Annie And Emily Gross McMurphy

Recent Activity

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  Annie And Emily signed the petition | over 2 years ago

  Ask Congress to Stop Spending $2.7 Billion Per Day on War
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  Annie And Emily signed the petition | about 3 years ago

  Support Downtown Revitalization
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  Annie And Emily commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Top 10 Actions You Can Take to Make a Difference in Public Education, #1

  I was one of the lucky ones for two reasons. First, I easily fit into the standard norm of "student sits still while teacher teaches." Secondly, I was completely immersed in my extra-curricular love, which was singing (choir, glee, madrigals). Translation: I loved school and did well.
  
  However, parents today are not necessarily encouraging their children to fit into a mold (for many reasons, but thankfully sometimes intentionally), but schools in general have not caught up with the idea that different students learn in different ways, and moreover, that they SHOULD. The idea of presenting material differently to different students should be as basic as WHAT we are teaching our children.
  
  Cost too much, you might think? Require more teachers? I say MONEY WELL SPENT.
  
  A note on school boards. Whenever anyone is selected to oversee others, one must balance expertise with innovation. Here we can take a note from nature: when two biosystems overlap, that place becomes the most fertile and productive. Thus, school boards would do well to REQUIRE a diverse cross-section of members. There is a place for the wisdom of time, and a place for the enthusiasm of innovation and change. There is even a place for student representation, as long as those students are encouraged to, as Joe B. so aptly stated, THINK.
  
  Off the subject, but related, Pres-elect O has been given a mandate for change and is facing the challenge of choosing cabinet members who can in one person represent both expertise and innovation, all in a very short period of time. Better him than me!

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  Annie And Emily commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Even the Author of DOMA Thinks It's Bad Policy

  I war with my own conscience when I propose that being an "incrementalist" will be most effective in the long run. The problem with incrementalism is that it can just as easily be pulled backward as forward in the coming years if tides turn.
  
  Same-sex unions have been tried and tested in society, and the results are in: neither society nor opposite-sex marriages have been negatively impacted or destroyed. (Surprise, surprise.)
  
  It's time to repeal DOMA, allow equality for same-sex partners, and get on with business that truly impacts our world.
  

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  Annie And Emily commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Update: Bush's Midnight Mischief Weakens Wildlife Protections

  Raymond Sawyer, please don't get me wrong. I am well aware of the garbage being fed to low information voters, and I agree with everything you say. I have spent the last eight years being furious with two close family members. After a few heated discussions I realized that nothing I said was going to change their minds. However, both of these people did an about face about a year ago when their evangelical leaders decided that global warming IS real and IS something that "Good Christians" need to be concerned about. They are still low information voters, in my opinion, because they are content with being led and only believe information from one source.
  I think that the only way to change someone's mind is with hard cold facts-- research-- sent to them via e-mail over and over from many sources until the wall of ignorance is chipped away.
  How does that sound to you?

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  Annie And Emily commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Update: Bush's Midnight Mischief Weakens Wildlife Protections

  Like so many of the issues on this site, the global warming discussion becomes very heated (no pun intended) in both directions. I think we can safely say that both sides have merit in this discussion. Global warming and cooling ARE cyclical. However, the present day human race has had a significant effect on accelerating this process. If we were amoebae, we wouldn't care. But since we seem to want to preserve our species, we need to figure out a way to maintain the global conditions that sustain our species. So lets all work together toward that end, and try to tuck away our insults.

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  Annie And Emily signed the petition | about 3 years ago

  Eat less meat on Mondays (or any day)
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  Annie And Emily commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Kucinich: End the Gaza Blockade

  I am disappointed that Dennis Kucinich is not being made a part of the Obama cabinet. Prior to the primaries, his name came up in so much of the blogosphere. Now he is again being ignored. Come on, fellow progressives. Let's keep the heat on Obama!