Non-Paper Daily, 2.26.09

*Dood saves some lives, risks his own, then gets a ticket. Rough day.

*After a long delay, Hilda Solis was sworn in as Secretary of Labor, taking one step further to fill out Obama's cabinet. By all accounts I have read, she will be a strong advocate for labor which is a very good thing.

*Speaking of Obama's cabinet, former governor of Washington, Gary Locke, was nominated today to be Obama's Secretary of Commerce. After two strikeouts--Bill Richardson and Judd Gregg--we'll see if the third time's a charm. This post is looooowwww on the priority list, so no comment from me.

*Senator Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, is running way behind in polls that match him up with Democrats in mock reelection bids. Republicans want Bunning to step aside and let someone else hold onto the Republican-held seat. Bunning, however, is saying "BACK OFF!!!!" to the Republican establishment and is insisting that he will run for reelection. He's even gone so far as to threaten a law suit. The walls are crumbling down.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.24.09

*Tonight, President Obama gave a semi-State of the Union address to both houses of Congress. I was on the road for the speech, but read a bit about it and apparently it was came across well... or even better than well. Health care reform and "let's not give up" seemed to be big themes. Here's the text. Those who saw it, thoughts?

*Hillary is killin' it around the globe. She's a star. That said, her comments about pushing human rights discussions in China onto the backburner while we figure out the economic situation were dead wrong. Now, more than ever, is the time to press the Chinese into action. They still need us more than we need them, so why not do some arm twisting to get the Chinese into (at least) the 20th century?

*It is my mom's birthday today. I arrived back in La Grande for classes at EOU and to celebrate with her. Happy birthday Carol!

Weed

I found this blog post over at Mother Jones fascinating. It discusses legalization of marijuana and some of the nitty gritty details therein. Long story short, it asks the question: Do we want to completely legalize marijuana and have multinational corporations targeting children with advertising campaigns with the sole purpose of getting them to start smoking the ganja? Probably not. One option, as illustrated in the post, is to make the growing and giving away of marijuana legal, but simply make the sale illegal, in effect stopping corporate advertising efforts in their tracks while still legalizing the product. It certainly strikes me as a plausible solution. Thoughts?

No NPD Today

Oye, I am le tired, so no NPD today... and you know what that means, right? No NPD means nothing happened in the world.

You heard it here first.

Dwight Howard Is A Beast

Check this out:

This guy is a freak of nature. The thing about the shots isn't that he made them, but the ease with which he shoots the ball that far. With little more than a touch of effort he sends the ball flying in a massive arch that lasts a couple seconds. Anyone can make that shot with enough attempts, but to make it look that easy takes freakish strength.

Things We Think Are True

This blog post about sleep and depression started like this:

All of us have things we believe in even though we don't really have any evidence for them.

Isn't that the truth? For example, I'm pretty sure large amounts of coffee probably aren't good for us and in fifty years we'll be saying, "Why didn't we see that that wasn't good for us?!?!" though I've never read any scientific study that supports that theory. What about you all? What is something you believe, but have no proof of its validity?

Non-Paper Daily, 2.21.09

*The Obama Administration is doing away with "smoke and ladders" techniques that are used to make the budget deficit appear smaller than it really is. That is good news, of course, because we should all know the damage being done to our bank account from all of our overcommitting. There is an upside, of course, for them. If things turn out well, a bigger deficit now will make it easier for them to say, "Look, we lowered the deficit!" A trade for taking all the heat they will now.

*Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois's ranking senator, is heavily hinting that The Magic Man needs to resign. In the last two days, both the Magic Man's press secretary and chief of staff abruptly resigned. Not good signs for the short-term senator.

*Apparently there are not-so-secret meeting going on on Capitol Hill concerning health care reform. More as that develops, but it sounds like a the groundwork is being built. Good.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.20.09

*Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation, floated the idea of taxing miles driven rather than gas. The result is that people drive less, but it does not encourage the use of efficient vehicles. A similar idea was floated in Oregon that received very negative reviews from many, myself included. Today, Obama nipped that idea in the bud. Thank you, sir.

