Owner: 46 Degrees North URL:http://46degreesnorth.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:16:17 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Thoughts and comments from a rational perspective on political, social, and cultural events. Site statistics:Click here
The Dark Ages 2008-11-16 08:09:00 As I write this, the Space Shuttle Endeavor is preparing to dock with the international space station. There astronauts, scientists, and engineers will perform new feats and experiments that will further advance human knowledge. Every time science takes another leap forward like this, I’m reminded of Galileo, whose teachings about the solar system got him in trouble with the Catholic Church. Und
"Conservative" 2008-11-09 08:06:00 It’s the nature of language to evolve, but I sometimes mourn the transformation of good words that have wandered—even in my lifetime—far from the meanings they once had. Take the word “gay,” for example: once it meant “happy,” but now it can’t be used in that context without causing either consternation or confusion.Another such word is “conservative.” When did it stop meaning
The Root of All Evil 2008-11-03 07:23:00 I am opposed to the use of public funds for private education. –Jonathan KozolThey say money is the root of all evil. In education, it’s lack of money that drives most of the serious problems and shocking inequities that really need to be corrected. With an educational funding system that is heavily based on local property taxes, schools in rich neighborhoods are rich and schools in poor neig
Showing Up 2008-10-29 06:24:00 Eighty percent of success is just showing up. – Woody AllenIn the short time he’s had a central role on the national stage, it certainly seems like John McCain has developed a habit of not showing up—or trying not to.First, he tried to cancel the first presidential debate with Barack Obama, citing the urgency of the national economic crisis. Then he cancelled on David Letterman at the last m
Negative Ads 2008-10-19 10:26:00 This morning, General Colin Powell spoke eloquently for those of us who have had it with John McCain’s shameful, dishonest, and desperate attempts to discredit Barack Obama as a person. To criticism about his blatant smear campaign, McCain has complained that he, too, has been the object of negative ads. But let’s face it: the term “negative” covers a lot of territory.To suggest that Obama Read more:Negative
The New Tickets 2008-10-16 09:46:00 Based on the commentaries now circulating after last night's presidential debate, it seems that we have four Joe's running for office: Joe Cool, Joe Biden, Joe "Six-Pack" Palin, and Joe the Plummer.From where I'm sitting, it looks like any one of them stands a better chance of being elected than John McCain. Read more:Tickets
The Change We Need 2008-10-13 06:55:00 Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack ObamaAs John McCain’s so-called “campaign” continues to degenerate to a series of unfounded, vitriolic, and inflammatory accusations against Barack Obama as a person, perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on the one thing both sides seem t Read more:Change
"Palling Around" 2008-10-10 16:21:00 Boy, it’s a good thing I’m not running for public office. I’ve worked in the same building since 1991, with roughly the same 140 or so adults—give or take a few who’ve come and gone over the years. I know of some who’ve got skeletons in the closet, and I have my suspicions about some of the others.I work with approximately 400 high school students every year—and an American high scho
Education of the Candidates 2008-09-18 14:05:00 Sam's remarks, posted on MSNBC, took the words right out of my mouth. He wrote:Subject: FW: Food for Thought You are The Boss... which team would you hire? With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc., this is an unusually critical elect Read more:Candidates
, Education
In a Pig's Eye 2008-09-13 11:58:00 “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”–Robert HeinleinWhile the McCane campaign seems to be stubbornly and obsessively stuck on the subject of pigs, I thought it might be an appropriate time to suggest that the Republican Party consider changing its mascot. Elephants are noble creatures, but pigs are so personable—and so quintessentially American. (H
You Don't Think She Wrote It, Do You? 2008-09-11 22:00:00 In 1967, I was a winner in the Spokane area American Legion Oratorical Contest. I still remember the thesis statement of my seven-minute speech, which was based on a quote by Thomas Jefferson: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” I spent weeks writing the speech, and untold hours repeating it in front of mirrors, before I nervously presented it to my high school debate class. The audie Read more:Think She
Slinging Mud 2008-09-07 07:32:00 When children fight, things can get ugly. They may call each other names, throw anything they can get their hands on, and scream so the other person can’t be heard. Responsible adults, seeing that kind of behavior, usually intervene to give the kids a little lesson in good citizenship.But what can we do when the ruffians are allegedly adults? How can we protect our democracy when the hoodlums ha
Sputnik 2007-10-04 20:19:00 I was a small child when the Russians launched Sputnik
in 1957--still at the age when recess was the highlight of the school day for me and my friends. Current world events were rarely deemed worthy of our attention. In this case, though, we all knew something extraordinary had happened: there was something in the night sky that people--strange people in a faraway place--had put there. Of all thos
Sunk Costs 2007-08-28 07:02:00 Wealthy Bush backers have launched a new ad campaign to persuade voters in certain states to back the war. Wounded soldiers and families of the dead have been recruited to tell viewers how they feel: that don’t want their sacrifices to have been in vain.Organizers of this campaign have had the leisure to seek out individuals whose reaction to trauma and unthinkable loss suits their purposes. But Read more:Costs
