Ahhh, Saturday!  What a transition I have made from those days of footloose and not so fancy when I was left home alone for seven weeks this summer.  Now I am playing single dad and trying my best to not suck at it.  The first week was tough.  I think the most difficult aspect of the transition was that it was so immediate.  One day I was living alone, coming and going as I pleased and able to sit around the house in my leopard print Speedo’s and the next day I had meals to prepare, laundry to do, endless garbage to take out and had to maintain some semblance of decency with regards to my lounge-about attire.

          In the last two days I went to The Greatest Show On Earth with Carter, rediscovered the steps to determine opportunity cost and comparative advantage between two economies with my daughter Courtney and witnessed a consciousness awakening in my son Clayton as we discussed his philosophy homework.  We’ve had discussions about high school social life, college selection, all state music tryouts, the prospects for our favorite teams with regard to this years football season, research topics for the upcoming World Food Prize competition and the on again off again love relationship of my seven year old.  It seems the pre-kindergarten girlfriend stayed true to Carter for the year he lived in DC but she may now be wondering why.  I’m trying but I really don’t know what to say in those conversations!  If he figures that out and tells me about it we are going to write a book.

          Carter asked me today, “Why don’t cannibals eat clowns?”  I replied, “They don’t?” and he said, “Nope, because they taste funny.”

 

ABC TV is showing a movie, “The Path to 9/11” this Sunday evening that is proving to be very controversial.  The Path to 9/11 appears to be part of a coordinated push—including speeches by President Bush and millions of dollars in advertising—to exploit the five-year anniversary of 9/11 for political gain. That's not acceptable from anyone—especially not a news organization like ABC.

It's not just that ABC's movie is slanted. Big parts of it are simply untrue. The producer himself even admitted to simply improvising a key scene which depicts the Clinton administration letting bin Laden go when they had him in their sights—a complete fabrication.  Last night, the movie's star, Harvey Keitel, said "It turned out not all the facts were correct."

It's really pretty simple: ABC shouldn't have any role in the political exploitation of 9/11. But this docudrama is designed to do just that—spreading a false message to millions of viewers across the country.  The docudrama was written by avowed conservative Cyrus Nowrasteh, who once spoke on a panel entitled: “Rebels With A Cause: How Conservatives Can Lead Hollywood’s Next Paradigm Shift.” 

I’m going to watch the movie and then go antagonize all of the local business’s that had advertising during the airing.  In the mean time, I don’t expect you to take my word for it that this movie is going to be a distorted piece of GOP propaganda.  Here is what Chris Wallace, Fox News Sunday anchor had to say about one part of the movie: “When you put somebody on the screen and say that’s Madeleine Albright and she said this in a specific conversation and she never did say it, I think it’s slanderous, I think it’s defamatory and I think that ABC and Disney should be held to account.” [Fox, 9/8/06]

If you would like to send a message to ABC to let them know that you think it is irresponsible journalism to air a program full of lies that claims to be based on facts click here.  CBS once found themselves in a similar situation when they planned to air a movie about the Reagans that was a liberal distortion of facts as this movie is said to be and CBS decided not to air the program.  It isn’t too complicated to see which of the two major networks lacks integrity and responsible broadcasting.  It’s as simple as ABC.

My Tuesday post must have touched a nerve with one of my readers.  In that post I asked, “I wonder how our government reconciles illegally tracking the phone calls of Americans and doing surveillance on dissenters of Bush policy with a sense of justice.” The email I received from the reader said, “Ask the people and the families of those 10 airplanes that were suppose to be shot down out of the sky if they minded that the British tracked the phone calls of the potential killers.  I think not and you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking it is wrong.  I bet if you where on one of those targeted planes you would be thinking different right now.”  I responded to that emailer that when we witnessed 9/11 and and the resultant deterioration of the principles this nation was founded on we conceded defeat to the terrorists.  To subscribe to the idea that we would, out of fear, give up our civil liberties in response to the threat of terrorism is supporting the agenda of the terrorists that attacked us.  It is no wonder that we have not seen another major attack against us since 9/11.  When the terrorists see what Bush is trying to do to our constitution they must think that their plan worked!  War supporters are all about juvinile macho posturing.  They attacked us so lets go kick their ass!  And yet when it comes to standing up for the real values that America stands for they are cowards!  I asked the reader if he were on the side of the terrorists or the side of America.

