Let 'em have it, Alan!

US Rep. Alan Grayson

Night before last, US Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL), took to the floor of the House and let fly with some tough rhetoric aimed at Republican obstructionists in the health care debate. Quoth he:

It’s my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America… It’s a very simple plan. Here it is. The Republican health care plan for America: “don’t get sick.” If you have insurance don’t get sick, if you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick; if you’re sick, don’t get sick. Just don’t get sick. … If you do get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: “die quickly.” --Rep. Alan Grayson, Sept.29, 2009 (Watch it here.)

The Republicans, as usual, were quick to beat their breasts and wail at how they had been wronged. Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) called on Nancy Pelosi to officially rebuke Grayson. I've got a feeling that that ain't going anywhere. (Could there be any more perfect example of Republican mimicry than the name "McHenry?"It sounds like the McDonald's version of the name of the original Confederate, Patrick Henry.)

I'm not in the least surprised at their hypocrisy, but for those of you who have actual lives, who aren't obsessed with the ins and outs of partisan drama, I'll show you just a few examples of the rhetoric that the Republicans have been throwing around in the last couple months:

Last week Democrats released a health care bill which essentially said to America’s seniors: Drop dead. --Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), 7/21/09

They’re going to save money by rationing care, getting you in a long line. Places like Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe. People die when they’re in line. --Rep. Steve King (R-IA), 7/15/09

[The Republican plan will] make sure we bring down the cost of health care for all Americans and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government. --Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), 7/28/09

That’s exactly what’s going on in Canada and Great Britain today…and a lot of people are going to die. --Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), 7/10/09

One in five people have to die because they went to socialized medicine! … I would hate to think that among five women, one of ‘em is gonna die because we go to socialized care. --Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), 7/15/09

(You can see a video compilation here.)

I've come to expect hypocrisy like this from Republicans. Haven't you?

Well, I think it's about damn time that Democrats start fighting back with some tough rhetoric of their own. Good for the goose, good for the gander, and all that. And a little stridency might just stiffen the spines of some of the mealy-mouthed cowards in the Democratic caucuses.

When you consider Alan Grayson's remarks, along with those recently made by Representative Barney Frank, and President Jimmy Carter, it looks like there are others who feel the same way I do. The tea-baggers are a loud minority... but they are a minority, as evidenced by the last national election. If they want to rant and scream, let them rant and scream. But we can serve them the same sauce.

So, continuing in that vein: Ann Coulter was on CNN recently. She admitted to being "a little bit jealous" of Glenn Beck. And why not? He's more of a woman than she'll ever be!

Hikin' the Silver Falls Trail

Silver Creek

The light feels stale this time of year. Summer's memory is fading fast. Always a sad time. For me, anyway.

Brother Eric and I went hiking with our friend Mike a couple weeks ago, down at Silver Falls.

Ants or termites?

There is a colony of ants on the south side of the creek just above the South Falls. They've been there for more than 20 years. They live in huge mounds of collected fir needles and earth. In the late summer you can see their highways running through the grass in the picnic area.

Lower of the two falls that comprise "Double Falls"

This park is the result of the work of FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps, which, during the Great Depression, developed the park facilities. I've been coming here all my life. My Grandpa and Grandma Metzger took us here often to picnic. The last time my grandfather came here was when Eric and Calee and I brought him up with us. But he didn't hike down to the bottom of the falls. That was just a few years before his death, and the feat was beyond him, physically.

Old growth

There are 10 falls at different points along different branches of the trail. The trail we followed runs about eight and a half miles.

Eric, Mike, and I had a great time. We covered the trail in about 3 hours, and we were moving pretty quickly. But I still took the time to get some good photos. I'll be hanging onto these memories through the winter.

Then, next summer, I'll go get some more.

Separating art from artist: the lesson of Roman Polanski

Magnificent!

On September 26, 2009, Roman Polanski, the acclaimed film director who's work includes cinematic jewels Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and the Pianist, was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, stemming from his conviction in 1977 for the rape of a 13-year-old girl. He is now facing extradition to the state of California.

Despite Polanski's tragic personal history (his mother died in a Nazi concentration camp; his wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson family), it is hard to work up any sympathy for a rapist who victimized a child.

