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More Eleanor Roosevelt

(27 Sep 2006 21:56)

A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to
be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that
there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks
humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in
this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and
charity. -Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and writer (1884-1962)

Of all of the books I lost when I couldn't afford to keep paying the storage fees when I first moved out, her autobiography is one of the ones I miss most.

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Master's degree coming up. Stay tuned.

(15 Sep 2006 14:13)

Well I'm doing it. I signed everything today and if all goes well, I should start a Master's in Education with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction on Sept. 23rd. I've enrolled with University of Phoenix and will be doing a Flex-Net program which means that much of my studying and coursework will be done online. You take classes one at a time and depending on whether they are 1, 2 or 3 unit classes they go 3, 4 or 6 weeks. Students meet on site on a Saturday morning for the first and last session of each class with the remaining week's work being done online. Even my books and the library are online so no time wasted driving down to some library, parking and looking for the materials to do research. I will still be substitute teaching- the program is not only geared towards working professionals but they want you to have access to the school to be able to do some of your work and get experience, so this is perfect for me. Since you take one class at a time you can really focus your efforts on doing a good job on it and the group goes through the program together so we should know each other pretty well by the time the year and three months or so is done. Yes, it's going to be fast and furious. But I have the advantage that because I am subbing I can work fewer days if I need to to be able to have the time to do really well on this and since the program is geared toward people who are working full time, if they can do it so can I.
Also, my first class is more of an introduction to the program, to using the resources, reviewing APA style writing and things like that so my first few weeks should be relatively light. So that's the big news from here and I definitely will want everyone to help me celebrate when it's over. Party details in another 15 months or so but I'm definitely requesting my favorite guitar player right now!

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wise words

(12 Sep 2006 22:57)

The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices -- to be found in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.
Rod Serling (1924 - 1975)

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What the Bush Administration Should Be Doing to Keep Americans Safe

(11 Sep 2006 11:32)

In the five years since September 11, the Bush administration approach to national security has been marked by one defining characteristic: watching everyone. Instead of working to shore up the many gaps that exist in our security infrastructure � from our virtually defenseless rail system to our porous cargo ports, or focusing on improving human intelligence, or concentrating on capturing Osama Bin Laden -- our government has chosen spying on innocent Americans as its principal approach to preventing another terrorist attack. That approach has included data mining, watch lists, NSA spying, passenger profiling systems, and national identity card systems.

The Bush administration�s wrong-road approach to security has created unprecedented threats to our privacy and civil liberties, failed to make us safer, and diverted resources from more effective avenues of protecting against terrorism and other threats to our well-being.

Many security experts, including former government officials, are urging a different approach to security that is likely to be both more effective and less damaging to Americans� freedoms.

The Right Road

The ACLU believes that these strategies can help keep Americans safe without violating our fundamental freedoms:

Physical security, not identity-based checks. Identity-based checks are inherently unreliable, because the bare facts of a person�s identity do not reveal terrorist intent (and can actually obscure it, as in the case of a decorated military veteran like Timothy McVeigh). Furthermore, democratic societies neither have nor want (nor are capable of instituting) airtight identity systems, making this approach futile. Basic, commonsense physical security measures equally applied are far more effective. More has been done to improve airline security since 9/11 through physical measures like reinforced cockpit doors than would ever be gained by government sweeps through passengers� personal data.
Traditional investigations, not dragnets. The best way to stop terrorism is still through old-fashioned investigatory techniques that rely on working outward from known leads and suspects. Attempting to work inward by narrowing suspect lists down from the entire U.S. population to a handful of terrorists is too unreliable and inefficient a means of finding true terrorists, whether that process is based on crude profiling techniques or cutting-edge data-mining analysis. The principle of individualized suspicion not only protects individuals, but also imposes a necessary discipline on police investigators, who can be tempted at times to engage in wasteful and inefficient fishing expeditions.
A whole-view, not an airline-centric approach. Airline security understandably remains a very high priority, but enormous resources are already devoted to it and experts must carefully evaluate how much more security can realistically be achieved and at what cost. Hijacking airplanes is not the only way to kill civilians or attack buildings. It would not make sense for us to devote vast resources to bring the security level of one target from 98 percent to 99 percent when another, equivalent target is only 30-percent protected.
Within such an overall approach, many steps can be taken to improve security without threatening Americans� privacy and other civil liberties. A full, rational evaluation must be conducted to determine what those are, but they might include:

