Civil Disobedience

When peaceful protest fails to get our attention, violence should come as no surprise.

If an ordinance prohibiting commonly-practiced behavior is unenforced or unenforceable (anti-sodomy statutes, et al), it undermines the legal system by creating a society of scofflaws.

Rules firmly and consistenty enforced may incite rebellion; Rules not firmly and consistently enforced invite rebellion.

The U.S. is not a "melting pot"--nor, perhaps, should we seek to be; we are, rather, a goulash--each ingredient maintaining its distinctive character while contributing to, and enhancing, the whole.

Word Games

When someone prefaces his argument with "Look...," he usually hopes you won't.

What follows "Clearly,..." is often murky; what follows "Obviously,..." is often obscure.

Before retaliating with force, delay long enough to ask your antagonist, "What do you mean by that?"

Language-cop Citations

"Y'see what'm sayin'?"

It's rapport, not "repore"; various and sundry, not "various and asundry"; espouse, not "expouse"; tenet, not "tenent"; pundit, not "pundant"; salutary, not "salutory"; on tenterhooks, not "on tender hooks."

When the president requests that we "redouble our efforts," does he really want us to double our efforts, then redouble (quadruple) them?

The Criminal Law text advised that "...Capital Punishment increases the likelihood that the guilty defendent will go free." Hardly!--capital punishment increases the likelihood (to a certainty) that the guilty defendent will be DEAD-- though a potential death sentence could make a jury more reluctant to convict.

Shouldn't tampons come packaged with an inserter instead of an "applicator"?!

Profiling II

Protestors against police profiling might feel more righteous if cops conducted spot checks of blue-haired White grannies--but would they feel safer?

Fitting a valid profile does not, of course, mean that one is a terrorist (drug dealer, rapist, pedophile, serial killer, whatever); but it does, unquestionably, increase the likelihood--and that, identifying increased likelihoods, is what profiling is (supposed to be) all about.

If you are swarthy and Semitic-looking, pardon my political incorrectness, but step aside and empty your backpack!

Profiling

How come when profiling identifies certain White males as likely perpetrators, it's considered a useful law enforcement tool; but if a profile, however valid, identifies Blacks or Hispanics (or Arabs) as more likely offenders, it's branded "racial profiling" and called discriminatory?

To better secure public transportation, police planned random passenger searches--random to avoid accusations of racial or ethnic profiling. But if we are serious about security (and absent sufficient resources to search everyone), racial/ethnic profiling is precisely what we should, and must, be doing. To date, most terrorists have been, or looked like, Pakistanis or Saudis. Yes, I know that only a small percentage of Pakistanis and Saudis are terrorists; still, I am unaware of a single terror incident involving a blonde, blue-eyed Norwegian or Swedish suicide bomber. Innocents unfortunate enough to fit valid profiling criteria ought not be subjected to gratuitous harrassment, but they should anticipate, and accept, some occasional inconvenience. Police should employ the Willy Sutton principle: Go where the money is--search Achmed, skip Sven!

A pox on both their houses!

With Democrats now in control of Congress, Speaker Pelosi blamed President Bush for the economic collapse; when asked about financial miscues during the Clinton administration, which may have presaged the current crisis, she reminded the questioner that Republicans controlled the Congress at that time.

Journey's End

Some go gently into that Good Night,
While others rail against their plight;
Some bow their heads and praise the Sky,
Some contemplate and wonder Why;
Some curse their Fate, some let it be--
all lemmings rushing to the sea.
En route to the final Resting place,
Our one-way voyage proceeds apace;
And whether Death be foe or friend,
All just as dead at Journey's End!

An exemplary life can be diminished by an ignominious death.

We are here for but a moment; we are gone forever.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc (logical fallacy: After, therefore because of)

She was in a semi-conscious state. Doctors advised there was little chance of meaningful recovery. Her family and "120 congregations" prayed. After a few days, she began to awaken. A miracle?
Unexpected and unexplainable medical outcomes occur all the time; and numerous controlled scientific studies have demonstrated no benefit from intercessory prayer. This case, and others like it, prove only the limited abilities of physicians to accurately prognosticate (and the unlimited enthusiasm of believers to attribute supernatural intervention).

