“My estimate is that about 80,000 people were at the rally. Ryan Shuler, an Airphotoslive image analyst, used the same images and a different grid-density method to produce an estimate of 87,000. Considering the error margins around our separately-calculated estimates, they are statistically identical. CBS went with the 87,000 figure, which I certainly can accept.”
“I started doing crowd estimates back in my Miami Herald days, for local events such as a visit by Pope John Paul II or the annual Calle Ocho street festival. After the 2008 presidential election, I wrote a piece about crowd counting for MSNBC.com, and that led to news media requests for an estimate of the crowd for President Obama’s inauguration. I used a satellite image taken over the National Mall on January 20, 2009, to estimate the crowd there at about 800,000.
“Crowd counting, particularly of political events, always is controversial. The organizers of the event inevitably hype their crowd estimate — often grossly — to demonstrate the popularity of their cause, and opponents inevitably underestimate to fit their own agenda. Because of the wild pre-inauguration predictions of how many would attend in person — up to 5 million! — my reality-based estimate was ignored by many left-wing commentators and embraced by those on the right.”
“I am amused to see that those who embraced my Obama inauguration estimate as soberly realistic are now attacking the Beck rally estimate, produced using exactly the same methods, as deliberately biased.”
That’s about how many people show up for an FSU football game at Doak Campbell Stadium. (Sorry, the Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium.)
Searching for the word “liberals” on Openbook I discovered that the link du jour for those on the right is Charles Krauthammer’s “The Last Refuge of the Liberal.”
Perhaps the level of willful ignorance is equal among the left and the right and I just don’t read lefties with the same critical eye. Regardless, one of the things that continually astonishes me about many conservatives in the US is their disdain for facts, evidence, truth, and accuracy.
Krauthammer is not happy with the charges of bigotry being leveled against those on the right. When liberals start losing an argument, they resort to name-calling. Specifically, they start calling their opponents bigots. The foundation of Krauthammer’s argument rests on the following assertion:
“Note what connects these issues. In every one, liberals have lost the argument in the court of public opinion. Majorities — often lopsided majorities — oppose President Obama’s social-democratic agenda (e.g., the stimulus, Obamacare), support the Arizona law, oppose gay marriage, and reject a Ground Zero mosque.”
Since he doesn’t actually link to any evidence of these majorities it’s up to me to track them down. No problem, I’m a blogger! (Which evidently requires a greater dedication to accuracy than being a columnist or editor for the National Review.)
Instead of cherry-picking polls, I’m heading straight to the Gallup poll page. I’m also doing this blind. I don’t know what the Gallup results are. Maybe Krauthammer is correct, and by the end of this post I’ll be eating some well-deserved crow. Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.
The most recent Gallup poll on American attitudes to legalizing same-sex relationships puts 58% of the nation in favor. Wha-? Given that 32% were willing to accept gay marriage in 1986 and we now have an all-time high of 58% it sounds to me like liberals are winning that argument.
“There is a gradual cultural shift under way in Americans’ views toward gay individuals and gay rights. While public attitudes haven’t moved consistently in gays’ and lesbians’ favor every year, the general trend is clearly in that direction. This year, the shift is apparent in a record-high level of the public seeing gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable. Meanwhile, support for legalizing gay marriage, and for the legality of gay and lesbian relations more generally, is near record highs.”
American confidence in the US health care system is up to 40% after being down in the 30s at the end of the last Bush term. The key difference between the end of the last Bush term and now? The Affordable Health Care Act. Their most recent poll specifically about the Health Care Act shows 49% saying it is a good thing and 46% showing it is a bad thing. Perhaps liberals haven’t won this argument, but it’s hardly a lopsided majority against the health care bill.
The most recent poll on the federal government using funds to stimulate the economy (the Stimulus) show 60% approve additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Sounds like another liberal victory, precisely the opposite of Krauthammer’s claim.
The last time Gallup asked specifically about the Arizona immigration law a whopping 39% said they supported it! To be fair, that was more than opposed it. 30% opposed and 31% claimed no opinion.
More recently Gallup found that 50% of the people polled opposed the federal government’s lawsuit against the Arizona law. I may be unclear on the concept of “majority,” but I don’t think 50% counts. However, I’m perfectly willing to give this one to Krauthammer. I think Republicans ARE currently winning the argument on how to best handle illegal immigration.
There is no Gallup Poll on the “Ground Zero Mosque.” However, nearly twice as many people opposed Obama’s conditional support of the Cordoba House as supported his comments. But, since there’s no such thing as a “Ground Zero Mosque” (it’s not at ground zero and it’s not a mosque) I’m not sure how to measure this one.
What we’ve really learned is that the lopsided majority of Krauthammer’s assertions are complete fabrications, and there’s a substantial number of people who simply don’t care about facts or accuracy. Krauthammer, the National Review, and those who approvingly passed along this link are guilty of willful ignorance. Ignorance is part of the human condition. But, ignorance where knowledge is available is irresponsible. Want to restore honor? Do your research and stick to the facts. Dispel ignorance instead of embracing it.
***
UPDATE: I’m not the only one thinking along these lines.
“So what if one-in-five believe the sun revolves around the earth, or aren’t sure from which country the United States gained its independence?
“But false belief in weapons of mass-destruction led the United States to a trillion-dollar war. And trust in rising home value as a truism as reliable as a sunrise was a major contributor to the catastrophic collapse of the economy.”
“The story that’s not being examined—but should be—is is how fucking DUMB about a quarter of this country is. It’s not Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin or Ted Nugent or any of the rest of them, who are the story, they’re merely symptoms of the greater problem: 20-25% of the American population are abject idiots. That’s the story I want to see the media tackle.”
