After almost 20 years of spending many months in Bali, I find myself contemplating the changes, as well as those from growing almost 20 years older. When I first came here in the early 90’s, which by the way was 15 years after some of my friends, there was little phone service, areas that had no electricity and highly undependable service for those areas that did have it. Cell phones, computers and such were unheard of, and although there were motor bikes and old cars, many people walked, rode a horse, or used a bicycle. Although you can still get to remote parts of the island where life is much simpler, in that some small villages still exist without electricity, the Bali I first saw is gone. That is not to say the spiritual, artistic, and culture is not still in tact, because it is but it is sort of like the Gulf Coast in the 60’s and today. The beach is still there and white, the Gulf is still blue and the fish, although much fewer are still there. But the landscape of tall buildings, shopping centers, subdivisions, and thousands upon thousands of tourists have certainly had their effect. Go back 20 years anywhere, and compared to 2009 you will see the work of change.
Nyoman Warta has driven me around this island for over 15 years, helped me understand the culture, especially doing business, and from a young 20 year old without a care in the world he is now a mid-40’s family man with 3 children. The Balinese, for the most part live in family compounds, and when I first met Nyoman he had no home phone and maybe lived with 12 family members. Now there are over 30 people, he has 2 cell phones and a home phone and of course the televisions, DVD’s that go along with 2009. As a young boy he tells me no one had any money to speak of, but the river was full of fish, crabs, and shrimp, and the garden produced 365 days a year. He said people were continuously smiling and when a big ceremony was up-coming, they were celebrating a month ahead. Now pollution has destroyed the marine life, food is purchased, and people work right up to the day of the ceremony and there is never enough money. “Lot stress now Gin” is the way he puts it. Another victim of Western culture. When I first came here, I lived on $20 a day. Five dollars for the room, $3 or so to eat and the rest for whatever. It is true we had no hot water, electricity on and off, no beef, no bacon, and lots of rice, chicken, and fish. Clancy and I still live in a simple bungalow with no a/c but we do have 3 fans, a small refrigerator, cell phone, and a dozen restaurants with wireless. I had a wonderful pasta dish last night with calamari, shrimp, and fish in a cream sauce that was excellent. A fresh salad with a great citrus dressing, and a after dinner late that would shame Starbucks for roughly $12 but over half the $20 that use to pay for everything.
In America I am constantly challenged with things that just “cost too much”; anything from $60,000 cars, to million dollar homes, to $6000 to send a child to a private school. Looking through a recent yachting magazine I was amazed to see the page after page of “mega yachts”, vessels that would cost perhaps a 100 million. It use to be that large yachts were 50, 60, and even 70 feet long, now you simply add another 100 feet and a helicopter or two. I don’t know anyone that could own such a thing, but I do wonder how often they smile, for I do know some people that seem to have little time but to chase more money and protect what they have and have very little time for anything else. As Wolfe said, “you can’t go home again”, and that is true for me, as well as Nyoman but there is a distinct feeling of loss for a more simple time. As one of my Balinese friends said to me recently after just returning from the U.S., “it is impossible to return to what it was like when I was a child after I have been out in the world and seen what is there”. I remember our first television and the whole family sitting there in amazement, looking at this snowy black and white screen. Most homes had no a/c and most families had at most one car. Would I want to return to that? Surly not, but I readily admit life was far more simple---- a ball and bat, Saturday movies for .15, outside until called for supper, and playing games that now are forgotten. I guess if you never played a game with a 2” piece of old water hose and a broom stick, or hid beneath a pier and attempted to swim underwater without the kid standing on the pier jumping on you; or gone to a double feature with a cartoon and serial, then you don’t understand the nostalgia. I am constantly amazed how many 14 and 15 year olds, going up the age ladder to the 40’s, are constantly sending and receiving text messages. I have read where some kids stay awake until early morning texting and wonder if their lives would not be better with a stick and piece of hose. But we will never know that because, “you can’t go home again”.
And old family friend use to quote, “the best of the past is the best of the present”. Good music, good food, good wine, romance, a new baby, were all present before there was America. I remember my son in his early teens arguing this philosophy, stating how you could now fly across the Atlantic in several hours, only to be told, “yes my boy but 15 days on a luxury liner is so much better”. Perhaps these are simply the musing of a man growing older but as I look around in America and Bali as well, I see people racing to get to some unknown destination. Most in the pursuit of money and material objects and I cannot help but wonder, “do they ever get there”? I remember the remark of a very successful physician when asked, “how much is enough”, and his response, “never enough”. Once it was thought that to be a millionaire was truly a financial pinnacle but only a few years ago my son said, “Dad a million is not a lot of money”. If you think I am going to offer some deeply insightful road map to a more peaceful place, I am reminded of the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama that he offered his audience recently that I had the pleasure of sitting in the audience. As he sat on the stage, feet tucked beneath him he said, “some of you came today because you are curious, and that is fine. Some of you came however thinking you will receive some great knowledge and you will be disappointed”. So I have no road map to offer, perhaps we and the world are where we are supposed to be and karma dictates the world that we now have. His Holiness teaches, “Love, Compassion, Forgiveness, and Self Discipline”. Perhaps in that is the road map.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Hope and change both good words
I think I’ll change the conversation, at least for me if not for anyone else. The fact that the President won the Nobel Prize is fact and now part of history. If one wishes to continue to debate this fact, then let them so do but it is a waste of energy and no one should waste energy. I will also continue to believe in change and hope. For if one could never change, then I would still perhaps be a racists. I was born in the Deep South in 1942 and “whites only” was the standard on drinking fountains, and also eating establishments, hotels, and of course schools. I never questioned this-----why should I, as we had Evergreen who was my grandmother’s----in those days we said “servants” and that is probably exactly what they were. At any rate, in my 30’s I met an Episcopal Priest that changed my world view forever. So yes, I believe people can change and then so can a world.
Hope is also a word I will continue to hold on to, as without hope we become a people of “no hope” and I chose not to be part of that group. Why would we shy away from a President that speaks of “hope and change”, when it could lead to peace? If a man can change, so can others and if others can, so can a nation and so can a world. Imagine if tomorrow every person in the world said, “Today is peace” then it would be. Impossible you say? Then take a dose of hope and change and call me in the morning. What kind of world do you wish to live in? Why not work toward higher ideals? Believing in a better world does not mean we must ignore the reality of today nor our history but we can change the world, just as the world was changed my Gandhi and Dr. King. Just as it was changed by Jesus and Lincoln.
Maybe John Lennon said what I am trying to say when he said, “If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal. That is the world I will work for and for those that say it’s too late, never be like that, naïve, I say, “that is your problem”.
Hope is also a word I will continue to hold on to, as without hope we become a people of “no hope” and I chose not to be part of that group. Why would we shy away from a President that speaks of “hope and change”, when it could lead to peace? If a man can change, so can others and if others can, so can a nation and so can a world. Imagine if tomorrow every person in the world said, “Today is peace” then it would be. Impossible you say? Then take a dose of hope and change and call me in the morning. What kind of world do you wish to live in? Why not work toward higher ideals? Believing in a better world does not mean we must ignore the reality of today nor our history but we can change the world, just as the world was changed my Gandhi and Dr. King. Just as it was changed by Jesus and Lincoln.
Maybe John Lennon said what I am trying to say when he said, “If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal. That is the world I will work for and for those that say it’s too late, never be like that, naïve, I say, “that is your problem”.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I stand with the President
It never ceases to amaze me how unsophisticated the American public is when it comes to our political system. The average Joe seems to be unaware that we have three separate branches of government and the President runs only one of those. The President has been in office a little over 8 months, is fighting two wars, the worse economy since the Great Depression, trying to work with Republicans that are much more interested in seeing him fail than accomplishing anything for the country, and yet it seems we will have a health care bill, after 70 years of talking about it. Will it be the bill that some of us hoped for? One with a public option----the jury is still out but if there is not, the blame is with the Congress and not the President. If the President is sent a bill with a public option, he will sign it.
There are people that will not support the President regardless of what he does. Some of those are simply people that will not support a Democrat regardless, while others will not for fear of loss of their money and still others because of the color of his skin. I hear people deny the latter, feeling that political correctness dictates they deny their bias. I have more respect for the redneck that says, “I ain’t going to vote for no black man for my president” as opposed to the educated person that has some sham excuse because they fear political correctness. Stick your head in the sand if that makes you feel better but to deny the discrimination that we live with is absurd.
