I really hate to say "I told you so"...

But all those people I've been writing to for years who have replied (when they've replied) that off-shore drilling is safe and necessary and that there would probably never be a spill or accident because the oil companies know what they're doing??? I told you so! I told you that yeah, they know what they're doing like the Captain of the Titanic, and it's too dangerous to keep temping fate this way.

Now we've got a gusher going at a rate of at least 200,000 gallons per day with a slick currently covering the approximate area of Puerto Rico (3,500 square miles+). The shrimp and oyster industry in LA and MS is completely ruined for probably the next few years, just as it was finally recovering from Katrina and in this economy. BP is saying it will continue spilling for at least another 8 days before they have any hope of stemming the flow with - get this - a dome that they're going to put over the site of the busted pipe (which, personally, I can't imagine will actually work), and another 3 months before they have a "relief well" drilled to divert the oil to another rig. We're screwed. And God help us if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream. Seriously, God help us because no one else will be able to at that point. Good job, BP.

I also think it's hilarious in a completely not funny way that our governor, who until recently has been a Republican, was against off-shore drilling (because most of the state is against it) until he was elected, then he was for it because it was popular in the Republican party, and now that he's an Independent because that's his only hope of being elected to the Senate, and this has happened, he's against it again.

I'm not particularly pleased with Obama on this issue either because he's been trying the impossible to do task of placating the Republicans to try to get them on his side way too much on these energy issues, saying coal, nuclear and drilling for oil is largely okay. The Republicans will oppose him, whatever he does, unless he becomes one of them and does exactly what the party line is. And even then they might oppose him just on principle. Best to tell them what Bush told the Dems all these years: my way or the highway. Because I do not agree with trying to placate people whose main motivation is money and power for themselves and their backers and the status quo because it preserves the other two. At all. I think it's all disasters just waiting to happen. And since the worst that can happen with a wind mill is a bird can fly into the propellers and get chopped into little birdy bits, I'm thinking that - despite the fuming of traditional energy corporations and the cost to set green methods up - it is the way to go. Seriously.

Education in Florida and why I might not be a part of it in the near future

Florida education is in trouble. Everyone knows it. It's not news. What Repulicans in the legislature are trying to do with it now is news.

Governor Charlie Crist and Senator John Thrasher (who wrote the legislation) plan to make teachers' salaries and continued employment based entirely on how their students' perform on standardized tests. These are (the already passed) SB 6 and (the soon to be voted on and expected to pass) HB 7189. Teachers will even have the threat of loosing their teaching certificates if their students don't make the mandated gains. I would make jokes about the legislature getting medieval on us, going back to the policies of the University of Bologna circa 1090 CE, but the details of this legislation make me physically ill and I can't. It's too disgusting and too disheartening. I can't enumerate them all here. Please, go here to see what this is all about. It breaks my heart.

What is clear to me in all this is that I am and what I have to give are not appreciated in this state, not by those who would employ me and not by the parents if they would allow such legislation to go unchallenged. The service that I was hoping to do for my community is not valued. If this legislation passes, it would be impossible for me to teach in public schools in this state. I will not do it. To teach under these conditions would be absurd! There are 49 other states out there and there are many private schools. I will get my teaching certificate, meet those requirements, and then I will take my youthful enthusiasm and desire to inspire young minds and I will go somewhere I will be properly respected for it (at least in the way I'm dealt my salary from my employer, in the way my contract is written, and in the way I can actually gain tenure and have advanced degrees and years of experience mean something to those who employ me - we all know that teachers aren't respected in general... that's why legislation like this is even possible).

The state of things...

• I'm too annoyed at the Health Care legislation issue to comment extensively on it. The entire thing just sounds like a huge clusterfuck (and that's a technical term there) of the first order. I'm displeased about there being no public option and I suspect that it won't change the insurance company abuses. But, of course, only time will tell how it will pan out. I do not for one second blame it on the President though, but rather entirely on the Congress.



• Except for some ends that still need to be woven in and blocking, I've finished the OpArt baby blanket I've made for my friend Andrea, who is expecting a little one in about a month. She is the first of my friends that I went to high school with to have a child. The blanket is lovely. I've also made a Jayne hat and another hat and a pair of booties. There will probably be more things to follow, although she doesn't like the cutesy baby things so that cuts out a lot of the options at the newborn stage of things.



• I'm making Pumpkin-Cranberry bread pudding. I wish I had a recipe, but I don't. It's something from Dinner Done, a dessert that I bought out of their Grab-and-Go freezer. I hope it will be good and can't imagine that it won't be.



• I made 48 half-pints of strawberry jam this past weekend. It took almost all day both Saturday and Sunday. It's delicious!



• The garden is looking awesome! I need to take pictures and put them up here. The peppers are a little less than I'd like them to be right now, but hopefully they fertilizer I put on them today will perk and green them up. We've had good rain for the past few weeks.



• Passover is coming up and we've got most of the kosher for Passover food that we'll need. Last year, we were in VA over Passover and had to take all the food up there with us because there's no where to buy it up in the Ville. But this year, we will be here. I was glad to find rotini and shell pasta to buy this year, as well as organic and whole grain matzohs. I'm really glad that those are options now! Oh, another interesting thing I found the other day - Target has Passover dishes! I was surprised! Plates and platters and special "matzoh plates" with the word מצה (matzoh) in the center in silver. Unusual and unexpected at a place such as Target. I thought about buying it, but I figured I'd wait a week and if they still have any, they'll be on clearance for a fraction of the price.

What they said...

So I didn't watch the Superbowl this year. I've watched it in the past for the game, or for the half-time show, or for the commercials, but this year, I just didn't feel like it. Plus, they had that anti-choice commercial and wouldn't air that other commercial for the gay dating site because that would be controversial.

I have seen some of the commercials since then, and the Dodge Charger commercial was stupid and sexist and freaking offensive. In response, this has been made...



And no, unlike the original commercial there is no consolation that "oh, but women put up with all these things, but at least we get to drive an awesome car at the end of the day" because that isn't true. Driving an awesome car, or anything else material, is not sufficient consolation for the serious bullshit we put up with on a daily basis. It just isn't. And to say otherwise would be a patronizing lie.

Also, I honestly do feel sorry for the kinds of men that would feel emasculated by the sorts of things mentioned in the original commercial.

What the...?!?!

Sorry, I've been busy praying in synagogue and working this weekend and week respectively, so I'm just now hearing about all this...


(Feel free to take the above and use it elsewhere against these crazies who either signed the petition supporting Polanski or have publicly stated they support his release from jail.)

Roman Polanski - the creep - finally got arrested and will hopefully be extradited back to the US. But some people, who no doubt believe that art and time should heal all evils, seem to think he should be allowed to continue fleeing justice. What part of "HE DRUGGED AND RAPED A 13-YEAR-OLD-GIRL AND DIDN'T EVEN CONTEST IT! IN FACT, HE ADMITTED IT, PLEAD GUILTY, AND THEN FLED THE COUNTRY SO HE WOULDN'T GO TO PRISON FOREVER!" don't these people understand?!?!?! HE'S A PEDO FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY! I'll repeat that for those who missed it the first time: HE'S A PEDO! FOR THOSE WHO DOUBT IT, I HAVE THIS QUOTE, SPOKEN BY ROMAN POLANSKI HIMSELF:

"If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But... fucking, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to fuck young girls. Juries want to fuck young girls. Everyone wants to fuck young girls!"

(This was reported by The Telegraph UK, having been found in an interview that Polanski did with Martin Amis, a novelist, in 1979.)

If nothing else, we've all seen enough Law & Order: SVU to know that THAT RIGHT THERE is the way a PEDOPHILE THINKS to justify THE SICK things they do! They think everyone wants to do what they do, but everyone else just won't admit it. WTH?

And for those who might think that Polanski was right to run because the judge, who had accepted his plea deal, which Polanski had agreed to on the basis that the judge would reduce his sentence, reneged on the agreement that the sentence would be reduced and instead had decided to sentence Polanski to 50 years... The judge changed his mind because he was given evidence that Polanski had raped two underage girls in Germany before and had reason to believe that, if given the chance, Polanski would do it again. Sounds like a good reason to levy maximum sentence to me. The fact that Polanski has admitted to having sex with underage girls in the years since he fled the US just makes it that much worse.

