Rupture the Rapture

God and Politics

2011-09-18T11:25:00.002-04:00

I dedicated this blog to the issues of religion and belief - or, more aptly, disbelief - in god. Many, not all, of my posts here deal with various aspects of religious belief and/or the politics surrounding it. It's not particularly scholarly, much of it in fact is fed more by emotion than analytics or reason.

I came to the conclusion that god was a myth back around 1970 or so, and for many years I more or less kept my opinions on the matter to myself. Afterall, it was, IMO, a strictly personal choice. Of course, my wife, Jo came to know of it and a few others, but it wasn't something I broadcast openly. A part of that may have been self-serving, not wanting to create unnecessary ripples in the family or at work, etc. And it pretty much stayed that way for 20 years or more.

But then I became aware of what I considered to be a disturbing trend. With the rise of the "moral majority" and other christian fundamentalist movements, it became clear that many of them had as their goal for this country, a christian theocracy. It was their intent, to one degree or another to usurp the Constitution as we know it and replace it with a document, and a government based in christian dogma. There are a handfull of informative books dedicated to that very concern.

Over the past 15 years or so religion has become more and more a part of our national politics. Many use as a litmus test a candidate's religious leanings and their take on social/moral issues. The religious Right has co-opted the term "family values" and other catch phrases to set themselves apart (or above) the rest of us. They truly believe that their cause is holy and blessed by their god (just as do islamic radicals) while those on the left are at best, misguided, and at worst, minions of the devil.

A lot of people dismissed this movement as being too far "out there" to be taken seriously. Carl Rove and the Bushies catered to the religiious fundies by inviting them into the political sphere in the effort to get W elected both in 2000 and again in 2004. Since then, the more pragmatic, fiscal conservative wings of the GOP have tried in vain to separate themselves from the theocrats. Now, though, it is difficult to discern just what faction holds sway.

Among the teabaggers are a large contingent of christian fundies who may or may not hold as part of their agenda fiscal concerns, but they definitely are on board to "take back their country" as regards social/moral issues - abortion, gay marriage and other civil rights issues.

With their success in the 2010 mid-term elections, all those on the Right are licking their chops over what they see as a possible complete takeover of the federal government - all 3 branches - the White House, the House and Senate AND the courts. If unfettered they will have a heyday during at least one presidential term that would likely bring an end to 100+ years of social progress in the U.S. They truly have a vested interest in keeping the economy on its heels at least through November of 2012, in so doing, maintaining Obama's numbers well below 50% assuring a WH win.

Should that happen, it's not hard to expect that the Rep majority in the House would grow, and that Democratic control in the Senate would be lost. The Supreme Court is currently balanced on the conservative side. The next president will likely be able to appoint perhaps two or more new judges to the court which would, if the above scenario comes to fruitiion, give the Right pretty much carte blanche to enact whatever the hell they wish.

Further, between so called "blue dogs" and weak kneed Dems, it's unlikely that they would put up much of a fight. Progressives will be shunted ignominiously out into the cold.

Ultimately, it may be only putting off the inevitable, but for at least those reasons I've discussed above, I believe it imperative that Obama be re-elected in 2012. If not, it will be a dark world indeed. (Absolutely no pun intended.)

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And God Said: Fire, not a flood next time.

2011-05-03T19:55:00.004-04:00

I write this in the trembling fear that all hope is lost:

Rising from my usual mid-afternoon nap, I peered out of my kitchen window just minutes ago, and there, right outside, was a strange light, an astounding and pervasive brightness. Only after some understandable hesitation I cautiously slipped out the back door and into the yard in utter, jaw dropping amazement. The "brightness" was dazzlingly reflected off the white aluminosity of our garage, and about everything else as far as the eye could see. Only areas apparently somehow sheltered from the as yet undiscovered source of luminescence remained in accustomed mottled dim & drab.

Looking up, what did I see but a firey incandescent ball of light literally hanging, or I don't know, maybe hovering - yeah, definitely hovering - in the sky well above the horizon. I was terrified! I could feel heat emanating from it. Nearly blinded, I covered my eyes and reverted my gaze downward in a desparate attempt to regain my sight. I wheeled around only to discover atop the still soddened grass at my feet what appeared to be the blackened image of my rotundity. I could only surmize it to be the ash from my incineration effected by the now hated molten orb. I sprinted back into the house despite my decrepit knees, screaming, the ash staying with me step for fearful step. As I ran I also noticed that much of the sky had taken on what I could only describe as an evil blueness in place of the usual, natural and comforting dark gray. I quickly returned to the relative safety of my basement lair yelling to my wife, Jo as I descended the stair, that she should follow me post haste, but to perhaps grab a couple of beers and a bag of chips on her way.

In my life I have heard stories of such horrors as this - of strange lights in the skies, of evil lurking in the heavens - but always dismissed them as myth, a terrible fantasy - akin to stories of Rob Schneider winning an Oscar. The world must be coming to a hellish end. What else could it be? I'm comin' home mama!

PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN INDIANA: WOMEN LOSE ANOTHER ROUND

2011-04-30T00:04:00.000-04:00

This is a letter I just sent to Governor Mitch Daniels via his campaign website. I am not at all hopeful that it will have any effect on his intent to sign the bill blocking funding for Planned Parenthood. It is highly unlikely that he, or anyone will read it, let alone respond to it beyond perhaps some form letter that they send to all "kooks" who are not going to vote for their candidate or support their agenda, but take the time to send them letters.

I am extremely disappointed in your intent to sign the bill withholding funds from Planned Parenthood. I am a liberal and most often vote the Democratic ticket. Yet, last time around, I chose to vote for you as I felt you are a clearly intelligent man who I felt was at least to some degree above politics as usual. I have voted for Senator Richard Lugar for the same reason.

I assumed - or at least hoped - that you would understand how devastating the effect of this bill will be to women who count on Planned Parenthood for their health care. Planned Parenthood does NOT perform abortions. They only act in an advisory capacity and provide referals to medical professionals who will, if it is deemed the best option, perform an abortion. This service represents a very small portion of Planned Parenthood's services and their mission.

However, it appears that you have chosen to take the road most traveled. Political expediency has won the day over intelligence and fairness. A veto of this bill would have sent the wrong message to tea partiers and social conservatives from whom you expect and need support should you ultimately declare your candidacy for the Presidency.

I doubt that anyone in your campaign will allow you to even read this letter, let alone respond to it. But, if I am wrong on that count, I rather hope that it at least crosses your mind as you put pen to paper in taking another step in destroying 80 years of social progress in this country.

Definition Time

2011-04-23T20:29:00.000-04:00

Christians: People who believe that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father and born of a virgin mother can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and drink his blood, and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul (whatever that may be) that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical (apple? – pomegranate?) tree after being warned by the father-father not to.

Hey, it all makes sense to me.

NOT!

BTW -Happy Easter.

Walking Backwards

2011-02-21T10:26:00.002-05:00

Behind all the noise and bluster about budget deficits, the national debt, union busting, immigration reform and so on, Republicans at both state and national levels are quietly enacting the conservative social agenda. They are going after same sex marriage, abortion rights, including Planned Parenthood, some even wanting to revisit Don't Ask, Don't Tell and so on. As they have control of a large # of state legislatures and governorships, there is little to stop them. At the national level the only thing that may stop some of this is the still Democratically controlled Senate and the Obama White House. That may well change come 2012. There is even some stirring the pot regarding legislation and even constitutional ammendments in some states banning the teaching of evolution in favor of intelligent design. Most of this type of legislation is on tap here in Indiana. Woohoo!

A few years ago, people - even many on the right - were saying that the religious fundamentalist movement was dead. Not hardly.

The country, perhaps with Indiana taking the lead, is on its way back to the "good old days" otherwise known as the Dark Ages.

TLS

Glen Beck is Really Feeling His Oats

2011-02-19T11:16:00.006-05:00

Glen Beck is making hay with his dire warnings of the coming conflagration against the evil caliphate. But isn't that exactly what the fundies want? Isn't it the battle at Armageddon that is going to bring all this to a head? Isn't this what all the true believers say will be the (semi-) final comeuppance of Satan? Isn't this what it's all about?

Rather than being fearful or concerned, shouldn't all of the "end-times" mavens be jumping for joy? Isn't this when Jesus stampedes his way back onto the planet astride a glorious white steed wearing crossed ammo belts over his chest, brandishing blazing 50 caliber machine guns on each arm, with a wisp of his fair, reddish blond hair charmingly askew over his determined countenance sporting his steely blue eyes and a grim smile upon his angelic but murderous face? Isn't this where old Beelzebub gets his? Isn't this the final showdown? - Well, not the FINAL final showdown, but, let's say the "preliminary" final showdown? There's more to come if you check out the entire scenario predicted by those in the know.

And, doesn't "The Rapture" fit in here somewhere? Aren't all "the chosen" going to swept up and placed on board the Paradise Express leaving all of us groveling, slobbering sinners down here to deal with Satan and Rob Schneider flicks?

The Beckster and his minions should be giddy with excitement. They should be hailing these events, because, of course, the outcome is not in question, right?

The Lord of Lords wins out, and there ain't no doubt!

But for whatever obscure reasons, we have to play out this bloody confrontation to the hilt. Why? Well, it's not for us to reason...

I'm just sayin'...

TLS

Middle Eastern Unrest

2011-02-18T20:59:00.006-05:00

Of all the countries having demonstrations in the Middle East, I'd say Egypt would be the most likely to come out of it with something resembling western style democracy. It is, in many respects a very westernized state, and it doesn't have a particularly strong or virulently radical muslim force. The muslim brotherhood is not nearly so radical as most such groups. In fact, the brotherhood has been castigated by al qaida and other radical islamic groups particularly because it has renounced violence.

On another but related note consider this. Islam is about 500 years younger than christianity. Look where most christian nations were 500 years ago. Hell, christians were still burning people at the stake less than 300 years ago here in the U.S. The overall influence of christianity is waning throughout the world - particularly in Europe where it had ultimate power for hundreds of years. Today, most Europeans maintain a blase' attitude toward christianity and religion in general. There are far more atheists and agnostics throughout much of Europe than anywhere else in the world, as far as I'm aware. Despite recent and current efforts to ebb this flow by christian fundies in this country, the US is following Europe's lead if not quite fast enough for my taste. However, the move away from religion and toward secularism in the U.S. is persistent if somewhat glacial, moving in fits and starts

Islam has not evolved nearly as far as either judaism or christianity. That most islamic countries are poor and generally well behind much of the west in modernization and technology - with the perhaps spectacular exception of Dubai and a few other middle eastern cities - that the social, economic and cultural lives of many middle easterners remains much the same as it has been over the past several hundred years, major change comes hard. The relatively recent and sudden flood of western religions, culture and social graces into much of the middle east, dating back primarily to the dubiously glorified years of the British Empire, has fostered a good deal of chaos in the area. It's rather like in Star Trek, the Federation's "prime directive" stating that indigenous planetary cultures were to be left unaffected by and unaware of the existence of other worlds. (Of course, that being said, virtually every episode had the intrepid Star Trekkers laying waste to that very directive.) The west never guessed how difficult it would prove to be to enculturate the middle east and elsewhere - say in Africa and parts of the far east - with western mores. And then, of course, there's oil. Oh yeah. Oil.

While it's very difficult to find a supposed "benevolent" dictator, many of the middle eastern countries may in fact not be ready for western style democracy. Look at what took place in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia, and many of the former satellite nations, remain in many ways steeped in corruption and chaos. Most of those people have never lived and functioned in anything resembling a free society. They often don't understand even the basic rules, let alone any of the nuances. What happens in the middle east over the next weeks, months and years will be very interesting. If you buy into Glen Beck's theory, this is the beginning of the end. Happy days. :)

GROUND HOG DAY - THE BEGINNING OF THE END

2011-02-08T16:46:00.004-05:00

I just posted the following as a comment to one of my "friend's" postings on Facebook regarding her frustration with the musings of that infamous Pennsylvania woodchuck. I feel it imperitave that I get this message out there.

I have been looking into taking legal action regarding that unholy liberal celebration ostensibly known as "Groundhog Day.". It is difficult to determine just what came first: The groundhog - or more aptly, the whistle pig, the name known by those who recognize the danger signals - or the weather? Regardless, it is clear that a conspiracy is afoot - that the so called "shadow" is actually a left wing cabal intent upon establishing an inclimate radical muslim caliphate that will enforce sharia law in weather forecasting, and force us all to listen to a never-ending loop of Kenny G music. (In that regard, you MUST all gird your loins and remember - "If it ain't country, it ain't music.)

And that's just for starters!

Before we know it - and both the great Holy Man of our time, Glenn Beck, and the much beleaguered John Birch Society have duly warned us - America will soon become, in effect, the western arm of the New Ottoman Empire. Ponxitauney Phil indeed! If you perform a (commie controlled) Google search, you will see that "Phill's" first name has any # of spellings. Exceedingly interesting, no? How dumb do they think we are?

If you are having trouble following the logic of this, if this just doesn't make sense to you, well - that's just what THEY want. Simply close your eyes and listen. Listen to the Beckster. Concentrate. Now, remember how that left wing hack, the so called George H. W. Bush, used to tell us that "it wouldn't be prudent" --- to what? It wouldn't be prudent to look over his left shoulder (but you must remember- his left is your right. See? See how the maniacal Pinkos conspire to confuse good and true, god fearing, right minded, conservative Americans?!!!)

Why? - You may ask. Indeed! Well, isn't it clear why? I mean it's all right out there, plain as day. Keep in mind: We have proof! What proof? Well... never you mind! You must remember the motto of the true conservative: Don't ask, don't ask.

TLS

Just an additional note: RE: Girding of Loins: I am not altogether clear as to the steps to achieving proper girding

From Whence the Violence Comes

2011-01-08T23:54:00.000-05:00

Ever since President Obama took office, the right has incorporated violent rhetoric in their message. The Reps and tea party activists have "targeted" the opposition, they have suggested the use of "second ammendment" solutions. They have stated their intent to "take out" an opposition candidate. Any # of right wing political candidates at all levels used guns and targets - often human silhouette type targets, not just bullseyes - and language suggestive of violence against their oponents. Right wing TV - FOX, that is - has lauded the hits on medical people involved in abortions. Right wingnut radio dipsticks have made much more baldly violent threats against the left. Ann Coulter has accused all Democrats and anyone politically to the left of Atilla the Hun as being traitors.

The characterization of Obama, the Dems and the left in general as anti-american, as socialists, as communists, as fascists has fed the flames. Those who appeared at political rallies armed to the teeth reinforced the notion that violence was not only acceptable, but perhaps desired.

All these people can shrug and claim having no responsibility for todays massacre, but they ARE responsible. They know full well that there is and will always be a fringe element - on both extremes of the political spectrum - who are just crazy enough, just disaffected enough, just prone to violence enough to pick up the gauntlet and start shooting.

Ironically, among the worst of them are Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and Sharon Angle - the idiot triumvirate! Those three and all the others who make it a practice to use violent language and evoke violent images when speaking of their political opponents MUST accept responsibility and they MUST remove such allusions from their rhetoric in the future. They cannot be allowed to protest their innocence, but rather, must be held accountable by the public and, perhaps, ultimately, by the courts. To paraphrase the sheriff in Tucson who said in his statement earlier today in reference to the radio and TV pundits and pols' use of violent language - "It might be free speech, but it has consequences." Indeed it does.

TLS

You haff papers? No?

2010-04-26T21:27:00.000-04:00

ARIZONA SUCKS!!!

This guy says what I've tried to say but failed.

2010-02-20T23:52:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2nfXfTg92E&feature=player_embedded

Haiti and God

2010-01-16T00:52:00.010-05:00

It's hard to imagine that an earthquake could have happened at a worse place than Haiti. Haiti is the target of perhaps four or five hurricanes every decade. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Most people live on the equivalant of one or two dollars a day. These are people who had almost nothing. Now, for many what little they may have possessed is gone along with members of their families and friends.

That chaos will reign there, that violence will ensue is virtually a given. Already there has been video of people out in the streets waving and threatening others with machetes. The difficulty that aide workers are having in simply getting help to the city - rescue crews, medical personnel and equipment, food and water - is exacerbating the situation. Fear, thirst and starvation form a lethal mix.

In much of the coverage I've seen over the past few days, there have been innumerable people thanking god for their deliverance. While that is typical, it is always a mystery to me why a god who supposedly pulls all the strings should be thanked in such circumstances. What thanks do the dead owe to god? What thanks do the injured, starving and homeless owe?

If we assume that god either made the earthquake to happen, or could have prevented it - after all hesheit is omnipotent, right? - then what thanks is hesheit owed from the survivors?

"Thank you god for crushing my little girl's legs and killing the rest of my family. Thank you for destroying my home, my city. And thank you god for making all of our lives a living hell, which by surviving, I'll be able to witness and endure until I ultimately die. Thank you so much!

This is such madness. I just wonder what it might take to wake people up? I know all the pat answers that believers come up with: "It's not ours to question. We cannot hope to understand god's plan..." yada, yada, yada.

I've written all this before - perhaps after 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina or the Tsunami, or some other mindless mass killing or horrendous natural disaster. One can rest assured that after any such event, there will be those thanking god for sparing them.

Let's say we had a king ruling over us, and he caused a town to be destroyed by flood by blowing up a dam, or he marched an army into the town which set about killing hundreds of people at random and destroying their homes and businesses, and so on. Would the survivors struggle out of the rubble and give thanks to the king for not killing them? Or would they, perhaps, become angry and vengeful storming the king's castle?

Of course, the difference in my scenario is that a worldly king is human. He is a corporeal entity. He has a whereabouts. He can be hunted and slaughtered by the angry mob.

You can't do that to god. Hesheit is nowhere to be found. This so called loving god takes cruel swipes at us repeatedly, and yet, people bow down in thankful prayer to himherit. Such faith is lunacy.

Life is often difficult, even for the most gifted and successful of us. Most everyone experiences times of hardship and sadness. As is noted by Lao Tzu in the Tao te ching, life is hard. Life is suffering. We all will die. No matter how rich, no matter how important, no matter how protected, no matter how healthy any of us may be. No matter how great our genes are, at some point we will all shuffle off this mortal coil. Does it really make it easier to cope harboring a belief that some all powerful god is out there in the ether somewhere conducting this cacaphonous symphony of life, suffering and death?

TLS

What's New?

2009-05-01T23:36:00.011-04:00

I haven't written here for some time. Not much has happened in the world over the past several months that spurred me to put on my non-believer's hat and my godless fingers to the keys to clap out anything. I can't say that much has changed in that regard, but I was recently struck by a thought - admittedly a silly one - but nevertheless this occured to me:

God, in his wisdom, gave what is now Israel to (surprise!) the Israelites. as their so called Promised Land. Jews to this day continue to fight to the death for that little sliver of land in the midst of the Arab/Muslim hoard.

What occured to me was what if the Israelites had seen or got wind of say what is now the south of France or Tahiti or any of hundreds of other more verdant places around the world, about the time god came along informing Moses' people after their 40 year wandering stint that the very area in which they had settled was IT! - this was their Promised Land?

Mightn't the Israelites have looked about them and then approached god with a question or two?

"Hey, god, ya got a minute? Uh, first, we all want to thank you for this, uh, land. I mean, it's really great. No doubt it'll make a great country for us and all. No trouble getting a tan here, right? And it's good that there aren't any pools of that sticky black gunk here like there are everywhere else around us. What a mess that stuff makes. It flat out trashes a pair of sandals."

"But, we were just wondering, and don't take this the wrong way, but, uh, is this the best you've got? I mean, we are your "chosen people," right? I mean, well, the scuttlebutt is that some of the folks have heard of places that are, um, how can I put this? - more, uh, heavenlike. That's it! That's the ticket! More like heaven! Or at least what we think heaven might be like, I mean not that any of us lowly, scum of the earth, totally unworthy sinners would actually know, but, well, I mean, we can imagine, we do imagine, you know what I mean? Oy, how stupid I am, of course you know what I mean, I mean you're god and, well you know... "

"Uh, anyhow what the guys and gals back at camp have been saying is that this land that you have so generously given us is maybe a bit on the arid side, don't you think? I mean, some of these places that we've heard tell about are said to be actually green! - all the time, or, uh, at least most of the time. They have some wet stuff every morning called - oh what was it, uh - "dew," yeah, something called dew. They say there's grass and trees, and bushes - not burning ones of course, ha, ha - but lots of different kinds of bushes; some with berries growing on them that they say a guy could eat. And there's rain! Buckets of rain! I hear tell that some places get rain almost every day. Boy, that'd be a hoot, wouldn't it? But, still. I mean it just seems that if you're bent on giving us - your chosen people - some place to call our own, that there might be some more, uh, more hospitable, more promising real estate than this. NOT THAT WE'RE COMPLAINING! No, no, we don't want you to think that we're complaining. I mean, as I said, this is really great. Really, really great.I'm sure we can all eventually be happy as clams here. Lots of room to build sacred temples and such. Plenty of sand. Lots and lots of sand. Tons of sand. And camels! Hey, those camels are the nuts! Kinda goofy looking in a certain light, but they can sure get a guy around the desert, don't you know? The kid's are always "cameling" around. Ha, ha."

"But, well, anyway, what do you say G? May I call you G, or L, or L of L? Could you maybe have a look at what else might be available out there, maybe some place where maybe there might be an occasional cool breeze and maybe some water to kinda balance out with the sand?"

"What? I'm sorry. What? You say maybe we should consider building a what? An ark? Ha, ha. What's an ark?"

TLS :)

Whoopie, It's Easter!

2009-04-06T17:28:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter to one and all.

2008-11-05T17:34:00.001-05:00

Obama. O'Yay!

California's Proposition 8

2008-10-16T01:15:00.003-04:00

If you have an interest in gay rights and/or concerns regarding gay marriage click on this and read the article and comments over at Blog Critics Magazine.

Photo: Pineapple mint, anyone?

TLS

Ding, Dong. It's alive, it's alive!!!

2008-09-13T15:05:00.010-04:00

Well, I just couldn't take it anymore. Three months ago, I decided to put Rupture to bed. While it has remained quiet, there have, nevertheless been a few people coming by checking things out. Rupture has, in the past few days, been beckoning - "Feed me, feed me!"

So. It's back! I've sent notice to the media. There should be preemptive break-ins over the coverage of Hurricane Ike and the presidential campaign any minute now on all the major networks: "FLASH! RUPTURE THE RAPTURE IS BACK! Film at 11."

What I intend to do is focus pretty much all postings on matters concerning religion/atheism here. I will also maintain Indy Boomer for pretty much all other postings. Boomer hasn't really taken off and perhaps won't, but being an eternal optimist, in time I'm confident that thousands - nay - hundreds of thousands of eager readers will eventually be treading on Indy Boomer's virtual doorstep clamboring for my wit and wisdom.

Note: I caught the above image of angels actually emerging from the walls of a Munich department store building. They proceeded to fly over the street and then alighted together at the entry to a Starbucks across the square. They then entered the store enmasse and all ordered Mango Passion Fruit Frappucinos. It was a truly "grande" sight.

Is God Really in the Details?

2008-09-13T10:31:00.002-04:00

Just a question and a note here: How long has man seriously been involved in truly scientific inquiry? Surely, there were some discoveries made going back even thousands of years, but the results of many of those efforts have either been lost, or were thwarted, often by the powers that be.

Only since the Renaissance has there been a more or less uninterrupted and concerted effort to discover our origins along with other scientific inquiry. Given the totality of human history, those few hundred years are hardly a blip on the proverbial screen. Look at what has been accomplished just since, say the middle of the 19th century in science and technology. To believe that humans can NEVER reach a core of understanding about the universe, our origins, and our place within it, is at the least, selling ourselves short.

Much of what we know and can do today would have been thought the stuff of magic or fantasy just a couple hundred years ago. Thousands of people were burnt at the stake for just imagining such things. Humans have an enormous capacity to explore and understand. Most of us, myself included, have no idea about much of it. Scientific research has become so specialized, so concerned with seeming minutia that again, most of us can't relate to it. Ultimately, the trick will be to put it all together, to assimilate all of the discreet data into a cohesive and manageable understanding of it all. I won't predict that we WILL accomplish that, but I do believe we CAN.

While, I suppose it is possible that the ultimate answer to it all could be something that one could aptly call a god, at this juncture, however, that is no more likely than hundreds of other possibilities. Further, the possibility that the answer is an omnipotent, omniscient god consciously involved in the second to second lives of us humans is so remote to be considered ludicrous. It is a human conceit to believe that we are the one and only chosen beings of god.

As I have asked before: What possible interest could an all powerful, all knowing entity have in such insignificant beings such as ourselves? I always think of "Star Trek TNG" and the character "Q" played, I believe, by actor John Delancey, who had god like powers over the fate of all humanity. He was depicted as being contemptuous and bored by humanity, but then alternately intrigued and curious about us as well. In my opinion, the former view would hold sway more often than not.

Ding, Dong, The Witch is Dead!

2008-06-12T15:15:00.002-04:00

Well, not really. I mean, she may be in fact dead, but that has no meaning for us here in blog world. I just wanted to let my thousands of relentless fans know that I have set up housekeeping at a new location: Indy Boomer It's not radically different than what I've done here except that I am fashioning it to have a broader appeal than just that boring, old religion/atheism crap.
It is just a beginning, and a humble one at that, but I hope to reach out and touch hundreds of thousands of you (actually, a couple of dozen would be a marked improvement) with my wit and wisdom, my great insight to the world's problems and whatever other drivel I might conjure.

Give me a visit. Pleeeeeeeze!!! Ya'll er welcome.

TLS

The End - I Mean It! Really! No Foolin' Around!

2008-05-31T11:40:00.003-04:00

I am no longer posting here. I have not set up new digs as yet, but will, hopefully, in the near future. For anyone interested, check back here from time to time as I will provide a link whenever that happens.

I will keep this old barge afloat for the forseeable future as I want to save some of my posts for posterior, or uh, well, you know what I mean.

At some point though, I will pull the plug and presumably "Rupture" will disappear into the ether of cyberspace. For most, this will be no great loss, I'm sure.

In the mean time, feel free to browse, even comment should you have the urge. I'd love it. I think I put together a few good posts over the last couple of years, and at least in some instances, there arose a good bit of spirited discussion/argumentation. Hey, what better way to spend a glorious spring or summer day than sitting in a darkened room hunched over a computer keyboard reading from the rantings of some unknown godless fat guy from the midwest?

In some ways, I feel like I'm announcing a GOB (going out of business) sale for a cheap furniture store. Whatever.

Terry S.

(Photo - Ravensbruck)

End Game

2008-05-21T00:38:00.003-04:00

In a couple of weeks or so, I am going to pull the plug on this old site and put it out of its misery. It has more than run its course, and I really don't have anything much to say. It's all been said.

I doubt that my efforts have changed any minds or even been particularly informative. I went through a period like this several months ago, but found some things that got me going again. That doesn't seem to be happening this time around. I got nothin'.

I may pop up again in another blog incarnation, but I will have to find a compelling purpose to do so. A few readers have been kind in making comments, and I have enjoyed some spirited discussions and debates over the last two and a half years or so. But, it all just seems for naught at this juncture.

So, I am saying bye, bye for now. I only wish I had been somebody, so I could make a come back. Ah well.

TLS

Barack Obama: Rock Star!!!

2008-05-06T11:49:00.003-04:00

I witnessed something fairly phenomenal earlier this evening. My wife Jo and I drove downtown to attend an Obama rally, the last prior to Tuesday's primary election. We hemmed and hawed about whether to stop someplace for dinner on the way, but decided to drive by the venue - the American Legion Mall - to see how things looked. This was at around 6PM. The gates were not to open until 7:30. Already there were several thousand people lining up and otherwise milling about in Veterans Memorial Park immediately south of the Mall. We decided to skip dinner and park as near as possible to get into the mix. Walking back to the Mall, we did manage to snare a couple of hot dogs and cans of soda on the way.

There were two separate lines. The line nearest to us as we entered the park and by far the shortest was only for people holding red tickets. Alas, we had no red tickets and could not ascertain just how or where those fortunate few got them. The other, longer line was for all forlorn unticketed souls - the "great unwashed," as it were. So, after snarfing down our drinks and dogs, we started wending our way as directed toward the end of the unticketed line. We never found it. It snaked south out of the park, across Michigan Street and down Pennsylvania Avenue, eventually, we later discovered, reaching Washington Street over seven blocks away. For a time we thought about sitting on a concrete wall at the World War Memorial a little south of the Mall just to listen, rather than test our mettle waiting on line. However, the weather threatened and my ripped-up knee complained - actually screamed at me - to quit this craziness. We left. (I know — fair weather fans.)

Later, we watched a webcast of Obama's speech in the comfort of our humble digs. The speech he gave offered little that was new. It was essentially his stump speech. That wasn't the phenomenon. It was that line.

A few days ago, Obama filled the Indiana University Assembly Hall in Bloomington with around twelve to fifteen thousand people. An earlier rally at the same facility for Clinton garnered her only about thirty-five hundred admirers. I figured that it could be a little crazy at this rally, but I didn't anticipate what we found.

The American Legion Mall is just an open, level, grassy expanse in the middle of downtown Indy that can accommodate something in the area of twenty-five thousand people. Before Obama hit the stage the Mall filled up and many were ultimately turned away. There were, I would estimate, another three or four thousand people settled in the areas surrounding the Mall. I should add that Stevie Wonder played prior to Obama's entrance which may have enticed some to make the effort to attend the rally. But that's nothing unusual. I understand that McCain has the surviving members of Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Music Makers" perform a little "get down" music prior to his rallies.

Seriously though, this rally was a "happening." I would be very surprised if either Clinton or McCain could muster a crowd even remotely as large as that Obama managed tonight. Whether the results from either Indiana or North Carolina prove to be definitive is, as I write, unknown. But, if the crowd that came in support of Barack Obama this evening translates proportionally into votes, Clinton, McCain, and all those in their respective camps had better get ready to duck. Obama just might be the next shot heard round the world - or at least around the country.

Barack Obama is a rock star!

TLS

2008-05-02T00:56:00.004-04:00

FLASH!!!

Recent word out of Kinshasha, The Congo claims that area sorcerers have been stealing penises! Yes, penises!!! (I hate when that happens.)

Hard liners in the local constabulary have arrested a number of the suspected thieves charging them with malicious dis-member-ment. As a result it now appears that the market has gone soft.

Remember though. Don't leave home without it!

And now, back to our regular programming.

TLS

RAVENSBRUCK: Quiet Horror

2008-04-25T17:18:00.039-04:00

I just wrote this as a comment on another blog - Zoe's "A Complicated Salvation." Please give her a visit, she does good stuff.

After reading through my comment, I decided I would like to share it, in a slightly expanded version with those few of you who visit here from time to time.

An odd thing. As I mentioned in an earlier post my wife and I recently spent about ten days visiting our son who lives in Germany. The day after Easter we toured Ravensbruck, a concentration camp set up by the Nazis primarily to imprison and murder women and children. It obviously wasn't a happy couple of hours for us, but there was something about the atmosphere there that was at once haunting and yet stunningly peaceful.

Inside the walls all of the barracks in which the prisoners lived are gone leaving only an impression in the gravel of the outline of each building as if the collective misery which permeated those buildings left an indelible stain on the ground beneath. There are multiple rows of Linden trees remaining originally planted near the door of each building, a cruelly ironic gesture if given some thought. Far to the rear of the complex are buildings which served as a factory wherein the women and older children manufactured SS uniforms. Otherwise, the space is open, barren.

Outside the confines of the camp itself is a lake with a plaza at the end nearest the camp. On the plaza is a tall pillar topped with the statue of an obviously emaciated woman carrying a dead or dying child. That alone is quite moving.

But one can turn away from the lake, looking back beyond the statue toward the camp and see, scanning from the left, the crematory still in place and the space where the gas chamber once stood. Scanning further one sees a long narrow field of grass and perennial flowers which is a mass grave for over 300 women and children found dead when the camp was liberated by the Russians in 1945. Behind the grave is a wall commemorating all of the various countries from which the prisoners - the women and children - came. According to available reading material only about 16% of all the prisoners brought to Ravensbruck were Jews. Many were "Romas" or gypsies, a variety of political dissidents, even Catholic nuns.

Turning back, I looked once again first at the pillar and statue, then the lake. It was all very serene. It was a cold, but sunny day. I sat for a time atop a low wall adjacent to the lake and took all of it in for a time until Joan and Nick caught me up.

Quietude. The place is, in its own way unexpectedly beautiful - the surroundings, not the camp. Ravensbruck is situated north of Berlin in what is Germany's lake country - its Wisconsin if you will.

Looking through many of the displays and photos of the camp when active, has the effect of jangling one's sensibilities. One tends to respond that this is just not possible! This happened in the middle of the 20th century, a time we consider to be part of the modern, supposedly civilized era. How could anyone so purposefully, so methodically carry out such barbarism? And yet, there it is.

Over one hundred thousand women, children and a small number of men perished at Ravensbruck. It's not even one of the larger or well known camps.

I wanted to cry. I felt like I should cry. I just couldn't.

TLS

AIRPORT FUN AND GAMES

2008-03-31T16:30:00.006-04:00

Yes, we're back. We hit Indy at around six on Thursday evening, after bidding farewell to our son and Berlin some twenty hours earlier. It seemed almost fitting that it was raining about as hard as it could as I dashed the thirty or so feet to my car from the shuttle bus I'd caught at the terminal out to the long-term lot, where I'd parked.

I suddenly realized I was being pelted by small hail as well. By the time I managed to open the door of our red mid-90s Le Sabre, (ubiquitous amongst people beyond a certain age) rip off my coat, and flop down in the front seat, I was soaked pretty much through. I had been overly thorough in cleaning out the car prior to our leaving, so there was really nothing with which to dry my head, face, and hands. I used a couple of those small, travel-sized tissues to daub the rain from my forehead and eyes as best as I could.

I started the car with rain still dripping from my hair and drove over to the exit gate to pay the $70.50 parking fee. (Not bad, I guess, for ten days, right?) I made my way back to the terminal to gather up my wife and our luggage for the final leg of our trip home.

The house smelt a bit musty and was dead still as we entered. Nevertheless, it's always great after an extended trip away to make your way into your living room, drop whatever you might be lugging, and plop down on the couch with a relieving sigh - to sit with eyes closed, your head reposed on the sofa back uttering "Oh man, we're home!"

In the couple of days since, I've had some time to consider our experience during the ten days spent in Germany. I hope to go into more detail about some of it soon, but for now I'll just discuss some observations regarding air travel.

If you want to experience what it could be like to live under a police state, fly - anywhere. You'll get a more in depth experience if you take an international flight, but almost any time spent in a commercial airport will give you a taste of Big Brother.

Frequent travelers probably don't generally notice much. They know the drill. They carry minimal luggage, perhaps dress in such a way that the walk through security will take minimal time and effort: slip-on shoes, little or nothing left in pockets, no big belt buckles. They keep their heads down, their mouths shut, and just go with the flow. Since security procedures have evolved fairly slowly since before the millennium, it probably seems to most of these hardy souls just business as usual.

They come to know the venues, the airports - the concourses, the shops, the bars and restaurants, the restrooms, the gates - they haunt on a regular basis. They know the planes and their configurations. If they're fortunate enough to fly business or first class, they know once aboard, the flight will be, well, like flying. If, however, they must travel in coach, they learn where best to choose their seats in the various planes. I'm told that on some planes it's best to sit in the emergency exit aisles which may afford more leg room and/or may have only two seats across rather than the usual three. I'm sure there are other tricks of the trade as well.

For the casual, infrequent traveler, an airport is a foreign, nerve-wracking, and even frightening experience. Once on airport property, the rules of behaviour change. Observing driving, stopping, loading/unloading, and parking rules takes on a heightened importance.
Upon entering the terminal, one becomes aware of a greater regimentation that increases perceptively starting with the lines at the ticket counter, confronting the airline's agent, schlepping bags up onto the scales, getting boarding passes, making one's way haltingly from the counter to the proverbial point of no return just prior to entering the security maze, leaving your unticketed loved ones behind, perhaps never to be seen again.

The whirlwind truly begins at security. Travelers are directed to lines feeding into the various screening devices somewhat reminiscent of checking out at the grocery. Here you are not emptying your grocery cart; rather, you are emptying your pockets, placing your keys, change, glasses, maybe your Ipods, coats, hats, carry-on bags, and yes, your damn shoes into plastic bins which you are instructed to roll forward into the maw of the ex-ray machines.

Meanwhile, you are directed to step through the personal x-ray and "sniffer" which blows an unexpected puff of air over your body, invariably setting off a buzzer or bell of some kind. Officers then direct these hapless guys and gals to step aside and stand arms raised for a wand sweep up and down their bodies, hesitating, hovering when and where the thing beeps. Unusual or unexpected beeps result in the offending souls being directed to a small screened-off area of some sort wherein they may be directed to drop trou, as I was, revealing the braces for my arthritic knees, which I had forgotten to remove prior to entering security.

Because I have sleep apnea, I bring what is known as a CPAP machine allowed as an extra medical carry-on. This machine always perplexes Transportation Security Agency (TSA) inspectors, who invariably dismantle the damn thing, wiping it down with little explosive trace detecting cloths, leaving it to me to reassemble and replace in the carrying case while I am still juggling all my shit - my other carry-on bag, coat, shoes, change, keys while also holding up my still unbuttoned pants as inspectors urge me to move on to make way for the next potential hijacker or suicide bomber.

While no one was particularly unpleasant with us, most were and are generally polite, even at times deferential, neither is there much tolerance for confusion, resistance, anger, or even humor. It is expected that everyone simply respond willingly, obediently to each and every direction: "Step forward, please." "Turn this way." "Ma'am, stay behind the red line." "Raise your arms, sir." "Drop your arms, sir." "Don't move." "Let's keep it moving." We are expected to answer questions briefly and succinctly with no embellishments, no unwanted histrionics, no unsolicited explanations. This, most will say, is as it should be.

To those who remember the world before 9/11 and before the millennium — a world wherein travelers were looked upon more as guests and valued as job security — the current atmosphere in airports is one in which people are taken to be potential criminals. It's nearly incomprehensible. Now we are all suspects.

Note also that it is far easier to get out of the country than to get back in. On our trip out, leaving first from Indy and then Newark, the inspections were comparatively cursory. We each had two carry-on bags and only my machine was given any particular scrutiny.

The real challenge came when leaving Berlin. At the counter we were forced to consolidate everything into one carry-on each - counting even my wife's purse requiring impromptu, Olympic-quality stuffing. Then we ran the gauntlet as described above. Upon landing again in Newark, we were first stopped at immigration. Then we had to retrieve our luggage and schlepp it to another location where they were to be rechecked for the flight to Indy even though it was the same airline we came in on.

On the way to the check-in we were stopped and quizzed by a fellow wanting to know if we had any fruits, vegetables, or seeds with us or in our luggage. "Uh, no." We must not have been terribly convincing as we were directed to go through a set of doors to yet another set of scanning machines into which we were further directed to place all of our luggage and other stuff for fruit and veggie scrutiny.

Once again, they opened the bag with my CPAP machine, presumably expecting to find clandestine broccoli, pomegranates or rutabagas in it. Not until we were sitting in our living room did I feel we could no longer fear someone snooping through our belongings. I should add that with all this, we didn't suffer any long delays, missed flights, or even lost luggage. Everything from that standpoint was essentially normal.

I worked for the now defunct TWA back in 1969/70. It was a far different world. During my tenure there, the first American passenger plane was hijacked to Cuba. Say what? Little did we know. The first couple of months of my employment were spent working on the ramp loading and unloading bags, mail, freight, and so on. On a few occasions I got some overtime by staying to clean the interior of planes parked for the night. At that time, anyone could have boarded one of them. Security was essentially non-existent. On more than one occasion I made my way up front taking a seat in the captain's chair and played pilot. I did have the sense not to flip any switches or push any buttons, but still.

Back then an airport was a pleasant, welcoming, and even prestigious place to go. Airlines competed for business and treated people traditionally as customers - people paying for and expecting deferential treatment. Flying could be a white-knuckle experience for some, then as now, but every effort was made to put nervous flyers at ease. Stewardesses (there were few stewards at that time) graduated from smile school. They always sported pleasant, if at times toothy, grins across their invariably pert, blemishless faces. Flying was the safest way to fly.

'Tis a far different world we now find ourselves in. A large thank you goes out to Osama, George, and the rest of the gang.

TLS

Greetings From Deutschland

2008-03-19T15:29:00.009-04:00

We made it to Berlin Tuesday morning after what, as I had anticipated was a wonderfully pleasurable flight, relaxing in the sauna, playing a couple of rousing games of ping pong down on the recreation deck, sipping mai-tais with the crew and singing karaoke in the lounge. In my dreams.

Actually, as I really predicted, we were stuffed into our seats like sausage meat into pig intestines in the economy section of the 757-B. Periodically, they brought us drinks and what they claimed was food a couple of times. At one point during the "meal" a young, waiflike boy rose up at the rear of the plane clutching his small bowl and stated in his tiny but plaintive voice "I want more." More?!! Bumbole roared. "No one ever asks for more!" Well no, actually, that's in a scene from "Oliver," but I presume you get my drift.

Sometime after feeding us they started running a movie up in first class, while in coach, they just passed around a View Master with a series of pictures of various midwestern barns having "See Rock City" painted on their roofs. (The "3D" effect in that View Master is truly amazing. It's just like being there, standing in front of those barns. What won't they think of next.) America is truly a great country!

Well, once again, I must confess that I have been, how you say, pulling the leg. Ha,ha. Actually, we were treated with the very high minded and artfully understated film version of the venerable "Starsky and Hutch." Again, I say, America is... yada, yada, yada.

The seat was so roomy and comfortable, I must have slept for as long as 12 to 15 minutes during the 7+ hour flight. The only part of me that got any real sleep was my butt which remained pretty much numb for the duration. I did get an aisle seat as I had hoped, but of course that meant I got whacked in the arm or shoulder every time someone passed by in the aisle. I have the tomato juice stains to prove it.

Nevertheless, we did eventually land at Tegel Airport in Berlin with most of our parts and luggage more or less in tact. We were also more or less on time, and my son was there to pick us up. After a cup-o-joe at the airport Starbucks (where else) we drove into the city for a bit of sight seeing.
We wound up at the Jewish Museum. Here is where the story takes a bit of a turn.

Any readers familiar with the museum know its scope and what we saw there. Suffice to say that it is not solely a Holocaust museum. It is primarily devoted to the history of Judaism and the Jewish people which, of course, includes the Holocaust. It is set up in three basic levels. The upper level recounts the early development of Judaism. The second level is devoted to the evolution of Jewish culture, society and family, culminating with the first years of Nazism and the harbingers of what was to come. The lowest level then is devoted almost wholly to the holocaust.

We spent roughly two hours there which would tell anyone familiar with the museum that we didn't really take in much. That, I suppose, is true. We had come more or less directly from the airport and our 20 or so hours since leaving home. Our exhaustion, coupled with my sore and swollen knees made the tour a bit arduous and painful. Perhaps that is in some respects an effective way to do it. I'm certainly not suggesting that my situation is in any way analogous to the suffering endured by Holocaust victims. But discomfort is a theme that runs through the exhibit starting with the architecture. The new and larger portion of the museum designed by Daniel Libeskind apparently looks like a slash or lightening strike over the landscape when seen from the air. The building is fraught with odd angles, deceptively sloping floors and odd shapes. Windows offer small, almost tantalizing glimpses of the outside world. Interior "voids" offer just that - void, a sense of nothingness. The last of these voids and the largest, is a space of bare concrete, the floor strewn with "Fallen Leaves," several thousand anguished iron faces of the expelled and murdered Jews.

While, as I said, we spent a scant two hours there, the museum had a definite effect on me. The architecture, the voids and especially two features located on the ground level near the end of the tour were most effective. First, the "Garden of Exile." One enters through a deformed doorway leading outside to a space taken with several vertical pillars each having some type of willow tree growing at the top which, at least in early spring, look more akin to barbed wire. The walls, the floors, the aforementioned door and other visual aspects are all disconcertingly at odd angles rendering it difficult to navigate, apparently at times making people effectively sea sick. Second, is the "Holocaust Tower," which Libeskind describes as a "void of voids" also an exterior space - a triangle of concrete walls rising upwards perhaps 60 or 70 feet. Once the access door is closed, one is suddenly aware of the isolation. There are no windows, only a small slash of light at the very top. On one wall is a series of steps, the lowest of which are inaccessible, reaching up to nothing in the dim light. A sense of confinement and claustrophobia, rose in me almost immediately. I couldn't get out quickly enough. Apparently, earlier on, once someone entered the space, the door remained closed and would not reopen for around 3 minutes. They stopped that practice because too many people were freaking out in isolated panic. I left the museum exhausted, hobbled in pain and deeply moved. I didn't take in much of the detail - the small exhibits of photos, letters, bits and pieces of families torn asunder, lives lost - but the effect, I think, was the same. The scope of this hideous tragedy was not lost on this patron. In what amounts to a sad footnote, all accesses to the Jewish Museum are blocked by large concrete cubes designed to keep all vehicles at bay, and it is necessary that every visitor go through security screening including ex-ray just as at any airport to gain entrance. Security guards, cameras, and who knows what other monitoring devices abound throughout the complex. This tour made for a sobering beginning to our visit, but perhaps aptly so. It helps to put everything one sees and does in Germany in a different perspective. While there is much history, beauty and greatness on display here, the Jewish Museum serves as a reminder that insanity and horror lie just around the corner.

Deutschland, Here We Come!

2008-03-09T13:28:00.008-04:00

My wife and I are beginning to put things together for a trip to Germany in what is just over a week from now. We have flown overseas a couple of times; the first time to Vienna the week prior to the millenium and then to Germany a couple of years ago, also around the Christmas/New Year holidays.

We're making this trip to visit our older son, whom we haven't seen in over a year. On both of our previous trips we were accompanied by our younger son, who, while not fluent in German as is his brother, still has a basic understanding of it and can converse enough to help us get to where we're going or whatever. This time, however, he cannot make the trip for a variety of reasons — something to do with his life. (Jeeze! Any excuse just to leave poor old mom and dad in the lurch.)

I am, consequently, a bit more apprehensive about this trip as neither my wife nor I have any knowledge of the language. I have tried listening to a German language learning program and have a phrase book, but I haven't managed to get much beyond "Wo ist der toiletten?"

Our older son reassures us that he will be there, "Johann on the spot," when we arrive, and won't let us out of his sight during the ten or so days we'll be spending in Deutschland. Yeah, right.

My wife and I are "getting on in years." both of us having eclipsed the 60-year threshold. By today's standards that's not really old, I guess, but neither is it young. As I've recounted here in previous articles and comments, almost ad nauseam, I have creaky, arthritic knees, and I am now sporting a painfully sore lower back. Add to that the fact that I'm a veritable tub of guts weighing in at over 250 pounds of flaming love! (That would sound better in kilos, wouldn't it? What — 114 kilos or so?) Consequently, according to my ortho guy, I'm putting something like a thousand pounds of pressure on my knees and back with every step I take. Great! My wife has a number of ailments big and small, that I won't go into in respect of her privacy, but suffice to say, we are neither one of us in the pinnacle of health.

Our older son, now in his late twenties is small and lithe — he runs. Crap! He runs! I was once told by a kindly drill sergeant during my stint in the "U.S. of Army" that if my life depended on my ability to run, I would likely wind up as hamburger. Food for thought. My son weighs in at around 130 pounds. That's pounds, not kilos! I haven't tipped the scale at 130 pounds since I was in the fourth grade. Well, my first born, and his younger brother - also a runner - tend to leave their mother and I in the dust say, on the way to catching a bus or train. They're young and just doesn't understand. We can no longer move like the wind. Now, we only pass it.

A sign of my aging mind: I am packing stupid things like packets of ketchup and mustard, sugar, artificial sweetener, coffee creamer and so on. I even have some mayo and pickle relish — all stolen from area eateries. I've pretty much gone completely wacko. Give me another year or two, and I'll be taking an entire suitcase loaded with toilet paper. For now, I'm going to settle for a dozen or so of those little travel packets of Kleenex. I suppose I'll throw in a few hundred sanitary wipes and a gallon or so of Purel.

Of course, we will be accompanied by a veritable traveling pharmacy — pills, salves, tonics, solutions of every description and purpose. Can't go doody? I'll have something to grease the chute. Can't stop going doody? I'll have something else to slam the chute shut. I suppose we could get busted for running drugs, but that's a chance we'll have to take.

The part of the trip I dread the most are the two trans-Atlantic flights. We will be flying to Newark and then on to Berlin. The Newark flight I can handle. But once they wedge us into our seats in the tourist section of the plane to (and from) Berlin, we will be more or less screwed for the next 8 hours or so. All of my claustrophobic tendencies will come screaming to the surface. Should I be forced to sit in a middle seat, I just might explode. I can't even handle a window seat. The aisle is the place for me. There, I can sort of stretch one leg straight out, at least when there's no food or drink cart being wheeled up and down the aisle, and I have one side of me not rubbing up against another body or the wall of the plane. Comparatively, on the aisle, the air is fresh and clean! The world is brimming with possibilities! I can get up without forcing anyone else to get up first, and just step out into the aisle and actually walk! It may be for only three or four steps in either direction, but, hey, that's better than being trapped in what the airlines laughingly refer to as seats. Tourist or economy class seating tends to be less "roomy" than your average casket.

The stewards and stewardesses do their best to keep everyone busy, mainly eating and drinking. And then, there is the occasional hot towelette to wipe the flop sweat off of the passengers' faces.

I intend to take a number of things with me on the plane to keep me amused — at least one book, a magazine or two, perhaps a recorded book, and of course my little iPod-like device for "gittin' down wif my toons." Maybe a book of crosswords. Unfortunately, I don't do Sudoku and I'm not a video game kind of guy. I'll probably also have a variety of snacky food just to see if I can actually gain weight during the flight — say a bucket of KFC (extra crispy) with a pint of gizzards? Or how about a few cans of sardines? No, that would be too ironic. Then, of course there will presumably be the "in-flight movies." I hope they've finally stopped showing Will Smith's Wild, Wild West, and the "best of" Rob Schneider.

When we arrive, our son will not let us rest. He will insist that we keep going despite our exhaustion, so that we will overcome any jet lag quickly. Of course, if we stroke out, or our hearts explode, jet lag shouldn't really be a problem.

A couple of years ago on our last trip, we spent only a part of one day - New Year's Day as it happens - in Berlin. Our son lives in a small town an hour or so north of Berlin, so I assume that we will be able to take in more of the sights there. Believe it or not, when we were last in Berlin we stopped at two - not one, but two - different Dunkin Donuts shops. (Oh, yeah, Dunkin Donuts are BIG in Berlin!)

We did manage to have a really great dinner at a restaurant called "Bangin." (Yeah, that's what I thought too, but no, it's just a restaurant. Probably something lost in translation.) I don't have any idea where it is, somewhere requiring a rather long subway ride from the center of the city, but it was well worth the time. I hope we find our way back there. As anyone reading this may have gathered, I like food. I was raised on it.

I think we will also go hang around the American Embassy which I believe is nearly on top of the Brandenburg Gate and see if we can get arrested or something. (Quiz: Do you know what's on the other side of the Brandenburg Gate? Don't over-think it. Answer: Brandenburg! Ha, ha. Isn't that great? Who'da thunk it?)

Well, I guess I'll take a few minutes and trim back my little black mustache as a kind of "arms across the waters" gesture. Then, I'll practice going stir crazy

TLS

Universal Health Care vs Personal Wealth

2008-02-29T16:32:00.011-05:00

As I've commented in the past, I am FOR universal health care. Frivolous law suits are a problem, but they are not the only or even the major cause of out of control health costs. That the government is moving to bar people from suing certain entities for any cause is a wholly unfair endeavor. Are there abuses? Certainly. It's a part of human nature to cheat. But cheating goes both ways. There are obviously individuals, families who have large and legitimate claims against the health care industry who should be allowed access to the legal system for fair compensation. But, I digress.

Sixty or more years ago the cost for health care was relatively low owing to the fact that beyond providing a bed and some multi-colored pills of dubious efficacy, the occasional high colonic, there was little that a hospital could offer. By comparison to today, surgical procedures were rudimentary - adequate for fairly mundane maladies; removal of appendices, tonsils, repair of hernias, certain types of injuries, and a handful of others. But, they were doing little of what can be done surgically today. Also, technology was almost non-existent. XRay was about it. There were a few gizmos, a few lab procedures, but again, damn little of what has been developed since, say the 1950s. Of course, all of this stuff costs a great deal of money to design, engineer, construct, set-up, operate and maintain.

Additionally, drugs have made a quantam leap during the same period. As a teenager my father worked for Eli Lilly - we're talking around 1920 or so. He and another kid about his age were employed to stock the drugs. The more potent of the medications available at the time were kept in a locked wire enclosed cage. My father and the other boy were in charge of it. They were entrusted with the key! Unfortunately, the other boy discovered something he could drink that would get him high - paregoric, perhaps, or some other opiate derivative, I'd guess. (I doubt they used "high" to describe those kind of effects at that time, but you get what I mean.) The other boy was discovered "getting a buzz on" by someone, and they were both fired. I assume storage and security of such substances has become more sophisticated today, or so I would hope.

My point being that the medical industry has become just that - an industry. It's great that we've developed all of these machines and drugs and procedures, but they are of little value to those who can't afford medical insurance, let alone the astronomical costs of many of the aforementioned developments.

I'm not against a guy making a buck. But health and human life has value as well. Americans are the first to stand up and prattle on about how great this country is; about how much we have, our freedoms and so on. While our economy is closer to teetering on the brink than it has for decades, we remain, I believe, the richest (large) nation in the world. Yet we still have at least 20% of our population who have little or no effective access to even nominal health care. What it comes down to is which is paramount - a citizen's right to attain wealth or a citizen's right to life and health?

The richest nation in the world should be able to accomodate both, but if it can't, one's very life trumps anyone's access to wealth. A country - its government - should be able to provide its citizens in need with access to the basics of life - including health care. I don't believe that it follows that anyone in particular will be denied the opportunity to fill their coffers should our government provide universal health care to all citizens. Are there no rich Brits, no rich Germans, Canadians, Aussies, and YES, Frenchies?

Might it render the goal of personal wealth a bit harder to achieve? Perhaps. But having access to doctors and hospitals, diagnostics and surgical procedures, drugs and therapies can enable many people with an opportunity to LIVE and perhaps to function. Again, life trumps wealth.

TLS

Indiana Gay Marriage Ban Update

2008-02-16T08:48:00.008-05:00

I just thought I'd post an update on the status of a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage in Indiana. As was predicted earlier in the local media, the measure was not allowed out of the Indiana House Rules Committee, by its chairman, Scott Pelath, a Michigan City Democrat.

To fill in the blanks, this measure was proposed and passed by both houses of the 2005 session of the Indiana Legislature during the height of the frenzy against same sex marriage. At that time both houses were controlled by Republicans. While the Indiana Senate remains in the hands of the GOP, the House is now controlled by Democrats. Amendments to the Indiana Constitution must pass both houses of the legislature in consecutive years, and then be placed on a statewide ballot for a vote. I believe a simple majority is all that is needed to affirm the action. However, now that the measure has failed to pass both houses in its second go round, the process must start again from square one. The earliest a gay marriage amendment could reach Indiana voters now is 2012.

Congratulations should go to Pelath for standing his ground. Publicly, he states the reason for not allowing it out of committee is that the amendment is poorly and vaguely written and could have unintended legal consequences down the road. I don't know what, if any, private motivations he may have.

Supporters of the bill lamented, "It is a tragedy for the people of Indiana..." Oh yeah, a real tragedy. As I noted in a previous post on this issue, Indiana already has a statute preventing same sex marriages. A constitutional amendment, besides being morally and ethically despicable, is a waste of legislator's time and taxpayer's money. Currently, there is not one legally recognized same sex union in the state. While the existence of the statute is troublesome, presumably, it would be relatively easier to overturn than a constitutional amendment.

The effort to further codify the definition of marriage as ONLY the union of one man and one woman was promulgated through ignorance, fear and hatred. Social conservatives - mostly Christian fundamentalists, evangelicals and charismatics - have been hard at work in this country since at least the early days of the "Moral Majority" in the late 1960s. Their self righteous rants against anything and everything they perceive as being even remotely outside the parameters of their construct of biblical law has run amuck in recent years.

I am heartened by this latest development coming rather unexpectedly here in the bible belt. However, I don't believe the issue is dead. The social conservatives are a determined lot. They will not give up the fight at this juncture. They will not be satisfied unless and until they reinvent this country as a Christian theocracy and/or the "Rapture" whisks them all away to paradise, leaving the rest of us heathens to battle with Satan, and wallow in the offal of the damned.

TLS

AMERICA'S GOOD GUYS EXPOSED

2008-02-13T02:25:00.009-05:00

Ever since all the shit hit the fan a few years ago regarding Abu Garib, Gitmo, and our use of interrogation techniques that many feel meet or exceed the accepted definitions of torture, I've come to realize that I have long been naive about the reality of just who we are.

From my earliest memories, I was taught to believe that we Americans were the guys in the white hats. We were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger. We were Superman and Jack Armstrong. We were John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. We even came to believe that we could be James Bond, and that blowing the shit out of everything was okay as long as it was "for the cause of freedom," and it was accomplished without mussing the crease in one's tuxedo or spilling one's martini. We have been fed this line of bullshit as long as I can remember.

Of course, we got warnings; hints about who we might really be. We saw it in the books and films that began appearing in the late fifties and early sixties - "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "The Ipcriss File" - the books of LeCarre' and Deighton. Sure, they were fiction and they were mainly about the Brits. But the implications were there. The whole world of spies, acts of sabotage, acts of torture - physical and mental. All the elements were there. They were, by extension, about us, too.

The trend continued with a plethora of books and films which made hay with plots laden with implications of government involvement in a variety of nefarious and covert acts, even and including plots carried out against our own people by the CIA, the NSA, the FBI or other usually fictitious super secret agencies variously called things like "The Shop," "The Firm," "The Office," or a number of other sometimes clever euphemisms meant to indicate super deep cover intelligence and espionage groups, often answerable to no one. Again, all fiction. But one can assume that where there's smoke...

Many of these writers had been involved at some level in counter-intelligence and/or espionage groups in their native countries, some dating back to the OSS of WWII. Conspiracy theorists believe our government was involved in the cover up of encounters with UFOs, JFK's assassination, and more recently, the 9/11 attacks.

During the long years of the cold war, we faced what we believed to be a formidable enemy in the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent China, both of which were at least as deeply involved in spying, sabotage, espionage and other undercover acts as we were. Tit for tat. It was a dangerous game with potentially itchy fingers hovering close over those buttons to oblivion.

Of course, that particular danger is more or less history. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have not had a monolithic and clearly defined enemy against which to cross swords. China, at least for the moment, has made such a sharp and intense turn into the world market place, that they have little time or inclination to give much consideration to war or world domination, at least not by military means. They may one day dominate the world economically, perhaps sooner than most might imagine. But that's another story.

Much has been learned over the last 40 years or so about how deeply this country has involved itself in the affairs of other countries around the world. How we have encouraged, and aided the overthrow of governments, how we have insinuated ourselves into the economies and exploited the resources of other countries to the benefit of US government, military and business interests, all with little concern for how badly our actions may have affected those countries and/or their citizens.

Americans have long assumed our superiority to other peoples and other countries. We still hear ad nauseam how the US is the "greatest country in the world," and by that "fact" alone we assume that we deserve more than anybody else. That if we exploit the lion's share of the world's resources, well, hell - we're Americans, it is our due. We're the good guys. Screw the rest of you. You're all just green eyed jealous bastards! Get the fuck in line!

Now that our seat on the throne has been openly challenged - not by another "super power," but rather by a seemingly rag-tag bunch of cave dwelling, towel headed, sand niggers. (The last there a loathesome bit of pejorative phraseology I heard used to describe a fellow, a Jordanian, who was the director of operations of a modest sized fast food franchise back in the early 1980s.)

So, now we have been forced to apparently turn over a new leaf - albeit a rotten one. It is naive to believe that we have not, all along, through much of the cold war and before, made use of the tactics of torture whether as defined by the Geneva Convention or not. But, now it's all become public. No longer is it hidden away in some windowless cell in the bowels of a towering and forboding concrete government monolith.

In the aftermath of WWII the US tried, convicted and put to death about a half dozen Japanese officers who were found to have used waterboarding on US military prisoners. It was said then to be torture. The six Japanese soldiers died for using it.

But, hey. It's different now. Now that we have chosen to make use of the technique, it's okay. It's NOT torture. I wonder what has changed? Is it magically rendered less heinous in the hands of Americans? Is it that the end justifies the means? Should we retroactively pardon those Japanese officers - maybe send their surviving family members to Disney World in a gesture of contrition? Oh, no, of course not. They were evil. Their goal was evil. Our goal is good. We're good.

Are the manner in which other prisoners have been treated to be likewise overlooked or forgiven? Is our "cause" of such greatness that we have a perhaps "god given" greater latitude in such matters?

I'm sure there are other methods of torture which far outstrip waterboarding in the level of pain and suffering they inflict. I'm sure Americans and others who have been imprisoned as war criminals have endured far greater hardships and humiliation at the hands of their captors than those at Abu Garib or Gitmo. But that doesn't excuse us, now does it? We are supposed to be above all that. Our dazzling white hats supposedly reach the heavens, touching god. We are the pristine! We are the chosen!

Of course, we're none of that. But we have been looked upon as the leaders of the "free" world since at least 1945. We set a higher standard in our treatment of POWs and the manner in which we carried out our post war occupations of Germany and Japan. I'm sure there were ugly incidents to be sure, but overall we did an admirable job of assisting those war ravaged countries to rise from the ashes. The obvious success of those efforts couldn't be more stunning. How did it all turn to shit?

I know, I know. This is all "old news." I am displaying to all my incredible naivete. Guilty as charged. But, either we must accept that we're NOT god's gift to humanity, or we must change our ways. Actually, we must do both.

TLS

Here and There and Back Again

2008-01-20T01:04:00.000-05:00

I have posted very little here over the last few months. While there have been a variety of reasons, the most significant of those, I suppose, has been my involvement over at Blog Critics Magazine. I have written a few articles there, but mostly I have been bouncing around commenting on other writer's posts. Additionally, and more recently, I have been doing commentary on the Blog Talk Radio program "Big Tent Roundtable." We have aired about a half dozen one hour programs to which perhaps nearly that many people may have actually listened.

The net result is that involvement has pretty much drained my "artistic juices," to the extent that on the few occasions I've had any urge to post something here, I either didn't have the energy, or I just couldn't come up with enough of an idea to sustain anything meaningful.

I wonder at my younger son who is a writer currently enrolled in graduate school. He has consequently been, a part of the "slave labor" large universities demand of their post graduate students, wherein they are obliged to teach one or more usually freshman level courses to earn their keep. He has been doing that now for three semesters while still taking course work himself requiring a prodigious amount of reading and, of course, writing his own material. I think, though, that he does, to some extent, thrive on that kind of pressure. He drinks a lot of really strong coffee.

I can't muster that kind of energy or concentration. My best excuse is that I am 34 years his senior. So, cut me some slack.

Most of the issues I have been writing and commenting on over at BC are connected to the current presidential campaign. While I suppose it might be unfathomable to some, I am, at this juncture still in Hillary Clinton's camp. But I favor her only marginally over Barack Obama, and I wouldn't be at all dismayed if he wound up with the Democratic nomination. I find Edwards off-putting as he often shamelessly wears his religious faith on his sleeve. The only Republicans I find even marginally palatable are John McCain and Rudy Guilliani. At least they represent the more moderate, less hysterically religious arm of the party. Frankly, the thought of either Huckabee or Ron Paul as president turns my godless stomach. Romney is a Mormon, so he is obviously a nutcase, albeit one with scads of cash, great suits and killer hair.

I am more interested and involved in the current election process than in years past owing largely to the presence of both a woman and an Afro-American in the running, either actually having a legitimate shot at winning all the marbles. Of course, as always with presidential politics, the stakes on the table for this election are high. But the rest of the world continues on largely heedless of our country's electoral process, having other fish to fry.

Still in the political arena, but on the state level, the Indiana legislature has once again been considering a "same sex" amendment to the state constitution. This legislation was first introduced for consideration back in 2005 during the impassioned height of this issue. It passed both houses with flying colors. In order for this measure to become a part of our constitution, it must once again pass in both houses of the legislature and, upon such passage, would then be placed on the ballot in the next state wide election. If approved by, I believe, a simple majority, the "one man/one woman" marriage definition would become a part of our state constitution.

Happily, and to my surprise, the measure is floundering. The Indiana State Senate remains in the control of Republicans and probably still has the votes to pass the measure, but the House now has a Democratic majority. There is less enthusiasm for the measure there. The chair of the House committee responsible for this bill, a Democrat, refuses to let it out of committee, effectively killing it for this legislative session. If it fails to gain a majority vote in both houses during this session, that would effectively kill the measure and the process would have to start over again from square one. Yay!

It is terribly sad that a number of states have, in fact, enacted such measures in their respective constitutions. A number of other states have similar bills on the table for consideration. It is difficult for me to imagine how mean spirited and presumptuous people can be regarding the lives of others.

I have often quoted H.L. Menken who defined a puritan as someone who is afraid that someone else may be having a good time. While I find that an amusing observation, I also suspect that it is sadly, pretty much right on target. For anyone to presume they have a right to force their ideology on others is beyond my ability to understand. It requires a great depth of contempt for, and condescension to fellow human beings.

Life is very hard. Lao Tzu knew it, and said as much. But one doesn't need to be a deep thinker or a philosopher to figure that out. Life, for so many people in this world, is a living hell offering little or no hope of anything better to come. A relative few of us have been able to scramble up from the dreggs to actually find some level of joy. Part of that "joy" is the freedom to love whoever we may choose. Finding true love and happiness with another human being is relatively rare and a thing to be cherished. Anyone who is so lacking in compassion and understanding they feel compelled to intervene legally in this case against same sex couples, who have perhaps found some level of love and happiness, is at best, a meddling prick.

The notion that they are protecting the "institution of marriage" is ludicrous crap. As if heterosexual unions are so fucking sacred! Consider that now, in this country more than 50% of traditional marriages fail within the first five years. This 'hallowed' institution can be legally entered into on a momentary whim at 3AM on the Las Vegas strip by a man and a woman who may have just met, after having mindless, drunken sex in a ceremony administered and witnessed by Elvis and Elvira impersonators and a dwarf who sort of resembles Hervé Villechaize of Fantasy Island fame, repeatedly exclaiming "The Plane! The Plane." No doubt, such unions are blessed by their god.

I should note that Indiana has a state law prohibiting same sex unions. That's not good, but at least a statute is not codified in our state constitution. It will be much easier, over, perhaps a shorter period of time to repeal a law, than it would be to rescind a part of the state constitution, which would require the same procedure as that described above.

I sincerely hope that the measure dies a quick and quiet death in the Indiana legislature never to be seen or heard from again. That may be a vain hope, but I'll keep my virtual fingers crossed.

TLS

Winter Thoughts

2007-12-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

While I haven't been posting here much of late, I haven't gone completely into hybernation. I've written several comments over on Blog Critics Magazine and a few at other blogs. Also, I've become involved in Blog Critics Radio. I have taken part in broadcasts of the "Big Tent Roundtable" political discussion program at Blog Critics - not one, but two (count 'em, two!) scintilating hours of highly intelligent political discourse. (Well, maybe not scintilating, or highly intelligent, or even particularly intelligent at all, but discourse, nevertheless.) Both programs were recorded, and I invite any and all to listen. Or catch all of us zany folks live at 5:00PM (EST) on upcoming Thursdays. You'll be glad you did, er, uh, maybe.

With the holidays looming and the weather becoming truly wintry in many parts of the country including here in Indy, the year coming soon to an end, many of us tend to take stock, as it were, regarding just where we are in life. Actually, I don't generally. But, my anti-religious bias notwithstanding, I am a sucker for good seasonal - okay, I'll say it - Christmas music, Christmas trees and all the trimmings and the rest. We have one of our two sons at home. That's half good, I guess. I truly love the one with us, and truly miss the one not.

The nation is starting to be consumed by the presidential campaign. Even as we complain and deny having an interest in it, most of us will maintain at least a tangential awareness of its ebbs and flows, noting who is charging forward into the light or fading back into the gray. Again, we will feign disinterest, but at heart, regardless of which side of the political aisle our druthers lay, we will be emotionally rooting for one and wishing hexes on the rest.

I'd say that as of this writing both races remain pretty much wide open. The recent and sudden rise of Mike Huckabee who is now a front runner in some states and is surging in others is testament to that.

Of course I keep more abreast of things on the left side of the ledger. Sadly, there are none who will embrace a secular banner, but I'll take what I can get. Hillary? Barack? John? Joe? Chris? Dennis? Bill? Mike?

Presently, it still appears to be a no more than 3 candidate race. Obama's surge, owing to Oprah's hearty endorsement has changed the complexion of the race for the present, but there is a long way to go. While Edwards shows strength in some quarters, overall I see him as a weak third right now. But things change. An unexpected confrontation such as that between Mitt Romney and Huckabee, a seemingly small misstep, an errant comment, an unintended slight, a revelation regarding some past peccadillo, could send any of the candidate's campaigns into a tail spin. Who knows?

Back to Christmas. My wife and I took in a recent performance of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and its holiday presentation. It included the usual mixture of religious and secular pieces, all nicely performed. The Symphonic Choir is around 100 voices strong, and more importantly, well balanced - no shrill sopranos, no growly basses. It is led by Eric Stark as its director. I was a member of the smaller Indianapolis Arts Chorale for three seasons under Eric's direction. He is great. It was an enjoyable evening of good music. I think their holiday shows may be over, but if you live around Indy and enjoy good choral music, check out the Symphonic Choir for coming performances.

Any of you reading here who believe that the religious right has been stymied or have gone dormant, keep in mind that there are at least 3 Rep candidates - namely Huckabee, Romney and, of course Ron Paul who is surging on his own - who are openly and strongly on the evangelical christian side of things. (I know, Romney is one of the truly nutball Mormons, but still.) None would openly admit to being theocrats, but any of them, upon reaching the White House, might well provide a willing ear to those who have made it their mission to bring about an American Theocracy. Remember what Romney just said in his recent speech about his belief that secularists are wrong about the separation of church and state. Don't forget! Don't get caught unawares! They're still out there, and they still want all of us to live under the cowl of biblical law. Tell them to kiss your ass, loudly and with verve!

TLS

The above image is that of "Elizabeth on 37th," a truly great (and rather expensive) restaurant in Savannah, GA. The former owner, Elizabeth Terry and her daughter Alexis have published a really great cookbook, Savannah Seasons. Check it out - literally - at a library, or purchase it through here, directly from Amazon or wherever good books are sold. (Member FDIC. Batteries not included. Void where prohibited. Side effects may include, but are not limited to, vomiting, hemorrhoids, sudden, agonizing death and drymouth)

Is Indiana Turning Blue?

2007-11-24T23:18:00.000-05:00

An interesting article appeared in the Indianapolis Star this morning. A poll taken by Selzer & Company, a public opinion research firm based in Des Moines, IA, breaks down the current level of approval for Bush and his administration within the Hoosier state. It has been reported in the media ad nauseam that Bush's numbers on a national level have and continue to be abysmal. But in Indiana? Despite a few anomalies over the years, Indiana has been about as dependably Red as any of the historically conservative/Republican strongholds in the country. The last presidential Democrat to carry the state was Lyndon Johnson in his landslide win over Barry Goldwater in 1964.

The Selzer poll was taken via land line telephone between November 13-16 with a total of 600 randomly selected Hoosiers. According to those polled, Bush enjoys only a 28% approval rating while 66% responded that they disapprove of how the President is handling his job. A further breakdown indicates disapproval ratings as follows: Bush's handling of the federal budget - 74% , immigration policy - 71%, the economy - 69%, the situation in Iraq - 68%.The poll revealed that if the election were held today 37% of those asked would vote Democratic to 31% who would pull the Republican lever, with the remainder as yet undecided. Another interesting tidbit revealed by this poll is that 47% of the respondents claimed that they would vote democratic if Evan Bayh shared the ticket.

The only significant number still in Bush's favor was a 48% to 46% approval rating regarding his fight against terrorism. Given the estimated 4% margin of error, the 2% approval margin is shakey at best.

Other questions were asked regarding Iraq, immigration, universal health care (with 60% support,) taxes and auto fuel efficiency. The numbers were also broken down as regards sex, age and race. Across the board excepting those war on terrorism figures, the numbers went consistently against Bush and his administration's policies.

What do these results mean? Perhaps at this juncture, not much. We are still nearly a year from the election. How Bush's approval ratings ultimately affect voting is anybody's guess. One could argue that the lower Bush's numbers go, the more difficult it will be for any Republican candidate to overcome. While that is not an automatic, it certainly seems a likely prospect.

What may make these numbers more problematic for Republicans is that, as noted, they are coming out of a traditionally conservative stronghold. If Hoosiers are this disaffected from Bush and the Republicans now, and if these numbers are found to be consistent in other traditionally hard line Red states, it could certainly be a steep, uphill battle for the GOP ticket having to slog along dragging Bush's legacy behind them.

Time may actually be on the Republican's side, though, as so much can happen between now and next November. Given the volatility primarily in the middle east, sudden, unforeseen events could make the election turn on a dime. Maybe Bush still has an ace up his sleeve. Failing that, perhaps the Republican nominee will be successful in divorcing himself from Bush. A tough job, but doable - maybe. Perhaps the Dems will falter. In-fighting for the nomination could cause disruption of a party that is all too often unfocused and chaotic. The Democratic nominee could say or do something that would be self-destructive.

Still, barring a near miracle coming out of Bush Land, the Republicans have their job cut out for them, and the Hoosier state may have little help to offer.

TLS

Something from Nothing?

2007-11-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

I have had a number of discussions here and elsewhere concerning the existence of god. (Really? Yes, really.)

Any number of arguments have been tossed back and forth by myself and others. One of the more perplexing questions posed to me by Sweet Jazzy Cat among others is: Why is there something rather than nothing?

I've had no answer to that one. I've made a few stabs at it, to little effect. Stephen Colbert posed this question to Richard Dawkins on the Colbert Report several months ago. Dawkins had no definitive answer either. While I don't believe having an answer to this question is crucial in a determination of god's existence, it is a question that has dogged me since the first time Jazzy asked it of me.

I am currently reading Victor J. Stenger's GOD: The Failed Hypothiesis - How science shows that god does not exist. For a non-scientific fellow like myself it is a fairly difficult read. It covers a great deal of ground in debunking pretty much every argument for god's existence mainly from the scientific perspective.

While I haven't finished the book - at this writing I'm only about half way thru it - I was very happy to find a section, a sub-section actually titled - surprise, surprise! - "Why is there Something Rather than Nothing?" - the last section of a chapter titled "Cosmic Evidence."

I must admit that I had sneaked a peak ahead of my reading and found this enticing little discussion. However, I utilized great discipline in waiting to read the section until I actually read all that came before.

Now the "discussion" of this particular question is not what you'd call in depth . The section is only about a page and a half in length. But let's take a look at what Stenger has to say.

Stenger writes that this question "is often the last recourse of the theist who seeks to argue for the existence of God from physics and cosmology and finds that all his other arguments fail." Stenger goes on to quote philosopher Bede Rundle who claims that it is "philosophy's central, and most perplexing, question." Rundle's answer is "There has to be something."

First: What is the defiintion of "nothing." Does it have properties? If so, does that make it "something?" Is "nothing" a more natural state than "something?"

Stenger uses the example of snowflakes, one of the more ephemeral phenomenons in nature to illustrate that simple systems are unstable. "Nothing" is as simple as it gets. Why there is something rather than nothing is that 'nothing' is unstable. "The natural state of affairs is something rather than nothing. An empty universe requires supernatural intervention - not a full one. Only by the constant action of an agent outside the universe, such as god, could a state of nothingness be maintained. The fact that we have something is just what we would expect if there is no god."

This is all rather cryptic to me. I must admit that I don't altogether follow it. I doubt that it will put the question to rest, but its something rather than nothing. No?

TLS

2007-11-03T00:10:00.000-04:00

I decided just to sit down and start writing. I have no particular ideas here. I'm just pecking away with the notion that the activity itself will bring about an inspiration. Nothing yet.

What have I been doing all this time? It's been well over a month since I posted anything. For a time I got into a series of debates over at Blog Critics Magazine. Sadly, I lost most of them. I've tried to take on some generally right wing politicos who came armed with a lot of facts and figures, poll results and such. I should have known better. I'm not a "numbers" kind of guy. I'd make a position statement - generally an opinion - then I'd get slammed by the numbers guys. I have been duly humbled. I made a few attempts to find and counter their facts and figures to some effect., but on the whole I just don't have it in me to immerse myself in demographic studies, graphs, pie charts and such. So what does that mean to me?

Well, first I should be more careful about what I say and how I say it. I need to harness my tendancy to make broad claims that I can't, in fact, back up. It won't hurt me to be more prudent about the way I go about writing the things I write. It does little good for the advancement of my positions if the only ammunition I carry into the fray is emotion or wishful thinking. I need to bring more to a debate than bullshit.

For the time being at least, I'm going to leave the political harangues to others. I don't know what that will mean with respect to what I post here. I'm still licking my wounds. I'll be more circumspect about things though.

Anyhow. Why can't we just all get along?

Read any good books lately?

TLS

Where the hell have you been?

2007-09-24T11:09:00.000-04:00

Just a note to my loyal reader. I haven't posted for a while. It may be a while yet before I do so. What it comes down to is that I'm tired, and I just don't have much to say. Maybe later. Maybe not.

TLS

2007-09-11T16:51:00.000-04:00

I love this:
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/09/09/breakthrough-study-conservatives-stupid-liberals-nuanced/

Sorry to every conservative George, Dick and Harry ... er Rumy.

In fairness, all I can say is, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!!! Oh, I know there are some gray areas. Ha, ha! That's the point, isn't it? Conservatives don't see any gray. It's all black and white for them. Black or white, Yes or no. Yin or yang. Nothing in between.

TLS

Farewell Luciano

2007-09-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

As I write this, it's been well more than a day since news came of the death of Luciano Pavarotti. His passing might have been no more than a blip on the screen of my consciousness were it not for the fact that my older son is an operatic tenor. I believe my younger son could have gotten there as well, but he opted for writing over singing. Which he is better at, I don't know. He excels at both.

Prior to my sons' involvement with operatic music, I was barely aware of it. I have some ability and history singing myself, but not on any serious level. While I won't claim to be a died-in-the-wool opera buff, I have over the last several years become better schooled in and more appreciative of it. I have a much greater understanding of the difficulties of singing at that level. Of course, one must have "the gift" of an adequate instrument, but one must also work extremely hard over a long period of time to achieve any level of success. My older son will be 29 years old in a week or so, and only now is his voice reaching its maturity.

To watch Pavarotti sing, one would think that it is easy, as he made it seem effortless. Of course there are many great tenors out there. Perhaps my son will be counted as one, I don't know. But Pavarotti had "the voice." Domingo, Carreras, and others were and are great in their own right. But Pavarotti touched a nerve that transcended the sometimes insular world of opera. He was criticized soundly by many for "crossing over" into other genres which many considered shameless pandering for fame and money. Even the "Three Tenors" concerts were frowned upon by purists.

But I would suggest, as others have, that Pavarotti's forays into pop, even rock and country perhaps brought people to opera and classical music who otherwise would have remained blissfully unaware of it. And, remember Placido Domingo recorded a duet with John Denver. Remember Perhaps Love?

I have listened to some truly great recordings of Pavarotti's over the last day or so. Should you be uninitiated but curious, or if you would enjoy revisiting some great singing, check these sites out and give a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxyrphGgLH4

and/or

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14207108

You'll be glad you did.

TLS

God's Warriors

2007-08-30T23:32:00.000-04:00

Christiane Amanpour's three part, six hour special report, God's Warriors which aired last week on CNN was a great bit of reporting. I won't presume to "review" the program. Suffice to say that Ms. Amanpour is, in my opinion, one of the best reporters anywhere. She took great pains to be as impartial as possible, revealing her incredulity only briefly in response to some instances of obvious sexism.

The overarching theme of this omnibus presentation was the advent of religious radicalism now prevalent in all three of the major monotheistic religions of the world - Judaism, Islam, and of course, good old Christianity.That in itself is not news to most earthlings of the human persuasion who haven't spent the last twenty or so years in the asteroid belt. But the program served to put into perspective to some extent, the history and events which brought each tradition to this dangerous pass.

It is worthy of note that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and, of course, much of the violence being visited upon the planet today is rooted in radical Islam. But it is also important to understand that there are radical Jews and Christians who are equally disposed to doing violence in the name of their god. God's Warriors does an admirable job of articulating that fact.

What ultimately renders any lasting resolution to the conflicts between these religious traditions so remote is the inability or unwillingness of any of them to accommodate the others in compromise. To do so would be forsaking their god. The true believers of each tradition maintain an unswerving faith that theirs is the one and only true path; that all others are deluded, following false gods or being led down the garden path by Beelzebub himself.

I know there are those, especially in the U.S. who believe that the right wing evangelical movement is waning. Certainly, since the last mid-term elections, it would appear that the Christian fundamentalists have lost their momentum. But they are a hearty lot. They have proven to be every bit as steadfast and driven as Osama and his boys.

Radical Christians are in part driven by the awareness that radical Muslim leaders have made great strides in galvanizing their followers into a fairly monolithic and overtly devout group. The Christians don't want to be caught with their spiritual pants down. They are compelled to mobilize and strengthen their flocks in preparation for the ultimate battle against the supposed heathen Islamist hoards. Many are booking passage to Armageddon as I type. I think a new Holiday Inn Express just opened there. There may be package deals on Expedia or Price Line, maybe an "Apocalypse Special"

What else drives the fundamentalist radicals of these respective faiths? We often hear both leaders and followers of these traditions lament the advent of the secular world and the dissolution of traditional morality, mainly in the west. Much of the western world, and certainly foremost, the U.S. has, in the eyes of many fallen into a miasma of materialism, sexual perversity, drug use and street violence. The fundies of all faiths believe that the only cure is a return to old time religion - a dose of fire and brimstone to force people to sit up and fly right; that failure to do so will ultimately doom us all to eternal damnation. Even a "loving" god can get testy.

Obviously, I think that's all a lot of hooey. While it is certainly true that materialism, mainly in the form of consumerism, pretty much rules the western world - and now more and more of the east as well, as witness China's massive thrust into capitalist ventures, not to mention thoroughly westernized Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai plus inroads in South Korea - even Thailand and Viet Nam. But is it all bad?

I think not. As I see it, many of the negatives we are witnessing in westernized societies are essentially growing pains. We are dazzled by technology. Computers, IPods, IPhones - all the electronic junk that is being foisted upon us is for many intoxicating in their possibilities. Many years ago, Zelda Fitzgerald was quoted as saying, "We grew up founding our dreams on the infinite promise of American advertising..." That is certainly no less true today.

While, at my rapidly ripening age, I will likely not see an end to this, I do believe that at some point, we may eventually just get over such fascination - that the gizmos and toys will not be so coveted as they are today. Some will shake their heads. Considering the current state of affairs, there is certainly no evidence of any waning in our love affair with "stuff." But who knows? Such change may eventually come to pass.

Of equally serious concern is the apparent deterioration of our sexual mores. Witness the massive offerings of any and all types of pornography, mainly via the internet, but also on the tube, in films, books, magazines, in our music and so on. Sex in our society has become ubiquitous and pervasive which deeply troubles many, not only those of a religious bent. Sex can be debasing and dangerous. It can be used to degrade both women and men. It can be lethal owing to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Our concomitant fascination with violence simply adds to the complexity of the problem and the misery it causes either in conjunction with sex or not.

But again, I look upon it as a phase - a troubling one, no doubt - but nevertheless, a phase. It is a logical response to hundreds of years of sexual repression. On the whole, western society is mad for sex and violence. In a sense, we want it all. We want to see it, feel it, smell it and taste it. We want to experience the whole gamut of pleasure and pain. We want to wallow in its perversity. Ultimately, though, "civilized" society will get beyond it. It will likely take a while - at least several decades, more likely, a few centuries. But, should man survive, most of the perverse thrill of sex and violence may become passe', perhaps boring.

Humanity will not be doomed to hell for its sins. There is no hell - and certainly no heaven, no afterlife. No god. If we don't nuke ourselves out of existence, if we don't get wasted by an earthly collision with a giant comet, we may one day wake to find that we are well and happy, that we are whole, totally on our own, owing no allegiance to any god or other "higher power."

But in the mean time, anyone disturbed by the growing threat coming from radical fundamentalists of all stripes should be attentive and watchful. It was one thing to wage religious war in the days of swords and spears. It is quite another in an age when some true believer may have his nervous little finger on the nuclear button. The fundies, in their religious zeal, may rush us all to an end we didn't believe would or could happen.

TLS

Secular Music

2007-08-09T23:20:00.000-04:00

Back in May a letter appeared in the Humanist Network News the "ezine of the Institute for Humanist Studies" signed by one "Tenor with Reservations" regarding the conundrum of being an atheist or agnostic struggling with misgivings about performing religious music. "Tenor" had been asked by a neighbor to join a local civic chorus. He told her that owing to the strong religious content of much of the music the chorus performed, he couldn't in good conscience join such a group.

I responded with a letter which appeared in the same publication a few weeks later stating that I too had been faced with a similar problem. I wrote: "As it happens, most of the greatest music in the western world is, like it or not, religious. Bach, Mozart, Palestrina, Bernstein, etc. - virtually all of their choral works are religious. While the inspiration for this music originated with belief in a god, it was, nevertheless, composed by and for us lowly humans to play, to sing, and listen to."

I had a three year tenure with a choral group in Indianapolis. Not all, but most of the music we performed was religious in nature, mostly Christian. I didn't embrace the message provided by the mosly biblical texts. I just reveled in the greatness of the music.

As atheists or agnostics, we still marvel at great cathedrals, sculpture and paintings of religious subjects. Remember, this life is the only shot we get. I say. . . go for it. Embrace the music and sing out."

As it happens, the 'Tenor with Reservations" is a member of the "Brights, the humanist organization."
"Tenor" sent me an email thanking me for my comments and suggested that since we appear to have a common interest - singing, music, etc. - that I might consider becoming a Coordinator of Musical Development for the freethought community. While intriguing, such a task seemed a bit ambitious for the likes of yours truly.

But Tenor voiced his frustration at the "dearth of music" heard at various humanist gatherings, conventions and the like. I may be wrong here, but what I believe Tenor is looking for is accessible music with a humanist bent - music that would be appropriate for such gatherings, but that is of such a nature that the audience could relate to and/or actually participate in. (Humanist karaoke?)

Obviously, there is a great deal of what is considered to be "secular" music. But, for the most part, few of us know of music specifically inspired by and written as a celebration of humanity as opposed to music composed through supposed "divine" inspiration. I am aware that many 20th century composers had either openly or covertly broken with the church and some came to deny any belief in a god - Stravinsky, Shostakovitch, perhaps Mahler among others, just as many writers and other artists did. Although many of these composer's works are highly respected, little of it is accessible to the average person.

So, what am I getting at here? A response from any fellow "Brights" or anyone else pausing to read here who can offer suggestions regarding what's out there. Are there individuals or groups of whatever genre who are composing and/or performing music which is in whole or in part focused on humanity, on the human condition, living without god, or consideration of some "higher power?" Perhaps music focusing on the struggle between belief and non-belief?

I know I am not conveying this very clearly. Perhaps it's because many of us, myself included spend a great deal of time detailing who we are NOT, what we do NOT believe, as opposed to defining who we ARE, and what we DO believe. Words fail me.

If you do understand what I'm getting at, and know of such music or musicians, let me know here. In the near future there should be some kind of notification in this regard at http://www.the-brights.net/ Nothing is set up there as yet owing to some health problems with one of the director's families. If we can be directed to this type of music and their creators (not of the heavenly type,) perhaps it could be beneficial for all.

2007-08-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

Let us all revel in the "glory" of the morning!

A Fundamental Question

2007-07-31T22:49:00.000-04:00

Fundies help me out here:

1. God is omnipotent - all powerful

2. God is omniscient - all knowing

3. In order to be allowed beyond the pearly gates one must embrace Jesus Christ as one's lord and saviour.

4. One has until virtually one's last cognizant moment to do this.

5. Living a good life, doing good deeds, thinking pure thoughts will not get you into heaven.

6. It doesn't matter if one sins as long as he or she takes care of #3 above BC (before croaking.)

Preachers and the like constantly direct their parishoners, and anyone else who'll listen, to live a righteous life and avoid temptation and sin.

Why?

TLS

Thinking About Moving

2007-07-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

My wife and I have given some consideration to moving to Germany. My older son has lived there for 4 or 5 years and loves it, although he does miss home at times. Of course, he speaks the language fluently. My younger son has some skill with it as well. My wife and I struggle with "guten morgen," and "danke shoen" or nervously asking "Wo ist die toilette, por favor - er I mean, uh - what is it? - uh - bitte? Yeah, that's it - Wo ist die toilette, bitte?" - spoken triumphantly, and, of course, loud enough for all the people in the room to stop in their tracks to turn and stare at us. But I guess we could eventually pick up enough to get by over time.

But I'd really miss some uniquely "American" things which are generally difficult to get in Germany and elsewhere abroad. What would those things be, you might ask?

Well, these come to mind:

Tap water at restaurants.

Ice in drinks.

Clothes dryers.

Stores open 24/7.

Air conditioning.

American toilets.

When we were in Vienna some years ago and a few years later in various parts of Germany, restaurant servers looked at us askance when any of us requested a glass of tap water. Bottled water is the rule. Tap water, verboten.

Soft drinks may be served chilled, but forget getting ice.

I could probably get along fine without a clothes dryer, but few people have them, or so I understand. My wife would more likely find that a bother, but I'm sure I'd miss the effects of the loving touch of those fabric softener dryer sheets. The liquid stuff you put in with the wash load just isn't the same.

I could also probably adjust to the lack of 24/7 shopping, but it certainly is convenient to go to, well - a convenience store - at midnight to get a gallon of milk, a can of coffee or a bag of whatever. Or to be able to go to a drug store and get something for that maddening itch or a serious case of the hoohaws.

Obviously, most of the above are, on balance rather piddling trifles.

Living without AC though, would be tough for this fat boy. The area of northern Germany where my son has been living has been extremely hot most of the summer. His apartment is on the top floor of his building with poor air circulation. He can't even find a fan, for whatever reason. The few occasions I've been obliged to spend a hot, humid summer night without AC have been hellish. With my having Apnea, a decent night's sleep is rare enough. Trying to do so without AC can be a nightmare.

Then there's the toilets. You world travelers probably know of what I speak. In Austria and Germany, where I have traveled, most of their toilets are designed with what is euphemistically referred to as "the shelf" which is high and dry. One does not truly appreciate the great job that the water in the bowl does for one's olfactory senses. I remember the glee with which I responded to finding American style toilets in a public restroom at the Grand Hotel in Vienna. Woohoo!

I know, I have exposed my very soul and revealed that I am a truly spoiled and predictably shallow American. What can I say? These are some of the things to which many Americans are accustomed. They are all part of the hallowed "American Dream."

After several days in Germany a couple of years ago I found myself wistfully envisioning myself sitting atop one of those wasteful American toilets, sipping a glass of ice water obtained straight from the tap (yeah, I know, it's a fairly disgusting vision) in my air conditioned suburban home while my clothes are spinning dry in the basement laundry room, contemplating a midnight run to the 24 hour Kroger Store for a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey.

Now THAT'S my America!

TLS

Just an additional note. Something weird happens to some of my paragraph divisions when I publish. I've tried to remedy the situation to no avail.

Oh, and one more note: We're not moving anywhere.

SICKO

2007-07-12T23:49:00.000-04:00

My wife, son and I went to see Michael Moore's Sicko last weekend. While I have generally agreed with most of Moore's positions over the years, I have not been a fan of his modus operandi. His prior films have depended largely on cheap shot humor and guerilla or predatory journalism. While Sicko includes some of that, overall it depends far less on those tactics than Moore's prior work.

I liked this film. Approximately the first half of the picture is spent illustrating the limits and shortcomings of the current American health care system. Much of the remainder of the film focusses on health care systems in other countries including Canada, England, France and Cuba. Yes, Cuba.

I have read a number of the reviews and other discussions of this film. Detractors are quick to point out how the film tells only partial truths, ignoring good things about American health care and passing over the bad aspects of the systems in the countries noted above. I don't doubt the truth of many of these charges. As with his previous works, Moore doesn't claim to be unbiased. He doesn't even claim to be fair.

The fact is that no health care system anywhere, especially those of countries having relatively large populations are perfect. Not even close. However, the question remains: Which system or systems are the most equitable, the most workable, resulting in the optimum healthcare for its citizens?

I am certainly not prepared to answer such a question. But it is impossible to ignore the glaring shortcomings of the American system which for the most part remains a "for profit" industry. Therein lay the core of the problem. As long as medicine and medical care - all aspects of it from individual medical practices, emergency care, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, drug manufacturers and purveyors remain in the private sector, with pretty much all of it concomitantly under the thumb of the insurance industry - the primary focus of their efforts being a positive bottom line and paying dividends to share holders, medical care in this country will continue to be second rate for many, and effectively unavailable to many more. As with so much in this country, profit is the holy grail. Everything else is secondary - even life and health.

I know this is an old, but nevertheless, an ongoing argument. To suggest that all or any of the medical industry be nationalized is anathema to most hard core, and even not so hard core capitalists. Just the thought of - dare I say it? - socialized medicine is enough to send these folks into apoplexy, wildly gesticulating as they drop, spittal spewing from their contorted mouths, veins popping from their crimsoned temples.

I've no doubt that there are gaps and failures in the best of the nationalized health care systems. The draw back most often cited is long waits for care - especially non-emergency surgery and other specialized care. I don't know if that particular problem is ubiquitous with all nationalized health care, perhaps it is. Of course another, and larger complaint is the resultant increase in the tax burden. Given the often incredible costs for even routine medical care today, a significant hit from the tax man is probably unavoidable.

However, if there is to be any significant improvement in the quality and availability of health care in this country, hard decisions must be made. What is of most importance to us? Wealth or health? How many of us might be willing to give up trophy houses, having expensive "toys," and generally living lavishly to help insure that the greatest number of our country men, women and children have access to the best medical care? So far, and sadly, it is apparent that not many are so inclined.

I am not a glutten for punishment. I do not wish to be taxed out of existence. My son in Germany pays taxes at around 41% of his gross income. Some European countries have much higher tax rates. It's a hard nut to swallow. However, the populations of these countries seem to have adjusted to it, some perhaps kicking and screaming, but most in relative quiet, in the knowledge that they can obtain health care, along with other services and benefits with little or no additional cost. As an example, in Germany if someone, owing to the effects of aging or poor health, is forced into a nursing home or some other type of full or intensive care facility, they are not required to divest themselves of everything they own in order to qualify for government aid. It is all simply paid for by the government through taxation. Such people are not required to sell hearth and home, their other worldly goods and empty their bank accounts. They can actually retain their estates.

I hear people in the US complain that they don't want to pay for someone else's medical care. Others complain about paying taxes that support public education, if they have no children, or no school aged children. The fact is, though, that we all pay for any number of government services that we never use, and/or receive no benefit from. Why not education? Why not health care? The better educated and healthier our population, the more productive we will be as a nation.

While I don't for a moment imagine that designing an efficient, responsive and equitable national health care system for a country the size of the U.S. of A. would be easy, I find it hard to believe and, frankly, disingenuine of people to claim that it can't be done. Of course it can, and it has. Is it beyond the possible for the best minds in medicine, business, industry and government to come together and study the world's many and varied medical systems and come up with a workable solution for the U.S.? Pick and choose what works, dispose of what doesn't. At the outset, there would no doubt be problems. Complaints would run rampant. Some heads would probably roll. There would be significant growing pains. It would never be perfect or cover all the bases. But the status quo just can't be allowed to continue. Far too many people are falling through the ever widening cracks in the current system. The primary purpose of health care should not be to line the pockets of insurance company CEOs or their share holders. Its purpose should not be to enable doctors to join the best country clubs. The primary purpose of health care should be the improvement and maintenance of our citizens' health. Period.

TLS

Where All of This Is Heading?

2007-07-07T23:20:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think or at least hope, if I just start writing, something will begin to roll out of my mushy little mind. I have written a good deal here and elsewhere over the past 20 months or so. This is my 141st post on Rupture. Granted, some of them don't amount to much. Some are just silly and pointless. But a number of them were written with at least a modicum of thought, seasoned at times with emotion, occasionally rather raw emotion - usually anger.

Since my first post in November of 2005 I have read a number of books, several magazine articles, any number of blog posts and comments, most having to do with god and religion. I still have difficulty making sense of it all. Just as it seems that born again christians constantly repeat a small number of stock phrases drummed into their heads at their respective churches, I find that I too, have become somewhat repetitive in what often amounts to diatribes against religious belief and believers, dominionists, religious radicals of all stripes and their often heinous acts of violence. I guess there are only so many ways one can say the same things.

I just finished reading the book I alluded to in a previous post, Jack Huberman's The Quotable Atheist. As I noted, it is a collection of several quotes from mostly non-believers but with a few believer quotes thrown in just to spice it up a bit. Some are quite funny, but most are serious in nature. In the end when taken together, the message is essentially the same: Religion and a belief in god, any god, is wasteful, ludicrous and to many of the "quotees" downright evil.

While I could laugh at many of the good, often witty quotes, ultimately I put the book down with a twinge of sadness, even of dread. A great deal of the turmoil, destruction and death now being perpetrated on our planet is based upon which god one believes in.

The recent failed bombings in London provided yet another wake up call about the ever present danger of terrorist attacks. One can only take heart in the fact that these guys were inept. They couldn't get out of their own way. I conjured a scene of one of the brainiac doctors attempting to detonate one of the two Mercedes bombs by dialing the implanted cell phone detonator, only to have the recorded message break in "We're sorry, the number you have reached is not in service.' Bilal, I thought you activated all of the phones. No, Khalid, I assumed you had them turned on, Allah be praised." My wife's initial response was that it was a terrible waste of good cars.

The fact that at least some of these terrorist wannabes are medical doctors is troubling. First, they cannot be considered as true to their professional calling if they were actively and willingly attempting to "first, do harm." Mistakenly perhaps, I think of medical doctors as men and women of science. That, for those fellows in London and Glasgow science lost the battle with faith, is disturbing.

The three major monotheistic religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are arriving at a pass which many hope will culminate in an ultimate battle to determine who is truly king of the hill. What most people of these respective faiths don't appear to acknowledge is that there is, in the end, very little difference between these religions. They were all three born out of the same part of the world of the same traditions. Each of their sacred texts are an inter-mix of much the same material. All of it is a conglomeration of myth and legend told and retold, written, rewritten, translated and re-translated ad nauseam over more than 2 millennia, and yet each is now believed to be the one and only, inerrant true word of god. And many of them are more than willing to see millions of people die over this ludicrous load of crap! Many hope to take an active role in the massacre.

There was a great cartoon in an issue of the New Yorker magazine a few months back which depicted the scene of a battle worn king his sword raised high in victory, sitting astride his rearing horse as it stands atop a huge pile of the battlefield dead, the legend below reading: "Let the healing begin!"

It's just that kind of absurdity which haunts me as I see how all of this emnity throughout the world may well play itself out. What will the winners of such a conflagration do upon achieveing their victory? Will they be looking to the sky for their saviour, their prophet? Might it not be like the idiots through the years who have convinced people that the world is going to end at such and such a time? Will these victors be deafened by the silence of their god? Will they desparately look for signs, wildly reading some kind of spiritual meaning into every damn thing that passes? How will they explain away the failure to realize the rapture? How will they rationalize their failure to touch the face of god? Will they mourn the dead?

Will there be any hope for a voice of reason to rise up out of the ashes? I fear not. The gross stupidity which brought them to Armageddon will live on, igniting new flames of religious fervor continuing to subjugate the weak and further divide the survivors to foment yet another, greater battle for the glory of their god.

I end this with a couple of quotes, the first from Huberman's book from Percy Bysshe Shelley:

"If he is infinitely good, what reason should we have to fear him? If he is infinitely wise, why should we have doubts concerning our future? If he knows all, why warn him of our needs and fatigue him with our prayers? If he is just, why fear that he will punish the creatures that he has filled with weaknesses? . . . If he is reasonable, how can he be angry at the blind, to whom he has given the liberty of being unreasonable? . . . If he is inconceivable, why occupy ourselves with him?. . . and if he has spoken, why is the world not convinced?"

The second is a quote of Albert Einstein's repeated in Walter Isaacson's biography, Einstein (pg.387):

"The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I am a devoutly religious man."

TLS

Angry Response

2007-06-30T08:15:00.000-04:00

Note: I wrote this little diatribe as a response to an article posted to Blog Critics Magazine regarding faith based initiatives being financed with our tax money. Some of it is repetitive as regards previous posts here. However, as the article to which I commented was several days old, it occured to me that it would likely not be read by much of anyone. I didn't want this stellar example of my literary and discursive prowess to completely go to waste. Placing it here guarantees at least another 3 or 4 exposures. Who knows, maybe 1 or 2 people (other than myself) might actually read it - or some of it at least. I could probably pick up some additional hits if I could just work Paris Hilton into the piece. ( Hey, I just did.)

Atheists carry much less hate than the average believer. Most of us, I think, would pretty much mind our own business, content to be free of religious dogma if all you "faith based" humans weren't doing so damn much damage in this world.

Christians love to proverbially hug themselves reveling in just how wonderful they are. They are all so kind and generous, so loving, so concerned, but are quick to remind anyone not of the faith of their certain descendance into eternal hell for not professing allegiance to jesus. It's all bogus crap.

As there is not one iota of evidence supporting the existence of any god or gods, why don't believers carry a burden of proof for their faith before they are allowed to subject the rest of us to their blather? Believers carry a greate deal of fear and loathing for non-believers (gays and lesbians who are perennial targets of christian hate are nevertheless more accepted in society than are atheists.) Pastors continually remind their respective flocks of how dastardly we are. After all, we are the devil's minions.

Keep in mind that to be an atheist pretty much anywhere in the world has been a very risky business for much of human history. The "burning" of atheists often took place right here on earth usually sponsored and carried out by mother church. Atheists have been vilified for centuries. That given, perhaps we are a bit defensive and tend toward being a tad cranky.

If the dominionists have their way, all of us professed non-believers will likely have to find new digs and/or go underground. We will probably rue the day we ever chose to start gabbing about our distaste for god and religion on the internet. We'll be hunted like rats.

(There should be a paragraph break here.)

Our founding fathers were true products of the "enlightenment" as brought forth through the Renaissance. As many of them were professed deists who accepted a notion of some kind of godly creator, but certainly not a personal god, often professing their great distaste for religion in general, it was no accident that god is NOT mentioned in the Constitution. They understood only too well the dangers of any government endorsement of religion. The separation of church and state was a mainstay of their political philosophy. Georgie Porgie's "faith based" initiatives with the federal government providing tax money to support religious organizations in any capacity is a slap in the founding fathers' faces and counter to the Constitution. There can be no "taking back our country for Christ." He never had it in the first place.

People can be good and do good without religion, without churches, without god. We don't need some idiot evangelist prancing about the dais at some mega church to provide our moral bearings.

Hell, I think I'll establish my own church, the "Church of What's Happenin" and get me some of that good federal money. Whoo doogies!

TLS

How to Grease the Slide Down - er - Up to Heaven

2007-06-27T20:55:00.000-04:00

Fundamentalist preachers tell their flocks that living a "good" life has little or nothing to do with whether an individual will gain heavenly ascendance. Doing good deeds, thinking pure thoughts, being humble, being honest, being kind, working hard, being smart, being responsible, being productive, count for little or nothing. The only relatively sure way to get beyond the Pearly Gates is to consciously and, I presume, sincerely become "reborn" in acceptance of Jesus as your lord and saviour.

What this says, then is that say, Saddam Hussein, even his sons, Uday and Qusay, those zany, fun loving guys, could be enjoying the pleasures of eternal paradise had any or all of them come to Jesus prior to swinging in the breeze or being riddled with bullets respectively. That's a pretty good deal, if you think about it. That given, there is no particular reason to "be good" in this life. One could rape and pillage, be a pedophile, cheat, lie, steal, commit mass murder, actually like Rob Schneider movies, any such heinous things and more, but just in the nick of time get right with the "J" man, and it's all okee dookie. A ticket for the Bliss Express will be waiting for you at the "will call" window. Isn't that just a tad too easy? It obviates the need for being good or pious. It all comes down to the Big Guy's ego, doesn't it? As long as you acknowledge His supremacy and humble yourself before it, you are, according to your local evangelist, in like Flint. It's okay to be a despicable asshole in this life as far as the Lord of Lords is concerned.

What a load of shit! We lowly humans usually demand more of someone than a hastily blurted out "Hey, I love you, man." for even relatively small rewards, let alone the ultimate enchilada, eternal life in paradise. Would anyone "love" someone who would demand such fealty for whatever rewards? You might feign some kind of love or adoration to survive, to maintain a better life. But love? I think not. At your core, you'd hate the son of a bitch, wouldn't you? Supposed love for God is, at best, forced out of fear of losing that ultimate reward. ("Yes, sir. No, sir. Right you are, sir. Ha, ha, that's really funny, sir. Whatever you say, sir. You're the best, sir. I love you, sir, I truly do and, hey, I really mean that.")

What is it they say? Sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made. Maybe all the way to heaven.

TLS

Blocked!

2007-06-27T00:51:00.000-04:00

I'm blue. I'm blocked. I keep thinking I have a great deal to say, but when I sit down here, I got nothin'. Don't know where I'm gonna get it. But I'll try. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not.

TLS

"The Quotable Athiest" and Other Stuff

2007-06-20T22:43:00.000-04:00

I've been doing some reading. Nothing new, I guess. I always am. I am currently reading The Quotable Atheist by Jack Huberman. Huberman's previous works include The Bush-Hater's Handbook, Bushit! and 101 People Who Are Really Screwing America - probably not titles one would find on the average conservative's bookshelf.

I won't go into The Quotable Atheist in particular detail here. Maybe later. Suffice it to say, though, that it is a collection of generally short quotes from a plethora of people going back to ancient Greece up to these here times. Most are or professed to be atheists or via other terms, non-believers. Some entries are serious, some are funny, some seriously funny. Following are a couple of things which occured to me in reading some of them.

Muslim arrogance. As Chris Hitchens noted in his book God is Not Great, muslims demand supplication not only of its adherents, but of the entire world as witness the hoopla surrounding the cartoons depicting Mohammed a year or so ago. Recently, it was announced that Salman Rushdie is to become a British Knight. It wasn't enough that the man was forced to live under the very real threat of death after publication of his Satanic Verses, now the muslim world DEMANDS that his proposed knighthood be revoked. Who are these cocksuckers? What makes them think they are so fucking special? As Hitchens notes and I quoted in a prior post, "There is nothing - absoulutely nothing - in [islamic] teachings that can even begin to justify such arrogance and presumption." Radical muslims are such gutless pricks. Cowardly, arrogant pricks! They recruit their children to kill indiscriminantly and die for the supposed glory of their god. They stroke their beards and praise allah and grin their shit eating grins, believing they are operating from the high ground. They hide in the shadows and use terror as their weapon. Fuck them! Had they any courage, they would step out in the light. They are not men. They are pathetic, deranged little boys playing deadly games - boys so intimidated by and fearful of women they can't bear to look at them.

Have I vented enough?

It is assumed by many that it is religion which brought about civilization. Not so. During periods of our history over which the church held dominion, millions of people were murdered, millions more tortured, left homeless, and on and on - all under the auspices of the church. It is largely owing to religious zealotry that hundreds of people continue to die every day.

It is the movement toward secularism which brought on true civilized society. The more we turn away from god and other-worldly concerns, the more we place our focus on earthly life. It is the secular which makes for a richer life free of the violence and intolerance brought about by religious dogma.

I finish with a quote from Huberman's book by former cyclist and cancer survivor, Lance Armstrong

" If there was a god, I'd still have both nuts."

That pretty much says it all.

TLS

The Perfect Father's Day Card

2007-06-18T16:40:00.000-04:00

This is the father's day card my thoughtful and loving son sent me. It just kind of says it all, doesn't it? Man, it's like in 3-D or something! JC just kinda pops out at you. I think it's significant that the phone exchange is "UPtown" rather than "DOwntown."

Frankly, it may be the best card I've ever gotten. It will soon be ensconced in a decorative, but piously understated frame, hanging on my office wall in a particularly conspicuous location. Should I nail it up? Any thoughts?

It's great!

TLS

Apocalypse Now!

2007-06-01T22:34:00.000-04:00

If you take a quick look at my previous post you will note that I have been reading. Good for me, huh? Well, yeah!

Over the last several months I have read a number of books and various magazine and on-line articles concerning efforts of radical christian fundamentalists to create an American Theocracy, a christian government ruled, not by our constitution, but by biblical law. A number of people who have commented here and elsewhere claim that I am being gullible, that to believe such a thing is, at least over-reacting, of being alarmist.

I have too often ineffectively countererd with but, but, I mean, well, I mean, but... finally resorting to citing Hitler's rise to power while the world looked on. It's a tired argument. One that most people either reject or laugh off, saying, "Oh, man, that can't happen here. This is the good ole' US of A. Land of the free." Perhaps they are right. I would, in fact, like to think so.

But given the manner and direction in which things have progressed over the last 35 to 40 years or so regarding the inroads made by the aforementioned christian fundamentalists into virtually all walks of life, including government at all levels, the work place, our schools, the media, etc., it is impossible for me to simply shrug them off as nut cases, as fringe loonies.

The fact is millions of our fair citizens have bought into the whole idea hook, line and communion wafers. Many of these people have been drawn into the fold, as it were, to escape broken, failed lives for which they cast blame on liberal society. They long for direction, for a strict, well, even harshly defined moral code. They no longer wish to be free. They want to be led, to be reassured of a blissful life - if not here on earth, then for an eternity in heaven. To reach this bliss, they must divest themselves of their personal lives. They must devote themselves to their god. Ultimately, they must be ready and willing to fight to the death as warriors for their god.

As opposed as radical christians are to radical muslims, they more or less mirror them in their ardor, their willingness to do violence, to kill, enmasse if need be. The radical christians are similar to their muslim counterparts in their intolerance, their suppression of women, suppression of art and critical thought. They hate and fear science and modern technology - except insofar as they can make use of it to defeat their enemies - to kill them.

The masses of people who have taken up the standard of the christian warriors enter a closed society wherein virtually their every waking hour is saturated with the message of god's love and the concomitant and necessary hate and loathing of those of faiths not their own, of non-believers, of apostates. They often spend time almost everyday within the confines of their selected church. They often have jobs at companies owned and/or operated by fellow believers. Their kids go to schools set up by their churches, or lacking that, are often home schooled. Most of their social time is spent with fellow parishoners. If they watch TV at all - many sects don't allow it - they watch one of the plethora of local christian stations, and/or national christian networks. The same with radio. The only music they listen to is religious oriented.

Those who attend one of the many "mega-churches" that have sprung up in recent years, are presented with what amounts to a well planned and executed "production" designed to first mesmerize the congregation with a great deal of singing, standing with arms raised to the heavens, often in an attempt to mirror or, perhaps mock black gospel services, repeatedly shouting "Hallelujah," "Praise God," "Praise the Lord" and "Praise Jesus." ad nauseam, or in some instances falling and writhing on the floor speaking in "tongues" until a collective exhaustion sets in. Then at some length the main course begins as the principal preacher takes the stage, often prancing about the dais with bible held high in constant admonition of the congregation's collective sins and citing their unworthiness in god's eyes. They rant on about the evils of the "secular" world that is out to destroy them, satan's minions set to defile and overthrow god. They are taught to trust no one outside their particular sphere. That any who attempt to use "rationality" are the enemy.

At the proper moment, of course, just when the attentive congregation is at their most physically and emotionally spent and, therefore, their most vulnerable, the choir begins singing god's praises and the offering plates come out.

Am I being unfairly cynical? I think not. It is all an enormous scam that may one day bring about the end of America as we know it. Most Democrats, political liberals and moderate christians are largely guilty of looking the other way, of going out of their way to be "tolerant," even of intolerance. The parallel of what is happening here and now in the US to the rise of Nazi Germany is apt. Most people of a more moderate disposition are reluctant to challenge the radicals. They live in the belief that if they ignore it long enough, it will eventually go away. That's not going to happen.

I urge readers of this little diatribe to read any or all of the following books:

The End of Faith by Sam Harris
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips
Kingdom Coming by Michelle Goldberg
The Baptising of America by Rabbi James Rudin
Atheist Manifesto by Michel Onfrey
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

and especially:

American Fascists by Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School and retains his faith. However, he sees quite clearly the dangers of the rising radical christian fundamentalists or theocrats. Reading just the first chapter of Hedges' book may be enough to overcome any reader's inertia.

Do it. You'll be disturbed that you did.

TLS

Chris Hitchens: God Is Not Great!

2007-05-27T20:28:00.000-04:00

Author and journalist Christopher Hitchens has, in his 58 years traveled, it seems about everywhere, and has amassed a thorough knowledge of the world today and its history. Of the writers who have recently published works assailing religion including Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Sam Harris (The End of Faith,) Hitchens may be the most literary. Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist and Harris has degreed in philosophy and is working toward a doctorate in neuroscience.

It is not easy to "peg" Hitchens into any particular hole as it were. While he is an avowed atheist he is not clearly a political liberal. He opposes the Bush administration's fundamentalist leanings but supports the US incursion into Iraq. Hitchens has elucidated his hatred for what he calls "fascism with an Islamic face" but harbours a visceral dislike of Bill Clinton owing to what Hitchens believes were a number of glaring failures during Clinton's tenure in the White House, not to mention character flaws in Clinton, the man.

In God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Hitchens has put together an intelligent and methodical dismantling of religion.

He opens with the story of a childhood teacher, a Mrs. Jean Watts, who inadvertantly brought Hitchens' own belief to a crashing halt by first exalting nature as God's great creation saying "So you see, children, how powerful and generous God is. He has made all the trees and grass to be green, which is exactly the color that is most restful to our eyes." But then, much to young Hitchens' consternation she continues, "Imagine if instead, the vegetation was all purple, or orange, how awful that would be." At age nine, Christopher Hitchens knew that his teacher had "managed to get everything wrong in just two sentences. The eyes were adjusted to nature, not the other way around."

This seemingly minor event sent Hitchens onto a life long journey of revelation regarding all things religious. As he matured, he found many things regarding the existence and nature of God just didn't ring true.
He wondered "Why, if god was the creator of all things, were we supposed to "praise" him so incessantly for doing what came naturally? ... If Jesus could heal a blind person he happened to meet, then why not heal blindness? ... With all this continual prayer, why no result?

When Hitchens was thirteen, the headmaster of his school stated during a "no nonesense talk" with Hitchens and some fellow students "You may not see the point of all this faith now,...but you will one day, when you start to lose loved ones." At this Hitchens was indignant. "Why, that would be as much as saying that religion might not be true, but never mind that, since it can be relied upon for comfort. How contemptible."

At length Hitchens arrived at : "...four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum of servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking."

From these assertions, Hitchens sets out to illucidate just how "religion poisons everything. "In Chapter 2 entitled 'Religion Kills,' he reminds us of the deadly history of religion, from monstrous biblical genocides to mass graves in Bosnia. He recounts religious inspired horrors from Belfast to Beirut, Belgrade to Bethlehem. And, oh yes, Baghdad. Hitchens chose to limit his illustrations to some of the "Bs." Obviously, he could have continued ad nauseam through the alphabet.

He sets off on this tour of religion's murderous past with a query: Why does [a belief in god] not make its adherents happy?" Why, indeed! He asserts that religion..."cannot be content with its own marvelous claims and sublime assurances. It must (Hitchen's italics) seek to interfere with the lives of nonbelievers, or heretics, or adherents of other faiths." This interference more often than not leads to catastrophic destruction and mass murder all in the name, and for the glory of a god.

Moving on, Hitchens touches on religion's ever and ongoing war with science and technology, and its resistance to change in general, the false claims of religious metaphysics, the ludicrous arguments for "intelligent design."

He takes on the Christian bible, first the Old Testament - filled with the rage of a jealous god and his murderous vengeance - a read not for the faint of heart, and then the New Testament which he characterizes as a mostly discordant and contradictory mish-mash of altered or non-history noting that virtually all of it was written well after the supposed life of Jesus.

The Koran, Hitchens describes as an even greater mish-mash of borrowed anecdotes and commentaries. Islam, Hitchens claims, "builds upon its primitive Jewish and Christian predecessors, selecting a chunk here and a shard there... a rather obvious and ill-arranged set of plagiarisms, helping itself from earlier books and traditions as occasion appeared to require." He goes on to say that Islam "makes immense claims for itself, invokes prostrate submission... as a maxim to its adherents, and demands deference and respect from nonbelievers into the bargain. There is nothing - absoulutely nothing - in its teachings that can even begin to justify such arrogance and presumption."

Eastern traditions do not escape Hitchens' scrutiny. Many would be surprised to hear of Hindu suicide bombers and militant Buddhist death squads in Sri Lanka.

He examines religion as a source of child abuse citing genital mutilitation in the form of male circumcision, the excision of female labia and clitoris, and sexual abuse of alter boys by Catholic priests.

Hitchens takes a look at failed secular societies, namely Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. The focus here is how, in both cases, religion, per se, was replaced by nationalism, pointing out, though that in neither case was traditional religion completely eradicated. It is interesting as Hitchens notes that the first diplomatic accord made by Hitler after his rise to power in 1933 was a treaty with the Vatican.

Chapter 18, 'A Finer Tradition: The Resistance of the Rational' studies religious tradition's history of locking horns with rational thought from the likes of Socrates to Spinoza, David Hume to Thomas Paine, Immanuel Kant to Albert Einstein down to Lenny Bruce, Saul Bellow and Joseph Heller.

In conclusion, Hitchens calls for a "renewed enlightenment" to counter the dangerous and stultifying effects of religion; how acceptance of religious dogma deadens curiosity and thought, that to "choose dogma and faith over doubt and experiment is to throw out the ripening vintage and to reach greedily for the Kool-Aid."

He cites the dangers posed by religious radicals owing to their desire for ultimate conflagration, pointing out that Iran represents "a version of the Inquisition ... about to lay hands on a nuclear weapon," that we are nearing the "moment when apocalyptic nihilists coincide[d] with Armageddon weaponry." stressing how imperative it is to recognize the reality and nature of this threat and to counter it however possible.

"We have first to transcend our prehistory, and escape the gnarled hands which reach out to drag us back to the catacombs and the reeking alters and the guilty pleasures of subjection and abjection ... it has become necessary to know the enemy, and to prepare to fight it."

A Little of This and a Little of That

2007-05-15T21:11:00.000-04:00

Jerry Falwell bought the farm today. I have never liked the man even given the distance from which I knew him. I certainly did not wish for his death. Oddly, Falwell and many of his followers perhaps did, in the belief that he would be passing onto the great beyond for eternity. No one in his circle should be sad. Perhaps he is finding the void blissful.

A note regarding my old atheist friend-turned minister, Dain: He did in fact answer my email. Briefly. He informed me that it had been a crazy week (just prior to Easter,) and that he would get back to me when things settled down. He hasn't contacted me further. Unless he initiates further contact, I will let it be. I won't force the issue. I suppose now, my interest is reduced to simple curiosity about the other two of their trio, Jane & Carmen - what has happened to them over these years. (Dain and Jane are no longer together.) But, as I said, it is little more than personal curiosity. I don't know that Dain and I have much to say to each other. Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. Or not.

I need to get back to the phone. Gotta keep trying to call in my vote for the next American Idol. (My personal favorite is Melinda.)

TLS

Save the cheerleader...

Good bye to Tom Poston

2007-05-01T22:38:00.000-04:00

I heard earlier today of Tom Poston's death. He was 85. Who? I suppose some of you younger folks have no idea who Tom Poston was.

Tom Poston has been on the boob tube on and off since 1950 and as recently as last year. My first notice of him came as a "man on the street" on the Steve Allen Show. He was the sleepy, dim witted one. Other "men on the street" were Louie Nye as Gordon Hathaway, the smarmy used car salesman type wearing the full Cleveland, the perennially terrified Don Knotts, Dayton Allen (not related to Steve) always answering questions with an index finger pointed skyward, and his mouth twisting into his extended Whyyyy Not? As I recall, Bill Dana as Jose Jiminez came a bit later. There were others, but the above were the first. Now, all but Dana are dead including Steve Allen.

After the Allen show Poston made appearances in any number of series and other shows over several years. He came back in rare form as the maintenance man at the Vermont inn on Newhart. His deadpan humor was often dead on with Newhart as the foil. He was just a funny man.

My father rebuilt the closet space in the bedroom of my brother and I back in the mid '50s which included a recess for a small TV. My brother and I used to watch the Allen show on Saturday nights lying in our beds. We loved it. Steve Allen's yelling "Smock, smock!!, and his falsetto laugh were hilarious and the laugh infectious. It could be set off at a whim. At times he couldn't stop. The "man on the street" bit was the best part of the show and Allen would enjoy it as much as we did. Our parents thought the show was nuts.

I often think of all those guys, now gone. Poston may have been the best, and certainly was the most enduring of all of them. I'll really miss seeing him on the idiot box.

TLS

The "perks" of being a christian

2007-04-24T08:54:00.000-04:00

Most, if not all states in this country (that being the US of A) have long offered what are referred to as "vanity" auto license plates on which purchasers can request the plate's "number" be a particular word,short phrase or some other combination of letters and numbers significant of something or other as long as the message is not obscene or considered to be otherwise offensive. These messages are usually limited to no more than 7 digits or letters. Now, many states offer "specialty" plates that promote a wide variety of things such as state colleges & universities, cancer research, sports teams, arts organizations, the environment and so on. Normally, a portion of the collected fee goes toward the benefit of the respective organization, cause, etc.

Recently, here in good old Indiana Woody Burton, a state legislator led a successful effort to make available a plate with the legend "In God We Trust" stamped upon it. They were made available a few months ago and have proven to be wildly popular here in the bible belt. While I find them somewhat offensive, I thought - What the hell? Who gives a crap. It wasn't a battle worth fighting. I knew that to actively oppose the plate would lead to the inevitable charge that, if I am so offended by the phrase, I should stop carrying and using US currency upon which the odious phrase has long been emblazoned. (Actually, I don't use cash much any longer owing to the ability to use debit cards pretty much everywhere.) But, at any rate, I thought - Let it be.

However, an enterprising fellow in Allen County, Indiana, one Mark Studler persuaded the ICLU (Indiana's version of the national ACLU) to file suit on his behalf against the state as regards these very plates. The legal issue at hand is not the plate per se, but the fact that they have been made available to anyone wanting them at no additional charge while all other specialty plates sold in Indiana have an additional $15 administrative fee tacked onto them. It is this fellow's and the ICLU's contention that either all specialty plates be charged the fee, or none of them should be so charged. I must agree.

What would come as a surprise to no one, the Indiana State Legislature is largely made up of devout, protestant christians who were either enthusiastic promoters of the plate, or if they had any misgivings, did not dare voice them so as not to offend the tender sensibilities of their properly righteous fellow lawmakers or their like minded constituents.

While given the bigger picture, this is pretty small potatoes, lest we forget Fascism started out as relatively small spuds as well. If we don't fight them in the trenches, we've got no chance when they lock down the Federal government and force all of us to have "In God We Trust" tatooed onto our foreheads.

TLS

I have always been a stiff.

2007-04-20T22:52:00.000-04:00

I've never been comfortable in my own body. I am plagued with tight joints. I don't bend quite like most people. When I was a kid, sitting on the floor was a challenge. It still is, but now, thankfully, I rarely find the need to do so. What with my arthritic knees, if getting down there is difficult, getting back up is an utter bitch. Yoga practitioners sitting in full lotus is not something I can relate to.

A bit of personal history, if you please.

In grade school all of us little rug rats are occasionally summoned to the gym-slash-auditorium for one kind of program or other. We plop ourselves down on the hardwood gym floor in tight little rows. Most of the kids arrange themselves comfortably, usually with legs crossed, backs straight, knees touching or nearly touching the floor, often not significantly altering their position during the entire festivity.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting with my knees pointed in the air at about a forty-five degree angle, my hands splayed on the floor behind my butt, elbows locked to keep from rolling over backwards winding up with my head in some kid's lap, or alternately wrapping my arms around my knees, hands clenched together in an effort to forestall the same horrific result. I continually alter my position back and forth, then ultimately into the limited number of other configurations possible in my little space as my sitz bones painfully dig into the wood floor, my arms and hands aching or going to sleep. Occasionally my buns itch. How do I deal with that? There is no one position I can stay in for more than a few minutes. The longer the program drags on, the more pained and uncomfortable I get. The break in the day to day routine for these assemblies is always welcome, but the discomfort I almost invariably experience soon has me longing for the relative comfort of my desk and chair back in the classroom.

The vision of people bending their joints to ludricrous extremes in all directions makes me physically ill. I simply can't fathom how such contortions are even remotely possible. My condition is apparently hereditary. My older brother has never been able to bend over straight legged and touch his toes. Now, in his mid-sixties, just putting on his socks is a major struggle. A lady friend of his finds watching him in this effort hilariously entertaining. As for me, my left sock remains doable, but my right one is getting to be a bit of a chore.

Of course, my joint problem was perhaps the first and just one of many personal idiosyncracies which lent themselves to fostering my social nerddom. I've never been quite able to enter the sphere of "cool." I wasn't really fat as a kid, nor was I ever accused of being svelt. I was just kind of amorphous. I was always a little slow in phys ed. I liked playing sports, but was never adept at them. I wasn't awful, I just wasn't very good. I was usually one of the first 3 or 4 kids who got creamed in dodgeball. I couldn't hit a pitch or catch a fly as well as most. I couldn't dribble a basketball with any particular agility, nor shoot, nor pull down a rebound on par with the rest. And football? Forget it. Too small, too slow, too ham handed, too chicken.

I was, for the most part a sub-standard and unattentive student. I spent a great deal of class time staring out the window with little awareness of what was going on within. I wriggled in my seat a lot, again uncomfortable in my body. I don't think I was dyslexic or anything. I just didn't find the 3 Rs as interesting as, well, almost everything else.

I have, however developed into a pretty adept eater as my girth will attend. I would never respond like characters on the tube or in flicks who always refuse food and drink when offered:

"Come in officer. Would you like some Ovaltine, or perhaps a ham sandwich?"

"No, none for me, thanks. There's no time. We need to discuss that box of hand grenades you have there by the window, Mrs. Gribble. There have been complaints."

"Oh, well then, how about a nice cup of Jello instant pudding?"

I suppose I'd be nervous about the grenades, but it's rare that I'd turn down a good ham sandwich, on rye, with mustard and mayo. And I've always been a sucker for pudding, especially chocolate, and Ovaltine too. I can deal with those pesky grenades in good time.

But, of course, eating is out of vogue - especially the kinds of comfort food I grew up with. Gosh help me, I like fat. Fat is what gives food flavor. I used to eat whipped cream on white bread, for crap sakes. I love sugar. I hate diet soda. I am, as always, out of sync with the world.

Ah, me. "Say, would you mind passing the salt?"

TLS

Bang! You're Dead.

2007-04-16T23:41:00.000-04:00

It's really quite simple, isn't it? Aim. Squeeze. Pop! Someone's dead. How great is that? You walk into a room. You're the only one with a gun. You can call all the shots. Literally. You become the 900 pound gorilla. You can do whatever the hell you want. You can make everyone else do whatever you want them to do. You can kill them. Some of them. All of them. Pop! Pop! Pop!

You dream about having that power, even if only for a short time. It needn't take long. Just thinking about it is intoxicating. It makes you hard. Hard as blue steel. You could penetrate a post. And it's so bloody simple. Pop! You revel in anticipation. You see the incredulity, then terror, panic. The mad scramble for safety. You love it. Total control. This one lives. That one dies. Pop! You get goose bumps. They're all grovelling assholes. You are the King. You needn't say a word. The gun says it all. Pop!

You'll probably die from the muzzle of another gun, but that's okay. That's the glory, isn't it? That's the moment of reckoning. Add up the score.

Monday it was 32 to 1. You could even say 33 to zip since he offed himself. How sweet, no? "Made it, ma. Top of the world." Pop!

TLS

Things do change

2007-04-15T00:33:00.000-04:00

My blog world has gotten smaller. A couple of the sites I used to visit with some regularity have closed up shop recently. Some others have gone off on their own tangents that no longer strike a nerve with me. Over the past several months I have read and commented on posts at other sites with little or no acknowledgement. Consequently, I don't visit other blogs very often now.

I guess the biggest disappointment for me is that I have never really been able to conjure up any consistent discussion or debate here. No doubt the fault lies with me. I tend to meander around with a variety of topics on which I choose to post. While the central purpose of this site was, and remains atheism and problems I have with religion, I often go well beyond that core of commentary. I assume that has the effect of dissipating my audience which even at best has always been sparse. In other words, my work just doesn't strike a nerve or otherwise resonate with many readers. I'm apparently off in my own little world.

I have contributed a number of articles to Blog Critics Magazine over the last few months. Most were posts I'd first published here and, usually with some alterations transposed them to BC. A particular article I published there garnered nearly 400 comments. However, as I believe I noted here earlier, only a relatively small percentage of them were even remotely related to the subject at hand. I publish at a couple of other sites as well.

In the foreseeable future, I will likely not post here so often. Even after more than a year, my efforts here have been largely for naught. I don't know what I expected - delusions of grandeur, no doubt. As I sat down to begin this post, I really had no idea what I was going to write. I suppose it shows. What would you call it - blogger's block? I went through this same kind of thing a few months ago and even stated that I was going to close up shop myself. I won't say that again, but now, if spring ever actually decides to settle in, I expect to have a great deal more to do than sit here tapping out what usually amounts to meaningless nonsense. I suppose, though that I will plop down in my rather creaky chair from time to time if the spirit moves me and plunk something out (god willing, of course.) But in the mean time, my herb garden awaits!

TLS

Hash and Rehash

2007-04-10T00:43:00.000-04:00

Some additional thoughts regarding constitutional amendments against same sex unions.

Gays are not, for the most part exceptional people. They are, by pretty much any measure, similar to most people excepting one aspect: Their sexual orientation. Otherwise, lesbians and gays go to school, work at jobs, own property, are active in their communities, are church members, vote, pay their bills, AND pay taxes. Just like most everybody else. Yet they are faced with the prospect of being singled out and their rights curtailed by the same government to which they pay those taxes, a government which should be affording them as citizens the same rights and protections to which other citizens are entitled.

Our system is based on the premise of majority rule, you may say. That is true. But that stops short of the rest of that thought which states, "but protecting the rights of the minority." In this case the minority is being wholly ignored. Their lives are being in effect disenfranchised simply because one group of people disapproves of the lifestyle of another.

Enacting such laws, making them a part of various state or the federal constitution is a step back into far less enlightened times. It conjures memories of "Jim Crow," and "separate but equal," even prohibition. All such former laws and/or amendments proved to be prejudicial, promulgating racism or, as in the case of prohibition, unenforcable. All required untold time, effort, money and other resources to repeal. All such waste could have been avoided had people simply been honest, fair, and used even a modicum of common sense.

The assumption that same sex unions are immoral or "an abomination" is based solely on biblical scripture. It never occurs to true believers that the bible could, in fact be wrong, or that people who don't adhere to scripture as others do should not be forced to do so by law. In any case, it should not, in this day and age, or any day and age for that matter, be the business of government to bully its way into our relationships or our bedrooms. I've been reminded that government has done so in the past, that there is precident. That doesn't make it right, though does it? Up until fairly recently many states still carried laws on their books outlawing inter-racial marriage. As far as I know, most of those laws are either history, or if still in print, are no longer enforced (at least I would hope not.)

On another note:

Iraq. We are faced with an untenable situation there. Bush still believes that we can, and that we are, winning in Iraq. I often wonder if he is actually following the same war that the rest of us are. The Dems are pushing to either force the adoption of a withdrawal date, or to cut military funding for Iraq altogether. Reps claim that to cut off funds would leave our troops high and dry, which is nonsense. A recent Doonesbury strip made note that cutting off funding would not have the effect of leaving American soldiers stranded in Iraq fending for themselves. It would simply mean that their mission would necessarily end, and they would be brought home and out of harm's way. The Reps would have you believe otherwise.

The majority of Americans want our troops brought home. Only a relative few die hards believe there is anything yet to be gained by our continued military presence in Iraq. There is a conundrum, though. It is likely true that, if our military suddenly just pulled up their pants and came home, utter chaos would likely ensue. Of course it can be said that that is what's going on now. I imagine it could get a lot worse.

We also have Bush and his posse telling the Iraqis that they must begin to step in and take the reigns; that they must start taking responsibility for their own welfare. But remember, we were the provocateurs. We were the proverbial bull in the china shop.

Let's say the older brother goes into his younger brother's room and proceeds to make a huge mess, pulling out toys all over the floor, knocking over furniture, spilling drinks and food on the carpet, and then as he walks out turns and tells his younger sibling that he'd better get all the mess cleaned up, that it's his room,and therefore, his responsibility.

All of this and more simply screams at the idiocy of our ever having entered Iraq in the first place. It is the Iraq invasion and war which I believe should get GW impeached. Of course I know it will never happen. The votes just aren't there. That didn't stop the Reps from impeaching Clinton, though did it ?

While I certainly don't condone Clinton's Oval Office shenanigans, I still don't believe that his actions met the criteria for impeachment. But, no matter. Here again, we spent how many millions of dollars, how much time, man hours, effort and resources in the failed effort to force Willy out of the White House? Had a political leader been caught in a similar situation in most European countries, it would have been an embarrassment, there would have been a lot of snickering, the tabloids would have had a field day for a time, but it would likely have been quickly forgotten. Not here. We simply won't let go of our puritanical roots. We must punish such transgressions to the hilt, hold guilty feet to the fire.

Bush, on the other hand, got us into a pre-emptive war for crap sake! He is ultimately responsible for the deaths of over 3000 American men and women and untold Iraqis among others, and all under false pretenses. If that doesn't meet a standard for impeachment, I don't know what does. Misleading the public and being totally inept should be cause for removal from office, shouldn't it?

TLS

Gay Marriage

2007-03-31T00:28:00.000-04:00

The self-righteous knuckle draggers in the Indiana State Legislature are at it again. They are wholly focussed on getting a state constitutional amendment passed outlawing gay/lesbian unions. They are obsessed with the one man-one woman thing. The bible thumpers rage on about the "sanctity of marriage" and how allowing the abomination of gay coupling free reign will undermine the moral fiber of our great, god fearing nation.

What a load of crap! These are by and large the same group of elected officials who spent uncounted hours a year or so ago while in session arguing in outrage against a heathen judge who ruled that they were not to utter prayers on state property that promulgated any specific religion, say, christianity. [Let's not hear any of that "in jesus' name" stuff.] Pretty much nothing got done in that particular session except ad nauseum bitching about not being able to evoke jesus name in prayer. Although, their getting nothing done is pretty much par for the course.

The sanctity of marriage, huh? A union which can be entered into while drunk on your ass in Las Vegas at 3AM at drive-thru nuptuals in a service performed by an Elvis impersonator is certainly something about which to be sanctimonious. How sacred is a union that ends in dissolution more than 50% of the time? Isn't divorce a threat to the sanctity of marriage? Isn't adultery? Adulterers, according to Leviticus 20:10, should be "put to death." How can pious christians remain mute about adultery, which not only involves out of wedlock fornication, but which also implies betrayal, obfuscation and deceit, while in the same breath demand a constitutional amendment against same sex unions? READ YOUR DAMN BIBLES! How is the sin of adultery any less heinous? Could it be that far too many of these hypocrites have been wetting their dip sticks in forbidden fruit as it were? (How's that for a mixed metaphor?) Do they tell themselves that, well, since they've prayed for forgiveness, that it's okeedokee? That they get a pass?

How is it that supposed "literal" christians can rationalize how they pick and choose what portions of the bible to revere and what they are free to ignore? Isn't the bible "inerrant." Isn't it all absolute historical truth? Isn't every word to be strictly obeyed? Who gives anyone the right to be selective? Shouldn't all devout christians who own up to their shortcomings, their lies, their deceits, their lusts immediatly run out and impale themselves on the nearest church spire?

It is so tiresome to hear these lame assed Neanderthalic legislators prattling on about marital sanctity. There is not one member of either Indiana house who has the guts to stand up and attack this proposed amendment directly on its merits. The few voices raised against it have spoken of how it might hurt business. Business for christ's sake! Large employers in the state including Eli Lilly, Wellpoint Insurance and Cummins Engine, among others are concerned regarding how such an amendment might adverselyaffect their recruiting efforts and the application of certain company benefits that currently are made available to employees in same sex relationships. Others raised concerns about the status of men and women who may co-habitate, but are not married, and how it might affect divorced couples. That's great.

But not one of those gutless bastards will even come close to dealing with the true issue at hand: The right of two people to form a legally recognized bond regardless of gender. I am acquainted with a few same sex couples. One of those couples has a 9 or 10 year old daughter. If passed, this amendment could possibly negate their parental rights. Should it become law, the government could perhaps snatch the girl right out of their house, no questions asked. (That'd show them peter puffin' faggots, by god!)

Again, I say that if you are going to outlaw same sex unions, you should also outlaw adultery, divorce and, yes, the loathsome and utterly disgusting intermingling of linen and wool (Leviticus 19:19.) Oh, the humanity!

"Ho, ho, ho" you good christians say. God was just a joshin' about that linen/wool thingy. Bullshit! If gays are an abomination, so too are all godless minglers who keep forbidden linsey-woolsey boxers squirreled away in their chests of drawers, perhaps hidden under their cotton/polyester blend Fruit of the Looms. You all shall be eternally damned to hell, I say, you mongrel garment wearers, you! Fie, I say! Fie on thee! The Minglers Bureau will root you out! (Hey, Budreau, they nabbed some o them minglers! Fill up yer pockets with some good throwin' rocks and hot foot it over't the fair grounds. It's stonin' time agin! Yeehaw!)

In the end, this amendment is not about marriage or its sanctity. It is about hate. It is an abuse of power.

TLS

Hey Kids! What season is it?

2007-03-29T22:44:00.000-04:00

It's Spring, by golly! This is my forsythia. I haven't trimmed it back for nearly 10 years. It is one bush which is nearly 20 feet in diameter. This is the first time it has bloomed this gloriously for 4 or 5 years. Usually it gets frozen out before it fully blooms. It fairly glows in the midday sun. It's one big bush, no? I suppose there are bigger ones out there, but I haven't seen one yet.

Woohoo!

TLS

Just Not Feeling Good

2007-03-27T00:10:00.000-04:00

It is, I suppose, not surprising that one's perspective regarding day to day life changes after discovering that you have a serious health problem. As I've related in earlier posts, I was told after testing that I have a blockage in one of my cardiac arteries. I am "managing" it with a beta blocker.

Up until this diagnosis I had always been more or less healthy. Not fit mind you, but healthy. That is, I had never been found to have anything life threatening or debilitating (except for my arthritic knees.) To date, I have never spent a night in a hospital except presumably at birth.

I had a number of the usual childhood illnesses - measles, mumps, various flus, colds and so on. I did my share of heaving chunks during my youth. But otherwise, I've lead a fairly charmed existence healthwise. Until now.

The doctor assured me that my situation was far from dire, that while significant, it could be much worse.

Still, one's perspective changes. Now I am hyper-sensitive to every little twitch, every little ache or pain, every flutter of my now suspect heart. While I am told that it is likely a side effect of the medicine, I now find that I tire easily. I oft times hit a wall of utter exhaustion at least once and sometimes twice almost every day. I can't wait to lie down, to zone out. For years I have taken short naps, usually sometime in the mid-afternoon - a benefit of working from a home office (kinda hard to do that in a cubicle.) But often I did so as much out of habit as out of a real need to rest. I have just thought of them as my daily meditations.

Now, the naps are generally longer and seem at least, more necessary. What I don't know at this juncture is just how much of my reaction is physical and how much mental or emotional. More often now I find myself thinking about things that I will likely never do. The future seems less definitive. I know that I could still rival my mother in longevity. She passed at 92. But I am also mindful that my eldest brother died at my age, 60; of a heart attack. That pretty much sucks. ( I wonder, if I wind up in a grave, or in an urn, if I could have something to that effect chiseled or etched on the surface. "This pretty much sucks." That might be good.)

I know in my initial post about this turn of events, I was all blustery. I was shook up, but the reality of it hadn't begun to sink in. I said then that I didn't feel any different, and I didn't. But now, I do. I presume that at least some depression is a natural response to one's initial tete-a-tete with mortality. I'm probably guilty of indulging myself too much. I've tried to avoid sitting on the pity pot. Perhaps that's what I'm doing here.

By current standards, sixty years is not a long life. Hell, the average life span in the US is something like 75 years. I recall some years ago it was announced that the average life span of an American male was around 72 years, while that of the average American female was 78 years. Some comedian taking note of that distinction announced his intention upon hitting 71 was to get a sex change operation. Good thinking.

I'm certainly not ready to cash in. I hope to see both of my sons get themselves established in life and take some pleasure in their accomplishments. I hope to get to a point wherein I will be able to hang up my clip board and tape measure and just live day to day without the concern for making a livelihood, and to be able to do that in relatively good health. But who knows? While I give no credence to any god, there are still things we just can't control. They ain't none of us gonna live forever, at least not yet.

TLS

You Can't Go Back. You Just Can't Go Back.

2007-03-18T20:55:00.000-04:00

The old saying, "You can't go home again" was brought to bear for me earlier this evening. The results of browsing can rise up and bite you in the butt, if you're not careful.

I went on-line searching for an old acquaintance. Actually, I had searched for him a couple of times over the past few years to no avail, but this time I hit pay dirt.

Back in the late 1960s I worked for (the now defunct) Trans World Airlines at the Indianapolis Airport. A fellow TWAer suggested I go with him to see a vocal trio that was playing the lounge at a nearby hotel. A nite or two later we did.

The trio consisted of one guy I'll call Dain and two girls I'll refer to as Jane and let's say Carmen, yeah, Carmen is good. (Obviously, those aren't their real names. I'd rather not go plowing willy-nilly into their lives.) Jane and Dain were married, uh, to each other. The trio was good. They sang covers of current popular songs - old standards, a little jazz, a little rock & roll. Jane played piano and Carmen sometimes played guitar. They all three sang well individually and had a good harmonic blend when singing together. I believe Jane, who was classically trained, created most of their arrangements.

Over the course of the next several weeks I went to the hotel lounge several times and began hanging out with them after their final sets. Dain and I became friends. To understand our relationship, suffice it to say that Dain was very much an "A" type personality while I was then and remain a "B" kind of guy. Dain was dynamic, pretty much always the mover and shaker of whatever was going on. He ran the show. We followed and fed off of him. Was I a sycophant? I prefer to think not, but I was certainly caught up in his aura.

Dain, Jane and Carmen had been students at a fundamentalist college out here in the midwest where I believe they met. Not surprisingly, Dain had been well on his way to becoming an evangelist minister. But somewhere along the line Dain, and I would assume with Jane and Carmen following his lead, became disillusioned by their studies and religion in general, and together they left school and their religious lives behind them. All claimed to no longer believe in god. In so doing, Dain related that his father had essentially disowned him. Jane's parents though less harsh, still were mightily troubled by their daughter's rejection of the church. I don't recall hearing how Carmen's parents weighed in on all this.

Shortly thereafter the three of them pooled their musical talents, formed their little trio and began playing clubs in the midwest. Somewhere along the line Dain determined that his new found goal was to become an actor, and the only place to do that was New York City. After several months the three of them pulled up stakes and moved to the Big Apple. I followed along a few weeks later.

I was a pretty malleable pudgy hunk of clay back then. I quit my job at TWA, drove east dragging a U-Haul trailer loaded with my junk and moved in with the three of them at the Seville Hotel at 29th and Madison where we lived for several months. To be kind, the Seville had seen better days but was relatively cheap, at least by New York standards. Dain enrolled in acting classes at HB Studios, a professional theatrical school run by Herbert Berghoff and his wife, Uta Hagan, both well established broadway actors. Subsequently I too enrolled at HB and quickly became hooked. The atmosphere at HB was intoxicating, especially to a midwestern hick like myself. Suffice it to say that I proved to be no threat to anyone's theatrical career. But Dain seemed to be on the fast track. He managed to get into Berghoff's class from the get go.

I won't go into all the gory details, but as time went on things deteriorated between all of us and ultimately we drifted apart. Dain had a brief affair with Carmen. Jane discovered it. Dain and Jane split only to later reconcile. Carmen began seeing a fellow who was a heroin addict and soon, may have become one herself, although I am not certain of that. She and I shared an apartment for several months and she was at times chatty about this and that. She did tell me she had done some heroin but was not addicted. I'm not sure if you can "sample" that stuff and just walk away.

Just to do the confessional thingy, I smoked some grass, dropped some acid and mescaline a few times over the course of my stay in New York, but I never got involved with anything heavier. As I noted in an earlier post, I haven't imbibed anything of a dubious legal nature over the last 30 years or so, other than repeated heavy doses of trans fats. The LDL swat team is surrounding the house even as I type.

Carmen decided that it was up to her to intervene on behalf of her boyfriend by moving both of them back to her family home in Illinois in the notion that she would be able to get the two of them "straight." In what was perhaps the most surreal scene I have ever witnessed Carmen's middle aged, midwestern, fundamentalist parents came to New York to assist with the move. Mom and Dad rented a truck and began loading Carmen's worldly goods onto it. Carmen and a girl friend of hers decided the best way to handle all of this was to drop acid making pretty much the whole job of loading a truck the most hilarious and alternately the saddest thing they'd ever done. Of course, her parents were clueless. During all of this Carmen's boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps being a lifelong New Yorker, he was contemplating life in the heartland with some trepidation. I guess he showed up sometime or other, I don't remember.

Meanwhile I was trying to find a place or places to take my meager belongings. I was forced to give up the apartment as the rent was too high for me alone. So I moved back into the glorious Seville; just me and my little Dachshund, Doodle. Yeah, Doodle. Want to make something of it?!!

By late the following summer Carmen was long gone. Dain was doing summer stock in Massachusetts, if memory serves. I don't recall what Jane was doing at that point working somewhere, I presume, paying rent. In the meantime I had fallen rather too hard for a girl from Massapequa Park, but my ardor was unrequited. I was pretty much alone, and I must admit, rather a pathetic mess. It was time for me to get out of Dodge, or, er New York.

A couple of years later, shortly after Jo and I were married, we drove to New York as a kind of belated honeymoon and stayed with Dain and Jane at their apartment in Purchase, NY in tony Westchester County. Frankly, I can't remember specifically what Dain was doing at that juncture, but I'm pretty sure he was still clambering up Thespis' ladder. Jane had taken an accompanist job at a community college in Purchase. Jo and I stayed for a few days. As I recall the infamous Boris Spasky/Bobby Fisher chess match was ongoing.

That was the last time I saw Dain or Jane. We exchanged a few cards and letters over the next year or so, perhaps a phone call or two, but as so often happens, communications between us dwindled and ultimately ceased. I haven't seen or heard from any of them since. Until today I didn't know if any of them were still drawing breath.

I found Dain online today.

During our early days, first in Indy, then in New York, through any number of all night, sometimes drug enhanced gab fests with Dain, Jane, Carmen and others who occasionally came and went, my atheism took form. I remember one evening just as I was leaving their apartment, which overlooked Abbington Square in the West Village, I turned back and asked Jane if she believed in god. She thought for a minute, smiled, and quietly said no. I left, going back across town to my tiny rent controlled hovel in the East Village with the aforementioned and mighty Doodle in tow thinking about just where I stood godwise. I decided during that walk that I too, no longer believed. I felt as if a great weight had lifted off my shoulders.

Well, that was then. This is now. Dain, as it happens, is now a christian minister in Hollywood. In Hollywood for crap sake! He is a member of the "Pastoral Posse" (???) at his church. Talk about a slap upside the head?

How do I feel about this? Betrayed? Mmmm, that might be a bit strong. Sorely dissappointed? Yeah, I'd say so. I guess I always assumed Dain was my secret partner in crime.

Of course, Dain made his own choices as he had a perfect right to do. It was and is his life, after all. But as memory serves, he was so adamant, so sure of his sight back then. During that time in New York he reiterated time and again that to believe in god was ludicrous. Given what I've come to understand about people in the intervening years, while I am certainly chagrinned, I am not altogether surprised by Dain's reversion to religion. I think Dain always believed he was destined, if you will to be great at something. Perhaps things didn't go as he anticipated. Or, actually, maybe they did. I don't know.

Nor do I know if he now gets up and preaches the gospel. If he does, I'm sure he's very good. He has great stage presence. His voice, a mellifluous baritone, commands attention. His position with the church is noted as being related to spiritually inspired theatrical and film production. In a short bio on the church web site Dain states that his "occupation" is "actor, director, playwright," so he has apparently remained active in that world.

I'm still sorting this out. Dain certainly had no responsibility to me. He believed then, what he believed. Things change. Dain was (is) an intelligent guy; on the whole, much moreso than I. But he somehow thought his way back to the church. I can't account for that.

My atheism has remained steadfast and developed on its own over the last several years. The Dain/Jane/ Carmen trifecta started the ball rolling for me. But now I don't require them or anyone to validate what I believe today. Still, this revelation has shaken me to a degree. It is rather comically ironic, I guess. My wife thinks its hysterical.

I sent an email to Dain. I am curious to see if he remembers me, and if he will choose to respond. Perhaps he won't care to take a stroll down his long past secular byways.

I can take comfort in one thing, though. Dain's bio includes a photo. Dain is bald. I am not. Ha, ha. (Say it like the tough kids do who always beat up Bart on The Simpsons, you know, kinda nasally, but triumphant.)

TLS

Just thought I'd add a little postscript here. Dain does indeed preach the gospel. I found a podcast of a few of his recent sermons. He is indeed quite good. He uses his natural flare for the dramatic and his prodigious theatrical training coupled with his disarming charm to great effect in delivering his message.

Note that while I admire the delivery, I don't embrace the message. I suppose all this does reveal something about me, though. While I have actively sought him (among others) out from my deep dark past, I think it probable that I haven't so much as crossed his mind since Jo and I pulled out of his driveway in Purchase in the summer of 1972.

Another Mish Mash

2007-03-14T22:50:00.000-04:00

A lot has been going on in the world over the last several days, and I have managed to pretty much ignore all of it. I've just let most of it go in one ear and out the other.

What did I take notice of?

People in positions of power keep saying stupid things. General Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs put his boot in his mouth with his immoral gay comments. Now he regrets making the comments, but does not apologize for them.

We had a guy here in Indiana fly a single engine plane into his mother in-law's house killing himself and his young daughter who he took in the plane with him. No one on the ground was hurt, but apparently he did this deliberately as revenge against his ex-wife. Guess he showed her. These kind of events are so maddening. There is no way to gain retribution or justice against these assholes. How is it that anyone thinks that their lives, their agendas are of such great importance that the lives of others, often their own children or other supposed loved ones are of lesser value, that they are no more than pawns to be used for agendas not their own.

Just as I sit here, a local news item on the tube involved a man who stabbed his 11 month old infant, after an altercation with the child's mother.

Why are some men such assholes? Self important bastards. You only occasionally find women of this ilk. Susan Smith comes to mind. Andrea Yates. Amanda Hamm. Probably some others.

A girl my son went to high school with died in an auto wreck a few years ago. She was survived by her 2 year old daughter. Her live-in boy friend, who may or may not have been the biological father of the girl, fought for her custody against the deceased girl's parents. When it appeared that the court intended to award custody to the 2 year old's grandparents, the boy friend decided not to let that happen. He took his own life and that of the girl. Again, he showed them, by god! No justice is possible.

America's fatal flaw: The assumption that we are operating from a position of moral superiority in the world, and are, therefore, justified in waging pre-emptive war against those whom we determine to be morally inferior.

You know, Osama believes that his cause is right and just. He sees himself as a righteous muslim waging war against the infidel for the glory of allah. The young people who are lured into the war against the west, who become suicide bombers believe they are on the fast road to paradise.

Religious fundamentalists maintain total certainty that their particular god, their particular belief system is the one and only true faith. All others are, therefore, false. All followers of other belief systems are doomed to eternity in hell.

I know I have covered this ground before as have many others. But the situation remains more or less static. I recently watched the Jesus Camp movie. An entire generation of young people is being brain washed into becoming god's warriors. Those kids need an intervention. They need to be forced to look out of the tiny little god-shells the church has encapsulated them in, and be made aware of the world around them, warts and all.

This qualifies as one of my venting posts. Not particularly earth shaking, or even informative. Just venting.

TLS

Another Colts Note

2007-03-10T12:31:00.000-05:00

It's interesting how during any sports' season and the lead up to the respective championship games or series that the fervor builds to a kind of fever pitch which, in the sports world at least, is all consuming. Who will make it to the playoffs? Who will win their conference championships? Who will advance to the finals? Then, and especially in the case of the Super Bowl, the hype and hoopla grow to huge proportions. A lot of money is being spent. A lot of money is being made. All the talking heads on the tube wile away hours analyzing each remaining team, breaking down the match ups, discussing who's healthy and who's not, attempting to determine how coaches are preparing their charges, making their predictions, etc.

Finally, the game is played. The gun sounds. It's over. Woohoo! So and so won! So and so are world champions! The winners walk around with helmets held high with huge smiles across their sweaty faces. The losers, with downcast miens, shake a few hands and melt away quietly to their locker rooms and off in their buses.

Afterwards there are game analyses, some interviews, a couple of appearances on Leno and Letterman, and then it's over. Aside from those connected to the winning team - as players, coaches, family, media and fans - nobody else much gives a crap.

The folks in Indy are patting each other on the back, basking in the glow of the Colts' Super Bowl win. It's all great fun. The folks in Chicago are licking their wounds, generally dissing the Colts - "Manning ain't all that good. We shoulda whupped 'em," and bitching about Rex Grossman and why Lovey Smith didn't pull him or call different plays or whatever.

The rest of the country could care less. As I said in the previous post, most people outside the Chicago and Indy regions by now may not even remember who played or who won. While Indy is pleased with itself, it should be understood that generally people don't care to watch someone else celebrate.

As this is the first major sports championship Indianapolis has ever won, I suppose we don't quite know how to conduct ourselves. Places like New York, Chicago or Boston, among others have "been there, done that" many times with many different championships. Not to say they don't celebrate. They have their parades and their speeches and their drunken parties just as we have. But, they probably aren't quite as giddy as we mid-western hicks have been about it. Their celebrations are seasoned with experience.

Nevertheless. I am happy that we won. While it's a source of boredom for some, it has put a bit of a spring in the step of a lot of people in and around Indy. If it never happens again, I guess that will be all right. We can in our boredom look askance upon those in future championship cities in the throes of their celebrations. We will no longer be suffering from trophy envy. We can say, perhaps with a knowing sigh: "Been there, done that."

TLS

Colts - Super Bowl Winners - Anybody Really Care?

2007-03-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

If you look closely to the left of the guy in the "Addai" jersey you will see the "Lombardi Trophy." No, really. That's it. That is the symbol of what nearly 1700 burly guys knock heads (often literally) to achieve starting every year in mid-July at summer training camp and running through the end of January the following year culminating with the Super Bowl.

The Indianapolis Colts managed to acquire this little trifle this time around. Big wup, huh?

Well, yeah. I know it is all kind of silly. If you're not into sports, or specifically professional American football, it all seems superbly ridiculous.

In the particular instance recorded above a local Indianapolis Meijer store provided the venue for Colt fans' first opportunity to see up close and even touch the Super Bowl trophy. Something like four to five thousand people waited on line for up to five hours to take advantage of this. The trophy is still being toured in similar fashion over the next several weeks all over the state of Indiana, and even one stop in Danville, Illinois, probably just to piss off "da Bears."

I admit to making the trip to the Meijer store. However, upon seeing the crowd winding its way around aisle after aisle, my wife and I quickly determined that there was no way we would get in that line. The photo above is as close as I got to the trophy, perhaps 25 to 30 feet. I had to wait until people shifted around for a second or two revealing the trophy to my vantage point - then "click."

The NFL Super Bowl XLI DVD was released a few days ago and again thousands of people have lined up at area stores to buy it and get an autograph from one or more Colt players.

I imagine that, if you asked people at random (at least people not from Indianapolis or Chicago,) who played in the last Super Bowl and who won, you'd get a lot of blank stares. "Don't know, and don't give a shit." would be a likely response.

I will say though, that winning the Super Bowl is a good thing for Indianapolis. I heard someone on the tube just prior to the game claim that Chicago really needed a Super Bowl win to bolster the city's collective psyche. Well, I don't know about that. It seems that Chicago has had some fairly recent success in the realm of major league sports. If memory serves, the White Sox brought a World Series win to the Windy City in 2005. And the name Michael Jordan comes to mind. I think "da Bulls" managed a modicum of success in the NBA not so long ago. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Indy, on the other hand has had no claim to any kind of major league sports championship since the mid-1970s when the Pacers won a couple of playoff finals in the old ABA. Since the Detroit "brawl" the Pacers have become more of a punch line than a professional basketball team. Even the glory days of Bob Knight's IU basketball teams have become a rather dim and now bitter memory. Their last championship was 20 years ago.

Now Hoosiers can bask for a while. We can enjoy this at least until next December or January. Indianapolis is, vicariously at least, a winner. The Colts won the big one.

What does it all mean? In the end of course, not much. The supposed "glory" is over stated and ephemeral at best. In lite of what's going on around the world, competitive sports at any level pale in importance. Obviously, a lot of people could care less. I watch some football and basketball, but am far from being an avid fan. I wouldn't have waited on line for hours for much of anything short of free money.

A bit after 9/11 the Onion published a headline that read something like: "Americans need to get beyond 9/11 tragedy to return their attention to meaningless crap." It's true, of course. And by and large, we have. Sports are essentially meaningless. But compared to war, mass murder, genocide, pandemic disease and famine what isn't?

Regardless, now that I live in a winning Super Bowl city, I must admit, it's kinda neat. I'm not even that big a fan of Indianapolis. But perhaps people from elsewhere may be less apt to call it IndiaNoPlace. What the hell. I'll share in the fun, for a while at least.

TLS

Happy days are here again. The skies above are...

2007-03-01T09:39:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd post this great little poem as a pick-me-up for anyone going through difficult times.

HAPPINESS

by

Jane Kenyon

There's just no accounting for happiness,
or the way it turns up like a prodigal
who comes back to the dust at your feet
having squandered a fortune far away.

And how can you not forgive?
You make a feast in honor of what
was lost, and take from its place the finest
garment, which you saved for an occasion
you could not imagine, and you weep night and day
to know that you were not abandoned,
that happiness saved its most extreme form
for you alone.

No, happiness is the uncle you never
knew about, who flies a single-engine plane
onto a grassy landing strip, hitchhikes
into town, and inquires at every door
until he finds you asleep midafternoon
as you so often are during the unmerciful
hours of your dispair.

It comes to the monk in his cell.
It comes to the woman sweeping the street
with a birch broom, to the child
whose mother has passed out from drink.
It comes to the lover, to the dog chewing
a sock, to the pusher, to the basket maker,
and to the clerk stacking cans of carrots
in the night.

It even comes to the boulder
in the perpetual shade of pine barrens,
to rain falling on the open sea,
to the wineglass, weary of holding wine.

A note to Ms. Kenyon and her publishers: All proceeds from this posting will be donated to the "Hare" fund established on behalf of the emotionally traumatized bunny who unfairly lost the race of the century to that unscrupulous tortoise and his nefarious gang of shell bangers.

TLS

Just Jesus Land

2007-02-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I read Jesus Land. I got it partly right. It does involve the heavy handed treatment of the author, Julia Scheeres and her adoptive Afro-American brother David, at a christian camp for supposedly troubled teenagers, the New Horizon Youth Ministry's camp, Escuela Caribe in the Dominican Republic. But their stay at Escuela Caribe was only part of the tale.

On the larger scale it is a story of abuse; physical, emotional, sexual abuse. It's also a story of racial prejudice and religious bigotry. It is a story of narrow minded stupidity. It is a story of hatred and self loathing. These elements come together in violence perpetrated against children; most pointedly Julia and David, whose childhood is stolen from them by a sadistic father, a self-involved religious automaton mother, another adoptive Afro-american brother who is also a sexual predator, racial hatred at their high school and the Lafayette, Indiana community, and the incredible stupidity and further sadism of those running the camp in the Dominican Republic.

Much of this is done in the name of old testament, fire and brimstone christianity.

While there is an air of predictability about Scheeres' narrative, it is that, perhaps, which makes it even sadder and all the more maddening. This story has been told before, many times. Every time we hear of this kind of abuse, we tend to believe, or at least hope that the act of airing these harrowing tales in books and other media will be useful in putting an end to it. But, of course, it doesn't. Demented, stupid people keep coming down the pike who use religion, among other weapons cruely against people, usually children, who haven't the wherewithal to defend themselves. The biblical concept of original sin is routinely used against children by supposedly pious adults as a justification for violence; all in the guise of turning troubled kids away from satan and toward abject supplication to god.

It should be said that Jesus Land is also a love story; the mutual love of Julia and David. The hell that the two of them lived through as societal and family outcasts served to create a bond between them. Each provided a small island of peace for the other. Julia and David were the only ones who had any understanding of what was happening to them. Each was the only person the other could trust.

I won't divulge the ending for anyone who hasn't but has an interest in reading Jesus Land. Not that it's some kind of mystery, but it doesn't end quite how you might think. Suffice it to say that Julia Scheeres is a survivor. Unfortunately, many others are not.

A couple of web sites of interest: http://www.nhym-alumni.org and www.nhym-alumni.org. The first was set up by a group of New Horizon alumnae who use the site as a tell all against the organization. The second is the New Horizon Youth Ministry's web site. They are still in business, and judging from the site, going great guns. That is great, indeed!

TLS

Evil is Afoot!

2007-02-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

You just can't make this stuff up. Check out

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070214/india_nm/india287685

We Westerners are just a nasty, depraved bunch.

TLS

Jesus Land and Beyond

2007-02-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

This post, in slightly different form, was originally written as a comment on Julia Scheeres' blog site in response to her post titled "Ghosts of My Brother." Ms. Scheeres is the author of Jesus Land, the story of the life and death of her adoptive brother and, at least in part the disastrous effect a "tough love" religious camp had on him. Jesus Land was listed on the NYT bestseller list for some time.

I haven't read Jesus Land as yet. I have been aware of it owing to its success, but just haven't gotten around to it. As some of you may know I have read Sam Harris' and Richard Dawkin's recent books, among others. I am also in hopes of viewing the Jesus Camp film which has made some news of late.

While Ms. Scheeres now resides in San Francisco, she originally hails from in or around Lafayette, Indiana. Her blog profile states that she "outgrew" Indiana. I can relate to that, but I guess I never did - outgrow it, that is. I still live in the Hoosier State. Ah, but that's another story.

Several years back there was a christian based group in Indy that was housing a number of mainly Russian orphans (and children effectively orphaned by the incarceration, and/or addictions of their parents) at a former Stouffers Inn Hotel on north Meridian St. and the former Julietta Home on the far eastern edge of Marion County.

Via a roundabout means we were contacted by the group at Julietta to inquire if their kids could come to our home to pick apples. At the time we had seven apple trees and no means to utilize the overwhelming crop they produced. So, one sunny September afternoon we hosted a group of around twenty to twenty five kids ranging in age from six or seven to around seventeen to pick our apples. It is interesting to note that these kids were not eligible for adoption. They were all conscripted to return to Russia at age eighteen to serve in the military.

They wound up hauling out perhaps fifty or more bushels of apples, and we also allowed them to pick the grapes from our small arbor. Few of the kids spoke any appreciable English, and ostensibly for that reason, we were requested to refrain from making any attempt to communicate directly with them. At the time we thought that a bit strange. But overall, it seemed to be a happy experience for all. Perhaps it was just the effect of being outside on a lovely late summer day.

However, a few weeks later news hit the airwaves regarding this group and its heavy handed tactics at disciplining their charges. The name of the group escapes me at this writing. Some of the kids were reported to have been isolated in lightless rooms, trussed up in blankets, sometimes for days. The kids were often harrangued for their transgressions - whatever they may have been - in interrogation sessions rather ironically reminiscent of Stalinist era KGB or East German Stasi tactics. A number of other accusations were leveled at the group. I don't recall if there was any other alleged physical abuse, nor do I remember there being any accusations of sexual mis-conduct on the part of the overseers.

The end result, though was that the Russian government quickly pulled the plug on the group and whisked all of the kids back to the motherland. This revelation put a damper on our enthusiasm. What had seemed so blissful on "apple day," turned to a sense that we had abetted forced child labor.

The puritan ethic which still holds fast in this country often leaves one dumbfounded. The misery that is brought to bear against people of all ages, but most painfully, against children in the name of religion is despicable. The supposedly protective umbrella of religion often provides, rather a font of guilt, self-loathing and hate that gives license to all manner of abuse and, as we are now witnessing, mass murder.

TLS

Thoughts on Yet Another Cold Night

2007-02-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

It has been very cold here in Indy for several days. We had an entire week with lows dipping below zero and haven't even approached the freezing point since I can't remember when. Now those of you in more northern climes are no doubt unimpressed. But it's a matter of what you're used to. If it snows a half inch in Atlanta, everyone goes ape shit. Indiana normally gets a fair share of "winter" weather, but this stretch of cold coupled with some significant snow is not the norm.

I just read the latest report from upstate New York that some areas have as much as 110" of new snow. That's more than nine feet! Holy crap! They won't dig out of that till the end of July. What the hell do you do with nine feet of snow?

But still.

The local weather guys are predicting no significant break in our situation. There is even another snow storm in the works as an arctic low is set to combine with heavy moisture coming up from the gulf. The next "perfect storm" on the brew. What a crock.

Oddly, we had the warmest January on record. No snow. A good deal of rain. But February has come in like an early arriving lion who has apparently eaten all the damn lambs.

So much for the blasted weather.

I posted some of my articles I've written here at Blog Critics Magazine (http://blogcritics.org) over the last several days. Overall they have been reasonably well received. An older article titled "On Death" didn't get much in the way of comments, but was chosen one of the selected "articles of the week" by their editorial staff. Pretty good, huh?

What is rather funny, though is that an article titled "The Folly of the Iraq War" got what I initially thought was major response. I don't believe that any post I've written here has had more than a dozen or so comments. The great majority of them get none. (No, no, that's all right. I've learned to accept it. I understand. Really.) As of this writing a total of 350 comments have been written under my Iraq article.

When it began to take off, I was delighted and surprised. While some of the comments were rather scornfull of my offering in that they felt it amounted to nothing but old news, some seemed to like all or portions of it for varying reasons. However, it soon became clear that my little article was of no particular concern to anyone. My bubble burst. Of those 350 comments, perhaps a couple dozen are even remotely related to the article. Most are concerned with what I assume are ongoing disputes between a number of contributors, editors and commenters which began long before I came on the scene. Being a newby, it didn't occur to me that there was long established in-house squabbling. Mercy me!

Apparently, one of the commenters is also a heavy contributor and editor on the site, one Dave Nalle. He has made comments under at least two names which others consider a dastardly deed. I have no opinion one way or the other. It comes down to being a tempest in a teapot as far as I'm concerned.

When I went through the process of registering for the site, I read any number of admonishments against personal attacks. They would not be tolerated! Well, aparently that ship sailed long ago. Pretty much everyone ranted that their fellow ranters are lying scum who should go fuck themselves by whatever means available - hard and often.

I should note that this group seems to hover around the "Political" section of the site. It is divided up into various areas of interest. Of course, I posted my Iraq article and also my article about Bobby Kennedy under the "Politics" banner. A couple other articles were posted under "Culture" and one under "TV/Film." As noted, they went largely unnoticed, but at least they were not subjected to the maelstrom of accusation and name calling.

I may avoid the "Politics" section in the future. Although, some of it was rather entertaining. It's surprising how imaginative people can be through their invective. I recommend the site to any of you unfamiliar with it. There is in fact some good writing to be found there. Some of it, if I may say so, is mine. (I'm hot stuff!) By the way, I post at Blog Critics under the name "Baritone" just to keep homeland security off balance.

Hee, hee.

Keep up the good work you motherfuckers! (Sorry, Jazzy)

At least it's something to do on a cold winter's night.

TLS

Big day for Indy & Chi Town, disappointment at home

2007-02-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

This is the big day for the citizens of the fair cities of Indianapolis and Chicago. By the time most anyone reads this, one of those cities will be the home of the Super Bowl champs. A great day.

However, disappointment hit home. My son in Germany was to board a plane in Berlin and arrive in Indy around 5:30PM today. He arose at around 6AM and soon after boarded a train for the 2 hour ride to Berlin, then made his way to the airport.

Upon checking in he couldn't find his passport. Then it dawned on him. His passport was left sitting on his desk back at his apartment. He had used it to do a pre-check-in on line. It never made it back into his travel pack.

It's the kind of thing that we all do at one time or another; the kind of thing that drives us to distraction and worse. My son was devastated. The plan, of course, was to get to Indy in time to take a seat and watch the Super Bowl at the old homestead. My wife and I were looking forward to having him home. We haven't seen him since last August. It would be great to share watching the game with him.

He called his brother who then called us to relay the news. It left me feeling hollow and feeling my son's pain. I know this doesn't measure up to what families are going through with their kids in war zones. But family is family.

Fortunately, the airline allowed my son to reschedule his flight without penalty. He will be coming in on Tuesday. Our other son is flying in Wednesday. We will all be together for a few days. That is great. We will just have to watch the game separately. Somehow, I think we will survive.

TLS

P.S. The Colts won! Woohoo!!

Blockage? You're Talking Blockage?

2007-01-29T23:08:00.000-05:00

Yep. I went to see a cardiologist today, and that ugly word cropped up. I got BLOCKAGE. Well, that sucks! It's a bad thing, right?

What to do, what to do? Roto Rooter comes to mind. Liquid Plumber? Draino? The doctor forces a chuckle. "No, no, and no." Then the good doctor, who, I believe, hails from India or thereabouts, says: "You don hiv de bon don doo nu biddle da nob dib kondando, ha, ha, ha." What a guy. We all just laughed and laughed.

We pulled ourselves together and after a good deal of repetition I think I discerned that I have a posterior artery which is probably 70% to 80% blocked. Just the one, I guess. He pointed out rather jovially that it is not the "widow maker" artery, and it is not completely blocked. (This was determined via a stress test coupled with nuclear [or nucular if you're a republican,] injections and scans prior to and after my nine and a half minutes on the treadmill.)

Good.

I guess.

Well, now I am going from simply taking an aspirin and multi-vitamin in the morning to where I will soon be downing those plus Zocor for high cholesterol, and something to slow my heart rate, a beta blocker, the name of which I never quite understood, and - AND I am now supposed to carry nitroglycerin tablets with me in the event my chest explodes. I have always been under the impression that nitroglycerin possessed a tendancy to explode. But what do I know? Nitroglycerin for poop sakes!

Life moves on inexorably with changes that inevitably lead us to the happy hunting grounds.

Things changed for me today. I don't feel any different. I haven't been having any pain, sweating or shortness of breath, but nevertheless, things have changed. This is the first definitive chink in my immortal armor. By golly. I might not live forever. People have been telling me that is the case for some time, but I never really believed that it applied to me.

True, I've had some knee problems - a torn miniscus, a little arthritis - but that had little to do with continuing to draw breath. It just slowed me down a bit. A little pain. Mostly just a nuisance.

But a blockage? That's my heart, man! That's pretty basic.

Then the doctor tells me I'm fat. What's up with that? I point out that "I wouldn't be fat if it wasn't for my weight. Ha, ha." And, then: "My gelatinous gut here? Well, it used to be my chest but owing to the effects of gravity... Ha, ha, ha." He doesn't get it. "Yes, he says, you weigh a great deal, and so you are fat. You have the belly fat. Badinably kondeendi pundamakoli. Okay? We'll see you."

And he's gone.

I slip my shirt back over my ponderous bulk, and my wife and I make our way back to our car. We decide to trek up to Trader Joes grocery and look for low sodium food. I pointed out to her that sugar has no sodium (or fat for that matter.) But, alas, she's diabetic.

It has been determined that we humans are supposed to take in no more than something like 2000 milligrams of sodium per day. There are packaged foods at Joes that have nearly 1000 milligrams of sodium per serving. I think salt is the first ingredient listed on the package. Most have something in excess of 500 to 600 milligrams per serving. What can you do?

I once purchased a can of sodium free soup. No sodium. Nada. None. That was perhaps the worst tasting thing I've ever eaten, and I've eaten dirt! They could use that stuff on "Fear Factor." No one could eat that crap.

We are salt fiends. Even if we eschew adding it to our food at the table, salt, as they used to say about Prego: "It's in there." No wonder people died young before they discovered how to utilize salt. The hellish taste of their food destroyed their will to live. They wanted to go to the land of milk and honey.

What am I to eat? Low fat, low salt, low sugar, low calories. I can eat air. Or air "lite" would be preferable.

Well. Not to worry. This dastardly clogged artery will not get me down. I will lose weight. I will get in shape. I will eat air. To hell with my knees! I am aiming for the Ironman competition in Hawaii in say, 2008 or, better maybe 2009. Don't want to rush into anything. I will kick some "Big Kahuna" butt.

Of course, I've got to do this while I also go about learning everything so I can retake the damn Jeapordy on line test. I'll put the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica on an IPod and listen while I bike, swim and run. No problem. Not only will I be one smart son of a bitch, I'll be a buff one, too. The girls (and maybe some guys) will swoon. Brains and brawn.

I just hope I can be understood answering the Jeapordy questions with a nitoglycerin pill under my tongue.

TLS

Humility, Thy Name is the Jeapordy On-Line Test

2007-01-25T23:25:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I took the Jeapordy On-Line exam. You see, I'm a pretty smart cookie. I know a lot of stuff. I sit watching the show answering the questions left and right. Appalled at how the contestants can be so uninformed. "Who was Bilbo? not Frodo, you dummies!"

So. I signed up to take the exam. I was gonna nail that sucker. It'd just be a matter of time until I would be telling Alex Trebek about some dumb thing I did in college or on my honeymoon, or whatever after the first commercial break, no doubt with yours truly in control of the board. Look out Ken Jennings, I'm gonna play whoopass on Jeapordy.

Tuesday evening, 8:00PM rolls around. I'm a bit nervous, but confident. The clock counts down to zero and the fun begins. The first question pops up. Uh, well, I don't know that one, but hey, let's move on. There's fifty questions. Missing one can't hurt. The second question appears. Hmmm. Well, I uh - on to number three. Hey, I know that one - clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. Nailed it! Number four. Oh, that's uh, oh yeah, er no, uh oops, time's up. Well, crap! Number five. Got it. Number six. I got no idea. The Sargasso Sea? Where the hell is that? Screw it. Number seven. Oh, man. I know that, I know that. Ed Asner! No, no, he was the actor. Who was his character? Time's up, again. Damn! Lou Grant, dammit! Lou Grant for crying out loud. Oh, yeah - Number eight. Woohoo. I know that one. Number nine. That one, too. Now I'm rollin'. Number ten. Oh, boy. What was his name? No, I mean what did he write? "The Tell Tale Heart?" No, that was Poe. Damn, damn, damn! Number eleven - - - and so it goes.

Uh, don't look for me on Jeapordy any time soon. I can't even take the on-line exam again for two years. Talk about a come down. I'm a smart guy, darn it. I shoulda maxed that test. Of course, I am getting a bit long in the tooth. Not as quick as I used to be. Who am I kidding? No one ever mistook me for a bolt of lightning. But, hell, how hard can it be? By golly, I'm gonna bone up over the next couple of years. I'm gonna study - what? Everything. I'll study every damn thing there is. I gotta get on top of all those English kings and queens. The French ones, too. And the Italians, and the Germans, and the Russians, and the - oh, well, I'll get to all of them eventually. I also gotta know about all those "potent potables" - What the hell is a Shiraz?, and all of the vice presidential wives, and all of the Secretaries of State, and, oh yeah and lyrics of all Kurt Cobain's songs, and what phylum arachnids are in, or is arachnid the phylum? No, that's the class, or maybe the species. What was the name of the chimp on the first "Today" show? Fred J. Suggs er no, Muggs. Yeah, Fred J. Muggs. Right? Oh, man. I don't know. I mean, I know, but I don't know.

Hmmm.

Maybe I just oughta keep answering the questions over dinner. No pressure. Just keep the mac & cheese coming.

TLS

Woohoo!!!

2007-01-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

3000 HITS!!!

Man, can you imagine? It only took 14 months. (Of course about 2/3 of those hits were me, but hey. So what.)

tls

Yeah, yeah, I'm back. I know I wasn't gone long, but...

2007-01-12T19:35:00.000-05:00

An observation:

The closing item on the NBC Evening News tonite was the story of an elderly woman in Georgia who says good-bye to all the soldiers leaving for the middle east from an airbase outside Savannah. It has been estimated that she has bid adieu to around 56000 men and women as they boarded planes over the last three and a half years. She is a grand, somewhat blousy cracker of a woman. It's a great gesture on her part.

Over the last few years there have been a number of similar stories of extraordinary support of our troops and/or their families, like the various groups across the country that have provided properly insulated helmets to soldiers in need of them, that the government failed to provide.

Similar stories made the airwaves during the much briefer Gulf War in the 1990s and, of course, during the seemingly interminable Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s. It is truly great when people come to the fore to help the young men and women placed in harm's way in service to their country. We often see that, while war can and does bring out the worst in us, the best instincts of humanity also tend to surface.

As great as all that is, one is left to ponder why all this is necessary in the first place. Our military is killing and being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why? Ostensibly to stem the tide of terrorism. I won't go into all of that. We know the drill, the reasons Bush & company gave for the Iraq invasion. We also know that most of those "reasons" were not substantiated. No Al Qaida connection, no 9/11 connection, no WMDs. Let's see. What does that leave? Saddam Hussein was a murderous, eminently evil bastard, a despot of the first order, who killed thousands of his own people. Horribly true. Is there anything regretable about his fall and subsequent execution? No, nothing.

However, all of that does not meet a litmus test for our going to war. Does anyone believe that things are better in Iraq now? Iraqis are dying by the score daily. In the end does it really matter who is doing the killing? Saddam, Americans, or your neighbors? Not only is Iraq in a state of chaos, the entire region is becoming unsettled owing to the sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis. There are both Shiites and Sunnis in Iran, Syria and several other countries in the area. It is not that much of a stretch to see how the violence could spread. Additionally, terroist groups like Al Qaida and others have taken advantage of this situation by instigating violence in such a way as to cast blame on one sect or the other. If what is going on there presently does not qualify as civil war, it's the next thing to it. To argue the point is splitting hairs.

Bush's obsession with bringing down Saddam has cost us dearly. We are now mired in a conflict from which there is no graceful exit. This is reminiscent of our involvement in Vietnam which was nearly twenty times as costly in American lives, and probably dozens, perhaps hundreds of times more costly in the combined American, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and other lives than all those lost in the Iraqi conflict to date.

The 57000+ American and countless other lives lost in the Vietnam conflict absolutely died in vain. The so called "domino" still fell, and to what effect? Now, Vietnam is a country that has largely rebuilt itself with an economy that is on the upswing and is generally well respected in the world community. And all of those people died for what, again?

The same can be said for our involvement in Iraq. At some point we will withdraw most or all of our troops from Iraq perhaps quietly, perhaps ignominiously as in Vietnam. What will be left behind? A unified country with a strong democratic government as Bush hopes? Perhaps. More likely Iraq will further devolve into total chaos and all out civil war. The entire middle east could be left a virtual powder keg.

George Bush may well be left with a legacy that he never imagined when he made his triumphal "mission accomplished" appearance on the carrier, USS Lincoln, or when he uttered his loathsome "bring 'em on" challenge to the Iraqi insurgents. The whole region could be engulfed (no pun intended) in sectarian war. Terrorist groups will be having a heyday. Israel will be rendered more vulnerable to attacks from all directions. The United States will have so much egg on its face that we will be indiscernable from a western omelet.

And all of the death will have been in vain. But, hey, maybe we can get cheaper gas.

TLS

There is an end to all things

2007-01-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

I think I may put this baby to bed. It seems to have run its course. I know this will be a disappointment to my ardent readership, but I'm sure both of you will be able to find other sources for intellectual stimulation, razor-sharp wit, and downright fun.

I've sat here several times over the last few days without any inspiration. Perhaps I've had my say. In any event, I'm just going to let this be for a while.

TLS

No Global Warming?

2007-01-03T20:44:00.000-05:00

Jazzy & Other Doubters,

Read this if the spirit moves you: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070103/ap_on_bi_ge/exxonmobil_global_warming

This doesn't prove anything one way or the other. But it certainly does raise questions regarding any information debunking global warming which has been disseminated over the last few years.

Hmm.

Pat Robertson: What a Guy!!!

2007-01-02T22:12:00.000-05:00

Pat Robertson has made his predictions for 2007 after his tete-a-tete with the godster. The big guy related to good ole' Pat that a bunch of us are going to get greased this year via some type of terrorist attack on our soil. God, being the sly devil he is, wouldn't divulge anything further except to say that it will probably be later in the year. So, I guess we can relax through spring and into summer. The college crowd can still get stinko and screwed at their all important post winter rituals in Florida and the Caribbean. The rest of us should be able to get a handle on that pesky crab grass and perhaps get in a few rounds at the country club (thank god!,) But then, we'd better start raising the terrorist alert level toward the crimson end of the spectrum, and stock up on batteries, plastic sheeting, duct tape and turkey jerky. The lord of lords wouldn't even tell Patty Cake what kind of attack it will be. Nuclear? (or, uh nuculer?) Biological? Tribbles? He knows how to keep us on the edge of our proverbial seats, doesn't he?

Robertson is proud of his track record, but admits that "sometimes I miss." The fact that he's not batting a thousand tells us that either Patsy should invest in a hearing aid, or take better notes. Or perhaps the king of kings gets his jollies from messing with our heads. He feeds us a few red herrings just to keep things interesting. What a kidder.

Pat Robertson is an asshole. How he maintains an audience is beyond me. That he, in fact has a large following does not reflect well on the intelligence level of this country. He is such a mean spirited cretin. His adherents are idiots. Robertson's having a dais upon which to spew his drivel is, if anything is, a sin against humanity. He's not up there predicting the next schmuck "The Donald" will point to and say "You're fired!", or whether Brad and Angelina will break our hearts. The Rob lays claim to having one-on-one personal conversations with god, for god's sake! He predicts mass murder to bolster his ratings. The man is insane! Presumably, should his dire prediction come to pass, he will no doubt gleefully shout from the rafters "I told you so, I told you so. Nya na nya na nya!!!" I can envision Pat Man and the omniscient one giving each other "high fives," and maybe downing a couple of brewskies together in celebration.

Simply because some of the crap Robbie Baby supposedly regurgitates from the mouth of god comes to fruition does not serve as an affirmation of his predictions. It only means that if you throw enough shit against the wall, some of it will probably stick. Big wup!

Here is hoping that someone spirits the Reverend Mr. Robertson away, ties him securely to an uncomfortable chair, pins his eyes open ala A Clockwork Orange, restricts his head movement and forces him to watch Rob Schneider's entire body of work (or to the true aficionado - his oeuvre) - TV and film - in full Dolby, repeatedly for days - nay, nay -for eternity!

Pat Robertson is - well, I just have to say it - he's a poophead.

One other thing.

The supposed outrage of, among others, the Iraqi sunnis regarding the execution of Saddam and the video which is now circulating the net, is a crock. This coming from people, primarily muslims, who think nothing of stoning to death a young woman in the town square for besmirching her family's honor for say, being in the same town as some man not her father or brother, or as seen in Afghanistan under the taliban, public beheadings during period breaks in soccer games. Now that's entertainment!

Seeing Saddam being led to his death was not pleasant. I took no joy in watching it, though watch it I did. I am not a particular fan of capital punishment, but if anyone deserved to die for his actions, Saddam did. I don't mourn for the man. People who believe that Saddam Hussein was any kind of hero are at least as stupid as Robertson's admirers, maybe more so (if that's possible.)

TLS

THE TRUE MEANING OF EVERYTHING! - well some things - uh maybe, maybe not

2006-12-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

I love most christmas music, except perhaps what one hears repeated ad nauseam at shopping malls from about the middle of October on.

I have a CD, The Glorious Sound of Christmas. It features Eugene Ormandy leading the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Temple University Concert Choir (Robert Page, Director.) Actually, I originally purchased this recording back in the mid-1960s as an LP record through the old Columbia Record Club. If you like christmas music performed with choirs in orchestral settings, you might well like this one. It is still being sold. I saw it at Borders a couple of weeks ago. I purchased my CD from Amazon.

So what?, you might say. Indeed!

The first four cuts are standards - "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Joy to the World," and "O Holy Night." All are excellent renditions. Cut number five begins a run of consecutive pieces which are, in my opinion three of the greatest christmas carol recordings I've ever heard. The first is also the best and by far the most moving. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is performed with all strings. No brass, no reeds, no percussion, no voices. It reaches into the depths of one's heart. I have listened to it, I can't guess how many times. I sometimes pull it out in May or July and play it. It still moves me to tears. It begins quietly with a meandering cello (or perhaps viola) line which then gives over to violins introducing the simple verse. Each successive verse builds in complexity gradually adding instruments in a steady crescendo to greater emotional heights culminating in a finale' which absolutely shakes the room.

At such moments I understand why people come to believe in a god. I understand why people feel the need for a higher power. At the end, we are alone. We may have family and friends. We may have access to spiritual and/or professional help if depressed or fearful. We can take pills to assuage depression and fear. But, as we move through life, friends come and go. Family members pass. Ministers, psychologists and phychiatrists can only listen, and give counsel. The effectiveness of pills wanes. Despite the love, caring and the best efforts of others, we can still feel utterly alone, suffering pain and loss, facing our own mortality. These times can be devastating.

We often then, seek solace from a god, which we come to believe has the power to direct our lives, which gives us comfort in affording us assurance that we are loved, and ultimately provides us with the hope of an eternal life in paradise. We long for perfect peace and perfect beauty. It's grand and heady stuff.

The "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" on the Glorious Sound album evokes, for me at least, that pain and yearning, but also the incredible beauty of life. As one who does not believe in any god, I am not immune to the base fears which are the stuff of living and dying. The astonishing depth and resonance of this recording bring all of those emotions to the surface. I believe that it is good for us to experience them.

The other pieces I alluded to are wonderful as well in different ways. Another instrumental, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is as rousing as "O Come" is profoundly emotional. The last of the three is a gently evocative "Ave Maria" (Schubert). It combines orchestra and wordless chorus, and leaves one with a sense of calm. More carols follow on the album, but these three are, for me, the best.

The inspiration for all of this music was, of course god, and more specifically, the birth of jesus. My wife is dubious about any notion that such music could have been written without godly inspiration. Obviously, I don't agree. Music, and pretty much all artistic achievements of man would likely be just as great, and just as inspirational without a godly muse. Granted, it all might be very different. We probably would not have spent as much time looking heavenward. But we humans are an ingenious and resourceful lot. Inspiration has and continues to come to us from sources other than god, through which we create great things. Great architecture. Great sculpture. Great painting. Great music. Great dance. Great drama. Great literature. All of it.

And!

Consider science. If you genuinely delve into biology and evolution, study chemistry or discover the wonders of physics, you will find that there is unfathomable beauty to be found there. One does not need to look outside of nature, to the meta-physical or spiritual for inspiration. It is all around us, all the time. It is nature. It is us.

TLS

GREETINGS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!!

2006-12-25T01:16:00.000-05:00

To all of my hundreds, nay thousands of loyal readers: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HO HO HO!

Remember that Christ, or somebody like Christ, or a number of somebodies like Christ was born on Christmas day, or sometime there abouts - it was said to be cold at any rate. Did Joseph and Mary know it was Christmas day? Did they get their shopping done? Did they make it to the Bethlehem Mall before all the stores closed? Did they encounter a lot of holiday travelers on the way to Bethlehem? Did they have any trouble getting through security? Did they get any free "donkey" miles? (Hey, I could have written "ass" miles, but I didn't.)

We know the reservations got screwed up at the inn. Did they get a coupon for a free stay at any other inns or at least free use of the day spa? They darn well should have. A mud bath would probably feel great after several hours of labor. Did the concierge find them a midwife? Did they have to pay extra for the swaddling clothes? Did the management demand to see their marriage license? How did they sign the register? Did Joseph dutifully stay in the manger getting hot water and towels, or could he have been found wiling away the hours in the inn lounge putting back a few vodka stingers?

Did they set out some milk and cookies for Santa?

Did they hang around Bethlehem to celebrate New Years? Did they give Jesus a sparkler?

All these questions, so few answers.

I'm a nasty SOB. But Merry Christmas anyhow.

TLS

Free Will and the Survival of Humanity (Some heavy shit!)

2006-12-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

The following appears as a comment on a recent post on Gregg100's Open Campus blog site http://1opencampus.blogspot.com/. "Dan" is another commenter who apparently has a keen interest in whether man has any free will. As you may see, I drone on for some time, so gird your loins, or whatever it is you are comfortable "girding," and enjoy.

I'm not sure I follow Dan's interest in "free will." Is it his notion that there is some biological imperative which predisposes us to certain patterns of behaviour and consequently any and all decisions we make?

I suppose our heredity and instinct for survival direct a great deal of our decision making processes. However, I feel that one of the distinct qualities of our species is that we do have a certain amount of free will which is often demonstrated by the number of truly bad decisions we make which often run counter to our survival and well being. A slug would not "decide" to do a lot of the truly stupid things humans so often do.

Some evolutionary scientists claim that man has ceased to evolve owing to our unprecedented departure from nature. We have, from an evolutionary perspective, taken ourselves out of the equation - at least to a greater degree than other earthly life forms. We do not survive purely on instinct and hereditary predisposition. We cogitate and consider - often over little, if any relevant evidence - and at times come to spurious conclusions about what course of action to take, or whether to take any action at all regarding any given matter. Bengal tigers spend little time hemming an hawing. They attack and eat.

As to whether the survival of humanity is a worthy goal, what else is there for us? I have suggested that humanity is, in fact the closest thing to god we know of. While we certainly don't have many of the qualities usually reserved for our typical concept of what it is to be "godly," we seem to possess more such qualities, or abilities than any other life form with which we are familiar.

In this regard, the spiritual realm doesn't count for much. In my humble opinion, most of what people regard as "spiritual" is based on dreams, fantasy and hallucinations, or just wishful thinking.

The pursuit of our long term survival calls upon many of the qualities we do possess which take us beyond the realm of individual survival, including cooperative efforts with other humans, care and concern for the life and well being of others, creativity and innovation, etc., as you (Gregg) have rightly indicated.

The question can be put: Of what importance is the long term survival of humanity? To what end? If there is no god, no afterlife, no spot in heaven to pursue, nor permanent residence in hell to avoid, then what purpose can it all have?

Perhaps that is our challenge. Perhaps that is the point which will call upon our highest abilities. It falls to us to find the subtext of our daily lives, if you will, to define what it is we must do beyond basic, personal survival to further the survival of humanity, and why it is worthy of our efforts.

TLS

A Short Trip

2006-12-15T23:23:00.000-05:00

My wife and I flew to Orlando, Florida last Friday afternoon. My son picked us up and drove us north to his domicile in Gainesville where we spent Friday evening and all day Saturday. The highlight of our stay there was sitting on a wood deck overlooking Lake Alice on the UF campus. It was quiet and lovely. It's hard to believe that it lay more or less at the center of a huge university campus. Didn't spy any 'gaters, though.

Sunday afternoon we hit the road and drove to Savannah, Georgia. We spent the night and much of the next day there. What a beautiful city! We also took a trip out to Tybee Island where we walked the beach, and my son climbed the 150+ steps to the top of the lighthouse.

We returned to Savannah and, of course, took in the Mercer House and later ate lunch at the Gryffin (sp?) Tea Room which is owned and operated by SCAD - the Savannah College of Art and Design. That's good eatin'.

We hit the road around two in the afternoon and headed out toward Atlanta. I took the wheel just north of Macon as darkness fell. About 2 miles or so further north I looked ahead to see that the traffic in front of me was stopping short, and some cars were scattering out into the median. I slammed on the brakes, but quickly realized I could not stop before hitting the car ahead of me. I veered to the right into the center of the 3 lanes of the interstate. It appeared to be clear. I remember seeing a truck in my peripheral vision with the cab protruding into the far right lane at a right angle to traffic as we moved through the maze of cars. I thought, or at least hoped that we were clear. I saw some debris in the roadway running over it without damage, but a dark something else loomed ahead which I couldn't avoid. I hit whatever it was accompanied by two hard "bangs." I knew that was not a good thing. I kept control of the car and pulled off the roadway as quickly as I could.

All three of us got out of the car and looked to discover that both left tires were flat. We then looked back to where the chaos had ensued to see the box truck I had caught site of before and a semi-truck with a large open flat bed trailer on its side - the cab thrust up into the woods about 20 or 30 feet off of the roadway. It had begun to burn. There were a couple of people standing up on the cab of the semi assisting its driver out. Just as they cleared the wreck, the gas tank blew and the entire rig including its cargo - 3 or 4 large rolls of newsprint - went up with flames shooting high into the black night sky. Talk about your dramatic scenes.

Over the next several minutes state troopers, ambulances and fire apparatus began arriving. All north bound traffic was stopped. It took some time for the fire to be extinguished. Wreckers came to haul away the box truck and the remains of the now charred semi and trailer.

In the mean time, my son called AAA for a tow. We had no idea when a wrecker might arrive. If it was coming from the south, it could take hours. I found a trooper and told him of our situation. We were collateral damage. He wasn't particularly interested in our plight. He had bigger fish to fry, as it were. I did not want all of the emergency vehicles to pull out, leaving us disabled out in the country at the side of the interstate, in the dark. A fireman advised us that, if we were still there when the highway opened up, that we should get as far away from our car as possible. He said we should get back into the woods, because when the traffic started to move, it was likely to be chaotic. Our car might well get creamed.

Fortunately, the wrecker arrived, but was in the southbound lane. He told us that he could not cross the median as it was against the law, and he could be fined up to $700 for doing so. His only option was to head south and get at the rear of the halted traffic. That was crazy talk.

I took the wrecker driver, in tow and found a fireman to explain the situation. We ultimately got permission for the wrecker driver to cross the median. He did so and pulled our car up onto his rig. The three of us crammed into the cab of the wrecker along with the driver who took us some 20 miles northwest to the bustling metropolis of Barnsville, GA where his repair shop is located. There was no chance of getting tires that late, then well after 9:00PM. Fortunately, there was a motel, a Country Hearth Inn in Barnsville where we stayed the night. We had two meals at the Huddle House adjacent to the motel that night and on Tuesday morning. The uh - cuisine at the Huddle House was a bit high on the greasy side, but it was better than not eating at all.

Around noon my cell phone rang with the news that our car was repaired. Two tires and the tow came to just over $300. We got back on the road around 12:30 and made it back to Indy around eleven Tuesday night without incident.

Why am I recounting this little tale here? Well, there is this. Another driver who had been ahead of us on the roadway found himself directly next to the semi as it hit the cab of the box truck. This fellow had the presence of mind to hit the gas which managed to get him just ahead of the carnage. He was walking around talking at a near babble. He was really shook up. He claimed that he caught site of the semi driver's eyes as the truck was going over onto its side. He said that the guy had a look of absolute terror. He couldn't get that image out of his mind. As I indicated, the semi driver did make it out of the cab and was more or less unhurt. There were two people with the box truck, but they had gotten out and were standing well behind when the semi rammed into it. (They had gotten caught in mud off the road side and were stuck with the truck cab protruding out into the traffic lane. Pretty smart.) Somehow, no one got hurt.

The babbling fellow was busily praising god for his and everyone else's deliverance. He thanked jesus for getting the semi driver out of the truck safely. I know he was really shook up, but I hear this kind of thing so often. It wasn't god or jesus who delivered us from harm. First, it was luck. Just dumb luck. Second, the semi driver was saved by a couple of guys who braved the fire. Had they hesitated even for another minute, it is very likely that the driver would have died in that truck. The babbling driver saved himself by flooring his accelerator. If someone ahead of me had veered in front of us, or had the semi slid to the left rather than off into the woods, we would not have made it through with consequences unknown.

I find it disingenuous when people thank god for saving the day, when it was actually other people who rose to the occasion, and/or the luck of the draw that just happened to favor survivors of accidents or whatever unfortunate events people find themselves involved in. What about those who didn't come out alive or unscathed? They drew the loosing cards. It's just chance. Contrary to what a lot of people say, things do not happen for a reason.

Give credit where credit is due. God is no hero. It is, a fireman, your neighbor, or perhaps a stranger who saves the day. And, in the end, we are all subject to caprice - to chance, for good or ill.

TLS

Continuing Conversation

2006-12-14T18:47:00.000-05:00

Jazzy,

Yeah, I did switch to Beta. I don't see much difference, but they indicate that, ultimately everybody on Blogspot will have to make the change or disappear into the internet ether.

I must admit I have never felt that the global warming issue was, in the main political. No doubt some people with differing agendas have grabbed onto environmental issues to gain political and/or financial advantage. However, I don't believe that most scientists studying climatic changes, who accept global warming as a reality, are politically motivated. The science is telling them what is happening. Certainly, some of it is speculative, and predictions tend to be all over the place, but consider just how complex it all is. I just read this article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061214/sc_nm/climate_oceans_dc) online which makes dire predictions, indeed. Is it accurate? I don't know.

What if the nay sayers are wrong? What happens should we ignore the warnings? The price could be dear.

I am a liberal in most respects. I don't hate "the capitalistic free enterprise system." Some do, I suppose. I would suggest that some ultra right wingers are not particularly fond of it either. Some would love to bring about a totalitarian system which would deny us our basic freedoms - social, political and economic.

I do believe that there are inequities in our system, that unbridled greed has allowed a very small number of people to wield a huge amount of power and live in a manner unprecedented at anytime in history, made on the backs of millions of people who live beneath any standards of what it means to be poor - a situation not unlike that prevailing in much of the world hundreds of years ago with the great majority of the world's citizenry living under the thumbs of feudal lords.

The theory of our system states that anyone can succeed. The reality is something different. The deck is stacked heavily against the great majority of people to achieve even a modicum of success or financial security. How well do you suppose you could live on $5.15 per hour?

I am not an apoligist for socialism, but nor do I consider the present system to be a sacred cow.
The choice of economic systems is not simply black and white. What with social security and other assistance programs, we have, since at least the 1930s lived in a quasi-socialist system. There are those who would do away with all of it, social security, medicare, welfare, public education, etc., either in the belief that the private sector would pick up the slack, or skinflint Scrooges who believe that all who can't carry their own weight should be left to whatever evils might befall them. The former scenario would not likely be an adequate or equitable alternative, the latter is unthinkable.

I don't believe that most liberals "hate" capitalism. Such accusations are the stuff of propaganda. But, as I suggest above, many are aware of our system's inequities, and seek relevant change.

I would ask, that you, too should keep an open mind. Consider the possiblity that conservatives who preach against the likelihood of global warming may have their own, and often conflicting agendas as well.

TLS

Response to Gregg100 and JazzyCat

2006-12-14T12:58:00.000-05:00

Gregg,

It's great to see you back at it. I have read your recent posts and have some comments that I will try to get to soon. We went out of town for a few days, and I've been away from all this during that time.

Jazzy,

I agree with Gregg on this (big surprise.) It is, in the end a question of probabilities. At this juncture of human existence, the question you pose, one which we have discussed in the past, is unanswerable. But the probability of there being a "super intelligent [and super-powerful]" god or some such, given what we DO know and understand about this universe we call home, is extremely low.

Regardless, what you and billions of others throughout the world have done is accept the fall back position of a god being the designer of it all.

To once again quote Richard Dawkins from THE GOD DELUSION I site the following which Dawkins states as "the central argument of [his] book:

""1. One of the greatest challenges to the human intellect, over the centuries, has been to explain how the complex, improbable appearance of design in the universe arises.

"2. The natural temptation is to attribute the appearance of design to actual design itself. In the case of a man-made artifact such as a watch, the designer really was an intelligent engineer. It is tempting to apply the same logic to an eye or a wing, a spider or a person.

"3. The temptation is a false one, because the designer hypothesis immediately raises the larger problem of who designed the designer. The whole problem we started out with was the problem of explaining statistical improbability. It is obviously no solution to postulate something even more improbable..."

Dawkins goes on to site evolution as the strongest evidence against intelligent design saying "that the illusion of design in living creatures is just that - an illusion."

Now I know the heart and soul of ID is rejection of evolution. Ann Coulter, among others poses an extensive argument against evolution primarily in siting apparent gaps in the fossil record. Creationists tend to declare that "If there are no fossils to document a postulated evolutionary transition, the default assumption is that there was no evolutionary transition, therefore God must have intervened. It is utterly illogical to demand complete documentation of every step of any narrative... Only a tiny fraction of corpses fossilize, and we are lucky to have as many intermediate fossils as we do. Evolution makes the strong prediction that if a SINGLE fossil turned up in the WRONG geological stratum, the theory would be blown out of the water... No such anachronistic fossils have ever been authentically found...

Gaps, by default in the mind of the creationist, are filled by God."

By the way Jazzy, the global warming is doing fine up here. The temperatures today and for the coming week are predicted to be in the mid to upper 50s - some 20+ degrees ABOVE normal.We flew to Florida last Friday. We left Indiana in a deep freeze with the temperature around 10 degrees. That night in Gainsville, the temperature went down to around 28. It was damn cold.

Go figure.

As to "brilliant scientists" believing in god. I don't dispute what you say, but I do see it as an awkward disconnect for them. Unlike Stephen J. Gould's assertion, I do not ascribe to the notion that religion and science can comfortably co-exist. I cannot accept the notion that science should not, nor cannot delve into areas of morality and the existence of god. It is, rather, imperative that it does so.

TLS

P.S. By the way, this is my 100th post. Woo Hoo! That's a lot of meaningless drivel I've pump out over the last year or so. But, honestly, don't you all feel better for the experience?

P.P.S. The above also appears as a comment on my previous post (with some slight alterations.) But, I thought this would make it much more accessible. I'm one thoughtful SOB.

Writer's Block

2006-12-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

I've been stewing around for a few days with nothing much to say. Not here anyway. I've spent the last several posts either authoring silliness or taking trips down memory lane.

Since I haven't been able to come up with any of my own thoughts, I decided to delve into other people's ideas. Stealing material is good.

I have been slowly making my way through Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion. It's not a particularly long book. I'm just a very slow reader. It's just full of goodies to quote. Let's see.

Actually, Dawkins quotes a lot of people, too.

Here's a couple for you:

"It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan

Yes!!!

"No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under god." - George H.W. Bush

Note that George Sr. is just as stupid as his son. Jr. came by it honestly.

Here is a lengthy quote actually written by Dawkins:

"Christianity, just as much as Islam, teaches children that unquestioned faith is a virtue. You don't have to make the case for what you believe. If somebody announces that it is part of his faith the rest of society, whether of the same faith, or another, or of none, is obliged, by ingrained custom, to 'respect' it without question; respect it until the day it manifests itself in a horrible massacre like the destruction of the World Trade Center, or the London or Madrid bombings. Then there is a great chorus of disownings, as clerics and 'community leaders' . . . line up to explain that this extremism is a perversion of the 'true' faith. But how can there be a perversion of faith, if faith, lacking objective justification, doesn't have any demonstrable standard to pervert?" (The italics and quotation marks above are Dawkins'.)

Dawkins takes a jab at even the "moderately" faithful in that they provide, in effect, a stepping stone to radicalism. Think of all the children in muslim schools learning the way of islam, that all not of their faith are infidels and, therefore, their enemies. These kids are the bulk seed of future muslim radicals, the fodder for suicide bombings. Think of American youth being brainwashed in fundamentalist christian schools. Think of the movie Jesus Camp. Those kids represent the next generation of "christian soldiers" marching onward.

Susan Jacoby, in her book Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism cites results of a poll of Americans by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, that "the secularist minority is much larger than any non-Christian religious group" in the USA. Jacoby further notes that up to around 16% of the US population is "predominantly secular." Around 14% "have no formal ties to religion."

That given, Jacoby notes that while jews, muslims, hindus and buddhists among others are routinely encouraged to participate in public forums around the nation, secularists, humanists, agnostics and atheists are rarely invited to share the dais. Jacoby states "The message is clear: we may be a multicultural people, but we're all respectable [only] as long as we worship God in some way."

Of course, this last ties together with the Bush quote above. Doubters and non-believers have little cache' in this country. As I've stated, and as I believe, while gays remain a hated target of christians, the godless are generally tolerated even less. We are hated and feared because we question the very basis of believers' raison d'etre. As it happens, most American gays are religious, consider themselves christians, and believe in god. Non-believers represent the true threat to god's people.

It is true. Dawkins claims that "religion" is the problem. It is religion and, consequently, belief in any god, or some other "higher power" on which we non-believers must take aim. The godsters are gonna get us all killed.

TLS

1968 - Redux

2006-12-01T00:07:00.001-05:00

My son read my most recent post and felt that a line near the end of it: "It couldn't be much worse" is a bit of an over-statement, or as he put it "too heavy handed."

He's right of course. Things could be a lot worse. I should rein in my penchant for hyperbole. I'll give a 110% effort to curb my enthusiasm in the future.

We Americans are still living pretty comfortably as compared to say, the Iraqis. We do have the on-going threat of terrorist violence, but Americans are not being blown into a pink mist on a daily basis (excepting those of us who are in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan.) People are not taking bets on whether someone will survive the drive to the local airport, or if a trip to the market might be our last. Most of us are not starving or homeless. Most of us have food on the table in homes made possible by the jobs that most of us have. All in all, things remain pretty good on our native soil.

When I came of age in the mid 1960s, America's future seemed to me, boundless. We were still the good guys, the knights on the white horses. True, the book The Ugly American had been published to some acclaim which dealt with our budding and meddlesome involvement in Southeast Asia. The seeds of doubt had been sown, but few of us paid any heed.

The White House was in the hands of Jack & Jackie, the golden age of Camelot on the Potomac.
But then, Jack was gone. Camelot disappeared with the squeeze of a trigger in Dallas. I heard about it while sitting in study hall during my junior year of high school. Kids began to cry. Mostly, the girls at first, but that kind of thing is infectious. Many of us were sniveling before the period ended, myself included. We hadn't even heard whether he was dead. We just knew he had been shot. It was surreal. This kind of thing didn't happen in Camelot. Did it? Could it?

Well, yes, it could, and it did.

As I stated in the previous post, Americans effectively got bitch slapped over and over again during the next few years. The war in Vietnam became pervasive with no end in sight. The concomitant anti-war movement was in full swing by the late '60s. The Civil Rights movement was steaming along, and the feminist movement was also gaining traction. It was a crazy time. It was either hellish or exciting depending upon one's perspective - say whether you were smoking dope and throwing frisbees in the Sheep Meadow of Manhattan's Central Park, or smoking dope and dodging bullets in a rice paddy in Vietnam.

We have endured Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, more Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Clinton again, and whoa!, another damn Bush (or who Molly Ivins refers to as "Shrub") since those days. (It would be only just if we could manage to inflict the world with another Clinton in 2008.)

What prompted me to make my admitted overstatement? It was my looking back to where we once were, or at least where we thought we were before it all began going down the tubes, and measuring that against where we are now.

By comparison, the years of the Cold War were relatively stable. It was basically one super power against another, each knowing a single misstep could render the world uninhabitable. The powers that be on both sides actually seemed to care about our earthly future.

Now we are faced with a significant number of religious radicals of every stripe who believe that what happens on this world is of little consequence. These people would be more than happy to blow everyone to smithereens, themselves included, all for the glory of their god. Reason has left the building.

Osama and company must have been overjoyed when Bush and his boys (and girl) chose to invade Iraq. How fortuitous? We squandered what good karma we might have gained post 9/11 as much of the rest of the world watched in dismay at our arrogance and stupidity. We played right into Al Qaida's hands. Within days we were no longer victims, but instead, aggressors. We were attacking a sovereign muslim nation, despoiling muslim land, killing muslims. Nevermind that Saddam was hated in the muslim world about as much as they hated us. Saddam's government was wholly secular and horribly oppressive. That didn't matter. We were the infidel invading holy ground.

The whole situation in Iraq has deteriorated to what, by almost any reasonable measure (except Bush's, of course,) is a civil war. It is chaos. Hundreds of Iraqis are dying every week, sometimes every day. The Iraqi government has virtually no control anywhere in the country that matters. The various police organizations are rife with corruption and insurgant infiltration. Recruits are routinely killed by suicide bombers. The Iraqi army remains largely a joke with little ability to oversee the nation's security without US troops at their backs. We have effectively painted ourselves into a corner. There is no graceful means of extracting ourselves from this mess. For Bush to do anything but "stay the course" would make us even more despised and render us a laughing stock. But, "staying the course" has its own serious problems - generally involving additional and significant losses of American lives.

Bush's expectation, or perhaps now only his hope, that the situation will change for the better in Iraq is unrealistic at best. Meanwhile, terrorists are having a heyday both recruiting and shedding new blood as they continue to work quietly toward further and more spectacular attacks against the west, especially the US.

"Things" could certainly get worse. Let's hope that they don't.

TLS