Tonight on Biased Transmission our guest will be Dr. Larry Gamm is Professor and Head of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. He has served as MHA Program Director and, from 2004-2007, as Director of the Southwest Rural Health Research Center at the Texas A&M HSC’s School of Rural Public Health. He serves on the Board of the Texas Rural Health Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the ACHE-Greater Houston Chapter, Chair of its Academic-Practice Interface Committee, and President of the Chapter’s Local Program Council serving Bryan/College Station and surrounding 8 counties. He teaches, principally, the MHA capstone course on Health System Leadership and doctoral courses on interorganizational research and health system change.
So tune in this Wednesday, and every day, but just this week, plan to call in and pledge your support! Listen to Biased Transmission tonight on 89.1FM KEOS College Station-Bryan from 6-7pm, to hear Teddy Wilson, Michael Alvard, Danny Yeager, and Ann Preston. If you have a question or comment you can post it here, or call the KEOS Bell Studios: 979-779-5367.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Video Lunch: Protesting Birth Control
The religious right in Central Wisconsin pickets a family planning clinic with the intention of having the clinic closed and all birth control made illegal.
Local News: First Friday Goes Green
First Friday Offers Green Alternatives
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
First Friday is going green.
The downtown Bryan event, held the first Friday of every month, will have a green theme this week, with live music, an appearance by Buzz the Bee and a free showing of Happy Feet at "dark-thirty" at The Palace Theater.
More than a dozen "green" organizations from throughout the community will be in front of The Palace Theater on Main Street to provide information and giveaways.
A cycling group is encouraging riders to use alternative forms of transportation to get to the event. The Maroon Bike Project will leave for downtown Bryan at 5 p.m. from the Northgate promenade, behind the Dixie Chicken in College Station.
Officials from Bryan's Sustainability Program will pass out free reusable water bottles and 18-gallon recycle bins while supplies last.
For more information, go to www.begreeninbryan.com.
Published on Wednesday, September 30, 2009
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
First Friday is going green.
The downtown Bryan event, held the first Friday of every month, will have a green theme this week, with live music, an appearance by Buzz the Bee and a free showing of Happy Feet at "dark-thirty" at The Palace Theater.
More than a dozen "green" organizations from throughout the community will be in front of The Palace Theater on Main Street to provide information and giveaways.
A cycling group is encouraging riders to use alternative forms of transportation to get to the event. The Maroon Bike Project will leave for downtown Bryan at 5 p.m. from the Northgate promenade, behind the Dixie Chicken in College Station.
Officials from Bryan's Sustainability Program will pass out free reusable water bottles and 18-gallon recycle bins while supplies last.
For more information, go to www.begreeninbryan.com.
Published on Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Getting Up Early on Saturday Mornings: Why I Escort at Planned Parenthood
On a Saturday I got out of bed at six in the morning, and put on some comfortable clothes threw a good book in my backpack and put some good music on my iPod. Then I rode my bicycle about three miles down the road to Planned Parenthood. Why would I get up so early on a Saturday just to go to Planned Parenthood? Because not sleeping in on a Saturday morning can make an important impact on women’s reproductive rights. I started volunteering at the local Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas about a year ago, and in many ways I feel that it has been one of the most significant things that I do as an activist that effects people’s lives.
Every day women walk through the doors of reproductive health facilities, and in many of these facilities women must deal with harassment for what is a very private and personal choice. The protesters that line up in front of these facilities claim that they are there because they care about women, and that they want to see an end to abortion. However, it is difficult to believe that the protest care about women when they participate in a culture that is patriarchal in nature and decidedly anti-woman. It is also difficult to believe that they want to see an end to abortion when they oppose every policy that actually reduces the number of abortions.
Early on Saturday mornings I arrive at the Planned Parenthood clinic, a facility that has been routinely targeted over the years but has enjoyed loyal support from community members. Sometimes if you arrive at the clinic in the early morning there are not protesters, but this week marked the first week of the anti-choice protest 40 Days for Life. As I came through the gate I noticed about half a dozen protesters in front of the fence that surrounds Planned Parenthood, and I parked my bicycle near the front door. The Planned Parenthood I volunteer at is surrounded by a fence, and staff and patients park inside the fence that provides a barrier between them and the protesters. Some reproductive health facilities are not as fortunate.
I sign in to the volunteer log and don my orange and yellow vest, and then I usually take a look in the kitchen and check for fresh coffee. Supporting reproductive rights is always easier with a fresh cup of coffee. There are usually two volunteers that escort patients at a time, but this Saturday we were fortunate to have four volunteers throughout the morning. During the morning we walk patients from their cars to the building, and we check their identification and then open the locked doors to allow them in the facility. When they leave the clinic we walk them to their car, and then we stand at the gate as they leave and watch to ensure that the protesters do not approach their vehicles will they are in the driveway.
Our job is simple: to show the patients a welcoming face. As soon as the patients open the doors the protesters begin to shout through the fence, and each person is different and has a different reaction to the protesters. Some people react with surprise, and will ask me why they are there. Other people react in anger, and will yell back at the protesters. Also, there are those that appear genuinely upset by the people shouting at them, telling them that what they are about to do is murder. I usually keep things simple. I just smile and say hello. I answer questions simply, and focus on the patient engaging with me as opposed to the protester.
Usually the people that I escort in are polite and some of them thank me, but often I can tell that they have more important things on their mind. However, every once in a while I get a reaction that surprises me. While I was escorting one morning two women came into the clinic, and later on the friend of the woman who had the appointment came outside to smoke. I let her know that we had a private smoking area away from the protesters, and showed her though the building and stood in the private garden area while she smoked and vented. In the middle of her venting about the protesters she looked at me and asked if I worked there or if I was a medical student, and I told her that I was just a volunteer because I cared about a woman’s right to make her own choice about her own life. She grabbed my hand and shook it and thanked me. It may be simple, but it is those moments that make it seem worthwhile.
The protesters do not talk to me anymore. I do not engage them in conversation, and I barely acknowledge that they exist. But the people that work at women’s reproductive health clinics are targeted. The director of the Planned Parenthood in Bryan has received death threats, and the employees have been picketed at their own homes. The women and families that rely on the reproductive health clinics are also targeted. I have seen women arrive by taxi and alone only to be shouted out through the fence. I have seen families arrive for affordable health care only to have their children be targeted by the protesters: “Don’t you want a little brother or sister,” the protesters will say. I volunteer to escort at Planned Parenthood if only because of the hope that by simply smiling and walking with someone, I might be able to help make a difficult situation a little bit easier. If the kind word I offer before they go inside is the last thing they hear instead of the words from outside the fence, then I’ve done something that has made a difference.
Every day women walk through the doors of reproductive health facilities, and in many of these facilities women must deal with harassment for what is a very private and personal choice. The protesters that line up in front of these facilities claim that they are there because they care about women, and that they want to see an end to abortion. However, it is difficult to believe that the protest care about women when they participate in a culture that is patriarchal in nature and decidedly anti-woman. It is also difficult to believe that they want to see an end to abortion when they oppose every policy that actually reduces the number of abortions.
Early on Saturday mornings I arrive at the Planned Parenthood clinic, a facility that has been routinely targeted over the years but has enjoyed loyal support from community members. Sometimes if you arrive at the clinic in the early morning there are not protesters, but this week marked the first week of the anti-choice protest 40 Days for Life. As I came through the gate I noticed about half a dozen protesters in front of the fence that surrounds Planned Parenthood, and I parked my bicycle near the front door. The Planned Parenthood I volunteer at is surrounded by a fence, and staff and patients park inside the fence that provides a barrier between them and the protesters. Some reproductive health facilities are not as fortunate.
I sign in to the volunteer log and don my orange and yellow vest, and then I usually take a look in the kitchen and check for fresh coffee. Supporting reproductive rights is always easier with a fresh cup of coffee. There are usually two volunteers that escort patients at a time, but this Saturday we were fortunate to have four volunteers throughout the morning. During the morning we walk patients from their cars to the building, and we check their identification and then open the locked doors to allow them in the facility. When they leave the clinic we walk them to their car, and then we stand at the gate as they leave and watch to ensure that the protesters do not approach their vehicles will they are in the driveway.
Our job is simple: to show the patients a welcoming face. As soon as the patients open the doors the protesters begin to shout through the fence, and each person is different and has a different reaction to the protesters. Some people react with surprise, and will ask me why they are there. Other people react in anger, and will yell back at the protesters. Also, there are those that appear genuinely upset by the people shouting at them, telling them that what they are about to do is murder. I usually keep things simple. I just smile and say hello. I answer questions simply, and focus on the patient engaging with me as opposed to the protester.
Usually the people that I escort in are polite and some of them thank me, but often I can tell that they have more important things on their mind. However, every once in a while I get a reaction that surprises me. While I was escorting one morning two women came into the clinic, and later on the friend of the woman who had the appointment came outside to smoke. I let her know that we had a private smoking area away from the protesters, and showed her though the building and stood in the private garden area while she smoked and vented. In the middle of her venting about the protesters she looked at me and asked if I worked there or if I was a medical student, and I told her that I was just a volunteer because I cared about a woman’s right to make her own choice about her own life. She grabbed my hand and shook it and thanked me. It may be simple, but it is those moments that make it seem worthwhile.
The protesters do not talk to me anymore. I do not engage them in conversation, and I barely acknowledge that they exist. But the people that work at women’s reproductive health clinics are targeted. The director of the Planned Parenthood in Bryan has received death threats, and the employees have been picketed at their own homes. The women and families that rely on the reproductive health clinics are also targeted. I have seen women arrive by taxi and alone only to be shouted out through the fence. I have seen families arrive for affordable health care only to have their children be targeted by the protesters: “Don’t you want a little brother or sister,” the protesters will say. I volunteer to escort at Planned Parenthood if only because of the hope that by simply smiling and walking with someone, I might be able to help make a difficult situation a little bit easier. If the kind word I offer before they go inside is the last thing they hear instead of the words from outside the fence, then I’ve done something that has made a difference.
Video Lunch: Crisis Pregnancy Centers Are Nothing But False Promises and Misinformation
Hunter Stewart takes a close look at "crisis pregnancy centers," some of which are federally funded, that often give out inaccurate medical information, prosthelytize and use shame and scare stactics when counseling women. For instance, in the video, one crisis pregnancy center counselor tells a young woman that abortion increases her risk of breast cancer by 100%. The sources for this claim are studies published over 25 years ago and now thoroughly debunked. The WHO, whose 1970 report the crisis pregnancy center's literature cites, now states clearly on its website that abortion does not affect a woman's risk of contracting breast cancer.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Teaching in Aggieland: Late Night Edition
The last few weeks, we have been talking about some really interesting stuff in class. Well, I have been talking, and most of my students have been staring vapidly at blank sheets of paper ears perked to listen for the phrase “this will be on the test.” Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I’m having trouble with discussion participation in the course, and it’s making me crazy.Discussion in a class is a tricky thing; any teacher will tell you that every class has its own personality. One activity might create the most important and meaningful day of an entire course at 2pm, and then go over like a lead balloon at 330pm. The only difference is the class.
