Georgist Conference in Baltimore, Part Five

To return to Monday, August 27, in the evening we had the opening reception, officially beginning the Georgist Conference (my previous posts were on the charrette in the afternoon, not strictly speaking part of the conference). Maryland Delegate Clarence “Tiger” Davis spoke, welcoming us to Baltimore. He is black, and a Democrat. He spoke of having obtained some of the best education possible in the country as a teenager attending high school, because blacks couldn’t rise higher than to be schoolteachers. The Latin teacher, for example, also knew Greek and Hebrew; he mentioned the black women mathematicians in “Hidden Figures.” After Sputnik, there was a panic about Americans getting enough education to compete with the Soviets, and either he or his school (I didn’t note down which) tested as being in the top 10% in the country.

He said that the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 destroyed black institutions. They had had their own businesses and schools, but did not have elected officials; the high school principal was the leader of the community. He spoke of various high school kids from Dunbar High (in DC) who had gone on to distinguished careers.

He is a Democrat, but socially conservative in some ways. Anyway, he welcomed us to Baltimore.

Also, I sat at a table with a Filipino man named Charles Avila, about whom I will have more to say. He had been a seminarian in the Philippines, and had visited Huk rebels in prison. He had known Cesar Chavez and George Meany.

We’re Headed for Trouble

Veronique de Rugy has an article in Reason on trillion dollar deficits and where they are likely to lead us. Just in case you’re feeling excessively cheerful. Neither the big government, Socialist-influenced Democrats nor the spendthrift populist Trump Republicans are behaving like responsible adults.

The Red Queen’s Race

I got three amendments on my Amended docket this week, and I dealt with one of them; it was new, but I had previously found some of the claims allowable, and then the attorney had called for an interview, at which I told him that I would have to update the search, but his proposed amendments seemed to make the case allowable. So I allowed that, and then I did a Final Rejection on my oldest amendment. I’m now at nine amendments on my Amended docket.

I also finished a first action rejection on my oldest Regular New case back on Monday, I did an Abandonment action on a case which I had rejected back in early June (over six months), and someone filed a Request for Continued Examination, which got processed this week. I hope to work on another amendment or two by Wednesday at 3:00 PM. Count Monday is Count Wednesday because of the holiday.