Poisoned Bottles

It’s so hard to understand how the subprime mortgage crisis has triggered a financial crisis of global proportions.

If you have 10 bottles of water, and one bottle had poison in it, and you didn’t know which one, you probably wouldn’t drink out of any of the 10 bottles; that’s basically what we’ve got there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/magazine/30wwln-Q4-t.html?ex=1364616000&en=4a90532dc796992e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

My Adventurous Life

My sixth grader wrote the following.

Sprinting. Sprinting as fast as possible. Towards the light, the glorious light at the end of the tunnel. The gigantic boulder is gaining up on me, but I think I can escape in time… That was the plot of a thrilling, adventurous dream I once had. Although the dream was quite stimulating, it doesn’t even compare to some of the real-life adventures I’ve had. Two examples of daring adventures I have experienced are the time I crawled through a drainage pipe at Mountain View Park and when I went swimming under a waterfall in Hawaii.

I experienced one superb adventure of mine when I was about seven years old. My friends and I were at the park and were bored to our wit’s end. One of my friends suggested crawling through the drainage pipes that went under each bridge that lead to the park. We took a flashlight, a skateboard, and a rope, and took turns dragging each other through the repulsive tunnel. Each tunnel was about 50 feet long and about 3 feet in diameter. The inside of the passageways were like something out of a horror movie. The distinct feeling of spiders on your hands and knees sent chills down my spine. The whole pipe was knotted with cobwebs. Worst of all, there was the most revolting smell in the world that resembled a deadly mixture of rotting cheese and banana peels. Despite all of those dreadful aspects, we wanted more than anything to get to the other side. Sadly, after about 10 attempts, we finally gave up. To this day, I still feel the urge to crawl through that ghastly tunnel…. Or not!

Another prominent adventure of mine happened on our recent trip to Hawaii (which was a great adventure in itself.) Near the village of Hana, there is a pair of waterfalls called the Twin Falls. The walk there from the parking area is about 20 minutes long and it leads to two gorgeous waterfalls and a rope swing. Though the walk made my feet very sore, it contained some of the loveliest foliage I have ever seen. The sweet, gentile aroma from the hibiscus flowers complimented the beauty of the bamboo and palm trees. There was also a view of the foamy, sapphire blue ocean crashing against the jagged, obsidian rocks. At the waterfalls, it suddenly became dimmer. The walls were laced with moss and tree roots. The waterfalls flowed from the top of an overhanging cliff. There was a sliver of light coming in at the top, but not enough to make the whole area light. I braced myself as I grabbed onto the rope from the back of the cave and held on for dear life. When I hit the waterfall, I felt a very strange sensation; it was as if half of my body was nice and warm, and the other was freezing cold. I rapidly scurried out of the water to do it a couple times more. Later, I dried off and walked with my family back to the car. That will be a day that I won’t soon forget.

I’m almost at the exit to the tunnel! I can smell the fresh, crisp air of the jungle on the outside. I feel like I am going Mach speed, but somehow, the boulder is going faster. The boulder resembles a vicious mongoose chasing after a fat, meaty cobra. Just as the boulder begins to graze my back, I’m out of the tunnel. I fall on the ground panting, but as I hit the ground, I wake up. That arousing, action-packed dream was certainly one to remember, but some real-life experiences you will never forget. I know I’ll never forget when I went crawling through a drainage pipe or when I swam under a waterfall.

Judge Not

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment that you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)

These verses have puzzled me in the context of the verses that follow.

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6)

"Beware of false prophets...You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:15,16,20).

Thus, this principle isn't a statement of moral relativity or tolerance of evil or a recognition of human falliability, so far as I can tell. To the contrary, my reading of the full context is that we must judge and indeed much of ethics is nothing more than judgment-- discernment of moral truth from falsehood. Thus, I would paraphase the phrase as "Judge not falsely, that you be not judged falsely."

What say you?

Read More.

My Life As An Alien

"Recently, at 48 years of age, I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. For most of my life, I knew that I was "other," not quite like everyone else. I searched for years for answers and found none, until an assignment at work required me to research autism. During that research, I found in the lives of other people with Asperger's threads of similarity that led to the diagnosis. Although having the diagnosis has been cathartic, it does not change the "otherness." It only confirms it."

More

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfz2XDXaeqc

When Does Life Begin?

If you are pro-abortion, when does life begin, and explain why you chose this moment.

There is only one correct answer. Life doesn't begin at any point in time. It is merely passed from life to life.

Reality for the Demon Posessed

"It does not require many words to speak the truth."

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce

Is Obama the Messiah?

"...a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany...and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama." Barack Obama - Lebanon, New Hampshire - January 7, 2008

http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

You will never hear me saying that Obama is the hope of the world. That said, we need to reflect on our own hero worship of the false prophet George Bush. There are parents who trusted Bush so much that they allowed their president to lay down the life of their kids on foreign soil to no ultimate good. But Bush is a man for all seasons, a man of faith who knew all verses to "Amazing Grace" and a hale-fellow-well-met NASCAR Rotarian who cracked his jokes around the Saturday evening barbeque.

During World War II, Americans called the Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin Uncle Joe, because like Bush he was a regular Joe with twinkly eyes. But Bush like Stalin were frauds and what you saw then and see now is terribly false and utterly evil. Just as Stalin invoked God for political reasons, so to does Bush, although Bush's motivation also combines a 12-step effort to battle his forty year addiction to alcohol. What ever influence the Reverand Wright had on Obama, it pales in comparison to the influence that the atheist Rove had on Bush, and Americans will realize that a vote for McCain is a vote for a third term of Bush. And those who don't realize that are either blind or evil or both blind and evil.

Bush's serial lies on matters great and small culminating in the massive loss of treasure and life of our fellow countrymen will mean only one thing: President Obama nominating for a life-time appointment Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court. And when that happens, the only people who will despise Bush more than the liberals and the Democrats will be the conservatives and the Republicans.

Mom Has a Stroke

... and is back in the hospital. The nurse confirmed that she suffered a stroke, which "has affected the left side of her body- (speech & strength) because her Coumadin that she takes for her atrial fibrillation was not in the therapeutic range that it should have been in, Thar was what caused her stroke, along with her high blood pressure."

Stroke is the third leading killer in the United States. Preventive screen involves a carotid vascular test with ultrasound technology that visualizes the buildup of fatty plaque in the carotid arteries that may black the flow of blood to the brain and lead to stroke.

My eighty-nine year old mom has been fighting ulcers and cellulitis for several years now and was in the hospital many times last year and more times in previous years. But her systemic illnesses hasn't diminished her good cheer, curiosity, and love for people, life, and God.

Heather Mills Goes First Class

HIGH-LIVING Heather Mills was exposed as a hypocrite last night — for failing to buy first-class flights for daughter Beatrice.

Mucca slammed ex Sir Paul McCartney on Monday for forcing the four-year-old to travel “B Class” after their bitter divorce — while he flew “A Class”.

She haughtily vowed to pay for Beatrice’s first-class travel herself.

Read More

Dear Heather,

Now that you squeezed Paul McCartney for every possible penny you could get, could you please just go away and disappear, so that we do not have to look at your pitiful-gold-digging-face any more? We would all appreciate it!

Sincerely,

Everyone that I know

I knew from the beginning that this would end in a disaster of epic proportions, that it was always about greed, that it would cost vast sums of money as it dragged on and on and on, and eventually the public would see it for the horrible decision it was. Oh, wait a second. This item isn't about Bush's invasion of Iraq? Never mind.

Blog Digest

I'm starting a new feature called Blog Digest. This will consist of a link to a news story followed by the best of reader commentary in italics. It's not unusual for stories to attract hundreds of such comments. I'll post a few of the more striking or witty comments on my blog. Often, these comments are more interesting and illuminating than the original story.

Hillary's Truth

I watched a PBS documentary last night entitled Bush's War. It was basically a chronology of our five year adventure in Iraq with emphasis on how policy makers drove policy and how it mutated over the years. Overarching the entire conflict has been the issue of veracity-- seeking out the truth and telling the truth, no matter how hard or difficult that process may be. It is this capacity that I believe is the most important quality a president can have as it is the bedrock of a president's wisdom and judgment.

Today, George Bush still retains affection among many Americans. However, simultaneously, most Americans do not consider his view of reality accurate or truthful. The same is true with Hillary, as we see in the redactions of her White House papers and in her account of her Bosnia trip, an itinerary of which we could imagine as follows:

9.05 AM Helicopter lands
9:06 AM Run and dodge bullets.
9:08 AM Stop and smile as eight year old girl reads poem
9:10 AM Run and dodge more bullets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BfNqhV5hg4

I could forgive a few such incidents like this. Unfortunately, Hillary and Bill both have a well-earned repoutation of dissembling for as long as they have been in the public arena, as Carl Bernstein and Frank Rich remind us.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-bernstein/hillary-clinton-truth-or_b_93523.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/opinion/30rich.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I'm not sure I want to spend the next four to eight years parsing sentences trying to discern what the truth is in distinction to what her truth is.

Obama's shaky handling of the Reverand Wright controversy has also eroded his credability. But his race speech was impressive, and for once I saw a politician talk as one adult to another, instead of unbundling focus-tested platitudes. He comes across to me as someone who tries to express what he believes as honestly as he can without triagulating or pandering. McCain has also had his moments that fall short of frankness. However, when he told the unemployed in Michican not to expect to see their off-shored jobs returned and when he said that we American may be in Iraq for another 95 years, perhaps hewas being candid, more so than his handlers would have liked. Unfortunately, the serial lies of Bush and his administration is McCain's cross to bear during this election cycle, and it will probably mean his defeat, despite his personal probity.

Issues come and go. But at the end of the day, it's character that matters and it's character that is destiny.

The Audacity of Hopelessness

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/opinion/25brooks.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

Let’s take a look at what she’s going to put her party through for the sake of that 5 percent chance: The Democratic Party is probably going to have to endure another three months of daily sniping. For another three months, we’ll have the Carvilles likening the Obamaites to Judas and former generals accusing Clintonites of McCarthyism.

For three months, we’ll have the daily round of résumé padding and sulfurous conference calls. We’ll have campaign aides blurting “blue dress” and only-because-he’s-black references as they let slip their private contempt.

For the sake of that 5 percent, this will be the sourest spring. About a fifth of Clinton and Obama supporters now say they wouldn’t vote for the other candidate in the general election.

Meanwhile, on the other side, voters get an unobstructed view of the Republican nominee. John McCain’s approval ratings have soared 11 points. He is now viewed positively by 67 percent of Americans. A month ago, McCain was losing to Obama among independents by double digits in a general election matchup. Now McCain has a lead among this group.

For three more months, Clinton is likely to hurt Obama even more against McCain, without hurting him against herself. And all this is happening so she can preserve that 5 percent chance.
When you step back and think about it, she is amazing. She possesses the audacity of hopelessness.

Why does she go on like this? Does Clinton privately believe that Obama is so incompetent that only she can deliver the policies they both support? Is she simply selfish, and willing to put her party through agony for the sake of her slender chance? Are leading Democrats so narcissistic that they would create bitter stagnation even if they were granted one-party rule?

The better answer is that Clinton’s long rear-guard action is the logical extension of her relentlessly political life.

For nearly 20 years, she has been encased in the apparatus of political celebrity. Look at her schedule as first lady and ever since. Think of the thousands of staged events, the tens of thousands of times she has pretended to be delighted to see someone she doesn’t know, the hundreds of thousands times she has recited empty clichés and exhortatory banalities, the millions of photos she has posed for in which she is supposed to appear empathetic or tough, the billions of politically opportune half-truths that have bounced around her head.

No wonder the Clinton campaign feels impersonal. It’s like a machine for the production of politics. It plows ahead from event to event following its own iron logic. The only question is whether Clinton herself can step outside the apparatus long enough to turn it off and withdraw voluntarily or whether she will force the rest of her party to intervene and jam the gears.

Great American Artists: Parrish and McCay

As a teenager, I loved to draw, even making the mistake of taking geo-trig thinking it would be yet one more sketching class. When I had kids and when I was waiting for my wife to finish shopping, I continued to draw-- everything and anything. Here is a typical sketch to illustrate a book I wrote for my toddlers.

When I travel, I always have my journal and a handful of colored pencils. I find that drawing helps me to not just see but really observe the minutia of every day life, to separate what I see from symbolic thought to what really is, at least as it appears in my mind's eye. Drawings are more interesting than photographs, because the mind edits or accents details that emotionally resonate.

All art interests me, but I especially like the French impressionists of the late 19th century. Of American art, I like Maxwell Parrish's use of color and Winsor McCay's talent for realism and perspective.

Christ is Risen!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/i/lintgrav.htm





He is risen, indeed!
Early in the morning, before the break of dawn.
Darkess hugs the hills, water laps the shore.
An eerie stillness, a moment is unfolding.
God is at work, bringing light, rolling away stones of doubt, setting loose new possibilities. God is at work, awakening hope, wiping away tears, calling each of our names.
God is at work this Easter morning.
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Changing our lives and bringing us hope and joy!
Easter is here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fu8YIG8uyQ

Happy Easter

http://home.att.net/~solos_holiday/2008/_011/egg.htm

On Atheism

Atheism is in my view a meaningless word as is theism. You might more correctly ask: what are atheisms? but even with that we have definitional problems. I don’t think we can evaluate the proposition that God exists. I’m doubtful if it is even possible to define “God” or “exists” without having to define into an infinite regress all words that constitute the definitions. We see this in that strange term atheism. The word atheism (French athéisme, from athée, meaning atheist, from Greek 'Αθεος, atheos, meaning godless : a-, without; + Θεός, theos, meaning god; it has Indo-European roots) is formed of the Greek prefix α- (a-), meaning "without" or "not," and the Greek-derived theism (from Θεϊσμός, theismos), meaning a belief in a god. The literal meaning of the term is therefore "lack of belief in a god.” The problem is that we are claiming to deny a belief in “something”. What is that “something”? It is a thing of some kind that must therefore exist in some way for us to disclaim a belief in it. Furthermore, isn’t a lack of a belief in itself a kind of belief? By the stridancy in which some hold to that particular label of self-description sometimes approaching fanaticism, it would seem to be sometimes so. If I say I don’t believe in unicorns, you may disagree with my belief of “aunicornism”. But my aunicornism and your unicornism are coherent beliefs as we both know that a unicorn is an “animal, with the head, neck and body of a horse, a beard like that of a goat, the legs of a buck, the tail of a lion, and a long tapering horn, spirally twisted, in the middle of the forehead.” No such common definition exists for God. What people who call themselves atheists reject is a particular conception that they believe that others believe. For example, I don’t believe in Zeus, so I am therefore an atheist as regards to Zeus. Atheism comes in many guises, from the metaphysical atheism of Ludwig Feuerback, the mythological atheism of Friedrich Nietzsche, the dialectical atheism of Thomas Altizer, the sementical atheism of Paul Van Buren, the communistic atheism of Marx, the capitalist atheism of Ayn Rand, the psychological atheism of Sigmund Freud, and the behaviorist atheism of B.F. Skinner.

I have a real problem with this. Both atheism and theism appear in any dictionary. If the words are defined, how can they be meaningless?

Definition isn't meaning, existence, or truth. The words theism and atheism appears in the dictionary only as a superficial manifestation of common usage. The question is whether than common usage is meaningful, especially if the underlying words in questions are undefined.

Maybe you can't, but others have. Richard Dawkins wrote an entire book on the subject.

The trinity Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris have indeed written books on that subject, and I've read them all. However, without exception, they are arguing against a certain conception of the Judeo-Christian God which they then call atheism. This doesn't strike me as much of a disproof.

When you look up the words in a dictionary, do you see an infinite regression there?

If you try. Consider for example two statements: "What is time?" and "What is the time?" We use the latter in everyday conversation. The former however is an immensely complex subject that cannot be even definitely defined by the most eminent astrophysicists.

When I say that I disbelieve in the tooth fairy, everybody knows exactly what I mean without ambiguity. Where is the problem?

There is plenty of ambiguity so long as the term tooth fairy remains undefined.

Of course, but the point is trivial. If either A or B is true, and if I don't believe in A, by implication I believe in B. As I say--trivial.

Incorrect. Your belief or disbelief doesn't negate the existence of either A or B. In fact, both A and B may be true in some sense or both A and B may be false in some sense. I use the phrase "in some sense" because the concept of existence is fuzzy. Tooth fairies certainly exist when I type the word into google images. ;) Theism/atheism isn't necesserily an either/or proposition. There is a middle ground in which the question itself is meaningless. (Nod to Ludwig Wittgenstein.)

Whose stridency? If you're talking about atheists, the ones I know would gladly surrender their disbelief if they were ever presented with convincing evidence of God's existence.

I'm not talking about people who culturally are brought up as atheists. Based on my experience as a poster of some five years on the atheist/agnostic forum on about.com, I can assure you that there is an impressive amount of stridancy. There are of course some people who logic their way into atheism, but many others become atheists not out of a platonic disbelief in the existence of gods but because they are either reacting against the abuses of theists, usually (as they put it) Xtianity, or in response to hurtful childhood or family dynamics.

What you mean "we"? Not I. I know that a unicorn is an imaginary animal (like a tooth fairy).

But your definition introduces a premise that a unicorn coesn't exist as part of the definition. If my definition of God is: "An imaginery omnipotent being", I would have to conclude that God doesn't exist on that basis. The fallacy is that you build the conclusion into the premise.

And that's a good reason for defining "God" before discussing his existence or nonexistence. But that's true of many discussions. Whenever there is uncertainty in the use of terms, the terms must be defined before a rational discussion can take place.

Hey, we agree on something! :)

Spring Time Thoughts

When I was on the beach last week, I gave my son a teaspoon of philosophical reality. I stamped my foot into the wet sand and pointed that footprint to him as the surf washed over it. In a second, the indentation was gone, as if it never existed in the first place. That, I said, is our life on earth. It is but a vapor in the vastness of oblivion, a barely noticed flash on the endless riboon of time. As the preacher (not The Byrds!) in Ecclesiastes said: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die." In the local cemetary, I came across a ninety year old grave marker that had toppled over. As I turned it upright, I wondered if anyone today even knows or cares that person lived or died. And I realized that the day will come that no one will know or care if I or anyone else for that matter lived or died. Man is not the measure of all things as I'm reminded of Shelley's poem Ozymandias.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away

Even if our faith takes us to a belief in the afterlife or in reincarnation, it doesn't mean that our life here on earth is much more than a ripple from a pebble tossed into a boundless ocean, a twig swirling into oblivion. That said, our response cannot be cloud-dwelling morbidity as life is to be lived, and it is our awareness of death that gives life poignancy and urgency. We are always hearing time's winged charriot hurrying near, and it is this knowledge that brings us closer to what and whom we cherish. For me, this means spending less time with tele-evangelists and tele-politicans and more time with my family and friends, and less time worrying about stuff I can't do anything about and more time enjoying the stuff that makes up my life.

To life!

We Are All 1/16th Cousins

From FactCheck.

In an article last September, the Chicago Sun-Times laid out Obama's ancestry - including the genealogical, if not spiritual, relationship between Obama and Cheney. According to the newspaper, they are ninthcousins once removed, with their common ancestor being Mareen Duvall, a French Huguenot who settled in Maryland in the mid-1600s.

The New York Post, using ancestry.com, reported<http://www.nypost.com/seven/10282007/news/nationalnews/cousins_by_dozens.htm> that Brad Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins. Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga told <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7176683.stm>the BBC that his maternal uncle was Obama's father, making them first cousins (we think).

We wouldn't make too much of this, though. After all, according to at least some researchers, a common ancestor<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15457259\?dopt=Abstract> for all humans now alive may have existed just several thousand years ago. That means you, dear reader, could have a cousinly relationship that may notgo all that far back to everyone from Jack Kevorkian to Tina Fey to Hugo Chavez to the woman selling trinkets from a piece of cardboard on a Bangalore street corner.

Tech Imagination

As a project for school, my sixth grader came up with these ideas.

Spud-copter

Are You and Your Friends Ever Bored On A Rainy Day?

Well, now you don’t have to be! Introducing the all new, revolutionary Spud-copter!

This innovation is sweeping the nation! All you do is insert two AA batteries and you and your friends can fly it over 300 feet into the air! Another startling aspect of this toy is that it carries gumballs for cargo and you can release them at will! It has a limitless supply of them for you and your friends to munch on while you fly it! If you think it doesn’t get better than this, you’re wrong! For a limited time only, you can get this product for an affordable price of $12.95. Call 1-800-potato now!

Honda Hydrobalt 2133

The Fuel and Engine

The Honda Hydrobolt 2133 is a very unique car because of the type of fuel it uses. It runs off of a hybrid of pure hydrogen and solar power. Although hydrogen power is a bit expensive, it is very environmentally friendly. Hydrogen power is an abundant source and produces absolutely no carbon dioxide. The solar panels on the front of the car are used to power the car’s accessories. Solar energy emits no pollutants at all.
The engine is also efficient. It uses 82.6% of the energy compared to other, current day cars, which use about 65%. It gets 72 mpg and has two cylinders.

Safety and Weight

The Honda Hydrobolt 2133 would also be a great decision because of how safe it is. There are five airbags in the car (one for each seat), and if you forget to put on your seatbelt, you won’t be able to start your car. Also, there are indestructible windows composed of transparent rubber. If you crash and fly towards the windows, it can’t hurt you.
Another great aspect of this car is it’s light weight. It only weighs a measly 1,214 pounds. Because it is so light, it is more energy efficient.

It’s Environmental Impact

Yet another reason to buy the Honda Hydrobolt 2133 is because of how environmentally friendly it is. Hydrogen power emits a very minute amount of pollutants and absolutely no carbon dioxide and solar power releases no pollutants at all.
The way the car is made is also friendly to the environment, too. The tinted windows keep the car well insulated. Also, since the car is sleek, it doesn’t create wind resistance.

Accessories

The Honda Hydrobolt 2133 is available with many additions to it. You can install a touch screen GPS system or a DVD player. There is a built-in foot massager on the gas pedal and brake. There are two cup holders in every row built into the arm rests. You have a choice of having doors open vertically. Lastly, this car comes in eight colors, silver, white, red, blue, yellow, green, black, or customized.

The Price

Of course, this great of a car isn’t going to come cheap. The price of the Honda Hydrobolt 2133 is $324,000. And since the fuel also costs about $6 per gallon, this car isn’t recommended for those who don’t think they can afford it.
However, what do you expect from one of the most luxurious, energy efficient cars of this day?

Way to Go!

Both my boys got straight As this quarter. You're on the run way!

A Distraction of a Distraction

What better way is there to neutralize a distraction than with another distraction?





Perhaps the fog of divisiveness and dirty tricks will lift and we can get back to talking about war and the economy. But, somehow, I doubt it. The former is too much fun.

Is McCain a Traitor?

"A Vietnam vet detractor says, "He received the nation's third highest award, the Silver Star, for treason. He provided aid and comfort to the enemy!"

The rest of his valor awards issued automatically every year while he was a POW read much like the Silver Star. More boilerplate often repeating the exact same words. An example: "By his heroic endeavors, exceptional skill, and devotion to duty, he reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Naval Service and the United States Armed Forces."

"Yet McCain's conduct while a POW negates these glowing comments. The facts are that he signed a confession and declared himself a "black criminal who performed deeds of an air pirate." This statement and other interviews he gave to the Communist press press were used as propaganda to fan the flames of the antiwar movement."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2929570#2929608

The Top Story

I don't find it strange that the rants of a retired man of the cloth is the top story on all the cable news shows. After all, we're enjoying five years of peace and prosperity, a robust stock market, a strong dollar, and a popular president. It reminds me of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As hundreds of people were drowning, Fox and other stations continued to prattle on about the mystery of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. It's especially delicious to hear Karl Rove weigh in on another man's Christianity. Would it be rude to inquire how Rove's agnosticism shaped Bush's public policies or whether or not McCain is anything more than a country-club Episcopalian where, as the joke goes, where there are three or four gathered together, there is always a fifth?

Impressions of Maui

What better way is there to spend your fiftieth birthday than in the fiftieth state?

Our time share at the Diamond Resorts' Ka'anapali Beach Club was a commodious two bedroom suite with an ocean view from the fourth floor. We knew this resort three years ago as The Embassy Vacation Resort/Club Sunterra. In the distance were the pale blue islands of Lanai and Molakai and sometimes a cruise ship. The resort had a well-stocked koi pond. The kids liked the pool and slide. There were frequent humpback whale breaching exhibitions-- rising out of the water thirty feet or more and then splashing down hard. Over the reef were three orange buoys, marking the location of a riptide. When we were there last time, a 47 year-old California man drowned in that area. While I was snorkling there, I observed and felt the dramatic, deadly undertow out into the Pacific by the current. Shorebreaks, man of wars, sun-burn, and sharp rocks and corals provided other opportunities for pain.

In our drawer in our condo was The Holy Bible and The Teachings of Buddha. We enjoyed the Lahaina Baptist Church "Where we passionately proclaim the truth of Christ with Aloha" on Sunday.

Maui is expensive. Gas averaged almost four dollars a gallon (the highest in the nation) and two pecent milk at Cosco was $5.87 including a dime for tax, and the Sunday New York Times cost $7.75. However, there are ways to mitigate expenses. The cost of lodging for our ten days totaled $116.42. However, the upfront expense for a timeshare is steep. In Marriott's Maui Ocean Club in Maui, a two bedroom ocean front timeshare for one week costs $73,200 with an annual $1,715 maintenance fee. We try to fit in a timeshare presentation or two on down days to get some walking-around money, in our case, at Marriott and Wyndham. Comparison shopping pays off by going online for airline tickets. For a family of four, we paid $1,866.08 through expedia for a flight from Phoenix to Kahului. We also paid $428.65 for a SUV to Alamo, an upgrade from a midsized car at $277.03. The malls are awash in coupon books, such as Spotlight's Maui Gold. Boss Frog's Dive & Surf provided two sets of snorkeling gear for the week at $9.38. We avoid gift shops and alternatively shop at Cosco or Safeway, where the locals shop. Native fruits and vegetables are cheap, nutritious, and delicious. Finally, we try not to let those who have an axe to grid shape our consumer decisions. We saved about $500 by driving the 58 mile trip to Hana ourselves rather than hiring a van and another $500 by comparison shopping for the Air Maui helicopter trip. We got internet access for ten bucks by getting a library card to the Lahina library.

While the kids were in the library, I took a two hour walking trip around old Lahina, observing the following: The Masters' reading Room, from 1834. The Baldwin Home, occupied from the 1830s to the 1860s, with many pieces or original furniture and antiques. My boy and I went into that museum. Kamehameha III's Taro Patch, now the grounds of the library built in 1955. The Brick Palace, actually now just a brick border, of the residence of Kamehameha I. The Pioneer Inn, from 1901. The Banyan Tree, planted in 1873, sixty feet high, and casting shade on two-thirds of an acre. The Courthouse from 1859. Remains of the fort, built after some angry sailors lobbed cannonballs at the homes of Protestant missionaries who objected to native women visiting whaling ships. The Episcopal Church, 1927, Waiola Church, 1828, and the Waiola Churchyard, filled with the dust of royalty, seamen, and missionaries. The Wo Hing Musuem on Front Street from the 1900s was especially interesting, with Edison movies from 1898 and 1906 playing in the tin-roofed cook house. It was affiliated with the Chee Kung Tong, a Chinese fraternal society.

Scribbled on a wall in Lahina: "YWH. Please bless all the poles and bums, vagabonds, cliffs, clydes, and misfits through JC."

Especially in the whaling village of Lahina, the missionary impact is evident in what was once known as the Sandwich Islands. I visited the Reverand Dwight Baldwin home, circa 1830, and also observed the gravesites of many early missionaries and their children. (Esther Stephenson, Jan 15, 1922 - Jun 30, 1923 "Gone to be an angel".) The Hawaiians say that missionaries came to do good and ended up doing well. And it is true that much of the land and commerce ended up in the hands of the descendents of missionaries. Death and disease, the erosion of the native culture, and a legacy of poverty are among some of the consequences of missionaries and westernization generally. However, I believe the missionaries net impact has been good, by introducing literacy, medicine, and western jurisprudence. In contrast to the immorality of the whalers of the 19th century, the ethical influence of missionaries was mostly positive. In time, they influenced the Hawaiian royalty and with their diplomatic skills they also protected the island kingdom from colonization from Europe and Asia.

Restaurants I recommend in no particular order: Pacific reef cusine at Leilani's in Whalers Village, burgers at Hard Rock Cafe or Cool Cats, Japanese at Kobe, and breakfast (macademia pancakes with coconut syrup) at The Gazebo.

Overrrated: Driving to Haleakala Crater (chances are that you will be in clouds), driving the entire road to Hana to the Seven Sacred Pools of the Oheo Gulch (it's awesome, but so are the waterfalls and bamboo forests at mile marker two, and the road gets especially worrysome just before Hana.)

Hawaiians like their vowels. Our resort for example was on L hoanoao'ilani Road.

What is better than munching dry roasted macademias while listening to Don Ho's Tiny Bubbles ("in the wine/makes me feel happy/makes me feel fine") after snorkeling off Ka'anapali's Black Rock near the Sheraton where we saw glittering schools of Long Nose Butterflies and an occasional Trumpet Fish dart past lethargic Giant Sea Turtles? Of course, we were on Maui time-- no hurry, no worry, and hanging loose.

Outside the Copy Cat restaurant in Lahina where I had a "Luna" burger stood a long-haired, bearded native Hawaiian who ranted at us and other tourists from under the one hundred and thirty year old Banyan Tree . Much of what he said was to me incoherant screeching. But I was able to make this out. "Americans, stay out of our scenic land. You're causing spiritual damage." While most people are friendly, there is also a more radical element-- folks who glower at you when you say "Aloha" and aggressively tail gate you on the Hana adventure. Here is characteristic sentiment that I pulled from a website http://www.freehawaii.info/ that I saw posted on a stop sign in Hana. "Imagine living next to a beautiful black sands beach, a place you’ve lived your entire life. Nature is at your door. The ocean, the beach, endangered turtles use the area coming ashore to breed. Now also imagine tour buses pulling up next to your home and bringing one thousand tourists a day. That’s right, one thousand tourists every single day. Tourists who harass the turtles, steal the sand for souvenirs, leave litter, and behave obnoxiously. How would you like to put up with that every day of your life?" There is without doubt an ugly American aspect in Hawaii. However, there is also strong environmental consciousnessness and cultural appreciation as well from many mainlanders. I especially liked the music and hula dancing, and was struck by how organic it was with the nature that surrounds them-- the swaying palms, drifting clouds, and surging surf matching the harmony of their native music and dance and their own attractiveness.