In order to encourage discussion participation, I try to establish a welcoming and friendly classroom environment. We spend a few minutes at the beginning of class chatting about our “Yays and Boos,” which are good and bad things that have happened recently. Students share small things (Yay! My DVR recorded my fav show correctly!) to large things (my cousin was in a car accident and is in critical condition). In evals, this is usually one activity from my high school religion teacher.
But more than getting to know other students, I feel that this activity allows me to connect with the students and acclimate them to speaking in class (and having a positive response to their contribution). So classroom climate is a huge part of discussion; if students don’t feel comfortable, they aren’t going to think out of the box, ask questions, or share examples.
The issue with this group of students isn’t comfort; it’s that they aren’t doing the reading. I’ve explained to them why they should, reminded them, and nearly pleaded with them to take an hour a week to complete the (appx 30-40 pages) reading each week, but they aren’t doing it.
Now, instead of activities that engage them with the concepts in the book, encourage critical thinking, and allow them to integrate and cross-apply concepts, I have become a definition peddler. Lectures go like this:
“Can anyone define _____(easy term from book)?” ::pause::
“No?” ::pause::
::students look down, shuffle papers, avoid eye contact, riffle through their backpacks::
“Well, the book uses the term to refer to____ (ridiculously obvious definition to anyone who even skimmed the book)”
And it’s boring. It’s boring for me, and it’s boring for them. If someone in the class HAS read the book, it’s extremely boring for that person. But when I ask discussion questions that I’ve prepared (e.g. the book disparages competition in favor of cooperation; is there any time in which competition is beneficial? What might be missing from the examples the author uses about this?) the students are silent. Because they haven’t read the book, and they don’t know what I’m talking about.
So, how to solve the problem? In Aggieland, there are no participation grades allowed for undergraduate courses, per my boss and above him/her, per the curriculum committee. In fact, they are falling out of favor across academia. People argue that participation grades are arbitrary and based off of a professor’s bad memory of a student at the end of the semester. People also argue that they are an opportunity for a professor to “play favorites.” I see what they’re saying, but how can we hold students accountable for being a part of an active learning community?
(Most) Students are only interested in grades these days, so if I can’t grade a student for doing the reading, what incentive can I offer? There are the ol’ standbys such as pop quizzes, constructing difficult exams, or requiring chapter outlines. All of which I have tried, to varying degrees of success. But what about a positive motivation, a carrot instead of a stick? What’s the reward for reading for class? As an undergrad, I enjoyed classes that caused me to think twice about something, gave me ideas for how to act in life outside the classroom, and allowed me to play with theories. For me, the intellectual rewards kept me reading. I like learning. I am a dork.
But let’s assume that I already have the dorks; the one-two students in each class who CARE about the subject are reading. What can I do about the rest?
This is where I ask you, dear reader, to help me. Did/do you read for your classes in college? What strategies, if any, were effective in motivating you to read? What are some ideas for positive reinforcement that you think may work? I will happily try something new and report back on its effectiveness in a later blog.
As an aside, I have been complain-y in my last few blogs. Next week I will post a positive story about teaching (don’t worry, I already have one in mind ;) ).
-Ms Litia
*Note: Ms. Litia is a pseudonym. It stands for liberal-teaching-in-aggieland. Mostly because I want to be honest and I don’t want to lose my job.
Video Lunch: Help for the Uninsured
Chris Wragge speaks with Dr. Oz live from Houston where he is conducting a free clinic to over 1,700 uninsured Americans at the Reliant Convention Center.
Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - September 28, 2009
As early voting for the November elections looms on the horizon, the Texas Progressive Alliance says good-bye to September and hello to another weekly blog roundup.
BREAKING NEWS: Natural Gas Development Brings "amazing and very high" Levels of Carcinogens and Neurotoxins to Barnett Shale area! Take a deep breath before you read this study because the findings will take your breath away! TXsharon at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS broke this story and the study evaluation by MacAuthur (Genius) Award winner, Wilma Subra.
This week Left of College Station, Teddy reports on why the anti-choice movement is not about abortion but about the oppression of women. Also, guest blogger Litia writes about asking non-tradition questions about Texas A&M traditions; Litia writes a weekly guest blog for College Station about a liberal teaching in Aggieland. Left of College Station also coves the week in headlines.
Neil at Texas Liberal writes that Socialist candidate for Mayor of Houston Amanda Ulman should run a serious campaign or not run at all. There once was a solid base of socialist voters in Texas and the U.S. Who says that cannot someday happen again?
McBlogger takes aim at people who think that adjusting to climate change is just something that will unfairly hurt the poor.
Off the Kuff contemplates the possible entry of Farouk Shami into the Governor's race.
The old Easter Lemming has a useful post on voting for the Constitutional Amendments in his area.
The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the 22 year high TX unemployment rate. What recession? We're in one?
Agriculture commissioner Todd Staples opened his mouth and out fell a big wad of stupid. Stupid so ignorant that it topped anything Rick Perry or John Cornyn or even Glenn Beck could manage this week. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has it -- if you can stand it.
WhosPlayin followed up on an open records request for internal emails related to Lewisville ISD's decision to ban President Obama's speech to children. The emails, including a racially charged email from a board member to the superintendant, do not paint a pretty picture..
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on money, energy, and the economy in the Texas governor's race, Perry's cap and trade photo op.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes Rick Perry does his best George Bush cowboy imitation with Ranger Recon.
Over at TexasKaos, boadicea, Warrior Queen, is seeking a pulse, any pulse over at the Tom Schieffer campaign, as she opines that Tom Schieffer Needs Something Original to Offer. It seems that lifting policy ideas from Hank Gilbert is the best he can do right now. Read the rest at TexasKaos.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Week in Headlines
Texas News
Hundreds of Texans Still Waiting for Hurricane Rita AidTexas Politics
Texans' Insurance Premiums Rise 91.6% Under Rick Perry
Politics
Generic House Polling Suggests the Republicans Could Regain the House in 2010
Foreign Policy
The New 'Informal' Multilateral Era
War and Peace
How to Trap a President in a Losing War
Media
What does the ACORN story mean for the mainstream media?
Economy
Emphasis on Growth Is Called Misguided
Education
Education Doesn’t Have to Be a Gauntlet
Environment
Appeals Court: Power Companies Can Be Sued for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Civil Rights
Last Rights
Human Rights
The Crusade Against Sex Trafficking
Reproductive Rights
“Personhood” Legislation Chips Away at Women’s Rights
Women’s Issues
In Uganda, Rioters Strip Women Wearing Trousers
GLBT Issues
Gay Boys in Oil City
Race and Racism
White Supremacists May Rally Saturday in Belleville
Video Lunch: Framing Reproductive Rights
Amanda Marcotte of RH Reality Check examines the way the anti-choice movement attempts to frame the debate through language choices and offers some tips on combating them.
Local News: Texas A&M Regents Weigh Budget Concerns
$17M Savings Plan Presented to Regents
By Vimal Patel
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Nearly $17 million in savings has been identified by teams formed to evaluate combining functions of Texas A&M and the 11-university system that governs it, the Board of Regents was told in a presentation Thursday.
Texas A&M System Chancellor Mike McKinney announced in June that the goal was to save $20 million. At Thursday's regents' meeting, Frank Ashley, vice chancellor of academic affairs, said the figure represented the amount that officials had calculated would be more than enough to avoid tuition increases for the next two years.
The savings include $600,000 from marketing and communications by moving to a paperless publication environment, $7.5 million over two years by restructuring facilities planning and construction fees, $190,000 by forgoing LEED environmental certification while still meeting standards, and $2.5 million by sharing purchases of computers systemwide, Ashley said.
The plan to merge administrative functions was criticized initially by many, including faculty members, who didn't see the pressing financial need, given that Texas A&M and higher education in general had fared well in the legislative session.
The process began at a special Board of Regents meeting in June, the same day Elsa Murano resigned as the university's 23rd president.
"We haven't laid anybody off or cut any programs," said Regent Jim Schwertner. "All this nervousness has to go away. ... We don't want to harm anybody. We're just trying to be prudent."
The groups -- a series of nine teams, each composed of about five to nine members -- each looked at one of the following areas: business services, facilities, federal relations, human resources, training, information technology, marketing and communications, risk management and research administration.
Ashley said he thought of the report more as the teams' findings than as recommendations, so officials have more leeway in figuring out implementation.
Board of Regents Chairman Morris Foster said that he was handing the report to McKinney and that the next step was finding the best structure to carry out the findings.
"This is really the beginning. This is not the end," Foster said.
President search moves forward
Respondents have sent more than 300 nominations for 131 candidates, said Richard Box, a regent and chair of the 16-person search committee looking for Texas A&M's next president.
"The first thing we have to do is contact those individuals to see if they are interested in that position," Box said.
The search committee was formed in July, a month after Murano's resignation, and is working under a flexible deadline of January to forward three names to the Board of Regents, which is expected to name a president the following month.
The search committee is gathering input from the Texas A&M community. A survey on a Web site set up for the search allows the community to fill out a feedback survey until Wednesday.
Also at the regents meeting Thursday, McKinney provided enrollment numbers for the A&M System. The flagship campus has more than 48,900 students, a 1.8 percent increase from last year. All 11 Texas A&M System campuses saw a 5.5 percent increase in students, for a total enrollment of 115,000, McKinney said.
Regents will meet again at 9 a.m. Friday in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.
Published on Friday, September 25, 2009
Regents to Weigh $70M Upgrade
By Vimal Patel
From the Bryan College Station Eagle
A $70 million upgrade to Texas A&M University's heating and power systems would replace aging equipment and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent, officials said.
It will be one of several items the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will consider at its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday and Friday in College Station.
The combined heating and power upgrade -- which includes replacing a steam turbine generator, gas turbine generator and boiler -- would be paid for through bonds.
Equipment at the university's Central Utility Plant, located next to the Northside Parking Garage, is 40 to 50 years old. Combined heating and power-generation equipment has a "typical useful life of 30 years," board documents state.
"We're building an infrastructure that will allow the campus to grow into the future," said Jeff Carbone, senior project manager for the project.
The project would be scheduled for completion in December 2011.
Regents are also scheduled to:
* Provide an update about the search for Texas A&M's next president. They will discuss the search -- along with those being conducted at Texas A&M University at Central Texas and Texas A&M University at San Antonio -- in closed session.
* Consider establishing the Robert A. Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy within the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. About
$8 million would be needed to complete the project, officials estimate. The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation has pledged its support to achieve that goal, according to board documents.
* Hear a report about the findings of shared services groups that were created in June to figure out where to share administrative functions between Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M University System.
The effort, which Texas A&M System officials said had the goal of saving money to keep tuition for students low, was formed under a cloud of doubt because many were skeptical about whether there was a pressing need to save money.
* Consider establishing the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing, a joint partnership between Texas A&M University and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, one of seven state agencies within the Texas A&M University System. The center would be paid for through a $50 million grant from the state's Emerging Technology Fund.
Published on Thursday, September 24, 2009
By Vimal Patel
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Nearly $17 million in savings has been identified by teams formed to evaluate combining functions of Texas A&M and the 11-university system that governs it, the Board of Regents was told in a presentation Thursday.
Texas A&M System Chancellor Mike McKinney announced in June that the goal was to save $20 million. At Thursday's regents' meeting, Frank Ashley, vice chancellor of academic affairs, said the figure represented the amount that officials had calculated would be more than enough to avoid tuition increases for the next two years.
