TO MY READERS: I have at long last opened a blog: http://naturenewssf.blogspot.com/
It will eventually replace these emailed newsletters. I expect to have teething problems until I become more practiced and comfortable; have patience--I'm a stranger in a strange land. I will continue mailing newsletters for awhile; some recipients may be on vacation and miss this message.
When I dispense with emails I expect to increase the frequency and shorten the content of each posting.
1. The truth about population
2. Action needed to make wind power bird-smart
3. A better vision for Central Subway funds
4. San Mateo County voters - Dave Pine for Supervisor
5. Pt Reyes Birding and Nature Festival April 29 - May 2
6. SF Veterans Administration Medical Center - a proposed monster overlooking the Golden Gate. A dinosaur to boot
7. East Bay news from Friends of 5 Creeks
8. Living with coyotes - May 12 in San Francisco
9. Creosote bush, an interesting plant from South America and California - and oldest-known living organism
10. Only we, with our opposable thumbs, want Heaven to be, and God to come again
11. Prepare to go on - or sponsor - Muir's March
12. Mission blue butterfly on Twin Peaks - Chron story
13. Improvements to the Presidio Coastal Trail corridor and Lincoln Boulevard bike lanes
14. Feedback: Utility boxes/bees and buckeye trees/buckeyes on Yerba Buena Island/archy & mehitabel
15. Perils of extreme democracy--California offers a warning to voters all over the world
16. Congressman Paul Ryan on fiscal consistency
17. Born 27 April 1822 - Ulysses S Grant
18. Fort Sumter falls. It will soon be all over
19. Bioremediation: oyster mushrooms clean baby diapers
20. Tongues cannot tell - fine wines
21. If you go to San Francisco, be sure to bring your walking shoes - and make your will first
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Population
1. You cannot preserve the environment by accepting the population growth and the increased affluence that are destroying the environment.
The Great Challenge: Can you think of any problem in any area of human endeavor on any scale from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way aided, assisted, or advanced by further increases in population locally, nationally, or globally?
-Albert A. Bartlet, Professor of Physics, Emeritus, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Alice Polesky:
Hi Jake, I was wondering if you've ever seen the Michael Wood series, "Legacy, the Origins of Civilization." The first program in the series, about Iraq, the so-called "Cradle of Civilization," makes the point of how human civilization, with its vast populations, devastate the environment. He's a brilliant, brilliant, historian, writer, and presenter. His historical documentaries are among the best I've seen. I was thinking of you when I watched this program last night (for the second time).
I googled the documentary to see if I could provide you with more info, and I see it's possible to watch it online, though I'd recommend the DVD for quality, since stunning images are as powerful as his words -- his history, his analysis, which is both deep and broad, and his writing, which verges on the poetic.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/legacy-the-origins-of-civilization/
I guess you can tell I like the guy.
Thanks for the tip, Alice. I may have to wait for another lifetime, although it's not out of the question I could get to it in this one. Sounds like up my alley.
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2. Endangered Habitats League - Action Needed to Make Wind Power Bird-Smart
A conundrum facing environmentalists is that wind turbines – felt to be a big part of a strategy to stop global warming – can kill large number of birds and bats, particularly when badly located. By 2030, there will be more than 100,000 wind turbines in the U.S., and these are expected to kill at least one million or more birds each year. We must act to reduce this harm! Wind power can be "bird-smart" if developed appropriately, but industry will not do this unless mandated.
Please send an email to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an official public comment on Draft Wind Guidelines that will soon be issued. These guidelines should be strengthened and made mandatory.
Please use this link provided by American Bird Conservancy, and fill out the website forms. Take action before May 19 at:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5400/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6259
(JS: And there are severe impacts beyond birds. Ecosystems are like fabrics, and the fabric is being torn; shredded, even. I hear little talk of conservation, using only the energy we need. I see waste all around me, at all levels and in all walks of life. Although heretical, I also advocate lowering the standard of living for those of us who have much more than we need. Dream on, Jake.)
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3. A BETTER VISION FOR CENTRAL SUBWAY FUNDS
The Congressional continuing resolution of April 2011 shows a trend for cutbacks in Federal New Starts Funding---with cuts from the 2010 and 2011 federal budget.
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article/APTA-outlines-latest-budget-cuts-aimed-at-transit-highspeed-rail--26317
The House GOP 2012 Budget emphasizes transportation cuts---unfortunately favoring highways instead.
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/04/06/gop-budget-would-slash-transpo-spending-entrench-oil-dependence/
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/04/15/%E2%80%9Cpath-to-prosperity%E2%80%9D-or-road-to-ruin-either-way-the-house-says-yes/
We need to inform legislators about the $200 million for the Central Subway Boondoggle in the President’s 2012 Budget. Comparing capital costs per new rider, the Central Subway’s $316,000/ new rider is the most inefficient light rail project in the United States. Comparing capital costs per mile, the Central Subway’s $928,000/ mile is the most ineffective light rail project in the United States. Comparing new riders as a percentage of total riders, the Central Subway’s 14% is the lowest of any light rail project in the United States.
