Google a Doodle

 

I found the article in the Guardian about Schrodinger's cat theorem wonderful. It also promoted many amusing comments.

 

Erwin Schrödinger birthday celebrated in Google doodle

 

 

By 1925, then a professor of physics at the University of Zurich and holidaying in the Alps, Schrödinger formulated a wave-equation that accurately gave the energy levels of atoms. It formed the basis of the work that would earn him the Nobel prize in physics in 1933.

In subsequent years, he repeatedly criticised conventional interpretations of quantum mechanics by using the paradox of what would become known as Schrödinger's cat. This thought experiment was designed to illustrate what he saw as the problems surrounding application of the conventional, so-called "Copenhagen interpretation" of quantum mechanics to everyday objects

Bank of America

Big article today about our home town bank, the Bank of America. Seems the bank has been committing fraud, selling investment instruments that were largely worthless. The details escape me, mainly because I no longer care, so I have trouble reading these articles about fraudulent banks all the way through.

I concluded some time ago that global banks should be considered part of the world’s largest organized crime ring. They make the Mafia look like little kid hucksters.  So, when a bank is taken to court by the SEC or anyone man enough to confront them, it gladdens my heart. I wonder how many people are now trying to figure out how to survive their retirement, now that the Bank has made their retirement investments worthless?

So, what should we do about such things?

Well, I for one like to consider going back to something Judge Tony (aka Scalia) made possible. Tony asserted, and got his right wing buddies to approve, the premise that corporations are persons. So, why is that important? Well, it occurs to me that, if the Bank of America, was defrauding other folks (including other corporate folks), then the Bank of America itself  should be held accountable, as part of a conspiracy.  So, not only can the Bank officers be brought to judgment, but the Bank itself can also be brought to judgment. And what do I mean by “brought to judgment”? Well, let’s suppose the charges against the Bank and its officers holds up in court and that the Bank is found guilty of fraud—a felony I believe. So, what’s such a felony worth in prison time? Well, let’s say 5-10 years in a federal penitentiary.

I am thinking that, since Corporations are now persons, that the corporation and its officers should be sentenced to actual prison time.  So, let’s say the Bank of America gets a 5-10 year sentence in some federal prison (I so wish that Alcatraz were still open). That means that a cell would be reserved for the Bank—mainly I guess its formal charter or its certificate as a corporation, placed carefully in a nice box and placed carefully on the bed. And, the Bank as a person could of course no longer operate as a corporation, so the bank would essentially close for 5-10 years. Now we would have to make some provision for ordinary folks to remove their money and assets from the bank prior to executing the sentence.  Then the Bank (its papers of incorporation) would be placed in that box and locked away for 5-10 years.  After the Bank had demonstrated that it could behave, maybe it would be granted probation and allowed to resume banking, assuming of course anyone still cared.

Now that would be an adequate payment for wrongdoing. Perhaps it might even make other global bankers a bit more cautious about their current plans to screw the public once again. AP Giannini would be so proud.

Just a thought.

GOP Largesse

Wow, it’s really interesting learning that the North Carolina GOP is modeling the state’s educational system after that in the great state of Florida, aka the Florida Free Fire Zone, that region where people shoot one another, just because they can.  Here they are trying desperately to kill off the public schooling system (you know, that system that created the American Middle Class) and replace it with, guess what, private charter schools. And the best part is that in charter schools the teachers don’t even have to be certified. I guess they all get their pedigrees from the University of Phoenix.

Yeah, the republicans  are really moving smartly to dismantle the state. Maybe they should just annex it to South Carolina. And the Gubernator tells us that it’s all for our own good. He said that he wouldn’t change a woman’s access to abortion and family planning, and he has now imposed a new architecture for clinics that carry out abortions, such that most of them will doubtless have to close. But, hey, he’s just protecting the women. And we know he never lies . . . don’t we?

Oh, and that voting rights thingie—you know, where they restrict voting hours, require voter IDs and restrict where students can vote. That has nothing to do with limiting voters who might cast a ballot for the other side. Nope, it’s protecting us from voter fraud. We have virtually no such fraud, but hey, you can’t be too careful.

And then there’s their views about national health insurance and protecting the ability of poor folks to gain access to our health care system. Well, that apparently just sounds too much like communism for their liking, and you can’t have that.

Oh and then we have Congressional Neo-Cons who are busily trying to eliminate SNAP, or the food stamp program. Yeah, can’t have all those poor folks scarfing up all the Stolle Vodka and Beluga Caviar on the public dole can we? So, they’re putting a stop to all that “Liberal Largess” as readers of the Charlotte Observer often put it.  I wonder if they have given any thought to stopping the folks on welfare from buying their 500 class BMW’s from their overly generous welfare checks. Must have them check up on that scandal.

