exam day procrastination

all politicians lie.  some lie more than others.

coincidence that the democrats are at the bottom of the list?  i think not.  now bernie, 28% isn't good, but i'll take it in comparison to some of the others on this list...

i'm listening to mountains beyond mountains, by tracy kidder, which is about american doctor paul farmer and his work in the developing world, mostly in haiti.  i have owned this book for a LONG TIME, but as i've said here before, i have trouble motivating myself to read nonfiction in my free time because it requires more concentration than i want to expend when i read in bed, which is when the majority of my reading happens.  audiobooks allow me to get the nonfiction i want in a form that works for me.

i found this portion of the book so poignant:

farmer is asked, when traveling to russia to do work on a TB outbreak in russian prisons, "is america a democracy?"

farmer answers, "i think whenever a people has enormous resources, it's easy for them to call themselves democratic….americans are lazy democrats."

so so true.  i rewound the CD in the car and recorded this portion on my phone to transcribe here.  we are lucky in that we can be lazy democrats.  we don't have to fight every day for our freedoms.  we take them for granted.  the hard work was done centuries ago, with upkeep along the way.

i take my democracy for granted.  something to ponder and to appreciate.

i knew a fair amount of this (the first five minutes or so), but was slightly clueless beyond that.  this video from bloomberg business really helped bring clarity - it's worth your time!

thoughtful and well written: this is what happened when i drove my mercedes to pick up food stamps

file this under "things that would never happen in the united states"

new zealand lawmakers burst into song as they legalize gay marriage

(additionally, i don't understand a word of this song, but it's gorgeous.)

really interesting article with great graphics about the red-blue divide in america and how it's not as clear cut as the media makes it out to be:

red versus blue in a new light

a photo (from yesterday)

the election watching party was a success!  this is the joy we felt after all the channels declared obama the winner:

sometimes i wonder who these other people are who call themselves americans, as we seem to stagnate or move backwards on gay rights, abortion, women's issues.  how can my fellow americans see things SO differently?

last night was a great comfort to me as a majority of voters elected obama, voted for marriage equality in several states, voted down candidates who talk about rape and women's issues in shocking ways.  every day we get closer to the america i believe in.

here's my favorite part of obama's speech last night:
What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great.

love and charity and duty and patriotism.  my grandma norma would be very proud of america for the way it voted last night.


today i'd like to wish a big happy birthday to marie curie, leon trotsky, morgan spurlock, and my girl joni mitchell.  as has become a tradition, here's some joni to celebrate the day:



WHAT. A. VOICE.

additionally, mark your calendars: november 7th = first day of snow in NYC!  flakes are coming down as we speak...

“The struggle of today is not altogether for today – it is for a vast future also.”
--Abraham Lincoln

ballot accepted

should i be creeped out that all of this is available online if you just know my first and last name and that i'm registered to vote in north carolina??  (i've deleted my full name and address, but it's on the original online.)

i don't know.  something about the whole world being able to know this weirds me out.  maybe it's a public record?

it is nice to be able to know that they've got my ballot...but somehow i feel like there should be more security...like you should have to input my social security number to find this out.  nope.  first and last name and you're there...

final debate tonight!  go obama!

slate magazine tells me whether romney wants my vote.  i am entertained.

i had been saving this for a while; i knew i'd cry when i watched it (i was right) and i needed to be in the right frame of mind.

this is courage and hard work and love of country and forgiveness.  

this is very powerful.

anonymous friend #2, take note!

"obama's top 50 accomplishments"

take THAT, dumb republicans.

cool chart.

quote that makes me happy: "If Obama carried all of his 2008 states with the exception of North Carolina and Indiana, he would be re-elected with ease."

and, as we all know, my new north carolina voting registration wasn't known to the author of this article.  i'm obviously the tipping point that will push obama over 50%.

a little trivia question that i liked, from ken jennings' trivia site:

Name one of the two American candidates since the Civil War to lose a presidential election both as president and vice president on a major-party ticket.

i could think of one!  anyone want to take a shot at it?

i'm loving this, and i will definitely be following along in the less than 90 days (eek!) until the presidential election:

90 days, 90 reasons

90 Days, 90 Reasons is an independent initiative unaffiliated with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 90 Days, 90 Reasons was conceived by two guys originally from Chicago, Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland. In late July, they looked around and saw that many of Obama’s voters and donors from 2008 needed to be reminded of all he has accomplished, and all he will do if given another term. They asked a wide range of cultural figures to explain why they’re voting for Obama in 2012, in the hopes that this might re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place. Every day, a new reason will be posted—in short, Twitter form, with a longer essay available here. Please spread the word.

fun quiz to help you know which presidential candidate your views most closely match with!

(i found that there were often better answers in "choose another stance," so don't feel constrained by just answering yes or no.)

a couple months ago i decided that the best thing i could do to help barack win in november was convince some friends who were on the fence that he was the better candidate.  if i could help sway two people that would make a difference!  (maybe.  not really.  silly electoral college...)  i've been sending these two friends occasional articles about what obama's done as president and why i think he's the right choice in november, and yesterday one of them emailed me to tell me she was on the obama team now.  (!!)

it pretty much made my day.

one down, one to go.  anonymous friend #2: i'm still working on you.  we've got 3 months.  my efforts will only intensify!  get excited!

hooooooooray!

at 3pm british summer time, my co-dean (and new best friend) liz and i started refreshing the new york times' webpage; the supreme court convened at 10am eastern time to issue the health care ruling.  when the new york times didn't have any information posted, we moved to cnn, which asserted at 3:06 that the individual mandate had been overturned.  sadness in the office.

5 minutes later every other news source asserted the exact opposite.  joy in the office!  explaining of our health care system to the brits!  frantically reading everything we could!  one website included this: "cnn should have waited another 5 minutes to be sure they got the decision right."  ha!

i imagine that some poor cnn reporter got fired today.

a couple hours later one of my sweet students from this year posted on facebook: "what's all the craziness about?  thank you [insert my name here]!" and she linked to a video i showed in class that explains the health care law in a really understandable way.  with cartoons.  17 year olds love cartoons.  her facebook shoutout totally made my night.  i'll post the video here so you, too, can understand what the heck is in this bill:



(kelly - this is required viewing.  obama loves people!  he wants the government to help take care of them - and we'll all benefit!  vote for obama!)

the electoral map

this is VERY cool, but it also makes me incredibly anxious.

(i love the new york times' graphics, though!)

very interesting: norway's criminal justice system vs. ours

this pie graph is a perfect example of why we shouldn't care what the average american thinks about complex issues.  47% of people disapprove of the healthcare law when 48% of people will readily admit they have no idea what is in it??  ARGH.

this is how i would run a poll:
question 1: name something in the new healthcare law.
[if unable to name something, stop the poll.  if able to name something, continue.]
question 2: do you approve or disapprove of the healthcare law?