in loco parentis

     In loco parentis is Latin for "in the place of a parent". This is the legal doctrine that assigns to schools and their employees responsibility for the physical safety of children. Schools are responsible not only for the safety of the child in the school, but for the safety of the child going to school and returning from school. If a school child misses the bus, for example, the school has to make sure that the child gets home safely. It may not simply say "that's too bad, you'll have to walk".
     In loco parentis does not grant any "rights" to schools or their employees--not even in states where corporal punishment of students ( hitting or spanking ) is permitted.

measures of volume

     Measures of volume confuse a lot of people, but it just takes a bit of practice or experience. Our measures were supposed to have been all metric by 1980, they told us in the 1970's, but even that won't help with older books, movies, or recipes. For example--
We still sell gasoline by the gallon. A gallon is equal to 4 quarts ( quarters of a gallon ). A quart is not exactly equal to a, liter, but it's roughly the same.
Alcoholic beverages were traditionally sold by the "fifth", or fifth of a gallon. A "fifth" of a gallon might be labelled four-fifths of a quart--the same thing. So there were five "bottles" of alcohol to the gallon.
Milk is also still sold by the gallon, by the half-gallon, the quart, the pint, or the cup. Each of these is half of the next larger--2 cups make a pint
                         2 pints make a quart
                         2 quarts make a half-gallon
                         2 half-gallons make a gallon.
Cups were divided into ounces, 8 to the cup, or 128 to the gallon.
Liquids sold in liter-sized bottles are an attempt to approximate these familiar measures, so we have 3/4 of a liter, or 750 milliliters ( the same thing ), and so on. The metric system uses tenths, so a liter can be divided into centiliters ( cl's--100ths ) or milliliters ( ml's--1,000ths ).

dictionaries

     Dictionaries, I am fond of dictionaries. Everything that has ever been written is in the dictionary. The people who write dictionaries, called lexicographers, rely on usage to decide what to put in the dictionary. If someone coins a new word, and it becomes popular, it is included in the next edition of the dictionary. You may see evidence of this when you use the dictionary to decide which word to use, particularly in the case of commonly misused words. If enough people "switch" or exchange one word for another, the dictionary may report, in its next edition, that this is now current usage. An American dictionary rarely makes recommendations--it merely reports on common usage, in true democratic fashion.
     You may sometimes come across a piece of writing that is for the most part carefully and correctly done ( precise and understandable ), in which the author at last uses an unusual word, taking the dictionary as a style guide--which it isn't. The unusual word may be used awkwardly, or used not taking into account its precise meaning ( some English teachers have it that there are no synonyms ). The sentence containing the offending word is awkward and difficult to understand, because the author has not learned the "word" through usage ( reading, and lots of it ), but from using a thesaurus or dictionary to avoid seeming repetitive. The definition given by a dictionary or thesaurus in a few words, rarely takes account of the fine nuances of usage--and we find the author annoying. Dictionaries are perfect for spelling, and for looking up the meaning of words that you are reading--but they aren't style manuals, and shouldn't be used as usage guides.

for next time

VOTE FOR NOBODY

Nobody will keep election promises.
Nobody will listen to your concerns.
Nobody will help the poor and unemployed.
Nobody cares.
If nobody is elected, things will be better for everyone.

NOBODY TELLS THE TRUTH

( read on a wall--author unknown )

veterans day

     I am not a veteran. My dad was a WWII veteran. So were several other family members, including some of my aunts ( great-aunts ). When my dad died, in the 1990's, I found the letter that Harry Truman sent him after the war, to thank him for serving his country. I guess it was something sent to every returning serviceman, but my dad kept it all those years, although he had few souvenirs. And tucked in my dad's wallet, with his driver's license, was his discharge card from the army. I'll never know now why my dad kept that in his wallet for almost 50 years--maybe he was afraid the army would come back for him.

voting rights

     Voting in the United States is still called voting by "secret ballot", even though we vote with electronic machines now. You may be asked about your vote by pollsters, by friends, or even by your employer, but there is no legal or court process through which anyone may demand that you disclose your vote. Some people don't mind talking to pollsters on a TV camera. Other people never even tell their husbands or wives about their voting decisions. The prohibition of cameras or any recording devices in the polling place is part of the system of secret ballots. No one should be intimidated into voting or not voting for anyone, for fear of publicity of any kind--not even on social media. Our local news and editorials recently printed complaints from people who hadn't noticed that cameras were forbidden until this November's election. When asked to delete the pictures, the complaining party seemed to think the election staffers were being personal, mean, or unreasonable. We vote for our laws, and we vote to have them enforced. We tax ourselves to pay for that law enforcement.. Breaking the laws to make a "point" is unreasonable. "Laws only apply to other people" is also unreasonable. "I'd object if anyone did this to me, but I'm sure it's okay for me to do it to someone else" is more unreasonable yet. Vote, write, speak, campaign. Convince the majority to see things your way--but don't break the law doing it.

off to the races

    An election is often called a political race. Some of the terms in common use are borrowed from horse racing, and from betting on horse racing. A candidate may be said to be a "dark horse", for example. A "dark horse" is the horse no one paid any attention to--they didn't even know his name. While they were arguing over the "favorites", the "dark horse" won. 
     A candidate may be said to "come from behind"--that is, to start out at the back of the group, and finish in the front, if not first.
    A political race may end in a "photo finish", as when two horses are so close together that the judges of the race need to look at a photo to determine who won.
     An entire election is sometimes called a "run for the roses"--the nickname of the Kentucky Derby.
   

in case you missed this

Thirty days hath September
April, June, and November
All the rest have thirty-one
Excepting February alone

the salt of the earth

     The phrase "salt of the earth" is often used to mean the plain ordinary folks who do most of the physical work of the planet. At least, that's how the "salt of the earth" describe themselves. I'm not sure "the salt of the earth" was originally meant as a compliment. We get salt from salt water or from salt mines. The mines are under the earth. Hmm. No that's not it. If you put salt on the earth, nothing will grow there again, perhaps for hundreds of years, as the  Romans salted the fields of Carthage after defeating them in a war. That could be it. "The salt of the earth" may mean the people who are determined to render the earth into a desert, or a wasteland.

slave day

     Slave Day was once a traditional high school event. On slave day, upperclassmen--juniors and seniors--could "buy" sophomores. The sophomores sold themselves to raise money  for their class trip, or for the sophomore dance. If a sophomore was purchased by a junior or senior, he or she had to carry his owner's books all day. Sophomores were let out of class early to meet their "masters", so they would be in time to carry their books from one class to another. Other conditions were sometimes imposed, such as a silly outfit, but as a practical reality, only if the "slave" would put up with it. The sophomore class treasurer already had the money, anyway ( a slave went for $2, or something close to it ). Some schools called this "plebe" day.

sorry Joyce

I think that I shall never see
A yarn bomb lovely as a tree
If any more are knit this fall
I'll never see a tree at all

colors

Some colors are used to describe or convey emotion, or other attributes--
red--( angry ) He saw red, he was so angry.
red--( embarrassed ) His face turned red with embarrassment.
yellow--( cowardice ) They accused him of being yellow, but he claimed that he wasn't a coward.
green--( envy, jealousy ) She was green with envy.
green--( nausea ) He felt so ill that he turned green.
blue--( sad ) He was blue for weeks when she left.
purple--( royalty) She often dreamed of one day wearing the purple.
purple--( rage) His face was purple with rage.
pink--( health)  He has been ill, but now he's in the pink.
black--( gloom and doom ) He was in a black mood, and nothing could cheer him.
black--( mourning )  They wore black for a year after the funeral.
brown--( depressed )  He has been in a brown study ever since he lost his job.
white--( fear or shock ) When he heard the noise, he turned white as a sheet.
white--( purity, virginity )  The bride wore white, even though it was her third wedding.

Colors can be political or historical--
red--a communist
pink--a communist sympathizer, or "pinko"
orange--an Irish person who thinks Ireland should remain with Great Britain
white Russian--a Russian who thought that the Russian monarchy should be restored, after 1917
green--a member of the ecology party
brownshirts--( fascists ) They hid indoors when the brownshirts marched through the town.

Colors can be about economics--
red--( a financial loss ) Our company has been in the red for weeks--we are losing money.
black--( a financial gain ) We are finally in the black, and are making a profit.

Colors may refer to things--
black and white--( in print or writing )  Make sure you have it in black and white.
a black and white--a police car
There's a black and white parked around the corner.
black and white--a chocolate and vanilla shake
I'd like a black and white shake and an order of fries.
black and white--overly simple philosophy
It's not all as as simple as black and white.
green--( money ) When he sees the green, he'll make a deal.
greens--( leafy vegetables ) Eat your greens; they're good for you.
pinks--( flowers )  She planted pinks and  zinnias.
orange-- ( an orange ) Could we have some orange juice?

Colors may give directions--
red--( stop )  You didn't stop on the red!
green--( go ) It's green! Let's go!
yellow-- ( caution or slow ) It's yellow; slow down.
orange--( detour or construction ) I can't see what they're doing, but there's an orange sign.