The savings include $600,000 from marketing and communications by moving to a paperless publication environment, $7.5 million over two years by restructuring facilities planning and construction fees, $190,000 by forgoing LEED environmental certification while still meeting standards, and $2.5 million by sharing purchases of computers systemwide, Ashley said.
The plan to merge administrative functions was criticized initially by many, including faculty members, who didn't see the pressing financial need, given that Texas A&M and higher education in general had fared well in the legislative session.
The process began at a special Board of Regents meeting in June, the same day Elsa Murano resigned as the university's 23rd president.
"We haven't laid anybody off or cut any programs," said Regent Jim Schwertner. "All this nervousness has to go away. ... We don't want to harm anybody. We're just trying to be prudent."
The groups -- a series of nine teams, each composed of about five to nine members -- each looked at one of the following areas: business services, facilities, federal relations, human resources, training, information technology, marketing and communications, risk management and research administration.
Ashley said he thought of the report more as the teams' findings than as recommendations, so officials have more leeway in figuring out implementation.
Board of Regents Chairman Morris Foster said that he was handing the report to McKinney and that the next step was finding the best structure to carry out the findings.
"This is really the beginning. This is not the end," Foster said.
President search moves forward
Respondents have sent more than 300 nominations for 131 candidates, said Richard Box, a regent and chair of the 16-person search committee looking for Texas A&M's next president.
"The first thing we have to do is contact those individuals to see if they are interested in that position," Box said.
The search committee was formed in July, a month after Murano's resignation, and is working under a flexible deadline of January to forward three names to the Board of Regents, which is expected to name a president the following month.
The search committee is gathering input from the Texas A&M community. A survey on a Web site set up for the search allows the community to fill out a feedback survey until Wednesday.
Also at the regents meeting Thursday, McKinney provided enrollment numbers for the A&M System. The flagship campus has more than 48,900 students, a 1.8 percent increase from last year. All 11 Texas A&M System campuses saw a 5.5 percent increase in students, for a total enrollment of 115,000, McKinney said.
Regents will meet again at 9 a.m. Friday in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.
Published on Friday, September 25, 2009
Regents to Weigh $70M Upgrade
By Vimal Patel
From the Bryan College Station Eagle
A $70 million upgrade to Texas A&M University's heating and power systems would replace aging equipment and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent, officials said.
It will be one of several items the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will consider at its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday and Friday in College Station.
The combined heating and power upgrade -- which includes replacing a steam turbine generator, gas turbine generator and boiler -- would be paid for through bonds.
Equipment at the university's Central Utility Plant, located next to the Northside Parking Garage, is 40 to 50 years old. Combined heating and power-generation equipment has a "typical useful life of 30 years," board documents state.
"We're building an infrastructure that will allow the campus to grow into the future," said Jeff Carbone, senior project manager for the project.
The project would be scheduled for completion in December 2011.
Regents are also scheduled to:
* Provide an update about the search for Texas A&M's next president. They will discuss the search -- along with those being conducted at Texas A&M University at Central Texas and Texas A&M University at San Antonio -- in closed session.
* Consider establishing the Robert A. Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy within the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. About
$8 million would be needed to complete the project, officials estimate. The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation has pledged its support to achieve that goal, according to board documents.
* Hear a report about the findings of shared services groups that were created in June to figure out where to share administrative functions between Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M University System.
The effort, which Texas A&M System officials said had the goal of saving money to keep tuition for students low, was formed under a cloud of doubt because many were skeptical about whether there was a pressing need to save money.
* Consider establishing the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing, a joint partnership between Texas A&M University and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, one of seven state agencies within the Texas A&M University System. The center would be paid for through a $50 million grant from the state's Emerging Technology Fund.
Published on Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Video Lunch: The Protesters Hurt Women More Than They Help
A Planned Parenthood employee talks about her volunteer experience.
Local News: Crawford Peace House Post-President Bush
Supporters of Crawford Peace House Want to Turn it Into Museum
By Michael W. Shapiro (Tribune-Herald staff writer)
From the Waco Tribune-Herald
Local activists who run the Crawford Peace House, five miles from former President George W. Bush’s ranch, are pushing ahead with plans to preserve the message and history of the house by turning it into a museum.
Kay Lucas, 66, sent out an e-mail last week asking supporters to gather for a meeting Sunday at the house — over vegetarian spaghetti — to trade suggestions on possible exhibits, among other things. A dry-erase board next to the front door of the house reads “Future home of the Crawford Peace Museum & Gardens.”
Lucas said they’re working out the details of how to obtain nonprofit status for the future museum.
Members of the Dallas Peace Center started the Crawford Peace House in the spring of 2003 after Texas activists began holding protests near the ranch the year before. To create a permanent voice for peace in Crawford, they purchased the house for $54,000 with Dallas Peace Center funds.
The house became a staging ground of sorts for the anti-war movement when Cindy Sheehan came to Crawford in August 2005 to protest outside of the Western White House.
As the media turned its focus to Sheehan, thousands of activists flocked to Crawford, a town with a population now just shy of 800.
“All these people showed up from all over the country and dropped what they were doing,” Lucas said. “They came to Crawford, and it was making news.”
“The logistics couldn’t have happened without the Peace House being there,” said Alan Northcutt, 58, of Waco Friends of Peace.
“The fact that there was a structure to accommodate them was important for the whole resurgence of the anti-war movement,” he added.
Even with the Bush family home moving to Dallas, and the Bush library slated to open at Southern Methodist University there, Northcutt said preserving the legacy of the Crawford house is a worthwhile endeavor.
Northcutt said the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, where the U.S.’s top commander recently requested more troops, is evidence of the need for a peace museum.
“No matter who’s president, we live in a very militarized culture where war seems to be the answer to all our problems,” he said. “Clearly the mission isn’t over.”
He also said the Bush ranch will remain a landmark and, as a result, the museum can still serve as a reminder to visitors about the anti-war efforts that took place there.
Lucas said she hopes the house continues to be a meeting place for peace activists when the museum is up and running.
Scott Dent, who waits tables at the Coffee Station restaurant, said he’d rather see the town quiet, the way it was before the president, the media and activists started spending summers in Crawford.
“I respect that they want to protest, but they caused a lot of drama her and made things hard for everyone,” said Dent, 19, pointing to increased traffic.
“We’re not really used to that kind of stuff around here. We just go to school and play football,” he said
Published on Thursday, September 24, 2009
By Michael W. Shapiro (Tribune-Herald staff writer)
From the Waco Tribune-Herald
Local activists who run the Crawford Peace House, five miles from former President George W. Bush’s ranch, are pushing ahead with plans to preserve the message and history of the house by turning it into a museum.
Kay Lucas, 66, sent out an e-mail last week asking supporters to gather for a meeting Sunday at the house — over vegetarian spaghetti — to trade suggestions on possible exhibits, among other things. A dry-erase board next to the front door of the house reads “Future home of the Crawford Peace Museum & Gardens.”
Lucas said they’re working out the details of how to obtain nonprofit status for the future museum.
Members of the Dallas Peace Center started the Crawford Peace House in the spring of 2003 after Texas activists began holding protests near the ranch the year before. To create a permanent voice for peace in Crawford, they purchased the house for $54,000 with Dallas Peace Center funds.
The house became a staging ground of sorts for the anti-war movement when Cindy Sheehan came to Crawford in August 2005 to protest outside of the Western White House.
As the media turned its focus to Sheehan, thousands of activists flocked to Crawford, a town with a population now just shy of 800.
“All these people showed up from all over the country and dropped what they were doing,” Lucas said. “They came to Crawford, and it was making news.”
“The logistics couldn’t have happened without the Peace House being there,” said Alan Northcutt, 58, of Waco Friends of Peace.
“The fact that there was a structure to accommodate them was important for the whole resurgence of the anti-war movement,” he added.
Even with the Bush family home moving to Dallas, and the Bush library slated to open at Southern Methodist University there, Northcutt said preserving the legacy of the Crawford house is a worthwhile endeavor.
Northcutt said the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, where the U.S.’s top commander recently requested more troops, is evidence of the need for a peace museum.
“No matter who’s president, we live in a very militarized culture where war seems to be the answer to all our problems,” he said. “Clearly the mission isn’t over.”
He also said the Bush ranch will remain a landmark and, as a result, the museum can still serve as a reminder to visitors about the anti-war efforts that took place there.
Lucas said she hopes the house continues to be a meeting place for peace activists when the museum is up and running.
Scott Dent, who waits tables at the Coffee Station restaurant, said he’d rather see the town quiet, the way it was before the president, the media and activists started spending summers in Crawford.
“I respect that they want to protest, but they caused a lot of drama her and made things hard for everyone,” said Dent, 19, pointing to increased traffic.
“We’re not really used to that kind of stuff around here. We just go to school and play football,” he said
Published on Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Behind the Protest: Why the Anti-Choice Movement is Not About Abortion
The anti-choice movement is not about abortion, but then again, the pro-choice movement is not about abortion either.
Today marks the first day of 40 Days for Life, an anti-choice movement that began in College Station, Texas. In 2004 the Coalition for Life began protesting outside of the Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas for the forty days of Lent. Protest of Planned Parenthood is nothing new, however, this protest was held for twenty-four hours a day for forty straight days. Throughout the day and night protesters stood in front of the fence with their heads bowed, or stood on the sidewalk holding up protest signs. Over the last several years the 40 Days for Life protest have expanded to twice a year, and according to the web site has spread 212 cities throughout the United States and in two other countries. Word has spread through social networking sites, and also through church communities.
The Coalition for Life likes to characterize the protest as peaceful, and emphasizes the prayer and display of protest signs. However, protesters regularly verbally target patients, volunteer escorts, and Planned Parenthood employees. The medical staff that works at Planned Parenthood has regularly been targets of verbal abuse, and some of the staff has received death threats. The volunteer escorts, who walk patients from their cars and are there as a welcoming presence, are also targeted by the protesters. The moment that a patient opens their car door the protesters begin shouting through the fence, and giving false information about reproductive health care and Planned Parenthood. In the past the Coalition for Life has distanced themselves from actions taken by protesters at Planned Parenthood, and does not take responsibility for the actions of the protesters.
The Coalition for Life communications director said in a recent article in the Texas A&M Battalion that the purpose of these protest is to education and to give an “honest look to what abortion does to women.” On the Coalition for Life web site it claims that “contributes to an increase in breast cancer.” According to the American Cancer Society, “induced abortion(s) had no overall effect on the risk of breast cancer.” Also, according to the National Cancer Institute, “an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman’s subsequent risk of developing breast cancer.” The Guttmacher Institute also concludes that “researchers and medical experts have taken another look at the studies and overwhelmingly have concluded that those finding a causal relationship between breast cancer and abortion are methodologically flawed.”
These protests are not about abortion. Abortion is simply the flash point. These protests are about what many in the conservative Christian community consider a “culture war.” This, at its core, is about oppressing women and oppressing sexuality. One of the primary doctrines of fundamental Christianity is that the woman’s role in the home, the church, and in general is to be submissive. Also, another doctrine is that sexuality is something that should be repressed and that anything from masturbation to homosexuality is not something that is normal or even natural. Embedded in the rhetoric of the anti-choice movement is anti-feminist rhetoric, which is the real core of what this “culture war” is about. The reason why anti-choice is a much better description of the movement than pro-life is because the real danger to social conservatives is empowered women given the opportunity to make their own choices. Liberated women are the most dangerous threat in the “culture war.”
