Midterm elections are upon us and the elephantoid party is scrambling to retain a majority in both houses of Congress. The Republicans have decided to fall back on the good ole compassionate conservative platform of family values, especially as it pertains to marriage and stem cell research. Once again the conservatives look to mobilize the Christian right to hijack another election. The sanctity of marriage is once again being called into question-on 25Oct06 the State of New Jersey Supreme Court ruled gay couples are entitled to the same legal rights as heterosexual couples (GASP!)-and guess who is there to defend and protect the institution of marriage from the liberals? The GOP.
The president, campaigning (cam-PAIN?) in Iowa was quick to jump on the New Jersey news, "Yesterday in New Jersey, we had another activist court issue a ruling that raises doubts about the institution of marriage," the president went on to say, "I believe it's a sacred institution that is critical to the health of our society and the well-being of families, and it must be defended." Defended from what? Good taste?* Is marriage so important to the well-being of USAmerican families? and if so, why do half of all marriages end in divorce? I have to wonder why the queers would ever want to enter into the institution of marriage. I know, it is not about the institution it is about the legal rights and benefits of marriage in which the queers are interested. I honestly believe the queers could give a rats arse about the institution itself and therein lies the problem. It is outrageous to Christian hetero couples that the deviant queers can seek shelter and protection from their sacred institution (whatever that is) and not respect said institution. Listen, it all boils down to this: The marriage of a queer couple has no impact on the marriage entered into by any other couple, heterosexual or otherwise. It has zero effect on the sacred vows of other couples. Do not let the GOP steal your vote because they claim they will protect the sanctity of your marriage. Only you can protect the sanctity of your marriage by respecting the vows you took, period. Face it, legal marriage between a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman is coming to a state near you. They're here, they're queer, get used to it.
With the fear mongering that the conservatives have so successfully exploited in recent elections being rendered ineffective by the disillusioned citizenry-disillusioned with the course of the war in Iraq, the war on terror, and the current administrations leadership-for the first time since 2001, it appears the terrorists will no longer hold the United States of America hostage. Yeah, I said it. I believe the terrorists have held the government of the people by the people of the United States of America hostage. How? By allowing the Republican party to maintain a majority in both houses of Congress and hold the presidency in 2004 via a campaign of fear. Think about it, if it were not for the war on terror would anyone have voted for Bush jr? Not bloody likely. Unless, of course, you consider the politicized subject of stem cell research. The compassionate conservatives have captured the Christian crusade vote (see the movie Jesus Camp, it will scare the beJesus out of you) by opposing stem cell research. It is kind of weird because, historically, the Republican platform has been to promote business-mainly through tax cuts and defense spending-and research so that United States of America industry can remain at the forefront of technology. Stem cell research became a sticky subject for the conservatives and in order to preserve their Christian majority vote, they sold the Evangicals the stop stem cell research platform. Now, when the fear mongering is no longer effective the Republicans bring stem cell research back to the political table and with it hope to mobilize the Christian vote. Stem cell research is going to happen somewhere in the world and it may as well be in the United States. If you are opposed to stem cell research, fine. Do not accept the benefits that stem cell research may one day provide but do not prevent others from reaping the benefits and living better lives. It is like abortion, if you are opposed to abortion, great, Do not have one. But do not legislate your theological beliefs on others. In this country there is supposed to be separation of church and state. Finally, please do not vote for a candidate who will try to legislate stem cell research or abortion or gay marriage. It could lead to restrictions on your right to bear arms, or free speech, or to gather peacefully in protest, or on freedom of religion, etc.
FOOT NOTES:
* I doubt the president watches much "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy".
