The Nuclear Club

Of late much has been in the news about the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran. Even Egypt and Jordan seem to be developing an appetite for a nuclear capability ( for peaceful purposes of course). All seek entry into The Nuclear Club which was founded by the United States on August 6 and 9, 1945 when the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the ultimate weapon - the atomic bomb! (Justification for the use of the atomic bomb was based on the thousands of American lives it would save by negating an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Thousands of American lives were saved, but the specter of thousands of Japanese civilian lives lost will live on.) Nuclear weapons were touted as a deterrent to future wars and nuclear energy was touted as the solution to dependence on fossil fuels. To date neither of these lofty predictions have come to pass.

But what of The Nuclear Club? The Nuclear Club expanded to include the Soviet Union. The price of admission ? A free pass due to a lapse in security in the United States! The United Kingdom joined - it's entry assured by it's cooperation in the Manhattan Project. Then came France. No outcry - what are allies for? In turn China, India and Pakistan were admitted to the club. The price of admission ? A free pass again as merchants of death discovered that millions were to made by helping these countries develop a nuclear capability. And then there was Israel . Israel did not seek admission - they preferred to keep their nuclear capability secret. So now we have North Korea and Iran. Both desperately want to join the club but the club members apparently think they are unfit to hobnob with such an august group. The price of admission? Capitulation! In the end the price will be lowered under the guise of peaceful use of nuclear energy. In the end The Nuclear Club will not be such an exclusive entity. In the end greed and alliances will foster even more proliferation of nuclear power. Let us pray that it will indeed not be THE END!

On Aging (La Vecchiaia)

Talk to a senior and in the course of the conversation all too often are heard the words “ it comes with old age”, or “ I’m old, what do you expect”. Aging does highlight one’s ailments, frustrations and shortcomings. I believe it was Betty Davis who said “growing old is not for sissies”. How true, but it does not mean that machismo is a requirement for dealing with the problems of aging. The alternative to aging is death! Considering oneself fortunate to continue on with life goes a long way toward accepting the challenges that aging brings. One must deal with the health problems recognizing that immortality is not ours to have. One must recognize that things could have been done differently in the past and then quickly get back to the present and accept today’s challenges. One must accept the frailty of old age and accommodate to the resulting limitations. One must strive to maintain independence but be open to receiving help when frailty and illness dictate a change in lifestyle.. Most of all , one must abandon self pity , embrace all that life has to offer and be resigned to that which life deems is not ours to have.

On Labor

As a youngster I can vividly remember watching my father participate in a picket line. They were picketing for their right to organize and organize they did. He remained a strong union member throughout his life. His son ironically became a member of management yet he never forgot his father’s struggles and the role that labor unions played in his father’s ability to provide for his family.The labor movement today is in trouble. Globalization and the lure of cheap labor in places such as China ,India, and Mexico have severely compromised the American worker’s bargaining power. There is even a schism in the labor movement - the Teamsters and the SEIU have split from the AFL - CIO. I would venture to say that much of the hard won labor legislation is in jeopardy. No one has ever voluntarily promoted labor reform - it has only come about thru labor unity. Many corporations are making the case that in order to survive they need major concessions from labor in the form of wages, health care benefits and pension plans. True, abusive unions negotiating sweetheart contracts contributed to the current problems of some of our leading corporations. On the other hand corporate greed and shortsighted management certainly played a part in agreeing to pension and health care plans which are now troublesome to their bottom line.Labor is now faced with a corporate strategy dedicated to reneging on pension obligations and shifting work offshore. As benefits are revised or even eliminated there is no real uproar from the administration or Congress. Apparently mismanagement is silently condoned. Facing the specter of a loss of jobs one union after another is caving in to the demands of management. Who will champion the cause of labor? Fragmented unions - hardly! Who can be trusted to do what is right for “the world’s most productive workers”? Only a workforce led by reasonable leaders backed up by a Congress dedicated to preserving the fundamental rights of Labor. Idealistic? Probably!( As an aside isn’t interesting that the strongest unions today are those that represent professional athletes .)

Baseball And Steroids

Baseball’s steroid controversy, football’s outrageous end zone celebrations, basketball’s trash talk and fisticuffs, frequent DUI and assault arrests of sports figures are all making it difficult to be a sports fan. Then we have the multi-million dollar salaries. Owners are at the public troughs to finance their sports palaces but still come up with millions for player salaries. I daresay that the number of millionaire college dropouts in sports far exceeds the number in any other field.

