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Greetings, Quotaholics:
On
Friday I wrote about an article
by Michael Lind the Whitehead senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
In his article Mr. Lind put forth the idea that the United States
has been through three cycles, each about 72 years in duration,
that he calls Republics.
The First Republic lasted from 1788 to 1860, the Second from 1860
to 1932, and the Third from 1932 until 2004. According to his theory
we are now entering the Fourth Republic.
One of the troubling aspects of his theory is that each Republic
is marked by a war. The First Republic started with the American
Revolution, the Second Republic started with the Civil War and the
Third American Republic started shortly before World War II.
Obviously this list leaves out many wars that the United States
was involved in, not the least of which was World War I. However
it seems to me that the Revolution, the Civil War and World War
II changed Americans in ways which even World War I didn’t.
The Revolution created a new country and made everyone living here
her citizens, not colonists from another country. The Civil War
pitted brother against brother, father against son, and made citizens
of the slaves who helped build the country. After World War I most
of the soldiers returned to their homes and farms and society didn’t
change that much, however the soldiers returning from World War
II were responsible for the Baby Boom and the move to the suburbs
which changed the traditional American family forever.
So, if we are entering the Fourth American Republic, are we in for
another war?
We are involved in two wars now, but these don’t seem, to me, to
be the society changing events that have marked previous Republics.
No, something that big would be close to home and touch all our
lives.
In this regard the election of Barack Obama seems to be a troubling
event. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with him as President.
It’s the reaction from some in this country that has me worried.
According to an Associated Press story I found in the Fort Wayne,
Indiana Journal
Gazette, the election has sparked an increase in racial incidents.
“From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged
crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical
attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college
students and second-graders.”
Incidents include:
• Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing
anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression,
including one that said: “Let’s shoot that (N-word) in the head.”
• In Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read:
“Osama Obama Shotgun Pool.” Customers could sign up to bet $1 on
a date when Obama would be killed. “Stabbing, shooting, roadside
bombs, they all count,” the sign said. At the bottom of the marker
board was written “Let’s hope someone wins.”
• Racist graffiti was found in places including New York’s Long
Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas,
where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the
Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and “Go Back To
Africa” were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.
• Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho,
chanted “Assassinate Obama,” a district official said.
• University of Alabama professor Marsha Houston said a poster of
the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster
was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur.
• Black figures were hanged by nooses from trees on Mount Desert
Island, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported.
• Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick,
N.J., and Apolacan Township, Pa.
I was stunned to read of this reaction to the election. Every election
has had it’s winners and losers, however in the past we have come
together afterward and returned to the business of being Americans.
The notable exception of course was the election of Lincoln after
which the southern states seceded.
At a time when the United States could be holding it’s head high
at a breakthrough in race relations, we instead seem to be embarrassing
ourselves with a resurgence in bigotry.
So could this be leading up to a second Civil War? Do you think
that an assassination would result in a race war? Have you heard
or witnessed any behavior like this? Do you find it as outrageous
as I do that people are actually betting on whether our next President
will be assassinated? Do these incidents shed a new light on the
recent upsurge in gun sales?
Dejectedly,
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“Junk: Stuff we throw away. Stuff: Junk we keep.” – Anonymous
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every Monday through Friday—knowledge. Bring your own containers.”
- Sign on a Dallas school bulletin board
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The Beginning of Life
[Thanks to Bonnie in Louisiana]
A minister,
a priest and a rabbi were discussing when life begins.
“Those of my faith,”
said the minister, “believe that life starts when the heart begins
to beat.”
“We take a different
view,” said the priest. “We believe life starts at the moment
of conception.”
“Well,” said the rabbi,
“it is our belief that life starts when the kids move out and
the dog dies.”
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“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, and follows religiously
the new.” - Henry David Thoreau
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“We confess small faults in order to insinuate that we have no great
ones.” - François de la Rochfoucauld |
“Force may make hypocrites, but it can never make converts.” - William
Penn
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Lost Puppy
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the Imp
I was down to zero leads for stories this morning and thought for
sure I’d have to come up with an excuse for missing an issue of
RGQ. After all, Tim has come up empty for a piece on occasion, and
the other staffers have had days off, so it should be no sin for
me to admit defeat.