So many people that I have to put on the "Dead to Me" list now, the people who have signed the petition asking for Polanski's release from the Swiss jail in which he's currently awaiting extradition... Including Terry Gilliam, who I adored until now, and Martin Scorsese. I notice, however, that most people on the list supporting his release are French or in some way Continental European... I find that rather interesting...

Oh, and I love (read that with sarcasm, k?) that this petition says he's been arrested on a 30 year old warrant in which he's charged "in a case of morals"... Nice euphemism for "child rape"? As if the rape of a child is not a generally abhorrent thing and it's all a matter of Americans being Puritanical prudes. Really, WTH?!? DIAF!

Another awesome article that obviously does not miss the point of all this at all. YAY! for SALON!

And I would like to say to Whoopi Goldberg, who clarified her "but I don't believe it was rape-rape" statement earlier today: You need to get your facts straight before you open your mouth. Polanski plead guilty to the lesser charge of "unlawful sex with a minor" in a plea deal. He would have been charged with and tried for "aggrivated rape" - which certainly is "rape-rape," as you put it - if he hadn't plead out. And if you read the transcripts of the victim's grand jury testimony, it is very obvious that what he did was aggrivated, violent rape of a 13 year old girl. The DA offered the deal to spare the child further anguish by having to go through what would have been a high-profile trial at a time when there were no protections for victims like there are today. There's no mitigation or down-playing of Polanski's crime, no matter to what he formally plead guilty.

Also: See this open letter to the signers of this petition and consider passing it on. This deserves to become viral on the internet and I hope every single one of the signers of the Polanski supporters' petition sees this letter and the comments.

As of 2:30am September 1st, the following people I once respected have signed the petition for Polanski's release:

Darren Aronofsky (husband of Rachel Weisz), Ethan Coen (one half of the Coen Brothers), Penelope Cruz (yeah, you read that right), Alfonso Cuaron (the director of Prisoner of Azkaban), Guillermo del Toro (damn it, and I wanted to see The Hobbit), Terry Gilliam (of Monte Python), David Lynch (who did Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive), Brett Ratner (the shit director who ruined X-Men: the Last Stand), Martin Scorsese (who needs no introduction), Tilda Swinton (The White Witch in Narnia), Sam Mendes (Kate Winslet's husband), and Woody Allen (who I never respected, ever, but who isn't a surprise to the point that it's a freaking joke...)...

I don't like Joe Wilson as much as anyone...

I totally agree that he was censured in the House today. I think he should apologize before the House too. It's not playing politics to censure him. He did an awful, awful thing during the President's speech. I said at the time that it was potentially racially motivated because I don't believe anyone would have done that to any previous president... whether that is because things are just so extreme right now, or because it truly did happen because the President is black and Joe Wilson is a racist, I can't say for sure.

But I do not like what Chris Matthews is doing. Saying that Joe Wilson is "playing Johnny Reb" by purposefully trying to stir things up to distract everyone from the real issue of health care, and trying to steer discussions on his MSNBC show toward what Joe Wilson's politics might be about the Confederacy and the Battle Flag, and suggesting that because Joe Wilson is from South Carolina everyone from South Carolina is racist, when that is very much not the case. Joe Wilson might be a lot of things - and I don't know that Chris is entirely wrong in his suggestions toward Joe Wilson's personal racism, I just wish Chris would be more specific with his evidence instead of just spouting innuendo and including all of South Carolina and all of the South in his slurs. Icwhutudidthar, Chris... and I don't approve. Because, honestly, you're doing exactly what you accused Joe Wilson of trying to do today - distracting from the real issues at hand. Stop being divisive, Chris! It weakens the argument and the Republicans do that enough for everyone... And the same goes for the rest of the Yankee media who seem to be really liking the idea that it's all a matter of people from the South just generally being ignorant, racist hicks. We're not. Thanks. I mean, some are, but I think the matter is being overstated and exaggerated.