I am officially nominating North Korean fascist leader Kim Jong-Il for Time magazine’s Man of the Year. Why not? You have to admire Mr. Kim’s cojones for testing ICBM’s and nuclear warheads despite international condemnation. Did George Bush jr. not win his two Man of the Year awards for doing essentially the same thing (ignoring the international community)? Some might argue that Kim Jong-Il’s fascist regime-it is fascist, not communist-has crushed the North Korean economy. That Mr. Kim is responsible for the suffering of millions of innocent North Korean citizens. I respond, sure but didn’t Gee-Dub-Yuh preside over a precipitous collapse of the United States economy? I could argue-I won’t-that Mr. Bush jr. (I am going to refer to him as junior from now on) is responsible for the death and suffering of millions of innocent Afghani and Iraqi people and all he has done is won 2 MotY trophies. Unless Time magazine has changed their criteria for selecting Man of the Year, I do not see how Kim Jong-Il can lose. It seems in order to win the award you have to posses a heart that would make Joe Stalin look like a bodhisattva. No one ever thinks of the sacrifices Kim Jong-Il has made to become leader of North Korea. Supposedly, as a child Mr. Kim wanted to become a movie director. Jong-Il is rumored to be a huge fan of James Bond flicks and Daffy Duck cartoons. Just imagine what kind of movies he would have made!?! (They could not be any worse than say an Oliver Stone revisionist history piece. Alas, he followed in Daddy’s footsteps and gave up his dreams of Hollywood stardom. A touching, Man of the Year story for sure. The final argument I will make for Kim Jong-Il is based on the cover of the magazine. The cover for the Time magazine Man of the Year issue traditionally has a portrait of the award winner. Can you deny how cool a cover devoted to Kim Jong-Il in his stylized glasses would be? I mean, tres chic.
If you are considering refurbishing your hardwood floors I have a piece of advice for you-pay someone else to do it. As far as home projects go, refurbishing hardwood floors is not a technically challenging job-where you learn some new useful skill, it is however, labor intensive. The work involves a lot of time on your hands and knees and is thus backbreaking for many. Still not convinced to pay someone else to do it? Consider this:
After you have completely refurbished the hardwood and show it off to people they will comment on your excellent work and how magnificent the floors look. They will be right of course, the floor will look good and you will have worked your arse off. But, when you look at the floors inevitably all you will see is the flaws and errors you tried so much to correct or cover. You say, “that’s what furniture and throw rugs are for.” Good on you mate. You are going to do them floors yourself anyhow. Well, I have some more advice before you proceed (and no, I will not try to persuade you not to do the work yourself, that time has past). First of all, this project will be an investment of your time, make sure you set aside plenty of time to do the job proper. If you live where you intend to refurbish the floors and plan on remaining there during the project be prepared for MAJOR inconveniences. During the sanding process there will be dust. Lots of dust. Make sure you seal off other rooms with plastic and tape. You also will want to wear a dust mask while you work to reduce the amount of particulates you will inhale into your respiratory system. You will also want to pick up some knee pads to help reduce the stress being on your hands and knees causes. Even if you rent the big floor sander* you are going to spend time on your hands and knees during the sanding process.
Once you have completed sanding the floor and you are ready to stain and/or seal the hardwood with varnish, you must first make sure the floor is spotless and clean. For this step in the process make sure you wear clean clothes. Wipe the floor (and the walls) with a damp cloth. Next wipe the floor with tack cloth. Now you are ready to varnish (stain?) the floors. My final piece of advice is: make sure you have the best damn paint brush money can buy. Nothing worse than picking brush hairs out of the varnish as you go. Also, make sure you have plenty of light to see what you are doing. You will need at least three coats of varnish and you will probably want more. No, you can not walk on the floors for several hours after you varnish them. Between each coat you may need to “scuff” the floor lightly with very fine grit sandpaper or steel wool. After you scuff and before you start the next coat of varnish make sure you wipe the floor with a damp cloth and then a tack cloth. Have fun with home improvement.
FOOT NOTES:
* You DEFINITELY want to rent a floor sander and maybe even a hand sander. It will make the job a whole lot easier and faster (it will still be difficult and time consuming). There are two types of floor sanders: the vibrating and the roller. There are pros and cons to each and you should speak with the rental agent to determine which sander is best for you.