Sticktoitiveness

"Sometimes prayer is cumulative." So if your prayer isn't answered, keep at it--you simply haven't yet prayed hard enough or long enough to rouse your somnolent god.

Victims & Victimizers

The success of the huckster may be due in part to the appeal of his pitch, moreso to the susceptibility of his marks.

We are prone to believe what we want (and are preconditioned) to believe, no matter how far-fetched. The manipulators, exploiters, and deceivers know that.

Worse than the mindless minions who tag along with their eyes shut are the unprincipled partisans who blindly follow with their eyes wide open.

Take neediness, add naivete--you have a victim-in-waiting.

Crime and Punishment

The defendent was sentenced to death by hanging plus a $600 fine--what's his penalty for defaulting on the fine?!

He is suing the state for $22 million--a million for each year he was wrongly imprisoned on Death Row. Give it to him.

"...put up a parking lot"

When I was born, I was one of 130 million Americans; today, I am one of 300 million. My problem with many well-meaning environmentalists is that they focus too narrowly on a symptom, Global Warming, while ignoring our underlying terminal disease, Overpopulation.

If we reduce per capita production of greenhouse gases by half, while watching the population double, what will have been accomplished?

Our precious Earth is not an inexhaustible cornucopia or a bottomless septic tank!

Sometimes there are no third choices: We can continue to "pave Paradise" and bitch about it, or we can curb our egoistic compulsion to replicate ourselves.

The New Math

The rabbi justified his fourteen (!) children by pointing out that the Kabbala views one's offspring as a single unit, ONE family (14 = 1). His one family will occupy 14 parcels of finite space (once it's gone, there will be no more), will consume 14 portions of limited (and ever-dwindling) natural resources, and will produce 14 quantities of mounting noxious waste (hold your nose!) Ignorance comes in many flavors--all of them poisonous.

The waters are not "shark-infested," they are shark-inhabited; the waters (and much of the rest of the planet) are people-infested!

Verities

"Promise Keepers" apologist, justifying gender exclusivity: "Men are different than women"!

PBS is so educational: "Beethoven's works can be studied in three periods--early, middle, and late"!

Conservative commentator Brent Bozell on pornography: "Temptation is temptation, and we can't pretend that isn't tempting"?

Risky Forecast: "Temperatures will be increasing in some parts of the country and decreasing in others"!

Tom Brokaw, recalling the nuptials of of Prince Charles and Lady Di: "The wedding wouldn't have been the same without her"!

Buried on page C3 of my newspaper today was a notice that City Council has authorized expenditure of $50,000 for a "life-size" statue of local boxer Levander Johnson, killed in the ring at age 35. I'm guessing the fighter will be depicted in his prime, not as he appeared in some ICU, with wires and tubes dangling from every orifice, before his untimely (and unnecessary) death. Professional combat "sports" are atavistic expressions of man's primal bloodlust, our basest instincts. We want a knockout--I'm sure fans were screaming for more as Johnson sank to the mat for the final count. Shame on us that the surest way for many of our disadvantaged youths to "make it" in America is by beating up other disadvantaged youths for our viewing pleasure. And shame on City Council for memorializing and glorifying such brutality. If Council really wants to pay tribute, I suggest they use the $50,000 to create a Levander Johnson Scholarship Fund; perhaps by doing so they could save another young man from a similar fate.

In the wake of 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, and now the economic meltdown, do you suppose George Bush still believes his presidency has been divinely inspired?

I, American III

Americans are preoccupied with form over function, style over substance.

If consumers didn't consume crap, producers wouldn't produce crap.

Americans are drowning in a sea of junk.

The "original maverick" has become a confused, mean-spirited old man--a shameless panderer desperate to win--and that makes him dangerous to the nation's health.

Astonishingly (depressingly), the majority of Americans--not five-year-olds but adult Americans--say they believe that a guardian angel protects them from harm! (To better appreciate the irrationality, for "guardian angel" substitute "fairy" or "leprechaun"!)

