Category: Can We Talk?

Can We Talk?

The President’s First Week in Office

Karen

One thing I really like about this incoming administration? Their willingness to communicate with us.

President Obama lays out the key priorities. He goes into detail, noting that the plan will update our electric grid by laying more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines; weatherize 2.5 million homes; protect health insurance for more than 8 million Americans in danger of losing their coverage; secure 90 major ports; renovate 10,000 schools; and triple the number of science fellowships.

This was my favorite part of his speech:

I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan. I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won’t just throw money at our problems – we’ll invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible. We’ll launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov.

I’m ABSOLUTELY in favor of keeping track of where our money goes and weeding out unnecessary spending. (Bravo on the wage freeze in Washington! They all make too money, in my opinion).

Keep up the good work, President Obama. So far so good in my book.

You can subscribe to the White House blog here. Thanks to Jen at Momma Blogs A Lot for the link tip.

Can We Talk?

Coffee Chat Writing Project – December 2008

Karen

TIME IS TICKING! POST YOUR ENTRIES FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE!

This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for current entries. Thank you!

coffeechat

Are you ready to submit your blog links?

If you know what to do, please feel free to skip this introduction and put your links into the Mr. Linky script below. If you subscribed to my feed, don’t forget to leave me a comment so I can add another ticket for you to the pot!

If you’re scratching your head, wondering what in the world I’m talking about …

… You can read the full rules and guidelines here.

The writing prompts for this Coffee Chat are:

1. Tell us how your Thanksgiving dinner went. (What was on the menu? What food item did you contribute? Did you have any family drama? Post pictures if you have them!)

2. Tell us about how you celebrated the holidays when you were a child. (Do you have a certain holiday experience you’d like to share? Scan photos and post them if you can!)

Write about one, or both prompts (separate posts, please), if you wish.

Your posts can be fiction, or nonfiction – interpret these prompts any way you wish – whatever inspires you.

You have two weeks to write a blog entry based on one, or both, writing prompts. When you’re finished, leave the PERMALINK to your blog entry in the Mr. Linky script. I will update readers periodically with who has submitted their links so far. I will draw two winners December 15th – the first winner receives a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate, the second winner receives a $10 Starbucks gift certificate (I’ll need the address of the second winner as I’ll be actually buying these myself).

Need an example? Here’s my Thanksgiving post.

Good luck and HAVE FUN!!!

December Coffee Chat Participants

Can We Talk?

Question of the Day

Karen

question Guess where I am?

Yep, holed up at the library working on my NaNoWriMo project.

However, you were nice enough to drop by so I’ll make it worth your time by asking a question:

If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?

ADDED MY ANSWER: If money were no object, then I would become a travel writer. I’d travel the world with an assistant, someone who would make reservations for me and who I could shove off everyday responsibilities to (like laundry) so I could concentrate on absorbing my surroundings and drinking expensive lattes at outdoor cafes while admiring the men, er the view. 😉

Have a great day, everyone. Talk to you soon.

________________________

NaNoWriMo Progress

Can We Talk?

Discussion: The Fat Tax

Karen

discussion7
(I Twittered this this morning. Are you following my tweets?)

I saw this on the MSN news site this morning:

The Fat Tax

The state of Alabama has issued a warning to its state workers: Get fit or pay up.

In August, the Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board approved a plan that will charge workers an additional $25 to cover their insurance premiums, if they don’t take advantage of free health screenings available to all state employees. The program, to begin in January, will require state workers to receive medical screenings for body mass index and health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.

Critics have panned this as a “fat tax” that unfairly punishes people for their genetic predispositions. Others argue that the measure amounts to lawful discrimination that infringes on the right of free will, much like the state’s 2004 decision to offer a discount to non-smoking employees.

Nonsense. This is an opportunity, not punishment. It is an important step toward better preventive care at a time when health costs are soaring and Americans are in increasing denial about their ever-ballooning weight. And the state is offering a free—yes, free—jumpstart. Under the plan, state employees are being asked to go to a free health screening, and if necessary, a free doctor’s consultation. If those screenings show that a person is predisposed to illness due to their weight or other conditions, they will be offered help to begin to address their health issues. Only if workers fail to take advantage of the free screening will they be charged the additional $25.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it’s like, “WHAT?! We don’t need no stinkin’ government telling us how to live our lives.”

