"The time for complaining is at an end. Action must be taken. Accountability must be demanded. Muscle must be flexed. Power must be exercised.
"Ballots must be cast."
–”Lions to the Ballot Box”, Charles Blow, NYT, 2014-04-24
My email to Blow:
"I hope your column on voter turnout is reprinted in every paper across the country. And I hope it is reprinted just before the 2014 elections.
"Big turnout trumps big money every time. Think Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina.
"I have been cajoling people to vote in my little obscure blog and in my column in Duluth weekly for going on fifteen years.
"I hope your bigger platform has many orders of magnitude of influence than my little Don Quixote tilting at political windbags."
My favorite comment:
I have a bumper sticker : "If the 47% vote the 1% won't matter".
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Monday, November 12, 2012
Philosophy from science-fantasy
"Power is power as the sun is the sun, the wind is the wind. The villager blesses the rain as it falls on his crops. The pillager uses it to cover his approach. It is the wielder who determines the good or evil."
"Teachers are rare beasts. We find they thrive best in a supportive environment whether they teach toddlers or adults."
Sherry S. Tepper Waters Rising, a novel of good and evil in a post-Apocalypse world
"Teachers are rare beasts. We find they thrive best in a supportive environment whether they teach toddlers or adults."
Sherry S. Tepper Waters Rising, a novel of good and evil in a post-Apocalypse world
Friday, July 08, 2011
People power takes on corporate power
"Iceland, a country that wants to punish the bankers responsible for the crisis" is the title of an article published by Pressenza, a press agency based in Chile.
The Icelanders have thrown out one government and led a second government to plan a referendum on whether the Icelandic people should be responsible for the debt incurred by others.
On top of that, it will be individuals elected specifically to rewrite the constitution, not experts and politicians.
I'll let you read the last two paragraphs, which are humdingers on how countries should be governed.
The Icelanders have thrown out one government and led a second government to plan a referendum on whether the Icelandic people should be responsible for the debt incurred by others.
On top of that, it will be individuals elected specifically to rewrite the constitution, not experts and politicians.
I'll let you read the last two paragraphs, which are humdingers on how countries should be governed.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The truth shall make you free but "THE TRUTH" can imprison you
The truth is a never-ending quest that leads to more knowledge and sometimes wisdom. For example, many people discovered chemical elements that they thought were indivisible. Then others discovered that the elements were composed of protons, electrons, and neutrons. This led to greater understanding of compounds. Then yet others discovered that there were many more sub-atomic particles than these three.
Governance is another truth that many are discovering. Once it was thought that kings ruled by divine right; how else could they have become kings? More and more people are discovering that democracy can be a much better form of government. Now we need more and more people to discover how to make it work better.
On the other hand, "THE TRUTH" can lock people into a very limited view of the world. For example, "THE TRUTH" that the Sun revolves around the Earth gave very limited ability to predict celestial events, knowledge that was needed to make accurate calendars.
"THE TRUTH" can divide people based on religious or other differences. If we still held "THE TRUTH" that women are inferior to men, would we have some of the scientific, literary, musical, and political ideas we now have if only men were deemed capable of complicated thought?
I got another view of the distinction between the truth and "THE TRUTH" reading Sheri S. Tepper's "The Visitor". Most of it takes place centuries after "The Happening" when some astronomical object struck the Earth and wiped out most of the population. One group of survivors considers themselves "The Spared" and believes that the only other beings are demons. This belief gives inordinate power to a few, and as Lord Acton said "Power corrupts". If you decide to read "The Visitor", be forewarned that the powerful deal in gratuitous violence.
Governance is another truth that many are discovering. Once it was thought that kings ruled by divine right; how else could they have become kings? More and more people are discovering that democracy can be a much better form of government. Now we need more and more people to discover how to make it work better.
On the other hand, "THE TRUTH" can lock people into a very limited view of the world. For example, "THE TRUTH" that the Sun revolves around the Earth gave very limited ability to predict celestial events, knowledge that was needed to make accurate calendars.
"THE TRUTH" can divide people based on religious or other differences. If we still held "THE TRUTH" that women are inferior to men, would we have some of the scientific, literary, musical, and political ideas we now have if only men were deemed capable of complicated thought?
