A Moment of Compassion

This was a rough weekend. There was entirely to much death and entirely too much politicizing of the gun control issue for my taste. What happened was a horrible thing and really extending your condolences to the families involved and expressing your shock and horror at what happened is all that needs to be said. The rest is just you climbing up on your soapbox be it pro or anti gun control and speaking to hear yourself heard. 

I do not need to hear it and I do not think others do either. I love Facebook because it allows me to keep in touch with so many people from all over the world and allows me the ability to dialogue with them on numerous issues. But it feels like increasingly it is becoming a tool for the loudest of us to angrily proclaim our position as a "right-thinking" person. I realize that I am as guilty of this as anyone and in some cases I am probably works then others in my actions. But this is something that I intend to work on. 

So, I plead with you. Can we just take a moment among the increasing volume of rhetoric that is being thrown about as we all try to recover from this horrible event. Can we just take a moment of silence and think about these families and how this holiday season is going to taste like horrible ash in their mouths. Can we take a moment and just try to understand how painful that must feel and also recognize that we hope it never happens to us or anyone that we know. Can we take a moment and realize that all of the yelling about the right to control or to bear arms does these families mourning their dead children and parents not a whit of good at all. Can we take a moment and be compassionate of others for a change. Because as one of my friends pointed out "those kindergardeners didn't die to make anyone's political point."

Monday

Today is another day. A Monday to be exact and not much has changed in the world. Now if you listen to some people then it seems like things will be changing tomorrow depending on who wins the American Presidential election. I think this is kind of what it boils down to for some people depending on who gets elected.




Or this





But really it doesn't matter who wins. Life will go on. The earth will continue to spin. The spice will continue to flow. Or in our cases the oil will continue to flow and that really is all that seems to matter.

But for myself I am going to keep on dancing.....

To Be Honest About Politics

This is really how I feel and I felt this way during the last election as well and the one before that. Sure I lean left. But I lean so far left that to be honest I am off of the scale of the typical Democrat and Republican and when the last few Presidential candidates are all rich guys who graduated from Harvard it is hard for me to think that the world is going to be ending if Obama or Romney is elected. We survived 8 years of Bush. We can survive 8 years of Obama and the world as a whole doesn't revolve around what happens in America as much as we would like to think it does. 

Thoughtful Thursday

Trying to get the cobwebs out of my brain and get woken up this morning. It appears that the sun is out this morning and that always makes for a nice start to the day. I have the window open and I can hear the birds chirping. I am waiting for my special hummingbird to make his or her appearance. How can you tell the difference between a male or female hummingbird?

I do not know. I looked but was unable to find the answer. Oh, I am sure it is out there. I am just to lazy to look for it right now.

I really enjoyed the feedback I received about last Thursdays thoughts I had about President Obama and the nature of politics in general. It really highlighted for me how different we all are when it comes to what we think is the best way to run the country. The more I think about it the more it really feels like a thankless job to me. I suppose it is possible that if something miraculous were to happen and the job rates were to soar to 100% and the deficit would be completely wiped out that a president could have an approval rating of 100%. But I am sure that despite all of that there would be people who would be unhappy and it wouldn't matter to them that everyone was working or that the USA was not in debt to China anymore. They would just find some other, vastly important, reason to be upset.

I think Carl said it best in the comments when he said that "...but I live and participate in an imperfect system." I think that is really key and something I need to remember. The system is never going to be perfect. There is no perfect system. There never will be. The best we can hope for is a system that seems to function most of the time. When I look around the world at other countries and their governments I see very few that I would like to emulate.

To be completely honest since I lean toward the Socialist, and I know that is enough to make a lot of your heads explode, I like how things are done in Sweden. Things just seem to work there. I am sure that there are a myriad of reasons why they are wrong and why that model of government would not work here in America. But, that is not my point. My point is that I like what they do there. There are people who like what we do in America and I am sure there are people who actually like living in Cuba or even Haiti for that matter or the old style Soviet Union or the new style Russia. Though for the life of me I am not sure why anyone would have liked living in the Soviet Union. I can understand being stuck there. But the way that people were treated who lived there it must have just been miserable.


I sidetracked myself. What I am trying to say is that one of the neat things about America is that we are able to freely debate these kind of things and do not have to worry about these thoughts being censored or being put on some kind of list for having a conversation and that is a pretty cool thing. So lets agree to disagree and ROCK IT OUT FOR THE USA!!!! USA, USA, USA!!!!!

Thursday Thoughts

I realize that I am supposed to be writing something today. But so far nothing is springing to mind. I am not feeling inspired by my disgust with a television show or an actor. There does not appear to be a film coming out soon that I have not already highlighted in some form or the other.

