All – Page 57 – kimi blog

2011090220131213

Lessig’s Conference About a Constitutional Convention 9/23-25 in Boston

My family is going to be a roving video interview team at Lawrence Lessig’s Conversation About A Constitutional Convention in Boston September 23-25 2011, and we’d love to see our friends there as well. It turns out that the people’s will can actually trump congressional law – given that enough states and individuals come together and vote their will at a constitutional convention. Who would have thought?

Fortunately, as a professor of law at Harvard – Lessig looked into this possibility and he has invited concerned citizens, and the Tea Party leader, to discuss the prospect of such a convention. Lessig says that it’s important to include the opposition in discussions about process for determining social change, and that process is something that can – and should – be agreed upon by all parties even when opposing factions have their own views about what direction it is that society should move in. read more

2011081520131213

Use It or Lose It: The Right to Observe

Veryshortlist.com, a reviewer of the short Stand Your Ground filmed in London, expresses concern over, “the privatization of our public spaces,” which is a growing issue in the United States as well – even if it doesn’t trouble citizens even half as much as it ought to. Meeting up with each other in semi-public spaces with “free wifi” such as Starbucks, restaurants and shopping malls provides us with the illusion that we’re free to meet when and where we want but in reality, this is far from true. At one NY Starbucks I was recently told, “If you want to use the occupy a space at the counter, you’re going to need to consume something,” (as if I wasn’t already consuming – oxygen, for starters), but the barista meant, “You need to buy something we sell.” read more

2011081420150807

Obama deserves our trust and praise. He needs our push, too.

It’s great when someone you admire sees merit in you too. Today, I needed an injection of inspiration for finishing up the talk I’m giving next week on @jeffpulver‘s first #140Conf event on a tour bus, and got it when Reda StCyr “fanned” me on Huffington Post. StCyr is the woman who introduced me to the #p2 hashtag and through it provided me with a ready-made mechanism for interfacing on the web with the progressive community. Following links from Huffington’s fan notification took me to an important article about the poverty tour Dr. Cornel West & Tavis Smiley undertook this summer. In it, Smiley says that when the American public pressures Washington to take action on any issue, action gets taken. He gives some examples to prove his case and suggests that we be a lot more vocal about the poor needing help. read more

2011081420150718

Obama’s Positive Accomplishments

I’m an openly enthusiastic fan of Obama. If you’re one of those people thinking that our president doesn’t deserve admiration, maybe an item from the list below will change your opinion. And if you’re a fellow Obama fan, enjoy the read! (I’ll be updating this list)

A Columbia University historian says this about the 111th Congress: “This is probably the most productive session of Congress since at least the ‘60s,” said Alan Brinkley, a historian at New York’s Columbia University. “It’s all the more impressive given how polarized the Congress has been.” “See for yourself, what is only a partial list of nearly 400 pieces of legislation that became law out of the 111th Congress” FB Page: “Things Obama has done…” Major Accomplishments of Barack Obama (a @StCyrlyMe2 find.) I love this format: the list is broken up into categories and every one can be expanded to give you a brief synopsis of the type of change Obama made happen. Click on the link (or several links) supplied for each entry to see the official public information page or news article where verification of the change can be viewed. What a fabulous way of presenting this information!

Obamaachievements.org read more

2011072020131213

Christie Claims Budget Cuts Backpedalling As Increases

Republicans are masters of brainwashing.

Christie’s claiming $850 in “new aid” to schools but the reality is that the $850 million allocated includes $820 million Christie’s first budget draft took away from New Jersey schools. This is how Christie math works:

Christie ignored a state Supreme Court ruling from last May calling for $500 million more for the state’s neediest school districts. After restoring $820 million of funds he himself cut in his original budget proposal, Christie’s present budget added only $30 million of school aid: he must still add $470 million to comply with Supreme Court ruling. read more

2011071920131213

Report on Adolescent Girls and Climate Change

Plan International’s new report, Weathering the Storm: Adolescent Girls and Climate Change, calls for better integration of the needs of adolescent girls in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.

