D'you know, like, reality, Juno?

"Juno" is a new movie about a pregnant early teen. She finds an attractive, rich couple who are eager to adopt her baby. The movie looks cute and has won much critical praise; I've only seen the “trailer”. I just worry a bit about the consequences. Will some young girls think that pregnancy can suddenly transform their lives from mundane to glamorous? Will they expect to be befriended by childless movie stars? Will they expect pregnancy to make them witty and clever? Will their conversation turn comedic, "unusually intelligent", "quick and funny"?

If the movie showed a pregnant woman drinking or smoking, there would be an outcry about a poor role model. But now it's again hip to be birthin' babies (see e.g., "Knocked Up", or better yet, don't). Oh, why bother with responsibility? After all, it's just a movie.

Bhutto murdered, hope dimmed

The murder today of Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistan Prime Minister and candidate in the upcoming election, is deeply saddening. She was brave, intelligent, charismatic, and patriotic. We do not yet know who was responsible. It seems unlikely that the dictator Musharraf is directly responsible because although she threatened his rule, they had apparently made an arrangement. More likely, the militant Islamic extremists are guilty. These people have moved freely between Afghanistan and Pakistan, due to the US failure to eliminate the Taliban in Afghanistan and despite American pressure to fight them in Pakistan. This is another consequence, heartbreakingly bitter, of the failure of the US to decisively defeat Osama bin Laden and his ilk. These times have suddenly turned even more dangerous.

Pump and Dump

The Bush administration is doing at the end of its term exactly the reverse of what it did before entering office. In 2000, Bush's mantra was that the economy was in bad shape. Here's a reality check: back then, thoughtful discussions of the economy revolved around whether paying off the national debt was such a great idea. After 6 years of a boom under Clinton, the economy was perhaps overdue for a modest correction, which occurred after Bush took office and was deepened by the fall in consumer confidence following 9/11.

Now, the administration is denying clear signs that this economy is on life support. Only the fiscal stimulus of budget deficits and the monetary stimulus of cheap money staves off recession or worse. The cumulative federal budget deficit is enormous and projected to continue growing by hundreds of billions for many years. The dollar has lost nearly half its value, which is one more reason why oil is $90/bbl and gas is $3/gal. The trade deficit sets new records every month. The administration proposes applying a band-aid to the sub prime mortgage crisis, which is only a symptom of hemorrhaging debt. Just as with the 'surge' in Iraq, the administration is desperately pumping money into the economy, hoping to dump the mess into the lap of the next president.

Monkey no see, monkey no do

You need pictures, or better yet video, to grab the attention even briefly of the public. Video is key to nearly all news stories and “if it bleeds, it leads”. The Abu Grahib scandal broke because of the pictures. Conversely, the public can shrug off horrific stories that are not accompanied by images. The administration forbids pictures of flag-draped coffins because they know that no pictures means no story. This is why the CIA destroyed the videotapes of agents torturing accused extremists. The CIA calculated that they could remove the most emotionally engaging and incriminating evidence of their criminality.

Maybe not all the tapes were erased. Cheney, and especially Bush, have shown a disturbing callousness toward human misery, an inability to empathize, bordering on sadism. Both men defend systematic torture in their disastrously misguided war on terror. They are indifferent to the horrors their war has visited upon Iraqis. Bush's twisted nature might have preceded 9/11. As governor, Bush is said to have joked while a woman who had pleaded for clemency was put to death. As a student, he is reported to have laughed off torturing pledges to a club at Yale. I suggest that a copy of the CIA torture tape be sought in his personal video collection.

No Vet Debt

The country owed everything to the vets of previous wars because the country demanded everything from them. The draft deprived young men of their rights and freedom. The volunteer army changes everything. Now, young people join the armed forces as part of a deal. They choose to give up their freedom in return for certain benefits. We pay for a professional army. Let's stop the heroism nonsense.

Kindle Swindle?

Amazon recently announced the Kindle, an ebook reader, to great buzz - cover of Time and mentions on most news shows. This device is big. The screen is a nice size but there is also a kludgy keypad beneath the screen. And you still need a light to read in bed!

CEO Bezos acknowledged that Amazon is substantially subsidizing the cost of books. Amazon pays the publisher around $18 per book but Amazon charges Kindle owners $10 per book. For the consumer, the differential between the cost of an actual printed book and the subsidized price can quickly recoup the $400 cost of the device. But how long will Amazon continue to subsidize nearly $10 per book? It seems inevitable that the book price will rise to at least break-even, about double the current price. Unless Amazon is committed to maintaining a $10 price, they should admit that it is an introductory price and give some idea of the final cost.

One of the great pleasures of reading is sharing a book you've enjoyed. Can one share an ebook with the Kindle? I don't think so. The books are “protected” by "digital rights management”, which blocks sharing. Maybe Amazon could incorporate a "regifting" function.

The Kindle is no swindle. Nor is it a compelling alternative to print or other devices for reading ebooks.

Blunt In$trument

Startled awake by the yawning trade gap, the Bush administration slips into its modus operandi: wield a blunt instrument as a weapon. Currency exchange rates are among the most powerful and least focused macro economic tools. But hey, when you're in a hurry, you grab what's within reach.

China's currency has been dramatically undervalued for many years. But their currency is pegged to the dollar, so reducing the value of the dollar will not immediately change the economics of the China trade. And nobody thought the dollar was particularly overvalued to the Euro or other currencies.

The fall of the dollar helps exporters like Boeing but it is a direct tax – yes, a TAX – on all American consumers. This administration opposes taxes, publicly. Call it "collateral damage". Moreover, these tax proceeds go to domestic producers, not toward our huge budget deficit, further devaluing the currency. Simultaneously, it puts American assets on sale while cheating American creditors and raising prices on all foreign goods, like oil. The first consequence is probably the sole support for the sagging stock market, staggering under the doubt of unknown debt valuations. The second consequence will be more slowly reflected in deflated prices for American debt. Who wants American debt if we will repay them with devalued dollars?

