Tuesday, March 09, 2010
if ever there was a reason to pass health care reform, this is it
I have heard that Rush Limbaugh has now threatened to leave the United States, to go live in Costa Rica if health care reform passes Congress. Aside from the fact that Costa Rica already has universal health care, if this isn't incentive to pass a total health care reform package in the United States, I don't know what is.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
cry, the beloved country
Once again, I note that I do not update or post as frequently as I should. I either update or blog when the mood strikes, which is not that often, when I feel like being stupid, which is quite often, but seems to have outlets other than exposing me to ridicule on line, or when events occur that strike to my heart and I can't think of another outlet. Today, is one of those times.
One of my earliest memories is of being in Washington, D.C. with my family in a large crowd of people around the reflecting pool before the Lincoln Memorial. I remember it being a very hot day, and that my brothers and I were cooling off by sitting at the edge of the reflecting pool towards the back, away from the memorial, dipping our feet in the water. Frankly, that is all I remember about that day.
Years later, when my father passed away, in his tribute to him, my older brother noted that day, and then began working out when that weekend occurred. It turns out that we were there in late August, 1963. The large crowd was there for the Poor People's March on Washington that was one of the seminal turning points in the Civil Rights struggle in this country. Not sure if this was actually the case, after Dad's funeral, I asked Mom if this was, in fact, when we were there. She very matter of factly confirmed that we were, in fact, present at the Mall for the Poor People's March, and further present for Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, not that I remember it at all.
It turns out that we were there by coincidence when one of the great moments of the last century transpired. Mom and Dad had ferried Black men and women to Washington specifically so that they could attend the March and witness the speeches at the Lincoln Memorial, not that anyone had any idea at all of what they were about to witness from Martin Luther King. That they would quietly go about doing this, without ever standing up and looking for any kind of recognition or reward is one of the great things about this country, in general, and my parents, in particular, especially when one considers the depth to which our supposed public servants have sunk these days.
Knowing what Mom and Dad did in their small way for this Country and in a very large way for their sons, I have made it a point, when possible, to visit Dad's grave in or around Martin Luther King day to spend a moment with Dad and reflect. I will be going there later today to apologize.
I will be apologizing for the fact that my generation has systematically dismantled the great Civil Rights triumphs of his generation.
I will be apologizing because Affirmative Action, once a great tool to right one of the greatest wrongs in the history of mankind, is now a four letter word.
I will be apologizing because compassion for fellow man has been thrown out the window. Here in my own hometown, in the midst of one of the most brutal cold snaps of the season, homeless men who had sought shelter in a makeshift tent city in the woods were rousted out by the town and had their tents dismantled and destroyed. In order to make sure they would not return, the town razed the woods that had hidden their encampment, even though their presence had been known to just about everyone in town for years, and they had harmed nobody. They are now homeless, jobless, penniless and hopeless. The town and the county have shown no inclination to help them at any level whatsoever.
I will be apologizing because my state government has decided that two loving people, who contribute to society in ways any others do, by paying taxes, holding down good jobs, being charitable and just being plain decent, have no rights simply because they are both of the same sex.
I will be apologizing because in the midst of one of the great human catastrophes in history which remains ongoing in Haiti, there are those who ridicule desperate efforts to help the victims, yet nobody in public office has the decency to stand up and tell them they are wrong. The persons ridiculing the relief efforts, in the mean time, show no remorse for their words, and further show no indication at all that they believe what they said was wrong at any level at all.
I will be apologizing because it is now apparent that one of the most pressing and basic needs of any society, the need for anyone to have access to proper health care, will fall victim to the need and greed of corporations to make money, of "special interests", who nuture this greed for their own reasons, and of politicians who cowtow to those interest groups just to get re-elected. I would further note that many of these spineless cowards, after scuttling meaningful reform in the past, have gone to work for these corporations, a process that will continue.
Finally, I will be apologizing because it all happened on my generation's and therefore my watch. I know that those who should be apologizing will not. They do not believe they have done anything wrong. In fact, they will be ridiculing those of us, like me, who believe that great wrongs have been perpetrated in the name of our society, and doing what they can to mock the fact that anyone would dare to believe that we can do better.
We can and must do better. We owe it to ourselves. Most of all, we owe it to those such as my parents who lead the way down the right path, only to watch us lose our way once it was our turn.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
mom for v.p.
for those interested, please refer to the raging debate on balkinization. i fully support my mother's dark horse candidacy to become the first registered democrat, not to mention septagenarian female jewish social worker, to be the republican candidate for vice-president. equality for all! a moose in every pot!
