Raw Basement Tapes Blog

2009-01-28T08:59:00.001-05:00

Its a Snow Day in Temp Nation. We workin' from home!

2009-01-26T23:44:00.001-05:00

testing out ping.fm for simultaneous posting to my social networks

My Town Immigration: A Few Thoughts

2008-08-30T23:09:00.008-04:00

About eight years ago, there are next to no Mexicans in my town. Lately, Mexicans -- nearly all from Oaxaca -- are easily the biggest minority in town. In this 4,500+-population town there are Mexican restaurants, convenience stores and more. Just like in SoCal, there is a place where guys congregate in the morning, making themselves available for work. The local community health center has had to add bilingual workers, and local drug stories do a tidy business in phone cards that allow callers to call Mexico cheaply.

Suddenly, our small park evenings are filled with guys playing soccer or basketball. The local school now has kids coming in that speak little English, making it necessary for the school to hire translators. The local pantry, formerly place where area homeless people went to supplement their diet, now has a Mexican majority. Likewise the local thrift store. Likewise a lot of places.

I am to the left of Ron Dellums on most issues. However, what has been happening to my town has given me pause. The US, conservative on many areas, tolerates illegal immigration. It lets kids of illegals who are born here become full citizens. It allows kids to go to school and provides free healthcare. We are much more tolerant of illegal immigrants that pretty much other developed country, who for the most part ghettoize folk or treat them as less than human.

I think the best of all worlds would do away with borders entirely. People can create laws, but people will find away around them. Basically, people will find a way to get to places that allow them and their families access to a better life. People in developed countries get lazy and shun the kind of work their forefathers happily took on. They don't want to work 18 hours a day, and they don't for the most part want to work with their hands.

You don't have to go very far to see the passions this whole situation engenders. Go to any newspaper site or open discussion forum. People complain about Mexicans, Brazilians, whomever. They dream of an American that simply doesn't exist any more. Where minorities were minorities and acted like minorities. And now there's this guy called Obama. What is the world coming to?

There are no easy solutions. About the only thing Bush got right during his presidency was his "guest worker" proposal. McCain, the senator of a border state, saw the sense of it also. But the Republican base doesn't like it. There are people who think that the whole mess would be solved by forcibly exporting folk back to Mexico. But come on, that's not going to happen. Forget the morality of the thing. Can you imagine how much it would cost?

Me, I mostly get to practice my Spanish. The guys'll talk with me, but the women mostly just look straight ahead. They are focused on their kids, getting them into schools, getting them ready to exploit this new rich land.

My little town, now like a lot of towns across the USA.

It's a brown nation now, Amelia. Getting more so every day.

The Reappearance of Rev. Wright: Black on Black Crime

2008-04-30T12:07:00.002-04:00

The sudden rash of press conferences by Rev. Jeremiah Wright seemed to me like a classic example of one African American tearing another one down. Not a naive man, Wright must have known that his rantings could have the effect of crippling Obama's candidacy. But Wright didn't really care. His interest was in advancing his own misinformed agenda, not matter what the fallout.
Perhaps this is an isolated case, but I can't help but think of this as yet another example of one African American male cutting another African American male down to size. Wright, maybe unconsciously, is saying to Obama: "you aren't really all THAT. And let me remind you of who you really are."

Hillary, the Inevitable

2007-09-30T10:56:00.000-04:00

I love this comment about the probable Democratic nominee:

Maureen Dowd quotes, The New Republic's Leon Wieseltier,

�??She�??s never going to get out of our faces. ... She�??s like some hellish housewife who has seen something that she really, really wants and won�??t stop nagging you about it until finally you say, fine, take it, be the damn president, just leave me alone.�??

Building Citizen Journalism Microsites

2007-08-23T21:51:00.000-04:00

A blast to be involve with building citizen journalism microsites such as this one. A good challenge to overcome my deep-seated laziness. A good way to bring to bear all that I have learned.

Not only "your brain on drugs", but your money too...

2006-11-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS | Europe | Drug use 'behind crumbling euros'

Users of the drug crystal methamphetamine may be causing euro banknotes to disintegrate, German police have told Der Spiegel magazine.

Online Scam Resource

2006-08-22T11:23:00.000-04:00

This site monitors online scams. Found out about this service while responding to an e-mail from someone who saw my resume on Monster.com. Decided to Google the name of the company where the e-mail was from. Well, well!! This is a very good resource.

