Crafted Clarity

NEW BLOG ADDRESS

2009-01-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

I've had a number of people tell me they've had difficulty getting to my new blog address. Either of the following addresses should do the trick:

craftedclarity.com

or

craftedclarity.com/blog

Thanks for sticking with me, and Happy New Year!

Michael

LANE CHANGE

2008-12-29T10:54:00.000-08:00

PLEASE NOTE THAT, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2009, THE NEW ADDRESS FOR THIS BLOG WILL BE:

craftedclarity.com

Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Many thanks to all those who hit this blog more than 2000 times since it began six months ago. 2009 will be better than ever!

Michael

Recipe for Handling Tough Times

2008-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

Times are tough, and will be for a while. You can't open the newspaper without reading the stories of people who are suffering through compelling personal economic crises. One of the core tenets of my faith, described in this AP article, really affords peace of mind in times such as this.

Take care of yourself...save for the rainy days...reach out and care for others...be wise in managing your finances. Use it up, wear it out, make it do. When times get tough, maybe the first thing to do is fire the servants and reconnect with the simple pleasures of caring for yourself, your family, your home.

I may be old fashioned, but I think conspicuous consumption, i.e., the addiction to spending on ever-more-expensive wants instead of fundamental needs, is a great curse in our society. It is evidenced by the length of time we supported a store like Sharper Image, where everything was outrageously overpriced and value was a mere afterthought.

Life style does, and ought to, shrivel into insignificance when life itself is jeopardized.

Some government officials have already begun the clamor for middle class America to "spend its way into prosperity." I think Churchill had an apt description of such a notion when he said, "it is like man standing in a bucket trying to lift himself up by the handle."

Well, sorry, but I'm not listening to that. I'm headed back to the farm. Maybe some of those people who were trying to make money out on the fourth decimal place of some "troubled asset" would do well to consider the same.

Want Christmas Happiness?

2008-12-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

Times are tough, tougher than they gave been for quite a while. There is much in the news, and much in people's lives, that can cause sadness and fear.

In the face of all this, I continue to believe that happiness is always a choice even when it is a difficult choice to make.

I hear people complain about the bailouts for the financial and automotive industries, and half-joke by saying, "where's the bailout for me and my family?"

Well,if you think about it, Christmas celebrates the Ultimate Bailout for each one of us.

:)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Annuling the 18,000?

2008-12-23T16:39:00.001-08:00

Some of the organized groups supporting the ban on "same-sex marriage" have filed legal briefs asking the California Supreme Court to annul the 18,000 "same-sex marriages" that were performed during the brief interval of time wherein they were legal.

Serious thought about this issue makes me glad I am not a judge. Nevertheless, I feel it correct to apply the same dispassionate analysis to the question that I have to all Prop 8 issues in this blog.

Ban supporters argue that Article 1 Section 7.5 is as clear as it is brief: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." This sentence is currently Constitutional law. It's direct and straightforward application directly supports the argument for annulment of the 18,000 same-sex unions.

On the other side...those 36,000 people entered into those unions at a time when it was perfectly legal to do so. Their actions broke no laws when they were taken. I am not a lawyer, but I have friends who are, and they tell me it is quite rare in jurisprudence for a law to be made retroactive.

There may be legal reasons, stratagems, or tactics that compel this request by ban supporters. I can find no statement to that effect, which may be understandable given the current order of battle. Absent that explanation, the request feels vindictive and punitive to me.

Generally, our culture expects victors to act magnanimously, and that is my natural inclination. So why do I feel so conflicted over this issue?

Maybe it's because the battle isn't over yet.

Prop 8 Is No More

2008-12-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

No, the California Supreme Court has not suddenly hit the gas on making their decision.

Nevertheless, people who continue to refer to Prop 8 as though it were some standalone, self-contained entity are in denial.

THE SINGLE SENTENCE THAT USED TO BE KNOWN AS PROP 8 IS NOW ARTICLE 1 SECTION 7.5 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

A Tyranny of the Majority?

2008-12-21T17:02:00.000-08:00

As the fight over same-sex marriage in California continues, one term I hear thrown around often is "tyranny of the majority". Opponents of Proposition 8 use it to cast same-sex marriage opponents as unjust and oppressive.

"Tyranny" is a strong word. It most often describes government by a single person who illegally seized power and used it in ruthless, harsh and cruel ways to impose his will and maintain his position on those he governed. When listing the great tyrants of history, who questions the qualifications of people like Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Josef Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Hipparchus, etc.?

So, was the vote that passed Proposition 8 tyrannical? Are the millions of voters who said "yes" ruthless, harsh, and cruel? Did they seize power illegally and use to impose their will on those they governed?

I hope you will pardon the rhetoric, but it does make the charge of "tyranny" seem rather absurd.

Voting yes on Prop 8 was no arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power, no despotic abuse of authority. It was the simple exercise of the franchise available to all non-felons over the age of 18 who will bother to register. The election was free and fair, performed in compliance with all applicable laws. Every one of the millions of votes cast had the SAME weight, the same value. Neither side had any unfair advantage; the playing field was level, the referees impartial.

SO, tell me again how casting a "yes" vote for Prop 8 makes me, and the 7 million others like me, tyrants?

As an ultimate test, I ask the opponents of Proposition 8 this hypothetical question: If the election results had gone your way instead of mine, would you accept my stapling of the "tyrant" label to your forehead?

Enough of the slander already.

Tazing Attorney General Moonbeam

2008-12-20T11:14:00.001-08:00

I have zero problem with the fact that California's Attorney General, Jerry Brown, has a personal opinion about "same-sex marriage" and the legality of Proposition 8.

I have zero problem with the fact that he is disappointed that Prop 8 passed and that he wishes it hadn't.

I have a huge problem with the fact that he has chosen to violate the oath of his office and use its power to attempt to persuade the California Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8 and nullify the will of the people in a free and legal election.

Prop 8 is no longer Prop 8--it part of the CONSTITUTION of the State of California. Brown's primary legal and moral obligation in the office of AG is to uphold and defend the Constitution. If Jerry Brown can't do that, and chooses instead to pursue a course of public advocacy for his personal opinion, he should have the integrity to resign the office first.

Christmas Carols for the Mentally Challenged

2008-12-18T21:38:00.001-08:00

I know this blog has been light on political commentary lately, but I'm so disgusted with what's going on in Sacramento I might violate my own obscenity standards if I were to write anything pertinent. SO...now for something completely different!

I can take no credit for this, but I thought it was hilarious. Everyone I know, including myself, is mentally challenged in some way. Which of the carols listed below rings your bell? :-D

Schizophrenia -- Do You Hear What I Hear, the Voices, the Voices?

Amnesia -- I Don't Remember If I'll be Home for Christmas

Narcissistic Personality Disorder -- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

Bipolar Disorder (Manic Episode) -- Deck The Halls And Walls And House And Lawn And Streets And Stores And Office And Town And Cars And Buses And
Trucks And Trees And Fire Hydrants And.......

Paranoid -- Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Us

Borderline Personality Disorder -- You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Shout, I'm Gonna Cry, and I'll Not Tell You Why

Antisocial Personality Disorder -- Thoughts of Roasting You On an Open Fire

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Agoraphobia -- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House

Alzheimer's Disease/Senile Dementia -- Walking In a Winter Wonderland Miles from My House in My Slippers and Robe

Oppositional Defiant Disorder -- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus So I Burned the House Down

Social Anxiety Disorder -- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate

Attention Deficit Disorder -- We Wish You......Hey Look!! It's Snowing!!

Silver Bells? Silver BACK!

2008-12-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

My holiday alter ego, in all his glory.

You Don't See That Everyday

2008-12-15T20:30:00.001-08:00

OK, if you're a Mo, I bet this pic really grabbed your attention.

It's very tempting to comment, but, then again, maybe some things are just better left unsaid.

LOL

MOs

2008-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

From our friends at lightplanet.com:

Many of the gentile persuasion in the Salt Lake City area have taken to calling members of the Church, "MOs."

Well, the truth is that being called a MO isn't so bad. While it's not exactly a term of endearment, MO beats some of the other things I've been called--lots of them by fellow MOs. To ease the tension, between MOs and gentiles, I've come up with a brief MO Lexicon. Practice these terms, learn to be comfortable with your MO self.

MO - Mormon
NO MO - Non-Mormon
MO NO MO - Apostate
MO TOWN - Provo
MO PEDS - People walking across the street to Temple Square or the MTC in Provo.
MO HAIR - Missionary standards haircut.
PO MO - A financially challenged Mormon
MO LASSES - Mormon Babes!!
MO TEL - Bishop's interview, tithing settlement.
SU MO - Grad of BYU Law School
MO GUL - Large white Utah bird frequently seen in Church history books, parking lots and dumps.
MO RALLY - Third quarter BYU drive against the U of U.
MO SEY - LDS sense of time.
MO NOGAMY - LDS marriage practice.
MO TIF - Two or more Mormons engaged in a heated difference of opinion.
MO LDIE - Older LDS member, temple worker, etc.
MO MO - Missourian Mormon
MO TION - What LDS do to coffee, tea, tobacco and alcoholic drinks
MO DERN - a western LDS cuss word - softer than "fetch"
MO DULATE - how outsiders refer to "Mormon Standard Time"
MO DULE - since killing isn't allowed, it usually amounts to scripture chase
MO HAWK - political faction opposed to the MO DOVES
NO MO MO MO - What Governer Boggs tried to achieve.
MO LDS - What we get when we do our missionary work
MO LAR - One who doesn't do his hometeaching, but says he does.
MO NARCH - A Mormon DEA Agent.
MO NOTONY - The Ward choir.
MO NOLINGUAL - First week in the MTC

Down the Drain

2008-12-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

Roto-Rooter says they have found all of the following while unclogging drains:

Broom handles, doorknobs, garden hoses, bungee cords, a hummingbird feeder, a glass eye, gold teeth, dentures, contact lenses, toothbrushes, hearing aids, toupees, lingerie, long johns, towels, robes, socks, TV remotes, pagers, an alarm clock, Timex watch that took a licking and kept on ticking, a Rolex watch that took a licking and died, a billiard ball, golf balls, a shrimp net, a tear gas canister, birds, bats, beavers, cats, fish, ducks, frogs, possums, skunks, a piranha, a six-foot rattlesnake, $400 in coins, $58 in change in a laundromat pipe, canceled checks, a $4000 diamond, $50,000 in cash, a Cornish game hen and a six-pack of Budweiser.

There's never a dull moment in the plumbing business.

Don't Hold Your Breath

2008-12-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

Remember when rising fuel prices became an excuse for everyone from American Airlines to your gardener to increase the prices they charged you?

Well, recently, the price of gas looks like this:

SO, NOW...the question is...will they cut their prices because their fuel costs have fallen off a cliff?

I'm not holding my breath.

Itoldyaso

2008-12-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

I'm not above an "Itoldyaso" when I feel I called the shot sufficiently right. In the face of withering fire from my conservative friends during the campaign, I predicted that Obama would, after running for office from the left, actually govern the country from the center-right.

