Things I'd like to hear a candidate for President say

The War we went to fight in Iraq is over and has been over for sometime. What we have in Iraq is a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites with assorted parties attempting to take advantage of the chaos caused by these warring factions. The reason the US could never support a real democracy in Iraq is because the majority of Iraqis are Shiites and any Shiite dominated government would naturally become a client state of Iran. This would alter the balance of power in the region and be contrary to U.S. interests. Rightly or wrongly we accomplished what we set out to do in Iraq: topple Saddam Hussein’s regime and eliminate Iraq’s ability to threaten anyone. Democracy is not an option in Iraq, unless we are interested in buying Iran a client state with American blood and treasure- most American’s are not.

The surge did work, so what? Anytime you put 20,000 of the best trained, best equipped soldiers in the world in a limited combat theatre you are going to get results. No one doubted they would have an impact. This resolves nothing. The real question is do we want to continue shedding American blood and spending American treasure to contain an Iraqi civil war? We cannot end the war by force unless we choose to prop up one side or the other. If we prop up the Shiites we will enhance Iran’s influence in the region. If we prop up the Sunni’s we support the tyranny of a stubborn minority over the majority.

We will need to maintain a substantial force in Iraq for years to come. They should not however be in downtown Baghdad. The U.S. forces in Iraq should be part of a multinational force designed to keep foreign fighters from meddling in Iraqi affairs and focused on eliminating the influence of Al Qaeda Mesopotamia in the region. That’s it, period. Left alone the Iraqis will likely fight themselves into state of avenged exhaustion and settle on some kind of functioning federation.

Illegal immigration is not even close to being the most pressing problem facing this country. Emigration of jobs, capital, productivity, technology is likely to have a far more profound effect on our future than non-documented workers having kids in our public schools and using our public services.

The Bush Tax Cuts of 2001, 2002 and 2003 have lead to the largest deficits in the nation’s history. They have contributed disproportionately to the largest imbalance of wealth ever in American history. We have borrowed heavily from our children’s future to make the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans wealthier. That is not only bad fiscal policy it is reckless and immoral.

Allowing Gay people to form legally binding marriages has no impact whatsoever on the sanctity of marriage or the stability of family life in this country. Sending young people to fight meaningless wars, following economic policies with regard to education, childcare and healthcare that force the necessity dual earning households has done more to break apart families than the gay couple down the street ever could.

Torture is evil. Period.

We will not be safer exchanging our constitutional rights to privacy and due process under the law in exchange for the illusion of greater security. Allowing the police to engage in random search and seizure in high crime areas might also reduce crime. Allowing warrantless phone tapping and defacto suspension of Habeas Corpus will do far more damage to the American principles enshrined in the Constitution of the United States than any radical Islamist grou

For Love or Money

The other day I asked a good friend of mine if she had a chance to check out this blog. The answer she gave was brutally honest, thought provoking and somewhat amusing. Her answer, (I will paraphrase for the sake of brevity) went something like this: “Why do you think anyone cares what you have to say? People like you always think other people are interested in what you have to say, I hate to break it to you they’re not.” The amusing part, I will share later.

Her answer caused me to reflect on why “people like me” feel so compelled to share their thoughts on a blog? According to recent estimates there are approximately 50 million blogs in the blogsphere worldwide. Why do so many people use this medium to express ideas, thoughts, opinions, to what in most cases is a miniscule audience? Is it an exercise in vanity? Democracy? Futility? The short answer is all of the above, people express themselves in this medium because they can.

Why me? My goal was to develop an outlet for ideas, reflection and insight that might resonate with others who find such things stimulating. It also offers me the opportunity to write about things I care about…whatever that happens to be on any given day. Too often our day to day lives, apart from what we do for work, are filled with innocuous chatter about things that have little consequence; weather, traffic, gossip, what’s for dinner, something annoying that happened today…stuff like that. Seldom do we stop to reflect and share insight about experiences that feed our soul, touch the heart or cause us to think. We are fortunate enough to live in a country where the work of great writers, great artists, musicians, lyricist are incredibly easy to access, yet it seems to me we rarely make it point to take time to share the experiences that come from connecting with such inspired beauty, passion, insight, thoughtfulness and clarity. Usually, we are much more comfortable skimming the surface rather than pause long enough to connect with some inner illumination that we may have encountered. It could be the nature of our busy lives that makes it easier to tune out rather than engage what lies beneath the surface in some meaningful way. Who has time, right?

