Sports & Movies

I'm writing this in the moments leading up to the Oscars, which means that I will be asleep in T-minus 30 minutes. I'll watch the opening, and then that's about it.

While channel surfing earlier, my wife & I settled on the otherwise-unwatchable Michael Kay on the YES Network. He was showing a montage of interviews he's conducted with Hollywood stars. One of the questions was: What is your favorite sports movie?

Which led to a bit of a discussion between my wife and I, and, thus, this post.

We broke it down by sport:

Baseball: We kicked a bunch around. My wife settled on "Field of Dreams". I protested that it was less of a sports movie, and more of a relationship film. She offered "Bull Durham" as her back-up.

I considered "Major League", "A League of Their Own", "Eight Men Out" and "Pride of the Yankees". I even considered "Bad News Bears." I refused to consider "The Natural", mostly because it was horrible.

I settled on "For the Love of the Game", an underrated movie that I think will grow in esteem over time. With "Bull Durham" as a second.

Hockey: "Slap Shot". Case closed, for both of us. I grew up going to Long Island Ducks' games at the Commack Arena, back in the days of the bucket-of-blood Eastern Hockey League. Truly a series of fights and dirty hits, with a little hockey interspersed. Newman nailed it.

Golf: I went with "Happy Gilmore"; my better half chose "Bagger Vance". I think we both could live with "Tin Cup", in a pinch. I have a warm spot in my heart for "Caddyshack", which was my generation's "Happy", but I gave the edge to Adam Sandler.

Basketball: "Hoosiers". Every time it comes on TV, I say the same thing-- "Gee, I don't think I've ever seen this movie before." My wife swears I've seen it 300 times. She may be right. I've made her watch it so many times, she hates it, and thus she is disqualified from this category; I wouldn't even let her vote.

Football: This one was tough. We both liked "Any Given Sunday", Pacino raging around. I remember seeing "The Longest Yard" in the theatre with a bunch of teammates-- so my love of this movie may be tainted a bit by the whole experience. We've watched "The Replacements" too many times; it's a few good lines surrounded by some truly embarrassing scenes-- though the guard shooting the Porsche is one of my favorites.

I considered "Rudy", "North Dallas Forty", "Brian's Song", "Remember the Titans", and "Knute Rockne, All American". I even thought about "Heaven Can Wait". Nope.

And don't talk to me about "Jerry Maguire". Whatever kind of relationship movie it may have been, the few football scenes were excrutiating-- truly, truly rancid.

I guess my problem is I really don't think there's been a truly great football movie made yet.

I fell back on "Any Given Sunday", mostly because I thought the football scenes were the most accurate.

Boxing: Tough choice here. I go with "Rocky", as does my wife, reluctantly on her part, because she hates boxing. "Ali", "Raging Bull" and "Somebody Up There Likes Me" all made the cut, so to speak. But Stallone's classic will last and last, just like Balboa did.

Tennis: I couldn't think of one. Not one.

Track: "Chariots of Fire" should get the nod, because of its acclaim and I mean, seriously, how many track movies have there been? But I like "Without Limits", the story of Steve Prefontaine, which captured that era wonderfully.

I don't consider pool a sport. And since I'm from New York, the only thing I know about race cars is that I don't like watching car races. Or skiing. So no movies on those "sports". Sorry.

Soccer: We both agreed that "Bend It Like Beckham" was not only our favorite soccer movie, it was one of our favorite movie-movies.

Finally, if I had to choose my favorite sports movie of all of 'em, all I can say is:

• Welcome to Indiana basketball.
• Sun don't shine on the same dog's ass everyday, but, mister you ain't seen a ray of light since you got here.
• I know everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented.
• If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners.
• Look, mister, there's... two kinds of dumb, uh... guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and, uh, guy who does the same thing in my living room. First one don't matter, the second one you're kinda forced to deal with.
• A man your age comes to a place like this, either he's running away from something or he has nowhere else to go.
• You know, most people would kill... to be treated like a god, just for a few moments.
• Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team - no one more important that the other.
• I'll make it.
• I love you guys.

Friday Quickies

.... Canada has opted out of the "defense shield", the U.S.'s proposed missile defense system. They say they want to stand on their own.

I live on Long Island. If Toronto gets nuked, will I still need a heater for my pool?

....Speaking of Canada, the Anglican Church has asked the United States Episcopal Church & the Canadian Anglican Church to leave a key council, effectively a suspension. The dispute arises over the U.S. & Canada's acceptance of gay bishops and same-sex unions. It could, in theory, result in a permanent separation of the Churches.

I think that's right. And I think that Catholics in the U.S. should declare themselves independent of the Roman Catholic Church.

Why? Because most Americans have become "Chinese menu" Catholics, picking and choosing from the dictates of the Church, as they think fit. Americans chafe at many of the monolithic Church's ways. Whether it's on women's role in the Church, marriage by priests, gay rights, divorce, pre- and extra-marital sex, abortion, contraception, reconciliation (confession), the role of the laity in Church finances, etc. there are wide rifts between Americans and Rome.

Many American Catholics say things like: I believe in God, and that's just a Church rule, so I don't follow it. Which is OK, I guess, but it offends my conservative nature, and it certainly offends the prelates in Rome. Their attitude is more "Ocean's 11"-ish-- are you in or are you out?

The key contention revolves around the watchword for this new century: democracy. Americans' true religion is democracy. We treasure freedom. We believe in "one person, one vote". The right to stand up and say, "That's wrong!" and to expect to be listened to, and to expect change-- it's in our blood.

Which is why many Americans have difficulty with Old World religious institutions, whether Anglican or Catholic. Americans refuse to understand that the Catholic Church is not a democracy. You have no vote. You obey the rules or you go to hell. It's pretty simple, and this Pope has not backed off an inch-- if anything, he toughened up the rules.

At least here in the U.S., nobody is forcing anyone to belong to a particular church. And nobody has the right to tell established churches that their centuries' old belief structure must change.

So, the answer is simple-- there's the door. Don't like the rules as set down by the Pope and the Cardinals? Unhappy with non-responsive bishops? Pull a Martin Luther, and head down the block.

So I think such a parting would be OK, for both sides. It would be an honest appraisal that one group has different core beliefs than the other, and while there may be many paths to heaven, each group thinks their's is right. It seems like such a waste of time to argue the point down here; a divorce is perhaps the best answer.

....Finally saw "The Aviator". Well worth the price of admission-- acting was wonderful (even my fellow Massapequan Alec Baldwin) and the story lived up to my expectations, which were high, given the complexitites of this strange man's life.

....NASA's Mars rovers are still at work, almost a year beyond the end of their expected tour. NASA takes the heat when things go wrong, as they should. But we shouldn't forget their successes, either. One of their latest discoveries is a rock with a high content of minerals and salts which gives rise to even greater speculation that Mars once had water.

Of course, the water is not there now-- which means, unlike the American West, there must have been nobody there, like the American East, to pay for water projects. (That's an inside reference to yesterday's post and comments).

NASA should take a bow on these rovers.

