Have just a touch of the commercial in you. Do not merely shop, but trade a little. Gracian #232
George Rebane
Been on travel with some friends for the last couple of weeks. We attended the Mercatus Institute’s annual retreat in Scottsdale. The big issue discussed was socialism’s onslaught on capitalism – ‘Can American Capitalism be Saved?’ – and who is doing what to bring it down. I’ll cover more of that in a future post. But here I just want to include an observation gleaned on our way to Scottsdale.
We stopped overnight in a Needles, CA RV park, and were pretty much shocked at the state of that once prosperous gateway town to California that lies on I-40. The town is an economic disaster area, a relic of former times, and a step away from being a derelict or even a ghost town. What made the sight of Needles so stark was its comparison with Arizona that lies a stone’s throw across the Colorado River. We wanted to eat out and also buy some RV items. Nothing available in Needles. But a drive across a little bridge brought us into a dynamic and bustling commercial area that was an extension of Bullhead City, AZ which lay twenty miles to the north. It was like driving back to West Berlin through the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie in the days when communism ruled East Germany.
The most telling part was instantly apparent from the bridge looking northward. The Arizona side was filled with well-kept and landscaped riverside houses, each with their own boat dock; the California riverside was weeds as far as the eye could see that continued a good piece inland. Huell Howser, RIP, could have done one hell of program on Needles and what happened to ‘California’s Gold’.
Governor Moonbeam and entourage are heading to China. Their purpose is to talk the Chinese into making investments in California that people more knowledgeable about the state won’t. They also want Chinese to buy more stuff made in California that we can’t sell elsewhere at prices that bring a profit. I can’t imagine China buying anything that we are selling save some technology that they still don’t have and want to copy. The same goes for making investments. They would like to take major positions in high-tech companies dealing in IT and genomics. One thing is for sure, they will not be buying any ‘green technology’ from us. There they have us beat on both price and performance, and will continue selling the stuff to us.
But come to think of it, they may talk Team Moonbeam into mandating and/or subsidizing the purchase of Chinese green stuff. Nothing like getting a twofer from being America’s creditor.
Connecticut has now taken the lead in nutty gun control laws, while again demonstrating that all states were not created equal in their ability to sensibly legislate. Today their Governor Malloy signed the “most sweeping” gun control bill in the nation that is supposed achieve new levels of “gun safety”. It will, of course, do none of that. (more here)
Meanwhile, despite President Obama’s national campaign to disarm America, more states are easing gun regulations than are bolstering them (more here). The message there is clear – don’t disarm sane, stable, law-abiding citizens, but do more to identify and intercede with people who are clearly not qualified to possess firearms, and maybe not even to walk on the sidewalk. To be fair, Connecticut’s new law also attempts to address that part which was the only germane factor in their Newtown massacre.
[5apr13 update] Here's a Quote of the Day from the Los Angeles Times about something I strongly believe and wish I would have said.
"Frankly, I don't know what it is about California, but we seem to have a
strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to high office. I'm not bragging,
you understand, but no other state, including Maine, even comes close. When it
comes to sending left-wing dingbats to Washington, we're Number One. There's no
getting around the fact that the last time anyone saw the likes of Barbara
Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Maxine Waters, and Nancy Pelosi, they were stirring a
cauldron when the curtain went up on 'Macbeth'. The four of them are like
jackasses who happen to possess the gift of blab. You don't know if you should condemn
them for their stupidity or simply marvel at their ability to form words."
-- Columnist Burt Prelutsky, Los Angeles Times
‘Breaking Bread’ on NCTV (updated)
George Rebane
These salons were stimulating affairs where the latest ideas in the sciences, politics, arts, religion, philosophy, and literature were presented and discussed. The invitees were the great thinkers, artists, writers – new and established – of the age, many of whom looked forward to these sessions as much for the nourishment of their bodies as of their minds. A salon always offered some of the finest foods and spirits with which the hostess could afford to ingratiate herself in the eyes of society. To be invited to attend a salon was a great honor, and you can imagine the competition of who was attending which salon(s) when and with whom.
Late yesterday afternoon we finished ‘taping’ the first installment of ‘Breaking Bread’ (BB), a new series that is to air over the coming months on NCTV Channel 11. BB is a roundtable discussion of ideas, happenings, and current issues of broad national interest. It is based loosely on the historical French salons which were hosted by ladies of high social rank and means during the so-called Enlightenment period that lasted from around 1740 to the start of the French Revolution in 1789.
(Versions of these classic salons were continued and expanded throughout Europe and America during the 19th century. In the late 1970s Jo Ann and I joined with a number of other couples to establish a 20th century dinner version of the salon that featured a prepared presentation of a thesis, sometimes rebutted by ‘the loyal opposition’, and then dissected by everyone until the early hours. These dinner salons went on for years and included some very interesting people and topics.)
The most recent inspiration for BB came from our own Reinette Senum and Patricia Smith, local activists and community leaders of known repute. After some preliminary plenary sessions under the able leadership of NCTV’s Access Coordinator Teri Hicklin, who will also direct the tapings, the program’s format was adopted and the first installments selected. BB will be a monthly one-hour offering, (co)hosted by one or two regular hosts, and featuring two or three invited guests. The program will consist of a civil discussion – not a debate – of the subject du jour between the host(s) and the guests.
The inaugural tranche of BB hosts are Patricia Smith (medicinal marijuana activist), Paul Emery (KVMR News Director already known to RR readers), Reinette Senum, Eric Tomb, and yours truly. As determined by a program’s host(s), one of the other hosts may also fill a guest role on a future program.
BB’s charter is to present definitive ideological viewpoints (ranging from crisp to outrageous?) on the selected issues – equivocation will be eschewed, i.e. no daisy talk – in such a manner that a landscape can emerge from which common ground may be identified, or an understanding of what notions, ideas, values, etc still stand in the way of our coming together. Of course, there will always be an effort to reach and identify some areas of consensus, no matter how minimal.
Yesterday’s launch was titled ‘Language and Labels’, and was moderated by Eric Tomb, a well-known bookseller, intellectual, and man about town in Nevada County. The program’s objective was to introduce the BB hosts, outline the show’s format and future, and give a sampling of it through a discussion of how language and labels guide and constrain our perspectives and perceptions. The airing times of this installment will be announced by NCTV.
The first Breaking Bread with guests will be ‘taped live’ on 1 May next. The subject will be the Second Amendment, and it will be co-hosted by Paul Emery and me.
[update] The first episode 'Language and Labels' was broadcast on 7 April 2013, and may be streamed from the NCTV archives from this page under Breaking Bread.
Posted at 03:46 PM in Critical Thinking & Numeracy, Culture Comments, Nevada County | Permalink | Comments (142) | TrackBack (0)