Dick on Iraq

Note the date in the upper right corner. via BoingBoing.

Memorial Day and Prayer

I watched some pretty powerful stories about our soldiers this Memorial Day. Thinking about the families involved and putting it in their perspective really drives home some powerful thoughts. I noticed how much it seems that those in power say that they are praying for the safety of our soldiers and it reminded me of this quote:

"To say 'prayer changes things' is not as close to the truth as saying 'prayer changes me and I change things.'" - Oswald Chambers

Somehow I don't see a lot of changes, despite all the praying.

iRack

Thanks to Chris from Source for this:

Hello, operator?

So, let's say you're reading the New York Times, and you come across an article about how once again Dick Cheney is caught in the middle of his own dicotomy... being a Republican and having a gay daughter. And you're just about to say something about how crazy it is that there still isn't equal rights for all... and then you look at the photo. Do you see what I see?


Look again. Go ahead and click on it to look closer.


Is that really a rotary phone? Is that the best communication technology our tax dollars can provide? Is there an ice box in the kitchen and an eight track in the residence as well?

Good thing they stripped the fake wood paneling off of the president's limo. That was starting to look out of style. We wouldn't want anyone to think that the administration wasn't up to date with the rest of the world.

Politics for a moment

One of my friends commented that she was surprised that I hadn't commented on the recent win by the Dems in the midterm elections.

I haven't in part because I am scared to be too happy about it. There's a ton of pressure on the Dems to now perform in only two years time (which in political terms is probably like 200 or so days). No doubt that it's better to have Washington D.C. set up with actual checks and balances, but I do wonder what will really get done in the end.

I recently finished Barack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, and there was something he brought up which I think may be the most overlooked part of this midterm election. At the time the book was written, one of the biggest topics in Washington was the filibuster and the "nuclear option" (or a change in Senate rules that would essentially eliminate the filibuster as a minority tool). What if the Republicans had gone through with their desire to destroy the filibuster? Where would they be now that they have assumed the role of the minority? I'll be most interested to see if any Republican uses the filibuster in the near future and what kind of press it will receive.

Now, on Barack Obama. He seems to be getting ready for a run at the presidency. After reading his book, I'm still not sure he should run (basically because he doesn't have a deep enough Senate record to run on), but he sure is a candidate for whom I would vote. In reading his book, he successfully communicated his humanity and his aptitude for interpreting the Constitution.

That's perhaps the biggest reason I would vote for him. Not only is he a great speaker, committed to strong ideals, and open to compromise - but he is a constitutional scholar. He isn't just a politician for politician's sake. This guy loves the Constitution and really understands it's multiple interpretations. I just don't see anyone else out there that is as adept in that area.

So, if you are looking to find out more about Barack, I'd suggest reading his book. It's too long-winded, but I think you'll see what I am saying.

You might be a terrorist...

Here's the story of how yours truly became a potential terrorist:

I had the good fortune to be at Shea Stadium for their last win of the season. (If you're a Mets fan you know this was unfortunately Game 6, not Game 7, of the NLCS.)

I brought my camera with me, and took photos at the game. Then, I was on the 7 train back to Manhattan, the 1 train to Penn Station, and finally a NJ Transit train home (yes, I now realize I should have taken LIRR). My point is that I was on a bunch of trains.

If you're like me, trains will start to bore you. Sure there's people watching, I had my iPod (but an hour of consecutive Pac-Man games had drained the battery), but I was getting a bit bored. So, I had my digital camera in tow... decided to look through the lens and see if there was anything worth photographing.

So, I fiddled around with some close-up shots, long exposures, low-lighting situations... looking at things really small, really big... a creative exploration of my surroundings because... wait for it... I'm a "creative."

Try explaining that to the conductor who looms over you and motions for your camera.

Initially I thought he wanted me to take my feet off the seats (I was slouching and had my legs crossed on the seat next to me... I'll note: in a fashion in which I did not have my soles on the seat). I propped up. He motioned again for my lap. I thought this time he wanted my iPod off. Then I realized my camera was in my hands.