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I do not want more government in our lives.

On the other hand, it’s like, “WHAT?! Why should my health insurance premiums go up just to support people who are choosing not to live a healthy lifestyle?”

Has obesity really gotten so out of hand that the government now has to step in and take over?

Wow, I find that sad.

Thoughts?

Can We Talk?

A Letter to All Viral Asshats

Karen

Dear Viral Asshat Wannabe,

Guess what I’m doing right now? Go on, guess. I’ll bet you’ll never guess what I’m doing right now.

I’ll give you a hint – it has something to do with computers, a lot of time and patience, and quite a few backup DVD’s.

Give up?

Fine, I’ll tell you – I’m reformatting my computer.

Well, one of them, anyway.

*sigh*

I DETEST people like you who have nothing better to do than sit around and think up viruses to cripple honest, God-fearing, hard-working people’s computers. Truly, you’re evil – and I bet you’re a lonely loser too, am I right?

I have a message for you and your viral society reject “friends” who create viruses:

Do NOT gloat. Do NOT think, for one minute, that just because I’m having to reformat, you win. Oh, contrare, you piece of dogshit … brace yourself because …

I don’t mind it.

That’s right. You read that correctly. In fact, I am actually going to thank you. Why? Because you’re doing me a favor – I LOVE a newly reformatted computer. Everything works super fast. It’s a chance to clean house and get rid of the junk files that I inevitably collect over months of browsing.

But most of all, it gives me IMMENSE satisfaction to zap your nasty, evil virus bytes to hell.

So, thank you, evil depraved f*cker. I will have a brand new computer very soon because of you.

In the meantime, you’re not slowing me down. Why? Because I have three computers, asswipe. My Dell (which was infected), my Antec, (which is a computer my husband built from scratch and is ROCK SOLID), and my laptop, (which is my close-personal buddy). So, I’m writing this entry on my Antec computer. I don’t use my Antec computer very often anymore, mainly because it’s running Windows 2000 and is a lot slower than my Dell, which is running Windows XP. But, it has never failed me and it’s an excellent backup.

So, suck my motherboard, slimebucket.

Oh, and if you still think you’re going to get some satisfaction out of the fact that I’m spending my Saturday reloading programs? Think again, reject, I ENJOY lining up my CD’s and reloading fresh copies of Word, PhotoShop, Dreamweaver, etc. because there is NOTHING like the smell of a fresh, virgin program.

But I suppose you wouldn’t know that smell, would you, you poor pathetic worm. What with you being cooped up in a windowless, trashy, dimly lit room with no one to keep you company save for the mirror tacked on the opposite wall.

The moral of this letter?

Get a life. You’re pathetic. Truly, it’s not attractive.

Sincerely,

A Geek Who Refuses to Be Infected … For Long.

ADDED: Well, my hard drive has been wiped clean. It sparkles – it’s so pretty. 🙂 I’m currently installing windows updates and sheesh it’s taking forever! My monitor is doing this weird flickering thing and the husband and I remembered, too late, that we had to install a driver for the video card when I first got this computer and of course, that’s gone now. Oops! We’ll have to do a little digging and find it again. Other than that, it’s slow going but I’m checking it in between duties so it’s not all bad, just time consuming! *yawn*

Can We Talk?

Just the Facts, Please

Karen

If there was one thing I learned in college – it was the POWER OF LANGUAGE. I don’t think you can truly appreciate how effective strong, clever rhetoric is until you understand the three modes of persuasion:

Ethos – Ethos is an appeal to authority. It is how well the speaker convinces the audience that he or she is qualified to speak on the particular subject.

Pathos – Pathos is an appeal to the audience’s emotions. It can be in the form of metaphor, simile, a passionate delivery, or even a simple claim that a matter is unjust. Pathos can be particularly powerful if used well, but most speeches do not solely rely on pathos. Pathos is most effective when the author connects with an underlying value of the reader.

