Digitial libraries

Google's plan to put online works from libraries at Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, University of Michigan and New York is quite remarkable. We are getting closer to making the Macintosh "1984" commercial a reality. (You know the one where the woman in orange jogging shorts throws the hammer, smashing the totalitarian society.)
Stanford linguist Geoffrey Nunberg puts it this way:

The Google announcement signals that the virtual library has become a reality, even if it will be a while in the making. It will take a decade to digitize 15 million books and documents from the Stanford and University of Michigan libraries, and more time than that before most other research collections are online. And although readers will have full access to books in the public domain, they won't be able to view more than a few pages of books that are still under copyright.

Michael Gorman, dean of library services at California State University, Fresno and president-elect of the American Library Association, isn't so sure this is a good idea:

The books in great libraries are much more than the sum of their parts. They are designed to be read sequentially and cumulatively, so that the reader gains knowledge in the reading. A good scholarly book on, say, prisons in 19th-century France goes well beyond simply supplying facts.

We suggest reading Dan Gillmor's book, "We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People," to get a sense of where this is all heading. The book is online.

Democracy in Ukraine

Catching up with more on Ukraine and its Orange Revolution.
The Freedom House's Adrian Karatnycky
writes:

Now people power again is showing its influence in a democratic age that has seen free elections spread to 45 countries in the last 30 years. This infectious trend is why authoritarian rulers in neighboring states, like Russia's Putin and Belarus' Alexander Lukashenko, are clearly worried. Ukraine is now awash with thousands of civic activists from Russia, Belarus and other neighboring countries, and they are eager to learn the lessons of nonviolent mass action.

Michael McFaul, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and an associate professor of political science at Stanford University,

wrote this before Sunday's Ukrainian election:

There was a time when championing state sovereignty was a progressive idea, since the advance of statehood helped destroy empires. But today those who revere the sovereignty of the state above all else often do so to preserve autocracy, while those who champion the sovereignty of the people are the new progressives. In Ukraine, external actors who helped the people be heard were not violating the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people; they were defending it.

Rents and wages

This report the National Low Income Housing Coalition shines light on the serious problem of housing low-income folks. It finds,

Today, the national Housing Wage for a two bedroom unit is $15.37. The median hourly wage in the United States is only about $14.00 and more than a quarter of the population earns less than $10.00 an hour.
There is ample evidence that rents are rising and wages have not kept pace with rising housing costs. Bureau of Labor Statistics data suggest that rents continued to rise faster than incomes in 2004. From October 2003 to October 2004, the Consumer Price Index shows an increase of 2.9% for the rental of primary residences. Hourly wages, however, were up only 2.6% over the past year. Data compiled by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University show that both contract rents and gross rents, which include the cost of utilities, have risen steadily from the mid-1990s, despite a decline in renter incomes after 2001.6 Since 1997, the federal minimum wage has remained at $5.15.

Taking what out of what

We're told that "Christ" is being taken out of Christmas.
It must be the season.
Already this month, we've learned that:
1. "Security" is being taken out of Social Security.
2. And "Armor" has been taken out of the Armed Forces.
3. Then again, there's not a real "championship" to take out of the Bowl Championship Series.

What not to wear

Per our editorial on Tuesday morning, here is some more reading on Andalusia’s Judge Ashley McKathan and the Ten Commandments he had embroidered on his robes:
FindLaw's Marci Hamilton writes:

Are the judge's constitutional rights violated by the requirement that he wear an unadorned robe? Of course not. He can express his message - and worship as he chooses - on his own time, wearing his off-duty clothing. Neither his Free Exercise rights, nor his Free Speech rights are infringed by that distinction. All that is asked is that he refrain from using his public position to foster his personal views. As in the case of the porn-selling police officer, the point is that public office and personal speech and religion should not mix.

Meanwhile, the Andalusia Star-News found general support for Judge McKathan's new wardrobe.

Elizabeth Shine, also of Andalusia, has no problem with the Pleasant Home native's judicial robe, and the fact that it is emblazoned with Old Testament scriptural verses.
"It's his robe," Shine commented. "So, if it's the way he feels, he should have every right to put it on his robe."

Of course, he represents much more than himself when he dons that robe.

Conserving what?

A new column by FindLaw's John Dean (yes, that John Dean) highlights a new study of American conservatism. Dean writes:

In their recent book The Right Nation: Conservative Power In America, John Micklethwait (the U.S. editor of the right-of-center Economist) and Adrian Wooldridge (the Washington correspondent for the Economist) seek to explain conservatism to Europeans (if not Americans). But they conclude that "[c]onservativism has become one of those words that are now as imprecise as they are emotionally charged" -- especially since conservatives insist "their deeply pragmatic creed cannot be ideologically pigeonholed."

