Random thoughts from Vox Edvardicus

2005-11-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

We went to see "Good Night and Good Luck" last night. The film was a gem. Of course I was raised in a home where Edward R. Murrow was regarded as a hero of the highest order, and Joseph McCarthy was recognized for the demon he truly was. David Strathairn absolutely channeled Murrow. It was a brilliant piece of acting. Ray Wise broke my heart as the ill fated Don Hollenbeck. The music was moody and bluesy and Dianne Reeves as the Jazz Singer provided a musical context that was all 1950's and I was hearing her smokey scotch on the rocks rendition of One For My Baby late into the night. Taken in the context of today's news, the film does two things. It shows how shallow the news media is compared to the way it was then, and how true venality and evil never changes. See it!

Brownie's e-mails

2005-11-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

My daddy once taught me not to write anything that I wouldn't want to see in the newspapers the next morning. Michael D. Brown, former director of FEMA should have gotten the same advice. If you need further illustratrion of the dangers of cronyism in government, follow the title link to Rep. Melancon's official website at house.gov and read for yourself what has been recently reported in the media about Brownie's bizzare behaviour (forgive the aliteration) down in Louisiana during the height of hurricane season. (He must have been patronizing those drive through daquari stands.)Makes you wonder about Homeland Security Department's official e-mail policy. Bet that's been rewritten.

2005-10-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

Scooter Libby indicted. Patrick Fitzgerald is an American Hero. The past few weeks have once again illustrated that this administration is the most corrupt, mendacious, self-interested gang of Robber Barrons since the Grant administration, (including the dark years of the Nixon cabal). What with the Harriet Miers fiasco and the implosion of Republican solidarity could we be emerging from the darkness. No doubt there are still soome of you out there who believe all the lies and forgive the cronyism. There are some who will continue to vote against their own class interest because of the way these guys have co-opted your genuine and admirable patriotism. This should be a wake up call for you. But you will probably continue to whimper about politicization, conveniently forgetting the closing days of the 1990's when the right wing impeached a president over a sexual indiscretion and tried to tell us that the attempted coup was about perjury and truth telling.

So what do you think of this scenario. Cheney gets sucked into the cesspool and resigns due to his bad ticker. Condy Rice becomes VP, setting her up for her run in 2008. Karl Rove goes down and Bush as a lame duck pardons Libby after he plea bargains and is sentenced to a one year term at Club Fed. He might even get off with a Martha Stewart signature ankle bracelet from K-mart. Plausible? Yes!

By the way, How about those White Sox?

2005-10-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

This column in today's Washington Post from E.J.Dionne is thought provoking. Its about the growth of poverty in our nation and the poverty of ideas in Washington. Wherever you place yourself on the political spectrum there is a need to wake up and smell the coffee. Something bad is brewing. When 62% of the people on the street are as uneasy as they are right now, its way past time to take notice. If you are an "inside the beltway" type, get out of the house once in a while.

2005-09-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

There's been a whole lot of shakin' goin' on! Hurricanes, Iraq, Gaza! Its hard to pick a subject to rant about. So how about Senator Dr. Bill Frist selling off all those shares of HCA, just before they fell 9%. Good luck, good timing, or good insider information? If poor Martha Steward can go to college over such a small inside trader deal, why not the good Senator from Tennessee. So my qoute of the week award goes to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., "Bill Frist has this all upside down. He thought Terri Schiavo could see and his trust was blind." All seriousness aside, why is this buried on the inside pages? Remember when Bill and Hillary got messed up in a shady real estate deal down in Arkansas? That story had traction for eight years. And this guy wants to be president. No more whining about the "liberal media".
By the way, did anyone even notice that yesterday was the 42nd anniversary of the JFK assassination. I am perhaps uncovering my geezerhood by even mentioning it, but I did spend a few moments remembering the incidents of that day, where I was and what I was thinking. A lot of innocence and naivete has been lost since that day 42 years ago.

2005-09-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

When I'm in need of a chuckle, I turn to Maureen Dowd's column in the NY times. Now Maureen is unabashedly partisan and makes no pretense toward objectivity. After all she is a political columnist, and like Michelle Malkin on the right of the spectrum, she applies her considerable wit and talents to espousing an ideology. I'm not commenting on the value of ideology here. What I find interesting today is her mention of Michael D. Brown, the director of FEMA and that he trained for his current job by running "something called the International Arabian Horse Association." Well, when I read the columnists I like to do something called fact checking, so I checked and I found this entry at FindLaw. Brown did in fact run the "legal department" at the IAHA. He received his JD from that august institution Oklahoma City University School of Law,in 1981. His legal expertise is in estate law, family law, real estate, employment and labor law, and sports law. Undoubtedly this qualifies him to run the Federal Emergency Management Administration, at least in the Bush Administration. Now it seems Mr. Brown actually does have some background in emergency management. From 1975 to 1978, Brown worked for the City of Edmond, Oklahoma, overseeing the emergency services divisions and this truly must be the position that qualified him to become the head of FEMA. For those of you that don't know Edmond, its a pleasent little community of around 68,000 souls in central OK just north of OK City. Its about 87% white, 7 percent African American and 5% Latino. Your typical suburban melting pot. Of course, the town did receive some national attention about 20 years ago when the post office was shot up and 15 people died. This of course occurred after Mr. Brown's tenure as manager of the emergency services division. It is also to be fair, smack dab in the middle of tornado central, and has no doubt seen its fair share of mobile homes and trailers blown away over the years, probably some flooding as well since I know that Edmond has its fair share of lakes and fishing ponds nearby. I don't intend to minimize the suffering of Oklahomans particularly in light of all they have suffered in recent years, (let us not forget that they were ground zero before Manhattan). My point is that the Budget at FEMA these days is probably not a whole lot larger than the one Mr. Brown managed back in Edmond, and he must therefore be well qualified to manage the disaster down in what used to be the Big Easy.
So, that being said, I recommend Maureen's column for a little light hearted Saturday morning reading, and remember, don't forget to read between the lines.

From the Archives

2005-09-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

I wrote this one back in October after my late summer trip to the Big Easy. I read a book called Bayou Farewell. I'm very sad this week thinking about the loss of a national treasure. Mike Tidwell and others have been telling this tale for quite a few years now. It will be a long time before I get down that way again, (if ever) and the descent into anarchy distresses me profoundly. It was preventable. I urge you to read this book in the context of recent events and visit the USGS web site as well. We have lost so much.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Bayou Farewell
I'm reading Bayou Farewell, by Mike Tidwell. This is a compelling read about the alarming disappearence of the Louisiana Wetlands. This area produces around 20% of the country's domestic oil, an enormous amount of seafood, and of course it is home to the Cajun culture and people. It is disappearing at the rate of about 24 square miles per year. Bird habitats are being affected, fisheries are are being lost, people are being displaced and the barrier islands and marshes that protect over 1 million people from hurricane storm surges are eroding. Its not to late but if left unchecked this environmental catastrophe will result in the loss of a national treasure. I recommend the book, but if you want the instant gratification route to information about the wetlands go to the USGS page linked above. We cannot let this continue.

2005-08-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

The edge of my seat...

2005-08-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

What with Cindy Sheehan goin' through her vigil down in Crawford, Tejas an' all, my thoughts naturally wandered to the presidential offspring. Haven't heard much about Jen and Babs lately so I checked out this new blog Firsttwins.com. Seems like there's this play entitled "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush ... no child left behind" at the Village Theater on Bleeker St. Now If I was in NYC for the Fringe Festival this month I know I'd plunk down my $15 just out of curiosity. But all digressions aside, what is goin' on with these two plucky sprites. Now that they are college graduates and no longer minors, are they workin' or what? Probably still unemployed, which makes me worry for sure about the economy. I understand that they did receive liberal educations and all, so they may need some vocational training and I hear the good old U.S. Army is the place to go to learn a trade. Now out of fairness to these two young Bushes, it's only fair to ask what the former first daughter is up to these days since she completed her studies at Oxford, (Sheesh, these children of the elites get all the breaks, don't they?) Last I heard the kid was gainfully employed earning a six figure income over in London as a consultant. Now what on earth can a 25 year old consult on that's worth six figures of anything? I hear it has somethin' to do with international relations. Seems to me that our young bushes probably know something about international relations. Maybe Chelsea could hook them up with a job.

