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Photos and Opinions

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Home Rule, but at what cost?

OK, I get the whole “this is our town and nobody's coming in here and telling us what to do” thing. Its a long New England tradition. In The Day we are treated to “School regionalization bills draw ire at Capitol hearing”. At the bottom of the article is a space for you to ask, “What do you want to know about regionalization?” The implication, to me, is that the paper is against regionilazation”, or, at least, their readers are. Probably a fair assumption given that “the Connecticut General Assembly website showed 714 pieces of submitted testimony on Senate Bill 738, and only two were marked as "in support."”. I can't say why they would put in support in quotes, but it backs the notion that the public does not support regionalizing their schools. Or, maybe, they just don't like the way it's being proposed, but likely it's the former. Damn socialists want to run everything.

Why are we so enamored of maintaining tiny towns with tiny school districts?  I can relate to the argument made “in a statement, Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools said that forced regionalization … is foolish and short-sighted." “… the idea this will save money has no merit, and expressed concerns about lengthy bus rides and loss of personal connections between students and teachers.” But precisely the opposite argument is closer to the truth, it will save money, that's why it has been done in so many other places. I went to a regional high school decades ago. We can argue whether is was a good or bad thing, but it was done to, and did, save money. Long bus rides? Longer for many, true. Certainly, if there is only one school building. Where I grew up there are now three school buildings, in different towns, and that shortens the ride. Does that fly in the face of regionalization? Yes, and no. The fact is that the region is still contracting services, and purchasing as a unit, which allows it to buy larger quantities, and cut per piece prices.

Finally, this appears on the same day that the New York Times publishes this “How Much Wealthier Are White School Districts Than Nonwhite Ones? $23 Billion, Report Says”, and the very fact that this is true points out the downside of keeping school districts confined to small towns where there is little mixing of kids from different areas. “Lilly Casiraghi, vice president of the Young Democrats Club at Wilton High School, spoke of how much her parents sacrificed— living in an expensive town — to keep her and her sisters in the school district."We should not be penalized because of our success, and we should not have to subsidize less efficient towns in any way," she said.” Which is the real problem here, we don't want to pay to educate “those people”. Why do we keep separating ourselves into smaller, and smaller, groups, when it is obvious that we can accomplish so much more together. That starts by understanding one another, and that will not happen if we keep ourselves, and our children, isolated.

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Another Billionaire

Well, here we go, again. Another billionaire running for President. I can hardly wait until he tells us that only he can fix what is wrong with the system, and then promises to drain the swamp. By now both parties should have learned the lesson that 3rd party candidates are spoilers for one side or the other. In this case Mr. Schultz will be a spoiler for Democrats, as they have recognized, his plan already drawing ire from the likes of “David Axelrod, the former adviser to President Barack Obama, and Tina Podlodowski, the Democratic Party chairwoman in Washington state, where Schultz has lived for decades.” [1]

It's so tempting for CEO's to think that “if only the country could be run like (my) business, it would be better”. What Trump voters should have learned, but have not, is that government is not a business. Given the way businesses are run now, with the eye only for the next quarter's results, negates the possibility of building for the future. It obscures slow moving problems, like climate change, that are  threats to the entire planet, and focuses on politics and polls. We now have a president (sorry, can't capitalize it when referring to the current occupant of the White House) who really does attempt to run the country the way he runs his business; he appoints people to high office based on whether they look the part (to him); he brings his family into the government, in spite of the obvious reasons why this is not done; he governs by tweet. I think the picture is clear. None of this says that a Howard Schultz Presidency would be more of the same, but you would still have a President with no experience in government, and no idea how to make it work.

In the 21st century, all elections are change elections. The public is now so jaded to “politics as usual” that we have been stuck with stupid. Don't get me wrong, we are in dire need of change. But it needs to be organized change, and it must work for the entire nation, and it's population. We can no longer afford to fatten the rich and hope they will excrete money the rest of us can suckle. Trickle down economics is a proven lie.

Mr. Schultz, please continue to support people who have the ability to make at least some of the changes the nation needs. Democrats are our only hope now. The current Republican party has no interest in governing. And do not run for President, you are not the one who can do the job. Being better than Trump is a very low bar. We need more.

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Trump said WHAT?

This is one of those things that should be true, but its not. If it were he would have been hugely prescienct, as he has been proving the truth of the statement for the past year.

But here is evidence that we should fear. In her article for The New Yorker, Jane Mayer tells us about the regret of Tony Schwartz, the actual author of 'The Art of the Deal'. Mayer writes that, “Edward Kosner, the former editor and publisher of New York, where Schwartz worked as a writer at the time, says, “Tony created Trump. He’s Dr. Frankenstein.” Schwartz was fearful even at the time he was writing the book. Mayer reports that Schwartz's journal from 1986 includes the entry, “All he is is ‘stomp, stomp, stomp’—recognition from outside, bigger, more, a whole series of things that go nowhere in particular”. “Lying is second nature to him,” according to Schwartz.

Mayer's article should be required reading for anyone who plans to vote, and maybe especially for anyone planning not to vote out of frustration engendered by the political process.

