disappointment

I was just visiting one of my favorite daily reads, The Daily Coyote and noticed in the twitter something about a dog injury from a Four Paws toy. And since I haven't written a ranty post lately I figured it was time! :P

I often am very disappointed in the quality of products, not just toys but food and care products as well, that are produced and sold for pets. One example I have personally is trying to purchase cat toys WITHOUT catnip. Morris can't handle it. He gets crazy and nasty and remains that way for hours. So I don't like to buy anything with catnip in it. Have you ever tried to find out what exactly is in the toys your are buying?? It is nearly impossible to discern what has catnip and what doesn't. And if you can actually find someone that works in the store, they have no idea if it does or doesn't.

Often it seems to me that many of the companies that make animal products don't really care very much about the impact of the product. If they did we would not have the dog and cat food that we have and we would not have lost thousands of pets last year to poisoning. We as consumers need to be more aware of how the products are made, what goes in them and whose products we purchase.

This big fellow, Chai, was playing with a Four Paws Pimple Ball with Bell and got the ball lodged on his tongue. The suction grew worse and his person dad could not remove it. He rushed Chai to the vet and ultimately Chai's tongue had to be amputated. As a result, he has created a blog about Chai to warn others about the balls because he was not receiving the response he wanted from the company. Here is a quote from his blog:

"I sent this information along with the reference to Petunia the french bulldog to Four Paws Inc, and it is their position that there just aren’t enough instances to do anything about this. I told their Insurance company’s case manager that was not a good enough excuse, It was inferred that my dogs value wasn’t much and that his pain and suffering don’t count as he is just a piece of property."

I know that many people who don't have pets or have never had one, don't necessarily understand a pet owner's point of view. Similarly, they don't understand the importance of a pet and the love, companionship and joy that they bring into our lives. But to knowingly keep a product on the shelves that has harmed several dogs and killed at least one, is immoral. If one person's child is harmed by a product, even if it is a result of negligence on the part of the person supervising a child, the product is recalled. We have !Caution! !Extremely HOT! on coffee cups and now get lukewarm "hot" beverages because some genius placed the coffee cup between her thighs, spilled it and sued McDonalds because she was burned.

According to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association 63% of all households have pets which equates to approximately 69 million households. Within that, Americans have approximately 73 million dogs, 90 million cats, 139 million freshwater fish, 9 million saltwater fish, 16 million birds, 18 million small animals and 11 million reptiles. Like many things in this country, people are accepting status quo because they either don't realize they can make a difference or feel like they can't make an impact.

Please take time today to check the toys you have for your pets and remove any Four Paws products. It may seem extreme, but if one product is bad how can we trust that any of the other products aren't dangerous?

Perspective

I know this sounds cliche, but seriously life is all about perspective. I always tell my brother that when he starts to bitch about things that aren't the way he thinks they should be etc. I really believe that we have a choice in life; well many choices but overall we can decide what life is going to be like. You can be happy if you choose to be happy. In spite of all the bullshit, you can truly make the best of things and maintain a generally sunny outlook. I think it does wonders for your state of mind. However, dwelling on the shitty things that have happened to you over time doesn't really get you anywhere - except more unhappy.

Two weeks ago, I woke up and felt overwhelmingly content. Just satisfied. Of course there are things that I would change if I had a magic wand, but in general I just felt so good about where I am in life right now. Two days later I found out I wouldn't have a job at the end of the month. You know what? That didn't change how I felt.

Charlie asked me the other day if I really spent close to a half hour in T1. Yes! I did! FOR REAL. lol We both just laughed. My goal wasn't to break any records or kill myself on the race but to enjoy every minute of it. Just soak it in and have a blast! And I did. All 2 hours and 33 minutes of it! ;)

For the most part, the people that I've met from the tri club, racing and blogging are very welcoming and just all around great supportive people. I feel so so lucky to have them in my life and I know the friends that I've made as a result are ones that I will have forever.

That said, there are quite a few people that sometimes let the competition get the better of themselves. I remember this past winter. I was at the Chili Bowl. Charlie and I were stretching and getting ready for the race. Janet popped by and said hello and we wished each other well. Then someone came up who I had never met before. We chatted with Janet and then she went on to her warm up. He looked at me and said what is your goal for today. I laughed a little and said that I would be happy with a 13-15 min pace. Instantly, he said WHAT!?! that is sooo slow! I'm definitely going to be faster than that. I just smiled and said well good for you, I hope you have a great race! He kind of shook his head and went on his way.