2005-08-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Jaime O'neil published this witty column in today's SF Chronical. So this goes out to my over 50 friends that are chomping at the bit to go to Iraq.

2005-08-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

An interesting article appeared in the Seattle Times this week and I got to thinking about it in the context of Cindy Sheehan's vigil down in Crawford, Texas. Ms. Sheehan is wondering about the "noble cause" for which her son sacrificed his life five days after arriving in Iraq last year. I guess that noble cause is the right of the Iraquis to hack out a new constitution. I expect they will hack one out this week, (and any images of Clio the Cat hacking out a hairball are totally unintentional). That being said, I wonder what that constitution will look like. I don't expect it to bear any similitude to the august document our own founding fathers produced a couple of centuries ago. Nay, I suspect it will look a lot like a facsimile of the Islamic Republic just next door in Iran. Federalism in Iraq will be tripartite; Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish. The Kurds are the only hope for any form of Secularism in the Brave New World of Iraqui democarcy, and we all know what happens to Kurds. What we have is a recipe for a dish that Jon Stewart calls a Mess-O-Potamia.
Which leads me back to my musings. If the Bushies had really wanted a secular state in the middle east with a balance of power to keep Iran in check, well, they would have left things as they were, with Saddam Hussein in place. Sure he was brutal, but there are a lot of brutal regimes in place that the Bushies get along with just fine, Saudi Arabia for one, then there's Libiya, and Indonesia, I could name a few more, but I think you get the point. No, I think the Noble Cause that Cindy Sheehan's son died for was probably the establishment of a state based on religious principles, where men are men, and women know their place, at home and in burqahs.

2005-08-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

We heard a great concert last night. All six Brandenberg Brandenburg Concertos at the opening night of the Napa Valley Summer Chamber Music Festival. Joseph Silverstein, 1st violin, his shaggy white eyebrows bounding with enthusiasm was brilliant, and Lorna McGhee on flute was a pleasure to behold. Her performances of 4 and 5 were nothing short of sensational. Corey Jamason's performan on harpsichord was hallucinogenic. This was baroque chamber music at its best. Of course for me, the Brandenburgs define the art form. The Napa Valley Opera House is acoustically perfect, but the fourth row center seats certainly didn't detract from the pleasure of the performance.
Prior to the concert we dined at the new Vietnamese fusion bistro on Main Street, AnnaLien. Not bad, but somewhat disappointing considering the price. The small plates included traditional spring rolls stuffed with shrimp, rice noodles and mint with a peanut butter sause, very nice. The dumpling soup was bland, the pot stickers were good but not remarkable. The sliced beef salad was tasty and piquant. As far as the entrees were concerned, I had grilled tiger prawns served on a bed of rice vermicelli that was tepid and flavorless at $15. Frankly I've done better at Pho houses in Concord at a third the cost. Golden's vegetable skewers were tasty but unremarkable, served with a bowl of brown rice. Fred didn't complain about his sea bass wrapped in banana leaves, but he didn't rave. Damned by faint praise. Ruth had a small salad of sliced vegetables and shrimp parts. The ambience was that of a French Colonial Indochinese bistro in 1950's Saigon, probably heightened by the high ambient tempretures and the lack of adequate air conditioning. My advice, dine elsewhere.
All in all a fun evening despite the dinner.

2005-07-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

Bus 174! Sundance Film Festival 2003. Take a look. This excursion to the dark side of Rio is compelling start to finish. This documentary isn't for the faint of heart. The gritty life of Rio's street children taken to its logical, illogical violent extreme.

2005-07-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Check out this brilliant cartoon from Tom Toles

2005-07-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

The world gets curiouser and curiouser. Terrorists bomb London. The bombers are "disaffected" young Britons of Pakistani dissent whose parents and grandparents migrated to the North of England in the 1950's to make a better life. If these lunatics had been raised in Pakistan they would be semi-literate starving and might have a legitimate if misguided excuse for feeling disaffected. Just because you feel like an "other" is no excuse to go blowing up innocent people, some of whom actually happen to be their fellow "others". These are middle class guys. If they feel marginalized living in Britain, why not just emigrate to one of the middle eastern countries where they can feel at home. Go establish their Califate. Return to the enlightened days of the Ottoman Empire when they were ruled by the Turks. Please!

I just read a great book called "The Trouble With Islam Today", by Irshad Manji. If you haven't read this book you should. It is a stinging critique of Islamic facsism written primarily for a "mainstream" Muslim audience by a Canadian Muslim lesbian who emigrated from Uganda. She is brilliant and calls her coreligionists to task for their refusal to deal with the racist, anti-semitic, ideology espoused by the Haters. To bad the yahoos from Leeds didn't have minds open enough look for a constructive way to express their dissatisfaction. What scares me is that so many otherwise reasonable Muslims say that while they condemn terrorism they understand why people are driven to it. Not enough folks. Once again these are middle class people who while they may feel alienated living in a white Christian country shouldn't be throwing bombs. I'm a non-Christian and while I don't much care for Christmas, I don't throw bombs at people who like it. I just deal with it.

2005-07-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend IBarr and I sailed our Ranger 22 up the California Delta. It was a pretty phenomenal 3 day sailing adventure. Day 1 we sailed from Vallejo, our home port and made it to Brannan Island over on the Sacramento River. It was a downwind sail and we made excellent time, enjoying the scenery along the shores of the Carquinez Straits, Suisun Bay, Honker Bay and Grizzly Bay. We indulged in Pasta Putanesca with a nice Napa Valley Crane Lake Merlot and listened to the Giants get beat up by the Cards. Day 2 started bright and early with a sail down 3 Mile Slough and up the Mokolumne River to Pirates Lair. Yarrrgh! We ate chicken sandwiches, turned around and sailed back down to the San Juaquin where we ran into a flood current and strong prevailing westerlies. Night fell over New York Slough and we sailed by navigational aids to the Pittsburg Yacht Club. We docked around 10:30, ate a couple of apples and fell into a fitfull sleep. The next morning dawned blustery with 20+ knot winds. IBarr ran the boat into some rocks in the mouth of the harbor, but the little Ranger stood up like a thouroughbred. We beat back up the straits, made it under the Benicia Bridge in one tack and made it from Martinez to Crocket in 45 minutes under gentle winds and a favoring current. I was covered with bruises and had quite a sunburn on my lips. What a cruise! I'm ready to do it again.

2005-07-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting for a while. I guess I needed a little break from the blogoshere. I have been quite busy these past couple of months. With summer upon us there's a little less time to sit at the keyboard and blog. Sailing season on the bay has started in earnest and we have had the Ranger out in the bay a few times in the past couple of months, not enough though. Last week we cleaned up the decks and scubbed the algae of the hull. That might add a half knot. The teak is shiny again and all is well except the outboard won't start. That might cause us to cancel the run up the delta we had scheduled for next weekend.
4th of July BBQ at BoBo and Diane's place in Vacaville yesterday, check Bothenook's site for pictures of food. Steaks, grilled eggplant, squash, and peppers, and many mojitos as well as Golden's jingoistic flag cake. A good time was had by all. Since Golden had her hallix limitus repaired a couple of weeks ago, she has been doing a lot of chair time with her foot above her head. She has been quite "imperial" if you get my drift. Hopefully she will be back on her feet full time soon and life will return to normal. I will try to update with more frequency going forward.

2005-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Let us not forget! Tomorrow is the commemoration of the genocide of the Armenians at the hands of the Turks. This dark episode of inhumanity must be remembered along with more recent genocides. Hitler said "Who remembers the Armenians?" We owe it to ourselves to never forget.

2005-04-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

I hate to sound like the president of the Krugman Fan Club and I know my pal Bothenook has apoplexy at the mere mention of his name but today's column in the Times touched on one of my favorite topics. You guessed it, the mess we call our health care system. I know just a little about this topic myself, having spent some 25 years working in the healthcare system and Krugman articulates my sense and sensibilites pretty well. Take it or leave it as you will, the neocon mantra of privitization is a thinly veiled attempt to take what little you have left, and make it theirs.

