Proud Member of The Moms Clean Air Force
Print This Post
Dec
14
HEY! Who put this post here!?
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
Like I wrote in Twitter, what motivates people more, reward or fear?
Fear.
Fear affects us all more than we care to admit, and it’s especially insidious for writers. Writing online is one of those activities where you’re really putting yourself out there, and the critics are always waiting to pounce. But as we’ll see below, failure and mediocrity are not the only things we fear.
Most fear works at the subconscious level and manifests itself in the form of procrastination and writer’s block. We want to write that novel or business book, start that killer blog, release that article or white paper that boosts our business authority… and yet we keep putting it off.
I don’t like to waste time on regret, because, well, it’s a waste of time. But looking back, I see I’ve wasted so much time in my writing life because I let fear hold me back.
And the truth is, every time I push myself in a new direction, I’m still afraid. I don’t think that ever changes—it’s just part of the game.
The key is to not let it stop you.
Here are the main ways fear holds us back as writers, with a few tips for looking fear in the face and sitting down to work. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear, it’s doing what needs to be done despite fear.
Oh yeah…go read the rest.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:23 pm December 14th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Dec
14
12/17 event: help ask Sheriff McFaul, lending institutions for 60 day foreclosure holiday
Filed Under Announcements, Cleveland+, Economy, Government, Ohio, Politics, Social Issues | Comments Off
Want to feel like you make a difference and even actually contribute to making a difference? Read what Bill’s forwarded to me and a few others and either plan to get there or post the info so others who can, can get there:
Community Organizations Call for Foreclosure Holiday
Contact: Katy Gall - 614-638-1562
Bill Callahan – 216-870-4736When: Monday December 17th 10am
Where: At the home of Tina Williams, a homeowner facing foreclosure, 3884 East 112th StreetWhat: A coalition of community advocates will call on Sheriff Gerald McFaul and lending institutions to observe a 60 day foreclosure holiday to allow vulnerable borrowers time to get the help they need. The coalition will deliver an open letter to Sheriff McFaul calling for his leadership in stemming the tide of foreclosures that threatens to overwhelm many neighborhoods in Cuyahoga County. A 60-day moratorium on foreclosures of occupied houses would allow many of the affected homeowners time to work with housing counselors and their lenders to find ways to stay in their homes.
“Many of our friends and neighbors will be spending this holiday season wondering how much longer they will be able to stay in their homes. Whether they have adjustable rate mortgages that are about to reset, or payments that they simply can’t afford, they need relief. We are calling on Sheriff McFaul to do everything in his power to give these borrowers the extra time that will allow them to contact their lenders and stay in their homes.” said Tina Williams, a homeowner who is herself facing foreclosure.
Up to half of all homeowners facing foreclosure never contact their lenders. The 60 day foreclosure holiday would allow community organizations time to reach many of these borrowers.
Following the event a delegation will deliver the letter to Sherriff McFaul’s office in the Justice Center.
Visuals include: Inflatable “Grinch” and Christmas decorations, community representatives from more than a dozen sponsoring organizations and speakers with first-hand knowledge of Cleveland’s foreclosure crisis.Sponsoring Organizations Include:
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland
Empowering & Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP)
Cleveland ACORN
Cleveland Housing Network
Cleveland Tenants Organization
Neighborhood Progress, Inc.
Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition
Housing Research and Advocacy Center
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
Community Housing Solutions
Heights Community Congress
Housing Advocates, Inc.
Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation
Ashbury Community Services
Spanish American Committee
Greater Cleveland NAACP
Commission on Catholic Community Action
Northeast Ohio Coalition on the Homeless
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:35 pm December 14th, 2007 in Announcements, Cleveland+, Economy, Government, Ohio, Politics, Social Issues | Comments Off
Print This Post
Dec
14
I’m telling you, you need to get the C-Notes feed:
Now the GOP has announced its long-shot pony, former state Rep. Jim Trakas. He may be one of the brighter minds in local politics, but to West Side voters, supporting a Republican is like French-kissing your elderly aunt. A Plain Dealer scribe referred to Trakas as his party’s “sacrificial lamb.”
