Rosalind's Ink Well

Death Penalty

2005-11-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Before today, I had never really given a whole lot of thought to the merits or lack thereof of the death penalty.
I was able to see, quite frankly, the reasoning behind both sides of the argument.
For a family who looses a member to a heinous crime, I can almost see wanting the worst punishment possible for the perpetrator.
Also, I can see the double-edge sword presented by a society that condemns and practices murder at the same time.
The following story adds yet another dimension to the debate.

Executed man may have been innocent
Witness, co-defendant tell newspaper man wasn't guilty

Innocent man executed. The story is about Ruben Cantu who may have been wrongfully executed by the state of Texas. At the age of 26, he was put to death for a crime he supposedly committed at the age of 17. Police investigators went back to the witness numerous times trying to goad him into identifying Cantu as the person who shot him. Finally, he relented after "feeling pressured by the police" to identify Cantu as the suspect. That whole process is suspect if you ask me. After this man is already dead, suddenly the witness and co-defendant want to recant their stories.
Too late. Cantu is already dead. You can't bring him back.
And if it's true that he did not commit the crime he was accused of, and therefore sentenced to die for, blood is on the hands of everyone involved in the case.
Some may argue, well he was a criminal anyway.
I offer my argument that he was a human.

Why Not?

2005-11-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

I was doing some research for my book recently. I wanted to find out more about David Ruffin, someone who's music I've loved for years. Though I listened to my favorite Temptations songs: Ain't Too Proud to Beg and I Wish it Would Rain a LOT over the years, I've never tried to find out about their history.
Anyway, in doing my research, I discovered that Ruffin was born in Whynot, Mississippi.
I loved it.
Whynot? What a unique name for a town/city.
So, I've undertaken a new project. I'd like to compile a list of names of unique towns/cities in the U.S.
So far on my list:
Whynot, Mississippi
Slabfork, W. Virginia
Alligator, Mississippi
Money, Mississippi

That's only my early findings. I look forward to discovering more within the next few weeks.
I welcome any suggestions for weird names to add to my list!

Quiz of the Day

2005-11-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

Question of the day: What hit song is the most annoying?

My answer: D4L's Laffy Taffy. And this is why.
I'm lookin for mrs. bubble gum
I'm mister chik-o-stick
I wanna (dun dun dunt)
Cuz you so thick
Gurlz call me Jolly Rancher
Cuz I stay so hard
You can suck me for a long time....

That's why I think Laffy Taffy is the 2005 Most Awfulest Song of the Year.
Sex is sex, not some trip to the candy store. And guess what, I love Jolly Ranchers. Know what I do with them? I bite them.

Confessions of a Video Vixen

2005-11-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

I checked the book out of the library, because I knew I would be disappointed with it. But, still my interest had been piqued. I wanted to hear what her justifications were for allowing herself to be used and denigrated in front of millions of viewers.
I look at those video "hos" all the time and wonder what other than money motivates them to put themselves out there like that. With all these rappers rapping about bitches and hos and the women standing there dancing, half-naked like they have no idea they're the bitches and hos the song is talking about. As you can see, I have a very low opinion of women who dance in rap videos.
Anyway, I read the book in one day. I was unable to put the book down because she pissed me off (when she dropped her son on the ground in front of his daddy's car and took off) and then later on complained about his father never being there, like she's candidate for mother of the year. All you hear about is how she was looking for some man to pay her bills for her and her son, yet her son is never anywhere around. She only ends up with her son,when the men have used her up and no longer want her around.
Interesting...So, now she's making all these "changes" and wanting to be a better mother. I wonder why...Perhaps, because as a video "ho" she's no longer of use to anyone.
Even if every word of the book is true, it doesn't matter, she obviously wanted to embarrass the men she claimed to have been involved with because they turned their back on her. So, she whores herself out again by telling how she gave everybody in the music and basketball industry oral sex and whatever else they wanted so that she could remain in the in-circle and continue to get her bills paid.
Anyway, it was a good read for a Saturday afternoon and I didn't spend a penny to read it. Gone on Karrine Steffans, whore yourself until there's nothing left to whore out.

Transparent Love

2005-11-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finished my novel. And now comes two equally difficult tasks: editing and deciding the best route to seek publication. The following is a rough draft of a poem that came to me as I flopped around looking for an outlet for the rest of my creativity.

Transparent Love

Filled to the brim with love
I feel as though you can see
how my heart beats wildly
when you are close to me.

