The Ever Expanding List of our Potential Vice President's Beliefs;
1. Witches Exist. They should be stoned.
Palin's church hosted a pastor who claimed that the Lord showed him the source of a string of car crashes in the village--a "witch" in the village. He then rallied the town to stone her. She escaped, fortunately, but now lives in exile. At first it seemed that Palin just happened to go to that same church. That is a fair defense--most lay members don't really control who happens to be the visiting pastor of their church, nor what that pastor's sermon will contain. However now it looks like she's participated in the sermon itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl4HIc-yfgM
(warning...it's really long, and boring, despite being batshit crazy. She comes in near the end.)
2. Dinosaurs and Humans coexisted together. 7,000 years ago.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/15/bess/index1.html
(3rd or 4th paragraph down)
3. Alaska should be independent.
Ok, ok, I know it's actually her husband who believes this, but that still raises some points. First, when Michelle Obama mentioned that she was finally proud of her country, people used that to show Barack wasn't patriotic. If that idea is true--that your spouse often speaks for you--then how patriotic can you be when your husband doesn't want to be a part of the country for which you could be the leader?
4. Abstinence education works.
I have to say "hats off" to you on this one. Your eldest daughter is proof that it doesn't, yet you remain adamant. That type of stubbornness really demands respect.
5. The Iraq war is a mission from God.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_iraq_war
6. Rape victims should pay for their own rape kit. Also they shouldn't be allowed to abort the fetus.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/01/palin-on-abortion-id-oppo_n_122924.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=5784496
7. The Government should ban books:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837918,00.html
(13th paragraph down)
8. She might hold some anti-semitic views.
Ok, let's be clear. She does not hold anti-semitic views, at least not with any direct evidence. But there are some dangers in her church's view. Once again participating at a church is not the same thing as endorsing what a minister has said, but in love, war, and politics, all things are fair, and it's often more with whom you associate than what you yourself say. Remember all the flack Obama got for Jeremiah Wright's words? I do think criticism levied at him was fair if he knew the minister believed that yet never spoke out against it or left the church. Actions, or inactions, speak louder than words. Her visiting minister announced that Jews control the worlds' money, and that good Christian financiers need to take over. She has never protested this asinine statement, and in fact participated just a few minutes later in the church service in which this was announced. Also, when she ran for Governor, rumors circulated in Alaska that originated from her camp that her opponent was a Jew, and therefore unfit to lead. This packs a double-whammy b/c first their is the idiotic and anti-semitic view that Jewish people are not fit to lead (Christians have done SUCH a good job), and that her party, while maybe not believe it themselves, would spread this idea. In other words, she's slimy.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/sep/26/sarah.palin.religion.jews
9. This Financial Crisis, and It's Bailout is really about healthcare reform, job creation, tax reduction/relief, and reining in government spending--what???
I can't even attempt to explain this. Here is a transcript from the Katie Couric Interview:
COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? Allow them to spend more, and put more money into the economy, instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?
Palin: That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in. Where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh, it’s got to be about job creation, too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade — we have got to see trade as opportunity, not as, uh, competitive, um, scary thing, but one in five jobs created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation.
Source: CBS News.
10. Only some domestic bombers are terrorist. The rest, even though they take American lives, are just speaking their minds. Through bombs.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
A Call for Change
A Call for Change
To my Brothers and Friends Dedicated to Service,
This letter probably comes to you as a surprise. After every stage in life, most people go through a period of reflection. It comes as no shock that in hindsight better choices and decisions could have been made. It’s the “If I only knew then, what I know now” syndrome. For most the reflection ends there, and life moves on. For me it is different, in that my life is continuing very much in the same vein as the last half decade has occurred, but from a totally new orientation. Due to this reorientation as to how I view the world of service and volunteerism, and due to my expanded knowledge that comes with the territory of my job, I felt impelled to share what occurred to me today. Stick with me, and I’ll try to make it as brief as possible.
The freshman class that has just entered universities and colleges across the nation are unique compared to every class that has come before them. Statistically they are more inclined to service, volunteerism, and societal change than any class since the matter has been studied. For years now service—which I will use from now on to include both the concepts of volunteerism and advocacy/activism—has been on the rise, with each new class performing more service than the one before it. About every three years marks a 20% increase in the amount of service being performed in communities by college students. Of course this could mean that every new freshman class is unique to the one before, but this one—this one is special. Part of this expansion in service is due to a generational shift—they were simply brought up with an increased sense of community and civic responsibility that ours’ and the preceding generation lacked. But part of it is due to efforts by our various governments to foster this element of service among the youth.
In 2002, George W. Bush created a White House Council that coordinated, for a short time, Learn and Serve America, the FreedomCorps, and many other federal programs that fostered service-learning; by 2003 they were up and running. This means that the high school freshman class of 2003, which graduate this past May and entered college this past month, is the first class in which many students have had an entire high school career that married, and made indistinguishable, the idea of service and learning. The results of this monumental occurrence are immediately apparent.
