8/26/13

Bring back the bows and arrows

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for what he called a “moral obscenity” that had shocked the world’s conscience. Syria's Assad apparently has broken some sacred rule of modern day warfare - no killing with chemical weapons.

A commentator on CNN pointed out that thus far in the Syrian civil war, about 100000 have been killed by weapons that go boom-boom, while 360 have been killed by chemical munitions. The 100000 killed, unfortunately were killed by approved weapons of warfare such as bombs. missiles, drones and automatic rifles.  The loss of life by conventional warfare weapons has resulted in hand wringing by the West and idle threats of "some sort of action" but it is those 360 lives lost by Assad unleashing chemical warfare munitions which will probably call for military action. Of course, any kind of military response designed to deter further use of chemical warfare weapons will escalate the number of lives lost by bombs, missiles, Drones and automatic rifles.

Chemical warfare should be strongly condemned. At the same time, warfare itself should be abhorred. There is nothing civilized about warfare no matter how sophisticated the weapons of destruction are. If we are going to regulate what kind of weapons are permissible in a conflict, I suggest that bows and arrows should be the weapon of choice.

Whether he likes it or not, Obama may very well be drawn into his own "little war". It will be a war that will cost more economic destruction here at home. It will be another war that we cannot win. It will be a war that we do not need. There are those who will point out that limited military action will get the job done and avoid a war. A rose by any other name smells the same. Surgical bombing, Drone attacks or any other kind of limited military action are in essence a declaration of war.

8/21/13

Tweets, Chirps & Squawks

A couple of days ago I started to compose a post for this blog. As I mused over what I had written, I was shocked to realize that I was not blogging, I was Tweeting.

My blog page, About Blogging, states : At times my posts may resemble “tweets” and I may wax sentimental about some event or person in my past but I’m not ready to abandon blogging for Twitter or Facebook.

I guess I’m ready. Not to abandon blogging, but to admit that tweeting is not a substitute for blogging. If I find myself tweeting, I will delete the post and in turn “tweet, chirp or squawk” on Twitter (see the sidebar). So far, I have kept my distance from Facebook. In the meantime, if I have anything to say beyond 140 characters worth, Blogger is it.


ed note: Of course this was an underhanded way of breaking my blogging slump. In my defense it did take more than 140 characters.

8/16/13

On Depression

A senior visiting a doctor these days is grilled on a number of items. Number one on the list is, “Are you depressed?” I suppose that if you are an octogenarian there is a good chance that you would answer positively to such a question. After all, at that age, a lack of energy and difficulty in maintaining concentration is not uncommon and could lead to despondency, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. Pleading guilty to depression could carry a life sentence of one Prozac per day or worse yet a visit to a “shrink” once a week for thirty minutes for the rest of one’s life or until insurance coverage runs out -in which case there is no alternative other than to start enjoying life again.

I submit that some depression is actually healthy and that anyone who denies being depressed by the state of the nation and the world is mentally challenged. The chaos in the Mideast, the ever increasing frequency of gun violence, a dysfunctional Congress, the erosion of our privacy rights and the futility of rooting for the Cleveland Indians to win their division are grounds for depression. Acknowledging this only shows the possession of high standards. These high standards can be accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy when we contemplate possible solutions. The frustration which borders on depression only increases when it becomes apparent that those in a position to fix the problems are just as inadequate as we are, if not more so.

Obviously if fits of depression increase in frequency to the point where there is no interest in life, what was once a healthy trait becomes a demon (I guess this is what the good doctor was searching for). So how do you fight the demon? That’s what “shrinks” are for. Then again, According to Buddha. "It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell." Meditate on that!

The challenge we face is to keep depression as an occasional visitor. If we can learn to recognize when it is wearing out its welcome we have won the battle. Embracing all that is right with life and being grateful for life’s blessings can show depression the door. Easier said then done?  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.



 

8/13/13

It takes $$$$ to be a libertarian

I never paid much attention to libertarians until Ron Paul ran for the Republican presidential nomination. Even then, I dismissed the whole idea of libertarianism as much ado about nothing. How wrong could I be? Very wrong!

 I perused cleveland.com (powered by The Plain Dealer) this morning (it's Tuesday- no home delivery) and was drawn to this headline:

Will Libertarian Amazon-Washington Post owner order Rand Paul endorsement?

Jeff Bezos a libertarian? I didn't know that. The Koch brothers, libertarians. Didn't know that either. Obviously I'm not very informed. Now I know why I dismissed libertarianism as much ado about nothing. I'm just not greedy enough or more importantly, rich enough to be a libertarian.