Perhaps the most ironic part of the anti-choice movement is that many of those in the movement oppose everything that actually reduces the amount of abortions. Abstinence only sex education results in more unplanned pregnancies than comprehensive sex education, and in fact a study published by the Reproductive Health Journal found that states that the teen pregnancy rate is high in states that have a more predominant religious communities because “teens in more religious communities may be less likely to use contraception.” Not only do many in the anti-choice movement oppose comprehensive sex education, but they oppose contraception and family planning period.
While abortion rights are a central theme in the pro-choice movement, being pro-choice is not simply about abortion. The central idea around the pro-choice movement is that women should be empowered to make their own choices. There is a fundamental belief that women have the right to control their own body, and that no one else gets to make those decisions for them. Pro-choice is pro-woman.
Today marks the first day of 40 Days for Life, an anti-choice movement that began in College Station, Texas. In 2004 the Coalition for Life began protesting outside of the Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas for the forty days of Lent. Protest of Planned Parenthood is nothing new, however, this protest was held for twenty-four hours a day for forty straight days. Throughout the day and night protesters stood in front of the fence with their heads bowed, or stood on the sidewalk holding up protest signs. Over the last several years the 40 Days for Life protest have expanded to twice a year, and according to the web site has spread 212 cities throughout the United States and in two other countries. Word has spread through social networking sites, and also through church communities.
The Coalition for Life likes to characterize the protest as peaceful, and emphasizes the prayer and display of protest signs. However, protesters regularly verbally target patients, volunteer escorts, and Planned Parenthood employees. The medical staff that works at Planned Parenthood has regularly been targets of verbal abuse, and some of the staff has received death threats. The volunteer escorts, who walk patients from their cars and are there as a welcoming presence, are also targeted by the protesters. The moment that a patient opens their car door the protesters begin shouting through the fence, and giving false information about reproductive health care and Planned Parenthood. In the past the Coalition for Life has distanced themselves from actions taken by protesters at Planned Parenthood, and does not take responsibility for the actions of the protesters.
The Coalition for Life communications director said in a recent article in the Texas A&M Battalion that the purpose of these protest is to education and to give an “honest look to what abortion does to women.” On the Coalition for Life web site it claims that “contributes to an increase in breast cancer.” According to the American Cancer Society, “induced abortion(s) had no overall effect on the risk of breast cancer.” Also, according to the National Cancer Institute, “an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman’s subsequent risk of developing breast cancer.” The Guttmacher Institute also concludes that “researchers and medical experts have taken another look at the studies and overwhelmingly have concluded that those finding a causal relationship between breast cancer and abortion are methodologically flawed.”
These protests are not about abortion. Abortion is simply the flash point. These protests are about what many in the conservative Christian community consider a “culture war.” This, at its core, is about oppressing women and oppressing sexuality. One of the primary doctrines of fundamental Christianity is that the woman’s role in the home, the church, and in general is to be submissive. Also, another doctrine is that sexuality is something that should be repressed and that anything from masturbation to homosexuality is not something that is normal or even natural. Embedded in the rhetoric of the anti-choice movement is anti-feminist rhetoric, which is the real core of what this “culture war” is about. The reason why anti-choice is a much better description of the movement than pro-life is because the real danger to social conservatives is empowered women given the opportunity to make their own choices. Liberated women are the most dangerous threat in the “culture war.”
Perhaps the most ironic part of the anti-choice movement is that many of those in the movement oppose everything that actually reduces the amount of abortions. Abstinence only sex education results in more unplanned pregnancies than comprehensive sex education, and in fact a study published by the Reproductive Health Journal found that states that the teen pregnancy rate is high in states that have a more predominant religious communities because “teens in more religious communities may be less likely to use contraception.” Not only do many in the anti-choice movement oppose comprehensive sex education, but they oppose contraception and family planning period.
While abortion rights are a central theme in the pro-choice movement, being pro-choice is not simply about abortion. The central idea around the pro-choice movement is that women should be empowered to make their own choices. There is a fundamental belief that women have the right to control their own body, and that no one else gets to make those decisions for them. Pro-choice is pro-woman.
Tonight on Biased Transmission
KEOS is having their fund drive this week, and Biased Transmission has a very special show plus premiums planned! We have CD's of the speech that Amy Goodman gave at Neal Recreation Center, and we will be making them available as premiums for a $50.00 pledges to KEOS. Biased Transmission will be playing excerpts from that speech on tonight’s show to remind those of you who attended how wonderful her talk was, and for those who could not make it, you now have a chance to hear it for yourselves.
In addition, we have some special fund matching challenges for all you progressive "newsheads" who appreciate having locally produced, hand crafted programming flowing from your radio speakers! Remember, some of our best shows have stemmed from suggestions from you, our community, where in mainstream media can you have that much impact?
So tune in this Wednesday, and every day, but just this week, plan to call in and pledge your support! Listen to Biased Transmission tonight on 89.1FM KEOS College Station-Bryan from 6-7pm, to hear Teddy Wilson, Michael Alvard, and Ann Preston. If you have a question or comment you can post it here, or call the KEOS Bell Studios: 979-779-5367.
Local News: Texas A&M Organization Promotes Global Social Justice
Global Justice Promotes Worldwide Wellness
By: Austin Vela
From the Texas A&M University Battalion
Global Justice at Texas A&M University has separated its formal ties from the national chapters of Global Justice.
In name, logo and mission Global Justice TAMU is its own local entity. The mission of the national Global Justice organization remains as an inspiration for the TAMU chapter.
Global Justice TAMU is a student-run organization that includes a faculty advisor Jan Fernandez and graduate student advisor Peggy Wantwadi.
"Global Justice provides opportunities for students to become leaders and advocates for the well-being of the global population trapped in social justice issues: child soldiers, global poverty, human trafficking, etc…through service opportunities," Wantwadi said.
In the past, Global Justice TAMU operated as a service organization that held benefits, concerts, fundraisers and advocacy campaigns. After facilitating these events, the money raised was donated to national organizations. In 2008, Global Justice TAMU raised money that went toward supporting an orphanage in the Republic of Malawi.
Although facilitating these fundraisers is still important to gaining real-world experience, the problem with operating mainly as a service organization, according to Global Justice chair Kayla Salazar, a junior psychology major, is there was a noticeable lack of leadership and fragmentation.
Salazar said the social justice movement must better define what the movement stands for and wants to accomplish. The fragmentation in the social justice movement is a direct result of the vague definition of social justice.
The failure to properly define the social justice movement results in widespread misconceptions and negative stereotypes. People assume that the social justice movement is made up of "tree huggers and hippies and liberals," Salazar said. At Texas A&M, "we want to become a more professional organization."
To begin better defining the social justice movement, Global Justice TAMU created a mission statement that reads, "Through leadership, education and service, Global Justice seeks to build a community at Texas A&M University of progressive individuals that will advance the social justice movement."
This year, Global Justice TAMU began strategically planning to build leaders in the social justice movement. Salazar said the Global Justice movement has a lot of passionate supporters, but the most challenging part is cultivating leaders to unite followers in the fight against AIDS with supporters of fair trade. To develop future leaders, Global Justice TAMU plans to have speakers in the social justice movement and regular discussion groups with members and others interested in social justice.
This fall, Global Justice TAMU plans to invite speakers from the social justice movement to speak at the University. Also, in November, Global Justice TAMU will hold a Toms benefit concert. Toms is a shoe company that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. In 2008, 126 pairs of shoes were sold at the event.
On Oct. 13, Global Justice TAMU will hold a screening of "Invisible Children."
Published on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By: Austin Vela
From the Texas A&M University Battalion
Global Justice at Texas A&M University has separated its formal ties from the national chapters of Global Justice.
In name, logo and mission Global Justice TAMU is its own local entity. The mission of the national Global Justice organization remains as an inspiration for the TAMU chapter.
Global Justice TAMU is a student-run organization that includes a faculty advisor Jan Fernandez and graduate student advisor Peggy Wantwadi.
"Global Justice provides opportunities for students to become leaders and advocates for the well-being of the global population trapped in social justice issues: child soldiers, global poverty, human trafficking, etc…through service opportunities," Wantwadi said.
In the past, Global Justice TAMU operated as a service organization that held benefits, concerts, fundraisers and advocacy campaigns. After facilitating these events, the money raised was donated to national organizations. In 2008, Global Justice TAMU raised money that went toward supporting an orphanage in the Republic of Malawi.
Although facilitating these fundraisers is still important to gaining real-world experience, the problem with operating mainly as a service organization, according to Global Justice chair Kayla Salazar, a junior psychology major, is there was a noticeable lack of leadership and fragmentation.
Salazar said the social justice movement must better define what the movement stands for and wants to accomplish. The fragmentation in the social justice movement is a direct result of the vague definition of social justice.
The failure to properly define the social justice movement results in widespread misconceptions and negative stereotypes. People assume that the social justice movement is made up of "tree huggers and hippies and liberals," Salazar said. At Texas A&M, "we want to become a more professional organization."
To begin better defining the social justice movement, Global Justice TAMU created a mission statement that reads, "Through leadership, education and service, Global Justice seeks to build a community at Texas A&M University of progressive individuals that will advance the social justice movement."
This year, Global Justice TAMU began strategically planning to build leaders in the social justice movement. Salazar said the Global Justice movement has a lot of passionate supporters, but the most challenging part is cultivating leaders to unite followers in the fight against AIDS with supporters of fair trade. To develop future leaders, Global Justice TAMU plans to have speakers in the social justice movement and regular discussion groups with members and others interested in social justice.
This fall, Global Justice TAMU plans to invite speakers from the social justice movement to speak at the University. Also, in November, Global Justice TAMU will hold a Toms benefit concert. Toms is a shoe company that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. In 2008, 126 pairs of shoes were sold at the event.
On Oct. 13, Global Justice TAMU will hold a screening of "Invisible Children."
Published on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Video Lunch: Reproductive Rights in Northern Ireland
Discrimination and Denial: Abortion Law in Northern Ireland from IPPF on Vimeo.
From RH Reality Check:Under the 1967 Abortion Act, a woman in London has the right to an abortion if two doctors say the pregnancy is a risk to her physical or mental health or if there's a foetal abnormality. This short documentary explains just how different the situation is in Northern Ireland.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Teaching in Aggieland: Non-Traditional Questions
“And how do we keep our balance? I can tell you in one word: tradition!”Last week, our class readings addressed concept of ethnocentrism. I love making these Aggies squirm, and I knew this would do the trick.
So, after introducing the concept of ethnocentrism (the belief that one’s culture is superior to another’s), I ask my students: “how many are you from Texas?” Most of them raise their hands.
“How many of you think Texas is the greatest state in the Union?” Students laugh, most continue to raise their hands.
“How many of you think Texas should secede?” Some students laugh, some keep their hands up.
One student replies “Yeah but Ms Litia, that’s not an opinion, those are the facts!”
He was joking. Mostly. But not totally.