In my own office, which promotes community service among students, we have seen more students come to us in the first 3 weeks of school than we saw in the entire first semester last year. Student clubs that promote service, and whose active body number maybe 20, have had double and triple that number show up to their informational sessions. And on a campus of 10,000 that is known for societal apathy among its students, nearly 1,000 (mostly freshmen) have registered to vote in just 5 days, ensuring that their voice is heard in this next election. These data, which eclipse all statistics I can find from similar years, I believe are not a fluke, but represent a fundamental, yet possibly temporary, shift in the attitude of a freshman class.
The point in all of this? This new class represents an opportunity that has never been seen before, and an opportunity for which many universities are unprepared. This generation has wedded service, learning, and social life (high school—perhaps the most social time in anyone’s lives) in their minds. If that marriage does not continue through college, we will lose an opportunity that has never come about before. Further more, this class is entering an experience that represents a most fundamental change in their life during one of the most transformative political landscapes this nation has experienced. This year, this class, is an opportunity like no other for those who care about the culture of service. An opportunity to produce academic citizens that view service to fellow man not as an obligation, or a temporary occurrence, but as a very part of life itself.
My challenge to you is to do what the universities and colleges are unprepared to do. Do what it takes to get this freshman class involved. Lower your dues, spend more on advertising, work with other organizations to get the message out. Before you can do anything with this generation, they have to know that there are opportunities to continue what was started in their lives four years ago. Expanding your ranks, however, does nothing if there is no substance behind your program. More is needed from you and from your colleagues to make a difference, to give this next class the opportunities that you probably didn’t have. One always hear of parents worrying about what they are leaving their children, but one doesn’t have to be a parent to think of how their actions are going to affect those even just a few years younger. You have a chance to lay the groundwork for lasting change.
A large organization will do nothing if your actions are the same as always. To implement lasting change you need to look at how your entire program is run. This, I realize, is no easy task. It is hard enough to plan for the next semester; I’m asking you to plan for the next half decade. Sit down with your organization, form committees, and start an actual discussion as to where you are going on your campus. Actions without a vision and a plan are effectively meaningless. Question your goals. Is service just enough, or do you need to start promoting advocacy? If so how? Is there a way to better teach those below you the importance of what you do? Do you understand the importance of what you do? If you can’t answer these questions, and many others, then you have a lot of work to do, so start now! Don’t wait! Do it tomorrow, or next week at the latest. Talk to your members, bring them together, and lead the conversation. When you have a clear vision from the voice of your colleagues, vote on it, and figure out how to implement it. Perhaps most importantly, elect leadership that will listen to your voice, and follow your decisions. Every day that passes without this conversation occurring, means this opportunity has slipped a little bit further from your grasp. It is not too late to do what needs to be done, but one can not delay. Fortunately every semester marks an opportunity to start anew, and with the right vision that one semester is all you need.
Finally, and this is the hardest, change how you yourself operate. Put aside the differences you have with each other in implementing this goal. I know how hard it is. I failed at this often, but you still have to try, and try earnestly. Realize that sometimes the method to get there is not as important as the goal, so long as the method is upright and honest. This personal change works both ways though. If you have to put aside your differences with the leadership, the leadership needs to always remember that their position is an obligation, and a gift, not a mandate. And that the trust of power does not necessitate a right to power, and a right to do what you want, when you want.
Follow this advice, and I believe you’ll see an improvement not just in the organizations you care so much about, but in yourself as well. That by trying to create an opportunity for this incoming class (and those that will follow), you will improve your own opportunities as well. And by leading others towards leadership, friendship, and service, you and they alike will find that at the heart of it, those principles are one and the same.
Thank you for your time,
Neil Hudelson
To my Brothers and Friends Dedicated to Service,
This letter probably comes to you as a surprise. After every stage in life, most people go through a period of reflection. It comes as no shock that in hindsight better choices and decisions could have been made. It’s the “If I only knew then, what I know now” syndrome. For most the reflection ends there, and life moves on. For me it is different, in that my life is continuing very much in the same vein as the last half decade has occurred, but from a totally new orientation. Due to this reorientation as to how I view the world of service and volunteerism, and due to my expanded knowledge that comes with the territory of my job, I felt impelled to share what occurred to me today. Stick with me, and I’ll try to make it as brief as possible.
The freshman class that has just entered universities and colleges across the nation are unique compared to every class that has come before them. Statistically they are more inclined to service, volunteerism, and societal change than any class since the matter has been studied. For years now service—which I will use from now on to include both the concepts of volunteerism and advocacy/activism—has been on the rise, with each new class performing more service than the one before it. About every three years marks a 20% increase in the amount of service being performed in communities by college students. Of course this could mean that every new freshman class is unique to the one before, but this one—this one is special. Part of this expansion in service is due to a generational shift—they were simply brought up with an increased sense of community and civic responsibility that ours’ and the preceding generation lacked. But part of it is due to efforts by our various governments to foster this element of service among the youth.
