Our World

Well our United States Presidential Election draws nearer today and you may or may not be any clearer on who to vote for. Well the Beck’s Cafe baristas have brewed a helpful tool just for you. You should use this only after you get over your New Year’s Eve hangover

The Candidate Calculator will help you determine who may best align with your position! Let’s face it, there are so many choices this time around WHO are you going to pick? It’s a puzzler that’s for sure, but as the Candidate Calculator recommends:

Answer the questions below to find the 2008 presidential candidate that best aligns with your beliefs. More than 1.5 million people have already filled it out. Give it a try!

Mark the column for Yes if you support the issue and No if you oppose it. After that, select how important the topic is to you. If you are unsure or have no opinion on a topic, just mark the Unsure column. You will be scored based upon how well you match the current views of each of the 2008 presidential candidates.

You should go visit the Candidate Calculator and see WHO lines up with you….then vote

I was watching C-SPAN2 live coverage of Senate speeches the other day and walking to the podium comes none other than the honorable Senator from West Virginia, Robert Byrd. At first, I thought he was delirious as he started on this bizarre speech denouncing the rise of Dog Fighting.

Dog Fighting….wtf?? I thought that went out with the middle ages.

Apparently not.

Seeing that I am covered these days in plaster, html and php trying to re-furb Beck’s Cafe I haven’t really been paying attention to the news. But I’ll be darned right there in prime time was a report on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, himself involved in a dog-fighting ring (see story on Vic by clicking to Yahoo News here) . Friends, we have now reached a time in history where the bizarre is commonplace.

Senator Byrd went on to say that this truly horrendous bloodsport is on the rise. Clearly some people have WAY too much disposable income and FAR too much disposable time on their hands. But is it really on the rise in general and how about here in Boston?

On the national front, it is just sad. We pulled up an article from CBS that did an expose in Chicago on dog fighting on July 19th, 2007. You can visit CBS2 in Chicago at this link HERE to read the full story, but just read this quote by a “trainer” of dogs for dogfighting…this is just one method they use to get those dogs “ready” to fight:

“We’d get 17, 18 bumblebees and put them in his food so that when he ate it, it would sting his gums he went nuts, driving him berserk,” Chico said.

Well now that’s a way to train an innocent domestic animal that is 95% of the time docile and man’s best friend. It’s nice to see the human race has reached the pinnacle of civilization and is now de-evolving.

I did a little snooping around over coffee on this heinous practice and thought I’d share the linkie love with you all. Diane Jessup, who started the Law Dogs program, has a gruesome piece on what dogfighting is all about, you can read her article at her site, “Working PitBull” at this link here.. It made my skin crawl. I’m not sure what kind of “men” dogfighting kinda guys are but it’ll make you scratch your head.

But what about the hard numbers on this “sport”. Is this on the rise or was this just an eye catching feature story for a slow July news month? Sadly, according to a CNN report during an interview with John Goodwin, an expert on animal fighting with the Humane Society, there are an estimated 40,000 professional dogfighters in the United States and purses for such fights can reach $100,000.00. Follow the money and you’ll find something. Sometimes what you find is good, this time what you find is bad. You can read the full CNN report on dogfighting at this link here.

What about here in Boston? Surely we are more “sophisticated”? Well, maybe not. Beck’s Cafe had an email exchange with Joanne Mainiero, Director of the Massachusetts Humane Society on this topic. She told us that Massachusetts does indeed have some illegal dogfighting rings around but that they don’t generally last very long. Usually they are caught quickly. But, she told us, the evidence of dogfighting is here even on an amateur basis with dead dogs found in yards. Pretty gruesome.

We asked Ms. Mainiero what could be done to help combat this practice and she had this advice. First, she suggested that all of us contact the NFL to suspend Michael Vick. The Humane Society even has a quick mailer set up so that you can send your sentiments on this subject over to The NFL Commish. You can reach the Humane Society web page with the “NFL, Throw the Book at Michael Vick” emailer at their site at this link here. Second, be on the lookout. The Humane Society has a fact sheet on this subject and you can reach it by clicking to the Human Society “dogfighting fact sheet” as this link here.

“Last Monday in May”©

By…John T. Bird

We pause to remember those who died

With so much courage, so much pride

They’ll never come back, yet memories endure

To remind us of freedom: fragile, pure

We’re worthy of their sacrifice if we pause each day

Not just on the last Monday in May

Links of interest:
Remembering our fallen heroes: remember.gov
U.S. Memorial Day Site: usmemorialday.org

Thank you to any veterans reading this site today. I appreciate what you’re helping to keep our country free.

Every day we risk something.

