Author: A.T.

You cannot fail to have fun with this site, which tells you the #1 hit song the day you were born — or, perhaps more tellingly, the night you were conceived . . . plays them for you . . . and (just because it was so easy for whoever programmed this to toss in), tells you the number of minutes you’ve been alive.

My songs were “Heartaches,” by Ted Weems and His Orchestra, and “The Gypsy,” by The Ink Spots.

Thanks, Mel!

HOW GREAT IS THIS?

To think how many kids once routinely killed themselves as preferable to living as gay or lesbian Americans . . .

. . . and that today we have the CEOs of Walmart and Apple and the mayors of Little Rock and Indianapolis — and just about everybody else — the President! the Pope! — saying, in effect, “Lay off!  LGBT folks should be welcome everywhere; love is a good thing; if you want to run a business open to the public, you need to welcome everyone.”

Etc., etc.

I use the phrase “etc. etc.” joyfully, in that this is by now so largely old news.  How great is that?

To a kid who centrally focused, from age 10 to 22, on never letting anyone know his true feelings — anyone! — the idea that we would have come so far in accepting — often embracing — our friends and relatives and neighbors and coworkers . . . and our “shared” friends like Ellen DeGeneris and Anderson Cooper and Elton John and Martina Navratilova . . . it’s just such a tribute to the good hearts and minds of the American people.

With further to go, to be sure . . .

. . . especially as regards the T in LGBT — transgender.

But we’re making progress there, too.  As previously noted, I love that the highest paid woman CEO in America last year, on the cover of New York Magazine for having made $38 million, is my pal Martine Rothblatt, born Martin.

And I love Krystal Ball’s piece on MSNBC a couple of days ago concerning a nine-year-old in Virginia.

Watch.

Particularly powerful, to me, were the remarks of that nine-year-old’s dad.

Amazingly, the school board voted against the nine-year-old.

But it’s only a matter of time before hearts and minds open wide enough to do — if you don’t mind my shorthanding it (and claiming to know) — what Jesus so clearly would have done.

AND HOW ABOUT THIS — IN CHINA!

“ . . . Everyone is unique in some way, so let’s work to have society catch up with science,” People’s Daily, the Communist Party flagship news media outlet, wrote on its microblog account. “Respecting the choices of people like Li Yinhe is respecting ourselves.”

Li Yinhe’s partner of 17 years is transgender.  Li herself is (vaguely) the Dr. Ruth of China.  Read it all here in the New York Times.

Come on, Virginia: “let’s work to have society catch up with science.”

Have a great weekend!

It turns out climate change is a hoax!

Just as the Republican House and Senate science chairs have been telling us all along.

They’ve been right and the scientists have been . . . pulling our legs.

In case you missed this yesterday, this three-minute video explains why and how they pulled it off.

If Monday’s clip showing college students who couldn’t name the Vice President left you depressed, this post by Andew Nacin is the antidote.

Did you even know we had a U.S. Digital Service?

Snippets:

[Boy did I have this wrong.  I was so sure, just from the context, that he’s a Republican, I didn’t check before I clicked “publish” a few minutes ago.  Well — guess what? . . .]

DON’T SAVE THE CHILDREN

Nicholas Kristof tweets: “West Virginia had an admirable program to break the cycle of poverty. So the governor just slashed it.”

CHARLESTON, W.Va., March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s move this week to slash programs that help struggling children succeed in school is extremely short-sighted, Save the Children said today. . . .

“The governor is cutting programs we know help struggling children succeed in school,” said Anna Hardway, state director of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs. . . .

“At a time when Governor Tomblin has publically stressed early childhood education, we are very disappointed with his decision to cut children’s programs again.  Studies have shown that investing $1 in early education now returns $7 later through increased productivity and savings in public assistance and criminal justice. Aren’t our children and the future of our state worth that kind of investment?”

Save the Children’s early education programs in West Virginia consistently show strong results. Despite poverty and multiple risk factors they face, 88 percent of 3-year-olds in the program score at or above the national average on pre-literacy tests.  Save the Children’s elementary-school-based literacy programs also help children make significant gains – equivalent to what they’d learn in five additional months of schooling each year.

“There are mountains of research showing that whether a child is reading at grade level by 3^rd grade determines the whole course of their future.  Our literacy programs are designed to get kids on track so they are equipped to succeed in school, graduate and go on to become productive members of society, ” Hardway said.  “Fewer kids in West Virginia will have that chance now.”

Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.

There’s more to the Republican/Democratic divide than that, to be sure — the R’s refuse federal Medicaid expansion money . . . block attempts to revitalize our infrastructure . . . block the comprehensive immigration reform that passed the Senate 68-32 . . . seek to make voting more difficult . . . and so on — but that’s pretty much it: don’t invest in kids, cut taxes.*

(Was there any doubt as you read the press release that Governor Tomblin is a Republican?  The article didn’t say; and you had never heard of him before; but you knew he was a Republican.  No?  WELL, AS IT TURNS OUT, HE’S A DEMOCRAT.  Agh!!!)

#

Jeff Cox: “Republicans come up with some simple Wishy-World idea, like trickle-down economics, and responsible Democrats spend all their energy treating voters like adults, explaining why we need taxes for schools, roads, ships, retirement income and everything else.  Eventually Democrats grow frustrated and call the Republicans simple-minded, and then the independent voters grow frustrated with the ugliness of the campaign and just refuse to participate, which leaves everything open to the Republicans who will — no matter what else you can say about them — take the time to vote.  We need a simple, easy-to-understand slogan.  I suggest “Helping the working class.”  Nearly everything about the Democratic agenda would fit into that category.  The working class needs good schools for helping our children achieve the American Dream.  The working class needs well funded Social Security, clean air and water, good infrastructure and a process that makes voting easy.  The working class needs government.”

☞ And at the risk of piling on, I can’t help noting this deeply simple-minded yet remarkably accurate slogan, drawn from your automatic trasmission: “R stands for REVERSE; D stands for DRIVE.”  If you want to move forward, you choose D.

*E.g., West Virginia’s corporate income tax.

Boy did I have this wrong.  I was so sure, just from the context, that he’s a Republican, I didn’t check.  Well — guess what? . . .

DON’T SAVE THE CHILDREN

Nicholas Kristof tweets: “West Virginia had an admirable program to break the cycle of poverty. So the governor just slashed it.”

CHARLESTON, W.Va., March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s move this week to slash programs that help struggling children succeed in school is extremely short-sighted, Save the Children said today. . . .

“The governor is cutting programs we know help struggling children succeed in school,” said Anna Hardway, state director of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs. . . .

“At a time when Governor Tomblin has publically stressed early childhood education, we are very disappointed with his decision to cut children’s programs again.  Studies have shown that investing $1 in early education now returns $7 later through increased productivity and savings in public assistance and criminal justice. Aren’t our children and the future of our state worth that kind of investment?”

Save the Children’s early education programs in West Virginia consistently show strong results. Despite poverty and multiple risk factors they face, 88 percent of 3-year-olds in the program score at or above the national average on pre-literacy tests.  Save the Children’s elementary-school-based literacy programs also help children make significant gains – equivalent to what they’d learn in five additional months of schooling each year.

“There are mountains of research showing that whether a child is reading at grade level by 3^rd grade determines the whole course of their future.  Our literacy programs are designed to get kids on track so they are equipped to succeed in school, graduate and go on to become productive members of society, ” Hardway said.  “Fewer kids in West Virginia will have that chance now.”

Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.

There’s more to the Republican/Democratic divide than that, to be sure — the R’s refuse federal Medicaid expansion money . . . block attempts to revitalize our infrastructure . . . block the comprehensive immigration reform that passed the Senate 68-32 . . . seek to make voting more difficult . . . and so on — but that’s pretty much it: don’t invest in kids, cut taxes.*

(Was there any doubt as you read the press release that Governor Tomblin is a Republican?  The article didn’t say; and you had never heard of him before; but you knew he was a Republican.  No?  WELL, AS IT TURNS OUT, HE’S A DEMOCRAT.  Agh!!!)

