Sorry, Carl inspired me to use alliteration in the title today...
Between the election debacle, being heckled by faculty at work, and a research project on the conditions for women in Afghanistan, Donna is right: I think I need to be put on suicide watch for the next 2 months... sigh.
Yes, I was heckled. We were asked to show school directors how to access and use some data we've put together for their program review. Faculty hate extra work, even if it is work related to knowing more about and accurately depicting their own programs to our new provost. What am I saying 'extra'... most faculty just plain hate work. This particular faculty member is a total arrogant ass. He's the director of a school here, and is fairly prominent in the outside world as a commentator. I can take tough questions, and I can even deal with people telling me that a particular report doesn't suit their exact needs. I got that from a certain dean at DePaul all the time. This asshole crossed the line, however. Talking through the entire thing, only to then wonder why he doesn't know what we're talking about. Then, when a page on the intranet doesn't load correctly, he cups his hands over his mouth and says quite facetiously to the group "you're doing well". We found out later that that is quite normal behavior for him. He is the current subject of my voodoo doll...
As for the elections... I really really really hope John Kerry gets his act together. I don't think I, personally, or the world can withstand another 4 years of Bush and pals.
Anyone have relatives in Canada I can stay with for 4 years?
30 September 2004
24 September 2004
Indie Media
Funny thing. John and I were out yesterday grabbing a quick bite to eat on the way home from Micro Center and I ran into a guy I went to High School with. I normally wouldn't care, since most of the people I went to school with I don't care to see. This guy was always really cool though, and I'm glad I ran into him. (Imagine that though, all the cool people from High School no longer live in Oak Park...)
Rik started an Indie newspaper called Third Coast Press (they don't have a website yet). However it's a very cool paper. Anyone who may be interested in helping - writing, photos, layout, whatever - contact (I'm not going to put the email since they now have web programs that grab email addresses off websites) - all one word: third coast press at yahoo dot com.
This semester is jam packed for me, so I can't do much. Maybe in the spring I'll do a few things. I'd like to get involved in something like that.
Anywhoo. Have a nice day.
Rik started an Indie newspaper called Third Coast Press (they don't have a website yet). However it's a very cool paper. Anyone who may be interested in helping - writing, photos, layout, whatever - contact (I'm not going to put the email since they now have web programs that grab email addresses off websites) - all one word: third coast press at yahoo dot com.
This semester is jam packed for me, so I can't do much. Maybe in the spring I'll do a few things. I'd like to get involved in something like that.
Anywhoo. Have a nice day.
22 September 2004
And they say chivalry is dead
Yesterday morning Joe (my boss) and I had a meeting with some academic department heads to show them where to find/how to use some data for a project. As we're leaving the meeting, they tell me to grab a donut, and I oblige. Since I have a notepad and a cup of coffee, I put the donut on top of my notepad and go to leave only to realize that Joe already left, notepad under one arm, and let the door shut on me. Now keep in mind, my juggling the donut only took about 10 seconds.
It's one of those doors where you have to turn the handle, so I balance my coffee on my notepad, praying I don't make an utter fool out of myself in front of 8 people, most of whom I just met. I go to get out the second door, to the elevator - Joe is nowhere to be found. Thankfully this is just a push door and I go through, to find Joe getting on the elevator already. I get on the elevator, the doors close, and realize my donut is gone.
I must have dropped it off my notepad in my frenzy to catch the elevator that mr. chivalry so galantly held for me. I then said "thanks for holding the door" and he said "I just had to get out of there". He acts like it was such an anxiety-ridden experience that he had to flee as fast as he could... they were actually pretty tame that day.
He is just not the kind of person that thinks at all about the people around him. He's the kind of guy that tries to get on an elevator before letting people out. And he's apparently not the kind of guy to hold a door for someone with no free hands.
Am I over-reacting with this? I mean, I know I'm very hard on people who show no consideration for others. This is common courtesy right? I mean, no normal person should do that, right?
So aside from this, I lost my donut. I really hope the Deans and professors didn't leave that meeting and find my escaped donut on the floor and think I left it there intentionally. What a fuckwit they'd think I was.
If anyone reads this, tell me, am I crazy?
It's one of those doors where you have to turn the handle, so I balance my coffee on my notepad, praying I don't make an utter fool out of myself in front of 8 people, most of whom I just met. I go to get out the second door, to the elevator - Joe is nowhere to be found. Thankfully this is just a push door and I go through, to find Joe getting on the elevator already. I get on the elevator, the doors close, and realize my donut is gone.