Colors may warn--
red--( urgent ) The letter said "final notice", and was printed on red paper.
yellow--( illness)  Ships still carry a yellow flag to warn of illness.
black--( plague or serious illness ) The black flag means that there is plague aboard that ship.

hanging in effigy

     To hang someone "in effigy" ( eff ih gee ) meant to hang a dummy, perhaps made of real clothing with a stuffed sack for a head. The "effigy" might have a sign on it, with the name of the person who was "hanged", and the reason for the "hanging". During the years before the American Revolution, hanging in effigy was a popular form of political protest. Although it made a gruesome display ( criminals were still hanged at the time), it was not usually meant as a threat of actual violence. It was punished as a crime because speaking out against the government or its policies was considered sedition, or perhaps treason.
     Our Constitution guarantees us freedom of speech, which in recent years has been extended to "symbolic speech"--cartoons, images, and other symbols. Symbolic speech would not be considered sedition or treason, but a display of "hanging in effigy" might still be prosecuted as  a form of terrorism or making terroristic threats, since the effigy is meant to represent a real person.

esperanto

     In the late 1960's and 70's, there was a lot of interest in Esperanto. I haven't seen it mentioned again until recently--I assumed it went the way of making furniture out of the weeds in the backyard, and other groovy 60's stuff. Esperanto was, or is, an invented language--it sounds like a bastardized version of Spanish.  The man who invented it, in the late 19th century,  had the idea that if everyone studied it, people all over the world could talk to one another. The idea sounds very reasonable, but most of the people interested in it seemed to have a somewhat tenuous grasp of reality. Esperanto was supposed to be so simple that it could be learned in a matter of weeks. The main problem was that the only people an Eperanto-speaker could speak to were the other Esperanto-speakers from the Esperanto class. The Esperanto speakers might have done better learning a pidgin language. A pidgin language develops out of necessity, taking and using any words or phrases it needs to communicate effectively, and ignoring everything else. People who work on the merchant ships speak a pidgin of only several hundred words, and manage to work together at varied and complex tasks.     
     Although it never became a useful language, Esperanto would make a good research subject. Through study of Esperanto we might learn why people so often ignore invented or synthetic symbols and words, while taking up words and phrases that develop organically.

tautology

      There are so many ways to be wrong, that to define them formally, as in a class on logic, they have each been given names.   
       A tautology is the formal name for a logical error--the error of using a thing to explain a thing. "He killed them because he's a serial killer" is a tautology. It is not an explanation, although it sounds something like one. Serial killers kill people, so that part is true. But illogical. He didn't kill them because he's a serial killer. The because renders the sentence illogical. "He killed them because he's a serial killer" makes no more sense than "it's raining because it's wet out". It may be raining out, and wet, but it isn't raining because it's wet. Wet is not the cause of the rain. Serial killing is not the cause of the murder.

King Arthur

     I came home with yet another re-telling of the Arthurian legends the other day, in which Arthur is described as a "just king".  I have read these stories before, and am a bit surprised at this description of Arthur. Arthur didn't have anything like a modern notion of "justice".  In Arthur's world view, the crown on his head made him "right", because God had put it there. Whatever he did must be "right", because he was the king. The knights of the round table were a part of this, and definitely believed that "might makes right". According to the ancient stories, England was beset by knights who would kill for personal gain or for sport, of a kind. Arthur and his knights were going to use their might to defeat these knights, and to make them a part of the round table, if possible. They had no notion of justice to back this up. Defeating the knights would make them "right", and the knights would go along with this idea to the extent that they shared the "might makes right" philosophy.
    In the days of Arthur and the knights of the round table, an "ordeal by combat" was considered a trial. The winner of the combat ( fight ) was "right". The side the winner was fighting for won its case when he won the combat. The people believed that God had helped the "right" person to win, so this was also a matter of faith. The crime didn't really matter. If a knight killed someone, and then won a trial by combat, he was deemed innocent of murder, because God had taken his side. If a knight stole, and then won a trial by combat, he was deemed innocent of theft.
      "Might makes right" is not the same as the rule of law. It may seem reasonable to argue that it was a step in the right direction, but the argument that it was a step in the wrong direction seems just as reasonable, if not more so. Humankind might have reached for a standard of the rule of law much sooner if we hadn't spent 1,000 years believing, as many people still do, that "might makes right".

blood types

     You have probably heard of blood types. You have a blood type. I have a blood type. Everyone has a blood type. It's useful to know your own blood type, but many people don't. There are four blood types: "A", "B", "AB", and "O" ( letter O ). The "A" means there is an "A" substance ( an antigen ) in the blood. The "B" means that there is a "B" substance ( an antigen ) in the blood. The "AB" has both the "A" and the "B" antigens. The "O" does not have either antigen. Blood type has nothing to do with age, race, gender or class. Everyone is born with a certain type of blood, and that's it. Each blood type also has a - ( -), for negative, or a (+), for positive. The blood is negative for ( doesn't have ) or positive for ( does have ) another substance, called a "rhesus factor", or "Rh factor".
    Each person carries a blood marker of a kind ( an allele ) from each of his or her parents. A person who has type "AB" blood has an "A" from one parent and a "B" from the other. We know what the two "markers" are. A person with type "O" blood has an "O" from one parent and an "O" from the other--or the blood wouldn't be type "O", so we know what the markers are.
   The "A" and "B" types are a bit different, detection-wise. A person with type "A" blood got an "A" from one parent, that's obvious. But the other marker may be either an "A" or an "O" ( meaning no antigen ), and the blood would still be type "A". We might call these two possibilities "AA" and "AO"--both type "A".
     The person with type "B" blood got a "B" marker from one parent, but is the other marker a "B" or an "O"? The blood would be type "B" either way. We could call these possibilities "BB" and "BO"--both type "B".
     One of the interesting things about blood type is that we can see a simple set of traits through a line of inheritance. For example, two people with type "O" blood will have only children with type "O" blood. Always. They have no "A" or "B" antigens to pass on to an offspring.
    Two people with type "AB" blood will have children with "A", "B", or "AB" blood. We might think of the possible combinations as "AA", "AB" and "BB".
    The other combinations are just as simple--one from each parent, each time. An "AA" and an "AO"?
"AA" or "AO" children--all type "A".
An "AO" and an "AO"? "AA", "AO", or "OO". Some children with "A", some with "O".
A "BB" and a "BO"? "BB" or "BO" children, all type "B".
A "BO" and a "BO"? "BB", "OO" or "BO" children--type "B" or "O".
"AB" and "AA"?  "AA" or "AB" children.
"AB" and "BB"? "AB" or "BB" children.
"AB" and "AO"? "AA", "AB", "AO", or "BO" children--type "A", "B", or "AB".
"AB" and "BO"? "AB", "AO", "BB", or "BO" children--type "A", "B", or "AB".
     The positive and negative blood factors are inherited in the same way, one from each parent. One positive makes a positive blood type, since the positive means the presence of the factor--not how much.
So it takes two negatives to make a negative. Parents may be ++, --, or +-, so we can follow the inheritance of the factor. Two parents with Rh negative blood have only Rh negative children. The "positives" may be carrying a "negative" to pass along to an offspring--when both parents contribute a "negative", the blood type is negative. When one parent contributes a positive, the blood type is positive.
      Almost as easy as following a head of red hair or a case of near-sightedness.

representation

     In the United States, each elected representative represents a particular constituency. The representative's constituency is made up of all of the people who voted for him or her, or who might have. They live in a particular physical district. The representative runs in an election in which only the people who make up his or her constituency vote. There are other elections happening at the same time, perhaps with different constituencies. It might be useful to think of the constituency as a physical place ( which it is ) or a piece of "turf". When we vote for the president, everyone in the country votes, or may vote, and the "turf" is the United States. When we vote in a gubernatorial election--for the governor of our state--only the people in our state may vote. The "turf" is the state. Pennsylvania is my state. You may live in another state. When we vote for the mayor of Philadelphia, only the people who live in Philadelphia may vote. Philadelphia is the turf. The people in New York have their own mayoral election.
   We all have other representatives. Each state has two senators in the United States Senate. Everyone in the state gets to vote for these. We also have representatives ( congressmen or congresswomen  ) in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Everyone lives in a congressional district--the "turf" of a congressman or congresswoman. I live in the United States ( national ) 2nd Congressional District.
   Each of us also has representatives to our state's congress and senate. I live in Pennsylvania's 4th Senatorial District. I also live in Pennsylvania's 198th Congressional or State House district. The representatives who run for election in these state districts represent me in our state's capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I also live in Philadelphia's 8th City Council district. Our City Council member represents our district at City Council meetings, in Philadelphia's City Hall.
     I vote a couple of blocks away, where all of the different representatives may be running in the same election. I have to vote on my own "turf", since local elections may mean that  one representative's "turf" ends at the next street--maybe right in the middle.

