RACIAL BIAS, ANTI-SEMITISM, AND HOMOPHOBIA

I only first heard about the chef Paula Deen about a month ago when Mika Brzezinski told how unhealthy her recipes are.  Shortly thereafter Deen and her brother were sued by a (white) woman, Lisa Jackson, who had managed their restaurant over how they treat their employees.  Somehow, Deen’s behavior regarding Blacks in her deposition dominated the news for awhile.  She lost her TV show and some sponsors over this.  Some people have a lot of sympathy for her,* but not me.  She wanted to become a celebrity and then it turns out she couldn’t handle it.  She is a public relations disaster.

Some say that Deen's "slips of the tongue or actions" were long ago, but Lisa Jackson says the N-word has nothing to do with the law suit.**  Ms. Charles, Deen's cook of 22 yrs, also tells a different story:*** “I’m not trying to portray that she is a bad person,” she said. “I’m just trying to put my story out there that she didn’t treat me fairly and I was her soul sister.”**  The columnist Robert M. Levy* shows his sympathy for Paula Deen by using an analogy from "Back To The Future" where George McFly was bullied by his acquaintance Biff, "Biff used George to do Biff’s homework. He then shoved George out of the way when he had served Biff’s purpose."  Mr. Levy uses Paula Deen to be George and Biff being the "elite clique."  It seems more likely that Deen's cook was George and Paula was the elite clique.

Well as far as I am concerned Deen can cry all the way to the bank.  Last year her reported earnings were about 8 times more in one year than I earned in a 35 yr paid career, and most people would say I have had a good life.  Deen's recent recipe book became a best seller at least partly because of her notoriety.  I'm sure Paula Deen will come out of this all right.  With so many TV stations, I'm sure she can find one willing to handle her show, if that is what she wants, and, if nothing else, she can put one on the internet.  As for the law suit against Paula Deen and her brother, I am happy to let the courts decide.

But Deen is not the sole purpose of Mr. Levy's article. He goes on to say, "For instance, Paula went to (Jessie) Jackson to ask forgiveness for her use of a racial slur decades earlier, or about the same time Jackson was referring to New York in an anti-Semitic rant as “Hymie Town [1984].” Yet Jackson was noncommittal about forgiving her."  Mr. Levy then follows this comment up with "When liberal actor Alec Baldwin ranted against a reporter in homophobic terms so vile [2013] that it was eclipsed only by a tape recording in which he called his child a “pig,” there was not even a ripple of anger by the credit card company he endorsed."  And Mr. Levy is hardly alone on this point.  See the article by Patrick Strudwick in The Guardian.com.*

Mr. Levy's real point, I believe, is that Paula Deen said some bad things about Blacks and paid a heavy price whereas Jessie Jackson and Alec Baldwin said at least as offensive things about Jew's and gays and have paid no price.  I sympathize with Mr. Levy on this point.  I have long admired Jews for their ability to motivate their children into careers such as law and medicine and to become prominent in other fields such as science and the arts.  Let us hope that anti-Semitic statements like those of Jessie Jackson are a thing long in the past in this country, but they still seem to lurk just below the surface in some (many?) people.  Enlightened views on homosexuals, who have also contributed greatly to this country, are more recent, but slurs in 2013 are certainly just as regrettable.

* http://www.thepilot.com/opinion/article_36645ac0-eaf8-11e2-a7d0-001a4bcf6878.html  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/28/hollywood-alec-baldwin-gay-slur?guni=Article:in%20body%20link
** http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paula-deens-accuser-breaks-silence-578605  "Jackson, a former manager at Deen’s restaurants in Savannah, Ga., has accused the TV chef and her brother of committing multiple acts of violence, discrimination and racism that resulted in the end of her five-year employment with them. Deen’s lawyer has called the allegations false."
*** http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/opinion/the-soul-sisters-in-the-kitchen.html?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20130730

"COMPLETE THE DANGED FENCE"

"Complete the danged fence"  This comment by John McCain occurred on May 10, 2010, as he was running for the Republican nomination for President about the fence on our Southern border.*  I agree with McCain that the double fence will probably not slow illegal immigration much.  I suppose the first illegal over the fence will have to have two extension ladders, unless they can shimmy up the fence somehow (probably could with a chain link fence  and not need an extension ladder at all) or perhaps the fence can be dug under.**

