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@mstaggerlee: yeah! Technology can now mess with time itself. How else can you make a 60-minute NFL game last 3 hours and 40 minutes?
Whenever I hear Boehner and the rest of the GOP complain about the upcoming health care summit, I think of Admiral Akbar saying "It's a Trap!"
Unlike Admiral Akbar, the Republicans are cowards, and we need to take every opportunity to remind America of this
@Gerald -
Referring to your initial post today -
"Is technology preventing students from thinking and how do we separate the real from the unreal and how do we differentiate from what is right and from what is wrong? "
I find it somewhat amusing that the above sentence is included in a post that states that students TODAY are not learning to write properly. My wife had been an educator for the past 30 years, until her recent (forced) retirement. In her view, as the world changes, education needs to change, too.
The world that today's children are being educated to survive in is very different form the world you and I were educated to live in, Gerald. Forms of communication that nobody dreamed of when we were children are in widespread use today. Everything happens faster. There was only ONE form of instantaneous communication when we were young - the telephone. Do you recall what a big deal a LONG DISTANCE CALL was in the late 1950's/early 1960's?
Today, almost ALL communication is instantaneous. I sit here in New Jersey, hear something on a radio show or read a post here and it inspires an idea - I type it here, and in seconds, Gerald in Minnesota and Charles in Ohio and Richard in California are all privy to my inner thoughts. I'm one of the vanishingly rare breed that actually READS what he typed before hitting the post button, probably because I write for a living (technical manuals) and am simply used to proofreading. I'm occasionally amused by the poor excuses for spelling and sentence structure I find these days, but amusement is about as far as it goes - I don't let it upset me.
The new generation is the first that was raised by people who grew up with television. TV reinforces distraction and lack of focus - here, let us tell you this story ... it's gonna take about 40 minutes to tell it, but every 10 minutes, we're gonna break away from the story for 5 minutes and tell you about lotsa other cool stuff that you're gonna want. So, we learn to concentrate in short bursts only. Is it, then, any wonder that taking the time for trivia like making sure that you spelled everything right and making sure your sentence structure makes some kinda sense in the post you've just written are deemed trivial to today's youth?
How we the people can benefit from the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.
Tax the income that the media make from advertising of political campaigns at a 50-75% tax rate, and
put that into a public election campaign fund similar to "Clean Elections", where candidates wanting to
recieve public funding must collect a certain number of qualifying contributions from registered voters.
This would allow more political party's to compete in the political system.
Pigeons were used many years ago in early rocketry and the early space race. they were actually used as guidance systems , steering by pecking (which is, by the way, how many people steer.). Many were used in the scientific study of fecal matter (stool pigeons). ;D
thom is dead wrong about tea partiers being soms sort of leading indicator of political turmoil.
when are progressives - and everyone, for that matter - going to understand that the tea party movement is and always has been a total fabrication of the republican party.
republicans realized that their brand was so tarnished, after bush, that they would have to do something drastic to make themselves viable again, by the next election.
their solution?
create, out of whole cloth, with the help of fox news and deep pocket donors, a new movement.
and while the movement may have had differences, initially, with republican principles, those differences are steadily, but surely being smoothed over.
all of a sudden, republican leaders are trying tea partiers to come home, essentially, to their rightful place at the republican table.
this has been their entire plan all along.
anything that provides any credibility to the movement - including the idea of attempting to reach out to tea partiers - misses the essential nature of the movement and is horribly misguided.
the tea party movement is simply the republican party after a bath and makeover. and despite the bath and makeover, they will still be republicans. the sooner everyone recognizes that fact, the better off everyone will be.
Thom,
Have you ever talked about Nikola Tesla and his pigeons?
http://www.nikolatesla.hr/news.aspx?newsID=64&pageID=23
Increasingly frequent pigeons became his company, and Tesla turned his hotel room into a pigeon-loft. He would bring to it all wounded, starving, ill and old pigeons. Then he would give them a medical treatment and a help. If he did not know the way he should cure them, he would give them to the vet asking a complete medical treatment for his "friend". Once, Tesla became ill and it was obvious that he could not go back to the hotel that day. Ha ordered his secretary to phone the hotel room-maid and ask her to feed the white dove every day until his return.
