Year: 2011

On January 29th I put up a post about Brenda Namigadde, a woman from Uganda who was living in England, and at risk of being deported back to her home country despite the persecution and death threats she would face there because of her sexual orientation. All Out, an LGBTQA global organization was fighting for her rights, and set up a petition to keep her from being deported.

Well now, thanks to global pressure and in part to everyone who signed the petition, Brenda has received help from the government and has a shot at survival.

Two weeks ago we reached out to you and shared the story of Brenda, a Ugandan lesbian fighting a deportation order in the UK, which would send her back to the homophobic violence she fled eight years before.(1) Now, thanks in large part to a massive international display of people power, Brenda has been released from the immigration removal center and is working with her legal team on a fresh asylum claim.(2) Together, we made a huge difference!

In less than a week, over 60,000 people from around the world signed a letter to the UK Home Secretary, we created an international news story, and scores marched in London. Next, hundreds of All Out members in the UK pressured their representatives in Parliament to sign on to a motion sponsored by Brenda’s MP, Andy Slaughter, asking the Immigration Minister to intervene in Brenda’s case. Over fifty MPs followed suit.(3)

After being literally pulled off the plane to Uganda only days ago after a last minute injunction that halted her deportation(4), a judge in the UK has just ruled that the evidence merits a new judicial review of Brenda’s asylum claim. She now has a new shot at freedom from persecution, a huge community of supporters, members of parliament, and legal advocates who are standing by her side. Brenda’s asylum case is finally getting the fair review it deserves.

We will continue to stand with Brenda, recognizing that her harrowing story is just one of many in a broader push for freedom, dignity and equality. We came together – straight, gay, lesbian, transgender and all that’s between and beyond – and it made a real difference. But we have a lot more work to do if we want to realize our vision of a world where everyone can live freely and be accepted for who they are.

Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for supporting people of all genders and sexual orientations’ right to express themselves safely in the world.

Info from our latest campaign:

Here’s the situation: Fred Lawrence is new, and he’s going to make changes. The thing is, students don’t have much input on those changes. If he’s not going to ask for what we want, we’ll have to tell him. If enough of us unite behind a shared platform, he’s going to take notice.

The Plan: We get as much of the student community as we can in one room. Together, we create a list of action items we want Pres. Fred to take. Then, we talk to our friends and get tons of signatures to back these proposals.

What do you think of that?

Meeting. Castle Commons. Saturday. 4-6pm.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brandeis-Justice-League/166018390112807?v=app_2344061033&ref=ts#!/event.php?eid=193847217310816&index=1

Can you be there? This meeting is for everyone who wants to make the plan happen. We need about 20 committed students to pull this off.

Fred Lawrence is a great guy who clearly cares about students. I’m excited because I know he’ll take us seriously and show us the same respect we show him.

We hope to see you there!

Special elections are open!
Here you can vote for the Senators for East Quad, the Village, and the class of 2012.

While I encourage you to vote no matter who you’re voting for, I would like to present the case for Sarah Pace (aka “SPace”), who is running for the Village senator.

Sarah has demonstrated her ability to be a leader many times over, even though she is only a sophomore. She is extremely devoted to her a cappella group, Company B, and is responsible for all of their amazing, pun-tastic facebook events. She is an active member of theatre on campus, performing in many shows ranging from Hillel Theatre Group to seniors’ theses.

As anyone who has met her can testify, Sarah is outgoing and enthusiastic. She enjoys volunteering, bringing people together, and voicing her opinion on things when she feels something is not right.

Her goals according to her facebook campaign page are:

“As an energetic, involved, and organized Village resident I feel that there are many things I could bring to the position of Village Quad Senator. I am a sophomore who has resided in the Village for over a semester now, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who loves it more than I do.
The conglomerate of students that live in the Village- Sophomores, Mid-Years, and Transfers- are a special group and deserve a representative who will voice their needs at Senate meetings. I will be that person.”

Sarah and I are in Criminal Law together. This past week our class acted out the trial from the “Bonfire of the Vanities,” a book we had recently read. Sarah was a member of the jury. Although someone else was appointed jury foreman, when Sarah noticed that fer fellow jurors were having trouble starting their deliberation, she jumped in, helping to structure the debate by taking a preliminary vote on each of the charges, and making sure to include an “abstain” option. These little details, which may seem irrelevant, ensured that the process was conducted in a fair and comfortable manner for all involved. Throughout the conversation she urged people to express their opinions and alleviated the tension. By the end, the former jury foreman volunteered to hand over the position to her, and she in turn, accepted.