“The planned “ultra-mosque” will be a staggering 5,600ft tall – more than five times higher than the tallest building on Earth – and will be capped with an immense dome of highly-polished solid gold, carefully positioned to bounce sunlight directly toward the pavement, where it will blind pedestrians and fry small dogs. The main structure will be delimited by 600 minarets, each shaped like an upraised middle finger, and housing a powerful amplifier: when synchronised, their combined sonic might will be capable of relaying the muezzin’s call to prayer at such deafening volume, it will be clearly audible in the Afghan mountains, where thousands of terrorists are poised to celebrate by running around with scarves over their faces, firing AK-47s into the sky and yelling whatever the foreign word for “victory” is.”
“Conservatives, generally, are far more adept at politically reframing concepts by giving them snappy-but-misleading nicknames than liberals. “Loony left”. “Boom-and-bust”. “Flip-flop”. “Ground Zero mosque”. All simplifications or outright lies – but they worked. Like advertisers, the right seems breezily unconcerned about the truth of the slogan, provided it rings up a sale. They slap the words “fun-size” on the packaging and wait for the public to buy it.”
I’m still browsing Openbook, this time searching the word “honor.” I’m not sure why I find this so compelling, but I can’t seem to stop reading.
“Why did Beck choose to rally at the feet of a murdering, tyrannical President and use the word “honor”? I found it interesting that Glenn Beck had his “Restoring Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial, and had pictures of Lincoln plastered on all the rally material. I guess Glenn forgot that Lincoln ordered the deaths of about 250,000 southern men and women during the War to Prevent Southern Independence.”
Which reminds me — why don’t those who oppose the Cordoba house also oppose the flying of the Confederate flag? Isn’t it a little insensitive to celebrate a gang of terrorists who tried with all their might to annihilate the United States of America?
We have compiled a list of Tampa blogs which we think are fantastic resources for those who have an interest in the popular city. We have commended your website to our visitors and you can see your website listed at the following link:
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My cynical nature got the better of me and I ignored it. Today I noticed that Michael Hussey at Pushing Rope graciously acknowledged Tripbase’s recognition. I asked Michael if he thought I was being too cynical and he responded – “Probably.”
Fair enough. It’s always nice to be recognized. So, Thanks Tripbase.
Here’s what they had to say about Re/Creating Tampa:
“Dave’s long-standing Tampa blog is a glorious display of absolutely everything related to the city, as well as other novel bits and pieces from across the ‘net.”
Other Tampa sites recognized by Tripbase are:
Sticks of Fire
I’ve been wasting (too much) time the last couple of hours searching Openbook, a search engine just for Facebook pages with their privacy settings set to the most transparent option. Wonkette recommended using the search term “mosk.”
OK, that’s pretty hilarious and scary, but as I searched around I found a few status updates I thought made fair or reasonable points.
“Mark Phillips — At the Restore America Rally today in Washington DC 500,000 people turned out. There was absolutely nothing racist or disrespectful during this entire gathering.They all spoke of love, honor, faith and prayer. They prayed for service people and our nation. Very well run event and a moment America can be proud of.”
Fair enough. Beck’s whole Restore Honor event is so permeated with symbolism for both the right and left of the political media it’s easy to forget it’s a peaceful event of hundreds of thousands80,000+ of people exercising their rights of assembly. Good for them! [Update: I was willing to accept Beck's crowd numbers which was a mistake. The link is to a professional crowd counter who analyzed images of the event.]
“Alan Skorski My question to the media and other liberals: If just one protester at a Tea Party event carries a sign of questionable taste, you denounce the movement as a whole, but when 19 Muslims kill 3000 Americans (at Ground Zero) you dismiss them as a “few bad apples?”"
Excellent point. There’s wayyy too much guilt-by-association going on among the liberal bloggers, pundits, and the MSM. Just because one tea-partier holds up a misspelled sign doesn’t mean they’re all illiterate. Just because some racists are attracted to the event doesn’t mean that they are all bigots. Etc.
We would all be better served if we stopped using shorthand (and I’m as guilty of this as anyone) and started being specific. Just as all liberals don’t agree perfectly on every issue, neither do conservatives, Republicans, Christians, or Muslims.
I read Pushing Rope regularly, but don’t link to it so much because it deals mostly with national politics and I try to keep those posts to a minimum. I also assume folks who read this blog are also familiar with PR.
However, if you are not familiar, let me recommend adding it to your regular blog reading.
Michael Hussey puts up the majority of the posts, but is occasionally joined by LitBrit, another west central Florida blogger you should probably be reading.
Hussey isn’t just about national politics, he also does his share of local and state coverage. Here are some posts you may find interesting.
I don’t think those attending the Beck/Palin rally are clear on the concept of honor. One aspect of honor is to have principles; to have an integrity of thought; to maintain an ethical philosophy that doesn’t shift with changing opinion or political expediency.
Excellent! Then he should probably be voting for Democratic candidates instead of supporting political conservatives.
Here are some ways to keep government out of people’s lives.
1) Repeal the REAL ID Act. The REAL ID Act creates a official ID for every American citizen. It was authored by Republican James Sensenbrenner, and attached as a rider to a bill funding the military. No one wants to vote against money for the soldiers, so it passed unanimously. The implementation of the Act has been delayed by Janet Napolitano, who opposes it, with the support of President Obama, who opposes it. Creating a permanent database of every single American and mandating that all citizens get an official ID, is a tremendous intrusion into the lives of Americans. And yet, it is supported by conservative politicians.
