Pray for daughter who doesn't believe

I saw this article on the little atheist news ticker I have on the side of my blog. Evidently, it's Christianity's answer to Dear Abby:

Pray for daughter who doesn't believe
By DR. BILLY GRAHAM
DEAR DR. GRAHAM: Our 17-year-old daughter says she doesn't believe in God anymore, and now she even refuses to go to church with us. When we try to talk with her about it we just end up in an argument. What can we do? -- Mrs. S.McD.

DEAR MRS. S.McD.: The most important thing you can do is to pray for her -- because only God can overcome her spiritual resistance and draw her back to Himself. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44).

But you also can let her know you that love her, despite your differences -- and by doing so, you'll be showing her that God loves her also. Don't let your discussions degenerate into arguments; this will only make her more determined to keep her position. In other words, don't let this become a test of wills between you -- your will battling against her will -- because almost the last thing she wants to do right now is admit she is wrong. The Bible says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).

Let me encourage you also to ask her why she has come to this conclusion. Has someone influenced her? Has she been reading one of the recent books on atheism? Atheism has become something of a fad in recent years, and this may have influenced her.

But the real reason, I suspect, is that she wants to run her own life -- and that's far easier to do if you push God out of your life. Help her realize what she's doing, and then warn her of the dangers. Above all, urge her to look at Christ, for He alone came "to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

Contact the Rev. Billy Graham c/o Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201, phone 877-247-2426, or see the Web site billygraham.org.

It's priceless in its raw condescension. See, all of us atheists are really only trying to exert our independence. We really believe in God, but he complicates our thinking, so we push him away. Those evil "atheist" books by Dawkins and Harris and Hitchens are the latest cool fad, so we're hip to that. Oh, brother.

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!

I think I'm losing my ability to stay on the sidelines in political discussions and put up with bullshit.

I go to a networking group breakfast meeting every Wednesday and have done so for 9 years. It consists of small business owners, a realtor, an insurance agent, etc. Early on in my business, it was very useful for increasing my client base. I'd already decided to leave the group for several reasons nothing to do with politics. My son is starting back up to school soon and with my wife using the scooter to commute, there is no way she can take him to school. Our meetings happen right when I would be taking him to school. So, I get the job of taking him. That's OK. My son is a lot more important that a networking meeting. Besides, my business is so self-sustaining, that I've really outgrown the need for such a group. But, with the way recent discussions seem to be leaning, and with a contentious election impending, I feel more and more possible political conflicts will happen during the meeting and I'm not anxious for that to happen. While it's not my reason for exiting, it's something that cinches my decision.

The mortgage lady in our group was giving a talk today and had started to broach that line into political advocacy instead of giving us information about her business. She said that it was really important who we voted for. It was about to go to the next level when another person in the group asked her which candidate would be the best, in her opinion, on a mortgage issue she was talking about. At that point, I saw things going downhill quick and I feared we would hit a point of no return, so I said, "Don't even go there." And, thankfully, she didn't. I have been in this group for 9 years and we've coexisted great because we are all enthusiastic about our businesses and do our businesses well. And because we had never discussed politics, save some oblique references. If that hadn't been the case, I would not have stayed in, as I know that I'm probably one of only 2 or 3 progressives in the group (of 16).

I was beginning to sense a change last week when I had given a talk on the sustainability of computers. The presentation was relevant in both a business and topical sense (see the main thrust of my talk here). The aforementioned mortgage lady had twice given smart remarks during my talk disparaging Al Gore (whom I had not mentioned), and "carbon footprint" (something else that I hadn't mentioned). My talk was not political. I didn't say where I got the quiz from. I didn't talk about candidates or who to vote for. I didn't criticize existing politicians. I merely talked about ways in which each of us could save energy and money. But, as most Republicans do, she made it into one by assuming anything to do with the environment implied "liberals". I didn't choose to engage her in a discussion then, but after this week's comments, I decided it was time to either tell her to stop or get into a full-on, knock-down, drag-out, discussion. Since I'm leaving in a week or so, I chose the former. But, believe me, if she goes there again next week, I'll go ahead and choose the latter. She works for Bank of America (who just acquired Countrywide) and she's worked for three mortgage companies of dubious origins before that. Add on to that the fact that she is advocating for a candidate whose main economic adviser, Phil Gramm, "wrote the Gramm-Bliley bill, an act broadly deregulating the financial industry -- and now blamed by many economists for the epidemic of speculation and fraud that has shaken the global economy." Many are calling him the architect of the mortgage crisis we are mired in.

Now I don't want to paint the whole group with the brush represented by this one lady. But from subtler comments over the years by others, I could discern their leanings. Too much of a push by a more vocal member might be enough to make each meeting into a right-wing talking point run-through. Not my idea of fun.

Another occasion happened at my first client after my meeting. It was an older gentleman and his wife. He's a retired police officer. They were kidding about the constant political e-mails that she was forwarding to him and was there a way he could block them. He commented how the two of them were going to be voting for different candidates for president. Being retired police, you would assume that he was the Republican, but actually, he's very liberal. He's been very active in committees that led to the light rail system now being built in Phoenix.

She started to say how she couldn't understand how anyone would vote for Obama, and I came back with, "I wouldn't vote for McCain for dog-catcher, let alone President". I continued saying I respected his service but he's an economic idiot, has no self control and is completely out of touch. And then, I immediately apologized saying that I was completely out of line and should never bring up politics inside someone's house when I was a guest (especially a client's house). Neither one of them was actually offended and the husband, I think, was actually very amused. I didn't actually bring up politics, I just responded.

I have no problem not bringing up politics in mixed environments. It's just that I'm slowly losing my ability to not respond in kind when others bring up politics and make fools of themselves.

I haven't really been talking about politics directly on my blog for awhile because the nomination process has very little to do with real issues like governance, the war, economics, etc. Besides, McCain is just much too easy of a target. I always thought W was a dream target, but he at least realizes how stupid he is and shields himself off from public speaking most of the time. McCain has no clue and puts his foot in his mouth on a daily basis.

I don't want to talk about politics. I want to talk about improving people's lives, improving the planet, studying the human condition. If I start talking about politics too much, it's because others make those issues into political ones. And I'm not doing anyone favors by not talking about it. As Plato said,

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

My Kung Fu is Best

As I'm diligently removing spyware from a client's teenage son's computer today, that son's little brother (about Alex's age) sidles up to me and asks, straight-faced, "Do you have hacking skills?"

Resisting the urge to break out laughing, I answer, "Yeah, I suppose I do." He seemed genuinely impressed. He's of that great age that still has wide-eyed wonder sans irony or sarcasm. Thinking about that humorous exchange carried me through four more tedious clients.