2005-04-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Check the NY Times Op/Ed page today for two excellent columns by Klugman and Friedman on our looming healthcare debacle and the Bushies failure to appreciate the attributes of broadband internet access. The Cabal is celebrating the Cult of Ignorance

2005-04-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

I guess I've been busy. I was in Seattle last week with a side trip to the Olympic Peninsula. What a great respite from quotidian world of public service. The weather was cold and alternately overcast or raining. I know that's unusual for the Pacific Northwest, (no really! it's drought central there this year) but we had a couple of hours of brilliant sunlight in Sequim while staying in a beautifully funky boathouse on pilings right on the shores of Sequim Bay. I was positively captivated by the vintage schoolroom wall map of the USA circa late 1930's. Check out the boathouse pictures on this website. This followed a couple of great days in Seattle where we saw a production of Ana Karenina by the Atlas Theater. This was a marvelous production of Tolstoy's expansive novel of passion and angst. I was riveted from start to finish by the brilliance of the acting. Check marks go to Chris Mayse for the direction and his characterization of Levin. Only an actor of consumate skill could compare to the lovely Samara Lerman whose Ana will always be Ana for me henceforth. The rest of the cast gets check marks as well save for Aaron Ousley whose take on Vronsky left me wondering what Ana saw in him. The house was packed that night and it will be a theater experience I shall always remember. I look forward to seeing more of Ms. Lerman.

Upon our return to the Bay area, guess what, it rained on Thursday night and Friday but by Saturday afternoon it was beautiful. We went up to Vacaville for another round of unrestrained gluttony at Bobo and Diane's housewarming party. On Sunday we went to Pac Bell Park and saw the Giants whoop ass on Colorado 11-4. I am so glad that it is baseball and sailing season again. With the evenings being light and sunny I feel alive again.

I received some terrible news on Monday. Our old and dear friend Larry Friedman died. I have been preoccupied with mortality these past three days and haven't slept much. I went down to the boat yesterday afternoon and just sat there watching the wind and the water for a while, then I went and ate some sushi. I felt a little better after that. The funeral was today and I was astounded by the number of people who loved and cared for this man. He made me feel like a member of his family and this was the way the hundreds who came to remember him felt as well. Napa, California won't be the same without him. He did so much for this town as a merchant and a public conscience when they tried to redevelop it (ruin it) in the seventies and eighties. I remember flopping down on the couch in the front of his army surplus store and watching the 49ers on the tube, and passing the time. And the jokes that just kept on coming, and my public humiliations on the raquetball court at La Cancha. Goodbye Larry, we'll miss you profoundly.

2005-03-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

I love this portrait of Peter Lore by Yusef Karsh. If you want to see more go here.

2005-03-18T15:20:00.000-08:00

File this one under "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished". I was out walking the hound the other evening, about 7:00 pm under lowering skies. A breeze was freshening in the hills above Dry Creek Road. On the home stretch, as I was walking with Coltrane, (aforementioned hound), and elderly gent approached me. He was well groomed and carrying a plastic shopping bag. He asked me if I could help him out. "I'm lost and I need a ride home" he said as he uncrumpled his bank statement and pointed to the address. It wasn't far and I offered him a ride home. It wasn't until we got to my car that I detected the odor of beer emanating from the little gent. He told me his life story as we drove through the now dark streets. He had outlived his two wives and was quite lonely and depressed. He was a navy vet, having joined up in 1947 and survived Korea and Viet Nam. He was thinking of moving into the Vet's home up the road in Yountville. I drove him into his apartment complex and helped him out of the car. He managed to get himself tangled up in the seat belt and was rather confused about where his unit was located, so I checked the address on his bank statement once again, and escorted the gent upstairs. All the while he was asking why I would do this for him, and my only answer was that if I were lost, I'd want someone to help me out. I didn't mention that there were disreputables afoot who wouldn't think twice about mugging him, taking his wallet full of large bills and leaving him by the side of the road. We approached his door, (I did make sure to check the name on the mail box and it matched up with his driver's license and the bank statement, so I was pretty sure we were headed in the right direction.) He didn't have his keys, but luckily the apartment door was unlocked. I saw him in and turned on the lights, and much to my surprise, the apartment was empty. I mean really empty. No furniture, no bed, no kitchen utensils, no food. I decided that I wasn't going to leave the old coot there, so I put him back in the car and we headed downtown. He couldn't remember where he had awakened that morning. He wanted to know where we were going and when I said that I was taking him to the local P.D. he became quite agitated and said, "No Cops!" I wasn't about to leave him alone and managed to convince him the boys in blue were more expert at locating missing furniture than either of us. He was mollified when I told him that the police were just likely to take him to his apartment and that they would help him get situated. I told him I doubted that they would actually take him into custody for any transgressions either real or imagined. When we arrived at the Cop Shop the doors were bolted tight. There was a security phone next to the front door. I was told someone would be out presently. Presently turned out to be about twenty minutes later. The geezer was easily calmed down as we waited on a bench out in front. He told me that he was interested in meeting a woman, "no funny business, just lunch or something." I chuckled and told him there were probably any number of older ladies that would love to step out with him." He looked at me and said, "Ya know, you're no spring chicken yourself!" About this time a community services officer came out, and took over, escorting him into the bowels of the PD after I recounted my tale. I headed off into the night, toward my corned beef and cabbage so lovingly prepared by my adorable wife. It was after eight o'clock and my stomach was growling as I drove throught the quiet streets thinking "no good deed goes unpunished." I sure wonder what happened to old Mike's furniture, and what would become of him. I wondered what would become of all of us.

2005-03-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

It can't be three weeks since I last posted. I guess I'm just too busy. That's what happens when it gets to be spring time and the temperature rises above 70. I had the Ranger 22 out for the first time since last fall. It wintered well and the motor started right up on the second pull. Sailed for about three hours in fluky winds off Mare Island. It was great. Then I went to Bobo's and Di's for the best meal I think I've ever eaten off a grill. NY steaks done to perfection topped with Amish blue cheese from Ohio, little tiny lamb chops, bbq potatoes, grilled asparagus, vegetable kabobs, berry shortcake, cigars and port. Five days later I'm still enraptured. I think I found Bar-b-que heaven in Vacaville.

2005-02-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

If you like the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet go see "Un long dimanche de fiançailles" (A Very Long Engagement) with Audrey Tautou and Gaspard Ulliel. This film is a complex tale of love, obsession, revenge, war, and investigation. The cinematography of Bruno Delbonnel is exquisite. He works with a painterly pallet of colors that make this film a visual feast. His portrayal of the killing fields of the Somme brings the horror of WWI to life with a gradation of gray tones that that makes the viewer feel the mud and cold down to the very marrow. Tautou turns in a performance as the young Mathilde, that is memorable. Her tenacity and faith developed as a survivor of polio sees her through her epic quest to find Menache, her soul mate, last seen clinging to the stump of a tree in no man's land. That's all you will get from me in the way of plot. Marion Cotillard as the Corsican prostitue Tina Lombardi was riveting. See it!

2005-02-18T18:22:00.001-08:00

I am feeling totally uninspired but its been two weeks since I posted any thoughts so I am just checking in and letting you all know I'm still on the planet. The Head Start Agency where I work just went through a review by the federal government. We came through pretty well and the Feds were highly complementary of the way we do our thing. It was pretty tense since we've been getting a lot of bad press lately. Seems like the neocons don't really believe in compassionate conservatism or any thing remotely like it. For every dollar invested in Head Start the tax payer saves seven dollars in the long run on things like welfare and prison sentences. This is pretty well documented but there is an agenda to "starve the beast" I guess the "beast" is that little 4 year old with the big smile that came up to me and hugged my knees the other day.
Meantime, back in the Shiite Republic of Iraq, the beat goes on. Even Ayad Allawi thinks that the Iranians have too much influence in country. The terror level went up the other day in front of Negropontes nomination as Intelligence Czar. What's another 80 billion between friends anyway? Well, well, well.

How did I miss this one. Back in December according to the NY Times there was a brilliant flash in the sky. "Whoppingly bright," said Dr. Brian Gaensler, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "It gave off more energy in 0.2 seconds than the Sun does in 100,000 to 200,000 years." I guess because it was mostly Gamma Rays we just couldn't see it. Just my luck, I live through a SuperNova and its freaking invisible.

Looks Like Theocracy in Iraq

2005-02-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

Gee whiz! What a surprise. The Shiites won the election. Now they want to run the country according to Sharia! They want the constitution to be based on Koranic law. Who knew? My guess is the Kurds won't like it. They'll probably want to veto a Shiite constitution. The Sunnis opted out of the election. We already know how they feel. Can anyone spell civil war, boys and girls?

