Baseball and culture

Well, Manny just struck out again. The Red Sox are not looking so hot right now. I am now going to go on my "baseball as a reflection of society" rant. The Boston Sporting Globe, er Boston Globe, just had a story about how women wearing pink Red Sox caps should be stoned to death. It didn't really say that, but it may as well have. The jist of the story was that only the "real" fan had a right to root for the Sox. Anyone was new, who hadn't been rooting for the Sox since they were 5, was a poseur at best and like I said, should be stoned to death, no, spit on and kicked into the gutter. I'm a native Northern Californian. I can't imagine anyone in Giant's territory having that kind of attitude.

Today, top of the news, Manny pushed a Red Sox employee down because he couldn't get 16 tickets for a game. Puhleeze. How I want to love Boston, but it is so, so hard when stuff like this is going on. I have lived in New England for 22 years and I am still looking for general civility. It is like the lowest common denominator has become the norm. It became real to me with the "Yankees suck" T-shirts. If my sons had walked in wearing those shirts I would have fainted. Actually the biggest shock was when I was in the Stop and Shop and saw a woman standing in line with her teen-age son and she had on a T-shirt that actually had the "F word" printed on it. I want anyone reading this to think about their mother wearing that across her chest. What has happened to our society?

It's late and I could go on and on. I will let it rest for now and just pray that civility returns.

A Little Night Music - a non-political post

For the last few months I have been working on a production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. There were some trials and tribulations, but we finally got it together for our three performances at Indian Hill Music Center. I was very, very, very lucky to be able to play Desiree Armfeldt, something I never thought would happen. It was the most delightful experience with a wonderful, totally believable cast. To tell the truth I have never liked the one song Desiree sings, Send in the Clowns, but when it is heard in the context of the show, it makes complete sense. I still don't think I would like to perform it without the dialogue because the few words that Fredrik speaks are so, so heartbreaking.

How I wish we had more than three performances. Our ensemble was just becoming an ensemble and it was over...

What a Country...

AP FRESNO, Calif. - Forced to leave the combat zone after his two brothers died in the Iraq war, Army Spc. Jason Hubbard faced another battle once he returned home: The military cut off his family's health care, stopped his G.I. educational subsidies and wanted him to repay his sign-up bonus...

My blood pressure is up once again courtesy of the Bush administration. What possible reason can be credibly made to explain the military cutting off benefits to Jason Hubbard? Is there anyone with a brain administering these programs? As a citizen of the United States I am officially outraged and sickened that my country is treating men and women who have been sent to war IN MY NAME this way. Doesn't anyone administering these programs have critical thinking skills? How did the person who sent that letter to Jason Hubbard feel? Oh, I know, it was just his/her job, they were following orders, blah, blah, blah.

How many stories about the inadequate treatment of war veterans do we need before we, the general public, speak out? The Bush Administration gets away with everything from the subhuman conditions at Walter Reed to cutting off benefits from those who served and their families. Just a blip on the news radar screen. What a country.

So you think McCain looks like a reasonable candidate?

I have been telling friends that the only reason McCain has looked like a reasonable candidate is because the "norm" has been shifted so far to the right that he is now in the middle. I would never have thought that things could get so bad that McCain would look centrist, but that is what has happened. DON'T BE FOOLED. DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. In the interest of getting the word out, MoveOn.org has done research (I LOVE footnotes) and I am reprinting the message about McCain here for you to pass along:

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."23. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6 7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-3002530-QUtC4o&t=232
Thank you for all you do.
–Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Saturday, April 5th, 2008
Sources: 1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html
"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008 http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/
2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us
"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/
3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/
4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/
5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008 http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007
"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007 http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/
6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80
"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home
7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022
"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008 http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/
8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/
"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008 http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/
"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/ 10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded

Bella Italia

Enough of politics for at least one post. I was just looking at photos I took in Italy in June and thought I would post some of my odd favorites. They aren't the usual travel photos, but to me they evoke my Italy. The one titled Greco Roman smile was taken in the museum at Paestum which is south of Naples. Very few Americans go there. It has the most beautiful and most well preserved Greek temples in Europe. I actually enjoyed visiting them more than the Parthenon (that isn't to say one should not see the Parthenon at least once in their lifetime). There are two photos from the Amalfi Coast. The kisses (baci) and hugs (abbracci) photo was taken in a restaurant overlooking the coast. I thought the words and the back of the chair were romantic, so I clicked. La Dolce Vita was taken when we stopped for lemonade on our drive up the coast. Valentino's Last Collection was a serendipitous shot and I love it. We stumbled on the museum which is really a glass structure built over a temple. When we went in this photo shoot was going on. I wasn't sure if it was ok to take a picture, so I quickly framed it up and clicked. The red dresses were knocking me (I LOVE red) and I thought I recognized them, but didn't try to talk to anyone, they were working after all. A few months later there was a story in the NYT Sunday magazine about Valentino retiring and one of the photos used was from that shoot. I did feel a little stupid for not recognizing his work and wished I had gawked at those dresses more than I did. Valentino will be missed. His designs are the epitome of Italian elegance. No one will ever take his place. Maybe I will post more on Italy later, but for now, basta...

McCain and torture

At dinner last night with a couple of friends the conversation turned to Senator McCain and his quest for the presidency. They were both surprised when I said that Senator McCain said waterboarding is torture or more specifically,
“Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak,” said McCain after a campaign stop at Dordt College here.
“People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.” (see http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/26/mccain-mukasey-torture/) But, and it is a BIG BUT, when faced with a bill that would end the practice of waterboarding, what did he do? He voted AGAINST it. He rationalized his vote, blah, blah, blah, but the bottom line is, from my perspective, he isn't really a man of principle. He is brilliant though. He knows that even though the Emperor has no clothes, the media won't keep pointing that out. He gets to have his cake and eat it too. (see http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/mccain_votes_against_ban_on_wa.html)
If you read the Chicago Tribune site, you will see that Clinton and Obama don't come off much better...they were on the road and didn't vote....

Texas v. the Prez, a life and death issue

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Texas can execute a Mexican murderer being held on its death row. The case pitted President Bush against his home state in a dispute over federal authority, local sovereignty and foreign treaties...Medellin's lawyers argue he was not informed upon his arrest of his right to contact Mexican consular officials. Those officials were never able to meet with him until after his conviction. ###

So, the issue was who's law should the court use. Apparently what Texas did was in violation of a U.S. treaty, according to an international court. The Supremes said that wasn't domestic law and sided with Texas. I wish I had time to delve into this subject more. It is fascinating and no matter what choice you make can lead to unintended consequences. When I saw the story on CNN I immediately thought of the waterboarding issue which I just can't get out of my head. It really is the Golden Rule (no, not the one that says, "he who has the gold rules"). Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If an American citizen was held in another country would we want that government to subject them to waterboarding (aka torture) or to sentence them to death without being able to seek counsel from the U.S. upon arrest? I think not. Imagine your child in the military being subjected to waterboarding (Geneva Conventions?? To heck with them says Congress, Bush, Cheney, Mukasey, the lot) or being sentenced to death by a court that didn't follow our rules (say in Iran). Not a pretty picture. The whole reason for international agreements like the ones in question is to make a level playing field, to set rules for everyone. We are not an island unto ourselves and the sooner we understand that the better we will all be. I pray for this in my lifetime.