Then I introduced the concept of norms (norms: rules about appropriate behavior, implicit or explicit; often traditions. In Aggieland, ubiquitous).
I’m trying to get them to question the norms that guide their behavior. When is a norm a bad thing? What are the sanctions for violating a norm? When can norms be good? So I have to provoke them a bit…
“Here we are, in Aggieland, where you’re supposed to put pennies on the boot of the statue of a former KKK member for good luck, where alums visit a building named after a man who compared the rape of women to bad weather, where it has been rumored that students originally tore down houses in the African-American areas of town for Bonfire kindling (note: I have found no evidence of this beyond hearsay, though this book may provide it) and even as I am saying these things aloud, I know my students don’t want to hear it. I finish my mini-diatribe on the traditions of Aggieland and take a deep breath. Many students are looking down, several are visibly offended. One says “Okay Ms. Litia, can we move on?”
The thing is, I love Aggieland. It was definitely shocking at first, but I have found my place on campus (and off!) and I wouldn’t change my decision to come teach here. But why is my loyalty to the school questioned just because I question a few traditions? Can’t I enjoy where I am and critique it? Aren’t I as much a part of this community as the red-asses?
I recently came across a concept called “crazy patriotism” that I think applies here. “Crazy patriotism is the unhealthy condition—a pathology of limitations—that impairs the ability to both love and critique, to both honor and re-imagine, to both recognize the noble possibilities of this country while interrogating its wrongs…” (Madison, 2009). She is of course writing about the U.S., but we can easily apply the concept to any place with a distinct culture that highly values tradition.
On campus, there seems to be a feeling that the traditions are already set. Most students will grant that yes, some of them are based on negative things but they then remind you that “that’s not what it means now!” Or “it’s just a tradition!”
They don’t seem to realize that traditions shift and change with time. We now have women and non-white people at the University. That is a norm that changed. When I point this out, students agree that these changes are for the better. Yet they are still so afraid to question the traditions of A+M.
But who says we can’t start a new tradition today? A hundred years from now, when everyone you and I know affiliated with A&M is gone, what will they say about us, about these years? What if our new tradition becomes embracing Aggieland as a region of rebirth, a community of critical engagement, a pile of people who approach each other with love, not naiveté? I hope my students are wrestling with these same questions.
-Ms. Litia
*Note: Ms. Litia is a pseudonym. It stands for liberal-teaching-in-aggieland. Mostly because I want to be honest and I don’t want to lose my job.
Video Lunch: Todd Willingham Innocent and Executed
Sign The Petition: to Governor Rick Perry and the State of Texas to acknowledge that the fire in the Cameron Todd Willingham case was not arson, therefore no crime was committed and on February 17, 2004, Texas executed an innocent man.
Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - September 21, 2009
The fall is upon us, and so the Texas Progressive Alliance closes out another summer with some more hot blogging.
Halliburton was fracking for Cabot and...Oh Oops! We Spilled Some! TWICE! Deadly Hydraulic Fracture Fluid! Ironically, industry just released part of their $80 million propaganda campaign asking people to submit "Eureka" moments. From TXsharon at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.
Congressman "Deer in the headlights" Pete Olson (R-TX) gets called out at his town hall meeting and the police are called in!
The Texas Cloverleaf wonders when police departments will enter the 21st Century. A San Antonio lesbian couple sues in federal court over blatant harassment in their own home.
This week at McBlogger, Mayor McSleaze took the time out of his life to educate you people on some things going on around the country.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes Rick Perry won't admit execution might have been a mistake. To be a Republican is never to say you're sorry.
At Texas Vox, nuclear energy and economic experts explain just how much is at stake with the South Texas Nuclear Project expansion -- the entire San Antonio economy.
Off the Kuff takes note of some hot judge-on-prosecutor action going on at the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Neil at Texas Liberal ran a one-minute video this week, filmed in front of hurricane remembrances in Galveston, Texas, in which he made a plea for folks to be aware of the past.
Kay Bailey has two purse boys, and Rick Perry is unaware there is a recession. Sometimes the cluelessness and utter hypocrisy of Texas Republicans still amazes the cynical PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
WhosPlayin had video of parents handing all kinds of hell to Lewisville ISD board and administration over banning the Obama pep talk. Perhaps the bigger story though is that like many other school districts in the state, the financial situation looks bleak for the coming year.
Over at TexascKaos, Bulldog reminds us that health care , like national defense is NOT about profit, but about the security of the American people. She tells her story and does it well in Health Care Rambling.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Week in Headlines
Activism
Visionary Citizens
Texas News
Prison Chaplain Admits Smuggling Letters From Death Row
Texas Politics
The Race to Succeed Ogden
Foreign Policy
Can We Bribe Our Way to Victory?
War and Peace
U.N. Finds Signs of War Crimes on Both Sides in Gaza
Veterans Issues
Some Veterans Not Receiving GI Bill Housing Stipends Amid Huge Bottleneck of Claims
Media
Koppel Criticizes Rise of Infotainment, Commentary that Disregards Facts
Education
Bill Upends System for College Loans
Environment
Green Intelligence: Toward True Ecological Transparency
Health Care
Cutting Salt Intake Would Save $18 Billion Per Year in Health Costs
GLBT Issues
The California Marriage Tug-of-War
Women’s Issues
Held in Purgatory
Race and Racism
MySpace to Facebook = White Flight?
Local News: Candidates Position for Texas Senate 5 Seat
Race to Replace Ogden Heats Up
By Matthew Watkins
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
It took only a few hours for two candidates to line up for state Sen. Steve Ogden's seat after he announced Sept. 11 that he wouldn't run for re-election in 2010.
Huntsville resident Ben Bius, a Republican, announced the same day that he was forming an exploratory committee for the seat. He said he expected to make a formal declaration of his candidacy next month.
Williamson County state Rep. Dan Gattis, also a Republican, made his long-expected announcement Monday.
But so far, no names have surfaced from Brazos County, Ogden's home. And though there is still time, political observers said they were hearing little talk that candidates from the county would emerge.
The seat has been represented by a resident of Brazos County since Ogden first won election in 1997, and county officials have called that a great benefit for the area. Ogden's power has grown steadily in the Senate, and officials said that influence had allowed him to help the community.
"It does help to have someone who does know our community and does know our county and does know Texas A&M University," said County Judge Randy Sims. "It is going to be a little difficult [without a Brazos County resident in the seat]."
Demographics may be the main reason for the change. When Ogden was first elected in 1997, Brazos County was the most populous county in the district. The district included only half of Williamson County at the time.
In 2000, however, the district was redrawn to include all of Williamson County. Since then, its population has exploded as the Austin metropolitan area has spread north. In 2000, the county's population was 249,982. The census bureau estimates that it grew 57.7 percent to 394,193 by July 2008.
"The population and the voting strength is out of Williamson County," Gattis said. "About 47 percent of the voting public is out of Williamson County, and about 20 percent is Brazos County. That is a daunting task."
Those numbers have caused many to believe that Gattis is the early favorite in the race, but Bius said that they might work in his favor. He said he had an advantage over Gattis in the area east of Williamson County where more than half of the district's population is found.
"I've got to drive through Bryan-College Station to get to Austin; he doesn't," Bius said. "I need Bryan-College Station to get elected. He doesn't think so."
But Gattis, a Texas A&M graduate, said he worked with Brazos County officials before stepping into the race by sponsoring bills for the Texas A&M Health Science Center and meeting with community leaders to learn their needs.
On Thursday, Republican county chairs from nine of the 14 counties in District 5 -- including Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Milam counties -- announced their support for Gattis. He said he expected more endorsements from local business and community leaders in the next few weeks, which will show the kind of relationships he is building in the area.
Brazos County Republican Party Chair Paul Rieger didn't return phone calls Thursday afternoon.
No Democratic candidates have emerged for the race, and Brazos County's Democratic chair, Maggie Charleton, said last week that she expected no candidates from Brazos County. Voters in District 5 voted 60 percent Republican in the 2008 presidential election.
Charleton said a large portion of the qualified, interested people in Brazos County work at Texas A&M. University rules require anyone seeking partisan office take an unpaid leave, and most of them can't afford to do that.
"Any time we hear from someone who wants to run, the first thing I ask is if they work for A&M," she said.
Local officials said they would have to make sure that a candidate would be committed to being a strong advocate for Brazos County and Texas A&M before they gave them their support.
Gattis said he would make sure to do that. He said Williamson County and Brazos County are similar. Both have suburban atmospheres, he said, and both are strongly conservative.
"I am going to represent Brazos County as well and with as much advocacy as I am going to represent Williamson County," he said. "I am going to make sure that my entire district is taken care of."
Bius made a similar vow.
"I am going to represent the entire district," he said.
Published on Friday, September 18, 2009
By Matthew Watkins
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
It took only a few hours for two candidates to line up for state Sen. Steve Ogden's seat after he announced Sept. 11 that he wouldn't run for re-election in 2010.
Huntsville resident Ben Bius, a Republican, announced the same day that he was forming an exploratory committee for the seat. He said he expected to make a formal declaration of his candidacy next month.
Williamson County state Rep. Dan Gattis, also a Republican, made his long-expected announcement Monday.
But so far, no names have surfaced from Brazos County, Ogden's home. And though there is still time, political observers said they were hearing little talk that candidates from the county would emerge.
The seat has been represented by a resident of Brazos County since Ogden first won election in 1997, and county officials have called that a great benefit for the area. Ogden's power has grown steadily in the Senate, and officials said that influence had allowed him to help the community.
"It does help to have someone who does know our community and does know our county and does know Texas A&M University," said County Judge Randy Sims. "It is going to be a little difficult [without a Brazos County resident in the seat]."
Demographics may be the main reason for the change. When Ogden was first elected in 1997, Brazos County was the most populous county in the district. The district included only half of Williamson County at the time.
In 2000, however, the district was redrawn to include all of Williamson County. Since then, its population has exploded as the Austin metropolitan area has spread north. In 2000, the county's population was 249,982. The census bureau estimates that it grew 57.7 percent to 394,193 by July 2008.
"The population and the voting strength is out of Williamson County," Gattis said. "About 47 percent of the voting public is out of Williamson County, and about 20 percent is Brazos County. That is a daunting task."
Those numbers have caused many to believe that Gattis is the early favorite in the race, but Bius said that they might work in his favor. He said he had an advantage over Gattis in the area east of Williamson County where more than half of the district's population is found.
"I've got to drive through Bryan-College Station to get to Austin; he doesn't," Bius said. "I need Bryan-College Station to get elected. He doesn't think so."
But Gattis, a Texas A&M graduate, said he worked with Brazos County officials before stepping into the race by sponsoring bills for the Texas A&M Health Science Center and meeting with community leaders to learn their needs.
On Thursday, Republican county chairs from nine of the 14 counties in District 5 -- including Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Milam counties -- announced their support for Gattis. He said he expected more endorsements from local business and community leaders in the next few weeks, which will show the kind of relationships he is building in the area.
Brazos County Republican Party Chair Paul Rieger didn't return phone calls Thursday afternoon.
No Democratic candidates have emerged for the race, and Brazos County's Democratic chair, Maggie Charleton, said last week that she expected no candidates from Brazos County. Voters in District 5 voted 60 percent Republican in the 2008 presidential election.
