December 01, 2006
Time to close the doors
While I still need to clean up a few of the aisles (mainly, the 800+ posts I exported from here), I've decided to close the doors here and open them at my new site. Blogger outages and problems and trying to post here while working on the new site didn't seem worth the effort.
Although the content that's already here will remain, tomorrow the "moved to a new address" signs will be going up for good (barring mistakes on my part). For those who want a peek ahead of time, while the address is changing, the name remains the same: A Progressive on the Prairie.
But watch even the stars above
Things that seem still are still changing
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Although the content that's already here will remain, tomorrow the "moved to a new address" signs will be going up for good (barring mistakes on my part). For those who want a peek ahead of time, while the address is changing, the name remains the same: A Progressive on the Prairie.
But watch even the stars above
Things that seem still are still changing
"Still," Ben Folds, Supersunnyspeedgraphic
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November 30, 2006
Dicta and miscellany
All things must pass
All things must pass away
Title Track, George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
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More marginalia
A variety of matters have kept me from doing anything substantive outside of work, let alone reading and writing reviews I need to do. Thus, another collection of marginalia, to be soon followed by some dicta and miscellany.
- The NYT announced its 10 Best Books of 2006. I've read two, both nonfiction: Rory Stewart's excellent The Places in Between (reviewed here) and Danielle Trussoni's Falling Through the Earth (reviewed here). Interestingly, the books that won the National Book Award for fiction and nonfiction didn't make the NYT's cut.
- And the award we've all been waiting for has been announced: the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award. I'll let you see what won in the winner's thoughts on the accolade. (Via, somehwat appropriately, Blog of a Bookslut.)
- As a follow up to the last Marginalia entry, The Library of America has announced what will be in its Philip K. Dick volume. And Ron Hogan at GalleyCat, who really broke the news on the PDK entry, collects a list of other suggestions for LOA volumes.
- When it comes to giving up on a book, I don't have any hard and fast rules. The 100 Page Rule, the Page 99 (or 69) Rule or the 33% Rule all seem just a tad bit more artificial than necessary. Fortunately, I have yet to encounter a book I've been selected to review that I couldn't finish. I may not have liked it but I made it through.
- The Encyclopedia Britannica has launched its own blog. (Via Rebecca's Pocket.)
A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.
Franz Kafka
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November 28, 2006
Marginalia and miscellany
to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He did the same last year with Old Man's War
(review here). By the way, this is a perfect time of year to once again go and read John's Being Poor.
and 2001 - A Space Odyssey
) would be on my top 10 best movies list. I also struggle with Easy Rider
and Mystic River
making the list. (Via SF Signal.)The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.
Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
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November 27, 2006
Cyberspace relocation ahead
I actually started making the arrangements when Blogger starting acting so funky a month or more ago. Then, the fact Blogger is rolling out a new system (which is in beta already) in the near future raises concerns that it will pose even more trouble.
But this tops it. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Blogger required me to put in a password before I could save any draft or publish a post because "Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog." Gee, thanks.
While late today Blogger decided I am a real person and not a spambot, several weeks ago I got a web host and have been in the process of moving this blog to its own domain. I'm still working out some of the glitches that come with migrating to a new host and kicking the tires on the software. Yet within a few weeks and certainly before yearend I'm outta here. I'll provide a forwarding notice here and keep this up as long as possible if for no other reason than archival purposes and in the event the host proves wholly unreliable. But at this point it looks like it's time to move a bit farther down the prairie.
And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything
Or the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said
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But this tops it. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Blogger required me to put in a password before I could save any draft or publish a post because "Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog." Gee, thanks.
While late today Blogger decided I am a real person and not a spambot, several weeks ago I got a web host and have been in the process of moving this blog to its own domain. I'm still working out some of the glitches that come with migrating to a new host and kicking the tires on the software. Yet within a few weeks and certainly before yearend I'm outta here. I'll provide a forwarding notice here and keep this up as long as possible if for no other reason than archival purposes and in the event the host proves wholly unreliable. But at this point it looks like it's time to move a bit farther down the prairie.
And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything
Or the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said
"Mrs. Potter's Lullaby," Counting Crows, This Desert Life
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Book Review: This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
Many freely admit they are addicted. I am one of them. We can't go through a day without listening to music on the radio, a stereo or MP3 player. Purchase of concert tickets or a new release by a favorite artist ranks among the necessities of life. Snippets of songs heard in passing almost immediately bring back memories of other times and places. Regardless of how many times we may have heard them, other songs inevitably give us goose bumps.
It all seems so easy. The music just goes in your ears and there's a range of positive to negative reaction. But as Daniel Levitin makes clear in his book, This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
, there is so much going on behind the scenes that even the world's top scientists and psychologists cannot explain it. And although far from perfect, Levitin's effort and its related web site is a worthy exploration of what we know about how and why music is such an integral part of the human experience.
Levitin's books is, in his words, "about the science of music, from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience." Don't let that scare you off. The introduction establishes that this isn't going to be simply a dry recitation about music, science and the brain. In fact, Levitin's introduction is reminiscent of the scene in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous
where the young, fictional Crowe is enthralled as he listens to The Who's Tommy while exploring and being entranced by the LP cover. For Levitin, it is not album covers but headphones. They revealed a depth to music he had never encountered.
The introduction is typical of how Levitin approaches the subject. He blends experiences all of us have had, songs most of us know and his personal history with the more straightforward details of music, science and scientific studies to help us understand the impact of music. And in that respect, the title may be perfect. Borrowed from the advertising campaign on the impact of illegal drugs on the brain, Levitin shows us the entirely legal effect music has on our brains and brain chemistry.
This is not always an easy task. For one, it is not easy to explain music principles and theories to non-musicians. By the same token, the anatomy and chemistry of the brain aren't always easily grasped by those who aren't that interested in science. That is the hurdle Levitin seeks to overcome in the opening chapters, which attempt to explain not only basic music theory and concepts but also basic brain science. Levitin describes these areas as plainly and simply as possible. Still, some of the terminology and concepts may cause a reader's eyes to glaze over a bit and their mind to wonder if they grasp, let alone need or want to know, all the concepts. But ultimately the pay-off is worth the price.
We think it comes so easy. Throw on a CD or put the earphones from an MP3 player in your ears and you hear music. What is stunning and fascinating, though, is that your ears don't hear music per se.
No, music doesn't flow in the ear and into the brain as one discrete item or on its own channel, nor does any other sound in the room or on the street. Instead, the brain must extract information about the sounds and then integrate them into what we ultimately perceive as music, a cat purring or a car horn. Far from a "no-brainer," particularly considering it happens instantaneously and on the fly.
This is just one of many examples of how Levitin relates neuroscience to our everyday experiences with music. Why do we get songs or snippets of songs "stuck in our head"? Do some people have a genetic predisposition to be top-notch or world class musicians or can a certain amount of practice make it a reachable goal for almost anyone? Why do we like or dislike certain types of music? Why do certain songs, particularly those we heard as teenagers, tend to stay in our memories for so long? And given his past musical background, Levitin also takes a practical approach to explain the emotional impact of music and how our relationship with music is such that at times we are more open and vulnerable to it than our friends and relatives
The power of art is that it can connect us to one another, and to larger truths about what it means to be alive and what it means to be human.
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It all seems so easy. The music just goes in your ears and there's a range of positive to negative reaction. But as Daniel Levitin makes clear in his book, This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
, there is so much going on behind the scenes that even the world's top scientists and psychologists cannot explain it. And although far from perfect, Levitin's effort and its related web site is a worthy exploration of what we know about how and why music is such an integral part of the human experience.Levitin's books is, in his words, "about the science of music, from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience." Don't let that scare you off. The introduction establishes that this isn't going to be simply a dry recitation about music, science and the brain. In fact, Levitin's introduction is reminiscent of the scene in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous
where the young, fictional Crowe is enthralled as he listens to The Who's Tommy while exploring and being entranced by the LP cover. For Levitin, it is not album covers but headphones. They revealed a depth to music he had never encountered.To me, records were no longer just about the songs anymore, but about the sound. Headphones opened up a world of sonic colors, a palette of nuances and details that went far beyond the chords and melody, the lyrics, or a particular singer's voice. .... Headphones also made the music more personal for me; it was suddenly coming from inside my head, not out there in the world.That experience helped lead Levitin to become a session musician, recording engineer and record producer. Yet his fascination with the perception of sound and music took him even farther, leading him to a degree is neuroscience and, ultimately, to become the head of the Levitin Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University in Montreal.