I must have dropped it off my notepad in my frenzy to catch the elevator that mr. chivalry so galantly held for me. I then said "thanks for holding the door" and he said "I just had to get out of there". He acts like it was such an anxiety-ridden experience that he had to flee as fast as he could... they were actually pretty tame that day.
He is just not the kind of person that thinks at all about the people around him. He's the kind of guy that tries to get on an elevator before letting people out. And he's apparently not the kind of guy to hold a door for someone with no free hands.
Am I over-reacting with this? I mean, I know I'm very hard on people who show no consideration for others. This is common courtesy right? I mean, no normal person should do that, right?
So aside from this, I lost my donut. I really hope the Deans and professors didn't leave that meeting and find my escaped donut on the floor and think I left it there intentionally. What a fuckwit they'd think I was.
If anyone reads this, tell me, am I crazy?
21 September 2004
Gotta have it NOW NOW NOW
I'm all for the fast, universal availability of information. That being said, there are several drawbacks to the demand for up-to-date, timely information 24-hours a day. One of those drawbacks is Fox News, but I'm not talking about them specifically. I'm talking about election night, and the network practice of "calling" a state for a particular candidate. Yes, I know Fox called Florida prematurely, fucking the whole system up in 2000 - but if other networks simply ignore Fox this year, we will still have one huge problem.
The networks respond to the demand for information. Gotta have it right now. This mentality in itself causes the premature "calling" of states, especially "swing" states and therefore the premature "calling" of an election. (Now this brings up the insanity of the electoral college, which for the record, I think should be abolished. I think it's safe to assume we can handle a direct presidential vote now.) A candidate only needs 270 of 538 electoral votes to win - leaving innumerable combinations of states for winning an election. However, several of the "key" or "swing" states are on the East coast, and have high electoral college counts.
Here's where I'm going with this. What happened in 2000 was that Fox News (please people, seriously don't listen to them this year) called Florida for Bush way to early. If a candidate can lock in an election with several swing states in the East and a few solid states across the country, what happens is that undecided/apathetic voters in later timezones might decide they don't need to vote. Hopefully people aren't that stupid this year, but my faith in the American public is at an all time low.
My point anyway, is that our constant need to be fed with information leads to networks "calling" states prematurely - I mean, if there's nothing to report on election night, people might be reading a book or watching reruns of I Love Lucy instead of being glued to the News. They're giving us what they think we want. But I think what we want is accurate reporting. If I have to wait until the next day to get an accurate count of presidential votes, then so be it. Waiting one day certainly beats the hell out of the political ping-pong we played last time.
I don't actually THINK networks are going to refrain from calling states before all polls in all states are closed. I simply hope that they do it much more carefully.
Below is a list of states with more than 10 electoral college votes, and which one's are swing states (*), in order from East to West and number of votes. It is possible that if "calling" an Eastern state has an affect on a Western swing state, it could throw the election...
Eastern
New York-31
Florida-27*
Pennsylvania-21*
Ohio-20*
Michigan-17*
Georgia-15
New Jersey-15
North Carolina-15
Virginia-13
Massachusetts-12
Missouri-11*
Tennessee-11
Indiana -11
Central
Illinois-21
Mountain/Pacific
Texas-34
California-55
Washington-11*
Other "Swing" States:
New Hampshire-4
Arkansas-6
Iowa-7
Wisconsin-10
Minnesota-10
New Mexico-5
Nevada-5
Oregon-7
Arizona-10
*Denotes a "swing" state
The networks respond to the demand for information. Gotta have it right now. This mentality in itself causes the premature "calling" of states, especially "swing" states and therefore the premature "calling" of an election. (Now this brings up the insanity of the electoral college, which for the record, I think should be abolished. I think it's safe to assume we can handle a direct presidential vote now.) A candidate only needs 270 of 538 electoral votes to win - leaving innumerable combinations of states for winning an election. However, several of the "key" or "swing" states are on the East coast, and have high electoral college counts.
Here's where I'm going with this. What happened in 2000 was that Fox News (please people, seriously don't listen to them this year) called Florida for Bush way to early. If a candidate can lock in an election with several swing states in the East and a few solid states across the country, what happens is that undecided/apathetic voters in later timezones might decide they don't need to vote. Hopefully people aren't that stupid this year, but my faith in the American public is at an all time low.
