the slippery slope

If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.
Thomas de Quincey

required viewing

   The best tool for teaching kids about peer pressure is still Pinocchio--the classic Disney movie. Remember the street corner ne'er-do-wells who talk Pinocchio into cutting school? They teach him to shoot pool and smoke cigars, but he doesn't really think it's fun.  He winds up being forced to work in a mine and turning into an ass--all because ducking his responsibilities sounded so alluring.

imtdt

An all-purpose answer for someone who feels a need to "critique" what you do, for lack of anything else to do or say--

I meant to do that.

it just needs Howard Cosell

     Many people follow politics because they feel it is their duty to know enough about what's going on to vote in an informed way, in their own interest. Other people see politics more as a sport, and become very interested in the fine points of the rules and the records of the players. The more you know about politics, the more interesting watching C-span will seem. All it needs is a Howard Cosell.

disinterested information

     If you're trying to follow the primary elections, you''ll want to look for some disinterested sources of information. "Disinterested" means the information isn't promoting a particular political point of view--as if the party or person providing the information doesn't care who wins the election. A sample ballot is a good place to start. You'll need to know the numbers of your particular voting districts. You only have one polling place, but you belong to more than one voting district. You may belong to a voting district for city or town council, and that has a number. You belong to a particular voting district for state legislature and for the state senate--those have numbers, too. You also belong to a voting district for your congressional representative in Washington. It can be difficult to remember, so write it down, or save a brochure--your local city council member or state congressional representative may have one. Bookmark the information  if you find it online. Then, if you find some disinterested information--such as all of the candidates answering the same question--you'll know which of them you want to vote for.

voter information

     Registered to vote but don't plan on going to the polls tomorrow, because you haven't been keeping up with the local political races? You might try the web site of the League of Women Voters. Locally, here in Philadelphia, you can go to the web site of the Committee of Seventy.  Both offer reliable information on elections. Nationally, you can find information on your local elections at OnTheIssues and VoteSmart.  So vote, already.

sad news

     Someone who considered himself well versed in  psychology wanted to know why cutting onions makes people cry.  He was sure that this must be connected to a sad incident in their formative years. I do not know whether or not the student of psychology had ever cut an onion himself.  If he had, he might have found tears in his eyes. That might give him a chance to investigate his own psychology.

the misery loves company approach

     Please, techland, if you offer to help me with a technical problem, offer technical advice. Do not offer to introduce me to other people with the same problem on the theory that misery loves company.

a little practicality

     One of the reasons we have so much public art--statuary and such--here in Philadelphia is that there is a special tax requiring it. New buildings and other large construction projects are required to set aside 1% of the cost of construction for public art. Art is nice, but we have a lot of it, and you can't eat it, after all. Perhaps we could amend the law so that 1% of the cost of new construction is set aside to fund housing for the homeless, or to rehab abandoned properties.

getting an ID in PA

     I have read a lot lately on the new law requiring voters to identify themselves at the polls. I thought we already had such a law, as we have always had to identify ourselves in the past.  I read one article this week detailing how difficult it is to obtain an ID in Pennsylvania. The author didn't check the facts, to begin with, about how to obtain a PA State ID--one you can now get even if you don't drive a car. This was supposed to help people who don't drive--with a state-issued ID, they would be able to identify themselves in the same way that anyone with a driver's license can--otherwise they would be relegated to check-cashing services instead of banks, would find it impossible to buy liquor or tobacco, and wouldn't be able to apply for government health programs or other benefits. 
     Not only is it not too difficult to obtain an ID in PA, it's too easy. You don;'need a Social Security card--those do take time to get, or to have replaced, but you were supposed to have one anyway. All you need is a birth certificate and a piece of junk mail. For the purposes of fraud or identity theft, that translates into information on when and where someone was born, and a piece of junk mail addressed to him or her. Getting an ID ought to be much more difficult.

lawsuits occasioned by crime

     Can you sue someone for robbing you, or for assaulting you? Well, yes, and no. You cannot use a civil suit to accuse someone of a crime, even if he or she committed one--we have criminal courts for that, and the person is not guilty of the crime unless he or she has been convicted of the crime. After the person has been convicted, you may sue for damages--and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
   Here's an example: someone hits you with his car. You may not file a civil suit accusing him of drunk driving. If he is indicted for drunk driving, and convicted, you may make that a part of your lawsuit. The same holds true for any other crime. If someone robs you, and is indicted and convicted, you may certainly sue to recover your lost property. Anyone insisting that this "just isn't done" ought to be able to show you a statute forbidding it--and there isn't one. You may sue for assault--just remember that you can really only sue for money in a United States court .That means you have to show how you lost money through being assaulted--lost wages, medical bills, psychiatric treatment, or damage to your career and reputation--it all translates into money.

something that could be arranged

     I used to visit thrift stores and rummage sales fairly often, looking for old books. As I browsed I noticed many lovely old monogrammed items--the most popular being marcasite pins with three initials. I suppose they sat in the thrift store for years before anyone bought them. I once asked a woman who worked in a thrift store why they didn't "promote" these items with a large sign that might find a home for the items by attracting the notice of someone with the same initials. Now all they need is a web site--unless they already have one.