You walk out the door you risk stepping in a pile of dog poop

You drink a cup of coffee you risk burning a few layers of flesh of your tongue

You kiss your honey and your risk your nose ring getting caught in her braces

and so it goes…

But what about those every day run of the mill disasters like a tornado? Or maybe an earthquake? Have you ever thought “gee, I wonder if I’m at risk for those today”?

Well wonder no more fair reader! I present to you the patented, “Glenn Beck Interactive
Disaster Map”. You’ll find it quite illuminating we think. Just click on over to the map by visiting this link HERE. It will take you to Glenn Beck.com where you’ll learn what YOUR risk is!

( Source data for this post courtesy of our correspondant, “The Southern Man”.  Thanks!!)

They (whoever “they are”) say that the only thing that you can be sure of are death and taxes. Well, now there’s a bit more to fear on the tax side. From the fiends at The fiends at the Inquirer have discovered that revenuers can now use Google Earth to detect those of you defrauding your various governments of their hard sought tax dollars. As seen in the Inquirer,

A PROVINCIAL revenue agency down in Argentina is using Google Earth Pro to find tax dodgers. With this approach, the taxman for the Buenos Aires province detected 1184030 square feet of undeclared property.

If it weren’t enough to actual find the deadbeat properties, there are a few more tricks the eneterprising taxmen can employ:

A list of alleged debtors is published by the provincial Public Revenue Service on the web, but as is usual in him, he pressed for more. Google’s Earth Pro subscription allows the agency to import site plans and property lists, and export high-quality images. It also allows to transfer “up to 2,500 locations by address or geospatial coordinates from a spreadsheet” and includes measurement tools -square feet, mile, acreage, and the like- by point and clicking on the screen.

Ah, so what you may say as you quaff down another espresso. Well the “so what” is that other governments IRS Agents will likely pick up on this little convenience and add it as a tool in their auditor’s briefcase. Look up, the Taxman Cometh.
You can read of this diabolical development for dollars at The Inquirer by visiting them at this link here.

There’s a few generally accepted things you can guess you should not do in while driving in your car, among them:

• Never clean some freshly caught fish whilst driving in you car
• Be sure not to apply eye makeup and drag race down a major highway
• When approaching a large puddle of unknown depth after a flash rainstorm, never hope that your car is either tall enough or the puddle not too deep.

Finally, do not use your laptop computer while drivingin your car. Apparently a gentleman was driving down the wrong side of the road while using his laptop, perhaps he was blogging? In any event, the gentleman was a computer teacher and his four door sedan collide with a Hummer. The couple in the Hummer escaped with some bruises, the computer the chap in the car was using was fine and still operating after the crash. The computer using teacher died though.

You can read the reports at CBS news here or at The Inquirer here.

The latest report from Technorati shows that, as of November 2006 there were 57 MILLION blogs in existence with 100,000 new blogs being created per day. That’s alot of writing. Don’t you wonder if any of this matters?

As a writer I do wonder at times and I’m always happy when I find that something I wrote sparked a comment, made someone laugh, or cry, or think differently, or even opened up a conversation that wasn’t there before (whether I agree with the viewpoints expressed or not). It’s all good. I think I would still write even if I didn’t self-publish.

But sometimes don’t you wonder if any of this writing and self-publishing matters? Well I’m here to tell you it does. Check out these tidbits. I’m going to put some of the content from these news reports in my post because you never know when the report might come down. The common thread here is that these mere bloggers are being watched. Why are they being watched? Because people are reading their blogs, hearing their viewpoint and they are thinking.

• Egypt arrests another blog critic: Police in Cairo have detained a blogger whose posts have been critical of the Egyptian government. Rami Siyam, who blogs under the name of Ayyoub, was detained along with three friends after leaving the house of a fellow blogger late at night…In recent weeks, bloggers have been exposing what they say was the sexual harassment of women at night in downtown Cairo in full view of police who did not intervene. Mr Siyam’s host on Saturday night, Muhammad Sharqawi, was detained for several weeks earlier this year. (see the post for as long as it remains up at Natasha Tynes, “Mental Mahem” by visiting her story HERE.

• Egyptian blogger jailed for four years for insulting Islam: In a landmark case for freedom of expression in Egypt, a young blogger has been jailed for insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak, drawing angry condemnation at home and abroad.Abdel-Karim Nabil Suleiman, 22, a former law student at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Alexandria yesterday after being arrested last November over eight articles he posted on his blog. (see the post for as long as it remains up at The Guardian, by visiting the story HERE.