Welcome to another long-term, deeply debilitating consequence of the miserably failed Bush presidency.

Graveyard Quiet

The Bush administration and Republicans in general are eagerly crediting the troop surge for the decline in violence in Iraq. Maybe they are partly correct. Another, probably stronger contribution is the extent of killing and displacement that has already occurred. “Ethnic cleansing” is preferred by the sensitive and those in denial.
Since the US invasion, about 100,000 Iraqis have been killed, hundreds of thousands have emigrated from Iraq, and millions have been forced to relocate within Iraq. Even the most committed killers cannot squeeze blood from a scorched earth.

The surge itself was supposed to encourage movement toward a political solution. There has been zero progress on this front but, as we saw with the WMDs, the Administration believes in being flexible with rationales and goals. Now, an improvement in a symptom of ethnic strife is being cheered as progress. While nobody can dismiss the importance of fewer people being killed, this improvement will most likely prove as transient as the others claimed by the Administration. They count on us to refocus on their next new delusion.

Deal: my scarf over your head and yours around my neck

I like my alternate caption (the title) better than the one chosen by the NY Times: "So, Karl, how do you like your new job?".

Mine's metaphorical: we protect the Saudi royalty while they threaten to strangle us or drag us down. It's a deal with a devil of our own creation.

Granted, any joke you've got to explain is not very good.

Connecting the dots

The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed Al Baradei, says that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. Who you gonna believe, an expert who has been proven right (about Iraq) or your lying Bush administration? Stop the madness!

iFawn

So, I got an iPhone. I offset the $300 cost of the 4GB version, now discontinued, by selling my Motorola PEBL and Palm Zire for $180 (not counting eBay's and PayPal's growing 'take'). Plenty of music fits into 4 GB so I could also sell my old 20 GB iPod but it probably isn't worth much.

Honestly, the PEBL is smaller and feels better in the hand and the Palm has a better camera and is fully programable. But it's the connections between all the functions that makes the iPhone the clear winner. After owning it for 3 weeks, I still occasionally say “ah!” in genuine pleasant surprise. Here are a few examples:
* The phone book has full contact information, including notes for info that doesn't fit into a standard category, and you can even easily link a Google map.
* Someone calls and you want to add the number to a contact, or make a new contact? That's one-button easy instead of trying to remember the manual.
* Someone calls while you are talking to someone else and you want to connect the calls? That's one-button easy.
* Connected to Bluetooth headset but want to disconnect and use the phone handset? That's one-button easy.
* Traveling? ATT Edge is not as bad as some say so you don't need to find an open wifi for email or web access. Find your hotel on the web and you can click to call the telephone number or click on the address to link to Google maps. Too cool.
* Listening to music when a call arrives? The click on the headphone button and the music quiets and you answer the phone.
* Best of all: the caller ID text is big enough for a 50 year old to see without glasses!

Sure, my old phone could do some of these things but I could never remember how to do any of them. Many additional applications were written for the iPhone but the latest software bug fix/upgrade killed them, generating much negative press. Now Apple plans to support development of non-Apple applications, so "All is well...and all will be well...in the garden".

Living in the Greenhouse

Dramatic and scary effects of global warming will occur long before nations coordinate their efforts to reduce their release of greenhouse gasses. (Even the Bush administration dullards and puppets have abandoned denial and are now willing to “do their part”... so long as no sacrifice is required.) Congress' idea of dramatic action is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 15% by 2020. By that time, it will be far too late for reductions to have much effect on the course of warming over the following 50-100 years. What is to be done?

We will have to think of direct ways to slow and reverse global warming itself. For example, we could compensate for the warming of greenhouse gasses by reflecting more sunlight from earth into space or by shading parts of the planet from space. Such ideas will have to be tested on a huge scale to see an effect.

Every technology is eventually used in war, if not actually invented as a weapon. Weather manipulation could be used as a weapon to cause draught or floods, for example. That will get the attention of the Pentagon. It's unlikely the military meteorologists will be better than the civilian ones – correct about half the time.

Bubba Sputnik

The meaning of Sputnik has changed in the half-century since the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite. Most people probably don't know that 'sputnik' literally means 'traveling companion' in Russian. What a nice way to think of a satellite!

To cold-war Americans, Sputnik meant that the commies suddenly held the “high ground” from which to observe and launch attacks. Before, few people had cared much about a space program. Suddenly, politics ensured that Americans responded with a militarized and nationalistic program to beat the Russians, fueling an explosive growth in the Military-Industrial complex.

Befitting a nationalistic and militarized effort, we Americans gave ours bold names like 'Vanguard', 'Atlas', and, curiously, Greek gods (Atlas, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Saturn). The commercial ventures backed by public resources chose high tech names 'Telstar' (distant star), though a more appropriate named would be 'proxistar' (close star). Unmanned missions escaped the pattern to give names 'Pioneer' and 'Voyager' to brilliantly successful programs. The Russians continued with human-scale names: 'Soyuz' (union), 'Salyut' (salute), 'Mir' (moon)...

Imagine how names like 'little buddy' or 'bubba' or 'partner' might have changed our feeling toward the space race.

The B Team

The Bush team is second-rate and America pays the price. Who but second-raters would agree to mindlessly parroting the talking points written by political zealots in the White House? They are required to reference the President often in testimony and interviews. The top appointments have been disasters. VP Cheney snarls in his bunker. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was convinced of his own ideas and no facts or deaths could alter them. Secretary Gates seems more rational and he is having trouble cheerleading questionable policies. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice might have been a good history professor but her knowledge of the Soviet Union was no preparation for 9/11 and she has proven a very slow learner. Secretary of State Colin Powell followed orders long enough to convince many people in his now-discredited UN testimony, then he bailed. The Director of the CIA Tenet is either a liar or a fool – and maybe both.

