LAB WORK

If you are among those of us who did some lab work in Biology, you will, no doubt, remember quite well those weeks spent in a detailed study of a formerly alive creature of some sort that edged along for increasingly noisome weeks. The strong stench urged us to get on with the necessary work as fast as possible and well enough to forestall any need to repeat the project. We stepped up our efforts to get the necessary work done as soon a possible so we could get out of there.

Maybe that's a quality we need in today's diplomatic problems. It is more and more incumbent for us to get the entire mess tended too as promptly as possible. I sometimes get the feeling that our "lab" people's haste is, at times, worthy of special attention. We are often puzzled by ex­tended project work which is relaxed and easy-going by workers believe we feel like knowing that the specimen is going to be of less value and less worthy of study and closer examination if we allow it to go without proper protective chemicals or temperature control. A week or so into our college project was enough to drive the Biology Department's aroma-meters wild.

For example,right now, in New York City we co continue to allow the United Nation's "Oil For Food" scandal to hang there as if it were a side of beef stuck on a high hook ...out of sight but beginning to smell stronger and stronger.

Week after week more and more evidence finds its way to the forefront. Additional persons are being identified each week. One resignation oc­curred this past week and more can be expected en with the specific clause which doesn't allow resignation to absolve anyone of complicity in the million dollar scam against us all.

Diversions are in progress,too. It has been rather suddenly determined they must build next door to the present structure in New York city ,another twenty-five storied building to house the present offices while the old HQ gets a complete renovation. We probably would not have heard anything of it all without the bladed pendulum of he oil scandal hanging above us. The present offices will move into the new building for as long as it takes to complete the extensive and expanded quarters. When completed the offices ll move back in to their present digs and the new building would be used to expand those which will no longer fit the space available. Each day the scandal continues unresolved only adds to the possibility that the United States will withdraw from membership and stop being the payee patsy for most of the groups expense while the till is being tapped by dishonest members.

I, for one, have about lost all respect and patience with the United Nations. It does not do what it was intended to do. It no longer even attempts to do so.

It is not the UN building in New York city which is in dire need of renovation, but the United Nations organization itself.

A.L.M. June 30,2005 [c527wds]

 
BIG BUCKET OF WORMS

Our judicial system seems to be confusing the terms "God" and "Religion". The exhibition of the text of "The Ten Commandments" is an act which sets a small portion of the Judeo-Christian heritage in the form of words printed, etched, or formed in stone, metal, wood or on paper or a plastic material. Such a representation is not God. That "it" is not a deity.

It is a prime irony of our time that the group of men and women who gather periodically to worry themselves sick about such matters, is a body which starts and closes its formations with a formal word of prayer. It is a statement made to show that God's will is to be the basis of their considerations, but that prayer is not God. Often in the process of their deliberations they take oaths as if an all-seeing, all-knowing God was among them. Those are symbolic oaths - verbalized entities, but they are not God. At times, such celebration of blessedness are accompanied by the ringing of bells, the firing of ceremonial cannon, displays of sky-searing fireworks, the marching to-and-fro of many feet - how petty a printed copy of the Ten Commandants posted to be praised for having guided me to make better choices. That statue,ha plaque, hat b banner ,that book-all are but symbols of the presence of God but they are not God.

If we are to eliminate such symbols from our daily lives then the same must apply to other religious faiths. Gone forever will be the wearing of gaudy saffron-colored dresses and gowns worn by members of an oriental religion ...not their God - but a symbol of sacred meaning to them. Special hair-dressings, beards and mustaches must be restrained for they, too, are symbols in some groups, headgear worn indoors are ob ed forbidden and and ceremonial lighting of candles not being used for lighting for dispelling darkness must be drastically controlled,being a prime symbol of so many religions. You can think of others which must go, but what about older concepts which were often scandalous.

Should that broken cross known to many as the swastika, be done away with? It has some purposed and limited use once each year of a year when sham-worship service was held within the church centuries once each year, but most recently it has been the symbol of Nazi Germany and of Adolph Hitler and his crowd. It has been respected widely in other civilizations and the famous writer Rudyard Kipling saw to it that everything he wrote was published with a swastika design in or on it somewhere. Others use the ancient symbol as a "good luck" sign.

Think about it. What are these symbols of our religious feelings -images,in a sense? How do you think they differ from being God?

A.L.M. June 27, 2005 [c495wds]

 
IS MILK ALWAYS MILK?

Is the term "milk" now generic by nature?

The manufacturer's of "soy milk" insist that it has been so general in use as to be considered generic and no merits protection in the market place. For many years it has been used as a term to designate the fluid portion of various plants - coconut milk, for instance, even Milk of Magnesia, a medication, and we use the term relative to milkweed in botany.

It has been used regarding soybeans from ancient times in the Orient and from as early as 1650 in European writings. It is odd the use of the word has never been contended long before now. Milk producers insist that milk can only result from the process of lactation and that such a process does not occur in the soy bean. In recent years it has become common for those who stock grocery store shelves to place the soy milk products in the Dairy case with other 'Milk" products. That's where customers expect to find them. And, that where the soy bean producers find their products compete with the merits of milk as it is commonly processed now in cut-down versions. Soy "milk"is not equal to real 100% milk but it does equal and even surpass some of the 2% and Fat Free versions of milk which are the main sellers today in dairy display areas.

Legislation is underway to permit the sale of soy milk as "milk" but the bills are being opposed by Dairy lobby workers and there is only a slight possibility of change - or clarification of the situation.

Since so much emphasis has been placed on weight control in recent years many people no longer drink whole milk and those who do use milk at all, resort to those in which the fat has been removed, so the loss of calcium and other nutrients in the diet is not that noticeable if soy is used instead.

The time has come for the Dairy Council and others to reconsider their manner of marketing and to get in touch with the times. Choices of family foods and drinks depend on many other factors today than they did twenty years ago. They dairy people over did the cut-down versions year ago, perhaps, in an effort to hold on to those people who went wild on weight loss. Some dairy people felt that , if the nutritional values were lowered, the customers would end up drinking twice as much of the lower-fat food just to feel full. That worked for a time, but people now think nutrition rather than quantities and the whole manner of eating has changed. There is nothing wrong with the lowered fat versions, but to place sales emphasis on them was costly.

Few people realize today that the DuPont Company, makers of Nylon and Lycra, also make and market a "cut down" version of Lycra under the trade name of "Korspan." It is, at this time, Lucra's "low-priced partner" in the DuPont product line - kept competitive with foreign pricing. It will last as long as Lycra production is up and world need exceeds world production. Much depends on demand, you see. Wise companies have long engaged in what is called "OEM" ("other equipment manufacturers") work projects which others do for them to meet a special need from time to time and the smart firms knew the maxim used by card playing gamblers who insist one "has to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em."

Dairy products promoters are learning the slow, hard way. Methods of promotion and of processing of foods must also vary with demand. The soy people are right with it, it would appear.

A.L.M. June 28, 2005 [c632wds]

 
NEW LAWS

The Virginia State Legislature has been in session and new laws will be forthcoming which go into effect he following July 1st which, on occasion, has created trouble people have thought July 4th's fireworks clamor has early.

I don't see anything that is readily going to upset most people this ime around. They seemed to have worked out a few changes in existing laws but nothing which is likely to throw the monkey wrench into anything thing being planned.

There are,however, 880 of them so I have not read enough of them say that trouble is not in our immediate future. You can't expect hat many regulations to come into being without disturbing someone.

Many will be welcomed.

