Sunday, August 2, 2009

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Gerald Bracey: Breaking Free of the Urban Education Plantation Top
I have written a piece on this topic, but it is too long for the blog. I received this shorter essay recently and decided to present it instead. I don't think that Canada has found the "ideal intervention" for Harlem kids (he'd be on his way to Oslo to get that Nobel if he'd done that), but I think his model is the way to go. Richard A. Gibboney, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania and former Comissioner of Education for Vermont Bruce Smith, editor, ret., of Phi Delta Kappan Geoffrey Canada, creator and CEO of the children's oasis he calls the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), is a "social" reform genius. Unlike the poverty-blind Obama and Bush II administrations, Canada does not try to "reform" schools in delusional isolation from the brain-destructive effects of poverty. Canada is a genius of the heart. His heart made real what his eyes refused to overlook. He "knew" that "poverty poisons the brain," he "knew" that the only way to take the toxins out of poverty was to blunt its direct effects and simultaneously provide a school experience that stimulates thinking, encourages tenacity in learning, and offers the emotional thrill of earned achievement. (See "Poverty is Poison" chapter in Education Hell: Rhetoric vs Reality, www.ers.org and the Financial Times, "Poverty Mars Formation of Infant Brains," www.ft.com, February 16, 2008.) Every day, Canada lives a truth too long ignored by federal policy makers, by most editors and reporters at the New York Times, and by most schools of education: Public schools are the offspring of the society they serve. Thus public schools reflect both the "goods" and the "bads" of the society that birthed them. No public school teacher administered the poison of poverty to a single poor kid. Others did that, through ignorance, neglect, and avarice. And no teacher can administer the antidote unassisted. Canada heals many of the ill effects of poverty through a comprehensive, interlocking array of family support and school programs that focus on the child's brain development and on a method of discipline that nurtures responsibility for one's behavior -- responsibility that extends to parents and students alike. Canada, a true innovator and democrat, believes what his ordinary experience suggests to him: Poor kids in Harlem could achieve at levels that were formerly the province of socially privileged white kids. He has demonstrated the power of his gutsy vision in the HCZ, which now covers almost 100 blocks in Harlem and serves 7,000 children with a $70 million budget. This is no simple research study. It is a comprehensive theory and a vision. Observing 3- and 4-year-olds in Harlem, Canada saw no reason why "they should not be successful." He believes, New York Times editor Paul Tough reports in Whatever It Takes, that he can "find the ideal intervention for each stage of a child's life, and then connect these interventions into an unbroken chain of support" from birth to graduation from the K-12 Promise Academy. The powerful social corrections these programs make give poor kids "every advantage that middle-class children [have]--except the money" (p. 40). Supporters of No Child Left Behind cannot make that statement. And neither can President Obama and his wind-up Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. They pretend that essential middle-class values can be taught to kids living on the arid urban education plantation through the simple-minded medium of more testing, enforcement of unscientific standards, and threats of harsh punishment. Canada is showing us how to replace the tin coin of testing and false standards with the gold coin of the democratic ethic, all the while cultivating the intelligence of teacher, student, and parent. And he does it in the very real world of high-poverty Harlem. Canada's invocation of the middle-class standard of achievement for poverty-scarred minority kids is democratically courageous and educationally brilliant. It's about time that education leaders--particularly the me-too leadership in both national unions--tie the social and moral power of the democratic ethic to education policy and practice. We even have a book for guidance: Democracy and Education, John Dewey's 378-page operator's manual for public education. Back in 1916, Dewey saw teachers as intellectuals, not as proctors of tests and readers of scripts. When you teach someone to think, Dewey contended, you have put some part of the established world in jeopardy. And Geoffrey Canada is doing exactly that. If only Canada could have a beer with President Obama and ask him to endorse the democratic power of the HCZ. He endorsed it as a candidate, and it's one campaign pledge that's too important to sell down the river. More on Poverty
 
