DADT

The Senate passed a repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell today and it is a certainty that the president will soon ratify it. I am surprised by the speed with which this happened and pleased that those who offer their lives in the service of this country will now be able to do so without hiding their sexual identity. This is long overdue.

Warming Back Up

Yeah, it's been a while. I mean a long while since my last post. Give me a break. I've been getting my ass beat in the weeds of North Cakalakie (sp). so anyway, I didn't want to get right back into it with a long rant. I think that might just tire me out before I actually finish it. So here are a couple of articles to keep those conspiracy theory juices flowing:

• Fox is a bunch of misleading assholes (again): http://mediamatters.org/blog/201012150004
• The EPA hates Bee People: http://www.fastcompany.com/1708896/wiki-bee-leaks-epa-document-reveals-agency-knowingly-allowed-use-of-bee-toxic-pesticide

Enjoy!

"Ground Zero Mosque"

Props to Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama. Shame on the ADL and other protesters.

Writing for the Sake of Keeping Up?

It's almost the end of July and I am just now writing my first post of the month. Boo me. I can't even hide behind the excuse of having been too busy because that would just be false. Meh...

Some things in the news:

The Oil Spill:
I have mostly stayed away from this because there has been so much commentary in the media that I really don't have anything new to add. It is an incredibly sad event for the families of the lost oil workers and it is an environmental catastrophe - not to mention the damage that it will do to the economy of the Gulf Coast, which was just starting to recover from Hurricane Katrina. BP, for its part, has presented to the American public a parade of excuses, deflections, and criminally low estimates of the damage. The federal government, meanwhile, stands by helplessly while trying to convey the illusion that it has the situation under control. All of this has been said and my additions are nothing new, but there they are.

The Israeli Flotilla Raid:
A bunch of activists (many, though not all, with obvious extremist ties) set sail from Turkey with about six ships filled with aid supplies, knowing that they would be violating this Israeli naval blockade and that they would be putting themselves in great physical danger. I see this kind of like charging a police riot line - you may not agree with those guys with the batons, but that isn't going to make it hurt any less when you find yourself getting clubbed in the temple. Except of course that these were not police that the ships were challenging. They were the military, who is not trained very well in the art of detaining, but who are trained very well in the art of extreme physical violence. Knowing this, the activists on the ships could not have actually thought that their primary goal was to provide aid. If they had wanted to do that, they would have gone through the checkpoints like all the other international aid. But instead the goal was to create an international incident - which is exactly what they did.

I feel that I have to address my feelings about the Israeli position, lest I seem more lenient on them than I actually am. I have seen excerpts from the list of banned items and some of them do seem unreasonable. In addition to that, Israel has long grown tired of fruitless negotiations with Hamas (the faction that controls Gaza) and their reaction has been to forge ahead with policy unilaterally. This provides them with ability to move "forward," but not always in the most productive way. Israel - as with all democracies - is subject to whatever political power has been installed by its finicky electorate and those powers often make rash decisions in order to placate an oft reactionary and ill-informed constituency. I believe Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. Israel seems to be making that point. Israel is, at its core, a country of good people and a country that has every right to exist within secure and recognized borders. I just with it could get there more amicably.

Secret Military Documents Released:
Everyone seems to be getting all panty-bound about money being wasted, secret units that hunt high priority targets, Pakistan's ISI likely training or funding certain Taliban elements, the fact that drones sometimes miss and kill civilians, the revelation of shaky or downright misleading intelligence, or the stunning realization that some elements of the chain of command sometimes question our tactics about winning the war. All of that has been discussed extensively in the public already and, while the documents that have just been released may be classified, the fact their contents are true is not a secret. What should be getting people upset are things like the sudden wealth of after-action reports and that these reports may provide those who wish us ill an ability to find patterns, revealing strategies and tactics which, if discovered, may pose a grave threat to our cause and servicemen downrange.

I guess that's all I have the energy to discuss for now. More later, maybe.

Disconnect

Right after I mention that NYC has very few fat people because the urban density forces them to have a low reliance on personal automobiles, my friend suggests increasing urban sprawl as a way to combat obesity in America because it would "encourage people to get outside and garden, etc." WTF?!

Borrowers vs Lenders: Everyone Loses

I watched a short segment on CNN today about a person who had decided to let the bank foreclose on his house, even though he could afford to make the payments. I kind of thought that we were getting past this issue, but I guess not. So anyway, apparently this guy was under water on his house and the bank declined to work with him to restructure the mortgage, so he decided it would be better for him to just give the keys back to the bank. They called it "strategic defaulting," I think. In any case, the anchors were really on this guy about him being irresponsible - especially Ali Velshi. Ali was saying that, because of this guy's irresponsible behavior, it would be harder for Ali to get a mortgage. The other anchor was also on about how, if everyone violates their contracts like this, then contracts would be worthless. Both hyperbole.

Well, first of all, I don't think that Ali Velshi - CNN's Chief Business Correspondent - is really going to have much of a problem getting a loan, unless he is trying to finance a purchase of the Chrysler Building or something. But speaking to the point of his argument, maybe it's okay if people have a bit harder time getting loans. The ridiculously low bar set for lending is routinely cited as a major reason for the financial collapse in the first place. Besides, why is it that it is okay for a major business to default on loans and contracts, but not an average Joe?

And as for that charge that this guy was violating his contract, I am not sure that I see it that way. Sure, in a mortgage, the consumer agrees to make monthly payments, but there is also language in the contract for the possibility that defaults. In such a case, the property serves as collateral and the bank takes it back. It's all in the contract. Okay, I am far from an expert on this, but I have had a tiny bit of experience on it and I am pretty sure that is how it works. Anyhow, it seems to me that this guy just exercised his option to give back the collateral rather than to continue paying for a house that wasn't worth the payments anymore. And it's not like he didn't try to negotiate with the bank, they just refused. So it seems like the "contract violator" charge is a bit unfair.

I know that it might be a bit scary to think that there are all these people out there who are about to default on their mortgages, and that might send us into a second financial crisis, but there is a part of me that believes that, however painful it might be, this is part of the overall correction from our irresponsible past. Anyway, it is completely unfair to put all the blame on the consumer and none on the banks, whose predatory and irresponsible lending practices are a major reason for this whole mess. It is partly the fault of people who bought houses for investment purposes, rather than for living accommodations and it is partly (greatly?) the fault of major lenders who put the financial security of the entire country in the hands of risky borrowers with unstable incomes. There is also blame to be laid on us, The People, who believed in deregulation as the unassailable path to prosperity. In reality, I could keep going on and on about who is to blame, but the important thing is that there is plenty of blame to spread around so there is little sense in targeting some guy who has decided to exercise his right to opt out of his mortgage in exchange for losing his house.

Kayaking

I went kayaking on the Santa Fe River today. It was a great idea. Thanks for taking me along, Angel. It wasn't kayaking like anything in Oregon. Most of my friends back home, when asked about kayaking, would think of class four rapids and wetsuits. This was a decidedly more relaxing experience. Most of the time was spent just floating and only using the paddles for steering rather than propulsion. As soon as we put in, I found myself immediately at peace. I was mesmerized watching the water gently part as it relented to the bow of my kayak. And not just watching it, but I could hear, smell and feel all of the interactions between the water, my kayak, and - through it - myself. It was an amazing connection with nature that I have not felt for some time. I also found entertainment in scaring the turtles off the logs where they were sun bathing. That's probably because, despite my appearance, I am still really just a ten-year-old boy that likes to harass wildlife.

I don't know if I will be able to find kayaking like that in Oregon, but I would love to try. Sure, there is plenty of kayaking in Oregon, but it is a more challenging and exciting brand and I am looking for that relaxation on a warm summer day. I am looking to enjoy nature and to be a part of it, not to challenge it. Sure, maybe I will be open to the idea of taking on some easy rapids, but first things first. I want a kayak now. Oh, and of course, time to use it.

Donating

I just found this statistic about how the different generations of American tend to give. I don't keep track of how much my wife and I give, but I have a good general idea (or so I should hope...). On my estimation then, the report shows that I am in the median for my generation in terms of giving, but at the same time, I am below the average. It is pretty disappointing for me. Maybe it is just vanity, but I would like to think of myself as an above average philanthropist. When I lived in Eugene, for instance, I could take pride in the fact that I donated much of my time, if not money to charitable causes or the promotion thereof. Or so I thought. I guess I got a little too high on myself, and for that, I am a bit ashamed. I am going to have to remedy this.

Also, this statistic shows that generation X - my generation - is below the average for all the generations in terms of percent who give. Poor form, my people. Poor form. Now I am ashamed on both my own behalf and on that of my generation.

So what is the next step? Find out a way to give (time or money) in a way that will maximize the efficiency of my efforts. This should help, but suggestions are welcome. I like the idea of local charities and those are just the kind that are likely to get overlooked by a broad assessment such as this one.

It's fine to criticize the government for not reacting fast enough to the Gulf oil spill. Healthy criticism should always be welcome and I am sure that there were mistakes in the response to this disaster. What I have a problem with is unfounded conspiracy theory masked as expert commentary. This is why I have such a problem with Fox news. They bring on Mike "Heckuva Job" Brown to Cavuto (itself a news commentary show disguised as journalism) in order to give him a platform to rant about the supposed ineptitude of the Obama administration in light of the recent oil spill. As if he has room to talk. Remember that this is the guy who, during Hurricane Katrina, denied that there was a refugee crisis building in the Superdome days after the media had been filling their news with it. This is the guy who said that he was an "assistant to the city manager with emergency services oversight," when he really had no managerial responsibilities. As if that were experience worthy of a directorial position at FEMA anyway.

So of all the subject matter experts that Neil Cavuto could have brought on to his show, he chooses the most discredited laughing stock that he could possibly find. Maybe I am giving My Cavuto too much credit. Maybe he really didn't have a lot of experts to choose from because they know that their mere appearance on his show could damage their reputations as respected experts. I am of course not saying that is the case; I am just supposing. Speaking of which, that's exactly what Michael Brown did on Cavuto's show. He didn't directly accuse the Obama administration of letting the spill go, he just put the possibility out there in no uncertain terms. Fox loves to do this in general, but shows like Cavuto, Glenn Beck and O'Reily are especially guilty in this game.

But let's just take a look at the accusation (which is exactly what it really was, veiled or not). What did Mr. Brown use as evidence? Pure supposition:

"...I think the delay was this: It’s pure politics. This president has never supported big oil. He has never supported offshore drilling. And now he has an excuse to shut it back down.

You’ve already heard Bill Nelson, senator from Florida, talking about offshore drilling is DOA. They played politics with this crisis and left the Coast Guard out there by themselves doing what they’re supposed to do."

There is no hard evidence. Not emails, nor citations of speeches. No witnesses to the conspiracy. Nothing. And yet, half of this country is now going to believe that there is a conspiracy by the radical, environmentalist Obama administration to cause billions of dollars of damage and untold environmental damage to the economies and coasts of the five Gulf Coast states so that they can dismantle the entire off-shore drilling industry and cause further shocks to the American economy and workforce. All of this in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression. It makes perfect sense, right?

Man vs the Volcano

I have heard climate change skeptics refer to a vague statistic that volcanoes emit more greenhouse gasses than humans. The implication being that we humans can't possibly compete with Mother Nature, so we might as well not try. Well, with the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajokull (try saying that one three times fast), I figured it was an opportune time to check the validity of this information. It turns out that the volcano spews out about 150,000 tons per day, whereas "aviation in 32 European nations emitted 510,000 tonnes a day of CO2 in 2007." That's almost four volcanoes of this size that have to erupt in order to meet the amount of emissions spewed by European aviation alone. In fact, it turns out that, on average, all of the volcanoes in the WORLD only release about 274,000 tons of CO2 per day. I think this myth is debunked.

Actually, here is an article that directly addresses the myth: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-do-volcanoes-affect-w

And here are my sources for the recent eruption and blah blah blah...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iFlK7AFMG1W1EKOCEcsMnheg0oow
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE63J0MV.htm

Trail of Payne Results

I got the results back from the Trail of Payne 10K:

#68 out of 310 with a time of 51 minutes.

Not bad for my first time. Now I am looking forward to the next run. I need to get that time down to 43 minutes or less.

Health Care Experiences

So it happens that my immune system decided to take a little vacation, leaving me with the company of my old friend chicken pox. Unfortunately, like myself, chicken pox has grown up and is now shingles. And shingles, it happens, brought a friend: meningitis. Now I am in the hospital at Naval Air Station - Jacksonville, enjoying the benefits of being on government-run health care. I am scheduled to get out by next weekend (April 11th), which I hope is true because I don't want to be here so long that the government death panel decides I am too expensive to keep alive. I also don't want to be under the care of the disgruntled doctors here for too long. It's clear by their happy and approachable demeanor that they hate working under such tyrannical regulation and for such suppressed government wages, and I for one have no intention of subjecting myself to their dissatisfaction for any longer than necessary. And have I mentioned the conditions here? Government always screws things up and I am sure that a private, for-profit, hospital probably wouldn't be caught providing such a dreadful window-view room, with a private bathroom, excellent lighting, a flat-screen TV, movies on-demand, and linens changed every other day (or every day, if requested).

Well I do seem to recall that a couple of friends have had some of their own personal experiences with private insurances, private hospitals, and government health insurance with private hospitals, so perhaps it would be interesting to do a little comparing and contrasting. Of course, any such comparison would be very amateurish, since we are not going to be able to do much in the way of cost analysis. But it might still prove to be interesting. Does anyone know people who have experienced the Canadian or British health care systems? That could be a valuable addition too.

Ok, there you have your primer. I'll be sure to write something a little more comprehensive when I get out and my experience is complete.

I Never Knew Him, But He Changed My Life

Yesterday, Stewart Udall died of natural causes, in the company of his family, at his home in Santa Fe, NM. Were it not for the news - and my preoccupation with the news - I would never have known who he was and it almost certainly would not have significantly affected my life. Yet this man in fact had a profound affect on my life from my earliest memories, and his actions will continue to play a major role in my experience for my foreseeable future.

Stewart Udall was the Secretary of the Interior during the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies. Before that, he was a congressman from Arizona, where in 1960, he fought for the protection of a little-before-known piece of land called the Great Swamp of New Jersey. At the time, the New York Port Authority had plans to turn the swamp into a new regional airport, replacing Newark Airport as a major facility capable of supporting the new jet age of transportation. Udall worked with conservation organizations to buy up save that small piece of land and protect it with an act of congress. The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge later became the first to officially receive Wilderness Area designation under the Wilderness Act of 1964.

As Interior Secretary, Udall continued to operate with the belief that the government should protect large areas of land for future generations. It was this value in mind that he championed the Wilderness Act and vastly expanded the National Park System.

Had it not been for the efforts of Stewart Udall and his allies in supporting this country's natural spaces, I would have had a vastly different - and I can only think more bland - childhood. My father started taking me into the Jefferson Wilderness wilderness area when I was so young that the only thing I could carry in on my own was my sleeping bag. Imagine a little asian kid running around with a stuff sack for a backpack. Those experiences engendered me with a deep love for nature and has shaped my life ever since. I would not have have the same friends that I do today, I would not have the same hobbies that I do today, nor would I even have the same job that I do today, were it not for the wilderness areas created by this man. In fact, I wouldn't have most of pictures that I do today either. I owe a giant debt of gratitude to Stewart Udall. Thanks, Stew.

The First of a Few

Here it is. I didn't see the point in paying for asher-gruber.com, so I let the fee lapse and now I am here on Blogger. Hopefully, this will be a little more consistent than my last blog, but don't bet your nest egg on it (not that I thought you would).

This gives me a good chance to switch up themes too. The asher-gruber blog was, at Paul's suggesting, really a political blog only, though I did stray a few times. The problem is that, while I am a political nerd, I also think about other things. Sometimes I just want to vent a bit and sometimes I want to share something funny. This new blog should end up being a much better reflection of the menagerie of thoughts, both profound and trivial, that flutter through my cranium.

Enjoy. Or don't. But I would appreciate a comment once in a while anyway.