Living Liberty

I figured it out ...

2006-06-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

(Pajama Game reference intentional)

I've been wondering ever since I started this "blog" why I so rarely get back here to post something. ... Then it struck me, like the hot fist at the end of ...

I am already blogging elsewhere, every day:

Over at MEDICAL FREEDOM CHANNEL, where I post links and blurbs to the most interesting current news stories and commentaries, concerning the actual development or consideration of free market alternatives to meeting the challenges of health and wellness. I also write a weekly editorial on some aspect of the subject.

Every time I post for RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST, I am entering blurbs and links to liberty-oriented news/comment that I think might interest that audience, with special focus on things appropriate to a so-called "progressive" audience, so I have plenty of choices in making up the weekly PROGRESSIVE NEWS DIGEST e-letter I send out each Sunday evening, and post at the Yahoo-Groups list and other venues.

Then there is my work with FREE MARKET NEWS NETWORK, which ranges from each day finding and rewriting (as short summary-blurbs) a half-dozen or so news stories aimed at that market, to proofing the whole News section for typos and consistency, to scripting and delivering a commentary on the WEEKLY WORLD REPORT, the streaming video presentation that sort of sums up and comments on the previous week's stories.

Finally, there is my songwriting, some of which is posted on my own website along with a section on Kathy's Night Off, the monthly songwriter night I organize, book, promote, referee and do pretty much everything else except HOST, and have done so (sometimes including the hosting) for the past six years now.

And on the weekends, like now, I am usually out socializing or preparing to do so (I have a friends' wedding to attend later today, for example) ... or watching a ballgame (Sox/Bravos in an hour!) ... or working on the next editorial ... or cleaning up my hard drive ... or promoting MFC to the potential local market ... or doing something else that is both productive, constructive (well, not always) and above all enjoyable to ME!

Bottom line, if this space doesn't update a lot, it's probably because I am too busy keeping those other ventures alive ... or posting on one of about ten Yahoo Group sites ... or chatting with friends (both virtual and meatspace) ... or doing things at/with my church community ...

Or just living liberty in my own ways, and on my own terms.

I will not apologize anymore ...

- Steve

and while I'm here

2006-01-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

Let me add my voice to that of Keith Olbermann, and many others, in calling the Baseball Writers of America a bunch of know-nothing imbeciles ... for once again denying Jim Rice the Hall of Fame.

Juat have to crow a little ...

2006-01-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

While wandering through the news-sites on my daily work routine, I stumbled across a really deceptive Fox News story, and decided it deserved some clarifying analysis. My editor posted it as such, and then I blurbed it back on Rational Review News Digest, as:

Media bird-flu scare fake?
Free Market News Network
by Steve Trinward

"NEWS ANALYSIS: Once again, the Fox News/Web MD headline is ambiguous at best, if not downright misleading: 'Bird Flu May Pass From Poultry to Human Easier Than Expected.' The story begins with accounts of new avian flu cases in humans, now spreading to parts of Turkey, where three children from the same family have died, with two of them so far confirmed with the H5N1 bird flu virus. ... However, deeper into the story, it is revealed that, with regard to the Turkish children, at least: 'According to news reports, a doctor who treated those children speculated that the kids had probably caught the virus by playing with dead chickens.' ... In other words, we are still dealing with a virus that only seems to pass from birds to humans if those humans physically handle dead or diseased birds. So the way to stop the avian flu from spreading is to stop people from picking up dead birds, or playing with diseased chickens, and to develop inoculations (or better yet, aerosol sprays) that can stop the spread of H5N1 among the birds themselves!" (01/10/06)

http://fmnn.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=5152

read it for yourself, and make your own call-- Is this just sloppy headline writing, or another piece in the concerted effort by the Shrubbos to con us into both martial law and a ridiculous purchase of several billion dollars worth of Tamiflu, which has still shown little or no effect on stopping the very RARE case of avian flu being transmitted from a bird to a human being, and still NO verifiable instances of human-to-human transmission! (Note the latest story, of the 8-year-old girl in Turkey... who cuddled and KISSED a diseased chicken, before coming down with the H5N1 virus! One would certainly hope children in more civilized parts of the world at least would know better than that ...)

Steve out

An insight into relationships

2006-01-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know - I've been AWOL from this space for over a month.

The good news is, I've maybe finally figured out how to make use of it, as I slowly morph into my own website again, which will have blogspace f sorts as one of many functionalities ...

Those random times when something hits me, from whatever direction, and I only have time to jot down the notes for a later exploration ... and the outcome is unlikely to be either a song lyric, or a specifically political piece suitable for FMNN or MFC or RatRev or any of the other places I post at least semi-regularly.

this is one of those ...

While watching the Netflix DVD of Six Feet Under's opening episode of Season #4, "Falling Into Place" ... with writer Craig Wright narrating it (second viewing, and glad I did, since I missed at least two subtle plotpoints the first time ...) I came across a scene where David Foster & Keith are in the process of once more "kissing and making up" ... although this time it looks like they might both be serious about doing so, and not just horny as usual ...

In his voiceover, Wright chose to pontificate a little about the scene:

"David and Keith's relationship is full of paradoxes, and not everyone's convinced they should be together. But the narrative tension provided by their theoretical unfitness for being together buys you a lot more narrative tension, than by putting them each with people with whom they would be better suited. I think you want to push in storytelling whatever keeps people wondering "WHY?" Why on earth is this occurring? I think there are two good feelings to have when watching something: WHY? and OH NO! And every now and then a sigh of relief that it works out … but very rarely…"

And suddenly it hit me: One of the things we often do (at our own peril) in seeking (or seeking to build on) a relationship, is compare it to how things work ... in the movies, or on TV. We see these actors playing out roles, and often are tempted to use those roles (at least in the more "realistic" productions?) as models for our own behavior - the "funny and brash guy with a sensitive heart," the "demure miss with the fire burning for the right one" ... and so forth.

The problem is, those characters are not drawn for compatibility, but for dramatic tension and conflict; otherwise, as Wright notes, there would be no way of creating a plotline around their interaction.

I have known for a long time that the secret to writing comedy is to make sure the characters never actually trust each other enough to tell the truth, to confide in one another when they need to, etc. Otherwise, the plot device - "oh Ricky can't know ..."; "Laura would kill me if she found out that ..."; or (more contemporary, or at least recent) "Rachel and Monica have to think that ..." - would dissolve in about 5 minutes, followed by 20 more of blank blue screen interrupted by commercials.

What I had not considered until just tonight is, drama requires the same dysfunctionality, or the characters become boring as hell in no time. The only time they can ... come together as one (badumpum!), is at the end of the story, and even then we are supposed to wonder how all of a sudden they've all grown up so much that the same demons won't haunt them in the future!

It's also probably why Shakespeare (or whoever it was writing those) made such a point of killing off his heroes in most or all of his tragedies ... allowing them to live on would be just pointless ...

all for now... hope to see you again a little sooner next time!

It's up there now

2005-12-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

... the second part of my "hard-hitting series" on ... "Virtual" child abuse:

"VIRTUAL" CHILD SEX, PART TWO: THE VIGILANTES EXPOSED
FREE MARKET NEWS NETWORK
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

When I wrote the previous column on this topic, I had a sense I might be opening a can of worms. Little did I know I'd be turning over a bunch of rocks, and that all kinds of slimy and unsavory life-forms would crawl out from under.

