Climategate
This content was published November 27, 2009. … By now, many of you have heard about “climategate”. It seems like someone hacked into a computer at an English research institute, and found some emails. A few of the emails have been released. With years of correspondence to go through, only a part of which has been released, there is lots of room for mischief. If the hackers are smart enough to steal those emails, they are also smart enough to fake a few.
I am not a scientist, and all this makes my head spin. There is the suspicion that a lot of the people making noise don’t understand the science, but are making noise to support already held views. There are big money interests who would like to see talk about global warming go away, so they can work without interference. These interests have lots of money to buy off journalists, who then produce prose like this: “AGW (anthropogenic global warming) is about raising taxes; … about a few canny hucksters who’ve leapt on the bandwagon fleecing us rotten with their taxpayer subsidised windfarms and their carbon-trading; about the sour, anti-capitalist impulses of sandal-wearing vegans and lapsed Communists who loathe the idea of freedom and a functioning market economy.”
The discussion has leaped out of the frying pan of science, and into the fire of politics. There is an international conference in Copenhagen soon, and the timing of “climategate” is curious. … Two words stand out in this discussion, believe and prove. I wonder if they are appropriate. AGW is not really a matter of believe or not believe. Since the industrial revolution, man has made an enormous change in the atmosphere. This ecosystem has evolved over billions of years, either by accident or intelligent design. Man has made profound changes in the last two hundred years.
Chamblee54 crunched the numbers last July: “The atmosphere on planet earth is a marvel, quite possibly unique in the universe. It supports a wide range of life forms, from amoebas to Bruno. This blanket of gas evolved over a period of billions of years. Man has possibly changed it more in the last two hundred years than nature did in four billion before that. … Those numbers don’t mean too much like that, so let’s put them into another form. Comparing 200 years to four billion years just takes a calculator. That is like comparing one minute to 38 years. What God created (or nature evolved, or however you explain it), in 38 years, industrial man has nearly ruined in one minute.
Here is the breakdown. Divide 4 billion by 200 and you get 20 million. Divide 20 million by 1440 (the number of minutes in a day) gives us 13888 days. Dividing 13888 days by 365 gives us 38 years. Even if the earth is less than four billion years old, the fact remains that industrial man has destroyed in almost no time what took a long time to create. … The second weasel word in the current blabberfest is prove. There is a difference between prove and indicate. If the emails are genuine, they would indicate that some scientists in England cooked the books on their research. As to the larger issue of what industrial man is doing to planet earth, they prove nothing.
This content was published November 18, 2008. … Yesterday, after exploring east Atlanta, PG and Uzi went to dinner. They alternate between Piccadilly and S&S , and this was a Piccadilly week. PG always thinks of the antique store called Pick a Dilly. That might explain some of the clientele. … Lenny was a friend of Uzi, who had checked out of the hotel a few years ago. Lenny was inclined towards a philosophical viewpoint. He tried to write these nuggets down. One of the problems was that Lenny never did understand the concept of the tab key.
He would type the quote, the source, and any other information into one cell of a database. PG had time on his hands, and offered to try and straighten out the mess. … Now, one problem is Microsoft Works. The database that Lenny used was in works. The only operating system to employ works was Millennium Edition … the Edsel of the Microsoft showroom. When you tried to take something in works, and move it to another system, you were liable to get a screen full of jibberish. (According to spell check, this is properly spelled gibberish)
So, the email arrived. PG tried to open the file using an open office database, and the thing closed immediately. PG thought he heard the computer laughing at him. Next was a bootleg copy of microsoft windows 97 office suite. Funny how suite is pronounced like sweet, but is anything but. The database was not amused, and word showed a screen full of gibberish. … Next, PG tried notepad. This did show some text in between the acres of code. PG copied this into a trusty wordpad file, and started to edit. After a while, there were a few quotes in legible form.
PG then sent this email to Uzi: excellent i haven’t had a family turkey day since i had parents. as for the files, they are not opening smoothly. i might could work around some of the issues, but it might be easier if i had a copy of works when i had my first computer, i used works, and then tried to take the files to my job to use the word based computers there. word computers do not like works (even if it is at work, as in job. this can get confusing)
If you could find a copy of the works database file and send it to me, that might make this project easier I opened one file with notepad, and was able to cull these from the mass of jibberish: The best things and best people rise out of their separateness ; I’m against a homogenized society because I want the cream to rise. Robert Frost · How many a dispute could have been deflated into a single paragraph if the disputants had dared to define their terms. Aristotle · The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon thty . Clarence Darrow … Is this the sort of thing i can expect to find? a quote, and then a source for the quote? PG … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. John Vachon took the social media picture in March 1941. “Schoolchildren getting ready to go home. Norfolk, Virginia ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Mick Fleetwood
This content was published . … I read the autobiography of Mick Fleetwood. If this had been a made up tale of fiction, no one would believe it. Mick is not the manufacturer of enemas, nor the namesake of a Cadillac Model. The possibility does exist that he has used those two products.
John Mayall gave his guitar player, Peter Green, some studio time as a birthday present. “The Green God” used a rhythm section from the Bluesbreakers, Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass). At the end of the day, Mr. Green wrote “Fleetwood Mac” on the can holding the tapes.
