My Top Five Strengths

On Monday in my Creativity class at Wharton, Marty Seligman lectured about his development of Positive Psychology, a discipline that has had a major influence in the discipline. I signed up at the his website, Authentic Happiness, to try out some of his tools. I took the survey of character strengths first. These are the results.

VIA Survey of Character Strengths
Here are your scores on the VIA Survey of Character Strengths. For how to interpret and use your scores, see the book Authentic Happiness. The ranking of the strengths reflects your overall ratings of yourself on the 24 strengths in the survey, how much of each strength you possess. Your top five, especially those marked as Signature Strengths, are the ones to pay attention to and find ways to use more often.

Your Top Strength
Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.

Your Second Strength
Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.

Your Third Strength
Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Your Fourth Strength
Bravery and valor
You are a courageous person who does not shrink from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition. You act on your convictions.

Your Fifth Strength
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

When the Moment's at its Crisis

Hey gang. Its been a while since I posted on the blog. My attention was averted to pa2010.com, where as I'd been blogging for over a year on the Pennsylvania Senate Race. Well, know we're only a few weeks away from what promises to be an historic election. The Conventional Wisdom is spelling doom for the Democrat, with pollsters betting they lose 50 seats in the House. Goodbye Nancy. The Senate is still considered safe, but Republicans smell blood in the water. Power in Washington is vulnerable.

At the leading edge of the Democratic Party is The Admiral Joe Sestak, a 30 year navy veteran turned Congressman with progressive values. I followed the man he beat in the primary, Senator Arlen Specter, on my blog The In-Specter.

Arlen Specter is a career survivor in Pennsylvania Politics. I carefully watched as Sestak languished by double digits for months, only to come from behind mere weeks from the election and take Arlen down. Now Sestak is making a similar move in his race against Club for Growth darling Pat Toomey.

Nate Silver says his chances of losing are still over 80%. But as Silver admitted yesterday, Pennsylvania is "one state where a candidate in a fairly tight race does seem to have made up ground."

What's going on? Why this sudden shift in the polls? Reversals are rare, but polls are only a prediction. The outcome of this race will come down to one thing only: who votes on Election Day.

Sure that's obvious. But its also the point. Elections come down to who votes. In a democracy, only you can make the future.

I'll be posting here more often about the race, and hope to get you motivated to get out and vote for Democrats in this election.

---------------------------------------

I want to jump into a pair of ads I saw this afternoon on a Fox affiliate. The first was a veteran talking about his brother who died in Iraq.



Dante Zappala's is the narrator of this ad by VoteVotes.org. His brother died in Iraq. He says:

Big Oil and its backers are spending millions to scare us, saying it costs too much to break our dependence on oil. What they're really doing is putting our security at risk. My big brother went to Iraq to keep us safe. He came home in a flag-draped coffin. America lost another hero. Big Oil wants to talk about costs? Don't let Big Oil lie to you about what our dependence really costs.

Now compare this ad, by the Republican Senatorial Committee. A dark, scary voice speaks in whispered tones about Joe Sestak's record in Washington, and association with Washington Liberals, and offers clips of Sestak speaking as evidence of his accusations.



(Voice) What did Joe Sestak think of the stimulus bill that failed to create jobs?

Sestak "It's the minimum amount needed. I would have voted for one trillion dollars."

(Voice) The government takeover of Health Care?

Sestak: "its hard for me to vote for a bill that doesn't have a public health care plan option in it."

(Voice) The job killing cap and trade energy tax?

Sestak: "I pushed hard for the cap and trade bill. The one the House passed should have even been more."

(Voice) There's left. There's far left. And then there's Joe Sestak."

---

The Republicans are right about one thing in this ad. You have a real choice in this election. Joe Sestak supported the ambitious agenda of President Obama: to reform Wall Street and stop the economic catastrophe caused by eight years of Republican mishandling; to guarantee health care as a right owed to every American, and stop the discriminatory, wasteful practices of the insurance companies; to enact practical reforms that will slow climate change while stimulating the creation of 21st century American industry.

The Veterans Vote ad provides the essential contrast in Pat Toomey. Like many of the radical right wing Republicans running this cycle, he threatens to undo our record of achievement on these critical issues. He might claim to be tough on National Security, but honest patriots like the men and women at Veterans Vote know the truth: his record of support for Big Oil, and no votes on things like CAFE standards and the Kyoto Accords from when he served in the House indicate that he too does not understand the real cost of oil dependence. Like the oil companies, his shortsighted focus on what is profitable now fails to take into account critical externalities that, in the long term, are dangerous for the physical and economic security of our nation and our world.

Don't sit this one out. On November 2nd, you have a clear choice. You can let the Republicans obstruct any more progress, or you can be counted on to deliver for good Democrats like Joe Sestak. The Coalition that elected Barack Obama must show up now. We cannot be silent!

"I am Israel"

This is a video worth watching. It is strong defense of Israel and I endorse its central message.

Take Action NOW to Protect Florida's Coastline

My fellow Floridians:

As you may already have heard, it is only a matter of time before the oil spill in the Gulf begins to reach our shores in Florida. It is critical that our government act immediately to stem this crisis. Please, take a moment to send an email to our governor and Senators. You can simply copy and paste the letter I used, which I have copied below. Then, take a moment to forward this email to your family and friends and urge them to do the same. We must force our leaders to take action NOW to protect our state. Please don't delay; take two minutes to help protect our State!

