Other people's business

I know that Chicago has had a Daley as mayor for 50 out of the last 60 years, so they're used to having autocrats in power. But still, would they be excited for Rahm Emanuel? Perhaps Chicago is more forgiving of personality (relative to prowess and policy) than some places...

Quote of the day

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

- Desmond Tutu,
clergyman (b. 1931)

(via A.W.A.D.)

With friends like these...

I know it must be hard to be a Democrat from some of the crazy more conservative states, but still, moves like this Landrieu hold make me grit my teeth . . .

Tenacious disaffection

I agree with Obama's call to stand up, and I want to encourage my local voters to turn out in November (especially to prevent a crazy man to the right of Santorum from becoming my state's US Senator!), but I also have sympathy for these views. I would never think of staying home on Election Day, because the differences do matter, but the amount of my personal funds and energy that are going into the political realm is decreasing. Other parts of my life have been neglected to some degree, and many of those offer much more reward for investment.



It worries me that I feel this way. How much more so those who don't really see the differences?

Update: more useful pushback here, including this:

I think progressives in general have to decide whether to work when the work is easy, or work when the work is hard. It was definitely comparatively easy to work for Obama two years ago, because there was idealism, hope, and a kind of certainty that if only we could elect him, then everything would change and it would somehow be easy, despite the campaign's best efforts to tell us that change is hard. It hasn't been easy, and now we're witnessing a population make the choice on whether to roll up their sleeves or sit on their hands.

I also think there was such relief to be rid of Bush (and to have avoided the bullet of McCain) that we wanted to bask for a while. But the opposition made sure we didn't get much to wallow in, and we can't let their obstructionism get the upper hand. Tally ho!

Link dump, several themes

I know that this stuff would be better in smaller installments, but the combination of general time-crunch with lingering jet-lag is totally killing my blogging time. Better a heap than never.

Grumpy news

• U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It whee
  
  
• FBI probes were improper, Justice says -- surprise! the FBI used 9/11 as an excuse to add liberal activists to terrorist watch lists. How long ago do the 1960s feel now?? Civil disobediance still scares The Man inordinately...
  
  
• Obama can learn from 'Godfather' -- being President should mean powers you can use. Of course, the author presumes that this oversight is accidental, rather than a fundamental feature of Obama's character; I think he likes to be a facilitator, not directly leverage action. Frustrating to watch!
  
  
• The wrong way to answer Ms. Velma Hart -- more on the President's falling short
  
  
• Do Not Pity the Democrats -- this takes the grim up a notch, pointing out that partisan politics are rather dwarfed by the growing and inappropriate power of corporations in modern America. A call to local organizing, whether for financial control, political reform, or just to put some counterweights out there against the monolithic oligarchy that is increasingly blind to the public at large.
  
  
• In the nonpolitical realm, 'Halfalogue': Overheard cell-phone conversations are not only annoying but reduce our attention -- our ability to think and reason are actually more disrupted by half a conversation than by having both halves in our auditory space. Interesting.
  
  
• Which is the gay one? My feeling about Don't Ask, Don't Tell in a nutshell!

Parenting bits

• Things That Never Happen -- putting the frequency of things like child abductions into perspective:

  The very definition of news is "something that almost never happens."

• Let Adults Hang Out at the Playground (Even if They Don't Have Kids) -- laws against this gut the meaning of "neighborhood"...
  
  
• related: 5 Worries Parents Should Drop, And 5 They Shouldn't
  
  
• Preschoolers use statistics to understand others -- spiffy bit of deduction there
  
  
• Fostering Your Toddler's Independent Play -- tips on gradual weaning from purely parent-led games; more here.
  
  
• Homeroom Security: a book about the insanity of zero-tolerance classroom policies, something I expect to encounter in a few years
  
  
• “What do you saay…?” Nooo Thanks! -- alternative ways to teach children polite behavior (like modelling!!)
  
  
• St. Louis' newish City Museum looks so creative and fantastical that it makes me want to invent an excuse to go back there! I wanna play too!!
  

Silliness and thoughtfulness

• I had *no* idea that the Miss Universe pageant featured an entry of extravagent national costumes, but it does, and these image collections, complete with snarky commentary, just cracked me up!!
  
  
• Dancing in the movies -- a montage that just makes you want to get out there and move! joyous.
  
  
• Repairing a Sexist Cartoon -- both frustrating and hilarious, in several takes.
  
  
• how to be alone -- a quiet video on making peace with solitude.
  
  
• Real Live Preacher offers Gentle Suggestions for Doubting Christians, nice indeed.
  
  

Two amusing iPad bits

Two things that amused me today:

1. An Etch-a-sketch case -- if only it interfaced with software! heh.
   
   
2. We can benefit from these gizmos without even owning them: some restaurants are offering iPad wine menus to allow customers to research their offerings and make more informed choices.
   
   

Quote of the day

It's hard to remember that this day will never come again. That the time is now and the place is here and that there are no second chances at a single moment.

- Jeanette Winterson

(via whiskey river)

Vive la difference!

I sure wish more folks would think this way, that making up narratives about the Right Way to live, worship, parent, vote, etc., and then getting angry about people with Other Approaches is just a waste of energy, and we could all use a little more space to breathe. 'Cause we surely all could. And nobody lives their life just to spite somebody else.

(via Medley)