Bush Day ... er, I mean Columbus Day

Is the Current Occupant the Columbus of Our Time?
by Garrison Keillor

October 12th, the traditional Columbus Day, is a day to reflect on the nature of celebrity. Columbus was a pirate and tyrant who sailed off and bumped into the Bahamas, had no idea where he was, and to his dying day believed he had reached the Indies. By the time he arrived in the New World, America was old news to the Vikings. They already had that T-shirt.

Five hundred years before, the Vikings had been sailing the Atlantic with confidence, making new friends and influencing people. Thorvald Asvaldsson sailed to Iceland in the 10th century with his son Erik the Red. After they'd been banished from Norway for manslaughter — if you've ever been in an argument with Norwegians, you probably considered manslaughter, too — and from Iceland, Erik explored the icebound continent to the west, which he named Greenland, for promotional purposes.

In 986, Bjarni Herjulfsson and his men sailed along the coast of New England. Around the same time, Leif Eriksson, the son of Erik the Red, sailed over and may have landed on the island of Manhattan. Did he come ashore and try to buy it for $23 worth of junk jewelry? No. And do we celebrate Bjarni Herjulfsson Day? No, we do not. The Vikings weren't into self-promotion, and Reykjavik was not a world media center at the time.

The Vikings were not out to lord it over the Indians or bring democracy here or teach folks about Nordic gods. They were free spirits, sailors, explorers, so they left some carved stones here and there, relished the exhilaration of the voyage and the sight of new lands, and went home and composed sagas for the amusement of their friends and families. That arrogant fool Columbus, who demanded 10 percent of all the gold the Spanish stole in the New World, got the holiday, a town in Ohio and another in Georgia, a major river in the Northwest, a university in New York. But who cares? Scandinavians don't.

Their history after Leif and Eric and Bjarni has been tangled, of course. The Norwegians suffered under the Danes and then the Swedes. The Danes suffered under the delusion that they were French. The Swedes suffered under Strindberg and Ingmar Bergman, neither of whom was the life of the party. All of them suffered from the long gray winters with twilight at noon.

But Lutheranism urged them toward kindness, industriousness and self-effacement, and this is not a bad strategy for contentment.

Look around today and you will find the Viking descendants, a calm and stoical and somewhat formal people, by and large, not given to extremes of fashion or chanting "We're Number One" or writing memoirs that hang out the family underwear. Walter Mondale is pretty much the prototype. He lost the presidency by one of the biggest landslides in history to an aging actor whose grip on reality, never firm to begin with, was becoming hallucinatory. Mr. Reagan was sort of the Columbus of our time, a better PR man than sailor, but so be it.

Mr. Mondale is a buoyant man with a sense of humor who enjoys his life in Minnesota, where people are happy to see him, and when you do, you see that losing is far from the worst thing that can happen to a man.

What's worse is the likely fate of the Current Occupant, who is contending with Pierce, Buchanan and Warren G. Harding for the title of All-Time Worst President. He's got a good shot at the title if only because he's had so much more to be worst with. (Any young persons who have been inspired by Mr. Bush to take up public service should be watched very closely.)

I propose that we change Columbus Day to Bush Day, a cautionary holiday, like Halloween, a day to meditate on the hazards of ambition. We could observe it by going through the basement and garage and throwing out stuff we don't want or need. Also, by not mortgaging the house to pay for a vacation, and not yelling at the neighbors, and not assuming that the law is for other people.

A day to honor kindness, industriousness and modesty.

" ... A day to honor kindness, industriousness and modesty" -- indeed. Instead of the daily honoring of cowboy bravado, intellectual dwarfism and hubris that we get from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Of course, Mr. Keillor is much wittier and much smarter than I in saying that.

The Columbus comparison is particulary apt in that there are many that still honor Columbus for a discovery that was dubious, unoriginal and harmful. Kinda like Bush and the "War on Terror". The honoring of Columbus (and Bush by his followers) have less to do with great acts than they do with cognitive dissonance. People want to believe that Columbus was good and virtuous and that his "discovery" led to the formation of our great country. People want to believe that Bush is protecting us from the "evil-doers" and that our intentions are noble. So, in both cases, when facts contradict the dream, people are forced to deny or misinterpret the new data. But that's disingenuous. Be honest to yourselves. Don't honor Columbus ... and don't honor Bush.

The Human Race is Living Beyond Its Means

"Optimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess, it becomes foolishness. We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so." -- Theodore Roosevelt, Seventh Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1907

Published on Monday, October 9, 2006 by the Independent / UK
The Human Race is Living Beyond Its Means
by Andrew Simms

In a market economy, the only constraints on what we consume are what we may legally buy and what we can afford.
The result is, as the great environmental economist Herman Daly warned, that we end up treating the planet as if it were a business in liquidation. If you were managing a business, you would be considered grossly negligent if you had no idea of your assets or cash flow. Yet this is how we manage our environmental resources.

When we deplete oil in the North Sea and push fish stocks to the edge of collapse, it is treated as free income to the economy. It is shockingly easy for politicians, economists and planners to forget that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. And, on our island planet, that Earth itself is subject to fuzzy but very real limits.

One of the defining features of life in the UK, the world's fourth-largest economy, is the sheer scale of our material consumption, and the ease with which we ignore the burden that it exports around the globe.

Our high-consuming lifestyle is only possible because the rest of the world supports us with large supplies of their own natural resources.

No individual country has to be self-reliant. We trade what we can't produce locally, and positively enjoy exotic goods that come from all around the globe.

The world as a whole is living beyond its ecosystems' capacity to regenerate, and, looked at in terms of a calendar year, starts living beyond its environmental means on 9 October. Looking back, if the whole world had wanted to share UK lifestyles in 1961, the Earth would just have managed with its available resources - one planet would have been enough. Today we would need 3.1 planets to support them. To live within our overall environmental budget, the UK will have to reduce the burden its lifestyles create; such as the massive growth of leisure flights and subsequent CO2 emissions.

And while our consumption grows, with everything from 4x4s to energy hungry wide-screen TVs, all the academic research shows that consuming more will not make us happier. The same research shows that getting-off the consumption treadmill, finding more time for friends and family, reflection and creative pastimes, can.

Mainstream economics says that nothing must get in the way of economic growth and competitiveness. But in doing so we are inadvertently waging war on the environment, forgetting that, if we win, we will find ourselves on the losing side.

Andrew Simms is policy director at the New Economics Foundation

This article may be about the UK, but it obviously can be used to describe the U.S. Why is it that those that push the free market as being perfect don't recognize how closely it is tied with our environment? How is it good business to be making withdrawels from a bank in which you've never made any deposits? You don't get something for nothing. We'll all be paying for the hubris of the last 100 years. Come on people. Learn the lessons of our past.

"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying the 'the game belongs to the people.' So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. The 'greatest good for the greatest number' applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method." -- Theodore Roosevelt, A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open, 1916

Travel Update

Blogging on the road, check it out:

Going back to Cali ...

Day 2

And finally ... Day 3 (final day) .... crap!

Payback

I'm not meaning to continue the sullen trend of Laura and Sadie, but there seems to be something in the air. Perhaps as some kind of cosmic punishment for my family having a good time this last weekend, fate came down hard today.

My little guy Alex got two of his front teeth knocked out in an accident on the playground this morning. So, he and I spent all afternoon at the dentist. They are baby teeth and it doesn't look like the adult teeth beneath them got damaged. But, it just about killed me to see the sad little guy with guaze in his mouth and sad eyes when I showed up at school. He was quite the little trooper despite the fact that it took me an hour to get there. I was at a client in Fountain Hills when they called ... which is about as far away from his school as I could have been and still been in the Valley.

On top of that, they had to give him a shot in his mouth so that they could extract the teeth. I swear I would have switched places with him then and there if I could have. I can take any kind of pain or punishment that you heap on me, but I cannot stand to see my son in any kind of pain. The amount of bravery and guts in this little 5 year old exceeds anything that I have ever had. When I was holding his hand as they were working on him, I couldn't help but be transported back to when he was in the hospital after he was born early, with IV's in his head and strapped to a zillion machines. Sometimes it's hell being a parent.