According to The Politico Network, Mr. Obama has, to date, disappointed and dismayed the far left by surrounding himself with a center-right Cabinet. The national director of the Progressive Democrats of America seems so distressed he sounds like he thinks Obama is pitching a shutout: “He has confirmed what our suspicions were by surrounding himself with a centrist to right cabinet. But we do hope that before it's all over we can get at least one authentic progressive appointment.”

Among Obama's recent actions that are heartening (to me, at least):

1. Instead of immediately rolling back tax cuts for people making over $250,000 per year, he now says he will simply let them expire on schedule in 2010.

2. Instead of ending the war on is first day in office, he has stated he will begin to “design a plan for a responsible drawdown.”

3. He as changed his mind about taxing the "windfall" profits of large oil companies (which ought to hearten everyone whose retirement savings are partly invested therein).

Juan Cole, who runs a prominent anti-war blog called Informed Comment, echoed the view I expressed in an earlier post in this blog when he said of Obama, "But overall, my estimation is that he has chosen competence over ideology, and I'm willing to cut him some slack.”

During the campaign, I constantly warned my friends on the right to believe no campaign promise by any candidate. I also said that politicians run on the extremes in the primaries then move toward the center during the campaign. If elected, they govern by orbiting the center where most of the country's citizens actually live, politically speaking.

Of course, the performance of this new government remains to be seen, but I'm genuinely hopeful. So, my conservative friends, all hope is not lost. Yet.

Remember, Itoldyaso.

Just Say No...To Mobs

2008-12-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

This full-page ad ad appeared in the New York Times today. It was signed by a number of prominent scholars, politicians, and religious leaders in response to the targeted violence by Proposition 8 opponents against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Click here to learn more about the organization behind the ad and add your name to the list of signatories if you wish.

A Grand Strategy

2008-12-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

Fareed Zakaria hits the bulls eye again in this article about the changing world and a compelling need for a new "grand strategy" that is FAR different than any the United States has attempted to execute in the past.

We may still be the lone superpower on the planet, but our waning influence no longer allows us the luxury of acting as though we were.

Zakaria eloquently expresses why the "rise of the rest" of the growing nations, especially, China, India, Russia, Brasil, et. al. now compels us to pursue a world where fully functional alliances and partnerships are the rule instead of the exception.

Want one example? Think about the many hundreds of billions of dollars the federal government is about to throw at our economy to keep it afloat. There are only two ways to accomplish that: either print more money (and fuel hyper-inflation) or sell U.S. bonds and notes to someone. That someone has to be China, which recently passed Japan as the single largest holder of U.S. government debt on the planet. We had better learn to get along with the Chinese.

Highly recommended reading.

A Right to Conscience?

2008-12-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

Word out of Washington that in the final days of his presidency, Dubya may expand the right of doctors and other health care workers to refuse to perform any medical procedure that violates their moral conscience. Procedures such as abortion and artificial insemination are at the center of this debate.

Opponents argue that such an expanded law would sacrifice patient care quality on the altar of the doctor's/nurse's/other's religious beliefs. Health care managers argue that an expansion of the law would invite chaos if any health care worker could refuse to perform any part of their job as a conscientious objector.

My take on this debate is purely practical: it seems to me that there must be enough doctors and other health care workers who have no objection to abortion, artificial insemination, or other controversial medical procedures to provide them to anyone who wants one.

I doubt that forcing a doctor to perform a procedure to which he/she has moral objections is good for patient care quality. Whenever I undergo a medical procedure, I want the doctor to be on MY side, rooting for me all the way.

If a patient wants a certain procedure performed, just choose a doctor/hospital who will do it gladly and professionally. Even if you succeed in legally forcing a doctor to act against his/her conscience, why would you trust yourself to his/her care?

Captioneer's Challenge!

2008-12-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

This photo is screaming for a funny caption. Submit your entry in a comment. I'll publish the winner's name right cheer!

Mormons and Guilt

2008-11-30T20:04:00.000-08:00

For many people, guilt and religion seem to be joined at the hip. Both the Jewish and Catholic faiths occupy positions of preeminence in the pop culture ratings of guilt factories, but take my word for it--Mormons are probably not far behind.

I have a little problem with that. Allow me to explain.

People of faith are often, by nature, people who care about their own performance relative to religious standards. That is an intrinsically good thing. It can also be a very bad thing when the guilt someone is feeling is false. In my opinion, false guilt is a plague within the Church. It can fill one with negative, debilitating feelings that are not easily resolved. Those feelings can make life miserable and make the sufferer unable to function or serve effectively in the Church.

When it comes to guilt, what is the difference between the genuine item and the fake?

Two things are requisite to invoke feelings of guilt:

1) A moral standard against which actual behavior is measured.
2) A moral compass that performs this measurement and informs our brain and heart of the results.

Almost every sane person of accountable age has a working moral compass. Those who do not (including the very young and the mentally ill) are not held accountable for consequences of their faulty moral compasses. We often refer to this compass as a "conscience", and read about it in Moroni 7:16. "For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God."

If one's moral compass is working as designed, where does false guilt find its root? It rises from the application of a false moral standard.

False moral standards come in many forms, and can produce feelings of guilt that are entirely unnecessary and futile. These false standards can include:

- the arbitrary opinions and expectations we allow others to impose on us
- our self-delusional efforts to create and maintain a "perfect" outward appearance to others
- traditions of our religious culture wrongly interpreted as doctrines or commandments from God

Allowing such false standards to fill us with false guilt is worthy of the rebuke the Lord delivered in D&C 30:1--"...you have feared man and have not relied on me for strength as you ought."

I believe there is one, and only one, legitimate moral standard for behavior for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That standard is obedience to the commandments of God as they are delivered to us by His prophets, seers, and revelators, and administered by the legitimate chain of priesthood authority down to the local level. Doctrine & Covenants 59:21 supports this view: "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments." The guilt resulting from failure to control one's behavior to conform to this standard is absolutely legitimate, and should become a mainspring for sincere repentance. The Apostle Paul contrasted legitimate guilt with false guilt in his second epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 7 verse 10: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

It seems to me that living in conformity with the one legitimate moral standard we have as members of the Church should be, must be, can only be a full-time job. I submit that any time and effort we spend attempting to satisfy any false standard detracts directly and proportionately from the legitimate process of becoming spiritually mature. And that, it seems to me, is exactly what the Adversary desires.

As we seek to eliminate false guilt and focus our time and energy on achieving legitimate spiritual growth, I believe it is essential to hearken to living prophets. To that end, I offer the following:

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve taught, "The distinction between feelings or inclinations on the one hand, and behavior on the other hand, is very clear. It’s no sin to have inclinations that if yielded to would produce behavior that would be a transgression. The sin is in yielding to temptation."

Elder Russell M. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve taught, "I hope it goes without saying that guilt is not a proper motivational technique for leaders and teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must always motivate through love and sincere appreciation, not by creating guilt...Still there are those who experience some feelings of guilt as a consequence of their service in the Church. These feelings can come when our time and attention are being torn between competing demands and priorities. As mortals, we simply cannot do everything at once. Therefore we must do all things “in wisdom and order” (Mosiah 4:27). Often that will mean temporarily postponing attention to one priority in order to take care of another. Sometimes family demands will require your full attention. Other times professional responsibilities will come first. And there will be times when Church callings will come first. Good balance comes in doing things in a timely way and in not procrastinating our preparation or waiting to fulfill our responsibilities until the last minute."

Finally, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught, "True repentance blesses our lives with the effects of the Atonement: we feel God’s forgiveness and His peace, and our guilt and sorrow are lifted away; we enjoy the influence of the Spirit in greater abundance; and we are better prepared to live with our Heavenly Father. Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins."

Pursuing legitimate spiritual growth is far too important for any of us to waste any time trifling with false guilt based on false standards.

As always, God provides us with genuine love and value while the Adversary offers only a shadow and a sham. May we turn unto true light and life.

Ho Ho Ho and a Body on WalMart's Floor

2008-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

Although it is true that the universe was arranged for human beings, when I see a story like this I have to wonder why, if just for a moment.

I'm still shaking my head.

It's All About Us

2008-11-27T06:33:00.001-08:00

Warning: physics ahead. But even if you are not a physicist, this post may interest you because it recounts just a few of the reasons why this universe permits you to exist.

Physicist Tim Folger, writing in the latest edition of Discover magazine, provides some interesting facts about our universe that, in my judgment, support what is known in the physics world as "the anthropic principle", i.e., the notion that instead of being an unfathomably complex series of random events and circumstances, the universe was intelligently designed to support life.

Even the most ardent anti-creationists will admit that the universe's basic properties are "uncannily suited for life. Tweak the laws of physics in just about any way and—in this universe, anyway—life as we know it would not exist."

A few examples:

• All atoms consist of more elemental particles, namely, protons, neutrons, and electrons. If protons were 0.2 percent more massive, they would be unstable and decay into smaller particles, which means atoms could not exist, which means WE could not exist.

• Atomic nuclei are bound together by the so-called strong force. If that force were slightly more powerful, all the protons in the early universe would have paired off and there would be no hydrogen, which fuels long-lived stars. Water would not exist, nor would any known form of life.

• Stars like the sun produce energy by fusing two hydrogen atoms into a single helium atom. During that reaction, 0.007 percent of the mass of the hydrogen atoms is converted into energy, via Einstein’s famous E = mc2 equation. But if that percentage were, say, 0.006 or 0.008, the universe would be far more hostile to life. The lower number would result in a universe filled only with hydrogen; the higher number would leave a universe with no hydrogen (and therefore no water) and no stars like the sun.

• Earth's orbit around our sun provides a narrow range of temperatures on our planet within which an astounding variety of life forms can exist. Change the average distance between the sun and earth by a very tiny amount, and we are either crispy critters or popsicles.

• The early universe was delicately poised between runaway expansion and terminal collapse. Had the universe contained much more matter, additional gravity would have made it implode. If it contained less, the universe would have expanded too quickly for galaxies to form.

• Had matter in the universe been more evenly distributed, it would not have clumped together to form galaxies. Had matter been clumpier, it would have condensed into black holes.

What are the chances that, in purely random fashion, the universe became so finely balanced in so many different aspects that this thing we call LIFE could exist?

Despite my technical and scientific background, I cannot believe this all happened by chance. One law of physics nobody questions is: the derivative of entropy with respect to time is always positive, i.e., the universe left to itself is naturally increasingly chaotic. The fact that organisms as exquisitely complex as human beings exist at all is compelling evidence of some vastly intelligent force creating myriad instances of sublime order within the vast universal chaos. Thereby, that intelligence relegates the chaos to the background where it belongs, and infuses the ordered beings (us) with supernal, intrinsic value.

We are what matters in this universe.

The Lamest Duck, Indeed

2008-11-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of President Bush referred to in an article entitled, "The Lamest Duck", by Joe Klein.