Clearly Sadaam Hussein was a bad man, a very, very baaad man. My question is will these guys be any better? I know a few Iranian expatriates that didn't care much for the Shah, (also a very, very baad man) who don't feel very warm and cozy with the Ayatollahs either. I'm pretty sure there are young Iranians that yearn for freedom in that benighted Islamic Republic. I'm sure there are moral police that enforce Iranian Shariah with the same zeal that the taliban (religious students) enforced it in Afghanistan. See, that's the risky thing about democarcy in the middle east. The Islam street will vote in large numbers, but they will vote for theocrats, because in the world of Islam, religion and government are synonymous, with the exception of modern Turkey which is another story. Its always been that way and always will be. Read your history books if you don't believe this assertion.

It was HL Menken who said, "Democracy is the theory that the people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." Well, that will certainly be the case in the new Iraq. I feel very sad for the families of the men and women who have died to make this democracy possible in the new Iraq." I sincerely hope that I am wrong, and that a modern secular state with liberal political institutions, a free press, and equal protection before the law can be born in the middle east. I'm afraid that what we have created, in the words of John Stewart, is a "Mess-O-Potamia".

Orpheus

2005-01-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

If you are lucky enough to be in Seattle between now and Febuary 12th, go see the Open Circle Theater production of Orpheus. This little gem is a stage adaptation of Jean Cocteau's screen treatment of the tale of Orpheus the unfortunate singer and lyrist who followed his love Eurydice into the Underworld to bring her back to life.
This ambitious production successfully brings Cocteau's 1950 film to life. The challenges were myriad and this cast and crew came through with the real stuff. Those familiar with the material will understand the complexity of the vision. Director Chris Mayse deserves kudos for even having the idea to do this in the first place. He brings Cocteau's dream like state alive with the help of Tim Long's inspired technical/lighting design, and the haunting music of Larry Ryan, Jeffery Ryan and Emily Kusak.
Jeremy Catterton did a servicable job as Orpheus and Beth Peterson portrayed Orpheus' death with a cool elegance bordering on and often crossing over to an edgy bitchiness that was at once seductive and terrifying. The standouts were Jeffery Gilbert as Heurtebise who was completely convincing as the inscrutable driver and attendant of Death, and Samara Lerman as Eurydice. This young actress quietly portrayed the wife of Orpheus, pregnant, vulnerable, beautiful and at times comedic. What a talent. Kate Kraay played Aglaonice with a long lanky sexiness that was enhanced by the costuming of Colleen Gillon. Her dramatic range became evident in her second role as the Judge. Andy Justus rounded out the principal cast as Cegeste, portrayed with an adolescent goofiness and wrong guy, wrong place, wrong time confusion that permitted Peterson to be so coldly and scarily seductive in her role as death. The ensemble cast supported the primary characters admirably.
If you love theater and are in the area, take yourself down to the Open Circle Theater at 429 Boren Avenue North in Seattle and have a lovely evening.

What Was I Thinking?

2005-01-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

When I posted about sandwiches the other day I left out one of my all time favorites. So here it is. Paseo in Seattle makes the best Cuban sandwiches north of Miami. Succulent pork in a roll, grilled onions, garlic, oil, mayonaise, (yeah I said mayonaise, and its damn good too.) Perfection on bread and on your chin too.

2005-01-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is from "Sandwiches That You Will Like" a tasty tour of places and sandwiches

The World Weighs In

2005-01-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

The other day I asked readers to weigh in with their opinions of the planned $40 million bash that W threw for himself. Today the Christian Science Monitor published a synopsis of the worlds reaction to W's address. They pretty much didn't care for what they heard. Smaller countries are adept at reading between the lines when it comes to Superpower politics and it was interesting to get a slant from Ireland, Kenya and Canada, as well as China the U.K. The Israelis think we're in for a pretty wild ride. Bush's metaphor about flames and getting burned conjured up images of a Texas Bar-B-Que and it sounded to me that if anyone gets in the way of Bush's agenda, they'll be the brisket.

Speaking of Brisket, I offer this tidbit. Last night the Public Broadcasting System showed a documentary entitled "Sandwiches That You Will Like". It was a gastronomic tour of America's 17 best sandwich shops. I was salivating heavily after viewing this show, despite having eaten a pile of Sushi earlier in the evening. My personal favorite was Mr. Beef in Chicago. (I have a deeply rooted obsession with Chicago style Italian beef with pepper sandwiches). The Central Grocery's (New Orleans) muffaletta is another of my personal favorites and is reason enough to make the trip. Thelma's Bar-B-Que in Houston is now on my list of places to go after watching what that women can do with links. Bar-b-Que is the only good thing to come out of Texas and I have experienced it personally in Austin where I was compelled to order two entrees at Artz Rib house. A couple of these places didn't look to appetizing. Notably Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshaltown, Iowa looks like a place to avoid. It was filled with pasty looking Iowans consuming mass quantities of grey pebbley looking ground beef heaped on an bun. No sauce, no garnish, gotta eat it with a spoon. What kind of sandwich is this?
The other place that gave me the deep rolling shivers was Ferguson's in St. Louis, MO where the specialty is Brain Sandwiches. It looks like it sounds. Also in St. Louis, the C&K BBQ served up a pig snout sandwich and a pig's ear sandwich that didn't look all that digestible.
The piece de resistance was the pastrami on rye at Katz's deli in Manhattan.
In closing I will say these guys did a great service to humanity by producing this show, but they missed one of the best treats on the planet, the Smoked Meat sandwich from Schwartz's in Montreal. There's an aphorism in the Montreal Jewish community, that Schwartz's killed more Jews than Hitler. That's decidedly irrevrent but what a way to die!

2005-01-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

Let's weigh in. How does the world feel about W's 40 million dollar party? Ostentacious or merely excessive and in poor taste? Certainly a vote of thanks to the Haves and Have Mores (his political base). Probably not a celebration of the peaceful exchange of power as his mouthpiece Scott McClellan describes it. What exchange of power?

2005-01-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Today is a lovely day. Warm and balmy for January. Must be global warming. Golden and I went down to Berkeley last night with Hal and Diane. We dined on Solano Avenue in Albany. There's a wonderful place there called Fonda. (No relation to Henry, Jane, and Peter.) Small plates of South American styled dishes. Duck Tacos, Argentinian lamb chops, Bacalao (salt cod) cakes in Salsa Negra. Caipirinhas made from crushed limes, cachaca (sugar cane aguardiente) and a touch of sugar, on the rocks. First time I had one it was put together by the Brazilian girlfriend of my former jefe, Tony Colon. Oh man! These things go down easy and pack a punch. Just have one. They will turn you into an instant Carioca.

2005-01-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

Its a cold sunny day and the lemon tree in the garden is glowing green and yellow in the early afternoon sunshine. It is very quiet at the moment as I sit alone in my aubergine leather chair. I have been sneezing and I am wrapped in this calm moment as if in a shroud. Imperturbable and content. The phone rings! It is Golden. Everything changes. I must gear up and reenter the quotidian world. I have tasks to do.

2005-01-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

Rain, rain, rain. Northern California winter. My back hurts and the rain keeps falling. GWB was officially certified as fuhrer for the next four years. Rain, rain, rain. The dog is bored already and its only 9:34 am. The newspaper said that "Endangered Species Act" will soon be renamed the "Protection of Beef Raising Act". More corporate welfare for agribusiness act. I like beef as much as the next guy, but the world is out of balance. It was 58 degrees in Chicago last week and today its what, 14 degrees? Puhleez. My back hurts. I'm repeating myself. Rain, rain, rain. I had sushi last night at my second favorite sushi bar. Osaka in Vallejo, owned by a Filipino guy. There was a table full of Japanese golfers wearing Calloway gear and they got the sushi deluxe, 88 pieces of sushi for $89.00, served in a boat almost as big as my Ranger 22. It took forever to assemble but it was truly a work of art. Who needs beef? I need a massage. If I was a Kobe beef, I'd be getting a daily massage, but then I'd be led off to the slaughter at the end of it all. Some would say the Kobe Beef steer has it better than we do. He doesn't know he's going to die. Golden just told me we could fly to Prauge for $500 round trip, but its raining and cold there now. Maybe Barcelona would be better. My ennui is getting the better of me. Rain, rain, rain. Today I will pay the mortgage.

2005-01-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

All right, that's it. Get back to work everybody. The holiday season is over. Get those lights off the house. Dump the dead tree, its nothing but a fire hazzard now.

