Haiku of earth sea and sky

This a magic place
No Witch, Wizard, Genie, Jin,
Just Technology

Yet a dark side here
From burning the rocks and tar
Poisons gas and heat

Nunuck bear home floats
Bed of ice on open sea
Melts nanuck to die

North Pacific Gyre
Toxic plastic looks like food
Bags we use but once

Turtle sees plastic
Floats like jelly but not food
Turtle eats to die

Death food in the sea
Dumb animals eat plastic bags
Why it look like food

We burn coal and oil
Mercury hot gas carbon
We burn rocks for heat

We strive for more stuff
Nuclear is still claimed safe
Safe if you are dead

Chesapeake near death
Algae grow on chicken waste
Oxygen all gone

Baby Orca dies
Endocrine system failure
PCB's in food

We kill for more stuff
Won't never have enough
We must kill for stuff

Iceberg floats submerged
Waters dance from ice to sea
Deep, Cold, Wild and True

Still waters run deep
Tuna Burgers Water Song
Breathe feel ride the waves

Children of the west
To live sustain the garden
Must learn harmony

The GOP Embraces Diversity

The GOP Embraces Diversity,

Omeha, NE, June 20.

Michael Steele, one of approximately 16,500 African Americans in the 55 million strong GOP, announced a new Diversity Initiative in the GOP. Steele intends to double the membership in the GOP. In doing so he will also double the number of African Americans, Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists (well, maybe not Moslems and atheists) by 2020. He will do this in part by bringing back Colin Powell. He acknowledged that if he doubles the membership of the GOP, and doubles the number of African Americans, Jews, and others their numbers, as a percentage will remain constant. "That's a statistic. And statistics," he said, "are for geeks."

Steele also intends to embrace homosexuals, figuratively, but not literally. "We will embrace gays, figuratively speaking, of course," he said.

The GOP is planning on hosting a Christian and Diverse Music Festival featuring the Village People, Mattisyahu, Bette Middler, and Bob Marley in Branson, Mo.

The precise demographic breakdown of the GOP is below. Steele acknowledge that the GOP is 99.48% white Christians, and even if the population of those others doubles, it will still be 99.04% white Christians. "This is America," he said. "We want to fit white in."

Total	Per 10,000	Percentage	Description
54,714,000	9948	99.48%	White Christians, including Evangelicals, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mormans, Greek Orthodox, and Hispanics of Cuban Origin
225,500	41	0.41%	Asians
16,500	3	0.03%	Hispanics, of non-Cuban origin
11,000	2	0.02%	Jews
16,500	3	0.03%	African Americans
5,500	1	0.01%	Asian Buddists
5,500	1	0.01%	Native Americans
5,500	1	0.01%	Athiests
55,000,000	10000	100.00%

Obama on Israel, The Holocaust, and the Palestinians, in Cairo, June 4, 2009.

Obama on Israel, The Holocaust, and the Palestinians, in Cairo, June 4, 2009.

Obama doesn't tell people what they want to hear; he tells people what they need to know.

Obama understands the ramifications of the Holocaust and the legitimacy of Israel perhaps better than I do. In 154 words (paragraphs 2 and 3, below) the President slammed Achmadinejad, neo-Nazis, other Holocaust deniers and the whole anti-Zionist movement into a brick wall.

Recognizing that the Palestinians have legitimate aspirations and a painful history, even if some of it was "brought about by Israel's founding" does not minimize or undermine Obama's support for Israel. Indeed, speaking the facts supports it. In the context of the painful history of the Palestinians, Obama used the phrase "brought about by Israel's founding." But this means that Israel's founding may have precipitated certain events which have come to pass in the history of the Palestinians. This does not mean that Israel or Israelis are directly responsible for those events. If I am driving and I stop at yellow light, knowing it is about to turn red, and someone in back of me rear ends me, they are at fault. I am not at fault, even tho my actions precipitated the collision.


Here's the excerpt from Pres. Obama's speech in Cairo, June 4, 2009, published on the Internet at WhiteHouse.gov. (Click here for the full speech)

"The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.