#

Jeff Cox: “Republicans come up with some simple Wishy-World idea, like trickle-down economics, and responsible Democrats spend all their energy treating voters like adults, explaining why we need taxes for schools, roads, ships, retirement income and everything else.  Eventually Democrats grow frustrated and call the Republicans simple-minded, and then the independent voters grow frustrated with the ugliness of the campaign and just refuse to participate, which leaves everything open to the Republicans who will — no matter what else you can say about them — take the time to vote.  We need a simple, easy-to-understand slogan.  I suggest “Helping the working class.”  Nearly everything about the Democratic agenda would fit into that category.  The working class needs good schools for helping our children achieve the American Dream.  The working class needs well funded Social Security, clean air and water, good infrastructure and a process that makes voting easy.  The working class needs government.”

☞ And at the risk of piling on, I can’t help noting this deeply simple-minded yet remarkably accurate slogan, drawn from your automatic trasmission: “R stands for REVERSE; D stands for DRIVE.”  If you want to move forward, you choose D.

*E.g., West Virginia’s corporate income tax.

MUST-SEE THREE MINUTES

I know nothing about the “common core” curriculum.  But after watching this, I’m so so so for it.*  No matter how cherry-picked those interviews may have been (let us pray), you will still be amused and appalled.  (Thanks, Mel!)

THE NIGHTLY SHOW

I assume you watch Jon Stewart every night.  It’s funny, informative, cathartic, and could replace the need for common core civics.  I further assume that you frequently watched Stephen Colbert, who came on directly afterward — equally brilliant and irreplaceable.

Well, as everyone knows, Jon Stewart will be leaving “The Daily Show” sometime this year — democracy’s only hope is that Comedy Central will choose John Oliver to replace him — and Stephen Colbert has already gone.

What you may not know is that Larry Willmore’s “The Nightly Show” now follows “The Daily Show” in Colbert’s place and, while entirely different, is terrific, too.  For my taste, he took a little while to get his stride; but now I watch more or less Nightly.  Very smart and funny.

*And now that I’ve Googled a little, and found that it’s only math and English, I propose we add “civics” — as discussed, interestingly, here.

Seen this one?  Love has no labels.  Three minutes.  Too good to miss.

And have you heard what George Takei had to say about the Indiana law Republcans enacted that lets businesses deny service to gays (or Jews or whomever) if dealing with such people offends their deeply held religious beliefs?  “If you have to make laws to hurt a group of people just to prove your morals and faith, then you have no true morals or faith to prove.”

No one says you have to have one of us to your home for dinner.  But if you open a restaurant?  Or a bar?  Or a bowling alley?  I’ll have the eggplant, please — with Cap’n Morgan and diet and a size 9-1/2 shoe.

All my best books were written by other people, beginning with David McClintick’s 1982 Indecent Exposure — look! my name in the center of the front cover of a New York Times best-seller! — and now, as I stall and stall trying to find the energy to deliver the TED recap I’ve been promising . . .

. . . how do you recap 90 talks?! not to mention dinners, exhibits, the oxygen bar, and chance encounters? . . .

. . . I am rescued by a comedian whose TED act ddn’t grab me (about her sitting on a Western-style ceramic toilet in Iran that somehow cracked in half) but whose write-up of the 2015 TED experience is way better than mine would have been — and with pictures!

So “my work here is done.”

#

But let me add just a few personal highlights to which Negin, no matter how Farsad-ed, could not have been privy.

Like my solo test-drive of this thing, of which there are only three in the world, each valued at $300,000 so I drove it very carefully, with a top speed of 35mph (or in my cautious case, maybe 15mph) — and a range of about 30 miles (or in my case, averaging maybe 7mph for 5 minutes, about 3000 feet) — taking three hours to charge.  Basically, it’s a high-tech three-wheeled electric motorcycle with pedals and a steering wheel, if there were such a thing, all enclosed so you can’t get wet in the rain.

No, they didn’t let us out on the street; we drove around a little obstacle course set up in a portion of the enormous basement of the Vancouver Convention Center.  If it’s ever sold here for under $10,000, I’ll bet a lot of folks will buy it.  (Certainly more practical than this bizarre vehicle, that you actually can buy for $300,000 today.)

Except in cities.