*The United States military base in Kyrgyzstan is set to close in six months. Yesterday, that country served our military an eviction notice, asking us to leave. Apparently there is wiggle room for a compromise, but our military leaders are already looking for an alternative entry point into Afghanistan.

*Speaking of Afghanistan, earlier this week Barack Obama announced he will be sending an additional 17,000 troops to that country, thus raising our commitment by about 50%. Perhaps some additional troops will make a difference, but we have been there for seven years, it's about time they come home too.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.19.09

*At 7,465, the Dow Jones hit its lowest point in six years today... and, no, that doesn't mean it can only go up from here.

*Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas is apparently President Obama's pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Former Senator Tom Daschle, the man tapped for leading health care reform, recently withdrew his nomination after it came to light that he had not paid more than a hundred thousand dollars in owed taxes. His removal from consideration is considered a major blow to comprehensive healthcare reform, however Sebelius is widely considered a very able politician. Healthcare reform is high on my "To do" list, so here's hoping she does well.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.18.09

Yeeks! Per a comment on the last post asking, er demanding, the return of the Non-Paper Daily, it is back.

*The stimulus package is official. At just under $800 billion it's big, but in the view of many economists, not big enough for the desired effect. We should start seeing the money flow relatively soon, in fact, the school where I teach was thinking of closing early due to budget restraints, but they may keep the doors open for the entirety of the year due to the influx of these funds.

Interestingly, I'm still very much up in the air about the stimulus package. On the one hand, without it there may be total economic meltdown. On the other, however, is the view that our current economic model of ever-increasing consumption simply cannot go no forever. Eventually it must change and perhaps this was the time for that change. As the saying goes, "Pain Causes Change." A new way of doing things is not going to just happen, it will be a result of dire economic times. We may very well be missing our opportunity for real, substantive, change

*Roland Burris, er "The Magic Man," is back in the news. During testimony before being appointed to Obama's old senate seat he said he had had no contact with Blagojevich or his associates. Apparently that wasn't entirely accurate, which is also known as a lie. Except, in his case, it was under oath, so it is known as a perjury. Ooops. Perjures, like drug traffickers, often go to jail. So the saga continues...

*The American car manufacturers are asking for more money. Looks like this time it will be for another $5-10 billion. I know if they fail it will cause extreme pain around the nation, but how long can we keep propping up failed businesses? If a mom and pop place downtown fails, they won't be receiving any stimulus funds. Since when did capitalistic theory state that once you get big you can no longer be allowed to fail?

Scary Economic Times

Sure, our economy is bad right now, but so is everyone else's. Is there something that could really makes things bad? Yes. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the price of US Treasury Bonds has started to fall.

What are the implications of this? Currently, United States citizens import about $800 billion worth of goods more than we export. In order to pay for this, countries around the world (especially China) buy IOU's from our Treasury Department: we get real money, they get a slip of paper that says "We owe you money and will pay you interest for it." This relationship works only if these foreign countries believe that the US dollar is, and will be, worth something in the future.

The failure of that relationship constitutes my greatest fear for true economic meltdown. Eventually, it seems as though the Chinese and other producing nations will grow tired of giving us money to buy their products. It only makes sense: As we live like kings, their proletariat continue to struggle to live decent lives.

There are two solutions (though I'm sure there are more, they are probably rooted in one of these simplified categories): 1) We start consuming less. If we consumed $800 billion less in foreign goods a year, then our trade deficit would be zero. This would make the United States and our currency look viable. 2) We start producing more. If we produced more goods and services--to the tune of $800 billionish annually--our trade deficit would balance out.

Of course, there are repercussions to either of these solutions which may have even greater detrimental and lasting effect. Keep your fingers crossed.

Kanye's Album

A comment: Kanye's new album is growing on me. Every time I listen to it I enjoy it even more. Just an fyi.

Chicago

I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough, let's go west.'

-Richard Jeni

Is There Just One?

I'm enjoying a lazy Sunday morning listening to Oregon Public Broadcasting. I was expecting Cartalk, followed by Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and What Do You Know? Unfortunately the radio schedule is a bit different this morning, so I am listening to This American Life and Cartalk.

