Faith v Science

“Science without religion is lame, religion without sciene is blind.” This quote is often used to show both Einstein's religiosity and his belief in the compatibility—indeed, the mutual interdependence—of science and religion.Dec 4, 2013





God gave us all brains. We should use them. Me

“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

“It has always been science versus fundamentalism, not science versus religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Biopsy of Religions: Neuroanalysis Towards Universal Tolerance


I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do--yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father.  Jesus

More Public Radio Layoffs

Downward Economy 

When we talk about community support, we aren't kidding.

More layoffs and programming cuts. Losing jobs like these, jobs where people put their heart and soul into their work, can be especially hard. These stations mean it when they ask for your support. At one of the stations I worked for, I used to talk about 90 percent of the funding coming from listeners. I guess it sounds a bit abstract talking about support that way, but it was true. We're in tough times. The bigger stations will be able to adapt, but there is a cost. If you're a fan, they need your support.

Job cuts at WBEZ

Job Cuts at WBUR

There more and a lot more coming at stations large and small.

Programming Cuts:

Live From Here

Sound Opinions

Poynter keeps a tally of layoffs. Here's their list of radio's job cuts, commercial and public. (there's more)

Radio

• Meruelo Media had furloughs. Meruelo has stations in five markets.
• Forever Media had layoffs . Forever has stations in 11 markets.
• Townsquare Media Group had pay cuts and layoffs.  Townsquare has stations and sites in 67 markets.
• iHeartMedia had furloughs and pay cuts.  iHeart has stations in 153 markets.
• JVC Broadcasting furloughed some employees. JVC has stations in New York and Florida.
• American General Media had layoffs, . American General Media has stations in seven markets.
• Beasley Media had layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs. Beasley has stations in 15 markets.
• Entercom had layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs. Entercom has stations in 46 markets.
• Radio One/Urban One had layoffs and furloughs. The company owns stations in 15 markets.
• Cumulus had temporary furloughs and pay cuts. Cumulus owns 424 stations in 87 markets.
• Alpha Media had layoffs, furloughs and reduced hours. Alpha Media has stations in 21 states.
• NPR had pay cuts for executives and cut pay and benefits.
• Minnesota Public Radio had 14 people accept voluntary buyouts. It also had voluntary furloughs.
• St. Louis Public Radio had layoffs and pay cuts, Poynter has learned. The layoffs include three full-time positions and two part-time positions.
• Hubbard Radio stations had layoffs in St. Louis, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and Phoenix.
• American Public Media announced buyouts and furloughs, including at MPR News in Minnesota. Fourteen people took voluntary buyouts and the same number took voluntary furloughs.
• Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media laid off 28 people.
• WBUR in Boston will lay off 29 people.
• Chicago Public Media, the parent company of WBEZ in Chicago, laid off 12 people.

RELATED: Fundraisers to help laid-off and furloughed journalists are springing up around the U.S. 

Hope against racism

At around 9:05 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, the Charleston Police Department began receiving calls of a shooting at Emanuel AME Church. Like most of the violent extremist in this country, Dylan Roof was from the far right, a white supremacist. The killings were just one incident of a long history of hateful events in this country based on racism. What brought this home for me today is a hopeful song we started rehearsing today.  

James Taylor and Lowcountry Voices: "Shed a Little Light," Columbia SC

Dealing with Change

Program Shifts!  Equal Stress!

Wisconsin Public Radio: Ends production of “Old Time Radio Drama”

Something like this might seem like a simple shift in programming. 

The joke, What is a good time to program radio drama? 1948. 

Pretty funny, huh? Not to those who think public radio should be the keeper of the flame. As a veteran of these types of programming moves, I can tell you, the logical reasons you came up with to make long overdue changes, don't matter to the listeners.

Anytime I pulled something off the air, even if the data demonstrated no significant listenership, those listeners suddenly appeared after the change. Be prepared. The response will be bracing.

WPR has been through this before with the opera and locally produced car repair program. In both instances, the producers were connected and exerted pressure to get the programming back, including a state audit and a very large contributor to the University.

A program I took off the air had no discernable audience. The producer put pressure on the Board, found a contributor for $5,000, and pressured the CEO into putting the program back on air. Nevermind that the replacement contributed thousands of new listeners and increased core loyalty in it's time slot from barely breathing to about 70%. I was told to stop making sense. The experience gave me the tools to deal with much larger changes later.