Nor would I advocate doing so.

But here's my rhetorical question: Should the fallibility of the artist taint the art? That is, can or should we separate an artist's work from the artist himself?

Not so much...

There are countless examples of artists with unsavory behavior who nonetheless create magnificent works of art. Ernest Hemingway was an alcoholic and quite possibly a misogynist, but who can deny the brilliance of For Whom the Bell Tolls or The Old Man and the Sea?

Vincent Van Gogh's work pioneered the Expressionist movement among painters. But the man himself was a mental basket-case, his brain ravaged by untreated syphilis.

Or, on a more contemporary level, consider some of today's popular musicians and songwriters. My ex-brother-in-law is something of an autograph hound, and he often recounted stories of his encounters with today's musical celebrities. He found Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to be imperious and haughty; Ian Anderson, cold and distant; Stephen Stills, surly. But he remains a fan of all of them.

Van Gogh, who died childless, is said to have referred to his paintings as his progeny. And I think he was on to something. When an artist creates a work, in a sense, he gives it a life of its own, an identity in and of itself. The work is birthed, sent forth into the world to be interpreted and admired and, yes, owned by all of humanity.

So, I contend that it is completely consistent to admire an artist's work without endorsing or condemning the artist's person. In fact, I propose that it is essential to do so.

If the taint of our sins bereaves us --we, imperfect humans --of our right to imagine perfection... well, then we're left with nothing. What do you think?

Tea-baggers and Dear Leader

Remember the uproar from freaked-out and freaky tea-baggers a couple weeks ago when President Obama scheduled a televised speech to schoolkids? The tea-baggers nearly lost it, fearing that their children would leave home in the morning, happy and carefree, full of the Fear of God, only to return in the afternoon as mindless Obama zombies, hell-bent on imposing socio-fascism on the nation.

Then, after the President delivered the speech, urging kids to pay attention in class, to be responsible for their own education, to stay in school, the tea-baggers were once again revealed as hysterical fools. Even Drum Major Newt Gingrich admitted that the President made a good speech.

Well, last week, tea-baggers attained new heights of apoplexy over this video footage of school kids in south New Jersey singing a song to welcome President Obama, who visited their school.



Well, I watched the vid, and the whole thing seems pretty harmless. But, given that I'm inclined to support President Obama, I'll allow that my opinion might be a tad colored. As I have said before, I think it is important that we do not indulge in a cult of personality, that we not be lured into the "Dear Leader" mentality. So, perhaps tea-bagger concerns about "indoctrination" deserve some consideration.

But tea-baggers, apparently, are selective in their objections. Check this vid of some nutty Christians and a cardboard cut-out of Junior Bush.

Talk about creepy! This video twists at my guts. Watching it, I experienced emotions similar to those I felt at a Christian rock concert I attended while I was in high school. The band of musicians (using that term loosely) had a lengthy proselytizing session, mid-concert, during which they did their "cry-pray-testify" thing. Traumatic!

Mockery and ridicule are generally good tools for dealing with people like this. But be wary. History has demonstrated it time and again: there are very few entities so dangerous as a bunch of "Christians" hopped-up on the Holy Spook. A crowd of nuts like this is right at the point where it starts picking up stones and casting them at "sinners."

Living in the patriarchy

Bucking the patriarchy

Say what you will about the many great and undeniable strides we have taken over the last 200 years, ours is still a largely patriarchal society.

For women, in spite of pioneers like Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and Margaret Thatcher, the patriarchy affords more value to their sex appeal, their physical appearance, than to their intellectual, entrepreneurial, or political accomplishments.

F**king the patriarchy

Examples abound. Consider how the cameras and microphones flock around such vacuous personalities as Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. And what else can possibly explain the phenomenon of a feather brain like Sarah Palin being seriously considered as a potential presidential candidate other than the mystique of a physically attractive woman? She can scarcely articulate a coherent thought, much less formulate a vision of governance.

(And hats off to those women who use the patriarchy to their advantage. Take, for example, Madonna who, back in the 80's, recognized the premium placed on female sexuality and skillfully used her own to build a financial empire of enormous proportions.)