There is a saying in human resources: A types hire A types, B types hire C types. So maybe that should be third-rate.

Give that man (another) medal!

If General Petraeus leans a bit to the right, it could be the influence of the wall of ribbons he wears on chest. Nearly 40 are arrayed on an impressive panel. Compared to General Petraeus, General Eisenhower was an underachiever.


Can Gen Petraeus find room for the Presidential Medal of Freedom? Maybe there is no ribbon for this medal. Maybe there is just the warm glow of fellowship with other Bush lapdogs.

Osama's Dyed (his beard)

Osama bin Laden released his first video message in 4 years. Maybe he dyed his beard gradually and it passed unnoticed, or at least unremarked, within his inner circle. But it is pretty obvious to us outside the cave, who are accustomed to daylight. What is he thinking? Is he merely vain or is he afraid of being usurped by younger terrorists? Even the terrorists fear ageism.

Bush called the message "a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live". In fact, it's a reminder of his abject failure to bring bin Laden to justice.

Bush also "found it interesting that on the tape Iraq was mentioned, which is a reminder that Iraq is a part of this war against extremists. ... If al-Qaeda bothers to mention Iraq, it is because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out and to develop a safe haven." Thus, by Bush's own measure, al-Qaeda had nothing to do with Iraq before the US attacked and in invaded in 2002.

It's a toss-up who is more dangerous and delusional – Bush or bin Laden.

War Corps

PBS is airing a program “Inside America's Empire” in the "America at a Crossroads" series. This program promotes a role for the US military in providing humanitarian aid in third-world countries. The absurdity of this approach is demonstrated within the program itself but overlooked by the enthusiastic host. For example, an American soldier in Mali claims that handing out cheap eyeglasses or other trinkets will produce long-term gains in America's reputation. More likely, the gratitude and transient “respect” will transfer to next person who provides slightly dearer trinkets. In the succinct words of the philosophers, “can't buy me love” and “what have you done for me, lately?”. Near the end of that piece, an American soldier says with obvious uncertainty that "someone" would provide the clean water the people need. Surely this would have been a better use of the thousands of dollars it cost the American taxpayer to deliver the cheap eyeglasses through the military channels.

Only one comment in the program addressed alternatives, for example aid delivered by civilians such as the Peace Corps. Peaceful alternatives were dismissed by the claim that these places needed "security" first. In fact, one would have to conclude from the show's examples that any place hoping for aid needed “insecurity” first. The best advice to a poor region would be to foster an anti-western, preferably islamic, insurgency. That would be the most certain way to attract America's attention and help.

My Beautiful Ninjette

Waking in midsummer,
it purrs... let's go, see!
Awareness is rewarded.

Wall Street Rag

Rupert Murdock is going to buy the Wall Street Journal. Murdock made his money the old fashioned way: pandering to the lowest instincts of greed & lust. His tabloids feature pictures of bare-breasted women – or so I'm told by bold promises on the front page. The greed part should fit perfectly into the WSJ's single-minded focus on the next quarter's results (damn the company once I've made mine). The lust part? Well, maybe we'll see the girls, just portrayed in the WSJ's favored dotted drawing art.

The Pull of Horses

Over a dozen teams competed in the horse pull contest held at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. Each 'team' consists of a big guy and 2 huge horses that pull a sled loaded with over 5 tons of concrete blocks – plus or minus a few hundred pounds. Some horses step, others lunge; some drivers hook and go, others seem more nuanced; some smaller teams out pull bigger teams. It rained a bit, which helped the sled slide but hurt the horses' hoofing (footing?). Early pulls went over 20 feet but then it stopped raining and the mud turned sticky but the footing remained treacherous. The last pulls were just over 3 feet, 2 feet and 1 foot for 1st 2nd and 3rd places. It is a rare treat to see the teamwork of the driver and two beautiful animals at the limit of their ability. Excitement with 'just' 2 horsepower!

Remember the Main!... criminal

Nothing is more damaging to the prestige of the US than the simple fact that Osama bin Laden remains at large and still dangerous, nearly 6 years after masterminding the deaths of thousands of Americans. Never in history has such a blow remained unpunished without exposing an effete and corrupt victim-state. Rome destroyed Spartacus and his rebel army; even the new American republic brought the Barbary pirates to heel from half a world away. Yet this tragically misguided administration spends its minuscule credibility and tiresome rhetoric claiming that leaving Iraq without “finishing the job” will weaken America. Iraq was a blunder, but Hussein is deposed and it is (and was) free of WMD. We're done there. Let's get back to job #1.

Render Scooter Extraordinary

Scooter Libby's prison sentence for perjury was commuted by President Bush. Problem is, we still don't know the truth in the case. Did Cheney order the identification of the covert CIA agent? If the commutation keeps Libby from telling what he knows, it effectively obstructs justice.

This White House Gang is enamored of "enhanced interrogation" (torture) as a means of encouraging disclosure and discovering the truth. They initiated a policy of "extraordinary rendition", where prisoners are shuttled to friendly regimes with unfriendly thugs on their payroll. It's a sad and bizarre twist that Homeland Defense could be procurers for sadists. But Cheney fervently defends the value of these "methods" in obtaining the truth.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Flip flop flip

Bush, our global village idiot, was on the world stage again this weekend. He entertained the president of Russia, Vladimir (Vlad the Paler) Putin at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport. Remember how at their first meeting W claimed to have seen into Putin's soul? Bush said "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialog. I was able to get a sense of his soul".

Then their relationship soured, not surprising given their job pressures and the geographic challenge. And mutual accusations of dalliances with fascists or neoimperialists can be so hurtful if taken personally.

