The Liberal-Activist Olympics

It may not be common knowledge, and I don't try to hide it, but I have an attitude about the "Special Olympics", and I've had this attitude for, oh, at least 25 years. It has nothing to do with nominally adorable special children, but saying so just sounds defensive so I usually don't. Largely I used to blame it on a telemarketer, but now I discover that the target of my enmity can change.

Tonight I found out that it's really (now) Judge Vaughan Walker who's to blame. Indeed, it's that same Judge Walker responsible for last week's decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that found California's Proposition 8, barring same-sex couples from the institution of marriage, unconstitutional. Yep, this is the same Judge Walker who is now routinely (and oh-so-predictably) vilified by right-wing gay-haters as a "liberal activist".

Well, history shows that he's anything but a "liberal activist" in any sensible sense of the phrase. And, so do a series of newspaper articles from the archives that Jeremy Hooper has dug up ("Conservatives are so right — Vaughn Walker does have history of liberal activism….", Good As You, 11 August 2010), among them this clipping, which rather startled me:

I vividly remember this news from 1984. But to pick up the story in 1982, let's recall the history of the Gay Games (from Wikipedia)

The Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level. Originally called the Gay Olympics, it was started in San Francisco in 1982, as the brainchild of Tom Waddell, whose goals were to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation, as well as the pursuit of personal growth in a sporting event. It retains many similarities with the Olympics, including the Gay Games flame which is lit at the opening ceremony.

Note particularly that "Originally called the Gay Olympics…" phrase. At that time everything and it's uncle, if it had anything to do with a competitive sporting event, was called the "X Olympics" and nobody thought anything of it. The word "olympics" was widely used in a generic sense to describe such competitive events and there was every sort of "Blank Olympics" you could imagine for every recognizable group of people with a name to describe them. Many of them still survive, particularly the "Special Olympics".

Until, that is, the "Gay Olympics" came along. Oh dear! Suddenly the U.S.Olympic Committee got very uppity about what they felt was their trademarked word being used by just anybody. In tried-and-true form they claimed that their reaction was not homophobic or anything, they just felt that the time had come to protect their brand. They sued the organizers of the "Gay Olympics" and they won. As you can see from the clipping above, the attorney for the U.S.Olympic Committee was the "liberal activist" Vaughan Walker, now Judge Walker.

That's not where my attitude came from, however. In 1984 the decision was fresh in my mind from reporting in the nearly underground gay press of the time, and I found it irritating, disingenuous, and gratuitously homophobic on the part of the U.S.Olympic Committee. In fact, I'm not sure I've paid much attention to any Olympic games since then.

But, this was all fresh in my mind when I received that fateful call from the telemarketer soliciting contributions to the "Special Olympics", of all things. I declined. I refused to give reasons or blame this group that for the way that they got to use the word "olympics" with such impunity. I was pleasant to her in my refusal.

Until she said to me: "What have you got against retarded kids?" I found her presumption so appallingly rude that I hung up the phone lest I waste my energy one moment longer on such a vile, unthinking, insensitive drone. And, like it or not, I still cringe whenever I hear the phrase "Special Olympics" pronounced, as it invariably is, in gentle, admiring, and inclusive tones.

Happily, the Gay Games has prospered since then, becoming the largest sports event in the world, a fabulous occasion every four years for which potentital host cities compete with enthusiasm (except for a few in some parts of the US), regardless of what it's called. Take that, USOC!

Posted on August 11, 2010 at 20.19 by jns · Permalink · One Comment
In: All, Faaabulosity, Personal Notebook

Slow-Cooker Minestrone

For one of our summer dinners with a vaguely Italian theme I wanted something new so I tried this Slow-Cooker Minestrone recipe. It didn't strike me as particularly summery but the result was so incredibly tasty that it didn't matter. I like its easy expandability. I'll write it more or less the way I made it, adapted from Beth Hensperger's Not Your Mother's Slow-Cooker Cookbook (Boston : The Harvard Commons Press, 2005).