The beating gets louder and louder
So I busy myself in order
to drown out the
loud throbbing of a one-way love.

Devotion runs in globs
from the fracture of my heart.
I’m almost certain I feel
The sticky substance sliding
down the inside of my ribs.

The love glob settles
just above my navel
and I cringe at the thought
that you can see the evidence of
The love which you do not share.

I reach out my arms to you
Feel outside of my world
For you
But my arms return to me
Empty.
The thin air within will not
Encompass you.

My weary body languishes
Against my wildly beating heart
Trying to conceal the transparency
Of a love that's as strong
as it is weak
for when I look around I see
that I am a liquid mess
being absorbed into the white bed sheets.

(Like I said, it's the rough draft. There is no form, rhyme or reason to why it is in the form it is in. It just is.)

Cosmo's Confessions

2005-11-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I did it, but I did. Yesterday I bought Cosmo's Best Confessions Ever.
It was $10. I had to wonder if reading someone else's secrets was worth that. Guess I decided in the affirmative because here it sits next to my computer.
The funniest one so far: this guy rushes to church for a reading he has to give. He went commando and in his haste forgot to zip. Needless to say everyone got a good look at the family jewels when he stepped down from behind the podium. I thought that was hilarious! Even more hilarious, he stayed for the rest of the service. How excruciatingly painful must that have been? I mean, can you real concentrate on the message after that?
The one that pissed me off, because doesn't something always piss me off (LOL): this chick writes in about sleeping with her mom's beau. I mean, how sleazy can you get?
If he's dating my mother, he's definitely off-limits! I mean, , my God, ugh!!!!
Anyway, I wasn't able to put it down until I had devoured ever delicious confession...
So, if you find yourself wondering if it's worth the ten, I'd have to say yes.

Disturbing... Or, is it just me

2005-10-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

Don't know why I'm surprised. But I am.
Came across a page today, Kevin Sites on Yahoo. Today he wrote about the children in Uganda who were being kidnapped and forced to join a war that inevitably had them killing their own families sometimes. Does that surprise me? No. In this world, anything is possible. Just study the newspaper. Or, for that matter, study your history books.
So, you say, what pretell did surprise you?
How about some of the post I read regarding the article.
In this day and age, to have people still referring to Africans as "savages running around in the jungle hacking each other to bits" or to have someone say that the Africans are the same all over the world-but over there they are killing one another, while here they (me too?) are killing thousands of white people. Hmm. Don't remember killing anyone, but, what do I know? I am just the ancestor of, now let me get this right, some savages running through the jungle.
Damn and I though Bennett's comments were crude and racist.
What kind of person is not upset by the fact that children as young as age 12 are being forced to fight in a war, that they are being raped and impregnated, that they are being torn from their families...No matter what the race or location on the fucking planet, they are still human. More specific children.
It bothers me when Polly Klaas, Megan Kanka and other children are brutally murdered. It also bothers me that a young girl in Uganda can be raped, kidnapped and used for the gratification of a man's needs and then be further victimized by uncaring and unsympathetic American's who have the "power" to spread democracy to all corners of the world. Except Africa. I wonder why...

RANT!

2005-10-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today was really hard and long. I couldn't sleep last night. I lay in bed all night thinking about my grandmother. I thought back over times that I've spent with her at her house.
I thought of the good and the bad times. I smiled sometimes through my tears.
I didn't make it to the hospital today. I was at work all day and my car has started running hot and I didn't want to take a chance of getting stranded out at night alone.
When I finish the 5k breast cancer walk tomorrow, I'm going straight to the hospital. I really don't feel like doing the walk, but as far as I can surmise strength is just the ability to wade through it all when all you really feel like doing is lying down and feeling sorry for yourself.
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck can any fucking thing go right!!!!!!!!!!!!!i just got a phone call. my mom is at home hurting. she sounds really bad. ever since she had surgery on her colon about a year ago she sometimes has these fucking bouts of pain. but she is afraid to go to the hospital. fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck tired tired tired tired tired tired tired tired.
Don't I sound like an ungrateful prick, a whining little girl? I hate it when I sound like this.

