Blame it on 'The Rich'

The title links to the article that I am talking about so you can read it yourself.

I don't want to make my blog about attacking people, but sometimes smart people say dumb things and my blog can serve to straighten the issues out.

To be fair, the article I am referring to is a political editorial not a well formed research paper. But more people will read this editorial than will ever read a scientific dissertation on neurobiology.

A few quick bullets distilled from the paper...

EDIT: For clarity, what I mean to say is that these are points that Harris wants the reader to draw from what he says. What he said is meant to be taken as fact, so the reader thinks they are drawing conclusions logically from facts. What my blog post is meant to show you is that this is anything but the case. The real issues of taxation, education and national energy policy are not in question and I do not mean anything I say here to be a conclusive discussion of those issues. This is meant only to dismiss the smoke and mirrors so people are left to have an honest conversation about the issues.

• All our problems are the fault of conservatives, and when it's not the same thing, religion.
• He wants to give more money to help, but in typical leftist fashion he wants everyone else forced to do it too.
• More money will fix anything, including an already over endowed education system.

EDIT: By over endowed, I am revealing my personal perspective that as the third highest funded education system in the world, our children are not suffering from not enough funding. The bottleneck is not money but policy.

Now for some meat and potatoes. Quotes from the article will be indented and in italics. Ellipsis are used to truncate long diatribes without changing the meaning of the quoted texts.

The richest Americans have gotten off scott-free during the recession.

Now we are told that we will soon receive a large tax cut for all our troubles.

It makes Sam Harris feel guilty and embarrassed.

The tax cuts are not new. They are actually extensions to existing tax cuts. Sam is not getting anything that he wasn't already getting.

Most Americans believe that a person should enjoy the full fruits of his or her labors, however abundant.

Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute has gathered extensive polling data on this subject that goes back decades. What she found is that most Americans agree ... that upper-income households pay too little in taxes. However, what most Americans think is fair is about 25%, already lower than what the wealthiest actually pay.

...throughout the 1950's...the marginal tax rate for the wealthy was over 90 percent. In fact, prior to the 1980's it never dipped below 70 percent. Since 1982, however, it has come down by half. In the meantime, the average net worth of the richest 1 percent of Americans has doubled (to $18.5 million), while that of the poorest 40 percent has fallen by 63 percent (to $2,200).

The gap in the distribution of wealth means nothing except to our sense of fairness. All across the board, Americans are richer now than they were in the 1950's. According to the National Poverty Center, in the 1950's 22.4% of Americans lived in poverty. Today, it is about 12.65% which is comparable to countries like France with 14%.

Not only do we have fewer people living in poverty, but the definition of poverty is far less severe. Poverty stricken Americans can be expected to have a roof over their heads, heat in the winter and AC in the summer as well as telephone service, Internet access, color television and access to health care. As a matter of fact, research by Robert Rector and Kirk Johnson found that almost 46% of Americans classified as poor owned their own homes.

And yet over one million American children are now homeless.

Switching from percentages to hard numbers can be confusing. Historically, there have always been more children in poverty than adults. Although I cannot find appropriate data for the 1950's, it can be assumed that as more Americans were living in poverty, that also meant more children living in poverty.

Hitting the article point by point is tiresome and giving me a headache. Let me summarize some of it and then try to wrap it up with some more point by point.

Sam Harris next harangues Republicans after denouncing some political failures like the doubling of our national debt and the $40 million subsidy of a Noah's Ark theme park attraction...both directly the results of Democrats.

EDIT: I do not mean to imply anything at all about Democrats and Republicans. As was pointed out, they all have their failings. I am instead pointing out the dishonesty of trying to associate Republicans with Democrat policy failures. It would have been more honest and effective to discuss the issues on their own merits.

There is mention of the religious fetish "self-reliance" which he rails against as he does all things religious. The opposite of self reliance, which he doesn't seem to have a problem with is dependence. What conservatives largely have a problem with is rewarding dependence. Mr. Harris represents the conservative promotion of self reliance is as an abhorrence of assisting the disabled. Really? And you call that intellectual honesty Mr. Harris? Or maybe you can point to a C SPAN recording of Republicans railing against those with Down syndrome?

EDIT: I mention Down Syndrome because Harris does. When I mention what conservatives have a problem with, I speak as a conservative. Do not be confused by this issue. Promoting self reliance does not mean you cannot help other people. Conservatives, Christians and other people who carry such negative labels all believe (generally speaking) in charity...the voluntary giving.

If Washington State's I-1098 was still up for a vote, I would say it was worth mentioning. I have mixed feelings myself. The state's tax system unfairly burdens the poor. It could use some tweaks. The suggested proposition was unfair though. It would create in income tax (Washington does not have one) but only for 2% of the citizens. Mr. Harris suggests that the only reason someone would want to defeat this unfair legislation was because they sought an environment teeming with poor and uneducated citizens. He also misrepresented how the increased revenue would be spent saying that all revenue would go to the education system. Part of the income tax would be used to offset the lost revenue from decreased property taxes and small business taxes, then 70% of what is left would be used in the education system.

He then slides into irrational intellectual chaos. He admits that government is wasteful. He admits that the education system is already one of the best financed in the world. He admits that the wealthy are already voluntarily giving extraordinary amounts of money to solutions that can indeed be financed constructively.

He implies that if the money is not redistributed to be spent by others, it simply sits there. It's no wonder that Mr. Harris has only 1/1000th the wealth of Buffet. Mr. Buffet doesn't just let his wealth sit idle. If he did, he would have no taxes to pay.