In that same post I pointed out that, “Alan Greenspan recently warned the income gap between Americas top tier earners and the rest could pose a threat to a capitalist democratic society.” That quote and the comments surrounding it prompted another email which said, “There is a country or two that everybody makes the same and the government supports all.....China is one that comes to mind.  Funny, isn't that a communist country??”  My post never even came close to suggesting that I thought everybody should earn a similar income.  The underlying theme of my comments was that the economic policies and tax cuts for the wealthy by this Republican administration are undermining our confidence in the American dream.  One of the worst things that ever happened to America was Ronald Reagan’s con on America that supply side economics would lead to a stronger future for our nation.  Demand economics empower the masses through an expanding middle class that and increase the demand for American products which results in more employment and a greater Gross National Product.  A focus on supply economics has only lead to concentrated wealth, a shrinking middle class and an expanding percentage of Americans living below the poverty line.

 

The Greatest Show On Earth was held in Cedar Rapids Thursday night.  Carter, my seven year old, and I took in the show.  Somewhere in the last thirty-five years or so the circus lost some of its magic for me.  I found that magic again tonight.  It was written all over the face of my little guy.  This summer I had the opportunity to ride my Harley to both the East and the West Coast and both trips were indescribably wonderful but I have to tell ya; If I had to choose between watching my boy light up when the Arabian horses or the elephants entered the ring or both of those trips I would have chosen the circus.  Hearing his laughter over the roar of the crowd around us when the clowns were doing their shtick is an experience I couldn’t put a price on.  Hearing his soft spoken thank you after I laid out a twenty dollar bill for two snow cones and a coloring book, well that wasn’t priceless, it was twenty bucks but it was worth a million.  I did see the greatest show on earth tonight and it all happened in the seat next to mine: balcony section B-25, row 4 seat 7.

Happy Friday!

          I left work early today to deliver my son the exit portal of the bowels of civilized society.  Yep, it was time for my oldest son to get his drivers license.  I wonder what the screening process is to get a job with the DMV.  I need a little help here.  Tell me how it makes sense that he would be denied the opportunity to get his drivers license because he did not have an official social security card.  We had his last completed 1040, a bank statement, a school ID, a certified copy of his birth certificate, and the learners permit that they issued to him only after they had seen his social security card to issue it in the first place.  Knowing better than to argue with the stern and hateful women of the DMV we departed with our heads down and made our way to the social security office. 

When we got to the social security office; from among our collection of his last completed 1040, his bank statement, his school ID, his certified copy of his birth certificate and his learners permit the only form of identification they would accept was the learners permit that had been issued to him by the DMV after showing his social security card two years prior. 

          The staff of the social security office was very pleasant and helpful but then again we had what they needed.  They assured us that my son would have his new card within seven to ten days.  Fantastic!  As we gathered our documents and prepared to leave the clerk from the social security office asked us if we would like an official letter that provided his social security number and proof that a new card was being mailed.  PERFECT!  We accepted the letter and made our way back to the DMV as proof of his social security number that had been obtained with the ID that the DMV had issued that was not sufficient to grant him the license in the first place.  We triumphantly returned to the DMV and when we presented the letter we were greeted with a heavy sigh and an explanation that it had been explained clearly to us previously that an official social security card and only an official social security card was the document we needed to accomplish the task at hand.

          At this point, the way I see it, I had two options for behavior but no options for making my afternoon endeavor a success.  I opted to gracefully leave the DMV and forego the thirty year prison sentence that would result from doing any one of the seventeen heinous acts of violence that flashed through my mind.  I did manage to offer up one powerful glare of contempt and loathing before once again departing with my head down.  You would have been proud of my daunting display of discontent and displeasure.  I bet that taught her a lesson.  I’m sure she has never seen the likes of that expression before, not!  It isn’t so much that I expected anything less from those hateful matrons of the DMV but rather the sense of powerlessness, of weakness and ineptitude that had me wanting to pick up our pickup truck and throw it through the plate glass window of the DMV.  Do they really have to light up with glee when they get to tell you no and hide behind their bureaucratic policies?  That is the most defeating element of dealing with the DMV; the knowing that they hold all of the power and that their main purpose in life is to be as unhelpful as possible.  We can only hope that the hottest spot in hell is reserved for those who relish hiding behind bureaucratic red tape in an effort to actually be as useless as possible.

          I began to wonder why the DMV operates as it does.  How does an agency get to a point where there is no autonomy, no room for the application of common sense to fulfill ones objectives?  I can only assume that a long history of incompetence has lead the state of Iowa to believe that the idiots they hire are so incapable of doing their menial tasks based on their own mental capacities that they have removed any opportunity for their employees to make a decision that can not be outlined on a yes/no flow chart.  Yep, that has to be it. 

          September 2^nd 2006 was the day I officially transcended, with some trepidation, the threshold of being comfortable with my age.  I recognized that I am now a bona fide crusty old fart.  We were all loaded up in the family truckster which sports a butt-kicking sound system that I take great pride in.  With the kids in the car I occasionally have less control over the tune selection than I would prefer but successful parenting is all about choosing your battles.  I can not even recall where we were going because my mind has been reeling from the resultant self discovery of our journey.  The kids were listening to a top 40 countdown and believe me, Ryan Seacrest is no Casey Kasem but that is another story.  The flowery and incoherent segues that "American Idol Boy" used to generate some semblance of excitement regarding who would be number one on the pop charts for the first weekend in September of 2006 had me feeling a little ill.  It dawned on me that while I spent the last ten or so years listening to classic rock, blues and jazz radio that the music scene had passed me by.  I am officially old.

          I wouldn’t have minded all of this so much if today’s music scene had passed me by as the result of the evolution of speed guitar or bass dominant mind numbing incoherency or even that grunge screaming stuff they do that I find so annoying.  What freaked me out about today’s top 40 music was how freaking bland it was.  It is totally void of interesting rhythm, unique rifts or meaningful lyrics.  It reminded me of the music played in the waiting room at my doctor’s office but lacked the soothing melody of a Muzakized Beatles medley that we all loathe so much.  I fear for the moral character of our youth!  In a time where the world is so screwed up there were no angry lyrics, no call for change, no satire and no original ideas.  The songs were all about sex on the dance floor or loosening my buttons but not being physical enough or something like that.  It’s hard to focus on lyrics when the vocal quality has you retching as you roll down the highway.

          I was outside my office building on a break today enjoying the beautiful weather and partaking in the favorite old pastime of people watching.  Again I was reminded of how old I am because the fashions of today just kind of freak me out.  It’s not so much that I mind the actual fashions as much as who decides to wear them.  Evidently those who don’t fit my newly embraced demographic of bona fide crusty old fart do not own full length mirrors.  I have to laugh at the rail thin boys who obviously shop the big and tall racks and the young girls who must think it is attractive to shop the petite racks when they obviously need to shop the full-figured fashion aisles.  I’m not trying to be disrespectful or even judgmental I'm just saying they should really look in a mirror and make some soul searching decisions before heading out in public.

          I was nearly finished with my cigarette when a bloggers dream walked out the door of my office building.  The building is home of a gazillion teenaged telemarketers and this bloggers dream was all decked out in about three hundred dollars worth of name brand designer stressed clothing.  I love that notion that it makes you look cool to buy jeans that appear as if you have worn them for years, that your clothing has a history that is fraught with dangerous escapes and incredible adventures.  The pre-cut ones are my favorites.  As a kid; every time I ripped a pair of jeans I was looking at a two week grounding and I can pretty much assure you that had I asked my parents to spend their money on a pair of pre-sliced jeans they would have sent me in for a psychiatric evaluation.  I digress; let me get back to the bloggers dream.

          This kid started a conversation with me and he was, I suppose, trying to sound gangster or something.  He had his hip-hop rap sound down pretty good but it just didn’t fit with this smallish clean-cut middle class white kid look.  I kept thinking back to the character Michael Bolton, played by a nerdish David Herman in Office Space.  The character is on his way to work cranking rap some tunes on his car stereo and rapping, “Damn it feels good to be a gangsta”.  As a large vehicle with Black males pulls up beside him he turns down his radio, rolls up his windows, locks his door and slinks down in his seat.  What I witnessed in front of my building was almost better.  As this telemarketing "gangsta" and I talked a shiny brand-spanking new mini van pulled up in front of the building and a big haired epitome of a soccer mom rolled down the window.  She then yelled, Donnie!  Donnie, hurry up honey or we will be late for your orthodontist appointment!”  I kind of choked on that last drag off of my cigarette and said, “Nice talkin’ with ya man, keep it real.”  Life just doesn’t get any better than that!  Being a bona fide crusty old fart is going to be a lot of fun.

 

Read a post about civil disobedience written by a veteran here.

          It occurred to me recently that if Jesus were to try to walk the countryside of modern day America he would not fair very well.  Imagine a sandal clad Arabic man crossing our border as an illegal immigrant whose sole purpose was to offer hope for the poor, the tired and the oppressed.  Imagine a charismatic Jesus speaking to thousands of Americans saying “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice for they shall have their fill.”  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  And, “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Talk about your national security risks! 

          I wonder how our government reconciles illegally tracking the phone calls of Americans and doing surveillance on dissenters of Bush policy with a sense of justice.  I wonder if our President would sweat under the collar if he heard Jesus speak of the merciful as he ponders his policies at Abu Ghraib.  And I wonder if Donald Rumsfeld would be referring to those who speak out against the war in Iraq as Nazi sympathizers once he found out that they were called the children of God.  How about those who are persecuted because they believe that the policies of our government are wrong when it comes to civil rights?  Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.  My son wonders if someone gave Dick Cheney a Rubix Cube because nobody has seen him in a long while.  I’m thinking Jesus would not be very welcome in America today.