Sincerely,

Adam

Governor Crist: Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com
Senator Nelson: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Senator LeMieux: http://lemieux.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorLeMieux
Debbie Wasserman Schultz: http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/contact/email-me.shtml


Dear Governor Crist,

Our worst fears are being realized. News reports in the Miami Herald this week report scientific predictions that it is only a matter of time before the Gulfstream current carries patches of polluted surface water and balls of tar to our pristine and sensitive beaches, mangrove forests, coral reefs, and other marine habitats in the Florida Keys and South Florida. It is critical that our state government take action immediately to protect these areas and assure that this horrible pollution does not foul our State's environmental treasures. I urge you to please put aside all other concerns and focus your energy on protecting our state from a devastating environmental catastrophe.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Adam Schwartzbaum
1940 NE 124th Street
North Miami, FL 33181

The Controversy over Michael Oren's Commencement Speech at Brandeis University: the Value of Listening and Academic Freedom

Once again, in what seems at this point to be an almost time-honored tradition, my alma mater, Brandeis University, has set off a wide controversy over its decision to give a prominent speaking engagement to a partisan in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. This time, the fight is over Michael Oren, an American academic turned Israeli Ambassador to the United States who will be giving the commencement address at this year’s graduation ceremony.

The disputants have fallen into their predictable camps. On one side is the liberal, anti-war, anti-colonialist crowd, who began a petition calling on the University to revoke Oren’s invitation to address the graduating class and replace him with a less “divisive” figure. Spearheaded by the influential Brandeis blog innermostparts.org, the petition proclaims, “[h]is far-right views are divisive and do not reflect the diversity of opinion on campus, and moreover politicize what should be an uncontroversial, inclusive role.” It further argues that, because Oren’s far-right views are antithetical to those of many Jewish students at Brandeis, his speech is “in conflict with one of our founding values: our integral relationship with the Jewish community.” It concludes by threatening that, if Oren is not removed, the signees will boycott commencement. It currently has 126 signees.

On the other side is the pro-Israel crowd, an assortment of individuals spanning a relatively broad political spectrum, from liberal sympathizers like myself, to right-wing conservatives I normally don’t have anything to do with. This camp has sprouted its own petition available at the facebook group, “A letter in support of President Reinharz and Michael Oren.” Its 247 members support the University’s decision to invite Oren to speak on the grounds that, while admittedly controversial, Oren is a high profile academic and political actor of international renown who “reflects Brandeis University’s historic ties to the American Jewish community and timeless dedication to academic excellence as well as Justice Louis Brandeis’ own commitment to Zionism and Social Justice, a legacy on which this university was founded.” It calls on Brandeis students to receive his remarks “critically and respectfully, demonstrating the intellectual maturity that makes Brandeis an institution characterized by academic rigor and reverence.”

Then there are what I will call the pragmatists – people who have assessed Oren’s invitation in the context of Brandeis’s long history of inviting controversial speakers to address our graduating classes, and concluded that its just not a big deal. Several people have pointed out that past Brandeis commencement speakers include the Prince of Jordan, Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Margaret Marshall (who wrote the controversial Goodridge opinion legalizing same-sex marriage), liberal Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, neoconservative Paul Wolfowitz, Bill Schneider (a CNN political analyst), Cory Booker (mayor of Newark), and Tom Friedman – all political figures with distinct and sometimes controversial points of view on a wide range of topics that include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These people make a strong point; if Brandeis could tolerate these speakers, why can’t it accept Oren? What it is about the Israeli Ambassador that makes over 100 Brandeis students want to walk out on their own commencement?

The fact remains that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a particularly hot topic on the Brandeis campus. Because of the fact that Brandeis is historically associated with Zionism, students who oppose Zionist beliefs feel particularly adamant about distancing themselves from what they view as a kind of majoritarian (perhaps even anti-majoritarian) tyranny that reigns on the campus. On the other hand, students proud of this strand of Brandeis history feel all the more compelled to stand up and vigorously defend it. The result is two bitterly divided communities that are largely engaged in talking past each other, rather than entering into meaningful dialogue about the issue that tears them apart. In a way, it is a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself, with two sides trading in absolutes and dealing in renunciations and commands.

For my part, I think this is very unfortunate. While I sympathize with close friends who are offended by the choice of Oren on the grounds that they do not want to be assaulted with divisive rhetoric at their graduation ceremony, I am highly skeptical that Oren would be short-sighted enough to wade into political waters at a commencement ceremony; it is simply inappropriate, given the occasion. While his point of view will almost certainly come across, it will likely be in reference to things like fighting for what you believe in and making a difference in the world – lessons that students on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can appreciate even if they do not accord with the examples from Oren’s own life.

Moreover, Brandeis’s history of inviting controversial speakers to speak at commencement demonstrates that our student body is perfectly capable of sitting through the address of a person whose political views are likely highly offensive to at least some students in the crowd – Justice Marshall jumps to mind as a prime example – yet those speakers did not face the kind of vitriol and threats of boycott that face Oren. Conservative students did not petition and threaten boycotts of a liberal judge, a liberal Israel Supreme Court Justice, a liberal mayor, etc., yet supposedly “liberal” students are now threatening to skip their own commencement because of Oren’s address. This is the worst kind of intolerance, which individuals who cherish the freedom of speech and open intellectual inquiry should not support.

