A Dark Journey an American Future History

---Yes, I know. This is also posted in my other blog: different title; same emotions.---

Last week I had fun. I laughed with John Stewart as he showed us the sound bites repeated on each of the major networks. Almost, but not quite verbatim, each broadcaster used the same memes to analyze the statements and activities of the presidential candidates. Leave it to the mockery of Stewart to find comedy in the everyday. When my new dog barked at the eagle's birdsong that introduces the Colbert Report, I giggled and took myself off to bed. I am growing really fond of that dog.

Then I watched Link TV over the weekend. Now I am roiling in stomach acid. I spent the whole weekend in emotional turmoil. Shock at the shenanigans of American politics. Awe at the brazen usurption of American civil rights. I was slain by how I had been manipulated time and again by those I should have been able to trust. I now fear for the future of my children. The democracy of the country of my birth is being threatened from within, and patriotism will not save it.

If you want to know the source of the threat, I invite you to watch the Orwell Rolls in his Grave and Propanganda and Politics. These shows resonate with the pain of a betrayed people-US. And the sorry thing is, we actively tolled the death knell ourselves when we allowed voter fraud to occur right under our noses, and we did nothing to stop it.

I love this country. I have always believed that our diversity and system of checks and balances would guarantee our way of life for centuries to come. I believed that, flaws and all, our democracy was the best solution for governing people. I felt such pride in our goodness, or at least our striving to be good. And I am proud of our military and support the public servants-military, police, fire fighters, teachers, civil service workers--that work faithfully to keep us safe and our government operational.

I never believed that in the name of God, and freedom, a Christian president would use his power to undermine our US Constitution. I did not really believe that the mainstream public would rather pay lipservice to a politically correct notion of morality at the expense of modern technology and science. It is OK to use psychology and marketing technologies to win legal battles, no matter what the truth or who is actually guilty. But to accept scientific principles is anathema to one's faith.

Since when is the competition to win cases the measure of justice rather than the identification of guilt or innocence?

Since when is the freedom of speech less important than political correctness? Since when is the American Way subject to conforming to the neighbor in power? Since when does anyone have the right to tell me how to think? Since when can I no longer use my own sense of right and wrong to decide what choices to make?

I always thought that our Constitution protected us from government control over every aspect of our lives and thoughts. Our Bill of Rights and our US Constitution are being reinterpreted to remove the individual civil rights. What will replace them?

We live in frightening times. We live in a country on the verge of self-destruction. Slow, subtle erosions of the traditional American ideals, the vision of the founding fathers, and my civil rights are crumbling. I am white. I am Anglo-Saxon. Yet my voice, just like Peter Jenning's and Trent Lott's, is a weak whisper against the cacophany of sound bites manipulating and spinning the censored tidbits of information about current events and the axis of power in control.

If I count to 10 and breath deeply, can I will it all to go away. "Don't worry; be happy." A mantra should calm me down and make it better.

• Orwell Rolls in his Grave
  http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_orwellrolls
  Upcoming Airdates
  Timezone: CST
  Monday March 10th 02:00 pm
  Saturday March 15th 09:00 am
  Saturday March 15th 06:00 pm
  Sunday March 16th 03:00 pm


• Propaganda and Politics
  http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_propaganda
  Upcoming Airdates
  Timezone: CST
  Friday, March 14th 12:00 pm
  Saturday March 15th 03:00 pm
  Monday March 17th 12:00 am


• Stealing Democracy?
  http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_stealing
  Upcoming Airdates
  Timezone: CST
  Sunday March 16th 10:00 pm

Best of Link TV
http://www.linktv.org/rss/general/best.xml

Read more of my comments about Link TV.

Get these Resources on Global Warming!

The Planet 1-4 are important documentaries showcasing evidence for Global Warming and some of the cultural change that this phenomenon has already wrought. They are useful for high school and homeschool. They do have a political message, but it is one shared by many in the field of ecology and biology today: Global Warming is here.

Link TV is currently showing the 4-part series The Planet, which look for evidence for Global Warming. It airs several times this week including at 12:00 noon EST beginning Tuesday, 3/3/08, with Part 1 and ending Friday, 3/6/08, with Part 4. It is also shown in the middle of the night for those of you who, like me, record things during the sleeping hours; and at other times during the week. Get the schedule.

I watched The Planet 1 this past Sunday. The presentation this week runs 90 minutes because it is interspersed with interviews and Link TV fund-raising announcements.

