Free Event

Creating a Caring Economics: the Future of a Humanitarian Economy

Monday, April 23, 7:00 pm
2040 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Are current economic systems working? What is missing from
finance-based systems?

Social scientist and author Riane Eisler will read from her latest book, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23rd. The event will take place at In These Times' offices at 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave. Copies of The Real Wealth of the Nations: Creating a Caring Economics will be available for purchase at this free event. Donations are encouraged.

In The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics, Eisler exposes a fundamental problem in modern economics – the lack of visibility and value of the most essential human work of all: the work of caring and caregiving. As a solution, Eisler develops a new full-spectrum model that encompasses the life-sustaining activities in both households and the natural environment. Through her proposed measures, policies, and practices, Eisler seeks to achieve the ultimate goal: the realization of our enormous human potential.

Soldiers Shortchanged...again?

The Army might be shortchanging injured soldiers by rating the severity of their disabilities with a system that is both unwieldy and inconsistent, the head of a special commission said Thursday.

Walter Reed, Building 18, now this.

Happy Friday!

This one's for Janie...

Author Kurt Vonnegut Dies

"Human beings will be happier - not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie - but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That's my utopia."
-Kurt Vonnegut
(1922-2007)

Members of the Rutgers women's basketball team are shown during a news conference held on campus in Piscataway, N.J., Tuesday, April 10, 2007, to react to derogatory remarks directed at their team made on air by radio personality Don Imus. The team said they would meet privately with Imus. (AP Photo/Mike Derer)


In case you're behind.

Wisconsin Seniors Left Behind

I hate when stories like this one are so easily swept under the rug on a national level.

Wisconsin's SeniorCare Program Dropped by Federal Government

With drug costs rising steadily, it's no surprise that more than 105 thousand seniors in Wisconsin depend on the state's SeniorCare prescription drug program.

But, that program has reached an end, as the federal government announced Wednesday Wisconsin can't continue the popular plan.

The Doyle administration received a letter from the federal government saying by June 30th SeniorCare will no longer be federally funded. Those seniors on the program will soon need to switch to Medicare Part D, the federal program, Doyle and several other Wisconsin lawmakers say will mean additional cost and confusion for Wisconsinites.

From the message boards:

Apparently the entire Congressional delegation from Wisconsin asked for an extension on the waiver to this program, which is the only one of its kind still left in the country- but it was denied. There are 104,000 seniors using it-about half will be able to switch to Medicare Part D without too much trouble but there are an estimated 45,000 who are very poor and will have trouble meeting the deductible, not to mention filling out the paperwork.

I think this was the last state program of its kind to be cut, so maybe it was inevitable-the Feds are just not going to pay for anything related to health care. Fortunately, a lot of State legislators who care about this issue, but without any Federal backing, its pretty expensive.

It appears several town hall meetings are scheduled re: the issue.
Stay tuned to www.WisPolitics.com for further developments.

In other news, we have snow flurries and 32 degree weather in Chicago this morning.
Ha! Try playing in that Cubbies!

Happy Friday, diverse fellow office workers

The Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner

Ladies and gentlemen, MC Rove...

Couric's Cancer Grilling

I'm not sure if Katie Couric is looking out for her dwindling ratings or for her own political gain here, but this just plain sickened me. I've always been asked what my problem with Couric was, here's a prime example: They give her the first sole anchor woman position at the CBS news desk and she goes on to ask questions like these. (During exclusive 60 mins. interview.) Beyond the obvious insensitivity, this is just BAD journalism.

Just a small dose of the transcript:

Katie Couric: ...And I think some people wondered if you were in denial, if you were being realistic about what you were going to be facing here.

Elizabeth Edwards: I... I... I... I think that it is our intention to deny cancer any control over us....

--

Katie Couric: Here you're staring at possible death...

Elizabeth Edwards: Aren't we all though.

Katie Couric: And you're thinking, "I don't want to deprive the country of having my husband lead us."

Elizabeth Edwards: That would be my legacy wouldn't it, Katie. That I'd... that I'd... that I'd... that I'd taken out this fine man from the possibility of giving a great service. I mean, I don't want that to be my legacy.