Now they seem to have rekindled the spark. We know that the dauphin W (the infant) can be temperamental, perhaps even fickle. At least we can be reasonably confident that with adult supervision of his dad and chaperon, King George the 41st, W's penchant for looking deep into Putin's eyes and soul won't get out of hand. Not that there would be anything wrong with consenting adults baring their... souls. They can play together fishing and speedboating around, then the former head of the KGB can return to his fiefdom secure in the knowledge that the world's only remaining superpower really is run by a fool. Maybe he can save the trip and just pull petals off a flower, pondering whether W loves me, he loves me not...

War, attended by Ignorance and Lies.

The first casualty of war is truth.
- Hiram W. Johnson

The heavens are changing. Pluto recently lost its standing among the planets. The pronunciation of Uranus was changed to reduce the giggle factor (no, children! Accent the first syllable, schwa 'a'!). Maybe it's time to modernize the personifications accompanying Mars.

Mars, named for the Roman god of war because of it's reddish tint, has moons that were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall. He named them Phobos (panic/fear) and Deimos (terror/dread) after characters in Greek mythology who accompanied their father, the god of war, into battle. There's been practically no reaction to Bush's 'hot air' about sending a man to Mars (in defiance of Newton's laws of motion). Well, I say we send him there in spirit. Let's rename the moons Bush (Ignorance) and Cheney (Lies).

Legislate in haste and forget-about-it.

Fitful attention is all this administration can muster. Invade Iraq? Brilliant! Let's do it! Prescription drug program? Brilliant! Let's do it! Go to Mars? Bring peace to the middle east? Reform immigration? It's like a mediocre student who wants to be valedictorian but doesn't do their homework and regularly rushes to complete term assignment in the last days of the semester. The most likely to succeed, not!

Inadequate preparation, abbreviated debate, and legislation quickly passed through a compliant Congress, this is what happened with Iraq and prescription drugs. Both are now seen as expensive mistakes. Immigration reform seems to be headed toward the same fate. As with prescription drugs, we hear that the politics are complicated and that building a majority requires quick, quiet deals. More likely, a good deal requires consistency, compromise, and caution.

Indy Grand Prix

Grand Prix, or Formula 1 (F1), racing may be the sole annual event with venues in Monte Carlo, Monaco and Indianapolis, Indiana. The contrast between the glamor of international set that constitutes F1 and the “simple life” of the American mid-west is certainly dramatic but not troubling or sad as it is some F1 venues, such as Brazil, where much of the local community is desperately poor. "Rednecks" and red Ferraris mix pretty well.

This year, the buzz was all about Lewis Hamilton, a 22 year old rookie from England who is leading the driver's championship after 7 races. No rookie has ever come close to starting so strongly. His story would strain credulity if it came from Hollywood. His parent split when he was young but his father remained close. He noticed his son's extraordinary hand-eye coordination and worked as many as 3 jobs concurrently to afford race training and equipment. This product of the true working-class is now on top of the world's most exclusive, expensive, and glamorous sport, earning a salary in the millions. At the risk of going over-the-top, add this to his story: his brother, who suffers cerebral palsy, attends most of his races. This is a screenplay for a heart-warming movie that practically writes itself.

At Indy, Lewis Hamilton earned the pole position and then, on a blazingly hot day, after nearly 2 hours of precise driving mere seconds ahead of his teammate and current world champion, he won the US Grand Prix. Congratulations! And best of luck in the next 10 races of the F1 season.

Sad Score

U.S. and NATO forces killed more civilians in Afghanistan this year than did the "bad guys" (203 vs. 178). The count comes from the Associated Press because the US Department of Defense does not report these figures. I hope they actually do keep count, and are simply too embarrassed to release it, because that would mean they take seriously this key aspect of the war. This is no way to win the battle for hearts and minds.

Accept victory... now get to work!

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities." - Winston Churchill

This has never been more true than today, with Bush acknowledging global warming and proposing to curb greenhouse gases and the SecDef admitting that poverty and hopelessness can breed extremism and bolster terrorists.

Now it's time to start the work that has been delayed or reversed for 7 years. The Democrats and true conservative Republicans should stop arguing, accept that they won, write laws that incorporate and apply these concessions, and send them to Bush for signature...

"The problems of victory are more agreeable than the problems of defeat, but they are no less difficult." - Winston Churchill

Tyrannosaurus Bush

One characteristic of Bush administration officials has been their reluctance to leave office. Rumsfeld had to be pushed, hard. Wolfowitz finally left only after months of fighting and pleading. Gonzales will have to be dragged out of the Department of “Justice”. The Worst may be still to come.

Remember how Bush gained office – losing the popular vote but stealing the electoral college by stopping the recount in Florida. James Baker was thawed (partially), reanimated, and won his sole diplomatic victory – not over a foreign power but over the archenemy Democrats. They told the Supreme Scalia to stay the recount then convinced a bare Court majority to stop it. This gang has no compunction about bending the laws and discarding convention to consolidate their hold on power.

They now confront a clear Constitutional barrier – no third term – and popular disgust (“negatives” triple their “positives”). They could nuance the first by flipping the top 2 spots but then the negatives grow worse. A gap of 20% is just too much; it was tough enough overcoming the popular vote in 2000 and gaining a few crucial percentages in Ohio in 2004.

So here's the scenario: uncover a massive terrorist plot and declare marshal law. They've been rehearsing the script with trumped up charges against Walter Mitty terrorists in Florida, New Jersey, and New York. These groups did not have any bombs or even small arms. Think what would happened if Homeland Security zealots “found” a dirty bomb in Chicago or LA? The “protect us from evil” people would bleat for a strong shepherd, no questions asked. Enter Bush, tyrant and savior. Cheney will declare marshal law, then backdate an order signed by Bush. Or not bother.

Let's make sure these dinosaurs go extinct on schedule.