I am actually bored of writing about politics. While I firmly believe that we need to vote and that we need to stay informed. It really is feeling to me like what is going on in politics is just more of the same old same old. The hard core believers on the right or the left continue to get worked up about different bills and potential laws and meanwhile nothing really changes. We have had a "liberal" Democrat as President now since Jan 20th 2009. The way gun and ammunition sales spiked after he won you would have that that the world was coming to an end. Well it is 2011 and we still seem to be cranking along.

During his inaugural speech President Obama said this"

"It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

Really? Has that happened? Honestly? Has change come to America? Things do not look all that different to me. Oh wait, wait, Osama bin Laden is dead!! So I suppose that makes up for the last two years of business as usual in Washington. I think more and more that it doesn't matter in America who the President is. The people who have most if not all of the power are the people in Congress. I know that I made the same argument when Bush was in office and I really feel like after seeing these last two years of lots of noise and people getting so angry that it just doesn't seem to matter.

My life has not changed politically at all. I have conservative friends worried about things. I have liberal friends worried about things. But, nothing is that different. We are still in armed conflicts around the world, people still need jobs, and lots and lots of people get sick and die who probably could be saved if they had access to some kind of affordable medical care. These are things that have been the same in America for the last 5 Presidents or longer. All that has changed is the political party that the people can complain about and that most of the time feels like a change in name only.

So there you go. A little taste of cynical Lance today. I think I am getting a cold and that maybe what is causing all of the angst.

"Awwww thanks Dr Kat but I do not think I need a prescription for Valium". Lance said as he lay back on the couch. "Do I look like a housewife from the sixties?"

Monday Musings

In the wake of the politically motivated shootings in Arizona I have been doing some thinking. My first thought was that this whole thing makes me so sad. It makes me sad when anyone dies or is hurt be it an accident or as in this case a person who I believe is probably a little or a lot unstable decides to do something crazy.

In the aftermath of this tragedy the media on both sides of the political spectrum have ramped up the rhetoric. I feel that both sides bear a little bit of blame for this whole mess. I realize that you can't control crazy and people do and will continue do any number of criminal and crazy things and try to find something to blame other then themselves. But, the reason that I think both sides are to blame for this is that both sides want us to be scared. They both thrive if the people who believe in there message are scared that their rights are either going to be taken away or infringed upon in some way.

Though I have to admit it is hard to not point blame squarely at conservatives when they use rhetoric like Sharon Angle did last year.

"You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it's good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years.
I hope that's not where we're going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out."

She said that on the Lars Larson show. Now I totally understand that she meant take Harry Reid out in the political sense. She means defeat him in the election. But in the context of the quote in can sound a little scary. I also realize that I am not crazy and I am good at comprehending things. I feel like it really comes down to thinking about what we say and how we say it. When politicians or even just regular old folks use phrases like "putting someone in the cross hairs" or "taking someone out" or even the phrase "second amendment solution" it is pretty hard to not take those as some sort of a call to violent action and if you are at all a little unstable it can very much be a call to violent action.

Now, if they are making a call for violent action, then own up to it and face the consequences. Do not after the fact try to pretend that "well that wasn't what I meant". Because often if the goal is removing an obstacle or removing someone from office then yes in a very straight forward blunt way assassination is the answer. I do not think it is appropriate and I think we live in a time where there should be solutions to problems that are not violent ones.

There is a respect for authority that needs to exist regardless of whether or not I agree with their political position. If I do not like there policy I will work to vote them democratically out of office. I will not try to harm them by violence. I feel that whatever success you may achieve will be forever tainted by acting violently against them. As it stands right now we still live in a civil society that is governed by laws for all of us. If I wanted to live in a world that is controlled by the biggest gun. well there are parts of Africa that I could move to.


All of my ranting aside. This is a sad, sad, thing and I hope and pray that we do not have more of this in the future. I do not think that things in America are anywhere near bad enough that an armed rebellion is the answer. They were not bad enough when Bush was president and they are not bad enough now that Obama is in charge. We are better then this America. We must be.

July 12, 2010, Monday

Good morning folks and a happy Monday to you all. I hope you had a good weekend. I had a relaxing one to some degree. I did some running around on Saturday. There was a small birthday get together at some of my friends parents home. That was nice. I have known the family since high school and they have always included me in family functions which I enjoy attending. Following that, I grabbed my friend Nick and we headed up to the Portland Timbers game. They were playing Miami FC and it was a good match. The Timbers managed to hold on to win 2-0 and that always makes for a good time. The evening finished up with a quick trip over the food pod on Hawthorne St. Once there I had my usual Whiffie Fried Pie and I headed over to the Potato Champion cart for some tasty spuds. So the evening was a gastric and sporting success.

