Is This a Financial Crisis?

Photo Credit to Lumaxart http://www.lumaxart.com/

My life savings have shrunk by about 40 percent since I retired eighteen months ago. I am sympathetic with folks who are worried about the state of the U.S. economy. I just don't think it is a crisis.

We use the word crisis far too freely.

Second by second, throughout the world, individuals have crises. Death of a loved one. Crippling accident. Debilitating disease. Starvation. Innumerable types of suffering.

There are almost seven billion humans on this planet. The majority live what most Americans would consider a wretched existence. The Miniature Earth Video illustrates their plight vividly.

When I walk into my local Safeway, I find the amount and variety of food overwhelming. I grew up in this culture. Imagine how it would seem to someone who eats only a bowl of rice or a plate of cornmeal mush every day, if they are fortunate.

I know that millions of people in this country are losing their jobs. Many are losing the houses they worked hard to acquire. I know that is painful. But I refuse to call it a crisis. To do so is callous in a world where children starve for want of a few cents worth of grain each day.

Let us work long and hard to stabilize our economy, but let us not forget that we are incredibly blessed. And let us remember those truly in crisis.

Judgment

Muzzammil Hassan was a man with a mission. He hoped to counter negative impressions of Muslims post 911. He founded a TV network to get the message out.

Then he was charged with murdering his wife and cutting her head off.

Hassan is a Muslim. I am a Christian. Yet, he and I have something important in common. Both of us are incapable of living a life that is completely consistent with the ideals we profess.

I am horrified by Hassan's alleged crime. But were I to assume that one horrible act makes a definitive statement about all Muslims, I would be a hypocrite. Some Christians have committed horrific crimes, but I do not accept those crimes as being evidence of the failure of Christianity as a belief system.

One act cannot define even a single human being, much less a whole people group. We are far too complex to be characterized by one action, even if it is a wonderfully good one or a terribly evil one. Unfortunately, I am slow to believe that for anyone other than myself. I am inclined to see Hassan as a monster. I wonder what good can he possibly have done that could outweigh the evil of his alleged crime? However, I am quick to believe that whatever good I have done can cover all the evil I have perpetrated, with plenty of cover to spare.

Judging an action can be straight forward. For example, it is wrong to murder. But judging a person would entail knowing all that they have done and weighing each of those things on a cosmic scale.

We can distinguish right from wrong. We can hold people accountable for their actions. However, we are too limited to make a final assessment of a person's life.

Hassan will stand trial for his wife's murder. We humans can pass judgment on whether he committed the crime. We can decide the penalty he must pay in this life. We cannot decide his eternal fate.

I leave that judgment to someone infinitely more qualified than me.

Photo Credit: Where Evil Lurks by Stacie Babenko http://www.flickr.com/photos/laciebabenco/2654548292/

Googling without a keyboard

You know the drill. A question arises. Even if you have an Iphone in hand, there is a period of laborious typing and clicking that is required to get the information you like. Or so I thought.

I got a new cell phone recently. I usually bottom feed on the cheaper phones, and this time was no exception. Even so, I soon learned that the phone has remarkable voice recognition capability. I can just say the name of a contact and the phone finds it for me and one button push launches a call to that contact. I didn't even have to teach the phone how I pronounce the entries in my contacts list. It does a remarkably good job of understanding me and getting the right contact. If it is wrong, I get to try again and it learns to do better next time.

Then it occured to me that voice recognition can allow devices like mobile phones to hear a search phrase, such as "zygote definition". Bam, up pops a nice list of possible web references.

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. A friend bought software for his Iphone that allows him to hold the phone up to hear music playing in a room. The software figures out what song is playing and gives a link to all the information you might like to have about the song (Hey, that is the Yardbirds and it was 1963!). I imagine it also allows you to download the song for a buck.

But why stop there. How about adding a tiny web cam to a bluetooth earpiece. When you meet someone and blank on their name, you quietly say "who", or maybe use a special little clicking sound. The camera snaps a photo of their face and searches a data base to find not only their name, but notes you have made about them (Amway fanatic, divert, divert). One more little clucking noise and you hear the last twenty entries on their twitter feed. (Oh, hi aunt Tilda, how is that hysterectomy healing up!)

No need to stop with faces. Yep that is a 56 Chevy. No, that's Vesuvius, not Krakatoa.

I see some real possibilities.

Twitter and Tiny URLs

At first I found Twitter pretty boring. Even the most succinct among us may have trouble saying something of interest with 140 characters. I get it that the idea was to simply let people know what you are doing from hour to hour. Frankly, it generally seems a case of TMI (too much information).

