Friday, October 29, 2010

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR

I can't even read this. Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR But of course I have to.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Explains Political Clash of 2010?

"If there has been an overarching human error, it has been to construct cultural contexts that fail to mesh with planetary realities."

Looking at Life Clearly

I like this writer - too many things on my shelf right now, but enjoyed this excerpt. 'Slow Love' by Dominique Browning We would agree on many things: the benefits of being alone, how nice it is to make your world smaller, how important love is to sustain us and how little "things" matter. Losing a job can be a great gift, tho it may take time to see the good in it. Gratitude helps - makes all the difference. Might as well walk gently thru each day and enjoy it :) Or dance passionately, but don't miss it.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

All about Perspective - great read

Excerpts from:

"intimate and loving relationships with their families are the most powerful and enduring source of happiness."

"Unconsciously, we often employ the marginal cost doctrine in our personal lives when we choose between right and wrong. A voice in our head says, “Look, I know that as a general rule, most people shouldn’t do this. But in this particular extenuating circumstance, just this once, it’s OK.” The marginal cost of doing something wrong “just this once” always seems alluringly low. It suckers you in, and you don’t ever look at where that path ultimately is headed and at the full costs that the choice entails. Justification for infidelity and dishonesty in all their manifestations lies in the marginal cost economics of “just this once.”"



Choose the Right Yardstick

"This past year I was diagnosed with cancer and faced the possibility that my life would end sooner than I’d planned. Thankfully, it now looks as if I’ll be spared. But the experience has given me important insight into my life.
I have a pretty clear idea of how my ideas have generated enormous revenue for companies that have used my research; I know I’ve had a substantial impact. But as I’ve confronted this disease, it’s been interesting to see how unimportant that impact is to me now. I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched.
I think that’s the way it will work for us all. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success."

Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life : Kathleen Norris

Found this book at Borders last week for like $6 - great read for the thoughtful and for anyone who has had or had loved ones with depression. Very gentle, hopeful, beautiful, inspiring, insightful.

Amazon.com: Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life (9781594489969): Kathleen Norris: Books

Monday, October 25, 2010

Juan Williams at odds with NPR over dismissal

Juan Williams at odds with NPR over dismissal

NPR paid him to be an analyst, not to have personal opinions. He violated journalistic integrity. Period.

My comment to NPR: "Absolutely agree that Mr. Williams earned the right to lose his job. He wasn't performing to standards. He had been warned in the past. He could have asked for a commentators position. He could have removed himself from a tempting situation. I like him, personally, but I expect him and every other NPR reporter to do just that - report. Analyze. I may go to a book signing or read his book for a personal opinion. His was a sacred duty. NPR is one of THE last hopes for our democracy. The republic cannot stand without accurate, unbiased information disseminated to the voters. Loss of confidence in our journalists and media matches our loss of confidence in a political system that is flooded with special interest funds, and therefore entirely suspect. Thank you NPR for doing the right thing, hard as it was. I'll be sending in a donation. I also suspect a VAST majority of the flak you received was generated by non-listeners."

btw all of us have the right to be scared at any point in our lives, including Williams. What he didn't have is the right to express that in a public setting, in a role as representative of NPR, and keep his job, that clearly states he has to maintain journalistic standards - meaning he is unbiased in public. He would never have lost his job for saying those things in private or in public, while not performing as an NPR Analyst.

No one said he isn't decent and honorable and both a believer in and beneficiary of civil rights. However, if he worked for a large corporation like Coca Cola as a spokesperson, and admitted he liked Pepsi better while speaking at a conference *he would lose his job*.

We also don't let our military personnel demonstrate in political actions!? Has anyone ever wondered WHY? It's freaking common sense. People who represent our government in the armed services give up the right to express their political opinions pubically in their service to a high duty/calling. They protect all of us. Well so do certain (aka professional) journalists. It isn't his JOB to have an opinion. And he had numerous "slips" in the past.

Nina Totenberg had one, to my knowledge. AND her comments have been lately taken out of context - she didn't wish AIDS on anyone, but simply commented it would be an ironic sort of justice if Helms or one of his decendants contracted AIDS in light of his vociferous opposition to research for AIDS. Over the top, sure, but she, unlike Williams has an excellent track record.
v

Saturday, October 23, 2010

One of the Worst Chapters in Our History

Lillian McEwen breaks her 19-year silence about Justice Clarence Thomas

It's been 19 years since I lost faith in a big chunk of "the system".

Of course most knew or suspected that Clarence Thomas was a philanderer and had indeed harassed women all around him. Why else would women come out of the woodwork, most notably Hill, and risk being grilled over an open pit of vitriol from the right?

Beyond that my gripe is that the ABA (American Bar Association) didn't approve him as fit for the job, first time ever for a Supreme Court nominee. But his confirmation showed the writing on the wall - that our judicial system, even at the highest and most hallowed levels, was becoming politicized to the point of turning a blind eye to lack of qualifications.

Thomas' appointment tainted the Court.

side note: I didn't know he had worked for John Danforth, former Senator from Missouri, partner in a firm where I once "worked" and an ordained Episcopal Minister. I have a lot of respect for Danforth. Too bad his ethics and class didn't rub off on Thomas.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Long hair?

A good friend once said, after cutting her waist-length locks, that she heard long hair "picks up vibrations" and she did feel not only lighter, but less ... less of an antennae! Loved the images that created.

Why Can’t Middle-Aged Women Have Long Hair? - NYTimes.com

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

And My Favorite Reason to End My Mild Addiction To FB

Government Snoops Use Facebook. The Only Question is, for What? - COLORLINES

The Plot Thickens

Police And Courts Regularly Abusing Wiretapping Laws To Arrest People For Filming Cops Misbehaving In Public Places | Independent American News

Didn't He Campaign on a Promise of Changing Prior Administrations' Abuses?

Report: Obama Administration Wants to Update Wiretapping Laws � VOA Breaking News

Why We Need Judicial Oversight...

oh, but that doesn't seem to work anymore either :(
Discovery of GPS tracker becomes privacy issue - CHARLESTON, SC NEWS - LIVE 5 WCSC Breaking News, Weather, Sports

Monday, October 18, 2010

Campaign Finance Reform - dead horse?

Found this today, after following the $3 billion being spent on this year's elections. So far.

Obama dropped ball on campaign reform - CNN.com

And the Republicans missed their chance too.

Plutocracy - The influence the wealthy minority of the population has over the political arena includes campaign contributions, as well as bribing to achieve corporate objectives (exclusively profit related), refusing to support the government financially by refusing to pay taxes, threatening to move profitable industries elsewhere, and essentially any form of manipulation of the government. It can also be exerted by the owners and ad buyers of media properties which can shape public perception of political issues (see also: fourth estate)." wikipedia