A Mind Worth a Moment 2007-08-15 06:05:00 If we pause to think about the atrocities people routinely inflict on one another, such as the Nazi holocaust, most of us ask the same two questions: Would ordinary people do such horrific things?Could the same thing happen here and now?Stanley Milgram’s work in the early 1960s answered both questions: yes.In a series of experiments that began at Yale, Milgram employed ordinary adults in what th Read more:Moment
, Worth
Doing the Math 2007-07-28 08:30:00 What’s math?When most people use the word “math,” they mean arithmetic: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. These are skills every adult needs to function—to pay bills, buy groceries, make sure they end up with the right number of kids at the end of the day.What do high school and college teachers mean by math? They mean algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. These are
Let Me Count the Fallacies 2007-07-18 20:00:00 The facts: A few high school kids in California, protesting certain issues regarding immigration, ran a Mexican flag up a pole with an American flag under it, upside down.One result: A frantic glut of emails hastily sent out by countless Internet users to everyone on their mailing lists. (Those who felt this item was worthy of my time and attention happened to be, somewhat to my surprise, well-edu Read more:Fallacies
The Rock and the Hard Place 2007-07-12 11:20:00 This fall, my state is forcing me to participate in the great all-American either-or fallacy: In order to vote in the presidential primary, I have to register as a Democrat or Republican.What if I don't want to vote for either party? What if I want to vote for what I believe rather than for some "platform" cobbled together by people I don't know and don't trust? What if I want to vote for the plan Read more:Place
Supreme Anachronism 2007-07-04 21:28:00 With so much that needs to be accomplished on this shrinking planet, it’s discouraging to hear about yet another set of contentious, regressive 5-to-4 decisions from the Supreme
Court. With two recent Bush appointees on the bench, the nation can only watch as the Court blithely turns history in its head, undoing decisions previous courts have made in the past (such as the recent decision effecti
Cat Turd Receptacles 2007-06-21 16:22:00 On the rare occasion when I sit down and actually watch a little television, it doesn’t take long to be reminded why these occasions are so rare.I happened to pass through the living room yesterday while my husband was watching a program about Isambard Kingdom Brunel, undoubtedly one of the most innovative engineers to grace the planet (and one whose projects can still be admired in many places
Of Lame Ducks 2007-06-20 18:58:00 Since the beginning of 2007, President George W. Bush’s approval ratings in U.S. polls have yet to break 40%, and lately, they’ve been hovering around 33%. Apparently, two out of three Americans disapprove of his war, environmental policies, politics, or economics. Last fall, voters sent a clear message by electing Democratic majorities in the House and Congress.Things don’t get much lamer Read more:Ducks
"Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor" 2007-06-17 17:11:00 The stacked adjectives in the headlines are bad enough. But despite the fact that three young men have finally been exonerated, once and for all, for despicable acts they didn't commit, there's still plenty of damage to be done by rapacious and over-zealous attorneys.Prosecutor Mike Nifong admitted wrongdoing and apologized. He's been humiliated and disbarred. A nation given to pondering things mi Read more:Lacrosse
Accountability 2008-12-06 06:29:00 I’ve been considering how much money I’d have to lose for my employer through carelessness, recklessness, or poor decision making before I’d find myself out of a job. I’m pretty sure that amount would be in the four-figure range—probably in the lower end of the four-figure range. Maybe including a decimal point.So the question in my mind is how come the same CEOs who ran their companies Read more:Accountability
Righteous Radicalism 2008-11-30 20:54:00 I was talking to my right-leaning son yesterday about a friend of his who tilts decidedly toward the left. This friend spent much of the past year as a volunteer for the Obama campaign, mostly in the South. He came back with stories to tell, such as this one.Map in hand of the locations he was supposed to visit, he went to a remote, rural home to distribute literature. Wearing his Obama button, he
An Attitude of Gratitude 2008-11-27 20:59:00 I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. – G.K. ChestertonFor some of us in America, Thanksgiving is a quasi-religious holiday, a day for the lengthiest and most earnest of prayers before the family feast. For others, it’s the kickoff to the annual season of extravagance—a time when a great abundance of food, money, and
Loving Sarah Palin 2008-11-22 12:37:00 We find comfort among those who agree with us—growth among those who don't.—Frank A. ClarkA reader pointed out to me yesterday that my recent remarks about Sarah
Palin do not illustrate the “unconditional positive regard” (UPR) that I’ve been advocating to help heal the bipartisan divide in this country. I have to admit that UPR has not been high on the list of feelings I’ve had toward Read more:Loving
Sarah Palin's Constituency 2008-11-21 08:59:00 There's a brief human interest story on the wires this morning about Sarah
Palin at a turkey farm in Alaska, where she gave one lucky bird the traditional gubernatorial "pardon." As she prattled on about how much "fun" she was having, a general blood-letting was going on in the background, as the un-lucky, un-pardoned birds met violent ends.If there is such a thing as avian loyalty, one might expe
Ubiquitous Computing 2008-11-19 08:02:00 My heart goes out to Barack Obama. Apparently he is urgently advised (though not, strictly speaking, required) to give up his beloved BlackBerry for the duration of his presidency. When he takes office, he’ll be required by law to preserve all his correspondence (electronic and otherwise)—and besides, a cell phone can be traced and could present a security risk.I’ve only owned a smart phone Read more:Computing
Recommend Site To A Friend