On a larger level, I think this controversy also speaks to the unfortunate extent to which individuals on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict refuse to acknowledge the legitimate claims of the other. On the one hand, it is undoubtedly true that many right wing Jews and conservatives do not pay enough attention to the suffering of the Palestinian people, and discredit their legitimate claims to disputed territories. They lump a small group of terrorists and petty dictators in with the majority of Palestinians, the majority of whom have been abused and manipulated by their own government, the Arab world, and at times, the Israeli government as well. They refuse to recognize that, for the average Palestinian, their animating desire isn’t the destruction of Israel or the murder of Jews, but rather to enjoy the simply necessities that all human beings want: a safe and healthy environment in which to raise their families in dignity and peace.

On the other hand, too often, the pro-Palestinian crowd rushes to vilify Israel supporters as genocidal fanatics, and Zionists as colonialists with no legitimate claim to a state of their own. These people ignore the historical reality that it was European anti-Semitism and the horrors of the Holocaust which forced Jews to migrate to their ancestral homeland in Israel, where there has been continual Jewish habitation for over 3000 years. They regard as insignificant the fact that the original 1947 partition created two states – one Jewish, one Palestinian – which was destroyed not because of Israeli expansionism, but rather because Israel’s five Arab neighbors immediately declared war on the fledgling state and set out to destroy it and all of its Jewish inhabitants. And they turn a blind eye, or even try to justify Palestinian terrorist attacks that deliberately target civilian population centers with suicide bombings and indiscriminate rocket fire.

The two historic narratives that inform the most extreme ends of this conflict seem irreconcilable, until one realizes that these groups are neighbors sharing the same land and limited resources, and that they must come together to achieve a just and permanent settlement. But that cannot happen if partisans on both sides of the conflict are unwilling to simply listen to one another in a spirit of mutual respect. The seeds of peace and conflict resolution begin where we put aside our heated rhetoric and actually hear each other’s stories, and then work together to find a solution. Is Michael Oren the least controversial figure to ever speak at a Brandeis commencement? Maybe. Maybe not. Is the fact that some students strongly disagree with some of his political views a reason to boycott graduation? Certainly not. I hope that cooler heads will prevail, and that my fellow Brandeisians will go to graduation in high spirits and with open minds. In this way, they will uphold the great Brandeis tradition of intellectual freedom and respect for difference, and set an example for partisans on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here and abroad that could benefit a great deal from listening to each others voices.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton Speaks at Penn Law

Here, presented without further commentary, are my notes from the talk.

John Bolton
Foreign policy of Barack Obama
He cares less about foreign policy and national security than any American president since FDR (??? Who fought WWII???)
“lack of interest in foreign policy”
“doesn’t see the world as challenging/threatening to the US”
He thinks he sees American decline as natural and inevitable and to be managed not resisted.
Devotion to multilateralism we haven’t seen since Woodrow Wilson
“No need for American Leadership” according to Obama
• nuclear disarmament
“Obama”: The interests of nations and people are shared, power is no longer a zero sum game
Bolton thinks Obama endorses Wilson’s vision of “Peace without Victory” and this is a mistake. My Q: Wasn’t the PROBLEM with WWI that we didn’t follow Wilson’s advice, and we made Victory over Germany instead of peace, which lead to the Third Reich???
Obama the first “post-American” President.
• Not “anti-“ or “un-“ American.
• Fundamentally does not believe in American Exceptionalism
o Gov. Winthrop/Reagan
o Difference between American’s founding and the direction the country took.
o Are you implying Obama doesn’t believe in American values and ideals? Obama Rejects that?
No Exceptionalism, country not challenged, doesn’t care about foreign policy… this means trouble for America! Oogaboogabooga!!!
• WMDs: nuclear security summit, new arms treaty. (is this somehow bad? Only gets a passing reference)
• Me: isn’t it great that we and Russia are both getting rid of 1/3 of our nuclear weapons?
Iran
• “we have no effective policy on iran”
• Iran will have nuclear weapons. And what are we supposed to do about it?
• Much of the fault must be laid at the door of the Bush Administration.
o Deference by US to EU to talk Iran out or weapons program
• Leaders of Iranian revolution are all crazy and will use their weapons so we should be very afraid!!!!
• So what do you think we should do about it? Bomb-bomb-bomb-bomb-bomb Iran? You actually think these states would use these weapons?
o Later: yes, bomb them.
War On Terror
• Obama frustrated with Bush shit he has had to keep pursuing because he has no alternative
o Example: Afghanistan
o Bad to give with one hand and take with the other. Undermines ability to achieve 2 strategic objectives of preventing Taliban from coming back to power and making it a platform for launch of attacks, and avoid having instability in Afghanistan/Pakistan destabilize the nuclear Pakistan government.
o He thinks there will be increase in terrorist threat and WMDs, so we will be less secure than when he took office.
American Sovereignty
• Giving up control to “others”
• Global governance ooga booga booga!!!
• Copenhagen to deal with climate change: too ambitious! We can’t deal with climate change! America America til we fall into the ocean!!
o He “doesn’t know” if global warming is real and can’t educate himself on it.
o Even if its man-made, he doesn’t like the solutions. Because global institutions will tell us what to do. Its all about losing control of America.
• Other institutions that are worthless and scary:
o International criminal court
• Not effective to deter human rights violations
• Won’t stop bad guys
o UN Human Rights Decision-making mechanism
• N Korea, Congo, Guinea, Burma, and five against Israel – demonstrates why even sources like NYTimes and Washington Post think the HRC is bad. I think that’s pretty fair but I do think its good to try to influence it not just abandon it.
o Refusal to ratify statutes on discrim against women, against disabilities, various other UN Conventions.
• Me: YES it is a reason to be negotiated internationally because it creates norms for all countries, and we can take exception to specific things like the death penalty while still working with the international consensus on the vast majority of these conventions
Why Obama doesn’t care about foreign policy
• He wakes up and thinks about the minimum wage
Iran
• We should attack!!!!! War!!!!!!
• Israel under pressure not to strike
Israel
• What does Israel have to lose?
Al Qaeda hates us booga bogga boggaa
• Me: They do say death to great Britain. remember attacks in Madrid, London, etc etc etc
• Bolton: “there is no Muslim world.”