Mini movie review of the week: Sideways is a must see film. If you love wine and find people interesting this mini gem is for you. Paul Giamatti's understated performance was very engaging, Sandra Oh was mesmerizing, but the script was nothing short of brilliant. Go see it.

For some interesting Pix go here.

2004-12-31T10:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year one and all! Hard to believe that 2004 is over. What a year. Frankly I'm glad its over. I hope 2005 is better for this sad old world. I personally have much for which to be thankful. For examply, I wasn't swept away by a tsunami or blown away by a hurricane or a tornado. No one invaded my neighborhood. Genocide, disease, volcanoes, and earthquakes....nope! Famine? Drought? Locusts? No, that didn't happen in Napa, California. Renegade monkeys didn't attack the village. All those things happened, but not here.

We are a global village and what happens anywhere on the planet does touch us but not with the immediacy of those directly affected.

So, our leaders are a pompous cabal of mediocre (at best), greedy, hypocrites...So we are despoiling our wilderness to "harvest" timber and oil and minerals...So what? Well my friends, you know there is a big so what.

I don't want to dampen the Holiday Spirit and rain on Auld Lang Syne...I will celebrate the passing of the year with close friends, food, music, spirits, and gaity.

I will also be thinking today, as I prepare for the festivities, of my less fortunate fellow beings. I will be thinking of my commitment to social justice and cooperative effort. Please consider your responsibility as a inhabitant of the planet and do something, anything to make this a better place in the new year. Peace, Love, Happy New Year.

2004-12-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well we have again arrived at the time of year that has a special meaning here in North America. I refer to the annual "Orgasm of Consumer Indulgence". This is the time of year that I try to avoid retail establishments. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon, I'm afraid. I never buy gifts this time of year. I prefer not to be generous by virtue of the calendar or the coming of the winter solstice, but more by my internal barometer of generosity. I give when the mood strikes me as opposed to the position of the planets. I suppose I have an internal locus of control. I was invited to a party last week and accepted on the condition that there would be no Christmas music played. My hostess was true to her word, though there was a flurry of ritualized gift giving. I received a miniature punching bag that articulates the half dozen or so words forbidden by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Gratefully, I was not subjected to a rousing round of "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer", but I sat through a chorus of "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I Made it Out of Clay" which was equally offensive. I humbly bow to the show of cultural sensitivity, however. So as the month of December drags on like an old man with prostatitis on his way to the bathroom at night, I look forward to January. January is the month my neighbor leaves his Christmas decorations up as an expression of denial that this time of year is actually over. His twenty foot inflatable "Frosty the Snowman" provokes cognitive dissonance in this Meditarranean climate that never gets snow. The lights on his eaves bring to mind the festive air of a brothel in Tijuana. He usually manages to get everything down and put away by Halloween. We usually enjoy Christmas day at my cousins' house. This is the day of the year that I eat pork loin. They are Jewnitarians. David is culturally very Jewish and Judith is a Mayflower descendant and a devout Unitarian (whatever that is) so the day is a cultural melange that includes Klezmeer music, the aforementioned pork loin, generous doses of egg nog laced with spirits and much liberal conversation. We even once had a Figgy Pudding which was bizzare and mysterious and defies description. The children, Sophia and Danielle energetically engage in yet another round of gift getting that follows the eight days of Chanuka. Everyone is thouroughly exhausted by 8:00 pm and then we drive home through the 60 miles of dense tule fog also known as the Sacramento Valley. I sleep it all off and return to the office on Monday morning. My co-workers will be sonambulating in their post holiday depression and disappointment that it all wasn't as perfect as they remember Christmases past. There will be anxiety over the fight with Uncle Jack, or embarrassment over the drunken display that Aunty Helen succumbed to after one too many hot toddies, or complaints about how ungrateful the kids were after criticizing the gifts so lovingly selected and paid for on credit. At least we have 96 straight hours of College Bowl games to anticipate culminating in the Dick Clark countdown to New Year's Eve, a round of Champagne, a Chorus of Auld Lange Syne, and the New Year's Day hangover. Can't wait til next year! Happy Holidays everyone!

2004-12-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

The Northen California winter is here. This past week we got a drenching from the vestiges of a Pacific Typhoon. We received about 2.5 to 3 inches in a 24 hour period and we normally get about 4.5 inches for the entire month of December. Napa Valley didn't flood for a change. That must mean that the flood mitigation work has been somewhat successful. I know you readers in the Far North don't have much sympathy for winter weather where the daytime highs hover in the high 50's and low 60's (12 to 18 C) but that's what mother nature has dealt us. What with global warming, that might be a typical Canadian winter in a few years.

Needless to say, the combination of the weather and the diminished winter daylight hours combined with long work days and two hours of daily commute haven't left a lot of time for blogging let alone much else, but I finally have a day off so I thought I'd check in.

So Happy Hannuka one and all. Enjoy your potato latkes.

2004-11-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

More Explorations of Napa Valley

2004-11-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

This was an absolutely beautiful day in Napa. Autumn is such a wonderful time of year here, and tomorrow is my favorite holiday. I went down to Trader Joe's and bought stuff to make Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Whiskey sauce. Bobo turned me on to this recipe a few years ago and its a great thing with which to chase a turkey. When work in the kitchen it is usually quite chaotic but I think it came out nicely. Good thing the dog is around to lick up the floor behind me.

I took Coltrane for his evening constitutional and he had a great time pulling me with his leash. If it weren't for him I would probably weigh an extra ten pounds. I posted a few picks that I took with Ben last weekend, trying to capture the feeling of the season. The colors don't look as rich on blogspot as they do on Photoshop for some reason.

2004-11-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Sycamore

2004-11-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

Napa Valley Moon Rise

2004-11-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

Autumnal Light

2004-11-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

Its later than you think!

Back From Bad Burrito Land

2004-11-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

I've been sick. I got a bad burrito down on 23rd Street the other day and have been paying the price since then. Don't ask for the details my friends. It wasn't pretty. Needless to say I have had a lot of time to do some reading and thinking. Arafat is dead and I am not alone in saying, "May his soul rot in hell". He has been beatified by Chirac and Shcroder, mourned by "his people," and analysed ad nauseum, (no reflection on my current state.) Little mentioned is the extent to which he betrayed the very people who mourn him. He personally diverted billions, his wife and child living off the Francs and Duetchmarks, then the Euros he stole intended as relief for his people who lived on in poverty these past 50 years in permanent refugee "camps", ghettos of despair established by the Arab states with a vested interest in not assimilating the then 800,000 now 4 million coreligionists and fellow arabs whom they encouraged to flee and then abandonded. (Wow that sentence ran on for a while.)
Anyway, Amigos, fruends, haverim, amis, what have you, I am officially back from the land of the gastrointestinally challenged, the hell of bad burrito land, and I am ready to eat again, so stand back world, here I come.

2004-11-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

New Map of North America?

Incompetence and Mendacity as described by Peter Galbraith

2004-10-31T17:18:00.000-08:00

Has anybody out there had a chance to read Peter Galbraith's article in the Boston Globe the other day. Peter Galbraith is a former US ambassador to Croatia, and a fellow at the Center For Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. In the 1980s, he documented Iraqi atrocities against the Kurds for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He wrote this week about the systematic looting that went on in Bagdad after the fall.

"The looting that I observed was spontaneous. Quite likely the looters had no idea they were stealing deadly biological agents or radioactive materials or that they were putting themselves in danger. As I pointed out to Wolfowitz, as long as these sites remained unprotected, their deadly materials could end up not with ill-educated slum dwellers but with those who knew exactly what they were doing."

The sites he is referring to are the munitions dumps and even more ominous, at least from my point of view, the Iraqi equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control. Evidently these guys took Live HIV and Black Fever virus. This was an event that Galbraith witnessed and he reports the comments made by a young officer who was devistated, commenting "I hope I am not responsible for Armageddon."

Washington Redskins vs. the President

2004-10-31T16:22:00.000-08:00

This is from the Green Bay Gazette for all you football fans out there who have a suspicious streak. By the way the Pack beat the Skins today 28 - 14. Does it mean anything? Hope So!