There will be one which will, in theory, at least, will lower the cost of some foods. There will be a lower grocery tax on certain items. The present rate is set at four cents per dollar. That falls to 2.5 cents.There will be few ,if any, objections to this one and it has been long awaited even with some hang-ons. Food is being taxed farm more than most of us realize as more and more states, counties, cities and towns exact "meal taxes" and add to the cost of eating away-from-home meals. The new law allows exemptions on alcohol products, tobacco, pet foods and "prepared foods sold for immediate on use "which will continue to taxed at the present rates. Printing presses will be busy for a time re-stating exactly how the foods are to be consumed and when.

People who are engaged in any kind of skin care work which can be included in the employment category called "estheticians" - and many will be "on hold" because the "industry" has not yet defined what it is or does exactly. It is set to go into effect July of 2007 if all goes well. A soon as those persons who do beauty treatments at spas decide what it is they do and set standards, it will be taxed by issuance of a Virginia state license allowing them to do so what ever it may be. This could well be viewed as a new record of some sort concerning the inventiveness of the tax -oriented mind of our legislators and of their strange ability to forecast potential fields of revenue even before they exist.

I have never understood what it is that Bail Bondsmen do but they will need a license, too. Getting one is as complicated as what they do. One qualifies to pay a fee of $900 every two years; plus "taking a course" and passing " a competency test."

Beginning July 1st it will be illegal for a TV screen to be in any position in a car so that can be viewed by the driver. This will, no doubt, inspire a statewide study into the proper placement of mirrors and other reflective material which will turn one-half of the rear view mirror into a TV image.

There must be eight or ten more new laws coming up. Better get a list and check them out. Like all restrictive laws, they apply to other people.

A.L.M. July 27, 2005 [c544]

 
VIOLENCE TODAY

We talk a great deal about how to deal with the problems of "violence" in our society, but I sometimes wonder if we really understand the situation and actually intend to "do" anything to try to eliminate the costly condition.

I don't know that violence is any more pronounced in the present era than it has been at times in the past. It is more apparent, to some degree, because of the tremendous advancements made in our systems of communications in recent years. It is "closer" to our daily lives even when it is removed from us, physically, by miles, oceans or space.

I remember crime being present in my own three-quarters of a century-plus awareness of such a thing. I think the "violence" of my early years could be said to have been pretty much in line with that of today with with subtle differences as the degree of cruelty involved, and different attitudes concerning the "rights" of others about us. I don't think we really knew what was going on then, either.

Society, I'm sure, has never been without "violence". The very first time a human encountered another human who got in his way or disagreed with him in the simplest action resulted in violence of a sort, I am sure. Violence, one might say, has been done the word itself in that it now encompasses only dire doings involving physical harm, death, dismemberment or combat.

Different people see violence in a variety of ways. Many people live by violence of some sort and have little genuine desire to conform to rules which might eliminate it. The theory of The Dominant Male in our civilization has often led much to be desired in fairness and equity in the home, in business and in religious observances, as well. His shoulders, his stamina, his inventiveness and his determination are all needed to maintain his forward movement one impedes his path that enemy has to be dealt with. For that reason, and others of a like nature, we tend to think of violence as a Rambo-like, he-man, super-male thing which is only the more obvious manifest ion of it, really. Man is not alone in doing because of tremendous strfides in our communication's abilities. violent things. Women are right in there doing their share and children, too - acting so often in imitation of their parents or other leading adults. We need to study our social structures before we can expect to make any worthy progress in the ease some of the stress of lawlessness in our lives.

To violate the basic rights of society is just as destructive as the physical action we tend to cloth violence in before we deal with its ravages. The seeds of underlying violence may been slower, and much more subtle- even go unnoticed. Think about some of the nasty, little things which occur almost daily in, our lives - then we are beginning to see how deeply it is implanted as a part of our culture.

There is no easy, band-aid treatment.

A.L.M. July 26, 2005 [c543wds]

 
MILADY PRESIDENT.

Once again I find myself asking:" Is it time for a woman to be elected President of the United States?

In our present era of re-definitions concerning who may do what in religious and temporal offices, the subject keeps coming up, I find. And I also notice, more people seem to be asking “when”, rather than “why” or “why not?” Two candidates are often set forth - one for each major party.

This concern about the possibility of a feminine leader in the Oval Office has been brought about this time by the presence of two very capable women which has led people to visualize of them as President. Neither one has has said "no" to the idea. Oddly, I have not heard any talk whatsoever bout either of them running for the office of Vice-President which might seem to be a more plausible entrance area. That, of course, would come along later on when a male candidate has announced he favor a feminine Vice-President. Voter who cannot see a female president well go along with a feminine candidate running with a strong male lead.

If I were betting on it, I would say “no” - we will not see a woman in the oval office for some time. We are not ready, I'd say, in a “grass roots sense “ whatever that term may mean to you. It will be achieved, in time, because there is, to me, no sound no reason why the office should be keep for males only. Many nations have had their Queens, Empresses, Presidents, Premiers, Prime Ministers and have done well in such times.

We can see a gradual progression toward such a climate. The word is now “when” and no longer “if”.

It is made more urgent with some recent addition to the potential troop of men who are, even now, seeking to be the nominee of the Democratic Party.

I still expect Hillary Clinton to seek the nomination of next election.. It, to me, is as I have said before it is a “now or never” situation. The impetus of her attainments to this time will not endure for four additional years. Much depends, for instance, on how the assistance being offered by the Clinton team to the beleaguered California “Recall Election” procedures works out. Notice, too, how many legislative bills Hillary Clinton has co-sponsored as a Senator. These are “back scratching” arrangements with each of them, and they number far in excess of the usual few and in a wide gamut, as well. In her recent actions, she is moving toward the Center and her success is making this transition from being Liberal to perching, for a time, on the edge of Conservative nesting areas may well determine her decision to run.

Secretary Rice has to ferret out fences which stand against her candidacy because she is black and a woman, as well, while Hillery Clinton going to have to convince a lot of people she is not just another "Bill. So much is going to hinge on the males interested in the race . From Virginia Governor Warner and Congressman Allen will be among the early runners.
Which ones will favor a female running mate?

A.L.M. June 24, 2005 [c545wds]

 
THIS VERY MOMENT

Right now - even as we read this short line - a new business is coming into being here in the land in which we live. It's "brand new" in many way, but you can be sure that if it is to be a success it has a typically American quality of curiosity.

So many of the attention-getting dot.com business firms were touched with a large portion of plain, old nosy-oriented curiosity because some individual,willing to buck trends and prejudice of many kinds, wanted to see if his idea was possible, or plausible, perhaps even profitable. We all take chances more than we realize, but would we bet our all on an idea for a new business?

The one new idea which so often seems to work well, is a quite often not new at all. It has to do with quality. One simply starts an old idea of a business but does it all better than it has been done to that time. A thriving example of that sort of "new" business is being demonstrated locally by a young man who decided he was going into the business of renting films to at-home viewers - discs, tapes or whatever. That's "big time" business pretty much ruled by several monsters shops with gobs of glitter and glamor galore. His was a small shop in a small town but today he owns and operates six such stores in this area and employs thirty-five persons to help meet the demand. A recent interview revealed a point which may be the real key to his success. When a new store turns profitable, he starts another. With six locations going and who know how many more on the way, his positive plan seems to work well.

We have to admire any man who sets up a new business in faced of difficult conditions, but there is seldom an all-clear being sounded these days. I have a strong feeling which tells that he or she is taking on a far greater burden than did their counterparts just a few years ago. It is still a good feeling to see a young person and I always wish for them the very best good fortune. It takes much more nerve than it did not too long ago. The financial arrangements are still there is some form or another and any enterprising youth can take a stab at it. My fear is usually in the area of marketing potential.

Too often I see a project which is boutique oriented in line with other types of shops. A second thing which bothers me is when I see someone opening a shop which has a limited appeal at best. I might stand a chance in a metro area where it could draw from a million or so potential customers for their special, arty item. I suspect a fast-talking real-estate agent in the background at such start-ups.