—– Slow-Cooker Minestrone —–

  1. In large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, zucchini, and squash as you chop them. Cook until they start to turn transparent. Put in the slow cooker.
  2. Add to the slow cooker the beans, bay leaf, tomatoes with juice, wine, and broth. Add enough water to cover all by about 2 cm.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours. If using the pasta, add it during the last half hour of cooking time.
Posted on August 10, 2010 at 16.57 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Food Stuff

Fear and Prejudice on Trial

We remember during the 2008 campaign in California the remarkable campaign of slurs, innuendo, and outright lies that opponents of marriage equality indulged in. Remarkably–or perhaps it's no surprise at all, really–when it came time for them to make their case in court, under oath, it turned out that there was no understandable, rational reason to oppose marriage equality for gays and lesbians, except that opponents feel it really, really strongly. So far in our history strength of emotional belief in some myth is not taken as positive scientific evidence or credible legal argument.

The witness stand is a lonely place to lie, and when you come into court you can't do that. And that's what we proved: we put fear and prejudice on trial, and fear and prejudice lost.

— David Boies, attorney for plaintiffs, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, "Face the Nation", 8 August 2010

Posted on August 9, 2010 at 12.43 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity

"Enthusiastic Approval" for Prop-8 Decision

The American Humanist Association (AHA) expressed enthusiastic approval with yesterday's ruling by a federal judge that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional

[American Humanist Association, "Humanists Celebrate Proposition 8 Ruling", 5 August 2010; my bold.]

I quite like that: "enthusiastic approval", and I think I will express some of my own enthusiastic approval, right here.

I see that a popular way to celebrate is by quoting speech-balloons from equality's political opponents as their heads explode on hearing this breakthrough news about the progress of equality for all Americans and I admit to a certain gratification in that approach, but I really hate to give the pin-head conservatives that much recognition or link love. Well, maybe one or two things.

But first: I'll add my voice to the enthusiastic-approval crowd and congratulate Judge Walker on what has to be regarded as an historic and heroic decision even though we could equally well see his decision as a calm and dispassionate rendering from the trial proceedings. The anti-marriage crowd has had their "day in court" and discovered that, under oath and subjected to the scrutiny of jurisprudence (rather than, say, through the medium of expensive, political television ads), their arguments in favor of so-called "traditional marriage" are merely irrational and irrelevant emotion appeals to conservative fears and vague anxieties about "the children". When your defense in court is that marriage is obviously between a man and a woman for purposes of making children and no evidence is required to support the idea–well, you should expect to lose your case.

The rhetoric of the right likes to characterize these events as "discovering a right to same-sex marriage in the Constitution". It is, of course, no such thing. We homos are not looking to create a new, separate-but-equal thing known as "same-sex marriage", we are merely demanding equality of access to the recognizable, civil institution known as marriage. Not a "right to same-sex marriage" but the "right to marriage for same-sex partners". It's to emphasize this notion that the question here is not about so-called "special rights" (rhetoric that is now so eighties) that I refuse that locution in favor of the more honest "marriage equality".

It's with curiosity that I read one popular meme/talking-point from the right, that with a "stroke of his pen" (cliches are very popular in emotional appeals), Judge Walker has "invalidated" the vote of 7 million Californians who voted for Proposition 8. True enough if you want to put it that way, but it curiously overlooks the fact that this decision validates the vote of the 6.4 million people who rightly voted against Proposition 8. (Votes were tabulated by the California Secretary of State here.)We note that the difference in number between the two groups is only about 10%, and yet the first group is thought by some to be egregiously dissed. Now, I'm not going to give any credence to the idea that civil rights should be subject to the will of the mob — a bunch notoriously not known for their rational, even-handed opinions — but voter turnout for that election was 79% (see, e.g., here), so neither of these numbers represents a majority of California voters and certainly not, as the equality-opponents' rhetoric likes to claim, a majority of Californians.

But enough. I'll spend the rest of my day expressing my enthusiastic approval. Perhaps later tonight I'll finally get to reading Judge Walker's findings.

Posted on August 5, 2010 at 15.58 by jns · Permalink · 2 Comments
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity

New Shoes

I have to admit that, although this shoe pinches a little, it does seem to fit reasonably well.

And, honest to gods, I so want to smack people around when they talk about retraining. Some of the most skilled and educated people in America are out of work and will probably never have another job because they are regarded as too old. For the most part, they will have better educations and be more literate and have wider experience than the younger people who come up behind them because they were educated before the Reagan administration set to work destroying our educational system. More of these people than you might imagine are pretty up-to-date with the skills required for modern technology, but even in the wonderful high-tech area, there are only so many jobs to go around.

[Avedon Carol, "I watch the sun go down", The Sideshow, 4 August 2010.]