I got another view of the distinction between the truth and "THE TRUTH" reading Sheri S. Tepper's "The Visitor". Most of it takes place centuries after "The Happening" when some astronomical object struck the Earth and wiped out most of the population. One group of survivors considers themselves "The Spared" and believes that the only other beings are demons. This belief gives inordinate power to a few, and as Lord Acton said "Power corrupts". If you decide to read "The Visitor", be forewarned that the powerful deal in gratuitous violence.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Do we have these Orwellian people in our midst?
"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness; only power, pure power.
…
The German Nazis and the Russian Communists … pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We know that no one ever seized power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end."
- "1984", George Orwell, p. 263, Signet Classic paperback edition
…
The German Nazis and the Russian Communists … pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We know that no one ever seized power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end."
- "1984", George Orwell, p. 263, Signet Classic paperback edition
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Power plays
We have the Republicans in Congress voting in lockstep to oppose Obama and the Democrats. Well, almost, now we have "Tea Party" Republicans voting in lockstep to defeat spending proposals of veteran Republican legislators.
We have Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate disappearing to deprive the Republicans of a quorum to pass an anti-public union bill.
We have thousands packing the Wisconsin capitol to protest the bill.
I have a couple of questions.
How many of the protestors voted in the last election? If the turnout of these voters was the same as the general population, they partly have themselves to blame. If they all turned out, maybe they should work harder at getting a bigger turnout in the next election.
Why the big push to strip unions of power? Could it be part of a larger corporate strategy to weaken those who question corporate power?
It seems that many corporate executives want everything their own way; governments and unions shouldn't even question their decisions. It seems that their only goal is to maximize their own compensation, to hell with the shareholders, to hell with the environment, to hell with the public good.
Not all corporate executives behave this way, but enough do and are pushing us down a slippery slope to a very uncivil society, one which really won't be good for business in the long term. It's another version of Lenin's "A capitalist will sell you the rope to hang him with."
We have Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate disappearing to deprive the Republicans of a quorum to pass an anti-public union bill.
We have thousands packing the Wisconsin capitol to protest the bill.
I have a couple of questions.
How many of the protestors voted in the last election? If the turnout of these voters was the same as the general population, they partly have themselves to blame. If they all turned out, maybe they should work harder at getting a bigger turnout in the next election.
Why the big push to strip unions of power? Could it be part of a larger corporate strategy to weaken those who question corporate power?
It seems that many corporate executives want everything their own way; governments and unions shouldn't even question their decisions. It seems that their only goal is to maximize their own compensation, to hell with the shareholders, to hell with the environment, to hell with the public good.
Not all corporate executives behave this way, but enough do and are pushing us down a slippery slope to a very uncivil society, one which really won't be good for business in the long term. It's another version of Lenin's "A capitalist will sell you the rope to hang him with."
Monday, May 10, 2010
Save a tree, don't use electricity
Our Brimson property has an easement for power and telephone right-of-way. The telephone line is underground with relay or junction boxes every few hundred feet. The power lines are on poles.
To be sure that the power lines are accessible, the power co-operative has all the brush cut every few years. We thought it was every eight to nine years in the non-winter months. In the intervening times we've taken out a few ten-foot birch and replanted them elsewhere on the property.
We were surprised when the brush was cut this winter. And it was the messiest that we ever saw. Hacked, splintered stumps of alder and other shrubs and trees all over. It looked more like a battlefield than a right-of-way.
We generally don't drive by the east half because we come from the west. Saturday we took a walk on the road along the east half. We noticed that several good-sized trees had been knocked down: a ten-inch birch, a few smaller birches, and a few 6-8 inch aspen.
Well, we can't let those go to waste. We might as well harvest them for firewood rather than cut down other trees.
The first job was to make a path to them through all the splintered brush stumps. That was lots of fun considering how uneven and rocky the terrain is. More fun yet because the wheeled trimmer cuts too high because of the unevenness and then is difficult to get over the little stumps. Heave, grunt, groan, heave, back off and try again.