A.L.M. June 24,2005 [c501wds]

 
GROWN UPS

Are we guilty of attempting to age our children beyond their actual years? We see indications of that tendency in the news when we see little girl dressed and made up to resemble young women; little boys as romantic counterparts. It is reflected in new events kidnapping attempts.

I have talked with present-day school teachers and I find that when they describe today's students, they seem to hesitate in doing so, but eventually come down on the side of: "they're much more mature than we were."

The hesitation, I have noticed, is usually in relation to the term "mature" itself. They seem to agree that today's students are, indeed, more mature but they wonder if your definition of that word is the same as theirs. The critical area is that to some of us the term "mature" simply means "older" - physically and mentally - more advanced. Boy's are more muscular and macho in attitude; girls are more ample in bosom and hip areas. We think of them as being more "grown up" and more aware of the aspects of social life which will be the challenge to their future. They have been pushed into this by adults who often urge their children start adult habits early in life - such as girls wearing cosmetics, having their ear lobes pierced for dangling ear decorations from kindergarten years on up. Girls clothing, too, is fashioned as a cut-down version of mother's or of some movie or TV starlet. Boys are expected to emulate the outdoors man ethos, even while being allowed to be couch potatoes in front of the home TV or Nintendo set. Both are expected to learn what life is all about from watching MTV daily.

The teacher's opinion can be totally wrong if he or she has misjudged the home upbringing the child. The teachers may deal with things as they should be, while parents deal (or refuse to deal) with things as they really are. They often come down on the positive side in their view, but , in doing so, risk the displeasure of parents and families. The teacher's role is not an easy one these days.

An accurate estimate of just where youth stands today in comparison to the youth of our day or any other time, requires that both views be incorporated in any study. Too often what seems to be the immaturity of the child is really that of the parent who never quite grew up. In view of the obvious excesses of recent generations, I think today's youth has a remarkably steady grasp of things which really matter. Both sides need to re-adjust their thinking to be fair about judging what has happened in the past. It is not solely a matter of long-haired boys, or skirt-shy girls; nor is it a matter of taciturn oblivion staring back at you when you examine the face of a young boy or girl. It should not come as any surprise to older people that the youth of today are "poorly informed" on topics which were considered to be "essential" or "basic" in our time. Have you noticed, for instance, how many young people have little or no knowledge of Nursery Rhymes and wash out completely when that subject comes up in TV quiz shows and in common talk? An entire generation has grown up without hearing Mother read Nursery Rhymes at bedtime. It does not appear to be a "big deal" in particular. It is, furthermore, evident that in the upcoming generation many young people now know a fund of Disney versions of the nursery classics and history which are often far removed from any resemblance to the originals.

This seems very trivial, too, does it not? Yet, it is indicative of what has taken place in may other aspects of our lives. A Walt Disney version of "the birds and the bees" falls far short of meeting a teen's needs today in the live-a-day world.

Certainly our youth are more "advanced" in many ways today, with electronic aspects such as the previous generations never dreamed of having in common, everyday use

Life is so much more "open" today; yet minds remain closed. We are failing to make proper use of the advantages we now have and the young people are being put at risk far too soon.

If you "hesitate" when asked the same question about maturity today it may well to note that we are seldom, if ever, talking about the same thing. We must agree to common terms and use them consistently if we expect to come up with a workable answer to such continuing and mounting problems.

A.L.M. amccsr@adelphia.net June 23, 2005 [c740wds]

 
THAT TIME AGAIN.

It is, once again, that time of the year in which countless numbers of otherwise sensable citizens across his land of ours seem to come, suddenly, awake to the disturbing fact that fact that statistics again show the HIV virus infection is not receding. In fact, this months figure show HIV infections have now arrived at a new, higher plateau here in the United States.

Some read into the reports a word of celebration in the fact that the figures just in do indicate that, for the year, there has been a decline of the rate of infection among women as compared to that among males.

This sort of small encouragement causes a great many people to take heart in current campaigns to acquaint more and more people who meet with the problem. The reasons for this apparent deline among womens are numerous in the telling, of course, but nothing of genuine consequence seems to have,in any way, altered the seriousness of the general picture for both men and women assoicated with the lifestyle which permits, and even encourages the very acts which contribute, to the causes which make the virus infection know as HIV to become one of mankind's greatest scourges.

Just this week the Governor of Massachusetts has set forth yetanother attempt to make the state reverse its present legislation – unique among the state laws of then nation ti make illegal to perform same sex marriages. He is,I believe, also asking that the same such denial be set up in relation to so-called civil marriages, as well. It is hisintent, it seems, to kill such wild adventures in licentious legislation during those hectic months associated with our national elections.

Figures today show that we now have an around l,039,000 to l,285,000 million people in the United States who have been infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. In 2003 the totals stood around 850,000 to 950,000, Half of them are black. The hardest hit group were,logically, gay men. Even more frightening to many people is the fact that about 25% of those more-or-less two million people actually are HIV infected but don't know it yet. It is also true that the actual rate of increase among stricken men more than offsets the decline among women.

We have never faced a problem such as this?

A.L.M. amccsr@adelphia.net June 17, 2005 [c407wds]

 
COOKIE CRUMBLES

I don't remember a Chinese word for "meat". I think I did see it not too long ago on a fortune cookie vocabulary listing. It's something short - "mo" or "ho", as I remember, but it reminds me of how short Chinese meals are on the meat portions served.

I see this as a good thing in many ways. First, it is economical, not only for the Chinese cooks but for us as well, to cut down on our large servings of meat as the main portion of our meals. The smaller intake of meats show at the waistlines, as well - or, better still, do not show at the waste line.

The Chinese cook tends to use meat as a condiment and not as a main en tree. I think that would be good for our general health, as well, because I have long felt we overdo the eating of meats at mealtime. Notice how fragmented the meat portion in so much Chinese cookery. Everything used, it appears, is diced up into bite-size pieces and added to other foods - pastas, fruits and vegetables - to tone it up a bit with a beef, pork or chicken flavor.

Americanized Chinese cookery may, of course, vary from the way it is in real-life China but when you visit a Chinese restaurant here - be it Peking, Schwartz's. Hunan or Cantonese "style" the printed menus always read pretty much the same. They are, it seems, modified somewhat to include a meat term so the American can feel he is ordering a substantial meal. There are Chicken, Beef, Pork and Sea a generous slab of beef on his plate in Western Style is going to be disappointed when he is served a steaming platter of noodles or rice in which cubes or shreads of beef appear like raisins in raisin bread or dry cereal dishes. The sauces are beefy as well, so the end result is that you can enjoy such a meal and feel satisfied if you accept the Chinese standard and do not expect a chunk of meat with a bit of rice or noodles nearby.

It is easy to see why it is an economic thing, too. Check the prices of meats in Japanese and Chinese markets and there is ample evidence to show that the Chinese diet cannot include large quantities of meats and continue to operate either at home or commercially. The natural westerner's assumption, at this point is that the Chinese must, then, consume large quantities of vegetables and fruits. Not so. Consult the menu at your nearby Chinese restaurant and you will find a limited number of vegetables in use. Seldom do you find they go beyond - broccoli, snow peas, black beans, bean curd, rice, garlic and chillies - yes, and tomatoes, if you class that as a vegetable in spite of it being a fruit in a technical sense. I suppose we could list bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and even pasta, with vegetables as well ...but is still falls far short of the westernized diner's idea of what a vegetable meal might be.

One looks in vain for "desserts" as well. The Fortune Cookie - free or four for one dollar, and up - is the common touch of sweetness at the end of a meal.

I like it.

A.L.M. June 21, 2005 [c559wds]

 
OUR WORK FUTURE

It amazes me that we continue to experience with all sorts of difficulties in our educational system without anything seriously being done about correcting obvious wrongs.