The first full day in office saw the President sign the order to close Guantanamo and yet we hear from Republicans that it is not safe to bring these dangerous people and incarcerate them in America. Do they really expect us to believe that we cannot find secure prisons for these people? We have murders, bombers, psychopaths, mafia dons, and serial killers and they want us to believe that the people that were scooped up in Bush’s rampage are too dangerous to even be in a prison? Give me a break. It has already been admitted that many were not guilty of anything and some were legitimate journalist.
When it comes to Afghanistan I expect to see more troops being sent but the strategy has changed. Instead of fighting a war that Alexander the Great could not win, nor the Brits or Russians, the focus will be to make the villages safe and protect the locals. I have not been to Afghanistan but I do have friends that have spent years there and it is like stepping back in time a thousand years. I have spent years in Indonesia, been in Laos, Cambodia, Burma, India, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, and some places I have forgotten and there is a similar mind set in all these countries. They are ancient cultures, numerous belief systems, put a lot of value on “face” and feel America is a bully and have no respect for their culture. If we are to gain anything in Afghanistan, it will be by “winning over” the local’s one village at a time. The Obama Administration knows this, as does Gen. McCrystal.
Since March, the Dow has improved over 40% and there is talk of the recession being over. The President has said over and over that un-employment will go over 10% but there is no doubt the economy has improved. I know it is old news, but when Bush came to office, we had a huge surplus and when he left we had the largest deficit in history. It took the Bush Administration 8 years to accomplish this and Obama has had only 8 months to start our recovery. The President has been challenged as to his place of birth, his religion, his experience, and has been depicted as a black medicine man, and one crazy news person has alluded to his death. Yet he still remains calm, still reaches out to Republicans, Iranians, North Korea, and is open to all with ideas of how we make a better world. I worked for the President, donated and stood with him. I still stand
with him today.
There are people that will not support the President regardless of what he does. Some of those are simply people that will not support a Democrat regardless, while others will not for fear of loss of their money and still others because of the color of his skin. I hear people deny the latter, feeling that political correctness dictates they deny their bias. I have more respect for the redneck that says, “I ain’t going to vote for no black man for my president” as opposed to the educated person that has some sham excuse because they fear political correctness. Stick your head in the sand if that makes you feel better but to deny the discrimination that we live with is absurd.
The first full day in office saw the President sign the order to close Guantanamo and yet we hear from Republicans that it is not safe to bring these dangerous people and incarcerate them in America. Do they really expect us to believe that we cannot find secure prisons for these people? We have murders, bombers, psychopaths, mafia dons, and serial killers and they want us to believe that the people that were scooped up in Bush’s rampage are too dangerous to even be in a prison? Give me a break. It has already been admitted that many were not guilty of anything and some were legitimate journalist.
When it comes to Afghanistan I expect to see more troops being sent but the strategy has changed. Instead of fighting a war that Alexander the Great could not win, nor the Brits or Russians, the focus will be to make the villages safe and protect the locals. I have not been to Afghanistan but I do have friends that have spent years there and it is like stepping back in time a thousand years. I have spent years in Indonesia, been in Laos, Cambodia, Burma, India, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, and some places I have forgotten and there is a similar mind set in all these countries. They are ancient cultures, numerous belief systems, put a lot of value on “face” and feel America is a bully and have no respect for their culture. If we are to gain anything in Afghanistan, it will be by “winning over” the local’s one village at a time. The Obama Administration knows this, as does Gen. McCrystal.
Since March, the Dow has improved over 40% and there is talk of the recession being over. The President has said over and over that un-employment will go over 10% but there is no doubt the economy has improved. I know it is old news, but when Bush came to office, we had a huge surplus and when he left we had the largest deficit in history. It took the Bush Administration 8 years to accomplish this and Obama has had only 8 months to start our recovery. The President has been challenged as to his place of birth, his religion, his experience, and has been depicted as a black medicine man, and one crazy news person has alluded to his death. Yet he still remains calm, still reaches out to Republicans, Iranians, North Korea, and is open to all with ideas of how we make a better world. I worked for the President, donated and stood with him. I still stand
with him today.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
A visit with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
I have admired His Holiness for many years, as do so many but discovered he would be in Memphis this next Wed. for a public appearance. An hour later I had purchased a ticket to see this remarkable human being that describes himself only “As a simple monk”. Over the last 20 years I have spent in months perhaps 4 years somewhere in Asia. Living in Bali, Hindu of course, but a significant population of Buddhist, as well as Moslems. The religious tradition of Bali is Buddhist/ Hindu and it is hard to separate the two. I have also been in both India and Nepal and the Nepali people, now home to thousands perhaps millions of Tibetan refugees is a very different place than anywhere else I have been in this part of the world. It is hard to spend so much time in a part of the world without something rubbing off and sticking to you. Like many in America, I was raised in the Christian tradition and at one point in my adult life was a Candidate to the Episcopal Seminary. I have grown much more Eastern now however, and the belief in reincarnation gives me no pause for thought. I have no need to neither convince nor defend this belief.
For the first time in many years, we were not in Asia as usual over the last 12 months and I think perhaps I have grown “stale” with America and all that goes with it, so my discovery of HH in Memphis is like a breath of fresh air. I have read every book written by Carlos Castaneda, a system of thinking that stretches ones mind to the limits, but a tradition I have great respect for, Kaprov’s Tao of Physics, and also two by HH. All offering the reader the same but in a different style. Perhaps that is why His Holiness has always appealed to me, in his great respect for all religions. I do not consider myself a religious person but a spiritual one and try to live up to that-----which I mostly fail. Anyone that has spent any real time in Asia has thought about enlightenment, nirvana, re-birth, karma, and how those things have affected their lives. Don Juan speaks of “perusing knowledge and gaining personal power”, the Balinese speak of “balance”, in other words, how does one know good without knowing evil----the black and white they wrap around the banyan trees. These are all just words, we are the ones that give them meaning and the use of them in our daily lives is how we measure ourselves.
After going to bed last night as sometimes happens, I thought about HH and his so very peaceful persona and I thought about enlightenment and that he most probably was born an enlightened person. Don Juan speaks about the road to knowledge and I have often thought of myself on that road and is that not the same as the path to enlightenment. I think it must be. One part of me says, “How in the world can you see yourself as one on the road to enlightenment with all your failings”? I have met thousands of people that must be far ahead of me; the Jain monks carrying their begging bowls, dressed in rags, on the road alone until death relieves them. How, a person of no real credentials can ever even feel he could see the first mile of a road that leads on forever, is too much. Then I thought of HH and how he says over and over he is just a simple monk and I thought well I am just a simple person, on that we can all agree, and my karma is mine and the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So I will take that first step, and this simple person will simply try to be a better person. “Namste, the divine in me bows to the divine in you”.
Peace
For the first time in many years, we were not in Asia as usual over the last 12 months and I think perhaps I have grown “stale” with America and all that goes with it, so my discovery of HH in Memphis is like a breath of fresh air. I have read every book written by Carlos Castaneda, a system of thinking that stretches ones mind to the limits, but a tradition I have great respect for, Kaprov’s Tao of Physics, and also two by HH. All offering the reader the same but in a different style. Perhaps that is why His Holiness has always appealed to me, in his great respect for all religions. I do not consider myself a religious person but a spiritual one and try to live up to that-----which I mostly fail. Anyone that has spent any real time in Asia has thought about enlightenment, nirvana, re-birth, karma, and how those things have affected their lives. Don Juan speaks of “perusing knowledge and gaining personal power”, the Balinese speak of “balance”, in other words, how does one know good without knowing evil----the black and white they wrap around the banyan trees. These are all just words, we are the ones that give them meaning and the use of them in our daily lives is how we measure ourselves.
After going to bed last night as sometimes happens, I thought about HH and his so very peaceful persona and I thought about enlightenment and that he most probably was born an enlightened person. Don Juan speaks about the road to knowledge and I have often thought of myself on that road and is that not the same as the path to enlightenment. I think it must be. One part of me says, “How in the world can you see yourself as one on the road to enlightenment with all your failings”? I have met thousands of people that must be far ahead of me; the Jain monks carrying their begging bowls, dressed in rags, on the road alone until death relieves them. How, a person of no real credentials can ever even feel he could see the first mile of a road that leads on forever, is too much. Then I thought of HH and how he says over and over he is just a simple monk and I thought well I am just a simple person, on that we can all agree, and my karma is mine and the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So I will take that first step, and this simple person will simply try to be a better person. “Namste, the divine in me bows to the divine in you”.