As Klein notes, we tend to be somewhat sympathetic to presidents who are just entering or just leaving the office, but it is hard for me to be so in the case of George Bush. After a long list of foolish and clueless decisions that further bankrupted our country, caused the deaths of thousands of our soldiers and many thousands of innocent civilians, and drove world opinion of the Unites States to record lows, Bush tops off his presidency by basically disappearing when the biggest economic crisis in decades savages us all. That is not exactly my idea of "presidential".

Klein's summary is especially on target, in my opinion, when identifying the root causes for Bush's stultifying government:

"In the end, though, it will not be the creative paralysis that defines Bush. It will be his intellectual laziness, at home and abroad. Bush never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and regulation that was necessary to make markets work. He never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and equity that was necessary to maintain the strong middle class required for both prosperity and democracy. He never considered the complexities of the cultures he was invading. He never understood that faith, unaccompanied by rigorous skepticism, is a recipe for myopia and foolishness."

El Coyote Update

2008-11-24T10:13:00.001-08:00

This was the scene at the El Coyote Mexican Cafe in Los Angeles shortly after Prop 8 passed. Protesters, angered by the results of the free and fair election, took it upon themselves to try to deny the restaurant's owners and its 89 workers (many of whom are gay) a living because one of the owners exercised her legal right to vote and to contribute a whopping $100 to a political cause.

Well...this is the scene now:

The restaurant, family owned and operated since 1931, is still in business. My son and his friend joined a group for dinner there on Saturday night. They reported that the place was PACKED, the food was delicious, and that there were a number of men sitting at tables silently smiling into each others eyes.

Oh, and for the record, my son's dinner companion is indubitably FEMALE. :)

Now HERE Is Some Justice

2008-11-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

Unless you are big like me, you can't truly understand how the following article could make a grown man cry. (Allow me to define "big" for you: my hip bones press against the armrest panels of an airline seat, and the headrest hits me squarely between the shoulder blades. Try doing that for a five-hour a cross country flight.)

---------------------
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday.

The high court declined to hear an appeal by Canadian airlines of a decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency that people who are "functionally disabled by obesity" deserve to have two seats for one fare.

The airlines had lost an appeal at the Federal Court of Appeal in May and had sought to launch a fresh appeal at the Supreme Court. The court's decision not to hear a new appeal means the one-person-one-fare policy stands.

The appeal had been launched by Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet.
--------------------

You think only the big people are happy? What about all the skinny people who ever had to sit next to them?

This one is definitely a WIN-WIN!

A Bit of Wisdom from Babylon

2008-11-21T14:17:00.001-08:00

From Dale Carpenter, a No on 8 supporter, writing at "The Volokh Conspiracy":

"Here's my advice to righteously furious gay-marriage supporters: Stop the focus on the Mormon Church. Stop it now. We just lost a ballot fight in which we were falsely but effectively portrayed as attacking religion. So now some of us attack a religion? People were warned that churches would lose their tax-exempt status, which was untrue. So now we have (frivolous) calls for the Mormon Church to lose its tax-exempt status? It's rather selective indignation, anyway, since lots of demographic groups gave us Prop 8 in different ways — some with money and others with votes. I understand the frustration, but this particular expression of it is wrong and counter-productive."

Obama's Dream Cabinet

2008-11-20T23:20:00.000-08:00

Jacob Weisberg, writing in Slate.com, has captured my thoughts, hopes and dreams about the dominant personality traits within an Obama administration.

I'm an unabashed elitist when it comes to political power in the Executive Branch, and it's clear that Weisberg is too. I'm beyond tired of having a president who sounds like a ten year-old at every (rare) press conference, and who values personal loyalty above brains, ability, and character.

I am optimistic that Obama has the intellectual firepower and leadership skills to feel comfortable filling his cabinet with very smart people who will not check their reasoned, principled positions at the door.

If Obama starts "rewarding friends and backers, playing congressional politics, seeking diversity, and appeasing industry and interest groups", his stock will go down with me.

Sam Must Be Smiling

2008-11-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

If I had to buy and hold the stock of one retailer for the next two years, I'd let it ride on WalMart.

There nothing like watching your 401k get halved to drive you toward a joyous reunion with your inner cheapskate.

Sir Elton Weighs In

2008-11-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Elton John had an interesting comment on California's recent Prop 8 battle. Speaking of his long-time partner, John said:

"We're not married. Let's get that right. We have a civil partnership. What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage."

"I don't want to be married. I'm very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership," John says. "The word 'marriage,' I think, puts a lot of people off.

"You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships."

Now, if we can just get Cher to say the same thing, maybe all the fuss could end. :)

Top Mormon Leaders Call for Civility in Public Discourse

2008-11-14T22:20:00.001-08:00

Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement regarding California Proposition 8 and the election aftermath.

SALT LAKE CITY 14 November 2008 Five months ago, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a letter to members of the Church in California, encouraging them to join the millions of other Californians from many religious denominations, ethnic groups and political persuasions in a broad coalition to defend marriage as it has been defined for millennia.

During the election campaign, both sides of the argument on Proposition 8 had ample opportunities to express their viewpoint. The result was conclusively in favor of traditional marriage. More than 40 states in the United States have now voted to protect traditional marriage, either directly or through their elected representatives.

Today the First Presidency issued this statement about the democratic process:

"Since the people of California voted to reaffirm the sanctity of traditional marriage between a man and a woman on November 4, 2008, places of worship have been targeted by opponents of Proposition 8 with demonstrations and, in some cases, vandalism. People of faith have been intimidated for simply exercising their democratic rights. These are not actions that are worthy of the democratic ideals of our nation. The end of a free and fair election should not be the beginning of a hostile response in America.

The Church is keenly aware of the differences of opinion on this difficult and sensitive matter. The reasons for this principled stand in defense of marriage have already been articulated elsewhere. However, some of what we have seen since Californians voted to pass Proposition 8 has been deeply disappointing.

Attacks on churches and intimidation of people of faith have no place in civil discourse over controversial issues. People of faith have a democratic right to express their views in the public square without fear of reprisal. Efforts to force citizens out of public discussion should be deplored by people of goodwill everywhere.

We call upon those who have honest disagreements on this issue to urge restraint upon the extreme actions of a few that are further polarizing our communities and urge them to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other."

Thanks for Stopping By

2008-11-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

In the last month readership has grown to 135 people and page views have zoomed by 48%.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions or requests.

Once again, thanks for stopping by.

Gay Vigilantes

2008-11-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

You want to know what some one's character is truly like? Do one of two things:

1) Observe them when they think they are utterly alone.
2) Observe them when they are under a ton of stress.

Seems to be a lot of stress in the "gay" community today, because some people are showing their true character. They are angry and they are not gonna take it any more. They're not angry enough to kill anybody (at least not yet), but they are effectively lynching the businesses owned by Yes on 8 donors. This is not a broadcast protest--this is targeted, individual vengeance to take away some one's livelihood. It is a direct, personal attack on people who committed the heinous crime of exercising their constitutional rights to participate legally in the political process. What happened to the "Love, Tolerance, Compassion" mantra of the gay community? Why are prominent gay leaders not condemning these personal, individual attacks?

It doesn't stop there. Some person or persons sent envelopes full of white powder to two temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That is NOT political freedom of speech--THAT IS TERRORISM.

I think it is interesting that The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center issued a statement almost immediately after the news broke:

"While the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center organized a peaceful demonstration against the involvement of the leadership of the Mormon Church in the deceitful Yes on Prop. 8 campaign, we decry the use or threat of violence. Just as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community seeks the right to be treated equally under the law, all Americans should have the right to live lives free from fear and violence," the statement said.

Well, well.

"Gay Rights" and "Civil Rights"--Same Thing?

2008-11-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Many opponents of Proposition 8 have characterized the current "gay rights" movement as being virtually identical the the civil rights movement that began in the 60s involving Americans of African heritage. Are they really the same thing? I think this is an important question, because if they are then I've got some serious soul searching to do.

The struggle for African American civil rights sought to bring basic personal protections to people who had never had them before. We're talking about things like being able to drink from a public water fountain, eat lunch at a diner, sit in any seat on a bus, getting an education at a public school, voting, getting a job, even walking down the street without getting firehosed.

Prop 8 had nothing to do with fundamental personal rights like those mentioned above. "Gay" people have long enjoyed the same fundamental personal rights anyone else does. And when it comes to civil rights for "gay" couples, the law (specifically, the California Domestic Partnership Act of 2005) declares that registered same-sex domestic partnerships shall have civil rights that are absolutely equal to those granted heterosexual marriages. And those rights are eminently enforceable in the courts.

So, opposing Prop 8 had nothing to do with obtaining new civil rights. How can you obtain something you already have?

Opposing Prop 8 WAS a demand to society for a new privilege, not a new right. That new privilege was redefining the word "marriage" to include the behavioral choices of "gay" people.

Who decides what the legal meaning of a word that affects our entire society should be? How can you decide such a question fairly? It seems to me the only possible way to do that is by voting. The most fundamental concept of governing in our democratic republic is "the consent of the governed".

A civil right is a vastly different thing than the definition of a word. To me, "gay" rights is almost a misnomer. I am not aware of any civil right I now have under California law that a "gay" person does not also have.

California law says that "domestic partnerships" and "marriages" have identical civil rights. The fact that my "domestic partnership" is legally called a "marriage" does not affect any "gay" couple's civil rights in any way. Nor does it grant me any new or different rights beyond those "gay" couples already have.

In my opinion, equating the Prop 8 fight with the civil rights movement that began in the 60s is a canard. I'll buy the argument that the Prop 8 fight was about respect, but I am not convinced it was ever about rights.

A Religulous Veneer

2008-11-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Just who (or what) is Bill Maher and why all the blogosphere buzz over his movie, "Religulous"?

Many people of faith are up in arms over the movie because of its portrayal of religion as something for the weak minded. On the other hand, secularists, atheists, agnostics and Dawkins/Hitchens fans are rallying to use this new "weapon" Maher has created in the debate over religion.

Even cursory searches turn up all sorts of opinions on Maher. The anti-religion side thinks they have a new lion...until someone makes a plausible case that Maher's arguments are simplistic, even childish, and turns up a 2002 interview in which Maher says he does believe in some kind of God but not in organized religion. On the other side, many religionists are thinking (but not saying aloud) that Maher's "expose" of all religions is valid except for the religion to which they happen to belong.

Both sides may be missing a couple of important points:

1) Maher's tactic in the movie was clear: find the easy, low-hanging targets, ambush them with a camera and microphone, then mock them. Not exactly a scholarly approach, which brings me to my second point.

2) Bill Maher is no more a philosopher than Rush Limbaugh is a politician. Bill Maher is an entertainer with a profit motive who knows how to make money by being controversial.

Maher is a satirist, and that is no crime. I think, as many others do, that there is much in organized religion that is easily mockable (yes, even some aspects of my own religious culture). But no one should treat Maher's work as a serious discussion of the issues. Getting all worked up over "Religulous" is a rather disproportionate response, kind of like putting on a Kevlar vest for a squirt gun fight.

