Saturday, October 29, 2005
OUR PAST We do not, it seems to me, always appreciate or show proper respect for values out of our past in setting forth our present-day accomplishments. The fine Conde Nast publication titled “Wired” is certainly one of the finest publications setting forth attributes of that which is new, exciting and emotionally moving in our advancing civilization. They keep us informed of physical products new to the markets. In addition they deal with potential, with the theories and discernment that may urge us onward in the future. If you saw the NBX-TV Tom Brocaw special recently dealing with America's newest large, larger and largest religious groups - active congregations of thirty-thousand or more filling areas seating fifteen thousand or so for each service – you, no doubt, noticed the enthusisam with which the devotees dealt so handily when they sang their favorite old hymns. They gave forth with joyous abandon and sang with all the dedicated fervor and sincerity – at one with the music and word “by heart.” It was a sweeping, leaping, joyful sound! Few off the participants realized that more than one of the songs they sang so splendidly were the very same melodies or old drinking songs of the past. So it is with much of what we call progress. It is, so often, founded on some which has proved to be of value in our past. Just as some of the old drinking songs of the past have been re-used as hymns of praise for the Deity, so it might well be that many concepts we hold in trust from our past may be due - or even overdue for some dramatic changes which will make them useful in our – or someone's future. Any of our special days in church history are found to have been established on the very same date or days of ancient pagan worship rituals and ceremonies so adherents to the new faith had something to hold the attention of those new worshipers in a more modern religion. The present use of any invention we now consider to be common among us will , without doubt, mutated beyond recognition but the concept is still there. And, it is there for you. Another faulty idea we have about innovations is that it is intend ed that other men and women should accomplish it for us. I think of you as other people and there are thousands of other people who think of you as the ones who will fashion our future. Think about it. Make a choice for change. A.L.M. October 29, 2005 [c-438wds]
Friday, October 28, 2005
LESSON NOT LEARNED The unusual situations which came to be such an impressive part of the recent flood conditions in southern Louisiana - and to a most impressive extent along the Gulf coast port areas form a daunting challenge for all of us. We can accept or refuse to make use of information provided when then hurricane's Katrina and Rita,and their accompanying rains, and tornado winds dealt the area a severe package of destructive forces men have known in this particular areas in the past. This time the evil, invading waters flowed across worn and ill-attended levees, walls and canal structures on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, canal channels and other inadequately prepared sections of the usual water system of the Crescent City. Many were in a neglected condition, many unidentified or confused with others in like condition. It quickly came to mind that the billions of dollar's requested by and sent to New Orleans for repair and maintenance of he water control systems, were misused to serve other purposes. This is one point which often gets lost during the days of registration in the rigorous days of restoration civic and private property. It is obvious that such funds were mis-spent and some efforts are often made to try to determine whom might have done such a thing. It seldom, if ever, gets very far. Years later it often shows that the very same “foxes” had been put back in charge in care of the “chickens.” Records kept on the Washington, DC. end of this attractive arrangement plainly show the money did not go where it was deemed to be needed - often “urgently”. None of these federal funds were spent on any of the three most obvious levee and seawalls the most notorious offenders of all causing overflows which flooded New Orleans because no such fund were ever requested during that eight year period. The ever-questing eye of television searched out and showed millions of citizens shocking realities concerning inequities which exist in our society which have not been acknowledged much less confronted and solved. And, there are other wrongs we saw; some we have never really discussed in fair-minded manner. All that awaits our ability to do so. A.L.M. October 28, 2005 [c385wds]
Thursday, October 27, 2005
SHE WAS RIGHT During the month of October in the year of 2005 a feminine star loomed large on our political skies. On the 27th day of the month she was eclipsed. Then, and not until then, it was seen that she had been wise enough to use good judgment in withdrawing from nomination to become a member of our Supreme Court. In so doing, Harriet Miers demonstrated her ability to make judgements aside from personal or polical party feelings The oppositon to Harriet Miers came, not from Democrats but from objections by “far right”conservative Republicans - sometimes called “the religious right”. Democats were standing by, I would say. They played it cool awaiting this special oppuninity which allowed them to malign any Bush nominee. Other than one or two stalwarts among automatic critics voiced their very general opinons. When Bush first mentioned the name Harriet Miers just weeks ago I think the average one of us welcomed the annoucment. We were pleased that he had chose a woman since he was replacing one on the existing court. Most peopleI talked with seemed also to be pleased with the idea that George Bush had avoided simply dipping into the well of lawyers from which so many politicians think justices must come, that he had look elsewhere to make a choice. Most seemed to be content with the idea that he had chosen a non-lawyer type. Such a choice choice was was not all that unnatural, however, because many of our justices of the past have come from other than lawyer backgrounds – notably our past Chief Justice -and it seemed to make good sense to choose some one from other than lawyer sources. Some were bothered a bit by the fact that she was a White House council. It proved to be a stumblin bloc because someone wanted to see official papers concering her advice and treatment of WhiteHouse problems – papers which the President felt could not be made available. This, to many critics suggested ”cronyism” - a favorite hurdle which is difficult to eliminate. A.L.M. Oct. 27, 2005 [c356wds]
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
