Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

beauty all around us if only we have eyes to see and ears to hear...

thanks to Fernando for pointing this out

9/12

Now, I don't think for a moment that everyone who went to the gathering in D.C. on 9/12 is ignorant, but this video is telling...



There are a lot of folk out there who have been riled up with misinformation or no information. I'm reminded of the book Whats the Matter with Kansas where Thomas Frank talked about an entire population of people being manipulated to vote against their own best interests.

I'm still waiting for an intelligent conversation regarding the health care crisis from a conservative. Here's a short video of a response from Representative Eric Cantor, I believe from Virginia.



So... notice his two solutions - government programs, which he is fighting against, and charity care, which of course, begs the question - who pays then? If a hospital provides charity care, paying customers pay via higher fees, the hospital does not and should not eat the costs. And if the care is provided by some charity organization, those fees are covered by folk who have donated or possibly by government funding. And in either case, care is limited.

Hershey

Yesterday I had to take Hershey to the vet to be euthanized. He was 17 years old and had been sick off and on for the last month or so. He was obviously in pain and was growing weaker by the hour. It was a very hard thing for me to do and I cried (and felt a little embarrassed to be almost unable to speak to the nurse at the vets office).

Pets become part of the family and after 17 years, Hershey was certainly a part of ours. And he was my cat. When I sat at the table for a meal, he jumped into my lap and sat there through the meal. When watching television, he would sit on the back of the sofa, nuzzled up against the back of my neck. When I was at home, he would follow me from room to room, just to be nearby. The old man was my buddy and I miss him terribly.

He was a York Chocolate - a breed developed outside of Albany, NY and very rare in the US. They're evidently popular in Italy. We got him from the woman who developed the breed but she is no longer breeding them. They are smart, very agile, friendly, easy to care for, and like to be around people. Some have referred to them as the dogs of the cat world. We called Hershey a satellite cat because he was always orbiting around us.

I'm sure I'll get another pet in a few months... but for right now, I can't imagine another buddy like Hershey.

the problem with partisan politics

I live in California. Out state government is completely disfunctional. The state politicians are completely and absolutely partisan regardless of the impact it has on the citizens of the state. We see it particularly focused every year when they form a state budget. The Republicans come to the table with a single mantra - "no more taxes." The only option is to cut programs, and thanks to the state constitution, they can only cut funding on programs that have not come into being via the proposition process, mstly programs for the poor. There is nothing else to talk about. It doesn't matter whether those cuts will destroy lives of real people. No new taxes. Period. And the Democrats come to the table saying "we will not cut programs." There is no room for anyone to compromise and no room for discussion. The result is paralysis. And the ones who suffer are the people of the state.

I fear that is the direction we have gone in national politics as well. I agree with Keith Olbermann in his commentary on Joe Wilson below except that he misses the source of the stupidity... absolute partisanship that puts political ideology above the welfare of the people. My bias is that this is a trait much more common among those on the right than the left, but regardless of that, it is a characteristic that harbors the seeds of the destruction of our political system. When representatives forget the people they are supposed to be representing and put political ideology above the people's needs, we see stupid comments like this, hear outright lies regarding the ideas of the opposing party, and in general see our process break down.

Joe Wilson cannot look at any of the proposals honestly because to do so might require him to see things differently and perhaps even to compromise a bit. His ideology will not allow that. And we all suffer.

a liberal's pledge to America

I don't know how I missed this after the election... but I could sign this letter

TO MY CONSERVATIVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS
by Michael Moore
I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.
Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.
Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:
Dear Conservatives and Republicans,
I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.
3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.
4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.
5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.
6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.
7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.
10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.
11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.
12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.

what might it look like...

first off, I didn't get to hear Obama's speech, haven't read it, and have only heard a little commentary about it.

so

OK... lot's of folk are afraid of "government interference" in their health care. I'll drop the arguments about Medicare, the VA, and government employee's health insurance... I still think the best solution is single payer like the Canadian system but it isn't the only way to do it. Let me just throw out some suggestions of what a private option might look like and actually work.

Let the insurance companies continue to run the system but put these brakes on it...

Everyone must be insured at the same price for the same coverage. Nobody gets excluded because of pre-existing conditions, nobody has to pay a higher premium, and nobody gets dropped. The company comes up with its plan, prices it, and anybody can purchase it at that price.

Right now, the average US insurance company pays out less than 80 cents for medical care from each dollar that comes in. Medicare is about 97 cents. The French system, that cultural model of efficiency, is about 96 cent. Let's put a cap here and heck I'll even compromise some... say93 cents out of every dollar must go out for medical care. That eaves 7% to cover administrative costs and if they choose, profit. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with making profits... except when people's lives are at stake. So why get into that business? Look at the European system where private insurance companies have not for profit sections for health insurance but use that to build their business in other for-profit sections such as home owners, auto, and life insurance.

No deductibles. Either no or very small co-pays.

a single billing structure across all of the companies. A person visits the doctor and a single reimbursement form goes out to whatever company it is and they all pay the same thing. If the company does not pay the physician's office within a certain number of days, the company is fined.

Everyone must be insured. Who pays or how is it paid for? That could go any number of ways, but it must be structured to be affordable for everyone whether that is through taxes (my reference), government subsidies for those who cannot afford it or some other scheme.

move to a new community and need insurance? You don't need to wait for an "enrollment" period. If your old company doesn't do business there, you get insurance from another, no problem, no hassles.

Are there other requirements? Maybe, but these are a good start. Or just go with a Canadian style single payer system.

Liars

On July 31, Investors' Business Daily had an editorial against health care reform in which they said that under a "socialized system" like the one in the UK, a brilliant man Like Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance. The system would judge him as too handicapped and essentially worthless and so would deny care to him and allow him to die. Unfortunately, the writer was a bit more concerned about making an argument than checking facts. Stephen Hawking lives in Great Britain and is alive because of the British system, the most socialized health delivery system in the world.

So, the very illustration they used proved their argument is wrong. So you'd expect an apology or a re-evaluation of their stand, right? Nope. Instead they removed Hawkings name and kept the exact same argument in spite of knowing they were wrong. Here is the current version of the editorial. So, what can you say about such folk except they are liars.

Now, I did run into a situation that proves the brokenness of our current US system. A friend of mine has a "daughter-in-law" (she and the son were never married but she is the mother of my friend's grandchildren. The son died two years ago). She found a lump in her breast. She went to the doctor who feels pretty confident that it is cancer and sent her off to see a surgeon. He agreed that it is likely cancer and that surgery needs to happen as quickly as possible... the problem is, she doesn't have health insurance. She works as a waitress n a chain restaurant and makes about $7 a hour to support herself and her two children. She was told that she would have to pay the bills - surgeon, hospital, anesthesiologist, etc. - up front before she could have the surgery. So while she is trying desperately to come up with the money, the cancer grows and her chances diminish. And this is the best we can do?