....And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

"I believe that this Republic will endure for many centuries. If so there will doubtless be among its Presidents Protestants and Catholics, and very probably at some time, Jews. I have consistently tried while President to act in relation to my fellow Americans of Catholic faith as I hope that any future President who happens to be Catholic will act towards his fellow Americans of Protestant faith. Had I followed any other course I should have felt that I was unfit to represent the American people."

-- letter to J. C. Martin, 9 November 1908

The West Wing & Water

Last evening's "The West Wing" had a story line which touched on the problem of water allocation in the western United States.

I don't know why, but this problem seems to fascinate me. The struggle is between industrial/municipal forces, and agriculture, and environmentalists. Three very powerful lobbies, indeed.

I live in the sometimes water-logged East, a place where water is taken for granted most of the time. Any shortages we have usually are the result of not enough reservoir space, which has been dealt with fairly well over the past few decades, or a burst pipe. But the water is here.

Out West, of course, it's a different story. They're growing crops and cities in deserts, then fighting over river water-- with the environmentalists trying to keep the water in the rivers, to protect plant and animal life.

I've also written recently about NY's plan to dump billions of gallons of water, because our reservoirs are at capacity, and the Spring thaw is coming.

I just finished reading a monograph put out by PERC, an environmental group which seeks market solutions to environmental problems. Entitled "Rescuing Water Markets", it depicts the water wars of southern California in the 1920's, the basis of which served as the backdrop for the movie "Chinatown".

Essentially, the City of Los Angeles purchased water rights from agrarian Owens County. The common theory is that this was a land grab, and the people of Owens County got ripped off. It has cast a pall on water trades between rural and urban area which exists even today.

PERC's research, however, showed that while LA benefitted much more greatly, the areas from which they purchased the water benefitted also-- land values there rose much higher than the values of similar rural areas. It was, in fact, a win-win situation, but because one side won so much more, it appeared to be an unfair deal.

This may be one of those issues that has to be dealt with from afar-- it may require an Eastern leader to take charge, because of the intense political pressures out West. A national pipeline could bring revenue East, and water West.

We have to look more broadly. We have to look at not only urban-rural water transfers, but also region to region transfers. As our population tops 300 million, and as it continues to rise in the Southwest, we have to look at all avenues for water generation, recycling and conservation.

This may be one of those issues that has to be dealt with from afar-- it may require an Eastern leader to take charge, because of the intense political pressures out West. A national pipeline could bring revenue East, and water West.

Water should not be a limiting factor on our growth as a nation.

Schools & Field Fees

Some Districts on Long Island are considering charging Little Leagues, midget football teams, youth soccer leagues, etc. a fields use fee.

Dumb. Just dumb.

Opponents are charging double taxation, saying their taxes already pay for the fields. The schools, as always, are crying poverty.

My experience has been that school fields are poorly maintained, at best. They are a luxury as far as the Districts are concerned, as their only real purpose, as far the schools go, are a few gym classes and the teams-- certainly not the majority of the use the fields see.

Two recent changes in youth sports has added to this stress on the fields: first, led by soccer, youth sports are becoming year round ventures. Used to be baseball, for instance, was limited to Spring. But when soccer, with both Fall & Spring sports, started poaching the kids, baseball expanded into Summer & Fall.

Second, the rise of girls' sports has doubled, or more, the number of teams seeking field time.

Thus, the fields get overloaded, and more pressure is put on the Districts to spend money to expand and maintain the facilities. Which they rarely do, and even more rarely do well.

I helped draft an agreement several years ago, a partnership between the District and the local soccer league. We let them take one of our fields and spend about $20,000 to upgrade it. Our agreement provided that school teams and programs ALWAYS got first preference, but that otherwise they had exclusive use. They renovated the field, and maintained it.

Win. Win. The District got a premiere field for the High School soccer teams; the District didn't pay a penny; and the soccer league got an "A" field for its program.

I think this should be expanded. Instead of requiring youth sports to pay a fee, let them participate in the renovations. More importantly, train their members and certify them in field maintenance--and contract with the youth league, for a dollar a year, to provide the ongoing maintenance.

Win-win-win.

Instead of ticking off a bunch of voters.

(By the way, this was my entry to the "Carnival of Education", an assemblage of posts on education from around the country, hosted by The Education Wonks. TEW, led by a classroom teacher, is an old "blogosphere" friend, and is consistently the best site for education news and opinion. I urge you to sample!)

Presidents' Day & Thoughts on Privacy

I've had a telephone conversation taped on me. I told a person why I thought a fellow Board member had voted the way she had on a controversial issue. My comments were not flattering.

I was talking to a person I thought was a friend and who I thought I could trust.

I was wrong.

The comments came out, in transcript form, no less. I was embarrassed, to say the least. I felt betrayed, because I had been. And I've learned to markedly measure my words, especially in private. Probably good advice, anyway, but certainly learned in a difficult way.

The news this morning brings with it two stories involving two people one would not normally associate with each other-- President Bush and Paris Hilton-- and the further loss of that zone of privacy.

W has been betrayed by a person he thought was a friend. I'm going to comment later about the marijuana issue, and parents and children. But for today I ask you to reflect on conversations that you have had with friends and close colleagues, and whether the release of a tape of your musings, or your blowing off steam, or your thinking aloud as you sort through a problem, would make for easy listening.

The taping of W was different than the taping of Clinton. In that case the staffer had previously been called a liar, and had her job threatened. Her taping was arguably an act of self-defense. Here, this was a friend, supposedly. It makes it worse, I think, because how can we expect our leaders, and future leaders, to develop their ideals, their beliefs, if they cannot freely discuss them?

W's tapes, at least the ones released so far, are remarkable in that they reinforce his public stands, with the exception of the drug issue. He's not heard callously plotting to get the Christian Right vote-- he avows himself born-again.

My concern is that there are potential leaders, on both sides of the aisle, who right now have wrong thoughts, who have incorrect perceptions of people and ideas, who are prejudiced in one way or another on some topic. If they cannot freely exchange ideas with people, if they cannot talk through those thoughts or perceptions or prejudices, then how can they correct them? How can they see the other side? Or are we encouraging an entire generation of Manchurian Candidates, men and women who are taught in high school not to step out of line, not to buck the system, not to think an incorrect thought, or make even a private statement that they don't wish to have broadcast?

Is that the type of person we want to lead us?

Paris Hilton is not one of my favorite public people. But the hacking and posting of her cell phone is such a grave invasion that we should all condemn it. In a world where we are all so interconnected, there has to be a zone of privacy, a place where the public has no right to enter.

Don't look at the sites containg the stolen info. Don't support that nonsense, no matter how titillating it appears.

It could be you next.

Finally, I pause to remember some of the men we celebrate today: Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes, Andrew Johnson. Taft. Harrison (no, not that one--the other one).

Having taken away the days marking Washington and Lincoln, and foisting "Presidents' Day" upon us, Congress should be forced to hold a joint session and give speeches extolling the virtues of Garfield, and Hoover, and Polk, and tell us again why we are celebrating a national holiday in their honor.

A Weekend Review: Mike Lupica's "Too Far"

I grew up learning to read using the sports articles of the legendary Dick Young, in the Daily News, and the advice columns of Ann Landers.

