Speak, Memory

Yesterday, I posted a news story about an Indianapolis school teacher who may loose her job for using the book Freedom Writers Journal. While I could be naive and say that I thought our society was past this sort of childish and sniveling behavior, I know better. It's all about what is Appropriate. It's gotta be Appropriate.

Well, today the Indianapolis Star has posted this story in which Erin Gruwell, author of Freedom Writers Journal, will be supporting the Indianapolis teacher. I hope this woman gets to keep her job and that all those parents that said their child could read the book (because the teacher did get permission slips from all but one child out of 154) show up at her hearing and rip the school board a new one.

The Superintendent's response? "I don't know if it will be a public hearing or not and I don't have enough information to choose sides."

Coward. Tax payers pay the salary of those teachers, that decision should be public.

Oh, and the Super is surprised at how much controversy this has stirred up! *headdesk*

My daily pursuit of local news turned up this tragic story.

Words that come to mind: Censorship, book burners, short-sighted, fundamentalists, unimaginative, small minded, bureaucracy.

Freedom Writers was a great movie. I haven't yet read the book, but I imagine it was even better. But more than that, it was incredibly inspirational. And not just to teachers and other educated people. It was inspirational to students...students who are poor, disconnected, marginalized, and forgotten. It inspired them to write and read with passion, to tell their stories with passion. But because of racial slurs and explicit language, the Marion County School District doesn't want the book in the classroom and is going to fire a 27 year teacher who dared to teach it anyway.

I am not a fan of violence. But the fact is, violence is all around us. No matter our socioeconomic status, we've been exposed to violence and bad language and racial slurs. We all know it's out there. But for some of us, it's the world we live in, our everyday reality. And that's why they relate so well to Freedom Writers. Who the hell cares about the violence and language and racial slurs. That's their reality. And if that helps them relate and learn and become passionate, then by god, embrace it and show them the way to a world that does not live in everyday violence. Give them a voice and a reason to use it.

Stupid people and their self-righteous short-sighted dogma.

Need to feel squeamish so you can get out of work? Want to gross out your co-workers so they'll leave you alone?

Try reading this story out loud.

The headline in The Indianapolis Star was intriguing, so I checked it out. Eww! I recovered quickly, but that did make my stomach turn a little.

"In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes." ~Benjamin Franklin

Taxes are a problem that we must all face. And how we are taxed varies from country to country. But just recently in Indiana, the problem of taxes has become mutinous. I do not know if other countries utilize a property tax, but in most states in the US, we do. And in Indiana, those property taxes has spiraled out of control, double and tripling last year--without warning. Most home owners were blind sided by their new property taxes and caught unable to pay the whole bill at once. Many small non-profit organizations in outlaying areas fear that they may soon be unable to pay their property tax bills if the current trend continues.

Today, in the Indianapolis Star, I was greeted with this headline: Daniels on property tax reform: We'll work 'as long as it takes'

The story is behind the cut, complete with link to the original story.

( Tax Reform )

I'm glad to see that our governor is finally concerned about this enough to force the issue, but I'm not sure that less spending, property tax caps, and a higher sales tax are going to get the job done. It seems like a great way to make everyone reach deeper into their pockets without actually asking those citizens most able to pay--the rich--to bear the greater burden off the shoulders of the poor, underprivileged, and lower middle class.

As an alternative, some legislators and many protesters are pushing to kill property taxes for homeowners and let business owners and farmers bear that burden alone. Sounds like a great way to bankrupt all farmers and most small businesses to me. In America, we support free enterprise. Hell, it's the 'American Dream' to own your own business. Sorry folks, but that ain't going to happen if our schools are going to be supported solely by small businesses and farmers. Way to be short sighted by your shallow pockets, Indiana.

Instead, I think we should consider a tax system that places the largest burden on those who are spending the most money. Many Americans today are rallying around the Fair Tax campaign and I think it's a good looking plan. The plan eliminates income tax and highly taxes new goods and services, meaning the more you spend, the more you're taxed. And who spends the most? The Rich! I don't know if this plan will ever take hold--the rich have too much power in this world and will certainly not support such a system. But perhaps the American public will speak up, and perhaps a few brave politicians will support the movement and bring it up for consideration. And then perhaps there will be so much public support that the politicians will have no choice but to follow their wishes and instate a new tax system.

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer

I don't know if Fair Tax is the end all, be all of our tax problems, but it's a step in the right direction. What else might we consider?

Last week in Indiana, a 19 year old was arrested for killing her newborn child. The 19 year old managed to conceal the pregnancy and delivered the child, presumably at full term, in her dorm bathroom, where she allowed the child to fall into the toilet. It drowned and then she disposed of the child in the trash. Her roommate became suspicious and called the police, the girl was later arrested.

You can see the whole story here

Fine. That makes perfect sense.

Now, today, I read this story in the Indianapolis Star:

8:58 AM October 31, 2007

Woman leaves newborn at hospital
By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com
October 31, 2007

Police say a woman left a newborn girl with a worker at an Eastside hospital this week.
The woman, apparently the child's mother, stopped a Community East Hospital employee in the parking lot and handed the worker the baby girl bundled in blankets at about 12:45 on Monday, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police report.
"The unidentified female then stated the baby had just been born (and) that she could not take care of it," Marion County Sheriff's Department Special Deputy Thomas O'Daniel wrote in his report.
The mother drove away in a gray Oldsmobile, police said. Hospital worker Karen Fisher brought the child to the hospital's nursery.
The baby is in the care of Child Protective Services, police said.
Indiana's Safe Haven Law allows a parent who cannot care for an infant younger than 45 days old to leave the baby with staff at hospitals, police stations and firehouses. The parents do not have to identify themselves or explain their actions as long as the baby is unharmed.


