Did I mention the power is still out at our house?
Just wondering.
Month: December 2002
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Technical difficulties and an intriguing email....
So, our power has been out for more than 24 hours now. Lovely. We are hanging at my folks where there is a generator.
So, I still dont know what I did to my blog but if you are looking for the old ones, just go to the calendar archive on the left bottom of yr screen.
OK.
So! I got my first ever Xanga related email from a stranger. Here's what they said:
"Your boycott of JCPenneys is silly. My kids all played with GI Joe and other "WAR" toys, and so what. There is nothing wrong with that. They are fine adults.
Do girls have barbies and then want implants.
I suggest you focus on a real issue and not some toy. Why don't you try politics, voilence on TV, and lack of respect by children, and parents allowing it.
Sorry, but you are all wet."
Here's what I replied:
"Hey, wow, why are you bugging me?
Great, don't boycott JC Pennys. Whatever.
I am actually involved in all sorts of causes around
parenting and children and violence, this is just one
little thing that I posted to my blog. Don't make
assumptions about me.
Furthermore, I *do* think Barbies cause girls to want
implants.
Please leave me alone.
Thanks.
--Roshismomma" -
My Xanga's all fucked, trying to see if this helps?
Ack.
I was trying to show you my JC Penneys thing, check out my site:
Boycott Jc Penney's -
dont get despairing, get active...
If only my cold would skedaddle. But I am not contagious now (according to Dr Dave) and am getting better.
So. I am so serious about a mama and papa affinity group. Mamasleek had the awesome idea we could write letters on park dates, and I am trying to think of more stuff. When I get back from my trip. -
From CNN this morning. Words can't express...
What can we do???
U.S. warns potential enemies: Retaliation could include nukes
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration is issuing a reminder of its policy that warns any nation using weapons of mass destruction against the United States or its allies that it will face massive retaliation, perhaps with nuclear weapons.
That policy is not new, but senior administration officials say they are laying it out for the first time formally in a strategy document on combating weapons of mass destruction.
It's a stern warning at a time when the prospect of war with Iraq has prompted fears that Saddam Hussein will unleash chemical or biological weapons on the United States or its allies.
"The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force -- including through resort to all of our options -- to the use of WMD [weapons of mass destruction] against the United States, our forces abroad, and friends and allies," the statement reads, in part.
"In addition to our conventional and nuclear response and defense capabilities, our overall deterrent posture against WMD threats is reinforced by effective intelligence, surveillance, and interdiction, and domestic law enforcement capabilities," the statement says.
A senior administration official says it is releasing this strategy statement Wednesday on Capitol Hill as part of a post-September 11 effort to deal with threats from rogue nations and terrorists alike.
"It's the first time you're seeing a complex strategy to deal with a complex threat," said a senior administration official.
"What we are talking about now is a different kind of deterrence, we're not deterring a single enemy," said the official.
The six-page document, dubbed "National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction," is a joint report from National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge.
Although the report does not single out Iraq or any other country, it says some states that support terrorism already possess weapons of mass destruction.
"For them, these are not weapons of last resort, but militarily useful weapons of choice intended to overcome our nation's advantages in conventional forces and to deter us from responding to aggression against our friends and allies in regions of vital interest."
The strategy is comprised of three "pillars": counterproliferation, which includes deterrence with the threat of nuclear weapons; nonproliferation, which encourages arms control and reduction; and consequence management, which seeks to prepare the United States in the event of an attack using weapons of mass destruction.
The last such statement of U.S. policy was issued in 1993 but did not include an emphasis on non-proliferation or preparedness at home.
The document calls for improved intelligence collection and analysis, extensive research and development to create protection against weapons of mass destruction, and targeted strategies for each regime posing a threat.
A senior administration official says a few months ago, key government agencies were assigned practical tasks to carry out some of the policies. But the official would not elaborate on the classified directives, except to say they were "substantial."
Officials say President Bush will ask for money to fund the general recommendations in his 2004 budget request. -
Group rallies against suspensions
Protesters say 50 Petaluma High students were punished unfairly
Pamela J. Podger, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, December 5, 2002
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Nearly three dozen peace activists rallied Wednesday at Petaluma High School, objecting to the one-day suspensions handed out to roughly 50 students who took part in a nationwide protest against the Bush administration's stance toward Iraq.