We become aware of such lapses in our system at this time of the graduation speeches are so numerous. It is a special time which makes many critics wonder.

We become aware of many problems which exist and ,while we have had a plethora of suggestions as to what needs to be done. Some of them are quite valid, I'm sure, but very little, if anything, actually gets done about making the adjustments needed to bring about such urgently needed changes.

We should regret the day the term "educators" became common in our language with the intent of giving the word "teachers" a more glamorous aura. It has become a common term which now seems to include everyone from the "almost"or soon-to-be" or, "barely" certified teacher - on up the academic ladder to the holders of Master's Degrees - as well as everyone else who happens to have a job , doing almost anything in or around the school area. All are spoken of as being "prominent educators in our community" It is time to put "teaching" back in the respective and respected niche it once occupied ...an area set apart to mean someone trained to teach youngsters - a graduate of a college or university dedicated to the specific training of teachers for the specialized job of teaching the youth of our land.

All colleges which used to proudly bear the name "Teacher's College" have erased the name and the concept that went along with it. The term "educators" has seeped into politics, as well. and our President and Vice-President talk at great length - and loudly, at times, - governmental flaunt their expertize concerning "education". Our President some years ago spoke of "hiring l00,000 new teachers", but never mentioned where these trained teachers were to be found or where they are going to find classrooms in which to do their teaching.

Few colleges, today, make any pretense of trying to prepare young people for teaching. "Teaching" is, in the main, now considered to be a by-product of the educational process which centers on a wider variety of subject matter than was ever thought possible. The attitude seems to be "they can always teach." if they are unsuccessful in their specialized field. Far too many individuals do not find suitable employment in their exotic field of study at college and they apply to the local high school to become a teacher. Here they are welcomed with open arms by administrators - who, remember, are "educators" - who are looking for a body to fill a job-slot which is open on the staff. So, magically, the Phys. Ed. major from college starts teaching English, French, Math or Biology - whatever happens to be open at the time.

Hiring new teachers to work in non-existent classrooms is hardly the way to go about it. As long as continue to have this ostrich attitude it is all costing vast amounts of money, time and youthful minds. We need basic reform and large part of it all, it would seem to me, would be that we redefine what we mean - really mean - when we say "educators." If, in the next decade we can find a way to actually train even a cadre group; just a fraction of the mythical hundred thousand young people to be genuine teachers in the finest sense of the word we will have taken a first step toward solving some of our problems.

We have political, economic and social problems, to consider, as well.

What do you think ought to be done to put a stop to the flagrant off-shoring of employment opportunity? Even now when next fall's college classes are being formed it is already evident that fewer young people will be training in computer technology, largely because they see a marked trend showing the truly worthwhile computer jobs being shipped overseas. Why train for a field which have been exported to foreign shores where our manufacturing skills and capabilities have, long ago, been shamefully exiled?

A.L.M. June 20, 2005 [c704wds]

 

FAILURES!

Are we a spiritually bankrupt people?

How much longer can we choose to stand here idle and refuse to accept an opportunity which has been freely given to us for our use? How many more days, months and years are we going to let go by in wasteful ruin a gift placed long ago in our hand for our use and enjoyment? How much longer will selfish men and women continue to stand in opposition to the use of rotor fans to utilize the power of the wind?

The common winds can and ought to be put to use for the betterment of all Mankind. The seas of this Earth-World and,now, even the spaced above and that beyond it has been long gone as a special enclaves held in psych-thrall by selfish, posturing, individuals who deem a special attainment to hold wind as a hostage to their concept of supposed beauty. How much longer can we look at a blessing which is of apparent for all o use an not make good use of it?

Much of the talk about "beauty" is used as a clumsy facade -much like the cheap, gaudy paper signs and banners protesters wave so senselessly before themselves when marching in parades against change. Certainly those very persons would not say the ugly towers we call skyscrapers are all seemly and things of outstanding beauty. Critics concede that,in such structures, tending to be higher and higher, more grotesque and garish, redeeming qualities of usefulness which make them acceptable and worthwhile. Many structures are ugly, and become more acceptable with their usefulness.

We need the energy we can generate from wind-driven units. Be they located on mountain ridges, at various levels in the newest high rise b buildings or on islands offshore.

It would be different, perhaps, if it were something new an different we were contemplating but we are talking of doing that which we have done before - and successfully so as long as it remained practical to do so. A mere glance at the thousands of windmills in England and Northern Europe illustrates their role in draining the flooded fen areas and bring forth farm able, fertile fields. We,even while bettering life for everyone with a less costly energy source,could also bring about economic sanity in the fossil fuel industries.

Standing as a modern symbol of greed and avarice the person who, today, sees the wind blowing across his "his"mountain, "his" lake,"his" cabin, house,palace or rancho grande hold our future as hostage to his personal likings. He hold title to much of that which he does own as a result, no doubt, of his family's earnings - profits from from skyscraper-housed businesses, a lines of oil field derricks, miles of power lines and gleaming, television and radio station, communication towers springing up everywhere and vying only with newest higher and brighter fast food food advertising signs for sky space.

We need to "lighten up" and "be real" about this question of who owns the wind.

A.L.M. June 19, 2005 [c519wds]

 
BACK TO PREPS?"

Do you remember when we had "prep" schools?

The term was used as a short form for "preparatory" schools and it had several connotations. The positive view was that this specialized, intensely personal arrangement with smaller students enrollments and higher teacher-student ratios, meant your child was prepared for college better than in the public version.

Another meaning, and a common one with critics, was that it was a school where wayward or do-less children were sent to "prepare" them for some sort of get-by life , or simply as a place where lazy students could "make up" the work they had missed before so they could on to college level work with some assurance of success.

The "Prep" school has class, too, in the view of many people. It could be a social thing. Many parents would withdraw their children from public school and send them off to a private, boarding school just to show their peers they had money enough to enable them to do so. Once established, the prep schools made a great thing out of those in a family who has "attended" classes there and Junior, was, very often, shipped off to prep school primarily because Father or Grandfather or Uncle Charles have been sent there years ago. It all seems to have had a strong snob appeal.

It has always struck me that this was either holdover from the older school system of schools systems of England in the last Century or an attempt to retain they same sort of elite nature for educational of the affluent. They exist for girls as well as for boys and for pretty much the same reasons. Oddly enough, the feeling that children who have attended such-and-such a prep school are better educated than the average age has held on. Some few of the schools have been proved to have had excellent records and competent instructional staffs - a few of them would merit superior ratings - compared to public or "regular" systems - so they continue to attract students and to make money for their owners.

The general public is impressed when they find that the political candidate for who they are going to vote "attended" such-and-such a school. Somehow that sets him or her apart and makes them more acceptable, more knowing and , by far, the better candidate. I still the primary value of private schools is in the remedial area, but voters don't seem to see it that way at all, but are impressed with the glamor of it all. Notice, too, if you will, how many politician's children are in private schools rather than in the public schools even while they devote endless speech hours to sustaining the public system.

In recent decades a new type of religiously-oriented private school has emerged as important, too. This is the non-Catholic all-white "academy" school set up by local churches to defy desegregation laws. People are willing, even eager, to pay extra money to have their children attend an all-white academy and the quality of education varies a great deal, I'm sure, in such establishments. They have been growing in Hogwartsian abandon in recent year as if they were a revival of the old prep school concept.

A.L.M. June 18, 2005 [c555wds]

 
HAVE NOT CHANGED

I have given serious consideration to modifying my views concerning the role former FBI agent Felt chose to play as “Deep Throat” in the Watergate area. There are those among us who say I have spoken of the aging man without respect for his age, without compassion, “off the handle” and with undue haste.

