My blog is now hosted on alexkoritz.com

Thank you-

I’ve got blogger’s block. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted – and that’s why. How do you get over blogger’s block? Here’s some steps I’m going to try, courtesy of wikihow.com. I’ll let you know how it goes.

1. Recognize that you have writer’s block. This is usually when no ideas spring to mind when you are writing and you are stuck for what to write. It can be very frustrating, especially when you just want to get on and write. Understand that writer’s block is easy to overcome, and there are many ways to get over it. Do not stoop to the idea that you will never write again. Blow that lie away right off.
2. Give yourself permission to write poorly and tell yourself that it does not matter what standard your writing is at. Tell yourself that you are allowed to write however you like, and it doesn’t have to be good. Most writer’s block is caused by fear of writing poorly, and the fear of your writing not being to a good standard. Shut up that little person in your head that tells you bad things about your writing.
3. Simply write without worrying about exactly what you write. Relax your mind and let all your ideas come out. Don’t worry about how they sound on the paper.
4. Make a Mind Map. Write a random word in the middle of some paper and branch off as many ideas as you can from that one word. It will get you thinking and help you think of ideas.
5. Let it sit for a day or two then come back to it.
6. Try a change of pace. For example if you have a long, action packed sequence, try going over to a reasoned conversation. Just be sure the changeover makes sense.
7. Get to know your character to see how they act in different situations, though you should do that before starting work on your project.
8. Look over what you wrote and ask yourself, “Does this seem to be leading up to anything?”
9. Get a friend to help if you’re still stuck.
10. Chances are, if you have writer’s block, it’s because the situation doesn’t seem real to you. Don’t be afraid to rewrite parts of the story to make it more natural.
11. Try starting from another part of your story. If you’re having trouble with the beginning, write the middle or end…. you’d be amazed at how it can unblock you. Writing in whatever part of the story that interests you works for some authors (Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight, for example) writing in pieces is great, so long as you know your plot like the back of you hand. (hey! That’s new!)
12. Write something totally different. It may surprise you how much you like it! Writing a poem or short scene (which does not even occur in your story) can also help. A monologue, a song or even taking a short amount of time to write a scene from a completely different story will get your writer’s blood flowing again.

Here’s an email going around. Genius, or complete Nazi? You decide:

USA JAIL – SOME INTERESTING READING
TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO, HE IS THE MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF ( ARIZONA ) AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

These are some of the reasons why:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the “tent city jail” to save Arizona from spending tens of millions of dollars on another expensive prison  complex.

He has jail meals down to 20 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He banned smoking and pornographic magazines in the jails, and took away their weightlifting equipment and cut off all but “G” movies. He says:
“They ‘ re in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault innocent people when they leave.”

He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city projects and save taxpayer ‘ s money.

Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn ‘ t get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.

When asked why the weather channel, he replied: “So these morons will know how hot it ‘ s gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.”
He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, “This isn ‘ t  the Ritz/Carlton. If you don ‘ t like it, don ‘ t come back.”
He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why 95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record for June 2nd 2007), the Associated Press reported: About 2,000 inmates living in  a barbed wire surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.

On the Wednesday, hundreds of men  wearing pink boxer shorts were overheard chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees.
“This is hell. It feels like we live in a furnace,” said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2 years with 10 more to go. “It ‘ s inhumane.”
Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. “Criminals should be punished for their crimes – not live in luxury until it ‘ s time for parole, only to go out and commit more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things  many taxpayers can ‘ t afford to have for themselves.”

The same day he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the tents: “It ‘ s between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to walk all day in the sun, wearing full battle gear and get shot at, and they have not committed any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!”

Way to go, Sheriff! If all prisons were like yours there would be a lot less crime and we would not be in the current position of running out of prison spaces.

If you agree, pass this on.
If not, just delete it.

According to the Consumerist:

A company called You’ve Been Left Behind is selling a post-Rapture package that sends emails to your sinful friends and family, letting them know where you are and what’s up with the whole pending apocalypse thing. For only $40 per year, You’ve Been Left Behind offers “to get one last message to the lost, at a time, when they might just be willing to hear it for the first and last time.”

My question is this: Who sends the email?

