Alright, so the idea was to go an entire day, or at least long enough to experience solitude and be able to reflect on it. Quite simply, I failed horribly at it. I lasted all of three hours and those entire three hours, I was driving and really unable to use it anyway. I long believe in the idea that knowledge and information is power. Being a former communications intelligence operative, it's kind of what I've always done ever since I was 18 years old. Solitude, at least in my opinion isn't for everyone. There are some people, such as myself, who would indeed rather prefer to constantly be linked into the news and to be updated on what's going on in the world in real time. While for some people, this may be an anathema, I relish it.
I can't say I didn't learn too much about myself but I did reinforce my preexisting beliefs about myself. I love information and news. My desired profession, politics and/or law, require being on the bleeding edge of information. Every small update and factoid affects how policy is shaped, or how courts determine case outcomes. This isn't to say that solitude is worthless, I just think we all have different ideas of what solitude is. For me, solitude is just relaxing in my chair and scrolling Twitter. While I do follow some personal friends who post inane babble, most of the information I get is up to the second news on world affairs, public policy, judicial actions, and sports. To me, this is my solitude and how I wind down.
In sum, I experienced my version of solitude, and I quite enjoyed it. Call it an addiction to news and information if you will...but they don't call use political junkies for nothing. :)
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Advocacy
There isn't any doubt that advocacy connects to reproduction rights. Without the advocacy of second wave feminists, women may still have to get their husband's permission to use birth control, and laws banning abortion may not have ever been challenged. Ever since Roe v. Wade was decided, women and their allies had to have major advocacy campaigns to blunt the assault by religious fanatics on their right to privacy, and their right to determine whether they should give birth or not.
I do expect to see change on my issue in my lifetime. I do believe that as more and more people get involved in the political process in an era where all they know is legalized abortion, there will be less resistance to a woman's right to choose.
I do expect to see change on my issue in my lifetime. I do believe that as more and more people get involved in the political process in an era where all they know is legalized abortion, there will be less resistance to a woman's right to choose.
Monday, February 18, 2013
LoveFrontPorch Review
This afternoon, I had a chance to take a look at the Pittsburgh-based blog, Love Front Porch. - http://lovefrontporch.com/
The photos and the personal stories of Vanessa German are indeed heart-wrenching, and heart warming. Homewood isn't exactly a part of the city I find myself in on purpose, given its propensity for violence and blight.
Ms. German does posit several reassuring qualities of the borough, and the personal stories she tells, compels the reader to have compassion and empathy for the plight of the neighborhood.
Sadly, however, Ms. German paints an unrealistic portrait of the impact of art in the area. While, yes, her contributions to the area are very real, and they certainly do change the lives of young people who could fall pratfalls to the culture of violence in the area, she does come up with a wild-eyed fantastic scenario about art replacing the Department of Defense.
The other problem I have with the site, is that it doesn't tell me why I should care about these kids. As someone who doesn't live in the borough, I need to know why I need to care about and donate my resources to these kids instead of other kids, perhaps ones more closer to my part of the city, or share a similar cultural background to me.
The photos and the personal stories of Vanessa German are indeed heart-wrenching, and heart warming. Homewood isn't exactly a part of the city I find myself in on purpose, given its propensity for violence and blight.
Ms. German does posit several reassuring qualities of the borough, and the personal stories she tells, compels the reader to have compassion and empathy for the plight of the neighborhood.
Sadly, however, Ms. German paints an unrealistic portrait of the impact of art in the area. While, yes, her contributions to the area are very real, and they certainly do change the lives of young people who could fall pratfalls to the culture of violence in the area, she does come up with a wild-eyed fantastic scenario about art replacing the Department of Defense.
The other problem I have with the site, is that it doesn't tell me why I should care about these kids. As someone who doesn't live in the borough, I need to know why I need to care about and donate my resources to these kids instead of other kids, perhaps ones more closer to my part of the city, or share a similar cultural background to me.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Reflection on Manifesto
I chose to do the Carlow core value of "Sacredness of Creation" for my manifesto. The manifesto I wrote includes:
I spent most of my weekend recovering from an emergency dental procedure, so it was relatively easy to carry out my manifesto. In my interactions with those around me, I took great care to not use cynicism or sarcasm, and kept my typical bluster to a minimum. When you tend to be naturally somewhat arrogant like I am, it can be hard to keep humble. It was actually somewhat refreshing to not get a few sneers or looks when I didn't speak with condescension.
