August 2008 – Page 4

Now That’s Rich

Paul Krugman’s Friday column talks about levels of rich and middle class — a topic we’ve been playing with around here for a couple of days. Krugman includes this:

The trouble with Mr. Warren’s question was that it seemed to imply that everyone except the poor belongs to one of these two categories: either you’re clearly rich, or you’re an ordinary member of the middle class. And that’s just wrong.

In his entertaining book “Richistan,” Robert Frank of The Wall Street Journal declares that the rich aren’t just different from you and me, they live in a different, parallel country. But that country is divided into levels, and only the inhabitants of upper Richistan live like aristocrats; the inhabitants of middle Richistan lead ample but not gilded lives; and lower Richistanis live in McMansions, drive around in S.U.V.’s, and are likely to think of themselves as “affluent” rather than rich.

Even these arguably not-rich, however, live in a different financial universe from that inhabited by ordinary members of the middle class: they have lots of disposable income after paying for the essentials, and they don’t lose sleep over expenses, like insurance co-pays and tuition bills, that can seem daunting to many working American families.

Indeed. Our society is much too complex to be divided into poor, middle and rich; eight or nine tiers are probably the minimum to have any meaning.

Krugman’s whole column deserves a read.

These kids will make great employees someday

Dallas public school students who flunk tests, blow off homework and miss assignment deadlines can make up the work without penalty, under new rules that have angered many teachers.
. . .

For example, the new rules require teachers to accept late work and prevent them from penalizing students for missed deadlines. Homework grades that would drag down a student’s overall average will be thrown out.

Dallas Morning News

Thanks to Bob for the link.

The Olympic Games

Precisely.

Most people will stay home and watch the events on TV, having no other option, but be warned: what NBC chooses to broadcast is not the Olympic Games. They offer selected clips of selected American athletes, largely in major sports, sometimes hours after the event, whereas, if the bruised Olympic ideal still means anything, it means loosing yourself, for a couple of weeks, from the bonds of your immediate loyalties and tastes. It means watching live sports you didn’t know you were interested in, played by countries you’ve never been to, at three o’clock in the morning—not just watching them, either, but getting into them, deluding yourself that you grasp the rules, offering the fruits of your instant expertise to anyone who will listen (“I think you’ll find the second waza-ari counts as ippon”), and, most bewildering of all, losing your heart.

Anthony Lane from Beijing. It’s a good article — and even if you disagree with the above, which is almost an aside, you may well appreciate Lane’s review of the first week.

NewMexiKen still thinks the housing flap is irrelevant, but I must say that McCain spokesman Brian Rogers takes the cake for non sequitur responses: “This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison.”

McCain’s camp is fast approaching its own form of Rudy Tourette Syndrome, replacing Rudy’s “noun, verb, 9-11” with “noun, verb, POW.”

Who cares?

The Obama forces are all atwitter today because McCain doesn’t know how many houses he and Cindy own. (Seven seems to be a conservative estimate; Josh Marshall says 10.)

Hello, the McCains are worth more than $100 million dollars. Big deal, they own seven houses. How could it possibly matter?

What matters is that McCain is wrong on the issues — the wars, the economy, drilling as a solution, abortion, social security, taxes. Beat him there.

Top Ten Visited National Parks

These numbers from 2006 courtesy of National Parks Conservation Association. Of the 391 NPS units, just 58 are designated National Parks.

10 Most Visited National Parks (2006)
National Park		Recreational Park Visits
1.	Great Smoky Mountains (TN, NC)	9,289,215
2.	Grand Canyon (AZ)	4,279,439
3.	Yosemite (CA)	3,242,644
4.	Yellowstone (WY, MT, ID)	2,870,295
5.	Olympic (WA)	2,749,197
6.	Rocky Mountain (CO)	2,743,676
7.	Zion (UT)	2,567,350
8.	Cuyahoga Valley (OH)	2,468,816
9.	Grand Teton (WY)	2,406,476
10.	Acadia (ME)	2,083,588

Source: National Park Service

NewMexiKen has never been to numbers 1 and 8.

The Pueblo Revolt

On this date in 1680, the surviving Spanish settlers under siege decided to abandon Santa Fe and began the trek to Chihuahua. The Spanish did not return to New Mexico for 12 years.

Colonists from Mexico first settled in New Mexico, north of present-day Santa Fe, in 1598. By the 1620s there were 2,000 colonists taking land and forcing labor from the Puebloans, occasionally executing dozens of Indians for the murder of one settler. In the 1660s a drought further stressed conditions for all, especially as Apaches and others raided the Pueblos. Many Puebloans began to feel that deserting their own religion to accept Christianity had brought on these disasters. There were occasional uprisings, but nothing sustainable until Popé, a San Juan medicine man, began unifying resistance among the various independent Pueblos in 1675.

On August 10, 1680, the Indians launched a unified all-out attack on Spanish settlers. Colonists were killed, churches burned, horses and cattle seized. Priests were singled out and killed in all the Pueblos, including Acoma, Zuni and Hopi (in modern Arizona). About 1,000 survivors escaped to Santa Fe and the town was put under siege on August 12. By the 16th the Indians occupied all of the town except the plaza and its surrounding buildings. According to reports, as they burnt the town the Indians sang Latin liturgy to taunt the Spanish.

