Mariners Winning with Mediocrity

It has been a wonderful half season watching the Mariners this year. After winning 116 games in 2001, the team fell into the doldrums. Lou Piniella left, along with his demand for execution. Many of the role players that were so important to the team's success - guys like Mark Mac Elmore and Mike Cameron - left or retired. The team signed disappointing free agents like Jeff Cirillo and developed few key guys. They hired a manager in Bob Melvin, who came from a team that bought players and let them play - never the style of the Mariners or of Piniella. They didn't play, nor did he. This year, though, there is a new feeling. They have a team that is mediocre at the plate, but so balanced that the bottom third drives in nearly as many runs as the middle third of the order. They have no guy who comes through nightly, but eight or nine guys who come through pretty regularly. They have only one guy - Ichiro - hitting .300 (though Vidro is next door at .298), but they have seven hitting better than .270. The bullpen is lights out with five guys, with JJ Putz perfect at closing out wins thus far. Two-out hitting is strong, and the team moves base runners up consistently. The defense has been good, but not exceptional. All together, it adds up to a team that wins more than loses, comes back to win often, and gives fans the feeling that they are never out of the game. I wouldn't bet the farm on this team winning any particular game, but they seem to be a pretty good bet to win most any series (even if it is 3-2 or 4-3). Though there are few feeling better in sports than when your baseball team is making a run like the Mariners made in 1995 or 2001, I am more than happy to have a team like this to watch. Good, but not great. Winning through consistent team play. Never out of it. Add to this the outstanding experience that is Safeco Field in any weather, and it is a good summer for a Seattle baseball fan.

Can we Really Exit Iraq?

It seems to me that what is past is past. We did in fact invade Iraq. We stirred that pot and now there is soup. If we leave, Iran and their Syrian marionettes will commit genocide, dominate the world oil economy and use the platform to destabilize the Mid-East and 'stans further. They will plan and execute State terror in the US and Europe. These are things that have been concerns for serious people for more than 25 years. These worries are among the main geopolitical reasons that prior US governments offered limited support to Saddam. Even during the cold war prior to Reagan, intelligence and military planners and analysts were presenting a broader Iraq (a 'restored' Persian Empire) as one of the great perils that might be encountered.

There seems to be no compromise possible with Iran, while the view its leaders hold of the west is that the existence of this society itself is an evil. With nuclear capability approaching, the scenario is even more dire.

Now, don't mistake me, I am not advocating more of the same in Iraq or elsewhere. But I am worried about what will happen when we leave Iraq, and what impact a nuclear Iran, reconstituted with vast oil reserves and a thirst for 'pagan' (other sects or non-Islamic peoples) blood will have on my children. It is like I am learning that the medieval church is going to be in charge again, the Inquisitors will again be abroad in the land, lovingly torturing and killing the insufficiently conventional. I hear so much about how intolerant American society is...I wonder what we will all think ten years hence when we are well experienced at true intolerance.

I hope that a Great Person or cause rallies democratic people here and abroad to deal with the coming threat. Better yet, perhaps it will be a bag of gas, and people like me who worry over it will be shown to be neurotic fools. That would make me happy. But I imagine there are a number of families in Lockerbie and elsewhere that would like to educate me further.

Does Anyone Else Think this is Ironic?

Based on the latest Gallup numbers, isn't it at least a little ironic that some members of Congress are talking about impeaching President Bush? That would be the Congress with a LOWER approval rating than the President, in fact, with an all-time low since Gallup began the poll. Not sure what mandate 14% gives you...

I wonder what the approval rating would be for the news media?

----

According to USA Today, a new Gallup poll has Congress now pulling the lowest approval ratings EVER, with just 14% of Americans having a favorable opinion. That is the all-time low for this poll, which Gallup initiated in 1973.

The previous low point for Congress was 18% in 1991 through 1994.

This all left me wondering if there is ANYONE who would pull down majority favorable numbers? If so, could they hold their popularity for a month under media scrutiny?

Presidential Poll Numbers - Surprised?

We tire of all our Presidents after a time, especially if they don't win a war in weeks. And in the case of GHW Bush, even if they do.

Could the Zodiac Killer be Nearing Apprehension?

http://zodiackiller.com/Newscenter.html

http://zodiackiller.21.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=86&sid=a438de0b29cd41b3f7d6a94bd8e4d744

Could it be that the Zodiac Killer has finally been identified? There is a new suspect, who came to light following the recent discovery of a previously unknown post card. The clues in the message have led investigators to a man fitting the Zodiac in dozens of ways. Could the case be about to break after nearly 40 years? See the details as they happen on the website linked above.