Logos – Logos is logical appeal, and indeed the term logic is derived from it. It is normally used to describe facts and figures that support the speaker’s topic. Since data is difficult to manipulate, especially if from a trusted source, logos may sway cynical listeners. Having a logos appeal also enhances ethos (see above) because information makes the speaker look knowledgeable and prepared to his or her audience. However, data can be confusing and thus confuse the audience. Logos can also be misleading or inaccurate.

Politicians are masters of rhetoric. It behooves us to remember that when listening to and/or reading something from the political arena. And just because something is on TV, or it’s passed around through email, doesn’t make it true. Remember the old adage, “Don’t believe everything you read or hear?” That can’t be truer than when it applies to politics.

Before you get yourself worked up into a frenzy over a news reel, or something in your email box, consider the facts – specifically from Factcheck.org.

Here are some recent claims made about McCain, Obama and Palin … and here are the facts:

Fact checking McCain:

  • McCain claimed that Obama’s health care plan would “force small businesses to cut jobs” and would put “a bureaucrat … between you and your doctor.” In fact, the plan exempts small businesses, and those who have insurance now could keep the coverage they have.
  • McCain attacked Obama for voting for “corporate welfare” for oil companies. In fact, the bill Obama voted for raised taxes on oil companies by $300 million over 11 years while providing $5.8 billion in subsidies for renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternative fuels.
  • McCain said oil imports send “$700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much.” But the U.S. is on track to import a total of only $536 billion worth of oil at current prices, and close to a third of that comes from Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
  • He promised to increase use of “wind, tide [and] solar” energy, though his actual energy plan contains no new money for renewable energy. He has said elsewhere that renewable sources won’t produce as much as people think.
  • He called for “reducing government spending and getting rid of failed programs,” but as in the past failed to cite a single program that he would eliminate or reduce.
  • He said Obama would “close” markets to trade. In fact, Obama, though he once said he wanted to “renegotiate” the North American Free Trade Agreement, now says he simply wants to try to strengthen environmental and labor provisions in it.

Fact checking Obama:

  • Obama said he could “pay for every dime” of his spending and tax cut proposals “by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens.” That’s wrong – his proposed tax increases on upper-income individuals are key components of paying for his program, as well. And his plan, like McCain’s, would leave the U.S. facing big budget deficits, according to independent experts.
  • He twisted McCain’s words about Afghanistan, saying, “When John McCain said we could just ‘muddle through’ in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources.” Actually, McCain said in 2003 we “may” muddle through, and he recently also called for more troops there.
  • He said McCain would fail to lower taxes for 100 million Americans while his own plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of “working” families. But an independent analysis puts the number who would see no benefit from McCain’s plan at 66 million and finds that Obama’s plan would benefit 81 percent of all households when retirees and those without children are figured in.
  • Obama asked why McCain would “define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year”? Actually, McCain meant that comment as a joke, getting a laugh and following up by saying, “But seriously …”
  • Obama noted that McCain’s health care plan would “tax people’s benefits” but didn’t say that it also would provide up to a $5,000 tax credit for families.
  • He said McCain, far from being a maverick who’s “broken with his party,” has voted to support Bush policies 90 percent of the time. True enough, but by the same measure Obama has voted with fellow Democrats in the Senate 97 percent of the time.
  • Obama said “average family income” went down $2,000 under Bush, which isn’t correct. An aide said he was really talking only about “working” families and not retired couples. And – math teachers, please note – he meant median (or midpoint) and not really the mean or average. Median family income actually has inched up slightly under Bush.

Fact checking Palin:

  • Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn’t cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years.
  • She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time. The librarian has said Palin asked a “What if?” question, but the librarian continued in her job through most of Palin’s first term.
  • She was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants Alaskans to vote on whether they wish to secede from the United States. She’s been registered as a Republican since May 1982.
  • Palin never endorsed or supported Pat Buchanan for president. She once wore a Buchanan button as a “courtesy” when he visited Wasilla, but shortly afterward she was appointed to co-chair of the campaign of Steve Forbes in the state.
  • Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska’s schools. She has said that students should be allowed to “debate both sides” of the evolution question, but she also said creationism “doesn’t have to be part of the curriculum.”

