Electronic Writer

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has created an online tool to help the members of the Republican Party generate apologies to the almighty Rush Limbaugh.  The controversy is provided by Rush Limbaugh openly hoping on his national radio program that President Obama fails in with his stimulus package and pulling the country out of the recession (he obviously still has a job, health insurance and plenty of food in his cupboards).  The apology generator was created by Democrats only a few days after Republican-party criticism against Rush Limbaugh was rescinded by: Congressman Phil Gingery (R-GA), Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC), and RNC Chairman, Michael Steel. (Here’s a whole list of articles at USA Today about it).

I think the apology generator is an ingenious invention.  While having fun and tinkering with the options, I can see what it feels like to be a member of the modern day Republican Party–forced to swallow the ill-concieved and self-centered rhetoric of a few loud-mouth, evangelical wing-nuts as if it were medicine and somehow good for me.  Free will be gone.  It’s the party-line, or it’s nothing.

Rush Limbaugh Apology Generator:  http://www.dccc.org/content/sorry

Although once famed for having fell asleep in the front row of High School Economics, I have developed some ideas about the current economic crisis.  And, while I am no economic genius, my ideas are simply good for America.  The best part is these are not dependent upon any politician—they are behaviors that we can adopt that will be good for ourselves, and other Americans.

Stop Buying Chinese-made Products: Buy American

I don’t mean to seem prejudicial.  Personally, I think China is an amazing country.  The reality is that China’s unprecedented growth has caused a lack of oversight that is dangerous.  This is similar to the turn of the last century for the United States where people were literally dying in the gears of industry, factories were producing food without any food safety and oversight, and, of course, the lack of the economic oversight on Wall Street led to the First Great Depression.

The recent melamine findings are very troubling in China.  According to the articles, a single food producer was angry because of a government-related legislation change.  In order to recover the money that he lost, he began putting melamine into his milk.  The chemical is used in creating plastic and simulates high levels of nitrogen which is a by-product of protein rich milk—and, how the Chinese government officials test to ensure that the milk was not watered down.  The melamine enabled him to water down the milk and sell a larger volume than he had produced, and fool the Chinese officials.

The downside, which he either did not know or did not care, is that it is deadly.  There are more than 54,000 babies that have become sick from the melamine and several have died from kidney stones.  Adults can ingest more than children, but it is not good for us either.  In China, certain brands of baby formula used the tainted milk.  Some brands of powdered milk have melamine in them—which means that they have the tainted milk in their product.  Cadbury, the British candy manufacturer has recalled bunches of their chocolate because there are exceedingly high levels of melamine, and quite possibly, the kidney stone-producing medical affects in their candy bars.  US manufacturers are concerned and have begun testing their products for traces of the poison.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case.  People were being poisoned by tainted tubes of toothpaste made in China as recently as last year.  Over 1400 people were sick from salmonella on tomatoes from a farm in Mexico as recently as May of 2008, and there are plenty of other examples.

My point is not to describe the business sector of China and their struggles as they globalize, but rather to focus on home.  Turn to the labels of your t-shirts—even the ones with American Flags on them.  Do they say Made in China? Hecho en Mexico?  Made in Bangladesh?  Or Made in America?

One part of the solution to American economic crisis is about trade—it is a long-range solution (although we might see the direct effects SOONER than we see any of that off-shore oil).  Buy American made products.  The corporations that buy globally do so for one reason: price.  There are few places on earth that can surpass the quality of American-made products.  Price-wise, we are beaten by third-world countries every time, but the by-products of this are clear.

American-made Products may be More Expensive

American-made products cost more in-part because of American minimum wage laws, the expectations of high standards of living, and America has a high level of oversight in most industries.  The good news is that our milk is NOT getting past the FDA and causing 50,000+ babies to have kidney stones.  Not to say that our record is completely unblemished, but in general, our inspection procedures and safety standards allow for a reasonable level of comfort with the quality and safety of American-made and American-grown products

While your safety may be one good reason for you to buy American-made/grown things, the effects on the economy are quite clear.  Your purchase of an American-made T-shirt, for example, will pay American shirt makers, the cotton growers, the teamsters who transported both the cotton and the finished shirts, and either the delivery drivers if the final printed shirt was shipped to you, or the retailer (and all the Sales Associates, Janitors, the local electric company, etc.) if you bought it at a store.

