Partly

After a day of very contentious and slightly threatening exchanges with people over the happenings with the government here in Wisconsin, I decided that I should write my State Senator and let him know my feelings about everything. Since he's one of the Senators who are currently hiding out of state, I doubt he will ever see it, but I thought I'd share my opinions anyhow.

I also thought that I'd post them here. Not because I expect that you all out there are dying to know what I think on this, but because I feel what I say has some importance. At least I feel it's well enough thought out for me to put it out for public viewing.

( Dear Mr. Holperin )

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Now, I know that a great many people don't agree with me. I also know that civil discourse on the matter is not the norm. So, if you can't refrain from name calling or pejorative comments, please just post it to your own journal. If you want to disagree, that's fine. Just be intelligent and civil. I really feel that politics can be a matter of calm discussion. Thank you.

There's a whole hell of a lot of stuff going on in Wisconsin politics right now. The state elected a new governor in the last election and he's making a whole lot of people upset with the new policies that he is proposing and the legislature is (most likely) passing.

The one that has the most people upset is the plan to make Wisconsin a "Right to Work" State and to remove the collective bargaining powers of the public unions.

My views on all of this are extremely personal.

Personal view one:
I worked for the County Government and was a union member until I was laid off just over a year ago. When I was "officially" informed that I was being let go, the union rep was there. Why was she there? I'm not really sure. She didn't do anything for me. Except to tell me that I was completely and totally replaceable and that she would make sure that no union rules were violated when they replaced me. She assured me that all union rules would be followed when they put an existing union person in my position and that "anyone could do my job just as well with just a little training". Nice to know. Really.

At the last union meeting I attended I was told that it wasn't part of the unions scope to help save jobs or provide the county with ways to balance the budget and keep everyone employed. This was stated after someone suggested that maybe the union could offer concessions in order to keep all the employes. This was quickly and soundly shot down. You see, the union's job is to ensure that the wages and benefits that were currently in place would continue for those who were still part of the union. In other words, they didn't care that people were losing there jobs, only that those who remained would be unaffected.

There were two times in this discussion that emotions ran high. The first was when everyone was informed that, because of the layoff and consequentially fewer union members, there would be a raise in union dues. The second was when they were discussing how terrible it was that one of the workers, D, was in limbo because administration was going to eliminate her position -- not her employment, mind, just where she worked in the building. Wasn't it terrible that this poor STILL EMPLOYED person may have to do something different. This was a tragedy.

When they all complained at how hard it would be on all of them when the layoff took place, I may have made the mistake of telling them that I damn well hoped it was. Needless to say, I was less than impressed and am still more than a little bitter about the whole damn thing. The the people in the county government that laid me off and the people in the public who I served when I was working for the 4-H did much more for me, were much more sympathetic and helpful than the union or the union members.

Personal view two:
Right now our current school budget deficit is prompting the school board to cut 10 percent of the MAPS teaching staff -- 35 teachers received layoff notices, entire programs are being cut. The district needs to focus all of its resources on the areas that are measured and tested and used at the guide for federal money in order to keep afloat prompted it to cut most of the technical programs and keep those for college prep, which seems to be the only thing that matters in education these days.

Our school district is one of the poorest in the state. It rivals Milwaukee in the amount of students who qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch. We have been extremely hard hit by the economic downturn. We have ridiculous unemployment -- and a lot of people have dropped off the unemployment rolls already. The problem is our population density isn't high enough to qualify for a lot of Federal and State aid. In addition our low percentage of minority students also removes us for a great deal of funding consideration. Finally, a great many of the new funding sources comes with qualifications that actually make it cost prohibitive to take the money.

Don't get me wrong, we have a damn fine educational system here. We have done extremely well with what little funds we have. We just can't keep it up forever. Especially when faced with the economy and regulatory demands. The only way the board can balance the budget is to cut and, like with the county, when faced with the current contracts and union bargaining, they can't cut pay or benefits, but they can eliminate jobs.

Of course, the teacher's union is just like the union I belonged too. As long as the people who remain employed aren't hurt, they don't care if people get laid off. I'm thinking that for 35 teachers, they may actually prefer taking a pay cut than having no pay at all.

I know I would have.

Myria is doing a "farrago" piece for forensics this year. In Farrago you take excepts from different literature that all address a common topic. Her topic is "vanity" and she had several very nice pieces picked out, only her poem by Sylvia Plath "Vanity Fair" is a very difficult piece and the thought is that it will go over most of the audience's head and may be considered a drawback by most of the judges. Plus it's the second poem and it would be best to have a different form of literature.

My request:

Does anyone out there know of an except from a book or essay or movie where vanity leads to a bad end? The except should be only about two minutes long when read (although she can edit it down if needed).

Currently she has a poem (more of a children's tale really) where the main character succumbs to flattery and comes to a bad end and she ends with Ovid's tale of Narcissus. We're kinda looking for something between those to extremes.