Before long, Mr. Green started his own band, and named it after the rhythm section. (Does anyone know the bass player and drummer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section?) Fleetwood Mac started as a blues band, and became popular in England. Mr. Fleetwood celebrated by getting together with Jenny Boyd, who became his wife. Miss Boyd is the sister of Patti Boyd, the wife of George Harrison, aka Layla.
The first Fleetwood Mac album in the USA was “Then Play On.” The first show in Atlanta was at the Oglethorpe University gym, and by all accounts was a wild night. I saw the sign advertising the event, but did not attend. Grand Funk Railroad was the opening act.
About the time of “Then Play On”, Peter Green started to get a bit weird. He dropped out of the band, but Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan were still playing guitars. For a little while. Jeremy Spencer took a walk outside a Los Angeles hotel, and got recruited by the Children of God. Danny Kirwan had some issues, and decided to leave the band. Bob Welch stopped by for a few years, joined by Christine Perfect McVie, the wife of John.
The band was managed at this time by Clifford Davies, who by all accounts was a nasty piece of work. A man named Bob Weston had joined the band, and lasted until he had an affair with Jenny Fleetwood. Mr. Weston was fired, and a tour canceled. Clifford Davies decided that he owned the name Fleetwood Mac, and hired a group of players to go out and do shows. Fleetwood and the Mcvies were not amused, and Mick Fleetwood took over as the manager of the band.
By 1974, the band was pushing along, and selling about 300,000 copies of each album. On Halloween night 1974, Fleetwood Mac played at the Omni with Jefferson Starship. I was at the Municipal Auditorium that night, seeing Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt.
In late 1974, Mick was looking for a studio. He came to a place, and an album came on the speakers. Mick was impressed by the guitar player. Soon after, Bob Welch left the band, and Mick thought the guitar player he heard at the studio was a good fit. (The band never did auditions, just asked people they liked to join). The guitar player was Lindsay Buckingham, and his girlfriend/musical partner was Stevie Nicks. This was the band that set sales records.
The first album with Buckingham/Nicks, simply titled “Fleetwood Mac”, became a phenomenon. The band was soon headlining in stadiums, and was on every FM radio station in the land. The band went into the studio to record a follow up. The second album took over a year to produce, and saw the McVies and the Fleetwoods get divorced. Buckingham and Nicks split their common law arrangement. Out of the turmoil came “Rumours”, which has sold roughly thirty million copies.
On August 29, 1978, I got to see Fleetwood Mac at the Omni. Mick Fleetwood was on top of his game, pounding the skins with a glee that could be seen from the cheap seats. Fleetwood was a highlight, standing two meters tall and creating havoc on the drum stand.
The book tells the rest of the story. Fleetwood’s father had died earlier that summer, and Mick was devastated. The band was straining under the pressures of super-duper-stardom. Mick attempted a reconciliation with his wife, which was a painful failure. There was an affair between Mick and Stevie Nicks at this time. The idea that Mick Fleetwood could perform like he did that night tells you what a trooper he was. … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken March 5, 1948. “Fox Theater, “Voice of the Turtle” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
The Church Sign
This content was published October 16, 2013. … Religion is very personal.. When you have a miserable experience with Jesus, it will not go away because of glib expressions of “faith”. When you put a sign by the road, you don’t know who is going to see it. You don’t know how they are going to be feeling.
I was driving to dinner one night, when I drove by Briarcliff United Methodist Church. The facility is on a busy road. They have a sign in front, with a message that changes from time to time. This night, I was in a bad mood. I was thinking about people who have humiliated me for Jesus. The sign in front of BUMC said “When was the last time you prayed?”
The concept of prayer is collateral damage in my struggle with Christians. As I became alienated from biblical religion, the idea of a person talking to God seems performative, selfish, and self aggrandizing. (Jesus might agree with me.) There is something about having an angry bully snarling “I’m going to pray for you brother” that makes the concept of prayer repulsive.
There is another thing to consider here. Pushy Christians assume that they have the right to grill you about sensitive personal issues. The idea of saying this to passing motorists is disrespectful. It is none of your business if I pray.
I looked up BUMC on the internet when I got home. They have a modern website. The top tab on the menu said “Prayer Requests.” This is for people who want someone to pray for them. Maybe you can leave a prayer non-request. Ask them to respect discomfort with their religion, and don’t put intrusive messages by the roadside.
Further down on the website is an email address (church@briarcliffumc.com.) While not expecting a miracle, I decided to send them an email. Here is the text of that message.
You have a message board in front of your church. The message when I went by was “When was the last time you prayed?” I was offended by this message.
I have had a tough time with religion. I have been humiliated many, many times because of Jesus. I have heard about your scheme for life after death thousands of times, and simply do not agree with it. An intrusive roadway sign is not going to change my mind.
My belief is that my opinions about God are none of your business. If I trust you, then we can have a discussion. Having a rude sign by the road side is not going to help me trust you.
Even though it is none of your business, I am going to answer your question. Even though I was talking to God, and not to you, I am going to repeat what I said. “God please help these people to have respect for their neighbor, and take that awful sign down”.
This content was published
October 24, 2013. … It had been a week since I drove past the Briarcliff United Methodist Church. The church sent a thoughtful email, in response to the complaining message. The traffic on Briarcliff Road was just as rude as ever. I took a look when he drove past the church. The new message this week: “In what missions did U last serve?”
Maybe BUMC didn’t have a YO to spare. Maybe they are trying to appeal to the text message crowd. Maybe a Synagogue borrowed the OY.