In 2002, George W. Bush created a White House Council that coordinated, for a short time, Learn and Serve America, the FreedomCorps, and many other federal programs that fostered service-learning; by 2003 they were up and running. This means that the high school freshman class of 2003, which graduate this past May and entered college this past month, is the first class in which many students have had an entire high school career that married, and made indistinguishable, the idea of service and learning. The results of this monumental occurrence are immediately apparent.
In my own office, which promotes community service among students, we have seen more students come to us in the first 3 weeks of school than we saw in the entire first semester last year. Student clubs that promote service, and whose active body number maybe 20, have had double and triple that number show up to their informational sessions. And on a campus of 10,000 that is known for societal apathy among its students, nearly 1,000 (mostly freshmen) have registered to vote in just 5 days, ensuring that their voice is heard in this next election. These data, which eclipse all statistics I can find from similar years, I believe are not a fluke, but represent a fundamental, yet possibly temporary, shift in the attitude of a freshman class.
The point in all of this? This new class represents an opportunity that has never been seen before, and an opportunity for which many universities are unprepared. This generation has wedded service, learning, and social life (high school—perhaps the most social time in anyone’s lives) in their minds. If that marriage does not continue through college, we will lose an opportunity that has never come about before. Further more, this class is entering an experience that represents a most fundamental change in their life during one of the most transformative political landscapes this nation has experienced. This year, this class, is an opportunity like no other for those who care about the culture of service. An opportunity to produce academic citizens that view service to fellow man not as an obligation, or a temporary occurrence, but as a very part of life itself.
My challenge to you is to do what the universities and colleges are unprepared to do. Do what it takes to get this freshman class involved. Lower your dues, spend more on advertising, work with other organizations to get the message out. Before you can do anything with this generation, they have to know that there are opportunities to continue what was started in their lives four years ago. Expanding your ranks, however, does nothing if there is no substance behind your program. More is needed from you and from your colleagues to make a difference, to give this next class the opportunities that you probably didn’t have. One always hear of parents worrying about what they are leaving their children, but one doesn’t have to be a parent to think of how their actions are going to affect those even just a few years younger. You have a chance to lay the groundwork for lasting change.
A large organization will do nothing if your actions are the same as always. To implement lasting change you need to look at how your entire program is run. This, I realize, is no easy task. It is hard enough to plan for the next semester; I’m asking you to plan for the next half decade. Sit down with your organization, form committees, and start an actual discussion as to where you are going on your campus. Actions without a vision and a plan are effectively meaningless. Question your goals. Is service just enough, or do you need to start promoting advocacy? If so how? Is there a way to better teach those below you the importance of what you do? Do you understand the importance of what you do? If you can’t answer these questions, and many others, then you have a lot of work to do, so start now! Don’t wait! Do it tomorrow, or next week at the latest. Talk to your members, bring them together, and lead the conversation. When you have a clear vision from the voice of your colleagues, vote on it, and figure out how to implement it. Perhaps most importantly, elect leadership that will listen to your voice, and follow your decisions. Every day that passes without this conversation occurring, means this opportunity has slipped a little bit further from your grasp. It is not too late to do what needs to be done, but one can not delay. Fortunately every semester marks an opportunity to start anew, and with the right vision that one semester is all you need.
Finally, and this is the hardest, change how you yourself operate. Put aside the differences you have with each other in implementing this goal. I know how hard it is. I failed at this often, but you still have to try, and try earnestly. Realize that sometimes the method to get there is not as important as the goal, so long as the method is upright and honest. This personal change works both ways though. If you have to put aside your differences with the leadership, the leadership needs to always remember that their position is an obligation, and a gift, not a mandate. And that the trust of power does not necessitate a right to power, and a right to do what you want, when you want.
Follow this advice, and I believe you’ll see an improvement not just in the organizations you care so much about, but in yourself as well. That by trying to create an opportunity for this incoming class (and those that will follow), you will improve your own opportunities as well. And by leading others towards leadership, friendship, and service, you and they alike will find that at the heart of it, those principles are one and the same.
Thank you for your time,
Neil Hudelson
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Taxes and You
CNN tried to act like a real news source today, and produced information both objective and useful to the average American. Surprised? So was I. Since a lot of people--especially older adults, surprisingly--seem confused about what the McCain and Obama tax proposals mean to them. Disregard the fact that a President doesn't propose legislation, or have the power to actually change the tax law. If they did get their way, however, this is what their tax program would mean to you:
Monday, September 15, 2008
Life Update
Kiddos, life is good.
First.
