synful musings

Bah humbug

2009-10-30T16:33:06Z

I thought I'd mention that I'm reading LJ for the first time in at least 2 if not 3 weeks. It's had me pissed off because a lot of what I read is feeds and their feed puller has been in the toilet for over a month and has had me pissed. So don't be surprised to see comments from me for things you don't remember writing anymore. ;D

50 random things

2009-09-24T16:53:58Z

Blame tlblase:

1. What time did you get up this morning?
I levered myself off the couch at 7:30.

2. How do you like your steak?
Medium-well to well done. Too many pictures of stuff I learned in Microbiology etc. dance before my eyes when I see pink meat. :-p

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
"Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" Good movie! Made me hungry. lol And had me thinking "I can haz cheezburger?!" :D :D :D

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Good grief. I am a t.v. addict, so I don't think I could choose just one. I do watch a lot of supernatural or scifi-type shows, but I HATE reality shows. The only ones I watch are The Biggest Loser and Amazing Race.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I like where I live now. Plenty of places I'd like to visit.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
A banana and oatmeal.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Mexican/Tex-Mex

8. What foods do you dislike?
Anything with cheese unless it's only a minor ingredient.

9. Favorite Place to Eat?
I like Jason's Deli or a local place named Good Time Charlie's if I want greasy food STAT. :D

10. Favorite dressing?
Italian or vinaigrettes.

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Honda Civic, the old girl.

12. What are your favorite clothes?
Jeans and a t-shirt.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Japan, New Zealand, China, India, Thailand...

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
There is no cup.

15. Where would you want to retire?
Right where I am.

16. Favorite time of day?
Around 1AM. Life-long night owl. It generally means I'm always sleep-deprived if I'm not on holidays.

17. Where were you born?
San Antonio, TX.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
None, really. I used to watch basketball and football, but it seems that it takes an age to finish a game now compared to 20 years ago, so I waste time on FB instead. ;)

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
No one because I am not tagging anyone.

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
No one because I am not tagging anyone.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
I don't think anyone will respond.

22. Bird watcher?
Somewhat. Not avidly, though. But I do enjoy it the rare times I've been out in the wilderness.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
A night person. If my day could be from 9 or 10AM to 2AM, I would be in hog heaven.

24. Do you have any pets?
Yes, one miniature adult cat named Anna.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
Um. I finished a work project 4-6 weeks sooner than my trainer had told everyone it would be finished. I've gotten to work daily with primates for about 3 months now and that's awesome and rare. They're my so-called kids. :)

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
I think I always wanted to be a doctor. Then I realized I don't have the discipline or desire to kill myself studying for a decade to end up with crazy hours and debt out the ass. Instead I went into the research field where life is much more flexible and could get by with just a bachelor's and experience.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
I can't particularly think of anything.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
I like both.

29. Are you married?
Yes.

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes, although a decade ago I got into daily arguments with my brother because I didn't want to. :D

31. Been in a car accident?
Yes.

32. Any pet peeves?
There's too many to blame, but the underlying causes to most of them I think would be willful ignorance and selfish behavior (me first and screw the rest of you!).

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
All the meats. :D Almost anything except olives and pineapples. :-p

34. Favorite Flower?
Roses, really any color, because I like them more for their scent.

35. Favorite ice cream?
I'm leaning towards rocky road, but mint chocolate chip is a strong contender. :)

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
I'm not going as often to fast food places, but I would say just from convenient location to home I'd say Quizno's or Sonic.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Once.

38. From whom did you get your last email?
I think it was a comment from Julio to one of my FB links.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
I can't think of any. I'm not a shopper. Actually, I hate shopping. I treat shopping, be it for things to wear or things to eat, as a Special Ops mission. Get in, get out A.S.A.P.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Not really. I'm not a spontaneous kind of person. I plan a lot, down to looking up maps and whatnot. Not having time to do that if going somewhere I'm not familiar annoys me.

41. Like your job?
I do now. It's different and I don't have to spend a lot of time with human primates. ;)

42. Broccoli?
I've learned to live with it.

43. What was your favorite vacation?
I've been on very few vacations, mostly due to being baroque. My favorite for its solitude and grandness was visiting west Texas for my 30th birthday. Amazing how many stars are out there. I've always wanted to be an amateur astronomist, but living in the city doesn't lend itself to that...

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Not including the husband, that would have to be Vanessa and Maria on Sunday.

45. What are you listening to right now?
The vent right over my head blowing AC when it's only 60 degrees. grr.

46. What is your favorite color?
I like dark, cool colors: blue, purple, green. And black, of course.

47. How many tattoos do you have?
None. I've considered getting one, but have never really been overly excited about it.

48. Coffee Drinker?
Hell no. It's way too bitter for me. The smell alone makes my stomach turn.

49. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
None.

50. What time did you finish this quiz?
Right now.

Inhumane health care for American Natives

2009-06-17T20:42:35Z

PROMISES, PROMISES: Indian health care's victims

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 15, 8:56 am ET

CROW AGENCY, Mont. – Ta'Shon Rain Little Light, a happy little girl who loved to dance and dress up in traditional American Indian clothes, had stopped eating and walking. She complained constantly to her mother that her stomach hurt.

When Stephanie Little Light took her daughter to the Indian Health Service clinic in this wind-swept and remote corner of Montana, they told her the 5-year-old was depressed.

