"Tea stRAINed"

I mentioned yesterday that I have been drinking green tea with lemon. Do not get me wrong. I still love coffee. The smell of the beans in the grocery store is enough to give me goosebumps. But, the heat wave last week made it impossible for me to have coffee in the mornings. It was just to hot. So I moved to a instant green tea with lemon that I could drink cold.

I have found in very refreshing. I now start the day with a cup of black tea and then continue with green tea for the rest of the day. I do not know if there are any health benefits other then the antioxidants that the hated Tea lobby insists are contained with in. All I know is that I enjoy the taste and so far I haven't had the head aches that I used to have when I tried to get off of coffee. Now I know that there is caffeine in tea it is just far less then in coffee. So hopefully this monkey will soon be off of my back.

Maybe I can trade the addiction in for one of apples or grapes. Why is it that I am not dependent upon somthing healthy for me? Though since I started this job I have been eating one or two apples a day. I am enjoying that. I feel healthier but that may be just because I am not sitting at home in front of the x-box but out moving around.

The windows clear
Fields brown and burned
Sun gives life and takes it as well.

Res"Train"ed

Well it is Monday morning and a good morning to mt faithful readers. I believe there may be as many as three of you who read this regularly. I hope that I am able to keep you interested for a little while each day as I ramble on about what ever seems interesting to me at the time.

Traffic was odd today as I cruised up the I-5. It was busy as usual but people seemed to be more aggressive then normal. Now I am not sure perhaps I was feeling less aggressive today and therefore I was just noticing it more then usual. I do not think I have made a change in my driving style other then that I move over, if possible, when I see that a policemen has pulled someone over. Today there was a motorcycle policemen who had a pickup pulled over. Not a pleasant way to start the day to be sure.

But I made it safely to my destination and now I sit and wait. Soon the train will begin to move and I will be carried gracefully to my destination as a gentlemen should be. No fuss and no muss. Just rolling along the tracks like in my carriage. Now some of you may ask what make you a gentleman Lance? Well, isn't it obvious ? I ride the train to work therefor I am a gentleman. Why, a mere common man could no more sail along the rails as he could fly in the air in some great winged metallic beast. Mere common man are forced to move along rubber wheels surrounded by a cage made of metal as others of their ilk sail all around them. Not for me I tell you!

I will continue to roll along the rails as benefits one such as myself. Sipping my iced green tea and lemon and reflecting upon life and the loftier pursuits.

Re"Train"

It is nice here inside the train car. The air conditioning is working and the sky is blue outside. I know people say that nature is meant to be enjoyed out of doors but as far as I am concerned I would rather be in a air conditioned car or house looking out at it when it is this hot. On this trip I usually see some deer out and a few other animals. There is a surprising amount of empty land between Wilsonville and Tualatin. But when the heat is like this it seems like the deer are even hiding.

I love the countryside in Oregon especially in this part of Oregon. I love that the trees are green and there seems to be always running water some place. On the train trip I pass by a couple of water features and when I get to final Beaverton stop there is another water area that always has dicks swimming in it. I usually stop on the bridge and look at them.

So far I am the only one on the train. I like it, the quite is nice and relaxing. I am sure that the usual crew will begin to show up and the murmur of conversation will begin. The hum of conversation along with the rhythmic noises of the train is almost soothing as we roll along. Sure there some annoyances here and there but most of the time I really enjoy it.

Power Train Warrenty

Hot today. It seems almost silly to complain about the weather. It's not like I can control it. Maybe that is human nature to complain about things that we have no control over. Why is it so important for humans to feel in control? Is it a horrible thing to just accept that some things are beyond our level of authority?

I used to and still do now and then get fired up about politics and about the perceived slights that the big G government was doing to me. At some point I realized that it wasn't beneficial for me to invest so much energy in being angry about things that I had no control over. It is the same with riding that train each morning. The one thing that I have any control over is my drive to Wilsonville. Other then that I am at the mercy of the train company. I just have to trust that the train will leave when advertised and will get me to the stop I need to get to.

What I find interesting is that I have no worries about the train doing just that. Though I am hearing that yesterday one of the trains just stopped on the tracks. haha. That is what I get for putting my faith in man made devices, CURSES!!

"Train" in Vain

It is Monday on what is supposed to be the hottest day of the year. I am thankful that the air conditioning seems to be working in the train. There are some new faces this morning. A youngish Hispanic gentleman in a blue pinstripe suit. He is wearing matching blue and black striped socks. I wish I had a camera to show you. I am finding it almost impossible to describe. It isn't that he looks bad it is just pretty wild.

