can we fire congress?

i'm having a hard time understanding why the american people continue to pay members of the house of representatives when they misrepresent most of us.

if congress continues to hold the country hostage to an ideological quest america flatly disagree's with, can we can them?

republicans only hold the speakership and majority of the House because the gerrymandered districts around the country.

the will of the people is not being represented by our congress, nor by the supreme court.  the american people seem in agreement on a number of things.  por ejemplo most of us agree that:

• the voting rights act is something to be proud of
• people who work 40 hours a week should not live in poverty in America 
• every American who wants a job should get a job. (there are enough bridges to be fixed to keep everyone busy until we get bigger ideas, i'm sure.)
• "(wo)man is free to act for him/herself and not to be acted upon"
• an all out prohibition on automatic weapons would probably help things
• we need an open dialogue about drones
• marijuana should be legal and taxed like alcohol and tobacco
• when every one has access to preventative health and mental health care the community benefits
• all human beings have a right to life and liberty and to pursue their happiness.  all of us do, not just the 1%

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

is this what gentrification feels like?

something weird is happening on the unit block of Q this weekend.  a steady stream of people are flowing in and out of my neighbor Bob's house.

i don't know this guy, but i still get what he is saying :)

the realtor is expecting about 30 offers ... which sounds nuts, but considering that the house across the street got 26 (???!!!), maybe its not so far-fetched.

feels like we kinda graduated to being old-timers.  our dysfunctional band has its characters, like every other band, but in the end, we pretty much take care of each other.  i really hope the good new stuff doesn't take away from this gritty neighborliness.  its the best part of living here!

on becoming an old-timer:
when i tell people that i moved in in 2008, they look at me funny.  they know the neighborhood was sketchy then.  that the market collapsed then.  turns out, surviving the end of the bush years and the recession in NorthEast DC earns you gravitas.

that gravitas is helping the neighbors come back together too.  we want to reminisce   reach out to each other.  i believe this spring thaw will run deeper than any before.  i'm hoping we can take this energy and turn into into something really new.  like a block partnership on solar energy or simply throwing a block party.

passages

i just sent this following email to a few friends:

my neighbor passed away and his house is now up for his estate sale.  please pass this along to anyone you know looking for a house.  i'd love fun neighbors ;)
33 Q St NE

something about it felt creepy.  like i was all amped up to get something awesome due to the old man's demise.  i caught myself and realized that the way to honor the dead, is to enjoy what they leave behind and their memory.

to tell you the truth, i'd have to go into an email from another neighbor announcing his death to even tell you his name.  we were city neighbors.

in the early morning, i'd be running between ms. jackie and my gardens. he'd be in a robe, smoking. we'd wave.  he was too far away to say anything without being loud to too many others.  so, we'd just wave.

i was sure he thought i was crazy, jumping around the gardens.  i was on hyper speed then.

i remember seeing him in the front of the house.  i didn't recognize him without his robe, but i recognized the wave.  i was on my bike and waved bake.  we may have exchanged words, but i had earphones in so ... didn't have matter.  plus i know, if we had talked, i would have made some wisecrack about smoking or something so ... probably best we just waved ;)

he has a distinctive, manly wave. as if making a "W" with his arm and chest.  i'm more a hand waver.

i liked to think that he noticed when i quit gardening.  my story was, my backyard absence  motivated him out front.  (its incredible how powerful i am in my own head sometimes??)

when i heard he died, i was at dinner with other neighbors.  the fact that he died alone in that house jarred me.  i blurted out "that's my worst nightmare".  i guess he was dead for 24 hours before they found him (i could be messing this story up).

i panicked, thinking it would take a LOT more than 24 hours for anyone to know if i died.

i have this nightmare where i die in my sleep and no one knows for a month and the poor cats are forced to decide if they are going to eat me or die.

thankfully! the last few times i've had the dream, they don't eat me. (progress!!)

anyway, i'm glad i had you neighbor. (notice the verb: had.  for a time we did.  i drifted off.  but there was a time when i would have noticed the morning he wasn't there.  i miss that.  there is a safety in that kind of neighborliness. when you know each other's schedules and routines, the sounds of your houses, the difference between the kind of fight that is just an argument and the kind that needs intervention.)


thanks for being my neighbor, Bob LaRiviere!
(i looked it up)

pope resigning. first time in 600 years

On a call today I got a flash on my iPad that the Pope had resigned.  I had to end the convo because I was completely distracted.