Cost  The current 670 mi. of single layer fence cost $2.4 billion between 2006 and 2009.  The original authorization for the fence was $1.2 billion.  Congress has yet to authorize sufficient funds to finish a double layer fence.  The cost of the whole fence is estimated to be $4.1 billion.  There are also upkeep costs.  The cumulative cost for the first 10 years was $9 billion.*

Public Works Program  But the Gang Of  8 plan is a pretty decent new public works plan in that it would increase border agents from near  21,000 in 2012 to 40,000, an increase of nearly 19,000 new agents.  In addition there would be all the workers needed to construct the second fence (only 36.3 mi. of double fencing is completed), truck drivers to bring the fencing materials, and presumably more workers to make the fence materials, which when completed would be 700 mi. long of double fencing.  These costs are local and drive up the labor costs for scarce workers.  And, ahem, more land acquisition costs that vary widely.  Currently 649 mo. of fencing has  been completed of which 299 mi. of vehicle barriers and 350 mi. of pedestrian fencing.**

If I was dictator, this wouldn't be my first choice as a public works program as it may not be much better than hiring one shift to dig holes and the next shift to fill them in.  But the fence is acceptable to the opponents of the Gang Of Eight proposal that passed the Senate whereas digging holes or, better yet,  improving highways or the smart grid isn't.

How Good Are The Jobs  It appears that the new border control agents will be Civil Servants with permanent jobs and not contractors.***  How good are the jobs?  The entry levels will be at GS 5 ($34,075/yr with a top of $44,293), essentially a Bachelors degree; GS 7 ($42,209/yr with a top of $54,875), one year of graduate school: and GS 9 ($51,630 with a top at $67,114), two years of graduate school or a Master's degree.****  Law enforcement officers may get special salary rates and locality pay.  There is a 6.5 month probationary period after which it may be possible to be promoted to the next higher level.  Only the GS 9 job starts above the median household income level.

* I've previously mentioned the works program aspect of building the fence before: http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/06/cold-war-on-our-southern-border.html.
 Also see: http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/06/immigrant-apprehensions-by-year-and.html
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Fence_Act_of_2006
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/21/19062298-price-tag-for-700-miles-of-border-fencing-high-and-hard-to-pin-down?lite
*** http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/careers/customs_careers/border_careers/bp_agent/faqs_working_for_the_usbp.xml#PayandBenefits
**** http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/

DECLINE IN COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

A 2% decline in college enrollment has been found for the 2012-2013 period for the first drop since the 1990s.*  It is not occurring in the colleges with the most prestigious reputations (like MIT, Harvard, etc.) but in the for-profit and second line institutions.  A part of the problem is the high cost of college education these days.  Even a university like Wake Forest costs $50,000 a school year, a relative's daughter found out.  I believe she ended up going to the University of Georgia.  For-profit colleges may also be in trouble, perhaps because of the improving economy.

Not mentioned in the article, may be the effect of political** (dumbing down of America) and news media*** (former secretary of Education William Bennett, and others) drumbeats that the cost of college may not be worth it..  I hope no student is swayed by these arguments.  The life of a blue collar worker is one of insecurity and usually physical labor, even if a skilled labor job (e.g. heating and air conditioning technicians or automobile mechanic, etc.) and assembly lines are deadening to the spirit.

* http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/education/in-a-recovering-economy-a-decline-in-college-enrollment.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&wpisrc=nl_wonk_b
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2010/10/dumbing-down-of-america-if-you-listen.html
*** http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/05/09/why-a-college-degree-no-longer-guarantees-success

FOG by Carl Sandburg (1916)

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED HEALTH INSURANCE

I'm amazed that there is so much talk on the injustice to demanding that young people have health insurance because they don't need it.  It is like saying you don't need home owners insurance because your house is unlikely to burn down.