Posted on August 4, 2010 at 11.40 by jns · Permalink · One Comment
In: All, Reflections

Kids & Teens Read Science, the Contests

Increasing science literacy is the founding mission of Ars Hermeneutica, Limited.* Encouraging people to read good science writing — of which there is an abundance available — is one of our strategies.

One of our projects in that direction has been the Science-Book Challenge that we've sponsored for the past three years (links: current challenge, 2009, 2008 — it's never too late to take the challenge!) It's is a project that's aimed at adult readers in two categories: those who like to read choose popular-science books to read and then write short notes about them, which notes we hope will aid those who would like to read a science book but feel intimidated or bewildered by the choices available. It's a project that's been primarily for adults largely for historic reasons of accident, but affirmed by my conviction that adults are deserving of science outreach but are woefully under served as a group. Up to now I hadn't found the time or the route for expanding the project with younger readers in mind. That's changed now.

Earlier this year my colleague in informal science-education, Joanne Manaster (Joanne Loves Science; follow @ScienceGoddess on Twitter) had the great idea that she'd like to hold a summer science-reading contest for teens and pre-teens. I'm delighted that she asked me whether this was a project that Ars Hermeneutica would like to be a part of. I had no hesitation in responding with an enthusiastic "yes!"

We quickly settled on a basic outline. The high points:

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors we're giving away over $2,000 in prizes. Top prize for Teens Read Science is an iPod Touch; top prize for Kids Read Science is quality-optics binoculars. Other prizes include gift cards for iTunes, gift cards for geeky gadgets, T shirts, and other geeky swag. Over twenty amazing science-book authors have contributed signed copies of their books for prizes, too. We'll also send a free contest bookplate to at least the first 1,000 contest entrants. Please note that all prizes are awarded at the sole discretion of the contest judges.

We've had a good initial response to our announcement of the contest; here are three online pieces:

What we most need now is to spread the word about the contest to maximize involvement with what we see as the first annual contest. Everyone can help by telling someone else, blogging, posting links, emailing the contest announcement (below), and so forth. Help us get this contest series off to a great start. What follows now is more resources for you to help. There's plenty of time: this year's contest ends on 22 September 2010.

The official websites for the contests, where we keep all the rules and make announcements and do other fun things are

There are Facebook groups and Twitter accounts:

The official submission pages are here for Kids Read Science submissions and Teens Read Science submissions. Remember to tag your video as specified in the rules!

Below is our press release about the contests. The press release is online so you can download, and print it or email it around. Please do!

"Kids Read Science" & "Teens Read Science" 2010
Summer Science-Reading Contests Open

Bowie, Md & Champaign, IL, 8 June 2010:
Young people are naturally curious about the world and nature and they love learning about science. KidsReadScience and TeensReadScience are two exciting, new summer science-reading contests that challenge young people to discover science for themselves and encourage their peers to do the same.

Contest rules are simple: 1) read a nonfiction book on a topic in science, technology, engineering, or math; 2) make a video about the book that's less than 5 minutes long; 3) upload the video and submit the entry form by 11 pm (Central Daylight Time) on 22 September 2010.

KidsReadScience is for kids ages 8 through 12; TeensReadScience is for young adults ages 13 through 18. Anyone anywhere may submit one entry (in English), although prize distribution is currently restricted to locations in the US and its territories. Details are at the contest websites.

These first annual contests are a joint project of Joanne Loves Science and Scienticity.net. Several noted science-book authors and corporate sponsors have generously donated an array of great prizes to be awarded in a number of categories for each age group.

Joanne Manaster (follow @ScienceGoddess on Twitter) is well known to the online community for her enthusiastic science outreach. "These contests are happening entirely online," she explains. "Today's social-networking tools really engage young people and are a great way to spread excitement about science."

Jeff Shaumeyer (follow @scienticity on Twitter) is program director for Scienticity.net. "Developing a reading habit as a youngster is essential to becoming a life-long learner. We want to see young people start down that path. Likewise, our contestants, through the book videos they put online for others to see, encourage their peers to read about science for themselves."

Scienticity.net is the public science-education program of Ars Hermeneutica, Limited, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission of increasing science literacy. Contributions to Ars Hermeneutica to help us increase the reach of KidsReadScience and TeensReadScience are fully tax deductible in the US.

