Logic should not break your heart

The title of this post comes from the title of one of my all-time favorite albums, Logic Will Break Your Heart, which was released in 2003 by the Montreal-based alternative band, The Stills. While the primary topic of the album is love, the title easily translates to political ideas too. Numerous social and economic issues whose solution seems logically simple on the surface  tend to get contorted and twisted askew in the wacky world of partisan politics. Here are just a few examples of logical, reasonable, and rational progressive political ideals that get routinely attacked by the radical right and its operatives:

• Women should be earning equal pay for equal work.
• A woman should have the right to make decisions regarding her body without intrusion from the government.
• Same-sex couples can fall in love just as easily as opposite sex couples and should be able to get married.
• Strengthening public education at all levels will pay healthy dividends in the future.
• Fighting wars in far-off foreign lands has become an untenable and unwinnable scenario when going it alone.
• Trickle-down economics is a sham perpetrated by the mouthpieces and stooges of the plutocracy.
• Denying due process to some weakens the Bill of Rights for all.
• Public service is an honorable profession, no matter whether you are a police officer, firefighter, clerk, teacher, nurse, inspector, maintenance worker, mayor, or any other public employee.
• Privatization is not the solution to all problems; in fact it often is the problem.
• Allowing guns to be carried in virtually any location is a guaranteed recipe for disaster.
• Health is a basic right that falls under the right to life, not a privilege for only those who can afford it.
• The rich and major corporations do not pay their fair share in taxes and now wield far too much power as our nation has co-opted from a democracy to a plutocracy over the past three decades.

Many more logical statements could be added to this list, but you can get the picture from these twelve. Far too often emotion, irrational fears, illogical arguments, and unreasonable conditions stand in the way of real progress,  These perpetual roadblocks prolong suffering, delay solutions, and increase the overall costs. Nobody is discounting the need for healthy debate. But, there is a certain point where continuous debate transforms into purposeful delay, which transforms into stalling, which, if undeterred causes our nation to begin regressing instead of progressing.

I guess, when it comes down to it, the question is: Do you want to our nation to progress or regress? To me, regressing is an acceptance of defeat and quitting. Meanwhile, progressing is finding solutions and advancing forward.  Based on those two choices, the answer is simple, rational, reasonable, and logical. Hopefully, it will be so to everyone. Too many hearts have already  been broken by past and present political shenanigans

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25,000+ reasons to thank you!

If you had asked either Molly or me on November 1st when we thought our blog would reach 25,000 page views (hits), we probably would have guessed some length of time in the distant future. Neither one of us was sure how Progressive Blogic would do.

Well folks, we reached the 25,000 page view threshold earlier this afternoon, which is less than four months from our initial start up date. Wow! On behalf of both of us, thank you all so very much for your wonderful support. We look forward to bringing you more news, views, fun, and cultural vibe on Progressive Blogic.

Best regards to all,

Molly and Rick

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Chicago Walk for Choice

I went to the Walk for Choice yesterday in Chicago with two family members, and it was great. The weather was cold and snowy, but we didn’t let that dampen our enthusiasm. An anti-choice counter-protest showed up, but their crowd was smaller than ours. And their chants were kind of lame, too. The one I heard went “we love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how ’bout you?” Well, yes, I like babies. Who doesn’t? My goal is to make sure all babies are wanted babies. Our chants included “Gay, straight, black, white, all unite for women’s rights;” “Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate”; “Pro-life, your name’s a lie, you don’t care if women die”; and “my body, my choice,” among others.

And the crowd really was pretty diverse: a couple with kids in strollers, older women, younger women, people of color, and people from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio as well as Illinois and many other places. The crowd was estimated at 600 to 800 people. The organization could have been better, however; the Google map of the route was pretty confusing, and it was unclear whether the march would last for two or three hours. The organizers also seemed to be depending on people having access to Twitter to communicate, which wasn’t possible for everyone. But they did a great job of throwing everything together so fast, and I appreciate all of their work. Big thanks and gratitude also to the Chicago police for being polite when we didn’t have a permit, and for keeping everyone safe.