The Chili Bowl was my first race after my hip flexor injury. I didn't have any great expectations for that day other than just racing and having fun. I knew that my hip would probably bother me and that I would end walking most of it. However, I didn't care. I was there and I was doing what I could and I was finishing. That's all that mattered.

This is just one example of either comments made directly to me or things I've heard people say about others. When I hear statements about people walking during races or rides, or using what is considered to be an easier gear or swimming without perfect form and struggling, I get a little disappointed. The whole point of triathlon is to compete with yourself. To love every minute and see how far you can push yourself, becoming better every time. Every race I do is MY race. I do it the way that feels best for ME. Because, God willing, there will always be another day and another race.

I think of how lucky I am to even have the opportunity to participate. How even though I might not be in perfect shape, my body works and I CAN test that. We are all works in progress, that is what life is all about. Growing and becoming more than what you are today.

I can physically, emotionally and mentally push myself to go places I've never been and see what I can accomplish. It is a feeling like no other I've experienced.

When I volunteered at the Rite Aid marathon this year, I got to see something I had never seen before, up close and personal. It was dreary and rainy and cold. We were setting up the cups, preparing for the runners. Suddenly, Monica said, "Oh oh here come the wheelchair racers." We both stopped and watched and cheered as they went by. I remember looking at her both of us with tears in our eyes. I had so much emotion, even today, I felt so proud of them. They didn't give up. They were still racing even though their legs weren't the mechanism propelling them forward. It was one of the most inspirational things I've ever seen.

Please remember as you embark on your journey, that it is YOUR journey. You might share it with someone but ultimately all that matters is how you are traveling. Be kind to others and you will find the same kindness throughout your journey. Only measure yourself against your actions and goals, not the actions and goals of others. Make sure that at the end of each day you are thankful for that day and you are happy to wake up with yourself the next morning.

Keep perspective and you will have light shoulders and an open heart.

numbers....

i could cry.....i'm not going to, but i could if i had the energy. :( sometimes when i'm frustrated, i can't help but want to cry. i think i cry more from frustration than sadness and i hate that. i suppose that is a good thing because it means i'm not sad very often but.....eh, who cares about that right now?

5.5 hours of census data and i still feel like i'm not any closer to having anything accomplished for this stupid project.....

nothing written except a proposal that needs to be rewritten

nothing decided officially except my study area and that the city is losing population and jobs and money and vacancies are just going up, none of which is any surprise to anyone

nothing i can do to stop the days from disappearing, to delay april 7th from coming

nothing concrete or current in terms of numbers and the fact that we are closer to 2010 than 2000 means that things are really, just not representative of the current market trends

nothing to help me with these damn .dbfs from the stupid USPS, so silly of me to think that i might actually get info that was easy to read without the help of GIS

nothing i can do about the .dbfs til thursday when i'm supposed to be meeting with my advisor to discuss my findings......which by the way aren't available until i get to buffalo on thursday

nothing else to do now except run the dishwasher, wash my face and brush my teeth and go to bed...........

pain in the ass....

No seriously, I have pain in my ass. :P So Tuesday I was scheduled for pilates but after swimming on Sunday my hips/pelvis on both sides, outer thighs, sacrum area and right piriformis where aching so much. I couldn't get comfortable no matter how I sat or laid. I tried stretching, Monday I begged my brother to attempt some trigger point therapy to try to relieve it. Nothing was working. So when I got to the CVWC on Tuesday, I asked Melissa if we could skip pilates and fix whatever was going on. Let me tell you, I couldn't believe the level of discomfort I was experiencing. I have a pretty high pain tolerance but this was more than I expected. On my right side everything through the glutes was just a mess. Melissa worked for quite a while trying to get everything to relax and release. She told me she could feel all the muscles/tendons that surround the hip joint were super inflamed. My left hip flexor and quad were a huge mess too. And my left lower back is all screwed up because my left side is overcompensating for the right. An hour later I was pretty uncomfortable. Things had relaxed quite a bit, but that doesn't mean the muscles weren't sore. I came home and soaked in a epsom salt bath which helped alot.