The second job was clearing a safe workplace around the downed trees. Almost everyone fell into the brush outside the easement. That took long-handled nippers and a lot of bending.
I won't describe the delimbing process and which part of which of the three criss-crossed trees I did in which order. Eventually we had enough for two small loads of bolts or rounds in our SUV. I don't remember if we took all the usable firewood from that spot or left some.
I do know one of my first tasks next weekend is to cut up and split the wood we took back to our cabin. Then I'll go back to harvest some of the other trees. Without cutting down a single tree, we'll be well on our way to having some nice, dry wood for the 2011-2012 heating season.
It is sad, though, to think of all the trees on other easements that are just going to be left in an unsightly jumble to rot.
Next time you feel good about all your recycling or other efforts "to save a tree", consider that when you flip a light switch, you may be taking down a tree.
To be sure that the power lines are accessible, the power co-operative has all the brush cut every few years. We thought it was every eight to nine years in the non-winter months. In the intervening times we've taken out a few ten-foot birch and replanted them elsewhere on the property.
We were surprised when the brush was cut this winter. And it was the messiest that we ever saw. Hacked, splintered stumps of alder and other shrubs and trees all over. It looked more like a battlefield than a right-of-way.
We generally don't drive by the east half because we come from the west. Saturday we took a walk on the road along the east half. We noticed that several good-sized trees had been knocked down: a ten-inch birch, a few smaller birches, and a few 6-8 inch aspen.
Well, we can't let those go to waste. We might as well harvest them for firewood rather than cut down other trees.
The first job was to make a path to them through all the splintered brush stumps. That was lots of fun considering how uneven and rocky the terrain is. More fun yet because the wheeled trimmer cuts too high because of the unevenness and then is difficult to get over the little stumps. Heave, grunt, groan, heave, back off and try again.
The second job was clearing a safe workplace around the downed trees. Almost everyone fell into the brush outside the easement. That took long-handled nippers and a lot of bending.
I won't describe the delimbing process and which part of which of the three criss-crossed trees I did in which order. Eventually we had enough for two small loads of bolts or rounds in our SUV. I don't remember if we took all the usable firewood from that spot or left some.
I do know one of my first tasks next weekend is to cut up and split the wood we took back to our cabin. Then I'll go back to harvest some of the other trees. Without cutting down a single tree, we'll be well on our way to having some nice, dry wood for the 2011-2012 heating season.
It is sad, though, to think of all the trees on other easements that are just going to be left in an unsightly jumble to rot.
Next time you feel good about all your recycling or other efforts "to save a tree", consider that when you flip a light switch, you may be taking down a tree.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Peace brings more change than war?
Roger Cohen wrote an interesting piece on the change that is coming to China and Vietnam, despite being officially one-party states and Communist to boot: "Peaceful Evolution Angst", New York Times, 2009-05-24.
Now that neither has any real threat of war with the West and has been incorporated into the community of nations, these governments have put more energy into the prosperity of their people and used less ideology to govern. For these states, "Communism is little more than the brand name given to power retention."
Power retention has become a bit more difficult because "Technology has taken the 'total' out of totalitarian." The governments may draw red lines around certain activities, but those red lines are very porous.
I've been wondering about the problem of North Korea. If China and Vietnam have become more open and less paranoid, what can we do to reduce the paranoia in North Korea? I hope we don't have to wait for a Moderate Party president to visit North Korea.
Now that neither has any real threat of war with the West and has been incorporated into the community of nations, these governments have put more energy into the prosperity of their people and used less ideology to govern. For these states, "Communism is little more than the brand name given to power retention."
Power retention has become a bit more difficult because "Technology has taken the 'total' out of totalitarian." The governments may draw red lines around certain activities, but those red lines are very porous.
I've been wondering about the problem of North Korea. If China and Vietnam have become more open and less paranoid, what can we do to reduce the paranoia in North Korea? I hope we don't have to wait for a Moderate Party president to visit North Korea.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Two lessons from Harry Potter
As I work my way through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I notice two particular themes.
The first is the abuse of power. Dolores Rose Umbridge (she who gives sorrow and umbrage?) is the prime example in Book 5. She delights in lording it over others giving sorrow and pain as often as she can. Although her power may be in order to serve the Dark Lord, she seems to delight in using it for its own sake.