I'm not talking about the true sexual predators in our society. As any sociologist who's studied the subject will tell you, those are most often NOT some degenerate hanging around a schoolyard, or lurking on the Internet. Far more often, a "molester" turns out to be a family-member, a neighbor … or someone else who has actually known the targeted "child" personally for some time.

In this case I have another target in mind: the group or groups of self-proclaimed "saviors" that have sprung up to exploit the fears of parents, and besmirch the names and lives of peaceful and harmless private citizens, for no purpose (it turns out) beyond their own sick amusement and desire to dominate and destroy others. And the most high-profile and brazen of these self-styled vigilante crusaders calls itself "Perverted Justice" – a moniker that could hardly be more appropriate, since these vicious thugs are indeed perverting the criminal process, while destroying any hope of ever bringing to trial (let alone conviction) those among its "targets" who might actually BE guilty of child endangerment or abuse.

As it turns out, this is also the actual identity of the "Internet nanny-watch group" who convinced an Arizona tv station to join them in entrapping that hapless Arizona State University student, whose saga was laid out in my previous column. (Note: A brief glance at their website (http://www.perverted-justice.com), should convince anyone of their true, much baser intentions – if you can stomach the foul language and gang-banger tactics of the perverted-justice thugs themselves!)

But these are not, as they portray themselves, "saviors of the children" defending young girls from sexual predators.

###

Surprisingly, I have had NO feedback on this one ... Perhaps the next installment ...

Today, in addition to regular summaries & postings, at RRND, MFC and then (after my rewrites) FMNN, I have to deliver an audio piece for FMNN's Weekly World Report -- another thing on the bird flu story. The call is due in about an hour, so I can't stop long here.

Other things in the works: my weekly editorial for MFC; another piece of the "Virtual" series; perhaps another column or two by beginning of next week; some responsed on Yahoo lists ...

SOW, I've figured out that part of why I don't get back here very often (as has been noted by others?) is this: Along with the regular online workload, I also post pretty regularly on at least three Yahoo groups, often several more. Maybe I should start copying from there when I want to start a blog-entry; some of the stuff is actually pretty interesting ... Well, at least it is to me!

Anyway, back to cyberspace .. see you again soon; write often!

An update ... and a query or two

2005-11-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

back so soon? Yep ... got done with the day's allotment of duties and thought I would post results here as well:

1. latest editorial on Medical Freedom Channel:

TennCare’s bass-ackwards priorities

As I review the topics of my editorials so far, I notice I’ve not yet addressed the way I got into this “medical freedom” interest in the first place: seeing, up close and personal, what a travesty the localized version of HillaryCare has proven itself to be.

I refer of course to TennCare, that bastard child of Mrs. Clinton’s nightmarish prescription for socialized medicine that took over the erstwhile Volunteer State in January of 1994 — and has been destroying budgets and dividing healthcare advocates ever since. The program was supposed to serve as a “safety net” for the (relatively few) residents of Tennessee who are either truly disabled, (temporarily) indigent, elderly or terminally ill. It has become instead a typical government bureaucracy, serving its own interests instead of those whom it was designed to assist. That is not surprising; what is puzzling, and even disturbing, is how the recent “reforms” to the system have effectively resulted in FEWER services to those deemed ELIGIBLE for them, with MORE coverage for those who have been DISQUALIFIED from receiving any!

more at site ...

2. latest header-comment for Progressive News Digest (full text here, only available in e-mail version):

PND Issue 25, Vol II - Defining our terms?

A few words about the word "progressive" ...

John Nichols of The Nation had a blurb worth quoting this week: "Every day in every city and town across America, progressives get up in the morning and go about the work of fighting racism and homophobia, defending the environment, organizing trade unions and tackling corporate hegemony. Sometimes they win -- on the picket line, at the ballot box, in the streets and outside the WTO meetings in Seattle. ..."

If that's your sole definition of "progressive" ... I may be wasting my time here.

To me, although most of what Mr. Nichols has laid out is PART of the picture, there is actually both a lot more and a lot less to the issue. For me the word has to do with "moving forward" ... which automatically means going beyond what has been done before. Since the entire history of civilization has been a gradual process of moving from "rule of men to rule of laws" -- and from despotic control (tribal chief, emperor, king, president, ...) to personal autonomy -- any true "progress" should be measured in how it enhances that zone of individual sovereignty, while encouraging the voluntary cooperation of each with each -- not because someone else imposes it from without, but because we are evolving into feeling it from within ("forced charity" is an oxymoron, after all)! Since each of the methods listed above (including the falsely revered "ballot box" whose "demoncrazy" is merely the least recognized instrument of tyranny we know of -- recall Hitler was elected to office, as was the current U.S. throneholder in some fashion? -- may be used as a means of imposing one's will on others, they hardly seem very "progressive" to these eyes ...

As I said ... "a few words" ... intended to provoke discussion. Comments most welcome; what does "progressive" mean to you?

And now to this week's issue ...

In the News it's about court cases, legislative hearings and Congressional investigations (what, again?), as well as (dark) humor fodder in Germany, the actual indictment of Joseph Padilla, further word on Iraq (they want us to leave ASAP, but Bush has the lobsters in his ears, and is going NEENER NEENER NEENER until they stop asking), and a bit more.

In Commentaries, there are two from my fevered brain: a TennCare query (26) and the first in a series of columns (34) stemming from a rather bizarre story in Arizona (which is only getting stranger as I dig deeper). R. Lee Wrights (27) offers his own take on the biggest obstacle to true educational reform, and Lloyd Kinder (29) gives a fine comparison of authoritarian vs. libertarian (which Mr. Nichols might want to consider?). Then we have Tom Knapp (31) with a piece on unions and free markets; Daniel Schorr (32) with more lessons from Vietnam, Cindy Sheehan's (33) "Blessings" (for the season as well as the Cause); Nicholas von Hoffman (35) praising John Murtha' Jim Davies (37) on "what one person can do"; and The Nation's editorial board (38) prodding Democrats into taking a stand for ending the war in Iraq. There are also commentaries by the likes of Howard Zinn, Justin Raimondo, Claire Wolfe, E. J. Montini, H.D.S. Greenway and Steve Kubby, to name a few.

As always, the PND website has all this and much more, including constant updates throughout the week, at:

http://www.rationalreview.com/pnd

3. Well, it's not up online yet, but here's the lead:

"Virtual" child sex, Part Two: The vigilantes exposed
By Steve Trinward

When I wrote the previous column on this topic, I had a sense I might be opening a can of worms. Little did I know I'd be turning over a bunch of rocks, and that all kinds of slimy and unsavory life-forms would crawl out from under. I'm not talking about the true sexual predators in our society. As any sociologist who's studied the subject will tell you, those are most often NOT some degenerate hanging around a schoolyard, or lurking on the Internet. Far more often, a "molester" turns out to be a family-member, a neighbor … or someone else who has actually known the targeted "child" personally for some time.