I was originally planing on going to school today but sitting in the car for over 6 hours today is definitely not going to help the piriformis issues! So I'm just saying no! ;) Seriously, though all this just from swimming!?! I'm rethinking my clinic this weekend and I'm almost positive that I won't be able to participate in the CTC indoor tri next weekend or the St. Malachi 5 miler on the 15th. :( I don't see Dr. Shah again till the 22nd so we'll have to see where I am then. It is all very discouraging, to say the least. Yesterday, I felt the best that I have in a few weeks but today I woke up sore. I've been trying to sleep with a pillow between my legs, which seems to be helping the IT band and flexor alot. I guess things will just have to take their course.

Meanwhile, I've become a frickin' sudoku genius. ;) And I've been 'organizing' the house. I'm just bored out of my mind folks! I have also been working the other numbers, that is census data. I'm the biggest dork when it comes to graphically representing info. You should see the pie charts I come up with. ;) They should have some sort of 12 step program to help excel freaks like me!!!

Seriously, it is like -100 outside today, so bundle up!!!! Stay warm and enjoy! :)

hip hip horra-NOTHING

So I went swimming today. Yeah! Well kind of yeah. First, many thanks to Jen C and Brenda for putting up with my slow ass!!! I got in an hour of swimming. What's that you say, isn't the class an hour and a half?! Yes, my friends you would be correct. But my hip decided that an hour was enough. :(

Now even though I've already had a great pep talk from B Bop, I still want to, need to, rant a little. Believe me, I'm much better than I was, he saw me in the parking lot directly after my pathetic attempt at swimming this am. Ahhhhh!! *deep breathing* I'm sick of this already. It has been almost 4 weeks since my hip decided not to work and I have actually gone running ONCE. Just.one.time. And we all remember what happened then. Then I have been swimming 5 times in 4 weeks. That's it 5 TIMES. And each time I can't swim for more than 45-60mins. :( And I'm about one and half lengths slower (if that makes any sense). The trainer, well let's see I've actually been able to get in 2-3 45 mins sessions a week in so that isn't too bad. But I'm not doing any drills and I'm only riding somewhere around 13-16mph.

What is most frustrating is that there isn't any warning, it just happens all of sudden. It isn't like it aches for a while and then I can't go on, it just suddenly happens. I can't go on. *SIGH* Thanks for listening everyone! :)

I'm sure things will turn around soon and my hip will be fine and stop being a pain in the ass (or hip rather).

Lately, I have been dreaming of a vacation. Not just going away but a specific destination. I haven't gotten to travel very much, but in the short list of vacations one place stands out. Many of the places I've been to (except Florida) I have really enjoyed and would like to visit again. The one place that I feel this NEED to visit again is Ireland. Granted I was there for work so I worked most of the time, but when I wasn't at work I was out exploring the city or the countryside. I want so much to go back. Anyone feel like it? ;) Seriously though, I probably cant afford to go this year but next summer I think I'm going back. For vacation purposes only! Not for work. ;) If you haven't checked out my pics from Ireland, there is a link to the right. You'll have to excuse some of them, the planner/urban designer just couldn't resist taking pics of buildings, tiles, doors, windows, sewer covers, etc. ;) I included a short slideshow (I think I took like 200 pics or something, so I tried to cut it down some) of a few of my favorite ones for you. Enjoy!

P.S. seriously think about it......Ireland! ;)

Viernes.....

So happy it is Friday! February is way busier than I thought it would be. But it has been a fun busy month so far. :)

This week there were soooo many things going! Then last night I went to AJ Rocco's to see fellow CTCer TriFolk play. Well done, Charlie! A good time was had by all, illustrated by the three empty pints I had in front of me when I left. ;)

Tomorrow is jam-packed which is nice! First, Chili Bowl then (possibly) swimming with Monica, then I have a mayoral ball for the mayor of South Euclid and then my cousin wants to go to a bar after. I know totally nutz, but I'm sure it will fun! You all are welcome to join us out!!!! Well, the ones that live in Ctown. I mean of course ALL of you are welcome but I don't think you would want to travel that far. ;) Anyhow, we are planning on the Boneyard in Mayfield so come join two of the lovely Z ladies for a few drinks! :) I've never been but Kristin loves it so we shall see what I come up with! ;) Anyone have opinions???

