American History

On Sunday, February 24th, at 9:00 pm ET/PT, the CBS television network will broadcast THE ROSA PARKS STORY. This film provides an inspiring account of one of the most remarkable women in American history. It explores key events that led to the historic moment in 1955 when Ms. Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger. Although this film looks back at a critical time in our nation's past, it speaks powerfully to our historic present. It is a film that all Americans need to see.

Eye on Dubya
I'm not sure but is W hitting the pretzels again?


War TV? ("War's not Hell, it's entertainment")

The latest reality show coming to a network near you will include real stories about U.S. military personnel. Much of the action will be shot at the front (for example, where journalists are barred) and it's all approved and even supported by the Pentagon. What's up with that?

Other thoughts

"We are born into a life. The life is waiting there. We don't pick it, we step into it: parents, first born or last, the part of the country, the part of the world, our appearance, the efficiency of our brain. Then a time comes when we realize that we also have choices, and so we start the task of building our own life - an impossible task considering the number of days we are given to complete it. However, I don't think that's important; what's important is to begin". VIA( Eliot Wilder)

Photo

Their debt paid to society now what?

"This year the nation's prisons will release more than 630,000 people—the largest prison exodus in history. That's four times as many as were released in 1980, before crack, before zero tolerance, before truth-in-sentencing policies and before 1.9 million people filled U.S. prisons and jails, the current record. Since 1980, the number of prisoners returning to society has steadily climbed. It's simple physics: the more people you lock up, the more you must one day let out. For 40% of those now in state prisons, that day arrives in the next 12 months".

Amanda Ripley of Time magazine tells one man's story from lockup to a new life.

Observation

Right-wing nut commentator and former presidential candidate, Patrick J. Buchanan may not be the political powerhouse of years gone by, but his strong anti-immigrant ideas always seem to end up in book form on the New York Times bestseller list, and his paranoid suburbanite Archie Bunker-type audience is not as fringe as we would like to think. If anyone has had a huge influence on how Americans view immigration, it is Mr. Buchanan. Interestingly, his views on African Americans have also been controversial at best.

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If you're in the over-forties crowd, there is plenty of research to suggest that you are still having a very active sex life. If not, you may want to consider an
occasional trip to Spain or Belgium.

"The Genius and Wit of Howard Zieff" highlights the work of perhaps the most significant advertising photographer in New York in the 1960's. (VIA NYT, registration req.)

Whatever works for you (pragmatic Fallacy)

Pragmatic fallacy is committed when one argues that something is true because it works. For example: astrology works, numerology works, therapeutic touch works. What "works" means here is not clear.

At the very least, "Works" means that one perceives some practical benefit in believing that something is true, despite the fact that the utility of a belief is independent of its truth-value. At this level "works" seems to mean "I'm satisfied with it," which in turn might mean "I feel better" or "It explains things for me." At most, "works" means "has beneficial effects" even though the evidence may be very weak for establishing causality.

Dude, you're getting a Dell
I love those Dell computer TV commercials featuring that kid "Steven" . That has to be the best slogan since "whassup" and this generation's answer to the "where's the beef" Wendys ads of the 1980's.

The phrase is so catchy that many of my co-workers and friends mimic this slogan apropos of nothing while sharing the appropriate handshake (closed fist, knuckles brushing). Steven is what Tom Sawyer would have been had that fictional character grown up in Suburban America. We all know or have known someone with a personality like Steven.

Furthermore, the ad spots deal with a slice of life that most of us can identify with, the plot lines are comical and most importantly, there's always the proverbial icing on the cake "Dude you're getting a Dell".

Etcetera Etcetera

This is the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition featuring model Yamila Diaz-Rahi on the cover which hits newstands today, Feb. 20, 2001, hot off the printing presses. (I'm sure) (AP Photo/Jeff Bark, Sports Illustrated).

There's an ongoing debate as to whether this type of content belongs in a sports magazine and whether women are being exploited and reduced to a body part. My point of view ... if curling is a sport, than so is this.

Of probability and the Unconscious
A lengthy but fascinating article on Scientists discussing how automatic brain circuits affect the way we react to activities like gambling or watching an exciting sporting event. According to one researcher: "My hunch is that most decisions are made subconsciously with many gradations of awareness. For example, I'm vaguely aware of how I got to work this morning. But consciousness seems reserved for more important things" {Like what time I get to leave... or what Am I doing this weekend}. Actually, those were my exact thoughts yesterday while toiling away at work ... Hey! these scientists may be on to something.

"On Ray's Mind"

While black history month focuses on the past, I think that equal billing should be given to "black history" currently being shaped by our present culture.

There seem to be a lack of historical continuity in the African American community. Certainly, the historical perspective has done much to shape our vision, however, the passing of the torch from old to new has caused friction and the creation of a visible generation gap within the AA community.

African Americans born between 1965 and 1984 make up over 18 million of the 33 million in the United States. The hip-hop generation as many like to call them is the first generation of AAs that grew up in a society that did not have to face state-sponsored segregation and discrimination. A generation that has been able to benefit from the fruits of the civil rights struggles.

While this generation struggles with its own challenges, there seem to be a generation gap between the old and the new. Although that's to be expected as social norm that transcends all cultures, I think that in the case of African Americans, it may cause us to repeat the mistakes of past generations rather than learn from them.

