High School was either heaven or hell depending on who you talk to. Freshman year could be very difficult. Different classrooms, eating lunch in a noisy cafeteria for the first time and the pressure of making it into the in crowd. The secure world of elementary school was gone and left in its place was the daily stress trying to open a combination lock, grabbing the right books and making it to class on time.
As if the first day wasn't bad enough, in homeroom sat a beautiful girl. You know the kind. She was blessed with perfect everything. Girls wanted to be her. And boys wanted to have her. The rest worried about frizzy hair and zits. Not her. And what amazed us was how friendly she was to everyone. One morning while waiting for first bell I saw her talking to a boy who could have been her twin. She brought him over and introduced him. Her older brother was a junior. They came to school together everyday. It was obvious they were very close. He waited every afternoon to take her home before going to work.
The months passed quickly and soon it was winter break. Teachers piled on the homework that included lots of reading and term papers. Some break. Two weeks away from school and friends. Halfway through a snow storm dumped enough white powder to keep most housebound. It was not long before boredom set in and returning to school couldn't come fast enough.
That first morning back there was something palpably different. Students speaking in hushed tones. Odd sounding laughter. By lunchtime the whole school knew that some student had been seen in a club frequented by gays. Who? And how was it found out? After all if this student was seen wouldn't it make sense that the person who reported the sighting was gay too? By the end of the day the name was known by enough kids and it spread like wild fire. It was the protective brother of Miss Perfect.
The story was he was seen coming out of the club by a senior who was driving by at just the right moment. In no time at all the rumor mill was busy. Apparently it didn't take long for word to make it to the school office.
He never returned to school. He transferred to another school and took a job as a window dresser in a downtown department store. His sister transferred too. She never contacted any of her friends after that. Shortly before moving away I heard his sister married and her bother was not invited to the wedding.
This happened in New York many years ago. When being outed came with harsh consequences. If you were found out life would never be the same. Bullies and bigots made sure of that. And now a law has passed allowing gays to marry. So many years between then and now. I had not thought of that incident in so long, but watching the important vote that awful moment in time returned. Tears ran down my face. I wondered if he was able to reconnect with his family. Were they able to support him? Had he found love? It would be cruel if he had not. I closed my eyes and prayed that he was living the life he deserved.
So for those opposed to this new law ask yourselves how does this law hurt you. What rights do you lose? I JUST DON'T GET IT
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Daily Kos: Rand Paul: America's hungry seniors should turn to charity
A Senate subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders, held a hearing Tuesday on the “human toll and budget consequences” of senior hunger. Panelists shared tales of woe from older Americans unable to get enough food, and urged increased funding for nutrition programs under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
This might have been non-controversial a few years ago, but not with the Tea Party in town. The hearing produced a fierce debate between Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Sen. Rand Paul, the prototypical Tea Partier, about whether the government should even perform simple tasks like feeding hungry senior citizens....
Mary Jane Koren, a geriatrician and vice-president of the Commonwealth Fund, noted that seniors often suffer health problems and are put in nursing homes after falling down. Poor nutrition leads to decreased muscle strength, meaning a higher chance of falling—and weaker seniors are more likely to be gravely injured in such a fall. Koren noted that by 2020, the annual cost of medical care for seniors who fall is expected to reach $54.9 billion—many magnitudes more than the approximately $2 billion per year the federal government spends on nutrition assistance for senior citizens.
Sen. Paul, however, explicitly rejected this logic. “It’s curious that only in Washington can you spend $2 billion and claim that you’re saving money,” he said. “The idea or notion that spending money in Washington somehow is saving money really flies past most of the taxpayers.” Instead, Paul touted the “nobility of private charity” as opposed to government-funded “transfer programs.” He suggested privatizing Meals on Wheels and other government assistance for hungry seniors.
Sanders had none of this. “Senator Paul has suggested that only in Washington can people believe that spending money actually saves money. And I think that’s the kind of philosophy that results in us spending about twice as much per person on health care as any other country on earth,” Sanders said. “We have millions of millions of Americans who can’t get to a doctor on time. Some of them die, some of them become very, very ill and end up in the emergency room or end up in the hospital at great cost.
