The Hindsight Factor

Irony: /'aI.r .ni/, noun - particularly striking examples of incongruities observed in everyday life between what was intended or said and what actually happened:

A powerful federal arts commission is urging that the sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. proposed for a memorial on the Tidal Basin be reworked because it is too "confrontational" and reminiscent of political art in totalitarian states.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts thinks "the colossal scale and Social Realist style of the proposed statue recalls a genre of political sculpture that has recently been pulled down in other countries," commission secretary Thomas Luebke said in a letter in April.

Hillary and David Duke would be so proud.  I especially love the not-so-subtle comparison between MLK and Sadaam Hussein. 

The commission at least seems to tacitly admit the "Social Realism" behind the design itself.  Fact is, the establishment was never (nor are they today) comfortable with the man that Dr. Martin Luther King actually was.  Instead, they like to repackage him in kinder, gentler terms.  But let's be clear about this - Dr.  King was a fighter - his weapon was non-violence - the sword that heals - but it was a weapon nonetheless - and infinitely more effective in its coercive force than Thor's Hammer itself.

This is a man who shed blood - actual blood - fighting for a just and equal society.  He lost literally everything in the process.  And while he made great strides, a half-century later, a prominent and respected women running for president of the United States still feels comfortable enough to publicly extol her supreme whiteness over her opponent. 

Despite the Clinton's blatant race-baiting, I've no doubt that Dr. King would have continued to love us, love this country, and continue his campaign for universal justice.  But you better believe he'd be stoic, firm, and yes - mad as hell. 

A few years back, I had the pleasure of working closely with a few of Dr. King's chief strategists who have continued down the path he set even today.  I seem to recall one of the mentioning the importance of keeping the history real.  Without such efforts, they quip, fifty years from now Martin Luther King will be a white man.

Or if the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has their say, something a little more like this:

While you're all doting on your mothers, take a moment to recognize the anniversary of the glorious event of my birth.  And I, like any good computer nerd, would like this:

Click for a more readable size

In all the hooplah and jubilation of my love affair with our soon-to-be President Obama, it's hard to remember that there actually is a world going on outside Clintonian drama.  Enter the 21st Century GI Bill:

This legislation would substantially increase the educational benefits available to service members who have served since September 11, 2001. It would cover the cost of tuition of up to the most expensive in-state public school and provide a living and book stipend, so new veterans can focus on their educations and readjusting to civilian life. The new GI Bill would also provide more equitable benefits to National Guardsman and Reservists, who have made up about a quarter of our fighting force in Iraq. And educational benefits would be linked to the cost of college, so they would keep their value over time. It is, in short, the right thing to do for the men and women who have made such a tremendous commitment to our country.

Please oh please let's make anyone opposing this go on record as fighting against the only significant support our troops have received from their lying administration.  The only thing that would make me happier is to see Mr. AWOL-in-chief try to veto!

A rare blue sky in Ireland

And a chance to gorge on my obsession with tiny toes!

Interesting placement of the play button on this video.  But I couldn't help thinking it reminded me of something.  Now what was that?

Oh yeah, that's it!

Matilda had her friend Niamh (pronounce Neeve for all you non-Irish folk) over for supermodel fashion hour.

Fight the Power, yo!!

From R.J. Matson:

OMG, this is simply amazing.  A FOX News "reporter" tried to do a hit job on Reverend Wright and gets owned.  And I mean OWNED with a capital Bitch-Slap!  Do yourself a favor and watch every blessed 9 minutes and 59 seconds of this sweet visual nectar.

Take a minute and pass this along to everyone you know!

Can somebody please explain to me again what was so great about the 1950's??

Tiny Buddha demands world peace NOW, damnit!  An older shot, yes - but still one of my favorites.

Great week for clean, sustainable energy.  Following the successful installation of the world's largest tidal turbine system in Northern Ireland, the Mojave Desert is now poised to host the planet's largest solar array:

With California utilities expanding rapidly into renewables, the Mojave Desert is one of the hottest spots for solar energy. Last year, plans for the world’s largest solar array got underway in this ideal energy harvesting setting and the latest news is just as groundbreaking. Pacific Gas and Electric recently signed the world’s largest solar deal to date, teaming up with BrightSource Energy to produce three new solar-thermal electric plants for a whopping 500 megawatts of clean green power. The $2 to $3 billion dollar deal provides options for additional plants (up to 900 megawatts total), which would be enough to power 375,000 Californian homes!

More pics here - purty damn cool, n'est pas?

China literally begged the international community to let them host the Olympics.  But now they're pissed that the coming out party is exposing warts and all.  The Communist Party is learning the hard way that we are long, long past the day when image can be constructed through media manipulation.  We are who we are and it's good to see someone at the IOC growing the tiniest bit of spine:

BEIJING — The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, offered a rare rebuke to the Chinese government on Thursday, calling on authorities to respect its “moral engagement” to improve human rights and to provide the media with greater access to the country ahead of the Beijing games.

Well, more simpering than rebuff I grant, but given the IOC's fairly untenable position at this point, I suppose it is more than we could expect.  Well, with their usual Napoleon-Complex, China hit back and hit back hard:

The Chinese government immediately rejected Mr. Rogge’s remarks, saying they amounted to an unwelcome meddling in the country’s domestic affairs. “I believe I.O.C. officials support the Beijing Olympics and adherence to the Olympic charter of not bringing in any irrelevant political factors,” Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told reporters.

A far cry from China's conciliatory tone and far-reaching promises during the bidding process.  The Chinese Party leaders may be wearing nicer suits these  days, but they're the same oppressive, murderous thugs they've always been.   Well documented and brutal human rights violations do not qualify as a "domestic affair" in the modern age.  Rank Censorship is not an "irrelevant political factor".  Not even close.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Olympics.  I find the entire affair overly-commercialized and often trite.  But I have tremendous respect for the athletes who worked hard to get there, as for the spirit of global unity that forms the Olympic ideal.  I'm also not ignorant of the tremendous boost this event gives China in both monetary intake and global stature.  As such, the IOC has a responsibility, nay - a moral imperative - to wield their influence in such a way as to ensure the event is not permanently marred by an oppressive regime.  But instead, we walk on eggshells so as not to offend the would-be dictatorship:

“China will close itself off from the rest of the world, which, don’t forget, it has done for some 2,000 years,” [Rogge] said in an interview broadcast Wednesday in his native Belgium.

This entire argument is specious.  China today has nothing to do with China of yester-millenium.  Without Soviet power to back them up, the Party depends upon international commerce to maintain its grasp on power.  They aren't going anywhere.  Besides, isn't anyone else tired of having to tiptoe around their fragile ego and idle threats? 

#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.