"Get back in the game, Marino!"

The patriarchy takes a toll on the male psyche as well. So often, sexual potency is deemed to be the true measure of a man. Consider all the ads on television for Viagra and similar products. Or the weight-loss advertisements featuring has-been athletes like Dan Marino who are being urged by a nubile female to "get back in the game." Or take a gander through the junk folder of your email to see all the advertisements for "male enhancement" snake oil.

Traditional courtship

Some of this is inherent in our DNA, it seems to me. Human procreation has not evolved with the success of the species. During our hunter-gatherer phase of existence, perpetuation of the species followed the general rule of nature: males were driven to spread their seed far and wide, increasing the probability that some of their progeny would survive to sexual maturity. Conversely, sexually well-endowed women attracted and retained men to help them care for children. Hence, today a promiscuous male is tacitly admired and respected, while his female counterpart is deemed a "slut." A responsible and conscientious mother is a paragon of virtue, while males who are faithful to their families, despite loud and pious public acclamations to the contrary, are often held in a certain dismissive contempt.

As much as I like to imagine myself to be a relatively progressive, forward-thinking individual here in the 21st century,  not beholden to anachronistic modes of behavior, I find that it is nearly impossible to escape the patriarchal tradition of modern culture. Or, to put it more plainly: I'm afraid I'm more of a sexist than I might like.

I had a conversation with a female coworker once, a dear friend. We were having a bit of a spat, over some work matter. She accused me of being patronizing toward women.

Said she, "You treat women like precious flowers!"

To which I replied, "Honey, don't you worry your pretty little head about such things."

Livin' in the patriarchy, people. Just livin' in the patriarchy.

What happened in Daniel Boone National Forest?

Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky

This morning I heard a story on the news that ought to raise alarm bells all over this country. It certainly startled and disturbed me. A federal census bureau worker, Bill Sparkman, 51, was found hanged with the word "fed" scrawled across his chest in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. The body was discovered on September 12th, but the story is only now becoming public.

The FBI is investigating the case in coordination with Kentucky State Police to determine if the death is the result of foul play and, if so, whether it was related to Sparkman's status as a federal employee.

I'm not jumping to any conclusions. Let the investigation run its course. If the death is the result of foul play, there are any number of possibilities. For example, considering the remoteness of the (potential) crime scene, perhaps Sparkman stumbled onto a moonshine operation or a ganja cultivation plot and was silenced by its operators.

That's a dark thought, but another possibility is even darker.

Imagine some backwoods Kentucky hick, half-crazed on corn-squeezings and Glenn Beck, sitting in his tar paper shack with his AM radio blaring, storing up ammo for when the Feds come to put him in a FEMA concentration camp and force him to bow down to the n**ger. Along comes the unsuspecting and harmless Sparkman, with his clipboard and his questionnaire...

Not a pleasant subject for contemplation.

This could very well be another example of the right-wing domestic terrorism that has been plaguing this nation ever since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In just the last 15 months, there were the June arrests in Pima County, AZ. There was the incident at the Holocaust Museum, also in June. There was the murder of Dr. George Tiller in May. There was the July, 2008, incident where a terrorist opened fire with a shotgun in a church in Powell, Tennessee.

William E. Sparkman Junior: substitute teacher, Boy Scout volunteer, single father, and cancer survivor

If it turns out that this is a politically-motivated homicide, I wonder, will the media and government finally start using the term "terrorism" to describe this type of activity?

Something will come

Child,
Wring not thy hands before my tearful eyes,
Though table be barren and we unseen
By those who's parlors are full of laughter
And light, reveling in hilltop manor;

Something will come,
Our Lord hath proclaimed it,
Something will come;

Husband,
Raise not thy fist in angry defiance,
Though need hath sacrificed thy dignity,
Though lords and ladies behold piously
Our plight: idle fancy, cause celebré;

Something will come,
We only need name it,
Something will come;

Father,
Shine Thy mercy upon humble daughter;
As my faith in Thee never hath faltered,
Let not my words prove false to those I love,
That they might see that which Thou hath promised;

Let something come,
That we may acclaim it,
Let something come