Ta'Shon's pain rapidly worsened and she visited the clinic about 10 more times over several months before her lung collapsed and she was airlifted to a children's hospital in Denver. There she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, confirming the suspicions of family members.

A few weeks later, a charity sent the whole family to Disney World so Ta'Shon could see Cinderella's Castle, her biggest dream. She never got to see the castle, though. She died in her hotel bed soon after the family arrived in Florida.

"Maybe it would have been treatable," says her great-aunt, Ada White, as she stoically recounts the last few months of Ta'Shon's short life. Stephanie Little Light cries as she recalls how she once forced her daughter to walk when she was in pain because the doctors told her it was all in the little girl's head.

Ta'Shon's story is not unique in the Indian Health Service system, which serves almost 2 million American Indians in 35 states.

On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is "don't get sick after June," when the federal dollars run out. It's a sick joke, and a sad one, because it's sometimes true, especially on the poorest reservations where residents cannot afford health insurance. Officials say they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.

Wealthier tribes can supplement the federal health service budget with their own money. But poorer tribes, often those on the most remote reservations, far away from city hospitals, are stuck with grossly substandard care. The agency itself describes a "rationed health care system."

The sad fact is an old fact, too.

The U.S. has an obligation, based on a 1787 agreement between tribes and the government, to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations. But that promise has not been kept. About one-third more is spent per capita on health care for felons in federal prison, according to 2005 data from the health service.

In Washington, a few lawmakers have tried to bring attention to the broken system as Congress attempts to improve health care for millions of other Americans. But tightening budgets and the relatively small size of the American Indian population have worked against them.

"It is heartbreaking to imagine that our leaders in Washington do not care, so I must believe that they do not know," Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in his annual state of Indian nations' address in February.

___

When it comes to health and disease in Indian country, the statistics are staggering.

American Indians have an infant death rate that is 40 percent higher than the rate for whites. They are twice as likely to die from diabetes, 60 percent more likely to have a stroke, 30 percent more likely to have high blood pressure and 20 percent more likely to have heart disease.

American Indians have disproportionately high death rates from unintentional injuries and suicide, and a high prevalence of risk factors for obesity, substance abuse, sudden infant death syndrome, teenage pregnancy, liver disease and hepatitis.

While campaigning on Indian reservations, presidential candidate Barack Obama cited this statistic: After Haiti, men on the impoverished Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota have the lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere.

Those on reservations qualify for Medicare and Medicaid coverage. But a report by the Government Accountability Office last year found that many American Indians have not applied for those programs because of lack of access to the sign-up process; they often live far away or lack computers. The report said that some do not sign up because they believe the government already has a duty to provide them with health care.

The office of minority health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Indian Health Service, notes on its Web site that American Indians "frequently contend with issues that prevent them from receiving quality medical care. These issues include cultural barriers, geographic isolation, inadequate sewage disposal and low income."

Indeed, Indian health clinics often are ill-equipped to deal with such high rates of disease, and poor clinics do not have enough money to focus on preventive care. The main problem is a lack of federal money. American Indian programs are not a priority for Congress, which provided the health service with $3.6 billion this budget year.

Officials at the health service say they can't legally comment on specific cases such as Ta'Shon's. But they say they are doing the best they can with the money they have — about 54 cents on the dollar they need.

One of the main problems is that many clinics must "buy" health care from larger medical facilities outside the health service because the clinics are not equipped to handle more serious medical conditions. The money that Congress provides for those contract health care services is rarely sufficient, forcing many clinics to make "life or limb" decisions that leave lower-priority patients out in the cold.

"The picture is much bigger than what the Indian Health Service can do," says Doni Wilder, an official at the agency's headquarters in Rockville, Md., and the former director of the agency's Northwestern region. "Doctors every day in our organization are making decisions about people not getting cataracts removed, gall bladders fixed."

On the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, Indian Health Service staff say they are trying to improve conditions. They point out recent improvements to their clinic, including a new ambulance bay. But in interviews on the reservation, residents were eager to share stories about substandard care.

Rhonda Sandland says she couldn't get help for her advanced frostbite until she threatened to kill herself because of the pain — several months after her first appointment. She says she was exposed to temperatures at more than 50 below, and her hands turned purple. She eventually couldn't dress herself, she says, and she visited the clinic over and over again, sometimes in tears.

"They still wouldn't help with the pain so I just told them that I had a plan," she said. "I was going to sleep in my car in the garage."

She says the clinic then decided to remove five of her fingers, but a visiting doctor from Bismarck, N.D., intervened, giving her drugs instead. She says she eventually lost the tops of her fingers and the top layer of skin.

The same clinic failed to diagnose Victor Brave Thunder with congestive heart failure, giving him Tylenol and cough syrup when he told a doctor he was uncomfortable and had not slept for several days. He eventually went to a hospital in Bismarck, which immediately admitted him. But he had permanent damage to his heart, which he attributed to delays in treatment. Brave Thunder, 54, died in April while waiting for a heart transplant.

"You can talk to anyone on the reservation and they all have a story," says Tracey Castaway, whose sister, Marcella Buckley, said she was in $40,000 of debt because of treatment for stomach cancer.