Because we need to save existing public transit and social / health programs, bad transit projects are derailing the American dream. The optimal compromise is to reallocate wasteful transportation funding to transit-priority street and surface transit projects----pumping millions of jobs into the bottom base of the economy. Let’s continue to write and engage our public officials.
Regards, Howard Wong
Www.SaveMuni.com
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Mary Keitelman:
4. San Mateo County voters - vote by mail before May 1
Enviros could do no better than to vote for Dave Pine. Vote by mail only. Ballots were mailed to all San Mateo County voters in early April, and are due back by May 3.
Why vote for Dave Pine over the other candidates in the hotly contested San Mateo County Supervisor race?
Thanks to Dave Pine's efforts on the San Mateo County Charter Review Committee, the County has changed its policy and vacancies Board of Supervisors are now filled by county-wide election, not appointment by the sitting board. Dave Pine supports limited buildout on the coast, which has tremendous environmental value - to share with all for future generations.
Learn more about Dave at www.davepine.com
(JS: I have declined to endorse candidates in the past, and for the most part will continue that policy. However, this seems a pretty clear choice, as opponents are developer-friendly. I am trusting Mary's judgment. It may be a one-time deviation from my policy.)
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5. Point Reyes Birding and Nature Festival April 29 Thru May 2
This is a fun weekend of field outings, both bird and plant oriented. You can check out the website at pointreyesbirdingfestival.org. The event is a benefit for the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin.
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6. The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center occupies 29 acres at Clement Street and 42nd Avenue. It is surrounded by national parklands (GGNRA), the City’s Lincoln Park, and the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and a quiet residential neighborhood. Over the next 20 years, the SFVAMC intends to build 1 million square feet of new construction and parking for up to 3,440 cars on this fragile site. Most of this development is for research or administration – not for clinical services for our veterans. This “city within a city” will be visible from the Marin Headlands.
Attend the meeting Tuesday, April 26 at 6pm
A Public Meeting will be held Tuesday, April 26 from 6pm-7pm in the Auditorium, Bldg. 7, 1st Floor of the SFVAMC campus, Clement Street between 42nd and 43rd Avenues.
Written or verbal comments can be provided during the April 26 Neighborhood Meeting. Submit written comments by Friday, April 29
If you cannot attend the meeting but would like to submit written comments, please direct them to (please copy julieburns@aol.com ):
John Pechman
Facility Planner
San Francisco VA Medical Center (001)
4150 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94121
John.Pechman@va.gov
The comment period will close April 29, 2011.
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7. From Friends of 5 Creeks
Monday talk on city hawks and creeks
Coopers hawks are amazing fliers, wheeling through forest clutter or flying low in a stealth pursuit. Find out much more about their surprising life near city creeks at F5C's meeting Monday, May 2, 7-9 PM at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin. Allen Fish, director the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, will speak on "East Bay Cooper's Hawks -- Sentinel Species for Happy Urban Creeks." Free, all welcome, and delicious refreshments!
Tomorrow, Wed., April 27, Bob Doyle, new General Manager of the East Bay Regional Park District, speaks on "Progressive Transitions: The East Bay Regional Park District in 2010 and 2011," at the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society's meeting, 7:30 PM at Orinda Public Library Auditorium, 24 Orinda Way. Free and open to all!
New Bay Trail segment opens Saturday: The loop trail around Richmond's landfill at the mouth of San Pablo Creek opens Saturday, April 30, with a bicycle parade from the newly restored Plunge pool in Point Richmond and much more. Information here. Map of trails linking this new loop and the marsh at the mouth of Wildcat Creek (a historic restoration milestone) here.
Sunday, May 1, 11 AM - 3 PM, Albany's Arts and Green Festival offers music, dancing, food, fun, work of local artists, workshops and information workshops on local environmental efforts at Memorial Park, 1331 Portland at Carmel (free valet bicycle parking).
Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge needs help surveying for the rare Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose, 8:30 AM - 4 PM Wednesday and Thursday, May 25 and 26. This is a fascinating chance to explore the refuge and help save rare species. Information and RSVP to 510 521 9624 or susan_ewing@yahoo.com.
Coastal Stewardship stories wanted: If you have helped care for California's coast or ocean, the Coastal Council wants your story, with a chance to win prizes and have your account posted on their web site. Opportunities for classrooms and youth groups, too. Deadline is May 31 -- information at www.coastforyou.org.
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8. Living with Coyotes: May 12, 2011 (6:30pm PST)
Gina Farr- guest speaker; presentation- Living with Coyotes. Sponsored by San Francisco Recreation & Parks and Project Coyote. San Francisco County Fair Bldg, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. more info.
l
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9. Creosote bush
From Mike Wood:
I just heard this on KQED’s Perspectives series. Thought you might be interested.