On This American Life they are talking about "Is there just one person out there with whom you are supposed spend the rest of your life?" Is there one perfect person? Is there one person with whom you are supposed to spend the rest of your life? Or, are there lots of people who would be a great life partner? They are tackling that question now. What do you think?

UPDATE Per request, my thoughts: I view this question through a lens of hierarchy. Theoretically any one of us could spend the rest of our lives with anyone else, but, as we all know, some people match up better than others. Therefore, there is one person out there with whom I would match up the best (which does not necessarily correlate to perfectly). Of course, there is probably someone who is a really really really close second, and third, and so on. So, while I believe there is that one perfect person, the pinnacle of compatibility, there are many people that would be amazing partners in life.

Obama v. Bush

Another fundamental difference between the previous and current. Quick summary: everything Bush did in public was scripted and controlled. Obama has open public meetings that include dissent. It feels good.

Stimulus Package

Anyone who pays any attention to current events knows that Congress is debating an economic stimulus package in the range of $700-$950 billion. Last week the House passed one version on a party line vote, but it is currently being held up in the Senate by Republicans who are threatening a filibuster. They want more tax cuts to go with the stimulus spending. So that's the background.

Now, however, a variety of cuts are being made to science, energy, and education. What? We can bail out big bank executives that got us into this mess, but not help out people who are researching and building out future? This prompted a great excerpt from a blog post at Wired Science:

I don't get it. It's not as if the scientists and teachers are going to spend the money on junkets to Las Vegas and million-dollar bonuses. They'd be spending it directly on the country's future.

Absolutely. Here is what I do not get: Many people are saying the stimulus is 'wasteful spending," but where do they think that money is going? It isn't just disappearing into thin air. This doesn't cost $800 billion. It just doesn't. The money goes back into the economy in the form of projects, salaries, infrastructure, taxes, etc. In fact, if things go as planned, for every dollar we put in we will get more than a dollar back!

I REPEAT: This is not costing us $800 billion. The money goes back into American people and the country. Even if it goes all wrong, it will still only cost us a fraction of $800 billion.

Prehistoric Snake

This is hard to imagine. Here's an artist's impression:


It says the snake was around 2,500 pounds and over 42 feet. Wow.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.4.2009

*S-CHIP, a program that bring health care to impoverished kids, passed through Congress and was signed into law by Obama today. As our economic times get worse, this is a great move for helping our most vulnerable children stay afloat.

*Obama has outline plans to limit executive pay to $500,000 annually for those leaders of firms who are receiving federal financial assistance. Unfortunately there are plenty of loopholes, but it's still a step in the right direction.

*There is a movement at my high school to start a school garden. Just thought I'd share. Awesome.

Incredible Sight

I intend to put up some photos of my surroundings, but until then you'll have to visualize the amazing vistas. This morning was the first time I road my bike to school. On the horizon is Mt. Bachelor, one of Oregon's premier skiing/snowboarding mountains. I left around 6:30am, so the sun had yet to rise, and I could see the glow of the Cat's lights as the machine worked its way uphill, rumbling across the mountain, grooming the snow for another day of fun.

Non-Paper Daily, 2.3.2009

*Tom Daschle, President Obama's nomination for the Health and Human Services cabinet position and leader of the "let's fix our health care system" group, withdrew himself from the nomination due to failing to pay taxes on services he had received from a political donor. The thing I don't understand: If you are that far up in the government, you must know that people (media, other political party, etc) are going to find out about these things, why do we keep seeing this?!?!

*As part of the stimulus package currently meandering through the halls of Congress, there is a piece known as the "Buy American" provision. This would require that stimulus funds be used on American goods (think steel, concrete, etc). This strikes me as misguided on many levels. First, Americans need to be leaders as we work out way out of this world-wide depression. Cutting ourselves off from the outside world will only make things worse. Second, my guess is this is a massive violation of free trade laws. Third, let's all try and think of a better way to put an end to the international good will that has resulted from Obama's election. Short of starting another war, this may top the list.