If he were not able to go to the Bryant Park, he would pay the "Western Union" newspaper carrier to feed the birds. The dove was so close to Tesla's heart that he did never let her go. He was deeply shaken when she died and he decided to bury her where he could come to her grave. He told about the white dove to his biographer John O'Neill: "I have fed pigeons, maybe thousands of them, for years. Nevertheless, there was a pigeon among them, an exceedingly beautiful and perfectly white bird with pale greyish spots on its wings. It was just different. It was a female. I would recognise her anywhere. Moreover, wherever I was that white dove would find me. When I wanted her to come, I would just make a wish and whistle, and she would fly right to me. She understood me and I understood her. I loved that dove indeed. Indeed, I loved her as a man loves a woman, and it loved me. When she got ill, I knew and understood it at once. She came to my room and stayed there with me for days. That pigeon was a real happiness of my life. If she needed me, nothing else was important to me. As long as she was with me, my life had sense. Then, one night, while I was lying on my bed as usual solving some problem, she flew in through an open window and landed right on my desk. I knew she needed me. She wished to tell me something important, so I stood up and made a step towards her. As soon as I saw her, I knew what she wanted to tell me – that she was dying. At the very moment when I realized her message, out of her eyes came a flashed some light-powerful rays of light. Indeed, it was a real powerfully blinding, dazzling light, stronger than any other I had ever produced with my best laboratory lamps. When the pigeon died, some part of my life died too. Up to that moment, I had known that I would have finished my work no matter how ambitious my program was. However, when that part of mine died I realized that my life work is finished too. Yes, I have fed those pigeons for years and I still feed them, thousands of them, but. In the end-who will know…"
re; pigeons: hey Thom! If pigeons are robots, how do you explain squab?
Jim Hightower on pigeons:
“The only difference between a pigeon and the American farmer today is that a pigeon can still make a deposit on a John Deere.”
You have it all wrong about this man who flew his plane into a building. He's not anyone to be admired or pitied, for heavens sake, he set fire to his family's home (what a nice person, huh?) before committing suicide in a way that would take some people with him. Please don't turn him into some kind of symbol of our country's recent frustration, he was one of these angry men who've been angry all their lives! These anti-tax folks have been around for decades, they use it as a target for their own personal failings in life.
"My" rep, Mike McCaul (R) is sponsoring several Tea Party rallies in the next few weeks.
I contacted my other Senator, Voinovich, asking him to sign onto the public option. He's a Repub not seeking reelection so I incouraged him to stop towing the party line and do what is right for the people for once.
Centrists or moderates seem to stand for everything while at the same time stand for nothing. The seek to compromise for the sake of compromise regardless of the outcome.
Hey Thom, I really hope you see this message... I called into the Bill Cunningham show last night and argued with him over the 16% tax rate... I got him extremely riled up and he hung up on me... might be a great clip to show to your listeners... I pasted the link below and it is approx 20 minutes into the clip:
http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/1...
@Charles
Can't say it better than Jim Hightower did:
“There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.”
very interesting blog all about unemployment and the middle class or lower middle class, written from the perspective of a survivor
http://unemploymentality.com/
I am thoroughly bewildered. I like to think I have a good grasp of what liberals and conservatives are. Albeit, there is some confusion regarding the conflict of economic and social factions within each. What is a "Centrist"? Or more precisely, what do centrists stand for.
The posts and comments I read seem to indicate a hodge-podge of thoughts, none representing a clear viewpoint on any particular policy. In most cases the stance taken is to be in disagreement with whatever is put forward as a solution. This then leads the author to declare not being able to support the person offering the solution.
Are these the same people who object to school fundraisers to purchase copy paper; then vote against a millage to adequately fund the local school system? Complain about the cost of snow removal and garbage pickup while lobbying the city council to lower property tax rates? "Fix our problems as long as I don't have to personally contribute to the solution. Let me go about my day." Are centrists the proverbial "something for nothing crowd"?