Friday, February 08, 2008
Thank the Lord for Tivo
I am a Giants' fan. I have been for years. Some time ago, I even had season tickets. How I lost them is a story for another occasion.
Two months ago, my wife and I decided to go to Las Vegas for a long weekend. It was not until we had booked the flights, hotel, shows, etc. that we realized that we were going the weekend of the Super Bowl. Mrs. Graber asked if I wanted to switch weekends, to which I noted that it was okay as it, because there was no way the Giants would be in the Super Bowl....
Thankfully, the game has been, and will continue to be replayed over and over again, as the non-stop flight back to New York began minutes after the opening kick off.
Two months ago, my wife and I decided to go to Las Vegas for a long weekend. It was not until we had booked the flights, hotel, shows, etc. that we realized that we were going the weekend of the Super Bowl. Mrs. Graber asked if I wanted to switch weekends, to which I noted that it was okay as it, because there was no way the Giants would be in the Super Bowl....
Thankfully, the game has been, and will continue to be replayed over and over again, as the non-stop flight back to New York began minutes after the opening kick off.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
I'm a Wuss
I'm not exactly sure what a wuss is, but as I understand it, a wuss is a person who will not stand up for his rights, even when he knows he's right, because he doesn't want to deal with the consequences. As a result, he capitulates, and just does what he is told.
Each summer, my wife packs up as soon as the school year ends and heads out to our summer home in Wyoming. I head out there when I can, but generally, since I have this annoying thing to deal with called "clients", it's not as much as I would like. My wife returns home just before Labor Day all refreshed and ready for the new school year. I return to my normal lifestyle, which bears a vague resemblance to something with large bags under its' eyes. In the interim, my sons and I live a "man's life" at home, which means that there are lots of ballgames on the television, which are not interrupted or sullied with continuous complaints that we love the games more than we love her, laundry is done based solely on the time honored tradition of when clean underwear has run out, and daily menus are set by whatever the special at the local takeout is that day. This year has been extra special on this last point, as the boys both work at a local pizzeria, and get to take home the leftovers at the end of the day. I will have to check before the wife comes home to see if the oven still works.
Before heading out west, Mrs. Graber usually leaves behind her a list of chores she would like to see done before she returns. High atop the list every year is making sure her garden looks good when she gets home. My wife takes great pride in her garden. In high bloom it does look very colorful and nice. On the other hand, I could care less about caring for a garden, which basically means that I have to go out in the heat and humidity every day and pull weeds, which many times I cannot tell from her "babies". One year, I managed to pull out an entire section of the garden she had devoted to growing herbs, a mistake that might have been repeated this year for all I know. At least when she got home, that section of the garden looked clean, as opposed to the rest of the garden. I have suggested in the past that I will "take care" of her garden while she is gone by plowing it under and placing sod over it. Apparently, when this was said, it was not what she wanted to hear. I became intimate for the next few nights with the pillows on the sofa in the living room.
So this summer has been a "man's life" once again. TV dinners have been all the rage. I have caught up with every sports stat known to man, and a few that aren't. Somewhere in the house is a collection of undershirts, although I haven't the slightest idea of where. They certainly aren't in the drawer where they were when she left. The boys and I have cheerfully experimented once again with seeing how high dirty laundry, junk mail, old shoes and plain old stuff can pile on the porch before the windows blow out. I have even gone out for a beer or two, toasting my freedom that enables me to do what I want. All the while, we keep saying that if my wife wanted the house to look and smell clean, she would be here in New York with us instead of by herself in Wyoming, so when she returns, she will get what she deserves.
Well...
Tomorrow morning, I head out to Wyoming. When I return, she will be back in New York with me. That means today is the last day of "It's a Man's Life, 2007". I could observe the occasion in a number of ways. There is plenty of beer in the refrigerator (along with old take out containers which might even go back to last summer). According to the TV Guide, there are lots of ballgames on the tube today. There's a great band scheduled to play a gig at my favorite jazz club in the city tonight.
But I don't want to be yelled at, given mean looks or sent to whisper sweet nothings to the pillows on the living room sofa when I get back. I am presently on the ninth load of the weekend in the washing machine. There are at least three more to go. I will spend the rest of the day, cleaning the porch, the refrigerator, and even my office so that it looks nice and pretty when we get back. I may even clean the bathroom floor, including the dreaded netherland behind the toilet. The garden is on its own.
I'm a wuss.