This is just one small anecdote which illustrates Sarah’s capabilities and skill. For more, look at all of her endorsements. (She was also the only candidate to secure any endorsements).

These include:
* Kaos Kids
* Change Agency
* Innermost Parts
* Tympanium Euphorium
* Hillel Theatre Group
* Company B

So, if you want a good leader to represent you in the Student Union, vote Sarah Pace for Village senator. And if you don’t live in the Village, tell your friends who do to vote for her. And if you don’t have friends, then come write for Innermost Parts!

Hey,

I’m in the sophomore C3 (common cause community…sappy I know). Basically what that entails is choosing a place to volunteer for February break and spending the rest of the year fundraising so you can get there.

We chose the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, which, despite its name, helps a wide variety of people who have HIV or AIDS, and also does outreach work to educate people about the risks of unsafe sex and this growing epidemic. The group is located in New York, my hometown.

SO, since the trip is just two weeks away, we are having our biggest fundraiser YET tonight, Munchies from Moody. A lot of really generous restaurants on Moody and Main Streets donated food to us (who knew places DID that?) and we will be selling it all to you for $3 a plate. We have food from Tango Mango, Margarita’s, Little India, Tuscan Grill, Waltham Pizza, Cappy’s, Baan Thai, Erawan of Siam, and the Ninety Nine.

So, if you want to eat good food, get a sense of the restaurants in the Waltham area, or even just, oh I don’t know…donate to charity, come on out to the ICC tonight at 6 pm and bring at least $3….come on time or the food might run out before you get a chance.

Note: Vegetarian options available. You know who I’m talking about.

Many people on campus do not know what the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance is. I probably wouldn’t either if I weren’t on the steering committee, which reviews the grant applications and helps the groups who are selected.

That being said, I am, and so I would like to advertise a unique opportunity to you. (I promise I won’t use the word “resource” throughout this post.)

“The Brandeis Pluralism Alliance (BPA) grants funding and assistance to student and faculty initiated projects that address issues of identity, pluralism and unity.” Basically, it exists to help Brandeis stay true to its social justice roots, and to provide the means for people on campus to realize their pluralistic dreams. What does pluralism mean, you ask?

Well I looked it up on Urbandictionary and it said it had not been defined yet. So I tried dictionary.com but got a lot of philosophical definitions, like “a theory that there is more than one basic substance or principle.” Finally I looked up cultural pluralism, and it redirected me to multiculturalism. That makes more sense, since we hear it preached every day by our professors and peers here on campus. Multiculturalism, unity, bringing people from different paths of life together; that’s what pluralism is all about. And the BPA seeks to foster that.

Last year we granted funds for the What If? Speak In, A Night for Pakistan, Worker Appreciation Cafe, Diwali, Wong Fu Productions Fall College Tour Event, Mela, Famni Ki Li Ansamn/Families Reading Together, and the Justice League’s very own Campus Camp Wellstone activist training. For a complete list with descriptions visit the BPA’s hompage.

SO, the important thing to note is that if YOU have an idea for a project for this spring which could promote pluralism on campus, you should apply. Even if it’s just an idea, there’s no harm in trying, and if selected, the Steering Committee appoints a liason to help you put on your event/program. However, the deadline is FEBRUARY 6, this coming Sunday. So, if you’re at all interested, go to the grant application site and play around with it, see what you can come up with and submit.

Good luck!

…It’s still a Snow Day

In fact, the Massachusetts Dept of Public Safety reports that

In order to protect public safety and facilitate clean-up from the February 1-2, 2011 winter storms, Governor Deval Patrick has directed that non-emergency employees who work in the Executive Branch of state government do not have to report to their workplaces on Wednesday, February 2, 2011.

Here are some tips on what to do in February storms, in terms of driving, roof collapse, loss of power and more.

Bonus: Does anyone know what the Reach-Throw-Go method refers to?

All Out, an organization created to help LGBTQ members of communities across the globe, has recently taken on the plight of Brenda Namigadde, a Ugandan woman who escaped to England eight years ago for fear of her life, because of her sexual orientation. At the moment, Brenda is facing deportation back to Uganda, even in the wake of the brutal killing of David Kato, one of Uganda’s most prominent gay activists, on the 26th.

