Climate change

I stumbled across an interesting blog the other day. You can see it here. It is all about everybody's favorite topic of global climate change. A topic that is sure to make you popular at whatever party you go to.

I have been discouraged at the Evangelical reaction to global warming, feeling that there is no room to express even an inclination to believe that it is happening. I also have been unsure as to how widely accepted it is in the scientific community- how much debate is going on about its existence.

That question was answered by the nifty pie-chart below. Now I just need to figure out why it is such a hot button concept in church circles.
















Source: The Desmog Blog

14 December 2012

This is a dark day. It is hard to think to be happy or excited for Christmas when there are nearly thirty people dead at the hands of one man. I see the little kids around me and think of my six year old friend E and cannot imagine the grief that others must feel now.

Let us sit and weep. For the brokenness of man, for the souls now departed and the ones left behind.

Emmanuel has come. But this world is still a dark, broken, scary place.

Show yourself, My God.

Behold!

Something I wrote got re-posted to a blog. That other people read! See the evidence here. (The title says "Guest Poet". Those are strong words to use. More like "nerdy fluke".)

A poem written while looking at trees in the fall

The trees once so full

of green light, offering

shade to the lovers in the summer heat,

have now in a burst of fiery glory

or in subtle modest browns,

begun shedding their coats.

Baring their naked souls-

an act of defiance against


the cold, harsh winter.

Standing as silent reminders that life will spring forth

Again.

This song has been running through my head quite a bit lately. And the rest of the album.

Measure 85: An argument

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This is a piece that I am working on for a school assignment. Part of my reason for posting it here is to see if it is a little long. Another is to inform. Though the piece argues against the measure it is not to say that it should not pass it is to say that more than passing the measure needs to be done in order to take on the crisis facing the Oregon K-12 system.

Measure 85

With Oregon schools in dire need of more funding Measure 85 seeks to answer this need. The achievement gap in Oregon is wide and many students are not getting adequate educations much less the quality education that they deserve considering our rhetoric about being the land of opportunity. However after considering a the measure it seems to be a good intentioned piece of reform that would not provide what it seeks to offer and could potentially harm its constituents in the long term. In order to address the gap Oregon voters will need to take stronger action on behalf of their schools in order to provide equity to the system.

The measure proposes that the corporate kicker be retained and that money be alloted to the state's general fund for the purpose of funding public education.[1] The general fund has paid back $2.6 billion to private citizens and $527 million to corporations. [2] Proponents argue that the money is a dire need for already underfunded public schools. The independent "Citizens' Initiative Review" ruled in favor of the measure by a vote of 19-5. [3]

My arguments as to why the measure is insufficient are given briefly:

1. In the language of the initiative there is no provision against other general fund spending needs being taken from the school budget with those costs being covered by the revenue from the kicker. [4] [5] While it seeks to solve an issue it cannot provide an exact picture of how this will happen.
2. The kicker is an unstable resource. What guarantee is there that kicker funds would be available after the measure is passed? According to the Willamette Week the kicker is not projected to take effect again until 2017.[6]
3. By circumventing the legislature with this effort, Measure 85 would remove one bargaining chip in what could be a bi-lateral, long term reform, as an Oregonian columnist argues. [7]

If Measure 85 is not an effective answer to this need to fill the gap, what is? I feel the answer is, at least in part, in concerted public action. Not simply awareness that will wear away after the shock of where our schools are is brought to light, but action. We live in a democracy that thrives on an educated populace. If however, kids are not being educated to a sufficient level this does not bode well for our collective future. Therefore it is our right and responsibility as voters and participants to act on behalf of our state's kids.

The first mode of action is knowledge. Who are the politicians most responsible for controlling funding? What is in competition for school funding? Are there policies in place that make an inefficient use of state funding? Beyond this knowledge, do people know what is going on in schools? It is easy to read a newspaper article about how a school is failing on standardized tests but do people know that there exists a significant gap between who is succeeding and who is not that bears a strong racial correlation? Are people aware of the overwhelming cost to the state that comes from this gap? [See 8 for a link to the report on the national cost of this gap]

The second phase is political action. Not in terms of checking a ballot measure but in working at the city, county and state level asking those in charge of finances to work on behalf of schools and to work in a way that reflects the urgency of the situation. In Changing the Odds for Children at Risk (2009), Susan B Neuman states that one aspect of a successful program is accountability. The state is running the program that is public schools so they must be held accountable by the voters in ensuring that schools are equipped with enough teachers to do their jobs in the most effective manner and that the teachers are quality professionals, professionalism being another aspect of a successful program.

