I'm so outraged I can't even forward an email properly, so here's a cut-and-paste of what the automatically generated "forward the message on" thing is when you sign the online petition... I'm flabbergasted by this!
****end Ahmie's actual ability to write about this sanely & without profanity****
I just signed a petition in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that was a huge blow to equal pay for equal work, and I hope you will too.
THE LOWDOWN ON THE ISSUE & PETITION LINK: The Supreme Court just told Lilly Ledbetter, a 60-year old "fiery mother of two," that even though, for years, she was paid between 15% and 40% less than her male counterparts on the management team (a fact she learned late in her 19 year career), she could not make a claim of workplace discrimination. Why couldn't she make a claim? Lily Ledbetter learned about the pay discrepancies too late. The court ruled that claims must be made within 180 days after the pay is set. But how many of us know what our co-workers make? In fact, it's illegal to ask in many states.
Justice Ruth Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion for the 5-to-4 decision, and in it she asked Congress to overturn the ruling and clarify the intent of the law. Several Congressional leaders are already stepping forward to counter this outrage by drafting new fair-minded legislation. Let's get behind them so they can pass this legislation immediately.
SIGN THE PETITION & PASS IT ON: Tell Congress, "We Need Equal Pay for Equal Work--it is good law, make it enforceable!":
Sign the petition and then pass it on to friends so we can build support for the Congressional leaders who are stepping forward to right this wrong. Frankly, they need our help--because as the Washington Post reports, business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are applauding this dangerous, short-sighted ruling.
CITIZEN VOICES ARE CRUCIAL: Citizen voices are going to be crucial to giving leaders the "political capital" they require to fix this problem. Here's what several of the key leaders who are fighting for us have to say about the ruling:
"Yesterday's Supreme Court decision reflects a poor understanding of the real problems with long-term pay discrimination," said Senator Harkin. "Most new employees feel less comfortable challenging their salaries, and it is very difficult to determine when pay discrimination begins. Furthermore, a small pay gap tends to widen over time, only becoming noticeable when there is systemic discrimination over a period of years. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to ensure every worker receives the paycheck he or she deserves."
"Unless Congress Acts, this Supreme Court ruling will have far-reaching implications for women, and will gravely limit the rights of employees who have suffered pay discrimination based on their race, sex, religion or national origin. All Americans deserve equal pay for equal work and it is our responsibility to get this right," said Senator Clinton.
"This week's Supreme Court decision sends a dangerous message about the value of pay equity in this country. It is unacceptable that women and others would be limited in their opportunities to stand up for themselves and for their families. I am proud to team up with my colleagues to right this wrong," said Senator Mikulski.
"As Justice Ginsburg suggests, the ball has now fallen into Congress' court and we intend to address this ruling," said Representative George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. "The Supreme Court's narrow decision makes it more difficult for workers to stand up for their basic civil rights at work and that is unacceptable."
*Don't forget to sign the petition and pass it along to friends and family as well. Let's support the Congressional leaders who are coming forward to right this wrong. Sign on here
Best - The MomsRising Team
p.s. Have you experienced workplace discrimination? What happened? Share your story and experiences at: http://www.momsrising.org/node/536
p.p.s. Want to read more about it? Here are some good articles:
- Washington Post
- CNN Money
- New York Times
Thank you!
(note: edited by Ahmie to make the links clickable and to keep them from stretching the screen)
Thursday, May 31, 2007
8 things about me
Ok, so Jennifer (the Lactivist) tagged me... serves me right for posting comments on her blog that rival the comments on this thing I guess ;)
I have no idea if I can actually come up with 8 things that every single person who regularly reads this blog doesn't already know... And given how long I've been online (14 years as of sometime in June), it's frightening how much information about me is already available online, especially for those who know my pre-marriage name(s) and the various online aliases I've used over the years.
I'll give it my best shot...
1. I aspire to learn carpentry and car repair. I'm ashamed of how little mechanical skills I actually have in the "real world usefulness" category. Somehow having mad skillz at crochet, photography, baking, and lactating just don't seem enough some days - probably because I fully expect Liam to break houses and cars and need to be able to fix them.