All out provides information of the abuses to which members of the LGBTQ are subjected to on a daily basis, even protected under the law. “In 76 countries around the world being LGBT is a criminal offense. In 10, it is legal grounds for execution or life imprisonment. Even in countries where LGBT people have secured basic rights, many LGBT people are denied the opportunity to live full and equal lives and endure daily homophobia.”

All Out has started an online petition which they say has been signed by 50,000 people from over 160 countries, requesting Brenda be granted asylum so she can remain in England. Perhaps as a result of the political efforts to keep Brenda safe, a UK High Court judge granted a temporary injunction in Brenda’s case yesterday, meaning the decision of whether to grant her asylum or to deport her will be postponed.

Please halt the impending deportation of Brenda Namigadde (Case Ref # 1166867), a Ugandan lesbian scheduled for removal. Brenda fled Uganda eight years ago because of persecution for her sexuality, but if forced to return Brenda fears that she’ll be, “tortured, or killed … they’ve put people like me to death there.” The fact that a virulently anti-gay, high ranking member of the Ugandan government has taken note of her case means that Brenda faces clear and present danger if she is returned to Uganda.

Last July you told the press, “We have already promised to stop the removal of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution.” Please use all of the powers at your disposal to act now to halt Brenda’s deportation.

I urge you all to read and sign this petition, since it is truly a cause that spans the political spectrum. No matter where a person lives s/h/ze should not be punished for his/her/zer sexual practices if they are not hurting anyone. If we become aware of countries which practice this kind of discrimination it is our duty to protect those who have risked persecution by admitting their identities and have asked us for help.

Note: Thanks to Brandeis’ TRISK for sending out information about this human rights abuse and providing the links upon which the majority of this post is based.

So last month’s activist movie was the King’s Speech.
This month’s is an oldie but a goodie…Erin Brockovich.
It’s been playing on TV a lot lately, so I had the chance to rewatch it.

Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is a woman who has three children but not much else going for her. She finds work at her lawyer’s law firm and grows intrigued when she stumbles across a file about a real case involving the Pacific Gas& Electric Company. She does some investigative work and, lo and behold, the company has been polluting the ground around its factory with toxic chemicals for years, and has even lied to the residents’ faces about the danger these chemicals present.

Erin exposes their lies, reveals to the community that the pollution is the cause of many of their health problems, and convinces them to sue PG&E. Ultimately, PG&E settles, those who have suffered are compensated, and everyone goes home happy, more or less.

Brockovich is a great movie which straddles many different genres: drama, legal thriller, biography and even romance. It is funny, clever, and inspirational. It’s the classic little-guy versus the big-bad-corporation flick. But most importantly, it’s based on a true story.

In 1996, PG&E settled for $333 million, which remains the largest settlement ever awarded in a direct-action lawsuit in the history of the United States to this day. And Erin is now the president of her own consulting firm, Brockovich Research and Consulting. You can look her up here.

Much like A Civil Action and other stories of lawyers helping innocent victims of negligent, or worse, chemical companies, Erin Brockovich shows that lawyers CAN do good and that pollution is bad. Real bad. Two good lessons to keep in mind!

Hate when people next to you are talking on their phones or conversing loudly with their fellow passengers? If so, and you live in Massachusetts, you’re in luck.

The MBTA, Massachusett’s public transport system, started a new pilot program in which there will be a designated ‘Quiet Car’ on the Franklin and Fitchburg commuter rail lines during peak times. This program, launched in response to results of a recent survey of customers, began on January 3rd and will run until April 3rd, just 90 days. Afterwards, the MBTA will decide whether to continue the initiative or not on a regular basis.

On the MBTA’s homepage information about the Quiet Car is provided, such as the fact that the Quiet Car will be the car located closest to the locomotive. Tips as to what is appropriate and what is not on the designated Quiet Cars are offered as well. “[On the Quiet Car] Customers are asked to: refrain from cell phone use; keep pagers, cell phones, laptop and PDA sounds off; and speak quietly. Conductors will, of course, lift the quiet car restriction in times of disruption or severe overcrowding.”

