For my American readers, I wish you a happy and safe 4th of July!

“Action is the antidote to despair.”

Joan Baez

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

Richard Brautigan, 1967

Last Christmas, I complained to a friend that Obama took back-to-back flights to Honolulu while the Sequester debate was ongoing. So in the interest of fairness, I share the following factoid.

Factoid: President Obama took 131 vacation days in his first term. In his two terms, President George W. Bush took 1,060 vacation days.

Salon.com
 

Now on to this week’s sites. This week, I’m sending out two ‘Site of the Week’ recommendations.

Louisiana “Literacy” Test
literacy_test_louisiana.html

While you can argue whether there is still a need for the Voting Rights Act today, this Louisiana literacy test makes it clear why the act was needed in 1965. While this literacy test was supposed to be taken by both white and black prospective voters, passing it was disproportionately required of black voters. Some questions are simple, but many are confusingly worded. If you wished to vote, you had to pass this exam. Keep in mind that missing even one answer meant failure and you were given only 10 minutes to complete the exam.
 

Adobe Photoshop Express
http://www.photoshop.com/tools/expresseditor?wf=editor

If you don’t own a photo editing application but have the occasional need to edit a photo, Adobe Photoshop Express may be just the answer for you. This Web-based photo editing site is FREE and provides an impressive set of photo editing tools. The site also provides 2Gb of photo storage and allows you to organize your photos in a gallery. You can also share your images on tablets and smartphones.

Ernie Orr sez “Check em out!”