oh phyllis...

believe it or not, i have some sympathy for phyllis schlafly. i said, some. she's really internalized a lot of the bull shit and finds herself spewing it something awful every once in awhile... most recently at Bates College. But hey, it starts people talking... or blogging. Here are some highlights from her presentation:

"She belittled the feminist movement as 'teaching women to be victims,' decried intellectual men as 'liberal slobs' and argued that feminism 'is incompatible with marriage and motherhood.'
...
One [disappointment] came when Schlafly asserted women should not be permitted to do jobs traditionally held by men, such as firefighter, soldier or construction worker, because of their 'inherent physical inferiority.'

'Women in combat are a hazard to other people around them,' she said. 'They aren't tall enough to see out of the trucks, they're not strong enough to carry their buddy off the battlefield if he's wounded, and they can't bark out orders loudly enough for everyone to hear.'

At one point, Schlafly also contended that married women cannot be sexually assaulted by their husbands.

'By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape,' she said."

Ahhh! I need a beer. If it weren't so early in the morning, I'd go down the street to the Schlalfy Brewery here in St. Louis (her hometown). The beer company's President and Founder is Phyllis's nephew, Tom Schlafly... she, thankfully, isn't involved with the business. Incidentally, he recently published a book called A New Religion in Mecca - about beer and his brewery.

Sorry for that digression, back to my sympathy... it was Phyllis (among others) who fought so hard against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 70s & early 80s. Her website on the topic states that:

"The Equal Rights Amendment was presented to the American public as something that would benefit women, "put women in the U.S. Constitution," and lift women out of their so-called "second-class citizenship." However, in thousands of debates, the ERA advocates were unable to show any way that ERA would benefit women or end any discrimination against them. The fact is that women already enjoy every constitutional right that men enjoy and have enjoyed equal employment opportunity since 1964."

yeah. right. like getting raped in their own homes or while in the military that they shouldn't be in anyway. uh huh.

So, in a lovely coincidence, there is buzz that we're going to be seeing a renewed fight for the ERA again... this time under its new name WEA (Women's Equality Amendment). This is not the first time it has been reintroduced but maybe, just maybe, it will be the last time it has to be. It has been introduced in five states since January and has several federal and state lawmakers behind it.

Last time around only three needed states didn't ratify it. It needed 38 states and got 35. I've been reading that the 35 states would still stand, and the amendment would still only need three states. I've got people in five of the unratified states that I can call up - what about you?

can a poem hurt?

On News and Notes last night, I heard more about the two (non-Union) teachers at a LA charter school that were fired for planning to have their students read a poem about Emmett Till at a Black History assembly.

Emmett Till, a 14 year-old who lived in Chicago, was brutally murdered in 1955 in Mississippi when he was spending the summer with his great-Uncle. A few days after his arrival in his great-uncle's town, he allegedly whistled at a white woman. The white men that later admitted to the murder were acquitted - the deliberations took about an hour including a break to "make it look good". The jury, of course, was 12 white men.

The article in the LA Times reports that the charter school wanted to portray positive images of black people to the students, not negative ones. They also stated that they didn't want the poem to be read because Emmett could be accused of sexual harassment.

When I was in high school, I was actively involved with a club called PRISM that educated about racism and prejudice through theater - poems, skits, spoken word, dance, etc. In addition to performances at our school, we also traveled to other local schools, including grammar schools. The charter school in LA serves students in grades K - 7. Now I did not grow up in LA, and unlike this charter school (which is 80% black), my high school was majority white in the suburbs of Chicago. I will also note that the town I grew up in is not well-known for tolerating difference. However, PRISM, in my biased opinion, made a difference in how kids looked at race, racism and other forms of intolerance and bigotry. In the town that prides itself on fundamental Christian values, we had kids come up to us after our shows that had been affected, and hopefully changed if even a little, by our performances. I know it changed me when I was 14 and got involved with the group. It changed everything for me. My activism started then and hasn't ended.

I don't know the content of the poem the students were to perform at the L.A. charter school but I do know you can't celebrate black history by only showing positive aspects. History is complicated and children deserve to know it, all of it. PRISM was led by the only African-American teacher at my high school... she fought tooth and nail (almost daily, but especially in February) to keep our club in existence at our school. I'm afraid it doesn't exist anymore because she's no longer there - I'm not sure but I think she got tired of fighting. I hope I never get that tired.

