in industrial efficiency, we sacrifice in biological resilience. The question is not whether systems this brittle will break down, but when and how, and whether when they do, we’ll be prepared to treat the whole idea of sustainability as something more than a nice word.
Also great interview (~ 35 minutes) on Science Friday, NPR with Michael Pollan:
Notes as I listen:
- "Nutritionism!" a new word/ideology for adding or altering nutrients as individual components (beta-carotene, omega-3's etc) in "functional foods" versus just the whole food itself.... ie that we need a scientist now to tell us what's healthy to eat and confusing the issue/discourse.
- Tradition is a reliable source of distilled wisdom -eat food your great-grandmother would recognize as food ( not too many ingredients). I agree -I think the hardest part isn't eating healthy but eating LESS. That's the monkey on MY back.
- "Eating is about other things BESIDES our health"!
- How to recognize organic beef- look for the word "pastured"... cattle are eating the equivalent of our fast food diet, with antibiotics. Free running hens far superior, best eggs are pastured - go outside and eat grass and bugs etc... eggs are higher in O-3's, higher in nutrients.
- Be willing to pay more MONEY for good healthy food- pay more, but eat less! Industrial food is artificially cheap. Spend more TIME on food.(buying, prep, eating, cleaning up). Don't outsource your food making.
- Cooking shows make cooking at home look too difficult or intimidating - like comparing porn videos to "regular" sex!
-Best choices for your health turn out to be best choices for the environment
Sibel Edmonds
Stuff I've read today:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3137695.ece
linked from instapundit
A WHISTLEBLOWER has made a series of extraordinary claims about how corrupt government officials allowed Pakistan and other states to steal nuclear weapons secrets.
Sibel Edmonds, a 37-year-old former Turkish language translator for the FBI, listened into hundreds of sensitive intercepted conversations while based at the agency’s Washington field office.
She approached The Sunday Times last month after reading about an Al-Qaeda terrorist who had revealed his role in training some of the 9/11 hijackers while he was in Turkey.
Edmonds described how foreign intelligence agents had enlisted the support of US officials to acquire a network of moles in sensitive military and nuclear institutions.
The Times article then notes something that I reported 18 months ago. Immediately after 911, the FBI arrested a bunch of people suspected of being involved with the attacks - including four associates of key targets of FBI's counterintelligence operations. Sibel heard the targets tell Marc Grossman: "We need to get them out of the US because we can’t afford for them to spill the beans." Grossman duly facilitated their release from jail and the suspects immediately left the country without further investigation or interrogation.
Let me repeat that for emphasis: The #3 guy at the State Dept facilitated the immediate release of 911 suspects at the request of targets of the FBI's investigation.
...and this...
high-level Pentagon officials were maintaining 'dossiers' on the sexual and financial proclivities of their underlings in order to be able to blackmail them.
I know that many of you have been (rightly) concerned about FISA, and many of you have (rightly) been confused by the inexplicable behaviour of Democrats in Congress, and wonder why they behave as though they are being blackmailed.
Now you know.
I sent an email to the Trib to ask them to follow up on this!
I called Waxman's office too and left a message asking him to open up the investigation!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3137695.ece
linked from instapundit
A WHISTLEBLOWER has made a series of extraordinary claims about how corrupt government officials allowed Pakistan and other states to steal nuclear weapons secrets.
Sibel Edmonds, a 37-year-old former Turkish language translator for the FBI, listened into hundreds of sensitive intercepted conversations while based at the agency’s Washington field office.
She approached The Sunday Times last month after reading about an Al-Qaeda terrorist who had revealed his role in training some of the 9/11 hijackers while he was in Turkey.
Edmonds described how foreign intelligence agents had enlisted the support of US officials to acquire a network of moles in sensitive military and nuclear institutions.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5518
This would explain a lot about why Dennis Hastert (from IL!) left.... oooh. I'm going to keep following this one. These diplomats and congressman are selling our technology and/or helping other countries spies/diplomats sell it to others! I hope this isn't true. Its TREASON!The Times article then notes something that I reported 18 months ago. Immediately after 911, the FBI arrested a bunch of people suspected of being involved with the attacks - including four associates of key targets of FBI's counterintelligence operations. Sibel heard the targets tell Marc Grossman: "We need to get them out of the US because we can’t afford for them to spill the beans." Grossman duly facilitated their release from jail and the suspects immediately left the country without further investigation or interrogation.
Let me repeat that for emphasis: The #3 guy at the State Dept facilitated the immediate release of 911 suspects at the request of targets of the FBI's investigation.
