The Strange and Possibly Scary Human Brain

Over the last few days I became aware of stories of brain injury that transformed the people with whom the brain belonged.

Story one was of a Czech driver who was able to speak English fluently after an accident. He could only speak very broken English prior to the accident, and subsequently lost the ability after he recovered.

The second story concerned a boy who had brain surgery and lost his Yorkshire accent and picked up a “posh” accent where all of his vowels were elongated (i.e., bath would be baahth). After his recovery the new accent remained.

Such is the mysterious (and a bit scary) realm of the human brain. Imagine being able to flick a switch on and speak any language you wanted. Become transformed. What other wonders are possible by simply stimulating areas of the brain? Will we discover a collective consciousness?

Church and Politics

Recently, a church was investigated by the IRS for what it deemed “political activity”. This stemmed from a sermon given that was critical of President Bush. In the end the church did not lose its non-profit status (which was at stake).

I don’t understand how this is any different than any church that invites a political candidate to speak to its congregation. That is a political event, no matter what it is called. Both Democratic and conservative candidates speak in churches. I guess the problem here was that the pastor of this particular church had the audacity to have an opinion. And a liberal one at that.

Now, you and I both know that this happens all the time in conservative leaning churches. If you watch a televangelist channel, sermons and politics are virtually inseparable. I guess our administration and the IRS only have a problem if you are Liberal, otherwise you are good to go.

Social Security Reform

The Bush administration has just released a report saying that in order to save Social Security we will either have to increase taxes or cut benefits. There is no other way, and we have to do it now.

There is nothing new in these findings. We have known all this for decades. My problem is with the Bush administration telling me this. An administration that is gung-ho on privatizing. My problem is that a President that has wasted over a half trillion dollars on a preemptive war based on false information, and that has directly caused thousands of preemptive deaths, is telling me that we don’t have enough money for something. It just sounds ridiculous.

Now, I understand that we really don’t have the money. Especially now, thanks to a liberally spending President and his conservative cohorts. The people who have hated Social Security since its inception and want to get rid of it because they can’t stand the idea of someone, who is not them, getting a goddamn penny of their money. At least in the Democratic ideology, America is still a society, and society is best when moved forward together. The conservative notion of society is 300 million little islands fighting the best they can to get what they can, which is Darwinian in nature, but this is a party that believes in creation so I guess we should call it, “God wants you to suffer, except of course if you’re rich, and that’s the very essence of the drive to become rich, so become rich and you won’t suffer.” I’m sure most would simply put it, “You’re on your own.”

I just want to say that I’m no Democrat apologist. Both ideologies are flawed, and I believe there should be a return on our nation’s investment. But I do think there should be an investment.

If the move toward reform were just simply to correct the problem, I could probably get behind it, but there is so much money to be made by companies if privatization were to happen, that it makes me opposed to such a move. It is really a cash cow to financial companies it’s not even funny. It makes me kind of angry at the notion that there would be people who become rich because of privatization, while people’s benefits shrink because of service fees and the like. We already know how much interest we don’t get from our bank accounts.

Moveon.org ad

Apparently this Moveon.org ad story is getting bigger. Why, I have no idea. Conservatives are smiling ear-to-ear because the New York Times allegedly violated their own rules of conduct. They allowed an attack ad and they discounted the price on the ad. All I can say is, “so the fuck what?”

The last time I checked the New York Times was a private company, which means they pretty much can conduct themselves how they see fit. If they wanted to run the ad, it was their business. If they wanted to give a discount, it was their business. Who cares?

The answer is conservatives. It gives them more left-wing media fodder for the faithful, but that’s all it gives. It has no real meaning to anyone except them. It is just something to rally the troops.

The thing that pisses me off most is the cowering way the Times conducts itself. Just say, “yes, we did it, what’s it to you? Our company, our rules.”

I hate campaign season.

Traffic Guru

Thanks to Tom Allen, host of the CBC Radio 2 program Music and Company, I learned the name of the man who designs demarcation-less traffic systems. The man’s name is Hans Monderman.

His most famous approach has been labelled designing for negotiation, which he openly admits works better in some places than others. At busy urban intersections with slow traffic, he has found that it is often safer and more effective to get road users to focus on looking at one another instead of traffic control devices. Rather than crosswalks, signs, lights, etc., he designs the road to make it easier for users to see and negotiate with one another. His goal is to enhance the visibility and predictability of users, empowering them to cooperate with each another.

I want to thank Tom for answering my e-mail.

God lawsuit update

Apparently, God responds. Twice.

Cabarrus County, North Carolina Commissioner Reverend Coy Privette reads letters calling for his resignation on September 17. Privette, a Baptist pastor and conservative activist, resigned after being charged with six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution. (Photo and caption by Greg Mills)

Just saying…

Life Without Street Signs?

I was listening to CBC Radio 2 the other morning (yes, I’m craving some classical music) when the announcer talked about towns in Europe and the UK removing their street signs and other demarcations. I found this very interesting. Apparently, traffic accidents are lower as a result. Drivers were more aware of their surroundings and took better care to watch for other traffic. Average driving speeds were also lower.

Now I doubt this could work in major cities (or any place in the US), but it is an awfully good notion. Imagine, people actually watching where they are going. Boggles the mind doesn’t it?

If anyone knows of this program, please leave me a comment. I would like to look into this further.

State Senator Sues God

As a protest against frivolous lawsuits Illinois State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God. He claims God has caused:

“widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants.” [And] has caused “fearsome floods … horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes.”

And if you believe that sort of thing, why not sue. I mean, if I leave on a faucet that overflows and floods my neighbors apartment, I’ll get sued for damages. God can wipe an entire village off the planet and no one says a damn thing.

Of course, this lawsuit will get thrown out. No one is going to take on the almighty, no matter how justified it may seem.

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