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Mars Hill audio is a fantastic resource for those of us who spend time either in the car or putzing around the workshop for any extended length of time. I think of it as an audio version of First Things. Mars Hill contains strong social commentary, a rather elevated presentation that forces some brain activity, deeply nourishing for the intellect and heart, professionally recorded. Or you may think of it as something akin to NPR, but for those more conservatively oriented. Topics cover the whole gambit of politics, literature, music, religion, fashion, history and science.

Be sure to check out First Things, the journal edited by Father Neuhaus. Enjoy!

Nice tribute to Marty. Little misspell in the first sentence, "Marry", and his last name was Elkin (singular), his company name, Elkin's Coffee. Your article was interesting and informative. He was all of what you said and more: a class act, a charming and charismatic individual, an astute businessman, and a recognized authority on coffee. At one point in time, he was the only American and one of three judges at the annual Kona Coffee Festival taste-testing event held in Hawaii. The coffees he procured for his business from around the world were of the highest quality standards. With his in-depth knowledge, he combined, roasted, and ground the bean in such a way as to produce a premium, select product. A "New York Times" October 25, 1989 article rated his coffees in the "preferred status". His manufacturing plant in Bow, New Hampshire had a one-of-a kind computerized dumping, roasting, and distribution system, and the packaging machines were exclusive and state-of-the art. He was also an innovator in marketing and established a special contract arrangement with the Wallensford Estate in Jamaica for Jablum (Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee). Although he is no longer here and much of what he accomplished is gone, his legacy by those who knew him will remain. Thank you, Donald Schoenholt, for your thoughtful words paying homage to Marty Elkin. I enjoyed reading what you wrote.

I own this book. I have to admit that it was an assignment that I was not looking forward to because I am not huge on reading. I was surprised how this book kept my attention and the parallels I felt with the author. Though there were many references the black culture, I found it funny that other women not of color also felt a connection to the author as well! I would definately recommend this book.
I just purchased "An Unmistakable Shade of Red and the Obama Chronicles" today and I am so looking forward to reading this one also.
Tish