We recently posed a similarly-themed question:

As quality of life rankings continue to put Alabama at the end of the line, what exactly are our politicians and other public policy advocates who claim the mantle of “proud Alabama conservative,” actually conserving?

Christmas crisis?

The central theme of Thomas Frank's book, "What's the Matter With Kansas?" is the use of stories of conservatives being persecuted to stir up the Republican base. Keep 'em angry about PC trivialities, the theory goes, and they'll never notice how their leaders are working against the economic interests of the little guy. It appears to be working this season.
Instead of focusing on the president's plan to radically alter Social Security, what are the culture warriors fretting about this month? Why Christ being taken out of Christmas, of course.
Anniston Star columnist Jack Brymer did a fine job writing about the topic this Sunday.
The New York Times' Frank Rich joinedthe fun as well on Sunday.

What is this about? How can those in this country's overwhelming religious majority maintain that they are victims in a fiery battle with forces of darkness? It is certainly not about actual victimization. Christmas is as pervasive as it has ever been in America, where it wasn't even declared a federal holiday until after the Civil War. What's really going on here is yet another example of a post-Election-Day winner-takes-all power grab by the "moral values" brigade. As Mr. Gibson shrewdly contrived his own crucifixion all the way to the bank, trumping up nonexistent threats to his movie to hype it, so the creation of imagined enemies and exaggerated threats to Christianity by "moral values" mongers of the right has its own secular purpose. The idea is to intimidate and marginalize anyone who objects to their efforts to impose the most conservative of Christian dogma on public policy. If you're against their views, you don't have a differing opinion — you're anti-Christian (even if you are a Christian).

Two points:
1. All this religious fervor would be more authentic if there were a corresponding outrage against the rampant commercialism of Christmas.
2. We'd be better off if some of this partisan energy were expended to dig deeply into President Bush's risky schemes for Social Security.

Social Security clearance

Catching up -- belatedly -- to this morning's promise to provide more background on this morning's editorial. (I'm out of town and posting from a bookstore deep in the heart of suburban sprawl Texas.)

The Century Foundation's Greg Anrig Jr. writes that Chile is hardly the model of Social Security privatization it's made out to be.

The NyTimes' Paul Krugman comes out of his book-writing exile to write
this and this.

On the other side of the coin is this wealth of information compiled by the Cato Institute.

Unsung heroes update

Our call for local heroes has stirred up some responses as people have sent in suggestions. There's still time for others to respond. Once more, here's our pitch:

Scores of citizens regularly do good deeds in our community. They quietly volunteer their time, money and other resources, and good cheer to worthwhile causes.
We’d like to know about these unsung heroes, and share some of their stories during this holiday season.
If you would like to nominate someone who deserves recognition as local unsung hero, please let us know. Send in a short note telling us why your nominee should be honored. Be sure to include your name and contact information. The deadline for entries is Dec. 14. Send your nominations to: bdavis@annistonstar.com

Prisons overcrowded

The Star's editorial on prison overcrowding in Alabama was written in response to a report from the Southern Legislative Conference found here and here.

Old St. Stephens revisited

Hardy Jackson's excellent column made us want to know more about Old St. Stephens.

The curious-minded can look here, here and here for more information

Indian casino lobbyist scandal

Re Wednesday's Star editorial on allegations that Mississippi Indian casinos have donated money to keep gambling out of neighboring Alabama: here are a few links of interest

Lou Dubose of The Texas Observer has some background on the matter currently being probed by the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee.

The Washington Post recently editorialized on the scandal:

WHEN HIS NAME surfaced in connection with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee investigation of lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) presented himself as another victim of the rapacious duo, who collected $66 million from casino-operating Indian tribes that sought their help to stay in business. Like the tribes, Mr. Ney said, he was duped by Mr. Abramoff when the lobbyist sought his help in getting a tribal casino reopened.

Maybe so. But Mr. Ney also pocketed large campaign contributions from the Tigua tribe of El Paso -- contributions steered his way by Mr. Abramoff -- and then pushed the tribe's cause in Congress. And he continued to embrace that cause well beyond the time he claims to have lost interest.