More attention to vulnerable ground targets. Other security should include scrutiny of cargo at our borders, rational steps to protect vulnerable points in the nation's infrastructure, radiation detection, and increased protection at nuclear power plants, chemical factories, and other dangerous facilities. Simple measures, such as controlling how close automobiles and trucks can park to �soft� targets, such as government buildings, shopping malls and football stadiums, could go a long way toward making Americans safer.
Improved training of airline screeners. The GAO has reported that the TSA is having trouble providing not just adequate training but also staffing levels for airport screeners. Because of a lack of resources, the TSA says, it has been unable to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to many of its screeners, which has impeded the provision of online training. Another underutilized tool is the Threat Image Projection (TIP) program, in which simulated images of dangerous objects are projected in front of screeners while they are on duty to keep them sharp in the face of what can be a boring and repetitive task. This program could be expanded to cover all gates and checked-baggage screening points.
Deployment of airline explosive screening. The metal detectors through which passengers currently pass cannot detect plastic explosives � an enormous security hole. Particle-sniffing portals designed to detect plastic explosive as passengers step through have not been widely deployed. Particle sniffers that are used for the discreet purpose of identifying explosives should be more widely deployed.
Screening all checked baggage. The TSA has not met its goal of screening 100 percent of checked baggage due to shortages of trained personnel and equipment, an approach the ACLU has long advocated.
Improving terrorist watch lists by making them more accurate and timely. The U.S. government�s watch lists, with hundred of thousands of names, are far broader than what most people think of when they hear the term �terrorist watch list.� Bloated watch lists are bad not only because they cast innocent travelers as suspected terrorists, but also because they divert security resources. What is need is to impose some rigor in the procedures by which names are added and subtracted from those databases, and meaningful due process procedures by which Americans who are not terrorists can fight their inclusion on these lists.
Cargo security. Greater efforts may be needed to scrutinize cargo, both at the nation�s borders and on commercial airliners. The technology exists to screen all cargo carried aboard passenger jets but it is not currently being done. Approximately 22 percent of all air cargo is carried on passenger planes each year. Deployment of fast and efficient screening technology and blast-hardened cargo containers are among the solutions to this problem that have been suggested.
Needed: A Rational Evaluation

Instead of embarking willy-nilly on unprecedented government sweeps through our personal data, the government must conduct a rational evaluation and prioritization of our security needs. Security funds are limited and must be spent where they will do the most good. And above all, it must never be forgotten that the ultimate goal is the protection of the well-being of Americans, and that there are many ways that goal can be threatened.

A rational security evaluation would take into account:

the different security vulnerabilities we face
the likelihood that those vulnerabilities will be exploited
the severity of the consequences of such attacks
the availability of remedies for those vulnerabilities
the likely effectiveness of such remedies
the costs of such remedies (including intangible costs such as damage to our privacy, freedom, and way of life)
This administration has clearly never undertaken such an evaluation:

It pushed the Patriot Act without making any attempt to see whether it was addressing any of the problems that actually contributed to 9/11.
It has refused to take proper steps to secure many gaping vulnerabilities, such as chemical plants.
Its airline security policies have been reactive and irrational � focused on a few, super-specific threats such as exploding shoes and water bottles, while ignoring gaping holes in airline security such as cargo and poorly trained screeners who have been repeatedly found ineffective at screening out ordinary guns and explosives.

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Government Abuses of Power Since 9/11

(11 Sep 2006 11:32)

It's been five years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, and Americans have successfully kept the light of freedom shining, even as the Bush administration dismisses the rule of law and shows its willingness to trample on our Constitution.