Then I ran across Twitter streams from news sources. An example: nytimes The Caucus: Caterpillar CEO Contradicts Obama Over Jobs http://tinyurl.com/c4asr3

I will sometimes check news sources frequently if I know there is some hot story going on. But twitter posts form news sources would be a very high tech version of some much older news feed technologies. The advantage is the ability to include live links (as above). However, I kept noticing the url's with tinyurl inserted. Then it occurred to me that many URL's are quite long. They would easily consume a lot of the 140 characters that Twitter allows. Tinyurl is a service that takes a typical long URL and creates a new URL that directs folks to the same web page.

As far as I can tell it is a "free" service funded by advertising and donations. There seem to have been a few glitches, but as the service catches on I imagine lots of smart people will be working out the bugs.

So Twitter plus Tinyurl, now that might turn into something.

Even as I write this, I imagine that lots of other smart folks are thinking of other innovative ways to use short frequent messages to offer a potpourri of info in a compact stream. So maybe I won't count the idea out just yet.

Fairview 1956

This video was created by the state of Oregon to communicate the need for special care for citizens with special needs. The intent of the video is to show that humane care was being provided at Fairview, but also to remind the public of the need to support such institutions financially.

Many will find the video disturbing.


In Our Care from Oregonian News on Vimeo.

I am posting it because as I wrote my post about Bud Fredericks, it occurred to me that many younger people would have little idea of what it meant for a special needs child or adult to be cared for in an institution.

Fairview is closed now. Generally, if care for special needs children and adults cannot be provided by their families, a system of group or foster homes is relied upon to provide care.

When feasible, special needs children attend public schools, receiving extra attention as required. This is referred to as mainstreaming.

Two Roads Diverged For Bud Fredericks

Twenty years into his career, on a fast track toward becoming a Marine Corps general, Bud Fredericks resigned his commission. He was in his early 40s and had no immediate prospects for employment. Why did he do it?

Bud's military career was very gratifying, but the birth of his fifth child, Tim, forced him to choose between the Marines and a whole new direction that would provide more direct support for his family.

Bud graduated from a highly competitive Jesuit run high school in 1944. The military offered support for college, followed by Officer Candidate School.

Bud's military career flourished. By the mid 1950s he was a major and a strong candidate for further promotion. The Marines sent Bud to Stanford University to study history as a part of his preparation. He completed the requirements for a doctorate in history, lacking only a completed thesis.

Bud's marriage to Dot also prospered. She adapted well to life as an officer's wife. She also coped with Bud's long absences as they raised four children. In the 1960s Bud commanded one of the few military units that had trained to fight guerrilla warfare. His unit was ordered to Vietnam in 1964.

When he returned from Vietnam, Bud was posted to the ROTC at Oregon State University. He was able to transfer his credits from his studies at Stanford to a graduate program at the University of Oregon.

Bud and Dot's fifth child, Tim, was born in 1966. Tim has Down syndrome.

Bud reminisced, "We were fortunate to have a doctor who told us to take Tim home and love him". Forty years ago, children with Down syndrome were usually placed in institutions.

Bud and Dot supplied love, but did not know how to foster Tim's early development. Books at the UO library were oriented toward institutions. “They were sad books. There was nothing in them to help us.” said Bud.

In 1967, Bud was about to be reassigned to Vietnam. Dot dreaded his absence. Their teenage children were opposed to the war.

The decision to resign was not an easy one. Bud cherished his time in the Marines. He loved the camaraderie. He excelled as a Marine Officer and had an opportunity to grow. However, Bud could see that his family needed him.

He never told them how much it hurt him to leave the Marines.

Bud changed his focus to special education at UO. He also sought a paying position. A chance conversation led to a job at Teaching Research, an arm of the Oregon higher education system.
While working on his thesis, Bud met Vic Baldwin at Fairview Hospital. Vic admired Bud's research and helped him procured a $40,000 federal grant.

While pursuing his second career, Bud worked with Tim to help him reach his full potential. Bud and Tim actually travelled on a lecture circuit where Tim delivered a speech about what it is like to have Down Syndrome. See page 2 of this newsletter for the full text. Tim joined the Boy Scouts. He attained Eagle Scout status.

The federal government began to see a need to mandate special education opportunities for children. Bud and Vic gained support in Oregon and at the federal level. Decades passed. Bud contributed to special education projects worldwide.

Today, Tim, 42, lives independently, works and is married. Bud's dedication contributed to a richer life for Tim, and for countless others.

Missing La Roca

S0me businesses are a victim of their own success. La Roca has become La Rockita and is located in a spacious, gleaming, restaurant a block from the old taqueria.

