the end of the world?

     A lot of people seem to be worried that the world will end tomorrow, because an ancient Mayan calendar will expire. If you look at an old time-and-date watch you may find that it too has expired--that the function for the date ended sometime in the 1980's, or the 1960's--but the world didn't end. I once had a date-and-name stamp from an employer that ended with 1985--but I'm still here. If I'm not here tomorrow, the doomsday crowd won't be able to say "we told you so"--because they won't be here, either.

Santa Claus

     You can find out a lot about people by asking them what they tell their children about Santa Claus. Many people tell children that Santa only leaves presents for "good" or "nice" children. The same people will tell you that they never would stoop to bribing children, as it ruins their characters. They may tell children that Santa leaves coal for bad children, or that Santa won't leave them presents if they are naughty. The same people will deny that they threaten children idly, as that would also ruin their characters.
     What people tell children about Santa is likely to be philosophically similar to what they tell children about God. Many parents raise children to believe that God punishes naughty children and rewards good ones--the concept of "naughty" or "good" being at the whim of parents, Santa, or God, and not based on an actual  code of ethics or behavior.  "God" may be just another part of a parental arsenal of bribes, and threats, or rewards and punishments.

picture ID's

     We need more picture ID's. Our pictures are on our driver's licenses, our school, ID cards, and sometimes our employee ID cards. Why aren't they on our credit cards and debit cards?

the resurrection of the body

     I watched a movie last night about the "resurrection of the body". The dead came back to life--anyway, their bodies did. The movie was called The Night of the Living Dead. 

les tricoteuses

     Les tricoteuses were the women who supposedly knitted the fates of the condemned during the French Revolution.  Their knitting supposedly contained a record of the names of those who were to be put to death. Very creepy. Now we have "yarn bombers", who knit things around trees and posts. I wonder if the CIA has been working on breaking their code, and what secret messages might lie hidden in this knitting?

raising money for charity

     The walks for charity--you have probably seen or heard of them. It's great to raise money for a cause. I went on two 25-mile walks when I was younger, for a charity. But I'd really like to see the charities pick a product or a job--that's right, a job. How about being the charity that offers to rake leaves every fall for a fee? The money to go to the charity, of course, and the labor to be done by volunteers.  The volunteers could show up with paper bags and take the leaves to the composting center. How about an annual pick-up-the-park day for charity? More than one charity could use this one.  How about a highway clean-up for charity? Or a playground clean-up and fix-up? Or annual chimney sweeping, gutter cleaning, or anything else you can think of? Once word got around, the charity would become known for its service, and people would save jobs and money for the charity. So much more useful than walking about.

business practices

     When I go into a  grocery store, and ask where the coffee is, the clerk doesn't ask if I'd like to talk with the man who couldn't find the cereal.  The clerk tells me what I want to know.
     When I go into an auto repair shop to have my transmission checked, the mechanic doesn't ask if I'd like to meet the man with the bad radiator. The mechanic fixes my car.
     When I go to the doctor's, the nurse doesn't ask if I'd like to chat with some sick people. The nurse asks about my symptoms.
     If  I ask a police officer for directions, the officer doesn't ask me if I would like to connect with other lost people, so that we could form a club. The officer gives directions.
    But this is all in realityville. Cyberspace is different, or so it seems.
   

voting

If you're not planning to vote in November, remember that among those who do vote, your non-vote means that you have agreed to everything or anything the rest of us decide with our votes. No quibbling. Or complaining. If you want to complain, vote.

stamps--it matters

     A new campaign suggests that we put pictures of living people on United States stamps. The people you see honored on stamps are always dead people, usually people who have been dead for 10 years, at least.  The image of a living person on a coin or stamp traditionally, and currently around the world, means that the person whose image is on the stamp or coin is the head of state, and probably the hereditary monarch, of the country issuing the coin or stamp. From ancient times, when the Romans "recalled" and reissued coins when a new leader took over, to the modern image of the British queen on British stamps and coins, the figure of a living person has meant the ruler of the state. In America, we use the stamps and coins to remember and honor those who have made contributions to our society, not to proclaim a new dictator.

voter ID

     How about a joint program to help people without ID's obtain them before election day? They ought to have them anyway, and there's still plenty of time. They will need a Social Security card, a birth certificate and  ( 2 ) proofs of residency, such  as a piece of mail addressed to them or a W-2 form. If the applicant doesn't have a piece of mail, send him or her one.A birth certificate can take weeks, so the time to send for one is now. The fee is $10, sent to the Division of Vital Records of the State of Pennsylvania. There is an online application for this, to speed things up.
     A Social Security card can be obtained at the Social Security office. The applicant will need a birth certificate and other ID, preferably photo ID, such as a school or employee ID. Social Security cards don't cost anything, but you may spend a few hours in the Social Security office. A Social Security card is required for employment, so everyone needs one anyway.
     For the  state-issued ID, the applicant will need a $13.50 fee and perhaps transportation to the driver's license facility.  The ID process takes an afternoon or a morning, including getting to the facility and back. The person leaves with a state-issued ID card, not a driver's license. The ID card is as good as a driver's license for identification at the bank or anyplace that asks for an ID. So why not get moving?