"America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

"Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed -- more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

"On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people -- Muslims and Christians -- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they've endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations -- large and small -- that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

"For decades then, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It's easy to point fingers -- for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security. (Applause.)

"That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. And that is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience and dedication that the task requires. (Applause.) The obligations -- the obligations that the parties have agreed to under the road map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them -- and all of us -- to live up to our responsibilities.

"Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed; that's how it is surrendered.

"Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist.

"At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. (Applause.) This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop. (Applause.)

"And Israel must also live up to its obligation to ensure that Palestinians can live and work and develop their society. Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be a critical part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

"And finally, the Arab states must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state, to recognize Israel's legitimacy, and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.

"America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and we will say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. (Applause.) We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.

"Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra -- (applause) -- as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer. (Applause.)

--
(I would, however, argue that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in Judaism and Jewish culture, Zionism started in the time of the Roman exile - long before Hertzl observed the Dreyfus trial in France, long before World War II. However, I would agree that the international political will to support Zionism came about after W W II. And the President was speaking in Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He was there to lecture on America and the world today, not Jewish history.)

Peace,

Self-Defense v Retribution

There appears to be a reactionary letter writing campaign (or is it a propaganda campaign) asking "What is wrong with waterboarding?" It's this: Waterboarding is torture. Torture is illegal. If you want to get philosophical, the responsibility to kill in self defense is not a right to rape in retribution. The former is the right of free citizens, the latter a prerogative of dictators, fascists, Stalinsts - of Hitler Youth, not Boy Scouts of America.

I wrote this, published in the Asbury Park Press, May 14, 2009:

Torture won't make us safer

What's wrong with Waterboarding? In a word, it's torture. It's illegal. It's immoral and it doesn't work. It won't keep us safe. In fact, it makes us less safe.

Torture is illegal. It violates the U.S. Constitution and precedents set by George Washington. During the American Revolution, while the British were torturing American soldiers, Washington refused to torture British soldiers our army captured. This gained us political allies in England even as we were fighting for our independence.

Torture is immoral. Torture is what the Nazis did in World War II. And the KGB and the communist Chinese.

Torture doesn't work. The victim will tell the torturer anything to get the pain to stop. Torture doesn't make us safer. The victims will hate us for the rest of their lives and want to exact revenge.

The way to stop terror is with good old-fashioned police work, just as the way to end war is with diplomacy.

The responsibility to kill in self defense is not a right to rape in retribution. Torture is illegal. Waterboarding is torture. Period.

My risking my life to protect my family is different than the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense and Attorney General and defining a policy in which they would violate the Constitution. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzales, etc ignored the 8/6/1 memo "Bin Laden preparing to Strike In US." After 9/11/1 they let bin Laden go in Tora Bora to target Saddam and Iraq's oil. They dropped the ball, left the US weak, and helped Achmadinejad - got rid of his enemy. Torture is punishment, not information gathering. Rather than justify torture as "it stopped beheadings" why not just kill the bastards? A bullet in the head is more effective than waterboarding. And why let bin Laden go? A bullet in his head would have been more effective than knocking off a two-bit dictator 1500 miles away.

But here's an important question. Do native born and naturalized US citizens who's parents are from India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka, etc. consider themselves American Indians? My parents - and my wife - were not born here. Yet, I'm an American. My kids are American. If my parents were Indian, Bengali, Pakistani, or from some other part of the sub-continent, I'd be an American Indian. As it is I'm a native American.

Even tho President Obama is an African American, prejudice and race remain problems. Colin Powell rose thru the ranks to very high positions. Condi Rice and Clarence Thomas prove that even incompetence is color blind (as long as it's politically expedient). America is changing. Mixed race couples don't raise an eyebrow. Same gender couples don't raise an eyebrow here, while in Baghdad and Gaza fathers are expected to kill their homosexual children, to preserve honor.

We're all the same under the skin. Compatible blood types, identical neurotransmitters, complimentary DNA. Every human from every culture recognizes smiles, joy, and tears. Those who don't hug, deep down, wish they could.