For many years La Roca was a fixture on the main drag through Philomath. The tiny building was crammed with a small kitchen, pop dispensers, and storage for beans and rice. No seating inside. Fortunately an aging roof shot out of one side of the building, supported by steel poles painted a hundred times, yet still showing numerous spots of rust. Under this canopy one could sit at small picnic tables adorned with plastic table cloths.

Ordering was an odd experience. You stooped before a small window. The relative gloom inside the restaurant combined with the screen on the window make it almost impossible to see who his taking your order. But immediately after the words leave your mouth, they are are shouted loudly and rapidly in Spanish. Soon the rushing noise of the soda dispenser assures you that your beverage is on its way.

But the best is yet to come.

Soon your name is shouted at a small side window and you are presented with a steaming, foil wrapped bundle. The multitude of delightful cooking smells from the take out window motivate you to rush back to your table and peel away the foil to reveal a burrito that looks just like any other, only larger. However, inside the bland flour tortilla exterior is a cornucopia of flavors, textures, and smells. Highly seasoned meats. Slow cooked beans. Vivid green guacamole with a perfect smooth, creamy texture.

From the first bite to the last, your mouth explodes with flavor.

As you eat, the pleasure is so great that the gritty highway traffic twenty feet from where you sit becomes a pleasant vista. The roar of passing log trucks may not quite drown out the local riff and raff telling sophomoric jokes at the next table, but your profound bliss allows you to see them as colorful and engaging.

The food is still great at La Rockita, and it is nice to be able to see the staff and chat with them. Nonetheless, I find myself missing La Roca.

Guilty Until Proven Guilty

I like the idea of innocent until proven guilty. But it doesn't always seem to work that way.

The first time I sat on a jury, I was shocked when we were told that we would be passing judgment on a man accused of assault with a deadly weapon, a sledge hammer. The defendant was a big burly guy in his thirties. The alleged victim was a petite, middle-aged mom type.

My brain switched into feverish overdrive, as I considered what kind of man would go after a woman with a sledge hammer. Intellectually I was aware that he was innocent until proven guilty. However, my gut feel was that we needed to move quickly through the trial and hang, draw and quarter the wretch. The prosecutor made it clear that the defendant was a dangerous man. I felt a little nervous being in the same room with him. What if he grabbed a chair and attacked the jury?
After many hours of testimony, the real story seemed to emerge. The defendant and his little
girl had to scurry to safety to avoid being run over by a speeding car driven by a local hoodlum . I shall refer to him as "the dude". The dude lived with friends in a shabby vacation cabin nearby. The defendant knew the dude well enough to believe that talking to him would be counterproductive. However, he noted that the dude's parents were visiting.

"Maybe they will be reasonable", he thought.

Big mistake.

The defendant drove to the cabin and got out of his pickup to make his complaint. The dude's mom (I shall refer to her as "the witch".) grabbed a shovel and ran toward the defendant. The defendant picked a sledge hammer from the bed of his truck and held it up saying, "Look, I have a weapon too, but let's be reasonable". The witch lowered the shovel and the defendant put the sledge hammer back in his truck

As the defendant turned back from tidying up his tools, he met the dude charging him with a hatchet. The dude and the defendant wrestled. The dude chopped at the defendant's head and hands. Defense evidence included vivid photos of the resultant carnage.

Meanwhile, the dude's dad ("Clueless", not his name but rather a derisive term) began searching beneath the seat of his automobile. It was conjectured that fire arms are often kept under auto seats, but that was grist for another trial.

Clueless refused to testify on the grounds it might be self-incriminating. We were instructed to ignore him. I felt I was trying to overlook a man who refused to decry a pit bull who had savaged a neighbor.

Jury deliberations created new problems.

One juror proclaimed she had prayed about the case with her husband, and God had shown her that the defendant was innocent. She offered to sit quietly and read her bible while she ignored our discussion.

The first secret ballot, (and the second, and the third, etc) was 11 to 1 in favor of the defendant. We were instructed to stay in the jury room until we arrived at a unanimous decision. The alternative was to call a mistrial. The judge was willing to let us stay in the jury room for days, if necessary, to avoid a mistrial.

As foreman, I reasoned with, exhorted, and begged my fellow jurors. One by one, they said "I didn't vote him guilty". Just one sad little man remained quiet about his vote. Nonetheless, he insisted that the act of picking up a sledge hammer and holding it in front of the witch constituted assault with a deadly weapon. We paused to ask the judge for clarification. He refused and sent us back to our deliberations.

I became frustrated . I picked up the sledge hammer that lay as evidence on the table in our midst. I shook it in the sad little man's face.

"There! Call the cops. I assaulted you with a deadly weapon."

"Maybe we should conduct another secret ballot" said the sad little man.

We did. It was 12-0.

