The program notes from an April 29 Swarthmore College student concert noted that Mozart had written over 50 Symphonies. My previous understanding, from my first attempt at a college education, was that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had written 41 Symphonies, no more and no less! I understood this the same way that I understood our universe had a total of nine planets.
However, prior to sending an angry email to the Chair of the Swarthmore Music Department, it was time to use Duck Duck Go for some independent research.
Neither of these agreed with my understanding of 41 Symphonies. Then again, in August 2006, Pluto was “deplanetized”.
Assuming this is not “wokery”. Could Mars, the planet of war, be next to be removed? Shouldn’t we all support peace?
Seriously, some of what was “social knowledge” of half a century ago, has changed. For one instance, though many of us had a permanently single relative, we may have thought the term “queer” but rarely used it, in my family at least, as that would be “impolite”. Now we acknowledge Gays and Lesbians do exist, and have a right to.
However, social knowledge wise, we still do not “normalize” pedophiles, despite NAMBLA as the general agreement that minors do not have the maturity to make this decision.
This leads to the question of what other commonly accepted social knowledge of 2023 will have been reconsidered in say 2033 and how do we decide what should and shouldn’t be? All responses welcome.
Back to Mozart, Patricia Johnson of Curtis, one of four Musicologists who I contacted, said “it’s unlikely we’ll ever have a definitive answer”. As to the number of symphonies.
Which leads to the question of will there ever be a definitive commonly accepted social knowledge?
You may even start seeing “Joe Biden again, I guess” signs popping up.
But even “woke” Swarthmore can’t sleep on this.
Nikki Haley Campaign signs on Swarthmore lawns that are not No Mow May Lawns
This means that there are active Republicans living in Swarthmore. And we thought we had driven them all underground. Well, they have “come out”
Many see Nikki as an “antidote” to Trumpism and a reply to Bidenism.
Nikki Haley was born as Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, the daughter of (Sikh) Indian Immigrants whose business thrived in South Carolina. She became a Methodist at some point in her journey. She was the first female governor of South Carolina (2011-17). She then became the US Ambassador to the UN (2017-18) under then President Trump, with whom she sometimes agreed. In 1996, she married then US serviceman Michael Haley. At age 51, she is one of the youngest “declared” GOP Candidates.
Among her positions, she backs Congressional Term limits.
On abortion, she says “Let’s find national consensus”, a truly radical position.
Nehemiah Or History Repeats — The celebrations of praise and ceremonies of repentance occurring after the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem following the Babylonia Exile are recorded in Nehemiah.
So, what nation does this remind you of?
Then you helped them conquer great kingdoms and many nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land; they completely took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan. 23 You caused a population explosion among the Israelis and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors. 24 You subdued whole nations before them—even the kings and the people of the Canaanites were powerless! 25 Your people captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took over houses full of good things, with cisterns and vineyards and olive yards and many, many fruit trees; so they ate and were full and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
26 “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They threw away your law, killed the prophets who told them to return to you, and they did many other terrible things.
ChatGPT Is Biff Tannen — Tech savant Bryan Lunduke compares this artificial intelligence thingy about which everyone is talking to Biff Tannen, the bad guy in the Back to the Future movies.
“ChatGPT is a school bully, demanding that the nerd do all of the Bully’s homework for him, then re-writing the homework himself so that it was in the Bully’s handwriting,” he says. “Thus fooling the teacher (hopefully).”
He describes the current round of systems as nothing more than “highly sophisticated cheating systems.
As the data they use to make their poems and art and programs are the works of real poets, artists and programmers.
He predicts stagnation as more depend on these systems and original content creators no longer get rewarded.
Sound Of Freedom Getting Released — Sound of Freedom, the film about the vile plague of child trafficking based on the life of heroic Tim Ballard, is finally gettin released reports Jack Posobiec.
Thoughts On The 2023 Primary — I was drafted as a poll worker in Springfield for yesterday’s (May 16) primary and found my co-workers to be wonderful and dedicated and everything went smoothly. People in my Delaware County, Pa. precinct overwhelmingly voted in person, including Democrats. The in-person vote was 150 — high for an off year primary in a precinct with few contested races. It went about 60 percent Republican.
This seaons’s big race, which did not involve my precinct, was to replace Mike Zabel, the 163rd District state rep who resigned in disgrace in March putting in jeopardy the Democrats’ one-vote control of the State House.
Heather Boyd handily beat Katie Ford to keep the seat for the Democrats. The Democrat Party flooded the airwaves with endorsements from Gov. Josh Shapiro and fear-mongering to convince the world that the feckless Mrs. Ford was a heartless zealot.
Persons even appeared in my precinct looking to vote for her as the advertisements made it seem the race concerned all of Delco.
For the record, the district consists of Clifton Heights, Aldan, Collingdale and a big piece of Upper Darby.
The Delco GOP response to the D onslaught was — meh. They kept Mrs. Ford from punching back. They wouldn’t let her appear on the wise and sagacious Dom Giordan’s widely heard radio show. They made her take moderate positions rather than painting Ms. Boyd as the true radical.
And, of course, as always, this type of response lost.
Compare this to Philadelphia where traditional Democrat interests united to elect traditional Democrat — i.e. union-supporting, big government — Cherelle Parker over heavily promoted progressive Helen Gym. Yes, Ms. Gym was fairly painted as a radical flake and lost giving Philly a chance at life.
Will the Delco Republicans learn for November and give Joy Schwartz, William Dennon and Jeffrey O. Jones, the chance to beat Democrats Elaine Paul Schaefer, Monica Taylor and Christine A. Reuther in November?
They have ammunition. Two murders in a month in Upper Darby are things that once didn’t happen.
And, yes, most people don’t want mothers to die because they can’t get an abortion or a rape victim being forced to carry the child of her attacker, but they don’t want stuff like this either and that is what the Democratic candidates defend.
Congratulations to Joy who got the most votes in her uncontested primary.
And in Montgomery County, Joe Gale will end his career as councilman this January. I like Joe and was a big supporter when he came on the scene in 2015 but his two terms were a disappointment to the extreme. He seemed to be more about Joe Gale than stopping the spread of feudalism.
He attacked Republicans consistently and mostly ignored Democrats. I don’t have a problem attacking Republicans. I have a big problem with ignoring Democrats and so, apparently, do the Montgomery County GOP voters.
Joe overwhelmingly lost to party-endorsed Tom DiBello and Liz Ferry, who will take on Montco wokesters Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder in the fall.
Yes, they can win if they fight and don’t play “bullet-vote” games.
I met Tom and Liz at last week’s Phyllis Schlafly Eagle Awards Dinner and liked them.
They were guests, by the way, of Stan Casacio. That’s Stan Casacio, Joe. You know, the guy that actually goes head-to-head, face-to-face with the Montco GOP establishment even when it’s packing guns.
Hey Joe, some advice. Make up with Stan. I betcha he’d welcome you back.
In the state-wide State Supreme Court race, GOP-endorsed Carolyn T. Carluccio beat my gal Patricia A. McCullough and will take on, Nov. 7, Democrat Daniel D. McCaffery who defeated Deborah Anne Kunselman.
Timika Lane and Jill Beck defeated Patrick Dugan in the Superior Court Democrat primary wand will face Republicans Maria C. Battista and Harry F, Smail Jr., who ran uncontested.
GOP endorsed Megan Martin beat my choice Joshua Garet Prince in the Commonwealth Court primary and will face Democrat Matthew S. Wolf who beat Bryan S. Neft.
