Tipping Points

There's a great article in the latest Mother Jones on the different factors that color our planet's ability to respond to global warming. It's a long article and I won't include it here but there were some snippets that I found particularly interesting. The first is on how our station in life affects our views on global warming:

" ... found that Americans fall into "interpretive communities"—cliques, if you will, sharing similar demographics, risk perceptions, and worldviews. On one end of this spectrum are the naysayers: those who perceive climate change as a very low or nonexistent danger. Leiserowitz found naysayers to be "predominantly white, male, Republican, politically conservative, holding pro-individualism, pro-hierarchism, and anti-egalitarian worldviews, anti-environmental attitudes, distrustful of most institutions, highly religious, and to rely on radio as their main source of news." This group presented five rationales for rejecting danger: belief that global warming is natural; belief that it's media/environmentalist hype; distrust of science; flat denial; and conspiracy theories, including the belief that researchers create data to ensure job security." -- 2005 study by Anthony Leiserowitz, published in Risk Analysis

And the second on the need and the ability of our country to take action in the face of a threat:

"We also changed with breathtaking speed in 1941 when we recalibrated the entire economy of the United States in one short year to fight global enemies in Germany and Japan. The effort was promoted by the government but carried forward by individual citizens. Obviously, our powers of transformation are magnified by visionary leaders. Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March in 1930 ignited Indians of diverse religions, languages, and ethnicities to unite in the common cause of independence. Gandhi, in turn, inspired Martin Luther King Jr., Stephen Biko, Nelson Mandela, and Aung San Suu Kyi, who catalyzed their followers to change the world as well.

Leaders can rouse us against them, too. Whether or not Marie Antoinette actually said, "Let them eat cake," she inspired change that reverberated far beyond Europe. Likewise, when George W. Bush says we can't act on global warming until we "fully understand the nature of the problem," we can use his callous disregard as a rallying cry.

The truth is, we can change, and change fast, even in the absence of perfect knowledge. Like cockroaches, our hallmark is adaptability. Long ago, we looked out from the trees and saw the savannas. Beyond the savannas we glimpsed other frontiers. History proves that when we behold a better world, we move toward it, leaving behind what no longer works."

That's a recurring point with global warming naysayers ... waiting for "perfect knowledge". Or at least that is the reason they give. If they actually cared about having all the facts before taking action, they would have never invaded Iraq on a false premise. But in the case of global warming (and Iraq), they don't care what knowledge they have at hand. They will twist whatever data or testimony they have (from questionable sources) and use it to promote the policy that they have already decided on for other reasons. After all, we know who/what is really in control here -- (big) oil. If you needed any proof, Exxon Mobil is being allowed to influence what is considered science in our classrooms. They actually have the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) so scared that the organization is turning down a donation of 50,000 DVD's of An Inconvenient Truth:

Science a la Joe Camel

I'm sure I've overused Stephen Colbert's quote but it's so fitting -- "Reality has a well-known liberal bias". Conservatives will paint science as "left-wing" if it doesn't fit in with their worldview. That's a dangerous thing when it affects how our children are taught.

Sadly, it looks like it will take the courts to force any kind of action by a "see-no-evil" administration:

High court to hear global warming case

White House Sued for Not Doing Report on Warming

Work and Politics

I just about had a "Dixie Chick" moment the other day when I was at one of my long time clients. You know ... one of those moments where you say something that you believe but that may hurt you in the pocketbook later on.

While at clients, I really try to avoid political discussions or even talking about subjects that divert sideways into politics. It's not because I'm not passionate about politics or that I feel people shouldn't give their views. It's because I believe the exact opposite. I am afraid if somebody asks me point blank about some issue, I will not be able to stop myself from offering an opinion. And because of where I live, there is a high probability that my client is a conservative. While I don't care if they have a differing viewpoint (everbody's money spends the same), I can't rely on them being as understanding.