I’ve seen the plains of Patagonia, which are dominated by two species of Larrea, (creosote bush) as well as the penguins burrowing beneath it on the Atlantic coast. Incongruous, indeed. But I wasn’t aware of the fact (if true) that Larrea is thought to have moved from south to north. Interesting.
Likewise. The thought popped into my head as to how this would be known. If you find out I'd be interested.
This was especially relevant for me as I’m doing surveys in the desert again this year and spending long days walking through creosote bush scrub.
Creosote
Naturalist Michael Ellis examines the most common bush in California
http://www.kqed.org/a/perspectives/R201104220735
Thanks for sending, Mike. I love and admire this bush; anything that can cope the way it has deserves our deep respect.
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10.
WANTING SUMPTUOUS HEAVENS
No one grumbles among the oyster clans,
And lobsters play their bone guitars all summer.
Only we, with our opposable thumbs, want
Heaven to be, and God to come, again.
There is no end to our grumbling; we want
Comfortable earth and sumptuous Heaven.
But the heron standing on one leg in the bog
Drinks his dark rum all day, and is content.
Robert Bly in The New Yorker
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11. RESTORE HETCH HETCHY
Thinking about joining us on Muir's March but wondering who your fearless leader might be?
The following is an introduction to just a few of the guides who work for our guide company, Balanced Rock. They are the folks who will guide you towards O'Shaughnessy Dam, prepare your meals, fix your boo-boos and tell you stories. Indeed these are the folks who will keep you safe and insure you have the experience of a lifetime.
Muir's March is about commitment and passion. RHH is committed to and passionate about creating an event that not only generates much needed resources for our campaign but that also creates an extraordinary learning process for those who participate. These individuals embody that commitment.
Sign up today for Muir's March!
Muir's Marchers Speak Out
Hear what last year's Muir's Marchers have to say about their experience.
http://vimeo.com/21650797
Kids' Video to Restore Hetch Hetchy
Watch this short video made by second graders Gabriel V. and Dylan N. These kids have some great facts and information, please share their video with others to inform and inspire!
http://vimeo.com/21942163
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12. Twin Peaks/Mission Blue Butterflies on SFGate
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/04/22/Butterflies_relocated.DTL
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13. This summer, the National Park Service, Presidio Trust and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy will begin improvements to the Presidio Coastal Trail corridor and Lincoln Boulevard bike lanes south of Merchant Road. The following is a brief description of the work to that will be accomplished. All of these improvements are contained within the existing Presidio Trails and Bikeways Master Plan.
- The first phase of Presidio Coastal Trail improvements will begin in June with new bike lanes along Lincoln Blvd.
- Work on the Golden Gate Overlook (above Merchant Road), the Pacific Overlook (along Lincoln Blvd.), and trail improvements will
begin in August.
- A new multi-use trail will be established to connect the Merchant Road parking lot to the Golden Gate Overlook and along
Lincoln Boulevard to the Pacific Overlook. This trail will also be designed to meet new guidelines for accessible trails.
- In addition to bike lanes, improvements to Lincoln Blvd. will include crosswalk at Washington Blvd., to connect to a future trail to the Rob Hill
campground.
- All of these improvements are contained within the existing Presidio Trails and Bikeways Master Plan.
We are inviting the public to a series of public walks to learn more about the project, including the improvements to public access and the resources the project will protect and enhance. The walks will be led by staff with key expertise in the project and the natural and cultural resources in the area.
The walks will occur on Saturdays from 10 am to Noon and will cover include the following topics:
April 30 – Cultural Resources, Coastal Defense Batteries, and the new
Golden Gate Overlook
May 21 – Natural Resources, Vegetation Management and Stewardship
Activities
June 11 – Pre-Construction/Project Details
To RSVP and learn the meeting location, write to trailsforever@parksconservancy.org or call 415-561-3054.
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14. Feedback
Stan Kaufman:
5. Act Now to Halt Utility Box Blight: Be there on April 26th!
"Act now to make sure that your Internet connection remains slower than in most third world nations" more like. This is the stupidest and most annoying position that these various organizations have ever taken. If you want fiber to your house, it has to get there somehow. Otherwise we're stuck with DSL that in SF is barely faster than dial-up. These boxes go on ugly concrete sidewalks right next to the unscooped dog shit, not in Significant Natural Resource Areas. This campaign isn't progressive. It's Luddite.
Peter Vaernet:
Hi Jake, A thought on utility boxes: I am no lover of utility boxes or graffiti/tagging, but what if AT&T paid local artists to paint mini murals on the boxes - a possible condition for permits to place the boxes and a plus for local artists:
Dan Weaver has arranged for students to make beautiful mosaics on some utility boxes at Tara Street & Geneva Ave in the Ingleside. Also a beautiful wood stick utility box cover exists behind the Charlie Sava pool on 20th Street & Wawona. It would make a lot of sense for AT&T and other utility box owners to make art on them...maybe we should ask John Avalos to sponsor such legislation.