Factcheck.org is in the process of verifying an email that has been passed around by a woman named Anne Kilkenny. Many readers/bloggers have taken this email to be gospel. I’m very curious to read Factcheck’s FACTS about this email … stay tuned.

You can also watch videos from the fact check people blowing holes (the size of craters) from both parties’ political TV ad claims. It’s QUITE revealing and interesting.

I have found a new favorite place. My advice? Get your facts straight before reacting, and please, don’t be sucked into the hype and rhetoric.

It’s okay to fact check. 🙂

Can We Talk?

Discussion: Academic Doping

Karen

Don’t forget to submit your Coffee Chat links!

null

I was going through some old blog fodder links/ideas yesterday (I literally have enough links stored up to keep this blog moving without me for six months – that’s how anal I am about NOT running out of blog ideas) and I ran across this very disturbing news article on BoingBoing from September 7, 2006 (how’s that for a timely coincidence?):

Parents want their kids to excel in school, and they’ve heard about the illegal use of stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall for “academic doping.” Hoping to obtain the drugs legally, they pressure pediatricians for them. Some even request the drugs after openly admitting they don’t believe their child has ADHD….

“I spoke with [some] colleagues the other day and they mentioned three cases recently where parents blatantly asked for the medication so that their children would perform better in school, yet there were no other indications that the child had ADHD,” says Dr. Nick Yates, a pediatrician and director of medical ethics for Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y.

Academic doping — using these stimulant prescriptions in an effort to enhance focus, concentration and mental stamina — first started on college campuses, especially Ivy League and exclusive, competitive schools. Now, the problem is filtering down to secondary schools, Yates says, and more parents are playing a role in obtaining prescription ADHD medication for their teenagers.

Original article link

Wow.

Wow. That is off-the-charts crazy. Do you think this is still going on today? Or do you think doctors are more careful about testing for ADD/ADHD nowadays?

I’m disturbed to think that parents would be desperate (competitive?) enough to subject their children to drugs just so their ACT scores were more impressive.

Though to play the devil’s advocate, I can sort of UNDERSTAND the temptation to go down this road when so much rides on the kids performing well so they can get into a decent school. (Though I would never, ever, force my kids to take drugs – for any reason).

And I’m not quite sure I buy the ADHD “disease” either. Though I understand there are children out there that have a chemical imbalance, I think it’s more the exception than the rule.

I think ADHD is a hot spot for me because shortly after MK started fifth grade, his teachers (he had two teachers in fifth grade, one for math and science, one for English and history) called me in for a special conference. MK had been moody and volatile and didn’t want to do the assignments. When confronted, he didn’t exactly throw a tantrum, but he was “difficult.”

They tried to convince me that he was ADHD and needed to be medicated. And then one of the teachers went on to say she recognized MK’s “symptoms” because her son behaved the same way and he had ADHD.

I was livid. I knew my son was not ADHD. He’s highly intelligent and pretty emotional but I think that’s where the similarities ended. I looked them straight in the eye, thanked them for the concern and then told them, in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t ADHD and I had no intention of having him tested.

MK had one more “temper tantrum” in class which landed both of us in the principal’s office because of his disruptive behavior. The principal tried to let him off with a warning (because I did their website and he felt bad for me), but I insisted he follow the normal school rules – in-school suspension (ISS) for one day (this being his first offense).

MK went to ISS, and was extremely embarrassed of his behavior. We had a long, long, LONG, stern, honest talk about him and his tantrums and I flat out told him to straighten up and grow up. He was too old to act like a five-year old.

He did indeed grow up after that experience because he learned that there are consequences to his actions – he’s been a model student (and kid) ever since. He wasn’t ADHD, he was simply immature and allowed his emotions to take him over. The teachers never really treated me the same after that.

What do you think? Do you think parents fool doctors into thinking their children are ADD/ADHD so they can get drugs that will help their children perform better at school? Or do you think these are just isolated cases and most times an ADD/ADHD diagnoses is justified?