Make your blog carbon neutral

Here's a neat idea from a German company. Simply post about the "my blog is carbon neutral" initiative, and this organization will plant a tree in your honor to offset your carbon footprint. This is an easy way to do some good and spread awareness about climate change.

Go here to learn how to do this.

Scott Galvin for Congress!

Last week, I learned the exciting news that an old friend, North Miami City Coucilman Scott Galvin, is running for Congress to fill Kendrick Meek's vacant seat in FL-17. For years, Scott has been the most effective and hardworking person on the city council by a long shot. He is widely known for bringing people together, crossing racial and economic lines in order to build coalitions to fight for what's best for our entire city. He has always been a voice of reason and coolheaded consensus-making in an often fractious community. So, while I am sad to learn that our city will be losing his services, I am excited to be able to wholeheartedly endorse his run for the United States Congress. Scott's lifelong commitment to public service exemplifies the very best of American democracy. I am hopeful that you will support his candidacy by going to www.galvin2010.com and making a donation. Also, if you're a FL-17 resident, make sure to get out and vote on August 24th.

Below, I'm pasting his announcement of his candidacy. Let it inspire you to help send Scott Galvin to Washington, DC!

Galvin for U.S. Congress
Primary Election on August 24th

Dear Adam,

I have very exciting news to share with you!

I am running for Congress.

It's not a decision have made lightly. After careful deliberation with family and friends, and with their full support, I know I can continue the tradition of public service and leadership we deserve in Washington.

Running as a Democrat in Florida's 17th District, the primary election will be Tuesday, August 24th and I am asking for your help today and throughout what is sure to be an exciting campaign.

These are challenging times. Partisan bickering has blocked real progress in Washington. The result is a government that is over-committed overseas and under-serves us here at home.

But I have great optimism for America because I know the hope we shared last election is still alive. I want to take that hope and your energy with me to the Halls of Congress to continue our fight for progress.

I can not be more excited about this new challenge and the humbling opportunity to represent you in Washington. I'm asking you to join me every step of the way.

Please go right now and visit my campaign website (www.Galvin2010.com) where you can share your thoughts, sign up to help and, most importantly make a financial contribution.

You know elections are expensive and I'm counting on your help today to get our campaign off to a strong start. Whatever you can give -- $250, $100, $50 even $10 - is deeply and personally appreciated.

Your friend,
Scott


Donate Now!
Councilman Galvin needs your help to win.

Click here to donate or visit the campaign website!


Or send a check to:
"Galvin for Congress"
1755 NE 137 Terrace
North Miami, FL 33181

Every donation helps...from $25 to $2,400....

Thank you for your support!

Hillel: If Not Now, When?
"If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?"

Israel's Field Hospital in Haiti: a small, hopeful miracle in a sea of misery

Israel has set up the only surgically capable field hospital in Haiti
Watch this 2 minute CNN clip!



The reporters shock is apparent as she tours the Israeli facility with full imaging equipment, ventilators, and functional operating rooms. Israel, coming from half a world away, got a fully functional hospital set up by Saturday, while the American hospital, coming from Haiti's backyard, is not more than a first aid unit.

Not well known, is that Israel was denied landing clearance by the Americans controlling the airport. After a 14 hour flight they were to be diverted to the Dominican Republic. Somehow the Israeli pilot found out about my friend's brother, a prominent and wealthy Jewish man whose family has been in Haiti for generations. He has many businesses there, and even though he could leave, decided to stay to help. From the cockpit, the pilot called my friend's brother by satellite phone and he directed the plane to an open field on his property. The Israeli pilot landed a Hercules (that is one big plane!) between two warehouses in an open field and it was offloaded there. They were operational 18 hours later. That's getting the job done!

There is also video footage on Israeli TV showing crowds in the streets chanting "Israel Good Job. Israel Good Job" This special medical unit was disbanded 9 years ago for lack of funding and only reconstituted a few months ago. I think this is one of the most important things that Diaspora Jews can support during the Haitian crises. It seems to be the mot effective care on the ground- and puts Israel's best face forward at the same time. See article below.