Let me say that as I'm writing this, my incredibly supportive and loving friends are purchasing a ticket for me back to Indiana to spend what I'm sure will be a wonderful long weekend. I love them all. I'll be coming in October 1st, and leaving that Monday. Prepare your hearts, minds, and livers accordingly.
Second.
I've found a new inner strength through a source I'm sure many people have used before. Sometimes I feel that the spirit of this man who lived for us here on earth, to bring us out of our worldly misery into a new light is flowing through me, and permeates every inch of my body. When I think of his works, I find peace inside. If it's not obvious already, if you are asking "Who is this wonderful person whose life work serves our human brothers" I'm talking of course of Billy Joel. My job is incredibly fulfilling, and I'll miss it a lot. Even the most fulfilling job doesn't guard against the stresses of life though. That's why lately when I'm feeling stressed, usually from financial matters, I turn to the Gospel of Billy J:
Third.
As far as my life in South Carolina goes, I wasn't kidding about the fulfilling part of the job. As some of you may know, I'm working on a really cool Sustainability project. The project my office is producing involves renovating 3 historic houses so that they are more energy efficient--Using solar technology, energy efficient lights, better and eco-friendly insulation--things like that. A parallel project is in the works. It is the brainchild of a really cool student here who is very dedicated to the cause of environmental sustainability. He noticed that the dining halls put out a lot of food waste here. Five Thousand Pounds to be exact. Per dining hall. 20,000 pounds a week in all. A WEEK! 20,000! It boggles my mind. Since our island land fill is...well full...waste like this ends up being incinerated. With lots of human waste, incineration is understandable as recycling isn't always possible. With food waste though, it just doesn't make sense to incinerate that much food, putting all of its carbon in the atmosphere, when local farmers and gardeners could benefit from such a bounty.
This student researched urban composters and found one that is perfect for a crowded city like Charleston. It is custom built to fit any location. It can process any amount of waste that you specify. It produces both solid and liquid fertilizer, so farmers and gardeners can use the solid type, and the college can fertilize its lawn with the liquid type. It produces no odor. It's perfect. Oh yeah, and it costs $300,000 per composter. With 4 needed, that's $1.2 million dollars needed. Did I mention the college is near broke? Since $1.2 million is probably impossible, we are trying for the cost of 1 composter. The money saved from not having to cart away the waste can be slowly accumulated until another one is affordable, starting the process over again. Since it really doesn't make sense to stop the release of carbon by incineration, only to put more into the air by transporting all this compost on trucks, he wants to convert diesel trucks to veggie oil, which can be filled up at the same dining hall where we are making the compost.
All in all, this is a very expensive, very hard project. I'm amazed he would take it on--I know I would never have had the time as a student. To do what I can to help him, I decided to try to find funding for his cause. After about 5 straight days of searching, I found a grant for up to $500,000 for research into waste reduction, including composting. The catch is, it will only cover 25% of overhead (you know, equipment, like a $300,000 composter and a $10,000 bio-diesel truck)--or $87,000. Still its a great start. The other catch is that it has to be research into waste reduction. As soon as I get word from the student in charge of all of this, I'm going to try to form a coalition between local farmers, the college, Charleston Recycling, the City's Green Council, and the Environmental Science department to start a research/case study project that will allow us the grant to get this project going (and hopefully these partners will chip in on the cost). So that's what's taking up about 75% of my time at work.
Remember. Click on the links on the left. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes.
First.
Let me say that as I'm writing this, my incredibly supportive and loving friends are purchasing a ticket for me back to Indiana to spend what I'm sure will be a wonderful long weekend. I love them all. I'll be coming in October 1st, and leaving that Monday. Prepare your hearts, minds, and livers accordingly.
Second.
I've found a new inner strength through a source I'm sure many people have used before. Sometimes I feel that the spirit of this man who lived for us here on earth, to bring us out of our worldly misery into a new light is flowing through me, and permeates every inch of my body. When I think of his works, I find peace inside. If it's not obvious already, if you are asking "Who is this wonderful person whose life work serves our human brothers" I'm talking of course of Billy Joel. My job is incredibly fulfilling, and I'll miss it a lot. Even the most fulfilling job doesn't guard against the stresses of life though. That's why lately when I'm feeling stressed, usually from financial matters, I turn to the Gospel of Billy J:
Third.
As far as my life in South Carolina goes, I wasn't kidding about the fulfilling part of the job. As some of you may know, I'm working on a really cool Sustainability project. The project my office is producing involves renovating 3 historic houses so that they are more energy efficient--Using solar technology, energy efficient lights, better and eco-friendly insulation--things like that. A parallel project is in the works. It is the brainchild of a really cool student here who is very dedicated to the cause of environmental sustainability. He noticed that the dining halls put out a lot of food waste here. Five Thousand Pounds to be exact. Per dining hall. 20,000 pounds a week in all. A WEEK! 20,000! It boggles my mind. Since our island land fill is...well full...waste like this ends up being incinerated. With lots of human waste, incineration is understandable as recycling isn't always possible. With food waste though, it just doesn't make sense to incinerate that much food, putting all of its carbon in the atmosphere, when local farmers and gardeners could benefit from such a bounty.