On the Virginia Tech Shootings, Reluctantly

The shootings at Virginia Tech this week were a horrific example of the depths to which a damaged soul can sink.

This young man (I won't use his name because he deserves no remembrance) had given signs for years that there was something amiss. Reading his 'plays' quickly conveys his deranged mind - and though kids often write about murder and suicide, this writing is easily distinguished from ordinary dark thoughts. I can see why the students didn't want to be in class with him, and why professors sought some way to deal with him. On a personal and individual level, one wishes that he had been helped or sequestered long before he committed these terrible attacks.

It is often impossible for our society and systems to do so, both because of the limitations of both, and because of the presumed liberties to which Americans (and resident aliens) are entitled. The right to privacy, the right to freedom from imprisonment, the right to free expression all conspired with the limitations of our systems and society to keep this killer at large in society. Until a person is a danger to them self or others, we cannot compel them to accept treatment. Until a person has committed a criminal act, we cannot detain them or require treatment. Often, even when they have committed violent acts, they will not receive treatment.

In this case, when the time bomb detonated, it was catastrophic in the number killed and wounded. It was different in the number of dead and wounded, but not in kind, from the many murders of smaller numbers or of individuals, that take place every week. There was a case of murder-suicide recently at the University of Washington. There had been a romantic link in that case, but the outcome was the same: a disturbed and violent man broke with reality and killed another person and himself for reasons only he will ever know. I suspect that the same will be true in this case too. We'll never know why the killer murdered and maimed, and it seems to me that we will never really be able to prevent such acts altogether. The means of violence may vary - driving a car on a crowded sidewalk, a gun, a bomb, a sword - all of which were used last year by people similar to the shooter at Virginia Tech.

It is a natural thing to want to find answers and 'make sure it doesn't happen again', and I hear a lot of people discussing just those topics in the media and at the coffee shop. But the truth is that unless we can change our system and society enough to identify and help or isolate people such as this prior to their breaking point, these violent acts will continue to happen.

Misanthropes kill others and kill themselves because at the root of it all, they hate people, they hate what it is to be human. And that hatred can only lead to murder-suicide. Because they are persons, and therefore hated themselves. And they cannot escape themselves.

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About me

I am 47, married with kids. I love history, literature, crime fiction and non-fiction, psychology, philosophy, music. I enjoy good conversation and chasing new information on a new topic of interest. My best friends are the people I grew up with, though I have made friends along the way. I love to spend time -any time - with my kids, as well as reading, writing, movies. I like sports, too, though advanced arthritis has made me more of a spectator than participant. I am an executive, with experience in consulting, manufacturing, technology, marketing and operations. My extended family is a source of happiness and encouragement. I am a lucky guy, not least because I understand so.

Brief Comments on Treachery at Sharpnose Point

I have finished reading “Treachery at Sharpnose Point” by Jeremy Seal. It is an interesting look at Cornwall and the wreck of the Caledonia in 1843, as well as his current day research and retracing of the places involved. It is quite well-written and enjoyable. I read several books in the gap between my hand-held journal and this electronic one, a couple of mysteries, a couple of histories and some historical fiction, which is my current favorite.

Of course I should say a word about TR on the Bully Pulpit...

Theodore Roosevelt is the greatest president of the United States in the 20th century, because his interpretation of the powers and role of the president set a precedent that afforded all of his 20th century successors a platform on which to build.
A man of many contradictions, he was also perhaps the brightest man to hold the office. TR had a breadth of personal experience that gave him the ability to speak the language of the nation. A northerner, his mothers family was from the south. A northeasterner and Ivy Leaguer, he was also truly a Plainsman and Westerner. A naturalist, he was also a sportsman and hunter. He read a book or more each evening and boxed or wrestled, walked, rode or lifted weights daily - even as President. He drummed up a war when he thought America needed one, and then stopped another, winning the Noble Peace Prize. He advocated government regulation of business in the public interest, and was the first to truly implement the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to control monopolies he felt were acting against the public good. He encouraged organized labor and advocated the six-day workweek when the norm was seven. He championed and passed the Pure Food Act, the first of it's kind, seeking to improve public health. He advocated workman's' compensation and fought the party bosses. He insisted that the military be improved and strengthened, insisted on the enforcement of the Monroe doctrine. He created the vast majority of our nation's protected lands - National Parks, and when Congress acted to restrict his ability to create national park lands, through National Monuments and National Wildlife Refuges.