Talk with your dollars.  All of those Americans that you have touched with your dollars will have a little bit more money to feed their families (or, their companies will stay in business longer and can continue to provide health insurance for their employees and their families).  This is undulterated Keynesian Economics (I must have woken up for that part of my High School Economics course).

For example, there is a direct connection between the closing of American car factories, and you purchasing a Honda or Toyota.  The auto industry is a bit more slippery because many of the car companies have manufacturing plants in America (Honda, and Daimler-Chrysler, for example), but ultimately, the owners of those companies buy their groceries in another country.

Don’t give the profits to foreign companies—let’s spread the dollars around here.  We could use them right now.  And, this is my first step toward recovery from the American Economic Crisis (the politician-free method).

More on my Economic Recovery Plan tomorrow . . . .

Variations of the original title, “Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten,” are everywhere. A quick google search will confirm it. But, when I examine my own childhood, Boy Scouts had a much greater influence on my formation as an adult than my kindergarten classroom. No offense is intended towards my Kindergarten Teacher, but around 10 years old, I physically walked across a bridge in an Arrow of Light Ceremony. Symbolically, I walked from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. Developmentally, I left my childhood and my formation as a man commenced with earnest . . . .

After your first steps on the other side of this bridge, the adult leaders of the Scout Troop ask the new Boy Scout to take the Scout Oath.

On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my Country. To help other people at all times. To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Although this Oath has been the subject of more than one controversy, I think it provides a pretty good guideline for Boys. (On a side not, I think it would also provide a good guide for girls, but the sexual and gender-politics of having both genders in the same group would have quite a few unwanted consequences. I will flush those ideas in another article.)

It is an Oath, and as it is worded, is inextricably bound with honor. I like the consequences of failing to uphold it having intangible damage to your honor. The other edge of that sword is that if you maintain your Oath, it is honorable.

The first tangible todos in this oath are related to a boy’s duty to God and Country. The usage of the word “duty is interesting. It implies that these things are not optional–they are requirements. In my opinion, this is a healthy way to promote both nationalism and spirituality.

I am aware of the debate about having those words stricken because it was not sensitive to the beliefs of an Athiest. My Troop was bound to a church, and we worshiped a “God”–as opposed to one of the other manifestations of it. That language was very appropriate for our Troop. If there was a predominant religion of another Troop that did not coincide with that label and they wanted to substitute a different word, I think the spirit would remain intact. (More information on the Official Boy Scout Litigation Website and blog.)

The next component introduces the concept of helping others. Extending a boy’s consciousness to think globally is a integral component of Boy Scouts. There are three merit badges about citizenship: Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World. All three of them are required to earn your Eagle Scout Award, and by learning about the differences, I learned by 12 or 13 years old that there is more to life than the four other people in my family and myself.

Helping others is a good way to shift a boy’s perspective into being a keeper and protector of that world and the people who live in it–rather than simply a consumer.

The last three items in the oath turn the attention inwards: physically strong, mentally away, and morally straight.

“Physically Strong” addresses the issue of nutrition, exercise, and drug and alcohol use. With current obesity levels in America reaching epidemic proportions (see American Obesity Association), the ideas behind this one could help more than just Boy Scouts.

“Mentally Awake” can be interpreted as intellectually curiousity. I applaud anything that encourages people to use their mind, and this clearly is an attempt to promote thinking.

When I started sniffing around for links for the article, I found a whole host of Websites that are around to address the “Morally Straight” issue. Churches, the Government, Gays, some cities, a few school districts, and even the Boy Scout’s legal team have all addressed this one.

My personal interpretation is pretty open: Try to adhere to your own moral code–whatever that is. I heard someone say that there are two paths to choose (and that they are relative). There are choices that make you better, and choices that make you worse. I am not about to tell you what those choices are, or which choices make you better and which choices make you worse . . . .

Amidst the current flurry of litigation, attacks, and opinions, I still hold that the Boy Scout Oath that I made at the age of ten still serves as a good guideline.

Some of the links I found might be interesting:

• Boy Scouts of America: http://www.scouting.org
• Boy Scouts Legal Issues Website: http://www.bsalegal.org/
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): http://www.aclusandiego.org/boy_scouts/boyscoutsbalboa.htm
• American Atheists: http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-28-may-2003.html
• HateCrimes.org: http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/boyscouts.html
• Burkhart’s Blog: http://alanburkhart.blogspot.com/2006/09/its-about-time.html
• There are simply too many to list . . . .

I know you are scared. There is another plot to kill more Americans announced yesterday. And, we have to be thankful for our government’s efforts to keep us safe. But, now that the fear meter has been heightened to its highest level since it was introduced, it is more important than ever that you keep your wits.

The last time something (or someone) threatened the United States on a national level, we–the American citizens–literally threw our freedoms out the door. Our legislators signed them away in the largely unread Patriot Act. And, we kept our mouths shut (and voted those people back into office)–hoping that those sweeping powers would not be abused.

Perhaps it made sense at the time. We did not know who or what we were fighting. We did not have any idea of how to go go about this task. We wanted to be safe–and someone to take care of us. But, we were wrong to do so. It is not acceptable to let our freedoms evaporate at the expense of that supposed safety.

Freedom of speech is important. The right to express your feelings and opinions and your dissent is the foundation for everything that is American. That fundamental belief is not so solid these days.

Freedom of religion is important, and the separation of Church and State is perhaps even more important. The first settlers came to this land to escape religious persecution, and now, almost 400 years later, we are doing the same thing that we ran to avoid. It is not acceptable to persecute or discriminate against someone who is not Christian. And, the handful of extremist Christians are lobbying for and passing legislation to cater to Fundamentalist Christianity (and certainly NOT to the majority of Christians).

Your privacy is important. It is not acceptable for our phone calls, mail, internet and other forms of communication to be intercepted without a court warrant. It is not acceptable for someone to search your home or you without a warrant. The court process was created to separate our free and civilized society from the dictatorships where the strongest and most powerful people make or break whatever rules they want.

Your freedom is important. It is NOT acceptable for any American Citizen to be imprisoned without being charged for a crime and without access to the legal system–UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

The United States of America used to say, “Give me your tired. Your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to be free.” Our message today is very different. Our message to other countries is: You NEED Democracy, and we are the ones to give it to you. You need Capitalism and American products. You need our protection and the good graces of the United States, or else you will suffer.

So–let’s get back to the place of balance. If your politicians misrepresent your views–tell them. They need to know. If you overhear someone espousing values that do not represent what YOU think America is about–start a discussion. Ask them about their assumptions. TALK about the difference.

Lastly, we need you to Vote for your beliefs. If we are ever to return from our current brink to the a place of balance, we need less people to vote for the good of their political party, and more people to vote for the good of America.

I am acutely aware of how the American ideal always appears somewhat better from behind the wheel of your own car, but Public Transportation is going to save the world. It is faster than driving. You can save your attention for a good book, reading your mail, or talking on the phone. You can eat and drink. And, it is much more reliable that traffic. If the schedule says that it will be there at 6:15pm, it will most likely be there at 6:15pm.

Sure, there are a few trade-offs. You do not have the freedom to run errands on the way home. You have to stick to your own schedule–you forfeit the flexibility to change your mind. And, there are other people aboard.

The positive sides, however, dramatically outweigh the bad. It is MUCH less expensive for you to ride public transportation than to own, insure, operate and feed gas to a car. There are minimal or zero emissions from public transportation–in a long, convoluted chain of logical events, it will actually reduce green-house gases and help fight against global warming. It is much safer than driving your car or riding your bike (certainly NOT as much fun as riding the bike). And, you can do something productive with the time that would normally be spent driving–even if that means simply looking out the window to decompress from your day.

There is strength in numbers. If more of us ride and use public transportation more often, more resources will get devoted to public transportation. There will be more trains. They will run more often. And, so on and so on . . . .

One evening, while working from a coffee shop, I saw an amazing exchange.

Two people had been sitting on the couch together. They were both in their late 30’s, and had been sharing coffee and conversation on the couch. The whole thing seemed rather platonic to the casual observer. They seemed like old friends, or perhaps they had been in a relationship before and were just visiting. There was a very clear visible separation between the two of them–that distance that sits between two people who are not physically intimate with one another.

As I walked by and ordered my coffee, I glanced over for a moment, soaked in the details almost instantaneously, and moved on. It is a familiar coffee shop scene.