The introduction is typical of how Levitin approaches the subject. He blends experiences all of us have had, songs most of us know and his personal history with the more straightforward details of music, science and scientific studies to help us understand the impact of music. And in that respect, the title may be perfect. Borrowed from the advertising campaign on the impact of illegal drugs on the brain, Levitin shows us the entirely legal effect music has on our brains and brain chemistry.
This is not always an easy task. For one, it is not easy to explain music principles and theories to non-musicians. By the same token, the anatomy and chemistry of the brain aren't always easily grasped by those who aren't that interested in science. That is the hurdle Levitin seeks to overcome in the opening chapters, which attempt to explain not only basic music theory and concepts but also basic brain science. Levitin describes these areas as plainly and simply as possible. Still, some of the terminology and concepts may cause a reader's eyes to glaze over a bit and their mind to wonder if they grasp, let alone need or want to know, all the concepts. But ultimately the pay-off is worth the price.
We think it comes so easy. Throw on a CD or put the earphones from an MP3 player in your ears and you hear music. What is stunning and fascinating, though, is that your ears don't hear music per se.
Sound is transmitted through the air by molecules vibrating at certain frequencies. These molecules bombard the eardrum, causing it to wiggle in and out depending on how hard they hit it (related to the volume or amplitude of the sound) and on how fast they're vibrating (related to what we call pitch). But there is nothing in the molecules that tells the eardrum where they came from, or which ones are associated with which object. The molecules that were set in motion by the cat purring didn't carry an identifying tag that says cat, and they may arrive on the eardrum at the same time and in the same region of the eardrum as the sounds from the refrigerator, the heater, Debussy, and everything elseFind that explanation a little too abstract for your tastes? This is just one of the many places Levitin makes the science understandable. He follows this explanation with an example any of us can understand. Imagine a number of people throwing as many or as few ping pong balls (sound molecules) as they want at a pillowcase stretched over a bucket (the eardrum). Standing where you cannot see the people and looking only at how the pillowcase moves, you must determine how many people are throwing, where they are and whether they are moving toward or away from the pillowcase or just standing still.
No, music doesn't flow in the ear and into the brain as one discrete item or on its own channel, nor does any other sound in the room or on the street. Instead, the brain must extract information about the sounds and then integrate them into what we ultimately perceive as music, a cat purring or a car horn. Far from a "no-brainer," particularly considering it happens instantaneously and on the fly.
This is just one of many examples of how Levitin relates neuroscience to our everyday experiences with music. Why do we get songs or snippets of songs "stuck in our head"? Do some people have a genetic predisposition to be top-notch or world class musicians or can a certain amount of practice make it a reachable goal for almost anyone? Why do we like or dislike certain types of music? Why do certain songs, particularly those we heard as teenagers, tend to stay in our memories for so long? And given his past musical background, Levitin also takes a practical approach to explain the emotional impact of music and how our relationship with music is such that at times we are more open and vulnerable to it than our friends and relatives
We allow [musicians] to control our emotions and even our politics -- to lift us up, to bring us down, to comfort us, to inspire us. We let them into our living rooms and bedrooms when no one else is around. We let them into our ears, directly, through earbuds and headphones, when we're not communicating with anybody else in the world.In the end, Levitin recognizes that science cannot wholly explain our obsession with music. It is, after all, an obsession because not only does the brain process sound into music, the brain is also the vehicle by which music also affects our feelings and emotions. That is where This Is Your Brain on Music may be most successful. While examining the science of the human relationship with music, Levitin never forgets music is a personal relationship and, in fact, strives to reinforce and bolster the relationship.
The power of art is that it can connect us to one another, and to larger truths about what it means to be alive and what it means to be human.
Daniel J. Levitin, This Is Your Brain on Music
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November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving trimmings
, is now working on a biography of Kurt Vonnegut.Nothing survives
But the way we live our lives
"Daddy's Tune," Jackson Browne, The Pretender
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November 20, 2006
Daughters and dreams
I am still exhausted. Who would have thought watching a daughter win a state volleyball championship could be so wearing? Then what I knew all along hit my consciousness upside the head. I wasn't just invested in the tournament for my daughter. It was for an entire group of girls who have become almost another family over the last several years.
Although it doesn't seem that long ago, I remember sitting in a motel room in the midst of winter listening as some middle school-aged girls talked about playing in their first club volleyball tournament. These girls, who met through school and Y volleyball programs, bonded more than any of us expected and developed a common love of the game. It wasn't that long before, as young kids will do, they starting talking about maybe winning a state volleyball championship some day.
By the winter of 8th grade, the parents were amazed at how these girls seemed to read each other's mind on a volleyball court and the synergy they created by their focus on working as a team. One or two faces departed and one or two more joined but for at least four years, if not more, there was the same group. Even when school or other programs occasionally split them among different teams, the bond of these girls turned the dream of a championship into more than just a wish. It was a goal and a destination, one they had no question they would reach together.
In addition to middle and high school volleyball, they traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles over the years from Fargo to Omaha to Minneapolis and anywhere in between playing Junior Olympic volleyball. They spent hours in cars, vans, motel rooms and, most important, on volleyball courts, nurturing the dream and working toward the goal. As their senior year arrived this year, they were all together again like when they started out. They also knew that the time was now.
The dream become wish become goal became reality Saturday night. The many tears shed when one suffered a season-ending injury one game short of the championship left them shaken yet even more resolved that nothing would stop them. While younger teammates gained in recent years were invaluable to reaching the goal, there is no doubt the championship and the fire and determination they showed winning it began in a motel room on a cold winter night years ago.
Since that night there have been more than a few tears of sorrow and pain but far more laughter and love. Regardless of personal differences or problems that arise in any relationships and friendships, none of it mattered when they set foot on a volleyball court. There, they were indivisible and would do anything asked of them for each other. As a result, as one said Sunday afternoon, Saturday night was "the most fun ... ever."
To Betsy, Chantel, Grote, Kylie, Sam and particularly my "niece" Erica and daughter Andrea, you proved and learned that, with desire and work, dreams can become reality. Thanks for letting a few of us old folks tag along with you on your journey.
A man doesn't have to have all the answers -- children will teach him how to parent them, and in the process will teach him everything he needs to know about life.
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Although it doesn't seem that long ago, I remember sitting in a motel room in the midst of winter listening as some middle school-aged girls talked about playing in their first club volleyball tournament. These girls, who met through school and Y volleyball programs, bonded more than any of us expected and developed a common love of the game. It wasn't that long before, as young kids will do, they starting talking about maybe winning a state volleyball championship some day.
By the winter of 8th grade, the parents were amazed at how these girls seemed to read each other's mind on a volleyball court and the synergy they created by their focus on working as a team. One or two faces departed and one or two more joined but for at least four years, if not more, there was the same group. Even when school or other programs occasionally split them among different teams, the bond of these girls turned the dream of a championship into more than just a wish. It was a goal and a destination, one they had no question they would reach together.
In addition to middle and high school volleyball, they traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles over the years from Fargo to Omaha to Minneapolis and anywhere in between playing Junior Olympic volleyball. They spent hours in cars, vans, motel rooms and, most important, on volleyball courts, nurturing the dream and working toward the goal. As their senior year arrived this year, they were all together again like when they started out. They also knew that the time was now.
The dream become wish become goal became reality Saturday night. The many tears shed when one suffered a season-ending injury one game short of the championship left them shaken yet even more resolved that nothing would stop them. While younger teammates gained in recent years were invaluable to reaching the goal, there is no doubt the championship and the fire and determination they showed winning it began in a motel room on a cold winter night years ago.