Well, injuries are the second leading health cost cost after heart disease* and youth has plenty of accidents, often with trips to the emergency room, doctors offices, and hospitalization.  Among the many things attributable to youth are falls, skate board accidents, skiing accidents, automobile accidents, rough and tumble accidents, attempted suicides, poisonings, cuts, assaults, etc.  And youth are not immune to illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, drug overdoses, asthma, infected bug bites, severe sun burn, etc. that can lead to visits of the emergency room.*  The demographics of emergency room use is bimodal with one group of frequent users being the age range 25-44 and the other 65+.**  The younger than 25 group may be less frequent users because they are covered by health insurance on the parents policies and may more frequently go to doctors offices and hospitals.

For New South Wales, Australia, the hospitalization costs of drivers peaks in the 15-24 age grouping with male costs three times larger than for females after which the costs taper off  for both.***  New York had 2,825 hospital stays from traffic accidents in the 15-24 age group in 2007 with an average charge per injured person of $33,000-$35,000.***  Emergency room charges were less but still $1,000-$1,400/person with total costs of $25-30 million.***

There is also the aspect that you pay into the health system when young and withdraw from it more when you are old.  I understand that there may be suspicion that the system may not be there when you are old.

* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/06/summary-health-costs-and-medical.html
http://www.santacruzhealth.org/phealth/CountyHealthReport/2012/pdfs/26-Non-Fatal%20Injuries%20Chapter.pdf
**http://www.acep.org/uploadedFiles/ACEP/News_Room/NewsMediaResources/Press_Conferences/Annals-FrequentUsersMyths-LaCalle7-2010.pdf
***http://s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.irmrc.unsw.edu.au/ContentPages/43995543.pdf#page=74 (You may have to register to see this document but it is free.)
http://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/traffic/new_york_state/nys_age_hosp.pdf
http://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/traffic/new_york_state/nys_age_ed.pdf

SNOWDON IN RUSSIA

I'm sure everyone has heard of Edward Snowdon by now and his presumed living in the Moscow Airport reception area.  He seems to be one of those people who never fits in.  Though plenty smart enough, he couldn't stand the discipline of graduating from high school, for example.  He left the U.S., first to China and then to Russia because he leaked the fact that the National Security Agency (NSA), for whom he worked, was compiling the phone numbers millions of people were calling on their cell phones (and land lines as well?).  So far as I am concerned the NSA is welcome to include my phone numbers.  Innocents are protected by the massiveness of the data base.  I haven't heard of anyone hurt by this massive data base.

It is very difficult to identify terrorists beforehand by searching such a data base.  You pretty much have to have called or been called by a known or suspected terrorist to get into trouble, and this could have happened by mistake (wrong number?).  After all, they didn't catch the Boston Bombers that way, though we (the U.S.) were warned about the older brother beforehand.  Its main use, I suppose, is after the fact because after the Boston Marathon attack, they could find out who the Boston Bombers were talking to and check out if there was a wider conspiracy.

Though Snowdon is keen on civil rights, it is ironic that he has traveled to two countries not known for their protections of civil rights.  He has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, and I feel that might be a good place for him.  He may find out that the good old U.S.A. isn't so bad after all.  And if I was the Russian government, I wouldn't want Snowdon nosing around in their civil rights or international affairs businesses.  Next thing you know, he might be leaking their secrets.  I suppose Snowdon's contacts and movements will be closely monitored.

ZIMMERMAN II

It seems to me that the jury that acquitted George Zimmerman of 2nd degree murder or manslaughter, ignored an important fact, i.e. Zimmerman could not have drawn his gun until Trayvon Martin was getting off of him.  The fight was over, but not for Zimmerman no matter what he said to Martin.  I  know from my youth that it is very dangerous to turn your back on someone whom you just beat in a fight and got to say "uncle" or something..  It was as Martin got off of him that an enraged Zimmerman undoubtedly shot Martin as the prosecution said.  Actually from just listening to the 911 call, Zimmerman was enraged from the beginning and had convicted Martin of a crime.  I think Zimmerman deserved 2nd degree murder but manslaughter would have been all right.  Still, the jury spoke and Martin's family have properly asked for calm. I was told after I was on a jury once that you never know how a jury will give a verdict.

As for banging Zimmerman's head against the concrete, nonsense.  Such a small bruise, scratches really, could easily have happened in the initial fall and then more of a touch on the sidewalk and not a bang.  The same goes for the bump on the side of his head.  He could have touched his head on the sidewalk a couple of times during the fight.  After a hip replacement, I stepped up on a curb  with my weak leg which collapsed and back I went hitting my head on the pavement.  I didn't pass out but I had a bruise much, much bigger than Zimmerman's that has taken 18 months to completely heal.  If Martin was hitting Zimmerman's head on the concrete, the back of his head should be a bloody mess and not the scratches observed.

If I was Zimmerman, I would think of disappearing somewhere for at least a year or two if not forever, perhaps go to Texas or somewhere and change my name, but that is his call of course.  No doubt his desired  police career is over.  But the saddest thing about the whole affair was stated And then there’s the racial reality of the case.*  "The most damning element here is not that George Zimmerman was found not guilty,” writes Jelani Cobb. “It's the bitter knowledge that Trayvon Martin was found guilty.” * **

* http://webmailb.juno.com/webmail/new/5?session_redirect=true&userinfo=8b254f2f4f26b1dc56d8fe41da329a7b&count=1373918719&cf=SP2&randid=440173106
**  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/07/george-zimmerman-not-guilty-blood-on-the-leaves.html?wpisrc=nl_wonk_b

BEST MEN'S TENNIS EVER!

One of the Grand Slams of tennis was recently completed - Wimbledon, and the men's singles was won by the Scot Andrew Murray who won in three sets. It seemed like more than three sets.  After all, it went on for more than 3 hrs.  Very exciting.  I'm happy for Great Britain for their first winner in 77 years!.  Normally I'm a Novak Djokovic fan, who this time was defeated, but he has 6 Grand Slams and Murray had only one, so I found myself rooting for Murray.

We are living in the age of the greatest men's tennis ever.  Swiss Roger Federer holds the most men's singles Grand Slam Wins (17) and is still dangerous (Won Wimbleden in 2012).  Spanish Rafael Nadal is the greatest clay court player ever with 9 French Opens, more than anyone, and he has won four other grand slams to boot.  Djokovic is always dangerous and not many players have won six grand slams and holds the Numbeer One rating.  Now Murray has come along.  They obviously are the big four in singles.  And the American Bryan brothers are the greatest doubles team ever with 92 tournament wins including holding all four grand slams and the Olympics at present.  To win a grand slam is a bigger accomplishment in this day and age than ever before.

I hope you are watching men's tennis Grand Slams in particular to participate in this age of fabulous tennis.  the Grand Slams of tennis, in order they appear in a year, are Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN TRIAL

What with saturation coverage on both CNN and MSNBC I have watched quite a bit of the Zimmerman trial.  I am no lawyer, but it seems to me that George Zimmerman deserves at least a manslaughter verdict as the policeman Chris Serino said,* if not the 2nd degree murder that he is charged with.  I don't know if the jury will have the opportunity to change the verdict to manslaughter.

Both witnesses to what was going on, if in the dark and at a distance, say that there was a physical altercation although they differ on who was on top.  At least there was a fight going on.  And one should remember that the "stand-your-ground" provision applies as much to Trayvon Maritn as it did to Zimmerman.  In spite of Martin's comments to the contrary, the courses he took in police work showed he did know all about "stand-your-ground."

Although it hasn't been brought up, the injury to the back of Zimmerman's head could have easily happened in the fall at the beginning of the fight.  Six weeks after a hip replacement, I stepped up on a curb with my weak leg.  It collapsed, and down I went hitting my head on the pavement,.  I suffered a much more severe injury to the  back of my head than Zimmerman that is still not totally healed after 18 months.  Zimmerman might even banged the side of his head in trying to defend himself.  As the medical examiner said, the injuries were not life threatening.  So I am not sure that Martin was banging his head against the pavement.  But rightly or wrongly, Zimmerman might have thought his life was in danger which is why he shot Trayvon Martin; however I think he way overdid it and deserves some sort of conviction.

* http://abcnews.go.com/2020/george-zimmerman-recalled-trayvon-martin-gosh/story?id=19543886#.UdRF19uF9rw  Note added July 5th:  I has been said that the judge has the authority to let the jury come in with a lesser charge if the jury requests it and the judge may even say so in his instructions to the jury.