I've been repeatedly trying to explain health care reform ideas to people, and it's getting rather exhausting. It seems like most people only see extremes presented by media, lobbyists, and politicians (none of which can be believed because they're each trying to hype their own agendas).

Today, I saw this, and I love it!

Labels: Activism, Health

I always tell my children that no matter what we look like, where we come from, who our family is, or what the world throws at us, we can do anything we set our minds to. We each can become anything we want to be. And today, I'm overjoyed to show them proof.


And now, my children won't have to grow up in the world I grew up in. They won't be told by society that people with dark skin are somehow less valuable or capable than people with light skin. We can have hope for our children's future, for their health care, for their education, for their security, for the environment, for beauty, and for peace for everyone.

A nation is not just a group of people who live within the same borders; it's a family, a community. The community starts in our houses, stretches out our front doors through our neighborhoods, expands across the continents, and envelops the world. And with technology, the boundaries of our community grow larger every day. Gone are the days of thinking that we only need to focus on the the people in our own houses. Gone are the days of us vs. them. Gone are the days of selfishness and greed. I welcome the days when each individual in the nation will reach out to his or her fellow citizens in the same way that we each reach out to our loved ones and help them when they are in need and lift them up to fulfill their potential. That is the only way that we can prosper and succeed to create the type of lives we want. By helping others achieve greatness, we become great ourselves. By helping other achieve success, we find our own success.

And at last, the people who understand the importance of this community, and recognize how vast our community has expanded with technology, are finally going to lead our community. I can only imagine that it will lead to greater things.

Labels: Activism, Deep Thoughts and Philosophy

It's about 7 pm Pacific Time on November 4, 2008, Election Day.

According to the news websites...

MSNBC = Obama's in the lead (200 to 124)
CNN = Obama's in the lead (199 to 78)
ABC = Obama's in the lead (200 to 130)
NPR = Obama's in the lead (207 to 95)
CBS = Obama's in the lead (206 to 135)
USA TODAY = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)
NY TIMES = Obama's in the lead (138 to 17)
WASHINGTON POST = Obama's in the lead (128 to 51)
LA TIMES = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)
YAHOO NEWS = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)
GOOGLE NEWS = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)

FOX NEWS = It's a tie! (0 to 0).

I guess when defeat is looming, delay admitting it as long as possible.

Labels: Activism

I can't help but be sickened by the abuse of a child. And I'm tired of listening to people mindlessly say things like "Somebody should do something to keep this from happening," and "Why would anyone do such a thing." Start coming up with solutions.

#1) We need to educate people better about child development, child raising, and non-violent methods of managing problems. We need to do this in schools as a mandatory part of education. We need to do it in churches, family focused organizations, and community centers. We need to do it in welfare programs. And we certainly need to do it when letting people become foster parents, even if those foster parents are relatives. If we spent more money training people to avoid abusive behavior, then we'll spend less money having to treat abused kids, prosecuting abusive adults, and housing convicted child abusers in prison. (Good education always ends up paying for itself.)

#2) We need to do a better job of training all government workers to identify signs of abuse. Whether you're a teacher, a police officer, a postal worker, or state representative, you should be trained in protecting our children, the future of our nation and world, and you should be a mandatory reporter. Sometimes, the only non-abusive adults abused children come into contact with are mail carriers or bus drivers, so they too need to be trained to help those kids.

#3) Any person who works directly with children should be better trained in identifying abuse. A DHS worker who doesn't know how to recognize child abuse or deception by abusive parents obviously needs better training.

#3) To protect vulnerable kids in foster care, kids in the foster system should be required to get a quick medical evaluation at least once per month. All it would take is 5 minutes by a trained health care worker (e.g. school nurse for kids in school, in-office nurse for most other kids, home visit nurse for kids with special needs, etc.)to check a child's body for signs of abuse. If your foster kid doesn't get their check up, then that child gets removed from the home.

#4) Become a foster parent if you can. We need more loving, trained, qualified adults to help these kids who are removed from abusive homes.