Florida Mess

It’s really hard to know what to make of the Zimmerman jury verdict. On the one hand, their verdict seems terminally weird. Zimmerman seems to have actively stalked Martin, then maybe was attacked, then shot Martin. He probably did shoot somewhat in self defense. On the other hand, Martin was also within his rights to “stand his ground.”  Had Martin been armed, Zimmerman would almost surely now be dead and Martin would have had to stand trial against a similar charge. Because he is Black and Zimmerman, sort of White, Martin would have had more difficulty sustaining innocence in Florida—kind of like Texas.

The central problem here is the underlying law. Zimmerman and his attorneys played to that law well. Zimmerman had to plead “self-defense”. Maybe he was actually attacked, or maybe not. Only Zimmerman knows and he seems unlikely to have conveyed anything like the full truth about what actually occurred.  The law seems likely to create more such situations. Whether they all include a racial element is possible, perhaps even likely. Black teenagers are now more likely to arm themselves, regardless of Florida’s laws about gun ownership and age. Hopefully, reason will prevail and we will not see a dramatic rise in violence, or mob rule. But Florida has now opened the doors to violence.

I am drawn to thinking about Florida as a “free fire zone”, like we used to see in Vietnam, with more shootings and more claims of “self-defense.” Floridians hopefully will live to regret this law.  Were I considering a vacation, Florida would now be just below Afghanistan on my list of possible places to visit.  I am hoping that Americans heed the potential risks now from a visit to this former vacation spot. America is a vast and beautiful country. Go visit all the other places throughout our fair land. Leave Florida to suffer their own “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”

Stand Your Ground America. Go visit someplace safe and sane.

Happy 4th

If you're lucky enough to live in DC, you will be celebrating this evening by watching the National Park service oversee a few protests--in DC, the protests go on, rain or shine . . .
You have the usual collection -- the crazies . . .

 

or the righteous . . .

 

 

But, in DC, you could also take the Fourth as an opportunity to visit your favorite neighborhood subway . . .

Finally, should have a mind to, you could also try to pay a visit to your friendly neighborhood Congressperson. There are a probably a few still hanging out . . .

 

Oh, yeah, I forgot, if you're still awake and reasonably sober, after dark, there are some fireworks . . .

But if you're like the rest of us, you will probably invite a few friends over for dinner . . .

and share some wine with your best buds (BFF)

So, whatever you do, have a happy, safe, and sane fourth of July . . .

SCOTUS Strikes Again

Wow, a blockbuster week for SCOTUS. I guess Tony and his house”man” Clarence were thrilled to be leading the gang in gutting any notion of equal rights concerning voting in the US. It seemed pretty clear where Tony would head on this one, given his loud hoorays for vastly expanding the role of money in our elections (see Citizens United). There, Tony averred that corporations were people—I suppose they might now be classed as “perps”—and therefore the perps’ money could be used to corrupt the entire US election system. Way to go Tony.

But in gutting the Voting Rights law, they really went above and beyond the wildest hopes of the far right in this poor benighted land of ours.  Knowing that republicans at the state level are working 24-7 to devise ways to cast aside any and all people who might arguably vote Democratic, Tony basically gave them a carte blanche.  And living in this state of North Carolina, where the gubernator and his right wing gang are hard at work  corrupting everything still alive in the state, we can expect gerrymandering such as we have never seen, not to mention voter ID laws to confound any voters left standing.

But just when Tony was ready to pour the first glass of champagne for his house “man” Clarence, the Supremes did an about face and voted to kill off the so-called “Defense of Marriage” Act, that obscenity that Clinton should have but did not veto.  Tony of course dissented, but the Act was done, making it very difficult for the Feds to discriminate against Gays and Lesbians who wish to join in that state of  “holy matrimony”.  Poor Tony . . . waaah, waaah, says Tony.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in Texas politics ( a fairly disgusting subject I know), a grand summary of what Perry and his gang are up to can be found at”:

 http://margaretandhelen.com/2013/06/25/women-in-texas-might-not-feel-it-now-but-glenn-hager-and-rick-perry-are-tyring-to-screwed-em/

Farm Tour

A Farm Tour.
We buy most of our food at two Farm markets: The Davidson Farmers Market, and the Piedmont Farmers Market in Concord, NC.  Partly, we buy our food there because, simply, it is fresher and we can look our farmers in the eye, when they tell us how the animals are raised or how the fruits and vegetables are grown. We like that. Partly also, we have now gotten to know the farmers from whom we buy, and that is a special treat for us. The farmers are incredibly hard working, unlike some in other industries . . . oh, say, banking springs to mind.
Once in a while we get to visit one of the farms and that is a very special treat. Recently, we visited Gilcrest farms and were given a tour by Amy Foster. Amy is now a friend, in addition to the person from whom we buy beef, poultry and eggs.  We drove out, so we could replenish our supply of beef for our grandson's dinner--sour meat (check out the recipe on our farm foodie blog). We were given a tour of their new barn, a grand place . . .

Next, Amy invited us into Cluckingham Palace, where the chicks are raised:

And finally, Amy introduced us to one of her proud guys, who sort of manages the place. All in all, we had a grand time.