Daily Archives: 01/09/2011

(Community Matters) I like the idea of our friend Dr. Albert Cantara

Time for a news tracker like Politifact to begin tracking hate speech of political, religious, and other public figures. Call it “Politihate” and have the same meter to measure how out of bounds the statement is.

(Community Matters) My reading list almost always lengthens as a result of hosting a dinner party. From last night, the prioritized addition: The Emperor of Maladies: a Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. It came up as we were discussing the unsustainable growth of healthcare costs and historical inflection points – especially citing Thomas Malthus, Paul Erhlic and Atul Gawande.

Comfort Mexican food with Isabel & Dave Welland, Kip Keller, Christie Horne & Kevin Lalande, Diane Land & Steve Adler & of course my husband. Regrettably missing Suzanne & David Booth (hope our buddy Chandler feels better quickly).

(Community Matters) Yesterday, I resisted posting about Rep Giffords’ shooting and the consequences of rhetoric which may have contributed to the tragedy. Disappointed – but not surprised – to read the defensive chorus from the right charging “politicizing” as the topic has been raised. I think Nancy Pelosi crafted a generous and productive statement:

“I have concerns about some of the language that is being used … I saw this myself in the late ’70s in San Francisco. This kind of rhetoric … was very frightening and it created a climate in which … violence took place … I wish that we would all … curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made, understanding that some of … the ears that it is falling are not as balanced as the person making the statement might assume.’

Speaker Pelosi, in September 2009

I like our friend, Dr. Albert Cantara’s idea, a PolitiHate meter