Draco Malfoy (Dragon->Snake Bad-Faith) has been intimidating others from Book 1, just for the sake of showing he is superior to them as a "pure-blood" wizard.
Snape uses power to avenge the ill-treatment of those who abused power when he was in school. But so far, we aren't aware of his turning on his abusers, just passing the abuse on to others. Do unto the new generation as the old generation did unto you.
The giving and taking points to and from a "house" in general is arbitrary power. The many gain or suffer from the actions of a few. This power seems to be exercised by whim, whether a teacher wants to give praise or wants to punish, punish, and punish.
The second theme is that power is not all-powerful. Despite all the miraculous, wondrous things the wizards and witches can do, they don't seem able to make the plumbing work and a whole lot of other ordinary things. Carpets are threadbare, ghosts pull pranks on the students, and buses don 't even have fixed seats.
I may be bringing my own bias in, but I think J.K. Rowling is calling for society at large to spend more time on governance than posturing. Rather than showing we are a superpower or that we are not going to knuckle under to the developed countries or that we have to be sure our group gets a bigger "slice of pie" we should just make things work for as many people as possible.
The first is the abuse of power. Dolores Rose Umbridge (she who gives sorrow and umbrage?) is the prime example in Book 5. She delights in lording it over others giving sorrow and pain as often as she can. Although her power may be in order to serve the Dark Lord, she seems to delight in using it for its own sake.
Draco Malfoy (Dragon->Snake Bad-Faith) has been intimidating others from Book 1, just for the sake of showing he is superior to them as a "pure-blood" wizard.
Snape uses power to avenge the ill-treatment of those who abused power when he was in school. But so far, we aren't aware of his turning on his abusers, just passing the abuse on to others. Do unto the new generation as the old generation did unto you.
The giving and taking points to and from a "house" in general is arbitrary power. The many gain or suffer from the actions of a few. This power seems to be exercised by whim, whether a teacher wants to give praise or wants to punish, punish, and punish.
The second theme is that power is not all-powerful. Despite all the miraculous, wondrous things the wizards and witches can do, they don't seem able to make the plumbing work and a whole lot of other ordinary things. Carpets are threadbare, ghosts pull pranks on the students, and buses don 't even have fixed seats.
I may be bringing my own bias in, but I think J.K. Rowling is calling for society at large to spend more time on governance than posturing. Rather than showing we are a superpower or that we are not going to knuckle under to the developed countries or that we have to be sure our group gets a bigger "slice of pie" we should just make things work for as many people as possible.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Misdirected energy development
I keep wondering about energy being provided by large companies vs. decentralized energy. I found a couple of interesting statements about this in "A fight over the future of solar", a Perspective article published in CNET News.
Herman Scheer argues that many undeveloped areas of the world will not be able to afford large distribution networks to provide power from centralized power stations. He also mentions how power distribution networks are a terrorist target. I think it was in the 80's some disgruntled people were toppling towers. Distribution networks are also vulnerable to weather and human error.
I think the oil companies and the power companies have to recast themselves more as energy companies, providing not energy but energy solutions. This may be providing self-contained systems for a factory or a residence, especially a rural residence, or providing linked systems for small areas. Whether we bring coal hundreds of miles or string hundreds of miles of power lines, we lose energy doing so.
I would hope that energy companies first look to their own energy needs and how they could become less dependent on other sources.
Herman Scheer argues that many undeveloped areas of the world will not be able to afford large distribution networks to provide power from centralized power stations. He also mentions how power distribution networks are a terrorist target. I think it was in the 80's some disgruntled people were toppling towers. Distribution networks are also vulnerable to weather and human error.
I think the oil companies and the power companies have to recast themselves more as energy companies, providing not energy but energy solutions. This may be providing self-contained systems for a factory or a residence, especially a rural residence, or providing linked systems for small areas. Whether we bring coal hundreds of miles or string hundreds of miles of power lines, we lose energy doing so.
I would hope that energy companies first look to their own energy needs and how they could become less dependent on other sources.
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