In this case I have another target in mind: the group or groups of self-proclaimed "saviors" that have sprung up to exploit the fears of parents, and besmirch the names and lives of peaceful and harmless private citizens, for no purpose (it turns out) beyond their own sick amusement and desire to dominate and destroy others. And the most high-profile and brazen of these self-styled vigilante crusaders calls itself "Perverted Justice" – a moniker that could hardly be more appropriate, since these vicious thugs are indeed perverting the criminal process, while destroying any hope of ever bringing to trial (let alone conviction) those among its "targets" who might actually BE guilty of child endangerment or abuse.

... there is LOTS more, but it may not be up until tomorrow; check http://www.fmnn.com

all for now ...

One to provoke some comment?

2005-11-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

Me again ... trying at least to get something up here each week. For now that's all I can aim at ...

I wrote a column last weekend, one that I thought would get me nothing but grief. Instead, it got posted high up on the commentaries at Free Market, and then almost immediately got congratulations from several directions. Before I go on, here's the link for that piece (warning, subject matter is a little 'out there'): VIRTUAL" CHILD SEX: IN SEARCH OF A "VICTIM"?

Now that you have read the story, this will make more sense. One of the responses was from a group that is even more outraged by the "travesty of justice" involved in the issue than I am, and they provided chapter and verse about the "would-be vigilante group" that staged the whole thing.

As a result, I am now working on part two, and probably three and maybe more, exposing these self-styled "child protectors" ... who are in actuality just a bunch of sadistic creeps with nothing better to do than ruin other people's lives. (Note: Their tactics more often than not result in NO arrests, and even more rarely any convictions, and their purpose seems more about having a mouse to torture than any higher sense of "morality" ... more as I uncover more.)

If the threads of the tale warrant it, I may even expand into investigating the repeated White House/Congressional sex slaves allegations, which seem far more dangerous to me than the possibility that some lonely guys might be chatting with teenagers in some virtual arena ...

IS one day late too late?

2005-11-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know. I promised to post yesterday. I didn't get a round tuit, with all the late stuff I had to do elsewhere. ... Plus I had turkey at the church potluck Sunday afternoon, so I fell asleep for a while with all that tryptophan. ... and then I got to sleep a little early to start the week off, and ...

Anyway, here are the locations, as promised:

FREE MARKET NEWS NETWORK: http://www.fmnn.com - several things on the news section, plus a commentary on the Weekly World Report (click on right side of main page)

MEDICAL FREEDOM CHANNEL: http://medicalfreedom.isil.org - the usual news & comm, plus David Undis interview at: http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/790

RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST: http://rationalreview.com/news - the usual stuff

PROGRESSIVE NEWS DIGEST: http://rationalreview.com/pnd - my weekly submissions

Now I have to get back to productive work ;}

hello again

2005-11-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

Just a couple words this time, but tomorrow I'll post all the stories and articles I've been working on these past two weeks ... I promise! Don't even know if anyone reads this anymore, so I admit it's not tops on my priority-list, in the face of so many other duties these days. Been trying to keep abreast of the bird flu scam, "healthcare reform" in Massachusetts, the patchwork of lies that inform Shrubboland in all its vileness, the wonder of LifeSharers, a very strange story out of Arizona, and ... Not much time left over for a good bloggin', eh?

See ya manana ... - Steve

and today I ...

2005-11-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

In addition to the regular Sunday routine -- walk to church and hang out there after the service for a while (today was also collecting sigs for the 'let us vote on property tax hikes" referendum petition .. most fun I have had petitioning since ... ever! All you do is show the page, and tell them what it's for: the property owners sign instantly, the renters who know where their rent goes do so as well; anyone else, you simply ask if government should at least have to ask permission, and do some marketing, before picking your pocket ...) ...

Then come home and produce the week's PND:

Mostly the same ... Progressive News Digest, Volume II, Issue 22
Source: Progressive News Digest

A bit quieter this week: Libby indictment, and the wider picture, won't be news for at least another couple of weeks ... Bush in Argentina facing protests, to nobody's surprise ... and the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ito - I mean Scalito ... umm, Alioto, Hirohito, Kato, whatever ... anyway, they aren't until January ...

Actually, the most interesting thing all week (much to my surprise?), is on right now -- "The West Wing" ... attempting to do a "live debate" ... with even an "NBC News Live" logo on the corner of the screen, and a recognizable news guy as moderator ... between ... Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits ... portraying the GOP conservative (Alda as Carol O'Connor?) and the Kerry-like liberal DEM ... running for President of the fictitious world of "West Wing" ... I fully expect to see bumperstickers tomorrow touting either Santos (Smits) or Vinick (Alda) ...

Some days it truly does feel as though I have falled through the looking-glass ...

Anyway, back to this week's issue: The story I decided to lead with [and not just because the protagonists are (as I now discover) alumni of the same school I went to]: Apparently, the founder of eBay and his wife have made a major donation to Tufts University ... targeted for the purpose of offering small start up loans to people in developing countries, to help them get off the ground and become self-supporting. Whether or not it can work, and can end up freeing a lot of folks from their oppressor despots in the process ... it sure is a nice thing to consider!

And in other news: Water rights in the Western U.S., Bush in South America, a large charitable donation targeted at Third World economic aid ... and the latest poll results showing most Americans don't trust Bush as far as they could throw him (once again, dog bites man level of "news").

On commentaries there's a little more to chew on: I've got two submissions, one on healthcare at the mercy of "moralism" and one that congratulates an In These Times columnist for getting it ... almost correct. Then there is Jeff Riggenbach with a eulogy and appreciation of that dearly departed (and extremely underrated) icon of feminism, Joan Kennedy Taylor. There is also the usual range of thought, from the likes of Ellen Goodman, Charlie Pierce (spit-take warning: do not consume beverages while reading this one!), Robert Kuttner, Radley Balko, Patrick Basham, Justin Raimondo, Michael Kinsley (!), Dennis Kucinich, Pat Schroeder & Bob Barr, Daniel Schorr, Henry Hazlitt, Sidney Blumenthal, Jonathan David Morris, Thomas L. Knapp ... In short, it's a veritable "borgaschmord" of considerations of liberty. Enjoy, and see you next week!

As always, the PND website has all this and much more, including constant updates throughout the week, at: http://www.rationalreview.com/pnd

*****

as well as the entries for both RRND and MFC for Monday's editions ... and then surf for, find and write up about 8-10 stories for Monday's FMNN pages ...

This column is actually part of the week's work for ISIL MFC, but it is new output, so ...

When "moralism" would trump good health
Source: ISIL Medical Freedom Channel

"It is frankly rather incredible how often the rationale of 'for the children' gets used by political pressure-groups as a 'beard' for their own barely hidden agendas. I’m not speaking here of liberal 'progressives' seeking more funding for the government schools or the welfare system, but of some members of their 'conservative' opposition, who are using 'child protection' as a cover to block medical breakthroughs (as well as existing methods), intended to shift medical costs and obligations away from remedial aftercare and toward preventative methodologies. What is really sad is how often this sham is used, for purposes likely to be to the detriment of those very same 'children' … or how often the moniker is applied to adolescents on the verge of adulthood, in order to infantilize them and make them excuses for further tyranny on the adults around them. Two issues are at the forefront of this: (1) A new vaccine against cervical cancer; and (2) Barr Pharmaceutical’s application to make the emergency contraceptive Plan B available over the counter." (11/07/05)

Link: http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/519

***

This one's link MAY not work just yet ... but it's supposed to be up on the site by tomorrow; not my deepest effort but worth a look?