Can anyone help? We're drawing a blank right now, even though I know there's examples out there.

I finally got around to making a little video about Myr painting her Master Painting on the wall as school -- which I talked about way back when. As she painted, she took a picture every now and then.

So here you go. A Master in A Minute.

My mom was telling me of a discussion that she had with a good friend of hers and, as things tend to do with this friend, the conversation drifted into politics, specifically Sarah Palin. And, as also always happens when Sarah Palin is mentioned, the commentary became much more personal than political. The conversation ended with discussion on how Sarah Palin went hunting and killed a caribou. “Anyone who can enjoy killing an animal like that,” said this friend of my mothers, “is a really horrible person.”

At which point my mother – a farmer, hunter and outdoorswoman all her life – looked at her friend and said, “Well, it’s nice to know what you really think of me.”

It hurt my mother, I know, that this friend of hers said that, felt that way. I also know that insulting my mother was not the intention. People get wound up and entitled and say things that can’t be unsaid. There were apologies and changes of conversation, but that realization can’t be removed. It’s always there, that little bit of truth of what people think of you. I know that it lingers in my mom’s mind.

It’s a situation I run into online. People’s journals are private, personal things. I know this. It’s true even if the journal is called a blog and is posted for all the world to see. Because of this, they are full of the overstatement and hyperbole that comes from that freedom of private catharsis. There’s also a tendency for bloggers to assume that those they interact with are just like them. There’s logic behind it “If you like X, Y and Z, as I do, then you must also agree with A, B, and C”.

Most of the time the commentary isn’t even specific, they don’t mean any particular person. They just write in the general “Us v. Them” form: “People who do/think/believe/are WHATEVER are evil”. “People” not a specific individual. No. They would never actually insult a friend of theirs. It’s other “people” who are that way. It’s like that line in Men in Black “A person is smart. People are dumb”. It sounds really good until you realize that every one of those “people” is a person and that the “them” you are talking about may actually be one of the “us”.

The fact is I’m often the “them” on these rants. We don’t even have to get into the big stuff like politics or religion or how organic is the food you eat. Nope. You can throw a dart at fandom and hit an unpopular opinion that I hold.

Usually it’s not a problem. I can skip over posts that are blatantly hostile and have a bit discussion with those who aren’t. I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve and I don’t tend to wield my opinions like a sledgehammer (despite what the icon shows). I understand the harshness and exclusivity of such posts may come from the medium rather than the intent of the author. As a rational, logical, thinking person, I can do that. Usually.

But still, sometimes when I read what’s been written, I can’t help think, “So this is what they really think of me”. It’s kind like finding out you’re the enemy when all along you’ve been treated as a friend. And I never know quite what to do with that.

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OH! I like this one. My Real Name (TM) is Rebecca Kludy. Once, a long time ago, I worked for a law firm and one of the associates took to calling me Partly -- as in "Partly Kludy". Way back when the internet was first invented (say the early 90s) I needed a screen and email name to use with AOL (king of the Internet at that time). I went with PartlyK.

I shortened it to Partly for most things (except email) after that, but I've been Partly or PartlyK in everything since that point. Surprisingly enough, not that many people use an adjective as a screen name and I can usually sign up any place as Partly. If that happens to be taken (and it's irritating when it is) I know I can get in as PartlyK.

I have a great deal of fun with it. So many plays on words are available to me. My favorite line is "I'm Partly everywhere on the internet". Which garners all sorts of great responses.

I also like it because it's difficult to do a hard-name search for me on the internet. Go ahead and try. Type in "Partly" and see if you can find out anything about me. *grin* PartlyK will actually give you a few things that I do. I suppose it could be a drawback, not being able to be found, but right now I'm not looking to be found, so I'll take it.

Quite a few years ago, I talked to someone at AOL about an issue with my account and he looked up my name and commented that I was "one of the originals" who signed on with AOL. I've had Partly as a handle for close to 20 years. That's actually longer than some on my flist have been alive.

I have no desire to change handles at this point. I can't think of anything that would fit me better.

I was once described as being "aggressively optimistic". It seems an accurate description of me. I like to see the positive side of things. I enjoy the silver-lining and I will fight to find it.

Don't misunderstand this. I know that bad things happen in this world. I know this because they have happened to me. They have happened to people I know. People I love. The world can be a hard and cruel place. Wil suffers from depression, so I know well how dark the world can become. I don't pretend these things don't happen, I don't ignore the bad or the evil.

But I always come back to a quote by Victor Frankl, holocaust survivor: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.”

My response is always, ALWAYS to try and surround myself with the positive. To fight until I can see some sign of good. Until I can BE some sign of good.

I don't succeed all the time. It's damn hard work to be positive in the morass that life can become. I'm easily influenced by the emotional context around me. I tend to self-doubt and self-recriminate. I am both stubborn and fearful. My fight/flight response is equally balanced and rarely makes my first reaction in any bad situation a good or positive one. I am very, very good at running through scenarios in my mind and thinking dark and dangerous thoughts.