Charleton said a large portion of the qualified, interested people in Brazos County work at Texas A&M. University rules require anyone seeking partisan office take an unpaid leave, and most of them can't afford to do that.
"Any time we hear from someone who wants to run, the first thing I ask is if they work for A&M," she said.
Local officials said they would have to make sure that a candidate would be committed to being a strong advocate for Brazos County and Texas A&M before they gave them their support.
Gattis said he would make sure to do that. He said Williamson County and Brazos County are similar. Both have suburban atmospheres, he said, and both are strongly conservative.
"I am going to represent Brazos County as well and with as much advocacy as I am going to represent Williamson County," he said. "I am going to make sure that my entire district is taken care of."
Bius made a similar vow.
"I am going to represent the entire district," he said.
Published on Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tonight on Biased Transmission
Tonight on Biased Transmission, in the wake of President Obama’s speech to school children last week we will take a look at political socialization. During a roundtable discussion with our co-host, Mike Alvard, Danny Yeager, and Anne Preston, we will identify the different ways that our political ideology and social views are formed.
Our discussion will look at how our views are formed as children, how they change during adolescence and young adulthood, and how our views may or may not change during adulthood. Also we will discuss the different factors that contribute to the formation of political ideology, and how the media and demographics affect our political views. We encourage our listeners to call in or post a comment on our Facebook page to share their experiences of political socialization.
Listen to Biased Transmission tonight on 89.1FM KEOS College Station-Bryan from 6-7pm, to hear Teddy Wilson, Michael Alvard, and Ann Preston. If you have a question or comment you can post it here, or call the KEOS Bell Studios: 979-779-5367.
Biased Transmission on Facebook
Biased Transmission Online Archive of Shows
Listen to Biased Transmission tonight on 89.1FM KEOS College Station-Bryan from 6-7pm, to hear Teddy Wilson, Michael Alvard, and Ann Preston. If you have a question or comment you can post it here, or call the KEOS Bell Studios: 979-779-5367.
Biased Transmission on Facebook
Biased Transmission Online Archive of Shows
Video Lunch: Crude
Three years in the making, this riveting new documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brothers Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) tells the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet. An inside look at the infamous $27 billion Amazon Chernobyl case, Crude is a real-life, high stakes legal drama involving global politics, the environmental movement, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, multinational corporate power, and the fate of disappearing indigenous cultures. Subverting the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, this award-winning film explores a complex situation from all angles, bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus. Rarely have such conflicts been examined with the depth and power of Joe Berlinger‚s documentary Crude. These real characters and events play out on the screen like a sprawling legal thriller.
Local News: Bryan City Council Passes Graffiti Ordinance
Bryan Approves Graffiti Ordinance
By Cassie Smith
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Bryan property owners who refuse to clean up graffiti may soon be tagged with a bill.
City crews will offer to paint over graffiti-strewn walls and property for free, but there's no guarantee that the paint will match the existing color.
If property owners decline the offer and refuse to do the work or have someone else do it, city workers will slap on the paint themselves, and the owner will be billed for the expense.
A state law that went into effect Sept. 1 sets the parameters for cities to follow, and the City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday outlining the specifics.
Jay Marcotte, Bryan's assistant director of public works, said code enforcement officials would approach a property owner in person or send them a letter informing them of the ordinance. The owner would then have 10 days to respond.
"If they refuse, we will go in, clean up the property and send them a bill," he said.
Marcotte said the city spends between $2,000 and $2,500 a year cleaning up graffiti around town.
Assistant City Manager Hugh Walker said the city doesn't want to be in the business of cleaning private property, and crews will not make an effort to match a property's paint color or design style. The city will keep a standard color, likely white, in stock for such situations.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, City Council members approved the fiscal year 2010 tax rate. The rate -- 63.64 cents per $100 assessed valuation -- is the same as the fiscal year 2009 rate, but nearly $900,000 in added revenue is expected because of an increase in property values and new property added to the tax roll.
The fiscal year 2010 budget that was adopted last week includes expenditures of more than $350.4 million and revenues of $312.7 million.
The City Council also approved the first reading of the Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency 2010 budget, which includes expenditures of $8.1 million and revenues of $12.8 million.
The second reading of the ordinance is set for Sept. 22.
The cities of Bryan and College Station operate BVSWMA as a partnership that manages the cities' Rock Prairie Road Landfill and the Twin Oaks Landfill, which is under construction in Grimes County.
Published on Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Cassie Smith
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Bryan property owners who refuse to clean up graffiti may soon be tagged with a bill.
City crews will offer to paint over graffiti-strewn walls and property for free, but there's no guarantee that the paint will match the existing color.
If property owners decline the offer and refuse to do the work or have someone else do it, city workers will slap on the paint themselves, and the owner will be billed for the expense.
A state law that went into effect Sept. 1 sets the parameters for cities to follow, and the City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday outlining the specifics.
Jay Marcotte, Bryan's assistant director of public works, said code enforcement officials would approach a property owner in person or send them a letter informing them of the ordinance. The owner would then have 10 days to respond.
"If they refuse, we will go in, clean up the property and send them a bill," he said.
Marcotte said the city spends between $2,000 and $2,500 a year cleaning up graffiti around town.
Assistant City Manager Hugh Walker said the city doesn't want to be in the business of cleaning private property, and crews will not make an effort to match a property's paint color or design style. The city will keep a standard color, likely white, in stock for such situations.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, City Council members approved the fiscal year 2010 tax rate. The rate -- 63.64 cents per $100 assessed valuation -- is the same as the fiscal year 2009 rate, but nearly $900,000 in added revenue is expected because of an increase in property values and new property added to the tax roll.
The fiscal year 2010 budget that was adopted last week includes expenditures of more than $350.4 million and revenues of $312.7 million.
The City Council also approved the first reading of the Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency 2010 budget, which includes expenditures of $8.1 million and revenues of $12.8 million.
The second reading of the ordinance is set for Sept. 22.
The cities of Bryan and College Station operate BVSWMA as a partnership that manages the cities' Rock Prairie Road Landfill and the Twin Oaks Landfill, which is under construction in Grimes County.
Published on Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Video Lunch: Houston Mayor Visits Aggieland
From the Texas A&M University Battalion:
Houston Mayor and US Senate Candidate Bill White spoke to Aggie Democrats on Sept. 14 to discuss his upcoming campaign. He is running for the seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Local News: Texas A&M Faculty Senate Seeks Protections for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Group Wants to Shield TAMUS
By Matthew Watkins
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Texas A&M Faculty Senate members may request that the university's governing system include hiring protections for sexual orientation and gender identity to its current policy.
The request wouldn't affect hiring at the flagship campus in College Station because such protections already have been implemented. Senate members who support the resolution said they want the rule to apply systemwide in order to enhance its reputation of inclusiveness.
"It is the right thing to do as well as a legal thing, and I encourage the Faculty Senate to do this," said Ramona Paetzold, a member of the Faculty Senate and expert on employment law.
The request would be made in a non-binding resolution that would ask Interim President R. Bowen Loftin to recommend the change to the system's Board of Regents.
Faculty Senate members discussed it at a Monday meeting, but no action will be taken until at least their October meeting. All of those who commented on it at the meeting supported the resolution.
System spokesman Rod Davis said anyone wanting to change the policy is welcome to start the process by bringing the request to the board.
"The system is completely supportive of diversity," Davis said. "There's no discrimination permitted, and that includes sexual orientation and gender identity."
The current A&M system policy states that it will provide "equal opportunity to all employees, students, applicants for employment, and the public regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or veteran status."
The inclusion of such a policy is required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Faculty Senate's resolution would request the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories.
The University of Texas System and University of Houston both have policies that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Formally including protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in hiring policy isn't required by federal law, but it isn't prevented either, professors said. The absence of such protections also doesn't necessarily mean that those categories are being discriminated against.
A&M administrators recently affirmed their effort to protect people who fit that category, a school spokesperson noted.
Former president Elsa Murano stated in a universitywide e-mail in April that, in addition to those categories legally protected, "we will maintain a work environment free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
Faculty Senate speaker Bob Bednarz agreed that A&M's rules allow such protections. He also said that 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies have policies protecting such categories.
"We are asking the A&M system to come in line with the A&M rule," he said.
Published on Tuesday, September 15, 2009
By Matthew Watkins
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Texas A&M Faculty Senate members may request that the university's governing system include hiring protections for sexual orientation and gender identity to its current policy.
The request wouldn't affect hiring at the flagship campus in College Station because such protections already have been implemented. Senate members who support the resolution said they want the rule to apply systemwide in order to enhance its reputation of inclusiveness.
"It is the right thing to do as well as a legal thing, and I encourage the Faculty Senate to do this," said Ramona Paetzold, a member of the Faculty Senate and expert on employment law.
The request would be made in a non-binding resolution that would ask Interim President R. Bowen Loftin to recommend the change to the system's Board of Regents.
Faculty Senate members discussed it at a Monday meeting, but no action will be taken until at least their October meeting. All of those who commented on it at the meeting supported the resolution.
System spokesman Rod Davis said anyone wanting to change the policy is welcome to start the process by bringing the request to the board.
"The system is completely supportive of diversity," Davis said. "There's no discrimination permitted, and that includes sexual orientation and gender identity."
The current A&M system policy states that it will provide "equal opportunity to all employees, students, applicants for employment, and the public regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or veteran status."
The inclusion of such a policy is required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Faculty Senate's resolution would request the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories.
The University of Texas System and University of Houston both have policies that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Formally including protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in hiring policy isn't required by federal law, but it isn't prevented either, professors said. The absence of such protections also doesn't necessarily mean that those categories are being discriminated against.
A&M administrators recently affirmed their effort to protect people who fit that category, a school spokesperson noted.
Former president Elsa Murano stated in a universitywide e-mail in April that, in addition to those categories legally protected, "we will maintain a work environment free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
Faculty Senate speaker Bob Bednarz agreed that A&M's rules allow such protections. He also said that 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies have policies protecting such categories.
"We are asking the A&M system to come in line with the A&M rule," he said.
Published on Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Teaching in Aggieland: Stereotypes
I have six athletes in one class. I discovered this last week, and immediately tried really hard not to be upset. The thing is, athletes usually are flaky (I forgot to take notes last week, do you remember what you said?) miss class at the last minute (we had an away game, coach forgot to mention it!), and complain about grades (I’m going to lose my scholarship and get kicked off the team if you don’t give me another chance!). But I try to approach each student with a tabula rasa as much as possible, I remain aware of my stereotypes and try to ignore my immediate reactions. A week goes by….My student, a football player, who informed me he is a “star,” (I mused how a person could be the star of a crap team but that’s another story), didn’t turn in his first assignment and missed a day of class. My basketball player typed “u” instead of “you” in a formal essay. Another football player didn’t do his assignment either, but apologized and explained to me that he was up all night driving home his roommate’s drunk friends. My baseball player turned in the assignment in three days late.
So here I am, prepping for class, when I happen upon a section in the textbook about diversity. Uh oh. The book is warning about the “challenges” of diversity. And I know I’m going to go in to class this week and try to get my students to call out the book’s odd tone in this section. Yet I just spent a week really frustrated that my stereotypes came TRUE. I don’t want to think the athletes are lazy or trying to pull something on me; but, how can I think otherwise? And what if these athletes are?
