If you listened to or read the post-election speeches from the two major presidential candidates, you probably heard some of the same predictable platitudes we've learned to expect from the winners and losers.
I thought McCain's concession speech was clearly the stronger of the two. He seemed to harbor no bitterness and expressed what appeared to be genuine and unselfish support for the winner. He also had the shorter speech. The best and strongest part of Obama's victory speech was the section near the end where he told the story of 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper who voted this year on election day in spite of her sex and color, something she would have been unable to do as a much younger woman.
However both McCain and Obama repeated some comments that, I think, we need to examine, and even question as to accuracy and usefulness. McCain said, "Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this..the greatest nation on earth." I have no problem with people valuing their citizenship in any country. But what scale of measurement is McCain using to conclude that the United States is "the greatest nation on earth?" "Greatest" is a very vague term. How do we measure "greatness?" Is it comparable to wealth or destructive potential? If so than perhaps the US is the "greatest" nation on earth. We have more wealth than most other nations, although there are countries with fewer poor people. We also have more destructive potential, but that's because we invest more of our resources in developing our ability to destroy other peoples or countries. Some might call that "greatness," but others would call it foolish, wasteful, and dangerous. Certainly our treatment of slaves and our destruction of many Native American cultures and peoples are not signs of greatness. Our use of nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only nation in the world to have ever used nuclear weapons to attack civilian populations, is not a sign of greatness. Neither was our war against the Vietnamese, nor is the current war against the Iraqi people a sign of greatness. Most industrialized nations give a much larger percentage of their GNP to non-military developmental aid than the US does. We spend more on health care but don't live as long as people in many other industrialized nations. We have much less support for families from business and government than any country in western Europe. The gap between the minority rich and majority middle and poor classes is increasing. Real wage increases for the working people in this nation have been, at best, nearly stagnant for many years, since early in the Reagan Administration. So what does McCain mean by "greatest?" It would be nice if politicians who claim that the United States is the "greatest" nation in the world would state exactly what they mean by "greatest."
Obama was caught making a similar mistake. At the closing of his speech he said, "And may God bless the United States of America." Some would say that asking for God's blessing on a country which has already been blessed more than most countries is simply selfish. I understand that view, but I'm wondering why Obama stopped with the United States. Why not ask for God's blessing on the whole world, or on Planet Earth. God knows that with all the problems facing this limited planet and it's finite resources, the Earth could use some blessings. I would think that if any presidential candidate would have a more global perspective for the future, it would be Obama. But in closing his victory speech he sounded just like dozens of winning politicians who have gone before him.
McCain might have had the better closing since he said "God bless America," not simply the "United States of America" as Obama concluded his speech. Presumably "America" could mean any country, or all the countries, in North, Central, and South American, making McCain's request for God's blessing broader and less selfish than Obama's. However I doubt if McCain was thinking of Haiti, Colombia, or El Salvador when he made that statement.
At one point in his speech Obama said, ".. we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us." I have no problem with the bravery part of this quote, but I believe every thinking US citizen, including Obama, knows by now that the "brave Americans" in Iraq are not there to risk their lives for us, but for oil, and the oil companies who want access to those resources. Those in Afghanistan are still a part of an incompetent president's act of retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack that has been a complete failure in that it's done little to bring those to justice those who planned the attacks, and has done incredible amounts of damage to civilian populations.
McCain said, "Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history." Again these platitudes also raise questions. We "never quit," and "never surrender," compared to who? These statements are as empty and meaningless as a cheerleader's rah! rah! rah! Certainly there were and are times when quiting would be the more intelligent and civilized choice, like now, with regards to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also now concerning our use of fossil fuels to run this country. It's possible to make the transition, in one decade, to a transportation system primarily run on electric. We should quit killing people in Iraq and Afghanistan and we should quit using fossil fuels, or significantly reduce our use of them. We should also quit polluting our rivers and atmosphere. We should quit using military violence to try to solve our problems with other countries. "Making history" is not necessarily good if it involves killing large numbers of innocent civilians, as it often has throughout US history.
Fortunately neither candidate resorted to using another platitude often heard at times like this and that is referring to the US as the "land of the free and the home of the brave." This one is particularly void of meaning and reflects in those who repeat it, a condescending and discriminating attitude toward other countries and citizens. There are other countries where people are not as free as in the US, but there are also countries where people have much more freedoms than US citizens have. Any country with universal health insurance provides their citizens with a freedom many people in the US do not have. With universal health insurance people have the freedom to change jobs and relocate, whereas in the US, such a transition could cost them their health insurance, and they may not be able to obtain comparable coverage due to preexisting conditions, or lack of availability. Bravery is even less of a unique US citizen characteristic than freedom. There are brave people in every country. In fact one could argue that those who are wealthy and have a nice home, a consistent income, and know where their next meal is coming from, do not need to be near as brave as the poor who work hard every day and yet barely survive. Bravery is probably a lot more common in third world countries than in the US.
It would be nice to hear a victory or concession speech from a national candidate that is free of the meaningless phrases and empty platitudes so often heard after the election is over, but it didn't happen this year.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Election Reflections
Needless to say I was pleased that Obama won and is now the president-elect. During the campaign he was accused of being the most liberal senator in the senate and his opponent made that claim indicating that it was a reason to not vote for Obama. However if the current President Bush is an example of what happens when one of the most conservative politicians in the country wins the presidency, then certainly what this country needs now is someone in charge from the opposite point on the spectrum, to undo all the damage Bush and his cronies have done. I sincerely hope Obama is as liberal as his critics say, because the conservative policies of the past eight years have severely damaged this country and our reputation around the world. One of the reasons I am not a conservative is because conservatives seem to be perpetually trying to drive the country backwards into the past, instead of looking to and addressing the problems and challenges of the future. Of course it's important to begin to address these problems soon, because if not addressed promptly, they will eventually become the problems of Obama and the Democrats.
The four major problems facing our new president, in my opinion, are (in no particular order) the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, energy, the environment, and health care. We need a president who will, as quickly as possible, put an end to the ongoing military attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq and address and reverse the destruction of the environment that has been promoted by the Bush Administration. Obama also needs to concentrate on an energy policy that focuses entirely on clean sources of energy, that is solar, wind, geothermal, ocean tides, electric cars, more mass transit, and conservation. Because of the cost, waste storage problems, and the potential threat of an accident, nuclear should not even be considered. There is no point in drilling for oil or digging for coal since using either aggravates the environmental problems. The USA is way behind other industrialized countries and even some third-world countries by simply not having universal health care. We need universal health care that includes coverage for everyone including psychiatric and medical care. After establishing that and getting it working properly in a couple years, before Obama's term is over, universal health care should also include vision and dental. For this to work it must be a single payer plan. Insurance companies should not be allowed to have any say in the development of the plan. Any input from insurance companies will not reflect concern for the sick and injured, but will simply be attempts to try to preserve or protect their profits and that will result in more expense and less coverage for the citizens of this country.
In case you think I missed one major problem facing this country by not mentioning the economy which has been in the ditch for some time, it's my opinion that if we properly address and correct the other four problems I mentioned, the economy will correct itself. It will takes some time, possible a couple years, but the appalling mistakes of the Bush Administration which is responsible for the current decrepit economic, energy, and environmental status of the US did not happen overnight and they won't be corrected overnight.
In other election issues, California voters approved a ban on same-sex marriages which indicates that there is still in this country, even in California, a majority of people who believe they have the right to shove their religious beliefs down the throats of others. Probably the most dishonest and outrageous claim of this and any recent election season is the fear-mongering by some Christians, that allowing homosexuals to get married in some way threatens the institution of marriage and the marriages of heterosexuals. If my 35 year old marriage to Karen fails, it will be our fault. It won't fail because homosexuals in California or Massachusetts are allowed to get married. That's an idiotic accusation, if there ever was one. I guess we have to wonder if the human race will ever advance to the point where we won't be looking for some group of people, slightly different from ourselves, to discriminate against. When laws prevent us from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or religion, then we start railing against humanists, evolutionists, and homosexuals. Perhaps it's just nice to find someone different so we can blame the problems of the world on them. Honest, scholarly, and sincere people have always disagreed on the biblical interpretation of verses that address the issue of homosexuality, even though Jesus did not consider it important enough to say anything about. If there are two interpretations, one that includes accepting homosexuals into our churches and fellowships, and one that excludes them , why would anyone choose the latter? Can that choice be a "Christian" choice?
