Books Are Targeted As "More Dangerous" Than Bullets -- Has Texas (And The Nation) Gone Totally Mad?

"Books are burning, both literally and figuratively. Novelists are finding themselves under attack....Schools, for their part, are ridding themselves of literary classics that contain a single deplorable word."  - Meghan Cox Gordon,  WSJ, Dec. 18-19, p. C11

Most normally functioning citizens of at least average intelligence, and sensibility recognize  - or should - that bullets are vastly more lethal than books. But evidently not in the backward red state of Texas. As reported in the NY Times, after TX librarian Carrie Damon - a middle school librarian - celebrated 'Banned Books Week' as an ironic free speech event, it wasn't long before Rightist blowback arrived. 

 This came via Reepo state Rep. Matt Krause, who then emailed a list of 850 books to school superintendents.  The books, included a mix of half century old novels (e.g. Catcher in the Rye) as well as works by Margaret Atwood (e.g. 'The Handmaid's Tale') and Ta -Nehesi Coates. Clearly seeking to stoke actual banning (and in some cases burning) of the offending books, Krause asked in his email: "Are these the works you want on your library shelves?"

As if this dolt's motives were initially unclear, the next night they were confirmed at a school board meeting in San Antonio. There unhinged parents accused a librarian of "poisoning" their children's minds.  Of course, none of this is new, it's been ongoing in the "land of the free" for many decades.  Most good novels, let's admit, do force readers to question their  naive beliefs and assumptions as well as the moral codes they're basing their lives on.  For some this is simply too much and in Krause's case he fretted about the books causing "anguish, guilt and making kids feel discomfort".  The edict is: "Don't dare disturb the neurons in my brain or my kid's! I don't wanna think!"  Fair enough, but does that mean you get to impose your misaligned will on everyone else?  

What irks me to the nth degree is how Texas has now gone so reactionary that one curriculum official actually went so far as to suggest teachers "should seek opposing perspectives" in their classes and reading materials, including to do with the holocaust. (This according to  recording obtained by NBC). Well, sorry, Roscoe, there are not two sides to the holocaust, only one.  The truth that up to 6 million Jews were slaughtered in Hitler's gas chambers. Deal with it!

While most of the banning naturally happens in high schools - but many of the books banned in past years are college texts, especially in sociology, or economics where some fret that "liberal" or "socialistic" notions may poison the weak little minds of their darlings. Well, whatever the hell happened to critical thinking, assessing a topic or ideology for oneself, and then rejecting it or studying it further? Looks like that has gone by the backboards, because: 

1) Too many parents feel they have a god-given right to meddle in all of their charges' doings, books, courses, even thoughts, and

 2) The religious crazies feel they must keep a tight lid on free thought, else "corruption" may spread across the land and scuttle their plans to brainwash their progeny into believing and living like they do. 

My response? Whatever happened to independence of thought? Hell, whatever happened to critical thought?  Can a kid - even a kid at an elite, independent feeder school for the Ivies - be a critical thinker if he's only allowed to read The Bible and Trump's 'Art of the Deal'?  I doubt it.

Of course the bulk of these parochial, persecutorial reactions can be explained by plain old American anti-intellectualism which - sad to say- has a long and storied history in this country. Even the power brokers and so-called Overclass contain elements that distrust a person "too smart for his own breeches" - and many of those who invest plenty of time in books, or are seen tugging them around and actually reading them are often dismissed as "oddballs" .

Author Richard Hofstadter in his terrific work,  Anti-Intellectualism in American Life puts his finger (p. 133) on: 

"Such a thing as the generically-prejudiced mind. Studies of political tolerance and ethnic prejudice have shown that zealous church-going and rigid religious faith are among the most important correlates of political and ethnic animosity." 

On this issue, Hofstadter adds (p. 135): 

"The fundamentalist mind will have nothing to do with all this: it is essentially Manichean, it looks upon the world as an arena for conflict between absolute good and absolute evil, and accordingly it scorns compromises (who would compromise with Satan) and can tolerate no ambiguities." 