Peace
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Carter is exactly correct
President Carter’s remarks on racism in the South is dead on correct. Having roots in the South that span 7 generations and having lived 67 years I think both President Carter and I have a credible view of racism where we live. Michael Steel, chair of the Republican Party disagrees and states the GOP has a significant black membership that would disagree. But let’s take a look at the two men. President Carter, Nobel Laureate, one of the most respected past Presidents in the country’s history and Michael Steel, a feeble choice by Republicans to attempt to compete with the country’s first Black President. I lived briefly in the Bay Area and no, you did not see racism like you would in Selma, Al, Jena, La, or Lucedale, Ms. But as Gen. Powell stated, any black American has experienced some form of Racism.
Robert Gibbs has taken the best position in stating the President does not see that much racism because if he says anything else, he will immediately be accused of “playing the race card” and attention will be taken away from the major topics. When I regularly hear the “N word, those people, they have more kids to collect welfare”, it is hard to deny the facts. Is the group of hate mongers a minority-------of course they are. Are there Democrats with this same bias, of course but when I hear things such as, “After all it was blacks that sold blacks, I did not own slaves, I know racism is alive and well.
Robert Gibbs has taken the best position in stating the President does not see that much racism because if he says anything else, he will immediately be accused of “playing the race card” and attention will be taken away from the major topics. When I regularly hear the “N word, those people, they have more kids to collect welfare”, it is hard to deny the facts. Is the group of hate mongers a minority-------of course they are. Are there Democrats with this same bias, of course but when I hear things such as, “After all it was blacks that sold blacks, I did not own slaves, I know racism is alive and well.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
If OEN were a political party, what would it be?
If OEN were a political party, what would it be like?
I have no problem with stating that the people that publish on OEN, and some that do not but make comments are far above the average in either party. I would bet on the average, they are much better educated, far better read, and a good deal more sophisticated. I read recently that only 25% of the applicants that try to join the military are turned down, either for education or physical condition. Is it any wonder that we have in the United States Congress the type people we have been saddled with, when in fact the electorate is so poorly informed, under educated, and therefore unable to understand the issues? Oh, only if OEN were a political party. But wait---------who would have been our candidate for the recent election? Certainly Obama had a lot of support, but he has also had his many detractors, with some calling him a pawn of a secret society that has brought about the present financial disaster. There are also people that supported, Paul, McKinney, Nader, Kucinich, and others that I forget, so how would this diverse group ever agree on a candidate? There is disagreement on almost every issue that one would wish to discuss in the political arena, from choice, stem cell, climate, bailout, and the list goes on. How then, if this above average group of people cannot agree, can we possibly expect the average “Joe” to understand the issues and therefore play a meaningful part in government, part of which is electing their representative and then following how that person performs?
Business feels threatened by labor, and labor feels business considers them as disposable. The free market contingent sees regulation like the Baptist Church sees dancing and yet we see this financial disaster that has resulted in part from lack of regulation. There is disagreement with people making over $250,000 over taxes, those that favor and those against stem cell research, choice, marriage, evolution, health care, and the list goes on and on and on. Not only is there disagreement with almost any issue one cares to lay on the table, there is an extreme amount of harsh rhetoric, right down to pure hate. People are mad as hell about a multitude of issues and as this economy grows worse, there will very well be violence. Many comments on OEN have included guns and the use thereof. There have been many comments that in a less free society that would be considered tyranny and the person would be subject to arrest. So, how do we bring the country back together so that we can solve some of the most critical issues facing us?
When the President gave his acceptance speech, he spoke about a “call to service” and I heard that call very clearly. My problem was, and is, what can a 67 year old man of average intelligence and average means offer? I considered the Peace Corps but wonder what I could really offer, as besides owning a few businesses, being a bar tender and boat captain, I have not that much to offer. Last year while traveling in Vietnam, I met a lady that was there with Habitat but found out that she had paid roughly $4000 for the trip. If both my wife and I went, that would be $8000. I have also thought that maybe I was looking too far a field, too ambitious with my desire to help, and maybe needed to look a bit closer to home. I am a substitute driver for meals on wheels, and I do support a program that feeds school children in need of meals on the weekends, and I can give $25 here and there but it does not really seem enough, not big enough, not important enough to satisfy my desire to help------but maybe the very small things could develop into something much larger if we all did just a few small things. Maybe also, we all need to let our anger be aimed at the reality people will go to bed tonight hungry, or those that sleep in the street, instead of each other. Perhaps in the constant game of “whose fault this is”, we could accept the problems and work together for solutions. Maybe if we treated each other’s opinions with a bit more civility, we would find that we are more alike than different. Maybe if a few started, then more would follow, and real change could happen. But, for real change to come about, we must learn to believe it can really happen and avoid the rhetoric of the “end is here”. But if the writers on OEN cannot do it, then how can we expect the Congress and the average “Joe” to get it. There was a small merchant in a small Alabama town that recently gave his employees $16,000 in $2 bills and asked that they spend it to help the economy but also give 10% away. There is a café in another state that feeds people and if they can, they pay and if not they still eat. These are people making a real difference.
The President said loud and clear, “we are the nation that put a man on the moon, invented the automobile, airplane, and transistor and fought a world war on two hemispheres”. We can move this country into a new era if we have the will but it will depend on us becoming more civil, more compassionate, more charitable, and a desire to want a brighter future for everyone. We can do this.
I have no problem with stating that the people that publish on OEN, and some that do not but make comments are far above the average in either party. I would bet on the average, they are much better educated, far better read, and a good deal more sophisticated. I read recently that only 25% of the applicants that try to join the military are turned down, either for education or physical condition. Is it any wonder that we have in the United States Congress the type people we have been saddled with, when in fact the electorate is so poorly informed, under educated, and therefore unable to understand the issues? Oh, only if OEN were a political party. But wait---------who would have been our candidate for the recent election? Certainly Obama had a lot of support, but he has also had his many detractors, with some calling him a pawn of a secret society that has brought about the present financial disaster. There are also people that supported, Paul, McKinney, Nader, Kucinich, and others that I forget, so how would this diverse group ever agree on a candidate? There is disagreement on almost every issue that one would wish to discuss in the political arena, from choice, stem cell, climate, bailout, and the list goes on. How then, if this above average group of people cannot agree, can we possibly expect the average “Joe” to understand the issues and therefore play a meaningful part in government, part of which is electing their representative and then following how that person performs?
Business feels threatened by labor, and labor feels business considers them as disposable. The free market contingent sees regulation like the Baptist Church sees dancing and yet we see this financial disaster that has resulted in part from lack of regulation. There is disagreement with people making over $250,000 over taxes, those that favor and those against stem cell research, choice, marriage, evolution, health care, and the list goes on and on and on. Not only is there disagreement with almost any issue one cares to lay on the table, there is an extreme amount of harsh rhetoric, right down to pure hate. People are mad as hell about a multitude of issues and as this economy grows worse, there will very well be violence. Many comments on OEN have included guns and the use thereof. There have been many comments that in a less free society that would be considered tyranny and the person would be subject to arrest. So, how do we bring the country back together so that we can solve some of the most critical issues facing us?
When the President gave his acceptance speech, he spoke about a “call to service” and I heard that call very clearly. My problem was, and is, what can a 67 year old man of average intelligence and average means offer? I considered the Peace Corps but wonder what I could really offer, as besides owning a few businesses, being a bar tender and boat captain, I have not that much to offer. Last year while traveling in Vietnam, I met a lady that was there with Habitat but found out that she had paid roughly $4000 for the trip. If both my wife and I went, that would be $8000. I have also thought that maybe I was looking too far a field, too ambitious with my desire to help, and maybe needed to look a bit closer to home. I am a substitute driver for meals on wheels, and I do support a program that feeds school children in need of meals on the weekends, and I can give $25 here and there but it does not really seem enough, not big enough, not important enough to satisfy my desire to help------but maybe the very small things could develop into something much larger if we all did just a few small things. Maybe also, we all need to let our anger be aimed at the reality people will go to bed tonight hungry, or those that sleep in the street, instead of each other. Perhaps in the constant game of “whose fault this is”, we could accept the problems and work together for solutions. Maybe if we treated each other’s opinions with a bit more civility, we would find that we are more alike than different. Maybe if a few started, then more would follow, and real change could happen. But, for real change to come about, we must learn to believe it can really happen and avoid the rhetoric of the “end is here”. But if the writers on OEN cannot do it, then how can we expect the Congress and the average “Joe” to get it. There was a small merchant in a small Alabama town that recently gave his employees $16,000 in $2 bills and asked that they spend it to help the economy but also give 10% away. There is a café in another state that feeds people and if they can, they pay and if not they still eat. These are people making a real difference.