Another piece in the Washington Post, written by Thomas B. Edsall, finds that:

Shortly after Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, tribal leaders of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians approached lobbyist Jack Abramoff with a problem. The tribe's Silver Star Hotel & Casino had barely opened and already legislation was moving forward in Congress calling for Indian casinos to be taxed in the same manner as Las Vegas gambling facilities.
Abramoff knew how to take care of the Choctaws. He convinced the House Republican leadership that it had violated a core principle of the new conservative majority: It had raised taxes. The legislation was scuttled.
With Indian gambling revenue now exceeding $16 billion annually, Abramoff's success saved the tribes hundreds of millions of dollars. Soon, he was representing half a dozen other Indian tribes, some paying his firm $2 million or more a year.

The Montgomery Advertiser nicely covers the Alabama angle, including comments from Ralph Reed.
In response to that story and others, the Christian Coalition offered this denial.

Faith-based sex ed

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has released a
report on federally funded abstinence-only education programs.

The Heritage Foundation counters that "Waxman’s report, released this week, is riddled with errors and inaccuracies about the effectiveness of abstinence education and the risks associated with early sexual activity."

Not surprisingly, Planned Parenthood
offers a different viewpoint.

This 2002 Washington Monthly article offers some background on the whole topic.

"For 30 years, sex education has been at the center of the culture wars, with liberals struggling to safeguard services that teach teens about contraception against conservatives' efforts to eliminate federal support for them. But since 1996, conservatives have adopted a new strategy: Instead of simply attacking initiatives they oppose (which, incidentally, are often administered by liberals), they have begun winning federal funding for their own alternative programs. With the administration's blessing, conservatives are breeding a new kind of federal pork geared entirely to their kindred spirits. Though it flies in the face of small-government ideology, nourishing the nascent abstinence movement with federal funds marks an important shift in GOP strategy to court its restless social-conservative base."

Wanted: Unsung heroes

We’re looking for local heroes. Scores of citizens regularly do good deeds in our community. They quietly volunteer their time, money and other resources, and good cheer to worthwhile causes.
We’d like to know about these unsung heroes, and share some of their stories during this holiday season.
If you would like to nominate someone who deserves recognition as local unsung hero, please let us know. Send in a short note telling us why your nominee should be honored. Be sure to include your name and contact information. The deadline for entries is Dec. 14. Send your nominations to: bdavis@annistonstar.com

Turning Texan

Ronnie Dugger is the founder of The Texas Observer. In the magazine's 50th anniversary edition, Dugger writes that instead of Texas continuing on a course of progressivism, it has dragged the rest of the nation down to its level. Tragically, it's a level on par with most of the South. Here's how Dugger puts it:

"Could it be, I thought, that instead of what we’re working for — Texas growing into a more just, less racist place—the opposite will happen? The United States will become just like greedy, reactionary, racist, poverty-blighted, religion-ridden Texas? It was one of the clichés among us on the Observer that we were dragging our state, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century. But lo and behold, as of November 2nd this year, Texas has dragged the United States back into the 19th."

More on network news

Continuing on from this morning's editorial, here are a few links for further reading on Dan Rather's retirement from the anchor's desk --he's staying on at "60 Minutes" -- and on the general state of broadcast media.

Liberal media critic Eric Alterman isn't
sad to see Rather exit. "Forgive me, but I’ve got no sympathy for Dan Rather, and I don’t think it’s only because I've met the guy maybe ten times and he’s never once remembered. As a rule, I make it a practice to dole out my sympathy only to people who make less than say, ten million bucks a year."

The Chicago Tribune's Steve Johnson
writes:

"The median age of the newscast viewers is 60, about 10 years older than for network programming and 25 years beyond the age of the average American. But network newscasts have held their audience better than networks as a whole, losing just 23 percent of their audience share between 1993 and 2001, while network prime-time programming over that time has dropped 42 percent, according to a report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
"The same report notes that 'the 'Today' show and 'Good Morning America' bring in nearly three times the revenue of their evening news counterparts," although they are on-air four times as long, 2 hours versus 30 minutes."

Newsday's Verne Gay
quotes a former NBC News exec in summing up the state of the evening news on the Big 3 networks. "The anchor 'used to be almost biblical, but that's no longer possible,' says Reuven Frank, the former NBC News president who anointed Brokaw as the 'Nightly News' solo anchor. 'We're in the second stage of very fast-moving, hardworking anchors who can go anywhere and report from anywhere. I'm not sure what the third stage is.'

Of course, there's always the cranky watchdogs on the right and the left.

More on Iranian nukes

The Federation of American Scientists has a handy catalog
of links and recent history.

