Let's use our heads for a change

Image via WikipediaThe endless wars we are waging against EastAsia and EurAsia, with their long-forgotten rationales, are at least having their one usual benefit: we're learning lots about the way the human body works, as we pile up casualties.

One area that our concussive wars are educating us about is head injuries and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). And one thing we're learning as a result is that high-school sports head injuries are much more serious than we thought. Anyone who has seen Ali or other "punch drunk" boxers staggering around has seen the evidence of what shocks to the head do.

“Two studies, one of veterans and the other of former professional football players, provide new evidence that head injuries such as concussions are linked to dementia later in life and may make the brain more vulnerable to the development of symptoms characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.”

We need to start applying this knowledge here, in Salem, right now. Every single sport, starting with football and soccer, needs to be examined for its concussion rates, and those sports with above-average concussion rates need to be critically assessed with an eye to answering this one question:

Can the concussions in this sport be eliminated entirely or drastically reduced, or shall the sport be dropped?

There is no middle ground. With the mounting evidence all pointing the same way (that concussions are far more serious than we used to think), we are now on notice that we are causing kids ages 13-18, kids who cannot give informed consent, lifelong injuries, all in the name of entertainment. We have a duty to respond to these studies and to act to limit concussions to the maximum extent that is reasonably possible. Given that there are plenty of team and individual sports that teach all the same life lessons, there is no excuse for allowing kids to be exposed to high risks of suffering lifelong injuries as part of their education.

If you pay taxes here, you need to tell the S-K School Board that you want to know what they are doing to prevent concussions right now, and how they are going to avoid the huge legal bills down the road, the kinds of bills that accrue whenever institutions try to ignore evidence that what they are doing harms kids.

A critical look at "Teach for America"

Image via WikipediaSome charities have a good rap far beyond their true worth, which is quite modest. But, run by Masters of the PR game, they do provide great careers for their founders and staffs, who become skilled at pleasing foundation funders, even as the problems they formed to address worsen (which only redoubles their fundraising). Hat tip to Sam Smith for leading me to this post:

Why one professor won’t let Teach for America recruit students in his classes . . .

. . . Since that time, the percentage of Fordham students accepted has marginally increased, but the organization has done little to win my confidence that it is seriously committed to recruiting people willing to make a lifetime commitment to teaching and administering schools in high poverty areas.

Never, in its recruiting literature, has Teach for America described teaching as the most valuable professional choice that an idealistic, socially conscious person can make, and encourage the brightest students to make teaching their permanent career. Indeed, the organization does everything in its power to make joining Teach for America seem a like a great pathway to success in other, higher paying professions. Three years ago, the TFA recruiter plastered the Fordham campus with flyers that said "Learn how joining TFA can help you gain admission to Stanford Business School." To me, the message of that flyer was "use teaching in high poverty areas a stepping stone to a career in business." It was not only profoundly disrespectful of every person who chooses to commit their life to the teaching profession, it advocated using students in high poverty areas as guinea pigs for an experiment in "resume padding" for ambitious young people. . . .

Open Letter to the American Red Cross

Hello,

I am writing as someone who has donated over 144 pints of O- blood to others via the Red Cross in the PNW and Great Lakes Red Cross Regions. So I am a huge Red Cross supporter, and am a registered bone marrow donor.

However, I wince whenever I see the Red Cross mobile blood draw van parked outside the Oregon State Capitol building conducting onsite blood drives using a huge diesel bus that sits with its motor idling for hours and hours at a time -- when the Capitol is just a few steps away from a fully-staffed and nicely appointed Red Cross blood donation center! [0.4 miles, 8 min. on foot at most.]

Diesel exhaust is a public health hazard. The particulate emissions are a serious problem for any person who breathes. Moreover, the NOx and SOx emissions are health threats in their own right.

I am writing to ask that you consider the harm that you are causing, reflect on how it affects your mission, and devise a policy to eliminate diesel idling as part of your operations. If that means using utility grade extension cables to bring power to your mobile collection buses, so be it. Or move the collection into the building.

See http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/diesel/ for more on the health problems caused by diesel exhaust.

Thank you. I am posting this on my blog, LOVESalem.blogspot.com, and I will be happy to give you an opportunity to respond.

UPDATE 2:  Much better:

Thanks for taking time to provide feedback on the American Red Cross.  First of all, thank you for your commitment to the cause of blood donation.  Donating over 144 units of blood demonstrates an incredible commitment and an understanding that the need for blood is constant.  I have asked members of my organization to look into the concerns you have raised about an idling bus motor.

It is not our standard practice to idle the motor on buses during blood drives.  In most settings we do have to rely on generators to power the buses.  I expect that it was the generator you have heard outside the Oregon State Capitol building and not the motor. 

As to your point that the capitol is a few steps away from one of our donor centers, we value having a center so close to the capitol and that center sees a great many employees and visitors from the capitol.  But, it is our experience that the convenience of having an established blood drive on capitol grounds attracts people to donate who may feel they are too busy or otherwise unable to get over to our donor center.  The capitol blood drives are generally very successful.  Given that the need for blood is constant, we attempt to accommodate donors in the best and most convenient ways possible.

We have conducted blood drives inside the capitol building in the past.  Unfortunately, those inside blood drives were subject to cancellation on short notice when senate or house business took priority for the space. 

As a result of your feedback, our Salem representatives are investigating the possibility of plugging in to electrical power at the capitol.  And, as we replace buses and generators, we will have particulate traps installed to mitigate the effects of the generators on the environment.  Thanks again for your feedback and past support.

Steve Stegeman | Chief Executive Officer
Pacific Northwest Blood Services Region - American Red Cross

Citizens United: Final Nail in the Coffin of Democracy in America?

Image by bionicteaching via FlickrCitizens United - Final Nail in the Coffin of Democratic Elections?

- a discussion hosted by the Election Integrity Caucus of the Democratic Party of Oregon -

Sunday, August 7th, 10 am - 11:15 am

AGENDA:

Introduction to Election Integrity Caucus

• Panel on Citizens United
• Brief History of Corporate Personhood
• Brief History of Campaign Finance Reform
• "Citizens United" Supreme Court Decision
• Problem in Elections Post-"Citizens United" / Examples from 2010 Mid-Term Elections
• Strategies/Solutions/Action Items to Counter "Citizens United" Decision
• Discussion with Attendees

LOCATION: Rex Putnam High School, 4950 SE Roethe Rd., Milwaukie, OR (Directions)

Related articles

• Rachel Maddow Fears New Citizens United Influence, But Swiftboating Isn't New (mediaite.com)

Near/in Keizer? Still plenty of time to grow a great summer/fall garden!

Image by greenhem via Flickr

Whittam Community Garden, located at 5205 Ridge Dr. NE in Keizer, has 8 garden plots available.

Plots are free if you donate produce to Keizer Food Bank, and only $5 for the rest of the year for personal use. Plots are 6’ x 12’ raised beds.

If interested, please contact Kathy Whittam - kwhittam@comcast.net

Ian Dixon-McDonald
Community Gardens Program Director
Marion-Polk Food Share

T: 503-581-3855 x329 C: 503-798-0339 F: 503-581-3862
E: imcdonald@marionpolkfoodshare.org
1660 Salem Industrial Drive NE, Salem OR 97301-0374
www.marionpolkfoodshare.org/ www.marionpolkgardens.ning.com

Attention recent and soon-to-be HS grads!

You owe it to yourself to start your college search here. If you attend this school first, all your subsequent school choices are likely to be much more valuable to you, even if they are much more traditional.

Speaking of which, here's a non-traditional opportunity that could be perfect for a self-educating young person:

The Marion-Polk Food Share Community Gardens Program is currently accepting applications for a service opportunity through Oregon Red Cross AmeriCorps.

The service member will focus on developing and running youth garden programs in Marion and Polk counties. Three main projects include developing curriculum, facilitating partnerships, and assisting with the summer garden youth crews.