When the Jesus worship church talks about missions, they usually mean an effort to convert people to their brand of religion. This is a part of Christianism that many find tasteless. This product promotion frequently turns into a violation of the third commandment … the injunction against improper use of a sacred name. When you create ill will, you are speaking in vain.
When I got home, I decided to create a graphic poem. I did not feel like writing fresh text. A decision was made to use public domain content. A search of the book of Psalms located a short chapter, with a number that is popular at this blog. Hence, the current presentation of Psalm 54.
While this effort was in production, I thought about the mission I was on. The idea was to rescue this text from the improper way in which it is used. The Bible should be a source of beauty, not a weapon to bludgeon people into agreement. Psalm 54 is a text, written by a human being, not a message from God. When you make a God out of a book, you do no favor to either Yahweh, or the book.
In the end, the effort had mixed results. The text has an air of vengeance. God was supposed to get even with your enemies. The idea that your enemies might be the children of God is forgotten.
On June 10, 2018, Briarcliff United Methodist Church held its final Sunday service. The building is currently used by The Globe Academy. Traffic on Briarcliff Road only gets worse. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. John Vachon took the social media picture in February 1942. “Williston, North Dakota. Farmers’ union meeting with the county commissioners to protest the selling of land to corporation farms in Williams County and to discuss the protection of family-size farms” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Joey Ramone
This content was published October 13, 2024. … I Slept with Joey Ramone is the story of a six foot five geek, who was only good for singing gabba gabba hey. Jeffrey Ross Hyman had issues. Aside from his goofy appearance, Jeff had severe OCD. He would injure his foot bad enough to require several hospitalizations. Somehow, Jeff got to play in some bands, going glitter as Jeff Starship. Eventually, Jeff Hyman, John Cummins, Douglas Colvin, and Tommy Erdelyi became Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone. Music was never the same.
ISWJR was written by Mitchel Lee Hyman, Jeff’s younger brother. His stage name was Mickey Leigh. Mickey was the first roadie for the Ramones, and will always be in his brother’s shadow. The two had an intense relationship. Jeff and Mitch went from being best friends to mortal enemies. This sibling rivalry is a key part of the story. The book, despite the commercial title, is about Mickey as much as Joey. The subtitle is “A punk rock family memoir.”
Mickey Leigh is still alive. The co-author is Legs McNeil, who assembled Please Kill Me. ISWJR is told through Mickey’s eyes. It is uncertain what role Mr. McNeil played. Some say that Mickey Leigh could not type a page of text if his life depended on it.
PKM was an “oral history of punk rock,” meaning they taped a bunch of people talking. Mickey was one of the talkers, and Joey was not happy with what Mickey said. Another voice tells about Dee Dee Ramone falling on the sidewalk outside CBGB. Dee Dee said it was not a good idea to get hit in the head when you were drinking… it might cause brain damage. That is not an exact quote. Dee Dee Ramone did not “just say no.”
The Ramones made their fifteen minutes last for twenty years. They went down to the Bowery, and found this bar called CBGB’s. The owner kept his dog inside, and dog shit was everywhere. The Ramones got a following, a record contract, did tours, recorded albums, became sort of famous, started a movement (other than the bar dog’s bowels,) but never had a hit record. This lack of commercial success was highly annoying.
The first taste of big money was Budweiser using “Blitzkrieg Bop” in a commercial. Mickey played an uncredited part in the song. When the Budweiser money started to roll in, Mickey was struggling to pay the rent. Mickey tried to get some money out of the band, which refused. This caused many years of Joey and Mickey not speaking.
For a while the boys in the band (pun intended, at least for Dee Dee) were pals. Then Joey had a girlfriend, Linda. Johnny stole Linda from Joey. Johnny and Joey hated each other from then on. Johnny was always a bit of an asshole, as was Joey. At some point, Tommy had enough, and was replaced by Marky. He drank his way out of the job, and was replaced by Richie.
In 1983, The Ramones played at the Agora Ballroom in Atlanta. I was in the audience. By this time, the Ramones had been going on for nine years. They were not the next big thing anymore. Somebody played a tape of cheesy Coney Island music, and the band came on stage. Joey hunched over the microphone, tapped himself on the head with a baseball bat, and the band did “Beat on the brat.” The band went through the motions, playing another show, probably identical to every other Ramones show ever played. Punk rock just was not trendy anymore.
It was an all ages show. If you wanted to drink, you had to go up to the balcony. You were on your own going down the stairs. Downstairs was full of young people, many in costumes, having a hot time. The balcony was the same rock and roll drunks that were at every show ever produced.
ISWJR does not have a happy ending. Joey had health problems throughout his life. Being a drunken-coke-freak rock star did not help. He came down with Lymphoma, and was starting to do ok. Then, Joey fell and broke his hip, and they had to adjust his medication. Soon, the cancer was back with a vengeance. Joey and Mickey called a truce to their squabbling before Joey died April 15, 2001. Dee Dee and Johnny quickly followed. The Ramones would have been a great oldies band, if only.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in June 1939. “Two of Pauline Clyburn’s children, rehabilitation borrowers, Manning, Clarendon County, South Carolina” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
The Last Furman Bisher Column
This content was published October 12, 2009. … I had different interests when I was a kid. I would get into something for a while, then move on to something else. In 1965, it was baseball and football. The Atlanta Journal had a column every day by Furman Bisher. I thought he was a very good, very funny writer. … Yesterday, the fishwrapper printed the last column by Furman Bisher. Many, many things had changed in those 44 years. The well crafted prose of Furman Bisher remained the same.
