Me Tarzan

Garner: Americans Should Beat Chests with Pride

"We ought to be beating our chests every day. We ought to look in a mirror and get proud and stick out our chests and suck in our bellies and say: 'Damn, we're Americans!'," Jay Garner told reporters, saying that Iraq's oil fields and other infrastructure survived the war almost intact.

Somehow this site made its way into my referral sites. Love it.

The countdown is on: 4 1/2 days until the mini-marathon. Two Saturday's ago I reached my peak, running nine miles in a little more than 90 minutes. For the first two to three miles I was stiff as hell (that calf muscle strain I’m fighting); but then- from miles four to seven- I felt absolutely blissful. I think it was just after I passed the six mile mark I felt I had actually reached that elusive Zone. I felt light, and almost graceful even, my breathing rhythmic and even. Unfortunately the Zone seemed to slip away just as I recognized it (look at something and it changes). So despite the blisters on my feet and the soreness in my calves, after the nine-miler I felt strong, powerful, and ready for the 13+ mile race.

Yesterday, however, was the mindfuck: a little six-miler was unbelievably painful. I’m too inexperienced a runner to know the flows of training; I only started the whole thing at age 30, to get me through the dissertation writing. At this point I only hope that luck is on my side- that the Indiana day isn’t too hot, that my stomach doesn’t hurt (as it often does these days), and that the adrenaline carries me.

(While posting entire documents may become tedious, this one is worth it. It's the transcript of Sen. Santorum's interview with the AP in full- it becomes particularly odd when the reporter says, "I'm sorry, I didn't think I was going to talk about "man on dog" with a United States senator, it's sort of freaking me out." --MM)

(04-22) 15:51 PDT (AP) --

An unedited section of the Associated Press interview, taped April 7, with Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. Words that couldn't be heard clearly on the tape are marked (unintelligible).

AP: If you're saying that liberalism is taking power away from the families, how is conservatism giving more power to the families?

SANTORUM: Putting more money in their pocketbook is one. The more money you take away from families is the less power that family has. And that's a basic power. The average American family in the 1950s paid (unintelligible) percent in federal taxes. An average American family now pays about 25 percent.

The argument is, yes, we need to help other people. But one of the things we tried to do with welfare, and we're trying to do with other
programs is, we're setting levels of expectation and responsibility, which the left never wanted to do. They don't want to judge. They say, Oh, you can't judge people. They should be able to do what they want to do. Well, not if you're taking my money and giving it to them. But it's this whole idea of moral equivalency. (unintelligible) My feeling is, well, if it's my money, I have a right to judge.

AP: Speaking of liberalism, there was a story in The Washington Post about six months ago, they'd pulled something off the Web, some article that you wrote blaming, according to The Washington Post, blaming in part the Catholic Church scandal on liberalism. Can you explain that?

SANTORUM: You have the problem within the church. Again, it goes back to this moral relativism, which is very accepting of a variety of different lifestyles. And if you make the case that if you can do whatever you want to do, as long as it's in the privacy of your own
home, this "right to privacy," then why be surprised that people are doing things that are deviant within their own home? If you say, there is no deviant as long as it's private, as long as it's consensual, then don't be surprised what you get. You're going to get a lot of things that you're sending signals that as long as you do it privately and consensually, we don't really care what you do. And that leads to a culture that is not one that is nurturing and necessarily healthy. I would make the argument in areas where you have that as an accepted lifestyle, don't be surprised that you get more of it.

AP: The right to privacy lifestyle?

SANTORUM: The right to privacy lifestyle.

AP: What's the alternative?

SANTORUM: In this case, what we're talking about, basically, is priests who were having sexual relations with post-pubescent men. We're not talking about priests with 3-year-olds, or 5-year-olds. We're talking about a basic homosexual relationship. Which, again, according to the world view sense is a a perfectly fine relationship as long as it's consensual between people. If you view the world that way, and you say that's fine, you would assume that you would see more of it.

AP: Well, what would you do?

SANTORUM: What would I do with what?

AP: I mean, how would you remedy? What's the alternative?

SANTORUM: First off, I don't believe _

AP: I mean, should we outlaw homosexuality?

