Time out.

On a blogging siesta till grading and grades are done and my health gets better (two steps forward, one step back: it’s making me mental, as Ron Weasley would say).  I have a conference to go to at the end of next week on educating kids about the Holocaust and related issues, my first “social [...]

This week’s outrage(s) from Darfur, 11/29/07.

First, from Fortune magazine/CNN Money:
Good citizens speak out when they see injustice. Can good corporate citizens be expected to do the same?
That’s the uncomfortable question being raised by a human rights group called Dream for Darfur, which is asking sponsors of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to voice their opposition to China’s support for [...]

Your tax dollars at “work.”

Because those ever-vigilant immigration people obviously have nothing better to do…
Philadelphia, PA (Phila. Inquirer) Nov. 27 – Pedro and Salvacion Servano, Filipino immigrants facing deportation for misstating their marital status on visa applications, were placed yesterday under an order of supervision that restricts their movements but allows them to stay in this country, at least temporarily.
After [...]

Losing their direction.

The movie version of The Golden Compass is coming. And that means the fundies are crawling out from behind the woodwork, in all directions…
From our neighbors in the Great White North, we get this:
BURLINGTON, Ontario (AP) Nov. 22 – The award-winning fantasy novel The Golden Compass was pulled from an Ontario Catholic school district’s library [...]

Missed it by THAT much…

My beloved Iggles made a real slobber-knocking, nail-biter of a contest out of it, and proved what frauds those “oddsmakers” are, by almost beating the undefeated New England Patriots last night, in the most exciting game the Eagles have put together this year.  Final score: 31-28.  Running back Brian Westbrook was his usual awesome self, the [...]

Silencing the drums, before it’s too late.

Chris Hedges, writing in The Nation,  on the coming war with Iran:
I will not pay my income tax if we go to war with Iran. I realize this is a desperate and perhaps futile gesture. But an attack on Iran–which appears increasingly likely before the coming presidential election–will unleash a regional conflict of catastrophic proportions. [...]

“Peace” sure can cause problems.

This just makes me so… depressed.  I’ve included the whole article here, because if you don’t read the whole thing, you might not believe it, either.  Or maybe you would, given the state of the supposedly “adult” world.  Geez louise…
COCOA BEACH, Fla. (via Common Dreams) - Students at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School are waging a [...]

I think (t)he(y) just lost my vote.

Dennis Kucinich (and his wife) did, that is.  And that’s too bad.
Yes, I got myself all worked up earlier this year about supporting Dennis Kucinich’s quixotic campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.  When I first heard him, years ago, I thought he was, like, a shorter version of one of my heroes, Paul Wellstone.  [...]

Of course.

 
Perfect.  But I could have told you that…

When Black Friday comes…

… stay home. 
We have local stores here opening at 4:00 AM.  That means a LOT of local workers, most of whom make minimum wage, are being told they must get up even earlier to work a very long work day.  Some stores are opening at MIDNIGHT on Friday.  This is, frankly, ridiculous.
Dear Ms. and Mr. [...]

Your weekly dose of outrage from Darfur, Thanksgiving Day edition.

In case you’ve forgotten.  Some of us haven’t.
BEIJING (AP) Nov. 21 – A joint peacekeeping force planned for Darfur remains threatened by political deadlock and a shortage of equipment, the head of U.N. peacekeeping said Wednesday.
Jean-Marie Guehenno said only a “strong, robust” force stood a chance of making a difference in Darfur, given the Sudanese [...]

Thankful.

For my health (now that it’s returning)… for my wonderful family, who still love me in spite of all the crap I’ve put them through… for my wonderful job, with talented and dedicated and energetic colleagues and fabulous students… for my faith and my Friends… for being alive now, in this time, when so many things are [...]

Happy (rock & roll) birthday.

Happy birthday to Bjork, born November 21, 1965.
I love this song, and this video.  She’s mad genius, as my kids would say…

A not-so beautiful mind.

          THAT explains it.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) Nov. 20 – People who get migraines have structural differences in their brains notably in the cortex area that processes pain and other sensory information from the body, scientists said on Monday.
The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Neurology, said it is unclear whether these brain differences [...]

So much for that.

Back to blogging again, after a month or so away from it.
You KNEW I wouldn’t stay away, right?  I just won’t be posting as often, especially for the next week or two, as 1.) I have been VERY sick for the last three weeks (still not altogether well yet, but getting there) and 2.) it’s [...]

MVP! Etc.

Jimmy Rollins – of the Philadelphia Phillies – was named Most Valuable Player of the National League today.  No one deserves this more.
And I’ll be back here blogging again shortly.  Please stay tuned.