Mark Blankenship: True Blood Sucker Punch: Episode 7 Top
Note: This post contains spoilers Welcome to Sucker Punch, the only blog post that ranks the gaudiest moments on this week's episode of True Blood . --- (We begin with an argument already in progress) Are you serious True Blood ? Are you really going to spring Godric on me in the last moment of Episode 7 ("Release Me") and then cut to the credits? Don't you realize that I have to wait an entire week to see what happens next? God! Why are you... it's just... selfish! Oh... hey everyone. Sorry. True Blood and I are having a lovers' quarrel. I mean, we've been dating for a while, and even though he's not the perfect boyfriend---Don't you roll your eyes at me! You're not!---um, anyway , even though he's not the perfect boyfriend, we usually get along great. But then he pulls this crap, where he teases me with things I love---chocolate covered peanuts, flavored seltzer, the long-awaited emergence of a vampire sheriff---and then hides them for days. It's mean, and I hate it. That's why I acted like I forgot his birthday last year. You heard me! I was pretending I forgot! How did you like it? Wait... what? You're walking away? Where are you... ? I can't leave! I'm talking to these... Okay. I'll deal with him in a second. Sorry. The point is, this week's episode had some character inconsistencies, but in the end, it gave me an hour of zippy entertainment. Like, I have to applaud when Hoyt seduces Jessica by decorating her hotel room with blood-scented candles and playing "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. "Bleeding Love!" Even if Jessica were human , that's the exact song a softie like Hoyt would play for her. But because it mentions blood, he probably thinks cranking it on the stereo makes him extra smooth. Can't you just imagine a rack of "Bleeding Love" CD singles in the vampire hotel gift shop, and Hoyt buying one with a shy little grin? That's exactly who he is. Speaking of welcome touches, I love the return of Lafayette's attitude. His descent into fear has given him new depth, but it's even more intriguing to watch him cloak his fear in sasstalk. When he tells Tara that Eggs is "Satan in a Sunday hat," we smile at the top-notch zinger, but we also see the deadness in Nelsan Ellis' eyes. He's a time bomb, y'all. When do you think he'll go off? On the other hand, I'm frustrated with the Maryann storyline, since it highlights the show's tendency to turn smart characters momentarily stupid. Is Tara really such a moron that she can't see how dangerous Maryann is? Because let me tell you this: If I blacked out, and my fellow waitress blacked out, and the town deputy came in screaming that everyone was at an orgy in the woods, and my weirdly witchy new mentor rolled up with bloody feet and a dead rabbit in her arms, then I might just put it together. And Tara's smart enough to put it together, so why insist on keeping her in the dark? She deserves a story that lets her take action instead of being victimized, and her passivity is even more irritating because the writers have to ignore her well-established shrewdness in order to keep her ignorant. Likewise, can Sam Merlotte take an action? Any action? I appreciate getting some clear information from Daphne about Maryann---she's an immortal Maenad who can control everyone but "supernaturals"---but when Daphne tells Sam the truth, why doesn't he do anything? And why doesn't he talk to Andy after the poor man hollers about the orgy that Sam also saw ? Again, this is inconsistent with a character who is hungry to open up about himself. His perpetual inaction suggests the writers see him as a character who gets "told things," and not as a central part of the story. That said, I don't hate these scenes. I could watch Michelle Forbes' loopy performance as Maryann all day, and that scene where she chases Sam in her Minotaur head, and he escapes by turning into an owl, literally puts me on the edge of my sofa. Bravo to director Michael Ruscio (and his editing team) for crafting such a nail-biting moment. And bravo to Raelle Tucker, the episode's chief writer, for doing such clever work with the Fellowship segments. The crisscross of loyalty and deception gives emotional heft to the mounting danger for Sookie and Jason. Granted, I wish Sookie could save herself from getting raped, instead of needing some vampire man to rescue her, but I can let that go. Overall, I enjoy learning who cares for whom in the shadow of this church. Hugo's shifting loyalty to his vamp girlfriend, the Fellowship's shifting loyalty to Hugo, and Reverend Steve's wild mood swings are all good fun. On that note, a friend and I have been debating whether True Blood respects its Fellowship characters. I think Sarah Newlin proves the writers want to do more than take potshots at conservatives. Her tortuous moral code lets her find holy love in her affair with Jason, so long as she confesses her indiscretions to her husband. To me, that reads as the effort of a very devout woman to somehow balance her faith with her human weakness. She's really trying to believe in something, which makes her more than a cheap joke. Plus, who knows what her need to feel pure will make her do next? At the beginning of the episode, did any of us think Steve was going to tell her something that would make her shoot Jason in the chest? And that's why Sarah's gunshot is our Sucker Punch of the Week. It's more than just the advancement of a plotline: It's a metaphor for a woman's desperate attempt to keep a grip on her faith. She's so confused that she can love a man in the morning and shoot him that night... all in an effort to get closer to God. If we find out next week that she plugged him with one of those Holy Water bullets that Steve's been showing off, then her gunshot will be even more operatic. There's more I could talk about, of course, but I've got to get True Blood out of the bathroom. He's sulking about the stuff I said earlier, and if I don't calm him down, then I'll have to sleep on the porch. For more, please join me at The Critical Condition .
 
PBS Chief: Public TV Funding Faring Much Better Under Obama Top
PASADENA, Calif. — PBS chief Paula Kerger (KUR'-gur) says budget numbers tell the tale of how public TV is faring under the Obama administration, compared to that of former President George W. Bush. Kerger said that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's $430 million budget for this year was left intact by President Barack Obama, in contrast to the Bush administration's repeated bids to reduce or eliminate the federal subsidy. Kerger says Congress countered Bush's actions. The president and CEO of PBS told the Television Critics Association on Sunday, "I guess that says something," adding that she's hoping for $450 million next year. Federal money makes up about 15 percent of public broadcasting's funding, with other sources including corporations and viewers.
 
Alan Schram: Trouble Looming in China Top
The Chinese economy is posting impressive growth of almost 8% annually, even as the rest of the world is going through excruciating economic pain. How is that resilience possible? After all, China is dependent on selling to the US and Europe. Western consumers are in cash preservation mode, dramatically cutting back. China's economy should logically be shrinking, but it isn't. The answer is that the Chinese government has been artificially inflating its economy. Until the global economy turned down, the Chinese were exporting vigorously, and growing legitimately. America was in the habit of borrowing money from China and using that very money to buy Chinese goods. That created growth on both ends. Now, fearing the vagaries of the downturn, the Chinese government is simply propping the economy up. They are doing so by printing money, and by forcing the government controlled banks to lend that money. Money supply in China is up significantly, and companies are borrowing and spending at a quicker pace. Because it is a closed system, some of those loose bank loans flowed into the stock market, which is up over 80% this year. Ofcourse, forced lending to state owned enterprises is not a productive way to build an economy. Large scale stimulus is not sustainable, and it will have dire consequences. What will ensue is a credit bubble and bad loans that will make sub-prime look respectable. Remember also, that China is not converting the money it receives in exchange for its products. It holds massive foreign exchange reserves of over $2 trillion, because it does not want its own currency to rise. That will make China less competitive, thus hampering growth. China's most important export to the US is low interest rates, which suits both sides fine. Alas, they are forgetting what is perhaps the most important lesson in economics (and one of the hardest to learn). A nimiety of money is not synonymous with prosperity. It doesn't matter how many pieces of paper are being moved around, but what they buy. The Chinese leaders feel they have no choice but to stimulate. After all, if they did not create the illusion of economic growth, they would have wide-spread hunger and mass riots on the streets. They hope to be able to keep this charade going until the global economy recovers. The last time the world experienced a severe global recession, the ensuing social unrest resulted in the rise of totalitarian regimes of the worst kind human history had ever seen. People like Stalin, Hitler and Mao used their people's despair to commit unspeakable atrocities. China is already a country with no tradition of liberty, no rule of law and no transparency. In addition it is a nuclear power, which emboldens its leaders and makes them almost impervious to political pressure from the outside. What's more, facing over-capacity and bad debt, they are furiously engaged in holding together the tattering economy in the rough seas of the global Great Recession. Those issues have to be dealt with, and not via temporary measures and artificial schemes, or there will be hell to pay. Is such a country an appropriate place for investors? Would you like your retirement to be riding on China's political stability and bogus economic growth? Alan Schram is the Managing Partner of Wellcap Partners, a Los Angeles based investment firm. Email at aschram@wellcappartners.com More on China
 
