Einstein Exhibit at OMSI

There are two ways to live:
you can live as if nothing is a miracle;
you can live as if everything is a miracle.
--Einstein
( more )

Media Matters Misses the Point on Racism and Black Culture

http://mediamatters.org/action/drlaura/
(you can listen to what she said here, it's 7 minutes long)

Media Matters wants to chastise Dr Laura Schleissinger who spoke about racism on the radio, calling her comments racist and "breathtaking". She is a bit feisty and sometimes rude, but I don't think she is a racist. Apparently she has said some things that "attack" lesbians as well, but I haven't heard them to know what I think of her position there. I have never listened to Dr Laura before, FYI, so the clip above is all I know about her. I essentially agree with her point with regard to racism and black activist culture, but it is such an unpopular position as to cause trouble. Most people can't wrap their heads around it. The truth that she sees is that the black PC position on racism has become "hypersensitive" to isolated words/references, and is too easily triggered by comments which are not actually racist. Some blacks become unable to see that not every remark that mentions blacks or contains the word nigger is inherently racist. For example, I'm not racist, but by agreeing with Dr Laura (or putting "nigger" in print) I could be labeled such. Even Media Matters didn't get it. Media Matters is a useful media watchdog that busts A-holes (Beck, Limbaugh) in the news constantly, demanding apologies and inciting public outcries against public figures. Media Matters calls Dr Laura insensitive and over the top. But I think they need to look in the mirror, and think a little bit harder. I would call her cranky and tired of reverse racism. PCness limits our ability to communicate frankly about important issues by making some words taboo. I want the media to listen and hear and report on what they understand, not to enforce PCness.

QotD: Addiction, Abstinence, and Counterwill

There are two ways of abstaining from a substance or behavior: a positive and even joyful choice for something else that has a greater value for you or a forced decision to stay away from something you crave and are spontaneously attracted to. This second type of abstinence, while it requires admirable fortitude and patience, can still be experienced in a negative way and contains a hidden danger. Human beings have an ingrained opposition to any sense of being forced, and automatic resistance to coercion...called counterwill. It is triggered whenever a person feels controlled or pressured to do someone else's bidding--and we can generate counterwill even against pressure that we put on ourselves.
--Dr. Gabor Mate, MD, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, p 386
--(note: he credits the use of the term "counterwill" to Dr. Gordon Neufeld)