- I will treat each and every individual I meet as equals.
- I will extend my aid and comfort to those who seek it, regardless of potential personal gain.
- I will be respectful and honest to those around me.
- I will work to embody the spirit of MLK Jr. by judging those around me by the content of their character.
- I will strive to make my relationships with people around me equal, diffuse hostility through speech, and not act with malice towards others.
I spent most of my weekend recovering from an emergency dental procedure, so it was relatively easy to carry out my manifesto. In my interactions with those around me, I took great care to not use cynicism or sarcasm, and kept my typical bluster to a minimum. When you tend to be naturally somewhat arrogant like I am, it can be hard to keep humble. It was actually somewhat refreshing to not get a few sneers or looks when I didn't speak with condescension.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Analysis of With Liberty and Justice For All
I had my first taste of politics when I was about seven years old. My mother and father had me with them going from union hall to union hall handing out Michael Dukakis bumper stickers. I remember standing with my mother on the side of the road outside of the entrance to the plant urging her union brothers and sisters to support Dukakis. When we got home, I asked my mother why she was supporting Dukakis. Her answer still resonates with me today. She said that “he’ll support the working man and he’ll keep abortion legal.” At the time, I didn’t exactly understand what that meant, but as I got older, I realized that my mother had come of age in an era before Roe v. Wade, and if she would have needed or wanted an abortion, one would not have been readily accessible to her.
Most of my worldview on women was shaped by the fact that growing up, I had spent my youth almost entirely around women. My father, who was also a union steelworker, often worked shift work and double shifts to make life better for me and my sister. This meant spending time with my mother, who was also a steelworker but was a foreman and got to spend more time at home, and when she wasn’t around I was either with my sister who is 10 years my senior, my aunt and cousin who lived across the street from me, or my grandmother, who was a veteran of the Marine Corps during WWII, and often worked blue collar jobs. Spending my entire childhood around independent women, who eschewed the idea that their role was simply to be a homemaker had a tremendous impact on shaping my personal politics. Abortion was presented to me as one of the fundamental rights that women have. The right to decide whether or not they want to birth a child was extremely personal to each of these women, and it made sense to me.
As a man, I’ll never fully be able to grasp the concept of what it would mean if the government told me that I had no choice but to bear a child. For example, I don’t think I could truly comprehend what it would mean that if I was raped, and during the rape, was impregnated against my will. I do understand, however, if it were my sister, my wife, or my daughter who were the one raped, in no case would I, nor anyone else, have the right to tell her that she must carry the resulting fetus to term, and then because of parental obligation laws, be forced to care for the child for the first 18 years of life. My personal view on abortion is quite different from my public policy views on abortion. I do believe in the Bill Clinton view on abortion of “safe, legal, and rare.” I strongly discourage the idea of using abortion as a tool of birth control. However, I don’t feel that government has the right to force a woman to carry a fetus to term. The primary goal for me in this campaign is to ascertain why exactly must abortion remain to be both safe and legal.
The book I chose to read that supports my viewpoint is the book With Liberty and Justice For All by Kate Michelman. The book begins as Ms. Michelman describes an abortion procedure she went through in 1969, before legalization of abortion. She describes her climb through the ranks of working at family planning clinics, aligning with Planned Parenthood, joining the board of directors of Pennsylvania NARAL, and then becoming the executive director of NARAL in 1985.
Ms. Michelman describes in detail the legislative procedures that she and other reproduction rights activists faced in government and Congress. From the Bork nomination for the Supreme Court in 1987, to the Hyde amendment, to the 1998 Partial Birth Abortion Ban, to the Senate judicial confirmation hearings in the 2000s, she goes into detail about how NARAL and other groups lobbied Senators against approving extreme anti-abortion judges. Her testimony before Congress in 1994 crystalizes the viewpoint that abortion must remain legal.