For full job description (pdf)

Service member will receive

• a $5,550 education award upon completion for future tuition or payment on qualified student loans (taxed),
  
  
• a living allowance of $12,100 for 11 months (before taxes),
  
  
• loan forbearance on qualified student loans,
  
  
• basic healthcare coverage and childcare assistance (if household income qualifies).
  
  The selected applicant will have to complete an AmeriCorps application online. For more information on AmeriCorps, see www.oregonredcross.org/ossc.

This opportunity requires a full-time, 40 hours a week commitment for the duration of 11 months. Begins Tuesday Sept. 6. To apply, send a resume and cover letter to: imcdonald@marionpolkfoodshare.org

Applications must be received by August 5th.

Related articles

• The 'uncollege movement' (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Teen entrepreneur asks: College? Who needs it? (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Sad, but well done

Image by GlenBledsoe via FlickrThe hardest thing, many organizations find, is knowing when to stop.

Many never figure it out and they struggle on, consuming resources and generating debts, until finally they flicker out, leaving unpaid debts, exhausted volunteers, and (often) unpaid staffers behind.

It's sad, in a way, that the Salem Community Concert Association has folded. On the other hand, good for their leadership for being able to read the handwriting on the wall and knowing enough not to plow on despite the warnings until the iceberg was hit (I don't know how many walls there are up in the frigid polar waters where the icebergs are, but mixing metaphors is at most a misdemeanor offense on the information highway, right?).

The Salem Community Concert Association, the oldest concert series in the area, is ending after 74 years.

The organization has canceled the five concerts planned for 2011-12 because lagging season-ticket sales would not cover expenses, board president Esther Ediger announced Tuesday.

"We had lots of projects, we had lots of hopes, and we had some promises, but not enough money in the bank," said Ediger. "We used up all our reserves."

The organization had sold just 140 season tickets for the coming season, far short of what it needed to make its budget of about $27,000.

Rather than go into debt, the board decided unanimously last week to dissolve. Volunteers planned to mail refunds to season-ticket buyers and donors on Tuesday.

In the series' heyday, concert-goers snapped up all 1,000 season tickets, guaranteeing financial success.

As a result, the concert association could attract world-famous musicians including classical guitarist Christopher Parkening, opera singer Roberta Peters and pianist Misha Dichter.

But in recent years, the concert association's loyal core has aged, said Ediger, and more events have competed for music lovers' money. Season-ticket sales slipped from 240 three years ago.

"We've seen changes in the way people do things, the way they buy tickets and the growth of Salem art associations," she said. "We wish everyone well, but there is so much to choose from." . . .

Good for them for having the courage to face the facts, for exiting with grace, and leaving the field to other, more vital groups, rather than dividing the shrinking pie up into ever smaller slices. The arts scene in Salem is better off for this decision, regrettable though it is. If you know any of the leadership of the SCCA, thank them for all that they offered through the years, and also for not trying to live on past what the community was willing to support.

Don't be a sucker. Stay away from Payday loans.

Image via Wikipedia The only way to avoid being bled by payday loan outfits is to stay the hell away from them. Evidence here.

You should never be in a position where you have to pay money to cash your paycheck, or to accept a huge interest rate because you need a couple hundred bucks to get to next payday.

If you are financially strapped and don't know how to get on your feet or get ahead, then you need to do one thing first, ahead of anything else:

JOIN A CREDIT UNION.

Salem has a number of them, no matter who you are you can join one or more of them.

The problem, my friends, is blowing in the wind

Image by timparkinson via FlickrBellingham, Washington, shows how it's done. They put a plastic bag ban into law with zero resistance from merchants, to general acclaim all around.

Scam Alert -- Wildly overpriced "water supply line" insurance targets seniors in NE Salem

Image via WikipediaI usually keep my day job and LOVESalem pretty separate, but there are times when the interests merge, such as when I learn that there's a scam targeting seniors here in Salem.