Wednesday

DEANNA TAYLOR in SLC — painting the town Green


Dee's 'Dotes



Education is our future.
_______________
It is incumbent upon the adults of the world to ensure that our children are knowledgeable, skilled, able to apply skills, and above all are engaged citizens in our society.



Deanna L. Taylor is a Co-Coordinator and Alternate Delegate
of the Desert Greens Green Party of Utah.

She ran for Salt Lake County Council in the 2006 elections. Taylor participates with People for Peace and Justice of Utah and is very active on peace and social justice issues.

She is also active in anti-nuclear testing and waste issues and projects. She and her husband Tom King are cofounders of Blue Sky Institute, a progressive educational non-profit organization. They are currently developing plans for a Utah Peace House to serve as a hub for peace activism in Utah.

Taylor grew up in Frederick County, Maryland.

_______________

She began her political activity with the Maryland House of Delegates campaign of her dad when she was in college. She served as his treasurer during the three campaigns he ran for that office.

_______________

When Taylor moved to Utah in the late 1990s, she took advantage of the opportunity to join the Green Party since the values of the party aligned with her own.

Taylor lives in West Jordan with her husband. She holds a bachelor's degree in Music Education and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction and is licensed in music and special education.

_______________

She currently is employed as the Director of Special Education Services, Coordinator of Academic Service Learning, and Music Specialist at a Utah Public Charter School.







_______________

Salt Lake City proper is actually a
lot more progressive than people think.


_______________






“PPJ” began as a reaction to the aggressive attack on Afghanistan by the United States after the tragic attack of September 11, 2001 on the world Trade Center in New York City.

_______________
PPJ has been holding weekly Peace Vigils in downtown Salt Lake City since that time and has organized some of the largest peace rallies and marches in Utah’s history.




Deanna Taylor (Utah) and Greg Gerritt,
at Green Party National Meeting, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2005








THE New American
Dream Interview



DEANNA TAYLOR, 49, lives in West Jordan, Utah and is originally from Maryland.

Deanna and her husband, Tom King, are cofounders of Blue Sky Institute, a progressive educational non-profit organization.

Deanna is a co-coordinator of the Green Party of Utah and participates with People for Peace and Justice.

She is also the Coordinator of Educational Support Services Department at City Academy, a public charter school in Salt Lake City.


More about Deanna Taylor:
http://deesings.livejournal.com
http://www.utahlegislaturewatch.org
http://www.blueskyinstitute.org
http://www.gput.org
http://greenpartypeacenetwork.wordpress.com


_______________

The New American Dream Trivia Question:

To win a copy of one of Palecek's books, or leftover Christmas candy, or maybe a "Deception Dollar," be the first one to correctly answer the following.

Deanna Taylor would rather be ....

a. The hundredth Osmond
b. Visiting George W. Bush on Saturday mornings at Utah State Prison
c. Throwing back a green mocha-docha latte at "A Cup of Joe" on West 200 South, waiting patiently for the poetry slam
d. Jogging with Rocky Anderson at daybreak, with that "Rocky" music playing
e. Translating the Salt Lake City street names into English
f. Green Party United States Dictator For a Day




Answer:
"The answer would be f of course!"

_______________



NAD: Deanna, hello, thank you for taking the time for this.

Give us three reasons, four, why Salt Lake City is not at all like we all imagine it to be.


DEANNA TAYLOR:

Salt Lake City proper is actually a lot more progressive than people think.

More liberal minded people live in SLC than in the surrounding towns in the metropolitan area.

The town in which I live, West Jordan, is considered very "red", for example.

Obama won the election in Salt Lake City — a city which is in the reddest state in the U.S.!





NAD: Have you ever seen the Osmonds staggering out, drunk as Catholics, from the Sky Box Sports Club at the Gateway Mall?



DEANNA TAYLOR:

Uh, no. I try not to go near the Gateway! Blech!




NAD: Why is bigamy not as much fun, or as funny as the rest of us might think?

In four lines or less. Six.


DEANNA TAYLOR:

Who wants to keep track of all that drama? Not to mention the line for the bathroom?





NAD: Can you tell us about The Blue Sky Institute?


DEANNA TAYLOR:

Blue Sky Institute (BSI) is a grassroots organization based in Utah.

BSI is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing outreach and education on the issues of Peace and Justice; Environment; Sustainability and Responsibility.

Above all, the founders of BSI are committed to the preservation of life on planet earth through not only its programs, but also through ways that provide examples and leadership in the path towards educating all to respect the planet’s resources.





NAD: How about People for Peace & Justice?



DEANNA TAYLOR:

“PPJ” began as a reaction to the aggressive attack on Afghanistan by the United States after the tragic attack of September 11, 2001 on the world Trade Center in New York City.

PPJ has been holding weekly Peace Vigils in downtown Salt Lake City since that time and has organized some of the largest peace rallies and marches in Utah’s history.

PPJ has been publishing its weekly peace calendar since its beginning.
It is sent via email to hundreds of readers each week. Without Justice, there can be no peace!




NAD: How about City Academy?


DEANNA TAYLOR:

City Academy is a public charter school open since 2000 and currently serving about 180 7th-12th grade students in downtown Salt Lake City. We began with 60 students in 7th and 8th grades and then have added a grade level and students each year.

Our school was founded by educators from the University of Utah's College of Education using research-based best practices for effective and equitable secondary education.

We are an accredited high school chartered by the Utah State Office of Education with highly qualified teachers in every classroom.




NAD: You must be big on education. Why?


Where did you go to school? Are you from SLC? Utah?