Labels: Activism

Many news organizations are biased toward anyone or any policy that supports their own agenda. If they could, they would do all the thinking for you. That's why when I hear/read/see something that tries to influence my opinions, I try to research the subject in question by looking at as many sources as possible to gather as much evidence as possible (it's the scientist in me) and applying gold ol' LSAT logic to the evidence so I can form my own opinion on the matter.

All politicians twist the facts to make them sound like something that supports their side. It's part of the marketing game, whether your selling toilet paper, computers, causes, or political offices. You simply can't trust any of them to tell you the whole truth. They leave bits out, they use words that imply things that aren't true, and they, of course, only stress their accomplishments and rarely acknowledge their mistakes. So whenever I hear something positive or negative from anyone running for office, I look it up myself.

A very good, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any company, union, lobbyist, etc. is http://www.factcheck.org (they happily point out the mistakes, lies, etc. on all sides). But it should also be noted that FactCheck.org is primarily funded by the Annenberg Foundation, which was established by the publisher Walter Annenberg, a prominent Republican whose widow, Leonore, is a contributor to the McCain campaign. So keep that in mind when you're reading their articles. (Rule #1 in looking for facts in the media is always follow the money. Find out who is funding their paycheck before you believe a word they say.)

Labels: Activism

Labels: Activism, Entertaining Myself

First off, I use the word "dependents" to mean anyone who is financially supported by the person in question. If the person in question can't afford health care, how are they supposed to afford it for the people they support?

• Children
  (because kids should not be punished with a lack of of medical coverage because their parents cannot or choose to not provide health care insurance for their kids)
  
  
• Parents of minor children
  (because kids can't survive/thrive without parents, and if their parents are too ill to take care of them, too busy working to pay for health insurance to take care of them, or too dead to take care of them, then kids won't be getting the parenting they need and may even end up in the far-less-than-perfect foster care system or left on their own and end up making bad choices such as joining a gang or getting involved in crime and ended up in the prison system, all of which costs far more than just paying for the parents' health care)
  
  
• Elderly people and their dependents
  (because they are often disabled and unable to work, so they can't afford it, or can no longer keep up at jobs that provide health care for them, and as honored elders who often have high medical bills, they really should get a break)
  
  
• Pregnant women and their dependents
  (the baby inside is a child, and since children should get coverage, the baby by default gets coverage; plus, it's hard for women to work while pregnant, so some women may need to take a leave of absence or quit which would take away their employer paid insurance plan or leave them without enough of an income to pay for their own)
  
  
• Physically Ill, Mentally Ill, and Physically Disabled people with either chronic and acute disorders and their dependents
  (many sick and disabled people often can't work, or can't work steadily, so they can't get insurance from their employer and they can't earn enough to pay for their own insurance)
  
  
• Employed people who don't earn enough income and their dependents
  (because sometimes even though you work 80+ hours per week, you still can't earn enough to pay for health insurance if your employer(s) doesn't provide adequate coverage; people should be employed at least 20 hours per week and income limits should be determined by number of people supported by the worker, location of residence, and cost of living)
  
  
• Anyone who needs emergency care
  (if your sick or injured enough to visit an emergency room, then your health care should be covered under emergency services, just as emergency services covers 911, the police , and the fire department)
  
  

Who's going to pay for it?

Republicans often talk about wasteful spending and how we can't afford to pay for health care, but they have been in the White House for nearly 8 years now, and the wasteful spending they've done during their shopping sprees on no-bid contracts, with companies whose profits benefit the politicians personally, could easily pay for health care programs. I'm not saying that the Democrats haven't wasted money, but the Dems aren't complaining about the cost of health care.

Labels: Activism

Republicans are always talking about "big government" and how they don't want it: "We don't need all those regulations. The market will balance out itself without regulations."

This is true. The market will balance itself out, but not like a weight scale. Instead it will balance itself like an electromagnetic force, creating two polar opposites. It will become two extremes. The people on the top get richer and stronger and the people on the bottom will become poorer and weaker. There is very little between those extremes, so anyone who is currently "middle class" will need to either claw their way to the top, crushing everyone else as they go, or give up and submit to a life of peasantry.