What this tells us also, is that the typical repressive Rightist (who is also often a religious bigot and anti-intellectual Jasper)  will wage war against ANY idea with which he isn't 100% comfortable.  As the inanity of book banning in Texas shows, this covers a lot of books, 850 at last count, at least submitted by Texas Rep Krause.  I have broken down 100 of the most pilloried into three sub groups below: based on a flyer received for an anti-censorship group:

Look, Texas banning 850 books shouldn't sound astounding.  Given an aversion to ambiguity or moral relativism or just racism - then logically, more books will be found to condemn than accept.  Generally too, the smaller the mind or I.Q. the more eager to ban or burn.  Books are feared precisely because they can make a mental imprint and engender a change in thinking. Since most Americans already distrust thinking  - and find it too difficult themselves- they will persecute those who love to think - and read. Especially outside the lines and restrictive boxes. (Like when I read 'The Communist Manifesto' in high school.)

 But if reactionaries ban everything that makes people feel "uncomfortable"  that'll include about 99% of all books - except those which aren't extensions of bibles -  oh, or written by those gunning for "atheistic" evolution, the Big Bang theorists, or provisional moralists (say, like Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics). That the Christian evangelical reactionary emerges as the natural book banner should surprise no one. That this mind virus would infect so much of the country ought to terrify everyone.

See Also:

Conservatives seeking to ban books instead of bullets | Miami Herald

AND:

How Banning Books Marginalizes Children - The Atlantic

AND:

Education Policy

Banned Books Should Be Required Reading

by Olivia Alperstein | February 4, 2022 - 7:31am | permalink

— from OtherWords

Webb Space Telescope's Arrival At L2 Point Marks Beginning Of An Audacious Quest To Probe The Infrared Cosmos

 

                                        Webb Space Telescope - 'Exposed to space'  design

                                            Webb Telescope general layout

                          

The successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope Christmas morning  at Kourou, French Guiana in a European Ariane 5 rocket ,  was an achievement some 30 years in the making  and with nearly $8 billion in cost overruns.  But hey, who's counting when there is such vast promise of exposing the cosmos (and its origins) to humans who will literally be seeing it for the first time. 

I am referring to the fact this marvelous instrument will be 'tuned' into the ancient radiation of the universe, from a time just 400 million years after the Big Bang.  Thus, the telescope essentially works like a time machine to capture what the universe was like billions of years ago, when the first galaxies began forming. It is during this epoch when astronomers suspect the first embryonic galaxies began making the universe transparent to light, i.e. via ionization, or stripping electrons from cosmic hydrogen. 

There shouldn't be any surprise then that the Webb - to accomplish its mission - will be focused on the infrared region of the electro magnetic spectrum, specifically from 0,6 - 28.5 micrometers.  By comparison, the Hubble telescope's efforts were confined to the region 0.09 - 2.5 micrometers, or the visible spectrum.  To make this possible the Webb has a unique design shown in the top  diagram. The Webb telescope’s 21-foot mirror is comprised of 18 separate lightweight, hexagonal-shaped segments, which will unfold once the telescope is in space, according to NASA.  

Named after a former NASA director who served during the Space Race in the 1960s, the Webb telescope was developed through an international partnership of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Scientists all over the world will be using its data cooperatively. The launch site  in Guiana was chosen because of its is location near the equator, where the Earth rotates faster compared with at the North and South poles.  This combined effect will  giving the rocket the extra acceleration needed to reach the point called 'L2'  one of 5 Lagrange points, named after the mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, e.g.

As seen in the graphic, three Lagrange points (L1, L2 and L3) lie along the line of centers connecting the two major bodies, in this case the Sun and Earth.  These are called "unstable" Lagrange points, while L4 and L5 are stable points.  All the points represent locations in space where the gravitational forces of a 2-body system (e.g. Sun-Earth) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion. Locating a point of 'balance' means a spacecraft can then remain in position and reduce fuel expenditure. 

The  L1 point is currently occupied by the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory ) satellite.  In the case of the L2 point, the gravitational forces of Sun and Earth balance the centrifugal effect produced by the smaller body (Webb telescope) at the point.  Note the point is located 1 million miles on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, and the Webb will need at least one month to reach L2 and unfolding its Sun screen which will face Earth and Sun at all times,  e.g.