“Maybe it’s the same reason why we have more people in jail than any other country on earth including China, tied to the fact that we have the highest poverty rate among children among many other major countries on earth,” Sanders continued. “I happen to believe that intelligently investing in the needs of our people does in fact save substantial sums of money.”
In providing this explanation of how social investment works, and the consequences of not making it, Sen. Sanders is making the mistake of thinking that Sen. Paul a) has the capacity to understand what his talking about, and b) gives a shit that there are people dying because they don't have health care, or have to chose between it and starving. It highlights the great divide between the Republican party of 2011 and the rest of us, a distinction elected Democrats need to be calling out loudly and repeatedly. But in the new austerity-driven policy world, good luck with that.
This might have been non-controversial a few years ago, but not with the Tea Party in town. The hearing produced a fierce debate between Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Sen. Rand Paul, the prototypical Tea Partier, about whether the government should even perform simple tasks like feeding hungry senior citizens....
Mary Jane Koren, a geriatrician and vice-president of the Commonwealth Fund, noted that seniors often suffer health problems and are put in nursing homes after falling down. Poor nutrition leads to decreased muscle strength, meaning a higher chance of falling—and weaker seniors are more likely to be gravely injured in such a fall. Koren noted that by 2020, the annual cost of medical care for seniors who fall is expected to reach $54.9 billion—many magnitudes more than the approximately $2 billion per year the federal government spends on nutrition assistance for senior citizens.
Sen. Paul, however, explicitly rejected this logic. “It’s curious that only in Washington can you spend $2 billion and claim that you’re saving money,” he said. “The idea or notion that spending money in Washington somehow is saving money really flies past most of the taxpayers.” Instead, Paul touted the “nobility of private charity” as opposed to government-funded “transfer programs.” He suggested privatizing Meals on Wheels and other government assistance for hungry seniors.
Sanders had none of this. “Senator Paul has suggested that only in Washington can people believe that spending money actually saves money. And I think that’s the kind of philosophy that results in us spending about twice as much per person on health care as any other country on earth,” Sanders said. “We have millions of millions of Americans who can’t get to a doctor on time. Some of them die, some of them become very, very ill and end up in the emergency room or end up in the hospital at great cost.
“Maybe it’s the same reason why we have more people in jail than any other country on earth including China, tied to the fact that we have the highest poverty rate among children among many other major countries on earth,” Sanders continued. “I happen to believe that intelligently investing in the needs of our people does in fact save substantial sums of money.”
In providing this explanation of how social investment works, and the consequences of not making it, Sen. Sanders is making the mistake of thinking that Sen. Paul a) has the capacity to understand what his talking about, and b) gives a shit that there are people dying because they don't have health care, or have to chose between it and starving. It highlights the great divide between the Republican party of 2011 and the rest of us, a distinction elected Democrats need to be calling out loudly and repeatedly. But in the new austerity-driven policy world, good luck with that.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
When Is A Lack Of Empathy OK?
The unseasonable heat made sleep more elusive than normal. The upside was knowing at 4am fresh bagels would be available at the local coffee shop. Opening up the front door and walking out into the muggy air was still a surprise for the early hour. The drive did not take long as there was no traffic except for an 18 wheeler driving what I deemed to fast in an effort to make it through the traffic light before it turned red.
The coffee shop was cool, filled with the smells of baked goods, donuts, bagels and coffee. I was the only customer making it more than probable the transaction would be quick. Wrong.
A young woman came out of the kitchen wearing a brown apron covered in white powder. Had I not known she was "dusting" fried dough with confectionery sugar I might have assumed she was cutting cocaine. Perhaps my looking at it prompted her to explain she didn't bother to wash it as the work was so messy it made no sense. At the end of the week it would be put in the washer, made clean for the next week. I said something like, "It's too bad you don't have another one to wear." And she replied, "But I do." Oh, ok.
