Liberry Air

Is this really 2008?

2008-12-27T17:10:00.004-05:00

Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio secretary of state who appears to be leading in the race to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee, is defending a rival who distributed a CD containing a song called "Barack the Magic Negro," and dismissing criticism as a sign of media "hypersensitivity" to race.

and...

"Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan issued a statement Saturday distancing the party’s leadership from one of the GOP’s best-known operatives, Chip Saltsman, who distributed a CD containing “Barack the Magic Negro” as part of his campaign to be elected chairman of the Republican National Committee next month."

Duncan's statement, in full: "The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."

My God! It took 22 hours and questions from the press about their silence before they even responded...with this? An uproar following the use of a racial slur is "hypersensitivity to race"? "...does not move us in the right direction"?? Is he shocked and appalled only because it's a disastrous political move? Because the story got out? These are the mainstream representatives of the Republican Party? Is there no depth to which these people will not sink?

Voting "Please, Lord: Now!"

2008-11-05T07:12:00.004-05:00

Voting this time was unlike any other. By 5:30 a.m., the line ahead of me was over a hundred people. Under the friendly, chatty atmosphere there was intensity, quiet, determination, and a sense of hope that was amazing and heartening.

I chose my vote by default: I couldn't vote for one candidate - it was just impossible as a woman; as someone who respects others' right to be different with dignity and full rights of citizenship; as a moderate; as an educator...as a thinking person. If nothing else, the possibility of having an unqualified, right wing religious fanatic as vice president (and quite possibly president) was too terrifying to consider.

In this state, it wouldn't have mattered if I voted as the outcome was a certainty. I considered not voting or voting down-ticket. In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to do that. The honor, privilege, and duty of voting could not be denied. With Tagore's definition of duty going through my mind, I went to the polls.

And I am so glad I did. Although I wish I had a candidate I really wanted to vote for available, being with a group of people blazing with the possibility of finally arriving at the shore after standing uninvited in the water for all those years was almost overwhelming. The hope and affirmation were palpable, almost blistering.

The little elderly lady, bundled in a too-big coat and tucked in a folding chair, waiting patiently to vote behind close to three hundred people smiled at each of us as we left, responding to good wishes with a repeated prayer: "Please, Lord: Now!"

Now the voting is over and the choice is made. I hope her vision holds true for more than this day.

OK That's It!

2008-08-30T14:12:00.003-04:00

I wondered what it would take to get me to vote for Obama. I really can't stand McCain...but Obama and his assortment of pathetic (at best) responses to issues I care about wasn't far behind. I actually considered not voting.

That is, I considered that path until the Old One nominated the anti-abortion, anti-evolution, anti-wilderness, etc. etc. beauty queen with no experience.

Bad enough that he might get to nominate a Supreme. But the idea that he might die and she become the President? No thanks!

ok Obama, that's one more (albeit a really reluctant one).

finally...

2008-03-26T20:50:00.001-04:00

News of worth

Hoorah!!

2008-03-04T17:56:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to U, Husband, and new Dynamic Duo! Be well!

Here We Go Again

2008-02-26T18:41:00.003-05:00

It looks like once again I might be stuck voting for the lesser of two evils: the wooer of conservatives or the guy who hopes we won't remember that JFK, while charismatic, was just not much of a president. Neither can demonstrate that he will be a positive force when it comes to women's issues; neither really so much as tries to do so.

*sigh*

I am sick of stupidity; sicker still of sheep.

In honor of this day

2008-01-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

"The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers."

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice."

Others:

"You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." (I've seen both Golda Meir and Indira Ghandi credited with saying this.)

"The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists." President William Jefferson Clinton

"Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of Faith, Strength, Energy, Will, Sympathy, Justice, Imagination, and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism." Dorothy Thomson

"Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us." Dalai Lama

maybe i should just take pictures

2008-01-06T13:42:00.000-05:00

Lately I don't seem to have the time, or sometimes heart, to blog.

If I can figure out how to do it, maybe I'll be a copycat and do a 365 blog.

