The west African nation of Liberia endured 14 years of civil war from 1989-2003. Emerging from the rubble is a population of poor, uneducated citizens who live without electricity, a public water supply, schools, or any of the other public programs we take for granted in the developed world.
The Liberian Literacy foundation was created in an effort to educate the liberians while producing enough renewable energy to fuel their own country as well as to provide carbon offsets to those countries in the developed world. Through their innovative book recycling program, The foundation will raise enough money to implement these plans and create a future where the developing world will be able to contribute to and have a positive impact on the global economy.
The call for students and others in the community is to collect and donate used college text books that will be sold to fund the program. We all buy several, sometimes dozens of textbooks per semester, donating a book and buying a book from the program is not a lot to ask. Visit the website to find out more about what you can do to help the cause and to check on the program's progress.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Losers Weepers!
I want to refer to my last post and offer a contrasting perspective on the points I made before. Let me know which one you agree with.
I've been reading an article about someone who lost their phone. Someone else found it and in my opinion has every right to keep it. I feel like most people in the world would give it back, but they don't have a whole lot of sense. Why should I care to return a phone to someone who was dumb enough to leave it behind in the first place? Obviously it's not as important as he makes it seem.
It's true that nice guys finish last in this world. Look at Donald Trump; the man is an absolute genius and has more money than anyone could know what to do with. He hasn't gotten to where he is by sympathizing with everyone else's minor problems. Life requires us all to take advantage of opportunities that come our way and roll with the punches that are thrown at us. Sorry, dude, but I am officially taking advantage of the punches that are hitting you right in your pocketbook!
I've been reading an article about someone who lost their phone. Someone else found it and in my opinion has every right to keep it. I feel like most people in the world would give it back, but they don't have a whole lot of sense. Why should I care to return a phone to someone who was dumb enough to leave it behind in the first place? Obviously it's not as important as he makes it seem.
It's true that nice guys finish last in this world. Look at Donald Trump; the man is an absolute genius and has more money than anyone could know what to do with. He hasn't gotten to where he is by sympathizing with everyone else's minor problems. Life requires us all to take advantage of opportunities that come our way and roll with the punches that are thrown at us. Sorry, dude, but I am officially taking advantage of the punches that are hitting you right in your pocketbook!
Finders Keepers?
I am in the middle of reading an article about a person who lost a cell phone that had extreme value to them for reasons other than the price tag. We've all lost things that were important: house keys, a few loose dollar bills, maybe even our own cell phones. The person in this case, however, had the misfortune of knowing who took the phone and where it was located along with having to listen to the insulting refusals to return the phone to its rightful owner.
Personally, I'd return the phone. It's not mine, I didn't pay for it, and the individual who did has asked me nicely to return it to them. If I return the phone I will restore sanity and order to someone else's life and will break even sense it wasn't mine to begin with. Unfortunately, I have my doubts as to how the rest of society would handle the same situation. Reality TV shows, along with all of our favorite video game and movie titles only encourage us to take as much as we can and run as far away with it as possible.
In this day, I truly believe that finders tend be keepers, and losers are left with nothing to do but weep.
Personally, I'd return the phone. It's not mine, I didn't pay for it, and the individual who did has asked me nicely to return it to them. If I return the phone I will restore sanity and order to someone else's life and will break even sense it wasn't mine to begin with. Unfortunately, I have my doubts as to how the rest of society would handle the same situation. Reality TV shows, along with all of our favorite video game and movie titles only encourage us to take as much as we can and run as far away with it as possible.
In this day, I truly believe that finders tend be keepers, and losers are left with nothing to do but weep.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
(un)Friendly Fire
Something interesting happened today. I heard the news of a Detroit Police Officer shooting and killing his wife (also a Detroit Police Officer) and then critically shooting himself. This happened outside the public library in my hometown of Canton, MI. It appears to be an extreme case of domestic violence in which the members just happened to be police officers.
An aquaintance of mine from high school made a comment on his facebook page that said, "I just became aware that a Detroit police officer shot and killed his wife @ the canton library today. And I'm supposed to trust cops how?!" The funny thing to me is the ignorance involved in this comment. If some nut job florist went off the deep end and did the same thing, we wouldn't be afraid to buy flowers from that point forward. Our desire for opposition to authority really creates a lot of problems within the culture. Not saying that there aren't bad cops out there, this guy is clearly one of them, but he acted as an individual, separate from the Detroit police force.
The other thing worth noting is that I did in fact first hear about this news via facebook. It's interesting how a social networking tool, something that will clearly be popular in the future, has the ability to report news though its users. This has the potential to foster intelligence or to encourage ignorance. There is a certain degree of credibility associated with the AP wire telling me a police officer shot and killed his police officer wife that is lost when a facebook user says the same thing.
I sure hope the future of news isn't 100% user driven. It would be nice if we could hold onto the little bit of honesty and objectivity we still have.