Lactose Intolerance

I finished "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" a few days ago and was sad to see it go. The book opened my eyes to a variety of things that will change my life, which is an exciting prospect.

One last thought from the book that I found interesting and wanted to pass along was about lactose intolerance. Random, right? Here's the main point: Humans are supposed to be lactose intolerant. For thousands of years we used milk in the early years as an infant, then developed an intolerance to milk as we started eating adult food. However, as humans domesticated milk-producing animals, those adolescent and adult humans that could consume lactose without an allergic reaction would be more likely to survive into adulthood. As those people procreated and spread their lactose tolerant genes, more and more humans became able to consume milk beyond their childhood. Interesting, right?

Non-Paper Daily, 2.2.2009

*Eric Holder was confirmed as the next Attorney General. There were a lot of messes left by the Bush Administration, but certainly one of the messiest--think dog poop on the shoe then walking around the house before realizing it--is the Justice Department. Hopefully he will be able to quickly reinstate the office's independence, improve morale, and put an end to ideology-based hiring. It's a steep hill.

*With little fanfare this weekend, Iraqis voted yet again. With all our focus on the world's economic problems, this slipped through most news cracks. Apparently it went off with little violence, something we can all be happy about.

*The stimulus package is now moving its way through the Senate where (some) leveler heads reside. Republicans are obstructing like there is no big rush in getting this passes, while with each passing day the situation gets worse. Seriously, guys, either participate or move aside. If Hoover taught us anything, it's that doing nothing is not an option.

Fake Tan

According to this blog post there is a drug that was recently approved for trials that spurs the production of melatonin. In other words, it gives you a tan without exposure to the sun (the natural way to produce melatonin). Melatonin is a product of our bodies that protects our skin from the sun's rays. The producers say this drug will be used on people whose bodies produce so little melatonin that going outside is unsafe.

My guess is that that is, indeed, the original intent for the drug, but that it may become widely available for recreational use. In fact, the post mentions another black market drug that supposedly has the same effect. But here's the thing, I've always thought that the reason people find tanned skin attractive is because not everyone has it. The same goes for fit bodies. If everyone is tan from this drug or everyone is fit from some miracle once-a-day pill, then people will no longer be as attracted to that physical characteristic simply because it is no longer rare. In other words, people are attracted to things that are not commonplace. As soon as fitness and tanning are achieved by simply taking a pill, and everyone is taking those pills, then something else--something not so easily obtained--has to take their place as "hotness indicators."

Superbowl Sunday

I'm not sure if I have ever cared less about the outcome of a Superbowl. That said, let's hope for an entertaining game and some funny commercials. And, for good measure:

Arizona 27, Pittsburgh 24

UPDATE: Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23. I nearly called the score, but switched... sooooo, it doesn't mean anything.

New Zealand

Nearly everyone with any outdoorsman in their blood seems to crave a trip to New Zealand. Making the mix even sweeter, The Lord of the Rings makes New Zealand look like heaven, it's a big lure to my fishness (wow). An older friend of mine is currently traveling down there with his family and he described New Zealand like this:

For those of you in the US who yearn for a life style that has vanished from the US, New Zealand is the place to be. Roads are not congested, the land is open and not covered with housing developments, and the people are easy going and modest.

That perfectly describes the place I want to live: a community with fewer vehicles that eschews sprawling housing developments in favor of more dense townships. Throw in a little gardening and New Zealand is my heaven.

Take a look, this place is heaven on earth:

*Thanks to Ted Szukalski for the photograph.

Bend, Part II

I have arrived! It was a looooong drive from La Grande to Bend where I consumed a lot of sunflower seeds and even a bit of coffee (not really coffee, it was more chocolate, vanilla, milk, and sugar plus a little coffee on the side). Yesterday, my first full day, was fantastic. I met my cooperating teacher and we get along very well, then moved most of my stuff in, went on a bike ride (first in about three months!), and hit Mt. Bachelor in the afternoon. It was fantastic, I can get used to this.

Today it's school and Superbowl. School because I need to finalize my plans for student teaching and Superbowl, well, because.