I don't know what that means, and I'm too chicken to ask a therapist, but there it is.

Dick Young is long gone, but one of my favorite reads each week, and the sole reason I lay out a buck each Sunday for the Sunday News, is Mike Lupica's column. Lupica's Sunday column reminds me of Young's style, at least before bitterness and intolerance crept in, and then took over, Dick's column.

Lupica is funny, a bit irreverent and always entertaining.

Of course, what makes him more accessible is that he regularly appears on Don Imus, and comes off as less the smartass he tries to be, and more a generally good guy, a good friend to a troubled old cuss, and a decent family man.

I've tried watching ESPN's equivilant of "Crossfire" on which he appears Sundays, but it is, like its prototype, simply unwatchable. Seriously. Your eyes will bleed and your ears will implode if you try to last beyond the first commercial break. I've tried it; it cost me a $200 emergency room deductible.

Lupica also writes books. I read 'em, and I enjoy 'em. I recommend them regularly to my sports-minded friends. Books like "Red Zone", and "Wild Pitch" and "Jump", all play off well-known sports motifs and characters. They are fun, and full of humor and caricatures of the people we watch and read about in sports. Like sports? Like to smile, chuckle, or even laugh out loud? Pick out any of Lupica's first books.

But not "Too Far". Here, Lupica takes a bit of a turn. Like Dick Francis always grounds his books to horse racing, Lupica continues to lash his writing to the mast he knows best, sports. But here he adds on mystery, and violence. He leaves the pure sports fiction/fact world, and enters new territory.

And he does it well. Very well.

"Too Far" is a murder mystery surrounding a high school basketball team, the Long Island town that's gone basketball crazy, and the ugly specter of high school sports hazing. He introduces a lonely, semi-washed up sportswriter, who, as in all good murder mysterys, has sought refuge in what he thought was a quiet place, only to get sucked back in to action. Could Ben Mitchell become a recurring hero, a la Parker's Spenser, or Craig's J.W. Jackson? Absolutely.

The story is tight, it touches on just enough truth, as we know it from the sports pages, and unfortunately, the front pages, to draw you in, and it pulls you along, defying you not to start that next chapter, even though it's getting late and you have to get going. Just one more page, you tell yourself.

That's my mark of a good mystery. Does it make me late for what I'm supposed to be doing next? "Too Far" made me late.

The only quibbles I had all stem from the fact that Lupica is a white man from Connecticut. Which means some of the plot twists seem driven from his being conscious of his race; and some of the kids, and to a certain extent the women, seem to be more caricatures than full-blooded characters (though Lupica is hardly alone in this--most mysteries need to bang out the secondary characters, like a stone skimming over the water, bam! bam! bam! to keep the plot bursting forward). And which means he got some of Long Island wrong--actually the only annoyance being the constant references by his characters to going "up Island", something no Long Islander has ever said. Sounds New Englandish to me, but is unknown amongst us natives.

Small points, actually. And though I would have noticed the "up Island" nonsense no matter who wrote the book, I think the other issues stem more from the fact that, having read, listened to and watched Lupica for about 20 years, it is hard for me to separate his voice from the book, which made me keenly aware that it was a middle-aged white man putting words in a 17 year old black kid's mouth.

Quibbles aside, this is an excellent read. I don't have a star system yet, so let's just say it is a good mystery, on its own; it's a good sports book, on its own; its vintage Lupica. If you enjoy any of these, add this to your list. If you enjoy more than one of those, then this is a must read.

Friday Quickies

....So Iran has formally signed on Syria as a teammate. I understand they're courting Yemen, too, but Yemen won't sign until Iran throws another 30 goats and a virgin into the deal. Or is it 30 virgins and a goat? It's so hard to keep track.

....I don't believe Michael Jackson had the flu.

I think he had the vapors.

....Hillary has called for Election Day to be a federal holiday, and for felons to be allowed to vote.

I don't understand the need for the holiday . I thought the Democrats counted on the votes of the poor, the lame, the elderly, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these people off every day?

Seriously, only a Democrat would want another national holiday, at the cost of billions of dollars, in the hopes that people too stupid or lazy to vote between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. would somehow make it to the polls. If she was really interested in the process, she would propose that we mandate that no worker can be required to work more hours than, say, the number the polls are open, less 3. That would give everyone ample opportunity to make it to the polls. But this is not a serious proposal-- it's Candidate Clinton off and running.

Regarding felons, her attempt to allow these people to vote is a crime in itself. She should be ashamed of herself (note to self--the Clintons are incapable of feeling shame)-- these people forfeit their right to vote because they have committed heinous crimes against society. It's not a small price to pay, but it's a fair one nevertheless.

When we give someone the vote, we are saying, in part, here, I offer you a say in how my life, and my childrens' lives will be run. I, for one, do not wish to give that right to thieves, rapists, and murderers. (See TR's quote below.)

There are two reasons why Hillary would be pushing for felon-voting.

One, she thinks, "Hey, birds of a feather, flock together--they'll vote for me!", or two, maybe Ms. Cattle-futures, hidden-documents, pardons-for-bribes, etc. knows something else is coming down the pike!

....I caught Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic Attorney General of New York, on Neil Cavuto's show on Fox. He's announced a bid for governor. Interesting.

I also have reports from highly reliable, multiple, sources, that at a Long Island function last weekend former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) and other local Republicans had nice things to say about Spitzer. Very nice things.

Now, in part that might be because our local publicity-hound County Executive thinks he can make a run at the state house, and the locals wanted to poke him in the eye by praising Spitzer. Or, it could mean that George Pataki is not going to seek another term. Or, it could mean nothing.

But, I'm keeping an open mind about Spitzer. His work as AG has been extraordinary. He mentioned Theodore Roosevelt during his interview on Fox; his work with the investment and insurance industries certainly has trust-busting written all over it. I don't know enough about him, yet. But he looks...interesting.

....Popular Science Online has an intriguing article about living forever-- a controversial scientist, Aubrey de Grey insists we have within our grasp the tools to defeat ageing. He believes further strides in genetics and medicine will allow it:

The key to this rosy scenario is a sort of biological Ponzi scheme that de Grey has dubbed “escape velocity.” The idea is simple. If scientists can find ways to intervene in the cellular processes that cause our bodies to age—managing to keep middle-aged people alive an additional 40 years, say—that extra 40 years will buy enough time for biogerontological engineers to solve other damage problems before they emerge. Think of the body as a leaky boat. You don’t have to keep it bone-dry to stay afloat; you just have to bail out the water at the same rate it’s coming in. Or, as de Grey says, “You don’t have to fix everything you’re ever going to get. You only have to fix things in time.”

Sounds a bit fantastic, but then again if you told Americans a hundred years ago, when the life expectancy was about 40, that we would enjoy the health and length of life we do now, not to mention that any of the inventions of the last century would occur, they'd have called you bonkers.

Still, forever? Would we really want that?

....New York is agog over "The Gates", those flapping orange tablecloths in Central Park. The Anchoress has an interesting take on them-- about why W got criticized for spending money on the inauguration and yet this is an OK way to spend $21 million.

Personally, I think they're cool. And very New York.

