To the new majority

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So-called pro-life Republicans took the balance of power in Tennessee this year, but I’m left wondering, are you really pro-life?

Or are you just anti-abortion?  Being anti-abortion is much easier.  With the push of a button and the stroke of a pen, you simply criminalize an option you don’t like.  Just be sure, in the fiscal note, to build in some additional prison space, along with some serious emergency-room costs for women driven by desperation to the unsafe and illegal.

The difference is simple: to be truly pro-life, one has to devote at least as much effort toward saving the babies already outside the womb.  As Aunt B. so eloquently notes,

One in five babies in that neighborhood did not live to see their first birthdays.  You have a better chance of celebrating your child’s first birthday in Afghanistan than you do on the south side of Nashville.  In Memphis, an infant dies every 43 hours (yes, those are tiny coffins).  Every other day a family loses their baby.

 

That’s not going to be an easy challenge.  It would mean funding access to birth control for people you think should simply abstain, putting aside the values you think they should have, in deference to the realities they actually live.

It would mean putting more resources into prenatal care for girls and women you don’t think should be procreating to begin with, whose children you will have to pay to feed, clothe, doctor, and educate for the next 18 years.

Are you really pro-life?  Your actions will serve as your answers. 

* * * * *
If you’re serious about success, Say Uncle sums it up nicely.

Farewell, soldier and teacher

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Dean Charles Burchett died yesterday, and the world will be forever lesser because he is gone.

He served many roles in his lifetime, but when I crossed his path, he was the Dean of Student Conduct at UT.  I was a freshman, with something of a disregard for formalities, like dorm rules.

In fairness, the RA on my floor felt kind of put-upon to have to supervise the only floor without unlimited visitation that summer.  She was a goody-two-shoes sort, and I think she had a general dislike for freshmen in general.  Fortunately for her, there weren’t many of us.  Unfortunately for us, there weren’t many of us, so there were fewer to share the possibility of blame.

I did a few things that probably deserved probation on the basis of conduct, like calling for the elevator, and just as the door opened, firing a bottle rocket under her door, hopping in, and departing at some random floor in Carrick Hall to wander about innocently, before taking the stairs to the lobby.  Never got busted for that one, even though I must have done it a half-dozen times.

Whoosh-pop-EEK!

But on the day of a surprise room inspection, I merited close scrutiny, and was written up for three different things on the same day.  As any Vol knows, three write-ups in a quarter earns one a series of weekly visits with the Dean.  My crimes?  A cat, a refrigerator not rented from the official usurers, and I’d re-wired a phone to put an extension by my bed (this was in the old days, where there was one phone for two double rooms).

Pretty mild, compared to some of what Dean Burchett dealt with on a daily basis.  But he took his responsibility to counsel me seriously, using humor and compassion to reach out to a student who didn’t realize the guidance that was needed.  It must have taken though, because I can still hear his words today.

He asked me if I went to church, and I told him I did.  He asked where, and I told him the name of my home church in Oak Ridge.  "Well, that’s the problem!" he exclaimed, "those Methodists are too damned liberal."

(I’m still a Methodist, though I concede that liberals are welcome and do exist there.)

I didn’t miss the humor in that statement… and from that point on, I actually looked forward to visiting him each week.  Even after the quarter ended and I was no longer required to show up, I dropped by from time to time just to chat.

At the end of every meeting he would tell me, "You’re not a bad girl.  You just like a little mischief."

I needed that.

Tim, Charles, and Joyce, your father shone his light on many.  You’re lucky to have been his first priorities, and the rest of us are lucky to have had our 30 minutes a week for a few months.

Charter Congratulations

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Although most of the nation waited expectantly for news of who will be our next President, I fell asleep before even the local results were in.

It was a long day for me, campaigning for the ten candidates I supported for Charter Commission.  I couldn’t vote for all ten, obviously — and it was hard to narrow my choices down to seven.  But they’re a fine group of people, including some folks new to city politics that I hope to see on the ballot again someday.

Five of ours were elected: Gene Caldwell, Pat Postma, Leonard Abbatiello, Chuck Agle, and David McCoy.  Girlfriend pointed out in an early morning e-mail that the youngest one elected is 50-something… wondering if some of the town’s seniors bought into the idea spread by some of the opposition that the future of the Senior Center depended on election of the "right" candidates for Charter Commission.

That’s just silly, of course, but no sillier than some of the other half-truths or outright falsehoods spread during the campaign.