Since that night there have been more than a few tears of sorrow and pain but far more laughter and love. Regardless of personal differences or problems that arise in any relationships and friendships, none of it mattered when they set foot on a volleyball court. There, they were indivisible and would do anything asked of them for each other. As a result, as one said Sunday afternoon, Saturday night was "the most fun ... ever."
 |  |
To Betsy, Chantel, Grote, Kylie, Sam and particularly my "niece" Erica and daughter Andrea, you proved and learned that, with desire and work, dreams can become reality. Thanks for letting a few of us old folks tag along with you on your journey.
A man doesn't have to have all the answers -- children will teach him how to parent them, and in the process will teach him everything he needs to know about life.
Frank Pittman, Man Enough
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November 18, 2006
2006 State "AA" Volleyball Champs
I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.
Mia Hamm
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November 16, 2006
Awards, marginalia and miscellany
As I prepare to leave for the state volleyball tournament, posting may be sporadic and perhaps little more than occasional compilations, such as this:
In It To Win It
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- The National Book Award winners were announced last night. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers won the Fiction award. I just finished the book last week and, frankly, have relatively ambivalent feelings about it, ambivalent enough that I may not even post a review. If you're interested, a couple blogs provide good lists of information and comment. Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time, about surviving the Dust Bowl, won the Nonfiction Award. Thanks to the good folks at Siouxland Libraries, it will soon be in the TBR pile.
- Prometheus Books and its SF imprint, Pyr, are offering a neat deal. You get a 35 percent discount if you buy any combination of one Prometheus title and one Pyr title. Both are excellent publishers. You can find reviews of a couple of the books that are part of the offer here and here.
- Kimbofo's post on book bloggers getting free books is getting some critical, semi-critical and more general attention. Even the debate at the site of one of the original posts is getting lively.
- Interest in atheism and faith seems to keep booming. Newsweek and the WaPo have launched a site called On Faith and Sam Harris and Karen Armstrong are among the impressive list of contributors.
- Plain(s) Feminist posts an interesting history of Catholicism and abortion.
- This application perhaps should be standard on almost any computer connected to the internet.
- And this may be the most painful non-surgical lobotomy of all time. (Via Kottke.org Remaindered Links.)
by Richard Powers won the Fiction award. I just finished the book last week and, frankly, have relatively ambivalent feelings about it, ambivalent enough that I may not even post a review. If you're interested, a couple blogs provide good lists of 
, about surviving the In It To Win It
2006 Roosevelt High School state volleyball tournament t-shirt
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November 15, 2006
Road rants
Trying to get things cleared up to get away for the state volleyball tournament, dealing with a seemingly endless stream of idiotic problems and being just plain fed up with dealing with road construction leaves me in a ranting mood. While I'm nowhere near as good as Scott H., these things are among the irritants striking me during my battle with roadwork over the last day or so. Hey, at least it's not true road rage.
I want you to go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell. I want you to yell, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this any more!"
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- First, a quote from a short item from Tuesday's Argus Leader saying work began Thursday, i.e., Nov. 9, on a construction project on I-29 south of Sioux Falls. "The contractor was awarded the contract on June 20 and was to have the project done by Nov. 3, [a state engineer] said." My main question is, didn't the Argus, AP or whomever was responsible for the story think to ask, "Why is this contractor starting a week after the deadline for completing the project and how much is it being fined missing that completion date?"
- Another construction debacle is the never-ending one on West 12th Street near I-29. According to the DOT website, "the Contractor must have all lanes of Interstate 29, Marion Road and 12th St. complete and open to traffic" by Nov. 3. Not even close. Even as of today, there is only one lane each way on both Marion and 12th and you cannot get on to I-29 from 12th Street. And you know how many yards of concrete the contractor laid for the driving lanes on 12th Street from Nov. 4 through Nov. 8, when the temp was in the 50s, 60s and 70s? Exactly zero. When did they start putting concrete down for the driving lanes? This week. Of course, that means they are working in the dark tonight when the temp is below freezing. Anyone wanna lay any bets on how long it will be before the concrete on those stretches of 12th Street are torn up to repair the spalls, cracks and craters?
- I recognize various Sioux Falls law firms have conflicts that preclude their involvement but was it really necessary for this gentleman to go to Rapid City to find a lawyer to challenge the red-light cameras in Sioux Falls? By the way, I saw at least two motorists get their pictures taken by the cameras when I was at the intersection on my way home tonight.
- That leads to another continual irritant with traffic lights. Twelfth Street is complete between Minnesota and a couple blocks east of I-29. Why is it that the traffic lights are set so you have to stop for between half and three-quarters of them if you drive at or under the speed limit?
I want you to go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell. I want you to yell, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this any more!"
Paddy Chayefsky, Network
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Midweek miscellany and marginalia
, actually written 60 years ago, was at the top of the list.There are moments when everything goes well; don't be frightened. It won't last.
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November 14, 2006
Book Review: Kill the Messenger (2006)
Virtually no one disputes Gary Webb died in 2004 of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Yet the question "What killed Gary Webb?" still exists.
Was it that his August 1996 "Dark Alliance" series in the San Jose Mercury News regarding how some Nicaraguan "contra" rebels backed by the CIA received funds from crack cocaine traffickers was seriously flawed? Was it that the Mercury News distanced itself from the series and Webb? Was it that "Dark Alliance" was the subject of withering attacks by such major metropolitan newspapers as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Washington Post? Or was it as simple as the depression Webb suffered and the fact he found himself divorced, unemployed and sufficiently impoverished that he was moving back in with his mother at age 49?
While Nick Schou's Kill the Messenger does not -- and cannot -- answer those questions, it is an excellent exploration of how and why they, Webb, and "Dark Alliance" remain relevant today. Schou may be a perfect author for this book. An investigative reporter himself, Schou has examined the "Dark Alliance" series for a decade. Equally important, he applies a journalist's eye and style to the story, examining such things as the way the editing process and even internal newsroom politics may have contributed to the problems in "Dark Alliance."
Webb's three-part series was not unique solely by virtue of exploring the relationship between the CIA and crack cocaine traffickers. It also demonstrated the impact the so-called mainstream media could have via the internet. Given its location in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mercury News simultaneously published the series on its web site and provided links to many of the documents Webb used. Once the series appeared, the paper's site went from thousands of hits per day to half a million per day. Yet as we have learned over the last decade, things not only seem to take on a life of their own on the internet, it is fertile ground for conspiracy theories. A large number of people, including significant portions of the African-American community in and around Los Angeles viewed the series as confirmation of suspicions the government was behind the explosive growth of crack cocaine.
The Mercury News did not help the situation. The graphics used to illustrate the story showed the silhouette of someone smoking a crack pipe over the CIA seal. The headline suggested that the crack cocaine problem in Los Angeles grew from the battle between the contras and the Nicaraguan government. Webb was not involved with either of those decisions. Similarly, the story's opening sentences, revised during the editing process, suggested that millions in drug profits had gone to a the contras and that this helped sparked a crack "explosion" in America. Yet as Schou makes clear, the series did not accuse the CIA of being behind that explosion.
That is a position Webb himself always took but seemed never able to convince people. Webb wrote in his own 1998 bookthat he
While Webb's series was an unprecedented exploration of government activities to support the contras (predating revelation of Oliver North and the Iran-Contra affair), it at first generated little attention. When reaction began, it spread rapidly. Not only was the story taken up in the African American community, three major metropolitan papers assigned some of their top reporters to investigate what had appeared in some upstart regional newspaper and spread across the country over the internet.
By October, the Mercury News and Webb were under an unprecedented full frontal attack. The Washington Post, followed quickly by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, attacked Webb's reporting and his sources. In fact, the L.A. Times devoted 17 reporters and produced its own three-part, 20,000-word (more than "Dark Alliance") series to debunk Webb's reporting. One part of that series was devoted to exploring whether African Americans were more likely to believe conspiracy theories.
The coverage in each of the major newspapers often was based on CIA sources and seemed to highlight errors that either did not go to the true premise of the series or were the result of the editing process, which cut the series from Webb's initial four parts to three. According to Schou, the problem with "Dark Alliance" was that it "contained major flaws of hyperbole that were both encouraged and ignored by [Webb's] editors." Nothing in the series, however, justified what Schou has called "the most vicious and unrelenting campaign of vilification directed against a reporter in recent memory." In fact, in late 1996 even the Washington Post's ombudsman said the mainstream media engaged in a feeding frenzy that "showed more energy for protecting the CIA from someone else's journalistic excesses" than examining the true nature of government involvement.
And while the Mercury News initially supported Webb, who'd won more than a dozen reporting awards before joining the paper, it eventually distanced itself from him. In May 1997, the paper published a letter to readers that, while saying the series was "right on many important points," said there were significant errors in the series and that it oversimplified the crack problem. As Webb feared, the letter was immediately viewed as a repudiation of the series. This idea was reinforced when the paper reassigned Webb to a routine beat in a suburban bureau more than 150 miles from his home. He left the paper at the end of the year but, by then, was a pariah in mainstream journalism.
In telling Webb's biography and the story of "Dark Alliance," Schou relies not only on his own extensive research but interviews with Webb's family and former colleagues, including his editors and fellow reporters. And while he is rightfully critical of the Mercury News and the major metropolitan papers who attacked the series, he does not take a hands off approach to Webb. His interviews with Webb's colleagues and editors not only touch on some of Webb's shortcomings, he also explores lawsuits arising out of articles Webb wrote earlier in his newspaper career. Schou also points out, among other things, that portions of the series were predicated on the testimony of convicted felons which may or may not have been reliable. In fact, Schou notes, the federal law enforcement records cited as sources in the series were "mostly transcripts of testimony by crooks."
All things considered, Kill the Messenger ultimately leans toward Webb's perspective on the "Dark Alliance" series. That does not damage this highly readable and detailed exploration of not only the series but the reporter behind it and the ensuing and perhaps wholly unprecedented feeding frenzy of the mainstream media. And in the end Schou does what any good author should do with this type of story. He leaves us to decide for ourselves what killed Gary Webb and who, if anyone, is responsible.
[W]e now live in a country where reporters dread becoming Gary Webb. God help us.
1 comments
Was it that his August 1996 "Dark Alliance" series in the San Jose Mercury News regarding how some Nicaraguan "contra" rebels backed by the CIA received funds from crack cocaine traffickers was seriously flawed? Was it that the Mercury News distanced itself from the series and Webb? Was it that "Dark Alliance" was the subject of withering attacks by such major metropolitan newspapers as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Washington Post? Or was it as simple as the depression Webb suffered and the fact he found himself divorced, unemployed and sufficiently impoverished that he was moving back in with his mother at age 49?
While Nick Schou's Kill the Messenger does not -- and cannot -- answer those questions, it is an excellent exploration of how and why they, Webb, and "Dark Alliance" remain relevant today. Schou may be a perfect author for this book. An investigative reporter himself, Schou has examined the "Dark Alliance" series for a decade. Equally important, he applies a journalist's eye and style to the story, examining such things as the way the editing process and even internal newsroom politics may have contributed to the problems in "Dark Alliance."
does not -- and cannot -- answer those questions, it is an excellent exploration of how and why they, Webb, and "Dark Alliance" remain relevant today. Schou may be a perfect author for this book. An investigative reporter himself, Schou has examined the "Dark Alliance" series for a decade. Equally important, he applies a journalist's eye and style to the story, examining such things as the way the editing process and even internal newsroom politics may have contributed to the problems in "Dark Alliance."Webb's three-part series was not unique solely by virtue of exploring the relationship between the CIA and crack cocaine traffickers. It also demonstrated the impact the so-called mainstream media could have via the internet. Given its location in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mercury News simultaneously published the series on its web site and provided links to many of the documents Webb used. Once the series appeared, the paper's site went from thousands of hits per day to half a million per day. Yet as we have learned over the last decade, things not only seem to take on a life of their own on the internet, it is fertile ground for conspiracy theories. A large number of people, including significant portions of the African-American community in and around Los Angeles viewed the series as confirmation of suspicions the government was behind the explosive growth of crack cocaine.
The Mercury News did not help the situation. The graphics used to illustrate the story showed the silhouette of someone smoking a crack pipe over the CIA seal. The headline suggested that the crack cocaine problem in Los Angeles grew from the battle between the contras and the Nicaraguan government. Webb was not involved with either of those decisions. Similarly, the story's opening sentences, revised during the editing process, suggested that millions in drug profits had gone to a the contras and that this helped sparked a crack "explosion" in America. Yet as Schou makes clear, the series did not accuse the CIA of being behind that explosion.
That is a position Webb himself always took but seemed never able to convince people. Webb wrote in his own 1998 bookthat he
that henever believed, and never wrote, that there was a grand CIA conspiracy behind the crack plague. Indeed the more I learned about the agency, the more certain of that I became. The CIA couldn't even mine a harbor without getting his trench coat stuck in its fly.Schou agrees with and supports that assessment. According to Schou, Webb's series was correct in its most important respects, that being that the CIA had at least some ties to those bringing cocaine into the U.S. and that some money from the drug traffic was finding its way into the hands of the contras. At the same time, he details how neither Webb nor his series accused the CIA of being involved in the distribution of crack cocaine.
While Webb's series was an unprecedented exploration of government activities to support the contras (predating revelation of Oliver North and the Iran-Contra affair), it at first generated little attention. When reaction began, it spread rapidly. Not only was the story taken up in the African American community, three major metropolitan papers assigned some of their top reporters to investigate what had appeared in some upstart regional newspaper and spread across the country over the internet.
By October, the Mercury News and Webb were under an unprecedented full frontal attack. The Washington Post, followed quickly by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, attacked Webb's reporting and his sources. In fact, the L.A. Times devoted 17 reporters and produced its own three-part, 20,000-word (more than "Dark Alliance") series to debunk Webb's reporting. One part of that series was devoted to exploring whether African Americans were more likely to believe conspiracy theories.
The coverage in each of the major newspapers often was based on CIA sources and seemed to highlight errors that either did not go to the true premise of the series or were the result of the editing process, which cut the series from Webb's initial four parts to three. According to Schou, the problem with "Dark Alliance" was that it "contained major flaws of hyperbole that were both encouraged and ignored by [Webb's] editors." Nothing in the series, however, justified what Schou has called "the most vicious and unrelenting campaign of vilification directed against a reporter in recent memory." In fact, in late 1996 even the Washington Post's ombudsman said the mainstream media engaged in a feeding frenzy that "showed more energy for protecting the CIA from someone else's journalistic excesses" than examining the true nature of government involvement.
And while the Mercury News initially supported Webb, who'd won more than a dozen reporting awards before joining the paper, it eventually distanced itself from him. In May 1997, the paper published a letter to readers that, while saying the series was "right on many important points," said there were significant errors in the series and that it oversimplified the crack problem. As Webb feared, the letter was immediately viewed as a repudiation of the series. This idea was reinforced when the paper reassigned Webb to a routine beat in a suburban bureau more than 150 miles from his home. He left the paper at the end of the year but, by then, was a pariah in mainstream journalism.
In telling Webb's biography and the story of "Dark Alliance," Schou relies not only on his own extensive research but interviews with Webb's family and former colleagues, including his editors and fellow reporters. And while he is rightfully critical of the Mercury News and the major metropolitan papers who attacked the series, he does not take a hands off approach to Webb. His interviews with Webb's colleagues and editors not only touch on some of Webb's shortcomings, he also explores lawsuits arising out of articles Webb wrote earlier in his newspaper career. Schou also points out, among other things, that portions of the series were predicated on the testimony of convicted felons which may or may not have been reliable. In fact, Schou notes, the federal law enforcement records cited as sources in the series were "mostly transcripts of testimony by crooks."
All things considered, Kill the Messenger ultimately leans toward Webb's perspective on the "Dark Alliance" series. That does not damage this highly readable and detailed exploration of not only the series but the reporter behind it and the ensuing and perhaps wholly unprecedented feeding frenzy of the mainstream media. And in the end Schou does what any good author should do with this type of story. He leaves us to decide for ourselves what killed Gary Webb and who, if anyone, is responsible.
[W]e now live in a country where reporters dread becoming Gary Webb. God help us.