Be ready. Get the board, well, on-board, Make sure all of management is ready for the change. The response is something you must be prepared to deal with. Your messaging needs to be consistent. All responses should be handed over to those trained to deal with listeners. You must be willing to listen. Many of those calling and writing probably never listen. It's just the idea of the change that runs counter to what they think you should be doing. Don't bore them with the ratings.

WPR seems prepared:

“While schedule changes can be difficult, now is the right time to end this program,” said Mike Crane, WPR director. “Many of these plays and productions were produced more than 60 years ago and include racist and sexist material. Despite significant effort over the years, it has been nearly impossible to find historic programs without offensive and outdated content. And, ultimately, these programs don’t represent the values of WPR and The Ideas Network’s focus on public service through news and information.”

What's that quote about the best laid plans? "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. No matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it. The saying is adapted from a line in “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”

Trump's Travesty of Justice?

Photo credit: Samantha Sophia

Is Anybody Surprised?

Why not?

From The Morning, a daily update from the NY Times.

1. A ‘gross abuse of prosecutorial power’

A court-appointed expert urged a federal judge to reject the Trump administration’s attempt to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser. The expert, a retired federal judge, criticized the Justice Department’s “highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the president.”

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his contact with Russia’s ambassador, but the Justice Department later claimed the lies were not “material.” Those claims, the retired judge, John Gleeson, wrote, “are preposterous.”

What’s next: The case will continue on Friday when a three-judge panel on the Court of Appeals considers the case.

The Word (Remastered 2009)

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. - Proverb 3:3 (NIV)

Love is profoundly political. Our deepest revolution will come when we understand this truth. - bell hooks

Distance learning isn’t working

image by Tim Gouw

Getting past the distractions

I get this update from the NY Times each morning from David Leonhardt. It's called The Morning. A lot of this material is unsettling. The first briefing was about police brutality. It's common, and always has been. In the past the police lied about it. They're not getting away with it anymore because of cellphone cameras. The next two stories were about defunding the police and New York emerging from the lockdown.

The final piece among the top three was about distance learning. In short, it isn't working. Students are falling behind. A lack of interaction and the inability to use visual clues make this kind of learning a lot harder.

Education experts believe that distance learning in most school districts is not working and that students are falling behind at alarming rates. “We know this isn’t a good way to teach,” a seventh-grade teacher in Colorado said. Black, Hispanic and low-income students are falling behind the fastest, research suggests.

“The richest and poorest parents are spending about the same amount of hours on remote school,” Dana Goldstein, a Times reporter who has written a book on teaching, told us. But “wealthier parents are inevitably able to provide more books and supplies at home, more quiet space, educational toys and often more knowledge of the curriculum.” More high-income school districts are also providing strong remote instruction, rather than basic worksheet-like activities.

I realize I'm only an instructor, but I'm best at what I do when I can engage the student directly. That's not happening on-line. There's no real feedback.

#Ending #Racism: What's Next?

Protests as Catalyst

We've been here before

What can we do after the protests subside? The need will be the same. How can somebody like me help?

Link up with this article by NPR's Alison Aubrey, "Beyond Protests: 5 More Ways To Channel Anger Into Action To Fight Racism."  If you really want to help, understand that you're not going to reinvent the wheel, and don't go into this with the attitude that your going to lead this effort. There are a lot of orgranizations already deeply involved in this effort. You'll be there to lend a hand. Besides, thinking you'll be in control, is insulting to the people who are already involved in this effort daily. They have a wealth of experience. Listen to what they have to say.

Here are the five things we can do:

1. Listen To People Closest To You, And To People Of Other Races

2. Use Your Voice In Your Community And Work Place

3. Give Your Time

4. Speak Up By Using Your Creative Talents

5. Self-Care Is Important

Photo by Max Bender

#Looting is not the story. #Murder is the story.

Clay Banks

WE’RE NOT FIGHTING SO WHITE PEOPLE CAN BE ACKNOWLEDGED AS GOOD.

Rage

If you’re more concerned about the responses of black rage than you are about a system that justifies and rewards black death, you don’t love black people — you just love when they stay in their place.

- Dante Stewart

“No label, no slogan, no party, no skin color, and no religion is more important than the human being.”

-James Baldwin

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

-Desmond Tutu
“Protest is not the end of progress, it is the beginning … I stand with Minneapolis. I believe in us. Change is gonna come.”

— Lizzo

 “At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being.”

— Friedrich Otto Hertz