Get ready for the internet to fill with reflections in connection with the 25th anniversary of murderous, tragic, and heroic events of September 11, 2001
Read the story here of how the security director at Morgan Stanley trained the 2000 plus Morgan Stanly employees on 22 floors of the World Trade Center South Tower to evacuate two by two singing, leaving space for first responders who might be going up. This effort paid off: all but 13 employees survived. Security Director Rick Rescola was one of the 13 who did not make it.
Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower by contrast lost hundreds of employees.
Read the story. Drills matter. Situational awareness matters.
Then bear with peculiar RantWoman reflections on the other side.
Flash back to 1993, the first bombing at the World Trade Center. The bombing was a car bomb in a parking garage under one of the towers.
The bombing was sufficient to do serious damage but nowhere near enough to, say collapse a skyscraper.
Enter RantWoman's fairly recent graduate school career. People who knew RantWoman as an undergrad might never have predicted that RantWoman would take courses in International Business and read the Wall Street Journal on the bus on the way to work--on Wall Street, but in Seattle.
Right. The BUS. And a job at an organization that had the word COOPERATIVE in its name. Still it was kind of IT job one could get at the time without a computer science degree if one's humanities degree comes with the skills to analyze report writing requests and collaborate on projects. (Jobs like this are definitely still to be had even though #AI changes everything.)
RantWoman specifically remembers riding the bus to work at some point after the 1993 bombing and reading a long back page of the front section story about how if one wanted to take down the towers flying an airliner full of jet fuel into the towers would be one way to do it.
Did Osama Bin laden read the Wall Street Journal? Did Osama Bin Laden just cook up the idea separately based on his education as a structural engineer?
RantWoman remembers mentally filing the story under "would someone actually try it?: along with reasons not to want to work in the World Trade Center.
RantWoman probably has more to say, but start there.
RantWoman has truckers in her orbit. Not sit around and regularly drink tea but definitely real people that makes this post mean something for RantWoman
RantWoman appreciates both Lawrence O'Donnell's wisdom and the narrative he sometimes shares about different phases of his career.
RantWoman enjoys imagining Mr. O'Donnell as a young Senate staffer and thinking about all he has seen and spoken about.
Enjoy the video and catch a RantWoman aside on the other side.
As an aside
RantWoman for eccentric reasons is observing the #SCsen #GOP runoff between Darline Graham (Nordone) and Roger Norman. RantWoman Has Opinions. For now suffice it to say, to RantWoman after watching a whole lot of candidates endorsed by President #StableGenius lose in their primaries, after watching the President sink and sink and sink in the polls, it must be hard to stay someone's friend and still try to chart a course that is good for the country and for one's state.
Even if a Democratic candidate looks good, RantWoman also HATES a sense of being extorted: "Vote for the Democrats or else." RantWoman is still angling for a sense of a Congress willing to work on serious problems, not just get mad and go out of town whenever things get too hard. Plus, RantWoman does not care whether it sounds sexist to say that it would just be cool for once to have strong women candidates from both parties.
OK, RantWoman has a vivid imagination, and does not vote in SC and ...
RantWoman is not sure the opinion of a legally blind person from the other Washington is going to carry much weight in South Carolina but here goes:
Darline Graham has been the head of the state agency for the blind for a long time. She probably knows her way around SC politics really well and MAYBE around some dimensions of national policy better than people expect just from the fact of her being Lindsay's sister. Can she work across the aisle? We wouldn't know just from the SC = red state logic, but blindness is a non-partisan challenge. Progress comes from people who can work together and draw out the best in each other. (Don't tell the President in case any of this sounds too "woke.")
People who don't talk about Darline's professional life are being both sexist and disrespectful of the people her agency serves. But maybe talking too much about this will just make the President sour on her.
As someone whose first reflex is always to want more women in the Senate, Darline also comes across as a lot less crazy than Nancy Mace. RantWoman doesn't vote in SC but would still also want to see a good Democrat make a run for it too.
This post is about a PROPOSED amendment sitting in a house committee.
Aside from shielding Uber retroactively from lawsuits with NO demand for improvements in risk management, the amendment also tries to assert federal supremacy over stricter state regulations.
Over 100 DEMOCRATIC female lawmakers have demanded this amendment be removed.
