days of naze

what would jesus do?
08:23 PM

"Christianity as a religion is about political power, morality and us vs. them. Christianity as spirituality is about acceptance, love and grace..."

-Donald Miller

This essay by Oregonian writer, Steve Duin, captures my feelings about many of those who call themselves Christians, but especially fundamentalists. I've known a small number of Christians who behave in Christ-like ways; they are centered and caring. They live their faith and are strong.

But these are few. I know many who claim to be Christians that show no signs of Christ influence. In fact, I know some, closer than friends, who loudly declare their faith that have said things to me that are shocking in their greed and cruelty.

It should be no surprise that there is no difference in rates of crime between those who profess allegiance to a religion and those who don't. As in every facet of life, you can tell what people believe by what they do.

deep in the sea of o'brian
02:07 PM | Comments (0)

Cathy and I are both voracious readers. We tend to enjoy the same magazines (Vanity Fair and Esquire) but diverge when it comes to books. Her passions are true crime, famous disasters, and the history of Nazi Germany. I regularly consume cultural texts like Islam: A Concise Introduction, graphic novels like Bone, with the occasional sci-fi or fantasy (both of which constituted most of my literary diet a decade ago) thrown in.

However, we both love historical fiction. She is my scout in this regard, having introduced me to the work of Mary Stewart and Margaret George.

She picked up her first Aubrey/Maturin book after the release of Master and Commander, and was instantly hooked.

"At one time Stephen had been marooned on a bare rock in the south Atlantic, and his only drink was the warm rainwater that remained in the guano-filled hollows: it had been more disagreeable than Mrs. Wogan's tea, but only very slightly so."

This passage, from O'Brian's 6th book (which I currently read), The Fortune of War, captures the author's gift for English (and Irish?) understated humor. The novel, set in 1812 at the outset of the American/English conflict has captivated me and taught me more about the battles of that short-lived war than anything I'd read up to then.

We received an e-mail from Amazon notifying us that the final unfinished book had just been published. Cathy, her eyes glistening with tears, ate up the reviews. I, just on the 6th of 20 and by far the slower reader, look forward to a long and perilous journey with Post-Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Maturin.

i can see clearly now
11:54 AM

Whew! I'd been without my home internet connection for 4 days and I've just now restored it. It's almost like losing a sense. What a relief!

In that time I've spent about 8 hours fiddling with the system on top of the 2 1/2 hours the Comcast tech took. Oddly enough, I must give credit to Windows XP for the solution.

Earlier this week, a new button appeared on my Yahoo toolbar offering Anti-Spy to detect and remove spyware. I've been a steady (paying) customer of Yahoo over the last couple of years and I've generally been very satisfied. I wasn't having any spyware issues but just wanted to check out the feature. Anti-Spy identified a number of illicit programs on my drive so I clicked on them all to be deleted.

Big mistake.

My net connection was immediately fubar'ed. Any undo feature was beyond my reach because, well, Anti-Spy was no longer anywhere in sight. I searched for it on my drive but couldn't find it. And that launched the frustrating quest for restoration.

Like most computer problems, the one solution is quick, easy, and maddeningly obvious once you discover it. XP's system restore function worked perfectly. Bless you my borg-like Redmond codeslingers. And to my usually reliable Yahoo's to the south, a sharp rap on the snout (and then a friendly pet).

November 21, 2004

a november of bitter defeats
09:16 PM | Comments (9102)

"The harsh reality hit Oregon's players like a blast of cold air rushing through Reser Stadium. After a decade of winning seasons and an impressive string of bowl appearances, the Ducks found themselves in a strangely unfamiliar place Saturday night -- mired in the losers' column."

November 19, 2004

adolescents hate the grown-ups
07:06 PM

"I look at the catastrophe in Iraq, the fiscal debacle here at home, the extent to which loyalty trumps competence at the highest levels of government, the absence of a coherent vision of the future for the U.S. and the world, and I wonder, with a sense of deep sadness, where the adults have gone."

-Paul Krugman, New York Times

November 14, 2004

yum
06:35 PM

Worn out by drech and hype? Slow it down and slip Jim Jarmusch's Coffee & Cigarettes into your DVD.

Dig the recurring checker top round table and the scene featuring Bill Murray and the Wu Tang Clan.