That still leaves the boxes, which are cluttering our streets and impeding pedestrian traffic. In some streets that isn't a problem, but the day is coming when we will be walking again.
Kathryn Mazaika:
Hi Jake, Thanks for highlighting this film in your list. I've seen it and highly recommend it. It highlights so many of the unrealized dimensions of the emerging problems honeybees face in our increasingly pesticide-polluted environment.
If you haven't seen it, please try to. Next steps . . . . . bee boxes in the City. Please keep us posted of future events focusing on these efforts.
The outpouring of support for ‘Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?’ has been astounding. We are so very appreciative of any help you were able to give spreading the word about this important independent film. Queen of The Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? - Official Trailer
Due to popular demand, The Rialto Cinemas in Elmwood has agreed to EXTEND our run.
Rialto Cinemas Elmwood
2966 College Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94705
We will be screening 4:45pm matinees from April 22nd-April 28th
The link to the theater website is here.
Another honey bee documentary will be playing on May 15th called "Vanishing of the Bees".
www.queenofthesun.com
Susan Schwartz, Friends of 5 Creeks:
Hi, Jake, I am a huge fan of California buckeyes, a tree smart enough to lose its leaves in our dry season; dramatically gorgeous in bud, bloom, and leaf; haunting in its gnarled, witch's claw bareness, and yet kindsly and obliging in so often growing great places for kids to climb and hang out. (At one of F5C's projects, a big old buckeye serves as a sort of clubhouse for a gaggle of kids who sit in its branches being teens. They drop their cigarettes and beer cans -- but I'm happy they're doing it out in nature.) Also, as you know, used by Native Americans in oddly contradictory ways, both to stun fish and, with the poison leached out, as lean-times food.
So I was somewhat shocked to learn that a lot of people hate buckeyes, at least in cities: Beekeepers because the blooms apparently poison the (non-native) honeybees, homeowners because they make a mess at the wrong seasons (they say year round), park personnel and even some bicyclists and skateboarders, because the balls can be treacherous if you are using a weed-whacker or your wheel hits one wrong. I saw this at a hearing just last night, with lots of folks objecting to plans to plant buckeyes along a planned bike path.
With bay trees the villains in Sudden Oak Death, and the oaks themselves being taken off by SOD or the hordes of beetles and fungi that the pathogen invites, cottonwoods brittle, Oregon ash messy ... it's hard to feel hopeful about our native trees. Susan Schwartz (Friends of Five Creeks).
Susan: The reaction I am aware of is overwhelmingly friendly to buckeyes. I am not dismissive of legitimate concerns--eg, honeybees. I forget at the moment whether it poisons the bees or if the honey is poison to their larvae. (I'll ask my bee man at tomorrow's farmers' market.*)
[* Written three days later, after getting the word from my farmers' market bee-man: He told me that honeybees are aware of the buckeye flower's chemistry and avoid visiting its flowers unless there is nothing else for them to feed on. So perhaps this may be an exaggerated fear.]
Nor do I immediately dismiss some of the other concerns you list. However, I have learned to turn a deaf ear to many complaints, as some people object to just about any tree. How many times have I heard (you name the tree) "They're messy." Yes, children are messy too, but people consider they're worth the trouble. Any tree you name has its detractors. I pay attention only to the legitimate ones, such as honeybees.
I caution everyone: Don't plant trees where they're not appropriate; be thoughtful about siting and choose the appropriate species. Inappropriate plantings are common, and little thought is given to how large a tree will become. I have for >40 years been encouraging more trees on San Francisco streets. (In 1970 I personally initiated a neighborhood project and planted 34 trees in my block and adjacent blocks; 15 still survive.) Buckeyes spread too wide for our narrow streets, and then there's the honeybee problem; we have lots of hives in the city.
You say "it's hard to feel hopeful about our native trees". I would say it's hard to be hopeful about native plants in general. We have so upset natural systems and processes that these systems are coming apart. Every year there are more and more weeds, fewer and fewer native plants. The animals that depend on these natives are also in decline, and many (most?) of them will disappear. I don't know how people can be indifferent to this. Part of the answer, I suppose, is that they are unaware of it and too preoccupied with other problems. So much for our sense of values and our concept of an educational system.
Whoops, I'm getting on my high horse again. Better stop.
Mike Wood:
Hi Jake, Regarding your notes on buckeyes…don’t forget the fabulous specimens at the former cemetery site on YBI. Could these trees predate the establishment of the cemetery in 1852?