Anyway, we were talking about a seemingly innocuous subject, high-definition televison. He had mentioned that our local NBC affiliate, Channel 12, had recently started broadcasting in HD. I said that was cool but I hadn't had a chance to check them out because I rarely watching network television. Like a true Republican, he immediately took this to mean that I didn't watch it because network news has a "liberal bias". It's funny how most conservatives automatically believe everyone believes the way that they do. They are genuinely surprised when someone has the audacity to disagree with them. While I don't necessarily feel that network news has a "conservative bias", I do feel that by not asking the probing questions, they have have inadvertantly become mouthpieces for the administration. That is why I don't watch, but I kept that to myself because I didn't want to start anything. So, he takes my silence as agreement and gets confident he has a captive audience. He then says that the only unbiased news you can get is on FOX News. After audibly choking, I had to compose myself. Under my breath, I said something about FOX News being the MOST biased news source and quickly tried to change the subject. At that point, he understood he didn't have a disciple and he was anxious to change the subject also. I have known him and his wife for a long time (she was the realtor that handled a couple of our home sales) and we have a pretty good relationship. Neither of us wanted to mess it up with a silly political disagreement. But I can't assume that other newer clients of mine would look at it that way. So, I try to be careful.

I'm not going to "dance" for anyone. I've left jobs for what I believed in. But by the same token, I'm not going to purposely try to sabotage myself and piss off a client for a throw-away political point.


On the subject of FOX News, this was not the first time that a watcher of that channel has said something that indicated they believed it to be the most reliable source. Hello, people, here's a red sign: if a station has to tell you that it is "fair and balanced", it probably isn't. I'm not sure which is worse, FOX for saying it or the vast legion of automatons for believing it. If you need any more evidence of FOX's bias and eithical sliminess, look no further than these recent events:

"Fox memo is 'smoking gun' proof of bias against Dems"

Murdoch scraps OJ Simpson 'confession' show

Glendale Glitters

Hijinks with the family at Glendale Glitters (no relation to Gary Glitter).

Dixie Chicks concert -- 11-19-06

Often you go to a concert and come home wanting. Either they didn't play your favorite song or they didn't play long enough. Neither could be said about the Dixie Chicks concert Sunday night. This was in stark contrast to the Prince concert we went to a few years ago in the same venue. Despite being what most people would call one of the most prolific songwriters of all time, he only played for 90 minutes. The Dixie Chicks, with only 4 albums to their credit played over 2 hours. Most of the songs on the new album were played.

Looking at the crowd, it would not strike you as being a country crowd. I've been to country shows and these didn't look like your typical attendees. Obviously the band's appeal has crossed over into the mainstream both because of their music and their politics. But to sell the crowd short as being just a pop music crowd would be wrong too. Playing some of their early bluegrass and country tinged songs, like Long Time Gone, White Trash Wedding and Wide Open Spaces, the enthusiasm of the crowd was just as great.

I went into this show much like I believe the band did ... not knowing the reaction of the fans or how enthusiastic they would be. And I think they were pleasantly surprised by that reaction. If the several minute long raucous standing ovation after Not Ready to Make Nice was any indication, these fans came to support the Dixie Chicks. It wasn't just about the music, which was great, it was about what they believe in and what they have went through. The Dixie Chicks merely said what a lot of us had been thinking. By giving voice to this, they gave each of us a little courage that we could do the same. You would have had to have lived in a hole the last few years to not know the story of the Dixie Chicks. Whether you know the saga or not, check out their outstanding documentary, Shut Up and Sing, which we watched earlier in the day. From Peter Travers review in Rolling Stone Magazine:

Life in Bush America gets a blunt, honest telling in this documentary that makes you want to stand up and cheer without ever begging for tears or glib sympathy. Natalie Maines, the lead singer of the chart-topping Dixie Chicks, set off a shit storm at the start of the Iraq War in 2003 when she told a London audience, "We're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas." Maines joined Martie Maguire and Emily Robison -- the two sisters who founded the Texas band -- in a media attempt to straighten up without flying right. But a concerted right-wing effort to kill their radio play and concert appearances, especially in the South, had success. Barbara Kopple, who directed this movie firecracker with Cecilia Peck, has been chronicling threats to democracy since Harlan County, U.S.A. in 1977. And she gives due respect to Topic A: free speech. For three years, the camera focuses on the Chicks as wives, mothers, entertainers and political flash points. Their fight to stay uncompromised is inspiring. When Bush himself claims the Chicks have no right to complain about "hurt feelings," Maines lets out a terse "dumb fuck." Amen to that, sister.