Mark Goulston, M.D.: Gates, Crowley, Biden and Obama: A Teachable Moment? Top
"When the student is ready, the teacher appears" - Chinese proverb Teachable moment at the beer summit in the White House Rose Garden? I'm not sure that the student(s) were ready, so I'm not sure what exactly they learned. I've been thinking about what constitutes a teachable moment. It seems to me that it occurs when a student is genuinely motivated to listen and learn with an informed, but open mind. Psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion explained that "listening without memory or desire" is the purest and most open form of listening. When we listen with memory, we listen with an old agenda that we are trying to fit the other person into; when we listen with desire, we listen with a new agenda where we are trying to to do the same thing, In neither case are we listening to the other person. It is hard to imagine that either Gates or Crowley listened to each other without either an old or new agenda. If they could have, they may have each learned that the other was acting more from "fearful aggression" than from pure malevolence. Fearful aggression occurs in many decent people when in a state of fear they react with hostility. It's a very primitive "fight or flight" response that not only lower animals, but humans react with to a perceived threat or assault. It would be easy to see how both Gates and Crowley reacted in this way and how Obama's initial reaction to the incident was a manifestation of his "fearful aggression." (On a tangent, it was the "fearful aggression" of Hilary Clinton and John McCain that may have lost them the Presidential primary and general election). In truth, what maintains the walls between races, generations, genders and globally between nations is more "fearful aggression" than true hostility. If instead of reacting in a reflexly aggressive way when we feel under attack, we could pause, take a deep breath (or as many as we need), ask the other person what they meant by what they said, take the further step of asking them what we had done that in their eyes had provoked such a response and then correct the misunderstandings, there's no telling how many situations we might prevent from escalating out of control. More on Barack Obama
 
Ryan O'Neal: I Hit On My Daughter Tatum At Farrah's Funeral Top
Vanity Fair has split September covers - Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett - and the explosive Fawcett article by Leslie Bennetts offers a remarkable, on-the-record example of the father-daughter dynamic between Farrah's on-off lover Ryan O'Neal and his daughter Tatum, as well as insight into his relationship with Farrah. O'Neal spoke to Bennetts and characterized himself as "a hopeless father." He offered the below example from Farrah's funeral as a reason why: "I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me," Ryan told me. "I said to her, 'You have a drink on you? You have a car?' She said, 'Daddy, it's me--Tatum!' I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it's my daughter. It's so sick." "That's our relationship in a nutshell," Tatum said when I asked her about it. "You make of it what you will." She sighed. "It had been a few years since we'd seen each other, and he was always a ladies' man, a bon vivant." Ryan also talks about the demise of his relationship with Farrah in 1998, when the pair initially split. He cites Farrah's menopause and talks about subsequently bedding a much-younger woman. The whole article is not online, but the issue is on newsstands Wednesday in New York and LA, and a few more remarkable excerpts are here on Vanity Fair's website . Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter! More on Farrah Fawcett
 
World Oil Supplies Are Running Out Fast Top
The world is heading for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production, a leading energy economist has warned.
 
Roubini: Recession Won't End Until End Of The Year Top
The global economy is still in a recession that won't end until the end of the year, said Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the global financial crisis. More on The Recession
 
Trina Thompson: Unemployed Woman Sues College For Tuition Top
NEW YORK — A New York City woman who says she can't find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor's degree. Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court. The 27-year-old is seeking the $70,000 she spent on tuition. Thompson says she's been unable to find gainful employment since she received her information technology degree in April. She says the Bronx school's Office of Career Advancement hasn't provided her with the leads and career advice it promises. Monroe College spokesman Gary Axelbank says Thompson's lawsuit is completely without merit. The college insists it helps its graduates find jobs. ___ Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com
 
David A. Harris: Comical Posturing on Israel Top
We've seen a growing chorus of voices recently questioning the direction of American foreign policy when it comes to Israel. A number of these voices -- including some recent editorials -- appear disconnected from the facts; they seem to ignore President Obama's commitment in word and deed to our strong U.S.-Israel relationship as this administration thoughtfully pursues peace. But others willfully and hypocritically distort this administration's stance on Israel to drive a wedge in the Jewish community, and to peel off support from this overwhelmingly Democratic voting demographic. And that just makes me crazy. Enter Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Jim Jordan (R-OH). They circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter this week expressing their supposed "deep concerns" about President Obama's commitment to foreign aid for Israel, which has regularly been deemed a key vote by the American Jewish community. In total, 23 House Republicans signed the letter. The only problem? Like more than half of House Republicans, just a few weeks ago these two voted against foreign aid, including $2.2 billion in aid to Israel -- a measure which the administration supported, along with 95 percent of House Democrats. So they're hypocritically circulating heart-wrenching "Dear Colleague" letters, warning the President darkly that on his watch, "foreign assistance to Israel may be in danger." Yet most of the Republicans signing the letter just got done doing their best to kill the bill. It is in fact comically hypocritical; do they think nobody is watching or keeping track? As it so happens, the very voting block they're cynically targeting -- the American Jewish community -- does notice these things. Between votes and letters like these and the broad common ground between most American Jews and the policies of House and Senate Democrats and this White House, it's no surprise that Jews continue voting so reliably for Democrats. It's also no surprise that of the dozens of members of Congress who are Jewish, only one is Republican -- Eric Cantor (R-VA). He told the Israeli English-language newspaper Haaretz this weekend, "My sense is that we need the Sarah Palins, Dick Cheneys, Rush Limbaughs, the Colin Powells.... We need all of them." Keep talking, Mr. Cantor. You're just helping to keep Jews pulling the lever for Democrats. This is crossposted on Politico's Arena. More on Barack Obama
 
Leaf: Nissan Unveils New Electric Car Top
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn drove quietly out of the Japanese automaker's soon-to-open headquarters Sunday in the first public viewing of its new zero-emission vehicle. It was the first time the external design was shown of Nissan Motor Co.'s environmentally friendly electric automobile, set to go on sale in Japan, the U.S. and Europe next year. The blue hatchback had a sporty design and a recharging opening in the front. Designer Shiro Nakamura said the vehicle was designed to avoid a stereotypical futuristic design. "This is not a niche car," he said. "We didn't make it unusual looking. It had to be a real car." Nissan has promised that the Leaf, which goes into mass-production as a global model in 2012, will be about the same price as a gas-engine car such as the 1.5 million yen ($15,000) Tiida, which sells abroad as the Versa, starting at about $10,000. Ghosn drove out on stage with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sitting next to him, and with a Yokohama governor and mayor in the rear seats. "This car represents a real breakthrough," Ghosn told reporters and guests at a showroom in the new headquarters. He said the new car and new office building in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, marked two fresh starts for Nissan, which hopes to take the lead in zero-emission vehicles. Nissan, which has an alliance with Renault SA of France, has fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in gas-electric hybrids that have become increasingly popular recently. Nissan said the new 22-story headquarters was designed to be sufficiantly energy efficient to qualify as one of the most ecological buildings in Japan. The company, which is losing money amid the global downturn, is selling its old Tokyo headquarters as part of efforts to cut costs. Koizumi said environmentally friendly auto technology is key to Japan's economic growth. "It was so unexpectedly smooth and quiet," he said after getting out of the car. "I am sure this car is going to be popular."
 
Obama Admin Considering Cutting Off Iran's Gasoline Imports If Nuke Talks Rejected Top
The Obama administration is talking with allies and Congress about the possibility of imposing an extreme economic sanction against Iran if it fails to respond to President Obama's offer to negotiate on its nuclear program: cutting off the country's imports of gasoline and other refined oil products. More on Iran
 
Jeff Biggers: This Little (Coal-Fired) Light of Mine: Will President Heed 45 Million Prayers? Top
As the brilliant lights of the White House shine across Pennsylvania Avenue Monday evening, generated by a coal-fired plant that uses coal stripmined from devastating mountaintop removal operations in Appalachia, religious leaders and organizations representing over 45 million Americans from across the country will hold a special candlelight prayer vigil at 7pm in Lafayette Park. "The purpose of the rally is to remember the nearly 500 mountains already destroyed by mountaintop removal mining," according to Jordan Blevins, Assistant Director of the National Council of Church's Eco-Justice Office, and the sponsor of the event, "and to have people of faith call upon the federal government to end this destructive practice." This little coal-fired light of mine: Will President Barack Obama be listening to these prayers to end a mining practice that detonates millions of pounds of ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosives every day in the Appalachian coalfields in order to scoop up only 5-7 percent of our national coal production? The National Council of Churches is the ecumenical voice of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and traditional peace churches, and represents over 45 million Americans in 100,000 congregations across the country. For more information on today's event, visit their Eco-Justice site: http://ecojustice.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/ending-mountaintop-removal/ August 3rd should be a national day of atonement for our sins against the American mountains and mountaineers. Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in 1977, which President Jimmy Carter called "a disappointing effort" and a "watered down" bill, and unleashed one of the most egregious environmental violations in our nation's history. Carter's main concern with SMCRA's loopholes dealt with the atrocious political compromise engineered by Big Coal sycophants in Congress, which effectively granted federal recognition of mountaintop removal. Nearly four decades later, over 1.2 million acres of hardwood deciduous forests in our nation's carbon sink have been wiped, historic communities have been depopulated and left in ruin, and over 1,2o0 miles of waterways have been jammed with mining waste. For more history on Carter, SMCRA and the last 38 years of regulatory machinations and mountaintop removal mayhem, see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/jimmy-carters-next-urgent_b_240624.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/dear-mr-president-declare_b_202321.html Religious leaders and ecumenical organizations have been outspoken on mountaintop removal destruction for years. Over the past decade, six major denominations have issued anti-mountaintop removal resolutions of faith, stating that "the sanctity and sacredness of human life and the natural environment should not be destroyed in the name of corporate profit," and "mountaintop removal coal mining is devastating the environment, economies, people, and culture in Appalachia." Similar resolutions have been passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the Religious Society of Friends. The Presbyterian Church of the United States declared: "WHEREAS, mountaintop removal coal mining destroys both the beauty and productive capacity of the land thus eliminating future or alternative economic opportunities for the families of Appalachia WHEREAS, God instructs us to "not defile the land where you live and where I dwell" (Numbers 35:34) [...]It is resolved that the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA, urges state and federal agencies that regulate mining practices, as well as coal companies themselves, to abandon the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining and work to meet our nation's energy needs in a manner that is just, sustainable and consistent with Christian values." For more information on the resolutions, see: http://www.ilovemountains.org/resolutions Last spring, the West Virginia Council of Churches published a book of personal narratives about the human costs and human rights violations of mountaintop removal on coalfields residents. The booklet, "Mountain Tops Do Not Grow Back, Stories of Living in the Midst of Mountain Top Removal Strip Mining," can be read at: http://www.wvcc.org/docs/MountaintopsDoNotGrowBack.pdf Two years ago, the Catholic Committee of Appalachia and the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth sponsored a tour of mountaintop removal sites for several national evangelical leaders in the United States, and announced their intent to "pledge voice and vote against mountaintop removal. Our voices will retell the testimony we have heard and the destruction we have seen through our sermons, writings, and conversations." More information on the tour can be found here: http://www.kftc.org/our-work/canary-project/people-in-action/religious-leaders-mwt In 2004, Catholic Bishop Emeritus Walter Sullivan from Richmond, Virginia, the corporate home of mountaintop removal giant Massey Energy, toured the coalfields and released a statement: "The Church needs to stand with those who live lives of hopelessness and helplessness. The mountain culture and its way life are being destroyed. Thankfully, the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA), under the direction of Sister Robbie Pentecost and the many Church workers in the area, are willing to stand up and be counted. "Mountain top removal" is just another example of profit taking preference over the lives of people, where the powerful wage a different kind of war against the powerless." The Christians for the Mountains (CFTM) organization was founded a few years ago as a a "network of persons committed to advocating that Christians and their churches recognize their God-given responsibility to live compatably and sustainably upon this earth God has created." CFTM has been active in organizing in events and campaigns in the coalfield region. See: http://christiansforthemountains.org/about/ Here's a clip from the Christians for the Mountains role in "Mountain Mourning," in the "Mountains Don't Grow Back" film documentary by B. J. Gudmundsson:
 
Obama Planning 'August Offensive' Against Insurance Industry Top
With Republicans mobilizing against the proposed health care overhaul, President Obama, Congressional Democrats and leading advocacy groups are laying the groundwork for an August offensive against the insurance industry as part of a coordinated campaign to sell the public on the need for reform. More on Barack Obama
 
Russ Wellen: What if We Don't Want to be Greeted by Loved Ones at Death? Top
Conventional wisdom holds that fear of death is epidemic in the Western world. Whatever the truth of that, cultural commentators are all too willing to chalk it up to everything from our materialistic society to our isolation from one another. What's missing, though, is an honest acknowledgment that fear of death can be a rational response. If you break the fear down to its components parts, it suddenly starts to make sense. Prominent among our fears are eternal punishment and non-existence, not to mention the pain of the dying process. A fourth fear -- that of the unknown -- essentially incorporates the other three. Even those of us who believe we're destined for a better place can't deny that we're heading out essentially sight unseen. Not only aren't we shown a travelogue of our destination, we're provided with no travel brochures to leaf through. Guide books, such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead , are the exception, especially in the West. Nor is there a map or even an itinerary -- inexcusable omissions in the Information Age. Of course, there's always word of mouth. On Christianity's heaven: "God's crystal-clear light will fill heaven [which is] a city made of pure gold. ... Each of the twelve gates of the city will be made of pearl." On Islam's jannah: "[A state of bliss where you wear] costly robes, bracelets, [and] perfumes as [you] partake in exquisite banquets [and] recline on couches inlaid with gold or precious stones." (Note how I refrained from the cheap joke about houri, those translucent virgins used to entice suicide bombers.) But for those of us who fear death with its concomitant uncertainty about the afterlife, a life rope has been thrown to us. It comes in the form of the comforting notion that when we pass over we'll be greeted by loved ones. You didn't hear this from Christianity or Islam, though. True, you're assured that you'll see your family again upon your assimilation into the afterlife. However, you're gently but firmly reminded that heaven is all about God or Allah. You can be forgiven if that reminds you of a cult. What then is the source of the "greeted by loved ones" motif? In fact, it's a product of mediums -- one actually titled his book Never Say Goodbye -- and those who've had near-death experiences (NDEs), as well as those who believe in past lives. According to this belief, not only will you be reunited with your family, but, according to the NDEs of many, its members will appear, not at their cachexic death-bed worst, but as in your most cherished memories of them. Your mother will be at her most maternal and your grandmother will be at her grandmotherly best. For many who fear death, this may be just what the doctor ordered. But what about those for whom the prospect of meeting their family is a source of little or no consolation? Many -- perhaps more than care to admit it -- subscribe to the notion that family is just a group of people, most of whom we'd never spend time with if our lots hadn't been thrown in together by the luck of the draw. To us, family is, at worst, abusive, at best, dysfunctional. Then there are those of us to whom the idea of family is decent enough, but representative of a commonplace, provincial mentality that we've dedicated our youths to escaping. In other words, the prospect of an afterlife in which we're enmeshed in the web of family life all over again is even worse than being kept in the dark about the afterlife. Wait, how about if we just give family members we meet up with there an air kiss? I mean, what's more befitting the incorporeal? Then we'll engage them in some small talk -- "Uncle Harry didn't make it? Sorry to hear that." -- and move on. Unfeeling as it sounds, that may be all that's required according to psychologist and hypnotist James Newton. The author of popular and provocative books about reincarnation like Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, he's at the forefront of the minority who, instead of past lives, explores lives between lives, aka, the afterlife. According to Dr. Newton's hypnosis subjects, once family greets you, its members fade into the woodwork (or cloudwork, as it were), at least for the time being. You then move on to your "soul group" -- not the Earth, Wind and Fire kind, but the type said to account for that "Haven't I met you before?" feeling. Composed of individuals with whom we've reincarnated on a regular basis, we catch up on old times with them in the afterlife. This is where the worst fears of those to whom family has been an albatross around their necks come to fruition. Soul groups, see, are said to often include family members. Furthermore, when it comes to reincarnation, family roles are interchangeable. For example, your mother in a previous life may be your wife in this life. Good thing we're not privy to that information on earth -- the "ew-w-w" factor would be off the charts. Furthermore, in the afterlife we can expect to hash out our differences with family members who are part of our soul group. However civil the tone -- as you can imagine, strife on high is frowned upon -- an afterlife encounter group with our family doesn't sound so heavenly, does it? Not to mention the boundary issues that mind-reading raises. Still, if you're among those to whom one of reincarnation's selling points is that you get to change families, you can take comfort in the knowledge that your stay in the afterlife should be brief. After you've enjoyed some r & r, digested your previous life, and drawn up an action plan for your next, your soul will be recycled to earth again. Gut it out in heaven until you get out -- just like when you were growing up in a bad or dreary family. More on Religion
 