How the Washington Redskins franchise fared the game before presidential elections, and the elections' outcomes:
2000: Tennessee 27, Redskins 21... Democrats lose White House (George W. Bush defeats Al Gore)
1996: Redskins 31, Indianapolis 16... Democrats keep it (Bill Clinton defeats Bob Dole)
1992: New York Giants 24, Redskins 7... Republicans lose it (Clinton defeats George H.W. Bush)
1988: Redskins 27, New Orleans 24... Republicans keep it (Bush defeats Michael Dukakis)
1984: Redskins 27, Atlanta 14... Republicans keep it (Ronald Reagan defeats Walter Mondale)
1980: Minnesota 39, Redskins 14... Democrats lose it (Reagan defeats Jimmy Carter)
1976: Dallas 20, Redskins 7... Republicans lose it (Carter defeats Gerald Ford)
1972: Redskins 35, New York Jets 17... Republicans keep it (Richard Nixon defeats George McGovern)
1968: Minnesota 27, Redskins 13... Democrats lose it (Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey)
1964: Redskins 21, Philadelphia 10... Democrats keep it (Lyndon Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater)
1960: Cleveland 31, Redskins 10... Republicans lose it (John Kennedy defeats Nixon)
1956: Redskins 17, Chicago Cardinals 14... Republicans keep it (Dwight Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson)
1952: Pittsburgh 24, Redskins 23... Democrats lose it (Eisenhower defeats Stevenson)
1948: Redskins 51, Boston Yanks 21... Democrats keep it (Harry Truman defeats Thomas Dewey)
1944: Redskins 42, Chi-Pitt 20... Democrats keep it (Franklin Roosevelt defeats Dewey)
1940: Washington Redskins 37, Pittsburgh 10... Democrats keep it (Roosevelt defeats Wendell Willkie)
1936: Boston Redskins 13, Chicago Cardinals 10... Democrats keep it (Roosevelt defeats Alfred Landon)
1932: Boston Braves 7, Chicago Bears 7... Republicans lose it (Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover)

If you experience or know of ANY voting problems, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE immediately.

2004-10-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

2004-10-30T04:38:00.000-07:00

She is somewhere around 86 years old. I never treated her fairly enough when I had the opportunity, and now she barely knows who I am but when she gets that look in her eye and winks at me, it brings back the memories and the guilt and the affection. She was born in Manievich in the gobierna of Volynsk where she grew up. Her father was a miller and she was blessed to be a child with a large and loving family. In 1939 when the Nazis came and with their Ukrainian henchment slaughtered the Jews of this bucolic summer resort town, she fled to the East and came to Uzbekistan where she labored in the cottonfields of a collective farm. When the flames died down in the west she returned and found nothing. Her brother, with whom she fled, died of tuberculosis toward the end of the war. She made her way to Fahrenwald where she met Avrum, the little black marketeer, and started a family of sorts. She had a son whom she stuffed like a goose and waited for her opportunity to come to the States. They came to Milwaukee where she had an uncle and started over again. Her daughter was born the month after they arrived and they named her Golden, not after the opportunities they hoped to realize in the new land but by mistake. She named her Golda but the nurse at the hospital wrote down Golden a name that went unused for twenty years, but that is a different tale. Life was unkind in Wisconsin, but they became a part of a small orthodox community that grew up around Rebbe Twersky, an alte tzadik, and they succeded after a fashion. Her children grew up and went to the coast where they did adolescent things in the late sixties, and this is where I met her, just after I fell in love with Golden. This is when I learned the true meaning of frustration. I had never met a more stubborn, determined and loving human being than Golden's Mamme. But she was obsessed and had a deep current of grief that I couldn't fathom. I distanced myself from her and was short tempered and impatient. I rejected her outpouring of love and at times I was cruel. I was immature and had no understanding of her motivations. Our relationship was at best tempestuous and at worst hostile. But I grew up and she grew old and realization came to late. Now she is, in her dementia, one of the sweetest beings I have ever met. Of course, she doesn't realize we have known each other for thirty years. Each time we meet is the first and she congratulates me on marrying her daughter, although she thinks I am a bit to old for her sweet child. I accept her congratulations and kiss her cheek and hope for forgiveness.

2004-10-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Cyla. I will tell her story soon.

Just think!

2004-10-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

We are now in the last final days before an election which could go on for weeks if not months. That is a depressing scenario. Its pretty evident to most reasonable people no matter what their part affiliation that the election must be decisive to bring any credibility to the outcome.

The Bush administration is anathema in my opinion, a statement that should be no surprise to regular readers of this humble blog. This cabal has heaped incompetence upon hubris to create the biggest balagan since the Nixon administration. (I know I'm being unfair to Nixon who was a criminal and a creep as well as a racist and anti-semite but with the short attention span and lack of historical perspective so common in this society, I don't think the corruption and mendacity of the Grant administration is common knowledge to most of my countrymen.)
They Let Osama get away, they let Zarqaui get away, they are blind to their own incompetence, they are greedy, (Haliburton no bid contracts, gouging of GIs on the ground.) They let 380 tons of lethal explosives slip through their fingers, They have soild the air, fouled the waters, (can we say nestbeschmutzers boys and girls?) given welfare to corporations and billionaires. Ahya! the list goes on and on.

The deficit is out of hand, the dollar is off, retirement is a mirage for most of my cogenerationist, not to mention our children. Enough is enough. I am not naive enough to suggest that a Kerry administration is going to fix this. Probably not. But I am convinced that if Bush gets four more years because people think they are safer now than they were four years ago, then we will not recognize our society and our laudable values of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness will be lost.

If you are thinking of voting for Nader, think again. If you are thinking of voting for Bush/Cheney/Rove, then just think.

380 Tons, Thats a lot of Kick Ass

2004-10-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

The following is a transcript of an interview aired on MSNBC today:
Amy Robach (AR): And it's still unclear exactly when those explosives disappeared. Here to help shed some light on that question is Lai Ling. She was part of an NBC news crew that traveled to that facility with the 101st Airborne Division back in April of 2003. Lai Ling, can you set the stage for us? What was the situation like when you went into the area?
Lai Ling Jew (LLJ): When we went into the area, we were actually leaving Karbala and we were initially heading to Baghdad with the 101st Airborne, Second Brigade. The situation in Baghdad, the Third Infantry Division had taken over Baghdad and so they were trying to carve up the area that the 101st Airborne Division would be in charge of. As a result, they had trouble figuring out who was going to take up what piece of Baghdad. They sent us over to this area in Iskanderia. We didn't know it as the Qaqaa facility at that point but when they did bring us over there we stayed there for quite a while. We stayed overnight, almost 24 hours. And we walked around, we saw the bunkers that had been bombed, and that exposed all of the ordinances that just lied dormant on the desert.
AR: Was there a search at all underway or did a search ensue for explosives once you got there during that 24-hour period?
LLJ: No. There wasn't a search. The mission that the brigade had was to get to Baghdad. That was more of a pit stop there for us. And, you know, the searching, I mean certainly some of the soldiers head off on their own, looked through the bunkers just to look at the vast amount of ordnance lying around. But as far as we could tell, there was no move to secure the weapons, nothing to keep looters away. But there was - at that point the roads were shut off. So it would have been very difficult, I believe, for the looters to get there.
AR: And there was no talk of securing the area after you left. There was no discussion of that?
LLJ: Not for the 101st Airborne, Second Brigade. They were -- once they were in Baghdad, it was all about Baghdad, you know, and then they ended up moving north to Mosul. Once we left the area, that was the last that the brigade had anything to do with the area.
AR: Well, Lai Ling Jew, thank you so much for shedding some light into that situation. We appreciate it.
LLJ: Thank you

This site is to good not to post

2004-10-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

This web site features statements from people with two things in common. They are all blood relatives of George W. Bush, and they are all supporting John Kerry. Check it out!

I like this one.

2004-10-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a site called "See ya Later George". Res Ipso Loquitor.

2004-10-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

This is what the Smith brothers have done to Sinclair Broadcasting.

Sinclair Broadcasting Plays by the Rules: Their Own Rules!

2004-10-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Three members of the Smith family that controls Sinclair Broadcasting, the 62-station firm based in Baltimore that is embroiled in a controversy over its open advocacy of President Bush's re-election, appear to have engaged in insider trading of the company's stock, reaping millions of dollars before the stock's value collapsed on surprise revenue shortfalls. Check out the newswire story here! This combined with an advertiser boycott by about half the electorate should put this company in the toilet. If you own Sinclair stock, now might be a good time to dump it whether you agree with their politics or not.