(If you are gutsy, you can see a pre-extraction pic of Alex here. You've been warned.)

Perfect Day

My mother-in-law and niece are in town and we wanted to take a day trip out of the Valley to escape the heat. We went to Flagstaff yesterday and had an absolutely fantastic day. I'm going to try and confine and family excursion posts to my new blog, On the Road. See details there:

Flagstaff -- 9-30-06

Pederson/Clark

I was lucky to have been invited to and attended a "townhall" meeting today with our Democratic candidate for senator, Jim Pederson, and his guest, former presidential candidate Wesley Clark. I'm an admirer of them both. Jim Pederson is the former party chair of the Arizona Democratic party and I have spoken to him in the past. And I voted for Wesley Clark in the 2004 Arizona Democratic Presidential primary. There were both articulate, passionate and made strong cases for a change in leadership in Washington.

This meeting was specifically on the war in Iraq. Pederson and Clark both spoke as did an Iraqi war veteran and they fielded questions afterwards. Quite the opposite of the "cut-and-run" image that the Rove minions try to cast Democrats as, they were honest about the mistakes that have been made and what needed to be done. I won't get into the finer points but suffice to say that they favored a tact that took into account Iraq's neighbors, the different factions within Iraq, and the infrastructure needs of the country itself. Due to the incompetence of our current leaders, troops in Iraq are playing policemen in a civil war. This was not their original mission and it is not task which they are ideally suited for.

One of the main points that they brought up and the one that I am going to mention here is that a main reason our mission in Iraq has failed is that we failed to consider adequately those questions that the Powell Doctrine asked:

Is a vital national security interest threatened?
Do we have a clear attainable objective?
Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?
Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?
Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?
Have the consequences of our action been fully considered?
Is the action supported by the American people?
Do we have genuine broad international support?

Here's my take on how we addressed those concerns:

-- Was our national security threatened by Iraq? -- NO. Iraq had no means of directly attacking the U.S.

-- Did we have a clear objective? -- NO. Neo-cons would say that it was part of a bigger objective of establishing democracy in the Middle East. But it was not the reason offered during the run up to the war.

-- Did we honestly address the risks and costs? -- NO. Morons like Wolfowitz and Perle said the war would pay for itself. $300 billion (and counting) later .... Not to mention 2600+ American lives.

-- Did we exhaust all diplomatic means first? -- NO. We lied to ourselves and the U.N. and disregarded any international advice.

-- Exit strategy? -- Exit strategy? ... we don't need no stinkin' exit strategy. Cheney and Rumsfeld said it would take 6 days. Why these men are still in any kind of power baffles me.

-- Consequences -- We are breeding more terrorists. Our government even admits this: Report offered by Bush shows terrorism threat evolving and growing

-- Support of the American people -- At least 60% of the American people are against this war.

-- Broad international support? -- Ha-ha. Do you mean the coalition of the willing? The coalition of the economically threatened you must have meant. Moldava and Estonia ... oooohhhh. I'm really impressed.

Hubris

"The trouble with Communism is the Communists, just as the trouble with Christianity is the Christians" -- Henry Louis Mencken

Power of Nightmares, a BBC documentary that originally came out in 2004 was being discussed the other day on a local show on the Air America affiliate here in Phoenix. I have not seen the show but the basic gist is that the fall of the Soviet Union (and them being driven out of Afghanistan), in effect, caused a parallel and dangerous escalation of the two groups most guilty of our current world situation .... radical Islamists and neoconservatives. Both made the colossal mistake of taking credit for that fall and using the resulting publicity to further their causes. And both have benefited from exaggerating the terrorist threat.

Both wanted to take credit for a fall that was going to happen without them. The Soviet Union was collapsing from within.

It's an interesting theory and there is at least some truth to it.

It's scary to think that the same supposedly good event inadvertently ignited the two most destructive forces in the world right now. Both are drunk with their own self-righteousness. They were emboldened by an event they were merely spectators to.

I hate to break it to you guys ... those that worship at the altar of Ronald Reagan ... but his policies did the exact opposite of what conservatives say they did. Supposedly for small government, the government grew under his watch. Supposedly against terrorism, he supported the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan ... the very same people we call terrorists now. Our policies in Lebanon got Marines killed and did nothing to stop terrorism.

Both groups understand that it is not so much what is true but rather what can you convince your followers is true.

"Arrogance diminishes wisdom" -- Arabian Proverb

dbackdad's favorite actors: part three -- emma thompson

You may be getting the feeling that I only like British actors. Not true. There are plenty of American actors that I like but Sadie already covered a few of them (Norton, Hanks). I'll certainly work up to a few more eventually. But in the meantime, I'm definitely going to continue with my trend. And I do believe that most of the best actors are British. And Emma Thompson is certainly no exception. She's of the ilk of period-piece actresses that I really like.

Probably the first thing I saw her in (and still one of my favorites) is Howard's End. This was based on a E.M. Forster novel (he also wrote Room With a View and A Passage to India). The movie examines the interactions of social classes in 1930's England but I believe that the truths it exposes are applicable to all ages and countries. The acting is superb by a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter. I believe that what I like about Thompson is her ability to show passion and feeling subtly in what some might consider fairly buttoned-up dialogue.

She again starred with Hopkins in Remains of the Day. Her acting was great but I was not as big a fan of this movie as some were.

A good deal of her career was spent acting in movies directed by her then husband, Kenneth Branagh. The first of these that I saw was Henry V. It's well-made but if you're not into Shakespeare, then you might want to skip it. Also Shakespeare ... but not quite as dry is Much Ado About Nothing. I think this film is brilliant and has some of Shakespeare's funniest writing. The cast is stellar (with the exception of the miscast Keanu Reeves) and included Denzel Washington, Thompson, Branagh, Michael Keaton, and Kate Beckingsale. Two more of Branagh's films, Dead Again -- a noirish thriller, and Peter's Friends -- a dark comedy, are also very good.

Not content with just being a great actress, Thompson is an award-winning screenwriter, having won an Oscar for Sense and Sensibility. This adaptation of a Jane Austen novel was very good and does a nice job of conveying the humor of the book. Again, a nice cast which includes Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Tom Wilkinson. Thompson also wrote the family movie, Nanny McPhee, which we just recently saw and highly recommend.

She does not confine herself to period pieces and as on occasion starred in political films, most notable: In the Name of the Father about a man falsely accused of an IRA bombing, and Primary Colors - a fictionalized account based on Bill Clinton and those around him. She is very funny in this film. She is also very funny in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, ironically following in the footsteps of a similarly over-the-top performance by her ex-husband Branagh in an earlier Potter film.

Some Thompson trivia from IMDb:

Was originally slated to play the role of "God" in Kevin Smith's Dogma (1999). She was unable to perform due to her pregnancy.

She is the only person to have won Academy awards for both acting and writing. She won Best Actress for Howards End (1992), and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995).

Clinton on FOX

This is awesome ... Bill Clinton bitchslapping Chris Wallace of FOX News:

Clinton Takes On Fox News

That channel has absolutely no credibility. Anybody that watches it to get anything close to an objective point of view is clueless.

In With the New ...

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." -- Mohandas K. Gandhi

From Sierra Club Magazine:

Trendsetter
John Perry, age 42
Founding member, the Compact

When John Perry and a few San Francisco friends created the Compact, a yearlong agreement not to buy anything new, they were just trying to take a personal stand against rampant consumption and waste. But as news of their idea spread, it drew more than a thousand participants worldwide--and some angry critics. Read about members' strategies and exemptions for essentials like food at The Compact.

Q: What do you make of the backlash you've received?

A: We've been told shopping is patriotic. Part of the promise of success in America is that you can buy lots of stuff.

Q: What's been hardest about living by the Compact?

A: I was a recreational shopper, especially in thrift stores. So it's been challenging to think about what I need instead of just shifting my consumption habits to secondhand goods.

Q: How has your family's daily life changed as a result?

A: We have more time and money to spend hiking, taking classes, going to performances, and eating with friends. Life gets richer and more oriented toward experiences.

How ridiculous is that? Spending is patriotic. We all remember after 9/11 -- our own president said that the way to get back at the terrorists is to keep on spending. That's the most profound lesson that he could get from that. Sad.

