It's been one of those times recently. I feel like for days I've been reading nonstop about war, political infighting, bullies, violence, and general internets stupidity. Now, there are a lot of unhappy things going on, and many of them deserve -- need! -- attention. It's also true, however, that the onslaught can get overwhelming, and there is good news out there, even if sometimes you have to search to find it. It certainly makes me feel better to give some attention to uplifting stuff, so without further ado, a few recent stories that are, each in their own way, a nice break from a tough spate of news:
In the large-scale, saving the planet category we have a new, three-year, $300 million campaign to mobilize Americans on climate change. God dag! Led by Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection, the effort is reportedly one of the most ambitious and well-funded public advocacy operations in history. It will apparently attempt to match awareness with actual political/legislative action, and is being timed to coincide with the election. I don't write about climate very much because I simply am not an expert on the issues, but it affects just about everything -- including my pet issues of foreign policy and national security, eventually -- and this looks to be a great project.
In international news, last week Pakistan's parliament elected its first woman Speaker. Independent of the overall record of the role/treatment of women in the nation, it's always great to see barriers being broken, and for a country that has already had a female prime minister, this is another important milestone. Dr. Mizra is no token, either; a three-time rep, she was elected by an overwhelming margin -- 249 to 70.
The problem of skyrocketing foreclosures can hardly be spun as good news, but in the face of tragedy and difficulty, many organizations are stepping up to help, and it's in these under the radar circumstances that sometimes important efforts can get overlooked. Which is why the Humane Society effort to make sure that people who lose their homes don't lose their furry friends as well deserves a mention. With families struggling to keep and feed their pets in the face of increasing financial difficulty, this new grant program should do some real good. After my longtime canine companion passed earlier this year, I set up a recurring donation to HSUS, and I'm tremendously glad some of that contribution will go to this initiative.
Finally, in a hilarious "damn the man" vein, I include this for the ingenuity (and without any particular comment on the politics of makeup or schools or whatever): a creative -- and apparently scientifically brilliant -- group of high school girls were irritated with a school ban on nail polish, so they invented a kind that you can see outdoors but not indoors. Some chemical reaction far beyond my ability to comprehend makes the polish bright red outside and nearly invisible/transparent inside. I want some!
Obviously lots of news that sucks is still important to be aware of. I know -- I focus on Iraq, for goodness sake. And good stuff is hard to find; it took me a couple hours to find just these few nuggets! But there ya go. Every day is a new day, with new challenges but also new good, and all that. Hope y'all enjoy.