More: http://KidsReadScience.org and http://TeensReadScience.org.
Also visit http://JoanneLovesScience.com and http://Scienticity.net.
This press release online (PDF file): "'Kids Read Science' and 'Teens Read Science' 2010 Summer Science-Reading Contests Open", Scienticity.net, 8 June 2010.

Finally, let's have the promotional video that Joanne made about the contests:

[YouTube link for those who don't see the embedded player.]

———-
*For the record, Ars Hermeneutica is a nonprofit corporation recognized as 501(c)(3) tax-exempt by the IRS; contributions within the US are tax-deductible.

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 17.00 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All

Creamy Gazpacho

The creaminess refers in this instance to the texture of this delightful cold soup and not to the presence of cream–there is none in it.

For years I've waned to try making gazpacho. For years Isaac said he didn't really care much for gazpacho. Then, he's the one to point out this recipe in Cook's Illustrated and suggest that we might try it. I didn't argue. What follows is the way we made it, which varies slightly from the original recipe. It was amazingly refined and quite well balanced in taste.

===== Creamy Gazpacho =====

  1. Puree mixture: roughly chop 2 pounds of the tomatoes, half the cucumber, half the bell pepper, and half the onion and put it all in a large bowl along with the garlic. Add 1.5 teaspoons salt, toss to combine. Set aside.
  2. Garnish mixture: cut remaining tomatoes, cucumber, and pepper into 0.25-inch dice. Mince remaining onion and add to vegetables in a bowl. Toss with 0.5 teaspoon salt, then transfer to a strainer. Place the strainer over a bowl to catch juices. Set aside for 1 hour.
  3. Move garnish mixture to a bowl and set aside. Add bread pieces to the liquid captured below the strainer; there should be about 0.25 cup of liquid. Soak for about a minute then add the bread and remaining soaking liquid to the puree mixture.
  4. Put half the puree mixture in a food processor (steel blade) and process until smooth. With processor running drizzle in half the olive oil very slowly (to emulsify) and process until very smooth. Strain through a fine strainer into a large bowl; press the solids in the strainer with a wooden spoon to get all the liquid possible through the strainer. Repeat with the remaining half of the puree mixture.
  5. Stir half the garnish mixture into the soup and chill for at least 2 hours–overnight is better.
  6. Serve the soup cold, garnished with the rest of the garnish mixture.

Adapted from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, "Introducing Creamy Gazpacho", Cook's Illustrated, Number 105 (July / Aiugust 2010), p. 10.

Posted on July 25, 2010 at 23.13 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Food Stuff

The Orthography of Equations

Every now and then this little image appears on my Facebook page, as a sponsored ad, with the headline "Become a Physics Teacher". The sponsors claim that they will help me get a master's degree online in education so that I can become a physics teacher.

Now tell me, if you were considering paying someone to help you get certified in, say, programming C++, how would you respond if the image in their add had this programming fragment:

i = i + 1;

I don't know that the above is a very clear analogy to any of you, but the point is this: if the ad in question displays a lack of knowledge of the idioms of the discipline, should you trust the advertiser to provide what's on offer in a reliable way?

Why do I object to this little image? May I see a show of hands from the physical scientists who know the answer please?

Yes, that's right. In this most famous equation from physics, a result of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, the letters 'm', representing mass, and 'c', representing the speed of light in vacuum, are never, ever written as upper-case letters; they are always, invariably written in lower case. I should, perhaps, be more grateful that the '2' is at least written as a superscript.

A tiny detail, a nit that I'm picking? Would you trust a brain surgeon with dirty fingernails? A car mechanic who's not aware of what a "spark plug" is called?

Long ago I started to draft a blog entry called "On the Orthography of Equations", but I never got around to it. It was going to relate a story and draw some interesting conclusions.

The events of the story happened, now, some 20 years ago. I was talking to a secretary in our University department who was typing (yes, on a typewriter) a paper for another faculty member. She asked for some advice on how to type an equation. While I was answering her question I mentioned that if she put some space between two symbols and moved another to a slightly different place that the equation would be significantly easier to read.

"Easier to read?" she exclaimed. Clearly the idea that equations were somehow "read" rather than merely looked at surprised her. And that was when I realized that, to this secretary and likely to most people with relatively little mathematical training, the symbols in equation were mostly decorative and they did not realize that how the symbols are deployed affect the meaning and readability of the equations.