Braving the early morning chill, the protesters from the Not In Our Name peace movement bore signs reading "War Disrupts Education" and "Extra Credit, Not Suspension." The school, they said, was suppressing dissent, freedom of speech and civil rights. Imposing a penalty of a one-day suspension was overkill, they said.
"Suspension is usually for really bad behavior, like bringing alcohol to campus," said Susan Lamont, 54, of Santa Rosa. "Why is the punishment so out of line?"
"I think this is political harassment," said Peter Church, 50, of Sebastopol.
Petaluma High School Principal Michael J. Simpson said that the school had warned students ahead of time that anyone walking out of class as part of the Nov. 20 protest would be suspended.
"The students knew they would be in defiance of rules and still chose to do it and were very willful about it," he said. "They demonstrated the courage of their convictions."
Student protest leaders said they appreciated the morning rally but accepted the sanction as a consequence of their action -- an orchestrated departure from class 20 minutes before the end of the 10:28-11:58 a.m. period. Civil disobedience, they noted, sometimes results in arrests or exposure to tear gas.
Senior Rosie Steffy, 17, one of the organizers of the walk-out, which mirrored youth protests across the nation, said most students accepted the "harsh punishment" in order to stand up for their convictions.
"We're appalled and ashamed of our government's actions against Iraq," she said. "It was a higher priority."
Freshman Kayleena Pierce-Bohen, 14, said she had spent her day of suspension in the library, reading about Iraq and the war, and later listened to KPFA. "I wanted to be able to have some input against Bush invading Iraq against innocent people," she said.
Explaining the school's response, Simpson drew a distinction between cutting classes -- typically punished by detention or a four-hour supervised class on Saturdays -- and the walk-out, which he said disrupted lessons. He said if the walk-out had gone unpunished, students might well routinely abandon class for a variety of causes.
The protest could have been done outside of school teaching hours, he said. He also pointed out that the school, which has 1,540 students, had held two rallies -- including one at lunch break on Nov. 20 -- where an array of views were aired.
"It wasn't enough for us to extend the olive branch of a rally," Simpson said. "They wanted to make a statement and were willing to be suspended."
Still, he acknowledged that he had received 300 e-mails from people across the country recently, mostly objecting to the punishment.
Steve Fabian, co-chair of the American Civil Liberties Union in Sonoma County, said Petaluma High School was the only place in the county where students were suspended. He said other schools in the county gave students unexcused absences or imposed a Saturday detention. Under the state education code, Fabian said, suspension is supposed to be used as a last resort once all other tools have been exhausted.
Several students watching the peace activists Wednesday said the morning protesters were misguided and didn't have all the information. They said the issue was getting overblown at what they characterized as a liberal and supportive campus.
But protester Shepherd Bliss of Sebastopol said the suspensions were grossly unfair.
"We're here to give them praise," he said. "It is clearly a punishment and an attempt to socialize them so that they learn that the government and school controls them. They should be allowed direct action."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/05/BA25271.DTL
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Yes, obviously unfair. When I was in HS, in the last Iraq war, I ditched school 3x for demos, and never got in a whit of trouble.
These are brave kids, exercising their convictions, as the prinicpal noted, but it does seem harsh. What do other kids who get caught playing hooky at 7-11 get as punishment? Back in my day, it was certainly not a full day's suspension.
I wonder if these kids know the Amy Ray song...
"I know the kids, are still upsetters, cause rock is cool, but the struggle is better... go, go GO!"
Yay for youth uprising. They're the ones who will be fodder for the war, anyways. -
Home again
We are home, actually have been since Saturday night but things are crazy,
we are:
- Preparing the house to sell, which entails:
- Packing 3/4 of our possessions
- Getting engineering work done
- Getting new linoleum
- Having the brush and driveway cleared
- Having the house throughly, professionally cleaned
- Preparing for the holidays
- Preparing for our BIG TRIP!!!
And dont forget there is work, motherhood, and babe-o on top of all that.
So if I seem a bit, um, preoccupied, please forgive me! - Preparing the house to sell, which entails:
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