After writing about Durward and North Korea in Facebook, it occurs to me that I should fill in some blanks and that will take me back to some of my first memories. Perhaps his children will appreciate it. Keep in mind, however, that some of the blanks I will try to fill is based only on hints of what Durward must have been doing and my own experiences and conclusions of how it might have happened for him. Some, perhaps a lot, is guessing on my part, based on my Navy experience, and reasonable expectation of how the Navy would have operated. I could do a much better job of piecing the puzzle together, and answering many questions, if I had his letters that he sent home. I don't know who has those now.
One question is, for example, why do I remember the country, North Korea, spoken in our house on the corner of Brummett and First Streets in Owensville, Indiana, about as far removed from Korea as possible, when I was only six to nine years old, sometime between 1950 and 1953, give or take a year? The answer is simple. Durward's Navy travels were the talk of the house. Mom didn't take Durward's joining the Navy very well, perhaps because her illness was progressing at the time, or perhaps because Uncle Cecil, her brother, had also spent time in the Navy and came out of it an alcoholic. She may have been afraid that the same thing would happen to Durward. I don't remember if Uncle Cecil was in the Navy during war time, but if he was, then that would be cause for Mom's worry and fretting as well. She, like the rest of us, had no idea what kind of a mess Durward's ship, the USS Rooks (DD-804), a Navy Destroyer, was in as it patrolled the Korean coast line. So, whenever we received a letter from Durward, Dad read it at the dinner table and, if the letter hinted at conflict, Dad would have to console Mom as much as he could. Of course, Mom knew that Dad knew no more than she did. Both had lived all of their lives in Owensville, and knew only what they read and heard of the world beyond that. Sometimes, Elvin lent a consoling word that Mom could have more faith in. Elvin spent time in Yokohama, Japan as part of the Japan occupation probably within months of Japan's surrender. If anyone knew of what might be happening in Korea, Elvin did, but of course he didn't really know either. How could he? "He's alright," was all Elvin could really say, but it seemed to be more effective than Dad's consolation. I don't remember that Durward's letters were alarming or gave us cause to worry. I suspect that he, like Dad, would understate serious matters or situations of danger rather than sound alarming.
In the meantime, all of us were getting lessons in world geography and we paid more attention to news of the world on the radio. We have to remember what was happening in 1950-53 in Korea, and in China and the Soviet Union for that matter. Mao Zedong had just led a revolution in China and driven Chiang Kai Shek to Taiwan and he was threatening to invade Taiwan. Mao was also pushing his friends, the North Korean communists, to attack the Korean government located in Seoul. North Korea attacked the south in June 1950. Kim Jung-One, a mean despot and a Mao-wanna-be, wanted to be a god. His army captured about 90% of Korea and by September only a small area around Pusan, on the south-east coast of Korea, was left and it wouldn't be long before the entire country would fall. General Macarthur led the amphibious invasion at Inchon on the north-west coast just below the 38th parallel (the United Nations' delineated dividing line of the two Koreas) in September 1950 successfully stopping the North Koreans. Fighting lasted until July 1953.
The Soviet Union wasn't far away. At the end of World War II, Stalin captured Japan's most northern island and clamped down the Iron Curtain around it and it was only a day's sailing from North Korea. After that, nothing was heard from the island for twenty years. The USSR's most northern Naval port, Vladivostok, was located only 50 miles from North Korea's northern border. And, the Cold War-Arms Race was just beginning. These were historical times. America had emerged from the war as the most powerful nation in the world. And, let's not forget what was happening in other parts of the Asia and Asia Minor (Middle East). Israel was a brand new country. The Middle East had been divided up into countries only a few years before. The USSR was trying to gain inroads into Egypt and its President Naguib and his second in command and to follow as Egyptian President, Abdel Nasser. Naguib and Nasser led an Egyptian Socialist revolution in 1952, following the Soviet model. And, too, the French was fighting communist in Indochina (Vietnam) and losing. It was a troubled world.
To tell the truth, after writing "North Korea, Durward and Me" and thinking about it, I thought my memory may be playing tricks on me. It didn't make sense when compared to my own Navy experience and knowledge that he would sail from the East Coast to the Pacific. When I was in the Navy, we never, I repeat "Never," heard of an East-Coast ship being assigned to a Western Pacific patrol or duty. It was, in my day, like two separate navies, one on the East Coast and one on the West. The only place in the world where the two might meet would have been in the Middle East or in the northern Indian Ocean or Persian Gulf; one navy coming by way of the the Mediterranean Sea and Suez Canal and the other coming by a route through the Indian Ocean. There, the East and West would combine forces for a few operations, then turn and make our way back to our own play ground. Yet, I distinctly remember most of the places Durward visited being discussed at home. His travels were a big deal to us and I was interested in where he was. I missed him. I remember talking about the Caribbean, Cuba, Panama Canal, San Diego, Hawaii, Japan, Philippines, India, Africa, the Suez Canal, Egypt, Italy and France and the Mediterranean Sea. We tracked his route on a globe and we listened for those countries on the radio.
Durward reported aboard the USS Rooks (I didn't know it had an "s" on it) on March 8, 1952, according to this miracle of the Internet (Find "Clark, Durward" on the page or scroll until you find his name), at Portsmouth, Virginia after he finished Storekeeper school at Newport, Rhode Island. He probably came home for two weeks after school. He was a Storekeeper Seaman Apprentice, one grade up from the bottom, nineteen years old and he had been in the Navy approximately five to six months, twelve weeks of Boot Camp, eight weeks of school, and one month of leave, when he joined the Rooks. Mom was so glad that we took a train from Princeton to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, just north of Chicago, to see him graduate from Boot Camp. She wanted to see that her son was okay. We watched all of the recruits march by the bleachers and stand at attention to receive the tributes of the speakers. All I remember about that was Mom asking, over and over again, "Do you see him? Where is he?" I don't recall that we did see him during the graduation ceremony. There were several hundred recruits all wearing dress blues and white hats, all with short-cut buzz haircuts and all looking alike. The only thing that distinguish some from others was their race. Someone, Dad or Mom, would point and say, "Is that him?" And we'd all look hard only to say, "Nope. That's not him." Later, we waited on sofa-like chairs in a large hall, Mom fidgeting and asking, "What's taking him so long?" until he finally came through the door. The reunion was joyous. It was as if he'd been gone for years instead of twelve weeks. The irony was, that after traveling that far to Chicago, a long way in those days, we only got to see him for about an hour, and then we were on our way home. A few days later, after Boot Camp, he came home for the typical fourteen-day leave before going to Newport, Rhode Island and Storekeeper School. He flew out of Evansville to Newport, which, like my travel to Rhode Island fourteen years later, was probably was his first airplane ride and likely stopped at a half-dozen airports along the way and took ten to twelve hours. I think the flight took me around eight hours. We can fly from San Francisco to Paris in eleven hours today. What a contrast! In eight weeks, he was home again for another fourteen-day leave before returning to the East Coast to the USS Rooks.
So, what was Durward up to? In those days after the war, the American Navy was the strongest military force on the planet, but it was scattered hear and yon. Since the Pacific war was primarily an air war, all of our aircraft carriers were in the Pacific, although battleships, anti-mine warfare ships and other surface fighting ships were there too. The Atlantic Ocean War was a surface and submarine war, with very little need for aircraft carriers. Germany had the big battleships and the submarines in the war and it was those that our East Coast Navy was designed to beat. Of course, each navy, Atlantic and Pacific, had taken casualties; ships were sunk and neither navy had the variation of the ships it needed. And, Ike was our President and probably the most knowledgeable military strategist on the planet. I think he saw a need to make a statement to the world in case another dictator saw an opportunity for war, sort of like, "Hey! Pay attention any of you despots and dictators who might think you want to raise a ruckus. I'm sending a large naval task force around the world to show you the kind of force I can bring down on your head. So, beware. Be belligerent at your own risk." So, he ordered a large naval task force on a world cruise. Mao hesitated to invade Taiwan and, in fact, never did. Egypt hesitated to invade Israel, delaying that for a number of years. In Ike's day, the United Nations was somewhat successful in stopping the civil war in Vietnam for a few years. Durward, it seems to me, was part of an American "show the flag world cruise."
Again, thanks to the wonders of the Internet and some dedicated old sailor or naval historian who has learned the ins and outs of it, we can read the USS Rooks' daily log. The log starts in September 1944 in Seattle, WA and the Pacific. Take a moment to read the legend of what the symbols mean, T/U, S/W, IND, etc., at the top of the log. The Rooks has quite a history. In February and March 1945, the USS Rooks was in the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the most vicious battles of the Pacific. In September 1945, it took on board ninety-two Allied prisoners of war, mostly British, at Nagasaki, Japan. I found it interesting. Scroll down until you find the dates when Durward was aboard, between March 8, 1952 and November 11, 1953 when he left the ship for Port Lyautey Naval Air Station, French Morocco.
From March to September 1952, Durward hung around the East Coast, making port calls at Rockland, Maine, Newport, Rhode Island, and Portsmouth, Virginia and a trip south to Guantanamo Bay and Santiago, Cuba and Puerto Rica. Santiago is now under Castro control and we cannot visit it. By September 11, 1952, he was passing through the Panama Canal to San Diego, Hawaii, Midway Island and Sasebo, Japan and was patrolling off the east coast of North Korea by October 13 with Task Force 77. The strangest log entries in Durward's North Korean day are the entries from November 30 to December 10, 1952, "off of Wonsan Harbor, North Korea 'Tin Pan Alley'." The term, Tin Pan Alley, was around long before the Korean War, and my search suggests that the term meant a certain style tinny sounding music or musical instruments with a tin-like quality sound, such as old pianos and phonograph players. Wanson Harbor is near the northern border of North Korea where China, Siberia and North Korea meet and it is the same harbor where the USS Pueblo was captured in my day. It was a primary shipping harbor for North Korea. If they called it "Tin Pan Alley," I can only assume they meant the Tin Pan ships that supplied North Korea. Perhaps they sunk a few of them. Perhaps it was a turkey-shoot. I have no doubts that Durward saw a little action, first hand, around that harbor.
Perhaps the Rooks was hit or damaged in some way while patrolling off North Korea. It spent December 31, 1952 through January 6, 1953 in drydock #1 in Sasebo, Japan. The only reason a ship is placed in drydock is to repair hull damage, usually below the water line. I also found it odd that Sasebo would have a functional drydock and repair facilities so soon after the war. Sasebo is only a few miles north of Nagasaki that was totally destroyed by the atomic bomb and Sasebo itself was the target of some very intensive bombing. Even in my day, fifteen years later, Sasebo had not been restored to a major naval port, let alone a repair port. But, the U.S. Navy did miraculous things in building what it needed at the time. The Navy Seabees could, and still can, construct anything in a matter of days. I wonder whether Durward saw Nagasaki in those days? He would have had time to do that although the radiation may have been too hot to visit there.
He visited Yokosuka, Japan and no doubt paid tribute to Honcho Street, the "Boss" Street, the street of night clubs. In his day, Honcho Street would have been the only place that he could unwind after long days at sea. He spent five days in Yokosuka. I guess it would be nice to think that Durward was a saint and spend all of his time on base. There likely was an Enlisted Club on base, and he could have spent all of his time there, but I doubt it. The shops, night clubs and sights of Honcho Street lures everyone. Durward could not have had a beer at the Rendezvous Room, however, because he was much too early for that. The Rendezvous Room was in the Enlisted Club at the end of Honcho Street built in the late 1950s, about six years before I arrived in Yokosuka. The club was built outside of the base intentionally, to keep as many of us off the street as possible. It did the job. It was a hopping place and all sailors usually went there. The beer was cheap, the food was good and the dancing lasted until 11:00 pm, Monday through Thursday, and 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights. But, as all sailor towns, Yokosuka was a rough place and the Rendezvous Room was too. Subic Bay was worse, however.
Surprisingly, after three days at Yokosuka, the Rooks went to Atami, Japan. I know exactly what Durward saw in Atami. He couldn't have missed it! There are shrines and temples to this particular ancient cult worship all over the city. He would have been shocked and amused and he and his buddies would have had plenty to joke and laugh about for days, maybe weeks. Atami was a resort in my day with hotels with hot spring pools in which one bathed naked while, of course, modestly keeping one's body up to one's neck under water and each gender entering the pool from their own hidden dressing room. We were, nevertheless, naked under water. The city's biggest attraction, however, and it shocked me during my visit there, was (get ready for this!) its annual "Penis Festival," a fertility festival carried over from ancient days gone by. There are penis shrines, fully erect, all over the place and temples with table after table filled with all shapes and sizes and made of plaster of Paris, carved wood, molded metal and carved stone penises. It's not difficult to imagine Durward's reddened, freckled face with the "what the hell is going on" look on it.
The Royal British Navy was in the conflict as well. On February 6, the Rooks escorted the HMS (His/Her Majesty's Ship) Wave Prince, an oiler, to Sasebo, and that was her last duty around North Korea. In mid February 1953, the Rooks was in Subic Bay, Philippines and then to Singapore, a British Crown Colony then, Ceylon, Bombay, India, Bahrein in the Persian Gulf, Aden, Arabia, the Suez Canal and Port Said, Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea by March 20, 1953. Whew! He had quite a trip! Of course, Britain no longer has Crown Colonies, Bombay is now Mumbai and Arabia is now Saudi Arabia. Things have changed.
From the Rooks, Durward was transferred to Port Lyautey Naval Air Station, French Morocco, which is no longer French. I've always thought, based on something I heard or imagined, that he was at some lonely outpost in Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, sort of Embassy Duty that a fortunate few are assigned. That's not true. Again, we have the Internet to thank for a peek at what duty at Port Lyautey might have been like in the form of a Squadron Scrapbook. Click the "Next Page" until the pictures end to see them all. And, with the French Army around, or its Foreign Legion, there would have been plenty entertainment. It looks like a nice, peaceful and fun base to spend his last two years in the Navy.
Dave
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Why Do They Come?
I've been trying for several months to form the bits and pieces of a few immigrants' personal stories that I know into a suitable and comprehensible narrative. I don't want to insult them or criticize them nor expose their identities. I have a deep respect for all of the immigrants I personally know and for the small part of their stories that I know. I count all of them among my good friends. But, why did they come to America?
I suspect that what they think of America now, and what they thought of America before they came has changed. I suspect that America is not quite what they thought it was. On Friday, ABC World News ended it's week in China and the image of China that ABC presented was very impressive. High speed, 250 miles per hour Bullet Trains with nearly 6,000 miles of track to major cities in China from border to border, modern buildings that are constructed at astonishing speed, modern highways with more miles added daily, its break-neck pace developing pollution-free vehicles for a billion people and on and on. But, the thing that impressed me most were the opinions of the Chinese, from the grade-school students of ten or eleven years old to the adults, about America and what their hopes were for America and China. They thought America was "technologically advanced," "a great country," "greater than China," "more advanced than China," and a "rich country." They hoped "China and America could be friends," that "we could work together," and more similar expressions. These are the reasons they come and the dreams they have, but, it's more complicated than that.
Before your mind wanders to the things we should fear of China, both imagined and real, know that this story isn't about China or our fears. So, drop it. I can write about that some other time. In fact, this story isn't about China; it's about dreams and, of course, courage. If you haven't thought of it, however, please notice the huge disparity between what the Chinese think and the reality. We don't have 6,000 miles of high-speed rail track or a single high-speed train. In fact, we don't have one mile of high-speed track. We can't build new modern buildings in a few weeks. We're not nearly prepared to provide pollution-free vehicles to a billion people. We don't have an education system that provides college degrees to more people than there are jobs. We are ranked below China and about thirty-five other countries in critical education subjects. In fact and in reality, America is a completely different country than the image in the Chinese minds. Can we say that any of those opinions we heard are true or accurate? No.
Yet, that's the image of America, not only in China, but also for the majority of people in Europe, Africa, India, Mexico and most parts of the world. I suspect that the people of the Middle-East, the Muslim countries, on the whole, have a different image because we've shown a side of America to them that the rest of the world hasn't experienced, except perhaps Vietnam. To those, we've shown war, fear and destruction for the most part, overwhelming an image of generosity, friendship, scientific achievement and knowledge. In those countries our army does the talking and a louder voice, a more familiar voice to those who live there, comes from their culture, our foes and, in some cases, our fickle diplomatic friends such as Karzai. There are only a few who hold a good opinion of America in the Middle-East.
But, they come in spite of the huge obstacles that face them; fear, I believe, being the first obstacle. Imagine leaving your home country, where all of the things are familiar, your parents, all of your friends and perhaps, for a short period, your wife or husband to strike out in to a completely unknown country based solely on an image and a dream. I find that mind boggling. Well, I left home too, and I lived in Japan for a total of twelve years among its citizens, but I wasn't far from my safety net, the U.S. Navy. So, it's not the same. Take the typical path an immigrant from India has to take. First, an A-1 college education is critical, usually in a science and highly technical, that they obtain in India where colleges provide an education just as good if not better than ours. Second is to connect with a U.S. contractor who will "sponsor" the immigrant's H-1 visa application, guaranteeing employment, usually at such low wages that the person cannot bring a spouse. These contract jobs are located in low-income areas of the states; i.e., Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky or Mississippi. It costs less to live, yet his wages are still too low to bring his wife. He lives in the cheapest studio apartment he can find. Meanwhile, the wife waits at her parent's home, under financial duress, without enough money for more than one 15-minute phone call a month. The contract work lasts around three years at which time the immigrant is "released" from his contract obligation and "allowed" to find another job if he so desires. Finally, he finds a better paying job that pays a salary comparable to an American worker in his field. He saves. He finally sends for his wife, and later his and/or her parents, if they want. They can also begin having children, growing a family because they can finally afford it. The wife is just as educated as the husband. Both work at jobs that pay good salaries. It's only a matter of time and saving before they have their own home and living, finally, reasonably well.