Richardson 2008: Pitcher Perfect

Bill Richardson was interviewed for a full hour by Tim Russert on Meet the Press (see it here). There were a few uncomfortable moments, as Richardson tried to explain some contradictory comments he has made over his years in the public eye. He admitted to changing his mind some times. I think he did a pretty good job of explaining his positions or explaining why he changed his mind. He admitted to making mistakes. He has taken “nuanced” positions that are not politically straightforward but probably the most sensible: for nuclear power and renewable energy, for some gun controls and against others.

You have to be impressed by his experience not only as a governor and an international diplomat, but also as Secretary of Energy, which is the crux of our national security and our economic future.

Perhaps his most telling comment was that he had to quit his baseball career because he ruined his arm pitching “too many curve balls”. That's a perfect preparation for politics! He even convinced me that he was a Boston Red Sox fan who would love to play for the NY Yankees. That's good preparation for bringing together “blue” and “red” Americans, and maybe the rest of the world.

Indy 500

Though the Indianapolis 500 mile race can no longer claim to be a premier event in motorsports, it's claim of being the “greatest spectacle in racing” is probably legitimate. As a kid, I got to go to the “time trials” (qualifying) and I remember it fondly 40 years later. I went again this year. Former tennis great and Indy neophyte Billy Jean King said it right: the speed and the noise are amazing and they are simply lost on the television.

This race track is huge. At 2.5 miles around, it is about 15 times longer and wider than the biggest football stadium. You can only see about a third of the track at any one time and the cars cover this third in less than 15 seconds, which boggles the mind when you see it (the arrow in the picture points to a race car in corner 4). The amazing noise as the cars pass by communicates the enormous physical forces at work. (I recommend earplugs.) And the people – fellow spectators and workers – were great. I don't know if I could tolerate the crowd of 400,000 people that attend the race on the Memorial Day weekend, but maybe so, maybe so.

TV is just fine for the great traditions of the race. My favorites are Jim Neighbors singing“Back Home Again, in Indiana” before the start and, at the end, the winning driver being offered a bottle of milk to drink. None of that silly spraying around and wasting great Champaign.

Next time, let's hire a gardener...

...or maybe a carpenter, someone who actually builds or grows something in their spare time. Not another cowboy actor or wanna-be rancher who "clears brush".

Tenet's untenable case

It's certainly sad when an willful idiot (Bush) and craven criminal (Cheney) control the country. It's particularly pitiful on a personal level when a well-intentioned and seemingly intelligent person (George Tenet) can deny reality so petulantly and persistently in the face of overwhelming contrary facts. He said in his "60 Minutes" interview that the Bush gang was disturbingly keen on linking Hussein to 9/11, despite abundant contrary evidence. We can believe this because Richard Clarke said the same thing several years ago. Yet Tenet's recognition of this misguided obsession didn't deter him from joining the gang's effort to support a war against Iraq. He also claimed he had believable reports post-9/11 that Al-Qaeda possessed nuclear materials and was planning to use them in the US. This information justified in his mind the use of torture and he said these techniques blocked attacks. Correction: he denies that the CIA used torture, delicately preferring instead “enhanced interrogation” but the distinction is moot since waterboarding was one of the "enhanced" techniques.

Incredibly, after helping lead the country to a foolish and immoral war, this guy can still spout off about “honor” and how “intelligence” was his job, so the interviewer should just accept his assertions. Did Tenet watch Jack Nicholson's misguided Colonel in “A Few Good Men” a few times too many?

In case you forgot, Tenet sat right behind Colin Powell, the other big disappointment of this fiasco, when he presented to the UN the trumped-up argument for war against Hussein. Tenet still defends a National Intelligence Estimate that was over hyped. Someday, he will probably come to his senses and admit culpability. I hope so, for the sake of his own conscience. It will be too late, just like it was too late when the former Secretary of State Robert McNamara admitted his guilt for Vietnam. Or Tenet might simply go on believing he was right, like Kissinger, proudly and profitably and pitifully ignorant to the end of his days.

See also “Tortured Logic” for a rebuttal of the "reason" for using torture to extract information.

Suburban Sprawl, Global Warming, and Childhood Obesity

These trends are linked. People, especially parents, move to sprawling suburban communities for lower taxes, more land, and perceived safety. These enclaves are cut off from the “sidewalk grid” linking older, more urban communities. It is this grid that enables walkers and bikers to actually get somewhere, such as the store, school, gym, or library, instead of just going in circles for recreation. To get anywhere, the enclave adults have to drive and the kids have to be driven.

The extra lawn in these developments is often just enough to justify the purchase of a small tractor lawnmower, contributing more greenhouse gases. City properties are usually small enough that even a manual push mower could do the job and the exercise could save a trip to the gym. Parents may think their kids will play more on more land but that does not seem to correlate.

Being isolated in individual cul-de-sacs, kids must be driven to events at school, for sports, for other classes and even for playdates, adding tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Simultaneously, the kids are not getting that extra exercise that comes from biking or walking or skipping to the school, the practice field, or their neighbor's house. Their movements must be planned and choreographed to accommodate the parental shuttle service.

Sprawling to evade taxes? Dream on. Sprawl just transfers taxes from property taxes, which pay for schools, aforementioned sidewalks, and other social benefits, to gasoline tax. Just an extra 10 miles each way, each day, for 200 working days per year adds up to 4,000 miles per year. At an optimistic 20 mpg, that's 200 gallons and $600. Sure, only part of that is actual federal tax, but does that distinction really make you feel better?

If every family could walk or bike for just 2 trips per week instead of using the car, the US would be independent of foreign energy, thousands of tons of greenhouse gases would be saved, we would be a little healthier, we would know our neighbors and environment a little better, and we could each be about a pound lighter each year. It would be especially nice if many people did this because we would see our neighbors, and not just their cars, more often. But don't wait for everyone to do it... you can do this on your own!

