Tannishblog

So Al Gore got his Oscar…

Come to think of it, the Dixie Chicks got Grammies this year, too.

Who said the entertainment industry awards were for entertainment? While I don’t begrudge the winners - I happen to like both Al’s movie and the Chick’s latest disk - I can’t help but being whacked on the side of the head by the politics involved.

Maybe we should have awards for the Best Political Mudslinging in A Television Spot, or Best Character Assassination of the Presidential Primaries. Now that has potential…

Ever see a cockfight? I haven’t. Nonetheless, my overactive imagination can envision two proud-plumaged, two-legged beasts each eyeing the other warily while preening themselves and showing off to whomever is watching their display of magnificent, fearless war readiness.

One is a black-plumed Siyahe Kantony, the pride of Iran, scratching at the dirt like a stallion. Facing him is an American Bantam tossing his red neck feathers defiantly. Each too arrogant to admit the futility of ensuing battle, each too proud to back down. If they ever begin, the hen yard will be destroyed. But begin they will, eventually: there can only be one, right Highlander?

Too much testosterone hereabout. Do roosters have testosterone?

Yesterday in Central Asia they observed Basant, a spring holiday named after the yellow mustard flowers that bloom near this time of year. Celebrated throughout the Indian subcontinent, the people in Lahore, Pakistan show more enthusiasm and most.

Historically the citizens of Lahore fly colorful kites in honor the the end of winter. A tradition of Kite Battles has evolved, where some use wire or glass-coated string to cut another’s kite free. Many fly their kites from rooftops. Often gunshots are fired into the air.

CNN reports that eleven people died in yesterday’s celebrations.

The deaths and injuries were caused by stray bullets, sharpened kite-strings, electrocution and people falling off rooftops on Sunday at the conclusion of the two-day Basant festival, said Ruqia Bano, spokeswoman for the emergency services in the city of Lahore.

The festival is regularly marred by casualties caused by sharp kite strings or celebratory gunshots fired into the air. Kite flyers often use strings made of wire or coated with ground glass to try to cross and cut a rival’s string or damage the other kite, often after betting on the outcome.

Pakistani Internet new source Dawn.com shows bereaved mothers on the front page. the article lists the names and ages of the deceased, including:

Eleven-year-old Umer Farooq was killed in Gulshan-i-Ravi when the string of a stray kite slit his throat.

[…]

Danish, 13, died when he slipped from the roof of his house while catching a stray kite in Khudad Street in Baghbanpura.

Maryam, 8, received a stray bullet while he was in her house in Garden Town and died at the General Hospital.

A 50-year-old woman, Naheed Taranum, fell from the roof of her house in Rang Mahal while she was trying to protect one of her children involved in kite-flying.

Shareef, 14, fell fall from the roof of his house in Shafiqabad and was killed. He was trying to catch a stray kite.

Imran, 20, was run over by a car on a Defence road while running after a stray kite.

Pakistanlink.com paints a different picture, as they proclaim:

Lahorites celebrated the Basant night with traditional fervour with kite flying, music and other cultural programmes.

Thousands enjoyed the Basant night in the city. One of the most prominent places in town was Asif Jah’s haveli where Basant night celebrated and participated by the people enthusiastically. A musical show was arranged at the Haveli along with kite flying.

Lahore wore a festive look as the roads and canal in the city were decorated tastefully for the Basant night and the spring festival. Lahorites came in thousands to the roads and streets on the occasion, which badly affected the traffic flow in the city.

Large number of people arrived in the city from other parts of the country to celebrate Basant in Lahore. Several foreign dignitaries also attended Basant musical night at a local hotel.

I’m all for cultural diversity. I can embrace expressions of the joy of life. Pardon my innate American judgment showing through, but doesn’t this sound a bit strange?

A 16-year-old girl and a schoolboy, 12, died after their throats were slashed by metal kite strings in separate incidents. Two people were electrocuted while they tried to recover kites tangled in overhead power cables, Bano said. (CNN)

This is not an isolated incident. Kite strings coated with ground glass, letting a youngster fly a kite from the rooftop, stray bullets happen every year. A cultural acceptance of these risky behaviors shows an almost pathological disregard for life - even as life is celebrated. Weird.

