Checking In Quickly to Say . . .

I love this man!

A Bit Late . . .

but wanted to take a quick moment to praise the New Hampshire legislature for passing a June 3rd bill approving same-sex marriage. You can read a NY Times article about it here.

This topic's been on my mind particularly in the last couple of years as a dear friend married the love of her life last summer & as I prepare for my own wedding next year. I just never did understand why same-sex marriage somehow threatens the institution of heterosexual marriage. If anything, having more loving, committed couples willing to take the plunge into the scary sea of life-long monogamy seems like it would do nothing but strengthen the aforementioned institution.

"Ray Warrick is a typical American"

And as such, he is one of the conservatives who spoke at the Cincinnati Tea Party of 2009.

As the photo above (from the estimable Superpoop) makes clear, it was less exciting than the original.

(The title is how Mr. Warrick is described in his bio on the tea party's website. His is accompanied by those of a few other fine, upstanding Cincinnati citizen speakers. However, their political credentials are a little thin. I think The Boy said it best: "They're not exactly the Founding Fathers, are they?"

Please Don't Divorce Us!

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Today's the Day

At 8:19 am today, I cast my vote for the man I hope will be the first multi-racial President of the United States. If you haven't yet voted, please get yourself to a polling place and take a stake in your future. Hell, even if you vote for McCain, get out there and make yourself heard. ;)

Thank you, Mr. Powell & the Washington Post

The Washington Post, in its recent endorsement of Obama for President:

Any presidential vote is a gamble, and Mr. Obama's résumé is undoubtedly thin. We had hoped, throughout this long campaign, to see more evidence that Mr. Obama might stand up to Democratic orthodoxy and end, as he said in his announcement speech, "our chronic avoidance of tough decisions."

But Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment.

And Colin Powell, as quoted by Maureen Dowd in yesterday's New York Times:

[Powell] told Tom Brokaw that he was troubled by what other Republicans, not McCain, had said: “ ‘Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.’ Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim. He’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no. That’s not America. Is something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?"

Ideological Shift

I just renamed one of my most used email groups on Gmail. Two minutes ago, it was called "Anti-McCain/Palin." Now, it's "Pro-Obama." A minor shift, perhaps, but an important one ideologically and reflective of where my head is concerning the Presidential race at the moment.

As the McCain camp turns to increasingly more dirty ploys & negative tactics, I'd like to shift my own focus to what the average liberal can do to get Obama elected. As justified as it is, my anger over McCain's appointment of Palin as his running mate & his dismissal of the pro-choice movement doesn't feel like it's going to get that done.

Starting now, I'm going to spend more time learning more about Obama & disseminating that information to both like-minded individuals and swing voters. And less time bitching about the Republican party, which I already know is batshit crazy. ;)

Two Announcements

1. The field trip was fun! We had some funky weather - fog, sun, fog, sun - but it was a good experience all the same. I forgot my camera, but my friend took some great photos, so I'll see if I can post them once he sends them to me.
2. I don't normally pay much attention to the global financial market, but there's some scary stuff going on, people. I've lost a decent chunk from my retirement account since I switched it from a 401K to an IRA last year. This makes me sad. :(

Maybe if a celebrity says it, people will start listening.

Matt Damon, I may not love all of your movies, but thank you for using your stage (one that most of us don't have) to say what needs to be said:



(And thanks to Tart for posting it first)

Might I add that on today, of all days, it's important for us as a nation to reflect and consider what the best course for the next four years might be? At a time when the confident, but humble diplomacy of a Benjamin Franklin or a Winston Churchill is needed, a hockey mom from Alaska is not what I'm looking for.

Forget about "Sisterhood" - I want a good VP!

If this is true, it makes me sad. And angry. Don't forget angry.

If you're on Facebook, don't forget to join the group "Intelligent Women Against Sarah Palin."

Also, don't for one second let the title convince you that I am not interested in women's rights (unlike Palin). My point, along with many others', is that she is unqualified & I refuse to vote for her JUST because she's a woman.

Oh, and also that it's a disgusting ploy on the part of the McCain camp to think that women will vote for her for that reason. Another reason why I want John McCain to be my adorably crazy old uncle, not the President of my country.

UPDATED: Here is Dooce's (and her readers') take on the issue. As usual, she's said what I'm thinking, but in a much more clever way. ;)

Good Advice

While it's on my mind, I wanted to share a line from my friend's sister's wedding service.

