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.
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.
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.
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.
The Center of NJ Life has the Carnival this week. Check it out!
I just took this 3-D humor test. Check it out, it's fun. (Thanks to Jeri for the link). Here is my result:
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