Stunningly silent. #GOP women although it would be just fine if a lot of men of both parties decide this proposal is ridiculous.
This unabashed fundraiser post is halfway in memory of RantMom. RantMom ran licensed home day cares both in CO and for a shorter time in MT. RantWoman is just posting the fundraiser link rather than try anything fancy with visuals because RantWoman does not want technical imperfections to get in the way of the story.
The San Luis valley is east of where RantMom grew up and east of where the Rant Family lived, there are a couple family road trips to Alamosa to hang out with a music professor colleague of RantDad's. There used to be a zoo that had at least one resident camel. RantWoman remembers visiting during snowy weather and thinking about all the harsh climates where camels work.
There. Just check out the fundraiser and do it before May 1 if possible.
RantWoman has decided several times not to go to law school, but RantWoman has, in the comment rant below the video, RantWoman would like to propose a project for a fresh aspiring lawyer.
Time to test the #SCOTUS concept of "official acts?"
What is the emergency???
Has the local #StableGenius violated so many laws, architectural and construction standards, procedures, constrains on bribery... that SOMEONE can make a case that immunity does not apply?
I assume there is no chance the current DoJ would do it, but who might have standing to sue????
If President #StableGenius did not like the White House, why did he run for re-election??? Surely he can afford to live somewhere else and build his own dang ballroom.
Besides, what's one more civil judgment for the #StableGenius to ignore??? When he finally slouches off this mortal coil, probate for his estate could be SO much fun....
In case RantWoman has not been sufficiently clear, RantWoman is a GIANT AI skeptic. RantWoman blesses the video below for addressing Elon Musk and Grok in particular. The video is a literary delight, a rant fully worthy of RantWoman's endorsement.
RantWoman has also remained on X, or as RantWoman is prone to say when not reverting to Twitter, Elon's sandbox. Recently someone has been dumping AI related curricula from several major universities. Also, a whole slew of articles has appeared about fatal flaws in various AI models.
Theoretically, if RantWoman wanted to sound fully informed and use the jargon of the moment, she could read up. RantWoman is, though, going to take the chance that meaning can be generated with or without the most current jargon.
Basically, Elon's promise to rewrite the whole corpus of human knowledge sounds to RantWoman like hubris. RantWoman already once blurted out, in one of her X accounts, that Elon needs to STOP PEEING ON HIS BRAND. Perhaps if Elon would take the following commentary to heart and let the community of users do our thing, knowledge would get transformed without him needing to fall on his face tripping over his hubris.
With that as intro, please enjoy the following commentary.
RantWoman means to research and fact check a couple points but enough of the story rings true to RantWoman based on educational background and experience that this is a powerful story.
The bias / discrimination angle also rings true.
"I SPEAK 9 LANGUAGES" — Said the Young Black Woman... The Judge Laughed,...
The way the story is told definitely lacks that US English dialect usually called legalese. I assume what actually happened in court as reflected in a transcript would be closer to standard courtroom argot with presentation of credentials by all the professionals serving as witnesses Since specific companies are mentioned, it should be easy to fact check. It would also be interesting to see how the court record reflects the demonstrations of different languages, says someone who has done some legal interpreting.
The story mentions specific companies and legal cases that can probably be easily researched. It also uses language I as someone familiar with dialect issues in different widely spoken languages recognize in professional terms. The way this story is told does not reflect legalese probably used in court proceedings so anyone who doubts the general thrust is free to research further.
RantWoman is playing crash test dummy checking out the process to apply for taxi scrip as administered by Metro. RantWoman recently learned that, although her income has been looking tup, she probably qualifies for Taxi scrip for those transportation moments when the bus won't do and travel is needed within King County.
Understand, RantWoman REALLY likes the bus for being easy to get on and off, for leg room, and for some level of adventure if, for instance, RantWoman is venturing to a part of the county she does not know well, and of course for modest physical exercise. RantWoman does like the idea of taxi scrip not expiring so RantWoman can have some on hand if needed and not have to worry about it expiring.
1. a search string for the Google or copilot, RantWoman does not remember which
King County Metro taxi scrip
RantWoman has in mind a nice path to an application even though RantWoman did not specify that in her search string. Instead RantWoman got a whole paragraph full of information she already knows. RantWoman lives in King County. RantWoman is definitely over 18. RantWoman qualifies according to the household income table she found a couple steps down.
