obamaschronicles

How to Make Learning Science More Fun

2014-01-18T06:14:00.000-08:00

Many countries worldwide have registered the growing trend for students to choose humanities over sciences both at a school and university level. There is a common misconception that humanities are "easier" to pass. Today's most wanted jobs are also mostly related to the humanities - media, PR, politics, business.

Make pupils and students want to study sciences by injecting a touch of creativity in your lesson plans.

Science and related subjects such as Biology, Physics, and Chemistry can be among the most exciting to learn and teach at school. That's provided you bust some age-old stereotypes, and are willing to try new things.

Most people associate science classes with being plonked on a chair wearing a white lab coat, being paired up with your number one enemy, and having to carry out rat dissections, mixing potions, and causing the occasional explosion.

Recently, the award-winning comedy series "Community College" featured yet another laughable experiment that most people have had to endure at far too late a stage in their education - growing a yam in a jar. This may be a great activity for children at a kindergarten and primary level, but certainly won't impress older students so be warned. It's time to get creative!

Science projects should be so much more than just putting two drops of one liquid into another and waiting to see the reaction, with one lab partner doing all the work and the other taking notes. In the 21st century, science projects and experiments have so much scope to be really captivating, hands-on experiences, building and creating structures and fully functional devices such as solar cookers and fruit batteries. These are fantastic ways of teaching children and teenagers about how the world has changed, and increasing their awareness of sustainable resources such as solar energy.

Many of these activities are best done or can only be done outdoors so the spring and early autumn months are best. Try to plan the syllabus accordingly.

Fortunately, with a bit of creativity, and the increasing availability of the internet, many science projects can also be carried out indoors.

Teaching resource websites provide interactive activities like building your own star, testing air resistance, and designing your own seismographs. These can be done both outdoors and indoors so are perfect for chillier times of year.

A noticeably enthusiastic teacher is much more likely to get kids interested in learning science. Practical activities will be fun for everyone, and informative.

It's Time For Change In Our Political Process: Political Suggestions For An Enlightened Voter

2014-01-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

I think it's time for change in our nation's political process. There has to be a better way of electing our nations leaders.

The election rhetoric has hardly begun and the petty wrangling, the distortions, the blatant use of fear, and the unwillingness to address the critical issues facing our nation is already beginning. Once again we seem to be sliding into the darkness and shadows of our unevolved human nature.

I am frankly embarrassed at the lack of substance and self-focused narcissism present in the political wrangling. We are turning into a country led by politicians who are too often immature, uneducated, lacking in vision, and unable to provide true leadership.

Leadership requires seeing the problems clearly, dealing with them head on, and the ability to envision a better future; a vision that offers solutions focused on the greater good; solutions that offer real hope.

It's common knowledge that the world is facing some very serious challenges; challenges that are going to require leadership capable of courage and clear thinking.

This is the United States of America. We should be modeling global solutions to the problems facing our world; solutions that bring hope and the possibility of a better life to everyone on the planet. That is the responsibility of true global leadership.

As an American, I find myself once again embarrassed by the primitive emotional tone present in the political dialogues. The Law of Attraction is clear: we manifest into the world our internal feelings and emotions. Instead of offering thoughtful solutions, our political process is too often openly condoning and encouraging emotional conflict and violence.

I think we can do better. Our Stonyhill community is only a small part of the voting population, but we can make a difference; we can model a more enlightened form of thinking.

I would encourage all of us to embrace one or more of the ideas listed below, and be willing to talk about these ideas to our friends, colleagues, family members and our neighbors.

#1: Keep Religion Out Of Our Nation's Political Process
When interpreted through the lens of conservative fundamentalism, all religions advocate a regressive first century, mythic, scientifically illiterate worldview consciousness that should not direct or dictate the political process of any modern, 21st century nation. America is a democracy, not a religious theocracy.

The founding fathers of our country intentionally kept religion out of our political process. They knew from experience that when the religious ideology of any particular faith presumes to speak with authority or impose its religious beliefs or ideologies on those who do not hold those same religious views, it only breeds division, bigotry, hatred, repression, and violence; a very dangerous way to determine social and economic policy for a nation or the world; especially in the 21st century.

A healthy religion, and it's spiritual teachings, should manifest values based on love, compassion, mutuality, diversity, tolerance, and inclusiveness; "not" on the social ethics and morality of ancient ethno-centric cultures that passed into the fog of history thousands of years ago.

We need leadership with the vision to lead us into the future, not a regressive return to first century primitive values and ethics.

#2: The Refusal To Embrace Reality Has Created The Challenges We Face
The problems that are facing us were essentially created by our collective unwillingness to address and embrace reality. Science may provide some insights on how to externally solve or cope with problems such as global warming or global hunger, but real solutions to the challenges facing our world, and our nation, will emerge only when we are able to embrace reality and change the way we think internally. Blaming any one person or political party as having created the problems that face us is simply an unacceptable form of ignorance.

Our collective scientific wisdom is telling us global warming is a major problem. Our homophobia against gay marriage is a religious denial of scientific knowledge. We are headed toward a global population of 9 billion people; 9 billion people who will aspire to achieve a middleclass life style. Yet environmental scientists are warning our planet can sustainably support a middleclass standard of living for roughly one billion people. In other words, we are already 6 billion people beyond sustainability. Ignoring reality is a form of ignorance that we can no longer tolerate.

Our collective wisdom is telling us we are running out of inexpensive energy sources. Our collective scientific wisdom is clear. Our human species is directly responsible for the extinction of other living species on our planet at a rate not seen in over 65 million years. We are running out of fresh water. Children are dying of starvation and lack of medical care. This list could continue, but I'm sure you get the point. We are ignoring the evidence. We are ignoring reality.

We are a great nation because we have embraced the collective wisdom of hundreds of years of verifiable modern scientific discovery. When we collectively allow our politicians and special interest groups to introduce doubts about scientific evidence; evidence that warns we are clearly headed toward biological, ecological and social crisis, we are embracing a form of collective ignorance that makes absolutely no sense.

We are in a dangerous, collective denial of reality when we refuse to acknowledge that "unlimited economic expansion" is a fairytale myth currently embraced by every government on the planet.

#3: Our Grandchildren's Future Will Depend On How Well We Support And Evolve The Individual and Collective Consciousness Of Our Species Today
We need politicians capable of national leadership. We need spiritually enlightened leadership; leadership focused on both our future as a nation, and our future as a species.

I would encourage members of the Stonyhill community to think about adopting some or all of items contained in the Voter Guidelines listed below. Our primary power is the power of our collective voice, and the collective power of our individual vote. It's time to speak clearly about the future we want to create for future generations; a future that makes possible the unlimited creative potential available to all of us as we lean into that future. Together, we can make a difference.

If these ideas make sense to you, pass them along.

Guidelines For Enlightened 21st Century Voters: Political Leadership Your Grandchildren Will Be Thankful You Voted For

I will vote only for those politicians who:

fully embrace the concepts listed in Idea #1 and Idea #2 above,
openly embrace the ethics of compassion and care for every person under his or her political care.
refuse to use immature all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking that turn those who disagree with them into an enemy.
use middlepath thinking to intentionally look for the truths found on both sides of every issue.
embrace compromise and hold the welfare of the country to be more important than the a) welfare of their own political party, or b) their own ideological beliefs.
refuses to intentionally distort the truth or in any way lie to voters. Politicians are asking our vote to make them leaders. Leaders should have the ability and ethical responsibility to verify their "facts". White lies, or any intentional, misleading distortion of the facts is still a lie. We don't condone it in our children and we shouldn't condone it in our politicians. We need leaders who manifest and model high ethical standards.
refuse to put his or her ideological "beliefs" above the welfare of our nation or the world. We are all in this thing called life together. Our success, at the expense of others, will eventually destroy not only our nation, it might very well destroy our world.
refuse to use or imply bigotry, racism, homophobia of any kind in their bid for political office....overtly or subtly.
refuse to inflame or openly encourage voter anger, fear, or prejudice; or in any way encourage violence, hatred, or name calling as a way to get votes. Prejudice against others, regardless of their race, ethnic background, nationality, or religion is a primitive thought process grounded in ignorance. We need leaders that reflect an enlightened high standard of care and ethics for all human beings.
refuse to support financial deregulation, tax policy inequality, or support the greed of the few at the expense of the majority. We are all part of what makes our nation what it is. Unless all of us are valued, successful, and able to live our dreams, our nation will fall.
refuse to support or encourage, in any way, the growing gap between those who have and those who don't. Dismantling our middleclass is the most dangerous thing we can do for the economic well-being of our children and future generations. The "gap" between the extremely wealthy and the poor has eventually led to the downfall of every nation or empire in human history.
embrace the collective verifiable wisdom of our world's scientists. Change is the engine of creation. Change is what creates the future. Evolution is accepted by every credible scientist in the world. Rejection of evolution is a religious "belief". The direction of evolution is toward increased life, consciousness, complexity, diversity, and systemic cooperation. A nation that ignores these evolutionary realities will not survive in the 21st century.
openly support and encourage equality for women in all aspects of our culture......religious, political, and economic.
refuse to put the needs of any one person, group, political party, corporation, or organization over the needs of all Americans, or the needs of our country. We need enlightened leadership, not self-serving bureaucrats.

Art and Science

2014-01-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

What is the basic motivation for art and science? To understand the basic motivation for art and science we need to nurture the balance of the masculine and feminine principles in all of us. A balance in the nature is achieved when there is a balance of the feminine and masculine principles deep within us as well as in the external universe. This balance of energies is the perquisite for creative and generative change in the internal and external universe.

We can increase the use of the creative as well as the logical part of our brain equally by manifesting deep within us the feminine and the masculine principles of nature. The feminine principle will open up the awareness of universal love, compassion, nurturing and healing through our super conscious mind where as the masculine principle will initiate creative & generative action through the subconscious and conscious mind. Thus the willful and determined action emancipating from the subconscious and conscious mind will be under the guidance and overall control of the feminine principle and the super conscious mind.

Art and science: Awareness of the self

Balancing the feminine and the masculine will lead to an increased awareness of the self and the environment around us. This profound awareness of what we are, who we are will give genesis to artistic and scientific creativity for a new world order based on unification, generation, creation and forward movement rather than a world which is based on reductionism, unabashed individualism and consumption of natural resources leading to destruction and turmoil all around. Therefore we need to appreciate the fact that art and science need the expression of the creative as well as the logical part of the mind represented by the feminine and the masculine respectively.

Art and science: Misconceptions about science

Some people have great misconception about art and science especially science. They believe that science means a logical way of explaining things within the existent rules and theories. But people fail to understand that science is all about creative intuition substantiated by logical conclusion. Without creative intuition no laws of science can be ever postulated, no inventions and discoveries can be ever made.

Even the greatest of scientific thinkers have explained that the inspiration for their path breaking scientific contributions have come from creative intuition which was then substantiated by logical conclusion. The creative intuition comes from the feminine principle which helps us to look at the larger picture of nature encompassing universal love and compassion.

On the other hand the masculine principle is responsible for putting things into action which were thought based on the creative intuition. The masculine principle helps to deduct a logical conclusion to a thought based on creative intuition.

Art and science: Opening up the mysteries of nature

We can open up the mysteries of nature by scientific thinking based on a balance between the feminine and masculine principles of nature. The feminine principle helps us to think creatively with universal love, compassion, nurturing and healing. The masculine principle initiates creative and generative action with an extraordinary amount of will power, grit and determination. By manifesting a balance of feminine and masculine in us, we become in sync with nature and inherit the abilities to unearth the mysteries of nature for progression and development of humanity.

Medical discoveries need a very high amount of the feminine principle because here we are trying to directly understand and work on the mysteries of nature in the form of living cells, tissues, organs and the whole living systems. Here an attitude of universal love, compassion, nurturing and healing is required for success. Women have a natural disposition towards the medical sciences because of the feminine that manifest in them so naturally.

Art and science: The Artistic expressions

Coming to the artistic developments again there is a balance of the feminine and the masculine that is required. Here the manifestation of the feminine and the masculine principle is highly necessary to create an original artistic expression in terms of writing, painting, singing, dancing etc. Here the feminine principle allows us to dream and visualize and to become creative and generative where as the masculine principle leads to the expression of the creative and generative thoughts in terms of actions like writing, painting, singing, dancing etc. These artistic expressions latter become part of the cultural expressions of the human civilization and they become the great strength for the forward movement of human existence in sync with the nature. In simple words, life becomes a celebration.

Life would not have been possible without artistic expressions. Artistic expressions allow human beings to dream, to visualize and to connect with the larger universe and see the manifestations of the larger universe. Today's artistic expressions can become tomorrow's scientific, social, cultural, religious and political revolutions.

Therefore to bring about original scientific & artistic expressions, awakening the feminine is very-very important. Just by working with the masculine principle exclusively we will be never able to become generative, creative and constructive in nature.

Was Andrzej Lobaczewki Correct About Pure Evil and Political Ponerology - No, I'll Explain

2014-01-18T06:06:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, I wrote an article on the nature of Good and Evil in human society, and then later wrote a book review on Political Ponerology, which is basically the pseudo-science of pathological leaders, those who lack any conscience whatsoever. In these articles I completely dismissed this work and more so, those who promote such notions against the powers that be in order to stir up conspiracy theorists and claim foul play.

Indeed, there are far too many folks out there who prey on the weak and put forth such manuscripts, claiming they know the secret to some deep-dark group conspiring to rule over humanity. It appears the author of "Political Ponerology - The Science of the Nature of Evil," has been carefully adjusted to serve the political will of an individual who has an axe to grind - a political axe indeed.

Anyway the work pretends to be accumulated research of Stalin and Hitler's regimes, and then relates such evil leaders to present day political figures. The work is a political hit piece in every regard, and I suppose it plays well to those who believe in such things, perhaps due to their religious persuasion, cynical political views, or their inability to accept their own mistakes and thus blame others, especially political figures.

It is a dangerous book, as it might coax a low-IQ or mentally deranged person to do something evil, right after they convince themselves they were stopping evil, and thus, on a noble mission of some type. It's the type of book I'd expect an assassin to own, the uni-bomber, or John Hinkley Jr. Now then, after 27-years of observing folks go out of their way to take away other's rights, I've noted (mind you this is in the real world - not pseudo-science lacking any empirical evidence like this book) - that those who have been psychologically damaged are much more dangerous than others.

Indeed, I believe that Andrzej Lobaczewki was a damaged soul, and the editor of that book for some reason felt a kinship, perhaps also damaged material. The concept of Political Ponerology and 4% of the population being of no conscience is invalid as science, as there is no evidence or verifiable data to back it up.

In fact, I do not even believe that, that which was presented as evidence is even close to reality. So, to answer your question; NO, political ponerology is basically non-sense, but it might get the editor and book publisher PR team on Coast-to-Coast Am late night conspiracy theorist talk show one day! Ha ha ha. Please consider all this.

Wanted Heroes - Fire Science Technology

2014-01-18T06:01:00.000-08:00

This particular degree can be used by firefighters, fire inspectors, hazardous materials specialists and arson investigators. One who chooses this path in life is well aware that each calendar day will be overflowing with enough activity that a day in the workplace will always fail to be unexciting.

Champion Required

Fire science technology is a step towards saving lives. Lives, land, belongings, natural worlds and neighborhoods will be saved by the FS professionals. Their education and preparation includes that of fire deterrence, emergency health service, hazardous material response, disaster management, and search and rescue. These individuals are habitually the earliest encounters to a crisis location. FS professionals occupy a vital position in the escalating needs of homeland protection and disaster awareness and find their remuneration in the support they grant to society.

As a champion, one must be courageous, patient, and stanch. FS technology requires excellent judgment and impeccable decision making under extreme circumstances. The need for psychological attentiveness, resolution and teamwork is an unquestionable demand in this field.