EDIT: Regardless of whatever else Harris said about Buffet, he also said they he should do more. What you should think about here is that Harris said he would not do anything on his own because it would be ineffective. Buffet has taken the opposite stance and run fund raisers and voluntarily promised 99% of his considerable wealth...money that is itself not taxable. He and his whole family volunteer not only their considerable wealth but their far more precious time to those less fortunate.

He then suggests two top priorities for spending other people's money disproportionately.

The first is education. I doubt that anyone would argue that education is a top priority. At least everyone with children want a top notch education for children. Mr. Harris' solution to a well funded but failing education system? Throw lots more money at it. Even the article that he links to says that more money does not help. Smaller classrooms don't help. Wealthier or more educated parents don't help. Better teachers help.

EDIT: My own position is not so easily summed up. However, I do believe that money is not the bottleneck with education. I personally believe, as do most people that I know who think more money will not help, is that teacher protection is our most serious bottleneck. Many of our teachers perform horribly with no fear that their performance will lead to loss of their job. Maybe that should change.

His second priority is alternative energy. Here, the only useful expenditure of money would be to fund special interest lobby groups. We already have great green technologies like liquid fluoride thorium reactors. Subsidies for solar and wind generators will never allow us to dispose of fossil fuels. Because solar and wind are not always providing power, they require backup plants (yes, coal or other fossil fuels) to be idling at all times. To 'go green' you must have a power source that can always generate reliable power. So why are we not liberating our energy dependence from fossil fuels? Because of legislation against nuclear power. No matter how much money you spend, you cannot resolve this issue without a change in legislation.

EDIT: I suggest that money would be better spent on lobbying instead of educating the general public for two reasons. One, it costs less to get the same results. Two, public servants have demonstrated that they do not consider the opinion of their constituents of any value.

Some wealthy people, like Buffet and Gates, are wealthy because they invest their money wisely. To suggest that the masses will do better with their money is ridiculous. But nothing has changed since the first western democracy. The masses were promised cheap food and material comforts while politicians vied over who gets to control all the wealth.

EDIT: I was speaking of Athens when I spoke of the earliest western democracy. However, that may be a distraction. The point is that Buffet is giving billions charitably, Gates gives billions, the new wealthiest man in the world, Helu gives billions because they were smart with their money. When he was 26, Helu had $400,000 to his name. If he had given it all to charity (or had it all taxed away), we would not be getting the billions in charity that we are today. Whether we can all agree or not that this system is the best, we can at least see that it works. We let the individual build his own wealth and share it as he sees fit.

It's all Change™ and Unicorns

What an amazing era of change we live in. Two things:

First Item: The only welfare program that I fully endorse is the WIC (Women, Infant and Children) program. It ensure health and nutrition for women and children from the time a woman gets pregnant until the child is five years old.

If my tax dollars have to go somewhere, why not the helpless and innocent?

Even as a single father, they covered my children and I would have been lost without them.
562 million dollars is being rescinded from the program to pay off fraudulent claims of racist discrimination by the USDA to black farmers. Nice going scammers.

Second Item: The Service Employees International Union is a group I definitely DON'T approve of, but they are there and they are big. Nothing to do but lump it.

They have decided to cut health insurance for 6,000 dependent children because of cost increases related to the new national health care program.

After all their bullying, they are sacrificing their peoples' children. Good job bullies.

Who knew that unicorns hated children. Really, I have been trying to stay at least neutral about this new White House administration, but they make it so damn hard.

Now I see a new sign at the White House. The sign reads "For a Brave New World Full of Goodness for You, Abandon Your Children Here..."

I know, Obama, I know. It's Bush's fault. It's always Bush's fault.

Consequentialism

My brother is a smart guy. And handsome. And I love him lots. So when he started talking about how great this guy was, an author named Sam Harris, I wanted to give him a try.

When first my brother started talking about Mr. Harris' ideas and I thought maybe he was just misrepresenting them. They sounded like pretty poor arguments to me. Then I started reading some things from Mr. Harris in articles and his web site. I am not very satisfied with what he is writing so far. I want to hold out for his newest book, The Moral Landscape, but also wanted to comment immediately on something that I read.

It's called consequentialism. It is the theory that the moral rightness of your actions is not determined by your actions or your character but by the consequences of your actions. It is also known as "The Ends Justify the Means." This is a moral theory that Mr. Harris subscribes to. I do not.

I illustrate the fault of consequentialism with the following hypothetical situation. Say two brothers are celebrating Independence Day. They take their handguns into downtown Oklahoma City and fire dozens of shot wildly into the air. The first brother, in addition to some property damage, hits and disables a terrorist who is about to detonate a dirty nuclear bomb. He just saved millions of lives. The second brother hits a pregnant lady on her way to the hospital, killing her and her unborn child. He is a vile homicidal beast.

According to consequentialism, the actions of the first brother are morally right, because it turned out good. The second brother's actions are moral wrong, because they turned out badly. It does not matter that both brothers were in the same state of mind and doing the exact same thing, one of them is right and one of them is wrong. One of them is good and one of them is bad.

If we were all gods, this might be a good theory for us. However, as men, we cannot have absolute knowledge of the full consequences of our actions. We need a human method of determining the correctness of our actions. In my own personal belief, the best human method of determining the correctness of our actions is to evaluate the action itself. While it is true that bad intentioned people can hurt you doing the 'right' thing and good intentioned people can hurt you doing the 'right' thing, it is the only method by which people of limited knowledge can decide what actions are best to take, and be comforted when things don't turn out well.

Also, a society built upon consequentialism would probably eliminate most law, except tort law. As any action can be morally right, it has to be allowed. Citizens of this society would only be able to seek redress for actions that turned out wrong. Citizens concerned over lawsuits may very well take no actions at all for fear of incalculable results.

