How else can it be when you compare the great diva, Leontyne Price, with the gut-wrenching singing of the queen of psychedelic drugs, Janis Joplin?

As for another old saying, “There is no accounting for taste,” that is plainly false and most likely the best way to make sense of it is to understand it as “There is no way to justify taste.” Let’s go with that.

Janis was born to middle class parents but was always a misfit. Her wild ways were too much for her high school mates and she was deeply into the use of drugs as a teenager. Nevertheless, she tried a brief period of studiousness when she was a sociology major in college. It just didn’t take, and in short order she put that behind her and became the legend in her own time, dying young at age 27. Surprisingly, she is ranked only as the 28th greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

To the casual ear, her voice is hopelessly out of control and usually off key. But listen closely and you will notice that she is the master of her vocal chords and always knows where she wants the next note to land. Her style is unique and loved by rock fans but for those who, like me, were raised on classical singing, it takes a bit of work to grasp her genius. Here is a clip of her singing the superb classic, Summertime, from the opera Porgy and Bess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzNEgcqWDG4

Price’s upbringing was very different. She was the daughter of dirt-poor black folk in Mississippi who early on recognized the extraordinary talent of their daughter and sacrificed to give her the best musical education. Even with it, she did not rise to stardom until she was about the same age as Joplin was when the latter died of an overdose of heroin combined with plenty of alcohol.

Of Price’s singing, it is good to know that the great trumpeter, Miles Davis, had this to say: “I have always been one of her fans because in my opinion she is the greatest female singer ever, the greatest opera singer ever. She could hit anything with her voice. Leontyne’s so good it’s scary. … I love the way she sings Tosca. I wore out her recording of that, wore out two sets.”

Here is Price’s version of Summertime. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMCw_FjSQuQ

Had the Bard of Staten Island, William Shakespeare, superstar at Notre Dame in the 1930s and hero of the so-called greatest game of the century in 1935, [against Ohio State] penned an account of the hundreds of poundings he took in search of glory on the battlefields of South Bend, Indiana, would he not have rewritten the original Bard’s line, “First thing we do is kill all the lawyers” and made that “kill all the doctors?” Has there ever been an industry more determined to proclaim itself as the savior of mankind than that of The Medicine Man? What are famous warriors, political geniuses, and men of science as compared to even the lowliest country doctor, twice put on probation for not having completed his yearly “continuing medical education” courses in a timely manner? [CME]

The ordinary understanding of “the medicine man” is of a shaman, a wheeler/dealer in divinations, a healer who succeeds (or doesn’t) in virtue of his spiritual gifts. Is that far from the “the man of science” who, when pressed to explain his failures, says that medicine is only an “art”? As for the criminal-mindedness of this “profession”, let us charitably turn our heads away from the painful sight. Is there a surgeon in America who participates in over 1000 surgeries per year who has not witnessed dozens of culpable errors on the part of some of his brethren? You know, I suppose, it is more than a breach of the medical code not to report the blunderer. It is a felony in most jurisdictions.

The pharmaceutical industry is the twin brother of the medical industry, often playing the payola game to get the Medicine Man to use certain products. Last January, the drug maker Eli Lilly pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and paid $1.41 billion to settle criminal and civil charges that it improperly marketed an antipsychotic drug for elderly patients with dementia, potentially putting them at risk. In September, Pfizer paid $2.3 BILLION to settle criminal and civil charges that it had illegally marketed an anti-inflammatory drug and other products. One of its subsidiaires, the Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, pleaded guilty to a felony related to the anti-inflammatory drug.

In December, 2008, the Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceana presented a resolution to its 45th Congress.:
Resolution on Criminal Punishment for Medical Error

“That Council recommends to Congress, that Congress pass the resolution expressing grave concern at the law in some countries which that medical error as a felony and, in particular, treat medical error causing death as manslaughter (or equivalent). CMAAO believes that the criminal law should apply only in cases of gross or reckless negligency, or criminal intent, on the grounds that to do otherwise is not in the best interests of the patient or the public, as it will lead to the practice of defensive medicine which will limit the treatment opportunities for patients. While CMAAO believes that all doctors should be accountable for their actions, it also believes that erring doctors should answer to a professional tribunal or the civil courts rather than the criminal courts.”

So there. Not much different from police who practice a Code of Silence and insist they can handle their own problems without aid of outside agencies.

The Washington State Department of Health is canvassing hospitals to determine why so few have reported medical errors under a state law that says reporting is mandatory. Its report says:

“# The health department hasn’t made any annual reports to the legislature on medical errors, as required by the law, because of the failure to hire a contractor; # No Web site for reporting medical errors was created, as required by the law; # The state’s medical error reporting office is an under-funded one-person operation.”