The doors have closed and off we go with a toot toot from the horn. It is funny but the noise brings a smile to my face. I wonder if I am feeling like a kid again I do not think I was fascinated with trains or anything but this whole trip is something that I enjoy. The conversation around me is bouncing from the heat to who had the tightest shorts in highschool in the 70's the boys basketball team or the girls volleyball team.

Oooh a switch to the idea of socks and sandals and whether or not Birkenstocks are worth the money. The lady that I talk to usually is now giving the train man her cell phone so he can call her if the train is delayed. There is some concern it seems about if the heat will make the switches stick.

Today is the beginning of the campaign and circulaters should hit the streets by Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing this process and I hope that we are successful in getting this to the voters. It is interesting for me in that I understand the cost and the stress that special elections like this cost. I think this process is what makes Oregon special. We were the first state to choose this method and I think it works for us. Only time will tell if this is going to translate into a career for me but I hope that it does.

"Training" Day

I sit on/in the train facing south as I wait for us to move. I like the train. I like the peace of mind it brings me as I roll along. I am able to relax. I do not need to think about traffic or worry about what is going on around me. The conductor walks past. He seems like a nice fellow and I have chatted with him a few times. The usual lady sits diagonally across from me. She always has a notepad that she writes in as we travel. Perhaps she is blogging in an old fashioned manner.

There is a smattering of small talk around me. It is all the usual "Hot today, cold today". In some ways this is almost comforting to me. It is a sign that the world rolls on. That despite my frustration with politics or world events. That in my world things continue to move forward. The train keeps rolling and people keep being people.

A man in jeans shorts and sandals enters the train. He looks to be a computer guy of some sort. I have no idea really but that is my thought. He has the ubiquitous coffee travel mug as nearly 75% of all travelers do. Myself included to be honest though mine is left in the car today.

I will make coffee when I get to the office. Then my day will begin. It seems though that while I enjoy work what I enjoy most is the train. I will ride home in the afternoon with a new set of faces to look at and wonder about. I look forward to it.

On-Line and on the train

As I write this I am sitting in the train car in Wilsonville. I have been riding the train from Wilsonville to Beaverton everyday for work since last Monday. I really have started to enjoy the process. It takes me about a half an hour to get to Beaverton transit center and then I catch a MAX train to the office which is one stop away. The train also has wireless which is just amazing for me to think a bout.

I do not have really a case or a point to make about mass transit vs cars or anything like that. It is just that for me it is saving me a little bit of money and allowing me to relax and not be stressed out by highway 217. I just wish the train would end up going all the way down to Salem one day. If you live in Salem and commute to Portland daily I would encourage you to check the train out. It is a nice trip.

North Korean Nukes!!

Well, well, well like the world isn't an interesting enough place right now with the all of the chaos happening in Iran. In typical fashion up pops North Korea like the proverbial jack in the box to shout "Hey look at me!!"

It is amazing to me that China lets North Korea continue to act as if they have no control over them. I wonder if North Korea really does not care what the rest of the world thinks about them. They seem unconcerned about the latest round of UN sanctions. But, that is not really a surprise to me because if the US does not choose to enforce those sanctions then there are really no teeth to them.

That is where the dilemma because if the US decides to intercept the North Korean ship that may or may not be carrying weapons. North Korea has said that they will retaliate in a nuclear fashion. This blows my mind that the threat of nuclear activity is still being used. I grew up during the Cold War and that was always a distant threat and it seemed to loom over most everything in one form of another. I remember the whole concept of "Mutually Assured Destruction" being a matter of some stress to me as a youngster.

But with North Korea this is not mutually assured this would be them firing one missile or bomb and the US wiping the floor with them. I wonder do they not even grasp that concept. Maybe I am just being silly and to even worry about this happening is pointless. I agree that it is pointless to some degree since I am unable to control this one way or the other. But, that is not the point. I am just amazed that this is going on. I knew that someone would test the new president. I just did not anticipate it being this kind of a test.

I wonder what the end result of this is going to be. Does anyone out there have any thoughts?

Iranian Unrest!!

I have been reading with interest the different new stories that are coming out of Iran since the election. I find it interesting because my initial thought upon hearing that an election was coming up in Iran was to dismiss the validity of the election. Not dismiss it because of all the unrest that seems to be happening post election but dismiss it out of hand. I figured that there would be 100% voter turnout and Ahmadinejad would win by a resounding margin.