Many people who hear her story are incensed that the physician etc. don't just do the surgery and either swallow the costs or work out some kind of payment plan. Well, if they "swallow" the costs, we all end up paying anyhow, you can't reasonably expect the doctor to personally swallow the costs and the hospital would just pass the costs on to other patients... and she can't possibly afford even a small payment with her income and her situation. So, she is scrambling. You can play out the possibilities.

We need reform NOW

and we're back to health care

I love it

Facebook Passion

for something completely different

I think the health care reform debate is he most important issue on the table right now... but sometimes, it just get's tiring. So...



I have really mixed feelings about this little video. On the one hand, the sheer joy and abandonment of the kids is wonderful. I wish I had that kind of freedom to just let it out. On the other hand, watching some of the moves the kids are trying to do, it is clear they've been watching videos and I can't help but think that most of those videos just aren't appropriate for children to be watching. And I don't know if it is challenging me to be more childlike or trying to make this children be more grown up than they should be.

So enjoy it, or be worried by it, or be inspired to be a little more childlike, or to be sure your children are children. And I'll be back on health care later on.

start over

I'm more than a little frustrated at the way things have gone with the health care reform initiative. The bills are too complicated, they have left too many easy targets for the Republicans who have no reason at all to pass a positive reform bill, and the dems have allowed the discredited losers - ie the Republican Party - to set the terms of the discussion. They have done so in a way that is marked by misinformation and outright lies, aimed at frightening people and stopping needed reform. As things are, I don't see a way for the dems to change the discussion short of starting all over again.

I think Obama should sit down with the democratic leaders and say, "OK, scrap everything that was done and start over. Here are the non-negotiables: the bill must be simple. everyone must be covered and nobody can be excluded nor can conditions be excluded. whoever does insurance, it must be not-for-profit. The rules must be the same across the board, ie. there must be a simple system for reporting/billing/sharing information. Administration must be simple and cannot cost more than X% (something well under 10). Whoever pays, it must be affordable. Here's what it would look like if I was writing the bill (and he hands them an option). We must pass this or nothing. Any bill that doesn't meet these non-negotiables is not acceptable. If the right bill fails, so be it but as Bill Moyer said, 'a half a loaf of bread still doesn't feed the people.'"

"We need to frame this as a moral argument. It is immoral for this nation to have people who are uninsured or underinsured. It is immoral that some Americans do not carry their part of the load we must all bear as a society. It is un-american to allow a neighbor to suffer when we can do something about it. And we must remind people that even those with insurance under the current system are at incredible risk. Medical expenses are the #1 cause of bankruptcy. Lack of portability hurts our competitiveness as do the incredible costs of health care on responsible businesses that provide insurance to their employees. The current system is unacceptable to me and it should be unacceptable to everyone in our nation."

"As a second bill, we must address the need for physicians and deal with their concerns around malpractice insurance, cost of education, and job satisfaction. Then we need to do the same thing with other medical practitioners - nurses, technicians, etc."

My preference is for a govt. run single payer, but I can see other ways to accomplish the non-negotiables. Get this kind of a bill out there and then let the Republicans fight it if they want. Let them defeat a bill that this nation critically needs and then let them explain why they acted in an immoral way, but do not allow them to set the terms.

Start over. Define the terms. Present a simple bill. Get it done, President Obama. I voted for you, in part because I wanted to see this change take place.

political process

Watching the political process these days has me frightened. It seems that there are folk on the right who are pushing things far beyond what is acceptable. I know that when Bush was in office there were those who compared him with Hitler and did and said some things that were inappropriate. Still, things have gone far beyond that at this point when people who call themselves Christians are praying for the death of the president.

I'd like to share a blog I read the other day from Harold's Left. I think he did such a good job that rather than just link it, I'd like to just quote the entire blog entry... I think it is an important read.

Harold's Left:

There is a silent group of American citizens who are set to launch a campaign of hate and possibly terror against the American government. Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona is one of the leaders of this new movement of hate. From his pulpit Anderson spews words that are vicious by any qualification, lulling hundreds of followers into believing a rhetoric that is not only violent, it's treasonous.

"Nope. I'm not gonna pray for his good. I'm going to pray that he dies and goes to hell. When I go to bed tonight, that's what I'm going to pray. And you say, 'Are you just saying that?' No. When I go to bed tonight, Steven L. Anderson is going to pray for Barack Obama to die and go to hell."


These words, in and of themselves, are not illegal. The problem is Anderson is amassing a hard-core group of "New Christian Soldiers" who believe it is their duty to save America from the devil that is Barack Obama. These "soldiers" are not carrying the Bible or scripture to rallies and protests, they are carrying AR-15's and pistols. Anderson went on to say:

"And yet you're going to tell me that I'm supposed to pray for the socialist devil, murderer, infanticide, who wants to see young children and he wants to see babies killed through abortion and partial-birth abortion and all these different things -- you're gonna tell me I'm supposed to pray for God to give him a good lunch tomorrow while he's in Phoenix, Arizona."


During this visit that Anderson refers to last week, in which the president was in Phoenix to discuss health care reform, one of his followers brought an AR-15 to the event. Okay, so lets connect the dots a bit. Hate spewing pastor preaches consistently that Barack Obama is the devil, wishes him dead, and one of his followers brings an AR-15 to a presidential event... Not sure about you, but that sounds like an extremely threatening posture. Moreover, this group of protesters, most of whom were armed, went on long monologues right outside the security perimeter about how Obama is an imminent threat to America. The critics on the Right claim that he was "outside the security perimeter", therefore he is legal in his actions. True, his actions were legal, however we need to rethink the security perimeter. An AR-15 assault rifle is essentially the same rifle I have used for years as an infantryman. It has a maximum range of over 3000 meters (nearly 2 miles) and a maximum effective range of 500 meters (over 5 football fields). Is it acceptable to have these weapons anywhere near the president? If there is legal justification to stop all air traffic near the president, is it not equally permissible to stop assault rifles? Where does that boundary begin? Are we going to allow right-wing lunatics to set up machine gun positions with anti-tank mines outside of presidential events too, all in the name of the "2nd Amendment"?

Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks asked a particularly important question on his video blog this week. First it was one guy with a pistol in New Hampshire, now 12 fanatics with pistols and assault rifles in phoenix. What do we do if 200 people show up with semi-automatics weapons to a presidential event? According to Sean Hannity these protesters are just "honest Americans upset by a leftist administration".

I'd like to counter Hannity's garbage logic with a fictitious, but analogous situation. Let's say it's 2005 and a group of Muslims does not agree with the policies of the Bush administration in Iraq. Bush had Biblical verses on his daily intelligence briefing, which this Muslin group took as the president attempting a holy crusade against Muslims. So the Imam at a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, all of his members being American citizens, spews vicious hate against Bush and the current American government. He spews this hate by advocating for the death of the president, saying he should go to hell. Furthermore, this Imam rallies his followers to take up arms. Consequently, at a Bush event in Ann Arbor 15 Muslims from this mosque show up with AK-47's and pistols, right outside the event. At the event they are chanting "Allah hu Akbar" and telling the press that Bush's administration must be stopped at all costs. Sound familiar? Only difference is that we can all agree that the reaction by the government, the people, and the media would be vastly different in my scenario. There would be arrests, indictments, and full use of the Patriot Act. Fox News and the Republican Party would be branding this as a new threat to American security, just as I suspect MSNBC and the Democratic Party would as well.