This student researched urban composters and found one that is perfect for a crowded city like Charleston. It is custom built to fit any location. It can process any amount of waste that you specify. It produces both solid and liquid fertilizer, so farmers and gardeners can use the solid type, and the college can fertilize its lawn with the liquid type. It produces no odor. It's perfect. Oh yeah, and it costs $300,000 per composter. With 4 needed, that's $1.2 million dollars needed. Did I mention the college is near broke? Since $1.2 million is probably impossible, we are trying for the cost of 1 composter. The money saved from not having to cart away the waste can be slowly accumulated until another one is affordable, starting the process over again. Since it really doesn't make sense to stop the release of carbon by incineration, only to put more into the air by transporting all this compost on trucks, he wants to convert diesel trucks to veggie oil, which can be filled up at the same dining hall where we are making the compost.
All in all, this is a very expensive, very hard project. I'm amazed he would take it on--I know I would never have had the time as a student. To do what I can to help him, I decided to try to find funding for his cause. After about 5 straight days of searching, I found a grant for up to $500,000 for research into waste reduction, including composting. The catch is, it will only cover 25% of overhead (you know, equipment, like a $300,000 composter and a $10,000 bio-diesel truck)--or $87,000. Still its a great start. The other catch is that it has to be research into waste reduction. As soon as I get word from the student in charge of all of this, I'm going to try to form a coalition between local farmers, the college, Charleston Recycling, the City's Green Council, and the Environmental Science department to start a research/case study project that will allow us the grant to get this project going (and hopefully these partners will chip in on the cost). So that's what's taking up about 75% of my time at work.
Remember. Click on the links on the left. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes.
Politics and the Media.
I've signed on to the T. Boone Pickens' energy plan (http://www.pickensplan.com). Now that my name is on board, how could it fail? If you haven't checked it out, please do. Frankly it just makes sense. Also it was created by a man whose name leads me to believe he was conceived when his mother had a fuck-fest with Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and every blues guitarist from Stax records.
Two days after I signed on, Governor Richardson from New Mexico became a supporter. Richardson, who ran a very honorable campaign during this past primary, and whose campaign cornerstone was the idea of an apollo project for alternative energy, is a politician whom I've come to trust almost completely in both domestic and foreign policy. If he's on board, I know it's a good plan. For your convenience, I've included a video explaining it. Kind of me, right?
In more political news, God Bless Comedians. In 1974, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered crucial evidence in the Presidential scandal that would eventually come to be known as Watergate. Their evidence and investigation led to the downfall of Nixon, and is considered a shining example of the 4th estate. Thinking "That's probably enough for a century" the press has been on vacation ever since.
In the meantime the rights and duties have been transferred onto a snide, sniveling group of citizens called Comedians. In the last 8 years, their role in the government has shined, but as of late they have been curiously absent, leaving the press to ask our elected officials the hard hitting questions that reveal to us, the viewers, just what it is we need to know about the policies governing our country. Of course this hasn't happened. To be fair, Kanye was arrested at an airport, so the war, the economy, and our looming energy crisis really can wait just a little longer.
Fortunately the comedians have stepped it up lately. First was the Daily Show's stupendous coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Primaries. They are the first ones to take Sarah Palin to task, and all with a message that it's ok to question the credentials of the VP Candidate, even if she is a woman. That message is sadly lost on the press.
If you haven't seen it, their response to the Conservative Pundit's response to Palin, and their cries of Media Sexism--somehow ON the night she was nominated (That's some fast sexism!)--is flung back in their faces in such a way that reminds me of TDS back when Colbert and Carrell were writers:
Their hard hitting attack at the cries of sexism, should've paved an immediate path for the media to begin to question Palin on her issues, rather than be scared shitless of being called a sexist (something they were never afraid of when Clinton was running). Instead it took them almost 3 weeks, when Charlie Gibson took her to task. Seriously, what has the world come to when Charlie Gibson has become journalism's hardest hitting newsman?
