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Lionel Mandrake
Lionel Mandrake's Journal
Lionel Mandrake's Journal
March 26, 2015
Here is an excerpt from Part 2:
Read more:
http://www.calfac.org/race-to-the-bottom
And stay tuned for Parts 3 and 4 of this series.
Salary trends at the California State University.
CSU Students and faculty have suffered, but administrators (who call themselves "managers"
have done very well over the last ten years, according to Parts 1 and 2 of "Race to the Bottom: CSU's 10-year Failure to Fund its Core Mission", published by the California Faculty Association (CFA).
Here is an excerpt from Part 1:
When compared to other university systems around the country, and to every education segment in California, the CSU stands out for its unparalleled failure to improve faculty salaries or even to protect them from the ravages of inflation. As this paper details, administrators at other colleges and universities inside and outside California dealt with similar circumstances, made different decisions, and produced different outcomes.
Case in point: Over the past 10 years, while the average CSU faculty salary on every campus lost purchasing power, the average University of California faculty salary on each UC campus increased in real dollars. At UC San Francisco, the average faculty salary from 2004 and 2013 (adjusted for inflation) rose $16,138, while at San Francisco State, the average faculty salary lost $9,748.
Case in point: Over the past 10 years, while the average CSU faculty salary on every campus lost purchasing power, the average University of California faculty salary on each UC campus increased in real dollars. At UC San Francisco, the average faculty salary from 2004 and 2013 (adjusted for inflation) rose $16,138, while at San Francisco State, the average faculty salary lost $9,748.
Here is an excerpt from Part 2:
over at least the last decade, CSU administrators, like many corporate executives, have consistently and vigorously prioritized those at the top of the organizational hierarchy, while others in the CSU have been left to languish. At the same time that faculty salaries have plummeted in terms of purchasing power and student fees and student debt have skyrocketed, those at the top have done very well.
Read more:
http://www.calfac.org/race-to-the-bottom
And stay tuned for Parts 3 and 4 of this series.
March 7, 2015
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-vaccine-bill-chiropractors-20150305-story.html
Asinine antivax action by California chiroquacktors
Here's an excerpt from Melanie Mason's article in today's LA Times:
The California Chiropractic Assn. visited with lawmakers this week to discuss their legislative agenda this year -- and opposing the vaccine bill, by state Sens. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) and Ben Allen (D-Los Angeles) was on the top of their list.
"Chiropractors themselves choose to become chiropractors because they like to live a more natural lifestyle, free of drugs and surgery when possible," said Brian Stenzler, president of the 2,700-member association.
The idea of "forced medical procedures goes against a lot of chiropractors' own personal values," he added. "When we see our patients, the people we take care of, we like to pass those values on as well."
"Chiropractors themselves choose to become chiropractors because they like to live a more natural lifestyle, free of drugs and surgery when possible," said Brian Stenzler, president of the 2,700-member association.
The idea of "forced medical procedures goes against a lot of chiropractors' own personal values," he added. "When we see our patients, the people we take care of, we like to pass those values on as well."
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-vaccine-bill-chiropractors-20150305-story.html
February 27, 2015
Mike LeDonne on piano,
John Webber on bass, and
Joe Farnsworth on drums
A recent jazz recording
Mike LeDonne on piano,
John Webber on bass, and
Joe Farnsworth on drums
February 24, 2015
Funky tune: "Cold Duck Time"
played by Les McCann & Eddie Harris for the very first time ...
February 2, 2015
The song title refers to a speech in which JFK said:
a great jazz/rock song from the 1980s
The song title refers to a speech in which JFK said:
"We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier -— the frontier of the 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled threats. ... Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus."
January 27, 2015
Dr. John plays here in the style of Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. Like most boogie-woogie, the first half of this performance is 12 bar blues.
In the second half, Dr. John is improvising on a Stephen Foster tune (which is not a 12 bar blues). Can anyone identify the tune?
Dr. John plays boogie-woogie
Dr. John plays here in the style of Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. Like most boogie-woogie, the first half of this performance is 12 bar blues.
In the second half, Dr. John is improvising on a Stephen Foster tune (which is not a 12 bar blues). Can anyone identify the tune?
January 15, 2015
How secular family values stack up
For secular people, morality is predicated on one simple principle: empathetic reciprocity, widely known as the Golden Rule.
By PHIL ZUCKERMAN
More children are “growing up godless” than at any other time in our nation's history. They are the offspring of an expanding secular population that includes a relatively new and burgeoning category of Americans called the “Nones,” so nicknamed because they identified themselves as believing in “nothing in particular” in a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center.
So how does the raising of upstanding, moral children work without prayers at mealtimes and morality lessons at Sunday school? Quite well, it seems.
