First Blog

Are you watching "The Vikings"  television series on the History Channel?  It takes place in Scandinavia, probably what is now Sweden.  It features slaughter and ritual as a way of life.  Moreover, it is totally violent; it has intrigue; it show fidelity and infidelity;  it shows intelligence without and without learning; it demonstrates conflicts of belief; it supports a life of fate depending on gods. It is anything but post modern.  Yet, it is attractive, entertaining, fascinating, and even horrifying. Among the gods it features Thor, the master, and Loki, the belligerent trickster - but with not innocent tricks.  BTW, many religions feature these two conflicting forces in life, including the bushmen of southern Africa. It involves priests, and seers, all culminating with important political decisions made in the wake of their assessments. It titillates us all in our highly antiseptic world of political correctness, high secularism, social equality, fair share economic

  Actor Herbert Mundin, playing Munch in the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood (starring Errol Flynn) is charged by Prince John's troops of slaying a royal deer in the royal Sherwood forest.  The punishment is death.  Though the events of this film are a portrayal of events dating to the 15th century, they became by the 19th century a "robbing from the rich for the poor" theme so often depicted in other film genres. The William Tell legend is another. The plot is simple.  A poor man desperate to survive tastes the forbidden fruits owned by the authority, and is condemned. I would love to hear this event debated on the current TV news shows.  On the one hand, Munch would be a champion in service to his family.  On the other hand, his legal rights are restricted by legal authority. so, the argument would proceed.  Legal scholars cite statutes chapter and verse, while others would root for the common man.  Fast forward to 2014. Parallels between the poor Munch an

Doubling down. Theory, ideology, faith, whatever it may be, we see now in current affairs the intransigence of public and scientific players the willingness to persevere with a policy or theory, of some position despite the evidence it  seems not to be working. The remedy is not to revise, readjust, or relegate the program or  position, but to double, even triple, down upon it.  It is true, they argue, we just haven't given enough time or resources to fulfill its benefits.  It doesn't matter the topic, ranging from health care, to green solutions, to capitalistic markets, adherents will not let go.  Their theory is correct, they contend, we just need to persevere along this path. Persistence is the by-word of all too many.  This country, founded greatly upon William James' concepts of  pragmatism, has reversed course to pure belief.   Now this leads us to an conundrum.  It is seemingly impossible to let go, reverse course, or reformulate.  Remarkably, this is a partic

National Standardized Tests. For those interested in the current state of K-12 education in the United States. The 2014 round of standardized exam administration got underway in several states this week. As predicted by FairTest and our Testing Resistance & Reform Spring (TRRS) allies, opt-out campaigns and other forms of protest exploded in many communities. See http://www.resistthetest.org The CCSS, Common Core of States Standard, is more-or-less a set of national standards aimed at improving K-12 education.  In mathematics, its goal is to increase thought provoking curricula with an emphasis on problem solving in all grades.  Of coruse, this sounds great.  It sounds as though at least someone has found the true path.  And 47 state agreed.  Currently, only Indiana has opted out. Of course, in the interest of accountability, there are the associated high stakes tests to measure compliance and achievement of the so-called "Core."  An unsurprising controversy has emerged.