An aquaintance of mine from high school made a comment on his facebook page that said, "I just became aware that a Detroit police officer shot and killed his wife @ the canton library today. And I'm supposed to trust cops how?!" The funny thing to me is the ignorance involved in this comment. If some nut job florist went off the deep end and did the same thing, we wouldn't be afraid to buy flowers from that point forward. Our desire for opposition to authority really creates a lot of problems within the culture. Not saying that there aren't bad cops out there, this guy is clearly one of them, but he acted as an individual, separate from the Detroit police force.
The other thing worth noting is that I did in fact first hear about this news via facebook. It's interesting how a social networking tool, something that will clearly be popular in the future, has the ability to report news though its users. This has the potential to foster intelligence or to encourage ignorance. There is a certain degree of credibility associated with the AP wire telling me a police officer shot and killed his police officer wife that is lost when a facebook user says the same thing.
I sure hope the future of news isn't 100% user driven. It would be nice if we could hold onto the little bit of honesty and objectivity we still have.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Unemployment in Michigan
This is a response to a piece by Kathleen Monk, one of my classmates, on her Blog.
It's sad to hear that the unemployment rate in Michigan continues to grow despite reports that the world, as a whole, is making a recovery. I find it funny that we paved the way for the recession and will apparently be left behind in the midst of it as the rest of the world moves on. I really hope our great state finds a way to make some money again. Hopefully the film industry starting to move in will generate some long term revenue.
A last comment. I am disappointed to hear the situations you describe of "riding out unemployment until retirement kicks in," and "hoping for extensions for unemployment to get me through school." Honestly, that is not what the programs are designed for, and with so many people who can't even afford to feed their children because of lost jobs, I really don't think anyone should be using unemployment as an extra source of income. I mean no offense, but I do think we all need to be socially responsible and consider the rest of the community.
It's sad to hear that the unemployment rate in Michigan continues to grow despite reports that the world, as a whole, is making a recovery. I find it funny that we paved the way for the recession and will apparently be left behind in the midst of it as the rest of the world moves on. I really hope our great state finds a way to make some money again. Hopefully the film industry starting to move in will generate some long term revenue.
A last comment. I am disappointed to hear the situations you describe of "riding out unemployment until retirement kicks in," and "hoping for extensions for unemployment to get me through school." Honestly, that is not what the programs are designed for, and with so many people who can't even afford to feed their children because of lost jobs, I really don't think anyone should be using unemployment as an extra source of income. I mean no offense, but I do think we all need to be socially responsible and consider the rest of the community.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Get the facts straight
The whistles blowing from both sides of the fence have surely vibrated everyone’s eardrums by now. With so much passion and so many strong feelings involved, people have been making a wide range of powerful statements in regard to health reform the past couple weeks. The problem is that passion, when coupled with mass ignorance, creates a breeding ground for rumor mills and senseless division. In the spirit of common ground let’s take a look at some things that get thrown around in the healthcare debate and get down to the truth of the matter.
Rush Limbaugh and others to the right of the aisle have gone so far as to claim that, “There is no healthcare crisis.” Let’s take a look at the facts behind this and what it means. Without getting too deep and reading into a lot of opinion, it is a widely accepted fact that 25 million Americans were underinsured in 2007, and that was before the rest of the country decided to jump into the economic recession with Michigan.
Secondly, it is rumored that private healthcare programs would cover illegal aliens in the U.S. This is also untrue. Section 246 of the Senate’s Healthcare Reform Bill plainly excludes those individuals who are “not legally present” in this country from government healthcare.
A third piece of hearsay is that a public healthcare program would add $1 trillion to the deficit. Take this information as you will, but the congressional budget office estimated the 10-year deficit increase at a slightly more modest $239 billion.
The point of this editorial isn’t to encourage rumors or to give one-sided facts. What you take away from this piece shouldn’t be a new set of numbers or facts to use in your latest in a series of arguments with your coworkers later. The point is to encourage an increased awareness on the issues at hand. It really could’ve all been written in one word: Read. Remember the importance of opposing viewpoints and make sure you check the credibility of your fact sources.
Go ahead; make a decision on what kind of reform, if any, is necessary. Whatever it is, make sure you understand why you agree with the stance you are taking and the possible consequences it has on the rest of us. Also make sure you are willing to stand up to the opposition and reasonably disagree with logical evidence. Let’s be honest, ignorance is not bliss when it involves the livelihood of those around us.
Rush Limbaugh and others to the right of the aisle have gone so far as to claim that, “There is no healthcare crisis.” Let’s take a look at the facts behind this and what it means. Without getting too deep and reading into a lot of opinion, it is a widely accepted fact that 25 million Americans were underinsured in 2007, and that was before the rest of the country decided to jump into the economic recession with Michigan.