I urge anyone who takes a superficial interest in consequentialism due to the support it receives from famous authors to seriously consider it's consequences in general and how it would affect their own decision making.

Suffering

It is natural to avoid pain and suffering.

Once burned, we snatch our hand from the flame before we can be burned again.

So why is there a schism about how adults approach suffering?

Speaking in very broad generalization, conservatives and liberals approach suffering very differently and some say that it predicates their entire notions about life.

Conservatives see suffering as a natural consequence of their lives. To an extent, how they live their lives determines how much and what kind of suffering they endure. They believe that suffering can be honorable, worn like a badge. Suffering can be a challenge, giving greater meaning to their achievements. But most importantly, suffering is an unavoidable condition of being.

Liberals, on the other hand, believe that suffering arises from ignorance, avoidable outside influences and alterable imperfections in humans and human societies. Suffering is to be avoided at all costs.

This difference can be seen when discussing policies that are meant to directly affect suffering like schools shifting focus in sports from competition to cooperation leading all participants to receive awards.

For me, I would rather have the courage to bear my suffering and the genuine sympathy of my companions than an indifferent kindness that removes my suffering. To quote C.S. Lewis

Kindness...cares not whether it's subject becomes good or bad, provided only that it escapes suffering.

While love and kindness are not exclusive of each other, kindness without love leads to cruelty.

The Great Debate...Disappointment

I think very highly of debate and argument. They are powerful tools for elimenating false knowledge and strengthening yet-to-be-proven-false knowledge. Debate serves everyone. When done right.

All too often, I get interested in a debate only to watch it devolve into one of the two most insidious irrelevancies. Those being ad hominen attacks and the misrepresentation of opposition's arguments.

Ad hominen attacks take several different tacks and they are all common and all wrong. Let me highlight a few examples.

Ad hominen abuse. This is where an attempt to invalidate a position takes the form of a personal insult against another person where the insult has nothing to do with the subject matter at all. For example, telling someone they are stupid. By casting unrelated aspersions on the character or virtue of your opponent, you hope that their position has been invalidated.

PZ Myers has been held as a supreme example of a person who uses these kinds of attacks. I am not willing to sift through all of his prodigous blog posts to come up with good examples, but a random poke gave me immediate results with his response to a question as follows (shortened for my post's sake)

...you know zip about biology, isn't it rather arrogant of you to be questioning ... science? Aren't you presuming a bit much to be pestering a biology professor ...

Another common fallacious ad hominem attack is the Ad Hominem Circumstantial attack. This one is so common you may be wondering how it could be wrong if it is used all the time. This one is most recently seen in debates about Global Warming. It is used by all sides of the argument. Al Gore is making money off of his position so his vested interests somehow make his arguments false. Deniers are paid by oil companies so that somehow makes their scientific arguments false. The person's circumstances do not in any way validate or invalidate their premises or conclusions.

Another that I would like to point out is the Ad Hominem tu quoque. This is where a person's argument is invalidated because the person acts in a way inconsistent with their point. Attacks against Al Gore serve as another fine example. Citing his huge personal home's energy use and frequent flying as hypocritical proof that he must be wrong.

But the various Ad Hominem attacks can we waded through, like wading through smelly murky swamp water. It's unpleasant and distracting, but it can be done. The worst, and probably most common problem that threatens debate is the Straw Man argument. That is where the opponent's position is misrepresented, making it easier to prove false. For example, the misrepresented premise of Natural Selection's supposed "creative power" as stated by Dr. Hovimd in his Creation Seminar Series. That publication is so full of logical fallacies that I had to use it to educate my son on logic and debate.

Another logical fallacy that I just take for granted is called Contextomy. This is where an opponent is quoted out of context. I am so used to this that I automatically verify all quotes to the best of my ability. Even when someone is quoting themselves. You will be surprised at how poorly people remember what they said as an argument carries on.

Entitlement

Inalienable rights and legal entitlements. What things do we, as humans or Americans have rights to?

We started with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Over the many decades we have added a bit of fluff and we have recently decided that healthcare should be added to the pile of rights.

I like working with absolutes. It frees up the mind from the quagmires of iffy reasoning and rationalizing. I find myself a simple rule and that is my first premise in an argument. It takes a lot of work to get around it.

My simple rules for entitlements is that, first, no one has a right to the products and services of another person. Second, making a law that says it is so doesn't make it so.

I will demonstrate my second point first and then propose a thought experiment for the first point.

Entitlement programs are not coupled with obligatory mandates. Therefore, your rights to services and products do not guarantee that said services and products will be available. Even the most assured resource available to the United States federal government is not in endless supply, tax revenue. It leaves bitter infighting between special interests groups who want their programs fully funded while there is not enough money to fully fund all programs. So, saying it is so just doesn't make it so.

For my first point, that no one has a right to another person's products or services, here are two thought experiments. You could make them real experiments, but if you are honest enough, or watch television programs like Man, Woman, Wild then you shouldn't need to try them.

Strip down a person to their skivvies and drop them in the middle of nowhere. Tadda, they have access to all of their inalienable rights. They don't seem to have welfare payments or health care though.

Now, for all the other entitlements that the legislative body of our government has seen fit to grant us, try this modification.

Drop two folks who don't know each other in the middle of nowhere. Have one individual spend two or three tough days making shelter, providing fire and hunting and preparing food. Have the other individual sit on their butt smoking weed the whole time. On the third day, when the need for munchies completely overcomes the second person, take any weapons the first person may have fashioned for hunting away from them and have the second person demand their entitled portion of whatever the first person has.

It all seems pretty straightforward to me.

