north and south

     The words "north" and "south" seem to be all over the place, but they do have a definite meaning. Their meaning is easier to grasp when you look at a globe--a map of the Earth in 3 dimensions, shaped like a ball. The North Pole is at the top of the Earth. The South Pole is at the bottom."South", in general terms, means in the direction of, or towards,  the South Pole.  "North" means in the direction of, or towards, the North Pole. Almost every place on Earth ( the poles, mentioned above, are the exception ) is both north and south of some other place. The United States of America is south of Canada, and north of Mexico. Canada is north of the United States. Mexico is south of the United States.
    Only the North Pole is north of every place. The South Pole is south of every place.  Every other place on Earth can be described, or located, in part, by what it is north of, or south of. To actually find the place, we'd also need to know what it's west or east of, but that's another story.

states' rights

     States' rights is the political doctrine that the federal government should not have the power or authority to tell any individual state, or group of states, what to do.  The idea of states' rights has most recently been important in the 1950's and 60's, when the states of the former Confederacy refused to implement federal Civil Rights legislation.
      States' rights is also frequently cited as a major cause of the ( American ) Civil War.  It has become popular to insist that the war wasn't about slavery, but about states' rights. This becomes a bit silly when carried too far, since the states' right the South wanted to preserve was the right to own slaves. It wasn't actually a states' rights issue before the Civil War because the North did not have the political wherewithal to abolish slavery, only to attempt to check its spread. There was no anti-slavery legislation to defy. Slavery was not abolished until during the war--with the Southern representatives and Senators absent, the North had a clear majority for its policies.
     The states that did defy national legislation before the Civil war were Northern--the Northern states, more or less, refused to enforce the federal Fugitive Slave Act, which demanded the return of any slave who escaped to freedom in the North.  Southerners have actually cited this as a cause of their defiance, 100 years later, of federally ordered desegregation--states' rights for states' rights.
    

I'll set the law on you

    Most people have probably heard, at least on TV, someone threatening to prosecute someone, or to have someone prosecuted--the law of the fishwife.  Hmm. The law is something we make together, as a society, an agreed upon set of standards--one you could have gotten from your grandmother ( or mine, anyway), as in "how would you like it if someone did that to you?', or "what if everyone behaved that way?"  As we make the law together, we administer it as a society, together, through court employees and judges, elected by us, or appointed by our elected representatives. The law doesn't, or shouldn't, belong to one person or group to use as a weapon--when it does, it really isn't the law anymore, it's just someone using the courts for a personal agenda. We'd be better off with an impersonally administered set of rules, with no room for decision-making by administrators, than with a criminal justice system that can be used by the self-styled clever to their own purposes, no matter how high or righteous-seeming. "Would you like to prosecute?" should be removed from our courts, along with "I want him prosecuted."  It's an ancient custom that just doesn't work in a modern world. Our laws are statutory--written--and we, as a society, caused them to be written, and chose what they should be. That's why they work, when they work. No individual citizen should have the capacity to overturn that, by deciding who is and who is not prosecuted.

learning begins at birth

     Learning begins at birth, if there's anything to psychology. According to the science of psychology, there is such a thing as a normal human mind, and normal human emotions. Any mental processes or emotional states that deviate form the normal range are thought to be the product of childhood trauma, neglect, or abuse, either physical or emotional--in other words, learned behavior.

herd immunity

     I've had people tell me that they don't need to be vaccinated for contagious diseases because they have "herd immunity". By this they mean that since other people are vaccinated, they won't get sick, even without the vaccination. Probably not so, and quite risky. If most people are vaccinated, a disease might be checked before it gets anywhere in a population--but then again, it might not. Herd immunity belongs to a herd. If most people are vaccinated for a deadly disease, most people will survive an outbreak of it, since only the unvaccinated will become ill and die. The herd will remain, undamaged for the lack of the few people who weren't vaccinated. Individuals don't have herd immunity. Herds do.

trial in absentia

A trial in absentia means conducting a trial while the accused is absent--not in the courtroom. In the United States, this is unconstitutional, and any verdict rendered by a trial in absentia would be overturned by a higher court, or a court of appeals. Every defendant in the United States has the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him", which cannot happen if he or she is not present. A defendant also has the right to "be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation", for which he or she would need to be present. If you think someone is being tried in absentia, contact your local civil liberties organization or bar association--these rights are yours, too.

crimes against the state

     "Crimes against the state" is a sinister-sounding phrase to most American ears. It sounds like something we've seen in a B movie about the Cold War--one with political prisoners in it. But, in America, all crimes are crimes against the state. Commit burglary in Pennsylvania, and you will be tried by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The same with any other crime, in any other state. Of course, our states, like our nation, are made of "we the people". In some states, a criminal charge is read "the people of the state of" . Which is as it should be. Commit a crime against one person, you've committed a crime against all of us. It's called society, one of the natural functions of being human. So, the next time an American convict or ex-convict tells you that he or she was really a political prisoner ( a common bit of jailhouse philosophy ), tell him or her that you know-- that you approved it with your vote, and supported it with your tax dollars. And the next time you read something about "crimes against the state" in a foreign country, make sure you're not just reading about everyday, ordinary crime.

legal emancipation

     Legal emancipation means the emancipation of a minor ( someone under the age of 18, or 21 in some states ) from parental control. The minor will no longer be the parents' responsibility. The parents will not be responsible for the minor's debts, or for the care of the minor. This status is usually reserved for minors who marry, for which they need their parents' permission. A married minor can sign a contract and own property without the involvement of his or her parents. Joining the military at 17 may also emancipate a minor. A 16 or 17-year old who has a job and gets an apartment might be recognized as emancipated by a law court. A teen who gets in trouble with the law might be considered as emancipated for the purpose of living in a group home, or a facility supervised by the state. For the few minors who have a substantial income, legal emancipation may be an important issue, since it gives the minor the legal right to keep any money earned.

public school

In America ( the United States ) , we call our state-run schools "public schools", since they are open to the public, supported by the public, and run by the public. Schools that are privately run, and open only to those who are admitted, are called "private schools".
In the United Kingdom ( England ) "public school" means an elite private school. It was called public school by those who would have kept their children at home with a tutor if they hadn't sent them to school.

Hessians

     The Hessians ( in American history ) were soldiers loaned by the ruler of Hesse, in what is now Germany, to the king of England. Hessians fought the Americans in the Revolutionary War. They fought with the British--that is, on the side of the British, against the Americans. British soldiers also fought the Americans.  There were many more British soldiers than there were Hessians.
     Someone has started a historical error that seems to be spreading. I read it in a political science textbook--a college level textbook. The author claimed that the Hessians fought the Americans because the British didn't like to fight with a people so closely related. Not so. The British were here, quartered in Boston and some other places, before the revolution began, and they did most of the fighting. I don't know what made the author decide that if Hessians fought, that that the British didn't--he just guessed that part, perhaps, and incorrectly.  There were at least as many British soldiers as Hessians--possibly  twice as many. The British didn't need the Hessians because they didn't want to fight the Americans themselves--they wanted the Hessians so that their army would be large enough to defeat the Americans easily.
    

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.