JS: As to your question about whether indigenous or not, it's hard to say. Remember what I said about a few-decades-old tree looking ancient. However, my gut feeling is that these probably are indigenous--or at the least planted from the indigenous stock. It seems exceedingly likely.
excerpt from
THE LEGEND OF YERBA BUENA ISLAND
Known originally as Sea Bird Island,later as Wood Island, and quite commonly as Goat Island
Stories of an inland island collected by
MARCIA EDWARDS BOYES
Sketches by ALEX CAZET
1936
The Island Cemetery
But Indian graves are not alone found on the island. There is at present, a fence-enclosed area on the west end of the island, dedicated to those who have reached their life's sunset.
All cemeteries are like pages from the past, and these orderly, uniform, flat gray granite headstones are headlines for stories, romantic and sad, with dates going back to 1852. There are
service men, whose permanent relief from duty has thinned ranks of sailors and marines, and there are names that write "finis" to island claims.
Time was, when older headstones marked graves individually, but some, becoming mutilated by time or vandal, made re-marking of the graves necessary. The new, uniform, granite markers arrived, but in the interim the old ones had been removed. Then was the denouement! The plot naming the different graves had been misplaced and could not be found. The assignment of replacing the headstones had been given to one sergeant of marines who was not without resource in this emergency. They found him with all the gray polished slabs carefully laid out ready for installation in alphabetical order. Fortunately, if it mattered to those who slept on the quiet slope overlooking the Golden Gate, the navy files at Washington had the correct plot for proper identification, and thus they were installed.
The Double Grave
Visitors to the cemetery have their interest piqued by the double headstone which reads, "Edward F. Lindsay, Died Aug. 24, 1842" and "Edward L. Lindsey, Died Jan, 10, 1855." The original tall marble tombstone read
Sacred
To the memory of
Edward F. Lindsey,
Formerly of England
Died in San Francisco
Aug. 24, 1842
Aged 38 years
Also
Their beloved son
Edward L. Lindsey
Died in San Francisco
January 10, 1855
Aged 17 years
Erected by the bereaved widow and mother
Life, how short; Eternity, how long.
The date of the father's demise, 1842, proved to have been an error of the stone cutter, as Captain Lindsey was born in London on February 11, 1813. He was credited with the command of his uncle's ship "Edward" at the age of 21, and was engaged by the English government to transport prisoners, the first lot of female prisoners being sent to Tasmania. Later he settled with his family in Hobardtown, Australia and engaged in shipping, circumnavigating the earth four times. The discovery of gold in California lured him to the new country. His wife and six children accompanied him on his own ship the "Palmyra", and on June 4, 1850, he arrived in San Francisco with a cargo wisely chosen to dispose of in the new land, namely, bricks and lumber. Acquisition was made of a water lot at the foot of Greenwich Street, where his ship was moored, and served as the family residence up to the time of his death. He also purchased property in the vicinity of Greenwich and Sansome Streets with the profits of his sale of cargo.
Family outings and entertainment of visiting sea captains were frequently planned by Captain Lindsey, with a trip in his yacht "Glide" to Yerba Buena, or Goat Island, as his favorite
excursion. His oft-repeated suggestion that when he died, there would he like to lie, was followed in the funeral arrangements.
Funeral Cortege in Boats
It was an impressive funeral cortege which followed the services held aboard the "Palmyra". Instead of using a plume panoplied hearse that was characteristic of funeral equipages of that period, the body of the young captain was placed on a long boat and four of his most intimate friends manned the oars. In lieu of horses and carriages following, the procession was made up of a long line of ships' boats, in which sorrowing friends made the final excursion to the island with the captain. The cause of his untimely demise was diagnosed as a heart attack. An unmarked grave known to exist on the island is that of the mate of the bark "Melancthon", who in 1854, fell from the rigging on board ship and was killed.
Claudia Stillwell:
Hi! Has anyone identified the large tree at the end of the dead-end Atalaya Terrace (off Fulton Street near Masonic)? If it is a CA Buckeye, it is very large; it takes up the whole width of the street!
I will eventually check it out, but I won't be in that part of town for a few weeks. In the meantime perhaps some of my readers may know.
Stan Kaufman (from The Onion):
We Must Preserve The Earth's Dwindling Resources For My Five Children
By Brenda Melford June 28, 2006 | ISSUE 44•27 ISSUE 42•26
On Apr 22, 2011, at 9:49 PM, Alice Polesky wrote:
Thanks for the feline fun in your latest newsletter. Have you seen the statue of Hodge, just off Fleet Street in London, surrounded by his oysters? One of my first pilgrimages in London. Here's the Wikipedia piece:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodge_(cat)
Thanks, too, for your reference to Archie and Mehitabel, which I regard as some of the best poetry produced in the American idiom. Do you remember Archie interviewing the mummy at the museum, who comes to life, begging for a beer, only to be told he's returned to a beerless land (it was Prohibition)? One of my all time favorites.