2) Allow same sex marriage. Why is the government intruding into people’s lives when it comes to marriage? Keep the government out of it and allow same sex couples the same rights as everyone else.
3) Decriminalize marijuana. Keep the government out of it. I should have the freedom to put anything into my body I want.
4) Decriminalize prostitution.
5) In fact, let’s decriminalize all victimless crimes. There should be no government intrusion when it comes to public nudity, recreational drug use, prostitution, or the sell or purchase of sex toys.
6) Keep the government out of abortion. Some religions may say that life starts at conception, but science doesn’t. And history tells us that abortion has been practiced through all times and in all cultures.
7) End the war. As conservative critics like Russell Kirk have noted, war always increases the size of the government. Our most recent war ushered in the Department of Homeland Security. Stop the war and stop the fear-mongering that persuades the American public that the DHS is necessary. Let’s fight for ending the Transportation Security Administration while we’re at it. Airlines are not part of the US government and should be providing their own security.
8.) Support euthanasia. It is not the government’s business whether I take my own life. That is a decision that should be between me, my family, and my God. Keep the government out of it.
9) Support first amendment rights for freedom of religion. Downtown New York is not hallowed ground. Nor is anywhere else where Mosque-building is being protested. Keep the government out of church, temple, and mosque building.
10) Stop supporting the transfer of public funds to private coffers. One of the most important government intrusions that needs to be stopped is the government directing tax dollars to private companies instead of to the public sector. Stop spending tax-payer dollars supporting Archer Daniels Midland, for example, and use that money to help small, independent farmers. Stop using Microsoft products, and start using open source software. Stop outsourcing defense spending to benefit the war profiteers.
Tea-partiers, and their leaders Beck and Palin, are not honorable. They are guided by their hatred of liberals and rely on ethics that change with the situation. They don’t want to see a reduction in government intrusion into the lives of citizens. They want to see less government intrusion into corporate behavior. They don’t care about REAL ID, but want BP to be able to pollute as much as they want. They’re happy to have the government in your bedroom, passing laws against sodomy, but think there should be no laws against corporations polluting public lands.
If you really want government out of your life you support liberal candidates.
“Anyway, you can imagine my surprise and joy when I discovered that Temple Terrace does actually have a few hills. My first concern was whether it had enough of a hill to constitute four minutes, as mandated by my training plan for today. I decided to tackle ‘the hill’ to see how long it took, and wouldn’t you know it? Two minutes up. So I ran it, circled around a lovely treed neighborhood, then ran it again. Problem solved!”
***
The SOG City Oracle points us to Natalie Merchant’s review of Ybor City’s venerable The Columbia restaurant.
“[The Columbia] gave me the worst case of food poisoning of my life. That’s not Spanish food. The house salad looked like something in my compost bucket.”
Ouch.
***
Sunshine Skyway to Hell has a busy weekend planned.
Battle of the Bay Fixed Gear Bike Race on Saturday
The People’s Pool Party @ Czar on Saturday
Summer Jam 6, also on Saturday
The PBR Pub Bike Ride with our favorite people from Give & Take on Sunday
***
Tampania posts all to infrequently, but is a terrific blog “about Tampa’s built history and development.”
“I was discouraged that she would slander us without proof (of what caused her illness),” Gonzmart said. “Our restaurants are up in sales. That isn’t happening everywhere right now. So we must be doing something right.”
I’ve been on a calypso kick lately, and have been thinking about writing up the story of the “Rum and Coca Cola” song.
In short the story goes like this: In 1943 Morey Amsterdam visited Trinidad on a USO tour and heard the song “Rum and Coca Cola.” He picked up the sheet music, and once back in the US lightly re-wrote the lyrics and melody, and, along with two others, sold the rights to the song to the Andrews Sisters.
The song was banned by radio stations because it either a) promoted drinking or b) reflected poorly on the American soldier. Despite the radio ban the song still managed to become a jukebox hit, and bestselling disc.
The song Amsterdam heard in Trinidad was by Rupert Grant, aka Lord Invader.
The plagiarism suit that followed was complicated by the claims of about six different people to be the owner of the song.
Anyway, as I was doing research on the song and the lawsuit I discovered that Kevin Burke has already published a terrific account of the song, the suit, and all the principle characters. I can’t improve on what he’s already written, so let me highly recommend “Calypso on Trial” by Kevin Burke originally published in Sunjet magazine in 1989.
“During the American “occupation” of Trinidad there were many opportunities for the thirsty GI’s to sip a rum and Coke but none more refreshing than on a little outing with some of the young ladies of the colony. In fact the mutual appreciation of these two groups soon became legendary. Rum and Coca-Cola, it seemed, was not only their drink of choice but also their guiding metaphor: just as the two sugar-based liquids – one North American and one West Indian – swirled together in a glass, so too the Yankee soldiers “mixed” with the young women of Trinidad.”
“Since the Yankees came to Trinidad
They have the young girls goin’ mad.
The young girls say they treat ‘em nice
And they give them a better price.
They buy rum and Coca-Cola,
Go down Point Cumana.
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar.”
“In his cross examination of Khan and Invader there was little the defense attorney, Julian Abeles, could do to refute their testimony. It soon became clear that Feist’s only defense rested on technical grounds: 1. that “Rum and Coca-Cola” was “inherently lewd, immoral, and salacious” and, as such uncopyrightable; 2. that Calypso music was “folklore” and, as such, uncopyrightable; 3. that Khan had obtained his copyright improperly be not getting a written assignment from Invader. Abeles was, in effect, putting calypso on trial.”
Here is the Andrews’ Sisters version which swept the country in 1945.
Tea Party enthusiasts are so shallow, so ill-educated, so dismissive of the conservative values of tradition and honor, and so repulsed by the humane policies of progressives that they think it perfectly reasonable to celebrate the words of Beck and put him in the same category as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is the last week of training at work, so with any luck next week will bring about a more regular schedule.
Be sure to vote in the primary elections tomorrow (Tuesday, August 24, 2010). You can find out more about who you’re voting for at the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections page.
***
For a party that spends so much time defending originalism, and claiming constitutional purity, Republicans sure spend a lot of time trying to amend the US constitution.
“Republicans have proposed at least 42 Constitutional amendments in the current Congress….”
“Democrats … have proposed 27 amendments, and fully one-third of those are part of a package from a single member, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill. Jackson’s package encapsulates a liberal agenda in which everyone has new rights to quality housing and education, but most of the Democratic proposals deal with less ideological issues such as congressional succession in a national disaster or voting rights in U.S. territories.”
“The Republican proposals, by contrast, tend to be social and political statements, such as the growing movement to repeal the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship.”
***
Jesus weighs in on the Park51 (aka the Cordoba House aka Ground Zero Mosque) controversy.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the… beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Wow, what a chatterbox.
***
One of the thigh-slappingly hilarious hypocrisies about the right-wing is their visceral hatred for George Soros (big business capitalist, anti-Communist, America-loving immigrant, dedicated to spreading capitalism and democracy around the world, and instrumental in pushing Soviet satellites into accepting an American-centric economic and political worldview), while quietly accepting tons of money from Reverend Sun Myung Moon (wannabe theocrat, constitution-hating, cult-leader, heretic, and gay-basing immigrant).
Mining this same vein, Jane Meyer publishes an investigation into the Koch brothers in the New Yorker. David and Charles Koch have spent more than $100 million in supporting right-wing causes and establishing right-wing journals, non-profits, and think tanks. They are the Plutocrat elite, conjuring laughable climate “science” that shows there’s some debate on anthropogenic climate change, paying pundits by the boatload to preach austerity measures for the poor while demanding more public money be poured into the coffers of the super-wealthy, etc.
Their father, Fred Koch, was a substantial financial supporter of the John Birch Society.
“In 1958, Fred Koch became one of the original members of the John Birch Society, the arch-conservative group known, in part, for a highly skeptical view of governance and for spreading fears of a Communist takeover. Members considered President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be a Communist agent. In a self-published broadside, Koch claimed that ‘the Communists have infiltrated both the Democrat and Republican Parties.’ He wrote admiringly of Benito Mussolini’s suppression of Communists in Italy, and disparagingly of the American civil-rights movement. ‘The colored man looms large in the Communist plan to take over America,’ he warned. Welfare was a secret plot to attract rural blacks to cities, where they would foment ‘a vicious race war.’ In a 1963 speech that prefigures the Tea Party’s talk of a secret socialist plot, Koch predicted that Communists would ‘infiltrate the highest offices of government in the U.S. until the President is a Communist, unknown to the rest of us.’”
“Charles and David Koch were particularly influenced by the work of Friedrich von Hayek, the author of The Road to Serfdom (1944), which argued that centralized government planning led, inexorably, to totalitarianism. Hayek’s belief in unfettered capitalism has proved inspirational to many conservatives, and to anti-Soviet dissidents; lately, Tea Party supporters have championed his work. In June, the talk-radio host Glenn Beck, who has supported the Tea Party rebellion, promoted “The Road to Serfdom” on his show; the paperback soon became a No. 1 best-seller on Amazon.”
“Many of the ideas propounded in the 1980 campaign presaged the Tea Party movement. Ed Clark told The Nation that libertarians were getting ready to stage ‘a very big tea party,’ because people were ‘sick to death’ of taxes.”
***
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) says that if Republicans win the House, the agenda for the next two years is to “have the big debate.” That sounds like pretty weak sauce. Shouldn’t they be governing, or legislating, or at least working, instead of yammering on for the next 24 months? But, as we know from Rep. Peter King (R-NY) agendas have a way of becoming (losing) campaign issues for Republicans. Of course, we know what they’ll be doing. They’ll take Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) advice and start issuing a slew of subpoenas.
The Campaign Manager points to these political satire animations by “trusted aide to Bill McCollum” Kirk Pepper (but almost certainly NOT by Kirk Pepper). The most recent episode, posted a couple of weeks ago, is “The Case of the Missing Scattergun” about Bill McCollum’s stolen shotgun.
***
Alan Snel reports on the ghost bike installation to memorialize the death of Admiral LeRoy Collins who was recently struck by an automobile while riding his bicycle and killed.
“More and more people are riding bicycles in the Tampa Bay area and the country’s top transportation official declared that cities and counties must plan for bicyclists and pedestrians — not only cars — when it comes to designing and building roads.
“For years, Tampa built roads without bicyclists and peds in mind. The jig is up. Mayor Iorio, start making Tampa safe for bicyclists.”
***
The Queue blogs about the WFTS-TV reporter (and others) fired over posting a gag news clip on YouTube.
“That’s why I feel bad for those who lost their jobs. They thought they were doing something funny for a friend. It’s the brain surgeon who thought he or she had to share the video on Facebook and YouTube whose career ought to be kaput.
“Firing seems excesssive punishment. The station’s GM told the Times that the video could risk the station’s credibility, which I understand to a point. But I saw the clip before it was removed from YouTube and if the only people still watching TV news are ones who couldn’t immediately tell that this was a fake story, I’m not sure that the business has much credibility left, anyway.”