Is this group's choice an extreme reaction to our current society? Maybe. Is it harmful? No. Is it effective? Depends on what you call effective. I'm sure no companies are really feeling the squeeze from these few people not buying new goods. But it may not be in what these few people do but more in the effect they have on others. If just a few people read that article or if those 1,000 people tell their friends and families, it can have an effect on the environment and even on our views of each other. Gluttonous consumption would not be healthy even in a world of unlimited space and resources and no environmental problems. But that world doesn't exist.

We're a disposable society. Planned obsolescence. Fads. Ad-driven purchasing. Maybe if people looked a little harder at what they bought, companies that produced goods would care more about quality. So much of our time is spent shopping. We go to the malls just to walk around and look at things we want to buy. The people in this article are at least taking the time to stop and analyze our craziness. I'm not asking people to stop buying or stop buying new stuff. Just think about your individual footprint on the world. Do you want your legacy to be that you owned a lot of stuff?

"Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends.... Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts." -- Henry David Thoreau

Tolkien

NEW YORK (AP) -- An unfinished tale by J.R.R. Tolkien has been edited by his son into a completed work and will be released next spring, the U.S. and British publishers announced Monday.

Christopher Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on "The Children of Hurin," an epic tale his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Excerpts of "The Children of Hurin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and other works, have been published before.

"It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the 'Children of Hurin' as an independent work, between its own covers," Christopher Tolkien said in a statement.

The new book will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the United States and HarperCollins in England ...

I'm looking forward to that. I seem stuck in decades old sci-fi. I don't really read much fiction any more because I don't really give it a chance. The following were the staples of my shy, sheltered midwestern upbringing: Tolkien, Heinlein, Clarke, Niven, and Herbert. Good escapism and exposure to a bigger world of ideas. The last of these authors, Frank Herbert, wrote my favorite sci-fi/fantasy book of all time, Dune. Herbert creates an incredibly intricate world that does a great job of exposing the links between environment, ecology, resources, religion and politics. What are your favorite sci-fi/fantasy novels?

Vega$

Friday a.m. and I'll be off to Las Vegas with some buddies for the weekend. One of them is getting married next week and these will be a last few days of debauchery. Hopefully not too much debauchery as there will be at least two wives and one future wife who will lynch us if we do. And despite the fact that two separate people have mentioned the movie Very Bad Things when I told them where I'd be and what I was doing this weekend, there will be no dead hookers.

Trent: They're gonna give daddy the Rainman suite, you dig that?
Mike: Do you think we'll get there by midnight?
Trent: Baby, we're going to be up five hundy by midnight!
Mike: Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh!
Trent: Vegas baby! Vegas!
Mike: Vegas!

Swingers

dbackdad's favorite actors: part two -- ewan mcgregor

Next in line of my favorite actors is Ewan McGregor. The first role I saw him in is perhaps his best ... Trainspotting. One of my top 10 all-time favorite movies, it is a dizzying combination of style, music, humor and homages to other favorite films of mine (Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver). McGregor's performance is spot-on and I've read that George Lucas cast him as Obi-Wan Kenobi off of his performance in Trainspotting. But if you are queasy about drug use or dream sequences involving toilets, you might want to pass.

The strength oF McGregor is his humor. Even in his more serious roles, there is a bit of a spark in his eyes. Plus, he'll generally stay away from the typical Hollywood movies. The exceptions, of course, being Star Wars (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith) and The Island. He can be forgiven for Star Wars because it is basically the dream of any male born in the last 40 years to be immortalized as such an iconic figure. And to his credit, he is probably the only actor in those films that does a decent job. And The Island, despite being a Michael Bay is sci-fi and does have some merits.

Another movie directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge (like Trainspotting) is Shallow Grave. This is a very good dark comedy that also stars Christopher Eccleston (Dr. Who).

There is a wide range of roles he has taken also. British period pieces (Emma), musicals (Moulin Rouge) and war flicks (Black Hawk Down). His role in Emma is small but memorable. I really like Moulin Rouge, a quirky musical with anachronistic modern music mixed into a turn of the century Paris setting. And despite being largely a pacifist, I like a decent war flick -- which Black Hawk Down is. I say keep the violence on the screen and on off the streets. War movies with fairly realistic depictions of the pain and gore hopefully take away a little of the glamour.

Two more unconventional roles he took (with varying success) were Down With Love and Big Fish. Down With Love is a retelling or spoof of the Cary Grant and Rock Hudson type romantic comedies of the 50's but with a little more modern subject matter. The movie tries really hard ... maybe too hard. Big Fish is a much better movie. A Tim Burton Flick, it has the trademark oddity that you would expect from him. But it has a little more heart and a nice acting performance by Helena Bonham Carter (one of my favorite actresses from British period pieces).

All in all, I think he's brilliant and usually the best thing in any movie he's in.

"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a f--king big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose a three piece suit on hire purchased in a range of f--king fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the f--k you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f--king junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarassment to the selfish, f--ked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life...But why would I want to do a thing like that?" -- Ewan McGregor as Renton in Trainspotting

"We Have Not Forgotten, Mr. President"

I thought about writing something about 9/11, but my words would have paled in comparison to Keith Olbermann's:

"We Have Not Forgotten, Mr. President."

A particularly good passage:

... The only positive on 9/11 and the days and weeks that so slowly and painfully followed it was the unanimous humanity, here, and throughout the country. The government, the President in particular, was given every possible measure of support.

Those who did not belong to his party -- tabled that.

Those who doubted the mechanics of his election -- ignored that.

Those who wondered of his qualifications -- forgot that.

History teaches us that nearly unanimous support of a government cannot be taken away from that government by its critics. It can only be squandered by those who use it not to heal a nation's wounds, but to take political advantage.

Terrorists did not come and steal our newly-regained sense of being American first, and political, fiftieth. Nor did the Democrats. Nor did the media. Nor did the people.

The President -- and those around him -- did that ...

... How dare you, Mr. President, after taking cynical advantage of the unanimity and love, and transmuting it into fraudulent war and needless death, after monstrously transforming it into fear and suspicion and turning that fear into the campaign slogan of three elections? How dare you -- or those around you -- ever "spin" 9/11?

In this speech and his earlier one chastising Mr. Rumsfeld, KO has taken on a role that lightweight "news" people like Katie Couric seem afraid to. Hopefully he'll keep speaking truth to power and he'll continue having a forum to do so.

Also, a nice post on 9/11 by Josh at Schulzone.

Religion is Funny Sometimes

None of the following three church-related anecdotes are really related except that they all came to my attention in the same day. So, don't draw any conclusions from them being here together. Just a funny juxtaposition that gave me pause.

Michelle having to work today and Alex's bible class starting this Sunday presented us with an interesting quandary. Should we not take him(and risk his disappointment) or should Michelle swallow her pride and ask her heathen husband to take him? Of course, I had no problem taking him but I felt like making her squirm a little bit. After all, I could use my taking him to church as a future bargaining tool. If I was religious, that might have been a moral or ethical issue, but I was thankfully unencumbered (just kidding). And what's the worse that could happen to me inside a church? Get struck by lightning? lol

I actually like Michelle's church and I greatly admire and enjoy the company of her pastor (whom I've written of before here). So I took Alex, dropped him off in his room and found a place to sit and read. The Pastor had actually graciously offered me his office but the library was nearer Alex's room and was unoccupied. But, I felt a little guilty that the book that I brought to read did not exactly cast religion, or at least one flavor of it, in a good light. I didn't do it intentionally, though. It's just what I'm reading right now. And it's subject matter, Mormon Fundamentalism, could not be further from the religion of my wife's church.

The book, Under the Banner of Heaven, is a great book by an author that I've read before (Into Thin Air, about Mt. Everest). Mormon fundamentalism has been thrust back into the news recently because the capture of Warren Jeffs, one of the FBI's most wanted and the leader of a polygamist sect here in Arizona. The book was written a few years ago but does talk about Jeffs and his father and the other leaders.

I'm all for religious freedom, but marrying multiple 13 year-olds against their will, raping, kidnapping, incest, etc. are not my idea of how you would exert that freedom. On top of that, they hate the U.S. government and claim it has no jurisdiction over them yet they have no problem taking millions in welfare checks from the government. Some very screwed-up stuff in the name of religion. And the story of how the Book of Mormon came to be is priceless. It's so odd that even a South Park lampoon of it is not really stretching the truth: South Park Mormons



My last little religious tidbit is on an upcoming Time magazine piece on Prosperity Theology or Name It and Claim It. This is a segment of Pentecostal Christianity but is also holding a large sway over a growing number of evangelicals. It basically says that God wants you to be rich and prosperous. Now, I'm no biblical scholar but I have read the Bible and have had my share of bible classes and nowhere do I remember it saying that God wanted me to have bling. Maybe I was gone that day. Are megachurches and this brand of Christianity getting just a wee bit away from the teaching of Jesus? Methinks so.

Does God want you to be rich?

Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?"
Priest: "No, not if you did not know."
Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?"
-- American author Annie Dillard

dbackdad's favorite actors: part one -- gary oldman

British actor Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors. He does not take the normal roles and largely steers clear of the typical Hollywood fare.

My first exposure to Gary Oldman was in college in a movie that went beyond entertainment for my group of friends. The movie was Sid and Nancy, about the life of bassist Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols.

His performance rises to that honorable level of biopic where the actor spurns mere imitation and rather inhabits the role. Much like Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line and Jamie Foxx in Ray. You buy their performance so much that you almost forget it is a movie. It's more like a documentary.

I am not exaggerating to say that we watched the movie 50 times. I'm pretty sure that I could recite all the dialog by memory. Probably an unhealthy adulation of this movie, but it was fun. And the scars from carving words on our arms have been healed for a long time.

The next film I saw with him was Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead. This is a very funny film set on the periphery of a Shakespeare story, much like another by the same author (Tom Stoppard), Shakespeare in Love. Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are two undeveloped characters from Hamlet that are given a life of their own in this movie. Another great British actor, Tim Roth, co-stars.

While a relatively small role (time-wise), his performance is obviously pivotal to the story in the next movie, JFK, in which he plays Lee Harvey Oswald. Oldman does a very believable American accent and bears a strong resemblance to Oswald.

Creepy ... that would describe Oldman's portrayal of Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula. This is a great cast including Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder and Richard Grant. I can still hear him in his Romanian accent say, "I've crossed oceans of time to find you." Gives me chills.

Another small but memorable role was in True Romance. He plays a dreadlocked pimp who thinks he's black. If you did not know it was Oldman, it would be hard to believe that it was him. This is a funny, very underrated film that has quite a few small cameos by big actors including Brad Pitt as a hilarious pot-smoker and Val Kilmer as Elvis in an inner-dialog.

Oldman has had too many great performances that I can't mention them all here in depth. But I'd recommend him in The Professional as a corrupt policeman (including a great debut performance by Natalie Portman), in the very stylish Fifth Element as a wacked-out villain, and as Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.


A big nod to Sadie and her series of favorite actors. They were well-done and my inspiration:

Kiefer Sutherland
Cate Blanchett
Edward Norton
Jennifer Connelly

Overpopulation

Nothing like following up a light subject like drug legalization with one on overpopulation. :-)

Whatever your beliefs on religion, politics, the environment, it's silly to deny that we are exerting pressure on our planet merely by virtue of our breeding. If we do not adjust our beliefs to a changing world, we will run out of space, out of resources, out of food. These pressures on territory and resources are causing all the major international conflicts that are going on now. What do we do? Do we change our beliefs to adjust to a changing reality? Not a pleasant thought for some, but I believe it will be necessary.

What does overpopulation stress (in the U.S.):
- our classrooms
- our highways
- our infrastructure (fire, police, rescue, local government)

... The average American's "ecological footprint" -- the theoretical area required to supply everything a person consumes and to deal with the aftermath -- is 269 global acres, almost nine times the footprint of the average person in China and more than 22 times that of the average Indian or Pakistani.

According to their analysis, the ecological footprint of the United States as a nation is bigger than the combined footprints of China, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Russia, which together are home to 3 billion people. So from the planet's point of view, the birth of a single American child has the potential impact of 10 births in those countries.

Jennifer Shawne believes that such statistics should be a consideration in deciding whether to reproduce: "Each child born in this country means further destruction of the planet. Now that argument doesn't really stick with people who are eager to have kids. But for others who are constantly being told by society that they are selfish for not wanting to have kids -- maybe it does help them." -- courtesy of Alternet

The United States, now at nearly 300 million people, is the only industrialized country that has experienced strong population growth in the last decade ...
... Americans consume like no other nation -- using three times the amount of water per capita than the world average and nearly 25 percent of the world's energy, despite having 5 percent of the global population; and producing five times more daily waste than the average in poor countries. -- From Alarm Sounds on US Population Boom

Am I talking about child limits like in China? No. Am I talking about taking responsibility for the strain larger families put on the earth's resources and infrastructure? Yes. Am I suggesting that people change their religious beliefs? Mostly no. Am I starting to sound like Donald Rumsfeld asking himself rhetorical questions? Yes ... I'll stop now.

We are going to have to examine policies that we are using now that are not helping the problem:

- abstinence-only education
- not making readily available the morning-after pill
- religious beliefs that prohibit or discourage contraception
- abortion bans

By no means are Christians beliefs the sole cause of a rising overpopulation crisis in America. But the attitudes of some seems to point that they are not interested in being the solution either (from How Many People is Too Many):

... Campbell (Nancy Campbell) sees no problem. "God made this earth to be inhabited. I have traveled from one side of America to the other, as I am sure you have. You travel for miles and miles and miles of uninhabited land, drive through a city and back to uninhabited land. I think that the God who created this earth knows more than the environmentalists of our day."

... Is Nancy Campbell encouraged that evangelicals are having more kids? "Yes, I think this is a positive trend. I think that Christian people, on the whole, are going to raise more God-fearing and honest citizens who will bless the nation."

Evidently being honest to yourself doesn't count. Maybe the kicker is that it's not just a religious thing, it's a political one. Maybe the intent is to maintain a permanent Republican majority. From Baby Gap: How birthrates color the electoral map:

... States, however, differ significantly in white fertility. The most fecund whites are in heavily Mormon Utah, which, not coincidentally, was the only state where Bush received over 70 percent. White women average 2.45 babies in Utah compared to merely 1.11 babies in Washington, D.C., where Bush earned but 9 percent. The three New England states where Bush won less than 40 percent—Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island—are three of the four states with the lowest white birthrates, with little Rhode Island dipping below 1.5 babies per woman.

Bush carried the 19 states with the highest white fertility (just as he did in 2000), and 25 out of the top 26, with highly unionized Michigan being the one blue exception to the rule. (The least prolific red states are West Virginia, North Dakota, and Florida.)

In sharp contrast, Kerry won the 16 states at the bottom of the list, with the Democrats’ anchor states of California (1.65) and New York (1.72) having quite infertile whites.

Other rationalizations for unbridled breeding by Christians are sad and unintentially hilarious:

101 REASONS FOR HAVING CHILDREN!

Has "be fruitful and multiply" been taken too seriously? Evangelicals consider it an edict. Was the term multiply even properly translated? -- Be Fruitful and Multiply: The most tragic translation error?

It's ironic. By being mindful of the strain we are putting on the planet, we are bringing less potential Democrats into the world. Of course, that is assuming that we take on the politics of our parents. I'm living proof that you don't. Scott will love this ... Though my parents have always voted Republican, I think if they were more active in politics and political theory, they'd be Libertarians. They've always liked living off the grid as much as possible. They have no debt whatsoever and dislike any government interaction in their life. But I digress.

