Motley Moose – Archive

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

Just finished

The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven. The sequel to Ringworld in which Louis Wu, Chmee and the Hindmost return to Ringworld, which has become unstable.

Now reading

Cooler Smarter: Practical tips for low carbon living  by the scientists at Union of Concerned Scientists, a great group. These folk make sense, concentrating on the changes you can make that have the biggest impact with the least effort.

Thinking, fast and slow  by Daniel Kahneman.  Kahneman, most famous for his work with the late Amos Tversky, is one of the leading psychologists of the times. Here, he posits that our brains have two systems: A fast one and a slow one. Neither is better, but they are good at different things. This is a brilliant book: Full of insight and very well written, as well.

What hath God wrought? by Daniel Walker Howe. Subtitled “The transformation of America 1815-1848. I am reading this with the History group at GoodReads.  This is very well written, and does a good job especially with coverage of the treatment of Blacks and Native Americans.

The hard SF renaissance  ed. by David G. Hartwell.  A large anthology of “hard” SF from the 90’s and 00’s. I think Hartwell takes SF a bit too seriously, but the stories are good.

On politics: A history of political thought from Herodotus to the present by Alan Ryan. What the subtitle says – a history of political thought.  

He, she and it by Marge Percy. Near future dystopian SF set on Earth.

Measurement by Paul Lockhart. About mathematics and, especially, how it should be taught and learned. Lockhart is wonderful; his first book A Mathematician’s Lament was, in my view, the best books on teaching math ever written.

Just started

Protector by Larry Niven  Another novel set in the same universe as the Ringworld novels

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

Just finished

Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith. A light and funny short novel featuring Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfield, a professor of Romance philology in Regensburg, Germany. A send-up of academia and its discontents

(started and finished) Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. The world of competitive Scrabble and some of its top players. A good book that captures the lure of the game, but Fatsis spends too much time on some of the more unusual characters (and their more unusual characteristics).

Now reading

Cooler Smarter: Practical tips for low carbon living  by the scientists at Union of Concerned Scientists, a great group. These folk make sense, concentrating on the changes you can make that have the biggest impact with the least effort.

Thinking, fast and slow  by Daniel Kahneman.  Kahneman, most famous for his work with the late Amos Tversky, is one of the leading psychologists of the times. Here, he posits that our brains have two systems: A fast one and a slow one. Neither is better, but they are good at different things. This is a brilliant book: Full of insight and very well written, as well.

What hath God wrought? by Daniel Walker Howe. Subtitled “The transformation of America 1815-1848. I am reading this with the History group at GoodReads.  This is very well written, and does a good job especially with coverage of the treatment of Blacks and Native Americans.

The hard SF renaissance  ed. by David G. Hartwell.  A large anthology of “hard” SF from the 90’s and 00’s. I think Hartwell takes SF a bit too seriously, but the stories are good.

On politics: A history of political thought from Herodotus to the present by Alan Ryan. What the subtitle says – a history of political thought.  

He, she and it by Marge Percy. Near future dystopian SF set on Earth.

A Most Dangerous Book  by Christopher Krebs. How a short book by the Roman Tacitus had a dangerous life, culminating in its use by the Nazis to support their ideas of lebensraum and “Ein volk, Ein reich, ein fuhrer”.

The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven. The sequel to Ringworld in which Louis Wu, Chmee and the Hindmost return to Ringworld, which has become unstable.

Measurement by Paul Lockhart. About mathematics and, especially, how it should be taught and learned. Lockhart is wonderful; his first book A Mathematician’s Lament was, in my view, the best books on teaching math ever written.

Just started

Nothing this week (but see above)

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

I’ve come up with 10 questions that I think distinguish progressive candidates. I’d like to ask each congressional candidate these 10:

1.  Would you vote to repeal the Patriot Act?

2.  Would you vote to repeal No Child Left Behind?

3.  Would you vote for a truly inclusive Employee Nondiscrimination Act?

4.  Would you vote to decriminalize marijuana?

5.  Would you vote for a law saying marriage is between any two consenting adults?

6.  Do you support a woman’s right to choose abortion, without restriction?

7.  Would you vote for a truly progressive tax system?

8.  Would you join the International Criminal Court?

9.  Would you vote for the Kyoto accords on the environment?

10. Would you support a “Manhattan project” scale effort to fund and develop renewable energy sources?

Then what I would do is compare the percentage of correct answers to the share of the vote Obama got, and fund people who were more progressive than their district and more progressive than their opponent.  

