Remembering September 11, 2001

This was the view from my balcony this morning of the edge of night receding. On this eleventh anniversary of September 11, 2001, I think it's important to take a moment to be still. Watching the edge of night disappear over the horizon making way for a beautiful blue sky was my moment. Not to sound incredibly cliche, but I hope we will get to see the edge of killing recede in our lifetimes. Listening to the local news this morning, I heard three different murders mentioned. Then on national news, an airstrike that killed members of Al-Quaeda in Iran was featured. Of course, the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001 were mentioned as well. We need to work toward a more peaceful and tolerant world. Today give yourself a moment to remember the people who have died because of the intolerance of others. Then take another moment to think about your own intolerances of others. How does the way your intolerance hurt other people? It probably doesn't kill them, but killing usually doesn't start with killing; it starts with intolerance. Try to understand why your intolerance exists and then try to see the other side. Today work toward a more peaceful world by shelving your own intolerance and accepting others for who they are. This is the only way to start the cycle of tolerance and peace. It starts with you.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Professional Athletes' Salaries: Too Much?

Professional football is finally back! I am a huge football fan (Go Patriots!) and the offseason feels so long! The US Tennis Open has also been going on for the last couple weeks (Congrats to Serena Williams who won yesterday! Murray v. Djokovic today! Wish Federer was in the final!) and Rory McIlroy just won another PGA Tour event yesterday. Great couple of weeks in sports!

Before you read the rest of this I would like to make it very clear that this is just an observation, I love sports, and I am not disrespecting any of the players I am about to mention.

Have you ever thought about how many millions of dollars professional athletes make?! It's amazing. Let's start with some of the lower paid professional athletes:

• Rory McIlroy won $1.44M yesterday in the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour. The total purse for the BMW Championship was $8,000,000.
• Yesterday Serena got $1.9M for her US Open win. Today the winner of the men's final will receive the same amount. *Quick Side Note: How awesome is it that men and women get the same amount of prize money in the the Grand Slam events?! The Open will have spent $24,054,000 on prize money this year. The Grand Slam events actually are on the lower end of the USTA and WTA tournaments when it comes to prize money. Players are working to raise the purses at Slams so they will be "in closer line with their own tour events in terms of the percentage of prize money."

Those are the sports with athletes who are paid on the low end of the scale when it comes to professional athletes. In the NFL, it's another story. 

• The highest paid athlete in the NFL is Peyton Manning, making $18M this year and having a $96M contract for the next five years. To put that in perspective with another athlete in a different sport, this year Manning will be paid three times the amount Serena Williams has made this year. He will have made 3/4 of the amount of the entire purse of the US Open. To put it in perspective with the rest of the country (median income is currently about $51,000), Manning will make about 350 times the amount of the average worker this year. WHAT?! There is no possible way I can comprehend that amount. Wow.
• My favorite player, Tom Brady, is going to make almost $8M this year (about 150 times the amount of the U.S. median income). His contract through 2014 will end up making him $78,000,000. Again, wow.

These guys and gals play sports. And they are paid amazing amounts of money. While I know that they are paid by the teams (which are private organizations, so it is not our tax dollars or anything paying these players), sports bring a lot of money into cities that have pro teams, and sports are highly valued in our society, the sheer volume of these figures is staggering to me. The fact that these players feel like they deserve these kinds of salaries makes me a little nauseated. 

Wes Welker is a prime example of a player I love who was in contract negotiations this summer who, frankly, disgusted me. He wanted $11.42M this year with a long-term contract because he felt he was worth that much to the Patriots organization. He is now on a one year contract, making about $9.5M this year, and I'm pretty sure that yesterday in the season opener he got a total of 14 yards (fourteen?!?!! Is this a high school stat???) and let a perfect pass bounce off his helmet.

So. It's crazy! I know that a lot of players have their own charities that they've started and they do good in their communities, so that's really great! It just seems like our society values athletes much more than police officers, teachers, and firefighters. I feel like I'm going to get a lot of crap for that comment, but if I'm wrong, then why don't we pay the men and women who keep us safe, educate our children, and rescue our families more money? Should we pay more taxes so we can pay our public servants more? Is privatizing law enforcement and education the answer? I don't know, but just by looking at the figures, I feel like I can say our priorities might be a little mixed up.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Gratitude: Taking Time to Be Thankful

Wow! Yesterday there were 111 views of this blog! That makes me so excited! Thank you so much for all the support. I'm blown away by the sheer volume of people who have read it!