Tom Carney wrote very accurately about Medellin's MetroCable and those mountain barrios. Seeing it all in person is even more unbelievable. Several months later in February 2006, we were there on vacation to see family and the city. It was an incredible experience overall for this older American from Florida when few Americans dare to venture there. Regarding the MetroCable, we went on it twice to take photos and to see the overwhelming poverty literally right below the cable cars while going up the mountain. I might add that the intense military and security presence all throughout the city was equally unbelievable. I felt like I was in a democractic police state. If you are a man, generally the only jobs are to be a taxi driver or in security. If you are a woman, generally the only jobs are clerking in stores or be a housemaid. Alcoholic consumption is common. Interestingly, many Medellinians do not go on the MetroCable for fear or they snub their noses at the poor who depend on the MetroCable. Fortunately, we stayed in a nice high rise in Suramericana with private security day and night. We toured El Centro downtown, Sabaneta, Envigado, Bello, San Juan and the richer area of Poblado which were all delightful excursions. The great majority of the people were wonderful and English can be spoken in certain places though few. Otherwise, most places English should not be spoken in public. There are many beautiful Catholic churches and magnificent sculptures and statues throughout the city and Botero. The temperature day and night was perfect with a slight near constant breeze. Watching the sunrise kiss the mountains in places as the city awoke was like watching the beginning of creation and with amazon birds singing in the countless trees in the city. Breathless moons and clouds at night are visible too. Big clocks are seen from a distance throughout the city including while traveling on the Metro system. Traffic was a nightmare with countless motorcycles, taxis, buses, cars fighting for road space barely inches from each vehicle. Most of the cars there are smaller Mazdas and Renaults, very few American cars and virtually no SUVs. Beautiful, modern malls and beautiful clothes! Many prices on things are high and some other prices on items are cheap. Professional jobs like university teachers or lawyers make about $200 a month. There is tremendous unemployment overall. I saw numerous street beggars who were blind or without arms or legs yet never saw a single wheelchair or walker for the handicapped which is a huge need there to fill. The valley itself with surrounding mountains is gorgeous, a virtual paradise. On the winding curves through the mountains can be seen hundreds of thousands of cows and endless green, lush fields. Ways of doing things are different there and some ways are better. Friends are everywhere to be found and endless music and food at night, outdoor cafes several on each block. No strip clubs are allowed there. The soccer stadium during a night game is a great experience as is La Macarena, the bullfighting stadium. The overall quality of life in Medellin has advantages and disadvantages but is not generally safe for Americans or Europeans to live there although some do whom I met and who love it. It's a two class system per se, either rich or poor, mostly poor and with no chance to escape or cannot afford to escape from that enchanting, seductive valley. I did not see anyone with tattoos, body piercings or sloppy dress as you see in the states. The people are very polite, generally quiet, orderly, respectful, nicely dressed overall. The people have tremendous energy and do anything to make a few pesos to survive. Imagine a horsedrawn cart coming down your street with the driver calling out loud selling his tomatoes for pesos. Imagine a legless or blind man selling cheap religious medals in front of the church. Imagine a senorita selling fresh papaya in a cup or flowers for next to nothing. Imagine a dozen homeless boys competing to offer to clean your car windshield when you stop at an intersection for coins or to pay them next time. Many of the young men and women are smaller in stature than many Americans. You hardly see anyone overweight. The women overall are quite attractive and some sport reddish hair which is a fad. The pressure to get a university education is very high and is expensive too as a way to escape the culture to seek a better life in the U.S. or Europe. I never heard anyone cursing on the street. Even going on the MetroCable, the people are well-behaved, polite, quiet. It is not safe to get off the MetroCable to roam around the poor areas of the mountain. The Rio Medellin, the river, which winds through the valley, is tiny in many areas like a little brown stream in the dry season and is the worst polluted, lifeless river I have ever seen anywhere. The above-ground Metro system follows the river along many substations. There is massive police corruption in Medellin. Bribing, paying off, the police is a necessary, unavoidable common practice. While all the intense security gives the people a sense of safety it also is a feeling of no real freedom to move around without constant surveillance everywhere. Just imagine for a second where you live on your street or town seeing security or military standing literally every fifty (50) feet from each other, with rifles. Americans would never allow that here. In Medellin it feels in one sense like you are in Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. There is no compulsory education there although good schooling is very important even to the poor. Beyond high costs for security for the people, the government has no real plan to help the poor or to create jobs or benefits. The homeless are many. I suppose that all that security is mostly paid for by the U.S. government to try to lessen the fear caused by the Pablo Escobar era and the still present guerrillas. There are numerous gangs and bizarre cults despite the culture being overwhelmingly Spanish and Catholic. The Church there has a strong hold on the people which is evident. Church bells ring on the quarter to the hour every hour of the morning daily to call the people to masses which are packed even with people having to stand outside. It's a monoculture as opposed to the diversity in the U.S. In a way, I saw such a monoculture as a good and bad thing yet with less problems than a diverse society has but having other problems. My experience there in Medellin showed me good ways that our own culture could learn and benefit from and vice versa. Seeing areas of Medellin and surrounding pueblos is like living way in the past. Other areas look 21st century. The many proud people of Medellin call themselves Paisa and regard themselves as separate from Colombia in a certain sense yet pure Colombian too. They are a hard-working, classy people who have a lot of dignity, self-respect, strong values, and a sense of personal happiness with a determined sense of hope for the future. Yet in many others you see utter hopelessness and desperation in themselves. Sadly, I saw a number of newborn babies, particularly among poor, young mothers when overpopulation and poverty already exist there to an excessive degree. The cycle continues. The Metro and the MetroCable are tremendous symbols of pride and hope for the people, especially the poor of Medellin who got that project approved and built when Bogota did not. In summary, Colombia and Medellin, are much more than cocaine, the ghost of Pablo Escobar and guerillas, as foreigners are mostly led to believe. All visitors there fall in love with the people, the culture, the weather and many other things found there. The relatively new Metro and MetroCable in Medellin represent new hope, new possibilities for the people as Tom Carney wrote about. Yet the experience there is beyond what words can describe except for those who witness it themselves.

Article author Erin Hynes here. I didn't give you the right to sell this article. Where's my slice?