I was nearly as surprised as she to discover this, although it's an observation I've never yet figured out what to do with. Neither am I sure that this was the blog post that I was going to write, but there you go–it's the one you got.

Posted on July 21, 2010 at 12.19 by jns · Permalink · 2 Comments
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science, Personal Notebook

Welcome, Argentina

I will never understand those who proclaim love as the foundation of life, while denying so radically protection, understanding and affection to our neighbors, our friends, our relatives, our colleagues.
What kind of love is this that excludes those who experience their sexuality in a different way?

–Spain’s Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the time that Spain adopted marriage equality in 2005 [quoted by Mike Tidmus, "There’s ‘fierce advocacy’ and there’s those who just mouth the words", Mike Tidmus blog, 14 July 2010.]

I don't understand them either, really, really don't understand in some deep way. But no matter, progress comes in our lifetime, albeit slowly in the US, a country thought by many of its most conservative residents to be one of the world's most progressive.

In the wee hours of this morning, at 4:06 am and after 14 hours of debate, the Senate in Argentina voted 33 in favor, 27 against a bill to establish marriage equality in that country. Many people were watching what is almost a South American version of "Really! In Iowa?", staying up late for the moment to arrive.

#Argentina votes yes on gay marriage law! A great nation making history.

–Ricky Martin tweeting the news early on the morning of 15 July 2010 [quoted by Joe Jervis, "Argentina's Senate APPROVES Marriage Equality 33-27!!!!", Joe.My.God, 15 July 2010]

It's a pretty happy-making event for me, not to mention those living in Argentina. Argentina now makes the worldwide count of entire countries embracing marriage equality equal to ten.

2001 Netherlands
2003 Belgium
2005 Spain
2005 Canada
2006 South Africa
2008 Norway
2009 Sweden
2010 Portugal
2010 Iceland
2010 Argentina

[Timothy Kincaid, "Argentina legalizes same-sex marriage", Box Turtle Bulletin, 15 July 2010.]

It's still an unusually exclusive club, but welcoming and inexorably expanding.

Here's a short video of the reaction of the pro-marriage-equality crowd waiting outside for the vote to be announced, introduced by Andy Towle:

Crowds assembled in the Plaza del Congreso in Buenos Aires waiting all night for a vote on marriage equality erupted upon hearing the news at nearly 4:00 in the morning.
–Andy Towle, "Video: Joy Erupts in Argentina Over Legalization of Gay Marriage", Towleroad, 25 July 2010]

[YouTube link for those who don't see the embedded player.]

For some additional coverage of events, Mike Tidmus ("Argentina gets marriage equality", Mike Tidmus blog, 15 July 2010) provides links to several news stories.

Posted on July 15, 2010 at 18.56 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity

Kincaid on "Republican Activist Judges"

Judge Joseph Tauro, who just found DOMA unconstitutional, was the chief legal counsel to Republican Massachusetts Governor John Volpe until he was nominated for Federal Judge by President Richard Nixon.

It kinda takes the wind out of the “liberal activist judge” claim, doesn’t it.

[Timothy Kincaid, "Another Republican Activist Judge", Box Turtle Bulletin, 9 July 2010.]

For some examples of exploding heads among the anti-marriage-equality crowd, see Jim Burroway's "NOM Is Furious — Just Furious!", also at BTB. As I expected, the claim has quickly appeared that it is obvious that the Federal government has jurisdiction over marriage laws, such a sharp about face that their feet must be hurting.

Also from a notorious "spokesperson": "Only an incompetent defense could have lost this case." I think she really meant "nonexistent" rather than "incompetent", although as we have seen the defense of "traditional marriage" in the recent Perry v. Schwarzenegger case has been both. (Apparently this case was lost at Obama's behest, btw.)

Posted on July 9, 2010 at 08.08 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity

Federal Judge: DOMA Unconstitutional

Today Federal Judge Joseph Tauro of the District Court of Massachusetts ruled on two related cases and found that the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act", passed during the Clinton Administration, violated the US Constitution in at least two instances.

Since 1996, the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' has defended no one, while imposing senseless and cruel discrimination against married same-sex couples and their families.

— Jennifer C. Pizer, National Marriage Project Director, Lambda Legal, in statement "Federal Court Strikes Blow to Federal Antigay Law Harming Married Same-Sex Couples; Lambda Legal Issues Statement", 8 July 2010.

