Silly News Stories

It is the end of year. So naturally we focus on the ‘best’ or ‘worst’, the silliest or the most beautiful stories, things or puzzles of the year. It’s the thing to do at this time of year. So indulge me my day for a list.

First, the most meaningless: Anything having to do with the Kardashian family. They are not real, or at least do not live real lives. They are make believe people for the sole purpose of earning money off their name, thoughts, fashions, loves and births. I've never seen anything like it. I guess 2014 was the year of celebrities with a twist: they are made up celebs. How Americans came to be manipulated like this is beyond me. It’s like reality TV on steroids. It’s so real that it is unreal. And there we have it. The phantom celebs. Only their name begins with a K.

Second, weather. Anything to do with weather. It’s too cold, too hot, too wet, too dry, you name it and we have read it this year. I like learning about weather, at least to the point of understanding whether I need to carry an umbrella for the day, or wear a heavier outer coat, or less clothing, or whatever. How to cope with weather is all I need to learn. For my region of residence, I also need to know if we are to have severe weather, too much rain, not enough rain, and so forth. This allows me time to adapt to issues that will affect my everyday life. Anything more is science fiction until facts are evident and proven so. I generally believe in global warming. Whether this will be cataclysmic or not I don’t know nor support. I do support being aware of major changes that we might be able to lessen for the sake of future generations.

Third, politics and government. This category is rife with crap. That’s the nicest way of putting it. Our news channels are crammed with meaningless stories about politics and ideologies. Figure out the latter – complete with objectives and personalities – and you can figure out the special interests involved. Then you can ignore them. They are not factual stories. They are make believe scenarios someone wants to happen in a certain way and so are not truly real. Let’s stick with facts, actual happenings and the rest should fall into place.

Related to this category is the whole topic of government. I will no doubt write much more on this in the near future. For now let’s just say government is the work of the people for the common good of the people. Some of this work has to be done by someone and individuals and private parties usually don’t want to do this thankless job. So it falls on government entities. Like national defense, or recovery from natural disasters, or search and rescue, or policing local communities, writing parking tickets, enforcing traffic safety standards, and on and on. Someone has to do this work and private enterprise hasn't learned yet how to do that as a vendor and make a reasonable profit. So far prisons operated for profit have gained ground similar to private security firms. Each, however, has problems. They have a spotty record of effectiveness. Usually they fail at some point and public dollars are used to bail them out so order can be preserved.

Fourth, international relations. Who is mad at whom, and why, and what diabolical results might this spell? It seems these relations are always in flux. And if they are not the news media makes it seem so regardless. For example, the National Security Agency spied on allies and their leaders in an attempt to corral intelligence information concerning terrorism on a global basis. Seems this was considered a heinous invasion of sovereignty by the public, or was it? The media thought so and made that story rise throughout the year. But wait! It appears our allies and their leaders need and desire American Intel activities because it keeps their people safe. So the public thinks it’s one way while their own leaders know it is another way. Interesting, eh? We are allies because we know all of our interests reside in the same clump of issues and activities. That’s how we won World War I and World War II. Please note that very few other wars were won when we went it alone. I think that is a good thing. It keeps us honest and trustworthy for the long term. Russia needs to learn this lesson for its own good!

Fifth, competition and entrepreneurial-ism. Politicians and news media would like you to think that competition somehow exists in a pure form. Thus they support the notion that entrepreneurs take on all the risk and make good things happen. They don’t of course. In small ways the notion is true, but in the main, it is not true. Society creates an environment in which risk can be taken for good ends. If it doesn't lower risks, the risk takers don’t participate. Pretty simple. If the ends are desirable, then the public gets the work done by making it a governance operation. Companies need good workers. But they don’t educate the populace themselves. They seek educated employees and then provide them with additional training to make them competitive within their own use patterns. The public education system, however, is tasked with getting the larger job done in the first place. It becomes a common good. And it has value. And the private sector demands it at public expense but pretends in the media that they make it happen. They don’t.

Similarly, the private sector does not build roads, bridges, communication networks or anything else unless they know government will support the infrastructure over the long haul and reduce corporate risk accordingly. You and I make for clean air, clean soil, clean water, and also open broadband transmissions, internet, research and development, and so much more. Corporations continue on with this infrastructure base to build their own competitive environments that are hard to duplicate by others. But the base of their operations are provided by the public in many, many ways. To hear them talk corporations are the beginning and end of all progress in society. That would be false chatter on their part. They do not own the ideology in this argument.

So when you read the best and worst lists of 2014, look behind the veil of pomp and common belief. There is much more to be known and the speakers or writers are not necessarily the source of all the facts.

Perhaps the real big story of 2014 is the individual. You and I separately. We are the ones on the front line of living life. Relying on our own wits and efforts is the way to the future. Working together will make this task easier. But only if we are aware of our own vulnerability in the first place. Trust yourself. Do the work. Think. Reach out and be a part of another’s life.

Goodbye 2014. hello 2015! It’s good to know you are on the doorstep.

December 31, 2014

Keeping Busy

On Christmas morning Rocky was walking the dog when he stumbled and fell. He cracked two ribs. We continued on with our plans for Christmas Day with a breakfast gathering in St. Charles at my daughter and son-in-law’s home with their two beautiful daughters. My son and his bride joined us with their 11 month old baby boy. My ex-wife (my daughter and son’s mother) and her husband also joined the festivities. 

We shared the Christmas tree sharing gifts, memories of past holiday seasons, and in-jokes that only family can get! Near the end of the morning we toured my ex-wife’s and husbands new home nearby in Geneva. The home was recently finished but they have not yet moved in. 

Rocky signaled me several times that we needed to go home. So we did. In the car he admitted that the pain from the fall was growing plus he felt nauseous and cramps of impending diarrhea. We got home quickly. He threw up soon thereafter and diarrhea appeared shortly after that. We cancelled afternoon and evening plans with Rocky’s family. We went into defensive hibernation. 

The next morning Rocky awakened me at 4 am and said a visit to the emergency room was probably imminent. We arrived there at 6 am. They stabilized Rocky’s pain, nausea, and bowel problems, and also battled his dehydration. X-rays showed two ribs cracked. More pain meds were prescribed and we arrived home at 9:30. After that were visits to the pharmacy to fill prescriptions. They diagnosed food poisoning for the other ailments!  

To make matters worse, our microwave was not working and the landlord had decided to replace the unit next week. So here are two ailing elderly men one not eating for obvious reasons, and the other totally reliant on warmed over food or frozen items for meals. No such luck. And cooking for one is not very much fun. 

Also, Rocky is the dog walker in the family due to my unsteady gait and poor agility/stamina. I now took on the dog walking routine! 