My Tax Ballot
Source: Reason To Freedom

I've decided that this episode of the Ramblings from Trinwardia needs to address a question that gets asked all too often, and far too rarely receives a decent answer: So as a libertarian, what would you cut first, if you could begin to dismantle the government starting tomorrow? A more useful question to me is: In a free society, what would you support, if you had the choice of where your tax dollars should be going? And what would get the back of your hand? You see, I do comprehend the idea that governance, and community cooperation of some kind, does have a place, even in a free society without coercive powers to enforce the will of some as a burden on others. I do happen to agree that "that government governs best that governs least" – and in the vast majority of cases, that means not at all. But I'm also unwilling to claim that a sudden leap from the current mess into a completely unfettered state of being would not create so much chaos and destruction, and harm so many innocent bystanders (including those who have perhaps been rendered incapable of comprehending what "freedom" really means, by a variety of influences and experiences?) So here's my entry in the "what would I do?" sweepstakes – my "tax ballot" if you will. (11/07/05)

http://www.reasontofreedom.com/My_Tax_Ballot.html

*****

So, can I be forgiven for not getting over here quite often enough?

and then I said ...

2005-11-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

Friday Night: Not a link, but a lyric ... I performed this at my church, as part of the monthly "coffeehouse" (except this one was in the Sanctuary, with full amps and mikes, a drummer and a crowd of about 50-70). It was written just after the Berlin Wall fell; it still gets responses today. I did it as a rap-tune this time, and I may be teaching it to the Sunday School kids to perform soon (If you can imagine a white guy in his mid-50s, with cap askew and a loud oversized t-shirt ... well, you have my sympathies):

(Whacha Gon' Do) WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
Steve Trinward / Michael Santoro
©1990, 2004 trinSONGS / SantoroTUNES

SOLO: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT …
When there’s nothing left to fight about
We can make the world a field of dreams …
If we just stop feeding that war machine
Whacha gon' do when peace breaks out …
Whacha gon' do when peace breaks out

SOLO: Senate and Congress will you heed the call
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Can’t you hear the sound of the crumbling walls
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Don’t drag your feet come join us now
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Churn the guns to butter beat swords to plows (AND)
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out

SOLO: And hey there generals you Peter Pan boys
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Time to put away those childhood toys
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: No tin soldiers or bombs or guns
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: The war is over … everybody won (YEAH)

SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
ALL: When peace breaks out … When peace breaks out!

CHORUS (in background): [ OOOHS … ]
SOLO: Old soldiers and politicians just fade away
[Drums only - two bars]
CHORUS (in background): [ OOOHS … ]
But they keep that enemy deep inside us … Here to stay … He he hey!

SOLO: You see it every day in every land
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: People throwing down arms and taking up hands
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Opening borders and rising above
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Unconditional surrender to peace and love (AND)
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT

SOLO: (And) hey this message is for you and me
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: Time to open our hearts set our souls free
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: We’ve got a chance like never before
CHORUS: Whacha Gon' Do WHEN PEACE BREAKS OUT
SOLO: To start making love and stop making war (SO)

SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
ALL: When peace breaks out … When peace breaks out!

SOLO: (I say) Whacha gonna do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
SOLO: Whacha gon' do CHORUS: When peace breaks out
ALL: When peace breaks out …

SOLO: PEACE OUT!

*****

more to come ...

it's been a while ...

2005-11-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

Can I claim to have been "busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest"?

Not really, but it has been a full couple of weeks since the last posting here. Rather than offer excuses, I'll just post what has been going on ... and stretch it out over several posts so it looks even biggerer?

1. Columns:

Last week:

Wal-Mart: Free-market pioneer or corporate exploiter?

Source: ISIL Medical Freedom Channel

"Well, WalMart has done it! This week, they became the first major corporation to begin offering high-deductible, basic coverage health insurance policy options to their employees. ... [T]he Value Plan, for less than $25 per month (as little as $11 in some regions), would allow a WalMart worker to get coverage for limited doctor visits, emergencies and similar curative medical aid. ... If this lead is followed, there could be real progress made in making healthcare a lot more affordable. On the surface, that's how it appears. But we must also note that this apparent 'free-market' move comes from a company that has simultaneously come out strongly in favor of raising the minimum-wage ... [and] advising managers on how to shift from the current elderly workforce to hiring a younger demographic, one more likely to be healthy and less in need of healthcare expenditures. ... Given these subsidiary actions, a true pro-liberty motivation for the new health plan is unlikely." (10/31/05)

Link: http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/357

A welcome sign from the Left?

Source: Free Market News Network

"Although libertarians might cringe a bit at this repeated confusion of the egalitarianism-driven French 'revolution' with its libertarian predecessor in America, the sentiment is nevertheless well stated. If we do not maintain the focus of liberty first, and pursue these laudable yet subsidiary goals only in that context, we will soon have lost all hope of having any of them at all. Anything else is as dangerous as the other major confusion in our society today: the blurring of 'democracy' with the means of establishing the zone of individual sovereignty that must exist before true personal liberty can be attained." (11/02/05)

Link: http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/136/2798/2005-11-02.asp?wid=136&nid=2798

*****

more next ...

I am reminded ...

2005-10-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

on occasion, that many days go by when I forget to post things here, although I certainly could. The latest example is an article I just put up at ReasontoFreedom.com:

A Different Look At "Service?"

"He probably didn't intend doing so, but Arizona educrat Tom Horne may have given gradualist libertarians a whole new way to propose tax reform, based on the premise that 'If you're part of the solution, you're not part of the problem ...' -- adding the tagline that, therefore, they shouldn't be able to steal as much of your money to fix the problems ... f we grant that: (1.) It is a desirable thing for people to ... help the communities around them; and (2.) SOME social consciousness is necessary for one to exist in a society ... Can we not then encourage people to contribute to their communities with a tax-incentive?

www.ReasonToFreedom.com/Different_Look_At_Service.html

It's a little outside the box in some ways, but still addresses the subjects of liberty, autonomy and self-actualization ...

Also, I should let you know about an exciting new series of Channels, over at ISIL.org, one of which is my latest project:

THE MEDICAL FREEDOM CHANNEL
Steve Trinward, Editor

Whether it's a new development in stem cell technology or the latest attempt by the state to suppress alternative practices -- if it's about your health, you'll find out about it here.

http://medicalfreedom.isil.org

And the others are:

THE CHOICE CHANNEL
R. Lee Wrights, Editor

The latest news, commentary and events listings on education and school choice issues, from vouchers to homeschooling to separation of school and state.

http://thechoicechannel.isil.org

QUESTION EARTHORITY!
Thomas L. Knapp, Editor

Is it really a matter of Growth versus Gaia? Or is a libertarian environmentalism both possible and necessary? No sacred cows here. Everything environmental is fair game here as we put the competing worldviews on the field in search of synthesis.

http://questionearthority.isil.org

an even odder fact

2005-10-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

... and then I'll sign off for the night ...

I now know pretty much first hand what it felt like to be in the press box ... at Shea in 1986, and at the Stadium in 2003 ... Having already written your lead, in which the Red Sox finally climb over the hump and beat a New York team for a) the Series win, or b) the ALCS and going to face Florida with a full head of steam ... just as:

a) Stanley throws the sweeping curve that lets ion the tying run, then delivers to Mookie, who then hits the dribbler-that-can-never-be-forgotten; OR

b) Either:

1) Pedro does NOT come out in the 8th inning as he should have, and Matsui, then Posada take him even; OR

2) Wakefield delivers that floater to Aaron [ ] Boone ... as they are getting ready to give him the trophy aas MVP of the ALCS ...