In 1965, Mr. Bisher produced six columns a week for the afternoon paper. Typically, five of them would be on a single subject. The sixth one would be a collection of one or two liners, separated by three dots. These mix and match columns were always signed “selah”, an untranslatable Hebrew word from Psalms. When asked why he did that, Mr. Bisher said “your guess is as good as mine”. … In one of the columns signed selah, Mr. Bisher talked about sports cliches. His least favorite one was about a ballplayer “who can do it all”. ” Lets see one of them have a baby”
The morning Constitution and the afternoon Journal were separate papers. The Journal had a saturday TV section printed on green paper, making the world look red when you put it down. The saturday paper also had a weekly ad from Lester Maddox, a restaurant owner who dabbled in politics. The next year, Lester would be elected Governor of Georgia. Lester called the Atlanta Constitution “the fishwrapper”. … In 1965, the Braves played a lame duck season in Milwaukee. The Crackers played one last season in the brand new Atlanta Stadium. It did not have -Fulton County in the name yet. The people of Atlanta were so proud of that facility. The next year, the Braves set up shop in Dixie, and were horrible. The Falcons played their first season, and were even worse.
Before long, I found other things to be interested in. Furman Bisher continued to plug away. A young man named Lewis Grizzard came to work at the fishwrapper, and Mr. Bisher was his boss. Eventually, Lewis Grizzard took a job in Chicago, a frosty exile from warm Georgia. A few years later, Mr. Grizzard came home, and became an institution. The only problem was his heart. Lewis Grizzard left us on March 20, 1994. … Mr. Bisher is 90 today, and in good health. The fishwrapper continues to shrink, and may not outlive one of it’s best writers. … Furman Bisher went to the press box in the sky March 18, 2012. The fishwrapper will print the last hard copy newspaper December 31, 2025.
This content was published October 12, 2009. … The GM plant in Doraville shut down. The vultures are circling the acreage. Some want to build a new stadium for the Falcons. Others want a residential/commercial “mixed use project”. This area needs either one like a submarine needs a screen door. … I have an idea for the GM property. The government should build a water reservoir on that land. Perhaps we could divert Nancy Creek and Peachtree Creek to get the water. Maybe we could pump out groundwater. This may not be the right answer. I am neither an engineer or a scientist.
The environmental impact of having an auto plant on the land for fifty years may be too great to overcome. The land may be too small to make much difference. No doubt the expense would be great, and it might not be cost effective. … Something needs to be done about the water crisis in Atlanta. We have a metropolis of five million people getting water from an overgrown trout stream. Our governments have failed us. They have allowed rampant development, without any thought given to where the water is going to come from.
It is time to quit whining about Alabama and Florida, and find another source of water. There are not going to be any cheap solutions. If the Tennessee River is accessed … a very big if … we will need a pipeline through the mountains to get the water to Atlanta. We might need to use every bit of unused land in the area to build reservoirs, and it still might not be enough. If the Doraville reservoir was in place now, we could be saving all of this rain we are getting. Put it away for a dry day when we need it. … The next drought could start tomorrow. We are going to need bold, expensive measures to solve this problem. The water shortage could do to Atlanta what the levee breaking did to New Orleans. The time to prepare is now. … In 2025, little has been done to prepare for the next drought.
This content was published October 26, 2008. … The trip to lower Tennessee went smoothly. Yes, there was an SUV shining his bright lights and encouraging more speed, but that is expected for Cobb County. I had driven for a living in this area, and found the house with little problem. … It had been fifteen years since I last saw the hostess. I was warmly greeted, and given a plate for the store bought grapes. Food was the focus of this evening, not costumes, athletic drinking, or hooking up. There was even a cake called “Better than Sex”. Getting older can be boring, but you are not going to go hungry.
The hostess had a prosthetic backside, draped by a hospital gown. There was a witch, a young terrorist, and a blogger wearing a ralph lauren tie. The prize for best costume went to the father of the hostess. His costume had been put aside by the time I arrived. … On the surface it sounds boring, but I had a good time. You could eat until you found someone to talk to, and soon there were people to listen to. Before long it was time to go, and get lost in the subdivision on the way out. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in November 1939. “Some of the Wilkins clan at dinner on corn-shucking day at home of Mrs. Fred Wilkins. Tallyho, near Stem, Granville County, North Carolina.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Free Bacon
This content was published October 23, 2015. … There was a tweet. Perspicacious One @JessSmith_TPC LOLOLOL Can’t make this stuff up @EWErickson President’s Speech Defending Obamacare Nearly Kills Innocent Woman. The medium is something called The Washington Free Beacon. Free Bacon is a typo.
TWFB has some interesting stories. One entertaining example is “Pro-Iranian Regime Journalist Defends Controversial Tweet. Former translator for Ahmadinejad called WSJ editor ‘Iranian House Negro’.” The offending tweeter owns a fashion blog, the house of majd. Rumors that Mr. Ahmadinejad is a model cannot be confirmed.
A more believable story is Netanyahu’s Mission: To Head Off Iran Sanctions Relief. The thought of a deal between Iran and the West is very troubling to Israel. An important distraction to the Palestinian tragedy would be removed by the rehabilitation of Iran. One interesting section of the story mentions 9/11 labor supplier Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia, another key U.S. ally in the Middle East, is also deeply worried about any sign of a deal between Washington and the kingdom’s arch-rival, Iran.” … Free Bacon is the order of the day in the last story we will look at. USDA Celebrates Forcing Kids to Try Kale, Chard, Collard Greens. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extolled a local elementary school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for making its students try broccoli gratin, Tuscan kale, and beet hummus, as an example of the department’s efforts to fight obesity.”
This content was published October 8, 2008. … During the debates, John Sidney McCain III has repeatedly touted Nuclear Power as a solution to our energy needs. Perhaps this talk needs a second look. … There is a lot of money involved in Nuclear Energy. The plants are very expensive to build. There is a lot of potential for profit, and opportunities for moneylenders to earn interest. With this much at stake, it is not unreasonable to think that someone is paying JSM to promote Nukes.
With billions of dollars invested, the banks are going to make sure they get a return on their investment. With this much money involved, Big Government is going to get involved. This is also a factor in the safety issue. … Yes, Nuclear Power is safe. However, there is a need for constant oversight. The potential for disaster is immense. The process needs to be heavily regulated. With the companies trying to show a profit, the temptation to cut corners, and bribe the regulators, is going to be there. With global … and potentially domestic … terrorism a fact of life, the nuclear fuel needs to be constantly watched. Again, this is a job for Big Government. Nuclear Power=Big Government
While Nukes are nominally safe if handled properly, the potential for disaster is huge. There are stories of materials so toxic, that a mass the size of a softball could give the world cancer. While the systems can work well, the potential for corruption, corner cutting, and old fashioned human error cannot be forgotten. … Money is not the only scarce commodity required in bulk by Nukes. Water is also required in vast quantities for a Nuclear Power Plant to operate. The energy from a nuclear reaction is converted into electricity by boiling water to power steam turbines.
This is the same steam technology that has been used since the start of the industrial revolution. The nuclear reaction produces vast amounts of heat, which water is used to cool. With water an increasingly scarce commodity, the allocation of vast amounts for a Nuclear Power plant must be questioned. … It should be noted at this point that I am not a scientist. I am just a slacker with internet access. It is also true that coal fired power plants have horrendous environmental issues, and pump millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. I honestly don’t know what the answer is.
I recently spent a week at a community with solar power. There were constant reminders to use the juice sparingly. I tried to recharge my cell phone, and the system was not strong enough to do so. While solar can reduce the dependence on “the grid”, it is not going to completely replace it. We could do well to use less energy. We have gotten spoiled, like the man who wants an emerald green lawn in October. Part of the answer would be to live simply, so that others can simply live. … Pictures today are from Georgia State University Library The social media picture was taken February 22, 1955. Standard Oil service station in Buckhead ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Oscar Wilde
October 16 is Oscar Fingal O’Fflahertie Wills Wilde’s birthday. On that day in 1854, he appeared in Dublin, Ireland. Oscar is one of the most widely quoted people in the english language. Some of those quotes are real. Since Oscar was a published author, it should be easy to verify what he really said.
One night in 1974, I was talking to someone, and did not know who Oscar Wilde was. The man was horrified. I quickly got educated, and learned about a misunderstanding with the Marquess of Queensberry. Soon the “Avenge Oscar Wilde” signs made sense.
Mr. Wilde once made a speaking tour in the United States. One afternoon the playwright met Walt Whitman. Thee and thou reportedly did the “Wilde Thing.”
The tour then went to Georgia. A young black man had been hired as a valet for Mr. Wilde on this tour. On the train ride from Atlanta to Columbus, some people told Mr. Wilde that he could not ride in the same car as the valet. This was very confusing.
After his various legal difficulties, Oscar Wilde moved to Paris. He took ill, while staying in a tacky hotel. Oscar looked up, and said “There is a duel to the death between me and my wallpaper. One of us must die. It will be him or me.” (« — Voyez-vous, ma chère enfant, me disait-il, il y a un duel à mort entre moi et mon papier de tenture. L’un de nous deux doit y rester. Ce sera lui ou ce sera moi. ») Soon, Oscar Wilde passed away.
This birthday celebration is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in September 1938. Coal miner (Polish). Capels, West Virginia.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
One More Chat About Racism
It was a typical morning. Work on pictures, and listen to audio product. I was tired of youtube suggestions, and chose to listen to RISK. The first story is a South Asian lady, Nimisha, going to have lunch with her Jewish mother in law, Elaine. The two ladies have an uneasy relationship. Before the wedding, Elaine asked David, her son, if Nimisha was black. (Did David have a black girlfriend before this?) Nimisha was upset when she heard about this. Now Nimisha was going to have lunch with a RAY-SISST. It is not known if Nimisha ever called Elaine a racist to her face.
I am tired of hearing people referred to as racist. Since there were plenty of other shows to listen to, I turned off the story. A few minutes later, I wondered what I was missing, and turned on the story again. Soon enough, Nimisha complained about going to lunch with a RAY-SISST again. I pushed forward, and listened to the next story. It was about an experience at an AA meeting in Los Angeles. I wanted to share the story with a friend in the AA program. Here is the email I sent with the link.
