Leadership

Saw a great quote by Andy Stern, President of SEIU today:

Real leadership does not govern out of fear - fear of losing the next election, fear of what might be used in an ad, fear of being too partisan. Leadership is not thinking about the next election - but the next generation.

This is indeed the very necessary time when we must not procrastinate. We must treat our challenges as opportunities and seize the chance to reinvent ourselves. Having cut my teeth in the corporate environment, one of the most important things I learned is that the only constant is change.

Change, especially advancement in technology, is occurring at an exponential rate. This is our time... to innovate, to change our country for the better, and in doing so, reestablish our sterling reputation for doing what's right--for our citizens, our country, and the world.

Continuing information on infant DNA collection

We started an interesting conversation yesterday about the collection of infant DNA without parental consent. One of my readers asked some questions about use and oversight. Right now it looks like all states collect a blood spot to test for genetic diseases in babies, but what happens after the blood is tested varies by state. Here's another blogger who has some more information.

From a research perspective, I encourage you to read the comments on the link I've provided, they come from an actual researcher who shares how anonymous the information is. This makes me feel better about the idea, but I still feel that parents not the government should be the ones to give consent about the use of their baby's blood.

Baby DNA gathered without parental consent

I watched a special on TV last night that mentioned there was a law that our former president just signed into law last year. Every newborn's DNA can be collected by hospitals for a government "bio-bank" without parental consent. And then earlier this morning, I did some more research and discovered that Bob Barr had also discussed this topic in the AJC:

Once it is collected, the DNA is considered government property. I have a huge problem with this ultimate invasion of privacy. Using this, the government can know information about not only the baby, but the parents and ancestors of the babe. That is way more information than I think the government has the right to collect without my consent. Again, I wouldn't protest this so much if we had the option to give consent... and even to revoke that consent later if we find our data is being used in ways with which we disagree.

Don't get me wrong, I can see the benefits that having access to such a database could provide scientists. I think it could help them solve many sorts of genetically passed diseases. No human is perfect, which means no government is perfect. Some horrible things that, in my opinion, tarnished our nation's reputation have been done in the name of our national security. These things were done without my consent as a citizen, and I had no power to keep them from happening. However, one of the traditions of our country is that to do anything with one of our children, you MUST have the consent of the parent(s) or guardian(s).

My DNA should not be government property without my consent, and now if I decide to get pregnant, I don't have any choice in the matter. In my libertarian leaning heart, this smacks of government invasion into my privacy, and I'm completely unhappy with the idea that I have no recourse other than to file an expensive lawsuit to challenge this law, which is something that, unfortunately, I can't afford these days.

I would love your feedback on this topic, and from many different perspectives, especially if you disagree with me. I'm still forming my opinion about this one, but my gut instinct is that my potential baby's DNA should never be government property without my consent.

Levitation, Seriously!!!

I am so excited. So many things are happening that I'd hoped for but wasn't certain would occur in my lifetime. In a few days we'll be swearing in our first Black president (Hooray Obama!!!), and today I just read about scientists discovering how to levitate things:


By Julie Steenhuysen
updated 5:44 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 7, 2009

CHICAGO - U.S. scientists have found a way to levitate the very smallest objects using the strange forces of quantum mechanics, and said on Wednesday they might use it to help make tiny nanotechnology machines.
They said they had detected and measured a force that comes into play at the molecular level using certain combinations of molecules that repel one another.
The repulsion can be used to hold molecules aloft, in essence levitating them, creating virtually friction-free parts for tiny devices, the researchers said.

If you want to read the whole article, check it out here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28546058/

Spring is in the air...

It's kinda scary that it's February and it's 70 degrees outside. Okay, so tomorrow it will officially be March, but still. I remember when I was a little girl, it would snow a few times a year. Not ice, actual snow. A few times we even had a few feet of snow. Snowmen, sculptures, and angels galore! We even got fancy and with the help of some food coloring even made colored snow sculptures. So much is happening so quickly. This year, we didn't get a lick of snow... okay, well maybe a lick. I did see a couple of snow flakes a few weeks ago. But they didn't stick around long.

I know I sound like an old person longing for the good ol' days. It's not that exactly. It's jsut that I want to be able to share those special kinds of experiences that I had as a child with my girls. With all of the gizmos that are out these days, kids don't have a lot of incentive to actually go outside and use their imaginations anymore. I do miss that. They expect to be entertained rather than entertaining themselves. They came for a visit this weekend, and they had such a great time. Do you know what we did? We went for a walk.

Yes, that's right, a plain ol' walk. Except it wasn't that plain. It was gorgeous! We took the dogs with us and walked into the park access at the end of our cul de sac. We discovered that the county had been very busy since the last time we were there. The mini lake is cleaner, has a graveled path around it, a bridge with a gazebo across it, and a mile long nature trail meandering through the area. It's so beautiful that I can't seem to get enough of it. I've been back with one or both the dogs every day since then. It's so nice to take a break from gadgets and get some very fresh air and some really beautiful views. It truly is food for the soul.

It's not that I'm opposed to gadgets. But, progress keeps speeding up, and adapting to every new thing can be exhausting. I'm not saying progress is a bad thing, either. I would much rather be living right now than back in the Renaissance or Middle Ages. I just wonder what the long term effects of all this change will be. Will we, the human race, be able to navigate through all the chaos into a stable functional society? Will we continue to have a healthful planet? Will our technology allow us all to reach the stars?

There are social issues that are not going away. I look at all the conflict going on in this world and don't know whether to laugh or to cry. On the one hand, it's like watching a kindergarten class fight sometimes with all of the name-calling and scratching and pulling... But when you look at the details, there are some truly horrible things being done to others in the name religion or justice or security, etc. Why is death and destruction so many peoples' answer to solving their problems? We need to build each other up, not tear each other down.

There are economic issues that aren't going away. It is not just whining for me to say that the rich are getting richer and the poor and middle class are getting poorer. This has again become the times of the robber barons. For most of this country's existence, the average difference in income is that the richest people have made 20 times what the poorest have made. Nowadays, the richest people are making 400 times more than what the poorest are making.

Why has the influence of money become so incongruent? In the 90s, it was amazing that people would have to raise 20 - 40 million to win a presidential election. Yet today the journalists are talking that candidates are going to have to make 100 million in order to have a fighting chance. It is so frustrating to see that much money being spent just for someone to gain political power. Think of all the things that could have been done with just half of that amount. I just read an article that all the state-owned companies in Iraq could be restarted for either 100 or 150 million. We could get an entire country's economy back on track with that kind of money.

I think that if I ever became one of the rich, I couldn't just pile it up and sit on it, or solely use it to make more money. I'd have to invest it in our future... our education system, especially. With all of the technological advances we have, I don't think my kids are getting as good an education as I did. And I don't think I received as good an education as I could have. It's time to start making a difference... and I think a lot of people are on board with that. But how do we start?