Throughout the United States, only 52 percent of health care facilities have reported adverse events to the Department of Health,” said Linda Furkay, the health department’s patient safety-adverse event officer. Of course. That saves trillions of dollars.

An average of 195,000 people in the USA died due to preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a new study of 37 million patient records that was released today by HealthGrades, the healthcare quality company. Compare that to the total number of annual deaths of our soldiers and tack on deaths by auto accidents and murders. For fun, throw in suicides.

But what the hell, who’s counting? And, in addition to the fact that you are not counting, you have bought into the heavy barrage of propaganda that tells you the insurance industries are getting in the way of your intimate relationship with your doctor. Sure, you bet. Last week, I submitted to a physician who did the standard EMG on every patient dumb enough to enter his chambers. Charge for the 5 minutes of zapping me? $1800. My insurance company offered 100 bucks and he accepted. I got stuck with $10.

This voodoo man, like all the others loaded with expensive gadgetry, is trying to pay off the bills he accumulated by acquiring all the tomfoolery in his menagerie. In ten years he will be out of the red and it will all be gravy. Meanwhile, I will be under the knife and soaked in red, having landed in the arms of another wunderkind who has his own assortment of Rube Goldberg inventions that he swears by. It may be a race against the clock. Will I live long enough to pay off his charges or will he kill me first? If he kills me first, it will be a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Throw that ball, Bill. TOUCHDOWN!

I was particularly attracted to a masterpiece by the Italian Renaissance painter, Carlo Crivelli, and I think I stood near it, examining it from several angles for a good 3-5 minutes. It exhibited an attention to detail that astounded me. After walking away, I imagined Carlo as a little boy playing stickball in the streets of Venice.

“Carlo, my angel, come in now and eat your pasta.” Obediently, Carlo did as his mother bid him to do. Two hours later:

“Hey, Carlo, come on out and play.”
Carlo’s mother cries out from the window: “Carlo can’t go out now. He is practicing to become a great painter.” And so it came to pass.

I entered a diner-like place not far from the Museum and ordered the British equivalent of coffee and toast. The Brits refer to what was placed in front of me as coffee and toast. A nicely dressed man approached.

NDM: I believe I saw you at the Museum. You were admiring a Crivelli for at least 20 minutes. May I sit down?
SG: Yes, I was just there. I was looking at the Crivelli for about 3-5 minutes. Yes, please sit down.
NDM: Well, it doesn’t matter. 3 minutes or 20. You were very attentive and that caught my attention. What did you find so much to admire about it?
SG: I don’t really know. Crivelli was a spectacular craftsman, and that must have been it.
NDM: But you could have taken that in within 3 minutes. 5 at the most. 20 minutes is considerable.
SG: Did you time me?
NDM: No, but I do know the difference between 3 and 20 minutes. Well, let’s not haggle over 17 minutes. You agree with me, I suspect, that Crivelli is one for all ages.
SG: I wish I could agree but I know almost nothing about art.

The Nicely Dressed Man raises his eyebrows and says: Oh? What brought you to the National Museum?
I resist the urge to say, “A bus” and, instead, give the dull response: I don’t know.
The NDM persists: You are being modest, I am sure. No one who knows nothing about art stands in front of a painting for 20 minutes.
SG: It was closer to 2 minutes, perhaps 3.
NDM: I think it was at least 10 minutes but, in any case, I suppose you enjoyed examining it. Am I at least right about that?
SG, now staring at his faux toast with a critical eye he did not have for Crivelli: I guess so.

The NDM, now realizing his error in imagining I was something other than a nitwit: I have to go now. Thank you for the company.
SG: You are welcome. Maybe I will see you again – at the Tate.

I proceed to examine my “coffee” and ponder the mystery of British food. I decide I’ll skip the Tate.

Charity Navigator released its latest ranking of 3005 charities in 2008, and the median salary was $147,273. Perhaps this is not excessive for large organizations with multi-million dollar budgets but, at the top, it is certainly shocking, especially considering that this median is well below the mean.

In the Northeast, median salary was $185,000 and median was at its lowest in the South – $128,678. If we consider large charities only (121 of them in the Northeast), we find a very sizable pay of $300,000 as the median. Among the very smallest charities (most of them located in the South), CEO median dips to $91,750.

Education charities pay their bosses $272, 645 while Religion and Animal organizations weigh in with $90,000 and $106,000 respectively.