But did the Daily Show stop there? Hells no! When everyone else was amazed a woman could be that tough, TDS actually questioned her words. (I don't care if this clip is decidedly biased. I'm a community organizer, so fuck the Republicans. You know I used to respect McCain? In my very liberal office, I would defend the idea of conservatism as vital to a healthy dialogue in the nation. You know what? I was wrong. Fuck McCain, Fuck the Republicans, and definitely fuck Palin. I hope every conservative hack job who would rather turn to their bible than actually use reason and logic, who would give up constitutional freedoms in order to strengthen the executive power under a President who was a C-student, and bankrupted his first 5 businesses, and who would support the placing of our citizens in harms way by invading a sovereign country, loses their job in the next election, and every idiotic voter who would support them sees their worst nightmares come true by having their taxes raise 90% to pay for socialized medicine. Fuck them and their little dog too....But I digress):
Finally, Tina Fey had a masterful performance satirizing Sarah "Lipstick" Palin on the opening of this weekend's SNL. While TDS has a limited audience, I think this clip reaches a much bigger audience, and hopefully causes them to question the woman who could be our President just a little bit:
That's all I have to say about that.
P.S. If you don't know what I"m talking about with Charlie Gibson, here's the best clip of the interview (the whole thing is kind of dry):
I mean GEEZ! I KNOW WHAT THE BUSH DOCTRINE IS! I AM ACTUALLY MORE QUALIFIED TO BE VP THAN SARA FUCKING PALIN! ARGH SHE COULD BE OUR PRESIDENT!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US REPUBLICANS?!?!
Two days after I signed on, Governor Richardson from New Mexico became a supporter. Richardson, who ran a very honorable campaign during this past primary, and whose campaign cornerstone was the idea of an apollo project for alternative energy, is a politician whom I've come to trust almost completely in both domestic and foreign policy. If he's on board, I know it's a good plan. For your convenience, I've included a video explaining it. Kind of me, right?
In more political news, God Bless Comedians. In 1974, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered crucial evidence in the Presidential scandal that would eventually come to be known as Watergate. Their evidence and investigation led to the downfall of Nixon, and is considered a shining example of the 4th estate. Thinking "That's probably enough for a century" the press has been on vacation ever since.
In the meantime the rights and duties have been transferred onto a snide, sniveling group of citizens called Comedians. In the last 8 years, their role in the government has shined, but as of late they have been curiously absent, leaving the press to ask our elected officials the hard hitting questions that reveal to us, the viewers, just what it is we need to know about the policies governing our country. Of course this hasn't happened. To be fair, Kanye was arrested at an airport, so the war, the economy, and our looming energy crisis really can wait just a little longer.
Fortunately the comedians have stepped it up lately. First was the Daily Show's stupendous coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Primaries. They are the first ones to take Sarah Palin to task, and all with a message that it's ok to question the credentials of the VP Candidate, even if she is a woman. That message is sadly lost on the press.
If you haven't seen it, their response to the Conservative Pundit's response to Palin, and their cries of Media Sexism--somehow ON the night she was nominated (That's some fast sexism!)--is flung back in their faces in such a way that reminds me of TDS back when Colbert and Carrell were writers:
Their hard hitting attack at the cries of sexism, should've paved an immediate path for the media to begin to question Palin on her issues, rather than be scared shitless of being called a sexist (something they were never afraid of when Clinton was running). Instead it took them almost 3 weeks, when Charlie Gibson took her to task. Seriously, what has the world come to when Charlie Gibson has become journalism's hardest hitting newsman?
But did the Daily Show stop there? Hells no! When everyone else was amazed a woman could be that tough, TDS actually questioned her words. (I don't care if this clip is decidedly biased. I'm a community organizer, so fuck the Republicans. You know I used to respect McCain? In my very liberal office, I would defend the idea of conservatism as vital to a healthy dialogue in the nation. You know what? I was wrong. Fuck McCain, Fuck the Republicans, and definitely fuck Palin. I hope every conservative hack job who would rather turn to their bible than actually use reason and logic, who would give up constitutional freedoms in order to strengthen the executive power under a President who was a C-student, and bankrupted his first 5 businesses, and who would support the placing of our citizens in harms way by invading a sovereign country, loses their job in the next election, and every idiotic voter who would support them sees their worst nightmares come true by having their taxes raise 90% to pay for socialized medicine. Fuck them and their little dog too....But I digress):
Finally, Tina Fey had a masterful performance satirizing Sarah "Lipstick" Palin on the opening of this weekend's SNL. While TDS has a limited audience, I think this clip reaches a much bigger audience, and hopefully causes them to question the woman who could be our President just a little bit:
That's all I have to say about that.
P.S. If you don't know what I"m talking about with Charlie Gibson, here's the best clip of the interview (the whole thing is kind of dry):
I mean GEEZ! I KNOW WHAT THE BUSH DOCTRINE IS! I AM ACTUALLY MORE QUALIFIED TO BE VP THAN SARA FUCKING PALIN! ARGH SHE COULD BE OUR PRESIDENT!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US REPUBLICANS?!?!
Friday, September 12, 2008
YMCA Field Day
We just received some beautiful pictures of the YMCA Field Day project--my office's first big outing. I thought I'd share.
-Neil
P.S. See that ad to the side there? Every time you click it I get a teeny bit of money. Help make this Christmas a good one!
