In an earlier article “Yin-Yang Theory and Martial Applications of Taijiquan” published in December 2006 in this website, we said that Taijiquan was originated as a martial art and we discussed the underlying basis behind Taijiquan as a martial art. In Taijiquan, one doesn’t oppose an opponent’s attack force with a frontal counter force, but one utilizes the opponent’s force and momentum to get him off-balance. Saying it another way, one complements the opponent’s force (Yang force which could be large) with one’s force along the same direction or at a slightly different direction (Yin force which could be small) either to get the opponent off-balance or to deflect the attacking force. When one senses the opponent changing direction, one also changes direction and again utilizes the opponent’s force and momentum to get him off balance. This gives rise to the statement that four ounces can deflect a thousand pounds. The two fundamental features of Yin-Yang complementarity and their constantly changing nature are symbolized by Taijiquan’s Yin-Yang symbol.
Additional Analysis of Racial Group Staff Disparities in NJ School Districts
A previous article “Racial Group Staff Disparities in NJ School Districts” published in February 2007 in this website (see “Archived Pol/Soc Commentary” page) presented our initial analysis of racial group (RG) staff disparities in NJ school districts. That analysis showed that there is significant under-representation of minority RGs at the certificated staff level for the six school districts analyzed. The article ended with the statement “it seems that the under-representation of minority RGs at the certificated staff level is a systemic issue in NJ, and is not limited to just a few school districts in NJ.”
Because of the interest generated on this issue, the current article discusses additional analysis done for 10 more school districts, and presents the results for all 16 school districts in a more easily readable format. Our additional analysis confirms the above statement that the under-representation of minority RGs at the certificated staff level is a systemic issue in NJ.
Some Thoughts on the Immigration Issue
The immigration issue has always been an important topic for the U.S., which historically has been essentially a country of immigrants. From early on in the history of this country, it has also been an ambivalent issue, ranging from idealism to realism associated with human behavior and shortcomings. For example, on the one hand, when the Statue of Liberty was erected in 1886, it contained the famous inscription ”give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” On the other hand, in 1882, four years before the erection of the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Congress enacted the first immigration restrictions, specifically excluding “paupers, ex-convicts, mental defectives and Chinese.” Because the immigration issue has significant impacts on so many aspects of life in the U.S., ranging from the economy to taxes to national security, I would like to discuss some of my thoughts on this issue.
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