I feel like this is a good experiment for the MBTA to try, and I’m happy they’re responding to their clients’ concerns. Although I don’t think I would prefer to sit in a Quiet Car, everyone has had the experience of someone close to them talking obnoxiously loud, and so this is a nice alternative for those who are especially sensitive about volume. In addition, it can make those long, awkward train rides with semi-acquaintances less so, since now you have a REASON not to talk.

Don’t worry though, if you need to talk while on the Quiet Car you can; whispering is aloud as long as it’s brief.

So, I didn’t watch the State of the Union. Lame, I know. My mom told me it was good but nothing amazing, if that helps excuse me. Hopefully someone who did watch it will post reactions, but for now, I wanted to post an e-mail I received from my good friend Barack.

This e-mail is a rousing summary of what I can only believe was his SOTU address, and it is actually pretty moving. He talks about all the progress we’ve made in the past year, about his decisive and tangible plans for the future (80% clean electricity by 2035, creating new jobs by renovating roadways and technology). Most of all, he emphasizes the part we all have to play in helping out nation grow and ‘rise up’; that these goals are not attainable unless we all work together. It is quite an obvious plea to the Republicans and Democrats in Congress to work together. And I like that he sounds like he’s asking rather than telling.

So whether or not you support Obama or think he’s on the right track, doing what’s best for the nation, read the letter below and tell me, dawgone it, doesn’t this letter make you feel hopeful on the inside?

Tonight I addressed the American people on the future we face together.

Though at times it may seem uncertain, it is a future that is ours to decide, ours to define, and ours to win.

I know we will.

Because, after the worst recession in decades, we see an economy growing again.

Because, after two years of job losses, we’ve added private-sector jobs for 12 straight months — more than 1 million in all.

Because, time after time, when our resolve has been tested, we, as a nation, have always prevailed.

Overcoming the challenges we face today requires a new vision for tomorrow. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.

Yet the story of America is this: We do big things.

Just as the progress of the past two years would not have been possible without your hard work, we will not realize the agenda I described tonight without you.

So as we continue this great mission together, and we set out the plans for how far we can go, I need to know that you are ready to work side by side with me once more.

Will you stand with me as we strive to win the future?

The last two years have been marked by unprecedented reforms and historic progress.

But there is much more work to do.

Moving forward, America’s economic growth at home is inextricably connected to our competitiveness in the global community. The more products American companies can export, the more jobs we can create at home.

This vision for the future starts with innovation, tapping into the creativity and imagination of our people to create the jobs and industries of the future. Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s. It’s why I challenged Congress to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.

It means leading the world in educating our kids, giving each of our children the best opportunity to succeed and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow.

We must build a 21st century infrastructure for our country, putting millions of Americans to work rebuilding roads and bridges and expanding high-speed Internet and high-speed rail.

We must reform government, making it leaner, smarter, and more transparent.

And we must take responsibility for our shared debt, reining in our long-term deficit so we can afford the investments we need to move our country forward.

That is the vision I laid out tonight. That is how we win the future.

It is going to take a lot of work — but I have no doubt we are up to the task.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist.

But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets. We unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.

Please stand together with me:

http://my.barackobama.com/WintheFuture

It is because of each of you, who define the will of a people, that the state of our union is strong in the face of tough challenges. You are the reason our future is still bright in the face of deep uncertainty.

And you are the reason I believe that future is ours to win.

Thank you,

Barack

Al-Jazeera has been leaked internal memos, meeting minutes, and other documents from negotiations between the PA and Israel over the last 10 years. The Guardian has also been given early access to the files.

Here are the links:
http://english.aljazeera.net/palestinepapers/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/palestine-papers

Now, I don’t trust Al-Jazeera’s analysis and biases to match my own. I do trust the Guardian to hold my values, more or less. They’re releasing the documents as a big data dump, though, so you can look through the primary documents and make your own conclusions.

People’s immediate takeaway is that these documents show a PLO that makes more and more concessions, and an Israel that never responds to these “generous” offers.

I don’t know if that’s true – I’m looking through the primary documents right now. Assuming that’s true, however, what does this mean for us? I bet the conventional wisdom is despair – “OMG the government won’t take any deal peace is dooomed!”.

I dunno, though. I actually feel like this is a positive thing. Turns out that the PA isn’t as stubborn at negotiation as might be expected, that they’re a responsible partner for peace. Maybe it’s because I just read an article called “Think Israel’s a lost cause? Ten reasons to think again”, but I could see this as a shock to the Israeli public causing them to put pressure on the gov’t to pursue a peace deal on the revealed terms.

