Whale Wise

I'm back and refreshed. I visited Maui for the first time and on a Humpback Whale watching trip, among many other interesting whale facts, I learned that you can hear whales with the naked ear just by being under water.
I remember being mesmerized by these recordings when I first heard them years ago but I had always thought that these sounds were detected with some type of elaborate device maybe only available to scientists. When I got back to shore I couldn't wait to try it out so I donned my snorkeling gear and swam out past the other sound makers nearer to shore and sure enough I heard them loud and clear and it was magical.
The best I can do to describe it is to say that it truly sounded like conversations, not unlike listening to someone speaking a foreign language. It was eerie and needed a little cognitive work to erase the Moby Dick thoughts but it was wonderful and just what the doctor ordered, some order of things that put my absurd little life into perspective.
I listened and imagined conversations about their long haul back to Alaska. There were debates over the merits of leaving sooner over later including some concerns over the juniors who hadn't quite mastered those all important deep diving maneuvers yet. There were Orca worriers and disgruntled young males who had failed to mate. There was talk of hundred pound servings of krill that awaited them. There were the more casual songster pod members belting out tunes and the no nonsense traditional leaders barking orders. Some met pod expectations and some didn't and some wanted respect and some wouldn't give it and some got plenty of it but couldn't care less. Somehow when it came time they all fell in and began their long journey to their summer home.
I guess I've taken a little humanization liberty here but I was surprised at how little is really known about these incredible creatures and what is known is being constantly revised.
Part of this is because they are protected and research is primarily done by observation. Other than the Japanese who still harvest 50 per year for what they say is research, Humpback Whales are pretty much left alone. So unless they start swallowing boats or ramming submarines I guess we'll have to wait to know a whole lot more about them and that's perfectly all right by me.
Too bad we can't take this approach more often.

Break Time

There seems to be a new sport out there. Have you noticed? It involves scheduling too much stuff and then telling people how crazy your life is. After fitting way too much into a day someone I know sits down like she just conquered China. Frazzled, she starts pretending that it wasn't exactly what she planned. When I start noticing things like this I know it's time for a break.

Obamas Epic Speech

Reading the opposing commentary to Senator Obamas speech reminded me of why I chose the title of this blog. Actually I wanted In Simple Terms but that was already taken.
The analysis sounded like Christopher Hitchens discussing a Fellini movie with Camile Paglia! It made my head hurt. Senator Obamas opponents likely burnt far more midnight oil attempting to find fault with his speech than Senator Obama burnt writing it.
This is because only a lesser intellect with a mission in mind would take on such a speech. They came at it from every angle, reverse engineering it, then representing it as some sort of evil doctrine.
The lengths they went to neutralize this speech could only have come from people who seriously fear more than just the influence that Reverend Wright has had on Senator Obama. This is politics, designed to capture and sway each and every remaining malleable voter. There was something for everybody, a dispute de jour. It was a side campaign that clearly showed that their most determined intentions will be a formidable obstacle for Senator Obama.
About the speech? In Simpler Terms, the best I've ever heard. No reasonable human being would deny that it was brilliant.

You'd Think Reverend Wright Was Leroy Brown

Do people really think that if your pastor or priest or rabbi says something you disagree with that you should get up and leave forever. I disagree with plenty of what I hear in church but I stay put. I'm sure they don't consider me an agent for them nor do I consider them agents for me. We coexist because I accept that on balance they mean well and do more good than bad. Remember, it's about God, we're the the imperfect ones.
And isn't respect for individual thinking what should really trump here. If not, then why isn't every loony family member, friend, professor, staff member or supporter paid more attention to. What about Billy Carter's influence on Jimmy Carter or Roger Clinton on Bill Clinton. What about Geraldine Ferraro's influence on Senator Clinton? I find her words about Senator Obama more cleverly chosen but no less disturbing. In case you didn't hear, let me repeat it here for you. "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position, and if he was a woman of any color he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is."
Senator Clinton's response was, "Well, I don't believe in that, and I think it's important that we try and stay focused on issues that matter to the American people." Senator Clinton, this issue does matter to a lot of people and it's why Reverend Wrights audiences like to hear about it occasionally, if for nothing else than to let them know that they are not alone in their struggles.
Isn't that what every church provides. Some just do it differently than others.
Reverend Wright shouldn't have dropped the n-bomb or used profanity of any kind and should have used his brain a little more but he did not invalidate the fact that for the most part white Americans enjoy the advantage of being first judged for their deeds-a luxury not yet afforded all African Americans.
Fire and brimstone style prophetic oratory was not invented by African American preachers and in fact early evangelical preachers like Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson were allowed to draw and quarter America for it's sins and their deeds went unpunished. They even had actual victims-perceived threats like Jews, gays and pro-choice supporters and so on.
Beyond that remember that religion is a business because without donations it doesn't exist. For lack of a better word, entertainment brings people into church and that is why Reverend Wright was there. He built the membership up by giving patrons what they wanted. And like it or not that is how mortal humans behave even when given divine responsibilities.
Sure I'd like to see them all stick to matters of religion and faith but that genie was never in the bottle.
So with their newly found fodder we'll have to endure all those who wouldn't have ever voted for a black man named Barrack Obama in the first place. They will seize vigorously every opportunity to destroy his chances.
I know one thing for sure; the loudest of them I will listen to least.