Okay, classroom. For homework, read a historical account of Plymouth to find out why William Bradford, one of the leaders of the Pilgrims referred to the redistribution of wealth 'vanity of that conceit of Plato's and other ancients applauded by some of later times'.

Universal Health Care

It's been quite a while since I posted anything. No apologies or anything, that's just the way it is.

I was reading just a few short minutes ago about the resistance to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, colloquially known as Obamacare.

I read one individual's take on this resistance as a fear of change. I don't believe this to be true. Polls, public sentiment, and legislator efforts all point to a nearly universal desire for health care reform.

Another individual's perception, who identified themselves as not an American citizen, viewed resistance as a desire to protect personal wealth and our ability to own more 'stuff'. I also do not believe this to be true and will demonstrate why with figures. Forgive me if you are not American and these figures insult you, but things are what they are.

• Americans lead the world in charitable giving. $306 billion were given by individuals. An additional $38.5 billion in donations were from foundation grants and $15 billion from corporations (2007 figures).
• 39% of Americans volunteer their time for non profit work, second only to New Zealand (2010 figures).
• 71.5% of doctors who work solo or in two-doctor offices offer Charity Care (2008 figures).

Clearly Americans are not as selfish as is popularized by liberal pundits, major media outlets or Hollywood.

Here is my take on it.

My viewpoint is not from a unique circumstance; but perhaps people of my circumstances and perspective are not prone to the vocal outbursts required to weigh in on political issues and be noticed.

Most of my growing up was done in active duty military service. 20 years in the United States Air Force. There are several characterizations that can be given to military communities. Two important ones are a respect for each other, without exception, and esprit de corps. These two elements are decidedly lacking in the civilian community.

Even though our military members are individuals with varying interests, political views and backgrounds, it could be said that they cast one shadow and speak with one voice. Not that they agree with each other on everything, but that they do not divide themselves over these disagreements.

Their civilian brothers and sisters seem so inclined to divisiveness because of a lack of respect and a lack of commonality. While the main ideological divide seems to be personal protections and responsibility versus communal support and security, these are not mutually exclusive positions. But having no sense of group, there has to be winners and losers. Without respect, there can be no appreciation of another's perspective.

The battle is enjoined with buzzwords and rationales, but the battle is not fought because we have ammunition. Sides are drawn over ideologies and we fight because we want to be winners and we want them to be losers.

In an America where citizens respect each other and are united as Americans, we would all be winners, regardless of the value of the legislation. It would either be seen as a small step towards a goal or a large step towards that goal.

A Post For Two

I owe two people a response.  Mike from rambling stuff tagged me to produce a list of seven odd things about me.  My wife, over at the Corner of Insanity and Chaos posted a poem that I have the match to, so I will be posting that today.

By the way, I started a new blog, The Natural Inquirer.  It is a science blog.  If you think of anything you want a thorough scientific or logical investigation of, just let me know, it will be my pleasure to give it a treatment.

Ok, I was tagged to present you with seven weird or odd things about me.  The challenge will be limiting it to seven. :)

1. Probably the thing that shocks people the most, when they find out, is that I have been married four times.  My first divorce is the result of just not knowing what I was doing.  Poor communication coupled with egocentrism left us frustrated and after five years she wanted to leave.  Wife two and wife three had affairs while I was on military deployments and eventually left me for other men.  Wife four is stuck to me like a booger.  No matter how difficult I am, she shows no signs of wanting to leave me.


2. When I played, I could play the clarinet exceedingly well.  But I could not read music to save my life.


3. I am now a stay at home dad.  Take it from the perspective of a 20 year disabled veteran, raising kids is a real challenge.  A very satisfying and rewarding challenge.  Stay at home parents deserve a lot of respect.


4. I've had a great opportunity to 'get around', mostly due to military necessity.  I might forget a few, but I have been to many states in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Wales, England, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Germany, Sardinia, Kuwait, Turkey and Israel.


5. My wife is a whopping 16 years younger than me.  Fortunately, I am so immature that you can barely tell.


6. I had an opportunity to home school my two oldest kids using the most awesome program ever, called Connections Academy.  If you have kids, check them out.


7. I have four biological children and four step children and two step grand children.  And, I dated one of my step daughters...before I met her mom.

Ok, enough weirdness.  Now for some prose that goes with a poem that my wife recently submitted.  Her poem is Song of Love. My matching prose is called Pink and Orange Carnations.

Written 21 July 2003,

Pink and Orange Carnations

.    Pink and orange carnations, arranged in a bouquet.  Thoughtlessly delivered to a door without a name, they were nearly discarded.  Where did they come from and what do they mean?  There was, at least, a stanza from a poem on the card.    Watching the sun rise   Bathed in golden hues of    Pinks, and orange,   Colors you gave me.    There have been many dark and lonely nights.  Nights filled with tears and remorse.  Nights filled with longing and dreams, for a better day filled with love and happiness.  Night after night, the darkness weighs down, crushing spirits and dimming the glow of soulful fires.    In sadness or misery, in a hurry or just plain inattentiveness, lonely nights run into lonely days and the sunrise is often ignored.  But each day is blessed with a sunrise.  The phoenix reborn from it's ashes.    That new sunrise every morning promises a fresh start.  The rebirth of hope.  It presents a challenge, to make each night's dream today's reality.    So, what do those pink and orange carnations mean?  They are a message, whispered reminders across the miles, there is a new sunrise.  They are a hand, gentle and caring, wiping away those tears.  They are a fresh hope for brighter days and happier nights.    Who are they from?  They are from a messenger of love.  An engineer of hope.  An architect of dreams.  They are from me.

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A Good Surprise

I am going to treat you to two surprises with this post.

The first is my new blog, The Natural Inquirer.  No poems.  No stories.  Just the facts.  There is something there for you now, but finish here first then go check it out.