2. Because of a recent software update on the computer RantWoman is using, some stupid message asking me which ads RantWoman finds most annoying--besides the stupid question when RantWoman is on a mission.
3. Redo the search adding "application form" to the search string
Noodle around with a bunch of "people also asked" suggestions and god knows what, especially since RantWoman tends to try bad eyes first and then remember to tab around and / or do a links list.
4. Behold: a bare minimum form to apply. Form requests RantWoman's name and contact info. Form does not ask whether RantWoman already has a Regional Reduced fare permit though RantWoman does. The form just asks for contact info and promises a response.
5. RantWoman notices a list of cab companies that will accept taxi scrip. RantWoman will come back to the list depending on a couple aspects of experience. RantWoman does not expect to use taxi scrip very often. RantWoman also notes that taxi scrip comes as paper that works like money except that cab drivers have to submit the paper for payment. RantWoman has heard that cab drivers are sometimes reluctant to deal with taxi scrip because of the processing time.
Here RantWoman is going to acknowledge that paying cash for paper probably is really important for some riders. HOWEVER, RantWoman also fantasizes about either an app, maybe like the app that allows RantWoman to pay for laundry or a refillable debit card, perhaps like RantWoman's ORCA card. The card would need to work for drivers who accept credit / Debit cards and Rant Woman would like to know her taxi scrip balance. Okay, it;s a fantasy...
Elapsed time to step through the hoops and write a blog post, plus or minus a couple distractions 45 minutes but the task would get easier if done regularly.
The Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) on behalf of its member, fully supports the following statement from the Washington State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind:
The Washington State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind (SRCB) is an advisory group of volunteers, appointed by the Governor, who provide counsel and guidance to Department of the Services for the Blind (DSB). The committee reviews, evaluates, and recommends plans, policies, and activities to ensure that blind or visually disabled people in our state receive the most effective and efficient rehabilitation services possible.
We are sending you this letter regarding our concerns about the effect of the current Vocational Rehab (VR) funding cuts and how those cuts will affect Washington state residents who are served and supported by the DSB.
While the proposal includes $4.5 billion in mandatory funding for the Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants Program, the proposal also includes a Change in Mandatory Program (CHIMP) to reduce the post-sequester funding to $3.7 billion, aligning it with the FY 2024 enacted level. This would result in a significant cut to vocational rehabilitation grant programs.
Washington state will not have adequate state resources to make up for any lost federal funds. Our analysis of the impacts of this funding reduction is that we will have to place some or all applicants for vocational rehabilitation services on a waitlist to avoid overspending the budget.
In addition, the Department of Education budget proposal provides no funding for the following programs in FY 2026, and indicates that these services can be funded out of the already reduced Vocational Rehabilitation grant:
• Client Assistance State Grants
• Supported Employment State Grants
• Training Program
• Demonstration and Training Programs
• Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights Program
Because of the proposed budget cuts, the DSB will need to implement a waitlist. This is a devastating decrease in support and services especially since applications to DSB for services have increased by 20% in the past year.
Having to wait for Vocational Rehab services can truly be detrimental to those who are ready for training. The programs listed above as being affected by funding cuts are truly essential to someone who needs a complete rehabilitation experience.
The bottom line is that these programs need to be fully funded. Blind and low-vision residents of Washington state deserve these services to continue to be independent, fully functioning employed citizens.
Respectfully,
Andy Arvidson SRCB Chair and Washington Council of the Blind President
Above is the gentle version. Please allow RantWoman to weigh in.
1. Need for Rehabilitation services is BIPARTISAN.and the big supposedly wonderful bill passed very narrowly but Congress still has to finalize the FY 2026 budget. So Congressional representatives need to hear from the public NOW. It might or might not make a difference, but speaking up still matters. Speaking up any way one can matters especially for representatives who are avoiding town meetings and creating lots of burdens in order to contact them electronically.
2. Full disclosure: RantWoman definitely benefited from vocational rehabilitation services decades ago when midlife DNA lotto hit. RantWoman can tell from others accounts of their rehabilitation experience, that vocational rehabilitation services make enormouse contributions to blind people's ability to thrive in the US economy and to help others thrive.