I find that I am situated pretty much where I have been for many years concerning basic principles and I see no good reason for making changes.

My natural feeling surfaced when I first heard of his role and evidence is plentiful showing that he, as some say, deserves special treatment because he admits, and even brags about his actions in the “Deep Throat” role.

The very same feelings welled up again upon hearing his confessions concerning actions taken by him when he was an FBI man. He had sworn loyalty to that governmental section. He broke those vows which is simply not done. I find any indication of any special dispensations which give his type any right to simply disregard and such obligations. It remains strictly illegal for any member to simply pass information to outsiders. That which Felt did was wrong.

I can say I do not feel enmity toward the individual himself would feel the same about anyone who did such a thing -'ashamed" might be a better word for. It's something a bit stronger that being "disappointed". I felt ashamed,I suppose, in a way, wondering how it could be is that a fellow citizen of this fine land of ours could allow himself to ignore and ,in so doing, place other persons in jeopardy.

I understand the the conduct of the newspaper persons most often associated with the Watergate scandals. They work and live by what is often called a "news instinct" which urges informant protection to keep their supply of news materials flowing. In other fields of work it is called "If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Once started, he or she will not reveal his or her source of information of material secure.

I find it rather odd that a main memory of mine of the Watergate doings, remains a remark made by a young man who's name I don't know., He was, at that time - that would be about the fall of '72, right? - pumping gasoline for motor cars at a petrol point in northwestern London. He was genuinely puzzled and concerned when he asked me: "What in the world are you Americans doing to your president?!"

...I know. I know. Using both a "?" and a "!" are improper.

A.L.M. June 17, 2005 [c443wds]

 
OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS


We tend to “make-up” our mind too soon when we meet new people.

We say that when we are being critical of our own manners but kit is good that in almost the same breath, we seem to realized that we do, indeed, take a second look far more often than we admit.

What a tests do you put a newcomers through, in your own mind, before you accept them as a close associates or as a personal friends? First impressions, while sound in many ways, can – at times – be deceptive.

Wisdom dictates a second estimate in most cases.

I can think of one case in my own experience in which I relegated a certain individual to a lower level in my estimation without bothering to find that she had experienced difficulties as a child which had placed the utmost demands upon her. Having overcome such physical and mental dis-advantages to a degree, or learned to live with them for the most part, she has been very successful in her own demanding field of work. I have recently had the chance to revise my opinions about her and to relocate her to a higher place on my unwritten, non-posted, scale of “like” and “dislike”.

That one case reminds me that we should always realize it may well be our own ignorance f he person's genuine qualities which makes us place them where we do. After all, critics ask, who are we to judge what a person's true worth is at any one time? To do so, without inquiring into the basic truths of their living is wrong. Since that experience, I have made such placements with greater care. I have been fortunate in that none of my trespasses have, as far as I know – have harmed any other person- only myself in being denied that person and not absorbing, perhaps, some positive element from their special aura.

This is all a two-way street,too.

Don't let “first impressions” other people get when they meet you for the first time. Be honest. Be strait-forward and sincere. If you feel at all “uncomfortable” about what other people might think at such a moment, it is time to get busy doing some urgent revisions.

A.L.M. June 16, 2005 {c388wds]

 
THE WANT ADS

The classified ads in most newspapers tell us a great deal about who and what we really are these days of the summer of '05.

First, the amazing diversity and variety offered reveals how complicated our "simple" lives have become.

In the "For Rent" and "For Sale" items one is forced to describe what he means by an "apartment" and a "house". They come in all sizes - from too small to too large, it seems. If you haven't looked at them recently, the prices will shock you. What the owner thinks he is offering and what the renter wants to take on as a monthly obligation , are two widely divergent quantities, it would appear. Expect to pay $500 or so per month - and up.

Prices start at around that for both and when utilities and basic maintenance costs are factored in the finished price is more or less prohibitive for the majority of us. Most owners place a high value on their offering and would expect to do some haggling or bargaining along the way before a final figure is reached. If you are not a born "horse trader" such bickering over price does not come easy for you.

Nothing tells more about people that the luxury item ads. Musical Instruments - usually pianos, organs, drum sets and electric guitars, these days, are , perhaps, the most common in that group and each represents a drama of family life in which parents want their child to perform and the kid is far more interested in sports or dating.

There is a steady flow of excess making up much of this type. Weight reduction machines, step mechanisms, presses , powered platforms and ski gadgets - all are advertised regularly and usually they are said to be in "top notch" or "like new " condition - as are the musical instruments - "used for three lessons only".

In recent years ads of a personal nature have become so popular that they have been granted full-page sections in many papers. I hated to see this happen because the not-too-subtle innuendo of such ads puts them on the verge of porn and there is no sign than such a page to tell me that the paper is "hurting" and grabbing at random straws to stay in existence. In several such cases, I have seen them change ownership shortly after doing so. It has been said that shopping centers have a use-life of about twenty years and when the karate parlors, fortune tellers, herbal medication stores, and gaming places start moving in it is time to tear out and re-do the entire place or shut it down.

Watch the classified ads to see if your local paper is on the way out.

A.L.M. June 15, 2005 [c466wds]

 
ABOUT TIME

The Michael Jackson "trial" went on-and-on for a period of fourteen weeks or so.

A jury took about a week deciding in Jackson's favor and were over - and we all breathed that traditional "sigh of relief" because we anticipated a return of TV time and talents to subjects other than Jackson's alleged doings and Iraq, perhaps and few teasers concerning events of concern Aruba and other such places of interest.

Little has turned out the way we thought it would.

The nation and, I assume, the world in general was concerned the famed dancer, musician, news-maker M. Jackson had fared so well in the ten major charges against him..

When the jury cleared him on all ten counts, many people were shook-up -even disappointed because this trial was to be a bit more permanent than that. I ,for one, was among those who were glad it was all over because we innocently thought TV programming time would revert to other subjects. were defeated. The airways are more completely filled with Jackson trial and "rejuvenated career" talk than before!

I have never been one who kept close account of events in the life of M. Jackson as an individuals. He is, I suppose, in some ways, typical of many within his generation called entertainers who, after a fashion, do, indeed "dance" or cavort in types of mathematical conceived and even poetic forms. Some others either hold,or actually play instruments. Jackson set forth an amalgam to please many eager seekers after vague goals. He packages lighting-fast gymnastics, twisting and turnings in to dance; he takes patches and swaths of swamp decor and then yells at them, berates them with fury seeking to make them flow uphill to become, melodies with meaning. And back of it all there is an uncertain vapor of doubt free to flow concern any and all of the truisms of living a human life.

Michael Jackson's conduct over the years has puzzled me to no end and partly because he has such a large following of people of all ages who believe as he does - apparently. I could not have served on such a jury as the one which just completed the case at hand. In my way of thinking, they did their job very well. I think they made the only judgment possible in the case. Fortunately, there seems to have been someone in their midst who set the path clearly so that they dealt with the case at hand and did not get bogged down in events of year ago. We should be most grateful for their services.

It is my hope that some of this will "sink in" at the Jackson camp and that plans for the future will be more in keeping with the second chance opportunities this affords their hero.

A.L.M. June 14, 2005 [c484wds]

 
OKAY! LET'S GO!

We asked for it to be prepared last December. And, now in June, it is here.

Well, almost here.

A Congressionally mandated panel will report this week at the United Nations building in New York concerning the way in which the U.N. is currently managing its affairs. The panel was put in place to urge the United Nations group to incorporate some type of corporate style system which would provide an oversight of personal, ethical, social and business and and enhanced ethical standards to be put in place as definite realities rather as than suggestions, however noble. It was hoped that such a new configuration of the UN might make it more responsive. The term ”rapid reacting” was freely used urging all members to build a rapid response potential and capability from its member state's armed forces to prevent violations such as genocide, mass killings, sustained human rights violations before they occur.