Is anyone you know Autistic? CNN reports over half a million adults are living with Autism in the United States. That number will increase as more children with the condition reach maturity. The Center for Disease control estimates that one child in 150 is affected.

None of us can imagine what it’s like. Thanks to YouTube, one adult with Autism has reached out to the world. Through her video "In My Language,", Amanda Baggs describes with elegance what its like to live in a world created for others - a stranger in a strange land, to borrow from Robert Heinlen. Also, she was featured on the "Anderson Cooper 360" show in CNN. The resulting interview, questions provided by audience members, allows the curious a peek into different mentality.

Q: There are three persons with autism in my family. How do you think an island, populated only by autistic persons such as yourself, would function?
Lawrence Decker, Floyd, Virginia

BAGGS: I don’t know. I don’t think I would want to live on an island with people of only one neurological configuration, no matter what it was.

A different neurological configuration: Is it a disease, or is it a mutation? That depends on your viewpoint. If you are in the majority in viewing the current state of humanity as paradigm, then any aberration is distasteful. Labeling an altered mental state a disease is facile, but is it accurate? Amanda clearly would argue to the contrary. As intimated by her video is it us who pay be deficient. Not versed in the science, I take the idea of mutation from my wife who, as a school social worker, has the opportunity to work first hand with Autistic children. In her efforts to do the best social work she can, she’s read up on the subject and tested theories in the kids she knows.

Autism is on the rise. As there’s no known "cure," and given the numbers of people involved, it may soon become as common as deafness, blindness, or any other "affliction." I hesitate to call Autism a disease, although it may bring on a lack of ease in unaffected people, and I ponder the possibility of a "cure." It may very well be like trying to cure a man of ethnicity.

What if autism is proven to be a mutation? What if there comes a day where there may be enough Autistics to become a voting bloc? How would the mainstream react? Greg Bear has written his take on similar issues, although he was careful not to stomp on real science by using Autism in his book: Darwin’s Children. I realize this is speculative fiction, but Sci Fi has been right before. It might be that humanity can learn learn from an altered state of reality. Most Autistics are non-violent, in the conventional sense. That’s a good start.

As I read this lengthy piece at Washington Post, I ponder the wisdom of imbuing the "Web Roots" with political clout. I’m concerned over the direction is will lead us.

Here’s the gist of the article: a moderate House Democrat, Ellen Tauscher of California, is under fire from a few prominent liberal bloggers. Daily Kos and Moveon.org are alleging she has worked too closely with the Bush Administration during the previous congress. The crux of the dispute seems to be summed up in the following paragraphs:

Tauscher’s liberal critics say she has undermined the party during the Bush years, making a fetish of bipartisanship at a time when Republicans had no interest in real compromise, demonizing the far left at a time when Democrats needed to unify against the far right. And they’re still seething about her "left cliff" quote, which echoed GOP talking points before Election Day.

"She reinforces the idea that lefties are out-of-control children," said Brian Leubitz, who runs a liberal California blog called Calitics. "She provides cover for Republican extremists."

Tauscher says it’s obvious that Democrats will alienate independent voters if they tack to the hard left and she won’t apologize for stating the obvious. "The speaker has been indefatigable about saying she’s going to govern from the center," she said. "I guess if you’re looking to be offended, that’s what’s going to offend you."

Kos promises a "vicious fight for her seat." He doesn’t seem to be concerned about the fragility of the Democratic majority. I question the wisdom of handing first-tier bloggers undue power to influence and attack politicians. Are we leaning leftward into anarchy? Kos, of course, thinks not.

"We’re creating real democracy," he said.

Regardless of facts, we are seeing a disparity between the blogosphere, whose forerunners are essentially  influential local businessmen, and a member of congress. Before the Internet such disharmony could only be expressed through letters, withholding campaign contributions and by voting. Now, one man’s grudge can have sweeping ramifications.

I see a emerging habit of news media to give legitimacy to bloggers through news coverage. Internet grass roots activism is new, unpredictable and important, true, but an interesting feedback loop is occurring. Perhaps it is symbiosis.