In fact, I find this statement to be a concise summary of the situation, so I will quote it here (from the link above). Please note that we are talking about legally married couples here; the anti-gay forces are fond of referring to these legal marriages as somehow false or imitation but, as they are also fond of saying, merely claiming it doesn't make it true.

(Boston, MA July 8, 2010) — Today, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled simultaneously in two companion cases, one brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and another brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of eight married same-sex couples and three widowers, that Section 3 of the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) is unconstitutional.

Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Jennifer C. Pizer, National Marriage Project Director:

"Today's decisions mark immensely important and inspiring steps toward equality for all families under American law. Since 1996, the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' has defended no one, while imposing senseless and cruel discrimination against married same-sex couples and their families. We applaud Judge Tauro's conclusion today that Congress acted beyond its authority when it used the massive power of the federal government to impose a discriminatory marriage definition on the states. With today's decisions, the federal court orders that the heavy hand of the U.S. government must be lifted off the scales of justice, so all legally married people—gay and straight alike—can receive the same treatment under U.S. law and in federal benefit programs.

"We applaud the outstanding work of our colleagues at GLAD and the vision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that went to court to defend married same-sex couples in their state, and the courage of the plaintiffs in Gill for standing up for justice."

In Gill et al. v. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, et al., Judge Tauro of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts today granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, holding that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional as applied to these plaintiffs because it violates the equal protection guarantees in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by discriminating without any proper justification between classes of legally married people.

In Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, et al., Judge Tauro granted the Commonwealth's motion for summary judgment, holding that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional as applied to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts because it violates the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Tauro concluded that DOMA does so by intruding on areas of exclusive state authority, as well as the Spending Clause of the federal Constitution, because it forces the Commonwealth to discriminate against its own citizens in order to receive federal funds in connection with two joint federal-state programs.

###

Contact: Jonathan Adams 212-809-8585 ext 267; jadams@lambdalegal.org

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

Posted on July 8, 2010 at 19.02 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity

Mmmm: Lemony

Sometimes I am stupefied by the breathtaking depth of philosophical / ethical thinking on exhibit in the political discourse of modern politicians. Sharron Angle, I'm told, is a Republican candidate for US Senate in Nevada. Here is part of her response in answer to a question about abortion in the context of a father raping his daughter.

"Two wrongs don't make a right. And I have been in the situation of counseling young girls, not 13 but 15, who have had very at-risk, difficult pregnancies. And my counsel was to look for some alternatives, which they did. And they found that they had made what was really a lemon situation into lemonade."

— Sharron Angle [quoted by Matthew Rettenmund, "Senate Candidate Angle: No Abortion In Cases Of Incestuous Rape", Towleroad, 8 July 2010.]

First, of course, is the fascinating "lemon situation", which apparently can be made into metaphorical lemonade in the same way that actual metaphorical lemons can. Such transcendent abstraction!

And, naturally, while assuming what Ms. Angle believes is the high moral ground in the abortion "debate", likening rape by one's father to metaphorical lemons does rather trivialize the situation in a surprising way. As Mr. Rettenmund goes on to comment:

Raped by your father = lemon. Raising your child/sibling by that father as a teenager when the father is hopefully in prison = lemonade.

It's not clear where the sugar (generally recognized as necessary in making lemonade) is in this analogy, but never mind–this is advanced political analysis.

As is "two wrongs don't make a right" another example of really, really advanced political analysis right there in the adjoining sentence. The key thing, for which we need to rely on keen political minds, is identifying two wrongs so that one of them can be avoided in each lemony situation.

I'm thinking "two idiots don't make a rocket scientist", but I'm not going to say it.

Posted on July 8, 2010 at 16.57 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Raised Eyebrows Dept., Will Rogers Moments

NWS Pictures Hot

When I want to know a weather forecast, I get it online from the National Weather Service (for "Baltimore/Washington", search for Bowie, MD). I usually don't want a lot of detail in my forecast and I don't need to hear it or see it every ten minutes, so this suits me.

Today the NWS says "Hot". That's it. It's accompanied by this icon, which I don't remember seeing before, but which really says "hot" to me. They also say "Hi 100 °F", and they don't much like to go with three-figure temperatures. But to all our suffering friends, this heat-wave is no surprise by now.

