Dinosaur Soft Tissue Finally Makes News

Lichtgeschwindigkeit 85 OBAMISTAN

die ungeschnittene extemporierte Piraten-Presseschau –

am Samstag, 21. November 2009,

von Dr. Dietmar Moews im Alphons-Silbermann-Zentrum Berlin

Pankow Niederschönhausen; Aufnahmezeit um 21 Uhr;

ferner ein Sonderheft der Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie

aus der Zeit der eminenten Soziologen René König und Alphons Silbermann:

ENTWCKLUNGSSOZIOLOGIE; Czempiel/Schweitzer: Weltpolitik der USA –

Einführung und Dokumente, hrsg. Schriftenreihe der Bundeszentrale für

politische Bildung;

Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, Michael Lackner Hrsg. mit Doris Fischer und Christoph Müller-Hofstede:

Länderbericht CHINA – Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft im chinesischen Kulturraum

Piratenthema heute: OBAMISTAN – die ärmlichen Erfolge des

US-Präsident Barack Obama bei seinem Versuch, auf seiner Rundreise

durch Japan, Nordkorea, in Singapur, Burma, Shanghai, China und

Südkorea, als pazifischer Präsident eine politische Konsonanz

mit den asiatischen Staaten einzuleiten. Taiwan der demokratischen

Nationalchinesen auf Formosa wurde ausgelassen – Obama

besuchte nicht, wie vorher Bush, eine christliche Kirche in China

und traf auch nicht den Dalai Lama in Tibet – es half aber nichts.

Obama wollte hope und change verwirklichen – Hoffnung und

Veränderungen, die seine Wähler erwarten, Multilateralismus statt

Unilateralismus, Konzillianz statt missionarischen Druck.

Der neue Ministerpräsident Japans, Hatoyama, stellte infolge

vorgenommener Verlegung amerikanischer Truppen in Japan

das bestehende Bündnis mit den USA in Frage. Japan wird

zukünftig nicht mehr US-Kriegsschiffe betanken. Japan lehnt

auch die us-amerikanischen Vorschläge zur Klimakonferenz ab.

Chinas Präsident Hu Jintao ist in keiner einzigen Punkt Obamas

auf die USA eingegangen. Weder zur Frage der iranischen Atombombe,

den Drohungen Nordkoreas gegen die USA, oder hinsichtlich der

riesigen chinesischen Dollarreserven erreichte Obama etwas.

Das diktatorische China will bei den Importen aus USA selbst

die Preise beeinflussen. China will auch zukünftig den US-Markt

für die chinesischen Exporte nutzen und nimmt deshalb inkauf,

den inflationären Dollar zu stützen, damit die eigenen Handelsüberschüsse

und amerikanischen Schatzpapiere nicht gefährdet werden.

Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Bürgerrechte und sonstige piratenpolitischen

Werte sind in China nicht gefragt. Die politischen Differenzen

zwischen CHINA und den PIRATEN sind punkto staatliche

Repression und Willkür als Herrschaftsinstrumente groß.

Weiterhin hält China die Yüan-Währung unterbewertet und

beklagte gebetsmühlenhaft den Protektionismus der westlichen

Handelspartner. Bei der Pressekonferenz in Peking durften die

Journalisten Obama keine Fragen stellen. Obamistan blickt auf

den Pazifik, kann aber auf Asean als Ordnungsmacht keine

Akzente setzen. Obama muss die wirtschaftich gestärkten

Schwellenländer China, Indien und Brasilien zukünftig als

strategische Mitspieler, besser noch als Partner behandeln.

Als letzte Station besuchte Obama, Südkorea, wo er eine gewisse

Rivalität mit China anklingen ließ. Die EU und Deutschland hängen

finanzpolitisch, wirtschaftlich und militärisch mit den USA eng zusammen,

ja, wenn nicht von Abhängigkeit gesprochen werden soll. Es gibt

grundsätzlich eine Wertegemeinschaft, die aber kollossal einseitig

ausgelegt wird. Entwicklungssoziologisch müssen die USA und

Europa im Dialog bleiben. Die europäische Vielfalt und die

amerikanische Selbstgenügsamkeit stehen dem entgegen.

