Michael Brown

A few days ago a Snohomish County Sheriff threatened to arrest me for trespassing in a public park if I ever parked my car there again while going to work.  I had parked there for 3 hours (the sign says that parking is limited to 3 hours) and had come back to move my car when the officer confronted me.

I am white, middle-aged female.  I have never been arrested or threatened to be arrested in my life.  I have always respected and trusted the police as public servants trying to do their job.  Having the officer in my face threatening me and telling me that I should not continue to argue with him because I would "lose" in the end, made me realize how simplistic my thinking was.  He had the gun and the power.  I should stop arguing with him - and I did.  But I was incredulous and offended by his abuse of power.

What if I had not been white, middle-aged female?  What if I had been Michael Brown parking my car at this public park?  Or Michael Brown just walking through the park?  What would have happened to me then?

---T

Women's Issues Are Our Issues

The presidential debates have provided sound bites from President Obama and Governor Romney when they discuss women’s issues. But what do the candidates’ official websites reveal regarding what they believe on issues of equal rights, women in the workplace, or equal pay?

SEATTLE — Women make up half of the electorate and their opinions are valued because they vote in greater numbers in all presidential elections. Both candidates take opportunities on the campaign trail and in the debates to highlight their support of women and women’s issues. But when I examined the presidential candidates’ official websites I immediately noticed a tone difference.

See full post here.

--- Tarja

Time to Talk About Guns

I wrote this post on the Seattle Times Electioneye blog:

The fear of gun violence is an ever-present reality to parents, kids, teachers, neighbors, passers-by in America.  But our politicians are not discussing it in any serious manner – even during the presidential campaign.  It is time to change that.

Courtesy of www.millionmommarch.org

SHORELINE — Last May, when I had just finished a meeting at work, I received a text message from a friend saying that there had been a shooting in Shoreline the previous evening, and two youths had been shot.  One of them, a 17 year old girl, had died.

She was a student in my daughter’s high school at Shorecrest.

The shooting had taken place on the same street on which my daughter’s Metro bus travels from school to home every day.  At that moment the police had no suspect or motive – it looked like a random act of violence.

I was petrified.

I texted my daughter, “DO NOT TAKE THE BUS” home after school, and that I would pick her up.  I left work early with an uneasy feeling in my stomach: something terrible had just happened and my life was directly affected by it.  I could not control the events in my neighborhood, and I could not protect my daughter from the reality of gun violence and death.

Twelve years ago I participated in the first Million Mom March on Mothers’ Day in Seattle.  My daughter was just a toddler, and I was concerned about her growing up in fear of gun violence and a sense of insecurity.  The Columbine school shooting was still fresh on my mind.  Since that first march, there have been an estimated 872,247 deaths or injuries caused by firearms in the United States, according to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.  Million Mom March has united forces with the Brady Campaign, and together they have made some modest gains in preventing access to guns, but neither political party has made a serious attempt to enact gun control.

During the presidential election season, I would like to posit a few serious questions regarding the view of candidates — for any level of office — on gun control, and their interpretations of the Second Amendment.  Do candidates care about decreasing gun violence in America?  Are they going to address the easy access to weapons that are meant to kill many in an instant?  Will any ask questions about gun laws and violence prevention?

After the first two presidential debates I am pessimistic about getting any of these questions answered.  It appears that gun control is taboo and cannot be discussed in an adult-like manner with either Republicans or Democrats.  If we don’t talk about it in the public forum, it doesn’t exist, right?

Stephen Barton is trying to change that.

He survived the recent, horrific shooting incident in a Colorado movie theater.  He made a TV ad,Demand a Plan, which was aired during the first presidential debate.  Barton, who considers himself “lucky,” tries to draw attention to the horrific consequences of gun violence.  In his own words: “At some point we have to demand a certain level of courage and independence among politicians. At some point you just have to expect more, even in an election season… It’s really just a very basic request that both candidates start talking about this, that they take the situation seriously.”

Gun advocates like to say that guns don’t kill people, people do.  Cars don’t kill people either, drivers in cars do.  Cars are big and powerful, and made of metal.  They are not intended to be driven haphazardly.  That’s why we have created a sensible set of rules about how to drive cars and who can drive them, and what people must do to obtain a license to drive them.  We even require people to have insurance before they can drive cars.  These rules give us a sense of safety on the road.  We follow them because it makes sense.  And because we know we must.

It’s time we had a conversation about gun control. I’ll be tuning into the next two presidential debates, waiting.

Posted from Shoreline, Washington, United States

A Walk on the Beach

This morning it was sunny and beautiful on the south Puget Sound.  I walked from our cabin through the woods onto the north-eastern shore on Harstine Island to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the low tide.  Just me, my dogs and a few ducks.  I didn't have to walk far though, to be disturbed by an unusually large amount of thrash on the beach.  I tried to ignore it at first as I did not have proper tools to collect it, but soon I realized I had to improvise and pick up all the trash into a doggie bag.  In about twenty minutes my hands were too full to go on.  All the trash was coffee cups and PVC pipe ends.  No Starbucks, just "Eco-friendly" Greenware cups... Nice.

Hillary Would Have been Better

Everyone else seems to agree: Hillary would have been better.  I told you so.  T

Hillary Told You So (By Leslie Bennetts at The Daily Beast)

As Democratic disgust with Obama’s debt fumbling spreads, Clinton supporters recall her '3 a.m. phone call' warnings—and angry, frustrated liberals are muttering that she should mount a 2012 challenge.

