Closer And Closer Possibilities

The truth may be puzzling.  It may take some work to grapple with.  It may be counterintuitive.  It may contradict deeply held prejudices.  It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true.  But our preferences do not determine what’s true.  We have a method, and that method helps us to reach not absolute truth, only asymptotic approaches to the truth — never there, just closer and closer, always finding vast new oceans of undiscovered possibilities.  Cleverly designed experiments are the key.
—    Carl Sagan
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On This Day In:
2021	Fighting New Guitar Fever
	Bad Trades In The Tunnel
2020	Give And Gain
	Can We Talk For A Second
	Almost Ready To Take A Breath
2019	Transfiguration
2018	2018 Mid-Terms
	Praying For A Blue Tsunami Election
2017	Islam Is Not The Enemy
2016	A Checkered Past, A Checkered Future
2015	Preferences
2014	Have You Taken The Pledge?
2013	Nurture Tolerance
2012	Election Day – Please Hear What I’m Not Saying
2011	Mostly Strange, Always Blue
	What Is It You Want?
2010	MSNBC, Bring Back Keith !!!
	Value..
	Worse Still…
	Afraid So…
	Making It
	Don’t Jump Small
	Time
	Push!!
	I’m Still Here… (A Message To Keith Olbermann)
	Choose
	Not Yet…
	Mean Too
	Still Building (and Planning)
	Hangin’ High
	Always…

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A Way Of Thinking, An Essential Tool

Science is much more than a body of knowledge.  It is a way of thinking.  This is central to its success.  Science invites us to let the facts in, even when they don’t conform to our preconceptions.  It counsels us to carry alternative hypotheses in our heads and see which ones best match the facts.  It urges on us a fine balance between no-holds-barred openness to new ideas, however heretical, and the most rigorous skeptical scrutiny of everything — new ideas and established wisdom.  We need wide appreciation of this kind of thinking.  It works.  It’s an essential tool for a democracy in an age of change.  Our task is not just to train more scientists but also to deepen public understanding of science.
—    Carl Sagan
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On This Day In:
2021	Experience A Simple Whatever
	A Thousand Kisses
2020	Talking Politics With Trump Republicans
	In Another Lifetime
2019	People Will Come
	Change Is Here…
2018	Be My Hero – Vote Tomorrow!
	He Was All Of Us…
2017	Black And White
	Advice For #DumbDonald
2016	Mirror, Mirror
2015	Speaking With Forked Tongue
2014	The Code
2013	Eventually Formed
2012	Remember To Vote Tomorrow
2011	It Sounds Like Chaos Theory To Me

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In The Beginning…

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.
—     Carl Sagan
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On This Day In:
2021	Are We Talking About Health Insurance / Oil Companies, Facebook Or Faux News?
	When MTV Was Young (And Fun)
2020	Resting
	A New Day Just Means We Continue The Struggle (With A Smile)
2019	One For Two
	Why Trump Insults Pelosi and Schiff
2018	The Worst
2017	#DonTheCon In The Oval Office
2016	Are You Like #AmnestyDon And Sarah Palin?
2015	Begin Today
2014	Look Again (At Life’s Illusions)
2013	None Knows
2012	Yet
2011	No End In Sight
2010	Back At It…

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One Of The Problems (Anyway)

A question frequently asked is:  does not the persistent occurrence of Horrible Examples of Systems-function (or Malfunction) prove something about human nature?  If humans were rational, wouldn’t they act otherwise than they do?  We reply:  Systems-functions are not the result of human intransigence.  We take it as given that people are generally doing the very best they know how.  Our point, repeatedly stressed in this text, is that Systems operate according to Laws of Nature, and that Laws of Nature are not suspended to accommodate our human shortcomings.  There is no alternative to learning How Systems Work, unless one is willing to continue to run afoul of those Laws.  Whoever does not study the Laws of Systemantics and learn them that way, is destined to learn them the hard way, by direct encounter in the world of Experience.  That such runnning-afoul continues to occur is simply a reflection of the fact that knowledge of those laws is not yet sufficiently widespread.  The problem is one of Education, and this book represents an effort in that direction.
―     John Gall
From his book:  “Systemantics:  The Systems Bible“
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On This Day In:
2021	Outside Yet?
	Have You Ever Won?
2020	Choice
	More Rain Forecast
2019	He Claims It’s Fake News And Spies
2018	Mine, Too
2017	Who’s Turn Is It Now?
2016	Before You Vote In November…
2015	Two Faithful Thoughts
2014	Love Light
	Orange October (III) – Giants Advance To National League Championship Series (NLCS)
2013	Nothing Ridiculous
2012	Keeping Faith
2011	Summon Us, Don’t Criticize Us
2010	Obama’s Wars – Book Review
	Game Two – Hearbreaking Loss