The phased transition of the Webb telescope to the L2 Lagrangian point.

The orbital period of an object here would normally be greater than the Earth's  (365.25 days) but the extra pull of Earth's gravity decreases the orbital period so at this L2 point it becomes equal to the Earth's. (By comparison, the Hubble telescope orbits at an altitude of roughly 375 miles above the Earth.)  Once at L2  the Webb will spend another 5 months turning on and testing its scientific instruments before collecting data.  This may seem like a long time, but a lot has to happen before it's fully functional, including:

-  The secondary mirror, which reflects light from the main mirror to the science instruments, unfolds.

- High amplification antenna begins transmitting so Webb can communicate with Earth

-  Primary mirror segments begin to open and latch in place

- At 96 days after launch, the telescope reaches its final temperature of 40 K (-233 C) for the mirrors and near infrared system to function-  and just under 7K for the mid-infrared system.

- At 118 days eighteen segments align to act as one continuous honeycomb -shaped mirror (see top diagram) 

- At 180 days the calibration of science instruments will be complete.

As gathered from the preceding steps, a major challenge will be keeping the telescope cool. It’s designed to observe distant  faint objects by detecting infrared radiation  (at 0,6 - 28.5  mm ), which requires an extremely cold operating temperature of hundreds of degrees below zero Fahrenheit.  A five-layer sun shield about the size of a tennis court will block and redirect heat from the Sun, Moon and Earth. Every shield layer is a fraction of a millimeter thick — about as thin as a human hair — and each subsequent layer is cooler than the one before it, with the space in between providing an insulating effect.

The telescope will send science and engineering data to Earth using a high frequency radio transmitter; it’s expected to begin conducting science operations about six months after launch, according to NASA.

Because the light observed is so far away, it’s also extremely old.  Because light travels at a fixed speed of 300,000 km/s,  observing distant objects in the universe means seeing them as they looked in the past.  Also, since the universe is expanding that light is stretched (toward the red end of the spectrum, or longer wavelengths) before it reaches our telescopes. For the most distant objects light that was originally emitted at shorter wavelengths is stretched all the way to the infrared. 

The telescope will send science and engineering data to Earth using a high frequency radio transmitter; it’s expected to begin conducting science operations about six months after launch, according to NASA.

Astronomy and space enthusiasts can witness take off here:

James Webb Space Telescope Launch — Official NASA Broadcast - YouTube

The "Star" of Bethlehem : Triple Conjunction, Fable...Or Maybe A "UFO" (Alien Spacecraft) ?

             Jupiter-Saturn conjunction from our back yard Dec. 21 last year.

 People even today remain fascinated by the story of the Magi and the star of Bethlehem, even many atheists and agnostics.  There are scriptural accounts of some kind of ancient astronomical phenomenon, but is it true - or simply a fable to notch up the significance of the nativity of Christ?  

Matthew 2:1-1 notes a "star" leading three wise men to Bethlehem. The exact words attributed to the Magi are: 

"For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship Him". 

 However, no other quadriform gospel utters a peep or syllable about it. Why not? If it was an actual occurrence, why didn’t any of the other New Testament authors address it? This is disturbing and makes one recall the words of a Catholic historian, the Rev. Thomas Bokenkotter, writing in his monograph:  ‘A Concise History of the Catholic Church’(page 17):

“The Gospels were not meant to be a historical or biographical account of Jesus. They were written to convert unbelievers to faith in Jesus as the Messiah, or God.”

One astronomical explanation  long since debunked is that the object in question was an actual star.  Reason? No one star - no matter its brightness (magnitude)-  would be visible long enough.   And certainly not at a fixed location or altitude such that it might provide a "search beacon".

Another conjecture that has grown in circulation over the last few decades is that of a triple conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C.   A "triple conjunction" means that Jupiter and Saturn appeared in close proximity no less than three times in succession.  One such conjunction of the two planets is shown in the top image, taken by Janice last December 21st.  While an interesting sight one is hard put to classify it as "astounding"  - certainly to the point of trying to 'follow' it to some unknown destination as the Magi were purported to do.  