C-Notes was intrigued, so we decided to get the scoop straight from the ewe’s mouth: Was Trakas in the race just so the GOP could say it tried, or did he really think he had a chance? And how many times did he watch Rocky III the night before his announcement?
We reached Trakas on the side of a road, where his car had run out of gas. If we were clever, we’d snootily note that it was an apt metaphor for his campaign. But we’re not – I mean, that’s gotta be obvious, isn’t it? — so we’ll just transcribe the interview:
C-Notes: Are you the GOP’s sacrificial lamb?
Trakas: (chuckling) I’m Greek, so people call me a lamb a lot. What brought me into the race was people telling me, ‘We like you and we just don’t think Kucinich is getting the job done.’
C-Notes: So you’re not, you know, taking one for the team on this one?
Trakas: If I didn’t think it was doable, I wouldn’t be in the race.
C-Notes: What would you say are your odds of winning this?
Trakas: I’m not a gambling man, so I won’t make odds on myself. I understand the needs of the people, and I hope that 50 percent plus one of the voters agree with me.
C-Notes: Seriously, you’re jumping in front of a speeding bullet on this one, right?
C-Notes: Sticking out your shoulder as the pitch comes in?
C-Notes: Pushing the baby carriage off the tracks, but then your pant leg gets stuck as the train approaches?
C-Notes: Hello?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:37 pm December 14th, 2007 in Politics | 2 Comments
Print This Post
Dec
14
More on GOP 527 influence like Freedom’s Watch in OH-05
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
From Carl Hulse’s On The Hill:
The special election to replace the late Paul Gillmor received quite a buildup, with activists and some analysts predicting Democrats could pull off a huge upset or at least come close. But in the end, the Republican, Bob Latta, beat Democratic challenger Robin Weirauch pretty easily — 57-43 percent. He was sworn in Thursday.
Truth be told, top Democratic strategists never anticipated a win in the race and would have been stunned had one occurred. Their main goal was to make the NRCC spend money and further deplete its bank account. Democrats calculated that House Republicans spent about one-fifth of their cash on hand while Democrats barely tapped party money, spending about $250,000 out of just under $30 million.
But in forcing the investment, Democrats discovered that the spending they might have to worry about next year won’t come from the competing party campaign organization.
To the dismay of Democrats, a well-bankrolled, Republican-leaning outside group weighed in on the race. Freedom’s Watch, an organization with deep pockets guided by former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, injected itself for the first time in a House contest. And it focused on immigration, an issue somewhat afield of the issues it has pushed so far — the Iraq-war, veterans and terrorism.
Always something.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:39 pm December 14th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Dec
14
Ohio education value-added tool results are in
Filed Under Education, Ohio, Parenting | 2 Comments
The Plain Dealer’s Scott Stephens posted this blog entry last night (here’s today’s lengthier print piece)
Some children begin school with large vocabularies. Other children begin school with little command over words and numbers.
But what value does the school itself add to a student’s learning experience?
The “value-added” model attempts to answer that question.
The new data analysis, unveiled by state officials today, measures the effectiveness of schools based on the amount of academic progress students make from year to year.
The PD online provides this tool for searching for the info you’d most like to find.
I’m not loving how my school district looks on this, but I know very well what goes in shuffling descriptions of kids etc. I’ll look forward to hearing what administrators and others say about the results since what we can see through the tool is only a red or green for overall student populations. There are subcategories involved and I’d like to know what’s going on with those groups and results.
Measurements, always more measurements.
Feh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:37 am December 14th, 2007 in Education, Ohio, Parenting | 2 Comments
Voted into Top 25 Political Mom Blogs
Now on sale-WLST essay included!
Posts About Pepper Pike City Council2010 WE Magazine 101 Women Bloggers to Watch
Category Specific RSS
Pepper Pike Cleveland+ Politics Women Ohio Elections Law Jewish
