Let Them Eat Cake?

Well, 100 years before Marie Antoinette, a princess in the French aristocracy said, "qu'ils mangent de la brioche." This has been incorrectly translated as, "let them eat cake." "Let them eat brioche" was callously uttered by an aristocrat when there was not even enough plain bread to feed the poor people, never mind the delicious, butter-rich brioche. One way or another, this kind of callous disregard by the idle rich towards the working poor of those times led to the French Revolution. In fact, Marie Antoinette was dubbed "Madame Déficit" for her active role in overspending the people's tax money. Therefore, I believe it completely appropriate to dub George Dubya "Monsieur le President Déficit" for taking a surplus and overspending the people's money to create the huge deficit that President Obama and the people of the United States have inherited.

George Bush, et al are responsible for the mortgage and financial meltdown crisis, recession and layoffs we now face. The road to our current recession and deficit is long. Phil Gramm began removal of the regulatory protections put in place after the last Depression. Then Enron officials both laughingly and greedily began the recent power surge in unregulated profit dollars, followed closely by other power companies, Big Oil, and the mortgage and financial industry.

When government and industry conspire to grasp more and more of the people's money, the people will throw the "cake" back into their faces. The American Revolution began with the Boston Tea Party because colonists were being taxed without any representation. When government and corporations conspire against the people, they also seem to think the people don't know or notice they're not being represented.

Whenever unfettered greed and abuse of power create a huge gap in income between the rich and the poor, accompanied by the disappearance of the middle class, there is often a revolution. The US government was afraid of a revolution during the first Depression. I’m surprised it’s not worried now. As a teacher, it never ceases to amaze me that people never seem to learn from history, but keep repeating the mistakes of the past. I am noticing many troubling signs, such as tea parties, comments all over the internet, and hearing talk on the street. Oh, I also noticed that the traditionally served little tea cakes were conspicuously absent from the many and very recently held tea parties.

I absolutely do not want to see a similar, violent history lesson repeated in this country. Honestly, I believe people should resort to non-violent means to effect social and political change. I truly hope the current government rapidly takes the proper steps to close the current income gap, and that President Obama and his administration also address the many other horrors of the Bush/Cheney “Reign of Terror” on the common person.

The Dark Side of The Patriot Act

The USA Patriot Act is an acronym for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Public Law Pub.L. 107-56). I believe the USA Patriot Act is both unAmerican and unpatriotic, as it has removed the basic human rights for which our founding fathers, and every generation since, have fought and died.

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." (Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor, November 11, 1755.—The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Leonard W. Labaree, vol. 6, p. 242 (1963).) The following quotation, a paraphrased and more frequently quoted version of Franklin's quote, is inscribed on a plaque in the stairwell of the Statue of Liberty: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, along with Lady Liberty, are respectively, the rule of law and symbol of the United States of America. How dare President Bush and members of Congress, who all swore an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution, so quickly, easily and readily gut the fundamental protection of our rights in our Constitution. Honestly, all who voted for and signed the Patriot Act most certainly did not represent me when they did this, nor did they protect and defend our Constitution.

We've already seen what the lack of oversight and regulation have done to our country's mortgage and financial industries. Ask the millions of unemployed, those whose homes have been foreclosed or whose home values have significantly dropped, and those whose retirement accounts have evaporated down to next to nothing whether or not the Bush Administration's reduced and/or altogether removed oversight policies and regulations have protected them, while the rich and powerful made trillions of dollars.

The USA Patriot Act is the type of ultimate, purposeful removal of oversight and protective regulations for citizens' rights that governments use to get rid of those who oppose them. How easy this can also be for them now, when the media, who are the Fourth Estate, the watchdog over the government, will no longer be granted access to any information about those who are being investigated. The United States of America is not supposed to create the types of laws that can be found in a dictatorship, in which police powers have been augmented, and with which people can be "disappeared," held without charge, representation, or due process. So much for the rights of the 'tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free' who struggled to make it to this country of hope, freedom and opportunity.

Many people are concerned this country is treading on very dangerous ground that may cause some political leaders to slip and fall down the slippery slope of greed and dictatorship. If that doesn't happen, the Uniting and Strengthening America Patriot Act, may very well still be the downfall of our country by creating a rift between citizens who either support or oppose this Act, and by weakening its moral foundation. So now we will wait and see how the results of the current lack of oversight and regulation in our fundamental rules of law will affect American citizens. While we wait, I am one citizen who is on the record to demand that the President and Congress rescind the USA Patriot Act, reinstate our Constitutional rights, and create a new Constitutional amendment that firmly prohibits the removal of our citizens' fundamental rights by anyone in power!

Another Child's Suicide - Bullying is Deadly

How many more children, women, men, animals have to die because someone has to have power over them? How long will this be allowed, and even encouraged? When will parents teach their children not to abuse by setting a better example of how to behave with respect towards each other, their children and pets? When will government leaders and workplace managers lead by example, by following the rule of law to both respect and defend the human rights of all people? Human trafficking, rape, abuse, bullying, greed, a culture of youth and beauty, a patriarchal society, a sense of entitlement, and a lack of enforcement of laws and protective regulations are all symptoms of a complete and utter lack of respect for others. All of these also dangerously combine with a lack of personal responsiblity and the absence of prosecution of those who abuse human rights to create the society and world in which we live. As long as we, and I truly mean we, as we are each and every one of us responsible, tolerate this, nothing will change.

Trillions of dollars are spent on war, while only a miniscule fraction of this is spent upon peace education, the teaching of mediation, ethics, and the rights of all sentient beings to basic rights; not just for men, straight people, or people of a certain religion, class, or level of educational attainment. Since you do get what you pay for, we have both unfortunately and obviously gotten all of our money's worth!

A patriarchal society, by definition, deprives women of equal rights over those of men. Maybe we should begin there. Religions that deprive women of equal rights are also guilty of promoting a culture of power over others, along with the accompanying abuse, rape, trafficking, etc. that power over others engenders.

Equality and respect for all should be the foundation of any society, culture and religion. When one group is given power over another, there is always someone who will abuse the power. Tolerance and respect for others, instead of inequality, should be expected, regulated and enforced with very real consequences. When we change our expectations, and put our money towards educating all people about human rights and peace, instead of war, things will begin to change for the better.

Palmer's Dream

As I was going to the Las Vegas Aids Walk yesterday, I saw this wild brain institute building, fronted by a Palmer sign and framed by a Mardi Gras mask. I thought, "Am I dreaming?" Talk about deja-vu and goosebumps!

I've been doing the AIDS Walk here, on and off, for about 10 years. My dad was HIV positive, so, for me, this is an important cause. After having a heart attck, a local surgeon refused to perform surgery on my dad, due to his HIV status. He was afraid of contamination of the heart-lung bypass machine, plus probably himself. He mentioned contamination and my father's age as his "reasons for refusal." Due to his prejudice and refusal to perform surgery, my father had multiple heart attacks afterwards, resulting in major permanent damage to his heart. Another cardiothoracic surgeon finally, and successfully, performed the surgery. Thank you to this doctor, and shame on the first! My father died a few years ago, partly because of this and its affect on his COPD.

My dad had always been interested in the workings of the human mind, and had also gone to (pre-Katrina) New Orleans with a couple of his dear friends, before all of this. He absolutely loved his New Orleans trip. When he passed, I decided to use a Mardi Gras theme for his memorial service. My dad was always up for a party, loved cooking, music and travel. He would have loved this! People came together in a true celebration of his life, with zydeco music playing, masks, food, and joy.

So, when I approached this scene, I totally got goosebumps! Okay, Dad, I know you're here! I love you!

Anybody Interested in Stopping the Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf?

Is anybody out there interested in stopping the proposed 2010-2015 Oil and Gas Leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)? The US Department of the Interior's (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar has already held 2, and will be holding 2 more public hearings around the US. If you cannot atttend, you can watch the meeting via live webcast. The next 2 meetings will be held this coming Tuesday in Anchorage, and Thursday in New Orleans, so please spread the word quickly!

