Undermining the institution of marriage

This is New Jersey, where people of the staunchest faith are people who want equality for all.
Steven Goldstein, of Garden State Equality

I felt the need to comment on this article by Tom Hester in yesterday's edition of The Times of Trenton.

At a rally against gay-marriage, Len Deo called attempts to legalize gay marriage an "assault" designed to "undermine the most basic institution of our culture, marriage, which is the bedrock of a stable society." Deo is president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, yet another organization whose positive name masks their exclusionary politics. I wonder what it says about society then, if 50% of marriages fail, but I'll hold that thought for a moment. I have to ask, does Deo truly believe that there is a cabal of homosexuals intent on destroying our way of life? Yeah, he probably does, which makes it all the more sad.

Rev. David Ireland could be making a case for gay marriage when he said, "Marriage has deeply rooted civil and societal benefits that have been recognized by government spanning hundreds of generations...." He is absolutely right about that, so wouldn't it be in society's interest to extend marriage rights to all of society? Ireland doesn't think so, as he continued his comment by saying marriage "should not be redefined from a political, judicial or social perspective in this generation." If not in this generation, then when?

Clearly he believes it should be never, as he also said that the clergy in the rally will "never recognize same-sex marriages in New Jersey or agree to perform them in our churches." As religious institutions protected by the First Amendment, they are free to define marriage as it applies to their own religious beliefs. Certainly laws or court rulings granting marriage rights to gays would not mean all religious institutions have to perform these marriages. Right now clergy refuse to perform many heterosexual marriages, as is the case with Roman Catholic clergy declining to marry people who have been married previously.

In all, I think the protestors' arguments demonstrate why the right to marry should be extended to gay couples. Their arguments find their basis in views on morality that are rooted in the creed and dogma of their respective religions. The same First Amendment that allows religious institutions their own beliefs on marriage prevents them from imposing those beliefs on society as a whole. Hester's article also shows not all religious leaders share Ireland's opinions. Rev. Charles J. Stephens notes that his church, the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, has includes gay couples in strong relationships that are "role models for a lot of the younger heterosexual couples."

There is an important point there. I think the larger issue with the institution of marriage is its 50% failure rate. People enter into marriages they shouldn't, while marriages that might endure fall apart. Instead of focusing on how to build lasting marriages between the right people, the rally attendees want to prevent a class of people from getting married in the first place. As Rev. Stephens' congregation demonstrates, the example of these couples' commitment and dedication to one another strengthens relationships as a whole. Depriving these committed couples of the right to marry is what truly undermines the institution of marriage.

The hammer comes down on the hammer

Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer came down on his head.
The Beatles

This couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

The Voice of Comet

From now on, we won't let Rudolph join in any reindeer games.
Coach Comet in
Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Don Adams died yesterday at the age of 81. We remember him, of course, as Maxwell Smart. You might not know that he was also the voice of Coach Comet in the Rankin/Bass production of Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He is listed in this role on IMDB, though he was not credited.

It seems people have been wondering if he is indeed the voice of Comet, as search criteria like '"Don Adams" Rudolph Comet' are topping the list of search terms reported by BlogPatrol, leading people to my earlier post about the program.

One thing I didn't know about Don Adams was that he was a Marine in WWII who fought in Guadalcanal and survived deadly blackwater fever. When he returned to the States, he became a drill instructor. Now that would have been something worth seeing.

Losing My Religion - Wrap Up

Walking through that door
Outside we came
Nowhere at all
Perhaps the answer's here
Not there anymore
The Moody Blues

Well, I've finally finished the series I began more than a month ago, and I can go ahead and state that I am a Unitarian Universalist.

In the end, I didn't really lose my religion. I still don't know what I believe, and I don't know what religious truth is. But I found a place where I am welcome in my search.

Losing My Religion - Part IV: Choosing My Religion

Come come whoever you are
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving,
Ours is no caravan of despair
Come yet again come.
Hymn #188 in
Singing the Living Tradition
the Unitarian Universalism hymnal

This is part of a series that begins here. The post before this one is here.

One of many traditions at our New Years parties was brought to us by our friend Beth. Sometime after midnight everyone thinks of something they want to give up or let go in the coming year. They write it down on slips of paper which are then gathered in pan and burned. Beth usually brings magician's flash paper, so they go up rather dramatically. For the past three years, I had written down God, religion, or both.

One year, in a conversation loosened by alcohol, I explained what I had written and why. The details of the discussion are (understandably) a little vague now, but when it was over I had decided to visit a Unitarian Universalist church and our friend Rob said he'd go with me.

I had begun poking around the UU website looking for alternatives to the Episcopal religion that I was having so many issues with. Dennis, my older daughter's godfather and a great friend, had once told me about Unitarian Universalism. What immediately attracted me was the lack of creed or dogma that defines what to believe. Instead, there is a set of guiding principals that define how one should act. In the Episcopal Church, my problem was never with how we were supposed to act. My problem was always with what we were supposed to believe.

So Rob and I went to the UU service. In many ways, it was very similar; there were hymns, a sermon, and readings. In many ways it was very different; the readings were from Hindu sacred texts, and I had never sung "Food, Glorious Food" from Oliver! in church before. The service was about consumption, our need to consume, and the responsibility to use our resources wisely, hence the choice of music. Afterward we attended a discussion meant to introduce Unitarian Universalism to newcomers. I thought this might be what I wanted to do, but it would take another two years to do it.

I kept going to the UU church's web site, mulling the idea of making the switch as I struggled with leaving the Episcopal church. Yet when I finally left, I held off. We spent a lot of time talking about if we shoud go, how we should go, when we should go, and so on. It would be tough entering a new church where everything was different and we knew no one. We also didn't know if this was something the kids really wanted. Finally we asked them, and they said they wanted to try it out. So we did.

I'm happy to say we've been going for several months now. It was difficult at first, but we've gotten beyond the intial awkwardness. We went to the picnic and the fall Harvest Dinner. We now know a few people, and the kids have made a few friends.

I think the girls are happy with our decision. Sharon and I concluded that it was important for them to have a religious education. The more we learn about the religious education program, the more certain we are that this is what we wanted. The goal is to give them the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about what they believe. It was interesting to see how many other parents were looking for the same thing we were.

For me, I finally find myself looking forward to church again. There have certainly been some interesting services. I like to tell the story of the pagan cakes and ale ceremony. The service explored the importance of meals in various religions, then focused on the pagan ritual. We all participated in the meal, which included real ale from a local brewpub. Cracking open a growler in church was yet another first for me. Most of the services are less exotic, but no less worthwhile. In a few weeks, I'll be attending a meeting after services to discuss membership.

Iraq roundup

They have more men, equipment, money, better explosives and remote-controlled detonators.
Afganistan Defense Minister Abdur Rahim Wardak on the Taliban

Here's a quick roundup of some recent stories on Iraq:

• How the Iraq war is weakening terrorists:
  A Newsweek article reports that the Taliban are emboldened by the success of the Iraq insurgency, and they may be receiving training in Iraq. Wow, it finally is a terrorist training ground.
• Iraq's "sovereign government" in action:
  A judge renewed homicide arrest warants for two Britons rescued earlier when troops demolished the jail holding them. I don't think we'll see them turning themselves in any time soon.
• Bush know better:
  Despite all this, Bush still knows better.

Meanwhile, the coalition casualty count is 2112. The civilian death to toll is between 26,000 and 29,000, and by the time you read this, these numbers will have probably gone up.

Moonstruck

There's a moon in the sky
It's called the moon.
The B-52's

That full moon we just had was the Harvest Moon, so named because its light afforded farmers a few more hours to harvest their crops. This year's was special because it was in the same place as it was 50 years ago when captured on film as the famous "Autumn Moon" by Ansel Adams. Astronomers figured out the precise time and date of the original image, then predicted it's return (the story).

The Harvest moon is not the only named moon. Most people know the Blue Moon, the uncommon second full moon of a calendar month. Actually, there are traditional English names for the full moon of every month. Native Americans had their own names, as did other cultures. Here's a list from the Farmer's Almanac (via Wikipedia).

Month	English	Native American	Other Names
January	Moon After Yule	Wolf Moon	Old Moon
February	Wolf Moon	Snow Moon	Hunger Moon
March	Lenten Moon	Worm Moon	Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sugar Moon, Sap Moon
April	Egg Moon	Pink Moon	Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon
May	Milk Moon	Flower Moon	Corn Planting Moon
June	Flower Moon	Strawberry Moon	Rose Moon, Hot Moon
July	Hay Moon	Buck Moon	Thunder Moon
August	Grain Moon	Sturgeon Moon	Red Moon, Green Corn Moon
September	Fruit Moon	Harvest Moon	Corn Moon, Barley Moon
October	Harvest Moon	Hunter's Moon	Travel Moon, Dying Grass Moon
November	Hunter's Moon	Beaver Moon	Frost Moon
December	Moon Before Yule	Cold Moon	Long Nights Moon

Low watermark for Bush?

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Old adage

Until I read Eleanor Clift's recent commentary, Bush Repackaged, I hadn't heard that Karl Rove was in the hospital with kidney stones during the height of Hurricane Katrina. Clift suggests that this explains Bush's poor response to the disaster early on, and his subsequent retooling.

The main focus of the commentary, however, is the implications of the Bush administration's reconstruction plan. Thusfar, I am mainly appalled at Bush's assertions that the $200 billion bill could be paid for with spending cuts. I saw the plan itself mostly as damage control. Having read the Clift commentary, I realize it is much more. "To hear Bush talk," she says, "we're about to witness a Republican utopia in the hurricane zone."

Citing the Republican's current weakness in the polls, Clift describes this as "a pivotal moment in politics with a president severely compromised and the country poised to embrace a contrary view of government that rejects the Darwinian capitalism of the Reagan-Bush era." But if that is to happen, Democrats will need to offer real alternatives that voters can embrace. It is not enough, she says, "to stand aside and wait for the GOP to implode." Unfortunately, her assessment of the Democrat response is less than optimistic.

Meanwhile, the Bush camp has already moved beyond damage control. In their eyes, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is an opportunity to further their conservative agenda, just like the 9/11 attacks. To be sure, the absencee of an aggressor makes it more difficult for Bush to rally the country behind him, and his early inaction hurt his credibility seriously. But that is in the past, and voters have short memories.

With Rove back, they're working full-time to turn things around. If they do, the post-Katrina reconstruction could be a final crowning achievement of a Bush presidency, strengthening the neo-con's hold on the Republican party, and government as a whole. They are certainly doing all the right things to make that future a reality.

Humor in motion

That's what we call love. You'll like that a lot.
Captain Kirk

In a recent post I linked to a stick figure animation of Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" video. I started poking around that site, looking at the other animations. Nothing is nearly as complex, but there are a bunch of really cool animated GIFs. Here are some of my favorites (links all open in the same window):

• In this, a tiny bit of animation makes all the difference in.
• A bunch of the animations are simply moving eyes, winks, etc., so I wasn't expecting this one.
• This I just love.
• But this is my favorite. (It also explains the quote on this post.)

Enjoy.

Google Earth is COOL!

Everybody lives on a street in a city
Or a village or a town for what it's worth.
And they're all inside a country which is part of a continent
That sits upon a planet known as Earth.
And the Earth is a ball full of oceans and some mountains
Which is out there spinning silently in space.
And living on that Earth are the plants and the animals
And also the entire human race.
Yakko's Universe
performed by the Animaniacs

If you haven't played with Google Earth, and you have an hour to kill, check it out. It's the coolest!

P.S. If you've read Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, Google Earth will look familiar.
P.P.S. If you haven't read it, you should.

Losing My Religion - Part III: The Problem With Leaving

Sometimes
I wish I were Catholic
I don't know why
Happy Birthday to Me
by Cracker

This is part of a series that begins here. The post before this one is here.

I have often joked that it would be easier if I was Catholic. I have so many issues with the social and political stance of the Roman Catholic church that I would have no qualms leaving. The same would be true if I were Southern Baptist or Evangelical. I would have left those churches on principle alone, without ever considering the deeper aspects of religious truth.

The Episcopal Church is different. It's an open and liberal Christian community. Both men and women can be priests, and they can marry. They welcome practicing homosexuals, ordain them, and make them bishops. To be sure, not all Episcopalians were in favor of this. Acceptance and ordination of gays, ordination of women, even modern language in the Book of Common Prayer all came with controversy and threatened schism. Yet the church has weathered these storms without halting its progress towards openness and acceptance.

After reading that last paragraph, you might be wondering why in the world I wanted to leave. Indeed, I was always proud of the Episcopal church and its progressive stand on social issues. So what was the problem? As I became more involved as an acolyte and vestry member, I was increasingly called upon to profess my faith. I was asked to mentor a young adult preparing for confirmation. I attended retreats with the vestry. I spoke in front of the parish about stewardship.

In all these situations, I always became uncomfortable discussing my personal relationship with God and Christ. That's actually an understatement. I began to resent being put in the position at all. I was skeptical when people sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit. The last thing I wanted to hear was someone's story of how God spoke to them. In vestry we often prayed for guidance before discussing an issue or voting, and I hated it when our decisions took on extra weight because they were made with God's guidance.

It was a while before I realized why it bothered me so much. The answer difficult to face, but it was simple. I just didn't believe it. When someone sensed the Holy Spirit in our midst, I thought they were just excited. I thought the silent prayer in vestry helped people clear their heads, not tune into God. It seems obvious to me after the fact, but it was hard to accept. I would have to accept it, though. As I discussed in Part II, having children pressed the issue as much as anything. I needed to be honest with them.

I resolved to leave the Episcopal church. It was a slow process. Sharon and the kids stopped attending first. I continued to attend vestry meetings, and went to church when I was scheduled to acolyte. Eventually my rector figured out something was up and asked me about it. I think he was worried that I was having trouble at home or something. We discussed my doubts and concerns, but did not come to any resolution.

I stopped going to church altogether when I was done with vestry. The last service I attended was the Sunday of the Annual Meeting, officially my last day on vestry. I had still not explained about my decision to my rector. Nonetheless, I think he sensed it was my last day there. I keep meaning to write him and let him know how I'm doing, but I haven't yet. That last thing I did was congratulate one of the new vestry members. She was my age, and had been there as long as I had. I left with a strange mixture of regret and relief. I miss that church, but I think I made the right choice.

For the next several months, we didn't go to church at all. However, it didn't stay that way. That story, in what should be the last installment of this series, Part IV.

'Duct Tape Man' and other nonsense

If Michael Brown’s resignation this afternoon as the head of FEMA was supposed to end the political controversy over the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina, it probably won't.
Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann is keeping his critical eye focused on the Bush administration with his latest blog post on "Duct Tape Man" David Paulison, who told Americans every home should stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting.

Meanwhile, the failure wants to reassure America that no taxes will be required to pay for Gulf Coast reconstruction. "You bet it will cost money," he said, "but I’m confident we can handle it."

Well, that makes me feel better. George W. Bush is confident that we can handle it. His assessments have been so dead on in the past. He went on to tell us that, "It’s going to cost whatever it’s going to cost," demostrating his unique insight into the situation. In case you're wondering, you can also expect recontruction to take as long as it takes and fix whatever it fixes.

By the way, how are we going to pay for this? The same way we'll pay for everything, Pinky, spending cuts. Ahhh, panacea of the borrow-and-spend republicans. All spending can be paid for with spending cuts. Who needs that pesky math, anyway.

Don't worry though, Bush assures us that they'll be "wise about the money we spend."

...

I'm not even going to bother with that one. If you want, you can read the MSNBC article on Bush's little fantasy world.

By the way, they also have this article on the who-knew-what-when question, where they note that:

Bush told ABC on Sep. 1 that “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” In its storm warnings, the hurricane center never used the word breached.” But a day before Katrina came ashore Aug. 29, the agency warned in capital letters: “SOME LEVEES IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA COULD BE OVERTOPPED.”

National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield also gave daily pre-storm videoconference briefings to federal officials in Washington, warning them of a nightmare scenario of New Orleans’ levees not holding, winds smashing windows in high-rise buildings and flooding wiping out large swaths of the Gulf Coast.

A photo on the White House Web site shows Bush in Crawford, Texas, watching Mayfield give a briefing on Aug. 28, a day before Katrina smashed ashore with 145-mph winds.

Nice what?

You can't always tell a book by its cover
Old adage

Likewise, you can't always tell a web site by its domain name. Case in point:

http://web.archive.org/web/20021207085002/www.nice-tits.org/pics.html

Go on, check it out. Thanks to Snopes for this one.

Update: I'm two-for-two on posting screw-ups. The site should end in ".org" not ".com" as it did earlier.

Interesting challange to abstinence-only

Never in recent history has so much government money been put into so many programs with so little oversight and so little proven impact.
James Wagoner
president of Advocates for Youth

This AP article reports an interesting challange of abstinence-only sex-education programs. The Information Quality Act allows affected persons to seek correction of erroneous and ineffective information disseminated by federal agencies. I think erroneous and ineffective pretty much describes absitnece-only.

Update: Duh. I forgot to link to the actual news story. It's there now (the first one).

Check out my new weapon

Don't be shocked by the tone of my voice
Check out my new weapon, weapon of choice
Fatboy Slim

I was listenning to some Fatboy Slim, and it got me looking for the classic video for "Weapon of Choice" that stars Christopher Walken. I found it.

I also found a stick figure version.

Olbermann on the "city" of Louisiana

If ever a slip-of-the-tongue defined a government's response to a crisis, this was it.
Keith Olbermann

Once again, Keith Olbermann shows why his is my favorite news blog with this post about the "city" of Lousiana.

Update: Thanks to Shakespeare's Sister, I found video of the commentary that is worth watching. This version is in Windows Media format, but the sound is low. This version is much better, but you need Quicktime.

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude

Tip him well, friends and brethren, for that which you bestow freely and willingly will bring you all the happy luck that a grateful universe knows how to return.
Sarah Adams

One of the readings in church this past Sunday was Be Cool to the Pizza Dude, an essay by Sarah Adams for the NPR "This I Believe" series. It's a quick read, and worth it.

The blame game

They told me they fixed it. I trusted them to fix it. It's not my fault.
Lando Calrissian
The Empire Strikes Back

A stinging criticism of the Bush administration was offered by Michael Moore in this open letter to President Bush. As Moore is wont to do, the letter is heavy on sarcasm and, IMHO, tries too hard to blame Bush.

In particular, Moore goes after cuts in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' budget. To be sure, Bush's cuts have been the largest to date, but previous administrations from both parties had already cut plenty. FactCheck.org has an analysis of this issue, and the jury is still out.

More accurate and appropriate criticism was offered by Eleanor Clift in this commentary about the Bush administration's leadership (and lack thereof) in the days leading up to and immediately following Huricane Katrina striking the Gulf Coast.

For its part, the White House addressed these criticisms by doing what it does best: pointing fingers and shifting blame.

Ride the spider

Spider
We love you spider
Spider
Get rid of
Spider
Must stop
Spider
He is our hero
They Might Be Giants

I spent a week down the shore in Seaside Park two weeks ago. I'm only just getting to blogging it now. We spent one day at the Funtown Amusement Pier. We rode many rides, including ferris wheel, bumper cars, Mighty Mouse, and the Tower of Fear, a ride that rockets you to 225' the air, then drops you. None of these rides, not even the Tower, tested my stamina like the Spider.

My youngest needed an adult to accomany her, so I went on. The ride went on forever. We were on it so long, my daughter annouced that she was bored. I wish. When we were done, I felt as if it literally sucked the life of me, like Count Rugen's machine in The Princess Bride.

The Spider is one of several amusement park rides designed by Lee Eyerly. Eyerly was initially building flight training devices, but found a better market for them as amusement park rides. The Spider is one of his later inventions. The key to the Spider's evil is that the ride operator has full control of the ride's movement. Instead of the push-and-go green start button we are see on newer rides, the spider has two levers that control the speed and tilt of the ride. It's like a demented video game for the ride operator's own twisted enjoyment.

Not a stunning endorsement of the Spider, eh? Well, that was only the second time I've ridden an an Eyerly Spider in my life. The first time I was eight or so. I remember the unpredictable twisting motion had me sliding up the back of the chair. I thought I was going to be flung out at any moment. That ride went on forever too.

Wherever Lee Eyerly is now, I hope he's happy.

Hard times for the Big Easy

We're holding on by a thread.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin

As I watch the residents struggle to survive, I cannot conceive of their suffering. As I sit comfortably at my desk in my air-conditioned office, I cannot imagine what it is like to have witnessed the devastation firsthand. I cannot fathom what trials lie ahead. Yet this disaster still touches me in a personal way.

New Orleans will always be a special place for me. When planning our honeymoon, Sharon and I had two criteria. It had to be warmer than New Jersey in February and there had to be a train that went there. That's how we ended up spending an unforgettable honeymoon in New Orleans. Eleven years later we still remember all the little details of the places we saw, the music we heard, and the wonderful food we ate. The city is like a dear friend.

I've been at a bit of a loss as to what to say about this. Anything I have to offer seems insignificant or trite. But I'll take this moment to join the Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Weekend and ask anyone reading this to help out this dear friend of mine, and its neighbors, in their time of need. But then, you probably already have.

As for me, I'm donating to Habitat for Humanity. Katrina has left countless people homless. Habitat has been helping people get new homes for thirty years. Credit Sharon with the choice.

Summer update

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
The Beatles

What a difference a couple days make. Summer is back home. She looks much better, and she's adapting to the one leg. She still gets tired very quickly, but she keeps making progress. We went on a walk and she made it two houses up the street.

Acquitted, but still imprisoned

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

Emma Lazarus

Today the Washington Post reported that fifteen Uighurs, Chinese Muslims, remain imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay even though the pentagon says they should be released. A lawyer for two of the prisoners noted that one of his clients was schackled to the floor in a windowless box.

Information about how they ended up in Guantanamo is limited, but at least some of them were in Afghanistan and Pakistan after fleeing persecution in China. Ironically, they looked to the United States as a beacon of hope. So much for that.

Particularly disturbing is that we let Chinese officials to interrogate them. One of the detainees claimed that Guantanamo personal helped the interrogator photograph him, despite his attempts to resist.

Wishing for Summer

oh these little earthquakes here we go again these little earthquakes
Tori Amos

I'm not in much of a mood to post anything. If you've read Sharon's post, you've heard about Summer. She's our wonderful greyhound who just lost her leg, probably has cancer, and is back in the veterinary hospital because of complications from the amputation. She's is a wonderful pet, and it breaks my heart to see her like this. If you have a retired racing greyhound, keep an eye out for this. If they seem extra sensitive, it may be a sign.

I wish she was home now, but she's in really good hands. She was home for a day, and she was already hopping up steps going on walks. She wants to be home and we miss her.

Doug Forrester - a doomed campaign strategy?

Always with the negative waves Moriarty, always with the negative waves.
Sgt. Oddball
Kelly's Heroes

On Blanton's and Ashton's - Article. II. Section. 4., G. D. Frogsdong posted this comparison of lead stories from the campaign sites of Jon Corzine and Doug Forrester. I went to each site so see for myself. Here's what I found:

Click on each for a larger version.

Basically, Corzine's page is focusing on what he plan's to do while Forrester's page is focusing on what's wrong with Corzine. The lead-off story is particularly nasty, as Frogsdong points out. If you go to the Corzine "reading room" section and compare it to the Forrester "newsroom" you'll find a similar trend.

I remember the post election analysis of the 2000 Senate race where Hillary Clinton handily beat Rick Lazio in what was supposed to be a close race. Pundits pointed to Lazio's focus on attacking Clinton, while saying little about what he himself would do if elected. Their point was that you can't win an election simply by saying that you're not the other guy. Many have argued that this was one of the problems with Kerry's failed 2004 Presidential bid.

It looks like Forrester is getting desperate here, but the "Corzine Sucks, Vote Forrester" campaign strategy is sure to fail.

It's Carnival time

Check it out! Check it out! Check it out!
Bubs

The Center of NJ Life has the Carnival this week. Check it out!

What's so funny?

I know, everybody funny, now you funny too
George Thorogood

I just took this 3-D humor test. Check it out, it's fun. (Thanks to Jeri for the link). Here is my result:

(73% dark, 17% spontaneous, 33% vulgar)
your humor style:
CLEAN COMPLEX DARK

You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat.

I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer.

Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais

Losing My Religion - Part II: Teach Your Children

As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the World ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupt changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the Truth with less trouble.
Benjamin Franklin

This is part of a series that begins here. The post before this one is here.

When it's just you, it's a lot easier to leave certain questions and doubts unaddressed. Sharon often asked me what I believe, in part because she wanted to understand how important church was to me. My answers were always wandering and noncommittal. It turns out, that's the way my beliefs are too. My approach to religion echoed Franklin's sentiments. I had no issues with what my religion said about how people should act. But God, Jesus his divine son, the Resurection, the Holy Spirt? Well, let's just say I had my doubts.

Surprisingly, this was not a big deal when it was just me. I could go to church and interpret what I heard and what was taught. I would listen with an intellectual ear to the analysis of a Bible passage. I discussed the intent of the author and the audience they were writing too. I would filter doctrine through my own interpretations. In short, as an adult, it was okay if I didn't buy into everything. It got harder with children.

I went to an all male Catholic high school. One thing I will always remember from religion class is the way we were taught that everything in the Bible is true. It was explained that parts of the Bible are not historically accurate, yet they always contains spiritual truth. I tried this concept on my kids, but it didn't really fly. For someone their age, it's either real or not, fact or fiction, true or false. At church, each week, my kids were being taught a version of reality that wasn't mine.

That was probably the turning point for me. It's interesting, looking back on it now. I never confronted my own doubts until my religion was being taught to my children. If I was going to be honest with them, I had to decide where I stood. However, once I did, I realized I couldn't stay where I was. With much difficulty, we decided to leave our church. The question was, how? And, what next?

This will be continued in Part III.

Losing My Religion - Part I: Growing Up Episcopal

I am an Anglican, I am P.E.
Neither High Church, nor Low Church,
I am Protestant and Catholic and free.
Not a Presby, nor a Lutheran,
Nor a Baptist, white with foam!
I am an Anglican, just one step from Rome;
I am an Anglican! Via Media! My Home!
Sung to the tune of God Bless America

This is part of a series that begins here.

For those who don't know, I was born an raised Episcopalian. My family was very active in the church. We attended regularly. I went to church school each week. I was an acolyte, I was in the youth group, I even gave the sermon on Youth Sunday. While in college, I attended a small Lutheran Sunday worship group. I really liked intimate atmosphere of it, and the service is very similar to the Episcopal one. After college, I went back to my family's church, and when Sharon and I were married, it was there.

Our attendancence lapsed somewhat, until the children were born. I had always expected them to be baptized, so they were and we started attending as a family. The girls started going to church school like I did. I went back to serving as an acolyte. Being an acolyte had become very comfortable and familiar to me. The church was, as I'd been going there for for nearly twenty years.

Then I was asked and agreed to run for vestry, the governing body of the parish. Actually I was agreeing to serve on vestry as the elections are rarely contested. It was kind of surprise to be asked, and a little flattering at the time. I'd later learn that they had a lot of trouble finding people who said yes. It's a three year commitment, and managing resources and budget, difficult in any organization, is very challenging in a church.

Yet overall, I was finding it a rewarding experience. I remember when my parents were on vestry. I'd tell them about what was happenning and they'd tell me about what it was like for them. It was sort of like a coming of age for me.

I was a very active adult member of the church I grew up in. But there were issues I would need to face soon.

This is continued in Part II.

Losing My Religion - Introduction

Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
Good Riddance
by Green Day

Awhile back in a post about God in government, I alluded to some conclusions I'd come to with respect to religion. In a comment, Rob asked about this, and I promised to post about it later. It's been on my mind a lot. I began a post on this last night, but I'm realizing there is a lot I want to write. Instead of one huge post, I decided present it as a series. It is a very personal topic, so forgive me if it seems a little self indulgent.

Anyway, I've now posted Part I.

Oh yeah, time for a beer!

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
Dave Barry

Looking for good beer in NJ and NYC? Have no fear, The Crooked Beat is on the case. Now I've been warned not to add this link to my blog, but I'm throwing caution to the wind. Check it out!

One day on the River Line...

I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me, you hate me, you loathe me, and then
You can't figure out what bag I'm in
Everyday People
written by Sly Stone

Today I took the day off and the whole family went to the The Adventure Aquarium in Camden. To get there, parked in Bordentown and took the River Line. It's a nice ride, cheap, and convenient to the aquarium. We had a great day. They've added a lot to the aquarium (from what I understand - this was my first time). We like the sharks best. Then we headed back to Bordentown. The return trip back was much more interesting.

When we boarded, a nice gentlemen who also got on asked if we liked the aquarium. This was clearly his regular train home, and he told us the crowd gets on at Walter Rand station. Before we got there, he was joined by another man who got on at the next station. They talked a bit and you could see they ride together frequently. I picked up from their conversation that the second guy is a prosecutor, probably for Camden County. Then we got to Walter Rand and the man was right. Everyone got on.

It got interesting when a group of guys took the seats across the aisle from the prosecutor, and in front of us. They were having a long conversation about prison. Specifically, they were comparing and contrasting. I learned that Camden county is the worst, in their opinion. You don't want to be there. Mercer and Burlington are nicer. They'd been around. Apparently the only thing everyone talks about is women. There was also some doubt expressed as the true nature of their fellow inmates' convictions. (Their language was far more colorful.)

The good part was when they moved on from prisons and began critiquing county prosecutors. Again, Camden came out low on their list. Some things are universal, I guess. I could see the prosecutor across from them sitting Thinker-style while he worked on his laptop. He had his hand half-in front of his mouth, and I swear he was stifling a laugh. There was an interesting story of one guy's plea bargain session where he kept asking for a trial until he talked them down to "3, out in 1." In general, they had a low opinion of the prosecutors they faced.

Judges, however, faired better. In fact, they felt that, despite being a hard ass, one particular judge was fair. They were all in agreement on this. Judges, you see, are like gods. They have the power. The governor, too. Oh, and the mayor. Well, Doug Palmer, anyway.

There were other discussion topics. It was interesting to hear their take on the manslaughter conviction of wealthy CEO Jonathan Nyce for the killing of his wife. It was depressing to hear about they guy's girlfriend and kid, and the job he lost due to his felony conviction. There was also the story about shooting a neighbor's pit bull. It turns out that one bullet wasn't enough. After being shot in the chest, it kept coming because, "those dogs are tough."

So there you have it. A convicted felon telling a story about shooting a neighbor's dog while sitting next to a county prosecutor.

And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby-dooby-dooby....

What I did on my vacation Pt. 2

Swimming, swimming, in a swimming hole,
When days are hot and days are cold,
In a swimming hole.
Side stroke, back stroke, fancy diving too.
Wouldn't it be great if there were nothing else to do
Camp Song

Okay, I've realized that I never posted part two. I figured I'd add something here before I'm off on another vacation. We did do a lot of swimming. The lake was a wonderful temperature, and very inviting in the hot weather. The kids were in every day for hours.

The day we left, before heading home, we stopped at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. We figured it was a small nature park, maybe a few small animal, etc., so the admission (Adults $12, Kids $9) seemed a little steep. It turned out to be more than worth the price. The center is home to all sorts of animals indigenous to the region. For one reason or another they cannot be released back into the wild. Many were injured (especially the birds). Several were kept as illegal pets. They all live now in large naturally furnished enclosures. At each enclosure, there is lots of information about the animals, how they live, and how to protect them and their habitat. It was all very well done, well maintained, and highly recommended. The kids had a great time.

After the center, we ate lunch at a great restraint in Holderness, seated at a window overlooking the lake.

There's probably more, but I can't think of it. I really wanted to mention the nature center. It was great. If you're up there, you should go.

Crap - Shuttles on hold

Until we’re ready, we won’t go fly again. I don’t know when that might be.
Shuttle program manager Bill Parsons

Today Discovery docked with the ISS, after performing a back-flip maneuver to inspect the whole shuttle. Unfortunately, there's bad news with the good. The fleet is grounded as NASA determined that a foam piece came loose during launch. Thankfully, it looks like Discovery came through unscathed.

See Discovery from many angles

You can go with this
Or you can go with that
You can go with this
Or you can go with that
Fatboy Slim

MSNBC put together this cool interactive that let's you watch the launch from multiple angles at once, changing cameras on the fly. Check it out.

Godspeed Discovery

Freedom lies in being bold.
Robert Frost

Good luck and godspeed to the crew of Discovery. The dedication and determination of the men and women of NASA are an inspiration.

Things I miss from childhood

You set sail across the sea
Of long past thoughts and memories.
Childhood's end, your fantasies
Merge with harsh realities.
And then as the sail is hoist,
You find your eyes are growing moist.
All the fears never voiced
Say you have to make your final choice.
Childhood's End
by Pink Floyd

Rob at Laughing at the Pieces offered his post on this subject then tagged me. So here goes:

1. The woods behind my neighbor's house.

Many a war game was played there. Many an expeditions were launched. We dug up old farm equipment and hid in the old chicken coops. They were a safe place for us to play in an unsafe manner. Now, the woods are gone, replaced by houses.

2. Climbing trees

There was one you could climb high enough to see the high school, a couple miles away. We built tree houses (plural, because they lacked the structural integrity to last), a rope swing, and the slide for life (a pulley that your rode down a 50' length or rope). There was one time when I jumped down from a tree, and my knee caught me in the face, putting my tooth through my lip. Good times!

3. Vermont

Every year we went there, to the same lean-to in Calvin Coolidge State Forest. They were all named after trees. Ours was Basswood. Such was my family's dedication to this annual vacation that they went when Mom was eight months pregnant with me. Going there each year was like going home. I keep pestering Sharon about going there again. Someday....

4. Gram

My dad's mother came to live with us when we moved to a larger house. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have that, though I do now. Gram always had stories about this and that, so familiar that I took them for granted. And there was her cooking. I don't miss that, to be honest. Having lived through the Depression, she wasted nothing. This made for some, um, interesting dishes. How about a lamb sandwich? No mayonaise for the egg salad? BBQ sauce will do.

5. Atari 2600

Okay, I've got to be honest on this one. I loved that Atari. I did. I wasted countless hours of my life finding the chalice again in Adventure, rolling the score over in Space Invaders and Asteroids, shaving another second off my time in the Indy 500 ice race, etc., etc.

Well, there ya go. Who should I tag next? I will randomly choose from my friends' blogs. Leaving Rob's off, there are six. The result of 1d6 is... six! That means I'm tagging Jeri.

Point of view

"First of all," [Atticus] said, "If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-"
"Sir?"
"-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

Today I was posting some comments to this post at The Center of NJ Life. I was critical of random searches in the NYC Subway and NJ Transit, and someone asked me for alternatives. After explaining why I thought random searches wouldn't work, I voiced support for better information sharing, espionage, and good old detective work. I also said need to address root causes in our foreign policy. That's a buzz-word laden way of saying I think we need to do more to understand what is leading people to terrorism.

Here's the thing. I almost left that last one off. I wanted to avoid the inevitable accusations that I hated America and supported terrorism. I was remembering Karl Rove's remarks in June. I went ahead and put it in. We'll see if the thread gets derailed or not.

I've been thinking about this whole root cause thing for awhile. As a software developer, I deal with root causes often. There's a problem with an application, bad behavior, a bug. For example, I have a label on a button. All of a sudden, the label is garbled. What do I do? I can just reset the label, fixing the immediate issue. But something garbled that label. There's still a bug, and odds are it will manifest elsewhere. To do it right, I have to dig in a little, look at what's changed recently, maybe step through the program as it runs watching everything. That takes more effort, of course, and the solution is more complex. Yet that is clearly the right way to handle it, and the solution is more robust.

Like the quick fix, we have a quick answer for why terrorists hate us. "Because we're free," is what Bush has said more than once. It's a great soundbite that plays well in big speaches. But it denies the complex issues at hand. It turns a blind eye to real problems that lie at the heart. Until these root causes are addressed, this hatred will manifest itself over and over in new and different places. I am not advocating for apeasement here. I don't believe we should bargain with terrorists. We need to truly understand what motivates these people to such extreme actions.

It can't just be that they're evil. No one is born wanting to do this. People learn to hate. Mohammad Atta came into this world just like the rest of us. He was an innocent little kid once. He learned to hate us. Why is that? Have we really thought about it? Are we doing anything to change that? Shouldn't we be? And why is it un-American to do so?

I know most of the people who read this, so I know I'm preaching to the choir here. But I'm just so sick of hearing that the only solution is to "brandish steel," as Rove put it. We've brandished plenty of steel, and what has it gotten us?

Is Rove the new North?

The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.
George Orwell

This post from eriposte at The Left Coaster does a great job detailing and debunking the GOP talking points about Karl Rove blowing Valerie Plame's cover. I was incredulous when I watched John Gibson's ridiculous commentary suggesting Rove deserves a medal. He went above and beyond today in service of his GOP masters.

Then it dawned on me. Karl Rove could be the next Oliver North. I re-read the talking points, and it starts to add up. They tell this story:

Self-serving Valerie Plame recklessly hands an overseas assignment to her hubby, left-wing nut Joe Wilson. Joe is supposed to look into the yellow-cake deal, but he's a liberal peace-nik who doesn't want a war, even in Iraq where there is a clear and present danger. He also wants John Kerry to win, so he can get a job in the new administration. So he tries to sabotage the case for war by offering up a flawed report designed only to serve his own agenda.

Enter patriot Karl Rove. He sees through Joe's plan, and he's willing to stop Wilson no matter what the cost. Selflessing putting himself in legal peril, Rove does the only thing he can: he exposes the secret backroom dealings of Plame and Wilson. Sure, it could be against the law, but our national security comes first.

It's a great story. It side-steps the legal fallout and re-casts Rove as the selfless patriot. As a bonus, it implies that Saddam really was trying to buy yellow-cake after all. New life for the WMD justification.

Sound too far-fetched? Don't think the American public will buy it? How many people still, still think Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks? How many think Ollie North is a hero?

Call me Uncle Pennybags

Advance token to nearest Railroad and pay owner Twice the Rental to which he is entitled.
Chance card in Monopoly

That phrase signaled the end of the game for my daughter this past weekend. It was anyone's game until then. In order to come up with the $400 rent, she had to sell off all her houses and mortgage two of her last three properties. I did the only appropriate thing for a loving father to do at this point: I danced around laughing and shouting, "IN YOUR FACE! IN YOUR FACE!"

That's a joke! Geeez! What do you take me for?

Actually, I said she played a good game, told her it was bad luck, and noted that had I hit her houses first, it would have gone the other way (which it would have). Of course, I did still take her money and build two more houses on Boardwalk and Park Place, just to make sure. And I said, "Sorry honey," right before I asked for the $1400 rent that officially bankrupted her. For the record, she's won several games of Monopoly in the past.

Sharon had taken my younger daughter to a birthday party in hell, I mean Chuck E. Cheese. My oldest and I were home, and I asked what she wanted to do. It was hot out, and she'd already ridden her new bike for an hour, so she asked if we could play a game. First we played Stratego. She picked that, I swear. Then (and I am not making this up) she asked if we could play Risk. I said that would probably take too long to play, so she suggested Monopoly, which we did. We both had a really good time playing games. I'm psyched that she has my love of board games.

After the game, we headed up to the school where she rode her new bike around the parking lot while I flew a kite. A nice finish to a great afternoon.

Joel Stein, you're lame, lame, lame, lame!

Here's what I think: Joel Stein is a ninny.
--*Rob

Rob offered this post about Joel Stein's slamming of adult Harry Potter fans. I read Stein's piece. He's clearly trying to be contrarian. He also talks big for someone who didn't read the books. I began a comment on Rob's blog, but decided to go full-blown-post because, well, I need something. Here are my observations:

He says Judy Blume is a good author, but adults don't read Freckle Juice. Well, my daughter read Freckle Juice. It's, like, 48 pp., so yeah, he's right, adults don't go for books like that. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is 309 pp. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is 672 pp. A little different don't you think?

He also points to the equivalent books of our youth. (His point: we had those books to fill our adolescent needs, leave it at that.) He includes Tolkein's books in there. So he's saying Tolkein is only good for thirteen-year-olds?

Oh yeah, he needs to point out how simplistic the plot is. It's just your basic good/evil story. Surprise, a fantasy story that has a battle between good and evil. How about that. And the story is by no means that simplistic. There are plenty of shades of grey. Take Delores Umbridge. What she does, and why, is more complex than simple a good vs. evil plot. And what about Snape? Talk about an ambiguous character.

Etc., etc., etc. Joel might figure this out a little more, but, as I mentioned, he didn't read the books.

Strength in numbers

You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up! Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life!
Hopper
A Bug's Life

The White House press corp demostrated that intimidation can only carry the Bush administration so far. The briefings from yesterday and today are sights to behold. You'll find nothing of value in Scott McClellan's answers. He can't even come up with new and interesting ways to say, "No comment." The good stuff is in the questions, which are relentless. It's like the reporters all decided at once they'd had enough bullshit.

I'd love to blog about this on a play by play basis, but I need to get back to work. But Seething in the Wilderness has everything you'll want to see here and here.

Rove the White House leaker?

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: Oh, thank you very much.
Casablanca

Newsweek is reporting that Karl Rove is one of the sources behind the outing of Valerie Plame. Okay everyone, together now in your best Steven Wright monotone:

Oh my god. Can you believe it. What is this world coming to? I am sooooo surprised.

Karl Rove, huh? Who would have thunk? Well, anyone with five or more neurons, but why care? Rove can relax, secure in the knowledge that he's more likely to be ridden to victory in the Kentucky Derby than face prosecution.

Besides, the London bombings will leave this story buried. Just another reason for whoop-whooping over at Fox (SitW has the details on that).

Leadership

lead
v,
1. To show the way to by going in advance.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

I looked up leader and found a picture of Antonio Villaraigosa.

Details from:

• skippy the bush kangaroo
• Shakespeare's Sister
• The Center of NJ Life

London

Today we are all British
Sign being held up outside the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

I don't know what to say about the London bombings that is better than five words from a guy in front of the British Embassy. I will share this photo, which struck a cord with me:

This is the crowd of people heading into Liverpool Street Station once it reopenned, showing that sometimes you triumph simply by getting on with your day.

Shine on you crazy diamond

You know that I care what happens to you
And I know that you care for me
So I don't feel alone
Of the weight of the stone
Now that I've found somewhere safe
To bury my bone
And any fool knows a dog needs a home
A shelter from pigs on the wing
Pink Floyd

I finally managed to watch a video of the the Pink Floyd set at Live 8 (streaming, without the annoying MTV commercial breaks I heard about). Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright played together for the first time since 1981. The guys didn't sound half bad.

Comfortably Numb was the song I really wanted to hear. I think it suffered most from the absence of Gilmour or Waters. Any live version sounded wrong because because half the vocals weren't the voice I wanted to hear. Wish You Were hear suffered the same problem, although to a lesser extent, and it was good to hear that too.

It was nice to see them up there together playing some of my favorite songs. There were several points where the camera caught band members making eye contact with one another. Mostly it was Waters or Gilmour looking back at Mason. I know I'm looking through a fan's eyes here, but they seemed to exchange this little knowing look, as if to say, "You're right, this is cool."

There was a nice moment at then end, with the four of them standing together thanking the crowd. You've probably seen the photo. They all seem genuinely happy they're there together. I hope they were. I was.

The Nazi card

No soup for you!
The Soup Nazi
Seinfeld

I don't know if I've said this already, but my new favorite political commentator is Keith Olbermann. His MSNBC blog is call Bloggermann, and his posts have a Jon Stewart sensibility that I really appreciate. One recent post I like was this one on the recent Nazi references by U.S. Senators Byrd, Santorum, and Durbin. Personally I don't think they should resign, as Olbermann suggests. But he's dead on here:

The Republicans are not the SS, and the Democrats are not the Gestapo, and Gitmo is not Buchenwald.

I like that he seeks to reign in the extreme rhetoric that makes enlightened debate so difficult these days. And I think both sides are guilty here.

To be sure, we can be to P.C. about the term. I had no problem when Seinfeld introduced the Soup Nazi. I came accross this L.A. Times commentary that speaks to this issue.

I don't know where the line is. Going back to the three Senators, here's my take. I thought Byrd's comments were okay. He was talking about strategies the Nazis used to gain power and drawing (IMHO) fair comparisons to our goverment. As much as I dislike Santorum, I didn't think he was calling Democrats Nazis, he was making an analogy, albeit a stupid one.

Durbin, I think, crossed the line. He made the direct comparison the others did not. By implying that Guantanamo Bay interrogators acted like Nazis, he failed on two levels. First, he was just plain wrong. The worst actions of the interrogators were nothing close to what the Nazis did routinely. Second, in making this comparison he undermined his own cause. He lost credibility on the issue and, in doing so, failed to address the real and dangerous situation in Gitmo.

That's a mistake we can't afford to make.

What I did on my vacation Pt. 1

I long for wildness... Woods where the woodthrush forever sings, Where the hours are early morning ones, And there is dew on the grass, And the day is forever unproven... A New Hampshire everlasting and unfallen.
Henry David Thoreau

The quote was on a sign at the entrance of Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves. When I saw it, my first thought was, I need to remember that for my blog. Of course, I forgot the exact quote, but googling '"lost river" thoreau' turned it right up.

Last week was the family vacation. My family, my brother's family, and my parents all rent a house on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. It was a lakefront house (pictured). It was taken from the pontoon boat we rented (but I'm getting ahead of myself). There plenty of bedrooms for everyone, a great view of the lake, a dock, beach, and use of the canoe and kayaks. The lake was great for swimming, and we did plenty of that.


Other activities included the aformentioned pontoon boat. They're nice in that there is room for everyone to sit and space for the kids to walk around a bit without fear of them falling out. The house is on a section of the lake named Moultonboro Bay. Getting the boat from the rental place to the house is fun because you have to navigate through The Graveyard. Yes, it's really called that. There are more than 1000 markers on the lake warning you away from rocks and boulders that would, if struck, significantly increase the rental cost of the boat.

We explored Lost River, as I said. We also did a bit of hiking. Right next to Winnipesaukee is Squam Lake, and the Squam Lake Association maintains a wonderful and diverse set of trails. The "Bridle Path" trail takes you up West Rattlesnake to an elevation of 1220'. All the kids made the trip up, where you are treated to wide vistas overlooking the lake. The picture at the right is the view from the top. We headed down shortly after, ahead of the approaching thunder storm. We all got doused by some rain, but everyone still had a great time.

Sharon and I also got a hike of our own in. We took the SLA trail to Eagle Cliffs. The trail climbs up the mountain, traversing Eagle Cliffs as it goes. There's one spot where you can even climb the cliff for 0.1 mi. The view was great there too, although it was cloudy that day. There was a neat point where we ascended into the cloud. It was suddenly quiet and foggy.

Well, time to head off to the cousin's house for Independence Day fun. I'll post more later.

The Iraq Dilemma

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know
The Clash

Tom Curry wrote a good article about the Democrat's political strategy and the dilemma of Iraq. In the article, DNC executive committee member Judith Hope had this to say:

“I think Democrats have largely been backed into a corner on Iraq. While most of us believe we should never have gone in there in the first place, many of us believe that now that we’re there, we have no choice but to finish the job. It would be both immoral and dangerous to bail out of that part of the world, given what we know today.”

I think she's right, by the way. We can't just abandon Iraq to the mess we made there. The question is, how do we challange the GOP on this, one of their cornerstone issues? We know it's bad, they know it's bad. We both want to find a way to make it better. I don't think Democrats can achieve much by debating the fine details of our ongoing Iraq policy. We cannot make a compelling argument there.

That's why I think it is important to seek to expose the truth about how we got into Iraq. We need to show how the Bush administration and GOP leaders in Congress misled America. Realistically, we won't be able to impeach Bush, or otherwise hold him leagally accountable. We will, however, be able to punish them in the voting booth.

There is one person I work with who voted for Bush in 2000. He supported the war in Iraq, believing that Saddam posed a real threat. By 2004, though, he realized he'd been suckered, and cast his vote for Kerry. Unfortunately there weren't enough people like him whose minds were changed in 2004. However, I think a relentless pursuit of the truth will bring more of them around. 2006 is the next big referendum on Iraq, and we need to make sure people know the truth by then.

Jeb Bush seeks to punish Michael Schiavo

vin·dic·tive (vin-'dik-tiv)
adj.
1. Disposed to seek revenge; revengeful.
2. Marked by or resulting from a desire to hurt; spiteful.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

With Terri Schiavo finally at rest, Jeb Bush has decided it's time for a little payback, and he's set his sights on Michael Schiavo. Read all about it. Bush got a prosecutor to agree to investigate why Terri Schiavo collapsed.

Their "justification" for this? According to records, Michael Schiavo called 911 at 5:40 a.m. Two years later, at a 1992 medical malpractice trial, he said she collapsed at 5 a.m. Thirteen years later, in a 2003 television interview, he said he found her at about 4:30 a.m.

This is dispicable. This is a new low. This is worse than anything they've done so far.

This is... just plain evil.

Pink Floyd to reunite on stage (a.k.a. Holy Crap!)

Us and Them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
Pink Floyd

Wow. I never thought I'd see this. Looks like Bob Geldof gets the credit. Here's the scoop.

Wow.

Electric shed!

When you're in the dark,
And you want to see
You need uh...
(Electricity, electricity!)
Flip that switch
And what do you get?
You get uh...
(Electricity, electricity!)
Every room
Can now be lit
With just uh...
(Electricity, electricity!)
Schoolhouse Rock

No, the electric shed is not a new dance. I've been wanting to run electricity to the shed in out back yard for awhile. Well, I finally did it. We're going to replace our gas mower with a rechargable electric, and it needs to stay plugged in. That was my excuse to start wiring.

Digging the trench was the biggest hassle. The UF cable needs to be buried twelve inches down. It went fairly well though. I dug in segments and burying a bit at a time. I punched a small hole in the basement wall and I was ready to start connecting. I added a brand new circuit to the panel with a GFCI breaker, so the whole line is protected. I put in an outlet and light! Now you can see in there at night time!

Okay, I'm probably more excited about this that is necessary. But sometimes you need a rewarding little home project to put you in a good mood.

God in the government

With the apathy that exists today, a well organized minority can influence the selection of candidates to an astonishing degree.
Pat Robertson
in his book The Millennium

I listenned to two good audio programs recently that I wanted to pass on. Both deal with the the separation of church aand state, and its erosion in our current government.

"Are We Becoming a Theocracy?"
They were running the video of this program at our new church (more on that sometime). We didn't go, but I sought out the audio version.
Joan Bokaer is the founder of Theocracy Watch, and maintains their web site. In this presentation, she walks you through the history of religious right's rise to power. It's a little dry, but it's a quick listen and covers a lot of ground. Audio of this and other presentations can be downloaded free on their website.

This American Life: Godless America
I love TAL. It's one of my favorite radio programs. This episode is particularly good. It's "an hour trying to remember why anyone liked the separation of church and state in the first place." The first act covers the history of separation of church and ctate, and what the founding fathers intended. My favorite part was the discussion with Cornell government professor Isaac Kramnick, co-author of The Godless Constitution (which is has a new edition coming out that I intend to read). He explains how government is less secular now than it ever was, despite Tom Delay's assertions to the contrary.

There is also a great monologue by Julia Sweeney excerpted from her play, "Letting Go of God." She seems to have come to many of the same conclusions I have, though her path was different.

Anyway, check them out.

Teflon Dubya

Vote first. Ask questions later.
Tagline for the film Bob Roberts

The latest polls show Bush's support continues to erode. Well, it's a little late for that. Honestly, what the hell is so different now than 2004?

Yesterday, Bush was finally asked about the Downing Street Memo. Reuters White House correspondent Steve Holland did the honors, making himself eligible for a $1000 prize. He was unaware of the reward, and won't try to claim it. The memo continues its slow prgression into mainstream media.

The timing of the question couldn't have been better for Bush, as he had Tony Blair do immediate damage control. Bush's own answer meandered through the usual stock phrases about Saddam, difficulties of leadership, and how much safer we all are. There was also a well-place insinuation that the release of the memo was intended to hurt Tony Blair in the British elections.

Suggesting a political motive has been one of Bush's best defenses, and I'm expecting to see more of it around the Downing Street Memo. Remember how well it worked against Richard Clarke? One of the DSM links I found referenced the CBS story as our own version of the memo. It occurs to me that the cases are very similar. The source is high ranking intelligence officials. The implication is that Bush intended to invade Iraq no matter what.

Maybe that's why I wasn't that outraged or, for that matter, surprised that the memo didn't get more media coverage. Maybe that's why I haven't said anything here about the memo, until now. The Clarke revelations got plenty of coverage and had absolutely no effect. I wonder if that's the reason for the lack of coverage. Perhaps the media just sees the DSM as more of the same.

I know, that's not a justification for ignoring such an important story. I support Conyers, Kerry, Kennedy, and everyone on the Net who refuse to let the Downing Street Memo story die. I have to confess, though, that I see little other than futility in the effort to hold Bush accountable. So many revelations have gone unanswered....

I think our next best hope is the 2006 mid-term election. Maybe, just maybe, public disillusionment with the Iraq war will cost the GOP their Congressional majority. Then, at least, there would be a branch of government that could really question the Bush administration. But that's a real longshot, given what the Bush administration was willing to do in 2004 to hold onto power. It's all so damn grim.

I firmly believe that one day people will see the harm that's been done. I believe history will hold Bush and his administration accountable. I'm not so sure anyone else will. Republicans always liked to calling Clinton Slick Willy because of what he got away with. He had nothing on Teflon Dubya.

Supreme Court medical marijuana defeat

Governor Tarkin: No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now.
Princess Leia: The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
Star Wars

The Supreme Court ruled today that sick people can be prosecuted for using marijuana to ease their pain. As much as I am for the legalization of medical marijuana, I can't fault their interpretation of the law as it stands. Federal marijuana laws are the real problem, and they are what need to change.

Justice Stevens, in writing the majority opionion, seemed ambivalent in his decision. It's like he knows the law, but regrets how it must be interpreted here. Take this paragraph:

The case is made difficult by respondents’ strong arguments that they will suffer irreparable harm because, despite a congressionalfinding to the contrary, marijuana does have valid therapeutic purposes. The question before us, however, is not whether it is wise to enforce the statute in these circumstances; rather, it is whether Congress’ power to regulate interstate markets for medicinal substances encompassesthe portions of those markets that are supplied with drugs produced and consumed locally. Well-settled law controls our answer. The CSA is a valid exercise of federal power, even as applied to the troubling facts of this case. We accordingly vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

He also closes with something of a call to action:

But perhaps even more important than these legal avenues is the democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these respondents may one day be heard in the halls of Congress.

That's how I'll be treating it, anyway.

The little rover that could

And the Little Blue Engine smiled and seemed to say as she puffed steadily down the mountain, "I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could."
The Little Engine that Could
by Watty Piper

Cheers to the rover team at NASA, who proved that you can't keep a good rover down!

Who's knocking on the door?

The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it.
William Gibson

The latest way I've found to waste time is look through the statitistics of who's visiting my blog. If you're going for that comment link to tell me how you've been collecting stats for years, etc., etc., and I'm so behind the curve, I know already, so save it.

Lucky for me, there aren't a ton of visitors (Unlike the wildly popular Center of NJ Life.)There are a few, though, and my favorites are the search queries. It's nice to know that I'm not the only guy on the Internet interested in GE's hybrid locomotive ("ge hybrid locomotive regenerative") and the "maryland house rest area".

But my all time favorite is "pimped out chevy cavalier", for which I am the number one item on Google. See for yourself....

Update: I'm no longer number one! How did that happen? I wonder if this blog entry has, in some way, tipped the scale?

Motion in the ocean

When we are on the ocean we have almost limitless access to energy, but a modern vessel fights the elements. The albatross gets 98 percent of its energy for flight from the wind and two percent from its wings.
Per Brinchmann
Naval architect for Wallenius Wilhelmsen

Shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen has designed a concept cargo ship with near-zero emissions. According to this article, the ship would be powered by wind, waves, and the sun. How cool is that?

Also, here's a story about a Scottish firm deploying three wave power generation units off the coast of Portugal. These units will be able to generate 2.25 megawatts, and 30 more could follow. The up, down, and side to side bobbing of the sausage shaped units pumps fluid to hydraulicly driven generators.

Looks like wave motion isn't just for Starblazers anymore!

Revenge

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord.
The Letter of Paul to the Romans
Chapter 12, Verse 19

Today's news brings more stories of abuse at Guantanamo. Last week, Rob posted this to his blog, Laughing at the Pieces. He clues us in on a great OpEd in the NY Times. It argues that we are doing more harm than good there, and that we should shut it down.

In my comment I said the author was exactly right, but there was no chance of it actually hapenning, mainly because administration is entirely unwilling to admit a mistake. However, it occurs to me that there's more to it than they. If they shut down the Gitmo prison, it would offend their base. The core of their constituency believes that every prisoner deserves imprisonment, torture, and death. They still want payback for 9/11. And they don't much care who they pay back.

When the abuses at Abu Ghraib were first coming out, I heard a comment that remains with me today. I forget the exact wording, but the gist of it was: after what they did to the towers, who cares if we tortured a few of them. That the tortured prisoners had nothing to do with 9/11 was lost on this normally well-reasoned individual. Another comment came only a few weeks after the attack from someone impatiently asking how long before we'd see some dead Arabs.

When people made speeches, they always said that what we wanted was justice. We didn't; we wanted revenge, pure and simple. To put it in movie terms, we claimed to be Steven Seagal in Out for Justice, but we were really Mel Gibson in Payback.

Pearl Harbor evoked that same desire for revenge. The difference was, it was easier to figure out who's ass we wanted to kick. There was a sovereign nation saying, "Yeah, that was us. Bring it on, there's more where that came from!" So off we went. Of course, we still managed to unload on undeserving parties. We locked up American citizens without cause or due process, simply because of their ethnicity. We're back in that business again, although this time, with the exception of Jose Padilla (that we know of), we've focused on citizens of other nations.

I remember learning of an Army unit that was entirely of Japanese descent. They were one of the most decorated (if not most decorated) in the European theatre. They fought and died for a country whose freedoms were denied to their families. When I heard the dead Arab comment, it occurred to me that, but for the utter devastation, plenty of Arabs could be found among the dead at Ground Zero (not counting the terrorists). How many Muslims are serving in the Armed Forces right now? Yet so many in our country see them all as no different than Muhammad Atta.

We finally apoplogized to Japanese Americans and in some small way tried to make amends. We look back now at the internment camps and ponder how wrong were. We try to forgive ourselves for what we did in our blind rage, and perhaps comfort ourselves saying we know better know. But of course, we don't. I believe what we've done in the wake of 9/11 will one day be regarded as worse than Japanese internment. I do think we will one day manage to look back, wondering how we could be so wrong, and assue ourselves we'll not make that mistake again.

I hope I live to see that day, and I hope we'll keep our word.

Retractions and clarifications

No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.
Francois De La Rochefoucauld

This quote seems tailor-made for the current administration. The Newsweek story has quickly taken a back see to filibusters and Michael. Yet I keep hearing bits and pieces of news that make me think there is little that Newsweek needs to apologize for.

Yesterday, according to this Associated Press report, U.S. officials confirmed five cases in which a prisioner's Quran was mishandled. But they're quick to point out that there is "no credible evidence" of Quran flushing. They won't give any details of what was done to the Quran in those five cases, but Brig. Gen. Jay W. Hood, commander of the Gitmo prison assures us that none of them involved a toilet. They did admit, though, that in three cases the mishandling seems to be have been deliberate.

The use of the word "mishandling" instead of "desecration" is dubious in itself. It's a softer word that implies that mistreatment of the Quran was mild at best. The fact that no one will divulge nature of the mishandling leads one to believe that it might have been worse than the term suggests. That is was done intentionally would only make it worse. It's like the term "detainee" instead of "prisoner".

So what did Newsweek really do then? Based on this A.P. report, quoting the prison commander himself, the only thing they got wrong was the nature of the Quran's mistreatment. I find it hard to believe that that one element of the story is enough to push Afgan rioters over the edge. "They desecrated the Quran? Hmmm, I'm kind of annoyed at that.... wait, a what? A TOILET? ARRRRGH!!!" And riots ensue.

And I think I'm going to be sick if hear one more person in the Bush administration say that Newsweek is responsible for damaging our image with the Muslim world. They're saying this after, mind you, after reports confirming wide-spread prisoner abuse in Afganastan. It'd ludicrous.

There's also this, from Air Force General Richard Myers, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff:

It's the -- it's a judgment of our commander in Afghanistan, General Eikenberry, that in fact the violence that we saw in Jalalabad was not necessarily the result of the allegations about disrespect for the Koran -- and I'll get to that in just a minute -- but more tied up in the political process and the reconciliation process that President Karzai and his Cabinet is conducting in Afghanistan. So that's -- that was his judgment today in an after-action of that violence. He didn't -- he thought it was not at all tied to the article in the magazine.

So, if you ask the U.S. authories in Afganastan, they're not even blaming Newsweek for the riots (though I think the Whitehouse has since explained to them why they're wrong). (Thanks to Keith Olbermann for this link.)

And speaking of retractions, my comments on this Seething in the Wilderness post included the following:

That said, I wish Newsweek had somehow been more careful. People lost their lives and now it will be harder to uncover the truth.

I take it back. Newsweek is not to blame for the subsequent spew from the Bush administration. That would be like blaming a mugging victim for using an ATM on a bad street.

If you haven't, take a look at Keith Olbermann's last three blog posts (starting here). His is fast becoming my new favorite political blog, and he has this issue pegged.

By the way, one of my favorite Olbermann is an aside, where he says he's finally recognized the Fox News Channel. It's "the newscast perpetually running on the giant video screens in the movie 1984." Boy ain't it.

Things heard round the house

The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.
H. L. Mencken

I just thouht I'd share a few quotes from today:

Daddy (to daughter): Finish what you're doing. [Pause.] Actually, finish what you're supposed to be doing.

Daddy: What is that?
Mommy: This is a glove that was blown up and decorated as a turtle. It was given to me as a keepsake for all eternity. Guess how many I have.

Mommy: Where is Sleeping Beauty's head?

Creeping back to life

I'm creeping back to life
my nervous system all awry
I'm wearing the inside out.
Pink Floyd

Did I say that out loud? Apparently not. Haven't said much of anything. Yet again, it has been a case of blogus interuptus. Here's some of the stuff I wanted to blog about but didn't get to....

The albatross was indeed bad news for the crew of H.M.S Surprise. As for me, I did eventually get out of the traffic Jam (thanks Rob).

I managed to find another (traffic jam - not albatross) when someone knocked some wires across the PA Turnpike, stopping traffic in both directions. It did afford me the opportunity to listen to "In the Strawberry Fields," the second essay in Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser (of Fast Food Nation fame). I've now finished listening and recommend it highly. I've already offered my rant on pot laws, but there's more to gnash your teeth over in the first essay, "Reefer Madness." The third essay is the story of the American porn industry, the people who brought it into being, and the politicians who tried in vain to enforce their views on morality. Check it out (Schlosser's book, not porn). (Hell, if you want some porn, go for it.)

Meanwhile, as Sharon told everyone, we're soakin' up the sun. It's gonna be awhile before I get tired of watching that meter run backwards.

Speaking of power, did you know that the energy dissipated in braking a 207-ton locomotive during the course of one year is enough to power 160 households for that year? That's why GE is working on a hybrid diesel locomotive. How cool is that? A key component of hybrids is regenerative braking, where the energy used in breaking is captured and stored, typically in batteries. It made me think, why aren't they using regenerative braking in commuter trains? They wouldn't even need the batteries; they could simply feed power back into the system for use by other trains. It turns out that the London Underground and Lyon Metro did just that. We need more of this.

I read that some subways use their motors to brake the train, but the electricity is not used. It is dissipated as head through radiators on the top of the car. What a waste.

Oh yeah, awhile back Jeri blogged about Jupiter. Well, I finally got off my ass and brought out the telescope. Jupiter was out, big and bright. I had to use a filter to dim down the brightness a bit so I could see the cloud bands. No red spot though.... The Galilean Moons, however, were bright and clear. Calisto was at the far end of its path (as we view it). BTW, that link has a cool animation that shows how the moons look from a terrestrial telescope.

Saturn was also out, rings and all. I could see Titan as well. Nearby in the sky was the quarter moon. When the moon is not full, it's a great time to view it. The shadow throws the surface features in stark relief and you can really see them.

So there ya go, that's what I can remember. Maybe I'll get some stuff up a little more often....

Stuck in traffic

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike,
They've all gone to look for America
Simon and Garfunkle

I wish I was on the New Jersey Turnpike. I am 7.1 miles north of the Maryland House rest area on I-95, just past a bridge labeled MD Route 155. I'm blogging now thanks to the USB modem cable on my cell phone. I admit, I'm doing this mostly because I can, geek that I am. However, it's one more way to kill time while I sit, engine off, waiting....

I just openned the sun roof and, standing on the seat, could see no sign of movement. There is an interesting person in a pimped out Chevy Cavalier who is talking to his friends on the bullhorn he has installed under the hood. There is person in a Honda insight enjoying his big battery as he reads. I'm saving gas myself, having turned off the engine ten minutes ago....

Ah well, back to H.M.S. Surprise. They've just seen an albatross. This can't be good.

I see you!

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
Johnny Nash

You might notice that the shadowy figure in my office has been replaced by a much clearer picture of yours truly. Thanks to the acquisition of an old wireless PC card, I was able to move my camera to the window sill. Now I'm no longer back-lit. Try to contain your excitement.

"Closure" for Richard Jewel?

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1 Peter 2:12

Awhile back, when Eric Rudolf was about to plead guilty for the 1996 Summer, Olympics bombing, I blogged about Richard Jewel.

For no particular reason, I goggled his name today and found this story. It says a lot of what I was thinking. It also has a few tidbits about where Richard Jewel is now. He's a cop, finally, somwhere in Georgia. I wish him all the best.

Off shore, just

'Marchant service be damned. Talk not that lingo to me. Dost see that leg? -- I'll take that leg away from thy stern, if ever thou talkest of the marchant service to me again. Marchant service indeed!'
Moby Dick

How do you bring lots of cheap foreign labor to America without the pesky immigration issues? Call them sailors and keep them on the boat!

That's exactly what California company SeaCode plans to do. Read about it here. Not all coverage is as negative, of course. The industry publications are lauding this inovation. They say we should hear them out before we call it a "sweat-ship." I have, and I will.

This seems a dangerous trend, because it allows corporations to maintain a workforce outside of any governments jurisdiction.