Enjoy It While It Lasts

I got lucky and scored some good tickets to a Laker game the other night. They played Sacramento who I am a fan of because I lived in that area for several years. If you haven't tried it, suffice to say that it's not a comfortable thing to sit amongst a bunch of enthusiastic home team fans and want the other team to win. Making matters worse, Sacramento lead most of the game and in a dramatic ending won by a single point. I had to choose the middle ground and didn't root for either team because I didn't want to subject my family members to a fracas. It took a lot of self restraint and took a little of the fun out of it but it was a great game with mediocre defense which provided for a lot of made plays which is my favorite thing to watch.
What is so remarkable is that no matter how breathtakingly good the visiting teams plays were, it was met with dead silence.
To me the game of basketball can take on a near performance art quality when played well and viewed up close. But their is no mistaking that, all being equal, your favorite teams well executed plays are the best.
Being the political season and me being glued to it, you had to expect that I would transform this into something to do with politics, right? Well sure enough, my point is that like basketball fans the media and everyone else on the planet is biased about their picks in this Presidential election. I find that only when this is really taken to heart and accepted as fact can I step back and see this thing for what it really is.
For example, and it is hard to say this as an Obama supporter but, Saturday Night Live had it right in their season opener suggesting that the media was biased against Senator Clinton. To me it was very obvious. There were many excuses but I don't think any reasonable person could deny it. SNL being a New York City product and treasure consciously or unconsciously came to their Senators aid in pointing out the obvious. There has now been a call of foul from Obama supporters that SNL is biased against Senator Obama.
With a little introspection many in the media have now rushed to the starboard side of the S.S. Neutral. She'll likely list there for a while until a bigger story comes along.
One thing you can be sure of is that the power brokers, the ones who are compelled to put their opinions out there in an effort to convince others, be it the media or through the media, have already made up their minds. One fortunate byproduct is that this is as close to egalitarianism as we ever get around here because the common folk have something they need very badly and that is our vote. It's usually the other way around so being unaccustomed to this role and unsure how to convince us they make plenty mistakes. These stumbles and blunders tell us a lot about them and their real intent and makes watching that much more fun. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Time to re-group

When it comes to political speeches, if it starts sounding like a different way to say the same thing, then chances are it's stopped working. Senator Obama tried to use the same stump speeches perhaps a week longer than he should have. In states where his message needed to be as fresh as possible it wasn't and the Clinton and McCain campaigns assertion of empty words was able to take root.
It's probably due to fatigue but when your strategy includes, if it ain't broke don't fix it, you had better be sure of it.
Re-invention can be risky but not as risky as what just happened in Texas and Ohio. Never underestimate our tendency to cut people down to size when they get ahead and remember who he's running against, a prominent political figure who not too long ago was the presumed heir to the throne.
Time to dig deep and find some more of what you are before any more people start to question it.

Keepin An Eye On Kinky

Sometimes being considered a little nuts provides a lot of cover from criticism. But because I don't consider Kinky Friedman to be all that nuts I want to get his comments recorded here the best I can so at least the next time he spouts off there will be another example of a pattern that shouldn't be ignored. First if you don't know already Kinky is a country singer who once ran for Governor in the State of Texas. He's a flamboyant Texas size character who has a history of making edgy remarks and gets away with it because, well, it's just that ole Kinky at it again. Believe me, if his comments were not of the offensive variety I'd probably be a big fan. He has all those iconoclastic qualities I like to see in a man. After all he's a personal friend of Bob Dylan who I admire to such an extent that just meeting him would pretty much make my life but only if I got to ask him a bunch of questions.
Anyway back to Kinky. On Joe Scarboroughs show on MSNBC he recently talked to Kinky Friedman about Senator Obama. Well it's obvious that Kinky's no fan of Senator Obama which is all right by me. What I object to is the means by which he expressed his objections. Kinky's got a clever way of saying things and this thing went pretty fast and I'm doing this from memory but I'm seeing an unsavory little performance here. He said things like, I don't know enough about Obama, I don't know if he's a JFK or Jimmy Carter or the Anti-Christ? He made a comparative point about being let down by realizing that the OJ Simpson jurors were never going to vote to convict and went on to say he once believed in in Fidel Castro only to be let down. He also used his crips and bloods line in place of Democrats and Republicans but you had to know it in advance and I still don't quite understand his point..
So what do I take from all this? I'm not going to go into his past but there is enough there to think that a reasonable person would steer way clear of new cow pies. But not Kinky, he keeps living dangerously and fortunately moving himself closer to complete irrelevancy. Of course Joe Scarborough just laughed and let Kinky slide.