SANTORUM: I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts. As I would with acts of other, what I would consider to be, acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. And that includes a variety of different acts, not just homosexual. I have nothing, absolutely nothing against anyone who's homosexual. If that's their orientation, then I accept that. And I have no problem with someone who has other orientations. The question is, do you act upon those orientations? So it's not the person, it's the person's actions. And you have to separate the person from their actions.

AP: OK, without being too gory or graphic, so if somebody is homosexual, you would argue that they should not have sex?

SANTORUM: We have laws in states, like the one at the Supreme Court right now, that has sodomy laws and they were there for a purpose. Because, again, I would argue, they undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family. And if the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does. It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution, this right that was created, it was created in Griswold -- Griswold was the contraceptive case -- and abortion. And now we're just extending it out. And the further you extend it out, the more you -- this freedom actually intervenes and affects the family. You say, well, it's my individual freedom. Yes, but it destroys the basic unit of our society because it condones behavior that's antithetical to strong, healthy families. Whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, where it's sodomy, all of those things, are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family.

Every society in the history of man has upheld the institution of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman. Why? Because society is based on one thing: that society is based on the future of the society. And that's what? Children. Monogamous relationships. In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality _

AP: I'm sorry, I didn't think I was going to talk about "man on dog" with a United States senator, it's sort of freaking me out.

SANTORUM: And that's sort of where we are in today's world, unfortunately. The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions. I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire. And we're seeing it in our society.

AP: Sorry, I just never expected to talk about that when I came over here to interview you. Would a President Santorum eliminate a right to privacy -- you don't agree with it?

SANTORUM: I've been very clear about that. The right to privacy is a right that was created in a law that set forth a (ban on) rights to limit individual passions. And I don't agree with that. So I would make the argument that with President, or Senator or Congressman or whoever Santorum, I would put it back to where it is, the democratic process. If New York doesn't want sodomy laws, if the people of New York want abortion, fine. I mean, I wouldn't agree with it, but that's their right. But I don't agree with the Supreme Court coming in.

Did you see Bruce Springsteen's short editorial on Common Dreams?

I don't know what happens next, but I do want to add my voice to those who think that the Dixie Chicks are getting a raw deal, and an un-American one to boot. I send them my support.

Happy Anniversary to the two lovelies

I just realized that my blog posts are just the footnotes to another, yet unwritten, text.

I wish I add more time to editorialize (rather than just point to articles of interest), but I don't these days. Though this article and remark by Senator Rick Santorum is unsurprising, it is profoundly saddening and sickening to me.

"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything," the Pennsylvania lawmaker said in a recent interview, fuming over a landmark gay rights case before the high court that pits a Texas sodomy law against equality and privacy rights.

From last night's Passover Seder

I fear that I’m unintentionally sabotaging my first mini-marathon, which is rapidly approaching- May 3rd. A couple weeks ago I strained my left calf, and had to slow the training way down. Running in “rehab” mode meant 3-4 miles, several times a week (I tend to “overtrain,” as it’s called, which I’m sure is the reason for strain in the first place). And now, the calf still hurts a bit, and I can’t seem to find the time to squeeze in the long runs- so many deadlines this month (April is turning out to be quite cruel, after all). I still haven’t made it past 7 miles, and the race is in 17 days. To make matters worse, I can’t seem to find a cheap airline ticket for MSG to come cheer me on.

Cleaning out my email inbox, I came across this amusing document from Bob- the planning of Nick's 30th suprise bday party in Reno January 2001:

Hey Team Adams,

Here's the plan for Saturday. If any of this seems stupid, you can email me about it, but trust me there's a reason for every dumb thing you're asked to do here. Stephane, can you forward this to Bass; I don't have his email.

Surprise guests are:
Vinnie, Frank, Stephane, Bass, Karaab, Roxanne

Non-Surprise guests are
Mike, MM, Bob, Anna

Clueless guest is:
Nick Adams

The cardinal rule for Saturday is this:

If you are a surprise guest, do not show your face at the Atlantis Casino before noon and between the hours of 4-7 PM. Nick will be there then, and you'll run the risk of being found out.

If you need to reach Bob during the day, my cell is 415 xxx-xxxx
Karaab's is 510 xxx-xxxx

Here's how the day will go down (hopefully).