Update: I just checked my high school's website... there are two clubs focusing on multiculturalism... Mosaic was formed to promote tolerance and an environment free from harassment for students from all walks of life. The mission of Mosaic is to provide education, strive to eliminate stereotypes, build bridges, and create opportunities to foster new relationships and The Multicultural club's mission is to celebrate the diversity of human life and ethnicity. Things we work on are our Culture Seed Week, Black History Assembly, Culture Outings, International Fashion Show and much, much more.

I've been thinking a lot about food lately

I don't like to post two entries in one day, but food has been on my mind and I want to write about it. As a child born in the late 70s, I grew up eating TV dinners and processed food. I won't even get into how ignorant I was (not too long ago) about cooking or the produce section of the grocery store. My grocery cart and cupboards used to be filled with microwaveable meals and other convenience foods. This has changed drastically in the past 8 months. My partner and I have started to eat healthily - and I've lost over 20 lbs. in the process. In the last couple of weeks, we've been attempting to eat only 'real food' or 'good food'. Funny how I put both in quotes. Anyway, eating real food is not easy... but I'm up for the challenge.

Though this change was initially brought on by a conversation with a friend of mine, it has only been reinforced almost daily in the past week or so. I've been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and my friend Rachel's blog. Both will convince you, better than Fast Food Nation or Super Size Me ever did (or didn't), to change your eating habits. Neither FFN or SSM did much for me (besides confirm beliefs I already held) because I didn't really eat fast food anyway (except the BK veggie on road trips - or their french fries when i was hung over). Oh - and speaking of Burger King, the New York Times reported today that BK announced yesterday that they are going to start being more socially responsible about where they buy their eggs, pork and chicken. Way to go, BK. To check out the creative way that Free Range Studios is getting the word out about where our food comes from (and other topics), check out their 1-2 minute films.

Meanwhile, today's Diane Rehm show discussed the Food and Drug Administration's approval of allowing meat and milk from cloned animals into our food supply - without labeling it as such. If you watched last week's episode of This American Life, you know that a clone is not the same as the original animal, at least that's what Ralph and Sandra Fisher found out with Second Chance. The FDA says that food from clones is safe to eat but opponents, like the Union of Concerned Scientists, are... well, concerned. I am too.

what were you doing when you were 16?

I just ran across a fantastic film made by Kiri Davis, when she was 16. Davis is from New York city and her film is called 'A Girl Like Me' (2006). In the film, she interviews her peers about the experiences of black girls. She also recreates a study from the 1940s called "the doll test". This experiment was initially conducted by Drs. Kenneth & Mamie Clark to study how segregation effects black students. In the test, they gave black children two dolls, one white and one black and asked them a variety of questions like which they preferred and which was good or bad. The majority of the children preferred the white dolls.

"The Clarks concluded [from their study] that 'prejudice, discrimination, and segregation' caused black children to develop a sense of inferiority and self-hatred."

Their results were cited in Brown vs. Board of Education, the case that declared school segregation violated the fourteenth amendment. The Clarks were the first two black students to receive PhDs from Columbia University.

In her film, Kiri Davis recreates this study in today's Harlem (one of the many places in the US that school segregation still exists... oh but de facto instead of de jure, as if that makes it ok, eh?). In her experiment, 15 out of the 21 children preferred the white doll. These 15 children defined the white doll as good and pretty and the black doll as bad. What does this say about the progress made since the 1940s? A lot.

Watch this film if you have the opportunity - it's less than 8 minutes long. It was part of the 6th Annual Media That Matters film festival. Watch the other films in the festival too, that is what I would be doing right now if I didn't have to get ready for work. That's ok though, now I have something to look forward to. Maybe I'll watch one each day... and maybe you'll hear about them all here. Vamos a ver.

times they are a'changin'... maybe

Two days ago, the Chicago Tribune published a piece entitled 'Abolish the Death Penalty'. Yep, you read that right. The Trib has been for the death penalty for a little while ... ahem, since at least 1869.

Meanwhile, in Missouri, a Republican death penalty proponent, is sponsoring legislation that would halt the death penalty in MO until January 11, 2011 and create a Death Penalty Commission.

