Back Home - Random Bits

Flying north to Anchorage from Seattle on a summer night is always cool.  It has been a while since we've done it.  It was dark and definitely night when the plane finally took off at 10pm.  But soon there was a distant twilight visible on the northern horizon.  

Here's what it looked like just before landing at 12:15 am.  

TSA & Masks

When we left Anchorage last week, NONE of the TSA people at the Anchorage Airport was wearing a mask.  When we left Seattle last night, EVERY TSA worker was wearing a mask.  Not sure what that means.  Is the difference the location?  Is the difference the timing?  Don't know.

Houseboats

We had late lunch yesterday with a friend who lives on a houseboat in Seattle.  It was like being allowed into some secret community hidden from the world.  I understand that other Seattle houseboat enclaves are more visible to the outside world, but this one is small and tucked away out of view from most.  To actually get down to the boats, you need a key to open the gate.  

A relatively few people in the world live on houseboats.  When I googled to find out how many, there were only two links that discussed number of houseboats at all in the first few pages.  Most seem to be more commercial posts that I'm guessing pay Google to get them to the top.  They're more on topics like "Everything You Need to Know About Living On A Houseboat" or how to rent a houseboat.  A 2014 Smithsonian piece says 10,000 Londoners live on the water.  But remember that's people, not boats, and London's population is over 8.5 million. A 2021 Seattle Met link says there are only 215 legal houseboats in Seattle.  Statista has a graph of number of houseboats sold in the US from 2004 to 2013.  There was a almost steady decline from 550 to 70.  

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we sat on the deck as we chatted and dined.  

Blogging Post Ideas I'm Thinking About

• What does 'privilege' mean?  How is it different from a right?  Are there factors that deserve 'privilege' or does it then become something other than a privilege?  When if privilege legitimate, when not?  How does the nature of the person/organization that grants privilege make a difference?  Lots to explore here.  I think because people have started using 'privilege' in new ways, so the original meaning is being distorted.  Does/should intelligence give one privilege?  Money?  Force?   If so, when and how?

• When does talking about ending democracy move from free speech rights to treason?  Does advocacy of taking way other people's rights a legitimate form of free speech?  If yes, are there any limits?  If no, why not?

• The Christian brand.  To my knowledge, there's no trademark or copyright protection for terms relating to Christianity*.  This has led to people with widely differing beliefs and behaviors claiming to be Christian.  I would argue that the Christian brand has been appropriated by various people and groups, whose words and actions are contrary to what 'true Christians' believe.  Think about the people in the United States who claim to be Christian - church leaders and followers, politicians, judges, business owners - who claim to be "Christian" yet behave in ways that are very different from commonly believed Christian values such as 

Some of the main themes that Jesus taught, which Christians later embraced, include:

• Love God.
• Love your neighbor as yourself.
• Forgive others who have wronged you.
• Love your enemies.
• Ask God for forgiveness of your sins.
• Jesus is the Messiah and was given the authority to forgive others.
• Repentance of sins is essential.
• Don’t be hypocritical.
• Don’t judge others.
• The Kingdom of God is near. It’s not the rich and powerful—but the weak and poor—who will inherit this kingdom.  (From History.com)

If there were a trademark for Christianity that was held by people whose behavior followed these beliefs, could sue people who claim to be Christians but who don't behave as Christians.   

*There is legal advice available for how and when Churches can get Trademark protection.  But would suing a Ted Cruz or a Mitch McConnell itself be a Christian thing to do?  Probably more so than telling your followers to vote for them.

• What is a reasonable amount of money for a redistricting board to spend?  Redistricting is mandated by the US Constitution (Sec 1, Art 2)  and by state constitutions (see, for example, Alaska Constitution Article 6).  But how much should it cost?  Does anyone care?  Who's keeping track?  What are the incentives to save or to spend?