Next week is crazy too but the highlight is new socks!!! Now not just any socks my friends, Balega socks. I have a credit waiting for me at Fleet Feet and Diva Night is Wednesday so I'm going to get some socks!!!! :) LOVE THEM! They are so comfy. My fav are the XTerra Trail Socks so I'm excited to get a few more pairs of those! I know, just socks, but my friends for me it is about the little things!

Then I will be in the Blo again and I have a meeting with one of my profs because the lead prof for my project option thinks my proposal is not that great for my project. :( You can check it out for yourself and tell me what you think! (You really don't have to! I just like constructive criticism.) See the thing is that:
A. Yes, while there is alot to cover, I don't necessarily have to go in-depth with each recommendation of the community.
B. Several of the goals can be solved together with a couple of strategies, so it isn't like I'm going to be 'solving' all the world's problems. (Just a few.)
and
#3: Seriously, I can totally kick some planning (and nonplanning) ass, so why you gotta be down on me Sternie?! I always get it done and done well, so just believe. Believe in the dream Sternie! ;) (Sternie is short for Dr. Sternberg; I don't think he knows I call him that though!)

Gosh, I had so many other things I was going to write about today! :( Then I got sidetracked. Ok let's see I had one particular message I wanted to get across. If you aren't interested in criminal law please proceed to just my message which is AFTER the LAST white line.

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Today, the verdict was returned in the Jessie Davis murder trial. For those who are not familiar with the case a quick google search will produce ENDLESS results.

Having a legal background from undergrad and having worked for the DA's office in the city of Buffalo, I know a little bit about the law. I was concerned that although Cutts took the police to her body that he would still be able to get off, as it were. The remaining evidence was all circumstantial. I will say that his defense was poorly done. I'm not sure if a plea was offered but if I had been counsel I would have urged my client to take the plea. I'm not sure that everyone is aware of this, but when someone is charged with a crime, that individual has NO REQUIREMENT TO PROVE INNOCENCE. The burden of proof lives on the State. The only time this becomes fuzzy is when you have confessions. Now I'm not positive that he confessed, I believe he only told them where they could find her body and then refused to give any further info without an attorney. Instead his counsel thought that it was prudent to allow him to take the stand and concoct some totally unbelievable story about what happened that night. Delivered between sobs. What was striking about the testimony is that it was the only time Cutts showed any sort emotion the entire trial. He did not show emotion when pictures of her decomposing body were shown.

Here are the two biggest flaws with his story (besides the fact that he was a police officer and if it was truly an accident he would have felt comfortable alerting EMS to assist in resuscitating the victim):
1. He claims that an argument ensued and at one point he violently lifted his elbow striking the victim in the throat rendering her unconscious. FLAW: Her windpipe was severely damaged (collapsed I believe) and she had two broken vertebrae. Additionally there were ligature marks on her neck. Any CSI or ME will tell you that kind of force required to produce such results cannot come from violently striking someone with an elbow.
2. He claims that he used bleach to try and 'wake her up' because of the smell. FLAW: It appears as though at least a half of a bottle of bleach was spilled on the floor of the bedroom.

So today he was found guilty of all counts except one, aggravated murder of Jessie Davis. I don't know the CPL here but I believe aggravated murder requires use of a weapon with premeditation and knowing intent to kill. Clearly, they were not able to convince all the jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that he did this.

Here are the charges and verdicts:
* Count 1--Aggravated Murder for purposely causing the death of Jessie Davis: NOT GUILTY, FOUND GUILTY ON LESSER CHARGE OF MURDER (15 years to life)
* Count 2--Aggravated Murder for purposely causing the unlawful termination of Jessie Davis' pregnancy: GUILTY (Death penalty or life in prison)
* Count 3 --Aggravated Murder for purposely causing the death of a viable, unborn child; a child under 13 years of age: GUILTY (Death penalty/or life in prison)
* Count 4--Aggravated Burglary for with the purpose to commit murder, trespassing into Jessie Davis' home: GUILTY (10 years)
* Count 5 & 6--Gross Abuse of a Corpse for reckless treating the corpse of Jessie Davis and her unborn child:GUILTY & GUILTY (1 year each count)
* Count 7--Child Endangering for creating substantial risk to Blake Davis in leaving him home unattended: GUILTY (6 months)