Israel's Haiti field hospital: a microcosm of a country's turmoil

By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE - The Israeli field hospital in the earthquake-stricken Haitian capital reflects the streets of the city, fluctuating between despair and hope amid the looting, violence and stories of miracles. Each account takes on great importance against the background of the earthquake that devastated the Western hemisphere's poorest country.

A baby around 18 months old lies on a bed in intensive care. She was admitted with an open sore and a massive infection throughout her body. The respirator shakes her every time it forces air into her. She has already been resuscitated a few times, and the team is not optimistic.

In the children's ward, located in a tent, is a baby under a year old; someone left him here after he was pulled out of the rubble Sunday morning. He has open sores on his leg and does not make a sound except for a slight chirping when the doctor checks his leg. The doctors say he is in shock.

"His condition is stable and pretty good considering what he's been through. He'll get antibiotics and surgery on the leg - it's a rare case of survival; apparently he was in an air pocket," says Dr. Assaf Amit, who heads the children's emergency department. "When he came here his condition was life-threatening."

His parents aren't here - perhaps they are dead - but the Israeli nurses caress him and give him a warm bottle of milk. "Apparently it's genetic, the ability to survive - he was lying in the rubble without food for five days," says Gali Wiest, the delegation's head nurse.

"We were shocked by the sights, and the nurses here have to cope with providing nursing care - it's a third-world country," she says. "I have four children myself and I was an emergency-room nurse, but the sights here are very difficult and you need a lot of mental fortitude. We've already taken in 87 children, most in moderate to serious condition; there have been a few operations and amputations, and they keep coming."

But no one stays for long. The hospital has a two-week mandate - nothing compared to the time it takes to recover from complex injuries.

"We're all thinking about the fact that we discharge them into the street, in effect, because they have no home," says Dr. Avi Yitzhak. "But you have to make the right decision: Either you take in 40 people and treat them for two weeks or you try to save as many as possible to at least stop the primary injury."

Yitzhak immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1991 and says he feels a special connection to the patients here. He says he knows the problems of practicing medicine in the developing world.

"There's no organized network of clinics here, there's nowhere to discharge them to and we have to treat as many people as possible, as long as it's still possible to save them," Yitzhak says.

"When I went out on rescue yesterday I saw what was happening in the streets, the bodies, the people who didn't know what to do. It's obvious that the work is very intensive and I assume that we could burn out at a certain stage. But for now we're full of energy and we're thrilled by our ability to help."

Willsmith Joseph, 9, had surgery Saturday to amputate his toes, which had developed gangrene. Sunday morning he was in a deep sleep in the children's ward. His older brother knelt beside him. They will have to leave before noon. The nurse gives him two packets of antibiotics and some acetaminophen and tries to explain in English when to take them.

"Where are you going?," I ask the older boy. "We have no place to go. To the tent encampment," he says. "Our house was ruined." Willsmith's face contorts in pain as he walks with his new crutches.

"Had we not amputated his toes the gangrene would have spread and he would have died within days," Dr. Yitzhak explains. "Yes, it hurts, and there's an infection, but he'll live. It's a drop in the ocean, and it's frustrating, but we have to do the maximum to help as many people as possible."

Most of the wounds are infected and neglected - some people were pulled out of the rubble after being trapped for a few days, others simply couldn't get to a hospital or were turned away. Max Darlene Azur, 29, came to the Israeli hospital with open wounds on both sides of her leg. For four days she shouted and writhed in pain in the town square. The bodies of two of her cousins were still inside her home.

"I was in my room, and the wall simply collapsed onto my leg. But now I feel much better," she says.

The hospital also had its first birth Sunday. Jeanne-Michelle was brought in with labor pains and delivered a beautiful boy, her fourth child. Jeanne-Michelle sits indifferent most of the time, but when she says her newborn's name - Israel - a broad smile spreads across her face. "I feel fine," she says. She will be discharged within a few hours, to make room for other deliveries.

"It's very symbolic," Dr. Dar Shir says. "In a place where even without the disaster infant mortality is among the highest in the world and most women don't give birth in hospitals, the best experts in Israel delivered her baby. It's very moving, and balances out a little the things that are happening here, and reminds us that a woman who is ready to give birth will do so even when there's an earthquake. It's what keeps the human race going. Of course it's a problem to discharge them under these conditions, but at least she delivered safely and both mother and baby are in excellent condition."

According to the field hospital's commander, Dr. Itzik Kreis, "Throughout the night we continued to deal with saving lives; we received a number of patients in very poor shape who needed surgery and intensive care.

"For now the other medical teams don't have the ability to provide more than first aid. We are focusing on saving lives," says Colonel Kreis. "Most of the injuries are a result of the earthquake, but in a few days the situation can change and regular patients will start to come in as well."

How to donate via Israeli organizations:

Foreign Ministry:
Tel (+972) 2-659-4222

ZAKA:
Online at https://www.zaka.us/haiti.asp
Or via bank account:
Zaka-International
Bank of Jerusalem
Branch # 30
18 Keren Hayesod, Jerusalem, Israel
Account No: 300060134
Swift Code: JERSILIT

Magen David Adom:
Magen David Adom Trumot Lakaribim
Israel Discount Bank
Branch # 151
Yad Eliahu, Tel Aviv
Account No: 17926

"Vast Majority of Residents Are Decent"

On Sunday, the Miami Herald published my letter to the editor regarding Councilman Blynn's racially hostile comments about closing down the basketball courts, available here. I am also publishing a copy of the text here on my blog.

