A Day of Remembrance

We'll always remember the sheer, relentless horror of that day.  As the towers fell, and the Pentagon burned, and planes crashed, we had no idea how much further it was going to go.  How much more would happen before it let up?  A growing paranoia gripped the entire country.

We'll never forget the heroism of the first responders, and all those who sought to selflessly give help in those early days.  Many at the risk of their own safety and health.  Many of the first responders who survived, suffered subsequent cancers, diseases and poor health.  Thank you, Jon Stewart, for helping a reluctant Congress pass legislation to help provide them support.

I'll always remember how Muslims were treated in this country immediately after, with an irrational, horrible hatred.  Actually debating in this country whether Muslims should be racially profiled.  In this, and with the Patriot Act, we turned our back on many of the freedoms and liberties we said that we cherished.  We were ready to give up so much in order to achieve a false sense of security.

I'll never forget how we let Osama Bin Laden escape from Tora Bora, and then inexplicably stopped making him a priority, but instead focused on a country that had no part in 9/11.  And if you raised any objection to this spectacular mis-adventure you considered unpatriotic and could lose your job and your social standing.

It should be remembered that what Jesus said was true - love and understanding are more powerful than hate and intolerance.  We solve more by targeting the actual bad guys (the highly disdained police action approach) than we did by throwing a blind hissy, turning potential allies into permanent enemies.

It should not be forgotten that we live in a dangerous world.  Sometimes the only answer to force is force.  But indiscriminate, brutal force only continues the spiral to oblivion.

Let us remember the fallen.  Let us not forget that the forces of evil and destruction must be challenged and opposed.  But also remember that love is greater than hate, that diplomacy, as difficult as it may be, matters. And that you have already lost if you are willing to abandon everything you hold dear in order to win.

A Long Season Begins and Other Monday Musings

A long season of college football begins.  I am a Michigan Wolverine fan, and it does appear to be a long, rough season ahead.  I have a lot of faith in Coach Brady Hoke, and I believe they will improve as the season progresses.  At least one can hope.

Meanwhile, based on their disastrous performance against Alabama, I'm going to have to listen to another full year of "SEC is the only football conference that counts" talk.  I am so sick of it I could chuck a tuna bunwich!

How bad is the "SEC is king"  bias around here?  I advocate that a college football championship should be against conference champions.  The top five or six champions automatically qualify for a national championship playoff, with the remainder being wild cards selected by polls/coaches/computer or whatever. I mean, conferences should MEAN something, and winning a conference championship should MEAN something.  But oh, that's not good enough for the SEC fanatics around here.  They're not going to be happy until an unlimited number of SEC teams can qualify.  You just can't bend far enough backwards for them!

It's the start of a long pro football season.  Both the Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions got off to winning games, which we're grateful for, but there are many tough opponents and games ahead.  It is discouraging around where we live that there are so many Jacksonville Jaguar fans.  We live in GEORGIA, not FLORIDA, people.  C'mon!

It's the beginning of a long play season.  I have made a larger commitment to the Flying Dragon than I expected with their production of Robin Hood.  I have taken on the task of writing the script.  I am writing as fast as I can, and have one scene left in the first act.  Unfortunately, the start of rehearsals are just days away and the cast needs to be solidified.  Wish me luck.

Benjamin begins a long season of band.  He has his Baritone Horn, and he's doing pretty good, but we are having a hard time enforcing home practice.  Any band parents out there, please let me know.  how much do they really practice at home?  I have no direct experience with it, and can't tell if he's able to skate, or if we should be enforcing a practice time.

It's a long season of accounting leading up to tax season.  We have corporate deadlines the 15th, and final individual deadlines October 15th.  As the holidays approach and pass, I partly enjoy them, and I partly click off more time that brings me closer to the submarine ride that encompasses January through mid-April.

A long new TV season is about to start.  I hope to do a Ripping good Yarn blog post detailing the good, the bad and the ugly of that.

It's a long, hard political season.  I love politics, but I am not looking forward to the barrage of negative ads headed our way, particularly from the wealthy super-donors of Mitt Romney, including the Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adelson, and the Super PAC of Karl Rove.

It's a season for a final countdown to the marriage of Doug and Ramya.  It has been interesting ride in preparing, and there have been enough twists and turns to make me feel like I'm in the movie Father of the Bride (even though I am the father of the groom).  I know, however, as it gets closer, there will be many moments to treasure.

Life is busy, but life is good!

Until next time,

T.M. Strait

Bible Verses Important to Me 2

                     He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him.  Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on Sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and pull it out?  How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep!  So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath”  Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.  But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

From Matthew 12:9-14

An example where Christ communicates one of his most treasured gifts – the ability to interpret the law with thought, reason, caring and love.  He gave us the ability to think!

Flowing Up Economics Saturday Political Soap Box 37

Ah, elections!  The time when we should be discussing issues but instead focus on birth certificates and dogs on roofs of cars.  When the latest inadvertent misstatement is more important than the direction they'll take the country.  When the election of the other guy will lead to a thousand years of darkness.  In the face of that, I will continue to try to focus on some basic issues and what I believe is the direction we should take. And yes, I am taking a sacrifice in number of page views by going this route instead of the Mittbot Thurston Howell route or that darn Kenyan Socialist route.

I believe in Keynesian economics, or at least some modified version.  You only get out of recessions/depressions by accelerating demand.  This means government action and projects.  This means getting money into the hands of people that will spend it.  I prefer government works projects, research and development, infrastructure improvements, shoring up states and increased support off education.  But the cold hard facts are that the most effective stimulus is unemployment insurance and food stamps, at least for the immediate bang for the buck.  Austerity programs in the face of recession do nothing but fuel the recession.

