Rational Expressions

First Legal Memo

2009-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been an awful long time since I posted. 2009 has been the "Year of Transition" for me, and I still haven't fully transitioned. At some point I'll do a post on my first semester of law school, which has been interesting to say the least. But for now, here's my first legal memo, written in legalese as promised!

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To: Mimi Samuel, supervising attorney

From: Jonathan White

Date: November 22, 2009

Re: Rochelle and Marty Winick; Product Liability

Statement of Facts

Ms. Rochelle Winick has contacted our firm seeking assistance in bringing a products liability suit against HO Sports, a manufacturer of recreational water sports equipment. You have asked me to evaluate the strength of her claim with specific regard to the issue of design defect.

On July 16th, 2009, Ms. Winick, her son Marty, and other members of the Winick family were enjoying a short vacation at their cabin in Eastern Washington. The family has owned a boat for 4-5 years, and on the day in question they were using it to enjoy water sports at nearby Lake Antiot. Marty had been riding an HO Sports “Black Ice” inner tube for 45 minutes to an hour when he involuntarily fell off the tube. When the boat came back around to pick him up, Ms. Winick, who was also in the boat at the time, was surprised to find Marty’s arms bleeding. Upon returning to the shore, the family applied bandages and Neosporin to Marty’s injuries.

By the next day, July 17th, an infection had begun to spread around the injuries on Marty’s arms, so Ms. Winick brought him to a doctor in Wenatchee. The doctor told Ms. Winick that Marty’s arm was infected, although she didn’t remember the specific terminology of the diagnosis. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic for Marty and recommended a follow-up visit.

By July 20th, after the family had returned from Eastern Washington, Marty’s condition had not improved. Concerned, Ms. Winick brought him to a second doctor in Seattle, who was surprised that the antibiotic prescribed by the Wenatchee doctor had not yet helped to improve Marty’s condition. Marty then spent the next four days in the hospital recovering from the injury. Subsequently, the doctor suggested to Ms. Winick that Marty might need to give up pitching, since the infection had caused permanent injury and pitching would put an undue strain on his growing bones.

Marty had spent considerable time riding inner tubes in the past and was an experienced user. But until the day of his injury, he had never used a Black Ice tube. The Winick family had only purchased the tube a few months earlier and had only taken it out 3-4 times prior to Marty’s usage. On one of these previous rides, Ms. Winick’s daughter did come away with minor abrasions, but she was wearing a t-shirt and thus did not incur as deep an injury as Marty. Ms. Winick claims that the tube was not altered in any way between the time of purchase and the time of Marty’s injury. She also claims that Marty had been riding the tube in a normal fashion, and hadn’t engaged in any abnormal or rambunctious activity during his ride. Finally, Ms. Winick identified the Velcro cover on the top of the filling stem valve, located directly in the center of the top of the tube, as the most likely cause of Marty’s injury. She noted that the small lip of Velcro covering the valve was supposed to sit flush with the surface of the tube, but that it instead extended slightly beyond that point, creating a pressure point leading to Marty’s scratches.

Issue Statement

Under Washington law relating to product liability, does Ms. Winick have a valid claim for design defect when (1) her son Marty rode on a Black Ice inner tube, manufactured by HO Sports, for 45 minutes to an hour; (2) a stem valve was located directly between the handles of the tube, while the Velcro patch covering the stem valve didn’t fit properly in place; and (3) contact with the Velcro patch appears to have caused several serious scratches on Marty's arm?

Brief Answer

Probably. Washington courts will apply two distinct tests in order to sufficiently determine manufacturer liability in terms of design defect: the “risk/utility” test, and the “consumer expectations” test. Because Ms. Winick can provide evidence of a feasible alternative design for an inner tube similar to the Black Ice tube, and because HO Sports does not have strong arguments for the essential functionality or social value of its centrally-located stem valve, Ms. Winick’s claim should survive summary judgment under the risk/utility test. Additionally, because Ms. Winick can argue that a reasonable consumer would not expect a serious injury such as Marty’s to result from a typical ride on an inner tube, and because Marty’s unique situation creates circumstances from which a jury could infer defective design, Ms. Winick’s claim under the consumer expectations test should also survive summary judgment.

Discussion

Washington has enacted RCW 7.72.030 in order to better protect its citizens against injuries from dangerous and harmful products. Because of the potential threats to consumers arising from defective products, manufacturers of products are held to strict liability. See Soproni v. Polygon Apartment Partners, 137 Wn.2d. 319, 326, 971 P.2d 500 (1999). This statute allows Washington consumers to assert strict liability on the part of a manufacturer of a defective product. The portion of this products liability statute relating to design defect are as follows:

A product manufacturer is subject to liability to a claimant if the claimant's harm was proximately caused by the negligence of the manufacturer in that the product was not reasonably safe as designed or not reasonably safe because adequate warnings or instructions were not provided.

RCW 7.72.030 (1). To prevail on a theory of design defect in a products liability claim, a plaintiff must prove the following elements: (1) a manufacturer’s product (2) not reasonably safe as designed (3) causing harm to the plaintiff. Pagnotta v. Beall Trailers of Or., Inc., 99 Wn. App. 28, 36, 991 P.2d 728 (2000). The first element is not likely to be in dispute, as both parties will agree that the Black Ice tube was manufactured by HO Sports. The third element is likely to be in dispute, but that issue is being addressed in a separate memo. You have asked me to focus on the second element, which is likely to be in dispute; specifically, whether the Black Ice inner tube was “not reasonably safe as designed.” In determining manufacturer liability for defectively designed products, Washington courts use two tests, either of which are sufficient to establish liability: (1) the risk/utility test and (2) the consumer expectations test. Soproni, 137 Wn.2d. at 326-27.

(1): Does Ms. Winick Have a Valid Claim Under the Risk/Utility Test?

Under Washington law, plaintiffs can choose to pursue a products liability claim against a manufacturer under the risk/utility test. The portion of the Washington Products Liability statute pertaining to the risk/utility test is as follows:

A product is not reasonably safe as designed, if, at the time of manufacture, the likelihood that the product would cause the claimant's harm or similar harms, and the seriousness of those harms, outweighed the burden on the manufacturer to design a product that would have prevented those harms and the adverse effect that an alternative design that was practical and feasible would have on the usefulness of the product.

RCW 7.72.030 (a). Courts will consider evidence of feasible alternative designs in determining whether or not a material factual issue exists for a jury to decide. Soproni, 137 Wn.2d. at 329. Courts have held that a plaintiff can satisfy its burden of proof by showing that an alternatively designed product “more safely serves the same function as the challenged product.” Higgins v. Intex Recreation Corp., 123 Wn. App. 821, 829, 99 P.3d 421 (2004).

In a recent Washington case where a manufacturer was held liable under the risk/utility test, the plaintiff was severely injured after being struck by the rider of a snow tube, and he brought a products liability action against the manufacturer/defendant Intex. Id at 826. Both the trial and appellate courts denied defendant Intex’s motion for summary judgment, because the plaintiff was able to bring evidence of a similar tube, also manufactured by Intex, which served the same functions as the tube in question but didn’t pose the same risks. Id. at 827.

In Ms. Winick’s case, she can likely provide proof of an alternative design which would have prevented Marty’s injury while still providing the same functions as the Black Ice tube. A cursory review of HO Sports’ website shows that it manufactures several different types of tubes. Its “Bomber” tube is nearly identical to the Black Ice tube, except for three minor differences: (1) the Black Ice is 6” wider than the Bomber, (2) the Black Ice tube has a convex-shaped bottom design, allowing for greater turning control, which the Bomber does not, and (3) the Black Ice tube has a centrally-located stem valve for easy inflation, while the Bomber only has the traditional valves located on its sides. Ms. Winick can thus argue, and the court will likely agree, that the fact that HO Sports itself makes a safer tube which served nearly the same functions as the Black Ice tube but did not pose the same risks, presents a material issue of fact for a jury to consider.

In response, HO Sports will most likely argue, as did Intex, that making design changes to its Black Ice tube would result in a completely different product. To support its argument, HO would likely cite Thongchoom v. Graco Children’s Products, Inc., 117 Wn. App. 299, 71 P.3d 214 (2003). In Thongchoom, the plaintiff’s infant was injured while using a baby walker manufactured by the defendant. The Washington Court of Appeals refused to apply the risk/utility test, holding that design changes to a baby walker would “completely change the product.” However, Ms. Winick’s case is distinguishable from Thongchoom. Simply removing the stem valve from the Black Ice tube would not significantly affect its essential functionality, whereas changing the mobility function of a baby walker would remove its essential functionality and render it worthless. Furthermore, HO Sports’ own website prominently highlights the convex shape of the Black Ice tube while only casually mentioning the stem valve. It would be difficult, then, for HO to argue that the stem valve was the defining feature of the tube in the same way that mobility was the defining feature of the baby walker in Thongchoom.

HO Sports will also likely argue that some products are inherently unsafe, as did defendant Intex in Higgins. But, in order to use this defense, “the manufacturer of a challenged product would have to demonstrate that an inherently dangerous product is also necessary regardless of the risks involved to the user… the focus is on the product and its relative value to society.” Higgins, 123 Wn. App. at 829. HO Sports would then need to demonstrate that the social value of a centrally-located stem valve, designed to provide easy access for filling, outweighed the potential risk of severe injury from scrapes and abrasions that the stem valve might cause. A court would most likely agree that the question of whether the Black Ice tube was a necessary product, and whether it would justify such potential risks to ordinary consumers, was a material issue of fact for a jury to decide.

Therefore, Ms. Winick has a strong claim of design defect under the risk/utility test. HO Sports manufactures another tube, the Bomber, which serves nearly the same functions as the Black Ice tube, but without the same risk of injury. This alone would present a material issue of fact for a jury to determine. Furthermore, HO Sports would not be able to argue for the essential functionality of the stem valve, since the stem valve alone does not make the Black Ice tube unique. Finally, given the serious nature of Marty’s injury, and its subsequently deleterious long-term effects, it is unlikely that HO Sports could successfully argue that the social value of its centrally-located stem valve outweighed its risks.

(2): Does Ms. Winick Have a Valid Claim Under the Consumer Expectations Test?

Under Washington law, a plaintiff can choose an alternative to the risk/utility test to pursue a products liability claim against a manufacturer. The portion of the Washington products liability statute pertaining to the consumer expectations test is as follows:

In determining whether a product was not reasonably safe under this section, the trier of fact shall consider whether the product was unsafe to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer.

RCW 7.72.030 (3). Under the consumer expectations test, the burden is on the plaintiff to “show (that) the product was more dangerous than the ordinary consumer would expect.” Pagnotta, 99 Wn. App. at 36. The plaintiff must also show that the product causing harm was “not reasonably safe.” Thongchoom, 117 Wn. App. at 305. Washington courts have enumerated a number of factors to be considered when determining what a reasonable consumer might expect from a product: (1) its relative cost, (2) the seriousness of potential harm from the claimed defect, (3) the cost and feasibility of eliminating or minimizing the risk, and (4) the nature of the product or the nature of the claimed defect. Higgins, 123 Wn. App. at 830-31.

In cases in which the court held that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to consider the consumer expectations test, plaintiffs were able to produce material evidence indicating that the scope of their injury was beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer. In Higgins, the plaintiff was injured as a result of a collision with an inner tube that had “no means for the rider to control it, and turned the rider into a fixed backward position.” Id at 825. The court held that a reasonable consumer might expect the tube to rotate, but that a reasonable consumer might not expect it to remain in fixed backward position, and that this presented a material issue of fact sufficient to preclude summary judgment. In finding for the plaintiff, the trier of fact considered such factors as the relatively low cost of the defective inner tube, as well as the fact that the manufacturer sold other tubes at similar prices but without similar defects.

Like the plaintiff in Higgins, Ms. Winick will argue that the Black Ice tube was more dangerous than the average consumer would expect it to be. She will argue that a reasonable consumer would not expect a serious injury, like Marty’s, to arise from normal usage of the tube. While a reasonable consumer might anticipate minor injuries such as whiplash, bruising, or muscle soreness, typically associated with a product of its nature, from riding the Black Ice tube, a reasonable consumer would not anticipate a serious injury such as Marty’s to occur after only 45 minutes to an hour of use. Additionally, Ms. Winick can argue that the cost of minimizing the danger of injury would be insignificant, as it would not require any major structural changes, but would simply involve re-designing the Velcro valve cover to better enclose the offending stem valve.

Other courts have found that certain types of accidents may themselves indicate design defect under the consumer-expectations test, and that if a reasonable consumer could not foresee such accidents, the product is necessarily defective.

When the jury can reasonably find that the product is unchanged from the condition it was in when sold and the unusual behavior of the product is not due to any conduct on the part of the plaintiff or anyone else who has a connection with the product, logic dictates that it is a distinct possibility that there is some defect in the product.

Pagnotta, 99 Wn.App. at 37. The Pagnotta court, in dealing with an injury to plaintiff who was unable to prove the exact flaw in the manufacturer’s design, held that when a plaintiff lacks the specific evidence to prove how the design was deficient, a jury could still infer defect as long as the product was unchanged from its original condition. Id. at 39. This is a less-developed area within the doctrine of products liability in Washington, relying primarily on non-binding precedent from Oregon. Pursuing this argument would require more evidence than has currently been provided by Ms. Winick; specifically, it would require her to prove that the tube hadn’t been altered between the time of purchase and the incident, and that Marty had used the tube in a reasonable fashion. But should that evidence become available, it would likely be persuasive in court.

In response to Ms. Winick’s arguments, HO Sports will likely claim that riding an inner tube is, in itself, a somewhat risky endeavor and that ordinary consumers should be on notice of potentially negative consequences. HO would likely cite the courts in the Anderson and Thongchoom cases, both of which refused to allow a design defect claim under the consumer expectations test because the products in both cases were associated with “dangers… obvious enough to be contemplated by the ordinary consumer.” Anderson v. Weslo, Inc., 79 Wn. App. 829, 837 906 P.2d 336 (1995); Thongchoom, 117 Wn. App. at 305. Both of these cases involved discretionary recreational products which posed specific and discernable dangers. While the Black Ice tube certainly fits into the same category of products as those in the Anderson and Thongchoom cases, Ms. Winick can rebut HO Sports’ argument by showing that the Black Ice tube does not fit into the same category of dangers.

In Anderson, the plaintiff was injured while jumping on a trampoline, and his injury resulted directly from a risky “double-flip,” which he had performed several times before, and from which he could adequately contemplate the danger. In Thongchoom, the plaintiffs claimed they were unaware of the fact that a baby walker would allow both forward and backward mobility, but the court found this to be a danger obvious to an ordinary consumer. However, Ms. Winick’s case is distinguishable from both of these cases. Unlike the plaintiff in Anderson, Marty could not have been aware of the potential risk of an abrasive stem valve cover, and he had never previously used the Black Ice tube. And, while riding the Black Ice tube did present its own set of risks, Marty, unlike the plaintiff in Thongchoom, could not have contemplated the possibility that he might incur deep scratching and a subsequently serious infection.

Regardless of whether Ms. Winick pursues the optional “necessarily defective” argument as espoused by Pagnotta, she nevertheless has a strong claim of design defect under the consumer expectations test. She can successfully argue that a reasonable consumer wouldn’t anticipate an injury as serious as Marty’s, and that the cost to minimize the risk of such an injury is minimal to HO Sports. She can provide evidence of extensive damage to Marty’s arm and of the long-term effect on his quality of life, adding an emotionally significant aspect to her already-strong legal argument. While HO Sports would likely respond that riding an inner tube poses risks that would be obvious to the ordinary consumer, the unique nature of Marty’s injury, as well as the lack of awareness of the potential danger posed by the stem valve cover, presents several issues of material fact for a jury to consider, and it is likely that they would side with Ms. Winick.

Conclusion

Ms. Winick has a strong claim for design defect under Washington’s products liability law using both the risk/utility test and the consumer expectations test. Both tests present issues of material fact sufficient to survive a motion for summary judgment, and a jury is likely to find for her under at least one test, possibly both.

First, under the risk/utility test, Ms. Winick will be able to provide evidence of a safer, alternatively designed inner tube, made by HO Sports itself, creating an issue of material fact. A jury is unlikely to find that the central location of the stem valve is essential to the primary functionality of the tube, or that the social value of a centrally-located stem valve outweighs the risks it poses to ordinary consumers like Marty.

Second, under the consumer expectations test, Ms. Winick will be able to argue that a reasonable consumer wouldn’t have expected serious injuries such as Marty’s to have resulted from a relatively short inner tube ride, creating another issue of material fact. Furthermore, she can argue that the cost to improve the design of the stem valve cover would be minimal to HO Sports. It is unlikely that a jury would find Marty’s unique injury to have been caused by a danger obvious to the ordinary consumer.

Honorary Last Essay as an Undergrad

2009-03-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post this as a milestone. The next one'll be written in legalese!

COM 469
Final Paper
10 March 2009

Seymour Hersh, My Lai, and the Ethics of Kant

The Vietnam War is considered by many to be one of the lowest points in modern American history. Taking place against the backdrop of the dramatic social upheaval of the 1960s, amidst the Civil Rights movement, counter-cultural revolution, and other civil strife, the Vietnam War was the focal point of American foreign policy for nearly a decade. Unlike previous wars, where domestic dissent was either effectively muted or simply non-existent, this war featured a large and vocal anti-war contingent, in numbers great enough to effect serious government attention. Adding to the dilemma was the fact that the Vietnam War was a complicated, murky entanglement, which was difficult to justify and even more difficult to explain to the general public. The government's inability to clearly do so led to a progressively growing sense of distrust amongst the population, perpetuating the “us vs. them” mentality that clouded, for example, the presidency of Richard M. Nixon.
1968 was perhaps the darkest moment of the conflict, as massive civil unrest rocked the country at home while casualty reports from the war reached record highs. That year, Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, racial and political riots erupted nationwide, and anti-war protests reached critical mass. Yet one of the worst stories of 1968 would not be told until November of the following year, when Seymour Hersh first broke the story of the My Lai Massacre. In 3 reports, produced independently and carried by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hersh told the shocking story of the massacre of 347 Vietnamese civilians (many of them women and children) by American troops in the small village of My Lai. These reports, a clear example of Kant's Categorical Imperative operating in Hersh's journalistic ethic, greatly changed the course of the debate surrounding the war, and provoked domestic and international outrage. “No one wants to hear about U.S. Troops as 'bad guys' too,” Hersh later said (Eberting, 2000). But without this effort, the government might have been able to control public support indefinitely, tenuous or not. Instead, his report blurred the line between the good and the bad, focusing alternatively on the right and the wrong, while providing firm and actionable evidence to those with moral opposition to war.
* * * * *
In March 1968, an Army squadron, led by Lt. William Calley, attacked the small Vietnamese village of My Lai in an attempt to flush out suspected Viet Cong. Hersh's initial report, published on Nov. 13, 1969, suggested only Calley's involvement in the massacre, noting that “the Army is completing an investigation of charges that he deliberately murdered at least 109 Vietnamese civilians in a search-and-destroy mission” (Hersh, 1969). The first report includes many tentative details about “Pinkville,” the Army code word for My Lai, as well as interviews with Calley's fellow soldiers, who generally defend him (“They're using this as a Goddamned example... he's a good soldier,” says one) and try to place his actions in the context of the fog of war (“You can't afford to guess whether a civilian is a Viet Cong or not---either they shoot you or you shoot them,” says another). Generally, however, the first article is relatively non-committal, focusing primarily on the yearlong military investigation of the event which resulted in Calley's official charges.
It is the second article, provocatively titled Hamlet Attack Called Point-Blank Murder (Hersh, 1969), published exactly one week later, which introduces the larger story and conspiracy. In this story, Hersh interviews actual witnesses to the event, and reports that the investigation is not limited to Calley but includes several others from his squad as well. Unlike the first story, which indicated several possibilities but offered no hard evidence, this story is full of graphic and shocking detail, much of it likely difficult for the average American reader of the time to digest:

“They just marched through shooting everybody,” said Michael Terry, then a member of the C Platoon. “Seems like no one said anything... they just started pulling people out and shooting them.” At one point, he said, more than 20 villagers were lined up in front of a ditch and shot. “They had them in a group standing over a ditch---just like a Nazi-type thing... I don't remember seeing any men in the ditch. Mostly women and kids.” Later he and the platoon team he headed... noticed “some of them were still breathing... they were pretty badly shot up. They weren't going to get any medical help, so we shot them. Shot maybe five of them... a lot of guys feel that they (the South Vietnamese civilians) aren't human beings; we just treated them like animals.” (Hersh, 1969)

In addition to shocking first-hand accounts such as these, Hersh also introduces Ronald Ridenhour, a former GI and close acquaintance of several of the accused, whose “persistence prompted the Army to begin its high level investigation in April.” Casually, yet pointedly, Hersh leaves unanswered the question of whether the Army would have started the investigation unprompted. Without directly saying so, Hersh here raises the specter of conspiracy in not just the low levels of the isolated squadron, but in the high levels of the US military itself.
Hersh's third and final article, published five days after the second, raises the number of civilians murdered from 109 to 370 (it would later be officially notated as 347), and contains even more first-hand accounts of the atrocity. In a 2008 interview entitled 40 Years Later, Hersh retells the story of his exchange with Paul Meadlo, a soldier involved directly with Calley in the incident, who is the primary focus of the third article:

One of the mothers in the bottom of the ditch had tucked a boy underneath, and he climbed up...and began to run in a panic. Calley said to Meadlo, this kid from Southern Indiana, plug him. Meadlo, one on one, couldn't do it... So Calley, with great derring-do, took his carbine, ran behind the kid and shot him in the back of the head. Everybody remembered that. The next morning, Meadlo gets his leg blown off, to the knee, and they call in a helicopter to take him out. And while he's waiting he starts issuing an oath, a real oath, chant: “God has punished me, Lieutenant Calley, and God is gonna punish you.” (Gladstone, 2008)

Although this story is described briefly in the third article, the words of the oath were omitted, and it is interesting to hear Hersh's retrospective emphasis on it---especially as it highlights his ethical bias.
The third article nonetheless excoriates the military through its selective quotation. “We were all under orders,” Meadlo said. “We all thought we were doing the right thing. At the time it didn't bother me” (Hersh, 1969). Hersh's continued selection of quotes containing phrases such as “We just thought we were supposed to do it” and “I know it was far more than 100 as the Army now says” helps him push along his categorical theme, calling out a previously unchallenged U.S. Military for its systematic wrongdoing. It is a theme he has returned to frequently throughout his career, most recently in breaking the Abu Ghraib story, and it is a theme reflective of the philosophies of Immanuel Kant.
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Hersh's motives in breaking the My Lai story lie not in directly attacking, nor directly impugning, the military and its role in our society. Rather, Hersh wants to hold the military accountable to the same standards which apply to all citizens, and he continually chafes at the leeway afforded to those who commit atrocities in the midst of war. To Hersh, and to Kant, murder is never acceptable, under any circumstances. As Merrill states, “Kantian journalists would not act so as to bring about some kind of consequence; rather, they would simply act in accordance with duty to a guiding principle... Such a duty binds a journalist” (Merrill, 1994).
Indeed, Hersh has had to operate for most of his career as an independent, separated from the mainstream press by a determination for investigative reporting and a slightly cantankerous style. David Carr notes this in his tributary article From My Lai to Abu Ghraib: “Unlike his colleagues at newspapers or on television, Mr. Hersh can be quite subjective in his judgments, anyone who is reading his current magazine articles is well aware he is against the war” (Carr, 2004). In addition, Hersh has always been more than willing to make public appearances in defense of his positions, and is not afraid of using his public persona as a soapbox. When asked by Brooke Gladstone, during the 40 Years Later interview, if we'd learned anything from history, Hersh immediately replied: “Are you suggesting that the American leadership learns from the past? I don't think there's much evidence for that. As we had hell to pay after Vietnam, we're going to have hell to pay (after Iraq)” (Gladstone, 2008).
Merrill notes that “a categorical duty would be one that, regardless of the agent's particular desire, should be done” (Merrill, 1994). In a 2000 panel discussion with other investigative reporters, Hersh sounds a ringing endorsement of this philosophy: “There is a certain time when you've got to stop being defensive about the stories you write. You just have to. You can't go around explaining everything that people say... there's a point when you say 'look, there's a story there. If you don't want to believe it, there's not much I can do about it' ” (Eberting, 2000). This sort of ethic, while most refreshing in today's era of packaged and sterilized journalism, does have its consequences---one doesn't make many friends. David Carr, in comparing Hersh to the more affable and famous Bob Woodward, indicates that Hersh may actually enjoy this status: “While Mr. Woodward is on a first-name basis with many of the administration's highest ranking officials, Mr. Hersh sticks to the back channels for articles that often countervail the official wisdom” (Carr, 2004).
Holding everyone accountable to the same standards, especially those in power who have been entrusted with protecting the Constitution, should be one of the primary goals of any Kantian journalist. While it may ruffle the feathers of the powers-that-be, it is the journalist’s duty to provide citizens with cold, hard facts, allowing them to be informed in their democratic decision-making. Regardless of the impact on powerful citizens or the national pysche, it is categorically imperative that the rule of law pertains to all citizens of any country interested in preserving its freedom.
* * * * *
The impact of the My Lai scandal was instantaneous, and for quite some time dominated the news. From the initial Hersh reports through the conviction of Lt. Calley in spring 1971, the My Lai massacre was an ongoing media firestorm. It became a two-pronged scandal, as other journalists investigated not only the actual event, but the cover-up that followed.

As evidence of the crimes committed in My Lai began to emerge in the wake of Hersh's revelations, a New York Times editorial declared that the atrocities 'may turn out to have been one of this nation's most ignoble hours.' In April 1971, Time magazine asserted that 'the crisis of confidence caused by the Calley affair is a graver phenomenon than the horror following the assassination of President Kennedy. Historically, it is far more crucial.' In these renderings, the My Lai massacre was a pivotal event, not just in the history of the Vietnam War, but also in that of the American nation as a whole. (Oliver, 2006)

In light of this story and its place in history, it is important to remember that it might not have ever been published in the first place. Hersh even had to create his own wire service in order to convince newspapers to initially run the story: “Nobody wanted to take responsibility for publishing it, so we found a way to take away the responsibility. Once you get the onus off the individual newspaper, they feel like publishing it” (Eberting, 2000). It is, of course, impossible to know how events would have progressed had the atrocity not been brought out into the light. But it suffices to say that things would have been different.
Throughout the early years of the war, the government was generally able to control the message on the war, despite progressively increasing casualty numbers and dwindling public support. However, all of this changed with Seymour Hersh's My Lai reports, and for the first time, the government was put on the defensive, forced to publicly condemn the actions of its own soldiers. For an aggressively anti-war investigative reporter such as Hersh, as well as those searching for ways to bring the war to a close, the reports were a milestone and a real turning point. They were not only a critique of war conduct in the present tense; they were also a talisman and warning to those contemplating war in the future. Hersh, fueled by Kant's Categorical Imperative and sense of justice, was uniquely able to show that in any war, the distinction between good and bad is cloudy at best; there will always be good guys amongst the enemy and bad guys amongst ourselves. Instead, the proper approach is to simply and clearly ask what is right and wrong, and to pursue a sense of standardized justice for all.

Bibliography
Carr, David. (2004) Dogged Reporter's Impact: From My Lai to Abu Ghraib. The New York Times, May 20, 2004.

Eberting, Cindy. (2000) Uncovering War Atrocities – Stories Have Always Been Tough Sells.
The IRE Journal, September/October 2000.

Gladstone, Brooke. (2008) 40 Year Later: Hersh on My Lai. NPR, “On the Media,” August, 15, 2008. Produced by WNYC, New York, NY.

Hersh, Seymour (1969) Ex-GI Tells of Killing Civilians at Pinkville. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 25, 1969.

Hersh, Seymour. (1969) Hamlet Attack Called Point-Blank Murder. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 20, 1969.

Hersh, Seymour. (1969) Lieutenant Accused of Murdering 109 Civilians. St. Louis Post-
Dispatch, November 13, 1969.

Merrill, John C. (1994) Legacy of Wisdom: Great Thinkers and Journalism. Iowa State
University Press, Ames, Iowa.

My Lai Massacre. (2009, March 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=My_Lai_Massacre&oldid=276401557

Oliver, Kendrick. (2006) Coming to Terms with the Past: My Lai. History Today, February 2006.

Election Day 2008

2008-11-04T16:45:00.001-08:00

I just got home from the polls and wanted to document the vibes in the air today. It's just so exciting being part of this, and even though I voted for Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney for president (my biggest issue, as always, remains lack of choice), I am hoping for an Obama win. And regardless, it feels like we are finally waking up from the long, deep sleep we've been in as a nation for the past 8 years.

I'm skeptical as ever regarding Obama's plan for America, and I have yet to trust any politician. However, I'm going to support his presidency (should we find out later tonight that he's won) and will consider voting for his second term should he follow through on his lofty promises. He does have a chance of removing some of the deep cynicism embedded deep within my psyche---and conversely, he could also be the biggest disappointment in history.

For better or worse, today is the beginning of a new era in this country.

The End of the "Free" Market?

2008-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

This week has been insane, with the bailout of AIG, the collapse of Lehman Bros and the buyout of Merrill Lynch, and finally the massive $700 billion federal financial rescue plan. It's an unprecedented repudiation of the ideals of deregulation and limited oversight as championed by fiscal conservatives over the past 3 decades. Ronald Reagan, that slick snakecharmer, used to famously say that government wasn't the solution---it was the problem. Well, considering that these federal bailouts were literally the ONLY OPTION for preventing Great Depression-like financial ruin, I wonder what the Gipper would be thinking now. Seems that government was the only solution possible here. Free Market Fundamendalists like to think that the market will solve all problems through some sort of magical, mystical, Santa Claus-like "invisible hand." But what happens when that hand is caught in the cookie jar? Who slaps that hand when it's been bad?

I only wish that the collapse of conservative ideology could happen in a vaccuum and didn't have to drag the rest of us down.

Drill Drill Drill

2008-09-13T09:46:00.001-07:00

All the recent talk of offshore oil drilling spurred me to write this essay.

COM 471
08/15/08

“Drill, Drill, Drill”---John McCain, 2008

The U.S. presidential campaign has always been a home for outlandish claims and vague policy promises. From the first President Bush's “No New Taxes” refrain to the current's “Restoring Integrity to the Oval Office,” presidential candidates have never shied away from lofty, persuasive appeals long on emotion but short on facts. As these two examples (and countless others throughout our sordid electoral history) show, these claims are generally nothing more than lip service designed to mobilize voters around a candidate's cause. This year's presidential campaign is no exception. In fact, with all of the current concern over energy, the economy, and the environment, it should come as no surprise that political discussion around the water cooler these days involves the one issue that binds together those three major policy rails: Offshore Oil Drilling.

Republican candidate Senator John McCain, attempting to direct the tenor of this ongoing debate, recently reversed his longstanding position supporting the Congressional ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). McCain now argues in favor of drilling, and has featured this issue in the forefront of many of his recent stump speeches and campaign advertisements. Drilling, McCain argues, would help the United States achieve 3 major objectives: (1) a reduction in the price paid by consumers at the gasoline pump; (2) greater energy independence for the United States as a whole; and (3) a reduction in the U.S. trade deficit as a result of lessened oil imports from abroad. (McCain, 2008)

Obviously, McCain's proposal comes at a time when consumers are facing increased pressure at the pump, with gasoline prices having recently reached into all-time record territory. Offshore drilling is such a critical issue that it is literally featured first on his campaign website, ahead of even the current housing crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Considering a recent Rasmussen poll found that nearly 70% of Americans support offshore drilling, it is easy to see McCain's political motivation. But will offshore drilling really help achieve the objectives McCain has identified---or is this rhetoric simply red meat designed to appeal to the broadest political base possible? A close analysis of McCain's three major claims shows it to be just another false electoral promise, steeped in emotional appeal yet severely lacking on facts. Let us examine each claim on its own merit.

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Claim 1: Offshore drilling will help to reduce gasoline prices

Oil prices, and subsequently, gas prices, have reached record highs in 2008, creating economic and financial hardships for millions of Americans. A number of separate solutions have been offered, amongst them a moratorium on the Federal gasoline tax (also proposed by McCain), pleas to oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia to increase production, and even the conversion of formerly food-producing crops such as corn into the oil replacement ethanol. However, none of these solutions has made much of a dent in the price of gasoline, and the high prices continue to affect the overall economy, which has been teetering on the brink of recession for much of the past two years. Because of its critical place in a society which has been built upon the abundance of cheap oil, gasoline price increases have affected all facets of the economy and created a tense environment for nearly every American. Considering the failure of all other approaches in reducing the price of gas, offshore drilling seems to be a perfect solution---or at least the only one left---and the fact that a majority of Americans support lifting the ban seems logical.

Unfortunately, however, many independent economic sources, both liberal and conservative, have roundly criticized the position that offshore drilling will have any immediate reduction in the price of gas at the pump. The Bush Administration's own Department of Energy, in their 2007 “Annual Energy Outlook,” was blunt in their assessment of the impact offshore drilling would have at the pump:

Access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant. (DoE, 2007)

This bland analysis from an administration comprised of many former oil executives should be taken seriously, yet claims such as McCain's are allowed to take root without any factual analysis of the reality of his position. The last sentence of this quote is most important, as it invalidates practically McCain's entire claim that increased supply through domestic production will help drive down prices; since oil is a global commodity, it is traded on the international market, and that is where costs are determined. The more liberal Boston Globe hits directly on this point, in no uncertain terms:

"Suppose the US produced all its oil domestically," said Robert Kaufmann, director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University. "Do you think oil companies would sell oil to US consumers for one cent less than they could get from French consumers? No. Where oil comes from has no effect on price." (Boston Globe, 2008)

This basic economic principle---of shared global resources determining price---lays bare McCain's proposal and exposes it for what it is: simple red meat in the heat of an election campaign. The record highs recently achieved in oil prices come from increased demand, from rapidly-developing countries like China and India, and has literally nothing to do with supply, which has not fluctuated or decreased in the same time period. Recent events prove this equation: the reductions achieved in the price of oil over the past three weeks have come with no increase in supply whatsoever, but instead have come as a result of the largest drop in U.S. demand since 1982: “U.S. oil demand during the first half of 2008 fell by an average 800,000 barrels per day compared to the same period a year ago, the biggest volume decline in 26 years, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.” (Reuters, 2008) Although McCain has admitted that economics is not exactly his strongest suit (“I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues---I still need to be educated.” [McCain, 2005]), reversing the roles of supply and demand is a most egregious error for the presidential candidate of a major political party.

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Claim 2: Offshore Drilling will Result in U.S. Energy Independence

While this is most certainly related to the principle of shared global resources as discussed above, refuting the very idea of such a thing as energy independence in a global economy, the claim still deserves its own discussion. McCain's claim that drilling will result in energy independence is facetious at best, and this is due to the tiny impact any offshore drilling would have in overall worldwide supply. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), America's oil production has been in decline since its peak in the early 1970s, at which time the U.S. was the world's largest producer, a title since assumed by Saudi Arabia. “With just three percent of the world's oil reserves, our nation simply doesn't have enough oil to impact the global market or drill our way out” of our dependence on foreign oil. (NRDC, 2008)

The real driving force for U.S. Energy independence will not come from drilling into what amounts to an additional 920 days of oil supply, which, according to the DoE, is what comprises the proven reserves of the outer continental shelf. (DoE, 2007). Instead, McCain's arguments for drilling obscure the real solutions for energy independence such as conservation, new technologies, and greater maximization of available sources such as solar, wind and nuclear power. While, to his credit, McCain does mention these additional solutions (especially nuclear), they often come across as secondary, almost token, policy positions built around the centerpiece of increased domestic oil production. But as McCain’s rival for the presidency, Barack Obama, often remarks, any policy involving increased oil production amounts to nothing more than a “gimmick.” (CNN, 2008)

Even independent sources such as influential Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens have begun to call for energy independence through a set of initiatives aimed at reducing our dependence on foreign sources of crude oil. For example, the “Pickens Plan” calls America the “Saudi Arabia of Wind Power” and makes the claim that nearly 20% of electricity power could be supplied by wind farms alone:

The Department of Energy reports that 20% of America's electricity can come from wind. North Dakota alone has the potential to provide power for more than a quarter of the country. A 2005 Stanford University Study found that there is enough wind power worldwide to satisfy global demand 7 times over — even if only 20% of wind power could be captured. (Pickens, 2008)

It’s particularly noteworthy that a plan such as this comes from a billionaire oilman, who made his fortune importing and reselling foreign oil. This fact alone lends a certain credibility to his claims, and flies in the face of McCain’s political posturing around offshore drilling. The Pickens Plan makes no mention of increased offshore production, other than to call it a mistake.

Pickens goes a step further with his plan, calling for increased domestic natural gas production to “bridge the gap” between oil-based gasoline energy and future clean technologies such as hydrogen. In fact, he suggests that we are already well-prepared to transition directly into this cleaner and more abundant source of energy:

Natural gas is significantly less expensive than gasoline or diesel. In places like Utah and Oklahoma, prices are less than $1 a gallon. Natural gas is our country's second largest energy resource and a vital component of our energy supply. 98% of the natural gas used in the United States is from North America. But 70% of our oil is purchased from foreign nations. (Pickens, 2008)

Logically, this makes perfect sense. Why, argues Pickens, should we continue to import oil, or increase offshore production, when we are already in possession of more than enough energy to fuel our country? Any increase in offshore production signals either an ignorance of the potential alternatives; or, more ominously, the immense clout of the vast oil lobby in Washington, D.C.

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Claim 3: Offshore Drilling will help Reduce the National Trade Deficit

Discussion of the U.S. trade deficit is generally reminiscent of a complex shell game---it is incredibly easy to highlight one area (in this case, oil imports) while obscuring another (domestic fiscal policies such as the recent “stimulus package”). Politicians love to talk about the trade deficit because it is incredibly easy to manipulate statistics to favor one’s position. McCain’s claim that 41% of the U.S. trade deficit is due to oil, while factually-based, obscures many of the intricate and sophisticated factors which contribute to that deficit. The most glaring obfuscation is that of the role of the global currency market on imports and exports. Over the past 8 years, the value of the dollar has declined by nearly 60% when measured against the Euro and other major international currencies (OANDA, 2008). This raises a simple economic question of purchasing power, and McCain’s claims completely ignore the fact that the purchasing power of the dollar is considerably less than it was even just a decade ago. Even though we’re not importing much more oil today than in 1998, it costs considerably more to do so today because of the incredibly weak dollar. While McCain is correct that 41% of import expenditures are due to oil, he fails to mention this important economic component. Were the dollar to regain its footing in international currency markets, the trade deficit would be immediately reduced without producing a single additional drop of oil.

Another major factor impacting the U.S. trade deficit is the impact of the recently-passed “Economic Stimulus Package” of 2008. In order for our empty Treasury to provide $600 individual tax rebates to millions of citizens, the government had to borrow billions of dollars from international investors (coincidentally, from rich oil-producing nations benefiting from the recent skyrocketing oil prices). This, along with the aforementioned weakness of the dollar, drove up the trade deficit this year more than any other mitigating factor, including oil. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan financial wing of the government, the deficit had been reduced to less than $170 billion for fiscal year 2007, but had grown to a projected record high of $482 billion for 2008. Jim Nussle, the director of the CBO, confirmed the dynamics behind this rapid increase: “The primary reasons that there will be larger deficits in 2008 and 2009 are because of the bipartisan growth package or stimulus checks… as well as slower economic growth.” (CBO, 2008).

Interestingly (and quite compellingly), some economists have even indicated that the current deficit and related economic woe is good for the long-term energy outlook in the United States. While noting the short-term hardships on the current economy, most notably the trade deficit, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco argues that such hardships will force a change in the oil-based economy and lead to a broader change in habits in both business and public usage:

…It could take a while for the U.S. trade deficit to adjust in response to persistently higher oil prices, as businesses need time to install new, less energy-intensive equipment. However, one positive and important implication is that eventually the U.S. Economy will become more energy-efficient, which, in turn, would help contain the cost of oil imports and increase the economy’s flexibility in absorbing future oil price increases. (FRBSF, 2006)

It is certainly not unusual for politicians from either the liberal or conservative sides to lack a long-term outlook on most policies. However, when a supposed long-term solution is sold to the public, such as McCain’s claim that increased offshore drilling will bring down prices, it is important that voters remember the facts and not be distracted by the shell game.

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Emotional Appeal: Should We Pump Every Last Drop of Oil out of the Ground?

The previous sections of this essay have focused on factual refutations to the three main points of John McCain’s plans to lift the ban on offshore oil production. However, at this point, I would like to make a more personal, emotional argument against offshore drilling, in the hopes of appealing to one of the main traditional platforms of the Republican Party: Family Values. For the party so closely associated with these values, it often strikes me as ironic that there is not more of a concerted effort to provide a long-term plan to make the world a more livable place for our children and grandchildren. “Drill, drill, drill” seems incredibly short-sighted.

Oil is almost always closely associated with gasoline and energy, but rarely mentioned is its greater impact on our quality of life through the thousands of other products derived from it. Plastic, one of the most ubiquitous innovations of the 20^th Century, has made an incredible impact on today’s modern society. It is almost impossible today to imagine a world without plastic. Our quality of life would be nowhere near what it is today without this amazingly flexible and malleable substance, and it is an integral component in almost every aspect of our modern lives. Plastic, for example, provides safe repositories for food, has been critical in the development of computing technologies, and has allowed the inhabitants of our large planet to feel closer to one another through improved communication. And there are a million more uses for plastic. For proof, just look around you!

Other usages for oil run the entire spectrum of the modern economy, with important niches in medicine, technology, construction, and many other industries. For example, polyester, an oil derivative, is the most prevalent fabric in the world, long ago replacing cotton (an incredibly energy-inefficient crop which drains the world’s rivers) as the foundational basis of the textile industry. Chemicals derived from oil are used in many of today’s complex medicines, such as treatments for cancer and multiple sclerosis. Our roads would still be paved with cobblestone if not for the invention of asphalt, which uses oil to bind together gravel as a solid, durable substance. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the overall oil economy (one could spend an entire essay discussing only the non-fuel-related uses of oil), but even these few examples underscore our modern reliance on petrochemicals and their importance in our daily lives.

While scholars have debated the coming of “peak oil” for decades now (“peak oil” refers to the point at which we as a global society have used more oil than is remaining in the earth’s crust), it is not debatable that oil is a limited resource. Some scholars have said that peak oil has already occurred, as far back as the 1970s, while others say it won’t happen until the 2050s. Regardless of the details, the simple fact is that one day our global supply of oil will run out. It is unavoidable. Thus begs the ethical question: Should we continue to drill for oil until every last drop has been exhausted in order to save a few pennies at the gas pump? Or, considering all the amazing non-fuel uses for this wonderful resource, should we leave some in the ground for future generations? This is not a question I aim to answer, and I really have no right to answer it anyway. This, instead, is a question for every parent of every child on the planet. While consumers are most certainly under strained financial pressure due to current high energy costs, this pressure pales in comparison to the post-modern nightmare one imagines when considering a future without petrochemical products. Surely the party of Family Values needs to consider the implications of a drastic drop in our quality of life.

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Clearly, the presidential campaign is not, and has never been, a place for factual-based claims and big-picture analysis. Instead, for centuries, our candidates have played off our emotions, hopes and fears in order to win elections and control policy from the White House. Both of the major political parties are players in this traditional pageant, and neither party is innocent of the transgressions of truth germane to a country which values free speech and democracy. Deception is a “necessary evil of democracy”, as F.F. Centore has said, and it has always been our duty as informed democratic citizens to sift through the marketplace of ideas with our own rationality and attention to critical thinking. Yet, the recent debate over offshore oil drilling is one of the most blatantly fallacious arguments ever to grace the campaign trail, coming at a time when this issue instead requires hard truth, new ideas, and forward thinking. John McCain’s cunning obfuscation of some of the most basic economic facts behind this argument is nothing short of stunning. These false claims need to be addressed and inserted into the public debate, especially with polls showing overwhelming support for the lifting of the ban on offshore drilling. And after we’ve debunked these false claims and have moved beyond this specious discussion, perhaps it will finally be time to address some of the larger concerns our oil-based society faces as we move into a future with oil as a limited, and not abundant, resource.

Bibliography

Centore, F.F. Two Views of Virtue: Absolute Relativism and Relative Absolutism. Greenwood Press, Boston, MA. 2000

CNN. “Obama Slams McCain’s Energy Policy.” http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/24/campaign.wrap/index.html

Congressional Budget Office. “2008-2009 Budgetary Forecast” http://www.cbo.gov/search/sitesearch.cfm?criteria=trade+deficit+forecast

Federal Reserve Bank, S.F. “Oil Prices and the U.S. Trade Deficit.”http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2006/el2006-24.html

McCain, John. “Presidential Campaign Website.” www.johnmccain.com. 2008.

NRDC. "Take Action: Tell Congress You Don't Buy the Lie" http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_arctic_and_offshore_drilling

OANDA. “Currency Converter and Historicals.” http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory

Pickens, T. Boone. “The Pickens Plan.” http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

Rasmussen Polling Service. 2008. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/67_support_offshore_drilling_64_expect_it_will_lower_prices

U.S. Department of Energy. “2007 – Annual Energy Outlook.” Energy Information Administration.

Wangsness, Lisa. "New Offshore Drilling Not a Quick Fix." Boston Globe, June 20, 2008.

How Rich Am I Again?

2008-08-21T08:15:00.001-07:00

Apparently McCain doesn't even remember how many houses he owns. That's probably not going to play very well to middle-class voters...

When asked about the number of houses he owned in a Politico interview
published Thursday, McCain was unable to answer. "I think — I'll have my staff
get to you," he replied. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to
you.

Sure wish I had that problem.

Dirty Money

2008-08-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about the Republican National Committee's warchest. Actually, it's the stuff in your wallet that's nasty. It's not just cocaine on your bills and coins!

It turns out, money really is dirty, and not just with drug traces. One past
study revealed 94 percent of $1 bills collected from a community in western Ohio
contained disease-causing or potentially disease-causing bacteria. The study,
published in 2002 in the Southern Medical Journal, was led by Peter Ender, chief
of infectious diseases at Wright-Patterson Medical Center in Ohio.
That's not too surprising, as $1 bills stay in circulation for an average of 21 months,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, during which time they
get handled by plenty of people. For larger bills, the life span is even longer,
with $20 bills lasting about 24 months and $50 bills staying in circulation for
55 months.

Ewww! Guess this is why I always wash my hands in the time between buying and eating lunch... Who knows where that $5 bill's been?!?

Intelligent Design v. Evolution

2008-08-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an essay I just wrote on the subject, analyzing the usage of different forms of persuasion in advancing the arguments of each side. Interesting stuff, and a fun essay to write!

COM 471 - Persuasion
Court Case Analysis
July 21, 2008

Of Pandas, People, and the Law

Science has long called into question many of the basic tenets of religion, and the antagonistic relationship between those in each camp has continued in perpetuity for centuries. Ever since Galileo, the father of modern science, first theorized that the earth revolved around the sun (and not the other way around, as claimed by the Catholic Church), religious fundamentalists have struggled to maintain a supernatural world view despite an ever-expanding database of methodical observation and empirical data supporting natural science. The latest in this centuries-old battle is the debate between those who feel that creationism should be taught alongside (and in some cases instead of) Darwin's theory of evolution, and those who feel that creationism---being inherently religious and thus illegal under the First Amendment's Establishment Clause---has no place in the public school system.

In 2005, this battle came to a head in the Pennsylvania courtroom of John E. Jones, a federal district court judge who was tasked with rendering a verdict in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case. This was a landmark legal proceeding, pitting a group of skeptical parents and students against the overly zealous Dover School Board, intent on inserting a creationist textbook, Of Pandas and People, into the school library and forcing the science faculty to offer it as an alternative to evolution. This fascinating case, seen through the lens of the Aristotelian Theory of Rhetoric, illuminates many of the standard arguments used by both sides in this centuries-old struggle. According to Aristotle, rhetoric is “the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion,” and under his theory, can be broken up into three forms: Ethos, which are appeals based on the character of the speaker; Pathos, which are appeals to emotion; and Logos, which are appeals based on logic. By analyzing each side's use of ethos, pathos, and logos in their closing legal arguments, as well as the judge's rational responses to each, one can paint a fairly detailed portrait of the motivation and nuance of the overall historical debate between science and religion.

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The lawyers for the plaintiffs begin their closing arguments with a logos-based, sound argument, painting the defense as implementing a curriculum change designed to "denigrate evolution and promote supernatural intelligent design as a competing theory." (p.28) At question is this theory of intelligent design. While couched in scientific language and jargon, and made to sound and look as scientific as possible, intelligent design is clearly not science, and the plaintiffs intend to prove that. Under the Constitution's First Amendment, which clearly bars any governmental entity "respecting an establishment of religion" (known colloquially as the "Establishment Clause"), any intentional or unintentional endorsement by a publicly-funded institution is expressly illegal. Thus, argue the plaintiffs, the Dover School Board's introduction of intelligent design as a "complementary theory" alongside the scientifically justified Theory of Evolution, should be prohibited. This is the underlying motivation behind the entire lawsuit, and it is appropriate, according to Aristotle, that it should be logical.

However, the plaintiffs definitely do not rely on logic alone as they continue their closing arguments. There is also a strong undercurrent of ethos-based arguments throughout the entirety of their case. The court, having established precedent placing the burden of proof on the plaintiffs to show not only effect, but also intent (the endorsement test as well as the Lemon test's "intent" prong), introduces a whole range of ethical arguments against certain individuals on the school board, peppering their narrative with juicy accounts of subversive and secretive actions taken by these individuals in their quest to skirt underneath the firm language of the First Amendment. The plaintiffs' lawyers take special care to call into question the credibility of many of the lead players on the Dover School Board, such as William Buckingham and Alan Bonsell, introducing evidence and testimony contrasting their private views of intelligent design as creationism, with their more public proclamations of intelligent design as science. They pull no punches in questioning this credibility:

"Many of the witnesses for the defendants did not tell the truth. They did not tell the truth at their depositions, and they have not told the truth in this courtroom... This court should infer from their false statements that defendants are trying to conceal an improper purpose for the policy they approved and implemented, namely an explicitly religious purpose." (p. 35; 37)

Interestingly, the plaintiffs' lawyers briefly touch on the bigger picture, tying the actions of the Dover School Board to the "actions of the intelligent design movement at large." (p. 38) Having failed at all attempts to introduce creationism into the public school curriculum since its explicit ban in the 1960s, religious fundamentalists have jumped from euphemism to euphemism, in an attempt to paint the expressly non-scientific creationist perspective as something more palatable to the scientific community. As the plaintiffs' evidence clearly indicates, even the textbook in question, Of Pandas and People, underwent a litany of grammatical changes after the McLean decision of 1987 doomed the previous creationist effort under the preceding term, "creation science." This logical argument is difficult to refute with any semblance of credibility.

Finally, it is very telling that the plaintiffs mostly shy away from the usage of pathos-based avenues of argument in their case. Other than expressing, at the outset, the initial outrage of the plaintiffs upon finding that religion had infiltrated their public schools, as well as an emotional concern that the teaching of intelligent design would stifle critical thinking, their case is mostly based on logical and ethical arguments, relying on actual evidence and data while not attempting to pull at the heartstrings of the judge. Other than some finely-tuned criticisms of the defense's expert witnesses (for example, at one point they question Michael Behe's motivations as not scientific but rather geared towards "book royalties and speaking engagements”), the plaintiffs present an almost emotionally-devoid case, which becomes even more astounding considering the attendant hype and coverage generated by this important trial. This reliance on data and hard fact, even in the face of pressing emotional distraction and religious fervor, mirrors the scientific community as a whole and clearly delineates the scientific world view from that of religion.

- - - - -

The defense, on the other hand, not being saddled with the burden of proof, simply attempts to poke holes in the plaintiffs' case, employing a sly blend of ethos and pathos disguised as logos. The defense spends considerable time attempting to rehabilitate the reputations of both Bonsell and Buckingham, portraying them as "hardworking and upstanding" administrators, concerned only with the welfare of their students and engaged in a wholesome effort to simply provide them with an alternative to "stand alongside" Darwin's theory. (p. 64; 69) Disguised as ethos, the defense attempts to portray pro-intelligent design administrators and faculty as victims, arguing that they meant no harm and certainly didn't intend to do anything illegal. However, this line of reasoning does not very effectively conceal a blatant attempt at pathos, as the defense tries to remake the case by re-directing attention away from the real victims---the plaintiffs.

The defense expends great effort at trying to turn the plaintiffs' arguments against them, but as the judge later agrees, it is all based on extremely faulty logic when the overall context of the case is taken into account. The defense tries to portray Bonsell as a hero who is "not afraid of the truth. He is afraid of something that we have seen here, science taught as dogma." (p. 68) They even attempt to defend Buckingham as "fair" despite the litany of evidence to the contrary. And, perhaps most egregiously, they rail against the teachers themselves, who, according to the defense, “resisted implementation of the curriculum change on the grounds that they were not educated in or trained to teach intelligent design, but somehow... felt qualified to opine that it was not science." (p. 75) This disjunctive syllogism, appearing in such a high-visibility court case, is typical of the twisted logic used by those defending that which cannot be tested or proven. The intelligent design movement wants desperately to be taken seriously by the scientific community at large, but when told by those same scientists that what they are presenting is not real science, the response is not to further research the theory and offer new testable hypotheses, as befits the scientific method, but instead to criticize science itself as "dogmatic."

As the defense winds down its case, it even attempts to portray the actions of the board as innocuous and "with good intent," in a pathos-based attempt to again portray the scientific community as dogmatic and close-minded. They attempt to play down the effect of the four-paragraph disclaimer (directing students to the library to find Pandas) as harmless: "Your Honor, a four-paragraph statement, an informational statement which does not detail the claims of intelligent design, may serve to prompt the curiosity of students, may lead them to the library, but it does not advance religion." (p.82) Or, they play up the generally-accepted social notion that all knowledge is a good thing when asking "How can adding books to the library be a bad thing? It is not." (p.84) There are many seemingly-innocent pathos-based arguments within the defense's case, and taken all together they function as an illogical, disjunctive mess.

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No wonder, then, that Judge Jones, despite being openly Christian and having been appointed by the fundamentalist President George W. Bush, rules in favor of the plaintiffs, and in doing so proceeds to logically deconstruct the defense's case. At almost every turn, this obviously no-nonsense judge tends to agree with the plaintiffs' characterization of the events leading up to the installation of Pandas (and intelligent design policy) in the high school curriculum. In a logos-based section discussing the causal effect religious policy might have on a hypothetical objective observer, Jones sets up his own theory and proceeds to test it accordingly, finding through legal precedent as well as common sense that "the religious nature of intelligent design would be readily apparent." (p.24) He responds to the plaintiffs' accusations of religious endorsement, and defense claims of innocence, with striking clarity: "Anyone familiar with Western religious thought would immediately make the association that the tactically unnamed designer is God." (p.25) This statement recognizes that the plaintiffs' case as logically-based, while simultaneously rejecting the defense's claims of innocence as absurd. Throughout his summary, Judge Jones takes careful pains to note that there was a concerted and specific strategy in place---these weren't the actions of an unknowing bystander.

Judge Jones also positively (and often sarcastically) responds to the plaintiffs' ethos-based arguments which questioned the credibility of many of the defendants. In fact, the Judge often goes to even greater pains than the plaintiffs' lawyers did to paint defendants such as Buckingham and Bonsell as non-credible. In one biting passage noting the testimony of Professor Behe, who had claimed that belief in intelligent design was dependent on belief in God, Jones reminds that no "other scientific proposition's validity rests on belief in God." (p.28) Jones even takes his inquiry a step further than required by the case itself, and spends a large portion of his summary in an effort to establish that intelligent design is in fact not real science, and in doing so he renders useless the credibility of nearly all of the defense's expert witnesses on the matter. He establishes three simple and logical reasons for this, which again are almost impossible to refute (logos-based arguments rarely are): “(1) ID violates the centuries-old ground rules of science by invoking and permitting supernatural causation; (2) the argument of irreducible complexity, central to ID, employs the same flawed and illogical contrived dualism that doomed creation science in the 1980s; and (3) ID's negative attacks on evolution have been refuted by the scientific community.” (p.64)

The judge rarely, if ever, even acknowledges the defense's case, except when to criticize it for its impropriety. He doesn't seem concerned with the portrayal of proponents of intelligent design as victims, noting with special fervor that many of the Board members who had voted for the curriculum change testified at trial that they had utterly no grasp of ID. The defense's continued pathos-based claims fall on deaf ears, while the judge focuses only on the law itself. He dismisses the defense's claims that the curriculum change was designed only to offer an alternative theory to evolution, since they were not actively teaching intelligent design. Jones skips directly around that faulty argument with a clear and incontrovertible declaration: “Accordingly, we find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board's real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom, in violation of the Establishment Clause.” (p.132)

- - - - -

After all is said and done, the judge's written decision greatly simplifies a massively complex case into one clear, logical message, despite all of the legal jargon and redundant arguments supplied on both sides: intelligent design is not science but religion, and as such should not be taught in the public schools. While he clearly sides with the plaintiffs, and even takes great pains to establish precedent to prevent future appeals and wasteful lawsuits, it is still interesting and enlightening to view the arguments of both sides from Aristotle's perspective, parsing each side's rhetoric to further understand their respective motivations and tactics. In this case, the plaintiffs stick to logos- and ethos-based arguments, metaphorically representing the intentions and methods of the greater scientific community as a whole. Their arguments, and the judge's subsequent decision, work in much the same way as the scientific method itself: establish a hypotheses, then gather evidence and data to test that hypotheses. The defense, on the other hand, notwithstanding the fact that they didn't bear the burden of proof, argues from the completely opposite position, using pathos-based arguments to claim innocence and ignorance, and portraying themselves as the real victims in the matter---a sort of modern-day David story against the Goliath of big science. Aristotle would have criticized the lack of logic in the defense's case, and the judge does just as much. Fortunately, the attempt to inject religious belief into the publicly-funded school system was thwarted this time around, but if history is any indication, arguments such as these aren't going away any time soon. Each side in this epic, historic struggle between science and religion would do well to pay attention to the rhetorical tactics in this case, both successful and unsuccessful, as they greatly help to illuminate the framework for this classic debate as it moves into the 21st Century.

Bibliography
Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. 2005. http://www2.ncseweb.org/kvd/trans/2005_1104_day21_pm.pdf

Crewell, Dustin. Learning How to Use the Three Main Rhetorical Styles. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 1996. www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass/web/project1/group4

Simons, Herbert. Persuasion in Society. Sage Publications, London. 2001

Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial. PBS Nova Special. Paula S. Apsell, Executive Producer. 2007.

Living in Fear

2008-06-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

I've often thought about how stressful it would be to be a conservative in this country. Living in fear of everything takes a lot of energy! Chris Bowers sums it up perfectly:

It must be really scary to be a conservative. To be one, you must live in constant fear of terrorists nuking the United States, of gay people on the verge of convincing you that you really enjoy sodomy, of Spanish becoming the official language of the United States next week, of every African-American voting seven or eight times in the next election, of radical Islam suddenly becoming the latest hip thing among kids across the country, of perpetual lesbian orgies in girls bathrooms in high schools across America, of liberals forcing everyone to become a vegan, of Christians being rounded up into concentration camps, and of Democrats outlawing private property if they were to ever take power again.

I couldn't have said it better. No wonder Republicans have 3 times as many nightmares as Democrats. Being socially conservative takes quite a toll on your mental health!

McCain to Veto Beer

2008-06-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

Uh oh. With this proclamation, ol' John McMaverick might lose a few of the gun-totin' conservatives he's courting:

In a slip of the tongue while railing against excessive earmarks at the National Small Business Summit in Washington, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee inadvertently pledged to veto the popular alcoholic beverage.

I will use the veto as needed. I will veto every single beer — bill with earmarks," he said, as rumblings from the crowd could be heard. "And every single bill that we have come across my desk I will make them famous. I will veto them, you will know their names."

Personally, I would really miss beer if it was vetoed. Let's not elect this man.

97% Walk Score

2008-05-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, even though my apartment is pretty loud, I get a good "Walk Score." What is a walk score, you ask? Well, according to the website:

What is Walk Score? We help homebuyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods. Walk Score shows you a map of what's nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

Sweet---97 out of 100 is pretty damn good. President Bush's Crawford Ranch, on the other hand, gets a zero.

Darwinism at Work

2008-04-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get a little annoyed at our "always-connected" culture. As a downtown dweller it's frustrating getting constantly cut off on the sidewalk by people lost in their cell conversations. But hey, according to the Seattle Times, maybe I shouldn't be so worried about it. Evolution's taking care of it!

Economic Emasculation

2008-03-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, fellow Americans, take notice: as of this morning, Mar. 15, 2008, our economy is no longer the biggest in the world, a position we have consistently held since the end of WWII. That distinction now belongs to the EU. I don't see this in many headlines, and there doesn't seem to be much discussion of it. Perhaps it's just too hard on the national pysche to deal with this---we Americans do always like to think we've got the biggest dicks.

Strangely, I actually feel that this is a good thing, at least for now. The low dollar (and high euro) is causing many European companies to consider opening new factories in working cities across America. Considering that we have been off-sourcing manufacturing for decades now, and our economy is over 75% services at this point, I think this could be a blessing in disguise. A nation that can't make anything is doomed to failure (see the rise and fall of the Roman Empire for more details...)

Congressional Science Injection

2008-03-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

The US Congress got a badly-needed shot of rationality today as Democrat Bill Foster won the special election to replace retired speaker of the house Dennis Hastert. Leaving aside the fact that winning an election in a heavily Republican district bodes well for the fall, the thing that excites me most is Foster's 25-year record as a particle physicist and proponent of scientific research. In a legislative body full of dogmatic thinking and bully pulpits, even a single scientific and rationally-based member can go a long way. I didn't think Foster would win. The Repubs sunk a ton of cash into this race, and even got John McMaverick to campaign for Foster's opponent. The fact that the nerdy rational thinker pulled it out, in the district of the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, no less, is perhaps another sign that we're turning a corner on these long years of critical ignorance.

Wii Fit for US!

2008-03-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting patiently for the US release of Wii Fit, which looks like a lot of fun. It's been out in Japan since December but doesn't come out in the US until May. Why the delay? Well, apparently so that Nintendo can make a bigger board. No comment necessary.

Eclipse

2008-02-20T22:18:00.001-08:00

During the break between classes tonight I had the chance to glance up and see the lunar eclipse. Perfect night for it---clear sky, great visibility. It was weird to watch the perfect arc move across the full moon. It was beautiful in a peaceful sort of way, and lots of others were out there watching it too. My earlier class had ended a little early so I had a good half hour to get into it. A well-needed injection of natural phenomena into my otherwise crammed Wednesday.

Then, I went into my Chinese history class, and the instructor mentioned how eclipses were bad omens for the ancient dynasties---they could signal distress or even the eminent collapse---one had actually happened right before the fall of the northern Song. Hmmm... considering there's been a Bush or Clinton on every ticket since the year I was born, might we be seeing the end of a dynasty here in our own land? (Well, of course, until the next dynasty eventually takes charge... History does have that nagging way of repeating itself...)

McCain Mashup

2008-02-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, this has got to be one of the funniest little vids I've seen in forever. The fact that John McCain is looking like the front runner signals a Republican party in tatters. But we can certainly laugh along the way:

Extremism at Home

2008-01-15T16:42:00.000-08:00

Wow. So Mike Huckabee wants to amend the constitution to adhere to "god's standards."

Scary, scary stuff. I wonder which god he means? There's thousands of 'em out there. Hopefully not Zeus. That guy was spiteful.

The Cliff

2008-01-12T09:09:00.001-08:00

While most seem focused on the horserace or silly divisive issues like abortion and gay marriage, I'm growing incredibly concerned about the economy. Devilstower nails it.

Now or six months from now, there's little doubt that US economy has run out of steam, and unlike recent recessions, economists fear that we're going to be a long time recovering from this slump. Why? Because we've taken all the elastic out of the system.

* The conservative "shower the rich with gifts" strategy has drained the surplus and replaced it with a massive debt, while providing the middle class with no additional funds with which to build up a buffer against disaster.

* The "mystical magical invisible hand of greed will fix everything" conservative approach to the markets has allowed the housing market to devolve into a quivering mess, wrecking the investments of those who played it safe right along with those who gambled and lost.

* The "shop if you love your country" conservative philosophy has encouraged a negative savings rate, that leaves families, stores, and financial institutions all waving their arms at the brink of a cliff.

* The "preemptive strategy" of the neocons has ensured that the sands of Iraq have soaked up American dollars along with American and Iraqi blood. Funds that could be going to help US workers, are instead being spent paying mercenaries and bribing insurgents.

* The conservative "borrow against the future to satisfy my greed today" strategy has left international investors none too keen on the future of the US dollar, making our currency about as popular and stable as marks from the Weimar Republic.

With our treasury looted so completely that echoes and spider webs are all that remain, what can we do about it? Don't expect much movement from Bush. He's still busy praising the wonderful state of our economy and has nothing to propose except giving more money to the rich and rewarding the people who have screwed up the fiscal markets with less regulation.

Thanks George, for setting us up for a potential depression, not just recession. The debt-to-income ratio is higher now than it has been since the late 20s... And we all know what the late 20s led to.

6,000 Years

2007-12-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

This guy, who's rising fast in the righty polls, is raising his hand to deny the 150 years of excruciating research and mountains of data backing up the theory of evolution, during a question posed to the candidates in a debate a few months back.

THIS MAN THINKS THE EARTH IS 6,000 YEARS OLD. I'd consider this a huge judgment issue. Forget faith. Should he really be the leader of the free world?

Science Debate 2008

2007-12-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm so sick of this year's debates. You just can't get into a substantive discussion about anything---all major policy positions must be explained in 30 seconds, regardless of their complexity or history. A horrible way to run a democracy.

Personally, I'd like to see where the candidates stand on Science. Well, at least the Democratic candidates (since of course the Repubs hate science...) If you'd like to see something like this too, check out Science Debate 2008 and add your name as a supporter.

Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy.

Wow. This is exactly what I'm thinking. It might even expose some of the candidates whose scientific knowledge isn't all it's cracked up to be. And it'd certainly be better than some ridiculous "show of hands" to see whether or not you believe in creationism, like the Repubs have done.

If we are to survive the 21st Century, we need more focus on science, and less on religion and pseudoscience. We've got some serious issues to tackle and snake oil isn't going to solve 'em.

God Is (um, mostly) Absolute

2007-12-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Christopher Hitchens nails it spot on:

Until 1978, no black American was permitted to hold even the lowly position of deacon in the Mormon Church, and nor were any (not that there were many applicants) admitted to the sacred rites of the temple. The Mormon elders then had a "revelation" and changed the rules, thus more or less belatedly coming into compliance with the dominant civil rights statutes. The timing (as with the revelation abandoning polygamy, which occurred just in time to prevent Utah from being denied membership of the Union) permits one to be cynical about its sincerity. However that may be, it certainly makes nonsense of Romney's moaning about any criticism or questioning being "un-American." The Mormons have already had to choose—twice—between their beliefs and American values.

Hmmm... Kinda like how Romney was OK with abortion and gays when he was running for Governor in Massachusetts. But now, he has changed his mind as he courts the extreme religious right. I know there's no way he's going to win, so I'm not particularly worried about him. However, this is a perfect example of religious hypocrisy and the prevalent double-standards to which I was exposed as a child. Hey, I'm not against a person changing their mind---I do it all the time. But don't pledge allegiance to an absolute God and then tell me you had a "revelation" from him. Bullshit.

Time Out of Mind

2007-12-04T00:06:00.000-08:00

Whoa--it's December third? Shit! I've got a 16-pager due by Friday. Alright, Aaron Burr, you treasonous, slanderous, Alexander Hamilton-killing sonuvabitch. LET'S DO DIS.

Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk

2007-11-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

Wow--he really listened. Looks like the bill is going through Tuesday the 6th, with Kucinich as the primary sponsor. He is introducing it as a "special consideration" bill, which will force a vote. Out of 400-something house members, I'm happy to know mine's on that short list of 21. This probably won't go anywhere, but it is important to get it officially on record. History should at least know that there were a few people speaking up during this corrupt decade.

Straight From the Horses' Mouth

2007-10-29T16:09:00.001-07:00

I generally write Jim McDermott (my congressman) about once or twice a month, expressing to him my views and frustrations with our government. Fortunately, I don't often have to persuade him, as he is generally on the same page as me. Recently, however, I've grown increasingly frustrated with the Dems' inability to rein in the Cowboy President, while Dickie Boy runs around without supervision, wasting money and planning wars with all his little neo-con clubhouse buddies.

So I was pretty happy to see this note in my inbox today. Generally I get the stock response from McDermott's office, with perhaps a line or two inserted by him here or there. This one, however, felt much more personalized as it directly addressed many of the specific issues I wrote to him about last week.

Dear Jonathan:

I have received your message demanding impeachment of the President, and I appreciate knowing your views in this matter. I share your outrage over the conduct of the Bush Administration. Because Vice President Cheney has played perhaps the most critical role in developing the disastrous policies of this Administration, endangering both national and international security, I have joined several members of the House of Representatives in calling for his impeachment.

For many months, I viewed impeachment as a drastic course of action that would distract Congress from the considerable work requiring its attention. Over these same months, however, the Vice President insistently has pursued provocative actions that have threatened civil liberty, undermined the rule of law, and jeopardized our international standing. Impeachment of our highest elected officials should be considered only when those individuals commit intolerable acts. Sadly, the Vice President egregiously has violated the public trust, placing himself above the law and beyond its constraints. It is appropriate that the Congress now exercise its authority and obligation to remove him from office.

As you know, the impeachment process is protracted and complex. As the 110 th Congress progresses, I will keep your remarks in mind. Again, thank you for contacting me. I appreciate hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Jim McDermott
Member of Congress

Now we're getting somewhere.

Lazy Is as Lazy Doesn't

2007-10-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

So, here at work we’ve got keycard double-door entrances from the elevator lobby. Located next to each keycard reader is a big metal button, with a handicapped symbol… It’s really pretty incredible just how many people choose to hit this button rather than actually just open the door themselves. Very symbolic.

Coincidence that most people doing this are shaped like pears? I think not.

Infidel Guy v. Mormonia

2007-10-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

This past week's Infidel Guy show is all about the Mormon religion. This week he hosts Richard Packham, a very nice, well-spoken old Atheist who left the Mormon church in his mid-20s. It's the standard stuff---most of the stuff which caused me to first begin to question the church as a young teen (magic spectacles, angels, golden plates, polygamy, black skin as a "curse...").

But the interesting point made by both Reggie (the Infidel Guy) and Packham is the power and influence of the internet on slowing the spread of magical, mystical beliefs. When I was growing up in Utah, the church would brag on and on about how big it was getting. I remember when it hit 10 million and everybody was patting themselves on the back. Apparently, though, the spread of Mormonia has slowed some in the past decade.

Could this be because of the internet, perhaps? Nowadays, when a couple of white shirt/black tie 19-year-olds show up on your door step and talk about a guy who found buried treasure in a hill in New York in the 1830s, you can get right online after they leave and find out just how silly a claim like that really is. Or look at DNA evidence proving that the North American Indians have been here for tens of thousands of years---not the couple thousand as claimed in the Book of Mormon.

Man, the internet would have been a wonderful resource for me as a confused young teenager. I took the old-fashioned route out of the church---it just never "felt" right to me. But it's good to know that there are more tools out there for those seeking escape from the destructive power of religion---be it whatever cult or sect.

It's Very Simple

2007-10-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Wow. To think that the Prez and his outfit can hold up a law that 81% of the country supports is really pretty outlandish.

Exactly who represents who?

2007, On the record

2007-10-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

I've been worried for quite some time at the state of public wrangling and political discourse that has become the norm over the past few years. "Gotcha" politics and the 30-second soundbite are ruining any sort of intelligent discussion and work towards sensible solutions on many fronts: health care, terrorism and the war, civil liberties, free speech, and opportunity. There are so many labels and catchphrases out there, and leaders are so afraid to speak freely, for fear of being quoted out-of-context or for possibly making a statement to which other people might (gasp!) disagree.

The whole Bru-ha-ha over the General Betray-us ad and the Limbaugh "phony soldiers" comment was base enough, but what's been going on the past week with poor Graeme Frost is almost sick. It was pretty sad enough that the Dems put him in the position in the first place, and it's been even more sad to see the nasty things some of the far-righters are willing to say about a 12-year-old. Wow. Didn't think it would come to this.

I am beyond any sort of solution. I have no idea how we can get out of this cycle. Mostly I just hate the labeling---those who disagree with the war as "unpatriotic;" those who favor expanded opportunity for all as "commies;" those who don't believe religion should be attached to government as "Un-American." When will there be some sort of leadership who can help us talk to each other again? We used to get things done in this country even though we disagreed with each other. Now, we're so busy jerking our knees at every perceived slight that we have no real time to think things through or introduce the art of compromise.

Wonder if it gets better or worse from here. Guess that's the nice thing about a blog---I can go back and check it at any point to follow up.

Bye Bye Myspace

2007-10-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

Many have questioned why I deleted my myspace account. Here's a list of the five major reasons.

1. Rupert Murdoch
2. I thought I got out of junior high 15 years ago!
3. Don't like ranking friends, or seeing how friends have ranked me.
4. I don't really identify with the "me" generation.
5. Don't like the constant flood of stupid surveys and meaningless bulletins.

Aug. 19th Update

2007-08-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted a blog, and I thought I'd do a notes-based update.

---Went to my cousin Adam's wedding last weekend. It was out at this really isolated little overnight wedding spot in Julian, CA (about 60 miles east of San Diego in the desert). What a fun weekend. Adam and Katie looked great, their son Ryan is a cute little guy. Very mellow---he seems absorbed in thought at any given moment. This was the first time I've met Ryan and his cousin Nathan---Chris and Adrienne's son. Very cute little guys, but also a reinforcement to me that I'm not interested in any of my own!

I probably drank more over the wedding weekend than I have in years. Wow. So many beers. I'm pretty amazed I wasn't hungover at all! I'm not sure how that happened. The final night of the wedding was crazy, there were so many drunk people everywhere I felt like I was back in college (the first time...) All in all, though, a great weekend and a good chance to catch up with that side of the family, who are all special to me. I'm really happy for Adam and Katie, I hope things work out for them!

I hope that it's not another 3 years before I visit S.D. again. I realized while I was flying down that it's really a secondary hometown for me. Of course Salt Lake will always be my hometown, but S.D. was also important in my overall personal development. It was something different from the sterile, fake feeling of Mormon society, and it was important for me to be exposed to that. Chris and Adam are also two of my oldest, closest friends whom I have known for the majority of life. I'm going to make it a point to get down there more often.

---The transition from Seattle Central to UW continues. Paid my first quarter's tuition last week ($2375) and that hurt. I am so grateful to my parents for helping me out with the tuition this time through college. I had a funny discussion with my mom where she flat-out told me there was no way they would have helped me out the first time, since they could tell I would have just wasted it. I totally agreed with her! That money would have gone down the toilet. I had absolutely no motivation to study back then. While my time at the U of U was very valuable from a social perspective and for the fact it was one of my first experiences with diversity, it was also a terrible waste of time in the classroom. I could never have learned anything then. All of my energy was focused on getting away from the Church in every way possible. I'm glad they didn't finance that, as it was a journey I needed to take alone.

I've registered for a couple of media classes for my first quarter at UW. One focuses on the US and one on Europe. I think it will provide an interesting contrast and comparison. I'm a little nervous about the degree of difficulty and how it might change---I've had a relatively easy time in the past year at Central. It's taken a lot of studying, sure, but the lower-level classes are all survey and little analysis. While I'm excited to do more analysis, and feel it will be more valuable, I also know it's going to require more effort. And considering I've already been feeling maxed-out lately, I'll really have to buckle down with my time management. But it will all work out---and it's sure as shit going to be worth it.

---Also, now that I have been accepted to UW, and my journey there is on its way, I have lately been looking forward, ever so slightly, to the massive upheaval and change that will be possible once I've completed the BA. Considering UW's awesome transfer policy and the fact that I now have an actual 4.0, I've really been re-considering some of the potential career paths I could take. If I really put in an effort and keep my GPA over a 3.5-3.6, I can apply to just about any of the master's programs I've always considered off-limits due to my old Utah GPA. So now I'm looking at potential master's programs in international relations, policy, and socioeconomics. I am only in the initial stages of this search, and I don't yet know what I will find. It just feels great---like a whole new world of potential has been opened. I will update the blog as I discover new options.

This means some of my old plans are now void. I had planned on really focusing exclusively on teaching, which may still be where I will end up. But now that I have the option of possibly entering higher-demand master's programs, I may choose to go into a specific program, graduate, and get a job and a few years' experience in a specific field. And deep down, I have a feeling that I will end up teaching in the long run. We will see. The experience won't hurt either way.

---Summer quarter is over, and it sure went quick. Think I got at least a 3.6---definitely an A in HUM and at least a B+ in ECO. I'm happy because I've got 5 full weeks until fall quarter starts. I need to do some thinking, and it will be good to not have to worry about studying for a little bit. I am also going to do super-long bike rides for the next month. I am going to try to do at least a 2.5-3 hour ride at least 3 times a week while still doing an hour or so on the other 3 days. Saturday will still be my day off. I'm really starting to get fast on my new bike. Wish I had some of the tech-y shit like odometer and speedometer but I'm content to just say I "busted ass" for an hour. I am thinking I will do the Burke-Gilman for the long rides, because that's the easiest way to avoid sharing the road with all the damn cars. Not having to pay such close attention to all the traffic gives me a chance to be a little more meditative.

---M's are a blast to watch, so much more fun this year than the past few. Only 2 games out of first place with 6 weeks to go in the season (and leading the Wild-Card chase!) Richie Rallykiller is a tough nut to crack, though.

---Work is pretty blecch. It's one of those jobs that gets pretty monotonous sometimes, and some of the people I have to work closely with are changing. The new people are not cool. At least not yet. I have been putting bugs in certain peoples' ears that I'm interested in a lateral move. I'd need a new challenge of some sort, though, and after paying tuition, I'm thinking I could use a few more bucks an hour. It's a slow process, we'll see what happens. I guess I'm just a little burned out, although overall there isn't really anything negative going on that I can't deal with for another year and a half. Blecch really just says it best.

---Lots of incredible techno coming out lately. Kevin Griffiths, Luke Fair, Trentemoller, Eric Prydz, others with nice 2007 mixes, and Diggers is as strong as ever. New Prince album - Planet Earth - has been playing in my Ipod consistently. Very tasty. Hope he tours again. Watched "When The Levees Broke," the documentary about New Orleans by Spike Lee. Incredibly moving. Very stark photography and brutally frank interviews with the victims of the disaster. I have a feeling this documentary will prove a valuable historical document. Have been playing "The Bigs" on Wii pretty consistently. Love the pitching and arcade-style batting. Have built up Vince Poopstain to A-Rod-like levels of dominance.

---All else is relative. Today is today and no more. The future is bright.

Myspace Archive

2007-07-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Myspace Archive
Current mood: Done with these mood thingies!

Well, I am tired of the computer for today, but all of my previous posts on myspace have been moved over to here and archived on this day. I'll start posting here from now on.

Sicko Interview

2007-06-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

Sicko interview
Current mood: tired

Amy Goodman spends the entire hour today with Michael Moore, whose upcoming documentary "Sicko" is released this weekend. This is a great interview. What I like about Moore's approach here was his focus on the 250 million Americans who *do* have health coverage, but still can't afford it. Instead of focusing on the 40 million who have no coverage, who we hear about all the time, he has instead chosen to expose how the system doesn't even work for the people who have access to it.

This really hits home for me, considering that my mom spends hundreds of dollars each month on MS medication---she wouldn't even be able to get insured if it wasn't for the fact that my stepdad is self-employed. Employment-based healthcare wouldn't touch her and her "pre-existing conditions" with a 10-foot pole.

I am looking forward to seeing this film. Check out the interview---you can stream it straight through your computer, or download as a podcast: www.democracynow.org

Currently listening :
Gideon Gaye
By The High Llamas
Release date: 07 November, 1995

Ooh Dat's Pricey

2007-05-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

Ooh Dat's Pricey
Current Mood: Amused

Gas prices hit an all-time high today. I sit back and watch this development with interest. I am intrigued to see how much people are willing to pay. I would imagine that it has already hit a few at the bottom of the economic ladder pretty hard. But when I look out the window at I-5, thousands upon thousands of cars just keep on cruising right along. Radio traffic reports continue to rudely interrupt my news and baseball games. Air still tasted pretty sooty on my walk home. So, my unscientific on-the-scene report is that not much has changed as of today.

Personally, I don't really think much will change on a widespread basis until, oh, around $10/gallon. Most people I talk to, while certainly unhappy about the situation, don't seem inclined to give up their cars or make any drastic changes anytime soon. Anybody else have a dollar-per-gallon guess?

Currently listening :
Balance 011
By Luke Fair
Release date: 24 April, 2007

Priorities

2007-05-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

Priorities
Current mood: cynical

My office is directly across the street from Westlake Park, which is the main meeting/gathering place for protests, events, etc in downtown Seattle. Today there is some American Idol guy singing over there, his name is Blake-something, someone here at work told me he is from Seattle.

Anyway, I can see Westlake Park from my office window. I find it pretty symbolic that there are at least 3 times as many people gathered to see this guy as showed up at the Iraq War protest two weeks ago. I don't think I need to say anything more than that.

Currently listening :
No Shouts, No Calls
By Electrelane
Release date: 03 May, 2007

Funny

2007-04-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Funny
Current mood: sleepy

Forwarded to me at work today... Simple but funny:

Whether Democrat or Republican, I think you'll get a kick out of this!

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is Politics?" Dad says,
"Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I am the head of the
family, so call me The President. Your mother is the administrator of
the money, so we call her the Government. We are here to take care of
your needs, so we will call you the People. The nanny, we will consider
her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we will call him the
Future. Now think about that and see if it makes sense." So the little
boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night,
he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He
finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy
goes to his parent's room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to
wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks
in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up
and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his
father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.
The father says, "Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think
politics is all about." The little boy replies, "The President is
screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The
People are being ignored and the Future is in deep doo-doo."

Currently listening :
I'm Your Man
By Leonard Cohen
Release date: 25 October, 1990

Thank You Mr. Vonnegut

2007-04-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

Thank You Mr. Vonnegut
Current mood: peaceful

Kurt Vonnegut died today.

He was easily in my top five fictional authors, and his novels "Breakfast of Champions," "Cat's Cradle," and "Slaughterhouse-Five" have had real impacts on my life and world views. I especially always admired his willingness to tackle controversial issues without holding back, and I admired his constant struggle against the PC'ing of our language. He felt that words were his to use in whatever way he saw fit, and didn't give a hoot what his critics and contemporaries thought. This is a dying trait amongst novelists.

He will be missed---but the great thing is that his work is immortal. If you've never picked up one of his novels, now is the perfect time.

Currently listening :
Jarvis
By Jarvis Cocker
Release date: 03 April, 2007

It's Good To Be Wrong

2007-04-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

It's Good To Be Wrong
Current mood: pensive

I often like to ponder how our culture values certain traits over others. Lately I've been thinking about how we so greatly value "conviction" and, consequently, "faith." These values are highly prevalent in our society, and we often talk about others' conviction and faith with glowing superlatives.

"Well, I may not agree with him, but I sure do admire his strength of conviction."

"You know, I've never known anyone with such strong faith as she has. It's inspirational."

Let me preface my discussion by saying that all individuals are different. And, since everyone believes and thinks differently, and has their own background from which to draw, I'd like to stress that the following is strictly my own opinion and is based solely on my own experience.

Now, with that disclaimer clearly out there, I believe that strength of conviction and faith are highly overrated by our society. While strength of conviction is admirable and noble indeed, at what point does it become stubbornness and ignorance? If you have a strong position on something, but are presented with evidence to the contrary, is it noble to hold on to your beliefs, even in the face of distinctly contradictory proof?

Or faith. Why do we find it so noble to believe in things that can't be proven? I think this goes to a deeper human need to be part of something bigger than ourselves. The whole philosophy on faith is extremely confusing to me. Why, if we are logical, methodical creatures, who have culturally evolved over time through much trial and error, do we make these huge leaps into areas in which there is absolutely no evidence?

I absolutely love being wrong. For example, I made a comment in my anthropology class last night that was immediately, fully, and justifiably shot down by the instructor and backed up by the rest of the class. I love this!! This is how I learn!! In fact, for me, it builds my confidence. I can make strong, clear, argumentative claims about anything, because I know that it won't hurt my self-esteem when I'm wrong. I sure as hell don't know everything, and I think it's only through a willingness to admit this infallibility that I can progress through life. Strength of conviction? Not for me, thanks. I prefer to admit that, while I do have beliefs and ideas, in reality I know nothing. I'm just a guy on a journey through life. I am not the same person I was a year ago. And I will not be the same person a year from now. I am in a constant state of progression---gaining new information and discarding the bad.

And as far as faith---for me, no thanks. I don't find any value whatsoever in taking that leap. Give me the scientific method any day, where you state up front that you might be wrong and challenge others to prove it. The thing that scares me about faith is that it can't be argued. When someone like me confronts someone of faith, it's so easy for them to get out of the argument by just saying "Well, you just can't understand what I feel." You can't back up faith with any evidence, and there is no way I can know what another person is really feeling. Therefore faith presents a permanent social impasse, and this is a huge problem. Take a look at the history of war for proof of this.

Now, understand, I don't have a problem with faith, itself---I mean, I have faith that the Mariners will do well this year. I just don't see why we as a society place such a high premium on it. For example, someone with faith in Jesus is wholly in the mainstream, respected, and accepted by most. But someone with faith in, oh, I dunno, David Koresh, is not. But neither can be proven, and both are passionate about it! So who's right? Religious faith would be OK with me if people labeled it what it is - mythology - and admitted they might be wrong. But we all know that is not the way most religious people present their faith. It is generally presented as social policy, and debate is not an option. In most religious discussions that I observe, people like me, who demand evidence, are patronized and talked down to, as if it's somehow a weakness on our part that we are not willing to take that leap. I wholly reject this.

Anyway, that's just what's been on my mind lately. If you look around, this issue is constantly in the forefront of our human experience and our daily lives. For example, look at the prez. There are millions of examples, but he is the obvious one---plenty of strength of conviction, and a whole hell of a lotta faith. Does he fall into the traps I've described above? Is his conviction a strength----or could it possibly be a weakness? Does he present his faith as belief---or policy? I'll leave that for you to decide.

(p.s. Check out the new Air album. Freakin brilliant.)

Currently listening :
Pocket Symphony
By Air
Release date: 06 March, 2007

New Quarter, New Season

2007-04-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

New Quarter, New Season
Current mood: rejuvenated

Well, 2 new beginnings today: Starting spring quarter, and also the start of baseball season.

This quarter I'm taking English 102, German 103, and Anthropology 202. Not the most exciting schedule, although Anth will be fun. The other two are to fulfill some graduation requirements before I start at UW next quarter. It's a whole hell of a lot cheaper to take 'em while I'm still at the community college. I usually take 2 classes, so this quarter will be a little tight (Eng 102 is an online class, I'm guessing I'll just have to squeeze that into Study Sunday).

As for baseball season, I think the M's will be a little tiny bit better than they were last year, but I'm not holding out too much hope. Felix is pitching today, and he is certainly a bright spot of inspiration. Those of you who know me are aware I don't care much about sports---but baseball is the exception. I have always loved the game and it's as much a part of my summer as shorts, camping and bike rides.

***Funny baseball side note: Today is the first opening day since WWII where a president won't be throwing out the opening day pitch. The White House is saying He's "too busy" but I'm speculating he's just afraid of the reaction. With that approval rating I'm guessing the only cheers He'd get would be of the "Bronx" kind.

Currently listening :
The Boatman's Call
By Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Release date: 04 March, 1997

Mother's Mutated Milk

2007-03-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Mother's Mutated Milk
Current mood: distressed

Generally I classify the P-I as entertainment, not journalism. However, every once in awhile you come across a story like this which teaches you something new.

I've been aware of PCB's and their lovely carcinogenic nature for some time now. But I was unaware of the problem PBDE's are causing, and how, unlike PCBs, there are no current regulations controlling their use and disposal.

PolyBromylDiEthanide. Yep, that's what they are---flame retardants used in many common products. Sounds pretty nasty. I learned about "bioaccumulation" in my environmental science class last quarter, which is basically why mammals in particular are so susceptible to cancers and other diseases caused by pollution. You see, chemicals like PCBs and PBDEs are stored in mammalian fatty tissue, and they accumulate over time. This is the reason why Puget Sound Orca Whales are the most polluted animals in the world---they live for decades, which allows plenty of time for accumulation; and, they have plenty of fatty tissue to store the stuff. And here in our area, with the majority of the country's air force for WWII being built right down the street by Boeing, there was massive amounts of this shit dumped into our local waterways. Thanks Boeing. (Although in their defense they had no idea in the 40s that this stuff was harmful----kinda like cigarettes). 60 years means nothing to these chemicals. They never go away and are still just as potent as they were back then.

In a sick twist of nature, female mammals expunge these contaminants through their BREAST MILK!!!! Shit! (and sorry, guys, but we NEVER expunge ours. This is one of the many reasons why females have longer lifespans than males)

We rely on our industry to keep our Sacred Economy running. But, ironically, our short-sightedness regarding its long-term effects is hurting the very people we claim to want to protect the most---our children. Now, I neither have nor want any of my own, but I do wonder what sorts of lovely cocktails I was consuming as an infant. I may not have grown up in this area with Boeing nearby, but a good chunk of the nation's nuclear and chemical weapon testing was done in the western Utah desert over the past 50 years, only a few hundred miles from Salt Lake. So I'm sure I got a good dose of something tasty.

The dirty environment affects all. The days of the "treehugger" stereotype are long, long, gone. There's been a lot of talk in the press recently about cancer, with the recent diagnoses of some prominent people. I'm sick of talking about a "cure." Shouldn't we be talking about why so many people are getting cancer in the first place? It's way too easy to just blame smokers. I think we should start blaming the Boeings and the Dow Chemicals and the General Electrics of the world.

Currently listening :
Lost Horizons
By Lemon Jelly
Release date: 22 October, 2002

Another Day at Guantanamo

2007-03-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

Another Day at Guantanamo
Current mood: sad

We are living in historical times. One day in the future history books will look back on this period with amazement. (That is, if there is a future...)

Folks, our rights are being eviscerated, on a daily basis, right in front of our eyes. If I had to name the one thing most valuable to me about my citizenship in the United States, I would instantly respond "habeas corpus." I believe that presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial, is the very foundation of democracy, and the delineating line between it and tyranny.

However, over the past 5 years, the right of habeas corpus has been methodically thrown into the toilet by our caring government. One of the blackest marks in our nation's ENTIRE HISTORY is the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Here, in this medieval dungeon, human beings are treated like animals and basic conventions of decency are ignored.

I've harped on this subject here in the blog before, and it is truly something I care deeply about. But this morning's DemocracyNow report on the recent guilty plea from Australian citizen David Hicks at Guantanamo is... well, just absolutely sick. I love my country, but I am so embarrassed to be a part of this continuing atrocity. It's like we've just decided to rewind a few hundred years of social progress and now find ourselves where we were before the Renaissance and subsequent Enlightenment. And yes, we are all a part of it. In a democracy everyone must shoulder the blame.

I can't say anything more analytical about this than the report I've linked to does. I mean, the guy had to grow his hair down to his chest in the front just so he could sleep! That says it all right there. Suffice it to say I am sitting here in my cubicle steaming. Check it out for yourself. There are links to audio and video clips as well as a written transcript of the story.

Currently listening :
Transitions Vol. 2
By John Digweed
Release date: 06 February, 2007

Mmm...Spring Break...Mmm...Sleep...

2007-03-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

Mmm...Spring Break... Mmm...Sleep...
Current mood: accomplished

Well, I'm happy to report another quarter in the bag... I now have exactly 5 quarters left until I'm done. Or, measuring it in a different way, I am almost halfway through the journey I began a little over a year ago.

Pretty sad that the most exciting thing about spring break is that I can't wait to catch up on some much-needed sleep and rest! Oh, and play some Dreamcast. That little system has turned out to be a very-well-spent 30 bucks.

In other news, Seattle weather sucks.

Currently listening :
Head Over Heels
By Cocteau Twins
Release date: 03 June, 2003

America's First Non-Theist Representative

2007-03-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

America's First Non-theist Representative
Current mood: impressed

History was made this week when Rep. Pete Stark openly declared his non-theism. After considerable research it was determined that he is the first federal politician in history to openly admit such beliefs.

As a member of America's Most Distrusted Minority---people who don't believe in any god---it is refreshing for me to see an elected representative finally come out on this subject. I've often personally considered the possibility of running for elected office (much, much later in life, mind you), but always immediately rule it out, thinking that my atheism would prevent me from getting any votes! So it's good to see some progress. Maybe 30 years from now I might change my mind.

Currently playing :
Sonic And The Secret Rings
Release date: 20 February, 2007

Happy Birthday Albert Einstein

2007-03-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Albert Einstein
Current mood: contemplative

Some fabulous quotations from one of our species' greatest minds:

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."

"If this being is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also His work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty Being? In giving out punishment and rewards He would to a certain extent be passing judgment on Himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to Him?"

Currently listening :
Proper Education
By Eric Prydz
Release date: 04 January, 2007

The FBI Wants To Be You

2007-03-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

The FBI Wants To Be You
Current mood: amused

Found this little funny today from Bill in Portland Maine...

Dear Mr. Higginbotham,

On behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, we would like to apologize for willfully violating the Patriot Act by snooping on your private life without proper authorization. It was wrong and we feel bad about it. If it's any comfort to you, we found nothing illegal or terrorist-abetting in your personal information. (In fact, we discovered---and corrected---a small clerical error your bank made in October of 2002, for which you'll find a credit of 85 cents on your next statement.)

But that's not the reason we're writing you, Mr. Higginbotham. The purpose of this letter is to inform you that we think you're the biggest stud we've ever come across in our five-and-a-half years of prying into American citizens' lives without warrants (again, our bad). If it's not too much trouble, we have a few questions we're dying to get answers to:

1. What sort of trapeze do you use and how do you hook it up to your bedroom ceiling so that it supports the weight of yourself and those three flight attendants?

2. Regarding your daily calls to 1-900-HORNGRL: can you provide details on how to perform the "pineapple trick"? Is the removal difficult?

3. Likewise your secret to "cucumber snorkeling." Agent Mathers in our Atlanta forensics lab swears that this defies the laws of physics.

4. Can you tell us how the winners of your "Olympic Tongue-athalons" are determined? Must one always hum Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King during the "opening ceremonies" or will any classical piece do?

5. In your email correspondence, you seem to be able to induce orgasm in any recipient simply by writing in the subject line: "My sweet buttered chaps are smothered in gravy." How on earth does this work and do you have other phrases that achieve similar results?

Please reply at your earliest convenience. And understand that you have our deepest admiration. There may even be a medal in your future for outstanding performance by a civilian in the line of duty (if you know what I mean).

Sincerely and with great envy,

Robert Mueller, Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C.

Currently listening :
The Age of Plastic
By The Buggles
Release date: 15 June, 1990

RIP Mr. Humphries

2007-03-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

RIP Mr. Humphries
Current mood: thoughtful

LONDON (Reuters) - Actor John Inman, best known for his role as camp shop assistant Mr Humphries in the long-running BBC comedy "Are You Being Served?" died aged 71 on Thursday.

Inman, who later became a pantomime regular, was one of the sitcom's most memorable cast members and his catchphrase "I'm free" became part of popular culture.

In 1976, he was voted "Funniest Man On Television" by readers of TV Times magazine and was also named BBC TV's "Personality Of The Year."

He died at St Mary's Hospital in London after having been ill for some time, his manager Phil Dale said in a statement.

"John, through his character Mr Humphries of Are You Being Served? was known and loved throughout the world," Dale said.

"He was one of the best and finest pantomime dames working to capacity audiences throughout Britain.

"John was known for his comedy plays and farces which were enjoyed from London's West End throughout the country and as far as Australia, Canada and the USA."

Inman's long-term partner Ron Lynch was "devastated" at the news, the BBC said.

Actress Wendy Richard, who played Miss Brahms in "Are You Being Served?," said she had been regularly visiting Inman who had been seriously ill with Hepatitis A.

"You just have to regard it as being an end to his suffering," a tearful Richard told BBC radio.

"I think John was one of the wittiest and most inventive actors I have ever worked with. He was a brilliant, brilliant pantomime dame. He was a very good all round actor really."

Inman's character Mr Humphries attracted criticism at the height of the department store-based sitcom's success from some gay rights groups who were upset by what they saw as his portrayal of an over-the-top homosexual.

"He never ever said Mr Humphries was gay," Richard said. "He was just a young man who was very, very good to his mother."

Now Listening:

Choice: A Collection of Classics
by Danny Howells

Marine Mammals and Staying Positive

2007-03-01T21:54:00.000-08:00

Marine Mammals and Staying Positive
Current mood: hopeful

Last night we had an excellent guest speaker in my environmental science class. His name was Jeff Rash, and he is a marine mammal specialist. As one of the leading specialists in the world on gray whales and sea otters, he was the first person they called after the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. He was there within 12 hours of the spill and was the lead expert on the attempt to save the otters that were exposed to the crude oil in the Prince William Sound of Alaska.

He went through an extensive slideshow detailing his work in the Puget Sound over the past 30 years, and the procedures that are used to perform necropsies on dead otters, seals, whales and sea lions. He also showed some of the procedures used to rehabilitate marine mammals.

He was very animated and it was easy to tell immediately the depth of his passion for his work. This guy spends his whole day on boats around the Sound, responding to people's calls of dead marine mammals that have washed up on the beach. The Puget Sound as an ecological system is in steep decline, thanks to the large amounts of toxic pollutants dumped in it over the past 100 years. His job is basically to find out why so many animals are dying, and to review toxicology reports that his lab creates.

You could really tell that he, um, has a bone to pick with the human race. Someone asked him what caused the Exxon spill, and his answer was simply "us." The poor guy---he has devoted his life to marine mammals but instead of studying their amazing and unique qualities, he has instead been forced to spend his life trying to figure out why these majestic animals are dying. And it is specifically because of us. There is so much trash, pollution, PCBs, and invasive species in the Sound that it hardly even resembles the pristine ecology settlers found 200 years ago. For example, our orca whales (only 79 left out of a herd that was over 140 just 25 years ago) have the highest levels of PCBs of any animals in the world. Pretty scary. And sad too, as the Sound is (or was) one of the more unique marine environments in the world.

But the most amazing thing was how positive this guy could be even after 30 years of this brutalizing work. He still, even after only being able to save 2 otters out of thousands that died in the Exxon spill, thinks that things are getting better, not worse. This was hard for me to reconcile especially after seeing all the photos of him holding sickly and dead otters from the spill. If I was him, I would think that I would just be permanently pissed off all the time.

It was very inspiring, all in all. I sometimes get pretty critical of we humans too, but it helps to have experiences like these which broaden my perspective. If Jeff can stay positive after all the shit he's seen, I should be able to as well.

Currently reading :
The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth
By Edward O. Wilson
Release date: 05 September, 2006

Habeas Corpus

2007-02-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

Habeas Corpus
Current mood: angry

Folks--

I'm sure many of you are just as concerned about this issue as I am, so I wanted to point you toward an excellent resource for the current court cases and international conflicts dealing with the United States' practice of "Extraordinary Rendition" (shipping people picked up as "enemy combatants" to countries like Syria where there are no laws against torture) as well as secret CIA prisons in Europe and the overall suspension of the core right of habeas corpus (right to a fair trial), even for US citizens, in the arena of the so-called "War On Terror."

www.democracynow.org

This is a fabulous, aggressive, independent media organization dedicated to covering the issues that matter, and which the mainstream media largely ignores. They've also recently started podcasting their daily hourlong show, so sign up through Itunes if interested. I highly, highly recommend Amy Goodman and the folks running democracynow. They are truly committed to the kind of indepedent, take-no-prisoners investigative journalism which is in shorter and shorter supply these days (but is needed more than ever as the media is further consolidated and homogenized).

Today and through the weekend they've done a special investigation into the issue, and I must say it has really broadened my knowledge of what I already felt was a much bigger and wider problem---the slow erosion of some of the most basic rights protected by the constitution.

When I hear the prez and folks talk about "spreading freedom," all I hear is blatant hypocrisy. While they preach to the world about this, the past 5 years have seen a definite downturn in our country's philosophy on freedom. Normal, average US citizens can now be wiretapped without a warrant; they can be arrested without charge; they can be held indefinitely without any evidence; and they can be thrown in shady prisons such as the one in Guantanamo where the Geneva Convention is largely ignored and torture is commonplace.

While many people think, "Well, this doesn't apply to me---I'm a good guy" I would respectfully suggest that you pull your head out of your ass. These basic constitutional protections apply to EVERYONE and if we allow them to be taken away, they will only continue to be abused further and further. I guarantee that one day we'll look back on this period in history and wonder how we could have been so ignorant.

One of the most depressing things I've noticed over the past 5 years is how willingly we as citizens have given up our freedoms. It's not the government's fault---it's OURS for allowing it. When I flew back from Salt Lake City after Xmas, I actually had to stand in a big chamber, right before the metal detector, that proceeded to blow air all over my body (presumably to detect explosives). This, of course, in addition to taking off my shoes, giving up my liquids, and being wanded. What's next? A pre-flight piss-test and polygraph?

All I could think after this ordeal was that the terrorists have already won. They've scared us so shitless we're more than happy to give up thousands of years of human progress in order to feel "protected." Well, I give that point of view the BIG middle finger. They haven't scared me yet. I will fight tooth and nail for my freedom, all of it, and they will only take it away over my dead body.

Check out the website and read the myriad of stories posted today on the subject. Post a response if it gets your blood boiling like it did mine.

(On a completely different-yet-related subject, why is a country that is so obsessed with the afterlife so afraid of death? How deep does our "faith" really run if we need George Dubya to protect us instead of Jeebus? A future blog post, I'm thinking.)

Currently listening :
Peng!
By Stereolab
Release date: 10 March, 1998

Ecological Footprint Quiz

2007-01-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

Ecological Footprint Quiz
Current mood: determined

So, we took this test last night in Env Sci class.

http://www.myfootprint.org/

It measures some simple consumer habits over 18 easy questions to give you a pretty good idea of your "Ecological Footprint" (in other words, how much actual impact you have on the earth, measured in acres).

---The US average is 24 acres per person (highest in the world)

---I came in at 11 acres, and I don't even own a car or a house! My large footprint was mostly due to food---how often do you think about how far your food has travelled to reach your plate? Turns out it's an average of 1000 miles! And think of all the energy you're burning transporting it.

---Ideal is 4.5 acres or less. It would take some MAJOR lifestyle adjustments to get to that. Take the quiz for yourself and feel free to leave a comment on this thread about your results. Be honest! Nobody's grading or judging you here. I think it's really just a wake-up call in general, as we don't generally think about most of the things that pop up on the quiz.

I would have thought I was doing much better than 11 acres. I'm aware of the issue, walk or bike everywhere, and try to consume as little as possible. But this quiz woke me up and showed me I've got quite a ways to go. My next step is to focus more on purchasing food grown locally.

Currently listening :
At the Gate of Horn
By Odetta
Release date: 14 October, 1997

Uh, I Think, Um, Bush, Uh

2007-01-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

Uh, I Think, Um, Bush, Uh
Current mood: embarrassed

I don't know if anyone caught the Shrub on 60 Minutes last night. I couldn't get my jaw off the floor as I listened to OUR PRESIDENT methodically mangle the English language to the point of no recognition.

You know, I've dogged on the man a lot in the past 6 years. He is, after all, the worst president in our nation's history, hands down. But I've began to go beyond that---after all, in a republic, he is simply the elected face of our nation. It's not his fault he's an idiot---IT'S OURS. And looking at it from that point of view, we've got a hell of a long way to go as a nation.

Here is a link to daily kos, which transcribes the actual words from last night's elementary school English lesson. There is also a link there to a more generous transcription, but you should read the actual words to get that same jaw-dropping reaction that I did.

Also, note the bolded section below in which Bush speaks of the president of Iran. He just as easily could be talking about himself.

PELLEY: What would you say right now in this interview to the Iranian president about the meddling in Iraq?

BUSH: I'd say, first of all, to him, "You've made terrible choices for your people. You've isolated your nation. You've taken a nation of proud and honorable people, and you've made your country the pariah of the world. You've threatened countries with nuclear weapons. You've said you want a nuclear weapon. You've defied international accord. And you're slowly but surely isolating yourself." And secondly, that "it's in your interest to have a unified nation on your border. It's in your interest that there be a flourishing democracy." And thirdly, you know, "If we catch your people inside the country harming US citizens or Iraqi citizens, you know, we will deal with them."

Currently listening:

Elliott Smith: Either/Or

Escalation by Blackadder

2007-01-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

Escalation by Blackadder
Current mood: distressed

From the awesome BBC TV Show Blackadder:

General: Now, Field Marshal Hague has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field.

Captain Blackadder: Ah, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy, sir?

Captain Darling: How could you possibly know that Blackadder? It's classified information!

Captain Blackadder: It's the same plan that we used last time, and the seventeen times before that.

General: Exactly! And that is what is so brilliant about it! It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing precisely what we've done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time! There is, however, one small problem...

Captain Blackadder: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds?

General: That's right. And Field Marshal Hague is worried that this may be depressing the men a tad. So, he's looking to find a way to cheer them up.

Captain Blackadder: Well, his resignation and suicide would seem the obvious.

Currently listening :
Alright, Still
By Lily Allen
Release date: 01 August, 2006

My Respects

2007-01-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

I just read this interesting article about President Ford and the way he chose to keep his strong religious beliefs private.

In a time when the current president won't shut up for a second about how he's been "born again," how he talks to Jeebus every day, and how close he is to the big man upstairs, it's relieving to see that our country did have, at one point, an effective leader who didn't feel compelled to prop himself up all the time.

He understood that, in order to lead effectively, one needed to listen to both sides, and to keep one's personal beliefs from becoming polarizing. He understood, better than any American president before or since, that our constitution is a secular document, not a spiritual one, and that our leadership should reflect this. He saw our country as a safe haven for practicing one's beliefs, and felt there was room enough in the tent for people of all faiths (or lack thereof!)

On the day of his funeral, I remember his commitment to secularism, and hope that our political climate will one day allow more like him to flourish. With all the problems our country is facing, we need to be focused on the issues at hand, not on the afterlife.

Who's Civilized?

2006-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

This morning's photos remind that, if this is considered "justice," we've still got a hell of long way to go as a species.

A Camel Through A Needle's Eye

2006-12-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

A Camel Through A Needle's Eye
Current mood: amused

Here's a press release from Franklin Graham, son of the Reverend Billy, regarding the memorial he will be building for his father. I swear I did not make this up.

"[V]isitors will pass through a 40-foot-high glass entry cut in the shape of a cross and be greeted by a mechanical talking cow. They will follow a path of straw through rooms full of multimedia exhibits. At the end of the tour, they will be pointed toward a stone walk, also in the shape of a cross, that leads to a garden where the bodies of Billy and Ruth Graham could lie. Throughout the tour, there will be several opportunities for people to put their names on a mailing list."

I'm sure that this is all part of "God's Plan." Because, you know, the bible's all about self-gratification and the accumulation of massive wealth. Not to mention that part in Leviticus about mechanical talking cows.

Jeez. Sure glad I'm not part of Corporate Christianity anymore. It sure is awfully funny to observe from the outside, though.

Currently listening :
Light & Magic
By Ladytron
Release date: 20 July, 2004

Little Johnnie

2006-12-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

Little Johnnie
Current mood: listless

George Bush goes to a primary school to talk to the kids. After his talk he
offers question time.

One little boy puts up his hand and George asks him his name.
"Stanley," responds the little boy. "And what is your question, Stanley?"

"I have 4 questions: First, why did the USA invade Iraq without the support
of the UN?

Second, why are you President when Al Gore got more votes?

Third, whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden?"

Fourth, why are we so worried about gay marriage when 1/3 of all Americans
don't have health insurance? "

Just then, the bell rings for recess. George Bush informs the kiddies that
they will continue after recess.

When they resume George says, "OK, where were we? Oh, that's right,
question time. Who has a question?"

Another little boy puts up his hand. George points him out and asks him his
name. "Little Johnnie" he responds. "And what is your question, Little
Johnnie?"

"Actually Sir, I have 6 questions:

First, why did the USA invade Iraq without the support of the UN?

Second, why are you President when Al Gore got more votes?

Third, whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden?

Fourth, why are we so worried about gay marriage when 1/3 of all Americans
don't have health insurance?

Fifth, why did the recess bell go off 20 minutes early?

And sixth, what the hell happened to Stanley?"

Currently listening :
Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album
By Andy Partridge
Release date: 07 November, 2006

RIP George

2006-11-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

RIP George
Current mood: thankful

Today is the 5th anniversary of George Harrison's death. As one of my favorite musicians, period, and certainly my favorite Beatle, I've spent the day listening to his music and dwelling on his huge contribution to society. Put on one of his albums today if you get the chance, and take a moment to remember how loudly the "quiet Beatle" spoke with his beautiful guitar solos and spiritual lyricism. He is greatly missed; but his legacy is permanent.

Currently listening :
All Things Must Pass
By George Harrison
Release date: 25 October, 1990

The Shit's Hitting the Fan

2006-11-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

The Shit's Hitting the Fan
Current mood: scared

Folks, I hope you've been paying attention to the events in Iraq over the past couple of days. Yes, I know it's the holiday weekend, and I'm enjoying it as much as the next guy, but it is crunch time RIGHT NOW in Iraq. Thursday's massive bombing and the reaction to it are the latest developments threatening to send the country into chaos. Muqtada Al-Sadr, whose militia has up until this point backed the new Iraqi government, keeping the balance of power in check, is threatening to pull out if the PM meets with Bush next week. This would lead to utter and complete chaos. And yesterday, followers of his took over the state-ran television for 2 FULL HOURS. Here's a news report I just read.

"Followers of the militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took over state-run television Saturday to denounce the Iraqi government, label Sunnis "terrorists" and issue what appeared to many viewers as a call to arms. The two-hour broadcast from a community gathering in the heart of the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City included three members of al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc, who took questions from outraged residents demanding revenge for a series of car bombings that killed some 200 people Thursday. With Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki relegated to the sidelines, brazen Sunni-Shiite attacks continue unchecked despite a 24-hour curfew over Baghdad. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia now controls wide swaths of the capital, his politicians are the backbone of the Cabinet, and his followers deeply entrenched in the Iraqi security forces. Sectarian violence has spun so rapidly out of control since the Sadr City blasts, however, that it's not clear whether even al-Sadr has the authority - or the will - to stop the cycle of bloodshed... Sunni politicians vowed to file complaints against the channel for inciting sectarian violence. Ordinary Sunnis were shocked to hear their neighborhoods singled out for attack on the government's station. "I got four phone calls from friends telling me to change the channel to Iraqiya and see what's happening," said Mohamed Othman, 27, a Sunni resident of Ameriya, one of the districts mentioned in the program. "I think this is an official declaration of civil war against Sunnis. They're going to push us to join al-Qaida to protect ourselves." "

Those of you who know the particulars of the Rwanda tragedy remember that all hell broke loose once the government lost control of the airwaves. The historical precedent is terrifying.

Folks, I'm beyond trying to figure out what the solution to this can be. That decision needs to made by smarter people with better access to information than I've got. But I would urge all of you to pay close attention to what's going on right now. And tell people close to you. We are all responsible for what's going on over there, whether we support the commander-in-chief or not.

Currently listening :
It's All Around You
By Tortoise
Release date: 06 April, 2004

Black Friday Can Kiss My Ass!

2006-11-25T21:38:00.000-08:00

Black Friday Can Kiss My Ass!
Current mood: contemplative

Well, everyone, I am particularly excited this week. This will be the first thanksgiving weekend I have had off since I was 11. Yeah, 11!!! Seriously, this is no exaggeration. Let me recap.

I got my first job as a paperboy when I was 11. I did this on my bike, just like the video game, at 4:30 in the morning, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for 4 years until I got into high school. Black Friday (retail slang for the day after thanksgiving) was the absolute worst. The papers were massive, weighing up to 10 lbs. each with all the ads.

When I reached high school, I started running cross-country, which trained in the mornings. So I had to give up my paper route. But that's when I started at Nordstrom as a stock boy (that term has been recently politically corrected to stockperson---how stupid is that?). And of course, here at Nordy's the biggest and nuttiest day of the year is Black Friday.

During college I worked various jobs (furniture delivery, salesperson, collections, etc.) but since they mostly revolved around the retail world, I was always super-busy on Black Friday.

After college, when I started at Amazon, Black Friday and the whole holiday thing really took on a new meaning in my head. Not only were we busting our asses on a daily basis (Cory can attest to this), but Black Friday was usually the beginning of 2 months of "Mandatory Overtime." Yuck. I don't think the words "Mandatory" and "Overtime" should ever be found in the same sentence together.

After Amazon, I managed the Men's Dept at the Nordstrom Rack through 3 Black Fridays. This was the absolute worst, and some of those hellish days are the reasons behind why I'm in school now trying to create more and different opportunities for myself. As difficult as my time at the Rack was, I am grateful for it now in a funny way. It really showed me how horrible and degrading the retail world can really be, and it gave me serious motivation to get back into school and finish my degree.

As you can imagine, I have pretty negative associations with Black Friday and the whole holiday shopping season in general. No wonder I don't celebrate Xmas (well, also probably 'cause I don't believe in that Jebus guy or that wacky 2000-year-old book). For 17 years, which is more than half my life, Black Friday has consistently been the worst day of the year for me.

That's why I'm so excited about this year. You see, I not only have Black Friday off, but I have a whole 4-day thanksgiving weekend! Those of you who have never worked in retail may not understand how big of a deal this is. But those of you who have been down in the trenches dealing with the complete shittiness of our yearly orgy of capitalism know exactly what I mean. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, I began to blog here on myspace around this time last year, with an opening salvo dealing with the very same subject.

My goal is to not spend a single dime all weekend. I'm going to spend Black Friday holed up in my apartment playing the new Zelda (which is INCREDIBLE, by the way). I don't want to even go outside that day. That's how much of a big deal this is to me. And since I can see downtown quite clearly out my window, I am going to curl up at some point in the day with a nice glass of wine and a cat or two in my lap, and gaze out at all the shoppers and the cars and the Santas, and think about the life I've had for so long. It will feel so good to know that I'm finally making my way out of it, and even though I'm still in retail behind the scenes, I can see the light at the end of my tunnel. Having this weekend off is particularly sweet. But hopefully, 2 years from now, I will be gazing out that window knowing that I don't even work in the retail industry anymore. That's gonna feel real good.

And for those of you who have to work Friday, my heart and deepest sympathies go out to you.

Currently listening :
Before / After
By Heaven 17
Release date: 06 September, 2005

Medical Industry Funny

2006-11-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

Medical Industry Funny
Current mood: amused

Hi all, a co-worker forwarded this hilarious Onion-like story to me this morning. Had to share as it caused me to LOL profusely for quite some time... (The "medical" terminology in the second paragraph is of particular hilarity---say 'em out loud if you don't get it at first...)

In Pharmacology, all drugs have two names, a trade name and generic name. For example, the trade name of Tylenol also has a generic name of Acetaminophen. Aleve is also called Naproxen. Amoxil is also call Amoxicillin and Advil is also called Ibuprofen.

The FDA has been looking for a generic name for Viagra. After careful consideration by a team of government experts, it recently announced that it has settled on the generic name of Mycoxafloppin. Also considered were Mycoxafailin, Mydixadrupin, Mydixarizin, Dixafix, and of course, Ibepokin.

Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one. Obviously we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of "cocktails", "highballs" and just a good old-fashioned "stiff drink". Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of: MOUNT & DO.

Thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

The Candy Phenomenon

2006-10-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Candy Phenomenon
Current mood: amused

It never ceases to amaze me how much candy is consumed in the workplace. Has anyone else noticed this?

Here in my office there is candy everywhere. On tables outside people's cubicles. On shared endcaps for people who have community-cubes. Outside the big bosses' office.

Also, there seems to be some unwritten rule that whenever there is a meeting, event, or what-have-you, someone is required to bring some huge bag of candy for everyone to munch on during the meeting.

It's really pretty amazing how much candy gets consumed in here on a daily basis. Thank Jebus my sweet tooth doesn't show up until late at night. I don't have the money to invest in a new collection of pants!

Currently listening :
The Nightfly
By Donald Fagen
Release date: 25 October, 1990

Printer Survey

2006-10-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Printer Survey
Current mood: curious

Hi all,

I'm finally breaking down and planning to buy a printer after many years of just mooching off the one at work. With school and my new digital camera it would just be really handy to have one at home.

But, with so many options out there, I'm not even sure where to start, so this is an appeal for recommendations. Basically, I just want something under $200, that is small and doesn't take up too much space. I'm concerned about photo quality, as I have a 7.0 MP camera now and would like to print full-sized 8"X11" prints without sacrifing too much quality. And, as a Mac owner, something geared towards OS X, not Windows, is highly preferred. Bluetooth would be even sweeter.

If anyone has any suggestions, let 'em fly!

Currently listening :
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
By Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Release date: 02 May, 1995

Senate Debate

2006-10-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Senate Debate
Current mood: irritated

Well, I watched the Senate debate last night between Maria Cantwell, Mike McGavick, and Bruce Guthrie. My immediate reaction, besides the obvious fact that our electoral system is extremely favorable to the independently wealthy (all 3 are multi-millionaires and using much of their own money to finance their campaigns), was that I am absolutely sick of political-correctness. Everyone had to keep their "polite gloves" on and this was basically more of a soundbite trade-off than a real debate. I truly feel that the PC movement has crippled our language.

Cantwell: Poised, calm, courteous to the moderator and crowd, offering decent suggestions but refusing to make any real claims or intrepid plans. She was more content to just sit back and go after the administration, which looks like it will be enough to win. I was impressed, however, at how much more she felt like a real stateswoman. The other two really came off as your really political uncle who gets into debates at Christmas dinner.

McGavick: Truly a terrible candidate and a snapshot of the Repubs' strategy to win this November. I can't even count on my two hands how many times he used the words "radical Islamic terrorism" as the debate progressed. It's obvious his party is playing defense here and that their only real strategy is to scare the bejesus out of voters. I was absolutely dismayed at the glibness displayed when discussing drilling in ANWAR---although Cantwell made a very strong argument that it wouldn't have much of an effect on gas prices and the real solution is alternative energy, he completely dismissed all of that with a wave of his hand and promised he'd push for drilling from day one. This extremely short-term view of the world is one of the biggest problems with this party.

Guthrie: The Libertarian candidate was obviously out of his league, as he stuttered repeatedly and didn't make very good arguments other than the one point I was 100% behind him on: a choice between 2 parties doesn't represent America's diversity and the bipartisan system is strangling our democracy one election at a time.

I will not be voting for any of these three candidates. With the exception of Kerry in 04, I have never voted for a Democrat or a Republican. I refuse to play the "lesser of two evils" game as I wholly believe this is how the 2 parties keep radical new ideas from entering the body politic. I could write a whole blog on this topic alone (and perhaps I will), but suffice it to say that nothing will really ever change until we are presented with more real choices. No wonder 60% of eligible people don't even vote. If you think about it that way, you realize that our government only represents 40% of the country.

This time around, I am going with Aaron Dixon, the Green Party candidate, who coincidentally was arrested yesterday during a protest against his ban from last night's debate. He wasn't allowed into the debate due to his inability to meet the debate criteria (read: CASH ON HAND), and he and a large group of other disenfranchised-types tried to crash the debate. This is the kind of democracy I love and will gladly give my vote to support. Hands-on, grass-roots, storming the castle kinda stuff.

Hopefully everyone is registered to vote. And hopefully everyone will consider looking at other options than the two big parties. Make your own choices, but realize that any vote for a democrat or a republican is a vote for the status quo.

Currently listening :
Limit
By Pastaboys
Release date: 05 October, 2006

New 7 Wonders of the World

2006-10-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

New 7 Wonders of the World!
Current mood: geeky

Oooh, a cool worldwide vote to determine the new 7 wonders of the world! This is right up my geekish geography/history/sociology alley! They're doing this since only 1 (Ancient Pyramids of Giza) of the original 7 are still standing.

Go to www.new7wonders.com and vote for 7 of the 21 finalists:

1 Acropolis, Athens, Greece

2 Alhambra, Granada, Spain

3 Angkor Wat temple, Cambodia

4 Chichen Itza Aztec site, Yucatan, Mexico

5 Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

6 Colosseum, Rome

7 Easter Island Statues, Chile

8 Eiffel Tower, Paris

9 Great Wall, China

10 Hagia Sophia church, Istanbul, Turkey

11 Kyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan

12 Kremlin/St.Basil's, Moscow

13 Machu Picchu, Peru

14 Neuschwanstein Castle, Fussen, Germany

15 Petra ancient city, Jordan

16 Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

17 Statue of Liberty, New York

18 Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom

19 Sydney Opera House, Australia

20 Taj Mahal, Agra, India

21 Timbuktu city, Mali

Currently listening :
Fabriclive.21
By Meat Katie
Release date: 10 May, 2005

Calling All Geeks - Nov. 19th!!!

2006-10-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Calling All Geeks - Nov. 19th!!!
Current mood: optimistic

OK people, for those interested, you're welcome to join me and a small group of folks for the first day of Wii-goodness. Yep, I've got my pre-order all set for the new Nintendo, and I want to cram as many people into my studio as possible for a day of geeking out, boozing it up, and general fun. This is the first console I'm buying brand new since the Super NES (yep all the way back in like 1991 or something), and I'm actually really excited.

I don't play video games as much as I once did, due to today's absurdly long, over-complex, and ultraviolent games. I just don't have the time. But the Wii is geared towards people like me: games you can pick up and enjoy with other people from time to time. The prototypical view of a gamer is an overweight, mid-20's male, buried under mountains of fast food garbage, jamming buttons together at frenzied pace in the dark at 3AM in the morning. I think this system is trying to change that, by attempting to appeal to women and the older generation through more group-oriented and less-complex games that just about everyone can enjoy. So, based on that premise, I'm going to give this one a try.

So, anyone (male, female, old, young) who wants to come is welcome on the 19th! BYOB, BYOP, BYOF. Email me for details. I'm excited to try the new controller---imagine swinging a tennis racket by actually swinging your arm rather than pressing a bunch of buttons. Or boxing with lifelike moves. I suspect it will lead to massive amounts of trash-talking. Sweet!

Currently listening :
OS_0.3
By Luke Fair
Release date: 21 June, 2005

I Don't Have 5 Arms! (Nor Do I Want To)

2006-10-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

I Don't Have 5 Arms! (Nor Do I Want To)
Current mood: exhausted

Wow, the past couple of weeks of work have been insane! Not in the same way as the Rack, (which often made me want to drink cyanide and crawl into a dark hole), but still crazy nonetheless.

There's an old saying that goes "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." That's basically what's going on at the moment--- we're nearing the end of the quarter and all the buying offices are trying to catch up at the last minute. And since everything needs to go through me, it's really creating the proverbial bottleneck.

The good news is that it doesn't mean I need to work a minute later or do anything special. That's what I love about this job---I'll bust my ass to get as caught up today as possible, as I always do, but when the clock strikes "8-hour shift," I'm out the door and on to my weekend. None of this "bringing it home with you" bullshit. I guarantee I'll never get into that again, even if it means living cheaply for the rest of my life.

I've made the firm lifelong decision that free time and lack of stress are more important to me than money, and I resolve never to go back on that decision. More power to those people willing to put in the long hours to get ahead, and I hope that the fruits of their labor are sweet and spiritually rewarding to them. The economy relies on people like that and I don't discount their contribution.

But for me, I guess I'm just not a true Capitalist. I'm satisfied with living simply and don't feel the deep desire to "get ahead." Guess it's just one of those pinko socialist tendencies I occasionally display. As much as I love the good ol' USofA, sometimes I just don't fit in.

(On a side note, the next 3 Depeche Mode remasters just came out. OMFG, A Broken Frame sounds like a totally new album!!! Quite a step up from the shoddy worn-out cassette I played a zillion times as a 12-year-old...)

Currently listening :
A Broken Frame
By Depeche Mode
Release date: 03 October, 2006

The Crazy Life

2006-10-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

The Crazy Life
Current mood: productive

Man, after 2 weeks of this working full-time and going to school at nights M-Th thing, I'm having a hard time adjusting! I think I'll be OK, it's just tough for someone like myself to not have as much "me" time as I'm used to. But, I'm not complaining. It's for a good cause and I think I can keep myself motivated. It's just going to be a long winter... :)

Anyway, I've made sure to keep friday nights and saturdays free, so that is a good thing. But sunday has become homework day. Yesterday I spent a little over 6 hours total. It was almost like another day at work! And then of course, this morning, I'm back at work!

Ya know what would help? If someone wanted to pay my rent for me. Any takers? C'mon rich myspace cruisers! There's gotta be someone out there who wants to sponsor me. I promise I'll give you mad credit when I'm successful and famous.

OK, back to work I suppose. I have a pre-calc exam tonight. Wish me luck!

Currently listening :
High Land, Hard Rain
By Aztec Camera
Release date: 09 July, 1991

Magic World

2006-09-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

Magic World
Current mood: jubilant

Ooooooh, I just love these mornings where I wake up, look out the window, and see the city covered in fog and mist! I get this strange, magical, medieval feeling when the skyscrapers are covered in fog and the car lights are just dots moving through mist.

I'm always wistful at the passing of summer into fall, but it's mornings like these that remind me all seasons are special. Lyrics from the song "Season Cycle" by one of my favorite bands, XTC, pop into my head:

"Season Cycle"

Season cycle moving round and round
Pushing life up from a cold dead ground
It's growing green
It's growing green, well
Darling don't you ever stop to wonder
About the clouds about the hail and thunder
'Bout the baby and its umbilical
Who's pushing the pedals on the season cycle?

Summer chased by Autumn
Autumn chased by Winter
(season cycle go from death to life)
Winter chased by Springtime
(bring a harvest or a man his wife)
Springtime's turning
(it's growing green, it's growing green, well)
Darling, don't you ever sit and ponder
(darling did you ever think)
About the building of the hills a yonder
(all this life stuff's closely linked)
Where we're going in this verdant spiral
Who's pushing the pedals on the season cycle?
Round and round and round and round

I really get confused on who would make all this
(is there a God in Heaven)
Everybody says join our religion get to Heaven
I say no thanks why bless my soul
I'm already there!

Autumn is Royal
As Spring is clown
But to repaint Summer
They're closing Winter down

(Music and Lyrics by Andy Partridge)

Currently listening :
Skylarking
By XTC
Release date: 14 May, 2002

We're Killin' Ahselves Heah!

2006-09-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

We're Killin' Ahselves Heah!
Current mood: bitchy

You know, it's absolutely ridiculous that I only get 2 weeks of vacation every year. And I work my ass off, every single day. I think that people should have a minimum of at least 6 weeks a year away from their workplace. Just think how much more valuable of an employee I'd be if I had enough time away to make sure things in my personal life were all settled. Sometimes it's such a rush just getting all the little errands, projects, and goals in your life accomplished. Not to mention the countries I'd like to travel to but don't want to waste thousands of $$ just for a lame weeklong visit (you can't do shit in a single week. I'd say it takes a minimum of a month to really start feelin' the culture)

A couple weeks ago I had drinks with an old friend from college, Ben from Germany. He was here, of course, on vacation; one of the many he takes to all parts of the globe every year. He was explaining to me how his company gave him 2 paid months off a year, and how this went above and beyond Germany's mandatory 6-week requirement. And he has a good, skilled, high-paying job! What the fuck? How can he have his cake and eat it too?

We Americans are just plain crazy! Why do only give ourselves 2 weeks a year? Just to get a little step ahead of the next guy? This capitalism/free market thing, while a good thing for my wallet, sometimes isn't the best thing for the soul.

Currently listening :
Global Underground: Cape Town
By Dave Seaman
Release date: 22 August, 2000

Accidents Happen!

2006-08-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Accidents Happen!
Current mood: uncomfortable

There was a super-nasty accident in the Medical/Dental Building parking lot today. That's the building directly west of my office on 6th and Pine. I guess there were 2 people literally mangled in between 2 cars. The rear car apparently hit the acceleration rather than the brake. (Makes my spine tingle!) As I walked by, I saw one of the women being carried out on a stretcher. Her hip bone was sticking off the side of the stretcher. This is one of the nastiest things I think I've ever seen in person. It's burned into my mind right now the way you get sunspots after you look at the sun.

As with everything, I tend to dig a little deeper. I am not a huge fan of outrightly violent movies, but some of my close friends absolutely live for the stuff. Our culture in general is very attuned to and desensitized to violence. (And strangely puritanical about a couple of things I happen to like a lot---sex and nudity!) I noticed that other passersby were not nearly as shocked and concerned as I'd become. There were a few exceptions, of course. But in general it was business as usual.

Does this mean I need to go out and buy a TV and tune in to CSI, etc., like the rest of the country? Should I quit with the obscure documentaries and artsy-fartsy story-based indie films; and seek out blood-and-guts action instead? (I did, after all, check out SoaP last weekend, although that was more of a comedy...)

I just dunno. Today's social mores seem to indicate that my skin is not thick enough, if a little bloody exposed hip bone wigs me out. Sensitivity is not a good trait to carry into the 21st century, it seems. Yet I can't stop thinking about these 2 poor people. I wonder how civilians in Iraq and Lebanon (not to mention the Congo, again, and Darfur) deal with the constant blood and gore they are surrounded with every day.

On a side note, I've never been more pleased with the fact that I don't own a car. Destructive machines, those.

Currently listening :
The Age of Plastic
By The Buggles
Release date: 15 June, 1990

Obligatory Sports Post

2006-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Obligatory Sports Post
Current mood: disappointed

OK, I just have to say it.

The Mariners officially suck. Thanks for getting my hopes all up, guys, and then proceeding to play like they couldn't beat my grandma's softball team for the past 2 weeks... Can't believe I thought we had a chance at the playoffs. Either suck, or be good, but stop jerking us around! I'd be fired from my job if I was that inconsistent.

OK, that's it. Had to get it off my chest. Back to your regularly scheduled existential blogs and survey bulletins.

Currently listening :
Power, Corruption & Lies
By New Order
Release date: 25 October, 1990

The Price of Commerce

2006-08-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

The Price of Commerce
Current mood: hungry

I love living next to the Pike Place Market. It's important to me to support local farmers. I love handing them my cash, having them make me change from the pouches on their belts, and the general old-fashioned form of free market capitalism on a very small scale.

Plus, I swear to Whomever that it tastes better. Safeway peppers are all slimy and obnoxiously large. The peppers at the market are fresh, crisp, and full of flavor. The guy who runs the organic stand is like an old friend of mine now. When I walk by, he always shouts out a recommendation to me, knowing that I'll take it straight home into some random concoction for the evening. I give him my feedback, and he passes it along to the farmers.

I wish I could participate more in small-scale commerce. Living in a major city makes that difficult, although recently I have begun to support small internet businesses, which you can do from anywhere. But at least the market is always there for me, and I don't have to pay some suit a percentage of my food budget.

Currently listening :
Dare!
By The Human League
Release date: 16 September, 1997

Sweet Freedom; Or, How the Helper Remembered to Help Himself

2006-08-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sweet Freedom; Or, How The Helper Remembered To Help Himself
Current mood: optimistic

I've been single for almost a month now, and can I just say folks, the feeling is great. It's amazing how much of myself I've lost over the past couple of years. Not just in this last relationship, but in the grey area that existed before it, the part of my mind that allowed me to bury so much of myself for what I thought was the better overall good.

I am a very generous and giving person. It's a part of my personality I believe I developed especially because of my stepdad, who is one of the most selfless and caring people I have ever known. He is the type of person who is more concerned with how he can make people around him happy, and he often forgets to keep an eye out for himself. When I was a kid, I can recall many times when I'd have to say something specific to him to make sure he was thinking of himself and not just the group. For someone so conservative and oriented towards free-market philosophy, this was an awfully communistic personality trait for him to display. I will always respect him, for everything he is, but especially for that. It's humbling to have been raised by such a giving person, and I'm lucky.

I tend to express these same sorts of selfless feelings in relationships. I forget about myself in order to make sure the other person is always comfortable. This became a huge problem in this last relationship. She was an extremely selfish person, almost negatively so. I often felt neglected and forgotten about, and definitely thought of it as a one-sided relationship after a while. My support was important and integral to her, but I didn't get much in return.

Now, I'm not the type of person to just stay in a bad situation. But, she had been struggling with some serious and difficult mental problems for some time. I was able to deal with the one-sided-ness, thinking all the while that it wasn't her fault and that things would get better eventually. And during the times when she was normal, I was happy around her.

But those happy times began to get very few and far inbetween. And things never did get better, although I respect her for trying. Suffice it to say that now we are no longer together, I am rediscovering myself and who I really am. There were parts of my personality that I loved, and had forgotten about, with my mental energy focused elsewhere. But certain things that were buried are starting to float back up to the surface. It's kinda fun remembering some of things I used to enjoy, and realizing that I still enjoy them. No wonder when we were together all I wanted to do was watch TV and play video games. My creativity, lust for life, and spontaneity were gone, buried deep down under the daily burden of being there for her.

The past month has been incredible, and the pain didn't take very long to melt away. After seeing how much I'd forgotten about myself, I started to realize that there wasn't much to mourn. And it's been fabulous to just be selfish for a little while. I'm not sure whether or not I want to get back into another relationship at this point, but when I do, I won't settle for anything less than 50-50. That's the way it should be, and I won't compromise again, for ANY reason.

Currently listening :
The Legend of Johnny Cash
By Johnny Cash
Release date: 25 October, 2005

Budget Stay in NYC

2006-08-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Budget Stay in NYC
Current mood: curious

So I'll be in NYC next month and would love to stay on a budget. Who's got tips? Sure, sure, I can "google it," just like I can google that naked photo of your aunt Josephina, but one tends to prefer an honest recommendation from the lips of a trusted friend. I'm cool with hostels and the like.

Currently listening :
English Settlement
By XTC
Release date: 25 June, 2002

2006-08-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Borg
Current mood: quixotic

I'm seeing more and more people out on the street with the little bluetooth cellphone adapters that fit in the ear. All I can think of is the Borg! These people crack me up. They walk around talking to thin air like it's no big deal. I catch the funniest sayings from people here and there. That is, when I don't have my super-duper noise canceling headphones plugged deep into my ears, pumping deep electro bass into my soul.

I think of it on a grander scale, though. It would be funny to go back a couple hundred years and see what sorts of things you had in your pockets and on your person back then. Probably things more suited towards survival and safety. It's interesting how things have changed. The things we carry around now don't serve much practical use. They are luxury items that we've become accustomed to. I sure as hell am not gonna leave my Ipod at home! Talk about the end of the world!

Resistance is indeed futile.

Currently listening :
The Pink Opaque
By Cocteau Twins
Release date: 02 February, 1999

Good mood!

2006-06-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Good Mood!
Current mood: satisfied

This is sort of a strange thing to blog about...

But, lately I've just been in a very positive, progressive-thinking mood. Dunno if it's just the coming of summer (probably) or that my astrological indicators are in some sort of alignment (more likely) but things just seem to be clicking lately.

I got the very first college-level 4.0 in my life this past quarter! Not bad for having been out of school for 8 years. This has tremendously helped my confidence and outlook regarding this this whole going-back-to-school thing. It's been sort of an experiment for me (and for those close to me you know that I've really changed around my lifestyle for this) and it feels very rewarding to have some level of success.

I've reconnected lately with some people who have been out of my life for some time. It was fantastic to see one of my all-time closest buddies Nate last week. I've always had a high level of respect and admiration for him, and it was so great to hang out with him after a couple years apart. I'm glad he's back from Iraq safely and I look forward to seeing him more often.

I've also been extremely happy with the way my relationship with my parents has developed over the past 4-5 years or so. I really like that I have 4, not just 2, really cool parents, all of whom treat me as an equal and all of whom have contributed to the adult I've become. I see the way other people still have serious issues with their parents, even in their adult lives, and I feel lucky that after many years of tense, acrimonious, and sometimes bitter conflict, we've resolved our differences and agreed to disagree. Our relationship is stronger and for the better because of it.

My oldest younger sister Anna recently was married, and she was SO HAPPY. It was heartwarming to see her finally tie the knot with her childhood sweetheart and best friend Sean. It was one of the more emotional experiences I've had in years. They are going to have a good life together. You can just tell by being around them how much in love they are. I'm always nervous about Mormon weddings, specifically because they get married so young, and because they are so inexperienced and naive sexually, but I really think this one was meant to be.

I've finally started to make firm plans (after MUCH talk) and will be buying property this fall. Unless the housing market crashes over the summer, I'll probably have to stick to a condo for now, but it will sure be a load off my mind to know that I'm not wasting $600 on rent every month. Jeeez! It will be cool to start building some equity. And then, a few years from now when I begin my actual career, I'll have a little equity saved up as down payment for a real house (hopefully out in the middle of nowhere considering how much I hate people... ha ha ha... No, actually, I'm not kidding, disregard that ha ha ha...)

Anyway, I don't write this as a "Look At Me I'm Happy" sort of thing. It's not my intention to gloat. It's just that, for most of the past 10-15 years, I've had my struggles and been extremely unhappy and often wondered if I would ever feel the way I do now. There were some VERY dark moments along the way, with little or no light at the end of the tunnel.

I guess that's just a life lesson in The Best Things in Life Don't Come Easy. And I certainly don't expect things to plateau here. I'm going to keep working on the things that bring me down, and keep focusing on the things that lift me up. I figure I've got another 50 years at least, and as we all know, anything can happen at anytime.

But for now, I'm smiling! :)

Currently listening :
Transitions
By John Digweed
Release date: 27 June, 2006

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry

2006-04-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry
Current mood: pensive

Riding my notoriously slow elevator this evening, I overheard a younger woman complaining about how she'd "kill herself" if she had to live in this building and deal with this elevator.

It got me thinking about the current pace of our culture, and the pace of city life in general. We're always thinking about what's going to happen next; about where we're going next; about that next purchase; etc.

It's sad, really. Does anyone ever stop to notice what's going on around them? Do people still take pleasure in the little things? Or have the little things turned from pleasant surprises to annoyances?

At some point in my life I'm going to have to move out of the city. I'm not going to be able to keep this pace up forever. Nor do I even want to.

Currently listening :
3121
By Prince
Release date: 21 March, 2006

New Job, New Outlook

2006-03-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

New Job, New Outlook
Current mood: excited

Well, I'm happy to announce that I have decided to stay at Nordstrom, albeit in a new and less stressful position. And with the great set schedule (M-F 7-4) I am going to be starting classes at SCCC on Apr. 3. I can't wait!

I will now be working as an "Item Analyst" in the Centralized Merchandising Information Office (CMIO) in the corporate offices. Maybe a little less exciting than managing at the Rack, but certainly a lot less stress and responsibility. Plus, I can listen to my Ipod all day! Those of you who know me well know that that is as close to heaven as my agnosticism allows me to get!

My last day at the Rack is tomorrow, the 17th. I will miss all of the friends and acquaintances I've made here, and I will really miss the team that I have built. They are good people and I have the utmost respect for them.

But I was ready for a new challenge, and this will provide me with that as well as the opportunity to finally get that damn little piece of paper that says I'm smart. Hard to get ahead in the world without a degree anymore, I've learned.

Currently reading :
The Cosmic Puppets : A Novel (Vintage)
By Philip K. Dick
Release date: 11 November, 2003

Mayor Small Penis

2006-03-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Mayor Small Penis
Current mood: quixotic

Pretty funny what happened to me yesterday...

Walking into the gym yesterday to do my afternoon workout, and whaddaya know? There's Mayor Nickels a couple lockers down from me, totally naked and chatting with some other naked guy.

Now, normally in the gym locker room I don't go around checking out other guys' packages. But... he is the mayor. And I had to look.

Very, very, very small. Almost embarrassingly so! Now, perhaps it was obscured by his massive belly, but I'm pretty damn sure he will never command Randy Johnson's nickname. (The Big Unit)

Thinking about it later on, I'm almost embarrassed myself that our mayor has such a small penis. But perhaps it is appropriate for a city such as ours. One that talks the talk but rarely walks the walk. Mass transit, this century, anyone?

The Silent Majority

2006-01-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

The Silent Majority
Current mood: thoughtful

Playing Trivial Pursuit (What a great game! What a great title---I love pursuing trivial things!) last week, a question came up which caused me to think. The question had to do with a quote from Richard Nixon and who he thought elected him. The answer was the "Silent Majority."

Today I was putting this into the context of our current lovely situation and wondering whatever happened to the silent majority. I heard the term bandied about time and time again during the 2004 election, and for some naive reason had this underdog/lifesaver sort of spirit all summer as I held out hope that the regime might get bumped from office by the wisdom of this silent majority.

You know who they are: sensible, reasonable, hard-working, down-to-earth people who go about their business, don't talk politics but pay attention, and know right from wrong. These people knew that pre-emptive war was questionable at best. They knew that taking from the poor and giving to the rich was wrong. And they've noticed the continual drone of scandal and abuse of power from a cocky Washington.

Obviously they were still a little too Silent in '04....

Nixon was elected in '68 due in large part to the "Pull Out of Vietnam" theme of his campaign. He didn't stick with that theme for much longer after he was sworn in, keeping combat going (not to mention attacking Cambodia!) for the remainder of his presidency.

The silent majority turned on him pretty damn quick. What will happen this fall, not to mention '08? That is, if the Silent Majority still exists? Or are they just too busy watching American Idol to care anymore?

Planning My Escape

2005-12-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

Planning My Escape
Current mood: relieved

Halle-freakin-lujah!

It's over! My final Xmas season in retail. Now my thoughts turn to the next step in my life. Finishing off that damn degree I walked away from years ago to pursue a ludicrous opportunity in e-commerce.

If anyone has any ideas on great part-time jobs, I will be looking for one starting in April. Something slightly less capitalistic would be fantastic. Maybe tutoring... Or working for a non-profit. About 25-30 hours/week, with a set schedule.

The difficult part will be staying motivated until then! Ah well, I just got some nice new comfortable shoes to Rack around in. That oughta keep me smilin' until spring.

Jingle These Fucking Bells

2005-12-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Jingle These Fucking Bells
Current mood: annoyed

Does anyone know how many ungodly remakes of Jingle Bells have been made over the years? What's the official count?

I count 6 alone on the playlist at work. Is it Dec. 26th yet?

And no, this isn't "bah humbug" blues. This is exasperation at an already terrible song being made worse, and worse, and worse, and worse........

On The Front Lines of Capitalism

2005-11-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

On The Front Lines of Capitalism
Current mood: thoughtful

As we ramp up into the holiday season, I find myself thinking about capitalism, consumerism and how the shopping season has been blown so out of proportion. It's gotten progressively crazier each year with some retailers opening at midnight this year!

Yesterday there were reports of fighting amongst customers at WalMart, aggressive driving, verbal abuse, and general unpleasantness. I personally witnessed many of these things here at my job, although thankfully nobody started fighting. But the general vibe all day yesterday (11/25) was one of aggression, individual greed, and non-courtesy.

What would it take to get people to treat the holidays as something to enjoy with family and friends, on a low-key basis? How do we take a step back from the monster we've created? We are all a part of this, my friends, whether we admit it or not. How did it get so out of control?