Montana: Big Sky, No Heart

Montana: "Big Sky Country." However, considering Senator Max Bacus behavior last week, it could also be considered "No Heart Country.” Bacus' conduct shows a contempt that Marie Antoinette and Dick Cheney would be proud of. The Senator from Montana makes me proud to be a citizen of New Jersey.

On Nov. 5, 2006 I saw Bill Clinton with Senator Robert Menendez in Newark. On Nov. 2, 2006, I saw Senator Menendez and Barack Obama speak at campaign rally in Hoboken. After hearing then-Senator Obama I called my father and said “I think I just saw the next President of the United States.” I heard Senator Menendez say "As a Representative in Congress I can't vote to support a war unless the war is in our national interest and unless I would send my own children to fight." This also makes me proud to reside in New Jersey. I am proud also that On Election night, 2008, I had the good luck to personally meet and congratulate Senator Lautenberg on his re-election, on the steps of the Helfrich in New Brunswick. A few minutes later, I watched President Obama’s victory address, and felt pride in my country, and pride in the small things I did to help President Obama’s campaign.

Barack Obama was not always my candidate of choice. Because of his position on medical care, I supported John Edwards. Medicare works well for my father. The equivalent works well, I understand, for every member of the House and Senate. And by the way, MY tax dollars pay for THEIR health care. As far as me, my health insurance costs almost as much as my mortgage. And just as my house is worth less than it used to be, my medical insurance covers less and less yet costs more and more.

Very few people seriously believe in "socialism" as opposed to free enterprise. The facts that before their system collapsed the Soviets copied American computer designs prove the value of the market. However, most people do understand that there are some facets of the economy that should be managed publicly. Law enforcement, for example. Private police forces and private armies are hallmarks of drug cartels and dictatorships. And medical care. The fact that 45 million Americans - which is almost one out of six - can't get access to health care is a terrible indictment of our system.

While campaigning for President, John McCain echoed George W. Bush and said "Anyone has access to health care - people can just go to the emergency room." While this is true, when people without health insurance go to the emergency room, the costs of their treatment are pushed onto the citizens. This implies a national health care policy. However, it's one that is poorly thought out, inefficient, and badly financed. And emergency rooms are not equipped to manage things like high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. They can't help you if you have diabetes - unless you're in a coma. If you have high blood pressure you're out of luck, until you have a heart attack or a stroke. And cancer - forget about it. And one other thing: John McCain is not the President. McCain lost the election! Americans voted for Barack Obama – his values and his policies!

Principles of Leadership

1. Focus, Hard Work, and Discipline win games, marathons, and wars. If it needs to be done, do it urgently, and do it well. If it doesn’t need to be done, don’t do it at all. If it needs to be done, and you can’t do it; find someone who can.
2. Keep Things Simple. Rube Goldberg’s designs could work – but were not meant to be implemented. Write clearly.Write clearly, with brevity and precision. Dickens was paid by the word. If you're not, then be brief.
3. The Journey Is An Adventure. However, it is not the only adventure. Beach Time Is Important.
4. Smile When You're Talking, Think Before You Speak, and Listen.
5. A good hand in a storm is irreplaceable, even when the sun is shining. Credentials show education. Experience shows knowledge, judgment, and the ability to work.
6. Challenge Talent, Reward Performance, Stimulate Creativity, and Accept Mistakes. Learn from mistakes, and move on. Punishing mistakes stifles performance and pushes talented creative performers out the door.
7. Negotiate in good faith. Or don't negotiate at all. Poker is winner-take-all. Business is better played win-win.
8. The Ends don't justify the means. And the means don't justify the ends. The President of the United States must obey the law.
9. Loyalty is a two-way street. Respect must be earned. People who kiss up and piss down are worthy of neither.
10. Assholes are full of shit. Shit flows downhill. If you work for an asshole . . .

Socialized Medicine Beats Anti-Social Medicine

Medical Insurance can cost $12,000 per year for a family if everyone's healthy. That's a new car every two or three years. Or every year. That's a down payment on a house. That's a mortgage. And that's ridiculous.

