Barley Literate

Monday, November 17, 2014

Just say “No”

Pick a cheaper college....that's the ticket!

A new report says that 70% of college graduates leave the campus with a bachelor’s degree and a big bill to pay.

These students have an average of $28,400 in student debt.

And these are students from public and private non-profit colleges. The for-profit colleges refuse to report the debt burdens of their students, so it’s a good bet the real number for the whole nation is higher.

Monthly student debt repayments are a big problem for new graduates, many of whom are facing serious obstacles to getting a job.

Has anyone thought of this "solution"?

Next year, every student who wants to go to college should choose a college that he/she can attend without borrowing any money....of course, Mom and Dad should help out as usual.

I'll confess my bias: for most students it really doesn't matter much which college they attend.

Is that state college degree twice as good?

Lafayette....a great man?

It's not enough to kvetch....

The 3 Rs....a little history

That textbook racket

Grade inflation....still crazy after all these years

Forget the "sticker price" for college

Sunday, November 16, 2014

“Spell backwards, forwards.”

Take a look at this dreadful beauty—it’s a voter “literacy test” from Louisiana in 1964.

This is what faced black and white prospective voters in the Pelican State who couldn’t prove they had at least a 5^th grade education.

Except, of course, some election officials (all white) sometimes forgot to administer the test to some white folks who wanted to vote….

This kind of absurd discrimination was outlawed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act. For the moment, let’s not even bring up today’s version, namely, photo IDs….

Folks who wanted to vote had 10 minutes to complete this so-called “literacy test,” and one wrong answer meant failure.

I wonder how many Louisiana election officials could read this document in 1964, or explain each item in clear English….

You’re literate. Give this a try.

Set the timer for 10 minutes.

The new "poll tax"....

You oughta vote

"...the tumult of the crowd..."

I love my congressman, I love him not....

Moderate voters?....not really

Lafayette....a great man?

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Waiting

Waiting is surely

a time for quiet, a time

to rest, for thinking.

Lafayette....a great man?

....peccavi....

Finches everywhere

A shell at Bethany Beach....

....ever a child

Mates for life

Thursday, November 13, 2014

The new “poll tax”….

The new wave of Republican restrictions on voter registration and actual voting may seem like an academic issue to many folks, but for the poor, it’s real and it’s a knockout.

WashingtonPost.com reports that even something as seemingly mundane as getting a photo ID can be painfully expensive for folks at the lower end of the socio-economic scale who are least likely to have one already.

A Harvard Law School study estimates the cost of obtaining an ID ranges from $75 to $175, when you add up all fees, travel/parking costs, lost pay from taking time off from the job….

If you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, or living with no paycheck at all, that kind of expense can make it effectively impossible to get the ID needed to vote.

By the way, the infamous Jim Crow poll tax that was finally invalidated by the Supreme Court in 1966 was only $1.50 (about $11 in current dollars).

Not "voter" apathy....

Lafayette....a great man?

Tuesday voters: older, whiter

Will Republicans work at governing?

No one's home

You oughta vote

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

“Voter apathy” isn’t quite right….

I’m reading about “voter apathy” in the after-action analysis of last Tuesday’s midterm elections, a Republican win for sure.

I don’t think that’s the right word for it.

It’s more like “citizen apathy,” because voting is one thing a lot of people didn't do last week.

In fact, the turnout nationwide was the lowest since 1942.

The current estimate is that barely more than 36% of folks eligible to vote actually did so....that's slightly more than half the number of folks who voted in the 2012 presidential election.

In Indiana, only about 28% of those who could have voted actually went to the polls.

When the norm is to skip voting, by what tortured definition can we claim that we live in a democratic republic?

I fear that millions and tens of millions of Americans are going to be hurt by what the new Congress will do and refuse to do in the next two years. I suspect that most of them couldn’t be bothered to vote last week.

It’s a dreadful mystery to me.

Tuesday voters: older, whiter

Will Republicans work at governing?

No one's home

You oughta vote

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Thank you for your service to our country

You know a veteran. Join me in saying “Thank you” today.

U.S. Marines, Belleau Wood, WWI

Iwo Jima, WWII

US Marines, Danang, Vietnam

US Air Force pilot

US troops in Iraq

Cpl. Frank Buckles, R.I.P.

Long may it wave!

Our flag!

"We, the people..."....ummm

Monday, November 10, 2014

The wisdom of Harry S. Truman (part 2)

Well, sure, this is a bit dated, and, sure, it’s partisan as all heck, and, gosh, it’s not true that every Republican is like this….

“Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home—but not for housing. They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor the minimum wage—the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all—but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine—for people who can afford them. They consider electrical power a great blessing—but only when the private power companies get their rake-off. They think the American standard of living is a fine thing—so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it.”

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)

33^rd President of the United States, straight talker

"...a nice creamy chocolate cake..."

Oscar Wilde said it (part 4)

"...any damn fool thing..."

Where's Karachi?

Rice and trees are good, but....

The wisdom of Ben Hecht

The wisdom of Dad

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Tuesday voters: older, whiter….

Shame on the folks who didn't vote on Tuesday

I realize I may be yelling at some of my friends and acquaintances.

There are plenty of excuses for not voting, but there aren’t any good excuses except for the ones that start “on my way out to vote I fell down the stairs and broke both legs….”

Here’s a preliminary report from NBC, this has to be a guess based on exit polling, so we’ll look for more accurate figures later….

….but the accurate numbers are likely to be in this ballpark.

I’m trying to understand it, but mostly I don’t get it.

It’s dreadful that so many folks repeatedly decline to vote, when the election outcomes for so many folks are so clearly a threat to their personal self-interests.

You oughta vote

"We, the people..."....ummm

Tuesday's voters: older, whiter....

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Will the Republicans work at governing?

I voted for President Obama the last two times around, so I’m not seeing much good news in the election results this morning.

I’m afraid that the next two years could be a very bad time for Americans, America and our system of government.

Maybe I’ll be surprised.

Maybe the Republicans in Congress will respect the fact that the will of the people put a Democrat in the White House two years ago.

President Obama has already figured out that Republicans control both the Senate and the House.

Maybe the Republicans in Congress will decide to work with the president to start governing the country.

We’re going to need compromise all over the place to start passing legislation to boost growth in our national economy, help create jobs for the millions of Americans who want to work, tackle the rebuilding of our transportation infrastructure, work on smart energy policy that won’t fry our planet, deal with our education problems….

The election is over.

In Washington, let’s stop the yelling, and get to work.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

When is a condo not a home?

Well, for starters, if you own an expensive condo in midtown Manhattan but you don’t live there, then it’s not a home.

There’s some weird stuff going on in the prime big city residential markets all over the globe: folks with a lot of money are buying apartments, co-ops and condos for great big bucks, but they’re not putting any food in the frig in these places….because they don’t live there.

Two weeks ago the Sunday New York Times did a shocking piece on this, read it here.

For example, in a cozy section of Manhattan—between 56^th and 63^rd streets, between Park and Fifth avenues, at the southeast corner of Central Park—more than half of the high-priced digs are vacant more than 10 months a year.

Their owners use them infrequently, or, as investors, never.

For example, Trump Tower (721 Fifth Avenue) has 237 units, some with price tags north of $25 million—only 108 of them qualify under city property tax rules as primary residences. In 129 of these units, no one's home.

Many of the folks who own this expensive, empty housing are not New Yorkers, and many of them are foreign nationals.

It seems like part of the reason that housing in New York City is so expensive is that a lot of the existing housing stock isn’t being lived in.

I wonder where the Trump Tower doormen live?

"We, the people"....ummm

The 1% in Big Sky country....

How much do YOU like Parcheesi?

Just say "No"

Too many millionaires....

Monday, November 3, 2014

You owe it to yourself to vote

One recent study indicates only 26 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds plan to vote in the midterm elections tomorrow.

Shame on the rest of them.

Shame on everyone who cares about bad government, who cares about what happens to our society, who cares about people with power who aren’t doing the right thing, who consciously cares about her own self-interest….and doesn’t plan to bother to vote tomorrow.

I’m not just saying “It’s your civic duty to vote.”

I’m saying that, if you care about that stuff, then refusing to vote isn’t a good strategy.

Dare to vote for candidates who are better than the ones who got elected last time.

...a foundation of ignorance...

Third party?....I don't think so

Congress lets poor Americans get poorer

I love my congressman, I love him not....

Everyone should vote ?

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Gull watch

Sassy gulls, squabbling,

not quite ignoring me, ‘cause

I might drop a crumb….

Aug 18, 2014

Narragansett, RI

A different looking glass

Hi, neighbor

Cherchez la muse....

. . . a darkness . . .

Fearful....

On clouds

O! sea...

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Memento mori….

Plenty of ink has been spilled on the topic of old soldiers, here are a few pictures (maybe) worth a thousand words….

The Brown University Library offers a collection of mid-19^th century photographs of old soldiers, veterans of the Napoleonic Wars in the early years of that century.