American Meth: A film review

Emaciated, glassy eyed, walking dead. Rotted teeth. Paranoia. Abused children. Vats of toxic chemicals.

"American Meth" is a horror movie. Sadly, it is not fictional.

The film documents the spread of methamphetamine use in the U.S. It explores the impact on communities, families, and individuals. Statistics, graphic images, interviews, and a gut churning video of the daily life of two meth users and their four children illuminate the epidemic.

Apparently Justin Hunt (writer, producer, director) hoped to frighten his audience. Interviews with law enforcement and medical professionals provide startling statistics and grim anecdotes. The visual power of film is used to engender dismay and disgust. Photos from an Oregon anti-meth campaign, Faces of Meth , shock the viewer with the rapid degradation of many meth user's countenances. Posters and videos from the Montana Meth Project evoke horror by depicting the depravity that often proceeds from frequent meth usage.

Interviews with meth addicts currently in recovery are edited to emphasize the effects of addiction their lives, and humanize addicts in a way that statistics and anecdotes cannot.

Justin Hunt's film works as a wake up call regarding the extent and depth of the meth problem. However, young people who have not tried meth may be harmed by Hunt's tactics. The film lacks a satisfactory investigation into what motivates people people to use meth the first few times.

The film fails to explore the seductive powers common to many drugs . Meth is depicted as a unique drug with a power to ensnare that other drugs cannot match. However, similar power has often been attributed to cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and even alcohol.

In a British campaign to abate cocaine use Dr. Ken Checinski says, "Cocaine is psychologically more addictive than many other substances, such as alcohol and cannabis, and can easily become a habit that controls your life. "

This poster from the temperance movement in the 19th century showed the progression from a single drink with friends all the way to death by suicide. Eventually alcohol consumption was made illegal throughout the U.S.

Many drugs, including alcohol, are physically addictive when used in excess. Addiction has been a problem world wide for centuries, from opium dens in China to coca leaf chewing in Peru. Humans often seek comfort in drugs to escape pain, fear, or even boredom.

"American Meth" could be retitled American Myth. It imputes the sort of mystique to methamphetamine that could easily encourage a young person to try it. The drug is actually nothing extraordinary. Methamphetamine has been available since it was first synthesized by a Japanese chemist in 1919. Over the past century it has been used to energize troops, enable weight loss, treat depression and calm hyperactive children. Its popularity has waxed and waned.

I grew up in an era of rampant experimentation with drugs. I used alcohol, marijuana, hashish, opiates, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, barbiturates, and benzodiazapines (Valium and it's kin). And yes, I used methamphetamine for a season. Each time I tried something new, I felt that I had been misled by anti-drug campaigns. I did not experience immediate strong cravings for more. Friends used various drugs regularly, generally with no apparent ill effects. As a young person, my thinking was mostly very short term. I seldom pondered the possibility that drugs would prove to be dangerous in the long run. In the short run my experience seemed to refute the hype often used in those campaigns.

"American Meth" is worth watching as a means of learning about the drug's current popularity and the problems attendant to frequent illicit usage, however I recommend against showing it to young people in hopes of deterring them from experimenting with meth.

Photo Credit: One Woman... by d70foucs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23905174@N00/435934694/

Photo Credit: Drunkard's Progress Lithograph by Nathaniel Currier ca. 1846 Public Domain

Lost and Found In Cyberspace

As a part of my journalism feature writing class, I included a post about the new law regarding lead in children's clothes. Originally I was going to title the post "The Unintended Consequences of Law". However, my professor pointed out that although the title had a nice ring to it, it would not show up very often in web searches done by people trying to get information about the new law. I changed the title to H.R. 4040: the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008
Almost immediately I began to get new hits to my blog regarding this post. Many of the hits are the result of Google searches. The number of people searching for an article regarding "The Unintended Consequences of Law" was destined to be near zero. Although I am not specifically trolling the Internet for more readers (well, maybe a little), I am glad to share a post with someone interested in its subject matter.

Why did I pick the "catchy" title first? I was thinking like a print media person. Headlines, chapter headings, short story titles and magazine article titles are often written to catch a readers eye and spark a readers interest as they scan printed pages. However, web readers cannot possible scan all the web pages on the world wide web. There are billions of such pages. So we use search engines . Search engines look for web pages that seem most likely to contain information relative to the search term. Blogspot (the blogging software I use) creates a unique URL for each post. The URL generally incorporates some or all of the words in the title. Although the exact algorithms used are a closely guarded secret, I am betting that a web page with a URL containing words that might commonly be used in a search term is much more likely to be prominently displayed in a list of search results.

It's been a great lesson for me. I have already seen a substantial increase in the number of hits to my blog. Imagine if I had employed this idea in my last 270 or so posts!