mjh's blog

House-cleaning

With the end of the old year, I need to get a few other odds n ends off my mind:

• Regarding the controversy over a UNM professor appearing in some S&M context. I agree the professor has some right to what we used to call privacy — we need another term for intimacy that we now casually flaunt in public. I’ll even allow that S&M may not be cruel, sadistic or violent but, in ways hard for me to imagine, an act of love. (Often, in other human contexts, when one person has power over another, love is not involved.) However, I’m disappointed that no one else has raised this question: Was a student involved? Though teachers and students have many rights, education ethics requires restraint — and not those made of leather. Teachers may love their students, but not fuck them. Teachers may discipline their students, but not physically.

• Regarding the UNM golf course controversy. I’m all for keeping it as open space. I’m also in favor of shutting down the golf course. Like all desert golf courses, it is a hideous waste of water. Turn it into a real park, saving water in the process and opening it to more visitors, as well.

• Regarding Darren White’s run for Congress. I hope people will recall that DW was Duhbya’s NM campaign manager in 2004 (& 2000?). That should be reason enough to deny him a seat in Congress. If anyone needs more, then recall that during peaceful demonstrations against the War Without End, White said, in effect, ‘let me at them’ concerning demonstrators.

• Regarding the 2008 Election in New Mexico. Thank god, Saint Pete is leaving. (Though I wish him well.) I hope the Republicans choose Pearce to run against Udall and I pray Udall crushes Pearce. In the meantime, accent on meanness, the duel between Pearce & Wilson is going to be fun to watch. mjh

PS: I’m clearing out my queue of drafts. If the next few entries (below this one, ie, earlier) seem random, they almost are; I meant to do more with them at one time.

Sandoval Easy Express

The Observer Online — County extends bus service to Cochiti Lake, Jemez Springs, By TOM TREWEEK/OBSERVER STAFF REPORTER

Sandoval County … officials kicked off two new bus routes, dubbed the Sandoval Easy Express, that will run from the Rio Rancho Wal-Mart into the rural areas of the county.

Route 4 runs to Jemez Springs, with stops at Zia Pueblo, San Ysidro, Jemez Pueblo and Cañon. Route 22 heads to the village of Cochiti Lake, stopping at Santa Ana Pueblo, Algodones, San Felipe Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Peña Blanca and Cochiti Pueblo. Both routes make stops at the Presbyterian Medical Center on High Resort Boulevard and the Sandoval County Rail Runner station in Bernalillo. County officials are also planning a route to Cuba. …

Service … runs from Monday to Friday each week.

The first bus leaves Jemez Springs at 6 a.m. and the last bus returns at 7:05 p.m. The first bus out of Cochiti Lake takes off at 6:20 a.m., with the last bus arriving at 6:45. The buses will be run by the Santa Fe-based All Aboard America, which also operates the Park & Ride bus service. …

There will be no fares for the first two months while the county finalizes the rate structure. According to county Public Works Director Phil Rios, the fees will likely be no more than $3 and will be based on the length of travel, similar to the zone system now used by the Rail Runner Express.

http://www.observer-online.com/articles/2007/04/21/news/story2.txt

The Writer’s Almanac from American Public Media

The Writer’s Almanac from American Public Media

William Gaddis said, “There have never in history been so many opportunities to do so many things that aren’t worth doing.”

Renew

Two seasons pass in our world. The longest day starts the unraveling of all we have done. The stores groan with the harvest. Bellies are full and chores forgotten. Nature draws within itself, dropping all concerns but endurance. With the cold, we retreat to our dens for long conversations leavened with thick mead. The longest night is the end of our sloth. With each lengthening day, we weave new order and push the pegs back in line, as the poet sang. Life organizes out of nothing, surging towards the light and the longest day. The cycle is renewed, as we imagine it always was and always will be. mjh

Happy Solstice

The longest night of the year is the true New Year’s Eve. The seasons are never-ending — on a human scale, unless we’ve really wrecked the planet — so you can pick any point on the cycle to celebrate, as we all should. Tomorrow, the day will be a little longer as the pendulum starts to swing 47 degrees the other way again. Climatic inertia brings still colder days, just as the hottest days dog the summer solstice, but we see distant light at the end of the tunnel. This is the earth’s silent night, holy night. Tonight, we have hours in our dark nests. Dream of peace and wake to find a world in which peace is more than a dream. mjh

Conservative Cage Fighting

I’m always delighted to see conservatives attacking each other. Beyond the entertainment value, internecine battle shows just how ugly and mean the most out-spoken conservatives can be, as well as the chaos Duhbya/Rove/Cheney have left the Republicans. So, Paul Greenberg made some less-than-reverential reference to the Jester of Bloviation, Lush Limbaugh, and, of course, got attacked by a proud dittohead. Of course, that’s the conservative way — attack, defeat, conquer — our warrior caste.