Building on the fear and uncertainty that followed the 9/11 attacks, the government has repeatedly violated the spirit and the letter of our laws, broadening the powers of law enforcement to secretly search our homes and to spy on our phone records, reading activities and medical and financial information -- all without a court warrant.

But we have not stood by while the president diminishes the light of American values. In response to administration abuses of power, the Supreme Court has struck down President Bush's military commission system for detainee trials at Guant�namo Bay, and a federal court recently rejected his warrantless NSA wiretapping program. We've had successes in these years, but there is more to do. Congress must now join the courts in the demand that the president uphold the Constitution and our system of checks and balances.

Since 1920, the ACLU and its members have shown that the people are ready to fight to preserve our democracy, our America. The 9/11 attacks changed many things in America, but it is still our freedoms that define us, not our fears

Top Ten Abuses of Power Since 9/11

1. Warrantless Wiretapping � In December 2005, the New York Times reported the National Security Agency was tapping into telephone calls of Americans without a warrant, in violation of federal statutes and the Constitution. Furthermore, the agency had also gained direct access to the telecommunications infrastructure through some of America�s largest companies. The program was confirmed by President Bush and other officials, who boldly insisted, in the face of all precedent and the common understanding of the law, that the program was legal. And, the agency appears to be not only eavesdropping on the conversations of Americans in this country without warrants, but also using broad "data mining" systems that allow it to analyze information about the communications of millions of innocent people within the United States. This program is one of many examples of the administration�s efforts to evade or to minimize judicial review of its surveillance and detention activities. In August 2006, in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, a federal judge in Detroit found the program both unconstitutional and illegal.

2. Torture, Kidnapping and Detention � In the years since 9/11, our government has illegally kidnapped, detained and tortured numerous prisoners. The government continues to claim that it has the power to designate anyone, including Americans as "enemy combatants" without charge. Since 2002, some "enemy combatants," have been held at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, in some cases without access by the Red Cross. Investigations into other military detention centers have revealed severe human rights abuses and violations of international law, such as the Geneva Conventions. The government has also engaged in the practice of rendition: secretly kidnapping people and moving them to foreign countries where they are tortured and abused. It has been reported the CIA maintains secret prison camps in Eastern Europe to conduct operations that may also violate international standards.

3. The Growing Surveillance Society � In perhaps the greatest assault on the privacy of ordinary Americans, the country is undergoing a rapid expansion of data collection, storage, tracking, and mining. Over and above the invasion of privacy represented by any one specific program, a combination of new technologies, expanded government powers and expanded private-sector data collection efforts is creating a new "surveillance society" that is unlike anything Americans have seen before.

4. Patriot Act Reauthorization � Several provisions of the Patriot Act were set to expire at the end of 2005 and, despite opposition from across the political spectrum and more than 400 community and state resolutions expressing concern about the Patriot Act, Congress reauthorized the law without reforming its most flawed provisions to bring these extraordinary powers back in line with the Constitution. It passed up an opportunity to ensure adequate judicial oversight of the surveillance powers authorized in the Patriot Act. However, lawmakers did extend the "sunsets" (or expiration dates) of some of the more controversial provisions, ensuring that Congress will have to revisit the issue again.

5. Government Secrecy � The Bush administration has been one of the most secretive and nontransparent in our history. The Freedom of Information Act has been weakened , the administration has led a campaign of reclassification and increased secrecy by federal agencies (including the expansion of a catch-all category of "sensitive but unclassified"), and has made sweeping claims of "state secrets" to stymie judicial review of many of its policies that infringe on civil liberties. It even refused to grant government investigators the security clearances they needed to investigate the illegal and unconstitutional NSA wiretapping program. The administration has also expressed interest in prosecuting journalists under the Espionage Act of 1917: essentially trying to quell the media�s role in exposing questionable, illegal and unconstitutional conduct, including the maintenance of secret CIA prisons abroad and the NSA wiretapping program.

6. Real ID � The 2005 Real ID Act, rammed through Congress by being attached to a unrelated, "must pass" bill, lays the foundation for a national ID card and makes it more difficult for persecuted people to seek asylum. Under the law, states are required to standardize their drivers licenses (according to a still undetermined standard) and link to databases to be shared with every federal, state and local government official in every other state. Conservative estimates place the cost of the program at $10-12 billion. Opposition to the bill and its implementation remains fierce, and comes from groups such as the National Governor�s Association and the National Council of State Legislators.

