Freedom Fighters

An interesting story recently (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-iraqplay22jun22,1,4871859.story?coll=la-headlines-nation) told of students at Wilton High School in Connecticut who put together a play that told the story of recent war veterans in their own words. The teacher and students strove to make the presentation balanced, giving both the pluses and minuses of experiences in Iraq. But a parent protested, the principal caved, and the students were forbidden to put on the presentation. Too controversial.

Then the story made the news and the students ended up with an invitation to present their play in New York, to large and appreciative audiences.

Over the last few years, we have been told that our soldiers are in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting for our freedom, that our "enemies" there hate freedom. So why is it that the people who make this argument most vociferously are the ones who seem to do the most to try to cut back our freedoms? Freedom of speech should be one of the freedoms we defend and exercise to the utmost.

Then again, freedom did triumph, since the students were able to present their play. For that we can be grateful. But that doesn't excuse the impulse -- in this and in so many other cases over the years -- to try to silence people who may have something to say which the "powers that be" oppose.

Bugs Cause Happiness

I always find delightful and mind-bending info in Discover magazine. The article that has me jazzed this month (http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/raw-data-is-dirt-the-new-prozac) is a fascinating study that suggests common bacteria in the soil might have the effect of releasing serotonin in the brain. In other words, they could relieve depression.

I find this fascinating because I, like many people, have found that gardening or hiking in the great outdoors often makes me feel happier, with a more positive outlook on life. I thought it was because of the beauty inherent in such activities. Who wouldda thought it might be the fact that I was inhaling these little bacteria as I tromped on them?

It also raises an interesting question, especially after reading stories about people concerned that children are suffering from "nature deficit disorder" -- not spending enough time outdoors and in natural settings. Studies have suggested the rates of depression are rising, particularly among children. Could it be that we all just need to play outside more often?

Ghostly Image

The story that has gotten the most attention in Santa Fe recently has been about an image on a courthouse security camera that some contend shows a ghost: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/63427.html. It's interesting how people come up with their ideas of what it shows. It may be a case of seeing what you expect to see -- or want to see.

I saw the tape a couple of days ago on the TV news. My immediate reaction was that it was a small spider or similar bug crawling on the camera lens. I reached that conclusion partly because it appeared to have a solid center with rays or spots around it -- legs extending from the body, in my eyes. A big part of my conclusion, though, also came from the pattern of movement. Just as I sometimes can distinguish a bird at a glance simply by the pattern of its flight, or people can recognize friends from a distance by the way they move, I think you can get a clue of what other things might be by their movement. And this light blob moved, to me, like a bug.

Check out the link and see what you think.

Proper Penalties

I noticed news came out recently about a study that indicated use of the death penalty did appear to deter murders. That caused ethicists to say that perhaps we needed to reweigh the moral pros and cons of the sentence.

Perhaps we should consider other things: Cut off the hand of a thief; castrate rapists; cut out the tongues of liars (i.e., people who commit fraud). I strongly suspect those penalties will lead to a reduction in the related crimes.

Or are there other moral factors that need to be weighed here?

Buying Recognition

An ongoing story recently in Santa Fe has been naming a new library on the South Side. (Apparently "Santa Fe Public Library -- South Side" is too straightforward.) The powers-that-be said they'd name it after the first person to contribute $1 million. So a donation was promised, in the name of a recently-deceased liquor distributor and casino owner.

Folks protested. Most didn't raise the question of whether those activities should be honored in a building supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and freedom of information, but over whether one should be able to buy one's way into permanent community recognition. Both, I would argue, should be valid points to raise.

In response to the protest, the family withdrew the donation. Now... wouldn't it be nobler to still donate the money, but graciously turn down the name recognition? Doesn't that tell you, right there, that the intent was to glorify the family name instead of supporting a community institution?

I wish buildings weren't named after people at all. Just name them by their functions. And if you do want to honor someone, why not honor someone who has contributed to the library through longtime volunteer work, promotion, reading to kids, or other means that required commitment and dedication, rather than money?

In a society where sports stadiums and tournaments are named after donors, though, it's become increasingly apparent that everything is for sale. Maybe next we'll have the Toyota Olympics or the Microsoft Congress.

Factoid du Jour

So, I'm reading this book, "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky. (You never know what book will call my name from its library shelf.) And it says that, when England was still Catholic, it was a crime to eat meat on "lean" days -- back then, that meant every Friday and every day of Lent. How big a crime? You could be hanged for it.

Well. And when they wanted to generate more support for the fisheries, they even talked about forbidding the eating of meat on Wednesdays, too, but never did pass that law. Later, they relented a little, and didn't kill you for eating meat on "lean" days -- they simply threw you in jail.

Now, of course, this didn't necessarily apply to everyone. People could buy exemptions from the Church that would allow them to eat meat on those days. As a matter of fact, it was one of the bigger revenue-raisers back then.

I guess they didn't have Bingo yet.

Take a Pill

The news today is full of Alli, the new anti-fat weight-loss drug coming out over-the-counter. I don't know how much is hype and how much is real, but the reports I heard made it sound as if it's flying off the shelves.

All of which makes me sigh. Our society's impulse to turn to a pill for everything that ails us almost seems to create its own sickness. It makes health care increasingly expensive, that's for sure. But it also leaves us grabbing for the "easy way out." Don't exercise or improve our diets -- just take a pill. Don't take steps to reduce our stress -- just take a pill. We take a pill to sleep. To lose weight. To lower our blood pressure. To reduce our cholesterol. To stay awake. (Or maybe just caffeine, our favorite over-the-counter drug.) And, granted, some of those conditions are genetic and can't be controlled by behavior. But many of them can be.

So, instead of taking steps to make ourselves healthy, and create a society that encourates health, we make the pharmaceutical companies rich.

Democrats in Suits

The news in New Mexico today has been a review of Gov. Bill Richardson's performance in Sunday's Democratic presidential candidates' debate in New Hampshire. I didn't watch the debate, but I was a little surprised by an AP listing in this morning's paper on what the candidates gave as their top priorities. Richardson's was listed as upgrading schools and enacting a $40,000 minimum wage for teachers.

Say what? I wanted to remind the big guy that he's already governor, and that his debate was about wanting to be president. Education normally is seen as a state, or even local, issue. Maybe he's looking to nab the teachers' unions endorsements and donations. If nothing else, he successfully separated himself from the rest of the candidates. They all talked about things like, well, world peace and restoring this country's moral authority in the world. Not one mentioned raising teachers' pay.

It's also always interesting to look over the photos of all the candidates lined up together. If you go by the contention that the tallest candidate has the best chance of winning, it looks as if Richardson and Obama would be tiptoe-to-tiptoe on that one. And, while it's hard to tell just by looks who you'd most want to have a beer with, Big Bill does look like the guy you'd most want to have a cheeseburger with.