My partner thought that she was Italian until she was 36 years old. Her name is Italian and she beautiful in a Sophia Loren sort of way, so this was never questioned. This Ani’s story and I asked her if I could write about it. She had no problem, but I will try to protect her anonymity as best as I can, and hope that I can relate her experience adequately.
Hollede :: What am I?
Why is it so difficult for so many people to have compassion for faceless and nameless suffering? I mean, most people will help someone in front of them, or can feel bad for Captain Sullenberg who has taken a 40% pay cut and has lost his retirement. But they cannot pay attention to all of the good people losing their jobs and who are now teetering on the brink of oblivion.
In this same vein, on a more personal note, my mother’s brother has always been a strong fiscal conservative and republican. He and Mom have argued for years about politics. Six or so years ago, they were arguing about the the Patriot Act. He could not win the arguement with Mom, and in the end could only sputter an “oh you and your Constitution”. To which my mother, speechless in abject astonishment, was only able to muster an “it’s your Constitution too”. Which I am certain, fell on deaf ears.
So this may be one of those diaries, to which I will creep back later and with deep humiliation, delete it in the dead of night. After all, it was written well after the witching hour. That being said, I am going on an ignorant rant. A temper tantrum without any maturity, restraint, or a single lick of information. For your viewing pleasure, feel free to watch my head explode.
Ok. That was not my head, but you begin get the idea.
I came across a quote this morning:
“All men — whether they go by the name of Americans or Russians or Chinese or British or Malayans or Indians or Africans — have obligations to one another that transcend their obligations to their sovereign societies.” (Norman Cousins, author, editor, journalist and professor (1915-1990))
It brought to mind a conversation I had with my dad not long ago regarding Obama’s decision to close Gitmo. Now, I must admit that I’m a life-long conservative-leaning independent, although Obama’s book caused me to adopt a new perspective on many issues. On immigration, welfare, health care, a whole host of issues, my attitude was, “Life isn’t fair or easy, and you make the best of the hand you’re dealt, whether it be good or rotten. I’m all for charity and being my brother’s keeper, but on MY terms — I don’t want the government forcing me to support some shiftless, irresponsible bum who refuses to lift a finger for himself or contribute diddly-squat to the common good.”
Have you ever noticed that some people get really worked up about GLBT issues? Have you ever noticed how others couldn’t care less about these concerns? Ever wonder why?
Years ago my nephew was in a youth church group that he really enjoyed. That is until they got a new youth minister who was extremely homophobic. My nephew knows that his aunt is lesbian and not one member of my family has a problem with me. It did not take long for my nephew and all of the other members to drop out of this group. Leaving, I would imagine, the minister and church to wonder why.
My nephew is straight but his attitude is one of live and let live. His only concern, really, is that his aunt is not discriminated against.
Here’s the overnight news digest and open thread, courtesy of FARK.com!
Latest rumor in Nevada is that Mitt Romney plans to move to the state and take on Harry Reid in a Mormon-on-Mormon steel-cage death match for Reid’s Senate seat. I’m not sure who to root for, here.
Obama backs merit-based pay for teachers, mirroring rest of working world. Naturally, teachers’ unions are opposed to this idea. Though I would be interested in seeing the proposed metrics before getting worked up either way.
Bush was apparently kept out of the decision process when the previous administration finalized their bank bail-out strategy, sez Republican wunderkid Karl Rove. Apparently, he was busy finishing “My Pet Goat: II”
And here’s a fun graph I found hanging around a Freeper hangout. Enjoy!
I remember george w bush right after the 2001 September 11 attacks. I was staying at a motel in Duluth, as I was attending a training for conducting forensic child abuse interviews. We had heard about the attacks during the day, but our trainers powered through, and we managed to get through most of the first of three eight hour sessions.
After we had finished for the day, I raced back to my room to watch the news. I remained glued to the tube until I fell asleep. I cannot remember if bush spoke that first night. I don’t think so. I do remember when he finally did speak, as it is permanently seared into my brain. He looked like a frightened little boy. Deer caught in the headlight also applies.
I had not liked bush up until then. I thought (and still do) that he had stolen the presidency from Al Gore, and that he would never have been able to accomplish that major miracle unless his name had been george w bush jr. His initial reaction to the news and the following speech to the nation sealed my perception of him as the worst resident of the white house/representation of the United States I had ever seen.
If Frank Miller wrote “Peanuts”…
What’s on your minds tonight, guys?
Nursing has long been looked at as a career with almost impeccable long-term prospects. People always get sick, right? On top of that, the United States has a rapidly aging population, spends more on health care than most of the rest of the world combined, and is currently facing a nursing shortage that estimates suggest will broach half a million unfilled positions in the next few years.
As the current recession has materialized, we’ve heard those statistics bandied about time and time again. This, alongside stories about hospitals throwing themselves on top of each other going after new recruits, offering them sign-on bonuses, tuition reimbursement, travel packages- just to land a few newly-minted RNs. There are years-long waiting lists to get into Nursing programs at schools nationwide; thousands of newly-unemployed Americans are now looking to Nursing as a stable career that can put them back on track.
But the economic crisis currently facing our nation quickly calling this “conventional” wisdom into serious question- and it seems that no career is immune to the effects of this recession.
With all the sagacity of a man leaning against a post deriding “that new teller-fone down at Mable’s place”, Kansas Representative Scott Schwab (R-Olathe) has submitted a bill which would force only those who raise their campaign funding through netroots efforts to disclose all donor information.
The key to the bill is that it only effects those who raise more than $5,000 in under $50 donations (a huge number in Kansas state terms, broken only by Sean Tevis in his historic campaign).
I’ve got a few things to get off my chest, in no particular order. I was reading my favorite new blogger VaginaDrum. She has a weekly wrap-up of likes entitled Shit I Like Sunday. Wouldn’t you know it though, my old, crabby ass is taking it in another direction. This also seems to be a great way to clean out all the posts I’ve started and not finished this week.