Sunday was a nice relaxing day as I watched the World Cup final and worked on my World Cup sticker book. I am nowhere near getting a complete set but it is kind of interesting and keeps me occupied while I am watching television. So overall it was a good weekend and the temperature dropped so that was a plus as well. I do not have any pithy news or political thoughts today other then I noticed that President Obamas people were on the Sunday morning talk shows because he has taken a drop in the polls amongst Independent voters. Well my response to this is "BIG SURPRISE"! This is happening because most of the Independent voters, myself included, actually made the mistake of thinking that he was being serious and honest about being a different kind of politician. That he might actually bring some change to the office.

Well as far as I am concerned what he has done in office and what he is doing is not all that different then what has gone on before. Now I know that some of my more conservative readers will argue that he has brought lots of change and none of it is good. But in my humble opinion I just disagree. I do not think he has brought enough change and it is really business as usual in Washington D.C. and as far as these people being concerned that Obama is turning us into a Socialist nation. Come on!! Take a look at a real Socialist nation a good hard look and you will understand they have not reached that point and I do not think we are ever going to reach that point. The corporate and military interests in this country are to entrenched to ever let that happen.

Well, I guess I did have something to rant about. I hope you have a nice day.

6-8-2010 (Tuesday)

Hey folks, I hope Tuesday finds you well. I do not have a lot to rant about today. I am mainly writing to listen to the sounds of the voices in my head and the click of the keyboard. I sometimes wish I was a little more angry so that I could really get fired up and go off on some sort of nonsensical rant about fluoride in our water or the Government seeding our clouds. But I am not feeling it today.

It is almost like there is so much going on in the world that my sense of outrage is spread out and diluted. I would love to really narrow down and focus it like a laser on something but right now I am just not feeling the need.

One thing I am excited for is the World Cup. The first game is this Friday and it is Mexico against the host country South Africa. I realize that not all of my readers are interested in the World Cup and to them I say tough beans. I shall be writing a little bit about it as the tournament progresses.

You folks have a great day.

4-22-2010 (Thursday)

Well, well, well, as soon as a new idea comes out the Hipster sympathizers rise up and question the new regime. Now while I applaud Joel and his idea to shoot them into the sun, he must understand that such a thing would just not be cost effective. But I am always looking for new ideas so please keep them coming. There may be a place for you in the new Theocracy as a Minister of New Ideas.

Now on to Shakes and her concern about the camps and the fear that this will lead to a couple of potential different results. Shakes writes

"I first thought of the British moving the criminals to Australia, but you have jumped past that into a regimented camp. How long will it be until you see an untapped, unlimited work source? Sure you say they will be fed, but what happens when you realize how much you could save if you reduced their food intake?"

I understand your concern Shakes, but trust me. The average Hipster is so lazy that they are sure to be useless for actual labor. Now I grant you, it may be possible to find a way to generate some sort of energy using their ability to generate anger in others. Perhaps we shall find a way to hook their brains up to a machine and they can do their fair share to power the grid matrix style. I know already that a side benefit of my new "Hugs instead of dollars" campaign will be the generating of small amounts of energy. Perhaps this would be the time to talk about the new uniforms. Everyone who is not a Hipster will be outfitted with a form fitting jumpsuit made out of Angora Wool. Along with the jumpsuit will come a small battery pack that fits on your belt. The prescribed method of hugging will be to shake hands with the right hand and put the left hand and arm around the other person them pulling them close you make three up and down rubbing motions with the left hand on their back. This action done as required per each hug will generate (an estimated) .005 kilowatts per stroke and will serve to power the grid by wireless. So thank you for your thoughts Shakes and please keep them coming. You will be monitored by the Minister of Monitoring.

As to S. and his little poem as it were. You must already be aware S. that I have a place for you in the new Theocracy as the Minister of Coffees. Within that role you will be in charge of all things caffeinated. You should not fear my friend. As long as the Coffee flows the Theocracy will continue. But know this the Minister of Monitoring will be keeping an eye and you and your cleverness.

In fact all those who are clever are going to need to wear a big C on their chests. I will not have the Clever roam about and spread "ideas". There is enough of that going on right now.

Now please stay tuned as later on (Tomorrow or perhaps next week) I will lay out my 10 point plan for the new Theocracy and the Hugonomy that will bring us into a new GOLDEN AGE!!

