The Most Important Map of the Modern Age

The image you see above is the map that changed the world. It was the birth of the Internet, the fall of the Soviet Union and the beginning of an age of prosperity no one seems to be willing to talk about.
The technical hierarchy - the node map represents three universities participating in a Department of Defense Advanced Research Project (ARPNET) project. The four universities represented in the chart are nodes developed from , University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Stanford Research Institute (SRI), the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB),University of Utah (Utah). The nodes of the Internet were developed in that order.

The birth of the network promised Stalin's successors could not bomb us with a single nuclear weapon. It was and remains the perfect defense against totalitarianism . It is the ultimate network - a network without a central point of failure.
If even the Bay Area and Los Angeles simultaneously ceased to exist, Santa Barbara could communicate with Utah. The Russians could no longer destroy us, any two of us alive could reach each other on the network.

Massive Department of Defense funding throughout the Reagan Era kept Defense Advanced Research Projects alive with 150 billion dollars promising America security limited only by the imaginations of the scientific elite.

The prosperity of the 90's and the downward motion of the economy of recent years is directly related to how we handle the network. In some instances it's sent jobs overseas - something we're seeing more and more - beyond the sweatshop laborer to economies of third world countries with technocrats willing to work for a 10th of American skilled labor. This was a few years ago.
Today it's different, the payment ratio of a third world white collar laborer is nearing the same as an American - creating a dependence on overseas offices able to carry the economic burden of additional support staff. Today a stock broker preparing documents about an (Initial Public Offering) IPO, a medical doctor needing someone to look over an x-ray and a silicon valley tech firm are likely to have lackeys overseas doing much of the footwork.
For America, we face great danger. We have to ask ourselves, are we willing to accept the consequences of a worldwide democracy? Are we willing to participate in an international free-market and accept the consequences of the balancing affect it may cause. By balancing, I'm speaking of the economies of third world labor markets.
To be continued.....

Arkansas's Governor Faubus and Me

Born in Los Angeles California, it wouldn't be until I was 16 that I learned about my Ozark Mountain Family History. My grandfather would soon teach me that he was the son of Irish indentured servants- that some part of me evolved from the son of a slave.

I was seduced to the Ozarks by a promise to meet Arkansas Governor Faubus.

My Grandfather picked me up in Tulsa Oklahoma. After being the Marine's champion Boxer - after walking over the bodies of dead soldiers in Korea - after raising a family of five in Southern California - after retiring - he decided to become a minister and finally passing the family history to me before he died a few years later.

I remember meeting the South - this strange land I met horror, admiration and curiosity.

"Governor Faubus spent his life as an educator before becoming the longest running governor the State of Arkansas. Clinton eventually beat his place as the longest running governor the state had ever experienced.

It was an hour before he led me to the word Nigger. Said it only once with the statement "I ain't racist, I use to let them niggers play with my brother when we were growing up"

The description was revealing to me. Where I grew up, the racial makeup looks like this:

* White Non-Hispanic (31.0%)
* Hispanic (18.5%)
* Chinese (17.9%)
* Korean (9.9%)
* Other race (6.8%)
* Filipino (5.3%)
* Black (4.8%)
* Two or more races (4.2%)
* Asian Indian (4.0%)
* Other Asian (2.8%)
* Japanese (1.7%)
* Vietnamese (1.1%)
* American Indian (0.9%)

Seemingly racist as hell - Faubus won a large percent of the black vote after breaking from the White Citizens Counil who preferred a Republican candidate. In 1964, when he easily defeated the Republican Winthrop Rockefeller, Faubus secured 81 percent of the black vote.

Later in life he would manage an amusement park just and hour from Branson, Missouri - which is where -

Faubus told me Eisenhower wanted to make an example out of the deep south - Little Rock and forced an integration plan busing children to different school.

On the day I interviewed Faubus, the schools were ending busing - moving to the model I grew up with - School Districts.

It wasn't desegregation they wanted, it was race mixing,"

said Faubus.

Detroit, Mich
Watts, California

I knew their would be violence, but they wanted to do it then - they wanted to set an example - Little Rock's Central High was the place

, said Faubus.

Arkansas was the first place I ever saw segregation. Kansas City was the first city I've ever lived where it was practiced. Ever take a ride down Troost Street?

From Faubus's perspective, his actions saved the lives of the children as there was ample protection.

It was 50 years ago yesterday....



I passed through dozens of small Ozark towns with my Grandfather, some of which were continuing to have problems - with the vestiges of the South....
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My father, like me a native Los Angelian, made an extra $2 an hour doing janitorial work during the Watts riots. Later he would become an international legal powerhouse.
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The confederacy's original capital was Little Rock, Arkansas.

To be continued.

Senator Jack Goodman Senate Bill 64 Update - Branson - Missouri Senate

In an interview conducted by the Branson Edge Senator Goodman discussed Senate Bill 64 which is his second attempt to enact legislation aimed at discouraging early school start dates. According to Senator Goodman, administration backed by powerful education lobbyists and multitude of special interests overshadow who should have the ultimate say over how our children are educated. He states the priority should be the needs of students first, parents second, teachers third and administrators fourth - a reverse pyramid of the educational power as it stands.
Goodman anticipates the bill will graduate from the educational committee sometime over the next couple of weeks. He also anticipates a 17 day maximum clause will be removed. Under the current constructs of the bill Missouri school's wishing to start more than 10 days before the Labor Day holiday will have to hold a board meeting where parents can submit opinions to their elected school board representatives.
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Opinion/Backround/Perspective
Randy Turner, teacher, author, award winning blogger and education advocate failed to answer questions about the downside of the bill when engaged with questions several months ago. In fact, Randy, who does an excellent job of educating us about lobbying efforts consistently avoids the special interests which are so close to his heart. Though we understand not wanting to bite the lobbying hand that ensures his trough remains full, we find his "flaming" of anyone who dares challenge the dictatorial authority of highly paid bureaucrats by asking for a reasonable explanation....downright offensive.
As a result of my inability to obtain wisdom from my fellow blogger, several administrators were questioned in regards to the issue. To date, the most valid response came from an area superintendent who admitted the real issue is that “school's don't like to be told what to do.”
Branson has significant interest in the bill's passage as does the entire state of Missouri. As Senator Goodman pointed out Missouri experiences 1.5 million dollars a day in tax losses everyday school's choose to start before Labor Day. Many who live in Branson experience extreme poverty in the off-season. Though I'm inclined to support increased education funding - highly paid bureaucrat’s egotistical interests come second to ensuring my family and neighbors live without experiencing extended poverty.
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