Over the last eight years, the Democrats generally had the better ideas, but too often lacked the gumption and grit to actually get things done.

I, American II

Most over-worked word in the American lexicon: Hero.

We are losing our ability to distinguish heroism from celebrity.

One of the less endearing aspects of American societal character is our adulation of Celebrity.

Pakistan ia a nuclear power--and a U.S. ally. Now the Pakistani military is under orders to fire on American forces if we launch another unauthorized incursion across their border. Even our "friends," it seems, don't like us much anymore. Maybe we need to be more likeable.

We are witnessing the apocalyptic economic consequences of unfettered free-market capitalism. "Caveat emptor" does not adequately safeguard the citizenry against greedy, unscrupulous, and/or incompetent profiteers. Even staunch deregulators like George Bush and John McCain are reluctantly beginning to recognize that only government, imperfect as it may be, can delineate and enforce the implied social contract between buyers and sellers.

I, American

Amid revelations of U.S. military atrocities, some wondered why not "let dead dogs lie." Because we're supposed to be the Good Guys, that's why!

Do foreigners resent Americans because we're better off than they; or because, being better off than they, we think we're better than they?

The Dumbing-down of America

The "good" news is that 33% of American 4th-graders and 8th-graders are now performing at grade level (up from 25%); the BAD news is that 67% still are not! Are testing standards really that unrealistic, or are our kids really that dumb, or is our educational "system" really that broken?!

If all parents were able to send their kids to the best school in town, wouldn't we wind up with one school per town?!

Memories

I recall a time when moms stayed home to rear their kids; when neighbors didn't bother locking their doors; when schools and airports didn't have metal detectors and store windows didn't have bars; when we weren't afraid to walk the streets at night; when psychotics were safeguarded in institutions; when graduating high school seniors could read; when we fearlessly ate whatever tasted good; when victims were victims, perpetrators were perpetrators, and everyone knew the difference; when queer meant odd and gay meant festive; when teen pregnancy was an embarrassment; when sex wouldn't kill you; when married couples on TV always wore pajamas and slept in twin beds; when the most shocking language in a movie was "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"

What a difference a day makes

Yesterday, John McCain reiterated (see TELLTALE DROPPINGS, 8/29) that the fundamentals of our economy are strong. By this morning, he had had an epiphany, regrouped, and admitted the financial "crisis"-- but assured us: "I know how to fix it." No you don't, Senator--and you are making yourself ridiculous.

I have a dream...

President Obama Halts Hostilities in Iraq
Troops Heading Home

"...born with a silver foot in his mouth"

If one is facile with language, I've noticed, people tend automatically to assume one must be smart.

With a constricted vocabulary, one's thoughts, like one's speech, must lack richness, texture, nuance.

A silver tongue can take one farther than a silver spoon.

The capacity to excel is not contingent upon the complexity of the task.

Language-cop Citations

Unless you're from Gay Paree, "homage" is pronounced AH-mij (or HAH-mij), not oh-MAHJ!



It's nuclear, not "nucular"; jewelry, not "jewlery"; realtor, not "realator"; asterisk, not "asterick"; nuptials, not "nuptuals"; corroborate, not "cooberate."



Your residence is your premises, not your "premise"; the lawyer's juror challenge was peremptory, not "preemptory"; tragedies are heart-rending, not "heart-rendering"; storms wreak, they do not "wreck," havoc.


Unless he was buried alive, he was likely interred, not "interned"; on the other hand, if he was a prisoner who survived confinement, he was interned, not "interred"; on the other hand, if he died in prison, he was interned, then interred!

Imagine!

In his song "Imagine," John Lennon envisioned a halcyon world devoid of borders and gods ("nothing to kill or die for"). But theism and nationalism (and racism and all the other isms) are more often excuses than explanations for human bloodlust. We kill because we enjoy killing. A propensity to kill ("fight or flight") is deeply embedded in our genes, accompanied by a hormonally-mediated "high." On at least an elemental level, killing feels good! Absent a greater reliance on Reason to subdue our passions, we will likely continue to find or invent "reasons" to kill each other.

