The Passing of Carrie Rozelle: The End of an Era

The disabled community within the United States received some sad news earlier in the week, the New York Times reported the death of Carrie Rozelle. Her death marks the passing of one most powerful voices for the disabled in the United States. Though I never met Mrs. Rozelle, her influence could be felt and seen from New York to Texas to Alaska and even into the corridors of power in Washington D.C.

In June of 2000 I participated in the 2000 National Leadership Conference for Youth with Disabilities, at the conference much of the discussion surrounding the plight of those individuals with learning disabilities revolved around the programs Mrs. Rozelle founded and the ease with which they could be adapted and implemented in other regions of the United States.

Mrs. Rozelle's death marks the end of an era and the start of another. We the disabled community have a duty and a responsibility to ensure the legacy of Mrs. Rozelle remains ever vibrant and undiminished.

Engagement: An Official Announcement

My girlfriend J, and I are now officially engaged. As many of my readers know I proposed in February but, at that time I did not possess sufficient funds to purchase an engagement ring. Due to some good fortune on the stock market my investments provided returns large enough to allow for the purchase of a ring while, maintaining the integrity of my savings account.

So, I purchased the ring and presented it to her last night at a romantic dinner.
For those of you who are wondering the wedding will occur at the earliest in December 2008.

The Supreme Court and Chess: A Question

Several years ago the Oyez Project in conjunction with Justia developed a game called Oyez Baseball it is an expanded and updated version of a game devised in 1979 by Profesor Robert M. Cover called "The Law-Baseball Quiz" which debuted in April of 1979.

Both versions of the game compared baseball players Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States of America in an efort to enhance knowledge of the personalities that make up the high court,

The nature of the game makes me wonder whether it is possible to develop a game that involves chess players on the master and grandmaster levels with the jurists that have been members of the high court?

Chess and Politics Part II: Civility in politics

I fear the Congress and the President as institutions have in large measure forgotten the importance of decorum, respect, fair play civility and honor. I find the increasing trend towards winning every vote using whatever tactics and stratagems necessary to achieve the win regardless of however questionable to be quite disturbing.

For twenty-seven years I have been following politics during those years I noticed that the only time the Congress and the President refrained from promoting their own self interests and subverted the concerns of their states placing national concerns before them for any length of time occurred during the periodic governmental shutdowns that characterized the 1980's and the early 1990's, during times of national tragedy or crisis. At all other times it seems as though the mantra of Government has become anything goes.

The attitudes exhibited by the Congress and the Office of the President reminded me of an epigram given by Dr. Emanuel Lasker, the World Chess Champion from 1894 to 1920, Dr.
Lasker once remarked:

Chess is above all a fight.

It could be argued that politics like chess is a fight in the sense that both are contests in which opponents seek to obtain an advantage over each others often relying on combinations and other techniques to achieve their ends. Further there are numerous examples in both politics and chess illustrate the tendencies of master class politicians and chess players to promote their own self interests at the expense of the public at large. Having said that I should note that their have been individuals such as Jeanette Rankin and Edmund Ross who valued honor, decorum, civility, respect and principle. In this way they were akin to Carl Schelecter and Geza Maróczy chess players who valued fair play and honor over a win under questionable circumstances. The powers that be would do well to take to heart the lessons of these individuals who valued fair play and honor over a win under questionable circumstances.

Education and Culture

The trend of increasing globalization mandates an educational experience that is culturally diverse in nature to enable the teachers and students from the majority to develop an understanding of the natal culture of minority students and successfully bridge the divide between the two cultures. The wisest and most learned of teachers recognize the need for multicultural education because as Mohandas K. Ghandi observed:

No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.