The commission will make recommendations for changes to the laws and court rules regarding death penalty cases to ensure that:

(1) Defendants who are sentenced to death are in fact guilty of first degree murder;

(2) Defendants are provided adequate counsel and adequate resources at trial and at the appellate and post-conviction stages;

(3) Race does not play an impermissible role in determining which defendants are sentenced to death;

(4) Appellate and post-conviction procedures are adequate to correct errors and injustices occurring at the trial level, including access to evidence for forensic testing; and

(5) Prosecutors throughout the state seek the death penalty in a uniform fashion.

The commission must issue a report of its findings to the Governor, General Assembly, and Missouri Supreme Court by January 1, 2011.

Gandhi said "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world would soon be blind and toothless." I wonder if people are starting to listen... I know that's awfully optimistic of me.

Don't know the death penalty law or stats for your state? Go to the Death Penalty Information Center's website.

ira glass is my hero

i've spent the last couple of days with my nieces, ages 5, 3.5, 2 and 6 weeks. This American Life's television show byline "Funny. Dramatic. Surprising. True." describes my weekend with them perfectly. I can't wait until they're old enough to appreciate 'This American Life', good thing I have quite a collection of the radio episodes saved on my computer... you know, for prosperity.

I was very sad when I first heard that Showtime was doing a TAL teevee show. I was sad that Ira was moving from my hometown of Chicago to New York and I was fearful that my favorite radio show would go away. He did move but he is insisting the radio show isn't going anywhere... and I believe him because Ira Glass is a man that can be trusted.

I watched the TAL episode on OnDemand prior to the 22nd. This made the 22nd anti-climatic - oh and one of the stories was a story they did on the radio show so i knew the ending, but that was ok. Rumor has it that you can watch the episode on their website (click on ira above). I'm happy with it. Ok, I'm not going to lie, I could very well be addicted to it'. It has a dreamy quality, the same wit and it really works. It works a lot better than I thought it could. I have another confession: we got cable in my house mostly so we could watch TAL... is that so wrong? I think there just might be something subliminal in the music they use in both the radio and teevee versions - you know, the type to make you addicted? Because I'm a little worried that my TAL addiction is unhealthy... though i suppose that there are unhealthier addictions so i'll stick with this one. And I don't believe it's interfering with my daily functioning.... yet.

i will say though that 48 hrs. with my nieces is interfering with my functioning... it was a fantastic weekend full of lots of playing, playing, playing but i am exhausted exhausted exhausted. No wonder kids (and their adults!) need naps!!

what if your phone rang 11 times a minute?

A couple of weeks ago, the National Network to End Domestic Violence released the results from their census of domestic violence providers. Approximately 62% of programs in the US participated in the census, so the results may not be completely representative - regardless, these results should not be ignored.

The Executive Summary (pdf) states that in a 24 hour period, 47,864 adults received services from a domestic violence agency and local, statewide and national hotlines received almost 17,000 calls (more than 11 hotline calls every minute).

Despite the prevalence of domestic violence, we (global we) still have a little bit of a problem dealing with it. An article on salon.com entitled 'Judge: Wife-beating is normal in your culture' caught my attention this morning. Though the specific case that this article refers to Muslims in Germany, this is not an uncommon response by some in the legal system (or outside of it...). In Germany, it seems, there is a one-year waiting period for those that want a divorce. A 26-year old Moroccan-born Germany woman was denied a fast-track divorce, despite the danger she was in, because the Judge said her situation was normal in her culture. I was a domestic violence court advocate in Chicago and often heard this dismissive response, particularly when I was advocating for/with immigrant or Latina survivors. Machismo, religion, immigrant status, etc. does not make violence ok or expected or 'normal. Nothing does. If you work with survivors or are just interested in this topic, I found a Muslim Wheel of Domestic Violence developed by Dr. Sharifa Alkhateeb. The wheel was adapted from the Duluth Power and Control Wheel. The original Duluth version has also been translated into spanish. The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence has a list of wheels for every occasion. Get yours today!

A dependency on normalcy is dangerous for all involved. Besides, who gets to define what is normal? And if something has been normal, does that mean it needs to stay normal? You know, like when 'whites only' signs were normal or it was normal that blacks and women couldn't vote? I could go on... but I think you get the picture. And, really, what the heck would we do with ourselves if treating each other with respect was normal in our culture, or any culture?