...and this...
high-level Pentagon officials were maintaining 'dossiers' on the sexual and financial proclivities of their underlings in order to be able to blackmail them.
I know that many of you have been (rightly) concerned about FISA, and many of you have (rightly) been confused by the inexplicable behaviour of Democrats in Congress, and wonder why they behave as though they are being blackmailed.
Now you know.
I sent an email to the Trib to ask them to follow up on this!
I called Waxman's office too and left a message asking him to open up the investigation!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Misc Monday links & Op-Ed's
George McGovern op-ed in WaPo calling for impeachment.
Stewart & Colbert are coming back tonight! Yeah!!
This Op-Ed by Dennis Jett was in Sunday's Tribune Perspective section. It says everything I want to say about what's happening:
Why is it that those who proclaim their patriotism the loudest often demonstrate the least understanding of what this country stands for? Or to put it more accurately, what this country should stand for.
....
Many people who normally urge a limited role for government somehow expect from it absolute security in an uncertain world. They see no reason for government to protect others from hunger or ill health while conferring on it unlimited powers to protect them from any foreign threat, real or imagined. These patriots claim they support our troops, but they think there is no price too high for our soldiers to pay so that they may enjoy a greater sense of safety.They also assume that the actions they propose will produce only the desired results and never have unintended consequences.
We must ask ourselves: If we are not unequivocally against torture, then what do we stand for?The State Department each year does a human-rights report card on every other nation in the world. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice often asserts with a straight face that the Bush administration lives up to its commitments and bases its foreign policy on our values. She also has explained why: "When we respect our international legal obligations and support an international system based on the rule of law, we do the work of making the world a better place, but also a safer and more secure place for America."
That, in the end, is the best way to protect America: to live up to our rhetoric and our values.
RTWT!
Stewart & Colbert are coming back tonight! Yeah!!
This Op-Ed by Dennis Jett was in Sunday's Tribune Perspective section. It says everything I want to say about what's happening:
Why is it that those who proclaim their patriotism the loudest often demonstrate the least understanding of what this country stands for? Or to put it more accurately, what this country should stand for.
....
Many people who normally urge a limited role for government somehow expect from it absolute security in an uncertain world. They see no reason for government to protect others from hunger or ill health while conferring on it unlimited powers to protect them from any foreign threat, real or imagined. These patriots claim they support our troops, but they think there is no price too high for our soldiers to pay so that they may enjoy a greater sense of safety.They also assume that the actions they propose will produce only the desired results and never have unintended consequences.
We must ask ourselves: If we are not unequivocally against torture, then what do we stand for?The State Department each year does a human-rights report card on every other nation in the world. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice often asserts with a straight face that the Bush administration lives up to its commitments and bases its foreign policy on our values. She also has explained why: "When we respect our international legal obligations and support an international system based on the rule of law, we do the work of making the world a better place, but also a safer and more secure place for America."
That, in the end, is the best way to protect America: to live up to our rhetoric and our values.
RTWT!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Wombs for rent - really!
Creepy Crawlies ... I just had one of those "I had NO idea THIS was happening" moments reading this.... so sad. I think Judith Warner is a really good writer. I loved her last book (Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety) and recommended it to all my friends and bookclub group several years ago. I'll add her to my favorites.
" Because what’s going on in India – where surrogacy is estimated now to be a $445-million-a-year business — feels like a step toward the kind of insane dehumanization that filled the dystopic fantasies of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale.” (One “medical tourism” website, PlanetHospital.com, refers to the Indian surrogate mother as a mere “host.”) Images of pregnant women lying in rows, or sitting lined up, belly after belly, for medical exams look like industrial outsourcing pushed to a nightmarish extreme.
I say “feels like” and “look like” because I can’t quite bring myself to the point of saying “is.” And in this, I think, I am right in the mainstream of American thought on the topic of surrogate motherhood"
Read the Marie Claire article too by Abigail Haworth! I find my predjudice raising against busy mom's-to-be who either forgot or were too busy when they were younger. I think that is different situation than say a woman who has had a hysterectomy early-on because of some medical condition or genetic situation. I think I could understand the overwhelming desire for a child of one's own, but not in the same desperate way I would if for example it was a life-and-death issue, like if you needed a heart or kidney transplant or you are going to die. There are a lot of issues here that relate to BioMedical Ethics. But its also a matter of educating young women ( the premise I think of Judith's book) that you really cannot have everything you want when you want it -especially here in America, Motherhood is just not supported socially by the government -early OR late. So people wait, until they are better off financially. If you want something badly enough, you might have to settle for Mr. Average in your late 20's instead of waiting 15 years for George Clooney to be available when YOU think you are ready in your mid-30's. Or don't have kids at all. Or Adopt when you feel like you'd be "read-ier", but don't wait too long there either or the birth mom's will think you're too old.