And such interviews! Peter Coyote interviewed several scientists and authors this past Sunday, including Kim Stanley Robinson and William Steffen. Each have books and talks about the politics and science of Global Warming. The interviews are as interesting and informative as the documentary. I highly recommend that you catch the showing of The Planet this week to be sure to see the interviews.

I tried to locate The Planet documentaries for purchase, but could not find it at Amazon. Maybe later. I did find the books by Steffen and Robinson that are part of the gift package that Link TV was giving for a $300.00 donation. If you want to give less, as I did, but still want the books, they are available at Amazon. I offer them here.

The non-fiction books I recommend as references for student reports. These are the books by Steffen.

Concerning the books by Kim Stanley Robinson, these are fictional accounts of what could happen in the very near future. Robinson offers knowledgeable scenarios of the the individual and governmental responses to this looming crisis. Critiques of the books are on the Amazon pages. I offer links to the more informative ones that I deem useful for teachers and homeschool parents. These critiques mention the concepts covered in the book and will prove helpful in lesson planning.

Furthermore, the book review of one of the books in the trilogy by a school librarian publication, Library Journal Reveiw, indicates that these books are appropriate for use with youth. I haven't yet read them, but I think they will be safe. I believe the ones I have read--Red Mars and Green Mars, both on the terraforming and colonization of Mars by Robinson--are safe enough.

Read these informative critiques on the book that let teachers know what topics are covered so these books can be used in the classroom. The Library Journal review on the book page of Forty Days of Rain implies that the book is suitable for a high school library.

• Discussion of the science, politics, and readabiliy of the book
• Sixty Days and Counting


• Fifty Degrees Below

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Read more about Link TV and some of its offerings at Valerie's Memos later this week and, of course, at the Link TV website itself.

Getting Kids to Read

One of my passions is encouraging kids to read my favorite books: great science fiction.
In fact I even joined a group that facilitates just that. You can visit their website at Reading for the Future, which links to other sites with the same mission.

In the back of my mind for years has been this idea. I present it you today.

Yes, I know that authors do not having their works butchered or censored. However, kids are kids; and there are a few things about adult literature and kids that either are incompatible or intimidating.

I have not checked to see if this is already being done. Is it?

What if we did this to some of the exciting adult science fiction:

1. Make a reading list of the best pages in a long, complex "future history" with many interlacing threads.  What if that list dealt with only one thread and were placed in a mini-story for kids?
2.  What if the stories were illustrated in the same manner as the old Treasure Island and Star Wars books (art rather than photos)?
3.  What if a list of the pages of only one subset of readings were in a reading list or lesson?
4. What if new anthologies were published with certain words removed and story subsets were included--like the old literature books we grew up with but with book passages as well as short stories?

These could be short, 100 pages or so. They could be ebooks. They could be illustrated. They could be packaged as youth books. They could be paperback and library-bound hardbacks. They could have links to author bios, information about the "rest of the story" and lessons online--all those things that would make the book more like a textbook removed from the book itself but made easily accessible.

Teachers and Librarians, would this work?

I have a long list of books--the ones in my bookstore online--that I would love included in such a project. I have another set that I have recently read that I would want included, too.

Yes, I would love to be tagged as an editor for such a project.

The picture at the top is of a slide that is a PowerPoint Template Design. To me this design is a bit other-worldly. I thought it would add ambiance to this post.

Postscript: I reread this page today, 10/8/10, and -- oops! -- found typos.  I corrected several. Hope I got them all! Sorry. --Valerie

Yet Another Reason to Read Science Fiction

"...creative perception often anticipates scientific findings..."

so says Science News this week (2/2/08, v 173, p. 79)when it lists a book called Proust was a Neurologist. The book summary states," Lehrer analyzes artistic discoveries such as (these)...(that) add up to a plea for scientists to pay attention to the arts. The summary lists examples where Lehrer posits a novelist that described in the story a sensation, a cause and effect, or a phenomenological description of a human response or activity that was later studied by scientists.

(Whew. The summary in SN says it sooo much better!! And they use the number of words needed to say it right, too.Me? I once summarized 1000+ years of history into one 4 paragraph answer on an essay test. Think I'm kidding?)

The summary states that "(t)he poet Walt Whitman made consciousness biological before scientists did. He wrote, 'Behold, the body includes and is the meaning, the main concern, and includes and is the soul.' "

Personally I found the book summary to be another argument for reading science fiction. I also found the summary to be another reason for encouraging today's students to read science fiction since they are the scientists of tomorrow.

