Monday, January 16, 2006, 08:32 PM - Politics
I drove back from Tahoe this morning and was crying my eyes out listening to King speeches on part of the drive. (Who knew I was so emotional?) There was some horribly depressing stat on NPR about how most white people do nothing to acknowledge MLK day, but one hopeful note was the effort to have people think of the holiday as a day of service. Although millions of Americans volunteer on a regular basis, one more opportunity surely can't hurt. And it does seem like the best way to honor a Capricorn is to get some work done, after all. Of course, one could choose to see the coopting of the impressive King legacy of social transformation into insipid school-painting projects, but I think it's a better option than having people think of the 'holiday' as an excuse to go shopping. It was nice to have the drive to think about the huge changes he helped bring about in our society (which I far too often take for granted), and also to consider how a lack of focus on economic issues limited the reach of the major social movements of the second half of the 20th century. Saturday, January 14, 2006, 07:54 PM - Sex, Politics
It drives me batty that the most important image of women from either the Roberts or Alito hearings is Alito's wife crying. Is welling up the best way for me to influence the future of the Supreme Court?? When he's confirmed, and if he does help overturn Roe, I will certainly be crying my eyes out, given that I'd have to spend a huge chunk of my life dealing with state-level battles over the legality of abortion. If only my tears were so sympathy-provoking, and I could get them such good coverage. Just imagine what would have happened to his chances for confirmation had HE been the one crying. And maddeningly there's at least a chance that if I were being cross-examined in front of the world, I WOULD cry. Yet I think mine (and many women's) capacity to mix emotional and intellectual intensity is one of our strengths. I'm so curious as to whether her emotional display was deliberate - really a master stroke if it was. In personal relationships I can never quite be sure of how much my manifestation of gender is authentic and how much is strategic or performative in response to social norms (or for that matter how much I should enjoy and accept my undeniable response to the masculine- or be suspicious of it). Yesterday I went with the enjoyment option, and I can't say that I'm sad about it. I'll let you know when I quit my job to drive my daughter to swim practice, but don't hold your breath just yet.Saturday, January 7, 2006, 03:30 AM - Politics, Food
So today I had a lunch meeting with Megan (the brain behind The MMOB and my favorite co-conspirator on Leave My Child Alone), and she brought along Joan Blades! It was great to meet her- she's just the combination of grounded strategist and slightly ethereal presence you'd expect from someone who's changed organizing forever- through technology. She's starting a new, very large-scale project centered on women's issues...I hope I'll have the opportunity to contribute to it. (And in addition, I got to snack on those onigiri from the Japanese deli that take me right back to department store basement food heaven in Tokyo). Really an unexpectedly superlative lunchtime, all things considered.Wednesday, January 4, 2006, 06:41 PM - Politics, Technology
We'll all have to get our assfucking fix from the new Wonker (?) David Lat, erstwhile faux-babe blogger of Underneath Our Robes....
Nice job for Nick to snag him, although I bet his life as a prosecutor had become a little, um, complicated?
Tuesday, January 3, 2006, 05:57 PM - Politics
So it seems like I'm taking the leap into the world of GCI where I'll be working on MoveOn's 2006 efforts as well as developing progressive voter outreach strategies and a West Coast client base. I'm not sure that I'll be able to give up on the other fun projects I've been working on this fall, though, so it seems like it will be another round of balancing acts....Plus I'm still having meetings with people about my ideas for engaging social workers and other nonprofit sector staffers in civic engagement strategies. And my word, I live in San Francisco, shouldn't I be developing some technological solution that will save the world?? I am loathe to close off any possibilities, but could probably do with a bit more focus in the short term...more soon.Monday, December 12, 2005, 02:42 PM - Politics, Friends
I got this request for help from a friend in New Orleans - he's appealing for funds to rebuild a school there - and of course it's the simple local institutions that help create true community, and that must be revivied to ensure that New Orleans residents a home to return to.
;)
Here's their appeal:
The International School of Louisiana (ISL) opened six years ago and with a mission of providing children of all backgrounds a challenging language-immersion (Spanish and French) curriculum with a
focus on global citizenship. Many believed ISL was the best elementary school in New Orleans before Katrina, and its survival is, in a small way, crucial to the city's success.
As the first and only one of three Orleans Parish-based public schools to resume operation after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, ISL has demonstrated the resilience to reinstate the quality learning environment our children enjoyed before the storms. The job will not be easy, but we have the tools to make it happen: talented, dedicated administrators and faculty, and families devoted to restoring ISL to its former vitality and promise.
Currently, ISL is operating in a small church building west of New Orleans, in Kenner, LA; but we plan to return to Orleans Parish. We are
working with the School Board to obtain a building, but we will need to pay for renovations ourselves.
What ISL needs is money: resources to ensure that the school can afford to make the changes that will be required to move into a larger school
building in the City of New Orleans. The families of ISL have set a goal of $100,000 by December 31st.
If you can help us put those resources together with a contribution of your own, it will go to very good use and will be greatly appreciated.
We're trying to get as many $100 donations as we can, and anything you could give would be a great help.
ISL is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization, and you may contribute securely online by visiting the ISL web page (where can also read more about the school): [/url] http://www.isl-edu.org .
For ongoing updates on Katrina-related issues:
Katrina Action
Thursday, December 8, 2005, 02:08 PM - Politics
Have you read Harold Pinter's Nobel Speech? Good carpet-calling for American militarism. And it's great that he incorporates the historical perspective - reminding us how even when all of the terrible things this country did in Central America were happening, nobody cared -
"Even while it was happening it
wasn't happening. It didn't matter. It was of no interest."
But I really don't believe it's only that people are unaware; everyone on some level understands what we're doing in Iraq. We exist in a world with a serious lack of empathy. Once some people get all the facts, they change their views - but it's not like our quest for world domination is really under wraps, as much as it's dressed up in 'spreading democracy' - nor has it been many times in our national history. As one learns in public health practice, it takes more than knowledge to change behavior. We all benefit from the spoils, so there's little incentive to raise hell. To return to the beginning of Pinter's speech, things ARE simultaneously true and false - it's part of an internally conflicted reality that we may be both creating democratic change in Iraq while fundamentally destabilizing and damaging Iraqi society.
I think he's wrong here:
"The cushion may be suffocating your intelligence and your critical faculties but it's very comfortable. This does not apply of course to the 40 million people living below the poverty line..."
Because it DOES apply to the poor in the U.S.- we've gotten rid of many of the horrible things that happen to people in most of the world (infant mortality, infectious disease) (which is real positive change) so even people who lack don't have SO much less that they're ready to take on the system. Look at the extreme poor in New Orleans - everyone somehow still had a TV, even if they didn't have a car in which to drive away.
I'm of course glad Pinter made his speech but I think it's the underlying ambiguity of our national project, not just the language used to describe it, that's the issue.
Then again, I'm not a writer...
Wednesday, December 7, 2005, 06:11 PM - Sex, Politics
I don't know many republicans. I've had a couple of contrarian science-guy libertarians in my black book, maybe. But I met this man the other week, and of course because I was in SF I had no reason to suspect. Now I've made out with him (more than once, post-disclosure) and I'm having to ponder the previously unimaginable question of what one would do if one actually LIKED making out with a Republican. Is it morally indefensible? Just plan foolish? Apparently I am determined to truly test the limits of my romantic idealism. I know Leslie comes from a happpy, mixed (sane/insane) marriage, though it's always seemed like an untenable arrangement to me. Let's not forget that the last person I dated had the most impeccable political credentials and yet was a selfish nightmare...so perhaps a paradoxical response is just what's called for? Wednesday, November 30, 2005, 07:14 PM - Politics
CLEMENCY DENIED: Well, not a surprise after the tone of debate this weekend, but still a disappointment and a lost opportunity. Idealistic me thought clemency could still be about mercy or redemption not 'the facts of the case' and political calculus. The courts decided the facts; this should have been a moral decision, not a pragmatic one - not that I should expect much morality from our governor...read his denial of clemency here.
And, um, where were the Jesse and Joan and all those other protestors two weeks ago, when it might have made a difference?
Update: Mark Leno has introduced a bill (AB 1121) The California Moratorium on Executions Act that would halt Tookie's execution while the new bipartisan Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice consdiers problems in CA's death penalty system. Please do all you can to support the bill. More info at: ACLU Northern California Death Penalty Project
Saturday I went to San Quentin for a protest of the upcoming (mid-December) execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips and now transformed into a peacemaking children's book author. Snoop showed up and spoke briefly about how meeting with Tookie had made him change the way he thought about his influence on young people - sadly I don't think they talked about feminism and his impact on young women, but even a little modulation of the gangster ethos from one of its most prolific hiphop practitioners could make some positive change...
Either way, we shouldn't be killing anyone in San Quentin. Check out the Save Tookie website and write to Arnold requesting clemency.
Friday, November 18, 2005, 06:41 PM - Politics, Technology
So yesterday I wrote a conference proposal for dotOrganize - a social change technology initiative that I've been helping to get off the ground (find out more about that here), and I was proud of myself for crafting something with actual measurable objectives - x # of new collaborative projects, x# of people connected for ongoing peer support. It made me wonder how I've gotten this far in life without attending more conferences that had a point. Can we justify the environmental costs of travel to these kinds of events, when they tend to be so limited in their usefulness? In all the roles I've played in conferences and events (organizer, presenter, attendee), the worthwhile outcomes are the connections between people, not the content of the workshops. I tried to write something that would require actual work to be done, with real results - no doubt just one more example of my rampant idealism. I mean, I know it's important to meet new hotties that one can both make out and talk shop with, but I'd rather find them closer to home. Hopefully if we get this event funded, we'll find out if we can raise the bar...on all fronts.
OK, I lied, maybe it is sexy if Danah Boyd (who is clearly some sort of blog sage compared to my toddler status) is also writing about the challenges of making a good conference- especially in terms of limiting/ expanding social networks. Nice ideas about diversity of audience, and some support for my ideas about having attendees from multiple sectors at our planned event. I knew having all those great parties full of random people was preparing me for something...
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