On the other hand, those women surrogates in India are really in a bad situation too. Some worse than others. One surrogate in the article was doing this so she could provide a dowry for her daughters to have a good marriage- even though dowries are supposed to be illegal in India! I think women are doing this for both good and bad reasons on both sides -desperation on both sides - to fulfill an economic necessity or a biological desire, or even an expectation of "completeness" of family size.
I can't imagine that I'd ever be that desperate to have my "own" baby. Maybe I would have been... I don't know. That said, from the little I know about adoption, it sounds like there is so much paperwork, money, and time needed for that too. I should ask my neighbor L. about this. She went through in vitro a lot of times. I'm so glad they ended up with S. 13 yrs ago! She's J's best friend. They are the best parents too- I'm so lucky to have them as neighbors!
" Because what’s going on in India – where surrogacy is estimated now to be a $445-million-a-year business — feels like a step toward the kind of insane dehumanization that filled the dystopic fantasies of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale.” (One “medical tourism” website, PlanetHospital.com, refers to the Indian surrogate mother as a mere “host.”) Images of pregnant women lying in rows, or sitting lined up, belly after belly, for medical exams look like industrial outsourcing pushed to a nightmarish extreme.
I say “feels like” and “look like” because I can’t quite bring myself to the point of saying “is.” And in this, I think, I am right in the mainstream of American thought on the topic of surrogate motherhood"
Read the Marie Claire article too by Abigail Haworth! I find my predjudice raising against busy mom's-to-be who either forgot or were too busy when they were younger. I think that is different situation than say a woman who has had a hysterectomy early-on because of some medical condition or genetic situation. I think I could understand the overwhelming desire for a child of one's own, but not in the same desperate way I would if for example it was a life-and-death issue, like if you needed a heart or kidney transplant or you are going to die. There are a lot of issues here that relate to BioMedical Ethics. But its also a matter of educating young women ( the premise I think of Judith's book) that you really cannot have everything you want when you want it -especially here in America, Motherhood is just not supported socially by the government -early OR late. So people wait, until they are better off financially. If you want something badly enough, you might have to settle for Mr. Average in your late 20's instead of waiting 15 years for George Clooney to be available when YOU think you are ready in your mid-30's. Or don't have kids at all. Or Adopt when you feel like you'd be "read-ier", but don't wait too long there either or the birth mom's will think you're too old.
On the other hand, those women surrogates in India are really in a bad situation too. Some worse than others. One surrogate in the article was doing this so she could provide a dowry for her daughters to have a good marriage- even though dowries are supposed to be illegal in India! I think women are doing this for both good and bad reasons on both sides -desperation on both sides - to fulfill an economic necessity or a biological desire, or even an expectation of "completeness" of family size.
I can't imagine that I'd ever be that desperate to have my "own" baby. Maybe I would have been... I don't know. That said, from the little I know about adoption, it sounds like there is so much paperwork, money, and time needed for that too. I should ask my neighbor L. about this. She went through in vitro a lot of times. I'm so glad they ended up with S. 13 yrs ago! She's J's best friend. They are the best parents too- I'm so lucky to have them as neighbors!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Iowa Caucus Day - the beginning of the end of Bush
Scott Horton at Harper's nails it - the expectation of today. The hope that something really great and interesting will come out of the cornfields of Iowa tonight:
Today, America begins a celebration of democracy. It is to be approached joyously, with optimism and hope, but also in earnestness. The process will last through early November. It will encompass, for all elections do, venality, pettiness, meanness of spirit, artifice, deceit—but these elements are included as clues to an electorate searching for meaning. No election would be credible without them. They help the alert voter discern those who are not fit. And for all of that, it is an essential process. I don’t recall in my lifetime another year in which the start of this process—the caucuses of Iowa—have been met with such anticipation.
America is a nation gone off the tracks. The people feel that keenly. And hence their anticipation of the process of decision. It means beginning anew. And for all the partisanship and divisiveness, ultimately this is a process of mending, of setting things back right.
.....