The President said loud and clear, “we are the nation that put a man on the moon, invented the automobile, airplane, and transistor and fought a world war on two hemispheres”. We can move this country into a new era if we have the will but it will depend on us becoming more civil, more compassionate, more charitable, and a desire to want a brighter future for everyone. We can do this.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
If you are not happy or you don't like this economy it may be your fault
America is a place that is obsessed with being happy, having a good time, and “looking good” and we pay a big price for that. Mystic Wizard just did a poll (it is still under polls) and asked the question, “Are you happy”? Most people responding say they are either not very happy, all the way to feeling suicidal. Part of the reason we are in the economic free fall we find ourselves in, is from sub-prime mortgages, and the result of over spending by consumers.
Yesterday, my wife and I drove from the small island we live on in the Gulf of Mexico to a small town about 30 miles away. When I was a child, the area was almost 100% farming and rural, but now it is mile after mile of large developed subdivisions and large houses. Many of these homes would exceed 3 and 4000 sq. feet, huge garages and swimming pools, and I would guess equally large mortgages. Parked in the garages you will find big suv’s, expensive foreign jobs, along with boats and motorcycles.
There was a time, when a 3br 1 bath home and one car was the average for many American family, but now it would seem that a family of 3 needs at least 4 bedrooms, and a 3 car garage. How did we get to this spot? Part of it is about our obsession with being happy, concern that OUR children will have the same jeans, bikes, ipods, cell phones as their friends. In other words it is about “looking good”. How can we be happy if we do not look good and that means a big house, big car, big vacation, and expensive clothes. If there is not money, then there is credit. Why have we fallen into this trap? Can we blame it all on Wall Street, banks, mortgage lenders, advertisers, or should we take a harder look at ourselves. After all, it is much easier to blame someone else or some other entity than ourselves; we see that with today’s Republicans trying to blame Obama for 8 years of Bush mistakes.
There was comment made on another OEN piece recently by someone that lived part time in Thailand, and said that though there were many poor people, how happy Thai people were. I have also spent time in Thailand, and yes “the land of smiles” is true. The point was made that Thai people had their violence and problems that all societies have but that basically they were a happy people. Since 1992, I have spent 4 to 5 months each year in Indonesia with a great deal of time in Bali and I can absolutely state the Balinese people are unique to say the very least. That is one reason Bali has been, and remains one of the world’s great travel destinations. Like the Thai, Bali people are certainly not without their problems, but overall they are extremely happy people. I have watched and interacted with the Balinese people for many years and some of the big differences between them and Americans are they are of one religion; very community involved, live in family units, that is 3 generations living in one house, and are very focused on art and music. The biggest problem I have seen in Bali over the last 15 years is the “westernization” we have exported. You see more kids over weight, television that was relatively unknown a few years ago is now everywhere, and money has become much more important.
I like diversity, in food, music, and people and whereas America is certainly more diverse that either Thailand or Indonesia, perhaps America is paying a big price for diversity. We have Christian fundamentalist that hate other Christians, Christian churches that are constantly splitting apart, resentment against Jews and Moslems, Republicans against Democrats, far right and lefts in each party that seem angry with everyone and the whole country obsessed with money. Is there one person that is not nostalgic when you read a novel set in a small town that speaks of the local hardware store where men sit around the pot belly stove and talk; where everyone turns out for the fourth of July fireworks; where the county fair is a big event; where people do not lock their doors? Could it be that maybe a much bigger part of the economic disaster we now find ourselves in is more to our own making that we wish to admit? Now before I go too far, I know it is not me as we live in a small sensible house, drive two, 2002 automobiles, have no expensive hobbies. But, the fact is I have responsibility because it is my country, I am a citizen and just like Iraq, I was against it from the start but I do have my part of the responsibility for that immoral war. In America we want to blame the “other guy” for the problems and take no responsibility ourselves. Look at the recent circus in Congress passing the stimulus bill; Republicans voting entirely against it, screaming about physical irresponsibility after 8 years of driving the economy into the ground. Does it not seem that both parties would meet and admit the country is in peril, so we have to do something that maybe we would prefer not to do, but for the sake of our country this is what must be done? Could they not, just for a moment stop playing politics with our lives----or is that just too much to ask for? And before I go further, let me be loud and clear that Democrats play a major role in all of this as well. Perhaps when you have a job that is very secure, great health insurance, a wonderful retirement and promises of high paying jobs should you care to retire early, maybe just maybe you can afford to play political games. In the end however, WE elected each and every one of these people and therefore WE must take responsibility for their lack of performance.
Hopefully after we get out of this debacle we can learn that more is not necessarily better and many times less is preferable. Maybe we can learn to value integrity in a person more than their financial statement. Maybe we can teach children that character is more important than their ability to hit a ball. Maybe we can set an example that honor is much better than an expensive home, and to help another is much better than your name in a private club. We can blame Wall Street, Republicans, Democrats, China, and the media but after that we have to admit what each and every one of us has contributed and if you think you have not, then you are really in trouble.
Yesterday, my wife and I drove from the small island we live on in the Gulf of Mexico to a small town about 30 miles away. When I was a child, the area was almost 100% farming and rural, but now it is mile after mile of large developed subdivisions and large houses. Many of these homes would exceed 3 and 4000 sq. feet, huge garages and swimming pools, and I would guess equally large mortgages. Parked in the garages you will find big suv’s, expensive foreign jobs, along with boats and motorcycles.
There was a time, when a 3br 1 bath home and one car was the average for many American family, but now it would seem that a family of 3 needs at least 4 bedrooms, and a 3 car garage. How did we get to this spot? Part of it is about our obsession with being happy, concern that OUR children will have the same jeans, bikes, ipods, cell phones as their friends. In other words it is about “looking good”. How can we be happy if we do not look good and that means a big house, big car, big vacation, and expensive clothes. If there is not money, then there is credit. Why have we fallen into this trap? Can we blame it all on Wall Street, banks, mortgage lenders, advertisers, or should we take a harder look at ourselves. After all, it is much easier to blame someone else or some other entity than ourselves; we see that with today’s Republicans trying to blame Obama for 8 years of Bush mistakes.
There was comment made on another OEN piece recently by someone that lived part time in Thailand, and said that though there were many poor people, how happy Thai people were. I have also spent time in Thailand, and yes “the land of smiles” is true. The point was made that Thai people had their violence and problems that all societies have but that basically they were a happy people. Since 1992, I have spent 4 to 5 months each year in Indonesia with a great deal of time in Bali and I can absolutely state the Balinese people are unique to say the very least. That is one reason Bali has been, and remains one of the world’s great travel destinations. Like the Thai, Bali people are certainly not without their problems, but overall they are extremely happy people. I have watched and interacted with the Balinese people for many years and some of the big differences between them and Americans are they are of one religion; very community involved, live in family units, that is 3 generations living in one house, and are very focused on art and music. The biggest problem I have seen in Bali over the last 15 years is the “westernization” we have exported. You see more kids over weight, television that was relatively unknown a few years ago is now everywhere, and money has become much more important.
I like diversity, in food, music, and people and whereas America is certainly more diverse that either Thailand or Indonesia, perhaps America is paying a big price for diversity. We have Christian fundamentalist that hate other Christians, Christian churches that are constantly splitting apart, resentment against Jews and Moslems, Republicans against Democrats, far right and lefts in each party that seem angry with everyone and the whole country obsessed with money. Is there one person that is not nostalgic when you read a novel set in a small town that speaks of the local hardware store where men sit around the pot belly stove and talk; where everyone turns out for the fourth of July fireworks; where the county fair is a big event; where people do not lock their doors? Could it be that maybe a much bigger part of the economic disaster we now find ourselves in is more to our own making that we wish to admit? Now before I go too far, I know it is not me as we live in a small sensible house, drive two, 2002 automobiles, have no expensive hobbies. But, the fact is I have responsibility because it is my country, I am a citizen and just like Iraq, I was against it from the start but I do have my part of the responsibility for that immoral war. In America we want to blame the “other guy” for the problems and take no responsibility ourselves. Look at the recent circus in Congress passing the stimulus bill; Republicans voting entirely against it, screaming about physical irresponsibility after 8 years of driving the economy into the ground. Does it not seem that both parties would meet and admit the country is in peril, so we have to do something that maybe we would prefer not to do, but for the sake of our country this is what must be done? Could they not, just for a moment stop playing politics with our lives----or is that just too much to ask for? And before I go further, let me be loud and clear that Democrats play a major role in all of this as well. Perhaps when you have a job that is very secure, great health insurance, a wonderful retirement and promises of high paying jobs should you care to retire early, maybe just maybe you can afford to play political games. In the end however, WE elected each and every one of these people and therefore WE must take responsibility for their lack of performance.
Hopefully after we get out of this debacle we can learn that more is not necessarily better and many times less is preferable. Maybe we can learn to value integrity in a person more than their financial statement. Maybe we can teach children that character is more important than their ability to hit a ball. Maybe we can set an example that honor is much better than an expensive home, and to help another is much better than your name in a private club. We can blame Wall Street, Republicans, Democrats, China, and the media but after that we have to admit what each and every one of us has contributed and if you think you have not, then you are really in trouble.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
One person's view of this economy
As we all try and understand the financial dilemma we are in and exactly what it means to us individually, there are mostly dire predictions. Everything from total insurrection to 25% unemployment, to the military being called out to restrict our movements, to a small cadre that will rule the world from some hidden location. I go back and forth like a ping pong ball, right brain, left-brain and back again. I have thought that perhaps I needed to ask my son to return to me my old shotgun and rifle maybe for protection from those looters, and maybe to shoot some food. Then again I decide on a more positive approach, reminding myself that the huge losses we have experiences are not lost as long as we have not sold anything and that yes, we will probably have enough to eat. At my age, there is not much I would buy, as there is just not much I want, remembering that most of my life has already passed.
If you are reading this waiting for some great point, you may wish to stop here because I do not have one, but here is what I offer and maybe thinking this out, will help me see things clearer and hopefully you. This is a brief story of what I have seen and experienced over the last 60 years.
I was born in 1942 to an old Southern family that did not have much money but still retained some of the semblance of the “grand old South”. My father had spent most of his inheritance but we still had a summer place, a boat, and hunting camp. By the time of my teens in the 50’s there was not much money at all, and as my friends parents built homes, we remained in a rental home. I was not a very good student but I did manage to get a university degree, married at 21 and started my adult life. I opened a real estate office in 1965 and the year before the largest employer in the area, a military base was closed. There was never a worse time, as the total population was only around 200 thousand and the base employed 18,000. There were businesses closing, foreclosed homes everywhere, banks unwilling to lend and a general malaise. The first positive step I took was to learn about foreclosures and how they could be sold. In those days, most loans were either FHA or VA and both institutions were willing to finance for a small amount down. Some sellers were so anxious to avoid foreclosure they would sell their home by the buyer simply taking over the mortgage. Over the next few years I bought 4 or 5 of these homes, rented them for enough to cover the mortgage and sold them years later at a nice profit.
Gradually as the economy improved over the next few years, I expanded the business to include construction and development of lots. By the late 70’s life was good and I owned a yacht, built a new home for my family, traveled and enjoyed the “good life”. Then in 1979, in a down economy, we were hit with a major hurricane that devastated the industry. Interest rates went to 22%, no one was buying homes, and I was stuck with 30 completed homes. To add fuel to the fire, my wife of 16 years and I got divorced. The private school tuition, maintaining 2 residences, alimony and child support, along with the banks and I was dead. Beat, broke and bankrupt. I left the area, after finding that no one wanted to hire a broke developer and went to another state to try and start over. It did not work out. I left there and took a job as a boat captain running a sport fishing yacht. I had been president of the local big game fish club and had a reputation for catching fish, but to go from boat owner to boat Capitan, a paid hand working for a bunch of rednecks just did not work. I was married again and my new wife got a job with a time-share development and they needed a real estate broker. I had kept my license and took the job. It paid $500 a month-----not much, even in 1982 but it did pay the rent. Shortly after that, my wife and I started selling and we quickly started making money. Since we were broke, it was a lot of money because when you are broke it is hard to take on new debt and the money goes further. By that time the development we were working for got into to trouble and it was time for a change. Over the next few years we opened a real estate office, developed a condominium, bought a beautiful sailing yacht and life was good. At least before my wife decided that it was not the life for her. I finished the condo, made nothing, say good-bye and went sailing. I left with a debt free boat and $6000 hidden under my bunk. I sailed for a year or so, during which time I worked on a charter boat for $20 a day plus tips. I returned with $2000 to my old stomping ground and took a job as a bartender. Five dollars and hour plus tips, free food and 2 shift drinks, and live aboard my boat.
A boat friend had delivered a yacht from Bali to Darwin and told me about Indonesia. Sixteen thousand islands some that had never really been explored. What the hell I thought, I’ve quit better jobs than this so why not go. By then I had the $6000 back again and so for the next 6 months I traveled from Lombok Island in Indonesia all the way to Thailand. Busses, ped cabs, ferries, and foot I saw the countries. Like all things, those times come to an end, usually as funds get low but it was time to return. Shortly after returning a family member asked me what I had seen and the birth of a new idea came forward. He would put up the money and I would return and buy a container of furniture. Why not I thought, so after being home only two months I was back on the road. We had not a clue whom we would sell the stuff to but one thing led to the other and I finally opened a small store. Retail jail it is called and for a fellow that had been sailing and roaming around the world, it was not exactly what I was looking for but I have always had a rule and that is you do what you have to. The store found a niche and we did well. I say “we” because a friend that was helping me get started turned into wife 3. Do you know the feeling of, “I know this is a mistake but I am doing it anyway”? That was marriage 3. It was not the best time in my life and when I had to buy back what I had given when we were married------well just another lesson.
One of my favorite movies is Jeremiah Johnson staring Robert Redford and Will Geer. Redford is the new mountain man and Geer is the old grizzly bear hunter. At the very end of the movie, Redford has survived by the skin of his teeth and they meet high in the mountains in winter. Snow all around cold, and Geer finds Redford spitting a rabbit and Geer says, “you’ve come far pilgrim, were it worth it”? “It weren’t nothing, I hardly noticed”. I guess all old men look at life a bit that way, as when most of your life is behind you, it seems that you have come a long way-----and for me, “it weren’t nothing”. If I had not come the path I have, I would not be with the wife I now belong to. That has no value----it is priceless. Have I made mistakes? If you have come this far with this tale you already have that information. I think the point is, I am still here and after we get to wherever this economic tsunami leads us, I will be there. The most important thing in my life is my wife, followed by children and grandchildren and their health. Right brain whispers to me and asks if I remember the old Sadu in Nepal who had only a staff and bowl. There was something very powerful about him, yet he had nothing but the wisdom he had gained traveling his path in life. I remember the high priest in Bali, sitting and mostly smiling as I spoke no Balinese and only a small amount of Indonesian. My Balinese friend told me that I was very honored, as the old man had many each day that came to him and that very morning as I waited, a writer for a western magazine had left in a huff because he had to wait. The old priest told my friend that when the writer returned he did not want to see him as he was too arrogant but that I had silently waited and he would like to meet me. Right brain asks what that is worth in money and I have no answer.
None of us know where the road leads us and certainly this is a hard time, but in the end we simply die and it all begins again or whatever your belief system tells you. I am reminded of what St. Paul said when asked what he would do if the world were to end tomorrow. “Hoe my garden” was the reply.
If you are reading this waiting for some great point, you may wish to stop here because I do not have one, but here is what I offer and maybe thinking this out, will help me see things clearer and hopefully you. This is a brief story of what I have seen and experienced over the last 60 years.
I was born in 1942 to an old Southern family that did not have much money but still retained some of the semblance of the “grand old South”. My father had spent most of his inheritance but we still had a summer place, a boat, and hunting camp. By the time of my teens in the 50’s there was not much money at all, and as my friends parents built homes, we remained in a rental home. I was not a very good student but I did manage to get a university degree, married at 21 and started my adult life. I opened a real estate office in 1965 and the year before the largest employer in the area, a military base was closed. There was never a worse time, as the total population was only around 200 thousand and the base employed 18,000. There were businesses closing, foreclosed homes everywhere, banks unwilling to lend and a general malaise. The first positive step I took was to learn about foreclosures and how they could be sold. In those days, most loans were either FHA or VA and both institutions were willing to finance for a small amount down. Some sellers were so anxious to avoid foreclosure they would sell their home by the buyer simply taking over the mortgage. Over the next few years I bought 4 or 5 of these homes, rented them for enough to cover the mortgage and sold them years later at a nice profit.
