Wedding Bells Are Ringing!

Since midnight last night, Eastern Standard Time, folks in New York who identify as gay and lesbian have been afforded the legal right to marriage. A union between two people who love each other. One of the first couples to marry was a lesbian couple in their upper 70s and 80s - one using a walker, one in a wheelchair, who had shared their lives together for so many years, but not been recognized as a unified couple by the law.

Congratulations to all those who have been afforded the civil right to have their love for each other formally recognized by the State!

As a Doctor, I wanted to discuss this issue from the perspective of Medicine. Although it has been less likely to occur in New York, up until today Doctors and Nurses had a legal obligation to ask the "significant other" of a gay or lesbian couple to step out of the room when discussing the health issues surrounding the patient. Regardless of how many years the couple may have been together, the patient's loved one was not considered to have the legal right to make health decisions for him/her, unless they had the foresight to make a legal document naming each other as proxy to make health decisions. In a heterosexual marriage, it is assumed and legal that the patient's spouse has full legal authority to make health decisions for the patient if they are incapacitated. Now, with couples legally marrying, the same-sex spouse of a patient will also be afforded the legal right - and human dignity - of being in the room to make health decisions for their spouse.

No human being should have to spend their last few moments on Earth alone. What a blessing that this law will ensure that doesn't happen in NYC any longer for same-sex couples.

Elderly and Disabled Put At Risk by DUMB Government Ideas

California recently decided that one of the ways to cut its budget deficit is by slashing money to home health workers. These include nurses, health aides, meals on wheels deliveries, and other individuals that go to the homes of elderly and disabled citizens and provide them with care to ensure that they can continue living independently, in their own homes. When I first heard that California was going to reduce the wages and benefits to these home health workers, I found it to be an incredibly STUPID idea - another example of our government leaders acting EXTREMELY DUMB (something they have proven time and again that they are adept at!)

Why is this decision dumb? Because while it may cost $1500 a month to provide home health services to one person, it would cost the government nearly $6000 a month to cover the costs of a nursing home for this same individual! Some may argue we should cut that expense, too; if the elderly can't afford to pay for home health or nursing homes on their own, then they should just have to deal with it, some might say. I puke a little at the thought that people like this exist in our world. But I can show why that is an incredibly stupid argument as well. If we don't provide any care to these individuals, guess what - 911 is three numbers away and the hospital is a short, but expensive Ambulance ride away. The cost of the ambulance and even a short hospital stay can then skyrocket upwards of $50,000 for the individual - multiplied by the numerous times these folks will end up going to the hospital for falls, lack of nutrition, and other chronic diseases of the elderly. Someone on fixed Social Security benefits without savings is not going to be able to pay for these expenses and they will end up right back on the taxpayer.

There is an incredible New York Times Article on this topic that you can read and see further examples of why this is such a stupid idea. Just click on the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/us/21aging.html?pagewanted=1&hp

It is very sad to me that in our rich nation, we continue to see policies that cut the nose off to spite the face. We see this in other aspects of government ideas, such as education. Rather than spend the money upfront for quality early education and K-12 programs tied together with access to housing, healthcare, jobs, nutrition, etc, we instead run a threadbare operation...and ultimately end up spending MUCH more money on prisons down the road. It costs A HECKUVA LOT MORE MONEY to house a prisoner for a year than to provide excellent opportunities early in life!!

I am really beginning to question whether dumb people outnumber smart people in our society. And if so, why haven't we smart people done something about the dumb people? We have all come to feel so powerless to stop stupid policies that, in a way, we have just come to quietly acquiesce and accept them as inevitable.

Lord help us!

Teaching for America

 "Just passing through."

"A threat to public education."

"Just building their resumes before moving on with their lives."

There has been a lot of debate about Teach for America, lately. The NY Times covers Teach for America quite a bit, I'm guessing because the NYC corps of Teach for America members is the largest in the nation. But, in almost every article I read, there is a general pattern that is followed, almost exactly, every time.

It goes like this:

1. Teach for America is in the news for another amazing accomplishment, like TFA teachers raising test scores in their classrooms more than other traditional teachers.