Unless you have tons of money it does not pay to be a libertarian ( or is it an ass). Only the very rich have the luxury of actively promoting the idea of a minuscule federal government. Let the rest of us eat cake.

Jeff Darcy's editorial cartoon prompted this post. Hope he doesn't mind that it is gracing this blog.


8/9/13

About OCD

My favorite TV show --- make that one of my favorite TV shows --- or would it be more accurate to say ---- actually write ---- I liked watching Monk on TV. For some reason or other, which I can’t recall, he reminded me or better yet I associated with him. I didn’t really associate with him, so perhaps I should leave it that he reminded me. That still does not make the point. He reminded me of me. Is that too many me’s? If I pose a question do I need to answer it? Oh my, that’s two questions so far and I really don’t know how to answer them without looking stupid. I wish I hadn’t posed the questions. I could delete them but I’m too far along. Monk would have deleted them. Maybe I should delete them - they really do not have anything to do with what I’m writing. Or do they? I do want this short essay to be perfect. Getting something perfect just drives me nuts. I know this isn’t perfect but it’s much better than the first draft. If I keep typing it will get better but that could go on all night. As a matter of fact, I probably have made my point. I hate “probably”. Either I did or I didn’t. Why don’t I call this my second draft and leave it at that. I have all day tomorrow to work on it. Some of the grammar and punctuation sucks. Is that a cliché? Clichés are trite and I sure don’t want this to be trite. I’ll ask the High Primal to check my grammar and punctuation. Yes that’s what I’ll do. Even if everything is grammatically correct this will need a lot of work. Someone once told me that anyone with an obsessive compulsion disorder should not be a writer. Actually that’s not true. How else can a perfect essay be written? 

 

8/7/13

One more for the road

No, I'm not on a binge. Just one more rant about The Plain Dealer and home delivery before I put the whole subject to bed.

Today is Wednesday and true to their promise The Plain Dealer distribution people deposited a hard copy of the paper at my garage door. Breakfast with a newspaper. Life is good.

My euphoria lasted through half a cup of coffee. The news in the paper was as stale as the piece of toast on my plate. Indians got clobbered by the Tigers for the umpteenth time - knew that before they played. Al-Qaeda threatening to bring us to our knees again - already knew all that Washington is willing to tell me. Browns training camp news galore - boring as all hell. Obesity down in the country except for Ohio - don't need a newspaper to tell me that; just walking down the street does the trick. One whole section devoted to food (Taste) - proving that Ohio is committed to leading the nation in the number of fat people (according to the High Primal, if you want a body that does a lot, you must put up with the bulk). I could go on and on but that would bore me as well as anyone who may be reading this. Suffice to say that the Wednesday edition of the PD should have been labeled "All The News You Already Know".

Being without the hard copy of a newspaper the past two days was no big deal. That Bezos guy is right. Within the next twenty years there will no longer be newspapers as we know them today. He's spent 250 million for The Washington Post to prove that.

One more for the road. The Plain Dealer e-edition was obviously designed for an iPad. Since that's the device of choice I think the PD's marketing gurus could have come with an iPad giveaway promotion. Not so, butt thank goodness for The New York Times e-edition. It's friendly with all my devices.

8/5/13

No Plain Dealer by the garage door

Monday, August 5, 2013 - opened garage door, reached for The Plain Dealer, got zilch. Of course! No home delivery! Not until Wednesday. Then not until Friday and then Sunday. Should mention the bonus (whatever that is) on Saturday. Home delivery is now an event. Need to mark my calendar.

 The good news is that I can get to my computer and view The Plain Dealer e-edition. The bad news is that The Plain Dealer e-edition is not very user friendly. In fact it is a user turn off. Oh well, getting my news from The New York Times on line won't be so bad. Actually it will be just fine.

The Plain Dealer spinners would have me believe that they are doing me a favor by bringing me into the twenty-first century as far as news delivery is concerned. If more newspapers follow their strategy, the role of newspapers for news delivery will go the way of dinosaurs.

8/2/13

What's in a Headline?

Choosing a few words to convey the main point of an article can be a challenge. The result sometimes lends itself to misinterpretation. A few that caught my eye recently ( it didn't hurt):

 Efforts to Recruit Poor Students Lag at Some Elite Colleges (New York Times 7/31/13) - Should come as no surprise. It is much easier to recruit good students. Furthermore, college is meant for good students.

NSA officials grilled over phone records (The Plain Dealer 8/1/13) - Grilling over charcoal would have been preferable. In either case, it's a violation of the 8th Amendment which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

New Tools for Keeping the Lights On (New York Times 7/31/13) - What's wrong with a light switch?

Peace Camp wraps up to the beat of drums (The Plain Dealer-8/2/13) - Sounds like a call to arms.