"Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve." (President Obama, July 1, 2009)

It's been a long time coming. I've written about Mabel Rawlinson (My Fallen Hero: Fly Girl from Kalamazoo) before. She was my mother's sister. Mabel was one of just 1,857 women selected (out of the more than 25,000 women that applied) to enter pilot training during World War II. Moreover, when she received her Army Air Corps wings, she joined a group of only 1,102 phenomenal women who actually passed that rigorous training. Through hard work and determination, Mabel earned her rightful place among the elite Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Sadly for her family, she was not destined to live long.

When Mabel tragically died while flying her Air Force plane in 1943, she became one of the first members of an even smaller and more elite group. She was one of only 38 female pilots who died while serving in World War II.

Unfortunately, overt discrimination was ubiquitous in the military then. Not only did these brave and talented women face blatant prejudice in their daily service and receive lower pay, they were also not even given full and rightful military status until many decades after the war. Even when these female patriots died in service, our government did not even pay to transport their lifeless bodies to their home towns for burial. Nor did our government allow their caskets to be draped with American flags. Mabel's fellow soldiers pooled their own money to help pay to send her body home to my grandmother in Kalamazoo.

"My choice is to take a stand and effect change and not just hit our head against the wall... Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, on another scale, and actually make a difference for our priorities. So we will...

"Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me, and that's sports. Basketball. And I use it because you are naive if you don't see a full court press from the national level pecking away right now. A good point guard. Here's what she does. She drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her head up, because she needs to keep her eye on the basket... And that is what I'm doing. Keeping her eye on the ball...

"And I really don't want to disappoint anyone with this announcement."

The additional Kansas State budget cuts are painful. A lot of ordinary people will be hurt by them. You know them, they are the people who get up every day and do the right thing. I understand tough economic times. I understand that we should all share in the sacrifice needed to right our economic ship.

Howard Zinn, the famed radical historian, wrote in his book Artists In Times of War:

So the word transcendent comes to mind when I think of the role of the artist in dealing with the issues of the day. I use that word to suggest that the role of the artist is to transcend conventional wisdom, to transcend the word of the establishment, to transcend the orthodoxy, to go beyond and escape what is handed down by the government or what is said in the media.

Feet that need to rest and to dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms I’m telling you. And oh my people, out yonder, hear me, they do not love your neck unnoosed and straight. So love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it, and hold it up.

President Barack Obama delivered a speech yesterday citing depressing numbers about employment in the US but promising hope through innovation, green technologies, and assuring Americans that each was upon the horizon.

The job figures released this morning show that we lost 467,000 jobs last month. And while the average loss of about 4,000 jobs (sic) per month this quarter is less devastating than the 700,000 per month that we lost in the previous quarter, and while there are continuing signs that the recession is slowing, obviously this is little comfort to all those Americans who have lost their jobs...

I'm absolutely confident that we can, at this period of difficulty, prove, once again, what this nation can achieve, when challenged. And I'm confident that we're not only going to recover from this recession in the short term, but we're going to prosper in the long term.

Hi again! As you know, I'm proud to be organizing online for the Kansas Democratic Party!

I've got some good news everyone! Just checked with our Finance Staff and in one week, we've already brought our budget for a new website up to $2,457 -- that's a fifth of our total goal!

But my boss, Kenny Johnston, has better news:

I just got my hands on two tickets to Washington Days 2010 and we're going to give two lucky activists a chance to win them. If you make a donation of $25 or more before Friday, July 3rd at 11:59 PM, you'll automatically be entered into our contest!

Our nation bears responsibility to learn from the mistakes of this dark episode. Even if criminal prosecutions should not result, Congress, for sure, and, I believe, the American public must ultimately know what really happened behind the sanitized legal descriptions of individual techniques, and in what conditions, intensity and duration. This accounting will not be easy or proud, but it will help show the world that the America it knew and counted on is back. (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), National Law Journal. May 4, 2009)

On May 13, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, subcommittee chair of the Senate Judicial Committee, held a hearing entitled: “What Went Wrong: Torture and the Office of Legal Counsel in the Bush Administration." I saw a short clip somewhere, and filed the memory away. This past Tuesday, I called Whitehouse's office to thank him for keeping the issue alive.

Both in personal response and on Facebook, I've gotten impressive reaction as to whether or not Paul Quinn College is worth saving. Maybe it wasn't clear from the previous post, but I'm in the camp that believes it is.

The real question is just how many others believe so as well?

I think questions regarding the legitimacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are generally asked in accusatory fashion or from some with a total lack of understanding regarding what these institutions provide.

The Global Humanitarian Forum's most recent report, "Climate Change responsible for 300,000 deaths a year," outlines the impact of climate change on human life.

The report is way beyond sobering. We have so many reasons to come together in community, both locally, nationally and around the world. Certainly, this report provides additional motivation of the most pressing sort.

Here are summary points to get your thoughts flowing...

Earlier this week, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed a law that will make it illegal for a driver in a car to pass a cyclist with less than three feet of space. The law also includes language that makes it illegal to "harass, taunt or maliciously throw objects at or in the direction of any person riding on a bicycle.'' Violators could be sent to jail for up to 30 days or fined a minimum of $200.