Gradually as the economy improved over the next few years, I expanded the business to include construction and development of lots. By the late 70’s life was good and I owned a yacht, built a new home for my family, traveled and enjoyed the “good life”. Then in 1979, in a down economy, we were hit with a major hurricane that devastated the industry. Interest rates went to 22%, no one was buying homes, and I was stuck with 30 completed homes. To add fuel to the fire, my wife of 16 years and I got divorced. The private school tuition, maintaining 2 residences, alimony and child support, along with the banks and I was dead. Beat, broke and bankrupt. I left the area, after finding that no one wanted to hire a broke developer and went to another state to try and start over. It did not work out. I left there and took a job as a boat captain running a sport fishing yacht. I had been president of the local big game fish club and had a reputation for catching fish, but to go from boat owner to boat Capitan, a paid hand working for a bunch of rednecks just did not work. I was married again and my new wife got a job with a time-share development and they needed a real estate broker. I had kept my license and took the job. It paid $500 a month-----not much, even in 1982 but it did pay the rent. Shortly after that, my wife and I started selling and we quickly started making money. Since we were broke, it was a lot of money because when you are broke it is hard to take on new debt and the money goes further. By that time the development we were working for got into to trouble and it was time for a change. Over the next few years we opened a real estate office, developed a condominium, bought a beautiful sailing yacht and life was good. At least before my wife decided that it was not the life for her. I finished the condo, made nothing, say good-bye and went sailing. I left with a debt free boat and $6000 hidden under my bunk. I sailed for a year or so, during which time I worked on a charter boat for $20 a day plus tips. I returned with $2000 to my old stomping ground and took a job as a bartender. Five dollars and hour plus tips, free food and 2 shift drinks, and live aboard my boat.
A boat friend had delivered a yacht from Bali to Darwin and told me about Indonesia. Sixteen thousand islands some that had never really been explored. What the hell I thought, I’ve quit better jobs than this so why not go. By then I had the $6000 back again and so for the next 6 months I traveled from Lombok Island in Indonesia all the way to Thailand. Busses, ped cabs, ferries, and foot I saw the countries. Like all things, those times come to an end, usually as funds get low but it was time to return. Shortly after returning a family member asked me what I had seen and the birth of a new idea came forward. He would put up the money and I would return and buy a container of furniture. Why not I thought, so after being home only two months I was back on the road. We had not a clue whom we would sell the stuff to but one thing led to the other and I finally opened a small store. Retail jail it is called and for a fellow that had been sailing and roaming around the world, it was not exactly what I was looking for but I have always had a rule and that is you do what you have to. The store found a niche and we did well. I say “we” because a friend that was helping me get started turned into wife 3. Do you know the feeling of, “I know this is a mistake but I am doing it anyway”? That was marriage 3. It was not the best time in my life and when I had to buy back what I had given when we were married------well just another lesson.
One of my favorite movies is Jeremiah Johnson staring Robert Redford and Will Geer. Redford is the new mountain man and Geer is the old grizzly bear hunter. At the very end of the movie, Redford has survived by the skin of his teeth and they meet high in the mountains in winter. Snow all around cold, and Geer finds Redford spitting a rabbit and Geer says, “you’ve come far pilgrim, were it worth it”? “It weren’t nothing, I hardly noticed”. I guess all old men look at life a bit that way, as when most of your life is behind you, it seems that you have come a long way-----and for me, “it weren’t nothing”. If I had not come the path I have, I would not be with the wife I now belong to. That has no value----it is priceless. Have I made mistakes? If you have come this far with this tale you already have that information. I think the point is, I am still here and after we get to wherever this economic tsunami leads us, I will be there. The most important thing in my life is my wife, followed by children and grandchildren and their health. Right brain whispers to me and asks if I remember the old Sadu in Nepal who had only a staff and bowl. There was something very powerful about him, yet he had nothing but the wisdom he had gained traveling his path in life. I remember the high priest in Bali, sitting and mostly smiling as I spoke no Balinese and only a small amount of Indonesian. My Balinese friend told me that I was very honored, as the old man had many each day that came to him and that very morning as I waited, a writer for a western magazine had left in a huff because he had to wait. The old priest told my friend that when the writer returned he did not want to see him as he was too arrogant but that I had silently waited and he would like to meet me. Right brain asks what that is worth in money and I have no answer.
None of us know where the road leads us and certainly this is a hard time, but in the end we simply die and it all begins again or whatever your belief system tells you. I am reminded of what St. Paul said when asked what he would do if the world were to end tomorrow. “Hoe my garden” was the reply.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
It is no time to give up
Alexandra Pelosi was on The Rachel Maddow show Fri. night, talking about her soon to be broadcast documentary on the recent presidential race. She attended a number of McCain/Palin rallies, filming and interviewing the people that came to see the Republican ticket. There was lots of anger, shouting, and even a fight leading Pelosi to make the statement that there really are two parallel Americas trying to exist as one. I understand completely the point she was making but like Maddow, I simply disagree. As the President has stated over and over, “we are not just a red America or blue America but one America”. We are conservatives, liberals, gays, straights, Latinos, African Americans, as well as Africans, white, red, yellow, and brown. We are laborers, professionals, too many religions to list, poor, rich, and yet we are all Americans. Somehow, we have got to put that at the top of the list, and party affiliations, regional differences, religious differences, must remain secondary to our national heritage. Those that have been called to military service, be it WWI or Iraq, did so to defend not a religious belief but rather the ideal of what it means to be an American. For the first time in many years, the night Barack Obama was elected as our president I had the overwhelming feeling of pride. After 8 years of lies, deceit, our Constitution being trashed, the people spoke loud and clear and said no more. But, as the president said that very night, 48 % did not vote for him but that he would be their president also and would work to earn their vote.
If we look at some of the most divisive issues, abortion, and marriage rights, Pelosi’s point of two Americas seems to fit and therein lays the problem. It is the absolute certainty that each side believes they are right and the other side is wrong. So, how do we get from here to there? Perhaps a beginning would be to remind each of us, that country must be put first. That is, our personal beliefs must be subjugated for the whole and the whole is our country. As the pastor TD Jakes said, we are not a Christian nation as we have Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus, and non-believers, along with Christians. Our Constitution guarantees us that we can worship and hold any belief system that we want and it also protects those that have no belief system. We can argue, disagree, shout, go to court, vote, write letters, and demonstrate but in the end, we must remember that first is the fact that we are all Americans. We make mistakes as a nation, and we make mistakes as individuals but we are capable of learning as a nation, as well as individuals. This is the strength of our country.
There are those that say, “the end is near”, there is nothing left but doom and I reject that. There are those that say our new President is simply a pawn for a powerful few and I reject that. Like Lincoln, who came at a time when the nation was in peril of breaking apart, Barack H. Obama has come at a similar time. This unlikely man, child of a single mother, raised in part by grandparents, not really knowing a father, has become President of the United States. A few short years ago he was un-known and today he is one of the most recognized faces in the world. We face some very hard times ahead, perhaps in its own way, just as hard as Lincoln faced but I cannot think of a single leader that I would rather have at the helm of the ship of state. “I know Mr. President there will be mistakes made because you have already told us so. You have also said that you and we, will learn form those mistakes and we will carry on. I may disagree with some of your decisions and I will feel free to let you know but I will not lose confidence in you.” I think you are a man of unique ability, generous in spirit, perhaps the most eloquent speaker in our history and maybe, most importantly a man of good heart. I know you will do everything within your power to lead us out of this dark place, back to America at it’s best. You said recently regarding the stimulus bill, “Do not let seeking perfection stand in the way of the essential” and I believe that also applies to other issues. Perfection is always a lofty goal, but one that fails in the job because of seeking perfection, serves nothing but their own ego. My pledge to you and my fellow Americans is I will do everything in my power to examine all sides of the issues, to remember there is always another side, to speak clearly and civilly, and remember, “Yes we can”.
If we look at some of the most divisive issues, abortion, and marriage rights, Pelosi’s point of two Americas seems to fit and therein lays the problem. It is the absolute certainty that each side believes they are right and the other side is wrong. So, how do we get from here to there? Perhaps a beginning would be to remind each of us, that country must be put first. That is, our personal beliefs must be subjugated for the whole and the whole is our country. As the pastor TD Jakes said, we are not a Christian nation as we have Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus, and non-believers, along with Christians. Our Constitution guarantees us that we can worship and hold any belief system that we want and it also protects those that have no belief system. We can argue, disagree, shout, go to court, vote, write letters, and demonstrate but in the end, we must remember that first is the fact that we are all Americans. We make mistakes as a nation, and we make mistakes as individuals but we are capable of learning as a nation, as well as individuals. This is the strength of our country.
