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A Magnitude of Horror, Inhumanly High

One of our human failings is that there are plenty of things we can know intellectually without feeling them viscerally.

You can go to a dozen funerals, and not be very deeply touched by it all, until someone you really love dies. You can read or hear about the Holocaust in high school history class, and even see pictures of death camp inmates, and not really have any least idea about what the whole thing means until you walk through the Holocaust Museum, holding the card of a little kid who was sucked into the horrible maw of it, touring through the nightmare exhibits and waiting to see whether YOUR child lived or died. Continue reading “A Magnitude of Horror, Inhumanly High”

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The Book of Good Living: Moving Forward

[If you get nothing else out of this post, know this: I am (WE are!) asking for input. Seriously, I think this thing might work. Also: If you can’t help in any other way, but like the idea, you can Facebook, tweet, Google-Plus, or otherwise snork (social network) the hell out of this post.]

I know you all, avid readers that you are, saw my recent post on The Book of Good Living.

It’s kind of a no-brainer, don’t you think? A book of lessons and rules designed not to control you or lessen your freedom, but to help you grow and become complete. And to help in building a society of justice, equality, and opportunity.

It would be the handbook, the basic operating manual, that should come with every human life.

And I’m sure you read the comments. A number of readers were very excited by the idea. Continue reading “The Book of Good Living: Moving Forward”

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Coincidence? I think NOT.

After Neil deGrasse Tyson posted a request on Facebook on Monday, asking for things he might say to President Obama on Tuesday …

I hardly ever ask questions on this wall, but I feel compelled: Tuesday I’ll be at the White House. If you had one sentence for the President, what would it be?

… and I replied on Monday with my ABCD by 2023 idea …

Mr. President, let’s amp up U.S. science education by devoting ourselves as a nation to an Apollo-type program in medicine: Launch “ABCD by 2023” to discover even more effective treatments – or cures! – for Alzheimer’s, Birth defects, Cancer, and Diabetes.

(As I explained: “Not only would it save millions of our loved ones, it would give education a shot in the arm. It would provide huge numbers of jobs. It would get America investing in itself again through advanced research. It would underscore the value of attracting and retaining bright young minds from all over the planet. And it would provide the major spin-off of a fantastic body of new knowledge.)

… Today — just one day after Tyson met with the president — the news carries this story:

HHS to Boost Alzheimer’s Research Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration plans to increase federal funding for Alzheimer’s disease research and caregiver support by more than 25 percent over the next two years, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today.

Man, when you’ve got an electrifying idea, things happen! It’s like President Obama LEAPED to the phone the instant the words were out of Tyson’s mouth.

God, I love making a difference.

And I’m sure the president will get to the BCD parts in the next few days. He’s probably easing his way into it.

And thanks, Neil, for listening.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson! Over Here!

Neil deGrasse Tyson asks for help on Facebook:

I hardly ever ask questions on this wall, but I feel compelled: Tuesday I’ll be at the White House. If you had one sentence for the President, what would it be?

My response was:

Mr. President, let’s amp up U.S. science education by devoting ourselves as a nation to an Apollo-type program in medicine: Launch “ABCD by 2023” to discover even more effective treatments – or cures! – for Alzheimer’s, Birth defects, Cancer, and Diabetes.

Such a visionary national project would appeal, for obvious reasons, to seniors, parents, children, and anybody who has ever lost a loved one, or feared losing a loved one, to any of these killers of body and mind.

Not only would it save millions of our loved ones …

It would give education a shot in the arm. It would provide huge numbers of jobs. It would get America investing in itself again through advanced research. It would underscore the value of attracting and retaining bright young minds from all over the planet. And it would provide the major spin-off of a fantastic body of new knowledge.

So yes, Neil, tell him THIS.

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Hey! Avengers Trailer!

I buried this at the end of a previous post. I suspect its totally awesome total-awesomeness escaped certain of the FtB audience, who probably glanced at the FtB home page and found only a vanilla headline, and thought: Meh.

But here, again: Avengers! Fucking Avengers!! Coming May 4!!!

I am so there for the midnight showing.

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May 3: National Day of This and That

The National Day of … huugh … (sorry, I just threw up a little bit in my mouth) Prayer is this May 3.

Wikipedia explains the event this way:

The National Day of Prayer (36 U.S.C. § 119) is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked “to turn to God in prayer and meditation”.

Fortunately — man, talk about your happy coincidence! — there’s also a National Day of Reason on the same day. I say fortunate not only because a federal judge declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional … Continue reading “May 3: National Day of This and That”

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“They Fucking Hate You”

You REALLY might want to read this: Via Balloon Juice, They Fucking Hate You

They fucking hate you. They want you, and everyone who speaks for you, and every institution that represents your values, whether it be Planned Parenthood or food banks or ACORN – you name it. They want it destroyed.

I just do not understand why more people do not recognize this. The Republicans have declared total war on America, and people are responding like this is politics as usual. It isn’t. It really isn’t. It’s really all or nothing at this point. We put the birchers/tea party/conservatives back in their place and destroy the current GOP, or we deal with this shit for the next forty-sixty years.

Click over and read the whole thing. It’s short, but seriously eye-opening.

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Flash vs. Substance

[If you liked my piece on Transition and Turbulence, maybe you’ll like this too. It might also work as an entry in the Book of Good Living.]

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We live our lives on a human stage.

Which means: A great deal of the stuff we do, we do for the benefit of the people around us.

And by “benefit,” I don’t necessarily mean “to help them,” although that can be a part of it. I mean this: “Human stage” implies an audience of some sort, and that audience is the people around us. They see us, they watch us, they applaud or boo or simply stand by indifferently as we go through each day. Continue reading “Flash vs. Substance”