Organic Food for Schools/Bake Sales for Corporations

There is something just off about our country today when it comes to public schools.

I had a project in Silicon Valley two weeks ago where the major company was moving, and had hired my non-profit to take desks and shelving, containerize it, and ship it to aid organizations working in third world countries. A very worth cause - and amazing that the Corporation had taken the initiative to donate their perfectly good furniture.

Then - there were the gaylord boxes full of perfectly good presentation boards, 3 ring binders, pens etc etc that were getting thrown away. This somehow had not made it into our project scope. In addition, hundreds of high end LCD monitors, brand new keyboards (you name it - it was Silicon Valley) was being "recycled" as per company policy. Even high end whiteboards that you plugged your laptop into - going for scrap.

Here I am thinking about my daughters public school and how we are constantly fundraising for tissue paper, pens, and paper while this is all just getting tossed at the company that probably employs several of our students parents! Then I got to thinking how much wealth there is in our community - mainly in Corporations - and how parents go to posh jobs in posh environments - sit at lunch on high end patio furniture and eat organic food from the Company cafeteria. Compare that to where our children go to school and what they eat for lunch. Pathetic!

To top off my week, I went to an East Bay high school for another project and I almost lost it. The school was in worse condition than a project I did at San Mateo Youth Correctional Facility. Even the design of the school was worse than a prison for youth. How can this be? How can we think it is ok to raise children this way and not see some serious repercussions?

The classic bumper sticker "It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber." comes to mind. (And this coming from a gal from a Navy family)

My plea to Obama

I sent this letter to Obama today - I couldn't believe Massachusetts betrayed their liberal roots this week!

Dear President Obama,

I believe it is time for you to hold a press conference, once again telling Americans it is not ok for Republicans to lie to the people - this time about health care. The fact that Brown won a Massachusetts Senate seat is extremely shocking to me, and shows me how easily ordinary Americans believe fearmongering without any facts.

You hold a unique position in that you are well known as intelligent, even by those Americans who are easily scared into poor decisions. People will listen to you if you take a stand.

It is clear that Health Care reform no longer includes any new government programs, just

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overhauling the existing system. This needs to be made crystal clear. You must speak to the American people - chiding them for listening to outright lies and fearmongering. We need to be held accountable for our decisions, not just the politicians. We need to hear from you that we need to do better, educate ourselves to be better citizens, and not act on fear but make responsible, informed decisions. You need to challenge us to live up to the founding fathers wishes - they were extremely intelligent people. They would be disgusted with how irresponsible our citizenry has become.

Please - hold a press conference soon. There is no time to waste.

With utmost respect,

Nicole Tai

New Moon - I know I know

Wow - what a disappointment. New Moon was terrible. I had told myself that it would be terrible in hopes that it would be ok, but no - it was terrible. The characters had no chemistry, and although the effects were great, the story just didn't work at all. Too much was skipped, and too much left unsaid. When scenes began, I had a feeling as if I had just come back from the ladies room and missed some important part of the scene. I never left my chair. And I did not fall asleep. Chris Weitz complains that he does not get to edit his work because of studios - I sure hope this is his excuse for this movie.

Get Your Facts Straight!

Aren't you annoyed by all the lies in attack ads? I am!

A quick remedy - www.factcheck.org and http://wire.factcheck.org/.

They debunk spin and check the facts of each campaign and sets the record straight. And they are nonpartisan.

Please forward this info to anyone you think would like to quickly check facts before they make decisions or write about anything related to politics.

Go Ahead - Poke Fun at Community Organizers

I just wanted to thank Sarah Palin and Rudolph Guiliani for proving a point: That Republicans have no idea what it is to be an ordinary American trying to organize other people around a cause. Why not? Because they have no need to since they are already the elite and powerful! Community organizers are Americans who work hard everyday hitting the streets, knocking on doors, going to Churches and community Centers, schools, working to mobilize people to make a positive change in their community. It could be something simple like getting a trash can on a street where trash keeps piling up, creating a recycling program where there is none, or something incredible, like tearing down the walls of segregation. So go ahead and poke fun. Insult me and millions of other Americans. It just shows how out of touch they really are!

(I couldn't help it - usually I will post green related issues, but I had such an annoying night last night listening to my former Mayor (Guiliani).