"Fight or flight" prepares us not for a gentlemanly bout of fisticuffs but to rip each other's throats out!

Confucius say:

Those who would accept Big Government as Problem Solver must be prepared also to accept half-assed Solutions.

Asked about her foreign policy credentials, a wide-eyed Sarah Palin replied that one can actually see Russia from Alaska. Golly gee!

When Sarah Palin derides the Entrenched Washington Establishment, is she referring to Joe Biden? Or John McCain?!

Where is Osama bin Laden?

It would be humbling being outmanned or outgunned; it's humiliating being outwitted.

Life imitating Art

Horror is heightened by intentionality.

Norman Rockwell has been superseded by Edvard Munch.

The horror is not so much in the evil, itself, as in the collective madness and stupidity that enable and foster evil--again and again and again.

Gloating in Chappaqua?

While Barack Obama is forced into a rope-a-dope against Sarah Palin, where the hell is Hillary Clinton??!!!

The Day the Earth Stood Still

From Klamath Falls to Concord, a hush descended on Main Street.

Election Reflection

OK, under intense public pressure, Governor Palin opposed the "bridge to nowhere"-- after she had previously endorsed it; still, she kept the pork (as best I can determine, somewhere between $250 million and $450 million). That's a lot of mooseburgers! Some of that money was mine; I was swindled, as surely as if she had personally picked my pocket--and I want it back!

Any candidate who proposes to pay for all his/her pie-in-the-sky promises by eliminating governmental waste, fraud, and abuse is lying through his/her teeth!

Warrior Nation

The air show will spotlight some of America's most lethal and beloved killing machines.

War is the ultimate immorality, America its most skilled practitioner.

The hallmark of "advanced" nations is that they can afford to conceal their barbarism under a thin veneer of gentility.

What does it say about our national character that our speech is so heavily laden with bellicose martial metaphors: War on Drugs, War on Crime, War on Poverty, War on Illiteracy--do you suppose such colloquialisms are as commonplace in Luxembourg or Lichtenstein?

Another must-read before November 4

"THE LIMITS OF POWER: The End of American Exceptionalism" is a sobering reality check by Andrew Bacevich, a self-described Conservative and former career military officer, now professor of history and international relations at Boston U. The author exposes extravagant ineptitude, breathtakingly sweeping in scope--and potential consequences almost too dire to contemplate. Only halfway through this little gem, I had already concluded that this guy, unlike our lame political leaders, really gets it!

Nukes

Possession of nuclear weapons may not be the decisive factor in every international dispute, but it does gain one a seat at the table.

We keep expanding our own deadly arsenal while using our military superiority to prevent other nations from doing likewise.

Who appointed us World Disciplinarians?

Barack Obama, critiquing McCain/Palin propoganda: "Americans aren't stupid!" If only it were so, Senator.

I find it shocking that so many White women apparently value a vagina as the prime virtue of a political candidate.

Ladies, what new or different, besides her genitalia, did Sarah Palin add to the Republican ticket that made you all suddenly switch from Obama to McCain?

"Mission Accomplished"?

Remember when the president announced that the U.S. would accept nothing less than "complete victory"? What would complete victory look like in a fractious Islamic theocracy?

The concensus of the sixteen U.S. spy agencies, that Bush's War on Terrorism has made us less safe, was deeply disturbing--nearly as disturbing as the fact that this country has sixteen spy agencies!

A Jordanian journalist was arrested for "insulting religion." America's manifold faults notwithstanding, I am grateful to live in a country where insulting religion is not (yet) a crime.

Good News/Bad News

This president wanted to outsource management of several major U.S. seaports--to an Arab company. A joke, right? An internet hoax? Is the "world's only remaining Superpower" now incapable even of managing its own ports? We are becoming a pure and voracious consumer nation, reliant on others for the production, supply, and servicing necessary to appease our gluttony.

The Bad News is that undocumented workers may drive down American wages; the Good News is that declining American wages may make the U.S. more competitive in the global marketplace.

Election Reflection

Possums and politicians are most dangerous when cornered.