Katie Couric: Politics, as you know, can be a cynical business.

--

Katie Couric: Some people watching this would say, "I would put my family first always, and my job second." And you're doing the exact opposite. You're putting your work first, and your family second.

John Edwards: But this is not work. Work is what I did as a lawyer. This is service. This is... this is a country that I love – both of us love, as much as we love our lives.

Katie Couric: I guess some people would say that there's some middle ground. You don't have to necessarily stay at home and feel sorry for yourself, and do nothing. But, if given a finite – a possibly finite period of time on the planet – being on the campaign trail, away from my children, a lot of time, and sort of pursuing this goal, is not, necessarily, what I'd do.

*Edited portion of the interview:

Does anyone have full lengeth yet?

"The history of a people is found in its songs"

A few albums I'm digging, lately:


Costello Music
- The Fratellis (Rock / Indie / Alternative)
You may have heard their hit "Flathead" on that iTunes commercial.
Check out their MySpace page for some tunes.


Separate Ways
- Teddy Thompson (Rock / Folk / Pop)
I discovered him performing a beautiful rendition of "Tonight Will Be Fine" on the Leonard Cohen documentary. "Everybody Move It!" and check out his MySpace page.



Neon Bible - Arcade Fire (Indie / Alternative / Pop)
Most of you have heard "Funeral"; their new album "Neon Bible" will be out March 6th. Check out their MySpace page for some old and new tunes.



Bring It Back
-McAlmont and Butler (Surf / Soul / Indie)
English rock/soul duo comprised of David McAlmont and Bernard Butler (Suede). Thanks for the recommendation, Arturo!
Some newer tunes here.

Chicago Votes

Don't worry, I'm not going to go all P. Diddy on you; I just want to make sure everyone has the correct information.

Okay, Chicagoans...it's that's time, again! Get off your arse, wipe that drool off your chin, abandon your work for an hour, and vote.

Not sure who/what you're voting on?
Mayor, City Clerk, and Alderman
Look on your voter registration card, check which ward you're in, pick accordingly.

Not sure where to go? (Geesh, do I have to do everything for you?)
Go here.

Sharpton 'shocked' by link to Thurmond's family

Story Highlights

• Thurmond promised to preserve racial segregation in 1948 presidential bid
• Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, owned by Julia Thurmond
• Thurmond fathered bi-racial child; he died at 100 in 2003

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendant of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond -- a discovery the civil rights activist called "shocking" on Sunday.

Sharpton learned of his connection to Thurmond, once a prominent defender of segregation, last week through the Daily News, which asked genealogists to trace his roots.

"It was probably the most shocking thing in my life," Sharpton said at a news conference Sunday, the same day the tabloid revealed the story. (Watch Sharpton react to the news )

Some of Thurmond's relatives said the nexus also came as a surprise to them. Doris Strom Costner, a distant cousin who said she knew the late senator all her life, said Sunday she "never heard of such a thing."

"My momma never would talk to me about nothing like that," Costner said of ancestors who owned slaves. "She only talked to me about good things."

The revelations surfaced after Ancestry.com contacted a Daily News reporter who agreed to have his own family tree done. The intrigued reporter then turned around and asked Sharpton if he wanted to participate. Sharpton said he told the paper, "Go for it."

The genealogists, who were not paid by the newspaper, uncovered the ancestral ties using a variety of documents that included census, marriage and death records.

They found that Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed.

Thurmond, of South Carolina, was once considered an icon of racial segregation. During his 1948 bid for president, he promised to preserve segregation and, in 1957, he filibustered for more than 24 hours against a civil rights bill.

Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004 on a ticket of racial justice, said he met Thurmond only once in 1991 when he visited Washington, D.C., with the late soul singer James Brown, who knew Thurmond. Sharpton said the meeting was "awkward."

"I was not happy to meet him because what he had done all his life," Sharpton said.

Thurmond was seen as softening his segregation stance later in his life. He died in 2003, at 100. The long-serving senator was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.

Thurmond's children have acknowledged that Thurmond fathered a biracial daughter -- Essie Mae Washington-Williams' -- whose mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.