Overall, we made our voices heard and got a lot of support from drivers and pedestrians going about their day. We also had a chance to stop by the MoveOn rally in support of unions and show our solidarity. We won’t let Republicans start stripping us of our rights, and we’re stronger when we stand together.

Did you attend a walk or rally yesterday? How did it go?

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Countdown to the Oscars, 2011

I’m more excited for the Academy Awards this year than I have been for any since 2004, when “Return of the King” swept all of the awards. I’m attending an Oscar party tonight that I’m looking forward to. I’ve seen nine of the 10 movies nominated for best picture; the only one I didn’t get to was “127 Hours.” I saw “The Fighter,” although I didn’t write a review of it. The first half had me wondering why I’d wasted my money, but the second half really picked up and was very good. If Christian Bale wins for best supporting actor, he will have earned it.

I’m reserving judgment on James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting the show, although the clips below are pretty amusing:

You can find a full list of nominees here. I enjoyed “The King’s Speech” the most out of all the movies I saw, so I will be rooting for it to win, but there are a lot of deserving nominees this year. I’ll have a reaction post tomorrow.

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The little ties that bind

 

Sometimes it’s the little things that can catch your attention when you visit another country. During my two wonderful trips to the United Kingdom, their stylish red mail boxes and phone booths were among my favorite items. I even have a toy phone booth replica sitting on my curio shelf as a keepsake.

Related to the mail boxes, here are some interesting factoids from the BBC about rubber band use by the Royal Mail in Great Britain that I stumbled across on the BBC’s website.

 

 

• In 2010, postal service workers used two million rubber bands each and every day to bind bundles of mail.
• In the past five years, that equates to four billion rubber bands, which cost the service approximately five million pounds to purchase.
• The Royal Mail uses biodegradable rubber bands, but concerns have been expressed about the litter and choking hazard to animals from all these rubber bands.

The Royal Mail should be commended for at least using biodegradable rubber bands. However, as this data clearly points out, we all should try to reuse or properly dispose of small items like rubber bands, paper clips, bottle caps, twisty-ties, and the like. They may seem insignificant to us, but they can be very dangerous to small animals and children, while also looking quite tacky just laying about.

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Solidarity with Wisconsin in Lansing, MI – 2/26/11

Sign from rally in Lansing, Michigan 2/26/11

Save the American Dream Rally - Lansing, MI 2/26/11

View from the Michigan Capitol steps - 2/26/11

Lansing, Michigan - rally 2/26/11

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“Half the Sky”

I finished reading “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” a couple of weeks ago, but it’s taken me a while to figure out what I want to say about it. It’s written by husband and wife Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and it examines what life is like for women in the developing world and what we in the West can do to help them.

I do have a few criticisms of the book. One jarring note was in the authors’ praise of China as a great place to be a woman, despite also saying this:

The combination of the one-child birth control policy and convenient access to ultrasound testing means that parents routinely check the sex of a fetus and get an abortion if it is female. The sex ratio of newborns is 116 boys for every 100 girls, meaning that many poor women will never be able to marry; this will be a source of future instability.

They also say, “Governments should encourage male circumcision, which reduces HIV risk significantly…” They discuss female genital cutting at length, but circumcision only twice, and offer no evidence to back up their claim. Some studies have shown benefits to circumcision, but right now it’s widely viewed as a cultural, non-medical procedure. Various national medical associations do not advocate for routine infant circumcision. I think a little more research needs to be done before we can start recommending it for all male infants.

This is a small thing, but at one point they say, “As Harper jabbers away in Swahili…” “Jabber” is a word with negative connotations, and includes in its definition “making little sense.” Just because you don’t understand a language doesn’t make it “jabber.”