The blatant hypocrisy in this debate does not make this threat by Christian extremist groups like NCS any less deadly. In fact, it may only heighten the threat because these groups are allowed to operate so freely. The alignment of Christian extremists, right-wing militias, and white nationalists is mixing to form a undeniably dangerous threat to American safety. Especially since many of the people in these groups are armed, fanatical, and truly believe that they are patriots. I still believe that Muslim extremism is indeed a threat to our national security, that is evidenced by 9-11. However, in the future our gravest threat may by from a group of people that come from within our boarders and who some on the Right call "true Americans"

why we need universal health care

here's a simple explanation of why we need government provided health insurance



if you have a blog, add this to it. If not, e-mail it to all of your friends. we need to get the message out there.

socialist fire departments

The question regarding health care continues to be the same... is it a right or a privilege.

I came across a wonderful group on Facebook - 1 Million Strong Against Our Socialist Fire Departments.

Evidently, prior to the Chicago Fire, fire protection in most or all of the USA was not "socialized." Individuals paid monthly fees to private, for profit, fire companies to protect their homes. For your monthly fee, you got a badge that you placed in the window. If a fire started and the company responded, they would fight the fire if they saw the badge. If you didn't have the badge but your neighbor did, they would hose down the neighbor's house to keep the fire from spreading. If neither had a badge, they returned to their station and let the fire burn. After the Chicago fire, it was decided that there was a better way to protect people from fire and fire departments became "socialist."

I have to say that as I have watched the fires in the hills above Santa Barbara over the past year plus, I am glad for socialism.

Why is fire protection a responsibility of the government and health care is not? We all pay to make sure our neighbor's house doesn't burn down, but if they are suffering from illness, we turn away. Doesn't make sense to me.

Perhaps we need to resubmit Teddy Kennedy's 2007 bill that would have extended Medicare to all Americans?

Billionaires for Wealthcare

Watch the stats as they go by on the bottom of the screen. Those plus the $1.4 million a day paid by the insurance industry to lobby against healthcare reform ought to raise some eyebrows.

I like the idea and wish they weren't quite so silly with it... and I hope it is helping some people to think a bit more about the issue. I really like the additional tactic of having waiver forms at town meetings for people to sign up to opt out of medicare, after all it is a single payer, government run insurance program. So if they are against a public option, they should be against it as well. And ditto for the Congress people. If they are so against the public option, let them tell their constituencies they want to abolish medicare. If they aren't willing to do that, then they are liars. We need a strong public option or better yet, a single payer system.

And yes, I know there are problems with Medicare (many of them caused by the same lobbyists) but it is an effective and necessary program, without which many of our seniors would be unable to have any healthcare because they would be unable to get insurance from any for profit company. They bring too much risk to the table. So fix it... and enlarge the improved version to be available for all citizens.

Guitars & Poverty

Jay Duncan, a luthier from Canada has done one of the coolest things ever... as a way of helping some folk in Uganda to become self-sufficient, he has taught them to build guitars and is selling them through the the Duncan Africa Society. The prices are reasonable for a handmade guitar and the cause is amazing. I hope they're able to really get this project off the ground.

And if you are looking for a guitar AND a way to make a difference in an individual's life along with all of that person's network of relationships, look into one of these guitars.

racism in US politics

here is a wonderful short article by Tim Wise on the role of racism in the current yelling from the right wing.

Red-Baiting and Racism: Socialism as the New Black Bogeyman

well worth a read

Jon Stewart on the town hall meetings

I especially like the hypocrisy around 5:00...

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10cHealther Skelterwww.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Spinal Tap Performance

the real issue

I often listen to talk radio as I drive and for part of my commute to church, the only station I can get is right wing talk radio. So, for fifteen or twenty minutes, I listen to whoever is on. Today, I came to work a bit late as it is normally my day off, and I turned on Rush Limbaugh. I have to say that I find him one of the most obnoxious people alive. Still, in listening to him, the real issue in the debate about health care became clear.

It is not about freedom of choice. Anyone who raises that issue is either naive or lying. The only people who have freedom of choice are those who have enough resources that they can afford to pay, out of pocket, for any health care they desire. Everyone else, regardless of what kind of insurance or lack of insurance they have is at the mercy of the system. If you have private insurance, they make the choices. If you have a government sponsored insurance like Medicare, they make the choices. If you have no insurance, there are no choices to be made.

It is not about the slippery slope to socialism. This morning, Limbaugh tied what he referred to as socialized medicine as Hitler's first step to taking over Germany and implied that if we go that way, we will face the same fate that Germany experienced in the 30's. Of course, that argument ignores the evidence that every other industrialized country has a system that Mr. L would call socialist. They haven't all followed in Hitler's footsteps.

No, the issue is whether or not health care is a part of the commons. Does everyone have a right to health care or is it a commodity to be purchased only by the rich. In other words, do we as a society owe health care to the poor. The question is that simple. How one answers the question determines where one can come out on this argument. If health care is a right to be enjoyed by everyone, then the government must become involved. If it is not, then our current for-profit system is fine.

As a person who tries to follow Jesus, the answer seems pretty clear to me.

health care again... until we all get it

In his periodic personal reflections, Roy Medley, the General Secretary of the American Baptist Churches, USA (my denomination) addresses the health care crisis. He begins with these words...

Health care needs to be affordable. For too many it is not.
Health care needs to be portable. For too many it is not.
Health care systems need to be more efficient. Too many are not.
Health care should not involve profiteering. For some it does.
Health care needs to be available. For too many it is not.

That is the key isn't it? The current system is broken. (I encourage you to read his entire article linked in the first sentence...) Anyone who argues against a single payer system comes back to those five simple facts and cannot adequately address them. There is no other way that I can see that addresses all of the concerns. To leave any of them unaddressed is unjust and poor stewardship of the resources of our nation. As a person of faith I would say that to leave any of these issues unaddressed is sin.

write you legislators and tell them to get on board with a strong public option, or better yet to remove the insurance companies altogether.

wedding

Generally, I'm not crazy about doing weddings. They tend to be high pressure, low integrity events. Now, I have participated in some that were wonderful but that tends to be the exception in my experience.

This one looks like fun.



Just think... dancing into marriage rather than marching. Sounds good to me.

health care - 2 arguments

I am fascinated that there are two arguments circulating against a government sponsored health care plan... two arguments that conflict with each other. Let me address both of them.

The first is that the government can't do anything well so we can't allow them to do something as important as health care. A sub argument of this is that or system is already "the best in the world."