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Humble Learning

Teach your tongue to say I do not know and you will progress.
—    Talmud
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On This Day In:
2021	What You’ll Find
	I Know I’m One
2020	Voting Has Consequences
	We Will Get There!
2019	Mutually Exclusive
2018	Basic Rights
2017	Thoughtful Attitudes
	Surprise!!
2016	The Bell Tolls
2015	It Is What It Is
2014	What Have You Learned (Gently) Lately?
	Orange October (I)
2013	Ignore The Man Behind The Curtain
	For A Time
2012	What Are Your True Measurements
2011	What It Is All About
2010	The Magnificent Seven
	Giants Fever!!

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Just Waiting

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
—     Carl Sagan
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On This Day In:
2021	I’ll Keep Trying To Anyway
	She Knows
2020	Respond
	Still Trying To Adjust
2019	The Limits Of My Knowledge
2018	Even Tiny Progress
2017	Real Conservatism
2016	The Business Of Life
2015	Alone Again, Naturally
2014	Agreed
2013	Smile From Your Heart!
2012	Like You
2011	Got Days?
2010	K9 Humor – Has Anyone Seen My Setter?  (Must read!!)
	A Longer Blog Than You Want To Read (Probably)
2009	Back and Forth and Round Again…

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Vive L Différence

Biologically and physiologically, we are not equal.  Some of us learn better at different times of day.  Some learn best visually, some auditorially, some tactilely, by touching.
—    Dr. Leo F. Buscaglia
[IDIC*  —  But we should ALL be equal before the law.    —    kmab]
[IDIC  —  Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combinations    —    ST:TOS]
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On This Day In:
2021	At Least Not Until Sunset
	Rain On The Leaves
2020	At Least A Little Less
	Two For The Post
2019	Promises, Promises
2018	You Mean There IS Something Else?
2017	Be Good
2016	Raise Yourself
2015	A Kids Movie Rip-Off
2014	Ready, Action!
2013	Responding To Challenges
2012	Abnormal, adj.
2011	Large Families
	On The Brink

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Reversing Climate Change Before It’s Too Late

I believe that you control your destiny, that you can be what you want to be.  You can also stop and say, ‘No, I won’t do it, I won’t behave this way anymore.  I’m lonely and I need people around me, maybe I have to change my methods of behaving,’ and then you do it.
—    Dr. Leo F. Buscaglia
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On This Day In:
2021	Said The Anti-Vaxxer
	Ceiling Mash
2020	Is #45 In Good Spirits?
	Alone With My Tears
2019	Learning To…
	Day 15: Die By The Scale
2018	Just Wondering
2017	Until I Think Of Something Better
2016	Who Are You?
2015	Renaissance Reptiles
2014	Book Return
2013	Keep Writing Your Truths
	Perilous Times For The U.S. Military
2012	The Victor
2011	Forging Away At My Deadlines
2010	Try This With Your Shoes…

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A Little Of What’s Been Lost

[Maurice “Mo”] Pinel dedicated a fair portion of his life to disseminating his ideas, and he left behind artifacts such as his YouTube videos that will forever serve as repositories of his eccentric wisdom.  But there was so much he never managed to articulate, so much teaching he still had left to do.  And because he operated in a field that withered a great deal during his decades of involvement, there is perhaps no one left with his breadth of experience nor his bone-deep sense of bowling’s elemental splendor.
This is what the mercilessness of the pandemic has abruptly robbed from us:  tens of thousands of men and women whose rare and hard-won knowledge can never be replicated.  This is how artisanal skills are forgotten, how dialects vanish, how the stories meant to sustain us ebb away from our collective memory.  And it’s all happening at a pace far faster than we can grieve.
After meditating on all that’s been lost, I could come up with only one fitting way to honor what Mo’s time here meant.  As I write these words, I stand precisely 12 days away from being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.  I plan to celebrate by taking my kids bowling.
—     Brendan I. Koerner
From his article:  “One Man’s Amazing Journey to the Center of the Bowling Ball“
Appearing in:  Wired Magazine;  dtd:  July / August 2021
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On This Day In:
2021	I Think They Mean It
	An Endless Stream
2020	ITF (365) – Update
	Word Up!
	My Fear: A Second More Tyrannous Term
2019	Reality And Imperfection
	Day 8: One Stone
2018	Pity The Nation (Part 1)
	Day 41: Hiccup Or End Of Days?
2017	Sharp-Edged Beauty
2016	Start, Keep, Finish
2015	Lifetime Friends
2014	Acknowledgement
2013	Longevity, Tenacity and Diversity
2012	What Reagan Really Cared About
2011	Seeming Sane (Or Not)