The days are getting longer, the quality of light is changing - and that might make all the difference!

happy, happier, happiest....sad, sadder, saddest

2007-12-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

Daughter and boyfriend might have wonderful opportunity for stellar job in nice city...

nice city is about 1500 miles away.

One of two or three truly close friends/colleagues at work is announcing her retirement as of the end of this school year. She's a wonderful person who deserves to have time to spend with her husband pursuing interests and traveling...

I'll miss her terribly.

Another closer friend/colleague is teetering on the brink of deciding to retire...see above.

I love the work I do...I have so much drivel to do I have little time to the professional part of my job - and I'm drowning.

Ed McMahon is becoming the man of my dreams.

Old and New

2007-10-06T08:21:00.000-04:00

The moving boxes for the haul to our currently-being-built new school are arriving soon so we can pack now those things we've used for the year and avoid moving trauma later.

How do you pack a library in advance? We don't finish units and put them away til next time. We're unpacking new books while others pack books away.

Can't count either

2007-10-06T08:19:00.000-04:00

Apparently I have bought, not 90 bulbs, but two sacks of 90 bulbs...Halloween presents?

maybe

2007-09-30T09:20:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking of making a truly frivolous purchase...just because it's something I would like to have.

Not sure why this seems so momentous instead of...normal.

Booking

2007-09-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

Unexpectedly really enjoyed: Practical Dragonkeeping by Christopher Moore

Expectedly really enjoyed: Harry Potter 7

plants

2007-09-30T09:10:00.000-04:00

I really love my gardens although they are truly pathetic.

Every time I pick a weeny little pepper or find a new flower, it's a little burst of pure joy.

Morning glories are so aptly named.

Soon we will have three softball-sized watermelons.

Time to plant bulbs. Buying 90 may have been overly optimistic.

coming soon to a library nearby

2007-09-30T09:05:00.000-04:00

Our new school is actually being built...and the library plans point to a facility that will be lovely.

Anyone moved into a new library? Got any advice? Warnings?

I already know the caveat about fighting for the ed specs dealing with shelving: a friend moved into her new space and started unpacking books. As she put them on the shelves, they started falling off onto her feet. They had changed her specs - wrong.

Anyone using wireless laptops instead of hard-wired units for all but a couple of OPACs? How's that going?

aging

2007-09-30T08:33:00.000-04:00

During last annual with one of my doctors, he noted I hadn't had a bone density done in some time - and had never had the full scan. So I had the scan. Then I had a phone call asking me to schedule a follow-up with him "No emergency; he just likes to go over the results personally with patients." Ahem. Even I am not that gullible, so I started getting religion (taking a couple of calcium supplements a day, eating more yogurt) and waited the month for the appointment (no rush to schedule a non-emergency visit - stealthily comforting).

We sat and chatted for a moment - after all, we've been seeing each other for thirty years. He delivered my daughter. I said, "So...? I'm guessing if all were well, we would not be having this little tete-a-tete." He grinned/grimaced and announced I have osteoporosis of the spine and osteopenia in my hips. So glad I had HRT and was not careful about calcium long ago. How smart to have somehow fallen off the walking bandwagon for quite a while. Well done.

So now my sudden burst of a couple of calcium supplements a day has morphed into Fosamax, three supplements a day, a search for a decent multivitamin to take every day, hard-wiring the yogurt-eating into my diet, and a long time to wait til the next bone scan to see if the loss can be stopped.

The good part is having discovered Adoras calcium supplements. They add 30 kcal each, so I had been leery about them. Wrong. They are disks of chocolate (dark or milk available) that really taste like...chocolate! I look forward to each supplement. They're less calories than an average candy. I haven't had any other chocolate in over 4 weeks now - I'm getting a guilt-free fix three times a day! Silver lining.

sad

2007-09-30T08:26:00.001-04:00

Ran into someone who used to be part of a circle of friends at a craft fair. Years ago, her husband, a close of friend of my husband's, collapsed and died shortly thereafter...but not so shortly that she could be spared the decision to remove him from life support when it was determined that the background count on the monitors was higher than his brain functions. She had a psychological break - in some ways, perhaps all of us did. The group evaporated, as did the relationships.