3-2-2010 (Tuesday)

It is Tuesday morning and the sun has risen again and I am back at it. I hope you all are well and my lack of writing yesterday didn't leave to big of a hole in your lives. I know my wisdom that I give to you all freely is very important and without it most of you would not be able to really function. So rest assured that I am not planning on going anywhere. Also remember that when I rise to the top and I stand astride two pillars over the ashes of all who opposed me. Know that I will remember you and you all will have places in the new regime. Well some of you are going to. I really can't be expected to have a place for all of you. I am not sure who I can trust. So better safe then sorry. You know what? Just forget about that last part there. Things well work out you can trust me.

I listened to an interesting piece on NPR this morning talking to Mitt Romney and discussing his chances for 2012. He seems to be pretty obviously getting ready to run again. It is going to be interesting to see the build up to 2012. The Republicans feel that they have some momentum and that things are going to change in their favor. I think anything is possible but I wonder if Romney is conservative enough for the Tea Party crowd. I also still question as I did in 2008 if he can pull in the conservative Protestant Christians. I do not think he can. I have been wrong before but I do not think I am wrong on this one. It will be hard to tell anything on this one until we get closer to the primaries. I am not really sure who else the Republicans will put up.

That is all for today folks. As usual feel free to throw your thoughts at me.

2-15-2010 (Presidents Day)

Good morning everyone. I feel like I have emerged from the gloom that was possessing me last night. I hope my posting wasn't to depressing for you. I also would like to apologize for the video I posted. When I get gloomy I often find that music works for me to get my feelings out but choosing 'Mad World' as much as I like the song was just plain melodramatic. That being said I hope at least some of you got to hear a song you had never heard before.

Today is two things both Presidents Day and the day that we observe Washington's Birthday. According to Patriotism.org

"This holiday is often called President’s day as well, though the official name is Washington’s Birthday. This federal holiday is celebrated each year on the third Monday of February, though it was originally celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday of February 22nd.

It’s the first federal holiday to recognize an American citizen and was enacted in 1880 as a holiday for the District of Columbia only. In 1885 it was named a federal holiday for all federal offices in the U.S. It wasn’t until 1976 that Washington’s Birthday was moved to the third Monday of February in an attempt to establish it more along the lines of President’s Day to also honor Abraham Lincoln who was born on February 12th. Though the change in day passed the change in name did not.

Currently 12 states have renamed Washington’s Birthday, President’s Day or a similar variation to honor all of the U.S. presidents. In Massachusetts the holiday focuses on honoring presidents from that state and a few other states have passed similar holidays as well."

I am glad that we honor the men who have run are country over the years. I think that even if you do not like all of the decisions that a particular President has made we should all be able to agree that it is a hard job and, I think, a thankless one. I myself would not want to be President at all. When I think about the abuse that the President takes it is pretty upsetting to me at times. And by this I mean all Presidents not just the current one. The President is second guessed at every turn. There always seems to be someone who thinks they know better then the President and in this day and age of the Internet these people have more opportunity then ever before to express that opinion. I am often more guilty of it then most as I step up on my blogging stump and throw my opinion out on the tube of the Internets.

I do not think this should change. One of the great joys of living in a relatively Democratic society is that I am free to put my opinion out there. I am free to write or say pretty much any crazy thing I want to without fear of reprisal. That is a great thing. Yes I am aware that we are living in a Representative Republic and not a true Athenian Democracy. But, honestly, in some ways I actually prefer this model. I say that even though I disagree with what my elected Representatives often do. I think the sheer size of the United States would make true Democracy a really messy, messy experience.

Though that does make me wonder that if what kept purely at a individual state level what it would be like. I know it would be messy and everything but I wonder if it would be a manageable mess. Then each state would just send one representative to Congress and they would kind of stream line issues. Hmmmmm, I realize this is an idea that would need lots and lots of work and I am sure there are all kinds of problems with it. But, it intrigues me. I may have to do some thinking about this one and get back to it later.

All of that being said and all of my rambling aside. Please take a moment today and be thankful for our past Presidents and present as well as future Presidents and at least acknowledge the hard job they have done. It is a job that frankly I would not want to do and I think most of you wouldn't want to either.

2-9-10 (Tuesday)

Good morning folks. I hope everybody had a good weekend and a good Monday. I frankly was surprised at the outcome of the Super Bowl. I thought for sure that the Colts would win it. I was even more surprised that Payton Manning threw an interception. I really went into the game thinking well he isn't Brett Favre and there is no way he will make a mistake that could cost the Colts the game. I was wrong. But, I have been wrong before and I will be again. That is one of the many reasons why I watch sports. I like to be surprised. If I always knew the outcome of every event I watched I think things would get a little boring.