"May you grow in grace as you advance in years."

It's a lovely sentiment & if we all are able, something to shoot for.

Food for Thought

(courtesy of xkcd)

Bloggy Words of Wisdom

It's been a busy week! Luckily, however, I've gotten most of my obligations met for the week & the weekend will be just fun. :)

I just wanted to quickly share a great quote from a post of Stonch's:
"We should all aspire to live a beautiful life. That means going places and doing things that lift the spirit - it means making fewer compromises."

Good thought to take into the weekend, huh? :)

Bad Deal

Item 1: I am home safely from my trip. Will post photos tomorrow. :)

Item 2: Per the above cartoon, I love Married to the Sea today even more than usual. ;)

I Love This

I'm about to toddle off to bed after being up way too late working on a paper, but I had to share this. On SeacoastNH.com, they've listed the schedule for the upcoming Portsmouth First Night festivities. And the best part is the opening blurb:

"Well, you did it. You survived another year of the Bush administration, and now it is time to celebrate the coming of regime change. So ring out the old and ring in the new at the annual Market Square-centered celebration."

Yet another reason why I love this town. ;)

Just Ain't Right

Well, I came on to blog about how great Wednesday's night win was, how great it was that the Yankees lost, and how excited I am to see tonight's game. Instead, I felt I had to write about this instead: Red Sox fan assaulted in New York.

Just looking at that title, what do you picture? I pictured a brave, but foolhardy fan in Sox regalia sauntering into a Manhattan sports bar during a playoff game - "bearding the lion in its den," so to speak. In which case, violence is never the answer, but that guy was taking a risk.

However, when you read the article, the facts emerge & it's not at all that simple. Carlos Ortez, a carpenter from Quincy in NY for a construction job, was watching Wednesday's game in the lounge of the Ramada Inn in Yonkers. Another patron of the bar made a comment about his Sox hat. After the game was over, this patron & two others with him followed Ortez & his co-worker outside & attacked Ortez.

Ortez is in intensive care & two of the three men were arrested. Wait for it - the story gets weirder. The men arrested for Ortez's attack are from Pennsylvania.

From the known facts of the case, the attack did not appear to be a "heat of the moment" thing based on an argument between two rabid Sox & Yankees fans. Ortez & his co-worker were away from home, just watching the Sox play at their own hotel bar. They did not go out looking for trouble, but somehow it found them, in the form of two other construction workers from another state altogether.

Now, I'm not saying that I would have been ok with two opposing fans from NY & Boston getting into a fight & hurting each other seriously - but I would have at least been able to understand it. This seems like a calculated attack on a lone man (Ortez & his co-worker were walking in difference directions when the three men attacked Ortez) who didn't appear to be baiting his attackers.

As tempting as it is to point to the two attackers as "typical brutish no-class Yankees fans," I'm not going to do it. As sacrilegious as it seems for me to say, I think most Yankees fans are pretty similar to most Red Sox fans - fiercely loyal to their team, but law-abiding.

However, this attack was beyond the pale of normal sports loyalty & should absolutely be condemned by both sides. Please think of Carlos Ortez as the Sox go into the second game of the playoffs tonight.

"Look, Ma, I got All-Stahs!"

First of all, why did they tell us it started at 8pm when the action, the real baseball, didn't start until 9? I mean - I was glad to see them honor Willie Mays, but the rest of the dog & pony show just didn't do it for me.

Second, I really hate Fox's commentary. During the 2004 ALCS, my roommates & I finally gave up, muted the TV, and listened to WEEI instead. I can now report that Fox hasn't improved in three years.

Third, I know the All-Star game is a big deal & that all professional sports are plastered with ads these days, but why do they have to inundate us with so many of them? We're at the top of the 6th & I've counted Taco Bell, Burger King, AT&T (naturally), The Simpsons movie, Master Card, and a few others.

But to end on a positive note - I checked the full list of this year's All-Stars & my fantasy team is well represented! I was pleased to discover that I've got eight All-Stars on my team:

1. Hideki Okajima
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Derek Jeter
4. Vladimir Guerrero
5. Justin Morneau
6. Brian Fuentes
7. Orlando Hudson
8. Roy Oswalt
   

Recent Green Changes

In my continued efforts to be more aware of my impact on the environment (and in hopes that lakes like ours will always look this pristine), I've implemented a few more "green changes." Check out my April resolutions here.

