What a ridiculous ruling, and clearly classist... also it seemed to be well-known that most futures-traders did not contemplate obtaining the actual commodity.

I think it's humorous that 'speculation' is used instead of 'gambling,' because there doesn't seem to be much of a difference. I guess maybe it is more of a difference in the amount of information the speculator has to go off of to make his bet, versus playing a slot machine. But in either case it's betting on an outcome to make money.

So interesting. I would have never considered why and how futures trading became feasible, that it depended on the standardization of products. So really it was the steam-powered elevator's technology and ability to quicken grain capture for sale that led to futures trading, because futures trading required the trust that grain quality and type was standardized and trustworthy.

I'm very intrigued (and a little scared) to learn what a historical analysis has to say about wheat futures. I learned about financial tools like futures in my Fin Econ class over the summer, and found the concept of futures contracts for commodities to be quite strange.

This is a very disturbing outcome of people dancing all night. Whatever happened to freedom of religion, or liberty?

In terms of Solnit's description of the Ghost Dance as a technology, I find it very peculiar and interesting, because I've had experience with Reiki and have read about other nontraditional/spiritual forms of healing, and I have heard and read several times these forms of spiritual practice described as "new technologies" and I always thought that was a rather strange description. I suppose I understand what she's getting at, that it was a repeated practice of a particular set of steps in order to obtain a desired outcome. I guess I still think it's a strange and clunky description of what it is. I think of spirituality and technology as being at odds with one another, or on opposite sides of the spectrum; one based on what is not seen directly but hoped for, and one based on what is very material and physical.

This reminds me of Whirling Dervishes. Dancing and dancing to come fully into the present moment/mysticism/connection with God.

Looking at these maps I'm imagining the sudden and probably violent increase in pollution that happened in such a short amount of time. And the loss of animal and plant life and air and water pollution.

I think this description is a stark and important contradiction to the painting of "Progress" and the words we read by Solnit about the hopeful and awe-inspired feelings of transplanted Americans about the West. It reminds us, Progress for whom, excitement for whom, new life and opportunity for whom, and at the expense of what? Clearly, it was opportunity for mostly white European settlers from Europe and the East coast, at the expense of indigenous lives. It is dangerous to only learn about Western expansion as exciting and full of gold.