Far from being dysfunctional, nihilistic and rudderless without the security and rectitude of religion, secular households provide a sound and solid foundation for children, according to Vern Bengston, a USC professor of gerontology and sociology.
...
He was surprised by what he found: High levels of family solidarity and emotional closeness between parents and nonreligious youth, and strong ethical standards and moral values that had been clearly articulated as they were imparted to the next generation.
The article goes on to point out other advantages of secular upbringing, including the fact that relatively few people brought up without "god" end up in prison.
IMHO the results show that religion is harmful to children!
Read more:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0115-zuckerman-secular-parenting-20150115-story.html
Is religion good or bad for children?
According to an article in the LA Times, the results are in.
How secular family values stack up
For secular people, morality is predicated on one simple principle: empathetic reciprocity, widely known as the Golden Rule.
By PHIL ZUCKERMAN
More children are “growing up godless” than at any other time in our nation's history. They are the offspring of an expanding secular population that includes a relatively new and burgeoning category of Americans called the “Nones,” so nicknamed because they identified themselves as believing in “nothing in particular” in a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center.
So how does the raising of upstanding, moral children work without prayers at mealtimes and morality lessons at Sunday school? Quite well, it seems.
Far from being dysfunctional, nihilistic and rudderless without the security and rectitude of religion, secular households provide a sound and solid foundation for children, according to Vern Bengston, a USC professor of gerontology and sociology.
...
He was surprised by what he found: High levels of family solidarity and emotional closeness between parents and nonreligious youth, and strong ethical standards and moral values that had been clearly articulated as they were imparted to the next generation.
The article goes on to point out other advantages of secular upbringing, including the fact that relatively few people brought up without "god" end up in prison.
IMHO the results show that religion is harmful to children!
Read more:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0115-zuckerman-secular-parenting-20150115-story.html
January 15, 2015
The article goes on to point out other advantages of secular upbringing, including the fact that relatively few people brought up without "god" end up in prison.
IMHO the results show that religion is harmful to children!
Read more:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0115-zuckerman-secular-parenting-20150115-story.html
How do children fare without "god"?
According to an op-ed piece in the LA Times:
How secular family values stack up
For secular people, morality is predicated on one simple principle: empathetic reciprocity, widely known as the Golden Rule.
By PHIL ZUCKERMAN
More children are “growing up godless” than at any other time in our nation's history. They are the offspring of an expanding secular population that includes a relatively new and burgeoning category of Americans called the “Nones,” so nicknamed because they identified themselves as believing in “nothing in particular” in a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center.
So how does the raising of upstanding, moral children work without prayers at mealtimes and morality lessons at Sunday school? Quite well, it seems.
Far from being dysfunctional, nihilistic and rudderless without the security and rectitude of religion, secular households provide a sound and solid foundation for children, according to Vern Bengston, a USC professor of gerontology and sociology.
...
He was surprised by what he found: High levels of family solidarity and emotional closeness between parents and nonreligious youth, and strong ethical standards and moral values that had been clearly articulated as they were imparted to the next generation.
For secular people, morality is predicated on one simple principle: empathetic reciprocity, widely known as the Golden Rule.
By PHIL ZUCKERMAN
More children are “growing up godless” than at any other time in our nation's history. They are the offspring of an expanding secular population that includes a relatively new and burgeoning category of Americans called the “Nones,” so nicknamed because they identified themselves as believing in “nothing in particular” in a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center.
So how does the raising of upstanding, moral children work without prayers at mealtimes and morality lessons at Sunday school? Quite well, it seems.
Far from being dysfunctional, nihilistic and rudderless without the security and rectitude of religion, secular households provide a sound and solid foundation for children, according to Vern Bengston, a USC professor of gerontology and sociology.
...
He was surprised by what he found: High levels of family solidarity and emotional closeness between parents and nonreligious youth, and strong ethical standards and moral values that had been clearly articulated as they were imparted to the next generation.
The article goes on to point out other advantages of secular upbringing, including the fact that relatively few people brought up without "god" end up in prison.
IMHO the results show that religion is harmful to children!
Read more:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0115-zuckerman-secular-parenting-20150115-story.html
January 5, 2015
Arrgh ... "Enemy of the State"
I just started to watch this movie. The opening credits feature Greek capital letters lambda in place of A, and sigma in place of E. Gee, I always thought sigma was more like S, and lambda more like L.
The movie features Jon Voight as the chief bad guy. I never knew the NSA went around murdering people, with the help of helicopters, satellites, and other high-tech gear. That shows how little I know, unless this entertainment (and it is entertaining) isn't meant to be realistic.
Oh, and I almost forgot: whenever the video shows a satellite in orbit, the audio includes some Morse code, which makes no sense. Nobody uses Morse code any more, least of all a satellite.
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