You have all these silly "ban gay marriage" proposals in our state legislatures. Maybe what we need is a "ban straight marriage" amendment. :-)


“Overpopulation” a work by Victor Cauduro Rojas By permission: Global Environment & Technology Foundation

"We have been God-like in our planned breeding of our domesticated plants and animals, but we have been rabbit-like in our unplanned breeding of ourselves." -- Toynbee, Arnold Joseph English historian (1889-1975)

Drug Legalization

My world is falling apart. I've found something that I agree with Scott on. Check out his well-reasoned post on drug legalization:

LEAP

BTW, Scott, it's not meant to be a back-handed compliment. I truly think you had a great post. :-)

Movies

I haven't had a lot of movie reviews lately because the summer is a very dry time for any movies that are any good. Mostly, Alex and I have went to the discount theater and caught some of the animated flicks from about 6 months ago: The Wild, Ice Age 2, Over the Edge.


They are not worth reviewing in depth because I can basically review them all about the same: Overrated fish-out-of water stories with little plot. Overspent on voice talent. Nice messages about the environment. Largely unfunny. Kids will probably like but parents will be bored.

Highlights as far as voice talent: Eddie Izzard as Nigel and Janeane Garofalo in The Wild, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara in Over the Hedge, and John Leguizamo in Ice Age 2. Grade: C+

The two movies I'm reviewing are stories of hope: one old, one new. Hope's a funny thing. It doesn't just help the person with it. As they say, "a rising tide lifts all boats".

The first of these movies is my 2nd favorite movie of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, and one of the best movies of the last 20 years. I re-watched it for about the 10th time this weekend.



A story of hope under the worst conditions, Shawshank tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a man falsely convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. Through his interaction with his fellow inmates, he not only keeps some sort of sanity for himself but helps others. I won't spoil the plot here, but suffice to say that is a story of amazing redemption.

This movie is so well-crafted that I'm reticent to name another movie that has been such a great combination of cinematography, music, acting, etc. The look, tone and subject matter are reminiscent of Cool Hand Luke and there is even a scene that is a direct homage.

Director Frank Darabont wrote the screenplay himself, adapting a Stephen King short story. The screenplay's strength is in it's ability to give the movie space. It's not overtalkative. Also, the themes of hope and redemption are woven into the dialogue largely without you knowing it. So, by the time the movie comes to its climax, you are so invested in the story, it is that much more satisfying.

Secondly, the music by Thomas Newman and cinematography by the great Roger Deakins (Sid and Nancy, Fargo, A Beautiful Mind) give the movie such a sense of beauty. It's odd to say that a movie about a prison and with drab colors can be beautiful. But this movie is brimming with beauty in every sense.

Lastly, the acting is universally spectacular. Tim Robbins is already a hero of mine for his directing (Bob Roberts, Cradle Will Rock, and Dead Man Walking) but he gives a very understated performance here that serves the story. Morgan Freeman ... well, I have never seen the man give a bad performance in anything. But it is in the supporting roles that the real strength comes out, particularly James Whitmore, William Sadler, Gill Bellows and Clancy Brown.

I can't gush any more about it without ruining the plot. But, take my recommendation and see this movie if you haven't already. Grade: A+++++


The 2nd movie is a new movie that we just saw called Akeelah and the Bee. This is a very good family movie. It tells the story of 11 year old Akeelah Anderson, played by newcomer Keke Palmer.

Akeelah lives in South L.A. and obviously has a talent for spelling but because of the environment in which she has grown up and the distinct uncoolness of excelling in anything, especially spelling, she at first tries to deny it. But she comes to find that others want her to succeed as much as she wants to succeed. Her excellence gives them hope in their lives. Kinda like a lone flower growing in a barren field.

The movie is not overly maudlin and has nice acting performances by Laurence Fishburne as her coach(who's always great in movies), Angela Bassett as her mom, and in a case of ironic casting, Curtis Armstrong (Booger in Revenge of the Nerds) as her principal. I guess the nerds have their revenge again. :-) I recommend this movie. Grade: B+

Those damn fascists

From Talking Points Memo:

Back to Iran. Talk of a unified Qaeda/Iran/Hezbollah/Syria menace is nonsense as a casual scan of actual Sunni jihadist views will make clear. As Fred Kaplan notes, if Churchill and FDR had operated with the Bush mentality, "they might not have formed an alliance with the Soviet Union (out of a refusal to negotiate with evil Communists), and they might have therefore lost the war."

It's worse than that, though -- they might have proposed attacking the Soviet Union in the middle of the war because Bolshevism and Nazism were both species of Eurofascism.

-- Matthew Yglesias

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. keep blathering on about fascism and about not negotiating with terrorists. But they don't understand what fascists really are. They don't really understand the factions involved. And they try to use history to show they have a noble cause. But they are not really listening to the lessons of history. If we'd been so insistent on our supposed moral high ground, would we have worked closely with the Soviet Union during World War II? And if we hadn't, would we have a drastically different world now?

Rumsfeld

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." -- Samuel Johnson

Johnson was purported to have been referring to those who use patriotism falsely or as a crutch. Patriotism in and of itself isn't necessarily bad. It may be silly, though, since none of us really own anything. We're just temporary stewards. In a thousand years, will it really matter whether we were patriotic? How we cared for our planet and each other will end up being a lot more important than whether we cared about some arbitrary border.

To be sure, Johnson's quote is an often misused one. But I thought it fitting to describe the ridiculous posturing of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld this past week. Anyone that criticizes our administration's handling of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars are "self-defeating pessimists". Rumsfeld compared the Iraqi war to the war against Nazi Germany. Those that would critize now are just like those that appeased Germany, he intimates.


In an unintentional bit of candor, he complained of the "real problem" being that the media tells "lies" and "myths" when reporting the war. Now that's not very nice, Donald ... criticizing FOX News like that.

Some other tasty nuggets:

"What bothers me the most is how clever the enemy is ... "

"They are actively manipulating the media in this country ..."

"They can lie with impunity ..."

"The enemy lies constantly — almost totally without consequence ..."

"Actively manipulating the media", "lie with impunity", "lies constantly ... without consequence" -- Wow. If that is not the pot calling the kettle black, then I don't know what is. I think those three are the first three chapters of Karl Rove's political playbook.

Rumsfeld complains ...

The secretary's ghastly speech ...

Last Star Wars Supper

I'm not sure if this may be saying something profound about Christianity or is just the artist's intellectual exercise, but in either event, I thought it was kinda cool and funny.



I'd like to credit the artist, but could not locate his/her name. The image is courtesy of Giant magazine.

Thanks to Josh at Schulzone for the link.

McCapitalism

A fine example of the wheels of capitalism being greased with some good old-fashioned, "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" corporate partnering, McDonald's is offering toy Hummers with their Kid's Meals. It works perfect for them ... fat, happy ad-driven kids turn into fat, docile adults that consume what's fed to them, literally and figuratively. McDonald's and Hummer, the perfect marriage of corporatism and excess. I'd never go to McDonald's but unfortunately I think all kids of this generation are born with a McDonald's gene and Alex would protest. If McDonald's cared about anything but making a buck, maybe they'd have Prius toys. :-)

Wouldn't have been more useful for McDonald's to use that insanely recognizable name recognition (I think McDonald's was my son's first word) to encourage healthy eating, conservation, charity, volunteerism, etc. ... or at the very least just push the usual movie tie-ins? It's mindless but at least the kids aren't being encouraged to kill the planet and guzzle gasoline.

In that vein, here's a very funny parody of Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA (gag) called God Bless My SUV by the Capital Steps, a political satire group.

Work

"... And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply" -- Signs by Five Man Electrical Band

I don't generally like to talk about work but today was mildly amusing and life affirming at the same time.

The first instance was my exchange at the front door of a client I had not seen in about a year. I arrive. Ring the doorbell. Door opens. He comments that I must be growing my hair out (it's about 5 inches longer than the last time I saw him) and I make the same comment as it appears that his had done the same. But he killed me with the follow-up. I paraphrase what he said, "Yeah, after the '04 elections, I started growing my hair out. I didn't want anybody thinking I was a Republican. If you're a Republican, then I'm sorry." I said, "Don't apologize, you have nothing to worry about." I don't mix my work and my politics, so he had no way of knowing. But it was a refreshing exchange since the majority of my client visits are at houses with Hummers with NRA stickers and with clients that tell me what a good job the Minutemen are doing. I do a lot of nodding my head and cursing under my breath.