Pease help me understand what centrists stand for?
The Justice Department in the Obama Administration has ruled that the torture memos by Bush officials were poor judgment. These officials cannot be prosecuted for any crimes. International law prohibits torture of human beings but America and her citizens are above the law. American officials can do whatever they desire and they can only be charged with poor judgment. Even if we could imprison poor judgment, these officials cannot be imprisoned.
It would appear that human life is irrelevant; the killing of God’s children is irrelevant; the Ten Commandments are irrelevant; torture is irrelevant; crimes against humanity are irrelevant; the Golden Rule is irrelevant; and the Beatitudes are irrelevant. The decision by Obama’s Justice Department will make America’s healing process impossible. We will continue to be above the law.
I have tried through my words to make a difference for a better world. My comments and posts will have no affect on change. My comments and posts will place me in a state of anxiety, exhaustion, and stress. Since I am in the twilight of my life and my health is tenuous, I do not need to remain in this state. I have found that less commenting and posting has eased my state of anxiety, exhaustion, and stress. I will not say that I will not comment and post my thoughts and words but I do believe less commenting and posting will be better for my health.
I will continue to listen to Thom’s radio show but I will try to comment and post less and between various intervals. At some point God will call me for judgment and with less to say you may recall my words, “Old posters will never die; they will just fade away."
We keep hearing how great we have it as Americans. In Europe August, the entire month, is considered a national holiday. There are thirty days of vacation with fun and frolic. In December the last two weeks of the month are furlough time from work. Plus, workers in Europe are respected and they also have safety nets for unemployment and for catastrophic health problems. In America the worker is treated like cannon fodder and plow horses with little or no safety nets for unemployment and catastrophic health problems.
Americans need more down time for mental health. Here is how I would set up the Down Time as holidays. Each month would have at least one day set aside for down time and holiday pay.
January
1, 2, and Martin Luther King’s Day
February
Presidents’ Day and George Washington’s Birthday
March
One workday
April
Good Friday and one workday
May
One workday and Memorial Day
June
One workday
July
4 and one workday
August
One workday
September
Labor Day and one workday
October
One workday
November
Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week
December
24, 25, 26, and 31
Twenty-three days would be set aside as holidays. The American worker needs more down time from slave work and slave wages.
I had an opportunity to watch “Frontline” on National Public Television (February 16, 2010). The subject was our Digital Nation.
Students are different today. They are into multi-tasking and multi-tasking is very difficult. Distraction affects our learning and our students should not be multi-tasking. But, trying to stop students from multi-tasking is not easy. Our students are becoming addicted to technology. Addiction to technology can cause health problems and it may also be a psychiatric problem. Our students’ mental health is at stake.
Our students are playing too many violent games on the computer. Eyes and ears are also affected by technological addiction. Computer games shrink the brain. Using the internet is short term and a student can become bored. Reading and writing skills are important but technology is interfering with these skills. Reading on the internet is not the same as reading a book. Time on the internet and with computer technology interferes with a student’s writing skills. Our college students are revealing poor writing skills.
Is technology preventing students from thinking and how do we separate the real from the unreal and how do we differentiate from what is right and from what is wrong? People are living in a make believe world. Virtual reality and virtual interaction are the waves of the future.
Frontline also shared information that the drones attacking various countries are directed from a military base near Los Vegas, Nevada. The United States is expanding the numbers and use of drones in our military world.
The military services are using video games to recruit more students and people to join military service. The video games of killing human beings are becoming more and more accepted by our students and our people. We are continuing to be a violent nation. School learning is more important than computer learning but it appears that a digital life is here to stay. Our digital life is affecting our human values and apparently the killing of human beings in video games is easing our killing of human beings in the real world. A kill mentality is becoming more accepted in the United States of America.