Then and Now: You Decide

2004-10-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

"And (Osama Bin Laden is) just -- he's a person who has now been marginalized. His network is -- his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match. So I don't know where he is. Nor -- you know, I just don't spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you. I truly am not that concerned about him." (Bush Remarks, 3/13/02)

Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations. Of course we're worried about Osama bin Laden. We're on the hunt after Osama bin Laden. We're using every asset at our disposal to get Osama bin Laden." (Third Presidential Debate (Tempe, Arizona), 10/13/04)

Yikes!

2004-10-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Would you want to live your life according to the dictates of Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. Check out this Op/Ed piece from Monday's NYT. And then think about it

Read the NY Times Endorsment

2004-10-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

The New York Times endorsment of John Kerry that appears today is should read for everyone who will vote in the presidential election. It is a brief precis of what has gone wrong and why. The editors of the Times recount this sad tale more adequately than I so I leave it to the reader to follow the link.

Cartoons by Katrin

2004-10-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've been following the work of this artist, Katrin Weise for the past 35 years. I met her in southern california when we were both students and she was married to a good friend of mine. I have always admired her work and it goes way beyond the political. Check out her work on Z-net and google her for her other links.

2004-10-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

I love this cartoon

Bayou Farewell

2004-10-12T02:13:00.000-07:00

I'm reading Bayou Farewell, by Mike Tidwell. This is a compelling read about the alarming disappearence of the Louisiana Wetlands. This area produces around 20% of the country's domestic oil, an enormous amount of seafood, and of course it is home to the Cajun culture and people. It is disappearing at the rate of about 24 square miles per year. Bird habitats are being affected, fisheries are are being lost, people are being displaced and the barrier islands and marshes that protect over 1 million people from hurricane storm surges are eroding. Its not to late but if left unchecked this environmental catastrophe will result in the loss of a national treasure. I recommend the book, but if you want the instant gratification route to information about the wetlands go to the USGS page linked above. We cannot let this continue.

2004-10-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

I went to see a play last night. Talking With Angels. It was an absolutely riveting performance by an actress named Shelly Mitchell. She was brilliant. It was a one woman show and her charactors ranged in age from early 30's to 80's. No make-up changes, no costume changes, completely convincing.

2004-10-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Obesity in America # 2

2004-10-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

America is faced with a lethal epidemic. Obesity is killing us and the most chilling aspect is that it is killing our children. Somewhere around 20% of our children and adolescents are overweight. 30% of the children in the Head Start agency where I work are either overweight or at risk of obesity. One little three year old is already over 75 pounds. I will be posting selections from the photo essay I am doing on "Obesity in America." Hope to get you thinking.

2004-10-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a photo essay on the epidemic of obesity in America.

2004-10-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

I took this while roaming around yesterday. Surely the apocalypse is at hand.

2004-10-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Bumper sticker of the day!

2004-10-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

Help Me!

2004-10-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Read it now

2004-10-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

2004-10-01T02:02:00.000-07:00

So, My friend Bothenook thinks that the Democrats need to resort to comic books to get their message across. He obviously doesn't appreciate the centuries old tradition and art of political cartooning. Therefore I send him a cartoon from the 1860's from the great Thomas Nast, ( a Republican I might add, lampooning the Alaska Purchase.)

PreButtal

2004-09-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

PreButtal to the first debate. You will find this interesting unless you are a dyed in the wool Bushy, in which case don't bother because your mind is closed, (oops, I meant made up, Like W's take on reality.)

The real war on terror.

2004-09-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I had a bad day. Then I read an a report like this and I say to myself, "this person has a bad day every day!". When a culture condons this kind of behavior something is really out of kilter.

Just another day

2004-09-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

I have had a headache for the past five hours. What a crappy day. It started with a dead battery. Second day in a row, but I deserved it because the guys at Autowerk told me I needed a new one two months ago. So I jumped the car and shleped my butt out onto Interstate 80 for one of the monumentally worst commutes I've had in the past 4 months. After about an hour I stopped off in San Pablo and bought a new battery and had it installed. If I was going to sit around I figured, "Why burn gas". So I waited out the commute in the auto shop. When I got to work I discovered that my laptop wasn't in the car. Was it ripped off in the battery shop? OH Shyte. Or did I leave it at home? (It was at home.) The day picked up a little around lunch time when I met my son Ben for lunch in Albany. We went to a Thai/Laotian place and Ben had duck and pineapple in curry. I had thai noodles. What a great lunch. Ben updated me on his latest work and a show he will be hanging in a couple of weeks. Back at the office, the headache started around 3:00 in the afternoon. 5:30, I hit the freeway again and thankfully traffic was moving briskly enough to get me to Vallejo in 20 minutes. The headache is abating now and I'm starting to believe that I will survive the night to do it all over again tomorrow. What a life!

Reflections on the Day of Atonement

2004-09-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

While not an observant Jew, (I'm not a believer in the supreme being, at least not in any traditional sense), I always get this twinge of guilt around Yom Kippur. Since it is the Day of Atonement, I suppose this is a perfectly legitimate feeling. I always feel conflicted. If I go to synagouge I feel like a hypocrite. If I don't, I feel like an apostate. Having a deeply historical sensibility I always think of the generations of Jews who have sacraficed deeply and suffered horribly either for refusing to recant their faith or merely just for being. Since I'm not a person of faith, I don't feel as if I am betraying my religion, but by not being observant, I feel as though I am betraying my ancestors who died for their beliefs. I know this is a self inflicted double bind, yet I feel it nonetheless. I am grateful for the luxury to ruminate on these feelings, and honor the day by doing so. I will reflect upon the transgressions I have committed against my fellow human beings, and absolve myself of oaths and vows I have breached. May you be sealed in the Book of Life.

2004-09-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

My son Ben took this. He calls it "more light from the night". I love it, its very haunting.

2004-09-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

Its 3:30 am and I can't sleep. I haven't had a good night's sleep since 1959, but those of you who know me probably know that already. I've been reading a fascinating book by David Liss entitled A Conspiracy of Paper (given to me by my beautiful and talented daughter) about the world of the "stock-jobbers" around the Royal Exchange in the early 18th century. I know I will feel like crap later in the morning when I have to be functional at the office, but one just can't argue with the Bio-Rythyms.

Thanks to my pal Bothenook (aka right wing wacko kook) on his link to the site exposing the shenanigans of Cat Stevens. (See Bo's comment in the posting below and go to the url if it interests you. And thanks to Timx for his remarks regarding Irish terrorism. Any one blowing up innocent civilians, (or poisoning them on the subway, or infecting them, or beheading them or committing genocide against them in the Sudan,or whatever,) deserves the sobriquet of terrorist. Its all fine and good to have "legitimate national aspirations" (whatever those are) but they do not trump any individuals rights to Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (By the way Bo, this includes the "legitimate national aspirations" of the Good Old USA. Our country has wreaked a lot of terrorist havoc in the name of legitimate national aspirations, just ask your local neighborhood Lakota or Nez Perce, or my friend Ralph who was dispossed of all worldly goods as child and sent to live behind barbed wire at a little place called Manzanar... the list goes on.)
So in closing I will recall the immortal words of Rodney King, " Why can't we all just get along?"

Deported: Thank Goodness

2004-09-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

Its very depressing. I can hardly stand reading the political news these days. Our society is so polarized that civil discourse is nearly impossible. One bright spot. The "artist" formerly known as Cat Stevens aka Joseph Islam was denied entry into the U.S. last night. Although he is hardly a threat to our national security, his "music" is so simpering and cloying that it causes the aural equivalent of a diabetic coma. I guess we can thank the Department of Homeland Security for that.

2004-09-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

No particular reason to post it other than I just like this picture. I took this back in August when I was in Louisiana. Glad they escaped the wrath of Hurricane Ivan.

2004-09-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Oh, by the way, follow my link to Molly Ivins' column. Her latest is great.

2004-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I have posted. The weather has been quite hot here of late. Summer comes to Northern California around the beginning of September and it doesn't usually cool off until just before the end of November. By that time the elections will be over and we will have a pretty good idea of which direction our beloved country will be heading. I've been a little preoccupied with thinking about my wife's recent and bewildering illness (from which she seems to be recovering nicely, and my brother-in-law's convalescence after sustaining injuries in his close encounter with mortality in a cross-walk on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. Not much time for sailing lately but I feel the need to be out on the bay coming on. I think I am in a reflective mood because the Jewish New Year is at hand, and though I don't have much use for organized religion and I don't believe in a diety in the traditional sense of the word, the coming of the holiday's usually gets me thinking. The fact that there were more horrific bombings inRussia, Iraq, and Israel have contributed to this feeling of solemnity. I find it Ironic that the Neo-Cons in this country are criticizing Putin for his nod toward authoritarianism in the wake of the terrorist bombings there, without a mention of Arik's reactions, or their own support of draconian actions in our own country. What's good for the goose should be good for the gander, don't you think? Ah well. enough for tonight.