Charles Bowden's Introduction to
Nick Schou, Kill the Messenger
1 comments
November 13, 2006
Search term follies
First, I will ackowledge stealing this idea from Vonnegut's Asshole (and that's a sentence that is incapable of sounding quite right). It occasionally looks at some of the, shall we say, odd search terms that bring viewers to the site. While I still get plenty of hits from searches like those using "Stephanie Herseth" and words like lesbian, hottie, boyfriend or naked, those aren't the ones that leave me scratching my head.
Although I'm not positive how all of them led people to this blog, here's a list of 10 recent interesting queries and my responses in case the searchers return. I am hoping to make this a regular (or irregular) feature.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "circle jerk pictures"
Don't have 'em. Don't want 'em. Am concerned that you do.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "ron branson jail insane"
To quote the Magic 8-ball, "Outlook good."
MAMMA METASEARCH: "9th Amendment Meaning apply to child molesters"
Last time I checked, the 9th Amendment applied to everyone, although it doesn't really create any rights, saying simply that the Constitution's enumertion of certain rights doesn't deny other rights that may exist.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "wife have 7 month pregnant want a abortion".
Got to defer to the Magic 8-ball on this one, too. "Don't count on it."
GOOGLE (SWITZERLAND) SEARCH: "she's lie wind music"
Sorry, I, too, am bemused by Zen koans.
GOOGLE (CANADA) SEARCH: "medical testing for pregnancy first 16 percent then 29 then 49 does it mean i could be pregnant"
I'm not sure, but I feel confident saying the odds appear to be increasing.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "what would happen if you dropped a junior mint into someone during surgery"
Seems I saw a TV show about that. I don't recall if it was a documentary but think it had some guy named Kramer in it.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "Tim's grandfather's son is Mike's dad"
Not sure if this is a riddle or someone concerned about inbreeding. In either event, please be aware that it will be unconstitutional for Tim and Mike (or their male relatives) to marry each other in South Dakota.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "Compare and Contrast Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana"
I don't even do my kids' homework but... Both play guitar. Jimi is dead. Carlos is not.
YAHOO SEARCH: "annual fatalities from running with scissors"
I speculate there are not a great number -- unless your parents told you otherwise, in which case they are correct.
If you follow every dream
You might get lost
0 comments
Although I'm not positive how all of them led people to this blog, here's a list of 10 recent interesting queries and my responses in case the searchers return. I am hoping to make this a regular (or irregular) feature.
GOOGLE SEARCH: "circle jerk pictures"
GOOGLE SEARCH: "ron branson jail insane"
MAMMA METASEARCH: "9th Amendment Meaning apply to child molesters"
GOOGLE SEARCH: "wife have 7 month pregnant want a abortion".
GOOGLE (SWITZERLAND) SEARCH: "she's lie wind music"
GOOGLE (CANADA) SEARCH: "medical testing for pregnancy first 16 percent then 29 then 49 does it mean i could be pregnant"
GOOGLE SEARCH: "what would happen if you dropped a junior mint into someone during surgery"
GOOGLE SEARCH: "Tim's grandfather's son is Mike's dad"
GOOGLE SEARCH: "Compare and Contrast Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana"
YAHOO SEARCH: "annual fatalities from running with scissors"
If you follow every dream
You might get lost
"The Painter," Neil Young, Prairie Wind
0 comments
November 11, 2006
The Atheist Manifestos III:
The Heathen's Guide to World Religions (2006)
It might be unfair to include William Hopper's The Heathen's Guide to World Religions with reviews of works by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. That's because Hopper's work is a Marxist manifesto. Marx as in Groucho Marx.
Yet that may be what is ultimately required when it comes to advocating atheism. Religious faith and belief are not founded on concepts of logic, reasoning or the scientific method. As a result, perhaps humor is the only way to draw believers in and educate them.
Farce is not Hopper's sole approach to his "secular history of the One True Faiths." It is actually two-fold. The serious side examines the precepts and contentions of various religions in the context of what history actually reveals. The other is to approach it all with biting satire and flat out humor. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
Hopper, a Canadian who pursued a college program in world religions, turns a skeptic's eye toward the largest of the world's religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. One thing is certain. When Hopper offends, he does so on an equal opportunity basis. Thus, Jesus is referred to as "JC" or "Josh" (short for Joshua, his actual Hebrew name), Buddha as "Sid" (short for his real name, Siddhartha Gautama).
People like me who tend to look askance at religion likely will find The Heathen's Guide far funnier and less offensive than believers. And, certainly, believers will find that shots Hopper takes at other religions far more palatable than any shots he may take toward their own. But Hopper is also intent on trying to educate people about what history really says.
Thus, in his examination of Christianity, Hopper takes an honest and serious look at what a messiah was insofar as Judaic tradition meant. That is a wholly acceptable approach since that is the only religious tradition in which the term had meaning at the time. Likewise, Hopper seeks to belie some of the gloss put on the religions, such as the view of Jesus as this bearded, long-haired, fairly attractive white man. He quotes a description of Jesus that appeared in the work of 1st Century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus:
While Hopper's work is replete with such information, it is within a satirical setting that, once again, does not discriminate based on religion or creed. A few examples:
For example, Hopper refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the "Immaculate Conceptee" and indicates it was the conception of Christ that was immaculate. Roman Catholics (particularly those of us who attended Catholic schools named "Immaculate Conception") should immediately recognize that is erroneous. The dogma of the immaculate conception stems from Catholic obsession with original sin, the "hereditary stain" all humanity is born with because Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. Seeking to avoid Jesus being born of someone afflicted by original sin, the church came up with the doctrine that when Mary was conceived she was "preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." Thus, the concept refers to Mary's conception, not the supposed virginal birth of Jesus.
Similarly, while Hopper explains how the Nicene Creed came about from the doctrinal debates over the concept of the trinity in western Christian faiths, he says that Catholics will recognize the prayer "as being the first words said in the mass." That, too, is wrong. Instead, the Nicene Creed is said in the Roman Catholic mass after the homily and immediately before the Eucharist services.
Adherents of other religions or creeds might find equally egregious errors in the discussion of their faith. Then again, they may not. It is that uncertainty that causes the most harm to an otherwise enjoyable work. Also undercutting The Heathen's Guide is something that rankles me about books issued by any number of very small or vanity presses -- the proofreading is horrible. This book is no exception. In comparison to the factual errors, this is minor but it never helps an author when the reader is forced to stumble over various sentences.
That said, as long as the reader is aware that it is possible that not every fact in the book should be taken as gospel (pun intended) Hopper's blend of cynicism, humor and history make this a top notch "Dummies Guide to World Religions." It also provides an excellent counterpoint to traditional "heathen" views of religion.
You'd figure that God, being the omniscient kinda guy he is, might make some allowances for human stupidity, No such luck.
0 comments
Yet that may be what is ultimately required when it comes to advocating atheism. Religious faith and belief are not founded on concepts of logic, reasoning or the scientific method. As a result, perhaps humor is the only way to draw believers in and educate them.
Farce is not Hopper's sole approach to his "secular history of the One True Faiths." It is actually two-fold. The serious side examines the precepts and contentions of various religions in the context of what history actually reveals. The other is to approach it all with biting satire and flat out humor. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
Hopper, a Canadian who pursued a college program in world religions, turns a skeptic's eye toward the largest of the world's religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. One thing is certain. When Hopper offends, he does so on an equal opportunity basis. Thus, Jesus is referred to as "JC" or "Josh" (short for Joshua, his actual Hebrew name), Buddha as "Sid" (short for his real name, Siddhartha Gautama).
People like me who tend to look askance at religion likely will find The Heathen's Guide far funnier and less offensive than believers. And, certainly, believers will find that shots Hopper takes at other religions far more palatable than any shots he may take toward their own. But Hopper is also intent on trying to educate people about what history really says.
Thus, in his examination of Christianity, Hopper takes an honest and serious look at what a messiah was insofar as Judaic tradition meant. That is a wholly acceptable approach since that is the only religious tradition in which the term had meaning at the time. Likewise, Hopper seeks to belie some of the gloss put on the religions, such as the view of Jesus as this bearded, long-haired, fairly attractive white man. He quotes a description of Jesus that appeared in the work of 1st Century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus:
His nature and form were human; a man of simple appearance, mature age, dark skin, small stature, three cubits high [about five feet], hunchbacked, with a long face, long nose and meeting eyebrows, so that they who see him might be affrighted, with scanty hair with a parting in the middle of his head . . . and an undeveloped beard.Not quite the image with which most people today are familiar.