Die Leipziger Volkszeitung ist eine Bildzeitung, die selbst

auf dem Titel keinerlei weltpolitische Themen führt. Auch zum

Thema Massendatenspeicherung und Überwachungsstaat gereichte

der Kreditkartenskandal für die Leipziger Volkszeitung vom Wochenende

nicht aus, ein Piratenthema kritisch zu beleuchten.

Produktion, Performance, Autor, Direktion: Dr. Dietmar Moews;

Aufnahmetechnik und Admin: Piratencrew Berlin;

Musik: 8 days the beads zum Mp3-Download von dietmarmoews.com

This week some of the items that caught my attention were the “phantom districts,” the Sarah Palin book tour and media blitz, the Terrorists trial in New York, polls, healthcare, and veterans.  Of course, there’s a little sports thrown in, too.

Phantom Districts:
Sometimes you just have to laugh at some things that come from the Government.  According to the government-funded ($18 million) website (Recovery.gov) that tracks stimulus spending, Montana has 13 different congressional districts.  In reality, we only have one and that district is called At-Large (remember that for trivia).

The info is changed now, thanks to people like Congressman Denny Rehberg.

One of the funnier comments I saw on this website is that Big Sandy, Montana (home of Senator Jon Tester) used the stimulus money to save or create 4,538 jobs.  Big Sandy has a population of about 700.

The new leadership in Washington seems to really be screwing things up.

Hardly Anybody Likes Max:
Montana State University Billings released a poll done with people who have “land-line phones” showing Sen. Max Baucus’ approval ratings have dropped like a rock in a pond.  He’s lost 20 points in two years, probably due to his weak leadership when it comes to the healthcare debate.  Only 44% approve of Baucus in the poll.  62% approve of Schweitzer, which makes one wonder when Schweitzer is through with his second term as Governor if he won’t turn his attention to Baucus’ seat in the U.S. Senate.  The funniest thing is that Baucus spent a year or more working on a healthcare bill that Harry Reid flushed down the toilet and introduced his own.   The Great Falls Tribune came to Max’s defense in today’s paper.  Pathetic.

Chicken –cluck cluck:
Seeing how far Baucus has dropped in the polls has convinced Sen. Jon Tester not to say if he supports the healthcare bills currently being debated in Congress.  That’s very poor statesmanship on Tester’s part.  Luckily in the U.S. Senate, there’s not an “I don’t know” vote.  My belief is that Tester will drop right in line behind Reid, Baucus, Schumer and vote for it.

By the way, what do you do if you are afraid to have face to face town hall meetings about the healthcare bills?  You hold a telephone town hall meeting.  Tester held one the other day and interested people had to call in beforehand (to be approved?)

Terrorists on Trial:
As I mentioned last week, I believe it is ridiculous for the United States to prosecute terrorists in our civilian courts.  Attorney General Eric Holder seems like an intelligent man, but this is a very stupid decision.  Sen. Lindsey Graham schooled AG Holder on the law the other day, asking if our solders are now required to Mirandize terrorists and others captured on the battlefield.  This trial will lead to further messes down the road.

Palin:
She sure does get a lot of attention, and she sure will make a lot of money off her new book.  She’s an underdog and you know how I like underdogs!  Even the lefty networks understand that Sarah Palin is ratings gold.  The liberals are afraid of Palin and how many followers she has so they attack.

Today I received this e-mail from Barack Obama’s campaign team, which is called “Organizing for America.”
They wrote:
“Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn.
It’s dangerous.  Remember, this is the person who coined the term “Death Panels” — and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists.”

Dangerous?  Really?  Maybe the Obama team should spend a little more time on things that matter like jobs or making a decision about how many troops to send to Afghanistan, instead of worrying about Sarah Palin.  Of course, they asked me to chip in $5 to stop her.

But, with all the talk back and forth I believe that the two or three former McCain campaign staffers showing up on the news should just shut up.  Yes, shut your traps because you lost the freaking election.  You failed to prep your VP Candidate for interviews and that hurt your team.  Losers.

By the way, Palin will be in Billings later this month to sign books.  Nope, I won’t be attending.

Veterans:
Sen. Jon Tester sent me an e-mail this week about “landmark” veterans’ legislation the senate recently passed.  I thought this paragraph was interesting:

“Montana is a rural state, which means all 100,000 veterans there are rural veterans,” Tester said.  “Many of them live in frontier communities.  Sadly, that means they have a tougher time getting the health care they earned.”