Keeping in the computer milieu, I thought it might be interesting to try and name my top 5 favorite "computer" movies of all-time. To qualify, they have to be either about computers or have a computer as a main character. Be sure to note that these are my 5 favorite and not necessarily the 5 best. Some of these are decidedly bad movies with inaccurate computer portrayals but have a certain campy charm. And some movies (like the Matrix) rate higher here than they would against more important movies (2001) in a normal list I would do because they fit more with the computer theme. Any movie with a hacker will automatically rate higher.



1. Matrix - A seminal groundbreaking movie with cool effects, kick-ass kung fu, just the right amount of philosophy and religion, and a creative plot. And a movie couldn't really be any more about computers than the Matrix.

2. 2001 - Not really about computers but has, arguably, the most memorable computer character ever in HAL 9000. This is the oldest movie in the list and has certainly shaped pop culture and people's views of computers and artificial intelligence.

3. War Games - Again, very dated, but that can be forgiven since it came out in 1983. Like 2001, it helped to give the public an idea of what AI could mean.

4. Hackers - This is one of those cheesy ones I was talking about. The way in which they choose to visually show hacking is embarrassing. Fisher Stevens is laughably bad. And the movie seems terribly dated now. Despite all that, I still get a kick out of it. Hackers has just enough references to UNIX and phone phreaking to give it a little old-school hacking cred. Plus it's got a couple of my favorite actors in Jonny Lee Miller (of Trainspotting fame) and an early Angelina Jolie. These two would later marry in real-life.

5. Pirates of Silicon Valley -- This was a TV movie, but was actually pretty good. It was about the early days of the PC and had Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anythony Michael Hall as Bill Gates. Not a particularly cinematic or crafty movie, it's merit has more to do with giving a pretty accurate history.

You could make a case for some others, like:

The Net
Antitrust
Total Recall
Tron
T2
Enemy of the State
Sneakers
Johnny Mnemonic

But some of those are just plain bad (The Net, Johnny Mnemonic), or that I can't remember (Tron, Sneakers), or just use computers as a plot device, not as a focus.

"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -- Nathaniel Borenstein

"A computer is like an Old Testament god, with a lot of rules and no mercy." -- Joseph Campbell

Political Song of the Day - KMFDM - New American Century

I heard this song on Pandora on a Ministry channel I had created. Great song, which you can hear here, with timely lyrics:

"New American Century" by KMFDM

Count your blessings
Walk the line
Don't move too fast
Or fall behind
There are rules you must obey
They get re-written by the day
Don't do this - don't say that
Your every move is logged and tracked
By the all oppressive eye
Spy satellites in friendly skies

The new american century
Has only just begun
No one exempt from the tragedy
Counterattack start pushing back

Fight the power
That chokes your speech
Fight the power
That makes you bleed
Fight the power
That propogates lies
To keep you weak
Keep you in line
Fight the power that reigns you in
Divides and conquers
Defines your sin
Fight the power
For one and all
Before the power swallows us whole

No one dares to say a word
Our panic drives all human herds
In the land where cash is king
Our silence bought and sold for free
The future's banging on our door
When real I.D. will be the law
Love thy neighbor and turn him in
It's called patriotism

The world is watching in disbelief
Chanting shame on you
How can you stand by so quietly
Letting them rape your liberties

You can't be bothered or concerned
You see no reason for alarm
Prejudice, religion, hate
Usher in new mandate
Absolute and resolved
One nation under one god
Lack of interest has its price
As we're stripped of all our rights

Those who cannot learn from history
Are doomed to repeat it!

Hate Badges

"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." -- Jonathan Swift

"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." -- Anne Lamott

A Bachelor Once More ...

Expect many blog posts from me this week. The wife and kid are on vacation in Iowa and I will be bored out of my mind in an empty house with nothing better to do than blog.

Some pics from the beginning of their trip.

Short Movie Reviews

I've seen a lot of movies lately but am not going to take a lot of time to give extensive reviews on those that are not outstanding (in either a good or bad way). So, here are my sound-bite reviews of a few I've seen:

Wanted - Borderline violence porn but pulls itself back from the precipice by stylizing it Matrix-like. Having some decent acting talent helps the movie (McElvoy, Jolie, Freeman). Definitely has some Fight Club moments -- nerdy office-jockey turned sexy ass-kicker. Trying very hard not to sound too much like a male here, but probably failing, the Jolie butt shot is a bonus. I suppose it could have been a stunt butt. Grade: C+

Happening - Shyamalan says it's just a B-movie, but the environmental parallels are not hard to see. That's OK ... Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead put messages in B-movies too. Fairly suspenseful but suffers from what most M. Night movies suffer from ... they're not the Sixth Sense. This movie is not as bad as some people are making it out to be. Grade: C

Kung Fu Panda - Abandons the wink-wink, nudge-nudge, inside-joke, pop-cultural references of too many of today's animated movies and is the better for it. Good animation, good voice talent (Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan) and a heart-warming (though trite) story. Grade: C+

Prince Caspian - I guess one of the fun things for me in the first Narnia movie was to try and identify all the Christian symbolism. Other than that, it was fairly boilerplate fantasy fare, but not bad. This one seems to tone down the imagery, or the book it was based on didn't have as much. I'm not sure as I haven't read it yet. There's a lot of fighting in this one, but not a lot of new character exposition. I guess I'm just ambivalent about this one. Not good. Not terrible. Grade: C-

Why I'm Not Patriotic

Why I’m Not Patriotic
by Matthew Rothschild
(In memory of George Carlin.)

It’s July 4th again, a day of near-compulsory flag-waving and nation-worshipping. Count me out.

Spare me the puerile parades.

Don’t play that martial music, white boy.

And don’t befoul nature’s sky with your F-16s.

You see, I don’t believe in patriotism.

It’s not that I’m anti-American, but I am anti-patriotic.

Love of country isn’t natural. It’s not something you’re born with. It’s an inculcated kind of love, something that is foisted upon you in the home, in the school, on TV, at church, during the football game.

Yet most people accept it without inspection.

Why?

For when you stop to think about it, patriotism (especially in its malignant morph, nationalism) has done more to stack the corpses millions high in the last 300 years than any other factor, including the prodigious slayer, religion.

The victims of colonialism, from the Congo to the Philippines, fell at nationalism’s bayonet point.

World War I filled the graves with the most foolish nationalism. And Hitler and Mussolini and Imperial Japan brought nationalism to new nadirs. The flags next to the tombstones are but signed confessions-notes left by the killer after the fact.

The millions of victims of Stalin and Mao and Pol Pot have on their death certificates a dual diagnosis: yes communism, but also that other ism, nationalism.

The whole world almost got destroyed because of nationalism during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The bloody battles in Serbia and Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s fed off the injured pride of competing patriotisms and all their nourished grievances.

In the last five years in Iraq, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died because the United States, the patriarch of patriotism, saw fit to impose itself, without just cause, on another country. But the excuse was patriotism, wrapped in Bush’s brand of messianic militarism: that we, the great Americans, have a duty to deliver “God’s gift of freedom” to every corner of the world.