And Bill? Well, Bill is laughing all the way to the bank.

Music Defined

2008-11-12T21:18:00.001-08:00

"Play it beautiful, play it beautiful. I don't care if you don't hit all of the notes. If you don't move a person's heart it's not music."
-- Christopher Parkening

100 Gay Legal Scholars Confer

2008-11-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

The following reported in TIME magazine:

"In a teleconference last week among more than 100 gay legal scholars and others who support gay marriage, the mood was dour. "This has cast a pall" over what had otherwise been a historic election on Nov. 4, said D'Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National Lesbian Gay Law Association. Longtime gay rights advocate Dean Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and others on the conference call expressed concern that the gay rights movement had become too focused on marriage, and is now paying the price in other more critical areas. "Marriage was never our issue," Trantalis said. "It was thrust upon us by the other side, and they've done a very good job of beating us up over it."

Legal Challenges to Prop 8

2008-11-10T22:56:00.000-08:00

If you want to understand the basics of the current legal challenge to Prop 8's passage, read on.

Article 18 of the California state Constitution provides that the Constitution can be changed either by "amendment" or by "revision". An amendment may be enacted by initiative with a majority vote, as Prop 8 was. A revision must first be passed by two-thirds of the Legislature before being submitted to the voters.

Why two different ways? The revision method is, under case law, reserved for a matter that "substantially alters the basic governmental framework set forth in our Constitution." Opponents of Prop 8 are arguing the Prop 8 did precisely that.

The court will decide.

The prima facie case can appear quite reasonable to a non-lawyer. But consider this: the court has repeatedly taken a VERY narrow view of the definition of a "revision". Amendment initiatives as dramatic as Prop 13 (limited property tax rates), Prop 140 (imposed legislative term limits), and the initiative that reinstated the death penalty in 1972 all failed to qualify as "revisions" in the eyes of the court. Especially noteworthy is the fact that the 1972 death penalty amendment directly limited the judiciary's power to declare fundamental rights.

There are also ample precedents in other states where the the court has rejected the type of challenge Prop 8 opponents are now presenting. The ACLU recently made this same “constitutional revision” claim in a nearly identical matter in Oregon. The claim was made under almost identical provisions of the Oregon State Constitution, against an almost identical voter constitutional amendment which read, “…only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage.” The rejection by the Court of Appeals was unanimous. (Martinez v. Kulongoski (May 21, 2008) --- P.3d----, 220 Or.App. 142, 2008 WL2120516).

I am no lawyer, but I do know lawyers. None of them I have asked about this issue think the Prop 8 opponents have much of a chance of winning this legal challenge.

As the saying goes, "The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet."

Science and Faith

2008-11-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
-- Galileo Galilei

What About the 18,000?

2008-11-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Indeed, what will happen to the 18,000 same-sex couples who were married during the brief period when it was legal for them to do so?

I suppose a court will ultimately decide what will happen. Some of the salient facts the court will, no doubt, consider are:

1. These people acted in good faith and in compliance with the law that was enforceable at the time of their marriage.

2. Proposition 8 carried no provision for retroactive application.

3. It is extremely rare for a court to apply a new law retroactively unless it contains a specific retroactivity clause.

I believe in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. If I disagree strongly with a law, I may choose to become involved in trying to change it through legal means. But as long as it is the law, it is the law.

I will support whatever the appropriate court decides, even though I think some of the consequences of allowing those 18,000 marriages to stand would be detrimental to our society.

Prop 8 Protests--The Gift That Keeps on Giving

2008-11-09T17:41:00.001-08:00

I have a sincere question: How do the Prop 8 protesters think their actions are going to help their cause?

Unless the protests are nothing more than a tantrum outlet for the negative feelings Prop 8's victory gave them, they must see some point or purpose in them. I'm trying to understand what that point or purpose is.

Is it to send a message that they are deeply hurt, saddened and angry over the election results? Well, I think the rest of the world pretty much had that figured out already. No rocket science there.

Is to send a message that they are not about to stop their fight for same-sex marriage rights? Well, I think the rest of the world pretty much had that figured out already, too. Anyone with a brain, anyway.

Are the protesters trying to gather some more converts to their cause? If so, maybe they should consider how attractive they appear on television and in the newspaper. The scenes in the media are so reminiscent of the 60s...and tend to give the "movement" that same cachet: a bunch of people who march, chant, and scream because they can't figure out an effective way to accomplish their goal. Some photos show protesters who appear to be rabidly wide-eyed and foamy-mouthed, although I imagine few of them actually are. But rabid people make for interesting news photos that sell more newspapers.

Then, consider the bonus public relations points you get for appearing to attack a church. Do you really think the centrist votes you need to convert in the next electoral challenge are going to be sympathetic to that kind of behavior?

How about this blog post on the L.A Times website from Tim B. on November 5: "I live in West Hollywood and was ruffed up by this mob on the way home from work tonight. My car was engulfed, I was shoved, my car hit and the mob rocked my car trying to tip it. I support equal rights for everyone, voted no on prop 8, BUT this kind of behavior does not foster understanding." I wonder if Tim B. will vote with you next time.

The smarter, cooler heads who led the official No on 8 Campaign are right: “We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight. We only further divide our state if we attempt to blame people of faith, African American voters, rural communities and others for this loss."

Oh, and one more suggestion. Get a spellchecker for those protest signs.

No on 8 Leaders Speak

2008-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

As reported in the Los Angeles Times and on the No on Prop 8 official website, four prominent leaders of the No on 8 campaign issued a statement which included the following passage:

“We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight. We only further divide our state if we attempt to blame people of faith, African American voters, rural communities and others for this loss."

I can only acknowledge that statement as absolutely true, and hope those flag waving, screaming protesters who attempted to defile a sacred edifice will get this message from their leaders. The protesters' actions, which bear a significant resemblance to a childish temper tantrum, are hurting their own cause.

Blaming the Mormons for Prop 8?

2008-11-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

The following facts might turn your head if you blame the Mormon church for the passage of Prop 8 in California:

1. Mormons make up about 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 Mormons out of a total population of approximately 34 million.

2. Mormon voters were less than 5% of the "yes" vote. If one estimates that 250,000 Mormons are registered voters (the rest being children). If every single Mormon voter in California votes yes, they made up approximately 4.4% of the Yes vote and 2.2% of the total Proposition 8 vote. PROP 8's MARGIN OF VICTORY WAS OVER 500,000 VOTES. IF EVERY MORMON VOTER HAD STAYED HOME FROM THE POLLS, PROP 8 STILL WOULD HAVE PASSED EASILY.

3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated not one dime to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right, donated whatever they felt like donating.

4. The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32 million. The No campaign enjoyed a substantial money advantage.

5. African Americans in California overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. Haven't read about any protests at the NAACP offices.

6. The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8. Are protesters headed to the MALDEF offices next?

7. The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims – all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members. The Knights of Columbus were primary contributors to the Yes campaign. Are the protesters planning to send a delegation to the Vatican to let Pope know how they feel?

8. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have repeatedly asked members to treat others with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.

9. The Mormon church is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that Churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church as always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it judges to be moral issues.

10. Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse.

The fact is, we simply did what Americans do – we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted.

Senatorial Power Under Obama

2008-11-05T23:22:00.000-08:00

Many of my Republican friends are using the word, "fear", to describe their reaction to Obama's victory. It seems many of them fear that a Democratic-controlled Congress and White House will claim a broad mandate and drag the country abruptly to the left.

I'm reading a LOT of smart people in the financial and journalism areas and not seeing much of anyone who believes that will happen. None of the investment house forecasts I've read sees radical tax reform happening quickly, but possibly in a second Obama term. Howard Dean, the DNC Chair, told Chris Matthews he would welcome the placement of Republicans in positions within the Obama administration. (I dearly hope for that.)

But, my GOP friends, consider this: The Democrats did not win a filibuster-smothering 60 seats in the Senate. That means they will have to reach across the isle and persuade SOME Republicans to go along on certain issues. Those Republicans will most likely be moderates, and THEY are the ones who will be in the power chairs when it comes to getting things done in the Senate.

Court Challenges to Proposition 8 Victory

2008-11-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

My son drew my attention to the following statement, issued today by the general counsel for Protect Marriage.com. It is worth repeating here:

Statement By Andrew Pugno, General Counsel of ProtectMarriage.com
November 05, 2008
Contact: (916) 608-3065
By Andy Pugno

“The lawsuit filed today by the ACLU and Equality California seeking to invalidate the decision of California voters to enshrine traditional marriage in California’s constitution is frivolous and regrettable. These same groups filed an identical case with the California Supreme Court months ago, which was summarily dismissed. We will vigorously defend the People’s decision to enact Proposition 8.

This is the second time that California voters have acted to define marriage as between a man and a woman. It is time that the opponents of traditional marriage respect the voters’ decision.

The ACLU/Equality California lawsuit is completely lacking in merit. It is as if their campaign just spent $40 million on a losing campaign opposing something they now say is a legal nullity. Their position is absurd, an insult to California voters and an attack on the initiative process itself.

The right to amend California’s Constitution is not granted to the People, it is reserved by the People. The Supreme Court has repeatedly acknowledged the reserved power of the People to use the initiative process to amend the Constitution. For example, when the Rose Bird Court struck down the death penalty as a violation of fundamental state constitutional rights, the People disagreed, and in the exercise of their sovereign power reversed that interpretation of their Constitution through the initiative-amendment process. Even a liberal jurist who vehemently disagreed with the People’s decision on the death penalty, Justice Stanley Mosk, nevertheless acknowledged the People’s authority to decide the issue through the initiative-amendment process.

It should also be noted that the ACLU recently made this same “constitutional revision” claim in a nearly identical matter in Oregon and it was unanimously rejected. The claim was made under almost identical provisions of the Oregon State Constitution, against an almost identical voter constitutional amendment which read, “…only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage.” The Court of Appeals of Oregon unanimously rejected the ACLU’s “revision” claim. (Martinez v. Kulongoski (May 21, 2008) --- P.3d----, 220 Or.App. 142, 2008 WL2120516).

The coalition that has worked so hard for the past year to enact Proposition 8 will vigorously defend the People’s decision against this unfortunate challenge by groups who, having lost in the court of public opinion, now turn to courts of law to pursue their agenda.”

The Mormon Church Responds to Same-Sex Ballot Issues

2008-11-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

A recent anti-Prop 8 television ad (since pulled from Youtube) vilified the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by portraying faux missionaries as home-invasion robbers. A group called "Courage Campaign Issues Committee" created the ad, which can be seen here.

The legitimate No on 8 campaign has not disavowed the ad to date.

You can read the Church's response here.

The Problem With The Political Faithful

2008-11-04T09:39:00.001-08:00

As America chooses a new president today, I wonder how many people are voting either for or against a candidate's caricature instead of the real man?