Before an education can begin an individual must possess a rudimentary degree of understanding and self awareness of their own cultural perspective and philosophy.
Education at its most fundamental level is the expansion of the minds of students through the infusion of new thoughts, ideas, concepts and processes as Oliver Wendell Holmes pointed out:

One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

The stretching of the mind to encompass the acquisition of new cultural experiences occurs most readily through use of direct experiences that possess a sense and feeling of meaning for the individuals, are those involving interactions between an individual and other individuals from diverse backgrounds including ethnic and linguistic minorities as well as interactions with individuals possessing learning and physical disabilities. These interactions permit the development a greater degree of cultural sensitivity and foster the growth of the spirit, which is in and of itself is a hallmark of culture according to Jawaharlal Nehru:

Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.

Educators who seek to widen their own horizons or those of their students must do so with the greatest care being taken because as with all things an education begun prematurely can be quite dangerous because, the mind may not be able to cope with the knowledge that accompanies new ideals, concepts, and processes as Oliver Wendell Holmes illustrated:

Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned.

The use of unseasoned knowledge that results from an education which is begun too early to be accompanied by understanding often leads to the loss of both cultural identity of awareness of the majority, and the denigration of the culture of the minority culture. If the proper care is not devoted to education the end result is an education that is contrary to the aims of multicultural education as Edward T. Hall asserted:

We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand
the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you
understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose
your own culture.

The Usefulness of Learning Style Inventories

Using learning styles inventories to determine the learning styles of individuals is to a certain extent subjective in nature because, the responses to the questions are largely qualitative in nature. The use of qualitative questions and responses raises the following question in my mind: Can the use of qualitative questions and responses accurately develop a quantitative picture of an individual and their learning habits? I would argue that the picture of an individual developed through the use of such tests remains to a degree subjective in nature because, such tests are by their nature are reliant on the opinions of the test taker. In order to be the most effective the test administrator must bear in mind the inherent subjectivity of the tests and must not rely completely on the results of such tests, in order to maximize the usefulness of the information gathered from the results should be weighed and balanced against the observations of the teacher.

My Thoughts on Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s work related to cognitive development theory fully realized the general stages of cognitive development postulated by James Mark Baldwin. While, the divisions proposed by Piaget are generally sound. I find that the theory as advanced by the Piaget and pure Piagetians too simplistic because, the theory as advanced by them is illustrate is indicative of a smooth and fluid developmental pathway . Cognitive behavioral development is in truth a difficult, arduous, and lengthy process the pure Piagetians when developing the theory never anticipated or provided for the phenomenon of decalage which are unpredicted gaps in the developmental process and never provided any means or method of explaining the gaps.

Additionally, the theory as constructed initially by Piaget and his early disciples consisted of the four stages: Sensorimotor (years 0–2); Preoperational (years 2–7); Concrete operational (years 7–11); Formal operational (years 11–adulthood); with each stage possessing many half-stages. Piaget and the pure Piagetians used a broad and general set of domains when constructing the theory that did not take into account the possible existence of developmental stages beyond formal operational stage or of a stage that precedes the onset of the preoperational stage, subsequent research has demonstrated two things: One, that the majority of these half-stages are in fact full developmental stages. Two, research has provided sufficient evidence to support the existence of stages beyond the formal operational stage and prior to the beginning of the preoperational phase.

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky argued that the person possesses a zone of proximal development; Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development as the gap between student’s actual developmental level as determined through the ability of the student to engage in problem solving and the potential developmental level when influenced by their interaction with peers and adults.

. . . The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined
through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more
capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86)

The primary difference between Piaget and Vygotsky laid within their differing views and attitudes towards the exact nature and role of culture especially the idea of cultural mediation through the use of artifacts and symbols in the developmental process.

Having said that it cannot be denied that zone of proximal development exists, the main question that must be considered remains the degree to which cultural mediation affects and influences cognitive development.

I do not ascribe fully to either theorem, in my mind in order to be truly effective the Piagetian cognitive development theorem must be considered bearing the emendations of the Neo and Post Piagetians to the original theory in mind without these revisions the theory becomes useless. The most effective system in my mind would be one that uses Erikson’s model of psychosocial development, while taking into account Neo and Post Piagetian cognitive development theory, Vygotsky’s definition of the zone of proximal development, and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Locard's Principle: A Political Application

A recent discussion about Senatorial politics raised the following two questions in my mind:

1. Can the principle of transference that is the foundation of Locard's Exchange Theory be applied metaphysically to politicians as a result of their interactions and exchanges?