We had a wonderful time in Maui and plan to return.

Spring Break in Maui

Ka'anapali Beach Club



On the Road to Hana





The Aloha State

Cats Learn What They Live

I have a plaque in my home office entitled Children Learn What They Live, written by Dorothy Nolte in the early 1970s.

Here is an example:

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

http://www.empowermentresources.com/info2/childrenlearn-long_version.html

As The New York Times notes in its obituary of Nolte, "The poem has time-honored antecedents in Western oral tradition. With its steady rhythm and gentle didacticism, it recalls well-loved nursery rhymes or ballads."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/arts/20nolte.html

Borrowing the style of Dorothy's wonderful words, I want to put together a similar poem with the collaboration of the forum, like this:

If children with with Abyssinian cats, they learn adventure.
If children live with Siamese cats, they learn curiosity.

etc.

Perhaps this might be the last line of our poem.

If children live with cats of any kind, they learn to find beauty and friendship in their world.

Read responses.

The Road to Hana

We are about to leave for Maui this week. We're interested in driving the Road to Hana. For those who have done the trip, do you have any suggestions? Shall we drive our car and let someone else do the driving? If we stop along the way, is there a possible crime problem? Any suggestions would be welcome.

Read responses.

Ralph Enters the Race

Ralph can hurt the Democrats one more time.

This time he can only help Democrats. Obama, the Democratic nominee, needs someone like Nader to portray Obama as the centrist. With McCain representing the right and Nader representing the left, independent voters will flock to Obama ensuring his nomination.

Is Hillary Toast?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aGibqe.b3IlY&refer=home

"Polls show the Illinois senator has overcome Clinton's Texas lead, and a win may drive the former first lady and once front-runner out of the race.

"Many Democrats argue that even if the fight goes on, the eventual nominee will be strengthened by a hard-fought battle. And Democrats' desire to end Republican control of the White House will unite the party no matter who prevails, they say.

"Obama has 1,127.5 pledged delegates to Clinton's 1,007.5, according to The Green Papers, a nonpartisan Web site, while NBC News calculates that Obama has 1,194 delegates to Clinton's 1,037. It will take 2,025 delegates to secure the nomination."

Russian President Validimir Putin Snaps His Fingers

. . . and makes Dimitri Medvedev his successor with 69 percent of the vote. In second place: Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov, who had just 18 percent.

Google Cuts Me a Check

this month for $100.42. I started this web site just for fun, but it's now starting to show some cash flow.




Thanks Google.

Food Fights and Mohawks

"A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk has been suspended from school. Michelle Barile, the mother of 6-year-old Bryan Ruda, said nothing in the Parma Community School handbook prohibits the haircut, characterized by closely shaved sides with a strip of prominent hair on top. The school said the hair was a distraction for other students. "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_fe_st/odd_kindergarten_suspension

The suspension of the Indian-haired six year old coincided with a major food fight at my boys' middle school. The sporting of a Mohawk is less disruptive than throwing jello and sausages in the cafeteria. But in both cases, I come down on the side of the administration. There is much to dislike about school generally, such as the bored teachers, bureaucratic administrators, and the decaying buildings. However, there are many teachers and administrators who struggle to educate the bored children of indifferent parents day after day. And, for the most part, I think they do a fine job.

I tell my kids that their schooling should teach them out to think, and that sometimes that means thinking contrary to the status quo. There is much to celebrate about non-conformist, free thought. But there is a difference between thinking independently and acting foolishly and obnoxiously. In the later case, the kids are doing nothing to advance their long-term interests and their reputation. They are also violating the rights of others who want to learn. And, in the case of a food fight, they are also imposing on those who have to correct the situation, such as janitors, administrators, and teachers. The natural instinct of the child is to blend in and even get caught up in the emotions of the moment. But the more difficult thing is to defy the crowd and chose the hard right over the easy wrong.