The DOI is accepting public comment via e-mail, postal and personal delivery. This is a direct quote from them:
"The MMS is seeking comment on all aspects of the new program including energy development and economic and environmental issues in the OCS areas. Comments are also requested on the specific subjects of size, timing, and location of sales and on the issues of buffer zones, revenue-sharing, and the use of unitization to limit the number of structures. The public comment period is open until September 21, 2009, pursuant to Secretary Salazar’s announcement on February 10, 2009."

You can watch videos and see Power Point presentations of the 2 already-concluded meetings, as well as get contact information from their website:
http://www.doi.gov/ocs/

So, all bloggers, please write or go to the meetings to oppose this proposed program! You can send e-comments here: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064808e9d16
You are required to state your name, address and e-mail. If you want your name and/or addresses removed from public record, you need to state this at the beginning of your comment (limitations may apply, so read their rules). Here is my comment and you're welcome to copy any or all of this:

PLEASE WITHHOLD BOTH MY E-MAIL AND HOME ADDRESSES FROM THE PUBLIC RECORD, THANK YOU!

My name is _______________, United States citizen, and I am writing to oppose off-shore drilling and exploration, in the person of the 2010-2015 Oil and Gas Leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf proposed program. The original reasons for prohibiting offshore drilling (not to mention drilling in ANWR) have not changed. Think about tourism, real estate values, pollution that destroys ecosystems, our climate, and the security of our food supply. Now, put all of this in the same thoughts as offshore drilling and spills. (Spills can be caused by equipment breakdowns; natural disasters like hurricanes; deliberate acts such as terrorism, vandalism, illegal dumping, or war; and just plain, old accidents.) Obviously, they are not compatible.

Remember the Exxon Valdez disaster, anyone? This ship ran aground in March of 1989, spilling 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. This spill killed tens of thousands of wildlife and fouled approximately 1,300 miles of beaches and surface water. It only took this one accident to create the worst environmental disaster in history. Fishermen have lost everything, homeowners have polluted land, and many Native Americans have lost their traditional way of life. All the while, the 20-year-old class-action lawsuit against wealthy Exxon is still being dragged through the courts, postponed indefinitely by Exxon Corp.’s expensive legal maneuvers to avoid settlement payments. Valdez, Alaska is still recovering. Are we really now willing to risk yet another accident?

Offshore drilling will also not magically solve the oil crisis, but it will forever change an ecosystem. Experts state the oil will not reach the market for approximately 10 years. This, obviously, will not help us now. Also, let’s not forget that oil companies have untapped reserves. Think about why they're not tapping into what they already have readily available, yet are asking us to open up yet more avenues for them to increase their profits!

As for this offshore oil helping to reduce oil prices, that’s absolutely ridiculous. The United States has only 4% of the world’s oil. Any person, company, or country that owns or controls 4% of anything, has no real power to change prices or policies. Whatever happened to common sense? The United States of America does NOT set oil prices. OPEC member nations set oil prices. The USA is not a member of OPEC, so we do NOT have any influence in setting oil prices.

Instead of spending all this time and energy on oil and gas, why aren’t we pursuing clean, renewable and sustainable energy? Could the answer possibly be the ecosystem-destroying, climate-changing, lethal combination of billions of oil and gas company product defense dollars and political influence and corruption? Hopefully, American citizens are smart enough to not be duped by the public relations of product defense that is full of lies meant to benefit and sustain the incredibly rich and powerful energy industries. Big Oil and Gas will simply do whatever it takes to keep their wealth and power.

In conclusion, I absolutely oppose the continuation of a business-as-usual energy policy, found in the current guise of the 2010-2015 Oil and Gas Leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf proposed program, that will negatively impact marine ecosystems and the environment (by indirectly increasing both greenhouse gases and the rate of climate change), and threaten the security of our food supply. Thank you for your consideration.