He embodied a boldness and self-confidence that motivated a nation to rise to greatness at the dawn of what is being called the American Century. He forged a strong Presidency and created a belief in America as a great power at home and abroad. He began policies that would later be expanded by Republicans (foreign policy, the Panama Canal, military preparedness) and by Democrats (social programs, government regulation in the public interest) - especially by the cousin who sought his blessing to run for his first public office: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Theodore Roosevelt was a self-made man who was robust, but had painstakingly built his body from illness. He was a scholar, Sunday school teacher, policeman, author of over thirty books and many articles and reviews, naturalist, tireless campaigner, reformer, nationalist, explorer (the Theodoro river, a tributary of the Amazon), soldier, moralist and romantic. His comfort in the Presidency and his confidence inspired the fledgling nation. In his own words, he told us that no man ever enjoyed the office more.

The legacy of the twentieth century in America begins with the man and the accomplishments of the man as the twenty-sixth President, Theodore Roosevelt.

Father's Day and Everyday

I value my own father in so many ways.

There should indeed be a day to honor and remember our fathers. Probably should have one every day.

But gosh, in an era of sensitivity isn't it sexist to have a day just for the fathers who happen to be men? Shouldn't it be parents' day or something? Okay, so I'm being sarcastic. One of the things that we discarded like old shoes in the sixties was the idea of traditional roles. I'm not saying that's all bad - we were due for some updating. But what is a father now? Who do we think of as a great father? Is he your pal, or an example, or someone to spend weekends with? Is there an ideal today that fathers strive for?

In my own case, I was lucky enough to have a father that was supportive, yet not to be disappointed. He was proud, but told us when we were out of line. I don't remember a time when I didn't know that he was on my side. Much of the best in me was inspired and brought out by my dad.

Part of the difficulty with today is that it has become so difficult to be a father. Some dads and their kids just don't connect. Some fathers abuse their role. Some don't get to see their kids much. Some choose not to. Some fathers are grand. But all of us want a dad in some way akin to the old time ideal father - strong, firm in his beliefs, supportive, proud of us, tough, demanding - a reassurance throughout our lives.

Sometimes things become trite because they're true. The ideal of Father may have become trite, but is it at least partially because for the most part it represents the Dad so many of us respond to? A timeless role, Father, and one of probably the two most important jobs in the world.

Thanks, Dad.

Memorial Day Thought

Memorial Day Thought

This year, I hope that all of us pause and remember the family members past and present who have protected us all and our way of life down through the years, and who believed that freedom is so precious it is worth the price of our lives to preserve it.

Throughout our history, we have been blessed by the courage and commitment of Americans who were willing to pay that price, and more than 1.3 million of them have died for our Nation.

Even in our own family, it surprising just how many have given this last full measure to preserve our freedom. On Memorial Day we remember them, and we acknowledge that we stand as a great, proud, and free Nation because of their devotion.

In creating Memorial Day the Congress intended that the Nation unite in a moment of prayer for peace. I think that General George Patton (known to pray daily) may have given us a theme for this prayer:

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

Who is Driving This Bus?

Did anyone see the poll published this week by Zogby America that indicates that between 26% and 40% of Americans believe that their future is determined by their own actions. Isn't this a surprising number of people? I mean, are 26-40% of people killed by tornadoes? Isn't it sort of a sign of the times that so many of us believe that life just happens to us?

It is a sad statistic too, because I can't imagine that very many of us who do not believe that we control most of our own life's outcomes will actually be successful to any degree. Interestingly, the lower one's income, the more likely one is to feel that someone or something else controls one's life (40.3%). Is that a cause, or an effect? Isn't that the fundamental question between the government interventionist and the libertarian?

Busier than Ever?

Busier than Ever?

In 1900, the average worker had to work six and a half days a week, often for twelve hours a day. Today we are also extremely busy, but much less of our time is based on subsistence activities. Today, we have organized leisure, our kids have organized play, we have both parents working full time in many cases. And almost all of us complain about how busy we are. Most people thought it was a boon when President Theodore Roosevelt pushed through a bill limiting the work week to six days. Most people in the 50's thought that technology would give us more time for leisure. And yet, at the dawn of the 21st century we feel busier than ever. Why is that? And how much of our 'busyness' is subsistence oriented? It seems to me that we all work harder for more stuff, and simultaneously feel surprise at how busy we are. Seems also that we could be a lot less busy, and have a lot more time at our disposal if we choose to make it so. And yes, this is a rumination for me, too...