***
Tampa resident and YA author G. Neri reports that his archives will be collected at USF’s Ted Hipple YA Collection.
“The Ted Hipple YA Collection houses over 1650 signed first editions, ARCs, and original manuscripts from the likes of Jacqueline Woodson, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jerry Spinelli, Chris Crutcher and just about everyone who’s anyone in YA. It is the humble home of the G. Neri Archives (ahem!) including all the original manuscripts and editorial letters and notes for all of my books.”
Congratulations!
***
And don’t forget to visit Finding Tampa for some great photos of the Tampa Bay area.
Despite our short attention spans and recent suggestions that all the oil spilled in the Gulf miraculously vanished, it turns out that there’s still a bunch of oil floating around out there.
“The plume of petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals measures a staggering 22 miles long, and has settled in a deep underwater layer.”
And, researchers at USF are finding oil settling along the west coast of Florida.
“The preliminary findings may suggest that sub-surface oil is emerging onto the West Florida Shelf though the canyon, a geologic feature located east-northeast of the Deepwater Horizon well site. To date, this is the eastern-most location for the occurrence of sub-surface oils.”
The Land Art Generator Initiative is an interesting architectural design competition looking to combine art installations with clean energy production. This is the kind of urban art installations I’d love to see going in around the Tampa Bay area.
From their Project Description page: “The goal of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is to design and construct Land Art / Environmental Art installations that have the added benefit of large scale clean energy generation. Each sculpture will continuously distribute clean energy into the electrical grid with each land art sculpture having the potential to provide power to thousands of homes.”
Check out their blog for some information about entries.
“Our project consists of 1203 stalks, 55 meters high, anchored on the ground with concrete bases that range between 10 to 20 meters in diameter. The stalks are made of carbon fiber reinforced resin poles, 30 cm in diameter at the base and 5 cm at the top. The top 50 cm of the poles are lit up by an LED array that glows and dims depending on how much the poles are swaying in the wind. When there is no wind–when the poles are still–the lights go dark.”
“Within each hollow pole is a stack of piezoelectric ceramic discs. Between the ceramic disks are electrodes. Every other electrode is connected to each other by a cable that reaches from top to bottom of each pole. One cable connects the even electrodes, and another cable connects the odd ones. When the wind sways the poles, the stack of piezoelectric disks is forced into compression, thus generating a current through the electrodes.”
“We roughly estimate that the overall output of our project is comparable to that of a conventional wind turbine array. While a single wind turbine that is limited in height to 55 meters may produce more energy than one of our Windstalks, our Windstalks can be packed in denser arrays.”
Man, the 1930s were tough on everyone, even the maniacally gleeful Mickey Mouse. Here’s the story of when Mickey tried to commit suicide.
“He would make suggestions every once in a while, for some short continuities and so on, and I would do them. One that I’ll never forget, and which I still don’t understand was when he said, ‘Why don’t you do a continuity of Mickey trying to commit suicide?’ So I said, ‘Walt! You’re kidding!’ He replied, ‘No, I’m not kidding. I think you could get a lot of funny stuff out of that.’ I said, ‘Gee whiz, Walt. I don’t know. What do you think the Syndicate will think of it? What do you think the editors will think? And the readers?’ He said, ‘I think it will be funny. Go ahead and do it.’ So I did, oh, maybe ten days of Mickey trying to commit suicide—jumping off bridges, trying to hang himself… I don’t remember all the details. But strangely enough, the Syndicate didn’t object. We didn’t hear anything from the editors, and Walt said, ‘See? It was funny. I told you it would be.’ So there were a few things like that.”
“Brooklynites Danny, an OTB clerk, and Annie, a nurse, remember their life together—from their first date to Danny’s final days with terminal cancer. This remarkable couple personifies the eloquence, grace, and poetry that can be found in the voices of every day people if we take the time to listen. Originally an animation in two parts, here you’ll see a special version that combines both parts of their story.”
Here’s the NPR story with a picture of the happy couple.
Imagine outfitting your house with small, affordable solar panels that plug into a socket and pump power into your electrical system instead of taking it out.
That’s the promise of a Seattle, Washington-based start-up that is working to provide renewable energy options — solar panels and wind turbines — for homes and small businesses. The panels cost as little as $600 and plug directly into a power outlet.
“With Google applications we return to the app to do something specific and then go on to something else, whereas great social applications are designed to lure us back and make us never want to leave.”
…
“The primary purpose of a social application is connecting with others, seeing what they’re up to, and maybe even having some small, fun interactions that though not utilitarian are entertaining and help us connect with our own humanity. Google apps are for working and getting things done; social apps are for interacting and having fun.”
…
“So, to summarize: Google is responsible for Orkut, Wave, and Buzz. Ex-Googlers are responsible for Facebook, Foursquare, and Twitter. Discuss.”
“This design transforms mundane electrical pylons into statues on the Icelandic landscape by making only small alterations to existing pylon design.”
“Making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable. These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.”
“I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so I couldn’t wait to check this place out. It was a warm June evening when I decided to venture over to the hotel and have dinner at its critically acclaimed barbeque restaurant. Wildwood Barbeque has gotten much recognition since its opening here in town. The restaurant serves scrumptious, mouth-watering barbeque from pit master, ‘Big Lou’ Elrose and offers a wide array of bourbons, which I was later told by my waiter, pairs well with this kind of cuisine.”
“How important is being able to move in front of the weather map?”
“It’s important, especially if you stand in front of New Port Richey a lot, you’ll hear about it.”
***
Gulf Coast Eats eats at Brocato’s, one of my favorite Tampa sandwich shops.