....And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."

An Autobiography, 1913

Is Social Security Senior Welfare? A Red-Blue Debate

A frequent contributor to the Comments section, David Braun, who posts as "Arizona Lawyer", and I go back to high school together. I proposed that he write on a topic; that I answer; and that he reply (I gave him preference as a guest!). We limited the initial salvos to 350-500 words, and his reply to 250 max. (There’s no limit on the Comments section, ‘cause I paid the extra fee to Haloscan!)

Our question for discussion:

Is Social Security Senior Welfare?

From David Braun, Arizona Lawyer:

The basic idea implied in the question offends me. After all, I've paid into the Social Security system for thirty years now, and when I retire, I want what is coming to me. That is not in any sense a form of welfare.

The question, then, is what about all those who apply for, or receive, SSI benefits when they have not paid into the system? Let me give the case of my mother-in-law as an example. This woman never really held a job outside the home. She was, however, a wife and mother to two children, and she held that full-time job for about twenty-five years. She is now 58 years old, divorced from her husband (my father-in-law), suffering from a mental disability, and possessing of no job skills whatsoever. She has applied for Social Security disability, and is awaiting a response.

Some people would say that to give her benefits would amount to senior welfare. I say, hogwash. This woman spent the majority of her adult life working very diligently as a parent and homemaker. She raised two children, who have become productive, tax-paying members of society. Now, when she is mentally disabled and unable to work (and no longer supported by her former husband), why is she not entitled to benefits she would have been entitled to had she worked out of the home? Isn't the raising of two children equally as important to society as any job?

Shouldn't she be entitled to some benefit?

Clearly, I say yes. How my mother-in-law chose to live her life was just as beneficial to society as working in a retail store would have been. After all, she raised two hard-working, productive, moral individuals, who did not have to suffer the problems associated with being "latch-key children." She should be able to receive some monetary benefit and avoid having to become homeless. This is not senior welfare, this is paying her back for the difficult job of raising a family.


From Tony, A Red Mind in a Blue State

Of course Social Security, in its present form is senior welfare! One of the key problems with the program is that because we deny this basic fact, we can’t help those who most need it.

If Social Security was, in fact, a retirement system, then people would get out of it what they put in. But the fact is that until the early 1970's, the contributions to Social Security were capped at under $10,000 of income, at rates below 4%. For instance, in 1970, the annual maximum contribution was $360; even in 1980, it was only $1250!

We have loaded up the system with benefits that present seniors simply didn’t pay for– monthly benefits that in some cases exceed annual contributions; disability payments; survivor benefits; health insurance; soon, additional drug coverage. All of this is provided on a non-need basis because we perpetuate the illusion that it’s been paid for by the retiree.

If you receive government benefits that you didn’t pay for, whether you are a poor person, a corporation or a senior, it’s a form of welfare.

The real problem is we still make a feint at tying benefits to quarters worked, maximum contributions etc. So we have some seniors receiving $450 per month, and some receiving $1800. Since neither paid for the benefit, why keep up the charade? And stay-at-home women lose out in this present calculation, by the way.

Unlike an annuity, when you die, there goes your benefits. People who die before they start collecting, or shortly after they retire, receive nothing for the contributions they made. That’s not a retirement plan; that’s a lottery. If you have a 401(k), do you allow the stockbroker to keep the money if you die before you retire?

Wouldn’t it be better if we set a base income for all seniors, at an amount much greater than what we are currently giving– how can anyone live on $8,000 per year?

Wouldn’t it be better if we made it need-based, by setting payments in accordance with income from other sources, so people could live out their golden years in dignity. If you have assets, the government–that is your neighbors who are footing the bill- get a lien. Sorry, but if it’s between the kids and the people keeping you alive each month, I think the kids lose out. Besides, we all have generational expenses– raising kids, buying a house, paying for college– there is a cyclical feel towards building your assets to take care of yourself as you grow older.

I’d then drastically expand IRAs, to foster more savings. Whether the deduction comes from income tax or “Social Security” tax is irrelevant–since the Democrats ended the trust fund under LBJ, it’s all one pot anyway.

But the main point is this–Social Security, as designed, and tampered with by vote-hungry politicians, is neither fish nor fowl–it’s not a retirement plan, it’s not need-based, and it’s just not working well enough for too many of our seniors.

And the reply from David:

The thing that Republicans like you fail to comprehend (or just ignore) is that Social Security was never meant to be a retirement plan, but a social program, born in the 30's when social programs were both popular and necessary. Today, the attitude is more like yours, if you ain't paid into it, you ain't gettin it. That's what I like to call "W mentality."

Social Security was meant to be a system that people paid into, which helped those who needed help, and was also there to SUPPLEMENT their retirement, but not specifically to be a retirement plan or their only source of retirement income. It was a way of spreading the wealth, so to speak, and giving to others who, for whatever reason, could not support themselves. People like my mother-in-law. But today, it just seems like the idea of helping others is a failed liberal concept, unless of course those others live in an oil-rich nation.

Today, our society is becoming more and more self-centered, and I believe that's a reflection of the party in power, the party of the wealthy and well-to-do. Social programs are not welfare, they are government doing for others what those folks are incapable of doing for themselves. I never understood how or why that became such a horrible concept.

You stated that if you receive government benefits that you didn't pay for, it's a form of welfare. Does that include benefits like using the public library, public parks and beaches, public schools? If someone is out of work, unable to find a job, should they be banned from the library or the park or the beach? If someone is out of work, and their home catches fire, should they be banned from being assisted by the local fire department because they are not working and no longer paying taxes to support that fire department? Should children not come under the protection of the police department because, after all, they are not paying the taxes which pay for that "benefit"? Or are you somehow separating government sevices from benefits like social security, welfare, and food stamps? Unfortunately, your arguments and justifications only work for wealthy and well-to-do people, and to hell with everyone else.

(I thank David for his time--I'll reserve my reply for the comments section. And to any of my liberal friends, or conservatives who disagree with me on any issue, who would like to do another Red-Blue "debate"--let me know!-Tony)

NHL Season Done

They just cancelled the NHL season?

Not a
Hole
Lotta brains.

Compensation for ALL Victims

There is a movement to set up a method to pay wrongly-convicted criminals.

The proposed Florida plan, endorsed by the Daytona Beach Journal, would create a sort of review board, operating under expedited guidelines, to provide compensation.

What's needed is a framework that sets a standard for compensation, but allows for an impartial review that can adjust restitution figures based on individual circumstances. Nor should the state look to be stingy with those who have been so drastically wronged.

Fair enough. But how about an automatic money judgment for the victims of crime?

Often victims don't sue because it's expensive and not likely to generate actual money for years, if ever. But what if a similar review board existed, and awarded victims money judgments based upon a set criteria, without the need for a long, drawn out and expensive proceeding (one which, quite frankly, attorneys won't take on contingency because of the non-likelihood of collection). What if the judgment had no expiration? What if the State kept track of released criminals' incomes, and liened them for victims, like it does with dead-beat dads?