He’s right, Montana is a rural state and veterans have trouble getting the healthcare they earned.  Then why doesn’t the Senator push for veterans to get healthcare in their local communities instead of spending tons of money on leases for clinics, salaries for doctors/nurses, travel costs, etc.  The VA could use that money for actual veterans’ medical care and for hiring more people to work on the record backlog of claims at the VA.  We earned it, right?  You can’t put a VA clinic in every town that has a veteran living in it, but many of the towns have local civilian clinics or hospitals just a few blocks for veterans to travel.

Montana Griz at Montana State Cats:
I am neither one, so I can honestly say that I want to see a good game.  Griz coach Bobby Hauck has it right when he said the pressure is on the Cats because the Griz have clinched the Big Sky and the automatic birth to the playoffs.  The Cats will need to win to probably get a playoff spot or they may sneak in by being very competitive.

NASCAR:
Sunday will end the most boring NASCAR season ever.  NASCAR is reminding me more and more of pro-wrestling with their changes in rules during the season, not to mention during a race.  When the leader only needs to finish 25th or better to win the championship, I imagine I will be watching something else on Sunday.

That’s it for this week’s edition.  Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Follow me on Twitter!

Scientific survey shows thumbs up for Schweitzer, Tester, Rehberg; big drop for Baucus-

Story in the Missoulian. Baucus’ approval rating among Montanans drops by 20 percent. By Matt Gouras. Associated Press

In any survey, it is good to look at the actual questions. Here are the full survey results.

Oggi voglio riportare due stupendi pensieri di due altrettanto stupendi uomini che in questa vita hanno fatto moltissimo per i loro fratelli.

GANDHI:
“Consciamente o inconsciamente, ognuno di noi presta qualche tipo di servizio. Se coltiviamo l’abitudine di prestarlo intenzionalmente, il desiderio di essere utili si rafforzerà sempre di piú dentro noi e contribuirà non soltanto alla nostra felicità individuale, ma a quella del
mondo in generale.”

SCHWEITZER:
“Non so quale sarà il tuo destino, ma una cosa so: gli unici di voi veramente felici saranno quelli che avranno cercato e trovato il modo di servire gli altri.”

Selbsterkenntnis ist, wenn man merkt, dass man seiner Frau nicht vorwerfen kann GZSZ zu gucken und selbst mindestens eine halbe Stunde diese Soap zu lesen. Allerdings geht mit Nr.3856 der wichtigste Kommentar flöten. Rein sachlich betrachtet.

Internet ist auch nur Fortsetzung von Tanzschule und Schulhof mit anderen Mitteln.

Wenn Spreeblick schon keine Cochones hat, so zeigen die da drüben jetzt doch Nerven. Da wird über den tragischen Selbstmord des VZ-Erpresser in Plötzensee berichtet und nachdem die Anzahl der Beileidsbekundungen in den Kommentaren an einem Finger an zwei Händen abzählbar war, hat Johnny die Kommentare geschlossen und die bisherigen auch gleich verschluckt.

Ob das mal nicht eine direkte Folge der Diskussion um eine in einem New-Yorker-Altbau-schreibende ADAC-Mitgliederin und deren Verteidiger ist.

Wenn in einigen Jahren jede Tabletten-Aufbrühmaschine twittert und jede SMS von Google in Echtzeit indiziert wird, werden wir feststellen, dass es da nicht schön ist, wo zu viele von uns sind. Oder wäre ansonsten das Fernsehprogramm am Samstag abend das beschissenste in der ganzen Woche?!

In der Sache Dr. Eva Schweitzer gegen (einen) (zwei) alle (ausgenommen Malte) ‘deutschen’ Blogger beschliesst das Gericht, dass die Beweisaufnahme wieder eröffnet ist.

Es klang eigentlich wie ein Märchen:

• Blogger ‘zitiert’ Qualitätsjournalistin,
• Bodyguards dieser international agierenden, immer beschäftigten, in NYC auch wohnenden Frau verfolgen gnadenlos illegale Verwendung ihrer kreativen Arbeit,
• treffen dabei aus Versehen den Falschen,
• Größe zeigt Gnade,
• lässt den kleinen Fisch ‘vom Haken’.
• Und Alle so: Yeeaah!

