I have several problems with SUV's, one of them being fuel efficiency. The fact that any car on the road would only get 17 miles to a gallon is absolutely reprehensible, especially given the price of gas and the amount of foreign oil we rely on. But that's not my biggest problem.
I drive a small car. Quite often, especially on the highway, an SUV or a truck will pull up behind me and drive incredibly close to my bumper. I was taught that if you can't see the bottom of the rear tires of the person in front of you, you're too close. It seems that SUV and truck drives have been taught that if you can see the bumper of the car in front of you, you're not close enough. I have been rear-ended twice by an SUV in the past 5 months. Thankfully, my car and I are fine, but most people hit by SUV's and trucks aren't as lucky. If an SUV or truck hits a regular car, the accident is much more severe for the driver of the regular sized car.
For this reason, I am suggesting that there be a special lane just for trucks and SUV's. It's just not safe for them to drive with the rest of us. It's difficult to be a defensive driver when all you can see is the big, fat SUV in front of you. Though I think it's environmentally irresponsible, I don't deny people the right to drive the car they choose, I just don't want them in the same lane with me. It's just not safe.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Just Not the Gays
The military has lowered its standards again to try to boost recruitment and I worry about the kinds of people fresh-out-of-high-school recruits might be serving next to, especially when the military is giving guns to people with a past including criminal misconduct such as making terrorist threats (to allow the Army to cash in on the Michigan Militia crowd). The enlistment age has been raised to 40, we're giving out a lot of medical wavers, and a past of drug abuse (to cash in on the stoner crowd) and alcohol addiction is no longer a problem (so our soldiers might not be the most fit). High school drop-outs are being accepted (so much for the smart-soldier argument). We're allowing all of these people to enlist in the military even though they have some serious problems that could put themselves and the soldiers they serve with in danger. But if you're gay, you'd better keep it quiet or you're going to be discharged.
And you guys are telling me that homosexuals are thought of and treated as equals? The message being sent here is that they are worse than criminals, alcohol abusers, and athsmatics. We should be ashamed.
And you guys are telling me that homosexuals are thought of and treated as equals? The message being sent here is that they are worse than criminals, alcohol abusers, and athsmatics. We should be ashamed.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
No News
There's something very disturbing to me about people who never watch the news or don't think the news is important. I know that it's difficult to care when you're just trying to put a roof over your head and food in your body, but government policy effects your ability to do that, and you hear about government policy in the news.
My students only have one TV in each dorm, and you can pretty much bet it's not tuned to the news. It didn't occur to me that they were missing out on information until a student came in yesterday and saw the Corretta Scott King funeral program on my desk. He was surprised to find that she had died two weeks ago. He hadn't heard anything about it.
High school is when students really start to get interested in the world around them, especially if they are guided by an adult to find things that they're interested in and read about them. Kids are naturally curious, but teenagers are naturally self-absorbed. Public schools do a pretty good job of keeping students into he loop about what's going on (as long as it's not political or religious), but I think boarding schools in America (I've worked at several) are doing a huge disservice to their students by not encouraging them to read the newspaper, watch the news, or check it on the Internet. For my part, I'll be requiring an opinion essay on a news story once a week, and I feel remiss in not having done so before.
My students only have one TV in each dorm, and you can pretty much bet it's not tuned to the news. It didn't occur to me that they were missing out on information until a student came in yesterday and saw the Corretta Scott King funeral program on my desk. He was surprised to find that she had died two weeks ago. He hadn't heard anything about it.
High school is when students really start to get interested in the world around them, especially if they are guided by an adult to find things that they're interested in and read about them. Kids are naturally curious, but teenagers are naturally self-absorbed. Public schools do a pretty good job of keeping students into he loop about what's going on (as long as it's not political or religious), but I think boarding schools in America (I've worked at several) are doing a huge disservice to their students by not encouraging them to read the newspaper, watch the news, or check it on the Internet. For my part, I'll be requiring an opinion essay on a news story once a week, and I feel remiss in not having done so before.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Something You Should Know...
Special thanks to Sarchasm
17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date.
Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police.
African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police.
The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.
The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years. Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women.