2. An explanation of what TFA is - a corps of stellar recent college graduates who work in some of the most difficult classrooms in America. Invariably, these days, there is mention of how incredible it is, in this economy, that almost 20% of the top graduates at many Ivy League schools are applying to Teach for America instead of Deloitte and Touche.

3. Of course, "there are critics" who criticize Teach for America because, as I put some of the quotes at the top of my blog post here, we are just passing through. We are not committed to the cause of teaching. We are just rookies using these hard to staff schools as a social experiment. We are not possibly as great as a veteran teacher. We should be ashamed of ourselves for just using already poor and disadvantaged students just to build our own resumes.

4. The article will usually finish by summarizing the amazing accomplishment that they originally wrote the article about in the first place.

I have never been asked to contribute to these articles, but I figure I have a blog with a readership of 6 people who I can vent my frustration to about this topic. And for full disclosure, I was a Teach for America teacher from 2004-2006 in the Baltimore City Public School System.

Here's how my article would be written:
1. Teach for America teachers THROUGH OUT AMERICA, placed in some of the hardest to staff schools, are accomplishing amazing things with their students.

2. Teach for America is a corps of recent college graduates from schools THROUGH OUT AMERICA, with diversity of ethnicity, culture, personality and opinion not seen in the traditional teaching pool. Individuals come from amazing schools, including small liberal arts schools like Whittier College (my college - nope, it's not an Ivy League, but frankly, I too am frustrated that TFA is branding itself more as a bastion of the Ivy Leagues, instead of pushing the fact that the majority of its greatest teachers come from Colleges like mine. In fact, my first year teaching, one of my housemates was from Dartmouth - he couldn't hack it. Funny, the small liberal arts school kid - me - was awarded Rookie of the Year that year by my school.)

3. There are critics - insert the oft-repeated and tired quotes that I have above. But, let's add that the very schools that they criticize Teach for America for abusing are certainly NOT being inundated with the veteran teachers these nay-sayers demand to see in those classrooms. Additionally, not even the majority of traditionally trained teachers who dedicate their lives to the profession are interested in staying at these difficult schools for their whole career. But nobody who is criticizing Teach for America - usually Professors in Colleges of traditional Teacher Preparation - is offering a better solution that is also viable (and, most ironically, most of them wouldn't dare go teach in the schools Teach for America places at, either!) Either put your money where your mouth is, or shut up and move out of the way so that those of us who would rather do instead of just say can get stuff accomplished!

4.  What other articles often fail to recognize or state is that Teach for America, at the heart of its mission, includes for the very fact that not every individual attracted to the program will stay in a classroom for over two years. Solving the problems of educational inequity - the so-called "achievement gap" - won't be accomplished if we only attack the problem within the field of education. What these big-mouthed, degree-laden education professors seem to be continuously missing is that we NEED people in our nation who worked in a school for a few years to get a better grasp of the problems faced by our students, so that they can then present plausible and solid solutions in whatever field they ultimately decide to dedicate their lives. Someone who has seen the challenge first hand can then make decisions in the arenas of housing, nutrition, healthcare, transportation, etc more effectively. THIS IS THE POINT!

5. My article wouldn't end with a summary of the amazing accomplishment - most people have pretty much figured out that Teach for America is a good thing. I would end, instead, with a plea. My favorite colleagues at the school I worked at in Baltimore, were my favorite because they were supportive, provided helpful hints and feedback through those challenging first months of teaching. They neither put me on a pedestal nor disdained me merely for the fact that I was a Teach for America member. They treated me like they would any other colleague - once I earned their trust and respect, we were a solid family. If we hope to raise our profession, we can't just sit idly and wish things stayed the way they were 20 or 30 years ago. We can't propose "solutions" that sound great but are not feasible, like super monetary incentives to get veteran teachers in these difficult classrooms - especially in this current economy! We must stop blaming and putting each other down. Rather, we should be the ones dictating the discourse for the future of education! We should not be allowing people who haven't ever been close to the front lines to be dictating teacher contracts and prescribing solutions. WE should be at the forefront of the positive changes necessary for our children. Ultimately, it must stop being about the adults and start being about creating amazing, life-changing, unforgettable educational experiences for the children we serve.

And the very last sentence in my article would challenge the biggest assertion by critics. I would include this quote from Donna Foote, author of "Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America". She writes, "there are much easier ways to burnish a resume than a two-year commitment to hard labor in some of the crummiest classrooms in America." Indeed.