Death sucks, Dying sucks more

2005-10-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

My grandmother is dying of cancer. That's what everyone is saying. My sister called me today and said that some family members called her and told her that grandma doesn't look too good.
She won't eat. She just lies in the bed and sleeps.
Just two months ago, she was a vibrant 84 year old woman. She caught the bus, walked here and there. She did everything. You could hardly tell she was in her 80s. Then along comes this damn cancer. And she starts to waste away. Surgery. Chemo. Just like that wiped my grandmother away. I tried to stay positive (isn't that the way it should be?). I wanted to believe that she could beat this. But she looks just like my brother before cancer stole him away.
She's leaving and I'm not ready to let her go. Yes, I know we live. We die. But dying sucks. You never know what to say. You stand there wondering if the person who is dying knows that they are dying. You wonder if they are afraid. Our relationship has changed and I don't know how to act anymore. For years I have had a very good relationship with my grandmother. We went shopping together. We talked about cooking. We talked about her childhood. Now I stand there and don't know what to say other than do you need anything?
I was talking to my mother about death and dying after leaving the hospital. We can openly discuss death. But perhaps that's because neither of us is dying from a terminal illness. She doesn't want heroic measures and I don't want a wake or funeral. I want a graveside service.
The thought of my body sitting in a funeral home waiting for my family to straggle in one by one to stare and gawk at my body disturbs me.
My Family. Come on. We don't talk to each other now. We don't visit. And some of them, if I see them out in public, I run the opposite way. So just drop me in the ground right after.
Death sucks, dying sucks more. It's stealing my friend, my grandmother.
Guess it's true when they say it could always be worse. Just last week I was crying over this fucked up relationship I'm in. Tonight I'll cry myself to sleep because I don't want to lose my grandmother.

Just giving credit where it's due

2005-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

The White House on Friday criticized former Education Secretary William Bennett for remarks linking the crime rate and the abortion of black babies. (This was very smart on the president's part. Rather than continuing to portray himself as a president who's loyal, he finally chose to distance himself from one of the idiots who can be linked to him, albeit through his father's administration.)
"The president believes the comments were not appropriate," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Bennett, on his radio show, "Morning in America," was answering a caller's question when he took issue with the hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up.
"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," said Bennett, author of "The Book of Virtues."
He went on to call that "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."
Responding later to criticism, Bennett said his comments had been mischaracterized and that his point was that the idea of supporting abortion to reduce crime was "morally reprehensible."
Bennett was education secretary under President Reagan and director of drug control policy when Bush's father was president.

I'd been watching for this all morning to see how President Bush would handle this. For once, I have to admit that he took an intelligent stance on an issue. Now if we could just get Michael Brown off the payroll and deal appropriately with Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby for "leaking" Valerie Plame's name, some might start to see this as an effective president rather than a good ol' boy looking out for his rich playmates.

Bennett the Bigot

2005-09-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm probably about to piss some people off with what I'm about to say, but that's okay. That's usually how change and intelligent dialogue is spurred on.
If a person's sole purpose was to rid the country of racist, pompous, privileged and overindulged people who spout off ignorance and hatred , I know for a fact that aborting all white babies would achieve that.
Okay that piece of bullshit above is wrong for a couple of reasons. The major one being that it assumes thall all white/Caucasian people are all of those things that I described. When former education secretary William Bennett is the only person I had in mind when I wrote that.
How arrogant of an individual must he be to think that he can remark that one sure-fire way to reduce the crime rate is to abort all black babies.
It was a totally irresponsible and reprehensible statement. It wasn't taken out of context as he has reportedly alleged, it revealed some of the inner feelings this man has about black people.
It reveals his belief that black people alone are responsible for the crime rate in this country.
To even suggest this as a solution to the problem of the high crime rate in this country reveals just how out of touch and outdated his thinking is. Those words came from somewhere inside of him to reveal that Bennett has prejudicial views and beliefs. There are just as many white, Latino and other races who committ crimes. Why not say that if you kill all white babies that the crime rate will be reduced? White people committ crimes, as well.
I'll tell you why he used black people, because in his mind he obviously equates criminal activity with black people. (I'm sure he's not alone.) So if one race of people is not solely responsible for crime, surely the hypothesis works just as well the other way. But, no it's so much easier and convenient to point the finger at black people.
As a black woman with three beautiful children who have high aspirations of achieving success one day, I was appalled and hurt to hear his remarks.
To abort all black children takes away future leaders, company presidents, mentors, preachers, and all other positive roles that black people can and do hold in this society.
William Bennett and all who think like him would do well to remember that. We are not all criminals.