In political news Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has died. He was 77. He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. The retired Marine Corps officer was an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. It is going to be interesting to me to see how this shakes out in terms of who replaces him. I am not sure what the policy is in Pennsylvania. I know that it varies from state to state with some state having the Gov appoint a replacement until the next election and some run a special election. Either way I am sure the Republicans are going to be "chomping at the bit" to get one of their own into office. He had been in office for 36 years and it will be pretty fascinating to me to see what happens next. I am sure that the "Tea Party" folks will begin rallying for some sort of candidate as well as the Democrats.

Interesting story on NPR this morning about the paper published in the "Lancet" several years ago that claimed a link to Autism from Vaccine. This caused a pretty strong anti Vaccine movement and now the "Lancet" has released a press release saying that the paper used false information and bad data and there was no link. One Doctor went on the air and said that the paper was basically a hypothesis and that it shouldn't have been published. He said it would be akin to him saying that "peanut butter causes Leukemia, and then tracking down five children with Leukemia who had eaten peanut butter a month before diagnosis and using that to make his case." I also found that fascinating and it is going to be interesting to see what potential fallout may come of this.

Thanks for reading and you folks have a good day.

2-1-10 (Monday)

Well here we are Monday morning Feb 1st. I hope you all had a good weekend. While mine was by and large uneventful I would say that the most eventful thing I did was to finally stop working at the church. Now, those of you who read this blog and know me in meat space are all well aware of how long I have worked at the church on and off over the last I would say nearly 20 years. I was not a pastor or any kind of officiate there. I used to call myself a church sexton But I was really just a custodian. I grew up going to that church. My parents had been missionaries in Indonesia coming out of there and I went with them. In fact I lived in Indonesia for basically the first three years of my life and when we returned to the states I spoke better Indonesian then I did English.

I grew up going to the church and being involved and once I got out of high school and after spending some time working in a few different movie theaters I ended up working at the church. I enjoyed it there but it also was a place that allowed me to be lazy and to not move forward or to pursue things that I might have had I not had that safety net to fall back into. It isn't the church's fault it was my own doing. Basically a mix of fear and a desire to be comfortable kind of locked me into place. Well! I have already written more about this then I intended to. I guess it was more of a big deal then I thought it was or wanted to admit. I guess that is what happens when I write without the filters in place. I hope people didn't mind a little bit of the old autobiographical this morning.

On to the politics....................I read an interesting quote by Gore Vidal this morning,

"“It makes no difference who you vote for — the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people.”

I am not sure when he said it but it really rings true for me today the Monday after President Obamas state of the union address. Because we have a two-party system, the only choice people have if they 
don’t like what’s happening is to vote for the other guy,
 even if the other guy is largely responsible for what’s happening, and the 
guy that’s in there now is in there because of the other guy’s mistakes.

People are angry at deficits, largely run up by the irresponsibility of the 
Bush administration, and topped off by Obama.
 They’re angry that the bankers who got us in this mess are making millions
. Thanks mainly to deregulation
 promoted primarily by Republicans (but signed off on by Clinton). They’re 
angry about jobs, but there would be a lot more of them if the 
stimulus package had been larger, which would have increased the deficit, 
which they are angry about. They are angry that Washington 
seems totally controlled by special interests, so they’re going to vote for the
 party that loves special interests at least as much as the 
party in power now. They’re angry at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which 
were started by the party they just voted out a year ago.
 They are angry that President Obama has accomplished so little of his agenda, so 
they’re going to vote for the party that has unanimously opposed
 every single aspect of it.

I have said it before and I will say it again. The two party system is a failure in America. There is no real difference. The agenda they both seem to have is to look for themselves and not for the good of the American people. The Democrats in Congress have proven that with their actions over the last few years. It was interesting to see the populace rise up in anger and shake their collective fist at the Republicans a few years ago and pretty much sweep them out of Congress. Oh the Democrats cheered. "It is a mandate from the people." they said. What is was was a mandate for these guys stink and we have no other option. Sure the Democrats said they would be different...they haven't been. So few years have passed and nothing has changed and surprise, surprise, surprise people are angry. Throw those bums out they are yelling. We will replace them with the same kind of bums we threw out before and then we will act surprised when they screw us.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!! The system is broken and the Tea Party pipe dream is not going to fix it. Keith Olberman and his Olbermaniacs are not going to fix it. Glenn Beck is not going to fix it. There needs to be! There must be viable third party candidates that are willing to listen to the needs of the populace and not the needs of the business as usual crowd. I hope one day true change will come in America but I am not holding my breath.

Thursday

Hello again, hello. I am coming to you today from the chair in the living room. I am driving to work today so I thought I would get something out rather then skipping it entirely.