Buckley says she visited the clinic for four years with stomach pains and was given a variety of diagnoses, including the possibility of a tapeworm and stress-related stomachaches. She was eventually told she had Stage 4 cancer that had spread throughout her body.

Ron His Horse is Thunder, chairman of the Standing Rock tribe, says his remote reservation on the border between North Dakota and South Dakota can't attract or maintain doctors who know what they are doing. Instead, he says, "We get old doctors that no one else wants or new doctors who need to be trained."

His Horse is Thunder often travels to Washington to lobby for more money and attention, but he acknowledges that improvements are tough to come by.

"We are not one congruent voting bloc in any one state or area," he said. "So we don't have the political clout."

___

On another reservation 200 miles north of Standing Rock, Ardel Baker, a member of North Dakota's Three Affiliated Tribes, knows all too well the truth behind the joke about money running out.

Baker went to her local clinic with severe chest pains and was sent by ambulance to a hospital more than an hour away. It wasn't until she got there that she noticed she had a note attached to her, written on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services letterhead.

"Understand that Priority 1 care cannot be paid for at this time due to funding issues," the letter read. "A formal denial letter has been issued."

She lived, but she says she later received a bill for more than $5,000.

"That really epitomizes the conflict that we have," says Robert McSwain, deputy director of the Indian Health Service. "We have to move the patient out, it's an emergency. We need to get them care."

It was too late for Harriet Archambault, according to the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who has told her story more than once in the Senate.

Dorgan says Archambault died in 2007 after her medicine for hypertension ran out and she couldn't get an appointment to refill it at the nearest clinic, 18 miles away. She drove to the clinic five times and failed to get an appointment before she died.

Dorgan's swath of the country is the hardest hit in terms of Indian health care. Many reservations there are poor, isolated, devoid of economic development opportunities and subject to long, harsh winters — making it harder for the health service to recruit doctors to practice there.

While the agency overall has an 18 percent vacancy rate for doctors, that rate jumps to 38 percent for the region that includes the Dakotas. That region also has a 29 percent vacancy rate for dentists, and officials and patients report there is almost no preventive dental care. Routine procedures such as root canals are rarely seen here. If there's a problem with a tooth, it is simply pulled.

Dorgan has led efforts in Congress to bring attention to the issue. After many years of talking to frustrated patients at home in North Dakota, he says he believes the problems are systemic within the embattled agency: incompetent staffers are transferred instead of fired; there are few staff to handle complaints; and, in some cases, he says, there is a culture of intimidation within field offices charged with overseeing individual clinics.

The senator has also probed waste at the agency.

A 2008 GAO report, along with a follow-up report this year, accused the Indian Health Service of losing almost $20 million in equipment, including vehicles, X-ray and ultrasound equipment and numerous laptops. The agency says some of the items were later found.

Dorgan persuaded Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to consider an American Indian health improvement bill last year, and the bill passed in the Senate. It would have directed Congress to provide about $35 billion for health programs over the next 10 years, including better access to health care services, screening and mental health programs. A similar bill died in the House, though, after it became entangled in an abortion dispute.

The growing political clout of some remote reservations may bring some attention to health care woes. Last year's Democratic presidential primary played out in part in the Dakotas and Montana, where both Obama and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first presidential candidates to aggressively campaign on American Indian reservations there. Both politicians promised better health care.

Obama's budget for 2010 includes an increase of $454 million, or about 13 percent, over this year. Also, the stimulus bill he signed this year provided for construction and improvements to clinics.

___

Back in Montana, Ta'Shon's parents are doing what they can to bring awareness to the issue. They have prepared a slideshow with pictures of her brief life; she is seen dressed up in traditional regalia she wore for dance competitions with a bright smile on her face. Family members approached Dorgan at a Senate field hearing on American Indian health care after her death in 2006, hoping to get the little girl's story out.

"She was a gift, so bright and comforting," says Ada White of her niece, whom she calls her granddaughter according to Crow tradition. "I figure she was brought here for a reason."

Nearby, the clinic on the Crow reservation seems mostly empty, aside from the crowded waiting room. The hospital is down several doctors, a shortage that management attributes recruitment difficulties and the remote location.

Diane Wetsit, a clinical coordinator, said she finds it difficult to think about the congressional bailout for Wall Street.

"I have a hard time with that when I walk down the hallway and see what happens here," she says.

Iran, China, Economy, Health Care, et al!

2009-06-15T19:25:50Z

Yeah, the U.S. doesn't actually want a moderate in Iran because then how can there be justification for interfering in another country if there isn't some scary guy running the show?

Why the White House Views Iran's Election as a Diplomatic Coup

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On its way to Banana Republic-hood:
China's US bond holdings drop first time in 11 months in April

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Mainland China's holdings of US Treasury bonds fell for the first time in 11 months to 763.5 billion dollars in April, US government data showed Monday.

The April figure, a drop from March's 767.9 billion dollars, was the lowest since the holdings started building up in June 2008, the US Treasury said in its monthly international capital data report.

The figures do not include the holdings of Hong Kong, China's special administration region, which climbed to 80.9 billion dollars in April from 78.9 billion dollars the previous month.

But the latest statistics showed China sitting comfortably as the top holder of Treasury bonds despite years of trying to diversify its reserves away from the US dollar.

