→ The Chinese are interested in our vendetta against the Asian carp. In brief, the carp is an escaped import, like the water hydrangea and the nutria rat (both Louisiana examples). Brought here to do one job in one environment, it has escaped that environment and now does what life does: find niches where it succeeds. Unfortunately, it seems better suited to some niches than native species, and it’s throwing off eco-systems. A national-level response has evolved, which is when Chinese netizens became interested.
Posts Tagged: politics
28
Jan 12
Deathmarch on Mars
I don’t know Warren Ellis’ work, but I like his verve. This Mother Board interview is quite good. His assessment of the political pandering to the current space industry strikes me as the product of a long-time observer who deserves a listen.
21
Dec 11
WTF Wednesday: Rick Perry
This one has to be seen to be believed: Rick Perry on how gay people apparently undermine America.
10
Nov 11
Petition the White House to Recognize the Houma
The petition currently has almost 4,000 of the 25,000 signatures it needs. Create an account, sign the petition, try out the latest direct democratic experiment.
8
Nov 11
The Most Patriotic Thing You Can Do
The most patriotic thing you can do, according to Mark Cuban, is “Make a boatload of money. Pay your taxes. Lots of taxes. Hire people. Train people. Pay people. Spend money on rent, equipment, services. Pay more taxes.”
With rich and successful folks like Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban saying that paying taxes is a sign of success, I wonder what the conservative talking point machines is going to come up with next. Sigh. They will come up with something.
22
Mar 11
Stuart Symington, We Need You
In another of those odd moments where one thing leads to another during lunchtime reading, I came across the biography of Stuart Syminton. Symington was the first secretary of the Air Force and a U.S. Senator. He was famous for having stood up to McCarthy and was Truman’s pick to be the Democratic presidential pick in 1960 — interestingly, unlike Kennedy and Johnson, he refused to speak before segregated audiences. Perhaps most importantly, when his time as a senator came to an end, he resigned a few days early so that his Republican successor, John Danforth, would enjoy seniority in the next Congress.
In an era of political grandstanding and partisan hackery, we need a Stuart Symington. Wherever you, Mr. Symington, know that we need you.
24
Jan 11
50 Most Loathsome Americans of 2010
Great piece by The Buffalo Beast. Laugh out loud funny in places. Shake your head in sorrowful recognition of the truth in others. Paula Dean is #50. Sarah Palin is #6. You’ll never guess who is #1.
18
Dec 10
The Republicans Continue War on Science
I thought it was a joke: the Republicans are proposing to cut the NSF. The link takes you to an actual house.gov page with one of our actual representatives actually proposing to cut the NSF. It’s no joke. Cue hysterical laughter.
4
Apr 10
Teabonics
I can’t tell if this set of photographs on Flickr is the work of one person or many, but it’s pretty amazing documentation of signs seen at recent Tea Party events, a number of which feature unfortunate, if not highly ironic, misunderstandings of grammar or spelling of the English language.
7
Jul 09
Higher Education in Louisiana
Long time readers of this site know that I rarely comment on political matters. In part, I don’t write about politics because doing so can too often lead to unintended imbroglios that really aren’t how I want to spend my time. And, too, it’s amazing how sensitive people can get about political matters. I pulled a previous version of these on-line notes because one person was offended by one post and wanted to make more of it than there was to make. Again, it’s just not how I want to spend my time.
Nevertheless, no one in the state of Louisiana has been able to ignore the huge budget deficit, the product of the perfect storm of the larger national economic crisis, the drop in oil prices, and the end of the Katrina federal funds. Because of the peculiarity of the Louisiana budget, a peculiarity that seems to suit many legislators, most parts of the budget are protected except for two: public hospitals and higher education. (In a rare moment of something, the arts are actually protected in Louisiana.) As things built to a head in the fall, the state cut 5% out of the higher education budget, which meant that a number of programs that were about to get underway, suddenly disappeared. In the spring, our illustrious governor sent a budget to the legislature that included another 14.5% in cuts to higher education. My assumption was that he was trying to force a re-thinking of the way budget works, to unprotect some areas and make it so higher education and hospitals aren’t always taking the fall for the state’s larger woes.
Worse, another 20% in cuts was proposed for the following year.
During the negotiations, it became increasingly clear that the conventional wisdom among the state-level policy wonks was that higher education itself must be “re-structured” and/or “consolidated.” The governor was remarkably silent on all matters, and really it was the work of a handful of state senators who saved higher education in the state from the worst of it. The end result was that universities and community colleges will absorb a 7% cut, in addition to the 5% cut made mid-year, for a total of 12% for the year.
What finally drew me to write this note was an editorial by Raymond Blanco in today’s Daily Advertizer in which he pointed out that Jim Tucker, speaker of the state House of Representatives, is the largest antagonist to higher education, making a number of menacing comments over the course of the budget negotiations. This is especially troubling since Tucker is, by all accounts, the real power behind the scenes, at least on the Republican side of things. (How much more power he has I leave for others to discover and/or speculate about.)
It’s already the case that faculty working in Louisiana pay a price in terms of their long-term financial stability, given the remarkable difference in benefits between Louisiana and other universities with which I am familiar. I fear for the future of higher education in a climate where one of the most powerful men in the state clearly seeks to diminish what little place higher ed has. I am making absolutely no predictions nor evaluations. Politics is what it is. Louisiana is what it is. Each of us tries, I hope, in our own way to make things better.