initials in the news

A is an aggressive personality, type A
A a blood type
A outstanding ( school grade )
A atom, as in A Bomb, atom bomb, a nuclear weapon
A average ( pants length ) 
AA  Alcoholics Anonymous
AAA Automobile Association of America
AARP American Association of Retired Persons
AB a blood type
ABC American Broadcasting Company
ABC Alcoholic Beverage Control ( or a variation )
AC air conditioning
AC alternating current ( electricity from a wall socket or plug )
AC Atlantic City ( NJ ) 
AC/DC alternating current/direct current ( runs on batteries or through electrical power cord )
ACGT Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine ( nucleic acids that make up the genetic code )
ACLU American Civil Liberties Union
ADD Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADW assault with a deadly weapon ( police ) 
AFL-CIO  American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization
AFPO Armed Forces Post Office, Air Force Post Office
AFT American Federation of Teachers
AFT Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco
AI artificial intelligence  ( computer design/programming idea, to make a "smart" computer )
AKA also known as ( legal or police )
AM ante meridiem --morning ( from midnight to noon )
AM amplitude modulation ( radio band )
AMA American Medical Association
AM-PM night and day ( all night convenience store or gas station )
AOL America On Line
AOK all okay, everything's fine
AP Advanced Placement
AP Associated Press
A&P Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company ( grocery store ) 
APO Army Post Office ( military )
APB all points bulletin ( police )
ARA Automatic Retailers of America ( now Aramark, operates cafeterias, food services )
ARC Association for Retarded Citizens
ASCAP American Society of Composers ans Performers
ATF Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
ATM automatic teller machine
AT&T American Telephone and Telegraph
AWOL absent without leave ( military ) 
B is a mellow type personality
B a blood type
B above average ( school grade )
B and O   Baltimore and Ohio 
B day  birthday
BA Bachelor of Arts
BBB Better Business Bureau
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BCE before the common era , formerly BC, before Christ
BF boyfriend
BFF best friend(s) forever
BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs ( US govt. )
bid  bis in die--twice a day ( medicine ) 
BLT bacon, lettuce and tomato
BMI Body Mass Index
BMOC Big man on campus
BO body odor
BOGO buy one get one ( groceries )
BOMC Book-of-the-Month-Club
BOT Board of Trade
BP blood pressure
BP British Petroleum
BR bedroom
BRS bedrooms
BS Bachelor of Science
BS Behavioral Sciences
BS bulls---
BSA Boy Scouts of America
BTU British thermal unit
BVD's  Bradley, Voorhees & Day ( men's underwear )
BVM Blessed Virgin Mary
BYOB bring your own bottle
C centigrade ( temperature )
C 100 ( Roman numerals or American slang )
C cold ( faucet )
C average ( school grade )
CB citizen's band  ( radio )
CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBS Columbia Broadcasting System
CC cubic centimeter
CCD Confraternity of Christian Doctrine ( catechism ) 
CCU critical care unit
CD compact disc
CD certificate of deposit
CDC Center for Disease Control ( US govt. )
CDT Central Daylight Time
CE common era , formerly AD, Anno Domini---the Year of Our Lord
CEO chief executive officer
CIA Central Intelligence Agency ( US govt. )
CID Criminal Investigative Division
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States ( Russia ) 
cl centiliter
cm centimeter
CNBC Consumer News and Business Channel
CNN Cable News Network
CO Commanding Officer
COD Collect on delivery
CPA Certified Public Accountant
CPO Chief Petty Officer
CPR cardiopulmonary resuscitation
CREEP Committee to Re-elect the President  ( Nixon )
CRT cathode ray tube
CSA Confederate States of America ( made war on the US, some still fly their treasonous flag )
CST Central Standard Time
CV Curriculum Vitae --"course of life ",  professional experience and education , as on a resume
CYO Catholic Youth Organization
D 500 ( Roman numerals )
D  poor ( school grade )
D Day   June 6,1944--allied landing on French beaches ( WW II )
DA District Attroney
DAR Daughters of the American Revolution
DBA doing business as ( legal right to use business name )
DC District of Columbia
DC direct current ( electricity from a battery )
DD Doctor of Divinity
DD Dunkin Donuts
DDS Doctor of Dental Surgery
DDT a pesticide--dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
DEA Drug Enforcement Agency ( US govt. )
DHS Department of Human Services
DL driver's license
DMV Department of Motor Vehicles
DMZ demilitarized zone ( Korean War or Vietnam War )
DNA human genetic material-- deoxyribonucleic acid
DNC Democratic National Committee
DO Doctor of Osteopathy
DOA dead on arrival
DOG Department of Graves ( military dog tag )
DOT Department of Transportation
DPA Department of Public Assistance ( state or county govt. )
DPT diphtheria pertussis tetanus
DSC Distinguished Service Cross ( military ) 
DT's delirium tremens
DUI driving under the influence
DVD digital videodisc
DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
DWI driving while intoxicated
E east ( a direction, or part of an address )
E empty ( gas gauge )
EBT  Electronic Benefits Transfer
EDT Eastern Daylight Time 
EEC European Economic Community
EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( US govt. )
EEG electroencephalogram
EIK eat-in kitchen
EKG electrocardiogram
EMT Emergency Medical Technician ( ambulance )
EOE Equal Opportunity Employer
ER Emergency Room ( hospital )
ERA Equal Rights Amendment
ERA earned run average
ESL English as a second language
EST Eastern Standard Time
ETA estimated time of arrival
ETD estimated time of departure
ETO European Theater of Operations ( WW II )
ETS Educational Testing Service
EU European Union
F Fahrenheit ( temperature )
F full ( gas gauge )
F failure ( school grade )
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation ( US govt. )
FAA Federal Aviation Administration ( US govt. )
FAT Firearms. Alcohol, and Tobacco
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FDA Food and Drug Administration ( US govt. )
FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( US govt. )
FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt ( former US President )
FM frequency modulation ( radio band )
FOB free on board ( wholesale shipping costs )
FOP Fraternal Order of Police
FP fire place
FPO Fleet Post Office ( military )
FT full time ( work )
FTD Florist's Transworld Delivery
G general audience ( movie )
G  1,000 ( money )
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GED General Equivalency Diploma/General Educational Development
GI government issue
GM General Motors
GM general manager
GMO genetically modified organisms
GNP Gross National Product
GOP Grand Old Party ( republicans )
GPA grade point average
GPS global positioning system
GRE Graduate Record Exam
GSA Girl Scouts of America
GSA General Services Administration ( US govt. )
GWTW Gone with the Wind
H hot ( faucet )
HD high definition
HEW Health, Education and Welfare ( now Dept. of Education and Dept. of Health and Human Services )
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( same as AIDS )
HMS Her Majesty's Ship
HP horsepower
HR Human Resources 
HR homeroom ( secondary school )
HRM Her/His Royal Majesty
HS high school
HS Human Services
HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee ( historical ) 
I one/1 ( Roman numerals or American titles/outlines )
I incomplete ( school grade )
IBM International Business Machines
ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ( military )  
ICU intensive care unit
ID identification
IHS  in hoc signo by this sign
IHM Immaculate Heart of Mary
IM instant message or instant messaging
INRI   Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Iudaeorvm --Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews
INS Immigration and Naturalization Service ( US govt. ) 
IOC International Olympic Committee
IP Internet Protocol
IPO initial public offering ( of stock )
IQ intelligence quotient
IRA Individual Retirement Account
IRA Irish Republican Army, in modern times a secret outlaw paramilitary group, named for a historic group
IRS Internal Revenue Service ( US govt. )
ISBN International Standard Book Number
ISP Internet Service Provider
IT Information Technology ( computer specialist ) 
IT&T International Telephone and Telegraph
JAG Judge Advocate General ( military )
JC Jesus Christ
JD Juris Doctor ( advanced law degree )
JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy ( former US President )
JG Junior Grade ( army officer )
JHS Junior High School
JV junior varsity ( secondary school sports ) 
K-9   Canine Corps ( police dogs )
KG kilograms
KGB Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti --former Russian national police
KKK Ku Klux Klan  ( an organized race-based criminal organization ) 
KM kilometers
KO knock out ( boxing )