My point anyway, is that our constant need to be fed with information leads to networks "calling" states prematurely - I mean, if there's nothing to report on election night, people might be reading a book or watching reruns of I Love Lucy instead of being glued to the News. They're giving us what they think we want. But I think what we want is accurate reporting. If I have to wait until the next day to get an accurate count of presidential votes, then so be it. Waiting one day certainly beats the hell out of the political ping-pong we played last time.
I don't actually THINK networks are going to refrain from calling states before all polls in all states are closed. I simply hope that they do it much more carefully.
Below is a list of states with more than 10 electoral college votes, and which one's are swing states (*), in order from East to West and number of votes. It is possible that if "calling" an Eastern state has an affect on a Western swing state, it could throw the election...
Eastern
New York-31
Florida-27*
Pennsylvania-21*
Ohio-20*
Michigan-17*
Georgia-15
New Jersey-15
North Carolina-15
Virginia-13
Massachusetts-12
Missouri-11*
Tennessee-11
Indiana -11
Central
Illinois-21
Mountain/Pacific
Texas-34
California-55
Washington-11*
Other "Swing" States:
New Hampshire-4
Arkansas-6
Iowa-7
Wisconsin-10
Minnesota-10
New Mexico-5
Nevada-5
Oregon-7
Arizona-10
*Denotes a "swing" state
16 September 2004
VALID VOTERS STRUCK FROM ROLLS:
From the Center for American Progress
Florida is one of only seven states in the union which denies former felons the right to vote, even after they've completed their sentences. In 2000, the state hired an outside contractor to implement a "felon list." Riddled with errors, this list struck thousands of innocent voters from the rolls. Lessons have not been learned.
This past May, the Florida Division of Elections quietly distributed a brand-new purge list for the upcoming election. The outgoing head of the division, Ed Kast, sent a memo to election supervisors on May 12, 2004, detailing how to keep the list out of the hands of advocacy groups that wanted to double check the names, "citing statutes about the privacy of voter registration information and the will of the legislature -- even though nothing in the law prevents the same information from going to political candidates to further their campaigns."
Later that month, after CNN filed suit to gain access to the rolls, they found the new list wrongly included thousands of eligible voters and "heavily targeted African-Americans -- who traditionally vote Democrat -- while "virtually ignoring Hispanic voters" -- who, in Florida, are often more likely to check the box next to GOP names.
Florida is one of only seven states in the union which denies former felons the right to vote, even after they've completed their sentences. In 2000, the state hired an outside contractor to implement a "felon list." Riddled with errors, this list struck thousands of innocent voters from the rolls. Lessons have not been learned.
This past May, the Florida Division of Elections quietly distributed a brand-new purge list for the upcoming election. The outgoing head of the division, Ed Kast, sent a memo to election supervisors on May 12, 2004, detailing how to keep the list out of the hands of advocacy groups that wanted to double check the names, "citing statutes about the privacy of voter registration information and the will of the legislature -- even though nothing in the law prevents the same information from going to political candidates to further their campaigns."
Later that month, after CNN filed suit to gain access to the rolls, they found the new list wrongly included thousands of eligible voters and "heavily targeted African-Americans -- who traditionally vote Democrat -- while "virtually ignoring Hispanic voters" -- who, in Florida, are often more likely to check the box next to GOP names.
09 September 2004
Gotta get me one of them there UZIs
On Monday, September 13th, the Assualt Weapons Ban will expire. For those of you who are 2nd ammendment nuts - let me just clarify a few things:
1) it's not an assualt on your right to bear arms.
2) why are you reading this blog anyway?
Four presidents (Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton) passed and renewed the ban, which Kerry also supports, but Bush has successfully blocked the bill's renewal, despite its endorsement by every national police organization and the support of about 77 percent of the American voters, according to most polls. The only people who stand to gain from Bush's killing of the ban are terrorists, violent criminals, and, of course, the corporations behind the gun lobby.
We all know that after 9-11, when John Ashcroft was supposedly tightening the noose on terrorist activities, the one crucial element he left OUT of the USA PATRIOT Act was the ability for law enforcement to search gun purchase records. Ashcroft knew that terrorist organizations repeatedly told their members to get guns in the US because it's easy, and yet he is so much of a whore of the NRA he couldn't allow searches of gun purchases - illegal wiretaps and other shady practices - no problem.