Die gesamte Story war dann noch gewürzt von ‘gewissen’ Sticheleien, die es erst so richtig spannend machen, zu sehen, wie diese niedlichen Blogger, sich mit den wirklich Großen der Branche anlegen.

Der Vorwurf an die Blogosphäre steht im Raum: ihr seid keine Journalisten, denn sonst wüsstet ihr, dass man immer, immer, immer dem Opfer von Kritik Gelegenheit gibt, Stellung zu nehmen. (Aus meiner eigenen beruflichen Praxis weiss ich, dass man dies insbesondere bei kontroversen Aussagen tun sollte, manchmal aber auch mit einer gespooften Fax-Nummer macht.) Ergo seid ihr nur Schmierfinken. Schreibendes Präkariat gewissermassen.

Der Mob, das Präkariat, die Klowände und die Schlafanzüge

Spreeblick vorzuwerfen, sie hätte nicht bei Frau Schweitzer nachgefragt, entbehrt natürlich nicht einer gewissen Komik. Immerhin hatte ja ein Anwalt in ihrem Namen ein Schreiben rausgeschickt, ohne dass er oder Frau Schweitzer persönlich darum gebeten – oder auch nur nachgefragt - hatten, die unverhältnismäßig langen Zitate zu entfernen.

Aber immerhin: sie hat sofort reagiert und angekündigt, die Abmahnung zurückzuziehen. Laut Update beim Spreeblick geschah dies am Do irgendwann gegen 23:00. In einer Mail verkündete Eva Schweitzer, dass sie davon absehen würde die Forderung einzutreiben. Allerdings nutzte sie die Gelegenheit den Bloggern, die Erwachsenenwelt zu erklären (Mieten in NYC, Anwaltskosten, ‘Schleppnetzfahndung’ …).

Die Mail alleine scheint allerdings nicht vollkommen deutlich gemacht zu haben, worum es ihr wirklich geht. Dazu wurde dann im Laufe der Nacht, der taz-Blog benutzt. Der dortige ‘Blogwart’ ist auch so freundlich – zumindest zeitweise – die Kommentarfunktion so zu modifizieren, dass Kommentare nicht nach lifo oder fifo erscheinen sondern schlicht gar nicht.

Ein gewisser Johnny antwortete noch auf diesen Post, aber da war die Nacht an der Ostküste schon angebrochen. Und während sich alle Blogger in Deutschland – da, wo sich niemand traut, mit anderen zu reden – noch an ihren Bierflaschen festhielten, schlief Frau Schweitzer den Schlaf der Selbstgerechten.

Und nach allen Erfahrungen mit diesem Biest ‘Blogosphäre’ hätte man annehmen müssen, dass inzwischen irgendein guter Freund zu Frau Schweitzer gesagt haben würde: ‘Eva, soll ich dir mal einen Rat geben?’ Aber leider ist Frau Dr. Schweitzer ja in den Staaten und von allen guten Freunden offensichtlich verlassen. Denn am Abend des 30.10. veröffentlicht sie im taz-Blog die Fortsetzungsgeschichte von ‘Empires Strikes Back‘ mit dem passenden Titel ‘A New Hope‘.

Das Triptychon vollendet sie mit ‘All Good Things…‘ in dem sie – ganz Hollywood-like einen Ausblick auf ihren nächsten Scoop gibt. Allerdings scheint der Plot für die Blogosphäre eher irrelevant zu sein. Nachdem die Zeit und die taz ja demnächst keine Artikel mehr unter ihrem Namen veröffentlichen werden, könnte der Stern großes Interesse haben an: ‘einem Sexskandal [der] in der Bloggospäre handeln [soll], bei dem Nazis involviert sind, sowie hochrangige Personen aus dem Establishment‘.