Now you may wonder why any conversation would be necessary at that early hour with no other customers keeping me waiting. The coffee shop had no decaf coffee brewed. Typically commercial brewers are much faster than the home variety but only when one knows how to use them.
As she poured the ground coffee into the pot and adding water I inquired if she was ever nervous about working alone and she said no because it was a good neighborhood and added the only time the shop had been robbed it was an "inside job" by a former employee. And it is a safe area except that during the more clement weather there are homeless people who come out of the woods from behind the shops and one needs to be careful. And in a most sincere voice she told me about a homeless man who came into the shop, during a recent rain storm, who messed up the floor with his muddy feet and booth he sat in.
With that I forgot about the coffee. How terrible to be without a home, I said. She informed me that she herself had lived in her car for six months as she had no home. This 20 something girl covered in powered sugar had lived in a manner she didn't ask for and yet held no empathy for the rain soaked mud tracker who made her use a mop.
How was that possible? Those two strangers had something in common..It could have been her rain soaked and hungry. Maybe her lack of feeling comes from being employed, with a roof over her head. Grateful those 6 months are now a memory she looks forward only to the future. But to be so cold. Does she not realize how large this country's homeless problem is? Does she even read a newspaper or watch the news? Or is she like so many others who feel its not their problem. Then whose problem is it?
I took the coffee and bagels and left thinking I just don;t get it.
The coffee shop was cool, filled with the smells of baked goods, donuts, bagels and coffee. I was the only customer making it more than probable the transaction would be quick. Wrong.
A young woman came out of the kitchen wearing a brown apron covered in white powder. Had I not known she was "dusting" fried dough with confectionery sugar I might have assumed she was cutting cocaine. Perhaps my looking at it prompted her to explain she didn't bother to wash it as the work was so messy it made no sense. At the end of the week it would be put in the washer, made clean for the next week. I said something like, "It's too bad you don't have another one to wear." And she replied, "But I do." Oh, ok.
Now you may wonder why any conversation would be necessary at that early hour with no other customers keeping me waiting. The coffee shop had no decaf coffee brewed. Typically commercial brewers are much faster than the home variety but only when one knows how to use them.
As she poured the ground coffee into the pot and adding water I inquired if she was ever nervous about working alone and she said no because it was a good neighborhood and added the only time the shop had been robbed it was an "inside job" by a former employee. And it is a safe area except that during the more clement weather there are homeless people who come out of the woods from behind the shops and one needs to be careful. And in a most sincere voice she told me about a homeless man who came into the shop, during a recent rain storm, who messed up the floor with his muddy feet and booth he sat in.
With that I forgot about the coffee. How terrible to be without a home, I said. She informed me that she herself had lived in her car for six months as she had no home. This 20 something girl covered in powered sugar had lived in a manner she didn't ask for and yet held no empathy for the rain soaked mud tracker who made her use a mop.
How was that possible? Those two strangers had something in common..It could have been her rain soaked and hungry. Maybe her lack of feeling comes from being employed, with a roof over her head. Grateful those 6 months are now a memory she looks forward only to the future. But to be so cold. Does she not realize how large this country's homeless problem is? Does she even read a newspaper or watch the news? Or is she like so many others who feel its not their problem. Then whose problem is it?
I took the coffee and bagels and left thinking I just don;t get it.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Utah Law maker to propose bill that mirrors Arizona's E-verify law
By david montero
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published May 27 2011 04:53PM
Updated 3 hours ago
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom on Friday proposed a Utah version of a newly upheld 2007 Arizona law requiring businesses to use a federal verification program to screen for undocumented immigrants applying for jobs
The Orem Republican, who had been sitting on the bill, said Thursday’s 5-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision settled the question of constitutionality.
"I’m going to run the exact same bill," Sandstrom said. "There is no doubt it [will] hold up."
Sandstrom, who expects to have language for the measure within two weeks, said it would mirror Arizona’s law — mandating employers use E-verify and setting up severe penalties if companies knowingly hire undocumented immigrants or fail to use the federal system.