7. No Fly and Selectee Lists � The No-Fly list was established to keep track of people the government prohibits from traveling because they have been labeled as security risks. Since 9/11 the number of similar watch lists has mushroomed, all with mysterious or ill-defined criteria for how names are placed on the lists, and with little recourse for innocent travelers seeking to be taken off them. These lists name an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people. The lists are so erroneous several members of Congress, including Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), have been flagged.

8. Political Spying � Government agencies -- including the FBI and the Department of Defense -- have conducted their own spying on innocent and law-abiding Americans. Through the Freedom of Information Act, the ACLU learned the FBI had been consistently monitoring peaceful groups such Quakers, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Greenpeace, the Arab American Anti-Defamation Committee and, indeed, the ACLU itself.

9. Abuse of Material Witness Statute � In the days and weeks after 9/11, the government gathered and detained many people -- mostly Muslims in the US -- through the abuse of a narrow federal technicality that permits the arrest and brief detention of "material witnesses," or those who have important information about a crime. Most of those detained as material witnesses were never treated as witnesses to the crimes of 9/11, and though they were detained so that their testimony could be secured, in many cases, no effort was made to secure their testimony. The government has apologized for wrongfully detaining 13 people as material witnesses. Some were imprisoned for more than six months and one actually spent more than a year behind bars.

10. Attacks on Academic Freedom � The Bush administration has used a provision in the Patriot Act to engage in a policy of "censorship at the border" to keep scholars with perceived political views the administration does not like out of the United States. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging this ideological exclusion, charging that it is being used to prevent United States citizens and residents from hearing speech protected by the First Amendment. Additionally, government policies and practices have hampered academic freedom and scientific inquiry since 9/11, creating a system where science has come under siege. The government has moved to overclassify information and has engaged in outright censorship and prescreening of scientific articles before publication.

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quote

(09 Sep 2006 10:14)

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest. -Mohandas K.
Gandhi (1869-1948)

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surgery went well

(08 Sep 2006 21:18)

My mom's surgery went well today. They were able to do it laproscopically as they had hoped. She's one tough cookie. Sitting up and talking away. After my surgery I was so wasted and groggy for so long and here she's all blah blah blah! She might go home tomorrow.

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My mom is in the ER having surgery tomorrow morning.

(07 Sep 2006 17:23)

Sep 7, 2006 6:16 PM

Hey everyone, I just got a call from my sister. My mom has been admitted to the hospital and will have gall bladder surgery tomorrow morning.

Shortly before my mom left on her trip to Europe, she had had a number of routine tests at the doctor's and while she was on her trip the lab results had come back with a chemical indicator for possible gallstones, so they had wanted her to have an ultrasound, not knowing she wasn't here. When she returned, she heard the message on her answering machine and called and rescheduled the ultrasound, so she had that last week and was already in the process of setting up a scheduled surgery for the gallstones but last night/this morning she suddenly got quite sick and when my sister heard about it she told her those were likely gallbladder symptoms. ( my sister is an x ray and ultrasound tech) so she told her to go to the hospital. So anyway I'm on my way there.

Good thing they had already identified the problem, it probably made the diagnosis faster today and good thing it didn't act up while she was still in Europe. I'm glad she had a good trip without that giving her trouble.

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funny

(03 Sep 2006 13:55)

If the world were a logical place, men would ride side saddle.
Rita Mae Brown

I thought I told you to wait in the car.
Tallulah Bankhead (1903 - 1968), on seeing a former lover for the first time in years

Dear Mary: We all knew you had it in you.
Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), telegram to friend who had given birth

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courage

(01 Sep 2006 16:47)

Viktor Frankl:
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

Harry S Truman:
Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.

Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC:
Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.

No guard or guards no matter how many hours they try to stay awake sitting beside their prisoners, can ever take away the freedom of a human mind.

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September 2006