In a matter of 90 minutes you can be both ashamed (of the lame redneck response to the Chicks' statement) and extremely proud to be an American because of the strength the band had to stick to their guns in the face of unbelievable controversy. The movie helped to give some context for a lot of the songs on the new album.

Ironically, a couple sitting in front of us at the show were there because their son gave them tickets, courtesy of the Dixie Chicks. Their son is Craig Hymson. He was a producer of Shut Up and Sing and also worked on Bowling for Columbine. They were a really nice couple and I couldn't help thinking to myself, "Why am I not that guy?". How cool is his job?! Instead of working on films and working for causes you believe in, I stick my head inside computers every day. Lame.

Forgive me for being a name-dropper, but the band Jimmy Eat World sat next to us. They're from the valley but have had some national exposure and recently toured with Green Day. Evidently the section we were in was mostly spots held for the Dixie Chicks themselves and VIP's.

The opening act was Bob Schneider, a blues rock artist. He was very good and incorporated a lot of influences including, jazz and reggae.

I could not have had a better time at a concert. This concert had been postponed from it's earlier Sept. 3 scheduled date. Having to wait that long and the building up of the show in my head over that time could have set me up for a huge disappointment. But the Dixie Chicks delivered on every level. They played great (yeah, a country band that actually plays and writes ... rare these days in Nashville), sounded great and were friendly and gracious.

Here are some pics and a review of the concert by our local paper.

Top 10 Albums

I have a little post-election political hangover. It's going to keep me from putting up any political posts for a good long time ... maybe 24 hours or so (grin). It's not a full-blown 6-tequila-shot-hangover. Perhaps a 6-beer-on-an-empty-stomach-hangover.

Anyway, to completely change the tone for a bit, I'm going to post my top 10 favorite albums of all time (OK ... 11. I couldn't cut it down any further) and I expect you guys to, at the least, skewer or complement my list. Ideally, you would also post your own either here or on your own blogs. No "Best Of's" allowed ... except maybe Legend by Bob Marley.

I'm going to do this in descending order so that I can force you to read them all or to be a ninny and skip to the last (for those people that read the last page of the book first).


11. Disintegration -- The Cure
In a word, it's the "atmosphere" of this album. While a lot of the lyrics are upbeat, the feel of the album is very consistently dark. The signature Cure guitar sound permeates it. Highlights for me are Pictures of You and Lovesong.

10. Taking the Long Way -- Dixie Chicks
This is a recent addition to my list. I've always been a fan of the Dixie Chicks for their music. I think Natalie Maines has one of the best voices in country music (2nd only to Allison Krauss for me). But with this album, they took it to the next level because of the political content. Writing or co-writing all the tracks on the album, these songs are teeming with the angst of the last few years. Obviously, Not Ready to Make Nice is a highlight but it is by no means the only one with biting content. Upbeat defiance would be the most apt description for most of these songs. We are going to see them in concert tonight and will also see Shut Up and Sing in the next few days. Reviews of both will be upcoming.

9. Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses -- Slipknot
This album is very evocative of another album higher on my list, Angel Dust by FNM. A 9 piece heavy metal band from my home state, Iowa, Slipknot had two previous albums that showed promise but that had major problems with tone and dynamics. They were basically one note albums that went at 100 mph from the get go. With this album, the band sat down with producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin (also the producer of the Dixie Chicks album on this list) and came out with a great album. Not confining themselves to the normal constraints of the genre, they allowed songs to be slower or longer when necessary. Other songs would show up early in the album and then have a reprise later. With this album, they escaped from the banner of being a gimmick masked band. My favorite songs are Before I Forget and The Nameless.