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

I’ve written some book reviews on Yahoo Voices:

Book reviews on Yahoo

Yesterday, Cassandra asked about the source of the quote in my sig line. I had already written an article on Yahoo Voices, but I retained rights to republish, so here it is:

Rabbi Israel Salanter once said:

“Most people worry about their own bellies and other peoples’ souls, when we all ought to worry about our own souls and other peoples’ bellies”

To me, this is the essence of progressivism: Your soul is not my business but your belly may be.

Part One: Bellies

But why must the government do this? Why not rely on individual charity?

When most people lived in small towns or villages, everyone knew their neighbors. People knew who was hungry and who was not. Even so, charity often failed. Sometimes, as in times of famine, no one in the local community had enough to share and everyone starved. Other times the hungry person was a member of some group that was stigmatized. In different places, different groups were stigmatized, but there were usually some groups that were.

Today, with more and more people living in huge cities, many people do not know their neighbors. If someone is hungry, we may not know; and if someone is begging, we do not know if that begging is legitimate. There certainly are organized charities that attempt to ameliorate some of this problem, but they have too few resources and are not always able to reach everyone. There is a food pantry near where I live in New York City, and I donate to them. But they can’t reach all the hungry people; and they can’t provide other necessities of life such as shelter or clothing, and they aren’t open every day.

The only organization large enough to organize efforts to feed and shelter the poor is the government. Therefore, I support government efforts to do so, and I am willing to pay taxes to enable the government to do so. I go further: Not only do I think no one should be hungry or homeless, I think people should have the opportunity to be educated, and so I support public education and am willing to pay taxes to do that.

And further, I am concerned about pollution because I take a broad view of “belly”. I think it includes lungs. Air pollution harms people’s lungs, so it is a legitimate concern of mine and of my government’s.

Part Two: Souls

On the other hand, I do not think your soul is my business, much less the government’s business. If what you are doing does me no harm, nor harms others, then it is not and should not be the government’s business. As Thomas Jefferson said

It does me no harm for my neighbor to believe in many gods or no god. It neither robs my pocket nor breaks my leg

This applies equally well, I think, to such issues as gay marriage. It does me no harm. Some people will claim that it is morally wrong; that it is forbidden by the Bible or the Koran. That may be. I will not argue that point (although certainly some Jews, Christians and Muslims will argue about that). But it does me no harm. It neither robs my pocket nor breaks my leg. It may (or may not) be about your soul, but it is not about my soul; thus, it is not my concern or that of my government’s. (Beyond cases where I know the people involved, in which case I wish them happiness).

This quote from Salanter does not cover the whole of the progressive-conservative split. But it does a remarkably good job of covering it.

If you are old enough, think back to about 1970. If you are not old enough GET OFF MY LAWN! No, no. Come, pull up a chair and let an old guy talk a bit.

In 1970 the life expectancy for a newborn White boy in the USA was 67.94 years; White girl? 75.49 years. NonWhite boy? 65.63 years. NonWhite girl? 69.05 years. In 2011, all those rates were higher, by between 5 and 8 years.

In 1970, in the building where I lived in New York City, my mother had a Black friend visit. The doorman made her ride the service elevator (OH BOY did that doorman hear from my mom!).

In 1970, the Soviet Union still existed. Germany was still two countries. South Africa had apartheid. Today, none of those things is true (and they all happened without a major war).

In 1970, the idea of an openly homosexual person getting elected to Congress would have been strange. Homosexuality was still considered a psychiatric disorder (and listed as such in the DSM).

In 1970, it was illegal (in Chicago) for “deformed” people to show themselves on the streets.

In 1970 the Americans with Disabilities Act had not been passed. Today, many buildings are required to have ramps for wheelchair access and all children are entitled to a “free and appropriate education” in the “least restrictive environment”.

In 1970 Roe v. Wade was still in the future. Today, abortion is legal.

In 1970, “with all deliberate speed” was long on the deliberate and short on the speed. Today, an African-American is in the White House.

In 1970, there was no internet. In 1970, there were no personal computers.

In 1970, Edgar Ray Killen was still a free man. (Don’t know who he is? Go to the library! Oh, it’s 2013. You can Google).

It was in 1970 that the United States got its first female generals. In 2013, women were finally given combat status.

Are we done fighting? NO WAY.

Are things perfect now? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

In all of the areas I outlined, there is work to be done. FORWARD!

Have we made progress? YES WE HAVE.

Can we make more? YES WE CAN!