-Neil
P.S. See that ad to the side there? Every time you click it I get a teeny bit of money. Help make this Christmas a good one!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Productivity
Today at work I created a fundraiser to send students on service trips to other countries for spring break, found a grant for $500,000 for a sustainability initiative, coordinated a voter registration drive, counseled 6 freshmen on volunteering in the community, and still had time to make this:
(If you don't get it, you are not nerdy enough for me:)
(If you don't get it, you are not nerdy enough for me:)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Crossroads of Two Cultures
Part of the reasons I decided to take a job after college that paid well below what I made in high school, and to do it in a place where I knew absolutely no one, was because of what is termed by people I dislike "self-discovery." (I prefer the even more masturbatory term "ego-actualization.") I wanted to know how I handled life when all my support systems have been removed--financial, social, familial. Furthermore I wanted to gain first hand knowledge of cultures different than mine, whether that be socio-economic, or more in the ways of norms and mores.
It's fascinating to know that This night I was walking to Wal-Mart for cereal, laundry detergent, and wine (yeah wine at Wal-Mart. Did you know you can't buy it with foodstamps? Assholes!). On the way their I ran into a person from a culture I had only read about--the Gullah/Geechee. The Gullah (Geechee in Georgia) are a culture unique to America evolved from the Lowcountry area of South Carolina and Georgia. Because of many different factors, the population in these two areas of black people to white was wildly in favor of black. Due to this, their culture became the dominant one, even if socio-economically the people weren't. This was enhanced after the civil war when many of the areas in which the Gullah people lived saw an exodus of white civilians. Eventually a unique language formed. A pidgin of various creole, and African languages, and of course English. When you read the language (http://www.charlestonblackheritage.com/gullah.html) you think that perhaps its very similar to English, and that it would just be heavily accented.
You would be wrong, you silly silly girl.
When you hear it its very clear that this is not English, nor any language you have heard. Think of it as seeing a text of Portuguese, recognizing Spanish phrases, and thinking you could speak Portuguese if faced with it because of some slight familiarities with what you already know. As a person who has studied languages for some years now, the very idea that America as we know it can produce new languages is fascinating. Of course there are examples of the pidgin spoken in New Orleans, but this was a love-child of the amount of cultures mixing together. In the lowcountry, however, it wasn't so much cultures intersecting, but one culture being allowed to flourish. In other words it developed in the same way English, French, or Arabic developed--organically due to isolation. Fascinating.
Speaking of language, the slight amount of Arabic I knew came in handy today, making me want to learn much more. A student came into my office to find some service opportunities. She was obviously Muslim, or from a Muslim culture. After talking with her a little bit I found out she was originally from Syria, attended the University of Jordan, married, and then moved here. Now she was getting a degree in accounting (all of her pharmaceutical credits from Jordan didn't transfer). We became very chatty, very open. Though my amount of arabic is equivalent to a newborns', the interest I showed in her culture was enough I think. On a side-note she was strikingly beautiful, which now makes the tally of Girls From Charleston With Whom Neil Has Fallen In Love number 23.
Even more fascinating for me, is watching other people have their eyes opened by discovering the culture that is hidden from them. Our first big project of the year involved going to a local YWCA, and bringing CofC students to work with the after school program there. These girls--and I say this factually, without any sense of pejoration--rich, white girls surrounded by rich, white girls. They have never really seen the other cultures in America. They did, however, volunteer to knowingly go to a place that was outside of their culture zone, and interact with a type of person they probably never had before. They should be applauded. We had a debriefing afterwards, and many of the girls were absolutely shocked by what they had seen. Charleston is a rich city, but with no middle class. You are either rich, or in the ghetto. These women had never seen the ghetto. Small children were innocently asking "Where'd all you white people come from?" The college is only 4 blocks away from this place--4 blocks and little black children had never seen a white woman, and white women had never seen the poverty that surrounded them. That's how segmented this city is.
It's horrifying and fascinating at the same time to see. It's not that the rich men and women of Charleston by any means try to force this (at least not all of them), it's just that so much of the culture is still left over from the brutal history of the last 200 years, that even if the minds and hearts of the citizens feel no hatred towards each other, the separation still exists. This time no law or institution is keeping it this way, just cultures so different that they are like oil and water.**
It's fascinating to know that This night I was walking to Wal-Mart for cereal, laundry detergent, and wine (yeah wine at Wal-Mart. Did you know you can't buy it with foodstamps? Assholes!). On the way their I ran into a person from a culture I had only read about--the Gullah/Geechee. The Gullah (Geechee in Georgia) are a culture unique to America evolved from the Lowcountry area of South Carolina and Georgia. Because of many different factors, the population in these two areas of black people to white was wildly in favor of black. Due to this, their culture became the dominant one, even if socio-economically the people weren't. This was enhanced after the civil war when many of the areas in which the Gullah people lived saw an exodus of white civilians. Eventually a unique language formed. A pidgin of various creole, and African languages, and of course English. When you read the language (http://www.charlestonblackheritage.com/gullah.html) you think that perhaps its very similar to English, and that it would just be heavily accented.