This is a link to a story. It is an AA war story. It starts at 20 minutes. There is another story here. The first story in this show is about an Indian lady, who does not like her Jewish mother in law. At ten minutes into the show, the bride says “I am going to have to spend the day with a racist.” At this point, I turned off the show in anger. I am sensitive to the term racist, for perfectly obvious reasons. I did not want to listen to the rest of the show. When I decided to send you the link, I had to listen to the part of the show around the 20 minute mark, so I could know when the war story started. I set the timer for 18 minutes, and listened to the end of the mother in law story. There is a twist in the story, and everyone is friends now. The bride says “I am ashamed of reducing her to her racism.”
David, Elaine, and Nimisha went to a deli in New York. Nimisha (who seems to have other entitlement issues) is militantly vegetarian, and not pleased with the deli. At one point, Elaine orders a sandwich “bigger than her fist,” and starts to, accidentally, spit bits of meat in Nimisha’s face. Next, Nimisha looks at Elaine, who has tears in her eyes. Elaine thanks Nimisha for coming to lunch. Nimisha looks at her hand, which has an engagement ring once owned by Elaine. Nimisha realizes that Elaine is more than her comment about race, and is actually a pretty good lady. End of story. Elaine is much more than a racist, she is the mother of David.
The real fun starts when I post the email to RISK! Podcast Fans Discussion Group on facebook. People are proud of calling *others* racist. When you suggest that this is not a good idea, they get angry. WAAAAA!!! He said I can’t say wassist!!! WAAAA!!! I have heard the r-word many times. I was not in the mood to hear a vegetarian princess repeat that slur about her mother in law.
As you may imagine, the facebook conversation got ugly. The 2018 post has TLDR quotes from this discussion. When people want to be seen as fighting racism, they behave badly. “The behavior described in the story was racist. I don’t know you or your circumstances, but your words so far seem to imply that you’re more offended by the word “racist” than actual racism.”
“you’re more offended by the word “racist” than actual racism.” This is a common comment in social justice discussions. “Imagine it happening all the time, simply because of the color of your skin. What you’re experiencing right now is *nothing* compared to what people of color experience daily.” The simple truth is that two wrongs do not make a right. Insulting a white person, by calling them racist, will have little impact on creating economic opportunity, or curtailing police brutality. Saying racist is merely a couple of kids on the playground swapping insults. To pretend otherwise, to confuse name calling for effective social justice action, is an exercise in self delusion.
People in discussions about racist/racism often feel the need to demonstrate their distaste for racism. Usually it is without being asked. People just assume they need to signal virtue, and are offended if someone abstains. “Being racist is wrong. Full stop. I’m not sure if we’re on the same page about that, but in case my thoughts weren’t clear, there they are.”
When you challenge the performative nature of racist citing, you can expect feedback. “I don’t understand this post. But i fully support the continued and loud-mouthed calling out and labeling of racists wherever they be, regardless of some feathers getting ruffled. Had the protagonist of this story been correct in her assumption, i wouldn’t be holding it against her. In this case she made an assumption and was corrected by facts, but i certainly don’t hold the using of that term against her.” ” “ritual condemnation of racism” is a funny way to put it, as if condemning such is a kind of bigotry. It’s not a “performance” when I condemn it. Um… I MEAN it.”
Why are people, mostly white, so eager to demonstrate their distaste for what they perceive as racism? This virtue signalling is to be loud, and must be seen and heard by others. Maybe this virtue signalling is not done for the benefit of others. Maybe the white savior is trying to reassure themself that they are not racist. They are like the homophobe who badmouths gays to cover up for his own repressed homosexual desires. Is the white savior a closet racist?
The problem with anti-racism was published by chamblee54 a few years ago, when a dark skinned man was POTUS. It discusses the closet racist concept, and other ways in which anti-racism is detrimental to society. After a 2014 repost, chamblee54 received a remarkable bit of confirmation. An anonymous commenter, speaking from an .edu address, said “why don’t you get your white sheets and come out.” Since this comment was made by a white cis male (the last time I had contact with them), it might not be appropriate to respond “I am so sorry that you felt racially targeted by me. Can you please help me understand what I did to make you feel that way?”
I made one last comment in the facebook thread. It is unlikely that he changed any minds. The concept that the word racist is offensive to human beings, and should be used with caution, is alien to many people. It might be compared to telling a person sixty years ago that saying the n-word is a bad idea. Here is the closing comment. “There is going to be a blog post about this discussion, which will answer a few of those questions. Or, and this is more likely, merely raise more. I have known many, many POC. Friends, enemies, good people, terrible people, and a thousand levels in between. In the end, it is my experience. I don’t even understand it myself. I cannot expect someone who reads a facebook thread to understand my life. I just get tired of the promiscuous, boastful, performative use of the r word. Nothing good comes of it.”