Not knowing what to do, I called my grandma.  For some reason I just read the following from a Fox News article to her ... mostly because it said that it had been 600 years.  

In a sudden announcement that caught Catholics around the world off guard, Pope Benedict XVI said he will resign at the end of February, becoming the first pontiff to step down in nearly 600 years. 

The 85-year-old pontiff made the announcement Monday, saying he no longer had the strength to carry out his papal duties. 

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the pope said according to a statement released by the Vatican.

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry."- Pope Benedict XVI 

He said he is aware of the "seriousness" of his resignation, but that he did so in "full freedom." He will live out his days on Vatican grounds, according to officials.

she asked me how i felt. for some reason i just started singing this song.  She said that it felt like the right song:

this is how a local priest felt folks felt

Control of One's Own Body is a Pre-Req for Freedom

I've been on a bit of a hiatus.  Not really.  I've been battling my PTSD.  More on that whole saga later, but watching the clip below, I'm stuck by the irrationality and lack of forethought on behalf of these evolutionary renegades.  So much so that I've been kicked out of my silent fog.

Have the "pro-life" folks ever really considered the ramifications on "life" that their policies create?  Have they considered the species-wide ramifications of a population that forces "the weak and the powerless" to have lots of babies?  Especially, when it encourages the most successful to have few to none?

Are there fundamental neurological difference between a wanted and an unwanted child?  I imagine so.  Even just the amniotic fluid would be different if the mother was dreading the birth instead of excited.  We know that one doozy of a result is an increase in intersex children.  When adrenaline/stress levels are elevated our bodies produce more cortisol and testosterone.  In pregnant women these hormonal imbalances can create a amnionic environment out of balance, which can then lead to babies born pretty biologically confusing gender.  (We shall,  have a long conversation about flawed binary gender constructs so prevalent in modern America, but later.)

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Women around the world have handed the secrets of pregnancy termination to their daughters for millennia.  As the world melds together and we are able to take the best from each human tribe, we learn new ways for women to naturally terminate pregnancy.  Whether it is which plants to eat, or how to prepare the correct tea, or which pressure point to use and how.  

I wonder if we find this in each of the human tribes because it is part of the corpus of knowledge required to help cultures survive and progress?

Thinking of the biological and evolutionary ramifications of forcing poor/weak/uneducated women to have children they don't want seems biologically maladaptive.  Not to mention the misery of the poor unwanted (often invisible child) being on the planet always feeling like a burden on society due to a destiny for mayhem, abuse, and misery.

How can we claim that Americans are free to experience, optimize, and pursue life, liberty, and happiness, when is it possible that the government to force me to do things to my body I don't want done?

I should be able to reject anything growing in my body that I don't want.  Some being, a tumor, anything growing in my body, I should be able to get rid of.  If I can't afford it, and others want to help me, GREAT!  But be forced to do a biological task that I don't want to perform?  That can't be liberty by any stretch of the imagination.

Women are free to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, the government should uphold and protect that freedom.


The anthem for the little one's who were brought into the world by mistake, never wanted, and mostly existed as an irritant to their parents and family:

DC Children's Welfare Open for Comment

Public input needed for FY 2014 Children's Budget Report

The Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services and the Interim Deputy Mayor for Education are in the early stages of preparing the FY 2014 Children's Budget Report, to be released in March 2013.

One fundamental step in creating the Children's Budget Report is identifying the agencies, programs, and activities (in budget parlance) in the budget to be included in this annual report.  The Deputy Mayors would like feedback from the public on the draft list of what should be in the FY 2014 Children's Budget Report.  If you need to better understand the budget structure, DC Budget Process (PDF) explains the process and the structure, and provides some basic budget definitions.

Step 1:  Review the draft list (.xlsx or .xls) of what will be included in the FY 2014 Children's Budget Report.

Step 2:  Comment on the draft here OR edit the Excel file and email tosusie.cambria@dc.gov.

The deadline for submitting comments is February 12, 2013.

Direct questions to Susie Cambria, susie.cambria@dc.gov.

Agency: 

Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services

Contact: 

Susie Cambria

Email: Susie Cambria

Phone: 

202-727-7973