The trouble started when I ran across this compelling photograph:

As it happened, I'd also turned up a story about cyberbegging that explores the lives of some of the other people who've jumped on Karyn Bosnak's technique for escaping the bondage of indebtedness, and since the photo and article were a good fit, I spent some time writing the story around the problem of giving alms to the poor. The angle I developed was that donating to charity—whether to the Red Cross or a panhandler—has always been a difficult thing to do well. There's a Biblical quote I was going to add, which I thought was appropriate, that cautions the giver of alms to "not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret." For some reason, the image of three-card monte came to mind, which scored high enough on the Snark-Meter to wrap the concept up into an informative-yet-amusing package and I was all set.

But now, stepping back from my efforts and re-evaluating the shape, the sensations I get make me extremely uncomfortable. Poking fun at those less fortunate than myself, or even finding humor in their circumstances, is mean spirited and callous. Yet I'm not going back to the drawing board, because this process of evaluating the impact and message of a story resonates so strongly that it should be examined.

Perhaps Leo Tolstoy has something to say here in his essay, "What Is Art?"

Art, all art, has this characteristic, that it unites people. Every art causes those to whom the artist's feeling is transmitted to unite in soul with the artist and also with all who receive the same impression.

Given the chance, I'd prefer to go the other way, and find the words and images that draw people closer together and strengthen the sense that we are all conjoined toward the purpose of imbuing our brief spans of life with maximum potential and meaning. Anything short of that is a failure to me, and while perfect art may be an unattainable goal, it is utterly clear when progress is being made toward it, and when it is not.

Everyone has a reason for writing—there are as many justifications as there are people—yet I would suggest that the art of writing well is indistiguishable from the act of creating poetry. Our words should not feel obligatory or forced, rather they should arise as water naturally overflows from a spring, or at least the finished product should have that appearance. People gravitate toward art of this kind, because it asks less than it gives, and asks more than it answers.

11:08:53 PM       

Feeling besieged? I don't blame you. From the door-to-door salesmen to the recorded telemarketers to the spam in my in-box, an enormous number of people want a piece of me, and they want a piece of you. Like the tendrils of a cold and evil fog, the insistent probing at every unguarded gap in the interstices of our lives conveys our status as the sweetmeat prize relished by the hungry cephalopods of a capitalist system feeding off its own reserves. Against this onslaught, your fragile shield of privacy is splintering faster than you can duct tape the rifts with strips of wishful thinking. In this game of thrust-and-parry, it's never been more critical to identify the dangers and acknowledge the few engagements that resolve in your favor.

Three Amigos

El Guapo doesn't always win. Sometimes the Three Amigos show up just in time. We got Lucky when the House approved the national Telemarketing 'Do Not Call' List registry yesterday by a vote of 418 to 7. We win here because the measure secures funding without the need for Senate approval. That makes it a done deal and we'll be able to sign up on the Web sometime this summer. The Raven would like to know who cast the 7 "no" votes, as anyone opposing this bill automatically qualifies as an enemy of the state.

Ned, of course, represents the Little Guy, who are you and me. We win $20 from the recording industry thanks to a class-action suit called the Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust Litigation. Select that link, answer three simple questions, and the check will be in the mail—eventually. Do you qualify for a rebate from the people who charged you $18 for Smashmouth's miserable mix?

You may be a member of the Settlement Group and your rights against Defendants may be affected if you are a person or entity that purchased these prerecorded Music Products from a retail store during the period of January 1, 1995 through December 22, 2000.

The Dusty here is your ever-dwindling bag of great blogging ideas. If you're looking for a topic to riff off of, check out Jason Ruby's BlogIdeas, the site that generates a random subject upon which to poetic wax. Let's take a look: Alternate uses for crayons.

The Weiner Nation

That would be the World According to Mike Weiner, better known by his nom de guerre Michael Savage. This putrid excresence has been infecting our airwaves for some time now with his "Savage Nation" nittery, but we're at a loss to understand why MSNBC is giving him an hour-long television show to broadband his "ship 'em all back" message.

In fact, I do have an idea. I suspect that as Americans feel increasingly pressured by the economy and the world, they turn more conservative. This clown just happens to be in the right place at the right time to capitalize on the collective angst. He's also got a book out, that's doing disappointingly well. Let's peek at the table of contents of The Savage Nation, because it couldn't be that bad. After all, Mike describes himself as "a bit of Plato, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Moses, Jesus and Frankenstein."

• Diversity is Perversity
  
• America: From the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, to the Land of the Freak and the Home of the Slave
  
• Immigrants and Epidemics: TB, Anyone?
  
• "She-Ocracy": The Radicals United for Ladies Evil
  
• Sluts vs. Virgins
  
• Do Blacks Owe Jews Reparations?
  
• Elian: The Only Immigrant The Democrats Hate
  

Pain-Maddened Junkies

That's what we act like, sometimes. F'rinstance, our media keeps cranking up the terror warnings without pinpointing a specific threat. So what do we do? We go shopping. Now we're seeing "homeland security" sections in our local hardware stores. Reports are coming in of wild-eyed men in flannel shirts filling up shopping carts with duct tape, plastic wrap, and antibacterial caulk. "Gotta keep out the Anthrax," they're muttering, snagging a case of Cheez-Whiz for good measure. I figure that Duct Tape Charlie here is going to stop on the way home from Lowe's and tank up at the watering hole. He's the guy I'm worried about.

Information Is Power

The Department of Defense has released a training video for teaching its staff how to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests. Oddly enough, we can't get a look at it because its classified.

"It seems ironic, very ironic," said Mike Ravnitzky, a writer for American Lawyer magazine whose request for the video was turned down in November. When he appealed, the Defense Department denied the request again, citing the Freedom of Information Act's trade secret exemption.

More Fun with Cell Phones

We've already seen the cell-phone gun, now we've got this to deal with: the cell-phone bomb. Posters of this thing like the one shown here are popping up on police station walls all over Manhattan. From the outside, it looks like a normal briefcase. But on the inside, it's chock-a-block with vials of nerve gas, or plastique, whatever you need to get the job done.

Officers have been ordered to watch for terrorists trying to pull off an attack in the city by stashing deadly chemicals and explosives in common household items and then trying to smuggle them into crowded subway stations or sporting events.

A Huge Leap Forward

If you're still with me, then you've got your $20 and know what to watch out for: A guy in a flannel shirt with a duct taped briefcase. Oh, and you might want to avoid anyone carrying an Alliant Techsystems XM29.

Turns out the Army has an annoying little secret: Their soldiers don't shoot very well. So they went back to the drawing board until somebody figured out that what they need is a smart bullet that chases the enemy around.

The Army concluded that rifles needed more electronics for targeting, and they needed exploding rounds that could compensate for large aiming errors.

"It's just a huge leap forward for lethality.

11:47:07 AM