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Eddie's String Theory

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Now here's one from the archives. Sleepy John Estes - Smithsonian Folklife Festival - 1973 #blackandwhite #monochrome #blues #music

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Death Row

In March 2015 on a trip to Philadelphia, PA, USA we visited Eastern State Penitentiary. This will be the last posting of images in this series. To see the entire series go here: http://goo.gl/LXmJtu

'Death Row' – Cellblock 15 was the last block built at ESP. It opened in 1959 and was used as punishment, in addition to a waiting room for death. The grand original concept of solitary confinement as a method of inducing penitence and rehabilitation was long abandoned.

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Phantom Medic

Just over a year ago on a trip to Philadelphia, PA, USA we visited Eastern State Penitentiary. Thanks to everyone for liking. Sharing is also good. There are just two more.

'Phantom Medic' – This is a fairly common view of the medical ward shot by many visitors to ESP. In my version I believed there was a ghostly apparition in the center. What do you see?

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Mops & Stairs

Just over a year ago on a trip to Philadelphia, PA, USA we visited Eastern State Penitentiary. Over the next several days I will post a few images from that visit. I hope you will find them worth a look.

'Mops & Stairs' – Mops stand ready in their stand under the stairway. A wooden stand nearby contains interpretive signage, one of few indications that this is preserved as a museum, of sorts. Most of the complex is still in quite abandoned condition and little work has been done even to clean up some areas.

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Basement Level

Just over a year ago on a trip to Philadelphia, PA, USA we visited Eastern State Penitentiary. Over the next several days I will post a few images from that visit. I hope you will find them worth a look.

'Basement Level' - A bitterly cold day following a snow & ice storm the night before and another, bigger, one on the way gave us just a few hours to see ESP. Snow is on the floor of the lowest level of cells, and tiny icicles on the metal bars installed in the ceiling to prevent inmates from jumping from above.

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Eastern State Penitentiary #4

'Escape' – On April 3, 1945 over a dozen men attempted a break through this tunnel from Cell 68, Cell Bock 7. Among the would be escapees was the notorious bank robber, 'Slick' Willie Sutton. Sutton was reputed to have once replied to the question, why do you rob banks with a dry, “Because that's where the money is”.

#abandoned #monochrome #prison

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'Room 101' In Orwell's '1984' Room 101 is a torture chamber in the Ministry of Love, in which the Party attempts to subject a prisoner to his or her own worst nightmare, fear or phobia, with the object of breaking down their resistance. "You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world." In the penitentiary the prisoner (penitent) was supposed to come to terms with his crime. In the vaulted, skylit cell, the prisoner had only the light from heaven, the word of God (the Bible) and honest work to lead to penitence. #abandoned #EasternStatePenitentiary #philadelphia #georgeorwell #1984

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Just over a year ago on a trip to Philadelphia, PA, USA we visited the Eastern State Penitentiary. Over the next several days I will post a few images from that visit. I hope you will find them worth a look.

'Cell Block 2'  The British-born architect of Eastern State, John Haviland, wrote of the Penitentiary as a 'machine for reform'. He employed 30-foot, barrel vaulted hallways, tall arched windows, and skylights throughout.

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Just over a year ago on a visit to #Philadelphia, PA, USA we visited the #EasternStatePenitentiary. Over the next several days I will post a few images from that visit. I hope you will find them worth a look. Today's offering is called 'Right This Way'. The staircase leads to the 2nd floor of Cell Block 2, as the steps ominously darken in your ascent to your new home. #abandoned #staircase #monochrome

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http://goo.gl/NcJpNb This is an interesting article. As a self admitted baby boomer who has embraced pretty much every new technology that's come along since the middle of the 20th century I also find it interesting that so many millennials are attracted to 'old' technology. Vinyl records have made a big comeback, so have film cameras and the reintroduction of Polaroid film for use in vintage cameras. Some photographers embrace even older forms: wet plate collodion, tintypes and daguerreotypes. Sometimes users of dry darkroom software emulate these old film 'looks', I've done it, and while its a deliberate action rather than a happenstance occurrence the result is not that different. I tend to think that there is just as much work involved in achieving the result in either case, just that the digital version doesn't require all the messy chemicals that seem to impart 'authenticity' to the older technology. It seems an odd dichotomy to watch a person using a smart phone while decrying the loss of authenticity created by digital technology. Am I the only one scratching my head about this? #wetplatecollodionlook #oldschool #nofilter #millennials

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'Support the Crossing'. With so many of the 20th century's support systems already past their design parameters what happens to these structures in the 21st century? Are bridges just the 'tip of the iceberg'? As we cross over the top side, the feats of engineering and architecture often go ignored until disaster strikes. #bridge #steel #decay #20thcentury #architecture #engineering

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The last of the series, 'The Wheel has Turned' from the Ledyard Up Down Saw Mill. This is an interesting old place and I expect to be back there when it is operating, and to offer more views. ---------------------------------------------------------------- #ledyard #rustic #connecticut #lenswork

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'Gearing' Number 3 in this short series shows a closer view of the water powered main gear and it's power transfer gears. When the sluice gate is opened the drive starts to turn and brings the 'Up Down' saw mill to life once again. --------------------------------------------- #ledyard #rustic #connecticut #rust #gear