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The Penalty For Sedition / Insurrection / Civil War

Over the last weekend, Senator Lyndsey Graham (R – South Carolina) was interviewed on TV and virtually assured that if former President Trump is indicted for taking classified government documents to Mar-a-Lago, there will be “riots in the streets”.
My response to Sen. Graham is:  “Fine!  Rioters will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law…”
Under 18 U.S.C. § 2384, “seditious conspiracy” occurs when two or more persons:
conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof.
NO ONE is above the law – particularly when it comes to the defense of National Security.  This especially includes former Presidents!
If there is sufficient evidence to indict / convict Donald Trump, then he should be indicted, arrested and brought to trial.  If found guilty, Trump should serve time.  If found not guilty, Trump should be released.  He IS presumed to be NOT guilty until he has been found guilty by a jury of his peers.
If individuals (or groups) wish to meet PEACEFULLY to object to / protest the indictment, trial, or results, they have their First Amendment right to do so.  They DO NOT have the right to riot or interfere with the process of the lawful administration of justice.
Anyone found guilty of rioting and / or conspiracy to riot should be placed on a domestic terrorist watch list for the remainder of their natural lives.  They should be reminded that – in the “good, old days” – terrorism, sedition and insurrection were punished by death.
If we – as a nation – accept the threat of violence (“riots in the streets”) as a reason to not prosecute ANYONE who would otherwise be subject to prosecution / trial, then we are no longer a country ruled by law.
The general public needs to be reminded former President Trump was not the only person in his Administration who was aware of the unlawful removal and possession of government documents (not just the “classified” documents), and they should ALL be indicted and prosecuted.  This is the only way to ensure this does not happen again  – by an Administration from either political party.
“Equal Justice Under Law…“
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On This Day In:
2021	How Learning Infections Begin
	Stay Young At Heart
2020	Policies Not People
	Just Thinking To Myself
2019	Should I Start With My Religion?
2018	Fear And Hope
	Day 33: Good News & Prep
2017	Directions
2016	Handle With Care
2015	Nothing But Pride
2014	Go
2013	Well, Does It?
2012	Near Misses Aren’t Successes
2011	Uncomfortable Feelings
2010	San Francisco (favorites)…
	Bullets or Butter?

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Unlimited Curiosity In Finite Time

I want to know what everything is, and nothing is;  the beauty of a note and the silence which surrounds it.  I like to know and understand myself, and those whom I meet, or nearly meet.  I am conscious that I will not always be conscious:  that my curiosity is unlimited but my time is finite, and I cannot waste a moment of it in acquiring things which will not make me richer in a way I value.
The amusing thing is many would consider me as living in la la land, where poetry is a secret form of currency, and music a mode of transport which might carry me to lands and vistas invisible to the naked eye:  to where angels might dwell and we begin to forgive and truly understand the love which passes all understanding.  I can live with the opinions of the “many”, but I cannot live without my imagination.”
One of the great temptations of life is to lose sight of the beauty of the whole, or the mystery of an instant amidst the mass of worries, jealousies and insecurities which crowd in on the average day, including mine, but while I have a breath to draw I will, whatever my circumstances, raise my eyes in wonder to the horizon and marvel at the miracle of consciousness.
—     Peter Wells
Originally found at one of the blogs I follow:  Countingducks
Located at:  https://countingducks.wordpress.com
The specific post is:  A Matter Of Philosophy
https://countingducks.wordpress.com/2022/07/18/a-matter-of-philosophy/
[Please visit the original site if you have a few minutes to spare.  You’ll get hooked, too!    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	How Learning Infections Begin
	Stay Young At Heart
2020	Policies Not People
	Just Thinking To Myself
2019	Should I Start With My Religion?
2018	Fear And Hope
	Day 33: Good News & Prep
2017	Directions
2016	Handle With Care
2015	Nothing But Pride
2014	Go
2013	Well, Does It?
2012	Near Misses Aren’t Successes
2011	Uncomfortable Feelings
2010	San Francisco (favorites)…
	Bullets or Butter?

