Peace in the Middle East?

Today’s title is not meant to be a come on. It is a serious question. How can peace come to the Middle East?  I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head. Here they are:

1. Regional leadership for regional solution
2. Replace oil as the prime source of global energy
3. Global Council on Religions

First, from time to time multiple nations are polled for providing their leadership to regional disputes. The Saudis have often been enlisted to find peaceful methods to calm hot tempers in the region. They have often constructed successful teams of emissaries which spread to many nations in the region. Each enlisted promises of peace and the means to make it happen.  Keeping that peace for more than 10 or 15 years has been a recurrent problem, however.

Calming the region is the first step needed to building a longer lasting peace. The Middle East has always been a hotbed of disagreement. Often over trade, always over religion, and long remembered slights and insults, real or imaginary, have fueled flare ups repeatedly.

Regaining calm in the region is the first step to solving the issues which continue to perplex successive generations. Historians can well document the chronological record. Theologians can also provide an outline of understanding long held disputes among the several belief systems in the region. Perhaps both historians and theologians should join forces for a fresh look into the root causes of the area’s routine upsets. Just a fresh look at it, please, not a major re-enactment of the themes that cause the trouble in the first place.  Please, not that!

Then a compendium of leaders from around the region should gather for serious talks aimed at settling old scores and building a fresh future for them all to enjoy and prosper from. I wonder if such a council of leadership could be formed and kept productively employed to build a future of peace? Who among world leaders might bring this off? If not American leadership, whose? If not the UN’s, whose? If not the Middle East stake holders, whose?  Someone, please step up to the challenge!

Second, energy needs are global. Filling the needs of any region affects the price of energy throughout the globe almost instantly. That’s the nature of world markets. Energy is a commodity regardless of its sources. Thus commodity pricing results.

Other energy types and sources need full development to complement and eventually displace oil as the primary energy means. Doing this will reduce the geopolitical importance of the Middle East. At least that’s my hope! Diversifying the energy markets globally would help defuse the strategic value of specific energy sources in key regions thus reducing military adventurism to control those energy sites. In the Middle East we could hope for peace from that strategy alone.

Of course removing oil as a key revenue producer for the region would cause other economic problems in the region, but those upsets are more easily solved. War over oil is never an easy problem to solve! History has taught us that lesson indelibly.

Other energy sources peaceful nations ought to develop are:

• Geothermal; Iceland does, why not more nations who have this energy source readily available?
• Wind energy is growing in many parts of the globe. We need more of this development. In subareas of the globe energy demand could be partially filled with this source, lessening the demand for oil.
• Solar energy comes in many guises. The scientists and engineers are working on this and have built many installations to produce reliable energy streams. More needs to be done. More can be done. So do it!
• Photovoltaic energy technology. This is a burgeoning field constantly growing and reducing unit costs to build and install. If more homes and buildings (office, commercial or retail) were outfitted with solar panels, oil consumption would drop considerably.
• Nuclear energy should continue to be explored for clean fuel streams and full use of spent fuel components so eons of danger from wastes are eliminated. This can be done and is well along the development trail. The quest should be continued until the solution is found and implemented.
• Other forms of energy from chemistry and physics research are possible. Such research progresses as we speak. More and faster gains are needed. Keep at it!

Replacing oil as the primary energy source is a given. Oil supplies are finite. We will have to replace oil eventually as an energy source. So why not dedicate ourselves to that as a goal right now? But first we need to conserve energy so supplies are used intelligently. Second we must dedicate ourselves to using alternate energy types until they become major supply components of our energy demand and supply cycle.

Third, the Council of Trent occurred in the years 1545 to 1563. It was a major meeting of the minds in the Roman Catholic Church. They came to many sweeping changes in the church which altered history around the globe. I am suggesting another Council of Religion, this time involving all religions practiced around the globe. The new Council will work for several years until they have agreed on a means of moving forward in history in a peaceful fashion. All religions ought to be able to work together. They share many of the same beliefs, same core creeds, and similar historical documents of foundational belief. The Bible, Torah and Koran share much. Build on that for better understanding among the billions of faithful to individual religions.

Forge a new peace among religions so the world’s people can live in peace. This will take hard work and a commitment of many years to achieve the desired results. The outcome is worth the investment of time and effort.

A meeting of the minds is not impossible. It begins with everyone wanting peace and realizing that it can be acquired if we work hard enough and long enough.

Who will pick up this challenge?

June 30, 2014

Thought for the Day

I am a fan of Carl Sagan (1934-1996), the late American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science guru overall. He brought science to the broad public. He helped the public understand complex scientific matters. But he also was frustrated in this mission. It is from that discomfort that Sagan gave us today’s quote:

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: if we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”

Bamboozled? How so? By religion, politics, ideology…you name it. There are those among us who attempt to deter us from science and facts. They mistake faith as fact. By its very nature that is alien. Faith is not fact. It does not explain facts.

Climate change. Oil based energy. Abortion as murder. A woman’s choice. These are factually based subjects in need for serious thinking. Not faith. Not voodoo. Not myth.

Values? When do facts become important to this discussion?

A good set of thoughts to ponder over the weekend. 

Thanks, Dr. Sagan!

June 28, 2014

Being Different – 2

Yesterday’s blog was about being different in the context of mid teen youth enrolled in a rehab program for underage use of alcohol and drugs. Actually, the kids are addicts. They we remanded to the program by parents or court order.

When I began writing the post I intended on focusing on the differentness the kids told us they felt. I shared my sense of feeling different too. In fact I went on to share the core of my differentness: I’m gay. For some reason I failed to mention this in yesterday’s post. It is important to rectify that today.

