Closets

I've had trouble watching the glee with which the media has gone after Larry Craig. I cannot imagine a life more difficult than one where I (a) felt I couldn't be myself and (b) where I hated what I knew I was in my heart of hearts.

I don't like hypocrisy. I particularly don't like the zeal with which Senator Craig has gone after others who--like him--have had to make difficult choices about how to live with who they really are. And I sincerely wish the world would move past caring about any of this.

In the mean time--I think Scott Simon (par normal) does a lovely job summing it all up.

NPR : Reflections on the Sen. Larry Craig Case

The Environment

I know I've mentioned this before, but my Dad's a geographer. I grew up pH testing dirt for fun. My Dad's area of expertise is desertification--the fact of/process by which deserts around the world are growing...annually.

So, global climate change, blah blah blah...that's not what I'm here to argue.

What I'm here to say is this:
Whether it's our fault or not, can we all agree that using up finite resources is...well...um...stupid.

I feel like calling a spade a spade today--and this is a Royal Flush of spades.

If we can agree for a moment, that the climate is changing, well...that would be a good start.

Lots of things are demonstrating this fact. Animal populations are decreasing in some important animals, growing seasons are changing (which directly affect some animals), even the times when Vermont Maple Syrup farmers tap their trees have changed dramatically over the last thirty years.

Okay, if we can agree that those things aren't lies, then we can continue.

We know that things like...burning coal for heat have an effect on the environment. After all, we know that the famous London Fog--thick as pea soup--was actually caused by heavy particulate coal smoke creating an inversion layer over the city that trapped the moisture and created the fog. So we know that our actions can change the environment--even in small ways, even temporarily.

Okay, so if we can agree on that, then we can move on.

We know that since the beginning of the last century our dependence on fossil fuels has increased dramatically. Fossil fuels are finite resources. Dependence on anything that will run out (even decades from now) is foolhardy. New technology will have to replace the current technology--it's not an if, it's a when.

So, why not now?

1) We know that sucking on a tail pipe will kill you
2) We know that we are dumping the stuff that will kill you into the air (which we all have to share) at extraordinary rates
3) We know we're all in this together--it's not a local problem
4) We know in our heart-of-hearts that whether we are causing global climate change or not, that the first three things listed here are true.

So.

Why not try to do something about it.

IF the climate change we are experiencing is natural, then so be it. We'll adapt or we'll die. It's that simple.
BUT.
If there's even a small chance that WE are the culprits, then the above listed points make it ridiculously plain that we need to at least try to do something about the problem.

Even if we are wrong, the outcome will be a cleaner environment for ourselves, our children, and our children's children.

And I don't buy the "it'll kill business and cost us a fortune" argument.
The auto industry said the same thing about seat belts.
Seat belts have hardly been the downfall of the auto industry.

We are nothing if not an inventive people. Let's have some of the billionaire boys from the Dot Com boom start hosting competitions for the best non-fossil fuel engine. Let's create a reason for kids to learn science. Let's find a way to make it all profitable. Let's start making kits to retrofit houses to rely partially on solar, on wind, use grey water, include cisterns. If those things are cheap and available and save families money--we're all going to be better off!

Why aren't there solar panels or wind generators on the roofs of the Projects in NYC? Even a small cut in energy sucked off the grid in a city that large would have a huge impact on the economy. And if the power companies were the ones (a) selling and (b) maintaining that equipment, then they wouldn't have to worry about becoming obsolete.

There are lots of ways to make a dent. And even if you don't believe we're causing the climate change, you can't avoid the need/desire for a cleaner environment for our children.

We can not afford to be a short-sighted, adolescent nation any longer.
It's time to grow up.

Obligatory 9/11 Post

Read here
and here
and then of course, here.

Leadership kids who "ran" from the building—all helped to safety by the kindness of strangers.

And the southern view you didn't see on the news.

9/24/2007
O, I just HAVE To respond to the coward who anonymously left the comment below that "911 was an inside job.There were no planes,as none of the kids mention the sound of a 767 at 800 feet on full power."
_I_ mention it, dolt. I'm the only one who was in the room who had anything to compare the sound to (WWII movie missile sounds--my kids didn't watch movies like that) the kids, quite frankly, were too busy thinking they were going to die to try to find a parallel.
If you weren't there then leave off with your idiotic comments or learn to listen. There is no one who could create a conspiracy big enough to convince all of NYC to lie. Really. We're a bunch of loud mouths and we call it like we see it. It's just not possible to shut us all up or stop us from saying what we saw.
Really.
Or better yet, instead of chickening out and leaving ghost flames on the blogs of innocent folk, go talk to the guys who were working construction in Jersey who watched the second plane plow into the South Tower, knowing damn well what was going to happen when they saw it bank over Staten Island. White as sheets, they were, and still shaking hours later.
But I'm sure they were planted for my benefit.
I'm sure the plane's engine on the building of my school (Yes, I saw it. Yes, I know what a plane's engine looks like) was a plant too.
Hell, I'll bet you think it was Mosad.
Oh, how I wish to be alone in a room with people like you and about seven of my students.
THAT would be a inside job.

Part Deux:
To my Anonymous poster—thank you for coming back. I actually respect that quite a bit. Usually Folks-Who-Flame don't bother.
I'm so, SO sorry because I've clearly left you with the misperception that I support the "genocidal Bush regime". This is not true. In fact, it was rather telling to watch the numbers from the 2000 and 2004 elections roll in. While the NYC has been voting Republican since Giuliani ran (and NYC is notoriously NOT a Republican town) NYC rabidly voted against Bush.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who was in or around 9/11 who trusts that man.
I'm well aware that what we've been exporting to other countries has not been...hm...our best and our brightest.
And as for serial numbers—not being a professional conspiracy theorist I just went my five senses and inductive—see plane #2 go into the building then see a plane engine on our roof. Maybe not more than circumstantial evidence for you, but since our elevators and stairwells were kinda small, and there were no cranes in the vicinity...yeah. I believe those were planes going in.
Do I think that absolves Bush?
No.
Do I think he wanted to go into Iraq long before 9/11.
Yes.
But I also think Mohammad Atta et al flew planes at civilian targets that morning, not Bush.
There's lots of room in the world for dumb people to make lousy choices.

'Why Do They Hate Us?' - washingtonpost.com

'Why Do They Hate Us?' - washingtonpost.com

Perhaps the calmest discussion of said topic I've ever seen.

From a Student

Here's why I love my NYC kids. This is what they send me:




And there are two more GREAT videos here.