I’ve had a love affair with words since I was about 14. As I get older this affair has matured and evolved in a manner that has illuminated my connection to the world around me a way nothing else has. I write because I can, sometimes because I have to. I write for the same reason I play music, if I release something of my inner experience and it resonates with someone else, it takes on a life of its own and maybe it just might inspire someone else to do likewise. So for this very tiny audience, I choose to share this love affair with words, it has been a most rewarding relationship and she is a very accommodating mistress.

Amusing part? After attempting to disabuse me of any self-delusion I might have harbored about writing anything that might be of interest to anyone, my good friend shared that she was thinking about starting a blog of her own, but she was only interested in doing it for money. I'm guessing having a love affair with words is not something my good friend had time for right now.

..by the way, which one is Pink?

Storm Thorgerson. You may recognize his work from old Pink Floyd albums. A graphic designer and film maker a surrealistic image maker reminiscent of Salvador Dali, except he works mostly with photography.

Check out his site.. interesting images. http://www.stormthorgerson.com

One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill
U2

We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy, love
The sun so bright it leaves no shadows
Only scars
Carved into stone
On the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes

You run like a river, on to the sea
You run like a river runs to the sea

And in the world a heart of darkness
A fire zone
Where poets speak their heart
Then bleed for it
Jara sang - his song a weapon
In the hands of one
whose blood still cries
From the ground

He runs like a river runs to the sea
He runs like a river to the sea

I don't believe in painted roses
Or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I'll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red
Over One Tree Hill

We run like a river
Runs to the sea
We run like a river to the sea
And when it's raining
Raining hard
That's when the rain will
Break the heart

Raining...raining in your heart
Raining into your heart
Raining...raining into your heart
Raining, raining...raining
Raining into your heart
Raining...
Raining your heart into the sea

Oh great ocean
Oh great sea
Run to the ocean
Run to the sea


Learn more about Victor Jara..a poet who spoke his heart,then bled for it...

http://www.mundoandino.com/Chile/Victor-Jara

Pogie Awards for Innovation

Some cool stuff that you might not be familiar with: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/technology/personaltech/27pogue.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

Thoughts for today

“Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else.”
Ivern Ball


“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Charles R. Swindoll

Thought for today

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony."
William Ellery Channing

So this is Christmas?

I searched the New York Times Times this morning looking for an uplifting Christmas Story. Not an easy task. The war in Afghanistan is not going that well. No end in sight to the killing in Iraq. The Times reports this morning that Turkey did kill 150 rebels in Northern Iraq. (Wonder how that might be spun into a feel good Christmas story?) The effects of global warming seem to be accelerating at a much faster pace than anticipated. Aids and starvation continue to claim untold lives on the African continent. Adding to this toll of human suffering, it appears media consultants will be earning significantly less this presidential election year because of new caps the candidates will be imposing on their fees.

And as if their was not enough injustice in the world, I was unable to find the Wii my 11 year-old so desperately wants for Christmas this year. More specifically, I was unable to justify camping out in front of a Best Buy or Circuit City for 8-10 hours for the privilege of spending $350 on a toy. Somehow I suspect my 11-year-old will not appreciate my non-conformist stance on this issue.

So my search for a resonant Christmas story has lead me to reflect more closely on my own narrative. In the years since my divorce I have found myself alone on many a Christmas morning. In those first few years, when I didn’t have my children, their absence was the only presence I could feel. It was a huge void, impossible to ignore and difficult to overcome. Over the years, time would ease that sense of loss and together, my daughters and I redefined how we did things at Christmas. If I didn’t have my daughters Christmas morning, I would see them in the afternoon and we would celebrate Christmas together later in the day. In the years when I was sharing my life with someone special, we would build on this and find a way to make the Holiday special. Christmas Mass at the Old North Church, visit family together, sharing a special Christmas brunch or dinner. It was not the Christmas of my youth nor the Christmas I envisioned in an ideal world, but we made it special in our own way.

As my children get older the challenge for me is less about finding that perfect gift to put under the tree and more about finding a way to get them to appreciate the perfect present. Their is so much in their daily lives that distracts them from being in the present moment, from appreciating the abundance they have been blessed with. So many forces pulling and pushing at them, so much that would seduce them into believing that some other thing or possession will bring them enduring happiness; when all they will ever need to live a contented life is right here in this present moment. It has taken me a lifetime to discover this simple truth, and if I could have one wish come true this Christmas, it would be that somehow I could wrap up this gift and give my daughters this perfect present.

A very close friend of mine lost his Dad a few days ago. His Dad died quietly, painlessly, in his sleep. As I listened to the Rabbi and family members speak at the funeral, I was reminded that the most powerful legacy we leave behind is often found in the simplest of things. The content of our character is revealed in how we treat one another, in what we choose to commit ourselves to, in what and who we honor, in dedication and respect, in appreciation and sharing. The essence of who we are is articulated in what we treasure, how we love, and how we share the experiences we hold dear. In the end, this becomes our story, our narrative, our legacy to those we leave behind.

So as I reflect on this Christmas Season I find hope and comfort in small gestures, in simple encounters, in seemingly coincidental events that have touched me in some special way. A client who started a web site to sell fair trade goods and will donate the profits to help the elderly and orphans in Africa http://indabaworldwide.com/, sisters who have reached out to me with the right words and gestures at precisely the right moment, my band mates who took the time to share the Holiday Spirit inspiring, for me, one of the most spirited sessions we’ve ever had, the wisdom in the words of my teenage niece, the company of my daughters, a friend who found healing and hope in the camaraderie we share, a special friendship sustained through times of transition and turbulence, the lyrics of a song, words in a book, verses in prose, reminding me to embrace the grace contained in this prefect present.

So yes, if I pay attention, I don’t really have to look too far to find resonance in the words spoken some two thousand years ago. The evidence is right here before me. As Thomas Cahill writes, His teaching contain “an invitation to rise above the selfish concerns and petty cruelties we inflict upon one another..” an invitation to embrace kindness, hope, compassion, patience and forgiveness… however unfashionable, an invitation to celebrate the things that endure, that truly enrich our lives. It is in the embracing of this invitation that this narrative unfolds. It is here where I find (and share) the perfect present. Merry Christmas!

Big Brother is going to protect you

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
Justice Louis D. Brandeis

Check out this article from the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/washington/16nsa.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Want to do something about it? Here's one place you can start: http://www.aclu.org/

Barack and Hillary

The Boston Globe has just endorsed Barack Obama in the Democratic Primary race. You can’t help hearing about the Obama surge in Iowa and New Hampshire, Oprahpalooza and the nervousness in the Hilary Clinton camp and not wonder how all the hype is going to play out. So much of our political process is played out in these media created mini-dramas. Pundits and reporters often focus on incidents, events, gaffs and embrace the superficial at the expense of a deeper pragmatic analysis. This is an environment that favors someone like a Barack Obama, not that he devoid of the capacity to articulate deeper issues, it’s just that he is so good at delivering speeches that make people feel good. The themes of unity and hope articulated by someone of high intelligence who speaks from the heart is such a radical shift from what we have been subject to during the Bush years. Mr. Obama's words and delivery represent a powerful elixir to what has pained us these past seven years. It’s unlikely we will ever see Mr. Obama claiming to be the “decider” or making us cringe with his mangling the English language. No, Mr. Obama knows how to communicated ideas and the themes he chooses are lofty, inspiring and filled with hope.