See also “My Car, My Carapace” for an older, related rant.

Blacksburg, briefly Baghdad

The killing of 32 people at Virginia Tech has shocked Americans. The sudden loss of so many vigorous, talented, and promising young adults is deeply saddening. The brief biographies of the students and teachers reveal how truly remarkable these people were and helps personalize the loss.

Is this also a "teachable moment"? We've grown accustomed to hearing about scores of Iraqis killed in the violence triggered by our immoral, illegal, and incompetent invasion. During the occupation, the Iraqis have suffered greater losses than Blacksburg evey day. Imagine twice as many people killed, women and children and men, most of whom just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This comparison should serve not to minimize the loss at VT but rather to dramatize the mess we've made in Iraq.

Obediant Pirate

The most pitiful aspect of the Keith Richards story is not that he has the poor judgment to think his claim to have snorted his father's ashes makes a good joke. No, his eager repudiation is the most pathetic part. Here is a bona fide “bad boy” who could've just told Disney to keep their promotion money for “Pirates of the Caribbean” if they can't take a joke (or whatever). Instead, his feeble and futile attempt to regain their graces just makes himself look a fool and a sellout. What's next, Mick singing “I can't get no satisfaction... without AARP”?

Eating is an extension of politics by other means.

My grandparents happily bought Jaffa oranges because they respected Israel, they admired the way the Israelis “made the desert bloom”, and because the oranges taste great. I want to buy olive oil from Palestinian farmers in Gaza or the West Bank. It would feel a little like civil disobedience. I'll admit to a little ambivalence, however. They might increase product recognition by labeling the oil “72 virgins” instead of “extra virgin”.

Too many micromanagers

The Bush Leaguers say that the Congress shouldn't micromanage the war by placing conditions on the appropriations bills funding the war. Sure, spending is a blunt instrument for regulating behavior, as any parent can attest, but it's better than ignoring the problem. And the Congress could not do worse than the Bush League. The Administration claims to leave the conduct of the war to the Generals, then systematically purges those Generals who disagree with them. And they've been deeply involved in tactics, often seeking political gain or cover. When the Blackwater contractors were killed and mutilated by crowds in Fallujah, the administration responded by ordering the Marines to take the city. When the fighting proved bloody and slow, the administration ordered a halt to the offensive, before reaching it's objectives. That failure necessitated “Second Fallujah”, another bloody battle, which was delayed until immediately after the 2004 elections. That's major league micro-mis-management. We need a new manager.

I pledge not to watch

Heaven help us, PBS is having a pledge drive. Why not make one show featuring female Celts who, between energetic song and dance numbers, dispense informative and heart-warming anecdotes about how polar bears are inspired to get out of debt. I'd pay not to watch it. Ok, ok, I'd probably peek, since they're so darn fetching.

History repeats itself, muttering.

• Watergate had Deep Throat. All we get is deep vein thrombosis.
• They got “we have a cancer on the presidency”. We get “there’s a clot in the Vice President’s leg”.
• They had plumbers to stop leaks. We get a leaky "Scooter".
• They got “All the President’s Men”. We get Humpty-W-Dumpty for another 2 years.

…sigh…

Robbing Peter and Cheating Paul

Bush is traveling to Latin America next week and he's bringing as a gift the services of a U.S. Navy hospital ship. "You have a friend in the United States," he said, "we care about your plight."

What about the plight of the members of the US armed services, whom Bush promised 7 years ago that "help is on the way"? I suggest they sail that hospital ship up the Potomac and dock it in the Tidal Basin, across the mall from the White House, to care for the wounded warriors who need help now more than ever.

Iran Improv

There's a good reason why people aren't reassured by the Bush administration's protestations that they are not planning to attack Iran. After all, they didn't plan much before attacking Iraq.

Twin Towers' Twins

We must rebuild the World Trade Center as soon as possible. It is irrelevant whether it ever serves again as an office building. We must perform restorative plastic surgery on one of the world's great skylines, replacing what was stolen from one of the world's great cities. The proposed replacements, a spire, a twisted tower, whatever, are like replacing a nose with an ear: what might look fine in it's place looks hopelessly out of place. Let's not leave this gash as a testimony to the terrorists' misguided act. Upon viewing the city's skyline now, our eyes are drawn southward to answer: pre- or post-9/11? We must again be able to view the city without the pang of the missing towers. It is far better that we only wonder: are they the originals or their twins?

“Come, take them”

With these words, the outnumbered Greeks at Thermopylae answered the invading Persians' demand that they give up their weapons. Facing overwhelming odds, the Greeks gave their lives to defend their way of life. For inspiration and bravado, their response sure beats “bring it on” and even the succinct but practically illiterate “nuts”.

Two and a half millennia later, the East and West are still struggling. Now, though the odds are reversed, when Islamic extremists demand we give up our freedoms the Bush administration says “Here, have them”.

"Just following orders", NOT!

The judgments in the Nuremberg trials all rejected the Nazi's defense that they were "just following orders". Though a form of "victor's justice", these judgments did establish a precedent that was applied, belatedly, to some atrocities committed by Americans in Vietnam.

U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada refused to go to Iraq because he believes the war is illegal. His court martial was recently declared a mistrial. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that this administration and it's thuggish Department of Justice will reverse 6 years of persistent, pervasive abuse of prosecutorial discretion that has produced, thankfully, very few guilty verdicts. If only the CIA agents now under indictment in Italy and Germany for their roles in the illegal "extraordinary renditions" (torture) had been willing to accept personal responsibility. If enough soldiers and officials have the courage to refuse inhuman, immoral, or illegal orders, the war will stop.

Obama, '08, Oh yeah!