At a New York political event last week, Republican and Democratic office-holders were all bemoaning President Obama’s handling of the debt-ceiling crisis when someone said, “Hillary would have been a better president.”

“Every single person nodded, including the Republicans,” reported one observer.

At a luncheon in the members’ dining room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday, a 64-year-old African-American from the Bronx was complaining about Obama’s ineffectiveness in dealing with the implacable hostility of congressional Republicans when an 80-year-old lawyer chimed in about the president’s unwillingness to stand up to his opponents. “I want to see blood on the floor,” she said grimly.

A 61-year-old white woman at the table nodded. “He never understood about the ‘vast right-wing conspiracy,’” she said. (Read whole article via link.)

Below is what I wrote in March of 2008.  One of the reasons I supported Hillary over Obama: experience.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Open Letter to Keith Olberman

Keith,

I have been a faithful viewer of Countdown for about a year and a half. I have loved your no-nonsense approach to politics. You spoke up to George W. Bush when nobody else dared; you were courageous and funny, and your suits and your haircut are nice.
But since the democratic presidential campaigns heated up this winter your antipathy toward Hillary Clinton has become just too much to bear. You love Barack Obama, that's clear, but for God's sake give Hillary a break. She is not as evil and conniving as you would like to think. Why do you frame every conversation about her so negatively?

I have not been able to watch Countdown for the last two, three weeks because of your overly obvious bias against Hillary Clinton. Yes, I support her but I also think Obama is a decent candidate. I just think that Hillary is better qualified at this time.

When people run for office they try their best to paint the opponent in less favorable light. It has been done for years - Hillary is not the first one to do it. Obama has done his best to paint Hillary in dark colors ("You are likable enough") - why is it bad only when Hillary does it?

Tonight I tried to watch Countdown again (I miss the show) but my stomach was in knots listening to you frame Hillary in such harsh, pessimistic terms. According to you she has hit the new low by "preferring McCain over Obama" with his lifetime of experience. Have you ever thought that maybe what she means is lifetime of experience. Both McCain and Clinton are quite a bit older than Obama and have experienced many more things in this world than Obama - that alone teaches one humility and understanding that only comes with age. It does not mean that Hillary agrees with McCain's politics or thinks that his politics are better that Obama's. (And no, it doesn't mean that every "old" person is wise, but it gives an opportunity to be wise.) And for a position such as president of the United States we do want life experience.

Keith, give Hillary a break! I know you can and I know you think you should!

Thanks, T

Visiting Europe

I have just returned from three weeks in Europe: two in Finland and one in Paris.   What a lovely trip it was!  Seeing family in good health was a relief, seeing Helsinki progress into an international hub of culture with its soul still intact, and experiencing Lapland in its beauty and solitude was truly rewarding.

We drove across the whole country, swam in the lakes, shopped in the local markets, and marveled at the midnight sun in the north.  Sauna was always at the center of social life.  No meeting of friends takes place without sitting in the heat of the sauna at some point.

In Lapland the reindeer wandered across the road several times and we had to keep one foot on the brake just in case.  While walking in the woods several lemmings crossed our path.  They are the cutest little creatures with hamster shape and size but colored like a calico cat.  They say this is the year of the lemming.  Thousands begin their migration as I write.  Mosquitos were scarce this year - lucky us!

We also drove into Norway through Kilpisjarvi just a day or two after the horrible tragedy in Oslo.  We visited Skibotn and Nordkjosbotn, two tiny towns in the north.  We did not notice anything unusual except that there was a moment of silence at noon.  The horror of the recent events had not sunk in yet.  (I don't know if it ever will.)

Our last week was reserved for Paris!  A city so full of life and wonder it is difficult to put it into words!  Versailles, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel, Seine, Latin Quarter...  And we just scratched the surface.  Paris is so big and full of history it's mind-boggling.  And all those locks on the bridges across the Seine!

Although I felt like I could have stayed in Europe, returning to Seattle was sweet: own bed, our little dogs, an efficient clothes dryer, my iPhone (did not want to turn it on in Europe except in free wifi spots).

Someone told me that I am a gentler person in Europe than in the States.  Made me think about the way of life here: hectic, competitive, non-trusting.  How can I preserve the gentleness and trust without being exploited?
I must try.

Social Production as Catalyst for Change

Capitalism won the Cold War just twenty years ago; it was a triumph of entrepreneurship, free markets and private ownership.  But now, in 2011, we are faced with new, unprecedented problems: our capitalistic system continues to create wealth but it is increasingly benefiting only a few at the very top of the economic ladder.  The near-collapse of the world banking system two years ago made us question our unwavering faith in the free-market system, and it opened our eyes to see that we must change course.  As we struggle to find a new economic equilibrium, our market ecology is being challenged by a completely new paradigm: social production of information and culture.

What exactly is social production?

This research paper examines how social production of information and culture is changing our thinking about what’s possible in a networked society.  No longer are we passively waiting to be told what’s newsworthy, or what a good story should look and feel like: we make our own news and stories. Sharing and collaboration is the new black – but not just a fad – it’s a way to create lasting wealth.

Please follow the link to read the whole post on my WordPress blog!