I was thinking about my posts here, and I meant what I said when I would respect the office of the President no matter who sat in it, however since I started this blog I haven't said what I liked about President Obama either during the campaign or since his election, that changes now.
Obama has embraced technology and the new connections it can bring. This was one of the strongest points in his campaign, he used the internet to connect with the public in ways never seen on the national stage in this country. He used text messaging to announce hsi running mate rather than a press conference, he used the web to allow for micro-contrabutions so that people could donate as little as $5 to his campaign (weather this was to bypass audit trails is neither here nor there.) In these ways an many more President Obama has changed the way campaigns will be used for years to come. It is no longer reasonable for a Presidential candidate to not understand, or use technology. The micro-chip did for Obama what the first televised debate against Nixon did for JFK.
Obama has expressed a desire for volunteerism that I strongly agree with. I would love for programs similar to the GI bill and ROTC where if you donate time either before or after collage to helping the country (teaching inner-city children, being a cook or administrator in a homeless shelter, or other charitable work as your primary, or reserve type of job) for an agreed upon ammount of time, the government would help you with your college tuition.
This also allows those who oppose the military, but feel because of their background it's the only way to pay for college another way to assist the country and pay for college without going against their moral beliefs. I don't believe ALL benefits should be equal to those our soldiers get (government backed morgage, Healthcare, etc.) but enhancing the overall education of this country will only benefit it.
President Obama has also expressed a desire to increase stem-cell research. I have mixed opinions on the abortion debate that I will probably blog about at some further time, but as long as they are the law of the land, why not at least put the cells to use with research so the lost life counts for something rather than sending it to a medical waste landfill? Also fetus' aren't the only way to get stem-cells.
As someone who has had medical issues most of his life, I can see only benefits to furthering medical science down this path. This research is going to happen somewhere anyway, why not in this country where ethical standards can and will be maintained?
Those are the biggest 3 things I can think to praise President Obama for at the moment, but as I see more I will certainly add praise as well as criticisms.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
CHANGE in priorities
In President Obama's first 2 full days in office he seems to have shown that his priorities are messed up.
Exhibit A: His first executive order was nothing but political posturing. This order froze the pay of his top administration officials. These officials at that time had been on the job less than 24 hours, what exactly could they have done to deserve the consideration of a raise in that time? This made him look like he was getting tough on the economic problems without actually having to do anything of substance. If he really wanted to do something why not create some tax-free holidays, lower the tax rate on small business', or issue some type of stimulas package?
Exhibit B: His next day in office, again before doing anything of substance for the American people he issued another executive order to stop the trials of foreign terrorist/freedom fighters/soldiers and close Guantanamo Bay. President Obama said during the campaign that it may take him up to a year to deside what to do with Guantanamo Bay but he seems to have managed to make the choice within 48 hours of taking the oath of office. I wonder how much of that decision was made for him by the people who supported him during the campaign calling in favors. Estimates are that with this closure at least 100 detainee's will be released, the remaining detainee's to be put on trials within the US. So people whatever you choose to call them who were captured taking up arms against our soldiers, without uniforms are going to be released with no trial, or given a trial within the country they wished ill.
If you look up the definition of a soldier in Section one of part 3 of protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention you'll see that they must distinguish themselves from the civilian population. These detainee's didn't do that and thus aren't covered and should be treated as the terrorists they are.
Exhibit A: His first executive order was nothing but political posturing. This order froze the pay of his top administration officials. These officials at that time had been on the job less than 24 hours, what exactly could they have done to deserve the consideration of a raise in that time? This made him look like he was getting tough on the economic problems without actually having to do anything of substance. If he really wanted to do something why not create some tax-free holidays, lower the tax rate on small business', or issue some type of stimulas package?
Exhibit B: His next day in office, again before doing anything of substance for the American people he issued another executive order to stop the trials of foreign terrorist/freedom fighters/soldiers and close Guantanamo Bay. President Obama said during the campaign that it may take him up to a year to deside what to do with Guantanamo Bay but he seems to have managed to make the choice within 48 hours of taking the oath of office. I wonder how much of that decision was made for him by the people who supported him during the campaign calling in favors. Estimates are that with this closure at least 100 detainee's will be released, the remaining detainee's to be put on trials within the US. So people whatever you choose to call them who were captured taking up arms against our soldiers, without uniforms are going to be released with no trial, or given a trial within the country they wished ill.