MM, Mike Nick & Anna will leave for skiing before noon. Mike or MM will give one of their room keys to Bob.

Bob will feign illness and not ski on Saturday. If anything goes awry, you can call him at the casino, or on his cell.

Frank will arrive in Reno around 11:30 AM, and will head to the Atlantis Casino (3800 S. Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89502 800/723-6500 • 775/825-4700), taking care not to arrive before noon. Once there, he will call up to the Bob McMillan/Anna Dow room and Bob will give Frank his room key.

Vinnie and Karaab will arrive at the Atlantis around 1-2 PM and will call up to Bob's room. Bob will then go and help Vinnie unload a truckload of stuff at Pioneer. Karaab will get her room key from Bob at this point and she will pick up the room (formerly Mike & MM's) key for Stephane and Bass.

At 4:30 MM, Mike, Anna and Nick return to the Atlantis from a day of skiing and get ready for their 7 PM dinner reservation. By 7PM they have left the Atlantis with Bob, who is now feeling much better.

Roxanne arrives at 5:40 PM. She takes a cab from the airport to the Peppermill Casino (2707 South Virginia Street Reno, Nevada 89502 800-648-6992 775-826-2121), where she will meet Karaab, Stephane & Bass (& whomever else wants to meet for dinner before the grand event) for a 6 pm dinner at the Peppermill's Coffee Shop (http://www.peppermillcasinos.com/restaurants/coffeeshop.html). Stephane & Bass will pick up their room key at this point.

After 7 PM all the surprise guests can go to their rooms at the casino and get ready for the big night.

At 8:30 PM the surprise guests meet at the High Sierra Bowling Lanes bar (3390 South Virginia, Reno 775 825-1048) which is located between the Peppermill and the Atlantis. It is walking distance from both. You can pick up your special bowling shirts from Becky, who works at the lanes. Once you've done this, the surprise guests need to stay hidden in the bar area, which is out of site.

At 9 PM Mike, MM, Anna, Bob & Nick arrive at High Sierra. One by one they sneak into the bar and don bowling shirts. When Nick finally comes looking... SURPRISE! Bring on the Rock'n'Bowl.


For more reading:

Peppermill Casino

Atlantis Casino

http://www.peppermillcasinos.com/restaurants/coffeeshop.html

This is actually a question up for debate? Maybe I'll sign on as a panelist, if they'll have me. (more on this when I have some time)

THE MEDIA AND THE WAR: Fair, Balanced, And Accurate Coverage?

A community-media dialogue, Sponsored by SEATTLE MEDIA FORUM and WASHINGTON NEWS COUNCIL
Tuesday, April 22, 2003, at Town Hall
7:00 - 9:30 PM
1119 8th Avenue (at Seneca St.) Seattle, WA 98101

Are the print and broadcast media doing their job in getting us the low-down on the war on Iraq? Have we gotten the whole story on how we got into the war in the first place? Is there any more to tell? Who decides what is covered, and when, and how?

Join us for an evening featuring a lively panel discussion with group interaction facilitated by John Hamer, Executive Director of the Washington News Council and a panel comprised of

Seattle Times media critic, Kay McFadden
KIRO Radio talk show host, Dave Ross
Seattle Weekly columnist, Geov Parrish
Journalism Professor, Joanne Lisosky
KVI Radio talk show host, John Carlson
MSNBC Editor, Alan Boyle
And others to be announced

Broadcast and print media have tough decisions to make about what, how, why and when to publish information. See and hear a distinguished panel respond to a skilled facilitator and dialogue among themselves; participate in a "conversation café" style dialogue with panel members and other audience members; help explore new insights for the media and ourselves on these
critical issues.

April Fool's Day Update-- Here's the email response my brother got from our grandfather:

Brett

Read and showed your email to Gma before showing the photo. Gma had a heart attack and is in the hospital in intensive care.

Gpa

Today, reading and hearing the news reports from Baghdad, I've had a most intense feeling of deja-vu.

For some reason I took the quiz Jack mentions- surprisingly accurate for me as well!