I naively thought... oh, a fellow artist. He must be interested in what kind of shots I was getting. (Note: The train was nearly empty, because it was the very last train of the night. He wasn't super busy and we had some time between stops. Logic tells me that he has time to converse with a passenger if you chooses.)

No. He wasn't interested in sharing f-stop stories. He wanted to know, "Why have you been taking pictures at every station we've stopped at?"

I thought for a second. I had taken a picture at the last station because there was a cool lighting situation across the platform. The spot was illuminating a corner of a bench and the yellow edge of the platform.

"I haven't been doing that."

"Well, I guess we've stopped in only two stations." (So, I guess I might have.)

"How do you see what photos were taken on this thing?"

Okay, we're no longer dealing with a fellow photographer here. I show him. I'm now elevated in my seat, guiding him through the camera's preview feature. I wasn't sure how I could explain what I was innocently trying to do.

"Okay, that's Penn Station, the train... that's Shea Stadium..." as he reached the end of the train photos. I had really only taken 6 or 7 photos up to this point.

"You can't take photos of train stations." he said. "Ever since they put planes into our towers you can't do that any more. Somebody saw you taking photos and said something. You gotta delete those photos." Prior to him saying that I actually offered up, "I can delete them if you want." (They were all probably blurred out from camera shake anyway.)

So, he leaves me to delete them (again, not a camera guy, he doesn't know how to do it)... and I do.

After he leaves the following thoughts cross my mind:

1: It's a good thing I'm not using film so I don't lose the Shea pictures.

2: Hey, who's to say I am not trying to blow up Shea Stadium if my camera's contents is evidence of my intent?

3: Are we really so fearful that someone would speak up about someone taking pictures of train stations? I guess I'm happy that I am a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, white potential terrorist. They certainly weren't profiling me.

4: What if I didn't delete the photos? Did they have a NJ Transit version of Guantanamo Bay to put me in? How long would it take me to get out of an interrogation because I lazily was snapping photos on the train? Would I have to lawyer up? Could I be the next poster boy for the ACLU?

5: Lastly, I bet I get flagged by some FBI terrorist search team for this post. I wonder if this is what it felt like if you liked the color red under McCarthyism?

F*ck Geno's, Go to Pat's!

I had just finished telling someone that I agreed with the sentiment that all PR is good PR, then Geno's Steaks in Philly has to go and ruin the whole theory.

As reported, Geno's has decided to put up a sign that says they want you to speak English. And they have an adjacent sign reading "the management reserves the right to refuse service to anyone." Basically... if you don't speak English, you're not welcome to eat at Geno's.

Can anyone tell me when it is a good business practice to turn away customers? It's not like Geno's is an affluent brokerage, choosing their clientele. They serve cheesesteaks. Cheesesteaks! I may not hold a business degree, but a customer with U.S. currency is a customer you want.

An ironic part of all of this, is that Geno's founder, Joey Vento, is Italian. I don't know if he was born in America, but he certainly has Italian heritage, and I guarantee that whoever came to America in his lineage did not know English when they got here.

Another irony is that the United States has no official language. English is the most common, but if you think about it, there's nothing American about it. It's origins are in England. So, who are we to suggest that English is our own language?

This whole thing doesn't surprise me. It's a tacky move by a tacky place. Take a look at Geno's web site and you'll see what I mean.

If you want a real cheese steak in Philly, you should go to Pat's. I'll take the cheesesteak place with the uglier web site any day. Why? Because they're worried about making great cheesesteaks, not about pimping themselves on the web or generating stupid press stories based on false patriotic pretense.

If you're in Philly, do yourself a favor and eat at Pat's, where everyone is welcome to screw up their order, but still get a cheesesteak in the end.

Caught in a moment

Karl: You aren't really leaving us, are you?
Scott: There's only room for two chins in the communications room.
Karl: Love me still?
Scott: Of course.

Where is the left?

Okay, I need to know. How do they get away with it?

First, Gore concedes in the first election. Then, Bush takes us to war under false pretenses. Then we stay at war after declaring it mission accomplished. Then, they win an election? The leak of the CIA operative. Invade Iraq but not Iran or North Korea? The Hurricane Katrina debacle. Now Cheney shoots a friend.

How does all of this happen without somebody... anybody... stepping up and really calling them out?