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The whole point of sharing this story is to remind/alert you that this is an EXTREMELY common occurrence. Here are some frightening statistics:

-Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.
-Nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.
-Nearly 25 percent of American women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some time in their lifetime.
-On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. The same year, 440 men were killed by an intimate partner.
-Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more likely to be victims of homicide than to die of any other cause. Homicide is the leading cause of death overall for pregnant women, followed by cancer, acute and chronic respiratory conditions, motor vehicle collisions and drug overdose, peripartum and postpartum cardiomyopthy, and suicide.
-Approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.
-Forty percent of girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.

I am completely aware that these stats are thrown around all the time, but obviously people aren't listening or paying attention or the violence would stop. We need to be teaching our young people that violence is not a viable option when dealing with conflict, disappointment or anger. We need to set an example as adults that it is never appropriate to be physically, emotionally, economically, psychologically or sexually abusive to another person. Further, it is our responsibility to offer support and help to those who are experiencing such atrocities. Jessie Davis is just another face of this epidemic. Chloe, days away from birth, is too. Please take time to be aware of those around you and help people that need it. One person really can make a difference. Even if you touch just one other person in your entire life that is enough!

!WARNING! rant to follow......

I meant to publish this a couple of weeks ago, but there were other things, more relevant in terms of triathlon and training, etc. So I now post this little rant, feel free not to read it. If you do want to read it, please don't hesitate to share your opinions; I LOVE all opinions even ones contrary to my own.

It has absolutely nothing to do with training or triathlon but instead about politics, the patriot act, 9/11 and above all else FEAR. Enjoy!

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I felt compelled to share this story with all you! I was just catching up on recent current events and found a story about Ramak Fazel. Some of you might have already heard of him. I had not. Ramak was born in Iran and moved to the states when he was young. He is an American citizen. He recently decided to tour the US, as he has done many times before. But this time it was for a special project. He had a large stamp collection and was visiting each state capitol then sending postcards to himself at his next destination. The result was an art installation in a storefront in SoHo. What happened along the trip, while not surprising to me, is terribly disappointing and frankly disgusting. Here the NY Times video and the NY Times article.



I watched an interview with Ramak from CNN and he says that at the beginning of his trip he told the woman sitting next to him on his plane ride to Hawaii what he was doing. Apparently, she didn't quite 'get' what his purpose was and filed a report with TSA and they alerted the anti-terrorism task force.

This story reminds me of an incident that occurred when I lived in Buffalo, NY. I remember picking up the Artvoice and seeing a story about a professor from UB who had been arrested and detained under the Patriot Act. As I began to read the article I couldn't believe what had occurred.

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I should backtrack a bit here, I apologize. If you want to skip my interlude scroll down to the next dividing line.

I lived in the state of New York when September 11th 'happened'. I was a senior in college, anticipating the beginning of my adult life and moving on. The middle of August brought many changes. I had decided that I wasn't going to law school. All that I had been preparing for for 3 years, suddenly wasn't what I wanted. I wasn't exactly sure what I would do, but I felt like I had two semesters to figure it out. The semester began without incident, then a few days in we found out one of my roommates was pregnant. She had had a short lived, sex filled relationship of sorts with an old high school friend that summer. She felt as though her world was crashing down around her. A week later, I got a phone call at 4:30am. It was the highway patrol, I had to pick up one my roommates who had just been arrested for a DWI. She was hysterical and threatening suicide. I knew she was just scared and I convinced them to let her come home.

Things started to calm down a bit, as much as they could with 6 women living all under one roof. I had a 10:00am Tuesday/Thursday class and so did two of my other roommates so we would walk to class together. Mine was a freshman level science class that I had to take to fulfill my liberal arts reqs. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth listening to 101.1 The River, a Canadian station and Tears for Fears "Everybody wants to Rule the World" was playing. I heard someone galloping down the steps and then a bedroom door fly open downstairs. I looked at the clock thinking that we weren't late it was only about 9:00am.