2 If so could it be argued in a metaphysical sense that the moderates, centrists and independents could be construed as metaphysical examplars of the validity of transference on the basis of their position on the political spectrum?

Chess and Politics

Many amateur chess players, myself included tend to over utilize the queen.

As I have grown older and matured I have come to realize that over use of the queen in chess game has the following consequences:

First, most novice players tend operate under the fallacy that queen is omnipotent and capable of winning the game without assistance, this error often leads to disaster.

Second, the use of queen alone and unassisted over extends her, draining her power and lessening her effectiveness.

Third, the dimuntion of the power of the queen in conjunction with the dimminishment of her influence and control over the board often results in a zugszwang situation that results in the loss of the queen and other less powerful pieces ultimately hastening checkmate.

The same holds true in politics many would do well to remember Theodore Roosevelt's maxim of speak softly and carry big stick. I believe it significant that Teddy Roodevelt placed speaking before using the stick, a metaphor for the war making powers.

In doing so Roosevelt reaffirmed the belief of the Founders that the war powers, should only be invoked andexercised as a last resort when persuasion, negotiation, and all other avenues have failed to achieve the foreign policy goals of the United States, and only then after due deliberation with great care, caution, and due diligence being given to the objectives and outcomes.

A reflection on the Passing of Claudia Alta Johnson

The passing of Lady Bird Johnson earlier in the week marks the passing of an icon.

Her death means that last of the true anti segregationist liberal Democrats from Texas aligned with Sam Rayburn, Alan Shivers, and Henry B. Gonzales has passed away and that the Texas has experienced the end of an era.

She was untill the end of her life a patriot and a great lady with the power to curb her volatile and fire-eating husband.

There is not Texan be they Democrat, Republican, or Independent who would speak ill of Mrs. Johnson she earned and commanded the respect of all.

Freedom of Press and Speech: Some Random Thoughts

Many years ago made by a Judge Billings Learned Hand in a speech called The Preservation of Personality in 1927.

Our dangers, as it seems to me, are not from the outrageous but from the
conforming; not from those who rarely and under the lurid glare of obloquy upset
our moral complaisance, or shock us with unaccustomed conduct, but from those,
the mass of us, who take their virtues and their tastes, like their shirts and
their furniture, from the limited patterns which the market offers.

The issues raised by the debate over whether the Harry Potter series should be banned from public schools I find intriguing. Both the pro and anti Harry Potter groups involved in cureent legal challenges have expressed a wide array of viewpoints that represent the opposing ends of the sociopolitical spectrum and the many shades of gray in between resulting in many intensely heated exchanges and debates concerning freedoms of press and speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Despite their differences, there exists at least one point upon which both parties would agree as a matter of principle.

I believe that both sides would agree that each is party is entitled to possess their own opinion
Any attempt to mandate or make compulsory a single opinion must be regarded as an anathema. Every conservative, liberal, moderate or independent regardless of social, economic or political leanings would concur with Voltaire's long held maxim:

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it.

However, the clamor that Harry Potter series has caused amongst the religious conservatives especially in the Deep South for example in Gwinnett County Georgia endangers the ability of
the Republic to endure because, the tensions over this issue have polarized the populace and resulted in cause being brought before a court of law.

The fact that a dispute over a series of books that began its life as an issue at school board meeting has evolved into a court case and made its way into a legal setting is deeply disturbing to me.

It seems to me the continued endurance and health of the Republic requires that individuals take great care and remain wary of utilizing the legal system to impose through force of law an individual viewpoint as Robert Jackson eloquently pointed out in 1943:

Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves
exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the
unanimity of the graveyard. Barnette v. West Virginia (1943)

Texts that should be required reading

The Federalist Papers

Joseph Story's

• Commentaries on the Constitution
• The Writings of John Marshall, late Chief Justice of the United States, upon the Federal Constitution, Boston, 1839.