Growing up I knew I was different. Throughout the early phases of development I didn’t have the tools or language to explain myself. Think about it; at 6 years of age, what does the word ‘sex’ mean? Not much. It simply is not in the mind’s vocabulary or experience.

But sexual awakening is a slow process that makes appearances in flashes of time. Later, the flashes became more frequent and patterns began taking shape. Along the way kids my age were whispering and giggling about things they heard about or caught sight of in a newspaper, magazine, or a men’s photo mag of an older boy in the neighborhood.

Soon the word ‘sex’ took on a meaning. Certainly it was a no-no, a taboo subject for someone so young, but curiosity soon began filling in the gaps. Somewhere around 11 or 12 internal urgings and sensations made themselves known to me. I still didn’t understand them but I did realize my fascination with male bodies was not a passing fad.

Because sex was a taboo, I did not know who to turn to for information. Soon classmates who shared my Sunday school experience as well, talked a little more seriously about the subject. By 13 books were offered to us to read; these were handled through the Boy Scouts and Boy’s Life magazine. Neighbor kids shared the material with me.

Finally sex was better understood as a bodily function and purpose. The mechanics were still weird to me! And nowhere was the boy to boy physical attraction mentioned. Boy-Girl attraction, yes; but that didn’t interest me.

I realized then (13 and 14) that I needed to learn boy-girl attraction. I had plenty of female friends both in school and in church programs. There were some girls in the neighborhood that also played an important role in my social life. But at no time was I physically attracted to them. The chemistry simply was not there.

Boys on the other hand were a totally different thing! I did feel an attraction to them; not all, of course, but some I really wanted to spend time with, get to know better, and explore inner feelings.

By high school, gym class and the close quarters of jammed hallways during class changes, I was confronted with the male body in forms which became enticing. None of my friends spoke of this. So I kept it quiet. Later this grew to be a deep dark secret. The power of the taboo was strong. I still had no one to talk to about this.

I went through all of puberty in this manner. I entered college a virgin and totally confused. In those days looking up the word ‘homosexual’ in the dictionary, was cause for trepidation. A quick paging to the right spot, find the word, quickly read the definition, swiftly change pages to another section, feign looking up another word, and then leave the dictionary turned to an anonymous page.

How many gay guys did this? The more I read the more I realize I was not alone in this search for meaning and relevance to my life. But I still didn’t understand what was happening. Finally, in college, I spoke to a counselor friend connected through the local church. We both sang in the choir. We talked deeply and long. I became aware of what was going on in my life. Still tentative. Still misunderstood. But eventually the gaps were filled in. I shared by situation with my roommate and best friend. He offered support and life long friendship.

I exited high school a virgin. College, too. I had relationships with women, even became engaged but later abandoned that relationship. Those were the days when people like me did not engage in sex before marriage. A dated concept today, but not back then. Lots of cheating of course, but not me! Besides, I simply didn’t know what to do.

This was my differentness then, and still today.  In a straight world back then one kept his gay secret buried deep. What one wanted was a family, a house, kids, a good career, and the rest of the American Dream. I did. I still do.

I buried my gayness, fell in love with a wonderful woman, married her, had two fabulous kids, built a solid career of purpose and inner reward, and kept this up for 26 years. The kids were in college and the empty nest syndrome approached. Deep upset-ness loomed and bloomed. Experimentation had begun a few years earlier. A gay bar, a bay bath, anonymous sexual encounters.

It became clear that who I was did not have full expression. I was missing something profound.

Physical relations with another human being where the mechanics of desire are present was a discovery that shook my world. Exploring that bit by bit informed me that I should not be in a heterosexual marriage at all. It was not fair to my wife or me.

Thus the painful decision to divorce and rebuild both of our lives. It was the right thing to do and had a compelling nature to it. In time I came to understand it. But in those early days of change I merely followed one foot step after another. Carefully at first. With some abandon later. Finally I was in full exploratory mode.

I shared this being different with the kids in the rehab program. Whether they understand at this point is moot. But what I think they do understand is that my being different is similar to how they have experienced being different while growing up. They have had huge doubts and questions left unanswered. They have filled in their own gaps. And drugs and alcohol and cigarettes were the tools used at the time. They were seeking fulfillment, peace, togetherness and ‘fit’. Not all experimentation worked out well for them. But learn they did; some good things and some bad.

Their story is a personal one of managing expectations and being different from others. The discomfort of the journey is painful. Comfort for them came in the form of drugs and alcohol.

My comfort came in purpose, career, accomplishments and family. Later, after the divorce, sexual satisfaction, career and accomplishments became ever more important. Gaps existed. Doubts grew. So did the use of alcohol.

If I understand this process for myself, then the kids in the program should be helped to understand it as well. Perhaps managing their differentness will lead them to a better place than where they find themselves today.

I am different for a lot of reasons. Sexual identity is a major one for me. Probably not for them. There are many facets of life that make us feel different from others. The dynamics produced by such awareness produces the need to belong. Sometimes high intelligence is a burden of being different. It brings its own pain and isolation.

I wonder how many people in rehab over the many years were simply managing being different? And badly?

Perhaps we can turn the corner?

June 27, 2014

Being Different

I was in a special group AA meeting the other day. This one reserved for young teens caught for underage drinking and drug use. Actually, the session uses the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting template but the kids are considered addicts, mostly to drugs rather than alcohol.

Of course alcohol can be considered a co-addictive substance, but underage use is still underage and both parents and the courts deal with it the same way. Rehab programs abound. The one I’m connected with is private but nonethesame its patients/clients are remanded to the program by parental decree or a judge’s decision.

Most of the youngsters do not view themselves as alcoholics, just social drinkers with connections to the drug scene. Some of these young people were apprehended as drug dealers, and not by a mere transaction or two. The other evening a 15 year old told me he had been using drugs since 11 and selling them soon after. He had built quite a business; his success had led to his arrest, and rehab as a minor.

Two of the patient clients realized their problem and asked their parents for help. That was a good decision. It led to a collaborative treatment program and successful sobriety from drugs and alcohol. These two young men got it. Now it is up to them and the program to imprint a lifestyle that avoids drugs and alcohol to keep them free. Even now they feel the freedom from addiction and that has them feeling good.

We older folk understand the ups and downs of life will challenge their serenity and sobriety will be threatened. A lifestyle routine will hopefully hold them steady. That is why the program encourages sober people to continue in the program for the rest of their life. Helping others become sober and remain so actually benefits the participant by keeping them sober as well.

We can only hope they work the program so the program works for them. Otherwise….

I had taken a long break from this teen program, several months in fact. Lately I’ve been invited back to fill in for adult leaders who were planning vacation breaks. I accepted the invitation and now they have asked me to remain as a regular. I think I will do this.

My absence from their program has been a missing element in my life. I am struck by the need of these young people to gain control over their lives. It is a responsibility thing, for them and for me. How can I turn my back on them when they are seeking help? And if I don’t do this how can I assume someone else will? That’s the crux of the volunteer challenge. Always!

I’d rather be a participant and know what is being done. Hopefully the work will make a difference in their lives. I know it will make a difference in mine.

At the last meeting there were three youth. Two were their voluntarily as I mentioned. The other was there because of consequences if he were not there. Incarceration in a youth detention center was the alternative. He chose freedom, living at home and commuting to the program. However, it was clear he was putting in his time and nothing more.

Occasional reddening of his face and neck proved to me we were getting through. Difficult personal work was going on in his mind. I’m hoping this will make a break through and he will come willingly to the task of rehabilitation. This is not his first time in such a program. Because of that his stay with us this time around may not work; on the other hand it just might work. It is the hope of the latter that fuels our work.

Just to be clear about the stakes, if a young person succumbs to addiction, his life will spin out of control. His health will be lost and death will beckon well before its normal time. Also, financial disaster, unemployment and trouble with social institutions and the judicial system are sure to follow. Altogether it is an expensive matter and represents a horrible waste of potential for our nation. Surely we want to avoid this, for his sake and ours.

In my mind I continually ask the question ‘why?’  Why have these young people been snagged into this pointless lifestyle?

The answers are many but I think focus on one prime point: developing from child to adult is a challenge to the fragile ego. Asserting one’s value as a person yet doubting it deeply, these young people grasp a crutch that envelopes them. The downward spiral soon appears. With hope we can rescue them so they can live a life of independence, sobriety and freedom.

Not a bad goal. We just have to be realistic and know that not all will make it.

Pity, that.

June 26, 2014

Friends – Real Ones

Amanda McRae is an activist championing women’s reproductive rights and other human rights interest areas. She provides our opening quotation this morning:

“As we grow up, we realize it is less important to have lots of friends and more important to have real ones.”

Real ones. Real friends. The kind of friend that lends a hand first and learns the reason later, if at all. They are the people who drop what they are doing to help you when you need it. They are also the few folks who actually listen to you when you need to talk and let everything out in the open air. The good things and the bad things, the emotional pieces of your innards as well as those things we don’t really want anyone to see.

Those friends know you need to vent. They know you need to let someone in.

It is an honor to be the listener in such moments. It is an honor to know someone cares enough to be that listener for you.

I wonder if politicians have real friends?  They seem to be manipulating feelings, facts and messages all the time. They do this on instinct to gain positive opinions they can use as power blocs with other ‘leaders’. Politicians seem to calculating full time. How to build wedge issues, who can be lured into a partnership to gain votes for another special interest. You know the kind of thing I’m talking about. These are the people who always seem to have an angle to play. For their own interests or someone else’s interest that still benefits themselves.

Politicians. People who speak many tongues on the very same topic. You don’t really know where they stand.

How on earth can we count them as friends?

A headline in Sunday mornings news (6/22/14) announced Louisiana Govenor Jindal’s claim that a political/social rebellion among American citizens against Washington DC is coming. He further stated that the war against religion and education fostered by President Obama and the Democrats will be purged by the voters.  Hmmmm.

Seems to me this is a classic statement of opposites. Claim the false statement as true so you can wage an emotional argument for the opposite side.

The facts are quite different in Jindal’s claim. Public education is being stripped of the federal regulations that hamstring direct invention of new effective education methods. Schools have been weighed down by so many regulations by warring ideological camps that educators now are cast in the role of parent 24/7. While on school property they must exercise the power to parent the child; and guard against those hours the child is no longer in their direct charge. Policing behaviors that might harm the kid now belongs to the school. Parents beware!

Obama’s White House has attempted to remove such strangling regulations. They also wish to eliminate religious direction in schools. Those directions are the proper role of parents, home and church. Public schools have no role in such matters other than equipping students with the knowledge of comparative religions and historical facts of how religion has played major roles in building history in the first place. No attempt to state one religion is better than another. No direction as to how the kid should live his life by selecting a specific religious belief or creed.

Same with religious strictures on human issues such as abortions, biblical interpretations, bans on teaching evolution and other science classes. If a parent desires their child to have a religion-based education they have the freedom to enroll them in an appropriate church school or catechism. It would not be right, however, to teach those specific creed points as fact to those uninterested in the religious institution. One is freedom to choose; the other is imposition by others.

Our nation does not support any one religion. It rather supports the freedom of each citizen to make their own decisions. That means that others are not free to cram their belief systems onto others against their will. The government has the responsibility to protect against such from happening.

Freedom of religion, freedom of thought and print, freedom of assembly – these are freedoms requiring personal responsibility. Individuals exercising those freedoms do so for their own enjoyment; they have no right to challenge the same freedom in the lives of others.

Just because Jindal claims there is a movement against religion and education does not make such a fact. He has to prove it. His arguments need to be made in open air. Rebellion? Against what exactly.

Perhaps there is a rebellion approaching, but I think the Jindals of the right wing will be enlightened to learn it is against them, not those who are trying to make sense of the real world.

Republicans are having trouble getting Americans to rally to their view and candidates. Increasingly they grab at straws to alarm and frighten voters into supporting their weak arguments.

Once again we entrust to the voter the wisdom to make the better choices in the voting booth come this fall.

June 25, 2014

Net Neutrality

This term needs explanation so we know what we are talking about.  Net Neutrality is the term being used in Congress and FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Here’s how Reuters defined the issue on 6/16/14:

“Net neutrality is a principle that says Internet service providers should treat all traffic on their network equally. That means companies like Comcast Corp or Verizon Communications Inc should not block or slow down access to any website or content on the Web – for instance, to benefit their own services over those competitors.

“The FCC, which regulates telephone and cable companies that provide broadband service in the United States, has several times adopted rules aimed at ensuring Internet providers abide by the net neutrality principle. In 2010, FCC passed an order that prohibited Internet providers from blocking traffic. It allowed ‘commercially reasonable’ discrimination of traffic, but rejected potential ‘pay-for-priority’ deals that may have allowed content companies to pay for faster delivery of their traffic.

“But a US appeals court in January 2014 ruled against the FCC in a case brought by Verizon, effectively striking down the agency’s net neutrality regulations.

“Comcast is the only Internet provider that has to abide by the older version of those rules until 2018, because of a condition placed on its acquisition of NBC Universal. All other major Internet providers have said they support an open Internet.

“Why did the court reject the rules? In setting the 2010 rules, the FCC treated Internet providers like utilities similar to telephone companies, which are more heavily regulated. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that treatment improper because broadband providers were actually classified as less-regulated information service providers.

“What is the FCC’s new plan? The court did affirm the FCC’s authority to regulate broadband, indicating that the agency could use another section of the communications law to restore some of the rules. Based on that guidance, the FCC has proposed new rules that would ban Internet providers from blocking users’ access to websites or applications and would require them to disclose exactly how they manage traffic on their networks.

Under the proposal some ‘commercially reasonable’ deals to give priority to certain Web traffic may be allowed, although the FCC also seeks comment on whether ‘some or all’ pay-for-priority deals should be presumed illegal.

“The proposal also asks questions about potentially reclassifying broadband providers and how the FCC may address so-called ‘interconnection’ deals that are currently outside the scope of net neutrality rules, but which have been in spotlight in Netflix Corp’s recent spat with Comcast and Verizon.

“Why are consumer advocates opposed? Consumer advocates say Wheeler’s proposal would create ‘fast lanes’ for companies willing to pay while leaving start-ups and others behind, which would potentially harm competition. More than 100 technology companies including Google Inc, Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc have warned of a ‘grave threat to the Internet’. However, consumer advocates are pushing for reclassification of broadband providers as public utilities, while tech companies in their opposition to pay-for-priority have not supported reclassification.”

Well, that’s a long quote but accurate; so I cannot say here’s the issue in a nutshell!  So let me quote Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt):

“Whether you run a huge website or a small blog, you should have equal access to Internet users without paying a ransom to providers like Comcast.”

That’s succinct. Senator Sanders goes on with this statement:

“American consumers, including the tens of thousands who have contacted my office, have been clear: The way forward is to regulate Internet providers like telephone companies. The FCC is asking for comment and I hope the American people will continue to make their voices heard.”

Seems to me Sanders is correct. Equal access to the Internet should be guaranteed to users. The access is not free. Users pay fees that are equally administered across the board. These fees have been lucrative and continue to be so.

To guard net neutrality and equality, please submit your comment to the FCC as soon as possible. And keep informed on the subject!

June 24, 2014

Thank You Mr. President

When I was a kid in the 1940’s and early 1950’s, it was the norm to address our elected officials with terms of respect. Reporters and fellow elected officials, for example, actually called Ike, Mr. President. And thank you and please were quite common in public address. Same in the houses of Congress: Madam Chairman, Mr. Chairman, The Honorable Senator from Wyoming, or Honorable Representative from California, were all formal but normal.

In some venues this is the required address. Congress still requires this and enforces the standard of address. Even when raucous disagreements test the patience and temper of the participants.

Not so today among Congress persons and the White House denizen!  Rude and disrespectful terms of address are common in the press, on TV and in talking head sessions on cable news/entertainment networks.

I believe this is an orchestrated image by politicians to gain points with blocs of voters. It would not be the first time for such behavior. And probably this is a long standing tradition when 300 years of such antics are reviewed objectively.

Over the last 35 years, however, a fundamental shift has occurred in my opinion. Perhaps I’m just sensitive to this, but I was raised in an era and home where respect was expected. Even among those we heartily disagreed with. Arguments then were avoided by ignoring the rumpus and walking away. Calmer heads prevailed with a pause for time to think, and perhaps a change of tactic to print medium. Print allows time to think and form thoughts more carefully. Rants are less likely. Although a quick scan of column copy in many papers would likely challenge that conclusion.

Yes, we are ranters. Even me! I admit it. If I feel particularly peeved by a set of rank self-serving  comments I usually let it rip in print!  I’m not alone. Krauthammer is a ranter. So are Limbaugh, Beck and O’Reilly. The latter three are in print less than they are on electronic media. Just the same their rants are legion.

When the ranters become elected officials of high rank like John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and chairs of selected committees in both the Senate and the House, then I think a fundamental shift in national manners has occurred.

Whether these antics are planned and mimed or intentionally acted, it matters not. The rudeness factor is elevated even more if it is a planned performance. Rehearsed or not, the institutions of our government are lessened by such behavior.

The instant event provoking my concern: House and Senate reactions to President Obama’s handling of the situation in Iraq. They seem anxious for action. That would be the republican leaders. [Note: while republican leaders demonstrate un-gentleman-like behavior, I will refrain from capitalizing ‘republican’ except at the beginning of a sentence.]

John Boehner as the Speaker of the House, fulminates (spittle on his lips, red faced, angry eyes, bobbing of head in rhythm with his words of demand) against perceived inaction by the President of the United States.  The President, on the other hand, is carefully considering all options in a delicate and volatile situation. He knows his decisions must be right for the situation and carefully applied for maximum effect. History is being made here. Every opportunity to make a difference for the good of millions of people is under careful scrutiny. He is intentionally keeping emotions out of the mix.

The opposition leaders rile at the risk of damaging America’s reputation and future ability to be effective on the global stage. The answer to every hot spot is not always a military attack or bombing raid. Military strategists are hired to do this careful analysis. It is not done in the glare of media lights and microphones in the Press Room. It is done in conference rooms in the White House and Pentagon. Field intelligence is added to the agenda. The eyes and ears in the room are fully aware of history being challenged and made in such moments.

The Iraqi maelstrom of issues is one of its own making. The long cultural march of three competing religious sects not including Judaism and Christianity, complicates what is to be done in the present. Past wars and insults, perceived or real, add weight to the crisis, but offer little help in resolving the crisis. The same goes for crass political opportunism practiced by House and Senate leaders in the US.

Political correctness was imposed on our institutions of government in order to create a public face of order and intelligent consideration. Instead we have a display of rank treason. Yes, a harsh term, but what else is it when Senator McCain stands in the Senate’s well and addresses the President of the United States with demands for action which are ill considered and laying blame when the blame belongs on others, including themselves who rushed to war in Iraq some years ago.

These are the consequences of such actions when made in political light rather than historical mindsets. If our nation is to be believed and trusted, it must be a partner that other nations are willing to invest time and trust in. Years of such trust well-earned make for strong partnerships. After eight years of Bush/Cheney, the trust and credibility is in shatters.

It will take careful rebuilding by a patient and intelligent President to restore America’s former station in the global family. Meanwhile, Putin, China and other would-be dictators can rail against America with impunity. One day that will not be so. That day, however, takes years of careful building to regain.

The consequences of wars ill-advised and speciously entered, are such as we view today in the UN, the halls of the US Capitol, and everywhere on news media channels.  It is embarrassing to most of us.

Worse. It is costly in national treasure and lives for us to continue such sloppy international relations.

Good job, President Obama! You are doing the right things, saying the right words, and being careful and deliberate where hotter heads have acted in the past to create the mess in the first place. Apparently they have not learned those lessons. They behave exactly the same today as yesterday.

Pity. But I sense the American people understand this. Time will tell if that is true.

The ballot box will tell the tale.

June 23, 2014

Thought for the Day

A simple and short thought today:

“Why is it that if you take advantage of a corporate tax break you’re a smart businessman, but if you take advantage of something so you don’t go hungry, you’re a moocher?”       ~Jon Stewart

A good thought to think upon.

June 21, 2014

March of Thoughts

Like a parade, time marches on. So do ideas, history, discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and so forth. Here’s a  modest collection of quotes that you may find interesting. Not just for their content. But also for the authors. 

First, from Barry Goldwater, conservative republican of the 1960’s:

“When you say ‘radical right’ today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye.”

I wish we could kiss politics goodbye on just this basis alone. Unfortunately we seem to be saddled by it. Pat Robertson and others did hijack the republican party. In the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Their beat has accelerated. Politics are now like a catechism. Only it’s not on Wednesday afternoons. It’s all times and days.

Second, from President Dwight Eisenhower, November 8, 1954:

“Should any political party attempt to abolish Social Security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man and they are stupid.”

Spooky isn't it? Republicans are the very ones pressing these issues today even though we were warned a long time ago by a Republican and respected leader. This is not what the party was supposed to be about. This is not the party of Lincoln today. It is something entirely different. Yet we have the party mechanism etched into our political process that is hard to break. No wonder so many young people avoid the current nonsense.

Third, unlikely as it is, Charles Barkley gave us this quote, and I've used it here before:

            “I was a Republican until they lost their minds.”

I couldn't agree more. Enough said.

Fourth, Harry Reid, Democrat and Senate Majority Leader said this:

“Every American should have the same ability to influence our political system. One American, one vote. That’s what the Constitution guarantees. The Constitution does not give corporations a vote. And the Constitution does not give dollar bills a vote. From what I've heard recently, my Republican colleagues seem to have a different view. Republicans seem to think that billionaires, corporations and special interests should be allowed to drown out the voices of Americans. That is wrong and it has to end.”

The Constitution hasn't changed. Politicians are changing what the words mean. There’s a difference here. It must be resisted.

Fifth, Anonymous has been busy again and gives us this thought:

“It’s not the People that are on welfare or on unemployment that are the freeloaders. No it’s the People in the US Capitol that are…They need to be reminded that they work for Us the American People…Not the large corporations. Vote in 2014!”

Amen. We the People paid for the benefits we occasionally need to use. It is our safety net. The Constitution does not provide a safety net for politicians. Yet they have built one for themselves haven’t they?  Perhaps they should not have special benefits, but live on the same ones we all do!

Vote in 2014 to redress these issues. We voters do have the power. But do we exercise it intelligently? That’s the challenge.

June 20, 2014

Bits ‘N Pieces

A soft day today to clear out a few thoughts.  Hopefully most are fun and light. Most of these are off the Internet. 

First,

“Homosexuals do not have an ‘agenda’ that involves brainwashing or converting children to their ways. That’s religion you’re thinking of.”

            ~Author Unknown

I can personally attest to this statement. I am gay and have no agenda. I just want to live my life like anyone else and not be pummeled by negative statements about sexual orientation that the author knows little or nothing about. You want to know what it is like being me, then ask. And don’t try to change me. I am who and what I am. This is how God made me. I've accepted it. Why can’t others? Now, churches, on the other hand have a problem with this and many other things. Not my little church, though. It is just a great place to be loved and accepted. And that’s what I think the Bible is all about.

Second, a word on being a liberal:

            “A Liberal…someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who

welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people – their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties – someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal’, then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal”…

            ~John F. Kennedy

Amen to that! I’m not a socialist or communist. I’m not an atheist or agnostic. I’m not a pinko. I think of myself as middle of the road. But in our day and age of super conservatism, that makes me a little farther left of those folks, but then they keep moving farther and farther right. That doesn't make me more liberal; it makes them more unreasonable!

Third, and I love this one:

“Senators should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could identify their corporate sponsors.”            ~Anonymous (of course!)

Congressmen should wear similar apparel. One can’t know their agendas without a program, er…uniform!

Fourth, and finally:

            “No soliciting. We are too broke to buy anything.

            We know who we are voting for.

            We have found Jesus.

            Seriously, unless you are selling Thin Mints,

            Please go away!!”

This front door sign fits perfectly for so many households these days. So, please sell me the Thin Mints but bug off about the other stuff.

June 19, 2014

Global Dynamics

The dynamics of an era are interesting to think about. Not all are in the public’s  consciousness. Our era, for example, might be thought of as the age of technology. That may be true. I think it should be further defined as personal technology. We have so much tech power at our finger tips. And we use every day. It is tantalizing to consider where this may end up in a few years.

I think the dynamics of an era are also colored by other factors. It may be that technology played a large role in those factors as well. In any case I think the key dynamic is: political powers running awry globally.

This is not just an American thing. It is global. Technology has allowed nearly universal communication among the world’s population. Spread of news is nearly instantaneous. Unfortunately, spreading information in this way is not mediated in any fashion. The images and words are there for the taking and making sense of them. Understanding what is happening and why is open to broad interpretation. Gossip is quick to form and may cause riots or even wars. Libya and Egypt have had recent experience with this. Syria as well. And now Iraq.

Also, consider the role of religion or what is taken as such. Misunderstanding and misstatements become imagined insults; those are rapidly disseminated. Massive misunderstandings take root. Unrest is fomented and spread quickly. Misunderstandings simply based on differing spiritual beliefs extend the mayhem more than two thousand years. That’s the past AND the future. How do we stop that progression?

Americans treasure freedom of religion, expression, gathering and print. We are used to the free-for-all of discussion and dissension. As such we rarely experience riots from such freedoms. We have in the past, of course, and may in the future as well, but for the most part Americans are used to public disagreements without fist fights.

Not so in other countries. Their cultures have a long and well documented past. Dissension is cause for personal insult and reaction. Thus riots and street violence often result. So much of Middle Eastern identity is based on religion and its link with governance. They are often integrated as one making a volatile combination. Majority religious beliefs become the authority for the government to follow. Dissident beliefs become cause for persecution.

America is often faulted in the Middle East as over-involved in their internal matters. Actually there are only three reasons why Americans are in the Middle East: oil interests, human care services requested of us (food, medical care, etc.), and military strategies for which the local government has requested aid. Any of these can be misunderstood by the public and those who wish to frame American interests as the culprit in some political struggle for power in the country.

Stability of the region has geopolitical consequences globally. The primary American interest is oil supply and attendant economic stability concerns. It is a small margin from that concern to overall military stability. Peace in the Middle East continues to be a highly volatile challenge for all nations. Enemies of the West seek instability for their own geopolitical causes. Russia and China fall in this category. Then there are economic warriors seeking power over oil interests and the pricing mechanism which spells order or chaos in the financial world.

Note that religious themes do not play a role here. Yet they often appear to do so.

I wonder why that is? What do you suppose is going on? Could this be an international game being played? If so, who are the players and for what aims?

Curious. And what role for America is a reasonable one?

June 18, 2014

                        

Just When I was Hoping…

A national poll was recently taken by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. They asked the public which president in the past 25 years they most admired. The responses: 42% Bill Clinton, 18% Barack Obama, 17% George W. Bush, and 16% George H. W. Bush.

I’m surprised with the results. I didn't think Clinton would be the runaway favorite given the scathing press at the time of his presidency. Political opponents worked overtime to enmesh him in lawsuits and burden him with $16 million in legal bills as he left the White House. I’m pleased that Obama at least made second place. But George W was one point behind him?  Tragic.

In my mind George H.W. Bush should have been third. He only was president for one term but he did a credible job as president. He had my support for most of his presidency because I felt he had a firm hand on the international relations portion of his job. His background in the federal government for a lifetime was impressive. That background was perfect preparation for the role of President. His only mistake was allowing the religious right to gain a foothold in republican party operations. That was a big mistake. And the republicans are paying dearly for it now.

On the other hand George W fumbled his way through eight years as president and made a horrible mess of it. Our foreign policy is in shambles and rebuilding. America’s international standing is grossly in the dumps. Our economy will take at least two generations to repair after funding two wars and undergoing two major tax cuts for the rich and famous.

It takes a nation several years to determine the worth of specific decisions and policy shifts. Not so for George W.  Many knew he made mistakes at the time he made them. Unfortunately, political manipulators were allowed to maintain a popular image that was a shimmering mirage. Time catches up with such nonsense, however. And that time is now, so soon after his presidency ended.

It’s too bad for another reason. Barack Obama is a gifted, intelligent and caring man. He could have done so much more as President than he has. Instead he has had to play repairman for the previous president who made a colossal mess of things. And once we are done fixing that mess, we will have precious little funding left for the things we could have and should have been able to do.

Regarding the poll: it was only for the past 25 years. The four choices the public had to choose among account for the full 25 year period. I wonder where George W would land on a poll including the past 50 years?

History will settle the question for us, probably long after we are all gone. But I’d like to think the American people finally get it and place George W in the dust heap of history!

June 17, 2014

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Iraq Debacle

After 9/11 American troops chased after Osama Bin Laden into Afghanistan. This action was a visible response to the horrific attack in the US and thus politically viable on the part of President George W. Bush. But soon after his Texas born adventurism lured him into Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. Historians will argue the move for years as to the ‘why’ but whether it was pure adventurism or an ill-considered move to revenge a slight against his dad, George H. W. Bush, history will most likely settle on this simple conclusion: the Iraqi war was a major mistake.

The war mired the US in the Middle East cesspool of religious cultural unrest. Something no one – Mohammad, Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mother Theresa or George W – has been able to settle.

Years later we are still struggling with the ‘problem’. The Middle East has its own issues of hate. Webster defines hate as: “intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury; or extreme dislike or antipathy, loathing”. Does that sound like the Middle East to you?  Pretty much. Now pour into the mix a big dose of religious zealotry and you pretty much complete the picture.

This is not just hate. It is visceral volatility.

George W’s father, George H. W. Bush, understood the international balancing act necessary in the Middle East region. When the senior Bush was in the White House, he led an international coalition of significance into Kuwait and a limited surrounding area. Then he withdrew having paid for the entire operation with shared funding from other nations. Objective complete: Saddam was sent reeling back to Baghdad to lick his wounds with a military practically wasted to zero. The balance in the region was retained as weird as that may sound.

Enter George W and no sense of regional stability was envisioned other than the hegemony of America and its military might. A childish notion at best. The certainty that was to follow came about. Realignments among Syria, Iraq, Sunni-Kurds, and of course  Al Qaeda (with no borders to manage), have developed a hyrdra-esque monster. The world community now has a larger problem to face than ever before. And with no easy way to combat it.

World collaboration will be needed to find a solution, implement it and pay for it. The UN is our best hope but it won’t work because cooperation in the organization is minimal and collaboration is called for, a much more demanding requirement. Then too, the funds are lacking in the UN and that leaves America to pay the bill. Lord knows China and Russia won’t chip in. In fact those two nations will joyously observe the world struggle with the Middle East like sports fans. Under the table they will arm and finance the Middle East to battle the evil monsters of the West. And the game will go on and on and on.

Diplomats know better. HW knew better (an expert on China, the Far East, and CIA operations world wide). He respected the Foreign Service experts. He was one of them for much of his public service career. How his son could make such a profound error is baffling. But he did, and his advisers.

George W’s work help dismantle America’s foreign affairs team of diplomats. They left in droves. They understood his mismanagement would create unimaginable problems for future generations to deal with. That left George W increasingly unopposed within his administration to do what he wanted to do.

We see the results of that folly. Libya, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan; these players are all in the Middle East soup. And the liquid is a mixture of blood and crude oil.

Religious wars will remain as long as man’s inhumanity to man remains; thus the blood. But oil is an immediate ingredient that brings power struggles and money. Mostly money. With oil we have a global struggle. Remove the oil and the money evaporates.

The global demand for energy can be fed by other forms of energy other than oil. Research allows us to make this conclusion. It is only a matter of when. So we should speed the ‘when’ and abate America’s demand for oil. That alone will deflate Middle East tensions to their own culture wars surrounding religion. Let the tribes do that. The rest of the world has other things to do.

How long will it take America to solve its energy problems? When politics and big corporate lobbyists are de-clawed I suspect. Like religious unrest that is likely to go on forever.

But the discussion on linkages with other regions of the world and how America figures into the mix are needed. By all of us. And by all nations. So together we can make intelligent decisions and choices.

That’s something George W was too immature to do. And look at the mess we’re in because of it!

It’s time we began to do the right things and carried them to fruition.

June 16, 2014

Thought for the Day

I wracked my brain for a quote to use today, you know, one you can ponder over the weekend?  Well, I scanned the news items, reviewed the weather we've endured lately in the Midwest, and even looked at recent Wall Street numbers.  Nothing came to mind.

And then, this quote came to mind. I've been saving it for quite a while, now.  Perhaps you've seen it before? Nope. It’s fresh and unpublished:

            “It’s not that government is too big; rather it’s the public’s mind is too small.”

                        ~George Safford

Yep, that’s me as the author.

I continue to be surprised at how distrustful the public is for all forms of authority and government. I think their distrust outpaces their logic.

What do you think? Perhaps we can start a discussion here on the topic?

At any rate, ponder the quotation over the weekend. We can talk later!

June 14, 2014

Immigration

The building blocks of America throughout its history have been immigration.  Ask any historian. Don’t ask politicians. They hate immigration. They use it as a tool to separate those who have been citizens for a generation or two from those who are newly arrived. They especially leverage against undocumented immigrants.

To do that they hype reports about movement of illegal immigrants across the border, the disease and pestilence (?) they spread to our land, and the crime. Oh the crime! It is so large and hideous, is it not?