I’m hopeful. Iran’s bomb was neutralized by Stuxnet. The Labor party can resume being a progressive party, and Tzipi Livni made a great impression on me when she came to Brandeis. Things could turn out ok.

Check this out: http://www.myspace.com/560446169

Play the song “Brandeis is the Illest”. Great, right?

If you’re going to the Battle of the Brandeis DJ’s tonight (10pm Levin), you’ll catch DJ Max as a contestant. Good luck DJ Max!

There are currently robots being made by professors from MIT and the like, which will resemble humans and will be programmed to respond to humans in normal, societally-appropriate ways. Some people are excited. Others are scared.

It’s all discussed in an article from The Chronicle. The author interviewed Professor Sherry Turkle, who is involved with cutting-edge computer science technology, but who devoted much of the the last decade to writing books about the possible threats they pose to humans forming and maintaining relationships, and warnings of what may come from our overdependence on technology.

David Levy on the other hand, another expert in the field and author of Love and Sex with Robots argues the merits of having robot-humanoid companions, such as providing socially inept people with relationships they may never have otherwise. He proposes that by the year 2050 many people will be hiring skilled, trained robots to babysit their kids, and some might even choose to marry robots.

I’m baffled by the progress scientists have made in this field, since I had no idea that humanoid robots were in the works, let alone might be commonplace 40 years from now. This article (courtesy of Eunju Namkung) provides both the pros and the cons that come with this technology, though it leans towards Turkle’s point of view, emphasizing the dangers over the benefits. I find myself agreeing with Turkle that in a world in which people rely on technology for emotional support or companionship, society will slowly break down. Already human connections are being severed due to the availability and accessibility of electronic devices (although they present numerous socializing opportunities too of course), and so with the opportunity to interact with a pre-programmed machine which will answer the way you want it to and to which you owe nothing, this degenerative state can only worsen.

I’m not a Luddite, but I don’t think electronics should replace the potential for human interaction, which it would do were scientists to program machines to resemble and simulate humans.

Oh, and here’s a Whitest Kids U Know video which demonstrates the dangers robots present.

Read this. Hendrik Hertzberg has an article out about the reaction to the Gifford’s shooting which is elegant and composed and thoughtful. But look at this opening paragraph:

On October 5, 1995, as the Knesset was meeting to ratify the second Oslo agreement, thirty thousand Greater Israel zealots, Likud Party supporters, militant West Bank settlers, and right-wing nationalists rallied in Jerusalem’s Zion Square. For months, certain ultra-Orthodox rabbis and scholars had been suggesting that, because Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was willing to consider territorial concessions in negotiations with the Palestinians, it would be permissible, even obligatory, to kill him. In Zion Square, protesters carried pictures of Rabin, doctored to show him in Nazi uniform or with crosshairs over his face. The crowd chanted “Rabin boged!”—“Rabin is a traitor!”—and, again and again, “Death to Rabin!” From a balcony, prominent opposition politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu, looked on benevolently and uttered no rebukes. A month later, at another, larger rally, this one for peace, Rabin was assassinated.

There are certain historical events that make me so freaking angry and upset every time someone mentions them. One is the murder of Fred Hampton. Another is this the murder of Yitzhak Rabin.

I hope you’re enjoying the first day of school, everyone.

Sales of handguns have risen in the wake of the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and nineteen other innocent bystanders.

In a brief entitled “Pistol Sales Surge After Shooting,” Bloomberg News reported that the increase in sales is a result of the incident, and that gun dealers attribute it to people’s fear that Congress might tighten gun restrictions.

An Arizona gun shop owner is quoted as saying in the brief, “When something like this happens people get worried that the government is going to ban stuff.” I’ve heard the argument that people need to own guns in order to stop crimes like this from happening, and I understand it although I don’t put much stock in it. Having more guns in circulation only makes the world more dangerous. An overly simplistic proof of this is that deaths by shooting have increased exponentially in relation to the number of firearms in circulation. We don’t allow handguns on college campuses, or any weapons for that matter, because we believe that the fewer guns around, the better.

However, the point is that people are specifically buying more handguns! What makes someone go out and buy something they think the government will soon make illegal? If our elected officials think that handguns are among the most dangerous and unnecessary weapons (unless you’re using them for nefarious purposes, in which case they’re very effective) then why not try to convince them otherwise, or at least look into their reasoning? When there’s a devastating fire, do people buy more matches?