KP kitchen police or patrol ( military )
L 50 ( Roman numerals )
L large ( clothing size )
L  long ( pants length )
L left ( direction )
LCB Liquor Control Board ( state government )
LCD liquid crystal display
LM Lunar Module ( Apollo mission to the moon )
LEM Lunar Excursion Module( Apollo mission to the moon )
L and I Licenses and Inspections ( city government )
L and K love and kisses
LP long-playing ( a 33 1/3  RPM vinyl record )
LPN Licensed Practical Nurse
LSAT Law School Admission Test
LSD lysergic acid
LSMFT  "Lucky Strike Mighty Fine Tobacco" ?
LST Landing Ship-Tank ( WW II )
M 1,000 ( Roman numerals )
M medium ( clothing size ) 
MA Master of Arts
MBA Master of Business Administration
MD Doctor of Medicine/Medical Doctor
MDT Mountain Daylight Time
ME Medical Examiner
MFA Master of Fine Arts
mg milligram
ml milliliters
MLA Modern Language Association
M&M  Mars and Murrie ( candy makers )
mm millimeters
MMR measles mumps rubella
MP Military Police ( military )
MPG miles per gallon
MPH miles per hour
MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MS Master of Science
MS Multiple Sclerosis
MS Middle School
MST Mountain Standard Time
MV Motor Vessel ( ship )
MWF Monday Wednesday Friday ( secondary school or college )
N north ( a direction, or part of an address )
NA North America
n/a not applicable
NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NARC National Association for Retarded Citizens
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( US govt. )
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NBA National Basketball Association
NBC National Broadcasting Company
NCAA National College Athletic Association
NC 17 no children under 17
NCO non commissioned officer
NE northeast ( a direction, or part of an address )
NEA National Education Asscociation
NEA National Endowment for the Arts ( US govt. )
NFL National Football League
NGO Non-governmental organization
NHL National Hockey League
NIH National Institutes of Health ( US govt. )
NIMBY not in my back yard
NOW National Organization for Women
NPR National Public Radio
NRA National Rifle Association
NRA National Recovery Administration ( 1930's US govt. )
NSA  National Security Administration
NTE  National Teacher's Exam
NW northwest ( a direction, or part of an address )
NYSE New York Stock Exchange
O operator ( old telephone company, to reach a person )
O a blood type
O outstanding ( school grade )
OAS Organization of American States
OC  Ocean City  ( NJ or MD )
OCD Obsessesive-compulsive Disorder
OD overdose
OD Doctor of Optometry ( eye doctor )
OD Officer of the Day ( military )
OK okay--fine, good enough
OMB Office of Management and Budget ( US govt. )
OMG oh my G--!
OOAK one of a kind
OR operating room ( hospital )
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( US govt. )
OS Operating System 
OSS Office of Strategic Services ( WWII forerunner of CIA )
OT overtime ( employment )
OTC over the counter ( non-prescription drugs or stocks and bonds )
P petite ( clothing size )
P pass ( school grade )
PAC political action committee
PAL Police Athletic League
PB & J peanut butter and jelly
PBS Public Broadcasting System
PC personal computer ( desktop or laptop )
PCP phencyclidine/phenylcyclohexylpiperidine, angel dust, an illegal drug once used by veterinarians
PD police department 
PDQ pretty darned quick
PDT Pacific Daylight Time
P/F pass/fail ( school, instead of a letter grade )
PFC Private First Class
PG parental guidance
Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy
PJ's pajamas 
PM post meridiem afternoon or evening ( from noon to midnight )
PMS premenstrual syndrome
POP point of purchase
POS point of sale
PPD purified protein derivative ( tuberculosis test )
PRN  pro re nata as the need arises ( prescription medicine )
psi pounds per square inch
PST Pacific Standard Time
PT part time ( work )
PTA Parent Teacher Association
PTO paid time off
PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( formerly combat fatigue or shell shock ) 
PX post exchange ( store on a military base, commissary ) 
Q and A questions and answers
QV qui vive on the alert, a sentry's challenge to someone approaching
R restricted ( movie )
R right ( direction )
RA Resident Advisor ( college )
RA rheumatoid arthritis
RAM random-access memory
RBI runs batted in
RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police
R and D research and development
RDA recommended daily ( or dietary ) allowance ( vitamins )
RFD Rural Free Delivery ( US govt. )
RFK Robert Francis Kennedy ( former Attorney General, ran for US president, assassinated )
RIP Rest in Peace or Requiescat in pace ( on a tombstone )
RKO Radio-Keith-Orpheum  ( movie producing company )
RN Registered Nurse
RNA human genetic material --ribonucleic acid
RNC Republican National Committee
ROK Republic of Korea
ROM read only memory
RPM revolutions per minute
RR railroad
R and R rest and relaxation ( military ) 
RSVP repondez s'il vous plait ( please respond )
S small ( clothing size )
S short ( pants length )
S south ( a direction, or part of an address )
S satisfactory ( school grade )
SA South America
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test
SBA Small Business Administration  ( US govt. )
SE southeast ( a direction, or part of an address )
SEATO South East Asian Treaty Organization
SEC Securities and Exchange Commission ( US govt. )
SEO Search engine optimization
SJ Society of Jesus ( Jesuits )
SNAFU situation normal all fouled up?
SOS "Save our Ship", a distress call using Morse code
SP Shore Patrol ( US military ) 
SPCA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
SPF sun protection factor
SRO standing room only ( theater )
SS Sailing Ship
SS Schutz-Staffel   Defense Corps ( WWII German/Nazi  police/military unit )
SSA Social Security Administration ( US govt. )
SSN Social Security number
SSS Selective Service System ( US govt. )
SST supersonic transport
STD sexually transmitted disease
SW southwest ( a direction, or part of an address )
SWAK sealed with a kiss
TA teaching assistant ( college )
TB tuberculosis
TBA to be announced
TBD to be determined
TD touchdown ( football )
TDD telecommunications device for the deaf
T or F true or false ( secondary school test question ) 
TGIF thank God it's Friday
THC tetrahydrocannabinol ( marijuana )
tid  ter in die three times a day ( medicine ) 
TLC tender loving care
TNT an explosive--trinitrotoluene
TOFL Test of English as a Foreign Language
TP toilet paper
TR Tuesday and Thursday ( college or secondary school )
TR Teddy Roosevelt
TSOP The Sound of Philadelphia
TTFN tata for now ( good-by for now ) 
TTY teletypewriter 
TV television
TWA Trans World Airlines
TWTWTW  This Was the Week that Was ( old news show )
U unsatisfactory ( school grade )
UAW United Auto Workers
UFO unidentified flying object 
UHF ultra-high frequency ( TV ) 
UMW United Mine Workers
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNCF  United Negro College Fund
UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
UPC Universal Product Code
UPI United Press International
UPS United Parcel Service
US United States ( of America ) 
USA United States of America
USA United States Army ( US military )
USAF United States Air Force ( US military )
USB universal serial bus ( computer connection ) 
USCG United States Coast Guard ( US military )
USDA United States Department of Agriculture ( US govt. )
USMA United States Military Academy 
USMC United States Marine Corps( US military )
USN United States Navy ( US military  )
USNA United States Naval Academy
USPS United States Postal Service ( US govt. )
USS United States Ship ( US military )
USSR union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( CCCP in Russian, now the CIS ) 
UV ultra violet
V five/5( Roman numerals )
V victory
VA Veterans Administration ( US govt. )
VAT value added tax
VC Viet Cong ( Vietnam War ) 
VCR videocassette recorder
VD venereal disease
VHF very high frequency ( TV) 
VIP very important person
VFW Veterans of Foreign Wars
VSOP very special old pale
W  west ( a direction, or part of an address )
W withdrawal ( school grade )
WAC Women's Army Corps ( US military )
WBA World Boxing Association
WBA Women's Basketball Association
WC water closet ( bathroom )
W+D or W/D washer and dryer
WHO World Health Organization
WTF what the f---?
WW I World War I ( one )
WW II World War II ( two )
WWJD? What would Jesus do?
WWW world wide web
X ten/10 ( Roman numerals )
XL extra large ( clothing size )
XL 40 ( Roman numerals )
XO extra old
XOXO hugs and kisses
XS extra small ( clothing size )
XX poison 
XXX pornography
YMCA Young Men's Christian Association
YMHA Young Men's Hebrew Association
These may be batteries--
A
AA
AAA
C
D
These may be shoe widths--
A
AA
B
C
D
E
EE
EEE
These may be school grades--
A
B
C
D
F
These may be musical notes--
E
G
B
D
F
F
A
C
E
These may be blood types--
A
B
AB
O ( letter O )
These may be bra cup sizes--
A
B
C
D
These may be vacuum cleaner bag types--
A
AA
B
BB
BP
C
D
E
F
F&G
G
H
J
K
L
M
MM
N
OX
Q
R
S
SL
SR
T
U
UB
V
Y
Z