And the Congress swallowed it, and much of the American public swallowed it, because they’ve been fed a steady diet of this swill.

What is patriotism but “the narcissism of petty differences”? That’s Freud’s term, describing the disorder that compels one group to feel superior to another.

Then there’s a little multiplication problem: Can every country be the greatest country in the world?

This belief system magically transforms an accident of birth into some kind of blue ribbon.

“It’s a great country,” said the old Quaker essayist Milton Mayer. “They’re all great countries.”

At times, the appeal to patriotism may be necessary, as when harnessing the group to protect against a larger threat (Hitler) or to overthrow an oppressor (as in the anti-colonial struggles in the Third World).

But it is always a dangerous toxin to play with, and it ought to be shelved with cross and bones on the label except in these most extreme circumstances.

In an article called “Patriot Games” in the current issue of Time magazine (July 7), Peter Beinart, late of The New Republic, inspects his navel for seven pages and then throws the lint all around.

“Conservatives are right,” he says. “To some degree, patriotism must mean loving your country for the same reason you love your family: simply because it is yours.”

And then he criticizes, incoherently, the conservative love-it-or-leave-it types.

The moral folly of his argument he himself exposes: “If liberals love America purely because it embodies ideals like liberty, justice, and equality, why shouldn’t they love Canada-which from a liberal perspective often goes further toward realizing those principles-even more? And what do liberals do,” he asks, “when those universal ideals collide with America’s self-interest? Giving away the federal budget to Africa would probably increase the net sum of justice and equality on the planet, after all. But it would harm Americans and thus be unpatriotic.”

This is a straw man if I ever I saw one, but if the United States gave a lot more of its budget to eradicating poverty and disease in Africa and other parts of the developing world, it might actually make us all safer.

At bottom, note how readily Beinart disposes of “liberty, justice, and equality.”

He has stripped patriotism to its vacuous essence: Love your country because it’s yours.

If we stopped that arm from reflexively saluting and concerned ourselves more with “universal ideals” than with parochial ones, we’d be a lot better off.

We wouldn’t be in Iraq, we wouldn’t have besmirched ourselves at Guantanamo, we wouldn’t be acting like some Argentinean junta that wages illegal wars and tortures people and disappears them into secret dungeons.

Love of country is a form of idolatry.

Listen, if you would, to the wisdom of Milton Mayer, writing back in 1962 a rebuke to JFK for his much-celebrated line: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

Mayer would have none of it. “When Mr. Kennedy spoke those words at his inaugural, I knew that I was at odds with a society which did not immediately rebel against them,” he wrote. “They are the words of totalitarianism pure; no Jefferson could have spoken them, and no Khrushchev could have spoken them better. Could a man say what Mr. Kennedy said and also say that the difference between us and them is that they believe that man exists for the State and we believe that the State exists for man? He couldn’t, but he did. And in doing so, he read me out of society.”

When Americans retort that this is still the greatest country in the world, I have to ask why.

Are we the greatest country because we have 10,000 nuclear weapons?

No, that just makes us enormously powerful, with the capacity to destroy the Earth itself.

Are we the greatest country because we have soldiers stationed in more than 120 countries?

No, that just makes us an empire, like the empires of old, only more so.

Are we the greatest country because we are one-twentieth of the world’s population but we consume one-quarter of its resources?

No, that just must makes us a greedy and wasteful nation.

Are we the greatest country because the top 1 percent of Americans hoards 34 percent of the nation’s wealth, more than everyone in the bottom 90 percent combined?

No, that just makes us a vastly unequal nation.

Are we the greatest country because corporations are treated as real, live human beings with rights?

No, that just enshrines a plutocracy in this country.

Are we the greatest country because we take the best care of our people’s basic needs?

No, actually we don’t. We’re far down the list on health care and infant mortality and parental leave and sick leave and quality of life.

So what exactly are we talking about here?

To the extent that we’re a great (not the greatest, mind you: that’s a fool’s game) country, we’re less of a great country today.

Because those things that truly made us great-the system of checks and balances, the enshrinement of our individual rights and liberties-have all been systematically assaulted by Bush and Cheney.

From the Patriot Act to the Military Commissions Act to the new FISA Act, and all the signing statements in between, we are less great today.

From Abu Ghraib and Bagram Air Force Base and Guantanamo, we are less great today.

From National Security Presidential Directive 51 (giving the Executive responsibility for ensuring constitutional government in an emergency) to National Security Presidential Directive 59 (expanding the collection of our biometric data), we are less great today.

From the Joint Terrorism Task Forces to InfraGard and the Terrorist Liaison Officers, we are less great today.

Admit it. We don’t have a lot to brag about today.

It is time, it is long past time, to get over the American superiority complex.

It is time, it is long past time, to put patriotism back on the shelf-out of the reach of children and madmen.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas

I've told my wife several times in the past (as much as 5 years ago) that maybe what the country really needs is $5 gas. People don't really respond en masse unless you hit them in the pocketbook. They won't really think of alternative transportation unless they have a financial reason for doing so.

It's a sad fact. It's just not enough of a reason for some people to do the right thing because it's good for our future or the environment. Cheap gas is not a fundamental right, though Americans seem to believe it is.

Well, I've gotten my wish. Don't get me wrong, I know it hits the lower income people big time. I've been there. But high gas prices hit the big guys too. And when it hits enough people, they will clamor for easier and cheaper modes of transportation: more bus routes, mass transit, park-n-ride, etc. People will stop thinking it's cool to have a Hummer, a Viper, a monster trick with a ridiculous lift kit. Maybe men trying to make up for inadequacies elsewhere (in the Freudian sense) will measure their virility with MPG instead of vehicle size. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Here's a list that digs even deeper into the benefits of higher gas prices:

Ten Things You Can Like about $4 Gas
by Amanda Ripley for Time Magazine

The world had long assumed that Americans were just unrepentant energy pigs. If gas prices went up, well, we kept our Explorers aimed at the horizon, and little changed. We truthfully didn't have lots of options. Unlike Europeans, we didn't have jobs we could bike to or convenient public transit. Gasoline prices never stayed high enough long enough to force those kinds of shifts in how we lived.

Now here we are. Gas prices are near $4 per gal., as no one needs to tell you, and they are likely to stay that way. Most of us still don't have the alternatives we need to adapt with grace, which means that many will adapt just by suffering. We will run out of gas on I-80, ease our minivans over to the shoulder and tell the kids everything is O.K. We'll fall behind on Visa bills to pay for gas so we can buy food made ever more expensive by energy costs.

But it's also true that Americans are finding options where there seemed to be none. They're ready to change — and waiting for their infrastructure to catch up. They are driving to commuter-rail lines only to find there are no parking spots left. They are running fewer errands and dumping their SUVs. Public-transit use is at a 50-year high. Gas purchases are down 2% to 3%. And all those changes bring secondary, hard-earned benefits.