While Hopper's work is replete with such information, it is within a satirical setting that, once again, does not discriminate based on religion or creed. A few examples:
- His description of the Essenes, a Jewish sect in which Hopper believes Jesus was a member: "They're the nutbar, genuinely certifiable Jews; the ones who would have been in the Waco, Texas standoff if they'd lived today."
- The Christian concept of the Rapture "is basically like being beamed up to the Enterprise, except you end up in Heaven instead of the transporter room."
- His description of when Mohammed first saw the archangel Gabriel: "There's nothing scarier than being half-asleep on a mountain and having an archangel show up out of nowhere with a silk scroll and commanding you to read. Unless, of course, it's being half asleep on a mountain and having an archangel show up out of nowhere commanding you to read when you're illiterate - which, as luck would have it, was what Mohammed was."
- His description of the death of the caliph that caused the split between the Shi'a and Sunni sects of Islam: "[T]he orthodoxy got together and removed Hussein from his position as head of the faith. They left the rest of him, mind you. They just took his head. It was mounted on a stick and taken back to Damascus, where it was paraded around the streets[.]"
- His version of "Suffering," the first of Buddhism's Four Noble Truths: "Life is shit."
For example, Hopper refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the "Immaculate Conceptee" and indicates it was the conception of Christ that was immaculate. Roman Catholics (particularly those of us who attended Catholic schools named "Immaculate Conception") should immediately recognize that is erroneous. The dogma of the immaculate conception stems from Catholic obsession with original sin, the "hereditary stain" all humanity is born with because Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. Seeking to avoid Jesus being born of someone afflicted by original sin, the church came up with the doctrine that when Mary was conceived she was "preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." Thus, the concept refers to Mary's conception, not the supposed virginal birth of Jesus.
Similarly, while Hopper explains how the Nicene Creed came about from the doctrinal debates over the concept of the trinity in western Christian faiths, he says that Catholics will recognize the prayer "as being the first words said in the mass." That, too, is wrong. Instead, the Nicene Creed is said in the Roman Catholic mass after the homily and immediately before the Eucharist services.
Adherents of other religions or creeds might find equally egregious errors in the discussion of their faith. Then again, they may not. It is that uncertainty that causes the most harm to an otherwise enjoyable work. Also undercutting The Heathen's Guide is something that rankles me about books issued by any number of very small or vanity presses -- the proofreading is horrible. This book is no exception. In comparison to the factual errors, this is minor but it never helps an author when the reader is forced to stumble over various sentences.
That said, as long as the reader is aware that it is possible that not every fact in the book should be taken as gospel (pun intended) Hopper's blend of cynicism, humor and history make this a top notch "Dummies Guide to World Religions." It also provides an excellent counterpoint to traditional "heathen" views of religion.
You'd figure that God, being the omniscient kinda guy he is, might make some allowances for human stupidity, No such luck.
William Hopper, The Heathen's Guide to World Religions
0 comments
November 10, 2006
The Atheist Manifestos II:
The God Delusion (2006)
With two books on the bestseller list raising questions about the validity of belief in God, some observers see a movement they call the New Atheism. If they are right, Richard Dawkins is to New Atheism what Bertrand Russell was to what is now apparently "Old Atheism."
Yet there is a fundamental and significant difference between Dawkins, the author of the bestselling The God Delusion
, and Russell. Russell was a philosopher. As such, he approached the question of the existence of God as an interesting exercise in logic and philosophy. Dawkins, in contrast, is an evolutionary scientist at Oxford University. He approaches the subject with an eye honed by scientific analysis and reason. His conclusion: belief in God is a "delusion" because religious faith is a false belief in the face of extremely strong evidence to the contrary. His use of science to reach that result is the topic of significant recent discussion. In fact, a "debate" between Dawkins, described as an "atheist biologist," and "Christian geneticist" Francis Collins is the cover story of this week's Time magazine.
There is also a difference between Dawkins and Sam Harris, the author of the best-selling Letter to a Christian Nation
(the subject of the first review in this series). Harris provides a condensed view of the problems many people see with Christianity. Dawkins' scope is much larger. He presents a lengthier and perhaps more erudite analysis of not just Christianity but the whole idea of a belief in God. In fact, Dawkins frequently challenges the reader intellectually with his analysis and commentary, particularly when he embarks into philosophical ideas and examines them with a scientific eye. At the outset, for example, Dawkins even invokes Russell in explaining why he believes agnosticism -- the position that it is impossible to know whether there is a God -- is untenable. He also devotes a chapter to deconstructing arguments for the existence of God advanced by thinkers from St. Thomas Aquinas to C.S. Lewis and, more recently, the mathematical approach of Stephen Unwin.
Yet even here the scientific method that permeates this work shows through. His scientific approach becomes stronger as the book progresses. He uses evolutionary principles to show why arguments that the existence of life supports the existence of God cannot withstand scrutiny. Likewise, in examining why all human cultures seem to have religion, Dawkins discusses not only evolutionary principles but alleles, memes (a term Dawkins is credited with coining) and memeplexes.
With his razor-like approach, Dawkins is almost brutal in his deconstruction of the argument that religion is necessary as a source of morality. He says "much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird." Anyone who wishes to "base their morality literally on the Bible," he writes, "[has] either not read it or not understood it." In response to criticism that no one takes every word of the Bible literally any more, Dawkins says
The immunity and existence of blind and unquestioned faith is a large part of what Dawkins sees as the evil of religion. Once again, though, Dawkins approaches it from the standpoint of analysis and evaluation.
It is somewhat surprising The God Delusion has remained on the bestseller lists for as long as it has and that it has been featured in many bookstores. First, advocacy of atheism is not a subject one would expect to find popular favor in the United States. Second, despite Dawkins' unquestionable writing skills, the book can be difficult going at times. Yet commercial success does not necessarily equate to practical success. The God Delusion is afflicted by an inherent and perhaps ultimately fatal flaw. It is almost impossible to use logic and reasoning to educate and persuade others on a subject that requires ignoring and rejecting logic and reasoning.
What impresses me about Catholic mythology is partly its tasteless kitsch but mostly the airy nonchalance with which these people make up the details as they go along.
5 comments
Yet there is a fundamental and significant difference between Dawkins, the author of the bestselling The God Delusion
, and Russell. Russell was a philosopher. As such, he approached the question of the existence of God as an interesting exercise in logic and philosophy. Dawkins, in contrast, is an evolutionary scientist at Oxford University. He approaches the subject with an eye honed by scientific analysis and reason. His conclusion: belief in God is a "delusion" because religious faith is a false belief in the face of extremely strong evidence to the contrary. His use of science to reach that result is the topic of significant recent discussion. In fact, a "debate" between Dawkins, described as an "atheist biologist," and "Christian geneticist" Francis Collins is the cover story of this week's Time magazine.There is also a difference between Dawkins and Sam Harris, the author of the best-selling Letter to a Christian Nation
(the subject of the first review in this series). Harris provides a condensed view of the problems many people see with Christianity. Dawkins' scope is much larger. He presents a lengthier and perhaps more erudite analysis of not just Christianity but the whole idea of a belief in God. In fact, Dawkins frequently challenges the reader intellectually with his analysis and commentary, particularly when he embarks into philosophical ideas and examines them with a scientific eye. At the outset, for example, Dawkins even invokes Russell in explaining why he believes agnosticism -- the position that it is impossible to know whether there is a God -- is untenable. He also devotes a chapter to deconstructing arguments for the existence of God advanced by thinkers from St. Thomas Aquinas to C.S. Lewis and, more recently, the mathematical approach of Stephen Unwin.Yet even here the scientific method that permeates this work shows through. His scientific approach becomes stronger as the book progresses. He uses evolutionary principles to show why arguments that the existence of life supports the existence of God cannot withstand scrutiny. Likewise, in examining why all human cultures seem to have religion, Dawkins discusses not only evolutionary principles but alleles, memes (a term Dawkins is credited with coining) and memeplexes.