This is good...but not enough. It makes us feel good to see someone like Barack Obama running for president, it speaks to what is right about America. This is good....but not enough. Politics is a dirty business. If you are going to do business in Washington you are going to get dirty. You are going to have to exercise power, coercion, and compromise. You are going to have to do some things that you will not be proud of. In Washington you are always doing cost benefit analysis, sometimes selling out one group with a worthy agenda, for the greater good, for the ability to live to fight another day, for the chance to make a difference on another issue, prevail in another battle. You can’t live in that environment without it taking its toll. Many have come to Washington with the idealism and vision of a Barack Obama and soon found themselves paralyzed by the forces of stagnation, self-interest and the status quo. Does that mean that Barack Obama should not be President? No, it means he needs time to temper his idealism with an extended lesson in practical politics if he is going to have a shot at bringing to fruition his transforming agenda.

We are living in a very dangerous time. The damage George Bush and his allies have done to this country will take generations to mend. We need leaders like Barack Obama honing their skills, learning the back room ways of Washington, developing the deep contacts and extended “favor banks” that will be required to effect meaningful change in the years ahead. What I like about Hillary Clinton is that she, like Mr. Obama, is driven by a sense of idealism that is rooted in the belief that when we act collectively, we can improve the lives of others and through this our own. She has come face to face with the demons of entrenchment, with the forces that will resist change at any cost because they profit so richly from the status quo. She has wrestled with her own sense of righteousness that often impairs those with high ideals. She has been tempered by failure, loss, the awakening confrontation with her own fallibility and has discovered, at great cost, that humility almost always trumps hubris and that idealism without consensus (however one arrives it) will not change the world.

Hillary Clinton survived eight years in Washington. It almost destroyed her marriage, her family and her reputation, but she survived. She preserved her marriage and raised a well adjusted daughter in an extremely challenging environment. If she accomplished nothing else, this alone would demand our respect. Where some may have exited from the process to seek renewal in other endeavors, she sought renewal by staying committed to the ideals she spent a lifetime advocating. She has done so with class, dignity and effectiveness. She has honed her skills, learned how to get things done in the halls of the Senate. It’s not a question of paying dues, it’s a question of having demonstrated the resilience to get knocked down, pick herself up, dust herself off, and keep on fighting. Her delivery may sometimes be off, her message sometimes a bit shrill, but the idea that the choices our government makes can make a huge difference in the lives of all it’s citizens is one that deserves an advocate with the experience and resilience of a Hilary Clinton.

Random Thoughts

December 16 – Random Thoughts

Select A Size: For years, decades, for as long as they existed, paper towels came in one size. Tearing the perforated square to wipe whatever it is that required wiping required little or no calculating on your part. Presumably, the company that invented paper towels, Scott, I believe it was; presumably they did the appropriate design research and consumer testing and came up with the optimal size for a paper towel square. The result was a paper towel size that remained the standard for decades. It was functional, popular with consumers and required, as I said before, very little calculating on the part of the user. This all changed with the newly introduced concept of “select a size”. At first, like many consumers I was duped into believing this was a much need improvement over the previous standardized system. I thought, now I can choose precisely the right size paper towel for the job at hand. What I have since discovered, is that choosing a paper towel now required a judgment call, a micro engineering calculation that often has to be done sometimes under semi-stressful conditions…the cleaning up of some unforeseen spillage or accidental mess making that requires a rapid response. So now I find myself having to make a judgment call about paper towels and evaluating it afterwards. Did I take too much? Could I have done more with less? Could I have done a better job with a bigger piece? These are all questions that never came up in the decades of standardized paper towel usage. So the point here, our lives are complicated enough, we are called upon to make so many decisions every single day, some with profound consequences, why add one more level of thought to the selection of the size of the paper towel you choose. I can’t think of a good reason…

Guns and Babies: I don’t understand how you can be pro-life and anti-gun control. Guns kill about 30,000 Americans every year and injure about another 75,000. If you are pro-life does it not stand to reason that you would want to preserve the lives of people who get shot by unregulated guns also?

Paying attention: Do you think it’s possible that some people multi-task because they suffer from attention deficit disorder?