But while I have no control over my initial reaction -- over my fear, over my inadequacies, over my overwhelming desire to just pretend that it didn't happen or to obliterate the problem utterly -- I have complete control over my response. As Victor Frankl says therein lies my growth and freedom.

So yes, I fight to be positive. I fight to do good. I volunteer with the youth of my community. I donate what I can to the local food pantry and HAVEN. I work for my Church. I praise good when I see it. I comment on it to those around me.

I fight to see the good. I am sure to note the number of good, hard-working teenagers I see at the store. I appreciate the neighbor who snowblows my front walk without being asked or being thanked. I admire the group of children who can play quietly (more or less) at a table while their parent waitresses a night shift and I greatly admire a business that allows them to do that.

I fight not to fall into the "It's all about me" mentality that seems to be all the rage these days. I try not to indulge in sarcasm or the belittling of those I disagree with or don't like. I remind myself that it's petty and often cruel to get pleasure out of the misfortunes of others.

It doesn't always work. A brief check of my journal will demonstrate that. But at the same time, I don't write done every slight or injury done to me. In two months -- hell, in two days -- I won't remember the small annoyances of the day, why should I record them here where they lurk waiting to reinfest my life at some point?

Which, in the end, probably makes me a lousy journalist. I know the thought is to write it down and get it out. Only I've always thought that written words were permanent and thoughts are fleeting. In my half-full world view, I'd rather let the bad thoughts flit right away. Of course, if I would take the time to mark down the good ones more often, life would be even better.

I am doing the interview meme which was snagged from needtakehave.

♥ Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
♥ In that comment, asking any 5 interview questions of me.
♥ I will respond; I'll post the answers to your questions here in this post.
♥ I will respond; I'll ask you five questions in a reply to your comment.
♥ You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
♥ You'll include this explanation.

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( Questions from NeedTakeHave )

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( Questions from talkingtocactus )

Title: Unfound
Fandom: Dresden Files, 24
Characters: Harry Dresden, Jack Bauer
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 200
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Fanfic, for fun, not profit.
Notes: Written for the LJ Comm Cossoverland. One of the fandoms had to be a book fandom.

Locating things. Finding people. Even the simplest job could go bad-- kneeling-at-gunpoint-in-a-dark-ally bad.

"Who are you?" The gunman's voice was soft and low, deadly as his weapon.

"Harry Dresden," I skipped 'wizard' but added, "Private Investigator."

"What do you want with me?"

"I was hired to find you."

He scoffed. "You found me." He moved closer, poised and ready, my dislocated shoulder proof he didn't need the gun to be dangerous. He dropped to a crouch, his face even with mine. "Now what?" Our eyes met.

Soldier. Killer. Violent, ruthless, deadly. Honorable, righteous, loyal. A fierce burning passion for justice. A desire not to hurt warring with a readiness to do so. Pain. Loneliness. Fear.

He blinked, breaking the connection and fighting to process his side of the soul-gaze. I hoped whatever he'd seen made me trustworthy.

I stayed still, spoke softly. "Now? I say I can't find you."

"Huh." He half-smiled and stood, putting away his pistol. "Sorry about your arm." In two steps he blended into the darkness.

I gathered my staff and hauled myself to my feet, nursing my arm the best I could. I'd return the advance, quit the job.

Some things were better left unfound.

Title: Piccadilly
Fandom: Bones, Harry Potter
Characters: Seeley Booth, Hermione Granger Weasley
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 100
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Fanfic, for fun, not profit.
Notes: Written for the LJ Comm Cossoverland. One of the fandoms had to be a book fandom.

The only thing that would make Piccadilly Circus more frightening, Booth thought, would be if it had clowns. As it was, the mass of traffic and people ate at his nerves.

"Can I help you?"

The offer came from a good-looking brunette standing at his side. It was a measure of how disoriented he was that he hadn't noticed her approach.

"Not unless you can wave your hands and zap me away from this insanity."

Her laugh was deep and genuine. "No. Not by just waving my hands."

As he watched her walk away, Booth wondered what he was missing.

I'm continuing to spam my flist with fic that I've written over the past year. I may, or may not, go back further than that. I'm thinking not because I didn't write as much back then.

I should, in all honesty, be writing more fic right now, but my brain is kinda fuzzy for that.

I find that I write in a whole lot of different fandoms. Which is only right considering how many shows I love. I think it frustrates some readers though. They leave comments saying "I hope you write more in THIS fandom". I'm much too flighty to promise such things.

Just consider this a warning that there will be more of the same. Enjoy. Or ignore. *grin*

Title: All I Want for Christmas
Fandom: White Collar
Characters: Mozzie, Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Elizabeth Burke
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 917
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Fanfic, for fun, not profit.
Notes: Written for USA LAS. Prompt: What [character] actually wanted for Christmas was.

( Mozzie really didn't do Christmas )