The Years Of Writing Dangerously
11 years ago
Monday, October 24, 2011
Still Interested?
I haven't posted on this blog in a year or two, but I'm still writing. I moved over to Wordpress, where I had two accounts. One was "personal" and the other was "professional." At any rate, I recently merged the two together, for better or for worse.
I'd love it if you'd visit me at my new digs. I don't post as frequently as I did on this site, and don't have the time to really post on politics (because I get too engrossed!!). Still, it's a good reflection of my thinking (and feeling) these days.
See you around!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Elena Kagan for SCOTUS
Right now I'm watching the President of the United States announce his nominee for the latest opening on the Supreme Court. If Elena Kagan is confirmed, SCOTUS will have 3 women at once for the first time ever. It's a great achievement, even if it's still quite unbalanced, given the actual male/female ratio in the country.
Here's a run down of articles about her if you're not familiar.
The Republicans are actually being very neutral about this pick thus far - amazing since they did not hold back in tearing into Justice Sotomayor as soon as she was announced. I'm glad they're being nice for now. We'll see how long it lasts...
Here's a run down of articles about her if you're not familiar.
- SCOTUSblog predicted Kagan months ago. It will be worth following them over the next few months. I know I will.
- Here's another by them. This one is a very lengthy profile about Ms. Kagan.
- There are many myths circulating about her already. See what's what.
- They say progressives won't love her, but here's someone trying to make the case why they should.
- Salon.com tackles the same topic arguing the liberal case against Kagan is overstated.
- Here's today's announcement featuring POTUS and Kagan.
The Republicans are actually being very neutral about this pick thus far - amazing since they did not hold back in tearing into Justice Sotomayor as soon as she was announced. I'm glad they're being nice for now. We'll see how long it lasts...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
POTUS will not be rushed - Amen to that
The news that Obama has refused to sign off on any of the four major options presented to him in Afghanistan reminds me of why he was elected president.Read more here.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
He won. Get over it. Get on with it.
Dear Friends,
The Nobel committee took their list of 205 nominees (the highest ever) and eventually decided our President should should be the recipient of their prize. They had their own qualifications, which may not have been the ones we may have chosen. But that's irrelevant. We have to stop projecting our standards onto other people's decisions.
Regardless, why do we think it's shameful that such recognition would go to what the world perceives as nascent efforts? In fact, many prestigious grants and awards are given based on important work that is far from being done, in the hopeful promise of more to come. We call it funding cancer and stem cell research, grants to start new businesses, Fulbrights to conduct international research, and the like.
Every Nobel selection is different and many selections are controversial at the time. Peace is a process. I'm glad President Obama is engaged in the process and I hope this award helps him to maintain an international stature as a man serious about peace. Further, I hope this prize strengthens his will to continue the difficult, often discounted efforts at transformation through diplomacy.
President Obama said all throughout the campaign that WE are the ones we've been waiting for. With all this grumbling. it seems we're still waiting for ourselves. I think a more productive conversation than "Did the Nobel Prize Committee choose the person I would have chosen?" is "As an American citizen how do I advocate for a peaceful society? How can I support the President's vision for peace worldwide?"
Rather than grumbling, let's be inspired, and let's get to work!
Love,
Nicole
The Nobel committee took their list of 205 nominees (the highest ever) and eventually decided our President should should be the recipient of their prize. They had their own qualifications, which may not have been the ones we may have chosen. But that's irrelevant. We have to stop projecting our standards onto other people's decisions.
Regardless, why do we think it's shameful that such recognition would go to what the world perceives as nascent efforts? In fact, many prestigious grants and awards are given based on important work that is far from being done, in the hopeful promise of more to come. We call it funding cancer and stem cell research, grants to start new businesses, Fulbrights to conduct international research, and the like.
Every Nobel selection is different and many selections are controversial at the time. Peace is a process. I'm glad President Obama is engaged in the process and I hope this award helps him to maintain an international stature as a man serious about peace. Further, I hope this prize strengthens his will to continue the difficult, often discounted efforts at transformation through diplomacy.
President Obama said all throughout the campaign that WE are the ones we've been waiting for. With all this grumbling. it seems we're still waiting for ourselves. I think a more productive conversation than "Did the Nobel Prize Committee choose the person I would have chosen?" is "As an American citizen how do I advocate for a peaceful society? How can I support the President's vision for peace worldwide?"
Rather than grumbling, let's be inspired, and let's get to work!
Love,
Nicole
Friday, October 9, 2009
Pole Dancers are Badass. Totally.
this is the highlight reel from this year's pole dancing competition. let me just say, this is not what most may conceive of pole dancing. this is athletic prowess on major display.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Why is this controversial?
The NYT published an article on Michelle Obama's ancestry. Included in her family line are slaves and slave owners. Some folks in the Twitterverse are offended that "white America" finds this newsworthy. I do not agree with them.