Agenda Report

This Technology is an AAS (Associate of Applied Science) degree. The program is designed to achieve the requirements of safety and defense recruits. If one is interested in the field of fire science, courses are offered through the conventional classroom, as well as for autonomous study and internet based classes.

Experienced fire service personnel are capable of earning credits for their already established experience, education and training. All he or she would have to do is complete a few concentrated courses to complete their AAS.

Fire science technology is a highly esteemed profession. As an FS professional, one is capable of taking on such titles as Arson Investigator, Industrial Hazardous Materials Coordinator, Industrial Safety Officer, Public Education Specialist, Fire fighter, and Inspector with plenty of opportunity to advance in their field.

A Major in Fearlessness

A fire science major cultivates the understanding, proficiency and aptitude required for direction in fire defense. It involves disaster planning and the organization of fire safety services, adjoining all sections of arson administration.
It imparts a perception essential for fire deterrence, emergency dispensation, controller and arson investigation. The syllabus will embrace diagnostic methods to fire defense and examination, staff administration, catastrophe and protection development, hazardous materials regulation, fire safety composition and structure, political makeup and fire proliferation.

Tendency of Science: To Unify the Religion and Prove the Existence of God and the Spirit

2014-01-18T05:59:00.000-08:00

The gap between science and religion occurred in the late Middle Ages, with the historical movement called the Renaissance and its ideal rationalist Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a general movement - that is, a philosophical movement, political, social, economic and cultural - which advocated the use of reason as the best way to achieve freedom, autonomy and emancipation.

As always, the movement of the reaction force, over time, distort and manipulate history to justify their goals and ideas.

In classical antiquity, although Greece was the cradle of rationalism, of its thinkers had linked to some deep mystical currents, like the Orphic, Pythagorean, Neoplatonic, and institutions mysteries of Dionysus, Eleusis and Samothrace. There was also a great fascination of the Greeks by the Egyptian mysteries. These ancient cultures had a long tradition of priests doctors and scientists, with no separation between science and religion.

However, it was in Greece that brought the first attempts to create a purely scientific knowledge, regardless of the myths and religion, and generated a long series of independent thinkers rationalists.

With Christianity, has widened the gap between science and religion, even though it has recorded the existence of religious dedicated to science as Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus.

The Inquisition was the extreme and pathological reached by intolerance and religious persecution. Thousands of people have been sacrificed at the stake for heresy or suspicion of heresy. The medieval religiosity reached such points of affirmation of faith and curtailment of freedom of thought and choice, which caused an uproar and a quest for the opposite extreme: the negation of all values of faith and spirituality, seeking in classical Greek philosophers and artists Roman inspiration for new forms of thought and expression. The man became, then, the reference center of the world, removing God from his throne (theocentrism), replacing them with reason.

This whole atmosphere of bigotry that has proliferated in the Middle Ages was the breeding ground for the opposite reaction to freedom of thought and expression, making it inevitable separation between science and philosophy of one hand and religion on the other, that actually occurred from the sixteenth century. This separation was a major cause of alienation and confusion of our time.

In the nineteenth century, all educated people tended to materialism, while the simple souls and emotional religiosity tended to extreme and thoughtless. The advent of Spiritualism - opened this century - of theosophy, Christian Science and other mystical rationalist movement was a first attempt to unite science and religion into a unified knowledge.

As can be seen, the first attempt of unification of religions from the ground. Not exactly the religions, but of alternative religions or "philosophies" of life in which there was greater freedom of thought and expression. The official religions had become powerful, authoritarian and inflexible, no longer serving as a vehicle suitable for the expression "eternal truths". The renovation was necessary.

The side of science, the attempt of unification came in unexpected ways. Freud developed a theory about the human unconscious, on a totally materialistic. His chief disciple, Jung, other than master, developed a complementary theory of the human psyche, based on archetypes, that comes very close to the mystical land. Jung was a great scholar of mandalas, the I Ching and alchemy, having finished his life as an occultist in his house in Switzerland to which he called "the castle".

Among the great scientists of the twentieth century, Einstein and Niels Bohr had remarkable mystical tendencies. Thomas Edison, the greatest inventor of all time, was recorded Theosophist. Einstein, in turn, had claimed that a small science moves away from God, but much science leads us back to God.

At the end of the twentieth century, the physical world famous Fritjoff Capra published two masterpieces, The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point. These works definitely put the new physics (quantum physics) in alignment with spirituality. Many physicists, inspired by such works have become Buddhists, Taoists or adherents of other branches of mysticism.

The various discoveries made by neuroscience, brought with them a current that is indicative of the existence of the spirit in the brain, bringing the assertion that science and religion can go together. Researchers in the area are close to the conclusion that the human brain is a computer. But no computer program and produces the very same as do we need to install a program to make it work and the soul or spirit of the computer has the software that is installed on it. The brain is the same thing, he has no ability to self-management and to work, it is necessary to introduce a force that is the spirit.

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, there were other theories and metaphors for the interpretation of reality, holographic-inspired models and monistic, as the Gaia Hypothesis, the unified field theory and superstring theory. The latest theory, "The Theology of Science" - is written by a Polish researcher. Michael Heller, one of the most respected scientists in the field of cosmology and also one of the most renowned theologians of his country, was a pioneer in formulating a new theory which unites God and science. In their work, the scholar has addressed the question of the origin of the universe on advanced aspects of the general theory of relativity, quantum mechanics and noncommutative geometry. Thanks are also some fundamental tools based on the principal theory of relativity, Albert Einstein. He delved into the mysteries of cosmic conditions, the absence of gravity interferes with the laws of physics, and quantum physics.

All these theories are attempts to establish a bridge between religion and science, creating a new era for humanity, based on the principle that there should be a unified knowledge, corresponding to the unity of life.

No one knows what will be the new religion of humanity, but one can say with absolute certainty, which will eliminate the gap between religion and science, since all jobs precursors moving in this direction.

National Book Festival 2010 Hits the Science and Technology Topics

2014-01-18T05:56:00.000-08:00

Recently at September 25, 2010, the 10th National Book festival 2010 took place on the National Mall in Washington DC. Science and Technology books draw the attention of the visitors. Some books written by the famous writers were the hot topic of the entire festival. In the festival some writers gave presentations followed by the question and answer session. This was one of the main attractions of the fair. Each and every author tries to highlight their recent works and try to pinpoint the significant of his/her writings.

Edward O. Wilson, biologist, has published his first fiction book named Anthill. Richard Rhodes, a nuclear weapons historian tried to promote his forth volume of the series the creation and spread of nuclear weapons is another attraction of the festival. In this book history was given from the cold war to the present time. The extension of the nuclear weapon of mass destruction is the main focus in his writings.

Harold Varmus, a Nobel Laureate for his contribution came up with his recent memoir, The Art and Politics of Science. This book discusses about different aspects of politics of science got good attention in the civil society. Those three books and speech of the writers were very much informative and touching for the book lovers.

Henry Petroski who is professor of civil engineering at Duke writes about why things fail. In his recent writings "The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems". In his writings he focused on solving problems using science. Scientific facts in various problem solving issues got attraction of the visitors of the fair. He also tries to distinguish between science and engineering using the linear model. He claims that contemporary policy to science is very much short-sighted.

There are some other scientific topics highlighted in the fair. Allegra Goodman wrote new work "her novel intuition" and Richard Holmes in his book "the age of wonder" tries to discover the scientific discoveries, prominent scientists of the late 18th and early 19th century. These two pieces were much talked books in the festival.

The recent national book festival 2010 can be said the science and technology dominating fair. Various new books about modern science and technology are published and inaugurated in the books fair. Country renowned writers try to bring new books in the festival to attract. So in a nutshell national Book Festival 2010 was seen dominated by the science and technology.

A Political Handbook

2014-01-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

It is often said that the Bible is not a handbook to, well, anything. Those who make this assertion are typically opposed to Christian involvement in activities outside Sunday morning worship. They want to see Christianity remain safely within the four walls of the church building. It may be all right for Christians to become involved in warm and fuzzy local charity but anyone who would suggest that Biblical principles should be applied to "real-life" is labeled a fundamentalist wacko intent on creating a theocracy.

The truth is much different. The Bible is in fact a handbook. You see, according to Webster, a handbook is simply a book that is capable of being conveniently carried as a ready reference manual. It is a concise reference book covering a particular subject. In the case of the Bible, it is a reference book covering all areas of life. It is not limited to a single subject like politics or education; instead, the Bible proclaims the truth necessary for the redemption of every individual and his arena of activity. In this way, all things are reconciled to the Father (Colossians 1:19-20).

This means that there is no part of life that is not subject to biblical oversight. True, the Bible does not provide a periodic table of elements but it does provide the worldview necessary to do science properly. Again, the Bible does not mandate a particular form of government but it does present a distinct political philosophy. For instance the Bible says, "when a land transgresses, it has many rulers" (Proverbs 28:2a). In other words, God multiplies rulers over a wicked people and this vast bureaucracy exacting its pound of flesh from the hapless citizens under its care is a sign of God's displeasure. Thus, "Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress" (Nehemiah 9:36-37).

Furthermore, "by justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down" (Proverbs 29:4). Hence, virtue strengthens a nation whereas Cornhusker kickbacks and a Second Louisiana purchase will tear it down. In other words, to ignore biblically defined justice means that the nation will begin to fall apart and move steadily toward anarchy and then tyranny. This does not mean blood will run in the streets as order breaks down. Instead, the strong central power will increase its hold on the populace as the general unrest becomes more apparent. As a result, the central power will increasingly force its will on the nation in the name of the people. After all, the totalitarian regime never likes to let a good crisis go to waste - especially when it is a crisis of its own making.

If we want good government we must be willing to look to the Bible for answers. The Bible is a handbook on political science (and on economics, natural science, education, marriage, business and so on). In this brief article it is impossible to do more than touch on a couple verses that pertain to the subject. As I have previously written in this column, we need to engage in a thorough study of the Bible and understand how to apply the principles therein to our current circumstance. Until we do, we will continue to get what we deserve.

Science Activities for Kids Assist in Optimizing the Success of the Future

2014-01-18T05:50:00.002-08:00

Educational professionals have established that science activities for kids assist in outlining certain types of understandings and thought processes that are considered essential for all individuals. While many believe that science education is to teach certain skills and facts to children, others believe the highest purpose of this form of literacy is to prepare individuals to lead lives that are considered to be both responsible and personally fulfilling.

Focusing on certain aspects of science such as general science, mathematics and technological science helps children develop the knowledge and productive habits that assist in succeeding in these two very important aspects of life. Whether the activities are engaging in trivia games in science or science experiments for kids - science literacy is absolutely crucial for the successful development of the world's future.

One of the main challenges facing the individuals of today's society is that they lack the ability to properly think for themselves. As a result, they are unable to face the obstacles that are affecting the world, such as a declining economy, food harvest complications and unemployment. The future of the world is heavily dependent on several different factors. First, a society that is considered to be "just" be created.

Second, the individuals that are part of the society must be able to sustain the core economic vitality in the regions that they reside in. Third, the society must be able to effectively retain a high level of security against the various types of hostilities that are consistently present in the world. While it may seem hard to believe, simple science activities for kids have the ability to create success in each of these areas. This is because of the fact that science literacy is considered a core element in each of the factors required for the success of our world.

If you have a hard time believing that science experiments for kids may have a dramatically positive impact on the future of our world, simply sit back and consider the complications that we are currently facing as a civilization. Most of the issues are considered to be global. Examples of these issues include, but are not limited to, the following:

· In several regions of the world, we are suffering from population levels that are considered to be excessive.
· Based on statistical studies, it has been established that the rain forests are quickly diminishing.
· The pollution of our environment is so immense that it is resulting in many complications, such as global warming.
· There are several types of diseases spreading from one person to another and other sicknesses developing that are highly misunderstood.
· There are several different types of inequities associated with the wealth that is present throughout the world.
· There are several political complications that are considered to be worldwide.

When you consider the fact that science has a role in nearly all of the problems of the world, it only makes sense that science should play an important role in the resolution of those problems. By simply purchasing science activities for kids or science experiments for kids, you are laying the foundation for a more structured and productive future. There are several different types of science activities for kids that are considered to be productive to the growth of their knowledge and skills.

Examples of these include science experiments for kids that require problem solving skills, flash cards, science games, math games, and even educational software. By purchasing science activities today, you may be playing a role in the productivity and success of tomorrow - not just with your child, but with the world as a whole.

Another Doomsday, Another Dollar: Shifting Science Towards Peace & Ecology

2014-01-18T05:50:00.001-08:00

In his book, "Our Final Hour," Cambridge professor and Britain's "Astronomer Royal" Martin Rees predicts humanity has no more than a 50/50 chance of survival into the next century and that by 2020 a million people will perish due to scientific error or terror. Some would call him prescient, while others would interpret his words as alarmist, resembling a layer cake with environmental fears on top of nuclear fears on top of chemical and biological threats, ad infinitum. With a sci-fi flare, he warns of runaway technology, human clones and an ability to insert memory chips into the brain.

Doomsday predictors get much the same respect as the "toxic fumes" sign at the local service station; they impart their wisdom, yet we yawn. Situations which seem grim and overwhelming, even potentially lethal, tend to be ignored. Attention on more immediate and "American" concerns, such as consumer goods and personal advancement, monopolize our daily thoughts. This is arguably foolhardy and indicative of the "another doomsday, another dollar" mentality.

Rees is not a lone voice on the scientific stage. The "Bulletin of Atomic Scientists" reports we have seven minutes until our final bow at midnight. Other reputable experts surmise that a "gray goo" or nanotechnological catastrophe poses the greatest threat. This involves the invention of miniature, self-replicating machines that gnaw away at the environment until it is devoid of life. It need not be deliberate sabotage--as in technological warfare by one nation against another--but could result from a laboratory mishap.

Astronomers speak of fugitive asteroids that could destroy major sections of our planet within the next 30 years. Others point to atom-crashing tests and their potential for a lethal strangelet scenario. Strangelets are malformed subatomic matter, which could distort all normal matter and dissolve the earth in seconds.

There are streams of alerts from environmental experts who tell us natural disasters are on the rise. They warn of climatic change and tell us the world's species die at a rate 1000 times greater than they did prior to human existence due to habitat destruction and the introduction of non-indigenous species into the ecosystem. Their conclusion? If we do not reverse the damaging trend, Earth itself will be extinct.

Should we open our minds to doomsday predictions? And if we accept them, what is the next step to insure or increase our chance of planetary survival?

In his book, "Science, Money and Politics," Daniel Greenberg follows a trail of suspicion. He condemns what he believes to be the self-serving, greedy scientific community with its bungled research, conflicts of interest and findings that never see the light of day due to suppression by corporate sponsors. But this seems to be an overly cynical, embellished perspective; there are surely many scientists dedicated to discovery and social responsibility, apart from any personal gain. And we should not forget that offering controversial insights can be at a cost; proponents of "radical" theories often expose themselves to public and professional ridicule.

Regardless of skepticism, the "Pascal's Wager" game plan seems a good bet. This essentially means we should not gamble with eternity, but instead urge the scientific community to take precautions since Armageddon allows no second chance. Better to err on the side of life, even if it means some black holes will go unexplored and some research grants will be pulled.

Precaution means building contingency plans--such as shields and containment measures--into emerging technologies so that if an experiment goes awry, a safety net will kick into place. It means the scientific community should better police itself. It means committees or boards--both local and international--should be established for oversight and regulations, much like Albert Einstein proposed in 1947 to maintain worldwide peace. Many nation-states and multinational corporations are known for fighting even minimal efforts to regulate dangerous technology, and they must be countered.