My season long peregrinate experience with Cal football continued this weekend last as I made it up to Seattle and out to Pullman for yet another away game. It was an adventure getting out to that part of Eastern Washington known as the Palouse for the game. Here is an excerpt from an email I sent in response to my friend’s appeal for me to join him at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for a live video feed of the game:
I'm supposed to be going to Pullman but I am stuck at the airport in
Sacraghetto, delayed 7 hours. A 20 oz beer is costing me $6.56 and Alaska
Airlines only gave me two $6 vouchers. Bastards, that's like paying me
$1.70/hour. Which is of course $1.70/hour more than I make at my day job… I will have to pass on the jumbo-tron feed of the game at Memorial stadium for the
real thing at Martin Stadium. I sure hope Wazzu's defense is not as good as it
seems...or that our offense is better than it has been. Otherwise, it could be
a long painful trip reminiscent of Tennessee. Anyway, happy Friday the
thirteenth and have a good weekend.
The trip was nothing like Tennessee. Cal’s offense was not firing on all cylinders but that was probably because Washington State’s defense was every bit as good as advertised (and our quarter-back, the maestro of an American football team’s offense, was sick). It was Washington State’s ‘Homecoming’ and they could barely muster 32000 fans despite the unseasonably pleasant weather. The fans in the Palouse themselves were a miserable group of hardasses. As we approached Martin stadium, the Wazzu fans started a “Go!” “Couges!!” call and response cheer. Our group of four responded to their “Go!” with a resounding “Bears!” and this quickly curbed their enthusiasm and halted the cheer. Typically red-necked the fans were also far from witty in their defense of their home turf. Three maroon clad gruff looking undergraduates blocked our way (sort of) to the stadium. My polite salutation evoked the interrogative response: “You know what a butte is?”. We were-all four-a little thrown off but eventually my friend Doogie responded, “you mean, like a hill?” and our three ‘tormentors’ all guffawed and the alpha Cougar fan said to his mates, “see I told you.” As if he had just won a bet with the other two that UC Berkeley students were geeks for possessing a superior vocabulary. Weird. Once in the stadium we enjoyed the rare November sunshine and an even rarer Cal victory in Pullman (they had not won in Eastern Washington in 10 attempts dating back to 1979). The Cal band paid their usual visit to me in the second half for a picture and the 1200 or so Cal fans that made the trip to that backwater of Washington state were effectively louder than the 31000 fans that surrounded us. The best part of Wazzu’s homecoming (for the home fans anyway) was the entertaining halftime chariot races. The game was a 21-3 blow out. It was not Cal’s best performance of the season but it got the job done. I like to have a team where the expectations are so high I am disappointed with a 21-3 manhandling of another team on their home field. We can play better. Most importantly I had a fun safe trip to Washington and it barely rained on me at all. Now I am back in sunny California providing this account to you, my loyal readers. Have a good week and hopefully I will be posting pictures from Oregon State, Washington, and Berkeley in the coming days.
I have not taken the time to see Al Gore’s global warning (pun intended) movie An Inconvenient Truth-mostly because I already recognize the phenomenon and the threat to humanity global warming represents. It is my understanding the film makes very persuasive arguments: global warming is reality; the consequences of un-checked global warming could be grave for all humanity; we-the global community-can do more to slow the human influences on global warming. Good on you former President-elect Gore!
The subject matter of this movie is considered controversial. Apparently, there is still some debate about the reality of global warming. It is true that there are a few scientists who claim to invalidate the phenomenon of global warming, however, the overwhelming majority of scientists agree that global warming is real and is happening on this earth right now. I am not going to get lost on a huge tangential discussion about the merits of global warming. The disbelievers (whom, as it turns out, are most likely to be believers: in creationism) want definitive proof of global warming. There is none. There is an abundance of data to suggest global warming is true but it is certainly an inconvenient interpretation of the data and, admittedly, not the only possible interpretation. Just the most likely. It does not surprise me that the argument for or against the phenomenon of global warming is not the major controversial aspect of the movie. Nope. Most people have accepted global warming as a very real threat*. Most of the controversy surrounding this film has to do with Al Gore the hypocrite. Al has made a movie that outlines what people can do to slow global warming and all his detractors point out how he flies around in a private jet and rides in SUV’s blah, blah, blah. These people are missing the point. Al Gore may very well be a hypocrite but that does not change the message of the movie: GLOBAL WARMING IS A VERY REAL THREAT TO YOUR CHILDREN’S AND YOUR CHILDRENS CHILDREN’S LIVELIHOOD. Wake up and do something about it. Just because your neighbor and Al Gore aren’t doing anything about it does not mean you do not have to either. Learn or burn people.