How does this relate to Measure 85? Measure 85 is an attempt by educators to get something done about the lack of funding. (See the comments section following note 4) However it is not just their job to see that they are given the tools to succeed. They need better than a hope of extra funding. They need the electorate working on their behalf in Salem, pushing for something more than just one part of the kicker to be reworked but a hard look at the whole tax system. (A brief scan of editorials shows that the kicker, both private and corporate, is not a popular concept.) In the rhetoric against this measure many point out that its main backing comes from teacher unions. They play this as a chance for unions to make a buck. However, does it not also stand to reason that teachers are the ones most aware of the need and as such are the most desirous to act?

As citizens we must push lawmakers during this next session to not stop until tax reform and school budgeting has been thoroughly addressed and solutions are put forward. Handling the revenues for an entire state is no small matter, so it would be idiotic to think that a solution can just be whipped up, but there can be effort put in that direction. It is the opinion of this writer that the effort put into tackling school funding reform will only be as motivated as the effort of those outside of the capitol put into seeing it done.

Oregon schools are at risk of an ever widening gap in equity due in large part to deficient funding. However this measure does not offer a clear solution to this need. The measure has several weak points that make it hard to hope that it will provide the solution to public schools that it claims to be. Rather it is the duty of voters to move beyond acting only in November and become aware of the stark reality facing Oregon and push elected officials to work on the state's behalf for the good of all.

1. [http://oregonvotes.org/irr/2012/035text.pdf]

2. [http://www.oregon.gov/dor/news/docs/kicker.pdf]

3. [http://healthydemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Prelim_Final_Report_8.10.12.pdf]

4. [http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/28780760-47/kicker-corporate-tax-measure-refunds.html.csp {see the comments section for a defense of the measure by an advocate from Our Oregon}]

5. [http://ouroregon.org/sites/ouroregon.org/files/fckeditor/file/IP35%20In%20Depth.pdf]

6. [http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19261-a_smack_in_the_kicke.html]

7. [http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/09/john_kitzhaber_takes_on_tax_re.html]

8. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-p-chavous/if-you-want-our-economy-f_b_1700195.html]

Strong Man

strong man strangle universe
he drown the stars
blinded by the mission of a thousand wars
he fit and dominant
not wonder why
he love the battlecry
strong man is survivor
he live to pound
little wooden crosses in the bloody ground
he fit and dominant
he stand a chance
he not bow to circumstance
and the world keep on turning
and the sun keep on burnring
and the children keep learning
how to grow up big and strong
how to grow up big and strong
strong man take no prisoner
favor no plea
he leave no gold in teeth of enemy
he fit and dominant
he rise above
he not have word that mean love
and the world keep on turning
and the sun keep on burnring
and the children keep learning
how to grow up big and strong
how to grow up big and strong
strong man melt the plowshare
he forges sword
he take the flower and he curse the thorn
he crush the serpent
he bite the fruit
he hand is absolute
and the world keep on turning
and the sun keep on burnring
and the children keep learning
how to grow up big and strong
how to grow up big and strong
-Mark Heard (High Noon)

(This post began in 2011 sometime. Men don't need to be some kind of Conan to be men. Thank God. God made men and apparently with a high capacity for strength but for what purpose?)

My external hard drive and my computer are refusing to speak to each other.
I feel like I need to hold an intervention for them.

(This happens off and on. It is happening now. Except this time I think I might have actually wiped the hard-drive thanks to a large magnet, the power of which I forgot and placed quite close to the computer and the external hard-drive. I should probably ask someone to try to resurrect it.)

Grinch, Scrooge and Advent

I watched the Muppet Christmas Carol last night.

(Christmas time 2008. A highly different time in my life. I was gearing up for Indonesia, nothing was very sure and I had a lot of time for thinking.)

(I watch this movie every Christmas time if I can. It stirs my heart. Guessing from the title there is probably a longer post that never happened. Though I can guess some of it. Scrooge and Grinch are evil people that are faced with Christmas and Joy and Love and are forever changed. We can be like that too.)

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

3 Šťastní sú pokorní, ktorí si o sebe priveľa nemyslia, lebo tým patrí Božie kráľovstvo.

4 Šťastní sú tí, ktorí plačú, lebo Boh ich poteší.

5 Šťastní sú tichí, lebo Boh im dá celú zem.

6 Šťastní sú tí, ktorí túžia po spravodlivosti ako smädní po vode, lebo ich smäd bude uhasený.

7 Šťastní sú milosrdní, lebo aj Boh bude k nim milosrdný.

8 Šťastní sú tí, ktorí majú čisté srdce, lebo oni uvidia Boha.