It's why Honda and Toyota are in better shape than GM, Ford, and Chrysler. The government takes care of the health care needs of Japanese auto workers – and everyone else.

We need a single payer system, or Medicare for all Americans.

People say this is "socialized" medicine. But the alternative - "anti-social" medicine - is terrible. Medicare works very well for everyone I know over 80. Insurance works poorly at best, whether you're employed, self-employed, or unemployed. I have friends who are out of work and who have no access to medical care, was there myself. When I was out of work I couldn't afford health insurance. (My kids were covered, thanks to Bill Clinton and SCHIP.)

There are some things that the government must do. Nobody believes that police and fire-fighters should be private for-profit companies. Private armies and private police forces are what you see in places like Iraq and Columbia.

Think of the national security implications. If I am near someone who is sick, and who can't go to the doctor – I'm exposed. I'm in danger. So's my wife, so're my kids. I have a family. As a father I don't want my kids exposed because some poor guy lost his job.

Bush and McCain actually said "We have a national health care policy - it's "Go to the Emergency Room."

This is great when you break your arm or get hurt. But it costs you and me more for some un-insured guy to go to the emergency room for a check-up then to go to see a physician in an office. And Emergency Rooms are not clinics. They can't do anything if you have high blood pressure or diabetes, unless you had a stroke or a heart attack or you're in a coma. And then it's too little to late.

Negawatts and Eco-Watts or Killer-Watts

Back in the late '1970's Amory Lovins, of the Rocky Mountain Institute coined the term "NegaWatts" to describe the energy that could be saved with conservation and efficiency. "The cheapest energy," he said, "and the cleanest energy is the energy you don't use."

Lovins' associate, Marvin Resnikoff, PhD, then teaching physics and environmental thinking at SUNY University of Buffalo and Rachel Carson College, used the term "nuclear constipation" to describe the nuclear waste problem. It's an apt metaphor - the waste doesn't go away.

We struggling not only with nuclear constipation, but carbon constipation. We burn carbon, liberate the energy in chemical bonds, to get from place to place, to heat and cool our homes, but the carbon doesn't go away. It goes into the air from under the ground. To paraphrase Al Gore,

We are borrowing from China to buy oil from the middle east and rip coal out of the ground to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. But enough wind blows through the midwest corridor in a day, enough sunlight falls on the earth in FORTY MINUTES to provide the power we need for a year.

Harnessing the wind, the sun, and the earth eliminates these problems. Rather than burning a fuel; wind, solar, geothermal harness a process. The sun shines whether or not we use solar panels to capture some photons. The wind blows regardless of our decision to use a few particles to spin a turbine. We are hitchin' a ride on a moving train.

This is the choice: Wind and Solar or Coal and Nuclear. "Negawatts and clean pure Eco-Watts or Deadly-Watts, Morta-Watts, Killer-Watts.

_____________________

Negawatt - unit of energy you don't use.
Ecowatt - unit of energy generated in a clean sustainable way, such as via solar power or wind power.
Killer-watt - unit of energy generated by burning or consuming fuel such as coal, oil, gas, or radioactive material.

Rachel Maddow - Tied Up With Coal Rope? Anthracite Handcuffs?

In Strasbourg, April 3, President Obama summed up the challenges we face:

"We know that the pollution from cars in Boston or from factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, and that that will disrupt weather patterns everywhere. The terrorists who struck in London and New York plotted in distant caves and simple apartments much closer to your home. And the reckless speculation of bankers that has now fueled a global economic downturn that’s inflicting pain on workers and families — is happening everywhere, all across the globe.

And told us what he wants to do:

"... what I want to be able to do is not only fix the immediate crisis, but, working in partnership with other countries, create a path for sustainable, responsible growth. And I think we can do that. There are a lot of people who benefit from globalization, but there are also people who have been harmed by globalization. Globalization in and of itself can be good, but can also be destructive.

"... we could have just spent the money on the same old ways of doing things. But part of what we decided was if we're going to be spending a lot of government money anyway, why not spend it to double the amount of renewable energy? Why not spend it on retrofitting existing government buildings so that we drastically reduce their energy consumption?"

