Dr. X's Free Associations

Vintage Photos: 1923

Left-click image to enlarge.

This image is titled "Christmas Story."  That's all I know about it.

Vintage Photos: 1927

Ducks on leashes in a watering trough (Washington,D.C.). Left-click image to enlarge.

Vintage Photos: 1906

Left-click to enlarge.

Sixteen-year-old Edward Garratt starred in The Little Stranger at Hackett Theatre in New York.

Vintage Photos: 1936

Washington, D.C. Dec. 30, 1936

"Although he was elected to the United States Senate for only 60 Days--election day until January 4--Guy Howard of Minnesota, is taking full advantage of the many gratuities accorded members of the upper house of Congress. After using the Congressional stationary telegrams and mailing copies of the Congressional record to his many friends yesterday, Senator Howard was at the Senate Barber Shop bright and early today to get the works: haircut, shave, shampoo and massage. He was elected to fill the seat vacated by the death of Senator Thomas Schall. After January 4th, Senator Howard will be succeeded by Senator Elmer Benson" -- National Photo Company

Professional Athletes and Women

Doug Glanville's guest columns in the NY Times are always interesting.  Glanville is a retired MLB player and the son of a psychiatrist.  This week he offered his thoughts on Tiger Woods and the temptations faced by professional athletes.

No one would have accused me of having multiple ladies on each arm when I was in high school or college. I was a diligent student, kind of nerdy, the son of a teacher, and as interested in baseball and computers as I was in girls. Still, I was told I had potential in the social department, if I applied myself.

But something magical happened before I had to do much work. I signed a professional baseball contract as a junior in college and went away to my first spring training as a member of the Chicago Cubs organization.

I remember returning to campus and, after appearing on a closed-circuit cable show to discuss my new career, having the attractive hostess offer to walk me home. Wow, that never happened before. Apparently, I had skipped a few of the steps to social acceptance, and before I knew it, “unapproachable” and “woman” were no longer being used in the same sentence. continued

The Problem With Pet Doors

Guess Who

Ben Bernanke

The Democratic Party Division

Mark Thoma explains:

[N]ow that Democrats have power again, we are seeing the reemergence of the evil multinational corporations and the politicians they control as the focal point of anger for one side of the dispute. Health care reform and the bailout of the financial system, both of which are seen as serving the needs of corporations rather than the populace, have helped to stir things up.

The other side doesn't think corporations are evil per se, e.g. both globalization and financial innovation have their positive aspects. This side believes bailout of the financial system was necessary to save Main Street, it wasn't just a giveaway to the executives in mega-banks, and that health care reform makes real progress, it is not just a giveaway to insurance companies. Progress toward goals is important, even if political realities mean that some principles must compromised in order to move forward. The nature of those compromises, and the extent to which they are driven by money and power rather than the needs of the people politicians are supposed to represent, is part of the dispute.

Vintage Photo: 1939

Left-click photo to enlarge.

Washington, D.C., July 1. When the light is burning in the dome of the Capitol, it signifies that Congress is holding a night session. To pages, this means night work- no dates. Democratic Page of the House Mac Arnold is here looking glum with Helen Rodis over the prospect of night work while the House works on the Bloom Neutrality Bill.

Doing 80 MPH on this Street?

I read a story about a driver who ran down a mother and her son while speeding through a Chicago North Side neighborhood.  The woman was killed and the boy was critically injured.

The driver, who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, was fleeing a police officer at 80 mph.  He had been stopped a short time earlier for driving without his headlights turned on.  This occurred at 9:00 p.m.

I know the street where this happened.  Here is the Google view.  At night, both sides of the road would have been packed to capacity with parked cars.  Can you imagine?