I know several Indian immigrants whose stories are probably similar to the story above. They come in all shapes and sizes with various beliefs and cultural influence, and have various temperament and personalities, but one thing is true of all of them; they are brilliant at what they do. And, they are all generous, kind, friendly and have a love of life and a work ethics that puts many of us to shame. I'm always reminded of the Intel commercial in which the Indian Electrical Engineer, the "Father of the Pentium" Intel processor, walks through a room crowded with his fans and the narrator says, "Our rock stars are not like your rock stars." I guess you could look at only the commercial aspect of the ad, but think about the contribution he made to America and world. When I think about the contribution to America that all of my Indian immigrant friends have made I think of these: I couldn't get a prescription at Kaiser as fast it now takes, only minutes, if a husband of a friend had not designed Kaiser's Pharmaceutical system to be that fast. I couldn't make a safe bank transaction or stock transaction or send an instant email over the Internet at lightning speed if a friend of my friend had not engineered a Cisco router to handle gigabytes of data in nano-seconds. I couldn't use a high speed 4 gigahertz computer if that Indian Electrical Engineer had not designed that Pentium processor. Last, but not least, I would never have learned as much about software programming and the mysteries behind computer systems and processes had it not been for these brilliant immigrants. It's been an interesting magical mystery tour.
You and I have likely used or touched a software application or website or made an Internet transaction that my friends created. We are not so far removed from one another. They are probably Hindu, not Christian. They may be Buddhist or perhaps Muslim. But, I haven't noticed any significant difference in values. I know for a fact they are not extremists or terrorists. And, in spite of the differences between that dream they may have once had and the reality of America, they still love America. I'm glad they came.
Then there is a different circumstance for a young Irishman who, at the age of twenty-one in 1993, decided to visit America with three friends after they graduated from a Dublin university. It was intended to be just a summer visit, not a lifetime. But, I wonder whether he already knew or hoped that he would stay longer than the summer. There is a clue, later, that suggests that he did not intend to return to Ireland. There is also evidence that he kept his plans secret from his parents. The plan, they said, was to go to Kansas City, because it was the center of the country. Imagine that! Of all of the places a group of Irish students would choose, I would never have thought Kansas City would be one of them.
But, he (who I will call Mike - not his real name) and one other came first to New York, the other two to come a week later after they graduated. Mike and his friend attended a week-long "indoctrination" at Columbia University and found themselves at the street curb outside the university, one inside the cab and Mike seconds away from getting in it, when they suddenly had a moment of indecision. One said suddenly, "I'm going to Boston. That's where all Irish go. That's where we can find Irish friends." I can imagine that he was afraid of the unknown and wanted familiar people around him. But, Mike promised. Kansas City was where they were supposed to meet. What would the two following think? Mike closed the cab door and it drove away toward Grand Central Station and a train to Boston. Mike took a second cab to LaGaurdia Airport for a flight to Kansas City and into the unknown. After all, he promised.
All that Mike knew at that point was that he might, I say "might," be able to stay with friend of a friend for a few nights, perhaps long enough to get more permanent lodging. The plane landed in Kansas City and Mike called the friend, once removed, cold-turkey and asked him if he could stay a few nights. Imagine getting a phone call from a guy you didn't know from Adam wanting to use your spare bedroom for a few nights! What gall! What audacity! What absurdity! What courage! They gave him a place to sleep for a few days.
Mike found other lodging, his two friends arrived, he met a local Irishman who apparently ran a small organization that helped new Irish immigrants find their way around Kansas City, he found a job busing or waiting on tables in a restaurant around the river-front area and, to take the edge off of his loneliness and natural needs, he hooked up. That is probably a good, concise summary of his summer in Kansas City. It probably wasn't easy, but it was likely fun. Kansas City's river-front district is a lively place, an area around 8th and 12th Streets and Grand and Baltimore Boulevards, similar in some ways to San Antonio's river-side restaurants and bars. A place where a young and active person could have fun. I suspect he had a few extra dollars, but not much. He would have been conservative, I believe. The surprising clue to his intent, that I learned at this point in his story, was that "my working visa was approved" he said. A working visa?
He returned to Ireland to get his new visa and then came back to Kansas City. At this point, there is no doubt that Mike intended to leave Ireland. I've heard a number of hints over the years that indicate how his decision was made. One time he said, "I just up and left. I told my parents we were on a 'guided tour'," or words to that effect. Another time, more recently, after marriage and as a father of two young sons, he said something like, "can you imagine just up and leaving like that? I hope my children don't do that!" Age, responsibility, love changes a person's perspective. He now understands the impact of his youthful impulsiveness on his parents.
I can't help but think about what, if anything, pushed him toward leaving his home country and the safety and familiarity of his youth to come to a new country. Was it the dream-like image of a great, technically superior, Silicone Valley America, the conditions in Ireland, the urge for adventure, the Protestant-Catholic violence in Ireland, or an unexplainable combination of things? He had no employer sponsor. He had few friends and contacts. He was essentially alone.
It wasn't long before Mike left Kansas City with his girlfriend and they made their way to Tahoe, Nevada. In Tahoe, he got a job at a casino hotel at the check-in/out, reception counter. I probably saw him there! Back in those days, I regularly went to Tahoe four or five times a year. But, if I had known him then, I would have been able to tell you that being a hotel concierge was not Mike's cup of tea, and, in Tahoe, there's not much opportunity for anything else. It didn't take long before Mike, restless and disenchanted with Tahoe, was on the move again, this time to Reno, where he finally landed a job more suitable to his education, although only barely, which I understand to be sort of a dispatcher-computer operator-trouble shooter-clerk/analyst for a trucking company or a delivery company, a one-man shop. I'm sure he had doubts and fears too. I understand that during his Tahoe-Reno period, he found himself alone on a bus returning to Kansas City only to turn around and return to Tahoe. Maybe there was a disagreement in his relationship. Maybe frustration in the moment, of losing sight of a future of better times, or simply homesickness, that caused moments of doubt. If you've ever been away from home, alone in an unknown place, then you know the feeling.
Whatever the case, Mike eventually severed his personal relationship and sometime later met his future wife in Reno. But, Reno too is a casino town, not a center of business. There was not an opportunity to grow in Reno, at least not enough to suit Mike. He move to San Francisco. I can hear him tell it, "just up and moved." I was surprised to learn that he moved before he had a job. Personally, I've never tried moving before I had a job in the vicinity I was moving to. I don't have that much faith. But, Mike did and soon he had a software engineer job in the area noted for software development, the Silicone Valley and surrounding cities. Every business in the Bay Area was in the "dot-com" business in the 1990s. It was a booming business with boom-town like qualities. Ironically, in a year or so, Mike's next job was with a software company based out of the Puget Sound/Seattle area as a Bay Area software systems/installation consultant. Once in his field of study, he advanced from simple programming to installing and customizing complete customer relations systems for an entire company. That's a big jump.
It wasn't long when one of his client companies noticed him and offered him a supervisory job on the spot. It was inevitable. And, in a few years, and about twelve years after leaving his Irish home, Mike moved into a near office as department director, a position held by his predecessor as a Vice President position. I've never understood why the position was downgraded, but Mike will go on to company vice president and president positions, or perhaps his own company, if he wants that. Meanwhile, he has a lovely family, two homes and a great future. It seems to me, even though the truth is likely a lot different than the dream he had, that it was all worth it. And, Mike too has contributed to America. You may be using or touching his systems, his changes and the results of his efforts when you buy from or contact or deal with companies. I hope that those companies serve you better because of Mike's efforts. He was excited and proud the day he went for his naturalization exam and oath. He was excited when he returned, "I did it!" he said. Well, of course he did it. What else would I have expected! I was happy for him.
You might say that these immigrants are different. They're highly educated and needed and they are documented. Well, that's true. But the dream is the same, the image is the same and the courage is the same. I'm reminded of Jose who takes care of my lawn twice a month. He's been here for a long time and probably gained his citizenship through President Reagan's amnesty program. His son, a citizen by birth, is a store owner in Hayward and and a graduate of California Hayward University. He provides jobs, supports the Hayward economy and pays state and federal taxes.
So, I suppose we can be hurtful, hateful, afraid and prejudiced, but it is our loss. We need enlightened immigration laws. This is a great country, made all the greater because they come.