Finally...a Verdict

2008-11-03T22:09:00.001-08:00

It's already Election Day in Dixville Notch, and Obama has won that burg. I am so ready for this campaign to be over.

Whoever wins tomorrow will be my President. The slate will be clean and he will have the benefit of the my doubt during the honeymoon. Governing is dramatically different than campaigning, and neither of the candidates is evil incarnate.

Whoever you turn out to be, please govern this country from the center. Surround yourself with smart people from both sides of the aisle and listen to them. Move us past the hyper-partisan era into a time when we don't care which side of the aisle the good ideas come from and we think twice before we act once. Talk to both our friends and enemies alike, without preconditions. Bow to the new reality: we can no longer try to impose our will on other sovereign nations with impunity. Keep that big stick ready in your back pocket in case we are attacked again. Do the minimum necessary to provide for a healthy common infrastructure and defense, but please don't overshoot as you re-regulate the markets. Secure our borders. Re-enshrine the fundamental Constitutional rights that have been abrogated during the last eight years.

And please, when you have a press conference, try to sound like you know what you are talking about. If you really want to thrill me, just pronounce the word, "nuclear" correctly and watch me grin. (I'll smile outright if the word "nuclear" is followed by "power plants we will begin constructing".)

Whence the Venom?

2008-10-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

As the end of the "never ending" presidential campaign finally draws near, some retrospection may be profitable.

It was a season of surprises. In the beginning, everyone thought Hillary was a slam dunk winner. At one point, McCain's campaign seemed moribund and many pundits wrote him off. Religious bigotry surfaced and single-handedly slew the campaign of an otherwise highly qualified Mitt Romney (not that I agree with his politics). One candidate discovered that $400 haircuts were a political kiss of death. A man with black heritage became a major party nominee for the very first time.

One of the big regrets I have is that so much of this history making activity occurred in such an ugly, venomous environment. Why does our political discourse have to be so nasty and full of personal attacks?

As I pondered this question I began listing plausible answers. Was it the nature of our two-party system and the hyper-polarized background it creates? Was it the winner-take-all system we have created as opposed to the parliamentary model popular in Europe? What makes politicians willing to attempt to demonize and dehumanize their opponents with statements that would be considered criminally false and slanderous in a court of law?

I thought about a good friend of mine who is very conservative and very Republican (and I mean very). Some months ago I won a steak dinner bet with him by telling him to put his money where his mouth was. His mouth was saying, with absolute certainty, that Hillary would win both the Democratic nomination AND the Presidency. I tried to tell him that it was his fear talking, but he wouldn't listen.

Not that I mind winning the steak dinner, but it bothered me that my friend had succumbed to the Republican party's not-so-subtle efforts to position Hillary Clinton as the anti-Christ. My friend is a highly intelligent man, a mover and shaker, a man eminently respectable in so many ways. Yet he still bought the vicious RNC spin and it ended up costing him.

Don't get me wrong--I am NO Hillary fan. My personal dislike for her is rather intense, but it is based on her stated policies and what I consider to be some obvious and rather ugly character flaws. (Number one is that power is the air she breathes. I think she and her husband crave it above all other things. A close second: she kept Bill around for what appeared to be political reasons after he spat upon their marriage.) My point is this: whatever her shortcomings may be, she is not evil incarnate, and has accomplished much good for her constituents. My dislike for her is rational, not visceral.

That difference is the reason I was able to clearly see what my friend could not. As a result, my rationality has provided very nicely for my visceral needs at the Ruth's Chris over in Irvine. :-D

It may be that this experience provides a partial answer to my original question: why the venom? Why the idiotic, patently false, slanderous character attacks throughout the campaign season?

Because they often work effectively. And that is a stinging indictment of the American public.

My friend fell for it when it targeted Hillary. John McCain's friend, that old lady who stood up in his town hall meeting as millions of TV viewers watched and said something to the effect of, "I am afraid of Obama. He's an Arab and a terrorist, isn't he?" She bought it too. The guy who emphasized Obama's middle name, "Hussein", as a McCain rally introduction--he bought it too. No doubt millions of others have bought it.

Maybe politicians do that crap because too large a percentage of the American public will not only listen to it but swallow it whole.

If that is the case, I think you have to ask if we deserve any better than we are getting now.

I dream of a system where sloppy political proposals are non-starters. A system where the process forces all sides to sharpen their views and bend them to reality as their errors and excesses are exposed and corrected. I dream of a system where partisan punches never land below the belt, and the judges are all post-partisan.

Something is going to change. Congress may be able to ignore their dismal job approval ratings, but they can't ignore the fact that registration in the two major parties is steadily declining, with Democrats currently counting 43% of registered voters and Republicans 33%. A growing chunk (24%) of the American public belongs to neither one of them.

Caveat gubernare.

Instant Relief for a Stuffy Nose

2008-10-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Found in the "you may not believe this" file:

There are many pharmaceutical and mechanical remedies for common nasal congestion and stuffiness. Here's one you can use anywhere, instantly.

Place the tips of your forefingers beside the base of each nostril, along the line where your lip and nose meet. You should feel a tiny bump on each side as you apply gentle pressure. Maintain gentle pressure at these two points for 30 to 60 seconds and see what happens.

If you break out in song, let me know.

Prop 8 and Schoolchildren

2008-10-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have listened to both sides of the Prop 8 battle concerning the issue of public school instruction concerning "same-sex marriage". I have actually read the applicable parts of the California state statutes.

It is difficult for me to fully accept the assertion that California schoolchildren will never be taught about "same-sex marriage" if Prop 8 fails, regardless of the parental opt-outs included in current state statutes. It is quite plausible to me that those statutes could change in the future if Prop 8 fails, as they did in Massachusetts when that state legalized "same-sex marriage".

This letter provides details of the legal reasoning behind my thinking. If any Prop 8 opponents want to comment on the contents of this letter, I'd welcome it.

A Victim's Lament

2008-10-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have been initiated into the crime victim's club.

Someone stole the "Yes on Proposition 8" sign from our front lawn.

Apparently there is some organization to this "crime wave" in our city. Not only are signs disappearing from lawns, but someone spray painted "Prop H8te" on the big signs in front of the Union Bank building. Five people were arrested yesterday under suspicion of stealing Prop 8 signs and committing associated vandalism. Police caught them with the evidence in their vehicles--destroyed Prop 8 signs.

It seems likely to me that these people consider themselves heroes for their cause which, apparently, is the defeat of Proposition 8. Noble freedom fighters for justice, no doubt, bravely willing to risk jail for their beliefs. High-fiving each other after every theft.

I wonder if they know how many crimes they actually committed in their tantrum of personal expression?

Our sign was in the center of our lawn, well back from any walkway. They had to enter our property without our permission to take the sign, which is Trespassing. The fact that they took the sign means they entered our property with the intent to commit a crime, which is Criminal Trespass. Then there's the actual stealing of the sign (our personal property), which is Theft. Oh, and the violation of our constitutionally protected civil right to freedom of speech. That's a Federal offense, and a felony.

Freedom fighters? Heroes? I think not. If they had any guts they would let the whole world see them take the sign. Instead, they sneak in and steal, hiding their identities like the cowards they really are. They have chosen to wear the mask of the criminal.

I obviously don't care about the financial value of the sign, and people walk on my lawn every day, I suppose. But violate my constitutional right to freedom of speech and I care a whole lot about that.

I don't know if they'll ever be caught. But I do know I have lots more "Yes on Proposition 8" signs. Oh, and next time...I hope they smile for the new cameras.

My Case Against McCain

2008-10-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

I've taken quite a few potshots at John McCain in this blog. I reckon it's time I gathered my whole case together and present it for your judgment.

The flag-waving, saber-rattling, pseudo-patriotic, "we are number one" behavior McCain exhibits is just stupid. It's horribly dated and and culturally retarded. Think: when was the last time the United States bullied any other nation into complying with our wishes? We simply do not have the ability to do that sort of thing any more to any nation of any size. It's taken us longer to "conquer" Iraq than it took us to conquer Hitler and Tojo, and at least back then we had a clear victory. Even Dubya doesn't use the words "Iraq" and "victory" in the same sentence any more, instead opting for the euphemism, "success".

Five years of torture makes McCain a true hero, but also must have tweaked his psyche. I don't care who combs his hair, but I care a lot whether he has any residual psycho-ticks. I'm not saying he does, but I'm saying I fear even the possibility.

The same personality characteristics that make someone a great jet jockey disqualify them from the Presidency. He is precipitate in both his thoughts and actions, often shooting form the hip (or lip). That personality in a position like the Presidency can be a recipe for disaster. We need intelligence rather than cleverness, control rather than impetuosity, and wisdom rather than action for action's sake.

It is incredibly easy to listen to McCain speak and hear Dubya saying the same things.

His worldview is anachronistic, simplistic and dangerous, and is far more likely to involve us in another war. Unconditional refusal to talk to potential enemies is almost a guarantee to remove the word "potential". His refusal to talk with potential enemies like Iran is pathological. Even General David Petraeus, our most effective commander in Iraq and new head of the U.S Central Command, thinks we should talk to enemies.

McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate says an awful lot about his character. He treats her like a political accessory, keeping her in the dark on big campaign decisions and refusing to let her be interviewed "unchaperoned" by the press. He clearly did not choose her because he thought she was the second most qualified person to be President.

John McCain has already proven that he sacrifices personal principles for political advantage, with the South Carolina incident as a perfect example. Here is the quote as reported by the New York Times: "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary," Mr. McCain said. "So I chose to compromise my principles. I broke my promise to always tell the truth."

McCain desires power and influence "for their own sake", and was stupid enough to say that in his own book, the 2002 memoir "Worth the Fighting For". The quote: "I have craved distinction in my life. I have wanted renown and influence for their own sake. That is, of course, the great temptation of public life. ... I have never been able to conquer it permanently, but I have tried."

He's in his 70s and has already had four melanomas surgically removed. If he vapor locked and left us with Palin, could we muddle through? Yes, we could. But why should we have to?

In the face of the biggest economic crisis in a hundred years, McCain's principal campaign tactics appear to be portraying his opponent as a terrorist and as a Muslim. We need "straight talk" about the enormous problems that now confront our nation, not lame, racist attempts to smear Barack Obama.

Finally, on a purely emotional note, I just have to say this: McCain's smile creeps me out. Every time he smiles he looks like he is in pain.

Please...let there be no "Bradley effect" that might put a man like McCain in the White House. The way things appear now, the only thing that could keep Obama from the victory he deserves is if American voters show that the plague of racism is still alive and well.

Powell Endorses Obama

2008-10-19T21:37:00.001-07:00

Photo provided by NBC.

Colin Powell has joined the line of principled, reasoned, and intelligent leaders who have endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama. In doing so he broke ranks with his political party and acknowledged our need for a leader of tomorrow, not a leader of yesterday.

I'm finding more and more such people lately. Even my own brother, who is conservative (and for all I know, Republican) informed me today that McCain had failed his criteria for calm, intelligent, and wise leadership.

