December 24, 2013

Oh Good, There's Lead In Your Christmas Lights

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/12/christmas-lights-coated-with-toxic-chemicals-lead


Afraid so. It turns out that lead is applied to the polyvinylchloride (PVC) wire covering to keep the plastic from cracking. It's also a flame retardant. Not all brands are suspect, but an awful lot are. In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health, researchers from Cornell University tested 10 light sets and found lead on all of them, at levels that surpassed the Environmental Protection Agency's limit for windowsills and floors.

Two other analyses in recent years, one by HealthyStuff.org and another done for CNN, produced similar results. The former, conducted in 2010, found that 54 percent of lights had more lead than regulators allow in children's products. Quantex, the company that did the lab work for CNN in 2007, found that the surface lead levels in each of the four types of lights it tested exceeded the Consumer Safety Commission's limit for children's products (which has since been reduced).


Isn't lead illegal, due to its well-known effects on human health, including damage to the brain and nervous system in children? Actually, it's only been banned from certain products, including paint and gasoline. The federal government restricts the amount of lead allowed on children's products and provides limits on acceptable lead levels in dust and soil, air and water, and waste through a variety of laws and regulations. At the state level, California requires a warning label on electrical cords that have more than 300 parts per million of lead. But selling Christmas lights coated in lead is perfectly legal.

December 22, 2013

Wow bullying stopped by using babies to teach empathy

You kind of really have to watch the short video to see how this works. It is all over the world except here!

http://www.rootsofempathy.org/
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/stop-bullying-with-empathy

Roots of Empathy's mission is to build caring, peaceful, and
civil societies through the development of empathy
in children and adults.

Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression among school children while raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy.

Stop Bullying with Empathy
Childhood aggression isn't child's play. Stopping aggression starts early, by introducing young children to empathy.

The best teachers provide love and guidance

29 October 2013: In an online debate entitled “Can We Have Education Without Teachers?” Roots of Empathy Founder/President Mary Gordon contends that teachers are still a vital part of the education process, but what they teach and how they function within the classroom must change.

Gordon argues that real experiential learning happens through relationships rather than one-way learning. This makes the role of the teacher an essential component of successful learning environments, as the teacher is the one to model behaviour, facilitate relationships, provide feedback and guide students in observation, and internalizing their learning.

And the number one skill that Gordon thinks teachers should be developing in their students? – Empathy. “It is the ultimate human trait.” Empathy can only be developed experientially, guided by a committed teacher aware of the importance of social and emotional learning and empathy. In summation, Gordon predicts:

Far from being obsolete, the teaching profession is poised to reinvent itself in this globalized and modernized world. To care is to teach, and to teach is to touch the future. The challenges and the hope of this decade would be to revisit the cultivation of relationships and empathy in classrooms and to support teachers in learning how best to capitalize on the use of technology and the power of their own humanity.

As the 2013 World Innovation Summit for Education takes place this week in Qatar, visit the 2013 WISE Summit site to review this debate and read Mary Gordon’s perspective on teaching in the 21st century (click on the "Empathy and Teaching" tab).

December 22, 2013

When I think of children dying at a young age I always think of

tragedy. But the new spiritual beliefs I am trying to incorporate into thinking are that what seems like tragedy is really my wrong interpretation.

So I just started looking at her picture and all of a sudden I realized how she moved thousands of people, how she got them together for the forces of good. How for a short period of time they were all one. And how she is influencing people not just from her neighborhood but around the world.

Then she looked like an angel that was sent to help us all heal.

A great life doesn't have to be a long life. And I don't think anyone dies anyway. I think they just change forms and I think they come back to earth if they want to.

Just my 2 cents.

December 19, 2013

Dana Rohrabacher Is Dirty (R) California

http://www.ocweekly.com/2013-12-19/news/moxley-confidential-dana-rohrabacher-robert-polyniak/

When Congressman Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher moved into a four-bedroom, four-bathroom, million-dollar Costa Mesa rental home on April Fool's Day 2010, the immaculate, 6,300-square-foot property could have been featured in a glossy real-estate magazine. Built in 1948, the two-story, Orange Avenue home had been updated in recent years for comfort and style. The carpeting was new, appliances worked and walls were spotless. Thriving flowers, plants and grass adorned the idyllic back yard less than 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean.