There are pragmatic hurdles to be negotiated when trying to impose rules on private parties or on authorities in renegade lands, but the ozone hole "near disaster" demonstrates how the world can cooperate when it comes to life-and-death matters. As cultures dovetail, as communications rise, as borders become more porous, and as the world figuratively shrinks, it will be easier to impose structure and scientific parameters on nations that seem combative today

Science must shift its course and find new mountains to climb. It looks to us for cues. Due to our materialistic bent as a culture, our cursory endorsement of "progress" and our captivation with the Prometheus-like aura of technology, we subtly ask the scientific community to scale those mountains that are the highest (great accolades can be received), the easiest (the path of least resistance) or the most profit-oriented (grant money from special interests or an emphasis on reducing labor so companies can realize greater proceeds) rather than those that are the most ecological and peace-enhancing.

The research community has rivers of creativity and forests of energy that could instead be directed towards rivers and forests. It could move towards ecological preservation and restoration, peaceful alternatives to conflict and a furthering of life on this planet.

We will know a cultural transition is underway when news reports following fires, earthquakes and other disasters address the impact on natural systems and nonhuman species, rather than just the human and economical consequences, such as the number of homes lost. Our capitalistic culture thrives on the fact that nature is cost-free, which in turn, reinforces the notion that it is expendable and devoid of value. This reality must change. Our reality must change. And science must change. It must shift towards peace and ecology. It's as plain as doomsday.

Top 10 Best Science Fiction Books

2014-01-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

#1: Dune (Frank Herbert)

Science Fiction doesn't get much better then this. Dune is every Science Fiction aficionado's wet dream. Many people claim Dune is Science Fiction's answer to "Lord of the Rings" and I have to agree: it sure is. There are many good science fiction books, but Dune is indeed a giant among giants. It truly is a pinnacle of Science Fiction literary achievement. If you haven't read Dune, doesn't waste any more time. Read it now!

# 2: Starship Troopers (Robert Heinlein)

War is beautiful according to Robert Heinlein. This is a novel about the glorification of war. The premise: space-marines wearing special armor battle vicious alien insect aliens. This is classic "old school" science fiction at it's best. It's a rip-roaring ride through the galaxy that you don't want to miss.

#3 : Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)

This is one of the corner stones of science fiction and one novel that you shouldn't miss. A critique on society, the story of a boy who refuses to give up, a battle to save the fate of mankind - this science fiction book combines them all into one addictive and compelling mix that shouldn't be missed.

#4: Foundation (Isaac Asimov)

This is undoubtedly on of the finest works of science fiction ever written. If you a fan of science fiction with grandiose and epic storylines, get your hand on this book.

A corollary: Foundation is a series for people who love grand and complex ideas. If you are looking for a book heavy on the action but thin on concepts, this may not be the book for you. The strength of the ideas presented are the focus of this story, not the characterization. Regardless, this is one of those Science Fiction books that you just need to read. You will never think about Science Fiction the same way after reading the Foundation series.

#5: Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)

Part-time hacker and pizza delivery boy and full time samurai swordsman, meet Hiro Protagonist. Snow Crash is breath taking novel with action and pacing thick enough to drown in. Snow Crash redefined and rejuvenated the Cyberpunk genre. If you want a novel with bucket loads of action, futuristic technologies ala The Matrix, and the gritty futuristic dystopia of the Blade Runner world, Snow Crash is the perfect recommendation.

#6: Forever War (Joe Haldeman)

The Forever War is pretty much The Vietnam War in space. It's brutal and bloody and makes a strong case that war really is pointless. Don't let the strong political statement of the novel deter you, however; this is Science Fiction at its finest: a complex, disturbing novel that makes you think...and feel. It's a great science fiction story that you don't want to miss, a true masterpiece of the genre.

#7: The Night's Dawn (Peter Hamilton)

This is space opera science fiction done right: Massive space battles, a large cast of compelling characters, political tension between planets, and an all out grand adventure. There is a good deal of space opera in the science fiction genre already, but Peter Hamilton is one of the best character writers in the genre and his plots are just so damn interesting. He really knows how to write a rip-roaring adventure that keeps you up into the late hours of the morning. Those in the mood for something big with lots of action, both in and out of space, Night's Dawn trilogy delivers.

#8: Gap (Steven R. Donaldson)

This disturbing series is a dark ride into hell that you don't want to miss. It's one of the darkest set of books I've read, period. But the world that Stephen Donaldson draws is superb. Stephen Donaldson is an author that cares deeply about characterization, and he excels at crafting anti-heroes. If you are looking for some dark space opera, I highly recommend the Gap series.

#9: Otherland (Tad William)

Those looking for something like the Matrix in written form need look no longer. Otherland is about as close as you'll get. With less mumbo jumbo psycho babble and more realism, Otherland makes for a really compelling read. Otherland starts slow, but those willing give it a chance will be greatly rewarded.

#10: Altered Carbon (Richard Morgan)

This is one dystopian cyberpunk with a lot of style and some seriously punishing action. I guarantee that once you start reading this novel, you won't be putting it down. Morgan is a man with some visionary ideas; he always has interesting characters, twisting plots, and heart-pounding action. Those that love Blade Runner, Snow Crash, and Neuromancer are in for a treat.

Global Science Research and the Value of International Collaboration

2014-01-18T05:48:00.000-08:00

Science research spending around the globe has increased by 45 percent to more than $1,000 billion (one trillion) U.S. dollars since 2002. In 2008, 218 countries generated more than 1.5 million research papers, with contributions ranging from Tuvalu's one paper to the U.S.' 320,000 papers. The U.S. leads the world's production of science research, accounting for 21 percent of publications and nearly $400 billion worth of public and private science R&D. BRIC and other developing countries, including China, India, Brazil and South Korea, account for much of the increase in scientific publications.

Science Research in the BRIC Countries of China, India and Brazil

A study by the U.K.'s Royal Society points out that the BRIC countries, along with South Korea, "are often cited as rising powers in science." From 2002 to 2007, the China, India and Brazil more than doubled their spending on science research, bringing their collective share of global spending up from 17 to 24 percent.

Engineering is a common focus of science research in China, India and Russia. Scientific fields in which China has developed a leading position include nanotechnology and rare earths. Agriculture and biosciences are two important fields of emphasis in Brazil, which is a leader in biofuels research.

In keeping with their rapid economic development and massive populations, China and India, the world's first and second most populous countries, produce large and growing numbers of science and engineering graduates each year. In 2006, about 2.5 million students in India and 1.5 million students in China graduated with degrees in science and engineering.

International Collaboration

Today, over 35 percent of science research articles are the result of international collaborations among researchers from different countries, a 40 percent increase from 15 years ago. The number of internationally co-authored papers has more than doubled since 1990.

The U.S., U.K., France and Germany continue to be key hubs of international collaboration in science research. Researchers in other developed and developing countries actively collaborate with scientists from these countries. According to the Royal Society report, "while links between the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have been growing in recent years, they pale in comparison to the volume of collaboration between these individual countries and their partners in the G7."

International science research often takes the form of regional collaboration. Regional political institutions, including the European Union (EU), African Union (AU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), each have their own research strategies that foster and facilitate regional collaboration in science research.

"South-South Collaboration" between developing countries is a growing form of international science research. The International Centre for South-South Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation was inaugurated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2008 under the auspices of UNESCO. An initiative of India, Brazil and South Africa promotes South-South cooperation in several arenas, including science and research collaboration in fields such as nanotechnology, oceanography and Antarctic research.

Collaboration's Benefits and Drivers

There are a number of important benefits, motivations and enabling factors that help explain the growth of international collaboration in science research, including:

1) greater impact;
2) scientific discovery;
3) scale of research projects;
4) scope and complexity of research topics and international issues;
5) capacity-building; and
6) advances in technology and communications.

Fourteen countries experienced more than a three-fold increase in their standard domestic publication impact by collaborating with one or more of 22 partner countries. Each additional international author leads to an increase in a paper's impact, up to a tipping point of about ten authors. By collaborating with one another, scientists can access complementary skills and knowledge and stimulate new ideas.

The scale of some major science research projects is too large for most countries to undertake on their own. In such cases, international collaboration is necessary to meet extensive requirements for human, financial and other resources. The scope and complexity of certain science research topics and objectives can also drive international collaboration.

Many of the world's most pressing social problems are international issues that call for collaboration and cooperation. Climate change, food security, public health (e.g., AIDS/HIV, malaria and tuberculosis) and sustainability are just a few of the global issues that require international collaboration and solutions.

Collaboration allows scientists in one country to build their capacity to conduct significant science research by leveraging the resources of partners in other countries. Collaboration can be particularly beneficial to partners from developing and developed countries.

Advances in technology have contributed greatly to the feasibility and appeal of international collaboration. For researchers in developing and developed countries alike, improvements in communication technologies and services have made international collaboration simpler, faster and cheaper than ever before.

Success Stories

The Royal Society study presents several encouraging examples of cases where science research and international collaboration have contributed greatly to addressing important international issues.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) encompasses an international network of independent centers of agricultural research in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Despite operating on a modest yet significant annual budget of $550 million, every $1 invested in CGIAR is estimated to yield a very healthy return of $9 worth of additional food in developing countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) set up FluNet in 1996 as a global tool to monitor and evaluate influenza virus strains by leveraging data from a number of national influenza laboratories around the world. When the epidemic of severe respiratory illness broke out in Hong Kong in 2003, the FluNet network contributed to a coordinated, rapid response from the international science and medical community that identified the virus and helped minimize the related public health threat and consequences.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization has immunized more than 200 million children and prevented over 3.4 million premature deaths since receiving a start-up grant of $750 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999.

Royal Society Study - Knowledge, Networks and Nations

These are some of the key findings published recently in the Royal Society's examination of global science research entitled Knowledge, Networks and Nations: Global Scientific Collaboration in the 21st Century.

The Royal Society study is based on statistics from international organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Society's own analysis of data on science research articles published in roughly 25,000 separate scientific journals by the more than 7 million researchers around the world.

Science research encompasses both research and development, the "R" and "D", respectively, of public and private R&D efforts, which range from abstract and conceptual exploration through to market-oriented development of scientific applications.

Research Findings

The Royal Society study paints an encouraging picture of growing international investment in science research. International collaboration is a highly valuable mechanism for promoting scientific discovery and maximizing the impact of science research. Publicly and privately funded science R&D has played a key role in successfully addressing key issues related to public health, food security and the environment, among others.

Are Politically Correct Search Algorithms Quelling Writer's Free Speech - I Am Concerned

2014-01-18T05:44:00.000-08:00

It sometimes amazes me that all the high tech gurus in our society and throughout industry believe in free-speech, and they go out of their way to make sure that no one tries to limit free speech anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, on the other hand this same group is writing algorithms which are quelling free-speech, even if they don't realize it. Welcome to the world of high-tech political correctness and search engine algorithms. Okay so let's talk about this for a second shall we?

In MIT Technology Review, volume 116, No.2, there was an article titled; "Free Speech in the Era of ITs Technological Amplification - A Letter to John Stuart Mill" by Jason Pontin. Indeed, the author of that particular article brings up a very good point. If only certain voices, certain opinions, and certain political statements are allowed to go viral, or appear in high rankings on the various popular search engines, then those indeed become the default setting for our overall society. You must remember that people believe what they read, hear, and see even if it is on YouTube, or on someone's blog.

If those with a different opinion don't get heard, they don't get replayed, re-tweeted, or liked. In that case they get drowned out, and isn't that censorship in another form? We keep telling ourselves in our society that the individual is important, and we need a diversity of opinions to help get to what's real, and to allow everyone to belong. However if people who disagree are silenced in any way including being eliminated from the first three pages of a particular search engine query, then in essence their voices are not heard.

It seems to me there is a little bit of hypocrisy going on, and no one is talking about it. Worse, if people write about it - who is to say that those observations, experiences, or even perhaps opinions will show up in the search engine? How many hits, views, or "likes" do you think this article might get? Probably not that many, and yet each and every day people go about their business searching things online, and are brought to pages as long as those pages reflect the political correctness of some search engine algorithm writer.

Indeed, I find this a little bit troubling. Why you ask? Simple, because many of those algorithm writers might be very good at computer science, but they may not have experienced all there is in the rest of the world, and yet they are filtering data and information for mass consumption, and only letting through that filter what they see fit, or what they believe to be the politically correct trends of our age, trends which will surely change. Of course, they will change faster and perhaps in a different direction if the computer science algorithm writers choose that to be the course for humanity.

How on earth would they know what's best? It's arrogant for anyone to believe that they alone should have that level of power, especially if we really truly do care about free-speech, the individual, and the creative genius mind. Please consider all this and think on it.

My Political Stance

2014-01-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

Energy - Clean energy will benefit both the economy and the environment. People will have everything they have now and more with vastly fewer destructive effects. Hydrogen, solar, wind, clean coal and other renewable sources of energy will provide all of people's energy needs at present and greater levels through processes that are non-polluting and non-destructive. Ultimately this will even be better for the oil producers; as oil would last longer and be used for production of higher-level goods such as plastics and pharmaceuticals, making more money in the end than if it is burned.

Environment - The greatest shortage in capitalist theory is its failure to put value on nature. Property is defined as "nature converted into productive use," but no value is seen for nature. This results in incentivization of brainless, destructive practices, such as burning the rainforest and flooding the atmosphere with CO2, and in failure to incentivize the ingenuity and intelligence that actually make capitalism work as advertised. There needs to be a price put on nature - both on its destruction and on its pollution - to disincentivize these brainless, destructive practices, and to incentivize the economy toward ingenuity and intelligence. It must be prohibitively expensive to do such things as ranch in the rainforest or burn dirty coal. Putting the price on nature will disincentivize destructive activity and incentivize activity that benefits people more than it hurts nature - incentivizing ingenuity and intelligence in the process.

Subsidies - The agricultural subsidies must go. America's farmland, with present technologies, could support 2 billion people. But because of the beef subsidy that makes beef artificially cheap, most of this land is used to raise cattle feed, resulting in it feeding a fraction of that number. Instead of reaping vast economic benefit from selling the food abroad and vast political benefit from giving it away in time of famine, America reaps obesity, diabetes and debt. Ending these subsidies will result in more of this land being used to grow lower-energy crops, creating not only a healthier diet but vast economic gain.

Taxes - While many Republicans claim that tax cuts have always created prosperity, that claim is false. The Bush tax cuts did not create prosperity. They created vast debt and an economic crisis. America has had a period of fiscal sanity and economic growth in recent history. It was called the Clinton administration. Through a combination of responsible taxation policies and growth-generating policies, the Clinton administration was able to achieve both fiscal sanity and a vast economic growth, resulting in 23 million private-sector jobs created during the eight years of the Clinton administration.

Raising taxes on highest incomes is neither envy of wealth, nor is it punishing success. It is simple reason. Such policies maximize revenues while minimizing suffering. A multi-millionaire is not made to suffer by paying a slightly higher tax, whereas revenues gained that way for the government are substantial.

Clinton has shown how it is possible to achieve economic growth and fiscal sanity. It is time to restore the successful taxation and economic policies of the Clinton administration.

International Trade - International trade results in prosperity for all parties involved in it. When everyone lowers tariffs and quotas, everyone benefits. However a party that does this unilaterally puts itself at a disadvantage. This is the reason for there being regulatory bodies such as the WTO to maintain free trade environment and to arbitrate trade disputes.

There are two problems associated with free trade. One is that countries with low labor and environmental standards become competitive as a result of these low labor and environmental standards. The other is that there is actually at this time a tax incentive for American companies to move production off-shore. This is ridiculous as well as unpatriotic, and tax incentives of this sort must be ended immediately. Labor and environmental standards, at least at a minimal level, must become an issue for discussion, and there should be an international discussion as to what standards are needed.