I can understand the fear of "big government." I don't want to live a in a country where the government controls everything. I wouldn't want to live in communist North Korea or Nazi Germany or Taliban Afghanistan. But I don't want to live in a government-free country either because ultimately a nation without regulation quickly devolves into barbaric structures based on bullying.

The United States was founded on the idea that the government was "for the people." Sometimes, we "people" must establish rules and boundaries and protect the innocent from the stupid and greedy. Children must wear bike helmets and go to school. Nobody is allowed to drive while intoxicated. Companies aren't allowed to sell products that can harm people even when those products are used properly. Regulations are good as long as they're designed to protect people and don't take away the rights of the individual to direct his/her own life.

The economy needs regulation. The social security system needs regulation. Businesses need regulation. Governments need regulation. The regulations ensure that the people at the top don't get too powerful and the people at the bottom don't get too abused.

When I talk to people who insist that all regulation is bad, they're usually talking about any regulation that keeps them from having lots of power or losing the power they have. These people are usually the ones at the top who already have power and wealth and people in the middle who want to kick and bite and claw their way to the top and knock everyone else off their mountain (and these are exactly the sort of people who shouldn't have power because they're most likely to abuse it).

Then there are the people who are against regulation because they believe that everybody should be allowed to fully regulate themselves. They believe in survival of the fittest, and if anyone isn't fit to survive it's their own damn fault. Worst of all, they can only see things from their perspective; they lack the ability to imagine other points of view or relate how their own actions influence others. They say things like, "Why should I pay more taxes for education? My kids are going to a private school. Why should I pay more taxes to help lazy people on welfare? They should get a job. Why can't I charge my customers $10 for a gallon of water after a hurricane? It's just the law of supply and demand." (Then they complain about how much crime there is. It's strange how they never see the connection.)

And for the past 8 years we have had a president who says he believes in less regulation. Less regulation for businesses. Less regulation for polluters. Less regulation to protect endangered species. Less regulation of social security. He even deregulated our rules concerning war and traded our regulated military for unregulated mercenaries who can rape and murder freely. And then he tried deregulating Congress with the Sunset Commission (a Bush appointed panel of people who terminate any federal programs that they deem wasteful, such as environmental and social programs). He deregulated the legal system by using "signing statements" to change the laws that Congress passed. He deregulated our civil rights policies, so he could torture people and invade the privacy of American citizens.

But Bush isn't against regulation. He loves regulations that directly benefit him and his buddies. It's all about selfishness, greed, power and money.

And now that Bush is getting ready to leave office, the economy is falling apart, the military is suffering, our veterans are abandoned, the world hates us (even our allies don't respect us anymore), and American lives are being destroyed family by family. The Bush administration has spent trillions of dollars, our money, while he swore an oath to financial conservativeness. He condemned "big government" then proceeded to create one of the biggest, dominating, dictator-like governments in the history of the U.S.

His supporters, whom he lied to, still support him. Are they really that gullible? Or are they too somehow benefiting from his tyranny while everyone else suffers? Are they trying to climb and scratch their way up that mountain of power?

Then Bush says that he's going to freely give billions in tax-payer money to this giant companies that are folding under the weight of the slumping economy, so he can save the economy. (Well that's what we get for having a president who got a D in economics and spent his college years drunk.)

So where exactly is that money going to go? What are they going to do with it? Are the millionaire directors of those companies going to keep getting their millionaire paychecks and bonuses even though they ran the companies into the ground?

I think we do need to step in to help those companies, to take over those mortgages and business loans, but let's not be stupid about it. You don't give a greedy person a billion dollar check and expect them to do the right thing with it. No, they'll just take a big cut of it for themselves and continue to let everything else around them fall apart.

It seems that what we need is a bit of regulation. Imagine that.

Labels: Activism

Remember Seti@Home, a screensaver that analyzed data from space in search of alien life? Now you can focus your idle computer time on helping the creatures that live on this planet.