Today it is a beautiful day, so I thought it would be nice to write a post that reflects the sunshine!

Gratitude is something that is very important to me. It goes from a simple "thank you" when someone helps you out to feeling a sense of overwhelming love and thankfulness for someone or something in your life. Lately I have felt incredibly lucky and grateful for all the amazing things going on in my life, so I just wanted to share; not to brag or gloat, but in hope that it can make you aware of a person or a situation in your own life for which you can consciously be grateful today.

• My fiancé is the most wonderful person I know. He always puts our relationship and me ahead of everything else in his life. He goes to work every day so we can have financial stability and I can worry less about not having a secure job. He loves his job and prides himself on the work he puts into it. He says that making me smile is his favorite thing to do. He is an absolutely brilliant man and I am so lucky to have him in my life forever.
• My family is amazing! Even though I've moved, my parents and sister are still on the phone whenever I call. I know I can always count on them (all of them, not just the ones in Louisville!) to be there for me, and I see myself as lucky that I can be there for them, too.
• We have two fantastic kittens! They make me laugh every day and I love watching them grow.
• I get to look outside every day and see trees and grass. This might seem like a small thing, but getting to exist with nature and do yoga outside is so wonderful. 
• I have the luxury of having the time and equipment to exercise every day. I never thought I would live somewhere that has its own pool, gym, and tennis, basketball, racquetball, and volleyball courts! So many people don't get to exercise because of their work schedules or having nowhere to go, and it is amazing that I get to do this every day.
• We live in a country where I can write this blog and not worry about being arrested for it. I can say anything about politics or religion or anything else and I am not censored by the government. This is a privilege we have that is so amazing. I know to us it seems normal and an inalienable right that everyone should have (agreed), but take a minute and think about what our lives would be like if we didn't have it. Now think about the people in the countries who don't have it. 
• I have a life in which my main worries do not include having enough food every day, whether I will have a roof over my head tomorrow night or not, soldiers coming in during the night and killing my family and me, or having fresh drinking water for both the children and the adults in my community. So thankful for all of that, and so mindful of the people who do not have it.

So now I have two challenges for you. 

1) Think about something in your life that you are grateful for and let the feeling it gives you swallow you up. Feel every part of yourself being grateful for that thing or situation or person. Let it fill you and then carry it with you through today. 

2) Use that feeling to treat the people you interact with today with kindness and understanding. Allow yourself to feel grateful for them and then communicate that with them. Tell them how they make your life better, give them a compliment, tell them a joke; however you share your gratitude with someone, do that. Then assess how you feel. You might be surprised.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Sexual Abuse: Teacher-Student Relationships

Good morning!

This post is going to be a little bit serious; it's on a topic that is very close to my heart. 

Yesterday in the news there was a story about Erica DePalo, a 2011 "Teacher of the Year," who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with one of her students. While this alone is enough to make my blood boil, the thing that caught my attention and really infuriated me was that former students who are now in college were interviewed and said that there were always jokes going around about her relationships with students. That means that people knew about this at least six years ago, which means that this 15-year-old student is not the first to have this happen with this teacher. Generally, students aren't going to pick up on something like that and joke about it unless there is something actually there. I have no idea if the administration at her school knew about what was going on or had heard the rumors, but it is their job to know what is going on in that school and take every rumor or joke very seriously, especially when it involves a teacher-student relationship.

Now, I want to be very clear that I am not blaming the students or administration for what happened. While it is important that everything is reported and investigated, every teacher has a responsibility to his or her students. When a teacher signs a contract, they also sign a code of ethics. In this overview of a standard code of ethics for teachers, Principle I is about protecting students. It is never in a student's best interest for a teacher to flirt with him or her, or start a sexual relationship. What this teacher did is an abomination. It has changed the course of those students' lives. Even though they have graduated, are (possibly) in college, and maybe even engaged or married already, they will never forget what happened to them in high school, and it may take them years of therapy before they can really, truly trust again.