a frightening thought

     Here's a frightening thought, shared with me by someone who has a very scary mind--" that doesn't match what's in my head", said the person with the scary mind when informed of a new fact/idea/bit of information about reality, apparently busy dreaming up a better world by ignoring and/or denying this one.

caught the TV people

     I watch "Cold Case" when I notice that it's on, because it's filmed ( or partly filmed ) in my hometown of Philadelphia. I like to see if I can recognize streets and neighborhoods, and if I can tell what they used from reality, and what they felt a need to invent or re-invent. Last night they had a young man who supposedly couldn't afford to go to Cornell because his father had gambled away all their money.  Cornell isn't in Philadelphia, but this never happened. Cornell is an Ivy League school. What makes the Ivy League a "league" is that if you are accepted to one of the schools in the league, you can consider yourself accepted to any of them. One of the things that makes students try so hard to be accepted to Ivy League schools is a guarantee of tuition. If you are accepted to an Ivy League school, they will help you find funding of one kind or another for your education--so it's not possible that the TV character couldn't afford the tuition at Cornell. We also have to wonder why the character didn't apply to the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia's Ivy League school, if he wanted to study medicine at a prestigious university. Not so believable.

just get your name on the ballot

     Don't like the current state of American politics? You could run for office yourself, if you don't have other gainful employment. You have to be 25 years old to serve in the House of Representatives, 30 to serve in the U.S. Senate, and 35 to run for president. You must be a citizen of the United States--born a citizen if you want to be president. Just circulate a petition and get your name on the ballot. You can start your own political party if the two major parties don't appeal to you. That's how it's done.

political parties

     When you register to vote, you don't have to register as a republican or a democrat. You can register as an "unaffiliated" voter, meaning you don't belong to either party. You won't be able to vote in primary elections--the elections that are held by each party to choose the candidates who will run in  election--but you will be able to vote in all local, state and federal elections. The former designation for "unaffiliated" was "independent", which to many people had the connotation of belonging to a subversive cult, probably investigated by the FBI.  The term "unaffiliated" doesn't seem to carry any such load--it just means someone who isn't particularly interested in the platform of either major party.  Many people who don't really care about party politics register with a party anyway. By registering with a party they can vote in the party's primary, and so have more say in what happens in an election. They are able to vote to choose the candidates, and then they can vote for the candidate of their choice. Registering with a party doesn't mean you have to vote for that party's candidates in the election--you can vote for either candidate, or for a mix of candidates from both parties ( a split ticket ). Something to consider before you register. By the way, if you change your mind, you can ask to change your party affiliation.

more constitution

     Amendment V of the United states Constitution states that no person is "for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb". According to a "literalist" interpretation of the constitution, that means that if the case is not a capital case--one that might end in a sentence of death--the accused can be tried as many times as the court likes--until the court gets it right, or obtains a conviction.

an idea for gun regulation

     Some people insist that the government has no right to regulate guns at all, since the United States Constitution guarantees them the right to "keep and bear arms".  Tell them you don't see why a private citizen needs automatic weapons, and they become true patriots. What we might do is redefine "arms", since "guns" aren't mentioned in the Second Amendment.  We could become "strict constructionists" and decide that "arms" means "small arms"; or we could become "original intenters" and decide that the framers must have meant only muskets and flintlock rifles.
    If  I have a "take" on the Constitution, it's that the Constitution is a written statute, and that it says what it says--no "interpretation"--it's in English. No "reading into it"--we write things down partly to make this impossible, or at least difficult. No "framer's intent". The intent of some of the most eloquent people who have ever lived is clear in the document. Any case that can't be made using the words as written needs to become a case for an amendment, not an "interpretation". You might call me a literalist, who would tell the gun lobby: " it says arms, but never mentions guns".

more heroes

     A hero or heroine, by definition, is the son or daughter of a god or goddess and a mortal being. Hercules was a hero. Helen was a heroine. People had different expectations of heroes than they had of mere mortals, and believed they had rights to them--after all, the people were only human, and the heroes were, well, heroes. I am inclined to believe that there have never been any heroes, in the sense of people who are born with different capacities, and from whom we can expect different things. There were just people who got up and did what needed to be done--all mere mortals. Heroes live in comic books.

buiding codes

    It would be against any modern building code to have a building with rooms--including basements-- that do not let in air or light. I live in an area with a lot of historic buildings, many of which have basements with no windows. If we want to preserve the buildings, they should be brought up to modern standards of health--especially since some of them are restaurants. Perhaps the basements could be filled in, so that there wouldn't be a room accessible only through inside stairs or covered outdoor stairs.

a question I couldn't answer

     A question about ducks. I had it repeated to me that we ought to get rid of all of the ducks in the river, because they poop in it and that's dirty. I tried to explain that the ducks were a sign that the river is healthy. When the river was very polluted, there were no ducks or geese. I explained about the sewage treatment plant, and how it sterilizes the water. But I couldn't answer the question about duck poop. I don't know if ducks poop in the river--maybe we shouldn't be blaming them for it, or trying to explain why it doesn't matter. Maybe they poop on the shore.
     If this little item circulates, maybe duck poop will get the serious answer it deserves. It was a perfectly sensible question, and a reasonable concern. I just ran out of biology.