Each summer, my wife packs up as soon as the school year ends and heads out to our summer home in Wyoming. I head out there when I can, but generally, since I have this annoying thing to deal with called "clients", it's not as much as I would like. My wife returns home just before Labor Day all refreshed and ready for the new school year. I return to my normal lifestyle, which bears a vague resemblance to something with large bags under its' eyes. In the interim, my sons and I live a "man's life" at home, which means that there are lots of ballgames on the television, which are not interrupted or sullied with continuous complaints that we love the games more than we love her, laundry is done based solely on the time honored tradition of when clean underwear has run out, and daily menus are set by whatever the special at the local takeout is that day. This year has been extra special on this last point, as the boys both work at a local pizzeria, and get to take home the leftovers at the end of the day. I will have to check before the wife comes home to see if the oven still works.
Before heading out west, Mrs. Graber usually leaves behind her a list of chores she would like to see done before she returns. High atop the list every year is making sure her garden looks good when she gets home. My wife takes great pride in her garden. In high bloom it does look very colorful and nice. On the other hand, I could care less about caring for a garden, which basically means that I have to go out in the heat and humidity every day and pull weeds, which many times I cannot tell from her "babies". One year, I managed to pull out an entire section of the garden she had devoted to growing herbs, a mistake that might have been repeated this year for all I know. At least when she got home, that section of the garden looked clean, as opposed to the rest of the garden. I have suggested in the past that I will "take care" of her garden while she is gone by plowing it under and placing sod over it. Apparently, when this was said, it was not what she wanted to hear. I became intimate for the next few nights with the pillows on the sofa in the living room.
So this summer has been a "man's life" once again. TV dinners have been all the rage. I have caught up with every sports stat known to man, and a few that aren't. Somewhere in the house is a collection of undershirts, although I haven't the slightest idea of where. They certainly aren't in the drawer where they were when she left. The boys and I have cheerfully experimented once again with seeing how high dirty laundry, junk mail, old shoes and plain old stuff can pile on the porch before the windows blow out. I have even gone out for a beer or two, toasting my freedom that enables me to do what I want. All the while, we keep saying that if my wife wanted the house to look and smell clean, she would be here in New York with us instead of by herself in Wyoming, so when she returns, she will get what she deserves.
Well...
Tomorrow morning, I head out to Wyoming. When I return, she will be back in New York with me. That means today is the last day of "It's a Man's Life, 2007". I could observe the occasion in a number of ways. There is plenty of beer in the refrigerator (along with old take out containers which might even go back to last summer). According to the TV Guide, there are lots of ballgames on the tube today. There's a great band scheduled to play a gig at my favorite jazz club in the city tonight.
But I don't want to be yelled at, given mean looks or sent to whisper sweet nothings to the pillows on the living room sofa when I get back. I am presently on the ninth load of the weekend in the washing machine. There are at least three more to go. I will spend the rest of the day, cleaning the porch, the refrigerator, and even my office so that it looks nice and pretty when we get back. I may even clean the bathroom floor, including the dreaded netherland behind the toilet. The garden is on its own.
I'm a wuss.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Can We Sink Any Lower?
One look at the posts below will be enough to convince anyone who can read even a little bit that I do not post all that often. It's now been more than a year. During that time, I have satisfied my inner yearnings to comment on issues of the day by reading Jack Balkin's blog, "Balkinization", and adding a comment here and there when the urge struck. When I first started following his blog some time in 2004, the discussions were intelligent, provocative and more or less the most interesting commentary on politics and law I have seen anywhere.
DISCLAIMER -- I started reading Balkinization when my brother, Mark Graber, became a regular contributor.
Over the course of the past year or so, however, the comments on Balkinization have deteriorated. It has now reached the otherwise unimaginable point where Profs. Lederman and Balkin have disabled the comments portion of their contributions. I never thought it would come to this point. I always thought that the respect for the First Amendment of the professors would outweigh their disgust at the deterioration of the discussion. I cannot say, however, that I blame them.
Personally, I bade my farewell to the comments section of the blog about a month ago when a perfectly reasonable post by Prof. Koppelman was dragged into the gutter by two of the commenters with considerable help from many others. The post itself concerned the question of why a friend of the professor was forced to go to Canada to obtain medical treatment for a serious and life threatening disease. One commenter, as per his usual modus operandi, made a brief snide remark about liberal academics and then signed off, not to be heard again in the thread. Another claimed that somehow his religion had been demeaned by the post, and proceeded to drag the comments down as to whether or not the good professor was biased against all good Christians in general, and his religion, which we never really given the precise identity of, in particular, or why it had been demeaned. Instead of ignoring the nonsense, the rest of the community fell for the bait, and the fun and games started. In the end, if there was one, there were precious few points made about the state of the health care system in this country, and plenty about whether or not the unknown religion of the commenter and the commenter himself had been defamed. I don't know if the intent of the commenter was to shift the subject away from the original post or not; however, that was the overall effect in the end. When the hue and cry rang out to stick to the topic, our fearless commenter went on crying that he and his religion had been demeaned, and the rest of the mob continued along those lines instead of returning to an on point discussion of an otherwise very important and interesting topic.