Late-Bloomer or Early Achiever?

Were you an early achiever, or are you a late bloomer? Please share your story.

Here's mine...
I am a late bloomer. I only began warming up in the later years of high school and college, due to illness, family and monetary problems. I had always wanted to take some type of music lessons, join the Girl Scouts, etc., but lack of money prevented me from following these dreams. Due to a long-term childhood illness, I was restricted from physical activity. So, a friend of my mom's gave me her old guitar, and I taught myself how to play chords. Another friend of hers paid for art lessons at a local museum. I was also allowed to join the percussion section of the elementary school orchestra, even though I couldn't read music. It was there I began to learn how to read music. Then, I had an awesome music teacher in 7th grade, but we moved across country 3/4 through the school year.

When in my new digs, I didn't have the same opportunities in either art or music until high school, although I did have a brief and unremarkable stint as a cheerleader in eighth grade. During freshman year, I joined the church choir and the school glee club. I learned quite a bit from the music director at school, who had no problem challenging us to sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, or various a capella pieces while expecting us to stay on key throughout each piece. I became fairly proficient at sight-singing and singing harmony, even improvising a bit. Once in a while, when improvising at home, I used to sing off-key purposefully just to razz my mom.

Once I started college, though, aside from music theory, and a course each in sight singing, voice and piano, I was still essentially a beginner in all. I had also been extremely busy working all through both high school and college to pay for my tuition, holding down two part-time jobs during the semester and one full-time and one part-time job during summer vacation. There was no extra time or money for more music lessons.

As for art, I took classes in drawing, graphic design and photography at college. I worked hard to develop both my eye and visual thinking, and continued taking classes long after I got my degree. I graduated in 3-1/2 years with honors. However, music went by the wayside for decades, as did art after I moved away from my second home-town.

Now, I expend most of my energy just to get through my workday. I still have grand aspirations to buy camera equipment and learn a new instrument, along with taking music lessons in guitar, piano and voice. Of course, money is an issue, as well as my draining job. When I do have energy after work, I write poetry, essays, and this blog, as writing takes little physical energy. So, now I want to work on art, music and writing. I wish humans didn't need sleep, as this would solve the time issue, at least.

I feel like I'm ready to soar creatively, and hope to use my summer vacation to work on my creative pursuits. There are so many wonderful connections among all the arts, that maybe I'll create multi-media pieces and use them to create positive change. All of this, of course, can make someone crazy. Yet I just read the following quote today on www.violinist.com, posted by Roland Garrison: "Sanity is the refuge of those who have chosen not to exceed their limits. Use it as a launch point, not a goal." He is so right! So, I say to all late bloomers: we're not crazy! We're simply, finally, reaching for our dreams...better late, than never!

So, now, what's your story?

May Women Wear Hats Indoors?

Well, this post was prompted by my boss informing me that teachers in my school district are not allowed to wear hats indoors. I had received many compliments on my hats from my colleagues, students, and their parents, as they were classy, elegant, and well-coordinated with the rest of my professional attire.

When an adult is elegantly or classily dressed, this has traditionally included a hat. We are no longer in the hippy or grunge generation, both of which temporarily eclipsed the wearing of hats with a much more casual, uncovered head look, along with helping to create a concomitant increase in skin cancer. Hats are, however, making a comeback. They are increasingly being seen on the heads of many fashionable, professional people.

If one looks at milliner's websites or reads etiquette books, unlike hat etiquette for men, ladies most certainly do wear their hats indoors. Traditionally-styled women's hats (as opposed to gender-neutral baseball caps and cowboy hats) are considered a fashionable part of a woman's complete daytime outfit, and as such, remain on the head both indoors and outdoors.

"Hat head" results when ladies remove their hats, is often unattractive and may also look unprofessional. Personally, I'm embarrassed by hat head and would prefer to look both nice and professional. Unlike my employer, hat etiquette spares ladies like myself this embarrassment by allowing us to keep our hats on indoors, since many of us do wear them outdoors to prevent skin cancer (which, in my case, runs in my family).