Three-hundred-and-twenty-six years ago today the settlers were allowed to withdraw from Santa Fe. When they reached El Paseo del Norte in October, there were 1,946 from of a population that had been about 2,500. About 400 had been killed, another 150 escaped to Mexico independently.

The Puebloans removed all signs of the Spanish — the churches, the religion itself, the crops, even the animals (the horses let loose on the plains, eventually transforming the culture of the Plains Indians). One vestige remained: one man rule. Popé declared himself that man and moved to the Palace in Santa Fe.

Spanish attempts at reconquest failed until 1692.

August 21st in History and Birth

1680: The Pueblo Revolt

On this date in 1831 “… a 30-year-old black slave named Nat Turner, supported by about 60 followers armed with guns, clubs, axes and swords, launched the bloodiest slave revolt in American history.” Joshua Zeitz has more on the revolt, its context, aftermath and legacy at AmericanHeritage.com.

1858: Lincoln-Douglas

Kenny Rogers is 70 today.

Patty McCormack is 63. The actress, known now as Patricia McCormack, was nominated for the supporting actress Oscar as an 11-year-old for her performance in The Bad Seed.

Kim Cattrall of Sex in the City is 52.

Hayden Panettiere of Heroes is 19.

William “Count” Basie was born on this date in 1904.

Count Basie was a leading figure of the swing era in jazz and, alongside Duke Ellington, an outstanding representative of big band style.

Quotation from the PBS website for Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns. The page has a nice biography of Basie with some audio clips, including Basie’s 1937 recording of “One O’Clock Jump,” one of NPR’s 100 “most important American musical works of the 20th century.”

Wilt Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia 71 years ago today. Usually called “The Stilt” because it rhymed with Wilt, Chamberlain actually preferred the nickname “The Big Dipper.”

Scored 800 points in first 16 high school games.
Unanimous All-American at Kansas 1957, 1958, averaging nearly 30 points per game.
Four-time NBA MVP.
Scored 31,419 points (30.1 ppg) in 1,045 pro games, including 100 in one game against the Knicks.
All-time scoring leader when he retired, since surpassed.

Chamberlain died in 1999.

Hawaii entered the Union as the 50th state on this date in 1959. The eight major islands in the chain are Ni’ihau, Kaua’i, O’ahu, Moloka’i, Lāna’i, Kaho’olawe, Maui and Hawai’i.

Maybe they’re drinking foreign beers, a sure sign

Also speaking at the press conference: a Denver activist and homeowner who was recently questioned by the police about bricks being unloaded at her house. Says the ACLU, “Although the bricks were acquired for masonry repairs, Denver police accused the activist of ‘stockpiling’ the bricks for the [Democratic Convention]” Just a few hours ago, I walked down Denver’s 16th Street Mall. A number of restaurants appeared to have stockpiled chairs and tables for patrons to sit at. The patrons themselves appeared to be stockpiling bottles of beer on the tables. I’m not sure what to think.

Michael Scherer, Time

Provocative line of the day

I’ve watched the Bush presidency very closely. I’ve watched McCain closely for the last decade or so. And I either know or know a decent amount about a lot of the people advising him on foreign policy. And in terms of the physical safety and future of my wife and two sons, let alone the country, I would much prefer four more years of the Bush presidency to a McCain presidency.

Josh Marshall

Elsewhere Marshall also wrote:

“For anyone who had eyes to see, Georgia was a perfect illustration of this. He totally flew off the handle, ramping the situation up dramatically with his unstable rhetoric.”

Today, August 20th

Issac Hayes would have been 66 today.

Connie Chung is 62, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant 60, Al Roker 54, and Joan Allen 52.

How to Use a Knife, Fork, and Spoon

From CuisineNet Digest. It includes:

The Zig Zag Method
By American custom, which was brought about partly by the late introduction of the fork into the culture, all three utensils are intended for use primarily with the right hand, which is the more capable hand for most people. This leads to some complicated maneuvering when foods, such as meat, require the use of knife and fork to obtain a bite of manageable size. When this is the case, the fork is held in the left hand, turned so that the tines point downward, the better to hold the meat in place while the right hand operates the knife. After a bite-sized piece has been cut, the diner sets the knife down on the plate and transfers the fork to the right hand, so that it can be used to carry the newly cut morsel to the mouth. Emily Post calls this the “zig-zag” style.

European Style
The European, or “Continental,” style of using knife and fork is somewhat more efficient, and its practice is also common in the United States, where left-handed children are no longer forced to learn to wield a fork with their right hands. According to this method, the fork is held continuously in the left hand and used for eating. When food must be cut, the fork is used exactly as in the American style, except that once the bite has been separated from the whole, it is conveyed directly to the mouth on the downward-facing fork. Regardless of which style is used to operate fork and knife, it is important never to cut more than one or two bites at one time.

How about this?

In Europe it is permitted to use the knife or a small bit of bread to ease a stubborn item onto the fork.

Or this?