Visit www.sciencenews.org to read the book summary. Buy the book. If you would rather that your money went to Science News than to me, then go to Science News bookstore page to order the book. Both sources, them and me, will take you to Amazon.com.

Now if I could find the time to actually read the book itself!!

Living Green: Working with Green Power

There are dozens of websites that foster green living; that offer information on practical solutions to living in a world facing global warming and an energy crisis; and that sponsor charitable works to assist the third world in sustainable living.

Earth in Greenhouse
© James Steidl
{Get this picture: greenhouse effect © James Steidl
fotolia_1248622earth in greenhouse.jpg}
© James Steidl - FOTOLIA

Sierra Club and Trees for the Future are concerned with reforestation and using plants to clean the air of pollutants and counteract the Greenhouse Effect. Heifer International, World Hunger, ECLA, and Bread are programs for solving the issue of world hunger and human carrying capacity. Some, like UNICEF and Sierra Club, sell products that educate and raise money for their programs: UNICEF cards and gifts.ORDER today and help UNICEF help children. {This picture is from Heifer International.}

What I find interesting is that businesses are wearing the mantra of green living as an advertising strategy. For every customer who buys this product, the business will give so much to this organization. That works for me. They put forth the effort, get the tax breaks, while I get the product and the easy conscience and great feeling of knowing that I have contributed to the cause.

One might say it's consumerism, capitalism, whatever, at its best. At least the giving gets done--and with minimal pain to me, the customer.

Remember the plan presented to the UN of trading energy credits among nations? Well, the US now has such an energy credit trade for businesses. It's called a green energy credit.
Green energy certificates are purchased through a program called Green Power. Green Power, our government's experiment with energy certificates on the local level, also posts the announcements of local power companies that are seeking power to purchase.

One part of the system works like this. Say a business is established within a regular energy grid, one that rents an office in a bank-owned building, for example. The business gets electricity from the same electrical utility company as the building, namely the local electric power company. Now, the power company works on fossil fuel technology. NOT GREEN. But, the business can calculate the cost of the power it will use and buy green credits for that amount. The green credits should then be used to invest in solar and wind powered electrical generation. The business has contributed to, or participated in, GREEN LIVING.

Such businesses can advertise the fact that they have purchased a green certificate. There is even a button that can be posted on their websites.

But businesses do not stop there. They also join charities that feed the poor or plant trees to clean the air. The plan is to give so many dollars to each charity it supports for each customer that joins its program or buys its product. How many red phones do you see today?

Personally, as an affiliate marketer, my list of charities is interspersed with a few for which I advertise. I have chosen to exchange links with a couple more. Some banners I publish as my part as a volunteer to spread the message. I guess you could say that I, too, am on the bandwagon. Let that not stop you from clicking the links, however. These sites are well worth visiting for information alone, even if you do not donate or volunteer.

Education for both philanthropists and recipients are part of the charities websites as well. I have found K-12 and adult lessons, articles with statistics, articles on sustainability, agriculture, forestry, diet, horticulture, and economics at these sites. These sites are gold mines of information.

For many, the philosophy of giving now carries the principles of sustainability and economic development. It is not enough to give food. Charities strive to educate recipients to grow their own food, to develop communities and markets, and to determine the best resources for continued growth. It is the "Teach a man to fish" practice.

Two organizations that serve as watchdogs on the reputations of charities are American Institute of Philanthropy and Charity Navigator. Each provides their top 10 list of favorable charities, unique lists for how to distinguish good charities from scams, articles on charities and the need for such, and archives of past press releases.

Before you get really confident in choosing a charity based on the rating systems of charity watchdogs, read about a few additional criteria in this critique of simplistic rating systems based primarily on the distribution of funds.

Memes are wonderful things. They convey ideas in multiple layers that branch into other ideas with just a word or phrase. The Living Green phrase is a meme that is rapidly growing branches. It reflects a global concern with the risks of climate change, human carrying capacity, energy crisis, and sustainability. It conveys a national concern with local problems and solutions. It conveys the personal concern of stewardship towards our earth and its peoples. And it has become a mantra for doing business with, at least some, ethical practices.


This article is a copy of one that I just posted on my new blog Valerie's Memos. Already I see that having 2 blogs can be a problem. Which article goes where? Well, if people can use articles from ISnare and such to make a blog post, then I suppose I can get away with a dupe post of my own. What say?