In theory, the idea of handing government accountability to the masses seems a Good Thing, yet with a caveat: The masses tend to exhibit a mob mentality. Dangerously so. Can they learn to behave with the decorum necessary for affective political debate?

Media history has proved that a few can influence many with the power of broadcasting. The Internet upends the equation. The many have the power of broadcasting and the few must react. The mob now has better weapons. Are they wise enough to use them, or will they cave to the very human tendency toward personal satisfaction and grudge politics? With the peanut gallery newly empowered, Americans find themselves with more masters to appease.

Can we vote the Kos’ and Malkin’s out of power? Perhaps by not visiting their sites. A rapid decrease in page views my send a message, to the media as a reduction of influence, who will quickly run to the next big story maker. Also to the blogger as a reduction of advertising revenue. I fear the process is both too weak and too slow.

Today is the 45th anniversary of John Glen’s historic orbital flight. Thus the era of the space race began in earnest. Although I was barely walking at the time, I have memories of America’s quest for space as a heady, optimistic time of positive change. I miss those days.

So does NASA. Unveiling a plan for future human space flights at NASA.gov, NASA resurrects the ghost of Saturn V in the new Ares I vehicle to be completed as the ailing and failing space shuttle is retired in 2010. The 1960’s Saturn V program, nixed by President Nixon, allowed a launching capacity more than five times greater, a developmental cost 25 percent lower and a build-and-operate cost less than half of that of today’s space shuttle. Ares will boast a 40 percent increase in Saturn’s payload at a lower cost than the present shuttle missions.

Such cost savings allows the perpetual dreamers at NASA to envision a permanent, self-sustaining moon base by the year 2025 to serve as an outpost for further robotic studies of places beyond. I’m dreaming right along with them.

Do I hear scoffing and catcalls from the peanut gallery?

It is the nature of astrophysicists and rocketry engineers to be optimistic and perhaps a little reckless, as it is for politicians to vacillate between pessimism and pragmatism. My jaded voice is betting on the politicians to wreck the dream before it’s realized. I pray I’m wrong.

Humanity need to explore space. We are fighting for dwindling resources, expending unthinkable sums on destruction and wasting Gross National Product on expendable war materiel. As the NY Times reports in NASA Goes Deep, the US is currently spending $9 billion per day on Iraq, while a Saturn rocket would cost $29 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. That’s a new rocket every few days.

Let’s get our priorities straight: If a few capable humans would take our wondering nature, our exploratory and, yes, imperialistic tendencies, and point them outward, the balance of humanity can live on Terra peacefully within the geopolitical boundaries already established. It wouldn’t solve our aggressive stances, our greed or bloodlust, but it would go a long way toward removing Earth from the aftereffects of mankind’s penchant for wanton destruction. I for one would support bankrupting our nation for intra-solar expansion. There, our future lies; here, only our self-destruction

John Glen didn’t live to see his dream of space colonization realized. Perhaps his grandchildren will.

UPDATE: My invisible friend Jack informed me of my stupidity: The good John Glen is still alive! (see comments) I’m going to soak my head now… That’s what I get for blogging from the office.

My love of books sometimes shows up in the oddest ways. For example, I’m fascinated by book censorship. It’s hard for me to imagine in this world of violence, misogyny, greed and global domination that people get all screwed up over a single word in a kid’s book.

New York Times’ Book section details the latest controversy between the Sophisticates and the Prudes in the world of children’s literature. This year’s Newberry Award winner, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, dared to include a provocative word in a scene where the protagonist, a 10-year-old named Lucky, eavesdrops upon a alcoholic recovery group. Having such a group featured in a children’s book is not the issue, just the utterance of one word - scrotum - lights the fires of book burning in areas most susceptible to literary blazes. As the NY Times quotes:

Ms. Nilsson, reached at Sunnyside Elementary School in Durango, Colo., said she had heard from dozens of librarians who agreed with her stance. “I don’t want to start an issue about censorship,” she said. “But you won’t find men’s genitalia in quality literature.”

“At least not for children,” she added.

