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Shunning the
Killers
(12/31/08)
The idea behind terrorism is to induce a change in
policy by pushing the people to rise up against the government, if not
in force than at least in adequate clamor. Of course, the clamor is
usually for government to do more to stop terrorism, and neither is
thinking supplication.
Enforcing the
Rules
(12/30/08)
If everyone agreed to behave, we
wouldn’t need rules. So it’s axiomatic that sometimes applying the rules
gets in the way of good behavior. That’s why we have judges, to make the
exceptions.
Caroline Kennedy
(12/29/08)
This isn’t about a dynasty. Ms. Kennedy has
accomplished much beyond her name. She has worked hard and successfully
in many positions, benefitting the common weal. She had the prescience
to support Barack Obama, early and for the right reasons.
Miscellany
(12/26/08)
Item...Brighton, Michigan has a new ordinance that
makes it an offense punishable by a fine for anyone who is annoying in
public "by word of mouth, sign or motions." In some communities, such a
regulation could raise a lot of money.
Merry Christmas
(12/24-5/08)
My family hasn’t been religious going
back a coupla generations but we always celebrated Christmas, mostly
merrily. It wasn’t about the Christian god per se, but about decorating
the tree and singing carols and giving gifts.
Lies of Treason
(12/23/08)
Nothing is likely to result from this
report. It’s little more than a reiteration of what everyone with a
double-digit IQ has known for years. What was perfectly clear to
everyone who cared for the truth.
Bits & Pieces
(12/22/08)
It used to be that the Secretary of State was
supposed to represent the pinnacle of diplomacy. Condoleeza Rice, for
all her huge failures, always seemed polite. At a speech last week she
said, “You'd have to be an idiot to trust the North Koreans.”
Crime Pays
(12/19/08)
Is there no sense of responsibility, let alone
culpability? These people made decisions that have all but crippled our
economy, and most have profited from their actions. Let us empty the
prisons of the pot-smokers to make room for these shameless malefactors.
What's in a Name
(12/18/08)
What happens to that child growing up? What worse
abuse could parents commit than to give a child such a handicap? What
kind of grotesque minds could produce such a shackling of another human
being? More to the point, what might be done about it?
Political
Incorrectness
(12/17/08)
It might seem like a minor social annoyance, but
we live on a grossly overcrowded planet, and the more we feed our
feeling of too-many-rats-in-a-box, the more our frustration level grows,
and the more unpleasant – and dangerous – life becomes on Our Dear Blue
Planet.
Bits & Pieces
(12/16/08)
The Controller for the City of Los
Angeles asked the City Council for $100,000 so she could hire an
attorney to sue the City Attorney. She’s trying to audit the workers’
compensation program in his office. He’s blocking her.
Beneath Bush
League
(12/15/08)
For some reason it was left to the First Lady to
tell the Obamas that they couldn’t move into Blair House a ten days
early when their little two girls will be starting a new school.
According to White House booked parties and receptions had already been
booked there during that time.
Health Times Three
(12/12/08)
A new analysis of 173 previous studies dating back
to 1980 shows that young people who watch too much television, play
video games, and surf the Internet are more susceptible to health
problems like obesity and smoking. Whoa! Who’d have guessed?
Bits & Pieces
(12/11/08)
The drug war in Mexico continues to claim lives.
The attorney general there says the slaughter hasn’t peaked, but notes
that overall Mexico’s murder rate is only 11 per 100,000 inhabitants, as
compared to 33 in Colombia and 50 in El Salvador.
Department of Duh
(12/10/08)
The study, published in the Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Applied – yep, gotta get a subscription to that
mag – offered that passengers at least can help drivers by pointing out
dangers and impending turns, or just plain shutting up.
Bits & Pieces
(12/09/08)
A Newsweek poll says that 61% of Americans
think George Bush’s rating as a president will be “below average.” This
is a reminder that an all too large segment of the populace hasn’t a
clue about what happened to our country over the past eight years.
Don’t Fill ‘er Up
(12/08/08)
Out of the mouths of babes, you might say, and be
partly right, though for the wrong reasons. First, let’s note that the
expression suggests wisdom coming from children who shouldn’t know
better, if you get my meaning.
A Fair Foul
(12/05/08)
It kinda takes your breath away when you hear the
explanations that come from the spokespersons or the attorneys of
entertainment and sports phenoms when they are confronted by the press
over some crime or another.
Oh, Please, Not
Again
(12/04/08)
What is wrong with these people that they think
they can change the foundations principles of governance to benefit
themselves? Ego of such dimensions shouldn’t be rewarded; they should be
denied. And they should be shamed for their efforts.
Black Friday
(12/03/08)
Toys-‘R-Us re-opened the next day. Of course it
wasn’t the store’s fault, not directly. They can’t frisk everyone for
guns. But perhaps they could attract a better class of customers with
less hype.
Migrate to Where
(12/02/08)
Life on Earth is a system; the Greeks referred to
it as the Gaia philosophy. When a part of the system gets out of
balance, the system acts to restore itself. Either we fix it, or Nature
will. It is our ultimate human choice.
Ending Terrorism
(12/01/08)
There are two practical directions to take in
combating terrorism. One is to stop the flow of arms to psychotics –
it’s a big business – and the other is education. The greater the global
consciousness, the more people are able to see alternatives to violence
to resolve their issues.
Bits & Pieces
(11/28/08)
It seems reasonable that, as a judge has ruled, a
Detroit city office worker can file suit against a co-worker’s overly
pungent perfume. The suit was filed under the Americans with
Disabilities Act, though it should have been a simple matter of common
decency.
Giving Thanks
(11/26-27/08)
This year, we have a lot to be thankful for,
especially in the election of a new leader who speaks to our hopes and
dreams instead of our fears and hatred. This year, yield at a stop sign
or hold open a door for a stranger.
Bits & Pieces
(11/25/08)
And Gail Collins noted, “The heads of America’s
great carmaking corporations are so dim that they couldn’t even survive
hearings run by members of Congress who actually wanted to help them.”
45 Years Ago
(11/24/08)
I was just thirteen when I saw John Kennedy. He
had helicoptered out to the athletic fields at Amherst College where he
was to dedicate the Robert Frost Memorial Library. He got into an open
Lincoln convertible to ride the five hundred yards to the site where the
ceremony was to be held. A single car, no entourage.
To Lead from
Darkness
(11/21/08)
We can all remember back to some really great
teachers, those who made learning a joy, acquiring knowledge a lifelong
purpose. Those are the only kind of people who should be teaching.
Depth of Hypocrisy
(11/20/08)
Rupert Murdoch was off on a rant against the news
media, claiming during a lecture in Australia, that the press herd
needed to be thinned of those reporters and editors who had lost the
trust of their readers and viewers. What an irony.
The Drug of
Obstinance
(11/19/08)
More than 5,000 people will die in the Mexican
drug wars this year. Many of them will be non-combatants; innocents
caught in the crossfire, or the parchment on which terrorist messages
are sent.
Bits & Pieces
(11/18/08)
What does this say about how the company was
operating if it can cut so many jobs? That’s a lot of trimming, all of a
sudden, and one wonders why the decision-makers let the fat get so
thick. It’s not like the trimmers will be fired.
Driving on Empty
(11/17/08)
In the five decades since the fortunes of General
Motors were inextricably linked to those of the nation, GM, Ford and
Chrysler have in fact been in large measure responsible for driving the
nation’s economy over the cliff.
Setting Higher
Sights
(11/14/08)
Sarah Palin has considerable backing among some
“Traditional” Republicans...the over-the-top, win-at-any-cost neo-cons
who make up right-wing radio and the scurrilous campaign machines who
backed McCain, Liddy Dole, and their ilk.
Bits & Pieces
(11/13/08)
It says something about Detroit’s control of
Congress – the companies own the Republicans and labor owns the
Democrats – that a bailout is even being considered. They have been
being bailed out for decades, to the nation’s detriment.
Liberal Media ..
Not
(11/12/08)
The bottom line is that it was never a matter of
political stripe; it was a matter of journalistic ethics, or rather lack
of them. The supplication to the powers-that-be has allowed our nation
to be pushed to the edge. Shame on them.
A Real Armistice
(11/11/08)
World War One, as it was later called, was “the
war to end all wars.” The horror of it was thought to be of such
magnitude that no nation could ever engage in such an obscenely-lethal
enterprise again. It didn’t take long, less than a generation, to
overcome the distaste for war and start another one.
The Trim Tab
Factor
(11/10/08)
Changing the nation’s direction is probably
comparable to turning around a super-tanker. But those huge ships have
what’s called the trim tab which can shift the main rudder more quickly
than the giant blade could move by itself.
Triumph of Bigots
(11/07/08)
The proposition passed by five points. It is being
challenged by opponents who say that the action was such a significant
change in the state’s constitution that it would have had to have been
approved by the legislature and then submitted to the voters instead of
just putting it up for approval by a majority of those voting.
Yes We Must
(11/06/08)
Not only was their relief and joy painted across
myriad faces, of every color and age, in many different parts of the
country, there was also a hunger to get started on the job of
rebuilding. Back up a van to the White House and let’s make the change
now. Why wait ten weeks?
Bits & Pieces
(11/05/08)
Some questions about the election: Why are people
having to wait hours to vote? Why are we using voting machines that
cheat? Why are broadcasters allowed to air blatantly false political
messages?
Undecided about
What?
(11/04/08)
Some will vote for Obama because he’s black,
because he’s not Republican, because they think he’s a Muslim, because
they think he pals around with community organizers.
Get Out, Ralph
(11/03/08)
The Pacific Ocean was having its way with the
beaches of the Central Coast. Waves climbing to twelve feet were rolling
in, creating a surfers’ heaven. We were between storm fronts, and the
sky was sprouting large swatches of blue amidst upper and lower cloud
patterns, moving in different directions, failing to deny us our
sunshine.
Past Far Right
(10/31/08)
If these conservatives think Palin represents the
next step in conservative thought, they need a new thought. She is an
anti-intellectual, anti-science, straight-jacket moralist who defies the
foundation tenets of freedom in our Constitution with every fiber of her
being.
Run-Right
Elections
(10/30/08)
We’re days away from one of the most important
elections in our history and once again the process is in a great
muddle. It’s time to talk about reforming that process, and cleaning up
our political campaigns.
Political Bits
(10/29/08)
Several dozen people who had been hired
to make phone calls for the McCain campaign refused to read some of the
contorted lies they were given to spout. Putting principle before
pocketbook, they walked off the job.
Fundies
(10/28/08)
Fundamentalism has answered the call for many people suffering from a feeling of
chaos and not understanding that the only way to find balance is by going inside
themselves for the truth. The desperation is so corrosive of personal moral
authority that they buy into the crowds of similarly lost and frightened people.
"...And Everybody
Hates the Jews"
(10/27/08)
An example of it surfaced at the middle
school in a suburb of St. Louis. A group of students participated in
what they called "Hit a Jew Day." It is reported that only a handful
actually hit Jewish children, but a bunch more egged them on and taunted
the victims.
The Political
Scene
(10/24/08)
Los Angeles Police Chief William
Bratton co-authored a piece in the New York Daily News on Wednesday in
which he warned that bin Laden preferred the Republican since McCain "is
more likely to engender Muslim anger and resentment than would his
opponent."
The Earth Isn't
Flat
(10/23/08)
We are at a point now, after eight
years of a disaster-prone administration, when it’s time for a
substantial segment of our population to do it for him – to admit Bush
was a mistake – for themselves and for the country.
Observations on
the News
(10/22/08)
One anthropomorphizing researcher said
he thought the Early Jurassic dinosaurs were "happy to be at this place,
having wandered up and down many a sand dune, exhausted from the heat
and the blowing sand, relieved and happy to come to a place where there
was water."
Bits & Pieces
(10/21/08)
Nebraska lawmakers and the governor
have decided to plug the hole in a measure they passed in July that
allows parents to abandon children at hospitals without repercussions.
Parents were driving in from out of state and dropping off teenagers.
Shame in the Name
of Morality
(10/20/08)
Prop 8 would, with only a majority
vote, change the constitution of The Golden State to declare that
marriage is between a man and a woman. The measure comes in the wake of
a state supreme court ruling earlier this year that people sharing a
gender can share lives, too.
It's a Mad, Mad
World
(10/17/08)
If the global economic crisis weren’t
so serious – made more serious by the fact that the public justifiably
has no confidence in their leaders – then we could have a grand old time
reading the rest of the news and wondering at the scope of our species.
Hoopla at Hofstra
(10/16/08)
It seemed to go on forever. Like the
previous three. There was plenty of tension, but not much satisfaction.
Both candidates were given more than enough time to answer questions,
and both seemed to feel a need to fill that time.
Drop-Dead Gorgeous
(10/15/08)
There’s some instructive irony in the fact that Sarah Palin
is drop-dead gorgeous. The irony is that she would have many of us just
drop dead. Intellectuals, scientists, academics, journalists, and
atheists for a start.
Bits & Pieces
(10/14/08)
The reason why the Congress didn’t bend
over for the first Bush bailout proposal was that they were inundated by
calls and emails opposing the measure. Our Dianne Feinstein received
over 91,000 comments, and over 86,000 were in opposition.
Good Friday
(10/13/08)
The report found, Palin fired the public safety
commissioner at least in part for personal reasons; his refusal to
fire the trooper who had been involved in a messy divorce with
Palin’s sister. She was within the law, but she acted unethically.
Mindless Anger
(10/10/08)
The issue of anger has been on my mind
of late, provoked in large measure by the vitriol being expressed toward
Barack Obama. Someone I know in the Secret Service says they have
thwarted numerous attempts to hurt the man. Well, that’s our history,
isn’t it?
Gun Control
(10/09/08)
Guns are part of our American heritage
and our culture, mostly with tragic consequences. Hunting is on the
decline, except in urban areas where gangs are better armed than ever
and are giving law enforcement a difficult time.
Rights in a
Civilized Society
(10/08/08)
Consider this man who clearly couldn’t
cope. At least he knew he could take his children to somewhere where
they would be looked after. What about other parents with children –
yes, even in their teens – who become more than the parents can handle.
Moral Evolution
(10/07/08)
In the great evolution of our species, there have been some
remarkable stumbles. But one thinks sometimes that we have gotten
our moral act together and that we are on the right path. Of course
that’s really more like squinting through rose-colored glasses in a
coal mine at night.
Guards and Inmates
(10/06/08)
In a capitalist system, it is the role
of government to rein in the excess of the money-changers. Our
government has failed because guards and the inmates are virtually
indistinguishable, some are friends, some are bought.
Daughters of the
New American Revolution
(10/03/08)
It was a reminder to me for the
upteenth time not to categorize people by a past reputation. Over
several decades as a journalist, I’ve seen myriad people I might have
expected to be hayseed conservatives who sounded a lot more thoughtful
than did high-fallutin’ academics.
What Sarah Might
Have Said
(10/02/08)
Sarah Palin’s once-rising star is
showing some descent and some tarnish. Had she been the right person,
she would have delivered an entirely different speech to the Republican
convention, and maybe it would have sounded something like this.
Bits & Pieces
(10/01/08)
House Democrats are deadlocked with Senate
Republicans, and it looks like the solar tax credit – which has
widespread bipartisan support – won’t be renewed by the end of the year,
all but burying that industry.
Somalia's Wall
Street
(09/30/08)
They began as a vigilante coast guard
protecting their off-shore rights from tuna poachers and ocean dumpers.
And then, well, the pirating got underway in earnest and is now
generating $100 million a year. It’s a profession, like hedge funding
management.
Clintons
(09/29/08)
A letter to Hillary and Bill...Yo, Clintons, wake up. This ain’t complicated. If you were marginally less
dysfunctional, you’d be on top of this already. But you aren’t so here’s some
guidance.
The First Debate
(09/26/08)
The debate between the two men, one of
whom seems likely to lead the United States for the next four years,
bordered on interminable. Neither said anything new or even significant,
nor did they say nothing in an interesting way. There was no free
thinking, no fresh ideas.
Bits & Pieces
(09/26/08)
Ya gotta wonder why the candidates say they need to prep
for a 90 minute debate. They are only responsible for maybe 30 minutes. Surely
they can know that much about the job they seek without having to cram for it.
More Smoke, More
Mirrors
(09/25/08)
Most of the country is unhappy with the
proposal, as are the two presidential candidates and the vast majority
of newspaper editorial pages, as they all should be. Our "allies" are
ready to provide moral support but no money, which underscores the
character of the administration’s "solution."
Bailing out the
Yacht Crowd
(09/24/08)
Most of the country is unhappy with the
proposal, as are the two presidential candidates and the vast majority
of newspaper editorial pages, as they all should be. Our "allies" are
ready to provide moral support but no money, which underscores the
character of the administration’s "solution."
Words from the
Heart
(09/23/08)
I started my first paying gig writing
sports reports about my junior high school teams for the local newspaper
for ten cents a word. It wasn’t a lot of money then, either, but it was
my start in the noble profession of journalism.
My Financial Plan
(09/22/08)
Don’t panic, rich people, your folks are still in control, but if there were a
god, or at least honest leaders, here’s how our economic recovery would work.
And it would work.
Airlinosaurus
(09/19/08)
The airlines are run by dinosaurs, and that’s principally why they are in so
much trouble today. They are focused on moving planes about and don’t realize
that they are in the business of transporting people.
Dear Senator Obama
(09/18/08)
What you need is an overwhelming
victory – overcoming the racists and the post-Clinton plumbing vote – to
bring this country together behind your candidacy, in support of your
presidency, and you can get that in a single speech.
Foreign Affairs
(09/17/08)
First, we shouldn’t have American
military on foreign shores. We should bring home our troops from the 132
countries where they are stationed and put them under the authority of
local officials to make our own streets safe and borders secure.
Bits-'n-Pieces
(09/16/08)
A Saudi man accused of supporting
terrorists in a book has sued an American journalist based on British
laws, which are incredibly strict, according to our views of journalism
and libel. Congress is now trying to pass a law that would provide
American writers protection from such abuse.
Stinking Fish Head
(09/15/08)
What’s coming will be as bad or worse
than the Great Depression because there are billions more people, fewer
new resources to tap into, and a history of remarkable incompetence
among those who might have mitigated the problems.
Candidate Conduct
(09/12/08)
The lead yesterday from National Public
Radio was "The presidential candidates are hanging up the gloves today."
To commemorate the day, John McCain and Barack Obama wouldn’t attack
each other.
Man Oh Man
(09/11/08)
Even though Bush and his war in Iraq
were unpopular, Kerry still managed to lose the race in a country that
clearly wanted change. The reason was that Kerry lost on manliness
points.
Bits-'n-Pieces
(09/10/08)
There are a lotta deadbeat moms and
dads in this country and one way to tell is that when Washington sent
out those tax relief checks starting last spring, a million-and-a-half
were diverted to pay child support. They totaled close to a billion
dollars.
Spying on Our
Allies
(09/09/08)
What really doesn’t make sense is why they told
Woodward that they were spying on the Iraqis. Surely they knew that it
would not sit well with our puppet-allies.
Statistically
Speaking
(09/08/08)
Perhaps you have heard the line about the use of statistics that was attributed
to one of our greatest philosophers. Said Mark Twain, "Statistics are like
ladies of the evening. Once you get ‘em down you can do anything you want with ‘em."
Less Vitriol,
Please
(09/05/08)
I think Americans want something
different this time. They’ve had enough of the vitriol of the past eight
years. They would like less nay-saying and more new ideas. I think many
are put off by the hatred spewed at the so-called liberal media and the
commie-terrorist Democrats.
Our Sunday Best (09/04/08)
Remember when people used to put on their "Sunday best" to go to church. Now
people show up in shorts, t-shirts and flipflops. There was a sense of community, both geographic and social, and we showed
respect for one another.
Furrin Affairs (09/03/08)
We are not a xenophobic nation. We just
don’t seem to be aware of the rest of the world, or care about it. Our
major enemies have been Nazis, fascists, communists and Islamic
terrorists; all furriners, so to speak.
The Palin Problem (09/02/08)
The press to stay away from the
candidates’ families? Yeah, right, like mosquitoes don’t find the holes
in your window screens. Dysfunctional behavior is the media’s mother’s
milk, regrettably; it draws viewers and readers like a magnet.
Labor Day (09/01/08)
It be Labor Day and for many Americans that means the end of summer vacation.
It being a federal holiday explains the crowds at the beach for some rays and at
the malls for the mattress sales.
The Armageddon Ritual (08/26/08)
Back 25 years or so I was hired by the
Psychologists for Social Responsibility in New York to write a piece
about how the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were at each other’s throats. I wound up
writing a fifty-minute teleplay called "The Armageddon Ritual."
Gaia and MRSA (08/25/08)
If your worst nightmares aren’t disturbing enough, let’s add the danger of
MRSA to the cast of demons. You don’t need to know the scientific definition. It
is the super-bug, the bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
End the Diffusion (08/22/08)
The whole casino business is a
disgrace, enabled by liberal guilt over how badly indians were treated
by whites over the course of our history.
Polish..Not a Joke (08/21/08)
I grew up in a town which had sizeable
populations of both Irish and Polish immigrants. Both ethnicities were
disparaged fairly evenly, with the Irish tarred as drunks and the Poles
as stupid. Ethnic jokes were very popular at the time.
Olympic$ (08/20/08)
This may sound unpatriotic but I
haven't been much interested in the number of gold medals American
athletes have won as compared to other countries. Indeed, the whole
meaning of the Olympics has been corrupted by money and jingoism, just
like most modern professional sports.
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