Telephone message left by The Associated Press on Sunday for Strom Thurmond Jr. and an attorney who once represented Washington-Williams, were not returned.

(via CNN.com)

2.18.07 Photo Blog

Some days it's great to be a tourist in your own city.


Morris, Washington, Solomon statue on Wacker Drive - 2:30pm


3 more photos can be seen here.


But wait, who is that psycho in my kitchen?! Ahh!!!







(Nate sporting his new Shun knife)

All the "real" stories have been covered, so...

Scientology and baby placenta eating aside...

Just another reason to loathe Tom Cruise:

Badonkadonk

I have no readers, so I'm entitled to a fluff post.




As a factual claim, it's true. A little lipstick isn't going to make my butt skinny. What it doesn't tell me is why I should want a skinny butt. Shouldn't the correct marketing term for a gym be "firm", "fit", or I don't know... "healthy" ?
I was actually considering joining Bally's to get rid of some winter weight...maybe I'll check out Women's Workout World, instead.

Ah, lovely day out. Carry on.

On Holiday

You know, for a writer, I sure haven't been blogging much. Well, mainly because I write on my laptop and Tim's computer is always hooked up to our internet. So one of these days I'll upload them all. You'll be impressed, really.

Any-hoo...Nate and I just got back from Denver. Weather there is more unpredictable than in Chicago. We managed to get a sunburn on Sunday and snow on Monday.

I took a little video of the Rockies/Giants game on my digicam from our upper deck seats. Barry Bonds was up to bat. Booing naturally ensued. Shocker.


Here's photos from the trip.

Helen Thomas is My Hero

Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas asked Bush what some analysts called the most direct questioning he’s ever received on his reasons for invading Iraq.

3-21-06
Transcript follows:


HELEN THOMAS: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I think your premise, in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist, is that, you know, I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --

HELEN THOMAS: Everything --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Hold on for a second, please.

HELEN THOMAS: -- everything I've heard --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Excuse me, excuse me. No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy, but we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

HELEN THOMAS: They didn't do anything to you or to our country.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al-Qaeda. That's where al-Qaeda trained --

HELEN THOMAS: I'm talking about Iraq --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al-Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, ‘Disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences’ --

HELEN THOMAS: -- go to war --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.

Papa Yankee Was Right

Okay, so I'll just say it: maybe Steinbrenner was right. Maybe hurdling some of the world's top baseball players into the WBC a month before the season begins wasn't the greatest idea.

In any case...

Damon's left shoulder hurting.
Outfielder limited to pinch-hitting for Team USA at Classic



God, I seriously knew this was going to happen. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that he had a shoulder problem last season and took pain killers to keep playing.
Now those pain killers are banned by MLB.

WALK IT OFF, DAMON. COME ON! YOU'RE A FREAKIN' NEW YORK YANKEE NOW! 26 World Championships! 39 AL pennant wins! We don't have time for this WBC horseshit!

P.S. - I couldn't pass up an opportunity to post this disturbing pic.


Yankees owner George Steinbrenner laughs after threatening to run over a reporter while pulling away in a golf cart at Legends Field in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo)
Feb. 16, 2006

Don't Gimme That South Park Religion

Well, this is just completely disappointing...

Soul Singer Isaac Hayes Quits South Park



I mean, did he not realize from the beginning their plans to mock every religion, race, culture, celebrity, politician, political party, and ...well, every other noun known to man? Tom Cruise probably threatened to not invite him to the Scientology BBQ's.

Conceptual Art Exhibition

On Thursday, March 2nd, from 3:30pm to 5pm at Columbia College there will be an opening celebration of my friend Brandon's untitled conceptual art piece, I would imagine with a bit of food and drink. His work will explore relationships with, and perspectives of, poverty.

624 South Michigan Avenue,
10th Floor, Peek-a-Boo Room

I would love to be in attendance to support a dear friend, but, well, I fear hipsters clad in white belts and checkered sneakers chomping on canapes. Actually, I'll be at the office. But everyone do yourself a favor and stop by. I can only imagine what his expansive, eclectic mind has in store for us.