Later, I could not have expected what would happen. I was sitting by the door, and as they were leaving, I looked at them once more. She was tall, had an extremely fair complexion, and long, curly red hair. He was stout, almost stocky, and had shorter blond hair. By the way they walked, they both seemed shy. Not too shy, but enough to notice.

The two of them walked past me, and through the front door. And, at that moment, the most amazing thing happened–as he turned around to speak with her a chat their goodbyes, she stumbled over her foot and suddenly found her face within inches of his–and he reached out, almost instinctually, and kissed her.

Her hands flew from her sides, and wrapped around his shoulders as quickly as he had reacted, and suddenly, the two of them were wrapped in a full-force, entire body kiss. It is one of those rare first kisses where the universe fell away from them and the only things left were his lips and hers.

Right there, in the doorway, his hands traveled the length of her body–stopping at a respectful depth of her back, but far enough down to tell us that he had thought about holding her before. And, right there, only a few feet in front of the doorway, they kissed for three or four minutes.

Perhaps a passing patron triggered their awareness of where they were, but they stopped kissing for a moment. Red faced, they looked around and back into the coffee shop, and then decided to move to the adjacent alley–they weren’t done yet. The 6’1″ red headed woman in her mid-thirties literally skipped into the alley with her boy in tow.

I continued with my work, but everyone within eyesight, including myself, was grinning. There were two giddy adults acting as if they had just kissed behind the backstop for the first time.

After about 20 minutes, they came out of the alley. He walked her to her car, they kissed one more time, and he pushed the door closed and waved as she drove off. He turned and started to walk to his own car and presumably home for the evening. In order to do so, he had to walk past the front windows of the coffee shop . . . and his face told a tale that I love to hear.

His smile was almost larger than his face could contain. He looked blankly–almost bewildered with excitement. He looked as if he could shout or jump or climb anything. He looked like he was pleased with his life in a way that he had never been. He was going to sleep tonight with that smile, and wake with it in the morning, and walk with it all day for a week–at least.

Good luck to you two? I hope you find love in the world–an uncomplicated, sweet love that brings that smile back to your face every time you hear her or his name. I hope that your grandkids chuckle when every time you tell that story.

And, to all you readers: I hope you have an experience like that . . . at least once in your life . . . if you haven’t already.

Although I have seen a little in the feminist foray about breast “enhancements,” “augmentations,” “alterations,” etc., I have been waiting for the all-out attack. For the most part, this is a tricky situation, and represents a two-fronted battle. On the one hand, feminists must preserve the freedom to choose. Their must not be legislation governing what can and cannot be done to a woman’s body.

The difficult part is to create a social commentary that is biting enough to change the mind-set of other women about surgically altering their bodies for appearance, while not providing any material that can be used to create legislation against the female body. I imagine there will be more commentaries like this in the immediate future.

(drum roll) . . . .

Plastic Assets

PS. If you act NOW, you will get a free bonus with this commentary. Get more than a little poke at consumerism included with every view!

I think I want to start a cult.

A cult doesn’t need any logic. There has to be some intricacies to the concept–some details that are completely illogical. If your cult was based upon logic, no one would believe it. And, someone could apply logic to your cult and either prove or disprove it. Faith-based statement, by contrast, are really untouchable. All you have to say is, “Well, I believe it” and you are done–your point is defended. An argument of Logic versus Faith would be like a duel between a wizard and a soldier. You pick which side is which (and you can also pick who you think would win).

A cult has to have some history behind it. It has to have a good story. If you can retell the history of your cult in under an hour, no one will join. If the story is complex enough, however, it will take a few sittings (or, perhaps a Website) to get everything across. You can also reward cult members for memorizing certain parts of the history. If it requires a book-length work, all kinds of people would surely join. People believe stuff printed in books, and you could probably get them to buy the book. A pamphlet would have to be free. But, you could definitely charge for a book.

A cult is a great way to make friends. It would depend on how you structure your cult, but your troubles with meeting people would literally vanish. Set a weekly activity (Sundays seem to be pretty good for everybody) and require everyone to attend. If they don’t attend, threaten them with eternal damnation or something. You could also hold a mid-week meeting for the overzealous members (and get them to buy the book about the history, and you can talk about different parts of it). If you require your cult members to bring a friend at least once a month, you may find yourself with hundreds or thousands of friends. If all of them bought the book . . . .