Just because a man pitches from the right politically doesn’t mean he can’t throw a strike once in awhile. I know a guy who I have many ideological differences with, but one thing we do agree on is the need to invest in green energy. Since 2002 he’s been developing an entirely battery run, zero-emission vehicle for commercial taxi purposes. Last year I was permitted to observe him in a low-tech garage-environment (along with one of those long-haired, high-energy techie-types), working on a rapid recharger that can fully charge an array of battery packs in an hour, and has run a van 142 miles in “real world” conditions—including at highway speeds—on one charge; the hope is that with even more efficient rapid recharge capabilities, a five-passenger vehicle can turn in 700-800 miles a day. Obviously, the business angle can’t be ignored; the first production has been in operation in (Sacramento) California since 2003, which has strict new guidelines on emission standards—thus the state is ground zero for acceptance of this type of technology. To learn more about how one man is doing his part to turn vision to reality, you can check out the website http://www.electricabtaxi.com.
This is less a shameless plug than pointing out that when it comes to green energy, turning vision into reality seems much easier said than done for most people. Often innovation comes from lone individuals who spend their own time and money (and go into debt) and have initiatives that the corporate world wants to stifle, or offer half-assed solutions like hybrids. The Obama administration has talked big about green and clean energy, but most of the talk is about nuclear and coal-based “solutions,” neither which is particularly “clean,” or every will be. But the public must also be indicted for expecting green energy solutions, but behaving in a NIMBY-like fashion when it comes to actually implementing them. Take for example wind-generated energy. Wind power is great—that is unless you live near a wind farm and the humming annoys you, or you are an environmentalist worried about their effect on birds; others claim they cause cancer, or interfere with the functioning of their cell phones (not such a bad thing, in my view). Or they might “spoil” the view, such as in some locales in New England; offshore fields have been opposed for this reason, although one suspects that property values are their real concern. Why I don’t know; when the oil runs out, everybody will want to live near something like a wind farm.
Everyone knows that oil will run out eventually, and sooner than people think; OPEC nations are notorious for deliberately over-estimating their “proven” oil reserves, because bloated estimates allows a country to export more oil under the OPEC quota system. The fact is we really do need to be serious about alternative and renewable energy now. “Inspiring” speeches are not enough, nor is patting yourself on the back merely because you think “green.”
Joe Stack’s daughter has called him a “hero” for “standing up” against “injustice.” Pathetic. The only “injustice” Stack was against, as made clear in his rambling, incomprehensible internet statement, was that which he conceived was perpetrated against himself. The bottom line was that he was a domestic terrorist, motivated by an extremist's self-pitying egocentrism. Given the fact that the far-right fringe “Patriot” movement is also calling Stack a “hero” should tell remind what these people are capable of. Janet Napolitano received fierce criticism from the right for calling out domestic terrorism, but here we are now, with terrorists being called “heroes” by the right.
The senator doesn't care, and he knows the two don't compliment each other. What we have here is just another showing of racism. Are you telling me that this couldn't have been a local holiday (like here in Illinois where we celebrate Abraham Lincoln)? Browning was at the end an industrialist, should we have a holiday for Carnagie or Ford or Bill Gates? Lastly, and this shows the crypto-racism, are you telling me that with all those open days in the year, the day designated for MLK had to be the one for this absurd idea of a holiday?
Is the Senator nuts? How about a holiday to remember all the kids killed in firearm violence at school and another one for those children killed by firearms
that were carelessly stored? Does the senator own a sheet with a pointy hood?
It is mean spirited and venemous.
THOM --
RE: Seeing Cheney up close and "The Banality of Evil"
Maybe the site of Dick Cheney at CPAC didn't make the hair on the back of your neck stand up because your eyes and HIS eyes didn't meet.
A predator at rest or distracted does not frighten, but when you are caught in the gaze of the predator, that's different.
The modern predator like Cheney gets to have so many victims because they do it with the stroke of a pen or a nod. The modern predator just looks at the numbers and paperwork; we are expendable to them. We are as expendable as ants in ant hills as Cheney excavates the landscape to develop whatever suits his cold-hearted greed.
Look at Valerie Plame and Brewster Jennings and Anti-Nuclear Proliferation Intelligence.