And the sign said

I've noticed quite a few signs around town lately. First, here's an emotionally-charged set of signs that might save lives. First I noticed a terribly wrecked car in the center of the campus of St. Louis University (I sometimes ride a bicycle through this area on the way to work): When you look closer, you'll see why this car was towed here: Two people were recently killed while driving this car. Once again, I am reminded that when I'm traveling in a car, it is likely the most dangerous thing I will ever be doing. There are other serious signs, of course. Here's one I spotted in a trending part of town. You see, this manly man believes that Jesus once visited the Americas. This poster is just down the street from the Roman Catholic Cathedral where, based on my experience being raised as a Catholic, most of the parishioners don't understand the most basic teachings of the church, and don't really care that they don't understand. Yet they disparage the Mormons and vice-versa. What other signs did I notice? How about this sign warning about the great danger presented by this parking lot gate? Click on this image, and you'll see that these gates are terribly dangerous, even though it doesn't seem so to me. It's especially hard to understand this warning when the bottom of the gate is padded with foam. In the photo above, you can see the entire apparatus. I now hesitant to go near it. But this gate is not a fluke. Here's another parking gate I noticed this week, this one located at the St. Louis County Circuit Court: [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingAnd the sign said

Quotes for a Sunday evening

I've really been stretched this weekend. One big distraction is upgrading the family's main computer from Windows XP to Windows 7. The new product is well-rated, but the upgrade can take many (as in more than 12) hours. I'm working on many ideas, but I haven't had a chance to write them up yet. Therefore, I will turn once again to the terrific quote collection of on of our readers, Mike Baker: "Do not save your loving speeches, For your friends till they are dead; Do not write them on their tombstones, Speak them rather now instead." Anna Cummins "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." ~ Mahatma Gandhi "He who is greedy is always in want." ~ Horace "The road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference." ~ British historian Ian Kershaw "The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear—fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants beyond everything else is safety." ~ H. L. Mencken, American journalist and humorist (1880-1956) "With numbing regularity good people were seen to knuckle under the demands of authority and perform actions that were callous and severe. Men who are in everyday life responsible and decent were seduced by the trappings of authority, by the control of their perceptions, and by the uncritical acceptance of the experimenter's definition of the situation, into performing harsh acts. A substantial proportion of people do what they are told to do, irrespective of the content of the act and without limitations of conscience, so long as they perceive that the command comes from a legitimate authority." ~ Stanley Milgram , 1965 "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge." ~Daniel Boorstin "All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." ~ Galileo Italian astronomer & physicist (1564 - 1642) "Long experience has taught me this about the status of mankind with regard to matters requiring thought: the less people know and understand about them, the more positively they attempt to argue concerning them, while on the other hand to know and understand a multitude of things renders men cautious in passing judgment upon anything new. ~ Galileo [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingQuotes for a Sunday evening

An alternative to capitalism working its way into every corner of society – the story of the commons

Media Education Foundation recently released a new documentary titled "This Land is Our Land." The video is critical of fair market fundamentalism, arguing that the idea of "the public commons" is fundamental to America's past successes. "We forget what the commons is and why it matters." Air, water, government research, community garden, public forests, public libraries, the G.I. Bill, material protected by only limited copyright and the public airwaves. Some states named themselves "commonwealths." The idea of the commons has been with us forever. Even Babylon had nature preserves. "This Land is Our Land," narrated by David Bollier, offers dozens of examples of the importance of the commons. The idea of public property is critically important: "We have a moral personal connection with it." Yet those who dare to honor this age-old idea of the commons now face blistering allegations that they are communists, or at least socialists.  Bollier runs a website titled "On the Commons."   At that site you can read a well written article titled, "Why the Commons Matters Right Now." What is hard to miss is that recognizing the importance of the commons is often not convenient to corporate interests. Especially amazing is the section of the documentary discussing the fact that, according to a law from the mid-1800s, companies have, with out any payment reaped great profits from public lands. What we have today is the "enclosure of the commons," the process by which the commons is clawed back from The People. A prime example is the fact that huge telecoms are currently working hard to gain control over the Internet, incrementally winning the battle over those who are fighting for net neutrality (And see this speech by Senator Al Franken). Perhaps the most salient part of the documentary is the opening story about Jonas Salk, who refused to apply for a patent on his polio vaccine. When Edward Murrow asked him, "Who owns this patent?", Salk replied, "No one. Could you patent the sun?." Those with possible interest in purchasing,"The Land is Our Land," can view a low-res version of the entire documentary here.

Continue ReadingAn alternative to capitalism working its way into every corner of society – the story of the commons

The Pundit’s Whine

I try to ignore Glenn Beck. I think he’s pathetic. All he can do is whine about things he quite often doesn’t understand. For instance, his latest peeve has to do with being bumped out of line by science fiction. Yeah, that’s right. Glenn Beck’s book Broke has been number 1 on Amazon for a while and it apparently got beat out finally by a science fiction anthology. His complaint that this is from “the left” is telling. First off he’s trying to make it sound like some profound philosophical issue, that a science fiction collection outsold his book on Amazon. (He also noted that the Keith Richards autobiography bumped him as well and please note the twist he gives that.) Why the Left? Is science fiction a left-wing thing? I know a lot of SF writers who style themselves right-wing, libertarian, conservative, etc. Some of them are very good, too, and I have read some of their work with pleasure. Unless they were writing from an overtly political stance, I found no reason to call them on their “rightishness” because they outsold another writer’s work that might have been a bit leftish. This is just a silly complaint and displays an obsession with partisan politics or just immaturity. This is, of course, Glenn Beck we’re talking about, who seems to find more reasons to evoke Nazi similes than any other pundit I know of and has occasionally shed tears over the abuse he sees our great country enduring from the left. But this is ridiculous. Because isn’t this…I mean, Glenn, isn’t this just the free market making itself heard? Your book can’t stay number one because that would belie the whole principle of competition you claim to believe in. Everybody who works hard and honestly should have their shot at being number one for a little while and this anthology is a poster-child for hard work and perseverance because, well, it’s self-published! It doesn’t even have a major (or minor) publishing house behind it! It got there all on its own, man! This is the flower of the free market! David whupping Goliath’s ass! This should make you proud! No, he berates it because it has to do with death or the culture of death, which he equates with left-wing politics somehow. And for good measure drags Keith Richards into the whole death equation. [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingThe Pundit’s Whine

Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne

When I'm finished with the difficult parts writing a long legal brief, when I'm the only one still at the office and all that remains is tidying things up and cite-checking, I am only then able to listen to music while working. At these my very late night sessions at the office, I often crave tight driving jazz/rock with excellent musicians. Steely Dan fits the bill, especially when I crank up my modest little office stereo. I'm referring to the music of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, of course. If you haven't heard the two "new" CD's of Steely Dan, ("Two Against Nature" and "Everything Must Go"), you're in for a treat. This tune, "Kid Charlemagne," is from one of the group's earlier works, but this is a terrific performance in a studio-like setting. And speaking of excellent musicians, check out the guitar playing:

Continue ReadingSteely Dan – Kid Charlemagne