Defense - America's biggest, most wasteful and most inefficient bureaucracy is the Department of Defense. It takes $900 billion a year in taxpayer money and uses it to buy $200 hammers and $600 toilets and throw away perfectly good tools after a week in use. This spending can be reduced vastly without compromising the power or effectiveness of the military. America could have a military as powerful as it has now for one half the price, or a military twice as powerful as it has now for the same price as today. All that is needed is an audit of the expenditures of the Department of Defense and an end to wasteful and corrupt practices that take place in it.

A related issue that the people who want a restoration of draft keep bringing to public attention is the supposed shortage of willing recruits. There is an easy way to maintain the size of the military and to increase it if such is needed. And that is as following: Step up recruitment efforts in inner city. This will help the military avail itself of highly capable and experienced recruits: Young men who are exceptionally tough and courageous and who are already living in what amounts to conditions of war. These young men will be spared getting shot in a gang dispute or spending a life in prison and will instead become defenders of America. In the military they will learn skills and discipline that will last them through life and make it possible for them to become effective people. And, with all the scholarships that the military has, these young men will be able to pursue a better life for themselves and become productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens instead of becoming gansters and spending their lives behind bars.

Taliban - Taliban remains a threat to everyone. While most of their rhetoric is against America and Israel, in reality they want the world. They continue to infiltrate vulnerable populations all over the world and subverting them to their tyranny. Fighting Taliban must be done in a twofold manner. One is distributing facts and information to vulnerable populations in order to inform them of what they are being faced with - an effort similar to the Voice of America broadcasts that were beamed during the Cold War into the Soviet Union. The other is an international military effort to which every major country should contribute money or troops.

Guns - I believe the Left should concede this issue. The Constitution clearly says that American people are allowed to have guns. In places where guns are disallowed, only criminals have guns, and that results in criminals dominating; whereas in places where guns are allowed, the law-abiding people can defend themselves. Instead of wasting time and energy on this issue, it is better to move that time and energy to more important issues. Let people have their guns.

Drugs and Prostitution - It is not up to the government to tell adults what they can put into their bodies, and it is not up to the government to tell consenting adults what they can do with their bodies. Most of the violent crime surrounding drugs and prostitution are not a result of drugs and prostitution but a result of these things being against the law. When something that is in demand is criminalized, only criminals can supply it. The illegalization of drugs and prostitution fills prisons with people who have done nothing unconstitutional. It also creates the demand for drug cartels, pimps and organized crime. If drugs and prostitution become legal, these brutal criminal entities will have nothing to do, and their members will have to become productive citizens. The jail population will be cut by up to 80%. And people will have the rights and liberties that are afforded to them by the Constitution.

Prisons - America has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and most of the incarcerated are there for things that should not be criminal. It takes as much money to incarcerate a person per year as it does to send the person to Harvard. While the person is in prison, he is taught by the wards that he is trash, and he is taught by other inmates how to become a more skilled criminal. Far from being a place where criminals are rehabilitated, prisons are a place where they are hardened as criminals. Two things need to be done to correct this state of affairs. One is to legalize drugs and prostitution, resuling in an end to crime that comes presently with drugs and prostitution and in ending the criminalization of people who shouldn't be regarded as criminals, resulting in prison population falling by as much as 80%. The other is to get people in prison to work, thus reimbursing the taxpayer and allowing the inmates to learn work skills and discipline that they will need to stay out of the system when they get out.

Domestic violence - The greatest wrong facing women today, and in most of known history, is family violence. While severe violations such as rape, and minor offenses such as sexual harassment, are one-time events that one can move past, domestic violence is an ongoing grinding daily ordeal from which it is in many cases very difficult to escape. Strong measures must be taken to stop domestic violence and to help women and children at the receiving end of family violence to get away from it.

I propose two changes to laws that will do away with much of this wrongdoing. One is to illegalize false advertising in relationships. Most men who become abusers don't tell the woman that they are wooing that they will be abusers. They put on a nice and warm front, then spring the abuse on the woman when she is theirs and when they think that she cannot escape. Most abuse situations can be prevented, and others can be overcome, by making it as illegal to falsely advertise in relationships as it is now illegal in business.

Another change I propose is a sliding scale for domestic violence, with severity of the punishment being tied to severity of the crime. A man who breaks a woman's skull should get heavier charge and heavier punishment than a man who slaps a woman. I propose a sliding scale for domestic violence, with the following degrees:

Severe brutality (life-threatening, guns, knives, severe injuries)

Brutality (broken bones, smaller injuries)

Severe violence (whips, sticks, visible bruises)

Serious violence (fists, dragging by hair)

Mild violence (slaps)

Each charge should bear an appropriate sentence, with mild violence bringing a fine and severe brutality an extended prison term.

Incest and pedophilia - Given that one third of American girls, and one tenth of American boys, have been victims of incest or pedophilia, this is clearly a vast problem. Being vast it must be addressed in an intelligent and rational manner. It should not be acceptable to silence the victims of these practices, as has been going on for as long as anyone can remember. Nor should anyone be convicted without due process. There needs to be a due process in these crimes as there are in all other crimes. The people who commit such wrongs should be punished in manner severe enough to deter these practices. Ending the wrongful wars on drugs and prostitution will see enough prison space freed to make room for real abusers.

Abortion - The core of this issue is the belief as to when life begins. If you believe that life begins at conception, then you will be anti-abortion; if you believe that life begins when something exits another's body, then you will be for abortion rights. I believe that nothing has rights until it is out of somebody else's body; and for as long as something is inside somebody else's body, that person has full rights as to what to do with it.

Experience has shown that in many cases it's better to have abortion than to carry the fetus to term. An unplanned pregnancy can not only be life-ruining for the mother, but it can also result in life being brought into the world that is not properly nurtured. In the ghetto, where girls who get pregnant do not get abortions, we see 15-year-olds giving birth before they have any job skills or any parenting skills. Many of the children raised that way become gangsters, which we don't see happen in middle-class settings where teenagers who get pregnant get abortions.

Health Care - The real reason for the obscenely high costs of medicine in America is the shortage of doctors. Not enough doctors and high demand for medical care will in all cases result in demand meeting supply at a very high rate. This is an ongoing structural problem with American medicine; and while Obamacare reduces the pain for a lot of people, it does not address this core structural problem.

This shortage of doctors is maintained by the AMA through two practices: Maintaining a low level of medical school admissions and graduations, and having exceptionally high requirements on licensing of foreign medical professionals. The exceptionally high standards for admission into medical school, as well as the length and expense of medical training, makes medical profession only accessible for a tiny minority of people. One should not need to have a 4.0 GPA in order to be a good doctor, nor should one have a debt equivalent to having a house for going to medical school.

America needs more doctors. It needs to graduate more doctors, and it needs to license more foreign professionals. Only when this problem is addressed will medicine in America become anywhere close to reasonably priced.

Medical Threats - There needs to be an international effort, both public and private, to anticipate new pathogens. We have been lucky that swine flu did not become a major pandemic; that does not however mean room for complacency. Bacteria constantly evolve, and there are any number of bacteria these days that are resistant to treatment. The situation is dangerous. There needs to be an international body to anticipate and confront new medical threats.

Education - The weakness of America's primary education system is a grave threat to America and to the rest of the world. An under-educated population is a bonanza for conmen; and when the majority is under-educated, a skilled conman could forge out of them an electoral majority by telling them lies that only those who have higher education would know to be lies. With a country as powerful as America, which is a democracy, this is extremely dangerous.

The problem with America's primary education system is not shortage of funding; it is the weakness of the curriculum. Students don't learn nearly enough, when for similar or smaller expenditures a number of other countries teach students much more. There needs to be a stronger curriculum, more homework, more learning. This can be achieved at present levels of funding but through strengthening the curriculum.

A related problem is learning-resistant cultures in places such as the inner city and some areas in the country. These learning-resistant cultures attack serious students, frequently traumatizing them to render their efforts worthless, while training other students to disregard the efforts made to educate them and instead to direct their energies toward beating up one another or getting pregnant as teens. This results in brain drain that severely weakens America. These destructive school cultures must be overcome, with those who take part in them disciplined, and those at the receiving end of their nastiness getting the assistance they need to rise out of them and excel.

Higher Education - The costs of higher education have been out of control. This denies higher education to most Americans, resulting in lower social mobility and a denial of American dream to more and more American citizens. The response to Ronald Reagan asking "Why should I pay for anyone else's education?" is that higher education creates a more informed citizenry as well as more people capable of higher-level careers such as medicine and engineering. Higher education funding must be restored to a level necessary for this to take place.

Science - Science is at the root of all technology, which means that it is at the root of all prosperity. Science must receive adequate funding for that reason, whether through public or private funds. More importantly still, respect for science must be instilled at all levels of society in order that real knowledge rather than conmanship and deception be formative to people's understanding of the world and to choices that they stand to make on the basis of that understanding.

Space Travel - Both public and private efforts to explore and to colonize outer space should be welcome. It is known that the earth will not remain habitable forever, and there needs to be a way for humanity to go elsewhere when the sun goes nova or if there is an asteroid heading to Earth. Human life does not have to end when the Earth becomes uninhabitable. There need to be settlements on Mars in our lifetime, and technology must be worked on to make possible travel outside the solar system when the solar system becomes no longer capable of supporting human life.

Public Works - Projects such as the Interstate and the Internet have been vastly beneficial in American prosperity. They have provided an infrastructure for business to do its work. Respect needs to be cultivated for such projects appropriate to the benefit that they exercise toward the economy. Government has shown to do significant economic good. It is wrong to portray it as a universally parasitical, destructive or wasteful force.

Immigration - Whatever is done, must be done with intelligence. Mexican illegals were welcome, or at least tolerated, when economy was good; they became less welcome when it became harder for American citizens to get jobs. Whether they are allowed to remain in the country or whether they are deported, one must keep in mind the future, including the possibility that the economy will improve and they will again be welcome. Brutal deportation practices or severe violence, such as took place under Idi Amin's deportation of Indian businessmen, would prevent these people from coming back when they are again wanted.

Civil Liberties - Patriotism cannot be coerced through oppressive and unconstitutional legislation. Patriotism is instead enhanced when the nation allows people meaningful liberties, resulting in people valuing the nation for having given to them these liberties. The whistle-blowers provide a service of informing the taxpayer of what the government is doing with the taxpayer's money. Instead of prosecuting whistle-blowers, America should welcome them as people who are providing a public service to the taxpayer, to the voter and to American democracy as such.

Lifestyle and Family - Freedom means freedom, and that means freedom to either practice a 1950s lifestyle or not to practice a 1950s lifestyle. There should be no coercion toward a single lifestyle in a nation that is intended to be free. People should be able to choose what kind of life to have. That is the meaning of liberty, and such should be uninfringed - both for those who want to live a 1950s lifestyle and for those who seek to the contrary.

Religion - Religious freedom does not mean the freedom to force one's religious views upon others. Religious freedom means freedom from those who would force their religious views upon everybody else. There should be protection for those who do not embrace conservative Christianity from those who would force conservative Christianity upon them, just as much as there should be protection for those who embrace conservative Christianity to live according to it. That is the true meaning of religious freedom.

Regionalism - Each region has a right to its own character. At the same time, people in a free country have a right to move between regions to find a place that works for them. There needs to be affirmation of both regionalism and freedom to roam. This will result in freedom being protected at all levels: With each region having a right to its own identity apart from whatever is in Washington - and each person having a right to choose a region whose identity is closest to their temperament.

Which Candidate Is Best for Science?

2014-01-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

In the wake of a traditional presidential debate it seems like an interesting time to recognize a call from the scientific community for a Presidential Science Debate. I suppose many people in the country might be swayed upon hearing how their president or a candidate might vote on various science issues.

In the eyes of many, this is a central issue to the future of the country. How will federal dollars be used to advance technology and mitigate potential "scientific" phenomena (or catastrophe)? I took it upon myself to do a little research to see what has been happening in the Presidential race, and what it might mean for science.

Both Romney and Obama have recently answered science questions posed by a large group of U.S. researchers. However, the answers proved too political. Shawn Otto, a researcher who led much of the effort to compile questions for the candidates, said, "Some of the questions aren't fully answered when they become politically difficult, others could really benefit from followup discussion.." But who does that surprise? They are, after all, just politicians.

A transcript of the candidates' responses to these questions can be found on the New York Times homepage. I will highlight just a few important topics to which each candidate responded:

1. Education

Obama was first to bring out the need for better training of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers. He alluded to a program he began four years ago to fund better training of STEM teachers. Romney's concern over expenditure was loud and clear and should perhaps also be a concern to scientists. Despite leaning towards allowing cuts in education funding, Romney obviously seems in favor of experimentation with various MOOC style education and open access instruction. Romney is a stronger proponent of using evaluation to hold instructors responsible for their efforts in the classroom (something that might frighten the unions but anyone halfway honest must admit it is needed).

2. Investment and Research

Obama chose to highlight his spending on green initiatives, clean energy, and information technology. He cited unprecedented spending on such programs totaling $190 billion during his administration. Despite declines in the access to grant funding through the NSF and NIH it seems likely that an Obama administration will keep the grants flowing. Romney came down hard on Obama's clean-energy spending, citing a Harvard study that the funding was provided to an industry not yet ready for large capital infusions. Romney outlined what smart science spending would be like. He was quite adamant that he would not decrease NIH funding, though one must suspect what that might mean for the NSF. From his response, it seems that tech transfer will be a more simple process under Romney given his concern with hamstrung start-ups in the medical science industries.

3. Science in Public Policy

Both candidates spoke of the importance of informed public policy. While that is no surprise, the real question is: to what extent will policy yield to politics and ignore science? It is hard to ignore the concentration of TARP funds that went to small groups of large companies claiming to be doing revolutionary science. While this track record does the President no favors, plenty of G.O.P. administrations have been guilty of the same behavior (there have been so many it isn't worth giving an example). The question for science is: do we believe Romney when he says, "I will pursue legislative reforms to ensure that regulators are always taking cost into account when they promulgate new rules."

4. The Internet

How a scientist feels about the candidates' responses really depends on how she sits on the issue of intellectual property. I doubt anyone would disparage the need for proper attribution, but many feel like pay-walls on publicly funded research should be eliminated. Obama's comments seemed to come down on the side of a controlled internet. While open to those who wished to contribute to a wholesome net, it would have nine-foot walls to all others. Romney described the internet as an exciting place of innovation and change, without government deciding what can and can't be done. Without clear answers on the issue of open access, we are left to speculate on which administration would provide a clear but quick pathway to increased dissemination of research.

While I won't offer my opinion on the election. It should be clear that science is not the only issue, but it should be taken into consideration when deciding who would be best for the future.

Red Judge, Blue Judge - Science and Sonia Sotomayor - Research Reveals Judicial Bias to Be Common

2014-01-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

According to last count on Google News, over 23,000 news stories have recently been written about a certain "wise Latina woman" named Sotomayor. Despite this voluminous coverage, however, something crucial has been missing from the debate surrounding the nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As with previous Supreme Court nominations, the media has reminded us that American conservatives are opposed to judges who are "judicial activists," while liberals tend to support President Obama's criterion of judicial "empathy." Despite this conflict, both sides do agree on one key, common principle: the best kind of judge -- the right kind of judge -- is an impartial judge who applies the law in a precise, dispassionate and unbiased fashion.

Unfortunately, this is just bi-partisan hypocrisy. The harsh truth, which our society must finally began to admit, is that such judges don't exist. Modern psychology has taught us that humans are extraordinarily subject to personal bias. Logic and experience tell us that judges are approximately as human as everyone else (true, some of them may seem waxy and lifeless as Madame Tussaud figures, but if you poke a sleepy one you'll see that their judicial reflexes are as lively and automatic as everyone else's). It follows that our judicial population will be just as politically-biased as the general population, ranging in ideological hue from fiery conservative red to liberal cobalt blue.