Dave
I suspect that what they think of America now, and what they thought of America before they came has changed. I suspect that America is not quite what they thought it was. On Friday, ABC World News ended it's week in China and the image of China that ABC presented was very impressive. High speed, 250 miles per hour Bullet Trains with nearly 6,000 miles of track to major cities in China from border to border, modern buildings that are constructed at astonishing speed, modern highways with more miles added daily, its break-neck pace developing pollution-free vehicles for a billion people and on and on. But, the thing that impressed me most were the opinions of the Chinese, from the grade-school students of ten or eleven years old to the adults, about America and what their hopes were for America and China. They thought America was "technologically advanced," "a great country," "greater than China," "more advanced than China," and a "rich country." They hoped "China and America could be friends," that "we could work together," and more similar expressions. These are the reasons they come and the dreams they have, but, it's more complicated than that.
Before your mind wanders to the things we should fear of China, both imagined and real, know that this story isn't about China or our fears. So, drop it. I can write about that some other time. In fact, this story isn't about China; it's about dreams and, of course, courage. If you haven't thought of it, however, please notice the huge disparity between what the Chinese think and the reality. We don't have 6,000 miles of high-speed rail track or a single high-speed train. In fact, we don't have one mile of high-speed track. We can't build new modern buildings in a few weeks. We're not nearly prepared to provide pollution-free vehicles to a billion people. We don't have an education system that provides college degrees to more people than there are jobs. We are ranked below China and about thirty-five other countries in critical education subjects. In fact and in reality, America is a completely different country than the image in the Chinese minds. Can we say that any of those opinions we heard are true or accurate? No.
Yet, that's the image of America, not only in China, but also for the majority of people in Europe, Africa, India, Mexico and most parts of the world. I suspect that the people of the Middle-East, the Muslim countries, on the whole, have a different image because we've shown a side of America to them that the rest of the world hasn't experienced, except perhaps Vietnam. To those, we've shown war, fear and destruction for the most part, overwhelming an image of generosity, friendship, scientific achievement and knowledge. In those countries our army does the talking and a louder voice, a more familiar voice to those who live there, comes from their culture, our foes and, in some cases, our fickle diplomatic friends such as Karzai. There are only a few who hold a good opinion of America in the Middle-East.
But, they come in spite of the huge obstacles that face them; fear, I believe, being the first obstacle. Imagine leaving your home country, where all of the things are familiar, your parents, all of your friends and perhaps, for a short period, your wife or husband to strike out in to a completely unknown country based solely on an image and a dream. I find that mind boggling. Well, I left home too, and I lived in Japan for a total of twelve years among its citizens, but I wasn't far from my safety net, the U.S. Navy. So, it's not the same. Take the typical path an immigrant from India has to take. First, an A-1 college education is critical, usually in a science and highly technical, that they obtain in India where colleges provide an education just as good if not better than ours. Second is to connect with a U.S. contractor who will "sponsor" the immigrant's H-1 visa application, guaranteeing employment, usually at such low wages that the person cannot bring a spouse. These contract jobs are located in low-income areas of the states; i.e., Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky or Mississippi. It costs less to live, yet his wages are still too low to bring his wife. He lives in the cheapest studio apartment he can find. Meanwhile, the wife waits at her parent's home, under financial duress, without enough money for more than one 15-minute phone call a month. The contract work lasts around three years at which time the immigrant is "released" from his contract obligation and "allowed" to find another job if he so desires. Finally, he finds a better paying job that pays a salary comparable to an American worker in his field. He saves. He finally sends for his wife, and later his and/or her parents, if they want. They can also begin having children, growing a family because they can finally afford it. The wife is just as educated as the husband. Both work at jobs that pay good salaries. It's only a matter of time and saving before they have their own home and living, finally, reasonably well.
I know several Indian immigrants whose stories are probably similar to the story above. They come in all shapes and sizes with various beliefs and cultural influence, and have various temperament and personalities, but one thing is true of all of them; they are brilliant at what they do. And, they are all generous, kind, friendly and have a love of life and a work ethics that puts many of us to shame. I'm always reminded of the Intel commercial in which the Indian Electrical Engineer, the "Father of the Pentium" Intel processor, walks through a room crowded with his fans and the narrator says, "Our rock stars are not like your rock stars." I guess you could look at only the commercial aspect of the ad, but think about the contribution he made to America and world. When I think about the contribution to America that all of my Indian immigrant friends have made I think of these: I couldn't get a prescription at Kaiser as fast it now takes, only minutes, if a husband of a friend had not designed Kaiser's Pharmaceutical system to be that fast. I couldn't make a safe bank transaction or stock transaction or send an instant email over the Internet at lightning speed if a friend of my friend had not engineered a Cisco router to handle gigabytes of data in nano-seconds. I couldn't use a high speed 4 gigahertz computer if that Indian Electrical Engineer had not designed that Pentium processor. Last, but not least, I would never have learned as much about software programming and the mysteries behind computer systems and processes had it not been for these brilliant immigrants. It's been an interesting magical mystery tour.
You and I have likely used or touched a software application or website or made an Internet transaction that my friends created. We are not so far removed from one another. They are probably Hindu, not Christian. They may be Buddhist or perhaps Muslim. But, I haven't noticed any significant difference in values. I know for a fact they are not extremists or terrorists. And, in spite of the differences between that dream they may have once had and the reality of America, they still love America. I'm glad they came.
Then there is a different circumstance for a young Irishman who, at the age of twenty-one in 1993, decided to visit America with three friends after they graduated from a Dublin university. It was intended to be just a summer visit, not a lifetime. But, I wonder whether he already knew or hoped that he would stay longer than the summer. There is a clue, later, that suggests that he did not intend to return to Ireland. There is also evidence that he kept his plans secret from his parents. The plan, they said, was to go to Kansas City, because it was the center of the country. Imagine that! Of all of the places a group of Irish students would choose, I would never have thought Kansas City would be one of them.
But, he (who I will call Mike - not his real name) and one other came first to New York, the other two to come a week later after they graduated. Mike and his friend attended a week-long "indoctrination" at Columbia University and found themselves at the street curb outside the university, one inside the cab and Mike seconds away from getting in it, when they suddenly had a moment of indecision. One said suddenly, "I'm going to Boston. That's where all Irish go. That's where we can find Irish friends." I can imagine that he was afraid of the unknown and wanted familiar people around him. But, Mike promised. Kansas City was where they were supposed to meet. What would the two following think? Mike closed the cab door and it drove away toward Grand Central Station and a train to Boston. Mike took a second cab to LaGaurdia Airport for a flight to Kansas City and into the unknown. After all, he promised.
All that Mike knew at that point was that he might, I say "might," be able to stay with friend of a friend for a few nights, perhaps long enough to get more permanent lodging. The plane landed in Kansas City and Mike called the friend, once removed, cold-turkey and asked him if he could stay a few nights. Imagine getting a phone call from a guy you didn't know from Adam wanting to use your spare bedroom for a few nights! What gall! What audacity! What absurdity! What courage! They gave him a place to sleep for a few days.
Mike found other lodging, his two friends arrived, he met a local Irishman who apparently ran a small organization that helped new Irish immigrants find their way around Kansas City, he found a job busing or waiting on tables in a restaurant around the river-front area and, to take the edge off of his loneliness and natural needs, he hooked up. That is probably a good, concise summary of his summer in Kansas City. It probably wasn't easy, but it was likely fun. Kansas City's river-front district is a lively place, an area around 8th and 12th Streets and Grand and Baltimore Boulevards, similar in some ways to San Antonio's river-side restaurants and bars. A place where a young and active person could have fun. I suspect he had a few extra dollars, but not much. He would have been conservative, I believe. The surprising clue to his intent, that I learned at this point in his story, was that "my working visa was approved" he said. A working visa?
He returned to Ireland to get his new visa and then came back to Kansas City. At this point, there is no doubt that Mike intended to leave Ireland. I've heard a number of hints over the years that indicate how his decision was made. One time he said, "I just up and left. I told my parents we were on a 'guided tour'," or words to that effect. Another time, more recently, after marriage and as a father of two young sons, he said something like, "can you imagine just up and leaving like that? I hope my children don't do that!" Age, responsibility, love changes a person's perspective. He now understands the impact of his youthful impulsiveness on his parents.
I can't help but think about what, if anything, pushed him toward leaving his home country and the safety and familiarity of his youth to come to a new country. Was it the dream-like image of a great, technically superior, Silicone Valley America, the conditions in Ireland, the urge for adventure, the Protestant-Catholic violence in Ireland, or an unexplainable combination of things? He had no employer sponsor. He had few friends and contacts. He was essentially alone.
