Touring the Valley

WASPs

Recently, an "executive order" from the head of the Republican administration removed information about the Women Airforce Service Pilots from Air Force training courses.

Here are links to some web pages and articles that describe this part of American history.

UPDATE:

Following a widespread public outcry, the Air Force announced it would reinstate videos about the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPs to the basic training curriculum.

Tuskegee Airmen

Recently, an "executive order" from the head of the Republican administration removed information about the Tuskegee Airmen from Air Force training courses.

Here are links to some web pages and articles that describe this part of American history.

• Wikipedia
•Tuskegee University
•Tuskegee Airmen Inc.
•Air Force Historical Support Division
•Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Thinking About Big Things

Illustration: "The March of Intellect"(1829), William Heath

We don't need "critical" thinking as much as we need just plain thinking. When a madman claims there is a giant faucet, so big that it takes a full day to turn the handle, and that faucet directs all the water of the Pacific Northwest to either flow naturally into the ocean or to be redirected to drought-plagued California, it shouldn't require any kind of fact-checking or research. All that is needed is thinking. Think about what the world is like, what water is like, how rivers and oceans function.

If you were tempted even for a second to believe in the magic faucet, some realistic thinking would snap you out of it. Unfortunately, we seem to be living among a population that doesn't know what the world is like or what water is like, doesn't know how rivers and oceans function, and - most of all - doesn't know how to think. Fifty, forty, even thirty years ago, if a guy like that had appeared on TV making a claim like that, people would have had a hearty laugh before changing the channel. The show would not have been renewed. A third-grader in 1955 (the year donald was in third grade) would have known immediately that the giant faucet claim was ludicrous.

Yet now, many adults seem unable to think clearly enough to understand the difference between reality and nonsense. So let's assume that the giant faucet story seems credible. Why have we never heard of it before? A faucet that could control the flow of mighty rivers would be a remarkable engineering feat. When was it built, and by whom? Was it part of the Public Works Administration in the 1930's? Why have we not seen any documentaries about it? Why is it not a famous tourist attraction? These are some of the questions a person capable of critical thinking might ask, questions a middle school student might ask. Yet no reporters have asked these questions. Surely, the vast majority of the White House press corps know that there is no magic faucet. They can easily make the truth known to the public by asking the obvious questions.

If fact-checking and research are deemed necessary, send an expedition to the headwaters of the Columbia River to look for the faucet. Spend some time in a library checking the newspaper archives and the encyclopedias for stories about the great faucet project. Ask a few hydraulic engineers if such a thing is possible. Today's "journalists" won't do that work, not even the relatively easy work of asking the person making the claim to provide supporting facts for the claim.

It's Only Money

Illustration: "A World That Quickly Turns" (1855), Anonymous

My friend Gail seemed like a sensible person, certainly not someone who'd be considered irresponsible or wildly extravagant. She had a good job in a higher-than-average income bracket. Nothing made me suspect she had big financial problems.

There were little things about the way she lived that I noticed. When she needed cash, she went to a convenient drive-through ATM that wasn't owned by her bank, and paid a transaction fee every time. In her bathroom, she had the most expensive brand of toilet paper. Her cosmetics were a pricey imported brand. She had several sets of nice dishes and table linens that she alternated to match the season or the holiday. Although her fashion style was casual and slightly rumpled, she wore top-tier clothing brands. She leased her car. Her son took a lot of music and art lessons, and went to fancy summer camps.

These aren't bad things. I don't think any one of her spending habits doomed her, but I do think she had a habitually careless attitude toward money. There were probably a lot of things going on that I didn't know. Eventually, she accumulated unmanageable credit card (and other) debt and found hereself in danger of foreclosure, unable to pay the bills, avoiding phone calls. She got some relief by filing for bankruptcy, a long, painful process that trashed her credit score.

When it was over, I noticed some subtle changes at Gail's house. Her toilet paper was now the Kirkland brand from Costco, and her moisturizer was Olay. She bought a pre-owned car. She still liked those upscale clothes, but she waited to buy them at clearance sales. Her son was now old enough to have a job, and he paid for his own activities.

Overall, Gail's life didn't change much. She still had that well-paid job and still lived in the same lovely house. It seemed that now she paid more attention to costs, and that she was serious about budgeting for the big things, like a nice European vacation and a better car. But she still used the drive-through ATM.