I am buying this book for my husband for Christmas. He has the entire rest of the Olson collection, and I know that this will certainly complement that. I would highly recommend any or all of the collection. Especially to anyone interested in the true spirit of the north,and all it symbolizes and embraces. Excellent work!!

Do the media have a liberal bias?

Cathy Young indicates that such a bias is self-evident. After all, a large majority of the media is liberal. And these days, where the media is unafraid to put its views in its editorials (and even in its supposedly unbiased news reporting), that would give the media a liberal bias.

What Young says may well be true. But I think it is overstated. In addition to articles in which the media (perhaps unfairly) encourage us to be liberal, we see plenty of sensationalist material that would (perhaps unfairly) logically encourage us to be conservative. My conclusion is that much of the media simply needs improvement and far more adherence to journalistic standards, independent of everything else.

In this article, Young takes issue with Eric Alterman's book, "What Liberal Media?" In that book, Alterman says that the media are in fact "slanted in favor of the right, partly because they've been cowed by complaints of left-wing bias."

I'm sure you can guess what I think of this. Yes, the media may indeed have done a few things differently in response to such charges. But I suspect the overall effect has not been a change in political stance. I suspect the result, if anything, has been even worse reporting.

Young spends a little time showing some flaws in Alterman's footnoted facts. That's fair; while a few errors do not always mean much, it does alert us to the fact that we need to check what people say (including Alterman and Young herself).

As Young relates, Alterman's argument is that most "establishment" journalists aren't as liberal as they're made out to be. Well, maybe. In addition, these journalists bend over backwards to be fair. Um, I watched Peter Jennings for a while, and he appeared to bend over backwards to be unfair, most of the time. And Jennings was not the only one. I think Alterman is totally wrong here.

Alterman also says that it is the owners who call the shots. That makes sense until one looks hard to see what the media are saying. Once again, I feel that Alterman is a little off base here.

In addition, Alterman appears to regard many moderate and liberal elements of the media as conservative! One example is the liberal "New Republic" magazine. The New Republic is consistently liberal on economic issues, and it certainly is partisan in favor of the Democrats.

What about Bill O'Reilly? As Young explains, O'Reilly supports abortion rights, gun control, and environmental regulations. I would think that might make him a moderate in most people's eyes. But no, Alterman appears to consider him "an undiluted right-winger."

Young explains that all this does not mean that the conservative critiques of the media are correct. She finds Ann Coulter to be similar to Michael Moore (although she does mention that Coulter is much slimmer). But Young does, quite rightly, ask that the media critics critique themselves. And I agree. I think the burden of proof is on them, and I advise them to be on their best behavior when they try to defend such controversial theses.

Very informative and realistic. Have experience with these style melting systems and highly recommend...

With Merlin's Kin, Everett Coles took me into a world I once dreamed of, filled with strange and beautiful creatures,fair maidens and chivalrous deeds. But more than that he made me believe it.
The story builds slowly as it tells how the teenagers got there, into Greensward, and how they have no idea how to leave or why they are there. It shows them making friends and enemies in equal measure until the group are separated and the story gathers pace.
By the end I was quite breathless with the pace, with wonderfully worked plot changes and the power of the Ley lines bringing out its own sort of magic. So much more satifying than Harry Potter not as dark as Pullman when is the next one due?

T.H. Culhane walks the walk and talks the talk and that is something refreshing when it comes to both energy politics and third world development. In his message from California, where he lived off the grid at the Los Angeles Eco-Village for three years, T.H. helped New Yorkers deal with their power outages by championing the use of decentralized do-it-yourself energy sources (solar, wind, bicycle generators). Now T.H. is in Cairo Egypt, working with the poorest of the poor, building solar hot water systems in the "city of the sun" (the former "Heliopolis") out of local and recycled materials with the Zabaleen (garbage collector class) and spreading a message of can-do optimism that brings Arab and American culture together to forge a true "Homeland Security" for all homes and all lands. If you dig T.H.'s message from California on green energy then I am sure you will enjoy his message from Cairo, found on his blog at [...]. It is truly refreshing to hear about possible energy policies for all of us from someone who lives his principles and knows what he is talking about!