Delicious.

trailing the american ideal since 1776!
06:23 PM

Angry with the majority of Southern voters? Questioning the intelligence of Dixie? Irritated with a region that is regularly on the wrong side of every moral issue since the conception of our country?

Take a moment for articulate, focused rage. Then breathe. Feel better?

[Coarse language -- not recommended for children.]

November 11, 2004

the nation: "stand and fight"
11:42 AM

"The American Right understands we are two nations, and cares less about healing than about holding power. A Bush wins forces us to understand, in a very deep way, what that means for us and for the values and institutions we care about. Not that they are wrong, or rejected or weighed down by "identity politics" or some other rationale for surrender. But that they are in desperate danger and we need to start thinking along the lines of how to resist, delay, deflect, oppose and ultimately defeat the assault on our freedoms. As progressives, we will need to marshal at least as much dedication, purpose, strategic focus and tactical ruthlessness..."

November 09, 2004

i'll take a little credit for this
07:23 PM

"Democrat Sen. John Kerry won nearly 72 percent of the vote in Portland and surrounding Multnomah County, a whopping 24 percentage points higher than his national showing."

We kicked ass in Oregon. We won Oregon big for Kerry and we stopped an insane repeal of a temporary tax needed to fund schools, which is needed because of our ineffectual Republican dominated House and Senate. And, oh yeah, we just took back our state Senate.

The Oregonian, which for once actually endorsed the correct candidate, insists on screwing up one major element of any piece that they run. Their title "Voting in a Bubble" begs the question, "Are we drifting left or is rural Oregon drifting right?"

November 07, 2004

reflection on the election
10:07 PM

It's interesting to read what people have to say about the 2004 election. I was deeply involved in this process following the primaries closely, giving money to candidates for the first time, signing lots of petitions, buying t-shirts, attending rallies, writing letters to editors, working on phone banks, and canvassing like hell.

There is a lot of anger and disappointment on our side, as well there should be. But the blaming is not only not helpful, it's mostly off-target.

Case in point: 2 of my favorite people on the net, Jason and Rob, both reliably clever and insightful, largely miss the mark.

Jason's arguments go thusly: 1) We're not divided - the 2 party system divides us; 2) No one is stupid - we're all stupid [?!]; 3) Karl Rove is smart because he knows how to play the Evangelical Christians, who were the deciding factor in this election; and 4) the forces for Kerry were inarticulate and not simple enough in their message.

In my experience, most Americans don't give a damn what party you are from. Witness the rise of voters registering as independent. We seem be stuck with this two-party system. Third parties have added vitality to the democratic discourse, but rarely, if ever contend. I am interested in weighted voting, which would greatly enhance opportunities for third (and fourth and fifth!) party candidates, however, that would take serious constitutional amendments that would likely be opposed by major party organizations.

However, this all entirely misses the point. The argument that a greater number of choices directly results in some heretofore unimagined consensus candidate strikes me as absurd. You don't hire some possible applicant -- you choose the better qualified one from those who show up.

"We're all stupid." Hmm... As a teacher, I am loathe to use the "s" word. If you are among the appallingly high number of Americans who stubbornly insist that Saddam had any links to 9/11, you are ignorant. You just don't bother to let facts distort your world view. What you then do with facts tells us about the quality of your decisions. If you insist that we are safer because we invaded Iraq, even though this means we have less money to pay for searching imported containers and security for nuclear and chemical plants, that makes you a fool.

I like the idea that Jason reaches for: he's looking for us all to share the blame for the terrible state we find our nation in. It's a noble idea, but in this case, where so many have hotly contested the countless bizarre and destructive decisions of W and his followers, it rings hollow and off-key.

Evangelical Christians were not the deciding factor in this election. They were never in play for Kerry. Jason's own link, posted days after his election essay, agrees.

Get this, people. We lost because slightly more voters think Bush is doing a good job than those of us who believe he is ruining the country. A good chunk of middle class 40-55 year old boomers (including, unfortunately women, who usually know better) who are a little afraid. Who feel better when we are overseas kicking someone's ass. Who want Daddy to take care of them. People primarily blinded by fear. W's own campaign people loudly and cheerily concur.

It's fear because nothing could ever cloud someone's judgement as to blind them to the atrocious record of W. No 'wartime' President has ever been unseated, and this one came damn close.