Guest Post: Explaining Derivative Markets

If you are like me, the whole bank bailout business confused the dickens out of you and it doesn't seem to quite make sense why billions of tax dollars had to be spent to bailout a few banks that misbehaved and didn't follow sound banking principles. Luckily, a dear reader of my blog, DJA, sent this explanation to me regarding how it works. Enjoy!

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit . In order to increase sales, she
decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed
alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks
consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around about Heidi's drink now pay later marketing strategy
and as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar
and soon she has the largest sale volume for any bar in Detroit .

By providing her customers freedom from immediate payment demands,
Heidi gets no resistence when she substantially increases her prices for
wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases
massively.

A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes these
customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's
borrowing limit.

He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the
alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert
traders transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS, ALKIBONDS
and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on security markets
worldwide. Naive investors don't really understand that the securities being sold
to them as AAA secured bonds are really the debts of unemployed alcoholics.
Nevertheless, their prices continuously climb, and the securities become
the top-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.

One day, although the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the
bank (subsequently fired due to his negativity), decides that the time has come
to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar.

Heidi demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed
they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Therefore, Heidi cannot
fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKIBOND drop in price by 90%. PUKEBOND performs
better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%. The decreased bond asset
value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment extentions
and having invested in the securities are faced with writing off her debt and
losing over 80% on her bonds. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer
supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant
and lays off 50 workers.

The bank and brokerage houses are saved by the Government following
dramatic round-the-clock negotiations by leaders from both political parties. The
funds required for this bailout are obtained by a tax levied on employed
middle-class non-drinkers.

Finally an explanation I understand ...

"If you don't recognize it, the wound never heals."

Recently, President Obama had the opportunity to fulfill a campaign promise when he was visiting Turkey - to call the Armenian Genocide, committed by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, a "Genocide". That opportunity passed and, quite frankly, didn't surprise most of us too much that a President would reverse course from campaign promises on the issue.

A friend of a friend writes a blog entitled "Stop Genocide - Change.org" (you can see her blog by clicking here). She has committed her life to bringing recognition to genocides in our history and coming up with ways to ensure future ones never occur. A daunting and enormous task, to say the least!

Stories of extreme hardship are shared by every single genocide survivor, not just Armenians. They each have their own stories of hardship and survival that we, as the next generation, must honor by fighting to have these atrocities recognized and preventing their repetition. The debt is due.

And as we honor the Armenian Genocide today, let us also pray for God's people who continue to suffer persecution and war through out the world.

The link to a recent article on this issue can be found by clicking here.

The link to the blog is: http://genocide.change.org/

The Capitol

Friday was a gorgeous day here in Washington DC, therefore I decided to be a productive tourist and explore some of the amazing buildings and architecture of our nation's Capitol. Here are some highlights!

1. Chinatown: Not really a classic Chinatown anymore. Basically an area that has been extremely developed, but used to be the Chinatown of the area. Lots of great eateries and also not too far from the Sculpture Garden, a beautiful park with amazing flowers and pretty interesting sculptures!

2. The Capitol Building: This is where I started my "monument" tour. I didn't go inside this time, since it was really sunny and warm outside, but I took some pictures from the outside (again, I don't have my camera wire that connects to the computer yet, so pictures are forthcoming later!) I love the Capitol building - it evokes exciting feelings in me for the amazing potential the inside has to bring good to people.

3. National Mall: Our nation's "backyard" as it is known, has awesome views of the Capitol Building on one side and the Washington Monument on the other.

4. Smithsonian Air and Space Museum: I wanted to see cool airplanes. The place is alright. Definitely not the best Smithsonian museum available to visit. I definitely look forward to visiting some of the other Smithsonian institutions on my next DC trip.

5. Washington Monument: Surrounded by scores of American flags, this phallic symbol is also a very pride-inducing piece of work.

6. Jefferson Memorial: I love the outside of this memorial - the domed top and all the columns really make it a great stop.

