Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40 (KJV)

Dr. King worked for justice, most famously and successfully in the struggle for civil rights in the USA. Before he was killed, he was expanding the effort to help poor whites as well as blacks. He was connecting the Christian message of mercy with the circumstances in America and abroad. He spoke out against the US involvement in Vietnam. He challenged the comfortable cooperation of many mainstream Christian churches with imperial, capitalist America. He was threatening to throw the money changers out of the temple.

On the night before he died, he made a speech in which he seems to have prophesied his own death. Close associates wondered whether he had a premonition. He summarized an inspired survey of history by saying that this, now was his time. He concluded the brilliant speech with this:

"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me togo up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Who could read or hear this without a thrill and a sadness, strangely mixed? He echoes Christ's plea and submission to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matt. 26:39. They were young men, only in their 30's, but both were threats to the state. The Romans did their killing in public. Pontius Pilot even tried to wash his hands of the proceedings in public. We Americans count on lone gunmen to do the job, so a quick rinse will do, in private.

It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. MLK, Memphis, April 3, 1968, last public speech.

Education: it's cheaper than ignorance

In most areas of government we happily throw money at problems. Too much traffic? Spend $700 billion on roads! Moribund manned space program? Buy a trip to Mars! Afraid of a flu pandemic? Spend $7 billion looking for a vaccine! Worried about missiles? Blow $100 billion on “Star Wars”. It's only in education where we appreciate the simpler pleasures of working harder and doing more with less.

Situationally frugal politicians often cite the failure of money to make a difference in some, consequently infamous, instances (read: Washington DC public schools). Since when did failure discredit anything in the eyes of politicians? We spend enormous amounts on the roads every year and traffic worsens every year but we still spend more every year. We simply accept that it might be even worse if we didn't. More importantly, they ignore the overwhelming majority of the cases where money is correlated with success. Of course, nothing will succeed like an involved parent or guardian. But does anyone seriously doubt that reducing the student-to-teacher ratio would help?

Even the US Chamber of Commerce, not a particularly progressive organization, is now alarmed at the state of education in the US. They'd rather continue to simply import and hire well-educated foreigners, but the Congress is threatening to limit these visas. If we hope to educate workers born in the USA, then we better do more than just test them. Maybe we should invest in our futures and put our money where our hopes are.

Scoundrel Act

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. - Samuel Johnson

Extension of the Patriot Act is being 'debated' in Congress. We'll keep this question simple so that even politicians can understand: which provision of the Act would've prevented 9/11? Any other provisions should be removed. I'd bet there'd be little if anything left of the bill.

And here's a handy guide to legislation: if the name of the bill tries to suggest that opponents must be heathens or idiots, the law is probably bad. You can bet that the unintended consequences of the "Motherhood and Apple Pie Act" would make apples unaffordable and send mom to the salt mines.

Courage under Fire in DC

The US armed forces are advertising for recruits. They could not hope for a better "poster boy" than General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His behavior is exactly what the military aspires to: spontaneous courage and morality.

Courage under fire is an abstract concept for most of us, thankfully, but courage to correct your boss? That's something we can all appreciate and admire. It must be especially hard for a military man, who is presumably accustomed to following orders. In this case, the General corrected the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, a boss already shown to punish those who disagree with him. Fortunately, General Pace recognizes that his real boss is the American people and, ultimately, his own soul.

Rumsfeld, the moral dwarf, had said that the responsibility of American military was to report any torture they observed. Pace demurred, stating that "it is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it" (emphasis added). General Pace courageously defended his position in the face of Rumplestiltskin's fierce attempt to "correct" or clarify the serviceman's responsibility.

It's a sad state of affairs when it takes personal courage to be moral. This administration is the most deceitful and vindictive since Nixon's. It will be interesting to see how the Pentagon and administration toadies, who seem to outnumber those with backbones, will respond.

Buying into an Ownership Society

The Republicans talk about an ‘ownership society’. The concept is that owners take care of their property. When Jack Kemp says it, it means empowering the poor and middle class to invest and build, simultaneously enriching everybody. When the Bush administration says it, they really means the owner’s society: deforming social security and giving more to the super rich.

Why don’t the politicians start with something relatively simple: like implementing the ownership society in government? The federal budget is incomprehensibly big – what’s another $100 million for a bridge or $10 billion for a weapon? To make things understandable, we should know where our tax dollars are going, what exactly we are buying. Someday, we should be able to choose what we want to ‘own’. Do you want your family's taxes to buy 10 minutes operating costs for a submarine or 6 months salary for a border patrol officer? People might soon ask the real questions, like just who is the sub protecting us from?

This is actually an old idea. Rich Athenians bought triremes for their navy and bought art for public places. Those ships were likely built on budget and the art was probably better than the wall coverings that now pass for public art.

Tortured Logic

Apologists for torturers are fond of the ‘ticking time bomb’ example. Their favorite scene: your prisoner knows the details about a bomb that is planted somewhere in the city and will explode soon. They contend that the urgent danger justifies using torture to extract information. Let’s examine their case.

The dilemma hinges on knowing the prisoner is guilty. We need to add a few real-world details. Just how exactly do you know there is a bomb?
* Did the prisoner tell you? Maybe the prisoner just wants to cause panic.
* Did one of your own people tell you? How can they be sure?
* Did someone else tell you? Maybe this person is lying. Or maybe they know more than they are telling you. Clearly, their credibility is weak if they were members of the terrorist organization. How likely is it that you know your prisoner is a terrorist and you know that a bomb is ticking but you don't know where or when?

The case for torture fails on another logical point. If torture succeeds in making the prisoner say where the bomb is, then you stop the torture while the information is confirmed. This takes time. A lie is as good as the truth to stop the pain, while (putative) the bomb keeps ticking.

Finally, two brief mentions. First, the experts (Israelis) don’t believe that short-term torture is effective. Second, nobody would prosecute an agent who kills a would-be assassin, so certain exceptions are made. There is no benefit to legalizing torture. Experts recommend drugs and psychology, not torture, to get the truth.

Cruise in for a Bruisin’

After 20+ years of stardom, Tom Cruise is in deep trouble. What was that boy thinking advising Brooke Shields on her response to postpartum depression? I’m a guy, so what do I know, but I’ve heard and read that most people, especially female people, will ask for advice if they want it. Don’t hold your breath, buddy. What make it worse in this case is that Brooke Shields seems to be a thoughtful person. So rule #1 (since you ask): no unsolicited advice. This rule is carved in granite when you are biologically incapable of literal sympathy (same feelings).

Probably 80% of Tom’s fans are female. I’m a guy, so what do I know? I loathed Top Gun and Risky Business was ridiculous but A Few Good Men showed promise and Born on the Fourth of July was brave and brilliant. And he’s been very good in many other films. But this isn’t about his development into a fine actor. This is about his being a Movie Star. His latest, War of the Worlds, was probably hurt by his personal appearances and comments. It won’t help that he fired his sister/agent. She didn’t get him in this trouble.

Now, he’s gone and said something stupid like “quiet!” to the mother of his child. Worse, he apparently believes she should be quiet while delivering their baby! Remember rule #1 in granite. Add mantra: I’m a guy, so I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ babies.

He can still recover so that this midlife crisis isn’t fatal to his career. He has to return to the basics: smile, laugh, and don’t take himself so seriously. If he wants to proselytize, run for elected office. It didn’t hurt Clint Eastwood with the right wingers (much) that he was mayer of a lefty town. Keep Good Morning America and Today for happy talk! But what do I know, I’m just a guy.