I marvel at the contradictions inherent in such thinking. If a caring soul looks after "the best interests" of children whole heartedly, focusing on one small aspect of a society’s influence is futile. Once censorship begins, where does it lead? Where is the line that clearly denotes what is right for a child to learn? That’s rhetorical, of course, there isn’t one.Who besides parents are appropriate to make that call?  If a ten-year-old is to learn a word describing a part of the male anatomy that is considered uncouth in conversation, where best to discover it? If not in a book, then where is the child likely to learn if it? From a bad-mouthing teenager?

Perhaps the self-appointed moralists should consider the alternative to exposing prickly subjects within a literary context. The matter-of-fact discovery of words like scrotum in a story educates without the baggage of judgmental connotations usually associated with learning such words on the proverbial street. This is a Good Thing! If teachers, librarians and especially parents are uncomfortable defining the word when little Jennifer asks, then gently suggest a dictionary. And shame on all of you for lacking the balls to answer her question outright.

It’s been a couple weeks. If you’ve missed them, I apologize. I’d like to think others get a kick out of this feature besides myself…

A timeless quote as offered by Lama Suryas Das at the Dzogchen Center:

The way to happiness:
Keep your heart free from hate, your mind free from worry.
Live simply, expect little, give much.
Scatter sunshine.
Forget self, think of others.
Try this for a week
and you will be surprised.

~ Norman Vincent Peale

It sees that thinking of others unfortunately is rare in our society. Anyone with an open mind and heart who wishes to test these words will indeed be surprised that the very habit of putting others first raises one’s self esteem thereby increasing happiness. Any other methods of harmony are magnified by the simple act of caring for someone besides yourself. Too bad few people notice this…

Chicago got it’s yearly Big Snow last night. For over 30 house a powdery snow fell sideways in a gusty breeze. Parts of my driveway was bare, parts were 18" deep. My snow blower barely chugged through the deeper parts, and as it did the wind gleefully redistributed the blast right back at me.

Not only do I care for my own 70+ feet of driveway, I look after that of my neighbor lady. So, for an hour after dark, as the wind and snowfall lessened, I pushed a growling perambulator and spat snow into the breeze.

I came in afterward, stamped my feet in the hall and shouted, "Look! I’m a Bumble." The Abominable Snowman had arrived, black clothing caked as well as eyebrows and beard.

I like snow. Shoveling is only a chore these days because of decaying spinal discs, but I’d still rather wield a shovel than the snow-eater. This morning as I set out before dawn, I managed to clean the inch-or-so tag-end accumulation off my drive in twenty minutes. I’ll do the neighbor’s when I get home.

Thanks to ddjango, writing at at Sinsquanon's Journal, I learn two things: first, On February 6, 2007 Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced in the US House H.R. 808 [PDF], which would establish a cabinet-level US Department of Peace and Nonviolence; second, The Peace Alliance Campaign to Establish a US Department of Peace has been recently formed. From the web site:

Department of Peace. There is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 808). This landmark measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

Domestically, the Department of Peace will develop policies and allocate resources to effectively reduce the levels of domestic and gang violence, child abuse, and various other forms of societal discord. Internationally, the Department will advise the President and Congress on the most sophisticated ideas and techniques regarding peace-creation among nations. Learn more…

What a beautifully ludicrous idea! I say that because, as is quoted in ddjango's article:

Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.

— Hermann Göring

Especially considering the Bush administration's propensity toward ignoring informed council and enforcing the will of POTUS upon all. My inner-Christian, despite all the medication he's on, sometimes causes me to ponder if GWB is the anti-Christ. I'm not the only one, either.

But peace, however unlikely, is an option. Governments have been overturned before, and will be again. Hold on: I'm not advocating violent reform in the name of peace. That would be waging war to produce peace, which in which the United Stated is already involved. But putting peace on the negotiating table, giving it the legitimacy it deserves, is a great start…

What's that I hear, a growing rumbling from the political right? Those who would argue the methods and tactics of Iraqis: how twisted and violent they are; how they would just destroy America one terrorist attack at a time if we change course; are spouting well-established, yet unsubstantiated innuendo. How can anyone be so sure peace won't work it it is never attempted? I submit that the naysayers may be correct, to not discuss all options - especially peaceful resolutions - is to Danse Macabre at the Apocalypso Rag Ball.