There are those that say, “the end is near”, there is nothing left but doom and I reject that. There are those that say our new President is simply a pawn for a powerful few and I reject that. Like Lincoln, who came at a time when the nation was in peril of breaking apart, Barack H. Obama has come at a similar time. This unlikely man, child of a single mother, raised in part by grandparents, not really knowing a father, has become President of the United States. A few short years ago he was un-known and today he is one of the most recognized faces in the world. We face some very hard times ahead, perhaps in its own way, just as hard as Lincoln faced but I cannot think of a single leader that I would rather have at the helm of the ship of state. “I know Mr. President there will be mistakes made because you have already told us so. You have also said that you and we, will learn form those mistakes and we will carry on. I may disagree with some of your decisions and I will feel free to let you know but I will not lose confidence in you.” I think you are a man of unique ability, generous in spirit, perhaps the most eloquent speaker in our history and maybe, most importantly a man of good heart. I know you will do everything within your power to lead us out of this dark place, back to America at it’s best. You said recently regarding the stimulus bill, “Do not let seeking perfection stand in the way of the essential” and I believe that also applies to other issues. Perfection is always a lofty goal, but one that fails in the job because of seeking perfection, serves nothing but their own ego. My pledge to you and my fellow Americans is I will do everything in my power to examine all sides of the issues, to remember there is always another side, to speak clearly and civilly, and remember, “Yes we can”.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Are Republicans being obstructionist?
What do Republicans hope to gain with obstructionism? I called multiple times the senate offices of Shelby, Sessions, McCain, and Kyl today, and all phone lines and mailboxes were full. I particularly wanted to reach Shelby, as he had also voted against Eric Holder and had stated yesterday that, “the man on the street was against the stimulus bill”. When asked what he offered in the bill’s place, he avoided the question, obviously because he had nothing to offer. The Republican Party is in shambles; McCain/Palin was a disaster, Joe the plumber, and now the election of a black man to head the party, when the base of the Republican Party is in the South where they are still fighting the Civil War. You don’t believe that? Just today I was talking to a man from Memphis who took the old “states rights line” that says the Civil war, or as the last generation called it, “the war of northern aggression”, was not about slavery but states rights. I heard the same thing at the University of Alabama in 1962 when George Wallace stood in the door and defied the federal troops. Look back at the states that McCain heavily carried and you are now looking at the base.
Knowing how much people in Alabama disliked the election of our first African American President, Shelby and Sessions feel safe in voting against the stimulus bill, calling it a disaster in spending tax payer money; yet in the Mobile Press-Register the school board stated that without federal bailout funds there would be schools closed, teachers fired, and the usual reduction in spending that schools across the country are now experiencing. Mobile has hoped and the contract was actually awarded to EADS, for the air force tanker contract that, is now being re-evaluated due to Boeing’s charge of “foul”. Both Shelby and Sessions strongly support this contract, and although they both have damned wasteful federal spending, of course this is not wasteful spending. I wanted to ask my two senators where they were, when only 8 years ago we had the largest surplus in history, only to be left with the largest deficit. Both senators supported Bush/Cheney on Iraq, tax cuts, and of course Justice Roberts and Alito.
It is fairly clear neither senator, along with McCain and the rest, have a clue what to do or where to go but their only chance to remain in any sort of leadership spot light, is to simply be against anything the Administration wants to do. Regardless of how bad our economy is, regardless of job lost, foreclosed homes, two wars Republicans have decided their own political ambitions are more important than the welfare of the country. With the election of Barack Obama, the voters showed both parties that their vicious, selfish hold on the American People could be broken. It is time that the voters “cleaned house” of both Democrats and Republicans that have gone to Washington as a public servants, only to build a dynasty that it’s only aim is, to keep themselves in power and offer some effort on behalf of their largest contributors.
The president has just finished his first news conference and is receiving high marks from the pundits. Ed Rollins, Republican consultant made a very good point about the Republicans, in that after the 8 failed years of the Bush Administration the Republicans are returning to their roots of conservatism. The only problem with that is, they are a trillion short and a trillion late and the issue at hand is how do we avoid another Great Depression. It is not rocket science to see that a great majority of the American people believes] that the President is their best hope and Congress offers nothing. The Republican Party bears the brand of Bush/Cheney and until they can convince the voter that they represent something different, they will become even less of the minority
Knowing how much people in Alabama disliked the election of our first African American President, Shelby and Sessions feel safe in voting against the stimulus bill, calling it a disaster in spending tax payer money; yet in the Mobile Press-Register the school board stated that without federal bailout funds there would be schools closed, teachers fired, and the usual reduction in spending that schools across the country are now experiencing. Mobile has hoped and the contract was actually awarded to EADS, for the air force tanker contract that, is now being re-evaluated due to Boeing’s charge of “foul”. Both Shelby and Sessions strongly support this contract, and although they both have damned wasteful federal spending, of course this is not wasteful spending. I wanted to ask my two senators where they were, when only 8 years ago we had the largest surplus in history, only to be left with the largest deficit. Both senators supported Bush/Cheney on Iraq, tax cuts, and of course Justice Roberts and Alito.
It is fairly clear neither senator, along with McCain and the rest, have a clue what to do or where to go but their only chance to remain in any sort of leadership spot light, is to simply be against anything the Administration wants to do. Regardless of how bad our economy is, regardless of job lost, foreclosed homes, two wars Republicans have decided their own political ambitions are more important than the welfare of the country. With the election of Barack Obama, the voters showed both parties that their vicious, selfish hold on the American People could be broken. It is time that the voters “cleaned house” of both Democrats and Republicans that have gone to Washington as a public servants, only to build a dynasty that it’s only aim is, to keep themselves in power and offer some effort on behalf of their largest contributors.
The president has just finished his first news conference and is receiving high marks from the pundits. Ed Rollins, Republican consultant made a very good point about the Republicans, in that after the 8 failed years of the Bush Administration the Republicans are returning to their roots of conservatism. The only problem with that is, they are a trillion short and a trillion late and the issue at hand is how do we avoid another Great Depression. It is not rocket science to see that a great majority of the American people believes] that the President is their best hope and Congress offers nothing. The Republican Party bears the brand of Bush/Cheney and until they can convince the voter that they represent something different, they will become even less of the minority
Monday, February 2, 2009
HELP
I started this blog for the purpose of putting into words, some of the thoughts I have about politics and other events I find interesting. I had also thought it a good way for me to communicate with my friends that are spread across the globe, some of which I rarely see in person but still keep in touch with. I also write a good bit on OPEDNEWS, a web based news sight that has both professionals, as well as people like myself and there is at times, a lot of “back and forth”. OEN, as we refer to it, gives me all the time and interaction I need and therefore I have to remember my blog, which when I think about, I “cross post” some things. But, I get no reader response at all on ginsmill and just wonder if anyone reads it at all. Therefore, I am asking anyone that does read anything, please send me email at arnold_gin@yahoo.com and tell me what you think. If I had found OEN before I created this blog------I probably would not have ever created it. But, it did give me a chance to put in words some of my thoughts and other than the signature line on my emails, I have none nothing to promote the blog. Anyway, should you stumble in------let me know.
Peace,gin
Peace,gin
Can Obama's attempt to "reach accross the isle" work
Is President Obama’s attempt to “reach across the isle” a waste of time or will it pay off in the future? Like many, I was disappointed to see 100% of House Republicans vote against the proposed Stimulus Bill but not surprised. Conventional thinking is, that Republicans by voting no, will be in a better position to take back the Congress and the Whitehouse, should the stimulus fail. No one can say for sure exactly what needs to happen nor can anyone promise that the proposed stimulus will work but there is no argument that we are in the direst financial situation since the 1930’s. “The U.S. economy suffered its biggest slowdown in 26 years in the last three months of 2008”, so says Dean Baker, co-director of Center for Economic and Policy Research. From Krugman to Friedman to Feldstein, all agree that immediate action is necessary. How I ask, can Republicans in the face of all this economic disaster put their own political fortunes ahead of the welfare of the entire country? Does the big radio ape (I refuse to dignify anything by the use of his name) really speak for the Republican Party?
Republicans sent emails to reporters stating their objections to the Stimulus because it included: 50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts, 150 million to insure honey bee farmers, 335 million for preventing sexually transmitted diseases, 150 million for repairs to the Smithsonian Institution, 426 million for the CDC, 20 million to remove fish barriers in rivers, and 25 million to clear off-road trails. Republicans can certainly ask the question, “why would we support the arts” but believe it or not, as one of my artist friends told me years ago, art is the historical record of “who we are as a people”. Besides that, artist are amongst the lowest paid people in our society and funding the arts is a form of economic stimulation. If anyone has read a newspaper in the last year, the disappearance of honeybees has been of great concern across the country. Scientist are not certain of the cause but without bees, any 6th grade student knows that life cannot exist. Believe it or not Republicans, bees keep us alive. Of course we could ignore the Smithsonian--------that is probably one reason it is in need of repair-----but it is one of the largest tourist attractions in the country. Do we want it to fall down? The last time I checked, the CDC was the place that people turned to when they were scared to death of SARS, Ebola, new strains of Flu, or other threatening diseases. But lets just say, we don’t need art, the CDC, bees, and the rest; the total of this part of the stimulus is something like 0.149 of the 800 billion. So there you have it, the Republicans voted 100% against the bill because 0.149 of it went to things they did not like.