So I guess it's a good thing I'm not having to file another story tonight after all ...

But now it's Oswalt vs. Mulder ... and Clemens vs. Morris if need be (or Clemens starting Game One of the series if 'Stros do it Weds.? Which would be one of their best rotations to face Chisox, or ...). And if it's to be Cards/Chisox, they could basically take a bus back and forth, and each field will be about half-and-half fanwise ... and the pitching matchups are still pretty cool, and ... the Cards get a chance to "pull a Boston" and run the table ... if they can :)

Odd facts about baseball

2005-10-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

This was completed, to the final keystroke, as Lidge went into his windup against Pojols in the 9th ... posted for your amusement! Now I may need to rewrite it for later inclusion, since the Cards could now just as easily run three in a row and go back themselves ...

Anyway ...

First off, it is actually almost MORE fun to watch playoff games when you are not emotionally (co-)dependent on the outcome. I had forgotten that, from all those years in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and even early 90s ... when my beloved Red Sox (Flip Flops or Flop Sox, as we often called them) managed only once a decade or so to do more than show up on time for the first half of the season, and then go meekly by late August.

There was '67 of course which was aptly labeled "impossible" ... and then a near-miss in 72 (Aparicio of all people tripping over third?) ... and the 75 super Series (where someone had to end up winning it just wasn't quite Boston) ... and 77 and then 70-bleepin'-8 ... and then not much until 86 (and the dadgum Gerbil's failure to put Stapleton in as "caddy" like he usually did) ... and then several years of nothing, and then the mid-90s through present, when they kept finishing second, more often than not either the wild card or close to it ... and these last three years when they finally caught the Spankees, only to fade to WC on a technicality ...

Anyway, a lot of those years, there was no chance, and even if there was, you ended up seeing some other teams in the final rounds, playing better and more deserving. This is one of those years: All four teams belong there -- you might wonder about LAA and its Halos, but they just ran into the hottest team out there this year, running away from everyone for the first four months of the season, taking a deep breath in August and part of September -- and then rising to the occasion when the Indians closed to scary proximity, and just STUFFING them ...

But I was going to talk about "odd facts" ... Sorry for the digression ...

Odd fact #1: If it's White Sox/Astros, it will be a showdown between a team that has never been to the World Series, against one that has not been there since before their opponent even existed (Astros began, along with the Mets of Casey Stengel, in 1961; Chicago played LA Dodgers in 1959, last time they got there.);

Odd fact #2: If the White Sox win the Series, it would be their first win since 1917, the year before the Red Sox last won in before last year ... and as they noted on the game coverage tonight, the odds against that double back-to-back pairing of wins, 86 and 88 years apart, respectively, are ... 18.1 million to one -- meaning that if I had been whimsical enough a year ago, found a willing bookie, and had even 50 cents to spare ... I could have become a very rich man sometime about a week or so from now.

Odd fact #3: The Houston Astros are led by two pitchers who each won Series rings with the Yankees, and came close several other times, before moving their lockers to Texas, both for family reasons. (Much as I was never a Clemens fan, even when he WAS wearing white with red piping, at this stage in his career it is impossible not to acknowledge how good the egotistical bastard still is ...) Now they have a chance to have it all, leading a team that nobody thought would be here now ...

Odd fact #4: With Ozzie Guillen and Phil Garner, there will be two managers who were only mostly marginally good, scrappy-shortstop utility players, but obviously knew a lot more about the game than was noticed at the time. I love seeing that!

Odd fact #5: The chance to Pettitte/Clemens/Oswalt/Backe face off against Contreras/Buehrle/Garland/Garcia ... with good middle relief on both sides ... and then Lidge vs. Jenks (or even Hermanson?) at the end, when needed.

Odd facts 6 and 7: Contreras ... and El Duque Hernandez .. both castoffs from the Yankees ... both instrumental in getting Chicago here in their own ways.

And the fact that both teams can play percentage and play-for-one baseball, and yet also can bang the gong when they need to. And all these cool longtime players like Bagwell and Biggio and so on, there for the first time ever ...

I am really enjoying this, and either one winning will be great for baseball!

On further review ...

2005-10-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

I got into discussing this with some friends, and figured I might as well post it here as well.

Comments on the "dropped third strike" from Wednesday's Angels/White Sox ALCS game:

1) The only thing Umpire Doug Eddings did wrong was not make it clearer what he was signaling.
2) Notice that last night, when there was a swinging dropped third strike, the ump threw his arms wide signalling "safe!" so there was no ambiguity there

3) I tend to agree that there was at least a question, even on the slowest close-up, whether the ball bounced from dirt to glove, or just deflected from web to pocket ...

Meanwhile three more things:

1) The Angels catcher is the real bozo for not tagging the guy anyway and ending the debate, and his refusal STILL to accept that fact, instead of whining about "not being told" ... merely shows he is of the "victimized" mindfet, and is not learning anything from this; and

2) All that play did was put a guy on first with two outs; it took a slick steal, and Crede's double to end the game; and

3) David Wells did not blame Graffanino for giving up a home run, NOR did Sciosia bitch publicly about the call, but instead admitted they "did not play at a high enough level to overcome" whatever quirks the game presented.

I think it is interesting but those are the basics ... on further review.

Looking forward to two 7-game series ... and maybe even three!

baseball be berry berry good even without the two "gut-wrenching teams" in it :)

Rebuttal to two "progressives"

2005-10-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

In my travels I run across a wide range of perspectives. Sometimes I find a "conservative with a heart"; sometimes a "progressive" with some clue about economics, or who sees how deeply wrong is the idea that just because someone has a "D" beside her/his name that that person is somehow holier than the next person ...

The other day I saw a couple of examples, both from the so-called "left" perspective. In both cases, the writers were slamming some aspect of modern political thought, allegedly "right-wing" issues in each case. Read the columns attached to the links, then come back and see what I had to add ...

(1) David Moberg of In These Times, who with "Imminent Domination" manages to defame both the word "libertarian" and the meaning of the Constitution in the American heritage. And the folks discussing the article below it were not much help, either. So I took a shot in responding, reprinted here:

I don’t which is more “disinformational” — calling the Republicans “libertarians” (the very meaning of which has been “anti-authoritarian” for at least a century and a half or so) ... or claiming that the government grants rights under the Constitution (when the exact opposite is true: the Constitution BEGINS with the premise (outlined in the Declaration) that our rights pre-exist, and that government is constrained by the list of things it CAN do, rather than permitted anything not listed (read the danged Ninth and Tenth Amendments for clarity!)).

Meanwhile, the consistent reference to the “libertarian right”—as being virtually synonymous with slightly more consistent conservative GOPers—is patently offensive, especially to those who remember the term’s origins (and its use by the LEFT throughout the early and middle 20th Century - ever hear of the Wobblies?) and who (even through a long run within and around the party that took the name) have always considered ourselves more “left” than anything else, except in our belief that choice and voluntarism are the primary values of a free society, while confiscation of wealth and property is the province of tyrants!