I'm interested to see that we are under a "heat advisory" (because it'll be about 100 °F and humid), whereas some to the northeast of us are issued an "excessive heat warning". That latter phrase, of course, means that it's going to be very hot, but also carries the meaning that the expected temperatures exceed normal highs by 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

We were out yesterday for a holiday day-trip (Westminster, MD; Hanover and York, PA; a common itinerary for us on a day off). It was really hot yesterday, too. I flashed back to my youth–a time when air conditioning was not ubiquitous–and thought perhaps we should go to a movie theater where it was promised to be "Kool" inside. We didn't; we turned up the air conditioning in the car.

Posted on July 6, 2010 at 11.58 by jns · Permalink · One Comment
In: All, Personal Notebook

Reagan's Silence on AIDS

Recently I read the news that there was a move afoot to designate a day in California to honor Ronald Reagan; others want to force recognition at a national level. There are so many reasons why he's not worthy of such accolades. The following recounts just one reason, one that, despite my sometimes spotty memory, I remember with remarkable clarity.

As America remembers the life of Ronald Reagan, it must never forget his shameful abdication of leadership in the fight against AIDS. History may ultimately judge his presidency by the thousands who have and will die of AIDS.

Following discovery of the first cases in 1981, it soon became clear a national health crisis was developing. But President Reagan's response was "halting and ineffective," according to his biographer Lou Cannon. Those infected initially with this mysterious disease — all gay men — found themselves targeted with an unprecedented level of mean-spirited hostility.
[…]
A significant source of Reagan's support came from the newly identified religious right and the Moral Majority, a political-action group founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. AIDS became the tool, and gay men the target, for the politics of fear, hate and discrimination. Falwell said "AIDS is the wrath of God upon homosexuals." Reagan's communications director Pat Buchanan argued that AIDS is "nature's revenge on gay men."

With each passing month, death and suffering increased at a frightening rate. Scientists, researchers and health care professionals at every level expressed the need for funding. The response of the Reagan administration was indifference.

By Feb. 1, 1983, 1,025 AIDS cases were reported, and at least 394 had died in the United States. Reagan said nothing. On April 23, 1984, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 4,177 reported cases in America and 1,807 deaths. In San Francisco, the health department reported more than 500 cases. Again, Reagan said nothing. That same year, 1984, the Democratic National Convention convened in San Francisco. Hoping to focus attention on the need for AIDS research, education and treatment, more than 100,000 sympathizers marched from the Castro to Moscone Center.

[Allen White, "Reagan's AIDS Legacy / Silence equals death", SFGate.com, 8 June 2010.]

Posted on July 1, 2010 at 21.33 by jns · Permalink · One Comment
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity

Natural Things Not Found in Nature

I learned today, from reading the article referenced below, that there is a crisis in sunscreens. Some sunscreens don't entirely block all UV, some people don't apply their sunscreen often enough, some sunscreens contain chemicals.

Many of the sunscreens that claim to be "all natural" actually are full of petroleum and many other compounds not found in nature.

[Dr. Sharon Ufberg: "The Sunscreen Scandal: Are We Getting All the Facts?", Huffington Post, 26 June 2010.]

Who would like to be the first to point out to Dr. Ufberg that petroleum is, indeed, "found in nature"? Perhaps she has not been aware of what it is that's been spewing from the uncapped BP well (i.e., from the Earth, widely perceived to be part of nature) into the Gulf of Mexico lately.

Posted on June 26, 2010 at 21.34 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Feeling Peevish, Will Rogers Moments

Secretary Clinton (again): "Gay Rights are Human Rights"

But think about what’s happening to people as we speak today. Men and women are harassed, beaten, subjected to sexual violence, even killed, because of who they are and whom they love. Some are driven from their homes or countries, and many who become refugees confront new threats in their countries of asylum. In some places, violence against the LGBT community is permitted by law and inflamed by public calls to violence; in others, it persists insidiously behind closed doors.

These dangers are not “gay” issues. This is a human rights issue. (Applause.) Just as I was very proud to say the obvious more than 15 years ago in Beijing that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, well, let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all. (Applause.)

— Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, excerpt of remarks given at an Event Celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Month, June 22, 2010, Loy Henderson Auditorium, Washington, D.C. [quoted, e.g., here]

Posted on June 24, 2010 at 00.18 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity

Things I Didn't Say First

The former governor [Mike Huckabee] said that “my use of the phrase ‘ick factor’ was as the established notion from within the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender (GLBT) community. It was not an indication of personal aversion, but rather a reference to an established phrase used mostly from same-sex marriage advocates and militants – not one I created.”