The findings presented in the report are based on interviews with girls involved in Plan International’s programmes in Ethiopia and Bangladesh. We were particularly keen to learn from girls themselves how climate change is impacting their lives, and what they think policy makers should do differently. read more

2011071020131213

One Issue Voter

I was chatting with a fascinating guy today. (Son) Ivan and I met him at a Latino culture event at Puffin‘s Teaneck location. Morty was telling Ivan that he should get into ballroom dancing instead of ballet (which Ivan has thought about trying) – said that if a workout is what he’s looking for, doing the Lindsey and throwing his partner out in spins is maybe more physicality than he’ll get in ballet. Impressive statement coming from a guy who’s 80 years old but looks and sounds like someone 20 or so years young. Morty also grows orchids. Wow! read more

2011070920131213

Christie Declares War On the Poor

I can’t really add anything to this succinctly phrased statement by William Colon. He lays out for easy review, the drastic funding cuts Christie has enacted, which strike blow after blow to the most vulnerable of our state.

(Read article in Spanish)

Christie’s War On The Poor

Written by William Colon, executive director of the Latino Institute, Inc. and a contributing writer for the Hall Institute of Public Policy.

“We had a ‘war on poverty’ once, and we lost it, and since poverty is still here, let’s eliminate the poor amongst us.” read more

2011070820131213

Bad News Reporting

This is a companion piece to my post Media Outlets Serving Up REAL News. Bad news are reports that mislead, misinform and manipulate readers and viewers. I realized that it’s just as important to understand what bad news reporting is, as it is to know where to find real news. This post will also be added to over time.

How To Use:
Under each bad news agency you’ll find a list of articles and posts that explain why we know that these organizations don’t serve up truth to their audiences. read more

2011070520131213

Investigative Journalism Suppressed During Bush Era

As I often say, the challenge to people becoming aware that major media outlets have become co-opted representatives of major corporate interests is that most people get their news from them. As a fellow #rootstriker pointed out recently, major media executives have absolutely no incentive to talk truth to themselves or to report against their own corporate interests. That’s why many people eventually want to know, “If I truly can’t find real news through major media outlets, how can I find it? To answer that question, I put together a brief list of Media Outlets Serving Up REAL News, and I’ll add to it over time. read more

2011070220170213

Media Outlets Serving Up REAL, accurate News

Telling the truth, Orwell — Source: Twitter

Here’s a running list of media and advocacy organizations that are courageously bringing you the hard-hitting truths you can’t see on TV and in most newspapers any more. It will receive additions – hopefully, many of them …

Please also take a look at companion piece on which organizations are serving up bad news, and what it is about their news that makes it bad.

Campaign for America’s Future

The Campaign for America’s Future is the strategy center for the progressive movement. Our goal is to forge the enduring progressive majority needed to realize the America of shared prosperity and equal opportunity that our country was meant to be. read more

2011060220131213

Businesses Now Immigration Police?

In today’s column, Miguel Perez criticizes the Supreme Court for blurring the lines between federal and local government with its recent ruling to uphold the Legal Arizona Workers Act. Perez says, “Mind you, this is not the most infamous Arizona law — the one that would institutionalize racial profiling against all immigrants by allowing police to question anyone’s immigration status. This one empowers local authorities to shut down any business that knowingly hires an undocumented immigrant.” read more

2011042920131213

Jorge and Chris get scholarships!

My son, Jorge Ivan, received a Hamm Family Scholarship at Bergen Community College this week. Thanks, Hamm Family!

And our friend Yulie’s boyfriend, Chris McCourt, received a different scholarship. In all, about 200 meritorious and deserving students received scholarships from various organizations at the ceremony.

2011042820131213

FCC forms net-neutrality committee

by Sara Jerome / 04/27/11 03:01 PM ET

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a note in the Federal Register last week announcing that it plans to form a net-neutrality committee.

The “Open Internet Advisory Committee” is charged with tracking the effects of the net-neutrality rules, passed in December, and with providing recommendations to the agency as it enforces the rules.

The committee will reportedly include phone and cable companies, consumer groups, engineering experts, investors, Internet companies and device manufacturers. read more

2011031920131213

Must I sign my doctor’s HIPAA policy receipt form?

My son and I share a doctor who recently declined to treat my son, and said she would need to bill me directly for past services, because we each refused to sign the form acknowledging her office’s HIPAA policy. Doc said that by not signing the acknowledgement form Jorge Ivan and I made it impossible for her office to bill our insurance provider. I said, “I’ve been told that you need to ask for my signature on this form, but that I am not obliged to sign it.” Eventually, Doc and I agreed that I would do some research to prove my case, and if I couldn’t prove it – and still refused to sign the form – that I would agree to pay for her services directly. read more