The Importance of Punctuation

A comma makes a world of difference. It can mean the difference between life or death. Let's eat Grandpa. Let's eat, Grandpa.

I find it easy to depend on my computer to pick up on all the mistakes I make when writing -- that's what spell check is for, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't pick up on simple punctuation errors that can label you as an unprepared, bad writer. And presumptuous.

Not checking your work indicates you think your work was born perfect. Most likely it isn't. Most of us don't get out what we want the first time around, or we don't articulate as well as we thought. The sentence we thought was genius is not logical. The second paragraph is boring. The cliché cup runneth over. Clear and logical writing is the result of work through rewriting and editing. "Rewriting is the essence of writing well," wrote Zinsser, "it's where the game is won or lost."

Reshape and tighten. It's the difference between getting your point across and a group of krumping baby seals.

A Detour On The Road (Midterm Proposal)

It has been an extraordinary few weeks. Writing about what I enjoy. Sharing the latest news and information regarding human rights.

But unfortunately, my time as a blogger has come to an end.

I was extended a wonderful opportunity to return to Burma on a humanitarian diplomatic mission. I will not have regular access to the internet, and felt it was in the best interest to end my blog at this point.

Thanks to everyone who has followed from day one – I appreciate it.  I have enjoyed writing about topics close to my heart and even taking on the role as Devil’s advocate – an assignment I found challenging but got a kick out of the role reversal. Most helpful through this journey was picking up a great book, “On Writing Well”, by William Zinsser. It helped me realize writing nonfiction didn’t need to be serious and dry – it could be fun and interesting at the same time as being informative. It also gave me a few pointers on, well, writing well.

I highly recommend checking out a new blog created by my close friend and associate, Winston Smith. Winston has stated his blog will be “a satirical and witty take on current political events.” His blog will be an excellent précis of the current political climate, keeping readers informed but having fun as well.

 I am excited for his blog. I believe those that have grown accustomed to my site will find his a great read as well. These are topics he is well-versed in and finds great comfort in writing and sharing his thoughts with others. However, the direction he will be veering towards will be different from that on my blog, which has carried a serious tone.

This will be the first time Winston has blogged, and has a nonexistent online presence. But no worries – Winston has assured me he will be building his presence quickly through “utilizing twitter, engaging and interacting with commenters on my blog as well as other blogs, and promoting my brand through platforms such as Digg, Del.icio.us, or StumbleUpon.” He has also mentioned creating a podcast to accompany his blog.

As of now, there is no word on the new blog title; he advised this should be finalized by the end of the week – so stay tuned. In the meantime, please feel free to follow Winston on Twitter @WnstonSmith for the latest news on his blog. Be assured I will be sharing with him what I have learned through the past few weeks, and making suggestions on writing a great blog.

Take care and thanks again for taking the time to read this blog. I will be online until the end of the week, so I am not gone yet. But my direction must change – life has decided to send me on a new journey. Farewell.

Wikipedia - Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, approved in September 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, is a global pledge to attaining equality, development and peace for women worldwide. The Platform for action requires immediate action by all to generate a just, humane and peaceful world based on fundamental freedoms and human rights.

Contents   [hide]  ·         1 Mission Statement ·         2 Critical areas of concern ·         3Goverment requirements ·         4 Outcomes ·         5 References

[edit] Mission Statement

According to the definition in the document’s Mission Statement:

The Platform for Action is an agenda for women's empowerment. It aims at…removing all the obstacles to women's active participation in all sphere of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making….at home, in the workplace and in the wider national and international communities. Equality…is a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice….

[edit] Critical areas of concern

The Beijing Platform concentrates on 12 "critical areas of concern" that require attention in order to achieve gender quality and women's empowerment:

• violence against women
• human rights of women
• women and armed conflict
• women and poverty
• education and training of women
• women and health
• women and the media
• women and the economy
• women in power and decision-making
• institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
• women and the environment
• The girl child

[edit] Government Requirements

The Beijing Platform for Action requires all governments to develop policies and national plans of action to implement the Platform locally. The National Plans of Action for each country outline specific activities that the national governments will undertake to advance the situation of women, including addressing violence* against women.

