North’s Souths
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are looking to move across the harbour after next year; well, I won’t begrudge them the opportunity to make a bit of profit from their efforts, and the Redfern oval isn’t in particularly good shape. It’s a valid point that even if their present stadium site is renovated, it would take a period of years to get it done, and then with still no better guarantee of drawing a sufficient crowd. For a club that relies on the gate for its revenue, making the move is sensible. It would, however, be nearly the same as moving the Yankees out of the Bronx . . . or rather, moving the Mets out of Shea. It also means I’m really going to have to make an effort to see them in Redfern or give up calling myself a Souths fan.
30 November 2004
ABC’s ABC
The “My Favourite Book” campaign over at the ABC was an intriguing survey, and while my own selection was (perhaps typically) marginal, there were surely enough people voting on more conventional books for the results to be worth looking at. A 90-minute broadcast is a little long, however, to my mind. What will be the top book? I just hope it isn’t The DaVinci Code.
The “My Favourite Book” campaign over at the ABC was an intriguing survey, and while my own selection was (perhaps typically) marginal, there were surely enough people voting on more conventional books for the results to be worth looking at. A 90-minute broadcast is a little long, however, to my mind. What will be the top book? I just hope it isn’t The DaVinci Code.
Rainbow’s East End
Because it’s a NY Times article, the focus is on Long Island, but the problem of illegal immigrants and migrant workers is still acute, as is the problem of overreacting communities and politicians, wherever it occurs. The difference is in visibility. Growing up on Long Island, we became very much aware of the growing presence of illegal Hispanics and, as a result, the problems that led to their emigration. The difference now is not in numbers or in kind but in visibility. Day laborers did not typically appear on the street corners of the towns and villages of Long Island, but they’re there now. In fact, if you drive through many of the NYC suburbs – Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester and Sullivan counties – you’ll find them, and you can hire them if you’ve got something for them to do: cheap construction work is a big area right now, as the growing season precludes their use on the small area farms. So why are so many people intent upon seeing these people arrested and, if illegal, deported? Because of selfishness. Yes, as usual, these are people who want their lawns mowed, their houses painted, their fruit and vegetables picked, packed and fresh at the supermarket, but don’t want to know how this gets done, especially if it means facing the fact that migrant workers aren’t organized and aren’t being paid a wage equal to what they themselves would demand. Why do the migrants come? Because they can make ten times what they can back home. They don’t want your house, your car, your job. They want a house, a car, a job, and they want to take care of their families the same way you do. But it’s bad enough, isn’t it, that corporations are shipping jobs overseas; now – well, actually, for decades now – “overseas” is coming home and taking up jobs. Globalization: you’re for it when it benefits you, and against it when you think it’s spoiling your property values. Maybe you should make up your mind.
Because it’s a NY Times article, the focus is on Long Island, but the problem of illegal immigrants and migrant workers is still acute, as is the problem of overreacting communities and politicians, wherever it occurs. The difference is in visibility. Growing up on Long Island, we became very much aware of the growing presence of illegal Hispanics and, as a result, the problems that led to their emigration. The difference now is not in numbers or in kind but in visibility. Day laborers did not typically appear on the street corners of the towns and villages of Long Island, but they’re there now. In fact, if you drive through many of the NYC suburbs – Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester and Sullivan counties – you’ll find them, and you can hire them if you’ve got something for them to do: cheap construction work is a big area right now, as the growing season precludes their use on the small area farms. So why are so many people intent upon seeing these people arrested and, if illegal, deported? Because of selfishness. Yes, as usual, these are people who want their lawns mowed, their houses painted, their fruit and vegetables picked, packed and fresh at the supermarket, but don’t want to know how this gets done, especially if it means facing the fact that migrant workers aren’t organized and aren’t being paid a wage equal to what they themselves would demand. Why do the migrants come? Because they can make ten times what they can back home. They don’t want your house, your car, your job. They want a house, a car, a job, and they want to take care of their families the same way you do. But it’s bad enough, isn’t it, that corporations are shipping jobs overseas; now – well, actually, for decades now – “overseas” is coming home and taking up jobs. Globalization: you’re for it when it benefits you, and against it when you think it’s spoiling your property values. Maybe you should make up your mind.
Highway Toll
If you read or watch the news enough, there’s one thing you’re sure to learn: driving is death. Roadway accident tolls are announced every weekend, and during every holiday period, a state-by-state count is maintained. On a per capita basis, however, I wouldn’t say the figures are so grim as they might seem. And I wouldn’t blame the young drivers nearly so much as I would two other demographics: truckies and everybody else. So while NSW is planning further restrictions on young drivers, I’d like to point out that long-haul truck drivers get into far more accidents and cause many more deaths on the roads than the kids do, and (at least in Sydney) everybody around here drives like a maniac to begin with, with DUI being a problem of epic proportions. Restricting under-18’s isn’t going to solve either problem, although it’s sure to reduce the number of teenage traffic fatalities. Cracking down on trucking companies that push their drivers into making their runs within impossible time frames is a good idea, so I’d like to see more of that. And I’d like to see more traffic stops generally.
Update: In case you enjoy statistics, the government has complied road safety information in this report for your delectation. While the figures suggest the assertion that truck drivers are safer than others on the road is indeed correct, there is a perponderance of instances where the weighted factor is "unknown," which would skew the presentation into being largely arguable still. It is nevertheless true that insurance isues and public liability issues tend to provoke knee-jerk reactions from government, regardless of whether it's NSW or NYS.
If you read or watch the news enough, there’s one thing you’re sure to learn: driving is death. Roadway accident tolls are announced every weekend, and during every holiday period, a state-by-state count is maintained. On a per capita basis, however, I wouldn’t say the figures are so grim as they might seem. And I wouldn’t blame the young drivers nearly so much as I would two other demographics: truckies and everybody else. So while NSW is planning further restrictions on young drivers, I’d like to point out that long-haul truck drivers get into far more accidents and cause many more deaths on the roads than the kids do, and (at least in Sydney) everybody around here drives like a maniac to begin with, with DUI being a problem of epic proportions. Restricting under-18’s isn’t going to solve either problem, although it’s sure to reduce the number of teenage traffic fatalities. Cracking down on trucking companies that push their drivers into making their runs within impossible time frames is a good idea, so I’d like to see more of that. And I’d like to see more traffic stops generally.
Update: In case you enjoy statistics, the government has complied road safety information in this report for your delectation. While the figures suggest the assertion that truck drivers are safer than others on the road is indeed correct, there is a perponderance of instances where the weighted factor is "unknown," which would skew the presentation into being largely arguable still. It is nevertheless true that insurance isues and public liability issues tend to provoke knee-jerk reactions from government, regardless of whether it's NSW or NYS.
29 November 2004
Power Grab
Back when the NSW government decided to merge the South Sydney and City of Sydney Councils, they attempted to stack the new government with a mayor and councillors of their choice, only to be rebuffed on election day, when Clover Moore, an independent, got the mayoralty and was able to bring a sympathetic majority into office with her. The purpose of the merger was always about getting the property-development money from the city into the south and then into State coffers, because the Carr government mismanages its revenues, requiring an ever-increasing cash flow to just keep going. There is no long-term under Bob Carr. Unfortunately, there is no opposition worth voting for, so the system is stacked against the citizen. An independent executive with real power would be very worthwhile right about now, to my thinking, but I’m bringing a bit of political-system baggage to my analysis. Lord Mayor Moore’s upset victory, however, may prove somewhat hollow, as the NSW government owns a significant part of Redfern, an area now plan to develop with or without the city’s participation or consent, let alone keeping the citizenry informed. God knows, Redfern needs help, and urban reform projects including some of what’s being proposed here have worked very well elsewhere, but is that what’s happening, or is the Carr government selling off public land to create revenue from private development? Is the Aboriginal community there part of the planning, or are they going to be dispersed around the city without consultation? Carr’s got a heavy-handed style, especially lately, as the city’s infrastructure crumbles out from under him, after billions of misspent dollars, so I know which way my suspicions trend.
Back when the NSW government decided to merge the South Sydney and City of Sydney Councils, they attempted to stack the new government with a mayor and councillors of their choice, only to be rebuffed on election day, when Clover Moore, an independent, got the mayoralty and was able to bring a sympathetic majority into office with her. The purpose of the merger was always about getting the property-development money from the city into the south and then into State coffers, because the Carr government mismanages its revenues, requiring an ever-increasing cash flow to just keep going. There is no long-term under Bob Carr. Unfortunately, there is no opposition worth voting for, so the system is stacked against the citizen. An independent executive with real power would be very worthwhile right about now, to my thinking, but I’m bringing a bit of political-system baggage to my analysis. Lord Mayor Moore’s upset victory, however, may prove somewhat hollow, as the NSW government owns a significant part of Redfern, an area now plan to develop with or without the city’s participation or consent, let alone keeping the citizenry informed. God knows, Redfern needs help, and urban reform projects including some of what’s being proposed here have worked very well elsewhere, but is that what’s happening, or is the Carr government selling off public land to create revenue from private development? Is the Aboriginal community there part of the planning, or are they going to be dispersed around the city without consultation? Carr’s got a heavy-handed style, especially lately, as the city’s infrastructure crumbles out from under him, after billions of misspent dollars, so I know which way my suspicions trend.