You would be wrong, you silly silly girl.
When you hear it its very clear that this is not English, nor any language you have heard. Think of it as seeing a text of Portuguese, recognizing Spanish phrases, and thinking you could speak Portuguese if faced with it because of some slight familiarities with what you already know. As a person who has studied languages for some years now, the very idea that America as we know it can produce new languages is fascinating. Of course there are examples of the pidgin spoken in New Orleans, but this was a love-child of the amount of cultures mixing together. In the lowcountry, however, it wasn't so much cultures intersecting, but one culture being allowed to flourish. In other words it developed in the same way English, French, or Arabic developed--organically due to isolation. Fascinating.
Speaking of language, the slight amount of Arabic I knew came in handy today, making me want to learn much more. A student came into my office to find some service opportunities. She was obviously Muslim, or from a Muslim culture. After talking with her a little bit I found out she was originally from Syria, attended the University of Jordan, married, and then moved here. Now she was getting a degree in accounting (all of her pharmaceutical credits from Jordan didn't transfer). We became very chatty, very open. Though my amount of arabic is equivalent to a newborns', the interest I showed in her culture was enough I think. On a side-note she was strikingly beautiful, which now makes the tally of Girls From Charleston With Whom Neil Has Fallen In Love number 23.
Even more fascinating for me, is watching other people have their eyes opened by discovering the culture that is hidden from them. Our first big project of the year involved going to a local YWCA, and bringing CofC students to work with the after school program there. These girls--and I say this factually, without any sense of pejoration--rich, white girls surrounded by rich, white girls. They have never really seen the other cultures in America. They did, however, volunteer to knowingly go to a place that was outside of their culture zone, and interact with a type of person they probably never had before. They should be applauded. We had a debriefing afterwards, and many of the girls were absolutely shocked by what they had seen. Charleston is a rich city, but with no middle class. You are either rich, or in the ghetto. These women had never seen the ghetto. Small children were innocently asking "Where'd all you white people come from?" The college is only 4 blocks away from this place--4 blocks and little black children had never seen a white woman, and white women had never seen the poverty that surrounded them. That's how segmented this city is.
It's horrifying and fascinating at the same time to see. It's not that the rich men and women of Charleston by any means try to force this (at least not all of them), it's just that so much of the culture is still left over from the brutal history of the last 200 years, that even if the minds and hearts of the citizens feel no hatred towards each other, the separation still exists. This time no law or institution is keeping it this way, just cultures so different that they are like oil and water.**
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Bitches.
Everyone knows that most women are vindictive, petty--yet cunningly smart--animals that need to be conquered like a wild horse. That said, some have shown a remarkable talent for tenderness once an overdeveloped zygote shoots out of their womb. This dichotomy of nurture/hatred has always piqued my curiosity, and was brought to the forefront of my 10% larger brain by a conversation recently.
I was in a car with 4 women, and as always was keeping quiet and minding my own business; I was simply listening in on the conversation. They were talking about the best breakup songs. Now I don't necessarily have a breakup song. Usually each song is tailored to the breakup. For an emotionally draining one, perhaps I will listen to Beck's Lost Cause. For one that gives me relief, any Tom Petty will do. Probably one that always rings true, and perhaps comes closest to a perennial breakup song is Oasis's (yes that is correct grammar you fucks) "Don't Look Back in Anger." The songs these women were listen to, however, spanned from almost anything by Alanis Morissette, to that one by Carrie Underwood that made me turn off the radio all last summer (something about keying his car?). [Editor's Note: These song choices were honest, and not some attempt at portraying a cliche. I am above such moves.] Why such anger? Is it because they have not experienced fulfillment by procreation? Or are they naturally like this?
Comments?
I was in a car with 4 women, and as always was keeping quiet and minding my own business; I was simply listening in on the conversation. They were talking about the best breakup songs. Now I don't necessarily have a breakup song. Usually each song is tailored to the breakup. For an emotionally draining one, perhaps I will listen to Beck's Lost Cause. For one that gives me relief, any Tom Petty will do. Probably one that always rings true, and perhaps comes closest to a perennial breakup song is Oasis's (yes that is correct grammar you fucks) "Don't Look Back in Anger." The songs these women were listen to, however, spanned from almost anything by Alanis Morissette, to that one by Carrie Underwood that made me turn off the radio all last summer (something about keying his car?). [Editor's Note: These song choices were honest, and not some attempt at portraying a cliche. I am above such moves.] Why such anger? Is it because they have not experienced fulfillment by procreation? Or are they naturally like this?
Comments?
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