If you look up the definition of a soldier in Section one of part 3 of protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention you'll see that they must distinguish themselves from the civilian population. These detainee's didn't do that and thus aren't covered and should be treated as the terrorists they are.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A nation in need of change
Today the US watched another president sworn in (either the 44th by traditional counting, or the 51st if you count all of them.) But we also watched as the out-going president was boo'ed and sung "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey good-bye" to him. Regardless of how you feel about former President Bush that is not an acceptable way to treat him.
President Obama talks about uniting the political sides, yet I've not to see him doing anything to heal the wounds that are killing this nation. He's had 2 months already as President-Elect, despite his promises against a "revolving door of lobbyist" in the administration has now invited William Corr a federal lobbyist with the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids until Sept 2008 to be deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
President Obama also questioned Hilary Clinton's ability to negotiate while her husband takes money for speaking at foreign nations, yet she is up for Secretary of State. Where is this Change we were promised?
President Obama talks about uniting the political sides, yet I've not to see him doing anything to heal the wounds that are killing this nation. He's had 2 months already as President-Elect, despite his promises against a "revolving door of lobbyist" in the administration has now invited William Corr a federal lobbyist with the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids until Sept 2008 to be deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
President Obama also questioned Hilary Clinton's ability to negotiate while her husband takes money for speaking at foreign nations, yet she is up for Secretary of State. Where is this Change we were promised?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Looking professional and being professional are two different things
I like jeans. One of the things I enjoyed about where I work is that we were able to wear jeans. Not any more.
An edict came from the CEO that those of us in the downtown office must "look professional" and that jeans apparently don't fit that description. I'm ok with this in principle, however this edict came with a "NO EXCEPTIONS" clause. Here's the thing, I spend about 1/2 of my work day crawling around either under desks, in a dirty warehouse, or in a server closet. I'd much rather were a durable pair of denim jeans, even if their black., than a pair of "professional" dockers or khaki's that will tear or show dirt more easily.
I went to my supervisor and requested he speak with the powers that be, explain about my work day, and that at a previous employer I wore out a pair of dress pants on average every month. I was told there would be no exceptions.
Obviously I'm not going to quit over this but really, what do they care what I wear as long as I get the job done and act professional doing it?
An edict came from the CEO that those of us in the downtown office must "look professional" and that jeans apparently don't fit that description. I'm ok with this in principle, however this edict came with a "NO EXCEPTIONS" clause. Here's the thing, I spend about 1/2 of my work day crawling around either under desks, in a dirty warehouse, or in a server closet. I'd much rather were a durable pair of denim jeans, even if their black., than a pair of "professional" dockers or khaki's that will tear or show dirt more easily.
I went to my supervisor and requested he speak with the powers that be, explain about my work day, and that at a previous employer I wore out a pair of dress pants on average every month. I was told there would be no exceptions.
Obviously I'm not going to quit over this but really, what do they care what I wear as long as I get the job done and act professional doing it?
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Week from HELL
OK, I declare Dec 14 through Dec 20 2008 the week from hell for my family.
Late Saturday night (about 10 PM) I took my wife into the emergency room, and shortly after midnight on the 14th we found out she was having a miscarriage (we didn't know she was pregnant until that night but had 20 minutes between when we were told she was pregnant and when we were told the baby was in trouble.)
On Wednesday my brother had a second surgery for thyroid cancer. All went well but those two items themselves were quite a bit to take.
Then on Friday, while at work I got a call first from my father saying that they didn't get the right lymph nods in Adam and they would have to be going in again on Saturday. about 20 minutes later I got a call from Heather and was told that there were some complications and that if her hormone levels weren't where the doctors wanted to see them she would be going into surgery that night. About 4 hours later we found out Heather wouldn't have to have surgery, but Adam would definitely need it. Then when I got home from work I was told by my father that his brother had commit ed suicide that morning by over-dosing on pills.
Everyone is doing well from their various medical issues, Adam is recovering well from 2 surgeries within 4 days, and Heather and I are still getting over the shock and pain of the miscarriage but this isn't a week I'd want to relive for anything in the world.
Late Saturday night (about 10 PM) I took my wife into the emergency room, and shortly after midnight on the 14th we found out she was having a miscarriage (we didn't know she was pregnant until that night but had 20 minutes between when we were told she was pregnant and when we were told the baby was in trouble.)
On Wednesday my brother had a second surgery for thyroid cancer. All went well but those two items themselves were quite a bit to take.