2. I can't deal with music on an extended basis, my skin starts to crawl if I have to hear music for more than a couple hours, even if it's music I like.
3. I feel an overwhelming sense of joy when I watch someone enjoying something I've created (see "mad skillz" of #1). It's an emotional/physiological high about equal to that of nursing Liam when he was tiny and new and didn't try to break my nose.
4. I want to go skydiving or at least hang-gliding. But not over water (not afraid of water, just really don't like the smell of large bodies of water).
5. Sometimes I feel an overwhelming sense of longing for specific people I'm really not sure I ever want my children to be around. These specific people are not good for my own mental health either. I still miss them desperately sometimes. Hint: several of them are in my wedding album.
6. I am terribly addicted to television. As much as I can't stand music for extended periods of time, I have trouble sleeping without noise and light changes. This is a really bad habit but it's worsened with the frequent bathroom wakings followed by insomnia I'm currently experiencing in the pregnancy. It doesn't really matter what's on (as long as it's not music or violence), but I need SOMETHING to distract my ticking brain at 3am when I'm trying to settle for the 4th time that night. Audiobooks aren't working at this point but I'm trying to go back to them instead (they're a little TOO interesting).
7. I realized at a church service recently that I'm more afraid of losing my memories of my children than of losing them physically. I think I could cope better (not well, but better in some sense) with losing a child (terrifying, horrible thought that it is) than I could with realizing that I was losing my memories of them and facing not recognizing them at all, as I watched my great-grandmother go through. Someone said at least I wouldn't realize that I was forgetting, but from having been around people in early stages of dementia, I do think that the majority of them realize that they are losing it. The thought terrifies me more than anything. I'm trying hard not to cry.
8. Which brings up the other thing about Ahmie that doesn't come up much I guess... I HATE crying (not other's crying, my own). The feeling of prickling tears behind my eyelids infuriates me, partially because I know that I'll likely wind up with a sinus and ear infection if I don't reign it in, as well as the "beaten by a professional boxer" feeling I'm physically left with for days afterwards, and partially because of the mental weakness and vulnerability others perceive in it. The strength of my mind is the thing about myself that I most admire, and it's too easily dismissed when I start crying. I don't discourage crying in others, nor see them as weak when they cry (I do try to comfort anyone I perceive to be in emotional distress, tears or no). I also get really pissed off and lose respect for anyone who DOES treat me as mentally weak or vulnerable when I'm upset and it's one of the few things someone can do to *me* to get on my bad side (I'm more likely to get pissed off at people for things they do to others and shrug off things - at least eventually - that they've done to me). Tears limit my ability to be pro-active... I think that's what it boils down to.
So, how many of those did you folks who actually read this thing already know? Is ANY of it new information???
I tag Sabrina because she's been talking about others instead of herself, Clare because she's a great person even when Willow isn't around, and Garvin because - shesh - it's been nearly a YEAR since the guy's posted on his blog! COME ON!
Serena, I didn't tag you because I can't remember the link to your blog ;) I'll ask you for it next chance i remember, or post it in the comments and consider yourself tagged too!
I have no idea if I can actually come up with 8 things that every single person who regularly reads this blog doesn't already know... And given how long I've been online (14 years as of sometime in June), it's frightening how much information about me is already available online, especially for those who know my pre-marriage name(s) and the various online aliases I've used over the years.
I'll give it my best shot...
1. I aspire to learn carpentry and car repair. I'm ashamed of how little mechanical skills I actually have in the "real world usefulness" category. Somehow having mad skillz at crochet, photography, baking, and lactating just don't seem enough some days - probably because I fully expect Liam to break houses and cars and need to be able to fix them.
2. I can't deal with music on an extended basis, my skin starts to crawl if I have to hear music for more than a couple hours, even if it's music I like.
3. I feel an overwhelming sense of joy when I watch someone enjoying something I've created (see "mad skillz" of #1). It's an emotional/physiological high about equal to that of nursing Liam when he was tiny and new and didn't try to break my nose.
4. I want to go skydiving or at least hang-gliding. But not over water (not afraid of water, just really don't like the smell of large bodies of water).
