Observation Point

We just put our middle daughter, Jenny, and our grandson Henry on a plane to Mississippi. Jenny's husband Mark is already there teaching at Millsaps College, his first fulltime university professorship. This is a good thing, but a hard thing. Goodbyes are always hard. Sure, we know we can jump on a jet and be there in less than a day, but it's a bit farther than Eugene where they have spent the last six years, which made sharing life together a bit easier. 

Sharing life together - a thought that makes me think of heaven where we will have all the time in the world. No more hurried or half-said conversations with family and friends. No more looking at a watch to make sure that we leave early enough to get wherever we are going. No more distractions or interruptions. No more goodbyes. Just time to share life together eternally with God and each other, and I'm very okay with that.

An American Hero

I was working at the Maui airport on the day in 1969 when the first men to land on the moon arrived. I remember the airport pretty much stopping and being almost completely quiet as people stopped and stared at television monitors as the lunar module gingerly touched down on the moon's surface. And I remember everyone holding their breath as Neil Armstrong climbed down from the module and stepped on to the grey dust saying, "That's one small step for a man; and one giant leap for mankind." The airport then erupted with cheers, my own included. Neil Armstrong died today - a true American hero. You have my cheers as you have made an even larger step today. Well done. Houston out.

kgw.com/news/Astronaut-Neil-Armstrong-first-man-to-walk-on-moon-dies-at-age-82-167431495.html

Let the Man Talk

I keep reading opinion pieces about the Presidential election and the strengths/weaknesses of the candidates and almost without exception, whether written by a liberal or a conservative, they always list the "formidable rhetorical skills" of President Obama. I dissent. If I were a Republican strategist I would want the President to speak off the cuff as much as possible because he makes gaffe after gaffe. 

Lawyers love hostile witnesses who like to talk when their deposition is being taken - they inevitably sink themselves. The witness who thinks he is smarter than the lawyer is especially useful because their arrogance trips them up every time. The President is no different. His recent blooper about businessman "didn't build that" when referring to their successful businesses is a classic example. Steve Jobs didn't build Apple. Right. There are many others. Formidable rhetorical skills my patoot. When Obama is off Teleprompter he is Bidenesque - just let the man talk! 

Why Can't We Be More Like China?

This is a common lament among intellectuals. Thomas Friedman thinks that a dictatorship would be great, at least for a little while, to really get some things done. Elizabeth Warren, the Cherokee princess running for a Senate seat in Massachusetts, recently said:

"Why aren't we rebuilding America? Our competitors are putting people to work building the future. China invests 9% of its in infrastructure. America? We're just 2.4%"--Elizabeth Warrencampaign ad, July 30

As the Wall Street Journal noted, though, there have been a few problems with Chinese construction:

"One of the longest bridges in northern China collapsed on Friday, just nine months after it opened, setting off a storm of criticism from Chinese Internet users and underscoring questions about the quality of construction in the country's rapid expansion of its infrastructure. A nearly 330-foot-long section of a ramp of the eight-lane Yangmingtan Bridge in the city of Harbin dropped 100 feet to the ground. Four trucks plummeted with it, resulting in three deaths and five injuries."--New York Times website, Aug. 24

online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444358404577609343602510960.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

Do these folks also not remember the crap that China was sending into this country just a few years ago ( and may be even now): poison children's toys, defective wallboard, etc.? Even if they do, they seem unable to connect the dots, as was the case with the Soviet Union, Castro's Cuba, etc., etc. Moths to the flame. 

Is the Fat Lady Warming Up?

Here's an interesting story from Colorado. The University of Colorado Political Science Department has modelled presidential races since 1980 and has not missed a winner in all that time. Right now the model is predicting a win by Romney/Ryan on the order of 320 electoral votes to Obama/Biden's 218. The popular vote would be 53% to 47% - a healthy margin. It ain't over til' the fat lady sings, but here's hoping!

www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2012/08/22/analysis-election-factors-points-romney-win-university-colorado-study-says

The Real Face of Hate

"Hate" is a term that for some time has been used pretty loosely, usually to score cheap political points. We have "hateful" Republicans who "hate" President Obama because they will not give him carte blanche to pursue his vision of remaking the U.S. We have people who "hate" gays because they will not agree that gays should have the same right to marry as heterosexuals. We have "hate" this and "hate" that. In short, "hate" is becoming a very devalued term. An occasional reminder of what hate really is may be useful.

This is the real face of hate - Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 kids at a summer camp in Norway and would dearly have loved to kill even more. He is a neo-Nazi. The prosecution tried to portray him as insane. The judge did not agree. He was just evil. And for doing this his sentence was a grand total of 21 years. That in itself is a tragedy.

A society that does not recognize evil when it sees it is a society that undervalues life and it will be unable to effectively confront evil when it arises. It starts with bad thinking as reflected in a society's words. Breivik was not mad - he is evil. In this country, political opponents may be misinformed, misguided, self-dealing or just wrong, but rarely are they "hateful." Hate is a strong word and we need to keep it that way so that when the real thing comes along, in the form of an Anders Breivik, we recognize it and respond appropriately. This is the real face of hate.

news.yahoo.com/court-finds-norwegian-mass-killer-breivik-sane-082140655.html

The Current State of the Democratic Party