Greenberg defends himself as “more conservative than thou” — counter-attack is the only self-defense, it seems. Yearning for civility long abandoned by Conservatives, Greenberg wields his pen like a stiletto, as he explains he is a true conservative, not some brutish right-winger. But he exhibits the same binary mind of his cohort: he is true, others are false. There is only black and white in conservative eyes. Pity. Ironic, too, that the reverence for the past doesn’t include an effort to preserve the analog perspective with its infinite gradations. Conservatives despise subtlety; sophisticates like Greenberg eschew nuance.

Why do Conservatives believe they can pick and choose what to conserve? Not only is change clearly inevitable, but much of it is for the best in the long run and most of it is probably as much a mix of good and bad as anything human. When would Conservatives roll back time to and freeze the clock? Was our golden age the Fifties? (Not the Sixties, certainly.) The Raygun Error? The late 1700s? (A great time for white males with land and guns.) When was everything perfect and how much of what we have today would Conservatives give up for the goodle daze: the Internet, modern medicine, civil rights, the wheel? mjh

Townhall.com::To Be a Conservative::By Paul Greenberg

Dear Dittohead,

It was wholly a pleasure to hear from you, even though yours was not exactly a fan letter. But we learn most from our critics, and you gave me a chance to think on what it is to be a conservative in these raucous times. It seems I’m not a true conservative by your lights because I dared criticize Rush Limbaugh in passing, specifically his brash, take-no prisoners approach to political rhetoric. …

Do I have to praise Rush without reservation, vulgarity and all, to avoid being read out of conservative ranks? …

Irony is a pleasing enough style, one among many others, but all-irony-all-the-time is poisonous. It crowds out any real meaning. Much the same could be said of bluster, anger, ridicule or any other popular substitute for reasoned thought and time-tested principles.

The object of political rhetoric should be to raise the level of public discourse, not lower it. Our politics ought to be something more than a mutual exchange of insults between left and right. It ought to have a higher, more thoughtful level. [mjh: ROFLOL. Paul, you are hilarious. Remember the opprobrium you just heaped on all Democrats-cum-traitors?]

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PaulGreenberg/2007/12/12/to_be_a_conservative

Conservative Viscious Nonsense

I am appalled by Paul Greenberg. It is beyond mere rhetoric to slander all Democrats as wishing for defeat in Iraq. I’m used to conservative ignorance, deceit and petty meanness, but this is too much to bear.

I can’t speak for all Democrats, but I assume we all hope for one thing: the end of the Bush Error, er, Era. We can’t wait, though we’ll have to. As for Iraq, no one wants death, no one wants destruction — well, no one but a war-monger, profiteer or zealot. We want the war ended. mjh

Townhall.com::The Specter of Victory::By Paul Greenberg

A specter is haunting the Democratic Party. The long-awaited defeat of American forces in Iraq, on which so many critics of this administration have built their fondest hopes, seems to have been delayed again and – unsettling thought – may not even materialize. Even the dreaded word, Victory, is being whispered. …

The turnaround in Iraq, aka The Surge, is proving embarrassing for the kind of critics of the war who dare not admit being embarrassed. To do so would be to entertain the unthinkable thought that they might, just might, have been wrong. [mjh: Did I miss someone -- anyone -- on the Right admit anything going wrong in Iraq before now? Admitting being wrong is indeed unthinkable -- to the Radical Wrong.]

This is no time for critics of the war to go wobbly. Their outward confidence in American defeat must be preserved, at least till next November. …

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PaulGreenberg/2007/12/17/the_specter_of_victory

From One Atheist to Another

ABQjournal Opinion: Letters to the Editor
Cancer Patient Has Many People To Thank in 2007

I am an atheist. As you could imagine that it is hard for one of my persuasion to want to give thanks to anybody for any reason. About a year ago I was diagnosed with CLL, one of the forms of leukemia. …

All of the above and many many more deserve my best wishes. I wish there was a Santa Claus so I could send a letter to him in your behalf.

BOB DYE
Albuquerque

I am always interested in public declarations of atheism. While there is no need to convert people to atheism, other atheists need to know it’s safe to come out and speak up. So bravo to Bob Dye for opening with that. Further, I’m very glad he has survived his cancer. (And, I add ruefully, without some sickbed conversion.)