In typical blogger fashion, I gave two links. “This post Are my attitudes about race any of your business, might help explain a bit of this.” “Here is another post that might help, James Baldwin and the six letter word. (This post makes an amusing connection between the n-word, and the r-word. The words of James Baldwin were used, perhaps in a way the author would not have intended.) … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Esther Bubley took the social media picture in September 1943. “A Greyhound bus that has been stopped while the driver fills the water tank at a gas station on the road between Gettysburg and Pennsylvania” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Our Bohemian Lifestyle
This content was published October 31, 2008. … Ten Clues you are too old to Trick or Treat: 1 – You get winded from knocking on the door. 2 – You have to have another kid chew the candy for you. 3 – You ask for high fiber candy only. 4 – You keep having to go home to pee. 5 – People say: “Great Boris Karloff Mask,”And you’re not wearing a mask. 6 – When the door opens you yell, “Trick or…”And can’t remember the rest. 7 – By the end of the night,you have a bag full of restraining orders. 8 – You have to carefully choose a costume that won’t dislodge your hairpiece. 9 – You’re the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker. 10 – When someone drops a candy bar in your bag,you lose your balance and fall over.
This content was published October 19, 2008. … The answering machine was flashing when I got out of the shower. Even though the internal caller id told me it was Uzi, I listened to the messages before calling. The scheduled entertainment for the afternoon was a walk through little five points. … After a while, the honda was parked behind Manuel’s, and the walk to ElfivePee began. Is the Halloween Festival over, and could we tell the difference? Coming down Seminole Avenue, into the closed off street by the pizza places, the thought came to go to the Vortex. No, that is a bad idea, they may be enforcing the no idiot policy.
The artist was urging the sunday visitors to Buy Art, and help support our bohemian lifestyle. I needed to use a restroom, and thought the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club would be atmospheric enough. Past that was the former Bass High School, now a loft community. When WRFG went on the air, their transmitter was so weak that they could not be heard north of the high school. … Crossing Euclid Avenue required waiting for the cars to pass by. The former Sevananda/A&P/Piggly Wiggly of Miss Daisy fame is now a Rag store. They have stenciled parking spots, across from the mural infested wall of the Variety Playhouse. Uzi was once going to pay to park for a concert there. The parking attendant recognized his friend and gave them a prime spot for free. He does not remember who was playing.
The parade of the hairstyle enhanced trendoids continued down the well trod sidewalks. Uzi was in the mood for a chocolate ice cream from Zestos. I waited outside, and took pictures of ivy falling down in front of a brick wall. We crossed Moreland, and found a bench to sit on. It was across from the former fountain, which now has cactus growing inside. A dog got loose, and scampered down Moreland Avenue, while the traffic screeched to a halt. The pet went down Euclid into oblivion, as Uzi finished his ice cream. Deciding that they had enough hipness for the day, we went back to Manuels, and to the S&S cafeteria in the relative safety of Embry Hills.
This content was published October 28, 2009. … I finished part two of the David Crosby autobiography, “Since Then“. This book is evidence that truth is stranger than fiction. For those who just tuned in, David Crosby was one of the Byrds, and is the Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash and (sometimes) Young. … David Crosby (no relation to Bing Crosby) is a part of the counterculture. The hair, the fringe jacket, the drugs, the sex, these are the surface parts of the puzzle. The man has been described as a complex bottle of red wine, taking a long time to mature. The hair is still there, he is in love with his wife (and probably would be dead without her), and smokes the occasional doobie. With any luck at all, the fringe jacket is in a landfill, and not reproducing.
The book has three fonts. The primary one is the voice of Crosby. Comments from third parties are indented, and the co author, Carl Gottlieb, speaks in italics. The story moves in more or less chronological fashion, although there is a bit of cutting back and forth between scenes. … At the start of the book, LA is hit by a major earthquake. This destroys a house Crosby has. If the earthquake doesn’t get the house, the IRS will. An accountant has not done his job, and Crosby owes major bucks to Uncle Sam. If its not one thing, its another.
Moving along, a son given up for adoption finds Crosby, and winds up playing guitar in a band called CPR. Crosby wrecks his motorcycle and nearly croaks. Crosby’s liver goes haywire, and he almost croaks. Ditto heart attack, and arrest for felony gun possession. … One of the last visitors before the liver transplant was Graham Nash. As he is leaving, Nash tells Crosby ”If you leave me alone with Stills, I’ll f***ing kill you”. For all the pretty music in CSN, there are some strong personalities. Stephen Stills is renowned for his attitude. David Crosby is known to have an opinion or two.
Getting back to the David Crosby story…there is just too much to sum up here. At the end of the story, Crosby is still going. He stopped at two artificially inseminated babies, to go with four (at least) kids produced the old fashioned way. The opinions have not stopped coming out. Crosby likes World War W as much as I do. Crosby has always held doomsday views about the American experiment. … David Van Cortlandt Crosby met his maker January 18, 2023. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. John Vachon took the social media picture in February 1942. “Meeker County, Minnesota. Farmers’ dance in crossroads store” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Tulsi And Joe
This content was posted October 16, 2022. … @BrandonLBradfor “The larger your platform the more I think you have a moral obligation to the people that listen to you. I give Rogan criticism but he’s just an idiot that’s willing to talk to people, Kanye is a vindictive, desperate, dumbass, and don’t blame this on his mental health.” @chamblee54 “Actually, Joe R**** is an i**** who is willing to listen to people. Twitter questioned my first reply. I censored the two words that were possibly offensive. If listen is offensive, then I am in trouble.”
Joe Rogan Experience continues to be a popular feature, except with #selfrighteoustwitter. This week saw two guests that stood out. On Tuesday, JRE featured Tulsi Gabbard. On Wednesday, the guest was Rick Rubin. I listened to all three hours of the Rubin show.