MTW: March 18, 1978 to March 22, 2002

i'm taking a blogger break today, as a sort of moment of silence for a dear friend of mine that this earth lost to suicide five years ago today. i miss you mikey.

what's up, doc?

I was going to try to have an upbeat post today because I feel like I've been Debbie Downer in this blog but I ran across this article in the NY Times and couldn't resist sharing it. Doctor's relationships with drug companies is extremely concerning to me. The group of doctors that receive the most payments are Psychiatrists, which adds to the concerns I expressed in a previous post. If you don't have time to read the article, here are a couple of snippets:

"research shows that doctors who have close relationships with drug makers tend to prescribe more, newer and pricier drugs — whether or not they are in the best interests of patients."

"Dr. Coyne recently wrote an editorial in an influential journal decrying guidelines written last year by the kidney foundation that encourage doctors to use more of Amgen’s drugs to treat anemia in kidney patients despite studies showing that increased use led to more deaths."

"Drug companies 'want somebody who can manipulate in a very subtle way,' said Dr. Frederick R. Taylor, a headache specialist in Minneapolis who earned more than $710,000 between 1997 and 2005, much of that from GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of the migraine drug Imitrex."

"A 2002 survey found that more than 80 percent of the doctors on panels that write clinical practice guidelines had financial ties to drug makers."

Who is your doctor sleeping with receiving money from? If we don't know, how can we find out?

i'm scared

About a month ago, three mean brutally beat an undocumented immigrant in Wright City, about 40 miles from where i'm sitting right now. They yelled "immigration enforcement" as they broke into his trailer and police are saying that it was likely a hate crime... uh, likely?

Top Three Reasons Why I'm Scared:

• This is the second "lynching" I've heard about in the past week. (I wrote about the other one a previous post.)

• I just found out about this yesterday when one of my students brought in a article about it. Where was the outcry!? How did a month go by without ongoing commentary?
  

• One of my other students said proudly, "yeah! my friend was there!" Yes, proudly.

today's doonsbury comic

do you know who is driving your child's school bus?

I heard on the news last night and read in the paper this morning that there is a concern that "extremists" are driving our nation's children to and from school. Neighborhood car pool gone wrong? Nope. According to the Associated Press, the FBI has reported that they are licensed school bus drivers.

Even with eye-catching headlines like FBI: Foreign extremists sign up to drive school buses or Some extremists driving school buses, officials warn, the text of all the articles I've found repeatedly say "parents and children have nothing to fear", "there is no reason for concern", "the government has no credible information to suggest terrorists are 'involved in buying school buses or seeking licenses to drive them" and that there was "no indication of any immediate threat to the country". The articles also vacillate between calling the bus drivers 'extremists' or sometimes, 'foreigners' or 'foreign nationals'.

I tried to find more information about this and after I couldn't find anything on the FBI website, ironically my googling led me to an article from one year ago today that reports on a program started by Homeland Security called School Bus Watch, where they train school bus drivers to fight terrorism. Maybe this is a product of that program?

This may be the kind of thing we should be informed of... maybe I can be especially blase' about it because I don't have children. But it makes me wonder about language like 'extremist' and 'foreigner' - I suppose in some circles, like among the fundamental Christians I grew up with, I could be considered an extremist, right? And foreigners? I heard on the news last night that there are a suspected 50,000 - 70,000 illegal Irish immigrants in the US. There are stereotypically some pretty extreme Irish folk... is this who is driving the school buses? I just don't know, since the article is so vague it almost seems like it's not news - this is what we've found out, but don't worry about it - it's like when what a witness says during testimony is stricken off the record and the jury is supposed to pretend it wasn't said.

It also makes me wonder about this 'culture of fear' - that will make people hole themselves up in their home out of fear of extremists lurking about. Or make people preemptively lash out at suspected extremists, using violence to make them feel safer. Like my Latino friend who was beat-up on September 12, 2001 because he was perceived to be of middle eastern descent.

If you're concerned about the person driving your child's school bus, talk to your school about what kinds of background checks they do or start a neighborhood car pool. If you can't trust your neighbors, who can you trust? Oh wait... trust is foreign in many neighborhoods. Damn. I guess we'll just have to home school. I better start practicing, luckily watching tv the other night made me realize that I am smarter than a fifth grader, it also made me realize that John Taylor Gatto was right about our schools.

ordinary people can do extraordinary things but what does it take?