no such thing as a presidential election

     The next few weeks will be full of election news. Presidential elections usually mean weeks of non-stop news items of one kind or another.  Most people know that there are other elections, but some would be surprised to discover that there is no such thing as an election just to choose the president. The elections that we have every four years, in which two sets of candidates run for president and vice-president, are also the elections for some congressional representatives, some senators, and at least a few state and local officials--state representatives and senators, some judges, and perhaps governors or mayors. There is no election or form of voting for someone who only wants to vote in the presidential election. Once inside the voting booth, you may "skip" some elections, or abstain from voting, by not pulling the lever for either candidate. But to get into the voting booth, you must be a registered voter in that particular district, since elections are as local as town or city council members. Town or city council members run in particular districts, and represent the people who live in them. The people in another district will be voting for a different set of candidates, even though they only live a few blocks away.
     If you want to know which elections are being held in your voting district, look for a sample ballot. To make sense of the sample ballot, you'll need to know which congressional district you live in, which state congressional district, which state senatorial district, and which city or town council district. You may live in other districts, depending on what goes on in your state or municipality--school boards are elected, as are some judges, county commissioners, county sheriffs, treasurers, city managers, and others.

randomness

     If something is really randomly assorted, for instance the numbers on a license plate, the colors on a quilt, or the cards in a deck of playing cards, each possible combination is no more or less likely than any other.
      If the numbers on the license plate are chosen at random from the digits 1 through 10, using every possible combination of 6 digits, some of the combinations will not appear to be random. Sooner or later, the number 111111 will come up, for example. Or the number 222222. If a programmer wants to set up a program to choose random sets of numbers, the programmer would have to deliberately remove combinations that didn't seem random enough.
     This is easy to understand if you play cards. If a computer program is devised to deal every possible combination of hands, sooner or later it will deal a hand that seems to come from an unshuffled deck--because that would be one of the possibilities. So the programmer would have to eliminate these combinations, or the shuffling and dealing program would not seem random to the players using it.
     If a quilter puts a lot of squares of different colors into a bag, and decides to choose them at random,without looking, some of them will be the same color as the square that went before--there will be two and three of the same color scattered in places throughout the quilt. Many quilt makers would put back the square of the same color and choose another, so that the quilt would look more random, even as it became less random.

in case you missed it

Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of nails?

literacy and democracy

     Americans may have been the first people who ever entertained the idea of universal education--of educating everyone.  This was a local idea at first. Some of the Puritans of New England, more than 300 years ago, thought that all children should have enough education to be able to read the Bible. To this end they began a school, attended by every child in the town. The school wasn't exactly free--everyone had to pay a small fee to the teacher--but the idea was revolutionary. No one had ever thought of educating every child, male and female, before. No one had even considered educating every male child.  Most people, even doctors and experts, believed that only some children could be educated, and that others--most others--simply had no talent or aptitude for education.
     Many people still believe this, doctors and experts among them.  Their belief seems reasonable, since we now have people who have supposedly spent years in school, who still can't read and write. But since this information upholds their beliefs, the experts haven't inquired into the facts of the matter.  They may find, if they do, that some of the people who supposedly spent years in school missed most of the first few grades, or attended only a few days per year, and never made up the missed lessons. They will find people who can't read and write because they never learned how--plain and simple.
     Literacy isn't a frill. It's a necessary life skill, and more. The people in medieval times who couldn't read all had jobs--jobs that don't exist today. The people who lived in medieval times were ruled by a king and his court. People today are expected to take part in the democratic process,which is impossible for the illiterate.  The rise of literacy made the rise of democracy possible--and democracy cannot prosper without it.
    
    
    

elections

     We are about to have another presidential election. Every four years we elect another president, or the same president to a second term. Although we don't all vote for the same candidate, the person who is elected becomes everyone's president. Even if you voted for the other guy. Even if you didn't vote at all. So let's have no more of "don't blame me, I voted for the other guy", or "don't blame me, I don't vote". Whatever the outcome of an election we all did it. That's right, all of us. If you had really wanted the "other guy" to win, you could have campaigned/volunteered/blogged/worked him into the White House. If you didn't vote at all, we can assume that you are pretty well satisfied with whoever is elected. Silence means consent. The number of people who don't vote at all is large enough to win almost any election. So no excuses.

stop me if you've heard this one

     I don't smoke, drink, or swear--dammit, I left my cigarettes at the bar.

a majority of one

     You may have encountered the phrase "a majority of one" in your reading.  A "majority", of course, is more than half of the total number of persons. "A majority of one" means the only one, or the one-and-only, for instance, someone who sticks to an unusual opinion or belief, even though no on else shares his ideas. The ideas may be good ideas, or ahead of their time, but the "majority of one" goes to political meetings alone.

law and the family

     The actual foundation of all law, including marriage laws, is the welfare, peace, and security of the citizens of a state or nation. Laws are meant to prevent feuds, duels, and violent forms of retribution. Laws protect people's bodies. Laws protect people's property. Laws protect people's reputations. Laws protect people's inventions. Laws protect people's homes. Laws protect people's privacy. And laws protect people's families. Families have special inheritance rights, some of which would override or render null and void the provisions of a will that are contrary to these rights. Families--husbands and wives--have the right to refuse to testify against one another. one spouse can't be held in contempt of court for refusing to answer questions about the other. Married couples have special rights in their children. For example, a child born to the married couple is legally theirs. No on can sue, claiming to be the father of a married woman's child. The law doesn't enter into marriages in this way. The law, in general, subscribes to the notion that the family is the building block of society, meaning peaceful and industrious coexistence. The law, in most cases, errs on the side of refusing to interfere in family or domestic matters. In this way the law attempts to uphold the family unit, which is presumed to uphold society, which is both the creator of the law, and protected by the law. Everyone is presumed to benefit through this arrangement.
   

veto

      One part of "how a bill becomes a law" is the presidential veto. To start at the beginning, a bill becomes a law when it is passed by both houses of congress ( the Senate and the House of Representatives ) and signed by the President. If a bill passes both houses of congress and the President doesn't agree with it, he may return the bill to the Senate or House of Representatives, and explain his objections to it. This is called a veto. It is described in the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 7, although the word "veto" isn't used.
    If the President "vetoes" a bill, the House and the Senate may alter the bill, and pass an amended version on to the President for his signature. Or, the House and Senate may override a presidential veto by passing the same measure, but by a 2/3 majority, instead of a simple majority. A 2/3 majority would mean 2 out of every 3 persons voting voted to pass the bill--for example, 20 for, 10 against, or 200 for, 100 against. . A simple majority means the side with 1 more vote wins--51 to 50, for example.
     Another way a bill might become a law is if the President ignores it when it is presented to him for his signature. If the President doesn't sign or return the bill within 10 days, it becomes law as if he had signed it, provided that Congress is still in session.
     If you're interested in reading more about this, see your local newspaper's section on "area votes in Congress", or check out the Congressional Record.

A Misspelled Tail

A little buoy said "Mother, deer
May Eye go out too play?
The son is bright, the heir is clear,
Owe! mother, don't say neigh!"

"Go fourth, my sun", the mother said;
His ant said: "Take ewer slay,
Your gneiss knew sled, awl painted read
Butt dew knot lose ewer weigh."

"Ah, know!" he cried, and sought the street
With hart sew full of glee--
The weather changed, and snow and sleet
And reign fell fierce and free.

Threw snow-drifts grate, threw wat'ry pool,
He flue with mite and mane.
Said he: "Though I wood walk by rule
Eye am knot write, 'tis plane

I'd like too meat sum kindly sole
For hear gnu dangers weight,
And yonder stairs a treacherous whole;
To sloe has bin my gate.

A peace of bred, a gneiss hot stake,
Eyed chews if Eye were home;
This crewel  fate my hart will brake'
I love knot thus too Rome.

I'm week and pail; I've mist my rode!"
Butt hear a carte came passed--
He and his sled were safely toad
Back two his home at last.

Elizabeth T. Corbett

the ivory tower

     The academy---the set of all of the college professors of the planet--is often referred to as "the ivory tower". This is meant as a criticism of academic life and academics, meaning college professors. Many people think that academics live in an ivory tower, apart from reality and any practical concerns of everyday life. When an academic does research on any subject, whether it is technology, science, or philosophy, the paper that he or she writes will be presented to a set of fellow academics, or professors. They will have read the paper beforehand, and will be ready with questions after hearing the author talk about his or her research. Any practical experiment has to be explained in such a way that other similarly qualified people can replicate it, expecting the same results. Any other research is open to seemingly endless dispute and discussion. There is no academic "pope", with the authority to end discussion when it begins to seem fruitless. One academic is as good as another, for most purposes, and some discussions have continued for generations. What good does it do? Aside form practical results, such as the computer you're using to read this, perhaps the idea that the truth is not a reachable "goal" is that important--that there can't really be an end to any human search for knowledge and understanding because humans are not omniscient, and never will be.

Amendment XVI

     Amendment XVI of the United States Constitution gives the federal government the right to tax our incomes--now one of the familiar deductions from our paychecks. The constitutional amendment was necessary because the constitution did not give the federal government the right to tax citizens directly. Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution prohibits any "capitation, or other direct, Tax, unless in proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken."  A "capitation", also called a "head tax" would mean taxing the states a certain amount for each citizen, or per "head".  Other taxes the federal government can collect are duties or "imposts and excises", also called tariffs. These are taxes on goods imported into the United States from another country or exported from the United States to another country.
     The income tax became law in 1913--nearly 100 years ago. The first income taxes were set to leave out most of the poorest people. In the past, income taxes have been more progressive than they are today, meaning that the richest people paid taxes at a much higher rate than the poor or middle-income people.

direct election of senators

     The United States Constitution  specifies, in the XVII Amendment, that each state shall have 2 Senators, elected by the people. Before the XVII Amendment was ratified, in 1913, Senators were not elected by the people. They were elected by the legislature of each state. The XVII Amendment provided  for the direct election of Senators by the people--anyone who can vote for a candidate for the state legislature, can vote for a candidate for the U.S. Senate. We don't need to be older, for instance, to vote in an election for the U.S. Senate in Washington. At the time this amendment was passed, it still meant males only, but the XIX Amendment, in 1920,  added women to the Constitution.

the electoral college

     It's that time of year again, almost, and we'll soon be talking about the Electoral College and why we still have one. The Electoral College gets together every four years to elect the President of the United States. Really. The Constitution of the United States, Article II, Section 1, describes the method of electing the President and Vice President. Each state chooses "electors", who will meet in their state and vote for the President and Vice President. Each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to the number of its representatives in Congress and the Senate, so more populous states have more electors.  The votes of the electors from each state are sent to Washington, where they are opened and counted in front of the Senate and the House of Representatives, combined.  The candidate having a majority of these "electoral" votes is the next president.  If no one has a majority, ( more than half , and not just the biggest portion, usually called a plurality ) the Constitution gives the House of Representatives the authority to settle the dispute by a vote, one vote per state, instead of per representative.This has not happened in nearly 200 years, but it remains the law just the same.
     The Constitution doesn't say much, if anything, about the popular vote for the President. In the past, a different candidate has  won a majority of the popular vote and of the electoral vote. In the election of 1876, one candidate won the popular vote, and another won the electoral vote. The election was settled in favor of the winner of the electoral vote, by a deal  made in Congress. In the election of 1888, again, the candidate who won the popular vote lost the electoral vote.
    So why do we still have an Electoral College? It would take a constitutional amendment to dismantle it.

ambassadors and consuls

     You have probably heard the term "ambassador"  on a newscast. An ambassador is the official representative of a country's  government, but in a foreign country. For example, the French ambassador to the United States works for the government of France, which sent him to the United States to represent France's interests here. If there are treaties or trade deals to be discussed, the ambassador is already here, in the French embassy in Washington.  The American ambassador to France is an American who works for the American government--but in the American embassy, in France. This can become confusing if you watch international news programs. When an American says "the French ambassador", he means ( or should mean ) the French person who works in America. If the newscaster says "the ambassador to France", or the "U.S. ambassador to France" he means ( or should mean ) the American who works in France. Newscasters are usually careful about this, to avoid confusion, but it sometimes happens anyway.
     "Embassy" can also be problematic. The French Embassy, to an American, is a building in Washington. French people work there. The American Embassy, to an American, is the building where our ambassador and his staff work--in a foreign country.
    American ambassadors work for the State Department, headed by the Secretary of State. In some countries this department is called the Foreign Ministry, and is headed by the Foreign Minister. This is the name of a secular government position, and not necessarily a religious term.
    One more--a consul is a representative from a foreign country assigned to work in a city other than the capitol. The consul works for the ambassador, and helps with trade deals, and with visas for travelers. A city that imports a lot of goods from a particular country may have a consulate--an office with a foreign representative, or consul, working for a foreign government. Philadelphia has a few consulates. New York has a lot of them. If your firm manufactures something, and wants to sell it in another country, you might want to speak to a consul about regulations or laws you need to be aware of, as well as taxes, customs ( a kind of  tax ) and duties ( another kind of tax ).

reinforcement

    You may have read that scientists use rats to study how people learn ( and unlearn ) things. A rat will press a lever to get food, for example. The food is a reward, or a form of reinforcement, meaning that the rat is  more likely to repeat the behavior. The food reinforces the act of pressing the lever. It is no longer an act of idle curiosity but has been rewarded--this is called positive reinforcement. The behavior reinforced in this way will be repeated, and may become a habit.
     Punishment, scientifically,  is another kind of reinforcement--called negative reinforcement. In some ways it makes it more likely that a  behavior pattern or action will be repeated. The negative reinforcement establishes a strong mental connection to the behavior, making it more difficult to forget.
     Scientists have also used rats to study how habits can be broken. Habits which have been formed through positive reinforcement ( rewards ) can be relatively easy to alter--called extinguish by psychologists. When the reward stops, the behavior usually stops fairly quickly.  Habits which have been formed through negative reinforcement ( punishment ) may stop nearly as easily. When the punishment stops, the behavior or habit stops soon after. 
    The hardest habits to extinguish are habits that were formed through off-and-on or intermittent reinforcement. When behavior was rewarded only once in a while, the rats with "habits" tended to keep trying longest before giving up the habit--even after the rewards stopped altogether.
    All of this happens in a laboratory, in a situation controlled by the scientists. In real life, behavior is sometimes punished and rewarded. Or rewarded unintentionally, until it becomes a habit. Real life is not as simple as a laboratory.

black humor

     You may read that a film or TV show is an example of "black humor" or a "black comedy", and wonder where the black actors and comedians are. A sensible question. "Black humor" or "black comedy" traditionally means a kind of sick humor or comedy, for instance, a humorous murder story or crime story. An old favorite film of mine is an excellent example of this--Kind Hearts and Coronets.  The hero of this movie kills a dozen or so people, and it's extremely funny. Well, they're not real people, just fictional characters--but in a standard movie we are supposed to care or disapprove, and in this one we don't. We just think it's outrageous, but funny. Arsenic and Old Lace is another good example of a black comedy. Two old spinsters may have hidden a body in their house--but it's just silly and funny.  If I think of a more recent example I'll add it to this post

impeachment

          You may remember all of the media coverage of the trial to impeach Bill Clinton, back when he was president. The Constitution of the United States ( Article I, Section 3 ) defines impeachment as removal from office. A person impeached and convicted may be removed from office, and barred from holding any other office. If a president is impeached but not convicted,  nothing else happens. When a president is impeached because he is suspected of a crime ( the Constitution , Article II, Section 4, lists bribery, treason, and  high crimes and misdemeanors as impeachable offenses),  then he may also be tried for the crime, in an ordinary trial, just as any other defendant would be, whether or not  his impeachment trial ends in a conviction. This has never happened in the United States.
     When Richard Nixon was president, the Congress was deliberating whether or not to impeach him for "high crimes and misdemeanors" when he resigned from office. He could not be impeached, since he was no longer president. He was not tried for any crime, because Gerald Ford, the next president, granted him a pardon. Whether a pardon is valid if a person has not been accused of a specific crime was never really put to the test. There was little objection, as people were too relieved to be back to a normal state of affairs, with a president who was not accused of anything.
    

making war

     You may read in news articles or on blogs about "undeclared war", such as the Vietnam War or the Korean War. People get excited about this for a reason. The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but only Congress can declare war. This is part of the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8.  Since there are hundreds of Congressmen, all locally elected, and only one president, most people feel that Congress has something more like the mandate of the public when it decides to declare war. Presidents have tried to get around this provision by "lending" troops, or by sending "advisors" to other countries, when they really want to participate in a war.Congress may retaliate by refusing to vote for extra funds ( money ) to be spent on something that looks like a war, but which hasn't been "declared" a war by Congress.
     Since we have a large standing ( peacetime ) army,  additional funds may not be needed to fight a  small-to-medium sized war. Additional soldiers may not be needed, so no one will be drafted to fight in the "undeclared" war. There are few protests, since everyone who is in the army joined the army, as a volunteer. A few columnists and bloggers object that this undermines the Constitution, and they're right. Most of the rest of us are used to the situation now, since it has been repeated so many times in the past 50 years.
    

faculty and tenure

    Faculty and tenure are two words often misused to discuss elementary, middle or high school.  Faculty and tenure each have a specific meaning, but only when discussing a college, a university, or any other  post-secondary school. A  member of the faculty of a university is elected by the existing faculty. Before voting on a new faculty member, existing faculty may read what he or she has written; hear a sample lecture; and "audition" him or her in a classroom--with real students. A college or university ( a group of colleges, united as one institution ) has a president, elected by, and from among, the faculty  members.  Faculty members are not fired, but may be "voted" out of their jobs, at any time before they are granted "tenure".  Once a faculty member has been granted "tenure", he or she can not be fired or dismissed.
    None of these standard definitions of "faculty" or "tenure" apply to elementary or secondary ( high school ) teaching. Teachers in elementary, middle, and junior or senior high schools are not elected, they are hired--by the school board, the principal, or a combination of the two. While teachers can not be summarily dismissed, they can be fired. There are no public school teachers in the United States who "can't" be fired. Teachers are professionals, licensed by the state, and may request a hearing if they believe they are being dismissed unfairly. Many other workers have this right as part of a contract with their employer.
     Next time you read about public school teachers who can't be fired, remember that the rest of the speech or article is no more reliable than the information on the mythical "tenure".

mutual benefit society

     You may hear someone use the phrase "mutual benefit society" as if that were a bad thing. A "mutual benefit society", 200 years ago or thereabouts, was a type of life and accident insurance. Everyone who belonged to the society paid dues. Any member who was killed would be buried with funds from the society. Some of these were called "burial societies". Some societies had provisions  for a permanently disabled member to  collect a disability benefit.  Today your employer probably pays the premiums or "dues" for your insurance, as part of your wages or salary.