Secondly, it is rumored that private healthcare programs would cover illegal aliens in the U.S. This is also untrue. Section 246 of the Senate’s Healthcare Reform Bill plainly excludes those individuals who are “not legally present” in this country from government healthcare.
A third piece of hearsay is that a public healthcare program would add $1 trillion to the deficit. Take this information as you will, but the congressional budget office estimated the 10-year deficit increase at a slightly more modest $239 billion.
The point of this editorial isn’t to encourage rumors or to give one-sided facts. What you take away from this piece shouldn’t be a new set of numbers or facts to use in your latest in a series of arguments with your coworkers later. The point is to encourage an increased awareness on the issues at hand. It really could’ve all been written in one word: Read. Remember the importance of opposing viewpoints and make sure you check the credibility of your fact sources.
Go ahead; make a decision on what kind of reform, if any, is necessary. Whatever it is, make sure you understand why you agree with the stance you are taking and the possible consequences it has on the rest of us. Also make sure you are willing to stand up to the opposition and reasonably disagree with logical evidence. Let’s be honest, ignorance is not bliss when it involves the livelihood of those around us.
The progression of progressive media
Annarbor.com is in many ways the very product Christine Tracy describes in her Evolution of the Newspaper of the Future piece. Most notably the site has a great deal of community interacton in which readers have an opportunity to interact with the writers and even add their own content to the site. They feature a "Your Voice" section on every page that provides the method of correspondance Dr. Tracy describes as "ongoing communication."
Also the idea of more specialized communication is shown on annarbor.com. The site offers specific pages regarding different things going on in the different neighborhoods in the Ann Arbor area.
This idea of the audeience having the "newspaper" cater their individual needs and provide an opportunity for direct and instantaneous feedback is something truly new and unique that we should embrace. All signs indicate that we can look forward to many years of "evolution" to come.
Also the idea of more specialized communication is shown on annarbor.com. The site offers specific pages regarding different things going on in the different neighborhoods in the Ann Arbor area.
This idea of the audeience having the "newspaper" cater their individual needs and provide an opportunity for direct and instantaneous feedback is something truly new and unique that we should embrace. All signs indicate that we can look forward to many years of "evolution" to come.
Friday, September 11, 2009
...To prove to Dad that I'm not a fool
Adam Sandler's interesting rendition brings back memories of back to school seasons past. Catching up on summer vacation details with friends was usually the highlight. Watching the neighborhood bully torture his victims who had come out of hibernation, only by force, was also entertaining. When sunburns began to fade into freckles and hot summer afternoons became occupied by 2-a-day football practices I knew it was always time to return to class.
Things have changed a bit. My seemingly attached to my ear cell phone keeps me aware of what my close friends are up to most of the time and there aren't many bullies chasing the four eyed computer nerds around the non-existent bus stop anymore. A new football season hasn't arrived for me in five years now and well, I've grown wise enough to remember sun block at this point.
These days back to school just means a lot less free time, a lot more caffeine, and of course an increased amount of slavery to the oil companies and book publishers. Like many students my age, I commute to school while juggling a job, a family, and various other commitments that people tell me are for my own good. I don't even have time to stop and think about what I need to get accomplished on a daily basis. I never thought I'd say this but, thank God for planners!
In his song, Billy speaks of his preparation and anticipation for school. Me, I didn't give it a thought until the $6,000 bill and accompanying student loan form showed up in my mailbox. My grandpa used to count down the last days of summer. I saw him most every day but he would call if we happened to miss each other. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but looking back, it served as a friendly reminder. Now he's gone, and so are the "start going to bed earlier" warnings he brought to the table. I sure wish I had a welcome back that was a little bit more pleasant than the earth shattering scream of my alarm clock.
...Also I'm jealous of Billy's lunch box.
Things have changed a bit. My seemingly attached to my ear cell phone keeps me aware of what my close friends are up to most of the time and there aren't many bullies chasing the four eyed computer nerds around the non-existent bus stop anymore. A new football season hasn't arrived for me in five years now and well, I've grown wise enough to remember sun block at this point.
These days back to school just means a lot less free time, a lot more caffeine, and of course an increased amount of slavery to the oil companies and book publishers. Like many students my age, I commute to school while juggling a job, a family, and various other commitments that people tell me are for my own good. I don't even have time to stop and think about what I need to get accomplished on a daily basis. I never thought I'd say this but, thank God for planners!
In his song, Billy speaks of his preparation and anticipation for school. Me, I didn't give it a thought until the $6,000 bill and accompanying student loan form showed up in my mailbox. My grandpa used to count down the last days of summer. I saw him most every day but he would call if we happened to miss each other. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but looking back, it served as a friendly reminder. Now he's gone, and so are the "start going to bed earlier" warnings he brought to the table. I sure wish I had a welcome back that was a little bit more pleasant than the earth shattering scream of my alarm clock.
...Also I'm jealous of Billy's lunch box.
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