Nevertheless, proponents of the idea - mainly religiously inclined astronomers - speculate that the Magi would have commenced their journey after witnessing the first conjunction ca. May 29.  They then would have  observed the 2nd conjunction on September 29 which would have established that Jerusalem was in the general direction they needed to go. Finally, a third conjunction on Dec. 4 would presumably have provided the final directional "fix", leading the trio to Bethlehem some eight kilometers away.

 Be this as it may, more modern calculations have proved that theory unlikely.  It is also difficult to fathom how such widely separated astronomical events could lead to a faithful determination of direction.

We can surmise then that the Bethlehem star story from Matthew is basically a spiritual fable, like so many others.  However, we can be certain of one thing:  over time the Christian astronomers (like one of my former physics Ph.D. advisers)  will think of other possible astronomical phenomena to explain a basically mythical event: three wise men being directed to a nativity scene some 2,000 plus years ago.

Perhaps if one insists on such a thing, some object "guiding" wise men to a special creche, it's best to go with what my late brother Jerry:

proposed 30 years ago: a hovering UFO (actually, an "Ezekiel -type spaceship") pointing the way to an alien's birth. (Whenever Jerry heard the words "God incarnate" he interpreted them as "alien incarnate." )

 Jerry's take is probably weighted by having worked in an Air Force Top Secret section at Wright-Patterson AFB  ca. 1970-71 where he insisted he'd actually witnessed the alien bodies recovered at Roswell.  He never diverged from that account.

 And he vowed to "write a book" presenting all the data, images - mostly in the form of sketches of the bodies he recalled. No photos.   He distrusted nearly all the photos claimed to be of those Roswell aliens.   He was about one- third finished with his book when he died suddenly of a ruptured abdominal aorta aneurysm on August 6th, 2016.   

His last words to me in an email contact were: "Those aliens, the same ones Christ was really a humanized front for, are coming in 2022.  You can take that to the damned bank!"

Well, we will see if his forecast - the one he also planned to deliver in his uncompleted book ('The Roswell Aliens: Solved') -  turns out to be true.  One thing for sure: to the degree humanity and the planet is spiraling into climate catastrophe, pandemic chaos, political authoritarianism and a massive rejection of reason - we may need a constructive alien intervention.

See Also:

Peace & Justice

How to Stay Hopeful in a Time of Despair

by Robert Reich | December 24, 2021 - 7:51am | permalink

— from Robert Reich's Substack

One Way To Relieve Supply Chain Labor Shortages: Allow Foreign Workers In As Permanent Residents

 One of the largest ongoing holes in the global supply chain is the severe labor shortage, spawned first by the delta, and now the omicron Covid variant. This has manifested across a span of occupations, especially in service industries and agriculture.  If no one is there to pick the crops, of whatever, then how will they be harvested and reach the trucks to take to the supermarkets?  And if no one steps forward to do the job (Americans don't want to pick fruit, for example) then expect soaring prices of fruits and veggies - and you can't complain.     

To be sure the new omicron variant has triggered travel bans and tighter restrictions on new arrivals in dozens of countries, slamming the brakes on a reopening that had been gathering pace as vaccination coverage increased and economic growth accelerated. That has resulted in a pause on a widespread effort by many advanced economies to entice foreign workers to their shores.  But still, at some point, the labor blockage must end if the global economy and markets are to survive.  Then when omicron retreats, where will the workers come from?  And what will we do in the meantime to deal with the worker shortfall?

As reported in The Denver Post yesterday, the Biden administration will make an additional 20,000 H-2B seasonal guest-worker visas available to employers ahead of the winter hiring season.  This according to the Department of Homeland Security.  These visas are being made available in addition to 33,000 visas already set aside for seasonal employers, such as landscapers, hotels and ski resorts, for the winter hiring season. They will be available to employers looking to bring on temporary workers on or before March 31.  

The move marks the first time the DHS  is offering the additional visas for the winter season, and they are desperately needed. Indeed they still may not be enough. The expected rebound in migration from several Asian countries - which provides the majority of the world's foreign workers - is far below pre-pandemic levels. This means we will need to take in migrants from what too many (e.g. the Right) regard as "less desirable" nations.  But take them in we must if the labor shortage is to be solved.