Alexis de Tocqueville's

• Democracy in America

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

• The Common Law
• The Path of the Law

What is Truth?

Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary defines truth in the following manner:

Main Entry: truth Pronunciation: 'trüthFunction: nounInflected Form(s): plural truths /'trü[th]z, 'trüths/Etymology: Middle English trewthe, from Old English trEowth fidelity; akin to Old English trEowe faithful -- more at TRUE1 a archaic : FIDELITY, CONSTANCY b : sincerity in action, character, and utterance 2 a (1) : the state of being the case : FACT (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality b : a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true thermodynamics> c : the body of true statements and propositions 3 a : the
property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality b chiefly
British : TRUE 2 c : fidelity to an original or to a standard4 capitalized, Christian Science : GOD - in truth : in accordance with fact : ACTUALLY http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

My problem with the definitons set forth by Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries is that the definitions are only partially correct.

I argue that the definitons of truth and falsehood contained in the dictionary capture in part actual definitions of such concepts because, while the definitions can illustrate the various aspects of truth or falsehood that are objective only.

The definitons of these terms cannot illuminate the subjective portions of the concepts of truth or falsity. Inherent within these terms there exists a degree of subjectivity, in the sense that the preception of what truth and faslehood acutally are, is dependent upon the point of view of an individual whose perceptions of truth and falsity will be affected by the cultural lens of an individual.

Only one thing I am certain of, and that is the fact that whats truth is for one indivdual may not be so for another.

Locard's Exchange Theory

Professor Edmond Locard wrote the following in the early years of the twentieth century:

Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even
unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him. Not only his
fingerprints or his footprints, but his hair, the fibers from his clothes, the
glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the paint he scratches, the blood or
semen he deposits or collects. All of these and more, bear mute witness against
him. This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement
of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual
evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it cannot
be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can
diminish its value. - Professor Edmond Locard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locard%27s_principle

Locard was primarily focused on trace evidence of a physical nature, yet, I would argue that the perpetrator or perpetrators of a crime or series of crimes leave their victim or victims with trace evidence that is not visible to the eye. I would argue that these latent traces are left on the minds, hearts and very souls of victims.

I would also argue that the converse is also true in that I would that victims of crimes leave invisible marks on the perpetrators of crimes that when discovered confirm the guilt of the criminal.

A Foil to Tehran's Nuclear Plans

I tend to think that both the Jordanians and Israelis are exceptionally concerned by Iranian nuclear ambitions.

Before Iran is allowed to dominate the region the Israelis and Jordanians will work in concert to neutralize the threat posed by the Iranians.

There exists precedent for such cooperative action.

On 21 March 1968 the IDF with the express permission of King Hussein of Jordan launched operations against the PLO based at Al-Karameh.

Two years later in September of 1970 with the aid of the Jordanian Army, IDF, the Israeli Air Force and the United States Navy succeeded forcing the Syrian and Iraqi Army armored brigades that sought to reinforce the PLO forces waging war against the Jordanian government at the time to withdraw forcing the PLO to retreat into Lebanon.

It seems likely that Iranian intransigence over its nuclear program could foster the same sort of cooperation that I outlined above. I would also assert that it is likely that if a moderate Sunni nation such as Jordan developed a nuclear program especially with Israeli and American aid it could serve as a powerful deterent to Iran and the Wahabi of Saudi Arabia.

