Friday, September 26, 2008

Time-Out!

I gotta admit, I was impressed this week.

As this election has dropped lower and lower on the respectability scale, I was happy to see one candidate put politics aside and put the American people first.

I applaud John McCain for stepping-up, suspending his campaign, putting-off the Presidential debate and returning to Washington to address “the greatest financial disaster since The Great Depression,” and broker/vote-on a bail-out plan.

Wait, isn’t that his job?

Oh right, it is.

Where’s the news coverage when I get up in the morning and slog myself into the office?

How can someone, who is running for President think asking for a ‘time-out’ is a smart political move?

What happens if (please God don’t let it happen) future-President McCain is signing a bill at his desk and the phone rings?

Will he forget what he’s doing?

Will the bill get signed?

Can someone actually call the Oval Office directly?

I can see the sentiment: Put the American people first. I just doubt the sincerity.

The move looks to be more of a political ploy than anything else, especially given the actions of GOP operatives in the state of Michigan, a crucial swing state.

I was recently forwarded this story, which outlines moves by GOP operatives to invalidate many Michigan voters because they have been foreclosed upon. It is gerrymandering plain and simple, as many of the voters being targeted are presumed to be Barack Obama supporters.

Hmmm, McCain suspends campaign to resolve the financial crisis, while the GOP attempts to prey upon foreclosure victims to better his chances of winning in Michigan.

Will the Real John McCain please stand-up?

With his return to Washington to pass a bail-out plan that does nothing to better the situation of the average homeowner facing foreclosure, but benefits the large investment firms on Wall Street who made millions getting everyone into this mess…

I think the real one has.

But back to the ‘time-out’ McCain requested with regards to the debate.

The President, whoever it is, will face numerous tough situations and decisions. And sorry Senator McCain, but they don’t come one at a time.

Asking for the delayed debate shows nothing but weakness and a bit of “Uh, what’s going on?” cluelessness.

Does the issue need to be addressed? Most Def.

Is it McCain and Obama’s job to vote on this bill? Yup.

But both are running for President and both have missed numerous Senate votes during this election season.

I appreciate Obama’s ‘deal with things as they come’ approach.

It’s the response I’d hope to get from a President.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

What IPA taught me about the ladies.

I was recently IMing with a buddy of mine at work…as I often do.

Lamenting my poor memory, which I attribute almost directly to overconsumption of beer.

I typed something to the effect of: “Damn beer! Though I could never stay mad at you.”

And it got me to thinking…Beer is a lot like women:

- Both are expensive and I can easily spend a lot of money on them.
- There are numerous options, but you usually end-up choosing just one.
- Very little in this world is more flummoxing than trying to open a stubborn bottle of beer or approaching a lady for the first time.
- Little is more satisfying than the first sip of beer or realizing you are ‘in.’
- Both can make you look like an ass. And though you swear you’ll never do it again, you know you will.
- Hair of the dog is the best way to get over a hang-over…and the best way to get over an ‘Ex’ is to get a new ‘Current.’

This list could go on for awhile, so I'll end it here, but feel free to add more in the comments section.

Just when I thought beer was one of the few simple pleasures in this chaotic sea of life, I come to realize its beguiling and complex nature.

Which is not to say that beer is as complex or beguiling as a lady (and really, what is?), but there’s more than meets the eye for sure.

Therein lies the beauty of each. And the lesson to be learned.

I am a results-oriented problem-solving kinda guy. So my entire dating life, I’ve been trying to figure women-out, like some sort of puzzle. While I’ve approached beer from a totally different perspective.

I don’t go to the bar to learn the chemical make-up of beer, I go out to drink the stuff.

Instead of looking at women as a puzzle to be solved, I am much better served meeting new folks, enjoying their company and letting their complexities reveal themselves.

*K.I.S.S.- Keep it simple stupid.

So who’da thought? Beer can (no pun intended), teach me about women.

So in the interest of self-betterment, I think I need to crack another cold one…

I’ve got a lot more to learn.



*Shout-out to Mr. Collins, my HS science teacher who taught me the phrase.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Baby Steps to Getting Green- Sep 08

It’s looking like the end of an era…

No, I am not talking about the once high and mighty Seahawks coming back down to earth, I am talking about myself, getting a bus pass.

Yes I, the bastion of: “I have a car and I’m gonna use it,” Seattleite sentiment, am breaking-down and giving mass transit a try.

Starting in October, I’ll be a bus commuter.