With his razor-like approach, Dawkins is almost brutal in his deconstruction of the argument that religion is necessary as a source of morality. He says "much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird." Anyone who wishes to "base their morality literally on the Bible," he writes, "[has] either not read it or not understood it." In response to criticism that no one takes every word of the Bible literally any more, Dawkins says
[T]hat is my whole point. We pick and choose which bits of scripture to believe, which bits to write off as symbols or allegories. Such picking and choosing is a matter of personal decision, just as much, or as little, as the atheist's decision to follow this moral precept or that was a personal decision, without an absolute foundation. If one of these is "morality flying by the seat of its pants", so is the other.Dawkins, like Harris, also sees inconsistency evidenced by the Ten Commandments as being the foundation of morality. He points out:
If we took the Ten Commandments seriously, we would rank the worship of the wrong gods, and the making of graven images, as first and second among sins. Rather than condemn the unspeakable vandalism of the Taliban, who dynamited the 150-foot-high Bamiyan Buddhas in the mountains of Afghanistan, we would praise them for their righteous piety.That is not the only commonality between Harris and Dawkins. Both are equally appalled that religious doctrines not only influence but often dictate public policy. Likewise, perhaps given their ardent approach toward the subject, Dawkins joins Harris in questioning why religion is granted "such uniquely privileged respect" that any disagreement with it is considered intolerance.
The immunity and existence of blind and unquestioned faith is a large part of what Dawkins sees as the evil of religion. Once again, though, Dawkins approaches it from the standpoint of analysis and evaluation.
More generally (and this applies to Christianity no less than to Islam), what is really pernicious is the practice of teaching children that faith itself is a virtue. Faith is an evil precisely because it requires no justification and brooks no argument. Teaching children that unquestioned faith is a virtue primes them -- given certain other ingredients that are not hard to come by -- to grow up into potentially lethal weapons for future jihads or crusades. .... If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is a good bet that there would be no suicide bombers. Suicide bombers do what they do because they really believe what they were taught in their religious schools[.]That also leads Dawkins to a conclusion that undoubtedly prompts outrage from believers. He considers some aspects of religion to be child abuse. For example, he believes it improper to refer to a child as "Catholic" or "Muslim." While they may be a child of parents of that religious belief, "children are too young to know where they stand on such issues, just as they are too young to know where they stand on economics or politics."
It is somewhat surprising The God Delusion has remained on the bestseller lists for as long as it has and that it has been featured in many bookstores. First, advocacy of atheism is not a subject one would expect to find popular favor in the United States. Second, despite Dawkins' unquestionable writing skills, the book can be difficult going at times. Yet commercial success does not necessarily equate to practical success. The God Delusion is afflicted by an inherent and perhaps ultimately fatal flaw. It is almost impossible to use logic and reasoning to educate and persuade others on a subject that requires ignoring and rejecting logic and reasoning.
What impresses me about Catholic mythology is partly its tasteless kitsch but mostly the airy nonchalance with which these people make up the details as they go along.
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
5 comments
November 09, 2006
The Supremes and Kevin Costner
No, not as in "Diana Ross and." The South Dakota Supremes.
In a decision handed down today, the Supreme Court helped Kevin Costner keep the Midnight Star casino in Deadwood going and saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars in the dissolution of a limited partnership that currently operates the it. From a legal standpoint, the case resolves questions about the legal rules South Dakota courts should use when a partnership is dissolved. From a voyeur standpoint, it attracts attention because of Costner's involvement.
The casino is named after the saloon in Costner's breakout film, Silverado, and its restaurant and sports bar are named after characters in the movie. It is operated by Midnight Star Enterprises, L.P. ("limited partnership"). Midnight Star Enterprises, Ltd. is the general partner in the partnership, owning 22 percent. Costner owns 71.5 percent and Francis and Carla Caneva each own 3.25 percent. That is somewhat deceptive, though, in that Costner is the sole owner of Midnight Star Enterprises, Ltd. and, thus, essentially owns 93.5 percent of the partnership.
According to the Supreme Court decision, the Canevas managed the operations of the casino but Costner became concerned about their management. The Canevas' employment was terminated and they declined to participate in "an amicable disassociation." Costner then filed an action to dissolve the partnership. An accountant hired by Costner indicated the "fair market value" of the partnership was $3.1 million based on a hypothetical transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer. Another Deadwood casino owner, however, offered $6.2 million for the partnership. Although Costner claimed the offer was solicited by the Canevas, the trial court ordered Costner to buy the business for $6.2 million within 10 days or the court would order it sold on the open market.
On appeal, the Supreme Court adopted Costner's position. After rejecting an argument by the Canevas that the partnership agreement required the casino be sold on the open market, the Supreme Court said a hypothetical transaction was the proper test of fair market value. It said Costner offered
If the valuation remains the same and each partnership unit is equal to one percent of ownership, that means, at a minimum, Costner's cost to buy out the Canevas dropped from $403,000 to $201,500.
The 5-0 decision was handed down roughly four weeks after the Court heard oral arguments in the case.
I don't believe a lady has to explain anything to a man this ugly.
0 comments
In a decision handed down today, the Supreme Court helped Kevin Costner keep the Midnight Star casino in Deadwood going and saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars in the dissolution of a limited partnership that currently operates the it. From a legal standpoint, the case resolves questions about the legal rules South Dakota courts should use when a partnership is dissolved. From a voyeur standpoint, it attracts attention because of Costner's involvement.
The casino is named after the saloon in Costner's breakout film, Silverado, and its restaurant and sports bar are named after characters in the movie. It is operated by Midnight Star Enterprises, L.P. ("limited partnership"). Midnight Star Enterprises, Ltd. is the general partner in the partnership, owning 22 percent. Costner owns 71.5 percent and Francis and Carla Caneva each own 3.25 percent. That is somewhat deceptive, though, in that Costner is the sole owner of Midnight Star Enterprises, Ltd. and, thus, essentially owns 93.5 percent of the partnership.
, and its restaurant and sports bar are named after characters in the movie. It is operated by Midnight Star Enterprises, L.P. ("limited partnership"). Midnight Star Enterprises, Ltd. is the general partner in the partnership, owning 22 percent. Costner owns 71.5 percent and Francis and Carla Caneva each own 3.25 percent. That is somewhat deceptive, though, in that Costner is the sole owner of Midnight Star Enterprises, Ltd. and, thus, essentially owns 93.5 percent of the partnership.According to the Supreme Court decision, the Canevas managed the operations of the casino but Costner became concerned about their management. The Canevas' employment was terminated and they declined to participate in "an amicable disassociation." Costner then filed an action to dissolve the partnership. An accountant hired by Costner indicated the "fair market value" of the partnership was $3.1 million based on a hypothetical transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer. Another Deadwood casino owner, however, offered $6.2 million for the partnership. Although Costner claimed the offer was solicited by the Canevas, the trial court ordered Costner to buy the business for $6.2 million within 10 days or the court would order it sold on the open market.
On appeal, the Supreme Court adopted Costner's position. After rejecting an argument by the Canevas that the partnership agreement required the casino be sold on the open market, the Supreme Court said a hypothetical transaction was the proper test of fair market value. It said Costner offered
sound policy reasons why an offer cannot be the fair market value. For example, what if a partnership solicited a "strawman" to offer a low price for the business? What if a businessman, for personal reasons, offers 10 times the real value of the business? What if the partnership, for personal reasons, such as sentimental value, refuses to sell for that absurdly high offer? These arbitrary, emotional offers and rejections cannot provide a rational and reasonable basis for determining the fair market value.As a result, the Court said the value of the casino was $3.1 million and, hence, Costner could not be ordered to buy it for $6.2 million. The Court also concluded that rather than the remaining partners (Costner) having to pay for the entirety of the partnership, they were only required to pay any interests the withdrawing partner is due. Thus, Costner is obligated "pay the Canevas the value of their 6.5 partnership units, if any value exists after revaluation." If Costner refuses to pay that amount, though, the Court said a forced sale of the business would be appropriate.
If the valuation remains the same and each partnership unit is equal to one percent of ownership, that means, at a minimum, Costner's cost to buy out the Canevas dropped from $403,000 to $201,500.