I tried to watch the Daily Show last night. I noticed it was on and thought I usually enjoy that so I will watch it again. But I am not sure what happened. There were parts that I found humorous but overall it really seemed to be lacking for me. There was a section of the show where Jon Stewart was talking about the first speaking engagement of our last President Bush. Now I am well aware of the idea that President Bush as a public speaker does lend itself to some humor but in this case the Daily Show seemed almost mean about it. I think what bothered me is that I like things to be a little clever. I am not above mocking someone or something and I often find that kind of humor pretty funny. But, this seemed pretty mean spirited. Which, while they are a comedy show, seemed out of line from a show that has largely risen above the pettiness that seems to have infested the other political shows like Olbermann and Beck.

The new just showed President Obama at Dover Air force Base he was there to honor some of the latest soldiers that were killed in Afghanistan I believe. It was interesting to me because they showed him saluting as a coffin was carried past. Now I believe that in the years prior to Vietnam they used to show the coffins of dead military personal on the news as sort of a tribute to there efforts on behalf of the country. But, I think, correct me if I am wrong that the amount of military killed and the anger the Vietnam was generating caused the presidential administration at the time to move to stop the practice. I wonder if we should go back to showing the service men and woman come home. I think that it is to easy to forget that we have people dying on foreign soil and in a America whose military is composed of volunteers it really seems easy to forget that the people who are being killed are more then just statistics.

They just mentioned on the news that the United Nations General Assembly voted against the U. S. embargo of Cuba. This is not a surprise the vote was 187-3 with only Israel and Palau supporting the U. S., I find this interesting because this is the 18th year in a row that they have condemned it. My problem with the embargo is that if we were being consistent about how we were treating communist countries we would be embargoing China instead of Cuba. I submit that China by far is a bigger threat to us. I will grant you that Castro is not a nice man and he is not deserving of our friendship but it just makes no logical sense for us to treat China differently then Cuba. Wait let me note that it makes economic sense because Cuba does not have millions of dollars of our debt and American companies doing business there.

That's all I got folks, have a good day.

Journalistic Integrity?

Good morning friends, I have mentioned before that I have been listening to three types of radio on my way to work and coming home each day. These are basically conservative, moderate, and liberal though to be fair NPR does lean more to the liberal but I like that there stories tend to be a little deeper and thoughtful and not so full of the propaganda that either side likes to throw around.

That being said the lady on the liberal station that is on after work was going on and on last night about Rush Limbaugh and several passages that he had read from what he thought was President Obamas thesis from Columbia. Here is the passage,

" ... the Constitution allows for many things, but what it does not allow is the most revealing. The so-called Founders did not allow for economic freedom. While political freedom is supposedly a cornerstone of the document, the distribution of wealth is not even mentioned. While many believed that the new Constitution gave them liberty, it instead fitted them with the shackles of hypocrisy."

Now Limbaugh read this passage on the air and then went on a rant about Obama and the damage that he is doing to America. It was not that his rant was any different then other rants but word soon came down that the quote was actually not real. That it in fact was completely made up. It was taken from a blog called Jumping in Pools.

Well it seems that this is a blog that does mainly satire. I looked it over and really was unimpressed with the level of humor or even cleverness in it. But that is a story for another day. But, why I bring this up is because this whole so called thesis was completely made up by them. Once Limbaugh found out this was his response

"So, I can say, "I don't care if these quotes are made up," "I know Obama thinks it."

Now, while it may very well be true that this is what Obama thinks. I think the bigger issue here is integrity. Should not a news show actually do research and verify what they put on the air. I know there are people who feel that what is on liberal radio or conservative radio is all truth all the time. So I wonder should he not apologize rather then just attack. I understand being embarrassed when egg hits your face. It has happened to me before. But I do not claim to be a journalist. I am not held to any kind of standard. I can write and often have about whatever garbage I want to write about. But even then if I knowingly say something that I am wrong about I will do all I can to correct it.

It seems to me that Mr Limbaugh is doing just the opposite of this. I could be mistaken and if I am please let me know. But do it gently please. I am very sensitive. I promise to print a full retraction if that is the case.

Monday, Monday

Good morning everyone, to this foggy Monday. At least it is foggy where I am in Wilsonville sitting on the train waiting for us to leave the station. I hope you all had a fine weekend and got some relaxation in.

I was down at the Oregon coast in a small town called Pacific City with some friend for a 40th birthday. The funny thing is I will also be down at the beach for the same thing this coming weekend. That should be fun. It will be a time of board games and relaxation so I am looking forward to it.