The “three feet rule” is fairly standard in cyclist-car interactions; anything less, a cyclist will tell you, is pretty alarming. Making the harassment of a cyclist illegal will hopefully put teeth into a law intended for the safety of cyclists. As someone who’s been passed by a car within three feet and been yelled at to “Get out of the road!” I’m excited to see this law being passed in Louisiana. I’ve not been the target of physical harassment, but I’ve read about cyclists in Seattle being pelted with objects thrown by drivers. Recently, one driver shot a flare gun at a cyclist, which grazed the bike rider’s arm and exploded behind him.

Hi folks! I'm the new Online Director for the Kansas Democratic Party. We launched this campaign on Monday, so far we've got our budget up to $2,322! We'd appreciate any support.

Kansas Democrats have always had the advantage in online organizing. Terrific Democrats like former Governor Kathleen Sebelius and current House candidate Sean Tevis have put Kansas politics on the map with their innovative online tactics.

It's been an important advantage over the years.

But now, the Sam Brownback-led Republican Party is getting ready to nominate the most conservative slate of candidates in years and they're starting to gain on us online.

Finding the positive amidst tragedy is a difficult feat. When the tragedy is the murder of someone loved and admired, this difficulty often becomes insurmountable. Defense mechanisms call for retreat and denial, fear and helplessness consume. All of the good, all of the light that once was, is extinguished and darkness remains. This is what happens when evil prevails. But evil does not always prevail. When people band together and choose to deny evil its victory, the opposite occurs… the opposite is inspiration. I have witnessed inspiration and it is beautiful, astounding and transformational.

The funniest thing happened to me the other day... I realized that I wasn't doing my part. Yes, I volunteer for local community organizations and even sit a few boards and committees. I vote in every election and encourage those around me to do the same. But there is a bit more that I could do...

so I thought about this... what if we took Stephen Covey's principles of 7 highly effective people and refashioned them for today's American? what might these principles look like?

1. Don't sit still
As an American, our culture allows us to live passive lives. We tend to function in our own circles and rarely move beyond them. We can also get complacent and let the daily doldrum of our lives paralyze us. The outcome produces laziness and naivety. We miss real problems because we are too lazy or naive to see them. That is why I want to challenge Americans to not sit still. We will easily miss the issues that could be solved and learn more about ourselves and others in the process. Sitting still is passive and we want to live a life of action. What a better way to do so than by becoming active in your community.

This week marks an anniversary for me that I would much rather not be celebrating. One year ago, the activist community, the feminist community, and, most importantly to me on a selfish level, my personal community lost one of their best and brightest. I've written before about the fact that my friend, Jana Mackey, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in a horrific incident of domestic violence. That was one year ago this week.

As the anniversary of her death approaches, I've been wracking my brain in an effort to figure out a way that I can do justice to the memory of my friend. I want to give her a fitting tribute, as I have a venue in which to do that. Finally, today while reading a book that she had recommended to me about a week prior to her death, I finally figured out just how to do that.

For those of you who knew Jana, I hope you will take what follows as my meager attempt to honor our friend. For those of you who didn't, I just ask that you read what follows and attempt to glean from it whatever you can.

Paul Quinn College's loss of accreditation, is for many, a death knell for the school. For some it is an opportunity to review whether or not the commitment of Dallas to support the presence of a historically black college is real. But, at the end of the day, it is not really Dallas per se, that must prove its commitment, as much as it is African-Americans who live in Dallas. To be honest, if its not important to us, then it shouldn't be here.

Michael Sorrell, who for the past two years has an extremely impressive job of leading the troubled school, now needs the help of alumni and black Dallasites to rally to support Paul Quinn. Dallas area pastors Frederick Haynes of Friendship West Baptist Church, Denny Davis of St. John Baptist Church in Grand Prairie and Kerry Wesley of Antioch Fellowship Baptist Church, are among those who have, annually, for years, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and more in other fundraisers to sustain Paul Quinn. Ironically, all are alumni of Bishop College. Bishop, also the school I attended, suffered the fate which Paul Quinn currently endures and eventually closed in 1988.

Where are the Kansas Democrats for 2010? Everywhere I go I have this question asked of me and I have to ask it myself. 2008 saw an end to the promising Boyda presence in the 2nd Congressional District Seat, and Jim Slattery lost by a huge margin against long-time incumbent Pat Roberts. What did the Democrats learn from it?

Another word or two about my reading habits. While the journals/magazine referenced the last two days don't cover all that I regularly thumb through, they do represent a few favorites. Here's what's left of that short, varied list.

I've been reading Sports Illustrated since I was a kid. Great photography and interesting analysis across the sporting world.

I remember reading stories about horse racing and fencing when I was in junior high.

Log Home Living caught my attention a few years back.

With the recent gangland-style murder of Des Moran, the story of mobsters in Australia sounds like something out of Hollywood. Secret conversations, wigs, get-a-way cars, and a shootout in broad daylight while the victim sat at his table drinking coffee.

Tall and slender young and fine, the girl from Ipanema goes walking, and as she’s walking the young man watching goes AAAHHH!

Rio! Lord! God! RIO!

Such a land of beauty with a bevy of the most beautiful women, and beautiful people, bewitching in nature, beguiled by the opulence of what God’s creative forces have to offer as it is stricken by the awesomeness of the downtrodden and the hopeless. It is only fitting that it is almost twelve years since my first contemplation of traveling to this place of God’s natural majesty that I now find myself renewed and recharged by her grace and natural mystic.