         

          Hey, did you know that under the Bush administration our tax burden has shifted in an interesting way.  Now if you earn between 100 and 200 thousand dollars per year your tax burden is a larger percentage of your income than those making more than 10 million per year.  If your income is over a half a million bucks a year your percentage of income tax burden is greater than those making over 100 million per year.  I’m not sure but I think those two income brackets are fairly well entrenched in the GOP collective.  Nobody said you had to be smart to be rich.

 

          Alan Greenspan recently warned the income gap between Americas top tier earners and the rest could pose a threat to a capitalist democratic society.  We have had a long history of a shared benefit of the growth of the American economy.  It would seem logical that for politicians to have support for their economic agendas that the people voting for them would need to feel like they are participating in that economic growth.  More and more Americans are having more and more insecurity about their economic situation.  From 1950 to 1970 for every additional dollar the bottom 90% of wage earners in America earned the richest 10 percent of Americans saw an additional $164 in income.  Since 1990 for every additional dollar the bottom 90% of wage earning Americans earned the richest 10 percent earned $18,000 additional dollars.  The richest one percent of Americans in America saw 34 percent of all additional income earned in America last year.  Is this a great country or what? On Point Radio Show.

          Does anyone else see this as robbing from the poor to give to the rich?  How is it that the hyper-rich have seen exponential increases in the accumulation of wealth under the Bush administration?  It’s easy, they bought it!  They bought it when they made campaign contributions to the GOP to the extent that one party had control of the White House, the House and the Senate.  You can help reverse that trend this coming November. 

The Red Hog is out playing with the family today.  Stop by tomorrow for the enlightened insight that you have come to enjoy!

          Saturday we had a family BBQ that served not only too much really good food but a grounding reminder on what is important in life.  My mother, sister and niece and “She who must be obeyed’s” (swmbo) parents and two of her brothers attended what was arranged as a late summer’s birthday gathering.  My father-in-law turned 75 years old and my kids had celebrated birthdays in July and August.  The temperature was in the mid-seventies and the sun was warming for most of the day that originally had rain in the forecast. 

          Work had been a brutal exercise in futility all week and by the time I snuck out of the office to grab “swmbo” at the airport at 4:00 p.m. I had already logged close to 80 hours.  Friday was indeed the most painful because I like to operate behind the scenes as an IT Manager and the problems I was having were reflected in all 12 branches across the state.  The nature of my problems at work resulted in a sluggish response by the computer at every teller station and loan desk in the organization.  In IT you want to fly under the radar where your daily duties are marked by being helpful to individuals who have a problem or question while you work on development or enhancement of essential applications. 

          I finally had all of my server issues resolved by midnight Friday night and was thankful for my ability to work from home after I had made my trip to the airport.  Our main system server had been operating between 200 and 300 percent of capacity all day on Friday and that translated into long waits at the teller line and loan disbursements on a busy Friday before a three day weekend.  So I had that going for me.

          Then there is the world of the daily news and the disturbing events that trouble me with regard to how we behave as a species to one another.  It wears on me that there is so much indifference in the world and I have no pretensions that anything I do in this space can have any positive effect on that.  Somehow it is therapeutic to offer my thoughts on the situations and conditions that provide the grist of my writings.  Thanks for being here for me.

          Liberty Mutual has a new commercial that deserves an award if such awards are available for meaningful marketing campaigns.  The commercial begins with a busy street scene where somebody does a nice favor for a stranger and then another person witnesses the act of kindness.  The next scene shows the witness paying the kindness forward which is witnessed by yet another and the cycle of acts of kindness continues that way for the entire commercial.  The ad was refreshing in that is was a reminder that in spite of the headlines that dominate our news and the differences that seem to polarize us in the end we are all really doing the best we can to enjoy a meaningful experience as we ride this spinning rock throughout the universe. 

          Our BBQ was marked with bursts of laughter and catch-up conversations as some of us had not all been together for years.  We checked in on my sister and her recovery from surgery and my father-in-laws scheduled knee surgery.  We talked about each others plans for the near and distant future and caught up on what had happened in our absence from each other.  Eventually we watched Clayton’s stand-up videos and then little Carter did a routine of his own and at that point I had a sense of contentment that had been absent from my life for quite some time.  Surrounded by family and panning the room seeing the smiles and warm conversations among those who are most meaningful in my life put into perspective what is fundamentally important in this life.  Be excellent to each other and then enjoy watching the resultant ripples of acts of kindness that behavior sets forth.