Borderless World

2006-06-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

As the above article on Africa-Europe migration suggests, illegal immigration is a worldwide concern. But the simple fact is that people will continue to try to go to where they perceive are better opportunities. Just as governments seek to keep outsiders out, China -- the world's most populous country -- tries to keep information out. But the advance of information technology makes this a battle that they will ultimately lose. People want to be free to go where they choose; information wants to be free to go where it chooses.

I can feel you resisting, but humor me for a moment and consider that a borderless world is an inevitability. Put your political viewpoint aside and engage this intellectual exercise: Say you are a global planner working under contract to the world's governments. You've been charged with the task of creating an orderly transition plan to a borderless world.

What will be your first and subsequent steps?
How might you minimize the expected chaos?
What might your borderless world eventually look like?
What, if any, are the upsides of a borderless world?

Spring: In From the Cold

2006-05-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

Been a long time since I posted anything. A metaphor for the darkness I've seen.

In the darkness, one forgets that light exists.

When the dawn appears, warmth and memory returns.

Along with questions:

What strategies might I use to keep the darkness away?

How can I productively live blending light and shadow?

"Worst President in History" -- Here's what a guy who worked for Bush now says...

2005-10-24T15:05:00.000-04:00

How Scary Is This? - New York Times: "Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, addressed the administration's arrogance and ineptitude in a talk last week that was astonishingly candid by Washington standards.

'We have courted disaster in Iraq, in North Korea, in Iran,' said Mr. Wilkerson. 'Generally, with regard to domestic crises like Katrina, Rita ... we haven't done very well on anything like that in a long time. And if something comes along that is truly serious, something like a nuclear weapon going off in a major American city, or something like a major pandemic, you are going to see the ineptitude of this government in a way that will take you back to the Declaration of Independence.'"

Comments?

Jello Gets Hit with the Smartphone Bug

2005-10-08T22:06:00.000-04:00

Well, I did it. I went and got myself a Samsung i730 Smartphone. My Palm semi-crashed and I used that excuse to go to the Verizon store. Despite my relatively impoverished state, I was tired of carrying around a pda and a phone and wanted a portable device that did everything. I settled on the Samsung, because it DOES everything. I've spent much of the weekend studying it plus accessorizing it. Perhaps I'll soon get down to doing some "actual work."

Anyway, I found this link on free phone software you might find interest...Free is sometimes good and sometimes not..."Buyer" beware.

"Free mobile software websites

By Wendong on Palm OS

1. GetJar

Via vehera.symbiandevelopersjournal.com.

GetJar.com is a good site to get free Java, Symbian, Palm or Pocket PC Softwares. And it provides device-specific RSS feeds, so you can monitor free software based on your phone model.

2. phonefreeware.com

J2ME Freeware
S60 Freeware
UIQ Freeware

3. midlet.org

This website is around for a long time.

4. midlet-review.com

It lists some free games

5. palmopensource.com

A great resource site for Palm OS. But it also has a list of open source projects for Pocket PC.

"Everybody's a Writer" Dept

2005-10-04T20:26:00.000-04:00

"We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
- Robert Wilensky"

The Big Dog -- Bill Clinton -- Speaks Out on Bush

2005-09-18T20:13:00.000-04:00

"WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US president
Bill Clinton sharply criticised George W. Bush for the
Iraq War and the handling of Hurricane Katrina, and voiced alarm at the swelling US budget deficit.

Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq 'virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction.'"

Comment: We need some Democrats to stand up and tell the truth. Complicit with the ill-advised Afghanistan and Iraq adventures, some Democrats are finally loosening their tongues. The Katrina debacle is the reason.

I ony hope someone on the aspirant Presidential scene appears who will stand up and tell the truth, not play polling games.

Reading is Overrated: Part Two

2005-09-17T10:25:00.000-04:00

Many people thought I was crazy to voice the sentiments expressed in my article, Writing is Overrated. I feel a little vindicated to find that there is at least one other person -- this one with a pedigree!-- who shares the same views.

elearningpost blog...

"The Power of Conversation

Paul Hartzog following up on a statement made by Dr. Tom Malloy of the University of Utah �?? �??I don�??t read anymore; I just talk to people who have.�??

�??When two people have a conversation, they act as proxies for the many ideas in their heads which are drawn from the many things they have read. In effect, a conversation is a many-to-many interaction that is both mediated and moderated by the participants. The individuals catalog, sort, tag, and filter ideas as they are drawn into the shared space of the conversation.�??">elearningpost

Good News from From William Gibson's Blob

2005-09-17T09:57:00.000-04:00

On the writer's blog 7/31/05

"I am. I am writing. Just as some of you have guessed.