I know what President Carter has said about the South. I would like to point out that he's of an older generation (like my grandmother who said last November that she wouldn't vote for Obama, despite the fact that the rest of us were, because "black people aren't as smart as white people"... *headdesk* Yes, we don't listen to what she has to say on such issues, and we realize she's living in 1932...), and might not be seeing the changes in the younger, mainstream Southern culture because he's looking for the way things used to be and finding that in some places (as Lincoln said, "If you look for the bad in people, expecting to find it, you surely will."). Sure, racism in the South still exists - I mean, duh - but is it pervasive and insidious like it once was? I don't see that it is.

Racism also doesn't occur just in the South. It also exists in New York, and Connecticut, and Wisconsin, and Vermont, and Arizona, and California - it occurs everywhere... Anyone who says otherwise obviously isn't paying attention, or purposely ignoring evidence because it doesn't fit in with their preconceived ideas about what racism is and who is guilty of it (and this tendency by some people is something I find pretty freaking disturbing). It isn't limited to just white people being racist toward black people either, it occurs in any and every combination imaginable, and anyone who pays attention knows that. Personally, I don't see greater evidence of racism in the South than I see evidence of it anywhere else in the country, although I think racism in the South gets a lot more press (again because it plays into some people's preconceived notions). If anything, I think many people in the South are hyper-aware of race issues precisely because of the South's history, in ways that people outside of the South are not, and make an effort to not only not be a racist in actual fact, but also to not do anything that might make them appear to be a racist either.

And can we please remember that Barack Obama carried Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia - which are three Southern states (Yes, Florida counts! If we seceded once upon a time, we count.) - and that he lost South Carolina by only 9%! That's a pretty small margin for a state that's supposedly so very racist, while also being so very Republican (which I think had a lot more to do with the loss, rather than pervasive racism). I'd also like to note that North Carolina and Indiana (not a Southern state!) had the same margin in Obama's favor: 50% to 49% with 1% going to other candidates.

At the very same time, I would very much thank the "Right" if they would STOP using phrases that bring up the idea that the South is full of racists to advertise their anti-Obama products, such as the "You Lie!" bumpersticker being peddled at WorldNetDaily with the phrase "Rebel yell" as part of the advertisement (and bona dea, but they are wingnuts over there at that site!). In fact, if you're not Joe Diffy or using it in technical historical context, I really wish you wouldn't use that phrase at all.

*sighs* ... Yeah, getting back to the fight for health care now.

Somebody in Washington got schooled last night...

Several somebodies actually, and I think they were much chagrined by it.

You can watch Obama's entire health care speech here, as well as the official Republican rebuttal immediately following.

I thought it was an awesome speech and I think the Republicans who are against it are just smoking crack (and by "smoking crack" I mean pandering to special interest groups lobbying for the status quo who are probably lining the Republicans' coffers in ways that should be and might actually be illegal).

As to what was going on in the House while Obama was talking: What the heck were those sheets of paper that some of the Republicans kept holding up? And that tasteless asshole, who shouted out that Obama is a "liar" right in the middle of his speech, Rep. Joe Wilson from South Carolina (whose web server crashed minutes after he did that, btw), needs to go home now.

More on Public Option...

Not that this will necessarily clear up the confusion, but - heads up - Obama's talking about the plan he's pushing tonight!!! So tune in!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Public Option NOW!

Write to your elected officials now by going to congress.gov.

The text of the bill can be found here.

*ahem*

To anyone out there who thinks that Obama shouldn't address America's school children today:

You're an idiot.

And possibly also incredibly narrow-minded.

And probably amazingly ignorant.

And I grieve for your children.

That goes double for Jim Greer. I think it's awful that you're from the same state as I am.

I am not the only person who thinks so:



If this were President Clinton, or either of the President Bushes, this would never have been criticized or questioned. This is the President of the United States addressing America's school children. He should be respected by all students due to his elected position, if for no other reason, no matter what their own or their parents' political opinions are. That his motives are being questioned, and beyond that the suitability of whether or not he should even be allowed to do this is sickening. I think part of it is because Obama is black (no, really, I think any white president would never be questioned on doing this - even Bush or Nixon when their approval ratings were in the sub-basement), I think part of it is because Republicans are bitter and trying to stir things up right now, and I think part of it is because people are insane and/or stupid. Really stupid.

If this were Bush, and he were saying what Obama is getting ready to say, speech pre-released or not, I would fully support it... I don't think it would be a particularly effective message coming from him, but I would never say that he shouldn't be allowed to say it or pull my hypothetical children out of school for the day.

Clarification...

I was reading a discussion on Jewish opinions on the idea of a Messianic Age on a Jewish Ravelry group just now. Someone suggested that liberal Jews believe in a Messianic Age, whereas more conservative Jews tend toward the idea of a Messiah in the form of an actual person. I object to this generalization and the way it seems to suggest that this is a uniform, required thing among Jews - the belief in a Messiah or Messianic Age - when it certainly is not. Because the last discussion of this topic was nearly a year ago, I'm uncomfortable with replying there with my thoughts. So I will do it here...

I do not believe in either a Messiah or Messianic Age. At all. In any way, shape or form. I am not an Apocalyptic Jew. I recognise that this was a direct influence of Zoroastrian thought on Jewish thought during the Pre-Hellenistic period. I also must point out that the Sadducees, and likely some other Jewish sects of the Second Temple Period of which we just have no record (and there are many of those), rejected Messianic ideas as being even less than apocryphal. Sadduceean thought did not subscribe to Messianic ideas because no information about a Messiah exists in the Torah, only in some of the Writings and some of the Prophets. Due to this, they rejected the idea... (One should also remember that there were a lot more Writings and Prophets that are now lost to history that existed for reading and study during that time.) I quite agree with their take on that.

I think that the Apocalyptic and Messianic ideas were fostered during the formation of Post-Temple Judaism because times were so very bad. For the same reason, early Christians expanded their influence at the time. People felt quite powerless to help themselves. People were probably pretty angry about it, downtrodden and oppressed. And unable to do anything on very literal pain of death at the hands of the Romans, the idea of a future in which God would assist them through an intermediary was quite attractive and comforting. In the Second Temple Period, this had taken on many forms. Some believed a Golem-like creature (and you might have thought that a Rabbi in Prague came up with that one, but no) or another supernatural creature would be sent, others that the Messiah would be a man, some believed that it would be many, some believed it would be just one. In the Post-Temple reformation, like all things in Judaism, there was a special effort to make the theology uniform, so one single idea of the Messiah was decided upon after what was no doubt a very long debate among the early Rabbis.

I take the attitude that if one keeps waiting for something to happen in order for something to be done, it never, ever will. "God helps those who help themselves" and "If not now, when, if not me, then who?" and all that. If we want things to change, we have to do it ourselves.

I'd like to add that Judaism has never really been an orthodoxy. Even in the Medieval period, there would be some disagreement among scholars on different theological points. As a professor of mine liked to say, Judaism is more of an orthopraxy (his word, not mine)... meaning belief varies, but approved actions tend to be more universal. This is an imperfect analogy too, however, since belief guides practice and practice guides belief. But I still think it's an interesting thought.

I realize to some Jews my thoughts and beliefs are heretical. In response, I giggle.

Wow!

Fillings went fine.

I was linked to this today by a friend. It is an impressive rant calling the Republicans on their hypocrisy and corruption. It's awesome! Usually something this vehement would get me all stirred up and pissed off at the Republicans too, but this time that didn't happen. I'm just a bit blown away...

In unrelated news, I saw "Inglorious Basterds" last weekend. Meant to mention that before. I liked it okay... Wasn't the greatest movie ever, but wasn't the worst either and it had some good moments. I thought all the actors, with the possible exception of Mike Myers (while I generally love him, all I could think of during his scene was his SNL sketches and other goofy movies... I suspect it was the make-up they had on him), did an amazing job. The movie did pique my interest in learning a bit more about the Nazi higher-ups. Got as far as the people who were in the bunker at the end before I was just too disgusted to go further. Sick, sick people. Like we didn't know that. I think looking at these people as human beings makes them all the more monstrous and horrible rather than looking at them in more abstracted ways, as many movies do.