When I was in college, I worked for a professor one summer researching a guy named Andre Trocme, a Protestant in France, who was responsible for hiding 5,000 Jewish refugees during the holocaust of World War II. I was fascinated by him and his work. For him, it was worth the risk... what made him different?

I just read in the most recent issue of Greater Good that violence happens when the object is stigmatized or dehumanized. The issue focuses on "the bystander's dilemma", also sometimes called the bystander effect, and discusses why we ignore people in need and when it is that we step in to help.

What does it take to be at a place where the humanity of a person, a person unlike you, is a priority? I do not have the answer. The Milestones Project and NYchildren.org are attempting to use photography to bring us closer together and help us see we are all the same. Spend some time on their sites if you have the opportunity.

The issue of "why didn't someone step in earlier or prevent this from happening" is in the news a lot... lately it's been talked about in news reports about Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Darfur, Iraqi refugees¹, etc. Personally, I've been thinking about this a lot because last week, my friend's friend, a gay guy from St. Louis, was severely beaten outside of a bar in Arizona and placed in a dumpster. He's in a coma now and not likely to survive. So, I wonder, how can this happen? And, I suppose more importantly, how can we stop it from happening?

When people step in or speak up, they certainly put themselves at risk. This is why kids don't stand up for the kid that's being bullied, neighbors don't call the cops when they hear domestic violence and possibly why Kitty Genovese died. But there are also countless stories of when people do intervene. What can we learn from those? I read in this issue of Greater Good about two such people: Jabar Gibson and Sergeant Joseph Darby. Jabar Gibson, a 20 year-old with an extensive criminal history, drove an abandoned school bus filled with 70 Katrina survivors for 13 hours to the Houston Astrodome, and was the first to arrive. Sergeant Darby, at age 24, is credited for reporting the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. Gibson is back in prison awaiting trial on new criminal charges, unrelated to his driving the renegade school bus. Sergeant Darby is in protective custody and in hiding due to threats received against him and his family. Andre Trocme was arrested and released... but when the Nazis arrested Trocme's cousin and sent him to a death camp, Andre went into hiding but his work was carried on by his wife and other people from his village. That, my friends, is the key - no matter what happens how can we carry on the good work?

I'll continue to write about this issue and present ideas... any suggestions, thoughts or comments are appreciated. (Sorry the post is a little scattered, ms. cambio is a little distracted today)

¹ The report I heard on NPR stated that the majority of refugees, at least in Syria, report having a loved one kidnapped. However, the article reports that these refugees would not be eligible to come to the United States because "under U.S. law, anyone who pays money to kidnappers, even under duress, is considered to have supported a terrorist group" And, uh, Mr. Rule Maker, just a quick question: what would YOU do if your loved one was kidnapped?

fostering addiction?

In my day job, I supervise volunteer advocates for children in foster care. I just received an email from an advocate who is concerned about the amount of medication prescribed to the teen she is working with. This teen's parents' rights were terminated when she was little and she was adopted by her grandmother. She was taken back into the system in 2003 when her grandmother passed away. This teen takes the following each day:

• Seroquel (200 mg.) 1 tablet at bedtime
• Lamictal (25 mg.) 1 tablet 3 times daily - 8 am, 4 pm, 8 pm
• Adderall XR (30 mg) 1 table daily @ 8 am
• Guanfacine (2 mg.) 1 tablet 2 times daily - 8 am, 4 pm
• Loratadine (10 mg) 1 tablet daily
• Ranitidine (150 mg) 1 tablet 2 times daily - 8 am, 4 pm

Not all of the above drugs are psychotropics. Guanfacine is for high blood pressure, Loratadine is for allergies (aka Claritin) and Ranitidine (aka Zantac) for ulcers and acid reflux. Seroquel, Lamictal, and Adderall are used for PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Epiplepsy, ADHD and/or Depression. Yet, according to a report from last fall, her only diagnoses are "child abuse and neglect" and "adjustment disorder with mixed disturbed of emotions and conduct". She sees a therapist every week, however she has not had a consistent therapist due to the high rate of staff turnover. Not to mention that she is in her eighth placement in four years.