It wasn't long before Mike left Kansas City with his girlfriend and they made their way to Tahoe, Nevada. In Tahoe, he got a job at a casino hotel at the check-in/out, reception counter. I probably saw him there! Back in those days, I regularly went to Tahoe four or five times a year. But, if I had known him then, I would have been able to tell you that being a hotel concierge was not Mike's cup of tea, and, in Tahoe, there's not much opportunity for anything else. It didn't take long before Mike, restless and disenchanted with Tahoe, was on the move again, this time to Reno, where he finally landed a job more suitable to his education, although only barely, which I understand to be sort of a dispatcher-computer operator-trouble shooter-clerk/analyst for a trucking company or a delivery company, a one-man shop. I'm sure he had doubts and fears too. I understand that during his Tahoe-Reno period, he found himself alone on a bus returning to Kansas City only to turn around and return to Tahoe. Maybe there was a disagreement in his relationship. Maybe frustration in the moment, of losing sight of a future of better times, or simply homesickness, that caused moments of doubt. If you've ever been away from home, alone in an unknown place, then you know the feeling.
Whatever the case, Mike eventually severed his personal relationship and sometime later met his future wife in Reno. But, Reno too is a casino town, not a center of business. There was not an opportunity to grow in Reno, at least not enough to suit Mike. He move to San Francisco. I can hear him tell it, "just up and moved." I was surprised to learn that he moved before he had a job. Personally, I've never tried moving before I had a job in the vicinity I was moving to. I don't have that much faith. But, Mike did and soon he had a software engineer job in the area noted for software development, the Silicone Valley and surrounding cities. Every business in the Bay Area was in the "dot-com" business in the 1990s. It was a booming business with boom-town like qualities. Ironically, in a year or so, Mike's next job was with a software company based out of the Puget Sound/Seattle area as a Bay Area software systems/installation consultant. Once in his field of study, he advanced from simple programming to installing and customizing complete customer relations systems for an entire company. That's a big jump.
It wasn't long when one of his client companies noticed him and offered him a supervisory job on the spot. It was inevitable. And, in a few years, and about twelve years after leaving his Irish home, Mike moved into a near office as department director, a position held by his predecessor as a Vice President position. I've never understood why the position was downgraded, but Mike will go on to company vice president and president positions, or perhaps his own company, if he wants that. Meanwhile, he has a lovely family, two homes and a great future. It seems to me, even though the truth is likely a lot different than the dream he had, that it was all worth it. And, Mike too has contributed to America. You may be using or touching his systems, his changes and the results of his efforts when you buy from or contact or deal with companies. I hope that those companies serve you better because of Mike's efforts. He was excited and proud the day he went for his naturalization exam and oath. He was excited when he returned, "I did it!" he said. Well, of course he did it. What else would I have expected! I was happy for him.
You might say that these immigrants are different. They're highly educated and needed and they are documented. Well, that's true. But the dream is the same, the image is the same and the courage is the same. I'm reminded of Jose who takes care of my lawn twice a month. He's been here for a long time and probably gained his citizenship through President Reagan's amnesty program. His son, a citizen by birth, is a store owner in Hayward and and a graduate of California Hayward University. He provides jobs, supports the Hayward economy and pays state and federal taxes.
So, I suppose we can be hurtful, hateful, afraid and prejudiced, but it is our loss. We need enlightened immigration laws. This is a great country, made all the greater because they come.
Dave
Friday, November 19, 2010
Mob Opinion Driven Justice Begats Injustice
I guess what keeps me shouting is that I don't hear anything but silence on important issues, except from the Mob. The Mob, it seems, even wants to run our courts. In this case, Ghailani, a terrorist, was convicted of conspiring in one or both of the two simultaneous 1998 American Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Nairobi, Africa. He was convicted in a Federal Court instead of a Military Commission. And, the Mob is upset, as this story, A Terrorist Gets What He Deserves - NYTimes.com, says.
The fact is that a Federal Court has more laws that it can try a person for, such as criminal laws like hijacking, murder to a number of degrees, espionage, subversion, kidnapping, etc., while a Military Commission can only apply laws related to military law, such as treason on the battle field, hostile insurgency, military action against civilians, torture of war prisoners, etc. As a general rule, both the civilian court and military court should conduct court procedures the same. In one case, a civilian jury will decide guilt or innocence and perhaps punishment, and in the other a panel of three, five or seven military officers will act as a jury. In both cases, the intent is to base the trial and innocence or guilt on fact and evidence, not opinion or gut feeling or hyped media noise. In both cases, evidence obtained by coercion, such as by torture, is usually thrown out because there is no valid way of determining whether the evidence is the truth or not. Read the article. It cites other Military Commission cases in which evidence was tossed out because of the non-traditional manner in the way it was obtained, i.e., coercion.
So, why is the Mob upset. It is upset because Ghailani didn't get "the max." The jury did not convict on 284 counts. The jury convicted on only one count; conspiracy. I am much more pleased and assured that justice was served when I hear that a jury used discretion in its convictions than I am when I hear that a jury convicted on everything thrown at it or that a jury agreed totally with all the hype in media venting by some politician, such as Senator McConnell. McConnell wasn't on the jury. He didn't hear the facts and evidence and testimony. He knows nothing. He also, apparently, doesn't trust our legal system. Have to wonder why he is a Senator, one of a hundred that passes our laws.
Everyday we hear of cases where public opinion convicted a suspect and later we hear of scientific evidence, based on updated scientific forensic methods, that proves innocence. Everyday we hear that public opinion, prosecutors, courts and governors who will not acknowledge the new forensic evidence because of some gut-feeling based opinion. I wrote about a Texas case before Governor Perry was reelected in which new, advanced scientific evidence gave every indication that the suspect, Todd Willingham, was innocent. But, the whole town, Willingham's wife, and Governor Perry said, "he's a bad man," so Texas executed him.
I'm also reminded of the California conviction and death sentence of Scott Peterson for murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. That case was plastered on every newscast for weeks and Nancy Grace prosecuted him on her show for no other reason than he was a liar. The trial was held in San Mateo, only twenty miles from my house, and I saw and heard every bit of evidence in the trial every day in minute detail with scurrilous convicting commentary. "He's a liar!" they yelled. "He's an adulterer!" they said. Well, he was all of that, and a foolish, hallucinating idiot to boot because he couldn't keep his mouth shut in spite of his attorney's advice and he concocted the tallest tales. But, a murderer? By the end of the trial, and after all of the evidence was paraded on every newscast, radio and television, the police admitted that there was not one iota of forensic evidence that actually showed that he murdered his wife. Not one drop of blood, not a sign of a fight, not a sign of dismembering his wife as she was found, not one timeline that indicated he might have done it. There was a lot of circumstantial "damning" evidence created by Scott himself, but the only forensic evidence was a single hair found on a pair of pliers in the family boat. His conviction was totally based on "theory." I have doubts to this day whether he really did it. After his trial, there was another pregnant woman found, dismembered as Laci was, in the Bay as Laci was. The second woman's murder never made the news like Laci's did. As far as I know, the second killer was never found, but it was eerily similar to Laci's murder.
I might have been able to justify in my mind that Scott Peterson killed his wife, but I'm not sure I could have been so convinced to vote to put him to death. I was really troubled by public display and mob behavior. Public opinion and Scott's behavior convicted him. But, in spite of Scott's behavior, it wouldn't surprise me if some day we learn through new evidence that he didn't do it.
When the Mob runs our courts, we can't trust our legal system. In fact, we can't trust anything.
Dave
I'm also reminded of the California conviction and death sentence of Scott Peterson for murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. That case was plastered on every newscast for weeks and Nancy Grace prosecuted him on her show for no other reason than he was a liar. The trial was held in San Mateo, only twenty miles from my house, and I saw and heard every bit of evidence in the trial every day in minute detail with scurrilous convicting commentary. "He's a liar!" they yelled. "He's an adulterer!" they said. Well, he was all of that, and a foolish, hallucinating idiot to boot because he couldn't keep his mouth shut in spite of his attorney's advice and he concocted the tallest tales. But, a murderer? By the end of the trial, and after all of the evidence was paraded on every newscast, radio and television, the police admitted that there was not one iota of forensic evidence that actually showed that he murdered his wife. Not one drop of blood, not a sign of a fight, not a sign of dismembering his wife as she was found, not one timeline that indicated he might have done it. There was a lot of circumstantial "damning" evidence created by Scott himself, but the only forensic evidence was a single hair found on a pair of pliers in the family boat. His conviction was totally based on "theory." I have doubts to this day whether he really did it. After his trial, there was another pregnant woman found, dismembered as Laci was, in the Bay as Laci was. The second woman's murder never made the news like Laci's did. As far as I know, the second killer was never found, but it was eerily similar to Laci's murder.
I might have been able to justify in my mind that Scott Peterson killed his wife, but I'm not sure I could have been so convinced to vote to put him to death. I was really troubled by public display and mob behavior. Public opinion and Scott's behavior convicted him. But, in spite of Scott's behavior, it wouldn't surprise me if some day we learn through new evidence that he didn't do it.