Rick Rubin is a music producer, and around cool dude. He played a huge role in the rise of hip-hop, from Bronx parties to a worldwide phenomenon. His podcast, Broken Records, utilizes the long interview format, with music stars of all persuasion. Mr. Rubin is also well spoken, with a pleasant voice. Just turn on the microphone, and get out of the way
Tulsi Gabbard is a bit more complicated. Early in the show, Joe repeated an urban legend about teachers putting litter boxes in bathrooms, for students who identify as cats. The tale has been repeatedly discredited. Joe and Tulsi began talking about trans excesses. This is a legitimate subject for discussion, but had a rude tone here. Soon, I turned off the show in anger.
Tulsi was on JRE during the 2020 Presidential campaign. She did not seem to be electable, but made a lot of good points. Her primary issue was the damage done by wars of choice, and the military industrial complex. This is an issue that Democrats and Republicans, aka the Uniparty, seem to agree on. One gets the sense that the “culture war” issues are a distraction, taking attention away from the massive influx of borrowed warbucks.
Soon after this appearance, I went to a get together at Manuel’s Tavern. I mentioned that I liked Tulsi Gabbard, and her anti-war position. A voice at the other end of the table started to angrily shout. Tulsi Gabbard was a Russian asset, and a terrible, terrible person. This seems to be a popular opinion in Democratic circles. Genuine dissent must not be tolerated.
At some point in the conversation, Tulsi got onto the military industrial complex, and the War in Ukraine. Tulsi thinks we are headed for a nuclear conflict. A NYC psa was shown, about instructions for a nuclear disaster. The instructions were like the “duck and cover” drills from second grade. Hiding under your desk was going to protect you from radiation. Today’s non-planning for a potential nuclear war may mean the end of civilization as we know it.
Chamblee54 has written about Joe Rogan. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in March 1940. “Hired help resting after day’s work in Upwey horse farm. South Woodstock, Vermont.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
We’re All God’s Children
This content was posted October 11, 2023. … It was September, 1976, in Athens, Georgia. Someone decided to open a disco downtown. On opening night, there was a crowd. People wanted to know, would men be able to dance with men?
The owner was said to be a redneck, who would not allow such things. Finally, the party got started. At some point, same sex couples started to dance together. The owner shut down the music, and stood in front of the crowd with a microphone. He said a few words that did not please anyone, and there was an uneasy silence. Then, out of the back, came one voice.
We’re all God’s children.
49 years later, we are still struggling. People try to solve problems, big and small, with name calling. If you don’t have the correct opinion about this or that, then you are a terrible person. We seem to forget the one basic truth: We’re all God’s children.
We don’t know who said WAGC that night, 49 years ago. If I had to guess, I would say that it was an African-American. Much of the name-calling today is about skin color. If you do not say what people want to hear, you will get called racist. You are deemed worthy of hatred and abuse. Your humanity is taken away from you. You are no longer one of God’s children.
This is a repost. Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library The social media photograph was taken May 16, 1960. Georgia State Council of Machinists leaders. ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
Strategy Of Causing Atrocities
This content was published October 27, 2023. … As you may have heard, there is a very nasty conflict between Israel and Gaza. What follows are a few thoughts on this dreadful affair. I possibly do not know what I am talking about. If you like, you can skip over the text, and look at the pictures.
Around 1987, I was working with Steve. He was the son of holocaust survivors, and an ardent supporter of Israel. We were discussing the war between Iran and Iraq. The I-I war was a long bloody affair. The United States supported Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein. The United States, with help from Israel, was also selling weapons to Iran. It was a confusing time.
I mentioned to Steve the notion that the US wanted to keep the I-I war going, because it would keep those two countries from fighting Israel. Steve started to get angry. “Yes, and it’s for your benefit. We have to fight terrorism.”
The I-I war continued for a while. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, partially in a dispute over war debt from the I-I war. Saddam Hussein went from being an American ally to the next Hitler.
Today is October 8, 2025, 38 years after my conversation with Steve. The world is a different place. The last 38 years have been full of wars, and rumors of war. The Internet is a routine part of life. Unfortunately, Steve is not with us. Cancer claimed him in 2001, 9 days after 9-11.
A few days ago, Bob Wright had a conversation with Eli Lake. Mr. Lake is an ardent supporter of Israel. After 69 minutes, Mr. Lake said this: “because the Palestinians continue to think that a strategy of causing atrocities will eventually convince Jews to leave a country.”
Lets focus on this comment. It is unique, in part because it dispenses with the niceties that one normally sees. Most Israel supporters say “Hamas,” when they probably mean “Palestinians” (or Muslims.) Likewise, others say “Israel,” when they mean “Jews.” If you were to put blanks in the statement … “because the ______ continue to think that a strategy of causing atrocities will eventually convince _____ to leave a country” … you could create a statement said by either side. On a certain level, both sides would be telling the truth.
There are reports that Israel created, and supported, Hamas. The idea was to create divisions among her enemies, in the same way that a bloody war between Iran and Iraq was facilitated 38 years ago. When Hamas is fighting Fatah/PLO, neither side is fighting Israel. Some say this strategy motivated Israel’s involvement in Syria. Thousands of unarmed women and children die as a result.
Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken July 18, 1947. “African-American couples playing cards outdoors, at the new Lincoln Club (Atlanta, Georgia), at a July 18th party sponsored by the Davison-Paxon Company, 1947.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah
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