In the U.S. currently we are looking at nearly 3 million jobs in the service industry and farm agriculture which will likely never be filled by Americans.  The service industry 'hole' has been ongoing for nearly four months now -  one reason our local Burger King and barber shop has had to go to restricted hours.  Meanwhile, certain veggies and fruits (like corn, oranges, applies, grapes etc.) are in short supply because no one can be found to harvest them.  You can take away all the unemployment benefits you want but it is doubtful it will drive people to work for $8.50/ hr. at the BK, or $10 an hour at Safeway.  Or even $12 an hour harvesting onions or soybeans.  Hell, the state of Maryland can't even find enough crabbers, e.g

Border crisis affects Maryland crab industry: Here's how | wusa9.com

What to do?  

Americans have been appalled at the scenes that erupted this past summer on the Texas border  - with migrants from Haiti and even Ecuador and Cuba trying to enter the U.S.   The ever ready- to- exploit Repukes have used the scenes to gin up fear of migrants and this is reflected in the polls, with Biden taking a big hit for it.

At the same time, even some dumb left pundits are blaming Biden for the 'remain in Mexico' policy (started by Trump) failing to take notice that Biden's hands have been tied by the federal courts.  The last ruling compliments of the notorious 5th Circuit in New Orleans, to assert that the Biden administration is bound by the regressive (and unlawful) Trump policy.  

The end result?  More gridlock as regards immigration policy and very little - including appropriate visas- to ease the U.S. labor shortage.  This means even if the omicron scourge were to end by the new year severe labor shortages would remains in critical supply areas, and no end to inflation

But one solution, which came up (p. A6) in a WSJ piece from Dec. 10th, has to do with a new Canadian policy to create jobs, keep supplies moving and drive economic recovery.  What is it? According to the article:  

"Canada plans to admit a record 401,000 new permanent residents this year, about 60,000 more than pre-pandemic intake and expects to raise that further over the next two years."

This, at last, is a sane policy. And let me note here Canada has a population of just about 38 million or nearly nine times less than the U.S. Thus, if the U.S. were to try a policy of comparable magnitude  that would mean allowing in nearly3.7 million migrants to work and getting them permanent resident status.

Sadly, despite the fact that such an intake would remove nearly all the service - agriculture  labor shortfalls it will never happen. Our nation is too riven by fear and the poison of culture war politics to examine the situation and respond logically and objectively.

So even if and when the latest Covid crisis ends, it seems Americans will be more content with labor shortages, higher inflation - and even their  favorite restaurants cutting menu choices- than allowing more workers in as permanent residents. 

Meanwhile, the Census Bureau bemoaned the nation's weakest annual population growth since its founding. The U.S. as a whole gained fewer than 393,000 people, a growth rate of about 0.1%.  Predictably, right on time, the econometricians began fretting over who will do the work to provide support for Social Security, Medicare and other social insurance programs. 

William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s metropolitan policy program said:  “It tells us that this pandemic has had a huge impact on us in all kinds of ways, and now demography.”

Once there’s a handle on the pandemic, the U.S. may eventually see a decrease in deaths, but population growth likely won’t bounce back to what it has been in years past because of fewer births. 

"That will increase the need for immigration by younger workers whose taxes can support programs such as Social Security,",  according to Frey.

 But let's be clear the massive worker hesitation to return to (mainly) service jobs means a rethinking (beyond issuing H-2B seasonal visas) may have to be done. That means the only practical solution may well be to imitate Canada and issue permanent resident visas or documents. 

Interestingly, Germany may also have to consider allowing more foreign workers, as one reads in the WSJ ('Aging Germany is short on workers', p. A10) and note:

"Economists forecast that Germany’s workforce could peak as soon as 2023 and then shrink by up to five million people by the end of the decade. While the pandemic has exacerbated the trend, it is the impending retirement of the baby boomers that is fueling the labor crunch, economists say."

As I've noted in previous posts (on productivity) the problem is not too few people in the world (which also implies too few workers) but rather redistributing existing workers from labor-rich nations to labor-poor ones, like the U.S. and Germany. 