“NARAL recognizes the compelling need for comprehensive welfare reform. But true reform lies not in callous policies that punish women for the choices they make, but in helping women make responsible, deliberate decisions about childbearing by providing access to necessary information and health services, rewarding and encouraging economic self-sufficiency, and helping reduce teenage pregnancy.” (Michelman, Pg. 151)
Given that I believe in a solid wall between church and state, and my belief that those who serve in public office should use their personal religious views to guide their private lives and not their public policy stances, I searched for a humanist or secular argument against abortion. To me, for a member of the Senate or House of Representatives to be against abortion on religious grounds, its analogous to me to be against the sale of cheeseburgers or shellfish since both are forbidden by the Torah, and the consumption of both are forbidden to Jews.
Jennifer Roth, an atheist, states that those who consider themselves secular can oppose abortion on humanist ground. She makes the point that under law, infants do indeed have legal rights, such as the right to be protected, fed, and sheltered by parents. She argues that there is “precedent for the recognition of personhood in those who have yet to develop the ability to perform personal acts. Opponents of abortion propose nothing unheard of, then, in advocating that all human beings should be considered persons from the beginning of their biological lives. (Roth).
Roth then goes on to argue that it is the parental duty of a mother to support the child within them. Roth states that when a woman is pregnant, the “need” of the child was created by the mother and father, and that this obligates the mother to protect the needs of the unborn child. In cases of sexual assault and rape, Roth argues that an acceptable solution is to seek a “non-violent solution which allows the mother to heal from the trauma of the attack, and for the child to live. She makes the argument that children conceived in rape are not tainted, and are no less worthy of life than a child whose conception was a planned event. She makes the case that in a humanistic society, even one that disregards religious morality; we must place value equally on all life, including those in utero.
I choose to side with Ms. Michelman. I do believe that a woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to bear a child, or not. This is a decision that is hers, and hers alone. The case that Ms. Michelman makes, that of child-bearing and preventing a financial or personal hardship on a woman, is a stronger case than forcing her to give birth to a child that she doesn’t want, and could potentially cause great mental anguish.
Before reading Ms. Michelman’s book, I was unaware exactly of what it took for pro-abortion groups to fight back against judicial and legislative assaults on the right to an abortion, a right granted to women with the Roe v. Wade decision. I plan to discuss via social media (Facebook, Twitter, and blogging) my findings, and my argument in favor of keeping abortion legal.
References
Michelman, K. (2005). With liberty and justice for all: a life spent protecting the right to choose. New York: Hudson Street Press.
Roth, J. (n.d.). Ms. Roth's Opening Statement: A Secular Case Against Abortion. Secular Web: Atheism, Agnosticism, Naturalism, Skepticism and Secularism. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/debates/secularist/abortion/roth1.html
Most of my worldview on women was shaped by the fact that growing up, I had spent my youth almost entirely around women. My father, who was also a union steelworker, often worked shift work and double shifts to make life better for me and my sister. This meant spending time with my mother, who was also a steelworker but was a foreman and got to spend more time at home, and when she wasn’t around I was either with my sister who is 10 years my senior, my aunt and cousin who lived across the street from me, or my grandmother, who was a veteran of the Marine Corps during WWII, and often worked blue collar jobs. Spending my entire childhood around independent women, who eschewed the idea that their role was simply to be a homemaker had a tremendous impact on shaping my personal politics. Abortion was presented to me as one of the fundamental rights that women have. The right to decide whether or not they want to birth a child was extremely personal to each of these women, and it made sense to me.
As a man, I’ll never fully be able to grasp the concept of what it would mean if the government told me that I had no choice but to bear a child. For example, I don’t think I could truly comprehend what it would mean that if I was raped, and during the rape, was impregnated against my will. I do understand, however, if it were my sister, my wife, or my daughter who were the one raped, in no case would I, nor anyone else, have the right to tell her that she must carry the resulting fetus to term, and then because of parental obligation laws, be forced to care for the child for the first 18 years of life. My personal view on abortion is quite different from my public policy views on abortion. I do believe in the Bill Clinton view on abortion of “safe, legal, and rare.” I strongly discourage the idea of using abortion as a tool of birth control. However, I don’t feel that government has the right to force a woman to carry a fetus to term. The primary goal for me in this campaign is to ascertain why exactly must abortion remain to be both safe and legal.