Now for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Bennett made the following remarks on a syndicated call in radio talk show. They were supposedly discussing how the abortion rate correlates to the lack of social security funding. And somehow this is where they ended up:

"If you wanted to reduce crime, you could--if that were your sole purpose--you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down."
Of course, he tried to come back and say that the idea was morally reprehenisble. By then, it was too late. Can't put the genie back in the bottle.
Now, if he's a smart man and not all those wonderful words I used to describe him earlier, he'll have the good sense to come back and apologize. But, we'll see. Up to this point he seems to think he's the one owed an apology. Because we took his words out of context.
You idiot, every thing that comes out of your mouth reveals something of your inner beliefs. Even if you do think you do a good job of disguising how you really feel.

The Blame Game Continues

2005-09-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I want to take a poll.
First: How many people are surprised that former FEMA director Michael Brown is blaming others for his failures? By a show of hands, I'm waiting...That's what I thought.
Unless I'm mistaken FEMA stands for Federal Emergency Management Agency. That means, he, as director was the person in charge of the overall rescue and recovery efforts. And his attempt to shift blame and points fingers points to the fact that he is a very inept leader.
I don't know what he was able to accomplish as the leader of the International Arabian Horse Association (come on seriously?) but as director of FEMA he was more than the scapegoat for a failure in leadership, he was a big cause of the failures.
And if, as he said during the hearing before the special panel set up to investigate the catastrophe, if he is interested in seeing the organization become "reborn". I think the rebirth will begin with admitting the failures that took place so that the organization can pay close attention to those areas as it seeks to fix what led to the tragedy that occurred after Hurricane Katrina had moved on.
Inept leadership has a name and it begins with Michael.
I said it begins, not ends with it. There's enough blame to go around.

Writing up a storm

2005-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am so happy and delightfully proud of myself. For the past two weeks, every free moment that I've had I've been working on my book. (Picture me dancing around the room like Carlton on the Fresh Prince--okay like Will).
I am up to chapter twenty and still cranking out the pages!
Today I looked into some self-publishing companies, just in case.
This puppy is going to market one way or another.

Christian Love

2005-09-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

A Fox News online story http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170219,00.html is about a teenager being kicked out of a christian high school because her parents are lesbian. Maybe it's me,but that just seems to reek of unchristianity. If the ultimate commandment is to love others, why are all religions so full of judgment?
I have a friend who is a Jehovah's Witness. She was recently reinstated after having been similarly kicked out of her congregation. It's called something else, but of course, I can't think of it now.
Apparently, for the last two years she has not been able to communicate with her family because she had been (still can't think of the word) kicked out of the congregation. Which, means she continued to attend but was not allowed to socially communicate with anyone. When the meeting was over she would simply go out to the car and wait for her aunt to come and drive her home.
Scarlett A, anyone?
When I first met her and she told me how her mother would just walk past her without uttering so much as a word, I would think how cruel? I could not fathom doing this with my own daughter for two years. As time passed she explained everything to me and still,I'll admit, I did not understand.
During this time when love was what she needed most, she was left out of the fold and treated like a leper. She pretty much was abandoned when she needed family most in the name of Jehovah.
I don't buy that. I think it serves no purpose to turn people out because of something they have done. Especially in her case because she was a teenager. But, ah, I digress.
When I think of love I think of kind words shared, warm embraces shared, shared smiles, inside jokes, etc. Love ecompasses so much.
I don't picture judging one another and turning our back on them.
I am not trying to put down one religion or another, just saying that it seems odd that christian love sometimes amounts to turning people out of the fold when they need love most.
I love unconditionally, though. So, perhaps the problem is with me.

Secrets

2005-09-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

My newest obsession is the PostSecret website. It's quite a project. People send in their secrets on a postcard; some are quite creative. You never know what you'll run across on there. Some of the "secrets" are quite silly like the one where someone confesses that they always lie about farting. I thought to myself, "So what." But others cause me to want to find the person who sent the postcard and just hug them. Like the one where (I picture a female so I'll say she), anyway, she says that she has more secrets than could fit on a postcard and that she's jealous of the people who can fit theirs. I feel for her. I want to just let her blow off some steam. Get it all out!
Okay, so I'm thinking if I sent in a postcard what secret would I write on there?
I guess my secret would be, I feel sorry for the man who molested me as a child. I don't think I've ever hated him. But now, I see his health deteriorating and I feel sorry for him. He can barely walk across the floor without getting out of breath. So, at night, I pray for him. I feel bad because I don't totally dislike him or hate him. That's my secret.