• Bloggers Harassed by Authorities: The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is raising concerns over what appears to be growing harassment of individuals who use online blogs to express views and share information in Malaysia. The IFEX member says the government’s policing of the Internet is reaching a critical stage that needs to be recognised and confronted by free expression advocates.In the past two months, three bloggers have been questioned by authorities for posting information on their personal web diaries. On 14 March 2005, Mack Zulkifli was questioned in his home by police officers and unidentified government officials who asked him to help them “understand the latest developments of weblogs,” according to the independent online news service Malaysiakini.com. (see the post for as long as it remains up at The International Freedom of Expression eXchange, by visiting the story HERE.

• French blogger harassed by right wing dynasty: A French blogger, Christoph Grébert, is going to court this afternoon to defend himself of accusations of defamation brought against him by the city of Puteaux, a wealthy suburb of Paris.His crime? Writing about what’s happening in his city, taking pictures of construction sites, and commenting on the latest city council (public) meetings. (see the post for as long as it remain up at The European Tribune, by visiting the story HERE.

So blogging, in fact writing, does appear to make a difference. Let’s hope that for every voice silenced 100 more spring up.

I had almost forgotten that this is not just the season of the celebration of the birth of Christ, it’s also the Festival of Light for the Jews! If your like me, you know that there’s a bunch of candles in there someplace, a top called a dreidel and, well, that’s about it. But there’s much more to this holiday than meets the eye! According to an article in Judaism 101, Chanukkah:

Chanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.

Chanukkah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. It is bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.

The Story

The story of Chanukkah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.

More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees (no direct connection to the modern movement known as Chasidism). They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Selucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.

According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.

You can read more about Chanukkah at the full article on Judaism 101 at this link HERE.

AND for a family taste tested Kugelly good treat during Chanukkah, click to our article, Kugelly-goodness, from our test kitchens!

(photo courtesy of Brew*Crew’s Photos, used under Creative Commons license)

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, what makes Democracy possible?

It’s information.

“Information is the currency of democracy.” Thomas Jefferson

It’s free flow, it’s free access and, perhaps most importantly, the free debate about it without fear. That’s why public libraries, the internet, blogs, radio, short wave, the local coffee house, on-line forums, are all vitally necessary to be kept and to be preserved. And why censorship of that information by governments, groups, communities, individuals, and even corporations should be resisted.
(photo courtesy of ukanda’s photos, used under Creative Commons License)

With the current election behind us it might be useful for us all to think about if the current crop of congressmen are going to be pro-transgender rights, neutral or against them. At some level, being transgender is just a small part of who we are and frankly it shouldn’t matter. We go to work, school, and church. Pay our taxes, our bills and pretty much live like anyone else would. But, sadly,it does matter. So it’s important that people in Congress are in favor of protections for us for equal (not special) rights.

And so let’s look at House Speak Nancy Pelosi. Ms. Pelosi is the first woman to be made Speaker of the House and as such that is an amazing achievement. What is so remarkable about the being the Speaker of the House, what power does she wield that should matter to us?

The Speaker of the House has the following roles and responsibilities:

• Presiding office of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Is second in line to replace the President after the Vice-President
• Is generally the highest ranking member of their respective party
• Insures that the House passes legislation supported by the majority party (though presumably they think about all our country’s interest first).
• Runs the debate on the House floor. Before any member of the House of Representatives may speak in the house, the Speaker of the House must acknowledge the person wanting to speak.
• The Speaker may call on people as she pleases, thus controlling the flow of debate
• The House Steering Committee is also chaired by the Speaker. The Steering Committee chooses the chairmen of standing committees.
• The Speaker determines which committees consider bills

All in all, the Speaker has direct impact on what bills get to be seen, voted on and debated. And that would include transgender protections and rights.

So what would make us in the trans community optimistic about her being there and wielding that power? Well, there is some evidence that’s positive and that should point to positive action for us or at least positive consideration. Check out this quote from Ms. Pelosi here:

“I am pleased to co-sponsor the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005, the first federal hate crimes legislation to explicitly protect transgender individuals and to add gender identity to the federal hate crimes statute. As with past versions, the new hate crimes prevention legislation covers crimes motivated by discrimination based on sexual orientation and disability. Hate crimes have no place in America, and I will fight hard to pass this legislation. (see source from her press release at her House of Representative’s web site by clicking here.

I was encouraged reading that, and then I did some more digging to see where Ms. Pelosi has stood historically. Sure enough, her history on transgender people’s rights looks encouraging supporting transgender rights over a 16 year period,including the support of $250,000 for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center in San Francisco, CA (see source at U.S. House of Representative web site here). You can see more of her record over at the U.S. House of Representatives Web Site by clicking to that site at this link here.

So it’s early yet. While I am a Republican, there was little to vote for in my party frankly. But the Democrats have an opportunity now, and I’m pulling for them. For the transgender population, small as it is, there’s a good chance the equal protections we need will be put in place and maintained.