Two well-known names have been associated the bipartisan panel. Newt Gingrich a Republican, and former speaker of the House of Representative, and the other, George J. Mitchell, Democratic, and a former Senate Majority leader. They have both served in many areas, and this bi-partisan chairmanship was a natural for them. It will be interesting to see what such a panel report contains.

What, do you think it might offer?

The manner in which in which this report is being presented to us is disquieting, to say the least. Why is it that a report of this magnitude and of such a nature, received during the week-end - presented in Monday mornings headlines - with a vague promise that we might see the rest of it by Wednesday?

There are a few words in the lead paragraph of Sunday's he New York "Times" which will be more important as we go along: "but will acknowledge (in the report) the broad changes proposed for the organization by Secretary General Kofi Annan and urge the United States to support them."

What such proposals? Where?

A.L.M. June 13, 2005 [c354wds]

 
"TIS THE SEASON....

It is now, officially, that time of the year when those who do reside in the State of Florida, usually express their doubt about the mental stability of those people who go back season-after-season,year after year to re-do, re-pair or to totally re-build - only to lose it all in then next hurricane season.

Of course, it is not true that only citizens of the Sunshine State do such things, because,right here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, we have our share of
individuals who insist on building or re-building their new homes right smack-dab in the middle of a known Flood Plain. They ignore serious studies made, even by their own favorite college or university and by favoring the view of the folklorist-fed Eco-nut come to have great faith in believing someone who had a dream about a hundred year flood in the area.

I can, readily, understand and appreciate the urge some people have which makes them want to preserve and sustain the wealth their forebears left them but take notice how the habitual rebuilt dwelling becomes once the progression starts. He gradually shifts into be a builder of make-do, sacrificial pieces designed, made and dedicated to despair, disillusionment and various levels of artistic misery.

It is, perhaps, a good thing to pay a bit of extra attention to the first one or two become they become "dull" and "routine". And they do become just that to people who must meet with the problems as best they can. Every section of nation has such problems. Those persons living in the general area of the Mississippi River system, dwell in what they call "Tornado Alley" and others have - which is more like the narrow strip of clarity at the side of a busy bowling alley than a wider, street-like and a middle passageway between two blocks of man's properties and a haven for tomcats by tradition. Other areas, just as unpleasant - leftovers from a time of industrial and seen as being indicative of "growth" and "progress" The slums, the orgasmic stench from landfills and reclamations are very real problems locally.

Give the choice, most of us would probably rather face the savage but obvious strength of the sea and the winds of the Caribbean sweeping in vast field of energy and adventure.

A.L.M. June 11, 2005 [c411wds]

 
WHERE PEOPLE ARE?

It may well be true that it might never have happened to you.

Just because you have been excluded at some time in the past, doesn't mean, of course, that it should happen only that it has not happened in your life up to this point.

It could be that the visit has all ready taken place. It may be that you have stubbornly refused to accept even a small assistance factor from anyone else. To you, accepting help is a sign of weakness; darkness is a condition wherein we are deprived of light. A of sounds might, to some, mean silence and be viewed most of the time as a great loss.

None of these views hold strictly to the truth, however.

In some, strange way we all seem to be, at times, member of a creative group.

Just about every person I've ever mentioned it to, has, it appears, thoughts about his or her purpose for being here. That seems to be a normal question we ask ourselves. We are constantly trying to decide why we are, where we are; what we are at work at where we are and most difficult of all - what we are intended to be doing. If a person concerns himself too intently for too long a time he feels isolated, kidnapped or just plan old nautical-sounding ""shanghaied". The few who make it all the way through this maze end up writing books very much like "The Pilgrim's Progress" and spend the rest of their lives explaining what they have written including pages of logging give and take on the Internet.

I do have feeling at times that certain people come into our lives for the specific reason of influencing dynamic change. At times they chose to go away from we area to live, but are continuing examples of how we can live if we want to do so. The people who influence us the most are probably among those who actually have the least possible association with our natural lives - the examples , the models, the "me,too" dreamers. It all sounds exciting and challenging, but we need always remember that ,just as earlier, we have a choice. Choose the path which is the natural one for us depends to a large extent on what standards we have for making judgments. The greatest reasponsbility of all is that this not a one-way street.

As you search for what you are really supposed to be or become, someone else might well be looking at you as a model. That's the scary part.

A.L.M. June 11 2005 [c442wds]

 
MARK TWAIN TIME

Mark Twain is one of those writers we should read again when we get older.

We have a memory of having read his “funny stuff” but when we recap our reading we actually find we have read very little of his writings, Tom Sawyer, perhaps, Huck Finn , those tales about the rafts and river steamboats, a some have a memory of the Yankee character he created who suffered a bump on his head and found himself waking up under a tree in the time of King Arthur and the Court at Camelot. Far too often, our memory is a bit warped..

I received a 3-thousand book CD library for Christmas and among the first books I decided to “re-read” was that of the Yankee living in a restored King Arthur's armor-suited domain.

To my be surprise, I found that I had never read the book at all.

What I was remembering was Will Rogers playing the role said Yankee many years ago -so long ago, I now realize, that it was a film without sound. That film and dealt with the impressive opening episode of the book, and, unless I am again mistaken, I think that is as far as it went. You know that part of the story in which the Yankee is due to lose his head to the royal executioner's blade, unless he comes up with the sort of thing MacIver did so well on TV just a year or two ago - and continues to do on re-runs - to show his impressive power which would make his on lookers think he was a magician of special abilities.

You will know that story because it has been done to multi-death by every facet of the media. Doomed, he remembers that the year in which he finds himself was one which witnessed a complete eclipse of the sun... so he lets it be know that, if he is harmed in any way, he will blot out the sun.

Right on schedule, after a last-minute cliff hanger, he starts the process. Twain, almanac in hand, no doubt, lets him do just that and the populace is very much impressed as was the king and the knights who were at the Round Table. Listening to their pleas, he awaits the king's offer making him assistant king, then slowly brings the heavenly light back and restores it's warm light!

That's just the first incident of thirty-plus chapters of other magical acts undertaken by the Yankee. He makes the king's official Merlin look, like an upstart.

The Yankee worked hard to keep his new place as Assistant or Vice-King of the realm of Camelot. He ran the place on behalf of his buddy King Arthur and his changes and modifications in government make up the rest of the book.

Twain got to work off a great many of his somewhat strange social and political ideas possibly to try to influence the future.
While much of it may seem old-fashioned and seen historically now they were new in King's domain. He “invents” all sorts of things such as the telegraph and modernizes the land in many fantastic ways. I get the feeling reading some of the ideas that Mark Twain was being as serious as he could possibly be in setting down some of the the social ideas he favored, but it still comes off on the silly side since we have such a pre-conceived notions of who and what he was as a writer.

I found I had not read the story “A Yankee in King Arthur's Court” at all and I dare say it applies to much of Mark Twin's writings with many of you ,as well. He is read at certain times in our lives.

I have now read the Yankee thing and realize, for the first time, that I have probably been guilty of doing the same sort of injustice to other authors and their books. We do not realize how much we have been dominated by the media versions, early films, newer ones with color and computerized embellishments, radio,TV the comic book genre and now revised versions for the old ones, often discounting earlier accounts. The youthful generations today are in even more dire straits. Their entire memory of classic literature is based on their detailed knowledge and firm acceptance of the Disney versions of history. And, you and I both know how far from fact those tellings can go.

A.L.M. June 10, 2005 [c-763wds]

 
SCOTTY SOURS' SILVER MINE

Now, the way I hear'd it was that there was this feller name Sours. He were a Scotsman, they say 'n when he come to Luray, he lived up along the hill where the town now gets its water. Well, Scotty dug a tunnel into the spur of one of them low-lying mountain edges and discovered a pure vein of silver.