My only quibble is as “one of (his) persuasion,” a fellow atheist: I am grateful every day. I see no reason that atheism should play any role in reticence to give thanks, to love one’s neighbors or strive to live by the Golden Rule. These are humanity’s best qualities, not god’s or religion’s. mjh

This Week’s WTF?!

ABQjournal Opinion: Letters to the Editor
Sell the Subarus, Save Planet

I’VE HAD IT! If you think humans are directly responsible for global warming— which we aren’t— I have a great solution: Sell your car and ride a pony to work and sell your house and live in a tent.

That way you will be doing your part while those of us who don’t believe we are responsible for global warming can keep driving our SUVs and live in warm houses. This way, global emissions will be cut and we’ll all be happy!

Come on “activists,” really do your part and sell those polluting Subarus and live in a tent. Let’s do it for the children.

CHARLES PAEZ
Albuquerque”

For the past eight years, AmeriCo has been ruled by a coalition of self-serving biznizmen and gaggle of idiots. I’m not sure which Mr. Paez is. mjh

All god’s children

Atheists turn the other check as religionists continue their relentless attack on our very humanity. Last week, the Pope identified atheists as history’s greatest villains. Never mind the Inquisition and the first Crusades.

Now, Nit Romney explains that he is broad-minded enough to understand everyone who worships Jesus and that no one who worships Jesus should have any concern about him. Whew, that’s a relief — NOT! Perhaps someone will introduce Romney to an atheist. He’ll be astounded to discover that some atheists are decent people living without a god. It is possible, Nitty.

In fact, his calling secularism a religion reveals how much his own faith circumscribes his world view. This is a common tactic of people one must regard as either benighted or disingenuous — everything is a religion to them, science, secularism and humanism, included.

As for Romney having it both ways — ruled by god but not by religious superiors — I’m not so sure. I understand that the supreme Mormon leader can pronounce any Mormon as unworthy and to be shunned by the community. I believe in such cases, even family members stop acknowledging the ‘unclean.’ Pretty powerful. Is Romney strong enough to stand up to such authority? (Mind you, my understanding of Mormonism comes largely from one episode of South Park. However, that episode balanced its harsh light on the teachings with the observation that Mormons are super-nice people, which is the consensus, now that other religionists have mostly stopped beating them and burning their homes.)

Next time you laugh at a religion (say, Scientology or Christianity) or fear someone with faith (say, a muslim or Buddhist — ha!), remember we are all human beings, all prone to the same ignorance, mistakes and potential, though Romney doesn’t agree. We all need to grow together as one kind. Religion isn’t helping, though it tells you it is. mjh

RealClearPolitics – Articles – Faith In America – The Full Text of Romney’s speech

“It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it’s usually a sound rule to focus on the latter – on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people.

“We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong. …

“These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and lived in my religion as it is in yours. …

“And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me.” [mjh: Romney just told the nation he isn't my friend or ally.]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/faith_in_america.html (entire speech)

O-M-G!

Atheists behind the greatest cruelty, says Pope – Telegraph, By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent

Pope Benedict XVI has launched a powerful attack on atheism, saying that it was responsible for some of the “greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” in history.

In the second encyclical of his papacy, the Pope urged Christians to put their hope for the future in God and not in technology, wealth or political ideologies.

His 76-page document, Spe Salvi, comes in the context of rising secularism in Europe and a spate of books attacking belief in God, including the “The God Delusion” by the Oxford academic Richard Dawkins.

In the document, the highest form of papal writing addressed to the whole Church, Benedict XVI said that many people rejected religious faith because they no longer found the prospect of an eternal after-life attractive.

Instead, they had put their faith in human reason and freedom in the hope that the “kingdom of man” would emerge.

In a scholarly analysis, he said that these ideas had originated during two periods of political upheaval, the French and Communist revolutions.

He said that Karl Marx and the 19th and 20th century atheism spawned by his revolution could be seen by some as a “type of moralism” responding to the injustices of the time.

Atheists argued that “a world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God,” the Pope wrote.

Whether the error is the headline writer’s or the pope’s, the quarrel is with Marxist Communism or the biggest practitioners thereof. People are capable of astonishing cruelty, whether they are believers in god or not.

Please notice, though I despise this particular line of “reasoning” and have no use for a pope whatsoever, I do not call for his death, as so many devote believers in god would seek for those they disagree with. I don’t claim to be a better person because I’m an atheist. My point is there are good atheists and evil worshippers. We are all human beings and need each other more than god. peace, mjh