Not! It is not a huge issue. Far more important is crumbling infrastructure, poor results from our schools, unemployment, abandoned houses, growth of the underclass, poverty incursions within the middle class and retirees. These are huge issues. These are game changing issues.

In my mind immigration issues are important simply because it is an offhand destruction of one of the founding tenets of our nation. “Give me your tired and poor, huddled masses yearning to break free…”  That’s the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty. That’s what she – Lady Liberty – represents to both us and the rest of the world.

Would the anti-immigrant forces be so unthinking as to toss this principle out with the trash?  Really?

It would seem so. But I think they really don’t want to. Deep down they know they are immigrants, too. We all are. 

My family came to America in 1630. Although that’s a long time ago, we are still immigrants. And we do not deserve any special consideration or power just because we have been here longer than someone else’s family. That would not be equal; it would be discriminatory. And ‘yearning to break free…” includes that tenet, don’t you think?

Huddled masses coming to our shores because they yearn for freedom and a chance at a better life. Huddled masses because they are poor and powerless. Not stupid or ignorant. Just poor and powerless. Here in America they can gather what they need for a better life and fully use their unique gifts to do so.

In that alone they enrich our nation. Each one of them. They far outnumber those few immigrants who take advantage of the system or create problems in the criminal justice system. Besides, much of the criminal justice system concerns are problems newly defined by legislatures and the US Congress in an attempt to criminalize immigration. What a pot of bosh!

The America I’m proud of accepts newcomers and encourages them to prosperity and success. Their achievements are our achievements. As such we all are strengthened. And the dream of America carries on into future years.

Eric Cantor was defeated for re-election to his congressional seat in a republican primary. He was defeated by a Tea Party republican.  Too bad; I wish it had been a defeat of Cantor on so many other grounds. But Brat won because he leveraged the immigration issue in his campaign. Although Cantor was no shining protector of oppressed immigrants, he was for reforming the immigration system to solve current problems. He has also been a prime obstructionist to that very goal at times.

But Brat won because in Virginia it is popular to be a discriminator. And to be an active anti-history buff.  Of all states. Virginia. The land of Jefferson, Washington and so many other founding fathers of the American promise.

Shame, people. Shame. I do not like Eric Cantor. He is to be reviled on so many ideological points. But immigration? That’s a travesty. It is so anti-American. In our soul!

The shame of it!

June 13, 2014

Basic Rethinking

Today we will visit three quotes that stand on their own for logic and truth.  In our complicated world and fast paced lives, logic and truth are easily sidetracked. We can lose our attention. The big ideas become obscured. Our basic instincts are shadowed.

Jimmy Carter, 39^th President of the US, shared this thought:

“If you don’t want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying you want a country based on Christian values, because you don’t.”

Remind yourself that Carter is a Baptist. He is very serious about his religious beliefs and has lived his life based on those beliefs. He is also a deep thinker and philosopher. He dwells on the big ideas and dreams major dreams of what the world can become, what the American ideal is and can become. He remains true to his convictions. He did not create the above quote as a quip or joke. He means it.

And yet our nation continues to preach to itself that it is good, wonderful and Christian. If that were so a lot of things would be different than they are.

I think we need to be honest about that. And then have good serious discussions about what we truly want for the long term. For America. For its people. And for the people of the world.

Harry Patch was the last surviving soldier of World War I. A British soldier, Patch was born June 17, 1898 and died July 25, 2009 at 112. Harry said this about war:

            “War is organised murder, and nothing else.”

As necessary as war is at times, it remains hideous and costly in terms of lives lost and disrupted, and maimed. Hopefully the aims of the war action are worth the losses. Far better if war were avoided entirely. This being a human planet that hope is probably not realistic.

War involves intentional killing of people. Each side of the dispute believes they are right. Thus the killing goes on until cooler heads prevail and settle the matter. But organized murder it remains. Patch was correct.

Noam Chomsky (born December, 1928) is a professor at MIT and a towering intellectual, author of 100 or more books. He is a cognitive scientist and logician. He frequently comments on political matters. He is often described as the father of modern linguistics.  He provides this quote for our consideration:

“As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome.”

Spend some time thinking about Chomsky’s words. Ponder them a bit. I think he is spot on.  Far too many people in our country don’t pay attention to government, its operations, its policies, and flow of decisions over time. Instead they go about their lives living the details big and small, important and unimportant. Absorbed with the details they lose sight of the big issues going on around them.

Wanting the next new gadget, newest fashion, or a bauble to sparkle on the wrist or finger, we tend to pay attention to earning a living that will afford the wants in our lives. Being an avid consumer (when can I afford to buy the new car? And when will we be able to buy a new house or at least add on to this one?) distracts us from other things.

It is a short trip to focusing blame for other problems on people we don’t know. Even easier if we somehow label ‘those people’ as inferior, different from us, and very blame-able. Again, distracted from what is really important.

And the decision makers we elect or allow having control over our lives in large corporations and policy making institutes, are free to do their own thing to feed their appetites of power and wealth.

The nation slips away from the masses. The democratic decision makers are the voters. But they make few decisions or even agendas if they are too distracted. Not a bad strategy for those seeking power. Over you. And you!

Critical thinking begins with good education and exercising the power of reading, fact gathering and an honest seeking of facts and truth. How much of that is going on in America today?  Honestly. How much?

This is not a rhetorical question. It is a serious one in need of answers.

I think it is time for us to rethink the basics. And then live by them. Distractions have moved us away from the basics for too long. Ideologues have kidnapped the nation in the meanwhile.

How do we get our nation back? And how do wed rethink the basics?

June 12, 2014