A cult is a great way to influence fashion. You can use the dress code of your cult to enforce all of your favorite fashion trends. If you like long denim skirts or khaki pants, you could just put that into the dress code. Say, for example, you have a stocking fetish, you could easily require that every woman’s legs be covered in stockings. I suppose if you like high-heels and tight jeans, you could do something like that, too. It’s kinda 80’s, but you should be able to pull it off. After all, that one guy got everyone to wear white tennis shoes.

A cult is a great way to get a paid vacation. In order to make your cult followers think that you are doing things to promote your cult, you would need to interact with other cults. If you tell them that your trip is vital to the growth of your cult, you should be able to get them to pay for it. You will have to pick a place that is a bit obscure, or else they won’t buy it. If you tell them that you are going to Maui, they might raise an eyebrow. If you go to some obscure country – perhaps an impoverished nation – they might not even want proof that you did anything to promote anything. Just that fact that you didn’t pick Maui for your vacation might be enough.

It seems like there is a lot of money in cults. That bloke who invented Scientology was totally rich (he’s still making money now).

Whoever invented the saying had obviously NEVER had anything truthful to say. Perhaps, we could even call them a liar . . . .

The truth has always been so much more problematic than that. Throughout history, the truth has been responsible for murder, torture, pain, burden, and an entire slew of lies. Truth has made some delusional and others self-righteous. In fact, the truth has been behind so many things – both bad and good – that it is almost an entirely problematic concept.

One thing for sure is that the Truth rarely sets you free.

In Plato’s “Cave Analogy,” the truth was quietly reflected and distorted onto a wall in front of us. We were chained to the opposite wall, and could only see the distortion, and that is what we had grown to know as reality.

One of us freed himself or herself from the chains that enslaved the rest of us to our ideals, and escaped from the cave. That person saw the Truth–and was immediately aware of the distortion that the rest of us believed.

When he or she came back inside to tell us about the Truth, we thought they had become a lunatic. In modern times, I am sure we would have them locked up or thrown in jail. In olden times, perhaps we would have stoned them to death. Regardless of the time, our reaction is the same. The person who holds the truth is a threat . . . that we must eliminate.

Perhaps Plato meant the opposite of his example. The people chained to the wall were happy, and yet the person with the truth was labeled as a threat. Perhaps he meant that the Truth may get you free, but will certainly enslave you for as long as you keep it.

I, of course, have my own opinions about the Truth. It is the very thing that gives the sense of entitlement to those standing on their own soap boxes. It is also the very thing that gives the sense of entitlement to those who pull them down. The truth is sought-after, hidden, denied, ignored, cherished, and seems to be somewhat involved with just about everything that we do.

If you are hiding from the Truth, fabricating, or denying it, you are not alone. Everyone has been in your position at some time or another. Some people make hiding from it a way of life, and others have just been thrust into some bad situation and forced to make a choice.

If, however, you find yourself holding the Truth, or a truth, or some truth, keep it close, hold it aloft, hide it, or share it with the world. In fact, you can do anything you want with it. Just don’t expect it to set you free . . . .

The last week, or so, has been extremely busy for personal life. I have been working double-shifts. I have been taking extra projects, and I have been putting extra effort into many aspects of my life.

While this sounds good, there are some unwanted side-effects. I am exhausted at the end of the day. My stress level have increased. I have very little energy for things like exercise and making/eating nice food. Also, I get into a “reward system” mentality. I will trade intolerable hours for a bowl of ice cream. Or, perhaps, I will reward myself with an afternoon nap because I stayed up so late working.

The truth is that balance is better.

I have been noticeably absent from Electronic Writer because of work. (And, even when I return, I write about being absent.) Truthfully, I feel better about work after I have written in the morning and added more content to this Website. After typing a few pages for myself or working on some poetry, I have a reason to toil in exchange for money–to pay for the opportunity to do what I love. That reminder makes it a bit easier to stay productive, and helps keep everything in perspective.

Add all of this together: a little leisure time, some exercise, good food, time with my friends, reading a bit, and some personal time. If these things can happen in the evening, I will get more work done during business hours, and it is easier to focus on the task at hand.

The next entry won’t be about my lack of entries–I swear it.