Further the United States government has given its blessing to the proposed Jordanian program according to the Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) — The US State Department indicated that it had no
objection to a plan by Jordan to develop a nuclear programme for peaceful
purposes, the Associated Press reported.
Deputy spokesman Tom Casey, without
mentioning Jordan by name, said every country that adheres strictly to the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) "has the right to develop civilian
nuclear power for the benefit of their people”. Casey commented Friday in
response to an announcement by King Abdullah Jordan was “actually looking at
nuclear power for peaceful and energy purposes”. “We've been discussing it with
the West. I personally believe that any country that has a nuclear programme
should conform to international regulations and should have international
regulatory bodies that check to make sure that any nuclear programme moves in
the right direction,” the King told Akiva Eldar of Israel’s Haaretz newspaper on
Friday.
“…The rules have changed on the nuclear subject throughout the whole
region. Everybody's going for nuclear programmes. The Egyptians are looking for
a nuclear programme. The GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman] are looking at one….” The US offered to help Egypt
with nuclear technology after President Hosni Mubarak announced his country
would revive plans for a nuclear programme, shelved in the aftermath of the 1986
accident at the Soviet nuclear plant in Chernobyl, according to the AP. Two
months later, the leaders of the oil-rich GCC said they would consider starting
a joint nuclear programme for peaceful purposes. Some Arab countries complained
for years over Israel's nuclear programme and alleged arsenal, but it never
prompted them to seek programmes of their own. Israel is believed to have an
arsenal of several hundred warheads, though it has never officially confirmed
it. Arabs repeatedly called for its weapons to be eliminated.
Asked if he was
saying that he expected Israel to join the NPT, the Monarch said: “What's
expected from us should be a standard across-the-board. We want to make sure
this is used for energy. What we don't want is an arms race to come out of this.
As we become part of an international body and its international regulations are
accepted by all of us, then we become a united front.”
The Islamic Action
Front, Jordan’s largest opposition group, on Saturday backed King Abdullah’s
plan, according to an IAF official.
“The IAF highly appreciates King
Abdullah's call for having a nuclear programme because this issue is a question
of national consensus,” IAF spokesperson Rahil Gharaibeh said in a statement.
“All Arab countries should be interested in the possession of this technology
because the foe number one of the Arab and Muslim world already owns this
technology, including its military branch which it uses to threaten our security
and stability.”
The AP quoted analysts as saying that Iran's progress in
building its nuclear facilities sparked a rush among some Arab countries to look
at programmes of their own, raising the possibility of a dangerous proliferation
of nuclear technology — or even weapons — in the volatile region.
Some Sunni Arabs already expressed concern over Iranian influence in Iraq and Lebanon. Now they fear that the mainly Shiite Persian nation could develop warheads to back
its growing power in the Middle East, the AP said.
The US, its allies and Security Council sanctions imposed last month failed to dissuade Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from halting atomic plans, which Tehran say are
peaceful. Any significant Arab nuclear programme is likely years away, and
some observers are sceptical that cash-strapped countries have the resources for
powerful facilities. But simply announcing the intention could be meant as a
signal to Iran that its ties to Arab nations will suffer over its nuclear drive
— and to the United States that its Arab allies are concerned. http://www.jordantimes.com/sun/homenews/homenews1.htm

The presence of facilities at Inshas, and Al-Dabah, and Dimona in Israel, as well as the proposed facility in Jordan should be sufficient to deter Iran or Syria from taking or making any provocative actions that could result in a detirioration of the situation in the Middle East.

Godspeed Mayor Kollek

On 2 January 2007 Teddy Kollek died at the age of 95. While Teddy Kollek firmly believed that Jerusalem should be united under Israeli control, he advocated coexistence with and tolerance for the predominantly Arabic population of East Jerusalem.

Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, a Palestinian intellectual and longtime Jerusalem resident,
said Kollek's relations with Jerusalem's Palestinians were complex, but he
earned their grudging respect for rising to the challenge of his
office.
"Previous mayors were nobody in Jerusalem. They sat around in their
offices not knowing what Jerusalem meant," Abdul-Hadi said. "Teddy Kollek knew
what Jerusalem meant to the world ... very few people will grasp that
opportunity and grasp that moment, that event and take advantage of it."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/02/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Obit_Kollek.php

His moderate position in the stream of Israeli politics was virtually unique when he was first elected Mayor of Jerusalem in 1965 and his calls for restraint during and in the aftermath of the Six Days War prevented the complete destruction of the Arab neighborhoods and the forced relocation of Arabic residents of East Jerusalem.

The complexities he demonstrated definitely made him one of the most intriguing figures in history.