"You suddenly are reminded how the economy works," says Eric Roston, author of a new book about energy, The Carbon Age. "Nobody wants high prices for oil. But there's also no faster mechanism to change behavior." The suffering will go on. But the story, like any good tragedy, is not without redemption ...

1. Globalized Jobs Return Home
2. Sprawl Stalls
3. Four-Day Workweeks
4. Less Pollution
5. More Frugality
6. Fewer Traffic Deaths
7. Cheaper Insurance
8. Less Traffic
9. More Cops on the Beat
10. Less Obesity

Political Song of the Day -- Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell

Heard the Counting Crows version on the radio on the way home today. Good song and message. Originally released in 1970 by Mitchell but just as relevant today.

Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Wall-E / Consumerism

• Post-apocalyptic wasteland


• Consumerism run amok in a world ran by a corporation


• dull color palette and virtually no dialog for the first half hour

Sounds like the spawn of Children of Men and Mad Max. But certainly not the stuff of a Pixar film for children.

Surprisingly, it works. Like Pixar has done over the last few years, they've proven that they can combine the most incredible animation around with real stories and real messages and both adults and children will get something out of it.

Wall-E follows a small robot, named Wall-E, on an abandoned earth overrun with consumer waste. His job is to clean up, compact, and make some kind of order out of it. His only companion, a cockroach. Everywhere are the signs of the government/corporation B-n-L (Buy and Large, which, amusingly, has its own website) which runs Earth. Similarities to Wal-Mart are coincidental. Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge.

All humans are now located on a cruise ship in space and have been for 700 years. They are awaiting the opportunity to re-colonize earth after it becomes habitable again. Their lives are spent consuming, watching advertising and not lifting their fingers to do anything.

Fred Willard, in a turn as CEO/President of BnL/Earth at the time that the humans leave Earth, is amusing in his role as the captain of a sinking ship, even exclaiming "Stay the course". Similarities to George Bush are coincidental. Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge.

I won't ruin the movie by giving the plot, but suffice to say there is a love interest for Wall-E and their is a mission for him to save both himself and, hopefully the human race. Grade: A

As often happens in my life, subject matter always seems to come in bunches. A couple days earlier, I had just watched the great documentary, The Corporation.


It explains the early beginnings of the corporation, an entity largely created for the common good. And the subsequent perversion of it and granting of "person" status by our courts. A person entitled to many protections but without the obligations that normal people have. A FBI expert on psychopaths analyzes the various things that describe a psychopath and how they eerily mirror what a corporation does:

• callous unconcern for the feelings of others


• incapacity to maintain enduring relationships


• reckless disregard for the safety of others


• deceitfulness (repeated lying to and deceiving of others for profit)


• incapacity to experience guilt


• failure to conform to the social norms with respect to lawful behaviors

There are a bunch of great interviews with people like Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Howard Zinn but, by far, the most damning evidence of what is wrong with corporations are by the very people that try to protect their existence, Milton Friedman and the heads of several conservative think tanks. They freely admit that the corporation should have no responsibility beyond making a profit.

Lastly, I want to mention a couple of great articles on the glorification of consumerism that I recently read:

Dedicated to the Pursuit of ‘Stuff’ by Michael T. Dolan

... We’ve been duped and deceived by the culture of capitalism. Through sheer greed and an arrogant sense of entitlement, we think we should have as much stuff as we want. Not only do we feel entitled to it, but even sadder, we feel it is essential to our happiness ...

... That stimulus check from the Treasury is like the dime glued into the mailer from a charity organization trying to guilt us into sending them some money right back. Here’s a grand or two; do your patriotic duty and install that home theater system ...

The Gospel of Consumption by Jeffrey Kaplan

... concern that led Charles Kettering, director of General Motors Research, to write a 1929 magazine article called “Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied.” He wasn’t suggesting that manufacturers produce shoddy products. Along with many of his corporate cohorts, he was defining a strategic shift for American industry-from fulfilling basic human needs to creating new ones.

“... By advertising and other promotional devices . . . a measurable pull on production has been created which releases capital otherwise tied up.” They celebrated the conceptual breakthrough: “Economically we have a boundless field before us; that there are new wants which will make way endlessly for newer wants, as fast as they are satisfied.”

... If we want to save the Earth, we must also save ourselves from ourselves. We can start by sharing the work and the wealth. We may just find that there is plenty of both to go around.

"The two big mistakes were the belief in a sky god -- that there's a man in the sky with 10 things he doesn't want you to do and you'll burn for a long time if you do them -- and private property, which I think is at the core of our failure as a species." -- George Carlin in NPR interview

Writing Class

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." -- E.L. Doctorow

I started an online fiction writing class (short stories) through Arizona State University's Virgian Piper Center for Creative Writing a couple of weeks ago. It's my first venture back to the classroom (virtual or otherwise) in 17 years. It's a non-credit class, but I wasn't taking it to get a credit anyway. I just thought it might be useful (and amusing) to develop my creative writing. My first step towards writing the "great American novel" (just like a few million other people who want to be writers - [sigh])

This week we had our first short story due. Very painful and agonizing for me. But you gotta start somewhere. Has anyone else taken any kind of writing classes? Has anyone written any short stories or novels? I'd be curious to get all or your takes.

10 Questions for an Atheist

Though Jewish Atheist didn't tag me, I thought the meme he posted recently was well done and worth a shot:

Q1. How would you define “atheism”?

By its literal meaning - a lack of belief. I don't know there is no God, but everything I know and feel tells me there is not one. It's truly one of those pointless definitions. We don't need to define a belief system for those people that don't believe in Santa Claus.

Q2. Was your upbringing religious? If so, what tradition?

Apathetic to nonexistent. Nominally baptised Methodist and occasionally dragged to church in grade school to appease grandfather.

Q3. How would you describe “Intelligent Design”, using only one word?

Futile.

Q4. What scientific endeavour really excites you?

Alternative energy, space exploration, evolutionary biology

Q5. If you could change one thing about the “atheist community”, what would it be and why?

Image. It would be nice to be taken more seriously. More like a group of people with an interesting and relevant philosophical take instead of the crazy bag lady in the corner.

Q6. If your child came up to you and said “I’m joining the clergy”, what would be your first response?

First of all, I wouldn't be greatly surprised. My child is already being raised as Lutheran/cafeteria Catholic and at the age of 7 is fairly enthusiastic about it. But he's also very intelligent, interested in science and a voracious reader. And he also knows Pop's take on the whole God thing. So, who know where his thinking will be when he's of age. Regardless, I will support him.

Q7. What’s your favorite theistic argument, and how do you usually refute it?

Cosmological arguments - that God is the originating cause of the universe. Even atheists have to admit that it is logically possible.

There are complicated ways of refuting this but the simplest would be that if God created the universe, then who created God? Christians would say that God has no beginning and therefore doesn't need a cause. But you can't have it both ways.

Q8. What’s your most “controversial” (as far as general attitudes amongst other atheists goes) viewpoint?

I don't think I really have any controversial atheistic views. I don't believe religious people (most, anyway) are evil.

Q9. Of the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris) who is your favourite, and why?

Haven't read Dennett yet but have read the other 3. I do like Dawkins but I'm partial to Harris because I think he's a bit more accessible. Hitchens, while obviously intelligent, is completely off his rocker.

Q10. If you could convince just one theistic person to abandon their beliefs, who would it be?

The Pope, perhaps? How one person can have so much influence over so many people, I can never understand. I'm not sure that it would do much good, however. They'd just find somebody to replace him.

I guess that I'm not really striving to "convince" any one. I'd be thrilled if everybody came to the conclusion on their own when presented with the evidence. Conversions done with arm-twisting aren't really conversions. And that is basically one of my main complaints about religion ... the concept of proselytizing and the need to convert.

Atheists to tag:

I'd tag CK, but I see that he's already been tagged. Anybody that considers themselves atheists can take up the mantle if they wish.

Trent Franks

Our local Bush-loving, "war on terror" waste of a congressman, Trent Franks, had a scare this week:

Police and firefighters were called Wednesday to the Glendale office of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks after a man showed up with a box inside a bag that officials deemed suspicious.

Workers did the right thing in making the call, but no dangerous materials were found inside the box, said Sgt. Jim Toomey, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department.

The package was delivered to Franks' office, 7121 W. Bell Road, by a Glendale man who said he had asked to be taken off the mailing list of the GOP congressman, Toomey said.

Inside were a number of political mailers that the man, who did not make any threats, was trying to return, he said.

The office was evacuated as the package was checked and the Second Distict congressman was not on hand as the situation unfolded, Toomey said.

Franks is afraid of the impending "terror" threat but seems more frightened of people actually voicing their opinion. It was ironic because just a couple of days earlier, I had pondered calling his office and griping about the taxpayer funded pieces of crap that I get in my mail under the ruse of asking constituents "where do you stand on the issues?" What he really means is that he's going to use your money to print out and mail you ego-driven advertisements. These are some of the highlights from his latest flyer:

"Memorial Day was a reminder of all that as made America the noblest and freest nation on the face of the earth, and an opportunity for each of us to honor the lives and courage of those valiant men and women in uniform who made and continue to make unspeakable sacrifices so that you and I might live in the sunlight of freedom."

I think I vomited in my mouth on that one a little bit. Or how about this one:

"Our noble men and women fighting in harm's way deserve the unequivocal support of Congress by passing a clean, earmark-free troop funding bill that does not micromanage our commanders on the ground or telegraph a withdrawal plan to the enemy."

Gee, I wonder how he really feels. Sounds like his little "survey" isn't really about finding out what the voters think.

He goes on to advocate drilling in ANWR and promotes oil shale, tar sands, and coal-to-liquid technologies. Not once does he mention alternative fuels or conservation. No big surprise but Mr. Franks also used to be President of Liberty (of course) Petroleum Corporation. As if that wasn't enough, "Franks served four and a half years as the Executive Director of the Arizona Family Research Institute, a nonprofit organization associated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family ...". This man is basically a puppet.

Right Wing Vibe

If you look at me, if you read what I write, or hear what I say, you would definitely not get the impression that I am a conservative or libertarian. So it's by mere coincidence that I seem to attract as clients those who are somewhere near Genghis Khan on the sliding political scale. I've spoken before of having provided service to the progeny of a Watergate-era Attorney General. This week, it's a former Majority Leader of the State Senate and chairman of the Goldwater Institute think tank. While he was in the Senate, he was author of the legislation that created Arizona's charter school system. Charter schools are well down that slippery slope that leads to school vouchers, which I disagree with. But in the interest of full disclosure, my son goes to a charter school. And we like his school quite a bit. I guess the dividing line for me is what public money is going to fund. Alternative schools - fine. Innovative teaching methods outside of the mainstream - fine. Religious education - no way, Jose. And that is ultimately where school voucher proponents are leading.

Not satisfied to just espouse the standard conservative touchpoints through the institute, my client is also an editorial columnist for the East Valley Tribune. On a weekly basis you can read him promoting ANWR drilling, denying global warming, promoting deregulation, and basically disagreeing with everything that Democratic governor Janet Napolitano tries to do. I've read every single one of his editorials and there is not a single, original thought that is not echoed on a daily basis by the right-wing standard bearers. Somehow, I don't think this is what Barry Goldwater envisioned for the head of the institute that had his blessing.

What is it with me? Am I putting out some kind of "right wing vibe" to get these types? I'm sorry that I'm such an insufferable name dropper, but "technically" I'm not dropping anyone's name. I know, that's picking nits. Kinda like "sorta pregnant".

"I will offer a choice, not an echo." -- Barry Goldwater

Kmart Promotes Abstinence Pants

This is almost too funny for words (from ThinkProgress):

Jessica Valenti points out that retail chain Kmart has begun selling abstinence-gear for juniors ...

The description for the products reads, “Whether she is lounging around the house, going to practice, or doing her chores. These soft athletic style crop pants will keep her comfy.” One Feministing commenter adds, “Because nothing says ‘I plan not to have sex until marriage’ like plastering text across your ass.”

True love waits ... for what? True love waits inside these pants? Even discounting the obvious fact that preaching abstinence does not work and has more to do with pushing religion than preventing pregnancy, these pants are probably not the best tool for pushing that agenda. Kinda like putting a Sierra Club sticker on a Hummer.

Movie Reviews

You guys may think I review movies because I'm a movie buff and love watching movies. You'd be partially correct. I actually get more of a kick in finding topical, social and political relevance out of movies, mainstream or not. I just use the excuse of writing a review as a reason for me to highlight something specific. For that reason, I'll give short shrift to the review of the first movie I saw Saturday, at the theater, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but will give a more in-depth review of the movie watched last night on DVD, Charlie Wilson's War.

I'm not purposely disparaging Indiana Jones ... it's just that it's not meant to be saying anything momentous. It's a modern retelling of serial B-movies of the 30's and is meant as pure entertainment. It works a lot of the time. Where it fails is when you can tell George Lucas has had too much influence. By his choice, the entire movie would have been shot in front of a green screen. Director Spielberg would eschew any special effects if it was his choice. In the first 3 movies, he mostly won those arguments. Here, it looks like Lucas may have won his share.

At first, starting to watch the movie, I thought the premise was utterly ridiculous. I won't say what the premise is, as that will give it away. But then I thought about it: Lost Ark was about there being an Ark of the Covenant and it having supernatural powers; Temple of Doom was about drinking blood and becoming a zombie: Last Crusade was about there being a Holy Grail and it giving you eternal life. So ... never mind about this movie having a ridiculous premise. It's no further out there than any of them.