Let's get rid of the sub argument. According to the World Health Organization the US ranks37th in the world, just between 36- Costa Rico and 38, Slovenia. France is 1 and Italy is 2. We are still behind such countries as Singapore (6), Morocco (29), and Chile (33). We have huge number of folk uninsured who have no access to health care at all until they go into the emergency room and then are paid for by the rest of us. And very few of us have adequate health insurance. A few years ago my daughter needed surgery. Without it, she would have chronic pain in her jaw, eventually would lose her hearing, and would have her jaw lock occasionally which would have to be broken to unlock. Our incredibly expensive insurance didn't cover the procedure regardless of the prognosis without it. We were faced with the decision of paying out of pocket or watching that unfold. My daughter carries a new BMW in her mouth. In 2007, 62% of bankruptcies are related to health care costs.

I am always surprised that the same folk who argue against government sponsored health care are happy to rely on government sponsored police protection, fire protection, military, and roads. You can't have it both ways. Either the government is completely inept and shouldn't be doing those things either or you have to allow that government can do some things well. Indeed, there are some things that only government can do well.

Now some would say that they don't want a government bureaucrat making decisions regarding who gets what tests, etc. The problem is that under the current for profit insurance system, a bean counter makes those decisions. For the government employee, at least the primary concern is the public good. For the bean counter, the only concern is maximizing profits. At the bottom line, and it is about the bottom line, they are trying to cover as little as possible so as to spend as little as possible and keep as much as possible of your and my insurance premiums. We learned that with Alexis' surgery. Give me the government bureaucrat any day.

Will some decisions be made that we don't like? Yes. Will some procedures be denied? Yes. Is that different than now. No. The difference is the motivation for denial. Currently it is because of a profit margin. Then, it will be because of projected outcomes.

The second argument against a public option, is that the insurance companies won't be able to compete. Understand that. The government program will be cheaper and better so the insurance companies will not be able to provide the same service at as low a price. I love it. The government program will be too good. And that is an argument against government sponsored health care?

OK, the argument is a little more subtle than that. It goes like this. The government program will be so good and so cheap that the private companies will no longer be able to compete and will go out of business. Eventually there will be no competition and the government program will become sloppy and quality and price will suffer. This argument again ignores the current reality. Almost none of us shop for insurance. If you get it through your employer, they provide what they provide. Take it or leave it. And in large degree, they make contracts based on cost or availability. I get my health insurance through my church. It is ridiculously expensive. It s also the only option we have. If you don't get insurance through an employer, I'll bet you don't have any. Likewise regarding physicians, labs, etc. I get a list... a small list from my insurer and that is where I go. Sometimes there is one name. Sometimes, for some specialties, there are none. I know nothing about any of them and have no way of knowing anything about any of them. So much for choice or competition.

Another piece is the "bad word" - socialist. We can't have socialized medical care. First off, the only country I'm aware of with true socialized medicine - that is where the government owns the hospitals and clinics and the physicians and nurses are government employees - is Great Britain (number 18 on the list). Other countries have socialized insurance where the government provides a single payer insurance and the physicians/hospitals/etc. are private vendors. The difference is one insurance company with all of the economies of scale and the motivation of the public good vs. a system of multiple insurance providers with different rules, providers, and the primary motivation being profit rather than the public good.

There is another argument... and it is the saddest one of all. If we suddenly provide health care for everyone, there won't be enough doctors and facilities. This is always an argument from someone who has health insurance. The bottom line here is, "I have mine, so *%#* you if you don't have yours." It is a real concern but the answer is not to ignore the needs of so many, it is to change the system so we train more healthcare professionals. They do it in every other civilized nation in the world. Why not here?

Whales

On Tuesday I visited Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park for the first time. It was a wonderful trip with my friend, Rasul.

We hoped to see some whales in the Santa Barbara Channel but didn't have any luck. There are blues and humpbacks in the channel but none along our route. I really hope to see a humpback breach someday. We did see a few hundred common dolphins though...

so, whales have been on my mind lately. My friend Ashley Smith posted a link to this wonderful story in the NY Times on the
"friendlies" of Baja.

cool

evangelism

Back east, we called this kind of dancing "the Bennington Noodle" after the sort of hippie dancing we imagined students at Bennington College did and which we often saw at jam band concerts... It is less than rhythmic and certainly not graceful, but it is filled with joy.



A week or so ago, Len Sweet posted a link to Eugene Cho's blog with some discussion of the above video. Sweet tweeted that an entire theology of evangelism could be written from the video. (thank to both of you for sharing this fun video)

I think he's right. I think there is lots here to talk about. I think the video really points up the need in younger generations to be a part of something bigger than they are and to experience a sense of community. It points out the need to stand up for what is in our hearts even when it looks silly... and if we do, it might just become contagious. It underscores the need for a few early adopters. Most importantly for me though, it points to the deep down joy of just letting loose and experiencing the moment. That thought is underscored by the Old Testament reading in this week's lectionary readings - 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19 where David dances before the Ark.

In my sermon prep I read that the word in Aramaic for dance is the same as the word for rejoice... So let us rejoice! or dance! or noodle! and not be concerned if it looks silly.

Michael Jackson

there's been way too much said already... but John Mayer's version of Human Nature at the memorial service is just wonderful. I love the tones he gets out of his guitar and the arrangement with only background vocals is just perfect for this setting.

It's Time

It is time... time for a public option national healthcare plan. Frankly, I don't care whether or not the option of private insurance continues but there must be a public option now.

Her Morning Elegance

a beautiful video and a great song...

translation

ever think about the way that one culture translates into another?

take a look at the opening sequence of The Cosby Show as it is seen in India.

Why I'm a Baptist

I write this to remind myself... because I'm not happy with the directions the tradition has taken nor with the choices that have been made by my own denomination - The American Baptist Churches, USA.

Walter Shurden in his book The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms, says there are four distinctive commitments that define what it means to be a Baptist.

1. Freedom of the Bible - the idea that scripture speaks for itself and the individual believer is obligated to study it using the best possible tools. There is no "official" interpretation of the Bible. Nobody can definitely say, "this is what the Bible means" and therefore there are no creeds or doctrinal checklists.

2. Soul Freedom - Each individual is both able and required to work out his or her own faith and relationship to God with no interference by clergy, church, hierarchies, or state. Nobody can tell you what your relationship to God is supposed to look like. That is between you and God.

3. Freedom of the Church - It is the responsibility of each congregation to work out the shape of its faith and its ministry in its context. No outside body can tell a church what they must believe or how they must do ministry.

4. Freedom of Religion - The state has no power to impose religious tests on anyone or shape religion in any way. The idea of separation of church and state in the US came primarily from the Baptists and the Quakers.

Obviously, Shurden says more about these distinctives than I have shared in 4 short paragraphs but you get the picture and can sense the radicalness inherent in these four commitments. They leave the door open to incredible diversity from TULIP fundamentalists on the right to unitarianism on the left and everything in between. Indeed, the Baptist tradition in the US includes the whole of that diversity. It is that wild and wide tradition that caught my imagination and continues to insire me. It is that crazy mix that seems to me to be the most viable shape for Christianity to take in this post-modern world. It is also a tradition that is frightening to many and seems to me to be being abandoned by almost all Baptist groups.