I wish politics were more like the high jump and less like the limbo.

I will vote for the candidate I consider likely to cause the least mischief.

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff will be going to jail for his role in buying political influence. But what about all those corrupt politicians who sold him their influence?

Ask not?

JFK notwithstanding, I do want to know what my country can do for me. A democratic nation exists to serve and protect its citizens.

A Penny Saved

As I understand U.S. fiscal policy, we spend more than we earn, then borrow from China and Japan so we can lend money we don't have to countries we know will never be able to pay us back.

An apologist for the improvident Welfare recipients argued that "in a democracy," people should be able to spend their money however they choose. Of course they should--but it wasn't their money they squandered, it was mine!

A compassionate society should provide subsistence for all--no one should starve for lack of food or freeze for lack of shelter--but need not feel obliged to ensure every citizen's comfort and convenience.

John McCain rails against Washington Insiders, even while touting his own extensive experience--as a Washington Insider. Does Mr. McCain assume that we're stupid, or just that we're not listening?

"I will...I will...I will..." I might feel better about John McCain if once in a while he could suppress his ego and promise, instead, "I will try..."

Here's the knockout punch for Joe Biden in his debate with Sarah Palin: "I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a friend of mine. And you, Governor, are no Hillary Clinton."

If this ain't war, it'll do till the real thing comes along!

President Bush declared that democracies don't make war. Wake up, Mr. Bush--this is the U.S. of A., the oldest and largest democracy in the world--and the most war-prone nation on the planet.

More worrisome than an indecisive leader is a decisive leader who lacks the analytic capacity to appreciate the likely ramifications of his decisions.

Pogo said it best...

An American official, with a straight face, announced: "We are dealing with people who are perfectly willing to lie to the world to further their own causes." (We have met the Enemy and it is us.)

If I hear one more time during this campaign season that this speaker or that speaker "hit it out of the park," I am going to puke!

Even in perilous times, our national Political Conventions display all the gravitas of a high school Pep Rally.

DIPLOMACY: The Craft of Artful Ambiguity

Even as the U.S. protested that North Korea's actions were unacceptable, we undermined our credibility by continuing to accept their actions.

In a triumph of "Gotcha!" diplomacy, the U.S. warned Iran that our offer to negotiate was non-negotiable.

American diplomacy often sounds like Huffery and Puffery conceived by the Mad Hatter!

Keep talking!

We teach our children that it's better to talk one's way out of a tough spot than to resort to violence and risk a black eye. So what does our government do when confronted with an international adversary? It severs diplomatic ties and cuts off all channels of meaningful communication.

It doesn't take a strong leader to enforce his policies by unleashing the most powerful military in the world; it takes a strong leader to exercise restraint.

Rites of Passage

Hunters insist it's not the killing they enjoy but the challenge of the chase. Baloney! What's the challenge in slaughtering a distant animal with a high-powered rifle and magnifying scope? If hunters really sought to test their tracking skills, they'd use a Nikon instead of a Winchester.

Most predators kill only when hungry; trouble is, Man is always hungry!

"Hunting teaches boys valuable lessons." Any that couldn't be learned from less lethal forms of recreation?

Our sons deserve rites of passage that are life-affirming.

Mysterious Ways

Hmmm. On Day 1 of the Republican convention, first it was Hurricane Gustav, then Hurricane Bristol (Palin). Providential?!

If god didn't intend teens to have babies, how come he designed potent teenage boys and fertile teenage girls--and raging hormones to ensure that ever the twain shall meet?!

Joe Biden commutes daily from D.C. to his home in Wilmington. How's that for Family Values?!

Second Amendment "Jeopardy!"

Answer: One.

Question: What is the number of guns reasonably required for "self defense"?

As a boy, I went target shooting with an older friend who owned a .22 rilfle. We went to the town dump to plink cans and bottles. I shot at a bird perched on a limb. The bird dropped, mechanically, like one of those two-dimensional bears in an old-timey carnival arcade. I experienced a momentary rush, until I approached the lifeless creature and witnessed the ugly, bloody finality of my senseless act.