The other surprise is about my ex wife.  She wasn't too much in to me writing when we were together, but that didn't stop her from being a source of inspiration after she was gone.  I think this is the only piece I wrote about her, in response to a letter she wrote me.  I will include the letter she wrote me too.

Written 22 June 2003

Thorns and Roses

You wrote to say you want me back.
You miss me, my touch, my scent.
All the things you had given up,
when you called it off and went.

I'm fianlly ready to be the wife
you've always wanted me to be.
I'll give you love and affection
and do all those wifely duties.

Then, reminding me of the time
when our first son was born.
Awake for days to cut the cord.
I got to hold his tiny form.

I was very proud and happy
when you gave birth that day.
Two more times we were blessed.
Each child was a rose bouquet.

But our problems never ceased.
The past was full of sorries.
I never lost faith or hope,
and tried regardless of worries.

Counselling failed to help.
It was another excuse to fight.
There were several affairs,
until you met a new Mr. Right.

You decided to get divorced
and threw away our shared life.
Tired of me and our children,
you wanted to be another's wife.

You tempt me back with offers,
promises and haunting poses.
But you were just the thorns,
and I already have the roses.

I'm pretty sure that is all I wrote about her.  Now her mom, I could write libraries full of demonic poems about that lady. The Oxford University Press might have something to say about my use of the word 'lady' but I claim poetic liscense.  Poets can mangle any word.

Now, in case you forgot, check out The Natural Inquirer.

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Purify My Love

Having a really good friendship is the perfect foundation for a long romantic relationship, but not all really good friendship should go there.

Written 21 June 2003

Purify My Love

You’re a sweet and charming friend.
A wonderful woman and confidante.
I was there for you sometimes,
And you for me when I needed it.

There was always some attraction,
but it never hurt or got in the way
I never had complaints about my looks,
while your a beauty and sexy too

We never tried to make a go of it.
When you were in the middle of one,
I was between romantic relationships.
I never thought to try waiting.

Then there was a moment when
we both felt a lonely need.
An emptiness, a hurtful void,
and we shared something more.

Now one of us feels desperation,
while the other wants their friend.
We both want each other's love.
For one, it's twisted with desire.

Touch my face, it's still me.
I want to be your close friend.
I'm sure if we embrace and talk,
You can purify my love again.

I see that some people have multiple blogs.  I am thinking about starting a science blog too.  It's nice to see your thoughts solidified into writing.

By the way, my wife is getting into programming.  I'm very proud of her.  She tries a lot of things and always shows talent as long as it holds her interest.  Keep an eye on her site for when she decides to show us examples of what she is doing.

One last thing.  I haven't actually been bringing too much interesting things to the 'net, but you have all been so supportive and friendly.  I appreciate your comments and your efforts to make me feel at home in the blog community.

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Sicko

I was way too sick yesterday to even think about the computer, so no blog entry.  I hope you all arent to disappointed.

I have decided to make it up to you all with a nice poem about how I feel when my kids are gone visiting my ex wife.  Fortunately, she hasn't felt like seeing them for four years, so I don't have to go through this too much.

Written 20 June 2003

You're Gone And I Miss You

I run my hands through the sand
warm and gritty, I like how it feels.
Raising it up, the grains fall like rain
to reveal your favorite Hotwheels.

Your gone and I miss you.

I finally did some laundry today
It was piling up and long overdue
I found Power Ranger underwear
and some of your missing socks too.

Your gone and I miss you.

Your favorite show came on.
Watching it was our evening fun.
We fought and you chose Pikachu
And I always choose Charmeleon.

Your gone and I miss you.

Dr Suess and dinosaur books
are the ones that I had read.
Does anyone read to you now
when you lay down in bed?

Your gone and I miss you

When I stop to think about us,
the life we have and things we do,
I know that when you are gone
that you must miss me too.

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The Guy You Want To Hate

The Guy You Want To Hate...

Not me. I am the guy you do hate. No, I am talking about Maddox. I really wanted to hate him, but I think I am pregnant with his baby!

His site, The Best Page In The Universe, is that offensively spewed humor that you can't stop reading. Some of it is funny for being so wrong. Some of it is funny for being so right. All of it is funny.

I found the site through Mike's blog Licensed To Blog. Well worth checking out.

For our poem today...it is a sequel. Remember me sharing Do You Still Love Me a couple of days ago? Well, this is the continuation of that poem.

Written 19 June 2003

Do You Still Love Me - Her Reply

So what does it mean
Your feelings haven't changed?
Are our plans still on
As we had first arranged?

Well, I've been thinking...
First let me say it's not you.
Kelly, You are really great,
But is our vision true?

I can't be the girlfriend
that I want myself to be.
You deserve so much more
than a less than perfect me.

I still have these feelings
for other's out of the picture.
I know their gone and done
but it makes a volatile mixture.

But I...I mean, Wait!
It's ok, you don't fret.
For you, I'm still a girlfriend.
But, for me, I don't know yet.

To me you're just a fantasy.
Superman, my man of steel.
Maybe someday when all aligns,
we can make it something real.

And here is a photograph of my cell phone after this real phone call. Phone call was real, the actual wording was different. Poeple don't really talk like that. It's called poetic liscence silly. Speaking of poetic liscense, the tear on the phone is fake. There was a real one, I wiped it away, then decided it would be a good addition.

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Cheesecake

Cheese cake is the yummiest food. I like all kinds.

I got really hooked on cheese cake while in Germany. There was a truck that drove through the streets like an ice cream truck, only they sold breads and pastries. My girlfriend at the time surprised me with an assortment of breads and a slice of cheese cake from the truck one day. I've been hooked ever since.