Let me give one simple example. In the ABCUSA, they are talking about a "common table," i.e. when representatives gather, each of the participating bodies agrees not to send a representative that another body would exclude. Left out are GLBT folk because some of the more conservative folk in ABC will not sit at table with them. How can we claim to be Baptists and then tell a church or group of churches that they cannot send an entire class of people as representatives to our gatherings? What about the first three freedoms? It was in that rough and tumble mix of differing ideas and interpretations that I most clearly heard the voice of the Spirit. And now we move to the lowest common denominator?

I am still a Baptist. I want to remain a Baptist and I dream of a day when some Baptist body stands up and clearly says, "THIS IS WHO WE ARE!" I fear it will never come and the tradition will morph into something it is not, and then disappear completely.

Father's Day

My father died on May 27, 2006. Below is the post I put up that day. I decided to copy it here rather than just link to it.

I still miss him and wish that things had been better. I'll think of him a lot tomorrow.

May 27, 2006
in memoriam George W. Donkin jr.


Some of you know that both of my parents were admitted into hospice in February. Both had severe emphysema and mom has an abdominal aneurysm as well. Dad died peacefully in his sleep this morning. I got to speak to him yesterday on the phone and assured him that we love him and it was OK to let go, we would see that mom was cared for.

Growing up we had the ambiguous relationship that children often have with their parents. Dad never showed his emotions very well and wasn't there a lot. He was a diesel mechanic and worked hard all of his life. He left for work before I got up, came home, often after a stop at a bar for a beer and talk with friends, took a hot bath, ate dinner, and went to sleep. Saturdays, he slept half the day. Sundays, we went to church and then to my grandmother's for Sunday dinner. Friday and Saturday nights were often cards with family or, for a few years, my parents went bowling. I never remember him missing a day of work for any reason. In his late 30's he had back problems... he wore a brace and went to work and when he came home he could barely stand, I would pull on his legs to relieve the pressure. The next day, he went back to work.

It was later that I began to realize that the hard work was his way of showing love. He understood his role as providing for his family and he did that the best he could as a blue collar worker for as long as he could. He probably should have died a few weeks ago but he hung on because he didn't want to leave mother alone.

When I turned 18 I learned that he was not my biological father. My mother married right out of high school, had my older sister, divorced, met my biological father & married, had me, and when I was 9 months old, he died. George Donkin, in his mid 20's, married Jean with a 6 year old daughter and 1 year old son. Three years later George and Jean had a daughter. My biological father was in many ways a fantasy - he was a first mate on an oil tanker and spent much of his time away at sea. When he was at home, it was all gifts and parties and the realities of living together never intruded. George competed with that image all of his life. I know it was difficult for him but he hung in there.

It wasn't until I was well into my adult years that I began to understand more of him and appreciate his love and the faithfulness with which he expressed it. I hope that I have learned that from him.

I love you, Dad. Peace be with you and may God hold you in the palm of his hands.

prop 8... again... again...

Californication

no, not the CD by Red Hot Chili Peppers nor the show on Showtime...

I'm just really frustrated by this state... again...

Our state budget is in the toilet and essential services are being impacted in a serious way. Cuts to education are particularly troubling to me. And there is no need for it. California is a rich state. If it was a country, its economy would be something like the 9th largest in the world. We have everything from agriculture all over the state that feeds the world to Silicon Valley that shapes the way the world shares information. There is no reason our tax base should be unable to provide the basic services we need and pay for the government...

Well, no good reason. There is a reason. Propositions. I've written about this dysfunctional way of doing government before but it has hit the fan now. If you can get a relatively small number of people to sign a petition, you can get a proposition on the ballot. If you have enough money to do some serious advertising, you can get it passed. Once it is passed, the only way it can be changed is by another proposition. The legislature cannot touch any laws enacted by proposition. You've noticed that there are no requirements that the proposition be well written, aware of collateral consequences, or even helpful. You only have to sell it and then it is law.

So, what typically happens is that some special interest passes a law requiring funding for their cause. It may e a good cause. It may even be a great cause... but rarely does the proposition include provisions for a funding stream (that would look too much like a tax). It passes and codifies a program which takes away money from the general budget. Then another proposition is introduced to cut or cap taxes (prop 13 is the grand daddy of all of these). So the income shrinks but the outflow cannot. It is codified. And the legislature cannot address the issue without a proposition. As Bill Maher said in New Rules last week, you end up with a fantasy land where people vote for wonderful programs while also voting to get them essentially for free. And you can see the problem.

FWIW, Paul Krugman had a great column on the issue this week.

Prop 8 showed the other problem with propositions. After the court ruled that the prop 8 stands, there were lots of folk in the media commenting that the people had spoken and the role of government was to honor the wishes of the majority. Frankly, I'm glad that hasn't been the policy in the past. Segregation would not have ended in the south as the majority would clearly have voted to keep the races separate. The list of examples is long. Part of the role of government is to stand against the tyranny of the majority and to ensure the rights of those outside of the mainstream. Regardless of how one feels about this issue, this was not the way to address it.

I don't see any way to get rid of the proposition process... but I sure would like to see it happen.

vocapeople

it's been a while since I posted a video so here is a vocal group that I think is pretty cool... would love to see them live some time.

Torture

There is an awful lot of discussion going on these days regarding the appropriateness or inappropriateness of waterboarding and whether those involved should be prosecuted.

Let me give my short answer and then I'll discuss the issue a bit...

Waterboarding is torture and as such it is never acceptable under any circumstances. All of those who were involved should be prosecuted and it should not be only at the lowest levels. If those higher in the Bush administration approved or ordered those "techniques," they should be prosecuted as well... all of the way up to the president if the trail leads that far.

Yesterday, I was listening to the Dennis Miller show on the radio and he had an exchange with a listener who said whaterboarding is wrong. Miller castigated the values of the listener saying something to the effect of, "you'd probably say that if it was a choice between 100's dying in a building that was attacked vs. waterboarding one known terrorist to get the information to stop the attack, that you'd have the innocent die. I don't want to live in that world. Do what you must do to get the information to save the innocent."

At the most simple level, I would say, "yes, let the attack happen if we must cease to be who we claim to be in order to stop it." But the simplest level is more than a little over simplified. It assumes that there is no other way to get the information and that torture works. Neither of these assumptions are accurate. All of the studies show that torture does not give accurate information. Those being tortured will say anything to stop the pain... and they do. Good police work and good intellegence efforts provide much more accurate and helpful information. But, let's allow thse two assumptions for a moment. Miller's argument begs us to follow his path to its logical conclusions as well... let me do that.