I agree with Al Gore that we should move from coal and 100% solar, wind, geothermal, marine kinetic, and other renewable, sustainable energy systems in 10 years. I believe that President Obama's stated goal, to double the amount of renewable energy, is a good start.

I wrote on this at Popular Logistics, and e-mailed Rachel Maddow (rachel@msnbc.com)

Burning one ton of coal creates about 3.5 tons of carbon dioxide. According to Robert Bryce, the U S burned about 1.1 billion tons of coal in 2007 creating about 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide, not to mention the fly ash, arsenic, mercury, etc. Is that not a problem? When she was on Air America Rachel criticized the coal industry. Why did Rachel ignore Obama's comment on sustainability? Last night the coal industry ran an ad on The Rachel Maddow Show. Rachel's hands are tied with coal rope, she is bound by anthracite handcuffs.

So while the good news is that the progressive agenda has become so mainstream that two nightly TV news programs are blatantly left of center; the bad news is that the buy-partisan coal industry is co-opting the progressive tv news. I guess it's back to the NY Times which covers all the news that's fit to print, SNL Weekend Update which is still not ready for Prime Time, Jon Stewart, where nothing is sacred, and The Colbert Report, where Stephen Colbert is sacred, and NPR.

“I Hope He Fails” Revisited

A friend of mine, John, a lawyer, a professional who is trained to see at both sides of every situation, and who is trained to see in shades of grey, not black and white, told me a story of an insurance agent who recently sold him life insurance. After the deal was closed, the contracts were signed, the insurance agent, let's call him “Bill,” turned to his new client and said “You know, I hope he fails.”

Bill repeated his statement, the statement made famous by Rush Limbaugh, and repeated by right wingers across the country. “I hope Obama fails.”

John was raised to love this country. His parents and grandparents came here from Italy in the 1920s and '30's. Times were bad here, and they were worse in Italy back then. John's parents worked hard, and he worked hard – and still works hard. He is a political independent – votes for the best candidate he can find in every election. And votes in every election. This past election he saw things about Obama that he liked, and saw things about McCain that he liked.

His reply to “I hope he fails” was “don't you have money vested in the economy? Do you hope things get worse?” Bill said “well, I'll be ok. I just want him to fail.”

John told me that Bill wasn't listening to anything he had to say. John told me “the President is like the Captain of the a ship. Bill was saying 'you hope the ship sinks.' I told him that I would torn up the contracts and thrown him out of my house. Saying “I hope he fails” is saying “I hope the people who are out of work stay out of work. The people who don't have medical insurance – and who have no access to medical care - can't insurance or access to medical care.” The Constitution and the Bill of Rights may consider idiotic and seditious talk protected speech, but I have the right to assemble – and not assemble. I don't have to tolerate an idiot in my house. I don't have to support a right wing revolutionary by buying stuff from him

North Korea Missile a Success

The North Korean missile test was a success. The New York Times, (click here) noting that the missile self-destructed and fell into the ocean, and therefore the missile failed

• to achieve orbit,
  
• to demonstrate an offensive missile capability, or
  
• to show North Korea to be a "fearsome adversary able to hurl deadly weapons halfway around the globe."

These "journalists" call North Korea's non-intercontinental ballistic missiles (n-ICBM) a failure. This "blogger" considers the North Korean n-ICBM demonstration to be a success. N. Korea joined the United States, China, Japan, the other industrialed nations in attacking the oceans. "We too can threaten the environment." Kim Jong-il might have said. However, it is not clear that Kim Jong-il knows the missile did not achieve orbit.

Mother Earth could not be reached for comment.

Donald Rumsfeld, observed "these are the kinds of weapons that Saddam might have had, had he had them, and had we been able to find them. But there are things you know, things you don't know, and things you don't know that you don't know. There are things you can find, things you can't find, things you can't find because they exist but are hidden, things you can't find because they don't exist except in your mind.

Sarah Palin said "up here in Alaska we're on the lookout for North Koreans. North Korea is near Russia, and I can see Russia from my house, you know, yep, you betcha."