Then on Friday, while at work I got a call first from my father saying that they didn't get the right lymph nods in Adam and they would have to be going in again on Saturday. about 20 minutes later I got a call from Heather and was told that there were some complications and that if her hormone levels weren't where the doctors wanted to see them she would be going into surgery that night. About 4 hours later we found out Heather wouldn't have to have surgery, but Adam would definitely need it. Then when I got home from work I was told by my father that his brother had commit ed suicide that morning by over-dosing on pills.
Everyone is doing well from their various medical issues, Adam is recovering well from 2 surgeries within 4 days, and Heather and I are still getting over the shock and pain of the miscarriage but this isn't a week I'd want to relive for anything in the world.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
To the Child I never knew
This is written on Sunday Dec 14, but will be delayed posting until Heather gives the OK due to reasons that will become obvious in the reading.
I got to bed at 5:45 am this morning. We just got back from the ER where within a 20 minute stretch we found out that Heather was pregnant, and that she was in the middle of a miscarriage.
We've been trying for a second child for about a year and a half now, so this was a major blow to both Heather and I. I doubt we've fully processed it.
The hardest thing about the whole experience was in the ER the doctors kept referring to the collection as "tissue" that wasn't tissue, that was my child. I'll never know him or her, I didn't know they existed until they were in trouble.
That's hard for me as well. I'm very traditional in that I feel it's my job above all others to protect my family, and there was nothing I could do. I know logically there was something massively wrong with the child and that's why this happened, but in my heart I failed to protect my child, and my wife from the pain associated with this ordeal.
I barely knew this child, and now I never will, and that saddens me to the core.
I got to bed at 5:45 am this morning. We just got back from the ER where within a 20 minute stretch we found out that Heather was pregnant, and that she was in the middle of a miscarriage.
We've been trying for a second child for about a year and a half now, so this was a major blow to both Heather and I. I doubt we've fully processed it.
The hardest thing about the whole experience was in the ER the doctors kept referring to the collection as "tissue" that wasn't tissue, that was my child. I'll never know him or her, I didn't know they existed until they were in trouble.
That's hard for me as well. I'm very traditional in that I feel it's my job above all others to protect my family, and there was nothing I could do. I know logically there was something massively wrong with the child and that's why this happened, but in my heart I failed to protect my child, and my wife from the pain associated with this ordeal.
I barely knew this child, and now I never will, and that saddens me to the core.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Why I use Linux
I'm a geek, I readily admit this. I love all things geeky: comic books, video games, sci-fi, and of course computers.
I enjoy almost all aspects of computers; building hardware, troubleshooting problems, giving people advice, working on them, playing games. However, I don't like Windows. Windows is how I make my living; removing virii, repairing BSOD's, and in general fixing the headaches that Windows causes.
I use Linux because I don't understand why people use an operating system that to operate safely requires you to buy an anti-virus, if it's needed shouldn't it be included? If you bought a car would it be acceptable for them to require you to buy the seatbelts seperate, and then you had to pay every year for a new subscription to the belts?
I use Linux because it's Open Source, so instead of the programmers of one company fixing bugs 7 years after it's first reported Linux bugs are able to be fixed by anyone in the world and generally are patched within hours of them being found.
I use Linux because there is no entry fee to play. Linux can be downloaded for free from a number of places. Ubuntu, OpenSuse, Fedora. In many cases you can actually download the .ISO file and burn it to a CD and start your computer to run from the CD to test Linux without making any changes to your currently installed system. Linux is easy enough for beginners, and robust enough that geeks can delve deep into the guts, get their hands dirty and they system comes back for me.
I enjoy almost all aspects of computers; building hardware, troubleshooting problems, giving people advice, working on them, playing games. However, I don't like Windows. Windows is how I make my living; removing virii, repairing BSOD's, and in general fixing the headaches that Windows causes.
I use Linux because I don't understand why people use an operating system that to operate safely requires you to buy an anti-virus, if it's needed shouldn't it be included? If you bought a car would it be acceptable for them to require you to buy the seatbelts seperate, and then you had to pay every year for a new subscription to the belts?
I use Linux because it's Open Source, so instead of the programmers of one company fixing bugs 7 years after it's first reported Linux bugs are able to be fixed by anyone in the world and generally are patched within hours of them being found.
I use Linux because there is no entry fee to play. Linux can be downloaded for free from a number of places. Ubuntu, OpenSuse, Fedora. In many cases you can actually download the .ISO file and burn it to a CD and start your computer to run from the CD to test Linux without making any changes to your currently installed system. Linux is easy enough for beginners, and robust enough that geeks can delve deep into the guts, get their hands dirty and they system comes back for me.
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