Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Monday, January 23, 2017

24 January 2000

24 January 2000

Another day from another year hoping for snow.


At Least Think About It

Yale historian and Holocaust expert Timothy Snyder shared the following powerful thoughts:
Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.
1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.
2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.
3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of "terrorism" and "extremism." Be alive to the fatal notions of "exception" and "emergency." Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it.
6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don't use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps "The Power of the Powerless" by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.
10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.
15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.
16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)
19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.

20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Saturday, January 21, 2017

22 January 2000

22 January 2000

Here's the comparison with 2000.
It looks pretty green.




Friday, January 20, 2017

Thursday, January 19, 2017

20 January 2000


20 January 2000
Salt Lake City


Including Schools

Including Schools
Our first amendment of the United States
assures us that there will be separation of church and state.


An excerpt--the hand-written copy of the proposed Bill of Rights, 1789,  

[By 1st United States Congress - This media is available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the ARC Identifier (National Archives Identifier) 1408042.]

"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."
--Thomas Jefferson

[Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists: The Final Letter, as Sent.
The Library of Congress Information Bulletin: June 1998. Lib. of Cong., June 1998. Web. Aug 7, 2010.]


Monday, January 16, 2017

No Snow

No Snow

Where did it all go on 17 January 2000?


Kathryn Elizabeth Jones: AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Nan Weber

Kathryn Elizabeth Jones: AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Nan Weber: 1.      Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing? I am naturally curious. I am drawn to exploring, it feeds my curiosi...

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time

The Salt Lake Valley in past time.
16 January 2000


Saturday, January 14, 2017

Friday, January 13, 2017

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

A View From the Past

A View From the Past

A look at the Salt Lake Valley from 12 January 2000.




Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Past is Past

Past is Past

But somehow the Salt Lake Valley looks the same.
11 January 2000



Saturday, January 7, 2017

Where is it?

Where is it?

The Salt Lake Valley often finds itself under clouds and smog.
Here it is on 8 January 2000.


Beer, Beer Beer

Beer, Beer, Beer

Kletting designed a few fun breweries.
The Salt Lake Brewing Company in Salt Lake City.
He did many additions to this complex through the years.
This is a 1912 version.
[USHS photo]


The advertisements used of the whole complex.



The Sweetwater Brewery in Green River, Wyoming had a similar feel.


Post card of the Sweetwater Brewery.
Kletting did both additions to this complex.
[Sweetwater Brewery, 1901 Sweetwater County Museum]



The Fisher Brewing Company in Salt Lake City.
The brewery took up  quite a bit of land by the Jordan River on 200 South.
The Fisher Mansion, where the Albert Fisher family lived,
can be seen beyond the brewery.
Not many trees along the Jordan River at this time--1950.


The company also had a drawing they used for publicity.
Quite a romantic view.















Thursday, January 5, 2017

Monday, January 2, 2017

Sunday, January 1, 2017

A Look Back

A Look Back

During the year 2000 I took photos of the Salt Lake Valley each day.
I will revisit them this year of 2017 to see the difference of the days.
2 January 2000