Well it turns out I was mistaken, or as Gomer Pyle would say "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!" I always figured on a corrupt election but this was way beyond the usual nature of the corruption. It seems like Iranians actually voted and actually believed that their votes counted for something. I am not sure what to make of this. On the one hand it is pretty cool and peoples votes should count for something. But it makes me wonder about all of the previous elections in Iran. Where they fruadulent or not? Because I do not recall these massive protestes following the other elections. If they did happen please inform me.

It also seems that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for an investigation into accusations of ballot fraud in Friday's elections. Which just makes my head spin. Because while I always knew that there was a Supreme Leader in Iran it always seems like Ahmadinejed does and says whatever he wants. I had always assumed that he was just doing and saying what he was told and that he had basicall been appointed by the Iranian Supreme Leader but I guess I was wrong.

I have no idea what the end result will be of all of this but I have to say that I am finding it interesting to watch develop.

Graduation Day!

I am graduating today. I am not sure how I feel about it. I know that there are people who are proud of me. I know that a few years ago I felt like I would never finish college and I did not feel like I needed to. I had a job that let me cruise along at the lowest level of effort and still get paid. I did not need to think I could just exist. But, then I met HER and everything changed.

It was not enough to cruise along at the lowest level of effort. It became more important to get the degree done and to move forward in life. To move forward to that next level. The funny thing is I am not fully sure of what that next level is. I am glad to be done with school, the bachelors part of it, anyway. But I wonder what is next. Should I go to graduate school? Should I start trying to network and to hustle so that I can find a job that allows me to put my degree to use. Not that a Political Science degree is the most useful degree out there. But, I really enjoyed my studies and found the degree path to be most useful for me.

I like Politics, History, and Philosophy, and Political Science at times touched on all of those subjects and I loved it.

Just some random thoughts from my brain today as I get ready to go walk with 600 + other graduates. I am nervous as to what the future brings but I hope that I am able to move to that next level.

The Supreme Court!

As we move past President Obamas 100th day of office it looks like the next thing on the horizon likely to cause a ruckus is going to be who Obama decides to nominate as his Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Souter. Now the majority of conservatives feel that while Souter was appointed by Bush the first he in the end was more of a liberal then a conservative and is often thought of as a mistake when people look at Bush's appointments.

I would argue that while the world changed around him. That as the popular definition of liberal and conservative shifted over the years since he was appointed. Justice Souter continued to be consistent in the way he voted and the way that he looked at the law. To me this doesn't highlight a problem with Justice Souter but it highlights a problem with the Supreme Court in general.

For a country that claims to be a democracy I think it is a travesty that the highest court in the land is made up of life time presidential appointed positions. Now while theoretically this is supposed to protect them from the pressures of running for office and to stop them from looking for money or being at risk of undue influence. When in reality due to the nature of the position the Justice is under the influence of whatever President appointed them.

This is the problem with the Supreme Court it should not be made up of lifetime appointees who are then expected to rule based upon a political position as opposed to how the law reads. That is what the ultimate litmus test should be not the political administration that appointed said Justice but what the law reads that they are ruling on.

With this as the criteria it makes it a little easier to look at the Justices and they way that they rule and under these conditions I think Justice Souter did the job he was hired to do. I just hope President Obama picks a Justice that will respect the law in the same way and not one who they must rule based on the political position of the office that appointed them.

The Tea Has Steeped!!

So, the Tea Parties are over. What is next? Has everyone gotten it out of their system and now they will go back to burying their head in the sand and pretending that it is all ok? What happens if somehow against all expectations Obama is right and the economy stabilizes?

I really believe that Obama was elected as a response to the policy's of Bush. I also believe that unless something really changes there will be a new president in four years as a response to Obama and his policys. With the way that the system is their appears to be no other choice but to vote out the old and bring in the new. The problem rises when the new is really just a slight variant of the old and as long as we have a two party system this will never change. But, I do not need to rant again about the problems of the two party system.

My question for the people that are on fire about the Tea Party is what is next? Are you wanting to run your own candidates like the Green Party and some of the others? Are you wanting to start another political party that has as it's core fiscal responsibility and constitutional limits? What is next?

DEMOCRACY

"The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois" - Gustave Flaubert

Right on the money brother, right on the money!!