When the Mob runs our courts, we can't trust our legal system. In fact, we can't trust anything.
Dave
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Some People Will Believe Anything - A False Witness Even on a Nice Day
I usually wake up early and listen to the usual suspects on the radio to get the daily blather while I go through the New York Times and Washington Post headlines. Funny thing this morning - the radio was playing Christmas music, and I love Christmas music. Well, I thought, the usual host must be taking the day off, so I let it pass and enjoyed the music. But, when 5:00 A.M. passed and the music didn't turn into the morning news, it got my attention so I listened closer to learn what station I was listening to. Someone, apparently, changed the station to KOIT (Kay-Oh-Eye-Tee, as it says, RADIO - you have to sing it). KOIT always starts playing Christmas music in November and I usually listen to it, so I left the station tuned to KOIT. It's a nice way to start the day.
That didn't stop me from thinking, however, about yesterday's Ronn Owens KGO Talk Show. Owens is easy to figure out. Track any Republican talking point, no matter how outrageously delusional it is, from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Right-Wing blogger or any Fox News personality and it will eventually make it to The Ronn Owens show, and Owens usually takes the Right Wingnut side. Owens is a neo-con, a so-called "New Conservative." He's a Leo Strauss guy, the political philosopher, in that it is okay to voluntarily "fabricate a myth and an illusion (or delusion)" to attain the desired results. In other words, it's just fine to lie, distort the truth or create a myth to get what you want. It is also okay to accept a lie as part of an argument about any issue. Like Strauss says, "it is human nature to accept and choose, and in fact desire, a myth or untruth over the hard facts of the truth," or words to that effect. We can't face the truth, Strauss says, and we like it that way. Strauss' conclusions came, he claims, from reading all the great philosophers from Socrates to Locke.
Well, I'm no philosopher and I don't claim to be, but I can read and understand English and I can usually think through the things I read, hear and observe enough to come to a reasonable conclusion. So, I have to ask: How can anyone make a good decision about anything if they are not willing to learn the factual truth, or as much as they possibly can about the truth? But, in today's world, I am apparently wrong. I don't remember a time when so many people are so willing to believe and pass on distortion of facts, outright lies, rumor and innuendo. I have to wonder what happened to that old Golden Rule about not being a "False Witness." It's forgotten, I guess.
The truth is that I can't stand Owens' show because of his willingness to distort the truth and to continue myth. He is a false witness. I listen until I have to get up from the chair and turn him off, usually long enough to tell what the morning subjects are, where his conversation is going in his first hour and what his point of view is. Long enough to hear that what he has to say is the usual rubbish. But, yesterday, I listened a little longer because I found the position he took intriguing. I thought, until yesterday, that Owens knew his own political philosophy, that he identified himself as Right-Wing, a neo-con and a wingnut. But, after yesterday's show, I don't think he knows. He is just as deluded by his own blather as most Right-Wingnuts are and he thinks he's a moderate and he's gaming his listeners. His sole agenda is to be controversial, to compete with those other Right-Wing talk-show hosts for the sole purpose of gaining listeners, to improve his ratings. He's a con-artist and it's probably intentional KGO policy. He may not have an honest personal opinion about anything and he's not interested in the truth.
Yesterday's show was about Obama spending $200 million a day on his Asian trip. $200 million a day? Any normal person who has a brain should know from the outset that a statement like that is hogwash. But, the Drudge Report, the usual suspect, picked it up from some "anonymous" source in India and Minnesota's Congresswoman Michele Nutcake Bachmann repeated it on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Cooper checked into it and debunked it the next day and Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist, patted Cooper on the back for debunking the myth. Actually, I'd like to see more lie debunking by the mainstream media, but didn't we know that it was hogwash when we heard it? Do we actually believe that it cost $200 million a day for a Presidential trip? The story said that thirty-four U.S. warships were "standing off the coast of India" to protect the President. Are you kidding? I spent twenty years in the Navy and not once did we EVER send a single ship to protect a President, and they visited areas where we were close enough to do that. The FACT IS, our admiral would have laughed in the President's face if he got a request like that. THE NAVY'S MISSION IS NOT TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT - IT IS TO PROTECT AMERICA!! In fact, a Pentagon spokesman said just that, "it's laughable." The Secret Service protects the President.
The story had other, just as outrageous, lies; such as 800 hotel rooms booked for the entourage in hotels that only had 200 or so rooms, nearly an entire air force following in tow, and other such innuendo to disparage Obama. Owens asked, "Where does this stuff come from?" acting incredulous. "This comes from the Right Wing," he said, as if the "Right Wing" wasn't his wing. He seemed genuinely unaware of what Fox News, Drudge, Limbaugh say on a daily basis, even when he eventually, in a few days or a week, picks up on the same subjects and the same points of views they discuss and spews it from his show. The "Muslim Mosque" that he was "sensitive to" and against and he completely ignored the Constitution, the "Koran book burning" "that he understood," the "two Presidents" that he thought "might work," "the British compulsory work plan for the lazy unemployed" he "supported" and the Sarah Palin "Presidency" that he thinks "might work" are all Right-Wing sponsored rubbish. I'm sure that he'll say, "I didn't say that" or "that's not the impression I gave," but he did. He pretends to be moderate, "looking at both sides of an issue," while he spreads the Right-Wing propaganda to his legions with a "soft touch." Of course all the while he's claiming "freedom of speech" for anything and everything he says. It's ironic that we've distorted the concept of freedom of speech so much that it now includes our right to knowingly and willingly lie.
I heard the $200 million a day story two weeks ago. I wrote a blog post about it on November 5th. I'm surprised that Owens picked up on it so late or that he picked up on it at all. Well, he reads the New York Times, so he picked it up. It's controversial, so he picked it up. And, since Anderson Cooper debunked it, Owens had no choice except to agree with Cooper. I wonder what train of thought he would have pursued if Cooper hadn't led the way to the truth to start with. But, Owens is not alone. It is a trendy thing to spread untrue hype, especially by email. I've managed to stop many of those rumor and innuendo, disparaging stories of false witness from reaching me by sending them back to the sender with links or references to where the sender can find the truth. I find it curious that those emails stop coming when the lie is debunked. That's not to say, however, that the person stops sending them to other people. I've noticed that those people that I once received those emails from are still sending them to other people, but not to me. Isn't that highly irrational? You'd think that once a viral email is debunked and the truth laid bare, that that simple fact would cause a person to pause before sending it on to others.
I also find it curious on who sends those emails. These are seemingly intelligent, educated people in positions of responsibility; teachers, lawyers, judges, doctors, investigative reporters. The last email disparaging President Obama I received, only a few weeks ago, was about "Subject: REAL ESTATE SALES TAX TO GO INTO EFFECT 2013 (Part of HC Bill) -- Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That’s $3,800 on a $100,000 home etc. When did this happen? It’s in the healthcare bill. Just thought you should know..." Actually, the truth is entirely different, and it can be found here. I sent the email back to everyone it went to, including the teacher who sent it to the person who sent it to me. I debunked the myth in my return email. And, of course, the other part of the healthcare bill story is that it wasn't Obama that wrote the health bill anyway. It was Congress, and if you're really interested in how the insurance industry manipulated the Senate process and the Senators who sold us out, here is the Frontline report on how Obama was backed into a corner on the healthcare bill. The story is called "Obama's Deal," but what I noticed is how much he didn't like the medicine that he was forced to take. It should piss you off at the corrupt Senators who sold out and the insurance companies who bribed them, not Obama.
The funny thing is that I haven't received an email from "that" person since. I did receive another from the "teacher," showing a small boy with a t-shirt that read "The mess in my pants is nothing compared to the mess the Democrats will make in this country if they win Nov. 2." That's funny... and delusional. The facts are that there is overwhelming evidence that Reagan's Supply-Side, voodoo, free market economic ideology led the way to our financial destruction by what our so-called leaders, including President Reagan who started the ball rolling, have been doing for the past 40 years. And, there appear to be only a few in Congress and government who understand the true cause, including President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Barney Frank and Senators Carl Levin and Christopher Dodd, yet these are among the most hated people in the United States; hated because of hyped Right-Wing propaganda. Hated because of Ronn Owens and the wingnuts he follows and their nonsense he spreads. Republicans, as a whole, are more than willing to exploit ignorance of the masses, as is Owens. And, Republicans, as a whole, believe in the ideology, from A to Z, that got us into the mess we're in.
Another, and equally surprising point is that here we have a teacher, teaching our kids at his high school, who sends these lies to everyone when he hasn't a clue about the historical facts of the recession or the truth of allegations he sends in emails. Rather than find and spread the truth, which we might expect from a teacher, he would rather be a false witness. How's that for a teacher? It troubles me. Does it trouble you? I'm not surprised that our children continue to be more ignorant as each year passes in spite of paying more for education. I'm not surprised that the Tea Party leaders were able to exploit the ignorant in this country. It has been happening for years. They don't know any better. And, it is obvious that for the teacher, and those who are mislead, further self-education has stopped, perhaps on graduating from high school or college. Even recreational reading has stopped, apparently, otherwise, it is logical to assume that people at least would educate themselves on current events and would know better. In that regard, Fox News keeps them misinformed.