Charities with budgets over $500 million pay their CEOS a median average of $695,379 but all charities of whatever stripe have some real winners. The top dog at the NY Philharmonic (yes, it is a registered charity) pulls down a heft $2,649,000 and the education-based Evans Scholars Foundation collects $2,049 for his efforts. The animals can be proud of the Wildlife Conservation Society for giving its leader $725,485.

Thanks to lovely nepotism, the kingpins at the American Endowment Foundation are managing nicely. Four members of the Tobin family collectively sock away $450,000. Three thicker-than-water brothers at the Christian Relief Services Charities walk off with $467,000. Even better are Larry, Frances and Larri Sue Jones of Feed the Children who feed themselves nicely with $630,000. The Kings of those who believe charity begins at home is the Crouch family who run the show at Trinity Broadcasting Network. Their Big Four smash the $1.1 million barrier. Paul, the President, collects $419,000.

In general, excessive salary varies by location with the head honchos of Mountain West education societies earning $184,000 less cash than their peers in the Northeast. As they say, location, location, location.

Stéphane Guillon, a sharp-tongued comedian, went a bit too far when he was hired by a French state radio to spice up its morning schedule. He joked about President Nicolas Sarkozy’s diminutive stature, mocked the first lady’s music career and called France’s immigration minister “chinless.” The station boss, Philippe Val, gave Guillon the ax when Guillon added Val to his list of victims.

In 1881 the government passed a law guaranteeing freedom of the press, and with the development of mass media, French comics became more vicious. When President Sarkozy was snapped taking singer and former model Carla Bruni on a date to Disneyland Paris, comedian Anne Roumanoff joked on TV: “A first for Disneyland: Snow White marries the dwarf.”

Guillon hit the big time (and a very sore spot) when he joked about the director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, shortly after the latter admitted to an affair with an IMF economist. Guillon told his live audience that to prevent mishaps “special security measures” were in place. Cameras had been put under Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s table, and female France radio staff had been warned not to dress provocatively so as not to “awake the beast.”

Mr. Guillon said that after being named chief executive of Radio France, Jean-Luc Hees had placed his manhood in Mr. Sarkozy’s hands. Strauss-Kahn claims humor is not funny when it is cruel. Of course, he wrong but the French government is getting the last laugh. It has fired Guillon.

Dear Dean Vestrand:

Looking at your catalogue and faculty listings, I notice that none of your faculty specializes in jurisprudence. Therefore, I believe we may be of benefit to one another. I taught at Eastern Michigan U. for 29 years as the resident philosopher of law, ethics and advanced logic and, now, after an extended period of retirement, I am eager to get back in service on a part-time basis at your Ann Arbor-located campus. I am competent in philosophy of law and the associated area of jurisprudence. My courses have covered a wide range of topics: the concept of law, judicial reasoning, theories concerning the purpose and justifications of punishment, and, lastly, causation in law. Additionally, my courses always deal with normative issues such as abortion, euthanasia, affirmative action, and capital punishment. Both the first cluster – the abstract topics – and the second set – the practical issues – are essential to a solid grounding in jurisprudence.

I believe my record as a distinguished teacher can be documented and I have also compiled a solid list of publications in peer-reviewed journals. I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss a part-time position.

Sincerely yours,

Sidney Gendin

Sidney Gendin, Ph. D.
Professor Emeritus, Philosophy of Law
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Mi 48197
734 476 4495

(2) Mr. Gendin, thank you for your interest in teaching at Cooley Law School. Unfortunately, all adjunct professors must possess a juris doctor degree as part of the qualifications for teaching a course.

Dear Joan:

Thank you for your very prompt response.

Sincerely,

Sidney

Now, the Demagogue-in-Office has resorted to the same trick. He ran for office, promising to get our troops out of Iraq by the end of 2010, and he has pretty much kept his word. He did not promise to get them out of Afghanistan. Last night, in a nationally televised speech, he boasted he kept his campaign promise. Since Obama does not take print journalism seriously, he solemnly said he is announcing that it is “official” – we are evacuating (combat) troops from Iraq. Since he also said that to the print media at least one week ago, apparently he didn’t regard that announcement as “official” as last night’s.

In any case, as a result of a large transfer of personnel from Iraq to the opium mountains of Afghanistan, we now have about 100,000 troops stationed in that godforsaken part of the world. US General David Petraeus, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that deployments would reach full strength of 150,000 within days.

The good news, if you are a fan of the Taliban, is that, In all, 1,270 American troops have lost their lives since the conflict began with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, following the 9-11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.
Since as sports writers like to say, records are meant to be broken, 2010 is the worst year of all although it is not yet over. 322 deaths so far, and counting. Since this war – what the U.S. has dubbed OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM is a joint effort, we should take notice of the sufferings of our “allies.” 788 “coalition military forces” have bitten the bullet since 2001. That’s almost 80 per year. In other words, if the “Coalition forces” could have been given a choice between being sent to Detroit and any of the other murder capitals in the U.S. or going to that safe haven in Rocky Mountain, Afghanistan, the selection would have been a no-brainer.

