Blogging the 2011 National Conference for Media Reform

I'm in Boston, attending the 2011 National Conference for Media reform sponsored by Free Press. The events will occur at the Seaport World Trade Center. I hope to post at least several blog posts based on the conference events. At this point, I'll merely post an image of the conference banner:

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Afghanistan war calculator: How much did YOU pay?

This short video tells you about the Afghanistan war calculator, and then you go here to calculate the economic damage the longest war in American history is doing to you. I like the IOU offered by the site, along with the calculations. I wonder about the accuracy of these numbers because the United States is massively in debt--we are funding much of what we spend by borrowing. To the extent that we aren't actually paying for the war now, however, it makes matters much worse. It's such a strange thing for all of those "family values" politicians to be crushing the next couple of generations with debt.

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Roger Ebert’s contemplative mood

Roger Ebert is best known for his movie reviews, but he is a deeply thoughtful man, and this article captures him in one of these contemplative moods. The thought that we are far from alone in the universe drives this essay along. Ebert illustrates his article with lots of perfect images, including a chart of the known planets. Here's an excerpt from his writing:

[W]hat good does it do me to think of the universe as an unthinking mechanism vast beyond comprehension? It gives me the consolation of believing I conceive it as it really is. It makes me thankful that I can conceive it at all. I could have been a pair of ragged claws, scuttling across the floors of silent seas. In this connection I find the Theory of Evolution a great consolation. It helps me understand how life came about and how I came to be. It reveals a logical principle I believe applies everywhere in the universe and at all levels: Of all the things that exist, animate and inanimate, some will be more successful than others at continuing to exist. Of those, some will evolve into greater complexity. This isn't "progress," it is simply the way things work. On this dot of space and in this instant of time, the human mind is a great success story, and I am fortunate to possess one. No, even that's not true, because a goldfish isn't unfortunate to lack one. It's just that knowing what I know, I would rather be a human than a goldfish. Some reject the Theory of Evolution because it offers no consolation in the face of death. They might just as well blame it for explaining why minds can conceive of death. Living things must die. That I can plainly see. That we are aware of our inevitable death is the price we must pay for being aware at all. On the whole, I think we're getting a good deal. When I die, what happens? Nothing much. Every atom of my body will continue to exist. The sum of the universe will be the same. The universe will not know or care.
When I happen to read Roger Ebert's work these days, I'm reminded of the tough times he has been through, medically speaking. I also wonder how much of this contemplation is provoked by these tough times.

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