Cryptonomicon: Brilliant, Witty, and Long

2004-09-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading one of my new favorite novels. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I think the guy is brilliant. If your in the mood for a 1200 page read, If you like mathematics, if you're curious about cryptanalysis, and you enjoy a sharp wit, then I can recommend this book very highly. Check out the author's website here

Hotter and Hotter.

2004-09-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, What's with the weather? I know its supposed to be hot in California in September but this is too much with temps over 100 F, or for you international types 98 C. And Florida for Pete's sake hurricane on top of hurricane with more to come. I know in the case of Florida its probably The Supreme Being ( and I don't mean Clarence Thomas) punishing the Bush family for all those lies. In the case of California, its probably the terrorists inflicting their wrath because the state went for the Dems in 2000. Just ask Dick Cheney, he'll tell you. What do you all think?

Slimy is as Slimy Does

2004-09-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

Why are we even debating "fitness to command." The Alabama National Guard Vets for Truth have spoken out. Its about time we put this red herring in fridge. Its starting to stink. Read the record for yourself.

The Cult of Death

2004-09-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

I am strongly recommending David Brooks' column "Cult of Death" in today's NY Times. I don't normally agree with Brooks for a number of reasons. He is an unabashed apologist for the administration and espouses a weak neo-con psuedo liberalism in most of his columns. But today he gets it right about the cult of death that is practiced throughout the Middle East. His mistake is that he ascribes it to a fringe of the Muslim world. He's off the mark because the cult of death is not a fringe movement, it is central to their creed.. But read it. Its a good piece of writing.

Voting Rights? I Don't Think So!

2004-09-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

Looks like the elections officials in Florida still can't get it straight. Is it sheer stupidity or just malice? You decide! And if you are a Native American in South Dakota? Same drill.

Framing By Willfull Distortion

2004-09-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

George Lakoff, UC Berkeley Professor of Linguistics, analyses how Miller and Cheney distort and lie. I can hear my friends on the right hooting with derision about how you can't trust academics and intellectuals, about how the scholarly are effete. Well I side with critical thinking and analysis over anti-intellectual rant and pandering to the lowest common denominator. I know, I know, I'm just another shallow stupid liberal intellectual. Just another latte drinking volvo driving left wing appeaser. What do I know?

It Isn't Getting Cheaper.

2004-09-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Follow the Link

Quote For the Day

2004-09-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

"But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make when all those legs and arms and heads chopped off in a battle shall join together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at such and such a place,' some swearing, some crying for a surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left. I am afeared there are few die well that die in a battle." William Shakespeare "Prince Hal"

Where is the Shame?

2004-08-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Bob Herbert's column today in the Times pretty much sums up the way I feel about the Swiftboat Vets for Lies and Revisionist history. The column in the same issue by Droz' widow, View From the Boat was also on point. Please read them.

Honor and Dishonor

2004-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

This started as a comment I made on "Bothenook" but I wanted to put it on my blog as well..... I personally recall the events surrounding Mr. Kerry's statements after he got back from Viet Nam. I reflect on the tenor of the times. It is true that many in the anti-war movement acted in a dishonorable way. (I do not count Mr. Kerry among those who behaved dishonorably. As a veteran he spoke with a perspective that many in the movement lacked. Although, honor and dishonor being subjectivley perceived through the lens of predisposition and experience are mutable and amorphous. That being said, though most men in arms acquitted themselves with honor, many soldiers in Viet Nam behaved dishonorably. Mr. Kerry merely testified to that fact. It was a divisive time and the rationale for the war was not well articulated even at the highest levels. LBJ was a powerful politician but like GWB, not a powerful speaker. He had the political ability to convince the power elite, but lacked the credibility and eloquence to convince most of the electorate that the war was honorable. Hence he withdrew from the fray in 1968 paving the way for Nixon and Kissinger, in an unparralled exercise of arrogance and deciet to lead us down the primrose path through Cambodia to an eventual dishonorable withdrawl from SE Asia. The prosecution of the war in Viet Nam under both the Democrats and the Republicans was a national fiasco that undermined our influence in the world for a generation. It was Not Mr. Kerry's remarks about atrocities that led to the defeat. It was the pretext for the adventure that led to defeat. We are again, as a nation, at a bifurcation that will either lead us to honor or dishonor. Which way to turn?

A Good Piece of Investigative Reporting

2004-08-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting piece on the Swift Boat Veterans for "Truth". The truth is these guys have been harboring a 30 year old political grudge. O'Neil was a stooge for the Nixon White House and is a stooge for the Bushies.

There They Go Again!

2004-08-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

So Bush wants to reduce our troops in Korea inspite of the fact that it is a rouge regime with real (count 'em) weapons of mass destruction of the nuclear sort.

These guys are Flip-Flopping all over the place like a bunch of flounders on the bottom of the boat. In their own words.....

Bush: "And I'm not -- I strongly believe we need to have a military presence in the Korea Peninsula, not only to keep the peace in Peninsula, but to keep regional stability. And I strongly believe we need to keep a presence in NATO." (Bush, 10/11/00)

Bush: "We hope for a day when the stability of the Korean Peninsula is built on peaceful reconciliation of North and South. Today, however, the stability of this peninsula is built on the military might of our great alliance. In our dealings with North Korea we've laid down a clear marker: We will stand by the people of South Korea. We will maintain our presence here." (Bush, 2/20/02)

Bush: "There's no question we have obligations around the world, which we will keep. Did you go to Korea with us? Yes. There's a major obligation there of 37,000 troops. It's an obligation that's an important obligation, one that I know is important, and we will keep that obligation." (Bush, 3/13/02)

Cheney said, "The very real danger of North Korea's nuclear proliferation is now the No. 1 threat to security in Northeast Asia." (Boston Globe, 11/23/91)

Cheney Said Danger Posed By North Korea Requires U.S. Presence. Cheney: "'In view of the dangers of nuclear proliferation in North Korea and the destabilizing impact on Northeast Asia -- and as a result of our consultations -- we have concluded that it would be unwise to proceed with major U.S. force reduction,' he said. 'We have therefore postponed the next round of force level adjustments being considered for Korea until the dangers and uncertainties of the North Korean nuclear program have been thoroughly addressed.'" (UPI, 11/21/91)

Cheney Said U.S. Should Not Withdraw From Korea Due To Nuclear Threat. "Cheney noted the decision announced this week in Seoul to suspend further troop cuts in South Korea because of North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. He referred to Pyongyang's '40-year history of aggression, terrorism and irresponsible weapons sales' as adding to the concerns raised by its nuclear weapons program." (LAT, 11/23/91)

Cheney: "In Korea, for example, we've been involved in 1991 and '92 -- involved in drawing down the size of our deployment there, shifting more of the burden to the Koreans, having them take more of a leadership role and we take more of a supporting role, and having them pick up a larger part of the economic burden. That process is underway, although we stopped any further reductions after the end of this year because of the uncertainty for now about the North, about how that's going to sort out." (Cheney remarks, 5/22/92)

Greek Antisemitism and Xenophobia

2004-08-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

As you watch the Olympics from Athens this week, contemplate the article you are about to read regarding the Xenophobia and Anti-Semitism that are deeply rooted in the Greek national character. This is deeply disturbing to thoughtful and sensitve individuals who eschew hatred and racism.

"Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - can't get fooled again."

2004-08-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

I have long maintained that George Bush is a lying lier, and not only because of his misguided "reasons" for the Iraq invasion, but primarily because of his psuedopopulism. This man is the heir to a plutocratic family priveledged to the opportunites of the elite, born with a platinum spoon in his mouth. This column from Paul Krugman, and this artice from today's Washington Post, only underscore the fact that W is an elitist. Enjoy!

2004-08-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Bush Flip Flops on Gay Marriage! McCain Comes Out for W!

Laziness Conference

2004-08-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is for all those people out there who have been maligned and misunderstood.