Tears for China and Burma

I have been struggling to wrap my head around the terrible tragedies of late.

First, the cyclone in Burma/Myanmar. The latest death toll stands at 78,000. 2.5 million survivors are still waiting to receive aid of some kind. I can only hope that the ruling regime will begin to accept the support, supplies, and aid being offered from around the globe.

Then China's 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province; with it's estimated 50,000 deaths and 5 million displaced individuals. My heart breaks every time I hear about another school that is found in rubble. I wept uncontrollably as I listened to NPR's Melissa Block follow a family's search for their two year-old son, Wang Zhilu, and his grandparents.

Fu Guanyu and Wang Wei, I only wish my overflowing tears could wash away your incredible grief. You are in my thoughts and prayers.


Photo by avirus

Vermont Delegates for Obama

Now, most of my readers know (and yes, most of you know me IRL) I am not generally a "political" person. But I can't help myself with this election and this candidate. I was one of the people elected at our town caucus to be a delegate for Obama to the Vermont Democratic Convention later this month. There, we will elect Vermont's 13 delegates to the National Convention in Denver.

Although I am campaigning to be a national delegate - I do feel strongly there are Vermonters MUCH more deserving of the honor than I.

What have I done?

• I have been working with Obama's Arts Policy Committee in contacting artists and educators in advance of primaries in Pennsylvania and Indiana.
• Founded the Vermont Delegates for Obama group, to help keep other delegates informed on this somewhat mystical process.
• Served as an information point and carpool center for my town's other delegates.
• Advocated for the Arts and cultural diplomacy on Capitol Hill and met with Vermont's Senators Leahy and Sanders, and Congressman Welch and/or their staffs.
  

What have I NOT done?

• I have not held a public office, or any official role with the Obama campaign
• Hosted Obama house parties or other events
• Worked phone banks
• Canvassed door-to-door for Obama or voter registration
  
• Driven to other primary states to volunteer for Obama
• Blogged (outside of barackobama.com or democracy.org) for Obama
  

So, in the spirit of keeping the information flowing, I am posting here the information I recently sent out to the VT delegate group. You can learn more about other potential delegates here, too.

Greetings fellow delegates!

Some of you are undoubtedly new to the delegate role, as I am, but information is trickling in.

1. Congrats to the 110 or so Obama delegates from town causes, who successfully submitted their Statement of Candidacy/Pledge of Support forms, and are now campaigning to become Vermont delegates for Obama to the National Democratic Convention. The official list can be found here: http://vtdemocrats.org/index.php?id=2237

2. The goal at the state convention May 24th is to select Vermont's delegation to Denver. Vermont is allocated 10 district-level delegates and 3 district-level alternates. Based on the results of Vermont presidential preference primary on March 4th, those delegates will be awarded as follows: Obama gets six district-level delegates, three males and three females, Clinton gets 4 district-level delegates, two males and two females. Obama gets two alternates, one male and one female, Clinton gets one female alternate.

3. There will be a final delegate training session on Wednesday, May 14th at 6:00pm at 38 Eastwood Drive, So. Burlington.

4. Hopefully, you have received information from Joanne Boyle (who's helping organize the VDP Convention on 5/24). She sent information about development/placement of ads in the program and/or renting of table space at the convention to help promote your delegate candidacy. If you did not receive her message, I encourage you to contact her at jm(dot)boyle(at)yahoo(dot)com

5. If you cannot afford an ad or table - you can personally distribute flyers at the convention. I also invite you to introduce yourself to the Vermont Delegates for Obama group via a blog post, and/or a message to the group. Lastly, you can also campaign via the web opportunity below.

6. Neil Jensen of Vermonters for Obama, is graciously offering space on his website for national delegates to make their case. He says, "Just send me an email at info(at)vermontersforobama(dot)org with a statement in support of your candidacy -- and I'll post it online for you. If you participate, your name will be posted in alphabetical order at http://vermontersforobama.org/delegates and will be linked to your candidate statement. You can send statements either as text in an email, a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment, or just a link to another website, whichever you prefer. Be sure to include your full name and feel free to include a photo, too, if you wish." Thanks Neil for your generosity!

7. Lastly, you can view driving directions to the Vermont Convention event listing on this site. And please feel free to use the Vermonte Delegates for Obama forum to organize carpools.

That's all folks! See you in 2 weeks!

Allison
(aka MapleMama)

artwork by Shepard Fairey; flickr photo by a35mmlife

Pachelbel's Canon in D

Maybe not what one would consider purist or authentic performances, but certainly entertaining on a sleepless night!

BARACK OBAMA: A CHAMPION FOR ARTS AND CULTURE

The following is simply cut and paste from Senator Obama's position statement on the Arts.

I post it here because his statement completely echoes my thoughts on the Arts and the very issues I advocated for on Capitol Hill last year at the Americans for the Arts Arts Advocacy Days in Washington DC. It's a GREAT read! Enjoy.