The book I chose to read that supports my viewpoint is the book With Liberty and Justice For All by Kate Michelman. The book begins as Ms. Michelman describes an abortion procedure she went through in 1969, before legalization of abortion. She describes her climb through the ranks of working at family planning clinics, aligning with Planned Parenthood, joining the board of directors of Pennsylvania NARAL, and then becoming the executive director of NARAL in 1985.
Ms. Michelman describes in detail the legislative procedures that she and other reproduction rights activists faced in government and Congress. From the Bork nomination for the Supreme Court in 1987, to the Hyde amendment, to the 1998 Partial Birth Abortion Ban, to the Senate judicial confirmation hearings in the 2000s, she goes into detail about how NARAL and other groups lobbied Senators against approving extreme anti-abortion judges. Her testimony before Congress in 1994 crystalizes the viewpoint that abortion must remain legal.
“NARAL recognizes the compelling need for comprehensive welfare reform. But true reform lies not in callous policies that punish women for the choices they make, but in helping women make responsible, deliberate decisions about childbearing by providing access to necessary information and health services, rewarding and encouraging economic self-sufficiency, and helping reduce teenage pregnancy.” (Michelman, Pg. 151)
Given that I believe in a solid wall between church and state, and my belief that those who serve in public office should use their personal religious views to guide their private lives and not their public policy stances, I searched for a humanist or secular argument against abortion. To me, for a member of the Senate or House of Representatives to be against abortion on religious grounds, its analogous to me to be against the sale of cheeseburgers or shellfish since both are forbidden by the Torah, and the consumption of both are forbidden to Jews.
Jennifer Roth, an atheist, states that those who consider themselves secular can oppose abortion on humanist ground. She makes the point that under law, infants do indeed have legal rights, such as the right to be protected, fed, and sheltered by parents. She argues that there is “precedent for the recognition of personhood in those who have yet to develop the ability to perform personal acts. Opponents of abortion propose nothing unheard of, then, in advocating that all human beings should be considered persons from the beginning of their biological lives. (Roth).
Roth then goes on to argue that it is the parental duty of a mother to support the child within them. Roth states that when a woman is pregnant, the “need” of the child was created by the mother and father, and that this obligates the mother to protect the needs of the unborn child. In cases of sexual assault and rape, Roth argues that an acceptable solution is to seek a “non-violent solution which allows the mother to heal from the trauma of the attack, and for the child to live. She makes the argument that children conceived in rape are not tainted, and are no less worthy of life than a child whose conception was a planned event. She makes the case that in a humanistic society, even one that disregards religious morality; we must place value equally on all life, including those in utero.
I choose to side with Ms. Michelman. I do believe that a woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to bear a child, or not. This is a decision that is hers, and hers alone. The case that Ms. Michelman makes, that of child-bearing and preventing a financial or personal hardship on a woman, is a stronger case than forcing her to give birth to a child that she doesn’t want, and could potentially cause great mental anguish.
Before reading Ms. Michelman’s book, I was unaware exactly of what it took for pro-abortion groups to fight back against judicial and legislative assaults on the right to an abortion, a right granted to women with the Roe v. Wade decision. I plan to discuss via social media (Facebook, Twitter, and blogging) my findings, and my argument in favor of keeping abortion legal.
References
Michelman, K. (2005). With liberty and justice for all: a life spent protecting the right to choose. New York: Hudson Street Press.
Roth, J. (n.d.). Ms. Roth's Opening Statement: A Secular Case Against Abortion. Secular Web: Atheism, Agnosticism, Naturalism, Skepticism and Secularism. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/debates/secularist/abortion/roth1.html
Monday, January 28, 2013
LOT Project Preferences
1. Social Media
For me, this is a no-brainer. I am hopelessly addicted to social media, and have made several friends through it, including having a local politician invite me to apply for an internship in her office as a result of engaging her on Twitter.
2. Grant Research
Being a political science major, and having been a small piece of a political organization, I am used to bureaucracy, and am used to diving headlong in to long, arduous, seemingly boring research.
For me, this is a no-brainer. I am hopelessly addicted to social media, and have made several friends through it, including having a local politician invite me to apply for an internship in her office as a result of engaging her on Twitter.
2. Grant Research
Being a political science major, and having been a small piece of a political organization, I am used to bureaucracy, and am used to diving headlong in to long, arduous, seemingly boring research.
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