FOOT NOTES:
* People just cannot agree about how great of a threat global warming really is to humanity. United States of American citizens are more concerned with the immediate threat of terrorism. Indonesians are more concerned with the ever-present threat of tsunami. South Koreans are worried about the threat of nuclear war with their neighbors and brothers to the North. People in Darfur are worried their own government is going to exterminate them. My global problems got problems. Global warming is not an immediate threat and therefore is less of a concern, especially when preventing global warming is inconvenient.
For the first time in my life I am involved in a Fantasy Sports League for football-not American football but English Premiership football*. Since joining the league I have to admit, it has made the season more exciting. I wake up early Sunday morning to watch the Fox Soccer Channel Premiership match of the week (live). At least twice a week I spend some time managing my team on line: reading up on the game-week matches, checking recent player performances, and making transfers that I feel will improve my side.
It is an investment of my time and like most Fantasy League participants the rewards do not necessarily match the effort. I may as well be at the kino table. I am quite certain that I am not alone in burning hours of time researching my fantasy sport. The time I burn on my league could definitely be spent more productively. I could be researching the job market and potential employment opportunities (yeah right, let’s be realistic). I could volunteer my time in the local community. Or better still-in my opinion-I could actually be playing the sport I fantasize about. I could live out my fantasy! Never mind the fact that I am hopeless on a football pitch and do not possess Thiery Henry type looks or physical attributes. That is not the point. The point is, I would be doing something I enjoyed, something social^, something to promote my health. What if everyone did this? I think it would go a long way to change the sedentary lifestyle of millions of US Americans and thus improve the overall health of the citizenry. Novel idea? Nope. More like a naďve idea but I still like it. Get off the couch, turn off the ‘puter, and get out there and play. Live your fantasy! GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!
FOOT NOTES:
* No I am not a communist. I am probably a socialist. Why must you label me?
^ Research on line may be a job but it is definitely not social.
Recently while driving to Red Wood City to pick up my nephew from daycare I found myself listening to a National Public Radio broadcast where the topic of the program was United States of America military conscription. The guest “expert” on the show was Philip Gold a former officer in the Marine Corps and author of the book “The Coming Draft: The Crisis In Our Military And Why Selective Service is Wrong for America.”
Now that I have your attention I will remind you that the House of Representatives has only just rejected proposed legislation to re-instate the military draft. There is no reason for the parents of the USA to worry. The currently draft eligible should not consider a run for the Canadian boarder any time soon, and, with any luck, they never will have to. While I was traveling abroad I had the opportunity to meet many people who were citizens of countries where national service, in one form or another, is compulsory. I learned that In Israel, military service is mandatory for both men and women. In Germany, and many other European countries, national service is obligatory but the citizens of these countries usually have service options: military, social or community. In all of the countries that require national service there was always a way for the service eligible citizens to opt out, usually by paying some sort of tax (of course, knowing someone who could get a deferment was another way out). Obviously, it is not a fair system-the wealthy and well connected are the only ones who are able to legally avoid service, but then, they are the ones who have always avoided public service-but I began to like the idea of requisite national service. Even before I heard Mr. Gold’s concise and convincing arguments I already thought the United States would be wise to adopt a similar policy to that of Germany.