It leaves me thinking back to that man from the American plains, from a small town out on the run from Fargo to Minneapolis, a few tiers of counties away from the Iowa line. How keenly he saw the America that was in his day, and the America that was to become. America, Sinclair Lewis said, is “the most contradictory, the most depressing, the most stirring, of any land in the world today.” And his message was one that the voters should take to heart. We must not fear self-criticism and fault-finding in this process, we must not accept those who glorify everything which is American, for that may mean a glorification of our faults as well as our virtues. It is a time for introspection and for self-criticism. A time to check the voices that populate our political landscape against the nation’s shared values and ideals. Who among them will withstand a test of time and truth? This election is not like the ones that went before it. Americans are not making this judgment solely for themselves. At this point, they hold the proxy of all humankind.
As a former Hawkeye ('84- '88), all I can say is GO IOWA! Yeah! Pick the right people!!!!
I think I should probably order my extra Obama posters/signs today. They could be sold out temporarily by tomorrow! Fingers, everything is crossed!
Solastalgia
A new word for a semi-new feeling.... Just this morning J & I were driving to the "Y" and she asked me ( completely out of the blue!) " What will happen to Lake Michigan when all the polar ice melts?" She was wondering if the water will fill up and go beyond its present borders. I said I wasn't sure but that I "thought" it would affect the low-lying oceanshore more than our lakes. Really not sure.
But then I just read this article from Clive Thompson at Wired about how this is now a documented mental health feeling/fear of losing your home even though you're not leaving!
People are feeling displaced. They're suffering symptoms eerily similar to those of indigenous populations that are forcibly removed from their traditional homelands. But nobody is being relocated; they haven't moved anywhere. It's just that the familiar markers of their area, the physical and sensory signals that define home, are vanishing. Their environment is moving away from them, and they miss it terribly.
Albrecht has given this syndrome an evocative name: solastalgia. It's a mashup of the roots solacium (comfort) and algia (pain), which together aptly conjure the word nostalgia. In essence, it's pining for a lost environment. "Solastalgia," as he wrote in a scientific paper describing his theory, "is a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at home.'"
It's also a fascinating new way to think about the impact of global warming. Everyone's worrying about resource management and the spooky, unpredictable changes in the ecosystem. We fret over which areas will get flooded as sea levels rise. We estimate the odds of wars over clean water, and we tally up the species — polar bears, whales, wading birds — that'll go extinct.
But we should also be concerned about the huge toll climate change will inflict on our mental health. In the modern, industrialized West, many of us have forgotten how deeply we rely on the stability of nature for our psychic well-being. In a world of cheap airfares, laptops, and the Internet, we proudly regard mobility as a sign of how advanced we are. Hey, we're nomadic hipster capitalists! We love change. Only losers get attached to their hometowns.
This is a neat mythos, but in truth it's a pretty natural human urge to identify with a place and build one's sense of self around its comforts and permanence. I live in Manhattan, where the globe-hopping denizens tend to go berserk if their favorite coffee shop closes down. How will they react in 20 or 30 years if the native trees can't handle the 5-degree spike in average temperature? Or if weird new bugs infest the city in summer, fall shrinks to a single month, and snow becomes a distant memory? "We like to think that we're cool, 21st-century people, but the basic sense of a connection to the land is still big," Albrecht says. "We haven't evolved that much"
I think this is why last summer I was having this really intense extended daydream to chuck everything and buy a little solar powered farm in Wisconsin or Michigan, get some chickens for my own organic eggs, etc.... And why I decided to do the CSA thing and have local produce delivered even though it was insanely expensive. The cicadas were even freaky for me this summer because I wasn't in Illinois the last two times they came out ( 17 and 34 years ago). I don't know what is going to happen. I am going to plant a much bigger garden this year. I feel like I should really KNOW how to grow some of my own food. Read the whole article. (I had never really thought long about Australia becoming a bell-weather country for landscape changes but it makes sense since they are much closer to the Antarctic and the ozone hole, etc. I know they have higher skin cancer rates etc. )
C and I love to take a lot of long walks with my dog Lucky.... Prairie Path, Forest Preserves etc. We are close to finishing the list of all of the DuPage County Preserves.
Solastalgia- I like the sound of the word, like nostalgia, only sadder I think. I don't think that future generations will look very kindly on us at all. All the more reason to take some action sooner than later.
Also, this was in the Trib today about Lake Michigan water levels... I find serendipity often in what draws my attention in a given day.
(photo credit: Tribune photo by Abel Uribe / January 2, 2008)
h/t re Wired story- Andrew Sullivan)Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I just heard this Glen & Helen show podcast on energy independence: Interview with Bob Zubrin " Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil"
This is a book I will read
This is a book I will read
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