1. To reduce the number of styrofoam Dunkin Donuts cups I use, I've been making coffee at home & bringing it to work in a travel mug. Not only does this eliminate waste, it's also saving me money. At the height of my DD's addiction (6 mediums w/ cream per week), I was spending around $38 per month on coffee. Now, a 12oz. bag of coffee and 4 quarts of half & half get me through the month and ring up to a meager $17.
2. I've been keeping just one light burning in my apartment when I'm home at night. My place is a 430 sq. feet studio - I don't really need two lights burning to light it sufficiently!
3. I've been trying to buy organic when it works with my budget. Tonight's dinner was pesto tortellini from Amy's Kitchen. :) Plus, this company uses cardboard containers (instead of the plastic you usually see with microwave meals), so I could recycle the container after use!
   

Earth Day Actions

Not wanting to be all talk, I decided to take some actions today to begin "greening" my life. I can't promise this will be a very comprehensive, "turn my life inside out" attempt, but I will give it the ol' college try. Here's what I did today:

1. Replaced three conventional light bulbs (two 60-watt & one 150-watt) with 15-watt CFL bulbs. Not only are these bulbs cool-looking, they will use less energy (in the case of the 150-watt bulb - 10 times less!). This will bring my landlord's electricity bill down a bit (electric is included in my rent) & only cost me $3.
2. Plugged my TV, DVD player & cable box into a power strip, which I will turn off when these appliances are not in use. This is a similar savings to the British electric system, where you have to flip a switch on each outlet before the electricity flows to it. It should help me reduce the amount of electricity that "leaks" from my outlet even when my appliances are not being used.
3. Purchased the "Puddle Jumper" TerraPass to offset the CO2 emissions that were generated by my recent round-trip to Edinburgh. It cost me $9.95 & came with a break-down of what my money bought. 33.3% went to Renewable Energy Certificates & 66.7% went to Carbon Credits.
   

A few of the changes that I will implement this week:

1. Use reusable bags for grocery shopping. I bought a cloth bag at Stop & Shop (usually near the check-out) awhile ago, but haven't used it consistently. Considering I most often use the self-checkout, there is no excuse for not bagging my groceries in the cloth bag.
2. Bring a metal spoon into work for my oatmeal. I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast & it creates a lot of waste if I throw away each morning's plastic spoon.
   
3. Walk (instead of drive) to the grocery store/Dunkin Donuts near my office. I often take the car (because I'm lazy), but it's a mere 1/10th of a mile away. Unless it's pouring, there's no real need to drive instead of walk.

Wish me luck!

The Greening of America

Ever since the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced in February that human activity drives global warming, I've paid close attention to the global response. I think the international political response has been generally positive, but inadequate in so many ways.

I've always thought of myself as an amateur environmentalist. I love & appreciate the natural environment, I've made cursory stabs at consistent recycling, and I'm completely anal about turning off lights when you are not using them. I've filled in many, many form letters to senators and large corporations to protest drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, support higher standards for fuel emissions, etc. However, I am fully aware that there is much more that I can do.

Today's email brought a note from Daily Candy, advocating one of the newest ways to reduce your carbon footprint. It's called TerraPass & the basic idea is similar to the idea that allowed this year's Superbowl to be "carbon neutral." From TerraPass' website:

"The first step you can take to fight global warming is to reduce your carbon footprint through conservation. Drive less. Turn down the thermostat. Buy locally produced goods. Then use TerraPass to reduce your carbon footprint all the way to zero.

When you buy a TerraPass, your money funds renewable energy projects such as wind farms. These projects result in verified reductions in greenhouse gas pollution. And these reductions counterbalance your own emissions."

For $79.95, I can buy a "Road Tripper" driving pass, which offsets up to 20,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide. This is about the amount that my Jeep produces in one year. If that seems a bit steep, $29.95 will offset 2,309 lbs. of CO2, which is about 1.5 road trips to my family's summer home on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Or, just $9.95 will buy a TerraPass designed to offset the 2,386 lbs. of CO2 that my recent round-trip flight to Edinburgh produced. You see where I'm going with this? The possibilities are endless.

For more ideas on how to "green" your travel, your home, and your life, check out the "Green Blogs" heading I've added to the blogroll!