“Right now I am STILL full from the meal about 3 hours ago and look forward to visiting again soon. Brocato’s has personality, tradition and good food waiting for those who find it.”
He also visits Burger Monger, a new spot I haven’t tried yet.
“I heard along the grapevine that Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio doesn’t think a lot of people bike in Tampa, but maybe that was the Tampa decades ago when she grew up in the city.
“Not anymore. Several Tampa bicycle organizations have cropped up in the past few years and here’s the most compelling data of all — Tampa was 17th out of 70 big cities in the U.S. when it comes to bike commuting in 2008.”
And, as he points out, we’d probably be even higher if cyclists were kept when mind when the city is planning, designing, repairing, and building.
***
Michael E. Arth, candidate for the Florida Governorship, has a terrific post about his visit with Rick Scott. Definitely check it out. (via Stogie)
“The problem in this gubernatorial race is not that the field is dominated by Rick Scott, an ego-tripping millionaire with a checkered past and a proven disregard for the common good; or Bill McCollum, a lackluster career politician, former paid lobbyist and lackey of special interests; or Alex Sink, a former bank executive who, along with fellow trustees Charlie Crist and Bill McCollum, mishandled the state’s nest egg under the State Board of Administration. (You will hear more about the hushed-up SBA scandal if Scott wins the primary, because it will become potent ammunition against Sink). The problem is that our broken electoral system consistently attracts inadequate leaders, or even criminals. In fact, Florida had 824 convicted public officials in a recent ten year period, more than any other state, and this is only the tip of the iceberg since most criminals get away with their crimes, and even if politicians are not technically breaking the law, they are still engaged in legalized bribery. We hate politicians and focus on their shortcomings, but they are only the boils on the diseased government body. We should be putting our focus on curing the whole system to bring systemic and institutional change, to attract the best and the brightest people to the most important jobs in the land.”
Some nice visual interpretations of a statistical analysis of the WikiLeaks Afghan leak. Below is an image of the growing spread of combat from 2004 to 2009.
“It’s one thing to read about individual Taliban attacks in WikiLeaks’ trove of war logs. It’s something quite different to see the bombings and the shootings mount, and watch the insurgency metastasize.
“NYU political science grad student (and occasional Danger Room contributor) Drew Conway has done just that, using an open source statistical programming language called R and a graphical plotting software tool. The results are unnerving, like stop-motion photography of a freeway wreck. Above is the latest example: a graph showing the spread of combat from 2004 to 2009. It’s exactly what you wouldn’t want to see as a war drags on.”
Drew Conway’s site, with more posts and explanations, can be found here.
Interesting article by a woman who has made the conversion from metaphysical healer to thoughtful skeptic.
“One of the biggest falsehoods I’ve encountered is that skeptics can’t tolerate mystery, while New Age people can. This is completely wrong, because it is actually the people in my culture who can’t handle mystery—not even a tiny bit of it. Everything in my New Age culture comes complete with an answer, a reason, and a source. Every action, emotion, health symptom, dream, accident, birth, death, or idea here has a direct link to the influence of the stars, chi, past lives, ancestors, energy fields, interdimensional beings, enneagrams, devas, fairies, spirit guides, angels, aliens, karma, God, or the Goddess.”
Recently many of my FB acquaintances passed around a link to a NYT article about the rise of plagiarism among college students.
“Perhaps more significant, the number who believed that copying from the Web constitutes ‘serious cheating’ is declining — to 29 percent on average in recent surveys from 34 percent earlier in the decade.”
After responding to a few posts I quickly realized my response was a minority opinion. Behind all the tsk tsking, tut tutting and nervous hand-wringing about the declining moral standards of our youth, is simply another article in the well-tilled genre of youth-bashing.
Yes, students cheat. And yes, sometimes they are indifferent to the ethics of cheating.
I see this more as a problem of opportunity than declining ethical standards. Popular culture of the past is filled with references to students buying papers from students. Perhaps this element of cheating has been reduced since it is so easy to simply copy and paste. Or, maybe not. However, the NYT article shows little interest in finding out what’s going on, and instead editorializes on the immoral behavior of the youth today.
Perhaps they should have interviewed valedictorian Erica Goldson. In her valedictory speech Ms. Goldson does an excellent job of explaining why students might not care about plagiarism. You can read her whole speech here, or watch the YouTube embedded below. She asks that you forgive the nervousness of her voice, and I think it’s accurate to say she’s a much better speech-writer than speech-giver.
“School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.”
“I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.”
“And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.”
I’ve barely looked at the Internet or the news for the last ten days, so I’m not sure exactly what to be incensed about. I suppose I’ll make today’s Politics Monday a round-up of links of interest.
I have a few quibbles about some of his emphasis, and some of his conclusions, but on the whole I found this to be a fascinating work. One of the things that struck me most was his argument that the USA’s primary objective in its various wars is not democracy, or peace, or business concerns, but in keeping regions off-balance so they never cohere enough to pose a threat to US preeminence. When viewed through this lens of maintaining geopolitical dominance regardless of principles, humanity, or profit, America’s excursions abroad make a lot more sense.
***
Presumably recent news has been focused on the worst humanitarian disaster in recent history. Up to 13 million people may be displaced by flooding in Pakistan. Considering the amount of coverage given to Haiti, Katrina, and the 2004 winter tsunami, I’m sure this disaster (which is larger than the previous three combined) has been filling up the airwaves, the Internet tubes, newsprint, and cable pundit teleprompters.
Hmmm, on second look, it seems like the Western media is profoundly indifferent. From the link provided above:
“UPDATE: I just mentioned this on Twitter, but it is worth noting that as of 1 pm EST there is not a single, solitary mention of the biggest humanitarian disaster in recent history on the homepages of the Washington Post or New York Times.”