Getting ready to exit my Google search I came across a story about
unrequited love; love stymied by law and bureaucracy; love scorned
for defying tradition. This is a story about a man who is denied
the right to marry his beloved. A story that if not Biblical in
scope or Shakespearian in tragedy, is at least as poignant as the
story of Tony and Maria in “West Side Story.”
In Japan marriage is legal and recognized between men and women
only. Same-sex, Inter-species, and group marriages are illegal.
These are specifically identified in legislation. The gray areas,
in any law or regulation, are the situations that are not specifically
proscribed or prohibited, or authorized and allowed. Many legal
scholars say that if the law does not specifically prohibit something,
it is by default legal. This is not the case in Japan.
An unidentified man in Japan is circulating a petition hoping to
raise a million signatures to support his effort to legalize a marriage
to his true love, a cartoon
character. The identity of his comic book paramour is not provided
in the article but at least the character is identified as female.
What else can you expect from the
land of techno-toilets? A country that was using indoor and
outdoor slit trenches for crappers less than fifty years ago is
now the world leader in heated seats and robotic ass wipers. Butt
spritzers are a major attraction advertised for the Tokyo Hotel
chain.
I think there are some intermediate steps that would be missing
before the idea of inter-dimensional marriages are sanctioned. I
would presume that several other types of unions would have to be
considered and possibly approved first.
I can think of man/manikin; man/love doll; man/machine; or the ever
popular man/vacuum cleaner. Man and any number of powered and unpowered
mechanical objects. To be politically correct I should say “Human”
instead of “Man”, but the union of woman and dildo is already accepted
though not discussed. There is also the inter-species liaisons that
must be considered that have long been the bane of even the most
celibate of shepherds.
I wish this Romeo all the best in his quest for connubial bliss
with his printed, pulp paper Juliet. At least divorce will entail
no alimony and would merely require access to a trash can.
The Bad Sied 
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Kizzi had a bad experience she wanted to share with readers. I’m
sure far too many of us can relate to what she’s feeling, and her
15 Minutes of Fame will help any who haven’t been there to understand.
I’m
a second year law student, yes, I might have started university
as a philosophy student but I quickly found I favoured the real
answers and practical use of law. One day I hope to be able to find
the £20K to fund the 2-4 years of post-graduate study I will need
to become a solicitor or barrister. Now, this chosen career means
I have a perhaps glorified view of the criminal justice system.
I truly believe in the honesty and integrity of the law and I do
believe in justice. Both karmic and enforced by our courts.
But
on Wednesday evening I had my belief in this system called into
question, and I had to think about how much I can condone vigilantism.
I blame my background; I was bought up to stand up for myself, to
not tolerate injustice and to do what I could to ensure my rights
were met. If you know my father (Gyppo) you’ll know what I mean.
That man taught me a great deal, least of all how to properly wield
a sword.
On
Wednesday evening I discovered that my beloved, little, thirteen
year old, 900,000 miles on the clock, Citroen had been broken into.
My first car, my first personal experience with attempted theft.
And the first time I had been confronted with the fact that there
was nothing the police could do. It took them seventeen hours to
get an officer to the scene by which point it had rained and any
evidence from the surrounding area was washed away. The chance of
them ever finding who smashed into my car to get themselves an MP3
player and six mint imperials is almost impossible.
So
what do you do when confronted with this situation? I think I ignored
it for about thirty six hours, I had so much to deal with, I had
the police to talk to, the insurance to talk to, I had to call the
bank and cancel my credit card because there was some paperwork
in my glove box they could have used etc. But after that reality
set in. Someone, who I have stereotyped as a teenage male with nothing
better to do, had violated my vehicle, and subsequently me. And
I was mad at them. I wanted to find him; I wanted someone to hold
him down while I stamped on his face. Then I would let the rest
of the queue of people have a go at him before letting my father
hand over the fire bomb.
I know
that violence doesn’t solve anything, but my question is this: when
does the justice system stop working? And when does vigilantism
become acceptable?
I believe
in justice. I believe in karma. I believe in not letting people
walk all over you. But these things seem to clash sometimes. How
do you decide what is right? Ultimately I know that if I could get
my hands on whoever it was that worked my car over I probably wouldn’t
do anything, except hand him/her over to the authorities. But it
makes me feel better to think that I could just smack them in the
face and make them feel just a shred of what I feel, and I don’t
think that affects my morality. I don’t think that makes me a bad
person. But maybe I’m wrong.
In
the meantime, should you know anything about the attempted theft
of my vehicle, don’t be one of those people who sits and thinks
“Oh someone else will have reported it already,” get up and do something.
Please. - Kizzi
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On this day in history, November
17, 1970: US Patent # 3,541,541 is granted to SRI International. Dr.
Douglas Engelbart from SRI is an American inventor, geek, and philosopher
of sorts. He reasoned that like a language’s complexity limits the
expression of ideas, so too technology’s complexity or lack thereof
limits our ability to manipulate information. He therefore invented
ways for technology to become more coevolutionary. He was an instrumental
driving force behind SRI and developed computer interface devices
which led to the Graphical User Interface we have come to rely on.
Early computational devices had to be fed data in time consuming ways.
Punch cards were an early method of data input. Eventually keyboards
were added allowing data to be keyed in more easily and effectively.
Text was shown on a monitor and could be manipulated when the cursor
was in the appropriate place. Moving the cursor was done by use of
the arrow keys. This was laborious, annoying, and time consuming.
So Engelbart invented a pointing device and built his first one in
1963. He improved upon his idea and was granted a patent for an “X-Y
Position Indicator for a Display System” or as we call it, a mouse.
“Computers
are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.” - Joseph
Campbell
“After growing wildly for years, the field of computing appears to
be reaching its infancy.” - John Pierce
“Hardware: the parts of a computer that can be kicked.” - Jeff Pesis
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Kirsten
“The
spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort and refinement.”
~ Arthur Gray ~
After almost twenty years in the workforce, I have finally figured
out that I should never schedule anything before 9:30 in the morning.
It has something to do with the fact that I’m not really fit to
associate with other human beings before that time. But it’s more
because I like to start my working day with time to myself. I use
this time to go over schedules and to-do lists, and to take stock
of the day to come. I start each morning in the same way. I hang
up my coat and stash my bag while I’m listening to my voicemail.
Then I sit down and sip my cup of hot coffee while I’m reading and
replying to emails.
According to recent research,
though, this is the wrong thing to do. Apparently I should not be
drinking coffee while I read my work emails. If I need an early
morning caffeine-hit, I should be drinking something like cold Diet
Coke. For the sake of argument, let’s pretend that Diet Coke at
that time of the morning is anything other than just plain gross.
The caffeine content apparently rivals that in coffee, and because
it’s cold, it could make more business sense to drink it.
Scientists at Yale have discovered that the temperature of your
beverage actually changes the way you think, by activating something
called insula in your brain. Insula is connected with your sense
of trust and comfort. It controls whether or not you have that warm
fuzzy feeling. Apparently, drinking a warm beverage makes you more
trusting and open; drinking something cold makes you suspicious,
calculating, and self-absorbed.
For this reason, the researchers say, it is better to plough through
work-related emails while drinking something cold. A warm beverage
may make you agree to something too easily, without putting in the
kind of negotiation you should. You should drink something ice-cold
prior to signing on the dotted line where things like home purchases
and car purchases are concerned. When a potential employer offers
you tea or coffee at a job interview, decline the offer or ask for
water instead. Warm beverages, on the other hand, are great for
socializing. When you want to unwind with your significant other
at the end of a stressful day, when you are comforting or being
comforted by a friend, or if you’re trying to win someone’s heart,
break out the coffee or hot chocolate.
In the light of these findings, I have no plans to change my early
morning coffee habits. I’m far too emotionally attached to my morning
coffee to give it up. I may, however, think twice about my choice
of beverage next time I have an important decision to make. I would
hate to end up living on the wrong side of the tracks just because
I picked the wrong thing to drink.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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Have
you ever gone to a meeting? I’ve been to a few of them, but I try
to avoid them at all costs. Generally speaking, meetings are a necessary
waste of time. If it lasts more than 10 minutes, you aren’t going
to accomplish anything. My most productive meetings are held in
the hallway or outside while having a smoke. They last 5-10 minutes
and involve 2-3 people, counting me. A lot of decisions are made
in those few minutes, and usually an issue is resolved.
Then there are committee meetings. These are meetings that are
generally scheduled to last an hour or so discussing one issue
with a lot of people. More often than not, instead of solving
the issue, these meetings bring up more issues which have to be
discussed in even more meetings. I was invited to one of those
on Friday. The Director of Orientation wanted the Orientation
committee to know more about our new system.
Yes, we have a person that works all year long to plan for the
two days that we will have new students arriving on campus. She
does other things, but this is her main responsibility. She’s
pretty good at it too. I’ve been to a couple of meetings with
her and she keeps things focused. It’s the rest of the committee
I was worried about. Well, not really all of them, I was worried
about one in particular. Our associate registrar would be there.
She didn’t need to be there. This was another case of her making
sure she gets her way. That kind of attitude doesn’t really work
in a meeting whose only agenda was to find out how to make everything
work smoothly for everyone.
The first decision we had to make was if we were going to print
the student’s schedules, or if we were going to have them log
on to my web page and view it themselves. I offered that we should
print the schedules. My biggest problem with the new system is
that the registrar made everyone log in to their account to view
their schedule, and students didn’t have any reason to go back
to my site for over two months when they had to register for the
spring semester. About 500 (so far) have forgotten their passwords.
I had to reset them, and that takes up too much of my time.
I’m going to quote her response given within the first 10 minutes
of the committee meeting that was trying to figure out how to
make things work better for everyone, and this is an *exact* quote.
“I don’t care.”
She became instantly insignificant, and she did it to herself,
in front of a crowd. 
Who says nothing ever gets accomplished at meetings? 
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Yarns
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Let cookies cool completely before storing. Store different types
of cookies in separate containers so they’ll keep their original
flavor and texture. - Peggy in Tonawanda, New York
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That wasn’t an easy line but you did well with it.
Next opening line…
I went out to run in the rain…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
My
wifey’s an absolute flake…
Now, this line could be a mistake
If she catches me composing
My eyes, she’ll be closing
And my neck, she surely will break. - Rick in Roanoke |
My
wifey’s an absolute flake…
In the morning she’s hard to awake
But she’d been wishing and wishing
That I’d take her fishing
So I did, and she fell in the lake. - Rick in Roanoke |
My hubby’s
an absolute flake;
He doesn’t know how to shake
His booty with style;
Rhythmn, he does defile;
Dancing, one thing you just can’t fake. - Bonnie in Louisiana |
My daughter’s
an absolute flake…
She wants ice cream on top of her steak.
So why bother cooking
When for that which she’s looking
Out of garbage I surely can make. - Lola |
I’m
famous, and quite world-renowned—
for my work as Cassie the Clown—
I do lots of tricks
some involving big dicksand
so I travel town-to-town. - Cassandra in New York |
My hubby’s
an absolute flake—
no wisdom can possibly take—
He just is so dumb
more so than a picked plum
that she should give up and jump in the lake - Cassandra in
New York |
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Re: Thwack
I disagree with spanking as a form of punishment for childrren. It
sets up the expectation that violence is acceptable. It is usually
used when the parents are at the end of their rope and just “lose
it.” Taking away a privlege (a video game, etc) is a lot more painful.
- Janet in Stamford, Connecticut (RN, CCM).
Reader Submission
Update: In the Sep
10, 2008 issue of RGQ I wrote about a free ringtone in India that
said “Condom, Condom”. It was designed to get people discussing the
use of condoms in the hopes their use would increase. Yahoo
News reports that in the six months since the campaign started,
sales of condoms are up by 85,000,000. That’s a lot of reaching out
and touching someone. - sied
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to
be accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out
incorrect quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become
aware of any errors. |
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I’d appreciate it if you’d mail me at TheBestOfRGQ@yahoo.com
and point it out to me. I’m in the process of compiling an e-book
called, not surprisingly, The Best of RGQ, and I’d like to hear from
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