There was not much to listen to on the radio this morning. The Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) station that I listen to some mornings is in the middle of a fund drive so that was out though they did talk a little bit about Iran and the Uranium enrichment and a plan to send some of the Uranium to Russia and France for enrichment and then have it returned to be used in medical isotopes. I think that is an interesting idea. One that I hope Iran can agree to. But one never knows how these diplomatic things will pan out and the suicide bomber attack on the Iranian Royal Guard from a Pakistani really just complicates things right now.

I also listen to a conservative station in the morning but I did not manage to make it over there today. I did make it to the AM 620 station which bills itself as Portlands only progressive radio station. Which is funny to me because when I first heard that said I thought it was "aggressive" radio and really that is pretty true. Today they were discussing a new business venture in Seattle, Washington that sells deeds for different circles in Hell. These deeds people can buy as a gift and give them to others in a framed certificate. It is a funny idea and one that will probably make the creator of this plan a nice sum of money. But what struck me as odd was that the first thing the broadcaster did was wonder what circle Glenn Beck would be in. Now I am no fan of Glenn Beck, I have complained about him in the past and I know that broadcasters talk to their core audience and I am definitely not the core audience of either conservative radio or progressive radio. But, it just seemed a mean spirited attack to say that Glenn Beck would be on the crying circle of Hell. I am all for going after a man for his politics. But, I see no reason to mock anyone because they get emotional when they are discussing an issue that is important to them.

It may be that I take this a little closer to home because anyone who knows me, also, knows that I am a crier. But, I do not think that my getting emotional takes away from the validity or importance of something I am trying to say. Now I realize some of my readers may feel that Glenn Beck is just putting on a show and that may very well be true. But, if he is crying for a show I think it is hurting more then helping him.

That being said I do not like Glenn Beck and I think he is hurting the country overall with his antics. I have to be fair and note that he began his anti big government run during the Bush administration but he seems to have really hit his stride with the Tea Party and the 9-12 movement stuff. If you as me he is gearing himself up to run for some sort of office on a back to the Constitution platform. One of limited government and fiscal responsibility. I hope I am wrong but I also hope I am right so that I can tell people see Glenn Beck is just like all the rest of us. He is looking for himself and wanting to rise to power. So we shall see what happens but I feel like it is something that I want to keep an eye on.

And Now Back To Our ..............

Good morning everyone. I hope you enjoyed the brief interlude into the adventures of L. Andrew C, gentlemen philosopher and adventurer. I hope to be able to continue his adventures at a later date. So any feedback as to interest or enjoyment or even if you felt it was a waste of time please feel free to comment.

I hope that the absurdity of the writing was a nice break for people from all the stress in the news with the health care debate and Iran playing around with nukes and General Macrystal (sp?) calling for more troops in Afghanistan. I really am truly glad to be back on the train and able to blog again. While last week was a good one and beneficial in terms of getting work done and for the future of VOTE Oregon (Protecting the Electorate since 2009), as well as a shorter commute. I really missed the time I have on the train to sit and write and share my thoughts with my readers.

I know some of you read this everyday and I am thankful for that. Those of you who read me every few days I am thankful for that as well. I just had some thoughts about last week. I would say that I was in the minority in the room. Not in terms of race or religion but in terms of politics. You see this was a predominately conservative group of people. The room demographics seemed to break down like this. The majority of volunteers being both Seniors and Republicans. Then there was one or two, at most, senior Democrats followed by some middle-aged Republicans and then some younger college age Republicans. Now where does that leave me? Well I am an registered Oregon Independent Party member. So I found most of the discussions pretty interesting.

But I want to step away from the political positions of the people and just take a look at the people in the room. What we had was a very diverse group of people who took the time to volunteer in this effort. There were ex-military men, School teachers, farmers, housewives, small business folks as well as college students. What tied all of these people together was their belief in the Oregon System. In Oregon the referendum system is often the only way that the minority can be heard in Government. Some would argue that the system is to messy and results in laws that are not needed and often wasteful.

I would counter that the nature of Democracy is such that it is messy and sometimes wasteful but to me that is the beauty of it as well. We live in a country and state that lives and sometimes thrives under a system that allows for consistent periodic change. I like that. I like that eight years ago for many liberals America was being destroyed before their very eyes. Then the two terms of President Bush ended and now President Obama is in charge and for many conservatives America is being destroyed before their eyes.

Now I am not saying that there are not problems in today's government. Because we all know that there are. But what I am saying is that, for me at least, there is always hope. Because change is always coming around the bend. I look at the makeup of Congress today and remember that several years ago it looked entirely different and after a certain amount of time people grew fed up with it. The grew tired of the actions of Congress and they voted them out. Sure, the pundits on TV said it was a new mandate. I think it was a mandate but it was a mandate for new people and hopefully new behavior in office. Now today's Congress seems to have missed the message and people seem to be getting fed up again. I think soon there will be another change coming. I hope this change wakes some politicians up and makes them realize that this isn't about party politics but about ethical behavior and a responsibility to make America a better nation.