(Pardon my language below. It couldn't be avoided.) Did not know this: Hitler probably carried on some kind of highly inappropriate relationship with his niece Geli for a number of years, beginning in her teens, which ended with her suicide at the age of 23. He started seeing Ava Braun socially when she was only 17, and she tried to kill herself twice at 20 and 23 respectively for reasons that are unknown to history, but possibly the attempts were staged to manipulate Hitler, who was still reeling from Geli's death when she made her first attempt. When Adolf and Ava finally did kill themselves, Ava was only 33... Hitler also had his German Shepherd, her four puppies (less than a month old) and Ava's two Scottie dogs killed the night before Ava and he committed suicide. This seriously bums me out. It wasn't the dogs' fault who owned them... and... and... puppies! Hitler also saw another German movie actress who killed herself, or was murdered by Gestapo (it was never clear apparently), when she was 31. So, on top of being a mass-murdering fuckhead, a racist and bigot to the nth degree, a megalomaniac, and head of the original fucking Nazis (and I'm sure I'm leaving out a number of horrible things that he was here, but for the sake of brevity, let's just leave it at that), he also very likely was an incestuous pedo, who killed his own dogs and drove women to suicide. Just when you think Adolf Hitler couldn't get more fucked up as a person, he does. Seriously, NO ONE should EVER be compared to this guy.

Oh, and he's funny too!

I love our president. My love, in fact, is ever-growing, really...

Word!

"Fat Judges Need Not Apply" <--- That this sort of thing needs to be said is sad. I hope the President can rise above such ridonculousness...

Because I needed another reason to hate Smithfield Foods...

So now they're probably in some part responsible for the swine flu pandemic. Nice one, guys.

I actively boycott Smithfield Foods products and all subsidiaries (and Paula Deen too... She's their celebrity spokesperson)... not that I ever bought all that much pork in any of its various forms, but now I'm quite conscientious about it.

For those who are unaware of Smithfield's dubious reputation,, check out this Rolling Stone article (be aware, there are graphic images) about the atrocious way they operate their facilities inside the US where there's supposed to be regulations to stop this flagrant corporate irresponsibility. God only knows what they do in other countries where health, safety and environmental laws (not to mention, laws for the humane treatment of animals) are not even up to our standards (which are obviously too low if Smithfield gets away with these things).

Smithfield refutes many of the claims made in this article (interestingly not my favorite part with the quotes from the guy who started the company about just how much he laughs at the EPA investigators)... However, it is interesting to note that due to at least one of the health concerns detailed in the Rolling Stone article - water contamination - North Carolina had enacted a moratorium on hog "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFO's or "factory farms") in 1997, which was extended repeatedly until 2007 when it was allowed to expire... Not that the moratorium was particularly effective. South Carolina, Virginia and Quebec have also passed moratoriums limiting CAFOs and the methods employed at such facilities, and I know that Florida has laws detailing the amount of room a pregnant sow is supposed to be allotted (so they can't be kept in crates barely large enough for them to breath in, forget about moving, as they had been until the referendum was passed). I honestly don't know what's being done about curtailing dirty hog farming in those states right now, but I'd be willing to venture the answer is "not enough."

Go make yourself heard...

Because he's awesome, President-Elect Obama has set up a website where we can all send his people our ideas about what needs to be done in this country.

Change.gov

Check it out!

Some talking points I thought important to bring up:

• Energy independence, but in a green way. No more mountain-top removal coal mining. No more lies about "clean" coal. No new nuclear power plants. Wind, solar, hydroelectric, tidal, geothermal - FTW!



• Agriculture - NO NAIS! Support for family farms, organic farms, local agriculture projects, education, etc. Down with factory farming!



• Reducing the amount of energy Americans currently consume. More efficient cars. More solar panels on residential, public and business buildings. Clotheslines available for everyone to use, YAY!

*pausing for a moment*

Yeah, this is really important... Watch this, please:



Seriously, y'all...

In other news, there will soon be pix of handspun yarn, just as soon as I can get them uploaded.

What I did last night...

Went to see Maya Angelou last night at the Sundome here on campus with my friend Mia. I almost didn't go because I had homework and it was ridiculously cold outside and I had no jacket, but I'm so glad I did. And I got my homework done sitting in the warm Sundome before her lecture started so it was all good. She was awesome and amazing and made me cry and laugh at the same time. Such an amazing person and phenomenal woman (I don't mean to pun her poem, she really is... there's just no other word that comes even close to covering just how glorious she is in the English language). *loves her* There will be pictures eventually. I have to get them from Mia.