Go to
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org
and download the program and select the projects you want to support. Then, just use your computer as you normally do. Meanwhile, your computer will be processing data that can help fight cancer, AIDS, and hunger. It's a way to give charity and not have to do any work for it. You can even adjust it so it only runs when your system is idle.

Labels: Activism

It's pathetic when you have to cheat to win.

The McCain / Palin campaign sent a bunch of absentee ballots to Obama supporters. How nice of them. Except they weren't actually being nice at all. They were being sneaky and malicious.

Problem 1:

The ballots contain an unnecessary checkbox which the voter must check to indicate that he/she is qualified to vote. Legally, there is suppose to be a statement indicating that the voter is qualified to vote (i.e. "By submitting this ballot I certify that I am qualified to vote."), not a question (i.e. "Are you qualified to vote?"). If that box isn't checked, their ballot is invalid, and their vote isn't counted.

To fix the problem, everyone who has already voted must vote again. This means that they must be notified, issued a corrected ballot, fill it out, mail it off, and hope that it gets to the correct destination. It sounds simple, but every extra step is an extra opportunity for a screw up, and repeating the task twice adds lots of extra steps. And some voters may have filled out their absentee ballot because they were going to be absent (e.g. out of the country, busy fighting a war, traveling on business trips, going out of state on vacation), so they won't even be home to get the replacement ballot. All of this means that it's probable that some of those voters won't get their vote counted or won't get to re-vote at all.

Problem 2:

There are reports that return envelopes for the absentee ballots had the wrong mailing address on them.

This means the citizen votes on the absentee ballot, seals it in the envelope, puts the envelope into the mailbox, and falsely believe that he/she has done her patriotic duty as a citizen. Meanwhile, their vote is sent on a journey to a place where their vote isn't supposed to go, a place where their vote never gets counted.

Problem 3:

Why is it legal for a candidate to issue absentee ballots anyhow? Isn't this something that a neutral third party, like... oh... maybe the State Board of Elections should handle? If a candidate really does want to increase voter turn out, he/she can just donate money to the State Board of Election to aid in the voting efforts, but they don't do that. They want to send out their own ballots. Why? It gives them to opportunity to screw things up for their own benefit. Plus, it gives them yet another opportunity to campaign at the very last moment. Just check out the McCain ballot at http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=9064.

McCain for President? Palin for VP? Country First?

Country first is right. Lie to the country first. Then cheat your way to the top. After that, you can manipulate the system for your own selfish, greedy benefit. It's the Republican way.

For more about these stories, check out...

http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/UPDATES01/80912006/1002/NEWS01

http://current.com/items/89293206_misleading_absentee_ballots_being_sent_to_citizens_by_john_mccain

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/11/McCain_forms_confuse_Ohio_absentees/UPI-87691221180496/

http://current.com/items/89293206_misleading_absentee_ballots_being_sent_to_citizens_by_john_mccain

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS0108/309110032

Labels: Activism, Things that Annoy Me

The ASPCA is fighting Ringling Bros. in court for abusing elephants:



But it's not just elephants. All circus animals are abused. Why else do you think that a lion would jump through hoops or a bear would ride a bike? For the cheer of the crowd? For fame? To make their trainer happy?

No! They perform because they are scared of being beaten, starved, electrocuted, or stabbed with hooks.

Circuses that use animals are sick. DON'T GO TO THE CIRCUS.

You can read more about the ASPCA's stand on circuses at
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_circuses

You can read the Human Society's articles and watch their videos about circus cruelty at
http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/circuses/circus_myths.html

You can see PETA videos at
http://www.petatv.com/circ.html
and read PETA articles about the circus at
http://www.circuses.com/

Labels: Activism

My father died of pancreatic cancer. My maternal grandmother died of brain cancer. My maternal grandfather died of throat cancer. My paternal grandmother had skin cancer and breast cancer. My husband had mouth cancer. The son of a good friend of mine had leukemia. One of my favorite English teachers died from brain cancer. My neighbor has brain cancer.