I am not this teen's therapist, psychiatrist or even her advocate. However, this teen has asked multiple times to be taken off of her medication, and I believe the residential facility considering the possibility. My concern, along with her advocate's and other advocates I supervise, is that it seems that children in foster care are overmedicated - a concern sometimes referred to as chemical restraint. By virtue of being in foster care, these children have suffered multiple traumas and major loss along with separation and adjustment issues. Since this current regimen was put in place, this particular teen has been incredibly sleepy and her grades have been dropping. She complains about the side effects and the advocate, who has been working with her for three years has noticed a marked change. She is a zombie, but hey - at least she's not acting out anymore! But what does this mean for her life and her future?

What's in it for the residential facility, I wonder? With a little googling, I discovered a CBS article that reported that at least in Los Angeles, more medicated kids can mean more funding:

"Because most foster kids who receive drugs are classified as problem children and by contract, group homes get paid more for those kids.
'When you have a group home full of kids sleeping, you don't have to deal with them,' Walker said. 'It's a good thing for them, they get paid, they get a nice fat paycheck.'"

In all of the cases I oversee, the children are medicated starting at an early age. Sometimes I wonder if is this for the children's benefit or the adults? More often I wonder if it is the pharmaceutical companies that benefit the most¹? Kids who have been traumatized are going to act out, do we control them through medication or figure out how to help them work through their trauma, grief, and loss? An article on citylimits.org reports that kids in foster care are more likely to be prescribed medication and that a University of Minnesota study found that compared to 15 percent of the general population, 35 percent of St. Louis County foster children were on psychotropics. If you take out infants in foster care, who I assume are not on psychotropics, 35% is an even larger percent of the population. I've read that kids are prescribed psychotropics as early as preschool.

I know this is a long entry (I think I could easily write a dissertation on this topic!), but I have one more comment on this issue. Last fall, I went to a panel presentation by Let's Start Inc. (pdf), a fantastic organization in St. Louis that helps "women build successful lives after incarceration". One of the women told her story which included growing up in the foster system, her struggle with substance abuse and multiple incarcerations. She eloquently spoke of when she was first prescribed psychotropic medications that "all of the mess in her head" dissipated... which, for her at least, was a logical first step to her later substance abuse. By using prescribed and illicit drugs, she was able to avoid her problems and didn't start dealing with them and really working through them until recently. She's at least 40 years old.

Check out this resource from Florida on Legal Strategies to Challenge Chemical Restraint of Children in Foster Care.

¹The latest issue of Good Magazine has a short piece about the profits and patents of pharmaceutical companies, I don't have it with me right now but will try to post some of the information later today or tomorrow.

halliburton: it's not you, it's me - all about me

NPR reported today that Halliburton is leaving us (ahem... the U.S.) for Dubai, a locale described as Las Vegas on steroids. I could have seen this coming... when I read about Dubai in January's National Geographic. Dubai is nice enough to offer liberal and low-taxes... Halliburton won't be the last to take advantage. I wonder what Halliburton's strategic plan looks like? Probably something like this:

2000 Get Cheney in the White House
2003 Get White House to bomb the shit out of Iraq, start war
2003 - present Reap billions of dollars in profits

Then what happens? Houston too humid? Nope... a hot seat of a different kind. Last month, federal investigators allege that Halliburton has overcharged or not documented 2.7 billion in expenditures. They aren't the only ones lining their pockets with this bloodbath. This has been going on for some time, but now that the war is less popular, they might actually go after them... or will they? Meh.

Well, someone in congress is paying attention: Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont. He's quoted as saying "This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years," The Senator is working on the The War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007. Good luck, man. If not that, what is war good for?

preemptive FAQ

1. Why 'my silence is your comfort'?

Ever since I was 14, I have been speaking out against injustices. Some find it easier to stay silent, I find it a necessity to speak up and inform when necessary. Change is impossible without rabble-rousers. But those that benefit from the status-quo get very uncomfortable with rabble-rousing. To paraphrase Harriet Woods, "Quality people aren't threatened by equality".

2. What does 'cambioymuerte' mean?

It comes from the lyrics of an Ozomatli song:

"En la vida hay dos cosas ciertas: son la muerte y el cambio"

[In life there are two certain things: death and change]

I switched it around because before I die, I'm dead set on making change. (pun intended)

3. So, cambio, what do you plan on doing with this here blog?

I will be posting news, pictures, etc. that I come across throughout my day... the kind of stuff that people try to silence... don't want to talk about... or wanna pretend doesn't happen.