Japan is the second-largest holder of US bonds, at 685.9 billion dollars in April.

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Yes, but what about the real people in charge?
Yoo, Bush Administration Lawyer, Must Face Torture Lawsuit

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Speaking of crazy Bush supporters:
American arrives in Germany with mini arsenal

Neighborhood Watch

2009-06-12T19:56:45Z

This would never work in the U.S. in a million years! :D I wish it would, though.

Tokyo residents fight burglars with flower power

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Tokyo district plagued with burglaries has turned to planting flowers to beautify its streets and help stamp out crime.

"'Operation Flower' began about three years ago. By planting flowers facing the street, more people will be keeping an eye out while taking care of the flowers or watering them," said Kiyotaka Ohyagi, a Suginami City official.

"The best way to prevent crime is to have more people on the lookout."

Suginami, with a population of 528,800, saw a record 1,710 break-ins in 2002.

When a neighborhood watch group found that there were fewer burglaries in buildings on flower-lined streets, Suginami decided to kick off Operation Flower and asked volunteers to plant seeds on side streets and in front of their homes.

The flowers are part of a wider crime prevention campaign. The district also has 9,600 volunteer patrollers and 200 security cameras set up in areas where there are frequent break-ins. It also emails crime information daily to residents.

Suginami says its efforts have paid off, with the number of burglaries falling to 390 in 2008, down almost 80 percent from 2002.

"Our residents are very conscientious about preventing crime, and they are very active," Ohyagi said.

(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

65 Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked

2009-05-24T02:28:42Z

65 Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked

you know the rules. tag people in this note (including the person who tagged you!) to learn more about people. Also, try to tag people who you've tagged in other notes, sometimes you learn things in new notes that you didn't know before about them.......

1. First thing you wash in the shower? face

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? I rarely wear a hoodie, but I really like a bright red one I got in Canada that has "Canada" and a white maple leaf embroidered on it.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yes. He's kinda my husband.

4. Do you plan outfits? Not really. Around here the most planning I do concerns how hot/humid it'll be.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Bored. I'm doing this meme, aren't I?

6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red? The handles on a pair of scissors.

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? I rarely remember dreams, so I can't think of any off the top of my head.

8. Did you meet anybody new today? No.

9. What are you craving right now? A Baskin-Robbins milk shake.

10. Do you floss? Yes. My teeth are too screwed up to not to.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Er...

12. Are you emotional? Sometimes, but I try not to show it.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? Probably, but I'm not 7 anymore so...

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Once it warms a little, yes.

15. Do you like your hair? Now I do. :D Up until I was in college I did so many horrible things to it because I didn't like that it was straight as a pin. Now I live with it. :)

16. Do you like yourself? Yes.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Only if he left the SS and personal chefs behind.

18. What are you listening to right now? The whir of my ceiling fan.

19. Are your parents strict? Yes. Which is why I haven't spoken to her in nearly 6 years.

20. Would you go sky diving? Nope. Only if the plane was falling out of the sky.

21. Do you like cottage cheese? Not particularly. I tolerate small curd cottage cheese. It's a texture thing.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Yes. The most recent was Jeff Corwin from Animal Planet fame.

23. Do you rent movies often? Rent? Yes. I've had a Netflix membership for, I think, 3+ yrs.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? No. Just a whole lot of random.

25. How many countries have you visited? Two whole countries and they shouldn't count since they were obligations.

26. Have you made a prank phone call? Before the days of Caller ID and *69, yes.

27. Ever been on a train? Yes! I loved taking the train to Canada! So much room, so little stress!

28. Brown or white eggs? Either. I don't care.

29.Do you have a cell-phone? Yes.

30. Do you use chap stick? Nope.

31. Do you own a gun? No.

32. Can you use chop sticks? No.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? Mostly me. Late at night the husband will return from work.

34. Are you too forgiving? Not really. I'm a pretty judgemental person. I try to curb that, though.

35. Ever been in love? Yes.

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? One is going to spend the day with me and the other I'm not sure what she's doing. I should call her like I said I would...

37. Ever have cream puffs? If those are what I'm thinking of, yes.

38. Last time you cried? Er. I don't remember. I'm not much of a crier.

39. What was the last question you asked? "Are you having trouble loading VM too?"

40. Favorite time of the year? Spring, I suppose.

41. Do you have any tattoos? No.

42. Are you sarcastic? Incredibly.

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? Part of it. I still need to get around to it from my Netflix queue.

44. Ever walked into a wall? Not that I can remember...

45. Favorite color? Cobalt/indigo. That blue-purple color.

46. Have you ever slapped someone? Yes. She tried to slap me back. Twice.

47. Is your hair curly? No.

48. What was the last CD you bought? Yikes. It's been years since I bought a CD. I couldn't say.

49. Do looks matter? It shouldn't, but it does.

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? No.

51. Is your phone bill sky high? No. Cheap calling cards to call Canada and free national coverage to call the best friend. I don't have anyone else to call, sadly.

52. Do you like your life right now? It's hella better than it was a year ago, that's for sure. Actually, now that I think of it, that was around one of the times I remember doing some crying, so that answers that earlier question.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on? Never. No TVs allowed in the bedroom. I need silence and darkness to get sleep.