Senator Obama Has A Good Start

It was one year ago today that I first wrote about Senator Obama. I wrote about how I thought he may become President or the possibility of it anyway. I feel the same way today and much more but as it happens before my eyes, it's hard to believe. I think that had I really known what he was up against I would have given him less of a chance. Lesson learned but by any measure, what he has accomplished is remarkable and I see this as an extraordinary triumph and it thrills me to no end. I often wonder if a year ago Senator Obama could have really seen it coming.
I'm grateful for this little web log to because it gives me the ability to know what I was thinking a year ago which is in itself revealing. I consider it a form of detached perspective which I believe is good for personal growth.
For the first half of my life (maybe a bit optimistic) I didn't keep any written record of how I perceived what occurred. I have some pictures and some college papers and accumulated stuff to remind me of what went on but I'm not so sure I really have a strong sense of how I thought.
I think about this a lot lately because having children demands it. I keep telling myself that if I could only remember how I saw things at that age that maybe I would understand them a little bit better.
Looking back I do remember looking out and away from family fairly early. In fact, at that time I must have been oblivious to what my parents wanted of me because my memory is filled with anything but their wishes. I also remember thinking how wrong they were and how right I was. My opinions were obviously being created in a vacuum because I didn't really consider others opinions very much. This is where I have always found the most entwined roots of idealism. I didn't even consider the role of a consensus. Of course it's importance over time would prove to be even greater than that of being right when it came to matters involving people, groups and projects.
Hard medicine to take when your young but without fully accepting that this is how things really get done your talking ''wind pudding and fried snowballs." (an old New England saying)
Above anything else this is what the next president will need to succeed. This is the rarest of abilities that one can possess. I have a less than one hand count of people I've met in my life that were able to win over people to their side without the heavy use of the carrot-and-stick approach. This only works so far and the deeper inside the building you go the harder it gets.

The Right To Vote

Well, Super Tuesday came and went and my candidate is still in the hunt so I'm happy. Voting was a breeze except for the carefully crafted term limits extension proposition called "Limits on Legislators term in office," here in California. The wording tries everything possible to get you to vote yes. For example, "voting yes limits the time a legislator can serve..." when in actuality it increases the time they can serve to 12 years effective immediately. When 34 legislators are looking to extend their stay you can always count on some trickery. Fortunately voters weren't fooled, although I suspect the margin was closer due to the intended confusion.
It evidently wasn't such smooth sailing for the "decline to state" folks as they are called in California, otherwise known as independents or non-partisans. It seems that many were confused by a complicated procedure that likely led to some unknown number not having their vote counted.
I listened to the explanations from all the bureaucrats in charge and it was clear that they consider this all part of doing business and probably will do nothing to fix the problem. It's not often you get to hear the "steady drone of bureaucracy" that came out of this bunch. They wonder why there is such apathy.
You couldn't help but hear about how many more people voted in this primary compared to the last, although as I see it, only about 24 million people voted out of 22 states. By my calculations the population of the Super Tuesday states is approximately 95 million of which about 68 million are of voting age. So one third turned out to vote. I'd think that this alone would be enough to make voting officials do whatever possible to clear up any confusion about the process.

Latino Vote

I only have a few minutes here but can anyone tell me why, with 38% of the population here in California, that Sen. Obamas campaign has not pointed out that Latino leaders were not exactly enamored with President Bill Clintons policies on immigration during the period of his administration. I remember speaking to a very high level Hispanic member of the Catholic clergy who, in his support for President G.W Bush, explained in great detail how President Clinton's legislation during that time did a lot to hurt immigrants and their families.
This kind of information would seem to counter-balance what is being portrayed as a given that Latino voters will vote for Sen. Clinton.
I can't argue with the Obama campaign strategy though. All you have to do is read this mornings (Sunday) L A Times political section to realize that whether consciously or not you can't help but think their coverage is biased against Sen. Obama. The LA Times editorial board did endorse Senator Obama and Senator McCain in the Opinion section in the same edition but the editorial board operates independently of the news operation. It was more about omission and it was subtle unless like me you look forward to reading about Senator Obama. There's just not much there compared to the other candidates. They did suspiciously place an article about the nuclear industry contributing more to Sen. Obama than all the other candidates. They also excluded something in the condensed columnar "Where the candidates stand," area. On the immigration column Sen. Obama's position on the issuance of drivers licenses to illegal immigrants is missing. Why is this important? Because those who thought they heard it in the last debate or were told by someone who did can't confirm it before the Primary.