Jim Fedako Archive

The Rise and Fall of Society: a live blog

November 9, 2009 9:47 PM by Jim Fedako

A bow to Chodorov, and then a hasty exit from the ring

I think I knew from the very beginning he would have the best of me. Not that I wouldn't venture into the ring and stand my ground, full of pride in my own possibilities. But it was obvious from the start that his powerful stature and lengthy reach would easily deliver strikes capable of staggering me to no relief.

It ended up a short fight. For two rounds I held my own. Or so my story goes. You may have seen the first two rounds and think otherwise. Yet for those two rounds I dreamed a chance -- the challenger's fatal conceit.

With Chodorov, distilling his writing into summary quotes is a challenge best reserved for the foolish. And I had played the fool.

I did what I could to delay the start, but I finally took the bell for round three. I stepped toward him and saw his stance. His style was something to behold. I took a second step and once again felt the doubt that separates champion from journeyman.

In the previous rounds, I had wanted to fold into a literary rope-a-dope and let Chodorov pound himself into exhaustion. But the rope-a-dope defense of simply copying full chapters is not permitted the live blogger. In each round, I had to throw my own punches in order to be allowed to continue the fight.

Without a defense and no offence, drained and tired, I took my pounding in that third round without even raising a hand. I took a dive and threw the fight.

Chodorov won, and only I am shocked.

I simply ask that the reader take a walk with Chodorov. It sure beats facing him in the ring.

Note: The challenge is here. The rounds are here and here.

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A little help from my friends

October 26, 2009 10:44 PM by Jim Fedako

I'm wrestling with this: Either I go to my polling station next Tuesday, sign in, and vote for no one; or I skip voting altogether.

No vote: This means that I will contribute to the undercount, which, if high enough, sends a powerful message. Politicians see a no vote as a vote of no confidence -- no confidence in the candidate(s), voting systems, the political system, and government in general, you name it. If everyone in my precinct showed up and cast no vote, it would be big news.

No voting: Voting is a waste of time since my singular vote will never carry an election. And even if my selected candidate wins, the final results (the subsequent actions of government) are never in my favor. But if everyone in my precinct didn't vote, that too would send a powerful message.

In general, politicians see nonvoting as a statement of the times -- people are busy. A low turnout does not rock any boats. A high no vote, however, does. Trust me.

As a former minor political hack (local school board member), I know that folks look to see how many votes were cast out of the total number of voters showing up at the polls. It is a real sign of weakness when an unopposed candidate has a high no vote count. He or she will likely face competition at the next election. But do I really care about that?

Of course, my quandary is of no real significance since a singular vote never influences anything, even when voting for no one. But it still bothers me all the same.

Ok. So no vote or no voting? I have seven days to decide.

Continue reading "A little help from my friends" »

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Of course, they are the government's schools

October 24, 2009 9:57 PM by Jim Fedako

"The U.S. Census Bureau has created a Census in Schools program called 2010 Census: It's About Us. The program will provide educators with resources to teach the nation's students about the importance of the census so children can help deliver this message to their families." U.S. Census Bureau

Little Johnny sits attentively in his seat. Being in first grade, Johnny is very impressionable. And he really wants to please his teacher. So he gladly listens and repeats everything she says, taking it to heart as well as any young child can.

For her part, Ms. Jones believes in education. She hasn't engaged in the debate over the role of government in schools. She just wants to help her students succeed as best she knows how.

So when she receives a package of lesson plans from the U.S. Census Bureau, Ms. Jones doesn't even think to read between the lines. Instead, she decides to integrate the census into her social studies curriculum. It's topical and her students seem interested.

Ms. Jones reads the first lesson plan and follows the instructions:

Continue reading "Of course, they are the government's schools" »

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