All in all, it makes me continue to wonder if anyone actually understands what “progressive” actually means ... and knows it is not a synonym for “Democrat” or even “non-Republican” ...

(2) David Corn in Tom Paine, heralding "The End of the Trust-Me Presidency?" Although he correctly details at least some of the ways in which Dubya has played a shell game with the American people, even with his own alleged constituents, he misses some larger questions, as follows:

A TomPaine.Com column by David Corn, "The End of the Trust-Me Presidency?" notes how often Bush has betrayed the small-government conservative movement of which he purported to be part, and concludes that Bush’s “trust-me” routine has “run out of gas.” The column does indeed, cite areas in which Bush recently performed badly, and how he has finally alienated his base with - Iraq, Katrina and beyond.

However, he does not take it far enough. A different perspective would be to note that the American electorate has now been subjected to the same shell game, regardless of party-label, continuously over the last fifty years or so. It hasn't mattered whether the figurehead has been named Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton or Bush – the result has been the same: skyrocketing budgets, initiation of force at home and abroad, decreasing scope of the Bill of Rights, and an increasing percentage of the citizenry who either draw a salary or receive a subsidy from the federal government. The fact that Mr. Corn focuses on the present GOP neocon bunch does little to gainsay any of this.

But he overlooks an even larger question. The idea of ending the era of the "trust-me presidency" should be welcomed with open arms by true libertarians (definition since long before there was a "party": "anti-authoritarians"):

* Anything that serves to debunk the "imperial" concept of an all-knowing, all-powerful Chief Executive, whose whims are to treated as inspired wisdom and leadership, would serve well those who seek a truly free society;

* Anything that might help invert that pyramid, placing the emphasis on local communities and voluntary action, instead of top-down hierarchical edicts, must be seen as a good thing for the cause of liberty;

* Anything that exposes the whole scenario – not just as "politics as usual," but as being inextricably woven into the fabric of imperial power – offers a pathway for showing those around us, who may be too busy eking out a living after taxes to stop and ponder the deeper questions involved, just what the task is that lies before us.

Meanwhile, if David Corn has done nothing else with his column, he has nicely chronicled the hypocrisies and lies of the current administration, and held them up to ridicule, so that even the most lockstepped conservative might see. It is up to us libertarians to point out that all Bush has done is played his own constituents for suckers – just like every President in modern times, for so many administrations and generations.

Steve out ...

licking the wounds ...

2005-10-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

well, not really ... as long as I've been following the Boys of Beantown, it wasn't all that hard to see this was not going to run the table again. And truth be told, the CHISox are really the class act up and down the lineup this year. If they take longer than 5 with either NYY or LAA (and my money if I had any to spare would be on Halos cleaning up tomorrow night and moving along, but either way, a team comes in having had to play out the string and then go to Chicago ... either with no rest or one day off at most), I'll be stunned. And then the Cardinals will have handled the Astros again, and the two juggernaut Middle American teams of 2005 (and for a while beyond?) will square off, and right now that's a tossup to me! Probably Cards, simply because they have been there before, and will be ready for the challenge ... but don't count the White Sox out ...

Meanwhile, I've still got my tapes from last year ... and Netflix can do without "Fever Pitch" for at least one more viewing :)

and since I'm here anyway ...

2005-10-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Gotta say at least a few words about my Sawx ... before hunkering down for another ride on the roller-coaster no doubt! (Oddly enough, the copy of "Fever Pitch" arrived from Netflix just a couple days ago, so I watched that last night, and felt ... very strange, indeed. Not that I am anywhere near as obsessed as the protagonist, I got shivers from some of his neuroses ... And there are those who would claim it was my life-story -- except for the season tickets of course, and the fact that I haven't lived in Boston since 1993 ...)

But I digress ...

Tomorrow, Boston takes on Chicago, trying to get Matt Clement to forget he used to play in that city, or maybe to at least remember which side of town it was ... Anything to get him throwing again like he was before the All Star game. They need a great showing from him, some on base-ing from Damon and Edgah, a couple of bangs from the usual subjects (Papi, Manny, Tek ...) and at least a split of the two games at Comisk ... I mean White Sox Park or whatever they call it now. If they can come home 1-1, with Wake and Schilling back to back, they might not have to go back to Chitown at all. (Meanwhile, they would benefit from seeing the Yanks and Angels beat each other's bullpens to death, so that if/when they do advance, it is against another depleted team!) Prediction: Sox in 4, probably Spankees in 5.

National League: Cards over Pads in 3, maybe 4; Astros in 3 or 4 over Bravos. St. Louis is too good, and wants to get back there too much; and those Houston pitchers are just too strong for even Bobby Cox to get by.

And as long as I'm sticking my neck out, Sox/Yanks goes 7, a tossup at this point; Sox/Angels could be LAA in 6, or Sox in 7. Cards over Houston in 6, and then the Series, which at this point still looks like St. Louis (over Sox, Yanks OR Angels) in 5, maybe 6 ...

I know, as a Red Sox fan I never give up until the last out is over ... but I'm planning to enjoy this fall, win or lose!!

Book Review and Latest Column

2005-10-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

Some people blog, and then post a link elsewhere to bring people to it. I tend to write when I have the time and the topic, post it at one or the other of several sites I work with ... and if I remember to, come back here and let those who don't already know it, know about it:

1. Book Review: "How to Kill the Job Culture Before It Kills You"
Rational Review

"I came to Claire Wolfe's work a little late, finally reading 'Don't Shoot The Bastards … Yet' and then going back to '101 Things To Do Before the Revolution.' ... With How to Kill the Job Culture Before It Kills You Claire may have crossed over into the mainstream -- not by selling out, in any sense of the word, but by creating something accessible even to the most hidebound sheeple-person … who's looking to carve out a little progress toward personal autonomy, even in the midst of the most soul-numbing of job situations. Yes, even for that person there is something to be learned. As the subtitle proclaims, this book is a welcome guide to 'Living a Life of Autonomy in a Wage-Slave Society.'" more

2. A Rebuttal to Mr. Chinni
Free Market News Network

"It's not often that the advocates of 'good government' show their hands completely. Usually there is tap dancing around the topic, with phrases like 'marginal utility,' 'public conscience' and such. But once in a while, someone from that camp comes out and honestly promotes the value of increasing government size and power, as a solution to perceived social problems. The latest example is Dante Chinni, in his twice-monthly column for the Christian Science Monitor. Tuesday's rendition boldly proclaimed that, 'Wall Street shouldn't trump the government in emergency response,' and then proceed to make an argument in favor of increased government responsibility for national disasters. For clarity's sake (as well as lack of time for something more polished), I shall just reprint excerpts from his column, with my own comments interspersed." (09/28/05) more

Others shall follow as I get to them. Right now, I'm balancing the urge to write a "Serenity" review, exploring at least a couple of the deeper issues the film raises, with the desire not to spoil it for those who are planning to go see it. Maybe by next weekend, we'll all be on our second or third viewing :)

meanwhile, if you have not seen it yet, DO SO!

Disaster exercise brings out the "VICTIM" in me?

