Ed McMahon

He's having a tough time.....

McMahon defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp., which filed a notice of default in March, according to ForeclosureRadar, a company that sells default data pulled from public records.

The 85-year-old pitchman for various products, including American Family Publishers, is the highest-profile person to be caught up in the nationwide real estate downturn and mortgage crunch."He's not alone. There are plenty of people affected by the weak economy, bad housing market or bad health," McMahon's spokesman, Howard Bragman, said late Tuesday.

Bragman said McMahon fell and broke his neck about 18 months ago and has been unable to work since."The ideal situation would be that he would be healthy and able to earn a living to pay for his house," Bragman said.

Ed has always seemed to be a likable guy, and I hope it turns out OK, but I think he could have used a reality check. When you're 85 and have a seven-figure mortgage for which you have to work to pay, it's apparent that your financial planning has been askew.

Kids Of All Ages

Chris Erskine leads a child-addled life. There are the small ones he coaches.....

They eat intimidation for breakfast. In fact, they eat a lot of things they shouldn't.

"Men," I say before the game, "today you need to keep your fingers out of your noses."
"OK, coach!"

......and the bigger ones going to Prom.......

I look at the rest of the dads. The ones with daughters watch this whole event as if witnessing a mob hit.

Big in Kenya

Obama's Dad's home county is excited.

His grandmother Sarah Obama still lives in the village where she receives an endless stream of journalists and well-wishers wanting to find out more about the US Democratic super-star.

He's a good boy, and very clever," she tells me. "I never thought he would become president one day, but Barack's mother kept a close eye on him and made sure he did his studies at school."

Barack Obama is already a Kenyan hero. A school near Alego and at least one bar in Kisumu are named after him.

Some, though, were brutally realistic, fearing that despite his political credentials he might face defeat "because the US is not yet ready to elect a black man".

New Refinery

Union County voters approved rezoning for an oil refinery. There's still a long way to go......

The company must still clear a number of hurdles, including obtaining 28 different state and federal environmental permits. The first big step is a 613-page air quality permit application under review by the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources. DENR officials have been reviewing the application since December, and Hyperion hopes to complete the air permit process by year's end.

If all goes well, Hyperion hopes to complete the permitting process by the end of 2009. If that happens, site preparation could begin in 2010.

Ed Cable, co-chairman of Save Union County, has vowed his group will do all it can in the courts and will challenge every state and federal permit the company must get in order to proceed to construction and operation of the refinery; it needs more than a dozen environmental permits alone.

What has particularly interested me is the fact that it would be the first new US refinery in 32 years. Technology has come a long way since; just look around your house at all the stuff that has improved considerably since then, if it existed at all.

Divorced Without Consent

An Indian couple gets a nasty surprise.

Meena Verma said that she received the "shock of her life" when she filed a case of violence against her brother-in-law only to be told that she had in fact also been divorced from her husband nearly a decade ago.

Meena Verma's husband, Virender, said that he was solidly behind his wife and hoped for justice in court. Virender alleged that his elder brother - a lawyer - cooked up the divorce theory around about the first time the couple sought to complain against his violent behaviour 10 years ago.

Surinder and a number of other lawyers now face charges of misleading the court on the issue of divorce.

I would think the divorce laws could use tighening up too, although I can imagine how this could happen here if a couple of lawyers cooperated.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Remember Pablo Escobar, the Columbian drug lord? His old estate is being put to use.

Box of Nothing

Dave Barry with Father's Day sentiments, including poetry.....

"When I was just a little tyke, you showed me how to ride a bike; And you were sweet to me the day, I drove your car into the bay; Dad, I think you're really grand, I'm praying for your prostate gland"

Running Out of Gas

So high gas prices are causing increases in people running dry. I agree with this....

"We're seeing a lot of frustrated motorists who are trying to cut corners, and this is one way they're doing it," said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Catherine Rossi. "But they're shooting themselves in the foot, or the wallet, in the long run."

That's because perpetually running on fumes can damage a car's fuel pump — requiring repairs that make a full tank of $4 gas seem like a bargain.

At work we got calls like this with some regularity before prices went up, so I guess it's hard for me to sympathize too much, especially with people who drove past numerous gas stations in the process.

Then there's this......

Research from The Nielsen Co. shows that drivers have been making more frequent trips to the pump but limiting how much they put in the tank.
Convenience stores, which sell about 80 percent of the nation's gas, are seeing fewer fill-ups, said industry spokesman Jeff Lenard.
"When the pump hits a certain dollar amount now, you're seeing more customers stop," said Lenard, with the National Association of Convenience Stores. "They're purchasing fewer gallons."

If you've only got so much money with you, fine. I've been there. But assuming you've got to have a certain amount of fuel to get by, more small trips isn't any better, unless you count some psychological impact of smaller numbers. To me personally, more small trips would just mean more reminders of what it costs and more chances to run out. Of course, I say this as the owner of two vehicles that get good mileage and aren't onerous to fill up.

The Center

I'd lived within an hour's drive for years; been within a few minutes' drive on occasion; and currently live about three hours' drive away. Yet I've never been here. My wife and I enjoy Deadwood and the Black Hills, so I'll have to keep this in mind.

Just Marry Someone!

Salon has an opinion column noting that in some cultures the important word in the phrase "gay marriage" is marriage......

Immigrant families just understand marriage, even same-sex marriage, more easily than singlehood. Singleness means you never grew up. It's the biggest failing of parenthood -- the incompleteness of the unmarried child.

It leads to acts of desperation. I've seen the ads for marriages of convenience -- 29-year-old professional Indian gay, 5-foot-9, good job, looking for Indian lesbian facing similar family pressures.

Giant Flying Banana

Via QT at the Chicago Sun-Times: tired of tripping over that excess cash?...... donate to this. Imagine what aliens observing us would think.

The Circus Continues

Now Chelsea Clinton is coming here. Hillary caused a commotion in Madison. Obama is due back again this weekend. All trying to kiss up to 193,131 Democrats, according to the latest figures. It really is something to watch.

Those figures are interesting in another way. Independent voters had the largest percentage increase, twice as much as Democrats and 10 times as much as Republicans. They're now 15 percent of registered voters, enough to help give a Democrat at least a theoretical shot at winning. Most information I can find gives the state to McCain, though, which is why we should enjoy the attention while we can; it will vanish quickly.

I also just got an automated phone call from Ron Paul. He's still going.

Start Walking

There's no doubt this would suck. They weren't exactly smooth about it.....

The doors to the Silverjet departure lounge were locked all morning, with only a sign taped to the door to inform passengers expecting to travel of the situation.

The employees weren't any better informed....

One female employee, who did not wish to be named, said: “We got a phone call this morning, saying we had to come and collect our stuff. We don’t know if we’re even getting paid. What next? I don’t know - the pub?”

I remember a restaurant in Vermillion closing like this. Employees showed up to open the doors and found a sign on the door saying it was out of business. As I recall only certain locations were affected, so the whole company didn't just fold up.

Next Up: A New Jaws Movie

Rambo, Indiana Jones, now this. Is Eddie Murphy still a bankable leading man? It's a shame William Powell is dead, or they could do another Thin Man movie.

Gordon Brown Calling

This is cool, particularly because it doesn't seem in keeping with what I've read about the man.

Can you imagine George Bush doing this?

Job Interview Don'ts

Lisa Cullen at Time passes on a list of stupid/unfortunate things people have done at job interviews. Check out the comments for additional examples.

Moving On Without Us

Slate has an interview with the leader of Hamas. It contains a number of notable statements.....

Mishaal was all about divining the recent momentous events in the region: Israeli-Syria peace talks brokered by Turkey and an agreement, mediated by Qatar, to avert a new Lebanese civil war.

Both deals, seemingly concluded without U.S. involvement and counter to the Bush administration's policies, will affect Palestinian politics.

"The question has been asked," says Mishaal, "why did the Arabs move because of Lebanon, but they can't do this for the Palestinians?" He was referring to the successful compromises that sealed the Lebanon deal, a model of what Mishaal called a "no-win, no-lose" formula where local adversaries agree to share power. "This is what we want internally—reconciliation on the Palestinian side."

After the Syria-Israel talks were confirmed last week, former Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dahlallah was quoted as saying that if there is a peace agreement, "There will no longer be any need for resistance," a reference to Hezbollah in Lebanon but also to Hamas.

Despite the Bush administration's warning against "appeasing extremists" through dialogue, Hamas has had a flurry of contacts in the waning months of the Bush administration. Mishaal confirmed that the French government has opened a political dialogue with Hamas, despite a rebuke from Washington. There is also "communication" with other European countries, he said.

Even Israel is talking to Hamas, with Egypt serving as the go-between in indirect negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza.

Mishaal dismissed the prospects of progress on Palestinian issues during the remainder of Bush's term.

The Arab countries there are tired of fighting, and can make peace deals with each other when motivated, with or without us. It's only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that really needs us, and everyone is waiting for Bush and his gang of idiots to be replaced by someone who is willing to facilitate real negotiations. Of course, an Israeli government not under threat of indictment would help,too. Then there's this regarding the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin, the last Prime Minister who tried peace........

A recent poll showed that 26 per cent of Israelis – and 42 per cent who define themselves as religious – support freeing Amir after he has served 20 years, in eight years’ time.

There's a long way to go.

More Attention

The local news just reported that Hillary Clinton is coming back to South Dakota this week. She may be delusional about the nomination, but the local reporters aren't complaining. This is the kind of action many of them dream about; a potential resume-builder.

The news says she's going to Kyle on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Bill was down that way earlier. I'm not entirely sure why they go there; although the reservations have been Democratic strongholds in a largely Republican state, they tend to be more active for the general election. On the other hand, given the relatively small size of the Democratic Party here, the Native vote could be a big factor in the primary.

Bathroom Electronics

Jeremy Clarkson likes visiting Japan, except......

Unfortunately, though, the Japanese have examined the simple water closet and decided that it could be improved with some electronics. The result, I’m afraid, is a disaster.

Heretics

Via Refdesk:

On this day in 1521, at the conclusion of the Diet of Worms, the Edict of Worms was issued declaring Martin Luther an outlaw and a heretic. The effect of the Diet of Worms on the participants' intestinal tracts is not mentioned. (Sorry)

I once worked with a heretic; he had the documents to prove it. While attending an Episcopal (as I recall) seminary he had disagreed with the church over some point of doctrine that frankly made my eyes glaze over when he explained it to me. I remember thinking (1) Churches still actually declare people to be heretics? (Of course it doesn't have the ramifications it did for Luther.) (2) How cool that he has an official certificate. If it were me I'd definitely hang it on my wall. (3) There's a good conversation-starter at parties or an item for the resume.

What really struck me was the obscurity of the disagreement. I can't remember it's exact nature, but it was well beyond the level of a typical churchgoer. I think this is a partial answer to the question of why people stick with certain churches; most of the doctrinal differences are minute enough that people don't see the point of giving up the social network they've built up.

I imagine many people would consider a lot of the disputes that caused the formation of the various Protestant churches to be silly. I think most parishioners just don't worry about such details, or maybe they don't want to know. They might be unpleasantly surprised to find themselves thinking like heretics if they looked into their church's doctrine.

Soccer?

James Lileks at his daughter's school track-and-field day.........

It made her very happy to see me. Odd how expectations change – my mom never came to watch, even though she was the model of an Involved Parent. My dad? He was working. Dads didn’t leave work to watch their kids kick a soccer ball. For that matter, kids didn’t kick soccer balls. I don’t think they had soccer balls in North Dakota until 1981; it was brought in on a special train and placed behind glass and people got to walk around it and get close, if they felt comfortable, and become accustomed to its strange surface. It is faceted, yet round. It doesn’t seem like a gateway sport that leads inevitably to socialism. Maybe we should give it a try. No, we had baseballs. Hard, unforgiving, painful, American baseballs. When it came at your head you got out of the way. Now in the space of a single generation we’ve trained the young to stick their heads into the path of an oncoming ball.

I recall playing a pseudo-soccer game that allowed handling the ball if you could catch it in the air or kick it up to yourself. We played on the football field so we could use the goal posts. Actual soccer was pretty much nonexistent.

This confirms what we've all suspected.....

She did as well as expected – second place in the soccer-ball kick, a “participant” in the 500-yard-dash. Adults use that word to boost self-esteem, but the kids know what it means. “I got a loser ribbon,” she said.

How To Handle This

I was looking back at this humble blog and trying to decide how to handle it. I see and greatly appreciate the comments the posts get, but I still don't know if I should respond to them or not.
So I ask the 3 or 4 of you who stop by; do you go back and look for replies to comments you may have left? I know I check up on posts at other blogs to see if a thread develops or if someone responds to a comment I leave, but I'm still new at handling my own posts. Feel free to make any other suggestions for improvement while you're at it.

Not His Castle

Over at Salon, Steve Almond bemoans his shortcomings as a homeowner.

To say that I was naive about the ensuing realities would be fair, but inadequate.

This first shock of homeownership (that property values sometimes go down) was followed by a second: hidden costs. And by "hidden" I mean, of course, "those costs I was too lazy or negligent to consider beforehand."

He also makes a point that has occurred to me......

In a sense, our political leaders, in tandem with the retail sector, have offered the same cheap coverup. They've portrayed homeownership as a birthright and a breeze. Just plunk down your 10 percent, zip over to Home Depot, and you're home free.

But maybe it's time to admit that many Americans are like me: unfit for the privilege.

I split the difference in this regard. I own (or will when the loan is paid) a mobile home but have it on a rented lot in a nice court that has underground sprinklers and someone to mow the lawn.
It's not an appreciating asset like a home (until recently), but that wasn't my goal. I just wanted a place of my own in which to live, and I could afford to purchase and maintain a new mobile home with new appliances, etc., whereas a regular house was out of reach. I was also able to use it as a shipping container when I moved from Vermillion to Pierre, and I didn't have to find housing when I got here. It's not perfect (relative lack of space, no storm shelter) and it's not for everyone, but it's been a positive experience for me.

The Vicar of Baghdad

The Times of London's Catherine O'Brien interviews a man of indisputable fortitude.

He copes with MS, he says, in the way that he copes with everything: “By keeping going and not worrying about it.”

Two years ago, at a rendezvous just outside Baghdad with the kidnappers of a Brazilian, he describes being held in a room for several hours where chopped-off fingers and toes littered the floor. “They were quite fresh,” he says, when I press for more details. And how did he get out unscathed? “I gave them money. About $35,000.”

“Three years ago the Church of England told me that I was too ill to carry on working. There was no longer a place for me in the UK, but I was already working in Baghdad and that is one of the main reasons why I've ended up there.”

You Make the Rockin' World Go Round

Via 2 Blowhards, a possible use for a certain type of body fat.

Getting Tired of Us

Odsidian Wings led me to this story saying that things in Iraq could get even uglier......

Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible — a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.

The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

Al-Sistani's new edicts — which did not specifically mention Americans but refer to foreign occupiers — were in response to the question of whether it's permitted to "wage armed resistance," according to the two Shiites who received them.

Al-Sistani's affirmative response also carried a stern warning that "public interest" should not be harmed and every effort must be made to ensure that no harm comes to Iraqis or their property during "acts of resistance," they said.

I agree with Eric Martin at Obsidian Wings that a similar public announcement would make our occupation almost completely untenable. Al-Sistani's restraint is what keeps what passes for an Iraqi government and military together and cooperating with us. Al-Maliki would have to disown us in order to save his skin. We would then be there against the wishes of the elected government and the most prominent Shiite religious leaders. All we'd have are the Sunnis we've been able to buy off, and considering the edicts' specific prohibition of harming Iraqis I don't see why the Sunnis would help us. We'd be forced to either leave under duress or violently suppress most of the population, which (1) would completely destroy our international standing and (2) we lack the means to do anyway.

This story is the type of reminder we need - Iraqis don't trust our intentions and don't want us there, and the clock is ticking. I just hope the next administration takes notice.

P.J. Then and Now

Via Arts and Letters Daily, P.J. O'Rourke writes about a trip he took to China in 2006.

“If the old days were so terrible,” said the British woman, “why the long queue at Mao’s tomb?” I resisted the temptation to say, “They’re making sure he’s dead.”

For contrast, P.J. vintage 1978.

Trouble at the Top

The Times of London has an excellent article on the letdown often experienced by people when they've achieved a long-desired goal. Gordon Brown's current problems are used as an example. Quoting......

Brown viewed elevation to the Premiership as the be all and end all of his political career: it was the goal towards which he was striving from the moment he conceded the leadership of the Labour Party to his close friend. Anticlimax was inevitable.
Thatcher, on the other hand, was no less ruthless or determined, but her guiding ambition was to change Britain. Becoming Prime Minister was, in her schema, a stepping-stone to a grander destiny.

I think Brown had an additional handicap, in that since he had been part of the ruling government, he was (is) in the awkward position of having already implemented many of his ideas. The elder George Bush had a similar problem. "More of the Same" is not an inspiring theme, especially when the Same is looking tired.

The overall theme of the article is quite correct, however. Having goals is admirable, but when they are essentially closed-ended with no idea of where to go from there, attaining them can be disorienting.

Grinding It Out

While I was waiting in the Wal-mart parking lot for my wife,who works there part-time, I watched the other employees who left at that same time (10 PM). There were senior citizens and people with physical problems both small and large, such as the woman in the wheelchair checking receipts. I wondered what these people would be doing if they couldn't work there. I don't know about other Wal-marts, but this one seems to give just about everyone a chance to show they can hold down a job there, and that's nice to see.

Watching them and the customers going in and coming out also reminded me that Wal-mart is in the hardscrabble sector of retailing, which is itself a tough business. It doesn't deal with those seeking couture and gourmet; it caters to people trying to put food on the table and clothes on the kids and maybe something fun if they can afford it. It's main business is needs, not desires. There aren't many revolutionary products or high-margin cash cows. Wal-mart makes it's money the way Andrew Carnegie made his over a century ago; by keeping costs as low as possible, and passing at least some of it on to customers, who are often the type who need any savings they can get (although not exclusively, of course; the Governor shops there). I read that economists anticipate Wal-mart holding up well during the current slump, because it deals in necessities at low prices. It's where people who can no longer afford to shop elsewhere will go.

It can be ruthless and stupid and generally show the usual symptoms of corporate giantism, but it is worth remembering that it didn't get where it is by riding a fad or incredible good luck. It clawed it's way up by giving people what they wanted (and sometimes needed) while being spit on most of the way. I know there are people who say they will never shop there for a variety of frequently legitimate reasons, and that's fine; it's what makes the economy work. We have other grocery stores here for those people. But the fact is that those other retailers would like to be in Wal-mart's position.

Kids No More

Lemmonex led off a post on a Mother's Day get-together with one of those Universal Truths, the ones that make people nod their heads and usually aren't spoken because they're almost intuitive....

No matter how old you are, you will always be your parent’s babies.

The psychological fallout from that has been immense throughout human history, and I'm certainly not qualified to analyze it. It occurred to me, though, that from what I've seen, it’s usually the arrival of grand kids that shakes off most of the “parent’s babies” vibe. It changes into a combination of Senior Advisor, as in "I remember when that happened with you - here's what to do"; and Revenge, as in "Grand kids are a Parent's Revenge", or the fulfillment of the old parental jab,"Just wait until you have children!"

My family has been in this mode for a while. My three brothers and I all have at least one child, and my oldest niece will be 20 in August (I remember when she crawled out of her diaper and wet on my floor.... oh,Mike, stop that!). Both my parents are alive and well and relatively young(sub-70), so I guess the next milestone is the first great-grandkid.

It gets really interesting when the generations build up. My wife’s Mother and maternal Grandmother are still alive and fairly healthy, and she also has three granddaughters. The interplay can be fun to watch as I stay quietly out of the way.

I Don't Forsee Any Problems

Dom Joly of The Independent is planning his son's fourth-birthday party......


I'm determined to get everyone plastered and on to the bouncy castle. I love bouncy castles, but they are always for kids. I'm going to have a private half-hour for adults – drunk adults.

Einstein + God = Big Money

A letter written by Einstein sells for major cash. As the quotes show, he was no fan of religion.

......he wrote that “the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”

As for his fellow Jews, he said that Judaism, like all other religions, was “an incarnation of the most childish superstitions.”

Reuters Tidbits

A museum to see if you're ever in Iceland. Would contributing to the collection be considered organ donation?

In Italy, a unique training program at a women's prison.

The Pressures of Equal Rights

Once again The Onion had the different angle. This is from 2004.

Jazz Done

Not too surprising, but rats....... now I'll have to get by with baseball until football season.

1,000 Years

An Egyptian con man gets an enormous jail term. He's apparently been doing it for over 20 years. Notable excerpt.....

As an unemployed man, his family argue, Mohammed was merely trying to make a living.

Maybe, but a guy with that sales ability should have been able to find honest work. Not that he was unique.......

Such cases come to light regularly in Egypt, where working middle class people seem ready to hand their life savings to a person they hardly know in return of a promise of 20% profit to be returned on monthly basis.

Greed and gullibility are indeed worldwide phenomena.

Agenbites

Via Arts & Letters Daily, a Weekly Standard article on words "that feel right when we say them: accurate expressions, somehow, for themselves." I think pus would be a good example; it just sounds like what it is.

Obama in South Dakota

Obama actually said something worthy of reporting while he was here. That's a nice departure from the usual stops national candidates make in South Dakota. Typically they toss out a generic speech with fill-in-the-blank South Dakota references, then move on. Of course, it's hard to ignore George Bush when he's out embarrassing himself overseas.

I agree with Doug Wiken at Dakota Today that all the candidates will forget about us after the election. At least John Thune is getting some attention as a VP candidate, though I can't imagine McCain actually picking him. It got me to thinking though; how long has it been since a South Dakota Republican got some positive national notice? Considering the heavily Republican leanings here, it's interesting how often we send Democrats to DC.

Will the Honorable Senator Please Put a Sock in It?

John McCain recently said (from Slate):

I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the Prime Minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons."

I've watched the British Question Time on C-SPAN, and it can be a hoot. I agree with the author that it probably wouldn't be the same here, but it's a neat idea. I do wonder if McCain wouldn't regret this, given his temperamental reputation.

The lonely RV buyer

Slate notes that recreational vehicle sales have plummeted, and it's probably going to get worse. The author seems a bit surprised, arguing that the factors that are hurting other types of vacationing should help RV sales. I think he underestimates the importance of one of his own statements.

Americans seem to lump recreational vehicles in the same category as powerboats: discretionary, big-ticket purchases that guzzle too much gas.

While it may be true, as the article states, that RV vacations can be a great deal cheaper than other types, you don't have to make payments or pay insurance on the hotel room when you're done vacationing. The cost and hassle of maintaining an RV when you're not using it would easily overtake the vacation savings unless you vacation frequently, in which case money probably isn't that big a concern.

Applying Kennedy in Africa

Via Andrew Sullivan, an article in The American contrasting Botswana's relative success with it's neighbor Zimbabwe. Basically it came down to different applications of JFK: in Zimbabwe the leaders asked what the country can do for them, while in Botswana the leaders asked what they can do for their country.

Another item in the article caught my eye for a different reason:

It is surely a sign of Botswana’s relative comfort with racial diversity that on April 1, 2008, Ian Khama, the first-born son of the country’s founder, took over the reigns of power in Botswana, thus becoming the first half-white leader of an African democracy.

Although it's almost never mentioned that way, we here in the US have a half-white person in contention for the Presidency as well. If Obama wins, I hope he gets together with Ian Khama.

Oil Supply Hijacking

This does not bode well. Imagine the chaos in the oil markets if someone starts grabbing tankers. I've never heard of any efforts to prevent such a thing.

How to Handle Women

Via the Times of London, a 1943 collection of tips for male supervisors of women in the workplace. I sometimes think they're still used in certain places.

Sterner Stuff

An obituary in the Times of London for a heroine of the Warsaw Ghetto. Money quote from her last year in response to being honored by the Polish Senate.....

“Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory.”

The kind of person who makes me feel a little ashamed of myself for not doing more good in life.

Mother's Day

Mark Vernon has a post speculating about altruism in animals. It reminded me of a story I once saw a farmer tell on television of a chicken who didn't have chicks until relatively late in life. She was out in the yard watching them when a hawk suddenly appeared. With no time to get them to safety, she gathered the chicks underneath her and took the hit herself. Miraculously the hawk missed by enough that a kill was avoided, and the farmer scared it off. It's hard to explain that without altruism, or the famed maternal instinct we celebrate today.

More on Lab-Grown Meat

The Times of London has a fairly detailed article on a subject I've mentioned before: growing meat in a laboratory. It offers more details on the current state of the science (mincemeat for burgers or sausages likely within 10 years: steaks, etc need technology that doesn't exist yet) from New Harvest, an organization that is promoting it.

The recent kerfuffle here over a new hog farm being built in SE South Dakota demonstrates the potential support this idea could get once the technology matures. Anyone who has been to one of those places would be in favor of anything that could replace them.

If It Doesn't Feel Good, Don't Do It

Again via 2 Blowhards, a report in the Telegraph noting an increase in the number of men not interested in sex. Excerpts:

The main sufferers who call its helpline with the problem are generally aged between 30 and 50 and are married.

Peter Bell, Relate’s head of practice, said: “Men used to come to us with impotence – now known as erectile insufficiency – but Viagra has sorted some of that problem. What we have is a lot of men who say, as women did in the 1950s: 'I can have sex but I do not want to. It’s not rewarding’.

“It is a serious issue. It counts as a pychosexual dysfunction rather than just a relationship problem, because these men haven’t simply gone off their partner but off sex altogether.”

Dysfunction? The listed age range does complicate this: the differences between a 30yo and a 50yo are many and varied. But I recall a time when loss of libido was considered a natural result of aging. It's only relatively recently in human history that a man could expect to be alive at 50, much less interested in sex.

The mention of Viagra is notable. That type of medication, and the hype behind it, has created a "since you can, you should" expectation that may not jibe with some men's (and women's) natural feelings. Sex drive is a function of hormones designed to encourage reproduction. Once the hormones begin to decline and reproduction is no longer involved, sex becomes a function of pleasure and intimacy. The intimacy issue with the partner would need to be addressed, but otherwise, if sex isn't enjoyable,why bother? Despite what popular culture depicts, there is more to life.

What is Education?

Via 2blowhards, I came across an article that argues that today's educators operate under various false assumptions, and that the No Child Left Behind program exacerbates them. I'll leave you to agree or disagree with it, but a particular paragraph struck home with me.

American schools have never been able to teach everyone how to read, write, and do arithmetic. The myth that they could has arisen because schools a hundred years ago did not have to educate the least able. When the twentieth century began, about a quarter of all adults had not reached fifth grade and half had not reached eighth grade. The relationship between school dropout and intellectual ability was not perfect, but it was strong. Today’s elementary and middle schools are dealing with 99 percent of all children in the eligible age groups.

My wife is a special ed tutor, so she deals with the very bottom of that 99 percent. She helps handle several kids, but one young lady in particular is her focus. This girl, a senior, almost never speaks. I don't know what her so-called mental age is, but I'm fairly sure she's never going to be able to live on her own. She's a prime example of a child who probably never would have gone to school 100 years ago, because she can't function in a normal classroom and no special programs existed. My wife's job is to teach her, and the others, as much of what their classmates learn as possible.

I attended a music program put on by that girl and other special ed kids today. The level of handicap varies widely in the group, but all have definite difficulties. They put a lot of work into the program, and they were rightly quite proud of what they accomplished, as were the parents who were there. A good time was had by all. The Superintendent of schools was there as well, and as we left, he said "I'm glad I was able to make it."

Most of these kids face uncertain futures at best. What they're doing now may be a high point in their lives, one that they never would have experienced 100 years ago, or probably 40 years ago for that matter, and one that had they had to be taught to experience. Here one premise of the article comes into the picture: that the education system needs to understand that an individual student only has so much ability, and no magic teaching method is going to increase it. So teach the student to maximize that ability, even (I would say especially) if that maximum isn't going to be very high. It may not help test scores, but it will improve students' lives.

Jimmy in Demand

The Nigerian rebels who helped drive up the price of oil by attacking pipelines,etc. want Jimmy Carter to mediate. Whatever you think of Jimmy's politics, the esteem in which he is held worldwide should be noted as an example of how integrity can benefit a person long-term.

Christian Pop Culture

Slate has a review of a book by a man who investigated the problems inherent in making Christian versions of various forms of pop culture, particularly music. Notable excerpts:

.....You shoehorn a message that's essentially about obeying authority into a genre that's rebellious and nihilistic, and the result can be ugly, fake, or just limp.

The entertainers in Radosh's book complain about watchdog groups that count the number of times a song mentions Jesus or about the lockstep political agenda a Christian audience expects.

A Christian friend who'd grown up totally sheltered once wrote to me that the first time he heard a Top 40 station he was horrified, and not because of the racy lyrics: "Suddenly, my lifelong suspicions became crystal clear," he wrote. "Christian subculture was nothing but a commercialized rip-off of the mainstream, done with wretched quality and an apocryphal insistence on the sanitization of reality."

My contact with such music has been limited to sporadic listening to a local Christian radio station in my car when nothing else was available. I have found most of it (at least what that station plays) to be roughly comparable to the kind of insipid "easy-listening" dreck that might help a baby fall asleep. That said, the production values were acceptable, and the performances competent.

I recall the flak Amy Grant took when she recorded some perfectly inoffensive songs that were considered "not Christian enough". I believe Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" had similar problems. (Although nothing like her dad Pat had when he put out an album covering heavy-metal songs. The sight of him dressed in a black leather vest and pants, on stage at an awards show with Alice Cooper, was just fabulous. I think all those years as Mr. Squeaky-Clean caused him to blow a gasket, and it was great.)

Artists have to accept that if they're going to work in the Christian subculture, their creativity is going to be limited by the dogma of the religions that created that subculture. Not that this is new: artists and scientific researchers have had to deal with religious-based limits for centuries. At least the current artists can be thankful that it's a subculture they can leave. In the past the limits were the mainstream, and there weren't many options.

Microsoft May Have to Work for Something

Microsoft gave up on buying Yahoo, at least for now. Microsoft's standard procedure of using large amounts of cash to solve a problem didn't work out.

It's worth remembering that Microsoft rode a stroke of luck (as noted in the History portion of the Wikipedia entry on DOS,the original IBM PC operating system) and IBM's name to the top, although they did have the sense to license their software to other PC manufacturers (again, helped by IBM's blunder in letting that happen). They have done well to stay there, admittedly, but they've done so largely because the IBM-compatible PC has remained (and likely will remain for some time) the dominant personal computer and a consistent cash machine.

Now the big thing is internet-based software, and Microsoft tried to buy a solution just like Bill Gates did when he had to run out and buy the operating system software to sell to IBM. But now no one is going to let them have it cheaply, and there's already someone ahead of them. Google doesn't seem like they're going to make the mistakes that helped Microsoft before. Maybe actually having to compete will bring something out of Microsoft that we haven't seen.

Is Horse Racing Brutal?

Via Incertus, a New York Times article by William Rhoden castigating horse racing in light of the putting down of a horse at the Kentucky Derby. Quoting.....

The sport is at least as inhumane as greyhound racing and only a couple of steps removed from animal fighting.

I'm not sure I entirely agree, if only because greyhound racing has a horrible reputation. Racehorses are treated pretty well in comparison; too much money is spent on them to risk their health, at least while they can race and/or breed. Of course, not much is said about what happens to the has-beens, but from what I gather many still enjoy a typical horse life after they're done racing. I do see the possibility of more injuries,though, because of the way these horses have been bred to be strong and fast and almost impossibly thin-legged.

In other horse-related items I've happened across, Dale over at Faith in Honest Doubt expressed his bafflement at people who enjoy horse racing (and NASCAR), and Slate has a number of posts, including the decline in track attendance, whether racehorses live up to an old saying, and the attempts of an Arab Sheik to win the Kentucky Derby.

No Ferraris

At The Smart Set, an article on the life of a private investigator. It seems training as a therapist would be a plus.

Women's Golf

ESPN2 has an LPGA tournament on. I'm not sure if I can say this without sounding sexist, so let me say up front that it's just a comparison to the LPGA of the past: there are more young, fairly attractive women on the tour. I remember watching the LPGA in the 70's, when Nancy Lopez made a splash because,besides being a fine golfer, she was cute. It was considered noteworthy. Part of it could be that fashions have improved as well; I recall women's golf clothing looking pretty much like men's in the 70's.

I must say there seems to be plenty of personality on the LPGA tour,more than the PGA, which is generally pretty bland compared to the past with the likes of Lee Trevino, Gary Player, and Chi Chi Rodriguez. I was working at a TV station years ago that broadcast a Skins Game that had the legendary Sam Snead in the group. He had played before the boom-microphone era, so he said what he felt; if he hit a shitty shot,that's what he called it,usually loudly. It was great fun, although I imagine the poor NBC people held their breath every time it was Sam's turn.

Sex Determination Reconsidered

After posting my essentially guesswork-based opinion on what criteria should be used for determining a person's sex, I went Googling for information from people who actually have studied this. I found a good report (pdf) from the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine which gave a rundown of the history of testing in international track and field. It discusses the attempt to determine whether the athlete's "gender"offered any competitive advantage.

This emphasis on practical consequences stuck me as exactly right, and caused me to reconsider my original statement that DNA testing would be the "better" way to go. If you've taken on all the physical characteristics of a woman and are living as a woman, accepting all the advantages and disadvantages of femininity,then how you were born is no longer of any relevance. If I lose a leg or my sight, or my hair color goes gray, the fact that I was born differently doesn't matter, nor does whether or not it was voluntary like a sex change. I'm still living with my current status, and it should be considered as part of my legal situation.

Mind you, this would screw over the couple in the New York Times article. I would suggest they draw up the appropriate legal documents to make sure inheritance and other issues are handled according to their wishes.

I still ponder the sexual-preference consequences, particularly considering the idea that sexual preference is genetic. Loving a person enough to go against your personal sexual preference in order to have sex with that person would be a decision few people could make. Then imagine explaining it: "Well, she was a man when we married, but I love her enough to have lesbian sex now that she has become a woman."

Weather Galore

Tornadoes in Iowa; serious snow in the Black Hills (they're talking about 3-5 feet, with more in spots, by the time it's done,which will probably mean flooding in a few days). It's been raining since yesterday here. The TV weather guy says it's snowing here, but I don't see any yet.

Another Health Tip Debunked

Via 2 Blowhards, This New York Times article reporting the lack of any scientific basis for drinking copious amounts on water. The idea always seemed a little silly to me., unless you're a big fan of urination. Thirst has been getting a bad rap. It's always been a pretty good indicator, just like hunger. Drinking when you're not thirsty isn't any better for you than eating when you're not hungry, although it also probably doesn't have the downside of overeating. It seems like good health always comes back to the old standard of common-sense moderation.

Abandoned Puppet

Much has been said, most recently over at Dakota Today, about President Bush's increasing cluelessness (even for him) about almost anything. I thought I'd re-post some of my comment here, along with my thoughts on a post Dale had at Faith in Honest Doubt speculating on Bush's post-presidency.

It's been said that he's one of those people who was born on third base but goes through life thinking he hit a triple. He's the lamest lame-duck president I've seen since LBJ decided not to run and got completely written off. He's flopping around like a puppet whose puppeteers have stopped paying attention, which is exactly what has happened. They're busy getting ready to set fire to the sack of crap they'll leave on the White House doorstep for the next President.

As for what he'll do when he's out of office, I think it'll be pretty much what he did before: as Dale put it.......

....Cuttin' brush, cashin' checks, sittin' in luxury boxes of major league baseball games.........

The only thing in his adult life he didn't screw up was serving as a puppet for others. Now that he's of no more use to them, he can do what I've suspected (based on his recent appearance in the ESPN booth at a baseball game) he'd rather do anyway: sit around drinking beer and shooting the breeze with the boys while watching sports. Really, would you want him trying to do anything else?

Decline and Fall of the SUV

I've read a lot about how gas prices and fashion changes have sent SUV sales off a cliff. I saw what I think is a metaphor for that decline at the mall here. A raffle was set up with the grand prize of a choice of $25,000 in cash or a brand-new GMC Yukon with a dealer sticker in the window showing a price of $53,000. That disparity struck me, along with the fact that in the past, were I to win that drawing, I might have been tempted to take the GMC with the expectation of selling it for more than $25,000. Today I'm not too sure. The fact that the dealer offered it up as a prize instead of a smaller,cheaper vehicle says something about his sales expectations as well.

That said, I have also heard that pickup sales haven't been doing too badly here due to higher commodity prices helping farmers. Of course, pickups have a working-truck use (although frequently it's a matter of buying a new one for personal/road use and turning the old one into a field pickup) that SUVs lack.

Drifting the Web for Demotivation

Ah, the pleasures of wandering web links...... Lisa Cullen at Time.com linked to a producer of wonderfully snide posters, t-shirts,etc., which in turn linked to another source of similiar material. Some have a zing.......

No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.

What lies behind us and lies before us are small matters compared to what lies right to our faces.

Just because you're necessary doesn't mean you're important.

Changing Sex and Marital Status

Obsidian Wings has a discussion going on this New York Times story on the uncertain legal status of married couples when one changes sex. Obviously, taking sex out of the equation would solve the problem, but that's apparently going to have to be done state by state.

As it stands, I would think that a federal law defining how sex is legally determined would be feasible. DNA would probably be the better choice, given the abilities of plastic surgery. It would create some silly situations, but at least it would be consistently measurable and would eliminate one legal variable.

One general thought occurred to me: assuming the couple continues to have a sex life, the woman involved would have had to change her sexual preference. This could bring up a decision if the transgendered partner dies first: switch back or not? I know this would be an individual decision, but it does demonstrate the complications.

Lab-grown Meat

This post at Slate and a subsequent chat with Dale at Faith in Honest Doubt brought to mind some thoughts about lab-grown meat that I suspect only time (and maybe a little more googling) will clarify.

Dale mentioned the likelihood that lab meat would have the same nutritional downsides as current meat. I would guess that they would be able to control the nutrients more precisely and thus perhaps make a more nutritional meat, although some fat is needed.

Or is it? The characteristics of current meat are largely defined by it's primary function as part of an animal. If meat doesn't need to function as muscle and flesh, would it be necessary to grow it with the same characteristics? Even if it's not necessary, would such basic changes produce a desireable product?

Jeremy Clarkson

A couple of gems from Jeremy Clarkson, from Top Gear and the Sunday Times. The man may be certifiable, which makes him fun to read.

Head Scratcher

Chris Wilson's blog post at Slate saying that Obama should drop out read like something Clinton herself would say (in fact,if I were more cynical, I'd think he was hired by the Clintons). "You've got me beat, but I'm willing to wreck the party, so you should quit to prevent it". What kind of logic is that? Imagine Hitler in 1945 saying "you've beaten me, but I'm going never going to surrender, so to prevent more bloodshed you should surrender to me".

The line that shoots down the whole premise is "His followers will be furious". They would be so furious that they would never trust him again, and they wouldn't be the only ones. If you were a Senator, would you agree to partner with him on any remotely controversial legislation? I'd bet he'd have a tough time getting re-elected to the Senate. The opposing campaign slogan would be simple: "He quit on you before."

Saying it was for the good of the party would mean nothing. The party machine was behind Clinton from the beginning; people who supported Obama did so to oppose the party. Those people would see him as another party hack, and would never support him for anything.

Wilson is correct that the Democratic Party would be wrecked, but no one would trust Obama to fix it.

@#$%& Snow

This is getting annoying. It appears we have a couple of inches on the ground and it's still coming down, although not heavily. At least it's melting off the streets and sidewalks. Once again, it's worse east of here. Schools are closing early.
The Sioux Falls area appears to be getting it pretty good, which gets the media all excited and makes me glad I have the day off. We dispatch the Highway Patrol for Sioux Falls, and any snow/sleet/heavy frost/newspaper-sized patch of ice there sends vehicles careening into the ditch and/or other vehicles. Sioux Falls is unique in this regard. We handle a fair chunk of the state in addition to Sioux falls, and it can be storming like a scene from Dr. Zhivago everywhere else, but if Sioux Falls isn't getting it, we don't get much more action.

Arby's and Wendy's

The parent company of Arby's is buying Wendy's. We don't have either chain here. I enjoy Arby's as a change of pace, but I adore Wendy's. If there was a Wendy's here I would never darken the doors of McDonald's or Burger King again. The company says each will remain a separate chain, but the concept of a combo restaurant is intriguing, although I must say I've never been to a Taco Bell/KFC combo place that was as good as the single version of Taco Bell(the KFC part is of no interest to me, except as the possible source of the problem).

Lingering Medication

James Lileks, fresh from a dentist's appointment involving heavy medication, commenting on a 1914 frog infestation that had been compared to a biblical plague.....

Biblical plague! You can even sing it to the Addams Family song if you substitute “biblical plague” for the opening harpsicord riff.

Biblical plague! (snap snap) Biblical plague! (snap snap) Biblical plague! Biblical plague! Biblical plague! (snap snap) It’s Moses-style Old-timey / the rain of things all slimy / They’ve pointed spotty hineys / the overrunning frogs / The town was known as Melrose / the creatures’ feet had four toes / the reason? Who the hell knows / the overrunning frogs!”

Okay, obviously the drugs are still working.

Almost makes me want to visit the dentist,if I can get the same drugs.

Wrong Target

A large group of truckers is coming here to protest high fuel prices. I certainly agree it's a growing problem that's going to cascade through the economy in many ways. But there are plenty of better places to hold a protest (as usual, the oil companies would be a good start). The South Dakota state government ranks with your local Cub Scout pack in terms of influence.

An Odd Sighting

I was at a gas station in Watertown, South Dakota last Sunday when a large RV adorned with Ron Paul for President banners pulled in. I didn't get to talk to the man who got out, but it was somewhat startling to actually see such an extravagant show of support for him in a state barely acknowledged by most national candidates, even marginal ones.

UPDATE..... Reason.com says Ron Paul was in Montana Monday. Maybe I blew a chance to say hello.

British Religion

An interesting poll. The U.S. and U.K. do have some real differences. It's almost impossible to imagine those results in the U.S.

Initiatives Redux

I see that we may be voting on anther ballot issue restricting abortions. This seems to come up every election cycle. I haven't heard anything about another traditional measure, to eliminate video lottery games. This is a drawback to living in a sparsely populated state. It doesn't take that many signatures to get something on the ballot, and certain issues will always have a core group. So we have to vote on the things time after time no matter how often or how decisively they are defeated. If a measure passes the other side will bring it back. I suppose the voter-motivation they cause is a positive side-effect, but people here tend to turn out anyway.

All for Nothing

So after all the hooey, the Pennsylvania primary turned out more or less exactly as predicted weeks ago. Further more, it actually lessened Clinton's mathematical chance of winning. I really wouldn't care about this except that it makes TV news almost unwatchable as they hash over old ground. At least now the remaining primaries aren't that far off. The six-week gap between major primaries was ludicrous.

I think the way to do this would be to have three groups of primaries. The first group would allocate 25% of the delegates. This should be big enough to shake out at least some of the field. The next group would be a month later and would allocate 30%, which should whittle the field to the real contenders. The last group a month later would allocate the remaining 45%. This should be sufficient to make them important enough to eliminate the ridiculous rush to be early. The whole process would be over in two months (not counting however far in advance candidates start campaigning). I realize that this would require a great deal of cat herding and/or strong-arming by the national party to implement, but a guy can dream.

Jimmy Carter

Whatever you may think about this, at least the man is actually trying. What's more, his past efforts give him some credibility with Palestinians. If you were them, would you believe anything Condoleezza Rice said?

The Onion, as usual, got there first. It's far too profane for Jimmy, but it's not hard to imagine him sitting somewhere watching events play out on TV and thinking along those lines.

Last Weekend

My wife and I spent last weekend celebrating our anniversary in Watertown, which for those of you who don't know, is the fourth largest city in South Dakota (pop. 20,000!) . You may ask why; many here did. The main motivator was my wife's desire to visit the Terry Redlin museum, which I didn't mind, although I'm not a big art enthusiast in general and in particular can only look at so many paintings of wildlife/rural scenes before they blur into a giant mass of deer/birds/farms/fish/small towns.

Looking at the paintings inspired by rural images of Redlin's youth after driving 190 miles through the same area did offer an interesting contrast. There are still many echoes of that time in the current countryside. Some are rundown or rusting, others haven't changed much at all. I've noticed the same thing at other South Dakota museums, sometimes coming across "museum pieces" that my wife and I recall seeing in daily use (cue here for old age comments) . It's a reminder that South Dakota is a a young state.

It also occurred to me when we planned this trip that Watertown was the only major South Dakota city (meaning population of 10,000+) that I had never visited. I had driven by it on I-29, but hadn't actually been in town since 1977, when my church youth group saw the Star Wars premiere (more old age comments). It's big enough to have attractions such as a small zoo, decent waterpark,etc. but small enough that these attractions are relatively cheap and accessible. It's also a commercial center for that area.

The trip pointed out the evolving demographics of South Dakota; a few cities prospering while much of the countryside is depopulating. The railroads had created towns every 10 miles or so. Now many of these towns are slowly withering away (some not so slowly). In a way things are reverting to the past. As schools close or consolidate, the distances rural children have to travel increases, and busing becomes more scarce. My mother stayed with a family in town when she went to high school. I can imagine this coming back.

BBC notes

I've been pretty drunk in my life, but never like this.

End of an internet legend. I never thought anyone would get these guys.

So the Olympic torch relay has come to this. Considering the modern torch relay started with Berlin in 1936, maybe this year would be an appropriate time to end it.

Liberal Iran

Not only does Iran have hookers, they also have druggies and HIV, and they took action that would give the Bush adminstration the vapors.

Shoes, Clothes, Forensics

An unlikely owner/operator of a crime lab.

Spitzer Loves Company

Somehow I think this guy is in bigger trouble.

Random Items for Tax Day

As every news outlet has mentioned, today is the deadline for Federal tax return filing. Dave Barry has some tips.I don't know anyone who hasn't already done this and spent the refund. I've always assumed that people who put this off are the ones who have to pay in. I've never found doing my taxes to be that difficult, mostly because I don't have much for deductions.

It looks like Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines are going to get their merger done. Northwest has two flights a day out of Pierre Airport (now boarding at gate 1 and only), so this is of some local interest. Hopefully something good will come of it. The airline industry seems to be in a constant state of chaos, of operating on the edge. It goes through these occasional spasms of consolidation but never seems to settle. I am one of of a truly rare breed in that I have never flown commercially. I've never had the need, and frankly it doesn't sound like it's anything I want to do unless I have no choice.

MSNBC is showing oil at over $113 a barrel. I really do wonder how long that can go on before the economy grinds down. Oil is in just about everything. Of course, oil company stocks are up.
I have always wanted someone to explain to me why, if oil companies aren't gouging, their profits go up when oil goes up. I always thought that if your expenses rise and you raise your prices just enough to compensate, your profits should remain steady. I'm sure there's some accounting explanation for it, but it still doesn't seem right.

Face Dances

While I was at the L.A. Times website I came across this article on plastic surgery getting out of hand. I know I've seen some people become almost unrecognizable. One non-actor who comes to mind is Axl Rose. The last time I saw him on TV, he'd had some face work done, and if they hadn't said who he was I'd never have guessed. All his prior distinguishing features were gone, and I didn't see any compensating improvement in his looks.

High-definition TV may be partially behind this, and is only going to exacerbate it. After seeing a prototype HD TV years ago, I remember marvelling at the clarity and thinking that makeup artists will have hard work ahead of them. It looks like the plastic surgeons will get their business boosted as well.

Failed Campaign Financing

Via Brijit, Joel Stein has a cute column about Bill Richardson's leftover campaign debt and his efforts to pay it off. I must say I hadn't heard of someone doing this. In case you're wondering, if he'd had money left over, he couldn't just blow it; there are rules.

Catholic Delusions

A number of thoughts went through my mind as I read this NY Times article about the Pope coming to America. One was sadness, not because I have any particular sympathy for the Catholic Church, but because of the sense of loss by some of the people involved. Quoting.....

“It’s frustrating because you start to see the bishop as the enemy, and it puts you where you’re conflicted,” said Leah Vassallo, a lawyer whose parish in Malaga, N.J., is among those to be closed. “Obviously you don’t want to give up your faith or go to a different religion, or not go to church at all. But it does disenfranchise you. We’re going to be a lot more hesitant before we give money to the church.”

“They’ve totally abandoned our community,” said Mr. Thiel, who is now president of United Parishes, a group that is fighting parish closings in Toledo. “They took the buildings, they took the money, and said, ‘You guys can go somewhere else.’ ”

You can tell that these people lost something that has meant a lot to them, even if it had been a fairy tale version of the Catholic Church, and that's sad.

I also got the urge to say "well, of course!" to this....

The number of priests ordained in 2007 fell to 456, less than half the number of new priests in 1965.

Becoming a priest is roughly as long and arduous a process as becoming a lawyer, doctor, or accountant, and those professions don't require the attendant personal sacrifices. Besides, what single young man (and ONLY single men, which is another problem) would want to join an organization with the ongoing problems of the priesthood?

These statements dropped my jaw a little.....

“These are really the loyal Catholics speaking out for change,” Mr. D’Antonio said. “They are the ones who have been the Eucharistic ministers, they went to Catholic parochial schools and colleges, got a terrific education, and now they want to change the church.”

As Catholics they are devoted to their church, but don’t necessarily agree with all of its decisions. As Americans, accustomed to life in a democracy, they think they have a right to say so.

Where did they get these ideas? If there's one thing the Catholic Church has always been clear about, it's that it is NOT a democracy. I'm inclined to think that this disconnect comes from the middle management (priests, bishops,etc) dancing around the fact that parishioners have no say in order to keep from losing even more people.

And finally, this......

“There are so many people that want to be active in this church, that want to know more about their faith, and now they’re so offended,” Mr. Thiel said. “I tell people all the time, ‘Don’t leave your church. It’s not the pope. It’s not the bishop. It’s your community.’ "

Sorry Mr. Thiel, but the Pope would strongly disagree with you, and that may be the biggest problem of all.

Piracy Update

The Somali piracy incident turned out OK.

On the other hand, there is this from the UK. The commenters are rightly aghast. Suppose a British ship stops a vessel that has been taken by pirates. Now what? They can't detain the pirates, and they can't let them take the stolen boat. They would have to call for a naval vessel from another country. I can partially understand not turning them over to the barely-existing Somali government, but why not try them for piracy in the UK? The UN document on this says:

On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board. The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith.

I also have a wild thought regarding unintended consequences. The alleged basis for this is human rights. But, regarding the above scenario, suppose there are no other ships around? Wouldn't the British sailors technically be obligated to throw the pirates overboard? That strikes me as a bigger human rights violation, although it does seem more in keeping with High Seas tradition. I'm guessing this will be changed before they have to start making people walk the plank.

Grandpa Mixup

Another gem from the Onion.

Future Music

Jillian Cohan has an article in The American that notes that the biggest touring acts are all aging, and wonders where the music industry is going to get it's future cash cows. I think they're going to have to realize that those 60s-70's bands carved followings from a Boomer population that was a freak of demographics. Not only is the music business fragmenting, but the sheer size of the consumer market isn't going to be what it was. Music as a big financial business is a relatively recent phenomenon, and it just isn't going to be a license to print money anymore.
I think Disney is showing one model by developing acts through their various enterprises.

It's also worth noting that those old acts are exceptional, the ones who managed to keep it together long enough for their fans to accumulate the money to spend on those tours. There will be others: it'll just take time.

Preservation Takes Many Forms

From his column,the lovely and talented Jon Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle addressing a group advocating the preservation of a local building.......

"I'd like to thank you all for this opportunity to address this fine gathering of preservationists. I am a lifelong fan of jams and jellies, and to meet the people who make it possible, the very pillars of the home-canning community, makes me humble. Please keep making those wonderful preserves and, you know, more raspberry!"

For some reason that just tickles me.

A Good List

Lirone at Words That Sing has an excellent list of things to remember when starting a new job. I think it's a good list to keep in mind for the people already working there. I've had to do a fair amount of training at the law enforcement dispatch center where I work, and it's not pleasant. I always think back to when I was new and a bit scared. There are so many seldom-used bits of information that it's impossible to cover them all in a reasonable amount of time. We operate on the Just Ask philosophy. Our goal is to make sure the main tasks are covered to where they're almost reflexes. This makes it easier to deal with the less common occurrences. I know many workplaces operate in a similiar fashion.

The Olympics

There's lots of debate over what, if any action to take regarding the Olympics i.e. boycott the whole thing, boycott parts of it, use it as a protest vehicle, etc. I don't think anything done there would change Chinese policies (did past Olympic boycotts really change anything?). To me that creates a certain freedom to go ahead and piss them off if you feel like it, and let the diplomats wring their hands and sort it out. That seems to be what's happening with these protests, and good for them. I do wonder what kind of ivory-tower thinking led the IOC to award China the Olympics in the first place. I know they did it quite a few years ago,but how could they not see this coming?

I see this as an opportunity for a western leader with the guts to use it; to inform the Chinese that,unlike them, you are accountable to your citizens for your actions. Unlike them, you must not only tolerate but seriously consider what is being said by those citizens, which is that the Chinese government is a barbaric totalitarian state. That if the Chinese can offer any rebuttal beyond "No we're not, and it's none of your business. How dare you!" you would be happy to hear it. Unfortunately, I don't see than happening. The Chinese have money, and it's money that matters.

Becoming vs. Being

Via Andrew Sullivan, I came across this article on the difficulty with becoming an atheist vs. "being" one; that is, atheism as a way of life. I may have missed his point, but it made me think that the level of difficulty of being an atheist,or a theist for that matter, depends of your starting point. This article seems to confine itself to the idea of conversion,as it were, from one to another. If a person is born and raised in a certain belief structure, then becoming and being are almost simultaneous; by the time the person is old enough to think about such matters, he will see himself as already "being" something. In other words, if a person was raised as an atheist, that person would likely see himself as "being" an atheist, and being one wouldn't be as difficult as having to contemplate the changes necessary to become one if one were raised as a theist. I admit that the fact that so few people are raised as atheists makes this hard to investigate, but it seems to be a reasonable extrapolation from the idea of converting from one religion to another.

3.2 Flu

Michael D. at Balloon Juice notes that 75 years ago today prohibition was modified to allow beer with up to 3.2.% alcohol. (Further research finds that to get around the Constitution they classified it as "non-intoxicating"; they should have seen the college parties that I saw.)
I remember 3.2 beer; until the mid 80's, when the feds blackmailed the states into raising drinking ages, 18-year-olds could purchase it here. There were a number of 3.2 joints in South Dakota, particularly in college towns. In a lot of small towns, where both levels of beer were served, bars only kept a small amount of 3.2 on hand. I don't recall ever being served one in my hometown bar. It's still made and sold in some areas.

Heston R.I.P.

Charlton Heston died. I was no fan of his politics, but the phrase "epic actor" is certainly appropriate. Maybe I'm just getting old, but it's hard to picture any of today's "movie stars" being able to carry a long, sweeping motion picture the way he and others of his time did, and also have the ability to lift a so-so movie above it's anticipated level. He caught a lot of flak for Planet of the Apes, but does anyone think that concept would have had the shelf life it did without him to give it what little gravitas it had?

Old Buddies

Putin and Bush are having a last get-together. I picture this. ---->

But at least Bush will be gone soon,even if his horrid legacy will live on; I fear Putin will be pulling the strings in Russia for a long time.

Out of the Past

Somali pirates have seized a large luxury yacht. Apparently this isn't an unusual occurrence.....

Somali coastal waters are among the world's most hazardous, with more than 25 ships seized by pirates in 2007.

I wondered how this sort of thing is handled by the international community. I found this from the UN......

On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board. The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith.

But not just anyone can chase down pirates.....

A seizure on account of piracy may be carried out only by warships or military aircraft, or other ships or aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as being on government service and authorized to that effect.

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised it doesn't happen more often. Those gigantic cruise ships would be fat targets.

Revisiting an Old Flame

I've gotten away from watching much basketball, but I saw an old favorite team, the Utah Jazz, beat the San Antonio Spurs last night. The Jazz and I go way back; not quite to their days in New Orleans, but close. I think one reason is the overall odd vibe of the organization. Even the name is off, a remnant of it's original incarnation. They've had the same coach, Jerry Sloan, for 20 years, unheard-of in modern professional sports. They tend to have an odd mix of players; obscure small-schoolers, iconoclasts from other countries, players with skills that don't go with their physical attributes (Adrian Dantley always comes to mind; a 6"5" low-post scorer). But their consistently offbeat philosophy manages to produce decent teams from year to year, as opposed to other organizations with greater resources that muddle along at bad-to-horrid.

And the name.......imagine Brooklyn Lumberjacks, or Miami Blizzard.

Prescient

So Maliki has called off his offensive. I have to congratulate John Quiggin over at Crooked Timber, who posted the following on March 27th......

On past performance, the likely pattern will be one of initial success, followed by a lot of tough talk, and then a bloody stalemate, ending in a patched-up compromise.

I'd say he called it just about perfectly.

Fish Heads

I apologize for this.....the tune has been stuck in my head lately for reasons best explained by abnormal psychology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcXA_pkfLso&feature=related

NATO?

I see that President Bush supports allowing Ukraine to join NATO, which currently has 26 members. I remember NATO's "glory days" when it faced off against the Warsaw Pact nations in the Cold War,with the US providing the muscle because Europe was in ruins. Now the Warsaw Pact is gone, Putin has figured out how to use oil instead of armies, and the European Union has assumed the non-military duties. I really don't see the point of NATO anymore, especially since Afghanistan has shown that it's not really a unified fighting force. I think the resources devoted to NATO could be put to better use.

Taking Enjoyment out of Eating

ESPN is interviewing Kevin Conti, a "professional competitive eater". They're treating it pretty lightly, which seems appropriate. It does lead to some questions, though. How does one become a professional eater? At what point in your life do you decide that professional eating is a career choice? What would you say to your family? I'm going to make an unsupported assumption that none of these people gave up high-paying jobs to take up gluttony for a living.

I recently read an article by Jay Leno discussing why he turned down an opportunity to make a US version of the British car-buff show Top Gear. He felt that making something he enj0yed into a job would diminish the pleasure. Do you suppose these eaters have problems enjoying a good meal when they have to treat food as something to be swallowed as quickly as possible, with the attendant physical complications? I know they could just eat other foods when they're not competing or training (yes,training). But I would think that the physical adjustments needed to consume food in massive quantities would create reflexes that would compromise a nice sit-down dinner.