By convention we refer to law and justice as unified, monolithic concepts. However, in reality law is a motley creation of a highly-diverse group of human beings. Since human beings are normally distributed along a left-to-right ideological spectrum, the same duality inevitably reproduces itself in our law. Our judiciary is composed of red judges and blue judges (and in-between purple judges). According to this view, the red judges are more likely to create red case law while the blue judges will prefer to do the opposite. We also have red legislatures (think Texas or Kansas), which write red laws, and blue legislatures, which write blue laws (Massachusetts). The red judges are more likely to overrule or challenge a blue law than a red one, while blue judges are likely to do the opposite.

When Sotomayor states that her guiding principle as a judge is the pole-star of "fidelity to the law," she is making a true statement with which both Antonin Scalia and William O. Douglas would doubtless agree. However, it remains nonetheless true that these judges would each disagree about what the "law" is. Scalia looks at law through red-tinted glasses, and it is quietly likely that Sotomayor will view the same cases through blue-tinted ones (though perhaps not as blue as Douglas's).

Whom might we first expect to take issue with this theory of ubiquitous judicial bias? Of course: judges. Judge Harry Edwards of the D. C. Circuit expressed a typical judicial view when he lambasted those who "seem determined to characterize judges as knee-jerk ideologues, who act pursuant to a blind adherence to ideological precepts and decide cases wholly without regard to the law." (1) Judge Edwards' over-stated defensiveness is instructive. It will not be easy to get judges to do anything about judicial bias even if it turns out that something should be done - because they won't admit it exists. The ostrich-like refusal of the judiciary to recognize the existence of bias was once again on view in the recently-announced Supreme Court decision of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. (although the Supreme Court did remand the case on the basis of judicial bias, the sharp split among the justices signaled their unwillingness to get involved in any but the most egregious and obvious cases of bias, instances bordering on bribery or subornation). (2)

Given their extreme reticence, let us begin by extending an olive branch to the judiciary. Let us accept that Judge Edwards does make a valid point: in all likelihood, the vast majority of court cases are not decided by judicial bias. Judges are undeniably constrained by statutes and precedents, by juries, by the arguments of counsel and by the possibility of appellate review. Even the most biased judge may have little discretion or power to express bias in a harmful way. Furthermore, we have little evidence that the vast majority of judges do not strive successfully to render impartial decisions regardless of their personal views.

Having made that amicable gesture, let us now take off the gloves with Judge Edwards and brethren. Judicial bias may not be all-important in most court cases, but it definitely exists, and it is a problem. The presence of judicial bias has now been convincingly established by empirical research from a new legal school which has been dubbed "The New Legal Realism." (3) Using statistical and demographic techniques borrowed from economics and political science, the New Legal Realists have established that there are significant differences between the judicial decisions made by Democratic appointees and Republican appointees. Moreover, it has been shown that such differences are augmented or diminished by panel composition - partisan judges are more likely to express their political bias when sitting with like-minded judges than when they are alone or out-numbered. (4)

The threshold question that we have to ask about all this bias is: so what? By convention we have long assumed that judicial bias is a bad thing. However, if it is an inevitable and universal fact, perhaps we should be less dogmatic. The same modern science that accuses the judges also provides them with this excuse: if all humans are biased, we have no reason to expect any better of our judges. Moreover, it's not clear that there is anything we could do about judicial bias that wouldn't just make things worse. Thus, University of Chicago Law professor Eric Posner, a critic of the New Legal Realism, has argued that judicial bias is probably not harmful in most circumstances. The courtroom is an extension of society. If we live in a red state like Texas or Kansas, we should not be surprised to find that a majority of our judges are conservative. In Massachusetts, the contrary will be the case. But is that not as it should be? How could we "fix" that? (5)

Even if we were determined only to combat the most pernicious and harmful instances of judicial bias, it is not clear how we should go about doing so. We can always provide for more appellate review, but won't that review also be performed by biased judges? And, how will we determine who is biased, and how much? As law professors Joshua Fischman and David Law have pointed out, judicial ideology is frustratingly difficult to measure. For example, a judge may be considered to hold a liberal bias on intellectual property matters while holding a conservative bias on criminal law matters.(6) Is such a judge liberal or conservative? The question is particularly relevant in the case of Justice Sotomayor, who allegedly possesses precisely such a mix of liberal and conservative "streaks."

Arguably, therefore, the New Legal Realists do not yet have much for us in the way of helpful advice. However, this is because their discipline is rudimentary, not because judicial bias is not a problem. If you doubt the power of judicial bias to create social harm, consider the curious case of the Georgia penal system, where court records have established that first-time felons receive sentences which are strangely correlated with the defendant's skin color. Black felons serve longer than white felons for precisely the same crimes. Not only that, but dark-skinned blacks serve longer than medium-skinned blacks, who in turn serve longer than light-skinned blacks, who in turn serve slightly longer than white defendants. In one study, the total average difference in sentence between white convicts and dark-skinned black convicts was 571 days. In another study, it was found that dark-skinned defendants with "Afrocentric" facial features were twice as likely to be sentenced to death in capital cases as defendants who were not similarly categorized. (7)

Sometimes, bias obviously goes too far. If we are killing or imprisoning people on the basis of the lightness or darkness of their complexion, that is too far. Judicial bias and its negative consequences may be difficult to identify, measure or control, but that is no reason not to get started, and no time better than now. The first step to take is to begin to admit that bias exists and is simply part of the system. When conservatives favor "strict interpretation" over "activism," and liberals do the opposite, that is just another way of saying that conservatives prefer conservative judges while liberals prefer liberal judges. It makes perfect sense for liberal politicians and voters to select liberal judges, because conservative politicians and voters do the opposite.

It is time for the legal community to respond to the urgent challenge to judicial impartiality placed on the record by the New Legal Realism. Law schools and bar associations are cheating their constituents if they do not engage in vigorous study and analysis of judicial bias. It needs to be better measured, and we need to develop an analytical framework for devising better options to counteract its negative impact. Perhaps, for example, additional forms of speedy judicial review should be open to litigants. At present, appeals are extremely costly and time-consuming, and therefore a powerful ratifier of judicial fallibility.

Will a wise Latina woman respond differently to legal cases than a Wonder Bread white boy like Chief Justice Roberts?

Duh! Of course she will. She had better, or President Obama will rue the day he appointed her. For all their notorious ideological rigidity, the Republicans succumbed to their own non-partisan rhetoric when George H.W. Bush appointed David Souter to the Supreme Court. Souter proved so moderate that he was an enormous disappointment to Republicans, to the point that he was routinely reviled as a "traitor" in conservative circles. There is no reason for the Democrats to make the same mistake. I don't think Las Vegas yet offers odds on Supreme Court performance, but I am willing to bet my Blackberry that Justice Sotomayor will become a stalwart member of the Court's liberal wing. So what? That's politics; and that's the law.

What would a wise Latina judge do, given the above-described constraints, if she hoped to someday become a member of the Supreme Court? My advice would be for her to develop a judicial career in which she meticulously avoided any appearance of bias in her legal decisions or official statements (in order to preclude serious Senatorial opposition), while at the same time telegraphing subtle public hints sufficient to attract the attention of the President and to reassure him/her that there would be no reason to regret an appointment. Except for a single regrettable reference to wise Latina women, I think that's precisely what the wise Latina judge has done.

REFERENCES

[1] Harry T. Edwards, Public Misperceptions Concerning the "Politics" of Judging: Dispelling Some Myths About the D.C. Circuit, 56 U.COLO.L.REV. 619, 625.

[2] Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 556 US___ (2009) (Slip Op. 08-22)

[3] Frank B. Cross, Political Science and the New Legal Realism: A Case of Unfortunate Interdisciplinary Ignorance, 92 New U L Rev 251 (1997).

[4] Miles, Thomas J. and Sunstein, Cass R., The New Legal Realism. University of Chicago Law Review, Forthcoming ; U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 372; U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 191.

[5] Posner, Eric A., Does Political Bias in the Judiciary Matter? Implications of Judicial Bias Studies for Legal and Constitutional Reform.

[6] Fischman, Joshua B. and Law, David S.,What Is Judicial Ideology, and How Should We Measure It? (October 19, 2008). Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2008; 3rd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Papers; San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 08-47. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1121228

[7] Hochschild, Jennifer L., Weaver, Vesla. The Skin Color Paradox and the American Racial Order , Social Forces - Volume 86, Number 2, December 2007, pp. 643-670

Show And Tell - A Springboard For Math And Science Education

2014-01-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Before I started teaching, I imagined Show and Tell would consist of an interested group of young children listening politely to each other and passing items around with care. This assumption fell apart fairly quickly during my first year as a teacher. Although there were times that things ran smoothly, the problems with Show and Tell were many and I found myself avoiding the experience. Even four and five year old children competed about who brought the coolest things. The event became even less appealing as students wanted to have a turn playing with toys, bored children fidgeted, squirmed and lost interest or upset children disrupted the class routines as they tried to keep their items a secret. Show and Tell often became a weekly advertisement for the latest toy or fast food restaurant freebie.

Parents also complained of the stress of trying to remember Show and Tell days, of trying to help their child choose items to show or of dealing with indecisive children who wanted to bring something that would impress their classmates. Other parents took over the task completely, selecting objects and sending them with detailed notes to be read to the class or with instructions that no one was to touch the item nor was it to get broken. There had to be a better way.

In an effort to make Show and Tell work for the students, for me, and for busy parents, I picked one day a week for the activity and scheduled it as part of my math and science time. Everyone in the class was asked to bring the same item each week. I usually brought a few extras for the few who forgot. Instead of using show and tell times to give children practice in public speaking, I scheduled different days for them to speak in front of the class about something they had recorded in their math and science journals.

Parents received a letter explaining that the purpose of show and tell would be to extend the math, science and literacy programs by building vocabulary and practicing classification and comparative skills. The children were to have the responsibility of choosing the items, but from much narrower criteria.

The rules were: do not bring...

anything valuable, anything that could not be touched by all, or anything that would upset the student greatly if it got broken
anything alive, as students often have pet allergies and bugs in bottles are too often neglected
items too large - ask - can they fit in a brown paper lunch bag? (exceptions here - books, and occasionally other items)
toys - as they caused too many problems as mentioned previously

The parents were to remind their son or daughter to choose an item from the list, but not to interfere with their child's choice as long as it fit with the weekly list.

I also sent home a Show and Tell list for the whole year. This had a short note that suggested that the parents post the list on the fridge at their child's eye level, that they encourage the child to cross off each item weekly and to start looking for the next item, and that they remind the child to pack the item in their backpack the night before.

Classroom Show and Tell rules were: students were to bring the items into the class at the beginning of the day, label them with name tags (children have printed name tags in their take home boxes; tape is in most centers) and put them on the Show and Tell display table. The children were always very excited on Show and Tell mornings and I scheduled some free time for them to look at the items on the table and to tell a few classmates about their items.

Sample Show and Tell list

When creating a yearly Show and Tell list, put the date first, then the item to bring, illustrated with a simple drawing and finally a brief description of what the class activity will be. Keep the font large. Here is a sample from my list.

An apple (not for snack) - sorting, classifying and measurement
Something round - math vocabulary such as edges, face, circle, circular, classifying items by a variety of criteria such as size, color, material
A leaf - sorting shapes, colors, counting points, graphing similar types, tracing leaf shapes on papers and creating charts of similar and different leaves
Something shiny - comparison, vocabulary - reflection, reflect, testing (with a flashlight) how each item reflects light
Something that can be recycled - knowledge of recycling, classifying items, counting, more, fewer
An old greeting card - measurement with blocks. How many blocks long is your card? How many one inch squares cover your card? Graphing holiday images
A shell - classify and sort by size, color, shape, observation drawings
Something about Canada (map, flag, book, trinket) - awareness of Canadian symbols, shape of country, shapes of provinces, counting provinces, graphing occurrences of similar symbols

I generally chose objects that complemented monthly themes.

Sample Show and Tell Lesson with a Rock

The children place their Show and Tell rocks on the center of the carpet, and then sit down in a circle around them. I start with observation type questions. "What do you notice about the rocks? How are they the same? How are they different?

Let's sort the rocks by size. Which rock looks the largest? Which rock is the smallest? Let's make a long line." Everybody takes a turn placing his or her rock with student or teacher suggestions to rearrange the rocks when necessary.

"Now let's sort the rocks by darker colors and lighter colors. We can put the darker rocks on this plastic mat and the lighter ones on the other mat and the striped or speckled rocks in the middle." When this activity is finished and depending on the group attention span you can further investigations. Examples, "Are there more dark rocks or more light rocks? Are there fewer dull rocks or fewer shiny ones? Let's sort the rocks by which ones wobble and which ones do not wobble. "

Counting items, graphing, extending math vocabulary or practicing other math concepts are easy to integrate into the lesson when there is a large quantity of the same object. Gear the lesson to the attention span of the whole group. Children who want to continue comparing their rocks, for instance with a balance scale, can do so at center time.

Next I model an observation drawing on chart paper. Draw with a marker and talk out loud to describe your thinking. "I noticed that there are more wobbly rocks and fewer rocks that do not wobble. I am going to draw that for my observation drawing. I will draw a line down my paper and put more wobbly rocks on one side and fewer rocks that don't wobble on the other. The rocks are mainly round shapes so I will make circles. I will add dots to some to make them look speckled. I am putting little lines beside the rocks on this side to make them look like they are moving. Now I will color in with crayons so I don't cover up my drawing lines. I will color some light grey and some dark grey. Now I need to print the word, wobbly under my wobbly rocks. What sound do I hear first and what letter do I use? What is the next sound and letter?" Do the same with the words not wobbly. Finish with a drawing of individual rocks. "I am going to draw the rock I brought to show on the other page. It is black and has white stripes." Stamp the drawing with the date stamp.

The children then sit at tables and record one or more of their observations about the lesson in their science and math journals. This is an open-ended activity and results will depend on the developmental level of each child. The children take turns stamping the date on their page.

This method worked well for the children, their parents and for me. All the children had an opportunity to be involved during each Show and Tell day and reviewing old, or learning new, science, math, and literacy concepts were a part of each Show and Tell experience.

Check out these pages for more information about teaching preschool and kindergarten science with Show and Tell.

Platonic Fullerene Chemistry, Nanotechnology, Liberty, Freedom, Science and the US Constitution

2014-01-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

Dear reader, this Ezine article has been written for perusal by over 6000 nano-scientists. Its theme suggests to the general public that ethical nanotechnology has an important role to play in bringing about a new age of global liberty and freedom. It can be argued that this can come about if nanotechnology is developed in liaison with a medical science, to guide ennobling government for the betterment of the global human condition. While the article is about the fractal nature of Mesopotamian mythological mathematics, it is fully realised that other ancient cultures, including Indian and Chinese civilisations, contributed infinite fractal mathematical concepts into the formation of the ancient 3rd Century BC Platonic tradition of Greek science.

Discussions about politics, sex and religion tend to provoke intense controversy. However, this paper is about a broad generalisation of all three of these contentious issues. They are so complex that only a supercomputer, given thousands of years of data could adequately explain their functioning in the great game of life, which is related to healthy human evolution.

During the 1990s, the Science-Art Research Centre of Australia had its supercomputer papers about seashell life-form energies reprinted by the world's leading technological research institute, IEEE., and an American Institute for Basic Research. These papers were internationally acclaimed for the discovery of new mathematical and physics laws governing optimum biological growth and development through space-time. The aim of this article is to help in the construction of a second supercomputer program, which can be referred to as the Fuller-Snow 'World Game Cooperative Theory' for human survival.