He warned that employers who violate federal law by hiring undocumented immigrants would have their business licenses suspended for up to two weeks and be put on probation for five years. If a violating company had another offense during that five-year span, its business license would be revoked.
The bill wouldn’t impact workers already on a payroll, but would affect future hires.
"We need to take down the ‘Help wanted’ sign for illegal aliens looking to come to Utah," Sandstrom said. "Now that the Arizona law has been upheld by the Supreme Court, we need to act fast."
The lawmaker plans to lobby Gov. Gary Herbert to call a special session in September to pass his measure because he worries undocumented immigrants in Arizona now will head to Utah.
Herbert spokeswoman Ally Isom wouldn’t say whether the governor would consider a special session.
"Gov. Herbert has not been contacted by Rep. Sandstrom, nor have we had opportunity to review any new proposals from him," Isom said in a statement. "E-verify, which is already mandatory in the state of Utah, is a program the governor has supported."
The Arizona law was challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Obama administration and civil-rights groups, but Chief Justice John Roberts, in his opinion, said the law was within the state’s authority.
The law was written by Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who said Thursday he was confident the high court would uphold it.
It’s not the first time Sandstrom has picked up Pearce-inspired legislation and run it in the Beehive State.
The Utahn’s enforcement-only bill, HB497, was born of Pearce’s SB1070, which required police to enforce federal immigration law. Parts of SB1070 are currently held up in the courts, and Sandstrom’s bill is awaiting a July hearing after the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit saying it’s unconstitutional.
Marty Carpenter, spokesman for the Salt Lake Chamber, said individual state immigration laws create a patchwork problem and that the solution must come from the federal government.
"Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s good policy. This opens the door for state legislators to try and solve a problem by treating one symptom rather than treating the root cause of the issue," Carpenter said. "Businesses are in the business to create markets, transport and sell goods. Businesses are not in the business to police or enforce immigration policy."
So after reading this are you saying to yourself "I Just Don't Get It?"
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published May 27 2011 04:53PM
Updated 3 hours ago
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom on Friday proposed a Utah version of a newly upheld 2007 Arizona law requiring businesses to use a federal verification program to screen for undocumented immigrants applying for jobs
The Orem Republican, who had been sitting on the bill, said Thursday’s 5-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision settled the question of constitutionality.
"I’m going to run the exact same bill," Sandstrom said. "There is no doubt it [will] hold up."
Sandstrom, who expects to have language for the measure within two weeks, said it would mirror Arizona’s law — mandating employers use E-verify and setting up severe penalties if companies knowingly hire undocumented immigrants or fail to use the federal system.
He warned that employers who violate federal law by hiring undocumented immigrants would have their business licenses suspended for up to two weeks and be put on probation for five years. If a violating company had another offense during that five-year span, its business license would be revoked.
The bill wouldn’t impact workers already on a payroll, but would affect future hires.
"We need to take down the ‘Help wanted’ sign for illegal aliens looking to come to Utah," Sandstrom said. "Now that the Arizona law has been upheld by the Supreme Court, we need to act fast."
The lawmaker plans to lobby Gov. Gary Herbert to call a special session in September to pass his measure because he worries undocumented immigrants in Arizona now will head to Utah.
Herbert spokeswoman Ally Isom wouldn’t say whether the governor would consider a special session.
"Gov. Herbert has not been contacted by Rep. Sandstrom, nor have we had opportunity to review any new proposals from him," Isom said in a statement. "E-verify, which is already mandatory in the state of Utah, is a program the governor has supported."
The Arizona law was challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Obama administration and civil-rights groups, but Chief Justice John Roberts, in his opinion, said the law was within the state’s authority.
The law was written by Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who said Thursday he was confident the high court would uphold it.
It’s not the first time Sandstrom has picked up Pearce-inspired legislation and run it in the Beehive State.
The Utahn’s enforcement-only bill, HB497, was born of Pearce’s SB1070, which required police to enforce federal immigration law. Parts of SB1070 are currently held up in the courts, and Sandstrom’s bill is awaiting a July hearing after the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit saying it’s unconstitutional.