I am entering this as a “Baby step to getting Green” post, but this is no small step for me.

To be honest, this is not totally my doing. Though I have been toying with the idea for months, it was my employer who stepped-up and offered a bus pass instead of a parking permit.

I simply took them up on the offer.

The mass transit debate had been raging in my mind for the past couple months…It didn’t help that I saw the same bus route multiple times a day as I commute to and from work. Begging the question in my mind; “Why the hell am I not taking this bus to work?”

After a bit of research, I found that bus passes were $90 a month. Which given my love of my car, was not enough of a financial savings to justify leaving the ride at home. But when the office offered to pick-up the tab, I figured I only had one choice.

We’ll see how it works-out…I did make sure I could trade back should bussing not work-out. But I hope that once I get on the schedule, I’ll be hooked.

I am looking forward to relaxing on the commute home instead of getting flustered. Yet another win-win (I seem to be finding a lot of those lately) as I am lowering my carbon footprint as well as my personal stress level.

Check back in November to see if I renewed my pass…

Note:
I saw this story on MSN that was pretty interesting:
http://www.slate.com/id/2200158/?GT1=38001
I am still firmly in the re-useable mug camp, but the story does get you to thinking about your actions. For the record, I just rinse my coffee cup in the morning with cold water and wash it on Friday before I head home.

Monday, September 1, 2008

I've tried God, and it's a lot like chicken

For many people religion is a “savior,” but for far too many people religion has proven to be a divider.

Whether it’s: gays, abortion, Blacks, Jews or Muslims, many an argument against any/all of those parties have been based on religion.

For the most part, when I say “religion” I mean Christianity, the overwhelming favorite of western spiritual thought.

I didn’t rail on the Christian right in my last post, but they are gonna take a beating in this one. As I blame Iraq, hate crimes and the shame that every woman has to endure by simply walking into a Planned Parenthood on the Pat Robertson’s and Pat Buchannan’s of the world.

On the whole, conservative Christians got it wrong. They make me embarrassed to admit that I am a Christian. In my mind, they are as bad as the Taliban in their strict, self-serving and erroneous interpretation of religion.

They aren’t right. And they have no right to proclaim that they are.

Quite frankly, the average white picket fence having, we-are-all-welcoming-as-long-as-you-conform-to-our-narrow-perception-of-the-Bible-Christian disgusts me. In much the same way a “you are all Western Infidels” radical Muslims disgust me. At least Muslims will offer a visitor tea. You are lucky to get anything more than a look down the nose from the average conservative house wife, if you don't "fit the mold.".

Some of you may be thinking, Disgust? Really? Isn’t that a strong word?

Not at all.

These people disgust me because they are judging, damning and killing each other (all religions guilty here) in the name of a God that we all have in common.

For me, it’s pretty simple.

God is like chicken.

We’ve all heard the joke and the punch line is: “It tastes like chicken.”

So why, would anyone expect a world as diverse and unique as ours to be held to one set of standards, one set of ideals and one version of God?

Just look at chicken, in the American heartland, Chicken Pot Pie looks a lot different from Hoisin Chicken in China or Tagine in Morocco. Though it is all derived from the same base to serve the same purpose…

Sustenance.

Chicken sustains the body and God sustains the soul. (I know, I sound like that book series here.)

Is this an oversimplification? Perhaps.

But we’ve had thousands of years to complicate the matter. So I figure a little simplification is due.

Chicken, much like God, is something that all people can identify with.

And who’s to say that the God of Islam is any different from the God of Christianity or Buddhism?

I am saying that they aren’t.

In much the same way cuisine, in this case chicken, carries regional/cultural nuances, it only follows that perceptions of God would do the same.

The idea that every person in the world has to follow one set of ideals set forth by one God just isn’t feasible or even culturally astute.

God made man is all shades, interests and even multiple sexes. So why dumb-down such an obviously complex being to “My way or the highway” thinking?

If people could get their head around the idea that God really is one being, perceived is different ways, I think the world would be a much better place. A lot of differences might be quelled. The main tenets of all major religions share the same basic ideals, only strengthening the concept that God is one being, read many ways.

But sadly, religion of division, my main issue with organized religion, will continue on. As men and their misinterpretations/pride/unwillingness to change will keep everyone mired in the “us versus them” rhetoric that keeps the pews filled, tithes coming-in and guns aimed at each other.

All the while, I can only imagine God looking down at us head-shaking, thinking:

“Is it really all that difficult? Why can’t they get this right?”