I heard a muffled panic coming from the living room and toothbrush in mouth walked in to find my roommates staring at the tv with a look of disbelief. I turned off my electric toothbrush and listened as Katie Couric's voice shifted from journalist to human being. As she was broadcasting from the roof, another plane crashed into the towers. A wave of confusion floated through her and then panic. You could hear the fear in her voice. I looked at my roommates and said, "we are at war, someone attacked us." I knew at that moment, my life had changed, my world, my future were changed. I could feel the loss of all I believed in.

We realized the time and didn't know what to do. We went to class. I sat in class with a bunch of freshman who had the misfortune of 8am classes because they were freshman and registered last. With a professor who had just taught an 8am class and had no idea that anything was amiss. I remember leaving that class as fast as I could and I ran into my Harold on the way out of the Science Building and asked him if he had called his parents in Brooklyn. He just looked at me confused, I said, "Harold, call your mom." And walked away. I never saw the towers actually fall that day. I didn't see them until years later. I remember not being able to use the phone, cell or landline. I called my friend Steve who lived in New Jersey but had clients in NYC at least a dozen times before I got through. The first thing he said when he answered was "they're gone, I saw them and then they were gone." He had received a phone call from a coworker who told them of the first crash. So they got in their car and started driving back to New Jersey. He said that he turned to look as they were on the Garden State Parkway. At the top of the first hill he still saw the towers standing, then at the top of the next they were gone.

Living in New York State and in a border town in the aftermath of September 11th was difficult and stressful. We were inundated with propaganda and fear. Canisius was the only public or private for that matter, entity in the city of Buffalo that didn't close. Our President Father Cooke is from Manhattan, his family all lives there and he hadn't spoken to any of them when he addressed the campus that afternoon. But he told us that we would persevere in the face of this and had to keep moving forward. Bomb threats went on for months. People were afraid to cross the bridges. Everyone was afraid. I've never seen so many American flags. And surprisingly those flags lasted for several years after.

I also saw fear change people I thought I knew. I saw fear take over. I saw my friend Hassan thrown out of a bar and spit on because his skin was brown. I saw an RA from the other dorm get spit at and called a terrorist because she was Lebanese. I saw hate and fear. And it scared me.

I remember thinking what I would do if there was a draft. My brother was only 11 and the time but I knew this would go on for a very long time. I struggled with wanting to protect him from a draft but then feeling guilt. Both of my grandfathers had served in wars. My mother's three brothers all fought during Vietnam, one on the front line. My father's number had been called and he was lucky to not qualify. Was is disrespectful for me to want to know how to save my brother from fighting when it was part of my family history? I kept telling myself that a draft would never happen. Then the Patriot Act was passed.

Being in a border town we felt everything first. The Patriot Act was constantly being used for means of detention on the border. Everyone was afraid to speak his/her mind. I helped organize a Peace Prayer Service and served MC. We had several faiths represented and each read a prayer that was important in his/her respective faith. I cried as Hassan sang his. I couldn't forget how horrible people had been to him and he was still willing to stand up and be different. There were signs everywhere, in stores on campus, on lightposts, anti-terrorist signs I guess you would call them. I call them disgusting. I remember when we saw the large poster someone had put up on the front porch of a house on Eastwood, it was hateful and disgusting. Since it was a college owned house they had to remove it.

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As I sat at Spot and sipped my cafe au lait, my stomach started to knot. On May 11, 2004 Steve Kurtz awoke to find his wife not breathing. He called 911 and paramedics arrived with fire rescue. They found more than just Hope Kurtz. Steve Kurtz is a founding member of Critical Art Ensemble, an art group that explores the intersection of art and technology. He was working on an exhibit at the time and the rescue workers saw petri dishes and several microscopes in the living room. The police called the FBI and Kurtz's home, car, research and writings, laptop, and his wife's body, even his cat were seized under the Patriot Act and he was detained without charges.



He currently is still waiting for his trial to begin, which could end in a possible sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Here are some links to read more about his story:

Artvoice articles

Strange Culture writeup

BoingBoing Interview

Marching Plague - the result of Kurtz's supposed bioterrorist activities; the original manuscript was confiscated as part of the state's investigation



I often think about what the future is for our country. I sometimes think about what the world will be like for my kids. What kind of future do they have waiting for them? Our government is so reactionary, never proactive. What will this fear lead to? What is the result of presidential and congressional panic?