Posted inSustainability

Treasury secretary nominee favors Kyoto Treaty

George Bush seems to be warming up to the reality of global warming. Henry Paulson, his nominee for Treasury Secretary, is a supporter of the Kyoto Treaty and an avid environmentalist. My head is reeling. Could it really be true that Bush has converted to fact-based, rather than faith-based, policy making? If so, the foundations of my Bush-bashing world will be shaken. I’ll be finding good things to say about a President who, up until now, has blundered along from faulty gut instinct to faulty gut instinct. I worry that this is an aberration though. Physics tells us that the…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Bush’s upside down Memorial Day

I’ve never flown the American flag on Memorial Day. I’m certainly not going to start now, because George Bush’s misguided policies have turned this day of remembrance upside down. If I were to fly a flag, it’d have to be flown the same way, just as it was back in the Vietnam War protest days. I used to be proud that American men and women died so we could preserve our freedoms. Now I’m not proud that our freedoms are being taken away so, supposedly, we won’t die. That’s not the American way. That’s the cowardly way. The Bush administration…
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Posted inPhilosophy Tango/Dance

I’m learning to Tango with life

I got sent to remedial Tango class last Monday night. The guest instructor, Carlos Rojas, observed me dancing with my wife for a while. Then he walked over and said, “You’re not letting her finish her steps. You’re going to dance with Jodi now. Every time you interrupt her moves, she’s going to stop.” Jodi is Carlos’ tall, slim, charming, attractive, and highly skilled dance partner. With a teacher like that, I didn’t mind getting some remedial instruction. We started dancing. Then she stopped. We started again. We stopped again. Eventually I began to understand what I was doing wrong.…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Bush’s immigration plan is one big photo-op

Here’s why I’m disgusted with George Bush in general, and his immigration reform plan in specific. From the May 1 issue of TIME magazine, in an article about how the White House hopes to hold on to control of Congress by preaching to the right-wing faithful: Deploy guns and badges. This is an unabashed play to members of the conservative base who are worried about illegal immigration. Under the banner of homeland security, the White House plans to seek more funding for an extremely visible enforcement crackdown at the Mexican border, including a beefed up force of agents patrolling on…
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Posted inEntertainment

Toughest Jack, Bauer or Reacher?

It’s a difficult question. Between Jack Bauer and Jack Reacher, who is the toughest tough guy? I’ve been tossing the two of them around in my mind, trying to decide who’d come out on top. The wisest answer would be: it depends. You don’t want to piss either of these guys off. I know, because I’m a huge fan of both the Fox series “24,” where Bauer does whatever the hell he feels like, Counter Terrorism Unit bureaucracy be damned, and the Lee Child novels, where Reacher, an ex-military policeman and drifter, similarly operates both inside and outside the law…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Iraq and self-licking ice cream cones

A few days ago Laurel and I spent an interesting evening with someone who had just come back from a tour of duty in Iraq. He told it like it is: awful. He was asked, “Often it’s said that the media just reports the bad stuff that’s going on in Iraq. Do you think that’s true?” His response: “Actually, the situation is a lot worse than the media is reporting.” He had nothing good to say about the Bush administration’s failed war policies. This is from a guy who had his boots on the ground. He quoted an officer who…
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Posted inSalem

Hail and rhodie blossoms. Ah, Oregon.

White hail and red rhododendron blossoms. A haiku is in order. Man, that was one insane thunderstorm that blew through south Salem a few minutes ago. I’m glad my camera is water resistant. This photo was taken from inside the house through an open sliding door, but the wind was so strong, the rain blew right in on me. Our thunderphobic dog, Serena, survived the storm. Barely. After she frantically crawled into our bedroom closet, her usual first line of defense against thunderstorms, Laurel found her a new safe spot under a shelf in the pantry. Serena panted her way…
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Posted inTango/Dance

The romance of Tango

“Tango is just a man walking with a woman so she will fall in love with him.” As soon as our guest Tango instructor spoke those words, I knew that he had the rapt attention of all the women in the class. The men, too. I’m a romantic at heart. But after sixteen years of marriage I’ve gotten a bit lackadaisical in the romance department. The shelves are thinly stocked except at the predictable times: our anniversary, Laurel’s birthday, Valentine’s Day. So both of us are enjoying the romance of Tango through our Monday classes here in Salem. Last week…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Politics, my dear, the thrill is gone