Let's assume we have chatter that an attack is imminent and we have in custody a terrorist who we are 100% positive has the information needed to stop the attack. (again, assumptions that are never accurate but for sake of argument...) So we waterboard the prisoner and he gives no helpful information. We know that waterboarding doesn't always give immediate information or those prisoners who were waterboarded would not have suffered the "technique" hundreds of times. So it becomes clear that the needed answers are not forthcoming. With Miller's argument, we would go the next step. After all, we are dealing with a clearly guilty person and trying to save the lives of 100's of innocents. So do we pull out fingernails? Or cut off fingers? Or electrocute? And then wat if the information still isn't forthcoming? We know the attack is coming and are sure he has the information we need to stop it. Do we bring the prisoner's wife in and rape her in front of him? Or do we begin to cut his 9 year old son's fingers off, one by one? After all, we are dealing with a known terrorist and we are trying to save the lives of 100's of innocents? What is the comparison between the family of one known terrorist killer and the lives of innocents? And so the argument goes to its logical conclusion... Do whatever it takes to get the information. The end justifes the means.

The question is where do we draw the line? The Bush administration tried to draw a line. Waterboarding is OK so many times. Slaming a head against a wall with X force in this way is OK but doing Y is not. Miller's arguent clearly leads to a conclusion that there is no line as long as the end can be construed as noble. I argue that there is a line that stands independent of the end and the line is clear in the law and in international treaties. No torture, ever, and waterboarding is torture.

There are those who argue that because the terrorists kill children, cut off heads, etc. that a little torture is not a problem. I refuse to allow terrorists to define for me what is right and wrong. I refuse to allow them to give me justification to break the clear laws of this country and the treaties we have signed in the past. I think America is and needs to be better than that. If we change who we are in response to their evil, then we have already lost the battle.

Saving Faith

My daughter, Alexis, has recently begun a new video blog - Saving Faith - where she will be sharing some of her thoughts about the Church, where it is and where it needs to be. I think the issues are especially close to her heart since her move to Phoenix. She has had difficulty finding a faith community where she feels like she fits. There are lots of big conservative churches which don't work on a theological level and there are a few liberal churches that she has visited that don't work on a cultural level. So, she continues to struggle and search. I understand her difficulties.

She is passionate, thoughtful, has had a very interesting set of experiences in her life )including a mission experience in Central America and 6 months in India looking at the role of faith in building a civil society), and is very bright... sometimes oversimplifies things a bit perhaps (isn't that a prerogative of someone in their 20's?), but will certainly raise some good questions. I hope some of you will check out her thoughts and enter into genuine dialogue with her.

here is her second entry...

big government

With all of the folk complaining about "big government" these days, I'm thankful for big government. Resources came from all over the state of California and were organized and coordinated and paid for by... the government all to fight the Jesusita Fire. If we hadn't had "big government" at work in Santa Barbara literally thousands of homes would have been lost and who knows how many lives.

Yesterday I heard Dennis Miller say that single payer healthcare would be "like the post office only with wounds." Two observations... everybody gets mail from the post office and I don't remember the last time they lost something of mine. And... so, if you don't like the post office, why not look at the parts of government that you do like? Miller LOVES the military? Would he argue that we privatize the military? Would he have privatized the fire fighting effort in SB? Would he make all roads private so that with every change of ownership you had to stop and pay a toll?

So where should the government be involved? Anything that has to do with the commons... and that includes roads and firefighting and the military and... healthcare.

beauty and fury

this photo is looking at the Gaviota Pass with the ocean to my back.

I tell people that I have the most beautiful commute in the world. I leave my house and drive south about 9 miles through the foothills of the Santa Ynez mountains and then through the Gaviota Pass. In some areas the mountains are covered with Live Oak trees, others with chaparral, others with golden grasses swaying in the winds, and still others with dramatic rock formations. I catch a few glimpses of some vineyards but most of them are to the north of my commute. I go through the pass and within about 1/4 of a mile I come to the ocean and make a left turn. For about the next 20 miles I drive with the ocean on my right and the mountains on my left. There are almost no buildings. The mountains continue their variety and occasionally are dotted with cattle or llamas grazing. I see the pelicans swooping along the shoreline and birds of prey watching for lunch or just enjoying the thermals. Every now and again, I glance out to the ocean and see a pod of dolphins swimming by. Traffic is generally pretty light. The final 5 miles are in the city of Goleta, traffic picks up and the view of the ocean is obscured. The mountains move a bit away from the coast but are still the dominant feature. It is easy to see why people refer to this area of the country as paradise.

heading west, about 7 miles east of the Gaviota Pass

But we can't forget the fury... The Jesusita fire is our third big fire in a very short time and this one was both dramatic and frightening. The flames have burned nearly 9000 acres as I write and at times the flames stretched over a five mile line along the mountains above the city of Santa Barbara and Goleta. The last I heard, 80 homes were confirmed destroyed. Many of my church members live in the mandatory evacuation zone and the church is located in the warning area. It is possible that one of our members lost a home and we know that some friends did. And then there was a small earthquake in nearby Ojai. At times the ash falls from the sky like snow and the ground looks like an old ash tray. Air quality is terrible down wind from the fire. When the rains come next fall, all of the areas burned will be subject to possible mud slides.

this is an AP photo by Keith Cullom

The beauty comes with a price and sometimes it is a high one.

Just as information, my home is far to the west of the fire. We can see the plume of smoke but haven't even had ash here.

up in smoke

We had a fire in our newly remodeled education building yesterday. In the morning we had had a wonderful program called "Dad's Day" where fathers of our nursery school children come with them to the school and do a variety of fun activities. It was a great success. The last teacher left at 12:40. At 1:13, neighbors across the street saw flames through a window and dialed 911.

Damage was significant to the building. Tomorrow we'll meet with insurance people and our architect to get an idea just how significant everyone agrees the damage to be. The new church offices which are attached to the ed building received smoke damage. We'll see what needs to be done there. I'm particularly concerned about my books...

The biggest issue will be the impact upon our nursery school. We serve about 60 families with an excellent program and have, IMHO, the best staff any nursery school could hope to have. We're hoping that licensing will allow us to finish the academic year using outdoor space and the sanctuary but that remains to be seen.

here are a few photos of some of the results...

this is a view of the kitchen area where the fire started.



somehow the flames got inside the refrigerator and melted the insides of it...



this table was outside the wall where the fire was hottest. You can see that it melted. Look closely and you will see a melted plastic chair that was sitting on top of the table.



and this one would be cool if it wasn't what it is... another plastic chair outside of the building that melted in this interesting fashion



and a light fixture inside the building...



Please keep the nursery school in your thoughts and prayers. It has been a significant ministry for the church through the years and has touched the lives of thousands of children.

Tea Parties?

I've been watching them and have a number of observations and puzzlements and fears.

My observations - reading comments of the participants, nobody seems quite clear what they're protesting. There are lots of concerns about taxes going up... but nobody has raised any taxes at this point. There are complaints about the government spending too much but no other suggestions for how to address the current situation other than tax cuts, which of course, got us where we are. And there is anger about helping out those who are poor or in trouble because it is obviously always their fault. And lots of poor logic... tax cuts do not cause investment in business. They cause profit taking. Higher taxes cause investment because by investing in infrastructure, you avoid the taxes.