The baseball steroid controversy is especially sorrowful. A few years ago Mark McGwire was a shoo in for election to the Hall of Fame. Once he became eligible for consideration it did not come to pass. McGwire was a victim of the steroid stigma currently ravaging professional baseball. Many feel he used a performance enhancing drug which resulted in his prowess with the baseball bat. Of course these drugs were not banned at the time he was playing. This is where baseball loses me. If a drug is not illegal why can’t one use it. The list of baseball heroes is sprinkled with heavy drinkers. Some of these individuals are in the Hall of Fame. Baseball never choose to ban the use of alcohol . Evidently it is a personal responsibility of the ballplayer to decide whether or not to indulge in booze. Booze is not illegal, so use it if you so choose. Marijuana and cocaine are illegal, so do not use them. Are drug enhancing drugs illegal? Some are and some are not (no one seems to have a problem with Viagra as performance enhancing drug). Why isn’t it the personal responsibility of the individual to make a decision about the use of a legal drug. If the use of a drug requires a prescription the player should have it as long as it is medically necessary and he is appraised of any serious side effects. If his performance is enhanced so be it! I daresay that a couple of drinks before a game enhances the performance of some players. I do not advocate the use of steroids but I do recognize that if they are legally obtained and a player achieves prominence in a sport he should get his just rewards award wise and health wise. So far baseball team owners and the players have bungled efforts to achieve any meaningful drug policies. Could it be that they recognize that the use of performance enhancing drugs is so prevalent that it has become part of the game.Many professional players in all sports have a lack of ethics and a lack of respect for fans who make their standard of living possible. Ultimately fans will make the final judgment as to what is acceptable in the lifestyle of sports figures. If stadiums are full all is forgiven - if they are not owners and players have blown their paycheck.

Capital Punishment

I do not believe in capital punishment! If ever I had any doubts that capital punishment should be abolished I have put them to rest. The spectacle of Saddam Hussein’s execution, the decapitation during hanging of his henchman Barazan Ibrahim, the recently botched execution by lethal injection in Florida, a father's rejection of the death penalty for the murderer of his daughter, the number of condemned “murderers” declared innocent by virtue of DNA testing have all served to reinforce my feelings that the death penalty does not belong in a civilized society.The execution of the former leaders of Iraq may have satisfied the need for revenge by the Shiites but it now appears that most of the world community had no appetite for their hanging. Hussein was a merciless dictator responsible for the death's of thousands and deserved to be punished. The same can be said about Barazan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al Bandar. A more humane and more suitable punishment would have been to banish them to prison for the rest of their lives. No words can be found to justify the abhorrent act of one individual taking the life of another. Taking another life to atone for the crime is not the answer. We read that the decapitation of al Bandar could have been avoided if he had been weighed to determine how much slack to leave in the rope in order to ensure that the neck is broken , but not severed (ironically the same individual making this observation also called the hangings almost ideal). We further complicate the debate about capital punishment by engaging in rhetoric as to the most humane way to take a life. An answer to the latter question has not been forthcoming and never will be - there is nothing humane about taking a life!

Who's On First

A report by Paul Hoynes in the 1/20/07 Plain Dealer concerning the signing of Trot Nixon by the Cleveland Indians brought to mind the Abbott and Costello "Who's on first" routine. Per the report :

Nixon will platoon in right field. He'll face right handers, and Casey
Blake with an asist from Jason Michaels, will face lefties. When Blake isn't playing right field, he's expected to play first base against right handers. Blake could also play some third base for Andy Marte.

Lets not forget that Victor Martinez could occasionally play first base.

Blake will be a busy player. Hope that the front office will provide him with a map to locate his playing position.

The Middle East Peace Process

According to news reports the United States is going to make another push to revive talks aimed at bringing about peace in the Middle East. Again? The same old story! Does the United States truly have the resolve to bring about peace in the Middle East? The United States carries too much baggage into these discussions. There is hardly a politician around willing to compromise the Jewish vote. The Administration is beholden to the oil lobby. Where does this leave the peace process?Put it where it belongs in the United Nations where the mess originated. The efforts of the United States should be expended on bolstering the efforts of the United Nations. If Israel or the Palestinian Authority are not receptive to United Nations proposals then impose economic sanctions. It's time to play hardball!