Like most NPR programs the discussion of reinstitution of the draft was intellectual and well directed. Mr. Gold addressed the history of the United States of America and the draft. Even during the days of the founding fathers conscription in the United States was inefficient and burdened with corruption. The Civil war draft was instituted essentially to allow people to buy their way out of service and thus finance the war. For WWI and WWII the draft was so complicated and full of loopholes that anyone with enough time and money could-and often did-avoid service. Every draft allowed the privileged including both “Slick” Willy and G-Dubya-to serve without serving. But what if there was a better way to institute conscription that included national service options? Would Bill Clinton and George Bush have truly served? In all likelihood, yes. But that would be far from the only benefits of such a national service requirement of our citizenry.
The professional military would be reduced to a manageable peacetime force capable only of defense (no foolish, costly, pre-emptive wars could be initiated or fought*). If war necessitated a larger military force many citizens would opt to serve in combat positions-as we are all aware, heroes have always been self-selecting, same with the slackers. Those incapable or unwilling to fight (including the conscientious objectors) would have the option of serving in other capacities to help with any wartime effort. In times of peace the national service options would be more focused on social and community oriented services like natural disaster relief, homeland security (finally somebody to patrol our frontiers and keep illegal immigrants out), in hospitals or hospices etc. For the rich, elite, and lazy there could remain a buy-out option to be paid in taxes over 20 years. Not everyone eligible for national service would have to or even be able to serve. There just would not be a need for everyone to serve. People would still be allowed to volunteer and, if there were not enough volunteers to meet the national service needs then a lottery draft would be instituted. I think there would be a great number of volunteers because the volunteers would be able to choose their service capacity. The country would benefit from improved social services. Citizens who served would increase their work and worldly experience. National service would likely cause an improvement in national pride amongst our citizenry. The benefits are endless in my view. Tell me what you think.
FOOT NOTES:
* The same day I was listening to the NPR program the United States Congress approved an additional 70 billion dollars to fund the war in Iraq. Not that the current congress or administration has any intention of actually paying for this war. No, that burden will fall to my nephew’s generation-if global warming hasn’t already wiped us off the face of the earth by then. Just another digression.
I do not understand why NASCAR is the fastest growing spectator sport in the United States of America. Especially given the complaints by United States of American sport fans that football (soccer) is too boring to watch. Really?!? Watching supposedly “stock” vehicles driven by macho rednecks race around an oval track for 400 miles is NOT boring? Good grief.
Do not get me wrong, I believe NASCAR racers to be honest-to-goodness athletes. I can even imagine that watching a NASCAR race in person, live, at the racetrack has the potential to be quite exciting and-with enough beer and BBQ-maybe even entertaining (I can not confirm or deny this because I have never been to a NASCAR event). However, watching a NASCAR race on television is about as exciting as watching Chuck Norris infomercials. Unfortunately, I can confirm this.
Football*, on the other hand, definitely includes world class athletes displaying their skills at the highest level of play in front of raucous, spirited, and often insane crowds. Attending a match is exhilarating, exciting and entertaining. Fortunately, I can also confirm this. To me, watching a football match on the tele is also quite entertaining, especially since there are no commercials and it only takes about 2 hours of your time. Good stuff there. I guess I should not be surprised that NASCAR is becoming (has become?) so popular with US Americans. I mean, US Americans have always watched plenty of boring sports on the tele: the PGA, the PBA, MLB and the NBA-lets face it, the NBA is boring and all you need to watch is the last three minutes of the 4th quarter of the NBA finals in order to know how the whole 80-game season played out. But I digress. NASCAR is boring to watch on television. Football (soccer) is fun to watch on television. After watching a football match you can-if you are so inclined-go out and play a game with your friends. After watching NASCAR you probably can not-or at least should not-attempt to race your stock GMC vehicle around the block in a mock race with your buddies. Go Charleton Athletic Addicks!
FOOT NOTES:
* Including both international football events like the world cup and Euro cup and international professional football leagues like the English Premiership or the Bundesliga (in Germany) and the Spanish, Italian, and French premier leagues. South American football is good but the top division leagues in countries like Argentina are so lopsided that it is not very entertaining to watch. Besides, all the good players from North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia all want to play in the European leagues and-probably more importantly-earn Euros or Sterling Pounds instead of rubles or pesos.