 See Also:

Brane Space: Why Labor Productivity Needs To Be Redefined And GDP Eliminated (brane-space.blogspot.com)

 

Solutions To Radio Astronomy Plasma Physics Problems (2)

 1)  A space plasma with electron number density  10 ¹² /cm ³  features a magnetic field of 0.0001 T (Tesla).  Find: a) the electron plasma frequency, b) the cyclotron frequency and c) the hybrid frequency.

Thence or otherwise find the refractive index of the plasma and whether ordinary or extraordinary wave propagation can be expected.

Solns. 

a) The electron plasma frequency:

 w _e     =  [n_e e²/ m_e  ε_o] ^½

Where:  n_e  = 10 ¹²  /cm ³  = 10 ¹⁸  /m ³

e  =  1.6 x 10^-19  C

m_e   =  9.1 x 10^-31  kg

ε _o  =  8.85 x 10^-12  F/m

Then:

 w _e  = 

 [10 ¹⁸ m^-3 (1.6 x 10^-19  C) ²  /9.1 x 10^-31  kg (8.85 x 10^-12  F/m)] ^½

w _e  = 5.63 x 10 ¹⁰   c/s

b) The cyclotron frequency:  

w _c   =  qB/ m _e

Where:  q  =  e  =  1.6 x 10^-19  C

B = 0.0001 T

m_e   =  9.1 x 10^-31  kg

Then:  w _c  = (1.6 x 10^-19  C)  0.0001 T /9.1 x 10^-31  kg 

=  1.76 x 10 ⁷   c/s

c) The hybrid frequency

w _H ² =    w _e ² +   w _c ²     

Or:   w _H    =   [  w _e ² +   w _c ² ] ^½

w _H    =   [  (5.63 x 10 ¹⁰   c/s) ² +  (1.76 x 10 ⁷   c/s) ² ] ^½

w _H    =      5.63 x 10 ¹⁰   c/s

The refractive index of the plasma can only apply to the ordinary wave since:

For the extra ordinary wave: n _x ² =   1   -   X /  ( 1 -  Y)

But:   X  =   w _e ² / w ²     and   Y  =  w _H ² / w ²

However, on computation we find:

   w _e    »    w,    w _H   »    w  =  5.63 x 10 ¹⁰   c/s

So:  X  =  1      and   Y  =  1   whence:

n _x ² =   1   -   X /  ( 1 -  Y)  =    1 -   1/ (1 -  1)  = 1 - 1/0

So:  n _x   =  [1 -  ¥] ^½       So  indeterminate

But for the ordinary wave:

n _o ² =   1   -   X /  ( 1 +  Y)

So:  n _o   =  [1 -  1/ 1 + 1] ^½   =  [1 -  1/ 2] ^½  

n _o   =  [1/ 2] ^½    

n _o   =  Ö 2 / 2 =   0.707

2)  For the plasma in (1)  and assuming condition (3) (f  > f _o )  find the amount of rotation of the plane of linear polarization expected, assuming a plasma thickness  dz =  0.15 m.

Soln.  The primary goal here is to render all units consistent.

If we use the formula given for the magnitude of rotation in radians, i.e.:  

2.38  x  10 ⁶    [ 1 /  f ²   ò n _e  H  dz ]

Then all the units must be c.g.s.

So:  n_e  = 10 ¹² cm^-3 

H =    (0.0001 T) (10,000 G/T) =  1 Gauss

f      =    Ö w / 2 p

w      =  [n_e e²/ m_e  ε_o] ^½

where: e  =   4.8  x 10  ^-10   esu (electrostatic units)

 m_e   =  9.1 x 10^-28   g

ε_{o    =}  1/ 4 p

Then after doing the computation we obtain:

f   =    Ö  5.6  x 10  ¹⁰   c/s  / 2 p  =   8.9  x 10  ⁹   c/s

Then compute:

2.38  x  10 ⁶    [ 1 /  f ²   ò n _e  H  dz ]

=  2.38  x  10 ⁶ [ 1 /  (8.9  x 10  ⁹   c/s) ²  ] 10 ¹² cm^-3 (1)  15 cm]

The  magnitude of the rotation of the linear plane of polarization is:  0.44 rad, or about 25.2 deg.