This Is Very Cool

Every once in a while I come across a little news article that really takes the freezer burn off my heart. This is such an article, and it talks about a new movement in Germany.

Take a book, leave a book. In the birthplace of the printing press, public bookshelves are popping up across the nation on street corners, city squares and suburban supermarkets.

In these free-for-all libraries, people can grab whatever they want to read, and leave behind anything they want for others. There's no need to register, no due date, and you can take or give as many as you want. ...

The public book shelves, which are usually financed by donations and cared for by local volunteer groups, have popped up independently of each other in many cities across Germany including Berlin, Hannover and Bonn, and also in suburbs and villages.

Each shelf holds around 200 books and it takes about six weeks for a complete turnover, with all the old titles replaced by new ones, he said.

The program has been so successful that other countries have requested information on the process. While the Germans are still fine tuning, they have been willing to share that information to increase reading habits. And book sellers are beginning to notice that the availability of free books hasn't cut into their business at all. In fact, several have reported an uptick as the reading public is, well, reading more.

Would such a program work in the US? I don't see why not. Yes, we have free public libraries, but many of them are either closing or cutting back the hours and days they are open because of state and local budget crunches. Most of them are located inconveniently far from those who because of their own budget crunches can't take advantage of them. Having these small book shelves in different areas takes an edge off those problems.

It's a nifty idea, one that I hope succeeds all over the planet.

A Boston Tea Party

Boston would seem to be the ideal place to hold a tea party. After all, it was the site of that first one, the one that is the symbol for the latest iteration of a group claiming to be patriots because they object to the federal government. So, the Tea Party is planning a mass tea party in Boston tomorrow, although I doubt we'll see an actual re-enactment of history. Oh, thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands will be present, but most of them will be there to worship the darling of the movement, once-for-half-a-term-governor Sarah Palin.

Boston Globe columnist Scott Lehigh has a snarky column up on who won't be present, and it might surprise you.

The GOP’s big names are skipping today’s Tea Party rally. Charlie Baker, the leading Republican candidate for governor, has a, um, scheduling conflict. Ditto state Senator Richard Tisei, his running mate.

Nor will you see US Senator Scott Brown, who, to hear the talk-radio types tell it, pretty much owes his election to the Tea Partiers. Count me as dubious about that. I was out on the campaign trail the weekend before the election, and I didn’t see much evidence of The Tea Party at Brown’s events. Of course, those same attention-craving talk-radio types remind me of the opportunistic 19th century French politician who, hearing a noisy crowd nearby, supposedly declared: “There goes the mob. I am their leader. I must follow them.’’

But don’t take the snub personally, folks. It’s not so much you as it is the headliner. To succeed as a Republican in Massachusetts, a politician needs broad appeal, and rubbing shoulders with Sarah Palin simply isn’t going to confer that.

You see, Mr. Lehigh points out, Ms. Palin just isn't that popular in Massachusetts. He cites a recent poll in support of this proposition:

According to a January Suffolk University poll, only 25 percent of Massachusetts (likely) voters view Palin favorably, while 60 percent see her in an unfavorable light. (Scott Brown’s rating on the same survey was 57 percent favorable, 19 percent unfavorable.)

Mr. Lehigh's assessment of Ms. Palin expresses (with some delightful venom, I might add) just why the GOP pols are wise to keep their distance:

What Palin really represents is the triumph of charisma over content. Yes, Glenn Beck may swoon at the thought of her leading the country, but after her performance as John McCain’s VP nominee, it’s enough to make the more-firmly-hinged shudder. Since that campaign, Palin has resigned as governor of Alaska and embarked on a national tour as a conservative inspirational speaker of sorts, offering up a simple, homespun populism that resonates with some conservatives.

(And for which those conservatives pay mightily for the privilege of hearing, I would add.)

"The triumph of charisma over content." Yes, that captures Ms. Palin nicely. We Americans are suckers for charisma, and by Americans I mean all Americans, not just Republicans. It certainly explains a lot of our history, especially recent history, doesn't it?