She spoke some poems, some she has written and some written by others, including one of Shakespeare's sonnets. and she spoke about her love of written words and how important they are. And she said over and over and over until we laughed that she kept saying it that we all needed to go to our library to talk to our librarians because that's what they're there for and to read some poetry. Any poetry. Because she said it belongs to us and was written for us, so we should at least see what it is. And she told us about some inspiring people she's known in her life, like her grandmother and her Uncle Willy. She said we all need to appreciate and realize the rainbows in the clouds of our life and realize that we are also rainbows in the lives of other people, each and everyone of us. And I think that's so true. Amazing, amazing, amazing... If you ever get the chance to hear her speak, go! Do it!

There were so many people there that it took an *hour and twenty minutes* to get off campus and we were only parked about 1/2 mile from the edge of campus, or not even that far. So much traffic and not a campus cop in sight to direct it and people were being asshats. Very sad that. But still, there was music and talk of Maya and also our favorite tv shows and roving because I got samples yesterday from my favorite supplier, Yarns Etc. in Greensboro, and I had the samples in the car to discuss and pet, so it was all good. I'm going to be making hats in the next month or so for the actors on our favorite tv show 'cause I can and I think Vancouver is cold enough to warrent hand-spun, hand-knit hats...

I'm supporting the WGA

So the Writers' Guild of America is on strike... as I'm sure everyone has heard by now... I support them in their efforts and hope that the studios submit to their demands quickly so that everyone can get on with entertaining America and the world... and so that the support staff who don't get paid outrageous saleries, the grips and techs and make-up people and assistants, don't start loosing their homes and cars, etc because if they aren't making tv and movies because the writers are on strike, all these poor people aren't getting paid either... from their jobs or their unions... so... I do hope it ends quickly...

In an effort to support the strike, I've decided to join the Reality TV boycott. The studios hope to maintain their ratings shares and advertising revenues by showing new Reality TV shows when the new episodes of their scripted shows run out... probably around late-January to February for most shows... So I'm boycotting... If they don't maintain their numbers and start loosing advertisers, they will be more likely to deal fairly with the writers.

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Eminent domain

So, as many people know, the Supreme Court expanded the right of local government to seize property for commercial development. CNN did a story this morning on the effects of this expansion. They highlighted a poor, retired couple, the Vendettis, who own their beach front home in New Jersey. But the city council has tried to seize their property in order to sell it to a developer who wants to put up high-priced condos at more than three times the price that their home is worth. CNN talked to some of the locals who live in the new condos, which sell at 3/4 of a million dollars. One of those, Maura Lucerelli, said, "It has to be developed. It [the new crap] looks gorgeous. It brings income to the community... So I feel bad, where are they going to go? For-- It's very expensive around here. But it's part of life. I mean..." (I would say something extremely disparaging about her character here, but I think she already did it for me...) The Vendettis and thirty other families who are under the same threat are fighting it. They say they will keep fighting until they are dragged out. The good news is that if they can hold out long enough, they might be able to save their houses. The New Jersey legislature (along with those of Florida, California, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois) is trying to pass legislation that will explicitly limit eminent domain and protect property owners. The Governor of Alabama has already signed property protection legislation into law. Federal legislation that will limit eminent domain has also been introduced, by a Republican Senator from Texas of all people... I have yet to read up on any of this proposed legislation, so I don't know how much it limits the new expansion of eminent domain laws, but it's good that they are doing something.

If you live in a state that doesn't yet have proposed property protection legislation and you think they should, go to http://www.c-span.org/states/legislatures.asp?Cat=Current_Event&Code=St_Pol to find links to their official sites. I encourage everyone, even those who live in states with proposed legislation, to go to write their elected officials and make their views heard. It's fun, doesn't take a lot of time, let's them know that they are being held accountable, and it just might make a difference.

If you want to write to your Senators and Representatives in Washington, go to http://www.senate.gov/ and http://www.house.gov/ to find links to write to them.