Is it just me, or are you all under the assumption that the police might be looking for this woman until you read the last paragraph? If I were this woman and I read this news article, I'd totally freak out. If I were a young woman thinking about giving up my baby under the Safe Haven law, I'd freak out. Reading this article, it sounds dirty and underhanded that this woman gave up her baby in a way that is in accordance with the law. Articles like this, in my opinion, are the reason why more woman don't use this safety net. Why feel ridiculed and evil for trying to do the right thing by that baby? The law was created to give a child a chance at a good life where it might otherwise not live or lead a terrible, abused or unloved life. If you create the law, uphold it, don't bash it down.

Like every morning, I was reading the Indianapolis Star, and one particular head line caught my eye and held my attention. For anyone living in Indiana, you should read this article. For the rest of you, I'd just be aware that the tide continues to change, sweeping individual rights further out of reach.

Lawmaker's goal: Overturn Roe v. Wade
Bill would make abortion illegal in Indiana
By Mary Beth Schneider and Michele McNeil

"Abortion would be illegal for most women in Indiana, including victims of rape and incest, under a bill filed this week in the Indiana House.


Indiana's legislators have chipped away at abortion for decades, imposing waiting periods and other restrictions, but the measure proposed by Rep. Troy A. Woodruff, R-Vincennes, is the first direct attempt in years to outlaw most abortions."

( Read the whole article here )

My head actually hurts too much to write a diatribe about the election bullshit, but I have a few thoughts anyway.

For the first time in my life since I was allowed to vote, I don't feel compelled to do so. Funny how that has happened during such an important election year. It kills my journalistic heart to say that I may not vote (and, I know I can't really skip) but I have to ponder what it's worth.

The vote is decided by the electoral. It's a shitty system, and it means that, for the most part, the public's vote is lost unless the election is incredibly close and the electorial is tied. So, we have millions of people voting, and it may mean nothing. I'm not usually so pessimistic about this stuff, but it just seems futile this year.

And another thing ... the candidate for President both suck. I know there are some of you who will disagree with me, but hear me out here. Bush: He's an idiot. He can't admit when he's wrong, and he's ignored the fact that a large majority of the world hates him. He handled 9/11 well, but has since tried to obliterate the middle east for all the wrong reasons (never mind that fact that with a little research there could have been right reasons!) The economy sucks, but I'm not sure that's his fault. Economists will tell you that all the time, and I'm inclined to agree with them. However, I think he could have done more to lower the cost of medical expenses. Kerry: The man can' make up his mind, and on a public, bi-partisan platform, he isn't consistent, nor does he firmly stand by any particular issue. He has spent most of his campaign merely saying how bad a job Bush has done. What I'd like to know is how in the name of God does he expect to fund all these new programs without raising our taxes, like he propsed in debate no. 2. And, I'm not sure I see the difference between Bush, who supposedly rushed in to destroy Iraq, and Kerry, who proposes to solve a conflict that dates to biblical times in four years. They both appear to need a lot of gun power.

So, what to do? Vote for Bush and keep an idiot? I can at least predict his actions. Or, vote for Kerry in hopes that change is good? I have no clue what this man is going to do to "reverse" Bush's idiocy. It could be a lot worse. It could be better. I have no faith in either, so I can't, with a clear conscious, vote for either of them. What then? I should (and have said I would) vote for Nader. But that really is a waste of time. I don't think he'll get enough of the popular vote to get federal funding for the next campaign (that was my whole reason for voting for him), and that just takes a vote away from Bush or Kerry, and what if my vote decides the whole thing? Ha! Fat chance!

So see, it's quite a delima. I shall have to think long and hard as I stand in line for two hours to cast my pointless vote. God help us all!

BTW: I've been on hold with the Marion County Board of Voter Registration this entire time in hopes of learning where I vote. If they don't answer, my delima is over.

I thought Ann would appriciate this. I don't know about the rest of you though.

space capsul crashes in Utah

See, look at all the strange things that happen there. It must be Mordor!

Here's an article from the Indianapolis Star. It's kind of frightening. And it's a road we've been traveling down for years too. What's going to change that cycle? It seems like nothing will, because the cost of everything is going too high — Insurance, basic needs, education, gas. Where will it stop and what will it take to make things affordable again? Maybe, instead of raising our yearly income, we should drop the price of everything, world-wide. Hmm, concept ...

Poverty in America

*Sigh* Smarty didn't win. It was close, but not good enough. He lost by a length to Birdstone. He was pushing the lead the entire time though, so he must have been tired. Servis (the trainer) said the horse just wasn't settled in as nicely as the other two races and started worrying about him only half way through the race. I predict the horse will go on to good things though. He's supposed to run the Breeder's Cup in October and I bet he wins that.

Here's a news article including pic of Birdstone (right) and Smarty (left).
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/othersports/apother_story.asp?category=2080&slug=RAC%20Belmont%20Apologetic%20Winners