Folk suspected something was happening, when Scotty started selling off some silverware. He claimed he had found it in a wooden chest in a cave but he couldn't remember exacty where. They were not too well made, the knives, spoons, forks and plate, but people were convinced old Scotty had made them himself of silver he had mined. Well, sir, the Civil War come along, and Sours, a'feerd the armies would come across his mine entrance, blasted out a pillar and avalanced his mine opening to look like a rock slide. It was a natural-enough rock slide, a small slee not as big as those you see today further South along the Blue Ridge. Then, the story goes, he up and died or got hisself kilt in the war and no one has ever found that Sours Silver Mine site. Some keep a'lookin' for it and more than one rock slide has been worked over in the Luray area with hopes that Scotty had stashed away a few un-used bars of silver

There had been other mining done in the area. About two miles north of Luray at the old Yager place they mined for iron ore many years before and wagoned it to Massanutten for to be fired. Then , at the Harshberger Farm above Luray, they opened saltpeter mines during war time when it was needed as base to make gunpowder. It may well have been that in a small mine of this nature that Solurzs could have found his silver. The tunnels were dug under the mountain sides and, even today, you can still see the mark of spades having cut intxothe stubborn soil.There were numerous small saltpeter mines in the area.

Exacty where our's silver came from no one ever knew, but lots of people still think it is somewhere down there waiting to be re-dug. There's been a lot of talk.

I remember adding to the tale myself. I've always wondered what kind of a person this Scotty might have been. He must have been a sentimentl person, from what I have heard, and I think he would have been sensible enough to have marked that slee of rock he blasted over the mine entrance in some way so that he could find it after the War had ended.

This is a "factual" story one I have come across several times - and I have a strong feeling the srory teller's "twist" has yet to be played out. I know of only two places where you patches of wild shamrock-like plants. One is around limestone foundation slabs of an old cabin that used be there on the hill above town. The other is above and below a small rock slee less than a mile up the moutainside. Sours was said to be a Scot but I have found, from personal experience in both Scotland and Ireland, that both the Scots and the Irish play bagpies. A Scotch-Irishman would like Shamrocks.

What better way would here have been to mark a site for rediscovery after the war?

A.L.M. June 9 2005 [c633wds]

 
SLOW CHASE

Due to recent modifications in police regulations in Southern California,TV viewers can no longer look for a death-defying high speed auto chases. Fox News has been quick to realize that the new, slower, more dramatic and more easily handled news events has been doing well.

The new "actuality" - the new "realistic" feature - will do very well and can easily view with the artificial realism studio-produced to this point.

Some time this morning, in Ventura, California, a man seems to have tried to push a woman into his van. There a mild scuffle with others and the man left in a hurry. Witnesses were unsure if he had taken a hostage or not. Yes, someone insisted he had a gun. He had threatened to kill a bystander. Most thought he went "that-a-way" - toward the nearby freeway.

The old-fashioned high speed chase was almost automatic at this point, but not in this case. Police , alerted, centered on the white van in the freeway traffic, and helicopters, called in to the area found their target and from that point on the TV viewers and the police had front seats at the drama.

Police originate the story line. The network has to be alert to be alert and ready to follow the action from the front rows of the drama even as it starts. with the help of the police squad cars an d helicopters every effort is made to provide the viewers with front row seats. The new pursuit allows the initial runner to set the pace. The objective it to maintain a steady association and not infringe in any way on the precise area with sought after participant occupies. The driver of a escaping vehicle is un-impaired in his flight. He will, in such a situation, be forced to make decisions and those in pursuit know that and are ready to take every advantage of such a revelation of his intent. In a normal chase other police cars might be dispatched to "head him off at
the pass" some point of special stress ahead on the highway in use. In being forced to make such decisions chances are that a run away will make some poor choices.


The new "slow chase" system will save live. Heretofore, a high speed chase in traffic infested city streets was a sure invitation to disaster for people who were not in any way concerned with the actual events in progress. Criminal and police personnel will be safer, as well. In time, Fox and others will learn to make these occurrences profitable. This freeway chase hit a week after a tower jump threat in Atlanta, Ga. and in each case there ha the TV people held back on informational material during periods and maintained some dramatic impetus by revealing facts and figures along the way.

On a handful of viewers seem to have noticed another dramatic change which took place during the chase. Few noticed that the police cars following the runaway changed to trucks - fully armored - each containing a trained, experienced SWAT team. It was four such trucks that put an end it all.

A.L.M> June 7, 2005 [c536wds]

 
UPCOMING TRIAL

Why should the average one of us care when and where the trial of Saddam is to be held?

We had sudden flurries and news speculations recently about that potential story which seemingly caused a rather weak statement to the effect that Iran hopes to do just that “next year.”If, and this is critical, they feel they are mature enough to do so.

This is no small task to be taken lightly nor is it something we might be tempted to undertake before we are prepared in a get-even mood. The idea is to do justice, not to get even with the despicable individual on the stand, however vile. It is a gigantic undertaking of any nation to hold such a trial for a former Head of State and it is only right that Iraq takes time tori decide what they wish to do. It also seems proper that it remains an Iranian affair and not that of world-wide nations. The people of Iran who have suffered under his mis-rule should decide his fate.The theory,at the present, is the trial is to be Iraq's “show”. E , as a nation, have already been cast in a dubious light since an American lawyer – Ramsey Clarke -is one of Saddam Dissension's lawyers. In all honesty it will be doubtful if it will a remain as Iraqui as it is hoped it might have been.

Just this afternoon I sat among others at a nearby Veteran's Hospital who were in Europe during Adolph Hitler's Time. I remember how, as a fun-thing,really, we as G.I.'s used to conjour up all manner of unseemly, punishments for Adolph and his cohorts if we ever caught them. He, of course, cheated us out of such revenge. There is no possible way in which Saddam H. can be made to "pay” for his crimes against his own and other people. His debts are not so easily paid.

We hope it will all come about in time but we have the memory of Kaiser Bill chopping wood in his post war home in the low countries; kings and queens, emperors, dictators, chairmen, - ex-leaders of various types ...many living it up in exile.

Let's try to keep this an Iraqi thing all the way. His own people might see to it that he gets his just due far more accurately than other people would.

A.L M. June 6, 2005 [c576wds]

 
IT SPILLS OVER.

Honor and integrity are part of our daily course of living. They, along with other basic qualities of good living, are not mere switches to be turned “off” or “on” as might seem to suit some shadowy whim.

We have two cases before us at the moment in which we are being asked to decide if it is “right” for us to do so-and-so.

The latest such puzzle was laid on us this past week when a prelate at the Vatican in Rome let it become known that he had no intent to fulfill the direct order of the deceased pontiff demanding that all personal notes and writings of his tenure as head of the Church in Rome and around the world, be utterly destroyed -“burned”,I think, was the actual method called for, concerning the ultimate place of all his personal papers and other items which mark the memory of a dearly-loved, and, I assume, a just and decision-making man who certainly did not please everyone. It is in the personal papers that such unpleasant scene might be recorded.

Pope John wanted all such materials o be destroyed. He trusted his secretary-confidante secretary to do so, and now,just a few weeks after his death, we find that the priest refuses to burn the offending writings. He feels “they might contain valuable material.”

You can say that again, Holy Brother! Such papers are of great value in many ways and too far too many people to simply let it be known they might be for sale along the line. There must a score of “legal” ways whereby the use -an mis-use - of such papers might be restricted for a time by an edict of some sort rather than a now jobless secretary-priest saying: I'm not gonna do it!”


