Goodwillwrites@yahoo.com

Tuesday, April 22, 2014


Topics in today's lengthy, trip-delayed posting: Happy Easter; Denver's dubious Easter Sunday distinction; Patriot's Day, 2014; tulips and windmills; Out of Africa; a sad CO anniversary; American jihadists; retired senator Alan Simpson (R, WY); jobs outlook; income inequality; the future of democracy; education and testing; 

HAPPY EASTER, TO ALL! Here in Denver, those who journeyed to Denver's famed Red Rocks Amphitheater for the traditional Easter Sun Rise service  were treated to the always spectacular scenery and fair weather, a lightly veiled eastern sunrise, and, to the west, snow-covered peaks, blue skies, and a 3/4 moon. The music of Easter is always a feast for the ears.

Denver's other, dubious distinction on Easter Sunday. Later in the day, the atmosphere over Denver's downtown Civic Park was less than clear as thousands lit up to celebrate the now annal April 20th "pot day." Alarmingly (?) metro Denver now has more "botanical" outlets (aka pot shops) than Starbucks.


April 21, 2014.  A special Patriot's Day for both Bostonians and the nation. I've never run Boston, but I have been on Boylston Street to cheer on runners at the finish line. A truly emotional experience. Ironically, this Patriot's Day coincided with the 88th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. 



Back home from Netherlands and Belgium.  First, a short geography lesson. The country is the Netherlands which has as two of its provinces, North and South Holland. Hence, the common misnomer, Holland.
     Christine and I enjoyed "Tulips and Windmills," our latest Viking River cruise. The weather gods cooperated with only one slightly drizzly day, otherwise it was partly cloudy and blustery. Flowers were in full bloom, though, sadly the daffodils had come and gone. On April 11th, we were treated to a magnificent display at the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens: acres and acres of brightly colored tulips and grape hyacinths. We were fortunate because last year at this same time the gardens remained snow covered.
     Close inspection of the flower garden displays acquaints the visitor with how tulips in the fields are harvested, not for their flowers but, rather, their bulbs. The "life" of flowers in the field is indeed short, just long enough to bloom, then they are "topped," cut off in preparation for harvesting the bulbs for shipment around the world.
     Dams, breakwaters, dikes, etc. One of our tours was to the famed water control system engineered along the Dutch coast of the North Sea. This is far, far beyond the superhuman efforts of that mythical Dutch boy! In fact, we learned that Dutch engineers are busily at work world-wide with water control projects. Climate change and rising sea levels promise employment well into the future.
     Curtains. The Dutch have a long tradition of leaving their curtain undrawn, both for maximum light and also from the long tradition of "showing off" either their relative austerity or wealth. This seemed true in both the larger cities and smaller villages. Of course, in the larger cities, the ground floor is generally given over to commerce; but, we found open curtains in the smaller villages. Whatever the reason, Dutch windows usually have flowers prominently displayed.
     Bicycles. Unless you have been to Amsterdam, you probably have never seen a 4-story bicycles-only parking garage, bringing a whole new meaning to that senior moment, "Now where did I park!" Apparently, the bicyclists become quite "attached" to their specific parking spot, so beware if you are a newbie on the block. Dutch city streets and roadways are bounded on both sides by a bicycle lane -- be forewarned, the bicyclist has the right of way. For the uninitiated, city walking requires extreme caution and an entirely new mind set. Every bike its bell, so listen up!

A favorite movie. An unlikely Easter choice, but "Out of Africa" remains one of my favorites. The low-level arial sequences over the East African veld are spectacular, harkening back to an Africa that is all too rapidly disappearing. Near the end of the movie, Baroness von Blixen (aka Isak Dennison, played by Meryl Streep) holds a rummage sale which, with its unsold cuckoo cuckoo clock, are symbolic of the end of an era. So, too, are the silhouetted lone Kikuyu warrior, the funeral oration for her lover, and the lions at his grave site. Long, long ago my father gave me a copy of Something of Value by Robert Ruark, an historical novel about the 1950s Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, kindling a life-long interest in East Africa.

