NPR tackles the challenges of reporting on Proposition 8. This article by ombuds(wo)man Alicia Shephard impressed me.

Proposition 8 banned same-sex marriage across California and was the single most expensive ballot initiative on a social issue in the history of the United States.

83 million dollars swirled around California's Proposition 8.  

This week new campaign finance information was released (and posted to the California Secretary of State's website). Nearly 39.9 million dollars were collected to campaign in favor of Proposition 8 and another 43.3 million dollars were raised to oppose it.

Dollars raised to fund the opposition included donations from California's Democratic State Central Committee. That group gave $150,000.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is linked to nearly $190,000 of the 39.9 million dollars raised to support the ban. The church encouraged it's members to vote in favor of Proposition 8. Funds went to mailings, salaries for campaign workers, airline tickets, hotels and meals among other expenses. The California Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating whether the church underreported its donations. Over 500 smaller organizations were also sited as major contributors to the campaign.

But it clearly takes more than deep pockets to win a campaign. The opposition raised the greater sums, about 52% of the total money involved with Proposition 8, and on election day 52% of California voters turned out to support the ban.        


 

As 2008 winds down I noticed my growing distaste for the word “staycation.” When friends and family heard about my plans for the holiday season, a handful replied “oh, that’s nice, a staycation?” I, in turn, realized that behind my generally soft smile I consistently, forcefully clenched my teeth at the word. Sometimes a grimace leaked through.  There may have been times when I wove a glorious yarn of adventurous plans just to avoid the word altogether. I wasn’t quite sure why I had such distaste. But Lake Superior State University helped me out.

It’s not that I dislike the coziness of home.

I am a huge fan of travel. I enjoy jaunts to the far and away, the opportunity to interact with people I've never met, in places I never knew.  But I am often equally content to sit under the bright, warm winter light that pours through my home windows this time of year. I appreciate the time to go for crisp walks along familiar creeks, to check in with friends over homemade cinnamon hot chocolates, to bike over to the local bar for a drink or dancing.

But “staycation” grates on me. Its rough. It interrupts itself just to be articulated, “stay-cation.” A “staycation” does not sound at all restful or relaxing. It is a chore to hear it, speak it and even live it.

I am not alone. Lake Superior State University, (a brilliant institution from the state where I was born) informed me that my distaste is shared.  Furthermore, many people have similar distaste for other words, the cousins of “staycation,” such as “maverick,” and the always-progressive-sounding reference to anything “green.” All three words of these words made it onto Lake Superior State University’s 34th annual ----

“List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.”

Words, phrases and one symbol were chosen from about 5,000 nominations. The most irritating 15 of 2008 according to Lake Superior State University are,

• green

• carbon footprint or carbon offsetting

• maverick

• first dude

• bailout

• Wall Street/Main Street

• monkey (used as a suffix in order to invoke humor. Example: cybermonkey)

• 3 (Emoticon for 'heart' used in text messages and e-mail.)

• icon or iconic

• game changer

• staycation

• desperate search

• not so much

• winner of five nominations

• it's that time of year again


Thanks Michigan. I feel a sense of camaraderie. I can now greet the new year as a fresh page and wonder which words will be over-used throughout the coming 365 days.

Somehow only today, even though I am friends with many, many active and adventurous cyclists, I learned about railbiking!

SOME HISTORY:
    There are thousands of miles of railway lines across the world. In 1855, the Panama Railway was completed. It stretched from ocean to ocean across a narrow stretch of Central America. In 1869 the United States completed the Transcontinental Railroad. That rail line stretched over more than 1,700 miles east to west.  Soon followed the Southern Pacific Railway (New Orleans to Los Angeles), the Northern Pacific Railway (Chicago to Seattle), the Great Northern Railroad (St. Paul to Seattle) and others. The list grew, for a while.

For nearly as long as there have been railroads there have been railbikes. Draisines, common in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, were pedal-powered rail trolleys. Just as an old black and white film might bring to mind a hand-pump trolley, (picture a woman tied to the tracks, the train is coming, the trolley worker is pumping furiously to get to her, via a hand-powered-pump-style cart,  just in time to help) in Sweden, Norway and Denmark such repair or rescue carts were foot-pedal-powered.

    As the years passed, ingenuity was redirected. Automobiles moved into the spotlight. Railway tracks and their snazzy, human-powered cart-designs (those related to the railroad and those designed for independent recreation) were increasingly ignored. Today, the world continues to revise its approaches to transportation. Green technology and the, increasingly popular, self-sufficiency, back-to-basics ideas just might make the time ripe for the resurgence of the railbike.

    Many old railroad lines still wind through beautiful stretches of U.S. countryside and organizations like Rails to Trails encourage appreciation of those paths. Rails to Trails encourages the removal of the tracks, to be replaced with paved or dirt paths, but railbike-enthusiasts might suggest the tracks stay put instead.

    From the U.S., to China, to Costa Rica cyclists make use of inactive railway lines to explore via railbike. Some adventure tourism and eco-tourism companies promote railbikes as a creative way to be physically active and travel  in a green-friendly style.

     I am curious to learn how to make a bicycle railbike friendly. I imagine that a resurgence of railbiking could inspire creative construction sessions in communities. I can picture neighborhood kids messing with their bicycles, sharing tools and scrap materials to design railbikes or to design connective pieces to bind two or more bicycles together for a group track adventure. We could be on the brink of a new era that encourages kids to play on the tracks.

    Do you know of inactive railway lines near you?

Thanks to Kat and Liz for introducing me to this idea indirectly. Liz has a page related to railbike adventures from DC to Montreal.

Thinking about :
Barak Obama's head speechwriter is 27. I am too.
Another 27-year-old started a non-profit overseas and now transferred it to the hands of the local community to run.
27-year-old successfully wrote and performed a one-person show in venues across the nation.
A 27-year-old launched a non-profit that transformed into a hugely successful advocacy organization. Many U.S. Congress people know it by name.
A 27-year- old works regularly to bridge the partisan divide in the Minneapolis State Senate through simple and direct, unified events planning.
A 27-year- old is a wife and incredibly active, creative mother of two children.
A 27-year-old works on photo shoots with Annie Leibovitz.
A 27-year-old musician kick started a band that has toured for years successfully.
A 27-year-old helps shape the news that millions of people absorb every day.

Do you know any impressive 27-year-olds?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/17/AR2008121703903.html