I’m also grateful for our five candidates who ran but were not elected: Mary Helen Rose, who is knowledgeable about the Charter; Ella DuBose, who served on the Charter Review Committee and is someone I’d really like to see continue in public life in Oak Ridge; Paula Flowers, a relative newcomer to Oak Ridge but with tremendous expertise and insight into the types of issues we’re dealing with; Scott Linn, a history teacher at Jefferson who is reasonable, personable, and brings perspective to our challenges; and Mike Mahathy, a health physicist who is a bundle of energy  with great ideas, and committed to the future of this City.

Everyone put in a great deal of work, with most devoting as much (or more) effort to the success of the whole as to their personal campaigns.  That, to me, is a tremendous statement of readiness for public office — a willingness to put the success of an idea or effort above one’s personal goals.

Folks, my hat’s off to all of you.

How should I answer?

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Campaigning at Linden today for HWTFM and his ORION teammates, I had one encounter that left me at a total loss as to how to respond.

A woman emerged from the polling place, and made it a point to tell me that she voted against my husband because of "what [I] did to Brenda Fellner."  Puzzled, I asked her exactly what that was, as I cast the lone vote NOT to fire her.

She argued that, in the second (post-hearing) vote, I "did too" vote for firing.  I suggested that she go back and check the newspaper, because I was the lone dissenter, voting against the motion to terminate.

It occurred to me later that I had the minutes of that meeting in my car, but it was already too late — she’d already voted.  It’s kind of like Jerry Kuhaida being thrown off City Council in 1995 because of people’s anger over Parcel A (he’d voted against it), only worse — it wasn’t my husband who cast the vote she took issue with.

I hate feeling like baggage to him.

The future of school

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After a couple of intense days at the T+L Conference, one thing is clear: the future of school includes some online courses.  That’s not to take anything away from teachers, or their ability to help our children learn and grow… but the way that’s accomplished is going to change.

It has to.  Already, schedule compression (more and more requirements, no more hours in the day) has reached the point where some students are forced to give things up, in order to fulfill requirements.  Once example of that is that Gamma will have to take economics next year, and to do so during the school day, she’ll either have to give up Orchestra (which she’s been in since 4th grade), or German IV (necessary for her to be able to take the AP test, which she very much wants to do), or Calculus (not an option).

I don’t consider any of those to be an acceptable trade-off, so I’m exploring the possibility of enrolling her in an online course through Roane State, which she could hopefully do over the Summer.  

I don’t know, but I’d be willing to bet that there are quite a few students faced with giving up something they’ve invested years in.  The reality is, you can’t take four years of a foreign language AND be in the band, orchestra, art, career academies, or any number of valuable classes, and still meet all the graduation requirements. 

What if we could offer online courses, to be completed at home, for things like Economics, Government, Personal Finance (a new requirement beginning next year), Wellness A (essentially, what we used to call "Health") and such?  Those are pretty standard classes, which most students could learn independently with the right online curriculum.

Further, what if we could waive the PE requirements (currently one semester, going up to two semesters next year) for those students who are part of school athletic teams, who already put in at least the same number of hours?

Next year, two more courses will be required for graduation (Personal Finance and PE).  In my opinion, we need to do something this year to prevent the schedule compression from getting worse.

There are already a lot of online courses developed that adhere to our State standards.   Partnering with community colleges, such as Roane State, is another option. 

I’ve gathered a lot of information, which I’ll link to in another post (when I can have all my papers and wireless access in the same place).  But for now, what do you think? 

Seattle, Monday

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Seattle really is a beautiful city… what little I’ve seen of it so far, anyway.

Getting here was a bit of an adventure, but it seems like anything involving airline travel is, these days.  My flight out of Knoxville was delayed (they didn’t put enough fuel in, on the first try), then we hit headwinds approaching Dallas.

When I got to the next gate, it was one minute until departure (I was supposed to have 45 minutes between flights), and they’d already given my seat to someone on standby.  So, I got bumped by 2.5 hours to the next flight out.

Not so bad, all things considered.  And, they even gave me a window seat, which I like.  Unfortunately, they put the two biggest fellows on the plane in my row, and I was in the last group to board, so I had my carry-on under my feet and was scrunched up against the window for the whole four-hour flight.

It could have been a lot worse, I know.  But I am tired — I’ve been up since 1 a.m. (Eastern time), and my last event this evening begins at 8:00 (Pacific time), so I’m going to be running about 24 hours straight before this day is done.

I can see the bay out my window, to the right of the shot posted.  I’d really love to go down to the wharf, and might just do that before the reception this evening.

Sleepless (before I even get to Seattle)

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I woke myself with a yell this morning — heart racing, leaping from the bed, convinced that I was going to miss my plane (which boards at 5:25 a.m.), headed for Seattle for the week.

The clock said 1 a.m., but in the dream that woke me, my mother had just called — something about which dress I was going to allow Beta (now 18) wear for Halloween.  I asked her, in the dream, what time it was… and she said "about five."  This prompted the yell that woke me, and now I’m up for the day.