Or, how about setting up a pool to compensate crime victims (New York already has a sparsely-funded Crime Victim's Board that does provide truly needy victims with emergency relief.) The pool could be funded with a lifetime victim's surcharge, say 10%, of all income earned by a convicted ciminal (or income over the poverty level)..

Want to cut down DWI's? Have the penalty include the victim's surcharge. Convicted of larceny? Once you're guilty, anything you earn gets surcharged 10%.

It would be easy to collect--right off the tax return. And it would start to compensate victims for their loss and suffering. Serving 30 days may pay one's debt to society, but it doesn't help the victim.

Make 'em pay.

(Apology-- I saw the reference to the Florida law on another blog, and I commented on that post--but I lost the link. If I posted a comment recently on your posting about this proposal, let me know & I'll trackback!)

School Board Pay

Here in New York, at least on Long Island, school board members receive no pay. They receive no reduction of real estate taxes. They receive no financial benefit, whatsoever.

Unless, of course, they steal, but that's a whole different story.

It's time for that to change.

A quick Google search reveals that board members are paid in other parts of the country (eg. Wisconsin- $600 per year; St. Petersburg, FL- over $30,000; Minnesota $3000-6000 per year).

Long Island, the land of $100,000-plus teachers and multi-million dollar budgets, has been beset with financial scandals. Many of the scandals have had their genesis in lack of independent oversight by school boards.

But the school boards here, made up solely of volunteers, are not equipped many times to excercise that control.

Because of the rigors of time and general aggravation associated with being on a school board in a community where the parents are very active and, in some cases, intrusive, many qualified people stay away from service.

More than half of the seats each year, Islandwide, are uncontested. Many of the seats are held by people who "came up throught the ranks" of PTA-- not a bad thing, certainly. But it's not overly healthy for school boards to be so dominated-- unless, of course, the PTA member also has a college degree and some business background.

Offering to compensate board members for the hundreds of hours of service they perform during the year is fair-- all of our other elected officials receive compensation. Certainly pay will attract more candidates. And a paid board member can be held to a higher degree of accountability than can a volunteer.

In my District, for example, the budget now exceeds $100 million dollars, and educates approximately 6,500 students. Yet the seven-member Board is supposed to govern this district, not only financially but also educationally, without compensation.

It simply is not fair.

Taxes: How Much Do We Really Pay?

First, Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Now, then, in a weekend post, The Unrepentant Individual decried his federal tax burden, and called for an end to withholding.

It got me thinking of all of the taxes we pay, many of them hidden:

Federal; FICA; Medicare/aid; State income; State sales tax; real estate taxes; excise taxes on our phone bills, cable bills, electric & natural gas; gasoline; tires; oil; hotel rooms; parking. Some pay city taxes, or personal property levies.

Am I missing any?

Then there are the indirect taxes we pay, either through our employers--the other half of FICA, worker's compensation, unemployment insurance, disability insurance--- or through the products we buy (import taxes, corporate income taxes, commercial real estate taxes, etc).

Then there are use fees we pay for parks, and pools, and licenses and registrations.

That's a looooooot of money.

I know that taxes are the price we pay for civilization (Oliver Wendell Holmes). But I wish we could somehow get a scorecard at the end of each year, telling us how much we really paid. It might come in handy when Democrats start talking about increasing taxes, or how I'm somehow not paying my fair share.

On a separate issue, my weekend reading led me to, B After the Fact, who has an excellent post regarding Arthur Miller (two actually-- he has a guest blogger as well.)

John Gorka & Nadine Goellner-- Weekend Review

A few disclaimers.

First, I've never written a review before. So I apologize for my lack of imaginative adjectives, metaphors and similes. This is much more difficult than writing about politics or sports.

Second, I am a life-long, shameless, unabashed car singer, with neither the ability to carry a tune nor to keep a beat. If you have ever driven beside or behind me, you may have thought you were watching someone having a fit. Or a lunatic.

You were.

Cell phone technology has helped-- when traffic is crawling I can at least pretend that I'm talking to the earpiece. But, I'm not. I'm singing. Badly, but with verve.

So I've always had an affinity to songs with... how can I say this? Oh, yeah-- Intelligent lyrics.

Back in the '80s there was a head shop/music store on my drive home. Little place, Grateful Dead mecca-- need the June 6, 1972 concert in Akron? They got the tape. That kind of place. Ever see "High Fidelity" with John Cusack and Jack Black? Not that classy.

But the owner, and the hangers-on, when not incredibly high, or maybe because they were incredibly high, gave great recommendations. Now, back then I was listening to a lot of country, a holdover of my addiction to "The Johnny Cash Show", and the fact that, yes, in the heyday of Led Zeppelin, I knew all the words to every Jim Croce & John Denver song.

Well, this place didn't sell too much of that genre. But, very fortunately for me, they sold a lot of folk. To get me started, the head Dead Head sold me a tape (yes, very much pre-CD) of A Collection of New Folk Music, put out by Windham Hills records.

Bingo! One great song after another. Some beautiful. Some weird.

But one artist jumped out at me-- John Gorka. A funny, poignant song entitled "I Saw A Stranger With Your Hair", about a guy seeing glimpses of the one he lost in the people he passes in the crowds. I was intrigued.

Back to my Dead Head guys, and home with a tape of Gorka's just-released second album "Land of the Bottom Line".

In pops the cassette, out pops the first line of the first song:

"I couldn't bribe a wino, on what I used to make."

Hooked. I was hooked. What followed was the funniest, most intelligent, most hit-me-where I lived music I'd ever heard. Songs about getting a car stolen, about old boxers, Italian girls, about pigs going to a prom (you have to hear it), about uncertainty, about gentrification, about loss & healing:

"This sudden loneliness has made me dangerous,
Please don't watch me while I fall apart.
Cause I'm sad and I'm angry,
And armed with a broken heart."

Songs of love and loss, though not sappy and clingy-- guy songs. Songs with style and power and humor. In later records, songs about the suburbs growing out, divorce, the blessings of a new child, aging not-so-gracefully.

I feel like I'm growing old with his music. Truth be told, it's not a bad companion.

He's put out 9 records. I have 8 of them, ( a few are still in cassette form.)

Though a loyal fan for 16 years, I'd never seen him live until Thursday. He didn't disappoint. He was gracious, funny, self-deprecating and above-all seemed to truly and honestly enjoy his work and his fans.

He captivated the audience, artfully segueing from songs that made you laugh, to ones that stilled the crowd with their meaningfulness, their power.

His voice is often the soundtrack in my head.

He has some music you can listen to on his web site. If you have a few minutes, take a shot.

Gorka's opening act was a young woman from Brooklyn, Nadine Goellner. Being somewhat obsessive, when I ordered the tickets for the show, and saw she was the opening act, I went to her website. I listened to the tracks she has there (as I urge you to do) and was very pleasantly surprised. So I invested a couple of bucks, and in a few days I had her second CD, "Sing It to Me Anyway" , in my mailbox, then in my player.

The first thing that hits you is the voice. It's powerful, clear, soulful, magnificent. She ranges across the spectrum, from crystal-perfect notes that soar, diving into scatty jazz-riffs. She hooks you in, with well-written acoustic-driven lyrics that show a passion, an intelligence that is consuming.