I thought Harrison Ford was good and it was good to see Karen Allen back from the first movie. Cate Blanchett as a dominatrix ... errr, I mean Russian scientist, was humorous, perhaps unintentionally so. Shia Lebouf was adequate.

All in all, it was entertaining. Nothing terrible, nothing great but a fun enough Saturday afternoon flick. Grade: C

For some not so delicate reviews (but a lot funnier than mine), see:

Dear George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg from Laura at Sarchasm

Why I Hate George Lucas More than Ever from Donna

Where Did You Dig Up that Old Fossil? from Wunelle



Charlie Wilson's War is in the spirit of movies (and series) like M*A*S*H that were ostensibly about one thing but really about another. In M*A*S*H's case, it was set during the Korean War but really was an allegory about the Vietnam War and war in general. In the case of Charlie Wilson's War, it is set during the Afghanistan-Soviet war of the 80's, but it is really making statements on our current excursions into Iraq and Afghanistan. As the title says, it's mostly about Charlie Wilson (from IMDb):

Charles Nesbitt Wilson, a.k.a. Charlie Wilson,(born June 1, 1933) is a former United States naval officer and former Democratic United States Representative from the 2nd congressional district in Texas.

He is best known for leading Congress into supporting the largest-ever CIA covert operation, which supplied the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan ... after the Communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan took over during the Afghan Civil War and asked the Soviet Union to help suppress resistance from the Islamist Mujahideen.

It can be argued that this support and the resulting victory by the Mujahideen over the Soviets were major contributors to the end of the Cold War. It can also be argued (and Charlie Wilson himself has said this) that the resulting power vacuum in Afghanistan after the war and our unwillingness to help with the rebuilding ultimately led to the rise of people like Osama Bin Laden and the Sept. 11 attacks.

When the following points are brought up during the movie, there's no doubting that they are aimed at our current Iraq war:

- The error of putting people in country who don't speak the language and who don't understand the different factions involved
- No follow-up or post-war plan

People like Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, the Heritage Foundation and Project for the New American Century think war is like a game of Risk. These are not play countries. These are not pieces on a board. There is a real human cost in deaths and refugess that most people have no clue about. They talking about "creating a democracy" in the Middle East, but at what cost?

With all these heady topics, you would think this movie would be depressing or boring. Thanks to all involved, it is neither. It's illuminating without being preachy.

The casting in the movie is great. Tom Hanks captures the good-natured and fun-loving intelligence of the real Charlie Wilson perfectly. Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of CIA operative Gust Avrakotos is, as usual, fantastic. I finally saw Capote a month or so ago. The man is a chameleon and is absolutely one of this generation's best actors.

I liked Julia Roberts in the role of conservative Texas socialite Joanne Herring. The direction by legendary director Mike Nichols and writing by Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, West Wing) make this movie entertaining and, surprisingly, funny. Who knew covert wars could be funny? Grade: A

He's so money and he doesn't even know it

You know you are a loser when ... your 7 year old son gets more play than you ever did. Alex just made his first two phone calls to young ladies in his class. They gave him their numbers after school a couple of days ago.

He scored digits from more girls in one day than I did throughout college. I don't know whether to feel proud, worried, or depressed.

Swingers
Mike: So how long do I wait to call?
Trent: A day.
Mike: Tomorrow.
Sue: Tomorrow, then a day.
Trent: Yeah.
Mike: So two days?
Trent: Yeah, I guess you could call it that, two days.
Sue: Definitely, two days is like industry standard.
Trent: You know I used to wait two days to call anybody, but now it's like everyone in town waits two days. So I think three days is kind of money. What do you think?
Sue: Yeah, but two's enough not to look anxious.
Trent: Yeah, two's enough not to look anxious. But I think three days is kind of money. You know because you...
Mike: Yeah, but you know what, mabey I'll wait 3 weeks. How's that? And tell her I was cleaning out my wallet and I just happened to run into her number.
Charles: Then ask her where you met her.
Mike: Yeah, I'll ask her where I met her. I don't remember. What does she look like? ... would that be the money?
Trent: You know what. Ha ha ha Mike, laugh all you want but if you call too soon you might scare off a nice baby who's ready to party.
Mike: Well how long are you guys gonna wait to call your babies?
Trent, Sue: Six days.

Going Green Update

After 5 tankfuls with the new scooter, Michelle told me her average MPG -- 114. Not too shabby. She averages about 70 miles a week driving to work. A comparison between the Hyundai which she used to drive and the scooter:

70 miles / 30mpg (best case scenario with the Hyundai) = 2.333 gallons per week

70 miles / 114mpg = 0.614 gallons per week

At our current cost per gallon for unleaded, $3.799, that's saving $6.50 a week and producing a whole lot less pollution.

==================================================================

For the house, we just bought Gila window films (kinda like tinting for your windows). They are supposed to block 70% of the heat coming in. We're putting them on our West facing windows and and on South facing windows in our bedroom. Hope to have them up in the next few days. I'll let you know how tough they are to put up and if we notice a difference in our cooling costs.

Bush/McCain

You know it's bad when you can't even muster a successful fundraiser in your own backyard (from Phoenix Biz Journal):

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

Bush's Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area. A White House official said the event was being moved because the McCain campaign prefers private fundraisers and it is Bush administration policy to have events in public venues open to the media. The White House official said to reconcile that the Tuesday event will be held at a private venue and not the Convention Center.

Convention Center personnel confirmed the event has been canceled at their venue.

Tickets to the event were to range from $1,000 to $25,000 for VIP treatment. Money was to go toward McCain's presidential bid and a number of Republican Party organs.

Anti-war protesters were planning to be out in force. President Bush's job approval rating stands at 31 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.com.

The McCain campaign referred questions on the fundraiser change to the White House press office.

I had planned on going to the protest, but they've taken all the fun out of it by cancelling. They thought that it might not look good on the evening news to have their patrons outnumbered by protesters.

There are no guarantees that McCain will even win his home state in November. In a historically conservative state, his wishy-washy bonafides on the right will keep many Republicans home on election day. And Dems will turn out in record numbers to assure that we don't have 4 more years of Bush policies.

"The bedfellows politics made are never strange. It only seems that way to those who have not watched the courtship." -- Marcel Achard (French Playwright, 1899-1974)

Speed Racer

As usual, I'm going to refrain from giving you a straight plot synopsis. I don't want to tell you what happens in the movie. I'd rather just give you my impressions.

There's not a movie to do a direct comparison of Speed Racer with, though there are a few that had elements that I was reminded of by it. For some reason, it's look reminded me of Tron a bit with the neon-light visual trails. It even reminded me of the visual style of Robert Rodriguez in Spy Kids, with the alternating animation and live action (a comparison to Spy Kids 3D would probably be even more apropos, but I didn't see that movie). Using the term "live action" very loosely, mind you. I think the entire movie was filmed in front of a green screen.