Here are a few examples, very likely taken on May 5, 1858, in Paris during a veterans’ celebration:

Quartermaster Fabry of the 1^st Hussars

Sergeant Taria,Grenadiere de la Garde, 1809-1815

Monsieur Moret of the 2^nd Regiment, 1814-1815

These photos suggest to me a somewhat macabre passivity….these old gents submitted to the photographer after squeezing into their uniforms yet again, they consciously or unconsciously disdained the passage of time, perhaps not even imagining that they were much closer to death than to their days of glory….

I think of the possibly apocryphal words reportedly whispered by slaves in ritual warning to proud Roman generals as they paraded in triumph:

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Memento mori.

[Thus passes the glory of the world.]

[Remember (that you have) to die.]

America is empty, more or less

America is Fat City

"No, mama, like this. With your hands"

Oldie but goodie....

I think I can!

You're cooking the planet when you eat meat

What kind of face?

Friday, October 31, 2014

Oink, oink, oink….

How’d you like to get hit on, every six minutes, all day long?

So, tell the truth. Do you think a young woman should be able to walk on the streets of New York without getting continuous catcalls and wolf whistles and verbal harassment from the magnificent men of the Big Apple?

Of course you do. Of course you’re in for disappointment when I mention that a lady who tried this recently—with a video cam running—didn’t have any luck.

Vox.com reports that the woman, and a male accomplice who walked in front of her with a camera hidden in his backpack, trod the pavements of New York for 10 hours. See excerpts here.

The young woman was wearing jeans and a crew-neck T-shirt. She walked for 10 hours, staring straight ahead, without uttering a sound.

She recorded about 100 instances of verbal harassment from men of all kinds:

“How you doing, girl?”

“You don’t wanna talk?”

“If I give you my number, will you call me?”

“Damn, I just saw a thousand dollars!”

That is, roughly every six minutes, a man who was a complete stranger made a very public effort to invade her privacy, demean her and offer unwanted advances.

And that’s not counting the innumerable winks, whistles, gestures….

The whole thing stinks.

Our flag!

Bill, the Duke and Billy

Holy cow!

Hit Parade c. 450 BC

I (heart) NY....not

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The wisdom of Oscar Wilde (part 4)

“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

As usual, Mr. Wilde spits out a penetrating insight and a devastating critique….

….but this one isn’t wholly satisfying to me.

Consistency has many virtues, not least of which is steadfastness in the presence of adversity.

I think the sentiment that friend Oscar meant to isolate is:

Obstinacy is the first refuge of the acrimonious.

Or something like what this guy said:

“Obstinacy is the result of the will forcing itself into the place of the intellect.”

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Too bad some folks don’t seem to have the “can’t we all just get along?” gene….

Would you like to live in Texas?

Vox populi, non vox Dei

No daughter of mine is going to....!?!

The 1% in Big Sky country....

Nice people....

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

First computers built by men and women

It’s pretty easy to recall the name of Charles Babbage when you want to talk about the 19^th century’s first mover in the development of the computer.

It’s pretty easy to think of some of the prominent men who were among the pioneers in the successful rush to build computers in the mid-20^th century: John Atanasoff, Max Newman, Alan Turing, John von Neumann, Bertrand Russell….

It’s not so easy to remember that Augusta Ada King, the Countess of Lovelace, was the entirely capable mathematical whiz who worked alongside Babbage in their drive to build a working “Analytical Engine” in the 1830s.

It’s not so easy to grasp the role of women in the 20^th century’s spectacular creation of powerful, programmable computers, because no one ever mentions their names.

When the ENIAC—the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer—was unveiled in 1946, a very long line of men AND women had contributed to its birth.

In fact, most of the programming of ENIAC was done by six women: Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Wescoff, Fran Bilas and Ruth Lichterman.

It’s not too late to give them credit.

America is empty, more or less

America is Fat City

"No, mama, like this. With your hands"

Oldie but goodie....

I think I can!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

“To boldly go….”

OK, it’s a start.

Of course, this is the next logical step, and folks in Westminster, MA, are taking it.

The Board of Health in this town of 7,400 in central Massachusetts is considering a ban on all tobacco and tobacco products. Period.

The board isn’t trying to ban smoking. It just wants to prevent everyone from legally buying anything to smoke in Westminster.

In America, about half a million people die prematurely every year because of smoking, and of course smokers drive up health care costs for themselves and for all of us....and 12-year-olds can get cigarettes.

The Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (University of Wisconsin) says about 80% of smokers claim they want to quit, and half of them try it every year.