8. Jar of Flies -- Alice in Chains
Just an EP, this album was recorded in a week. It is the only EP to ever have been #1 on the Billboard Album charts. It is largely low-key and acoustic but it shows the strength of the band: Layne Staley's haunting vocals and the vocals and guitar work of Jerry Cantrell. I Stay Away is a highlight.

7. Angel Dust -- Faith No More
Faith No More were like chameleons during their career and this album is the perfect example of that with songs ranging from metal to funk to avant garde. Most people remember their big album (The Real Thing) but this album is much better, combining jazz, classical, rock in a crazy mix. Outstanding songs were A Small Victory and Midlife Crisis.

6. Rage Against the Machine -- Rage Against the Machine
The perfect synthesis of musical angst and political commentary. I don't believe any band has done a better job of combining the two. It ranges in subject matter from racism in law enforcement to Native Americans to government control of media. Even if you didn't agree with their politics, it would be hard to deny the power of the music. But with me, since I did agree with them, it was that much more profound. The best songs are Killing in the Name and Freedom.

5. Ten -- Pearl Jam
I believe that Pearl Jam was the best band to come out of Seattle in the early 90's and their first album is probably their best. Along with Nirvana's Nevermind, they effectively killed the late 80's hair metal revolution ... thank god. Because they refused to do videos and rarely did interviews after this album, many people assume they disappeared but they have been going strong ever since. Singer Eddie Vedder cited the fact that they didn't want to influence people's views of what each song meant and didn't want to project their own feelings on to the listener. The music was and always should be the focus. Black is my favorite track on this album. Vedder's lyrics are typically very poetic.

4. ... And Justice for All -- Metallica
This album jarred a shy nerdy high-school kid out of his fondness for new wave and pop music. An unblinking, dry and angry album, it opened a new world of music to me that would culminate in me eventually liking bands like Ministry, Skinny Puppy and Godflesh. That wouldn't have happened without this first step. And Justice for All addresses subjects like war, the environment, freedom and suicide. My favorite track is Dyer's Eve.

3. Nothing's Shocking -- Jane's Addiction
Brilliant and absolutely original. Nothing before or since as sounded like Jane's Addiction. Combining funk, metal and an arthouse feel, this album has no filler. It is solid from top to bottom. Jane Says and Mountain Song are my favorite tracks.

2. So -- Peter Gabriel
A haunting beautiful album with production from U2 producer Daniel Lanois. We all remember In Your Eyes from Say Anything but this album is all great. Oddly, probably the biggest single, Sledgehammer, is my least favorite. The guest artists on the album were incredible and lent their help to two of the best songs, Kate Bush on Don't Give Up and Yossou N'Dour on In Your Eyes.

1. Synchronicity -- The Police
This has always consistently been my favorite album and the Police my favorite band. They (and this album) were the perfect mixture of reggae, punk, literature and philosophy. On what other pop album would have references to Carl Jung, Loch Ness and Greek mythology? Highlights for me were King of Pain and Synchronicity II.

Organic Foods/Wal-Mart

Yep, I was just about to begrudgingly give Wal-Mart credit for greatly increasing their organic foods offerings. Although they were ultimately doing it for profit reasons, it was an opportunity to expose the masses to the benefits of eating organic. But like the earlier instance where Wal-Mart seemingly did something positive environmentally by promising to protect wildlife habitat for every store they build, the promise and the result are two different things. Ultimately, with Wal-Mart, it is about consumer perception and not a sense of real civic duty. And questioning where things come from (China, huge factory organic farms) doesn't seem to be high on the list of Wal-Mart's traditional demographic.

Wal-Mart Charged with Selling Nonorganic Food as Organic; Group Asks USDA to Fully Investigate Organic Product Misrepresentation

Quit shopping at this place. It's like buying a beer for your alcoholic uncle. By frequenting this place, you are an enabler. You're telling the owners of Wal-Mart that it is OK to make a profit at any cost ... wages, insurance, environment, truth be damned.

Speaking of enablers, retard Bill O'Reilly is applauding Wal-Mart for reinstating "Merry Christmas" as a greeting. It's part of his annual "War on Christmas" rant. Either he doesn't realize or he is ignoring the fact that Wal-Mart isn't doing it as a nod to Christians or "traditional" Christmas culture. Like every other decision Wal-Mart makes, they were doing it for a financial reason. Let's get portrayed as the "Christian" store and see the profits roll in. Is it any surprise that Wal-Mart is the 3rd largest contributor to the Republican Party? Pretending to be pious and screwing everything else for financial motives are part and parcel for them.

Of God and Men

I saw Richard Dawkins on C-SPAN tonight. I'd never actually seen him on TV. He was very thought-provoking and his new book, The God Delusion, is a must on my Christmas list ... if you'll forgive the irony of that. lol

He brought up an interesting point: There aren't actually "Christian children" or for that matter, "Muslim children" or "Jewish children". These are "children with Christian parents" or Muslim parents and so on. A child that is 3 or 4 years old has not made a conscious and informed choice to be of whichever religion. He/she is merely following the wishes of the parents. To project on a child those terms is more a reflection of your wishes than theirs. That is not to say that they won't come to that choice later on in life. And I am not suggesting that people shouldn't raise their children in their religion. Just don't call them what they can't possibly be yet.

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Speaking of religion -- and I will be speaking a lot on religion because of the probable diminished political fodder of a lame-duck presidency -- Campus Progress has a nice article on the historically progressive causes of evangelicals. Though written before the election, it anticipates the defection of some evangelicals during this election cycle because of those causes:

"Progressives have long represented many of the causes evangelicals care about most, including peacemaking, anti-poverty and anti-hunger work, and environmental stewardship. Many have come to think that evangelicals are only mobilized around social issues like abortion or opposition to gay marriage. But, in fact, the issues that inspire the Christian faithful to act have broadened as evangelicals partner with religious and secular progressives to strengthen today’s progressive movement."

Don't assume that a new Democratic majority will cozy up the Religious Right, but also don't assume that Democrats and progressives don't see the mutual good of addressing common causes. And not all liberals are godless like me. Sorry, Ann Coulter. Don't mean to disappoint you.

D-Backs

OK, I like the new uniforms. The purple and aqua ones had gotten a little old and didn't really fit in with the colors of the desert.

D-Backs new uniforms

Working Together

How heartening ... seeing Orthodox Jews, Muslims and Christians working together for a common cause. Man, we should bottle that up and solve the world's religious problems. What noble cause could this be? Hunger? The environment? War? ---- uh, no. It is their shared bigotry and hatred of gays:

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest Jerusalem gay march plan

It's good to know that religious fundamentalism is alive and well the world around. Right.

Election Observations

Both winners and losers tend to overanalyze the meaning of a victory or a loss. So, I'm not going to harp on it too much here. So, just some general observations:

There is yet hope for our democracy. As David Brock said this morning, voters saw above the "din of Republican misinformation" in this election cycle. Something that they did not do 2 years ago. They saw past it so much that they pretty much suspected political jockeying in everything that happened (whether it was true or not). For example, the Saddam verdict and gas prices falling in the last month or so.

Watching CNN's coverage of the elections, I observed that Bill Bennett is a blowhard apologist for another blowhard apologist, Rick Santorum. I just about puked when he talked about how much of a "great American" Rick Santorum was. Bill Bennett, that paragon of virtue, opined on how graciously Santorum ran his campaign. Bill Bennett, who tells us how to live a virtuous life while he loses millions in gambling. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum, utterer of these gems the last few years:

"I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts."

"Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"

"Thirty-two years after the legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, the majority of Americans consider themselves pro-life."

tries to tell the rest of the country what a "family" is and what women should do with their bodies. The rest of the country responded:
... strident image sinks Santorum

South Dakota Rejects Abortion Ban

Stem-cell research finds a home in Missouri

Anti-gay marriage measure loses in Arizona

While the shift in Congress and the Senate owes a lot to a rebuke of Bush and the Iraq war, a lot of these local races and measures says more about common Americans pushing back against the bigoted, narrow-minded agenda of the Religious Right. And perhaps even a push back by some evangelicals who have realized that the teaching of Christ don't promote war and lying and ignoring the disadvantaged. A lot of Christians saw a scary side of Bush in the aftermath of Katrina. A suprising amount of evangelicals supported Democratic candidates in this election.

Meanwhile, on MSNBC, for some reason, somebody chose to give Tom DeLay some airtime. When faced with the obviousnous of the Democratic win, DeLay commented that Republicans should purposely try to gridlock Congress. Quite the promoter of democracy that guy is. Someone needs to tell him that his 15 minutes are over.

Living in a conservative state, I'm frequently disappointed by my neighbors, but I was heartened that they gave us a few more Democratic congressmen, defeated the anti-gay measure, raised the minimum wage, and re-elected our great Democratic governor, Janet Napolitano.

We peered into the abyss and thankfully took pause and then stepped back. Now, let's get some stuff done -- raise the minimum wage nationally, fix health-care, have meaningful corruption reform, and get our troops home.

For some great commentary on the elections (and Rumsfeld), please check out:

GWB's So... Who are the BIGGEST winners and losers?

Laura's Bye-Bye Santorum!

Jewish Atheist's Whoo-hooo!!!

Isabella's Thank you America!

Shawn's I wonder

"I know nothing grander, better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested American national election" -- Walt Whitman

Guy Fawkes Day

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

In honor of the day and of the elections coming up, V for Vendetta deserves a re-watching. In this great movie, the protagonist V, who fancies himself a modern-day Guy Fawkes, gives some insight into our modern state of politics ... and blows shit up.

Arizona State Fair

Some of the hilarity and absurdity that can only happen during our annual visit to the Arizona State Fair. All rednecks rejoice.

Democracy

"Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people." -- Oscar Wilde

Nothing is as representative of democracy as voting is (or so we hope). But we're not actually a democracy ... we're a representitive democracy. After all, we're not all voting on every bill that is proposed in Congress.

People realize this and as a result they are excited by the concept of propositions, or referendums. It's their little chance to have a say in the law-making process. That's what they would have you believe anyway. Direct democracy at work. I have my doubts, though.

Like every other aspect of government and society, it's being subverted by big business and others that would have you believe they are for "common sense" and the will of the people. We have several examples of this here in Arizona. The first of which is the antismoking proposition 206. All of the ads for the proposition say it's trying to protect small business owners. Even it's name is Orwellian -- the Non-Smoker Protection Act. But as Deep Throat advised, "follow the money". If you want to find the truest indication of what is at stake here, see who is bankrolling this proposition. $8.48 million of the $8.5 million raised to tout this proposition comes from RJ Reynolds. The better alternative is the true smoking ban, Proposition 201. I can respect if you don't believe smoking should be banned, but don't try to sell me one thing when your only real interest is in money. And I'm sick and tired of the term "grassroots". It's a bullshit term that doesn't mean anything. And lump in "independent" and "underground" too. If any idea was truly any of those terms, we wouldn't be seeing it plastered on MTV and network TV or in a commercial.

The 2nd proposition that I want to highlight is Prop 107, or as I like to call it, the "We're Straight and Insecure Act". Officially:

What it would do:

• Define marriage in the state Constitution as a union of one man and one woman.

• Block any alternative for same-sex couples, such as domestic partnerships or civil unions.

• Bar governments from offering benefits, such as health insurance, to employees' domestic partners, gay or straight.

Again, following the money, one sees that one of the main players (and legal defense) in support of this proposition is the Alliance Defense Fund, a group founded by Focus on the Family's James Dobson. 'Nuff said.

This is a great spoof site for the proposition: Proposition 107. It shows how truly out of touch people that are for this are.

These couple of propositions are only a few of the 18 on our ballot. I'm all for "power to the people", but this is ridiculous. People are intimidated by the sheer number of them. If it takes an hour to vote, is that good? And are the people really being represented?

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." -- Winston Churchill

Fall Family Day at the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum

Scary Congress

Patriotism

After former NFL player Pat Tillman's death in Afghanistan, the Republicans used his sacrifice as a political tool, perverting the circumstances of his death for their own gain. They were in awe of his sense of patriotism for giving up a promising professional career to go and fight for his country. But for them, patriotism is a punch line, a means to an end. It means nothing. The people that die mean nothing. Only what things you can get from it mean anything to them. But Pat and his brother Kevin WERE patriots ... just not in the way that the Right would have you think. The Tillman's were willing to die for the ideal of this country. They were willing to die for the things that this country actually stood for. Things that this government has forgotten. Let's remind them on Nov. 7:

After Pat’s Birthday
Kevin Tillman Honors Late Brother's Birthday with Plea to Speak up for Democracy

by Kevin Tillman

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we get out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.

Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin was discharged in 2005.

Public Schools

"The highest result of education is tolerance." -- Helen Keller

Choosing a school for your kids is scary. Everything is life and death with parents. You feel like any wrong decision you make now in their upbringing will stunt their growth for life. While it's important to be cognizant of how we are raising our kids, at some point we have to realize that some of our decisions are actually making them less ready for the world.

The following block quotes are from a very good article by Ruth Conniff in the Progressive: Back to (Public) School
The article is useful because as a parent she went through a lot of the same decision making that all parents go through when choosing a school (or a type of school):

"...I'm proud of the parents who are keeping their kids in our community school, and who have decided that the best way to help their kids get a great education is to work to support the staff and help make the school as good as it can be.

All parents worry about sending their kids out into the world ... I don't blame the parents who are fretting enough to wonder whether they should pony up for private education if they can afford to.

...much of parents' nervous gossip about schools conveys less about the quality of the schools themselves than it does about the values of the parents. And while most people assume that private schools are generally of higher quality than public schools, a recent study shows better scores, controlling for economic background, among public school students.

One of the things that the author looked at (and that we did also) was diversity:

"...They were a diverse bunch, and there was something great about going to meets and seeing them all together--boys and girls, white, African-American, Asian and Latino--cheering for each other, fooling around, and generally getting along. It struck me then that some of the ugly cliquishness we read so much about lately--"queen bee" girls, the obsession with money and designer labels, and all the other poisonous elements of the culture I'd like to shield my own kids from--were much less in evidence at my old school than at some elite, private institutions. Part of the reason was that there were so many different kinds of people, from so many different backgrounds, no one really had a chance to establish a monopoly on popularity or status.

That democratic spirit is one reason I fell excited about my daughter starting public school. Besides learning reading and math and all the rest of those important accomplishments, I want her to develop into a happy, healthy, kind person with good values. Going to public school can nurture that."

Good values ... that's pretty much what all parents want their kids to get. But what are "values"? For too many, "values" equates to religious morals. And from one religion to another, they vary widely.

In looking for schools, we get conflicting messages on what to look for. Some say to treat shopping for schools like you would shopping for cars ... test driving certain ones (and even certain teachers): School debate: public vs. private
But the author of our article suggests the opposite:

"...To make it work, parents have to have less of a consumer mentality and more of a cooperative, civic-minded focus. It strikes me that the consumer mentality some of us develop when our kids are in preschool leads directly to a kind of victim mentality. We set out to try to get our kids the best education we can afford. From vouchers to Catholic schools to tony private institutions, more and more places give more and more parents the ability to exercise their consumer power. There's even a theory among conservatives that this sort of behavior will make the public schools better: that they will be forced to improve as more parents vote with their feet."

Ah, school vouchers. Proponents would say that competition in all things is beneficial. I'm sure that some that advocate these have noble intentions but I believe that implementation of school vouchers is wrong on so many levels. First of all, it would open the floodgates for using public tax dollars for religious-based education. The problems with that are obvious ... at least for those that believe in the Constitution. And even religious people should be against it because it would increase the government's ability to dictate how they teach. Secondly, it is reliant on the mistaken belief that private schools are providing a higher quality education, which there is no proof of (even the Bush administration admits this - Public/Private)

In general, I'm not really sure who is advocating school vouchers. They really don't make sense. Libertarians that would support the "free-market" aspect of them would have to be against the public-funding of education, particularly religious-based education. And religious people that would enjoy being able to afford to put their children in schools that taught according to their "morals" would have to be against the government intrusion into that education.

Or, there's home schooling, where the motivation is all too often for religious reasons. They equate religion with morality. How is this preparing your children for the real world? It seems to be more about preparing your children for a cloistered life than for giving them the tools to be tolerant of other religions. I think this comes down to the "it takes a village" vs. "it takes a family" argument. I'm on the "it takes a village" side.

I don't want to give the impression that the only reason people would home-school is for religious reasons. There are certainly many valid reasons for choosing home-schooling. But I believe that the push in the last twenty years in home-schooling has been a religious push.

We chose a charter school for Alex. These are basically public schools and are funded by tax dollars but they have to be first be approved by the state for their curriculum and they must go through the normal testing. The advantages of them are that they can have smaller class sizes and are freed from some of the rules of a normal public school. Do I think we're doing the right thing by sending him to a charter school? I don't know. Do I think it's the right thing to do for society in general? Again, I don't know. Parenting is a trial-and-error thing. So far, we are very pleased with the school, Alex is learning a lot and he enjoys the school. Is there the potential that taking these tax dollars out of normal public schools may harm them? Potentially, yes. And charter schools that are not properly monitered and made to meet state standards have the potential of hurting students in the long run. But this is true of any schools. One thing that I have noticed at about Alex's school is the high level of parental involvement and genuine desire by the faculty and staff to forge good relationships with the parents. I'm sure that's not true of all schools (of any type), but it's certainly a goal to strive for.

The author closed with:

"... I am most impressed by the parents I know who are acting on the idea that we must invest in the community where we live, and work to make it good for all of us. At some point you have to stop shopping around and make the best of things where you are. At least, that's the idea I'd like my kids to grow up with.

Maybe that's the best advice. Take into account both what is good for your child and what's good for your neighborhood. More involvement in the place where you live ... whether it means interaction with neighbors, schools, volunteering, patronage of businesses that keep their money in your community ... seems to be a wise way forward.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." -- Nelson Mandela

Hiking Pics at T-bird Park

The Departed

I'm not going to write too much with this review as all of you have seen the movie before me and provided great comments that I agree with.

But suffice to say, The Departed will be in my year end Top 10 list. This is a movie about cops, gangsters, allegiance, deception and how everything is not as it seems.

As Laura said, it ranks up there with the best Scorcese movies of all time, including ... it may be heresy to say so ... Goodfellas. Where I think it exceeds Goodfellas is in it's darkly comic tone. It's no less violent than that movie but I think it's dialogue is sharper and wittier. Some movies use violence and foul language arbitrarily but, in this movie, they are both so integral to establishing the environment of these characters.

The performances are universally outstanding, especially DiCaprio. Particularly notable in the humor of their roles were Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg. I just about lost it every time these two opened their mouths.

One feels guilty for enjoying and laughing at scenes of such rawness but I think the mind can understand the difference between what is real and what is escapism. It's enjoyable because we are maybe just a little bit envious of those people that don't have to or choose not to live by the rules that we all live by. A primal way of living that is perhaps animalistic and instinctual.

But in any event, I don't want to overthink it. It's just good clean fun. Grade: A+

Your guys' takes on the movie:

Sadie (with help from Laura, JA, Reel Fanatic)

Vancouver Calling

Cartoon of the Day

And so it begins (or continues):

Bush Signs Tough Rules on Detainees -- We're supposed to just trust that Bush won't abuse his powers. Right.