The Missing Press

Please visit here and read the article by Paul Craig Roberts. Also please pay attention to the quote at the top of the page: "Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." - former Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black

And This is 2005?

Sometimes I wonder if we humans really have entered the 21st Century. I saw this news report of a professor in my state who told a racist joke in class.

To me, this is totally unacceptable. As an educator myself, I feel it is my job to open the minds of my students to education and my subject matter, not to make them feel uncomfortable or turn them off. Educators must set a high standard for students in creating an atmosphere of acceptance of students regardless of ethnic or cultural background. I feel that all educators need to practice the philosophies of two of my grad school professors; Dr. Adams who always said that once she had a student, that was her student and she took full credit for that student; and another lady (whose name escapes me), who always expressed to us that she thought teachers should be the head of a classroom family. I can also proudly say that my Mother, an elementary teacher, certainly practiced those principles in her classroom. I really don't know what this fellow was thinking - or NOT thinking.

I could also go on about the state of humor here. Sometimes I think our humor gets too mean, too "in your face". I find racist jokes certainly the most objectionable. I like to see humor build bridges between people who can laugh at some common human foibles. Humor that belittles others certainly has no place in the classroom.

Attention NJ Residents

All NJ residents should be aware that there is a bill in the legislature which would address concerns in the use of eminent domain which have occurred recently. The bill is S2739 and is sponsored by NJ State Senators Diane Allen and Mia Gill. It would prevent the use of condemnation to take occupied homes which are up to code. Jenny from Sen. Allen's office, I hope I have this correct!

Please get involved; this issue is too important for people to stand on the sidelines. You can contact Sen. Allen and Sen. Gill to tell them you support their effort and thank them for sponsoring this. You can also contact your State Senator and ask him or her to support this or even to be a co-sponsor.

Please don't sit back; homes of our fellow citizens are at stake. Someday the home you want protected may be your own.

Women's Health Alert

I was really shocked at this latest news concerning the birth control patch, Ortho Evra. Read about it here. I'm stunned that this is just coming out now. I don't understand why this didn't ring any warning bells earlier.

This, along with the problems with Vioxx, et al., cause me great concern. I wonder just how committed the FDA and these drug companies are to giving us SAFE as well as effective medications. I think we need more safeguards, more people not afraid to blow whistles - and better protection for whistle blowers. I know we want medicines for various purposes "yesterday"; but maybe we should slow down just a bit so that more problems don't occur in the long run.

In the meantime, I think I would advise women considering the patch to think twice. And advise any woman on it to consult with her doctor very soon.

New Features to my Blog

If you've noticed, there are two new features to Cinnamonblue's Blog. Below each post now is an envelope icon. This is a link which allows you to e-mail the post to a friend.

Also, I downloaded Google's Picasa and companion Hello programs so I could load that picture of London. I may post pictures to supplement posts from time to time.

Now, is anyone out there?

London

As with so many around the world today, my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of London, especially families of the victims of terrorism. It's agonizing, saddening, and numbing to see such violence inflicted against innocent people.

London is a great city. My Dad and I visited there in 1977 and I really loved it. To me it felt almost not like a city; the parks, squares, and openness of its layout made it seem less like a huge metropolis than something a bit more personal. It's proved its resilience through the ages. Bless the city and its residents in this latest test.


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Blogging is Subversive?

Wow- a three-fer today.

I was just browsing through some blogs tonight and came across an item in one referencing something I'd just vaguely heard about.

In China, they are now requiring that all blogs be registered (though apparently, this wasn't easy to do) - one requirement of which is the removal of links not approved by the Chinese government (this even includes their friends' websites!) Apparently blogspot blogs are being blocked from use - as well as those of some other providers. Also, Microsoft is censoring text used by Chinese bloggers - words such as "democracy" or "human rights" are not to be used (Yahoo! and Google have been censoring as well). You can read about some developments here .

As a blogger myself, and a firm believer in free speech, I am very troubled by such developments. We can only imagine what it feels like to have your free expression controlled or totally blocked. We had also better be concerned that in current repressive atmosphere which has so little regard for civil liberties that this does not happen here!