As for redistribution of wealth... that is clearly a Biblical idea (see Acts 4 & Leviticus 25) and that is precisely was tax systems do - redistribute wealth. They only question is where and how. Sometimes it is direct and active, other times it is less direct but the result is always the same, capital moves. Under the Reagan philosophy which has held sway since 1980, wealth migrated upwards with the expectation that it would trickle down. Well, it did migrate up as wealth has become more concentrated and the gap between the wealthiest folk and the poorest folk in the US approaches that of any developing country, but it didn't trickle down.

puzzlement: Where were these folk when Bush was building record deficits? Many were saying that if you disagreed with Bush policies you were tantamount to a traitor. So why now are they marching? Do they really not understand the implications of doing nothing to help the economy? Do they not see the connection between tax cuts, a system that encouraged greed, and our struggling economy? And what in the world does any of this have to do with the Boston Tea Party? Or Thomas Paine?

It makes me afraid. In large degree the protests seem to be about fear. People are afraid of the future and feel insecure. Those are not unrealistic fears for many folk. The problem is that right wing media and politicians are feeding on that fear and deepening the polarization of our country. They are fanning the fears so that they move from rational concern to irrational terror. They are offering no solutions. They are not talking. They certainly are not listening to any other viewpoints. It is all about building up a political base who are blinded with rage and shaped by fear that is both rational and irrational and using them to gain power. That makes me worry about the future of my country.

AIG, taxes, and religious bodies

Hey I'm a Baptist. I believe in absolute freedom of religion. No government has any right sticking its nose in any matter having to do with religion. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about a movement of folk trying to get the LDS church in trouble for supporting prop 8 and that their tax exemption should be reneged.

I said "no" to this in spite of being staunchly opposed to their stand on the presenting issue.

I also made a statement in that post that puzzled a few people... Common wisdom is that non-profits don't pay taxes because of the benefit they provide to the community and the argument follows that when a non-profit breaks its covenant with the community, its tax exempt status is a benefit that can be removed. I said, "Religious groups are not taxed because the government has no say over them. The power to tax is the power to control and the state has no power when it comes to religion."

This power was demonstrated in the AIG mess when congress proposed a new tax law to tax the bonuses received by AIG workers at 90%. The power to tax was clearly the power to control. And that is why religious bodies are not taxed. If they could be taxed, then the government can control what they do and say. Indeed, that is precisely what those who wanted to remove the tax exempt status from the LDS were/are trying to do, control the actions of a religious organization through the power of the government.

wasting time on youtube

well... maybe not. This is astounding

concrete

My friend Tom teases me about my cityboy background and celebrates that I have learned to appreciate places without concrete or traffic noise. Two weeks ago I had a meeting in one of the sections of LA where you can actually walk around, sort of like a northeast city. It reminded me why I like the city. Someday I hope I can live in a walking city again...

In the meantime I'm reminded of Ray Bakke's statement that the fall took place in a garden... and the kingdom of God comes in a city.

amplifying acoustics

guitars that is...

I love acoustic guitars. It is amazing what a good luthier can do with a few thin plates of wood, some metal strings, and a few other assorted parts. And it amazes me how much variation there can be in what is a pretty mature art. It is clear that dimensions can only vary so much or you either end up with an instrument that self destructs or one that sounds like a table. The materials chosen also make a significant difference in the end product. You can hear the difference between mahogany and Indian rosewood or even Indian rosewood and Madagascar rosewood. Scale length makes a difference. the size and shape of the body makes a difference. Every little detail is important. It is no wonder that the best guitars are not inexpensive.

Oh... but playing a good one... it is such an intimate experience to wrap the instrument with your arms and coax music from it.

Then comes the problem of playing live. Acoustic guitars are not very loud instruments. Sitting in the living room with friends, they're perfect. Playing on a stage in front of 100 or 1000, they just don't cut it. You need to amplify them. And amplifying an acoustic guitar is always a series of trade-offs between accuracy, feedback rejection, expense, the degree to which the source requires changes in technique, and complexity. You can't get cheap, accurate, with a low feedback threshold. So, the irony is that you spend thousands of dollars for a wonderful acoustic guitar and then have to spend a thousand more to get a good signal to send to an amplifier or PA system.

Every player will come to his or her own conclusion regarding which trade-offs to make. For me, it is involves two different technologies of pickups. The first is a Sunrise. This pickup represents the same technology that is used in most electric guitar pickups - a magnet wound with wires that senses the movement of the string in a magnetic field. It is an old technology that is fraught with difficulties when used with acoustic guitars, not the least of which is that it tends to sound like an electric guitar rather than an acoustic. In my opinion, the Sunrise is the best magnetic pickup available for an acoustic guitar. It has a touch of the electric sound but only a touch. It also has a huge bass response and is the least likely pickup to feed back of anything out there. It is heavy, expensive, hard to get, and perhaps a bit ugly. By itself, I think it sounds OK. Paired with another source that makes up for its shortcomings, the Sunrise is amazing.

Which brings us to the second source in my guitars, a piezo soundboard transducer affixed to the inside of the top of the guitar. This type of pickup can give a fairly accurate representation of the sound of an instrument. It works when a piezo crystal vibrates and generates an electrical current that is analogous to th vibrations. The downside is that they are extremely sensitive to placement (the photo is probably not the best placement), feedback relatively easily, and pick up every sound including your shirt sleeve sliding across the top of the guitar. My Lowden has a McIntyre in it and my Silver Creek will have a jjb like the photo in it.

Together the two pickups go to a pre-amplifier and a buffer that refines the sounds even more and I end up with a sound that isn't the same as the guitar acoustically but it is a HUGE sound that I find really pleasing. The irony is that it is a very expensive way to amplify an acoustic guitar and requires a huge amount of technology to sound... old fashioned. In the case of the Silver Creek, the pickups cost about the same as the guitar and when you add in the pre-amps and effects, the electronics are worth way more than the instrument where the sound begins.

more Andy McKee

this time playing a Lowden F model...



so which guitar do you like better? This one or the Greenfield in the post just before this one?

cool

growing up in the flower power days, materialism was a definite no no... except when you were talking about guitars. Then, you could own as many really cool guitars as, well, you could. More recently, materialism became trendy and owning huge numbers of guitars or a small number of very expensive guitars has even become an investment strategy. I try to avoid that temptation and my bank account impedes the reality... but I still find myself suffering from G.A.S. - guitar acquisition syndrome. My favorite guitars are build by George Lowden & company. I think George's design was a key to the movement of new fingerstyle guitar styles. Indeed, one of my fingerstyle playing friends Michael Millham, once remarked that Lowden was the guitar company owned by the largest number of his fingerstyle playing friends. I love my Lowden and can't imagine ever not owning & playing one.

Occassionally, though, I get GAS for someone else's guitars... and one builder who guitars inspire me from a distance - I've never played one - is Michael Greenfield, an individual builder who works in Canada. His guitars are gorgeous sounding... and really expensive.