The Iraq war and the Bush administration’s foreign policy have extremely damaged American reputation around the world. When I make this point to my conservative friends they usually respond with a proud shoulder shrug and a ‘who cares’ response like “screw the world.” Is reputation important?

Yes, very. Our global reputation affects our trading with other nations, our military alliances, and all our diplomatic relations. THAT IS WHY WE SHOULD CARE.

Barack Obama will heal the reputation wound. “A black man? With a Muslim name? Who wants to end the Iraq War? Maybe Americans aren’t so bad after all . . .”

Whatever you think about Obama, this fact remains true – he’ll help restore our tarnished image. The below LA Times article discusses reactions around the world to Obama:

Barack Obama Has Captivated the World

Newspaper front pages and TV newscasts feature photos and footage of ‘the political giant slayer,’ who is intensely popular across the globe. But not everyone is pleased with all his positions.

By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 5, 2008

BEIRUT — No one’s tossing confetti or releasing balloons, but U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s ascent to likely Democratic Party presidential nominee has captivated many of those watching the American political contest abroad.

Newspaper front pages and television newscasts throughout the world Wednesday featured photographs and footage of the smiling Illinois lawmaker, who a day earlier clinched the Democratic nomination by winning enough delegates to edge out Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The conservative French daily Le Figaro described him as “the man in a hurry who dethroned Hillary.” The left-leaning London-based Guardian called him “a political giant slayer” who defeated his own party’s entrenched interest. And in Mexico, an editorial cartoon in the daily Reforma depicted him as a Christ-like figure atop the Democratic donkey on Palm Sunday.

“Obama’s America on the doorstep of history,” said a headline on the front page of As Safir here in Lebanon.

Obama remains intensely popular throughout the world. According to a poll released this week by the pan-Arab Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel, more than half of those interviewed in 22 countries preferred Obama over Clinton or Republican John McCain, who was the least recognized and least preferred presidential candidate.

Even in stridently anti-American Iran, state-controlled television showed video of Obama making a speech behind a lectern bearing a placard reading “Change.”

“It’s a matter of the heart. It’s a matter of affiliation,” said Radwan Abdullah, a professor of international relations at the University of Jordan in Amman. “He’s a minority African American from the Third World. He was the underdog. People identify with his type.”

Still, some analysts expressed concern about Obama’s foreign policy positions. In Turkey, some worried about his support for Armenians, who are locked in a dispute with Turks over the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century. There has been some nervousness in Tokyo about whether Obama’s criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement hints at possible trade disputes for Japan’s export-dependent economy. Many Israelis worry that Obama has been too willing to negotiate with the Jewish state’s enemies, especially Iran.

Some Israelis were heartened by remarks he made Wednesday at a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where he declared his willingness to confront Iran and support a unified Jerusalem as capital of Israel, a position that appeared to go beyond even the Bush administration’s position on Jerusalem.

“He said all options for dealing with Iran are on the table, which means he would negotiate but there would still be a credible military threat,” said Michael Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, an independent Israeli think tank.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Obama’s support of a unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“The whole world knows that East Jerusalem, holy Jerusalem, was occupied in 1967, and we will not accept a Palestinian state without having Jerusalem as the capital,” Abbas told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Obama’s newcomer status has also caused doubt among some trying to gauge his positions on various issues.

“Obama is not a well-established politician,” said Abul-Fazel Amoee, a Tehran political scientist close to Iran’s conservatives. “He comes out of the blue sky. Obama’s slogans are ambiguous and may change. Obama is not coming from a family like the Kennedys. He seems open to pressures.”

Despite such concerns, people marveled at Obama’s rise and considered it a U.S. milestone. Al Jazeera devoted an hour Wednesday night to a discussion about his prospects.

“The fact that he become the candidate of the Democratic Party proves that there is a change in the public opinion in the U.S.,” said Ghassan Ezzi, professor of political sciences at the Lebanese University in Beirut. “He said that he was ready to talk to [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad. This shows a lot of courage. It’s like saying I am ready to talk to the devil.”

For many, Obama’s rise is a global event, regardless of the outcome in November.

“I’m hugely aware of what his achievements mean for the wider world, way beyond America,” said David Lammy, a British lawmaker who, like Obama, is of African descent. “It’s a huge achievement to come from a place where very few people believed he would be on the ticket.”