Marty Carpenter, spokesman for the Salt Lake Chamber, said individual state immigration laws create a patchwork problem and that the solution must come from the federal government.
"Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s good policy. This opens the door for state legislators to try and solve a problem by treating one symptom rather than treating the root cause of the issue," Carpenter said. "Businesses are in the business to create markets, transport and sell goods. Businesses are not in the business to police or enforce immigration policy."
So after reading this are you saying to yourself "I Just Don't Get It?"
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Woman Cuts her Kids’ Throats & Her Own Because of Doomsday Prophecy
A story traveled around social networks yesterday about a woman so distraught over the impending "rapture" stories she took it one step further. Armed with a box cutter she sliced the throats of her two daughters and then herself. Had it not been for a friend stopping by the house all would be dead.
The children are recovering in the hospital and their mother, without severe injures sits in jail under a bond of $1 million dollars.
Is this the only such tragedy that Harold Camping's lunacy caused? Probably not. And I would go further and say he doesn't even care. He sits on a fortune collected from donations for years by those who needed so badly to believe the end of the world and the coming of Christ.
Neither happened and yet lives are ruined. There is no going back for this woman. She wanted to spare her children. Instead of the anticipated god's judgement she will go to court and explain her actions. A totally different kind of judgement.
And the man behind the curtain lives oblivious or uncaring that his crazy words had serious consequences. Is he legally responsible for anything? I hope that he is inundated with civil law suits. False Promise. And up until his dying day he is deposed spending much of the fortune he stole from his followers on lawyers
Here is the link to the video that puts a face to this tragedy> bit.ly/iiY93a.
False prophecies take their toll on the believers. Too bad Harold Camping is left to count his money.
I Just Don't Get It.
The children are recovering in the hospital and their mother, without severe injures sits in jail under a bond of $1 million dollars.
Is this the only such tragedy that Harold Camping's lunacy caused? Probably not. And I would go further and say he doesn't even care. He sits on a fortune collected from donations for years by those who needed so badly to believe the end of the world and the coming of Christ.
Neither happened and yet lives are ruined. There is no going back for this woman. She wanted to spare her children. Instead of the anticipated god's judgement she will go to court and explain her actions. A totally different kind of judgement.
And the man behind the curtain lives oblivious or uncaring that his crazy words had serious consequences. Is he legally responsible for anything? I hope that he is inundated with civil law suits. False Promise. And up until his dying day he is deposed spending much of the fortune he stole from his followers on lawyers
Here is the link to the video that puts a face to this tragedy> bit.ly/iiY93a.
False prophecies take their toll on the believers. Too bad Harold Camping is left to count his money.
I Just Don't Get It.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Carlos Santana: Immigration Policies Admonished by Santana at Baseball Game
Carlos Santana Jumps in Georgia for Immigration Law at Braves vs. Phillies Game We have some Carlos Santana news to dole out from the wonderful world of baseball. Fantasy owners rest assured that I am talking about the legendary rocker, not the budding Cleveland Indians catcher.
Santana was present at the annual Civil Rights game which celebrates equal rights and the long history of the fight to attain just that.
This year, the game was held at Turner Field in the final match-up of a three game series between the Braves and Phillies. Santana was not all about love, peace and happiness. He used the moment to admonish Georgia for a law that was passed on Friday.
MUST READ: The 25 Best Sidekicks in Sports History
The law mandates that employers check the status of new hires for immigration status, as well as allows officers to check the status of some suspects.
Santana used this law to also call out Arizona that passed a similar law. He stated the following at the event.
The people of Arizona, and the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves. This law is not correct. It's a cruel law, actually. This is about fear. Stop shucking and jiving. People are afraid we're going to steal your job. No, we aren't. You're not going to change sheets and clean toilets.The Civil Rights game has been a success in tying the Civil Rights struggle to sports. This is one example of the game extending the discussion.
Regardless of your opinion on current immigration policies. It would be irresponsible to not have a discussion on some of the merits.
This is yet another case of the sports world extending upon itself So it must be asked, why is this a polarizing issue? I just don't get it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)