When Politicians Turn Bad

This Hillary thing keeps reminding me of when I was a kid. We played baseball a lot in our neighborhood but most of the time, there was only one baseball bat. The kid who had the bat made the rules. If he didn't like how things were going, he'd take his bat and leave. Game over.

As we got older, everyone learned that it's just wrong for the kid with the bat to set the rules. That's not what adults do. Or so we were told.

I often wondered what it was, exactly, that got the kid with the bat to share. I liked to think that he learned something important. That it's better for everyone to share. But maybe he just learned that if he didn't share, he'd get in trouble with his folks or that a group of angry kids might beat the crap out of him. Community interest or self-preservation?

Which leads me to Hillary. So often it seems that she would rather have McCain win than Obama. And we all know why---if McCain wins, she has a better shot at the White House in 2012. From the standpoint of the nation and the world, does she really think a McCain presidency would be best? Of course not. But her level of caring for the nation pales in comparison to how much she cares about herself. This now seems obvious.

I used to admire her tremendously. I hoped she would one day be president. I thought she possessed all the qualities of a great international leader. Not any more. It saddens me to learn that her greed and vanity trumped her interest in serving the greater good.

Then there's Bill. Most scholars give him high marks for his presidential tenure and I think history will uphold this positive view, perhaps even enhance it. And in his first 4 to 6 years as a former president, Bill conducted himself admirably on the world stage using his power for the benefit of many world causes.

Then he lost it. He's like the kid with the baseball bat. And he's pissed. And it shows.

The Clintons have a shot at redemption. It comes at the Democratic National Convention. But it doesn't end there. They need to campaign tirelessly for Barack. If they don't, the world will know that they care only for themselves. In which case I will continue to think "Shame on them". Bill and Hillary, please don't let that happen. Use your power for the greater good and don't pretend you don't know what that means. We're not that stupid.

The Evil Republican Spin Machine

Forgive me. I thought we were a nation that cared about truth. Forgive us. For we are a nation of idiots. I suspect this statement won't enhance my chances for victory if I were to decide to run for public office. On the other hand, the evidence is overwhelming---we ARE a nation of idiots. How else can any rational person explain that a majority of our citizenry accept without question the ridiculous mean-spirited lies the Republican spin machine cranks out?

Have you heard about the new book "Obama Nation"? A Karl Rove-ish Swift Boat redux. The New Republicanism cares only about results and cares nothing about process. The New Republicanism, as a core value, believes that it is justified in telling lies about exceptional citizens, who happen to be Democrats running for executive office. Why? Well, for one thing, they can get away with it. They know that most Americans are not critical thinkers. Collectively, we are dumb and lazy, willing to believe whatever toxic lies the Republican Rovers spew in our general direction.

For another, it gets results! Witness the re-election of W in 2004. W's performance as our president from 2001 to 2004 will go down in history as a disaster, yet our nation of idiots re-elected him. And for us to re-elect W in 2004 proves, once again, they we as a nation are gullible and foolish. Of course, there is also the possibility that both elections were rigged, Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004.

What amazes me most, though, is the hypocrisy. The Republican's are attempting to marginalize Barack claiming he is an elitist. Let's see, Obama grew up in a household with a single parent, excelled at academics and athletics, and lacked any of the privileges one normally associates with elitists.

McCain, on the other hand, was the son of an admiral and the grandson of an admiral. He didn't deserve to get into the US Naval Academy but strings were pulled and it happened. Never an exceptional student, McCain's chief to notoriety seemed to lie in his ability to survive as a POW in Vietnam. I'm sure this was a miserable time for him, but is the ability to not die while being fed crappy food by Communists really something that qualifies someone to be the Leader of the Free World?

So who's the elitist? Let's not forget that McCain's wife is mega-rich, if not a billionaire, she's close. And despite all this, McCain is asking for Americans to vote for him because Obama, not McCain, is an elitist.

By now, everyone has seen McCain's add comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. This stretch of reasoning is priceless. I think it goes like this: because Barack has become famous, he is like Spears and Hilton. Since Spears and Hilton are dumb, lame celebrities, Barack must be a dumb, lame celebrity. That's called a syllogism. Our nation of idiots doesn't know much about these and falls for the trap. Shame on us. Funny how the person many Republicans say was our greatest president, Ronald Reagan, was a celebrity, and in spite of this disqualifying attribute ("Bedtime for Bonzo"), not to mention his dementia, he managed to do a bang up job as president.

Barack's celebrity world-wide seems to derive from the sense of hope he inspires. Nobody since JFK has inspired hope at home and abroad. The Republicans realize that they can't inspire hope. The stock-in-trade of the Republican Party has been reduced to lies and fear-mongering. Shame on us, the nation of idiots, that this seems to work so well.

Beijing----Where Freedom Doesn't Ring

Today the curtain rises on the Beijing Olympics. Weirdness is guaranteed. Sports fans, the kind who tolerate gymnastics and water polo and wrestling and crew and weightlifting in small doses once every four years, will be mildly entertained. NBC will bludgeon us with "up close and personal" profiles. Advertisers will advertise. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Actually, since the US Track and Field Trials were in Eugene, I'm anxious to watch Olympic Track and Field. How often do you get to see people you know from your home town compete in the Olympics? Can't help but wonder how much that nasty Beijing air will impair performance though. Running hard, especially at long distances, is a painful experience. Having run plenty of marathons, I know this based on harsh experience. I can't imagine how much the pain will be compounded by the unavailability of decent quality air to breath.

But the strangest thing of all will be the whole Chinese spectacle. The Communist Chinese government broke their piggy bank, at enormous sacrifice to the people they govern so cruelly, to put on a show to dazzle the world. The newly constructed Olympic facilities are architectural marvels---kudos to the Chinese for that, I guess. But nice buildings and well-choreographed ceremonies cannot conceal China's colossal shortcomings, from human rights to environmental Armageddon.

Let's just hope that this Olympics is free of terrorism and that the games unfold without tragic mishaps. The Chinese have set the bar at world record height. I'll be happy if we somehow manage to get through unscathed.

2008 Rogue Adventure: Highs and Lows

This wasn't how the trip was supposed to begin. The night before our group of 9 was set to launch our rafts on the Rogue River, we learned that a woman drowned on Blossom Bar earlier that day. Our collective mood was already apprehensive because Blossom had claimed another life four weeks earlier.

We didn't commit to this trip because we wanted to tempt fate. This trip was about re-connecting with old friends over a few days of whitewater and a few nights around the campfire. Sure, we knew the Rogue was dangerous and that mishaps are commonplace. In years past, each of us had perilous encounters---flipping rafts or kayaks, adrift in wild waters struggling to reach a point of safety. Such events take place almost daily on the Rogue.

But never before had Blossom Bar claimed two lives in such a short time period. Was it because the water levels were 50% higher than normal for the summer? Was it merely goulish coincidence? Unable to purge such worries, but determined to proceed with the trip as planned, we committed ourselves to safety and caution. Not that we were especially reckless in earlier trips, but this time, we did things a little differently.

The Rogue trip takes four days. In the past, we tended to drink plenty of beer during the calm stretches on hot afternoons and we often removed our life jackets after passing through dangerous rapids. Not this time. In earlier trips, there was always a point in the trip, usually after passing through Blossom Bar, when we lowered our guard, figuring that since the biggest hazards were behind us, we were somehow immune from the dangers that still remained. Inevitably, this is when most of our mishaps occurred.

This year, our concentration remained high throughout the entire trip. The result---no screw-ups, no scary moments, everyone home safely. But there was one especially unsettling moment. When we arrived at Blossom Bar, just as we were tying up our rafts to scout the life-threatening rapids, a helicopter came in close. Was it there to attempt to remove the body? Was it there to get footage of another rafting party's flirt with death?

Turns out that unlike the earlier drowning victim whose body was unable to be removed from the rapids for over two weeks, the second victim's family was fortunate to recover her body within a day or two. Still, it was weird and ominous that a helicopter would arrive at Blossom Bar at the same time we did. We didn't like it.

Apart from our worries, the trip went like a dream. There's nothing quite like spending time on an outdoor adventure with your best friends. Everyone stayed up late singing, partying and laughing. As expected, my fingertips nearly bled from the many hours of hard guitar playing. We had a ridiculous encounter with a complete asshole who we nicknamed "Pajama Man"---a territorial guy who refused to share a much larger campsite than his party needed---but the result of Pajama Man's ugly behavior was that we met a couple guys who became good friends and joined our party for the last two days of our trip. Mathew and Kelly (who looks like Owen Wilson but with a better nose) became welcome additions to our group.

We're already planning next year's trip. Our hearts feel so badly for the friends and family of those who died on the Rogue. We like to think that we honor their memory by continuing to raft the Rogue's dangerous waters.

Rogue River Rafting: Unplugged

Everyone loves a wild river. Not many folks get the chance spend time on one. Lucky me, I do. Every year or two, seven or eight of my oldest friends get together for a spectacular and somewhat dangerous trip down the Rogue River in Oregon.

Here's a short list of the things I love about this trip. First, the scenery is spectacular beyond description. The Rogue River's "wild and scenic" section (designated by the US Congress) is world class water, surrounded by virgin forests and majestic canyons in western Oregon. Second, the peaceful feeling of camping in the wilderness for 3 nights, away from cell phones, computers and the stresses of modern life is something we all need but rarely get. Third, and best of all, is the chance to spend unrushed time with my closest friends, guys I don't get to see very often.

There's one more thing---the music. Every night on the river, I'll be playing guitar and singing my ass off. By the end of the trip, the deep calluses on my fingers will have the skin ripped off from playing so long and hard. Music,of course, is among the strongest forces that bind the friendships in our group. In college, we danced and partied to the our favorite artists in a golden age of music. On the Rogue, we will recapture some of that energy.

The river level is high, the sun is bright and my friends arrive from Portland, Seattle and San Francisco in about an hour. When I get back, I'll tell you all about it.

Terrible Taser Trouble

Police love tasers. They claim that tasers promote public safety. Isn't it better to "deploy" a taser on an unruly citizen than to be forced to use deadly force? So goes their rationale.

Last month in sleepy but politically active Eugene, Oregon an 18 year old protestor holding a bucket of water was "subdued" by local police with a taser. Many witnesses describe the use of such force by the police as being unnecessary to the point of being criminal.

It turns out that the 18 year old was wearing protesting the use of pesticides and claimed that his bucket contained poison which he was spraying around the public square. The police were uncertain whether he was telling the truth and didn't want to risk exposure to poison. That sounds plenty reasonable but why introduce the taser?

The strangest thing about this little demonstration is how it got reported to the local police. As it turned out, a vigilant employee of the Department of Homeland Security was maintaining surveillance on this small demonstration of 30 pesticide protesters. Wow, talk about Big Brother. What other kinds of things is the Dept of Homeland Security spying on? Chances are this blog is being monitored. And maybe your email. Does this make you feel safer?

Back to tasers. How dangerous are they? Here's the party line: the 50,000 volts a person temporarily receives temporarily disables them enabling police to secure the individual. The voltage is painful but after application of a 1-2 second burst, most individuals experience no further pain and have, at most, minor burn marks from the fish-hook barbs. Hmmm. Mainstream media (CBS) reported that taser use by police was responsible for 70 deaths in a report published in 2004. The manufacturer of Tasers denies that the electrical charge imparted by the Taser is responsible for no deaths. Who do you believe?

July the 4th, 2008

This 4th of July is special. You know why. It's the last time we'll be celebrating Independence Day with W in office.

Since W was selected as president nearly 8 years ago, our national prestige and pride has plummeted. The world thinks less of us (US) and it's easy to understand why. W's disregard for human rights and the environment has brought shame on our great nation.

I could, of course, go on quite a rant, but others have done that so often and so well that there's not much point in heading down that path.

Instead, let me recommend that you celebrate this 4th of July with special vigor and enthusiasm. Let's hope that next year, we have a new brand of leadership (McCain won't give us that; anybody who thinks otherwise needs to smell the coffee). Without a doubt, Barack Obama will restore our standing in the world of nations. No president can be expected to solve all our problems but Obama's election will surely resurrect the respect America once commanded. And we can depend on being able to celebrate every 4th of July for years to come.