Note to self: RantWoman, do you REALLY need to be having social media spats with loudmouth media figures?
Tough job, but someone needs to do it.
But RantWoman, does that someone HAVE to be you?
Seattle Times covers up illegal status of man who killed state trooper
Clearly, another Brandi tirade is what I need this evening.
1. Heartfelt condolences to the trooper's loved ones. Just because people are not splattering speculation all over social media or getting in the face of a trooper's grieving loved ones is not an indication that people do not recognize the risks police officers face daily and send prayers every time the story comes up in the news.
2. The fact that a person came to WA through no fault of his own and has RESIDED in WA since infancy means he is as much a Washington man as anyone in this story. Nowhere in the story does the Times imply that he is a CITIZEN. He is a RESIDENT. That term covers LOTS of people in WA with lots of different immigration status.
3. Perhaps Brandi has never heard of all the issues with disproportionate policing of black and brown people or of the value of NOT releasing details that will inflame the public. LOTS of people can read between the lines and let the case develop.
4. Regardless of a defendant's immigration status, he is entitled to presumption of innocence and a zelous defense. That is a hard reality for everyone in law enforcement but since the country is enduring, the presidency of a lifelong fraudster sex predator felon who pardons people who threatened the life of his own vice president and killed police officers, I do not consider it inappropriate to expect that all criminal defendants REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS also enjoy due process.
5. Considering the current realities for everyone living undocumented, I do not think it is terrible for a zealous defense attorney to suggest that circumstance may have driven him to drink or to emphasize his efforts to be a father and to improve himself while in jail.
6. Perhaps, Brandi needs to read up a little about how other countries handle many of the issues in this story. And please do not get me started about dehumanizing language like "illegal aliens" or "anchor babies."
Again, my heart goes out to the trooper's loved ones and colleagues.
1. MAYBE if you are thoughtful, protestors detained in the recent protests at the UW Interdisciplinary Engineering Building MAY be able to negotiate some way to stay off campus and still finish classes. RantWoman has no opinion beyond that, or rather RantWoman has opinions that probably everyone is going to find problematic. More on that shortly.
2. Some or all of you are likely to face criminal charges. RantWman is not a lawyer and is not going to comment about that beyond the observation that there are plenty of voices demanding criminal consequences.
3. It is never a bad day to condemn the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There have been abundant opportunities to do that for decades, since long before October7. Again, more on RantWoman's thinking, the role of the academy, job hunting, conscience and more separately..
Now back up a few steps.
Y'all have again aroused eruptions from Protest Curmudgeon. Protest Curmudgeon, aka RantWoman is old enough to be your mother and probably in some cases your grandmother. RantWoman is not up on every detail of student movements at protests at the University of WA, but back in the mists of last century, RantWoman graduated from college on disciplinary probation because of a protest about South Africa. RantWoman is probably taking some risks by putting together all of the comments below; RantWoman hopes the risks are worthwhile.
Say it loud. Say it again.Any day would be an excellent day to keep speaking out loudly and clearly about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A really clear ask, needed for decades. A clear ask of whoever might make a difference is It's not just that 2 million people starving to death under Israeli watch seems to RantWoman VERY unlikely to lessen the level of anti-semitism in the world. RantWoman also does not understand how chasing campus anti-semitism is supposed to help when the ones braying most loudly are also sitting down to dinner with holocaust deniers and avowed white separatists. RantWoman can though agree that lots of people on many sides of Middle East conflicts are making piles of money in the arms business.
Next, we take massive property damage at a building called the "Interdisciplinary Engineering Building." As someone who spends a lot of time reminding engineers why humanities classes are good for everyone and redefining the scope of projects, the very idea of an Interdisciplinary Engineering Building sounds awesom to RantWoman. In fact, RantWoman has contributed as a community member to a number of different computer-science and transportation related projects at the UW I school. So RantWoman, is definitely not charmbed by the scale of property damage seriously.and definitely does not think the current presidential administration is likely to offer anything good for what RantWoman considers extremely valuable and constructive projects.
RantWoman can imagine--but has NO INTENTION of penning--a manifesto about "Look at this mess! Does it remind you of any place, like say GAZA? Do you want to live in Gaza? Do you want to turn the whole campus into Gaza? How about we find a way to talk and do better?"