Shy Girl

2005-09-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on all around me, but I've been feeling chronically lethargic.
For years I have suffered from shyness and it's starting to hinder my ability to do my job. Obviously as a reporter, I need to be able to carry my end of the conversation and then some, but so often I end up feeling like a fool.
I hadn't expected to use this blog to post personal information, but this is really starting to bother me. I can't do simple things like place a business phone call because I'm so worried about what the other reporters will think once I say something "stupid."
I've been like this all my life. People see me as unapproachable until they really get to know me, which is hard since I usually follow the lead. If someone talks to me, I'll talk to them. And, if they are persistent enough we may even be able to hold day to day conversations. Overall though I spend the bulk of my day trapped in a quietness that I fear leaving.
I don't strike up conversations. I don't know what to say.
Why am I writing about this? Because I'm being given more responsibility at work and I almost feel crippled because I'm afraid to make phone calls. My profession involves talking, asking questions and networking and I'm too afraid to step outside of my little world.
Some days are worse than others. Some days, I force myself to do what I have to do. But other days like today, I leave and haven't accomplished anything.
I wait until the deadline is right on my ass, then I act. Sometimes going out to my car to call from my cell phone.
From what I've read, professionals say that it helps to talk about it.
We shall see. We shall see.

AJC Story

2005-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

The following story was published in the online version of the AJC.

WASHINGTON — Barbara Bush was making "a personal observation" when she said poor people at a relocation center in Houston were faring better than before Hurricane Katrina struck, President Bush's spokesman said Wednesday.
Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, did not answer directly when asked if the president agreed with his mother's remarks.
Mrs. Bush, after touring the Astrodome complex in Houston on Monday, said: "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them." She commented during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace."
McClellan, at the White House briefing, said: "I think she was making a personal observation on some of the comments that people were making that she was running into. ... But what we're focused on is helping these people who are in need."
Asked if Bush agreed with his mother, McClellan said: "I think that the observation is based on someone or some people that were talking to her that were in need of a lot of assistance, people that have gone through a lot of trauma and been through a very difficult and trying time. And all of a sudden, they are now getting great help in the state of Texas from some of the shelters."

Like Mother, Like Son?

2005-09-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

Barbara Bush reportedly said, and I quote, "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them."
How smug and pretentious of her to make such an observation. So, let me get this straight because you are poor and not born into a rich family, like some people ( I won't say any names), then you are automatically assumed to be less than others.
First of all, according to Merriam-Websters, underprivileged means deprived through social or economic condition of some of the fundamental rights of all members of a civilized society.
Okay, so she characterizes these people as underprivileged. Problem. These were people who perhaps lived below the poverty level. I can't speak about the make-up of the people who were affected by the hurricane. But, from what I've seen on television and on the Internet news sites, they look normal enough to me.
Some were wet and looked a little worn and maybe, even ragged. But I assumed that was because they had just made it through one of the worst catastrophic tragedies that this country has ever seen.
Imagine my surprise to find out that these people are underprivileged and pretty much deserving of the conditions they were subjected to as EVERYONE in charge of handling the disaster rescue and relief efforts played the blame game and pretty much dragged their feet in dealing with the situation.
So, is it because most of them were black? Or because they are not rich and affluent?
I really tried to not see this as a racist reaction, but now after her remarks about these underprivileged people being well off, I'm left wondering. If she thought the filthy environment of the convention center was working well for them...
Then when I look at the things her son did following the disaster--photo ops!!!!! and flying over the disaster area--I say oh, okay, like mother, like son.
I guess when you live in the lap of luxury, your view of what is descent and acceptable somehow gets skewed.
Go figure.

Katrina and the fallout

2005-09-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, I tried to stay away from the hurricane and the aftermath because I figured everyone else was discussing it enough. From Mayor Nagin criticizing the Federal government for its sluggish response to the crisis to the outburst from General Honore regarding the reports of red tape being the cause of delayed rescue of New Orleans residents. There has been much coverage and an overwhelming amount of space dedicated to peoples' opinions of how the situation was handled.
But, okay, here goes. I shall add my two cents. Bush's reaction to the crisis came as no surprise to me. He is not directly affected by the crisis in New Orleans. I have watched him grin and pose for the camera while feigning concern for people who have lost absolutely everything.
While I lost nothing due to the hurricane and honestly have not known or experienced devastation of the magnitude that they have, I do have some idea what it's like to lose everything and have to start over from scratch. It's a daunting experience that can lead to complete and utter despair.
What these people need now is not the flexing of egos from those in charge, but compassion for their plight. And with compassion, hopefully will come the action that's needed to fix the situation.
Bush is being Bush plain and simple.
I will go out on a limb and say that if the disaster had taken place in Texas and he had lost his precious ranch, then the reaction to the crisis would have been much more swift and decisive.
Now, though, is the time to stop playing the blame game and do what it takes to make things right.