But the voice. You gotta hear it.

Gorka is my age. His concerns have often dovetailed with mine. It's hard to find that intersect with younger artists, who, rightfully & appropriately, write about their own lives.

Goellner's songs, though, often bridge that divide.

I'm a daddy who just let his 18 year old baby leave the nest to a college several states away. The song "Close To Me" hit close to home:

I could love you less
Stand in your way
And only let you be
Half of who you ought to be
I could love you less
Stand in your way
But I won't
No I would never hold you that
Close to me.

On stage, she was engaging, and a delight. Her voice is even better in person than on the CD, a tribute given how many live performances suffer in the comparison to the quality of the sound in the studio.

After her set, Nadine chatted with her new fans. Gracious, engaging and personable.

I don't do this for a living, or even a passion. But it was a great night out, made special by two performers who seem to love what they are doing, and who seemed genuinely appreciative that a few hundred people braved a cold New York winter's night to come see and hear them. And they didn't disappoint.

I leave you with the lyrics from a John Gorka song, "Let Them In", that keeps playing in my head as I see the casualties from the Iraqi war:

Let them in, Peter, they are very tired
Give them couches where the angels sleep and light those fires
Let them wake whole again, to brand new dawns
Fired with the sun, not wartime's bloody guns
May their peace be deep, remember where the broken bodies lie
God knows how young they were, to have to die
God knows how young they were, to have to die
Give them things they like, let them make some noise
Give roadhouse bands, not golden harps, to these our boys
And let them love, Peter, 'cause they've had no time
They should have trees and birds' songs and hills to climb
A taste of summer in a ripened pear
and girls sweet as meadow winds with flowing hair
Tell them how they are missed and say not to fear
It's gonna be alright with us down here

Friday Quickies

... A report out of Gloucester, Massachuessetts has a Coast Guard helicopter crew saving three men from 39 degree waters, 45 miles off shore.

A typical heroic act by the Coast Guard, one that usually doesn't get much notice. Annually, the Coast Guard performs approximately 40,000 rescue missions, and saves over 4,000 people, many from their own carelessness or foolishness.

Why did this story make the news? Because one of the guys saved is the brother of one of the fishermen who died on the Andrea Gail, the subject of the book and movie "The Perfect Storm".

Time for this family to try farming.

....One of my first posts was about the need for a national water pipeline. I noted the abundance, and sometimes overabundance of water here in the East, and the need for water in the West--and the corresponding differences in price.

To further drive home the point, New York has announced that its reservoirs are full to capacity-- and that the usual snow melt this Spring will cause an overflow, and possible flooding.

So they are going to drain off water from the reservoirs. How much? About 9 billion gallons.

That's enough to provide the annual water needs of about 160,000 people. In Tuscon, AZ, for example, that much water sells for $85 million. Now, New York doesn't always "spill" that much water. But, we are talking about only one reservoir system, and, indeed, one that is not built to collect water for re-sale to other areas.

We really should be looking at this project.

....The "insurgents" as these thugs are so colorfully referred to, just intentionally bombed two bakeries and a mosque. What would be the outcry throughout the world if we accidentally did that?

....Feels like "greatest hits" day-- I have previously written that I think we should pull out of the U.N. Latest reason? The U.N. Human Rights Commission has just added Cuba and Zimbabwe as members.

Huh?

Castro & Robert Mugabe are two of the biggest offenders of human rights in the world. It's like putting Martha Stewart on the SEC, or Michael Jackson in charge of a day care center.

Disgusting. The UN does nothing to foster peace--it merely provides cover for bloody dictators and the perpetrators of genocide. See, for example, the Sudan, the Congo, Serbia, etc.

...Saw John Gorka and Nadine Goellner in concert last night. Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Best part? Watching my 14 year old daughter enjoying the show, and chatting with Nadine after her set.

....And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin...would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities."

(Speech, New York, 1915)

Class Act

So many athletes seem to be arrogant, selfish and narcissistic, that when one of them does something commendable it's doubly special.

According to Rick Reilly, in this week's Sports Illustrated, this is how Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch spent the afternoon of the big game:

"But before this Super Bowl, wide receiver Deion Branch of the Patriots did something even stranger. He picked up his cellphone and called every coach in his life who meant something to him. He called Pee Wee coaches. He called his high school receivers coach. He called his junior college offensive coordinator. He called his college head coach. He called 13 coaches in all. And do you know what he told them? Thank you."

Very classy.

A few year's ago I reached out to my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Benewitz, and took her out to lunch. She was long retired by then-- after all, I had her in the turbulent school year of 1967-68. I haven't kept in touch, and I regret that-- but I did get to tell her thank you.

Thinking about what Branch did is making me think of other teachers who had an impact on me. Miss Hawco, who taught me grammar virtually at gun point; Mr. Mencher, my social studies teacher and class advisor when I was President of the Class of '76 at Massapequa High School; Dr. Ryle & Dr. Rilling, two special history professors at the University of Richmond; Dean Simons and Professor Davidian at St. John's School of Law, who challenged me to think with discipline.

There were others-- coaches and teachers. I'll be thinking of them over the next few days.

And Deion Branch just became one of the guys I'll be rooting for over the next few years--except against the Jets, of course!

Prince?!?

The NY Post is reporting that Rolling Stone is coming out with its top 50 grossing musical artisits of 2004.

Prince was #1.

What?

Jeez, I missed that one. Prince?

I have a cultural blind-spot as far as that little bugger goes anyway. I just never got him, never got his whole schtick, and never could understand what women saw in him. I just saw him as a pompous little ass, living in his own little money-created fantasy world, a la Michael Jackson, less the child molestation angle. But, hey, what the hell do I know?

What I do know is that I look at this list and I think, hey, where are the kids?

Top artists?

Prince. Old.
Madonna. My age. Old.
Metallica. Old.
Elton John. Matronly.
Jimmy Buffett. Old-- (with a decent chunk of my disposable income in his bank account, by the way)
Rod Stewart. Shania Twain. Simon & freakin' Garfunkel. Old, old, old & oh my God old.

Top rapper was 50 Cent, at 19 on the list.

I thought music was for teens. It appears I was wrong about that, too.

But, seriously people. We spent more money on seeing and hearing Prince than any other artist last year? Makes it hard to argue that we aren't cultural infidels, doesn't it?

Dean and the DNC

Is it me, or has Howard Dean's campaign for the chair of the Democratic National Committee lasted longer than his campaign for the Presidency? It seems like it's been going on for months (the earliest piece I could find was October--but I feel like it's been going on longer).

Dean thinks the problem with the Democrats is that they have blurred the distinction between the parties, and that they lack organization.

I think the problem with the Democrats is that while they have been good at recognizing problems, and empathizing with the victims, time has shown that their solutions don't work, that they are unwilling to adjust, and that they lack new ideas.

For instance, we know the schools in this country are inadequate. The Democrats solution: more money.

Well, here on Long Island, even our worst districts are spending over $12,000 per student. Assuming a class size of 25, that's over $300,000 spent on each classroom. Surely that's enough money.

