Bush was Warned about Hurricane Katrina

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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Technology & the 21st Century Classroom

Part 1

It’s a typical day at an American high school campus. Groups of students walk around wearing earbuds, or sneaking looks at their personal digital assistant (PDA), formally known as the cell phone. They check their Facebook and Twitter pages, they send off a dozen text messages, they blog, and they read updates on their favorite musical group, all in less than a few minutes. However, it is inaccurate to say that all students are “plugged in.” A typical day in an impoverished high school would not the same level of technology use. The digital divide is real and it is an issue educators must mindfully consider. By prohibiting technology educators miss opportunities to model their practices and teach context-specific skills. Furthermore, the students who do not have access to technology at home are completely cut off from learning these necessary skills needed to operate in the 21^st century global marketplace. It is because of this digital divide that educators must accept students’ use of technology. Educators should also work for funding to make technology available to all students, and find ways to implement all forms of technology into the classroom.

We are teachers, and mere human at that.

We are teachers, and mere human at that. We do not have all the answers, and no matter how much theory we undertake and no matter how many books we read about the impoverished kids living in depilated neighborhoods in the ghettos, or the over-parented children of American Beauty-esque families, we will never really know what it’s like. The best we can do is notice, be aware, and give each student the most encouragement and attention we possibly can.

Money, Money, Money

Maher is right on. All of the major issues in this country can be linked to capitalism and greed. Health Care, jails, war–these things should not, under any circumstance, be run for-profit.

When I worked at a medical clinic, it made me uncomfortable to be talking about vaccines and health in terms of bottom line and profit. It just seemed morally wrong to me. There must be a way to give good health care without the worry of money. There is a good way–many other countries use this way! I am sad to say, but I don’t know if we will ever step out of our individualist, capitalist, greedy ways.

New Rule: Not Everything in America Has to Make a Profit

By Bill Maher

How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Some things we just didn’t do for money. The United States always defined capitalism, but it didn’t used to define us. But now it’s becoming all that we are.

Why I Have Pet Chickens

The most frequent question asked about my raising three chickens is, “Well, what are you going to do with them?” People are confused—what is the purpose of having chickens? Understandably, it does seem odd in the 21^st century to have three chickens roaming the backyard for no other reason than for the pleasure of their company. When a chicken is nothing but a commodity, to be used for flesh, for eggs, could there possibly be any other purpose?

Chickens are curious, adorable, social creatures. They are inquisitive, unique, and full of life. They have unique personalities. They enjoy open space, sunshine, dust baths, good food, and lazy afternoons. They are also creatures who can experience suffering, just like the family dog or cat. And my chickens are my pet chickens, just like your dog or cat. They exist to exist, and for nothing else. I do not plan on raising them for their meat, and being a vegan, I do not even plan to use their eggs. They are my pets, and they bring me joy every day.

9 billion chickens are slaughtered every year in the United States. From hatchery to slaughterhouse, chickens are most likely one of the most abused animals on the planet. From birth, they are pumped full of antibiotics to grow fat and full of meat by the target slaughter age of 45 days old. They grow heavy so fast that they become unable to support their own weight, and are unable to walk. Chickens are crammed into tiny cages, their beaks are cut off to prevent cannibalism which is brought about by their confinement and their inability to establish a pecking order. They live a short life full of suffering–they don’t even get to see the light of day.

My three chickens have no idea how lucky they are. They are the very rare and lucky few of their species that will get to live out their lives to the fullest and die a natural death. Factory farming causes myriad damage to our environment, our health, and unneeded suffering in millions of creatures. By raising pet chickens, I am making a statement against the hegemonic culture that accepts chickens for nothing more than consumer products. By raising pet chickens, I am putting into action my belief that sentient beings like chickens have the right to live without excessive turmoil by the cruel and brutal suffering we impose on them for our selfish appetite.

So to answer your question, what am I going to do with my chickens? I am going to let them live a long and happy life.

Naomie Klein on Rachel Maddow

I love Naomi Klein. I saw her speak about her book, “The Shock Doctrine,” in New Orleans. Now here she is speaking about the bailouts:

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.

Connection in the Flat World

I find it interesting that in this new era of technology, some argue that we seem to be far more “disconnected” then ever before. Texting has replaced phone calls, the computer screen has replaced faces of real life people. But perhaps this assumption is incorrect. Friedman points out that in the flat world, we are more interconnected to more people than ever before. We have to be to survive in the global marketplace:

“Think about the whole mind-set of bin Ladenism. It is to ‘purge’ Saudi Arabia of all foreigners and foreign influences. That is exactly the opposite of glocalizing and collaborating. Tribal culture and thinking still dominate in many Arab countries, and the tribal mind-set is also anathema to collaboration. What is the motto of the tribalist? ‘Me and my brother against my cousin; me, my brother, and my cousin against the outsider.’ And what is the motto of the globalists, those who build collaborative supply chains? “Me and my brother and my cousin, three friends from childhood, four people in Australia, two in Beijing, six in Bangalore, three from Germany, and four people we’ve met only over the Internet all make up a single global supply chain.’ In the flat world, the division of labor is steadily becoming more and more complex, with a lot more people interacting with a lot of other people they don’t know and may never meet. If you want to have a modern complex division of labor, you have to be able to put more trust in strangers.

In the Arab-Muslim world, argues David Landes, certain cultural attitudes have in many ways become a barrier to development, particularly the tendency to still treat women as a source of danger or pollution to be cut off from the public space and denied entry into economic activities. When a culture believes that, it loses a large portion of potential productivity of the society. A system that privileges the men from birth on, Landes also argues, simply because they are male, and gives them power over their sisters and other female members of society, is bad for the men. It builds in them a sense of entitlement that discourages what it takes to improve, to advance, and to achieve. This sort of discrimination, he notes, is not something limited to the Arab Middle East, of course. Indeed, strains of it are found in different degrees all around the world, even in so-called advanced industrial societies.”

It seems that in the flat world, we need to be even more embracing and open to gender and ethnicity than ever before.

Food, Inc.