Thanks for this, Alice, which I'm sure some of my readers will appreciate. I was charmed by the story and by the opera and would like to revisit. Of course, I'm a half-century older and crustier now, but sometimes a good story well told will resist tarnishing.
Jake, it wasn't a real interview. It was a poem about Archie interviewing the dead pharaoh. Here's the poem:
boss i went
and interviewed the mummy
of the egyptian pharaoh
in the metropolitan museum
as you bade me to do
what ho
my regal leatherface
says i
greetings
little scatter footed
scarab
says he
kingly has been
says i
what was your ambition
when you had any
insignificant
and journalistic insect
says the royal crackling
in my tender prime
i was too dignified
to have anything as vulgar
as ambition
the ra ra boys
in the seti set
were too haughty
to be ambitious
we used to spend our time
feeding the ibises
and ordering
pyramids sent home to try on
but if i had my life
to live over again
i would give dignity
the regal razz
and hire myself out
to work in a brewery
old tan and tarry
says i
i detect in your speech
the overtones
of melancholy
yes i am sad
says the majestic mackerel
i am as sad
as the song
of a soudanese jackal
who is wailing for the blood red
moon he cannot reach and rip
on what are you brooding
with such a wistful
wishfulness
there in the silences
confide in me
my imperial pretzel
says i
i brood on beer
my scampering whiffle snoot
on beer says he
my sympathies
are with your royal
dryness says i
my little pest
says he
you must be respectful
in the presence
of a mighty desolation
little archy
forty centuries of thirst
look down upon you
oh by isis
and by osiris
says the princely raisin
and by pish and phthush and phthah
by the sacred book perembru
and all the gods
that rule from the upper
cataract of the nile
to the delta of the duodenum
i am dry
i am as dry
as the next morning mouth
of a dissipated desert
as dry as the hoofs
of the camels of timbuctoo
little fussy face
i am as dry as the heart
of a sand storm
at high noon in hell
i have been lying here
and there
for four thousand years
with silicon in my esophagus
as gravel in my gizzard
thinking
thinking
thinking
of beer
divine drouth
says i
imperial fritter
continue to think
there is no law against
that in this country
old salt codfish
if you keep quiet about it
not yet
what country is this
asks the poor prune
my reverend juicelessness
this is a beerless country
says i
well well said the royal
desiccation
my political opponents back home
always maintained
that i would wind up in hell
and it seems they had the right dope
and with these hopeless words
the unfortunate residuum
gave a great cough of despair
and turned to dust and debris
right in my face
it being the only time
i ever actually saw anybody
put the cough
into sarcophagus
dear boss as i scurry about
i hear of a great many
tragedies in our midsts
personally i yearn
for some dear friend to pass over
and leave to me
a boot legacy
yours for the second coming
of gambrinus
archy
(I hope you appreciate what it took archy to write that--climbing up on the typewriter and hurling himself onto the keys, climbing up again...You try it. JS)
Alice again:
I see Netflix has a 1960 animated version of "Shinbone Alley," which is Archy and Mehitabel. I've just added it my queue. Glad we had this discussion!
"Toujours gai, toujours gai" is one of the memorable quotes from "The Song of Mehitabel." Another is "there's a dance in the old dame yet" and "wotthehell."
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"A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives." James Madison
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. Thomas Sowell
15. Lessons from California
The perils of extreme democracy
California offers a warning to voters all over the world
Apr 20th 2011 | from The Economist print edition
CALIFORNIA is once again nearing the end of its fiscal year with a huge budget hole and no hope of a deal to plug it, as its constitution requires. Other American states also have problems, thanks to the struggling economy. But California cannot pass timely budgets even in good years, which is one reason why its credit rating has, in one generation, fallen from one of the best to the absolute worst among the 50 states. How can a place which has so much going for it—from its diversity and natural beauty to its unsurpassed talent clusters in Silicon Valley and Hollywood—be so poorly governed?
It is tempting to accuse those doing the governing. The legislators, hyperpartisan and usually deadlocked, are a pretty rum bunch. The governor, Jerry Brown, who also led the state between 1975 and 1983, has (like his predecessors) struggled to make the executive branch work. But as our special report this week argues, the main culprit has been direct democracy: recalls, in which Californians fire elected officials in mid-term; referendums, in which they can reject acts of their legislature; and especially initiatives, in which the voters write their own rules. Since 1978, when Proposition 13 lowered property-tax rates, hundreds of initiatives have been approved on subjects from education to the regulation of chicken coops.
This citizen legislature has caused chaos. Many initiatives have either limited taxes or mandated spending, making it even harder to balance the budget. Some are so ill-thought-out that they achieve the opposite of their intent: for all its small-government pretensions, Proposition 13 ended up centralising California’s finances, shifting them from local to state government. Rather than being the curb on elites that they were supposed to be, ballot initiatives have become a tool of special interests, with lobbyists and extremists bankrolling laws that are often bewildering in their complexity and obscure in their ramifications. And they have impoverished the state’s representative government. Who would want to sit in a legislature where 70-90% of the budget has already been allocated?