Senator Barack Obama announced yesterday that he is running for President of the United States. He made his announcement in Springfield Illinois, echoing the “house divided” theme sounded 150 years ago by another tall, skinny lawyer from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Acknowledging it was "an improbable quest", he echoed another noble hero, Don Quixote. Improbable, but not impossible. Obama has already survived 2 years of growing expectations, which started at impossible heights when he first introduced himself to the country in an electrifying speech before the Democratic Convention in 2004. Beats there a heart so cynical that it doesn't thrill to this man, his potential, and what it could mean to healing our country and our world?

Most politicians are either rhetorically inspiring or rationally convincing. Obama manages to be both, appealing to the emotions and the mind. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the fact that he so clearly embodies his core message of unity, being black and white. Enough pop psychology! This is a clearly healthy and self aware unity.

If you want to learn more about his ideas and thinking, listen to his weekly podcast, a brief monologue on a single issue of national importance (direct from the Senate site or on Apple iTunes). Though I disagreed with his vote against confirming Roberts, I had to concede that he made good points in support of his decision. He has a very good grasp of politics and even seems to have a mature perspective on his charisma. Though only a junior Senator, his opinion is clearly respected by his colleagues and even by the Administration.

We need another Lincoln. His announcement comes on a day when the dictator of Russia, Putin, could rationally charge that the US was reigniting the nuclear arms race. Electing Obama President could be the first step on a long journey of healing the divisions – domestic and international - that have been exploited and made worse by the current administration.

Percy Julian, Chemist and Pioneer

Nova, the PBS science program, had a wonderful show on Percy Julian, Ph.D., a great chemist whose life in the early 20th century demonstrated the best in human nature and some of the worst in American racism.
The highs and lows are dramatic and extreme: a childhood revelry in nature ended with him encountering the victim of a lynching. He was denied a high school education because he is an African American but his teacher parents kept him learning. With a 10th grade education, he enrolled as a subfreshman at DePauw and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and top of his class. Then his grandmother showed him her scars from slavery. He went to Vienna to pursue his doctorate; both his science and social life flowered. Upon his return to America, racism was exploited by colleagues and competitors who wanted to hurt him.
In addition to a few merely important molecules, this man synthesized progesterone and cortisone. PROGESTERONE and CORTISONE, two of the most important drugs in the 20th century! These syntheses are landmarks in organic chemistry and pharmacology. Progesterone is key to birth control pills and cortisone is a very important anti-inflammatory. Why is Percy Julian's name not well known? Thank you, Nova and PBS, for this wonderful show about an impressive human being.

Bears + Colts = Super Bowl XLI

It's hard to choose a favorite in today's game. Usually, you like or dislike one team. I like both because they are great teams with winning personalities characterized by enthusiasm and hard work, qualities often in short supply among pro teams. The record-setting Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning, has never even been in the Super Bowl before. The young Bears quarterback, Rex Grossman, has struggled publicly without losing his spirit. The coaches, Lovey Smith and Tony Dungy, are the first black head coaches in the Super Bowl. They are apparently also nice guys, not the yelling curmudgeons who have set the recent pattern. The rain brings some gritty reality to what can sometimes be a sterile game. The weather also makes the ball slippery, leading to 4 turnovers in the first half and some added excitement. Just a couple points separating the teams after the first half.

The half time entertainer is the once and future Prince. I hope his guitar is grounded in the driving rain! Or am I naïve and everything is just acting to a recording? It certainly looks real.... The only other risk of a wardrobe malfunction would be losing his do-rag. There it goes, off into the crowd. Purple Rain in the rain – cool! Probably would've been good in fair weather but it was awesome in these conditions.
Colts are looking good in the first drive of the second half. Let's hope the second half is as good as the first. About half the commercials are worth watching - the job search company is best so far. Time to enjoy!

You say “potatoe”

Flora Lewis in the New York Times has an article on the slide toward “idiocracy”, news from Bethlehem. We shouldn't be surprised. W misses no chance to proclaim his desire to expand “dumbocracy” in the world. But for their ineptitude, I'd be worried about his equally fervent war on “tourists”. Now, can anyone figure out what “noo-kuler” means?

Why not?

Jimmy Carter wrote " Why Not the Best?” when he was running for president, 30 years ago. Carter appealed to the best in Americans – and it certainly seemed we could do better than the criminality of Nixon or the tawdriness of Ford's pardon. Nobody doubted the ability of Nixon or the decency of Ford. After 6 years of George W. Bush, the bar has been set on its lowest rung. Presidential candidates can now shorten their appeal to “why not?”

Reagan succeeded Carter in a landslide. The old actor Reagan could not distinguish script from history – he believed, because he had seen a film, that he helped liberate Nazi death camps – but his directors could. They kept Reagan from doing anything profoundly stupid. Sure, they made bad movies, err, moves, such as Granada, Lebanon, and Iran Contra, but they were small budget, indie junk that his hard-core fans loved anyway. They had some lucky timing with big box office hits like the Berlin Wall but just as importantly, no mega-flops.

Bush is the apotheosis of Reaganism. Bush is the cheerleader who wants to be the Gipper, the hero, the decider. In this fantasy, Bush is a self-made man. The actual plot line is more prosaic: prodigal son follows dad into the family business. But he does more than just talk tough, buy weapons, and saber rattle: he starts a war, dons a flight suit, and declares he is bringing freedom to the oppressed of the world. Rewrite! Make that “oppressed-with-proven-oil-reserves of the world”. His agents know the domestic market perfectly. Sadly, they have a weak grasp on reality and, except for one plucky British distributor, have failed in the overseas market. They mired us in a long and draining war because they thought it was a really neat idea. A "high concept" idea can have perfect pitch over brunch then bomb like an improvised explosive device in the marketplace. You can put lipstick on a pig like “no child left behind” but no amount of makeup will make up for the hole in families and communities caused by the Iraq debacle.

Could we do worse? I doubt it. But I thought the same about Reagan.