While there are many kinds of cheese cake and many ways to make it, the best cheese cake of all is the one made with love just for you. A few years ago, while I was serving in the military, my wife made some cheese cakes for me to share with the folks at work.

Maybe my wife will share her recipe on her blog.

How about an old poem?

I actually really like this poem. I will say more about it afterwords.

Written 19 June 2003.

Perfection of Imperfections

Why has a frown
furrowed your brow?
why doesn't a smile grace you lips?

Oh, my dear, it's me!
You don't know.
I'm crooked or big or have wide hips.

I find you pretty,
No, beautiful and sweet.
Really, you're a gorgeous sweetheart.

I've had boyfriends.
More than just one.
Seems a lot, you think me a tart?

We have all looked,
in the most unlikely places,
for true love, our heart's desire.

You are my perfection.
A jewel tempered with
the heat of your soul's great fire

You might only see flaws,
when your view is too narrow,
and see yourself in such small sections.

Sublime beauty is created,
Nature's own transformation,
with a confluence of exquisite imperfections.

I really like the message of this poem even though I have to admit I didn't think of it myself. I got the idea from a gem merchant named Fred Feldmesser. He wrote about how nature crafts the most beautiful and valuable objects by imbuing them with imperfections.

It is an essay on gemstones, which I do not have a professional or hobbyist interest in. However, I have an interest in about everything because you never know where you will find wisdom.

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Don't feel much like chatting

Not much feeling like writing much.  However, I will not forgo my obligatory piece of prose from my past.

Another poem about the waning long distance relationship I was having.

Written 18 June, 2003.

Do You Still Love Me

We find a special someone
A person we like to see
Feelings grow stronger
You express feelings to me

I love you Sweetheart
I love you too
Click.

We continue to explore
Who we are every day
My feeling grow richer
There's always more to say

I love you very much
I love you
Click.

I can tell you didn't like
Some show of jealousy
You say your feelings didn't change
in manner most pleasantly

I love you, Sweetie
Love ya
Click.

We broached a new subject today
history you've never known
Your feelings are quite the same
maybe they've even grown

I love you and sweet dreams
Mmmm. You too.
Click.

Now I would like to hear,
the next time you want to say
you're feelings haven't changed,
Just what are you feeling anyway?

Hmmm?
Goodnight
Click

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Emergency Post

I don't remember what the emergency was.  I only wanted to post one post a day.  Really.  But life is outpacing my writing speed.

Anyway...I wanted to post something and decided it couldn't wait till tomorrow.  I came to the computer and discovered to my horror that a keylogger was running on my computer.  The Ardamax Keylogger.  It was not in stealth mode or hidden in any way.  I did not install it.  It wasn't there earlier.  I installed two pieces of software today and fear it was installed by one of them.

I installed Microsoft's Visual C# Express Studio.  I installed it on my old computer without a problem.  While I do not put it past Microsoft to spy on me, I don't think they would use a third party program to do so.

The only other software I installed was Qumana.  It is the editor software I am using to write this post.  This is the most suspicious suspect.  It is decent software and it is free.  I don't yet have enough information to determine if it's install is the culprit.  I have asked Ardamax folks to tell me how to uninstall their software.  It is stealth and I can't easily find it on my system.  Once I have uninstalled it, I will reinstall the Qumana software and see if the keylogger is reinstalled.

While I do like the Qumana editor so far (my last post only required one tweak to get it right), I cannot in good conscience suggest it to anyone if it is installing a keylogger.  I'll update you when I know.

EDIT:  Qumana is safe.  And I do recommend it for editing and posting new blog entries.  The culprit was a stock market web site I went to.  Shame on them!

So, what in the heck was so important that I needed to add another post today?

Oh yeah.  Emergency stupidity warning.  You read some news and think, this is too stupid to be made up.

For want of $60, California may loose it's claim of being a green state and turn into a gray state.

A homeowner planted redwood trees in their yard.  A few years later, their neighbor installed solar panels on their property.  Now the trees are shadowing the panels.  The solar panels are a hefty 10KW system that provides all the power they need.  They say they do end up paying $60 a year for their power.  They want the shade gone.

Guess who is in their corner?  The government!  There is a law that says tress cannot block solar panels.  The couple with the trees can be fined up to $1,000 a day until they fix the problem.  It went to court and a judge ruled in favor of the solar panels.  The fines were waived, but two of the trees have to get cut down.  Because, as we all know, plastic and metal is better for the environment than trees.

Don't believe me, check it out here.

While I am here, how about a public service announcement?

A while back, I was reading on a scientific forum about the technical wonders of a new dish washing soap called Dawn Direct Foam.  One pump should do a full sink of dishes.  Sounded wondrous and the forum owner tried it and said it was truly great.

I gave it a try myself.  I still have half a bottle of it on my sink.  Truly, it is a technical marvel.  They managed to make one foamy pump of detergent last for a full sink of dishes, depending on how you do dishes.  The technical marvel is solely applied to foaminess.  It is cheating.

To compare, they started doing something to your meat a while back.  Not all meat, but most likely the meat you buy.  They prep and package it in a carbon monoxide environment.  The carbon monoxide binds to the red blood cells like oxygen, but it sticks much better than oxygen.  The result is that your meat stays pinkish red for far longer than it normally wood.  It is easier to move such fresh looking meat.  It is cheating.  The color of your meat now means nothing to you, but you think it does.

Back to foam.  What we all associate with detergent foam is it's ability to fight greasy grime.  You are being tricked.  Dawn mad scientists have found a way for the foam to last long after any grime fighting as ceased.  Not only does it do a poor job of cutting grease, but it is very difficult to rinse off.  The foam just persists and persists like the energizer bunny, but without doing anything of substance.

I went back to my Ajax.  It is a great dish detergent, cuts thru grease like a chain saw and rinses clean quickly.

No writing for you this post.  You already got your daily dose. :)

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New Editor, Long Post

Hi Folks,

I am trying a new editor, called Qumana. I'll give it a try and let you know how it works out. The defualt editor is driving me nuts. I've been trying to get this post to look right for hours.

I added a new blog to my blogroll. Blogroll, sounds like it would be yummy with cream cheese or sweet and sour sauce.

I added Mike's blog. I enjoy reading what he has to say and anyone who reads me might enjoy his blog as well.

EDIT: I added one mother like all others weblog. After reading just one post I was hooked. Witty and a great writing style.

Back to Mike. He recently mentioned some stuff about gun control, so I thought I would comment on that. I did some research about gun related crime (because of an agenda driven and possibly biased statement by Noam Chomski) and I think that the information would be informative for anyone interested.

Written 15 August 2007, some facts may not be current.

Whenever you can identify the advancement of an agenda, it is clear that the underlying facts need to be examined.
For example: Noam Chomksi states that American crime is not off the scale except when it comes to gun crime. But high gun crime is a feature of America.
Curious, I had to look at the figures myself. It was not made easy because the obvious conclusion is that gun regulation will limit gun crime. Gun regulation varies by state, so while it might be useful to compare 'American' statistics to other countries, it is also useful to compare statistics from state to state to see how gun regulation is affecting gun crime.
First thing I noticed is that gun regulation does indeed seem to correspond to gun crime. Not the way you might think. The states with the highest gun related crimes like Washington D.C. also have the highest regulation. States like Alaska and Virginia that have very little gun regulation also suffer the least amount of gun crime.
This does not say anything at all about whether regulation affects gun crime however. It could simply be that regulation follows crime and D.C. has not had a sufficient amount of time for the statistics to catch up to the figures.
A comparison to Canada might help, as it has more stringent gun controls than the average U.S. state. The figure show that while crime is higher in Canada overall (7+% compared to 5+%), gun related crimes are indeed fewer. But again, if we take into consideration that not all areas of Canada have the same regulations and crime inputs, we find that some areas have more gun related crime. But overall, there may be evidence of gun regulation and crime reduction being linked, but it is too close to call.
A look at the UK gives us even better information, for they have had strict gun control laws for a very long time. Oddly enough, their crime reporting web page says that gun crime has been on the rise every year. And while they proudly remark that gun related crime is actually very low (.5% of all reported crimes) it actually compares unfavorably with American statistics (.3%).
Interestingly enough, gun crime is becoming such a problem in the UK, some gangsta wannabes actually field mock handguns because they cannot reasonably source a real firearm. Overall, the facts and figures seem to only indicate one thing about gun regulation. Criminals don't really care about regulations.

Well, I know that I have already posted a lot, but let's leave on a brighter note. Another piece of prose that reveals bits about me.

Written 18 June 2003

Boys Grow Up To Be Monsters

I love my mommy so much
why does she always cry?
I want her to be happy
I would give anything a try.

"I want to tell you a story,
so come here my little boy.
You've seen me cry and fret
because daddy treats me like a toy.”

He doesn't play, but is not mean.
Daddy is so nice, I thought.
He takes me out on his dates,
and it's nice to be brought.

"Daddy shouldn't go on dates
with anyone but me, my son.
He says bad things but also
it's everything that he's done."

"Men don't love and appreciate
women the way they are.
They never want the woman they have,
just the one they see from far."

"Their children are treated
like a pestilence they detest.
The won't cook, clean or help.
They just come home and rest."

"They don't talk or think
or really feel for their mate.
They learn to say whatever
is needed to manipulate."

"I love you dearly, son,
this knowledge I try to foster:
You'll grow up to be a man,
then you'll too be a monster."

I heard this spiel several times
from age of nine through fifteen.
The monster leaves me full of guilt,
no matter how good a man I've been.

Parents often do the most damage when they don't think about what they are doing at all.

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Shame on me

I don't really feel sorry for myself. I don't have any regrets and for the most part I am pretty happy about most things. But I do let my disability excuse me from doing a lot. My knees, ankles and feet are all pretty messed up and I can't get around well and I'm usually in a decent amount of pain.

I feel ashamed of myself when I meet or hear of someone who has it worse than I do. As vets know, the VA is not what we would wish it to be. Government support of disabled vets could be better. I haven't seen a doctor or gotten medication in over a year now. On the one hand, who knows how much better shape I would be in if I was able to afford a doctor and medication. On the other hand, it goes to show that I can survive without. So why do I keep sitting on my butt? I guess I just need to see that it could be worse to know I'm not in as bad a condition as I could be.

As far as my writing...I am going to keep shoving the old stuff down your throat till I am out, then I will write something new for you.

This one was written while maintaining a long distance relationship

Written on 17 June 2003

Your Kiss

Where is your kiss?
I feel phantom lips
graze my cheeks like butterfly wings

I reach for you
and I can feel you
your skin singing to my fingertips

Your warm breath
caresses my neck
as my head rests on my folded hands

your soft voice
whispers in my ear
telling me your love is near

your divine embrace
bringing it all together
is two thousand eight hundred miles away

My head was literally resting on my hands as this came to me. I didn't even feel like writing it down. My girlfriend at the time was not overly interested in my poetry. I didn't write it for her, but to share my feelings with my friends in the only way I could adequate express them.

It is like that quote from Vladimir Nabokov (not exact quote as I couldn't find it with a quick search)
I think like a genius
I write like a distinguished man of letters
I talk like an idiot.