Visually it's dazzling and incorporated several new technologies (from IMDb):

Technically, Speed Racer was a first in many areas but two stand-out. It was the first film to use the Sony F23 Digital Film Camera and also to record in parallel to Sony HDCAM SR, for archive masters, and to Codex Digital Data Recorders for on-set uncompressed HD playback, digital dailies and file generation for editing and VFX.

I think a large part of the audience didn't get the intentional campiness of it and today's younger generation may not have seen the original series (which the movie is reasonably faithful to). I believe this is a movie that will do well in the secondary market (DVD), much like the Matrix did.


Like the previously reviewed Iron Man, it sneaks a message in with the popcorn entertainment. In Iron Man, it was war-profiteering, here it is big bad corporations and the ubiquitous sponsorship deals of everyday life. It's nauseating to watch a post-race interview with NASCAR, where drivers feel it's necessary to spew out thanks to their laundry-list of sponsors before they even thank their family. Are we far from having company logos on the back of main-stream sports figures (baseball, football, basketball)? Though the movie is not meant to be a message movie, and it's told through the prism of sports, one can't help feeling that it's a reflection of even more. Admit it, whenever we see a politician talking, we wonder who they've been bought by. Wouldn't it be funny for politicians to have to wear suits that had patches for all their "sponsors"? "We now present Vice President Dick Cheney, brought to you by Halliburton and Diebold".

Made by the Wachowski brothers (of Matrix and V for Vendetta fame), Speed Racer continues their trend of not being predictable. The cast is good, with Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) in the title role, Matthew Fox as Racer X, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as the parents, and in one of her most attractive roles to date, Christina Ricci as Trixie. Everyone seems to be appropriate for their role.

Typically difficult critic - my son Alex - gives it two thumbs up. Worthy praise indeed. It's funny and has some toned-down anime/kung fu type violence that wouldn't bother younger kids. Grade: B

"The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy." -- Australian author Alex Carey

"If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves." -- Howard Zinn

Déjà Vu for Uncle Sam

"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" -- John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten

Onward, Christian Soldiers

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason: The Morning Daylight appears plainer when you put out your Candle." -- Benjamin Franklin

From Atheist soldier claims harassment on CNN:

JUNCTION CITY, Kansas (AP) -- Like hundreds of young men joining the Army in recent years, Jeremy Hall professes a desire to serve his country while it fights terrorism.

Spc. Jeremy Hall says the pressure to believe in God is so strong, "I was ashamed to say that I was an atheist."

But the short and soft-spoken specialist is at the center of a legal controversy. He has filed a lawsuit alleging that he's been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn't believe in God ...

"I'm not in it for cash," Hall said. "I want no one else to go what I went through."

Known as "the atheist guy," Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and -- just as severe to some soldiers -- gay, none of which, he says, is true. Hall even drove fellow soldiers to church in Iraq and paused while they prayed before meals.

"I see a name and rank and United States flag on their shoulder. That's what I believe everyone else should see," he said.

Hall, 23, was raised in a Protestant family in North Carolina and dropped out of school. It wasn't until he joined the Army that he began questioning religion, eventually deciding that he couldn't follow any faith.

But he feared how that would look to other soldiers.

"I was ashamed to say that I was an atheist," Hall said.

It eventually came out in Iraq in 2007, when he was in a firefight. Hall was a gunner on a Humvee, which took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said.

"I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,' " Hall said. "I've never believed I was going to a happy place. You get one life. When I die, I'm worm food."

The issue came to a head when, according to Hall, a superior officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, threatened to bring charges against him for trying to hold a meeting of atheists in Iraq. Welborn has denied Hall's allegations.

Hall said he had had enough but feared that he wouldn't get support from Welborn's superiors. He turned to Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation ...

"The average American doesn't have enough intestinal fortitude to tell someone to shut up if they are talking in a movie theater," Weinstein said. "You know how hard it is to take on your chain of command? This isn't the shift manager at KFC."

Hall was in Qatar when the lawsuit was filed September 18 in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas. Other soldiers learned of it, and he feared for his own safety. Once, Hall said, a group of soldiers followed him, harassing him, but no one did anything to make it stop.

The Army told him it couldn't protect him and sent him back to Fort Riley. He resumed duties with a military police battalion. He believes that his promotion to sergeant has been blocked because of his lawsuit, but he is a team leader responsible for two junior enlisted soldiers.

No one with Fort Riley, the Army or that Defense Department would comment about Hall or the lawsuit. Each issued statements saying that discrimination will not be tolerated regardless of race, religion or gender.

"The department respects [and supports by its policy] the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs," said Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense...

Lt. Col. David Shurtleff, a Fort Riley chaplain, declined to discuss Hall's case but said chaplains accommodate all faiths as best they can. In most cases, religious issues can be worked out without jeopardizing military operations.

"When you're in Afghanistan and an IED blows up a Humvee, they aren't asking about a wounded soldier's faith," Shurtleff said.

Hall said he enjoys being a team leader but has been told that having faith would make him a better leader.

"I will take care of my soldiers. Nowhere does it say I have to pray with my soldiers, but I do have to make sure my soldiers' religious needs are met," he said.

"Religion brings comfort to a lot of people," he said. "Personally, I don't want it or need it. But I'm not going to get down on anybody else for it." ...

Take a moment to think about the statement that Hall was told - "faith would make him a better leader". Does giving up control of your life to a higher power make it easier to be a leader of others? Let's look at the dictionary definition of leader: "a person or thing that leads." It doesn't say, "a person or thing that follows". I'm not saying that religious people cannot be leaders of men. I'm just trying to point out that there is nothing that necessarily makes them more suitable to lead than an atheist.

It's not faith specifically that binds us, but rather common interests or concerns. Faith may be one of those concerns, but it doesn't have to be the only one. Especially in a wartime environment, the overriding concern should be surviving and taking care of each other.

The misconception that those without faith are less suitable lead may arise out of the belief that those without faith are without morals. Hall obviously cares about his fellow soldiers and is respectful of their beliefs - two things that seem considerably more important for leadership than faith. Because he doesn't believe in God doesn't mean he doesn't have morals.

It's ironic that a lot of soldiers find solace in religion while performing acts that fly in the face of a lot of the teachings of the bible. Do they feel guilty and are looking for redemption? Do they believe that God absolves them of their sins? The fact that our own President casts our wars as "crusades" and uses every opportunity to stress that God is on our side certainly seems to give them moral certainty that truly isn't there.

One last thing that I'd like to highlight in this article is this passage:

Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and -- just as severe to some soldiers -- gay ...

Demonization of people who have different beliefs seems to be endemic of this administration and many in the military. If we cast even Americans with different views in this light, imagine what we do with those of a different culture and darker skin. Is it any wonder that we don't understand Muslim culture and continue to exacerbate conflicts in the Middle East?