I'm tired of cancer stealing away my loved ones and raining misery on our lives.

Please help me fight cancer by donating your spare change to the American Cancer Society. Don't have any spare change? Then skip your morning latte (or afternoon soda, etc.) and spend the money on fighting cancer.

Every $1 makes a difference. Don't believe me? I've set up a group page, called Families Fighting Cancer, at the American Cancer Society events sites. I plan to gather up loose change, skip an indulgence once per week, and donate a tiny bit of money here and there to the ACS. Plus, I'm going to ask other people to do the same. The goal is to see if a few tiny sacrifices can really make a difference by eventually reaching a donation goal of $1,000.

$1,000 in spare change.

Want to help?

Go to
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/familiesfightingcancer
and donate $1 or $5 or more if you can.

Labels: Activism

One of my biggest dreams while growing up was to be famous for writing. As I entered adulthood, I realized that I wanted to write for children. I wanted to help and teach children through entertainment. I realized how difficult it would be to make a living at writing, so I also studied to become an elementary school teacher, so I can help, teach, and entertain kids one class at a time. Then I had kids and realized that the best way to help my kids (and their kids, and their kids, and so forth) as well as their friends was to focus on being a great parent and raising great kids (plus I get to be the neighborhood mom-on-call for all the neighborhood kids), so I set my teaching and entertaining dreams aside and stayed home to be super-mom. It was the best decision I've ever made, and I'm eternally grateful to my husband (also a great parent) for helping me do it.

I started writing non-fiction for adults to satisfy my teaching urges, and I entertain kids wherever I go. One of my favorite things to do is draw pictures and make up stories about them with my babies. I've decided to start putting some of those pictures and stories on a website, Corla Kids (still in its very early stages), that I'm designing for my kids and their friends, so they can see them and print out activity sheets and games even when I'm not available to tell stories and draw pictures. (This project is one of the reasons I haven't been writing or designing much elsewhere.)

As I've been working on this new website for my kids, my dreams have grown even bigger. I'm not happy with just writing or drawing pictures. I'd really like to create little movies and video games too. So I've been spending the last few weeks studying animation and cinema. (Video games will be later.)

In my house, we're giant fans of Sesame Street, the Muppets, Sunnypatch Friends, Todd World, Dora and Diego, Sponge Bob, Dexter, and the Robinsons. I've been mesmerized by how children's entertainment impacts generations and gradually changes the world.

The arts, stories, pictures, sounds, and movements, are powerful tools for making the world a better place. Nothing inspires us or makes us think the way that the arts do.

So right now, I may not be able to travel to Uganda to save the children or replant the rain forest tree by tree, but from my home, while still tending to my job as super-mom, with the resources that I have, I can still do something to help children. I can even help animals along the way without having to adopt every single creature at the animal shelter, and I can help the environment without moving into a hut in the middle of the woods. I can spread the word and inspire change. I can teach kids how they can make a difference now and even more when they get older. I can raise money to support people working in the fields and on the front lines. I can help kids laugh and escape the stresses of the world for awhile. I can do something, anything, other than sighing about how difficult life can be and wishing somebody would do something to fix the biggest problems.

And, unlike with Kristen's Guide, I don't have to do it alone. I can join forces with all sorts of story tellers, musicians, scientists, historians, teachers, visual artists, programmers, etc. Lots of them are within my reach, and with them the weight of the project doesn't just rest on my shoulders.

Honestly, I've never before been so excited about doing a project. Even if my children and their friends are the only fans of Corla Kids, it has still been one of my greatest ideas.

Labels: Activism

Awhile ago I loaned $25 to a family in Tajikistan, so they could expand their family food selling business (goods sitting on tables under a canopy on the side of a dirt road). They've paid me back, so I'm taking that same $25 and loaning it out again.

Today I loaned that $25 to a woman in Mexico who started a mechanic / clothing store business to help feed her family. She needs the money to buy supplies and move the tiny business to a better location (where she is now doesn't have much traffic).

She still needs $100 more. Want to help?

Labels: Activism