The Unfair Season

It's hot, like a snot in my nose, or a hose in the sun, it's no fun. 

Blazing orb, circles higher, bakes the ground, ceaseless fire.

Lumber we, through the haze, spirits dampened, in a daze.

Afternoon, cicadas sing, tiny heralds, sun, their king.

We just cower in the shade, humble vassals August made.

Fiery dusk, distant drums, cruel deception, no rain comes.

In the dark no dogs bark, howl they can't as they pant.

And I toss in my bed, sleep elusive, fevered head. 

Dreams of autumn, chilling breezes, frost once cursed, now she pleases.

Fickle things, my desires, cold when heat, ice when fires.

So for now I'll abide, knowing preference shifts like tide,

in a season when the air is quite anything but fair.

A Bit of Shouting About My Wet Feet

A friend of mine recently found me on Facebook and was somewhat surprised to see me label myself as "liberal". Being someone who generally despises being labeled in any way, here's a bit of expansion on that theme:

In terms of civil liberty, I'm technically on the libertarian side, meaning government should have little or no role in saying what consenting adults can do to/with each other. Therefore, my opinions in this area may qualify as "liberal" but may not resemble the liberal status quo. For example, I don't think the government has ANY worthwhile role in conducting or certifying marriages, of ANY type. However, if they are going to be involved in any type, they shouldn't be discriminating, in any way.

In relation to that thought, I think religion, in any form, needs to be kept far away from government policy. Some of us don't even believe in god, so it's pretty alarming when believers start to try to legislate their nonsecular morality on us. I believe secular humanism provides a pretty good framework for how people should treat each other, without getting god involved.

In terms of the environment, I fall soundly on the green side of things. Government has to protect natural resources because it is rarely in any individual's apparent short-term interest to do so. I happen to believe in protecting species, ecosystems, and environments for their own sake, but I don't think one needs to hold such views to support environmental protection. We're living in a closed system with finite resources, and preemptive protective legislation is a whole lot more desirable than massive population crashes (i.e. nature's way).

As for fiscal policy, I think we have been and are spending way to much money on just about everything. You have to balance budgets, sooner than later in my opinion, or you're just handing all of the problems to your children. This doesn't mean I'm a libertarian. It just means I don't want to bankrupt the country, collapse our currency, or create hyper-inflation. If you're going to have a government funded program, it needs to be FUNDED.

In terms of fiscal priority, I feel the welfare of the individual is much more important than that of the corporation. Corporations shouldn't have rights like individuals, and they should play absolutely no financial role in influencing policy decisions. I believe we should spend less money on killing people, and more money on helping them. Yeah, I think my hair is longer than it used to be.

I think that capitalism needs serious checks and balances the same way government does, or you get a series of rather dramatic financial bubbles, which tend to screw over the little guy, ultimately. Thoughtful regulation would work, with the emphasis on thoughtful. Throwing money at problems accompanied by knee-jerk grandstanding on CSPAN isn't doing anyone any good, regardless of the side of the aisle the bullshit is flying from.

I think that in the end, the most valuable role government can play is one that encourages the highest quality secular education for as many people as possible. It's a big world, with way too many of us, and the problems we're going face are enormous and complex. I want individuals who can think trying to navigate around these problems, instead of people who can shout in reaction to them while the ship is already sinking.


P.S. I've gone back and changed my political views to "complicated".

I Have a Scar or Two

In the spirit of one of my favorite scenes in "Jaws", a listing of my significant scars, and how they happened:

1. Under my chin. Age five. Split it open on Thanksgiving day, after taking a swan dive off of the coat pile on my parent's bed. 14 stitches, no novacaine. The term "papoose board" still makes me wince.

2. Right shin. Age ten. Fell on a bowhead garden rake hidden in the grass while playing wiffle ball, creating two deep puncture wounds. Six stitches in each puncture.

3. Left foot's second toe. Age Twelve. Accidentally dropped a 25-pound weight plate on my foot, smashing the toe. No doctor. The toe still looks a little...odd.

4. Left eardrum. Age thirteen. Severe perforation due to an unlikely combination of a beetle, bridge jumping, and an inevitable abscess. Wost pain in my life, by far, until they gave me morphine. If you're wondering why I keep asking you to repeat yourself when we're in a noisy room, now you know.

5. Right cheek and forehead. Chicken pox. Don't scratch them, really!

6. Left wrist. Age 21. No matter how drunk you are and how annoying the sorority girls may be, I still advise against putting your clove cigarette out on your wrist after they tell you it smells bad.


What about yours?

Impressions of Today

Sitting alone in my office, watching the initial inaugural coverage on CNN's website, I am awestruck by the size of the crowd in D.C., and wishing I was there.

Walking past Cornell's McGraw tower precisely at noon, hearing the bells chime the hour more loudly and clearly than I've ever heard before, I become acutely aware of the moment of transition from an administration I am completely ashamed of to one that I am very hopeful about.

Listening to Obama's inaugural address in the car in a downtown parking garage, I gaze outward at a sea of fluffy white snowflakes drifting down from the frigid gray sky, as as he quotes George Washington: "Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

Eating lunch in my favorite local bar, packed with smiling people who have come in from the cold to watch the inaugural coverage, I can't help but laugh as they shout and applaud uproariously when the television screens show Bush flying away from the White House in a helicopter.

I am feeling like I am home again, after being away for far too long.