On Entropy and Ecstasy in the New Year

On Entropy and Ecstasy in the New Year -- Chris Lydon offers up the best of year-end reviews I've read this week, tapping, as he often does, Emerson...

Speaking of ecstasy: still and always I hear Ralph Waldo Emerson, first and best among American public thinkers, affirming us bloggers: "Live with the privilege of the immeasurable mind," Emerson wrote (in 1837). "For all our penny-wisdom, for all our soul-destrying slavery to habit, it is not to be doubted that all men have sublime thoughts; that all men value the few real hours of life; they love to be heard."

And as for the presidential campaign in the year to come, and the Internet's real debut in it, Emerson again has the gravest warning and the most consoling affirmation I know--all tucked into the conclusion of his essay (1850) on "Montaigne; Or, The Skeptic":

"Although knaves win in every political struggle, although society seems to be delivered over from the hands of one set of criminals into the hands of another set of criminals, as fast as the government is changed, and the march of civilization is a train of felonies, yet, general aims are somehow answered. We see, now, events forced on, which seem to retard or retrograde the civility of ages. But the world-spirit is a good swimmer, and storms and waves can not drown him. He snaps his finger at laws: and so, throughout history, heaven seems to affect low and poor means. Through the years and the centuries, through evil agents, through toys and atoms, a great and beneficent tendency irresistibly streams."

So here is a cheerful New Year's Eve bet on the world-spirit...

Go read the whole thing, and have a happy new year.

Taking it Back

Taking it Back -- The presidential campaign of Howard Dean often talks about taking back our country. I believe part of what that means was discussed by Bill Moyers at the end of his February 28, 2003 broadcast of NOW with Bill Moyers...

"MOYERS: I wore my flag tonight. First time. Until now I haven't thought it necessary to display a little metallic icon of patriotism for everyone to see. It was enough to vote, pay my taxes, perform my civic duties, speak my mind, and do my best to raise our kids to be good Americans.

"Sometimes I would offer a small prayer of gratitude that I had been born in a country whose institutions sustained me, whose armed forces protected me, and whose ideals inspired me; I offered my heart's affections in return. It no more occurred to me to flaunt the flag on my chest than it did to pin my mother's picture on my lapel to prove her son's love. Mother knew where I stood; so does my country. I even tuck a valentine in my tax returns on April 15.

"So what's this doing here? Well, I put it on to take it back. The flag's been hijacked and turned into a logo — the trademark of a monopoly on patriotism. On those Sunday morning talk shows, official chests appear adorned with the flag as if it is the good housekeeping seal of approval. During the State of the Union, did you notice Bush and Cheney wearing the flag? How come? No administration's patriotism is ever in doubt, only its policies. And the flag bestows no immunity from error. When I see flags sprouting on official lapels, I think of the time in China when I saw Mao's little red book on every official's desk, omnipresent and unread.

"But more galling than anything are all those moralistic ideologues in Washington sporting the flag in their lapels while writing books and running Web sites and publishing magazines attacking dissenters as un-American. They are people whose ardor for war grows disproportionately to their distance from the fighting. They're in the same league as those swarms of corporate lobbyists wearing flags and prowling Capitol Hill for tax breaks even as they call for more spending on war.

"So I put this on as a modest riposte to men with flags in their lapels who shoot missiles from the safety of Washington think tanks, or argue that sacrifice is good as long as they don't have to make it, or approve of bribing governments to join the coalition of the willing (after they first stash the cash.) I put it on to remind myself that not every patriot thinks we should do to the people of Baghdad what Bin Laden did to us. The flag belongs to the country, not to the government. And it reminds me that it's not un-American to think that war -- except in self-defense -- is a failure of moral imagination, political nerve, and diplomacy. Come to think of it, standing up to your government can mean standing up for your country."

While Dean makes a good case for taking back the power from the corporate welfare recipients that have lobbied most of our influence away, Moyers eloquently makes the case for taking back the definition of "love of one's country."

I Am Not There

I Am Not There -- Via The Obvious? --

Don't stand by my grave and weep,
For I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond's glint in the snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
In the soft blush of the morning light
I am the swift bird in flight.
Don't stand by my grave and cry,
I am not there,
I did not die.

...from an unknown Native American author.

A Christmas Gift to Myself

A Christmas Gift to Myself -- The annual PDQ Bach Christmas concert gets a venue on my side of the Hudson. I first went to one of these back in High School ('66, '67, or '68...it's been a while), and have seen plenty since, and will continue to do so as long as the professor presents them.

A Civics Lesson

A Civics Lesson -- From the last Republican president that I appreciated (admitting, though, that I was only 10 when he left office)...

"Only an alert and knowledgeable citzenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
    - Dwight D. Eisenhower

(via Bartleby.com)

35 Years Ago This Week

35 Years Ago This Week -- Speaking of Saturday's topic, 35 years ago this week was Apollo 8, the Christmas Eve reading of Genesis, and the first Earthrise, an image that still serves as an icon for the best of the late 20th Century...a culmination of humankind's technological prowess and of the awareness of that same humankind's small and fragile place in the universe.

With what I remember of the rest of 1968 - King, Kennedy, Chicago, Viet Nam, Nixon, and my high school senior prom, Apollo 8 was a nice way to end the year. I only hope that today's generation finds something as inspiring to make up for the world in which they are growing up.

Adaptation

Adaptation -- Just saw Adaptation for the first time (on HBO). Whoa.

"You are what you love, not what loves you."

And like what one character says, it's about the third act, although, being a process kind of guy, the first two kept me riveted.

An Effing Waste

An Effing Waste...of time and energy by people we pay.

What One Hand Gives, the Other Takes Away

What One Hand Gives, the Other Takes Away -- A lot of people worry about paying for the Bush tax cuts in the future. We're really paying for it now.

Poll on Marriage for Homosexuals

Poll on Marriage for Homosexuals -- The American Family Association (aka "those right-wing hypocritical religious nuts who think they know what's best for the rest of us") are taking a poll on whether or not homosexual marriage should be legalized. They claim that the results will be presented to Congress, so go vote.

Current results:
Oppose legalization: (153678 votes) 41.12%
Favor legalization: (189141 votes) 50.61%
Favor "civil unions": (30869 votes) 8.26%

Take 10 Seconds to Get Soup to the Needy

Take 10 Seconds to Get Soup to the Needy -- Here is an easy way to make a difference this holiday season. Campbell's is donating a can of soup to the needy for every person that goes to their site and votes for their favorite NFL team. Their goal is 5,000,000 cans. Go here to vote. It will only take a few seconds of your time to fill some empty tummies with warm soup this winter.

Like Zach Lynch, on whose Brain Waves blog I found this bit of charity (and from whom I appropriated this text word for word), I'm not a big football fan, but this is a no brainer.

Too Much Time on One's Hands

Too Much Time on One's Hands -- In preparation for this week's finale of the Lord of the Rings masterpiece, I've spent too much time re-watching the extended DVDs of the first two movies in the last week or so...but apparently not as much time, nor as closely as the folks who contributed to these lists. And for a movie that's only been out a couple days, this is either impressive or ridiculous, or both.

Reality Check - Nothing's As Simple As We Would Like It To Be

Reality Check - Nothing's As Simple As We Would Like It To Be --

If you don't need to fight a war, but you fight it anyway and win it and thus remove a really bad guy from power, have you done the right thing? -- Ed Cone

(via Dave)

No Anti-War Lefty, This Guy

No Anti-War Lefty, This Guy -- Just saw Howard Dean's address, "Fulfilling the Promise of America: Meeting The Security Challenges of the New Century."...

Empowered by the American people, I will work to restore:
The legitimacy that comes from the rule of law;
The credibility that comes from telling the truth;
The knowledge that comes from first-rate intelligence, undiluted by ideology;
The strength that comes from robust alliances and vigorous diplomacy;
And, of course, I will call on the most powerful armed forces the world has ever known to ensure the security of this nation.

I never thought I'd find myself in agreement with that arch-liberal Pat Buchanan, who, on MSNBC's analysis, called the Governor's speech "tough, bold, and statesmanlike." I guess there's a first time for everything.

A Third Party?

A Third Party? -- Interesting possibilities about what could come of the Dean campaign, from Britt and from the Washington Post (via Many-to-Many). Is it about the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" or is it about something bigger?

Something's happening here; what it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a blog over there, saying we can take it back if we care...

Arab Potatoes

Arab Potatoes --

Joke courtesy of Carrol Cox:

An old Arab man who has been living for 40 years in Idaho wanted to cultivate potatoes in his garden, but digging up the earth was getting to be too hard at his age. His only son, Ali, was studying in France, so he decided to send him an e-mail explaining the situation...

Ali: I feel very disappointed because this year I'll be unable to plant my potatoes in my garden. I am too old to plow the ground. I wish you were here, then my problems would be solved, because you would remove the soil for me. I love you, Dad

Ali replied...

Dad: For God's sake, DO NOT remove the ground of that garden. It's there that I have hidden "you-know-what". I love you, Ali

At 4 a.m. the next day the local police, plus FBI and CIA agents, along with Pentagon delegates, came in and turn the garden upside down looking for dangerous material to build bombs, anthrax or whatever. They found nothing and they left. The same day the old man received another e-mail from his son:

Dear Dad: I am sure you can plant your potatoes now. It was the best I could do in the current circumstances. I love you, Ali

(From Tim Bray, via Steve Pilgrim's Rodent Regatta.)

Size Doesn't Matter

Size Doesn't Matter -- The Des Moines Register's editorial board explains in December 10 editorial, how the political (and governing) process has broken down -- and what's at stake in the 2004 presidential election. Some excerpts:

[W]the GOP in full control of both the White House and Congress, the government is growing faster than ever.

So maybe we can stop having the tiresome argument over Big Government vs. Small Government.... The argument was always a little off-point anyway. The size of the government matters, but not as much as something else - whose side the government is on. Does it work for the general public or the favored few.

Government didn't get big in a vacuum.... Government started to grow in the age of the robber barons when people demanded an ICC to protect them from being gouged by the railroad monopolies. Then came such things as antitrust laws, banking regulations, a progressive income tax, wage and hour laws... all intended to look out for the interests of ordinary Americans who, as individuals, were powerless against big guys who might be tempted to gouge them, cheat them, underpay them, overwork them or pollute their environment....

It took a while, but the big guys eventually figured out a way to fight back. They began pushing the philosophy of small government. If the government were smaller, it would bother the big guys a lot less.

The movement was couched in terms such as "deregulation" and "getting government off our backs" and "cutting taxes." It has had great success....

Here's the interesting twist: The small-government advocates ended up in full charge of the government - yet it keeps growing. Perhaps they discovered they really didn't want a small government. They just wanted a government they could co-opt. Such a government doesn't get in their hair and can be milked for billions in subsidies.

So ordinary Americans now, arguably, have the worst of both worlds. They have a big government that has been taken over by the very same big guys the government was originally enlarged to protect them against.

That's one way of looking at things, anyway.

And, in varying degrees, it is essentially the interpretation of events being offered by the Democratic presidential contenders.

That's what front-runner Howard Dean's slogan - "take America back" - is all about.

If that interpretation continues to resonate, the Democratic mantra of "It's the economy, stupid" may be replaced by "Hey, stupid, whose side should the government be on?"

Makes sense to me. After all, the fifth definition of "governor," according to the American Heritage Dictionary is "A feedback device on a machine or engine that is used to provide automatic control, as of speed, pressure, or temperature." It's about putting limits on the powerful parts of the system for the protection of the smaller and of the whole. (via Dean's Blog for America)

Thank You

Thank You -- Thank you all for your notes of sympathy and condolence. They mean a lot.

Frank Patrick, 1923-2003

Frank Patrick, 1923-2003 - My father passed away Wednesday night. In addition to being a loved and loving brother, husband, father and grandfather, he was primarily a builder and a gardener. If one has to describe a life in a few basic roles, my father, to put it simply, was a builder and a gardener.

Aside from his family, the chief sources of pride in his life were the buildings that he and his brothers built, and in his ability to share the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and zucchini he nurtured every summer.

As a builder, with his brothers, he built a business that is carried on today by my cousin Stephen. In addition to the banks and commercial buildings and additions that were the mainstay of John Patrick & Sons, my father built our home. He also worked on a range of side and family jobs like steps, patios, decks, and even my own basement office.

Years ago, I was privileged to carry cinderblocks and mix cement for him on projects like the selling shed at my Aunt Eleanor's farm and a retaining wall somewhere in Milltown. On those jobs, I got to watch him work and have come to appreciate and understand his quiet intelligence and the care and attention to detail that he gave to every thing he did.

It's those details that characterize his life. He wasn't necessarily a big picture planner, but rather someone who assured that the pieces that were supposed to come together did so, whether we're talking about a simple block wall or a family. He wasn't an showy architect, or someone who strove for a spotlight, but rather a simple builder, who in an even-tempered, no-nonsense way, took what was given him and put together something that made the most of it.

As a gardener, it was the same. He wasn't about flashy formal flower gardens, but instead, down-to-earth, hearty, life-sustaining vegetable gardens, providing an abundance designed to be shared with others. And again, it's the attention to the quiet, hidden details -- the compost he collected and concocted into his black gold growing soil, his choice of varieties to plant, the weeding, the trimming, and the preparation of the garden plot before and after each season.

Many of us here received the benefit of his garden, and of his attention to these details -- details that are not noticed when looking at a building, a garden, or a family unless they were not taken care of. Such details may be small, but are mighty in their effect. And he took care of them.

If there are physical symbols of my father's life, they would be the cinder blocks that he laid as a mason and the beautiful black soil that he composted and created for his garden over the years. Like cinderblocks, he was a bit rough around the edges but provided a no-nonsense, solid foundation for myself, my mother, my sisters, and my nephew, as well as others. And, like the all-important role of the soil in which a garden grows, he has been and will continue to be a rich source of nutrition and support in which we all have grown. May we all continue to grow in what he has left us, may we build upon his foundation, and may we all live long to remember him.

He's Baaaack...ack!!!

He's Baaaack...ack!!! -- Just in time. I need a smile these days.