Prometheus 6

I wrote this 11 years ago. I'm posting it because it's the closest thing I have to a theme that's stuck in my head the last few days.

A Sense of Scale
by Alim Ra
Copyright ©2096

Can you remember the first time you met a Griot? Probably not. . . we are not obviously different than humans, and come in the full range of physical, mental and emotional types that humans do. Nothing outward would give any indication that we are different in any way from the humans you encounter every day.

You probably do remember the first time you realized someone you knew was a Griot, though. Most likely it was during some crisis; it may have been physical, it may have been spiritual, but either way it was overwhelming. And some one person stepped up. He created what needed creating, she destroyed what needed destruction, they dispatched with calm demeanor the needs of the moment. . . then moved on to the next thing.

A Million Here, A Million There
What's a Seven-Figure House? Not What Many Expect.
By Dina ElBoghdady and Mary Ellen Slayter
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, April 19, 2008; F01

Stephanie and Ed Aron figured they would spend about $850,000 to buy a home. But before they knew it, they were signing a $1.2 million contract for a newly built house in Bethesda.

"When I was growing up, a $1 million house meant you had a pool and a driver," said Ed Aron, 37, who is from rural Colorado. "But we're just a middle-class family."

For many home buyers, reaching the $1 million threshold can be an intensely emotional experience, even though that's not an unusual amount to spend in parts of the Washington area. Here, that kind of money can buy a wide range of homes, from a three-bedroom condominium in Cleveland Park to a waterfront estate in Calvert County.

Frederick Douglass, former slave, abolitionist and human rights champion, could have told Obama that there would be days like this.

It's one thing to have a great speaking voice and a commanding presence, as did Douglass -- and, likewise, Obama. It's quite another matter to think you have something important to say. Worse yet, to tell yourself you can be a leader, not just a loyal spear carrier.

Douglass found that out.

In his autobiography, "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass," Douglass talked about his early days as an escaped slave in the North.

The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society assigned him to travel through part of the state with a white society member to sign up subscribers to the Anti-Slavery Standard and the Liberator.

"I was generally introduced as a 'chattel,' -- a 'thing' -- a piece of Southern property -- the chairman assuring the audience that it could speak."

I had come to our awe-inspiring capital only to realize that I no longer believe in our promise to the world that a better life exists for you here if you are smart and hardworking. If you don't agree, just ask a D.C. cabdriver.

Less of a Land Of Opportunity
Sunday, April 20, 2008; B08

Last week, I visited Washington for a routine meeting, but what I experienced on my trip was more than mundane: It was eye-opening. Of course, there were the little things I noticed, such as the fact that there are still people in this country who smoke, that white men in suits seem to remain the dominant paradigm and that the Kennedy Center looks much better at night than during the day (but, to be fair, who or what doesn't?). The most enlightening part of my visit, however, came during a cab ride from Dulles International Airport to my hotel in the District.

Ion engines are an "electric propulsion system". They make use of the fact that a current flowing across a magnetic field creates an electric field directed sideways to the current.

This is used to accelerate a beam of ions (charged atoms) of xenon away from the spacecraft, thereby providing thrust.

Ion engine enters space race
By Helen Briggs
Science reporter, BBC News

Cryogenic pumps can be heard in the background, whistling away like tiny steam engines.

Using helium gas as a coolant, they can bring down the temperature in the vacuum chamber to an incredibly chilly 20 Kelvin (-253C). The pressure, meanwhile, can drop to a millionth of an atmosphere.

This laboratory in a leafy part of Hampshire is where defence and security firm Qinetiq develops and tests its ion engines - a technology that will take spacecraft to the planets, powered by the Sun.

The picture tells the whole story, but click it if you need words. 

Now he's totally decloaked, publicly a Clinton supporter.

In his book, “Unequal Democracy,” Mr. Bartels shows that “the shift of the Solid South from Democratic to Republican control in the wake of the civil rights movement” explains all — literally all — of the Republican success story.

Now I tend to believe the assertion Mr. Krugman assigns to Mr. Bartels. In context, though, it really sounds like he's implying Obama is undervaluing the impact of the civil rights movement.

Does it matter that Mr. Obama has embraced an incorrect theory about what motivates working-class voters? His campaign certainly hasn’t been based on Mr. Frank’s book, which calls for a renewed focus on economic issues as a way to win back the working class.

CSPAN anchors are as stoic as they come, but sometimes the facade cracks under the weight of the absurdity.