Vast majority of citizens are decent

I grew up in Keystone Point, and always enjoyed using the basketball courts in the park. I'm a white Jewish guy, and the park was one of the only places where people from all over North Miami of different races could play and interact with each other.

I valued that experience as a child, and enjoyed making friends with my fellow North Miami residents, including many African Americans.

One bad apple breaking the law and bringing a gun to the park is no reason to close down the entire basketball court [Official recommends closing court, Neighbors, Dec. 27]. Closing the courts would be a sad and wasteful disposal of community resources, and even worse, it would be motivated by apparently racist intentions. Shame on you, Michael Blynn, for fanning the flames of racial insensitivity and discrimination. Your comments show a deep hostility and disrespect for thousands of North Miami citizens, the vast majority of whom are honest, hard-working, taxpaying citizens of our city. It's disgraceful.

ADAM SCHWARTZBAUM

NORTH MIAMI

Blynn makes racial politics get ugly in North Miami

For the first time ever, there was a shooting at the basketball courts that stand beside the tot lot near my childhood home in Keystone Point, a peninsular-island community of mid- and upper- class homes aside the intercoastal waters of North Miami.

Shootings are certainly troubling, and they're not just happening in Keystone Point. Just yesterday, a woman was shot in the parking lot outside the Aventura Mall. In North Miami, my local councilman, Michael Blynn's response to the shooting was to suggest that we shut the basketball courts, apparently because of the large number of black teenagers that congregate there. Should we shutter Aventura Mall as well, because it is known to attract a large number of "African-American teenagers"? Obviously not. Yet it is by that very same logic that Michael Blynn wants to close the North Miami basketball courts.

There are reasonable ways to deal with violence that secure our common spaces for the good of many, rather than squandering the space for the actions of a few. Our communal, recreational spaces are as or even more precious and than our commercial ones, and their protection is our entire city's responsibility. Yet my own City Councilman, Mayor Michael Blynn, is on the record that the park should be closed indefinitely. Why has he taken such an extreme position after one isolated incident?

Blynn first made his thoughts first heard at a Keystone Point Homeowners Association Meeting. The Miami Herald reported:

"Although North Miami Police Chief Clint Shannon described the shooting as an isolated incident, Blynn warned residents that crime 'cannot be controlled' and that their quality of life will be affected if the court remains open.

Blynn added, 'No offense, but the African-American unemployment rate has increased in this area.'"

In all fairness, the Herald reporter must have thought, this is pretty outrageous statement. When he contacted Blynn later by phone to give him a chance to "clarify," Blynn said:

"a worsening economy exacerbates crime and unemployed African-American teenagers are more prone to commit crimes than whites.

'Crime statistics indicate that certain people commit more criminal activities than others,' he said.

'That's just the way it is.'"

So let me get this straight. By Blynn's logic, since "a worsening economy exacerbates crime and unemployed African-American teenagers are more prone to commit crimes than whites" and "crime cannot ever be controlled," the only way to assure that our "quality of life" is "not affected" is by shutting down the basketball courts indefinitely . . . because many African-Americans recreate there?

I'm positively baffled. We live in a city with a Haitian-American mayor. Many of our councilmen are black men. My sister teaches at North Miami Middle School, where well over 90% of her students are people of color. Is Michael Blynn sending 130 of my sister's Middle School students a message that the Keystone Point basketball courts are not open to people of their kind? That they are unwelcome on "our" side of Biscayne Boulevard? I struggle to find any way of forgiving the facially discriminatory and racially hostile tone of his rhetoric. It seems to echo from an ugly, segregationist American past that once ghettoized our nation's cities. The heritage of segregation and slavery is one whose ill effects linger on in our uneven and underfunded public education system, and in the very disparate incarceration rates that Blynn cites to support his noxious reasoning.

Reasonable and well meaning people can disagree about how best to provide security at the tot lot. No doubt, many good suggestions will be provided in the coming days by a variety of community stakeholders including our local police, councilpeople, and fellow citizens of every race. Some are already being discussed. What isn't needed is reactionary rhetoric that divides and marginalizes whole swaths of our community. I hope my councilman will apologize and reflect upon the reasons why his comments are so deeply offensive to his own constituents.

Read the full Herald article here.
Take action: let Michael Blynn know this kind of divisive racial rhetoric is unacceptable in our community. Reach him here to let him know exactly how you feel.

Facebook is designed to keep you from contacting too many of your "friends" at once

I first noticed this problem when I was helping manage the Facebook group "Save the Rose Art Museum" in the early days following Brandeis University's announcement that it was closing the museum and pawning off its $300 million collection to pay its bills in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The day I learned of the crisis, I joined a burgeoning group made by Brandeis student Zev Rowlett, the largest of three that had sprung up within hours of the release of President Reinharz’s statement announcing the Boards unanimous decision. Working with fellow alum Jenna Weiss, the two of us quickly got many of our Facebook friends to join the group and tell their friends about the news. Word spreads like wildfire on the Internet, particularly when people are passionate about something like the Rose, and so our group membership swelled from 200 700 to 3000 members within a week or so.

As our movement to save the Rose grew, I sent out one short message each day with an update on recent developments in the situation, links to breaking news and commentaries on sites around the web, and information on who to contact to write letters and make phone calls to voice opposition to the University's decision. Members of the group often wrote me back with tips, insights and their own unique perspectives on the unfolding events, allowing me to better understand how my Brandeis community and the larger world of Art lovers could collaborate to save the Rose. Facebook gave me the capability to gather insights about how to effectively communicate and collaborate with the members of the group and exercise leadership in helping it grow. It was Facebook at its most democratic (with a small "d") best: providing simple online tools to allow the quick and successful formation of like-minded individuals into groups dedicated to advancing an important value in our society and enabling those persons to work together to achieve a common end.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the social movement. One day, as I hit "send" on an update to the group, a box popped up to scold me that I could not send a group message to more than 5000 members at a time. Facebook put a cap on me. To this day, the group has 7,656 members, and the only way I can communicate with them is by posting messages on the wall or discussion board of the group itself, an arguably inferior method of directly reaching into the Facebook mailbox that acts as a more direct conduit to a person’s attention.

For some reason, Facebook has decided to cut off an Administrator's ability to send out messages to more than 5000 people at a time. And that's just one of many examples of a method by which Facebook keeps you from contacting too many of your friends, too much of the time, by limiting the capabilities of its platform and preventing users from trying to take up too much of each other's attention.

Of course there must be some rationale for these kinds of rules. It is undoubtedly cheaper for Facebook to keep its servers from allowing users to connect with only a limited numbers of "Friends" at a time because maximum usage strains expensive hardware resources responsible for efficiently processing so much information every second of the day. It also helps avoids the MySpace problem of letting too many spammers reach you electronically too much of the time, particularly in your inbox.

But it also has its drawbacks. No longer could I send direct updates to my members about the quickly changing and quite dramatic events surrounding Brandeis' decision to shutter the Rose Art Museum. Facebook witnessed the power of its own software and decided I'd had enough. As you may have noticed, the limit on how many people a group Administrator can send a message to is just one of all sorts of Facebook limits: on how many friends you can tag in a note, send a message to at once, or invite to a group or game at a time. Forgot about being able to easily agglomerate your friends’ email addresses; you’ll have to open up their profile pages one at a time for that luxury.

It makes it deliberately more difficult for an organizer like me with a good faith reason to contact the “friends” he is trying to most immediately reach.

Facebook is risk-averse. It doesn’t trust users like you to take some action to limit your interactions with the groups or individuals you no longer wish to hear from, whether by contacting the individual sending the message directly to tell them why they no longer chose to receive those messages, leaving a group, or even defriending someone. Nor does it make it easy to manage our relationships with our contacts on Facebook in easier ways. Facebook doubts our ability to control our own experience on its site, and so denies us the tools to manage our experience with its software. And it is influenced by a bias that we'd rather hear less from our associates than more.

This might be the case, but it shouldn’t be, and today I discovered another reason why. Today Alan Khazei, the president of Be the Change, Inc. and co-founder of City Year, was endorsed by the Boston Globe in the Democratic Senate race to fill the great political and moral position once held by Ted Kennedy. I was excited to see the mainstream Globe’s endorsement of the scrappy public servant with a grassroots movement ("Khazei is Massachusetts' best chance to produce another great senator”) and buoyed by recent polls showing Alan commanding a larger share of the vote than ever before.

Despite these hopeful signs, the reality is also that Alan’s numbers are nearly half that of the Democratic front-runner, and because he’s taken no money from special interests and is only running for public office for the first time, he’s been less able to mount the kind of effective campaign to win the support of the greater universe of Democratic voters in Massachusetts outside the national service world who have simply never heard of him. In low-turnout primary elections, name recognition is a big boost, and for Alan, the battle has always been uphill. But the dynamic of a primary, with its endemic anemic voter turnout levels, also empowers small groups of dedicated people with the ability to turn out enough votes to sway the election.

It is with that goal – to inform people about the Globe’s endorsement, and introduce them to the man I hope they will vote for next Tuesday in the primary election in Massachusetts – that I published a blog post on my website earlier today with the news. Because my blog links to my Facebook account, the post was published on my wall within an hour.

After a friend re-posted the note on her own wall, I realized it could be very helpful to directly contact the my Facebook friends who are in networks in Massachusetts to politely tell them about Alan’s bid and ask for their support. I wouldn’t normally send such a large message to such a diverse group on Facebook, and good etiquette dictates I not send a message again unless in response to a direct contact, save for perhaps one additional message the day before the election reminding people to vote. In such a way, I would be able to effectively and politely use the power of Facebook to make the powerful kind of political impact that campaigns always dream about and work diligently to make through traditional and more costly methods like phone banking parties and door-to-door grassroots advocacy. Yet Facebook denies me that ability. It tells me that if I want to contact all these people at once, I’m going to have to work harder to get their attention.

It is primarily for that reason that I am posting this note today. While I’m writing this putting for the general interest all Facebook users share in how the platform operates, I am specifically tagging my “maximum” in this note because I believe these individuals may be Massachusetts residents with a common interest in filling the United States Senate with honorable men of integrity dedicated to public service and democracy. You'll find my original post here. If you are one of those people, I ask you only, and with great respect, to consider your civic duty as an American and make a principled decision about how to vote in nine days with the hope that my candidate will inspire you to cast your lot with him. And of course I’d be happy if you could forward the information about Alan along to any friends or family you know in the great state of Massachusetts, where I earned my bachelor’s degree.