Maybe the smokers in Westminster are going to get a helping hand.

Here’s hoping.

Why is it still legal to sell tobacco anywhere?

Why is it legal to sell cigarettes?

Your daddy's tobacco ads

"We, the people..."....ummm

Monday, October 27, 2014

Who pays the price?

“Les conseilleurs ne sont pas les payeurs.”

French proverb

The French aren’t the only ones who’ve figured out that “those who give advice, don’t pay the price.”

It should go without saying, I guess, that if you give advice, you should own the advice.

Don't look down!

Never too old to mentor....

"...the tumult of the crowd..."

Never too late....

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Singing to the choir….

For too many folks, “singing to the choir” is the music they love best.

A recent Pew Research Center report confirms what we all know: too many folks filter out news and friends that don’t suit their own political convictions.

For instance, among Pew’s category “Consistent Conservatives,” almost half say that Fox News is their “main source for news about government and politics.” Among the “Consistent Liberals,” 15% name CNN and 12% name MSNBC.

About 52% of Consistent Liberals, and 66% of Consistent Conservatives, say most of their friends “share my views on government and politics.”

Pew offers plenty more details about media consumption and news sources for Americans who are at either extreme on the political spectrum, or somewhere in between. Read the report here.

Fox News has teeny weeny audience

Nobody watches cable TV news....

Saturday, October 25, 2014

The perp walk, Russian style….

Seems like doing bad things in Russia is different from doing bad things in America.

Last Monday four people died at a Russian airport when a private plane crashed on takeoff into an errant snowplow whose driver was drinking before his shift.

Since then, Moscow police have arrested the Vnukovo International Airport’s service engineer, a trainee air traffic controller and the snowplow driver.

The Director General of the airport and his deputy turned in their resignations, which were promptly accepted.

The airport shift director and the head of the maintenance division have been suspended from their duties.

In Russia, it seems, when something goes badly wrong, if you did it, or if you’re in charge of making sure stuff like that doesn’t happen, or if you sit at the big desk where the buck stops, you take the perp walk….

There are a lot of folks in big companies in America who are due for a perp walk.

More business execs in government? Which ones?

Vox populi, non vox Dei

Let's take back tax breaks from companies that leave U.S.

Hey, they're still doing it

Friday, October 24, 2014

The wisdom of J. William Fulbright

“We have the power to do any damn fool thing we want to do,

and we seem to do it about every 10 minutes.”

James William Fulbright (1905-1995)

U. S. Senator from Arkansas

The thing is, I’m pretty sure Sen. Fulbright wasn’t smiling much when he said it.

No reason to laugh about it now, either….

There are too many folks who say things and do things that hurt other folks, and, incredibly, hurt themselves, too.

Just about every 10 minutes or so, like the Senator said.

Where's Karachi?

Rice and trees are good, but....

The wisdom of Ben Hecht

The wisdom of Dad

Eleanor's energy

Thursday, October 23, 2014

The world of rich congressmen….

The personal net worth of all the members of Congress is over $2 billion—that’s an average of almost $4 million each.

Again, that’s an average, but, for the record, more than half of the members of Congress are indeed millionaires.

Now, most of the time, for most millionaires, it’s not a crime to be a millionaire.

But let’s just call it like it is: most members of Congress don’t live in the same world that most Americans live in.

Why do we keep re-electing the people who aren’t really like The People, and who refuse to do The People’s business?

Income inequality, a record

New York millionaires

Maybe Diana would have done it differently....

Some people have too much money (part 2)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Long hours

Some interesting employment numbers….

Almost 3 million Americans work for temp agencies, and almost half of those temporary workers have jobs in light industry or warehouses. That’s very unstable employment for a lot of those folks, sometimes in pressure cooker situations with inadequate training and health/safety risks. Another thing: temp workers make about $3.40 LESS per hour than typical 9-to-5ers in the private sector.

Gallup.com says the 40-hour work week may be a rarity. Full-timers in America say they work an average of 47 hours a week, and nearly 40% of them claim they work at least 50 hours. Americans work a lot more hours than Europeans do. Caveat: the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics mentions in a recent report that folks are likely to over-estimate how long they work—for instance, actual time-use diaries reveal that the hardy souls who claim they work 75 hours a week are really only putting in about 50 hours (!), seems like it’s easy to boast about putting in long hours….

28g of truth here....

Squirrel talk

...to possess a second soul.

Would you like to live in Texas?

No daughter of mine is going to....!?!

The 1% in Big Sky country....

Nice people....