The problem isn't the money-- it's the work rules and the structure. Tenure; short days; short years; lack of flexibility (a high school physics teacher and an elementary school gym teacher get paid the same); lack of merit raises; school districts based on residential neighborhoods leading to de facto segregation, seniority rules--etc. etc.

There is a magic bullet. Vouchers. Even the "half-measures" of charter schools are some progress.

But rather than let the light of competition into the classrooms, the Democrats pound away at old "solutions" which are recognized by the majority of this country as unworkable.

There are also solutions to problems which have been offered, by both sides, which have worked, more or less, and thus are no longer the basis of dispute. This isn't a "blurring" of the parties' ideologies-- it's the recognition that this particular course of action worked. Examples: lowering taxes (Republican idea--nobody is seriously talking about a 70% bracket anymore); Title IX (Democratic--vastly increased women's participation in sports-- there are calls for revisions, but only on the edges--nobody is seriously talking about abolishing it--and even if Title IX expired, it changed the American psyche permanently. The days of girls' sports institutionally taking a back seat are gone.)

That's Dean's challenge-- ideas. He can organize all he wants-- without the engine of new ideas powering the ship forward, restructuring local organizations is just rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking boat.

SuperBowl Thoughts

The commercials were lousy, for the most part-- but it was better than last year's fiasco. I know everybody focuses on Janet Jackson, but that wasn't the worst part for me. We watch the SuperBowl as a family-- my brother & sisters, their kids & spouses, my Dad and friends-- big party.

Last year's commercials were either gross, fraternity-style jokes (horses passing wind, dogs biting crotches) or overtly provocative.

I have no problem with either, in their right place, and I did laugh. But I was also extremely uncomfortable with the kids in the room.

So I can understand the scaling back of the raunch.

I thought the monkeys for CareerBuilders were excellent, as was the Bud Light commercial with the parachutests.

What was Ford thinking? Why run the exact same ad three times? We were pissed off by the third one. They could have slightly altered the commercials, same theme, same characters, without being repetitve--which is what CareerBuilders did. They could have had the guy thawing out in the cop car, maybe coming across another frozen driver. Who knows? I don't get paid for it, but what Ford did seemed....lazy.

The refs were horrible. To get overturned three times in one game--man, something's wrong. I didn't have a team in this game, so it's not like I cared one way or the other--but, some of the calls for penalties just seemed silly.

But as bad as the refs and the ads were, Fox's telecast was worse.

They missed calls. They missed plays. There was a roughing the passer penalty--we never saw the shot. The "ground cameras" so highly touted-- nothing.

Guys were slipping and sliding all over the place-- not one mention about the field conditions.

The refs were obviously not ready for the game--and neither was the Fox director.

Finally, the difference in the game may have been the discipline of the players, which I guess reflects on the coaches.

In their next to last drive, which resulted in a touchdown but which wasted way too much time, the Eagles lollygagged to the huddle, posed after short gains, walked to the line, expended precious time jawing at Patriots after plays, and generally acted like it was the first quarter of a meaningless regular season game, instead of the fourth quarter of the SuperBowl.

On the other hand, when the Patriot's recovered the on-side kick, the player went right down, as did the Patriot's defensive back when he intercepted the pass with 9 seconds left. Both times the Patriot player realized what was important-- possession. Neither decided to try to make the highlight reel by wildly attempting a runback. Neither risked a fumble. Both traded off personal glory for the benefit of the team.

Good job.

And, the best part of SuperBowl Sunday was the pancake breakfast I run for my Kiwanis Club-- we raised over $4,000, money with which we will send a bunch of underpriveleged to Kamp Kiwanis next summer. Lots of fun, and a good feeling besides.

Friday Quickies

....Further proof we are nearing the Apocalypse: a Japanese company is introducing a cell phone you jiggle rather than dial.

Seriously.

The phone can be programmed so that a double-motion (such as left-down) will dial a number, or access a function.

And so, like Speedo bathing suits and instant heating curling irons, a manufacturer has developed a consumer product I cannot, ever, use. For I am an Italian-American New Yorker. I talk with my hands, indeed often with big gestures. If I used one of those phones I would be setting up inadvertent conference calls, or perhaps even hacking into a nuclear silo. And what about my poor father with Parkinson's? How could he ever use that phone with any confidence?

My question: do we really need this? Or is it yet more evidence that there is simply too much money floating around?

....Stories keep rolling out from the Iraqi election. Misere reports voters shared candies at some polling places; she says that's her kind of election! Mine, too. Maybe that's how we can generate higher turnout here, and pay for voting machines that, you know, actually work-- corporate sponsorship!

"Vote here, get a slice of pizza from Sal's Pizzeria"; "Election choices making you queasy? This voting booth brought to you by your friends at Pepto Bismol"; "Voting booth lighting brought to you by GE"; "This booth sponsored by Harrah's-- the election's a crap shoot, anyway". "Think your candidate is sweet? Try our new Butterfinger Crisp".

You get the idea.

.... Gross story here on Long Island-- a hospital accidentally (well, we presume accidentally) sent a leg along with a deceased patient's personal effects to the local funeral home, which, in turn, gave it to the family. Family noticed when the garbage bag holding Dad's slippers, etc. started to...uhm...smell.

I've heard of hospitals charging an arm and a leg, but I never heard of one giving a partial refund.

....A trip to Mars should be done with an all-female crew, according to an article in December's The Journal of Men's Health and Gender. Professor William J. Rowe posits that since women are six times less likely to suffer endothelial injuries (yeah, I had to look it up--it's the cells that line the heart and other major organs) they are better suited for the long trip; there are other advantages, having to do with magnesium uptake and other things that, quite frankly, I didn't understand.

The good professor did cite one disadvantage:

"The only apparent disadvantage of an exclusively women crew for a Mars mission, may be the advisability of their avoiding space walks during menstruation, because of the greater risk at that time of decompression sickness."

Now, at the risk of both physical and literary injury, I want to tell the good professor that as the only man living in a house with three females, I can give him several other reasons why an all-female crew might not be such a great idea. I want to tell those reasons, but I'm not that brave.

.....Going to see John Gorka and new-to-me Nadine Goellner in concert on Thursday with my beloved and our music-crazy 14 year old daughter. I haven't been this excited about a concert since my 6th, no...11th Jimmy Buffett concert.

Gorka is great-- if you've never heard him, treat yourself. One of my favorite passages of his:

There's a barroom for every way the wind blows
And temptation in every substance known
You pull your own weight or else it pulls you
It gets harder the older that you've grown

- The Ballad of Jamie Bee

....Finally, a quote that's apropos for Social Security, the Middle East, or, for that matter, our next lunch order:

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”-- Theodore Roosevelt

Yeah,W Got To Me

I'll admit right up front that my teenage daughters and my wife tease me about getting emotional--OK, crying, at certain movies, situations, etc. A big-old fashioned He-Man I guess I'm not.

I remarked the other day that I had a catch in my throat on Sunday watching the Iraqis vote-- not the jumping up and down for the cameras, but rather the sincere, almost secretive smiles and looks of wonderment on the people, especially the women.

W got to me last night, during the State of the Union. Finally, he expressed what many others had been talking about--if only he had articulated this idea of a free and democratic Middle East as our best source of peace before the Iraq War started-- instead of hammering the one note of WMD. Regardless, W, at long last, did set forth the broader campaign. Bravo.

What really got me, though, were the guests.

The introduction of the Iraqi woman, proudly holding up her ink-stained finger, well, that brought the catch in my throat back.

The introduction of the Marine's parents-- that got me "leaking".

But the hug between the two women, ah, that got me.

Maybe that's why I buy into this whole Wilsonian-with-force philosophy-- I'm a sucker for freedom. I know conservatives & Republicans get painted as cold, and practical--but I think the ideas we regularly express embody more dreams, and are more classicallly romantic than is usually expressed elsewhere. Doesn't make those ideas more right, just, in a way, grander. And when Walls come down, and people breathe free air, it's stirring.

Yep, W got me last night.

Groundhog Day-- The Ultimate Buddhist Movie

Today being Groundhog Day, I wanted to salute a movie which is not only one of my all-time favorites, but is also considered to be the ultimate Buddhist movie: Groundhog Day, featuring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliot and other character actors you will recognize.

This is not a new observation. See wonderful essays here, here, here & here.

But if you haven't seen it, take the time. It's worth it, I promise!

For those who have seen it, some favorite lines:

Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.

I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. *That* was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over and over and over...

Phil: Do you ever have deja vu Mrs. Lancaster?
Mrs. Lancaster: I don't think so, but I could check with the kitchen.

Rita: Why would anybody want to steal a groundhog?
Larry: I can think of a couple of reasons... the pervert.


Phil: It's the same things your whole life. "Clean up your room.", "Stand up straight.", "Pick up your feet.", "Take it like a man.", "Be nice to your sister.", "Don't mix beer and wine, ever.". Oh yeah, "Don't drive on the railroad track."

Gus: Eh, Phil. That's one I happen to agree with.

[Phil Connors is stopped by the police after some crazy driving]
Phil: Yeah, three cheeseburgers, two large fries, two chocolate shakes and a large coke.
Ralph: [to Phil] And some flapjacks.
Phil: [to Cop] Too early for flapjacks?

A First Hand Account of the Iraqi Election

Dal LaMagna is a self-described liberal/progressive who ran for Congress a couple of times on the Democratic ticket. He has started The Progressive Government Institute. The name says it all.

One thing about Dal, though, is that he puts his money where his mouth is--the company he founded, owns and operates, Tweezerman, is run along his progressive principles.

I received the following email from him. I will admit that when I saw the title, I was expecting an "expose"-- the PGI is no fan of the Bush Administration. I was surprised.

So I print this with renewed respect for Dal, with confidence that this is an actual Iraqi, and with a link to Dal's group, despite my general disagreement with much that is contained there:

Progressive Government Institute Announces

From Dal LaMagna, Cambridge, MA - Jan 31, 2005 [Dr. Ali Sindi was a classmate of mine at the JFK School of Government in 2002-2003. He voted today in Iraq and sent me this report.]

Jan 31, 2005 -- Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan
The Election Day just ended. The first real multiparty election in the history of Iraq just closed. I had to vote in Duhok where I am registered for the food ration since nearly 13 years ago. In Duhok (vast majority Kurds) the process was very smooth with a huge participation, very safe and secure environment and well organized.

According to initial readings from voters and officials in all Kurdistan (by the current definition the three provinces of Duhok, Erbil and Sulimaneya) the participation in the minimum was more than 85%. The three provinces while having the highest percentage of voting had no incidents at all (Thanks God).

In the controversial province of Kirkuk the Iraqi police and security were able to control the situation to a great extent. Nevertheless a blind bomb was able to kill one civilian. People I talked to from Kirkuk stated that the family of the innocent citizen insisted to vote before burying the body. The killed man was a middle age Kurdish man.

In Mosul, nearly two millions and divided by Tigress into two halves, one majority Kurd and the other majority Sunni Arabs the situation was very diverse. The Kurdish side did welcome the election and participate wherever possible while the other part of the city was completely election free!

In Baghdad the contribution has been much beyond the expectations. Today I talked to two families living in two different places in Baghdad. I was surprised to hear how motivated people in Baghdad were! This is the first time since the fall of Saddam that I could feel the stand of the silent majority. I never believed that innocent people can challenge the terrorists. In one center in Baghdad a suicide bombers exploded himself at around 7:30 am while people were just arriving to vote. The incident resulted in the killing of few innocents. The person I talked to who lives in that neighborhood stated that the attendance to the attacked center later in the day was unbelievable! The second family I talked to, also in Baghdad, had a similar story.

Another pro was the freedom in decision making. The voting centers were amazingly free from any political party influence! Oh my God, for people in my age group and older this is unbelievable. We remember the Saddam's elections with the outcomes of 99.99.99% - and how fearful was it when you would arrive in the voting center. Although there would be no more than one candidate (Saddam Hussein) and all what you had to do was to say yes or no but the attendance used to be really 99.99% simply because you and your family would be in a real danger if you would not go. The joke among Iraqis after each election was that the new government's number one's task or agenda was to find the .001% of the population who said no for Saddam and kill them!

The new experience of free voting today for Iraqis was huge, just huge.

The cons to this election were the complexity of the voting forms. Every one had to make three choices in Kurdistan and two in the center and south by selecting numbers one in each form. One would be who do you chose for the Iraqi National Assembly (who could be a person or a list, but in both cases will have a name and a number, for example 273), the other for Iraqi Kurdistan's National Assembly (for the Kurds living in Kurdistan) and the third for the province's councils (18 around the country). Thus every one would be required to remember three or two numbers among tens of numbers. Of course one could read the names too but finally the shortcuts will be numbers and this was! a bit difficult for unused Iraqis!

Overall at the end of the voting day, like majority of Iraqis I am very happy but wish to know when tis ink will be cleared from my thumb!. Around the country there have been around 10 terrorist (some of them suicide) acts. I just feel that for the first time since the fall of Saddam there is a good chance for the new Iraqi government and those who support a free Iraq. On the other hand today's elections were a blow on the face of many countries in the region who do not agree with any progress toward stability and happiness and democracy for Iraqis (even if American way!).

According to the independent high Iraqi commission for elections report earlier today around 70% of Iraqi voters did participate. Regardless to who will win and who will make coalitions with whom the most important thing in my view is the courage and voice of silent Iraqi majority. Iraqis were continuously asked where are the majority? It is about how to express politics and interest! Not that all the problems are solved but a chance for learning from mistakes and a big step forward.

Ali Sindi

Visit the Progressive Government Institute...

About Progressive Government Institute

The Progressive Government Institute is a non-partisan, educational organization dedicated to ensuring transparency and accountability in the executive branch of the federal government. We study how our government operates, believing that such a process leads to improvement and progress. We believe that the executive branch must be transparent so that it can be responsive to all Americans. And, we insist that our President and his advisers be accountable - otherwise, we, the people, are not able to fulfill our constitutional role of judging the direction in which the President takes our country.

Website: http://www.progressivegovernment.org

Progressive Government Institute Dal LaMagna Founder and president email: dal@progressivegovernment.org