The definition of violence, contained in the Platform for Action, is comprehensive, including "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life."

 [edit] Outcomes

Following the 1995 Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, the United Nations General Assembly mandated the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to integrate into its program a follow-up process to the Conference, regularly reviewing the critical areas of concern in the BPFA and to develop its role in mainstreaming a gender perspective in United Nations activities.

In 2000 the Beijing+5 reviewed the progress of the 12 areas of concern and found that the goals had not been fully achieved and as a result further committed themselves to achieving the goals set out in 1995. Beijing+10 continued to review the status of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. 

[edit] References

• Stop Violence Against Women
• Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights – Summary of the Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action
• University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
• Fourth World Conference On Women. Covenant for the New Millennium: The Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action. Santa Rosa, CA: Free Hand, 1996. 
• Healy, Lynne M., and Rosemary J. Link. Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights, Development, and the Global Profession. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 2011.
• Healy, Lynne M. International Social Work: Professional Action in an Interdependent World. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008.
• Murray, Anne Firth. From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice. Monroe, Me.: Common Courage, 2008.

Juan Crow in Alabama

The Southern Poverty Law Center recently reported that five people called the group’s hotline to report they had been denied food stamps. There have been reports that Decatur Utilities and Huntsville Utilities in Alabama have been prohibiting people from obtaining electric, gas, water and sewer services to homes.  

I was disturbed when I read these reports.  How could this be happening in the United States? To deny anyone food or basic utilities to survive seems like a foreign concept – not something that would ever happen in this country.

What was your first reaction? Were you also shocked? Would your opinion change if I told you that these cases involved people living here illegally?

The Alabama state legislature passed a controversial new immigration bill that requires public schools to check students’ immigration status, criminalizes giving an undocumented immigrant a ride, keeps businesses from entering into a transaction with anyone perceived to be here illegally, requires employers to use E-Verify to check potential employees’ status, and instructs police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop if they suspect the person of being an undocumented immigrant. 

Because a portion of Alabama’s immigration law makes it a felony for undocumented immigrants to enter into a “business transaction” with the state, some utility companies are interpreting this as having authority to deny people services to undocumented immigrants. The New York Times recently noted, "Fear is causing an exodus as Latinos abandon homes and jobs and crops in the fields. Utilities are preparing to shut off water, power and heat to customers who cannot show the right papers." In a legal brief, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange claimed the fear of utility companies denying service to undocumented immigrants “has little basis.” Are these American ideals? Allow families to go without heat and running water?

The problem with laws such as Alabama’s HB56 is that it unofficially gives license for people to act on their bigotry and interpret the law the way they see fit – to ostracize and subjugate an undesirable population—just as segregationist policies did 50 years ago. 

We can’t allow fear and hatred to dictate our course of action. And we shouldn’t deny people the basic necessities to live because they didn’t arrive here through the correct channels – it is immoral and inhumane.  Respect and dignity should not be dictated by arbitrary borders and status.

Petition Writing - A How To

You’re pissed. You just read an article that has you fuming and ready to unleash your fury on local government and anybody standing in your way.

Just breathe. Find your center. Violence isn’t going to solve anything. Neither is going to jail. What you need to do is take a more practical approach. You need to get yourself a petition. You need to start a campaign. Get others involved to start change. And I am going to show you how.

A good petition is the foundation of any worthy campaign.  If your petition is unclear or unfocused, how can anyone else share your vision and passion for change? They won’t. And your campaign has gone nowhere.  

There are three questions you need to ask yourself when starting a petition:

1. Who/what is the target of your petition? A target can be a person, an organization or a position that can make your petition effective. This can include local or national legislators, city or community officials, and local or national business.
2. What do you want them to do? Have a goal! A realistic, attainable goal makes it easier for people to understand and want to join your campaign. Too many goals or trying to do too much with a single petition can make it nearly impossible to communicate your point and may confuse people. You don’t want your campaign to fail before it starts.
3. Why is this important? Demonstrate to people how this will impact their lives. Why should they care? They have laundry to do and the kids are hungry. If you have an effective argument and show how this is a significant cause for everyone in the community to join, you will be more likely to have people take action.