The scary thing is that we could very easily end up with President Sarah Palin, who said yesterday that she believes she can defeat President Obama. The fact that we had two terms of President Bush is proof enough that voters in this country can be misled over and over again. We too easily believe hype and lies and we elect those who tell them. Before we get to Palin's run for President, I'd like to see Britain's law passed in our country; if you lie to get elected, then you get kicked out immediately. But then, we wouldn't have a single person in office if we did that!
I guess if I had to make up a Christmas list, these items would be on it.
1. If you're going to vote, please, please learn about the person you're voting for. It's not about the person. It's about his or her ideology. Please don't vote for the same ideology that nearly destroyed us. You won't get anything you're voting for if you put those people in power.
2. If you're going to send me an email, make sure you're an honest witness to the truth. Do the research and tell the truth. Don't be a false witness or you will get the email back debunked to the best of my ability.
3. Be honest enough to tell the truth to those who send you distorted truth or lies the truth. Debunk the lies yourself and send them back to sender.
4. Be honest with yourself. If you're following the Right-Wing hype, find out if they're telling you the truth. Research their claims. Figure out, the bottom line, about why you are following it.
5. Read a book or see a documentary that gives a good account of how and why we came to be in the condition we're in, for example, All the Devils are Here
, is about the economic collapse and who caused it. The Documentary "Inside Job
" is also about the mega-bank crash, who did what, and is also good reporting. Learn about the wars we're in, and what's right and wrong about them and what the obstacles are.
And, on a personal note:
6. Don't buy me "stuff." My closet, drawers, bed-side table, bed-side chair, desk, garage and utility closet are full. I have no place to put the stuff you buy, not even space for a Christmas card. Send me a "Merry Christmas" email or text or call instead.
7. Use the time you were going to spend on shopping for me to take a nap - on me. You'll be refreshed.
8. Use the money you planned for my gift to buy yourself something, like a dinner for two - on me.
9. Have a Merry Christmas. Listen to some Christmas music.
Dave
That didn't stop me from thinking, however, about yesterday's Ronn Owens KGO Talk Show. Owens is easy to figure out. Track any Republican talking point, no matter how outrageously delusional it is, from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Right-Wing blogger or any Fox News personality and it will eventually make it to The Ronn Owens show, and Owens usually takes the Right Wingnut side. Owens is a neo-con, a so-called "New Conservative." He's a Leo Strauss guy, the political philosopher, in that it is okay to voluntarily "fabricate a myth and an illusion (or delusion)" to attain the desired results. In other words, it's just fine to lie, distort the truth or create a myth to get what you want. It is also okay to accept a lie as part of an argument about any issue. Like Strauss says, "it is human nature to accept and choose, and in fact desire, a myth or untruth over the hard facts of the truth," or words to that effect. We can't face the truth, Strauss says, and we like it that way. Strauss' conclusions came, he claims, from reading all the great philosophers from Socrates to Locke.
Well, I'm no philosopher and I don't claim to be, but I can read and understand English and I can usually think through the things I read, hear and observe enough to come to a reasonable conclusion. So, I have to ask: How can anyone make a good decision about anything if they are not willing to learn the factual truth, or as much as they possibly can about the truth? But, in today's world, I am apparently wrong. I don't remember a time when so many people are so willing to believe and pass on distortion of facts, outright lies, rumor and innuendo. I have to wonder what happened to that old Golden Rule about not being a "False Witness." It's forgotten, I guess.
The truth is that I can't stand Owens' show because of his willingness to distort the truth and to continue myth. He is a false witness. I listen until I have to get up from the chair and turn him off, usually long enough to tell what the morning subjects are, where his conversation is going in his first hour and what his point of view is. Long enough to hear that what he has to say is the usual rubbish. But, yesterday, I listened a little longer because I found the position he took intriguing. I thought, until yesterday, that Owens knew his own political philosophy, that he identified himself as Right-Wing, a neo-con and a wingnut. But, after yesterday's show, I don't think he knows. He is just as deluded by his own blather as most Right-Wingnuts are and he thinks he's a moderate and he's gaming his listeners. His sole agenda is to be controversial, to compete with those other Right-Wing talk-show hosts for the sole purpose of gaining listeners, to improve his ratings. He's a con-artist and it's probably intentional KGO policy. He may not have an honest personal opinion about anything and he's not interested in the truth.
Yesterday's show was about Obama spending $200 million a day on his Asian trip. $200 million a day? Any normal person who has a brain should know from the outset that a statement like that is hogwash. But, the Drudge Report, the usual suspect, picked it up from some "anonymous" source in India and Minnesota's Congresswoman Michele Nutcake Bachmann repeated it on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Cooper checked into it and debunked it the next day and Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist, patted Cooper on the back for debunking the myth. Actually, I'd like to see more lie debunking by the mainstream media, but didn't we know that it was hogwash when we heard it? Do we actually believe that it cost $200 million a day for a Presidential trip? The story said that thirty-four U.S. warships were "standing off the coast of India" to protect the President. Are you kidding? I spent twenty years in the Navy and not once did we EVER send a single ship to protect a President, and they visited areas where we were close enough to do that. The FACT IS, our admiral would have laughed in the President's face if he got a request like that. THE NAVY'S MISSION IS NOT TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT - IT IS TO PROTECT AMERICA!! In fact, a Pentagon spokesman said just that, "it's laughable." The Secret Service protects the President.
The story had other, just as outrageous, lies; such as 800 hotel rooms booked for the entourage in hotels that only had 200 or so rooms, nearly an entire air force following in tow, and other such innuendo to disparage Obama. Owens asked, "Where does this stuff come from?" acting incredulous. "This comes from the Right Wing," he said, as if the "Right Wing" wasn't his wing. He seemed genuinely unaware of what Fox News, Drudge, Limbaugh say on a daily basis, even when he eventually, in a few days or a week, picks up on the same subjects and the same points of views they discuss and spews it from his show. The "Muslim Mosque" that he was "sensitive to" and against and he completely ignored the Constitution, the "Koran book burning" "that he understood," the "two Presidents" that he thought "might work," "the British compulsory work plan for the lazy unemployed" he "supported" and the Sarah Palin "Presidency" that he thinks "might work" are all Right-Wing sponsored rubbish. I'm sure that he'll say, "I didn't say that" or "that's not the impression I gave," but he did. He pretends to be moderate, "looking at both sides of an issue," while he spreads the Right-Wing propaganda to his legions with a "soft touch." Of course all the while he's claiming "freedom of speech" for anything and everything he says. It's ironic that we've distorted the concept of freedom of speech so much that it now includes our right to knowingly and willingly lie.
I heard the $200 million a day story two weeks ago. I wrote a blog post about it on November 5th. I'm surprised that Owens picked up on it so late or that he picked up on it at all. Well, he reads the New York Times, so he picked it up. It's controversial, so he picked it up. And, since Anderson Cooper debunked it, Owens had no choice except to agree with Cooper. I wonder what train of thought he would have pursued if Cooper hadn't led the way to the truth to start with. But, Owens is not alone. It is a trendy thing to spread untrue hype, especially by email. I've managed to stop many of those rumor and innuendo, disparaging stories of false witness from reaching me by sending them back to the sender with links or references to where the sender can find the truth. I find it curious that those emails stop coming when the lie is debunked. That's not to say, however, that the person stops sending them to other people. I've noticed that those people that I once received those emails from are still sending them to other people, but not to me. Isn't that highly irrational? You'd think that once a viral email is debunked and the truth laid bare, that that simple fact would cause a person to pause before sending it on to others.
I also find it curious on who sends those emails. These are seemingly intelligent, educated people in positions of responsibility; teachers, lawyers, judges, doctors, investigative reporters. The last email disparaging President Obama I received, only a few weeks ago, was about "Subject: REAL ESTATE SALES TAX TO GO INTO EFFECT 2013 (Part of HC Bill) -- Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That’s $3,800 on a $100,000 home etc. When did this happen? It’s in the healthcare bill. Just thought you should know..." Actually, the truth is entirely different, and it can be found here. I sent the email back to everyone it went to, including the teacher who sent it to the person who sent it to me. I debunked the myth in my return email. And, of course, the other part of the healthcare bill story is that it wasn't Obama that wrote the health bill anyway. It was Congress, and if you're really interested in how the insurance industry manipulated the Senate process and the Senators who sold us out, here is the Frontline report on how Obama was backed into a corner on the healthcare bill. The story is called "Obama's Deal," but what I noticed is how much he didn't like the medicine that he was forced to take. It should piss you off at the corrupt Senators who sold out and the insurance companies who bribed them, not Obama.