RantWoman is NOT volunteering to write any manifesto, butwhat to do? In the current humanitarian crisis, people are likely to starve to death in Gaza long before either Boeing or the U of WA respond to absolutist demands. But people can and should demand an end to the two-month total humanitarian blockade of Gaza. So, say it loud. Say it whenever and whereever you can, End the Total humanitarian blockade of Gaza.
Next, we have numbers. To some extent, RantWoman empathizes with people who just want to study and get a good job." But in the case of the college sit-in RantWoman knows best two things matter. The sit-in happened against a background of more than half the entire campus, undergrads and graduate students signing a petition calling on the university to divest from companies doing business in South Africa. The sit-in RantWoman's senior year was one of several from previous years.
The sit-in RantWoman's senior year was not exactly because of something new about South Africa. The sit-in happened because, after the umpteenth divestment resolution was turned down in the Board of Trustees, the President of the University said something in the campus paper about closing discussion. The campaign asked the President to find a way to restate whatever he meant to say. He said he was misquoted and would not correct that quote out of fear that in the future people go after him about anything that he said that got printed in the campus paper..
Before RantWoman's college sit-in one person involved in the campus campaign called RantWoman to say he supported the demonstration but did not feel able to participate out of concern not to endanger his commissioning due from his ROTC scholarship. That person has probably long retired. If he hadn't, he is the "wrong" color and at risk of being insultingly labelled "#DEIHire,"by a graduate of the same institution now working beyond his depth in the current administration.
The actual demonstration took place during finals week, at the best-known administration building, an edifice that briefly served as the nation's capital. The plan was just to blockade all the doors and not let anyone in until the university divested of its holdings in companies that do business in South Africa.. RantWoman imagines there may have been some chalk art but no other property damage. Also, little impediment to people needing to get around most of the campus.
The university did not of course immediately divest. Instead, 89 students, 49 seniors, out of a total campus of 4800 plus or minus were detained by campus police, delivered to the local police station, processed and sent home facing two charges. RantWoman had a final the afternoon of the sit-in and considers herself VERY fortunate to have gotten processed in time to go home, have lunch and then go to her final.
The sit-in got a lot of publicity including interest from lawyers who offered both legal help and suggestions. One lawyer suggested just having everyone plead guilty. RantWoman was part of the not guilty caucus who thought it was dishonest to plead guilty if one does not feel guilty. That stance let to a group conversation with a local firm. By that time, the protestors had already asked the university to drop charges against anyone who might have visa problems. The firm suggested that protestors could ask that for everyone. That team also noted that no one had any intention of suing the university, that the protest was about South Africa.
Happy ending sort of.
All criminal charges were dropped in fairly short order. At the next Board of Trustees meeting, there was an announcement of a divestment of a small holding which may just not have been doing well.
RantWoman's bottom lines:
The humanitarian crisis in #Gaza is NOW. Address that. End the humanitarian blockade. Peace in the Middle East is going to take longer, so buckle up.
Universities are vital spaces where people can come together and learn. That role must remain even when conversations get difficult.
Actions have consequences. Deal with them. Don't expect consequences to go away just because of more earnest pleas.
"It's not a handout. It's an investment" referring to the Jeanette Rankin foundation scholarships for women over 35 getting their first associates or college degree.
Full Disclosure: anything that says Jeanette Rankin is guaranteed to get RantWoman's attention--eve if a mailer from the Jeannette Rankin Foundation had inspiring pictures and narrative but NO WAY to connect electronically.
RantWoman read lots of inspiring text. RantWoman did not watch every cool sounding video. At a certain point, Ranchwomen was more than ready to Click the "Give Now!" button.
One Problem: the Give Now button did not work. RantWoman imagines there is some problem related to her screen reader. Maybe RantWoman will come back and troubleshoot. Maybe RantWoman will reach out by email. In the meantime, RantWoman enthusiastically recommends that anyone not vexed by screen reader issues support the Jeanette Rankin Foundation's unrestricted grants for women in need.!
Interests: Digital Inclusion, Languages and language access, walkability, accessibility, disaster preparedness.
When in doubt, laugh about something!
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com
PLEASE NOTE: I use both screen reading and screen enlargement. I would love to say Blogger is screen-reader friendly, but I am in no position to comment!