Every 90 seconds, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
According to the 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, 62% of rape and sexual assault victims knew the perpetrator. Sexual violence is associated with a host of short- and long-term problems, including physical injury and illness, psychological symptoms, economic costs, and death.
About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds.
Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships.
Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes.
An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor.
Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds.
A University of Pennsylvania research study found that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to low-income, inner-city Philadelphia women between the ages of 15 to 44 - more common than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined.
At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect.
Globally, at least one in three women and girls had been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.
In a recent survey by the Kenyan Women Rights Awareness Program, 70% of the men and women interviewed said they knew neighbors who beat their wives. Nearly 60% said women were to blame for the beatings. Just 51% said the men should be punished. 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year.
In Bangladesh, 47 % of adult women report physical assault by a male partner (UNFPA)
In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia): 62% reported having been raped in prostitution. 73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution. 92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.
So-called "honour killings" take thelives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. In 1999, more than 1000 women in Pakistan were victims of honour crimes.
More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
In Uganda HIV infection is 6 times higher among young girls than boys with the difference in rates beginning as early as 9 years old and reaching a peak for the age-12-19 years old. This is due to old men seeking young girls for sexual exploitation with the belief that they are free from HIV.
In Canada, 62% of women murdered in 1987 died at hands of an intimate male partner.
In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare.
A study in Zaria, Nigeria found that 16 percent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were under 5.
17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date.
Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police.
African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police.
The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.
The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years. Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women.
Every 90 seconds, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
According to the 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, 62% of rape and sexual assault victims knew the perpetrator. Sexual violence is associated with a host of short- and long-term problems, including physical injury and illness, psychological symptoms, economic costs, and death.
About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds.
Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships.
Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes.
An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor.
Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds.
A University of Pennsylvania research study found that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to low-income, inner-city Philadelphia women between the ages of 15 to 44 - more common than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined.
At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect.
Globally, at least one in three women and girls had been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.
In a recent survey by the Kenyan Women Rights Awareness Program, 70% of the men and women interviewed said they knew neighbors who beat their wives. Nearly 60% said women were to blame for the beatings. Just 51% said the men should be punished. 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year.
In Bangladesh, 47 % of adult women report physical assault by a male partner (UNFPA)
In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia): 62% reported having been raped in prostitution. 73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution. 92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.
So-called "honour killings" take thelives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. In 1999, more than 1000 women in Pakistan were victims of honour crimes.
More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
In Uganda HIV infection is 6 times higher among young girls than boys with the difference in rates beginning as early as 9 years old and reaching a peak for the age-12-19 years old. This is due to old men seeking young girls for sexual exploitation with the belief that they are free from HIV.
In Canada, 62% of women murdered in 1987 died at hands of an intimate male partner.
In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare.
A study in Zaria, Nigeria found that 16 percent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were under 5.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Don't Ask. Don't Tell.
Lately the major issue to reduce the limitations on civil liberties facing homosexuals in this country has been gay marriage and civil unions, but we forget that there are other issues at stake, especially one that is infinitely more important. If we are living in a tolerant society in which everyone has equal rights, why is it that a gay soldier cannot make his or her orientation known? There are events in which spouses are invited to attend, as well as normal office conversations centered around husbands and wives. Why must homosexuals be excluded from these events and discussions? How does that show that we are one of the most tolerant nations in the world? More importantly, why can't gay and lesbian soldiers enjoy the same freedoms they are fighting for and may die defending?
At Harvard Medical School a group of students gathered to protest the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy of the United States Military. At the military school nearby, any student who engages in homosexual activity, no limited to the act of sex itself, is to be immediately dismissed. It is a major insult to be called gay. But yet, we continue to pretend that we live in a society where all Americans are treated equally.