What city-dweller needs a car anymore when he or she can have his own car and driver for way cheaper?

Except in Vancouver which, to the consternation of the assembled TEDsters, still, for now, lacks Uber.

#

You know what?  Let me stop here . . . and perhaps up date this page tomorrow or Monday with more stuff for those who are interested.

But in the meantime:

What if 3D printing were 10 times faster?  It’s coming!  Watch it here — free!.

Why do ambitious women have flat heads?  Watch it here — free!

And, yes, what did Monica Lewinsky have to say?  Watch it here — free!

Have a great weekend.

But first, in response to yesterday’s post:

Bob: “Really?  Hillary, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley and Elizabeth Warren — if they are president and we are attacked … God help us all.  We can only hope that the remaining 98% of the voting population that is not uber-liberal will do the right thing.”

☞ This strikes me as unconvincing.

You couldn’t have had any less liberal guys in the White House than George W. Bush and Dick Cheney — willing, even, to torture. Yet they first failed — badly — to prevent the attack . . . and then, after 15 Saudis leveled the World Trade Center and wounded the Pentagon, they invaded . . . Iraq — and failed to kill Bin Laden.

I don’t doubt they meant well; it just turned out disastrously.  So many lives wrecked.  So many tax dollars wasted that could have gone to strengthen our country.

But wait!

Guess under which president Bin Laden was killed?

And under which President far fewer American lives have been lost?

Barack Obama!

Nor is President Obama a liberal fluke.  Most people think of FDR as the original liberal — but an effective commander in chief (remember World War II?).  Left-leaning Harry Truman dropped two atom bombs.  John Kennedy, a Harvard liberal, faced down Khruschchev and got the missiles removed from Cuba.

So, Bob, as much as one might admire the reckless bravery of a John McCain, or the boundless self-confidence of a Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or George W. Bush, I wouldn’t leap to the conclusion that a liberal — who champions the interests of those in or striving to enter the middle class (and, yes, even the downtrodden) — would be a push-over if we were ever again attacked.

Thoughtful, perhaps.  Wise, perhaps.  Cagey or nuanced or far-sighted, perhaps.  But not necessarily weak.

A SINNER IN MECCA

Parvez Sharma — a gay Muslim — risked his life making his second documentary.  (The first, “A Jihad for Love,” won awards and has been screened everywhere from the U.S. State Department and film festivals in the West to the darkened rooms of Muslims in countries where the consequences, if discovered, could be dire.)

It premiers at the HotDocs festival later next month.

Read the story here.

Wow.

I know: TED.  Just so much!  Maybe Friday.

In the meantime . . .

HILLARY

Victor: “Did you see this piece?  ‘There’s A Reality About Hillary Clinton That Many Liberals Need To Face.’  Sounds like he has been reading your blog.”

So it does.  Though, frankly, as a Hillary fan (and neutral until we have a nominee), I’m not eager to “press” her on anyone 593 days in advance.  (I’m also a Bernie Sanders fan and a Martin O’Malley fan, and certainly an Elizabeth Warren fan.)  If Hillary does run, and does win the nomination, we should remember to trot that link out in about 540 days — and then re-run it every day until November 8, 2016.

REDHEADS

I never really paid much attention — just as it always surprises me when people notice I’m left-handed — tons of people are left-handed just as tons of people are red-headed (though, interestingly, no redheads are left-handed*) — but the first 7-minute episode of Redheads Anonymous web series was released on St. Patrick’s Day and it’s fun.  Especially for me, because I’ve known its star and creator star since she was two.

Meanwhile, in the more purely superficial department, there was this red hot exhibition last fall.  (Why am I so embarrassed about being superficial?  I should own it.  Wear it like a badge.  Look at these guys!  Click here for even more.)

*I assume that’s not true; I just thought it sounded funny.  If 10% of Americans are left-handed (though 30% are apparently mixed-handed — I write with my left hand but throw with my right arm) . . . and if 4% are redheaded (I saw an estimate of 2%-6%, which probably has more to do with defining how red you have to be to qualify, or else how could the range be so broad?) . . . then 1 of every 250 Americans is a redheaded leftie.  More than a million!