For the second time within a few weeks we, the American people, are being asked to give our opinion of the right or wrong aspects of such quandaries. Or, have you already forgotten that we are being asked in another such matter concerning the strange case of a former second-in-command of the nation's F.B.I. who found it easy to break his sworn oaths to serve us and sell political secrets and favor an opposing camp enough bring down a Presidency of our nation in doing so. “Sell”, is not too strong a word, either. He received as payment a quarter of a century of notoriety as a mystery figure in our national history and he will not be forgotten. Scorned,I hope, but not forgotten.

A.L.M. June 5, 2005 [c606wds]

 
ENOUGH!

Few of us can lay claim to keeping up with the days news without a great deal of duplication. I think we can justify ourselves in doing so, because the very system whereby we are kept it touch with activities of the rest of mankind - as well as that of all there is to knows about the cosmic surroundings as well.

“News“ today is something far more complicated than it was just a few years ago.
Not too may years ago a newspaper subscribed to a service which specialized in supplying headline and basic information concerning, perhaps, a score of “important stories. That was the “news” and we spoke confident of putting the morning edition of our paper “to bed” by two o'clock a.m.; three, at the most. The news” page or pages had yet to be printed and distributed throughout the city and rural areas served. Brevity, concise clarity and truthfulness were basic requirements growing out of the actual doing of each step-by-step of it all. We worked with a deeply set sense of pride, too – confident, you might say, that what were doing was needed was worthwhile.

The evening edition was much more terse. Stories were shorter. It was part of my job as “re-write” man to make use of the rented service which provided headings and initial paragraphs only - an economy measure taken to keep the front office happy. It was my job to fit the stories to spaces available. The evening edition had editorials on the news of the morning edition which,of course, all had to done by noon. Editors had precious little time to to think about such on such matters.

The very nature of news gathering, reading, and publishing has change dramatically and is still in changing. The format of newspaper has changed to features-papers - comments and opinions on the news item rather than the items themselves. Half-hour news programs on radio and TV have been shrinking. Five minutes -in all honesty, more like two or three items on each side of commercial “messages”.

It has all created a threatening wall of “clutter”. News - as such - has become a burden. The repetitive nature of today's news is killing it slowly but surely.

A.L.M. June 4, 2005 [c546wds]

 
MORE INVENTORS NEEDED

We often overlook those very important people called “inventors”. They are those, who by discovering new gadgets, make tomorrow more pleasant, meaningful and profitable.

Right now, a time when everyone seems to be making vast strides into the future in so many fields of interest. We, are more than ever, in need of the subtle little touches which inventors find to make even better use of those things we have.

Such a man was William Painter, the son of a Quaker farmer in “the Freedom State” of Maryland who in 1892 patented a seal with a layer of cork glued to a metal disk which could then be crimped
around the lip of a glass bottle or metal container to seal it properly. Until that time hundreds of different materials had been used and none of them satisfactorily. The cork served well in many cases, yet it was subject to decay, damage during use when it could jam or break while being used. It would disintegrate and fall into the stored food or drink. Devises for “uncorking” were numerous consisting of implanted wires, clamps, pullers, stabbers, grabbers and other “unstoppers” of various kinds.

I am so much concerned right now about Bill Painter's inventions or those by other individuals such as he, who continue to make such wonderful little things which add so much to our enjoyment of things we all have in abundance. New inventors are being forged today to supply coming generations with better ways to use and enjoy and really make wide use of the tremendous inventions now being spread around the world. Much of that which we have considered to be in normal use, are quite new to re-born nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq.


Often we tend to,think of inventors as being eccentric individuals. For the most part they may be said to be “different” from the average run of people in that they accept and dwell on odd elements of living and need. Many of them have been inventors in a another sense in the composing of new music; the development of new plant or in the making of better communications and art forms. It is a wide open field for innovative action.

A.L.M. June 3, 2005 [c546wds]

 
AT THE VERY START

Each of us must decide for ourselves what is going to be of primary importance in our life.

That act – early or delayed – is basic to what we might become.

Today we seem to have tendency to avoid dealing seriously with any idea of becoming a “doctor,lawyer or Indian Chief” for an extended time as if by making such a choice too early we might complicate our future and make it all the more difficult.

The young people of our time are being allowed choices which are judged to be “in tune with our times”. They are afforded a far wider choice of work in keeping with the expansiveness of our culture. Notice how much is centered on becoming what is called ”a success” in whatever field is chosen. The first letter of the term resembles a dollar sign and that is deemed to be the guideline in whatever field of work is chosen. A burnished dollar sign is the star of Hope for the student. It lights the way, sometimes with deceptive rays, beams and flashings. Too often it limits opportunity,as well, by decreeing by its generous gradations of sheepskins - mere paper, fancifully printed and over-embossed and all sufficiently obfuscated by language which can only lead to mediocrity.

Occupational self-deception leads us every downward. Our relaxed educational systems have become warped in favor of academic illusions is is constantly bing exhibited by the number of young ”graduates” - high school or college – who have “completed their educations” seek employment suitable to their supposed status which does not exist. They are, for the most part, required to “start over again”.

We need to realize that basic qualities of home life, church life, social involvements, human need as related to all in wants and differing and deprivation are part and parcel of this package we label so expertly and try to forget -just cover it with degrees and more formal education. “Everybody does it” is commonly used to excuse us.

Poll yourselves – that's plural - ask all parts of your personality what you like best! We use the expression “to educate ourselves.“ We do more of it than you might think we do.

A.L.M. June 2, 2005 [c539wds]

 
A TRAITOR NAMED FELT

On this first day of the month of June 2005, I find that my personal feelings in regard to a man we have been led to speak of as “Deep Throat” have not changed. If anything, those same thoughts I had when this mysterious character appeared, have not been modified by subsequent events except, perhaps, as they might reflect the intensity with the shame and disgrace which I felt the contrived situation brought to segments of journalism and to many of those in political leadership or guidance.

The individual named “Deep Throat” committed acts of a traitor as they were conceived, executed and as they have continued to be an evil essence as embedded in structure of so-called acts of justice which have resulted from from excessive acts of the “Deep Throat” era.

Young people have only a vague oft-told-tale- idea of what it was all supposed to be about. The present information being bandied would have us believe the ninety-one year old man who now passes himself as ”Deep Throat “was so named because of the depth and authoritative roll of his unusual voice, whispering in the dank, emptiness of downtown.. In truth, the name was ,at that time, very much in use by a porn queen of the time who specialized in oral sex with reported alacrity which the garage-talkers had to have known. “Deep Throat” was a handy code-word for the unspeakable. As he story continued, it stayed on that same intellectual level with tabloid inventiveness.

Right now we are being asked by some to grant honors to this man who has,himself, set forth claims to fame and “blowing the whistle on”crooked politicians. He does not see his every act as being those of the common cheat, envy, greed, hate ...all those traits he ascribes so easily to others he has ruined. He was a ”little boy” type of man who was overlooked when it came to be time nudged aside when it came time to name someone one as head of the F.B.I. He would continue to serve in the Number Two spot. He decided to get even for the slight. He did not step forward to announce his awareness of improper actions but, secretly began to pass along such information - snippets of sinfulness – to reporters whose job it was to gather such information

Much of that which he told was true. Some of it was not factual and much of it was exaggerated and told out of context. It made little or no difference to him. He did not realize he would be called upon to serve the rest of the century plus five years as a much-despised and, worse yet, an almost forgotten “Deep Throat” character.

In some ways, the appearance of this man now as a self-confessed criminal is a sad thing to behold. Let's not punish the man any more for his false beliefs and unwise actions. He may well have a fate of being remembered both as a patriot who did his duty and as a traitor who rebelled against his own.

Now, feeble at ninety-one, it's time to cash in on it all and make some real money.

A.L.M. June 1, 2005 [c526wd

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