My Sister Is Published!

Yippie skippie and a whoop, stomp, clap!

Congrats to my sister, Gina, who in short has worked very hard and is beginning to see a return on her investment.

Now for the "in long".

Girl, you gotta comment and tell us more, but I'll do my best.  My sister got her degree, then her Masters from Portland State in Conflict Resolution.  With her recent graduation, so many possibilities have popped up and now she's a published writer!  She's at the beginning of so many NEW things, spearheading movements and opening doors.  This is a relatively new field, and the applications are just  beginning to ignite and spark outward into so many new and different areas.

Also, she has done all of this schooling, researching and graduating WITH a family, including having a second baby boy in the middle of it all.  A feat that impresses me.

After I read the article she wrote, I decided it was something I needed to share.  I'm on board, and I agree with Gina's perspective.  In having a husband who is fitted perfectly for creating things of the nuclear sort AND who disagrees with it... it means that I hear a lot about nuclear clean-up, hazardous waste and the need for solutions.  Solutions he believes are out there, and if he could get paid to do it, he'd be interested himself.  But does he move the whole family to a leaking nuke site?  =)  It has been discussed!  When someone has specialized knowledge in an area, and they are deeply concerned, it makes sense to get concerned yourself!

So get concerned, loved ones!  And maybe we can get concerned to good effect.

And now, Gina speaks her piece.
In this publication, a video has been added to explain more about the origins and purpose of the site in question, and includes a bit more basic info of the site in the article itself:
http://www.theskanner.com/article/Goverment-Failure-to-Deal-with-Hanford-Radioactive-Leaks-is-Massive-Betrayal-2013-03-01
This article includes her photograph:
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/56317

and I just got an update: this article is now in three publications only 24 hours after submission.  GREAT JOB, GINA!!! =)

Ron Paul

I Like. Ron. PaulandIcannontlie.

Nouthabruthacandeny...

When a candidate walks in...

- who thinks states should decide their own issues, instead of federal mandates across the country...

- who always votes "no" because we have enough laws already...

- who authored and succeeded in passing legislation to audit the fed...

- who wants to get rid of the Fed entirely, now...

Well, I kinda like the guy!  I don't believe that he cares about both short- and long-term environmental issues like I do, and I don't like his tax philosophy.  But when the power is to the states (and thus more squarely on the people!) then I am not as concerned about differing views.  And I can't stand how ignorant and uninformed the other candidates (and most politicians) are.  I wish we, the people, cared a lot more about educated political leaders.

So I wanted to voice my opinion that Ron Paul is my choice, and to defend this seeming appearance of "throwing away my vote" by saying that I want to always do what I think is right, period.  Big order, I know.  But that is why I recycle.  Not because it makes any difference.  But because it's the right thing to do.

100 Years Ago in Nature

Nature is a weekly magazine that publishes current research.  Researchers wishing to be published must be peer reviewed in order to get their paper published.  And this is a magazine that Shane was used to reading in grad school, and has lately renewed his subscription to feel better in touch with what is new in the field of science.

Most of the magazine is over my head, it's very technical and uses words I don't know and equations that don't have very many numbers in them. =)  But I can glean a bit, and I enjoy it when it isn't a depressing trend that is discovered.  There's a lot of bad news with the good.

In the 10 November 2011 issue, they had a small sidebar with an excerpt from 100 years ago:

"There is not the slightest doubt that birds and mammals are now being killed off much faster than they can breed.  And it is always the largest and noblest forms of life that suffer most... And the worst of it is that all this wanton destruction is not by any means confined to the ignorant or those who have been brought up to it. We have had our warning.  The great auk and the Labrador duck have both become extinct within living memory...  When wild life is squandered it does not go elsewhere, like squandered money; it cannot possibly be replaced by any substitute, as some inorganic resources are: it is simply an absolute dead loss, gone beyond even the hope of recall."
From Nature 9 November 1911

1911.  Wow!  I'm also struck the term "absolute dead loss".  And of course, since that publication 100 years ago, many more animals have become extinct.  More animals gone beyond the hope of recall.  Maybe I should look up how many.

Reading this makes me wish that we would have come farther in caring about animal extinction over the last one hundred years.

Reading this makes me sad for my children.

Reading this makes me realize that here is something that science and religion should have in common: a care for our natural world / God's creation.  Should scientists care more for the environment than those who attribute the existence of our natural world to God?

I want to raise my kids with a respect and appreciation for nature, which we depend on for our very lives.  And I hope that in the next one hundred years, as many other species hover on the brink of extinction, we will be willing to give more and take less from our environment.

Rant about WikiLeaks.. REALLY????? (and a treat)

Sorry folks. You've had a nice break. Only one political entry so far, I think that's pretty fair. But the time has come, when I shall once again fill the ears of friends and family who only wanted to see my kids and chickens with soapbox suds.

WikiLeaks. How upsetting! Julian Assange, the founder of the website, was arrested. Apparently, he's been arrested for rape, this will be the third(?) time he's been arrested and tried based on new evidence. And it is interesting that Interpol is involving themselves in that kind of case??? Anyway, it's irritating to find out that once he gets to Sweden, they will hand him over to our country, the good ole US of A where he can rot in prison. The land of the free, home of the brave, blah, blah, blah. So I erased my amazon info and am no longer going to patronize them, since they booted WikiLeaks off their server. Feels so impotent, but a person has to do what they can...