DEANNA TAYLOR:

Education is our future.

It is incumbent upon the adults of the world to ensure that our children are knowledgeable, skilled, able to apply skills, and above all are engaged citizens in our society.


I am from Maryland. I graduated from Middletown High School, Middletown Maryland (Frederick County) in 1977.

I obtained a B.A. from Western Maryland College (WMC) (now called McDaniel College) where I majored in piano, voice and music education, graduating in 1981.

I obtained a M.S. in curriculum and Instruction from WMC in 1991. I taught in Frederick County, Maryland public schools for 15 years, middle and high school music.

I then taught music in University Place schools in Washington state for six months before moving to Utah in 2007.

I obtained my special education license in mild-moderate disabilities

from Utah State University in 1999.

After teaching special ed and music alternately for a few years, I am now in my third year in my current position at my school where I oversee all the special ed and educational support services.




NAD: Would you like to choose one of these to answer, elaborate on?

We don't ask this to make fun. We ask because we really seek the answers.

Are UFOs real?
Did we land on the moon in 1968?
Did Bush knock down the towers?
Was Paul Wellstone's death an accident?
The Oklahoma City bombing? Wasn't that just another U.S. government terrorist exercise? Or not.
Waco. We burned kids, right? You can see flames shooting out of the tanks. Or not.
Is Bigfoot real?
Is there a God?

... What makes you think that?


DEANNA TAYLOR:

Well since I am an agnostic, I don't really know the answers to any of these questions.

I can speculate, based on information I have absorbed over the years, but there is really no definite answer to any of these in my mind.

I would likely be unsurprised, though, by any proof of answers to any of them ...





NAD: What is happening on the peace and justice front in Salt Lake City, right now, as we speak [type]?


DEANNA TAYLOR:

There is a lot of activity regarding the recent escalation of violence in Gaza.

There have been several protests and rallies.

Also, there is a lot of activity, now that the Utah legislature is in session, regarding equality for domestic partnerships and there have been well attended rallies and marches.

I am also anticipating action on the recent move by Senator Bennett to spend millions on two nuclear reactors in Utah - YIKES!!





NAD: Do you have hope in Obama?

Why?

Why not?


DEANNA TAYLOR:

I'm pretty cynical, so I'd say not really.

Look at his cabinet.

Although I do have more "hope" in him as a resident of the White House to the effect of making change for the good of people than Bush.

But we'll see.





NAD: Does your favorite coffee cup have words on it? What are they?


DEANNA TAYLOR:

It has a picture of former Resident Bush on it that says "You're fired!"




NAD: What did you absolutely have to get done by noon today?

DEANNA TAYLOR:

A blog post on my newest blog, Utah Legislature Watch.




NAD: How about by Christmas 2009?

DEANNA TAYLOR:

Hmmm...although it absolutely doesn't "have" to be done, my new house built on my property.

Plans are going to slow so that's what I'd like to see done by then.





NAD: What else would you like to add? What else should I have asked?

DEANNA TAYLOR:

Tom and I have a dream of having the Utah Peace House on our property. We've seen several peace houses around the country and are inspired.

The link below describes our vision.



If you would like — please insert a link here to something you would like linked to, with a brief tag re: where that link goes:
http://www.utahpeacehouse.org - The Utah Peace House Project


Thank you.

THANK YOU!


--
801-631-2998
www.blueskyinstitute.org
Learn about the Utah Peace House Project!
www.utahpeacehouse.org

"Imagine all the people living life in peace"
~ John Lennon


____________

About

THE New American Dream Feature Interviews

If you search the archives below, you will find, in a sort of order [last to first], interviews with:

Rossie Indira-Vltchek, writer, filmmaker in Jarkarta, Indonesia

Nora Barrows-Friedman, Pacifica reporter in Gaza

Delaney Bruce, Friends of Peltier

Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs

Michael Sprong, South Dakota Catholic Worker


Brian Terrell, Des Moines Catholic Worker

Bob Graf
, One of the Milwaukee 14

Loren Coleman, Bigfoot researcher

Monty Borror, Sci-Fi artist from Virginia

David Ray, Great American Poet

Jack Blood, radio show host, in Austin, Texas

Danny Schechter, A Real Reporter

Bob Kincaid, host, Head-On Radio Show

Tony Packes, Animal Farm Radio Host, Keeping An Eye on Big Brother

Richard Flamer, Working With the Poor in Chiapas

David Ray Griffin, 9/11 Truth activist author

Barry Crimmins, U.S. comedian, author, social activist

Bret Hayworth, political reporter for the Sioux City [IA] Journal

Lisa Casey, publisher of website All Hat No Cattle

Joe & Elaine Mayer, activist couple in Rochester, Minnesota

Fr. Darrell Rupiper, U.S. priest revolutionary

Whitney Trettien, MIT student, Green Party activist

Meria Heller, radio show host

Phil Hey, professor, poet

John Crawford, book publisher

Steve Moon, Iowa Bigfoot researcher

Carol Brouillet, California social activist, 9/11 Truth

Russell Brutsche, Santa Cruz artist

Kevin Barrett, professor, radio show host, 9/11 Truth activist

A'Jamal Rashad Byndon, social activist in Omaha

Chris Rooney, Vancouver, Canada Catholic Worker, website publisher

Marc Estrin, political novelist, from the left

Peter Dale Scott, poet, professor, author, activist

Anthony Rayson, anarchist zine publisher, works with prisoners

Alice Cherbonnier, editor of The Baltimore Chronicle, an independent newspaper



"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
~ Mahatma Gandhi(1869 - 1948)

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