At Harvard Medical School a group of students gathered to protest the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy of the United States Military. At the military school nearby, any student who engages in homosexual activity, no limited to the act of sex itself, is to be immediately dismissed. It is a major insult to be called gay. But yet, we continue to pretend that we live in a society where all Americans are treated equally.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Goodbye Betty, Not-So-Crocker
Today I mourn the loss of a woman who was a source of many discussions at my Women's College. Betty Friedan's book, "The Feminine Mystique", inspired the Women's Movement in the United States and encouraged women to fight for such controversial rights as equal pay, maternity leave, and abortion. Betty Friedan helped women begin to think outside the box and realize that our worth lies in much more than our ability to get married and have children. It is difficult to grasp the immensity of what Friedan and other prominent women have done for me, especially for men who have always had the rights my gender had to fight for. My meditation for today will focus on the struggles of women in our country as well as the extreme difficulties facing women around the world. For more information on how you can help women, visit the bipartisan National Council of Women's Organizations.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Seeking Legitimacy and Peace
For year the US and Israel have been saying that they will not talk to Hamas because they are a terrorist organization and have no legitimacy. Finally, having realized that we were serious, Hamas decided to legitimacy themselves and run as a political party. Then, having won the election, and therefore, legitimacy as it has been described worldwide, Hamas offers to share power with the opposing party. It still refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, but Hamas IS the elected party and has the freedom to do as it pleases. Democracy has a dark side.
There are several ways this could go. The US and Israel could back down on their pledge not to talk to Hamas, mostly because the leader of the organization made an excellent point. What if leaders from all over the world stopped negotiating with various countries based only on who had been elected? And democratically, at that! This may not be a choice we like, but Hamas has been elected and they do run the country. Not talking with them could mean war. And the US will most likely support Israel militarily, which would probably result in a draft here. Our economy would take another hit that we can't afford. Bad things would happen. So I'm hoping everyone swallows their pride and takes a seat at the table.
My thoughts are with Israel and the concern they must be feeling at this volatile time in their part of the world. May their courage, strength, and unwavering faith sustain them.
There are several ways this could go. The US and Israel could back down on their pledge not to talk to Hamas, mostly because the leader of the organization made an excellent point. What if leaders from all over the world stopped negotiating with various countries based only on who had been elected? And democratically, at that! This may not be a choice we like, but Hamas has been elected and they do run the country. Not talking with them could mean war. And the US will most likely support Israel militarily, which would probably result in a draft here. Our economy would take another hit that we can't afford. Bad things would happen. So I'm hoping everyone swallows their pride and takes a seat at the table.
My thoughts are with Israel and the concern they must be feeling at this volatile time in their part of the world. May their courage, strength, and unwavering faith sustain them.
Friday, January 13, 2006
I Am a Sellout
Senator Rick Santorum came to speak to students at our school yesterday as a publicity stunt, both for the school and for the Iraq war. Suprisingly, he offered to answer questions. I have to say, I'm proud of my boys. They didn't let the Senator off too easily, but there was one question about his speech I desperately wanted to ask: Why did you refer to 9/11 when justifying the Iraq war even though no connection has been established between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden?
I don't know how we can talk about free speech in America when I know for a fact that asking that question would have gotten me fired. If I were teaching in a public school, asking that question would have gotten me a discipline slip at the very least. We have become a nation so afraid of what people think and how they will react that we censor ourselves to protect our families and our jobs. I had a teacher who told me, "Doing the easy thing is rarely right and doing the right thing is rarely easy". I am ashamed to say that yesterday, I did the EASY thing even though I knew with all of my heart that it wasn't the RIGHT thing. I set a bad example for my students, and taught them to keep their mouths shut even when they come across something they KNOW is wrong.
I don't know how we can talk about free speech in America when I know for a fact that asking that question would have gotten me fired. If I were teaching in a public school, asking that question would have gotten me a discipline slip at the very least. We have become a nation so afraid of what people think and how they will react that we censor ourselves to protect our families and our jobs. I had a teacher who told me, "Doing the easy thing is rarely right and doing the right thing is rarely easy". I am ashamed to say that yesterday, I did the EASY thing even though I knew with all of my heart that it wasn't the RIGHT thing. I set a bad example for my students, and taught them to keep their mouths shut even when they come across something they KNOW is wrong.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Sororities
I went to a Women's College and we used to joke that we didn't need sororities on campus because we were one. There was relatively little pressure on the dating front because men weren't generally around campus. For those who wanted to go Greek, there was a large University just down the street. Their sororities didn't recruit our women, but they didn't turn them away, either.