Seeing Eye to Eye

This American soldier photographed in the home of an Iraqi family looks like a cyborg - depersonalized with amour, helmet, and sunglasses. The armor is indispensable but the sunglasses, inside? The effect is apparently intentional, since Americans in Iraq favor the mirrored type of sunglasses that mask their eyes with metallic shields. Although depersonalization is intimidating and potentially useful. it also increases the separation between Americans and Iraqis. If we want to be viewed as liberators and partners instead of occupiers and exploiters, let them see it in our eyes.

Game Theory

"The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton” (attributed to the Duke of Wellington)

How do the games we Americans play influence us? The most popular game in the world is “football”, which Americans call soccer. One of the most popular games in America is “football”, a different game in which the foot rarely touches the ball. Let's compare these games.

• Attention: Soccer has very few interruptions. Football is mostly interruptions. There are only about 5 seconds of activity in every 30 seconds of game time. There are also as many as 12 time-outs per game. A 90 minute soccer game takes about 2 hours. A 60 minute football game takes about 3 hours. Football cheerleaders may help regain flagging attention. The other great American pastime, baseball, is even worse in this respect. A baseball game is an eternity of near-perfect inactivity, interrupted with brief spasms of action by only a few of the players.
• Identity: You can see the faces and bodies of the soccer players. Football players are helmeted and padded to such an extent that they can only be identified by their numbers.
• Initiative: Soccer is free flowing, so individual improvisation and spontaneous cooperation are essential. In contrast, football is highly scripted. The responsibility for a football “play” is distributed among coordinators, coaches, and players.
• Winning: Soccer is low scoring. There is no way to score more than 1 point at a time and even a single score can be crucial. There is no way to score only 1 point in football. Football scores are more than 10 times higher than soccer scores. Most important, soccer accepts a tie score while football goes to great lengths to avoid ties.

Soccer is better training for real life than is football. We need diligence, improvisation, cooperation, and personal responsibility to succeed in life. And success is often really just a battle to a draw against similarly motivated and inspired colleagues and competitors. Americans are trained to engage the world with the goal of winning, quickly, in a discrete round of negotiations or warfare. Instead, a long term, flexible engagement and accepting ties might be more appropriate and productive. And where are the cheerleaders in real life? Football is a great game but it may be poor preparation for life.

King Conscience

One year before he was murdered, Martin Luther King spoke out against America's war in Vietnam “because”, he said, “my conscience leaves me no other choice”. King was compelled to speak out against “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government.” It was a difficult decision because he alienated President Johnson, who advanced civil rights laws and applied Federal government power to protect civil rights. He also knew that his stance would risk dividing the civil rights movement. But he listened to his conscience.

The parallels with Iraq are striking.

The Iraqis, like King said of the Vietnamese, “must see Americans as strange liberators". We helped liberate the Vietnamese from Japanese imperialism only to allow the return of French colonialism. Similarly, we liberated the Iraq from decades of tyranny under Saddam Hussein only to allow it to descend into violence that eclipses even Saddam's reign.

The people of the Middle East today, just as King said of the Vietnamese then, “may have justifiable reason to be suspicious of the good faith of the United States”. Our overweening obsession with oil is self evident and morally blinding.

The Bush administration would substitute “anti-terrorism” for civil rights, yielding “peace and anti-terrorism don't mix”. King said those who offer such false choices “do not know the world in which they live”. Bush's blundering misadventures has cost America much of the admiration and trust of the rest of the world. This has made the world a more dangerous place for all free thinking people.

Rename the Baghdad “Green Zone” a big “hamlet” and this quote is accurate today in Iraq:

“Now there is little left to build on -- save bitterness. Soon the only solid physical foundations remaining will be found at our military bases and in the concrete of the concentration camps we call fortified hamlets.”

You can imagine a Sunni or Shiite leader echoing the sentiment of a Vietnamese Buddhist leader, quoted by King:

"Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism."

King's invocation of scripture concluded like current opinions of Bush's desperate 'plan' to increase troops in Iraq:

“Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: 'Too late.'"

In this speech, King explicitly accepted his role as a preacher. He delivered his message with the force of convictions that he lived. Please follow the link above to his brilliant, moving, and still relevant speech. I like this photograph because he seems to be looking at us. Let's learn the lesson our King taught us: listen to your conscience.

iNewton

If anyone other than Apple announced a new cell phone, nobody would pay much attention. Improbably, Apple not only met, but actually exceeded enormous expectations when it announced the iPhone (figure). What CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated was clear evidence that they had thought deeply about how a phone should work. We all have phones with functions that we've never managed to figure out how to use. Or, having finally figured out how to do something by reading the manual or touring the menus, we forgot the trick by the next time. Apple has applied its design magic to the physical form and the human “interface”, making a phone that looks great and works the way you'd expect.

Full disclosure: I own a little – too little – Apple stock. I also own a little – enough – Motorola stock. I've always admired Moto's advanced technology and, lately, its style. Unfortunately, its phones have often been marred by mediocre software. Also, all cell phones have been crippled by the telephone service providers because the carriers want to sell their own services. Apple, in contrast, had the clout to get Cingular/ATT to actually add support for functions. Oddly, the iPhone has been criticized (already) for not allowing even more, "third party" applications. This criticism is silly because the iPhone comes with standard applications that are years ahead of the competition and because nobody adds applications to their iPod or current cell phone, anyway.

I was hoping for an ultraportable tablet computer from Apple. I figured, who needs another phone? Well, the new iPhone is essentially an updated Newton (lower figure), a small tablet/personal data assistant (PDA) that was way ahead of it time when Apple produced it over a decade years ago. The Newton didn't have cell phone, wireless internet, or bluetooth (short range) connections. There's a very good reason why these were missing on the Newton: they either rare (cell phones) or non-existent at the time. I had one and despite its limitations, the Newton was still a very useful device. Now the iPhone is the Newton, perfected. iWant.