9 Šťastní sú tí, ktorí šíria pokoj, lebo tých Boh nazve svojimi deťmi

10 Šťastní sú tí, ktorých prenasledujú preto, že poslúchajú Boha, lebo im patrí Božie kráľovstvo.

3"Betapa bahagianya orang yang tahu

bahwa mereka mempunyai

kebutuhan rohani.

Kerajaan Allah adalah miliknya.

4 Betapa bahagianya orang yang

berdukacita sekarang.

Allah akan menghiburnya.

5 Betapa bahagianya orang yang

rendah hati.

Mereka akan menerima tanah yang

dijanjikan Allah[b] kepada mereka.

6 Betapa bahagianya orang yang mau

melakukan yang benar lebih

daripada hal-ahl yang lain. [c]

Allah akan memuaskannya.

7 Betapa bahagianya orang yang

berbelaskasihan kepada orang

lain.

Belas kasihan akan diberikan

kepadanya.

8 Betapa bahagianya orang yang murni

pikirannya.

Mereka akan bersama Allah.

9 Betapa bahagianya orang yang

bekerja membawa damai.

Mereka akan disebut anak-anak

Allah.

10 Betapa bahagianya orang yang

diperlakukan tidak adil karena

melakukan yang benar.

Kerajaan Allah adalah miliknya.

I'm not sure what compelled me to do this. Let's see it as a portrait. Just that doesn't sound right cause then it might be though that I have achieved what Jesus spoke of. By no means is that true. Rather this is what I am seeking after, though English is the only language that I have really spoken. But I think portrait will have to work for now.

(One more language to the mix:
³Selig sind, die da geistlich arm sind; denn das Himmelreich ist ihr.
    ⁴Selig sind, die da Leid tragen; denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
    ⁵Selig sind die Sanftmütigen; denn sie werden das Erdreich besitzen.
    ⁶Selig sind, die da hungert und dürstet nach der Gerechtigkeit; denn sie sollen satt werden.
    ⁷Selig sind die Barmherzigen; denn sie werden Barmherzigkeit erlangen.
    ⁸Selig sind, die reines Herzens sind; denn sie werden Gott schauen.
    ⁹Selig sind die Friedfertigen; denn sie werden Gottes Kinder heißen.
    ¹⁰Selig sind, die um Gerechtigkeit willen verfolgt werden; denn das Himmelreich ist ihr.)

Over.

Camp ended on the 29th of August and since then I have been looking for something to say regarding that experience

(Written after the end of my crew summer of 2006. That experience changed my life in many ways. Many, many ways. It was one of my favorite summers at camp and in life in general, I made friends that I have still and hold dear to my heart. It introduced me to Trout Creek Bible Camp where I spent three more amazing summers. It took my little home-schooled, TCK, bespectacled, tall-sock wearing, t-shirt tucking self and kind of rocked that world. I grew into myself that summer. My gifts were esteemed. I got to throw all of my energy into something that was valuable and exhaust myself. I loved it. I still do.)

My bathroom

In case anybody was interested as to what my bathroom in Indonesia looked like. There is a beauty of an entirely tile bathroom. It was cool when the Cik-caks would get in there and high dive into the basin. Less cool when the giant spiders would get behind my mirror and I would sort of fear for my life.
Good times.

Movie Scene Two

(I am going through unposted posts and setting free those that I feel like are close enough to being done. Here is one in a [very short] series about movie scenes that I could watch over and over again.)
The second movie scene I wish to mention is a scene from the wonderfully dry Finnish film The Man Without a Past.
Set in Helsinki, Finland the story follows a man who, thanks to a few thugs, loses his memory and is helped out in his new life by an assortment of workers living in packing containers and by the Salvation Army.
The scene is in the later portion of the movie while the Man is out with a friend. In the scene they are in a park watching a Salvation Army band perform a song and it is that scene that gets me every time. There they are in cold, dead-pan, Finland, listening to a Salvation Army band play a rock song. There is this breath of life blowing ever so softly through the movie.
This movie is one of my favorites.

Can I just say that I love the album Pop?

(A post began 4/24/08)

It is still true.

An insignificant rant about grammar.

Regarding the Oxford comma, JFK(,) and their friends.

Does the comma make a difference or does the intonation make a difference? If intonation wouldn't it make sense that if one never learned to read with the cadence of an Oxford comma then the Oxford comma would hold no value?

I have trouble believing a punctuation mark could change things.

Punctuation is, in many ways, a stylistic thing. I think that the Oxford comma is one of them.

Anyway. I need to study and a rant about commas is not going to help me pass a Turkish mid-term.