After reading Pledged by Alexandra Robbins, I was glad to have been sheltered from all of that. My college boyfriend was Greek, Phi Delta Theta to be exactly (just like my Daddy), so I got to observe the who process from the outside. I sent time in the frat house, went to formal, semi-formal, etc... and watched as girls who had previously ignored my boyfriend fell all over him once he was a brother. At least he was too smitten with me to notice!
Anyway, there was some scary information in the book, such as the fact that pipes at sorority house corrode at an alarming rate due the stomach acid that is constantly flushed through them. For the same reason, maintenance is called often to the house to clean out pipes clogged with vomit. I won't give away too much of the book, but you should know that over 75% of sorority girls have been sexually assaulted, most often by a fraternity member.
After reading Pledged by Alexandra Robbins, I was glad to have been sheltered from all of that. My college boyfriend was Greek, Phi Delta Theta to be exactly (just like my Daddy), so I got to observe the who process from the outside. I sent time in the frat house, went to formal, semi-formal, etc... and watched as girls who had previously ignored my boyfriend fell all over him once he was a brother. At least he was too smitten with me to notice!
Anyway, there was some scary information in the book, such as the fact that pipes at sorority house corrode at an alarming rate due the stomach acid that is constantly flushed through them. For the same reason, maintenance is called often to the house to clean out pipes clogged with vomit. I won't give away too much of the book, but you should know that over 75% of sorority girls have been sexually assaulted, most often by a fraternity member.
No, It's Not.
A personal disease cannot be controlled. A person becomes stricken with disease through no fault of their own. They are accosted from within, ravaged by pain, and humbled by their own mortality. Families are pillaged to pay medical costs. The individual emotional distress can be overwhelming. Cancer and bipolar disorder fall into the category of personal disease.
A societal disease is an affliction that cannot be controlled by the entity effected by it. Whether it is slow and degenerative (like religion) or swift and chaotic (like AIDS), the results are often devastating. Many of these diseases can be constrained by legal restrictions or common sense for a period of time before exploding on a world-scale. Drug and alcohol addiction fall into the category of societal disease, not personal disease.
So everyone say it with me: Drug and Alcohol addiction is NOT A PERSONAL DISEASE. Why? Because a person can decide at any time to put the beer down and back away from the cocaine. No higher power is required. There is only one step. Personal responsibility is a necessary lesson in life, and many people fail the test (and ruin it for the rest of us) by refusing to learn to partake without excess.
Forget the excuses. Addiction runs in my family, too. In fact, it runs in every family. Just because no one calls someone who plays video games 12 hours a day an addict doesn't mean he's not one. We all use escapes, some more obsessively than others. To practice them in moderation is the key, but you must be taught to do so. Temperance is not something that is seen often in America, and many of our societal ills have a lot to do with what we teach our children. If we teach people to refrain from drug and alcohol use, we are not teaching them to live in the world around them. There is a time and a place (and a limit) for everything, and addicts have not learned to recognize that fact.
A societal disease is an affliction that cannot be controlled by the entity effected by it. Whether it is slow and degenerative (like religion) or swift and chaotic (like AIDS), the results are often devastating. Many of these diseases can be constrained by legal restrictions or common sense for a period of time before exploding on a world-scale. Drug and alcohol addiction fall into the category of societal disease, not personal disease.
So everyone say it with me: Drug and Alcohol addiction is NOT A PERSONAL DISEASE. Why? Because a person can decide at any time to put the beer down and back away from the cocaine. No higher power is required. There is only one step. Personal responsibility is a necessary lesson in life, and many people fail the test (and ruin it for the rest of us) by refusing to learn to partake without excess.
Forget the excuses. Addiction runs in my family, too. In fact, it runs in every family. Just because no one calls someone who plays video games 12 hours a day an addict doesn't mean he's not one. We all use escapes, some more obsessively than others. To practice them in moderation is the key, but you must be taught to do so. Temperance is not something that is seen often in America, and many of our societal ills have a lot to do with what we teach our children. If we teach people to refrain from drug and alcohol use, we are not teaching them to live in the world around them. There is a time and a place (and a limit) for everything, and addicts have not learned to recognize that fact.
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