"You have always had a different worldview coming from the younger generation and the older generation," said Hashim Shomari, author of From Da UnderGround: Hip Hop Culture as an Agent of Social Change. "The main issue right now is that the older generation is not passing the baton of leadership off to the younger generation. And the younger generation does not want to take the advice that the older generation has to offer."

In order for this generation to succeed as its members enter our nation's universities, the halls of corporate America and government positions we must understand the dynamics of our cultural interactions, understand our history, work on defining our vision, and take responsibility for our future as determined and self reliant individuals.

Forget about your signature, just put your Thumb print right here .... thank you very much. The newest ID of choice. (NYT registration may be required)

Most people take life as they find it, and try to make something of the possibilities that are offered by their personal and social circumstances, avoiding catastrophe or failure, pursuing happiness, and working to realize some acceptable private or public ambitions.

Many others devote themselves systematically to understanding life and the world: scientists, historians, and thinkers. Others, realizing that there is much that is wrong with the world, spend their lives trying to change it for the better. Still others, creative artists, try to add to the world wonders that do not yet exist. The task of a fully functioning human being is not merely to understand the world or to change it, but to create something new.

Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers won the gold medal in the women's Olympic bobsled race on Teusday. Not only did they break a 46-year drought in the sport for the United States, but Vonetta Flowers a former track star at the University of Alabama, became the first African American athlete to win a Winter Olympic gold medal.

Axis of Weasels

During the past few days, the most heavily discussed phrase in the media has been president Bush's "axis of evil" , first coined during his last state of the union address to brand the three rogue states (Iran, Iraq and North Korea) that were on his list of bad guys. Well, I'm glad that he has decided to tone it down a bit. personally I thought it was a bit of an overstatement and a foreign policy faux-pas.

Maybe it's not Dubya's fault, perhaps his speechwriter is to blame. With due respect, "axis of evil" sounds like the name of a heavy-metal band, not a description of the problems we need to confront in an unstable world. At worst, such a generalization will provoke skepticism and even a measure of contempt among our most reliable allies. Words are powerful and they must be chosen wisely.

The roulette wheel has no memory

I've always been fascinated by the laws of probability, not only do these laws apply to games of chance, they also apply to certain events in our lives. We take risks daily, sometimes to our advantage or disadvantage. Call it what you will, but I like to call it "spinning of the wheel".

That idea is the basis for my "philosophy of the wheel" which is an ongoing project of several essays that I’m writing. These essays will attempt to establish a concept that is worthy of inquiry (or at least can be a momentary diversion for the reader). The first installment of this series of essays will be placed online in April of 2002.

Losing streaks and winning streaks occur frequently in games of chance, as they do in real life. We respond to these events in asymmetric fashion: We appeal to the law of averages to end the losing streak. And we appeal to that same law of averages to suspend itself so that winning streaks will go on and on. The law of averages hears neither appeals . The last sequence of a spin of the wheel conveys absolutely no information about what the next spin will bring. The roulette wheel has no memory.

Kid Rock  the self-described "Ultimate American Bad Ass," is cashing in on his vision of patriotism: busty babes in red, white and blue. Hey! That's The American Way

"Just-us" instead of Justice in the court system?

"State judges and voters are deeply concerned about the growing impact of money and politics on America's courts". According to two new surveys released today, 76 percent of voters now believe that donors to judges' campaigns get special treatment in court -- and even 26 percent of judges agree. Moreover, 8 in 10 state judges and 9 out of 10 voters are concerned that special interests are trying to use the courts to shape public policy to their own ends"

This is alarming. I've always had my suspicions but this important realization is certainly a "wake up call" that should remind every one of what is at stake here. Think about it.

Credit for above picture to cartoonist: David Horsey

I recently drew some motivation from the Oliver Willis web site. I think I may join the campaign to get this man on television. His cutting edge, thought provoking and satirical perspectives proves that this man is thinking. It’s definitely worth the click.
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"Power tends to corrupt...", The historian Lord Acton wrote more than a century ago; our world right now is bursting with examples. The study of history reveals this fact to us in excruciating detail. We read stories daily about oppression and betrayal by the rich and powerful, of the poor, disenfranchised, innocent and helpless.

Our personal lives are also filled with injustice - sometimes what seems like unbearable injustice. Many of us have been forced to deal with many unpleasant situations. Unjustly fired by people we worked hard for or painfully rejected by men and women we loved. We have seen our children treated badly by their teachers or classmates (just to name a few). At one point in our lives we may have felt as Peter Finch in the movie "Network" when he said: "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" We can demonstrate, we can vote and we can write letters to our representatives and occasionally we can help in ways that are more direct. However, in most cases, there is not much we can do except complain to our friends, fume in private and perhaps write a journal.


When I think about the Enron fiasco or businessmen who choose profit over safety when they build an automobile tire or an airplane rudder, I get frustrated and wonder if Lord Acton’s assertion is truly a psychological inevitability.

I am a realist. I understand the world around me and accept the level of imperfection that seems to be an intrinsic part of human nature. At the same time, I realize that the only thing we have control over is our own reaction to the things that happen around us. Anger is ok, but only for a short while. If it persists, it will only erode the very essence of our lives.


I try hard to focus on my goals and maintain a balance. Most people try to do their best; most will help you if you need help; most do their jobs as well as they can. I focus on the teachers that are doing an incredible job of educating our youth; I focus on those that are volunteering their free time to giving a helping hand where it is needed. I focus on those who are actively debating the social issues with the end in mind of making a beneficial contribution to the common good. Most of all, I focus on the irrational generosity practiced by my friends and family.