2005-09-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened on the way to today: Yesterday, I was a movie-extra … Well, not exactly in a movie, but a filmed presentation … a series of digital stills that will likely be overlaid to create the illusion of a larger group of participants and … but that's not really important here …

The interesting part of it, if there was one, was that I got a chance to hang out with a lot of young college students and nurses (in and out of uniform) -- most of whom (including me) had been dressed in pastel clothes bought from Goodwill, made up with splotches of red, sugar-based "dust" and various black smudgings, and made to look like "disaster victims" for the making of a training exercise for nurses and other healthcare practitioners.

The purpose of all of this was to simulate the results of a Weapons of Mass Destruction terrorist bombing (with a "dirty bomb") in a major city mall and office complex. I have to admit, I have no idea who was sponsoring this, although I understand it is not the first time they have done this exercise. I presume it was some sort of Vanderbilt Medical Center exercise, since the whole shoot took place in one of their parking lots. All I really know is I spent about an hour picking out and trying on clothes, being made up, getting those clothes torn and "bloodied" in places with corn syrup and red food coloring, and then waiting around for further instructions.

I had originally been led to believe the shoot would require those of us playing the "victims" only to "play dead" and lie still; I found out differently once we finally got started. Instead of a set scene, the camera work mainly involved shooting stills of one group of ten at a time, and then more being added as the time progressed, staggering and limping across the parking lot, as though we were both severely injured and somehow forgetful of where we had parked our respective cars. (For me, this required a little "method acting" since I not only had not driven to the site, but had not owned a vehicle for the past two years and more, and had hardly even driven a rental during the interim. But I digress…) The lone photographer was shooting all of this, at long range and then very close up, as we approached and passed him by, nearly walking on him in some cases as he sprawled among the rushing mob.

We repeated takes, at least on the initial approach, at least a half-dozen times. Then the second group of ten joined us, and we did it all over again, with the groups moving forward in slightly different directions. Finally the third group was called over, and all three clumps went through their paces. (By now, several of the young women from my group, the initial one, were experimenting with different motivations, and one had even managed to fall down in a heap in the middle of the pavement, at least once during each pass. Nothing like a bunch of nursing students with delusions of Broadway …)

Then the whole group gathered at an intermediate point and proceeded to stumble slowly forward, only a few steps this time, as a half-dozen (maybe fewer) actual nurses (well, at least they were dressed that way) merged on the throng, each well armed with gauze pad and stethoscope, and began to simulate some impression of "first aid" (No, not triage; that would have required much more attention to detail: My decrepit looking carcass, for example, complete with what appeared to be either severe sharapnel hits or actual bullet-holes in my shoulder, stomach and right knee, passed by without the least bit of nursing notice on each of at least a dozen takes from this position.). A couple of the self-styled wits in the crowd cried out, "Oh don't worry. I have GAUZE!"

And then there was suddenly the call of "one more take and we are done" and then it was over with. We walked (normally this time) back to the trailer, wiped the schmootz off our faces, necks and shoulders, changed one at a time in the little bathroom stall, and headed home, after being rewarded with a gift certificate to a "local" mall. (In my case, still having no vehicle, I'm not sure what to do with it. That local mall is about 30 miles away!)

As I said before, I really don't know who was behind all of this, and have not had occasion to find out, so I haven't. I didn't even know I was going to try to write about this until It did seem rather strange, to be going through all of this just for some still photos and a simulation first-contact with the healthcare folks, but what do I know? Maybe this kind of visual imagery provokes more frank discussion about how a health practitioner, faced with a potential catastrophe like this, is supposed to behave and perform, within a pain-wracked cluster of people in need. What do I know?

All I do know is, I got some sunshine, fresh air and exercise; some time away from this screen, chair and keyboard … and a gift certificate I might yet find a use for.

Pope would "thought police" seminary wannabes

2005-09-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot to get me back to this Blog sometimes Between/among writings at Free Market News (columns and news-story rewrites) pieces for Rational Review and other libertarian sites, occasional freelance gigs outside the liberty watch, daily chats on yahoo lists ... and general correspondence with friends ... I cover most of the waterfront already in other venues.

But today's Washington Times had a story that just crossed over the line for me: According to the story, Pope Benedict XVI is about to issue "a Vatican 'instruction' ... forbidding even celibate homosexuals from entering seminary."

The first question that comes to mind is, how will he know? Has His Holiness somehow brought clairvoyance along with his other attributes? And will he be thus required to preside over every entrance-interview for every man seeking to join a priesthood, or are his ESP powers somehow transferable? Teh only way to know what is truly in someone's mind is to either be that person, or somehow read that mind! (This is one thing I have always liked about Judaism, BTW; there is no attempt to evaluate the thoughts of another, only the overt actions. Seems like a pretty wise approach to me.)

Meanwhile, the term "celibate homosexual" is approximately equal to "celibate heterosexual" ... "celibate foot fetishist" ... or "celibate bestialist". The second word in each phrase defines a desire, motivation or "preference" of some sort, while the first word implies that it has either never been expressed openly with actions, or is at least not being so in the present.

But even the word "celibate" is wrong here; that word is is actually defined, not as forswearing sexual contact with another, but as not MARRYING! According to my dictionary it says:

celibate: Etymology: Latin caelibatus, from caelib-, caelebs unmarried
: a person who lives in celibacy

When we go to "celibacy" the results are similar:

celibacy
Pronunciation: 'se-l&-b&-sE
Function: noun

1 : the state of not being married
2 a : abstention from sexual intercourse b : abstention by vow from marriage

Whoops, there's that "second definition" again, which was obviously added due to the confusion about the first one, and the widespread misuse of the words -- but even then, only half of that applies, even to the tortured definition being proposed by the Pope.

And then there is:

sexual intercourse
Function: noun

1 : heterosexual intercourse involving penetration of the vagina by the penis : COITUS

2 : intercourse involving genital contact between individuals other than penetration of the vagina by the penis

Once more, the second definition hits us, However, as Bill Clinton himself has declared, "sexual intercourse" is actually a very limited concept legally, involving genital-to-genital contact -- so I guess oral, manual or other sex (even anal?) doesn't count, either?

I am very confused now ...

***

The attempt to somehow cleanse the Catholic Church of the stain brought on by the actions of a few priests (okay, a fairly large number of them) -- involving not only sexual conduct, but such conduct imposed on children (including many who even I would consider to be "below the age of consent" and therefore incapable of offering it?) ... well, that's somewhat laudable, although a better method would be to utterly renounce these creepoids, arrest them and open the doors to priests (both men and women) who understand there is a line between consensual behavior and coercion -- regardless of what other adults they do or do not relate to on their own time!

Meanwhile, removing the artificial barrier to getting your rocks off by whatever consensual means, might free up a lot of creative energy for spiritual pursuits. (A friend of mine way, way back used to claim that the prohibition of procreation among the "best and brightest" among Catholics had kept that whole culture from advancing as fast as, say, the Jews who encourage their rabbis to "be fruitful and multiply." I never had a good answer for him ...)

But yet another thought: I would also say that this latest attempt to somehow circumscribe even the THOUGHT of engaging in some behavior -- deemed "sinful" by some folks (but only so to libertarians if coercion or "minors" are involved ... and let's separate issues, okay, so we don't digress into a children's rights argument right now?) -- reminds me a lot of back when conservatives, wary of the advances of the movement for civil liberties for gays, lesbians, et alia, predicted "employment quotas" would arise if those advances were not stifled and stopped.