At the same time my laptop computer had grown increasingly stubborn and finally failed. After my IT guy returned from vacation just before Christmas, he tested my unit and determined it was not worth repairing. The motherboard was shot and that was that. So, he began to clean up and update an old desk top computer. He downloaded my laptop memory to the desktop, and configured a temporary computer platform for me to use until everything was up to speed. 

This is a good thing because I was working on two projects. First was completing the next issue of the local newspaper. As managing editor I gather most of the copy for the paper while another volunteer handles ad sales, design and placement. I had already written my city hall report, and my opinion column. What was needed was sorting through all of the article copy and filling one electronic folder of the final materials to be published. Trouble was the files were scattered between three computers and email was not working properly. The old laptop had trapped 15,000 messages. All had to be downloaded and sorted through for current messages, and hopefully a lot of newspaper copy pending. This took a lot of time to sort through and download. Hours of time. All with publication deadlines looming. 

The second project was scheduling mentor/consulting times for the first 3 months of 2015 for 35 SCORE mentors. Yep, I took on that volunteer job in a weak moment! And I was already behind schedule in finishing the schedules and uploading them to the SCORE website. This task took weeks of work. Just uploading the schedules to the website took 18 hours of data entry.  

Meanwhile meals had to be prepared, the dog needed its routine walks, and the laundry, house cleaning routines had to be supported. These all interrupted the concentration needed to produce the newspaper and upload the mentoring schedules. 

The work got done. Miraculously at times. First the newspaper took shape and the team did its assigned roles plus gave me more assistance than normal. And the newspaper emerged. At this writing it is nearing release to the printer. Of course that meant I had to reserve a rental van, notify the post offices of our plans to deliver copy to them on New Year’s Eve, arrange postal trays count order, prepare checks for each of the vendors, found a friend to help me deliver the paper on New Year’s Eve and in so many other ways made arrangements to put the paper to bed and deliver it. 

With those arrangements under control attention was turned to mentor scheduling. Bit by bit the project came together in spite of the problems enumerated above. By 10 am Monday the work was done and uploaded to the mentoring website.  

As the computer desk was sorted through and returned to normal the day began to slow down. Rocky was still sick and we visited his doctor later in the day. But we could take deeper breaths and slow down. The manic schedule was over for a few days. Now we await the routine of delivering the newspaper, and prepare for the holiday. Soon it will be football bowl games and the Rose Parade. And time for naps.  

Lots of naps. It’s about time. Let the busy times roll for someone else! 

December 30, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marine Mike

On Christmas Eve I took my car in for an oil change and checkup. This was my first routine service visit with the new/used Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The dealership is new and remodeling the physical plant from top to bottom. Up to now customers were not sure where to find the sales room let alone the service department. Everything was being rebuilt and redesigned. Because the car is a hybrid I have been careful to follow instructions and have the car serviced at the dealership.

Patterned after a Mercedes shop my Hyundai dealer is something unexpected. Each employee seems trained to focus on the customer. That’s easy to say but difficult to pull off. Somehow they do, even in a construction zone. The customer experience is very good. Personal. Confident and professional. It certainly doesn’t feel like a GM or Chrysler shop. It is even better than a Ford dealership.

At any rate I was received in a large, brightly lit service reception area, one staff checked me in, another led me to a private office with glass walls clearly in view of my car. The services were ordered in full, and then I was led to a large waiting lounge with countless TVs, two computer lounges with several computers set up for use or portals for plugging in your own laptop.

That’s where I met Mike the Marine. Talkative. Friendly. Easily engaged. He soon shared he was 65 years old and nearing his 66^th. He was retired from the Marines, and from a secondary career as well. Clearly he identified with being a Marine and loved it. His secondary career was with the county Sheriff’s Department where he had served as a deputy. Now he was living in a retirement community and very clearly bored.

His opening statement to me was, “I could use some sun right about now.” Not an odd introduction if you’ve lived in Illinois for several winters! Sun is often absent for weeks on end. Unless it is very cold, the sun is absent and the nights long.

Recent weather has been cloudy, cool and wet. Not a lot of rain but much fog, drizzle and light rain. Clouds have socked us in since Thanksgiving. A spare snowflake or two flit from time to time but didn’t make it to the ground in one piece.

As I write this it is early Christmas morning. 3:30 am. I awoke after 5 hours of sleep or so. Bored and awaiting family festivities that will consume the day. Fun times are just ahead. We will have just enough time between two major engagements for a nap and regeneration to finish the day. It should be a fun day but it will be tiring for two old goats.

When I awoke I recalled my conversation with Mike the Marine. We spent 80 minutes waiting for our cars to be serviced. In that time we chatted about a lot of subjects. In that short time I got a pretty good view of Mike’s life and where it is going. He is bored. Very. He has a part time job to get him out of the house a bit, earning some money and interacting with people. Otherwise he is home. Doesn’t trust the internet or email so avoids it. Relies on letters and phone calls to keep in touch with others in his life. He reads some. Maybe a lot. We didn’t touch on that but he still watches TV, movies and some newscasts.

We both expressed doubt about news shows and their credibility, factual base, and lack of bias. He distrusts the internet and doesn’t get most of his news from those sources as I do. I’ve learned to shop my sources to feed my confidence that they are reliable and open minded. Mike doesn’t trust doing that for himself. In fact Mike has difficulty trusting much of anything but the Marines and the US Military.

We spoke of careers and satisfaction with them. He loved being in the Marines. He had good times and exciting ones. I’m sure he also had tedious times as well but he was very satisfied with his military career. He misses it. He seems rootless without it.

All we talked about was getting back to the sun. His military stations were mostly in southern climes of the US --  California, San Diego, also Georgia and South Carolina. So unlike Illinois. Without the Marines Mike seemed distrustful of government. I thought this odd given the military is solely dependent on and a part of government.

He seems to trust private enterprise and wishes government to stay out of the way of businesses. Yet he is highly uncomfortable with the direction of the nation and of the state. We spoke of the need of intelligent partnership between private and public entities if good things are expected to happen. This intrigued him enough to consider getting involved somehow.

As our cars were readied for delivery, he quickly grabbed a business card and gave it to me with the off chance that we might connect again in the future. I was left with the impression that I had something in my life that he needed or wanted. Not sure what that something is but I suspect it is purpose.

Mike appears to be a man who liked doing what he did with the Marines and the Sheriff’s Department. But now he is not doing much of anything. Just keeping busy and not enough of that. At 65 he is at the beginning of a new chapter of life. He doesn’t want it to be a drawing down to the final chapter but more exciting and life giving than that.

Who knows? We might re-connect. I wonder if it will be for Mike or feeding my own curiosity of potential. I’ll let you know if something happens.

December 29, 2014

 

Thought for the Day

Now that Christmas has passed for this year and the gifts are unpacked or returned for exchange, what will we do? Will we focus on the New Year and its promise for change and good things?

Perhaps we should. Winding down from the holiday, let’s wind up for the possibilities and potential of 2015.

Prepare now. Feed your hopes and dreams. And think!

December 27, 2014

FDA Weird

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago when someone announced a blood drive was underway to help build holiday supplies of emergency blood. I tossed out a comment that it was too bad not all donors were welcome. That comment earned a few stares and questioning looks. I responded that gay people were not able to donate blood.

They were disbelieving. But the truth is that the FDA in 1983 issued a policy that no man who had sex with another man from 1977 to present was able to donate blood. The fear then and now is that same sex behavior among men harbors HIV virus and the spread of AIDS.

What it really does is continue to feed the myths and fears that make up the AIDS stigma. Of course that stigma washes over all gay men. It also unintentionally affects gay women.

What it should include are intravenous drug users but I don’t know if that is covered by other FDA policies. If not, it should. Don’t you think?

Well, switch to December 23, 2014. The FDA revised its blood donor rules to include gay men who have not had sexual relations with another man for at least 12 months.

I get it. To a bureaucrat this adjustment in policy is huge. But I would ask that same bureaucrat if he would consider giving up sex for a year before he were allowed to donate blood or anything else?

The stigma remains.

Science should be the controller of this policy. Science scrubs blood components of disease before it is passed on for use in medical procedures. Science provides the protocols that address the larger issues as well. Science is at work. It is protecting each and every one of us. It is capable of making mistakes from time to time, but for the most part it is doing a great job.

But gay? HIV/AIDS? Specter and pandemic? Hideous and all-encompassing fear?

I guess the science is shelved. Human emotion rules the universe of policy at the FDA. And at too many government offices.

Yes. The stigma remains. And it has nothing to do with AIDS transmission.

Poof to the FDA and its minions. And the politics that allow this to happen.

December 26, 2014

 

 

 

Peace on Earth

A time of quiet. Calm. Peace. Moments to think and feel. Secure. Not hungry. Embraced by family, and friends, too.

When asked what I want for Christmas I have often stated “World Peace.” And I meant it then as well as today. It is not easy finding world peace. Not when so many distrust others and range defensively behind walls, weapons and armies. And navies and air forces as well. So much energy and treasure arrayed to protect against enemies known and unknown. So many people placed in harm’s way so others may feel secure. Feel safe.

Peace on earth ought not be a hope. It ought to be a reality. It should be the end result of our faithful dealings with other nations throughout the globe. It should be a natural outgrowth of our diplomacy and tact. We respect others. We hope they respect us. Together we work on things that matter to both of our nations. And we make good things happen. For everyone.

Seems a simple matter. But it is not.

There are bullies in the world. There are those people who don’t feel good about themselves unless they feel superior to others. They niggle and tweak things to create dissension. They magnify that dissension. Until it is a problem large enough to exercise power. Sovereignty. Defensive systems.

You know the rest. Unnecessary ill will. Unwanted disagreements. Easily understood and managed most of the time. It takes goodwill to do this, to manage the disagreements before they become a war of words and then of bullets or missiles. Goodwill. So basic and yet so easily misunderstood.

Many think goodwill is a weakness in the international sphere. I don’t. I think it is human, basic. It is simple to understand. It is simple to proffer to others. Even if they turn it down it works magic. Eventually. They see others as friends, not enemies.

Not so if our attention and efforts are solely focused on defense, difference and disagreement.

Focusing only on those elements creates complexities beyond comprehension. Like the Middle East. Like the Israel and Palestine. Like Putin and the rest of the world.

Peace is simple. Mankind’s handling of it is not.

Maybe the simple draw will us into fresh thinking and simplification. Maybe then we will experience peace on earth?

December 25, 2014

 

Christmas Now

For those of other faith traditions Christmas must be an odd time of year. In America the public temper is all about decorated pine trees indoors or out. Christmas carols sounding throughout stores, malls and street front shopping areas. Mistletoe and wreaths hung on street lamps and doorways as well as on garages, homes and of course, the grille of the car! Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer suddenly appears on many mini vans as well.

Insane hype of course, but humorously supported seemingly everywhere. We have Christmas parties in the office, at church, in the neighborhood. And of course open houses and family gatherings as well. At this time of year it seems everyone is into Christmas. And then we remember, not everyone celebrates this particular holiday.

If you are Jewish, Muslim or any of another dozen or more faiths, Christmas is an anomaly. A large one in America, but still an anomaly.

That is not intended. America has a large Christian tradition although it is not a Christian nation. There are those who think otherwise, but then they are free to do so. Especially in the USA! Freedom of religion, you know, and freedom of speech, of assembly, press…we are free to follow our interests and faiths wherever it takes us. Well, there are limits. Your freedoms extend only as far as my freedoms. They are not to impinge on the other.

We seem to forget this reality. You are free to spew your beliefs in public. So am I. However, my spewing should not stop your spewing.

Of course those people with more resources at their disposal think otherwise. Often. They buy ad space, release press releases, go on talk shows and in any other way spread their views. They get excited and ask others to join them. Maybe even believe as they do. Maybe they will seek legislation that immortalizes their point of view, too.

Such misguided efforts surface in odd places – school rooms, text books, posters, hymns, pop music, advertising themes, to name just a few. Well, let’s not get carried away with this. Back to the original theme, please!

Christmas now, today. It is now a public holiday in which Americans are urged to shop until they drop. It is all about gathering and celebrating each other – the family at home or the family at work. It is less a religious holiday than it is a social one, a major break in the busy-ness of life. That makes it all the more poignant when newscasts solemnly turn to religious services marking the religious observance of this holiday – literally Holyday. Of course in our land that is a Roman Catholic Mass filmed for the news at 11 o’clock.

But that is not true for many millions living in the US. There are those who are not religious at all. They have freedoms as well and deserve our respect. Our Jewish fellows are cousins of the Christian faith as well; they share a history both spiritual and historical. Muslims have a proud faith tradition that mirrors much of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The increasing international communication, trade and social integration makes us more a global community than ever before. We wish to be respected for who we are and what we hold dear; so do the others we meet on a daily basis. Even if we don’t know their personal traditions, we respect them for who and what they are regardless. We wish to be treated likewise. So do they.

Why is it so hard for people to allow others the space to be who they are? Without suspicion. Without prejudice. Without hostility.

A Muslim is not a terrorist. A Christian is not a do-gooder. Logic, faith and reason do not automatically fall to one religion over another. Neither does history favor one nation over another. Indeed, history ought not show favor to any one nation, creed or philosophy. It should be fact-based.

Free to be in the now in all of its multiplicity. There is more than one way to see the world, or time, or history, or religion. There is a plurality to be observed and appreciated. And understood.

Perhaps that is why we have trouble with the now? We don’t understand those different than us?

Maybe we should try harder to understand. Then this Christmas, this holiday or Holiday, would have special meaning for all of us. Respect and accept. That would be a good beginning.

May your holiday season this year be of special significance and beauty to you and yours this year.

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2014

Blue Christmas

Participated in a ‘Blue Christmas’ service at church Sunday afternoon, 12/21/14. On the shortest day and longest night of the year, and the Sunday immediately preceding Christmas, this service was meant to be. For a lot of reasons. Mainly for those who find Christmas a difficult time while most people around them are happy, celebratory and hopeful.

Think of those souls who have experienced loss of loved ones, loss of a job – worse, loss of a career – or loss of their home, health or critical relationships. The latter might just be the greatest number of loss. You know, an upset in the family in which brothers and sisters are separated emotionally for many years, or arguments with parents and offspring grow to titanic proportions and build lasting rifts.

Family rifts. Dysfunction. I’ve had that from time to time with my brother although I doubt he realizes this. My sister on the other hand is a champion of the rift. She once absented herself from our brother for well over 20 years, and from me specifically for 21 years. When she left Illinois for California, she instructed her friends and apartment mates "not to give George and Ann my address or phone number. " Period.

Our parents of course were stumped. I was not. I didn’t know all the reasons but I had correctly pieced the puzzle together eventually. When my folks finally were able to engineer a reunion of the two of us, sister claimed to have no knowledge of why I abandoned her! Hmmm. There’s a name for that; it will remain sealed behind my lips. Nothing to be gained by sharing. Let it be.

Loss of family connection. Loss of being cared for. Not always a two-way path, is it? The tragedy forms when one realizes that one party still cares but has no outlet to express it. Or vice versa, of course.

Dysfunctionality within a family is a curious occurrence but plentiful. It is legion throughout the globe but all the more a problem because the very definition of family is connectedness. Whether by blood or long association, family is a bosom-y thing in which we all sense we belong, are loved, respected and accepted regardless of our flaws. When that acceptance is lacking the dysfunction become all the more real. Not virtual but concrete.

We know that in terms of unequal education, social conditioning, sexual orientation or political ideology. We also experience it financially although much of that is ideologically based, I think. Age-ism is strangely not an issue; indeed it is a source of pride and honor. The older you are the more time-tempered you are and thus respected. For longevity. Imagine!

Among strangers or work associates we seem to find our way through polite society. We keep the peace. Perhaps because we will spend less time with these folks than our own families, we manage to exercise diplomacy when we least want to. In family situations, however, this skill is easily ignored and we tell Aunt Sally exactly what we think of her!

Some years back I told an aunt of my being gay. I frequently visited her region of the country on business travel, so we kept the family ties healthy. One day she admitted that we had a special bond that we could talk about anything. She honored and relished that aspect of our relationship. I had known that there was some dysfunction between the aunt and her sister (my mother), but told her in confidence that I was gay and that mom didn’t know. My sister and I had struggled over telling mom I was gay and we finally agreed that mom’s age of over 90 was not a good time to share this private reality with her. So we didn’t.

But auntie did. It might have been an honest mistake but I doubt it. The nature of the relationship between mom and auntie was such that auntie wished a power connection over mom. And this was it: she knew something about me that mom didn’t.

Well the bond with auntie was dead at that moment. No need to discuss it. It ceased with an audible snap. How easy the dysfunction is. Funny thing, no one in that branch of the family has bothered to ask why it is so. And so the break is real and forever.

Loss of relationship is like loss of innocence. In that regard we all can feel blue. So the question is have you attended a Blue Christmas service? I hadn’t. I liked it. It spoke to the shadow regions of my life where time does not allow exploration. Light helps dispel such shadows. Even from one little candle.

Blue or not, see hope and light in your life. Speak of it and live it. It is yours to seek and to have.

May happy holidays be yours this season.

December 23, 2014

 

Russia Sidelined?

That’s what Putin is saying these days. The western nations (read USA) are sidelining Russia. From what to what is my question? And who are the actors?

Well Putin apparently thinks he has no role or blame in this game but he does. In fact, he has been the only player in the game for the past two years. All by his own design. The results he had hoped for, however, are not the ones he has gathered.

The failed ruble is one consequence. Soaring military expenses is another. Exploding overhead costs of his government is yet another. But the Russian economy hasn’t grown to pay for it. Just the opposite; it is contracting. And that spells real trouble for the Russian people: unemployment, failed pensions (again!), restrictive public information and journalism, stormy moods and autocratic decrees. They don’t deserve this.

Neither does the West deserve the blame for these troubles.

For some reason Putin feels his country is not getting the respect it deserves. Yet he continues to project his persona to the rest of the world community as proxy of the Russian people. And that persona is not very nice. Let’s see: sweet talked the world as host of the Olympics, but massed his military to take over the Crimea immediately following the close of the Olympics. Coincidence? Bah!

Then, adventures in Ukraine with his thugs acting in place of the Russian army, but the disguise was too thin. Finally the army did enter Ukraine and no disguises at all.

Shooting down two airline passenger planes as well. Adventurous feelers orchestrated elsewhere in the old Soviet region. It appeared then and now he wants the old USSR back under his tutelage. And the military exercises around the globe? Really Mr. Putin!  You expect the rest of the world to respect you while you play military games?

Trying to bully us again, Putin? Shame on you. Perhaps your people may fall for this but I truly doubt it. For sure the rest of us don’t fall for it.

You think you are challenging America? President Obama? You fail to capture the reality of the situation. President Obama is your greatest ally in normalizing Russia’s situation. Cooperate with him and you will be stunned at the consequences. He wants peace and goodwill. Not power or hegemony. Those old days are gone. For everyone in the world but you, evidently.

The globe is now much smaller than it once was due to increased technology, flow of information, educational expansions, and a much more swift-acting flow of economics irrespective of national borders. Russia has seen benefits from this, but it requires cooperation, collaboration and joint invention. Like the Space Station. It takes a global community to make the most of the Space Station. Money, know-how and people power. Shared work by many nations. No one is fully in charge of that.

Collaboration is like that. It takes a sense of fair play and freedom to make good things happen. Play a power game and collaboration disappears instantly. It was free; and now it’s gone.

Mr. Putin, you are not the emperor of the world. You are the leader of Russia. Only. Get with the other nations and participate in what we can all accomplish together. In peace and respect.

That’s the respect you want. And that’s no sidelining, either. In fact it is main lining. Russia deserves to be in the middle of things. But to get there requires a different behavior.

When might we expect you to join us?

December 22, 2014

Thought for the Day

Take a time-out. This is a busy time of year. Very busy. We get that! All the more reason for a time-out.

Sit in a comfortable chair, snuggle down into it. Quiet the noises around you. Close your eyes. Now, focus on a scene from your past, long ago when times were simpler. When you were younger, maybe a kid? Remember the scene? Recall the hopes and dreams of those times.

Just you and imagination! And hope!

Think on it now. Pull in that feeling of freedom and awe. And peace.

Keep that pillow of calm around you this weekend as you make the mad dash to this week’s holidays.

Enjoy!

December 20, 2014

 

Arts & Culture

I don’t think I’m a snob. I do appreciate classical music. I like to think I have an advanced appreciation for classical music and seek good performances, CDs, etc. to feed my interest and enjoyment. Maybe 20 years ago I broadened my musical interests to more popular forms of music. And dance. Theater, too. If the ‘art’ transported me to another dimension in which to think and innovate ideas, then I was happy. And appreciative.

Tastes among any population at any given moment, varies widely. Heavy metal tunes I never understood; still don’t and I do not wish to explore the genre. At all. Lyrics should mean something. Not screaming, moaning, fist shaking or torso twisting symbolism. For a song I need words to understand. And I think most musical creations should conjure a storyline for the listener. A mood, emotion and idea in the listener’s mind is the objective of the artist, I think. If that is missing then it is likely not art.

Now that’s my opinion, you understand. You might not agree. And that’s OK. I don’t have to agree with you nor you with me. That’s the world of art. That is also why much of art is misunderstood and has difficulty gaining traction with the public. To each a voice speaks! Maybe only for a few.

The Voice broadcast annually for seven years by NBC has been a particular favorite of mine. To those who know me that might be surprising because it contains a lot of music I do not particularly care for. But I am exposed to what the public seems to like. That broadens me. I also find enjoyment with many of the aspiring performers.

This year American pop culture has again anointed country and western music. The Voice of the Year is a typical, twangy romantic country singer. Evidently this is the pop culture of the moment for our country. After all the public has chosen country music four times out of seven. I don’t agree with it but I do agree with the natural conclusion that country music appeals to the lowest common denominator in our public. That’s why it wins The Voice so often.

Take Adam Levine’s team, outstanding musical talent. All three of them. They will have successful careers I have no doubt. I just hope that Adam and Pherrell will take these young men under their wing and support their career development. They will enrich American musical arts for another generation if they do. It is a shame one of them wasn’t the winner.

I know this is my taste in music speaking. But I fear that this lowest common denominator process is a public problem that affects many other aspects of our national life.

If each of us discerned the most important topics in life and worked at them I think our artistic environment would be vastly different. I think our appreciation for education would be much different. I think our economics would be much more successful and purposeful. I think political nonsense would pretty much disappear while governance would be driven by need and effectiveness.

Like any topic, intellectual focus and discipline helps us understand the world around us. It is both serious and fun if we promote them. But we don’t. That’s because we are moved by fear of something and that’s how the topic comes to our minds for discussion and thinking. We ignore topics we don’t fear or worry about. Life and its problems are serious business and we seek escape through fun, music, art and a lot of other unmeaningful activities. Sports come to mind in the main. So do talking head pols.

It takes work to make a difference in the world. It takes focus to extract the jewels of understanding and appreciation. But these are the rewards we will acquire if our lives together are successful, meaningful, and make a difference in the lives of others.

Am I so far out of the mainstream that I cannot see it? Gosh, I hope not. I have always thought each of us should make a difference in the lives of others. If we all did this just imagine what a neat environment we would be living in, experiencing and all the rest.

I know this is a frequent soap box of mine, but I truly think we would be a happier and healthier nation if we all worked to make a difference in the lives of others. The world would be much better for it. Individually we would be healthier as well.

Perhaps this is too much to wish for?

December 19, 2014

 

Not News

I don’t know about you but I bet you are as tired as I am about trying to learn about the weather and news on specific topics but then get a barrage about the Kardashians, sports figures, celebrities of all stripes, and politicians. Not issues. Just people. Not even important people getting important work done for the rest of us, just style setters, behavior models and divorce/wedding/pregnancy/illegitimate births…you get the idea.

I find news about the Chicago Bears football team in the same league as the Kardashians. Why bother? I mean, really! The Bears simply cannot manage their way to a meaningful press conference let alone a game with talent and good results. Same with the Kardashians. Empty news. Empty value. A name for name’s sake and press ratings because someone cares? Why do they are? Are their lives really so empty?

Movie releases seem to be big with the public. What’s good enough to be shown in theaters, and what’s only good enough for quick release to TV networks? Just sell the product to Netflix and let the spoolers delight! I really don’t care who is starring in the latest release or that they made a good project decision to star in that film, or detoured their career temporarily to resume live stage acting to better prepare for future film projects.

I do care about how well public education is doing its job. What challenges are they facing and how inventive are the teachers in reaching kids of disparate backgrounds? Are we educating youth or lecturing them? Which approaches work? Which don’t?

Pension reform: why and when needed. If nothing done, what costs are created? When are they likely to appear? If we settle the matter soon, but payback do we earn? Why has this been so difficult to face and solve? What can society do for the long term to ensure this problem never arises again?

Campaign finance reform: what are the obstacles and why are they so tenacious? Even though the topic is a minefield, can’t we set aside our differences long enough to generate a fair system that is not selling public positions to the highest bidder among the wealthy and largest corporations? Really. This is embarrassing to the largest democracy in the world! This is shameful to our history. How can good people seriously ignore this problem and not fix it?

Issues ignored only get larger and more complex. So complex, in fact, they defy solution. Think immigration reform with 14 million immigrants caught in the spider web. Plus their families! Think campaign finance reform that is wedded to advertising, media partiality, vote-selling to financially strapped congressmen locked into a biennial election cycle that has no end? Same with governors, legislators, senators, even judges.

And pension reform? Truly? A life pledge of security for a life time of loyalty and work that goes down the drain because reasonable financial planning to ensure the pensions was considered inconvenient by the legislators?

Political parties bring what to the public’s benefit? Not much. Cohesion maybe but these days it is attention to imperfect ideology that does not serve well the public’s interest. Just special interest groups are served. And to the detriment of the public’s good in the long run. Maybe parties should be phased out for some other mechanism? We won’t know unless we ponder this question, do some research and discuss it well. And then make a decision on it. Why is this work not being done?

Maybe it is my age but I’m tired of important work not getting the time and attention it deserves. I think the public is ill-served by this lack of action. I know there are those among us who believe non-action is better than action ill conceived, but that goes only so far before the problems cascade into much larger disasters.

Serious problems deserve serious consideration and solution. The need for leadership will always be with us. But who will take the lead? Who will let them? How is this process governed?

Serious people want to know. Curious people, too! Is anyone listening? Is anyone caring? Is anyone there? Hello?

December 18, 2014

 

Making Sense of…

Many topics floating through public spaces these days. In America it is about legislatures and Congress finishing up another calendar year and preparing for the newly elected folks to take their seats. That means a bunch of people are leaving their seats. The mixed messages of this passage are at times overwhelming.  Gone, for example, is Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachman. Anti-everything, or seemingly so, Michelle leaves a trail of hallelujahs that she is finally departing. The Gay community most of all, Democrats in general, and serious minded republicans, too. She was and is an anomaly of free speech we all have to endure. She had the sound bites the media couldn’t ignore (slurp slurp!), the smile that won many hearts regardless of the topic under discussion, and the eyes that could freeze Satan.

Michelle Bachman was a professional antagonist. I think she might have been a Sarah Palin trainee, but then she failed and hopefully will continue as a faded political head banger. Sarah Palin also faded only appearing on the news when the media is bored and suffering from a slow news day.

The constant war on President Obama is less personal but just as nasty as the war on Bill Clinton when he was President. The crescendos of attacks flew over the past several years but oddly Obama not only survives but is growing in popularity and respect. Not me; I have always respected him and think I have captured long-term the big picture he was always about. Pols don’t bother with the big picture, just the short term vote-getting noise. Those with short attention spans enjoy the sport, I don’t. I still think our nation would be better off if governed with a long-term view and policy set. Short term solutions rarely solve anything and add to the problem to be managed over the longer haul.

Obama is serving the nation well – reducing military engagements globally, preparing defenses for the future, addressing health care access to most, improving immigration conundrums because no one else would, silently building a strong economic base that is finally showing results and will for the long term future. In other words Obama has exercised parental patience and wisdom. It is the children among us of adult age who still don’t get the message. One day they will when they grow up.

With Congress as the model many state legislatures fell prey to the same partisan grid lock. California, Florida, Texas, Illinois – to name a few – continue on a crash course towards financial oblivion and political insanity, all because leadership is absent. A crash course because no one will stand up and cry for order and calm. No one. Illinois is a great case study for this point. Both political parties played games with the budget and state pensions for decades while the inevitable budget crash was shifted to future generations. We are those future generations and now no one has the answer to the puzzle. An enigma shrouded in mystery continues to excite the media without end.

And the media; here is an industry with many problems. They are quite evident. Too much money for too few on screen talent makes for far too many empty heads. They don’t want to do the right thing because that might lessen their ratings and thus their future employment. And the news networks simply dumb down the news to sound bites because that is all they think their consumers can handle. In time that is the only news that gets broadcast and the entire public is dumbed down.

Increasingly I turn off the media. I pick my way through an ocean of good writing and information on the internet. I expose myself to opposing views that are carefully and well prepared. I slowly come to conclusions on my own, but continue to test them on and on.

I have rediscovered National Public Radio and PBS TV news programming. Both of these sources are soundly researched and dissected before presenting to the public. Panel discussions expose the audience to varying views from great vantage points. Ideas are shared and delved into. The audience learns fresh ideas from this process. They are also respected to arrive at their own conclusions. The programs are not lectures.

How refreshing. When was the last time ABC, CBS or NBC asked meaningful questions? Not questions designed for a media advertising blitz for rating sweeps, but questions begged to be asked such as: what effects of past policy skirmishes in Congress are evident today? Is progress being made or are the problems continuing to grow? Topics such as immigration reform, campaign finance reform and education system effectiveness are the sort of things I’m getting at here. Do any of the networks even attempt to research these issues and educate the public on them? No? Why not?

When reporting a news event, do the networks define why it is newsworthy? Do they actually share the news event in chronological order? Do they clearly state what happened, when, by whom and to whom? Do they leave the conclusions to the public or do they attempt to tell the public why the event occurred without justifiable evidence at hand?

Are news reports devoid of opinion and innuendo? Hardly. That content is fine for blogs and newspaper columns and TV commentary. Some people enjoy this information. Others need it to build their own point of view. I understand why it is with us; but constantly? Worse, this is the material that increasingly is the news. Not objective. Not factual. Only sound bites that will resonate with the public and sell ratings and ad space buys.

This is where Ted Cruz, Michelle Bachman, and others of their ilk get their currency these days. They speak outrageous words, attract attention and gain coverage. All while really important material is ignored or not covered at all.

We have a new year on the doorstep. Might we try a better approach in 2015?

Please?

December 17, 2014

Getting to Know You

Once upon a time a girl grew into a young woman. She was 13. Hormones were beckoning her to a new realization of who she was becoming. Not fully known or understood, of course. But a beckoning to a new reality just the same. Watching her friends of similar age she also knew somehow, someway, she was different. Words did not easily come to her for describing the differentness. But she knew difference was present.

As school activities and demands increased inner urges surfaced. They felt good somehow but confusing. They were ill-defined.

Social life picked up, parties were given by friends, and kids were having fun and talking with one another. Some experimented with vocabulary. Some tried new fads in clothing and food. Others tried beer and cigarettes. The more daring visited the drug scene.

Experimentation led to other forms of the same and physical interactions were explored. Not exactly sex but perhaps sex play?

Still unknown feelings were present from all of the above. Not all experimentation was engaged. But the environment was abuzz. And our young woman was perplexed.

Might her friends feeling similarly? Could she talk to them about this? Or would this blow their minds and drive them away from her?

Instead she did her own research and explored the internet for information. Eventually she explored new words and terms. She began to understand she was feeling a sexual awakening. From that she learned what the usual responses were. Physical and sexual development norms were provided on knowledgeable websites. She could trust these resources. She explored further.

One day she landed on a discussion panel program in which kids her age were discussing coming of age issues. This included sexual feelings and behavior. The discussion was frank. Attraction of a sexual nature was freely discussed. Boys were interested in girls. Girls were interest in boys. Curiosity on how this could play out were also shared. Behavior standards and consequences were discussed. The kids were creating a shared experience that opened a whole new realization for our young woman.

The panel discussion touched on the topic of homosexual development. Boy on boy and girl on girl attractions were intimated. Labels were provided.  And our young lady revamped her research.

It didn’t take long. She realized she was likely a gay teen. Not a definitive realization; there was no physical experimentation to prove that yet. Yet. The girl shuddered. She didn’t know where to go with this and yet she had to know.

At last she approached her mother who quickly pulled in her dad. Together the three came to an understanding that the young lady was most likely same sex oriented. It turns out her parents had inklings their daughter might be gay so were not surprised when the subject surfaced.

Her mom suggested she talk this over with her friends. How to proceed with this phase was not easy to decide. Soon, however, she decided to text her ten best friends about her situation.

The results were not great but not a nightmare, either. Three or four stuck with her; the rest ditched her. The latter were vague but they alluded to religious beliefs and backed away from her. The other three or four were willing to respond to her need to discuss the issues. A tentative beginning toward a new understanding of life was underway.

All of the above happened to a friend of my 13 year old granddaughter. It was her friend that contacted her about being gay. My granddaughter stepped up and assured her support of her friend. She also talked with her mom (my daughter) and together we three discussed it the other day.

We all agreed that 13 was an early age to make any commitment to understanding the self in such an important dimension. And untested at that! But at least we realized that a young person in today’s social fabric is able to manage exploration of sexual orientation in an environment of openness and health.

It was not so in my day. There were no words or terms available to even know, discuss or research such feelings. And when eventually faced after decades of wondering and finally experimentation, I was able to realize I was gay even in my early youth. I have memories at age 5, 6 and 7. I knew I was different then. It only became evident in my teens, but social acceptance of homosexuality was not present. It was a taboo. And so I became hidden, secretive and ashamed.

By the age of 37 I realized unmistakably that I was gay. By that time I was married with kids and a meaningful career. I didn’t want to lose any of those parts of my life. They were all dear to me. By the time I was 50, however, my wife had been denied too much and we agreed on divorce.

At 50 I could come of age! And I did.

Our young woman of 13 has a head start. With a social environment opening to multiple sexual orientations, she is most likely to experience a full and rich life with a healthy sexuality. She should be able to grow up fully integrated with who she is in all of her dimensions.

How healthy is that? How wonderful for her and her family and friends.

For those who do not understand, they are not trying. They are not loving. They are not spiritually anchored. Best they do some research and get with it.

For me I’m feeling pretty proud right about now. Imagine! Two generations removed from my upbringing and the progress is building.

Hallelujah!

December 16, 2014

 

De-regulation

In 1999 the Glass-Steagal Act was removed by Congress. This was a bi-partisan action brokered by then-President Bill Clinton. It was seen at the time as an act of trust between the federal government and the financial industry. In effect the leaders were saying: “We can do our jobs better if the fetters of regulation are reduced.” And so a bill enacted in 1933 to be a wall of protection so another great depression would not occur, was removed.

The Great Depression is generally believed to have been the result of unrestrained greed within the banking, investment, and insurance industries. Promises to pay ‘in the event of’ were broadly provided in daily business. Problems occurred when the chips began to fall and promises could not be kept.

In those days insurance companies, banks and investment companies could own each other. They proliferated because profits were easy to come by. Insure an outcome, or rather, insure the losses from bad outcomes, and people were willing to take larger risks. In turn the industries and financial community overextended their abilities to make good on their promises.

Once the downward spiral began the economy went down the drain in a hurry.

It was hoped that the new millennium – the year 2000 – would be the right time for a fresh beginning. And so Glass-Steagal was removed. Banks, insurance companies and investment companies could now own each other and expand their business models. An overheated real estate industry joined the mix and soon the economy was driving upwards in one of America’s most classic bubbles. After 9-11 challenged that bubble, the crash began. It took a few years but the strained economy went into hyper-speed and the result is the largest recession since the great depression. The recession shattered records of past bad times. This was the Great Recession on methamphetamine.

Congress and White House combined their efforts to solve the escalating problems. Trillions of dollars were spent to restore confidence in the economy but the political fire-storm that resulted from the bailouts created a new playing field of mistrust among the players. The rest you know.

Greed during the first decade of the 2000’s, nearly ripped the global economy to pieces. That’s because America couldn’t contain its exuberance and greed to just our nation, but packaged enormous real estate mortgages into investment opportunities for foreign markets. Unsustainable in American markets, they crashed world-wide. America’s economy was toast; so was Europe’s and Asia’s.

Once trusted partners, nations scrambled to stabilize their national banks, banking systems and currencies. America’s face was red from embarrassment. The pain of economic failure was shared globally. That’s how contagious greed is.

And that is why America’s financial industry needs to be re-regulated.

Instead, the spending bill just approved by Congress (House and Senate) de-regulation of banks, insurance companies and Wall Street firms was given a boost. This is viewed as a victory of political hacks of the conservative stripe vowing an unfettered economy is the best means of growing out of the past recession. 

Trouble is brewing with that position. De-regulation is now believed the core cause of the recession and more of the same will most likely result in a meltdown of the very financial systems we have all spent trillions on repairing. Greed is still greed. Greed got us into this mess. Greed will return us to a world of hurt. Only now it is viewed as a political solution.

It was not a solution in 1999 nor is it one now. Greed does not work well unfettered.

It would be nice if police departments were not needed throughout our nation and everyone else’s; but they are needed.  We all know that. Why would private industry be expected to work better without the police? They cannot. And they have proven that. Over and over again.

As much as I dislike over-burdensome regulation, rather than less I think we need to restore some. Perhaps a revamped Glass-Steagal Act is required?

This will take political resolve and leadership at the federal level. But is that likely with the present congress? Even the new one forming in January 2015?

I doubt that. They can’t get anything done of a bi-partisan nature unless there are goodies hidden away in their bag of tricks. Like quiet de-regulation. Like authorization for pension plans to reduce their own liabilities by redefining past promises.

Shame on all the parties. Shame!

December 15, 2014

 

Thought for the Day

 

This weekend consider this one idea:

                Be in this moment and enjoy your loved ones.

By Sunday evening when you go to bed you will understand why I asked you to do this.

If you like, share your thoughts with this blog.

Peace.

December 13, 2014

Torpedoes

A lot of global terminology and military ones, at that, lately! Wonder why? Because that’s mostly what readers of the media get these days. Oh, a big exception: celebrity news trumps just about everything but serious weather events. You know they do!

I caught an article this morning regarding the struggles Obama is having – has had long term – to cohere his policies in the foreign affairs and military spheres. This is his legacy he is attempting to engineer. He has good bones there but he has been frustrated repeatedly by events and political enemies.

Let’s forget that republicans have targeted Obama with a wish/prayer/hope for failure. They have been steadfast in that goal and have seemingly achieved it. There is one problem with that opinion, however, the tarnished and tarnisher are often confused by the public, and especially by history. Time will tell if history catches up with republican terrorists during the Obama presidency. I sincerely hope history does this. Then Boner and McConnell will be seen as the destroyers that they are. Maybe even traitors?

My point consistently has been they do this work at the destruction of the nation they have sworn to protect and defend. They have spent endless trillions on wars and military excursions sponsored only by republicans. The rest of America has paid the price, especially our military men and women. And of course those workers impoverished by such policies. And they are legion in this post Bush/Cheney Era.

As republican pols continue to paint all national failures and problems on democrats, they fail to realize the public and historians have no reason to believe them. In fact, the more noise they make, the more tainted they become because of the attention they are drawing toward themselves. That is the precise point of defeat. It will take time for this to become obvious.

So, torpedoes away! Strike any target that has an Obama connection and hope the fault will be associated with him.

So, we toy with targets regardless of their value to our people and nation. These include:

·         Economic matrices – unemployment, inflation/deflation, wealth accumulation, gap between high and low income groups, etc.

·         Military disruption of mission – unnecessary deaths of personnel in uniform, waste in materiel, logistics, support infrastructure for military operations, research and development for future military missions, etc.

·         Foreign policy with the global community – enemy lines redefined and made more complex, failure of reputation with allies, misery index raised for poor peoples throughout the globe, disruption of ‘normal relations’ among friendlies and unfriendlies, etc.

·         Education program supports for research and development that rewards industries partisans love; talk about dislocation of national resources affecting the future!

·         International welfare programs and Foreign Aid designed to assuage regional health crises (Ebola, AIDS, drought, starvation, etc.)

·         Allied military agreements and ability to follow through with established promises

·         And the list goes on…

The Iraq War was a major goof. Afghanistan was the target. Obama was straddled by both at the same time. Any pull out from Iraq was a disaster waiting to happen and to lay blame for; it was unwinnable in the first place; it had not limiting goal to define success; thus it was doomed to fail.

Same with Afghanistan’s struggles. It is a culture war not a military one. Yet we went in to find Osama bin Laden and to curtail the Taliban enough for Afghans to take control of their own country. The latter has failed regardless of which misguided friendly nation has volunteered to help Afghanistan over the decades. We are just the most recent. But we did locate and kill bin Laden. Mission accomplished. Finally! And now is the time to withdraw our troops and military support. It is Afghan country and it is up to the Afghans to run their own business.

But wait! Congressional meddling hobbles both the Iraq and Afghanistan missions. And who gets the blame? Obama, of course. Meanwhile our military personnel continue to die, our trillions continue to be spent, and military industries and vendors in America are getting rich at the expense of all the other worthy industries and priority programs.

While education, health care, economic stability and replacement of our crumbling infrastructure ought to be high priority items in America, they aren’t. Instead political folderol is the order of the day.

Are we citizens strong enough to defuse congress and get our country moving in the right direction again? I wonder about that. Congress just passed the authority for pension plans to be cut by up to 40% to restore financial stability to those plans. What about the workers? The families? The promise to future generations? Are employers to be trusted? Are governments? Are businesses, especially the financial industry?  Grave questions. Grave answers loom.

Why is this? Is it all because of politics?

If it is, what do we do about it?

December 12, 2014

 

Torturous Times?

Well the well-known cat is out of the bag. America tortures its international terrorism captives, or maybe all of its enemy captives? The ogre specter of horror movies pops to mind. America as the enemy? At least in the mind’s eye? Or maybe in the actual eye?

Of course America has tortured those captives that appear to hold the secrets that will save lives. We would be irresponsible if we didn’t torture those people. Their sense of freedom, decency and pursuit of happiness is greatly at odds from our own. They have cast themselves as Satanists of the American public for political and pseudo religious reasons. All specious. But they would not agree.

So they torture and produce events of ghastly terrorism against innocents.

Our response is quick, avid and equally harsh. That’s the language they understand. After all they have a reputation of suicide bombers – willing to die for the cause. Once they make that commitment the rest is easy, seems to me. That is precisely why we have to fight them with all we have.

Is this an American response? No; far from it. Americans are much kinder than that. They see the good in people. Oh sure, we have the nasty-s among us who jump to negative conclusions about most people and act accordingly. We call them cynics or criminals. Either way they may influence behavior in others but they do not influence a whole people. They are viewed as losers in our society.

No. We prefer to see the good side, the positive side of people and act accordingly if proven wrong. That gives good a chance to survive even in the worst of situations. On the opposite side it also gives chance to the upper hand for bad being done. We encounter that often. It is the tactic that unnerves and surprises victims into acting as the bad guy hopes. But the advantage is temporary. Our national resolve and reaction will be quick and damaging. Once identified the enemy is not treated with silk gloves.

As a policy question, however, America prefers to be a non-torture nation. It goes against the grain. So we claim a policy position that is anti-torture.

That is well and good. Following 9-11 in 2001, however, America adopted a firmer stance. We would adopt a silent policy of torture if we saw a means to an end. And the Bush-Cheney administration did just that. They opened Guantanamo as a terrorist prison and interrogation center. Off shore from America and near impossible to escape from. Guantanamo inmates were treated starkly and roughly. They were questioned and tortured to reveal what they knew/know. When that failed, they simply shipped them back to a nation where the torture standards were much more relaxed, or handed over to their natural enemies who were demonstrably vicious compared to American standards. They either talked or died. Either manner was hard to survive.

The mechanisms of this policy, however, are insidious. They provide the structure through which torture is easily accomplished once begun. Nevermind the research findings of the opposite: torture delivers results that are unreliable and misleading. From weak captives their ‘testimony’ is inferior to those with higher authority and resolve. We get little of value from them. From stronger willed inmates torture delivers misleading information that proves little better than useless.

Of course some good information is captured from torture. That’s why we and other nations do it.

What everyone seems to miss, however, is that torture spoils the doer as much as the done-to. We become less as a result.

On a NPR broadcast with the BBC recently, a former American diplomat said the torture report released by the Senate this week was a good thing. Although embarrassing the report and following discussion will force the American people to discuss the issue and hopefully produce a clear national consensus. What that consensus is will be determined. Only fools would forecast it at this early date.

Willing to appear foolish, I suspect American citizens will urge against torture but allow their government to pursue torture tactics in select circumstances. Of course this is a slippery slope that will require more discussion in another 20 years or so. You know, to arrive on yet another, fresh consensus on the subject.

That is the nature of torture. It is as much a revenge action as it is a hoped for strategy to unearth valuable information. In the end it does the latter only because it shows us our inner mettle as human beings. We are flawed and will pursue this means I predict.

December 11, 2014