Because for the citizens of this land the only real option for us is to continue to vote out the politicians we do not agree with and vote in those we hope will do a better job. So just remember people when it seems darkest, when it seems like the future of our country is at stake, when it feels like you have no voice. there is change coming. There is change built into the system and by believing in the change and allowing for it to work we can make America a better place. So just hang in there folks.

Flo"Train"tion Device

It was an interesting drive this morning. Normally I drive along listening to NPR and trying to not get forced off the road by the cars around me. But, today I decided to listen to KNRK as I was driving. They do a morning show that is mostly music and that works for me. It does not consist of Skippy the Incontinent Boy and Dr Heckle. Which works for me.

But, it was odd today I almost found my self just kind of sailing along in the car. Almost stuck in a bubble of calm. Stuck is not the right word because I did not mind being there. I was just there. A car would come up on me to fast and I would hit my blinker and move over. There would be a merging lane and I would hit my blinker and move back to let that person in. About halfway through the drive a motorcycle cop came cruising up to the left of me and I did not even realize he was there until he was almost past me.

It wasn't that I was unaware of the things going on around me because in my car the road noise make you aware of things around you. But, it was like my brain or psyche was processing the things that I should be aware of and disregarding the things that did not matter. All that seemed to matter was the trip itself and the music that was playing. Though, the only song I can remember them playing was a Beck song and I can not even remember the name of it.

It was almost a zen like sense of calm or emptiness within me that is odd for me because anyone who knows me will tell you that I am always thinking of something. Lately what has been on my mind is the Health Care debate and the incredible (to me) anger that people are showing at the town hall meetings. Now, I am not here to defend the idea of Government run health care. That is not the point I am trying to make.

I am just shocked at how people are treating each other. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by it. People are mean and often dehumanize each other so that they can feel free to pick on them. Though the person doing the picking would of course deny that they are dehumanizing the other one. I think what blows my mind is that people on both sides of this issue and numerous other issues both want what (they believe) is the best for the country. But, we get so caught up in the emotion of the issue and begin to throw around heavily weighted words like Socialism, Communism, and Nazism that we lose touch of peoples basic humanity.

hmmm, I did not intend to climb upon the soap box. This blog took an odd turn today but I doubt that is a surprise to those who read me regularly since I tend to touch on many subjects that in no way relate to each other. Maybe that is what my subconscious was doing on the drive. It was processing what was bothering me about the behaviors of fellow Americans at these town hall meetings.

My way, or the highway! What if I choose neither? What if I choose not to choose? Have I still made a choice? Do I have to choose? Must I pick a hill and stand upon it live or die? Must I fight to the death for my ideals, the ideals that are really just a construct of my upbringing and society around me. phewwww

This looks like trouble!!

Now anyone who knows me also knows that I am not shy about my desire for some form of Socialism here in America. But this does not mean that I am unaware of the problems of Socialism when it is implemented by a corrupt or selfish individual. In this case word has just come out (by way of the Associated Press) that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has just won a referendum to eliminate term limits. So what this means (the actual article is linked above please read it) is that after ruling the country for a decade there will be another election in 2012 and Chavez has already said that he intends to run again.

This genuinely concerns me because I do not think Hugo Chavez is good for the citizens of Venezuela. He has installed most of his family in positions of influence within the country as well as just making all there lives ones of affluence. Now I do not want to get into a debate here about the obvious problems of Socialism. I would and will gladly do that an another day. I think Chavez is a thug and a criminal and would be bad for the people of any country under any system of government. The fact is that with him in charge there will be no equality and to believe any other way is I feel to be naive in the face of overwhelming evidence.

I have said my piece and any readers that would like to join in pro or con please feel free to do so.

The Future of Federalism?

So the question for my class this week is what do I think the future of Federalism looks like for America? I think that is an interesting question given that over the last decade the world has seen several federal republics fall apart. One reason for this is when you look at William Riker and his conditions for a federal republic to form. These are the military condition and the expansion condition and these must work together to shape the formation of the state. I would argue that the need for protection from a larger state has faded that colonialism is not an issue in the world so the military condition is not as important as it used to be. Which is a major reason why Yugoslavia has fallen apart. Now that the Soviet Union is no more Yugoslavia was able to revert back to its natural order and become smaller countries based on their separate religious and ethnic origins. I would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the subject.