I, like many was unsure of the bank bailout and still remain so but I do not know, nor does anyone else what it would be like if we had not taken that action. In the same way, how can we argue against so many economists and their belief that something must be done to get the economy going again? It is easy to be a sideline pundit, pontificating this and that and I have been guilty many times but when the rubber hits the road, I would be a little shy it stating people like Krugman and Friedman are simply wrong in their economic opinions. My father was a physician and we argued about everything but when it came to medicine, I took his opinion. Republicans seem to think that the Stimulus just does not have enough tax cuts, yet Moody’s Economy has tracked stimulus spending and tax cuts for business’s put only .33 (cents) per dollar back in the economy, whereas expanding the food-stamp program puts into the economy a $1.73 for every dollar spent and expanding unemployment benefits puts $1.64. Of course one cannot object to feeding people and also support programs like this. I could remind Republicans that our President’s mother was once a recipient of food-stamps, but then again that might be the very reason for them to be against that “LIBERAL” program.
The only group that was rated lower than former President Bush was the Congress and it would seem Republicans are anxious to retain that position. But, as the President stated in his acceptance speech, 47% of the voters did not vote for him and therein lies a big part of the problem. Living in South Alabama I know many of this 47%-----my family for example and almost the entire congressional delegation. They are strong pro-lifers, supported Bush and his illegal war, want government to “stay out of things”, of course that does not include the plans to build air tankers in Mobile, and as much of the stimulus money they can get, and of course government help after hurricanes. Their mentality is, “government should stay the hell out of things--------unless we call on um”. Therefore, the elected officials must appeal to that voter or better yet, “be one of them”. Sen. Jeff Sessions is one such character. Sessions was born in Selma, Al. the sight of the famous 1965 Selma to Montgomery March and was later nominated by Reagan as a United States Attorney. In 1985 as U.S. Attorney he un-successfully prosecuted 3 civil rights workers for voter fraud. He spent hours interrogating black voters in predominantly black counties, where after 1.7 million votes cast produced only 14 allegedly tampered votes. The jury spent less than 4 hours before acquitting all three. In 1986 Reagan nominated Sessions for a federal judgeship but he lost when the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to let a vote come to the floor, reminding the committee of his remarks about the NAACP, KKK, and the ACLU. Sessions had previously stated that the KKK was not so bad; except he had learned they smoked pot. Sessions once labeled the ACLU and the NAACP as “un-American, and they forced civil rights down the throats of people”. He also called them “communist inspired”. In Oct. 2007 Time reported a lobbyist, Lamar Young told prosecutors that on May8, 2002 he paid thousands of dollars in apparently illegal contributions to big names in Alabama Republicans, including Sessions. Young was a key witness in the trial of former governor Don Siegelman that saw him convicted and sent to prison. Forty former state attorney generals, both Democrats and Republicans cited “irregularities”. Sessions supported Bush’s war 100%, opposed a bill by Sen. Specter that would allow Congress to file a law suit to get presidential signing statements declared unconstitutional, opposed Sen. McCain’s anti-torture amendment in 2006, 0 rating on the environment, and 100% vote with big oil. But, he was just re-elected by a landslide.
I know the President campaigned on “reaching across the isle” and I also know that is something the majority of the American people, including myself desperately want; But we must get the message across to both parties that we, the simple citizens are not going to take it anymore. The election of Barack Obama, if nothing else sent a message loud and clear, that the machines of both parties are still not stronger than a unified citizenry. We must also remember that 47% that voted for McCain, in my case, they are friends, and family and certainly not bad people. As the President moves our ship of state forward, he will need us all and if we are to survive, we had better all come forward.
Republicans sent emails to reporters stating their objections to the Stimulus because it included: 50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts, 150 million to insure honey bee farmers, 335 million for preventing sexually transmitted diseases, 150 million for repairs to the Smithsonian Institution, 426 million for the CDC, 20 million to remove fish barriers in rivers, and 25 million to clear off-road trails. Republicans can certainly ask the question, “why would we support the arts” but believe it or not, as one of my artist friends told me years ago, art is the historical record of “who we are as a people”. Besides that, artist are amongst the lowest paid people in our society and funding the arts is a form of economic stimulation. If anyone has read a newspaper in the last year, the disappearance of honeybees has been of great concern across the country. Scientist are not certain of the cause but without bees, any 6th grade student knows that life cannot exist. Believe it or not Republicans, bees keep us alive. Of course we could ignore the Smithsonian--------that is probably one reason it is in need of repair-----but it is one of the largest tourist attractions in the country. Do we want it to fall down? The last time I checked, the CDC was the place that people turned to when they were scared to death of SARS, Ebola, new strains of Flu, or other threatening diseases. But lets just say, we don’t need art, the CDC, bees, and the rest; the total of this part of the stimulus is something like 0.149 of the 800 billion. So there you have it, the Republicans voted 100% against the bill because 0.149 of it went to things they did not like.
I, like many was unsure of the bank bailout and still remain so but I do not know, nor does anyone else what it would be like if we had not taken that action. In the same way, how can we argue against so many economists and their belief that something must be done to get the economy going again? It is easy to be a sideline pundit, pontificating this and that and I have been guilty many times but when the rubber hits the road, I would be a little shy it stating people like Krugman and Friedman are simply wrong in their economic opinions. My father was a physician and we argued about everything but when it came to medicine, I took his opinion. Republicans seem to think that the Stimulus just does not have enough tax cuts, yet Moody’s Economy has tracked stimulus spending and tax cuts for business’s put only .33 (cents) per dollar back in the economy, whereas expanding the food-stamp program puts into the economy a $1.73 for every dollar spent and expanding unemployment benefits puts $1.64. Of course one cannot object to feeding people and also support programs like this. I could remind Republicans that our President’s mother was once a recipient of food-stamps, but then again that might be the very reason for them to be against that “LIBERAL” program.
The only group that was rated lower than former President Bush was the Congress and it would seem Republicans are anxious to retain that position. But, as the President stated in his acceptance speech, 47% of the voters did not vote for him and therein lies a big part of the problem. Living in South Alabama I know many of this 47%-----my family for example and almost the entire congressional delegation. They are strong pro-lifers, supported Bush and his illegal war, want government to “stay out of things”, of course that does not include the plans to build air tankers in Mobile, and as much of the stimulus money they can get, and of course government help after hurricanes. Their mentality is, “government should stay the hell out of things--------unless we call on um”. Therefore, the elected officials must appeal to that voter or better yet, “be one of them”. Sen. Jeff Sessions is one such character. Sessions was born in Selma, Al. the sight of the famous 1965 Selma to Montgomery March and was later nominated by Reagan as a United States Attorney. In 1985 as U.S. Attorney he un-successfully prosecuted 3 civil rights workers for voter fraud. He spent hours interrogating black voters in predominantly black counties, where after 1.7 million votes cast produced only 14 allegedly tampered votes. The jury spent less than 4 hours before acquitting all three. In 1986 Reagan nominated Sessions for a federal judgeship but he lost when the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to let a vote come to the floor, reminding the committee of his remarks about the NAACP, KKK, and the ACLU. Sessions had previously stated that the KKK was not so bad; except he had learned they smoked pot. Sessions once labeled the ACLU and the NAACP as “un-American, and they forced civil rights down the throats of people”. He also called them “communist inspired”. In Oct. 2007 Time reported a lobbyist, Lamar Young told prosecutors that on May8, 2002 he paid thousands of dollars in apparently illegal contributions to big names in Alabama Republicans, including Sessions. Young was a key witness in the trial of former governor Don Siegelman that saw him convicted and sent to prison. Forty former state attorney generals, both Democrats and Republicans cited “irregularities”. Sessions supported Bush’s war 100%, opposed a bill by Sen. Specter that would allow Congress to file a law suit to get presidential signing statements declared unconstitutional, opposed Sen. McCain’s anti-torture amendment in 2006, 0 rating on the environment, and 100% vote with big oil. But, he was just re-elected by a landslide.
I know the President campaigned on “reaching across the isle” and I also know that is something the majority of the American people, including myself desperately want; But we must get the message across to both parties that we, the simple citizens are not going to take it anymore. The election of Barack Obama, if nothing else sent a message loud and clear, that the machines of both parties are still not stronger than a unified citizenry. We must also remember that 47% that voted for McCain, in my case, they are friends, and family and certainly not bad people. As the President moves our ship of state forward, he will need us all and if we are to survive, we had better all come forward.
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