The dominant Republican theory since the early eighties has been in something called trickle down economics.  This represents the belief that if you allow those at the top to have a very low tax rate and few regulations, the effects of this will trickle down and benefit the rest of us, in more jobs and opportunities, because those at the top have more money to invest in enterprises that will trickle down to support the rest of us.  In actuality, all this theory has down has allowed the continued acceleration and concentration of money at the top.  The rich save and become richer.  Their priority is often to save money and pass it on to their family.  Ergo, the vicious hatred of the estate tax.  They are as likely to invest overseas as they are domestically.  With some philanthropical exceptions, their major goal is to accumulate more wealth, not to benefit society as a whole.

Real economic growth comes from the bottom, not the top.  It is relatively full employment at good wages that contributes to a healthy society and a growing, vibrant middle class.  Businesses are fueled not by investment, but by demand.  If there is no demand for a product or service, why the hell would you invest in it?  The businessman Henry ford understood this.  He wanted to pay his workers enough so they could afford to buy the cars they built.  somehow, this fundamental principle has been completely and utterly lost.

When the engine of demand loses steam, that is when recession and depression hits.  And the only way to bring to back is to rev up demand.  You can give money to the wealthy all day long and it's not going to help much.  You can cut regulations, but why make even unregulated, unsafe things if there is no demand for them?  You can eliminate public sector jobs, and cut services to the poor and middle class, and all your austerity will do is further reduce demand, which further fuels the economic downturn, which cuts government revenues even further thereby increasing the deficit everyone was worried about.

I would love to see us in this country refocus on grand projects and dreams, and they can be public/private partnerships.  I would love to see a revived space program taking us to Mars and beyond.  It is fundamentally vital to the leadership of the United States and the preservation of our planet that we focus on green energy solutions.  And we will not lead the planet if we don't invest more practical dollars in PUBLIC education, and make higher education more accessible and affordable.

Austerity, anger against the poor, jealousy of public sector workers, giving more and more tax cuts to the wealthy and fewer and fewer services to those in need, is only going to result in a continuing  spiral downward  Whether they tell you they will or not, whoever is President will have to bend to Keynesian economic reality.  Bet your bottom dollar on that.

Pool Night in the Lighter Fay

A pool of intrepid solitude
Is broken by thoughts of you.
A light plays across the waters
Diffracted in a shimmering blue

No one saw me there
Behind a startle bush
I just watched in awe
And decided not to push

But then I saw her coming out of the water
Looking like a vision
Something you only dream about
Not to be measured against a reason

My eyes lit up as she dried off
Then she saw me, peering through trees
Giving me  a wicked smile
One that would automatically frees

Tyvale is far off
At least for me in waiting in the  trap,
The trap from sorcery's poisonous lips.
The trap is getting a bad rap


Soon, she was there beside me
A beautiful ghost who  walks with grace
Someone far beyond my ken
Someone with a radiant face

Come in, she pleads
The pool will refresh you
The promise will revive you
The hope will keep coming back to you.

I stand at the edge of the pool.
I so much want to go in
But that is not in my nature
I find it hard to lead the win

Goodbye, my pool friend!
So long, the tempting splash
Farewell, to the wicked smile
Hello, to an empty sash!

Ripping Good Yarns: Hall of Fame Movies

Hail to the mighty cinema!

There's nothing like going to the movie show!  The old drive-ins we went to with my parents, the large downtown movie theaters that even had balconies. the old Court Theater in Saginaw that on Saturday afternoons would show a double feature, cartoons, a serial chapter and more for no more than a quarter or two.  Even the suburban megaplexes with their cushier chairs, stadium seating, deluxe sound systems and 3D.  Of course, now, admission may take a trip to the small loan department!


So I could wax all day about my love affair with going to the movies.  And that's just one of many ways people see great movies now.  They might download them, watch them on TV, rent a DVD, or even see them on their phone.

For my new Ripping Good Yarn award, I would like to start a Hall of Fame for movies.  We will start with a general category, for movies all types.  The only rule?  It can't be a movie from the 21st century.  It needs to be from 1999 or earlier.

I will throw into contention five movies that did very well in our Facebook Faceoff from awhile back.  Feel free to comment on these and to nominate many more!

Wizard of Oz

Gone with the Wind

It's A Wonderful Life

Casablanca

Star Wars

I wait your input, Rippers!  The nominations are afoot!

Even Infomercials Can Have Great Moments

Our first lady, Michelle Obama, at the Democratic Convention, giving one of the best speeches of recent years.

It can be very infuriating, sometimes, to lean towards the side of the Democratic Party.  As a genuine progressive, their half steps and compromises can sometimes seem exasperating, constantly giving in where they do not need to. The party is of such a big tent nature that it includes very conservative members like Sen. Ben Nelson or Sen. Max Baucus, and these blue dogs drag progress out.  There are also those who sometimes seem more anxious to serve core liberal constituency groups than they are to solve problems for the betterment of the country.

But then someone with the dynamic, quiet strength of First Lady Michelle Obama comes along, and it helps crystallize why I identify so much more with this party than I do the other.  Her rhetorical skills, her caring, common sense approach, her love of family and this country shine through in everything she does.  It rips to shreds the complete lies and fabrications told by the opposition about the first family.

Here is the true American story.  Not in the story of second generation wealth, of those building their careers on wealthy family connections and manipulating the system to serve themselves, but in climbing the rungs of the American dream using one's intelligence and merit.  And yes, the use of government programs where necessary to help launch equality of opportunity.

There are so many great moments in this speech, so much that makes me proud to be an American and a progressive, but let me end with these two paragraphs quoted directly from her speech:

If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire...if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores...if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote...if a generation could defeat a depression, and define greatness for all time...if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream...and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love...then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream.

Because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country – the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle.