Maher and Moyers on Health Care, Obama and America

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Maher: “Do you think we are still a great nation?

Moyer: “We are a very crippled giant, suffering from self-inflicted wounds that if we do not treat and heal, will in fact bring us to our knees and ultimately, to our doom.”

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I am sad to say, but Obama is becoming a very disappointing leader. Washington is so corrupt and politics is so intertwined with corporate money that it is impossible for our government to work the way it should. It’s very disappointing. Politics in this country, is a sham.

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Here is a really great interview with Bill Maher and Bill Moyers about health care, the corporate co-op of the democratic party, Obama and the future of America.

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What’s My Age Again?

Today was a random and amusing day.

While waiting at the bus stop downtown, a guy who had thrown his cigarette butt into the landscaped side of a Portland State building started a mini-brush fire. Well, it wasn’t really a fire–not yet anyway. It was more like a gentle smoldering that emitted a lot of smoke.

When I first arrived at the bus stop and noticed the smoke, I went over and tried to stamp it out with my feet. Then the guy who was apparently the cause of the incident, showed up and said, “Yah, don’t worry. I just talked to the firemen down the street. They are going to swing by with a bucket of water,” and then added nonchalantly, “hmm…looks like it could get serious.”

The culprit ended up boarding the number 12 bus with me, leaving behind his potential fire. When we drove by the fire station, I saw the firemen outside, enjoying the sunshine and washing their truck, apparently oblivious to the horrible potential danger down the street from them.

Later that day, Mike and I went to the opening of a new vegan BBQ restaurant. Well, it wasn’t really a restaurant, more like a few picnic tables and a huge grill set up in a once vacant plot of land on Alberta street. While we were gobbling down our  BBQ Tempeh, Spicy Soy Curls Pita Sandwich, and “Mac and No Cheese,” a gentleman came strolling down the street, loudly and proudly singing the lyrics to that classic song, “What’s My Age Again?,” by Blink 182. He had ear-buds in, so he apparently had no idea what he sounded like or how loudly he was singing. It was by far one of the most amusing and entertaining 30 seconds I have ever experienced.

After we got lost at The City of Books, we came home and clipped off the flight feathers of our pet chickens. Have I mentioned lately how much I love Portland???

Oh, and to top it off, I found this:

Swingin Martinis Designs

I am posting to promote my friend Shannon’s super awesome company: Swingin Martinis Designs. She makes unique, very well made, crafty delights: purses, aprons, hair clips, clothing, and jewelry. She will even custom design the products by letting you pick out the fabric, at no extra cost. Shannon made me a custom made apron, make-up bag, and also a very adorable wallet and Nintendo-64 coin purse. I have been very happy with her products, and I get compliments on them all the time (especially the Nintendo-64 coin purse!). Did I mention her hand-made products are reasonably priced, and you get free shipping if you purchase over $30?

So, if you are looking for a great gift, or something special to treat yourself, definitely check it out!

SwinginMartinis Etsy Website

SwinginMartinis Blog

Our Lady of Guadalupe Virgin Mary Purse (my personal favorite)

Bottle Cap Hair Clips

Pleated Purse

Bill Maher interviews Elizabeth Warren

Milton Friedman’s economic theories, which have been ruling for the past forty years, are falling apart before our eyes. This model is one of extreme capitalism, upheld as scientific theory. However, the fact is money is not scientific, and the way that money affects people cannot be viewed as such. If we want to progress as a society and survive this turbulent time, we must let go of Friedman’s outdated model and establish one which takes into account the people.
Below is a great video clip from Real Time with Bill Maher. He interviews Elizabeth Warren about the bailouts and the future of our country.

Hobart Shakespearens

Rafe Esquith’s teaching methods for his 5th grade classroom are smart, effective, but intensely time consuming.  He is an inspiration and a good example of what true commitment in the classroom can achieve. He places emphasis on morals and hard work, which are two things important for students’ growth both as young adults and learners.

Esquith is one in a million. 99.9% of the teachers will never be able to reach to his heights, unless they wish to sacrifice their personal lives. I have been warned by many professors about overcommitment as a teacher–it is important to be balanced and to have a life outside the classroom. Esquith really makes me question this–he is changing these children’s lives for the better–but he has sacrificed a lot. What about his wife and kids? How can one sustain a family while working 12 hours a day? Either way, Esquith has great ideas and a firey passion.

Hobart Shakespearen’s Website

His book, which I highly reccomend: Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire

Swine Flu?

I am watching Janet Napolitano on CNN news, and on the bottom of the screen it reads:

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DECLARED

20 swine flu cases in the U.S.

You have got to be kidding me. “Public Health Emergency?!?!”

1260 people die a day from heart attacks!!

115 people die a day from car accidents!!

45 people are murdered every day!!

….and twenty cases of a curable flu is considered a public health emergency?!?

This is exactly why I don’t watch television anymore. Our government and media are RIDICULOUS.

Baby Chicks!

When I was a kid, I remember discovering that my neighbors down the street had a couple of chickens living in their backyard. I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and from that day on, dreamed of having pet chickens one day. Well, dreams come true in Portland, OR, where it has become the fashionable (and eco-conscious) thing to do–have 3 pet chickens kickin’ it in your backyard and garden.

Today we got two chicks, from a really awesome new store that just opened: Urban Farm. It is owned by a couple who loved their chickens so much they decided to open up a shop and spread their knowledge. They really know their stuff, and offer free workshops on chicken-raising.

We decided to get a Speckled Sussex, which is a very pretty variety:

And an Ameraucana, which lay “Easter Eggs” (green and blue).

We plan on getting one more chick, but we are going to wait for a specific bread which comes in next week.
The baby chicks will live indoors for the next two months, keeping warm under a heat lamp. Once they have all their feathers, they will be relocated outside to their new home. With three chickens, we should expect to have about 14 eggs a week. They begin to lay 5 months after they are born.

They are good friends already:

Here is a short video of the chicks, shortly after they arrived at their new home. Enjoy!

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You Decide

Is the world really this crazy or has journalism really gotten this bad?

Headlines!

February 3rd, 2009

Poll: Majority Of Republicans Want Party To Be More Like Palin

Joe The Plumber Now Advising Republican Party

Phelps’ Sponsors Sticking With Him After Bong Photo

Worker At Salmonella-Infested Peanut Plant Talks: ‘I Saw A Rat Dry-Roasting In The Peanuts’

Random Porn Clip Interrupts Super Bowl Coverage, Shocks Viewers

Miley Cyrus’ slant-eye pose slammed by Asian group

And drumroll for winner headline of the day….

Healthy kidney removed through donor’s vagina

Mark Bittman Visits Portland

Portlanders love books. We are a town of bookies.

Portlanders love food. We are a town of foodies.

If there is anything that Portland loves more than books and food, it is a book about food. But wait! Toss in the slow-food movement, and some polemics from a New York Times author and you’ve got a delicious recipe for success!

I am disappointed to say that I was completed out-nerded by most of Portland last Thursday. I thought arriving to Powell’s ½ an hour before Mark Bittman was to speak would suffice (Remember, this guy?). But the second I stepped into The City of Books I hear over the intercom, “If you are here to see Mark Bittman, you better hurry your ass to the fourth floor because most of Portland has already taken their seats!”

I rush up the stairs, whereupon by complete surprise I run into Karen and Bob from work (everyone really is here!), and we push our way through a crowd of enthusiastic foodies. And low-and-behold there is not a free seat in sight. I lean up against the travel books bookcase with a copy of Food Matters, and read until 7:30 when he arrives to applause clad in his iconic blue striped sweater.

Bittman explains that he is an “incriminatalist.” He advocates for Americans to take an incremental approach to improving their diet and thereby their health and environmental impact. Eat 30 meals a week with meat in it? Try cutting it down to 27 meat-meals a week. Also, did you know that the #1 source of calories in the American diet, weighing in at 17%, is soda? And the #1 food group we eat from is that of the “pastry, donuts, sweets” group? Truly astonishing!

I see Bittman as embracing the middle way in terms of food philosophies. He is not a vegetarian, but practices more or less “vegan ‘till 6.” He is pushing for us to more conscious of our food choices. Home cooking has become an activity of the past, with most Americans eating out for the majority of their meals. The only way to become one with your food, to know it and therefore know what exactly is in it is to cook for yourself. But with our ever shortening leisure time, where do we find the time to cook, or to even learn how to cook?

Food in this country, and in the world, is a perplexing and difficult issue. How is it that our country is the wealthiest, fattest, yet most diet-obsessed country in the world?

Oh, and just as a side note: the meat industry sure has done a superb job at brainwashing our entire nation into making us equate “protein” with “meat” when in reality ounce for ounce spinach has 10x more protein than meat! And spinach won’t give you cancer! And don’t even get me started on the dairy industry….

Happy eatin’!

Mark Bittman’s Blog.