***
While it may not be on the front page, the NYT does have an article about the floods in Pakistan.
“As public anger rises over the government’s slow and chaotic response to Pakistan’s worst flooding in 80 years, hard-line Islamic charities have stepped into the breach with a grass-roots efficiency that is earning them new support among Pakistan’s beleaguered masses.”
It looks like someone is making an effort to win the hearts and minds of the Pakistan population, it’s just not the US.
***
And, while water is destroying much of Pakistan’s agricultural breadbasket, Russian crops are burning to the ground, prompting a Russian ban on grain export.
“Russia announced Thursday that it will ban all grain exports for the rest of the year, sending wheat prices soaring to a two-year high and raising the possibility of inflated food prices that could throw an already fitful global economy recovery off track.”
All of this while suffering the worst heat wave in recent memory. Fortunately, we’re going through a period of global cooling (you tell ‘em, Inhofe!) otherwise there’d probably be a lot more than 5,000 dead from the heat.
***
Idle thought: Any chance of repealing the REAL ID Act? Supported by the previous administration, opposed by the current, the REAL ID Act was introduced by a Republican as an attachment to a war spending bill. It essentially creates a mandatory identification card for every citizen of the United States. (Official state IDs will be acceptable once they create a system suitable to the feds.)
There are plenty of Democrats who support/supported the REAL ID Act, so this isn’t a wholly partisan issue, but I find it interesting that the party screaming the loudest about freedom from government intrusion is making the strongest move (both with the REAL ID Act, and Arizona-esque immigration laws) to make sure the US government has a database of every single citizen, and makes registration with the federal government a mandatory act.
City of TampaMayor Pam Iorio will present four awards during the Mayor’s Alliance for Persons with Disabilities Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. […]
City of TampaBoth directions of East 17th Avenue in Ybor City are closed at North 20th Street while City of Tampa Water Department crews repair a broken 30-inch water main. […]
City of TampaMark your calendars to attend the GTCERT monthly training for September - a skills refresher training session. Training will be at Tampa Fire Rescue Training Academy (116 S. 34th St) Thursday, September 7, 2010, beginning at 7:00 p.m. and wrapping up by 9:00 p.m. Hope to see you there! […]
Tampa Fire Rescue receives national recognitionTampabay.comTAMPA — After more than a century in existence, Tampa's fire department has received national accreditation. ...Clothes dryer lint causes $60000 house fire in North TampaTampabay.comall 2 news articles » […]
ABC Action NewsTampa couple displaced after fire at duplexTampabay.comTAMPA — A couple was displaced early Thursday after a fire erupted in their duplex and caused $45000 in damage. ...Two escape flames and smoke as their home caught fire early ThursdayABC Action NewsRed Cross helps pair after Tampa house fireTbo.comall 9 news articles » […]
Suncoast NewsSt. Pete OKs private firm for recyclable pickupsTbo.comThe city of Tampa offers curbside recycling pickup once a week. St. Petersburg does not offer curbside recycling, but the city council this week will ...Curbside recycling finally comes to St. PetersburgTampabay.comSt. Petersburg, Pinellas County's last holdout, votes on recycling Thurs […]
Tbo.comMayor says airport board members should pay for parking tooABC Action NewsTAMPA - Unless you are in and out in less than an hour, parking at Tampa International Airport will cost you $3. Except for those on the Aviation Authority ...Tampa airport director interviews closed to publicTbo.comall 3 news articles » […]
SkySportsBucs-Texans PreviewPewter ReportThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to the Houston Texans in Week 4 of the 2010 preseason on Thursday night. What happened the last time these two teams ...Receiver Michael Clayton doesn't believe preseason finale vs. Houston Texans ...Tampabay.comTampa Bay Buccaneers vs Houston Texans 2010 NFL Picks, Odds & […]
ABC Action NewsKendrick Morris Trial: Closing arguments begin in daycare rape10 ConnectsTampa, Florida -- Closing arguments have begun in the trial of Kendrick Morris, the man accused of raping a 62-year-old daycare worker. ...DNA at center of daycare rape trial10 ConnectsJury seated in the first of two Kendrick Morris rape trialsTampabay.comAccused rapist […]
Bay News 9Tampa Yankees Moving to Orlando?WUSF 89.7 NewsReports are circulating that the New York Yankees may move their minor-league affiliate from Tampa to Orlando. ...Reports say Yankees minor league squad may leave Tampa for OrlandoThe Florida Independent (blog)Orange County Mayor giddy about "minor" Yankee dealABC Action News (blog)Tampa Yanke […]
Tampabay.comBradenton man offers $500 reward for info in Tampa cat shooting, near-drowningTampabay.comThe cat was locked in a carrier marked "Kitty Penitentiary Est. 2010," dumped in McKay Bay and left to drown. ...and more » […]
Tbo.comFrozen yogurt shops regaining place in cultureTbo.comTAMPA - Sylvester Stallone is in the movies, again. Big sunglasses and leggings are hip, again. ...and more » […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Harry Reid says Sharron Angle wants to eliminate the Education Department The Nevada Senate race between incumbent Democrat Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle has become one of the nation's most bitter, with Angle seeking to make Reid the poster child for the poor national and Nevada economies and Reid tryi […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Joe Sestak hits Pat Toomey for supporting zero corporate taxes In their hard-fought race for a Pennsylvania Senate seat, Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak have attacked each other over tax policy. Last week, we rated a Toomey ad blasting Sestak on the estate tax as Barely True. Now we'll look at a Sestak […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Chef Jamie Oliver praises McDonald's in England Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is a well-known crusader for healthier eating. So it may have come as a surprise to hear him give a shout-out on ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour on Aug. 29, 2010, to the fast-food giant McDonald's -- or at least the restaura […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Donna Brazile says 45 percent of unemployed have been jobless for at least six months In a discussion of the economy during the Aug. 29, 2010, edition of ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile addressed the plight of the long-term unemployed. She said that "45 percent of t […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Education