That dream probably came from spending most of yesterday trying to finish Gamma’s halloween costume.

It’s going to be a long day anyway, but even longer with the three-hour time difference.  That’s okay, though.  At least now I’ve had time to read the newspapers (as is my habit), write a little, and start the day the way I prefer.

I’ve packed everything in my carry-on, to minimize the chances of me arriving in Seattle while my luggage goes to Miami.  That happened when I went to a meeting in Sacramento some years ago, and I’ve never quite recovered from the trauma.  Unfortunately, this makes me a little anxious, wondering if my little bottle of toothpaste is going to make it through security… since I’ve only flown a few times since 9/11, it does seem like the processes change each time.

Anxiety about time and travel aside, I’m looking forward to the T+L Conference.   Technology is an important and growing part of education, but it’s critical to be informed. As most people realize, it’s easy to spend a ton of cash on technology, but there’s a huge difference between having all the latest gadgets and having the right tools for the job.

By the end of today, I’ll be better informed.  And I won’t be sleepless in Seattle.

The road less traveled

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Last weekend, taking advantage of a few days of Fall Break, we took off for a mental health holiday.  Winding through Oliver Springs, then Wartburg, up past Huntsville and taking a left at Oneida, we explored a tiny portion of the national treasure that is Big South Fork.

Gamma’s taking a lifeguarding class, so she had to stay behind (thanks Girlfriend, for giving her a safe place to sleep and making sure she was well fed).  HWTFM, Delta, and I camped.

On Saturday night after setting up camp and fixing a quick supper, we headed up to Stearns, KY to ride the Big South Fork Scenic Railway — or more specifically, the Haunted Hollow Express.  It was a little scary, but very, very entertaining!  We’ll definitely go back for a longer, daytime ride to Devil’s Jump someday.

Yes, it was 33 degrees Sunday morning.  But, the fire was warm and we fixed a good breakfast… bacon sizzling over an open fire cures a world of ills.  By noon or so, we took off on an ambitious mountain bike adventure — about fourteen miles, but it was fourteen miles of steep terrain.  We forded a couple of streams, and one small river.

On Monday, we hiked.  Dog enjoyed the hike, but even more so, the swim that he took at our turnaround point.  He didn’t bark at the many horses, nor at other hikers.  He stayed close to us, but enjoying every scent, every sound in the forest.  We saw giant leaves that I can’t identify, but some other hikers told us they were known as "hillbilly toilet paper."

Three days (well, two full days and two half days) of no phone, no internet, no television, no radio, no news, no politics.  Double doses of fresh air, sunshine, and quiet.  We went to bed tired every night, and slept soundly.

Today, we returned home to attend to real life — things like HWTFM’s Charter Commission campaign, finishing Gamma’s halloween costume, Delta’s geometry homework, school board stuff… the eveyday stresses that make sleeping in the woods away from everything and everyone else so attractive to begin with.

We’re fortuate to live so close to such paradise.  Every day, we hear endless griping about what’s wrong with our [country/city/state/school/fill-in-the-blank], yet we’re only a short drive away from getting away from it all.  If everyone took such a break once in a while — it’s a national park, so it’s an absolutely affordable getaway — we’d all be in a better mood, easier to get along with.

I certainly am.

Liveblogging: Charter Commission Forum

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First, the rules: no questions will be allowed that are directed to a particular candidate.  Questions are screened to eliminate redundancy.  Opening remarks are limited to two minutes, and answers to questions are limited to a minute and a half.  No video recording is allowed; the media is allowed to tape the forum, but are not allowed to permit the recording to be altered in any way, nor used for any candidate advertising.

Gene Caldwell, Pat Postma, and Dave McCoy had their opening comments read by representatives, as they were unable to be here.

Each candidate makes an opening comment.  Of the first six, Chuck Agle is the first to stay within his time limit, but finding time to remind the audience of our history with district elections — that candidates were elected with fewer than 100 votes, and that in 1971, more than half of the council races (seven of twelve) were uncontested.

Ella Dubose compares the city to a computer, with the City Charter as the operating system.  We’re charged now with determining whether an "upgrade" is needed, especially since all software doesn’t work with all systems.

Scott Linn, a history teacher at Jefferson Middle School, says it’s essential to be open minded and reasonable when considering changes to the City Charter.  District representation didn’t work — Oak Ridge can’t afford to experiment with failed policies.  We need to work together.

Mike Mahathy points out that challenges are opportunities, but the future of Oak Ridge rests in the results of this Charter Commission.