They paved paradise and put up a voting booth
This has been a tragedy for California, but it matters far beyond the state’s borders. Around half of America’s states and an increasing number of countries have direct democracy in some form (article). Next month Britain will have its first referendum for years (on whether to change its voting system), and there is talk of voter recalls for aberrant MPs. The European Union has just introduced the first supranational initiative process. With technology making it ever easier to hold referendums and Western voters ever more angry with their politicians, direct democracy could be on the march.
And why not? There is, after all, a successful model: in Switzerland direct democracy goes back to the Middle Ages at the local level and to the 19th century at the federal. This mixture of direct and representative democracy seems to work well. Surely it is just a case of California (which explicitly borrowed the Swiss model) executing a good idea poorly?
Not entirely. Very few people, least of all this newspaper, want to ban direct democracy. Indeed, in some cases referendums are good things: they are a way of holding a legislature to account. In California reforms to curb gerrymandering and non-partisan primaries, both improvements, have recently been introduced by initiatives; and they were pushed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, a governor elected through the recall process. But there is a strong case for proceeding with caution, especially when it comes to allowing people to circumvent a legislature with citizen-made legislation.
The debate about the merits of representative and direct democracy goes back to ancient times. To simplify a little, the Athenians favoured pure democracy (“people rule”, though in fact oligarchs often had the last word); the Romans chose a republic, as a “public thing”, where representatives could make trade-offs for the common good and were accountable for the sum of their achievements. America’s Founding Fathers, especially James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, backed the Romans. Indeed, in their guise of “Publius” in the “Federalist Papers”, Madison and Hamilton warn against the dangerous “passions” of the mob and the threat of “minority factions” (ie, special interests) seizing the democratic process.
Proper democracy is far more than a perpetual ballot process. It must include deliberation, mature institutions and checks and balances such as those in the American constitution. Ironically, California imported direct democracy almost a century ago as a “safety valve” in case government should become corrupt. The process began to malfunction only relatively recently. With Proposition 13, it stopped being a valve and instead became almost the entire engine.
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
All this provides both a hope and a worry. The hope is that California can right itself. Already there is talk of reform—though ironically the best hope of it may be through initiatives, since the push for a constitutional convention died last year for lack of money. There is talk, too, of restoring power and credibility to the legislature, the heart of any representative democracy. That could be done by increasing its unusually small numbers, and making term limits less onerous.
More important, direct democracy must revert to being a safety valve, not the engine. Initiatives should be far harder to introduce. They should be shorter and simpler, so that voters can actually understand them. They should state what they cost, and where that money is to come from. And, if successful, initiatives must be subject to amendment by the legislature. Those would be good principles to apply to referendums, too.
The worry is that the Western world is slowly drifting in the opposite direction. Concern over globalisation means government is unpopular and populism is on the rise. Europeans may snigger at the bizarre mess those crazy Californians have voted themselves into. But how many voters in Europe would resist the lure of a ballot initiative against immigration? Or against mosque-building? Or lower taxes? What has gone wrong in California could all too easily go wrong elsewhere.
Robert Dole: "No politician ever has to pay for voting for a bill that fails or against a bill that passes."
Will Durant: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."
"It is easy to poke fun at governors. These are people, after all, who turn every conversation into an opportunity for boosting their states: tell the governor of the Back of Beyond that the end of the world is nigh and he will reply that this is great news for his state because it is always 30 years behind the times." Lexington in The Economist 4 March 2006
“Someday Louisiana is gonna get good government. And they ain’t gonna like it.” Governor Earl Long (discontinuous terms from 1939-1960)
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16. LTE, The Economist
Sir: From Paul Ryan--the congressman who voted for two unaffordable wars, the unfunded Prescription Drug Benefit and an $800 billion tax cut for millionaires--now comes this visionary budget proposal. What a guy!
Charles Campbell, Kampala
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17. Ulysses S Grant, born 27 April 1822
KQED recently re-ran Ken Burns' Civil War, one of the greatest and richest of all television presentations.
Among the many allures and fascinations of the film were the brief pieces of biography of some of the participants, in particular the military leaders. Standouts in my memory: Stonewall Jackson, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Robert E Lee, George McClellan, Ulysses S Grant, Wm Tecumseh Sherman. Most, if not all of them, had not been what you could call successful in life up to that point. It seemed that they found their metier in war, and they all went from lackluster or failure to brilliant tacticians or strategists. They found themselves.
I can't help but speculate what would have happened to them if the war hadn't happened. Some of them, such as Grant, might even have ended up on Skid Row.
Another interesting sidelight: Grant was the savior of the Union and a two-term president of the United States (term wracked by scandal). He suffered economic reverses afterward and, suffering from a fatal illness, worried about providing for his wife, he raced with death to write his memoirs. He won that race, the book sold very well, and his wife had no worries.
Imagine treating the savior of our country like that: You're on your own, buddy. JS
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18. War Fervor
"The news which vibrated on the electric wires relating the capitulation of Fort Sumter sent a thrill through the heart of the whole people, and the call 'to arms' was heard resounding on every hand. The city appeared almost like a waving forest of flags, the Star Spangled Banner floated from a thousand staffs; it streamed from every window, the bosom of almost every lady and gentleman was adorned with the Red, White and Blue."
Scientific American, May 1861
(It wasn't until the first battle of Manassas (Bull Run) that sober reality began to set in that this war would not be over in a trice, as was commonly believed. How grim and bloody it proved to be was not in the common consciousness. In fact, large groups of people came out from Washington to watch the battle, bringing picnic baskets and prepared for a day's entertainment. They retreated along with the Union soldiers, and lucky they got out alive. JS)
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Bioremediation
Bottom feeders
19. A novel way of dealing with an unpleasant problem
Apr 20th 2011 | from The Economist print edition
For your delight and delectation
DESPITE their name, disposable nappies are notoriously difficult to dispose of. Studies of landfills suggest they may take centuries to rot away. But Alethia Vázquez-Morillas of the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico City thinks she has found a method of speeding the process up.
As she and her colleagues describe in Waste Management, cultivating the right type of mushroom on soiled nappies can break down 90% of the material they are made of within two months. Within four, they are degraded completely. What is more, she says, despite their unsavoury diet the fungi in question, Pleurotus ostreatus (better known as oyster mushrooms), are safe to eat. To prove the point she has, indeed, eaten them.
The culinary use of oyster mushrooms was one reason why she picked them for the experiment. The species is frequently used in stir-fries and is often added to soups. The other reason was that Pleurotus ostreatus is widely used in what is known as mycoremediation—the deployment of fungi to clean up waste. It is, for example, already grown on agricultural materials such as wheat and barley straw, and industrial waste like coffee grounds and the leftovers from making tequila. Dr Vázquez-Morillas and her colleagues were trying to extend the oyster mushroom’s own culinary range.
The reason nappies are difficult to break down has nothing to do with their use. Even a clean nappy would hang around for a long time in a dump. The main ingredient of a nappy is cellulose, an annoyingly persistent material. Pleurotus, however, grows on dead or dying trees in the wild and is thus well provided with enzymes that break cellulose down. And, since Mexicans alone throw away 5 billion nappies every year, there is plenty of material from this source for them to get their mycelia into.
The idea that the result might be sold and eaten may be controversial but it is not absurd. The nappies the researchers used were contaminated only with urine, not faeces. A healthy person’s urine is sterile and Dr Vázquez-Morillas also treated the nappies with steam, to make sure. Such treatment would kill the nasty bugs in faeces, too, though, so mushrooms grown on treated nappies should, in theory, be safe to eat.
In practice, overcoming the yuck factor might be an insuperable barrier to marketing nappy-grown fungi, and the cost of the steam treatment could make the exercise futile. Mycoremediation of this sort does not, however, depend for its success on selling the results. Merely getting rid of what would otherwise hang around indefinitely is worthwhile. And of the fungi themselves, Dr Vázquez-Morillas observes, “they are cleaner than most of the vegetables you can find in the market, at least in Mexico.”
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20. Tongues cannot tell
A survey of hundreds of drinkers found that on average people could tell good wine from plonk no more often than if they had simply guessed. In the blind taste test, 578 people commented on wines ranging from a $6 bottle of claret to a $50 bottle of champagne. The study found that people correctly distinguished between cheap and expensive white wines only 53% of the time, and only 47% of the time for red wines. Guardian Weekly
James Thurber's sendup of wine fanciers (vintage 1940s, 50s): "It's a naive little domestic burgundy, but I think you'll find its impertinence amusing."
Maybe not, Mr Thurber. I can't tell the difference.
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21.
On the one hand...
If you go to San Francisco, be sure to bring your walking shoes. The City by the Bay has been named the nation's most walkable by Prevention Magazine as well as the Web site Walk Score. Its winning attributes include scenic views, mild weather, pedestrian-accessible destinations, and its devotion to hoofer friendliness. And if you get lost there, you're sure to find help: A recent University of New Hampshire study found that those who live in walkable places tend to be more trusting and civic-minded than those who don't.
On the other...
If you go to San Francisco, you might want to have your will in order. Blame it on the fog, the roller-coaster terrain, or the gadget-distracted drivers, but every year about 800 San Franciscans are hit by cars, making it one of the most dangerous cities for walking in the country: at least half of those killed in San Francisco traffic collisions are pedestrians. Nationwide, pedestrians account for a mere 12 percent of traffic fatalities.
From Sierra, May/June 2011
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