Okay,
second on the agenda. I submitted a story to Glimmer Train Press. I just checked the website. It was not accepted for publication. I will not say rejected, because I plan to take the suggestions the editors offered and make it a much better story.
Besides rejection is such a harsh idea. When we think of rejection, we think of having someone we're deeply in love with tell us that they no longer want to be with us. The heartbreak that is felt upon losing someone you're deeply in love with is much more painful than what I feel now. I see the possibilities. I see my story in the pages of a magazine.
After having two of my stories accepted in an anthology, I can't allow myself to sink into the despair of rejection. I just see that it wasn't appropriate for that particular market.
As a matter of fact, after I read the e-mail I went right back to working on my novel and my writing was much more infused with feeling. I read the suggestions offered for my short story and applied them to my novel-in-progress.
Now, that's what I call a "gone girl" moment.
Well, I have to get back to writing. I have to return to work tomorrow. And my time for writing will be cut back in half.
Happy writing to all!

Living Wage

2005-09-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

One of the local newspaper columnists wrote about a proposed living wage today in the paper.
She put a face on the campaign by introducing the readers to a woman who earns just $5.40 an hour. She then asks the woman how much she has left saved from her paycheck. The woman laughs.
Anyone who has walked in this woman's shoes knows that there's no way to save money when you are barely existing as it is. The columist, goes on to further say that a member of the local chamber spoke out against the living wage because he sees it as "rewarding underskilled workers with an artificially inflated pay scale."
Reading that I became instantly incensed. How can anyone have the audacity to not support the right of individuals to be able to afford the bare necessities without having to work two or three jobs? That's ridiculous. How can a single mother work two jobs, spend time raising her children and possibly, go to school to better herself? It's not possible. Without sacrificing something.
And whay are these people automatically termed unskilled? Someone has to work in customer service, take care of our children and clean our offices.
I once worked at a daycare where people who'd been there more than ten years and were very skilled at their job made little more than $6 an hour. Everyone can't be a CEO or even a supervisor, but still they deserve decent pay to be able to provide for themselves. Instead the workers at this particular daycare were constantly in debt to the owner who refused to pay a decent wage, but did not hesitate to loan money to her workers.
It's sickening the way people just automatically assume that all people who live below the poverty level are uneducated and unskilled. It's also sad that the powers that be don't realize that the answer to a lot of society's ills lies in finding a solution to dealing with poverty in this country.
If a person can afford a pair of shoes, he won't steal them. If he can afford meat and bread, he won't steal it. It just makes common sense.
Now, I'm no complete sentimentalist and I don't pretend to believe that crime will automatically go away if we get a living wage in this state. I'm just saying that for most people, if you give them a legitimate way to provide for themselves, they will take it.

New to the game

2005-09-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm really new to blogging. A co-worker recently mentioned it as a way to discipline myself to write something everyday.
I have been working on a novel, without much discipline and I mentioned that I had recruited my daughter to question me every evening as to my progress. Alas, I discovered that she is as undisciplined as I am.
I have never had a problem with discipline before. I spent years writing, writing, writing receiving nibbles of interest from publishers and agents. Even an agent who disappeared into an eternal abyss and left not a word behind. (But let's not go there.)
So, I decide to head off to college, get my degree in journalism and land a full-time job in journalism. I tell myself that I'm just a stair-step away from becoming a full-time author. You know, once I compile a publishing history, people will take me seriously and of course, my writing style would evolve to something I would not look at years later and shiver with embarassment that I actually thought that was the crown jewel of all writing in the universe. (Yes, that is my ultimate goal: to be an author whose work and name are so recognized that I no longer have to work a nine-to-five.) I have so many ideas swimming in my head that I would like to write about, I just want to take the time to explore them all.
Overall, though my goal is to grow as a writer. So, perhaps this experience will benefit my overall goal. s