I also hope that as Facebook grows, it will reconsider some if its limits on its members’ ability to organize and reach one another. Social networking is fast becoming one of the most democratic mediums of all time, but it will only improve if we, the users of its resources, demand it.

Alan Khazei for Senate -- Vote in Massachusetts next Tuesday!

It is exceedingly rare when a candidate runs for higher office who is so inspiring, so unconnected to special interests, and so truly driven by idealism and a passion for service, and even rarer when such a person has a chance of actually winning the nomination of a major political party. Yet in Massachusetts, this kind of opportunity is now represented by the candidacy of City Year founder Alan Khazei.

Alan is a person who has dedicated his life to serving our nation, bringing Americans together to improve our civic life, and being a positive agent for change in our society. Today, the Boston Globe has formally endorsed Alan as the right candidate to win the Democratic primary 9 days from now in Massachusetts.

I am no longer a Massachusetts resident, but having lived there for four years, and being a faithful Democrat, I can think of no person better suited to continue the legacy of Ted Kennedy than Alan Khazei -- a man who will serve as a truly inspirational leader in the United States Senate.

To all my friends in Massachusetts, I urge you to get out and vote for Alan Khazei next Tuesday. Primary elections have notoriously low turnouts, and the efforts of just a few thousand young people getting out and voting when they normally wouldn't could make the absolute difference in this campaign. Make it a priority to get out and elect Alan next Tuesday, and remind your family and friends in the area to do the same. Together we can assure this great American is elected to the Senate in 2010!

Learn more about Alan's campaign and how you can get involved in his grassroots effort!

Famous People

President Barack Obama


Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House


Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz


Israeli President Shimon Peres


Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader


Professor Goodwin Liu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Constitution Society

Earth warming faster as catastrophe draws nearer

On global warming, we're playing with fire. Jeff Goodell published a powerful little article in Rolling Stone this week detailing the fact -- not surprising, in my opinion -- that global warming is happening faster then the world's leading scientists ever thought possible. Scientists once thought the Arctic would be completely melted by the end of the century; now, they believe the entire ice mass will be gone in the next couple of decades. The Arctic is dramatically smaller than it was even ten years ago because the ever expanding open waters melt ice faster, which warms the water quicker, assuring that the sum temperature of the waters are higher and less and less ice refreezes every winter. In short, positive feedback.

Here's the really scary part. Beneath the Arctic is a layer of permafrost "more than 1000 feet thick in some places" made of "partially decomposed trees, plants, woolly mammoths and other organic matter that lived in the region thousands of years ago." The terrifying reality is this:

As it thaws, all that rotting debirs send carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Worse, the debris is a feast for microscopic bugs that transform it into methane, a greenhouse gas at least 20 times more potent than CO2. All told, there are some 1 TRILLION metric tons of carbon buried in the Arctic - the equivalent of the oil, gas and coal reserves on the entire planet."

It gets worse.

"A similarly huge amount of methane is frozen in the floor of the shallow seas surrounding the Arctic. As the water warms, these bubbles of methane ice can bubble to the surface and release million of tons of methane -- more or less cooking the planet overnight."

Think of the enormity of that sum of methane - "equivalent to more than all of the oil, gas and coal reserves on the entire planet," doubled. Then recognize that methane is TWENTY times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere. What we are talking about is no less a global meltdown that would raise sea levels by as much as nine feet by the end of the century. Such a rise in water levels would leave major cities like Miami, London, New York and Shanghai under water. It would also flood entire countries in low lying areas like Bangladesh, destroying the homes of millions of people.

The time to take action to stop global warming has come; in fact, it may have already passed.

One year ago tonight: a night to remember

For all of you who, like me, are still waiting for the most sweeping change to come, and might be feeling a little down from all the negativity and political bs of Washington, remember that one year ago tonight, we made history when we elected Barack Obama President of the United States. This is a great country where great things can happen; let us never forget it!

Justice for Debbie: GOP activist resigns from all official positions after putting DWS on target at fundraiser, shooting at it

A few weeks, you might remember that I strongly condemned the actions of the Broward County GOP and their candidate for FL-20, Rich Lowry, who shot at a figure with the words "DWS" written on it, referring to my congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Well, it turns out that our letters of protest worked. Ed Napolitano, the man who orchestrated the event, has resigned from all his positions in the Republican party, and issued strong apologies for his actions.

It is comforting to know that when citizens stand up for respect and common decency in our political discourse, the right things can actually be done!

FDR's Second Bill Of Rights

Below is the text of FDR's famous "second bill of rights" speech, in which he laid out a vision for American security and prosperity that begins with the security of fundamental economic rights for every citizen. It is my belief that American progress in the 21st century depends on finding creative ways to actualize these ideals so that WE THE PEOPLE can form a more perfect Union.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The Economic Bill of Rights”
Excerpt from 11 January 1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union


It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

Log Your Run - See my route

This website, www.logyourrun.com, is great! It lets you use google maps to plan out your run so you know exactly how many miles you are going. Check out my 4.27 mile run this morning. It was great :)