Secretary Arne Duncan says one-quarter of U.S. students drop out The Aug 29, 2010, edition of ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour featured a discussion of education policy chock full of education statistics. Here, we decide to look at one offered by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "In this count […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Ann Marie Buerkle, GOP candidate, says under new health law, feds will track Americans' body mass index It sounds like a claim from a chain e-mail, but it's posted on the website of a Republican candidate for Congress. Is Big Brother really going to keep tabs on your flab? The charge was posted in a letter dated Aug. […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Beck claims U.S. on track for second-biggest deficit in 65 years Vice President Joe Biden talks a lot about the success of the government's economic policies, but not everybody is persuaded. Reacting to Biden's Aug. 24, 2010, statement that "we are turning this great ship of state around," TV host Glenn Beck […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Glenn Beck claims government is trying to close Lincoln Memorial to large gatherings While hyping his upcoming "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, Glenn Beck ominously warned during his June 28, 2010, radio program this may be the last chance to attend a large rally at the historic Lincoln Memor […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Obama says Republicans oppose strengthening the child care tax credit Democrats want to make it easier for working parents to pay for child care, but congressional Republicans don't think that's a good idea, President Barack Obama told his audience in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 18, 2010. Asked whether the govern […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Obama a Muslim? No he's not. The evidence has not changed. President Barack Obama is a Christian, but a minority of the American public keeps telling pollsters he's a Muslim. The Pew Research Center recently reported that 18 percent of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim, up from 11 percent in March 2009. A […]
By John Frank - Thu, Sep 02 2010 Rick Scott's campaign just sent this letter to supporters: I am so grateful today to announce that Representative Jennifer Carroll of Fleming Island Hill is my pick for Lieutenant Governor. She is the House Representative for District 13, which is in Jacksonville.Even more importantly, I am honored that Jennifer is the f […]
By John Frank - Thu, Sep 02 2010 For a solid week now, Rick Scott hasn't appeared in a single television advertisement. It seems unfathomable to even turn on the TV these days and not see his shiny head, given how many ads he bought in the primary. But Alex Sink is filling the void. Her campaign and the Florida Democratic Party bought another week of TV […]
By Adam Smith - Thu, Sep 02 2010 In the past two weeks, both a lawsuit and an ethics complaint have alleged that the late businessman Ralph Hughes bankrolled an Arkansas home for Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman. Norman wasn't talking Wednesday. But the St. Petersburg Times asked him twice in July if he accepted money for the house from Hughe […]
By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene sued the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald Wednesday, alleging that stories published during his recent U.S. Senate campaign robbed him of victory in the Democratic primary and defamed his reputation.The stories — one about Greene's real estat […]
By Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Jennifer Carroll retired from the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant commander. TALLAHASSEE — Rick Scott's running mate on the Republican ticket for governor is expected to be state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, a U.S. Navy veteran and mother of three who, if elected, would be Florida' […]
By Alex Leary - Wed, Sep 01 2010 In choosing Jennifer Carroll as his running mate, Rick Scott, himself a Navy veteran, would get a woman with a distinctive personal story who could neutralize the gender appeal of his Democratic opponent, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink: • In a state where one in every seven voters is black — and nearly all are Democrats — […]
By Howard Troxler, Times Columnist Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Second in a series of columns on key votes taken by the Florida Legislature since the last election.Sometimes what our Legislature tries to get away with is bad enough. But when the Legislature sets out to hoodwink citizens on purpose, we're at a whole new level.That's why Amendment 7, […]
By Lee Logan, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau Wednesday, September 1, 2010 TALLAHASSEE — Saying he simply didn't have enough money to run a viable campaign, Lawton "Bud" Chiles abandoned his longshot independent bid for governor Wednesday and said he plans to endorse Democrat Alex Sink."I need to be able to look people in the face and rea […]
By John Frank, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau Wednesday, September 1, 2010 TALLAHASSEE — A special legislative session to provide relief for the oil-stained Florida coast dissolved Wednesday as a top Republican lawmaker said no urgent action is needed.House Speaker Larry Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater rejected Gov. Charlie Crist's attempts in […]
By Sergio Bustos, Miami Herald Wednesday, September 1, 2010 The first-ever gubernatorial debate to focus solely on the future of Florida's children will be held next month at the University of Miami and organizers expect both Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Rick Scott to participate.Working as partners with UM, the Children's Movement of Florida […]
The role of the college as a community partner was the subject of Hillsborough Community College President Kenneth Atwater’s presentation at a Hillsborough County Hotel & Motel Association general membership meeting Thursday afternoon. […]
After more than 56,000 people fled the Sunshine State between 2008 and 2009, more than 21,000 others moved here this year, according to preliminary population estimates from the University of Florida. […]
The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center was among nine Florida hospitals recognized for their effectiveness in eliminating central line-associated blood stream infections in intensive care units. […]
Stephen Goldfield, a former hedge fund manager who lives in Odessa, agreed to settle charges of insider trading filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (AZN) (MRK) […]
Tampa Electric Co. asked the Florida Public Service Commission to let it drop charges for the fuel portion of all customers’ bills beginning in January. […]
