Heartbreak

I cried and my heart broke when I learned that this man was no longer a part of this world.

freedom of speech

On January 21st, the Supreme Court ruled "that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections," according to the NY Times. Those opposed to this decision have decried this as an assault on democracy by allowing big business to buy elections. Those in favor feel the decisions reaffirms the First Amendment and the freedom of speech.
Well, against my better judgement, I am going to weigh in with my unsolicited opinion.

Background
The McCain-Feingold act banned corporations or labor unions or non-profits from "broadcast advertising that identifies a federal candidate within 30 days of a primary or nominating convention, or 60 days of a general election" among other things. For quite a while now some have argued that this inhibits our basic freedom of speech. As you can see from the NY Times article above, the Supreme Court had already upheld the wording of the McCain-Feingold act in 2003 and had made numerous rulings that OK'd restrictions of corporate political spending.

Nobody would argue against the First Amendment in principle, except perhaps the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). The FCC and FEC pick and choose their moral high-grounds and establish rules to guide our country accordingly, all backed by the Supreme Court. The FEC and the Supreme Court seem fine, by the way, with limits on the amount of money an individual can contribute. Isn't this "abridging the freedom of speech?" And we all know the seven words you can't say on television or radio. The FCC and the Supreme Court allow the suppression of the freedom of speech in this instance because it interferes with the standards of decency (see FCC vs Pacifica Foundation or FCC vs Fox Television Stations). I am not saying that this is the same as the restrictions placed on corporations in the McCain-Feingold, I am only pointing out the hypocrisy involved in the moral outrage over the two. In one case, we cry "Freedom of Speech" in the other we cry "For the Common Good."

However, the regulation of the two are not the same. To specify, the McCain-Feingold act banned corporations from using soft money to fund electioneering ads within the last 30-60 days before elections. This means that corporations and non-profits had to use hard money contributions to fund these ads, hard money contributions being significantly more regulated. The soft money proviso prohibited corporations and non-profits from soliciting general contributions for their cause and then using it for this type of advertising. Instead, these organizations would have had to solicit money expressly for these specific last minute ads. Example, ABC organization asks for money to help support laws that would ban beer. This constitutes soft money and could not be used to support electioneering ads that would criticize Senator Soggybottom and his pro-beer agenda. Instead, ABC would have to solicit money to be expressly used for such ad campaigns. The hard money would be considered a direct contribution and is subject to tighter regulations (such as limits). Does the McCain-Feingold act seek to suppress the point of view of corporations or non-profits or to limit their speech in any way? No, the intent of the law was to better regulate the flow of cash from corporation and non-profits to politicians. It's now a double standard. If a company uses it's facilities to hold an informal gathering to make phone calls on behalf of a candidate it is considered an in-kind contribution by the company and is subject to certain limits. Yet, now companies big and small can buy up ad time without limit. Without regulations for electioneering or bans on corporate soft or hard money for Federal politicians we are back to the wild west for Federal elections.

For those of you who think this actually helps the small corporation or non-profit that was established to give a group of individuals more power then consider that the latest Supreme Court decision on the matter now gives corporations such as Exxon Mobile and their roughly $442 Billion dollars in 2009 revenue free reign to spend as much as they please on whichever issue they choose. Health Care anybody? Care to guess how much the insurance companies will be spending on advertising and lobbying for whichever bill offers the most promising revenues for them? They are only, after all, exercising their right to free speech. But I ask you, who is powerful enough that would have an opposing interest? Can there be checks and balances? So the Supreme Court chose to look past the inequities that arise from the system and see only the McCain-Feingold as a hindrance for corporations and labor unions and non-profits to express their point of view through dollars. The ruling gives corporations the same standing as a person, a decision with precedent, but which nevertheless is disturbing. Corporations are not human beings and do not deserve the same rights as the individual. As Justice Ginsburg pointed out a corporation is not "endowed by its creator with inalienable rights." Too true.