7. Cherry Blossoms and The FDR Memorial: Although I've seen the beautiful cherry blossoms before, the FDR memorial was a new discovery for me. I have actually never seen this memorial before. Probably because it is located on the far end of the reflecting lake that is surrounded by beautiful Cherry blossoms (which officially will bloom next week, creating an absolutely beautiful sight of pink and white blooms). The Cherry Blossoms are absolutely a must see - so plan a visit to the Capitol at least once in your life around this season!

8. Lincoln Memorial: Although I love the Jefferson Memorial building, I absolutely adore the Lincoln statue. His face and posture, sitting in his giant chair, evoke such calm but determined and passionate leadership. It helps, of course, that I also find Lincoln to be one of our greatest Presidents, therefore I may be pretty biased.

9. WWII Memorial: This is a beautiful tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the protection of our country. And of course, I found the wreath dedicated to California and, because I freely admit to being biased, thought it was the best one (despite them all being absolutely identical).

All in all, I walked quite a bit! I was exhausted by the time I was finished, but the whole trip was well worth it. I highly recommend everyone visit DC - you absolutely can't leave without feeling moved in some way and continuing to be extremely proud of our Country.

Evidence of Global Warming

There are those who debate the merits of what scientists call Global Warming. Regardless of whether you believe in it or now, I would argue that the measures we should take to stop global warming, such as cutting emissions, investing in renewable energy, increasing spending on public transportation instead of highways, are all things that would help us live in a healthier environment. This is not an issue that should divide us politically! Our health and the well-being of our planet are issues that should unite us - and they surely deserve our best ideas.

"When the best role model isn't even a person"

I found this article in the Baltimore Sun from an educator in the Baltimore City Public School System, where I also spent two very challenging but extremely rewarding years as a middle school science teacher. The author, David Donaldson, shares a very sobering testimony of some of the challenges our students face. I continue to pray for my own students and for the system as a whole and would ask you all to keep them in your prayers as well. There is an incredible amount of talent in Baltimore City - here's hoping the new Administration's educational equality goals will help move our students in Baltimore forward.


By David Donaldson

November 26, 2008

My advisory class at the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Sciences, a public charter high school in Baltimore, includes a daily lesson in character building or study skills. Recently, I asked six students participating in the group - all boys - to make a list of five male role models. I decided to participate as well, and quickly came up with a list that included educators, my father and my best friend, an Iraq War veteran.

What was an easy task for me, however, proved rather challenging for my students. I had questions and statements from them ranging from, "Do they have to be males?" to "I can't think of five."

When it finally became time to share their writings, none of the boys selected their father as a role model. Not one of my students has a father as an active participant in his life.

One of my students selected his grandfather, because out of all his brothers and male cousins, his grandfather and he are the only two who have never gone to prison. Another student selected his mother because not only does he buy her a Mother's Day present but a Father's Day present as well.

The most touching story took me by surprise. At first, I thought this regular class clown was going to make a joke of the assignment. However, as he began to explain, I appreciated his sincerity.

"I do not have a father and, well, my mom does her best. However, you said we had to pick a male role model. I could not think of five, but just one. So I picked my dog.

"He does not know if I had a good day or a bad day, but he does know I always need a friend, and so he is always there for me. That is why he is a role model - because he is always there and very loyal."

Maybe you had to have been in that classroom with me to fully experience the moment. But I doubt it.

Quotables: The First Mother-in-Law...and MY Mother

“When you acquire knowledge, you acquire something no one can take away from you."

I have heard this quote so many times from my own mother that when I read it in an article in the New York Times, I felt a chill that somehow the newspaper had interviewed my own mother! Turns out it is our new First Mother-in-Law they are quoting.

Many of you believe I am such an ardent supporter of our new President because of his politics. That is only partly true. Let me admit freely on this blog that there are other reasons. In our new President I see a man who faced challenges head-on, never giving up, including some that are quite similar to my own. No father, a hard-working, independent, amazing mother and grandmother team who have raised us, ambitious and often oversized goals and ideas and vision. Where many see hope only in his politics, myself included and rightfully so, I also see hope in his life and message.

I have never really been the type to look up to people like athletes to find inspiration and role models. I usually find my role models and mentors at my Church or through family. But in President Obama, I see somebody who overcame - and not just on his own, but because of an amazing and supportive parent. I hope to do the same. I pray to do the same. And while I have no ambitions to be President of the USA, I do hope to be the best Pediatrician in Fresno, CA some day, making sure that every child in our great Valley receives quality healthcare, quality education, safe and reliable housing and nutrition, and an equal opportunity to achieve their own goals and ambitions and vision.