It’s time for me to admit that my long term relationship has gone sour. I’ve been shacked up with politics almost my whole life. I was reading my mother’s National Review back when William F. Buckley was a youthful stud. I mostly look for good loving on the other side of the political tracks now. But so far this year the lefties have left me just about as cold as the righties. No matter whether they have a “D” or an “R” after their name, I’m not getting turned on. The thrill is gone. I’m glad that yesterday Kulongoski won…
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Posted inSustainability

Paving over paradise

We just got back from ten days on Maui. Paradise. And it’s being paved over. Sound familiar, Oregonians? Be careful about who you vote for in November. That “we’ve got to respect property rights” verbiage may sound fine, but what it really means is: paradise needs paving. Which it doesn’t. Not now, not ever. We’ve been to Maui almost every year since 1991. The traffic keeps getting crazier. The ocean views keep getting filled with condos. The construction cranes sprout faster than palm trees. Don’t get me wrong. Maui still is a wonderful place to visit. So is Oregon. However,…
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Posted inRecreation

Congratulations to the Napili Bay sidestroke champion

Namely, me. One reason you don’t see a sidestroke trophy in this photo is that the fools in charge of swimming championships don’t consider the sidestroke to be a competitive stroke. Another reason is that no one except me entered the sidestroke event that I’ve been taking part in the past nine days on Napili Bay here on Maui, perhaps because my mind is the only place it’s been publicized. Regardless, I love the sidestroke. It’s a contact lens wearer’s dream because your face stays out of the water all of the time. And you can enjoy the scenery while…
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Posted inRecreation

Meaningless Maui musings

Hey, what do you expect from me after eight days on Maui? The big questions of life have been reduced to meaningless musings. Can a woman match too perfectly? What you can’t see in this photo is the palm tree on Laurel’s cap that mirrors the palm tree on her t-shirt. And note how the innermost color of the shirt’s tree precisely echoes the color of her shorts. Muy matcho, senorita! Isn’t “guys” a masculine term? Restaurant staff always say to us, “Hi, guys. How’re you doing? I’ll be your server today.” What if they said “Hi, gals” to Laurel…
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Posted inRecreation

Strolling to the Ritz, Maui style

We just strolled to the Ritz. The Kapalua Ritz-Carlton on Maui. As you might expect, it’s, well, ritzy. Laurel heads up the Ritz-Carlton way on her usual morning walk. She had to miss today, so I went with her on an afternoon substitute outing. We began at our Napili Bay condo. This is where I do my own exercising. Thirty minutes back and forth across the bay every day. Laurel’s a walker. When on Maui, I figure ocean swimming is the thing. Laurel usually drives the short distance to Oneloa Bay. We did this afternoon also. Molokai is in the…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Oh, no. Iran embraces the euro!

Vacationing as I am on Maui at the moment, I’m not going to spend much beach time worrying about Iran taking a step toward selling oil in euros rather than dollars. But when I read about this in the Honolulu Advertiser today, I couldn’t help remembering how Willamette University economics professor emeritus Russ Beaton has told Laurel and me that the Iraq war was fought, in large part, to prevent OPEC from moving to a euro-based oil sales/trading system. Russ is a progressive friend of ours. He’s forgotten more about economics than I’ll ever know, and I don’t pretend to…
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Posted inRecreation

From maddening to Maui in eight hours

Aren’t vacations fun? You spend a week running around like crazy, getting ready to spend a week relaxing. Then when you get home, you spend another frantic week catching up on everything that didn’t get done while you were on vacation. Sometimes vacations seem like a net relaxation loss to Laurel and me. But that doesn’t stop us from meandering off to Maui most every year. As we did yesterday. After a semi-sleepless night spent worrying about what we’d forgotten to pack, we headed up to the Portland airport at the not so jolly time of 6:45 am. With terrific…
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Posted inSalem Tango/Dance

Salem, let’s Tango!

Come on, admit it: you have a Tango fantasy. You’ve seen Tango danced sensuously in movies. You’ve heard it called the original forbidden dance (it’s got some company now). You’ve pictured yourself in poses like… OK, my fellow Salem residents, you and I will never look like that. But we can still dance Tango. I’m doing it. And believe me, if I’m doing it, anybody can do it. So get yourself down to the Micah Building next Monday evening. Give Tango a try. Beginners are welcome. Not-beginners too. Here are the particulars: Argentine Tango Classes Every Monday, except holidays. 7pm…
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