Life Is Cheap

I saw a news clip on TV recently which showed protesting Muslims in London carrying placards calling for the beheading of those insulting the Prophet. Life is cheap! Surely there must be a softer side of Islam. When will the leaders and clerics of Islam come forward and condemn the extremists? I say this realizing we still have much to do to tone down the rhetoric of the extremists in Christianity and Judaism. I try to be understanding of what drives Islam today but I recoil at the bloody face it too often presents. Those who purport to be religious have an obligation to purge their religion of bloodthirsty bigots.

Lord Buddha Speaks

Worth remembering as religious zealots of all shades spit out their rhetoric!

Another Nice Mess

In the Laurel and Hardy films , Oliver more often than not wrung his hands and admonished Stan with “ here’s another nice mess you have gotten me into”. The same can be applied to Iraq. We did not learn the lessons of Vietnam and now find ourselves in “another nice mess”. The Administration has announced a new strategy for victory in Iraq. Escalation! It appears to me that this strategy will further weaken this country. The Iraqi will not do the necessary things to strengthen their country. When will we realize that Iraq is a fragmented society with allegiances tied to tribes and religions . Only the bloody rule of Saddam Hussein created any semblance of a strong central government. We are caught in a “fragmire”. Am I wrong but is the rest of the world sitting on the sidelines waiting for the U.S to be so weakened that it will no longer be a super power. Even Laurel and Hardy had the sense to recognize a mess - why not Bush and Cheney.

Hyphenated Americans

Why do we have so many hyphenated Americans? Seeking an answer I had a dream. In my dream I sought out a higher power. Apparently God talks to the mayor of New Orleans , Pat Robertson , the Pope, and even the President so I decided to contact Him. How to contact Him? Prayer - that’s a one way street. Obviously the aforementioned must have called Him. Was it an unlisted number? A Google search revealed that a contribution to any number of evangelical societies can get you the number. It was worth twenty-five bucks . I called the number but found that heaven has fallen prey to the twenty-first century. It was an automated system. Press 1 if you are an Evangelist. Press 2 if you are a Head of State. Press 3 if you are a Cleric. Press 4 if you are a Suicide Bomber. All others press 5. Since I’m an “all others” I went that route but because of the volume of calls there was about a one year’s wait before a representative could come on line. A heavenly voice did offer the option of going to God’s web site www.talkwithgod.hev. Unfortunately the internet was of no help. The page I was looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or was temporarily unavailable.

I awoke in a start.Having failed to have a two way conversation with God I resorted to talking to myself.There is no doubt that this country has become very diversified. We are now populated by a multitude of hyphenated Americans ( incidentally has anyone ever heard of an English-American?). It is a step forward from the use of ethnic or racial slurs. It goes without saying that it is the contribution of different cultures to our everyday life which has made this country great. Yet one has to ask what is the true purpose of preserving identities thru the use of Hyphenated - American. One purpose is obviously political - to advance special benefits thru a voting block. Another may be a reluctance of some to dive into the melting pot for fear that their culture will be diluted.. It would seem that persisting in identifying the population as hyphenated Americans may lead to a fractured society ruled by “tribes” whose ultimate allegiance is to some homeland ,some religion, or some narrow ethnic values . Political power wielded by any one ethnic group unfortunately can lead to a fractured society ( witness the Cuban-Americans and their quest to destroy Castro while basking in the Florida sun). I would like to believe that the preservation of culture can be preserved within the melting pot. Being an American should take precedence over being a hyphenated American. How to accomplish this lofty objective? That is what I was hoping God would tell me.My wife considers herself a “high primal thinker” so I sought her opinion. “Fuggedaboutit, she said. God created diversity and the United States merely mirrors his plan for this complex world. Don’t stir the pot just keep it hot and sooner or later everyone will jump in.”God did not speak to me but hearing from a “high primal thinker” was the next best thing!

Whither Go The Democrats

As the Democrats take control of Congress it is not clear if they have crafted an agenda that party members can enthusiastically rally around (not surprising considering the diversity of views in the party and more importantly among the leadership). The mid term elections showed that the administration’s Iraq strategy was unacceptable to the electorate. Iraq got the Democrats into power! A formulation of a plan to deal with the Iraq War is essential ! To give issues such as minimum wage, prescription drug coverage and immigration priority over resolving the Iraq problem would be a mistake. Social issues are important but they can best be addressed by putting the Iraq misadventure to bed. The real prize is 2008 and the electorate will give that prize to the party that is most responsive to its wishes.