The 5-0 decision was handed down roughly four weeks after the Court heard oral arguments in the case.
I don't believe a lady has to explain anything to a man this ugly.
Jake (Kevin Costner), Silverado
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Marginalia and dicta
won Best Novel at the 2006 Fantasy Awards. (Via SFBC Blog.)God made us number one cause he loves us the best
Well maybe he should go bless someone else for a while, give us a rest
"All U Can Eat," Ben Folds, Supersunnyspeedgraphic - The LP
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The Atheist Manifestos I:
Letter to a Christian Nation (2006)
Is atheism "in"? Multi-page expositions in national news weeklies and two books advocating an atheist viewpoint on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for a month. If atheism is in, it is thanks in no small part to Sam Harris, the author of one of those bestselling books, Letter to a Christian Nation.
If you aren't familiar with his prior bestseller, The End of Faith
, his latest book leaves you no question where he stands. In the opening note to Letter to a Christian Nation, Harris is explicit in the purpose of the slim volume: "I have set out to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms." Evidently due to his high profile, Harris was asked by Newsweek to write a "dissent" for the magazine's cover story this week titled "The Politics of Jesus."
Just as The End of Faith was Harris' response to the role of religion in 9/11, his latest is his response to the reaction of Christians to that book. Harris received thousands of hate-filled e-mails from supposedly devout Christians. Their reaction demonstrated to him that many Christians who invoke and claim to be inspired by the love of Jesus "are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism." Letter to a Christian Nation is his response to them. At the risk of sharing in the hate mail he receives, let me not only praise this work but suggest it needs as widespread distribution and reading as possible.
Despite what the introduction might lead one to believe, Letter to a Christian Nation is not simply an ad hominem attack on Christianity. It is a thoughtful précis of some of the bases, impacts and ramifications of Christian thought and the concept of atheism. First things first, though. Harris acknowledges that his epistle does not necessarily apply to each and every Christian. He narrowly defines the term Christian for this book. It means "a person who believes, at a minimum, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that only those who accept the divinity of Jesus Christ will experience salvation after death." That doesn't mean others of Christian persuasion may not be equally subject to some, if not most, of the points Harris makes.
Even Harris would admit that the Christians to whom his work is nominally addressed are probably the least likely to read it. As such, it serves more as an invitation to moderates and what he calls "secularists" to examine religion, in particular Christianity, and its impact on this country. Harris, however, is not necessarily directing his book to "atheists." The reason? Harris says that
Harris also points out that Christianity is not necessary for morality to exist. He notes that the first four of the Ten Commandments the religious right wants to post in schools and public buildings have nothing to do with morality. He also points out that Christians who view the Bible as the literal word of God must be ready to accept the death penalty as punishment for violation of those commandments as well as for adultery and working on the Sabbath.
But where Harris excels is in looking at how we blithely accept religious beliefs and let them influence, if not determine, public policy.
As such, Harris gives as a concise and highly readable critique of the impact of elevating unproved religious doctrine over science and reality. And while far from a scientific or systematic analysis of Christian faith and beliefs, in so doing Letter to a Christian Nation urges people to examine why Christianity and religion are exempt from the rules that we otherwise apply to everyday life. Equally important, Harris asks why, despite that exemption, religion not only can be used to dictate public policy, any effort to even ask why Christianity is exempt from rational standards is condemned as intolerance.
To put all of this in the space of less than 100 pages is one why this book may be considered a must read book of the year.
Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us unwilling to criticize ideas that are increasingly maladaptive and patently ridiculous.
2 comments
.If you aren't familiar with his prior bestseller, The End of Faith
, his latest book leaves you no question where he stands. In the opening note to Letter to a Christian Nation, Harris is explicit in the purpose of the slim volume: "I have set out to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms." Evidently due to his high profile, Harris was asked by Newsweek to write a "dissent" for the magazine's cover story this week titled "The Politics of Jesus."Just as The End of Faith was Harris' response to the role of religion in 9/11, his latest is his response to the reaction of Christians to that book. Harris received thousands of hate-filled e-mails from supposedly devout Christians. Their reaction demonstrated to him that many Christians who invoke and claim to be inspired by the love of Jesus "are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism." Letter to a Christian Nation is his response to them. At the risk of sharing in the hate mail he receives, let me not only praise this work but suggest it needs as widespread distribution and reading as possible.
Despite what the introduction might lead one to believe, Letter to a Christian Nation is not simply an ad hominem attack on Christianity. It is a thoughtful précis of some of the bases, impacts and ramifications of Christian thought and the concept of atheism. First things first, though. Harris acknowledges that his epistle does not necessarily apply to each and every Christian. He narrowly defines the term Christian for this book. It means "a person who believes, at a minimum, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that only those who accept the divinity of Jesus Christ will experience salvation after death." That doesn't mean others of Christian persuasion may not be equally subject to some, if not most, of the points Harris makes.
Even Harris would admit that the Christians to whom his work is nominally addressed are probably the least likely to read it. As such, it serves more as an invitation to moderates and what he calls "secularists" to examine religion, in particular Christianity, and its impact on this country. Harris, however, is not necessarily directing his book to "atheists." The reason? Harris says that
"atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist." We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs. An atheist is simply a person who believes that 260 million Americans (87 percent of the population) claiming to "never doubt the existence of God" should be obliged to present evidence for his existence — and, indeed, for his benevolence, given the relentless destruction of innocent human beings we witness in the world each day.The bulk of the book is devoted to why Harris views these beliefs as unjustified and how they adversely affect the U.S. and the world. As for justification, for example, Harris points out that millions of devout Muslims, just like millions of devout Christians, believe theirs is the true religion and that failure to convert means eternal damnation. Yet both cannot be right and Christians who would demand "proof" from Muslims refuse to demand the same of their own religion.
Harris also points out that Christianity is not necessary for morality to exist. He notes that the first four of the Ten Commandments the religious right wants to post in schools and public buildings have nothing to do with morality. He also points out that Christians who view the Bible as the literal word of God must be ready to accept the death penalty as punishment for violation of those commandments as well as for adultery and working on the Sabbath.
But where Harris excels is in looking at how we blithely accept religious beliefs and let them influence, if not determine, public policy.
Can you prove that Zeus does not exist? Of course not. And yet, just imagine if we lived in a society where people spent tens of billions of dollars of their personal income each year propitiating the gods of Mount Olympus, where the government spent billions more in tax dollars to support institutions devoted to these gods, where untold billions more in tax subsidies were given to pagan temples, where elected officials did their best to impede medical research out of deference to The Iliad and The Odyssey, and where every debate about public policy was subverted to the whims of ancient authors who wrote well, but who didn't know enough about the nature of reality to keep their excrement out of their food. This would be a horrific misappropriation of our material, moral, and intellectual resources. And yet that is exactly the society we are living in.One of his examples the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the most commonly transmitted diseases in the U.S. It causes nearly 5,000 women to die each year from cervical cancer and more than 200,000 deaths worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the vaccine is almost 100% effective in preventing diseases caused by the four HPV types covered by the vaccine, including precancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina. Yet, Harris notes, "Christian conservatives in our government have resisted a vaccination program on the grounds that HPV is a valuable impediment to premarital sex. These pious men and women want to preserve cervical cancer as an incentive toward abstinence, even if it sacrifices the lives of thousands of women each year."
As such, Harris gives as a concise and highly readable critique of the impact of elevating unproved religious doctrine over science and reality. And while far from a scientific or systematic analysis of Christian faith and beliefs, in so doing Letter to a Christian Nation urges people to examine why Christianity and religion are exempt from the rules that we otherwise apply to everyday life. Equally important, Harris asks why, despite that exemption, religion not only can be used to dictate public policy, any effort to even ask why Christianity is exempt from rational standards is condemned as intolerance.
To put all of this in the space of less than 100 pages is one why this book may be considered a must read book of the year.
Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us unwilling to criticize ideas that are increasingly maladaptive and patently ridiculous.
Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation
2 comments
, Timothy Egan
, Lewis Black
, Yevgeny Zamyatin
, Cormac McCarthy
