An inside source tells me the lead fiddler for the Old Blind Dogs, a scottish band playing in Albuquerque, could not enter the country because of ‘passport irregularities.’ The photo on his passport had a turned up edge — it might have been tampered with! Thank god he was detained at the border and our defenders couldn’t be persuaded by, say, CD covers, fliers, ads — his fiddle. All that stuff can be faked, you know.
I’m not saying that a Scottish musician should not be subjected to the same examination as anyone else — I’m not for profiling. However, we need to remember every day how ridiculously we reacted to 9/11; we need to remember our own collective madness born of grief. We take off our shoes to protect America. Yeah, good response. mjh
Monthly Archives: May 2005
open land in the village of Los Ranchos
ABQjournal: Village May Buy Open LandBy Carolyn Carlson, Journal Staff Writer
One of the largest pieces of open land in the village of Los Ranchos could stay open space if officials approve a purchase agreement with the owner Wednesday.
Trustees will be asked to approve an agreement with Paul and Kandace Blanchard to buy about 17 acres along the north side of Paseo del Norte between Fourth Street and Rio Grande Boulevard.
“One of the priorities of this administration is to acquire as much open space as possible,” Mayor Larry Abraham said Monday. …
Abraham said prior appraisals of the property showed it was worth about $3.2 million. On Monday, he estimated the purchase price will be close to $2.7 or $2.8 million.
Joe Craig, chairman of the village’s Open Space Committee, has said acquiring the property would be a step in the right direction for the village. He said the land would bring back a community feel to the North Valley, which he said it has lost over the last couple of decades to development. …
Abraham said the village would try to combine the Blanchard property with another 20 acres of open space to the east.
From a regional perspective, acquisition of the Blanchard property creates an open space anchor on the north side of the Rio Grande State Park, he said.
“These pieces (of open space) could be connected by foot, bike and horse trails to create an urban network of what the valley used to be like,” Craig said.
Abraham said another property the village would like to acquire is the largest piece of open land in the village. This is about 50 acres where Anderson Vineyards are located. It could be bought for between $3 million and $5 million, he said.
Abraham said they are still working on ideas for this acquisition.
Is the blogosphere racist?
Fellow blogger Karlos Schmieder asked a question recently:
Is the Blogosphere Racist?
Can we agree on what the blogosphere is? It is not an organization with a leader or central committee (the Web and the Internet are such entities). The blogosphere is a disorganized, organic assembly of people. Which is not to say it cannot be racist — a crowd, a mob, a gang can all be racist.
I think it is fair to define the blogosphere as the creation of those who write and read blogs. To put it in sharper focus: are you and I racist?
No one would be shocked if a middle-aged liberal American straight white male concluded “no, we’re all cool here.” Still, I am entitled to my opinion (and I am so much more than a few obvious facets). I think people are seldom all good or bad — in spite of the examples we can all bring up. Human beings are a mixture of things wonderful and horrible and that mixture is in flux. Regardless of the things we see as dividing us into sub-groups, we are all human beings. We all have the capacity for racism and all of the evils of our kind. Thankfully, we all have the capacity for empathy and love and all of the good of our kind.
I believe one of the things that raised the question was some evidence that the blogosphere is composed of mostly white Americans. And, because the blogosphere is built around links, whites linking to whites — whites not linking to others — may be evidence of racism.
The World Wide Web is about 17 years old. The blogosphere is at most 10. The early days of both were only of interest to nerds, techies, scientists and academics. Gradually, more and more people have fallen under the spell of technology. As more people become involved, the Web becomes more diverse. It is inevitable that it will reflect us perfectly, warts and all.
Anyone can start a blog in 5 minutes. It is far easier than creating a website, not much harder than email. Sure, you need access to a computer and Internet connection (public library); you need some basic skills (public schools); you need to be beyond worrying about surviving poverty (public policies).
There is no question that human beings are hostile to some and generous to others and that as we clump together those feelings aggregate. We are all part of a society that discriminates and is at times racist. We should not deny that nor simply accept that. But one of the things that reminds us we’re all one people is contact, and the Internet has revolutionized contact. Everyone should take advantage of that and contribute to that. Put your life out there. Share. Listen. Empathize. mjh
Start your own blog here:
www.blogger.com
What this war needs is celebrities.
Real Side Radio: Jenna Bush Says “No More Butt Dancing for Me,” Volunteers for Iraq. Media Wakes Up.
Picture Jenna Bush making the announcement, with W’s arm around her shoulders: “I don’t feel right clubbing. I don’t feel right doing the butt dance on bar tables while other women my age are giving life and limb for this country. I’m going to Iraq to show how much I agree with my Dad’s war.”
[mjh: read it all (link above) — it’s blistering.]
the balance of power, which was a vital Christian contribution
Journal Gazette | 04/25/2005 | Frist frosts Democrats with filibuster talk at faith forum
Charles W. Colson, head of Prison Fellowship Ministries [and Nixon’s hatchet man], also appeared by videotape. He said Senate Democrats are trying to use the filibuster “to seize what they lost at the ballot box and to prevent the appointment of judges, holding the judiciary hostage.”? Their actions, he said, “are destroying the balance of power, which was a vital Christian contribution to the founding of our nation.” [?!?!]
James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, spoke from the church’s pulpit and criticized the Supreme Court, seven of whose nine members were named by Republican presidents. The court’s majority, Dobson said, “are unelected and unaccountable and arrogant and imperious and determined to redesign the culture according to their own biases and values, and they’re out of control.”
The Creation Museum
The Creation Museum will proclaim to the world that the Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice and in every area it touches on. This “walk through history” museum will be a wonderful alternative to the evolutionary natural history museums that are turning countless minds against the gospel of Christ and the authority of the Scripture.
LOCATION: The Creation Museum is currently under construction in Petersburg, Kentucky, USA.
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ENSI/SENSI Papers & Articles:Ans. to J. Wells’ 10 Questions
Responses to Jonathan Wells’ “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher”
From the National Center for Science Education
Defending the Teaching of Evolution in the Public Schools
Jonathan Wells, the author of Icons of Evolution, composed “Ten questions to ask your biology teacher about evolution”, based on the anti-evolutionary claims he makes in his book. However, many of Wells’ claims are incorrect or misleading; Icons of Evolution and “Ten questions…” are intended only to create unwarranted doubt in students’ minds about the validity of evolution as good science.
[mjh: follow the closest link above for responses to those questions.]
He’s Fleck — Fleck! — exciting!
ABQjournal: AP Members Confer Honors on Journal
The Albuquerque Journal took first-place honors for science writing, columns and sports writing in the New Mexico Associated Press Managing Editors annual contest.
Awards for excellence in news coverage for 2004 were given in three circulation divisions for newspapers in New Mexico, as well as those along the state borders that receive the New Mexico state AP wire.
Longtime Journal writer John Fleck swept all three places for science writing. …
Science Writing? 1. Albuquerque Journal, Landfill debate deadlocked, John Fleck. 2. Albuquerque Journal, Changing landscape, John Fleck. 3. Albuquerque Journal, Larger brains, longer lives, John Fleck.
But this is not the first time Fleck has been recognized. See mjh’s Blog: A Man of Science.
Recently I locked horns with an ornery Vulcan. That made me nostalgic for the gentler tussle John and I had. See mjh’s Blog: Balance — who cares about fair. (That seems like ages ago — it was 8 months.) mjh