The Ludlow Massacre, a sad CO anniversary.  This month Coloradans remembered the 100th anniversary of the infamous Ludlow Massacre. In the early 20th century, the fatality rate in CO's southeastern coalfields was roughly double the national mining rate. (Mining and agriculture then ranked as America's two most dangerous occupations.) After three horrific mine explosions in 1910 killed more than 200 miners, inflamed passions exploded in what has come to be called the CO coalfield wars. All three mine blasts were attributed to poor mine safety and served to spur on attempts at unionization by the miners. At the behest of the owners of Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I), Governor Ammons had ordered the National Guard into the coalfields to put down mine-related violence. On April 20, 1914, at Ludlow, soldiers entered the miners's tent city, where the resulting fatalities included two women, twelve children, one passerby, one guardsman, and the execution of three union members. A photograph of a union-sponsored demonstration in Trinidad, CO, shows one young boy carrying a sign declaring, "We Represent the CF&I Prosperity Slaves." The Colorado Heritage magazine (CO Historical Society), March - April 2014 issue is dedicated to this era in CO mining. http://www.historycolorado.org/adult-visitors/colorado-heritage-magazine

America jihadists. There has been a spate of reports about young Americans who have joined various Syrian rebel groups, received military training, and are now engaged in the fighting against government forces. One recurrent concern: what will happen if/when these young jihadists return to the United States.

Charm and common sense in the US Senate.  The world's "greatest deliberative body" has certainly been lessened since the retirement of Alan Simpson (R, WY).  The gentleman from the Cowboy state could always be counted on for an apropos quip or story, more often than not one with a large dash of wry humor and/or truth.  Here is a link to a recent story that resulted from a call from Jennifer Jacobs of the Des Moines Register. I especially like Simpson's response about how Democrats in NV insured the re-election of Harry Reid.  Who ever said money in politics was all bad? http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2014/03/25/pieces-of-nekkid-wisdom-from-an-82-year-old-ex-u-s-senator/article?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

Where will the jobs go?  Harold Meyerson's recent Washington Post column told a potentially sad tale for the future of the American workforce. As he notes towards the end of the column, if the statistics are wrong by one-third, even by one-half, many of today's jobs will vanish at an astonishing rate and workers must prepare for what jobs remain/are created.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/harold-meyerson-technology-and-trade-policy-is-pointing-america-toward-a-job-apocalypse/2014/03/26/ba331784-b513-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html?hpid=z3

Income inequality.  How to "raise up" some of the poor without upsetting the entire apple cart?  As Charles Lane writes, doing so means "...getting Washington to stop some policies that skew after-tax income distribution upward..." This path will threaten some very "sacred cows," e.g. residential real estate interest rules, treatment of home sale capital gains, etc. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-lane-fixing-one-driver-of-inequality-may-hit-close-to-home-for-some-progressives/2014/03/26/c00afa3c-b4ff-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html


The future of democracy. This linked article deserves notice. Is the future of democracy tied to the fate of America and Great Britain? History tells us that Athenian democracy came and went in 250 years; America is approaching this mark and the signs of chaos seem to bode ill for the future. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-american-democracy-headed-to-extinction/2014/03/28/f8084fbe-aa34-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html


Science...has been much in the news in recent days. Waves in space/time, "lost" Martian water, and this article about the little known, true "father" of the scientific method. Most westerners would likely give Bacon, Newton, Galileo, even Aristotle as their best guess, but the most likely candidate might be a devout Muslim with the impossibly long name, Abu Ali al-Hassan ibn al-Hassan ibn al-Haytham. His 11th century work on optics and his desire that others actually "see" (verify) what he did became known as the scientific method.

http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/03/the_muslim_scientist_who_birthed_the_scientific_method.html

Testing kids.  For a retired teacher, the story's headline was, to say the least, dispiriting: "My job is now about testing and data -- not children. I quit." [emphasis added] Unfortunately, more and more teachers are having similar qualms about the their profession. Politicians and educators alike seem more interested in what is easily verifiable (test scores), less about knowledge for life-long learning and employment. A/B/C/D or True/False! Please forget questions requiring critical thinking skills. These are far too hard to grade and, besides, they require costly, thinking adult evaluators. Besides, you know, "One man's ceiling is another man's floor."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/23/kindergarten-teacher-my-job-is-now-about-tests-and-data-not-children-i-quit/?hpid=z9

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a pleasant week.

No comments:

Post a Comment