Because you see, once I earn my MD - once that knowledge it firmly planted in my head - that is something no man can ever take away from me. Amen to that!

We Are America! A Day to Remember

I want to remember this moment! I was witness to our new President being sworn into office. At the exact moment, I was wearing my white coat, stethoscope around my neck, crisp button down shirt with a nice tie and classy pants. I was sitting with my colleagues in the room usually reserved for lectures on congestive heart failure, kidney diseases and other medical topics. We all watched the television screen as our 44th President - indeed, the 44th consecutive transfer of power without incident - took his oath of office. And afterwards, as a thank you from our residents who had secretly collected money, they threw us a celebratory pizza bash, complete with yummy NY pizza and soda. Call it an adult's pizza party for doing our job well.

I want to remember this moment! I was witness to a new President being sworn into office. A President who evokes feelings of hope, positive change, and happiness. One who calls upon us to face our challenges without fear and to stand tall, for we are America.

I want to remember this moment! Forever.

Oh, Happy Day!!!!

My politics are not really a secret to those who know me well. And even those who don't know me well can pretty well figure out where I stand fairly quickly. (As a quick side note, I want to thank my dear friends - the ones who are happy to debate with me, pretty intensely sometimes, but never take it personally; if you can't handle disagreeing with me, then chances are we aren't going to be friends).

That said, I think we can all agree that a momentous occasion such as the inauguration of our new President is a once in a lifetime experience! Sure, President Obama is our first black President and for that reason alone we can all stand taller. The dreams of so many are realized today!

But I'm also so excited that issues like healthcare for all, social justice, educational equality, promotion of peace and security in a responsible way, and myriad other issues that are near and dear to my heart as a Christian and American will finally be back on the forefront of our government's collective mind. And God willing, with our government working together and our nation feeling a sense of urgency and a positive aura of hope that I haven't seen or felt in many years, we will make our nation even stronger moving forward.

God Bless our new President, our Nation and all peace-loving nations!

Yes We Can

YES WE CAN...

• be a nation that dreams big and gives the opportunity to all to accomplish those dreams.
• be a nation that can look into the face of every child and truly say "Yes, you can do whatever you put your mind to!"
• be proud that a white boy from California had the amazing opportunity to serve beautiful children in Baltimore City and help them dream big...because we learned on Tuesday night that the "DREAM BIG" ideas he always espoused in his classroom can come true.
• VOTE FOR CHANGE and a new direction.
  
• demand from our nation's leaders that they do better without fear of being killed as in other nations.
• be so excited that we live in the greatest nation in the world. In every way, America is such an awesome place - we are all so blessed and regardless of our political leanings, we should wake up every morning with such thanks in our heart to the Lord for allowing us to be born and/or live in America.

I have had trouble trying to figure out how to truly capture such an historic moment in our nation's history as this. I know many of you who read this are thinking politically and disagree with me - but please, if you can for a moment, switch your view and picture the hundreds of students who used to stare back at me. Some had already lost hope at the age of 13. Others had in their minds already that the color of their skin (all my students were African-American) would absolutely prevent them from achieving great things - or any thing of significance. And while I can't and won't make excuses for some of the behavior I used to see, I know in my heart of hearts that at least one of my students remembered me on Tuesday night and remembered what I always used to say - that "as a black lady or gentleman, you can't just be good, you have to be the best...And you can't just dream small dreams, you have to shoot for the moon!"

While the nation celebrates a national historical day, I celebrate small victories for when I was a teacher in a classroom with amazing kids who now can see somebody like them - who isn't just good, but he is the best. He didn't just dream small dreams, but he shot for the moon and made it.

YES WE CAN!!

Jon Stewart is Awesome!

Regardless of your political stances, I think this clip by Jon Stewart is very telling about our politicians in America. Well, I suppose I can't say "regardless of political stance" because this clip specifically showcases Republican flip-flopping.



Does this brand of flip-flopping by politicians and bias Fox News reporters really get past Americans? Ummmm, YA!

Inspiration for a Nation

...and a struggling med student.

YES WE CAN!!