Political Pictures

I stumbled across some pictures as I was surfing around and I really thought they were neat. I do not have the money to buy painting but if I did these two would be ones that I would pick up. I really like the way that he painted the different Presidents both Republican and Democrat. They were painted by an artist named Andy Thomas whose site appears to be down right now but here are the pictures.

Obama and his budget

So in the wake the purposed budget that President Obama has purposed. I was wondering if people had any thoughts on the pros and cons for say a Value Added Tax or a Flat Tax versus the system that is in place now. I tend to flip flop about these because I am just not sure of the overall benefit.

I like the, and I could be wrong, potential for fairness of the Value Added Tax in that the more expensive an item is the greater the tax rate on it. That seem pretty simple to me because if you do not want to pay the higher tax then you do not buy the item. I also see in some way the benefit of the Flat Tax in that if it is 10% it is always going to be 10% and it might take some of the confusion out of paying your taxes each year.

Now I am well aware that perhaps I am just not understanding what these various tax types do and the effect on them. So if that is the case please feel free to enlighten me. I await with interest your responses.

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.

US envoy predicts 'direct diplomacy' with Iran

"UNITED NATIONS – President Barack Obama's administration will engage in "direct diplomacy" with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday."

My response to this is that it is about time. I strongly feel that the only way to accomplish things diplomatically in this world is to directly interact with the states involved. Now this does not mean agreeing with everything that state does or giving in to every desire of the state. But, it means keeping the paths of communication open so that states can have access to each other to discuss issues that affect both them and the world. Even during the Cold War both the Soviet Union and the USA kept in contact. The cutting off of all official communication that the USA did with Iran in 1979 only served to make a bad problem worse. I would argue that relations with Iran are worse now then in 1979 when there revolution happened. Had we stayed connected with them in one legitimate form or another who knows what might have happened. As far as what this means for the future it is hard to say but I think this is a good step for President Obamas administration and I hope they continue to pursue diplomatic channels when there becomes a need to pressure some of these states.

INAUGURATION DAY

Today the 44th President of these United States of America was sworn into office. I think that, personal politics aside, it was a touching and important event. My hope is that the high level of esteem that President Obama is being held to does not come back and hurt him and America eventually. I am doing my best to not be cynical about this process and about the political process in America. So I am being sincere when I say that I hope Obamas presidency is different then the presidencies that that have come before. I hope for transparency and accountability. I hope that Obama is being honest in his stated desires for the office of the President as well as his desires for America. At this point all one can do is wait and see what happens and I hope what Obama brings us is actual change and growth.

Please, if you agree or disagree feel free to chime in. Let me know how you feel and why you feel that Obama is good or bad for the country and the world. Let me know your hopes for the future and if Obama can meet those or not. Lets keep the conversation going.

Riots in the streets of Oakland?

According to NPR "

Bay Area Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man

Audio for this story will be available at approx. 6:00 p.m. ET

Talk of the Nation, January 8, 2009 · A BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) officer shot and killed an unarmed man on Jan. 1. After a peaceful protest at the BART station, the crowd turned violent and took to the streets of Oakland.

Demian Bulwa, a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, was at the riot. He reports police arrested at least 105 rioters for assault, vandalism, looting and arson."

While this is a grainy video its impact is not lessened but according to press reports and that of eye witness's it shows Oakland Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police shooting an unarmed man as he was being held down on the floor of the train station. As I write this there has been no response from either Oakland police or the BART authority. This is a horrible thing even more so because it appears to have not been a justifiable shooting. What the death led to was a protest that involved protesters destroying cars and vandalizing other things the majority of them being owned by private citizens with no connection to the people behind the shooting. The question for me is why attack and destroy things that have no connection to the incident that caused the riot or protest in the first place? I would understand attacking BART head quarters or a police station that would at least show some sense. But what good does random violence do? If you have been involved in a protest that turned ugly could you share some thoughts with me on the reasons why or if you just have a theory please feel free to join the discussion.

A Modest Proposal

I have a thought, a modest proposal if you will. No not the one put forth by Jonathan Swift in 1729 that the Irish should eat their children. But as we move further into the recession the nutritional benefits of the young might be well worth looking into.

But my modest proposal is this one. What if working in Congress was done much like jury duty in this country? Your name is drawn and if you are able to meet the requirements then you do your stint and go back to your other life the one where you are not a public servant. What would the result be? Would they get more done because they would not be life long politicians but rather citizens who are doing their civic duty? Just a thought I had about something that I discussed with a friend when this whole Illinois Blagojevich scandal started. What do you think?