The bill only outlawed 19 specific types of military-style assault weapons. Unfortunatley it also containss a clause that the ban expire unless Congress specifically reauthorized it. And now that Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert have announced that they won't even bring a vote on the matter, gun manufacturers are gearing up for the scheduled expiration by taking orders for semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines that may soon become legal again, according to the Washington Post.
Click here for info on how you can get involved in the gun-control movement and check out the Stop The NRA site for info on the assault ban and what may still be left to do to defend it.
1) it's not an assualt on your right to bear arms.
2) why are you reading this blog anyway?
Four presidents (Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton) passed and renewed the ban, which Kerry also supports, but Bush has successfully blocked the bill's renewal, despite its endorsement by every national police organization and the support of about 77 percent of the American voters, according to most polls. The only people who stand to gain from Bush's killing of the ban are terrorists, violent criminals, and, of course, the corporations behind the gun lobby.
We all know that after 9-11, when John Ashcroft was supposedly tightening the noose on terrorist activities, the one crucial element he left OUT of the USA PATRIOT Act was the ability for law enforcement to search gun purchase records. Ashcroft knew that terrorist organizations repeatedly told their members to get guns in the US because it's easy, and yet he is so much of a whore of the NRA he couldn't allow searches of gun purchases - illegal wiretaps and other shady practices - no problem.
The bill only outlawed 19 specific types of military-style assault weapons. Unfortunatley it also containss a clause that the ban expire unless Congress specifically reauthorized it. And now that Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert have announced that they won't even bring a vote on the matter, gun manufacturers are gearing up for the scheduled expiration by taking orders for semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines that may soon become legal again, according to the Washington Post.
Click here for info on how you can get involved in the gun-control movement and check out the Stop The NRA site for info on the assault ban and what may still be left to do to defend it.
08 September 2004
Is Little Bushie Afraid?
I just saw this article which, in a nutshell says Bush wants to bow out of one of the three debates. This just happens to be the debate that would focus on undecided voters in which the audience would be asking questions.
Is Bush afraid to take real questions from real people? If he's so certain of his policies, his record and his re-election, why does he screen participants for all his events (even making some sign "loyalty oaths" before being admitted)? Bush rarely gets any tough questions at any events he stages, if the audience asks questions at all (see the Daily Show).
Kerry needs to be pouncing on this...
Is Bush afraid to take real questions from real people? If he's so certain of his policies, his record and his re-election, why does he screen participants for all his events (even making some sign "loyalty oaths" before being admitted)? Bush rarely gets any tough questions at any events he stages, if the audience asks questions at all (see the Daily Show).
Kerry needs to be pouncing on this...
07 September 2004
Whaaaaa????
"We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
Dubya,
Sept. 6, 2004
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040907/pl_nm/odd_bush_dc_2
Dubya,
Sept. 6, 2004
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040907/pl_nm/odd_bush_dc_2
03 September 2004
Watch This
This video was from the Daily Show a few nights ago - it sums it up pretty well...
Watch this!
http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/dsbush.html
Watch this!
http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/dsbush.html
02 September 2004
The Pessimist Rears Her Ugly Head
As time goes by I am getting less and less optimistic about this election. The Kerry campaign seems to have stagnated. They're not fighting back and it's hurting them. I used to think the election was Kerry's to lose, but now I'm not so sure. They really have to step it up and take firm stands on important issues. No more bickering about what may or may not have happened 30 years ago. Forget it, it's over. Move on to problems facing us today.
- Increasing poverty & unemployment
- Health care reform
- Ensuring that one ideology's stance on social issues do not become national laws
- A Plan for Iraq
- The "war" on terror
- Safety, security & getting the U.S. back in good standing with the international community
- Increasing security issues in Afghanistan
And while the GOP is focussing on 9-11 and Iraq, there is issue they are obviously ignoring (and for good reason) and the Dems should be plugging, plugging, plugging -NON STOP. Do what the Republicans do - latch onto it and don't let go:
- Where the hell is Osama?
I'm really getting worried that the Kerry camp is going to try and play it nice. Do what Bush did in 2000 - SAY you want to restore dignity to political discourse and have your pit vipers (move on will work) do the dirty work. As the Daily Show said last night in their GOP highlights reel - Words speak louder than actions...
Someone needs to help me regain my hope for November...
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