China's most highly awarded physicist, Kun Huang, provided the research methodology used to make the discovery of the new physics laws possible. He argued personally with Albert Einstein over the issue. Now, nanotechnology has confirmed that his seashell advice in 1979 applies directly to the human condition.

The ancient Egyptians used the sacred geometries of life to give an intuitive expression of the working of an infinite universe. Mainstream science now realises that they were using aspects of fractal geometrical logic extending to infinity. However, our present global science and technology forbids that geometrical logic to belong to any living evolutionary process. Einstein's genius can now be truly immortalised by modifying it so that his universal energies of chaos are shown to entangle with these long lost ancient infinite life energies.

The 20th Century Einsteinian world-view was governed by a law of universal chaos that demands that all life in the universe must become extinct. Therefore, under these circumstances the living process cannot possibly extend to infinity. However, nanotechnology has demonstrated that the ancient Greek science was correct.

The human molecule of emotion, discovered in 1972, now part of quantum biology's entanglement with Einstein's quantum mechanics, is, in fact, an infinite fractal expression. Our emotions function in complete contradiction to the laws governing our present destructively imbalanced science and technology.

This means that, as was discovered only last century, emotions belong to Sir Isaac Newton's more profound natural philosophy to balance his mechanical description of the universe. It is important that his world-view is freed from any further Christian classification of this being a criminally insane heresy. Newton held to his more profound concepts of an infinite universe, when he wrote his great theories of science. This is evident in his personal letters to Richard Bentley, in which he linked gravity with light, to provide evolutionary instruction to the human metabolism. It is unreasonable to insist that mercurial fumes from his alchemy laboratory resulted in a criminally insane mind, at the same time when he was accomplishing such things.

The modern day unbalanced scientific world-view constitutes a political nightmare of global proportions. With modification, this can be adequately addressed in the form of a medical supercomputer program, functioning to guide ennobling governments throughout the world. The resultant technology, for the betterment of the human condition, is beyond the conception of present unbalanced mainstream science. However, given the opportunity, there are enough learned scholars to compose the computer program, thanks to the scientist Kun Huang. It is now possible to extend the seashell research in order to obtain the quantum biological blueprint for human survival.

During the 6th Century BC the Greek geometer, Thales, travelled to Egypt to study political ethics. Following him in the 5th Century BC, the mathematician, Pythagoras, also studied political ethics in Egypt. They brought back to Greece the mathematical structure of Western Democracy. The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras had derived a theory of creation from the mythological-mathematical theories of the Egyptian creator god Atum (Atom), mentioned in the 'Pyramids Texts'. Then, for over two hundred years the Platonic tradition of Greek philosophy fused ethics into Anaxagoras' theory of creation. This was in order to invent science so that civilisation would not become extinct, as had other life forms discovered as fossils.

Aspects of nano-science show that the resultant science had successfully linked mathematics to the living process, in line with the workings of an infinite universe. This is contrary to the ethos of Einstein's theory of relativity, which he derived from Babylonian mythological mathematics.

During the 3rd Century BC two Greek life-sciences came into existence. one was called the 'Science for ethical ends' incorporating atomic Platonic love and the other was the 'Science of universal love', based upon Epicurean emotional atomic theory. These sciences came about to guide ennobling government, so that humans could play their part within an infinite ethical universal purpose, thus avoiding extinction. Nearby, in the Mystery Schools of Babylon, worship of the sacred geometries was motivated by the teachings of Ishtar, the Goddess of sexual prostitution and warfare.

Plato understood that once a physical atomic science totally ruled civilisation, as it does today, the prehistoric arms race legacy would one day accelerate, triggering the emergence of the destructive properties of ancient Egypt's understanding of primordial universal chaos. Plato's concept 'evil' was about the anti-life properties of nuclear unformed matter spreading as an obsession into the psyche of civilisations. Various national governments, powerless to stop the nuclear arms race because of governmental national security laws, would eventually bring about the chaos of total destruction upon civilisation. Nanotechnology on the other hand, could step in to provide a medical science, free energy, food and water, across the globe, in order to prevent this nightmare situation from happening.

Harvard University Press advises that the rebirth of the lost Greek atomic sciences was instigated by Marcilio Ficino, during the 15th Century. He used the book, 'Plato's Theology' to create what is now called the Great Italian Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci, contrary to popular belief, was not a central figure to that Renaissance.

The mathematician, Fibonacci, taught Leonardo the sacred geometrical mathematical ethos belonging to the Mystery Schools of Babylon, which worshipped warfare. On the other hand, the inclusion of Platonic love as a property of the atoms of the soul (the molecule of emotion discovered by Candace Pert in 1972) had placed atomic ethics into the mathematical equations that Fibonacci obtained from the Babylonian Mystery Schools.

The American engineer, Buckminster Fuller, who wrote the book 'Utopia or Oblivion' fully understood the nature of Plato's grim warning and realised that we must modify the Einsteinian understanding of universal energy, or perish. Harvard University's Novartis Professor Amy Edmondson, in her on-line biography entitled 'A Fuller Explanation', wrote that in his excitement to write his theories, Fuller neglected to explain to the public that his ideas for humanity's survival were derived directly from Plato's mathematical research.

The molecular biologist, Sir C P Snow, also wrote a book about the need to save civilisation from collapse, due to the prevailing Einsteinian understanding of universal energy. He considered it imperative to link modern science back to the culture of the Platonic Humanities. In 2008 the Times Literary Supplement published that it considered Snow's book to be among the 100 most important books written since World War II.

The Christian Church, during the 5th Century AD, destroyed the Great Library of Alexandria and murdered its custodian, the mathematician, Hypatia. Saint Augustine then banished Plato's mathematics as being the work of the Devil, mistaking it for the mathematics associated with the teachings of Ishtar, the Babylonian Goddess of war and prostitution. Augustine had translated the evil of unformed matter in the atom as the evil of female sexuality, later used as an excuse for the horrific sexual rites that the Christian Church lather condoned.

The sadistic torturing and burning alive of countless numbers of women and girl children as witches was practised for three hundred years until the mid 17th Century. In the 18th Century the Church's fanatical opposition to ancient Greek mathematical atomic science, as the work of the Devil, was transferred into the very fabric of the Constitution of the United States of America, without the American people realising what had happened.

Giordano Bruno, considered to be the father of modern science, taught about the science of universal love, at Oxford University. For doing this, upon returning to Rome he was imprisoned, tortured and burnt alive by the Roman Church in 1600. During the 20th Century, the unpublished papers of Sir Isaac Newton were discovered, in which Newton expressed his conviction that a more profound natural philosophy existed to complete the mechanical description of the universe. Newton's model of the universe was infinite and its functioning was upheld by the same physics principles that upheld the ancient Greek science for ethical ends and the science of universal love. Newton's balancing physics principles were exactly those used by the philosopher Schelling when he corrected Immanuel Kant's electromagnetic ethic for perpetual peace on earth.

Isaac Newton, a contemporary of Bruno, aware of his fate, dared not publish those same ideas. As it was, his infinite universe theories remain classified today as Newton's Heresy Papers. This may help explain why a 50 million pound research program at Cambridge University, to look for its associated technology, was cancelled outright by the British Government. Nonetheless, nanotechnology has revealed the incredible magnitude of that technology's capacity to benefit the global human condition, well beyond the scope of entropic science.

The Constitution of the United States of America came into existence in 1787, based upon the ancient Platonic tradition of Greek philosophy. Within the Christian culture, Sir Isaac Newton's banished heresy physics principles were completely omitted. Alexander Hamilton, during the framing of the Constitution, defined 'Liberty' as being ensured by the design of government based upon physics and geometrical principles. The physics principles used to construct the American Constitution belonged to the published physics of Sir Isaac Newton and the geometrical principles belonged to the geometry of Euclid. The current blockbuster film, 'Lincoln ' depicts the President of America explaining that the abolishment of slavery was fused into Euclidean geometrical logic. In fact it was tied into the infinite geometrical logic upholding the functioning of the Platonic universe. If the will of the people wish it so, the American Constitution can now be amended to become the true symbol of liberty for all the world.

The ancient Greek intuitive understanding about the anti-life properties of nuclear chaos predicted the way our state of emotion interacts with physical reality. In 2011 two Chinese scientists used mathematics to prove how the Fullerene dance of life of protein enfolding in DNA, functioned outside the laws governing Einstein's world-view. This was pre-empted ten years earlier when the Science-Art Research Centre published a lecture delivered at Yangzhou University in China. The paper stated that this protein dance of life in DNA caused Fullerene carbon-signalling to generate the geometrical construction of emotion-forming substances influencing mental functioning.

The Centre reasoned that because Einsteinian mathematics was unable to generate healthy seashell growth through space-time, it was innately carcinogenic. The 1937 Nobel Laureate in medicine, Szent-Gyorgyi, also argued that the scientific refusal to allow any interaction of consciousness with Einstein's chaos energies, brought about an unnatural conflict between emotional intuition and unbalanced scientific rationalism, considered to be associated with cancer. In 1998, cancer researchers in America associated Szent-Gyorgyi's theories to carbon signalling within DNA.

Be this as it may, the anti-life conflict within the human biological system, where natural emotional intuition is forced to conform to the dictates of our unbalanced science, does prevent healthy evolution from occurring. People at present are virtually powerless to prevent the effects of what Plato described as uncensored art, where mind pleasing forms along with irresponsible music, provides an illusionary belief in reality, while the entropic engineering mindset prepares for continual warfare.

Nanotechnology can provide us all with water, food, energy and raw materials from virtually nothing. Instead, we are contented to maintain a stock-market job enslavement obsession, in order to pollute the planet and the energy system belonging to the living process. The entropic dictatorship of global economic rationalism, obeying total chaos logic, might be considered rational for those controlling the money system, but it is certainly not based upon ethical scientific principles. If nanotechnology directs the function of artificial intelligence to wage war, then the deployment of invisible undetectable nano weapons of mass destruction will become humanity's common enemy.

The mathematical sacred geometrical concepts of mercy, compassion and justice, can be found depicted in wall paintings of the Egyptian 1st Kingdom. These mythological-mathematics became political law in the 2nd Kingdom, explaining the origins of such things as modern hospitals and old age pensions. The ancient Greeks used these mathematical virtues to develop an infinite science for human survival, which we are forbidden to debate within the fixed confines of 20th Century science and technology.

The seriousness of a hidden fanatical religious act contaminating Newton's physics principles during the framing of the American Constitution is easy to demonstrate. It prevented the Platonic spiritual (now holographic) optical human survival engineering technology from being developed.

Although Plato's spiritual optical engineering principles were later corrected by 'History's Father of Optics', Al Haitham, during the Golden Age of Islamic Science, the issue is quite obvious. Plato, Al Haitham, and other philosophers such as Philo, Plotinus and Hesoid, had warned that by using the senses, in particular the eye, as the source of cosmic knowledge, the destructive properties of unformed matter would emerge from the atom to destroycivilisation. Da Vinci, Descartes and Sir Francis Bacon, pivotal figures in bringing in the mechanistic industrial age, used the eye as the source of all knowledge.

Albert Einstein made exactly the same mistake. During 1924 to 1927 the world-view of quantum mechanics was that visual observation affects reality. Einstein's E=Mc squared did indeed allow the ancient unformed matter to emerge from the atom. We are approaching the point where Humanity's common enemy will be the anti-life ethos of artificial intelligence, masquerading as a benevolent Diabolis, the God of Chaos, that we now worship globally via the stock market.

The Science-Art Research Centre's book 'The 21st Century Renaissance', points out that Einstein developed his world-view from the use of the sacred geometries associated with the mythological-mathematics used in the worship of ancient Babylon's Goddess, Ishtar. Her sexual mathematics are very complex, but it appears that Einstein's colleague, the Nobel Prize winner and mathematician Lord Bertrand Russell, was influenced by Ishtar's teachings. During the 20th Century Russell became Britain's best known advocate of free love and sex. His first three marriages became sordid sexual dramas in the British courts and in 1940 his professorial position at the College of New York was annulled by a police court order, as being immoral.

Bertand Russell's most famous essay was entitled 'A Freeman's Worship' in which Russell insisted that we have no other choice but to worship Einstein's entropic death sentence upon all of life in the universe. In 1957 the New York University Library of Science, published a book entitled, 'Babylonian Myth and Modern Science', in which Einstein is shown to have developed his theory of relativity from the mythological-mathematics of ancient Babylon. Plato, on the other hand, had developed mythological mathematics from the Mystery Schools of ancient Egypt, which were about preventing the universe from reverting back into its original chaos. Nanotechnology proved that the Platonic atomic science was correct and the engineer Buckminster Fuller had adequately upgraded it. It is now possible to upgrade Fullers solution to the human survival theories of Sir C P Snow.

The solution to the global energy crisis is simple. Buckminster Fuller alluded to it with his 'Cooperative World Game Theory' for the betterment of the global human condition. In Fuller's own words, 'Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offence or the disadvantage of anyone'.

IBM's supercomputer, Deep Blue, beat the world's chess champions and their supercomputer Watson, beat America's players of the more complex game Jeopardy. Such a computer game, based upon medical science ethics, will bring into human consciousness the methodology advocated by the Fuller-Snow cooperative world game of life.

The Science-Art Research Centre of Australia is now only interested in helping to create the Fuller-Snow super computer program. The new game containing thousands of years of relevant negentropic speculations, will instantly and collectively raise our chaotic consciousness into a comprehension of Fuller's infinite synergistic universe. People can then play the game of life unimpeded with conflicting religious dogmas, in order to upgrade human survival consciousness. The governing Platonic Fullerene Chemistry medical science, given legal status, can then guide ennobling government based on the issue of global security and nanotechnology supra-wealth for all.

The three 1996 Nobel Laureates in Medicine, established a new medical chemistry based upon the negentropic properties of Fullerene carbon molecules. As Buckminster Fuller had derived his balanced model of universal reality upon the mathematics of Plato, the Science-Art Research Centre of Australia renamed it as Platonic Fullerene Chemistry, now influencing the education of chemistry throughout the world.

All revenue from Science-Art Paintings, sold through the Centre's non-profit research organisation, goes to the project, to help bring the Fuller-Snow supercomputer into existence. This funding model of ethical science through the arts was published in 1993 by LEONARDO, the 'International journal for the Arts,Sciences and Technology.

Science Fiction Future Histories - Criteria for Success

2014-01-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

Introduction:

Within the field of science fiction, a special source of addictive fascination can be found in the sub-genre "Future History", a series of interconnected stories set in a common background that develops over time.

For any story to be enjoyable, we all know how vital interesting characters and settings both are. But in a good Future History there is a unique sense in which the setting also becomes one of the characters. A splendid juggernaut of interlinked themes, alive and growing like a real society, but full of a fictional personality of its own, such a lattice of tales becomes, for the reader, a source of wonder not merely as a new world, but -- as a result of its reliable, organic consistency -- as a new familiarity.

That's the paradox: the more the inhabitants are "housed" in comfort, given a universe with customs, laws and rules which they can take for granted, the more real and therefore more exciting their world seems to us. Against this comfortable backdrop the inhabitants do, of course, have their particular adventures which are exciting for them as well as for us; but we are additionally privileged to watch the lines they are tracing in the greater whole, from the panoramic perspective which is the special virtue of a Future History.

As a matter of fact, for the sake of accuracy, rather than the term "Future History" I would prefer "four-dimensional story-lattice" or "4DL", as the events related in the stories need not be in our future. A series of tales set on ancient Mars a billion years ago, for instance, would fit the sub-genre just as well as a series set on Earth in the next few millennia -- or, for that matter, in the lost continent of Atlantis thousands of years in the past. However, in this article I shall stick with current usage.