Peter, Meet Paul . . . Hey, My Wallet’s Missing!
Social Security Reform has meant creating self-funded investment accounts since Reagan, but at last, we have a President with the moxie to push ahead on the plan. Of course, it’s going to cost billions, even trillions of dollars the country doesn’t have - now or over the next 10 years or more – but why worry? Bush will be out by then, and he doesn’t need Social Security to retire. For most people, there is a general understanding that the program must be reformed, but no real idea how it should be done, and I certainly fall into that category. Private accounts may indeed be the only way forward; after all, we need to increase the rate of personal savings (or so the conventional wisdom has it), and we cannot rely on corporate pension funds and 401(k) accounts and the like, since a vast number of people don’t have access to these or the financial leeway to take advantage of other tax loopholes. As an expatriate citizen, one of many millions, I’m also concerned that I don’t presently pay into the Social Security system and may be ineligible to take advantage of its benefits when my turn comes, at least at any meaningful level. I recognize that the longer we wait to do anything, the worse the problem will grown, sort of like having appendicitis – if we wait, it may burst, and leave us with a mess not even radical surgery can fix. I remain, however, firmly opposed to the idea of taxing me into the stock market, which is what the Bush plan, in addition to the trillions of dollars necessary to kick start it, requires. This may, over twenty years, if we’re lucky, provide investment income sufficient to fund retirement, but it will definitely benefit a corporate elite who are already in possession of too much public money already, money they use to fund lavish personal lifestyles. Government serves the people, but more and more, government acts at the behest of industrial executives, and we’re left holding the bag, screwed royally from both ends.
Social Security Reform has meant creating self-funded investment accounts since Reagan, but at last, we have a President with the moxie to push ahead on the plan. Of course, it’s going to cost billions, even trillions of dollars the country doesn’t have - now or over the next 10 years or more – but why worry? Bush will be out by then, and he doesn’t need Social Security to retire. For most people, there is a general understanding that the program must be reformed, but no real idea how it should be done, and I certainly fall into that category. Private accounts may indeed be the only way forward; after all, we need to increase the rate of personal savings (or so the conventional wisdom has it), and we cannot rely on corporate pension funds and 401(k) accounts and the like, since a vast number of people don’t have access to these or the financial leeway to take advantage of other tax loopholes. As an expatriate citizen, one of many millions, I’m also concerned that I don’t presently pay into the Social Security system and may be ineligible to take advantage of its benefits when my turn comes, at least at any meaningful level. I recognize that the longer we wait to do anything, the worse the problem will grown, sort of like having appendicitis – if we wait, it may burst, and leave us with a mess not even radical surgery can fix. I remain, however, firmly opposed to the idea of taxing me into the stock market, which is what the Bush plan, in addition to the trillions of dollars necessary to kick start it, requires. This may, over twenty years, if we’re lucky, provide investment income sufficient to fund retirement, but it will definitely benefit a corporate elite who are already in possession of too much public money already, money they use to fund lavish personal lifestyles. Government serves the people, but more and more, government acts at the behest of industrial executives, and we’re left holding the bag, screwed royally from both ends.
26 November 2004
Thanksgiving
Back across the equator, it's Thanksgiving, and my scattered family is marking the day in their latterly traditionaly fashion, as are we, which is to say, for us, not at all. Yes, we have again failed in our determination to practice this commemoration in our new home and introduce it to our friends, but remain resolved to get around to it, maybe next year. It's a noble holiday, surpassing in some respects the religious occasions of the year, being more inclusive in its very inception. Of course, in our household, we have pardoned all turkeys forevermore, a practice we gently encourage elsewhere as well. Have a nice tofurky day.
Back across the equator, it's Thanksgiving, and my scattered family is marking the day in their latterly traditionaly fashion, as are we, which is to say, for us, not at all. Yes, we have again failed in our determination to practice this commemoration in our new home and introduce it to our friends, but remain resolved to get around to it, maybe next year. It's a noble holiday, surpassing in some respects the religious occasions of the year, being more inclusive in its very inception. Of course, in our household, we have pardoned all turkeys forevermore, a practice we gently encourage elsewhere as well. Have a nice tofurky day.
23 November 2004
Fly the Naked Skies
What next? Full-body searches? pat-downs at the airport are getting a little out of (ahem) hand lately, it appears. If anyone believes this is keeping the country safe, then I'd have to question what they're keeping in their brassieres. Take off your shoes, please; stand over by the pole, please, and gyrate your hips. Yes, I know it's supposed to be about nonmetallic explosives smuggled in under your clothes, but why 70-year-old women with walking frames are getting felt up is beyond me. No judgment, and no restraint, either. If it happens to you, complain. A lot. Hey, go ahead and miss your flight, too. If enough people fight on this stuff, the economic cost will force real change, real security, not fetishistic rent-a-cops and unscreened luggage.
What next? Full-body searches? pat-downs at the airport are getting a little out of (ahem) hand lately, it appears. If anyone believes this is keeping the country safe, then I'd have to question what they're keeping in their brassieres. Take off your shoes, please; stand over by the pole, please, and gyrate your hips. Yes, I know it's supposed to be about nonmetallic explosives smuggled in under your clothes, but why 70-year-old women with walking frames are getting felt up is beyond me. No judgment, and no restraint, either. If it happens to you, complain. A lot. Hey, go ahead and miss your flight, too. If enough people fight on this stuff, the economic cost will force real change, real security, not fetishistic rent-a-cops and unscreened luggage.
February in the Park
Christo’s Gates will be installed in Central Park beginning December 1, and the full installation will be up from February 12 to 27, just two weeks, and it sounds like the city and the artist and his sponsors have their plans fully prepared for a wonderful exhibition. Much as I’d love one of the t-shirts, posters, postcards, or such, I will patiently wait for something in Sydney to be wrapped. I’ve already missed the wrapping of Little Bay (I was ten), but if the Gates took 20 years, how long will it be before we get a new project here?
Christo’s Gates will be installed in Central Park beginning December 1, and the full installation will be up from February 12 to 27, just two weeks, and it sounds like the city and the artist and his sponsors have their plans fully prepared for a wonderful exhibition. Much as I’d love one of the t-shirts, posters, postcards, or such, I will patiently wait for something in Sydney to be wrapped. I’ve already missed the wrapping of Little Bay (I was ten), but if the Gates took 20 years, how long will it be before we get a new project here?
Preventing Terror
Congratulations are due to Britain’s security services in having reportedly thwarted a terrorist attack. While details are not yet forthcoming, this shows that Al Qaeda and the groups and individuals allying themselves with that cause can be effectively combated and the threat reduced without invading anyone, something which has been effectively accomplished in the past against the PLO, the IRA, ETA, and other groups. Military force has been called upon, but with Afghanistan the notable exception, only with limited scope to deal with international terrorism. While terrorists continue to learn from their own successes, we ought to be doing the same, something the English are showing now.
Congratulations are due to Britain’s security services in having reportedly thwarted a terrorist attack. While details are not yet forthcoming, this shows that Al Qaeda and the groups and individuals allying themselves with that cause can be effectively combated and the threat reduced without invading anyone, something which has been effectively accomplished in the past against the PLO, the IRA, ETA, and other groups. Military force has been called upon, but with Afghanistan the notable exception, only with limited scope to deal with international terrorism. While terrorists continue to learn from their own successes, we ought to be doing the same, something the English are showing now.
Billions
War reparations are widely credited as part of what went into creating the environment in Germany that gave rise to the Nazis and Hitler’s militaristic goals, that then bankrupted state desperate for the legitimacy offered by world domination at the point of a gun, so clearing off 80% of Iraq’s $39 billion in debt is a very positive step forward. That’s $39 billion, however, owed to America, Japan, Russia, and parts of Europe, not any of the $30 to $40 billion is reparations to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Persian Gulf nations. As usual, the Arab nations have yet to step forward to address problems in their own part of the world, and everybody’s tip-toeing around them, hoping for a positive outcome. Admittedly, it’s not their fault that Hussein invaded Kuwait and had to be kicked out, but among them, $40 billion (and $10 billion of that is still be adjudicated) could be written off, and with little harm to their respective national populations. Oil revenue is everything they’ve got, but that ain’t hay. The effective reconstruction of Germany and Japan after 1945 was possible because of the generosity of the victors regarding the war debt of the losers. Magnanimity is something we cannot afford to forego.
War reparations are widely credited as part of what went into creating the environment in Germany that gave rise to the Nazis and Hitler’s militaristic goals, that then bankrupted state desperate for the legitimacy offered by world domination at the point of a gun, so clearing off 80% of Iraq’s $39 billion in debt is a very positive step forward. That’s $39 billion, however, owed to America, Japan, Russia, and parts of Europe, not any of the $30 to $40 billion is reparations to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Persian Gulf nations. As usual, the Arab nations have yet to step forward to address problems in their own part of the world, and everybody’s tip-toeing around them, hoping for a positive outcome. Admittedly, it’s not their fault that Hussein invaded Kuwait and had to be kicked out, but among them, $40 billion (and $10 billion of that is still be adjudicated) could be written off, and with little harm to their respective national populations. Oil revenue is everything they’ve got, but that ain’t hay. The effective reconstruction of Germany and Japan after 1945 was possible because of the generosity of the victors regarding the war debt of the losers. Magnanimity is something we cannot afford to forego.
22 November 2004
Fare-Free
Today the trains were free. This is very nice for the casual users, but worthless to anyone commuting. The discounted fare received by purchasing a weekly, quarterly, or annual ticket offsets any long-term benefit from one day free. My weekly ticket buys me 7 trips at 55% off the full-fare rate, so even if my ticket was going to be offset accordingly, there was no reason to buy four full-fare trips Tuesday through Friday. If I’d sat down to do the math, I might have saved myself $5 over the next two months simply by buying my ticket tomorrow and having the seven-day period run Tuesday through Monday, but that only works because my employer is granting us an additional four holidays ex gratia. Now, if John Brogden, opposition leader in the NSW parliament, gets the premiership, he’s promising one free day per month when the trains don’t meet a 75% on-time rate. If every month had a free day, I could do even better, maybe even save enough to pay for one week’s travel over the course of 2008, following the next election. No, sorry, it’s an empty promise, and I’m not biting. Instead, pledge to fix the system, then shut up and do it.
Today the trains were free. This is very nice for the casual users, but worthless to anyone commuting. The discounted fare received by purchasing a weekly, quarterly, or annual ticket offsets any long-term benefit from one day free. My weekly ticket buys me 7 trips at 55% off the full-fare rate, so even if my ticket was going to be offset accordingly, there was no reason to buy four full-fare trips Tuesday through Friday. If I’d sat down to do the math, I might have saved myself $5 over the next two months simply by buying my ticket tomorrow and having the seven-day period run Tuesday through Monday, but that only works because my employer is granting us an additional four holidays ex gratia. Now, if John Brogden, opposition leader in the NSW parliament, gets the premiership, he’s promising one free day per month when the trains don’t meet a 75% on-time rate. If every month had a free day, I could do even better, maybe even save enough to pay for one week’s travel over the course of 2008, following the next election. No, sorry, it’s an empty promise, and I’m not biting. Instead, pledge to fix the system, then shut up and do it.
19 November 2004
Scene on Crown
At last week’s jacaranda party in Paddington, we met the owner of a gallery up on Crown Street, Blank_Space, which we’ve been meaning to visit since it opened, but, well, these things happen. Or don’t, that is. However, personally informed of an imminent new show opening, we could hardly fail to make the effort, so part of last night was spent at the top of the hill looking at new art by Jane Dowton and Bianca Calandra, both new artists to me, each working in distinct media, but together making for an excellent exhibition, entitled “Curious Things.” Although Bianca Calandra’s work uses mixed media, and Jane Dowton’s working in photography, both have a found object component, Calandra’s more traditionally so, something on the order of collage in the Rauschenberg manner, but with a more playful, naïve content. Dowton’s objet trouvé component being a condition more of her imaginative use of everyday encounters with text and objects that might usually be ignored. The surprising richness of color and texture in her series, “Piles of Rocks from My Mum’s Farm (Classified and Unclassified),” exemplify at the higher end of abstraction the elevation of the quotidian both artists attempt, and I think more successfully than Calandra’s paintings, perhaps as a result of the latter’s inclusion of textual elements, not themselves “found” but composed, which, I think, subverts the effect. Still, it was a good show, an excellently presented space, and drew a good crowd.
At last week’s jacaranda party in Paddington, we met the owner of a gallery up on Crown Street, Blank_Space, which we’ve been meaning to visit since it opened, but, well, these things happen. Or don’t, that is. However, personally informed of an imminent new show opening, we could hardly fail to make the effort, so part of last night was spent at the top of the hill looking at new art by Jane Dowton and Bianca Calandra, both new artists to me, each working in distinct media, but together making for an excellent exhibition, entitled “Curious Things.” Although Bianca Calandra’s work uses mixed media, and Jane Dowton’s working in photography, both have a found object component, Calandra’s more traditionally so, something on the order of collage in the Rauschenberg manner, but with a more playful, naïve content. Dowton’s objet trouvé component being a condition more of her imaginative use of everyday encounters with text and objects that might usually be ignored. The surprising richness of color and texture in her series, “Piles of Rocks from My Mum’s Farm (Classified and Unclassified),” exemplify at the higher end of abstraction the elevation of the quotidian both artists attempt, and I think more successfully than Calandra’s paintings, perhaps as a result of the latter’s inclusion of textual elements, not themselves “found” but composed, which, I think, subverts the effect. Still, it was a good show, an excellently presented space, and drew a good crowd.
Good
I think when Clinton says Bush is “very good” he means it the same way as when Sam Spade says it of Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon. He knows it’s an act, but acknowledges how effective it would be on someone else. Bush lies much the same way as Brigid, too, in the service of his own greed.
I think when Clinton says Bush is “very good” he means it the same way as when Sam Spade says it of Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon. He knows it’s an act, but acknowledges how effective it would be on someone else. Bush lies much the same way as Brigid, too, in the service of his own greed.
Executive Clemency
Is Thanksgiving the only time Bush exercises his power to issue a capital punishment pardon? Tradition demands this exercise of restraint, but of course people condemned to death cannot reform and are never innocent, so turkeys are a different matter.
Is Thanksgiving the only time Bush exercises his power to issue a capital punishment pardon? Tradition demands this exercise of restraint, but of course people condemned to death cannot reform and are never innocent, so turkeys are a different matter.
18 November 2004
Button, Button
Look, I hate to say this but isn’t a provision that allows government officials to hide millions of dollars in personal assets one of those things that government officials in corrupt countries do? When Mobutu Sese Soko, for example, lit out for Switzerland, didn’t everybody ask, hey, where’s all that money? Turned out he’d been hiding it for years where he could get it later, didn’t it? Remember Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos? Those shoes didn’t come in cereal boxes. In fact, I seem to recall that every time dictators get deposed, first thing everybody wants to find out is where they put all the money. Sometimes it gets found, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it just gets spent, often enough on buying a soft place to land. The Bush administration has a problem with this sort of thing, and it isn’t just Cheney and Haliburton; I seem to remember that Paul O’Neill, the former Treasury secretary, came under significant duress for some conflict-of-interest problems he had, until he “voluntarily” acted to resolve the issue. Too late for him, but the next guy could have it made.
Look, I hate to say this but isn’t a provision that allows government officials to hide millions of dollars in personal assets one of those things that government officials in corrupt countries do? When Mobutu Sese Soko, for example, lit out for Switzerland, didn’t everybody ask, hey, where’s all that money? Turned out he’d been hiding it for years where he could get it later, didn’t it? Remember Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos? Those shoes didn’t come in cereal boxes. In fact, I seem to recall that every time dictators get deposed, first thing everybody wants to find out is where they put all the money. Sometimes it gets found, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it just gets spent, often enough on buying a soft place to land. The Bush administration has a problem with this sort of thing, and it isn’t just Cheney and Haliburton; I seem to remember that Paul O’Neill, the former Treasury secretary, came under significant duress for some conflict-of-interest problems he had, until he “voluntarily” acted to resolve the issue. Too late for him, but the next guy could have it made.
Reasons to Love NY
Actually, I think I meant “leave” NY, an Olympics being a good one. Good luck, and all that, but all the hotel rooms are being set aside, so you’ll be staying in New Jersey anyway; the advertising will be inescapable – and just imagine what the mascot might be: cockroach? alligator? pigeon? Mr. Met? Street punk? Oh, the list is endless; that west side stadium will actually have to be built, which means the Jets or Giants or both will return to the city, or the Yankees will relocate from the Bronx (no doubt making for significant complaints from the Mets, who would also like a new stadium someplace people like for itself); and do you really believe the traffic infrastructure is going to ever be capable of accommodating “Olympic Priority Lanes”? C’mon, the city can’t keep up on potholes, let alone add a lane to the LIE. Sure, Thorpey says he likes it, but he’s more involved in underwear than swimming these days, and by that time, he’ll be Oscar de la Renta, right? One last reason not to do it: Frank Gehry gets to design the gymnastics center in Brooklyn. $7.6 billion (with a $3 billion return), and what do you get: lots of unused sports facilities for the next 150 years.
Actually, I think I meant “leave” NY, an Olympics being a good one. Good luck, and all that, but all the hotel rooms are being set aside, so you’ll be staying in New Jersey anyway; the advertising will be inescapable – and just imagine what the mascot might be: cockroach? alligator? pigeon? Mr. Met? Street punk? Oh, the list is endless; that west side stadium will actually have to be built, which means the Jets or Giants or both will return to the city, or the Yankees will relocate from the Bronx (no doubt making for significant complaints from the Mets, who would also like a new stadium someplace people like for itself); and do you really believe the traffic infrastructure is going to ever be capable of accommodating “Olympic Priority Lanes”? C’mon, the city can’t keep up on potholes, let alone add a lane to the LIE. Sure, Thorpey says he likes it, but he’s more involved in underwear than swimming these days, and by that time, he’ll be Oscar de la Renta, right? One last reason not to do it: Frank Gehry gets to design the gymnastics center in Brooklyn. $7.6 billion (with a $3 billion return), and what do you get: lots of unused sports facilities for the next 150 years.
No Political Hack Left Behind
In other nomination news, Margaret Spelling is up for Secretary of Education, as expected. She promises to continue the previous secretary’s commitment to doing nothing but pay lip service to public schools.
In other nomination news, Margaret Spelling is up for Secretary of Education, as expected. She promises to continue the previous secretary’s commitment to doing nothing but pay lip service to public schools.
Good Dog; Now Play Dead
Alberto Gonzales is a shoo-in, because Pat Leahy has decided to roll over. Let’s hope this is just a “bye” so Rice’s confirmation gets the scrutiny it deserves (fat chance).
Alberto Gonzales is a shoo-in, because Pat Leahy has decided to roll over. Let’s hope this is just a “bye” so Rice’s confirmation gets the scrutiny it deserves (fat chance).
Fare’s Fair
On Monday, CityRail workers are expected to pursue a work action, refusing to collect fares for the day or impose fines on passengers to neglect to purchase tickets. Despite Miranda Devine’s claim that “an army of train travellers” will join the train system staff in this action, I’ll be buying my weekly ticket. Why, you ask? Because it’s cheaper. I have no guarantee that the bulls won’t come after fare-evaders, first of all, plus, 4 daily tickets costs more than one weekly ticket. The majority of the people I ride with daily aren’t day-trippers; they’re commuters like me, and most of them face the same economic choice. We’re stranded by the system, caught in the middle between the unions and Michael Costa, battling for supremacy. If the problem is really that workers are wearied by reform, what impositions are being imposed by Costa beyond reasonable safety concerns? Is there more to it than that; is it really workers who perceive overtime as an entitlement versus management unwilling to invest in the equipment and infrastructure upgrades necessary to get the system running at a twenty-first century level?
On Monday, CityRail workers are expected to pursue a work action, refusing to collect fares for the day or impose fines on passengers to neglect to purchase tickets. Despite Miranda Devine’s claim that “an army of train travellers” will join the train system staff in this action, I’ll be buying my weekly ticket. Why, you ask? Because it’s cheaper. I have no guarantee that the bulls won’t come after fare-evaders, first of all, plus, 4 daily tickets costs more than one weekly ticket. The majority of the people I ride with daily aren’t day-trippers; they’re commuters like me, and most of them face the same economic choice. We’re stranded by the system, caught in the middle between the unions and Michael Costa, battling for supremacy. If the problem is really that workers are wearied by reform, what impositions are being imposed by Costa beyond reasonable safety concerns? Is there more to it than that; is it really workers who perceive overtime as an entitlement versus management unwilling to invest in the equipment and infrastructure upgrades necessary to get the system running at a twenty-first century level?
17 November 2004
Draft Watch
The Wal-Mart Republicans derided any claims there could ever be another draft, but right now, the military is calling up former personnel now in their 40’s, many in ill-health or with medical problems that would normally exclude them from service, and many whose obligation to serve should have already expired. Naturally, there are some who are fighting the call-up, and even some who just decline to show up. So once this pool is exhausted, what next? Iraq’s not going to be over in February, remember, so even though the reactivation of the Individual Ready Reserve is going from 120 days to a full year, we’re going to run out of soldiers to deploy, even assuming the rate of people voluntarily signing up remains constant. Luckily, the non-Wal-Mart Republicans, the ones with the money, that is, will be able to get deferments for their kids.
And meanwhile, incidents like this one - and it’s surely not the only such - are the result of calling the Geneva Convention “quaint” and failing to provide adequate training, supervision, and support of troops in the field. What’s Rumsfeld got to say, or, for that matter, what’s Cheney got to say about Rumsfeld now? (I suppose we’re all supposed to still be happy that we’ve rejected as President a veteran with the integrity to stand up and speak out on such matters, right? Because that was a betrayal, right?)
The Wal-Mart Republicans derided any claims there could ever be another draft, but right now, the military is calling up former personnel now in their 40’s, many in ill-health or with medical problems that would normally exclude them from service, and many whose obligation to serve should have already expired. Naturally, there are some who are fighting the call-up, and even some who just decline to show up. So once this pool is exhausted, what next? Iraq’s not going to be over in February, remember, so even though the reactivation of the Individual Ready Reserve is going from 120 days to a full year, we’re going to run out of soldiers to deploy, even assuming the rate of people voluntarily signing up remains constant. Luckily, the non-Wal-Mart Republicans, the ones with the money, that is, will be able to get deferments for their kids.
And meanwhile, incidents like this one - and it’s surely not the only such - are the result of calling the Geneva Convention “quaint” and failing to provide adequate training, supervision, and support of troops in the field. What’s Rumsfeld got to say, or, for that matter, what’s Cheney got to say about Rumsfeld now? (I suppose we’re all supposed to still be happy that we’ve rejected as President a veteran with the integrity to stand up and speak out on such matters, right? Because that was a betrayal, right?)
16 November 2004
Cleaning Out the Closet
Powell has resigned; good. After Whitman, he was the most useless, but unlike her, I’d actually had some hope for Powell as Secretary of State, whereas Whitman at least tried to be effective on the EPA. Powell not only didn’t try, he was very quickly nothing more than a tool, giving himself, in the end, over to the Bush Administration lies on weapons of mass destruction, embarrassing the nation in front of the largest international embarrassment of all, the UN. Hard to believe this man was ever touted as Presidential material. He was just a patsy.
Meanwhile, Energy, Education, Commerce, and Agriculture have also been vacated, with no nominations having been made at this time. With a fight sure to ensue over Gonzales at Justice, and the potential for such contention over the putative nominees at State – Rice and Wolfowitz, notably; less so Danforth or Lugar – Bush may be seeking fast-track candidates for these. But there’s no hurry, obviously, since these haven’t been among his priorities from the beginning.
(Another notable resignation: William Safire is retiring his op-ed column. He’ll continue writing “On Language,” where he usually keeps Nixon out of the discussion.)
Update: As had been predicted, Bush has nominated Condolezza Rice to replace Powell. Oops, that link should be to here.
Powell has resigned; good. After Whitman, he was the most useless, but unlike her, I’d actually had some hope for Powell as Secretary of State, whereas Whitman at least tried to be effective on the EPA. Powell not only didn’t try, he was very quickly nothing more than a tool, giving himself, in the end, over to the Bush Administration lies on weapons of mass destruction, embarrassing the nation in front of the largest international embarrassment of all, the UN. Hard to believe this man was ever touted as Presidential material. He was just a patsy.
Meanwhile, Energy, Education, Commerce, and Agriculture have also been vacated, with no nominations having been made at this time. With a fight sure to ensue over Gonzales at Justice, and the potential for such contention over the putative nominees at State – Rice and Wolfowitz, notably; less so Danforth or Lugar – Bush may be seeking fast-track candidates for these. But there’s no hurry, obviously, since these haven’t been among his priorities from the beginning.
(Another notable resignation: William Safire is retiring his op-ed column. He’ll continue writing “On Language,” where he usually keeps Nixon out of the discussion.)
Update: As had been predicted, Bush has nominated Condolezza Rice to replace Powell. Oops, that link should be to here.
12 November 2004
Post-Ashcroft
Alberto Gonzales represents the American Dream. He worked hard, struggling against a background of poverty, and, as an Hispanic, against ethnic prejudices, and has moved into the halls of power resolute to make more of his life than must have appeared, at least on some days, even possible. He deserves some congratulations for his efforts and success. He is, however, a troubling candidate as Attorney General. This is the man who, as White House Counsel, directed the Bush Administration’s legal efforts to condone torture and the detention of “enemy combatants,” as the prisoners from the Afghan and Iraqi wars are known, without trial or recourse to legal counsel. Regardless of how “quaint” or “obsolete” he may consider the Geneva Conventions, the terms set forth by this international agreement are neither his nor the Bush Administration’s to set aside so cavalierly. That he has been willing to do so makes his appointment highly questionable, particularly in a country that used to pride itself on its founding principles of the rule of law and the rights of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While his record on affirmative action and abortion appear more positive, the Patriot Act and the memorandum that allowed the events at Abu Ghraib to occur are singular failures, sufficiently disturbing to question his fitness for the Cabinet role. This appointment is not only a prime example of the kind of transactions the Bush Administration will seek to push through in personnel at all levels up through the Supreme Court and in laws, it is an example of the opportunities the Democratic opposition, alongside moderates among the Republicans, which must be taken up to ensure that the American people are not sold into tyrannies petty or great. We hold these truths to be self-evident, as the Declaration of Independence has it, but they need to be supported, from time-to-time, and this is such a time.
Alberto Gonzales represents the American Dream. He worked hard, struggling against a background of poverty, and, as an Hispanic, against ethnic prejudices, and has moved into the halls of power resolute to make more of his life than must have appeared, at least on some days, even possible. He deserves some congratulations for his efforts and success. He is, however, a troubling candidate as Attorney General. This is the man who, as White House Counsel, directed the Bush Administration’s legal efforts to condone torture and the detention of “enemy combatants,” as the prisoners from the Afghan and Iraqi wars are known, without trial or recourse to legal counsel. Regardless of how “quaint” or “obsolete” he may consider the Geneva Conventions, the terms set forth by this international agreement are neither his nor the Bush Administration’s to set aside so cavalierly. That he has been willing to do so makes his appointment highly questionable, particularly in a country that used to pride itself on its founding principles of the rule of law and the rights of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While his record on affirmative action and abortion appear more positive, the Patriot Act and the memorandum that allowed the events at Abu Ghraib to occur are singular failures, sufficiently disturbing to question his fitness for the Cabinet role. This appointment is not only a prime example of the kind of transactions the Bush Administration will seek to push through in personnel at all levels up through the Supreme Court and in laws, it is an example of the opportunities the Democratic opposition, alongside moderates among the Republicans, which must be taken up to ensure that the American people are not sold into tyrannies petty or great. We hold these truths to be self-evident, as the Declaration of Independence has it, but they need to be supported, from time-to-time, and this is such a time.
Terror & Arafat
The articles and news reports I’ve seen so far on Yasir Arafat have focussed on the man as statesman, but if no one else will, I’ll just point out that he was a terrorist and a murderer and a major impediment to peace in the Middle East. The excesses of Israel over the last fifty years, especially the last twenty, perhaps, indeed condemn that state, for all its status as a democracy, as being among the oppressors, rather than the opposite, which it had been meant to be. Nevertheless, we should never forget Munich, neither should we forget the Achille Lauro, nor countless hijackings and other indiscriminate murders, including the suicide-bomber phenomenon we presently face around the world. These are all the heritage of Yasir Arafat, as much as any Palestinian state may yet be. I wish for peace in the Middle East, a homeland for the Palestinians, and security for the state of Israel. Maybe now something more than handshakes and signed treaties can be accomplished.
The articles and news reports I’ve seen so far on Yasir Arafat have focussed on the man as statesman, but if no one else will, I’ll just point out that he was a terrorist and a murderer and a major impediment to peace in the Middle East. The excesses of Israel over the last fifty years, especially the last twenty, perhaps, indeed condemn that state, for all its status as a democracy, as being among the oppressors, rather than the opposite, which it had been meant to be. Nevertheless, we should never forget Munich, neither should we forget the Achille Lauro, nor countless hijackings and other indiscriminate murders, including the suicide-bomber phenomenon we presently face around the world. These are all the heritage of Yasir Arafat, as much as any Palestinian state may yet be. I wish for peace in the Middle East, a homeland for the Palestinians, and security for the state of Israel. Maybe now something more than handshakes and signed treaties can be accomplished.
Triumphalism
It’s a fascinating, if frustrating, study to hear the response from the Bush supporters now that their prince has won: shut up. Yes, that’s basically the gist of it. We won, they say, so shut up. That’s when they’re not engaged in mocking those of us they’d like to now shut up.
Sorry, but there’s no reason I can think of to be quiet. Regardless of rampant fraud versus legitimate results – I can’t prove anything, so it’s all hearsay at this point – losing an election isn’t a reason to give up principles. When did the Republicans ever shut up? Were they quiet when Clinton won? No, they weren’t even quiet when he was just a candidate to be a candidate, let alone afterwards. They sure weren’t quiet while Carter was in office, either (although they were clandestine, making deals with Iran to undermine the incumbent’s ability to retrieve the hostages). In fact, they’ve never shut up, even when they were on top of the political heap. When Nixon was in office, did they shut up, content with their win? No, they only crowed the louder: America, love it or leave it; yea us. And Reagan? He got hosannas at ever turn, and for fifteen years after he left office, too.
So shut up about shutting up. It’s not going to happen. Get used to opposition; we have. But if you won’t come willingly into an open, accepting, and progressive future, kick and scream all you want; we’ll still get there eventually.
It’s a fascinating, if frustrating, study to hear the response from the Bush supporters now that their prince has won: shut up. Yes, that’s basically the gist of it. We won, they say, so shut up. That’s when they’re not engaged in mocking those of us they’d like to now shut up.
Sorry, but there’s no reason I can think of to be quiet. Regardless of rampant fraud versus legitimate results – I can’t prove anything, so it’s all hearsay at this point – losing an election isn’t a reason to give up principles. When did the Republicans ever shut up? Were they quiet when Clinton won? No, they weren’t even quiet when he was just a candidate to be a candidate, let alone afterwards. They sure weren’t quiet while Carter was in office, either (although they were clandestine, making deals with Iran to undermine the incumbent’s ability to retrieve the hostages). In fact, they’ve never shut up, even when they were on top of the political heap. When Nixon was in office, did they shut up, content with their win? No, they only crowed the louder: America, love it or leave it; yea us. And Reagan? He got hosannas at ever turn, and for fifteen years after he left office, too.
So shut up about shutting up. It’s not going to happen. Get used to opposition; we have. But if you won’t come willingly into an open, accepting, and progressive future, kick and scream all you want; we’ll still get there eventually.
Rookwood
Yesterday we buried Tony Callus, M.’s uncle’s partner of 50 years. From Malta, where he’d been born, grew up, and worked some years as a naval engineer fitting out submarines, he emigrated to Australia and made a living operating heavy equipment, with a little house renovation work and fine carpentry on the side. When he died, he was 75 old. Tony had had a bypass just a few months ago and had been recovering nicely. But he’d always been very proud of his physical fitness, having spent many years as an amateur bodybuilder. Even before his operation, he could out-lift much younger men. He continued to work out, albeit with lighter weights (and no bench-presses), just more reps. He also continued to work around the home he and Don had made together up in the Northern suburbs, where he had done considerable work to improve their domicile, structurally and decoratively, as well as a magnificent garden, with many flowering and fruiting plants and trees (although the cockatoos got more benefit of the latter than did Don and Tony). Tony was working on scraping and painting the trim when his heart failed him, evidence of just how game he was to keep going, to stay active and strong.
Don, of course, is deeply sad. As often happens, even though family and friends remain from both sides, having lost his partner, he is bereft of the one true stay he had in life. Both men had recently joined the Anglican Church as parishioners, if that’s the right term, and Don is comforted by his faith, and Tony’s, which is to be reverenced. Their minister is young, enthusiastic, and caring, and I’m sure he will continue to inspire Don’s Christianity. I’ve never participated in an Anglican ceremony of any kind, but thought Tony’s service was well done.
We’re all going to miss Tony, as gracious and warm a man as any I’ve known. We will endeavour to ensure that Don is not left to himself any more than he’d prefer. (And I expect to be up on a ladder scraping paint before too long, if not also running the lawn mower and learning to prune trees.)
After the burial, which we attended at Rookwood Cemetery, out near Lidcombe, M. & I accompanied her older brother, Mark, eight years her senior, in seeking out the graves of their mother’s family, which, after some little pacing thorugh the lanes, we eventually discovered. Strangely, Mark was able to leave a token at each, M. & I having purchased Remembrance Day poppies on our way to the train that morning; strangely, I say, because I have never before purchased one of these tokens previously.
We had a nice dinner with Mark afterward at our favorite Lebanese restaurant, which I’m also glad of, since we don’t often get to spend time with Mark by himself, outside the context of his family. I’m enjoying getting to know him, and will head out to Narabeen this weekend to watch his youngest children participate in a day of Track & Field.
Yesterday we buried Tony Callus, M.’s uncle’s partner of 50 years. From Malta, where he’d been born, grew up, and worked some years as a naval engineer fitting out submarines, he emigrated to Australia and made a living operating heavy equipment, with a little house renovation work and fine carpentry on the side. When he died, he was 75 old. Tony had had a bypass just a few months ago and had been recovering nicely. But he’d always been very proud of his physical fitness, having spent many years as an amateur bodybuilder. Even before his operation, he could out-lift much younger men. He continued to work out, albeit with lighter weights (and no bench-presses), just more reps. He also continued to work around the home he and Don had made together up in the Northern suburbs, where he had done considerable work to improve their domicile, structurally and decoratively, as well as a magnificent garden, with many flowering and fruiting plants and trees (although the cockatoos got more benefit of the latter than did Don and Tony). Tony was working on scraping and painting the trim when his heart failed him, evidence of just how game he was to keep going, to stay active and strong.
Don, of course, is deeply sad. As often happens, even though family and friends remain from both sides, having lost his partner, he is bereft of the one true stay he had in life. Both men had recently joined the Anglican Church as parishioners, if that’s the right term, and Don is comforted by his faith, and Tony’s, which is to be reverenced. Their minister is young, enthusiastic, and caring, and I’m sure he will continue to inspire Don’s Christianity. I’ve never participated in an Anglican ceremony of any kind, but thought Tony’s service was well done.
We’re all going to miss Tony, as gracious and warm a man as any I’ve known. We will endeavour to ensure that Don is not left to himself any more than he’d prefer. (And I expect to be up on a ladder scraping paint before too long, if not also running the lawn mower and learning to prune trees.)
After the burial, which we attended at Rookwood Cemetery, out near Lidcombe, M. & I accompanied her older brother, Mark, eight years her senior, in seeking out the graves of their mother’s family, which, after some little pacing thorugh the lanes, we eventually discovered. Strangely, Mark was able to leave a token at each, M. & I having purchased Remembrance Day poppies on our way to the train that morning; strangely, I say, because I have never before purchased one of these tokens previously.
We had a nice dinner with Mark afterward at our favorite Lebanese restaurant, which I’m also glad of, since we don’t often get to spend time with Mark by himself, outside the context of his family. I’m enjoying getting to know him, and will head out to Narabeen this weekend to watch his youngest children participate in a day of Track & Field.
09 November 2004
We Have Seen the Enemy and They Is Us
Over the next four years, the opposition has got its work cut out. It’s important that those of us now in the minority don’t thereby get cut out of the process. There are enough re-elected moderates on the other side of Congress to ensure that there will be at least some to work with. While Bush claims to reach across the aisle, he’s never done so, and what he claims is consensus is nothing more than giving up, rolling over and playing dead. It’s vital that we don’t give in. We must choose our battles and fight them well, but there will be a lot of them.
The Iraq war is going to continue. Falluja will be levelled, and in the next few days. The insurgency will likely continue despite that, and the touted January elections will be held despite that. Don’t expect the U.S. to leave the country in February, however. These eventualities all would have been just as true with Kerry as they are with Bush. The struggle to defeat international terror, however, well, it’s an open question as to how that will be pursued, let alone how effectively. Military strikes against Iran or North Korea are possible, although the European Union is trying to cut a deal with the former, and the capabilities of the latter are less worrying, if only because they’re not a Middle Eastern nation. Diplomacy is not Bush’s strong suit: he’s demonstrated his preference for the hammer over any other tool. The Democrats can, nevertheless, keep pointing out what other options exist, facilitating a more mature approach to international relations, and they can raise what other needs must be met. We must press the administration on Sudan. It’s already too late to keep this from being another Rwanda, but we can still retrieve the situation in some worthwhile measure. Afghanistan still needs more support, or they may yet devolve again. Those warlords aren’t going away.
The issue of the deficit is over. The government will have to spend many billions yet more than it has or has any hope to have for well beyond the next four years. Under Kerry, again, this would still have been true. But we can fight for every penny we can save, and so we should.
Keep Bush’s hands off the Constitution. We don’t need any stupidity about the flag enshrined there, and – more importantly – the definition of marriage is not an issue requiring Federal intervention; whether to allow all citizens to marry freely is an option that falls within the rights set forth in the Declaration of Independence and meant to be protected by law. Let the States decide, as 11 of them have, and then let it be fought out in the courts. The system can sort itself out, as it has always done.
Social Security is a mess, and it has always been so, whether you thought when it was instituted that FDR was imposing socialism or whether in the last few decades you thought yourself overtaxed. Finding a way to wind down this program is inevitable. Putting more money into the hands of investment banks and stock brokers is unlikely to prove a wise method of accomplishing the existing commitment, even if it would unburden the coming generations. Social Security needs to be returned to the purpose it best serves: protecting the aged and indigent. Clear thinking with a view towards the long future is required, not quick-fix money laundering.
The Supreme Court is about to become a big issue, but however many Justices may need to be appointed, there are many more federal bench openings around the nation already needing appointments and still more to come. Activist judges come with liberal, conservative, and “neo-con” agendas, and some of any of these represent an unacceptable partisanship in a court of law. Bork the ones who need to be, and keep our courts from becoming enablers of bad policy.
Speaking of which, abortion is wrong, as contraception, as pretty much anyone would agree, but that’s a personal belief, and limited to a particular set of circumstances. By making all abortion into late-term abortion, we frighten ourselves into believing some nightmare vision of compulsory infanticide that has no basis in reality. Education and access to birth control are more effective than stigmatizing sex. “Just say no” doesn’t work for sex any more than it does for drugs, and unless you’re going to adopt those babies or support those families, you shouldn’t get to say “no” to anyone but yourself. Raise the level of the discourse, or you’re just one of those creeps outside the clinic screaming yourself red in the face at unfortunate girls and women who have enough trouble without you around, or worse, you’re one of those creeps taking potshots at doctors with a deer rifle. As for stem cell research, this isn’t as linked to the issue of abortion as some would have us believe, and we can improve things here, too, by putting science at the forefront, again instead of morals. Science doesn’t require dead babies, so nobody’s coming after anyone’s pregnant wife. Grow up.
We have “family values,” too. We don’t limit them to our own families, however, and that’s a message that deserves to be spread. I value the needs of your family as much as I value mine. That’s called compassion, it’s called inclusiveness. It doesn’t mean I have to sit on my hands while some murderous fanatic tries to hurt me, but it does mean that I should do what I can to see to it that the roots of such madness are eradicated. If I have the means, then I have the responsibility. You can be selfish if you want, but please stay out of the way of truly decent people while you’re doing it.
Over the next four years, the opposition has got its work cut out. It’s important that those of us now in the minority don’t thereby get cut out of the process. There are enough re-elected moderates on the other side of Congress to ensure that there will be at least some to work with. While Bush claims to reach across the aisle, he’s never done so, and what he claims is consensus is nothing more than giving up, rolling over and playing dead. It’s vital that we don’t give in. We must choose our battles and fight them well, but there will be a lot of them.
The Iraq war is going to continue. Falluja will be levelled, and in the next few days. The insurgency will likely continue despite that, and the touted January elections will be held despite that. Don’t expect the U.S. to leave the country in February, however. These eventualities all would have been just as true with Kerry as they are with Bush. The struggle to defeat international terror, however, well, it’s an open question as to how that will be pursued, let alone how effectively. Military strikes against Iran or North Korea are possible, although the European Union is trying to cut a deal with the former, and the capabilities of the latter are less worrying, if only because they’re not a Middle Eastern nation. Diplomacy is not Bush’s strong suit: he’s demonstrated his preference for the hammer over any other tool. The Democrats can, nevertheless, keep pointing out what other options exist, facilitating a more mature approach to international relations, and they can raise what other needs must be met. We must press the administration on Sudan. It’s already too late to keep this from being another Rwanda, but we can still retrieve the situation in some worthwhile measure. Afghanistan still needs more support, or they may yet devolve again. Those warlords aren’t going away.
The issue of the deficit is over. The government will have to spend many billions yet more than it has or has any hope to have for well beyond the next four years. Under Kerry, again, this would still have been true. But we can fight for every penny we can save, and so we should.
Keep Bush’s hands off the Constitution. We don’t need any stupidity about the flag enshrined there, and – more importantly – the definition of marriage is not an issue requiring Federal intervention; whether to allow all citizens to marry freely is an option that falls within the rights set forth in the Declaration of Independence and meant to be protected by law. Let the States decide, as 11 of them have, and then let it be fought out in the courts. The system can sort itself out, as it has always done.
Social Security is a mess, and it has always been so, whether you thought when it was instituted that FDR was imposing socialism or whether in the last few decades you thought yourself overtaxed. Finding a way to wind down this program is inevitable. Putting more money into the hands of investment banks and stock brokers is unlikely to prove a wise method of accomplishing the existing commitment, even if it would unburden the coming generations. Social Security needs to be returned to the purpose it best serves: protecting the aged and indigent. Clear thinking with a view towards the long future is required, not quick-fix money laundering.
The Supreme Court is about to become a big issue, but however many Justices may need to be appointed, there are many more federal bench openings around the nation already needing appointments and still more to come. Activist judges come with liberal, conservative, and “neo-con” agendas, and some of any of these represent an unacceptable partisanship in a court of law. Bork the ones who need to be, and keep our courts from becoming enablers of bad policy.
Speaking of which, abortion is wrong, as contraception, as pretty much anyone would agree, but that’s a personal belief, and limited to a particular set of circumstances. By making all abortion into late-term abortion, we frighten ourselves into believing some nightmare vision of compulsory infanticide that has no basis in reality. Education and access to birth control are more effective than stigmatizing sex. “Just say no” doesn’t work for sex any more than it does for drugs, and unless you’re going to adopt those babies or support those families, you shouldn’t get to say “no” to anyone but yourself. Raise the level of the discourse, or you’re just one of those creeps outside the clinic screaming yourself red in the face at unfortunate girls and women who have enough trouble without you around, or worse, you’re one of those creeps taking potshots at doctors with a deer rifle. As for stem cell research, this isn’t as linked to the issue of abortion as some would have us believe, and we can improve things here, too, by putting science at the forefront, again instead of morals. Science doesn’t require dead babies, so nobody’s coming after anyone’s pregnant wife. Grow up.
We have “family values,” too. We don’t limit them to our own families, however, and that’s a message that deserves to be spread. I value the needs of your family as much as I value mine. That’s called compassion, it’s called inclusiveness. It doesn’t mean I have to sit on my hands while some murderous fanatic tries to hurt me, but it does mean that I should do what I can to see to it that the roots of such madness are eradicated. If I have the means, then I have the responsibility. You can be selfish if you want, but please stay out of the way of truly decent people while you’re doing it.
My America
In my America, there are indeed “activist” judges, but the activism they espouse is the rule of law. Judges like this one. There’s more to be done, too, since Bush’s mandate appears to include ignoring the Supreme Court when it suits him. Are we a civil society, or do we only pay lip-service to the principles that have defined our nation? It is barbarous to do as we have, and worse, because we have the resources to do what is right.
In my America, there are indeed “activist” judges, but the activism they espouse is the rule of law. Judges like this one. There’s more to be done, too, since Bush’s mandate appears to include ignoring the Supreme Court when it suits him. Are we a civil society, or do we only pay lip-service to the principles that have defined our nation? It is barbarous to do as we have, and worse, because we have the resources to do what is right.
04 November 2004
Love It or Leave It
Just in case, I’m entirely prepared to sponsor any of my immediate family who want to expatriate themselves (I’m looking at you, Californians). The bed in the guest room is made up and rent is nominal.
Just in case, I’m entirely prepared to sponsor any of my immediate family who want to expatriate themselves (I’m looking at you, Californians). The bed in the guest room is made up and rent is nominal.
The Cabinet
The make-up of the back office of the White House is an important part of what will happen over the next four years. Colin Powell looks to be on his way out, but so do John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld. The next Secretary of State: possibly that death’s head Condoleeza Rice, although John Danforth, the present UN Ambassador is tipped for the position. Rice, however, is looking good for Defense, and why not? It’s as much her fault we’re in Iraq as anyone else’s. A vacant National Security Advisor’s slot puts Wolfowitz forward as a replacement, and again, why not? He has had as much to do with Bush’s actions on this front as Rice did, and Bush clearly likes his thinking.
If Ashcroft goes, Tom Ridge is on tap for Justice, which at least means he can give the terror alerts, even if Rudy Giuliani, touted as his potential successor at Homeland Security, would then be the one to correct the color chart.
Most important of all (yes, sarcasm) is the possible departure of Norman Mineta from Transportation, because we might not have to take off our shoes at the airport anymore. Giving this spot to the present Energy Secretary, Spencer Abraham, could keep airline fuel surcharges from getting out of hand.
No word on who’d replace Elaine Chao at Labor if she gets a new job, but since there aren’t any jobs anyway, and no more overtime, maybe we can just dispense with this Cabinet post.
Next: Death Watch of the Supremes.
The make-up of the back office of the White House is an important part of what will happen over the next four years. Colin Powell looks to be on his way out, but so do John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld. The next Secretary of State: possibly that death’s head Condoleeza Rice, although John Danforth, the present UN Ambassador is tipped for the position. Rice, however, is looking good for Defense, and why not? It’s as much her fault we’re in Iraq as anyone else’s. A vacant National Security Advisor’s slot puts Wolfowitz forward as a replacement, and again, why not? He has had as much to do with Bush’s actions on this front as Rice did, and Bush clearly likes his thinking.
If Ashcroft goes, Tom Ridge is on tap for Justice, which at least means he can give the terror alerts, even if Rudy Giuliani, touted as his potential successor at Homeland Security, would then be the one to correct the color chart.
Most important of all (yes, sarcasm) is the possible departure of Norman Mineta from Transportation, because we might not have to take off our shoes at the airport anymore. Giving this spot to the present Energy Secretary, Spencer Abraham, could keep airline fuel surcharges from getting out of hand.
No word on who’d replace Elaine Chao at Labor if she gets a new job, but since there aren’t any jobs anyway, and no more overtime, maybe we can just dispense with this Cabinet post.
Next: Death Watch of the Supremes.
Jacaranda Days
This week and next are the height of the flowering season for the jacarandas, a tree native to Brazil but imported here to good and welcome effect. The trees flower before they leaf, a very pretty spring phenomenon. They tend to stand out, not just for their color, but because they inhibit the growth of other trees around them anyway. Looking out over the city, however, inevitably provides a view of some jacarandas in any neighborhood - well, any I've been in. These are among the more welcome features of life in Sydney.
We've been invited to a jacaranda party out in Erskinville next weekend, which should be very nice.
This week and next are the height of the flowering season for the jacarandas, a tree native to Brazil but imported here to good and welcome effect. The trees flower before they leaf, a very pretty spring phenomenon. They tend to stand out, not just for their color, but because they inhibit the growth of other trees around them anyway. Looking out over the city, however, inevitably provides a view of some jacarandas in any neighborhood - well, any I've been in. These are among the more welcome features of life in Sydney.
We've been invited to a jacaranda party out in Erskinville next weekend, which should be very nice.
Four More
If that's what America wants, that's what we'll get, and good luck to us all. Yesterday, Democrats Abroad - Australia gathered to watch the returns.
Convivial for hours, eventually the mood shifted as the tide began to turn. Although heartened by Edwards' announcement that no concession was forthcoming, I think we all knew what was coming. Congratulations, nevertheless, to the organizers of Democrats Abroad - Australia, particularly Carmelan, Phillip, Tiffany, and Scott, whose indefatigable determination kept us going throughout the election season.
If that's what America wants, that's what we'll get, and good luck to us all. Yesterday, Democrats Abroad - Australia gathered to watch the returns.
Convivial for hours, eventually the mood shifted as the tide began to turn. Although heartened by Edwards' announcement that no concession was forthcoming, I think we all knew what was coming. Congratulations, nevertheless, to the organizers of Democrats Abroad - Australia, particularly Carmelan, Phillip, Tiffany, and Scott, whose indefatigable determination kept us going throughout the election season.
03 November 2004
Hi in Middle, and Round at the Ends
or, Keep Your Eye on the Donut and Not on the Hole
With 51.3% of the popular vote to 47.8%, Bush is showing a gain from 2000, but more importantly, the Electoral College vote is running at the moment 254 to 242 in his favor. It all comes down to Ohio, and that appears to be dependent on the provisional and absentee ballots yet to be counted, as many at 600,000 of them. Every vote counts, as John Edwards came out to say to the party faithful, and this time let's be sure every vote is counted. If you've got a couple of bucks to spare, the Kerry campaign legal fund is accepting contributions, and if it helps turn Ohio blue, I can't think of a more worthy cause. Anything to keep the election from going to the House.
or, Keep Your Eye on the Donut and Not on the Hole
With 51.3% of the popular vote to 47.8%, Bush is showing a gain from 2000, but more importantly, the Electoral College vote is running at the moment 254 to 242 in his favor. It all comes down to Ohio, and that appears to be dependent on the provisional and absentee ballots yet to be counted, as many at 600,000 of them. Every vote counts, as John Edwards came out to say to the party faithful, and this time let's be sure every vote is counted. If you've got a couple of bucks to spare, the Kerry campaign legal fund is accepting contributions, and if it helps turn Ohio blue, I can't think of a more worthy cause. Anything to keep the election from going to the House.
02 November 2004
and Finally . . .
I know that John Kerry is flawed. But I also know that George Bush is a disaster. Yes, Kerry will probably pursue a continuation of Bush's present policy in Iraq. He can do little else. He will, however, work to rebuild tattered international relationships that might get us a bigger helping hand than we're going to get under Bush. Kerry's domestic policies are going to cost money, but they're going to cost more to the people who can afford it than Bush would allow, and I'd appreciate a little help propping up the country, and I'm not getting it from Bush and his wealthy cronies. My biggest hope is that when Kerry says he's going to be smarter in combatting terrorism he means it, that he really gets it. Because George doesn't. I know George doesn't understand the post-9/11 world, a charge he levels against his opponent, because instead of using the power of the United States with an eye to the future, he applies it like a hammer. Afghanistan had to happen, but in the end, a lot more could have been accomplished even than has been so far. Iraq, however, didn't. Saddam Hussein was an evil tyrant and needed to be removed, but he was at least contained. No weapons, no hope of getting them, let alone giving them out. So yes, the U.S. military is mighty, but it isn't the only tool in the box. Anything else, for Bush, however, is a waste; it's spending money he'd rather go elsewhere, but not into social programs or even national infrastructure. He'd rather it goes to him and his buddies. And it will if he's re-elected. It would be nice to think Bush would see the division in America over this election as a message instead of a mandate, but if he wins, regardless of the margin, he will take it as the imprimatur of God himself. Christian fundamentalism, as practiced by Bush, among many, many others, is as dangerous to the world as any other. It's a shame that the politics of the nation have degenerated as they have, a shame on both their houses, Kerry and Bush, and a shame on everyone who has participated in the sniping, the misrepresentations, the lying. Too late to ask for a good, clean fight. The outcome will be with us shortly, and in the post-9/11 world, I want a President who will try to advance civilization into the 21st century, one who doesn't pursue a pre-Enlightment agenda of greed and oppression.
I know that John Kerry is flawed. But I also know that George Bush is a disaster. Yes, Kerry will probably pursue a continuation of Bush's present policy in Iraq. He can do little else. He will, however, work to rebuild tattered international relationships that might get us a bigger helping hand than we're going to get under Bush. Kerry's domestic policies are going to cost money, but they're going to cost more to the people who can afford it than Bush would allow, and I'd appreciate a little help propping up the country, and I'm not getting it from Bush and his wealthy cronies. My biggest hope is that when Kerry says he's going to be smarter in combatting terrorism he means it, that he really gets it. Because George doesn't. I know George doesn't understand the post-9/11 world, a charge he levels against his opponent, because instead of using the power of the United States with an eye to the future, he applies it like a hammer. Afghanistan had to happen, but in the end, a lot more could have been accomplished even than has been so far. Iraq, however, didn't. Saddam Hussein was an evil tyrant and needed to be removed, but he was at least contained. No weapons, no hope of getting them, let alone giving them out. So yes, the U.S. military is mighty, but it isn't the only tool in the box. Anything else, for Bush, however, is a waste; it's spending money he'd rather go elsewhere, but not into social programs or even national infrastructure. He'd rather it goes to him and his buddies. And it will if he's re-elected. It would be nice to think Bush would see the division in America over this election as a message instead of a mandate, but if he wins, regardless of the margin, he will take it as the imprimatur of God himself. Christian fundamentalism, as practiced by Bush, among many, many others, is as dangerous to the world as any other. It's a shame that the politics of the nation have degenerated as they have, a shame on both their houses, Kerry and Bush, and a shame on everyone who has participated in the sniping, the misrepresentations, the lying. Too late to ask for a good, clean fight. The outcome will be with us shortly, and in the post-9/11 world, I want a President who will try to advance civilization into the 21st century, one who doesn't pursue a pre-Enlightment agenda of greed and oppression.
The Fate of the Free World
The nail-biting conclusion is coming up. By this time tomorrow, polls will have already started closing, exit polls will already have been providing CNN, MSNBC, Fox, et al. with enough anecdotal evidence for them to begin calling the election and spoiling the outcome in the further west time zones (as usual; they say they won’t but then they do – they just can’t help themselves). Meanwhile, M. & I, along with the faithful, will be gathering like the Apostles did that fateful Passover Thursday 2,000 years ago, i.e., in an upstairs room, but hoping for a better outcome from all the lead-up.
The nail-biting conclusion is coming up. By this time tomorrow, polls will have already started closing, exit polls will already have been providing CNN, MSNBC, Fox, et al. with enough anecdotal evidence for them to begin calling the election and spoiling the outcome in the further west time zones (as usual; they say they won’t but then they do – they just can’t help themselves). Meanwhile, M. & I, along with the faithful, will be gathering like the Apostles did that fateful Passover Thursday 2,000 years ago, i.e., in an upstairs room, but hoping for a better outcome from all the lead-up.
Industrial News Notes
For all the talk of a reduced bid, instead Oracle has raised its offer on PeopleSoft to US$24/share. With PeopleSoft trading at US$22.89, it may be enough now for the shareholders to push the board overboard.
For all the talk of a reduced bid, instead Oracle has raised its offer on PeopleSoft to US$24/share. With PeopleSoft trading at US$22.89, it may be enough now for the shareholders to push the board overboard.
Results
Turns out I got more than I expected deducted from gun to start, improving my results by nearly 2 minutes, and putting me closer to a net 5KPH than 5.5. Go me. Next year, I expect to be in shape to do the City-to-Surf, which you'll have already heard if you read the comments on the last race post, but is 1 hour & 15 minutes achievable? Or acceptable? It's probably better not to put the cart before the horse, especially as I'll probably need a horse the way things stand now.
Turns out I got more than I expected deducted from gun to start, improving my results by nearly 2 minutes, and putting me closer to a net 5KPH than 5.5. Go me. Next year, I expect to be in shape to do the City-to-Surf, which you'll have already heard if you read the comments on the last race post, but is 1 hour & 15 minutes achievable? Or acceptable? It's probably better not to put the cart before the horse, especially as I'll probably need a horse the way things stand now.
01 November 2004
Years of Protest
After I signed a petition over 5 years ago now, I never expected to hear that NYC would even consider turning the roads in Central Park back to pedestrians, but the city’s now moving in the right direction, if not at the most salubrious hours for park-goers, who have gotten in trouble there no matter how fast they may have been moving in the hours under discussion. Even if we were still living there, I wouldn’t be getting up before 7 a.m. for a run, neither would I go out after 7 p.m. even in summer. Too lazy, I guess. Nevertheless, after last night’s experience in Homebush, with the Nike 10K course full of switchbacks and bottlenecks, knowing that there might be open lanes in Central Park would be tempting. Keep the momentum up, and maybe in 20 years the park will be returned to the people who really use it.
After I signed a petition over 5 years ago now, I never expected to hear that NYC would even consider turning the roads in Central Park back to pedestrians, but the city’s now moving in the right direction, if not at the most salubrious hours for park-goers, who have gotten in trouble there no matter how fast they may have been moving in the hours under discussion. Even if we were still living there, I wouldn’t be getting up before 7 a.m. for a run, neither would I go out after 7 p.m. even in summer. Too lazy, I guess. Nevertheless, after last night’s experience in Homebush, with the Nike 10K course full of switchbacks and bottlenecks, knowing that there might be open lanes in Central Park would be tempting. Keep the momentum up, and maybe in 20 years the park will be returned to the people who really use it.
You're the Run that I Want
Nike's 10K run out at the Olympic Park last night was an enjoyable bit of exercise. I've been doing 8K training runs for the last three weeks, so it was gratifying to complete the race pretty much as expected. No, I won't tell you my time, but you can look it up next week when the results are posted. I'll put up a link then. Meanwhile, I can only hope that the transponder accounts for the difference between when the gun went off and when I actually stepped across the starting line. That might give me an extra thirty seconds, anyway. Meanwhile, from the expression on my face, I should have run harder, but who can help smiling a bit when your own personal official photographer is also your beloved wife?
Nike's 10K run out at the Olympic Park last night was an enjoyable bit of exercise. I've been doing 8K training runs for the last three weeks, so it was gratifying to complete the race pretty much as expected. No, I won't tell you my time, but you can look it up next week when the results are posted. I'll put up a link then. Meanwhile, I can only hope that the transponder accounts for the difference between when the gun went off and when I actually stepped across the starting line. That might give me an extra thirty seconds, anyway. Meanwhile, from the expression on my face, I should have run harder, but who can help smiling a bit when your own personal official photographer is also your beloved wife?
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