Wearing hats outdoors is healthy, and they do help prevent skin cancer. Please don't say, "Well, you can always wear sunscreen." Up to approximately 56% of liquids that you put on your skin, including lotions like sunscreen, are absorbed into one's bloodstream and go directly to the major organs. I prefer to cover my head with a hat, rather than expose my body to nasty chemicals. Hats are passive solar protection that keep you warm in winter, cool in summer and help prevent skin cancer. Some hats even carry an SPF 50+ label, the highest possible SPF rating for a hat.

The American Cancer Society has stated that 1 in 5 people will develop some form of the fastest growing type of cancer in America: skin cancer. Most people receive most of their sun exposure before age 18, and skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in young women ages 25-29. Therefore, schools should encourage all of their students to wear hats, as a form of preventive medicine.

I believe that teachers model, not only learning behaviors, but proper personal hygiene and dress, as well as interpersonal behavior. Hats can be used to teach history, manners, and etiquette. As teachers are models of behavior for their students, shouldn't we be modeling the idea that wearing hats is cool and fashionable, as well as a useful protection against skin cancer?

My classroom behavior program also includes teaching traditional signs of respect, such as the custom that boys and gentlemen wait to allow girls and ladies the chance to enter a room ahead of them. All children stop to allow an adult to pass in front of them, as a sign of respect. The entire behavioral emphasis in my classroom is one of respect, consideration and encouragement of others. I have taught my students ladies' hat etiquette, as well. I have done all of this, without the distraction, but the assistance of a hat worn atop my head, both outdoors and indoors.

What are your thoughts about all of this? Should employers continue to go against traditional rules of etiquette and forbid female employees to wear hats indoors, as part of the dress code? Should employers change their dress code to allow, or even encourage, their employees to wear hats as a form of preventive medicine? At the same time, should they also follow the traditional custom of hat etiquette and allow their female employees to wear their hats indoors so as to spare them the embarrassment of hat head?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Here's part of an online ad for fashion-trendy hats for women:
"...Proudly carries Betmar's CCMAC 50+ SPF tag, in association with The Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness Campaign. Hats are in, Save your skin, Be sunsmart!" (http://www.delmonicohatter.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=HATWOM)

Here's the Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness Website:
http://www.ccmac.org/our_story.html

The North Pacific Gyre - the Texas-Sized Plastic Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean

Please watch this 7 minute, 20 second talk from TED (which is my favorite website to visit to learn new and interesting things):



Reduce - Reuse - Recycle. BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag...to the store, any store, when shopping. Buy a reusable bottle and carry your liquids in it, instead of using innumerable plastic bottles. Do anything you can to avoid using plastic. This includes the much-beloved balloons people, especially children, love and which frequently fly away to parts unknown...ending in the guts of both land and ocean animals who thought they were food, to their demise. When you avoid plastics, you'll help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, to boot.

In the same vein, avoid polyester fabrics, buy cotton and linen clothing and linens, buy vintage or antique items. Go to your neighborhood thrift store, contribute to a charity, reuse things and help save our environment at the same time! My favorite thrift store is Savers! I also love e-Bay, as this is a great marketplace for vintage and antique items. What's cool, is that the things you buy have a history, instead of just buying something new, using it, and then throwing it away. Bonus...products produced from natural sources tend to be much healthier for our bodies and our environment. The same thing goes for what you ingest and put on your skin. Chemicals found in shampoos, lotions and underarm deodorants like aluminum, parabens and sodium laurel/laureth sulfates are not good for people. Up to and around 56% of what you put on your body is absorbed directly into your blood stream and is ferried straight into your body's major organs. Genetically modified organisms are not good for us and most people have never even heard of them, never mind know just how many of the products that they eat contain them. The gyre is simply the tip of the iceburg.

Also watch the great, fast-paced 20-minute animated video on the stuff we buy, sell and use in our daily lives. Look for it further down the sidebar of this blog. It's from http://www.storyofstuff.com/.