In a statement, U.S. Rep. James Leach- R-Iowa, says:

"A proposal that might be suggested is negotiation of a Persian Gulf nuclear-free zone, which would reduce, although given the high possibility of cheating, not eliminate entirely one of the reasons Iran presumably seeks nuclear weapons - fear that it may be at a disadvantage in a conflict with an oil-rich neighbor. In return, America could offer not only normalization of relations in trade but the prospect of a free trade agreement and expanded country-to-country cultural ties with Iran."

James Phillips and Baker Spring of the Heritage Foundation write, "The United States, like its friends and allies in the region, should not simply ignore any efforts by Iran to proceed with its nuclear programs."

In an old but useful essay from 2003, Ray Takeyh writes for the World Policy Institute: "Contrary to Western assumptions, Iran’s nuclear calculations are not derived from an irrational ideology, but rather from a judicious attempt to craft a viable deterrent capability against an evolving range of threats."

More recently -- February of this year to be exact, Takeyh,
writing for the Center for American Progress, said:

"Given the centrality of the United States in Iran's strategic view of the world, a better relationship with Washington can be the best means of ensuring the theocracy's continued compliance with its non-proliferation pledges. A greater degree of engagement and dialogue between Washington and Tehran over issues of common concern, such as the stabilization of Iraq and the postwar Persian Gulf, can empower the nascent coalition of reformers and pragmatists who seek to eschew the provocative nuclear option."

More Southern strategies

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis' essay in Sunday's Insight section on how Democrats can regain the South has some company.

Jim Hodges, a former governor of South Carolina, writes in Sunday's Charlotte Observer:

"It would be refreshing for party leaders to acknowledge that Democrats have lost touch with the concerns of middle-class and working-class Americans and enter into a new covenant (see Bill Clinton) with the people focused on better education, health care and job protection. Americans are searching for a party that understands the concerns expressed around family dinner tables every night. We can be that party. It starts with a dramatic statement that we're changing our focus to the concerns of people in middle America -- the same folks Roosevelt and Truman championed."

Read more
here.

German economics

Germans call it "Hartz vier," but it's appropriately pronounced "Hartz fear." Exec Peter Hartz has been drafted to bolster Germany's economic foundation in terms of the social safety net.

Hartz is in his fourth ("vier" in German) round of cutting back on the country's extensive entitlements. For example, he wants to limit unemployment benefits to one year.

The resulting outcry is reminiscent of Clinton era welfare reform. During my recent tour of Germany, "Hartz vier" was on the minds of many. We're sure German politicians are more than happy to let a private citizen take all the heat of welfare reform.

In Friday's New York Times, Mark Landler
writes: "To shake loose the country's hidebound labor market, Mr. Hartz went after its rigid work rules, implacable labor unions and, most controversially, its generous unemployment compensation, which makes life on the dole a reasonable alternative for millions of Germans."

Feminists in the South

The Nation's Ashley Sayeau writes:

"The South has a long history of stifling dissent and leaving women with few alternatives to traditional roles. The suffrage movement there was decades late, and it never gained the momentum it did in other regions. Nine of the ten states to vote against the Nineteenth Amendment were below the Mason-Dixon line. And the image of the chaste and devoted Southern white woman has been used to justify everything from patriarchy to lynching. Women who defied this ideal were accused of nothing short of treason. Said one Alabama state senator in 1917 of Southern suffragists, "[They] have allowed themselves to be misled by bold women who are the product of the peculiar social conditions of our Northern cities into advocating a political innovation the realization of which would be the undoing of the South…if they succeed then indeed was the blood of their fathers shed in vain." Fidelity of this sort is difficult to escape – it's a loyalty that still today slips quickly into a fear so profound that a grown woman might not tell her family she's in town to write a piece on feminism, but only to check out a conference about women at a church."

Read more here:
here.

More on Lamar Society and the South

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Editorial Page Editor Paul Greenberg weighs in on last weekend's meeting of the L. Q. C. Lamar Society to the Endowment for the Future of the South.

He writes:

It's a Southern thing, or at least used to be. You might love or hate or just tolerate your newspaper. You might be charmed or appalled by it, but it was always your newspaper. Here we take things personally. Or did.
One great change in Southern and maybe American journalism has been the loss of the personal as one family newspaper after another has been sold to some all-devouring corporation. Even when the journalism is improved by the change, the personal quality is lost. And the personal is the hallmark of whatever the South is, or was.

Read more here:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/paulgreenberg/pg20041126.shtml

See another take on the meeting from Brandt Ayers here http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2004/as-editorials-1121-bayerscol-4k19r2013.htm

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everybody is having a happy Turkey Day.