But it's now understandable why Orange County's senior, career politician secretly changed the locks and refused to allow homeowner Robert Polyniak inside for annual inspections. When he moved out in August 2012, Rohrabacher left behind a shockingly horrific pigsty, a dump worse than a college fraternity house of unhygienic slobs unfamiliar with the most basic tools of cleaning. Darlene Whitsell, Polyniak's longtime girlfriend, entered the home shortly after the congressman's departure and wept at the scene.

"It was disgusting," she said. "It was unbelievable. Who lives like that?"

Massive black stains and muck covered the carpet throughout the home. Sticky grime encased damaged, rusted appliances. Denied water, once-thriving outside plants and grass dried up and died. Blinds were cracked. Black dirt ruined the appearance of once-sparkling tile floors. Walls inexplicably contained odd holes, nail polish, wax and some smelly substance that may have been feces.

Every toilet seat in the house was broken. The ceilings showed smoke damage. Light switches had been cracked. Clumps of hair and remnants of what may have been balloons or some other rubbery material clogged sinks. Cracks scarred doors. Thick, solidified grease rendered the air-suction vent above the kitchen stove useless. Bathroom towel bars were missing, and vanities suffered water damage.

MORE at link

December 19, 2013

The bank and wall street are giving themselves 95 billion in bonuses!

http://other98.com/wall-street-give-your-bonuses-to-the-people-you-made-homeless/

The only thing I can think of to do is sign this petition and others like it. And maybe other ideas?

And check out the book for these greedy rat bastards, "How to spend it." Be the Financial Times. A book that explains how these pathetically rich people can spend their money, (I guess to avoid paying taxes)

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“Wall Street is about to give themselves $94.11 Billion – with a B – in holiday bonuses, even as they continue to dodge jail time for their ongoing crime spree!”1HUH? Wall Street megabanks forced ten million people out of their homes due to the foreclosure crisis, while spending 2013 dodging the law for the blatant financial fraud that left folks homeless.2


HOW? Ten banks kicked off 2013 by paying $8.5 billion to settle complaints that they improperly foreclosed on homeowners3; in the summer, Bank of America was charged with rewarding employees who pushed the MOST people into foreclosure4; and then JPMorgan Chase rounded off the year by paying $13BN in fines to make fraud complaints go away.5


WHY? That $91.44 Billion a year could go a very long way towards undoing the vast damage done by Wall Street’s megabanks that have engaged in megafraud, not to mention go quite a long way towards curbing American homelessness in general.


How insane is our Wall Street bonus situation? Wall Street bankers are running out of ideas of how to spend the money. That’s not a joke: the Financial Times publishes “How To Spend It” magazine to help stumped Wall Street bankers figure out what to do with their fat bonus checks.


Megabankers might not spend too much time outside of the financial district, but we do, and we know that bankers are unbelievably unpopular right now. [link to Hayes piece] So, we’re asking them to do the right thing: give their bonuses to the people they made homeless. It doesn’t take a genius to know this is good PR – it’s a win/win for the banks!


Are you the kind of nerd, like us, who wants more details and sources? Read on!


We weren’t joking about $91.44 Billion putting us on the road to ending homelessness for good.

Seriously: The National Affordable Housing Trust is a program that, if funded for $30 billion a year for 10 years, could END homelessness in America. [bit.ly/trustfundforhomes]

The banks could pay for the first two years of funding with one year of bonuses alone!6 Meanwhile, public housing – y’know, the place that the foreclosed have largely been pushed into? – has needed $21 Billion in repairs for a long time.7 That means $10.44 Billion left over – more than enough bonuses for every Wall Street banker to take many, many, many trips to Disney World, or whatever Wall Street bankers spend their money on. (Ahem.)
Sources:

- See more at: http://other98.com/wall-street-give-your-bonuses-to-the-people-you-made-homeless/#sthash.WhrcIIKq.dpuf

December 15, 2013

So in a little thread over on FB someone posted a picture of the sign language imposter

at Mandela's Memorial service.