Michael Sigman: Innumeracy: Today's Illiteracy Top
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house. -- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love Twenty years ago, the all-around scientific genius Douglas Hofstadter coined the term "innumeracy" to describe an ignorance of mathematics. To emphasize the personal and social consequences of innumeracy, he labeled it "the mathematical counterpart of illiteracy." A failure to understand simple statistics may cause us to draw crazy conclusions from firm facts. For example: In the 1927 season, Babe Ruth hit an astonishing 60 home runs -- far outstripping any other Major League Baseball player in history. The next year, he hit a merely spectacular 54 round-trippers -- a 10% decline. Compare the Babe's performance with that of Washington Senator (the team, not the elected rep from the Evergreen State) Samuel Filmore West (the outfielder, not the famous Frisco concert hall). In 1931, West hit six four-baggers, 100% more than the three he'd managed the year before. It would be absurd to claim that West's 100% increase made him a better home run hitter than Ruth with his 10% decrease. Yet this sort of irrational thinking can wreak havoc in our everyday lives. Take the stock market, which lost around 50% of its value between October, 2007 and March, 2009. It has since posted a 50% gain, which is a fine thing. But if you think that makes everything even-Steven -- that it's evidence you should either buy or sell -- you might want to check your 401K first. And how about the so-called "Cheney doctrine," the absurd formulation that even if there's only a one percent chance of a terrorist attack on American soil, the government must operate as if it's a certainty. What if there's a three percent chance? Carry on like it's a triple certainty? A sixth-grade knowledge of percentages can be invaluable at all levels of financial decision-making. Credit card outfits reap huge late fees on top of usurious interest charges -- for payments that are even one day late -- because few consumers calculate the full measure of these penalties. And how many understand the true scope of our deficits and national debt, which, some would be surprised to learn, are actually two very different calculations? Innumeracy also threatens to distort the way we perceive this phase of our economic crisis, with observers trumpeting statistics that, at best, indicate slight improvement from last year's debacle. A recent Newsweek cover blared, "The Recession Is Over." But all that would mean -- even if it were true -- is that the economy has stopped contracting. According to the New York Times, "The Commerce Department reported that home sales rose 11 percent in June, an increase that dwarfed economists' expectations." But, the story went on, "it's also true that despite this monthly increase, sales of new homes were still down 21 percent from June 2008." And June 2008 sucked! A bit more economic optimism is constructive, but you needn't be a math whiz to see that this is no time for celebration. Those less-horrendous stats are slippery little devils subject to revision. In the sobering blog entry "Deeper Than We Thought," New York Times chief financial correspondent Floyd Norris concluded on Friday -- on the basis of recently revised government reports -- that, "In general, the things we thought were bad turn out to have been worse." Compulsive gamblers will tell you -- and neuroscience has shown -- that no matter how low their fortunes sink, the slightest uptick gets those endorphins flowing and sends rationality packing. A couple of tiny wins and it's time to double down because -- even though they're still almost broke - they're "on a roll" and can win back what's been lost, and more. The inexorable mathematical truth, though, is that there's only one gambling guarantee: do it long enough and you'll lose every dime. Most people don't care about statistics, or feel intimidated by percentages. Some even wear their innumeracy as a badge of pride, contrasting their own language skills or artistic talent with a dismissive, "I don't do math." If your math gene is recessive, check out http://www.wolframalpha.com/ a new search engine that provides computational help on everything from mortgage rates to molecular weights. If the idea of looking at a mortgage statement or credit card bill still makes you want to gag, don't despair. Albert Einstein had this advice for troubled innumerates: "Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics; I assure you that mine are greater." More on The Recession
 

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