federal, state, county and local

     Each of the citizens of the United States actually lives under 3 or 4 governments. This is usually called a federal system, and we call our national government the federal government. We might also call it the government of the United States. The federal government gets money by taxing our incomes--usually deducted from the paychecks of workers, but businesses pay income taxes, too.
     Each citizen of the United states also lives in a state or territory--probably one of the 50 states represented by the white stars on our flag. I live in Pennsylvania, which has a state government in Harrisburg, the state capitol. Our governor is the chief executive officer of our state, as the President is the chief executive officer of the United States. State governments issue our driver's licenses, regulate alcohol, tobacco, and firearms, build and maintain state roads, highways, and bridges, regulate and finance, in part, our educational system, and administer our courts and prisons, among other things.  State governments get money through sales taxes ( added to the price of things we buy ) , and perhaps through a small income tax in addition to the federal income tax.
     I live in a city, which is also a county. The city has a mayor and a city council, and the county has a sheriff and a board of commissioners. You may live in town, village, borough, hamlet or city that has a local governing body, such as a board of selectmen, aldermen, or councilmen.  If so, you also live in a county, which also has a government. So you may have 4 governments. Some of the more rural citizens have no local or municipal government, since they don't live in a town, but everyone has a county government. The county government includes the sheriff, who impanels juries, and the coroner, who may call an inquest to determine a cause of death. County governments may maintain county roads, and police unincorporated ( not in a town or city ) land.
    Local governments--city, town, or village--usually provide police and fire protection, trash removal, local street repair, and, with financial aid from the state, local schools. Local governments get money through property taxes. Each owner of a building or lot has to pay taxes on it each year. Buildings and lots ( property with no buildings ) are assessed by local governments, to determine how much they are worth, and taxes are paid on this amount.

Puerto Rico

     Puerto Rico is a part of the United States of America. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, not foreigners.  Puerto Rico is not one of the fifty states, but a commonwealth. The Puerto Ricans have been asked to decide if they would like to be the fifty-first American state more than once in the past few decades. They put the motion to a plebiscite--a popular vote on the issue--and it was turned down. The Puerto Ricans voted to retain their commonwealth status, instead of becoming one of the United States, or an independent nation. Many Americans would like to see Puerto Rico, and America's other overseas possessions, become either states of the United States or independent nations. Some U.S. citizens don't like the idea of having territorial possessions, where people don't really have the same rights as the rest of us. Citizens of territorial possessions have no representatives in Congress, for example.
     Puerto Ricans have voted that they like the way things are arranged, and don't really want them changed.
     Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and may travel to the United States in the same way that the rest of us may travel from state to state. Americans may visit Puerto Rico without ( politically ) leaving the United States, so they won't need a visa or a passport.

the federal government

     Our federal government does doe many things, that probably no one person or source could accurately name them all, but here's a start:

 The United States Postal Service  ( USPS ) prints postage stamps and delivers mail.

The United States Mint mints coins and prints money.

The United States Army ( USA ), Navy ( USN ) , Air Force ( USAF ) , Marines  ( USMC ) and Coast Guard  ( USCG ) protect our country.

The Federal Aviation Administration  ( FAA ) regulates air traffic and safety.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration  ( NASA ) runs the space ans satellite programs.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation  ( FBI ) investigates federal crimes.

The Central Intelligence Agency  ( CIA ) are something like spies, but legal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) regulates the buying and selling of stock--as in Wall Street.





The United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) inspects meat and produce for safety.

The Department of Veteran's Affairs ( VA ) helps veterans of our armed forces, with disability payments, pensions, and other problems.

These are some of the best-known departments of our government. More will follow in another episode.

quartering of soldiers

     The United States Constitution, Amendment III, guarantees us that "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law". This guarantee seems old-fashioned to us now, but it has the same meaning that it did 200 years ago, when it was written to protect American citizens from a repetition of abuses they had suffered under British rule--when soldiers were quartered in the homes of the people, whether they liked it or not. People had to let the soldiers stay in one of their rooms, even if they didn't really have space for them. Quartering meant they had to feed them, too. In Boston, the soldiers were quartered in the homes of the people whose city they were sent to besiege. The Bostonians resented this, and helped to make sure that the American army would not treat American  citizens as the British had done.  We will never answer the door to find soldiers on the other side, demanding lodging, unless we have been informed first by our government that this is necessary because of a war.
    

the biggest hoarder

    One of the things our federal government does, and does well, is save stuff. Hoarding is small-time compared to the U.S. government. The Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C.,  has most of the books ever published in English, and a lot of books in other languages.  Two copies of every book published in the United States are sent to the Library of Congress, although it doesn't keep every one of them. The Library of Congress also has a lot of documents, on paper an online. The bookshelves of the Library of Congress could be measured in hundreds of miles.
     The National Archives and Records Administration , also in Washington, D.C., keeps copies of government  and historical records. The records of servicemen, census records, photographs, ship's passenger lists, legislative and law enforcement records, and just about anything that you can think of that would be on a piece of paper are kept in the national Archives.  The National Archives recently moved part of its collection to a second building, because it was running out of space to keep things. The National Archives administers the presidential libraries, with public papers left by each president. There are branches of the National Archives in several large cities, including Philadelphia.
   The Smithsonian Institution, also in Washington, D.C., is actually a set of 19 museums, including the Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, African American History and Cultural Museum, American Indian Museum, the Freer Gallery of Art, and the National Zoo,  The Smithsonian keeps things, from the plane flown by Charles Lindbergh, to the ruby slippers worn by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  The Smithsonian buys some of these things, but many are given to them as bequests, or as gifts. People with something old and interesting often contact the Smithsonian to see if it might find a home in a museum.

freedom of assembly

     The Constitution of the United States, Amendment I, guarantees "the right of the people peaceably to assemble". This is usually called simply the right to assemble, or the right of assembly.  It means that people may have public meetings--political meetings, PTA meetings, union meetings, church socials and many other kinds of meetings. Our government does not have the right to break up meetings because large groups of people make it nervous. The things people may not do at public meetings are few--they are the same things people may not say, although we have freedom of speech. People may not advocate violence, violent crime, or the violent overthrow of the government.
     Some controversial public assembly news stories are actually about where people may assemble. A church,  school, or  building rented or borrowed for the purpose may all be used for public meetings. But what about public space? Roads, parking lots, and parks are sometimes not considered legally appropriate for a public meeting. There are safety issues, and permits from local government or law enforcement authorities may be required. Roads and parks belong to all of the members of the community, so blocking off the access of the rest of the public may cause legal trouble. Parking lots may actually be private property--property that belongs to a mall or store.
     One of the strangest things people say about the right to assemble is to rename it the "right of free association". No "right of association " is to be found in the Constitution, nor is any such right guaranteed by our government. Association means just what it seems to mean--the right to socialize with anyone, with no restrictions. Some people do have "social" restrictions--they agreed to them when they took their jobs. Some employees of banks or financial institutions, for example, may not associate with convicted felons. People on probation or parole agree not to associate with former criminal contacts, as a condition of parole or probation.
    Freedom of Assembly, guaranteed. Freedom of association does not exist, legally, and it's not likely to become law in the future.

selective service system

     The Selective Service System, an agency of the federal government of the United States, is still commonly called the draft. Being drafted into the army means serving in the army because the government tells you to, even if you don't want to. Our government doesn't currently draft young men into the army, but they still have to register with the Selective Service when they are eighteen years old. If a young man hasn't registered, and is under twenty-six, he may still register and avoid prosecution for evading the draft.
     Draft registration is required in case our country becomes involved in a  major war and needs a larger army than volunteers can provide. Every American male is required to register. In the event of an actual draft, the disabled or unfit would be exempt from conscription.
     
    

the vice president

     The Vice President of the United States keeps very busy, or so it seems on looking at a newspaper or magazine, but he only has one official duty. He is the President of the Senate, but may only vote in case of a tie. Other than that, he is the man who becomes the new President if the President resigns or dies. No election is held. The Vice President is sworn in with the Oath of Office as soon as it can be arranged, and becomes the new President. His term ends when the old President's term would have ended. He may run for President in the next election. If the term he "finished" was less than two years, he may run for election twice--or rather, he may win the election for president twice. He may run as often as he likes if he loses.

how to become an American

     All of the people born in the United States are citizens of the United States. Many people born in other countries are also citizens of the United States. They become citizens of the United States by coming to the United States from their home country. They need the permission of our government to do this, as we would need permission from their governments to visit their countries. If people come to America as tourists, or on business, their visas, or permission to enter our country, will say how long they may remain in the United States. Other people ask permission to emigrate to America. They want to move here and make a living here. They apply for resident alien ( foreigner, not space being ) status. If they are working, they have to pay taxes, even before they become citizens. Money earned in America gets taxed in America.
    When the foreign-born person has lived in America for five years, he or she may take the citizenship test. You may find a sample test online if you're interested in how your citizenship knowledge measures up. If the immigrant fails the test, he or she may take it again. When the prospective citizen passes the test, he or she will be "sworn in" as an American citizen. This includes abjuring citizenship in any other country.
    The new citizen can now vote in elections--federal, state, and local. He or she will need to reside in the United States for seven years before running for Congress, or nine years before running for the Senate. There are very few differences between the rights of native-born citizens and "naturalized" citizens, as the authors of our Constitution did not want to set up a system of "classes" of citizenship, with one set always inferior. The most well-known difference is that a naturalized ( not born in the U.S ) citizen may not serve as President of the United States.

