HerringLaw: Civil Rights & Discrimination Law in Iowa

FAQ (Refuse Your Mail) - Cut Down on Junk

What does the Post Office do with refused mail?That depends on the class of mail and what the sender wrote on it. Part of the service one buys when buying postage is the handling of undeliverable mail, such as mail with an incorrect address or that is refused. If it was sent First Class, or if it has an endorsement on it like "Return Service Requested" or "Address Service Requested", then it will get sent back to the sender, and the sender will need to pay to get rid of it.  [MORE]

via www.refuseyourmail.info

IT'S UP TO US!!

Robert Reich explains it all.  "WHAT CAN I DO???"

Someone recently approached me at the cheese counter of a local supermarket, asking "what can I do?" At first I thought the person was seeking advice about a choice of cheese. But I soon realized the question was larger than that. It was: what can I do about the way things are going in Washington?

People who voted for Barack Obama tend to fall into one of two camps: Trusters,who believe he's a good man with the right values and he's doing everything he can; and cynics, who have become disillusioned with his bailouts of Wall Street, flimsy proposals for taming the Street, willingness to give away 85 percent of cap-and-trade pollution permits, seeming reversals on eavesdropping and torture, and squishiness on a public option for health care.

In my view, both positions are wrong. A new president -- even one as talented and well-motivated as Obama -- can't get a thing done in Washington unless the public is actively behind him. As FDR said in the reelection campaign of 1936 when a lady insisted that if she were to vote for him he must commit to a long list of objectives, "Maam, I want to do those things, but you must make me."

We must make Obama do the right things. Email, write, and phone the White House. Do the same with your members of Congress. Round up others to do so. Also: Find friends and family members in red states who agree with you, and get them fired up to do the same. For example, if you happen to have a good friend or family member in Montana, you might ask him or her to write Max Baucus and tell him they want a public option included in any healthcare bill.

President Obama's speech in Egypt, conclusion

Meaningful & well said.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort - a sustained effort - to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.

How to get rid of those pesky & dangerous CFL light bulbs

Having a couple to toss I checked with Iowa DNR and online.  You can drive way out to Bondurant to the recycling center there or, better yet, go to Home Depot and dispose of them there:

At each The Home Depot store, customers can simply bring in any expired,
unbroken CFL bulbs, place them in a plastic bag and deposit them both into a collection
unit. The bulbs will then be managed responsibly by an environmental management
company who will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize
safety and ensure environmental compliance. Customers will be able to locate the CFL
receptacle on the front end of the store near the entrance, by the Returns desk or near the
exit doors inside the store.

Go to the Home Depot Eco Options page for further information.

Food assistance

I didn't know about this, but Angel Food Ministries is "Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit non denominational food relief ministry out of Monroe, Georgia.  Every month almost 2.5 million people are fed using the Angel Food Ministries program. Angel Food distributes food across 35 States and distributes food to 4500 host sites throughout those states every month. It is the desire of Angel Food Ministries to provide a hand up to the 37 million people who go without adequate food each year. There are no pre-qualifications to take part in Angel Food because Angel Food Ministries is open to everyone."   A client of mine is a volunteer with it in a small city in Iowa.

Paul Krugman has a nugget to share

Which is pretty funny:  Krugman's blog

December 26, 2008, 4:30 PM

Cultural ignorance

Sometimes I despair. As I was driving over to my parents’, I heard a radio ad for some kind of housing development offering “your choice of exterior finish — brick, stone, or stucco.” Clearly, whoever wrote the copy for that ad has no knowledge of the classics (which seem especially relevant right now):

Groucho : You can have any kind of a home you want. You can even get stucco. Oh, how you can get stucco.

What a nice surprise!

A Christmas card from a former staff person from 10+ years ago:  To this day, you're still the best boss that I've ever had - and every day I use the skills that I learned in your office"  What a wonderful way to end/start a week.  

Makes you sick

Detainee dies of cancer and no one in the Federal Government holding him in detention cares. New York Times.

"He was 17 when he came to New York from Hong Kong in 1992 ..., eyeing the skyline like any newcomer. Fifteen years later, Hiu Lui Ng was a New Yorker: a computer engineer with a job in the Empire State Building, a house in Queens, a wife who is a United States citizen and two American-born sons. But when Mr. Ng, who had overstayed a visa years earlier, went to immigration headquarters in Manhattan last summer for his final interview for a green card, he was swept into immigration detention ... In April, Mr. Ng began complaining of excruciating back pain. By mid-July, he could no longer walk or stand. And last Wednesday, two days after his 34th birthday, he died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement .... his spine fractured and his body riddled with cancer that had gone undiagnosed and untreated for months."

Holmes on Free Speech in Schwimmer

I listen to podcasts while running/walking and heard this in an Anthony Lewis talk and thought it worth sharing:

The applicant seems to be a woman of superior character and intelligence, obviously more than ordinarily desirable as a citizen of the United States. It is agreed that she is qualified for citizenship except [for her] . . . extreme opinion in favor of pacifism and a statement that she would not bear arms to defend the Constitution. So far as the adequacy of her oath is concerned I hardly can see how that is affected by the statement, inasmuch as she is a woman over fifty years of age, and would not be allowed to bear arms if she wanted to. ... ...The notion that the applicant's optimistic anticipations would make her a worse citizen is sufficiently answered by her examination which seems to me a better argument for her admission than any that I can offer. Some of her answers might excite popular prejudice, but if there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought-not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate. I think that we should adhere to that principle with regard to admission into, as well as to life within this country. And recurring to the opinion that bars this applicant's way, I would suggest that the Quakers have done their share to make the country what it is, that many citizens agree with the applicant's belief and that I had not supposed hitherto that we regretted our inability to expel them because they believed more than some of us do in the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount

UNITED STATES V. SCHWIMMER, 279 U.S. 644 (1929)

Even Lawyers have to beware "Nigerian Scams"

Everyone is gullible at some level, some more than others. Even Lawyers. A cautionary tale of lawyers being seduced by "Nigerian" scam emails is in the latest California Bar Journal.