Let me know. I’ve got leads for you.
Just email me at sahar at innermostparts

Are you a non-senior that wants an amazing summer fellowship? Talk to me ASAP. Deadlines are coming soon for the sort of places that pay you to do awesome organizing, think-tanking, strategizing, etc.

Read more here.

On December 17th, a 26 year-old unemployed university graduate named Mohamed Bouazizi drenched himself in petrol and set himself on fire in the central Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid in protest of economic conditions. Bouazizi, who succumbed to his injuries early this morning, had been the sole breadwinner for his family when his unlicensed produce stand was confiscated by local police.

The protests that have already claimed the lives of at least three are remarkable on several fronts: relatively unprecedented, they have drawn support from many sectors of society – trade unions, students, lawyers syndicates. They have gone largely unremarked-upon in the Western media. They have effectively and creatively relied on technology and new media to sustain and share their message, despite remarkable levels of censorship. They have been assisted by external online activists, notably the collective known as Anonymous. Allies of the regime have reportedly engaged equally enthusiastically, utilising phishing, censoring, and hacking against activists.

Wow

We grieve. Everyone. Thank god we still live in a country where there’s no argument over that.

This man is an american hero. I’m glad that American heroes are citizen-medics.

My thought is this:
As soon as we heard that Congresswoman Giffords was shot, many on the left immediately thought of right-wing violence. Memories of the attack on Tom Periello, the plane attack on the IRS, the Tiller murder, the attack on the holocaust museum lept straight to mind. Quickly, people swapped stories and pictures. Giffords’ Republican/Tea Party opponent shot AK-47’s with supporters to “remove Giffords from office”. There’s the now-infamous Sarah Palin target map.

People saw this coming. They remembered “don’t retreat, reload”. They remembered all that talk of 2nd amendment solutions. They remembered this.

This murder snapped people’s attention on a problem they’ve been worried about for years – rising rhetoric of violence and incitement to violence on the right. To quote Matthew Yglesias: “I think as of now we don’t know anything about the motives, if any, of the shooter but I hope people take something horrible like this as a reminder that we’ve seen a lot of overheated political rhetoric over the past couple of years.”

All that is lead-up to say this:

You gotta give people a way to climbdown with dignity. Yes, it’s frustrating that the media/the establishment is doing the false equivalence tango, pretending that “both sides” are to blame for an environment of calls to violence. You know that’s not true, I know that’s not true. But are you trying to be proven right, are you trying to score points against the right, or are you trying to get them to change their behavior? Basic human psychology shows us this: we need a collective agreement not to point fingers, so that the offenders don’t lash out and double down. It’s unsatisfying, but that’s how people work.

The wave of attention on Sarah Palin’s map causes her spokesman to stupidly double-down. Now she may be running on pure id, (and will never retreat, only reload, remember?) but that doesn’t mean that the basic human instinct to be defensive isn’t there in others. You make change by leaving people a dignified exit in the direction you want them to take. Otherwise they’ll just act cornered.

John Boehner, the 61-year old representative from Ohio, will be sworn in today at 12 pm as the 61st Speaker of the House, when the 112th Congress convenes today. He was unanimously elected for the position by the House Republicans on Novermber 17th, which happened to be his 61st birthday. (Watch the Opening Session of the 112th Congress live now, on facebook!)

Boehner has a long history in Congress. He has served as a representative for ten terms and as the Republican House Leader (aka Minority Leader) for two. He served as the Majority House Leader from January 2006-2007. He chaired the House Committee on Education and Workforce from 2001 until 2006.

He grew up in Ohio with his eleven brothers and sisters and his campaign page paints him as a family man. In Congress, most of his work has been targeted at reforming Congressional rules in order to cut down on excess spending, such as earmark expenditures.

Wikipedia provides fun facts about the history of the Speaker of the House title. If Boehner is officially elected by the House today, as is expected, he would: “be the first Speaker from Ohio since fellow Republicans Nicholas Longworth (1925 to 1931) and J. Warren Keifer (1881 to 1883); be the first Speaker who has served both as majority and minority floor leader for his party since Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn.”

For more information, visit his official government page at http://johnboehner.house.gov/

Watch the Opening Session of the 112th Congress live now, on facebook!