Once you have this all figured out, it is time to write your petition. Clear, concise and compelling will win the race. Now it's time to summarize your petition.

  The petition summary should contain the following:

1. A call to action. Why should people bother signing your petition or getting involved? Let them know within the first or second sentence.
2. Background information. What’s the t? What’s happening that needs to change? Provide one or two sentences giving some history.
3. Supporting facts. People can be skeptical. What proof do you have? And ‘I read it on Wikipedia’ or ‘I heard about it from a guy in a park’ is not going to help get people onboard. Include a short list of substantiated facts supporting your petition.
4. Final call to action. Finish by reiterating your goal.

Next up – online or offline?

Both are equally effective depending on your goal. Is it local or national? If it’s local, you can assemble a team and canvas the area. This might be tricky if you are focusing on a national cause (unless you have the time and funds to do so). So for this, I suggest making your petition online. Remember – online users might not use real names, invalidating the validity of the petition. Validate and verify! Use a confirmation email to prevent your petition from being bogged down with false names and email addresses. Don’t let all your hard work and effort go to waste because of a few addle-pates. Also, use the power of the internet to your advantage. Foster an online community – use discussion groups, blogs and social media to get the message out. It is a great way to get the proverbial ball rolling and to reach a large group of people in a short amount of time.

You have your petition? Check. You have your signatures? Check. Now it is time to send your petition and an accompanying letter to your target.

Let them know why you are contacting them – make your purpose clear and concise. Provide details. And most importantly, be polite: don’t attack your target and automatically put them on the defensive. You have a better chance of your letter going into the recycling bin than them reading the whole thing through. And do not forget to proofread and spellcheck. You don’t want your target to pull out the red pen while reading through your letter. It takes away from the seriousness and validity of your argument.

Remember, you don’t need a lobbying group or be a PR Ninja to change the world. You have a voice, and that is all it takes to foster change. 

The Devil's Advocate

Susan G Komen should have never collapsed under pressure from the liberals. The organization kowtowed to mounting attacks by the liberal media and hoards of fuming feminists hell-bent on imposing their agenda on this country.  

Last week, the Susan G Komen Foundation made a wise decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. The organization looked long and hard at what Planned Parenthood stands for and where the majority of their funds are going towards – abortions. As a moral obligation, Susan G Komen needed to cut all ties with Planned Parenthood, and should have kept to their decision. But the vitriol spewing from the left for this decision was deplorable; a private foundation decides to end its relationship with an organization that is under investigation for illegally using federal money? How dare they! Who do they think they are?

Planned Parenthood is more interested in having people pay for the abortions they provide than overall healthcare for poor, working-class people. A lot can be said about an organization that generates sympathy and victimizing itself by targeting Susan G Komen as the big, misogynistic boogeyman, labeling them “anti-women” and even “anti-women’s health political organization”.  Progessives call their decision “cowardice”. Notice how through their calculated attacks they make sure to steer clear of the ‘A’ word they find themselves aligned.

I started my week off feeling victorious; somebody took a stand to the monster that is Planned Parenthood! Then the spin began. The liberal horns trumpeted. The attack was on full blast and our victory was short-lived. On Friday, it was announced the organization will revise its grant requirements to restore funding to Planned Parenthood — backing away from its decision to cut off the organization. Many on the left were happy. Those with morals and conscious were not as pleased.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said he was “extremely disappointed” and charged that “Komen caved to political pressure from the pro-abortion movement and its enforcers in the media.”

“There are millions of pro-life Americans who support Komen’s work in breast cancer research, prevention and education. By providing funds to the nation’s leading abortion provider — which does not even provide mammograms — Komen is asking its supporters who care about protecting the unborn to violate their own consciences,” Vitter said in a statement.

Shame on Susan G. Komen for backing down to what was right! You have an obligation to what is moral and right, but you chose to side with the views of a corrupt few. I have donated time and money to Susan G. Komen in the past, but no longer. I will not align myself with an organization that allows the views of others to dictate their course of action. Breast cancer research is not advanced by funding an organization that provides abortions. Politics do not belong in science and research, but morality does.

The New Resume