54. Can you handle the truth? I try to always give it, so I always expect it.

55. Do you have good vision? Average. I'm ever so slightly near-sighted.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? Yes. I'm thinking of those people from a year ago.

57. How often do you talk on the phone? Rarely. I talk to Shane most of the time if I do and that's usually along the vein of "what time were you getting off work again?" So. Call me people!

58. The last person you held hands with? Shane. I don't hold hands with anyone else.

59. What are you wearing? Khakis and a bright orange, embroidered blouse.

60.What is your favorite animal? There's so many I like. I did consider being a vet tech... I now work with primates, so I guess those are my favorite at the moment. :)

61. Where was your default picture taken at? It was taken in the living room of our old apartment. I'd recently gotten a Bunsen doll to go with my Beaker doll someone else had gotten and Shane thought I should don my work labcoat and take a fun pic. :)

62. Can you hula hoop? No.

63. Do you have a job? Yes.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought? Uh. I don't usually buy things. I did pay for dinner last night, so I guess you can say I bought dinner.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window? lol Yes. There have been times I've forgotten my key or reflexively set the door to lock even though I was just going out to get mail. So yeah. Rather difficult for me, too, between being short and round and having very high windows. :D

ACLU says school censored student's Milk report

2009-05-21T20:42:20Z

ACLU says school censored student's Milk report
By LISA LEFF

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday threatened to sue a San Diego County school that refused to let a student present a report on slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk until her classmates got their parents' permission to hear it.

David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU of San Diego County, said the principal of Mt. Woodson Elementary School in Ramona violated the free speech rights of 6th-grader Natalie Jones, who was the only student in her class prevented from giving an in-class presentation.

Principal Theresa Grace concluded last month that the subject of the girl's project triggered a district policy requiring parents to be notified in writing before their children are exposed to lessons dealing with sex, according to Blair-Loy and Natalie's mother.

After the principal sent letters to alert parents about the "sensitive topic," Natalie was allowed to give her 12-page PowerPoint report during the May 8 lunch recess, but not in class, Blair-Loy said. Eight of the 13 students in her class attended, he said.

In a letter to the Ramona Unified District on Wednesday, the ACLU demanded that school officials apologize to Natalie and clarify its sex education policy. It also wants the girl to be given the chance to present her biographical account of Milk's life and death in class.

"It's not about sex, it's not about sex education. It's a presentation about a historical figure who happened to be gay," Blair-Loy said.

The school district superintendent did not immediately respond to a telephone call and e-mail from The Associated Press.

Milk became one of the first gay men elected to political office in the United States in 1977 when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was assassinated a year later along with Mayor George Moscone. Former supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the killings.

A bill passed recently by the California Legislature would establish Milk's May 22 birthday as an annual "day of significance" in the state, a move designed to encourage schools to discuss his career and legacy.

Bonnie Jones said her daughter was inspired to choose Milk as the subject of her research report after seeing the movie "Milk," which earned Academy Awards for actor Sean Penn and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

"First my daughter got called into the principal's office as if she were in some kind of trouble, and then they treated her presentation like it was something icky," Jones said in a statement.

"Harvey Milk was an elected official in this state and an important person in history," Jones added. "To say my daughter's presentation is sex education because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong."

Appeal Court curbs police right to photograph protestors

2009-05-21T20:40:30Z

Appeal Court curbs police right to photograph protestors
21 May 2009
By PA Mediapoint

A legal challenge over the power of the police to photograph peaceful protesters succeeded at the Court of Appeal today.

It is a legal decision which could also curb the actions of Met Police Forward Intelligence Teams which regularly photograph journalists covering protests.

Two out of three judges agreed there had been a disproportionate interference in the human right to privacy when police surveillance teams photographed a campaigner and followed him.

The Metropolitan Police was ordered to destroy photographs taken of Andrew Wood, a member of the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), when he was protesting in London in April 2005.

The order was stayed for a month to allow the force, which must also pay the legal costs, a chance to apply to take the case to the House of Lords.

A spokesman for human rights group Liberty, which backed Wood's case, said the decision could have implications for future use of photography by the police - a tactic which it said was being used more frequently, particularly when policing protests.

Wood, media co-ordinator for CAAT, was photographed by a Met surveillance unit in April 2005 as he emerged from the Millennium Hotel in London, where he had attended the annual general meeting of Reed Elsevier PLC, parent company of Spearhead Exhibitions Ltd which runs trade fairs for the arms industry.

He gained access to the meeting by lawfully buying a share in the company - he has no criminal convictions and has never been arrested as a result of any campaigning activities.

Wood, who was represented by Liberty, complained that the police took and kept photographs of him and that these actions were unlawful and violated Article 8 - the right to respect for private and family life - under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Justice McCombe dismissed his case in May last year, but today the Court of Appeal allowed his appeal.

Lord Justice Dyson said in his decision today that police were concerned the protest might become a problem and sent 24 officers, plus an intelligence gathering unit, to the event.

Police were ordered to photograph Mr Wood, from Oxford, after they said he was seen talking to known activists with a history of violent protest after the meeting. Mr Wood disputed he had talked to them.

But Lord Justice Dyson said that within a few days the police must have known Mr Wood was of good character and there could no longer be any justification for keeping the photographs.

Taking and keeping the pictures was in pursuit of a legitimate aim, namely the prevention of disorder or crime or protection of others.