Our nation’s creativity has filled the world’s libraries, museums, recital halls, movie houses, and marketplaces with works of genius. The arts embody the American spirit of self-definition. As the author of two best-selling books – Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama uniquely appreciates the role and value of creative expression.

A PLATFORM IN SUPPORT OF THE ARTS

Reinvest in Arts Education: To remain competitive in the global economy, America needs to reinvigorate the kind of creativity and innovation that has made this country great. To do so, we must nourish our children’s creative skills. In addition to giving our children the science and math skills they need to compete in the new global context, we should also encourage the ability to think creatively that comes from a meaningful arts education. Unfortunately, many school districts are cutting instructional time for art and music education. Barack Obama believes that the arts should be a central part of effective teaching and learning. The Chairmanof the National Endowment for the Arts recently said “The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.” To support greater arts education, Obama will:

• Expand Public/Private Partnerships Between Schools and Arts Organizations: Barack Obama willincrease resources for the U.S. Department of Education’s Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants, which develop public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations. Obama will also engage the foundation and corporate community to increase support for public/private partnerships.
• Create an Artist Corps: Barack Obama supports the creation of an “Artists Corps” of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities. Studies in Chicago have demonstrated that test scores improved faster for students enrolled in low-income schools that link arts across the curriculum than scores for students in schools lacking such programs.
• Publicly Champion the Importance of Arts Education: As president, Barack Obama will use the bully pulpit and the example he will set in the White House to promote the importance of arts and arts education in America. Not only is arts education indispensable for success in a rapidly changing, high skill, information economy, but studies show that arts education raises test scores in other subject areas as well.
  

Support Increased Funding for the NEA: Over the last 15 years, government funding for the National Endowment for the Arts has been slashed from $175 million annually in 1992 to $125 million today. Barack Obama supports increased funding for the NEA, the support of which enriches schools and neighborhoods all across the nation and helps to promote the economic development of countless communities.

Promote Cultural Diplomacy: American artists, performers and thinkers – representing our values and ideals – can inspire people both at home and all over the world. Through efforts like that of the United States Information Agency, America’s cultural leaders were deployed around the world during the Cold War as artistic ambassadors and helped win the war of ideas by demonstrating to the world the promise of America. Artists can be utilized again to help us win the war of ideas against Islamic extremism. Unfortunately, our resources for cultural diplomacy are at their lowest level in a decade. Barack Obama will work to reverse this trend and improve and expand public-private partnerships to expand cultural and arts exchanges throughout the world.

Attract Foreign Talent: The flipside to promoting American arts and culture abroad is welcoming members of the foreign arts community to America. Opening America’s doors to students and professional artists provides the kind of two-way cultural understanding that can break down the barriers that feed hatred and fear. As America tightened visa restrictions after 9/11, the world’s most talented students and artists, who used to come here, went elsewhere. Barack Obama will streamline the visa process to return America to its rightful place as the world’s top destination for artists and art students.

Provide Health Care to Artists: Finding affordable health coverage has often been one of the most vexing obstacles for artists and those in the creative community. Since many artists work independently or have non- traditional employment relationships, employer-based coverage is unavailable and individual policies are financially out of reach. Barack Obama’s plan will provide all Americans with quality, affordable health care. His plan includes the creation of a new public program that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health care similar to that available to federal employees. His plan also creates a National Health Insurance Exchange to reform the private insurance market and allow Americans to enroll in participating private plans, which would have to provide comprehensive benefits, issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums. For those who still cannot afford coverage, the government will provide a subsidy. His health plan will lower costs for the typical American family by up to $2,500 per year.

Ensure Tax Fairness for Artists: Barack Obama supports the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make charitable contributions.

Paid for by Obama for America

Can I just say...AMEN! - Allison

cc2.0lic photo by roxannejomitchell

Missing Person: Nicholas Garza

One of the first-year students on our campus has unfortunately been missing now for two weeks. In order to assist in keeping his vital information circulating, I will post the basic information and links below. My thoughts are with his family, friends and fellow students, during this difficult time.


Missing: NICHOLAS A. GARZA
Age: 19
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 150-160 lbs.
Home: Albuquerque, NM
Missing since: Feb. 5, 2008
Missing from: Middlebury College campus;
Middlebury, VT.

Nick vanished while walking the short distance from a friend's dormitory to his own at approximately 11:00pm on Tuesday, Feb 5th. It was poor weather, and it is believed Nicholas did not have a coat on. There have been no phone calls, e-mails, or monetary transactions from any of his accounts.

Links for more information:

• Dedicated website: http://nicholasgarza.org/
• Middlebury College's Garza info page
• Middblog, a student blog, updated regularly
• Facebook group

Anyone with information regarding Nick's whereabouts
is encouraged to call the
Middlebury Police Dept. at 802-388-3181.

Happy New Year!

May 2008 bring you and yours peace,
health and happiness.
Best wishes from the "Maples" for
a wonderful new year!

A big thanks, and cc2.0a-nc-sa attributions, to the following image contributors
to my mosaic: Leo Reynold, raybob, El Ramon, marie-ll, Claudecf, mag3737 , and cenz.