Even if he loses the presidential election to McCain, he’s already won, said an editorial in the English-language Khaleej Times, a daily based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“If McCain is America’s past,” it said, “Obama is its future.”

According to a British Newspaper, this computer-generated image was posted yesterday on an Islamic extremists’ website. Al Qaeda desperately wants to get their hands on a nuclear weapon. This is what will happen when they do.

The shortlist for McCain’s VP includes Governors Charlie Crist of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Mitt Romney. Romney can make the case that he’ll deliver key swing states such as Michigan and Nevada, while McCain is already doing well in Florida, and Louisiana is a certain Republican state.

Romney will again have to overcome the Mormon question, which becomes more difficult because of events surrounding fundalmentlist polygamists groups in Texas. However, for years Charlie Crist has been accused of being gay, and Bobby Jindal is relatively inexperienced.

Romney then has a good chance of securing the job. His economic experience may be just enough to put him over the edge.

The Atlantic

Mitt Romney’s new PAC “will be the organization that will allow Gov. Romney to stay politically active on behalf of the candidates and causes that he cares about,” spokesperson Eric Fehrnstom says.

How active? He’s hosting President Bush on May 28 at his home in Deer Valley, Utah for a Victory 2008 fundraiser. He’s raising money for Rep. Tom Feeney in Florida on the 30th and then jets to Jacksonville for the Federation of Black Republicans convention. He’ll serve as a surrogate for McCain at two Republican conventions: in Colorado and in Texas. And he’ll campaign with and raise money for Sen. McCain on June 11.

McCain veepstakes team: it’s difficult to find another candidate who’s working harder for the party than Romney right now.

Newsweek’s recent written cover story, “The Rise of the Rest” was extremely thought provoking. It discussed a post-American dominated world, not because of the decline of American power, but because of the rise of the rest. The author, Fareed Zakaria, makes some very interesting points. A point I’d like to focus on is this: The world is in better shape than it ever has been. However; because of 24-hour news and the Internet, it doesn’t appear that way. The news covers every bomb going off, every assassination attempt, every earthquake, etc., giving the appearance that the world is going to Hell and fast. The media has not figured out yet how to put things into perspective. Zakaria:

“Why do we think we live in scary times? Part of the problem is that as violence has been ebbing, information has been exploding. The last 20 years have produced an information revolution that brings us news and, most crucially, images from around the world all the time. The immediacy of the images and the intensity of the 24-hour news cycle combine to produce constant hype. Every weather disturbance is the “storm of the decade.” Every bomb that explodes is BREAKING NEWS. Because the information revolution is so new, we—reporters, writers, readers, viewers—are all just now figuring out how to put everything in context.”

The media has enormous influence on how we perceive the world. Politics feeds off of this, end-of-world fears are what got George W. Bush elected, McCain is using the same tactics. And the democrats are using economy fears to garner support. So, let’s use the latter as an example. Zakaria makes this point:
“It [the American economy] has enjoyed unusually robust growth, low unemployment and inflation, and received hundreds of billions of dollars in investment. These are not signs of economic collapse. Its companies have entered new countries and industries with great success, using global supply chains and technology to stay in the vanguard of efficiency. U.S. exports and manufacturing have actually held their ground and services have boomed.

“The United States is currently ranked as the globe’s most competitive economy by the World Economic Forum. It remains dominant in many industries of the future like nanotechnology, biotechnology, and dozens of smaller high-tech fields. Its universities are the finest in the world, making up 8 of the top ten and 37 of the top fifty, according to a prominent ranking produced by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.”
A recession is based on consumer spending habits, which is greatly influenced by the media. When CNN mentions a possible recession every 20 minutes, of course we’re not going to spend and thus stimulate the economy. A vicious cycle. If we do descend into a recession, I think we have only the media to blame and the politicians that jumped on their bandwagon. And, of course, our gullible selves.

The old adage rings true, ‘don’t believe everything you read.’ (tough for a PR guy to swallow)

Could a Romney ballot write-in give Obama the State of Utah in November? I predict late summer we’ll see a grass-roots campaign calling for this. A solid Romney write-in will devastate McCain’s chances to take Utah, despite Governor Huntsman’s best efforts to the contrary (avid McCain supporter). Will Romney discourage this? Certainly if he gets the VP spot. . . .