‘Splaining Things to the Kids

A Democratic Socialist explains «what Democratic Socialism actually is»: Not just a return to the halcyon days of the New Deal.

“I’m a staff writer at the socialist magazine Jacobin and a member of DSA, and here’s the truth: In the long run, democratic socialists want to end capitalism. And we want to do that by pursuing a reform agenda today in an effort to revive a politics focused on class hierarchy and inequality in the United States. The eventual goal is to transform the world to promote everyone’s needs rather than to produce massive profits for a small handful of citizens.

“Democratic socialists share goals with New Deal liberals. But they want to go further.

“Pooling society’s resources to meet people’s basic needs is a tenet of social democracy, one that’s been advocated domestically by much of the labor movement and many of its political supporters among New Deal and post-New Deal liberals. This is a vision we share. But we also want more than FDR did. A robust welfare state in an economy that’s still organized around capitalists’ profits can mitigate the worst inequalities for a while, but it’s at best a temporary truce between bosses and workers — and one that the former will look to scrap as soon as they can.”

Vox

Yup.

Those Who Forget the Past …

Looks like my second book (about microburst crashes) just gained a new chapter, «as described at AvHerald». Passenger-point-
of-view videos are also posted; pretty amazing. (Don’t watch if you can’t deal with intemperate language spilling out of people who are slammed to the ground and cheating death.)

And if you want to know what really happened with any airliner incident, big or small, Simon of AvHerald knows all. How he gets what he does from his Czech Republic base is amazing.

[A caveat: The comment section of AvHerald, like every other comment section in every other corner of the internettubesweb, is highly toxic. So, read Simon’s reports on the day’s incidents/accidents, but ignore the comments. Fair warning. The capacity of people to be nasty to each other upon the slightest context will always amaze me.]

A somewhat weird good morning Rochester today as steam from a power plant drifts across the rising sun. Wind is calm, …

Posted by Steve Pollock on Monday, February 1, 2016

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The Color of School Closures Spread the [rather obvious] word: “Mass school closings have become a hallmark of today’s dominant education policy agenda. But rather than helping students, these closures disrupt whole communities. And as U.S. Department of Education data … Continue reading

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Germany 1980 “Hehehehe. We sure did beat the crap outta you Poles.” “Hehehehe. Yeah, ya sure did. … Hey, wanna be Pope?”

It’s Richard

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It’s Richard

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“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

[Meanwhile, his gay brothers and sisters tap their feet, waiting impatiently. Well, then, hurry it up already!]

Barack Obama

The political consequences of academic paywalls

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The political consequences of academic paywalls

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If 6,000 white male children and young adults were being murdered every year in the U. S, as is the case among African-American males, do you think we would see any hesitation in taking serious actions to restrict the availability of guns?

Jim Horn

(My aside: It’s a salient point, but my reply is, sadly, no. You are dealing with people who truly believe that collateral damage (be it in Vietnam/Iraq/etc., or Newtown) is an acceptable price that must be paid for, in the case of the former, America being #1 (whatever that means), and in the case of the latter, the “Second Amendment” being the most important part of the Constitution. I.e., the Tree of Liberty must occasionally be watered with the blood of six-year-olds.

Opt Out!

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Opt Out!

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I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. All … institutions of churches … appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. … The Christian theory is little else than the idolatry of the ancient Mythologists, accommodated to the purposes of power and revenue; and it yet remains to reason and philosophy to abolish the amphibious fraud.

Thomas Paine

Sounds Like … Hmmm.

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” — Acts 4:32.

Jayne Cortez: 10-May-34 — 28-Dec-12

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Jayne Cortez: 10-May-34 — 28-Dec-12

How Many Slaves Work For You?

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How Many Slaves Work For You?

Arriving, Late 2013: 'A Threatening Sky'

A Threatening Sky: Braniff 250 and Other Bitter Lessons of the Early Jet Age by Steve Pollock will be published by «McFarland Publishing» in the Christmas 2013/Spring 2014 time frame. McFarland is a quality publisher which produces around 400 books per year for public and academic libraries, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and electronic vendors. They have been extremely supportive for this project and I am excited to work with them and get this story into print.

While Braniff 250 will be the touchstone of the book and get the most detail/attention, other incidents/accidents will be detailed along the way. Those include Pan American 115 (North Atlantic 1959); Northwest 705 (Miami, 1963); United 764 (O’Neill, NE, 1963); Eastern 304 (New Orleans, 1964); Braniff 250 (Falls City, 1966). In addition, the involvement of Dr. Ted Fujita, creator of the Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity, will be detailed; he provided key scientific research into the Braniff crash.

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It’s that time of year again … 24 hours of A Christmas Story. And visit the house here for more than you ever wanted to know about it all.

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Bayley and Frank, Frisinger Park, Ann Arbor, during that same glorious autumn day, October 2005.

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Before their eyes are even open, the three Beagle Boys posed for the cameras. Fred is on the left, Fergus in the middle, and Feargal on the right. March 2007.

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Our favorite pic of the three Beagle Boys, in one of the few instances where all three were still for ½ a second together. From left are Fred, Fergus, and Feargal. Taken in California in 2007.

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A favorite pic of Roux Royale, Bassett Hound of Extraordinary Destruction. He was rescued from the back roads of Roane County, west of Knoxville, by the excellent folks at Belly Rubs Bassett Rescue, and came to live with us in … Continue reading

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And one of my faves of Feargal (2007 – ). The Feargal Butt will also score tons of turkey tomorrow!

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A classic look in the expressive eyes of Fergus (2007 – ). That look is going to score him tons of turkey tomorrow!

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One of my favorite pics of Fredrik (2007-2012). It’s been four months and the pain of losing Fred-Fred to fast-moving cancer is still fresh.

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One of my favorite Bayley Beagle (1994-2007) pics of all time. The pookus would be 18 years old now and we still miss him terribly.

Tomorrow Today Yesterday

Dreams, trials, memories

Hopes, fears, memories
Desires, defeats, memories
Isn’t yesterday anything but memories?
No, tomorrow is always a memory
     a scent a taste a touch

Why then is tomorrow nothing but dreams?
Why then is today always realizations?

God only knows, only He knows among everyone

Futile dreams, frustrating realities, bitter memories.

Is that ALL?

—Undated by Steve; probably circa 1978