What we tell ourselves

There is a fine line, I think, between Norman Vincent Peale, Pollyanna, Eor and Poe. We know a lot about the impact our thoughts and feelings have on our perceptions, thoughts, health and spirit. The fine line exists between choosing to be positive (or negative) but rooted in reality, and choosing to be positive (or negative) and rewriting events to make them fit our 'positive' or 'negative' outlook. Clint Black has a song that says 'We tell ourselves that what we found was what we meant to find'. Understanding the nuances of circumstances, evaluating the real impact to our life, finding ways to focus our efforts and attention on good feelings and outcomes--these are all choices to be positive and keep perspective and as much control as is available to us. Fabricating a myth to accompany events - even when it is designed to make us feel better - usually ends up making us feel less engaged, less confident, less sincere, less realistic and ultimately fails to bring us the happiness that leads us to choose fabrication (or amplification) as a strategy.

If you look in the news section you will see an article from the British Medical Journal discussing post traumatic stress syndrome and long term psychological illness. The study seems to show that context, culture and expectation bear more heavily on whether people subjected to extreme and often violent stress later develop mental illness.

The point is, that if we are waiting to be insulted, we probably will. If we are looking at life from the point of view of the victim, we will probably become victims. If we focus on the traumas that affect us, we will probably be traumatized. We have all known people who faced great challenges and endured, sometimes even defeated them. When I think about the ones I know, it seems to me that they acknowledged reality, accepted it, then found a way to make the best of it. They didn't rewrite it to suit, so they didn't have to try to integrate unreality into their lives.

"No Problem"

Does anyone remember when 'please' was answered with phrases like 'you are welcome', or 'it is my pleasure'? Today, the courtesy of thanking, say, a waiter as he or she delivers food to one's table is often answered 'no problem'. I must say, that it is a very lucky thing indeed that it is 'no problem' for a food server to serve food. Imagine what would happen to a restaurant if it suddenly became a problem for food servers to serve food. And what is the tip jar at Starbuck's for? Not spilling coffee on me? I understand tipping the person who hauls my heavy bags up to a room, or who brings a salad, main course, beverages, etc to my table. I understand when my hotel room has been well maintained during a visit, or when I have left a mess for the housekeeping staff. But why am I expected to tip counter people where I do all the walking (order and pay here, pick up there, add cream or get a napkin there)? In fact, I sometimes find myself wiping off the counter where the cream and sugar are housed - instinctive action I guess. Should I be tipped? Oh, and I even understand tipping cab drivers - it is an incentive to them to make sure that I arrive at my destination alive. One dry cleaner told me that broken buttons as a result of laundering or ironing were not repaired. He seemed puzzled by my suggestion that the larger purpose - abjectly defeated by missing and broken buttons - of having shirts cleaned and pressed was in fact to make them more presentable. I have a new cleaner, but am waiting for the day when a tip jar appears there.

Thank you for your service

This slide show is very powerful. It is all too easy to think of what others do in terms of what we do. I eat regularly, and what I want. I shower in hot water and when it is hot I turn on the air conditioning. When someone cuts me off in traffic I'm mad because I don't want to be endangered. If someone needs help, I help if it isn't too much trouble or cost. These people eat what they get, when they get it. They sweat when it is hot. They'd love a time when the worst danger they faced was traffic like ours rather than IEDs. They train and fight, patrol and work every day in danger. Any mistake can mean injury or death for them or others, and many will have their mistakes published in the NY Times. How would I like that? They are the people who volunteered to go in harm's way, to protect me. To ensure my freedom. Now, with few exceptions, war will always be a controversial decision by leaders. Why are we fighting, what is the goal, how much will it cost, how many will perish? Those decisions and evaluations are made at higher pay grades than most of those who serve. But our servicemen and women go when told. They know that the leadership might be wrong, that a general or civilian might make an error. They know that politicians might change their minds about the fight. They know all these things but they go. And they go because it is their job. They go because they believe that the tradition of the armed forces is honorable and meaningful. They go because they are willing to do all that they can to honor those traditions. They go because whatever the ultimate historical evaluation of the policy that sent them to a particular war or battle, America needs them, and they have answered that call. They are ordinary people from all walks of life, but they are extraordinary people as well. They fight for their country, their family, their community, the American way of life. And I am grateful for them, and for all of the previous links in the long and unbroken chain of brave Americans, from the very birth of our nation forward. One of my ancestors served for years in the Continental Army, another in Vietnam. Though the ways, the nation, our beliefs and reasons for war - even our views of each battle and each war have changed over time, our servicemen and women answer the call in all seasons. And we are all, each of us, in their debt. I've made an effort in the last ten years or so to just make eye contact and nod, or if there is time an opportunity, to say 'thank you for your service', when I see men and women in uniform. I know it means something to them, and it costs me nothing. I hope that whatever people think of any particular battle or war, we remember these brave men and women who stand a post, saying no one will hurt you tonight. They serve and fight where they are sent, and they honor us with their service. Let's make them proud of the people they serve.

To see the slide show, please follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ervaMPt4Ha0

The most useful phrase in life

You have your way.
I have my way.

As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

To be Human

Mark Twain is as reliable as it gets when one anticipates reading a good story well-stocked with realistic and poignant observations about people, ideas and the human condition. In reading a sentence of his I began to think about the concept he raised, and it is a fascinating one: "We must learn what it is to be human - dogs are dogs, cats are cats; but we require lessons in being human." The idea that what is innate in other species must be uncovered in humans is, I think a very old one. And it goes directly to the question of whether we are what we are because of the environment in which we are raised, or work, or live; or whether we are born with a nature that must be discovered. But of course, it is more complex than that. The young man coming of age in Liberia, or Yemen, or France, or Myanmar, or Japan or the United States must necessarily be uniquely influenced by his experiences and context. In fact, the young southern woman has a different worldview than the young woman raised in California. The interesting part of learning to be human is that it must be precisely an individual and unique meaning for each of us, 'to be human'. Can I say with any real conviction that I know what you mean by 'human'? Is it biological, or spiritual, or based on one's politics? Is it both the desirable qualities (kindness, compassion, knowledge, etc.) or does it include the undesirable qualities (aggression, hatred, etc.)? Whatever, it seems to me that it is true that all of us learn what, and who, and how we are over years and experiences, and mostly we are surprised at what we learn. Seldom is what we youthfully assumed ourselves to be, what we in fact find ourselves to be over the years. And in some ways we surprise ourselves with both our capacity for the 'good' components of the human character and the 'bad' ones. In the end, all that any of us can do is our best, and who can say what is my best--even me? It is in this way that the grouchy neighbor can surprise us with a meal delivered after the birth of a child, or a former colleague can arrive to pay respects at a funeral, or the person who never remembered your birthday can throw a big surprise party for your 40th birthday, or someone you trust can betray that trust, and people who once saw eye to eye can stop talking to one another. Sometimes the person we think of as not really being all that considerate or nice surprises us by being exceedingly considerate. Sometimes the person we see as considerate is surprisingly cruel or unkind or selfish. Who can say when either is 'doing their best?' Are we in both cases learning what it is to be human?

Torture

I was in the barbershop the other day and a bunch of guys were talking. It started on sports, then at some point someone made a flippant remark that ‘so and so should be tortured, after all Cheney says it is okay’. I kept my mouth shut because I am always politically out of step in my neighborhood, and the conversation went on about torture for a bit. Finally the younger barber made a half-hearted stab at brainstorming how anyone could okay the idea of torture. He said, “I guess somebody will say that maybe if they’d tortured the right guys they might have stopped September 11”.

I don’t even think it was his view, he just was thinking out loud. Well, the group jeered, and the kid barber nudged my arm and said what do you think? I promise I would have had no audience if I had volunteered what I think, but having refrained and then thought for a second before answering, I had the room at attention for a minute.

“The problem with torture is the same problem it has always been.” I said. “I bet if each of us knew as much as could be known about things that are known to be happening in the world, we would all be able to come up with twenty or thirty people who ought to, maybe even must be tortured into telling us everything they’ve ever known, thought or dreamed about. The problem isn’t who deserves it, but who decides who deserves it. I mean, I know I’d pick the right guys to torture, but who knows about YOU FUCKERS!” Well, there was a pause, and then one of the firemen from the station across the street laughed. And then everyone else laughed. But they laughed kind of thoughtfully. When it quieted down, the fireman said, ‘Let me guess, Special Forces?’ I just laughed. It was pleasant to be able to explain why I don’t feel quite like most people in my neighborhood, but also to show that I am not supporting torture.

"It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” Julius Caesar