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Units Of Measure

Scientific progress is measured in units of courage, not intelligence.
—     Paul Dirac
[Found on one of the blogs I follow:  “ram H singhal“
Located at:  https://ram0singhal.wordpress.com/
The specific post is at:  https://ram0singhal.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/1933-nobel-prize-in-physics-paul-adrien-maurice-dirac/
Please visit the original site if you have a spare moment.     —     kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	True Fervor
	Still Sparkles
2020	A Destructive Mistake
	I’d Rather Live In HER World
2019	And #IncompetentTrump Is A Failure At Both
2018	To Excel At Your Craft
	Day 12: Waiting
2017	Like When You Can Order Others To Fight For You
2016	Holding Fast
2015	Alms Or Balms
2014	A Day At The Beach
2013	Pillows
	Steppin’
2012	Invincible Summer
2011	Being Objective
2010	First Things First…
	Northwest Passages – Intro
	Northwest Passages – Day One
	Northwest Passages – Poetry
	Northwest Passages – Evening One
	Northwest Passages – Morning Two

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Bees And Flowers

If you put a computer in front of children and remove all other adult restrictions, they will self-organize around it like bees around a flower.
—    Sugata Mitra
As quoted by:  Joshua Davis
From his article:  “Free Thinkers“
Appearing in:  Wired Magazine;  dtd:  November 2013
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On This Day In:
2021	Revolutionary Protest
	‘Cause Dreaming Can Make You Mine
2020	Too High For #45
	Talkin’ ‘Bout Her
2019	Little Things…
2018	Have Thee Paid Yet?
	Day 9: Fingertips
2017	Hopefully, I’m Good Company
2016	Maybe Not Most
2015	Differences That Matter
2014	But Sometimes It Takes A Village
2013	Laughter > Grief
2012	Pioneers
2011	It Is Free

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Happy 13th Anniversary Of Blogging

This post marks the first day of my 14th year of blogging here on WordPress.  A great deal of this post is a repetition of last year’s post…  (And, yes, it’s a long one…)
With almost no change from last year…  The number of countries who’ve visited this site continues to (slowly) grow and the number which haven’t continues to decrease.  North Korea and Cuba are still among them (the latter…)  I’m also still missing a belt across the middle of Africa (but it’s no longer coast-to-coast) and a few spots in Asia.  (Slowly, slowly…  Resistance is futile.)
On reviewing my content over the past year, I’m mostly back to one post a day.  They are almost entirely just quotes with occasional political opinions, infrequent film reviews and rarely book reviews.  I haven’t added near as many posts about learning guitar or music as I thought I would.  I’m not terribly sure why.
My blog is continuing to be part of my “normal” retired life (since 2017).  I routinely receive about 20 to 60 emails (per day) from the roughly 300 blogs I follow.  I say “roughly” because I don’t check how many I follow.  I just looked, and I (still) have fewer than 2,000 followers myself.  Every year there is a trade-off:  you pick up a few steady followers and a few drop off.  Those who actually post about leaving (their own sites) say they are simply moving on to other things.  Most, don’t bother and just stop posting.  A few come back after some period of time.  Many do not.  It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve stopped blogging.  Some just move to a hosted service to try to monetize their thoughts and don’t provide me a way to follow them.  Or maybe they did and I simply missed the link…
I do have bone to pick with some (many?) of the posts I receive.  Three bones, actually…  First, I receive a large number of posts which don’t contain “Like” options.  This means I have to click to your site and log into WordPress to give you a like.  Most of the time, I will not do this.  I’m just lazy and if you don’t want the feed back, I’m happy to not provide it.  The second is an email with a title and five or six words from your post and then a “read more”.  Again, sorry – PROBABLY 95% of the time, I no longer click through to your site.  If you don’t give me at least a paragraph to hook me, you’ve lost me for that post.  It’s different if you are running a visual / photo site, but not by much.  If you give me one (or two) image(s) per post – fine.  If you regularly have 10 – 15 – 20 images in a single post, I might view one post a week.  And, lastly, in general I only view one post a day from a single source and it’s kind of random…  Sometimes it’s the first.  Sometimes it’s the last.  Sometimes it’s just whatever…
At any rate, I easily spend an hour per day reviewing the posts I get (via email subscription) and sometimes that is simply overwhelming.  It’s not always the average blogger’s fault.  If you post something interesting, I (still) will go off and investigate it further:  authors, artists, locations, books, movies, science / math / history topics – they will all lead me off down the rabbit hole.  And that hole can be DEEP!   There are a few (a handful) of sites which I know are visual and I more frequently click through to the actual site, because I’m interested in the bits which are not offered in the smaller / limited / text based emails I tend to receive.  I apologize if my failure to click-thru affects your view stats negatively…
So, besides this blog, what am I up to?  My health has been mixed.  I’m still morbidly obese and none of my “lifestyle” changes (diets) have stuck.  The problem I have is I’ve had some changes in my meds so I’m not sure if they are affecting me or if I’m just getting older and less motivated – or a combination.  As always, one has to balance the good of the med versus the adverse (potential) effects.  The two which seem the best (for me) are the juicing / blending and the “40hr water fast twice a week”.  The former for losing and the latter for maintaining.  If I can get my meds stable, I’ll probably go on an alternating schedule of these two for a prolonged period.
In January 2021, I purchased my first guitar and I’ve been practicing most every day since. (I miss about one day every other month.)  I “know” my basic (C, A, G, E, D, F, Am, Em, Dm) open / “cowboy” chords and major / minor scales – single string and in first position.  Strumming, finger-picking (Travis style) and chord changes are coming slowly (slower), but they are getting better now that I’m practicing them more consistently.  I now own three acoustic guitars and five electrics, and I have another acoustic on loan from my brother.  I had them on a monthly rotation calendar, but shifted to three weeks at the start of the year (2022).  I’m planning to move to a weekly rotation.  I’m looking into picking up a few (three) more inexpensive guitars and I’ve dropped the idea of basses (for at least a while).  There is no time pressure.  It’s all about my ability to save (here and there) until I can justify a purchase.  [Wife:  How many guitars do you NEED?  Me:  …One more.]  At the moment, the plan is one more strat (type), one more tele (type) and a round-back acoustic.  I didn’t really even think about round-backs before.  I thought they were only over-sized guitars for Mariachi style music, but I’ve learned otherwise.  Anyway, they “tend” to be plastic / fiberglass backs, and I’m interested in what that sounds like.  I have a distinct memory of strumming an “Ovation” (round-back) guitar MANY years ago, but I don’t remember anything about it (sound or feel).  We’ll see…  I am also going to start looking into amps and pedals for the electrics.
The few things I’ve learned (mainly about myself) have truly been amazing (to me).  I do seem to have a smidgen of musical ability (although it’s still buried under layers of doubt).  I’m (still) finding the ability to concentrate on practice to be as relaxing as zoning out in computer programming used to be (in my youth).  Sixty to ninety minutes can easily seem like five or ten minutes.  There is also the complete exhaustion which results from prolonged concentration – however “relaxing” it may feel at the time.  In a strange way, it feels good to be mentally tired at the end of a practice session.
But, am I getting any better at playing?  An objective opinion would be:  Yes!  Am I any “good”?  An objective opinion would be:  No!  Does it matter a whit?  No.  Why not?  Because, like blogging, I’m doing it for the enjoyment of doing it and not for the expectation (mine or anyone else’s) of being any good at playing guitar.  Again, like blogging, as long as it’s fun and interesting and fulfilling, I’ll just keep doing it…  My not so secret goal remains to write a song (lyrics and music) for my wife.  (LoL)
I posted a while back about my guitar goals for the remainder of 2022, but I can easily see them (the goals) extending into 2023.  If I have ANY disappointments over guitars it’s that developing my luthier skills has definitely fallen by the wayside.  I’m happy being able to change strings, round fret ends and play with action and intonation, but it turns out, if you buy inexpensive instruments, the decent quality luthier tools and better quality parts are almost as (or more) expensive as (than) a new instrument.
So, it’s guitar playing and blogging to keep me occupied (and mostly out of trouble).  LoL!!
Other than that, we got one of our bathrooms remodeled back in February 2022 and we’re hoping to get our other one done in early fall.  All things in their time (LoL – and with available funds!)
Once again…  “Excelsior!!“
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On This Day In:
2021	Happy 12th Anniversary Of Blogging
	We ARE…
2020	Happy 11th Anniversary Of Blogging
2019	Happy 10th Anniversary — Thoughts On My First Decade Of Blogging
2018	Happy 9th Anniversary — Three Thoughts
	Day 2 – Notes On Progress
2017	Happy 8th Anniversary
2016	Happy 7th Anniversary
2015	Happy 6th Anniversary
2014	Happy 5th Anniversary
2013	I Resemble That Remark!
2012	Happy 3rd Anniversary
2011	Is America Safe Tonight?
2009	Hello world! (See how it all began…)

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Add Being Female To This List

I would encourage us all, African Americans, Asians, Latinos, Whites, Native Americans to study history.  I long for the time when all the human history is taught as one history.  I am stronger because you are stronger.  I am weaker if you are weak.  So we are more alike than we are unlike.
—    Maya Angelou
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On This Day In:
2021	We Are More Alike
	Make It Real
2020	One Lesson In Diversity
2019	And Yet, I Believe
2018	Beats
	First Step: Starting Cleansing (Again)
2017	Effective Stimuli
2016	Dave’s Not Here, Man
2015	Blink
2014	The Struggle To Educate America Continues…
2013	On Elections
2012	Warm Smiles
	Pick Your Poison
2011	Straight Shooters

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