I don't think every article about race has to be viewed with cynicism. As a Black woman unaware of her roots beyond her grandparents, I find family trees fascinating, interesting and enlightening. The article was well done. Read it here.
I don't think every article about race has to be viewed with cynicism. As a Black woman unaware of her roots beyond her grandparents, I find family trees fascinating, interesting and enlightening. The article was well done. Read it here.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sarcasm fonts and other funnies
The funniest email arrived in my inbox yesterday...
Random thoughts from people 30-40 years old..
-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-That's enough, Nickelback.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-That's enough, Nickelback.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Leave Health Care ALONE!
Hilarious parody capturing many of the status quo arguments against health care reform generally:
Public Option - Down But Not Out
Today Senators Rockefeller and Schumer proposed amendments to the now famous Baucus bill. Specifically, these amendments added a public option. I'm still not clear on the differences in the two versions, but it was clear the Senate Finance Committee preferred Senator Schumer's version.
Still, they both failed. Rockefeller's failed 8-15. Schumer's was much closer and more disappointing at 10-13. Baucus, citing his fear of the bill failing to pass the Senate with these amendments, voted no on both.
But it ain't over yet. Other committees can include the public option in their bill. Or once the house votes and the Senate votes, it can still be included in the final merged bill.
I think this is just stirring the pot. Progressives are ready to fight.
Still, they both failed. Rockefeller's failed 8-15. Schumer's was much closer and more disappointing at 10-13. Baucus, citing his fear of the bill failing to pass the Senate with these amendments, voted no on both.
But it ain't over yet. Other committees can include the public option in their bill. Or once the house votes and the Senate votes, it can still be included in the final merged bill.
I think this is just stirring the pot. Progressives are ready to fight.
Should Inmates Vote?
Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP just tweeted the following (@BenJealous):
But when you're in prison, you don't have same rights as free people. That's the point of imprisonment! Yes, you should be treated humanely, but no, I don't think you should be electing officials to govern society. I'm not firm on this. This is my knee-jerk opinion.
What do you think?
Update: Since I composed this post, I had a very challenging conversation. Challenging meaning challenging the original thinking and pushing me to consider other ideas. I'm looking for the best way to compile Tweets to accurately portray what was discussed and the evolution of my thinking. More later.
Every American who wants to vote, should be able to. Even inmates should be allowed to take this path. It is the essence of civil society.But I'm not sure I agree. I believe all free citizens should be able to vote. This means ex-convicts, who have served time and have "repaid their debt to society" (whatever that means), should have voting rights restored. Some states do this already, but not all.
But when you're in prison, you don't have same rights as free people. That's the point of imprisonment! Yes, you should be treated humanely, but no, I don't think you should be electing officials to govern society. I'm not firm on this. This is my knee-jerk opinion.
What do you think?
Update: Since I composed this post, I had a very challenging conversation. Challenging meaning challenging the original thinking and pushing me to consider other ideas. I'm looking for the best way to compile Tweets to accurately portray what was discussed and the evolution of my thinking. More later.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Glenn Beck & White Culture
Glenn Beck vs. Katie Couric. No contest really. Asked to explain what he meant by "white culture," Glenn was rendered speechless. Watch below:
Still More from the Ultra Right
How's this for headline?
Right-Wing Conference Tells Activists to Get Their Guns Ready for ‘Bloody Battle” with Obama the Nazi.
Facebook Polls, Twitter, and POTUS
Last night, an interesting tweet came across my feed. It was retweeted by other folks I follow and began making the rounds. What made this tweet so interesting? It referenced Facebook poll about President Obama. Actually the poll asked "Should Obama Be Killed?"
There are no words. The tweep who originally posted the story then contacted the Secret Service who took this matter very seriously and launched an investigation right away. More here.
There are no words. The tweep who originally posted the story then contacted the Secret Service who took this matter very seriously and launched an investigation right away. More here.
Your Taxes Pay Rapists
ACORN gets all the headlines and all the punishment, while Halliburton/KBR is still overseas committing crimes and fraud. With our money. The latest? A gang-rape of an employee. Really.
How much does healthcare cost anyway?
Washington Post's Ezra Klein tells us if we knew how much healthcare runs, we'd stop tiptoeing our way to reform and run headlong, screaming.
Healthcare CEOs Living High on the Hog
Think Wall Street’s titans are the highest paid C.E.O.’s in the land? Think again. With median annual compensation of more than $12 million, medical moguls take the pay prize, even as the quality of care we receive falls to embarrassing lows. As the debate over health-care reform intensifies, the author catalogues the industry’s unbridled profiteering.
Read the rest here.
Neocons vs. Obama (again)
Andrew Sullivan shares his and others' opinions on our President's master diplomacy of late.
Another great post here.
Another great post here.
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