Essentially, used flatware must never be allowed to touch the surface of the table, where it might dirty the cloth. It is not proper to allow even the clean handle of a knife or fork to rest on the cloth while the other end lies on the plate.

Top 10 reasons to judge a restaurant unsuitable

This is a NewMexiKen perennial and today’s the day.

The top ten reasons to judge a restaurant unsuitable for a pleasant night out:

10. You pay before you eat

9. You pay after you eat, but you stand in line and pay a cashier

8. More men eating with caps on than those without caps

7. The piped-in-music is louder than the TVs

6. Soup served with soup spoon already in soup

5. They fill the condiments while you’re at the table

4. Menu includes photos of the food

3. Menu includes samples of the food stuck to pages

2. They wipe your table with a wet rag

And the number one reason to chose another restaurant if you want to impress your date or customer:

They wipe the seats of the chairs with the same rag

Best line of the day

From the Borowitz Report:

Biden Prepares 50,000-Word Acceptance Speech
Senator to Address Convention on Wednesday, Thursday

Amazing fact

In 2004, according to an article at Slate Magazine, 495 out of the 500 fastest times ever recorded for running 100 meters were set by men of West African ancestry.

Most Caribbean and African-American athletes are of West African descent.

Several factors contribute, of course, but one appears to be significantly higher levels of “fast twitch” muscle fibers among West Africans.

Santa Fe Silliness

At ‘Burque Babble NewMexiKen learned there’s going to be a $50 (under $30,000) or $25 (under $70,000) rebate from the legislature because gasoline is so expensive. I agree with ‘Burque Babble’s reaction including:

• I wonder if we’ll get the same series of five separate mailers telling us: 1. Announcement: A rebate is coming; 2. Announcement: Here’s how you will get your rebate; 3. Announcement: Your rebate should be here any day now, really!; 4. Announcement: Did you get your rebate? Because we’re not so sure; 5. Apology: Here’s why your rebate wasn’t for as much as you thought it would be and the obscure office to file a grievance.

• I wonder if we’ll have that same stupid tax problem we had with the last lame “rebate” (remember that?);

The last time the “rebate” was taxable income. The state giveth and the state taketh away.

All this for $50 or $25. What a pandering group of wastrels in our legislature.

Do you know who this is?

Forbes ranked her the third most powerful woman in the world in 2005.

It’s Yulia Tymoshenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine.

She’s 47. She rarely appears without her famous crown braid.

Credit: All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland. Click the image for a larger version.

Drinking age

There’s a news item circulating that a number of college presidents recommend lowering the drinking age to 18. According to the reports, the presidents believe it would reduce binge drinking.

NewMexiKen has a better idea. You must be 21 to drink alcoholic beverages unless you are a high school graduate. My plan might reduce binge drinking AND lower the drop out rate.

That’s rich

Commenting on today’s NewMexiKen poll, Tom has provided some interesting thoughts about being rich. I’m not certain I agree completely with his framework, but I find much of it compelling. Rich is surely better defined by accumulated wealth than by annual income.

I don’t believe you are “rich” if you cannot afford to send your children to college without incurring long term debt (you or them). I don’t believe you are rich if your home is your sole source of savings. I don’t believe you are rich if you finance your car (unless by choice). I don’t believe you are rich if you cannot, as Tom suggests, sustain your lifestyle (without debt), even if your annual income drops substantially.

You might be quite comfortable. You might have a lot of discretionary income. But to have any meaning at all — “possessing great material wealth” — being “rich” surely implies money and lifestyle markedly different from middle class.

Internet and customer service update

I tested the download speed just now and recorded 10.19Mbps. That’s with Qwest broadband with optic fiber to the neighborhood. I’m paying for the 12Mbps tier, but I’m reasonably happy.

Apple has extended subscriptions to MobileMe another two months due to the problems we’ve had. Better that there weren’t any hassles, but I admire them for giving their customers an adjustment up front. I have a free 60-day trial that has turned into 150 days and my problems have been minor.

AAA insurance customer service on the other hand sucks. When I called to cancel the policy for my dad’s townhouse, they told me there would be a $40 charge — this on a $200 annual premium. When I grumbled that we’ve sold the property, not just cancelled the policy, I’m told that she (the customer service rep) will waive the charge. So if you don’t complain, you pay $40. Nice.

Then yesterday, after nearly two weeks, I called to ask about the refund. She’ll send out the check today this customer rep tells me. How long do you wait if you don’t ask?

And don’t even get me started on Tucson Electric Power.

What’s this I hear about New Mexico going to two automobile license plates? If it ain’t bad enough that we’re gonna get more than one area code, now we gotta consider getting all cosmopolitan by stickin’ another license plate on the front of our cars. What’s next, High Occupancy Vehicles lanes? Light rail? Thai restaurants in the South Valley?

I’m afraid NM is losing that inefficient, podunk feel that brought many of us here in the first place. …

Thankfully, we haven’t turned all HOV lanes and pad thai yet. As I’ve mentioned before, NM has a stunningly high number of folks who not only don’t have two license plates on their car, they don’t even have one metal license plate. Instead, there is a piece of paper illegibly stuck inside their dark-tinted rear window.

Month: August 2008