Voters in Colorado and South Dakota rejected measures that could have led to wide-scale bans of abortion. The Colorado version would have defined life as beginning at conception, which could have also resulted in a ban against some forms of birth control like IUDs. Although not a supporter of abortion, neither do I support laws banning abortion. The abortion rate in this country is determined by much more than laws that either permit or ban abortions. The abortion rate increased by 50, 000 a year when George W. Bush became president over what it was when Clinton was president, because Bush's economic policies made it more difficult for people to afford to have children, and because Bush also put the brakes on sex education in the schools, by emphasizing abstinence instead of protection, which was not an entirely successful approach to the problem. It's been my impression for some time that even though consevatives and Republicans use the abortion issue to try to get votes at election time, that's the only thing they are willing to do with the issue. Conservatives don't want to ban abortions any more than liberals do. We had twelve consecutive years of George Herbert Walker Bush and Ronald Reagan in the White House and nothing was done during that time to ban abortions. Now we've had another eight years of George W. Bush in the White House with only a ban against late-term abortions which make up less than one half of one percent of the total abortion rate. Those are puny and heartless efforts, to say the least. Much more can be done to reduce the abortion rate by supporting families instead of corportions, by providing universal health care, by facilitating adoption and making it less expensive, and by having an administration and a president in the White House who supports the working people, which we will have again starting next year. I expect to see a decline in the abortion rate, also probably starting sometime next year. The abortion decision belongs to women, not male law-makers. If men were able to get pregnant, the right to get an abortion would be at least as available as the right to get a driver's license. For another interesting perspective read: http://flotsamblog.com/2008/10/16/more-wounded-that-eloquent-im-afraid/.
An energy proposal in Missouri that requires the state's electric utilities to get 15 percent of their electric power from renewal resources by 2015 passed, while a more aggressive bill in California, requiring their state's utilities to generate half of their electric power from renewable resources by 2025, failed. It's likely this forward-looking measure failed, in part, because of the lack of commitment to clean and renewable energy sources by the federal government. But perhaps that will soon change.
Another interesting and worthwhile bill that passed and may be echoed in other states, is California's bill that prohibits cramped cages for chickens and other livestock.
The four major problems facing our new president, in my opinion, are (in no particular order) the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, energy, the environment, and health care. We need a president who will, as quickly as possible, put an end to the ongoing military attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq and address and reverse the destruction of the environment that has been promoted by the Bush Administration. Obama also needs to concentrate on an energy policy that focuses entirely on clean sources of energy, that is solar, wind, geothermal, ocean tides, electric cars, more mass transit, and conservation. Because of the cost, waste storage problems, and the potential threat of an accident, nuclear should not even be considered. There is no point in drilling for oil or digging for coal since using either aggravates the environmental problems. The USA is way behind other industrialized countries and even some third-world countries by simply not having universal health care. We need universal health care that includes coverage for everyone including psychiatric and medical care. After establishing that and getting it working properly in a couple years, before Obama's term is over, universal health care should also include vision and dental. For this to work it must be a single payer plan. Insurance companies should not be allowed to have any say in the development of the plan. Any input from insurance companies will not reflect concern for the sick and injured, but will simply be attempts to try to preserve or protect their profits and that will result in more expense and less coverage for the citizens of this country.
In case you think I missed one major problem facing this country by not mentioning the economy which has been in the ditch for some time, it's my opinion that if we properly address and correct the other four problems I mentioned, the economy will correct itself. It will takes some time, possible a couple years, but the appalling mistakes of the Bush Administration which is responsible for the current decrepit economic, energy, and environmental status of the US did not happen overnight and they won't be corrected overnight.
In other election issues, California voters approved a ban on same-sex marriages which indicates that there is still in this country, even in California, a majority of people who believe they have the right to shove their religious beliefs down the throats of others. Probably the most dishonest and outrageous claim of this and any recent election season is the fear-mongering by some Christians, that allowing homosexuals to get married in some way threatens the institution of marriage and the marriages of heterosexuals. If my 35 year old marriage to Karen fails, it will be our fault. It won't fail because homosexuals in California or Massachusetts are allowed to get married. That's an idiotic accusation, if there ever was one. I guess we have to wonder if the human race will ever advance to the point where we won't be looking for some group of people, slightly different from ourselves, to discriminate against. When laws prevent us from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or religion, then we start railing against humanists, evolutionists, and homosexuals. Perhaps it's just nice to find someone different so we can blame the problems of the world on them. Honest, scholarly, and sincere people have always disagreed on the biblical interpretation of verses that address the issue of homosexuality, even though Jesus did not consider it important enough to say anything about. If there are two interpretations, one that includes accepting homosexuals into our churches and fellowships, and one that excludes them , why would anyone choose the latter? Can that choice be a "Christian" choice?
Voters in Colorado and South Dakota rejected measures that could have led to wide-scale bans of abortion. The Colorado version would have defined life as beginning at conception, which could have also resulted in a ban against some forms of birth control like IUDs. Although not a supporter of abortion, neither do I support laws banning abortion. The abortion rate in this country is determined by much more than laws that either permit or ban abortions. The abortion rate increased by 50, 000 a year when George W. Bush became president over what it was when Clinton was president, because Bush's economic policies made it more difficult for people to afford to have children, and because Bush also put the brakes on sex education in the schools, by emphasizing abstinence instead of protection, which was not an entirely successful approach to the problem. It's been my impression for some time that even though consevatives and Republicans use the abortion issue to try to get votes at election time, that's the only thing they are willing to do with the issue. Conservatives don't want to ban abortions any more than liberals do. We had twelve consecutive years of George Herbert Walker Bush and Ronald Reagan in the White House and nothing was done during that time to ban abortions. Now we've had another eight years of George W. Bush in the White House with only a ban against late-term abortions which make up less than one half of one percent of the total abortion rate. Those are puny and heartless efforts, to say the least. Much more can be done to reduce the abortion rate by supporting families instead of corportions, by providing universal health care, by facilitating adoption and making it less expensive, and by having an administration and a president in the White House who supports the working people, which we will have again starting next year. I expect to see a decline in the abortion rate, also probably starting sometime next year. The abortion decision belongs to women, not male law-makers. If men were able to get pregnant, the right to get an abortion would be at least as available as the right to get a driver's license. For another interesting perspective read: http://flotsamblog.com/2008/10/16/more-wounded-that-eloquent-im-afraid/.
An energy proposal in Missouri that requires the state's electric utilities to get 15 percent of their electric power from renewal resources by 2015 passed, while a more aggressive bill in California, requiring their state's utilities to generate half of their electric power from renewable resources by 2025, failed. It's likely this forward-looking measure failed, in part, because of the lack of commitment to clean and renewable energy sources by the federal government. But perhaps that will soon change.
Another interesting and worthwhile bill that passed and may be echoed in other states, is California's bill that prohibits cramped cages for chickens and other livestock.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Killing Pets... and Other Cross-Species Interactions
The September 19, 2008 issue of People Magazine contained an article entitled "The Puppy Saver," about Bill Smith in Pennsylvania who is committed to saving puppies from "puppy mills," Puppy mills are locations where dogs are bred in large numbers solely for the financial profit of the owner. These puppy mills are often places where the dogs are kept in squalid crowded conditions, without exercise or necessary care. The article says... "It is a dirty secret that picturesque Lancaster County is also the puppy mill capital of the United States - and that the otherwise gentle Amish and Mennonite farmers who live in the area dominate the trade." The article says that "Some of the largest Amish operations can produce annual profits of upwards of $500,000. The Oprah Winfrey Show also recently had an episode that focused on puppy mills and also featured Bill Smith.
The People Magazine article reports that one puppy mill owner, on finding out from a kennel inspector that he might be fined as much as $300. per puppy for inadequate care, shot and killed 80 dogs. The article goes on to say the following: "But the Amish see their involvement in puppy mills sanctioned by a higher authority as well. They interpret the Bible as giving them dominion over animals. "That's in Genesis, " says one Amish kennel owner, who asked that he not be named. "They are not people; they're animals. So they can be kept in cages."
As a Mennonite who grew up in Lancaster County I would like to look a little closer at the belief expressed by the anonymous Amishman who says that it's OK for people to keep animals in cages. (Actually, for the record, we also keep people in cages, especially the United States, which has one of the largest incarcerated populations of humans in the world). I recognize the comment by the Amishman as somewhat representative of the traditional beliefs of some, (hopefully a minority), Amish and Mennonites. Having dominion over animals has never meant abandoning the responsibility to be good stewards. We are still required to treat and relate to other species in a wise and respectful manner. In much the same way that "render to Caeser the things that are Caeser's" does not mean that we give Caesar anything that he asks for, likewise the instruction to "have dominion" over the plants and animals does not mean that we can do anything we want to other species. The arrogance that humans show toward the rest of God's creation is not limited to Amish or Mennonites in their treatment of dogs, but to some extent permeates all societies and is demonstrated by the disappearing habitat for other creatures, and the increasing number of species facing extiction.
I remember frequently seeing, in Lancaster County, country roads covered with dirt and mud where farmers cultivating their land, either with horses or tractors, would work the soil to the very edge of the pavement, and then turn their equipment around on the road to return to the field. If asked, they would probably tell you that they were simply practicing good stewardship by using all the possible soil for cultivating, but I suggest that such a practice is actually an act of greed. Why? Because the Bible makes it clear that some of the land must be preserved for the birds and animals. Landowners have a responsiblity to not use all their land for their own purposes. It's also true that in many parts of this country it is only in those extremely narrow strips of land between cultivated or grazed fields and highways, that native species of plants are able to survive.
From the time I was very young I was aware of the condescending attitude that people have toward other species of animals and plants. This is perhaps best demonstrated in the belief that it 's wrong to let another, especially domesticated, species suffer. So if a dog, horse, cat, or some animal suffers a serious injury, they are euthanized, or more accurately, executed, to end their suffering. This happened to a cat in my family on at least one occassion. We never spent any money on vets or treatment for injured animals. Perhaps my parents could not afford it. This belief was and is widespread throughout the country. The novelist Harry Crews, in his superb 1978 autobiography, "A Childhood: The Biography of a Place," writes about slaughtering hogs: "Animals were killed but seldom hurt. Farmers took tremendous precautions about pain at slaughter. As brutal as they sometimes are with farm animals and with themselves, no farmer would ever eat an animal he had willingly made suffer." Although Crews was writting about growing up as the son of a sharecropper in Georgia, at least a small part of his experience and mine overlap.
The belief that it's better to kill an injured or sick animal rather than let it suffer is another example of the arrogance people display toward other species. We don't even know what other members of our own speices want in that kind of situation. That's why we have living wills and advanced directives. Yet we are arrogant enough to pretend that we know what an individual from another species would want! Don't misunderstand me. I'm not suggesing that letting them suffer is a good idea, or that I have a better alternative. I don't. I'm simply saying that pretending we know what's best for them or what they would want, when we don't even know what other members of our own species want, is extremely arrogant. At least we need to recognize and acknowledge that fact.
Not all Amish or Mennonites act in a disdainful manner toward other creatures. Although I know of a Mennonite pastor who, when I was a boy, foolishly cultivated a hedgerow between two of his fields thereby destroying the nests of several ring-necked pheasants and numerous other animals and birds and also subjected his sloping fields to more erosion and loss of topsoil, I also remember another Mennonite farmer who while cultivating a field with a large tractor and disk carefully circled and preserved a killdeer nest with its four eggs.
The misinterpretation of Biblical passages on having dominion, and the selfishness of humans toward the creation is not evident just in Amish and Mennonite puppy mills. It's a part of our entire human culture and mainfests itself whenever a marsh is drained, wildlife is poached, and whenever air or water is used as a storage for some kind of toxic waste. It's also evident in the actions of "developers" who drive other species off their land in order to build homes for humans, (and the people who buy those homes), rather than using land already available by building more compact cities and towns. It's evident in the transfer of fertile farmland into suburbs, and rain forest into farmland. We see it every time a law has to be passed to protect an endangered species because people don't care enough to do it on their own. It's also visible in the absence of large preserved ecosystems and in the non-existance of wildlife corriders which make it possible for wildlife to have access to water and normal traditional migration patterns. Actually it would be difficult to find, anywhere in the world, a sensitive and responsible pattern of humans relating to other species, although it's true that some countries do it much better than the US.
Amish and Mennonite puppy mill owners who cage their animals, never allowing them to get any exercise and depriving them of needed medical care and proper nutrition, should be accountable for their abuse. However the foundation of their misbehavior, based on the idea that humans have dominion over the rest of the creation, and their failure to realize exactly what that means is a problem that most people, especially in this country, seem to have. Plants and animals, other than humans, are "good," independant of any human use or utilization. Their value as part of the creation is not dependant on how much they benefit human beings. The most important lesson we can learn from the story of Noah and the flood in Genesis is that the creation - all of it - is worth preserving and saving. We have an obligation to preseve and protect other species and their habitats. It's wrong to simply see them as having value only for the ways in which people can use them. Extinction of plants and animals also threatens humans. Most species of plants and animals can get along perfectly well without people. In fact most of them would be better off without any humans on this planet . But people need plants to simply survive. They don't need us, but we definitely need them. We need to remember that Planet Earth belongs to God, and it doesn't need people.
Gas Prices (Part Three)
In my two earlier article on gas prices, I pointed out that the price of gasoline may not yet be high enough, since people are not doing the easiest thing possible to save money and gas which is simply to drive slower. I also put a plug in for alternative forms of transportation such as using a bus, a bike, or walking. Another action that people can take to save fuel and keep the air clean is select or change to recreation that uses less fossil fuel. For example trading in a snowmobile or ATV for cross-country skis, snow-shoes, or hiking boots. Much fuel and money could be saved by conservation. Conservation is actually a potentially significant source of additional energy.
In fact the cost of gasoline is much higher than indicated by the (now currently decreasing) numbers on the gas pump. The cost of war is also part of the cost of gasoline. The cost of the current Iraq War is now in the range of 565 billion dollars. That comes to $4,681 per household or $1,721 per person to keep the gasoline flowing to us. That doesn't include other related costs, one of which is the cost for healthcare for decades into the future for soldiers who participated in this war. Many of them will need extensive and life long care to cope with the effect the war has had on their physical and mental health. The cost of the first 1991 US attack on Iraq, an attack that killed at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians, was also part of the cost of gasoline. It's unlikely that there are any thinking and aware people remaining who, in their hearts, do not realize that this war is entirely about oil and has nothing to do with stopping terrorism or defending our freedoms, but in case there are, let me remind you of the quote from Lawrence Kolb, assistant defense secretary as the US prepared for its massive military assault on Iraq in 1991; "If Kuwait grew carrots, we wouldn't give a damn."
The cost of any future war against Iran will also be a part of the cost of gasoline.
According to a recent report from National Priorities Project (NPP at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/) " ...the U S is spending between $97 and $215 billion annually on military action to defend access to oil and gas reserves around the globe." "The report estimates the military spends up to 30 percent of its annual budget to secure access to energy resources internationally."
Reports indicate that hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and injured as a result of the US attack on Iraq, an attack done solely to steal natural resources from another country. Each one of those killed and injured Iraqi civilians was/is a family member. Killing and injuring family members is the worst kind of anti-family behavior. By initiating this war, based on a lie, and carrying it out, the Bush Administration and the US military are demonstrating their contempt for families and the sacredness of family life.
In addition the US has been using depleted uranium in these two attacks on Iraq. The number of potentially fatal tumors in children increased twelve-fold after the 1991 attack in areas where depleted uranium was used by the US military, which were mostly rural areas. In the more recent war, mostly in urban areas, much more depleted uranium has been used over a longer period of time. Depleted urnaium has a half-life of a billion years, which means that long after the US is as gone and forgotten as the ancient Assayrians, there will still be children in what is now Iraq, coming down with potentially fatal tumors as a result of what the US government and miltary is doing today. No previous dictator in human history has committed the evil of jeopardizing the lives of children whose ancient ancestors have yet to be born, but that is exactly what the US is doing today in Iraq... and it's being done just for oil. So look closely the next time you fill up your tank with gas. There is much more than simply gasoline flowing into your car. There's also the blood of children, teenagers, mothers, fathers, and grandparents, and the tragic legacy of destroyed families. Look real close and you might even see pieces of your own soul being sacrificed for gasoline. It's time to find a better way.
In fact the cost of gasoline is much higher than indicated by the (now currently decreasing) numbers on the gas pump. The cost of war is also part of the cost of gasoline. The cost of the current Iraq War is now in the range of 565 billion dollars. That comes to $4,681 per household or $1,721 per person to keep the gasoline flowing to us. That doesn't include other related costs, one of which is the cost for healthcare for decades into the future for soldiers who participated in this war. Many of them will need extensive and life long care to cope with the effect the war has had on their physical and mental health. The cost of the first 1991 US attack on Iraq, an attack that killed at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians, was also part of the cost of gasoline. It's unlikely that there are any thinking and aware people remaining who, in their hearts, do not realize that this war is entirely about oil and has nothing to do with stopping terrorism or defending our freedoms, but in case there are, let me remind you of the quote from Lawrence Kolb, assistant defense secretary as the US prepared for its massive military assault on Iraq in 1991; "If Kuwait grew carrots, we wouldn't give a damn."
The cost of any future war against Iran will also be a part of the cost of gasoline.
According to a recent report from National Priorities Project (NPP at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/) " ...the U S is spending between $97 and $215 billion annually on military action to defend access to oil and gas reserves around the globe." "The report estimates the military spends up to 30 percent of its annual budget to secure access to energy resources internationally."
Reports indicate that hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and injured as a result of the US attack on Iraq, an attack done solely to steal natural resources from another country. Each one of those killed and injured Iraqi civilians was/is a family member. Killing and injuring family members is the worst kind of anti-family behavior. By initiating this war, based on a lie, and carrying it out, the Bush Administration and the US military are demonstrating their contempt for families and the sacredness of family life.
In addition the US has been using depleted uranium in these two attacks on Iraq. The number of potentially fatal tumors in children increased twelve-fold after the 1991 attack in areas where depleted uranium was used by the US military, which were mostly rural areas. In the more recent war, mostly in urban areas, much more depleted uranium has been used over a longer period of time. Depleted urnaium has a half-life of a billion years, which means that long after the US is as gone and forgotten as the ancient Assayrians, there will still be children in what is now Iraq, coming down with potentially fatal tumors as a result of what the US government and miltary is doing today. No previous dictator in human history has committed the evil of jeopardizing the lives of children whose ancient ancestors have yet to be born, but that is exactly what the US is doing today in Iraq... and it's being done just for oil. So look closely the next time you fill up your tank with gas. There is much more than simply gasoline flowing into your car. There's also the blood of children, teenagers, mothers, fathers, and grandparents, and the tragic legacy of destroyed families. Look real close and you might even see pieces of your own soul being sacrificed for gasoline. It's time to find a better way.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The "10" "Strongest" Books I've Read
NOTE : This list of books, which I've been working on compiling for several months, is possibly the ten (or "on the way to ten") "strongest" books I've read, although I do reserve the right to change my mind in the future. Since the Bible is the first book on the list and it's actually made up of 66 smaller books, perhaps the list is already much longer than ten. With the possible exception of the first "book" on the list, the order is not too significant. By strongest I probably mean most influential on my life, but that too is open to debate and alteration.
1. Holy Bible
2. The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
3. Darkening Valley by Dale Aukerman
4. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
5. Crow by Ted Hughes
6. The Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda
7. The Miner's Pale Children by W S Merwin
8. Man as Male and Female by Paul K Jewett
9. Where I'm Calling From by Raymond Carver
10. ?
On this list are two non-fiction books, two fiction, two short fiction, two collections of poetry, and the Bible which is a collection of those other literary types plus much more. Aukerman and Jewett's non-fiction books are excellent examples of well written explorations into interpreting the Bible. They remind the reader that in order to get the most accurate interpretation, everything has to be taken into consideration. When I first read Merwin's book many years ago as a young man, I remember being astonished, because I never realized that it was possible to do something like that with language. The poetry of Hughes and Neruda significantly expands the definition of poetry and Neruda reminds us that there is value in asking questions for which there may be no answers. Tolkien's "Rings" is just amazing in it's epic size as well as the quality of storytelling. Although McCarthy novel is bloody in a hair- raising manner, when I first read it I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rising, not because of what was happening in the novel, but because of the power of the story-telling. In reality it was not "Where I'm Calling From," by Carver that had the impact on me but his first two collections of stories , "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, " and "Will You Please be Quiet, Please? It's just that "Where I'm Calling From," includes the best stories from those two earlier collections as well as a couple of later and even better stories such as "Cathedral," and "A Small Good Thing." For those who might disagree with my earlier comment that the Holy Bible contains fiction, I'm aware of your perspective. However what matters in biblical stories like Jonah and the whale, or Noah and the flood is not whether they actually happened or are just legends handed down, but the lessons and teachings we are to learn from them today. Grace Paley said, "Any story told more than once is fiction," Paley is saying that in any telling of a story, the person who does the telling inevitably changes the story, either by tone, inflection, emphasis, or editing. Wallace Stegner said, " If you want to convey information you write non-fiction; if you want to tell the truth, you write fiction," Stories in the Bible that may challenge our ability to believe them, are probably more powerful communicaters of truth if seen and read as fiction rather than as non-fiction. Happy reading.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Rendevous
Ronald Reagan was diagnosed as having cancer in the summer of 1985. The announcement of the president's short flirt with a terminal illness was televised world-wide, interrupting the entertainment of millions to broadcast the news of his cancerous bowel.
A few weeks later on a bright summer day, the phone rang. It was Mom.
"Hold it a minute, Mom," I said, after greeting her, "I have to get it quiet around here so I can hear myself think." After reminding my daughter, Andrea, and her little girl friends to get their sun screen on, I chased them outside to play and turned to the phone.
"My doctor tells me that I have cancer," she tried to sound cheerful.
She had been feeling ill for several weeks and was seeking medical help to determine the source of the problem. I wasn't surprised by the news. After working for decades in hospital intensive care units and emergency rooms I've learned to be prepared for the worst. Her symptoms were ominous: weakness, fatigue, and out of whack blood tests. In a tone that made me think she had already given up, he told me more about the illness and plans for treatment.
As I turned from the phone the cries of children playing outside seemed far away. I stared out the window. The sunlight, so bright and luminous moments before, now appeared covered with a dirty film... or was it just a window needing to be cleaned.
"Multiple" myeloma they called it. As if one wasn't enough. "A malignant type of widespread bone destruction" was the briefest of definitions. I remembered a bone scan I had years before. A hard lump on my leg was suspicous. An IV was started. A technician, clad in a chalky white uniform pushed a radioactive substance from a leaded syringe into my vein. I waited an hour for it to circulate while trying to direct my thoughts. On the scan, my skeletal system was outlined in pinpoints of light generated by the radioactive substance. Abnormal areas had a brighter concentration of light, like a faraway comet, or a cluster of stars seen through weak binoculars.
The president's cancer was a polyp in the bowel, which could be neatly cut out. But who ever heard of removing malignant bones? What kind of human would a person without a skeletal system be?
-----------
We began to make plans. Karen, my wife, was six months pregnant, so we couldn't do any traveling before the baby came. We poured over calendars and travel itineraries. Thanksgiving was the earliest we could cover the twenty-eight hundred miles east to visit Mom. We calculated the airline fares over and over again. It was just too expensive. So we bought tickets on Amtrak and I began to get excited. I love trains.
Things were happening. At Reagan's wish, Contras were killing Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In Illinois, a young woman who had been born again confessed that she lied about being raped, a lie that put an innocent man in prison for six years. And somewhere beyond the solar system, Halley's Comet was headed for a winter rendevous with Planet Earth.
Like most kids, I had heard of Halley's Comet from the earliest grades in school. Teachers would show students pictures of it and I figured out the distant year it would return again. Calculating when Halley's Comet would return was one of the few mathematical problems that made sense. It had purpose and meaning for life. Iwanted to see it for myself, and that time would soon be here.
--------------
Mother was getting worse while everyone seemed to have forgotten about Reagan's cancer. Debate raged across the country. Were the Contras a legitimate fighting force or a band of terrorists? Reagan's cancer was losing the fight to destroy his body as his Contras lost support in Congress, but in Mom the cancer was winning. The chemotherapy only made her sicker. She spent several days in the hospital. It was hard to imagine her incapacitated. She was a woman of endless energy. I remember her working all day, six days a week. She spent hours in the garden pulling weeds or picking vegetables, bending over in an upside-down U shape with her knees straight to do the work. She didn't kneel or crouch there, claiming that she had a weak knee and was afraid that if she knelt down, might not be able to rise again.
Karen arose from the chair. " I think we better go." she said. A quick phone call and we had child care. Our three daughters had no desire to witness the birth, although we offered the experience to them. The baby came quickly. The time from beginning of labor to delivery was just a couple hours. A friend brought our girls to the hospital and they took turns sitting in a large spongy chair with thick armrests for a chance to hold their new sister. They stared at her in awe and she squirmed uncomfortably at being passed from arms to arms. It was late at night. The next morning I called my mother to tell her the news.
"We named her Lindsay Rebecca," I said.
"Oh, I like that!" was Mom's reply.
"I don't know when I'll get to see her.... if ever," she added.
----------------
The train was late. It was after midnight when we left Boise. The children dropped off to sleep in their reclined seats, but I stayed awake for hours . I like the connected feeling I get from trains and railroads. Like a personal letter or an unexpected gift, the tracks join people who are otherwise separated by large distances. When I was younger and living hundreds of miles from family, I would occassionally drive to the nearest airport and hang out for a few hours watching planes come and go and studying the lists of arrivals and departures. It made me feel closer to home. Trains with their visible tracks on the Earth's surface do it even better.
At noon the next day, I wasn't hungry. Lindsay, now a little over two months old, was sleeping and the others wanted lunch. I offered to hold her. They headed for the dining car and I reclined my seat with the sleeping baby on my chest. My hand on her back rose and fell with each tiny breath. I felt the warmth of her body against my shirt and marveled at how much heat an infant can generate. My tired head relaxed against the headrest. I dozed and entered my parent's home in Pennsylvania one summer morning. Fresh sunlight chased me through the door. It was quiet - too quiet. Mom and Dad should be up by now. Perhaps they were getting a little extra rest. The day was young. Let them sleep. There was plenty of time. I sat down on the friendly worn sofa and opened a magazine.
What was that? It sounded like an alarm clock. I waited, but it kept ringing. Usually they turned it off so quickly you weren't sure the ringing had been real. I dropped the magazine and walked toward the stairs. This was not an open stairway, like new houses have, but an enclosed one. A rectangular tunnel with steps and a thin handrail. I climbed them, the ringing getting louder as I neared the second floor. The half-opened door to my parent's room was to the right. I cautiously entered the room. They were in the bed, apparently asleep. The alarm clock rattled on, next to their pillow. I reached down and lifted it, pushing on the metal switch behind the 12 to turn it off. My finger met only the flat back of the clock. I turned it over and looked at it. There was a metal knob to wind it up, another to set the time, and one to set the alarm, but no switch to turn it off when it started ringing. The ringing went on and on, changing slowly to a dull hum with motion as I awoke in the speeding train. Lindsay was awake, too, and had slid off my chest toward the floor. She squirmed uncomfortably on my abdomen, her tiny feet dangling between my thighs. Concerned looks from other passengers turned to expressions of relief as I
reached to halt her slide.
------------
That evening, a Mormon couple offered to buy dinner for our family. They said our daughters reminded them of their grandchildren. We ate together in the brightly lit dining car, exchanging crucial information about our families. Outside, the darkness of early winter, nicked with small chips of light, rushed by the window. After the meal we thanked our new friends and returned to our seats. On the way I found a used newspaper. The train was like a spaceship isolating passengers from television and radio. I was hungry for information. The news was not uplifting. A judge in Illinois could not understand why someone would apologize for telling a lie six years before. The innocent "rapist" would not be freed. The news from outer space was disappointing also. Halley's was coming, but the view would not be great. It wouldn't get very close to earth this trip. Those who wanted a better view would have to wait until 2062.
--------------
On the train, we waited. The brown, open spaces of Nebraska in winter swept by the windows. I calculated our speed. The little white mileposts were 42 seconds apart. That meant we were going about 86 miles per hour. The comet's speed was measured in thousands of miles per hour. In Chicago, we used the hours between trains to ride the elevator up the Sears Tower. The view was stunning from the top even though limited by clouds and smog. I wished for a clear dark night so I could check the skies.
The trains east of Chicago were noisy. The aged and crowded passenger cars clattered and clanged over the rails. We almost didn't get seats together. It was a relief to arrive at our destination.
--------------
We walked down the corridor toward my mother's room. I checked the dark room numbers on the white wall by the side of each door. Room 641. I entered the open door crowding my father just ahead while the others trailed behind. The tortured face of the woman in bed was the face of a stranger. I lifted my hand to touch my dad's shoulder and tell him we were in the wrong room, but he kept going. I stopped to look for something to recognize in her features. She looked thirty years older than the healthy mother who had visited us in Idaho earlier in the year. Her breathing was labored and her eyes closed. We tried to visit with her that day and each day for more than a week, but she was too ill. Perhaps she knew who we were, but couldn't respond. It was impossible to tell. Without her, we feasted on Thanksgiving Day and connected with family in a reunion haunted by the shadow of her terminal illness. Others celebrated. The governor of Illinois released the falsely accused prisoner and no sign of Reagan's cancer reappeared. Even the besieged people of Nicaragua received a reprieve as Congress cut funding for the Contras.
----------------
Weeks later, after mother's funeral and back in Idaho, I went to see the comet. It was late at night and out in the desert away from city lights. Telescopes had been set up for public viewing. Everyone wanted to see. Streams of cars, nearly bumper to bumper, trailed each other away from town. From a distance their lights looked like the tail of a comet. Shivering people stood in long, dark lines to peer through a telescope. To the north, a silhouette of mountain peaks interrupted the sky line, but did nothing to block the arctic winds, and to the east Halley's Comet hugged the horizon line like a malignant growth in the night sky, hopelessly trying to hide.
(Previously published in a 1994 Boise State Univ. class publication: "Just About Noon at Two Dudes Nacho Hut")
A few weeks later on a bright summer day, the phone rang. It was Mom.
"Hold it a minute, Mom," I said, after greeting her, "I have to get it quiet around here so I can hear myself think." After reminding my daughter, Andrea, and her little girl friends to get their sun screen on, I chased them outside to play and turned to the phone.
"My doctor tells me that I have cancer," she tried to sound cheerful.
She had been feeling ill for several weeks and was seeking medical help to determine the source of the problem. I wasn't surprised by the news. After working for decades in hospital intensive care units and emergency rooms I've learned to be prepared for the worst. Her symptoms were ominous: weakness, fatigue, and out of whack blood tests. In a tone that made me think she had already given up, he told me more about the illness and plans for treatment.
As I turned from the phone the cries of children playing outside seemed far away. I stared out the window. The sunlight, so bright and luminous moments before, now appeared covered with a dirty film... or was it just a window needing to be cleaned.
"Multiple" myeloma they called it. As if one wasn't enough. "A malignant type of widespread bone destruction" was the briefest of definitions. I remembered a bone scan I had years before. A hard lump on my leg was suspicous. An IV was started. A technician, clad in a chalky white uniform pushed a radioactive substance from a leaded syringe into my vein. I waited an hour for it to circulate while trying to direct my thoughts. On the scan, my skeletal system was outlined in pinpoints of light generated by the radioactive substance. Abnormal areas had a brighter concentration of light, like a faraway comet, or a cluster of stars seen through weak binoculars.
The president's cancer was a polyp in the bowel, which could be neatly cut out. But who ever heard of removing malignant bones? What kind of human would a person without a skeletal system be?
-----------
We began to make plans. Karen, my wife, was six months pregnant, so we couldn't do any traveling before the baby came. We poured over calendars and travel itineraries. Thanksgiving was the earliest we could cover the twenty-eight hundred miles east to visit Mom. We calculated the airline fares over and over again. It was just too expensive. So we bought tickets on Amtrak and I began to get excited. I love trains.
Things were happening. At Reagan's wish, Contras were killing Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In Illinois, a young woman who had been born again confessed that she lied about being raped, a lie that put an innocent man in prison for six years. And somewhere beyond the solar system, Halley's Comet was headed for a winter rendevous with Planet Earth.
Like most kids, I had heard of Halley's Comet from the earliest grades in school. Teachers would show students pictures of it and I figured out the distant year it would return again. Calculating when Halley's Comet would return was one of the few mathematical problems that made sense. It had purpose and meaning for life. Iwanted to see it for myself, and that time would soon be here.
--------------
Mother was getting worse while everyone seemed to have forgotten about Reagan's cancer. Debate raged across the country. Were the Contras a legitimate fighting force or a band of terrorists? Reagan's cancer was losing the fight to destroy his body as his Contras lost support in Congress, but in Mom the cancer was winning. The chemotherapy only made her sicker. She spent several days in the hospital. It was hard to imagine her incapacitated. She was a woman of endless energy. I remember her working all day, six days a week. She spent hours in the garden pulling weeds or picking vegetables, bending over in an upside-down U shape with her knees straight to do the work. She didn't kneel or crouch there, claiming that she had a weak knee and was afraid that if she knelt down, might not be able to rise again.
Karen arose from the chair. " I think we better go." she said. A quick phone call and we had child care. Our three daughters had no desire to witness the birth, although we offered the experience to them. The baby came quickly. The time from beginning of labor to delivery was just a couple hours. A friend brought our girls to the hospital and they took turns sitting in a large spongy chair with thick armrests for a chance to hold their new sister. They stared at her in awe and she squirmed uncomfortably at being passed from arms to arms. It was late at night. The next morning I called my mother to tell her the news.
"We named her Lindsay Rebecca," I said.
"Oh, I like that!" was Mom's reply.
"I don't know when I'll get to see her.... if ever," she added.
----------------
The train was late. It was after midnight when we left Boise. The children dropped off to sleep in their reclined seats, but I stayed awake for hours . I like the connected feeling I get from trains and railroads. Like a personal letter or an unexpected gift, the tracks join people who are otherwise separated by large distances. When I was younger and living hundreds of miles from family, I would occassionally drive to the nearest airport and hang out for a few hours watching planes come and go and studying the lists of arrivals and departures. It made me feel closer to home. Trains with their visible tracks on the Earth's surface do it even better.
At noon the next day, I wasn't hungry. Lindsay, now a little over two months old, was sleeping and the others wanted lunch. I offered to hold her. They headed for the dining car and I reclined my seat with the sleeping baby on my chest. My hand on her back rose and fell with each tiny breath. I felt the warmth of her body against my shirt and marveled at how much heat an infant can generate. My tired head relaxed against the headrest. I dozed and entered my parent's home in Pennsylvania one summer morning. Fresh sunlight chased me through the door. It was quiet - too quiet. Mom and Dad should be up by now. Perhaps they were getting a little extra rest. The day was young. Let them sleep. There was plenty of time. I sat down on the friendly worn sofa and opened a magazine.
What was that? It sounded like an alarm clock. I waited, but it kept ringing. Usually they turned it off so quickly you weren't sure the ringing had been real. I dropped the magazine and walked toward the stairs. This was not an open stairway, like new houses have, but an enclosed one. A rectangular tunnel with steps and a thin handrail. I climbed them, the ringing getting louder as I neared the second floor. The half-opened door to my parent's room was to the right. I cautiously entered the room. They were in the bed, apparently asleep. The alarm clock rattled on, next to their pillow. I reached down and lifted it, pushing on the metal switch behind the 12 to turn it off. My finger met only the flat back of the clock. I turned it over and looked at it. There was a metal knob to wind it up, another to set the time, and one to set the alarm, but no switch to turn it off when it started ringing. The ringing went on and on, changing slowly to a dull hum with motion as I awoke in the speeding train. Lindsay was awake, too, and had slid off my chest toward the floor. She squirmed uncomfortably on my abdomen, her tiny feet dangling between my thighs. Concerned looks from other passengers turned to expressions of relief as I
reached to halt her slide.
------------
That evening, a Mormon couple offered to buy dinner for our family. They said our daughters reminded them of their grandchildren. We ate together in the brightly lit dining car, exchanging crucial information about our families. Outside, the darkness of early winter, nicked with small chips of light, rushed by the window. After the meal we thanked our new friends and returned to our seats. On the way I found a used newspaper. The train was like a spaceship isolating passengers from television and radio. I was hungry for information. The news was not uplifting. A judge in Illinois could not understand why someone would apologize for telling a lie six years before. The innocent "rapist" would not be freed. The news from outer space was disappointing also. Halley's was coming, but the view would not be great. It wouldn't get very close to earth this trip. Those who wanted a better view would have to wait until 2062.
--------------
On the train, we waited. The brown, open spaces of Nebraska in winter swept by the windows. I calculated our speed. The little white mileposts were 42 seconds apart. That meant we were going about 86 miles per hour. The comet's speed was measured in thousands of miles per hour. In Chicago, we used the hours between trains to ride the elevator up the Sears Tower. The view was stunning from the top even though limited by clouds and smog. I wished for a clear dark night so I could check the skies.
The trains east of Chicago were noisy. The aged and crowded passenger cars clattered and clanged over the rails. We almost didn't get seats together. It was a relief to arrive at our destination.
--------------
We walked down the corridor toward my mother's room. I checked the dark room numbers on the white wall by the side of each door. Room 641. I entered the open door crowding my father just ahead while the others trailed behind. The tortured face of the woman in bed was the face of a stranger. I lifted my hand to touch my dad's shoulder and tell him we were in the wrong room, but he kept going. I stopped to look for something to recognize in her features. She looked thirty years older than the healthy mother who had visited us in Idaho earlier in the year. Her breathing was labored and her eyes closed. We tried to visit with her that day and each day for more than a week, but she was too ill. Perhaps she knew who we were, but couldn't respond. It was impossible to tell. Without her, we feasted on Thanksgiving Day and connected with family in a reunion haunted by the shadow of her terminal illness. Others celebrated. The governor of Illinois released the falsely accused prisoner and no sign of Reagan's cancer reappeared. Even the besieged people of Nicaragua received a reprieve as Congress cut funding for the Contras.
----------------
Weeks later, after mother's funeral and back in Idaho, I went to see the comet. It was late at night and out in the desert away from city lights. Telescopes had been set up for public viewing. Everyone wanted to see. Streams of cars, nearly bumper to bumper, trailed each other away from town. From a distance their lights looked like the tail of a comet. Shivering people stood in long, dark lines to peer through a telescope. To the north, a silhouette of mountain peaks interrupted the sky line, but did nothing to block the arctic winds, and to the east Halley's Comet hugged the horizon line like a malignant growth in the night sky, hopelessly trying to hide.
(Previously published in a 1994 Boise State Univ. class publication: "Just About Noon at Two Dudes Nacho Hut")
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
_________________________________________________
Words of The Zach (my five-year-old grandson)
One morning after slowly and sleepily dragging himself out of bed
and down the hall to the kitchen...
Zach: "I just want my dream back."
Papa: "What was your dream about?"
Zach: "I don't know, but it was a nice dream and I just want it back."
__________________________________________________
Words of The Zach (my five-year-old grandson)
One morning after slowly and sleepily dragging himself out of bed
and down the hall to the kitchen...
Zach: "I just want my dream back."
Papa: "What was your dream about?"
Zach: "I don't know, but it was a nice dream and I just want it back."
__________________________________________________
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sarah Palin and the "Country First" slogan
Like other US citizens I watched Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's speech on TV. I also saw the hoards of Republican delegates at the convention waving their "Country First" banners.
Let's look at a few of the things that Palin said, or didn't say, about concerns that should be of interest to US citizens. No mention was made of protecting the environment or of the threat of global warming. Since environmental degradation and global warming may be the most serious problem the human race has ever faced, the vice-presidential candidate for the Republican Party, the party that has traditionally ignored environmental concerns, failing to address those problems is an ominous omen for the health and safety of our citizens, and for the health of the planet.
Palin did address energy concerns but tacked the solar, wind, and geothermal options to the end of a list that started with oil, coal, and nuclear thereby clearly indicating where her priorities reside.
In one sentence Palin, referring to a pipeline, said the following; ...when the last section is laid and its valves opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart." Does Palin expect other countries to have US interest's at heart? Does the US have the interests of other countries at heart?
She criticizes Obama by saying when "Victory in Iraq is finally in sight...he wants to forfeit." This raise the following question. Just how does Palin define "victory" in Iraq? How many innocent civilian deaths does it take to get one "victory?" If Palin doesn't realize that killing children and innocent civilians for oil is despicable behavior no matter which country does it, she is too dangerous and irresponsible to be a heartbeat from the White House. I'm always appalled at professing Christians who claim to be against abortion and pro-life and at the same time advocate killing children in other countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran by waging war against those countries. Palin put a plug in for war against Iran by criticising Obama for being willing to meet with Iranian leaders without preconditions. She referred to Iran as a "terrorist state." The last thing this country and the world needs is another US instigated war against a Middle Eastern country with oil deposits. The next administration should be willing to talk to any enemy or potential enemy nation as a way of preventing war. We should only apply preconditions to those talks if we are willing to accept preconditions from them. In light of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Vietnam, and Iraq, as well as our use of depleted uranium, I'm sure more people in the world see the United States as a terrorist state than see Iran as any threat to them.
In another paragraph Palin said. "Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America...he's worried (referring again to Obama) that someone won't read them their rights. " This is clearly a reference to Guantanamo. Since most of the inmates who were imprisoned there were not guilty of any wrongdoing and were badly mistreated by the US, this comment by Palin demonstrates support for torture and a continuation of the violation of human rights as practiced by the Bush Administration.
Palin mentions nothing about one of the biggest threats to US citizens and that is the lack of affordable health care or adequate health insurance. That seems to say that she has no plans or workable ideas for solving the problem. Other problems she did not address are job outsourcing, the current economic crises, and immigration. You may argue that neither did Obama or Biden mention those problems, but Republicans have been in control in the White House for the past eight years, so its more imperative that the Republican candidates assure us that they will not continue making the same mistakes of the current Bush Administration.
In one of her last statements she said, "There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you...in places where winning means survival and defeat means death...and that man is John McCain." That, of course, is inaccurate. Every US citizen who goes to work and does a good day's work is fighting for his/her country. The idea that the only people who "fight" for their country are soldiers is absurd. Teachers, health care professionals, production workers, miners, truck drivers, students, etc., etc. are all "fighting" for their country when they do good work at what they need to do to survive, learn a skill, or make a living. I don't question the fact that McCain was subject to and survived a serious ordeal in Vietnam, and the time he was a prisoner of war certainly took courage and resolution. But he never would have been a prisoner of war if he hadn't participated in that unjustified and illegal violence against Vietnam. The Vietnam War had long since been discredited by history, by Republican and Democratic leaders, as well as by most citizens, as an unnecessary and foolish waste of lives and resources. Most Americans believe that getting involved in Vietnam was one of the worst mistakes this country ever made. It's time to quit making heroes out of those who made that mistake. If McCain were a responsible citizen the first thing he would do is publicly acknowledge that, whether as a draftee or a volunteer, it was a mistake for him to participate in the violence against Vietnam.
Several times during the convention people in the audience were seen waving placards with the
selfish, narrow-minded, and myopic "Country First" slogan on it. It seems as if most Republicans still think that the US is the only country that matters. As responsible citizens we must realize that decisions and choices we make as a government and country have to take into consideration the impact we have on other countries. We share this planet with billions of other people, most with different languages, religions, cultures and citizenship. Their lives are as important as ours. They have as much right to live in their homelands free from foreign military or economic attack as we do. They are every bit as brave as we are. Many of them are as free as we are and an increasing number have more freedoms than US citizens, since their governments provide them with more choices and better support than the US government provides its citizens. Other industrialized countries as well as some poorer countries have some form of universal health care. That's an enormously liberating benefit to both individuals and families because, with universal health care, people are freer to change jobs and living locations. Universal health care makes for stronger family units. Many other countries provide their citizens with more transportation options. An increasing number of countries are ahead of the US in protecting the environment, and developing clean alternative energy sources. Many countries have more than two major political parties and therefore have more options for citizen involvement unlike the two powerful, but very similar and both very conservative parties in this country. Some countries provide their citizens with a free college education. Most Western European countries are much more supportive of family life than the US is in that they provide longer terms of maternity and paternity leave with a significant percentage of pay. The list is growing as more and more countries surge ahead of the US in advancing civilization. It looks as if a Palin and McCain win in November will simply result in the United States falling further and further behind other nations in having an advanced and supportive society and civilization.
Let's look at a few of the things that Palin said, or didn't say, about concerns that should be of interest to US citizens. No mention was made of protecting the environment or of the threat of global warming. Since environmental degradation and global warming may be the most serious problem the human race has ever faced, the vice-presidential candidate for the Republican Party, the party that has traditionally ignored environmental concerns, failing to address those problems is an ominous omen for the health and safety of our citizens, and for the health of the planet.
Palin did address energy concerns but tacked the solar, wind, and geothermal options to the end of a list that started with oil, coal, and nuclear thereby clearly indicating where her priorities reside.
In one sentence Palin, referring to a pipeline, said the following; ...when the last section is laid and its valves opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart." Does Palin expect other countries to have US interest's at heart? Does the US have the interests of other countries at heart?
She criticizes Obama by saying when "Victory in Iraq is finally in sight...he wants to forfeit." This raise the following question. Just how does Palin define "victory" in Iraq? How many innocent civilian deaths does it take to get one "victory?" If Palin doesn't realize that killing children and innocent civilians for oil is despicable behavior no matter which country does it, she is too dangerous and irresponsible to be a heartbeat from the White House. I'm always appalled at professing Christians who claim to be against abortion and pro-life and at the same time advocate killing children in other countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran by waging war against those countries. Palin put a plug in for war against Iran by criticising Obama for being willing to meet with Iranian leaders without preconditions. She referred to Iran as a "terrorist state." The last thing this country and the world needs is another US instigated war against a Middle Eastern country with oil deposits. The next administration should be willing to talk to any enemy or potential enemy nation as a way of preventing war. We should only apply preconditions to those talks if we are willing to accept preconditions from them. In light of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Vietnam, and Iraq, as well as our use of depleted uranium, I'm sure more people in the world see the United States as a terrorist state than see Iran as any threat to them.
In another paragraph Palin said. "Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America...he's worried (referring again to Obama) that someone won't read them their rights. " This is clearly a reference to Guantanamo. Since most of the inmates who were imprisoned there were not guilty of any wrongdoing and were badly mistreated by the US, this comment by Palin demonstrates support for torture and a continuation of the violation of human rights as practiced by the Bush Administration.
Palin mentions nothing about one of the biggest threats to US citizens and that is the lack of affordable health care or adequate health insurance. That seems to say that she has no plans or workable ideas for solving the problem. Other problems she did not address are job outsourcing, the current economic crises, and immigration. You may argue that neither did Obama or Biden mention those problems, but Republicans have been in control in the White House for the past eight years, so its more imperative that the Republican candidates assure us that they will not continue making the same mistakes of the current Bush Administration.
In one of her last statements she said, "There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you...in places where winning means survival and defeat means death...and that man is John McCain." That, of course, is inaccurate. Every US citizen who goes to work and does a good day's work is fighting for his/her country. The idea that the only people who "fight" for their country are soldiers is absurd. Teachers, health care professionals, production workers, miners, truck drivers, students, etc., etc. are all "fighting" for their country when they do good work at what they need to do to survive, learn a skill, or make a living. I don't question the fact that McCain was subject to and survived a serious ordeal in Vietnam, and the time he was a prisoner of war certainly took courage and resolution. But he never would have been a prisoner of war if he hadn't participated in that unjustified and illegal violence against Vietnam. The Vietnam War had long since been discredited by history, by Republican and Democratic leaders, as well as by most citizens, as an unnecessary and foolish waste of lives and resources. Most Americans believe that getting involved in Vietnam was one of the worst mistakes this country ever made. It's time to quit making heroes out of those who made that mistake. If McCain were a responsible citizen the first thing he would do is publicly acknowledge that, whether as a draftee or a volunteer, it was a mistake for him to participate in the violence against Vietnam.
Several times during the convention people in the audience were seen waving placards with the
selfish, narrow-minded, and myopic "Country First" slogan on it. It seems as if most Republicans still think that the US is the only country that matters. As responsible citizens we must realize that decisions and choices we make as a government and country have to take into consideration the impact we have on other countries. We share this planet with billions of other people, most with different languages, religions, cultures and citizenship. Their lives are as important as ours. They have as much right to live in their homelands free from foreign military or economic attack as we do. They are every bit as brave as we are. Many of them are as free as we are and an increasing number have more freedoms than US citizens, since their governments provide them with more choices and better support than the US government provides its citizens. Other industrialized countries as well as some poorer countries have some form of universal health care. That's an enormously liberating benefit to both individuals and families because, with universal health care, people are freer to change jobs and living locations. Universal health care makes for stronger family units. Many other countries provide their citizens with more transportation options. An increasing number of countries are ahead of the US in protecting the environment, and developing clean alternative energy sources. Many countries have more than two major political parties and therefore have more options for citizen involvement unlike the two powerful, but very similar and both very conservative parties in this country. Some countries provide their citizens with a free college education. Most Western European countries are much more supportive of family life than the US is in that they provide longer terms of maternity and paternity leave with a significant percentage of pay. The list is growing as more and more countries surge ahead of the US in advancing civilization. It looks as if a Palin and McCain win in November will simply result in the United States falling further and further behind other nations in having an advanced and supportive society and civilization.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Gas Prices (part two)
Solutions to the relative high cost of gasoline have been proposed. President Bush has advocated more drilling for oil, even in environmentally sensitive areas. The same solutions have been proposed by Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Both McCain and Palin are strong supporters of building more nuclear power plants. On the other hand Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama supports some drilling as a temporarily stop gap measure to carry us into an era of cleaner energy. Obama doesn't entirely dismiss nuclear generated electricity but reminds us of ongoing safety and radioactive waste storage issues that are decades old and show no sign of soon being resolved.
There is more than one issue that has to be taken into consideration. One is the need for more clean sources of energy. Another is concern about the environment and global warming. Drilling for more fossil fuels is unlikely to make a dent in the energy cost any time soon. Burning more fossil fuels is counterproductive to stopping the human assault on the climate and the environment. It doesn't matter where the oil comes from. Burning it pollutes the environment, even if we didn't have to drill for it and it just bubbled out of the ground and was dirt cheap. We still have to reduce our use of fossil fuels. So solutions that include drilling for more oil are not solutions at all but simply expensive ways of perpetuating and exacerbating the problem. The money, resources, and drive for energy should be diverted from fossil fuels and aimed in the direction of sources that are renewable and do not pollute, or cause only minimal pollution. Any politician from any party who suggests that we should expand drilling for oil is suggesting that we move backwards into the past, that we disregard the environment, that we worsen the problem of global warming, and that we leave our descendants with dirty energy sources, a poisoned earth and atmosphere, and ongoing military violence against women, children, and other civilians who had the poor judgement to be born in a country with large oil deposits.
There are solutions to the energy crises. Some like hydrogen are on the distant horizon and may not be available for decades. Others like solar and wind, which is a form of solar energy, are available now, and expanding rapidly. We haven't heard much about conservation lately, but many people can save energy by making changes in their life style. Drive less, walk and peddle more. Reduce the energy demands of your work and leisure by making decisions that take energy use into consideration. Live close to your place of employment. Buy food that was grown locally. The list is endless. In part one I suggested that people can save gasoline and money by simply driving slower. There's another change that should take place to help reduce the use of energy as well as improve the environment. On Monday, Labor Day I was driving home from work (no bus service available on holidays) and again I was impressed with how empty the roads were. I could have driven on State Street from downtown Boise the few miles to Collister or Ellen's Ferry on the wrong side of the street without hitting anyone. Normally on week days it's heavy traffic most of the day. The solution, of course, is more holidays. Fifty year ago most businesses were closed on Sundays. Plans for travel on Sundays had to be made carefully because it might be difficult to find open gas stations for fuel. Usually you packed a lunch to take along, because restaurants were closed on Sundays. Today many businesses are open Sundays, but some are closed for the main holidays such as Christmas, New Years and Labor Day. More holidays with three days weekends would reduce fuel use and help keep the air clean. Businesses should be encouraged to close on holidays and Sundays. More holiday weekends would also be great for families and family life. If the conservatives in this country were as pro-family as they want us to think they are, more holiday weekends would have been at the top of their agenda for decades. I suggest an official holiday every week, but we can start with twice a month and gradually expand it to every week. It would be a great way to save energy, improve air quality, and enhance family life.
There is more than one issue that has to be taken into consideration. One is the need for more clean sources of energy. Another is concern about the environment and global warming. Drilling for more fossil fuels is unlikely to make a dent in the energy cost any time soon. Burning more fossil fuels is counterproductive to stopping the human assault on the climate and the environment. It doesn't matter where the oil comes from. Burning it pollutes the environment, even if we didn't have to drill for it and it just bubbled out of the ground and was dirt cheap. We still have to reduce our use of fossil fuels. So solutions that include drilling for more oil are not solutions at all but simply expensive ways of perpetuating and exacerbating the problem. The money, resources, and drive for energy should be diverted from fossil fuels and aimed in the direction of sources that are renewable and do not pollute, or cause only minimal pollution. Any politician from any party who suggests that we should expand drilling for oil is suggesting that we move backwards into the past, that we disregard the environment, that we worsen the problem of global warming, and that we leave our descendants with dirty energy sources, a poisoned earth and atmosphere, and ongoing military violence against women, children, and other civilians who had the poor judgement to be born in a country with large oil deposits.
There are solutions to the energy crises. Some like hydrogen are on the distant horizon and may not be available for decades. Others like solar and wind, which is a form of solar energy, are available now, and expanding rapidly. We haven't heard much about conservation lately, but many people can save energy by making changes in their life style. Drive less, walk and peddle more. Reduce the energy demands of your work and leisure by making decisions that take energy use into consideration. Live close to your place of employment. Buy food that was grown locally. The list is endless. In part one I suggested that people can save gasoline and money by simply driving slower. There's another change that should take place to help reduce the use of energy as well as improve the environment. On Monday, Labor Day I was driving home from work (no bus service available on holidays) and again I was impressed with how empty the roads were. I could have driven on State Street from downtown Boise the few miles to Collister or Ellen's Ferry on the wrong side of the street without hitting anyone. Normally on week days it's heavy traffic most of the day. The solution, of course, is more holidays. Fifty year ago most businesses were closed on Sundays. Plans for travel on Sundays had to be made carefully because it might be difficult to find open gas stations for fuel. Usually you packed a lunch to take along, because restaurants were closed on Sundays. Today many businesses are open Sundays, but some are closed for the main holidays such as Christmas, New Years and Labor Day. More holidays with three days weekends would reduce fuel use and help keep the air clean. Businesses should be encouraged to close on holidays and Sundays. More holiday weekends would also be great for families and family life. If the conservatives in this country were as pro-family as they want us to think they are, more holiday weekends would have been at the top of their agenda for decades. I suggest an official holiday every week, but we can start with twice a month and gradually expand it to every week. It would be a great way to save energy, improve air quality, and enhance family life.
Gas Prices (part one)
A few weeks ago gas prices in the Treasure Valley area of Southwestern Idaho temporarily peaked at a little over four dollars a gallon. Most of the country was having a similar experience as gas prices reached new highs nearly everywhere and the news media focused on the increasing cost of gasoline for many days. Some blamed the president while others said that speculators were the cause. Of course the oil companies are always at fault when gas prices increase. Still others blamed the Democrats in Congress. In addition we can't forget the environmentalists who are nearly always at fault, whenever concern is expressed about the poisons from burning fossil fuel being released into the environment, and how they contribute to illness and global warming, as they have always done.
On the positive side, the news media also reported that the number of miles driven in the country compared to similar time period last year was significantly less. That is hopeful news considering the reduction in mileage driven took place rather quickly and apparently without the need for legislation. In the meantime motorists of Western Europe are paying seven to ten dollars a gallon for gasoline (or the equivalent Euros per liter for petrol), and I highly suspect that there were few if any stories in their news media about their citizens complaining of high gas prices. If fact, American complaints about the cost of our much cheaper gasoline was probably a bigger news story in Europe, as well as a source of humor for Europeans.
However it seems as if most news media outlets in this areas missed the easiest and quickest method of reducing the cost of gasoline. Next to using mass transit or some form of transportation that does not use gasoline, the easiest way to cut your cost of gasoline is to simply slow down. Although I usually take the bus or walk, when I've driven in the past couple months I've tried this solution many times. I've driven 40 MPH on West State St. between Collister and Glenwood where the speed limit is 45 mph; 30 mph on Glenwood, Chindon, and other streets where the speed limit is 35 mph. Without exception the minute I slowed down, I was passed repeatedly by others going the same direction on that street. Although nearly everyone was complaining about high gas prices, very few people were actually doing the simplest thing anyone can do to cut their gasoline cost, and that is "drive slower." In fact many of them were exceeding the speed limit. Unless you're driving an emergency vehicle, try slowing down. If you're still driving the speed limit or faster, you have no legitimate reason to complain about high gas prices. Since people are continuing to drive as they did when gas was cheaper, apparently the price of gasoline is still not high enough.
On the positive side, the news media also reported that the number of miles driven in the country compared to similar time period last year was significantly less. That is hopeful news considering the reduction in mileage driven took place rather quickly and apparently without the need for legislation. In the meantime motorists of Western Europe are paying seven to ten dollars a gallon for gasoline (or the equivalent Euros per liter for petrol), and I highly suspect that there were few if any stories in their news media about their citizens complaining of high gas prices. If fact, American complaints about the cost of our much cheaper gasoline was probably a bigger news story in Europe, as well as a source of humor for Europeans.
However it seems as if most news media outlets in this areas missed the easiest and quickest method of reducing the cost of gasoline. Next to using mass transit or some form of transportation that does not use gasoline, the easiest way to cut your cost of gasoline is to simply slow down. Although I usually take the bus or walk, when I've driven in the past couple months I've tried this solution many times. I've driven 40 MPH on West State St. between Collister and Glenwood where the speed limit is 45 mph; 30 mph on Glenwood, Chindon, and other streets where the speed limit is 35 mph. Without exception the minute I slowed down, I was passed repeatedly by others going the same direction on that street. Although nearly everyone was complaining about high gas prices, very few people were actually doing the simplest thing anyone can do to cut their gasoline cost, and that is "drive slower." In fact many of them were exceeding the speed limit. Unless you're driving an emergency vehicle, try slowing down. If you're still driving the speed limit or faster, you have no legitimate reason to complain about high gas prices. Since people are continuing to drive as they did when gas was cheaper, apparently the price of gasoline is still not high enough.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
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"Words Of The Zach" (my five-year-old grandson)
A couple weeks ago on our way downtown to Alive After Five, while sitting at the back of the bus, Zach was holding his two hands up in front of him making a rotating motion. I looked at him and this is the dialogue we had:
Papa: "Are you pretending that you're driving the bus?"
Zach: "No. The bus driver's pretending. I'm driving the bus."
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Last Wednesday at 11:30 pm, night time with a full moon while on the way home from the Caldwell Night Rodeo on Chinden Blvd in the context of a conversation about the moon, stars, and the sun:
Papa: "Zach, did you know that the moon is 238,000 miles away?"
Zach: "From our house or from our car?"
___________________________________________________
"Words Of The Zach" (my five-year-old grandson)
A couple weeks ago on our way downtown to Alive After Five, while sitting at the back of the bus, Zach was holding his two hands up in front of him making a rotating motion. I looked at him and this is the dialogue we had:
Papa: "Are you pretending that you're driving the bus?"
Zach: "No. The bus driver's pretending. I'm driving the bus."
------------------------
Last Wednesday at 11:30 pm, night time with a full moon while on the way home from the Caldwell Night Rodeo on Chinden Blvd in the context of a conversation about the moon, stars, and the sun:
Papa: "Zach, did you know that the moon is 238,000 miles away?"
Zach: "From our house or from our car?"
___________________________________________________
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