SlowpokeBlog

This past weekend I watched Barbara Kopple's "Harlan County, U.S.A.," a documentary about a Kentucky coal miners' strike in the mid-early '70s. It's filled with all sorts of appalling stuff that will leave you emotionally drained by the end; it's also a stark reminder of how unions have been eviscerated since then. Most mind-blowing moment: a company spokesperson arguing that black lung is an overblown myth and coal mining poses little health risk. Some things never change. (I saw a coal miner's lung at the Body Worlds exhibit -- see earlier post -- and it looked just like a shiny, lung-sized chunk of coal.)

Also saw a PBS series, Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, which has all sorts of interesting parallels to today. The Medici sponsored the scientific work of Galileo, which eventually drew the wrath of the Pope. As Mr. Slowpoke said, today Galileo would be accused of liberal bias.