5. Sometimes I feel an overwhelming sense of longing for specific people I'm really not sure I ever want my children to be around. These specific people are not good for my own mental health either. I still miss them desperately sometimes. Hint: several of them are in my wedding album.
6. I am terribly addicted to television. As much as I can't stand music for extended periods of time, I have trouble sleeping without noise and light changes. This is a really bad habit but it's worsened with the frequent bathroom wakings followed by insomnia I'm currently experiencing in the pregnancy. It doesn't really matter what's on (as long as it's not music or violence), but I need SOMETHING to distract my ticking brain at 3am when I'm trying to settle for the 4th time that night. Audiobooks aren't working at this point but I'm trying to go back to them instead (they're a little TOO interesting).
7. I realized at a church service recently that I'm more afraid of losing my memories of my children than of losing them physically. I think I could cope better (not well, but better in some sense) with losing a child (terrifying, horrible thought that it is) than I could with realizing that I was losing my memories of them and facing not recognizing them at all, as I watched my great-grandmother go through. Someone said at least I wouldn't realize that I was forgetting, but from having been around people in early stages of dementia, I do think that the majority of them realize that they are losing it. The thought terrifies me more than anything. I'm trying hard not to cry.
8. Which brings up the other thing about Ahmie that doesn't come up much I guess... I HATE crying (not other's crying, my own). The feeling of prickling tears behind my eyelids infuriates me, partially because I know that I'll likely wind up with a sinus and ear infection if I don't reign it in, as well as the "beaten by a professional boxer" feeling I'm physically left with for days afterwards, and partially because of the mental weakness and vulnerability others perceive in it. The strength of my mind is the thing about myself that I most admire, and it's too easily dismissed when I start crying. I don't discourage crying in others, nor see them as weak when they cry (I do try to comfort anyone I perceive to be in emotional distress, tears or no). I also get really pissed off and lose respect for anyone who DOES treat me as mentally weak or vulnerable when I'm upset and it's one of the few things someone can do to *me* to get on my bad side (I'm more likely to get pissed off at people for things they do to others and shrug off things - at least eventually - that they've done to me). Tears limit my ability to be pro-active... I think that's what it boils down to.
So, how many of those did you folks who actually read this thing already know? Is ANY of it new information???
I tag Sabrina because she's been talking about others instead of herself, Clare because she's a great person even when Willow isn't around, and Garvin because - shesh - it's been nearly a YEAR since the guy's posted on his blog! COME ON!
Serena, I didn't tag you because I can't remember the link to your blog ;) I'll ask you for it next chance i remember, or post it in the comments and consider yourself tagged too!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Why I hate trying to delegate work...
Ugh. So I tried to delegate some of the "job" (entirely volunteer) of getting podcasts up for my church to someone that was suggested by one of the office staff members. I'm trying VERY HARD to be patient and not blow up at this person, which the pregnancy hormones and frustration with being alone with a toddler with approximately 300 times my energy level NOT helping maintain my cool even when the temperature DOES stay below 75 degrees... I had specifically asked this person to follow the steps in the tutorial I created (I even did a long and short version of the tutorial in case people involved were total beginners or a bit more experienced). Apparently all that the person retained was "this is the username and password, log in and click the words create content then audio" - the files that are getting created are NOT being named according to the naming conventions I specified (which enables them to be sorted by the date of service instead of whatever random order the files were actually created - it's too easy to have a stack of CDs get out of order when they get backlogged, which of course they did as soon as I tried to job share... I'd been getting them created and uploaded before I left the building before this, then none got created for over a MONTH because the CDs kept disappearing so I couldn't do it myself... *headdesk* *headdesk *headdesk*). The URL Path isn't getting set to ANYTHING so the URL winds up being something random instead of something the office staff who upload the text of the sermons to the main church website can predict and incorporate easily into their workflow. And the title line's been being changed instead of leaving it to the code that I had inserted to take the information from the ID3 tags.