Lord Justice Dyson said: "The retention by the police of photographs taken of persons who have not committed an offence, and who are not even suspected of having committed an offence, is always a serious matter."

"The only justification advanced by the police for retaining the photographs for more than a few days after the meeting was the possibility that the appellant might attend and commit an offence at the Defence Systems and Equipment International fair several months later.

"But in my judgment, even if due allowance is made for the margin of operational discretion, that justification does not bear scrutiny ..."

It was for the police to justify their interference with Mr Wood's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and "they have failed to do so".

Lord Collins of Mapesbury, who also allowed the appeal, said: "There was a very substantial police presence. When I first read the papers on this appeal, I was struck by the chilling effect on the exercise of lawful rights such a deployment would have ..."

"It is plain that the last word has yet to be said on the implications for civil liberties of the taking and retention of images in the modern surveillance society.

"This is not the case for the exploration of the wider, and very serious, human rights issues which arise when the State obtains and retains the images of persons who have committed no offence and are not suspected of having committed any offence."

Lord Justice Laws, who dismissed the appeal, said he acknowledged that Mr Wood was of good character, that his link with the targeted protesters was disputed, and that the reason for keeping the photographs was to monitor his conduct at the trade fair scheduled for months later.

"But that was a legitimate aim, in service of which the images were kept," he said.

"For my part I find it impossible to categorise what was done as outwith the margin of operational discretion which, it must surely be acknowledged, the police possess in such circumstances."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the force welcomed the legal and public scrutiny, and had to held accountable.

He said the Met rigorously defended the case because the tactic of overt photography was "truly valuable" in public order policing and policing in general.

"Overt photography is a valuable intelligence-gathering tool allowing officers to build up a clear picture of who is involved in planning and organising any criminal behaviour or disorder at demonstrations," he said.

"It provides officers with evidence that can be used post event to arrest and convict for a range of offences."

Chief Superintendent Ian Thomas, who is responsible for the Met's public order branch, said: "The Metropolitan Police upholds people's right to lawful and peaceful demonstration, a right that we strive to fulfil.

"However, we also have to uphold the law. We know that some individuals and groups use the cover of protest to break the law and commit acts of disorder.

"Obviously that is unacceptable. It can endanger legitimate demonstrators and endanger and severely disrupt the public. We are duty bound to prevent that from happening.

"For our policing plan to be the most effective we need to have the fullest possible intelligence picture.

"Overt photography helps us build a picture of who is involved in planning and organising any potential disorder or crime. It may also provide us with evidence that would be beneficial to any legal proceedings.

"There is nothing secretive or covert about the way we do this, and this practice is very well known and understood in protester circles. The Metropolitan Police will continue to do everything necessary to maintain order on London's streets.

"The findings of this judgment provide a valuable set of guidelines for us to continue to work within and we are pleased that the Court of Appeal has found our use of overt photography to be lawful."

David Brin: Why Obama is Upping the Border Patrol

2009-05-20T19:07:54Z

This item wasn’t at the top of the news, but it did make page one of the Times: “Obama budget puts security first at the border - He'll ask Congress to help curb the flow of arms to Mexico before seeking any immigration reform.”

This is a complex topic, with some strange twists. But first, let me quote a forecast that I made, way back in December 08, in my “ Suggestions for the Obama Administration.” This one really deserves a spot in any Predictions Registry.

“If I seemed to lean a little "left" in some of my earlier missives criticizing a worldwide drift toward crony-aristocratism, and then to the right in supporting a repair of the U.S. military, and then left again by pushing the vital importance of citizen-level resilience... then prepare for another of my patented sudden veers! Because I believe the Obama Administration can, should... and will... act swiftly to regain control over the borders of the United States. In fact, I will lay heavy odds that he does it very soon.”

Although many sneered with doubt, alas, nobody had the guts to meet my bet (and offer of odds!) with real cash. Too bad, because President Obama has given high priority -- and budgetary support -- to regaining control over the borders of the United States, exactly when and as I expected. Let’s go back to my prediction:

”This may sound surprising, but it shouldn't, if you had been paying attention to one of the great ironies of the last 16 years -- one that lay in plain sight, largely unnoticed. As one of his first acts upon entering office, Bill Clinton doubled the number of field agents in the Border Patrol. And one of George W. Bush’s first endeavors was to savagely undercut that service.

“It sounds counter-intuitive, of course, and neither political party ever spoke up about it much. But the reasons are simple. Democrats like legal immigration, which results in lots of new voters and new union workers, while illegals drain resources, get embroiled (against their will) into crime, and prevent domestic programs from achieving full effectiveness. On the other hand, Republicans -- well, not your neighbors, but some influential people near the top of the party -- like access to pools of cheap, undocumented labor that won’t talk back. Only when border state citizens began getting riled did the GOP start talking tough about immigration. And talk, for the most part, is all they ever did.”

The correlation is now perfect. Democrats boost border patrol and enforcement, but hate talking about it, because much of their base is made up of people for whom generosity is a zealous canon. Hence, Obama needed an excuse, something to distract from his real reasons for regaining control at the border (reversing emphasis from illegal to legal immigration.) He found his excuse with the ongoing drug gang violence in Mexico. Blaming much of that chaos on U.S.-originating weaponry, he can claim that the new agents will be there foremost to stanch the southward flow of guns.