The second instance is not poltical at all. It was merely cool. A client that I had done computer work for in the past called with panic in her voice. She needed a DVD video of her speaking (about 10 minutes worth) to send to a job she was applying for out east. And she needed it by tomorrow (Thursday) morning. She wanted to know if I had a video camera and had the capabilities of getting the video to DVD. Though I'd never done the task before for a customer, I've shot hundreds of hours of footage with my digital video camera, edited them and created a lot of DVD's that I've sent to family. But it's just been a hobby and something that I enjoyed doing. So, to be paid to do it was sweet. My directorial debut! OK, more like my videographer debut. Whatever ... I still felt like Scorcese. :-)

Bush's Fondness For Fundamentalism ...

I found a recent article by by Karen Armstrong (of the Guardian) that sheds a little light on a question that I had -- Who is driving Bush's policy(foreign and domestic) and what is he hoping to gain?

Bush's Fondness For Fundamentalism Is Courting Disaster At Home and Abroad: Affinity with the Christian right has led to banning stem cell research and turning a blind eye to civilian deaths in Lebanon

Some excerpts from the article

" ... the president zealously champions the rights of the unborn, he is less concerned about the plight of existing American children. The US infant mortality rate is only the 42nd best in the world; the average baby has a better chance of surviving in Havana or Beijing; infant mortality rates are unacceptably high among those who cannot afford adequate healthcare, especially in the African-American community. And, finally, at the same time as Bush decided to veto the stem cell bill, Israeli bombs were taking the lives of hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilians, many of them children, with the tacit approval of the US."

This inconsistency gets me every time. I can understand and respect people that are against abortions for religious reasons. I just don't understand those that don't extend the "culture of life" to their beliefs on war, health care and social justice.

"Is there a connection between a religiously motivated mistrust of science, glaring social injustice, and a war in the Middle East?"

If you believe in the Rapture, it sure looks like there is.

"The fundamentalists' rejection of science is deeply linked to their apocalyptic vision. Even the relatively sober ID theorists segue easily into Rapture-speak. ... They all condemn the attempt to reform social ills. When applied socially, evolutionary theory "leads straight to all the woes of modern life," ... homosexuality, state-backed healthcare, divorce, single-parenthood, socialism, and abortion. All this, of course, is highly agreeable to the Bush administration, which is itself selectively leery of science. It has, for example, persistently ignored scientists' warnings about global warming. Why bother to implement the Kyoto treaty if the world is about to end? Indeed, some fundamentalists see environmental damage as a positive development, because it will hasten the apocalypse."

I don't know which is worse -- those that believe in the Rapture and welcome global warming for that reason or those that believe there are "positive" aspects of global warming.

"This nihilistic religiosity is based on a perversion of the texts. The first chapter of Genesis was never intended as a literal account of the origins of life; it is a myth, a timeless story about the sanctity of the world and everything in it. Revelation was not a detailed program for the End time; it is written in an apocalyptic genre that has quite a different dynamic. When they described the Jews' return to their homeland, the Hebrew prophets were predicting the end of the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BC - not the second coming of Christ. The prophets did preach a stern message of social justice, however, and like all the major world faiths, Christianity sees charity and loving-kindness as the cardinal virtues. Fundamentalism nearly always distorts the tradition it is trying to defend."

This is an important distinction. It is not all Christians that are the problem. It is fundamentalism in all its forms that threatens our world. It is important for Democrats to not forsake the large percentage of Christians that truly understand the teachings of Christ and are for social justice.

"This strange amalgam of ideas can perhaps throw light on the behaviour of a president, who, it is said, believes that God chose him to lead the world to Rapture, who has little interest in social reform, and whose selective concern for life issues has now inspired him to veto important scientific research. It explains his unconditional and uncritical support for Israel, his willingness to use "Jewish End-time warriors" to fulfil a vision of his own - arguably against Israel's best interests - and to see Syria and Iran (who seem to be replacing Saddam as the "enemy of the north") as entirely responsible for the unfolding tragedy."

There it is, in a nut shell. Be afraid.

"To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance." -- Eric Hoffer

Bush Must Negotiate to Make America Safer, Say Former Generals

by Aaron Glantz

SAN FRANCISCO - Twenty-one former generals and high ranking national security officials have called on United States President George W. Bush to reverse course and embrace a new area of negotiation with Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. In a letter released Thursday, the group told reporters Bush's 'hard line' policies have undermined national security and made America less safe.

Of particular concern for the generals was increased saber rattling between Washington and Tehran over the development of an Iranian nuclear program.

"We call on the administration to engage immediately in direct talks with the government of Iran without preconditions to help resolve the current crisis in the Middle East and to settle differences over an Iranian nuclear program," their letter read.

"An attack on Iran would have disastrous consequences for security in the region and U.S. forces in Iraq," they argued. "It would inflame hatred and violence in the Middle East and among Muslims everywhere."

In a telephone news conference Thursday morning, the former security officials took particular aim at the Bush Administration's policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists or with states that support them.

"That seems strange since Ronald Reagan was willing to negotiate with the Soviets even though they were the 'Evil Empire," said retired Lt. General Robert Guard, who served as special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War and now works at the non-profit Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. "One wonders why George Bush can't negotiate with the Axis of Evil."

The generals further argued that the Bush Administration's invasion of Iraq is at least partially responsible for Iran's drive to develop a nuclear program.

"When you announce an axis of evil of three countries and invade one and then say that Iran should take that as a lesson, it does seem that it may give them an incentive to do precisely what they don't want them to do," Guard said, "develop a nuclear weapon."

Former director of Policy Planning for the State Department, Morton Halperin, said the same goes for North Korea. The more belligerent the Bush Administration behaves, he said, the faster North Korea will work to develop nuclear weapons.

"The North Koreans want to talk to us directly," said Halperin, who now works for the Washington, DC-based Center for American Progress. "Their concern is about getting security assurances from us and about getting diplomatic recognition. We should not be afraid to talk to our opponents."

At the White House, Bush's spokesperson Tony Snow dismissed the letter.

"In a political year people are going to make political statements, including retired generals, and they're perfectly welcome to," Snow told reporters at his daily briefing. "It's an important addition to the public debate. But we're also--the president is a guy who has got real responsibility here. Now, I've got to tell you, just given to what I said...in response to the sort of ongoing cost of promoting freedom around the globe, do you not think a president will do everything in his power to succeed? And the answer is, yes. He's not sitting around saying, boy, I'm stubborn, I'm going to stick with it.

"That's not the way the president is," Snow said, insisting the Bush administration is planning policy changes while declining to offer specifics.

But the generals who signed the letter say Bush has been stubborn, and a poor student of history.

General Joseph Hoar, the Commander in Chief of U.S. Military Central Command under presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, said the George W. Bush administration would be advised to remember the French occupation of Algeria, which lasted 134 years.

Nationalist rebels launched an insurgency against the French in 1954. After eight years of insurgent bombings and counter-terrorism operations, France was finally forced to quit Algeria in 1962.

Hoar says like the Battle of Algiers the current war on terror is a war of ideas.

"Until we get away from the idea that we can solve these problems through the use of military force and begin to change the political problems causing discontent by providing security and services, we're not going to win this war," he said.

Lists, Lists, Lists ...

"... what really matters is what you like, not what you are like..." -- John Cusack as Rob Gordon in High Fidelity

What's thrown out there as a tongue-in-cheek comment to impress the Lisa Bonet character in High Fidelity may have more truth than you think. I had just re-watched the movie (great movie!) a week or so ago and then our book memes came up. Cusack's character spends a good part of his life making lists that define his tastes in music, women, etc. And those lists probably say more about him than anything he does. And maybe our own lists do the same. Taking a not very in-depth look at some of the books in our lists gives a scarily accurate portrait of what each of us are about. So as to not offend too much, I'll take a stab at myself first. And just remember, I kid because I love.

dbackdad

• All the President's Men, Rush Limbaugh ... -- has an unhealthy like for politics
• Lord of the Rings, Dune -- probably grew up a nerd and read sci-fi instead of dating
• Walden, Structure of Evolutionary Theory, Bury My Heart ... -- typical godless liberal -- lol

jewish atheist

• He's all over the place. I can't draw anything from his except that he's smart and well-read ... but we already knew that.

sadie

• Mere Christianity, Bible -- devout Christian
• Dark Tower -- just a little bit of nerd there, but I'm pretty sure Sadie dated in high school unlike me
• Broken Prey -- but she has a dark side ... cool!

cyberkitten

• 1984, Selfish Gene, Che Guevera book -- he's got definite liberal street cred
• His Dark Materials trilogy, The Magic Goes Away Collection, book on network security -- oh yeah. Definitely nerdy. But he has a British accent, so he probably dated in high school.

scott

• No Compromise -- Christian
• Devil in the White City, Fountainhead -- with a taste for architecture
• Fountainhead, Adventures of Jonathan Gullible, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis -- Couldn't be more obvious unless he had libertarian tattooed on his forehead. Or perhaps a Scarlet Letter? You don't, do you? lol

Book Meme

Jewish Atheist tagged me with this book meme. Enjoy:

1. One book that changed your life? All the President's Men by Woodward and Berstein. -- read as a junior in high school. I think my mistrust of government and my interest in politics began with this book.

2. One book you have read more than once? Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

3. One book you would want on a desert island? Dune by Frank Herbert, 1984 by George Orwell

4. One book that made you laugh? Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot by Al Franken. I think even conservatives would find this one funny. Doesn't take itself too seriously.

5. One book that made you cry? Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

6. One book you wish had been written? My own, from any of the false starts and scraps of the last 20 years.

7. One book you wish had never been written? Atlas Shrugged -- Ayn Rand fascinates me but she is unbelievably overwrought and full of crap. An amazing book in that it was so popular while simultaneously pissing off some conservatives (for being atheistic and having controversial views on sex) and liberals (for promoting no government intervention in anything and for the godlike adulation of the free market). Individually, some of the concepts might have some merit, but as a whole, it reads like a pompous, poorly written manifesto for neo-cons and libertarians.

8. One book you are currently reading? Walden by Henry David Thoreau -- my reading this is long overdue.

9. One book you have been meaning to read? The Structure of Evolutionary Theory by Stephen Jay Gould -- Have you seen this book? It's freakin' huge! I could use it as a leg for my table. I don't know if I'll ever have enough ambition to read it.

10. Now tag five people: Eric, Great White Bear, Sadie, Josh and Scott

The Better Way of Fighting Terrorists

"Nothing is as terrible to see as ignorance in action." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

From Cenk Uygur on Huffington Post:

There are two schools of thought in the country right now. One is the Republican idea that we are fighting against Islamic fascism (whatever that is) and that we need to go on the offense against Muslim states that support the Islamofascist terrorists. It's hard not to laugh as you say it.

Islamofascists?

The second school of thought is that we can fight terrorism better by isolating the terrorists from the rest of the Muslim population, finding them and neutralizing them. The idea here is that instead of fanning the flames of hate and helping the Muslim fundamentalists spread their ideology to others, we work with the majority of Muslims in rooting out the extremists in their midst.

I can see Republicans reflexively getting ready to shout now - you can't work with Muslims, they're all Islamofascists looking to destroy our way of life. Other than being painfully stupid, that is incomprehensibly wrong. A great majority of Muslims have nothing against our way of life. They have no desire to take over Kentucky or to make sure the people of Alaska don't have freedom.

The idea that Muslims are looking to take over the world and are on the precipice of dominating militarily as the Nazis did is so laughable that I can't quite believe they're saying it out loud. Nazi Germany took France in five days. Are Islamic fundamentalists about to roll their tanks in to Paris and Prague?

These conservatives want to pick a fight - not just with the Muslim terrorists - but with all of Islam. Hardly has there been a more dangerous idea. A majority of Muslim countries have absolutely no intention of taking over the West, even if it was remotely possible. But they will fight to the death if you needlessly invade them.

But there is a better way. And ironically, we are implementing the better way right now in Pakistan. Pakistan is a country that probably has more Muslim fundamentalists than any other nation on earth. They don't just have a WMD program, they have nuclear weapons. And they have spread their nuclear weapon technology to other countries. And to top it all off, Osama bin Laden is sitting comfortably in northern Pakistan.

If the Republicans were honest and they actually believed in their own so-called principles, the most ideal country on earth to attack would be Pakistan. They have a thousand times more WMD than Iraq and Iran combined (which is pretty simple, since that number is just about zero). And they shelter the biggest terrorists in the world. On the other hand, they don't have much oil and they are not a direct threat to Israel.

But the reality is our strategy in Pakistan, while lacking in intensity and focus, is roughly the correct one. We are trying to isolate the Taliban and Al Qaeda sympathizers in northern Pakistan while working with the Pakistani government. If we invaded, we would have nuclear war with a country that has hundreds of millions of Muslims. Instead, we cooperate with them and they help us to foil the bombings in the London airport.

If we had chosen the route of "going on the offense" against Pakistan, there is an excellent chance we would have lost ten airplanes full of passengers this week.

This strategy has its clear downsides. We have to put more pressure on Pakistan to find and turn over Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. We have to have tighter controls over their nuclear technology. But at least, this path is smart and doable.

And ironically, it is being pulled off by the very administration that is touting this nonsense war against Islamic fascists. It is clear that the administration doesn't even believe its own talking points. Otherwise, the 101st Airborne would be in Waziristan right now. So, why don't they apply this smarter strategy with the rest of the Muslim world?

I'm afraid it's because there are hardliners inside the administration that want to invade Iran - no matter what. So, they paint them as Islamic fascists and try to stir up more war fever. Just look at this ridiculous clip from Hannity and Colmes. It appears that Sean Hannity believes there is only one strategy for fighting against a couple of thousand terrorists spread out throughout the world - start a war with a couple of hundred million Muslims in select countries.

But, of course, there is a better way. The Democrats need to explain to Americans that war is not the only answer. The smarter strategy is to isolate the extremists and build up our relationship with moderate Muslims. Enlist the moderates to help us locate the terrorists and neutralize them - just like we did in the London plot we just foiled.

The American people are sick of war, just as the conservatives plot for even more wars. Democrats have to realize that pursuing the "isolate and neutralize" strategy against terrorists is not only sound policy but, at this point, also sound politics. People are eager for a better, smarter way of fighting terrorism. This is the time to finally offer it as an alternative to the endless wars the Republicans promise instead.

"A people who's primary aims are driving, shopping, and television are subject to terrorism at any time." -- Stephen Dietz

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals opened their new stadium today with an impressive pre-season victory over the World Champ Pittsburgh Steelers. Alex and I walked over to check out the festivities:



We'd have loved to have actually gone to the game but all games (including pre-season) sold out fairly quickly. Hopefully we'll be able to pick up some tickets here or there during the season.

The Westgate retail/entertainment/residential area adjacent to the stadium and the Glendale Arena is well on it's way. Hopefully, the movie theaters, book store and restaurants will be open by Christmas. It will be nice when everything is done as just about everything we do normally will be within walking distance of home.

1% Doctrine

From Campus Progress:

Virtuous Circles and Fragile States

"Democracy don't rule the world, You'd better get that in your head; This world is ruled by violence, But I guess that's better left unsaid." -- Bob Dylan

From Jeffrey Sachs in the latest issue of Scientific American:

If U.S. leaders better understood the politics of impoverished and crisis-ridden countries, they would more effectively protect American national security by advancing the causes of economic development and democracy. Although the administration of George W. Bush has often stated its commitment to the spread of democracy, partly to combat the risks of terror, it relies excessively on military approaches and threats rather than strategic aid. Timely development assistance to places hovering between democracy and disarray can yield enormous benefits.

For nations in a deep crisis, the greatest danger is a self-fulfilling prophecy of disaster. Consider Liberia, just emerging from a prolonged civil war, and Haiti, which has suffered decades of intense political instability. Both nations have recently elected new democratic governments, but both face continuing possibilities of internal violence and disorder.

When the public thinks that a newly elected national government will succeed, local leaders throw their support behind it. Expectations of the government's longevity rise. Individuals and companies become much more likely to pay their taxes, because they assume that the government will have the police power to enforce the tax laws.
A virtuous circle is created. Rising tax revenues strengthen not only the budget but also political authority and enable key investments--in police, teachers, roads, electricity--that promote public order and economic development. They also bolster confidence in the currency. Money flows into the commercial banks, easing the specter of banking crises.

