Period.
(Originally posted 05/21/12 at Trojan Horse Productions.
Reposted 2018-02-08.)
Monthly Archives: February 2014
* Eggsactly right; and other news
Bookmarks:
The flap over eggs • Amanda Knox • Another child star meltdown
Child porn is not so simple • Promise for Parkinson’s • Bail is for the birds
Birth injury fund sought
Missouri AG challenges California egg law
This came up in Yahoo!’s “Trending Now,” and the search results included pages at newsmax.com and examiner.com. I had to search a bit to find an article at a REPUTABLE site. For everyone’s information, in general henceforth I will avoid clicking anything leading to newsmax OR examiner: the former is disreputable, and the latter generates too many ads … too many for me to cause y’all to have to deal with.
The new law, in short, seems to me to be good for everyone (read: humanity), and IMO though it’ll cost ’em money, Missouri has no reason to cluck.
* A short route to agony
On one occasion sometime between 1983 and 1990 — I can recall where I was living, but not where I was working — I came home from work and became suicidal. I don’t recall the basis of my agony, but it almost certainly pertained to certain foibles of “the flesh” that my “spirit” seemed powerless to overcome.
A former student had left a cassette tape at my door that day, full of music he wanted to share with me, beginning with “Bad” by U2. I had a second floor apartment, and had sometimes heard this from the boom boxes of people who walked by outside; and I knew what effect it would have on me, particularly the opening section, with the bells. Given my state, for that reason I intentionally delayed playing it.
When I couldn’t bear the pain any more, I put it on, and was at once transported from the pit of despair into a place of perfect peace. I count this as a case of divine intervention: by means of that young man and that music, God saved my life.
Continue reading * A short route to agony
* Advice for job-seekers
(Originally posted 05/19/12 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 01/18/18.)
Plan that, after you obtain your high school or college diploma, you will work continuously until you retire.
At all costs, do not allow yourself to become completely jobless.
It’s much easier to find a job if you’ve got a job already. Among people who make hiring decisions there is tremendous prejudice against people who are jobless. And any gap in your employment history will provoke pointed questions in an interview.
If you find yourself in an unacceptable job situation, do your best to endure in that situation until you find another. Don’t leave the first job until you have found the second. Otherwise you’ll not only have no job, but you’ll also have no income.
Walking off a job, the several times I did so, was the one specific thing I did that has the most to do with my becoming homeless.
talk show host, on air talent, radio talk show, the homeless blogger
* The Kimberly Leto murder; and other news
Bookmarks:
The Kimberly Leto murder
Controversial books
Governor candidate Mizeur’s crime plan
The Kimberly Leto murder
February 3 – Police arrest two teenagers in killing of Highlandtown woman
February 4 – Woman’s death in burglary leaves Southeast Baltimore reeling
Random comments:
(1) We must get past the twin scandals of race and class.
(2) My greatest concern is to find out where these two young men “come from.”
(3) Had she had a gun, could that have saved her?
(4) Gorham-Ramos, at age 14, has a daughter?
(5) What was the sentence from the August 19 crime? N.B., police identified Gorham-Ramos through fingerprints.
(6) Was Gorham-Ramos’ involvement with the August 19 crime sufficient basis to bring him in for questioning concerning the January 31 crime?
(7) I know from my own time in jail why, if at all possible, children should not be incarcerated with adults.
(8) Pinkney appears to have a mental illness, and was off his medications. The treatment-resistant patient is always problematic.
(9) Does this neighborhood deserve a greater police presence than, say, Barclay? Actually, during my time there, the police presence was pretty darn high; its visibility heightened by the inexplicable consistent police use of white unmarked cars and white officers.
Controversial books
These have been on display in the main hall at EP, and I get to browse them while waiting for a computer. I have not read either one.
American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass (Harvard University Press, 1998)
“This powerful and disturbing book clearly links persistent poverty among blacks in the United States to the unparalleled degree of deliberate segregation they experience in American cities.”
Not to short-sell the book, this is wholly consistent with the politically correct proposition I questioned in “My Homeless Self.” I wonder how the authors account for that portion of the underclass which are white, and how they got there.
Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation
This was originally published in 2002. Author Molefi Kete Asante (born Arthur Lee Smith Jr. on August 14, 1942) has an impressive page at Wikipedia and appears to be a leader in all things Afro-centric.
He demands reparations.
This fits squarely within the definition of ideology I set forth in “The Gospel vs. George F. Will.” As I said there, it says, “‘We’ cannot be happy unless ‘they’ change their ways.”
Mizeur’s crime plan calls for shift from ‘mass incarceration’ to prevention in Maryland
I have no desire to ally myself with anything liberal; and my first, personal, gut response to Heather Mizeur is to dislike her. And most critically, I have no idea what she means by “prevention.” Aside from all that, I find her proposals exciting.
- Incarceration — From what I saw in my own time in jail, in general incarceration accomplishes nothing, and does so only at a tremendous financial cost to the taxpayers. My estimate is that as many of 60% of those in prison have no good reason to be there. Be aware: these are not nice people. But there’s no need for them to be incarcerated. And without having the exact figures, my guess is that my own 40 days in jail may have cost the taxpayers $10,000.
- Juvenile detention — I am without an opinion as to her plan. The one individual whose advice I look forward to on this question is the Hon. Martin P. Welch, who may or may not publicly opine.
- Backgrounds — Click the link to see my previous remarks on this subject.
- Gun laws — OK, maybe she’s tossed a bone to the anti-gun lobby. The proposal seems reasonable enough to me. I hope to hear pro-gun folks’ opinions.
(Reblogged 2018-01-11.)
* A living hell
‘Case of sudden death’ in violence-torn C. Africa
The only hell of concern to me is the living hell, in this life, here and now, that people create for themselves and one another.
Today, the Central African Republic is a prime example.
There is a history to this conflict that goes back to 1960, but as far as I can tell this land has never known peace at any time.
It’s a matter of what the people there choose to want from day to day.
Continue reading * A living hell
* Work
(Originally posted 05/18/12 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 12/28/17.)
To get from Point A to Point B, you must move.
At this moment, as I write this, I am living in a pit.
I am homeless.
I face a choice: do I want to get out, or stay here?
Continue reading * Work
* Polar bears aren’t teddy bears; etc.
Bookmarks:
To get bail, money talks
Polar bears aren’t all warm fuzzies.
Private planes are nice, but won’t make you happy
A Jewish view of charity
To get bail, money talks
Bottom line: all across the country, tens of thousands of men and women are behind bars who are not guilty of any crime.
They’re there because they couldn’t post bail.
Continue reading * Polar bears aren’t teddy bears; etc.
* The dark side of EQ
Adam Grant, The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman, An Antidote to the Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence
Dilemma: a hammer can be used either to build a house or to destroy priceless heirlooms. Possessing the tool of emotional intelligence does not mean one will use it favorably. What makes the difference?
In anticipating this post, I searched for a traditional term for “emotional intelligence.” I decided that the traditional term for it is wisdom. The Old Testament consistently refers to people who have emotional intelligence as “wise.” Those who lack it, it calls “fools.”
In the previous post, we saw that emotional intelligence, or wisdom, is a major determinant of personal effectiveness and success in life; in short, of prosperity. To the extent one wishes all people to prosper, it seems desirable that all people be wise.
In short, the wise prosper.
But the wise aren’t necessarily good, and the good aren’t necessarily wise.
Continue reading * The dark side of EQ
* Integrity
I will not suggest you go anywhere I myself haven’t gone.
(Originally posted 05/17/12 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 12/07/17.)
The Homeless Blogger 