Here is a video of Andy McKee playing his brand new Greenfield... I can only imagine how this guitar will sound as it opens up...

a whale of a time

Santa Barbara is an inredible place to live for a lot of reasons. One is the closeness of the wild things of nature. A short hike into the mountains and you're in mountain lion country. A 22 mile ride in a boat and you can visit the least visited national pak - the Channel Islands National Park. A drive to Carpinteria and you can see the seals give birth. A drive up the coast and you can see elephant seals mating. Stand on the beach and watch the dolphins swim by...

The coastline runs east-west rather than north-south and there are a series of islands - the Channel Islands about 22 miles off the coast. Two currents, one from the north and one from the south meet in the channel. All of this adds up to wonderful feeding grounds for whales and because they migrate north-south, the curve in the coast here brings them very close to land.

This year, one or perhaps two adolescent whales found themselves very close to land... in the harbor as close as 30 feet from shore. They're feeding right at the mouth of the harbor and wandering in towards the marina. Here's a little video of one of them. Amazing!

beauty in small places

All too often I am too busy to pay attention to the small beauty all around me. Driving to Goleta, the hills are deep green now sprinkled with yellow mustard flowers and blue lupine. It is easy to drive past without being conscious of the beauty.

In our home, it is even more easy to miss the beauty. In December, I found a local artist named Kevin Loughran who makes the most wonderful, functional, pieces of art for a home. He is a gentle spirit who really does make the world a more beautiful place. In his words

In nonferrous metals I build long term solutions for living graciously in a plastic world. I have been forming, etching and patinating metals into art for the past 25 years. I like to take the mundane in everyday objects and pay respect to their marvelous functions. That is why I presently work in switch plates, doorbells, and dimmers; to honor the beauty of the small things in our lives.

I feel very good about the quality and sensibility of my work as an expression of my obsession to create beauty.

We're slowly replacing switch plates in our home with his work... as reminder of the beauty that is all around us if we only look.

This one is by our entryway


Thanks Kevin for bringing a little more beauty into our daily lives!

more on Iraq

My good friend Tom pointed me to an interview on NPR - Fresh Air - with Donovan Campbell. Campbell was a platoon leader in Iraq and put his experience there into a book called Joker One.

If Ricks' book talks about the big picture in Iraq, Campbell's talks about the personal. His memoir is at the top of my to read list. The little I heard in the interview when added to what I've learned from Fiasco has told me one thing. The cost of the mistakes made by both the civilian leadership and the military leadership in Iraq must never be allowed to be made again.

Military

Anyone who has read much of my stuff knows that I am a pacifist. And I have that stand for religious reasons. There is more to it though. I grew up during the Viet Nam era and an anti-military stance was easy to come by. While family members of my father's generation all served - one uncle was in a German prisoner of war camp in WWII and my father served in Korea - we did not have a strong military tradition in the family. There is not a significant military presence in Pittsburgh, PA, where I grew up. I had few friends who served after Viet Nam and not a lot who served there. Those who did, never spoke of their experiences. Since moving to California, where the military has a significant presence, I have had more friends and church members with military backgrounds but even playing with guys stationed at Vandenberg Air force Base didn't give me much real information. All of that adds up to a serious ignorance about the way the military works. Any impressions I had were just that... and had various degrees of accuracy.

I heard Tom Ricks speak the other day at UCSB and was fascinated by what he had to say about Iraq. So I've started to work through his first book on Iraq Fiasco and when I'm finished with it, I will read The Gamble. I'm fascinated at his portrayal of the way the military works... even though I don't have any sense of how accurate it is. The philosophical and organizational principles really are significant to understand.

I was particularly taken by his discussion of "strategy," which he says is a technical term in the military, not to be confused with tactics. Strategy, he says, emerges from the answers to 4 straightforward questions and the clarity with which those questions are answered is foundational to everything that comes afterward.
1. Who are we in this situation?
2. What are we ultimately trying to do in this conflict?
3. How will we do it?
4. What resources will we use to accomplish these goals?

Good questions... that apply to just about any area of life but critical in situations where the decisions made can have lethal consequences.

I highly recommend the books. And I'd love to hear back from folk with a military background on the accuracy of his descriptions.

The Words

I have a good friend who is on a spiritual quest. She hungers for something... for faith... for connections. She has lots of friends from various faith traditions and she has shared her hunger with them all. Most have shared their stories in response. She especially struggles with dogma and with any top down kinds of directives.

We were talking one day and she told me that she was very attracted to Judaism but she just can't seem to leave out Jesus. I understand that feeling. Now, I know that I am a product of my culture and my background and all of that colors what I see and how I see it... but I just can't ignore Jesus either. His words, his actions, the movement he began, a view of God's kindom more inclusive and expansive than any other I'm aware of... I just can't ignore Jesus.
At the same time, there are lots of pieces that make me want to ignore those people who call themselves his followers. Since the very beginning we have overlayed Jesus with our interpretations, our dreams, our fears, and our theologies. Some, I think, have clearly represented him well. At other times, we have so skewed his message as to make it unrecognizable. Once, on a plane trip, a young woman with whom I was talking said, "we don't worship the same Jesus." She was correct, I think. Our presuppositions had so colored what we see, that we were not seeing the same thing at all.



Now, I know it is not possible to remove all of those lenses. But it is a good thing to work towards. One step is a new project by Lee Cantelon called The Words where he is publishing a collection of the words of Jesus. Again, I know there are translational issues and I know that scholars debate which statements Jesus actually made and which he didn't but the task is still a worthy and helpful one.

The book has already been translated into a variety of languages, has inspired a number of artists including Rickie Lee Jones and Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets, and is available as a free download in a bunch of languages both as text and as an audio book. You can purchase the printed copy at Amazon.

I'm really looking forward to it. I just can't ignore Jesus.

two quotes about the work... first from Rickie Lee Jones

”The words of Jesus remain a ‘soft dream' that falls night by night, until the soul is ignited with courage. Our hearts, that did not sing until now, are filled with hope that did not yet dare to dream of freedom from poverty and oppression. With faith, what one feels is the Truth, and the truth, while difficult to teach, is immense. It is easy to learn. We have Christ among us, speaking through each of us, if we choose to listen. We have Christ and though there are few words, they are enough, they are enough to last two thousand years. In spite of so much distortion of His will and meaning, they reverberate clearly in the good work of so many Christians who may not even know they are ‘followers.'”

and from Lee Cantelon

The words of Jesus resound with a challenge to a world burdened by greed, self-righteous religion, and pride. The Jesus I discovered spoke a message of humility, one that did not emphasize a vengeful God, but one of love. His words were filled with mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. A new kind of kingdom was being introduced in his words, accessible to all; men, women, Jews, Gentiles, slaves, kings, free, lost, illuminated, and illiterate. All that was required was that we become “like children” and hold fast to this kind message that offers the stern command, “open your hearts!” How this has become so much dogma, who can understand? And understanding, to recognize his invitation to our right to become “children of God.” Is no great feat.