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I'm consistently amazed that people are more distrustful of atheists than any other group. The article I link to talks about the study that most of us have heard of before. This particular article is amusing (unintentionally so) because of it's additional quotes and comments by local people. Here's my favorite:

Cole Ries, the president of the Maranatha Christian Fellowship said, "I don't believe that anybody is really an atheist. I believe that deep down everyone knows there is a god."

I know this is just one person, but it that really the perception of a lot of Christians? That's really scary if it is ... and delusional. I'm sure that most atheists don't hold to the same type of logic in their view of Christians. For ex. Nobody is really a Christian ... deep down they all know there is no God. While I don't believe in God, I would not deign to suggest that most Christians don't truly believe there is a God. I know there are some practicing Christians (and Jews) that do not believe in God but follow along out of societal or social pressures, but they are certainly not the rule.

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For more in the the atheism/religion vein, Cyberkitten at Seeking a Little Truth and Jewish Atheist have typically good posts on their blogs this week:

Even More Good Quotes

Common Causes of Deconversion

"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions. -- Blaise Pascal

Four-eyes squared

Alright, this is all you're getting. I don't want to bring down the quality of the blog by sullying it with my mug too often.

Glasses

Denial ... check. Anger ... check. Bargaining ... check. Depression ... check. Acceptance ... reluctantly, check. OK, I get it. After about 6 months of degrading vision, I figure out that maybe I should go have my eyes checked. That was a couple of weeks ago. 20/30 in one eye, 20/40 in the other with some astigmatism. No biggie. So I ordered some glasses and they came in Friday. None of my clients or friends have seen me in them yet. I'll try and get some pictures of me in them up sometime soon. Nothing to be nervous about.

Johnny Depp wears them:


Bono wears them:


Rivers Cuomo of Weezer wears them:


But those guys are cool. I'm a nerd having a little trouble with what wearing glasses represents. I'm not vain. It's not wearing glasses that bothers me - it's what it portends -- I'm getting old.

In my younger days, I thought it would be cool to have glasses. Men that wore glasses looked scholarly and intelligent to me. Well, now's my chance to test the theory. I figure if I'm going to wear them, I don't want them to be something boring. I never even considered getting contacts. Those might be the right answer for some people, but the the thought of me sticking my finger in my eyeball every day was unappealing.

I'm probably being a baby about it. I'm sure a lot of you wear glasses. My own son wears glasses and has since he was 4. But this is different. I've had perfect vision all my life but now that I've hit my upper 30's, my body is rebelling. Let's face it, it's all downhill from here. I'm joking ... mostly.

"I had some eyeglasses. I was walking down the street when suddenly the prescription ran out." -- Stephen Wright

Numb3rs

Here are some pics from the Numb3rs shoot that we went to on Sunday:

Iron Man

I don't water to oversell this movie, but I thought it was great. It was perfectly cast, combining the sarcastic humor of Robert Downey Jr and the luminous quality of Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow reminds of us of why we'd like her to do movies more often. Downey's role in the movie is one of those inspired bits of casting that you first think is completely wrong when you hear who is playing the role (like Michael Keaton in the first Batman). But then you see the movie and you can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Former Oscar-nominated actors Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard capably fill the two other main roles.

Downey plays Tony Stark, a brilliant inventor and owner of a company that produces high-tech weapons for the military, but not just American military. It covers ground that was explored in Nicholas Cage's movie of a few years back, Lord of War. It's disingenuous for companies or inventors to claim no responsibility for the illicit use of things they create. Stark is very much a carefree playboy who seems to believe exactly that. Iron Man movie explores his transformation both physically and psychologically. I won't ruin the movie by telling you exactly what causes that transformation.

This is the world in which we live where terms like "surgical strikes" and "smart bombs" are tossed around like we are talking about a video game and not people dying. You wonder why people are desensitized and ambivalent about the Iraq war ... it's because they truly don't experience the grittiness of real war. The people in the Middle East do - acutely.

Don't get me wrong, it's not as serious a movie as it may seem by my above description. I'm merely saying that below the surface, it's addressing some real issues. The strength of Jon Favreau's (Swingers, Elf) direction is that it doesn't beat you over the head with a message. Favreau is good at witty banter and coaxing very funny performances out of his actors. I've read that he took a Robert Altman tact towards directing (naturalistic and ad-libbed) and let Downey have a lot of input into his role.

The chemistry between Downey and Paltrow is natural and very enjoyable. Downey is very good at showing the flawed nature of his character, Tony Stark, because he is obviously a good actor but also because he's lived the role. Whether it's real or not, Downey's real life seems to inform this performance immensely.

Though action really hasn't been part of Favreau's repertoire before now, I think he does a good job. The special effects, by ILM, look good and not hokey.

Director Favreau cameos in the movie. Another interesting and oddly apropos cameo was Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine) as one of the militant Arabs.

I'd have to agree with Laura that the movie's primary purpose seemed to be to set up more movies. Well, if Downey continues to play the role, you've got me hooked. Grade: A

********************UPDATE************************

Please check out Wunelle's outstanding review of Iron Man:

Bionicle-Transformer-Thingie-Dude

and Reel Fanatic's:

Finally, the word on Iron Man ...

Zzzzzzzz ...

Just got back into town from Cali and I'm dog tired. So, no Iron Man review yet. But our last day in LA was kick ass. We got to go on set for the filming of some scenes for the TV series Numbers in downtown LA. My wife's uncle, Martin Price, is the set decorator for the show. We met the director and the F/X guy gave us a close-up tour of the stunts they were running that day. I got some very cool pictures, including Alex sitting in star Rob Morrow's chair and on the camera stand. I'll get the pictures posted and more details of the day tomorrow. But now, to sleep, perchance to dream ...

Long Beach -- Day 2

Alex fell sick last night with the flu or something, so our plans of the zoo or aquarium were dashed (he's fine now). I decided to adventure out on my own today and catch a little California local flavor in Long Beach. I picked up the Metro Light Rail just a mile or so from where we are staying and it took me all the way to downtown Long Beach. It was cheap, fast and convenient. I don't know why people complain about mass transit. It's the wave of the future and you better get used to it. And besides, you don't get to have a crazy lady with Tourette's dropping f-bombs when you drive yourself to work.

I did get to spend some time at the used book store that Laura mentioned, Acres of Books. Varied selection and, as the name would indicate, a lot of books.


Great book store that unfortunately might not be around for much longer ... at least not at that location. I bought about a half dozen books and a t-shirt. The books included Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (of Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash fame) and Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkein.

For a few more pics of Long Beach ...

Also, saw Iron Man last night. Loved it and will have a more extensive review on Sunday.

Manhattan Beach Day 1

On the Road

We're off to California for a long weekend at my wife's aunt's place in Manhattan Beach. We're either going to go to Griffith Park and the L.A. Zoo or we might head to the LBC and visit the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary.

Hopefully, I can mix in some used book shopping.

I'm taking the laptop, so I'll try and blog about our travels.