I'll also point out the conflict of interest a corporation has that an individual human being does not. Corporate officers are "bound by fiduciary duties to act in the best interest of the shareholders." Not the best interests of the person but the best interest of the shareholder, that aspect of a person which involves financial investment in a company. So to think that a corporation will act with morality is contrary to what they are bound by law to do. They must seek out the profits and drive up the price of stock and earn more money for their shareholders. They lack a conscience by definition. Even so, I think the attitude by some that corporations are individuals and so should have the same rights as individuals is unrealistic. We have given them that right and it should be taken away. Even some that fought for corporate rights were loathe to protect corporate spending rights as a freedom of speech. Former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist warned that to "treat corporate spending as the 1st Amendment equivalent of individual free speech is 'to confuse metaphor with reality.'" Let's hope their is a swing back towards reality resulting in some real campaign finance reform. Something along the lines of matching rules for small donors or public financing for campaigns would be a start.

Update: I wanted to add one last comment about this. How in the world did the Free Market ideology that is normally applied to economics become the popular ideology for morals, laws and governing? It is a phenomenon that is contrary to our overriding morals, not to mention our primary religion. I hope it comes to an end soon.

Conan the attitudinarian?

All I ask of you is one thing: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.

Conan O'Brien

This is the quote of the year for 2010, although it is still early. I have been saying for a while now that optimism is the word of the year for 2010 but this might be the more accurate description. Let's keep our heads down, let's focus on working hard and being kind and being good and let's be optimistic that fortune is a byproduct of such conduct. This is not earth-shattering, but it is worth repeating to myself. You get out of life what you put into it. I'm no longer looking for miracles, I'm just looking for improvement. I can't go wrong.

Good luck to Conan. I am wishing you all the best.

UPDATE: Congrats Conan. I hope there is more to come.

Just Kids...

Patti Smith has a book coming out based on her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. Sounds interesting, as does she in this interview. My favorite part is when she mentions the sentence she wrote to describe her now deceased husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith. It took her a year to write the sentence.

Nah Right

The Wire. Best Show On Television Of All Time. Yep, that's a mighty big claim but if you've seen it, you already know it and if you haven't then I just did you a favor - Netflix it. Now. Better yet, go buy it because you are going to want to watch it again soon.

For the fans already out there, or even for you soon-to-be fans, here is the trailer for The Avon Barksdale Story documentary. Avon Barksdale is a prominent character in The Wire, but he is also a prominent and infamous real life character on the streets of Baltimore.

I was interested to learn that the real life Avon actually inspired two different characters from The Wire. Imagine what an interesting life story he must have- that they couldn't actually fit it all into one character so they had to create two.

Eat Humane

This website makes it a wee bit easier to make humane food choices. You can look up your local grocery store and see which of their offerings are the most humane; healthy for you and for the planet. You can also search for local restaurants who cook with healthy, animal and planet friendly foods but the list is not that extensive. At least, I hope so, since I want to believe San Diego has more than six restaurants in the whole county serving humane options.

But it's a start...

I Gots Skills

100 Skills Every Girl or Boy Should Master...

Wishful

I am wishing I could be braving the storm and nursing my cold here.

stormy weather

the rising of the storm

I hope you don't get blown away folks. I hope to post more regularly now that work is dying down.

The Rising of the Storm by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The lake's dark breast
Is all unrest,
It heaves with a sob and a sigh.
Like a tremulous bird,
From its slumber stirred,
The moon is a-tilt in the sky.
From the silent deep
The waters sweep,
But faint on the cold white stones,
And the wavelets fly
With a plaintive cry
O'er the old earth's bare, bleak bones.

And the spray upsprings
On its ghost-white wings,
And tosses a kiss at the stars;
While a water-sprite,
In sea-pearls dight,
Hums a sea-hymn's solemn bars.

Far out in the night,
On the wavering sight
I see a dark hull loom;
And its light on high,
Like a Cyclops' eye,
Shines out through the mist and gloom.

Now the winds well up
From the earth's deep cup,

And fall the sea and shore,
And against the pier
The waters rear
And break with a sullen roar.

Up comes the gale,
And the mist-wrought veil
Gives way to the lightning's glare,
And the cloud-drifts fall,
A sombre pall,
O'er water, earth, and air.

The storm-king flies,
His whip he plies,
And bellows down the wind.
The lightning rash
With blinding flash
Comes pricking on behind.

Rise, waters, rise,
And taunt the skies
With your swift-flitting form.
Sweep, wild winds, sweep,
And tear the deep
To atoms in the storm.

And the waters leapt,
And the wild winds swept,
And blew out the moon in the sky,
And I laughed with glee,
It was joy to me
As the storm went raging by!

Had Me At Hello...

Oh my... my weekend was grand. Saturday was super duper rad since I had a girl's day with my #1 girl, which is a rare treat. We went to an artist preview at The Fowler Museum. That part was just okay. The artist was a bit of a disappointment, but the people watching made up for it. We then headed out to do what we do best...eat. We went to the M Cafe which has been on my wish list for awhile and it was very yummy. It is vegan and macrobiotic and delicious and nutritious and all of that. Thumbs up and I look forward to going back. But the best part of the day, the part I had been looking forward to for days, weeks, months... was our trip to Babycakes! It finally opened in L.A. It was radically rad and just plain awesome. I had intended to take a picture of the bakery and of me in it but once I stepped in the doors that all went out the window. I was like a kid in a candy store- who happened to have access to a credit card. I got one of everything. No really, one of everything. Actually, two of some things. Everything was better than I imagined. My personal favorites, if I have to choose, were the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches (seriously, they are ridiculous), the Cinnamon Donut and the Cinnamon Toastie. I brought home the monster box of treats for my family and hubby thoroughly enjoyed the Red Velvet Cupcake (he said the frosting is the best he has ever tasted) and the little bird enjoyed the Vanilla Cupcake and the Cinnamon Donut as well. I also geeked out a bit because I got to see the girl behind it all, Erin McKenna, behind the counter actually making the donuts. I have a bit of girl crush on her and feel like I practically know her since I have read her cookbook cover to cover many times now and I have been stalking her blog to find out about the L.A. opening. But I think I handled it all pretty well. In fact, my girl #1 made a point of telling me that she felt that I, surprisingly, maintained my composure pretty well. Me, sugar, girl crush - that recipe would normally result in me being a total spaz. Maybe I was all Zen'd out from the macrobiotic lunch or something. Anyway, the point of this rambling post is - Babycakes is Bananas! I love it. I am a little sad the treats are all gone but I have the cookbook to keep me company and I already have a repeat visit planned - February 6! This time with the bros.

mistakes, i've made a few

Things are very busy at work so I only have time for a brief post. We've all made mistakes. I think John Cleese has some interesting things to say on the subject and how to keep a positive outlook on a future that is inevitably going to be mistake filled.

2010 Resolutions

Here I am again with the lists. I cannot resist them. I love making my resolutions every year. I think I am pretty good at it. I make a list and keep it nearby and check it often to remind myself and hold myself accountable. I never succeed at everything on my list but that is not the point. I do not usually share my list with anyone except for my hubby. And I am apprehensive about sharing it here now with you. But I figured that fear was a good reason to post it. Get over it already. In fact, I am going to add it to my list of resolutions - If something scares you, makes you nervous -do it anyway. Plus, I know that sharing your resolutions with others makes you more likely to keep at them. So maybe you reading this will make me even better at keeping at this list this year. Now I am going to be honest (another resolution) I did omit something from the list that I just wasn't ready to share with the world. Baby steps.

So without further ado, here is what I'll be doing in 2010...

1. Stand Up Straight

2. Make Decisions

3. Be the Best Mom to Anita

4. Study Spanish

5. Eat More Vegan

6. Walk More (stop accepting that I no longer live in a good walking neighborhood as an excuse)

7. Meditate Regularly

8. Give Blood on Regular Basis

9. Be the Best Wife, Sister, Granddaughter, Niece, Cousin and Friend

10. Eat In Accordance With My Insulin Issues

11. Read/Study Science

12. Volunteer for Beach Clean Up with Anita

13. Take Pictures

14. Practice Daily Mindfulness

15. Work On My Expectations Of Perfection (seriously, let-it-go)

16. Commit to Gardening

17. Master 3 New Recipes

18. Listen to Music Everyday

19. No T.V. till 8p.m.

20. Eat at 10 New Restaurants with Tad

21. Take a Vacation

22. Floss

23. Be Honest and Forthcoming, No More Biting My Tongue or Little White Lies

24. Send a Card to someone 1x month

25. Say Yes, Do Something You Wouldn't Normally Do -Especially If It Scares You or Make You Nervous.

I think this list should keep me sufficiently busy. Here's lookin' at 2010 and crossing things off our lists...