[Andy Barr, "Mike Huckabee: 'Ick factor' not my phrase", Politico, 23 June 2010.]

I hasten to point out, lest Mr. Huckabee take offense, that I was not the first to utter the phrase "dumb-fuck christian fundamentalist", nor was I the first to say "stupid as shit politician". Indeed, I don't think I was the first, either, to say "head-up-his-ass homophobe". And, rather than actually saying them right here, I hope you'll recognize that I'm merely referring to these common phrases.

In fact, there are a great many phrases that I was not the first to say, and most words in my vocabulary, oddly, were actually used before I first used them.

Posted on June 23, 2010 at 12.45 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Feeling Peevish, Will Rogers Moments

Hypatia in Texas

Hypatia of Alexandria [c. 370–c. 415] was martyred by being torn to shreds by a Christian mob, partly because she did not adhere to strict Christian principles. She considered herself a neo-Platonist, a pagan, and a follower of Pythagorean ideas. Interestingly, Hypatia is the first woman mathematician in the history of humanity of whom we have reasonably secure and detailed knowledge. She was said to be physically attractive and determinedly celibate. When asked why she was obsessed with mathematics and would not marry, she replied that she was wedded to the truth.
[…]
The Christians were her strongest philosophical rivals, and they officially discouraged her Platonic assertions about the nature of God and the afterlife. On a warm March day in A.D. 414, a crowd of Christian zealots seized her, stripped her, and proceeded to scrape her flesh from her bones using sharp shells. Next, they cut up her body and burned the pieces. Like some victims of religious terrorism today, she may have been seized merely because she was a famous person on the other side of the religious divide. it was not until after the Renaissance that another woman, Maria Agnesi, made her name as a famous mathematician.

Hypatia's death triggered the departure of many scholars from Alexandria and, in many ways, marked the end of centuries of Greek progress in mathematics. During the European Dark Ages, Arabs and Hindus were the ones to play the leading roles in fostering the progress of mathematics.

[excerpt from Clifford A. Pickover, The Math Book, New York : Sterling, 2009; p. 78.]

Posted on June 21, 2010 at 23.18 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Common-Place Book, Plus Ca Change...

French Frogs

In high school I had a lively and effective French teacher named Martha. Martha told us that her absolute favorite word in French was "grenouille", meaning "frog". She taught us carefully to pronounce it thus: gre-noy-ye, more or less. It was a marvelous word, weird and fun to say. Across the years I've said it to myself now and then just for the fun.

A few nights ago we watch the enjoyable Canadian film "Bon Cop Bad Cop", whose main characters are an English-speaking cop from Toronto, a French-speaking cop from Montreal, and the bilingual humor that can arise from the friction between the two.

At one point the French-speaking cop had a reason to refer to a frog. He used the word "grenouille", of course, only he pronounced it more like: gren-we-eh. Now, after I finally recognized what he was saying, it seemed a perfectly reasonable pronunciation, one that acknowledges the recognizable O-U-I sequence of vowels before the liquid Ls in the usual way.

The trouble was that this pronunciation is vastly different from what I was taught by Martha. Oh dear, now my very foundations of all that I've known for the past 35 years are horribly shaken. Could this reasonable pronunciation possibly be a regional variation or was Martha wrong?

It's all very troubling.

Posted on June 20, 2010 at 11.14 by jns · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: All, Reflections, Such Language!

Everybody Has a Sexual Orientation

Oklahoma has not been known recently as a leader in liberal thought or human-rights advancement, but Tulsa has bucked the indigenous trend. Thus, rather the way we said, not so long ago, "But, in Iowa!", we can now exclaim "Really? Oklahoma!"

Last night, by a vote of 6 to 3, the Tulsa City Council approved a new employment policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

I was buoyed by Councilor Bynum's comment:

"The policy does not just apply to homosexuals, everybody has a sexual orientation," said Councilor GT Bynum, who introduced the measure. "If a straight city employee has a gay supervisor, this would protect him just the same."

[Emory Bryan, "Tulsa City Council Approves Sexual Orientation Policy; Rejects Immigration Ordinance", The News on 6, 18 June 2010.]

Posted on June 18, 2010 at 19.58 by jns · Permalink · One Comment
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity