Thought for the Day

Education is our focus today. Timothy Meegan of the Chicago Sun-Times said this:

“Our schools are being starved into failure in order to justify mass privatization.”

In Chicago a struggle for improving public schools is historic. There are three bodies of thought on this issue:

First, public schools are a birthright of our nation and deserve to be supported to the same point of excellence that we expect from our citizens who graduate from those same schools. We get what we pay for. No greater or less an expectation than this.

Second, parochial education is a religious freedom issue and the Catholic schools have always been a strong part of Chicago’s history. Yet they seem always to be in competition with the public schools. The financial support public schools get from taxpayers is resented by the parochial system. This is not a small undercurrent issue in Chicago.

Third, supporters of private schools believe that excellence in education ought to be left to the free market. There are families who can afford to send their kids to the best schools money can buy. This is more a mark of elitism than excellence of education. Charter schools are an attempt to move this political issue to a forefront.

Thus public education is starved of financial resources needed to do the job. Those resources are spent on the political process to make decisions. Resources are also kept in trim so as not to compete too freely with parochial school interests.

Another player in this issue is the Chicago Teachers Union. It is a major political player in decision making affecting the public schools in Chicago. That ought not be the case. They are not responsible for the quality of the schools. The union is responsible for the compensation and benefit structure of its members. Period. That concern is not the same thing as concern for the quality of public education.

We do not elect the union to run our schools. The teachers elect the union to safeguard their own well being. If and when the costs of that well being reduce the education system to poverty, then both the education product is reduced as well as the contribution of the teachers in the system.

Reversing that is paramount to saving the public school system in Chicago. It doesn't take a mayor or a teacher or a union to make this happen. It takes all three acting together for the common good of our city, its future, and its people.

When might we expect such behavior?

February 28, 2015

High Cost of Celebrity

It is not easy being a celebrity. It might seem magical to the uninitiated – the lights flashing, cameras clicking, public excitement as you enter a room, face recognition in public media, adoring fans – that sort of thing. The celebrity surely feels loved. Respected.

The attention may seem nice at the beginning but it must wear on the celeb’s privacy, quiet and serenity. On a bad day a brave front is needed for all to see, a grand smile and polite nature helps in almost every situation. But get caught with a sneer or frown and watch the media react. They will turn on the adored one.

It’s almost as though our social template requires us to build up a celebrity’s persona and place him on a very high pedestal just so we can tear them down in a grand whoosh. This model is followed time and time again. Just think of Tiger Woods. He is perhaps the greatest golfer of our age, yet he was attacked unmercifully and brought down. Why does the public believe it has this right? Who are they to judge the other person? Are each of us so perfect that we deserve to be slapped down?

I don’t think so. I think this temptation shows a raw base of our human condition. We are flawed so this is accepted. But we are referring here to us, not the judged.

Tiger Woods is a good, decent and talented person. He deserves our respect and acceptance. His personal life is his own. He needs to own it and live it as best he can. It is not the public’s right to sit in judgment of him and his family.

Bruce Jenner was idolized as an Olympic Champion. A decathlon ideal. Young and vibrant then. Handsome and wholesome. Now decades later we learn his youth was troubled by sexual identity and orientation. As young as 5 years of age Bruce felt at odds with his male identity. He felt more a girl but suppressed those thoughts and expression for decades. He assumed the mantle of a rugged, talented athlete. And man was he successful! He was idolized as such.

Now he is transitioning to becoming a woman! Amazing in it own right. Even more so that our society has evolved so far to talk about it and adapt to it.

Between his athletic career and his new sexual identity, he became known as a ‘Kardashian’. How that came about I do not know. Nor do I care. As a Kardashian, however, Jenner became a celebrity without portfolio. There is no earthly reason that the Kardashians are famous. They have produced very little and are no better or more beautiful than anyone else on the planet. Why America has made this family famous is beyond my imaginings. They obviously have terrific publicists who made this all possible, and all for money.

Because of this, however, Bruce Jenner is caught in a multiple of public images. The media feels he is fair game. He has an auto accident and a person would think this is the most important facet of his life. Was he to blame for the accident? Who knows? Not one of us could possibly know. It is not our job to re-engineer an accident site and determine what actually happened and who is to blame for the event. Indeed, blame belongs to many people and circumstances. Most likely the blame will not settle on one person. The media however would like you to believe otherwise. It’s good for their ratings that we pay attention to this.

Look, this is an auto accident. One of thousands happening every day in America. The trend line of auto accidents are interesting and ought to be if we understand them and improve driving skills and auto design to lessen accidents and their outcomes. But to focus on one person in detail is nuts.

Bruce Jenner has been dubbed a celebrity. So he is a public target. That’s a high price to pay for celebrity whether asked for or not.

I think we need to tone down our public adulation of celebrities. Most of them don’t deserve all the attention. And in private matters they deserve privacy.

Then again there are more important matters for us to attend to. Scan the headlines of what passes as news. The life of celebrities is ranked quite high. Next comes weather events. Then war and chaos in various spots on the globe.

It’s time for Americans to get serious about their nation’s role in the world. Are we serious people? Are we doers and accomplishers of good and big things? Or are we the custodians of the mundane and tediously unimportant?

I fear the latter has the upper edge. The former – big things – is over due for a comeback. Perhaps the media could play this up for a time?

February 27, 2015

More Than We Can Handle?

I was in a meeting the other day. A wonderful fellowship of diverse people around the room who came together to talk about their own problems and challenges. Some sharing was simple and direct. A few were quite heavy – ill health, impending death, tragically broken relationships of long standing. Some dealt with aging and the accompanying struggles.

But all focused on happiness, getting along and making the best of whatever came their way.

In the final moments of life, that last statement is really what all of life is about, isn't it? I could spend a lot of time bewailing higher auto insurance premiums, tax liabilities that simply are not fair, medical insurance premiums that seemingly have no end, and co-pays, deductibles and the forever expanding list of exclusions. What a nightmare. And this problem of aging doesn't even address the busy schedule of doctor appointments; pharmacy visits at all hours, a few trips to the Emergency Room or the simple matter of transportation to all of these!

These are some of the things my parents didn't tell me! Should I be surprised? Not really. These are the snags of life we encounter and deal with. Parents don’t usually share these details with their kids because it may sound like whining. So surprise is our fate when we learn what they endured without our knowing of it. Now it is our turn.

And that is OK. With a deep breath we move forward and accept our fate. We deal with it as it is. We also come to understand that is not a bad thing. It is an adventure filled with discovery and understanding of things we once thought was a mystery. The unveiling of certain truths is uncovered. The old adages now carry meaning for us.

With tears and stifled sobs the fellowship poured out their sadness and struggles. In the giving is freedom. Openness finds comfort. We breathe again, this time with new certainty. We are stronger than we thought.

The pastor of my church harbors some envy of our group. She knows we meet life more honestly than the church fellowship does. In our honesty and openness we can be present in the lives of our compatriots. In the church’s gathering personal honesty is held back, snipped in the bud enough to keep members from fully knowing each other. And their problems and challenges.

Our openness is an invitation to embrace each other and all of our weaknesses and humanity. Acceptance of the whole person is the secret to feeling whole in the first place. If church members did this within their fellowship they might experience a marvelous new light in their lives.

