L'SHANA TOVAH. L'Shana Tovah to one and all -- that means Happy New Year in Hebrew. This evening, at sundown, the Jewish New Year begins and the rabbi will blow the ram's horn. So bring out the apples and honey and be happy. We've had a good year and, God willing, the next year will be a good one, too.
JUST LIKE THE HUXTABLES. If you want to know what America will be like once the Obamas move into the White House, just find a re-run of the old Bill Cosby Show with the fictional Huxtable family. Bill Cosby was the pater familias with a Father Knows Best attitude. It was a fairly conservative program in terms of social dynamics. The road ahead was made very clear to the Huxtable children -- You will do your homework, you will stay in school, and you will respect your parents. And when you grow up, you will work for a living, get married and raise your own family, and serve your country and be of good service to mankind.
It's a good image. For those of you conservatives concerned about Obama's liberal objectives -- keep in mind this conservative aspect of his character.
EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY. Every day is a new day for Senator John McCain. He has cast himself free from the burden of memory. Critics point out that he said one thing on Monday and another thing on Tuesday. He wasn't lying or being inconsistent. Not at all. He simply doesn't remember. I call it the joy of forgetting - one of the true blessings of advanced age.
FINANCIAL TURMOIL. Things are happening too fast. That's never good. Markets are in turmoil. What is the cost of not knowing what the cost will be? I support the bailout proposal as I have studied it. Sure, we're all paying attention now -- but who can we blame for being asleep two years ago? There were warnings and concerns, but the good times were rolling in, and few of us became alarmed. I see no point in blaming anyone right now. In fact, our best chance to is use the talents of the very people who screwed it up. I do not hate Wall Street. They have created a river of wealth for America over the generations. Of course, we have to spank 'em good right now.
ON FIR ISLAND. September has been a glorious month. Wonderful sunrise, sparkling air, apples falling off the trees. The swallows are gone. One day I looked around and they were all gone. I watched them with delight all summer, darting about the house. They had a dozen nests under the eaves.
But they're gone now. I asked my neighbor Meynard Axelson where the swallows sent. "South?" he said. You don't know?" I replied. "Nope," he said. The thing is Meynard is a renowned local expert on waterfowl and geese. He raises more than forty kinds of ducks on his farm property, and he is highly in tuned to the fall migrations. But apparently he knows squat about the other birds.
Anyway, Meynard did say that the snow geese are starting to trickle in and he expects the main flock -- over 100,000 -- to arrive in mid-October.
Meanwhile the slough in back of the house has gotten plugged by a beaver dam. The adjacent farmer removed the dam once, but the beaver put it back the next week. Then the farmer put up a wire fence around the culvert which the beaver had dammed up. Do you think the beaver will give up now? Stay tuned.
Farmer Dave reports a fairly good year in agriculture. He and I have concluded an ongoing alliance. I said, "You gotta keep farming as long as I keep eating." He said that was fine with him.
The potato crop is off 20 percent this year because of the cold, wet spring. But the price held up so it isn't too bad. The spinach and cabbage seed crops did fairly well. The cucumber crop came in incredibly late. They usually finish the harvest by early August -- but they were more than a month late.
Thankfully, the warm weather held up in September and the cucumber harvest was decent. Skagit Valley farmers compete with farmers from India -- that's right, India -- in growing pickles. The big pickle company can sometimes get a cheaper price by contracting out to farmers way over there. But Farmer Dave said, if they want to go to India to buy pickles, then let 'em. He said there was a price that made it worthwhile for him to grow pickles and he wouldn't do it for less.
So they bargained a decent price with the pickle company. You can grow pickles cheaper in India, but you can't get them here cheaper.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Who do you Trust?
Once again, Senator Barack Obama has set the agenda for the nation's business. Yesterday morning, Obama initiated events by phoning Senator John McCain and suggesting that they issue a joint statement about the bailout proposal. McCain agreed to that, and then went Obama one better -- "I'm going to suspend my campaign and go to Washington to make this deal," McCain said.
Not to be left out, President George Bush pre-empted both Obama and McCain by inviting (summoning) both of them to the White House for a conference.
The conference proved productive. The bailout deal, as of this moment, has been worked out, and the credit goes to Obama for pulling it together -- if it works.
But, the debate will go on as scheduled, and Obama is right about that. The nation's voters need to hear from both Obama and McCain. We need to hear them engaged in a lively discourse.
There is no reason or precedent for delay. In 1944 America was deep in conflict, fighting wars against Japan and Germany, with millions of men mobilized and sitting in foxholes, bravely fighting and dying -- but we had an election that year. The candidates, Franklin Roosevelt and Thomas Dewey, made whistle-stop tours around the country competing for votes. Our parents and grandparents marched to polls in November 0f 1944 to cast their votes. In the midst of war, we argued, debated and voted, because that is what we do.
In a far less dangerous situation today, there is no reason to postpone the debate.
TRUSTING BARNEY FRANK. Democrat Barney Frank is the Chairman of the House Finance Committee. He is the man I trust in working out the details of the bailout. Trust is a difficult thing. If it goes wrong, then I will share the blame.
Frank is 68 and has represented the 4th District in Massachusetts since 1981. I don't know him personally, but I know many of the people who sent him to Congress -- I lived in that district for 2 years. The 4th District comprises Boston suburbs, such as Newton and Brookline, as well as towns that have seen better days such as New Bedford and Fall River.
Frank represents all kinds of people -- except they all tend to vote Democratic.
Well, it's Massachusetts. Newton is a prosperous place, with an outstanding public school system and magnificent public library. If you conservatives out there despise the elitists, then Newton is ground zero. The average Newtonite -- first, would object to being called average -- but he would be educated, professional, highly competent, and well-informed. He does not often grouse about the evils of big government or the oppression of high taxes, BUT he wants his money's worth. I lived with these people for two years and, by and large, they are level-headed and generous.
Further south from Newton are the historic whaling towns of New Bedford and Fall River. You can almost see the ghost of Captain Ahab in these haunts. But the fishing and whaling days are long gone. They were replaced by textile mills that employed thousands -- but those mills are gone too -- gone to the South, and then to Mexico, and then to Viet Nam and Lesotho -- leaving behind an industrial heritage of empty brick factories and unemployed people waiting for jobs that will never come back.
In addition, New Bedford has one of the largest Portuguese communities in the country. Portuguese fishermen settled in these parts many generations ago and continue to celebrate their culture.
The Fourth District is in New England, of course, and the fall colors are beginning to show. There is no place that I have ever seen that is more beautiful than New England in the fall. And it's not the colors -- which are gorgeous and intense -- even so it's not the colors, but the very air -- intoxicating, refreshing air that gave birth to the word "crisp" like the crunch of a New England apple.
This story about the people of New England and the fall colors is in no way a diversion from the current economic crisis, because it is most important to realize, at times like this, that critical actors, such as Barney Frank, are rooted in a community which they represent, and whose judgment they will face in early November.
Not to be left out, President George Bush pre-empted both Obama and McCain by inviting (summoning) both of them to the White House for a conference.
The conference proved productive. The bailout deal, as of this moment, has been worked out, and the credit goes to Obama for pulling it together -- if it works.
But, the debate will go on as scheduled, and Obama is right about that. The nation's voters need to hear from both Obama and McCain. We need to hear them engaged in a lively discourse.
There is no reason or precedent for delay. In 1944 America was deep in conflict, fighting wars against Japan and Germany, with millions of men mobilized and sitting in foxholes, bravely fighting and dying -- but we had an election that year. The candidates, Franklin Roosevelt and Thomas Dewey, made whistle-stop tours around the country competing for votes. Our parents and grandparents marched to polls in November 0f 1944 to cast their votes. In the midst of war, we argued, debated and voted, because that is what we do.
In a far less dangerous situation today, there is no reason to postpone the debate.
TRUSTING BARNEY FRANK. Democrat Barney Frank is the Chairman of the House Finance Committee. He is the man I trust in working out the details of the bailout. Trust is a difficult thing. If it goes wrong, then I will share the blame.
Frank is 68 and has represented the 4th District in Massachusetts since 1981. I don't know him personally, but I know many of the people who sent him to Congress -- I lived in that district for 2 years. The 4th District comprises Boston suburbs, such as Newton and Brookline, as well as towns that have seen better days such as New Bedford and Fall River.
Frank represents all kinds of people -- except they all tend to vote Democratic.
Well, it's Massachusetts. Newton is a prosperous place, with an outstanding public school system and magnificent public library. If you conservatives out there despise the elitists, then Newton is ground zero. The average Newtonite -- first, would object to being called average -- but he would be educated, professional, highly competent, and well-informed. He does not often grouse about the evils of big government or the oppression of high taxes, BUT he wants his money's worth. I lived with these people for two years and, by and large, they are level-headed and generous.
Further south from Newton are the historic whaling towns of New Bedford and Fall River. You can almost see the ghost of Captain Ahab in these haunts. But the fishing and whaling days are long gone. They were replaced by textile mills that employed thousands -- but those mills are gone too -- gone to the South, and then to Mexico, and then to Viet Nam and Lesotho -- leaving behind an industrial heritage of empty brick factories and unemployed people waiting for jobs that will never come back.
In addition, New Bedford has one of the largest Portuguese communities in the country. Portuguese fishermen settled in these parts many generations ago and continue to celebrate their culture.
The Fourth District is in New England, of course, and the fall colors are beginning to show. There is no place that I have ever seen that is more beautiful than New England in the fall. And it's not the colors -- which are gorgeous and intense -- even so it's not the colors, but the very air -- intoxicating, refreshing air that gave birth to the word "crisp" like the crunch of a New England apple.
This story about the people of New England and the fall colors is in no way a diversion from the current economic crisis, because it is most important to realize, at times like this, that critical actors, such as Barney Frank, are rooted in a community which they represent, and whose judgment they will face in early November.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Confidence
President George Bush is going to address the nation tonight on prime time -- I can hardly wait.
But I have a better idea, instead of listening to him, you can listen to a Real President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who often spoke to the people in what he called "Fireside Chats.
At the time he took office in March 1933, the nation was deep in Depression. Unemployment was over 25 per cent and stocks were in the basement. A banking crisis was sweeping the countryside. Long lines of depositors were closing their accounts in big banks and in small banks. Many banks failed and closed their doors.
It was a dangerous and frightening moment. The American people were being pushed to the brink by forces they barely understood.
Roosevelt took dramatic action in his first week in office. He declared a bank holiday -- meaning that he ordered the temporary closure of every bank in the country, until the Federal Reserve could distribute enough cash for the needs of most of the banks.
Upon taking this action, Roosevelt addressed the people on the radio, for the first time, to explain what he had done and why he hoped it would work.
Roosevelt began:
"My friends:
I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking -- to talk with the comparatively few who understand the mechanics of banking, but more particularly with the overwhelming majority of you who use banks for the making of deposits and the drawing of checks...."
He explained the banking system, how it worked, what went wrong, and how it could be fixed, in a language that was very clear and not condescending.
It's a short speech and he finished with an appeal to the spirit of the people:
"After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system, and it is up to you to support and make it work.
It is your problem, my friends, your problem no less than it is mine."
Ahh -- there was a man! We need Roosevelt now, and we can find him now, because the spirit of Roosevelt is embedded in the American tradition. That spirit is still here and so is the strength.
"Confidence and courage are the essentials of success," he said --- Amen to that.
Our current President is really not up to the task of reassuring the nation, but I haven't got time to hoot and holler at him.
Instead I will look to that candidate who most truly imbibes the spirit of FDR -- Do you know who I'm talking about?
HISTORICAL NOTE: Roosevelt had an enormous majority in Congress in 1933. He rushed through a large stimulus package and established many government employments programs -- it was called the New Deal.
In hindsight, it has been argued by Roosevelt's many conservative critics, that his New Deal prolonged the Depression rather than healed it.
Be that as it may, I believe that Roosevelt saved the nation from a far greater peril -- civil strife, violent rebellion, mob action, and a complete rendering of the social fabric. Maybe the programs didn't work too well economically, but they sustained us, they kept us going, and they kept us working together.
Last week, I was at Deception Pass State Park. Walking around I viewed the sturdy stone cabins built by the CCC boys in the 1930s. These cabins are weather-worn and moss-covered, now 75 years old. But they were built strong and they should last another century.
We can do at least that well.
But I have a better idea, instead of listening to him, you can listen to a Real President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who often spoke to the people in what he called "Fireside Chats.
At the time he took office in March 1933, the nation was deep in Depression. Unemployment was over 25 per cent and stocks were in the basement. A banking crisis was sweeping the countryside. Long lines of depositors were closing their accounts in big banks and in small banks. Many banks failed and closed their doors.
It was a dangerous and frightening moment. The American people were being pushed to the brink by forces they barely understood.
Roosevelt took dramatic action in his first week in office. He declared a bank holiday -- meaning that he ordered the temporary closure of every bank in the country, until the Federal Reserve could distribute enough cash for the needs of most of the banks.
Upon taking this action, Roosevelt addressed the people on the radio, for the first time, to explain what he had done and why he hoped it would work.
Roosevelt began:
"My friends:
I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking -- to talk with the comparatively few who understand the mechanics of banking, but more particularly with the overwhelming majority of you who use banks for the making of deposits and the drawing of checks...."
He explained the banking system, how it worked, what went wrong, and how it could be fixed, in a language that was very clear and not condescending.
It's a short speech and he finished with an appeal to the spirit of the people:
"After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system, and it is up to you to support and make it work.
It is your problem, my friends, your problem no less than it is mine."
Ahh -- there was a man! We need Roosevelt now, and we can find him now, because the spirit of Roosevelt is embedded in the American tradition. That spirit is still here and so is the strength.
"Confidence and courage are the essentials of success," he said --- Amen to that.
Our current President is really not up to the task of reassuring the nation, but I haven't got time to hoot and holler at him.
Instead I will look to that candidate who most truly imbibes the spirit of FDR -- Do you know who I'm talking about?
HISTORICAL NOTE: Roosevelt had an enormous majority in Congress in 1933. He rushed through a large stimulus package and established many government employments programs -- it was called the New Deal.
In hindsight, it has been argued by Roosevelt's many conservative critics, that his New Deal prolonged the Depression rather than healed it.
Be that as it may, I believe that Roosevelt saved the nation from a far greater peril -- civil strife, violent rebellion, mob action, and a complete rendering of the social fabric. Maybe the programs didn't work too well economically, but they sustained us, they kept us going, and they kept us working together.
Last week, I was at Deception Pass State Park. Walking around I viewed the sturdy stone cabins built by the CCC boys in the 1930s. These cabins are weather-worn and moss-covered, now 75 years old. But they were built strong and they should last another century.
We can do at least that well.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
No fear, No Deal, and No Comment
FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE. Gov. Sarah Palin will meet with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia during the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.
THE $700 BILLION BAILOUT. The Bush administration is trying to hold out for a clean bill that deals only with the financial rescue, and will not include any add-ons.But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Congress would not simply hand over a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street. Democrats would insist on independent oversight, protections for homeowners and constraints on excessive executive compensation
Paul Krugman said -- "Looking at the plan as leaked, I have to say no deal. Not unless Treasury explains, very clearly, why this is supposed to work, other than through having taxpayers pay premium prices for lousy assets."
Frog Hospital says -- Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs and he knows everybody on Wall Street. Critics of his bailout plan say that Paulson will help out his fellow "malefactors of great wealth," and not take care of the rest of us. But personally, I'm inclined to go along with his plan.
However, many Senators, including Joe Biden, regret the blank check they gave to George Bush when he wanted to invade Iraq. They succumbed to his argument of "national emergency" and were duped into supporting an unnecessary war.
Now those same Senators are being asked to give another blank check to Bush's people because of a new "national emergency. I don't think they will be that dumb a second time.
ANGER MANAGEMENT, PART TWO. The Obamas are not allowed to express anger because they are black, and the first black President cannot be angry. That's a handicap, but it's also a reality.
Sarah can be snarky as hell, and McCain can hop up and down and get red in the face, but the Obamas have to stay cool.
Although I wish we could let Michelle be Michelle. I mean, there's Alaska tough, which isn't bad, and then there's Chicago tough, which is getting there, and then there's South Side of Chicago tough, which is the baddest thing in America.
THE $700 BILLION BAILOUT. The Bush administration is trying to hold out for a clean bill that deals only with the financial rescue, and will not include any add-ons.But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Congress would not simply hand over a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street. Democrats would insist on independent oversight, protections for homeowners and constraints on excessive executive compensation
Paul Krugman said -- "Looking at the plan as leaked, I have to say no deal. Not unless Treasury explains, very clearly, why this is supposed to work, other than through having taxpayers pay premium prices for lousy assets."
Frog Hospital says -- Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs and he knows everybody on Wall Street. Critics of his bailout plan say that Paulson will help out his fellow "malefactors of great wealth," and not take care of the rest of us. But personally, I'm inclined to go along with his plan.
However, many Senators, including Joe Biden, regret the blank check they gave to George Bush when he wanted to invade Iraq. They succumbed to his argument of "national emergency" and were duped into supporting an unnecessary war.
Now those same Senators are being asked to give another blank check to Bush's people because of a new "national emergency. I don't think they will be that dumb a second time.
ANGER MANAGEMENT, PART TWO. The Obamas are not allowed to express anger because they are black, and the first black President cannot be angry. That's a handicap, but it's also a reality.
Sarah can be snarky as hell, and McCain can hop up and down and get red in the face, but the Obamas have to stay cool.
Although I wish we could let Michelle be Michelle. I mean, there's Alaska tough, which isn't bad, and then there's Chicago tough, which is getting there, and then there's South Side of Chicago tough, which is the baddest thing in America.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Anger Management
I spent five days in jail, and then I had to go to anger management class in 1999 because I belted my wife. Five days in jail wasn't so bad, because I shouldn't have done what I did, so I was punished for it. But the Anger Management class was a session of totalitarian feminist thought torture which I did not deserve to suffer. I went to those classes and you can't get out of them until you repeat all the lies that they want you to to tell. It almost destroyed my soul. A braver man would have gone back to jail instead of debasing himself like that.
I'm remembering that experience because so many Democrats are urging Barack Obama to get angry. Oh, he's plenty angry, but he's too smart to show it. Michelle Obama is angry too, but she smiles and makes nice on Ellen's Show. The Obamas are not allowed to be angry.
But other people might do it for them. Take action, my friends. Say it. Do it. Now.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. The Big Apple. The Financial and Cultural Capital of the the Western World. Manhattan -- the most important and most expensive real estate in the country.
I love New York. Frog Hospital readers are expected to know when I am being ironic and when I am being sincere.
The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, and the financial collapse of this September are the bookends of the Bush Era. I pray to God that we never elect another Texan to be President, because Bush has almost brought this country to ruin.
But with as much study as I can muster, I place the blame for the Wall Street disaster on the bankers and financiers themselves -- those exceptionally talented New Yorkers who made it all happen. They made all that money and now they have lost all that money.
And yet I say, these people are national treasures, because making money is so important. Our free market economy is based on self interest -- a most dependable sentiment. Gone to excess, self-interest becomes greed, but in its normal state, you can deal with it reliably. If your adversary is rational, you can assume his self-interest too. You can make laws and plans.
And so the bankers of Wall Street do not make good villains. All they want is money, at their worst. I do not fear them like I fear Ideologues who want to control my mind or Religious Zealots who want to steal my soul.
Therefore, I endorse the government's rescue plan, as it has been presented in a simple format. The Democrats, including my man Obama, want this plan to include measures for the rest of us common folk such as protection from foreclosure, but I feel that a quick and simple plan is the best solution right now. Give them the money their asking for -- those bankers.
Then elect Obama President, and give him a solid majority in Congress -- we'll start taking the money back in January -- you and I. It's our turn.
I'm remembering that experience because so many Democrats are urging Barack Obama to get angry. Oh, he's plenty angry, but he's too smart to show it. Michelle Obama is angry too, but she smiles and makes nice on Ellen's Show. The Obamas are not allowed to be angry.
But other people might do it for them. Take action, my friends. Say it. Do it. Now.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. The Big Apple. The Financial and Cultural Capital of the the Western World. Manhattan -- the most important and most expensive real estate in the country.
I love New York. Frog Hospital readers are expected to know when I am being ironic and when I am being sincere.
The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, and the financial collapse of this September are the bookends of the Bush Era. I pray to God that we never elect another Texan to be President, because Bush has almost brought this country to ruin.
But with as much study as I can muster, I place the blame for the Wall Street disaster on the bankers and financiers themselves -- those exceptionally talented New Yorkers who made it all happen. They made all that money and now they have lost all that money.
And yet I say, these people are national treasures, because making money is so important. Our free market economy is based on self interest -- a most dependable sentiment. Gone to excess, self-interest becomes greed, but in its normal state, you can deal with it reliably. If your adversary is rational, you can assume his self-interest too. You can make laws and plans.
And so the bankers of Wall Street do not make good villains. All they want is money, at their worst. I do not fear them like I fear Ideologues who want to control my mind or Religious Zealots who want to steal my soul.
Therefore, I endorse the government's rescue plan, as it has been presented in a simple format. The Democrats, including my man Obama, want this plan to include measures for the rest of us common folk such as protection from foreclosure, but I feel that a quick and simple plan is the best solution right now. Give them the money their asking for -- those bankers.
Then elect Obama President, and give him a solid majority in Congress -- we'll start taking the money back in January -- you and I. It's our turn.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Money Talks
I went to a gathering of liberal bloggers in Seattle last night. They were STILL talking about Sarah Palin. She is so over.
The financial collapse on Wall Street is bad for all of us, but it sure makes Obama looks good. The swing voters, the independents, are thinking about their money today -- forget Sarah.
Money talks -- it's screaming.
What do you know about investment banking and hedge funds? Probably as much as I do. But surely, if they accept the bailout money from the federal government, then they must likewise accept sterner regulation.
Now, you and I COULD understand the arcane workings of Wall Street if we put our minds to it, and it might be necessary for us to study this problem in a serious way, so let's get off the lipstick wars.
McCain's seat of the pants style will not serve, but Obama's professorial style inspires trust. Competence is not a virtue, or the highest good, but it does come into play at this point --- a calm, deliberate manner, a sorting out, a "taking stock."
ONE MORE DIG. All right, I can make one more comment about Sarah Palin. I live in the country where a gun-totin' redneck mama is a common sight. You city folks might get scared the first time you meet one, but I've seen them around for years. I just go Fffft !
CHICAGO RULES. Obama is in league with the power players of Chicago politics, especially His Honor, Mayor Richard Dailey. Chicago Rules are as follows: "Do unto others before they get a chance to do unto you." Obama's friendly critics have urged him to talk tougher, but he's already there. Do not underestimate Obama's steel.
MISERY ON THE GULF COAST. My attention has been on Chambers County, a lightly populated area near Galveston, but on the other side of Trinity Bay. Little hamlets in the vast coastal wetlands -- Double Bayou, Oak Island, High Island -- no longer exist. Hundred of vacation homes on the Bolivar Peninsula are destroyed. I was thinking that maybe people just can't live there anymore -- it's too dangerous, it's too expensive for relief to help them out over and over again.
But that would be very hypocritical for me -- I live on Fir Island, a diked and drained farming territory fronting on Skagit Bay -- plum at sea level. If the dike wasn't there, I'd be standing in a foot of water right now -- on a calm day. It's true we don't get hurricanes this way. But theSkagit River could drown this island anytime it chooses. It's true that not many people live on the island and that's good, but the farm land is so valuable and important. When the whole island flooded in 1991, many homes were damaged, but the farmland itself was quickly restored to productive use.
On the Gulf Coast, Houston reports a morning temperature of 67 degrees -- unusually cool for this time of year, and a great relief for thousands of people living without electricity or air conditioning. I hope they make it.
The financial collapse on Wall Street is bad for all of us, but it sure makes Obama looks good. The swing voters, the independents, are thinking about their money today -- forget Sarah.
Money talks -- it's screaming.
What do you know about investment banking and hedge funds? Probably as much as I do. But surely, if they accept the bailout money from the federal government, then they must likewise accept sterner regulation.
Now, you and I COULD understand the arcane workings of Wall Street if we put our minds to it, and it might be necessary for us to study this problem in a serious way, so let's get off the lipstick wars.
McCain's seat of the pants style will not serve, but Obama's professorial style inspires trust. Competence is not a virtue, or the highest good, but it does come into play at this point --- a calm, deliberate manner, a sorting out, a "taking stock."
ONE MORE DIG. All right, I can make one more comment about Sarah Palin. I live in the country where a gun-totin' redneck mama is a common sight. You city folks might get scared the first time you meet one, but I've seen them around for years. I just go Fffft !
CHICAGO RULES. Obama is in league with the power players of Chicago politics, especially His Honor, Mayor Richard Dailey. Chicago Rules are as follows: "Do unto others before they get a chance to do unto you." Obama's friendly critics have urged him to talk tougher, but he's already there. Do not underestimate Obama's steel.
MISERY ON THE GULF COAST. My attention has been on Chambers County, a lightly populated area near Galveston, but on the other side of Trinity Bay. Little hamlets in the vast coastal wetlands -- Double Bayou, Oak Island, High Island -- no longer exist. Hundred of vacation homes on the Bolivar Peninsula are destroyed. I was thinking that maybe people just can't live there anymore -- it's too dangerous, it's too expensive for relief to help them out over and over again.
But that would be very hypocritical for me -- I live on Fir Island, a diked and drained farming territory fronting on Skagit Bay -- plum at sea level. If the dike wasn't there, I'd be standing in a foot of water right now -- on a calm day. It's true we don't get hurricanes this way. But theSkagit River could drown this island anytime it chooses. It's true that not many people live on the island and that's good, but the farm land is so valuable and important. When the whole island flooded in 1991, many homes were damaged, but the farmland itself was quickly restored to productive use.
On the Gulf Coast, Houston reports a morning temperature of 67 degrees -- unusually cool for this time of year, and a great relief for thousands of people living without electricity or air conditioning. I hope they make it.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Ike Hits Texas
We used to live in Chambers County, about 60 miles east of Houston. Chambers County took the worst hit from Hurricane Ike. I read that 20,000 head of cattle were in danger of starvation and dying of thirst. The storm surge spread salt water all over the county and there is little fresh water for humans, much less livestock.
Chambers County is a hot humid place. We lived there in 1986 when the kids were little and I worked for a local newspaper. It was a hot Texas summer, but we had good AC.
It is a pretty place that gets lots of rain, over 50 inches annually. The principal crop is rice, and the green fields of rice waving in the breeze make a pretty sight. But there is no high ground in Chambers County, hardly a foot of it. It's just really a big wetland that has been diked and drained for pastures and rice fields.
The county fronts on the Gulf of Mexico. There is lots of good fishing, sport and commercial. It is also a famous place for birdwatching, and I can attest to that. It is a major stopping point on the migration route of songbirds, going south for the winter, and returning in the spring. Chambers County is a good place to visit, and an inexpensive place to life.
According to the news, the people of Chambers County have suffered catastrophic damages. I hope they make it.
AND WORSE NEWS COMES FROM WALL STREET. Who among us can adequately discuss the intricacies of investment banking? We can't. It's a special, valuable skill, practiced by the "elites" of Wall Street -- those same people whom the conservatives hate, those high-toned people in Manhattan who are so smart about making money. Those elites -- there were over 3,000 elites working in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and they took it pretty hard that day. How many people died that day in small town America?
But these financial elites have ill-served the country, since they were freed up from gov't. regulation. It was Phil Gramm's idea to unleash the banks, and we all thought that bankers were prudent, cautious people. We were wrong -- absent the guiding hand of government, the bankers became wild plungers and predators.
Gov't. regulation is expensive -- sure, it is. But does it cost as much as the $200 billion bail out to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? No, sound regulation of the banking industry is a very practical investment.
McCAIN'S NEED FOR REDEMPTION. John McCain is on a "journey of self-discovery" -- something that Gov. Palin disparaged in her convention speech.
But I think McCain seeks redemption. Something good has to happen for him, which he calls "victory," and that victory will validate his Vietnam experience. Because what he can't admit is that he spent six years in prison for a worthless cause.
In contrast, the much younger Barack Obama is not on a journey of self-discovery. He knows who he is now, and he realizes that he has the strength and the energy to serve his country by becoming President.
Obama's ambition is healthy, McCain's ambition is not healthy.
Chambers County is a hot humid place. We lived there in 1986 when the kids were little and I worked for a local newspaper. It was a hot Texas summer, but we had good AC.
It is a pretty place that gets lots of rain, over 50 inches annually. The principal crop is rice, and the green fields of rice waving in the breeze make a pretty sight. But there is no high ground in Chambers County, hardly a foot of it. It's just really a big wetland that has been diked and drained for pastures and rice fields.
The county fronts on the Gulf of Mexico. There is lots of good fishing, sport and commercial. It is also a famous place for birdwatching, and I can attest to that. It is a major stopping point on the migration route of songbirds, going south for the winter, and returning in the spring. Chambers County is a good place to visit, and an inexpensive place to life.
According to the news, the people of Chambers County have suffered catastrophic damages. I hope they make it.
AND WORSE NEWS COMES FROM WALL STREET. Who among us can adequately discuss the intricacies of investment banking? We can't. It's a special, valuable skill, practiced by the "elites" of Wall Street -- those same people whom the conservatives hate, those high-toned people in Manhattan who are so smart about making money. Those elites -- there were over 3,000 elites working in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and they took it pretty hard that day. How many people died that day in small town America?
But these financial elites have ill-served the country, since they were freed up from gov't. regulation. It was Phil Gramm's idea to unleash the banks, and we all thought that bankers were prudent, cautious people. We were wrong -- absent the guiding hand of government, the bankers became wild plungers and predators.
Gov't. regulation is expensive -- sure, it is. But does it cost as much as the $200 billion bail out to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? No, sound regulation of the banking industry is a very practical investment.
McCAIN'S NEED FOR REDEMPTION. John McCain is on a "journey of self-discovery" -- something that Gov. Palin disparaged in her convention speech.
But I think McCain seeks redemption. Something good has to happen for him, which he calls "victory," and that victory will validate his Vietnam experience. Because what he can't admit is that he spent six years in prison for a worthless cause.
In contrast, the much younger Barack Obama is not on a journey of self-discovery. He knows who he is now, and he realizes that he has the strength and the energy to serve his country by becoming President.
Obama's ambition is healthy, McCain's ambition is not healthy.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Courtesy of Senators
Senators Barack Obamas and John McCain jointly visited the site of the Wolrd Trade Center attack last week, to commemorate the seventh anniversary of September 11.
Their united effort was a model of senatorial courtesy, and a moment of brotherly love, I would say, seeing these two warriors with their heads bowed solemnly.
Too much has been said about the executive experience of Governors -- you would think Senators don't do anything at all. And yet, with complete certainty, we know that our next President will be a Senator - either Obama or McCain. We hear them refer to each other as "my friend," and sometimes they mean it. It is a long-held custom of the Senate to maintain cordiality.
A Governor can run his own ship and say that the buck stops here. but Senators work in a group. One hundred men and women, representing each of fifty states, come together to debate and decide our nation's laws. Sometimes, one man, among the Senators, can hold his ground, and by filibuster bring this body to a halt -- one man. Or sometimes one woman can make the entire Senate pivot over to her point of view.
But those are exceptions -- because nothing happens in the Senate by individual decision, but by the group, the Committee of the Whole, or the various subgroups. You work together with other people, or nothing gets done at all.
And courtesy is the tradition, so that when Senator Obama invited Senator McCain to meet in Manhattan on September 11, 2008, McCain responded. News sources say that Obama spoke directly with McCain on the phone, and they quickly worked out the details.
This was senatorial experience at work, and that's what we need right now in America -- people who can come to an agreement. Such matters as energy independence are not questions of principles, but require a pragmatic compromise solution. Governors don't have that skill, but Senators do.
As the campaign continues, Obama can take great pride in the flattery that McCain has shown toward him. I say flattery because McCain is largely imitating the major themes of Obama's candidacy.
"We need change," Obama said, and McCain agreed, "Yes, we do."
"We need to achieve energy independence," Obama said, and McCain agreed, although not in the details.
"We need to open opportunities for minorities and women," Obama said, and McCain heard that, so he named Sarah Palin as his Vice-President.
Obama has already accomplished a great deal, because his ideas have set the agenda for whoever becomes the next President.
And, to say something about the horse-race aspect of this campaign, McCain and Palin are peaking now, in September. I say let them, because my man, Obama, will peak in October, and he will win.
Their united effort was a model of senatorial courtesy, and a moment of brotherly love, I would say, seeing these two warriors with their heads bowed solemnly.
Too much has been said about the executive experience of Governors -- you would think Senators don't do anything at all. And yet, with complete certainty, we know that our next President will be a Senator - either Obama or McCain. We hear them refer to each other as "my friend," and sometimes they mean it. It is a long-held custom of the Senate to maintain cordiality.
A Governor can run his own ship and say that the buck stops here. but Senators work in a group. One hundred men and women, representing each of fifty states, come together to debate and decide our nation's laws. Sometimes, one man, among the Senators, can hold his ground, and by filibuster bring this body to a halt -- one man. Or sometimes one woman can make the entire Senate pivot over to her point of view.
But those are exceptions -- because nothing happens in the Senate by individual decision, but by the group, the Committee of the Whole, or the various subgroups. You work together with other people, or nothing gets done at all.
And courtesy is the tradition, so that when Senator Obama invited Senator McCain to meet in Manhattan on September 11, 2008, McCain responded. News sources say that Obama spoke directly with McCain on the phone, and they quickly worked out the details.
This was senatorial experience at work, and that's what we need right now in America -- people who can come to an agreement. Such matters as energy independence are not questions of principles, but require a pragmatic compromise solution. Governors don't have that skill, but Senators do.
As the campaign continues, Obama can take great pride in the flattery that McCain has shown toward him. I say flattery because McCain is largely imitating the major themes of Obama's candidacy.
"We need change," Obama said, and McCain agreed, "Yes, we do."
"We need to achieve energy independence," Obama said, and McCain agreed, although not in the details.
"We need to open opportunities for minorities and women," Obama said, and McCain heard that, so he named Sarah Palin as his Vice-President.
Obama has already accomplished a great deal, because his ideas have set the agenda for whoever becomes the next President.
And, to say something about the horse-race aspect of this campaign, McCain and Palin are peaking now, in September. I say let them, because my man, Obama, will peak in October, and he will win.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Image of God
In the previous post, I said Obama was tired, I didn't say he was going to lose -- big difference.
My, my, but the Democrats panic easily. Sarah Palin sprinkles them with moose dust and they're ready to give up. What a bunch of sissies.
You know, if the Democrats don't start listening to me, they WILL lose.
And you Republicans better watch your mouth. If you call me an elitist one more time, I'm going to thrash your redneck rear end.
But enough of that. It's hunting season. Frog Hospital is a pro-hunting newsletter. I can understand people who don't hunt, and I can understand people who criticize hunting practices, and there is something that happened in the Skagit Valley this summer which requires a discussion.
It was one of the first days of bear-hunting season, August 4, a hot day. The Sauk Mountain Trail was crowded with hikers -- it often is. A fourteen-year-old hunter figured there might be a bear on that part of the mountain. He took aim at a woman, age 56, out hiking on the trail, and shot and killed her at a range of 120 yards. He thought he was aiming at a bear. He made a terrible mistake and the woman died.
Later, the prosecuting attorney filed charges of manslaughter against the boy. It frustrates me. Clearly, the boy had no intention to cause any harm. But to me, a hunter is totally responsible for what he shoots at, and the boy has to face some serious consequences for what he did.
Those are the hunting rules: If you kill it, you eat it. If you wound it, then you risk life and limb to finish it off. And if you shoot a hiker or birdwatcher, then you are 100 percent responsible. I would like to hear from anyone who sees this differently.
Hunting is an ancient and honorable activity. The problem is that there's less room for it. There's too many people on the Sauk Mountain Trail, and people say the bears never come there anyway, so one outcome will be that this area will be closed to hunting, and I agree with that.
I like to fish. I'm a catch-and-eat fisherman. You can fish in many urban areas. Elliot Bay, right off downtown Seattle, can be a good place to catch salmon. So there is little pressure on the fishing fraternity. There aren't many people who want to ban fishing, but plenty who believe hunting is now an archaic activity, no more suitable to modern man that rubbing two sticks together to build a fire.
I don't want to get too far into that argument. I saw an eagle flying over the house this morning, a young one, with no white feathers. Eagles are pure predators. The coyotes are pure predators too, and they eat the rabbits that run around our back yard. The herons wade in the slough and eat the frogs and little fish. Human beings are predators, but not purely. We are omnivores. We can do fairly well on vegetables and grains. And so we can make ethical distinctions and refrain from killing game when we don't need to.
The Bible says we are made in the image of God and that we are given stewardship over all the earth. I believe that. But I wonder about those rabbits. Maybe God told the rabbits the same thing, and the rabbits believe that the entire earth was made for their benefit. God may have told the same thing to all of His creatures. Maybe we're not that special.
I like to think about things like that when I look out the window. I am an expert theologian, among other skills.
My, my, but the Democrats panic easily. Sarah Palin sprinkles them with moose dust and they're ready to give up. What a bunch of sissies.
You know, if the Democrats don't start listening to me, they WILL lose.
And you Republicans better watch your mouth. If you call me an elitist one more time, I'm going to thrash your redneck rear end.
But enough of that. It's hunting season. Frog Hospital is a pro-hunting newsletter. I can understand people who don't hunt, and I can understand people who criticize hunting practices, and there is something that happened in the Skagit Valley this summer which requires a discussion.
It was one of the first days of bear-hunting season, August 4, a hot day. The Sauk Mountain Trail was crowded with hikers -- it often is. A fourteen-year-old hunter figured there might be a bear on that part of the mountain. He took aim at a woman, age 56, out hiking on the trail, and shot and killed her at a range of 120 yards. He thought he was aiming at a bear. He made a terrible mistake and the woman died.
Later, the prosecuting attorney filed charges of manslaughter against the boy. It frustrates me. Clearly, the boy had no intention to cause any harm. But to me, a hunter is totally responsible for what he shoots at, and the boy has to face some serious consequences for what he did.
Those are the hunting rules: If you kill it, you eat it. If you wound it, then you risk life and limb to finish it off. And if you shoot a hiker or birdwatcher, then you are 100 percent responsible. I would like to hear from anyone who sees this differently.
Hunting is an ancient and honorable activity. The problem is that there's less room for it. There's too many people on the Sauk Mountain Trail, and people say the bears never come there anyway, so one outcome will be that this area will be closed to hunting, and I agree with that.
I like to fish. I'm a catch-and-eat fisherman. You can fish in many urban areas. Elliot Bay, right off downtown Seattle, can be a good place to catch salmon. So there is little pressure on the fishing fraternity. There aren't many people who want to ban fishing, but plenty who believe hunting is now an archaic activity, no more suitable to modern man that rubbing two sticks together to build a fire.
I don't want to get too far into that argument. I saw an eagle flying over the house this morning, a young one, with no white feathers. Eagles are pure predators. The coyotes are pure predators too, and they eat the rabbits that run around our back yard. The herons wade in the slough and eat the frogs and little fish. Human beings are predators, but not purely. We are omnivores. We can do fairly well on vegetables and grains. And so we can make ethical distinctions and refrain from killing game when we don't need to.
The Bible says we are made in the image of God and that we are given stewardship over all the earth. I believe that. But I wonder about those rabbits. Maybe God told the rabbits the same thing, and the rabbits believe that the entire earth was made for their benefit. God may have told the same thing to all of His creatures. Maybe we're not that special.
I like to think about things like that when I look out the window. I am an expert theologian, among other skills.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Obama is Tired
Obama is tired. He's been campaigning for 18 months, sleeping in hotels, living in airports, and he misses his home. He has a healthy ambition and the ego to match, but Obama does not "live for campaigning." He does not need the adulation of the crowd to affirm his identity.
People talk about Sarah Palin and about how the election will take her away from her family. Well, she's not my candidate and I don't care about her.
But I do care about Barack and Michelle, and they need some time. Barack suffered from the absence of his father, and he will not let that happen to his two precious girls. Barack, should he be elected, will have the two most important jobs in the world, being President of the United States and being a father. The Obamas will have a more normal life when they move into the White House. It's like living above the store, and Barack can go home for lunch. But right now, it's pretty rough and he's getting tired.
Barack Obama also carries a load, call it the black man's burden. It's like running a race with a 25-pound pack on his back. Conservatives believe in the inherent sinfulness of mankind, and that we will always be tempted by selfishness, dishonesty, lust, and cruelty. But then those same conservatives cheerfully claim that we have banished racial bigotry from our shores. They say "it's not about race."
Yes, race relations have improved, but it's not hard to find a story. My friend, an older black man, past 70, was discharged from the army in 1957 after two bitter, cold winters in Korea. He went looking for a job, but they told him, "Sure, you're qualified, but we don't hire colored people in that position." To his face. That was fifty years ago, but he still remembers.
And in the present, another friend, a black woman my age with a good income and a nice house. And yet, with her remarkable intelligence and energy, she could have been so much more -- the Governor of Washington, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company -- if she had been white. I know her -- that's how good she could have been.
Or a young black woman I saw, looking into a mirror while she applied a skin bleaching cream, giving into a hopeless desire not to wear that face every day, wanting to disappear from who she really is.
That's the burden, and Obama is getting tired.
People talk about Sarah Palin and about how the election will take her away from her family. Well, she's not my candidate and I don't care about her.
But I do care about Barack and Michelle, and they need some time. Barack suffered from the absence of his father, and he will not let that happen to his two precious girls. Barack, should he be elected, will have the two most important jobs in the world, being President of the United States and being a father. The Obamas will have a more normal life when they move into the White House. It's like living above the store, and Barack can go home for lunch. But right now, it's pretty rough and he's getting tired.
Barack Obama also carries a load, call it the black man's burden. It's like running a race with a 25-pound pack on his back. Conservatives believe in the inherent sinfulness of mankind, and that we will always be tempted by selfishness, dishonesty, lust, and cruelty. But then those same conservatives cheerfully claim that we have banished racial bigotry from our shores. They say "it's not about race."
Yes, race relations have improved, but it's not hard to find a story. My friend, an older black man, past 70, was discharged from the army in 1957 after two bitter, cold winters in Korea. He went looking for a job, but they told him, "Sure, you're qualified, but we don't hire colored people in that position." To his face. That was fifty years ago, but he still remembers.
And in the present, another friend, a black woman my age with a good income and a nice house. And yet, with her remarkable intelligence and energy, she could have been so much more -- the Governor of Washington, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company -- if she had been white. I know her -- that's how good she could have been.
Or a young black woman I saw, looking into a mirror while she applied a skin bleaching cream, giving into a hopeless desire not to wear that face every day, wanting to disappear from who she really is.
That's the burden, and Obama is getting tired.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
My Teeth Hurt
I was one of 37,000,000 Americans who listened to Governor Sarah Palin's speech last night. She spoke very well, but after a while my teeth started to hurt, so I turned it off.
She didn't address any health care issues, which is a pressing matter in my mind. I favor the Canadian system myself -- single payer from top to bottom. The Canadians get better access to basic health care, but they have to wait in line for a CT scan. It's a trade off, but it's what I would choose.
Palin, I assume, because she didn't mention it in her speech, supports a market-based health care system.
Neither did she express her opposition to Roe v. Wade, but her pro-life stance is well known. In this matter, I also disagree with her. I feel that all health care decisions should be made as close to the patient as possible and with the least government interference. Palin's own family has flourished under Roe v. Wade, and they have made their decisions freely with only the consultation of a doctor.
I work at a regional hospital and I see doctors and nurses making decisions every day, and to my mind, ALL their decisions are moral and ethical, as they involve the life, suffering, and healing of human beings.
I have seen these doctors and nurses make poor decisions, wrong decisions, and make mistakes, but overall they do far more good than harm, and I think all those choices should remain with the doctor and the immediate family.
When does life begin? Life began when God created the Earth. He said, "Let there be light," and the creation became manifest. When did my life begin? On June 25, 1946, the day I was born, the day I became a human being and an American citizen.
That's what I know. If Palin and McCain wish to make the 2008 election a referendum on Roe v. Wade, then I would welcome that. It was a poorly crafted ruling and has long since needed a ratification or rejection by the voters.
But overall, Sarah expressed herself forcefully and clearly. And it's a wonderful change that she represents.. Geraldine Ferraro was the first female vice presidential of a major party in 1984. Then the Republicans, after thinking about it for 24 years, decided to do the same thing. Welcome to the fight!
Rupert Murdoc, the newspaper mogul and owner of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, was quoted in Vanity Fair on which candidates he prefers, "Obama -- he sells more papers."
But Murdoch said that before Palin got the nod. I'll bet old Rupert is beside himself with joy this morning, because Sarah is going to sell plenty of newspapers herself.
McCain gets his chance tonight. Sarah Palin will be a tough act to follow. McCain is a wealthy man who owns more houses than he can count, bought with money he didn't earn -- but he's not an elitist. McCain is a a legislator with no executive experience, He has served in the Senate for 22 years, and yet he is not a Washington insider -- it's kind of cool trick -- having all that money, being that well connected to the Washington scene -- and yet not really being a part of it.
But I believe in my heart that our Republic will survive. Winston Churchill said of the United States that it can be counted on to do "the right thing," but only after it has tried every alternative.
An additional fact, not necessarily apropos: The Los Angeles Unified School District has 694,000 students, 45,000 teachers, 38,000 other employees, and a $20 billion budget. So what job would you rather have -- Governor of Alaska, or Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District?
She didn't address any health care issues, which is a pressing matter in my mind. I favor the Canadian system myself -- single payer from top to bottom. The Canadians get better access to basic health care, but they have to wait in line for a CT scan. It's a trade off, but it's what I would choose.
Palin, I assume, because she didn't mention it in her speech, supports a market-based health care system.
Neither did she express her opposition to Roe v. Wade, but her pro-life stance is well known. In this matter, I also disagree with her. I feel that all health care decisions should be made as close to the patient as possible and with the least government interference. Palin's own family has flourished under Roe v. Wade, and they have made their decisions freely with only the consultation of a doctor.
I work at a regional hospital and I see doctors and nurses making decisions every day, and to my mind, ALL their decisions are moral and ethical, as they involve the life, suffering, and healing of human beings.
I have seen these doctors and nurses make poor decisions, wrong decisions, and make mistakes, but overall they do far more good than harm, and I think all those choices should remain with the doctor and the immediate family.
When does life begin? Life began when God created the Earth. He said, "Let there be light," and the creation became manifest. When did my life begin? On June 25, 1946, the day I was born, the day I became a human being and an American citizen.
That's what I know. If Palin and McCain wish to make the 2008 election a referendum on Roe v. Wade, then I would welcome that. It was a poorly crafted ruling and has long since needed a ratification or rejection by the voters.
But overall, Sarah expressed herself forcefully and clearly. And it's a wonderful change that she represents.. Geraldine Ferraro was the first female vice presidential of a major party in 1984. Then the Republicans, after thinking about it for 24 years, decided to do the same thing. Welcome to the fight!
Rupert Murdoc, the newspaper mogul and owner of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, was quoted in Vanity Fair on which candidates he prefers, "Obama -- he sells more papers."
But Murdoch said that before Palin got the nod. I'll bet old Rupert is beside himself with joy this morning, because Sarah is going to sell plenty of newspapers herself.
McCain gets his chance tonight. Sarah Palin will be a tough act to follow. McCain is a wealthy man who owns more houses than he can count, bought with money he didn't earn -- but he's not an elitist. McCain is a a legislator with no executive experience, He has served in the Senate for 22 years, and yet he is not a Washington insider -- it's kind of cool trick -- having all that money, being that well connected to the Washington scene -- and yet not really being a part of it.
But I believe in my heart that our Republic will survive. Winston Churchill said of the United States that it can be counted on to do "the right thing," but only after it has tried every alternative.
An additional fact, not necessarily apropos: The Los Angeles Unified School District has 694,000 students, 45,000 teachers, 38,000 other employees, and a $20 billion budget. So what job would you rather have -- Governor of Alaska, or Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District?
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
It's Better to be Average
I beginning to understand and support the Republican criticism of elitists -- those high-toned people who think they know better than the rest of us average folks. That's why I am especially interested in Governor Sarah Palin -- because she's just like everybody else.
She's not like those smart-aleck people I met when I was in Boston. They all thought they were so smart, or those Holly wood people I've met in Los Angeles -- they think they're so cool.
I once admired these people, but I realize now that it's better to be average, and no better than anyone else. When your children come home from school today,you can begin to teach them this.
"Johnny, I think you should stop reading all those books -- you don't want to be smarter than anybody else in your class."
"Rebecca, it looks like you're practicing the piano a little too much. Are you trying to be the best? You know how we feel about that. We're normal people at our house. We don't make any more money than our neighbors, our house isn't any prettier than anyone else's -- because we're regular folks, and we want you to grow up and be just like everybody else --- not those terrible elitist people that we've warned you about."
That's how I should have raised my children.
Today, I went to the doctor. Thank goodness that he has no special training or ambition. I wouldn't go to one of those doctors who stay up late reading medical journals, trying to learn the latest techniques. Oh no, not my doctor, he practices regular medicine, and he's not going to adopt a new technique until all the other doctors do. That's the safe and normal way. It's always better to be average.
In my work as a journalist, I have carefully avoided ambition. I make an effort to get most of the facts, but if I worked any harder, then I would be trying to rise above my fellow journalists -- just like an elitist!
I feel the same way about our political leaders. I would never vote for anyone who was actually intelligent or particularly skilled in international affairs. I would never vote for anyone who spoke a foreign language. I only speak English, and if it's good enough for you and me, it ought to be good enough for the President of the United States. I especially wouldn't vote for someone who went to one of those colleges that require a high grade-point average and high SAT scores --- because I'm opposed to anyone who's better than average.
America is for average people. Those are our national values and we should all be thankful for that.
She's not like those smart-aleck people I met when I was in Boston. They all thought they were so smart, or those Holly wood people I've met in Los Angeles -- they think they're so cool.
I once admired these people, but I realize now that it's better to be average, and no better than anyone else. When your children come home from school today,you can begin to teach them this.
"Johnny, I think you should stop reading all those books -- you don't want to be smarter than anybody else in your class."
"Rebecca, it looks like you're practicing the piano a little too much. Are you trying to be the best? You know how we feel about that. We're normal people at our house. We don't make any more money than our neighbors, our house isn't any prettier than anyone else's -- because we're regular folks, and we want you to grow up and be just like everybody else --- not those terrible elitist people that we've warned you about."
That's how I should have raised my children.
Today, I went to the doctor. Thank goodness that he has no special training or ambition. I wouldn't go to one of those doctors who stay up late reading medical journals, trying to learn the latest techniques. Oh no, not my doctor, he practices regular medicine, and he's not going to adopt a new technique until all the other doctors do. That's the safe and normal way. It's always better to be average.
In my work as a journalist, I have carefully avoided ambition. I make an effort to get most of the facts, but if I worked any harder, then I would be trying to rise above my fellow journalists -- just like an elitist!
I feel the same way about our political leaders. I would never vote for anyone who was actually intelligent or particularly skilled in international affairs. I would never vote for anyone who spoke a foreign language. I only speak English, and if it's good enough for you and me, it ought to be good enough for the President of the United States. I especially wouldn't vote for someone who went to one of those colleges that require a high grade-point average and high SAT scores --- because I'm opposed to anyone who's better than average.
America is for average people. Those are our national values and we should all be thankful for that.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Is John McCain ready to lead?
Is John McCain ready to lead? Is he ready to serve as Commander-in-Chief from day one? Does he have the temperament and judgment to deal with a crisis when the phone rings at 3 a.m.?
Directing American military forces is an awesome responsibility. The United States has 5,000 nuclear weapons and 3,000,000 people in the armed forces, active and reserve. The U.S. Navy has 280 ships, including 12 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The combined forces -- Marines, Navy, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard -- have thousands of planes. America maintains troops in 135 countries and ships in all the world's oceans.
We are in two hot wars right now.
Do you want to put John McCain in charge of all this? That is the most serious question.
Or would Barack Obama make a better leader?
For me, it gets down to Obama's stance on the invasion of Iraq. He was against it and I think he was right.
I believe McCain could manage well enough if he becomes President. I am not concerned about his hot temper -- that's a problem his staff and his wife have to deal with. But he was wrong about Iraq. It was an ill-advised war and a squandering of our resources. The surge has been a salvage operation that can give us a decent exit. The surge was the right tactic serving the wrong strategy.
BACK OFF ON PALIN. Leave Sarah Palin's family out of it. Let her speak for herself. She will have the nation's attention on Wednesday night when she addresses the Republican convention. Judge her words carefully and seriously.
I strongly identify with Sarah Palin in this one area -- she's being called a lightweight and not being seriously considered by people who act like they know more than she does. I identify with the man on the street and the woman on the dog sled. Let her speak. Weigh her words, and then respond.
I doubt that I will agree with Governor Palin on most issues, but the critics had better wipe the smirks off their faces.
--
Directing American military forces is an awesome responsibility. The United States has 5,000 nuclear weapons and 3,000,000 people in the armed forces, active and reserve. The U.S. Navy has 280 ships, including 12 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The combined forces -- Marines, Navy, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard -- have thousands of planes. America maintains troops in 135 countries and ships in all the world's oceans.
We are in two hot wars right now.
Do you want to put John McCain in charge of all this? That is the most serious question.
Or would Barack Obama make a better leader?
For me, it gets down to Obama's stance on the invasion of Iraq. He was against it and I think he was right.
I believe McCain could manage well enough if he becomes President. I am not concerned about his hot temper -- that's a problem his staff and his wife have to deal with. But he was wrong about Iraq. It was an ill-advised war and a squandering of our resources. The surge has been a salvage operation that can give us a decent exit. The surge was the right tactic serving the wrong strategy.
BACK OFF ON PALIN. Leave Sarah Palin's family out of it. Let her speak for herself. She will have the nation's attention on Wednesday night when she addresses the Republican convention. Judge her words carefully and seriously.
I strongly identify with Sarah Palin in this one area -- she's being called a lightweight and not being seriously considered by people who act like they know more than she does. I identify with the man on the street and the woman on the dog sled. Let her speak. Weigh her words, and then respond.
I doubt that I will agree with Governor Palin on most issues, but the critics had better wipe the smirks off their faces.
--
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sea Turtles
Sea Turtles. This is an amazing story from the Los Angeles Times, about a colony of more than a dozen giant sea turtles that have found a home in the San Gabriel River, in the heart of Los Angeles, a few miles upstream from the port of Long Beach. The sea turtles, farther north than their tropical range, are attracted by the warm water discharge from a power plant. The poor water quality doesn't seem to disturb them. The giant sea turtles can weigh up to 500 pounds and live for as long as 100 years.
Maybe the turtles know something. Or maybe they just want to be in LA.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Gustav is bearing down on the Gulf Coast. I just emailed a friend in Floresville, in South Texas -- she lives on high ground and 150 miles inland -- safe from the highest winds, but likely to be drenched by heavy rains if it steers toward that part of Texas. But if if it heads toward Houston or New Orleans, Floresville and all the other inland communities will warmly welcome thousands of storm refugees.
Gustav might cause enormous property damage, depending on where it makes landfall. But the mass evacuations should minimize loss of life.
Up here, in the Skagit Valley, we have a lot of soggy wheat. Wheat is not the main crop, but the farmers doubled their acreage this year to take advantage of high global prices. They will still get this high price, but the unexpected August rains have made the harvest more difficult. If grain is harvested when its damp, the farmers have to put it through a dryer to get the moisture out, and that's an extra cost. But if the wheat is completely wet, as it is right now, the thresher will get all gummed up, and they just have to wait for some sunshine. I'm not smart enough to be a farmer, but I hear things.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin calls her husband the First Dude. She's exciting and interesting -- has that "naughty librarian" look. And fully qualified in my mind. If you can raise five children, you can chair a meeting of the Cabinet -- I'm not kidding.
She might confuse Bulgaria with South Ossetia -- but you can learn that stuff.
Anyway, I have heard on the Internet, that McCain and Palin are in Jackson, Mississippi, right now to lend a hand with the hurricane evacuation. Okay -- but if they do the slightest bit of grandstanding about the wonderful volunteer spirit of the Republican Party -- well, they just better watch what they say and do.
If you can't help, get out of the way.
Maybe the turtles know something. Or maybe they just want to be in LA.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Gustav is bearing down on the Gulf Coast. I just emailed a friend in Floresville, in South Texas -- she lives on high ground and 150 miles inland -- safe from the highest winds, but likely to be drenched by heavy rains if it steers toward that part of Texas. But if if it heads toward Houston or New Orleans, Floresville and all the other inland communities will warmly welcome thousands of storm refugees.
Gustav might cause enormous property damage, depending on where it makes landfall. But the mass evacuations should minimize loss of life.
Up here, in the Skagit Valley, we have a lot of soggy wheat. Wheat is not the main crop, but the farmers doubled their acreage this year to take advantage of high global prices. They will still get this high price, but the unexpected August rains have made the harvest more difficult. If grain is harvested when its damp, the farmers have to put it through a dryer to get the moisture out, and that's an extra cost. But if the wheat is completely wet, as it is right now, the thresher will get all gummed up, and they just have to wait for some sunshine. I'm not smart enough to be a farmer, but I hear things.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin calls her husband the First Dude. She's exciting and interesting -- has that "naughty librarian" look. And fully qualified in my mind. If you can raise five children, you can chair a meeting of the Cabinet -- I'm not kidding.
She might confuse Bulgaria with South Ossetia -- but you can learn that stuff.
Anyway, I have heard on the Internet, that McCain and Palin are in Jackson, Mississippi, right now to lend a hand with the hurricane evacuation. Okay -- but if they do the slightest bit of grandstanding about the wonderful volunteer spirit of the Republican Party -- well, they just better watch what they say and do.
If you can't help, get out of the way.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sarah Palin -- the new Anita Bryant
John McCain may have picked her because she's shorter than he is. McCain is 5 foot seven inches tall.
The candidates' height is part of a long list of things that shouldn't matter, but they do. But I don't think McCain chose her for strategic political reasons, or for height reasons, actually. This was McCain-as-maverick, saying what-the-hell, let's wing it, and this might be fun.
He's right about that. It will be fun. But now, as I think about it, when people say they miss the old maverick McCain -- I don't want that quality in my President. I want a careful thinker -- with some imagination, just not too much.
Many people have compared Sarah Palin to Anita Bryant, she of the orange juice advertisements and the anti-homosexual crusades -- you younger readers can look up Anita Bryant for a reprise of those historic moments.
But, aside from these snarky comments, I will make no criticism of Gov. Palin. Hear her words. Let her speak for herself, and form your own opinion.
As for experience and the lack of it, I have wanted a new face all along, and I found my new face in Barak Obama, so I can hardly deny the Republicans their own new face.
In fact, I have been bored to death with all the commentary attending the Democratic convention. If I ran a newspaper or a website, I would simply publish the unedited speeches. I heard Michelle Obama say that she loved her husband and she believed he would make a good President -- I did not need an interpretation of her words.
I heard Hillary Clinton endorse Barak Obama --- I took her words at face value.
Heard Bill Clinton give a joyful speech, and I realized that no one ever enjoyed being President as much as he did -- Ii think he really misses having that job, and I hope, for his sake and for the sake of the country, that he can found another path of public service.
I heard Barak Obama speak last night, and he did very well. He's my candidate, and he's six-foot one inch tall.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
France, China, and America
Why can't the Olympics last forever?
France, China, and America are the three essential nations of the global community. The three official languages of this year's Olympics are Chinese, English, and French.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe flew all the way to Hong Kong, but the Chinese gov't. refused his request to attend the Olympic Games, so Mugabe got in his plane and flew all the way back to Zimbabwe.
At the opening ceremony, the Arab and Muslim nations made a pathetic display. Their women were banned or hidden like nuns.
In America, men liked watching women's beach volleyball. But the gay men liked watching men's synchronized diving.
London will host the 2012 Olympics. Chicago is competing for the 2016 spot, and Capetown, South Africa, is aiming for the 2020 Olympics. The Olympics have never been held in Africa, and it's about time.
We saw George Bush and Vladimir Putin sharing the same bleacher seats at the Olympics, while the President of Georgia was planning to move his troops into South Ossetia.
Putin took off immediately for Moscow to stage his vigorous military response to the Georgian move.
President Bush continued to watch the Olympics -- he loves sports after all. Barack Obama was body surfing in Hawaii, and John McCain was uttering bellicose oaths while the Russian tanks invaded Georgian territory.
Obama, emerging from his vacation, advocated restraint.He was thinking along these lines -- We belong to NATO which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Then Obama looked at the map, and realized that Georgia was a very long way from the North Atlantic, and so it is not a direct American concern.
Meanwhile, right wing radio is thundering, calling Obama spineless.
My own opinion is that Obama is right. The principle opponents to Russian expansion are the neighboring countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Ukraine. It is their problem and their fight. The European community, led by French President Sarkozy, are the neighboring allies who can back up the stance of the small "frontline" nations.
And we, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, are the backup to the backup.
Bush and McCain are fools looking for a fight if we were to initiate any kind of military response. We can help, but this is not a situation for American leadership.
France, China, and America are the three essential nations of the global community. The three official languages of this year's Olympics are Chinese, English, and French.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe flew all the way to Hong Kong, but the Chinese gov't. refused his request to attend the Olympic Games, so Mugabe got in his plane and flew all the way back to Zimbabwe.
At the opening ceremony, the Arab and Muslim nations made a pathetic display. Their women were banned or hidden like nuns.
In America, men liked watching women's beach volleyball. But the gay men liked watching men's synchronized diving.
London will host the 2012 Olympics. Chicago is competing for the 2016 spot, and Capetown, South Africa, is aiming for the 2020 Olympics. The Olympics have never been held in Africa, and it's about time.
We saw George Bush and Vladimir Putin sharing the same bleacher seats at the Olympics, while the President of Georgia was planning to move his troops into South Ossetia.
Putin took off immediately for Moscow to stage his vigorous military response to the Georgian move.
President Bush continued to watch the Olympics -- he loves sports after all. Barack Obama was body surfing in Hawaii, and John McCain was uttering bellicose oaths while the Russian tanks invaded Georgian territory.
Obama, emerging from his vacation, advocated restraint.He was thinking along these lines -- We belong to NATO which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Then Obama looked at the map, and realized that Georgia was a very long way from the North Atlantic, and so it is not a direct American concern.
Meanwhile, right wing radio is thundering, calling Obama spineless.
My own opinion is that Obama is right. The principle opponents to Russian expansion are the neighboring countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Ukraine. It is their problem and their fight. The European community, led by French President Sarkozy, are the neighboring allies who can back up the stance of the small "frontline" nations.
And we, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, are the backup to the backup.
Bush and McCain are fools looking for a fight if we were to initiate any kind of military response. We can help, but this is not a situation for American leadership.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
On Fir Island
Fir Island is about the best place I ever lived. It’s a delta island five miles across, surrounded by dikes. You could plow it from one to the other because it’s completely flat, and it is plowed for the rich alluvial soil that has filtered down from the Cascade Mountains for thousands of years. The Skagit River built this island, although it could destroy this island at will.
The dike broke in the flood of1990 and put the whole island under six feet of water. Those with raised-up houses suffered the least, but it was a big mess just the same, everything caked with mud, and debris all over the place.
Living at sea level, we are on the front lines of global warming, so if I tell you that my feet are getting wet, then you’ll know we have a problem.
The farms are plentiful. You couldn’t a find rock as big as tennis ball anywhere on this island. The top soil is deep and fine. The water table is just two or three feet below the surface, and the crops get sub-irrigated.
We have potatoes across the road from the house. They are blooming their little purple flowers and looking bright from a recent rain. Potato plants aren’t really pretty, but you can’t blame them -- they’re not for looks, they’re for making spuds.
The potatoes will be harvested sometime in the fall. They harvest the potatoes last because there’s no hurry. Potatoes, once grown, can sit in the ground for weeks or months with no harm to them.
But it is a question of how big the crop will be this year -- the cold, wet spring meant that crops were planted late and will have a shorter growing season.
We grow the famous Skagit red potatoes -- smaller, and much better tasting than those honkin’ Idaho spuds. Red potatoes fetch a higher price too.
On our side of the road, two wheat fields are golden and ready to be combined. It’s a pleasure to watch the wheat waving in the wind.
Right next to the house is five acres of raspberries. What a treat! I go out for a snack every morning. The farm workers have just about finished the picking, and they said it was a good crop.
We got invaded by about five hundred starlings at the peak of the crop. Starlings come to plunder and raid -- I can’t stand them. Anyway, they’re gone now -- bothering somebody else.
We have a lot of swallows around the house. They are the prettiest, sleekest fliers you could imagine. They come in the spring and build their little mud-daubed nests under the eaves of the house.
One nest was right near the kitchen door. And the little eggs hatched, and the little birds stuck their heads out waiting for food -- they had no fear of humans coming in the door, only two feet away.
But last week the nest was empty and the little swallows were making their own way in the world.
Otherwise, the mama duck still has her brood in the slough behind the barn. The young ducks can fly now, but they still stick close to mama.
The herons eat frogs and squawk in the slough. The coyotes are around, plenty of them -- you here them at night, and there aren’t many cats left around this island unless they be house cats.
But the coyotes haven’t gotten all the rabbits, because I see them every day.
The big cherry tree doesn’t have too many cherries, nor the plum tree, nor the apple tree, I’m not sure why. Last year we had a ton of apples.
Snow Goose Produce is a mile down the road going to LaConner. Mike and Mary Louise Rust own that business. I often walk down there just to say hi. I bought a basket from them for $8 -- but they’re not really making a living off of the neighbors, mainly they cater to the thousands of visitors who come up from Seattle and elsewhere -- they sell a LOT of ice cream cones.
Going the other way it’s four miles to Conway, a village/town, and there I get on the Interstate to go to work at the hospital in Mount Vernon, another five miles.
---- Best place I ever lived.
TIRE GAUGES AND NUCLEAR ENERGY. The candidates are sparring over energy policy. The rules of their debate are as follows, “If you’re for it, then I’m against it.”
Personally, I want it all. Keeping your tires inflated is “small ball,” and that works. It’s like getting rich by saving your nickels and dimes -- is that wrong?
Nuclear power plants are like a home run swing. That’s okay with me. Recent events show that any energy source is better than getting oil from the Persian Gulf.
The Republicans are singing a one-note song on offshore drilling. I believe Obama has taken that issue away from them when he said, “Okay, we can have a few, if it’s part of a comprehensive program.”
So, the tire gauge and the nuclear plant frame the energy debate. There are a million choices in between those two ideas. Most of these ideas are good ones, at least worth a try. I believe there is no cost-free source of energy, and usually a toxic side effect, so the best choice is a highly diversified mix.
PAY PAL. I’ve added a Pay Pal button on my blog. So if you want to pay the voluntary $25 subscription to Frog Hospital, you choose this convenient method. Subscription income supports the effort and is greatly appreciated.
The dike broke in the flood of1990 and put the whole island under six feet of water. Those with raised-up houses suffered the least, but it was a big mess just the same, everything caked with mud, and debris all over the place.
Living at sea level, we are on the front lines of global warming, so if I tell you that my feet are getting wet, then you’ll know we have a problem.
The farms are plentiful. You couldn’t a find rock as big as tennis ball anywhere on this island. The top soil is deep and fine. The water table is just two or three feet below the surface, and the crops get sub-irrigated.
We have potatoes across the road from the house. They are blooming their little purple flowers and looking bright from a recent rain. Potato plants aren’t really pretty, but you can’t blame them -- they’re not for looks, they’re for making spuds.
The potatoes will be harvested sometime in the fall. They harvest the potatoes last because there’s no hurry. Potatoes, once grown, can sit in the ground for weeks or months with no harm to them.
But it is a question of how big the crop will be this year -- the cold, wet spring meant that crops were planted late and will have a shorter growing season.
We grow the famous Skagit red potatoes -- smaller, and much better tasting than those honkin’ Idaho spuds. Red potatoes fetch a higher price too.
On our side of the road, two wheat fields are golden and ready to be combined. It’s a pleasure to watch the wheat waving in the wind.
Right next to the house is five acres of raspberries. What a treat! I go out for a snack every morning. The farm workers have just about finished the picking, and they said it was a good crop.
We got invaded by about five hundred starlings at the peak of the crop. Starlings come to plunder and raid -- I can’t stand them. Anyway, they’re gone now -- bothering somebody else.
We have a lot of swallows around the house. They are the prettiest, sleekest fliers you could imagine. They come in the spring and build their little mud-daubed nests under the eaves of the house.
One nest was right near the kitchen door. And the little eggs hatched, and the little birds stuck their heads out waiting for food -- they had no fear of humans coming in the door, only two feet away.
But last week the nest was empty and the little swallows were making their own way in the world.
Otherwise, the mama duck still has her brood in the slough behind the barn. The young ducks can fly now, but they still stick close to mama.
The herons eat frogs and squawk in the slough. The coyotes are around, plenty of them -- you here them at night, and there aren’t many cats left around this island unless they be house cats.
But the coyotes haven’t gotten all the rabbits, because I see them every day.
The big cherry tree doesn’t have too many cherries, nor the plum tree, nor the apple tree, I’m not sure why. Last year we had a ton of apples.
Snow Goose Produce is a mile down the road going to LaConner. Mike and Mary Louise Rust own that business. I often walk down there just to say hi. I bought a basket from them for $8 -- but they’re not really making a living off of the neighbors, mainly they cater to the thousands of visitors who come up from Seattle and elsewhere -- they sell a LOT of ice cream cones.
Going the other way it’s four miles to Conway, a village/town, and there I get on the Interstate to go to work at the hospital in Mount Vernon, another five miles.
---- Best place I ever lived.
TIRE GAUGES AND NUCLEAR ENERGY. The candidates are sparring over energy policy. The rules of their debate are as follows, “If you’re for it, then I’m against it.”
Personally, I want it all. Keeping your tires inflated is “small ball,” and that works. It’s like getting rich by saving your nickels and dimes -- is that wrong?
Nuclear power plants are like a home run swing. That’s okay with me. Recent events show that any energy source is better than getting oil from the Persian Gulf.
The Republicans are singing a one-note song on offshore drilling. I believe Obama has taken that issue away from them when he said, “Okay, we can have a few, if it’s part of a comprehensive program.”
So, the tire gauge and the nuclear plant frame the energy debate. There are a million choices in between those two ideas. Most of these ideas are good ones, at least worth a try. I believe there is no cost-free source of energy, and usually a toxic side effect, so the best choice is a highly diversified mix.
PAY PAL. I’ve added a Pay Pal button on my blog. So if you want to pay the voluntary $25 subscription to Frog Hospital, you choose this convenient method. Subscription income supports the effort and is greatly appreciated.
Freddie Fender
Freddie Fender, the great Tejano singer, was more than a friend to me. This deep-hearted man was my cousin, or the child of my mother’s cousin, Louise Cuny, whatever that relation is. Louise married a Mexican man, in 1930, long before I was born. She moved down to McAllen, Texas, along the border, to be with his people, because my people no longer knew her. It wasn’t like my grandparents to use names, the common racial epithets, but Louise married out, she married beneath us, and we didn’t hear about her.
I asked my folks, “Who is that little girl in the photo next to Aunt Tessie?” My father would say, “Oh, that’s our cousin Louise. We haven’t seen her in years.”
So they never said anything bad about Louise, it was just a closed subject. When I rebelled against my family in the 1960’s, it was because of these secrets. I needed to know about my cousin Louise among other mysteries. I will say now, to interrupt this story, that it was good of my folks to keep their hearts secret from me, for it was not to give too easily, these truths. No, it was for me to struggle and quest for meaning, even the true story of my own family.
So, it was not until the late 1980s that I found out about Louise and her child Freddy. Freddy Fender! My God, he sings my soul, “Wasted Days and wasted Nights”, “When the Next Teardrop Falls,” -- those hit songs of his. They were too sentimental -- it was Mexico, it was Texas, it was Tejano.
I liked his music too much, because every morning I awoke with a sorrow, a longing for the past which I could not understand. Why was I so old-fashioned to like his music?
So I wrote to him to claim kin, where he lived in San Benito, a little town, just north of McAllen. He didn’t write back, but he was not such a huge Superstar, so I knew I could find him. Freddie hung out in the clubs in the Valley [as they say, the Rio Grande Valley near McAllen] -- he hung out in the clubs when he wasn’t on the road. So it wasn’t too hard to find him, and to say “Primo, Como esta?” -- or “Cousin, how are you?” As any Mexican might greet you. But, I meant it truly, that we were blood, and he looked at me, like Pancho Villa, those deep brown eyes, and he saw something in me. I said, “I’m your family. I know your mother. Here, look at this photo. You will see.”
So it began awkwardly, but he gave me a chair at the club. I sat close by to hear him sing. His life was so different than anything I knew, but I could almost reach him.
This was in 1986, when I lived down there. People wondered why I moved to Texas, and why I have gone back there again and again. It was a family secret -- this mixed blood. I could have spoken a long time ago. It seems like nothing now. They don’t even call it mixed marriage anymore, but I was brought up strictly, by the nuns, so I kept that secret.
I went back to San Benito, in 2006, to visit Freddie Fender’s grave, and I left my own tears.
Monday, August 04, 2008
summer days
It’s high summer on the East Coast. The glitterati are enjoying fine wine on the porches of Martha’s Vineyard. The burnished sun sets over sand dunes and water sparkles like diamonds.
It’s nice on the East Coast -- Cape Cod, the Hamptons, the Jersey shore. There’s a town and resort place for every income level. The air is ten degrees cooler on the beach. The sand gets in your toes and into the cottage. The barbeque is lit. Friends come over.
You forget all about winter. You talk about politics, but casually. It’s no more serious than a game of cards. Parcheesi is popular this year, new herbs and spices, a taste of fennel and basil. The ocean breeze makes you feel young and alive.
September is coming. That’s when life changes. September -- not the springtime -- brings new beginnings. Change is in the air. The young people are acting up, but lowering their voices, as if they really mean it.
It’s risky. Senator Barack Obama admits to being a risk, but I’ll take the chance. We need to change just to keep things just as good as they are. Wars end. They always have. Civilization is fragile, there are no guarantees. Conservatives guard against the oppression of government over the individual. But I have no trust for any human institution. I fear the government, yes. I fear the large corporations too. I’ve seen corruption in colleges, thievery in small businesses, and brutality in the family, because evil lies in the hearts of men. And we need to change just to keep it as good as it is.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, gaveled down the Congress and shut off a vote on offshore drilling. Done like a pro, I say. She shut ‘em down, like Tip O’Neil did in the eighties, like Sam Rayburn did in the fifties and like mighty Joe Cannon did a hundred years ago. The Speaker is the boss of the House and not for the first time or the last time.
Because Grandmother Nancy enjoys her summer vacation on the West Coast, in Napa vineyards and Big Sur retreats. She doesn’t care to sully her view with the fumes of oil rigs. She said no and she gaveled them down.
Rest easy, Nancy. It starts over again in September. Enjoy your balmy days, you great writers, you stars of stage and screen on Martha’s Vineyard, you Nantucket sailors, you clam diggers in Maine, you Jersey gamblers.
The rest of us are reading beach novels and eating clam fritters. The days are endless.
BEAUTY FROM BROKENNESS is a book about horses, written by Connie Funk, a neighbor and friend. I started reading in the back of the book to see how it ended. I gave it a one day rest, and then started at the beginning like you’re supposed to.
It’s a clean, fresh book. Connie writes in a very direct style, she doesn’t play tricks. I don’t believe in new stories. It’s all known, but it comes back around. So I say Connie’s book is fresh. You discover what’s known and been forgotten. You must do this. And listen to God.
LISTENING TO AMY WINEHOUSE. I downloaded three of her songs to my laptop, so I’m listening to her as I write. I hate the news and the hype about her. I just want to hear her voice. You can burn your brain out as an artist trying to be something different. Don’t do that. Just be Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday and Betty Carter and Peggy Lee. Just sing.
JAZZ. Speaking of jazz, the great American art-form, I wonder what the Obamas like in that kind of music. I can see them at the Inaugural Ball next January, as President and First Lady -- Barack clean and smooth in black and white, Michelle sparkling, but I can’t see what color of dress she will wear, I’m not good at that.
Their first dance at the Inaugural Ball -- What tune will the Obamas choose? And this will be a change, a good change, because the Obamas will not choose what the Carters or the Reagans chose. The Obamas will dance to another melody. I have been consulting my Jazz Advisor on the choice of music. I suggested Duke Ellington. My adviser said that Duke Ellington is Presidential but not so danceable. He was thinking more along the lines of Count Basie.
What a sweet day that will be.
It’s nice on the East Coast -- Cape Cod, the Hamptons, the Jersey shore. There’s a town and resort place for every income level. The air is ten degrees cooler on the beach. The sand gets in your toes and into the cottage. The barbeque is lit. Friends come over.
You forget all about winter. You talk about politics, but casually. It’s no more serious than a game of cards. Parcheesi is popular this year, new herbs and spices, a taste of fennel and basil. The ocean breeze makes you feel young and alive.
September is coming. That’s when life changes. September -- not the springtime -- brings new beginnings. Change is in the air. The young people are acting up, but lowering their voices, as if they really mean it.
It’s risky. Senator Barack Obama admits to being a risk, but I’ll take the chance. We need to change just to keep things just as good as they are. Wars end. They always have. Civilization is fragile, there are no guarantees. Conservatives guard against the oppression of government over the individual. But I have no trust for any human institution. I fear the government, yes. I fear the large corporations too. I’ve seen corruption in colleges, thievery in small businesses, and brutality in the family, because evil lies in the hearts of men. And we need to change just to keep it as good as it is.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, gaveled down the Congress and shut off a vote on offshore drilling. Done like a pro, I say. She shut ‘em down, like Tip O’Neil did in the eighties, like Sam Rayburn did in the fifties and like mighty Joe Cannon did a hundred years ago. The Speaker is the boss of the House and not for the first time or the last time.
Because Grandmother Nancy enjoys her summer vacation on the West Coast, in Napa vineyards and Big Sur retreats. She doesn’t care to sully her view with the fumes of oil rigs. She said no and she gaveled them down.
Rest easy, Nancy. It starts over again in September. Enjoy your balmy days, you great writers, you stars of stage and screen on Martha’s Vineyard, you Nantucket sailors, you clam diggers in Maine, you Jersey gamblers.
The rest of us are reading beach novels and eating clam fritters. The days are endless.
BEAUTY FROM BROKENNESS is a book about horses, written by Connie Funk, a neighbor and friend. I started reading in the back of the book to see how it ended. I gave it a one day rest, and then started at the beginning like you’re supposed to.
It’s a clean, fresh book. Connie writes in a very direct style, she doesn’t play tricks. I don’t believe in new stories. It’s all known, but it comes back around. So I say Connie’s book is fresh. You discover what’s known and been forgotten. You must do this. And listen to God.
LISTENING TO AMY WINEHOUSE. I downloaded three of her songs to my laptop, so I’m listening to her as I write. I hate the news and the hype about her. I just want to hear her voice. You can burn your brain out as an artist trying to be something different. Don’t do that. Just be Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday and Betty Carter and Peggy Lee. Just sing.
JAZZ. Speaking of jazz, the great American art-form, I wonder what the Obamas like in that kind of music. I can see them at the Inaugural Ball next January, as President and First Lady -- Barack clean and smooth in black and white, Michelle sparkling, but I can’t see what color of dress she will wear, I’m not good at that.
Their first dance at the Inaugural Ball -- What tune will the Obamas choose? And this will be a change, a good change, because the Obamas will not choose what the Carters or the Reagans chose. The Obamas will dance to another melody. I have been consulting my Jazz Advisor on the choice of music. I suggested Duke Ellington. My adviser said that Duke Ellington is Presidential but not so danceable. He was thinking more along the lines of Count Basie.
What a sweet day that will be.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Horse and Giraffes
HANDICAPPING THE ELECTION. Obama is the likely winner, by a thin margin. That's his style. There's no way he's going to throw a roundhouse punch at an old war hero like John McCain. He will treat McCain with the same courtesy that he treated Hillary Clinton. Being much younger than McCain or Clinton, he owes them that much respect. In addition, the majority of the voters want Obama to win, but we don't want him to win too big -- on account of his tender age.
Maybe race has a bit to do with this too. They used to call a Negro "uppity" if he didn't know his place. But now they call him arrogant and elitist. Obama said, “What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky.”
HORSES AND GIRAFFES. Connie Funk of Dodge Valley has written a wonderful book about horses, "Beauty from Brokenness." She will have a signing at the Next Chapter in LaConner, Saturday, Aug. 16. I got an autographed copy today.
I started reading the book this afternoon, during quiet moments at the hospital. I've gotten to page 179 so far. But I'm reading the book backwards, starting with the acknowledgments, which list and describe Connie's friends and advisers in the world of horses, children, gardens, and other spiritual delights. After the acknowledgments, I moved to the left, to the Epilog, which is the last chapter -- the book has a Happy Ending! Then I kept moving to the left, going toward the front of the book one chapter at a time.
I'm left-handed -- reading books this way is quite natural to me. Connie is the kind of friend and writer who would completely understand this.
Gee, I'm reading this book and I feel like I know the horses she writes about -- That's a joke. I DO know them, one named Chasta and and the other named Gaela, two beautiful horse girls -- I have visited them often. Connie's house is only a few miles from where I live on Fir Island.
Then Connie writes about a character named Fred who bears an astonishing resemblance to me. This guy Fred has helped Connie prune the roses, the forsythias, the viburnums, the wisteria, the grapevines, and ESPECIALLY the long lovely privet hedge which marches in twin rows to a bower with a wooden cross, said cross being the original wooden cross on top of the spire of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in LaConner, built in 1899.
The old cross is a little bit weatherworn, but it rests underneath a weeping cherry tree and the sturdy privet hedge shelters it from winter winds.
Next to the privet hedge is a giraffe eating fruit from an apple tree. It's a real giraffe, if you mean by that a live giraffe, being a topiary of 8-feet tall, of four cotoneasters, each one being a giraffe's leg, and each cotoneaster carefully pruned up a wire and iron frame, to form the body and long, long neck of a giraffe.
"Fred" has often given this giraffe a haircut with his garden shears. There is a dramatic episode concerning this giraffe, a moment of terror and danger -- but I dare not tell, you must read Connie's book.
Giraffes, as I have seen them in Africa, are the most romantic of creatures. Their long necks are for nuzzling. Their powerful hearts are a surge of passion. A dull zoologist might point out that the strong heart of a giraffe is necessary to pump blood more than six feet straight up the giraffe's neck in order to give good circulation to the brain.
But I say it's love. I watched a scene once, in Hwange Park in Zimbabwe, of two giraffes courting. It was so tender. There were zebras and ostriches cavorting about like ballerinas. But the giraffes lovers held us in awe. It may be, going back again to the very dull zoologist, that the boy giraffe and the girl giraffe have such very long necks and such very long legs, that he is not able to mount her unless she is completely ready, completely willing, and completely cooperative. One cannot rush these things -- as the boy giraffe learned from his forefathers. You must court her, you must dance with her from one thorn tree to another. If you try to force her, you will both suffer.
True. And All the Pretty Horses get Sleepy in the Long Summer Days.
Maybe race has a bit to do with this too. They used to call a Negro "uppity" if he didn't know his place. But now they call him arrogant and elitist. Obama said, “What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky.”
HORSES AND GIRAFFES. Connie Funk of Dodge Valley has written a wonderful book about horses, "Beauty from Brokenness." She will have a signing at the Next Chapter in LaConner, Saturday, Aug. 16. I got an autographed copy today.
I started reading the book this afternoon, during quiet moments at the hospital. I've gotten to page 179 so far. But I'm reading the book backwards, starting with the acknowledgments, which list and describe Connie's friends and advisers in the world of horses, children, gardens, and other spiritual delights. After the acknowledgments, I moved to the left, to the Epilog, which is the last chapter -- the book has a Happy Ending! Then I kept moving to the left, going toward the front of the book one chapter at a time.
I'm left-handed -- reading books this way is quite natural to me. Connie is the kind of friend and writer who would completely understand this.
Gee, I'm reading this book and I feel like I know the horses she writes about -- That's a joke. I DO know them, one named Chasta and and the other named Gaela, two beautiful horse girls -- I have visited them often. Connie's house is only a few miles from where I live on Fir Island.
Then Connie writes about a character named Fred who bears an astonishing resemblance to me. This guy Fred has helped Connie prune the roses, the forsythias, the viburnums, the wisteria, the grapevines, and ESPECIALLY the long lovely privet hedge which marches in twin rows to a bower with a wooden cross, said cross being the original wooden cross on top of the spire of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in LaConner, built in 1899.
The old cross is a little bit weatherworn, but it rests underneath a weeping cherry tree and the sturdy privet hedge shelters it from winter winds.
Next to the privet hedge is a giraffe eating fruit from an apple tree. It's a real giraffe, if you mean by that a live giraffe, being a topiary of 8-feet tall, of four cotoneasters, each one being a giraffe's leg, and each cotoneaster carefully pruned up a wire and iron frame, to form the body and long, long neck of a giraffe.
"Fred" has often given this giraffe a haircut with his garden shears. There is a dramatic episode concerning this giraffe, a moment of terror and danger -- but I dare not tell, you must read Connie's book.
Giraffes, as I have seen them in Africa, are the most romantic of creatures. Their long necks are for nuzzling. Their powerful hearts are a surge of passion. A dull zoologist might point out that the strong heart of a giraffe is necessary to pump blood more than six feet straight up the giraffe's neck in order to give good circulation to the brain.
But I say it's love. I watched a scene once, in Hwange Park in Zimbabwe, of two giraffes courting. It was so tender. There were zebras and ostriches cavorting about like ballerinas. But the giraffes lovers held us in awe. It may be, going back again to the very dull zoologist, that the boy giraffe and the girl giraffe have such very long necks and such very long legs, that he is not able to mount her unless she is completely ready, completely willing, and completely cooperative. One cannot rush these things -- as the boy giraffe learned from his forefathers. You must court her, you must dance with her from one thorn tree to another. If you try to force her, you will both suffer.
True. And All the Pretty Horses get Sleepy in the Long Summer Days.
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