The ridiculous level of the comments to that post and the vast majority of those that followed achieved the impossible. First Prof. Lederman, and then Prof. Balkin disabled the comments feature on their posts, which for me, took away a major portion of the interest in reading the blog. Frankly, I exchanged e-mails with both professors begging them not to do this, and simply asking that there be a general posting signed by all regular contributors to the blog, asking for civility and intelligence in the comments in order to preserve them within the blog. As readers of Balkinization know, as of now, there has been no such post.
Most recently, a post questioning why America has not taken an introspective look at itself in light of faults in its past (treatment of Indians, slavery, etc.), especially when Germany appears comfortable doing this, was met with a ridiculous display by approximately six commenters, equal to both sides of the political fence. There are presently well over three hundred comments, primarily from these few, many of which are devoted to answering the vital question, "Is it safer in Detroit or Baghdad?", as if that issue has any relevance at all, especially to the post. While the commenters have each in their way decried the off topic comments, and sworn that this should stop, they have each gone right on shouting over each other. It is clear from the comments that each simply wants to play "Gotcha" with the others. It is equally clear that none of the commenters has the slightest interest in listening to what anyone else has to say.
Which got me to thinking...
Isn't this what our government in general has sunk to? Maybe we're all just playing "Follow the Leader". It seems that almost everyone in Washington is playing their own version of "Gotcha". It also seems that nobody is really and truly interested in listening to what anyone else has to say, which while personified primarily in the executive branch these days, doesn't require Sherlock Holmes to find everywhere else not only in the federal branch of government, but in the states as well. I would invite all to look at "Choppergate" here in New York.
When we reach the point where champions of the First Amendment are cutting off free speech because the level of discourse is so low as to not be worth it, where have we sunk as a society? Why do we allow our leaders to tell us that basic criticism of their policies is unpatriotic, and somehow emboldens our enemies? My very first posting here concerned my son Jeremy, then in the army, telling me what nonsense that idea is; however, here we are more than three years later, yet we somehow have allowed our leaders to keep us stuck at this useless point. Why are we not addressing the more basic and vital issues, such as: Where are those who are making sure our rights are secured? Where are those who are protecting us from predatory corporations simply out to make a buck? Why aren't we being fortified from the next inevitable terrorist attack? Why are many of our people hungry? Why are we more interested in making sure that insurance companies make a huge profit than we are in making sure a sick child receives proper medical care?
It has nothing to do with liberals. It has nothing to do with conservatives. It has everything to do with the base desire of our leaders that has now been instilled in each of us to show that we as individuals are right, and everyone else is wrong. There is no tolerance from anyone towards anyone. Compassion, empathy, curiosity and the need to learn and expand has taken a vacation, if not an early retirement.
As per my last comment at Balkinization, I will no longer comment there. It is no longer worth it. I am deeply hurt by this development, but no more than I am hurt by my fellow commenters allowing it to get to this point, or by our leaders for showing us all how to get there. It is my fervent hope that the level of discourse will rise to the point where we can listen to each other, and not spend our time trying to prove that we are right on ridiculous points that mean nothing, so that we may perhaps return to intelligent, thoughtful and enjoyable conversation, and maybe even teach our children how to act. More importantly, maybe we can remind ourselves how we used to behave and talk to each other.
DISCLAIMER -- I started reading Balkinization when my brother, Mark Graber, became a regular contributor.
Over the course of the past year or so, however, the comments on Balkinization have deteriorated. It has now reached the otherwise unimaginable point where Profs. Lederman and Balkin have disabled the comments portion of their contributions. I never thought it would come to this point. I always thought that the respect for the First Amendment of the professors would outweigh their disgust at the deterioration of the discussion. I cannot say, however, that I blame them.
Personally, I bade my farewell to the comments section of the blog about a month ago when a perfectly reasonable post by Prof. Koppelman was dragged into the gutter by two of the commenters with considerable help from many others. The post itself concerned the question of why a friend of the professor was forced to go to Canada to obtain medical treatment for a serious and life threatening disease. One commenter, as per his usual modus operandi, made a brief snide remark about liberal academics and then signed off, not to be heard again in the thread. Another claimed that somehow his religion had been demeaned by the post, and proceeded to drag the comments down as to whether or not the good professor was biased against all good Christians in general, and his religion, which we never really given the precise identity of, in particular, or why it had been demeaned. Instead of ignoring the nonsense, the rest of the community fell for the bait, and the fun and games started. In the end, if there was one, there were precious few points made about the state of the health care system in this country, and plenty about whether or not the unknown religion of the commenter and the commenter himself had been defamed. I don't know if the intent of the commenter was to shift the subject away from the original post or not; however, that was the overall effect in the end. When the hue and cry rang out to stick to the topic, our fearless commenter went on crying that he and his religion had been demeaned, and the rest of the mob continued along those lines instead of returning to an on point discussion of an otherwise very important and interesting topic.
The ridiculous level of the comments to that post and the vast majority of those that followed achieved the impossible. First Prof. Lederman, and then Prof. Balkin disabled the comments feature on their posts, which for me, took away a major portion of the interest in reading the blog. Frankly, I exchanged e-mails with both professors begging them not to do this, and simply asking that there be a general posting signed by all regular contributors to the blog, asking for civility and intelligence in the comments in order to preserve them within the blog. As readers of Balkinization know, as of now, there has been no such post.
Most recently, a post questioning why America has not taken an introspective look at itself in light of faults in its past (treatment of Indians, slavery, etc.), especially when Germany appears comfortable doing this, was met with a ridiculous display by approximately six commenters, equal to both sides of the political fence. There are presently well over three hundred comments, primarily from these few, many of which are devoted to answering the vital question, "Is it safer in Detroit or Baghdad?", as if that issue has any relevance at all, especially to the post. While the commenters have each in their way decried the off topic comments, and sworn that this should stop, they have each gone right on shouting over each other. It is clear from the comments that each simply wants to play "Gotcha" with the others. It is equally clear that none of the commenters has the slightest interest in listening to what anyone else has to say.
Which got me to thinking...
Isn't this what our government in general has sunk to? Maybe we're all just playing "Follow the Leader". It seems that almost everyone in Washington is playing their own version of "Gotcha". It also seems that nobody is really and truly interested in listening to what anyone else has to say, which while personified primarily in the executive branch these days, doesn't require Sherlock Holmes to find everywhere else not only in the federal branch of government, but in the states as well. I would invite all to look at "Choppergate" here in New York.
When we reach the point where champions of the First Amendment are cutting off free speech because the level of discourse is so low as to not be worth it, where have we sunk as a society? Why do we allow our leaders to tell us that basic criticism of their policies is unpatriotic, and somehow emboldens our enemies? My very first posting here concerned my son Jeremy, then in the army, telling me what nonsense that idea is; however, here we are more than three years later, yet we somehow have allowed our leaders to keep us stuck at this useless point. Why are we not addressing the more basic and vital issues, such as: Where are those who are making sure our rights are secured? Where are those who are protecting us from predatory corporations simply out to make a buck? Why aren't we being fortified from the next inevitable terrorist attack? Why are many of our people hungry? Why are we more interested in making sure that insurance companies make a huge profit than we are in making sure a sick child receives proper medical care?
It has nothing to do with liberals. It has nothing to do with conservatives. It has everything to do with the base desire of our leaders that has now been instilled in each of us to show that we as individuals are right, and everyone else is wrong. There is no tolerance from anyone towards anyone. Compassion, empathy, curiosity and the need to learn and expand has taken a vacation, if not an early retirement.
As per my last comment at Balkinization, I will no longer comment there. It is no longer worth it. I am deeply hurt by this development, but no more than I am hurt by my fellow commenters allowing it to get to this point, or by our leaders for showing us all how to get there. It is my fervent hope that the level of discourse will rise to the point where we can listen to each other, and not spend our time trying to prove that we are right on ridiculous points that mean nothing, so that we may perhaps return to intelligent, thoughtful and enjoyable conversation, and maybe even teach our children how to act. More importantly, maybe we can remind ourselves how we used to behave and talk to each other.
Monday, March 28, 2005
i feel great
Moving away from the usual nonsense, I just watched Bob Tway at the Tournament Players Championship on television get a twelve on a par three hole. Not for nothing, but my day is made, as it confirms for me what I have always said. Every now and then, I can play golf just like the pros...