Fellowship is best experienced in honesty. Giving witness to another person’s discomfort while sharing one’s own is the embrace of acceptance. That just might be the element in group life that is missing in our daily living.

Resilient people swing and sway with life’s challenges. Observers think these people are special and strong. We often think they are mature models of what we should be. Truth be told we are all capable of being the same. Resilient people recognize what they cannot control or change. They experience these as immutable forces of nature, of realities of life. No sense complaining; best to laugh them off and seek shelter! Then proceed on your path.

Struggle gives strength and wisdom if we allow it. But we must experience the struggle to gain from it. It is this process that allows us to survive much we felt impossible. We learn from the process. First we must embrace it and accept it.

Too much to handle? Naw! Just another adventure to add to our life’s experience. And strength.

February 26, 2015

What Can We Do?

A quiet life is hard to acquire. And then we wonder if we are bored yet! So we think afresh what we do with our time and what we would like to do.

For some this is charitable tasks and pastimes. Others will indulge their hobbies while others immerse themselves in family matters. Still others will seek the means of community work in which governance matters are engaged.

The news then and now would include who’s saying what and about what topic, all while urging others to do as he wants and to avoid doing what the others are urging upon the public. The discussion rapidly becomes a debate, and then a war of propaganda.

Abraham Lincoln encountered these problems massively – before, during and after the Civil War.  He said:

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who would pervert the Constitution.”

He would know. The abolitionist movement was a hard master of the day. If philosophy, theology and loving hearts are to be obeyed, slavery had to go. It was not a decision done lightly or in short order. No, generations struggled with the issue and finally evolved to a decision to free the slaves no matter what. The Civil War was the ‘what’. The South refused what they believed to be the hegemony of the North. And thus the War Between the States began. It was not all about slavery, but rather economics and the social underpinning of the economics of the region.

Two nations were the result, one the constitutional nation of America (the North) and the other the Confederate States of America. Two different constitutions. Two vastly different anchors of belief. So much blood followed and loss of life the scars live to this day.

Lincoln chose to live up to the Constitution. It was a lonely decision and placed him in lonely outposts while the war was conducted in all of its gruesomeness. Not something he wanted, but he did support and protect the Constitution regardless of the price.

In other times other issues capture the public’s attention. The war of words develops and we call that the ‘nightly news’. Here’s a quote that might help you understand that routine news hour:

“If the words don’t add up it’s usually because the truth wasn’t included in the equation.”          ~Author Unknown

This quote helps me deal with the noise others pass off as opinions and news. I seek the truth and find that a most difficult task. Once confronted by irrefutable truth, it is not always easy to understand or recognize it. We are not always gifted with the logic and contextual data that helps determine the truth of any matter let alone the claims of those who we mightily trust.

Truth is all around us but not always recognized. We have our filters turned on to shroud the truth as though behind a mask. How on earth are we then to know the truth?

Throughout the ages wise old people have asked that question with no clear answer. We too have to stumble through our own age of doubt and wonder.

At the end of the day we are left with a beautiful statement by the Dalai Lama who said:

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”

Live by loving, believing and doing. The best way we know how is also required but left unsaid. If we bring clear minds and pure hearts to this situation we have a better chance to find the truth. Pondering the lessons of all the yesterdays and the possibilities of the unseen tomorrows, will help us do better with the present. Not always will this be conclusive, but the chances are improved that we will encounter truth and do it justice.

February 25, 2015

A Birthday & ?

Today is my mother’s 101^st birthday. That’s quite an achievement. Mom doesn't read this blog mainly because she doesn't own a computer anymore, doesn't know how to use the newer ones anyhow, so we are left with written letters and phone calls. It is not a two way street communication-wise. Her memory is more instant – short term and focused on now.

My sister lives near her and reads letters from me to her. Often she interrupts the reading to question “who are these people being named?”  When I hear that, of course, I am a little heart struck to learn that mom is fading away from her life-long context.

Living in the now is OK. In fact living in the present is an achievement many miss out on entirely. Distractions aplenty exist. We tend to lose ourselves in the details of life rather than the meaning thereof. A constant onslaught of such distractions.

We are in the Lenten season for Christians. If you are a believer and study the church calendar and struggle to learn what it all means, you would know at this time of year Jesus has been baptized and immediately is called on an odyssey of 40 days and nights in the desert. What on earth for you say? Well here’s one way of looking at it, at least symbolically.

Jesus is called, that is something greater than himself impels him to ditch what is familiar to him and to explore the desert for a prolonged time. This calling is an act of faith, that God and the holy spirit have urged him to seek otherness and to trust in God. He does and encounters the dearth of food, companionship and water of the desert. He learns survival skills. But most importantly he learns to think clearly on what is important and what is not. He will exit the desert with a clear mind and straightforward purpose. He will have survived the beasts of the desert, too, and know that he has trusted God to keep him safe. This is an important lesson for Jesus and us.

A parallel to modern day is a retreat that removes a person from familiar haunts and places him in a starkly different surround where he is challenged to survive on his own wits, learn clearly who he is as a person, and where he resides in the larger world. On retreat he is separated from the distractions of daily life. He prepares for a meaningful existence. He learns faith in himself and also others. Of course this retreat usually involves a private room with bed, regular meals taken in a dining hall, and group worship from time to time. Hardly an ‘alone experience’ like the desert!

Not a bad lesson to add to our survival skills for dealing with our modern chaos of life. Rarely do we experience peace and quiet. The most likely spot is in bed in the middle of the night when no distractions loom over our concentration and thinking process. To some degree peace and quiet is met in the car provided the sound system is turned off, the phone doesn't ring, and the electronics of the car don’t interrupt your concentration. Then again, driving is hardly a sport of isolation! The challenges of interpersonal dealings abound in every lane and intersection. Driving is a distraction to living. And yet we allow more distractions to enter that special cocoon where distractions are most dangerous.

We can impose a discipline that gains us solitude from time to time. We can monitor life’s distractions and shutter them for short whiles. It takes concentration and effort to accomplish this, but the payoff is alone time with the self.

I can only imagine what this alone time is for my mother. Perhaps it is too much with her? Maybe she would rather be in touch with those around her all the time? But life is clearly helping her get away from the hubbub. As her friends succumb to the silence of Alzheimer’s and finally to death, she will find her quiet.

The question is will she be quieted and purposeful then? Only she will know. And each of us when this time comes our way eventually.

Somber topic to ponder. Good to do even if it is disquieting.

February 24, 2015

Love America?

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani claims to know that President Obama does not love America! He further claims this is because Obama was not raised like the rest of ‘us’ and can’t possibly love our nation as those who have been born and raised totally within America’s culture.

What a ditz he is.

I always wondered what bothered me about Giuliani. Now I think I know. He is intellectually bland, perhaps zero. Empathy, logic, search for truth and understanding, allowing differences to exist among those folks different than ourselves, those sort of elements in a person’s character are missing in Giuliani. Oh he played to the masses in his sympathy for victims and families of victims of 9/11. He was masterful at that. A hand holder. We need hand holders from time to time; they are comforting. But governing? We need more substantive qualities – like telling the truth and being positive.

He seems distracted. Only into social things and politics because somehow it feeds his ego, brings him some type of fulfillment that he cannot do for himself.

Thank God he never got far on his presidential journey. As it is New York City suffered under his tutelage. Mayor Bloomberg pulled the city out of its deep morass and rebuilt it carefully and consistently over several years. What previous mayors proved unable to do, Bloomberg set the record straight and proved the others wrong. Or at least ineffectual.

So now, here we have Giuliani again, back in the public eye speaking nonsense much as he has before. Only this time his outrageous behavior is bordering on treason. Like speaking ill of the dead, speaking junk about a sitting President discredits the nation, the office targeted, and the sitting President. It also demeans the coterie of friends who were addressed by Giuliani in the first place. Why do they even listen to him?

I think I know why they listen: because they are people who can only feel good about themselves if they can demonize another person. In this instance it is a political foe they have lost to repeatedly and they desperately want to understand why.

The why is pretty simple: people who focus all their energy on tearing someone down miss working toward the good they think should be the objective of the nation. Trouble is they have no ideas in that regard. Their sole belief is that government is bad in any form, and that government must be shrunk to minimize the damage it can do.

It seems odd to me that people, who claim to be patriots and celebrate American history and the US Constitution, have made destroying what the Constitution stands for their calling card. Only they know what’s good for the country. Only they know who should serve as leaders. Only they can recognize who we should be afraid of, the enemies to be shredded, you know the drill. They are the prophets of doom and gloom. And we should be very afraid. Of what, I've never been certain.

9/11 was a disaster visited on our nation. It happened for many reasons, many too complicated and convoluted for us to understand. This has left many of our people as innocent observers or non-observers of what goes on in our country. They are easy marks for the likes of Giuliani and his pals in his political party.

Sowing fear is their easiest tactic. Finding wedge issues that have no lasting impact on our nation but seem to hit opinion nerves are the strength of the GOP: abortion, gay marriage, religious freedom, freedom of speech – you know the issues that republicans often tout to gain attention. Their sound bites are legion.

Each of their ‘issues’ can be civilly discussed, even debated without harm to the body politic. However when they are bandied about as sound bites little can be done with them. They are mini bombs designed to fuel unrest. Unrest, not factual debate or problem solving.

The energy we lose playing this game would better be spent on studying problems and finding solutions. Even determining proper priorities for solving each problem would be an advancement. But we cannot do this work if our attention is spent on the other nonsense.

Rudy is a master at that nonsense. Voters have rejected him on a national scale before. Strange that his ‘friends’ still listen.

Or is that only the media out to grab ratings?

President Obama loves his family, nation, God and truth. He cares that we get down to business with the nation’s business. Thank God for that!

February 23, 2015

Thought for the Day

Truth

Mark Twain said: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

He also said: “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

Oscar Wilde wrote: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

And Gloria Steinem shared this about truth: “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”

These are some of the many faces of truth we meet each and every day. We think we are being true and correct in our thinking and actions. But those appear differently to other people. Which, then, is the truth?

I've found that seeing the big picture is difficult and takes discipline honed over years. We tend to see everything in terms of today – this moment – when in reality all things big and small, easy or difficult, exist in their larger context. Seen in that setting can truth be discerned more accurately.

And then we only think so; we cannot possibly know so!

February 21, 2015

Pondering ISIS

Day by day we read reports on the Middle East and its attendant chaos. It is oil production and wealth on the one hand coupled with political disagreements among the caliphates, kingdoms and ancient lands that have been there since prehistory. Thousands of years of prehistory; biblical epics in private and public, then in scrolls handed down through millennia. That’s how history began, the recorded facts and happenings of people large and small in scrolls, deep thinking persons, and finally encapsulated in their institutions.

Those institutions morphed into other forms, overheads and followers through some thousands of years. Today’s religious institutions are the results of that long history. And the history continues as it always has, changing and morphing yet into newer versions of yesterday’s beliefs and rites.

Radical Islam – today, yesterday and tomorrow – is a topic with the world’s rapt attention. We are paying attention precisely because we think we know the roots of Islam, and think about radical behavior, put the two together and then think we understand radical Islam. We don’t.

More importantly we don’t know how to deal with it. Not just ‘we’ in America, but the global ‘we’. Leaders throughout the globe do not understand Islam let alone Radical Islam. Yet we have to live with it in some manner, defend our respective borders from incursions of ‘evil and disruption’. In the doing of that defense, however, we are broadcasting our misunderstanding of the enemy. We don’t know the enemy. We think we do; but we don’t.

Perhaps we ought to change that right now.

Current media reports are of course riddled with political sentiment. That’s one thing we have to avoid in the future. Political discourse and dis-ingenuousness are distractions we can ill afford as a nation let alone the global community. Such is a scourge on the potential and well being of mankind. It is time we understood this.

Netanyahu doesn't know better how to deal with radical Islam than President Obama. Neither does John McCain or any other self-serving politician out of power. Their voices are noise. They produce chaos and an expansion of ignorance that adds to the chaos.

Instead we should pay attention to those voices among us that focus on matters of social organizations, religions, theology and culture. Other disciplines should be included as well.

For starters, Graeme Wood is a Canadian journalist and a political science lecturer at Yale. He has written extensively for high quality intellectual journals and magazines on topics related to world concerns. His latest scholarly work is a paper entitled “What ISIS Really Wants” as published in the National Journal. I picked it up on a news feed through MSN’s daily news website.

Wood’s article is deep. Its complexity mirrors the Gordian maze of Islam itself and its many rivers of followers throughout the religion. Islam is not just one thing or institutions. It is many things, organizations, religions and so on. Dealing with it as one is a major strategic error. And Graeme Wood points this out.

How is the world to deal with such radicalism when it appears to be entrenched in a major religion? Precisely the issue, Wood avers, and warns that we have done it wrong. Not just the UN or America, but the entire global community. We have done so because we don’t understand the ‘enemy’.

Read his article, then ask yourself the horde of questions that surely follow. Eventually we wind up with this prophetic (and pathetic) query: “What is the appropriate response of the global community to the threat of any radicalized religious sect? And then how do we craft a response that is both realistic and reassuring to all of the combatants embroiled in the effort?”

Educate ourselves so we are better thinkers and doers. It begins with understanding those we do not understand. And it also requires us to open our minds and think through the complexities of cultural and religious beliefs of those same people. It won’t hurt understanding our own cultural and religious beliefs (biases?) as well.

Then and only then can we resume doing the work that the world deserves of us. Stop complaining. Start understanding. Then get to work.

February 20, 2015

Life after Work

Most people think retirement is life after work. My experience suggests something else is at play.

First, life is always with you unless it isn't – that is dead. Blunt I know. But it is the truth, isn't it? Life is to be lived. If it is avoided life is diminished. The possibilities shrink. The hope for something in the future fades away. Joy ebbs. Laughter becomes a little less present.

So, on the one hand we have life, on the other death. Always has been that way. Basic facts of existence. With or without you.

So it is up to you, and to me, to live while we are alive. Make the most of the possibilities, the potentials.

After fifty years of work or so, most people retire. They cease work. At least that’s what we say, but a more accurate statement is, they cease working for financial remuneration. They live off of their savings or pension plans. They simplify living arrangements to lower costs and avoid expenses that aren't planned.

Retirement does not mean the absence of work, however. There is plenty of work. Chores pop to mind. Those are the things we have to do to survive. Want to eat? Then you have to first buy the food, then prepare it, eat it, and clean up after all of those activities. Those are chores. Pleasant ones, perhaps, but chores nonetheless.

So to sleeping arrangements. Beds are good for a night’s rest. Better if they are freshly made and kept so. Therefore laundry and bed keeping tasks exist. We do them as a daily routine.

Same for clothing. We wear clothes to hide our bodies from public view (polite society, you know!) and of course we wear clothes to keep warm, stylish, healthy, and a host of other reasons. All clothing needs cleaning, care, mending or replacement. Just the shopping for clothing is a chore. But all the other tasks are as well.

And cleaning the apartment or home. Getting the car washed or doing it myself.

There are other chores certainly. Preparing and paying taxes is a chore. Arranging for service and merchandise and then paying for them is another chore. Paying bills and balancing the checkbook. Lots of activities to keep us busy.

There are activities we do because we are interested in them, or wish to contribute something special to our surroundings. The community soul needs to be fed. Social activities abound in most towns and cities. So too are interest areas like charitable institutions, the arts, education, health and medical care for others. Getting involved in a church community is a major commitment for many people. I include our homestead in that commitment. There are other groups and organizations that beg for our involvement. We donate time and energy to several organizations with community missions.

This work speaks to a personal mission we have for the self. We don’t get paid for it because we don’t expect it, need it, or really deserve it. We do these things because they give dimension to our lives. They mean something very special to us.

My career was long and varied and mostly enjoyable. I was paid well throughout. It paid for college educations for the kids. It provided travel and vacation forays that expanded the minds of the family.

Post career I still do work. But now it is because I need to for entirely different reasons. In retirement I can do what I really want to do with my time. And that’s OK. It fulfills me.

And I’m pretty certain that’s what we would call doing a living rather than making a living.

Works for me!

February 19, 2015

Pulling in the Same Direction?

A fire burns out a home; a family is homeless until the insurance company provides the authorization to rebuild or rehabilitate the structure. The community draws together to help the family with replacement space in which to live, clothes to wear, food to eat. Comfort and safety flow from the community to the family. 

A child walking to school is hit by a car while crossing a street. The child dies. The school community as well as the neighborhood responds. Parents from several blocks around appear the next morning to walk kids in groups to and from school to their own home blocks. They do this until crossing guards or stop signs and traffic lights are installed to improve safety for the kids.

Water tables rise in a season of unprecedented rain and snow melt. Rivers and streams rise. Water spills over adjacent banks and roads. Local businesses are swamped with rising flood waters. Patrons of those businesses assemble at the beleaguered businesses and begin to bag sand to protect the doorways and windows and basements of the businesses. City crews supply the volunteers with sand, bags, and heavy equipment to assist with the work.

The same flood washes out a school’s interior. The entire community responds with alternate classroom space, supplies and emergency lunch programs for the students now continuing their education in temporary spaces.

On September 11, 2001 the City of New York experienced the first of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Later the Pentagon came under similar attack. Of course there was the third flight that was hijacked for another target but was commandeered by the passengers and flown into a vacant field in Ohio far from the intended target.

Over Ohio the passengers came together and did what they felt necessary to protect other innocents from terrorist death and injury.

In Washington DC and New York City, thousands of police, fire and medical personnel responded to help. 3000 innocents died. 500 first responders died. Countless thousands died early deaths from health effects of the attack. Still more thousands live lives with scarred psyche’s. Their cases of post traumatic stress disorder.

But more was suffered from 9/11. A nation’s sense of itself and its vulnerability was a clear victim. So too the global community. They came to understand that terrorist attacks can and do affect many population centers throughout the world. And they could be next.

The good news: responders gather and pull together in the right direction to make things whole for the sufferers and the community.

In the aftermath of terrorist attacks the nation – our nation – pulled together and formed safety networks and early warning protocols to defend against terrorism. Such efforts have worked quite well. Large and clumsy to be sure, and costly. But effective nonetheless.

But now comes political Washington DC, primarily the republicans once again. They are arguing over who gets the say about budget and policy and government programs. The house of representatives under john boner’s leadership has claimed they are in control of budgeting for the Department of Homeland Security. The quid pro quo for this is the President’s immigration program. Cripple the latter or cripple the former. That is boner’s tactic this time around.

But the Senate says no. Majority leader McConnell (republican again!) doesn't want to give into this demand of the house of representatives.

Boner declares Homeland Security will be shut down as a consequence.

How interesting! Who’s pulling in which direction? What is the good that needs doing? Why are we not doing that? Gentlemen and women, isn't governance about getting things done rather than destroying them? And what about security and safety of the innocents?

The political mindset of 2015 appears to be no better than what we have endured since 2001. A disgrace. Mindless and unprincipled, too.

This fight does nothing to build confidence in ourselves or our nation. It is a rich embarrassment.

But you all voted these clowns into office. Not me and the friends I respect were pulling in a better direction. How did Washington DC (and Springfield, Illinois) become so messed up?

February 18, 2015

Reading or Viewing

Scanned the news on the internet this morning. Found a number of items of interest. Clicked on the stories to follow and got…a video site. That stopped me in my tracks.

If I’m interested in seeing something – a picture, video or graphic – then that’s OK. But a video instead of a piece of literature to read and ponder? That simply is not the same thing as ‘news’ in my book.

TV news – prime network or cable – is a very shorthand summary of what’s going on in the world. It does not cover the what, who, when, and where of the news very well. It doesn't come close to covering the why, either.

As a news consumer we should all be interested in what is happening. It makes us think and remain ‘in the moment’. Missing, however, is the analysis, the historical context, the connection to other topics that feed this news event. These are all the major elements of covering the news. Why did this event occur? What does this mean for the future? What do experts think about this news item? In the short term what does it mean; and in the long term, what does it suggest will happen?

I am not suggesting opinion pieces should be part of the news. Commentary is helpful at times, but not always accurate. Today we know too many news programs are loaded with opinion, ideology and manipulated views. We do not need more of that. Much less is preferred!

What I’m getting at is the bare bones approach to presenting the news so recipients can process the event for themselves and gather some perspective along the way. News research and investigative reporting is less evident today than at any time in my memory. And that’s a shame.

Flipping on the TV for a shot of news at expected hours is a convenience that begins to dwarf the mind if that’s where our curiosity leaves us. As responsible adults and citizens we should be motivated by the news reports to learn more. The evening news should inform us but alert us to the need for our own personal research.

With the internet at hand we have a super tool to follow up on the news. We can follow the items that interest us the most. The process expands our knowledge and our thinking process.

Unfortunately I’m seeing more and more internet ‘news’ presentations as video shorthand similar to TV news. We are being fed shorthand reports on shorthand reports.

This leads to the stunting of our minds, our logic, our appreciation of the journey of how arenas of discussion and intellect morph from one phase to another until we have some meaningful knowledge base to share with others for the common good.

TV news in my mind is a lazy excuse for being informed. It should entice us to seek more information and expand our life experience.

Providing more lazy approaches to ‘information’ in increasing masses of layers on the internet does not help one bit. It only engorges the consumer with more useless information designed to entertain rather than inform.

Pick up any large daily newspaper today and witness the downsizing of its news template. Switch to any news magazine and see a similar shrinkage. Jump to the internet to find more content and prepare to be stunned at the lack thereof. Forget TV news – cable or big three media outlets – they are already a downsized shrimp of what they once were.

Sound bites. That’s what we get. Whether on TV or over the internet, we are getting more of the same. Sound bites.

They contain very little substance. They are powerful in creating images, however, just like advertising does. But the ad business is designed to attract consumers to a product or point of view (propaganda).

And there you find the reason behind the dumbing down of America. In the ratings race for more viewers, more ad dollars at higher rates is the desired result. More volume of traffic. Not more information. Not more understanding. Decidedly not more exercise of brain matter.

The dumbing down of America is well on its way to making history. Now that’s news!

February 17, 2015

Believing in You

Why is it so difficult for others to believe in the good of other people? It seems an automatic truth that we distrust others before we trust them. Meet a stranger and wonder what he’s up to? Or observe him a bit and decide he’s OK? Or settle on something else?

In public discourse – mostly through public media – I can understand why we are skeptical at first, but over time we develop trust levels for the media outlet or its staff. In that case we come to trust them – the media outlet and the staff. Like NBC News and Brian Williams. Or CBS News and Walter Cronkite? Or David Brokaw and many others?

It is normal to become comfortable with those personages we tap each day for news about the world. It is routine and expectable. We go on automatic pilot and hear the happenings of the day from these people. Usually we do this with few questions.

That is until we catch an error, or an overstatement, or a slightly bruised report on what happened and why. Maybe it is the ‘why’ being answered for us that sparks a tiny bit of suspicion that what we are hearing isn't exactly the whole truth. I’m not sure why a question develops in my head at the time, but the question builds until I’m questioning my trust in the person and his message.

Brian Williams is of course a good example of this. Colored news is what we are mulling now after revelations that Williams didn't exactly report the news accurately. He colored his role in it. He made the event sound a bit more hazardous to his person than it actually was. Eventually we begin to question not just what he reports, but the explanation as to why the happening occurred in the first place.

It is a short distance to wondering what was left out intentionally, or what was inserted as fact when it was truly a supposition. Reporting the news is difficult precisely because it involves our interest, wonder and integration into our established mindset. Internally we are asking – “How does this report affect my understanding of the topic?” Has my past thinking been in error on this subject?”

Something happens and we have to feel comfortable with it in our own context. If it doesn't we wonder longer and deeper as to its meaning.

A reporter senses this void of wonder in his audience. He attempts to fill it. He explains what has happened and what is the likely cause. The trouble is he doesn’t know the latter. Not really. And he won’t until much later when all the facts are in and the relationships of still more facts and tangential parts of the story become fully known. This takes time. And thinking. And wondering.

Soon, without solid facts to go on, opinion creeps into the scenario. Too often the opinion is a shading of the facts, and impartial collection of events, and then a conclusion is drawn without all the supporting details.

Placed in the context of cable news outlets, mainline public news networks scramble to compete with the latest headlines and news. Perhaps the rush is the problem. At any rate short cuts are easily taken and news reports are aired prior to full vetting of the facts. If that is true – and it may not be, others will need to make that judgment – it is a short step to doing the same with self aggrandizing reporting. The reporter becomes the personality and the expected expert.

Something larger is born. The news is enhanced by personality. And the report may be false but delivered in a beautiful package that cannot possibly seem bad.

When news is altered by fact, context or personality, we are consumers of propaganda rather than history in the making.

Journalism in our current age is fraught with many problems. Consumer beware. Sad but true, whether on the local scene or international stage.

We grieve not for the Brian Williams of today’s news industry, but rather to the loss of our innocence.  And trust.

February 16, 2015

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln

The tree has taken years to grow, survive and develop strong roots to rely upon. It has weathered many storms, dry and wet periods, scarcity of food as well, and neglect. Or maybe lots of love, too?

Character has grown in place as well with much effort. But its permanence is questionable.

Which is more real to you? Shadow or tree?

February 14, 2015

Sorting It Out

The sun is shining as I write this. It is cold, near zero wind chill with the wind blowing out of the north at 20 miles an hour. Later the wind will boost to 30 mph. Over the weekend the chills will drop well below zero with only a slight chance of freezing precipitation. That’s the news on the local weather front!

The car is dirty from road salt. Most of routine tasks have been cared for. My personal agenda includes preparing taxes, reading, preparing for mentoring sessions with SCORE clients, preparing for a consulting engagement (rare these days!), keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, this blog and family relationships.

Still being sorted out is the fallout from newspaper troubles. Will we close down? If so, when? Who will do all the work? Is there a chance to save the paper and recruit volunteers to fill in the volunteer blanks? We have been reluctant to share financial ills with the community, just asking them for annual pledges of help was all we dared to do. And of course we have asked the public for volunteers continually.

The request for dollars was strong at first, weak last year, and we don’t have much hope for this year. Same is true for volunteers. We haven’t explained our situation to the public really. I wonder if doing so would gain the help we need? But the management team seems locked in the position to keep news of the paper silent. The paper is not the news, they say. I think otherwise.

At any rate, if we did tell our story to the community might we expect an outpouring of assistance to keep the paper going? That is a special question of note. It is special because the nature of a newspaper is delicate as it reports the ‘news’ and the not news, and the social, opinion, events and other desiderata of the community. Some folks think the only thing that is important is their letter to the editor while others think the announcement of bingo night at their church is the all important item to include in the paper. And of course every organization in town wants its special promotions and fund raisers to be touted at no cost.

Coming attractions are promotions or advertisements. Happenings of the scheduled event is the real news. How did the event come off, who attended, and what was their purpose for the event and was that objective met? That’s news. But then those close to the event and the sponsoring organization(s) think this is a social and cultural happening that ought to be treated as news. They may be right. Or wrong. That’s one of the delicate lines to be played correctly by a newspaper. We get it right a lot of the times, but we miss the opportunity some of the time.

What’s happening in government circles is a wholly different subject. There are those who trust government no matter how small, or large, because they are involved with the government, its commissions and committees, or know the elected officials fairly well. Then too, if they are involved with many of the staff persons in various projects over the years, personal relationships tend to earn more trust. What’s happening in those circles? That depends on who you trust, the broad sweep of achievements, and the objectives, goals and priorities shared with the public by those same persons.

The context of all of this helps determine and discern what is fact and what is reportable. Just because a few people disagree or ‘smell a rat’ or are generally suspicious  of elected officials and all government, doesn't mean that something bad is happening or planned. The news is the suspicion, not the suspected.

That is not always easy to determine or even notice. Too bad because sides in this are chosen and if you are on the wrong side of ‘their’ chosen perception, you are the bad guy or the hero. Such is the nature of journalists in this day and age.

When one considers what’s good for a community there is an incipient judgment made. It only matters if that judgment is shared and discussed in the public. That goes for journalists, elected officials, and members of the public who set themselves up as critics of the established order. All three of these elements need to gather and speak openly about their ideas. Not their attacks or suspicions, but their ideas and priorities. Only then can the public’s agenda be established and worked on to fruitful ends.

Infighting doesn't accomplish much but damage to relationships needed to get the work done. Damaged relationships curtail volunteer input and efforts, as well as avoidance of the work needing to be done. All are hurt in this environment.

Too bad some folks think the real service to the public is making trouble and clouding the discussion. Nothing much gets done because of them. Critical thinking is one thing. Critical attacks are completely different. And they lead us not to a promising future.

February 13, 2015

Double Loss

OK, this was not a good week. On Tuesday I sat in a management team meeting for our small town newspaper. The three of us own and operate the paper, although assets are non-existent and profits are even rarer. But, we have always run the paper because the community needed and deserved it. A non-profit, all-volunteer organization, the Village Chronicles has been operating in one form or another for nearly seven years.

We began as a paper of positive voice and tone. We avoided the ‘gotcha’ behavior of so many publications. We wanted to chronicle the town as it is and encourage it to be all that it can be. Some people thought we were namby pamby, but hey, they weren't doing the work or paying the bills.

Our print run is 13,000 and 10,700 copies are mailed to each home and business in two communities. The rest are dropped at 35 or 40 locations with high traffic – restaurants, hotels, city halls, etc. No subscriptions were sold. Donations and ad sales were the sole source of revenue for the paper. And we maintained a low profit in politics. We didn't pick sides, didn't endorse candidates for public office; we do offer columns that explain controversies to educate the public so they would better understand what was going on in their local seats of government and make sense of the issues on their own.

Unfortunately one of our management team ran for city council a few years ago and withdrew. He had carved out an agenda for election that was decidedly not positively voiced, we argued that point with him. We didn't think his message was in keeping with the role and voice of the newspaper.

He is currently running for office again. Same agenda and same voice. We began the battle with him again. Even withheld publishing a column he had written. That edition was published fairly clean but a few items remained and the public reacted.

For his part he was upset that we would question his judgment and informed us Tuesday that he was resigning from the paper effective after the publication of our April issue. Just before the election.

Over the past weekend I was realizing that our disagreement with him had made me very uncomfortable. Although I feel our policy decision is sound, I realized the confrontation among friends who have worked together for nearly seven years ‘doing the impossible’ was destroying my will to remain with the newspaper. So I decided I would resign from the paper independent of my fellow team members.

He beat me to the resignation announcement!

So now the issue is more complex. For the short term, the paper could have survived my absence. The long term is another matter. But my team member also serves as our ad sales manager, IT manager and accountant. For the short term someone would have to step in and do that work as well.

I knew I was not able to do so. So the reality is: the paper will cease to exist in early April.

Two losses are taking place. A friendship on the one hand, and the newspaper on the other. Both are important to me. Both are irreplaceable.

The friendship loss is very personal and will not affect anyone else. But the loss of the paper will be felt by the entire community. At this point they don’t know this is happening. Even when they do learn of it, they will likely yawn and not be moved by it. A few weeks later, however, and something in the community’s life will be missed. At first they won’t be able to put their finger on it, but eventually they will know that a vital communication link has been lost. The community’s personality will likely shift a bit, too.

I think another important thing is this simple reality: a volunteer, non-profit entity formed to serve community needs failed to survive because no one stepped forward to help when needed. I have been seeking a managing editor to replace me. No takers. Our ad revenues are too low to afford hiring professional staff. Too much competition from non-print communication channels don’t you know? All in all this is not a good time for print journalism. Most newspapers are struggling financially. So are we.

If a community has difficulty forming volunteer groups to perform necessary services at no or low cost, then the community suffers. This is a symptom that needs to be addressed. Then too, the state of public discourse is in need of repair. Incivility is all too present. Opinion rules fact and logic. Meaningful dialog is thus hampered perhaps blocked entirely. Such is not good for the long term help of any community.

We are not afraid of the future; but we are alarmed for it. Meanwhile, those of us close to the newspaper will lick our wounds for both our losses: friendships and newspaper.

May our efforts not have been in vain!

February 12, 2015

Not Alright

Things change. That’s life. Onward to yet another point of equilibrium. Out of balance one moment, power and energy shift a bit here and there and suddenly things are in balance once again. Not to last very long, the balance is upset by yet another happening. Sometimes those are ideas. Some written, some spoken. But ideas shared with others bumps around and eventually others take up the idea, at least in part. This tiny shift of course sets loose a free fall of repercussions not noticed at the beginning. But eventually, ever so slightly, the repercussions add up and we do observe a change of some kind. That change once recognized causes yet other adaptations and reactions, causing their own consequences in time.

Sometimes that timing is nanoseconds; other times it is hours, days, weeks, and so on.

History is the story of mankind on earth. It notes the events big and small that have some noticeable effect that causes yet other effects. It takes time to see it all more clearly. And yes, more clearly is accurate; for it should be understood that total clarity about some history is impossible. We are not all-knowing creatures. We cannot see and understand everything that happens around us. Whether we are the actors that give cause to the events, or only mopes who are there on the scene to react and play our part in that trailing down of consequence.

With communications measured in nanoseconds in the year 2015, change can occur quickly. Very quickly. What we do about that change – the thing that makes us actually take action because it is unavoidable – is not always known or understood in advance.

An example might help here.

When Gutenberg invented the printing press with movable type, did he truly see how this would change the world? Most likely he did not. Soon thereafter, however, books were printed for the church and more for wealthy patrons. Private libraries slowly grew and centers of learning developed libraries. Then public libraries followed. None of this was done in a twinkling. It took centuries. But repercussions built faster and faster into new technologies and the rest is history.

We walk down the sidewalk reading the newspaper on our I-phone or tablet, or catch up on email on the subway or bus. We are in contact with our word images nearly around the clock. Voice transmission is another contact we share instantly.  The pre-history of all of this goes back to Gutenberg at some point.

Of course libraries existed before Gutenberg. Collections of mankind’s knowledge in written form precedes the great library of Alexandria. So it is evident human history has been concerned with making a record of thought and events; however transcribed, these records have been kept safe in various ways. On stone tablets, vellum scrolls stored in sealed pots stashed in desert caves – man has struggled to make a record and keep it. From these modest beginnings come the modern library. The role of Gutenberg in the latter is huge. From that even more gigantic changes have emanated.

Related to all this is journalism and the public’s manner in documenting what is happening in daily life. News articles, photographs, opinion columns, articles reporting on interest groups and their points of view as well as their actions to press their viewpoint on to the rest of society. Advertisements also document what people are buying or selling. Event calendars are offered in newspapers informing the public of what they can do where and when in the near future. Later, if these events are noteworthy enough, articles reporting on their happening will be offered as news.

The newspaper thus chronicles – transmits, shares and records information – about a community’s life. There are people within the newspaper’s organization doing the work to make this happen. The result is intended to be a well-informed public capable of constructing a community that serves its people well, encourages them to behave in ways that will improve the common good of the community. Encouraging civic duty, volunteerism and other forms of support are all part and parcel of the message of a newspaper. These are good and positive elements of a newspaper.

There are issues interacting in the newspaper that parallel the community of which it is a part. If a community is discussing an issue and supporters develop on various sides, so too does this occur within the newspaper. If the discussion becomes divisive in the community, it likewise is so within the newspaper’s staff.

Thus publishing decisions need to be made. What is included in the printed matter of the publication? What is left out? Why are some things included and others not? Thus the debate is encountered as decisions are made and copy is prepared for the readers.

If internal management cannot agree on the issues, discord results. However, in a newspaper, discord may come to a crossroads where people must decide if they will remain a part of the newspaper or not.

Such is the case I face currently. The current issue of the paper readying for publication contains copy at odds with members of the management team. The division of thought is such that working together is no longer possible. Thus a parting of the ways develops.

Accordingly, the current issue of Village Chronicles will be distributed this week with some copy omitted. The edition of the paper will remain true to past mission and vision. But future content is up for grabs. I cannot imagine the work and stress this will entail. At my age I don’t need this discomfort, so I am withdrawing from the newspaper. 

Let those who continue be solely responsible for the product and content of the paper. It will be so without my involvement or input.

That’s OK. All things come to an end at some time. I just wish this end would have been more positive and upbeat. After all, what we have accomplished in the past seven years is pretty remarkable: a positive voiced publication designed to support and enhance community life done completely by volunteer labor and without financial profit to anyone. That is quite an accomplishment. Its future, however, is in doubt.

Only balanced journalism will have credibility with the public. There will always be opinion makers and manipulators that will abuse the public’s trust. It is up to the community to determine and to discern what their publications stand for. At all times they need to beware of that which is passed off as truth but isn’t. For now I feel certain that we have presented truth and differing opinions of that truth.

I cannot in full conscience, however, feel so certain in the future of our publication. Therefore, it is time I left so others can manage this sacred trust.  Or not. Reader beware!

February 11, 2015

Taking The Day Off

The press of other matters keeps me from posting today. I'll be back tomorrow.

George Safford

February 10, 2015

Alternative Posting

I wrote a blog for today on Friday. It is/was heartfelt and was to announce a shift in how I spend my time. But last minute events have altered possible outcomes. Here are the events.

Saturday morning I exhibited for SCORE at a community volunteer fair in a nearby suburb. Thirty organizations spent the morning recruiting new volunteers and learning a lot about other groups and their missions. Some of those exhibitors joined the volunteer corps of some of the other exhibitors! The room was abuzz all morning for three straight hours. The environment was intoxicating. All that human power. All that interest. And the energy to share the power and interest with others.

That’s what volunteerism is all about. It is intoxicating. It is empowering. At least I think so.

That morning demonstrated how other communities than mine are helping each other in ways that we do not.  Suicide prevention services (very professional and far reaching regionally), senior housing alternatives services (keeping a special demographic living in our midst), household services help (helping people remain in their homes when doing so is difficult – think changing light bulbs and smoke detector batteries!), services for court appointed guardians of children, emergency housing for the homeless and transition help to self sufficiency. All of these were needs and services we could use in our town but don’t. And our community prides itself on volunteerism!

Sunday I met with the music ministry task force of our church as we struggle with transitioning to a music program that will suffer the loss of two movers and shakers, both volunteers, as they retire and move out of the area. An all volunteer music program will need to find new volunteers to rejuvenate the music ministry at the church. I know we can do it but finding the confidence among our talented church members will be the more difficult task.

It strikes me that volunteerism is a major asset of any society. It takes humility to admit we have needs in our communities. It takes humility to recognize we cannot pay for professional help in all cases. We have to ask others for help. And it takes humility to try to help when we are not at all certain we are capable of doing a decent job.

It takes humility to make do. It takes humility to try and make a difference in the lives of others. And our own!

Stepping out and making something happen that’s good for the community takes courage. Doing so risks failure. Public failure. That’s why volunteering is both humbling and courageous at the same time.

Cities and towns – yours and mine – need to study their volunteer groups and assess their health and success. Which ones need more help? Does our community do enough to support volunteers in the first place? Do we celebrate them? Or do we mistrust their motives? Are we embarrassed that their presence means our community is somehow less successful? Or do we sense the generosity of their spirit in lending a helping hand to those who cannot do everything for themselves?

I lost a special friend recently. Annie O'Connor taught me that people living with disabilities are not takers or users within a community. Their physical handicaps are not self created. They are the victims of tragedy, accident, disease and circumstance. But victimhood goes only so far. Eventually they have to own their situation and move on.

Annie did. Along the way she needed help from her parents (she was 15 when she contracted a vicious form of rheumatoid arthritis that left her a quadriplegic). She got that help to the extent they had the funds to pay for it. Then it was her father’s insurance coverage that assisted in a large way. New York state welfare programs stepped in as well and federal programs eventually lent invaluable support.

Annie died at 81 after giving for over 50 years of her volunteer services to soup kitchens, church service programs and community organizing groups. She was a powerhouse of inspiration and energy. From a wheelchair/bed contraption she did her life’s work. For free. She did it because it was important to her that this work be done. She found the talent and spirit within her to propel an energy most of us would never know we had.

That’s a story to be told. Not a victim but a doer. A helper not a taker. A volunteer that makes a difference. A story of social programs that are a must for people like Annie, and pay huge dividends when we make sure they exist. For all the Annies and those with lesser problems but still just as debilitating.

These thoughts derailed the posting I had planned for today. Maybe I will be back to it tomorrow. Or just maybe I will choose an alternate path?

Stay tuned and see.

February 9, 2015

Thought for the Day

Two thoughts to ponder this weekend. Both are from Maya Angelou:

“Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.”

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”

The first gives you mission. The second provides a method.

Why not give it a try today and tomorrow? See what happens!

February 7, 2015

Netanyahu Again!

Well, Israeli elections must be just around the corner. Netanyahu is Prime Minister – again – after how many terms? Yes he has lost in the past; but he still keeps coming back. And his evident key to winning elections in Israel is his cantankerous disposition, hawkish, militaristic attitude, stern face, ‘take no prisoners’ scowl, and the willingness to tell the world to go to hell while he continues to build new settlements in Palestinian territory, or threatens to add on to current settlements, all the while he has closed settlements, destroyed them, etc. in the past.

Netanyahu is a yahoo. A political professional but an inept statesman on the international scene. He’s pulled this stunt many times. And he has caused wars over this stance. But it is the secret to his winning elections and reelection in his homeland. 

We know who and what Netanyahu is. What the Israeli electorate doesn't seem to understand is the poor reflection they call upon themselves for electing this man to public office. He is your face to the world. He speaks for you. He screws up Middle East politics and peace prospects year after year. And now, generations, at least two have been affected by his ill-conceived posture.

Of course Israel is propped up by American military pacts. And cash. At least $4 billion annual subsidy, year after year. In other words, Israel, as scrappy and brave and spunky as it is, a small nation among a sea of enemies in an inhospitable geography, it still relies on others to survive.

They can speak softly and carry a big stick as long as the stick isn't their’s. They are not the ones paying for the big stick. Besides, they are not speaking softly. They are shaking their fists at Palestinians and Muslims throughout the region. So we have loud brash talk with a borrowed stick.

The image is not a good one. It is childish. It is boorish. It is playground bully. It is standing tall as a power without having the power.

Under Netanyahu’s leadership Israel has become a shibboleth.

What a shame. A nation with a pure will to exist, a faith to shake the world, and a history of prodigious size and impact, Israel is tossing its credibility into the abyss by acting like a spoiled brat.

Perhaps that is what they have become. A spoiler on the world stage. A taker and user, not giver and creator. Their spunk may inspire, but the ends of their game are not leading toward peace. They are now an embarrassment.

America does not have to put up with this nonsense any longer. The cost of friendship with this ally has become unbearable and counterproductive. Millions of us have observed this development over the past few decades hoping against hope that Israel would awaken one day to the reality of their predicament and help solve that without worsening it.

But they have squandered opportunities to do so. Instead they play this dangerous game that keeps the region a hell hole of violence, intrigue and dishonest dealings.

Mr. Netanyahu has been talked with by many leaders in the world to reform his approach and engineer a kinder, gentler yet effective solution. He tosses those kindly chats back in the faces of his friends. So, no more.

It is up to Israel to decide for herself what kind of nation she will become. A partner in peace and global comity? Or a fiendish spoiler constantly stirring the pot of unrest for short term gains? And how many humans will die from this strategy? How many international welfare dollars from friendly nations will be wasted on these tactics?

I, for one American, feel military and financial aid for Israel needs to be decreased substantially and eventually removed. I don’t want our name to be associated with Israel as a sponsor for evil. Peace is the goal. Always has been.

Peace enhances the lives of all. It does not degrade enemies. But it does clarify just who the enemies are. Has Israel finally chosen its final path?  All alone? Again?

I pray not.

February 6, 2015

Dialogue or Economic Sanctions?

The war of words over Russia’s insurgency and take over of Crimea, and on-going efforts to take over Ukraine, continue to escalate. Economic sanctions have been leveled at Russia and the effects are clear. Russia teeters on economic collapse.

Now, is this worth the trouble of helping Russia recover after all the angry words have been silenced? Of course this questions assumes Ukraine is safely kept an independent nation left alone to solve its problems and rebuild after a debilitating civil war foisted on it by Russian sympathizers and meddlers.

Under such circumstances Ukraine will be weak and need propping up. By whom? Well, obviously by Western nations most likely bankrolled and led by the USA. As a taxpayer I don’t relish America once again bankrolling unsettled regions back toward peaceful relations. I prefer all parties do the right thing and settle their differences at a table with carefully worked out discussions and agendas with proper objectives spelled out. This is, after all, a civilized world! Let’s act like it!

Back to Russia’s ills. They are all created by Putin. What his long term aims are remains to be seen, but his short term methods clearly paint him as the aggressor. He gains internal national stability and political leadership for himself by placing his nation on the edge of war, rattling his military tool belt, and upsetting the equilibrium of the region. It is his way to demonstrate masculine balls.

It is also the way of the play ground bully. And it is quite apparent this is his intent.

Make a ruckus and threaten mayhem so others will give in. Dangerous tactics, Mr. Putin. Not at all subtle or nuanced. We get it. And we reject it.

The we here is America AND the rest of the world. That is why economic sanctions are being made across vast stretches of national borders around the globe.  Play the bully and consequences will be felt. Play nice and you might be surprised to see what you get.

However, doing your bidding is not one of them. Respecting one’s own national borders is one assumed behavior trait the polite world requires of each player.  So some back treading is needed here: end involvement in Ukraine, Putin; and restore national independence to Crimea. I might suggest you contain your military ‘testing’ to within your own borders where it will only threaten the well-being of your own people and cause them to advise you how much they will stand for this.

Governing is a delicate matter to perform. Bullies and bulls are not welcome in the china shop. Politesse is.

Short term problems usually have short term causes with a dash of long term avoidance thrown in for good measure.

Want to solve problems and build long term solutions? Then invest in long term thinking and research. Let logic carry the heavy load. And ask friends for help. The world community aches for this behavior from every nation.

Russia is being asked to be a healthy, fully responsible member of the global community. We can expect no other behavior than this to get along and make progress for the entire human community.

Mr. Putin, are you ready and willing to travel this path? Or are you insistent on following baser instincts that will lead your people into unnecessary peril?

The decision is yours. And, of course, the Russian people. What do they want? Not now, but for the long term?

Good things to ponder at this point. There is still a point of return available. But not for long I think. The world is losing its patience with you Vlad.

February 5, 2015

Infrastructure Rehab

Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, is urging federal support for a five year, $1 trillion infrastructure rehabilitation program. And of course the cynics in Washington DC (and elsewhere, too!) wonder where the money is coming from.

Actually, I think that part is very simple: it will be paid for with funds gathered by selling Federal bonds and treasury bills. It will be a mortgage on our national future with which to buy renewed bridges, overpasses, highways, airport upgrades, rail infrastructure modernization and rehab, expanded smart electric grid, upgraded sewer and water treatment facilities and networks, and a whole lot more. A mortgage. Just like the mortgages Congress has taken out for wars and other programs. Only this mortgage buys real things that act like an investment in our nation's economic future.

So much of our public infrastructure is nearing collapse.This truth is uncomfortable. It is also sad, that we can pay for nonsense programs and incur trillions in debt. But for some reason infrastructure replacement or maintenance is not a politically correct thing all of a sudden? Since when?

And cost overruns on defense systems take countless billions annually while we watch the backbone of the nation fall apart. Infrastructure is used by everyone and for everyone. It is also paid for by everyone. Always has been.

And that’s how the bonds and treasury bills we be repaid – from increased revenues, profits and taxes paid on them by a re-invigorated economy. At least these expenditures will earn a return on investment to retire the public debt created to incur them. How novel!

Utility firms will claim they pay for their own infrastructure, but that isn’t true. Customers pay for it. Government subsidizes it, too. Always has. Always will. Let’s speak the truth about these things at long last.

Another truth: rebuilding or refurbishing our infrastructure will create jobs for construction workers, trades unionists, trucking firms carrying building supplies, building supply firms, and so many other segments of our economy. A five year $1 trillion boost to economic activity will help increase job creation and end the recession.

The renewed infrastructure will also boost the economy’s efficiency, create even newer investments in other industries, and help boost the middle class. The new jobs, reduction in unemployment, and renewed investment will expand the economy and boost retail sales of goods and services. More money in the economy will generate more sales. Pretty simple.

Plus the investment in our society’s capital goods will produce new wealth with which to build more wealth. That’s how the economy works. Not trickle down. Trickle up!

I guess if you are a republican it is OK to place the nation in long term debt for programs that boost military spending, pollution, dependence on foreign oil, and building jobs for wealthy corporate owners. The rich get richer; the poor get poorer. Pretty soon the middle class is exhausted and disappears. Too bad, huh? Guess Walmart will continue to keep the bottom rung market to itself. At least the stock owners of Walmart make out great.

It seems evident to me that the long term effect of government policy should be to improve the stability and quality of life for all of us. Not just the rich. Not just the poor. All of us.

The system needs to be in balance – what goes into it should come out as well, only improved.

If we put our heads together and pull in the same direction for once, we might just find progress will be gained on this long term goal. Education accessibility for everyone to the level they are competent to achieve, skill development and acquisition to the extent each person wants it and is willing to work for it, and the economy needs it, medical care for each person fit to their unique needs, and so much more.

Let science and research solve the energy puzzle. The answers are tantalizingly close. However, entrenched industries leverage government decision makers (congressmen and senators!) to minimize threats to old industries and the wealthy families who own them.

Peace is a long term goal. International relations is a social science that can yield peace dividends. And peace yields dividends of another sort – lower defense spending and more resources available for education, research, medical care and so forth.

Balance. It is what is needed. In political views. In the privacy of religious views (not government sponsorship and legislation!) Sharing the load, too, in maintaining our social investment in infrastructure. It benefits all of us. It needs our support to maintain it, keep it modern and reliable.

Focus on the long term and support infrastructure revitalization. We might be amazed at the dividends such trust and investment will provide.

February 4, 2015