A quick glance at the front page of today's Los Angeles Times tells the story. There are two photos front and center: one of John McCain working a room at a town hall meeting, the other of Barack Obama on an outdoor platform in Chicago in front of a vast crowd that seemingly stretches to the horizon. Two pictures can be worth ten thousand words.

Eyes and Toes, Eyes and Toes!

2008-10-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

The main cause of all the unnecessary pain, and danger, and inconvenience we experience is that we walk with our eyes and toes pointed in different directions. Sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively.

The Blame Game

2008-10-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

Recently, a friend of mine held forth that all Americans should be introspective concerning the causes of the financial meltdown our country is going through. Her implication, as I saw it, was that maybe each of us shared a small part of the blame. (It turns out that wasn't exactly what she meant, but it was all I needed to go off like a Roman candle, short-fused curmudgeon that I am.)

Are we all to blame for what is happening?

Well, it sure is hard to feel that way if you:

1) Own only one piece of property and live in it year round
2) Have twice as much equity in the property as you owe on the mortgage
3) Have never even come close to defaulting on the mortgage
4) pay all your bills on time and have a good credit rating

It also seems altogether reasonable to point the finger of blame at the bad actors:

1) The home buyers who wanted that big house, vacation home, or investment property they really could not afford
2) The greedy lenders who loaned them the money anyway
3) The Wall Streeters who took those mortgages and connived and created convoluted mortgage backed securities with which they could speculate, even though they were so complex they could not be valued accurately on any company's books
4) The government regulators who utterly failed to stop all this dangerous activity

I reckon I'll stand by this judgment until someone can convince me otherwise. And I'll continue to reject the notion that ALL of us are somehow to blame.

It is also difficult to refrain from noting on whose watch this all happened. I think millions of Americans must feel the same way.

The piper will be paid on November 4th.

Satire as Truth

2008-10-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Satire, like humor, only really works when it tells an essential truth.
Watch this one all the way to the end.

Proposition 8 in Plain English

2008-10-15T17:19:00.001-07:00

The Greatest Generational Gift

2008-10-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Why I Oppose "Same-sex Marriage"

2008-10-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am unalterably opposed to "same-sex" marriage.

Many people would read that statement and judge me as being an intolerant and hateful bigot.

Not guilty, your honors.

I do not hate, and have never hated, anyone because of their "gender preference". I have relatives and friends who fall into this category. What they do in the privacy of their own homes is their business, and none of mine. Therefore, to me, "nature or nurture" is immaterial.

I oppose "same-sex marriage" for the following reasons (not in any particular order):

1) I believe that widespread societal acceptance of "same-sex marriage" will inevitably damage the social fabric of our society and our civilization.

2) Same-sex domestic partners who register with the State of California are guaranteed the same beneficial, legal rights as heterosexual married couples under the California Domestic Partnership Act of 2005. Proposition 8, which would prevent the application of the label "marriage" to same-sex partnerships, will not change that situation at all.

3) I believe marriage between a man and a woman is an institution ordained of God. The fact that so many heterosexual married couples have failed marriages does not change that fact for me.

4) I believe that every child deserves to be raised by a mother and a father. Individual circumstances sometimes make this impossible. Still, a mother and a father each have important, and distinct, roles to fill in raising a healthy child. Nevertheless, Proposition 8 will have no effect on current adoption policies and practices.

5) I believe that institutionally teaching a young child, without the permission of that child's parents, that "same-sex marriage" is normal and natural should be criminalized.

6) I fear that the legalization of "same-sex marriage" will lead to curbs on my personal freedom of expression, and on the corresponding freedom my Church now exercises under the protection of the federal Constitution. I sincerely hope my fear turns out to be irrational.

7) I have read every page of the California Supreme Court's opinion legalizing gay marriage. I am no lawyer, but as a layman, my fundamental difference of opinion with the Court is that I fail to see a constitutional "right to marry" in either the California or U.S. constitutions. Marriage is a societal institution that FAR predates either document; one might rationally argue that it is above their purview.

I welcome any reasoned, principled, respectful discussion of these issues. People who foam at the mouth can talk to my hand.

I Support Proposition 8

2008-10-09T18:13:00.001-07:00

Missing Tata

2008-10-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, Charles "Ted" Rowland passed away after a long bout with dementia.

My mother cared for him 24/7/365 until the last few days of his life. I don't have words to describe that kind of courage and love, but I have now witnessed it and will never forget it.

My father rose from a loving but impoverished family and earned everything he ever had the hard way. My parents made sure I never lacked a thing in my life, and had every opportunity they never did. They gave my brother and I all the self-confidence, support, and encouragement we needed to make our way in the world.

Thank you, Mat and Tat.

I miss you, Tat.

John Needed a Knockout

2008-10-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Republican and Democratic pundits alike said McCain needed to clearly win the second presidential debate to have any hope of bouncing back in the polls.

Sorry, John.

Even the Republican pundits on CNN gave the fight to Obama on points.

This election is Obama's to lose.

A Hundred and Out

2008-10-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ennui. Cubed.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim win a hundred baseball games in the regular season then exit the playoffs in the first round courtesy of the Boston Red Sox, a team they pwned in the regular season by winning 8 of 9 games.

Uggggh.

Arte, please trade Shields. And let K-Rod go. Pay Teixeira to stay. I hate to say it, but you gotta look hard at Big Daddy--his exit could pay for a lot of help.

See ya next year.

Watch Closely as the Real McCain Surfaces

2008-10-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Slipping in the polls and less than 30 days to turn it around, John McCain is beginning to show his true character.

He is angry, and he is desperate. Instead of focusing on the huge, real issues that face this country, he is trying to whip up fear and paranoia among undecided voters by smearing his opponent, basically accusing Obama of being a closet Muslim terrorist.

His tone is reminiscent of a scene from "The Wizard of Oz", where he is shouting, "PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZZZzzzzzzz...".

Nope. Just a very ordinary politician who is diving into the gutter out of desperation.

Is this the character of a man who should sit in the White House?

Elite? Moi?

2008-10-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

It seems that I've been blissfully unaware that I am a fan of "elites".

Apparently, anyone who has a lot of native intelligence, an education from a good school, a developed worldview, and an accomplished record of achievement is an "elite" in pundit-speak.

It also seems that being an "elite" and having any "common sense" are mutually exclusive in the pundit world. Only the "common man" can have any "common sense". Harry Truman is the patron saint of pundits who believe that "common men" make the best presidents.

Truman may have enjoyed popularity, and I have to say his foreign policy is still held up as an example today. But Harry Truman also did a lot of lesser-known things that weren't particularly wise. Or even constitutional, for that matter. I reckon that being a "common man" is certainly no guarantee of being an exceptional president.

I also reckon that while being an "elite" may put the Presidency closer to your grasp, it is certainly no guarantee of being an exceptional president. I could point to Dubya and rest my case, but I do not see Dubya as an "elite" under the definition stated above. His stunted worldview brought us the Iraq War. His record of "achievement" is not fueled by his native intelligence; it has been lubricated by his family's money and fame and has only shown Dubya for what he really is: a privileged pretender who surrounded himself with the wrong people (with the exception of Colin Powell) and produced one disaster after another. It seems that every time I see him at a microphone, the occasion is a disaster of some kind. I'm not sure what category the pundits have for such a man; he is no "elite" in my book, but he doesn't appear to be carry a hefty amount of common sense either.

I feel the same way about John McCain, as far as he's gone. The parallels are striking. A prominent family who greased the career skids, money never a problem, and now his team has led him into trouble on the campaign trail. His choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate, and the way his campaign has treated her, speaks volumes about his character and judgment.

The only significant difference between Bush and McCain is that John McCain is a military hero, and I mean the real deal.

I will plead guilty to craving an "elite" in the White House. I mean no disrespect to "common sense". But I do agree with George Burns, who once said, "It's too bad all the people who really know how to run the country are driving cabs and cutting hair."

I am beyond weary of watching our president appear so uncomfortable when speaking, and hearing him sputter nonsensical pablum when he does address the nation. I am beyond weary of his incompetent prosecution of a war that, according to George Will, "may go down as the worst foreign policy debacle in our history."

I want a statesman (or statesperson, if you prefer).

Three things differentiate a statesman from a politician. The first is a coherent, realistic vision of a desirable future for the nation. The second is the ability to communicate that vision effectively. The third is to persuade the bulk of the nation to follow him toward that vision. Fail at these, and your job approval rating hovers below 30 percent forever.

John McCain is no statesman. Barack Obama has a shot at becoming one because he is more intelligent, has a far more mature worldview, and is a far better communicator than John McCain. Obama does not yet qualify as an "elite": he does have the education, and the native intelligence, and a worldview that is far more mature and practical than either McCain or Bush. He's still too young to have a compelling track record of accomplishment in government, but my money is on him to become a statesman of some stature in the next 20 years.

Designer Sarah

2008-10-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin finds out the Republican campaign has written off Michigan by reading it in the newspaper the next day. Apparently, her own running mate doesn't take her seriously enough to involve her in big campaign decisions. If I were her, I'd be mad as hell.

I don't think John McCain has ever taken her seriously, and that says a lot to me about his character. I think McCain chose Palin the way a rich woman chooses a new designer purse. It is crystal clear he did not choose her because he thought she was the second most qualified person to run the country. Sarah Palin is, and always has been, a political accessory for John McCain.

For someone who could be "a heartbeat away", she has no substantive experience nor command of the issues (which is why they won't let her speak "unattended"). She reads a script very well. Many people think she is quite attractive.

I've got a suggestion for Governor Palin. If she ever gets tired of the hypocrisy and chauvinism of politics, she's got all of the qualifications Hollywood is looking for.

Ronald Reagan went from acting to politics--maybe Palin's best path lies along the reverse.

Train Crash Follow-up

2008-10-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sad to say it appears all those people on the Metrolink train were killed and injured because the engineer received a text message about a minute and a half before the crash, and sent a text message 22 seconds before the crash.

I cannot see any possible way to avoid placing personal responsibility for the crash on his shoulders. He allowed a personal desire to trump his professional responsibility. He also paid for it with his life. As tragic as this all is, it could have all been avoided if he had acted responsibly.

If anyone sees a rational way to spread the blame around for this one, let me know. For all I know, I might have contributed in some way.

Polls Speak on McCain's Dramatic Pause

2008-09-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

I recently commented in this blog that I thought McCain's dramatic suspension of campaigning to deal with the Big Bailout would backfire on him.

Apparently, the latest polls on this subject show exactly that. The article is worth a full reading.

Most of the public didn't buy it. Obama's overall poll lead widened slightly.

The first debate was supposed to be right in McCain's wheelhouse; he was expected to mop the floor with Obama on national security and foreign policy. That obviously did not happen.

Perhaps most tellingly, today's Times-Bloomberg poll shows the following: among undecided voters who viewed the debate, 44% thought Obama was more presidential and 16% thought McCain was more presidential.

By George, Will Is Right

2008-09-28T06:28:00.001-07:00

George Will is deeply conservative. He is also has one of the finest minds and most clearly expressive pens of any political journalist I have ever read. I have also found him to be reliably fearless.

His judgments on political matters are routinely comprehensive and well considered; the only time his passion really bubbles to the surface is when he writes about baseball.

His recent column in the Washington Post is well worth the read. Therein, he observes the the presidential candidates' reactions to the financial crisis and finally passes judgment on them. Thereby, he joins an increasing number of thoughtful (as opposed to fulminating) pundits who recognize that John McCain's volatile nature does not bode well for an effective presidency.

Will is uncomfortable with many of Barack Obama's stated views (as am I), but he, in the end, comes to the same conclusion: you can fix inexperience, but it is nigh impossible to fix personality and character.

Palin vs. Putin?

2008-09-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Watch this (you may have to sit through a 30-second ad first).

Then look me in the eye and tell me you would feel comfortable with Sarah Palin as the President of the United States under ANY circumstances.

The First Debate

2008-09-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm biased. But I think my bias comes from a serious study of the issues and the players.

John McCain did better than I thought he would do in the first debate.

Judged purely from the viewpoint of debate alone, i.e. by how well arguments were made, not how closely they agree with my personal views, I also think McCain lost every round.

I came away from the debate with the impression that Barack Obama is more intellectually capable and a far better communicator than John McCain is.

I also came away with the impression that John McCain's worldview is very much yesterday; somewhat simplistic and tinged with paranoia. In my opinion, that view (shared by Dubya) is THE direct cause of most of the mess we've made of foreign policy.

As I listened to McCain speak, it was often incredibly easy to imagine George Bush saying the same things.

If the next four years are gonna be like the last eight...I don't even want to think about it.

John Warned Us

2008-09-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

In his second political memoir, "Worth the Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick and the Heroes Who Inspired Him", John McCain wrote:

"I have craved distinction in my life. I have wanted renown and influence for their own sake. That is, of course, the great temptation of public life. ... I have never been able to conquer it permanently, but I have tried."

Don't say he didn't warn us. John McCain is about John McCain.

An Old Heartbeat Away From the White House

2008-09-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin gives a rare interview to a broadcast network, and makes it obvious why she rarely gives interviews. It's not likely Katie Couric is a Mike Wallace in drag, either. More like a Larry King in drag (sorry for the visual).

Read the article here. Read it again, and ask yourself if this person is capable of leading this country out the multiple messes we are in if McCain vapor locks.

Campaign Whoppers On Both Sides

2008-09-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

This article is an interesting summary of the falsehoods both sides in the presidential campaign have attempted to use as weapons in the fight for the White House.

Checking facts is always a good thing, methinks.

You Almost Feel Sorry For Him...But Not Quite

2008-09-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Is it possible that Dubya will go down as one of the most inept presidents in the history of this nation?

I mean...look a the score card for this eight-year doubleheader, folks. Dubya's wake is filled with:

- Lies to the American people (and anyone else he had to) in attempting to justify the unilateral invasion of a sovereign nation
- Prosecuted a failed war that killed hundreds of thousands (many of them innocents)
- Institutionalized torture (at Guantanamo)
- Suspends fundamental constitutional rights (did he listen to any of your phone calls?)
- A bankrupted Treasury and record "contributions" to the national debt
- Scandal after scandal caused by blatant partisan politicizing of government institutions (Dept.of Justice leads the parade)
- A record number of people and nations consider the US government to be a danger to world peace
- More time in the cellar of job approval polls than any president in the last century (28% of Americans think he's doing a great job...boggles the mind, doesn't it?)
- And now, as the finale...the biggest economic fraud/bailout/meltdown in the world, one that will cost generations of taxpayers billions of dollars

All on his watch.

How can the next president possibly top that? (Yeah, I know...scary thought.) Now, ask yourself...of the two current candidates for president, which one's thought processes most resemble those of George Bush?

Think about it.

Whoo Hoo! WaMu Fails!

2008-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

You know all the funny "fail" pictures you see floating around on the Internet? Well...add this one...

Biggest bank failure in history. An I did my part by moving almost all my money in my WaMu accounts to another institution last week. Together all of us WaMu customers managed to suck $15 billion out of the bank in short order. *HIGH FIVE to my team mates* WHOO HOO! SAFE AT HOME!

Bad Move, John. Very Bad.

2008-09-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: It turns out this not the first time John McCain has pulled such a stunt.

You're in the tenth round of a fight for the heavyweight championship of the world and you suddenly shout, "Would it be OK if we took a break and picked up again next Tuesday? I've got something really, really important I have to tend to."

And this move is supposed to earn the respect of the crowd?

On what possible rationale does John McCain base this stunt? Does he really expect people to believe that this financial crisis cannot be resolved without his vast financial expertise? Does he think people will see this dash for cover as the mark of a real leader?

I don't know what he thinks. But I do know this much:

1) He's got a presidential debate scheduled for Friday. Asking to postpone it does not make him look especially brave. It does make him look either unprepared, desperate, or just scared. His stated reasoning: "I know when a crisis calls for all hands on deck..." Well, which is he? A deck hand or the captain of the ship?

2) The latest Times-Bloomberg polls show some interesting things. Things like Obama opening up a small lead in the overall contest. Things like the blush coming off the Palin rose, with more people thinking she is unqualified than think she is qualified. Things like people preferring Obama's ideas for the economy over McCain's by 46% to 32%. Things like people thinking Obama more likely than McCain to affect substantial changes in Washington by a 2 to 1 margin.

3) Obama weighs in thusly: "It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess. It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once." To that I say, AMEN. I want to see these guys go head to head so I can make a better choice in the polling booth.

4) Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, had this to say about the prospect of the candidates returning to Washington to dive into the financial mess: "... it would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy." I am no Harry Reid fan, but this time, he's got a valid point.

5) Suddenly, Bush invites both candidates to the White House for a meeting on the financial crisis. AT McCAIN's REQUEST. How wonderfully convenient.

If they gave out Academy Awards for Political Theater, you have to give the nod to McCain this year. First, choosing Palin as his running mate to pander to female voters and the sensational press. Now this little melodrama that may soon become a farce before fully blooming as self-satire.

Is this really the kind of man you want as President of the United States?

Finally, the Governator Gets One Right

2008-09-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

I had such high hopes. *sigh*

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a major disappointment as California's governor, having evolved into the very sort of political creature he once insultingly denounced at the top of his lungs. His tenure has been marked by one faux pas after another.

But, he finally got ONE thing right. He signed a new law prohibiting drivers from writing, reading, or sending text messages.

This act, alone, has dissuaded me from my plan to tap dance on his political tombstone.

Why Is It OK to Split an Atom but Not An Infinitive?

2008-09-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, lies beneath the border between France and Switzerland, near Geneva. It is, by far, the most powerful device ever constructed for the study of sub-atomic particles. It's main ring is some 17 miles in circumference. At full "throttle", it can accelerate a "train" of protons (2808, to be exact) to 99.999999% of the speed of light. At that speed, the protons make the 17 mile journey around the main loop 11,000 times per second before being purposely obliterated in a head-on collision with another proton "train".

When the LHC becomes fully operational, 7000 scientists from 80 different countries will have access to the facility. They are all searching for the first physical evidence of a subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, the last unobserved particle in the standard predictive model. Mankind is spending billions of dollars to find it by splitting the one of the smallest known things in our universe.

Split an atom and you may win a Nobel prize. Split an infinitive and every bitty old English teacher everywhere will give you a stern look of disapproval (if you're lucky).

An infinitive has two parts: the word, "to" followed by a verb. To eat, to dance, to laugh, to sing, to bloviate, to prevaricate, to fulminate, to pontificate are all infinitives.

Splitting an infinitive is simply inserting an adverb in between "to" and the verb. Examples include: to carefully do, to quickly acquiesce, to blatantly opine, etc.

You can argue that splitting an infinitive might weaken a sentence or make it sound awkward, but my pet peeve with the old school is: how do you clearly express the negative without splitting the infinitive? (Yeppers, the word "not" is an adverb.)

For example...

"He learned not to phone while driving."

vs.

"He learned to not phone while driving."

The first sentence means he attempted but failed to acquire the ability to make phone calls while he was driving.

The second sentence means he learned that only morons make phone calls while they are driving and that if he had functional neurons left in his brain he should choose to avoid making phone calls while driving.

Not that phoning while driving is a big deal to me, or anything.

NEWSFLASH! The 10th edition of the Gregg Handbook finally clears the way with this declaration:

"Splitting an infinitive is no longer considered incorrect. However, it should be avoided when it produces an awkward construction and the adverb would function more effectively in another location".

Whew! Finally...we can get the word out CORRECTLY that EVERYONE SHOULD LEARN TO NOT PHONE WHILE DRIVING.

Not that phoning while driving is a big deal to me, or anything.

A Liberal Democrat on "Same-sex Marriage"

2008-09-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

David Blankenhorn's article on "same-sex marriage" is DEFINITELY WORTH THE READ.

It is both reasoned and principled in its advocacy of a child's right to be raised by the parents, a man and a woman, who brought that child into the world.

To my anti-Proposition 8 readers: I am interested in hearing your foam-free comments on this article.

It's Been SO Long

2008-09-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not normally a Steve Lopez fan, but the Times columnist wrote a rather amusing article about Sarah Palin's stomping grounds in today's edition. It won't win a Pulitzer, but it was light-heartedly insightful.

Lew Tobin, Nome resident, said something that just resonated with me, and not only about Sarah Palin.

"We've had so long a time of people who've gotten by on charisma," he said.

"We want someone who's smart again."

Those two simple sentences are about as concise a statement of my presidential concerns as could possibly exist. Thank you, Mr. Tobin.

Foreign Policy All Stars Advise Next President

2008-09-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

You don't see this everyday: five former Secretaries of State gather on one stage to give their advice to whomever is the next President of the United States.

He should want to listen.

Henry Kissinger, Madeline Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker III and Colin Powell. Republicans and Democrats. Very smart people. Either Baker or Powell could have my vote for President of they wanted it.

What did they say?

You can read for yourself here. But, in a nutshell, they said TALK. TALK to Syria. TALK to Russia. TALK to Iran. ENGAGE. They did not agree on all the details, but they all said TALK.

I hope John McCain is listening. Obama already has the message.

What Manner of Men?

2008-09-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Give greater heed to what people do than to what they say. The old adage is true, and doubly so when it comes to presidential candidates.

Early in this blog I opined that campaign promises are seldom kept, and therefore useless in judging a candidate. I try to look at character, at worldview, at intelligence, at maturity. Competence also matters, but it is more easily and quickly acquired than the other attributes I mention. As Ron White would say, "you can't fix stupid".

Today's Los Angeles Times offers an insightful article that analyzes McCain and Obama based on their reaction to recent, fast-breaking events such as the Russian invasion of Georgia and the Wall Street meltdown. It dares to project how the leadership styles of the candidates might contrast after an election victory. Recommended reading.