I'm all for protecting proper info in times of war, etc. But aren't we DONE with this war already? I mean REALLY? Are we fighting terrorism? Or something? I guess the way to do it is choose a profile for terror (poor, uneducated, disenfranchised) and eliminate them? Is that why we are at war(constantly)?

And what about the "real american way"?? The supposed transparency from people to government: uncheck(wikileaks). The innocent til proven guilty: uncheck(Guantanamo bay). The right to privacy: uncheck(warrent-less phone taps) Not to mention that in our haste to idolize capitalism, consumerism and the almighty dollar, we have(as a collective group) created a situation where the dollar reigns supreme. It is the deciding factor. If it's good for business, then it's good for everything else: health, education, happiness, environment, religion, you name it. But unfortunately, only those with the money get to make the decisions. (Should I take the power of corporations tangent at this juncture?) We don't get to decide what's on Wal*Mart's shelf. We get to choose from what they put on the shelf. Same for every other store. If you doubt me, try getting your store to carry something you buy. I've tried! Instead, you have to find the small mom and pop place (that USED to be the standard of business in America) and patronize them, telling all your friends about it so they don't go out of business. I buy my produce boxes, and tell everyone I can. But this family farm already chose to try and do business ethically and they can only succeed if enough of us decide to pay a little more for their local foods.

I'm tired of it being "uncool" to get your panties in a twist. Sorry Kelly, I do like the word. ;) So I let my panties twist up whenever they have a good reason. And I think freedom of speech is a good reason. I know many of my loved ones are saddened by my liberal leanings these days but I think you could agree that greater transparency from the White House is needed? Hence, my support for WikiLeaks.

On a more positive note: This isn't the only post for today, look below for something less political.

And again: Calysta posted some AMAZING projects on her blog and it would cheer you up to cast your orbs upon them.

And I do have one picture for you. I decorated. I was motivated by company coming and needing to clean my room. So I hastily did some decorating and was quite pleased with the effect. =)

Like it? It is Joelle inspired, and she gave me the first "believe" plaque. As always, a bit of copying must come into play when I decorate. Is that a round of applause I hear? ;) First one says "Believe. Man is what he believes", next: "Happiness is a journey, Treasure the moments." and last "Simplify. Live simply, live well."

A-men.

Two Wolves and a Sheep

Politics warning: I plan to be candid about my views on this blog. And I do plan to talk about all the subjects near to my heart: marriage, kids, homeschool, religion, politics and hobbies. But I'll try to give warning for any who might stumble upon this post and get more than what they wanted to hear.

Ever heard the saying that Democracy is like two wolves and one sheep deciding what to have for dinner? Well, this saying has been on my mind since the recent events in California. The debate about gay marriage on the opposing side seems to focus on these issues: moral wrongdoing and also majority rule vs. constitutional protection of the minority from the majority. And on the advocating side, it appears that the issue is equal rights: I want to marry whom I love, just like heterosexual couples can.

My view is as follows: I believe that legislating morality is difficult, but should be done to protect peoples rights. For example, killing and stealing are illegal. Abuse, harassment, driving drunk and smoking in (most) public places are illegal. But all moral decisions that can be left up to the individual, should be. For example, what clothes to wear. Or maybe whether or not to consume alcohol. Or if or which religion to follow and how. How long to keep your grass or your hair. What standards and opinions to raise your children with.

I feel that to pass a law that denies, forbids and makes illegal something that was a right previously is wrong. I think that for two people to marry is up to them, a private decision. I am allowed to marry whom I love. It does not defraud me of anything, even should I disagree on my personal, moral grounds, for gays to marry. Regarding our constitution, I believe that one of its very valuable functions is to protect the rights of the minority when the majority would take it away. Case in point. I notice that Judge Walker is taking heat for being gay while ruling in their favor, but I guess it's obvious to everyone that every Judge is going to be gay or straight, making every Judge unfit to decide the case. Bit of a quandary...

On the spiritual side, I do not believe it's wise to try to vote in all my beliefs, mainly because that isn't how Jesus went about being an example. I haven't noticed Jesus doing any forcing of his will, and I don't feel qualified to take a role he refused. He did say to love our neighbor AS ourself, and he then gave an example of people that would see someone they thought was filthy and unclean and would pass right by them, never giving help or aid. No caveats, either. So as much as in me lies, I will try to live peaceably with all men, keeping true to what God has told me to do about my own life and try not to oppress those who have exercised their free will to make choices other than mine.

So I just wanted to advocate for the civil rights of all humans, knowing that if this world were ruled by gay's, I sincerely hope they would still grant me the right to marry a man. Let's be fair, doing unto others as we'd have them do unto us. I do value my right to marry, to live out a religion of my choice, to homeschool, raise kids as I see fit, etc. I don't want to be found stepping up and taking special action to prevent others from making personal, private choices for their lives.