If anyone finds his real quote, please post it and I will fix my blog.

Brrr.

It's cold today.

Today's prose is an ode to two left feet.

Written 17 June 2003

Can't Dance

You move with such grace

Twisting and turning

You glow, a smile on your face

And leave men yearning.

But I can't dance

Worse than two left feet

I stand in a trance

Even arms missing the beat

But I love the way

our hands frolic and touch

Wanting it every day

I can never get too much

My tongue salsas and dips

with passion and heat

caressing sensuous lips

Your taste is so sweet

Even our feelings entwine

and seem to move as one

in a waltz most divine.

I hope that it's never done

But, every Saturday night

you move with men and flirt.

jealous tears dim my sight

I can't dance, and I hurt

I considered skipping this one, as it is not very good. But that would be cheating. I wrote it, so you get to read it. :)

Civilian life sucks

I spent 20 great years in the military. I have become accustomed to a certain quality of life. Not a wealthy life, but a great life. The military is built on a foundation of mutual respect and military communities are close and friendly.

While in the military it might seem trying at times, but after leaving the military you realize that even the lowest times were great.

The apartment complex I live in now is managed by the worst harpy I have ever met. I've only talked to her twice and it is such a horrible experience that it gives me stomach aches and I avoid contact when possible.

On top of all the common dealings I've had with people who are perpetually miserable, disrespectful and completely selfish, now my car has been broken into and the radio stolen.

But enough of that. I have more writing to share. :) I won't tell you what I was thinking about when I wrote it, that would give away the surprise.

I will give you a warning...it is sexually suggestive.

I wrote this on 17 June, 2003

Impulse

Soft and silky smooth

Beneath my hand

I bend in to kiss

and draw in your scent

I can't resist

and take you in my hands

I pull you to me

Cup you and feel you

twist you and pull you

For hours, in my arms

Now on my lap

Hair through my fingers

and on my chest

Drawing near now

I know the end is close

but I don't want it to be

Finished, satisfaction

mixed with doubt.

I stand behind you with

My arms around your waist

We purview what we have accomplished

and you softly say

"You call this a french braid?

You need more practice."

Once again, I take you

lovingly into my hands...

See...a little trick. Not about what you thought. But when you love everything you do, your life is filled with passion.

I hope every one's weekends are going great.

~Kelly

Two for the price of one

Today, you are all in for a treat.

My son, Zachary, read my post from yesterday and decided to write a poem commemorating mommy's birthday. He honored me by asking to post it on my blog. So, you get his poem plus another oldy from my past.

First, from Zachary, written on February 14, 2008

February 19th

I awake in the soft morning

and I see birds soaring

in the sky ever so lightly

that's barely the beginning

I go down stairs on February 19th

taking light steps

I step to make a noise

not on purpose

there is a surprise

but I won't tell

but I can tell you one thing

it's a celebration.

I happily indulge his reading and writing. I remember when he was in first grade. I was teaching him. He was so timid about reading, fearing that he would not do well. Not only did he shock himself that year, but he surpassed all my expectations and blew the lid off of Idaho's standardized testing, having tested as a fourth grader. It was the highest the test could register.

Now for myself, who did not do as well in school. :)

Not a poem today, but a philosophical musing. At the time, I was a single father of three and took a long look at my life, at how 'on track' I was and how effective my focus was. This piece of writing sums up my conclusion.

Written on June 16th, 2003

What Are Heroes?

I just wanted to be a hero. All my life, I wanted to do something spectacular. Be someone that no one else was. I wanted to have an impact on people that would be felt their whole lives.

But, I was growing up. No superpowers manifested. I got a job, and then another and then joined the military. Then I had a girlfriend and another and then got married. It wasn't long before I had children and my life was so full. Then a divorce and I didn't have time to even think.

My dreams of being a hero where just that. Sly little dreams of a sleeping mind. I didn't even have time to fantasize about it when I was awake.

Instead of curing cancer, I was kissing boo-boos and lavishing ouchies with Spongebob band aids.

Instead of wearing tights and having a utility belt, I dressed in a uniform and marched off to work.

Instead of slicking back my hair and singing rocks songs, I cranked up the stereo and sang along to Barney and Veggie Tales.

Instead of being a rocket scientist and creating teleporters, I was helping my kids with their math homework.

Instead of being a suave, muscle bound actor in the latest action flick, I was the too-white, love-handle toting creature from the depths of the swimming pool.

Instead of a rich multi-millionaire, I was the guy struggling to put a roof over our head and food on the table.

Instead of racing formula one cars around a track, I was creeping along neighborhood streets, watchful of children and pets darting between cars.

Somehow, I managed to drift through my entire life missing every opportunity to amount to anything. I know what kind of heroes there were. I wondered which ones my kids looked up to the most. I called them in and asked them. I knew the most popular names, and all the cartoon heroes to boot. I watch all the same TV they do.

Three little toddlers marched on in. "Kids, who is your favorite hero?" giggles. Lots of giggles and bouncing. "Duh," started my oldest, Zachary. They all pointed at me and said "Daddy is!". Hehe. "No, babies. I mean, who is super! Who do you think can take care of anything? Who can make the world safe? Who knows everything and can do anything?" "Daddy can!" Bouncing and zooming commenced. Three kids piled high on my lap and gave me big hugs.

You know what? I am a hero. I didn't just become one type of hero. I became them all. And I had the greatest impact on the most important people in the world. Who says dreams don't come true?

I remember writing that. I wonder if I asked them today what their answer would be?

Edit: My formatting is not sticking very well. I am doing my best to relearn HTML so I can fix it, but you might catch some ugly or at least some odd formatting occasionally as I fix it up.