Long Time Passing

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted in here, but then time passing has been a theme of my life recently. For instance, I'm volunteering as an assistant religious education teacher through my church. I'm helping out with some 8th graders, and the class meets in my old 8th grade classroom. It's hard to believe that it was 10 years ago that I sat in there last. I'm enjoying the class so far-the students are hilarious, and I like the teacher (Kathleen) and other assistant teacher (Dave). It's good to meet new people in Davis, since prettty much everyone I knew here has moved away.

Meanwhile, I have been sick for the last 8 days now. I'm feeling a lot better, although not 100 percent yet. It seemed like time stood still while I was sick--I thought it would never go away. Glad to be almost back to normal. Guess I don't need one of those impossible-to-get flu shots-I already had my turn...

Yesterday, I went over to Berkeley. Ryan was up on a brief visit from L.A. for work. We had dinner at Zachary's. It was good being back in the East Bay-I realized how much I miss it. And it was obviously wonderful to see Ryan again. I hadn't seen him for almost 2 years, yet another example of time passing quickly. It seems like yesterday that I thought I'd never get out of Arkansas. And with election day coming up shortly, I think back on the 2000 election, which I truly cannot believe was four whole years ago.

Speaking of the election, I have to put in a political plug. Anyone reading this can probably guess my preference for the presidential ticket, but I actually want to make one plea about one of the propositions on CA's ballot. Please, please, please vote NO on Prop 64. This proposition claims to protect businesses from unfair lawsuits. What it actually does is keep organizations and indivduals from being able to file suits on behalf of the government. In other words, environmental lawsuits, public health lawsuits, and anti-fraud suits would all be hindered. So when some company does illegal dumping, the government will have to pay to sue, meaning that more polluters will get away with their crimes. This proposition is bad policy and will end up costing Californians money, as well as harming the public interest.

Please read this--it could be the most underreported important news story of our time. Sorry to be so wonky and depressing, but I just have to get the word out about the horror of what's going on in Sudan. It's genocide--Arabs are systematically raping and killing blacks in an effort to get them to permanently leave the area to Arab control. Over 10,000 people are dying per month, and this has been going on for 17 months. Meanwhile, the US and the UN won't send peacekeeping forces (they're tied up in places like Afghanistan and Iraq), just humanitarian aid. Humanitarian aid is good-people need food and medical treatment, but it's not gonna stop the killings. If there is such a thing as a "just war" or just military involvement, ending genocides like the one in the Sudan would have to qualify. I just can't believe how little news coverage there is about this. If you want to read more, here's an article from"American Prospect", and another one from the Washington Post.
Things you can do about these atrocities.