Day 313 - Happy Face

Thought of the day: Tonight we went to a small event in Boulder where Nancy Pelosi gave a speech.  It was the first time we heard her speak in person.  The first part of her speech really surprised me as I was not expecting her to say what she said, at least not in tonight’s event.  She said that science is going to drive the future of this country and that “Science is the answer to our prayers!” How true, and how refreshing to hear it from a sitting politician. Beyond the muddy water of partisan politics, beyond the cycles of boom and bust, beyond everything, it’s science that will drive our future and it’s science that will save our world from the brink of a collapse. This morning, I read that only 35% of Iowa Republicans believe in evolution and only 21% in the same demographics believe that there is a man-made global warming. Over the general population, recent Gallup polls show that fewer than 40% of all Americans believe in evolution and fewer than 50% of Americans believe that global warming has a human cause. According to the same Gallup polls, the belief in global warming is becoming increasingly partisan. In the meantime, 99% of US earth and life scientists believe in evolution and 97% of climate scientists believe in man-made climate change. These dismaying disconnect between the public and the science is not only ludicrous, it’s outright dangerous as when we lose sight of science, we lose sight of our means of improving or even maintaining our collective standard of living and we lose sight of our future. As a nation, we are walking on a treacherous path. Pelosi’s speech tonight gave me hope that there are still people in our law-making chamber with a clear head. Only the future will tell whether they will prevail and whether we will prevail as a nation.

Photo of the day:

Izzy and Lila took the Tebo Mini Train on Pearl St this morning.  The train had been there all summer offering free rides to kiddos and their parents.  This is the last week for the train to be running.  Yes, summer is ending as the campaign season is  heating up.

Day 182 - Lila

Thought of the day: This morning I read a political column by Paul Krugman recently published on NY Times.  It's titled "Let's Not Be Civil" in which he wrote about the ideological differences between the two parties as manifested by their different proposals for deficit reduction.  He asserted that the differences were so stark that it's hopeless to try to reconcile the proposals through civil discussions and the only hope of reconciliation lied in the upcoming election in 2012.  He made an interesting observation that "...the two parties don’t just live in different moral universes, they also live in different intellectual universes".  How true!  In the past few years, I have found myself to be in agreement with almost everything one party represents and in disagreement (sometimes in disgust) with almost everything the other party represents.  That includes everything from the role of the government, universal health care, the distribution of wealth, gun control to environmental policies, abortion and gay rights.  I think this is not a healthy situation.  It can be partly attributed to the fact that the US Congress is getting increasingly polarized.  Moderates have been gradually replaced by those closer to their ideological homes and that's especially true for the republican party.  Perhaps I am also, alas, getting more narrow-minded.  It's easy to happen as, over time, you tend to gravitate towards like-minded friends, read books and articles by like-minded authors and watch programs narrated by like-minded reporters.  Perhaps I should try to expand my horizon and reach deeper into "the other side" with more sincerity and open-mindedness.  However, as long as my moral values and the facts don't change, I doubt I will change many of my opinions as a result.  But perhaps I will gain a better understanding of where the other opinions come from and why some genuine and intelligent people would embrace a world view that is so completely different from mine.

Photo of the day:

Lila standing outside of the Med (nick name for Mediterranean Restaurant) in downtown Boulder. This place has been voted  as the best restaurant for tapas year after year and it's easy to see why. Food unites people like nothing else. All the political differences dissipates in the air after a good glass of margarita!

Day 160 - Sisters

Thought of the day: Tonight I watched "Courage Under Fire" the n-th time.  It was a very well-made movie about a courageous female commander who was accused of being a coward by one of the soldiers.  She eventually had her name cleared and received the Medal of Honor posthumously.  Co-incidently, there was also a news segment on TV about the ongoing class action suit in the Supreme Court against Walmart for gender-based discrimination.  Even in this day and age, discrimination and abuse against women are still rampant around the globe.  According to statistics released by the Department of Labor, women in the US are suffering from unequal pay.  However, the discrimination here is often subtle as the law and public opinions are against it.  Subtle discrimination is hard to fight and can be very frustrating, but around the world, women suffer from far more blatant abuses that deprive them the right to work, to vote, to decide where to go, who to marry, among other things.  In some countries, the discrimination is sponsored, or at least condoned, by the government.  In others, it could be a cultural "thing" that has been going on for millenniums.  Unless something is actively being done against it, inequality won't just go away on its own as it's unlikely for anyone to give up power voluntarily to a disadvantaged group.  However, there is hope.  I heard that women in Northern Europe, especially in Sweden, enjoy more equal rights than their counterparts elsewhere.  I would be curious to find out what they did to get there.

Photo of the day:

Sisters playing on a toy truck - Lila adores her big sister.  I sure wish that they would not have to endure gender based inequality when they grow up.