The first person said it was hysterical.


And the second person said: "That's about par for this administration."

December 13, 2013

A funny song/video about brain farts.

December 10, 2013

I know I'm a pest with the petitions but this one.......

http://www.change.org/petitions/sign-here-tell-40-limbaugh-sponsors-clear-channel-cumulus-we-will-not-buy-support-misogyny-racism-or-hate-speech?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_message_notice

A reminder of some of the things he has said.

"If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."

~Rush Limbaugh, during a three day, on air, verbal attack of then unknown law student, Sandra Fluke. He also called her a 'slut' and a 'prostitute'. She was advocating for insurance covered birth control. Video



"Now, this is Michael J. Fox. He's got Parkinson's disease. And in this commercial, he is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He is moving all around and shaking. And it's purely an act."

~Limbaugh, while also making erratic motions with his arms and hands mocking Mr. Fox.



"There is a movement on to normalize pedophilia, and I guarantee you your reaction to that is probably much the same as your reaction when you first heard about gay marriage. What has happened to gay marriage? It’s become normal — and in fact, with certain people in certain demographics it’s the most important issue in terms of who they vote for. So don’t pooh-pooh. There’s a movement to normalize pedophilia..” ~ Limbaugh



"Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is also a White House dog?"

~Limbaugh, while holding up a photograph of 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton.



"Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble (African American) Jesse Jackson?" -Limbaugh



"You Know How to Stop Abortion? Require That Each One Occur With a Gun" ~Limbaugh



Hundreds of similar quotes have been documented. By signing this petition, we are sending a clear message to the networds that carry The Rush Limbaugh Show (Clear Channel/iHeart Radio and Cumulus) and we are letting Limbaugh's sponsors know that we do not want the money we use to buy products and services, to support Limbaugh in any way.



Copies of this petition and signatures are sent to the sponsors by email, with each new 500 signatures added. As well as boycotting these companies, you can also use this information to personally contact any of these companies to voice your concerns.



The sponsor list changes often. All sponosrs listed here have advertised with Rush Limbaugh wtihin the last 90 days.

_________________

December 10, 2013

email from Alan Grayson asking for donations

http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/69532904646/please-read-this-if-you-didnt-donate-this-weekend

This year, I have passed more amendments in the U.S. House of Representatives than any other Member of Congress. According to Slate magazine, I’m the most effective Member of Congress.

Last year, I passed no amendments. Why? Because I wasn’t in Congress. The Republicans beat me in 2010, spending more than $5 million in sewer money to inundate my district with lying negative ads.

As I pointed out to you in e-mails on Friday and Saturday, it can happen again. In fact, it looks like it is happening again. The Republicans are already spewing their nasty filth against me, calling me an “Obamacare co-conspirator.”

As I explained in those e-mails, The Washington Post recently reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting me. That word – “targeting” – is their word, not mine.

When you are a “targeted” House Democrat, it means that the other side is planning to spend $5 million or more to defeat you. You can take my word for it, because it happened to me before. And it worked. I was out of office. For two years, I wandered in the wilderness.

When you are out of office, there ain’t nothing you can do for nobody. Think of liberal lions like Dennis Kucinich, Barney Frank, Russ Feingold. Think of how much they accomplished in office. And then think of what they accomplished afterward.

How much would Elizabeth Warren be able to achieve if she had lost her Senate race?

Since I put out the word on Friday night, we have received over $100,000 in contributions and pledges, from well over 1000 people. That’s great, and I’m grateful. But that’s not enough to counter $5 million. If you didn’t contribute this weekend, then I need you to do that now.

And as I’ve explained before, the most effective way to do that is to make a monthly pledge. Just $10 or $20 or $25 each month – it adds up. It makes a difference, a huge difference. Every dollar counts.

We are fighting for justice, equality and peace. We are paying attention, we are working hard, and we are getting things done. And because of that, I am under attack. I need your help, and I need it today.

I know you are counting on me. Well, it works both ways. I’m counting on you. Please don’t let me down.

Courage,

Rep. Alan Grayson