I don’t know the cost of the print edition but I suppose it is amounts to a healthy chunk of change about on a par with the NY Times but less expensive than such papers as the The Times of London or any other of those overseas publications. You can always (ugh) “download” it every day via http://www.theepochtimes.com or get one of those newsreaders that allows you to scan all the headlines and choose what interests you. That is much better because it won’t cost you one red cent. Personally, I download about 30 newspapers and magazines including such heftily priced items as The NY Review of Books. You click on a headline and the full article springs up. Nothing can beat that service. Again, it is all free.

2. A Lake Erie roadside attraction features fiberglass dinosaurs in its so-called Prehistoric Forest. No one goes there any more and the owners are looking to sell its sluggish dinosaurs. Why, indeed, would anybody look at stationary chunks of fiberglass when he can go see full-blooded dinosaurs in 3-D wooshing around in films such as Avatar?

3. Readers know how I love those in the medical industry (a.k.a. medical “profession”) I once wrote of a gentleman I met at a party who, seeing me struggle to get a bottle cap off, offered to help. “Why would you have better luck than I’m having?” I dull-wittedly asked. Astonished, he replied, “Why, I thought you know. I’m a doctor.” To rub it in, he quickly removed the doggone thing. Recently, another health care provider told me I should take a “baby” aspirin each day as protection for my heart. I said I preferred to take two of them but he said it was extravagant. I replied that I spend more money each week on movies and ice cream than I spend on aspirin in a year. His response was a quick-witted, “Oh.” How I love these guys.

4. Roger Clemens faces a possible 30-year sentence for once having told congressman that he doesn’t use performance-enhancing drugs. Those wonderful congressmen – how I love those guys. May they each have their baby aspirins taken away from them.

5. A distinguished Harvard economist wrote a guest editorial in the Wall Street Journal this week, pointing out that unemployment insurance is killing the poor. And he proved his point without once resorting to a differential equation. How I love these guys.

6. Since about 2003, about 125 Japanese teenagers have been killed while receiving judo instruction. In at least one case, a judo expert, in his frustration with a slow learner, choked the lad to death. There has not been a single inquiry into the any of the 125 deaths. You gotta love Japanese delicacy.

7. A gunman entered an Arizona home and killed 6 people but spared a 13-month old infant. Whoever said there is no honor among bloodthirsty lunatics?

8. In Chechnya, Russia, 17 people bit the bullet and died as law enforcement officers shot it out with 12 militants. My dictionary defines “militant” as forceful, fierce, combative, extreme. Okay, that’s pretty good as a description of the cops. And, now, what about the guys they gunned down?

Brooklyn, New York is one of the most historically significant cities in America and hundreds of books have been written about it. Among the best pictorial guides to Brooklyn is Brooklyn Public Monuments which is subtitled Sculpture for Civic Memory and Urban Pride. Our guide is a Walker of the Streets who personally photographed several dozen statues and monuments that are precious records and celebrations of Brooklyn history.

You cannot really walk the streets of Brooklyn and duplicate the author’s feat. With its 96 square miles of streets laid out in a nondescript, hodgepodge sort of way, you will get lost in only five hours or so and not have seen 1/4th of what is worth seeing. His labor of love spares us the effort. Here is an excerpt from its preface:

“Brooklyn, New York has 43 major public monuments. Acquired over a period of 125 years, they are one of America’s finest collections of urban public monuments, and one of Brooklyn’s irreplaceable assets…….The Brooklyn public moument collection is unique in that six of the monuments were commissioned by the City of Brooklyn – the most monuments with sculptures commissioned by any 19th century city government in the United States…….The monuments, celebrating Brooklyn’s local history and its place in national and world history, are an enduring expression of the art-loving culture that flourished in Brooklyn in the lated 19th century and on into the 20th century…….May this guide be a witness for Brooklyn’s public monuments and a plea for their continued appreciation and preservation.”
—-Elmer Sprague
Memorial Day, 2007

All the photographs are accompanied by fine explanations of the sculpture details and rich history that make it possible to learn about Brooklyn without cracking open another book. There is also a useful bibliography and a modest index. The book can be purchased through Amazon.com or directly from its publisher: Dog Ear PUblishing, 4010 W. 86th Street,Suite H, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Website: www.dogearpublishing.net

[SG: No solicitations were passed between the author and this blogster and the author's first awareness of this post is your first awareness of it.]