My aim is to try to pin down the criteria which make for a successful Future History.

I hope, as I go through my list of points, that the reader will not jump to the conclusion that I am disparaging various great masterpieces of science fiction merely because they do not meet these criteria. Some stupendous works set in the far future, such as Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men and Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, are largely a different kind of thing, though they have some interesting points in common with the kind of story-lattice which I am discussing.

The criteria I wish to propose are as follows:

1. Volume and Balance.

2. Open-ended complexity.

3. Time-referencing.

4. Development.

Volume and Balance:

A successful Future History should, first of all, contain a large number of stories. It should be long. Inevitably, it will not be as long as its fans wish, but I would suggest, for example, that the one big fault in Asimov's Foundation series is that it extends over only 3 volumes, comprising 9 tales. The reader is left yearning for more -- which of course is a huge compliment to the author. (Actually, there is a bit more. A couple of Asimov's early novels are set in that same universe, in periods prior to Foundation, and these help to enlarge the picture; on the other hand I do not regard the much later accretions to the series, different in mood and far less taut in style, as worthy to stand with the original 9.) I have the same complaint to make of Cordwainer Smith, the genius who bridges the storytelling traditions of East and West in a way unique in science fiction, and who was so inconsiderate as to die at the age of 53, leaving us a mere four volumes or so of his Instrumentality saga.

Much more ample in volume are Poul Anderson's dozen or more volumes of the van Rijn / Flandry bipolar series. This is built around two main heroes, living hundreds of years apart but inhabiting the same invented background. Other masters of the genre have given us moderately lengthy oeuvres. Heinlein's Future History consists of five volumes; Larry Niven's of six or more depending on whether you allow the last Ringworld novel and other accretions to count. James H Schmitz's Federation of the Hub series comprises four novels and numerous shorter tales, and amounts to a work of moderately satisfying length. Still, I wish that Schmitz and Cordwainer Smith, in particular, had written another half dozen books at least. They don't make 'em like that any more.

As well as the need for sheer size, a related point is that the size-distribution of the stories should not be too lop-sided. It's nice to have a variety of story-lengths, but there should not be one work which overshadows all the rest in the series. The availability of a crowd of tales is what creates an important part of the desired effect.

Open-Ended Complexity:

Within the wide common background, the stories should have a variety of settings in both space and time. Overlaps in chronology are important, so that although some of the tales should form a consecutive sequence, others should be happening simultaneously in different locations. We want a real lattice, rather than just a string, of events. The Foundation series is a consecutive string, but fortunately the other Future History authors I have mentioned give us simultaneous tales as well.

And there should be a variety of overlaps in dramatis personae, somewhere between the one extreme of each story having its own unique cast of characters, so that no character appear in more than one (this leads to insufficient connectivity) and the other extreme of having the same character appearing in all the stories (this excessively restricts the range of the whole, to what that one central character can do). James Schmitz got it exactly right. In the Hub universe you frequently find the same characters appearing in more than one story, but also you find plenty of "solitaries". I would go so far as to say that if the same main character stars in all the stories, a series can hardly count as a Future History, though it may (like Jack Vance's five Demon Princes books) be a rivetingly good read. Niven, and Cordwainer Smith, like Schmitz, get it right. In his Known Space universe Niven gives us more than one sub-series starring characters who survive through several tales - notably Beowulf Shaeffer who is the hero of five of them. In the Instrumentality saga Smith gives us several separate appearances of the cat-girl C'Mell, the reformer Lord Jestocost and the quester Casher O'Neill. Again, we want to feel we're in a crowd, or, if you prefer, a forest, of options. It's a good sign, therefore, if you can't immediately call to mind how many tales a series has and how many characters appear more than once. It means it has grown satisfyingly ramshackle.

The ideal Future History should also contain cultural complexity. This is not Asimov's forte, nor Heinlein's, though the works of both are multi-political, rich in diverse regimes (especially Heinlein). Niven does better in the cultural area, and apart from human variation he has interesting alien civilizations interacting with ours. Poul Anderson does this too, and his series in particular has an open-ended sprawl of hugeness, looseness and multicultural variety. Schmitz is just about his equal in this respect, though his output is unfortunately not so large. Cordwainer Smith is hard to assess -- he is so matchlessly good at suggesting more than he lets on, it's hard to keep track of the actual content of his stories: it's as though he gives you the key to his unfinished work and lets you dream the rest of it for yourself.

If the work of Jack Vance fitted the bill in other ways, his talent for portraying cultural complexity would make him perhaps the best living writer of Future Histories. However his Gaean Reach novels, though they share a common background, are scattered so widely across that vast setting, that they are unrelated to one another, and there is no sense of chronological sequence or historical development of the Gaean Reach as a whole. (Not that I would want Vance as a writer to be other than he is.)

Time-referencing:

Rightly handled, detailed time-referencing need never get in the way of a good story, and may enhance it. You're not always thinking of dates when you read a Future History, but a good time-line should be there for when you want to consult it.

The fullest and most detailed timeline of all is given not by an SF author but by J R R Tolkien in an appendix to The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien carefully lists what happened on each day during the six-month climax of the War of the Ring. So far as I am aware, no science fiction author has taken this much trouble. Tolkien in addition provides dates for events going back over 6000 years previous to the events of his main story.

Without needing to go as far as this, a Future History should at least provide the reader with the references to build up an internal chronology of the stories, even if one is not provided in an appendix to the books. Actual dates are preferable. Schmitz gives none, and in any case his Hub series is mostly a lateral cross-section of society during a period lasting only a few years, though with glimpses into more distant past and future. Niven and Anderson have published time-lines -- though I believe that Anderson's was merely approved, not authored, by himself. Asimov provides no time-line but in the Foundation series he is generally quite good at giving dates internally (though at one point there is an inconsistency). Heinlein back in the 1940s allowed his editor, John W Campbell, to print the chart for the author's Future History. Cordwainer Smith had detailed notes for his universe, which he lost by accident, though a basic timeline was drawn up for the collection The Best of Cordwainer Smith.

Development:

The all-important common background to the stories of a Future History should itself act out a story, for it cannot be static, any more than the real history of our own world can stand still. On the other hand, though not static, it should be subject, in general, only to the kind of change that befits a civilization's naturally huge inertia -- slow, massive, majestic. Occasional crises, spurts of more rapid change, must occur, and can provide much awe and excitement, but if they occur too often, they undermine the credibility of the entire setting. Captain Future can save the Solar System again and again and it is great fun; but a proper Future History ought to be a bit more dignified.

The masterpiece of massive, inevitable historical change is the Foundation series. The way Asimov manages to combine human excitement and cliff-hanging suspense with a plot that seems to make those qualities unobtainable, and to do it without cheating, is a real wonder to behold. Miraculously, the reader can thrill to the drama of the "Seldon Crises" -- the turning-points in the history of the Foundation -- while trusting all the time (as the citizens of the Foundation themselves trust) that the future is safely worked out. Admittedly, the author enlists an additional source of excitement in the latter half of the series, when an unpredictable mutant throws a spanner into the mechanism of social engineering.

Poul Anderson's Future History concentrates on two eras, both eras of decline: that of the commercial Polesotechnic League and that of the Terran Empire centuries later. In both cases the civilization in decline contain the seeds of change and potential for the rebirth of culture in another form. Anderson's work is full of historical awareness, but in historical variety it is far outclassed by the works of Heinlein and Niven. A very different writer, Cordwainer Smith, outclasses them all by giving an epic sweep to his series which extends over thousands of years.

Lastly, to placate the reader who is wondering "Why the heck hasn't he mentioned Olaf Stapledon?", I will concede that nothing mentioned so far comes close to the multi-billion-year range surveyed in Last and First Men and Star Maker. In LAFM the heroes are entire human cultures; in SM , they are species (and humanity gets a single paragraph). Despite their lack of individual characters, they are absorbing as stories - magnificent science fiction. But they obviously do not fit the category of story-lattice I have been discussing here.

Conclusion:

Considered in their own terms, the works I have been discussing are all favourites of mine and I would not have them altered. Considered as Future Histories, and matched against the criteria I have laid down, they all leave something to be desired. This is merely to suggest that the ideal Future History or 4DL is yet to be written. Science Fiction awaits the oeuvre that combines Poul Anderson's sprawl and volume, Isaac Asimov's time-discipline and James Schmitz' open-endedness with Cordwainer Smith's sweep and destiny.

What a Forensic Science Technician Does

2014-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

Forensic science technicians usually work as part of an investigation team. A forensic science technician job description states that his job is more confined in a laboratory once he is able to collect the evidence that he needs in a particular crime scene. The results that he will obtain will very much affect the investigation and results of the work of a forensic scientists often sheds light to a crime. Thus once all the results are put together, the criminal will soon definitely be identified.

There are several processes that forensic scientists can do to be able to help in solving crimes. Securing the evidence is the most important step since it should be done with the least damage incurred possible. Damaged evidence is quite useless for an investigation as this will affect the results. For instance, if weapons were used in the crime and the weapon was left in the crime scene, the weapons should be secured without touching since they can detect fingerprints on the gun and touching the weapon will affect the results. They can also research with whom the gun is licensed to and thus get more information for the investigation. If the weapon was not left in the crime scene, the bullet shot will give the forensic scientists the idea on the type of weapon used to fire the bullet and obtaining the gun will determine if the gun and the bullet fit. Just the same, the bullet should be handled with utmost care.

Qualifications of such a job are also included in a forensic science technician job description. Aside from possessing knowledge of sciences such as chemistry, biology and even anatomy, forensic science technicians should have also studied the law, political science and criminal justice. Knowing the law is important since forensic science technicians are often asked to speak in court and report the results that he has obtained.

The Public Sector, Our Grandkids, and The Failure Of Our Political Class

2014-01-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

An article by Mark Shields entitled, "The Public Sector And My Grandchildren," appeared in the December 26, 2010 issue of the St. Petersburg Times. In the article, Mr. Shields tries to make the case that government at all levels has and will make sure that his grandchildren have a better life as a result of government, and the politicians running that government, are on the case, effective, and looking out for their well being. To prove his point, he lists out what he perceives to be the good that government and politicians bestow on us everyday.

All Americans should certainly respect Mr. Shield's perspective that government and politicians are dong a good job. If that is his opinion and feels that his grandkids will have a better life as a result, then he probably sleeps better at night than many of us. However, using Mr. Shields' own examples, many of us end up with a diametrically opposite view, namely that government and the current political class that operates it will not create a better future for our grandkids:

- Mr. Shields asserts that his grandkids "will get an excellent education at superior public schools." What is interesting is that in the same section of the same paper on the same day, another article shows that United States teenagers, the vast majority of which went to these same public schools, ranked 31st relative to other nations when it comes 15 year olds performing at the advanced level in math proficiency. Only 6% of U.S. students perform at the advanced level compared to 28% of students in Taiwan that perform at advanced level in math proficiency. The top ten nations all had at least 15% of their kids performing at the highest levels compared to our meager 6%.

The article also broke down the United States performance state-by-state, which may help explain Mr. Shields' high opinion of our public schools. However, the very best state, Massachusetts, only has 12% of its 15 year olds at high proficiency in math, trailing seventeen nations. In fact, only two states had a proficiency at least 10%, the other 48 states were in the single digit range.

Continuing along this same theme, recent news reports showed that the United States trails trails dozens of nations in math, reading, and science and the Defense Department recently reported that almost a quarter (23%) of potential enlistees cannot pass the basic reading and math entrance examinations. A May 11, 2010 Associated Press article stated that about a third of incoming U.S. college students need to take at least one remedial course, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The results of a survey that was published in the July 16, 2010 issue of The Week magazine showed that 26% of Americans did not know that the United States won it's independence from England, with some people in that 26% naming Mexico, France and China. I am sorry I do not share Mr.Shields view of our public schools but based on hard results and experiences, they are anything but superior.

- Mr. Shields maintains that our national safety and defense is protected by the brave men and women of our armed forces, an assertion no one cannot disagree with. However, an important follow on question is needed: at what cost? The Defense Department budget is now in excess of over $800 billion or so, more than 20% of the entire Federal budget. We have hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops stationed all over the world, many serving a purpose that no longer exists. We have tens of thousands of troops in Europe to protect against a Communist military strike. However, that potential is now zero but we spend billions of dollars a year guarding against it.

We have tens of thousands of troops in Japan to guard against what? No one seems to have any idea but it is still billions of dollars wasted. We have almost 30,000 troops in South Korea, despite the fact that a vibrant South Korean economy is strong enough to provide the men and resources to protect itself. More billions of dollars wasted. We still have 50,000 troops in Iraq despite the fact the current President campaigned to get them all out long ago. More billions of dollars wasted annually.

Yes, Mr. Shields, we are thankful for the brave men and women in our armed forces. We are not thankful for the politicians that refuse to stop fighting the wrong and/or non-existent threats and potentially bankrupting the nation in the process with an over sized and inefficient military budget process.

- Most would agree with Mr. Shields that the air with breathe and the water we drink is cleaner and healthier than it probably was several decades ago. This is probably one of the few Federal government areas, pollution control and monitoring, where discernible progress has been made over the past several decades.
However, just how good is the EPA from a pollution mitigation perspective? An April 16, 2010 article in Newsweek magazine asserted that over 720 U.S. companies have been in "continuous violation" of air pollution laws for years. Does not sound like the government is really do all that great of a job if hundreds of air pollution violators can go unpunished for years.

And what about the BP oil spill disaster earlier this year? The government was caught totally unprepared to cope with such massive water pollution. Government employees responsible for oil rig safety have been shown to be preoccupied searching for pornography on their government computers, they did not conduct the required number of safety inspections, many of them admitted to drug addiction habits and usage while on the job, and many were so preoccupied with getting a private sector oil industry job that they may have been derelict in their safety job requirements. As a result of this faulty government oversight, we now have a likely ecological disaster for years to come that may have an impact on Mr. Shields' grandkids down the road from a food safety and recreation perspective.

- Most Americans would probably agree that current government employees and politicians do accomplish many worthwhile activities such as food safety, building safety, air travel safety, libraries, police protection and fire protection. However, they are supposed to to these kinds of activities, they should not be singled out for extraordinary commendations for simply doing their jobs.

- Most would also agree on many other points brought out in the article but Mr. Shields gives government credit for acts that took effect long ago. Ending segregation, passing ant-discrimination laws, maintaining copyright and patent processes, etc. were all done by past generations of government and politicians, not today's political class. This is what today's government and political class has given us

A political process that is riddled with earmarks and the corruption of money from unions, PACs, and corporations, money that overwhelms the needs and desires of ordinary American citizens.
Gerrymandered Congressional districts and primary processes designed to do what is best for the major political powers and the political incumbents, regardless of what is best for the voters in those Congressional districts.
Dozens of SEC employees that have been shown to be totally preoccupied with on-the-job Internet pornography searching as the financial infrastructure of the country melted down into the Great Recession.
A Federal Reserve Board, a Treasury Department, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, FHA, numerous Senate and House Of Representatives committees and subcommittees and droves of government economists that never saw the coming of the Great Recession until it hit them in the face, resulting in high levels of unemployment, the destruction of retirement wealth for millions of Americans, and the systemic destruction of the housing and mortgage industry.
A failure when it comes to the war on drugs as a violent, lawless state, consumed by the drug cartels, evolves just south of our borders.
A failure when it comes to developing a comprehensive and rationale energy policy, more than thirty years after the oil crises of the 1970s showed how much such a policy was needed.
A failure when it comes to national security, resulting in over three thousand civilian deaths on 9-11, years after such a threat was obvious from terrorism due to the first World Trade Center bombing, the African embassy bombings, and the U.S.S. Cole attack.
A failure when it comes to secure borders and a rationale immigration policy.
Extremely high taxation rates, rates that inhibit freedom of choice in this country. When a citizen is paying over 40% of their earnings to all levels of government in taxes and fees, the ability to start a new business, send one's kids to better schools, save for retirement, contribute to a favorite charity, etc. is severely limited. There cannot be political freedom without financial freedom and Mr. Shields' grandkids are heading into a future in this country where freedom is more or less a distant memory.
And worse of all, especially when it comes to Mr. Shields' grandkids, an ever growing and ever dangerous national debt has been thrust upon their future. Before his two grandkids hit second grade, they already are responsible for over $42,000 of the Federal government's national debt (dividing the $13 TRILLION of national debt by the 308 million or so current U.S.citizens). It does not matter how safe the Federal government makes our food or our drugs or our air safety. Unless skyrocketing the national debt is tamed, all other government functions become moot. At the point where the financials of the nation collapses, I am sure that patent protection and copyright protection and the like will not be pressing issues.