When the public believes that a government will fail, the same process runs in reverse. Pessimism splinters political forces. Tax payments and budget revenues wane. The police and other public officials go unpaid. The currency weakens. Banks face a withdrawal of deposits and the risk of banking panics. Disaster feeds more pessimism.

By attending to the most urgent needs of these fragile states, U.S. foreign policy can tilt the scales to favor the consolidation of democracy and economic improvement. To an informed and empathetic observer, the necessary actions will usually be clear. Both Liberia and Haiti lack electricity service, even in their capital cities. Both countries face massive crises of hunger and insufficient food production. Both suffer from pervasive infectious diseases that are controllable but largely uncontrolled.

But if each impoverished farm family is given a bag of fertilizer and a tin of high-yield seeds, a good harvest with ample food output can be promoted within a single growing season. A nationwide campaign to spread immunizations, antimalaria bed nets and medicines, vitamin supplements and deworming agents can improve the health of the population even without longer-term fixes of the public health system. Electric power can be restored quickly in key regions. And safe water outlets, including boreholes and protected natural springs, can be constructed by the thousands within a year.

All these initiatives require financial aid, but the costs are small. Far too often, however, the U.S. response is neglect. Rather than giving practical help, the rich countries and international agencies send an endless stream of consultants to design projects that arrive too late, if ever. They ignore emergency appeals for food aid. After a few months, the hungry, divided, disease-burdened public begins to murmur that "nothing has changed," and the downward spiral recommences. Pessimism breeds pessimism. Eventually the government falls, and the nascent democracy is often extinguished.

By thinking through the underlying ecological challenges facing a country--drought, poor crops, disease, physical isolation--and raising the lot of the average household through quick-disbursing and well-targeted assistance, U.S. foreign policy makers would provide an invaluable investment in democracy, development and U.S. national security. Liberia and Haiti are two important places to begin to make good on the Bush administration's pledge to spread democracy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeffrey D. Sachs is director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and of the U.N.’s Millennium Project.

If you discount for a moment that the Iraq war is an unjust war (which it is), then you would think that those who planned it would at least foresee the aftermath. Some plan that would encompass re-building the infrastructure, employing people, taking care of basic needs, etc. would be your first step. This was a step that was forgotten or ignored and we are seeing the results now. Why do we keep making the same mistakes? Because we don't learn from the past and always think we are smarter than those who came before us.

"The true democrat is he who with purely nonviolent means defends his liberty and, therefore, his country's and ultimately that of the whole of mankind" -- Mahatma Gandhi

Friday Wrap-up

Not by any plan, I found myself listening to Paul Harvey on the radio the other day. Because of a rain-out the previous day, the D-backs and Cubs were playing a doubleheader. Between the games, the local affiliate of the D-backs put on Paul Harvey's sindicated program. Growing up in the midwest and having two parents that had liked Paul Harvey, I was well-acquainted with his program from my youth. Either through my not being politically active then or by Paul Harvey being different then, I was greatly surprised by how out-of-touch he is. I would feel better if it was just senility that taints his views. But a little research indicates that he has always been like this. From listening to his show for only 5 minutes (sad, I know ... kinda like watching a car crash scene), I learned the following:

- the economy is doing great
- patience in Iraq is important (comparing our fight there to the Cold War)
- Donald Rumsfeld is a great man and doing a stand up job
- global warming is not important because the government says it isn't

He caught his breath long enough to break for a commercial and to shill for Wal-Mart and a pharmaceutical company. It's scary how many millions of people listen to him. But then again, they listen to James Dobson and Sean Hannity also. It does not give you a lot of faith in the sanity or judgement of some of us.

GWB has documented some of Harvey's nuttier statements in the past: SO WHAT DO THESE GUYS HAVE IN COMMON?

I'm not sure which is weirder: the fact that I don't agree with a single thing that Paul Harvey says or that I agree with something that Pat Robertson says:

Heat makes Pat Robertson a global warming "convert"



So, I'm faced with the unenviable position of criticizing someone my parents considered iconic or being on the same side of an issue with someone that I consider to be one of the most unhinged public figures of the last 20 years. It's a weird world we live in.

That Robertson has come to this conclusion (of which I'm not completely convinced he will hold to) is not as surprising as you may think. A large percentage of evangelicals have been leaning this way for awhile:

The Greening of Evangelicals

Many see the stewardship of the Earth as a sacred responsibility. Unfortunately, too many others will ignore the issue because they cannot stomach being on the same side of any issue with left-leaning environmentalists. For a nice refutation of the evangelical global warming doubters, see Calling a Bluff.

That is the problem for both sides. On these issues that affect all of us, we need to get away from the politics as much as we can.

Then you have the following brain surgeons leading our country:

The current energy panel chairman, Texas Republican Joe Barton -- "I cannot imagine any objective finding that CO2 is a pollutant," he said. "If that's true, God is a polluter." -- Congress and global warming

God's a polluter alright. He polluted this Earth with the likes of Barton and Roy Blunt:

Today in Energy and Environment Daily (sub. req’d), House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) said that if he remains in power after the November elections, there will be no action on global warming for the entire 110th Congress:

Continued Republican House and Senate majorities would likely mean more of the same on climate. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he would oppose global warming mandates if Republicans control the 110th Congress. “I think the information is not adequate yet for us to do anything meaningful,” he said.

Or that bastion of accuracy and open-mindedness, FOX News:

Summary: On Fox News' The Beltway Boys, Fred Barnes again denied the broad scientific consensus that human activity is contributing to global warming.

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One of Mr. Harvey's heroes, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, was in the limelight this week. It's hard to decide whether he is just an incredible idiot or the most pompous ass ever. Donald Rumsfeld's performance at the Senate hearings on Iraq this week showed incredible gall. From Think Progress:

Testifying before the Senate today, Donald Rumsfeld told Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) that he has “never painted a rosy picture” about Iraq. Rumsfeld insisted that he has been “very measured” and told Clinton “you would have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I have been overly optimistic.”

Here’s just a few of the “overly optimistic” comments made by Rumsfeld (and no, we did not have a “dickens of a time” finding them):

Dec. 18, 2002: KING: What’s the current situation in Afghanistan? RUMSFELD: It is encouraging. They have elected a government through the Loya Jirga process. The Taliban are gone. The al Qaeda are gone.

Feb. 7, 2003: “It is unknowable how long that conflict [the war in Iraq] will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”

Feb. 20 2003: “‘Do you expect the invasion, if it comes, to be welcomed by the majority of the civilian population of Iraq?’ Jim Lehrer asked the defense secretary on PBS’ The News Hour. ‘There is no question but that they would be welcomed,’ Rumsfeld replied, referring to American forces.”

Mar. 30, 2003: “It happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed. We know where they are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.”

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And finally, a recent law in Arizona, House Bill 2583, requires that every room in every community college display an American flag:

Maricopa Community Colleges has to come up with as many as 1,220 American flags made in the United States to comply with a new state law by next July.

The cost would be $18,300 if early cost estimates of $15 are accurate, the district's spokeswoman, Nicole Greason, said.
... The Bill of Rights and the Constitution also must be posted alongside the flag in every classroom, according to House Bill 2583, recently passed by the Legislature.

With more than 280,000 students, 10 colleges and two skill centers, the district is one of the largest in the nation and makes up about half of the community college classrooms in the state ..."

If the goal is education, it would be an admirable goal. But from the history of our local legislature who feels it's an inalienable right to carry a concealed weapon whereever you want, one gets the feeling it's more about indoctrination. And from many of the legislators' stances on current issues, you could probably assume that they have never actually read the Constitution or Bill of Rights. If people really loved their country, they would fight for the rights that are inherent in those documents instead of making bullshit token gestures that look good on the frontpage of their local papers.

It's the End of the World ...

Pug Bowling

I don't normally post links to videos (or pass ones on in e-mail) but I couldn't resist with this one because we have a pug:

Pug Bowling

The Spanish rendition of Hotel California is a nice added touch.