Dear Google

    Dear Google,

I would like to suggest that you reconfigure Blogger so that the template on which I type the blog matches the one you use to print it. There is no reason I should have to check the blog and reformat it if I don't think it looks nice. The "compose" function should be made to match the "print" function, with the same number of characters per line.
thanks

the next amendment, maybe

     If the people--the voters-- of the United States want to take guns out of private hands, they would need a constitutional amendment.  Gun advocates argue that the intent of the framers ( of our Constitution ) was that every citizen should be allowed to own a gun. I find the "intent of the framers " argument to be worse than spurious. The men who "framed" our Constitution were some of the plainest writers and clearest thinkers who have ever lived. Their intent is evident in their written words. They left us a written law, and the capacity to change that law when we disagree with it. What's there in plain words is " the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". We can't merely wish these words into something else--a dangerous precedent. We have written laws so that we are not subject to the whim of a king or potentate. We may never get all the way to "equality under the law", but without written laws, we would still be medieval.
    As for the "intent of the framers", what the people of the United States did, in 1775,  was to form militias that were illegal, according to the British government. The American Revolution began when these militias fought to defend their store of arms--guns and ammunition-- from confiscation by the British. We are taught to admire this, as part of the history of the freedom enjoyed by American citizens. But using it to advocate gun ownership would mean that paramilitary groups and neo-Nazi militias have the same rights those embattled farmers insisted on at Lexington and Concord.
    

jury selection

     The system of jury selection is theoretically a way to choose 12 people at random to render a verdict in a trial. In reality, the system is far from random. No one can sit on a jury if he or she has been a victim of a crime in the past several years. No one can sit on a jury if a close relative or friend had been a victim of  a crime. No one can sit on a jury in a capital case unless he or she has already decided--before anyone utters a word of legal argument, or produces any evidence--that the death penalty would be a good idea.  Other people are "usually" dismissed from juries--teachers, lawyers, law enforcement officials, and some other occupations or professions.
     Every one of these exceptions make the jury less representative of the public at large, which it should be, since that's what gives it legitimacy. It's why we respect a jury's decisions. Decisions made by juries fine-tuned by lawyers are decisions made by lawyers--not by a group of 12 citizens.
    

greetings from your Uncle Sam

     Too many young people don't really know what they need to do in order to register to vote. They often try to register when it is too late. Since Uncle Sam now knows when everyone turns 18, perhaps he could send each of our young people a birthday greeting, including instructions on how to register to vote.If this needs to be handled by the states, Uncle Sam could share just that much Social Security information.

a new national anthem

     The notion that we need a new national anthem has been popular off and on over the last thirty years or so. Some people claim that our national anthem is too old-fashioned, or that it is difficult to sing, although the crowds at ball games seem to do a good job with it. Others claim that it is a song about war, although they also claim that it is gory or violent, which it isn't. It is just the story of someone trying to see if the flag was still flying over an American fort ( military base ) that was being bombed.  Still others claim that our national anthem was set to the tune of a drinking song. This is usually used as ploy to be excused from singing the national anthem in school.  The tune used for the national anthem had most likely been several songs over the years, as most tunes were, " back in the day". It was published ( written down ) with the lyrics to a drinking song, one that was still remembered by people who had read the lyrics. So it could be reproduced by people who had never heard it, but who could read the poem in a newspaper.
     The two songs that have been suggested as replacements for the national anthem--"God Bless America", and "America the Beautiful"--are both religious songs, inappropriate for a country that guarantees the separation of church and state. The other song suggested as a replacement--"America" ( My Country 'Tis of Thee )--shares a tune with Britain's national anthem, "God Save the Queen" ( or king, when the sovereign is a king ), so it would be an odd choice for a new American national anthem.
   

last one talking wins

     Tired of the graduates of saloon school, who view life as an intellectual contest, to be won by the person who talks loudest, longest, or with the greatest display of emotion.

middle school

     Middle school has been the norm for years now, replacing the older junior high in many areas. Teachers in Pennsylvania are certified to teach either grades 7 through 12, or grades 1 through 6. So a middle school for grades 6 through 8 has to have two sets of teachers to remain a state-accredited school--one set of elementary teachers, for the grade 6 pupils, and one set of middle or high school subject teachers, for grades 7 and 8.  These rules are often "bent" for practical reasons. The middle schools need a real-life solution.

once upon a time

    When you go to vote this year, you will be just one voter among many--every citizen 18 and over, except those sentenced to more than a year for a  felony conviction. Once upon a time, you would have been one of a more select group--white male property owners, at least 21 years old. What percentage does that make? Well, the women, in general, make up half the population, so we are left with 50 %. Of these, about 20% will be under 21. We are left with 40%. Let's estimate that 20% of these are non-white. We are left with 32%.  How many of these owned property? That meant land or a large sum in cash. Let's estimate that 20% of the remainder did not own  property. We are left with 25 voters out of every 100 persons.

Britishisms

     Too many Britishisms ( by people I assume are American ). When I read the paper, I often encounter a British word or phrase used by an American writer. "Ten years on",  "bespoke suits", "spot on", and other phrases are everywhere. Next I'll pick up the paper and read "lorry" for truck, and "tube" for subway. Not to mention "kerb" for curb and "honour" for honor. Didn't we already fight two wars over this?

old people

     If you listen to enough young people, you will eventually hear ( or overhear ) the conversation of at least a few young people who have no idea what an old person is. They don't have an idea of how long people live. They may never have met anyone old enough to have gray hair. They don't understand that old people may not see or hear as well as they once did, or that they might have difficulty getting around. These young people must have been raised by parents who never introduced them to their grandparents--the parents' parents.
     If you work with young people, or know young people, try to introduce them to some old people. They might find one another interesting.