The funny thing is that I haven't received an email from "that" person since. I did receive another from the "teacher," showing a small boy with a t-shirt that read "The mess in my pants is nothing compared to the mess the Democrats will make in this country if they win Nov. 2." That's funny... and delusional. The facts are that there is overwhelming evidence that Reagan's Supply-Side, voodoo, free market economic ideology led the way to our financial destruction by what our so-called leaders, including President Reagan who started the ball rolling, have been doing for the past 40 years. And, there appear to be only a few in Congress and government who understand the true cause, including President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Barney Frank and Senators Carl Levin and Christopher Dodd, yet these are among the most hated people in the United States; hated because of hyped Right-Wing propaganda. Hated because of Ronn Owens and the wingnuts he follows and their nonsense he spreads. Republicans, as a whole, are more than willing to exploit ignorance of the masses, as is Owens. And, Republicans, as a whole, believe in the ideology, from A to Z, that got us into the mess we're in.
Another, and equally surprising point is that here we have a teacher, teaching our kids at his high school, who sends these lies to everyone when he hasn't a clue about the historical facts of the recession or the truth of allegations he sends in emails. Rather than find and spread the truth, which we might expect from a teacher, he would rather be a false witness. How's that for a teacher? It troubles me. Does it trouble you? I'm not surprised that our children continue to be more ignorant as each year passes in spite of paying more for education. I'm not surprised that the Tea Party leaders were able to exploit the ignorant in this country. It has been happening for years. They don't know any better. And, it is obvious that for the teacher, and those who are mislead, further self-education has stopped, perhaps on graduating from high school or college. Even recreational reading has stopped, apparently, otherwise, it is logical to assume that people at least would educate themselves on current events and would know better. In that regard, Fox News keeps them misinformed.
The scary thing is that we could very easily end up with President Sarah Palin, who said yesterday that she believes she can defeat President Obama. The fact that we had two terms of President Bush is proof enough that voters in this country can be misled over and over again. We too easily believe hype and lies and we elect those who tell them. Before we get to Palin's run for President, I'd like to see Britain's law passed in our country; if you lie to get elected, then you get kicked out immediately. But then, we wouldn't have a single person in office if we did that!
I guess if I had to make up a Christmas list, these items would be on it.
1. If you're going to vote, please, please learn about the person you're voting for. It's not about the person. It's about his or her ideology. Please don't vote for the same ideology that nearly destroyed us. You won't get anything you're voting for if you put those people in power.
2. If you're going to send me an email, make sure you're an honest witness to the truth. Do the research and tell the truth. Don't be a false witness or you will get the email back debunked to the best of my ability.
3. Be honest enough to tell the truth to those who send you distorted truth or lies the truth. Debunk the lies yourself and send them back to sender.
4. Be honest with yourself. If you're following the Right-Wing hype, find out if they're telling you the truth. Research their claims. Figure out, the bottom line, about why you are following it.
5. Read a book or see a documentary that gives a good account of how and why we came to be in the condition we're in, for example, All the Devils are Here
, is about the economic collapse and who caused it. The Documentary "Inside Job" is also about the mega-bank crash, who did what, and is also good reporting. Learn about the wars we're in, and what's right and wrong about them and what the obstacles are.And, on a personal note:
6. Don't buy me "stuff." My closet, drawers, bed-side table, bed-side chair, desk, garage and utility closet are full. I have no place to put the stuff you buy, not even space for a Christmas card. Send me a "Merry Christmas" email or text or call instead.
7. Use the time you were going to spend on shopping for me to take a nap - on me. You'll be refreshed.
8. Use the money you planned for my gift to buy yourself something, like a dinner for two - on me.
9. Have a Merry Christmas. Listen to some Christmas music.
Dave
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
G.O.P. Obstructionism - Controlling the Bomb
Here we go again. One of the first things Dubya did was tear up our Nuclear Arms Treaties, which in turn let the dogs lose on controlling nuclear material and made the United States less safe. In other words, it became THAT much harder to track nuclear inventories and keep it out of the hands of terrorists and hostile countries. Russia had a mess on its hands because its nuclear material could not be accounted for. Obama wants to solve that problem with a new treaty which is now in Congress for ratification. But, Senator Kyl, Republican from Arizona, is blocking it and so we won't have a treaty during the lame duck session and we probably won't have one next year after Republicans gain more power in Congress. Here's the story, G.O.P. Opposition Dims Hope for Arms Treaty With Russia - NYTimes.com.
The fact is that not having the treaty makes us LESS safe because we won't know when nuclear material goes missing. The treaty also reduces nuclear arms, which is a GOOD IDEA. As I read the article, Senator Kyl has no good excuse for obstructing approval of the treaty in spite of all the spin the Republicans put on it. It is clear that the only agenda they're following is to make Obama a one-term President, even if doing that makes us less safe. Oh well. I guess if we're going to hell, we just as well do it in a Republican hand basket.
Dave
Monday, November 15, 2010
Crabby San Francisco
Today is the first day of Dungeness Crab season, at least near San Francisco. It starts December 1st in the North Bay, which I find odd. Why would about 50 miles matter to a Dungeness Crab? But, apparently the weather matters too, sort of like this year's grape harvests. The warm fall weather, then the sudden rain in October made the wineries rush to get in the grapes. How does that relate to crabs? Apparently it does, here.
I guess it's the warmer water that affects when a crab molts that old shell off and that's causing a delay in opening the season, although the article doesn't spell that out. It says the season is delayed because the crabs haven't "filled out." What really happens is that the new shell they grow comes in at a size or so bigger than their inside body is and it takes a couple of weeks for the crab's body to "fill out" the new shell, and we certainly don't want to buy a puny crab from Safeway!
Does that mean, when we crack open the shell and find a skinny crab inside, we can take it back? At $20 a pound, I may try it. Or, I may just eat chicken.
And another thing. If last season was a record season, bringing in 16.8 million pounds of crabs, why are these things so expensive? They should be a dime a dozen.
I didn't know a crab had to grow into its shell. Is that why Americans are fat? Are we buying clothes too big that we have to grow into? One thing leads to another...thought.
Dave
I guess it's the warmer water that affects when a crab molts that old shell off and that's causing a delay in opening the season, although the article doesn't spell that out. It says the season is delayed because the crabs haven't "filled out." What really happens is that the new shell they grow comes in at a size or so bigger than their inside body is and it takes a couple of weeks for the crab's body to "fill out" the new shell, and we certainly don't want to buy a puny crab from Safeway!
Does that mean, when we crack open the shell and find a skinny crab inside, we can take it back? At $20 a pound, I may try it. Or, I may just eat chicken.
And another thing. If last season was a record season, bringing in 16.8 million pounds of crabs, why are these things so expensive? They should be a dime a dozen.
I didn't know a crab had to grow into its shell. Is that why Americans are fat? Are we buying clothes too big that we have to grow into? One thing leads to another...thought.
Dave
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Exploited
I'm going to go against my better judgment and obstinate nature. I'm going to buy "Decision Points
" in spite of my horror of giving Dubya one more red cent than he already has. But, along with it, I'm also going to buy "Family of Secrets
," because I want to know whether Dubya is telling the truth, or whether he's just leading us on again. His image, the gut-intuitive Texas cowboy, born-again Christian was all a ruse, fabricated to exploit the unknowing voter, and so I want to know if he's continuing the lie. And, I want specifics. My curiosity is overwhelming my distaste for buying the book.
Oh. What was I thinking? Of course he's continuing the myth. His ego won't allow deflation. But, that is the common theme, isn't it? Exploiting America. That's what it's all about. That's where the money flows whether we're talking about the Defense Industry, Oil Industry, Banks, Wall Street or Fox News and Tea Party. Money to motivate by what ever trick or scheme possible to get people to act against their own best interests.
I'll buy the book anyway. I'm curious.
Dave
" in spite of my horror of giving Dubya one more red cent than he already has. But, along with it, I'm also going to buy "Family of Secrets," because I want to know whether Dubya is telling the truth, or whether he's just leading us on again. His image, the gut-intuitive Texas cowboy, born-again Christian was all a ruse, fabricated to exploit the unknowing voter, and so I want to know if he's continuing the lie. And, I want specifics. My curiosity is overwhelming my distaste for buying the book.Oh. What was I thinking? Of course he's continuing the myth. His ego won't allow deflation. But, that is the common theme, isn't it? Exploiting America. That's what it's all about. That's where the money flows whether we're talking about the Defense Industry, Oil Industry, Banks, Wall Street or Fox News and Tea Party. Money to motivate by what ever trick or scheme possible to get people to act against their own best interests.
I'll buy the book anyway. I'm curious.
Dave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)