I've seen old film clips of labor unrest from the early part of the century. They show enraged workers squaring off against police and soldiers. The workers are badly outgunned. (At the time, I noticed the curious side-armed throwing motion of one worker as he threw a brickbat at the cops. I thought, "That guy never played baseball" and followed immediately with a shamed, "What a thing to think!")
The absolute genius (or merely fortuitous) political decision to not have a draft of soldiers to fight in Iraq seems to have raised a generation of young people with terminal political apathy. In the late 60s and early 70s my generation marched on Washington because our butts were in danger of getting shot. Immediate threat produced a (sometimes grudging, sometimes larky) decision to act. For the young today, AGW is still elsewhere. Even if it's only 100 miles down the road.
Eli Rabett is a not quite failed professorial techno-bunny, a chair election from retirement, at a wanna be research university that has a lot to be proud of but has swallowed the Kool-Aid. The students are naive but great and the administrators vary day-to-day between homicidal and delusional. His colleagues are smart, but they have a curious inability to see the holes that they dig for themselves. Prof. Rabett is thankful that they occasionally heed his pointing out the implications of the various enthusiasms that rattle around the department and school. Ms. Rabett is thankful that Prof. Rabett occasionally heeds her pointing out that he is nuts.
6 comments:
He right you know, One should never, never ask impertinent questions for that is the road to perdition!
Perhaps George Carlin was right.
"The Planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas"
The shaking has begun.
Little Mouse
Excellent video, but that part about the Arctic could've been worded better.
Horatio always suspected there was a link between climate change and extreme wea[l]th.
I've seen old film clips of labor unrest from the early part of the century. They show enraged workers squaring off against police and soldiers. The workers are badly outgunned. (At the time, I noticed the curious side-armed throwing motion of one worker as he threw a brickbat at the cops. I thought, "That guy never played baseball" and followed immediately with a shamed, "What a thing to think!")
The absolute genius (or merely fortuitous) political decision to not have a draft of soldiers to fight in Iraq seems to have raised a generation of young people with terminal political apathy. In the late 60s and early 70s my generation marched on Washington because our butts were in danger of getting shot. Immediate threat produced a (sometimes grudging, sometimes larky) decision to act. For the young today, AGW is still elsewhere. Even if it's only 100 miles down the road.
Jeffrey "Tippling Point" Davis
Where's Dr Jay when you need him? He can supply all the answers.
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