THE COMING OF SNOW. When we hear the very first rumors of snow flurries arriving we tend to pull in the dimensions of our wider summer time living. We begin to think about ways and means of warding off or, at least, weakening, the imaginary or real threats of the coming winter months. Usually it becomes a rather routine preparation which we through by degrees ,we might dare say, and as readings go downward steadily on indoor and outdoor temperature gadgets, we start digging winter clothing out of storage and putting put our summery stuff away for a rest. So, un-officially ,our local winter began as of today. We heard rumors early of six inches and ups in the edge of Western and throughout the TV day we saw New England changed into a fluffy white decoration as a welcome change from rain. For us it will, again, be pretty much routine but this year the transformation will be filled with many serious problems stemming from the situation in which we from the situations in which we find ourselves to be involved. First, we are a nation at war and that never helped to make any of our burdens any lighter. Then, fact that it is an unusual war, as wars go, with rather indefinite goals and fragmented leadership which does nothing to bring the phase to a close. Millions of families with members in the armed forces will see the coming winter with different feeling than ever before. The tragic scenes we have witnessed on TV concerning the lifestyle now allowable to millions of human beings in hurricane, flood, tornadoes, earthquake and fire. Think about that for a moment: have you ever know such a dire concentration of misery within so short a span of time? All of that,plus the ever-present threat of epidemic disease out breaks in any of the stricken areas National and Regional leaders – at all levels – have been called on to face the largest challenge of their lives . Some have been judged to have failed; others have been said to have been successful, and a few have gained a measure of popularity among the common people they were called upon to serve. Just about all of our well-established relief agencies have been pushed to their absolute limits by this series of cataclysmic events. Much criticism has been leveled at each and every one of them and much of it was not always justified. The old adage holds true: until you have walked a mile in the other man's shoes you have no idea of the horrors which must be faced. A.L.M. October 26, 2005 [c450wds]
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
YA-YA-YA... We, as small children, probably did some despicable things as we went into the strange processes whereby we learned how to live with others. You can, no doubt, remember some incident in which - looking back at it and knowing that which solved a problem for you, at that time was as wrong. If you can count up a gross collection of such incidents from your early, formative days, you probably never think of your actions, but if you were more of an average kid - sort of a “Terrible Through Ten” type were an average kid – a “Terrible Two-through-Ten” brat – you will think of having done wrong and you will regret having done so. Newly hatched political figures seem do fit well into the chronic mis-doers. The childish bickering which has been so common in the Washington, D.C. is an insult to the intelligence of all. The seemingly natural opposition to anyone not of his or her own choosing is a indication of underdevelopment. No one candidate named as a possible holder of a specific office, is going to be perfect. Certainly he or she will be wanting in some supposed merit in the eyes of a member of the opposition. It is a wise thing for opposition to seek out and find evidence of evil, or even some minor social error, even a minor wrong in his past to find evidence of wrongdoing, but to use it as a means of keeping a person from getting into office is a waste of effort, time and trouble. I have always been amazed when I hear that an office holder could pretty well determine his future on certain legislation by picking up the telephone an engaging in a little tech-e-tete with a wavering or opposing individual. A conversation concerning experiences of long ago can, ofttimes, could work wonders. When will our beltway boys and girls come to know the real world? A.L.M October 24, 2005 [c336wds]
WHY? Why do we not find scattered collections of random marine life dead in the ruins of low-lying lands when hurricanes we have seen along our Gulf coastline this fall? I have wondered about this many times, but it never seems to occur to me to ask such a dumb question when I am with someone whom might know about such odd things. Doesn't it seem logical that fish, swimming in the upper layers of the water as the most common species usually do, would be caught up in the swiftly moving currents and swept along toward the storm's set targets. Many, one could imagine some to be caught up in the scouring winds topping waves and becoming airborne projectiles aimed at any land target ahead. It seems logical that fish in abundance might be trapped or “netted” in such a manner by the storm since the is normal for the species we know to swim in the upper levels of the sea and most often in groups, that they would a be caught up the compelling currents and spread on the shore in a tumbled mass and doomed. That is just one way in which such a situation might come to be - that fish have a sense of pressure associated with danger and that they, then accordingly swim at a lower level when the sea above is turbulent. The sole evidence of dying sea life I have seen in the coverage of the storms and flood conditions was in a river in New Hampshire. The cameraman caught a shot of several hundred dying in a corner lull just below one of the dams being watched. That would lend credence to the “swim lower in bad times” tactics of the sea creatures. I still wonder what we don't see more seaweed, shells, and, since many of these are offshore of large cities, what about the scoreless scows of mega-city mounds of garbage we dump “out there – somewhere”. Let's hope it can't go home again. A.L.M. October 26, 2005 [c347wds]
Sunday, October 23, 2005
D.C. PLAYTIME Far too many of our elected political leaders are currently engaged - day after day, week-after-week - in petty, bickering party-back-room games. One would think grown men and women, many with some educational attainment, would be, at least trying to avoid such outward displays of childish pique being shown so avidly these days. Do they not comprehend the embarrassing position in which voters back home who have supported them on their way up. Certainly, in war time, in a time when natural disaster has caused serious dislocations in our national and international fabrics, is not a proper time or place to start argument and to start blaming people This is not a good time for doing the family laundry in public. I mention it now now because it is time for many of us to get busy letting the world know how stupid this all must appear to people in other nations as well as many here in our own domain. Make it a point to look and listen for your local political person whom you helped put in office. Pay attention to what he has said and will say about situation. I have been pleased with what I have heard my congress persons say about the many problems we are facing. It is one thing to talk about what can be done but it can be quite a different matter to do it and do it right. As cumbersome as business seem to become with government it is a wonder anything gets done at all. Everyone makes mistakes, too. Never forget that. Never get angry about it. The ballot box is your best talk back. Let him or her know that. A.L.M. October 23, 2005 [c307wds]
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