What month should you have been born in?

this quiz was made by Erin

Yesterday was the anniversary of one of the more infamous marches in New York City history. On April 5, 1911 thousands of people marched in public mourning of the nearly 150 people who died in Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in late March. I’ve read that anywhere between 80,000 and 400,000 people participated in the march, organized by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union and other social reform organizations (including religious groups). Most of the dead were women and/or immigrants, and this march was instrumental in the fight for increased worker protection (improved safety and sanitation, for example).



And here’s a chilling news report that was published after the fire, and before the protests. The writer, Bill Shepard, describes the sound of bodies jumping out of the factory windows and the sight of bodies burning before his eyes. In his final paragraph he writes:

These girls were all shirtwaist makers. As I looked at the heap of dead bodies I remembered their great strike of last year, in which these girls demanded more sanitary workrooms, and MORE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS in the shops. These dead bodies told the result.

How interesting to feel physically connected with bloggers. Thanks, Kayne, for the link, and for introducing me to your blog. Great stuff- and you're right, Washington does NOT need Tim Eyman!

The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head

Read this article- we are the "second superpower;" we are the "community of ants" who make up the "will of the people" on a global scale. While this may seem a bit too optimistic at first glance, the notion of emergent democracy is an intriguing one.

Thus the new superpower demonstrates a new form of “emergent democracy” that differs from the participative democracy of the US government. Where political participation in the United States is exercised mainly through rare exercises of voting, participation in the second superpower movement occurs continuously through participation in a variety of web-enabled initiatives. And where deliberation in the first superpower is done primarily by a few elected or appointed officials, deliberation in the second superpower is done by each individual—making sense of events, communicating with others, and deciding whether and how to join in community actions. Finally, where participation in democracy in the first superpower feels remote to most citizens, the emergent democracy of the second superpower is alive with touching and being touched by each other, as the community works to create wisdom and to take action.

What my twin sent around yesterday for April Fool's Day

Hello family & friends -

As you all know, I have had the extreme good fortune of being able to travel to new places in the world while working with my new company. Because the company is based in Taiwan, I have been able to spend a good amount of time there in the past 2 months, and have met some wonderful people. Taiwan really is a friendly area; everyone goes out of their way to help travelers and locals alike.

In this strange time in the world, there are other countries that need support. While the war with Iraq is a major issue, we should not ignore the constant threats from North Korea or other groups around the globe. One of the areas in my life that I have tried to improve upon since my employment by a company in a foreign country is my global awareness. And because this company is a Taiwanese company, I have become aware of the political issues in Taiwan, and the constant threat by communist China to take the island back under its rule. Ever since Chiang Kaishek fled mainland China with his KMT party to avoid the communists back in 1949, the people of Taiwan have lived with fear that they would someday lose their 'independence', and would be taken back by the communists. China has launched missiles towards Taiwan as recently as 1996, prompting the U.S. to send aircraft carriers off the coast to thwart any invasion attempts. And in the year 2000, a new era was launched in Taiwan, when a member of the DPP (Democratic People's Party) won the election in Taiwan, futhering itself from the idea of a 'One Unified China' (mainland and Taiwan), which is favored by the KMT party.

So how does this affect me? Well, during my visits to Taiwan, I have become involved with a politcal and military group that is tired of waiting on China, and is ready for their 'real' independence. They are ready for Taiwan to be officially recognized as its own independent nation, and not as a territory of communist China. I am sending this note to you to let you know that I am leaving for Taiwan next week to help this freedom fight. I have spent the past 6 months training in martial arts, learning Mandarin Chinese, and mastering my marksmanship. We feel that while the rest of the world is concentrating on the war in Iraq, now is the time to begin our battle.

Finally, I want to let each of you know how much you mean to me, and that you will be my 'guiding light' while I venture to the far east. I love you all, and I will be back soon to celebrate our accomplishment! Please see the attached photo that shows a few of my new 'friends' that I will be joining next week for our mission. Wish us luck!

Love & regards,

- Brett

(and, by request, here's the attached photo- MM)

Joan Didion, in the preface to her Slouching Towards Bethlehem collection of essays, writes:

"I could tell you that I liked doing some of them more than others, but that all of them were hard for me to do, and took more time than perhaps they were worth; that there is always a point in the writing of a piece when I sit in a room literally papered with false starts and cannot put one word after another and imagine that I have suffered a small stroke, leaving me apparently undamaged by actually aphasic."