So, students, if you know there is something inappropriate going on between a teacher and a student in your school, please tell someone. It needs to stop now. 

Administrators, if you know there is something inappropriate going on between a teacher and a student in your school, please take the right action, not just the convenient action. It needs to stop now.

At the bottom of this story, which is the same one I linked at the beginning of this post, there is a set of photos of "Teachers Behaving Badly." There are 35. In a few days, I'm sure Ms. DePalo's photo will be among these. But what about the teachers who haven't been caught and fired yet, like Ms. DePalo wasn't for last six years? They are out there, and it is our job to do our part and bring them to justice.

Keep our children safe. Keep each other safe.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

DNC Speeches and Wolf Hunting

What a night at the DNC last night! I was so thrilled to be watching the speeches! I'm not going to go really in depth on anything said, but I am going to post links to four speeches I thought were fantastic! I could write ten posts on these speeches--they were exactly what this 2012 campaign needed. As a friend put it this morning, "Michelle may have just won the election for [Barack]." :) I hope so!

Illinois House Candidate Tammy Duckworth's Speech -- Tammy is an Iraq veteran who lost both legs after the helicopter she was piloting was hit by enemy rockets. Great message, good delivery.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's Speech -- Governor Patrick is the kind of speaker who will bring Republicans to the left, in my opinion. He has the same kind of tone as every speaker at the RNC last week had: this is our policy and we're not changing it. I don't totally agree with that way of conveying a message, but it seems to be very popular among Republican voters.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's Speech -- Keynote speaker Mayor Castro. What to say about him...Castro 2016! That might be premature; he doesn't have any Congressional experience yet...Castro 2020! I adored his speech. He is so charismatic; he reminded me of a young Obama at the 2004 DNC giving the keynote address. Hmm...foreshadowing?
First Lady and Mom-in-Chief Michelle Obama's Speech -- She absolutely nailed it! I want her for another four years! She can connect so well to the audience, and by this morning, Obama was back in favor among women voters! I could go on and on about Michelle; she is truly the largest asset to the Obama campaign.

In other news, this story came up today. It is about how wolves are being taken off the endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and, come October, they will be allowed to be shot on sight outside Yellowstone National Park. I am furious about this! I spent a few days every spring in Yellowstone with my family while I was growing up in Montana. Some of my best memories include these absolutely majestic animals. In fact, this summer when I was in Yellowstone and got engaged on the Lamar River, it was a wolf that we saw first after we got back in the car and were leaving the Lamar Valley.

It has taken us so long to get to this point of having a good number of wolves again! Before 1978, when grey wolves were put on the endangered species list, they were hunted nearly to extinction! I understand that cattle need to be protected and I also am aware that many wolves in one area will completely decimate a food chain, and then they themselves will die. However, according to the NPS site, the wolf population outside of Yellowstone has decreased 60% in only five years. There is less food for them outside the park (due to declining elk populations), which is why wolves kill livestock. While there was a bit of a decline inside the park, the wolves there have bison as an additional food source. In Wyoming there are 270 outside Yellowstone and about 100 inside; if every wolf was relocated so that they were inside the park, that would not work. The bison and elk populations in the park would crash.

Here's what I think should happen: if a wolf kills something you own (cow, child, dog, sheep, etc), you should be able to shoot it. I do not think it's okay to shoot a wolf on sight, though. Just because you see a wolf pack running across the valley does not mean the wolves are going to kill anything. If, for some reason, a wolf pack decides to den near your house or ranch but hasn't killed anything, you should have the option of asking for them to be humanely relocated. In my opinion, this is going to become a trophy race and the wolf population is going to plummet, yet again, and they will have to be placed back on the endangered species list. Seems to me like taking them off and then putting them back on is a waste of taxpayers' money. For everyone back in Montana reading this, please say something to your state senators and representatives! I, myself, will be writing to Gov. Schweitzer.

Montana State Legislators with Contact Info
Gov. Schweitzer Contact Info

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

What a Weekend!

Wow! We had a fantastic Labor Day weekend! Hope all of you did, too, and took a break from your labor....lol Anyway...

On Sunday, we got our engagement photos taken by our friend, Bailey. She lives in Hazard, so we hardly ever get to see her! It was so good to hang out with her again, and I can't wait to see how the photos turned out! We had her over to our place after the photo shoot to watch the UofL-UK game (Go Cards!!!) and made burgers and talked. Good times. Then she took us to hang out with her family in Cincinnati to watch the Labor Day fireworks! It was great! The fireworks were gorgeous and we met some people who actually live here, so maybe Josh and I will start having a social life soon! :)

Yesterday, Josh and I hosted our first official party at our new apartment! We had our families over and made tacos and had a great time! Lots of food, games, and laughing. We both miss our families, so it was really good to have all of us together.

In the news over the weekend...well, to be honest, I haven't watched it in two days! I did watch Mitt Romney's speech in Cincinnati on Saturday (and took notes so I could remember what I wanted to say for this post!). He started off by saying that Obama is 0-23M in jobs. He also brought up five ways he plans on creating 12M jobs.
1. Focus on using American resources--"our oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables."
2. "Make trade work for us." He was talking about how Obama isn't hard enough on trade quality control.
3. In education, he wants to focus on teaching our students "skills to succeed" and he wants to get rid of unions.
4. Cut the deficit to get a balanced budget.
5. "Champion small business" by lowering small business taxes.

He also mentioned getting rid of Obamacare; said that Obama's campaign is really focusing on the divisiveness of the issues between parties and that "America was built on unity" so we need to go back to that.

So. Here are my takes on what he said:

While I understand that 23M people are out of work, the population of the U.S. is 311,591,917, which means that if we are going to assume that if 23 million people are unemployed, the rest are employed, Obama is 288,591,917 to 23,000,000. I thought that was a really good way to present the issue, though, to make Obama look bad, for people who aren't going to actually think that statement through.

In terms of the five point plan, I'm just going to go really quick, point by point. This post is already pretty long, and I want to keep people coming back, so I'll do a quick rundown and then if in a future post I feel like going more in depth on one or more of the points, I will.

1. Please don't ruin the beautiful natural parts of our country by putting more oil lines through and continuing to dig for coal! It's time we take charge of our global environmental future by moving toward all renewable resources! Let's go with wind farms and electric cars, instead of encroaching on endangered species' habitats so we can continue our disgusting, polluting habits! *Note: I have a 2000 VW Golf--it's not a hybrid; I know it isn't good for the environment; it's what I can afford.

2. I don't know enough about this to really have a substantiated argument either way.

3. I actually agree with Romney on this one, instead of Obama. I think merit-based pay is the way to go in education. I have no idea what the rest of Romney's education ideas are, so I can't completely agree with his educational policy, but on getting rid of unions, I'm with him.

4. Yes, we should cut the deficit, but he didn't say how he is planning on doing that.

5. I definitely don't know enough about small businesses and taxes to comment on this. 

You already know what I think about getting rid of Obamacare. 

I really think it would be great for both candidates for them to agree to quit the attack ads. I agree that Obama has some really crappy attack ads, but Romney does, too. I would feel more comfortable voting for someone who spent their ad money telling us what they are going to do for us, not what the other candidate is not going to do.

Before I post this I just want to give a quick shout-out to my high school peer Oksana Masters who, with her rowing partner, took bronze in the mixed double sculls at the London Paralympics 2012 this weekend! You are amazing! This is the Team USA link about her.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."--Gandhi

First World Problems

Well it's Saturday so I think a fun post for the day might be in order. :) One of the things I find pretty interesting to reflect on every now and again are all the "problems" we face here in the States. Here is a list of a few I have had in the last few days:

• My DVR didn't record the show I wanted.
• I had too much food at dinner last night and felt sick today.
• The delivery wing place only had 9 kinds of sauce and none of them were teriyaki.
• My football app didn't tell me what channel the Michigan game was on and I had to use the guide on the TV.
• One of the things I was most frustrated about today was how this week's Project Runway turned out.

It makes you think a bit. Hope everyone has a good weekend! We are getting our engagement photos done tomorrow, so I don't know if I'll post or not. Maybe I'll have a good photo or two to share on Monday!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."--Gandhi