And what is our government and political class doing about all of these crises? Apparently not much. Consider a quote from President Obama that appeared in the August 10, 2009 edition of the New York Times: "I've got a lot on my plate and it's very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don't all just crash at the same time." Obviously, those running the country now do not see any great urgency if they plan to tackle the major issues one at a time. Unfortunately, for Mr. Shields' grandkids, and the rest of us, these problems will get worse and worse before the political class ever gets to them, reducing our freedom and financial stability going forward.

We have truly entered into an era, of what David Brooks called in a recent New York Times article, of "immobile government." An era where incompetence, bureaucracy, and partisan politics results in a public sector whose successes get fewer and less impactful going forward. This is not due to the hard working government employees but to the insular and out-of touch political class that leads them. So, with all due respect to Mr. Shields position, I am less thankful "what government does for those whom we love." I am more scared by what government does not do or does wastefully or inefficiently for those whom we love.

Forensic Science Technician - Job Description and Requirements

2014-01-01T04:18:00.000-08:00

With the growing importance of technology in crime solving, law enforcement is increasingly turning to a the skills of a forensic science technician to solve today's most difficult crimes. Beginning a career in forensic sciences requires that you earn a degree from an accredited school to give you the skills necessary to work in this growing field.

Since forensic technicians provide professional collection and analysis of crime scene evidence, it is necessary to obtain specialized scientific training. While the job requirements will vary depending on the local or state agency you are employed by, in general technicians are expected to have an associates or bachelor's degree with a focus in chemistry, biology, or, ideally, forensic science.

As the field becomes more competitive, the growing number of dedicated forensic science degree paths can give you an advantage over applicants with general scientific training. Further, you'll want to ensure you have some work experience in scientific law enforcement, as well as research training in a forensic lab. In a lab setting, you'll require a variety of skills that you develop in coursework ranging from organic chemistry to statistics.

You will be expected to conduct DNA, fingerprint, handwriting and tissue sample analysis, as well as ballistics measurement using specialized equipment. In addition to measurement, reporting of result is a core part of the career, and you should be prepared to present laboratory evidence in a scientific manner.

Outside of the lab, forensic science technicians are expected to bring a working knowledge of law enforcement structure. It's important to gain educational and practical experience with the criminal justice field, as you'll be working closely with government agencies ranging from prosecutors to police offices and private laboratories.

In order to develop this set of skills, it is highly recommended that you supplement your scientific coursework with courses in law, criminal justice and political science, all of which will help reinforce your broader skill set. Working directly with a law enforcement agency as an intern will give you the necessary hands on skills that will allow you to begin working as a technician. No matter how impressive your scientific skills are, you will ultimately be judged by the quality of your work product, including your interactions with government officials.

Familiarity with the court case process will help you to work with the entire agency and allow you to transition to a career as a professional technician with relative ease. Seek a balance course load that prepares you for all aspects of your forensic career, and you'll be in a strong position when applying for a technical position. Louis Zhang, Certforensictechnician.com

Should I Study Any of the Social Sciences in College?

2013-12-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

Many high school students going onto a four year college have a rather hard time picking out what to study. And you have to admit it is indeed problematic, after all whatever they pick to study will cost them a pretty penny and it better be something that gives them a return on investment if they are to pay off all those student loans right?

So, let us say the student is not really into the sciences, medicine, computers, and chooses to chase a social science degree. This becomes a really tough choice. For instance if they pick history, will they really learn history? History is something that we continually re-write based on politics, power, and control. Victors re-write the history always. And as one person said; "they just re-arrange the piles of crap to keep you on your feet, besides unless you were there, you can't know."

Well, how about a degree in law, politics or economics, as there are jobs available and you might actually learn something right? Ha ha ha. Okay, let's take that premise and consider this. First, Law cannot be learned, oh sure, you can learn some theory and memorize some laws, but it's constantly changing. And really it's all gray, never black and white, it just appears to be.

Politics is sound and fury, and while it is interesting, it really is quite a disgusting field to be in. Economics is funny, because it is obvious that no one has a clue, and in a room with 100 economists to the global economic crisis, you get 100 different answers.

Okay that leaves; Business and management. Of course, business shouldn't be taught by professors who've never done it, I just laugh at them, they are mostly clueless. The more prestigious business schools are worthy, they have actual business people from industry teaching, but have you seen the cost lately? Yes, well, I can see why college students are so confused really. Please consider this and don't default on your student loans, I already pay enough in taxes.

Obama and the Politics of Love - A Scientific Perspective

2013-12-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

Politics: It's a love thang

If President Barack Obama were to christen his ship of state, it would perhaps be appropriate to name it The Love Boat. When I listened to Obama's now-famous speech in Cairo in June, 2009, it occurred to me that Obama was the first world leader to wield his personal loveability as a tool of international statecraft.

Of course, other leaders past and present have been the objects of national and international affection -- Gandhi, Mandela, and Kennedy, to name but a few. However, given the vast reach of the digital media today, and given further the USA's global hegemony, and given in addition Obama's multi-cultural and bi-racial appeal, it seems likely that Obama has become the most beloved leader in world history.

In Cairo, Obama not only personified a loveable America, he also portrayed America as a country capable of respect and love for others, most especially Muslims. He did all this without ever addressing the obvious and inconvenient fact that lasting peace will not come to the Middle East until the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank is substantially reversed (meaning that most Israeli settlements will have to be relinquished). However, given the large number of Israeli settlements currently flourishing in the West Bank, a reversal of that occupation is extremely unlikely anytime soon. This may be why Obama's Cairo speech projected a promise of love, but avoided specific commitments. Was Obama whispering sweet nothings in the world's ear?

The impact of the speech was widely debated at home and abroad, but when frustrated Iranians began to take to the streets in protests a few days later, one had to wonder if they were not in fact partly motivated by a need to have a leader they, too, could love. Perhaps Obama's love machine had scored its first victory in Iran? But then...missiles continue to rain down on Israeli territory. Hate remained healthy.

Which leads one now to ask: Are Obama's politics of love likely to work? Is Obama the world's Mr. Right, or is he just another sweet-talking heart-breaker?

This line of enquiry allows me to rehash one of the world's oldest questions: what is love? And: what is the role of love in politics? And further: is it a good thing -- or a bad thing -- that we love our leaders?

So, let's talk about love

The evolution of love

There has been a lot of scholarship and research on love in the past century, so we can look at love from a number of perspectives. There are different elements of love (lust, attraction, intimacy, sharing, commitment) and different kinds of love (romantic love, parental love, brotherly love, hero worship, etc.). In this essay, I want to focus especially on that particular kind of love that we shower on leaders and heroes, and which is sometimes referred to as hero-worship or celebrity-worship.

For those who may have forgotten, let me remind you that love feels good. As James Brown put it eloquently, it feels "so good, so good." This makes sound evolutionary sense. Romantic love provides us with an overpowering stimulus to seek out and mate with individuals who are genetically well-suited to us (sorry to make it sound so clinical, since it can be quite fun in practice). Feelings of parental love help ensure the survival of our genes and therefore our species. Feelings of social love encourage us to seek out and associate ourselves with trustworthy, competent, helpful, knowledgeable people. Throughout evolutionary history, love helped us survive. It still helps us survive. From an evolutionary perspective, we could say that humans are capable of love because love must have long served a powerful adaptive function. In other words: Love works.

When we love a leader we are more likely to emulate that leader's positive qualities. Americans, more than citizens of other countries, look to their President to serve as the nation's Example-in-Chief, a living incarnation of the republic's virtues (or more accurately, the virtues the nation aspires to). Obama's imperturbable calm and long-range vision may be exactly the personal qualities that Americans will need to traverse a long and gloomy economic wilderness.

They say that breaking up is hard to do

Despite the undeniable satisfactions of hero-love or hero-worship, there are obviously strong drawbacks when it goes too far. Brain scan research has revealed that the brain patterns of people in the first throes of love are not that different from the brain patterns of people suffering mental illness. More specifically, romantic love is blind - on this the modern scientists confirm the age-old verdict of the poets.

While the brain's dopamine reward system is turned on by love (the same brain chemistry that drives drug addiction), the centers of the brain associated with critical judgment and negative emotions are switched off. When we are infatuated, we no longer see the beloved one's faults and vices, and won't believe it if our friends and family point them out. When the realization finally comes, it can be brutal.

As the child famously entreated the corrupt baseball player, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" Like our lovers, we want our heroes to remain perfect and - since humans are never perfect - we are perpetually disappointed. Sporting scandals and political scandals share a common aspect of adolescent disillusionment.

For this reason many of us, after a certain age, stop worshipping sports idols or musical celebrities. We realize that their unique and amazing talents do not necessarily correlate with any other admirable moral qualities.

Where does that leave us with Obama? Are the world's liberals acting like love-struck teen-agers, blind to his faults? As is always the case in politics, there will be more than two sides to a complete answer. For the time being, let me conclude with another venerable truism which has been confirmed by modern science. Sometimes infatuation turns into lasting love, and sometimes it doesn't. A young, handsome President at the beginning of his term is as irresistible as a dewy-eyed Romeo, but by the end of his term he may be as lonely and forlorn as old King Lear.

Whether Obama's initial appeal earns him the lasting affections of the nation will depend, as in happy marriages, on the transformation of passion into trust. Promises will have to be converted into actions if the relationship is to work. As in all affairs of the heart, only time can tell.

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Political Correctness and Human Righteousness

2013-12-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

While we talk about political correctness ad nauseam, we sometimes tend to overlook the perpetrators of this noxious activity. Just who are the ones who act as the enforcing agents; who are the, ugh, police people? Who are these self-appointed moral vigilantes who continue to impose their views on us?

Well, for starters, I suggest we look at the work place to see what we can come up with. It appears those who would remind us of what is correct and not correct at work seem to be none other than the Human Resources people. Rather than spend their time rectifying the despicable compensatory behavior of their bosses or trying to preserve a modicum of traditional employee benefits, they seem hell bent on pointing out the ABC's of what some greedy consultant told them was proper corporate behavior. I recall years ago when I was braced by one of these types for using the phrase "mensch" while referring to a Jewish associate. (Mensch means a caring, decent and honorable person who can be trusted and who always tries to do the right thing.) Given the horror in this lad's eyes, you would have thought I had just been booked for a stay at Pelican Bay. I do recall, however, that this same "enforcer" was discharged some years later for a rather explicit sexual harassment incident. These types, while probably well intended, seem to spend too much time finger pointing and otherwise acting as corporate enforcers, and not enough time demonstrating a modicum of courage in doing something about the obscenely excessive severance packages granted to those who fail. Indeed, during the period of corporate accounting scandals from 2001 -2003, HR people were shamefully invisible when they they should have been spending their time serving as protectors of company values.

At many schools, we have the administrators to help us behave properly......and to help make their task easier, they have a one size fits all approach; namely, the dreaded, take-no-prisoners bastion of political correctness, the zero-tolerance policy. If ever there was a road to hell paved with righteous intentions, this is the one. Think not? A 10-year-old girl at McElwain Elementary in Thornton, Col., was one of a group of girls who asked a certain boy on the playground if he liked her. The boy complained to a teacher with the result that school administrators, citing the district's "zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy," decided to suspend her. Nothing like spreading penut butter to evade consideration of each individual's personal history and the intentions that inspired their actions. Zero-tolerance policies do just that. They deny the unique worth and dignity of every student by homogenizing the playing field. How about reconsidering concepts like mediation, negotiation, forgiveness, compassion, and empathy? How about making zero-tolerance a last resort rather than the first option?

And as we look at the greater community in which we function, the PC police seem to be everywhere telling us, for example, how to speak and act. We have to be fearful of what we say, write, and think. We are fearful of using a word denounced as offensive or insensitive. Maintenance cover instead of manhole cover. Strawman is now straw; chairman is now chairperson, assemblyman is assembly person. When will selectmen become selectpeople? No more using the words cowboy or cowgirl, landlady, or landlord. The phrase Founding Fathers has been removed from America's textbooks and, if used at all, is replaced with "framers." Illegal immigrants are now referred to as "undocumented immigrants." Easter vacation is now spring break and Christmas is winter break. You can't sing traditional Carols in our public schools any more. But the PC police are involved in more than just changing words. In New Jersey, even though there had been patients across the nation who may have been infected by their dentists with AIDS and then died, NJ health providers who are HIV-positive do not need to tell their patients that they are so infected. Almost as scary, The Boulder City, Colorado Town Council will soon be taking up the matter of allocating public funding for a "hate hotline," which would give residents an opportunity to report incidents in which Boulderites use tactless language. No "mensch" comments in Boulder.

Political correctness is alive and well in religion, too. As just one example, we find that some foster intellectual supression by ostracizing others who wish to preserve the sanctity of science by keeping so-called intelligent design out of the public classrom.

The beat goes on and on, but if it were just about politeness and good manners, no big deal. However, it's about a lot more and it's time we acknowledge that this insanity is changing our society from within and that we, the the citizens of this nation, are increasingly censoring ourselves and losing our freedom of speech out of fear of socially engineered repression. We also need to understand that those who enforce political correctness are enforcing nothing more than an illusion. A dogma, a creation, if you will, to keep people in check and and from running amuck. A creation that in turn generates its own bodies of work, entire fields of study, and even new uses of language to go with them. In this strange universe, the rules of engagement are so vague no one is quite sure how to challenge them and yet we labor to incorporate them into our lives. Unless we begin to push back, more people will lose their careers, children their privileges, citizens ostracized, all because the fashionable and appropriate behavior of the day is so oblique no one can possibly see what exactly they are to do. Very insidiously and subtlety, we seem to be creating for ourselves an intellectual handicap that limits free-thinking, irreverence, push back, being analytically independent and/or intellectually curious.

The real shame is that we seem to turn away from the simple and move to the complex each and every time. We know what is innately and instinctively the right thing to do in any given situation, what behavior to display at what moment. But until we learn to follow our own simplest behaviors, how can we possibly be correct about anything? Perhaps some of us are tuned to a higher and more eloquent frequency, but each of us knows the small, easy-to-understand truths that are so manifest........ no insulting, show kindness, be sensitive and empathetic to the feelings of others, be honest and frank, but in so doing try to cause no pain, avoid securing laughs at somebody'e else expense, understand that no one is any "better" than anyone else, and above all, realize that the intent of your communication may not always square with the way it is received. Being wounded by a warning shot is still being wounded.

In the words of Wendy McElroy, "Sweeping up the debris of political correctness means demolishing the laws, the institutions and the tax-funded bureaucracies that are its structure. But it also means eliminating the vicious attitudes of intolerance and anger that are its spirit." More to the point are these words of Anthony D'Angelo, "transcend political correctness and strive for human righteousness."

"If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed." Benjamin Franklin, statesman, philosopher, publisher, and scientist (1706-1790)