Rob, like me, is a big fan of Howard Dean. Dean is passionate and smart, and a gifted, charismatic speaker. But Dean made two big mistakes in Iowa: 1) he burned money (a tiny sliver of which I sent him) at an insanely high rate, and 2) committed the modern media sin of allowing his emotions to run a bit loose in front of cameras. It's true that the Kerry campaign did a pretty nasty hatchet job on Howard in Iowa. My heart had hopes that Dean could overcome all of that -- I think he would be a fantastic President -- but my head tells me that tv news, a very timid electorate, and the diabolical Rove would have conspired to sink him very quickly.

I have no patience for complaints of Kerry as a candidate. He's smart and articulate. He has a long and distinguished history of service to our nation, and he is right on target on very nearly every issue. For anyone who has read anything about their backgrounds, it is embarrassing to even compare W's achievements to Kerry's.

A bunch of us participated in the single greatest get out the vote effort in U.S. history. Millions of people sent small donations to progressive organizations. Republican propaganda was met nearly ad for ad in battleground states. Kerry was forceful and articulate in the debates and kicked ass in every one. All of these things were glorious and righteous.

But for just slightly more of those who voted, this contest was not about reason, facts, or appeals to meeting the needs of our fellow citizens.

It was about fear.

November 03, 2004

solace in art
06:42 PM

This morning, I set aside my deep sorrow and taught my students how to write haiku. I read many beautiful poems as I circulated around the room and laughed out loud when I spotted this one:

Bush is real Stupid
Repubulicans [sic] are crazy
Bush = Long War.

Later when I had a moment to myself while the kids were in chorus, I looked out the window at the playground and composed this:

Cool fog shrouds the trees
slowly lifting to reveal
colors of autumn.

aftermath
06:41 AM

"Then all the hosts of Angand swarmed against them, and they bridged the stream with their dead, and encircled the remnant of Hithlum as a gathering tide about a rock. There as the sun westered on the sixth day, and the shadow of Ered Wethrin grew dark, Huor fell pierced with a venomed arrow in his eye, and all the valiant Men of Hador were slain about him in a heap; and the Orcs hewed their heads and piled them as a mound of gold in the sunset.

Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Hurin cried: 'Aure entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them. Then Gothmog bound him and dragged him to Angband with mockery.

Thus ended Nirnaeth Arnoediad, as the sun went down beyond the sea. Night fell in Hithlum, and there came a great storm of wind out of the West.

Great was the triumph of Morgoth, and his design was accomplished in a manner after his own heart; for Men took the lives of Men, and betrayed the Eldar, and fear and hatred were aroused among those that should have been united against him. From that day the hearts of the Elves were estranged from Men, save only those of the Three Houses of the Edain."

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion - Of The Fifth Battle

November 02, 2004

steady. breathe.
08:52 PM

Turn off network news. Just watch this sweet C-SPAN Electoral Map and update it every 20 minutes or so for spin-free information.

November 01, 2004

insure the blessings of liberty
09:19 PM

Take a moment to breathe it in.

Over the last 2 years, Americans outraged by the greed, incompetence, and cruelty of the Bush regime have created a juggernaut of citizen action and democratic values. MoveOn, the Howard Dean Movement, a whole new radio network in Air America, and countless brilliant bloggers like Daily Kos have galvanized the majority of Americans who believe in a country far different than the radical right.

Through hard work; millions of $10, $20, $30 donations; and smart strategy we are here now on the edge of victory.

How sweet it is to reclaim this experiment in democracy. Can you see now how fragile it is? In 4 short years, the politics of selfishness and ignorance have us entrenched in a hopeless Middle East quagmire, staring at the free and defiant perpetrator of the 9/11 atrocities, deeper in debt than ever before in history, with the greatest loss of jobs since the Great Depression, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

People could have sat on their asses and just taken it. But they didn't. There is some fight in this country. The American dream burns hot in most of us and I'm proud to have joined hands with those who chose to do something about it.

Unless some great catastrophe or treachery occurs, we have united Oregonians for Kerry against Bush, and for a whole host of ideas that lift people up and work towards stronger communities.

Wherever you are in the U.S., but especially if you are in Ohio or Florida and you are with us: please do what you must to vote and make sure your vote, and your neighbor's vote is counted. We will be here ready to send you whatever aid you need.

May we soon achieve a more perfect union.

omens
09:13 PM

Things haven't been looking so good for the bad guys.