To be clear, it is seriously a huge hassle for me to have a slacker student. It’s way more work, effort, frustration, emailing, following up, etc. So much documentation has to be there for me to justify a bad grade. Students don’t get this, they think we have some sort of reward system for failing kids. Not to mention that the athletes have academic advisors that check in twice a semester with the teachers about how the student is doing. So that’s 12 emails for the one class, and 8 for the other.
This week I’m going to try to convince a bunch of kids that they shouldn’t stereotype each other. I’m going to tell them how stereotypes are wrong, and based off of hasty generalizations. I’m going to feel like a hypocrite. I’m going to be honest, and say that while living your life, you’re going to stereotype people. But calling it out, if only to yourself, being aware and reflexive about your thoughts, is a huge step toward treating others with respect.
A few years ago, at another university, I had a pregnant, single, non-white, woman in my class. Her due date was midsemeter. Think about all the stereotypes she is dealing with.
She earned an A.
If she can do it, why can’t my athletes?
-Ms.Litia
*Note: Ms. Litia is a pseudonym. It stands for liberal-teaching-in-aggieland. Mostly because I want to be honest and I don’t want to lose my job.
Video Lunch: The Health Insurance Racket
CIGNAs Edward Hanway spends his holidays in a $13 million beach house in New Jersey. Meanwhile, regular Americans are routinely denied coverage for the care they need when they need it most. Welcome to the American health insurance industry. Instead of helping policyholders attain the health security they need for their families, big insurance companies get rich by denying coverage to patients. Now theyre sending lobbyists to Washington, DC to twist the arms of lawmakers to oppose reform of the status quo. Why? Because the status quo pays.
Learn more at SickForProfit.com about the glamorous lives of billionaire health insurance executives and tell us your story of being victimized by their greed.
Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup - September 14, 2009
With the start of the new football season, the Texas Progressive Alliance invites you to read this week's roundup of blog highlights in the voice of John Facenda.
Last week, Texas got some much needed help from the Feds when the EPA slapped down Governor Perry's global warming denier pick for our state's top environmental official. This week, the EPA will have another opportunity to intervene in Texas when Mayor Calvin Tillman releases an environmental study of air quality in DISH, TX that will contrast dramatically with industry findings. Keep watching Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS as TXsharon brings you that news.
Bay Area Houston has some pics from the Yes we Klan! teabaggers on parade in DC.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that editorial boards across the state are taking Rick Perry to task for running Texas like he owned it.
Mean Rachel asks "Since when do conservatives care about anyone dying?" in "Dare Devils: Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Death Panel."
Off the Kuff takes a look at a local race that found a hole in our state's Elections Code.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog writes about the right wing's War on Diwali.
BossKitty at TruthHugger notices headlines this week demonstrate America's decline in common sense or accountability. Even worse, there is no regard for consequences of thoughtless actions ... Sabotage Experts: US Coast Guard Exercise on 9/11, Congressman Baucus and Republicans.
Neil at Texas Liberal ran a video he shot in front a hurricane damged fishing pier in Galveston in which he asked people to be flexible of mind. The video is 48 seconds long.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson on Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) making if official that he won't seek reelection, and what that means going forward, Ogden will not run for Senate in 2010.
McBlogger offers another post on wage growth. Not terribly exciting, but it is hella important to the future of Democracy. So, you know, you might want to read it.
A couple of Kinky Katz could wind up at the top of the 2010 Texas Democratic ticket, according to PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
Kay Bailey Hutchison takes a head-in-the-hot-sand approach to climate change that will get Texas burned and drive tens of thousands of new jobs elsewhere. Learn more at Texas Vox.
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Forgotten Flags
Almost three thousand American flags surround the Freedom from Terrorism Memorial on the campus of Texas A&M University, each of the flags represent an American that died during the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks. However, in our quest to “never forget” we have already forgotten: Americans were not the only victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks. We have forgotten that among the American flags there should also be 221 flags of 40 other countries. We have forgotten that the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks did not just touch Americans; it has touched people throughout the world.
We have also forgotten the rescue workers that rushed into the buildings, and who looked for survivors when the buildings fell. Many of the rescue workers are still suffering from the effects of that day. Joe Picurro, who worked Ground Zero after the terrorists attacks, is suffering from terminal lung disease. In an interview with Democracy Now!, Picurro describes the events that brought him to Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks. Picurro is taking thirty-nine different medications, and each breath that he takes causes him pain. Rescue workers and volunteers like Picurro, and thousands others, add to the death toll of that day each year when they are taken by diseases and cancers resulting from working at Ground Zero.
The American lead invasion of Afghanistan in response to the terrorists has stretched on over the course of the last eight years, and it has also taken the lives of not just American soldiers but soldiers from many other countries. In the last eight years 1,378 soldiers have died in Afghanistan, and 554 of those soldiers are from other countries. The last solider to killed in Afghanistan was Private 1st Class Piotr Marciniak from Poland, and he is already the 24th causality the month of September which is following the deadliest month in the conflicts history as 77 military members were killed in Afghanistan in August.
It impossible to separate the lives lost during war in Iraq from the terrorist attacks, and that war has lead to the deaths 4,661 soldiers, including 318 soldiers from other countries. As the war in Iraq moves through its seventh year, hopefully the count will move from last month’s low of 7 casualties to zero. It is also important to remember the tremendous loss of civilian lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the unknown number of hundreds of thousands that of died during these wars.
September 11th is a day of mourning, a day when we should reflect on somber thoughts. However, the memory of September 11th is all too often used to exploit people’s emotions, and to use the memory of that day to promote an ideology inspired by fear. There is often the suggestion that we have somehow forgotten about the terrorist attacks, and that any and all means should be used to prevent another similar attack in the future. Even if that means abandoning our values principles because the people attacked us do not share those values or principles.
The lessons that should be taken from the September 11th terrorists attacks are that everyone can be touched by terror and fear, but that we should not live by these emotions. A persons death does not matter more because of the country that they were born in, and more than the color of their skin or the faith that they practice. The way to conquer fear and terror is not through violence, but through peace. More dark days will happen in the future, and we must ensure that we do not lose sight of our ideals and principles. Freedom and democracy cannot be promoted through war and force, but through example.
“Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land…But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something.”
-Bobby Kennedy
We have also forgotten the rescue workers that rushed into the buildings, and who looked for survivors when the buildings fell. Many of the rescue workers are still suffering from the effects of that day. Joe Picurro, who worked Ground Zero after the terrorists attacks, is suffering from terminal lung disease. In an interview with Democracy Now!, Picurro describes the events that brought him to Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks. Picurro is taking thirty-nine different medications, and each breath that he takes causes him pain. Rescue workers and volunteers like Picurro, and thousands others, add to the death toll of that day each year when they are taken by diseases and cancers resulting from working at Ground Zero.
The American lead invasion of Afghanistan in response to the terrorists has stretched on over the course of the last eight years, and it has also taken the lives of not just American soldiers but soldiers from many other countries. In the last eight years 1,378 soldiers have died in Afghanistan, and 554 of those soldiers are from other countries. The last solider to killed in Afghanistan was Private 1st Class Piotr Marciniak from Poland, and he is already the 24th causality the month of September which is following the deadliest month in the conflicts history as 77 military members were killed in Afghanistan in August.
It impossible to separate the lives lost during war in Iraq from the terrorist attacks, and that war has lead to the deaths 4,661 soldiers, including 318 soldiers from other countries. As the war in Iraq moves through its seventh year, hopefully the count will move from last month’s low of 7 casualties to zero. It is also important to remember the tremendous loss of civilian lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the unknown number of hundreds of thousands that of died during these wars.
September 11th is a day of mourning, a day when we should reflect on somber thoughts. However, the memory of September 11th is all too often used to exploit people’s emotions, and to use the memory of that day to promote an ideology inspired by fear. There is often the suggestion that we have somehow forgotten about the terrorist attacks, and that any and all means should be used to prevent another similar attack in the future. Even if that means abandoning our values principles because the people attacked us do not share those values or principles.
The lessons that should be taken from the September 11th terrorists attacks are that everyone can be touched by terror and fear, but that we should not live by these emotions. A persons death does not matter more because of the country that they were born in, and more than the color of their skin or the faith that they practice. The way to conquer fear and terror is not through violence, but through peace. More dark days will happen in the future, and we must ensure that we do not lose sight of our ideals and principles. Freedom and democracy cannot be promoted through war and force, but through example.
“Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land…But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something.”
-Bobby Kennedy
Local News: September 11th Memorial at Texas A&M
Aggies Honor Lives Lost on 9/11
A remembrance ceremony will be at 9 a.m. today at the Freedom From Terrorism Memorial
By: Julie Rambin
From the Texas A&M University Battalion
Eight years ago today, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed the planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.
More than 2,700 people died in the attacks.
Former President George W. Bush subsequently declared a "war on terror," and the United States invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.
'Today is a day for remembering - a day for remembering and honoring the memories of our fellow Americans and others who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks," said Interim President R. Bowen Loftin. "The tragic events of 9/11 will forever be etched in our minds and on our hearts."
In 2008, the Freedom From Terrorism Memorial, designed by Texas A&M University students, was built on the A&M campus.
It is located near the intersection of Coke Street and Lubbock Street.
The memorial is dedicated to students who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and subsequent wars.
Today at the memorial the Young Conservatives of Texas will host their 9/11 Never Forget Memorial and Ceremony.
At 9 a.m. a remembrance ceremony will be held.
"We feel it's very important to honor those who were tragically lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and also to honor those who have died protecting our life and freedom," said YCT chairman Justin Pulliam, a sophomore animal science major.
American flags will be distributed to students to be planted at the memorial.
"We'd like to encourage every Aggie to come by," Pulliam said. "Everyone can come and put in a flag. This memorial is for all of Texas A&M and the surrounding community."
At 5:45 p.m. at Veteran's Park in College Station, an event called Patriot Day will be held to honor and thank those who died on 9/11 and those who have fought since then.
The event will include a barbecue dinner and several speakers.
"We have a New York firefighter who was on the ground on 9/11 eight years ago. We have a survivor who was at the World Trade Center and lives locally. We have a naval chaplain," said Patriot Day coordinator Bruce Forsyth. "It's just a very patriotic event."
Since 9/11, Americans have grown even stronger and more steadfast in their commitment to freedom, Loftin said.
"I encourage fellow Aggies everywhere to join me in taking a moment to remember the families of those lost in the tragedy of that horrific day eight years ago and to give thanks to the brave men and women who are in service to our country and helping keep us safe from those who are intent on doing us harm," Loftin said.
Admission to Patriot Day is free with donation of a nonperishable item to be sent to American troops during the holidays. For more information, call 979.774.9958.
Published on Friday, September 11, 2009
A remembrance ceremony will be at 9 a.m. today at the Freedom From Terrorism Memorial
By: Julie Rambin
From the Texas A&M University Battalion
Eight years ago today, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed the planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.
More than 2,700 people died in the attacks.
Former President George W. Bush subsequently declared a "war on terror," and the United States invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.
'Today is a day for remembering - a day for remembering and honoring the memories of our fellow Americans and others who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks," said Interim President R. Bowen Loftin. "The tragic events of 9/11 will forever be etched in our minds and on our hearts."