Mary Helen rose recalls that she was the recording secretary for the last Charter Commission, and served on the Charter Review Committee last year.  "When I’m unhappy with Council, it’s usually because I don’t like one of their decisions, but I doubt that I would be any happier if they were elected by district, or if there were nine instead of seven."

*  *  *

Questions from the local media are next on the agenda.  Stan Mitchell, publisher of the Oak Ridge Observer, asks first:

Because the current City Council is elected at large, it has been said that this leads to some areas being unfairly represented.

Abbatiello: Both forms of government are representative; it’s just a different technique.  Districts create yet another sub group.  It can work reasonably well, until you never have enough candidates to compete.  Our primary issues are citywide, and we need to find the technique that allows us to focus on these citywide issues.

Burns: Two recent decisions were on the mall, and on Crestpoint.  Council’s votes on those matters indicate that Council is not hearing, or not listening, to the people.

Agle: During Abbatiello’s term, our tax rate remained relatively stable.  If we changed to districts representation, there would be no hope of restraint in spending.

Dittner: The Woodland hotel issue illustrates that the current Council is not working, that Council is not listening to neighborhoods.

DuBose: I believe that our Council represents all of the city, and that they’re working on neighborhood revitalization.

John Huotari asks, why districts?

Fain: A broad opportunity for people to be listened to, strengthening the health of our democracy, would be supported by district representation.

Flowers:  There are pros and cons for district representation.  You can get into some one-upsmanship, with Council members refusing to vote for a project because another district council member voted against a different project in their own district.  "If you don’t like the way the coach is calling the game, you don’t change the rules."

Humphries:

Linn: what concerms me about district representation is that it takes away from the individual’s voting power.  Now, we vote for 100% of council members; under the CDAR proposal, one would only be able to vote for up to four of nine.  The Founding Fathers did provide for a blended government (districts for the lower house, at-large for the senate), but they also made the constitution very difficult to amend.  It is a concern how easily our charter can be amended.

Stan Mitchell asks if we need to raise the threshold for referendums.

Mahathy: I believe that the standard for a referendum should be raised.

Jones: Of course we need to have referendums.  We wouldn’t have this call for change if they felt like they were being heard.

Rose: I’m inclined to think that it should be a little more difficult to call for a referendum, especially for a Charter Commission.

Schramm: Referendums are absolutely necessary.  This is not the end of the process, it is the beginning.  If we elect a Charter Commission

Jjohn Huotari asks, what other issues do you think the Charter Commission ought to consider.

Abbatiello: the democratic process is designed to garner input in a respectful manner.  He outlines the sections of the charter, but does not answer the question.

Burns: only interested in the district question.

Agle: Need to point out the unintended consequences.  Recent court rulings indicate that we may end up with a ruling that we must also have a district or hybrid school board.  The charter is an opportunity to put into place some planning mechanisms.  We have no real plan for growth going forward, so every time there’s an opportunity — it’s a surprise!  We need to take the surprise out of the process.

Dittner: I got into this only to discuss districts and the number of council members.

DuBose: I think the things that should be considered is driven by the citizens.

Stan Mitchell asks, who do you think runs this city, and do you think a strong mayor form of government should be considered?

Fain: On the map of the city, there is a strong pattern of where Council members, as well as people who sit on city boards, live.  There are neighborhoods that are seriously out of balance int he amount of power.  (She didn’t answer the question).

Flowers: With the City Manager form of government, you have a strong separation of powers.  In a town this size, you’ve got to have someone whose administrative role is to attend to the day-to-day form of government.  I’m a strong proponent of the City Manager form of government.

Humphries: It should be the City Manager who runs the city, but Council meets only once per months.  Now, they have a meeting before the meeting, which is better, because the other way looked too much like rubber-stamping the City Manager’s proposals.  I have no personal feelings on the strong mayor form.

Linn: a balance of legislative policy with city council and with the city manager dealing with the business seems to work well.  I would be open-minded to look into something like that, but the current practice seems to work well.

Iskander: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  But I think it is broken.

Mahathy: If you’re not happy with the results, vote for a new Council.  If elected, I will move to adjourn on the first meeting.

Jones: 26 cities in Tennessee have a mixed form of government.  She recalls that in Knoxville, a Council member named O’Connor favored at-large, and a council member named Cas Walker favored a mix of at large and districts.

Rose:  We keep hearing that we’re not represented, but I believe that our 7-member Council represents us well.  When we are unhappy, it’s not because the Council member doesn’t live in our district, it’s because we’re unhappy with some decision that was made.

Schramm: the previous charter commission didn’t even consider districts.  Running at-large takes a lot of time, and more importantly, a lot of money.  People who run are those with the deepest pockets.

*  *  * (5-minute break) *  *  *

Candidates have answered audience questions, but there wasn’t really any new information brought forth.