My Comment on this article was the following:
The admiral notion of self-improvement and the perhaps more-realistic notion of occupational survival have resulted in great growth and concomitant change in so-called “higher” education. My concern with tenure is not with its principles but with its misuse.
Is Paul a Hippie? A colleague suggested this because I often wear a peace badge or peace T-shirts. OK, HUAC, I may be guilty of being a Quaker pacifist revolutionary socialist, and I have been a friend and fellow traveler of a number of other peaceful revolutionary socialists over the decades, but I do affirm (I don’t swear— Quaker, remember) that I was never a hippie. (more…)
My special Memorial Day thanks are for those who have peacefully devoted their lives to the cause of peace. I hold in memory that we did NOT have WWIII with the Soviet Union and am grateful to the leadership of the peace movements (many were WWII pacifists such as A.J. Muste), who I believe did more to prevent wars and keep Korea and Vietnam from going nuclear (which almost happened), than any soldiers I know. (more…)
Genetically modified (GM) foods aren’t produced in isolation. Pollen from GM plants finds its way to conventional plants, and there are serious consequences for traditional farmers and for wild plants. GM is done for many reasons other than directly “improving” the food. (more…)
I am a regular attender at the Brandywine-sponsored Good Friday demonstration at Lockheed-Martin (and was arrested there on Good Friday a few years ago). Something unusual happened this year, as explained in the following letter that I wrote to the leaders of the Brandywine Peace Community. (more…)
I received this email today concerning a young Nepalese boy at South Philadelphia High School, as follows: (more…)
Safety and environmentalism can cost consumers a lot of money, without immediate benefit. Government can force this on the consumers, as with cars and building codes, while industry and government profit from it. But there’s no profit for industry and government in protecting the public, and so, in a capitalist dominated society…failure and disaster (earthquakes ARE a predictable event in Japan, unfortunately).
I hesitated to post my Myers-Briggs personality measure, thinking it might be egocentric (there are enough of those blogs around) and because I don’t put much weight on personality testing. But if Myers-Briggs measures can lead us to consider (or reconsider) some aspects of ourselves, they can be of value. And recently I had reason to consider that perhaps I really am INTJ and not always the sweet, agreeable guy that I tend to think I am. (more…)
The Villanova College of Arts & Sciences invites their faculty to an annual formal dinner. Putting on a tux for dinner seemed rather excessive/wasteful to this simple Quaker. But a friend had purchased one at a garage sale that happened to fit me perfectly, and so (more…)
As this article in the Economist points out, academic opportunities in the humanities appear rather dismal for procuring full-time tenure and tenure-track employment. Doctoral Degrees: The Disposable Academic http://www.economist.com/node/17723223?story_id=17723223 (more…)
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