"excluding Indians not taxed"

     The phrase "excluding Indians not taxed" occurs several times in the  Constitution of the United States. This does not mean that Indians don't pay taxes. American Indians, also called Native Americans, were considered citizens of their Indian nations or tribes, and not of the United States. They were not counted in any census which was used to levy taxes according to population. Indians were also not counted in any census used to apportion representatives in Congress.
    American Indians couldn't vote in elections until they became citizens of the United States in 1924.  The last states to keep Indians from voting held out until 1948, claiming that Indians didn't pay local real estate taxes on tribal or reservation land. The Indians didn't attend the local schools or use any other local services, since their relationship was with the federal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
      You can read in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof , are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside".
     Indians didn't live in any "state", since reservations were considered federal territory, even within a state.  The relationship of the Indians to the federal government was by treaty, so it could have been argued that the Indians were not subject to the jurisdiction of the government. Since they were forbidden to leave the reservation, their laws were made and enforced there. Some of the reservation restrictions were still in force in the 1970's.
    

extradition

     When someone is wanted for a crime, and is found in another state, he or she must be delivered to the executive authority ( the governor, or the governor's office ) of the state in which the crime occurred--the state that has jurisdiction. Article V of the United States Constitution guarantees that this right of extradition will be upheld by the federal government and the courts.
    Other cases of extradition that you may read about involve requesting the return of a suspect from a foreign country. This is more complicated, as relations between any two countries are generally made through the treaties they have signed with one another. Extradition may be a part of those treaties, agreed upon by both countries. If the two countries have not signed a treaty that includes a provision for extradition, the country seeking the return of a suspect asks the officials of the foreign government to send him or her back to stand trial--to extradite him or her. The foreign officials may refuse to do this. They may be angry at our country. They may think they can win a concession by refusing to extradite a fugitive. They may think the fugitive will be treated unfairly--for instance, to many countries the death penalty is unfair, and they may refuse to extradite an accused who may be sentenced to execution.
    Two countries who can't agree about an extradition may appeal to the World Court to settle the case--but they would each have to agree, before the hearing,  to accept the court's verdict. Some countries, including the United States, generally refuse to accept the authority of the World Court.
   

advice and consent

     The Constitution of the United States gives the president the power to make treaties and appointments with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. The president agrees to a treaty ( a deal made with another country ) , appoints someone to the Supreme Court,  appoints an ambassador ( our country's representative in a foreign country ) or chooses the head of a department of the federal government ( such as the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Attorney General ). The person the president appoints is called a nominee. The nominee doesn't actually have a job until the appointment has been confirmed by a majority ( of those present ) of the Senate.
     Treaties with foreign countries do not take effect until they have been approved by 2/3 of the Senators present.  If only a few Senators are present, the vote sometimes has to wait. The vote will wait for a "quorum"--the minimum number of Senators needed to vote on a particular type of bill or measure. What constitutes a quorum may differ, depending on the measure to be voted on. Congress has a set of rules for this, with a "Rules Committee" to see that the rules are enforced.

say what?

     You may read a news article with a quote form an "unnamed source".  This does not exist. A quote comes from a specific and particular source. The source is named, and anyone reading the quote can check the credentials, where possible, of the person being quoted. An "unnamed source" might as well be "the man on the street" or "overheard in a bar". It may be an interesting article, but the "quote" will not make a point, or win an argument, because we don't know who said it, or if the author merely invented it.
     The other side of the "quote" equation is accuracy. When we see quotation marks, we have the right to assume that the words within the quotation marks are precisely what the speaker said. They may be taken from a written source--one that the reader can check for him or herself. If they are reported as part of a conversation, they must be accurately reported. This is what the quotation marks mean, so anything less than complete accuracy is deception.

proofreading

     Proofreading means reading something you have written to check it for errors. When you write something, you won't be there to explain anything the reader doesn't understand. Depending on what you are writing, the reader may be someone you have never met. You won't be able to correct an error or an ambiguous sentence, and you won't be able to strengthen an argument, because you won't be there.
     One of the best ways to check something for errors is to have someone else read your writing . Another person may notice things you've missed. If no one else is available to proofread your writing, proofread it yourself twice. Or three times. Check your spelling and make sure that you have used the correct word, and not something that sounds like it.  Check your punctuation. Make sure to leave spaces where they belong, so your work will be easier to read.
     Check your facts. Or research them and add them if they will help you to make your point.
     Last but not least, make sure that you have made your point. Delete words or phrases that don't have anything to do with what you are saying. Imagine that you are attempting to convince someone who doesn't believe you, who disagrees with you, or who doesn't understand what you are saying. Then consider whether or not your writing conveys your message. No matter how controversial the topic, a good piece of writing can at least open a conversation.
   

historical fiction

    I have recently been reading a work of historical fiction by a very famous author.  I am certified to teach history in Pennsylvania's secondary schools and  I haven't read much historical fiction written for adults, because I usually read non-fiction. Historical fiction can be a good introduction to history. Many authors spend a lot of time doing research so that the historical background of their novels will be accurate. The main characters, all fictional, may mention political or religious figures who are history now. The plot of the novel may involve real historical conflicts--politics, war, religion, economics.
     But how is the reader to know if the author is an accurate historian? Authors who invent believable characters probably take the trouble to make sure that their history is also believable. The easiest way to write believable history would be to do some research. Writers of fiction do not have to cite sources, as academic writers have to do. So we don't know where they got their historical information.
     The book I've been reading recently has fictional characters meeting real figures from history, and having long conversations. These conversations can't actually be "real" history, as some of the characters are fictional. The author might have used writings of the real historical figures to make their parts of the conversations, but this would be time-consuming to check without some help from the author. I think the author just invented them, which I find a shocking notion--putting words into someone else's mouth, who can't sue because he's been dead a hundred years. Why do I believe that this particular author invented the conversations? Because he seems so unreliable in other ways--outrageous use of stereotypes, inconsistent grammar, including some errors many high-school students wouldn't have made.
   Reading is like listening to someone talk. We all know when we don't believe someone. Explaining why can be more difficult.

the civil war

     It's popular now to say that the Civil war wasn't really about slavery, and that's true, in a way. The Civil War was about who was going to run the country. The South, because of the 3/5 Compromise ( see related blog article ), had representation in Congress out of proportion to the number of its citizens. The South was used to pretty much having its way in Congress, if not in the Senate.Although not always a majority, Southern representatives were more likely to vote with one another than Northerners were.
      In the decades before the Civil War, the number of Senators from slave-holding states and from free states was equal. The South was determined to preserve this balance. New territories in the West were applying for statehood. Admission of even one free state would have meant that the South would be outnumbered in the Senate. Each application for statehood became a political crisis. Northerners who never managed to abolish slavery were determined not to permit it to spread to the West. Southerners would have lost most of their political clout if they became greatly outnumbered in Congress by Northerners. Once they became a large majority, the Northerners might move to abolish slavery--and they might win. Another way to keep the North from becoming a majority was to oppose immigration, since most immigrants, then and now, came to the North.
    So you can see how the Civil War was, and wasn't about slavery.
    

pigs in history

     Two hundred years ago, people who kept pigs let them run loose to forage for food. The pigs ate acorns and roots most of the time. The people who kept them fed then "slops" sometimes--kitchen leftovers that would go in a compost pile today. When they put out the slops, they called the pigs-often with the famous cry of "soo--ey". The pigs would come running, knowing that they were going to get a meal without the work of rooting  through the woods. If the people wanted some tasty pork chops or bacon,  when the pigs showed up to be fed they conked one of them on the head.  It seems mean, when the pigs were so happy with their slops, but the remaining pigs came the next time someone called.

shooting cows in the head

     I recently watched the video of the notorious "shooting cows in the head" incident from a few months back ( sorry, but I'm trained as history teacher, so current events aren't quite my strong suit ). The video was somewhat nasty-- I can't recommend viewing it. But what was going on in the video was not cow murder, or a cow massacre, it was untrained or inadequately trained people trying to do a job. Yes, a job. As the story was told to me--35 or 40 years ago--most cows are killed by being shot in the head. It is supposed to be an efficient and "humane" method of bovine execution. Most Americans cheerfully eat the cows, and they ( the cows ) do have to die before they can become a hamburger. The people in the video seemed inept, at best, which made a very messy scene, and caused unnecessary trauma to the cows, who became hamburgers anyway.

you can't get there from here

     When we translate something, we have to translate it into what it means, and not just into the nearest appropriate, or appropriate-seeming word or phrase. Here's an example that could be put into pictures, as well as words. In America, when we say "football", we mean football--the guys with helmets and the football- shaped ball. When we read about a "football" game in many other countries, we need to know that "football" doesn't mean the game we think of as "football". "Football" means what we call "soccer", and has to be translated as "soccer". Then we understand the game being played as the readers in the original language--French, Italian, Spanish--understand it--a game with a round ball you're not allowed to carry, a goalkeeper or goalie, and shorts for uniforms.