Learning

Jon Stewart once said war is God's way of teaching Americans history. Also, it may be that large fires teach Americans about ecology and climate change. It taught me at least.

With the numerous fires burning in the Amazon rainforest I learned how important that forest is to our survival. Some have called it the "lungs of the earth." And it is interesting some politicians' reactions to the fires.

Suffice it to say that business once again sees profit where many see other, more important, things.

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Buying Greenland

The president has stated he would like to buy Greenland. It does seem like something from The Onion, but it is not.

In a way this doesn't surprise me. As a business owner who is used to getting his way, especially because of his clout and hubris, he now thinks that government is to run that way.

Yet, I will say, I do give the president kudos for being someone who is not afraid to go against the crowd. Though it does appear the crowds are getting bigger.

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Sense of Style

I was just reading some of the book, Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Dr. Steven Pinker of Harvard. So far it appears to be a great book, and judging by the numerous comments made about the book, others thought similarly.

It is refreshing to read a book about writing that is not so stern and apocalyptic. Most books on writing feel like they are preaching and that they are angry there are so many horrible writers lurking about.

What I've read so far appears to make good sense and sees writing as a skill that one can continually get better at through time and practice.

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Part III: Concerning Social Services in N.O.

Last time I talked further about some problems in the Greater New Orleans area with the implementing of social services.

I have some simple suggestions, although, maybe not easy suggestions. The main point I would make is that there has to be greater accountability for the services that are already out there. This relates to why people have such a bad view of social services. They see on TV people who head up these agencies scamming others, lying to government agencies, and generally do little good.

The problem is, simply, there is little to no accountability. Usually something askew pops up by accident (e.g., a donor notices something on his bill that is suspicious, a gov. agency does a random check only to find that most clients haven't been receiving services for months, or a disgruntled worker reports the agency).

And it is true that lots of places will do a last-minute tidying-up job so it looks like the agency is running smoothly. But, if the overseeing body does a thorough job, these type of shenanigans can usually be caught.

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