The authors also advocate American students taking time to go abroad to learn about the struggles facing the developing world. I am all for being a multilingual and global citizen, because I believe most Americans are too insular. However, I think as we do so we need to avoid perpetuating cultural imperialism. Most Thais or Cambodians or Ethiopians wouldn’t welcome white people coming into their countries to tell them what they’re doing wrong. The United States is far from a perfect country for women to live. A few African countries far outstrip us when it comes to equal representation in government. The rate of C-sections is sky-high. Women still don’t earn as much as men for the same work. So American students can certainly work alongside Afghani community organizers or Indian health care workers, but taking a leading role would probably not be welcome.

For a few more critiques, read Courtney’s review at Feministing, Katrina Forman’s at Feminist Review, or Thomas Dollar’s at Equal Writes.

ALL THAT SAID, “Half the Sky” is still one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. You should read it for the inspiring stories, if nothing else. Kristof and WuDunn share stories from women who have experienced the worst of humanity: they have been raped, beaten, starved, trafficked into brothels, denied education, had acid thrown on them, force-fed drugs, had their children kidnapped–and they’ve survived. In many cases, they’ve flourished, by starting programs to help other women similar situations, earning master’s degrees, performing surgery–the list goes on. I am in awe of each and every one of the women in the book. Their bravery, strength and courage make my activism seem very tiny, but they also make me more determined to stand up for all women’s rights.

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Solidarity Saturday

 

Two huge events take place today across the nation. Save the American Dream rallies are being held at all 50 state capitals at noon, local time. I plan to attend the rally in Lansing. These rallies are to show support for those public sector employees in Wisconsin that are fighting to save the middle class and the American dream by preserving their collective bargaining rights. Also taking place today are Walk for Choice marches across the nation in support of Planned Parenthood. Help fight for Planned Parenthood and for choice at one of these events.

If you have the opportunity, please attend one of these events today to show your support and help mark Solidarity Saturday a huge success. They are both excellent examples of democracy in action!

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Radical right “stink stanks”

According to Professor George Lakoff, conservatives have sunk billions into partisan political think tanks (stink stanks) since the 1980s to produce talking points, create a virtual army of talking heads, establish political agendas, and completely re-frame political debate into their warped interpretation of America.

The conservative takeover in state houses and U.S. House is partially a result of midterm election malaise.  A good portion also arises out of the agendas formed in the stink stanks. A list of some of them is provided at the end of the posting.

Next time you hear/see a reference to one of these organizations (usually in the conservative media like talk radio or on Fox News), just remember these groups are purely partisan and biased. These have an agenda that is financed by high rollers. The are not people friendly, unless you happen to be filthy rich or part of the corporate aristocracy.

American Enterprise Institute

Americans for Prosperity

CATO Institute

Council for Government Reform

Freedom House

Heritage Foundation

Hoover Institute

Hudson Institute

John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs

Lexington Institute

Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Maine Heritage Policy Center

Manhattan Institute

National Center for Public Policy Research

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Reason Foundation

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‘Watt’ are the benefits of LED lights?

I learned something interesting today that I never knew before. One-half  (50%) of the light emitted from traditional mercury vapor light bulbs is ultra violet (UV). For high pressure sodium bulbs, nearly one-third (30%) of the emitted light is ultra violet.

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Meanwhile, only five percent (5%) of the light emitted by LED lights is ultra violet. This is good information to know when you are shopping for light bulbs. Add another plus for considering a conversion to LED lights. The benefits of LED lights are listed below:

LED light bulbs emit very little heat. This saves a lot of energy, as 98 percent of the energy used by a traditional incandescent light bulb can be lost as heat energy instead of light energy.

LED light bulbs last about 50 to 100 times as long as an incandescent light bulb. They also last about five to ten times as long as a fluorescent light bulb.

Having no filament or tube helps to make an LED light bulb last longer than an incandescent bulb. They also resist the effects of heat and cold much better than incandescent bulbs.

The dangerous element of mercury is used when creating an incandescent bulb. Mercury is not used when creating an LED light bulb. This reduces employee and environmental health concerns

When using an LED light bulb in a flashlight instead of an incandescent bulb, the life of the batteries can be increased by 10 to 15 times.

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