We asked each other how we were doing...fine, fine. She asked after husband; I stood there awkwardly. We smiled and moved on.

In some ways we've probably grown, but we seem to be diminished. The people we were have gone.

back

2007-09-30T08:23:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to find my way to blogging regularly. Like everything else, if I can learn to be less earnest and intense, the process might be more manageable.

AARRHH!

2007-05-27T09:23:00.000-04:00

Culminating events of fun birthday:

Trip here for fabulous Greek dinner

Trip to see this which would have been worth it just for the fine scenery. Well, the pictures of the ships and ocean were nice too. Turned out to be a really good movie - not at all the fluff that I expected - may have to see it again. Now I understand the comments Depp has been making lately about considering doing a fourth installment - sounds like the opening volley of fierce negotations.

And Keith Richards! Perfect!

Can't do anything else though

2007-05-20T21:28:00.000-04:00

Your IQ score is 140

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns.

Translation: No practical ability!

Got a hungry pet??

2007-05-07T19:11:00.000-04:00

Click on the Iams link below - you can fill out a form and they'll send you a coupon for a free sack of cat or dog food! Even if you don't use it yourself, I'll bet there's a shelter that could!

sheesh

2007-04-27T17:16:00.000-04:00

Another teacher and I got snookered into setting up a retirement party for a couple of fellow teachers. Suddenly there's a political mess, people not signing up, etc. etc. Except we have a contract with the expensive restaurant to show up with money for a lot of guests - or get socked with a disasterous cancellation fee.

Maybe now I'll have learned to let it go - and if there's no partying in the future...oh, well.

Anyone want to go to a retirement dinner? The dinner'll be really nice!!

What a day

2007-04-24T20:50:00.000-04:00

What a pip of a day!

Still recovering from slamming a finger between a library chair and table yesterday - finger is no longer twice its size and is less black, more blue.

The new motherboard for our circulation computer had not arrived by the time I left - meaning the chaos caused by the equipment failure would continue a bit longer. I feel for the IT guy - we have run him absolutely ragged the last couple of days, especially after a heating system malfunction superheated the building and killed equipment. Praying it's fine by tomorrow - we're seriously behind.

Fuel oil tank in basement had large puddle under it, called emergency service. Turned out to be a corroded line to the filter - easily fixed. (Technician also explained it would not have exploded or burned - good to know.)

Early exit from school (on a day I was fabulously busy) made me miss a meeting announced right near the end of school...at which our principal announced she's leaving after only two years - and before a number of reforms she was planning are in place. (And they would have moved us in the right direction, albeit with the faculty kicking and screaming the whole way.)

And it's only Tuesday!

Is this a water joke?

2007-04-17T07:47:00.000-04:00

The lake that our upper lawn has become spawned a rivulet which immediately headed across the driveway into my newly established flower bed. After lugging and ~~dumping~~ carefully spreading a dozen huge sacks of garden soil; planting a lilac; planting a burning bush; and planting an entire large sack of tulip bulbs, I coudln't let this continue. (Actually I'd have thought about it less if it weren't for all the holes laboriously dug for the tulip bulbs.)

Thanks to Ocean State Job Lot's sale on 32 quart sacks of potting soil, I acquired a supply of sand bags and banked the driveway. The new river was redirected...to the lower lawn. What luck that I had already purchased sacks of grass seed for some patching! Maybe I should just dump them in the junior river and let it spread the grass seed in its own path?

The garden disaster having been more or less averted, I can return to constructing annotated science ebibliographies. Oh, joy.

Sad

2007-04-03T16:18:00.000-04:00

One of our outside kitties was seriously injured somehow. Despite valiant efforts by Daughter and a nice vet, the decision had to be made that it would be inhumane to put him through any more suffering and he has been euthanized.

He was a very nice kitty and both we and the other outside kitty will miss him.

[Reserves perfect pebble til his ashes return in a couple of weeks.]