Never the most linear of processes, for yours truly, but something is starting to rise, in the spectral ringing hangar of the Novel Department. Looks like the Spruce Goose but with more wings. Why is there a tail at either end? My friends, we can only wait and see. No smoking here, hardhat at all times, steel-toed brogues, lumpy demob suit, loose lips sinking ships..."

When people ask Tom Waits where he's been 'til recently, he tells 'em "stuck in traffic". And, boy, do I ever know what he means. But then again it's all part of the pro-cess.

Pass me that caulking-gun, Eugene, I just spotted a nasty recess in the flank of our synopsis here..." -- William Gibson<

"The World Loves George Bush" Dept.

2005-09-09T10:08:00.000-04:00

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A conservative German minister in a southern state has caused uproar by saying U.S. President George W. Bush should be "shot down" for his handling of the crisis in hurricane-struck New Orleans.

Andreas Renner, Social Minister in Germany's southern state of Baden-Wuertemberg, clarified later that he had only meant Bush should be downed politically.

Bush's Real Agenda

2005-08-31T21:35:00.000-04:00

Hertzberg, telling the truth, writing in the New Yorker...

"the Bush Administration�??s top priority, not excluding fighting terrorism: the use of the tax code to transfer wealth to the rich and, especially, the superrich."

The Angry Arab News Service/�?�?ا�?ة أ�?باء ا�?عرب�? ا�?غاضب

2005-08-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

The Angry Arab News Service/�?�?ا�?ة أ�?باء ا�?عرب�? ا�?غاضب I don't know who this guy is or anything about his credibility, but this is a welcome counterbalance to Bushworld

Back in the Saddle Again

2005-06-19T00:59:00.000-04:00

Haven't blogged in some time, but am now in the mood. The degree to which I am social is positively correlated with my self-esteem. So I feel like talking again after a long time. A semi-dark time.

Making Torture Acceptable

2005-03-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's New York Times reported that the CIA has been exporting "terrorists" to places that do not have explicit anti-torture laws. The newspaper documented several instances in which suspects had been transported overseas and subsequently tortured by US allies.

At the same time, Fox "24" television series routinely shows terrorism suspects being tortured by the US anti-terrorism good guys. As the practice seeps into the popular lore, we can perhaps assume that such acts are now acceptable in our so-called civilized society.

When we condemn others who resort to other forms of depravity, we now have no real moral highground to stand on. Other acts of barbarism, such as beheading hostages, differ only in manner of degree. Our condemnation of these acts of barbarism therefore amounts to little more than "the pot calling the kettle black."

Back to my homepage...

Moacir Santos

2005-02-22T14:18:00.000-05:00

Just discovered a two-CD set, Ouro Negro by Brazilian composer Moacir Santos. Can't get the music out of my head. Mature, sophisticated, Brazilian soundtrack jazz.

Marsalis and the death of American jazz innovation

2005-01-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

One wonders if anyone listens to jazz anymore, save old people with lp collections and overeducated New Yorkers. One of the reasons is the ubertraditionalist, Wynthon Marsalis, and his stranglehold on innovation in jazz. Marsalis' position with the Lincoln Center gives him imprimatur status -- the person who gives the stamp of legitimacy on what gets noticed and what gets played. Largely because of him, it can be argued that the American music has stagnated into a swamp of old school traditionalism and experimentalism has moved offshore to places like Paris and Stockholm. This piece contrasts Marsalis' traditionalist approach with one more concerned with being up-to-date that playing politically correct, "in-the-tradition," stale music.

village voice > music > Old School by Francis Davis

Conspiracies

2005-01-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

Spent 4 rather pointless hours watching 24, Fox's weekly winter drama and my guilty pleasure. Now with the "war on terror" commonplace received wisdom, one wonders how many of these conspiracy-type yarns will grace the small screen. Powers would be would have you believe that their are terrorists under every rug.

War on Terror, my a...!

2004-12-05T20:55:00.000-05:00

Glad to see my point of view mirrored in today's New York Times:

"The United States has a strategic problem: its war on terror, unlike its long fight against Communism, is not universally seen as the pivotal global struggle of the age...these continents are more or less united in a critical view of an American power routinely described as hegemonic and intent on using the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to impose what Candido Mendes, a Brazilian political analyst, called "a civilization of fear."

Indeed...