Sea Change

2008-09-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

AHOY and AVAST! 'Tis national Talk Like a Pirate Day and thar be no mistake about it...the SEA be changin! The Guvnors be shoveling doubloons and pieces of 8 from their treasure keep to bail out the land pirates! As a matey with a share of the booty, I be grinnin' purty big now! As a lubber who will have to ante up to pay for this boon...I'll be needing a tankard of grog to cry in!

I'll take me oath that the weather will change and change for a good while yet...and mark me words!....INFLATION....and a CHEAP DOLLAR...lie dead ahead! Chart yer course with an eye thereto!

Fatal Distraction

2008-09-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

As the investigation into the recent train crash in Chatsworth proceeds, authorities seem very close to concluding that the cause was human error; specifically, train driver error. What caused this horrific, head on crash that killed 25 people and injured 150 more?

Apparently, the train driver was texting on his cell phone when he should have been watching a red signal light and stopping his train.

My loved ones know that I, for years, have held forth long and loud about the reckless stupidity of those who talk on their cell phones while driving. They are tired of my rants about this behavior, despite the evidence to the contrary. I'm such a curmudgeon on this issue I even put a sign in the rear window of my car saying, "HANG UP YOUR PHONE OR YOU'LL KILL US BOTH". (My wife was mortified.)

Our illustrous state legislature in California thought they could solve the problem by passing a law requiring hands-free phoning while driving. As usual, they screwed it up--study after study shows that hands-on or hands-off, it's the CONVERSATION that distracts. Your brain is trying to do two things at once, and failing to do either very well. A phoning driver is just about as impaired as a drunk driver.

Well...25 people are now dead because some moron had a fatal cell phone distraction on the train tracks. Others die one or two at a time on our streets and highways.

What will it take for people to get the message? I'm not a curmudgeon on this issue, just a realist. I won't quit; lives are at stake.

ONLY MORONS PHONE AND DRIVE AT THE SAME TIME. You may have the right to risk your own life, but you do not have the right to risk anyone else's.

I think the penalties for phoning and driving should be the same as those for drinking and driving. For some reason, I doubt the legislature would ever be smart enough to make that happen.

Bluffer's Paradise Lost

2008-09-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Anything is possible if you don't know what you're talking about.

The Gorilla Rises

2008-09-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

OK, it's official. I'm worried about whether or not the Federal bilge pumps can bail out enough red ink to keep the economy afloat. Bear Stearns, Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, and now B of A buys Merrill? Iraq continues to be hugely expensive (and far from a "victory". Even Bush has stopped using the word "victory", settling for "success" as the goal).

BONUS: The Feds announce the Federal Budget deficit for the fiscal year just concluded was an eye popping $400 billion dollars.

400. Billion. With a B.

Just to give you an idea of how much a billion dollars is...if you stacked 1 billion dollars in crisp new 100 dollar bills...the stack would be 33 stories tall. We just overspent our annual allowance by 400 of those stacks.

I wouldn't be surprised if the economy is about to eclipse Iraq as the most significant issue in the presidential election. I reckon Obama thinks so...at least it seems that way by his new tactical emphasis. I'd expect more hammering on the gross financial mismanagement by Washington powers that be and renewed demands for change.

The U.S. Treasury Department has a fairly understandable FAQ page about our National Debt.

The Gross National Debt

Who Are You?

2008-09-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

I do not know who you are or any of your personal contact information (unless you have purposely given it to me in some way).

But I do know that you are one of approximately 200 unique visitors to this blog to date.

81 of those visitors have visited at least twice.
39 of those have visited at least ten times.
3 of those have visited more than 25 times (and desperately need a life of some kind).

The other 119 of you are called "bouncers"...who sort of hit my blog, realized they had made a horrible mistake, and immediately clicked off to somewhere else.

The odds are 6 to 1 that you came to my blog directly by typing in the url in a browser, or bookmarking it. The odds are only 1 in 12 that you found my blog through a search engine or clicked through to it from another site.

On an average day, nine of you come to visit.

65% of you use DSL, 28% of you use a cable modem.

70% of you use Firefox/Windows.
16% of you use Safari/Macintosh.
11% of you use IE/Windows.

One visitor in three looks at more than just the page they landed on.

Odds are overwhelming that you are an American...but I bid the visitors from Canada, Germany, Pakistan, Spain and Taiwan welcome.

How long do you stay on my blog site? For those who have visited at least twice, the browse times are:

5% stay between 30 and 60 seconds
31% stay between 1 and 3 minutes
26% stay between 3 and 10 minutes
31% stay between 10 and 30 minutes
7% of you either got a phone call or answered the call of nature after you landed on my blog, and stayed more than 30 minutes. :)

Now...don't you just feel better? :-D

If you are worried about privacy, you can relax. I have no idea who you are, or how to contact you in any way. That information is unavailable in the statistics.

Thanks for your consideration. Drop me a line anytime. We'll leave the light on for you.

Those Divine Tailfeathers

2008-09-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

If love is blind...
And God is love...
And Ray Charles is blind...
then God plays the piano...

Lest We Forget

2008-09-11T07:05:00.001-07:00

In Memoriam

The Difference Between Lance and Vin

2008-09-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

To those who see an inconsistency in my positions on Lance and Vin:

Lance does it for one reason--to win.

Vin does it for one reason--love of the game, win or lose. Ad honorem.

The prosecution rests.

Another Fighter Who Doesn't Know When to Quit

2008-09-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's totally his right to do as he wishes. But, really...what on earth does Lance Armstrong have left to prove by coming out of retirement for an attempt at an eighth Tour de France win?

The cynic in me just won't buy the "raising cancer awareness" rationale.

Indeed, there are no happy virtuosos. Ali, Holmes, Favre, and lots of other athletes who stayed too long...and now Armstrong...they can leave their chosen field after dominating it completely, but they can't seem to leave the passion for dominance behind, ever. How will the feel when they literally cannot no longer dominate the one basket in which their eggs rested for so long?

Me? I'd be working on finding or making new baskets!

VIN IS BACK!

2008-09-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

Amid all the news reports of the world's problems comes this delightful snippet: Vin Scully will sign to be the voice of the Dodgers for one more year.

Don't mistake me for a Dodger fan, but Vin Scully is a national treasure and a pure pleasure to watch and hear. I doubt there has ever been a finer baseball announcer anywhere. If you have kids who love the game, let them listen to Vin before he goes away forever.

In 2000, the American Sportscasters Association polled its members seeking to elect one person as Broadcaster of the Century. In the final tally, Vin Scully received every vote except one: his own.

When Charlie Steiner, a colleague of Scully's and a respected announcer himself, was asked why Vin Scully works alone, he replied, "Because poets don't need straight men."

You can read Scully's brief biography here.

WELCOME BACK VIN!

Polling the Polls

2008-09-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

Politicians pay a lot of attention to (and spend a lot of money on) polls.

SURPRISE! There are quite a few companies who provide polling services.

So, which poll are you going to believe?

Your choice. But if you want a convenient summary of major political polling results, click here or visit http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/.

The Morning After the Conventions

2008-09-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

I don't watch the conventions.

Yes, you heard me right.

The conventions are, quite possibly, the single largest spin executions possible within our political system. I don't watch them because I understand that what you see on the TV screen is a carefully crafted image, a fantasy, concocted by hundreds (even thousands) of very smart people. They spend a ton of money and exert all their professional skill to craft and sell an image, a fantasy, to the viewer.

I'm not sure which galls me more: the fact that they do it or the fact that millions of viewers tune in and lap it all up.

I'm bipartisan in this opinion; both parties do the same thing. They do it because they understand that most people choose a presidential candidate the same way they choose a car or a house; they fall in love first, then seek logical justifications to salve their inner guilt over a lack of rational thought and action.

It's almost enough to make one confess to being a closet Hamiltonian.

Palin's Got Big Trouble

2008-09-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin's biggest problem is not the fact that I think she's nuts for saying the the Iraq War and a proposed Alaskan pipeline are "tasks from God".

No, her trouble is way worse than that. It seems the British bookies touting bets on the American presidential election have given her and McCain long odds. But why worry? It seems the UK bookies have only been wrong twice in the last hundred years. :-D

Storm Damage? Don't Quickly Blame Global Warming

2008-09-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

"If climate change is having an effect on the intensities of storms, it's not obvious in the historical weather data. And whatever effect it is having is much, much smaller than the effect of development along the coastlines. In fact, if you look at all storms from 1900 to 2005 and imagine we had today's populations on the coasts, as Roger Pielke, Jr., and his colleagues did in a 2008 Natural Hazards Review paper, you would see that the worst hurricane would have actually happened in 1926.

"If it happened today, the Great Miami storm would have caused $140 to $157 billion in damages. (Hurricane Katrina, the costliest storm in U.S. history, caused $100 billion in losses.) "There has been no trend in the number or intensity of storms at landfall since 1900,"says Pielke, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado. "The storms themselves haven't changed."

"What's changed is what we've put in the storm's way. Crowding together in coastal cities puts us at risk on a few levels. First, it is harder for us to evacuate before a storm because of gridlock. And in much of the developing world, people don't get the kinds of early warnings that Americans get. So large migrant populations - usually living in flimsy housing - get flooded out year after year. That helps explain why Asia has repeatedly been the hardest hit by disasters in recent years.

"Secondly, even if we get all the humans to safety, we still have more stuff in harm's way. So each big hurricane costs more than the big one before it, even controlling for inflation.

You can read the full article here.

Respecting Clear, Principled Objections

2008-09-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

It seems my posts regarding California ballot Proposition 8 are read by more than friends and family. Some comments have come from as far away as Taiwan, others closer to home. Most forced me to clean the spittle foam off my spectacles after reading them. They must not have read all my posts on this issue.

It's tempting to write at length here about why I feel my principled, reasoned, clearly expressed objections to certain societal behaviors are due as much respect as those of principled, reasoned people who disagree with me. But it's even more tempting to let an avowed atheist explain why.

The Burden of Conscience

2008-09-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

"Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward." -- Henry David Thoreau

Love 'Em or Hate 'Em, the GOP Had a Very Bad Day

2008-09-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

First, Gustav sucks news coverage away from the GOP Convention opening like a tsunami uncovers the shallows before flooding everything in sight. Then Palin announces a 17 year-old pregnant daughter and a criminal investigation into possible abuse of her Governor's office in Alaska. McCain's people are swarming to the Last Frontier frantically trying to find out what else they should have known before pulling the trigger with Palin. Even GOP stalwarts are publicly fretting about McCain's critical thinking processes and questioning the soundness of his judgment.

Obama gallantly pronounces Palin's family "off limits" for his attack dogs.

No question about who won today's round.

P.S. The Big Easy may have dodged a bullet today, but please don't spend any more of my tax dollars rebuilding that place. Mother Nature is cruel, patient, and in this case, predictable.