My Girl Scouts and I recently learned a new method for assessing group opinions so we can work toward consensus. It looked useful in the book (it's included in the Agent of Change Journey program) but it wasn't until we tried it that I learned how amazingly well it works for me! Fist to Five … Continue reading Fist to Five: A way to reach agreement
politics
Thirty Reasons Why Women Should Have the Vote
In the late 1970s, my mother was advocating ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and one of her organizations decided to make the editorial below part of the program they presented to other women's groups. It is adapted from an editorial in a suffragist newspaper published in Garnett, Kansas, in the era when women were fighting for … Continue reading Thirty Reasons Why Women Should Have the Vote
What’s wrong with these Earth policemen?!
Pittsburgh police killed Nang Nguyen because he was waving a meat cleaver. Okay, he should not have been doing that, but did they really have to shoot him dead on the sidewalk? Consider the details of this story: He had a history of acting strangely toward the end of the month, when he would run … Continue reading What’s wrong with these Earth policemen?!
response to “The Urban Archipelago”
I just learned that an article several people forwarded to me just after the 2004 election now has its own Website. "The Urban Archipelago" has one very clear, important point: The states of the United States are not as different from one another as the cities are different from the small-town and rural areas. But after … Continue reading response to “The Urban Archipelago”
Planned Porcine Hoods?
Recently I received a flurry of indignant e-mails from Planned Parenthood, decrying the refusal of FOX and CBS to air a condom commercial. Not condom commercials in general, just one in particular. Planned Parenthood urged me to contact everyone imaginable, demanding that this commercial must be aired so people can protect themselves from pregnancy and sexually transmitted … Continue reading Planned Porcine Hoods?
Things I Learned from My Mom
Mothers are people too. It's wonderful to be female. Speak up for what you believe. It's okay to be different from the natives. It's more important to have things that are enjoyable and useful than to be fashionable. Cooking is worthwhile. Plants are wonderful. Take a walk. The world is made up of interwoven stories.
Scary math tricks with U.S. Presidential Elections
The United States presidential election system is more complex than most people realize, and it has some serious mathematical pitfalls. Be aware of them so that your vote will mean what you think it does.
The Earthling's Handbook 