Now, the right wing punditocracy and blogosphere has been derisive -- and this time with some cause! The purported “statistics,” proving that most Mexican gang-guns came from the U.S. , are very weak and show signs of being cludged. Anyway, if the cash-rich mobs want guns, there are countless places to get them. So it’s a rationalization, all right.

But while Dobbs and Limbaugh & co. eagerly pounced on this discrepancy with ridicule, they have to be very careful about is not letting their audiences dwell too long or think too deeply about any one matter. They must keep up the rapid armwaving, pointing rapidly thither and yon, in order to distract Red America from connecting the dots. For if rural or conservative whites ever realize which party is always pragmatically better at defending our borders... or maintaining military readiness, or strengthening alliances, or creating a good climate for small businesses, or nurturing a strong economy... then it will be all over for the neoconservative-GOP shell game.

Limbaugh et. al. have to keep it all about simplistic strawmen and ideological stereotypes (e.g. after the most corrupt and wastrel administration of all time pummeled US capitalism nearly flat, scream that the new one is “socialist!”) Because, if the natural anti-authoritarianism of the people living in heartland “red” counties can ever turn away from reflex hatred of bureaucrats, long enough to rediscover Americans’ traditional distrust of fatcat aristocratic thieves, then... well... Rush Limbaugh will have to get a real job.

Even more important, genuine classic conservatives and libertarians will have a chance - at long last - to rescue their movement from the freakshow denizens who have hijacked it.

How Warm Are You?

2009-05-06T20:49:41Z

You Are Cold

You are as cold as they come, and frankly, you don't care at all.
As far as you're concerned, other people are a bother. What they think of you doesn't matter.

You are so detached from the world, you feel like you're seeing everything from the outside.
While it's good to have so much perspective, you may be missing out on the broader range of human emotions.

How Warm Are You?

Prank-calling "car warranty" telemarketing

2009-05-06T15:07:49Z

The Internet has smiled upon us again today with its collective brain power. Someone posted the following (some comments are a little NSFWish) at: http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/8i1u7/want_the_phone_number_to_the_your_cars_warranty/

(Maybe you can play this for them when you call them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vWm47yPLGc )

"So, Its nice to see that these companies are driving other people insane. Sernerio: You get a call stating that your car warranty is about to expire. You remove your number from their list. They call you back in less than a week and just keep calling. You try to *69 or hit callback on the caller ID and it ALWAYS says the number is disconnected yet they JUST called you from that number. Well ladies and gents Here are their REAL numbers (949) 475-9500 (800) 499-5711 I got these by bullshitting the rep that called me for 20 min. Please call them 20, 30, hell 50 times a day. Its what I did and finally the guy said "Look, we will take your number off our list just please stop calling here!" When you call...offer then a new home warranty."

ALSO:

"Found a way to get into their voicemails:

CALL 800-499-5711 and dial ext. 477 for an example.

extensions are from 301-490 or so, I think

NOTE FIRST: Save the messages, press 72 after every message you listen to. If you don't, they'll auto-delete.

DIRECTIONS: Okay, call 800-499-5711, press #, then the mailbox you want, and it's that fucking easy.

No fucking joke. Let's dig up as much as we can.

Edit: Press 84 for the time of the message and the callback number
SentientKhan may have found an address (below):
310 Commerce, Suite 150 (or 115) Irvine California 92602

Address Confirmed @ http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_cc2jwhp"

Edit:

Corporation
CREDEXX CORPORATION
Number: C2727671	Date Filed: 3/18/2005	Status: active
Jurisdiction: California
Address
310 COMMERCE STE 150
IRVINE, CA 92602
Agent for Service of Process
SHANE C STAFFORD
19200 VAN KARMAN AVE STE 400
IRVINE, CA 92612

Man. The Feds obviously need these kids on their payroll.

Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-04-21T06:02:59Z

18:23 @eddieizzard Today is my birthday. I choose cake! #

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I'm-bored-and-without-a-life meme

2009-04-18T02:53:37Z

WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW???
A house. I'm sick of the middle-aged landlady and her elderly mother waking me up hours before dawn with their incessant pacing. They don't work! Where do they go at 630AM?? Argh old people!

WHAT DO YOU MISS???
Partying with really smart people.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION???
Hrm. Not sure. I guess I'd be pretty upset if I lost some of my jewelry or something happened to some of my older stuffed animals, all because I've had them a long time.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SMELL???
Cookies!

DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC???
Not in the usual way. I have had a claustrophobic attack once when I was in an MRI machine, but I was taking part in a study and it wasn't the first time I was in one nor were the scans short ones.

DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK???
No. I wish I could get my bedroom dark but between the beacon from hell from the apt house next door and the piercing unblocked sun at dawn, I'd welcome the blessed dark if I could achieve it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOGNE / PERFUME???
I like a lot of perfumes, but my nose tends to like expensive anything it seems. Not that I know the prices of any, but it seems whenever I pick out a scent I like it's always the most expensive. :) Personally I buy a lot of perfumes from Avon and never use them up. Oops. Right now I have a whole assortment: Haiku, Instinct, Rare Pearls, Far Away, Dreamlife, Imari, an ancient bottle of Eternity, Bath & Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom Eau de toilette, and Body Shop perfume oils White Musk and Japanese Musk. (I told you I have too many!)

COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS???
Neither. I believe in the power of sleep, 7-8 hours preferably, but not always achieved. Besides, coffee is repulsive and energy drinks look scary and probably aren't anywhere near to good for you.

IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE???
Cookies!

WHO IS THE LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU MAD???
Whoever's idea it was that believed they would be short-handed this morning at the necropsy and made me drive all over Creation for no good reason.

DO YOU SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE???
Yes, Spanish mostly fluently and smatterings of Chinese and Japanese.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU???
You mean besides coming right out and saying just that??

SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED
0. Because I wanted to be contrary.

BLONDES OR BRUNETTES???
Er. Who's looking at their hair?? heh

WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL OFTEN???
The husband's. Because he's pretty much the only person I call.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO ANOTHER COUNTRY???
Technically, yes. Two. I've never left the continent, though.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN???
In a hospital, duh!

FIRST JOB???
Technically, as a summer temp at the U where I work now. A regular teen's job would've been as a cashier at a Woolworth's the summer after I graduated from h.s. I was in the towels and bedsheets department. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST???
Sheesh. I don't know. I don't think I usually get complimented by anyone. Other than by the husband, but that's kind of his job. ;)

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL???
Not care? I don't really drink anymore, sadly. Although I don't need help in the calories department, so it's for the best.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY???
A house.

HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT???
Ask me when this is a worthwhile question.

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE???
Technically, my maternal great-grandmother. However, my name is a dimunitive of her name.

DO YOU WISH ON STARS???
No. I don't remember if I ever really did.

WHICH FINGER[S] IS YOUR FAVORITE???
It depends on my mood. Am I feeling confident or road-ragey? heh

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING???
Yes. People don't handwrite anymore so people my age are probably among the last people who have legible handwriting that isn't print writing.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT???
oven-roasted turkey

ANY BAD HABITS???
Only ones that hurt me: always rushing because I'm perpetually almost or a little late (procrastination), anti-social behavior, general laziness. But the good news is at some point after h.s. I learned to stop biting my nails 95% of the time. heh

WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF???
Just about anything I own from the 90s. Although I still like it, but others would probably think I should be embarassed.

IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU???
If I were just like me, maybe. Then again, what do two anti-social people do as friends?? hee

WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME???
Someone hasn't been reading two of my previous answers... *finger wagging*

DO YOU TRUST OTHERS EASILY???
No. I have trust issues.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD???
My Cabbage Patch Kid doll, I think.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT???
No.

DO YOU UN-TIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF???
Yes.

LAST THING YOU ATE???
A Jason's Deli Meatballa Po' Boy.

SIBLINGS???
Only one older brother.

YOU LIKE SUSHI???
I guess although to hear people talk I've apparently never had REAL sushi. *eye roll*

ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT???
Thankfully that phase of my life is over. But once upon a time, yes. It's why I met my husband online. No need to do the Meat Market dance.

Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-04-08T06:02:36Z

09:26 @samlerma I'd ask the local truck dealers to stop making commercials since I'm sick to death of them, but that's your bread and butter. #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-04-07T06:02:40Z

13:48 @samlerma I don't tip to-go. They don't have to keep checking on you and drinks etc. #
13:53 @JohnHonore Agreed. #
13:53 @eddieizzard Your picture just started loading just fine about a minute ago. #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-04-04T06:02:45Z

19:34 SMB Main Theme Song tinyurl.com/d93ecu #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-04-02T06:02:31Z

13:11 @Neverwear Ooo ooo ooo! Did I win a "major award"?? #
22:33 @Neverwear I've emailed you my info. I hope you got it! #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-04-01T06:02:52Z

10:40 @hellomj Feeling Barenaked? #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-03-31T06:02:45Z

13:02 @samlerma I'm guessing fail came from computer speak. When something didn't work, it would sometimes spit out the word "fail." #
13:03 @hellomj ouch. So cynical. #
13:05 @samlerma Planet Fitness: probably few classes, old equipment, smelly...everything. #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-03-29T06:03:16Z

15:07 I'm having trouble trying to find the desire to do any assigned reading. :-p #
16:08 @samlerma I've missed the news. Anyone covering Earth Hour? #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-03-28T06:02:28Z

21:48 @eddieizzard Don't let the bedbugs bite! #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-03-27T06:02:38Z

14:40 #100K Mad dogs and Englishmen. #
20:20 LivingSocial's PickYour5: "Places I want to visit" tinyurl.com/ccsnx3 #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-03-26T06:02:20Z

22:59 is exhausted from a 15-hour day. #

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Yesterday's Random Thoughts

2009-03-24T06:03:41Z

23:21 @samlerma I saw a link earlier today saying "Would you like to see stories about the Octomom?" I practically screamed at the screen: nooo!!! #

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Writer's Block: Things You Don't Want to Know

2009-03-23T15:37:32Z

If you knew that a friend's significant other was cheating on him or her, would you tell your friend the truth or keep it to yourself?

View 502 Answers

If you knew someone was poisoning a well, would you tell the town/police/citizens? Why would this be different? Someone or something is doing something toxic and one of the parties is ignorant to it and sooner or later they're going to find out about the damage done to them. The sooner, the better I think.