Back then, the obvious question was how one would prove one's orientation, and thereby qualify for the presumed quota. In discussions with several other libertarians, we came (well not really, but we got pretty excited?} to the conclusion that each morning would have to begin with a "fellatio" line (or cunnilingus, as the case may be), whereby each "quotafied" employee proved anew that same-sex oral sex was within his/her personal repertoire. (After all, we said, the only way to prove you are gay is to act the part!) But with the limited definition of "celibate" (and even "sexual intercourse") here ...

like I said I am very confused!

Finally, attempting to proscribe the potential for an action comes from the same mindset that says the possession of a firearm should be banned, since there is always the chance that the weapon might be used for nefarious purposes. To put such "prior restraint" on a mere THOUGHT, is both ludicrous and unenforceable. If this is the best wisdom the new Pope can come up with, the Catholic Church is in much deeper trouble than it thinks!

all for now

The "race card" strategy

2005-09-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

Has little or nothing to do with "partisan politics" ...

It is about deflecting criticism of the process that government brings to the table ... under the guise of "race-baiting" and arguing over those charges.

If the Busheviks, as well as the Jesse Jacksons of this mudpit, ever stop pointing fingers at each other (either declaring racism or defending against the charge) ...

AND the so-called Fifth Estate ever starts reporting the REAL horrors behind all of this ...

The public might take a deep breath, notice that it was the utter incompetence of appointed bureaucrats and elected officials (at all levels) that caused the tragedy to continue and worsen by orders of magnitude.

It was not detonated levees, or racist Southern politicians (a black mayor and a Hispanic liberal woman governor ... hmmm!), or even an orchestrated plan ...

It was GOVERNMENT, doing what it always does, getting in the way of people trying to help!

(I haven't posted for a while; it was way past time to do so ...)

Just in case someone is actually reading this ...

2005-09-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

I should take the chance to plug one of my other ventures, Progressive News Digest [ http://www.rationalreview.com/pnd ]. This week's edition is first dedicated to wrapping up the off-the-mainstream coverage of the devastation in New Orleans and points north and east, with a 26-item set of blurbs on that subject, from all over the political spectrum. Then it goes on to summarize the week's other top news stories and commentaries. Here is my own "lead" to the e-mail issue:

After the flood ...

Yes, this edition of Progressive News Digest opens with a "special section" -- just in case you need a summary of the week's (and the year's and century's so far?) "top news story": The collision of The Big Easy, with Katrina and its waves. New Orleans has not exactly been "walking on sunshine" this past week, but the biggest tragedy (on top of the very real ones of death, destruction and disruption of normal life) may be how cleverly the authorities are managing to CYA and finger-point at each other, in avoiding responsibility for this very preventable catastrophe. Just for starters:

(1) The diversion of FEMA funds in early 2002 (to "fight terrorism" -- aka subsidize Halliburton and other Iraw War profiteers), funds that were supposed to be used to shore up the levees in the New Orleans delta region, those very same levees that burst and overwhelmed the entire downtown of the city this week.

(2) The conscription for overseas duty of some 35% of the National Guard troops, who could instead have been either preparing for the storm (even in the 3-4 days they had critical warning it WAS coming, or during the past two years while there was still a clear and present danger that one hurricane of sufficient force might devastate the place.

(3) Once things began to get crazy, authorities prevented private citizens from taking matters into their own hands, even to the point of stopping and confiscating buses trying to leave the city limits.

(4) Any citizens, or tourists, attempting to leave the city ... were re-routed to the Stupordome, whose facilities were already breaking down, so that IT has been being evacuated for the past two days.

(5) Meanwhile, in the "looting" category, there have been POLICE officers found engaging in this behavior, while those who are not looting, have walked off the job of enforcing what little law ("martial" as far as the lack of limits on tactics is concerned!) there still is in the city.

I could go on (including the note that citizens who have attempted to HELP the situation are being turned away at GUNPOINT!) but the following links say it better.

For more, visit:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/progressivenewsdigest

and while you're there, sign up for FREE weekly issues!

TV portents and liberty

2005-08-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

Catching the promos for the "new fall season" (at least they USED to start in the fall?) ... something with Geena Davis as a sitting Vice Pres who becomes the "Commander in Chief" ...

Donald Sutherland [presumably playing the Karl Rove character?] confronts her with something like, "Do you want the power to control the universe?"

"No, I don't," she replies.

"That's what's wrong with people who don't want power: They don't know how to use it when they get it!"

It got me thinking vis-a-vis the recent battle within the Libertarian Party over the "Iraq Exit Strategy" ... between the "revolutionary party" and "political party" factions, as my good friend Tom Knapp so elegantly put it. The former group does not WANT power over others, but if faced with holding such power for a time, would find a way to get rid of it quickly; the latter MAY want such power, but only to use for good things -- which is the problem as far as group one is concerned ...

I do know that the way Sutherland presents it is not conducive to liberty ...

Musings, or damn i need better titles

2005-08-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Much to say, little time for it ... Finished combing the news and posting what I could:

* Libertarian Party "closing the clubroom doors" (and maybe in the process becoming a political party?)
* A Wash Times piece on the dangers of "federal tax reform" to taxpayers
* Questions about Habitat for Humanity's real value
* Wondering about Raffie and steroids
* Gitmo, and the WOD, and all the other things we all ought to consider for at least a minute or two ...

And more important matters:

* Setting the VCR to tape "Closer" while we watch football
* Practicing my balloon-animal skills for an upcoming clowning gig
* Figuring out when I'll have time to watch the latest Netflix DVD delivery
* Other stuff, but too personal for this list :)

But at least most of the bills are paid, and the rest will be on time ... for now ...

Sports time

2005-08-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

it's called multitasking: NFL preseason on ABC, alternating with Cards/Brewskies on ESPN ... while I monitor my Sox (and the Spankees/Chisox showdown) with online overlays -- and keep up with e-mail and in-progress writings at the same blink.

Note the joy of tracking the Sox, as they are becoming (like the NFL Patriots?) a team that expects to win, and sees a deficit as a temporary setback not a crushing stompage! Tonight a perfect e.g., as they spotted Texas 3, then came back with 4. (I had a gut feeling Papi was gonna slap one deep, and he did to start the comeback.) Of course now Miller (the one who spells it like it is pronounced, that is?) keeps giving up hits, and even runs, so it's back to a tie, but somehow they will find a way as they have so often the last couple of years. And the Patsies will make Payton and the other pretenders take notice as usual once they get under way. Fun being a "Boston fan" even from 1500 miles away; just wishing sometimes I could afford NESN to be piped in ...

back so soon?

2005-08-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

A few more words to say ... finishing my day's travails - Progressive News Digest, Rational Review, Free Market News ... and maybe time to work on a song or two before crashing out.

My Sox continue to win mostly so nothing to bitch about there ... Libertarian Party is abandoning its "membership" fetish, so that's good, too! ... Firefly on SciFi Channel, even running in the proper order so tapeworthy (though DVD set is still a must) ... guess all must be well with the world after all ... livlib out

Greetings

2005-08-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and started one of these. Liable to see anything from spillovers from a column, a song-lyric fragment, a rant about the Red Sox or Patriots, bitching about TennCare, women, TV shows or ...

And some days, like this one, it will just be a couple of random lines. stay tuned?