The thing about reading between the lines is that it makes it really easy to ignore the lines you're reading between.

Another Critique Of The Cosby Piece

The eminent Ross Douthat offers some kind words and criticism of my Cosby piece. His critique is similar to John McWhorter's but slightly different.

Steve Sailor turned up in the comments and no one took him seriously.

To Mr. Douthat's issues:

The fact that prior generations of intellectuals fretted, Cosby-style, about African-American crime rates, family structure, and so on doesn't change the fact that those problems have grown much, much worse in the interim.

Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger
By MARC LACEY

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hunger bashed in the front gate of Haiti’s presidential palace. Hunger poured onto the streets, burning tires and taking on soldiers and the police. Hunger sent the country’s prime minister packing.

Haiti’s hunger, that burn in the belly that so many here feel, has become fiercer than ever in recent days as global food prices spiral out of reach, spiking as much as 45 percent since the end of 2006 and turning Haitian staples like beans, corn and rice into closely guarded treasures.

Saint Louis Meriska’s children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.”

That anger is palpable across the globe. The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments.

U.S. Begins Erecting Wall in Sadr City
By MICHAEL R. GORDON

BAGHDAD — Trying to stem the infiltration of militia fighters, American forces have begun to build a massive concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, the densely populated Shiite neighborhood in the Iraqi capital.

The construction, which began Tuesday night, is intended to turn the southern quarter of Sadr City near the international Green Zone into a protected enclave, secured by Iraqi and American forces, where the Iraqi government can undertake reconstruction efforts.

“You can’t really repair anything that is broken until you establish security,” said Lt. Col. Dan Barnett, commander of the First Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment. “A wall that isolates those who would continue to attack the Iraqi Army and coalition forces can create security conditions that they can go in and rebuild.”

Seriously. Assuming it passes in the Senate it will still have to be dealt with in the House. That ought to be fun...

I don't see it passing before the election in November, and I see Bush giving it a pocket veto and stealing all the 'W' keys from the keyboards as he leaves.

In a recent letter to the Senate, Attorney General Michael Mukasey raised the prospect of a veto and insisted that the president — and not the courts — must have the final say over when and whether the privilege applies. Incredibly, and with no legal basis, he also expressed doubt that Congress has the power to mandate closer review of state secrets claims.

Whose Privilege?

In the name of fighting terrorism — and with a clear goal of avoiding accountability — the Bush administration has imposed a level of secrecy on its operations that has no place in a democracy.

One of its most disturbing tactics has been seeking early dismissal of lawsuits alleging serious government misconduct, claiming they would reveal national security secrets. The Senate is now considering a good bill that would rein in this misuse of the state secrets privilege and give victims fair access to the courts and the public a fuller understanding of their government’s actions.

Superdelegates Unswayed by Clinton’s Attacks
By PATRICK HEALY

Throughout their contentious debate on Wednesday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton tried again and again to put Senator Barack Obama on the defensive in a pointed attempt, her advisers say, to raise doubts about his electability among a small but powerful audience: the uncommitted superdelegates who will most likely determine the nomination.

Yet despite giving it her best shot in what might have been their final debate, interviews on Thursday with a cross-section of these superdelegates — members of Congress, elected officials and party leaders — showed that none had been persuaded much by her attacks on Mr. Obama’s strength as a potential Democratic nominee, his recent gaffes and his relationships with his former pastor and with a onetime member of the Weather Underground. 

In fact, the Obama campaign announced endorsements from two more superdelegates on Thursday, after rolling out three on Wednesday and two others since late last week in what appeared to be a carefully orchestrated show of strength before Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary. Obama advisers said that one of the pickups on Thursday, Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. of the District of Columbia, had initially favored Mrs. Clinton, but Clinton advisers denied that, and a Thomas aide said he had been neutral before Thursday.

Yes, even Big Tent Democrat.

ABC was incredibly unfair to Obama in this debate. Not quite as bad as NBC was to Clinton in those debates, nor has Obama faced anything like what Clinton has faced. But the ABC debate was a travesty imo.

In a 1978 memo, the EPA said sludge "contains nutrients and organic matter which have considerable benefit for land and crops" despite the presence of "low levels of toxic substances."

But in the late 1990s the government began underwriting studies such as those in Baltimore and East St. Louis using poor neighborhoods as laboratories to make a case that sludge may also directly benefit human health.

Meanwhile, there has been a paucity of research into the possible harmful effects of heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, other chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms often found in sludge.

Sludge tested as lead-poisoning fix
By JOHN HEILPRIN and KEVIN S. VINEYS, Associated Press Writers
Sun Apr 13, 6:54 PM ET

Scientists using federal grants spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil. Families were assured the sludge was safe and were never told about any harmful ingredients.

Nine low-income families in Baltimore row houses agreed to let researchers till the sewage sludge into their yards and plant new grass. In exchange, they were given food coupons as well as the free lawns as part of a study published in 2005 and funded by the Housing and Urban Development Department.

Gee...why do male pundits have such issues over being jacked by female pundits? Or is it only female pundits that expose the game for all to see? Maybe if one of the male pundits was that honest and clear we'd see if there's a gender issue here.

Because it may not be a gender issue at all. Maybe it's a truth issue.

Maybe this business of "defining your opponent" is only possible with the help of the media.

See, for all folks talk about the power of the media, it's primary purpose, like that of any industry sector, is to sell you stuff...in this case they are selling you the means of viewing ads. And y'all like drama so they give you drama...which unfortunately distracts you from decisions you need to make.

Maybe when you make that clear, and the example you use to do so is the current behavior of the person you are challenging, maybe they don't take that so well.

Via M at Problem Chylde. I came very close to copying the whole post in case it vanishes like her blog did. 

Some context.

I wrote what I wrote in response to all those feminists who, during the Full Frontal Feminism blow up, kept insisting over and over again that if “WOC” want book deals, they should “go get it them themselves.” That publishers weren’t skimming through the blogosphere looking for just anybody who’s a good writer. That you had to work for a book deal—you had to fight for it, show a little initiative, stop complaining, just do it. JUST. DO. IT.

As if there were no such thing as racism—as if there was no such thing as racism that is alive and well and present in the most cellular of spaces. As if simply opening a proposal and viewing the odd name at the top of the proposal doesn’t influence how the person reading that name will understand the rest of the proposal.

Amusingly enough, when I ran into this video I had debate analysis by PBS' The Newshour in the background.

Chris Bowers at Open Left  

There once was a time, not long ago, when credible charges of liberal elitism would be devastating to a Democratic candidate in a Presidential election. However, the effectiveness of these charges has also decreased throughout time. In 1972, McGovern won 37.52% of the popular vote. In 1984, Mondale won 40.56% of the popular vote. In 1988, Dukakis won 45.65% of the popular vote. In 2004, John Kerry won 48.27% of the popular vote. The basic reason for this is not consistent improvement of the quality of the Democratic candidates, but the changing demographics of the electorate that these candidates more acceptable to the nation of the whole.

Seriously, I'm pleased and impressed here. It's not absolutely complete, but what's there already is valuable.

Rare Audio Recordings from an Explosive Era for the U.S. and World — Now Available for 40th Anniversary of 1968

1968 was a pivotal year in U.S. history. People were taking to the streets to demand civil rights, to halt the Viet Nam War, and marching in grief for two American icons — Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—- who were gunned down as they ascended their leadership roles in America. People rose up at the Democratic National Convention to be met with police violence. The Black Panther Party gained national prominence, as Black leaders came forth with powerful national voices in politics and the Arts. Like those in the U.S., folks in Paris, Greece, China, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala struggled with dramatic change throughout the world.

Corporate ownership of mainstream media was able to influence public knowledge of some of these events. But one broadcast media organization recorded the sounds of these historic actions and gave voice to those who had no voice — Pacifica Radio. These rare recordings of this extraordinary coverage in 1968 have been made available by the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation & Access Project. Now, high school and college history teachers, radio, video, and film producers, historians and those who value integrity in the telling of past events can bring the authentic sounds of this era to their audiences. You now have access to a calendar detailing the dates of these unique recordings. that can be accessed on-line, www.pacificaradioarchives.org. Use these unique recordings to enhance print, web and multi-media features.

He's got the same qualifications as McCain.

Lieberman willing to star at Republican convention
By Manu Raju
Posted: 04/15/08 08:06 PM [ET]

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party’s 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September.

Republicans close to the McCain campaign say Lieberman’s appearance at the convention, possibly before a national primetime audience, could help make the case that the presumptive GOP nominee has a record of crossing the aisle. That could appeal to much-needed independent voters.

McCain has yet to ask Lieberman to speak, either in primetime or elsewhere, at the convention. But if McCain thinks it will help make his case for the White House, as some of his allies suspect, Lieberman would be willing to speak on his behalf.