Classic case of RTFM, and since in this case *I* created the "FM" in question, I'm fuming. But it's "just" a volunteer thing, so I can't get mad, right? Grr.... *I* am doing this as a volunteer... donating space on my own server, paid for the domain name registration myself (it's totally separate from the main church website, over which I have zero control), I took the time to create the instructions and try to organize it to be user-friendly (for the end-users, uploaders, and office staff)... and it got ignored by the first person to agree to help. I created all this so that if I get totally distracted with the new baby, I can hand the job off to someone else and trust that it will be done similarly to how I'd been doing it for continuity of the users (mind you, some of these download counts are already indicating that about 1/4th of the number of people showing up on an average Sunday are also listening online - we generally have ~200 people on a Sunday morning and a lot of the download counts are over 50, it's only been online since January and I think it wasn't even mentioned in the church newsletter until April... plus the download counts get reset when I mess with the back-end stuff sometimes).
So... what do I do? I'm trying to gently get through to this person that it needs to be standardized for several reasons, but I'm not sure it's getting through. I'm trying to remember if it was this past Sunday or the Sunday before that we spoke during coffee hour, but the other person hasn't taken the initiative to go in and edit the parts that they did wrong yet, so I'm trying to fix it up since I was working on some back-end stuff anyway (while waiting for Liam to snooze so I can work on the other computer where I'm doing some graphic manipulation that's sitting in a partially finished state - love that ctrl-s key combination). I'm not the most diplomatic person by nature, and I've been known to totally steamroller people when I get going, so I'm trying not to piss this person off so much that they decide they don't want to do it at ALL, but at the same time, I'd rather no one else was messing with it if they're not going to do it in a way that actually saves my having to redo it all anyway, ya know? *sigh*
Well, for those readers who DON'T actually go to church with me (or who missed those Sundays) at least one of the services I delivered is up on the website here...notice the standardized URL with the date of the service . I may be a narcissist and upload the others later if I feel like it, I really should probably be working on my own photography website more (I plan to advertise for portrait customers toward the end of summer, if we get the the attic studio set up enough for people to come here at least some of the time). My hosting company increased the storage and bandwidth drastically (from 5gb storage and I think 100gb transfer per month to 200gb storage and I think 2000gb transfer per month, as well as dropping the yearly subscription price by $5) so I'm feeling some momentum to actually accomplish stuff on the sites... I've been uploading pictures to yeungs.us, working on getting Garvin's family tree (which is all in Chinese, of course) uploaded so the extended family all have access to it, but that's been not working for some reason.
Liam's asking for apple juice, gotta go.
Classic case of RTFM, and since in this case *I* created the "FM" in question, I'm fuming. But it's "just" a volunteer thing, so I can't get mad, right? Grr.... *I* am doing this as a volunteer... donating space on my own server, paid for the domain name registration myself (it's totally separate from the main church website, over which I have zero control), I took the time to create the instructions and try to organize it to be user-friendly (for the end-users, uploaders, and office staff)... and it got ignored by the first person to agree to help. I created all this so that if I get totally distracted with the new baby, I can hand the job off to someone else and trust that it will be done similarly to how I'd been doing it for continuity of the users (mind you, some of these download counts are already indicating that about 1/4th of the number of people showing up on an average Sunday are also listening online - we generally have ~200 people on a Sunday morning and a lot of the download counts are over 50, it's only been online since January and I think it wasn't even mentioned in the church newsletter until April... plus the download counts get reset when I mess with the back-end stuff sometimes).
So... what do I do? I'm trying to gently get through to this person that it needs to be standardized for several reasons, but I'm not sure it's getting through. I'm trying to remember if it was this past Sunday or the Sunday before that we spoke during coffee hour, but the other person hasn't taken the initiative to go in and edit the parts that they did wrong yet, so I'm trying to fix it up since I was working on some back-end stuff anyway (while waiting for Liam to snooze so I can work on the other computer where I'm doing some graphic manipulation that's sitting in a partially finished state - love that ctrl-s key combination). I'm not the most diplomatic person by nature, and I've been known to totally steamroller people when I get going, so I'm trying not to piss this person off so much that they decide they don't want to do it at ALL, but at the same time, I'd rather no one else was messing with it if they're not going to do it in a way that actually saves my having to redo it all anyway, ya know? *sigh*
Well, for those readers who DON'T actually go to church with me (or who missed those Sundays) at least one of the services I delivered is up on the website here...
Liam's asking for apple juice, gotta go.
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