In 2008, the Freedom From Terrorism Memorial, designed by Texas A&M University students, was built on the A&M campus.
It is located near the intersection of Coke Street and Lubbock Street.
The memorial is dedicated to students who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and subsequent wars.
Today at the memorial the Young Conservatives of Texas will host their 9/11 Never Forget Memorial and Ceremony.
At 9 a.m. a remembrance ceremony will be held.
"We feel it's very important to honor those who were tragically lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and also to honor those who have died protecting our life and freedom," said YCT chairman Justin Pulliam, a sophomore animal science major.
American flags will be distributed to students to be planted at the memorial.
"We'd like to encourage every Aggie to come by," Pulliam said. "Everyone can come and put in a flag. This memorial is for all of Texas A&M and the surrounding community."
At 5:45 p.m. at Veteran's Park in College Station, an event called Patriot Day will be held to honor and thank those who died on 9/11 and those who have fought since then.
The event will include a barbecue dinner and several speakers.
"We have a New York firefighter who was on the ground on 9/11 eight years ago. We have a survivor who was at the World Trade Center and lives locally. We have a naval chaplain," said Patriot Day coordinator Bruce Forsyth. "It's just a very patriotic event."
Since 9/11, Americans have grown even stronger and more steadfast in their commitment to freedom, Loftin said.
"I encourage fellow Aggies everywhere to join me in taking a moment to remember the families of those lost in the tragedy of that horrific day eight years ago and to give thanks to the brave men and women who are in service to our country and helping keep us safe from those who are intent on doing us harm," Loftin said.
Admission to Patriot Day is free with donation of a nonperishable item to be sent to American troops during the holidays. For more information, call 979.774.9958.
Published on Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Local News: State Senate Ogden Not Seeking Reelection
Ogden: Will Not Run Again for Texas Senate
By Matthew Watkins
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Sen. Steve Ogden announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election to the Texas Senate
The announcement comes after a busy legislative session where he served the lead budget writer for the senate’s finance committee.
He will serve out the rest of his term, which ends in January 2011. The Bryan resident represents Senate District 5, a 13-county area that includes Brazos, Grimes, Burleson, Milam, Madison and Leon counties.
The decision likely will fuel speculation that he is considering a run in 2010 for Chet Edward’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he made no specific reference to that option in a statement released Thursday.
“Though I have no immediate plans to remain in politics beyond my present term, I am not, by today’s announcement, ruling out a future candidacy for elected office,” he said.
Ogden, who is from Bryan, has represented Senate District 5 since 1997. Prior to that, he served three terms the Texas House of Representatives.
He has chaired the finance committee since 2004 and was considered one of the most powerful members of the senate during the 2009 term. During that time, he established the so-called “Ogden Amendment” that allowed him to keep a bill from passing that didn’t have funding available in the $182 billion budget.
“I have tried to ensure that the taxpayers’ money was spent as carefully as I would spend my own,” he said in his statement. “Texas today is in better shape than most states.”
Ogden also drew attention in the recent legislative session for adding a provision to the budget bill that prohibited the use of state funds for embryonic stem cell research. It was later removed before the bill became law.
Published on Thursday, September 10, 2009
By Matthew Watkins
From the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Sen. Steve Ogden announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election to the Texas Senate
The announcement comes after a busy legislative session where he served the lead budget writer for the senate’s finance committee.
He will serve out the rest of his term, which ends in January 2011. The Bryan resident represents Senate District 5, a 13-county area that includes Brazos, Grimes, Burleson, Milam, Madison and Leon counties.
The decision likely will fuel speculation that he is considering a run in 2010 for Chet Edward’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he made no specific reference to that option in a statement released Thursday.
“Though I have no immediate plans to remain in politics beyond my present term, I am not, by today’s announcement, ruling out a future candidacy for elected office,” he said.
Ogden, who is from Bryan, has represented Senate District 5 since 1997. Prior to that, he served three terms the Texas House of Representatives.
He has chaired the finance committee since 2004 and was considered one of the most powerful members of the senate during the 2009 term. During that time, he established the so-called “Ogden Amendment” that allowed him to keep a bill from passing that didn’t have funding available in the $182 billion budget.
“I have tried to ensure that the taxpayers’ money was spent as carefully as I would spend my own,” he said in his statement. “Texas today is in better shape than most states.”
Ogden also drew attention in the recent legislative session for adding a provision to the budget bill that prohibited the use of state funds for embryonic stem cell research. It was later removed before the bill became law.
Published on Thursday, September 10, 2009
Video Lunch: In Rural Virginia, Relief is Rare for Uninsured
On a sunny Saturday at the county fairgrounds in this Appalachian community, the gaps in the American health care system were on vivid display. Lured by the promise of a weekend of free checkups, surgeries and dental care, thousands of people braved the summer heat to get care they otherwise could not afford.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Journalism Fail: Reporting on “Gaydar”
The headline of the article reads ‘Gaydar’ is Real. According to the article in Miller-McCune, Tufts University psychologist Nicholas Rule conducted a study in which the findings suggests that a man's sexual orientation can be "accurately and rapidly perceived" simply by looking at his face, and that a follow-up study finds that the same applies to female faces. So that proves the idea that “gaydar” is real? Journalism fail. A quick browse through the definitions of “gaydar” on Urban Dictionary show that the word “gaydar” is not grounded in anything scientific, but is actually based on stereotypes.
The use of the word “gaydar” has mostly been used to describe someone’s ability to judge someone’s sexual orientation by their appearance or mannerisms. It is completely based on misconceptions and stereotypes. However, it has been popularized in the popular culture and in the mass media.
At Texas A&M University the GLBT Resource Center presents a forum in which to debunk the ideas behind “gaydar.” The Guess Who’s Gay Panel presents an audience with a chance to ask the members of the panels any question (with the exception of explicitly asking what sexual orientation the members of the panel are). After these questions the audience is then permitted to vote on what they think the sexual orientation of the panel members. Lowell Kane, the coordinator of the GLBT Resource Center, noted in a recent interview that the audience “usually guesses only two out of the five panel members’ sexual orientation correctly.” What the program illustrates that the myths and stereotypes that are perpetuated in the media and other places is false, and that like all stereotypes not grounded in truth.
Despite the journalism fail, the study produced a result that should be examined. How was the study conducted?
"Using online dating sites, Rule and his colleagues collected photos of 98 self-identified straight women and 94 self-identified lesbians, all of whom were white and in their 20s. Each image was cropped to include only the face; those with piercings or jewelry were thrown out. Twenty-one undergraduates (all but five of whom were women) viewed the photos, pressing either the L or S key to indicate they believed the face was that of a lesbian or straight woman."
The first problem that I have with the way that this study was conducted was the fact that bisexual women were not included in the study, and that removes a variable that is present in our society. Then there is the inclusion of only women who are in their twenties and who are white, which seems to continue to limit the variables. Apparently what this research was actually studying was whether or not the sexual orientation of white women in their twenties could be identified by their faces. Also, shouldn’t the sample represent the occurrence of homosexuality in the population, but instead the sample of woman was almost half lesbians. If the sample of lesbians represented in the photographs was close to the occurrence of lesbians in population than it could be easily concluded that the results would be much different.
The study had participants viewed photos in three different ways: full face, tightly cropped, and cropped so that only the eyes were visible. Some participants were asked to give snap judgments, and others were asked to give deliberative judgments. According to the article the accuracy level was significantly better among those that provided snap judgments than those that provided deliberative judgments. The hypothesis reported was that “lesbian women's faces are somehow more masculine, whether by nature, nurture or both." Really? So the conclusion from the study is not only are we able to identify someone’s sexual orientation visually, but that we are able to accomplish this because lesbians are predisposed to be more masculine?
But where are the numbers? The article reports that the study found that “participants' accuracy in discriminating lesbians from straight women was significantly better than chance guessing.” However, there was no number of correct answers given, and there was no percentage of correctly identified lesbians. This article reports mostly on the methods and the conclusions of the study, but has a surprising lack of hard evidence and numbers. Culture myths and stereotypes are hard to break, and society has a tendency to perpetuate those myths if unchallenged. Perhaps the real take away from this article is that stereotypes are persistent, and that is true among those that are supposed to be uncovering the truth: journalist. So is “gaydar” real? As real as any other stereotype.
The use of the word “gaydar” has mostly been used to describe someone’s ability to judge someone’s sexual orientation by their appearance or mannerisms. It is completely based on misconceptions and stereotypes. However, it has been popularized in the popular culture and in the mass media.
At Texas A&M University the GLBT Resource Center presents a forum in which to debunk the ideas behind “gaydar.” The Guess Who’s Gay Panel presents an audience with a chance to ask the members of the panels any question (with the exception of explicitly asking what sexual orientation the members of the panel are). After these questions the audience is then permitted to vote on what they think the sexual orientation of the panel members. Lowell Kane, the coordinator of the GLBT Resource Center, noted in a recent interview that the audience “usually guesses only two out of the five panel members’ sexual orientation correctly.” What the program illustrates that the myths and stereotypes that are perpetuated in the media and other places is false, and that like all stereotypes not grounded in truth.
Despite the journalism fail, the study produced a result that should be examined. How was the study conducted?
"Using online dating sites, Rule and his colleagues collected photos of 98 self-identified straight women and 94 self-identified lesbians, all of whom were white and in their 20s. Each image was cropped to include only the face; those with piercings or jewelry were thrown out. Twenty-one undergraduates (all but five of whom were women) viewed the photos, pressing either the L or S key to indicate they believed the face was that of a lesbian or straight woman."
The first problem that I have with the way that this study was conducted was the fact that bisexual women were not included in the study, and that removes a variable that is present in our society. Then there is the inclusion of only women who are in their twenties and who are white, which seems to continue to limit the variables. Apparently what this research was actually studying was whether or not the sexual orientation of white women in their twenties could be identified by their faces. Also, shouldn’t the sample represent the occurrence of homosexuality in the population, but instead the sample of woman was almost half lesbians. If the sample of lesbians represented in the photographs was close to the occurrence of lesbians in population than it could be easily concluded that the results would be much different.
The study had participants viewed photos in three different ways: full face, tightly cropped, and cropped so that only the eyes were visible. Some participants were asked to give snap judgments, and others were asked to give deliberative judgments. According to the article the accuracy level was significantly better among those that provided snap judgments than those that provided deliberative judgments. The hypothesis reported was that “lesbian women's faces are somehow more masculine, whether by nature, nurture or both." Really? So the conclusion from the study is not only are we able to identify someone’s sexual orientation visually, but that we are able to accomplish this because lesbians are predisposed to be more masculine?
But where are the numbers? The article reports that the study found that “participants' accuracy in discriminating lesbians from straight women was significantly better than chance guessing.” However, there was no number of correct answers given, and there was no percentage of correctly identified lesbians. This article reports mostly on the methods and the conclusions of the study, but has a surprising lack of hard evidence and numbers. Culture myths and stereotypes are hard to break, and society has a tendency to perpetuate those myths if unchallenged. Perhaps the real take away from this article is that stereotypes are persistent, and that is true among those that are supposed to be uncovering the truth: journalist. So is “gaydar” real? As real as any other stereotype.
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