Es soll Anglisten überlassen sein, die Wahl ihrer Titel als besonders sprühend zu klassifizieren und es ist Germanisten überlassen ihre sonstige Wortwahl als vielleicht feministisch-patriarchalisch zu bezeichnen. Ihre Ideen zur Monetarisierung ihrer Elaborate zeugen jedenfalls von einer überbordenden Kreativität. Nachdem das Mittel der Abmahnung bei nichtkommerziellen Blogs ja per se zum Scheitern verurteilt ist, schlägt sie als Ersatz Schwarzarbeit in Form von Apple-Support vor. So schön diese Idee auch war, wurde sie doch offensichtlich von vielen Bloggern als unmoralisches Angebot abgelehnt (man stelle sich eine Abmahnung vor, weil man Time Machine eingerichtet hat) .

Daher gibt es jetzt einen Vertrag zu Lasten Dritter: Jeder kann die Kasse von Frau Schweitzer auffüllen, indem er einfach eine Mail an Frau Dr. Eva Schweitzer schickt. Die Kosten übernimmt dann dieser ominöse Philipp (Nachname ist der Redakteurin nicht bekannt). Laut ihrer Aussage kommt er damit momentan noch billiger weg, als mit der Abmahnung.

Aber auch diese Idee ist selbstverständlich nur ein Scherz. Wie könnte auch nur irgendwer irgendwas von einer gewissen ‘Eva’ ernst nehmen.

Im taz-blog können die Artikelautoren offensichtlich direkt auf Kommentare antworten und werden dabei nicht als die ausgezeichnet, die sie sind.

[Update]Fellow Passenger weist in seinem Blog auf einen interessanten rechtlichen Aspekt hin, den ich leider nicht verifizieren kann mir aber sehr plausibel erscheint: demnach könnte sie nur dann selbst abmahnen, wenn sie die alleinigen Verwertungsrechte nicht an die Zeit abgetreten hätte. Ich erinnere mich dunkel, dass der Kampf um diese Rechte ein immer wieder neu ausgetragener ist, den aber meistens die Verlage gewinnen.[/Update]

Eben saß ich noch mit @alles_anders im schönen Kreuzberg und gemeinsam entwickelten wir eine tolle Idee, wie man Blogger und Journalisten finanziell in die nächste Ära beamen könnte. Wir dachten eher mehr an Donations und Micro-Micro-Payment und eher weniger an Juristen und Inkassounternehmen. Aber zu zweit sieht man ja bekanntlich besser. Insofern überrascht es nicht wirklich, dass der Anwalt von E va C. Schweitzer – unter Beihilfe eines Unternehmens, dass Duplikate im Netz sucht  (es handelt sich nicht um Google!) – auf die Idee der Abmahnung eines Bloggers wg. Zitaten kommt. Die Autorin reit sich ein, in eine illustre Gesellschaft, deren Mitglieder mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit bereuen, ohne formalen Antrag aufgenommen worden zu sein.

Natürlich handelt es sich auch bei diesem Thema um ein Lemma, das nicht relevant ist. Die Blogger – und somit auch ich – und insbesondere die A-Blogger – und somit ich nicht – verwenden eine verhältnismässige Bagatelle um den klassischen Medien zu beweisen, welche Macht sie haben. Sie haben eine ausgezeichnete Spürnase, welche Topics, grade relevant (sic!) sind. Vereint mit den Suchmaschinen, den Trackbacks, den Kommentatoren und den Tweets (der Artikel wurde nach einer Stunde schon mehr als 1000 mal getweetet) zwingen sie die Etablierten (egal ob Medien oder Unternehmen), defensiv zu reagieren.

Denn bisher hat noch niemand die Macht der Blogger akzeptiert. Dabei wäre es so einfach: taz bezahlt die Forderung von 1200 Euro und Anwalt verzichtet – ob seiner Unfähigkeit – auf seine Kostenerstattung.

Alles andere wäre dumm.

Like most conceptual terms, it is not accurate to paint “pacifism” with a quick broad brush.  One form of pacifism is to never strike back, which was practiced personally by Martin Luther King, Jr.  While in the midst of a speech, a man jumped on stage and struck him in the face, knocking him down.  King, a former wrestler, got back up and offered the man his chair on the stage.

Another form of pacifism allows for the defense of one’s own physical person and immediate family or small group.  This form is possibly, but not necessarily in agreement with Jesus, when taken in context of several different teachings; it’s never accurate to extrapolate only some of what Jesus said, as conservative Christians often do.

Jesus drew a distinct line against war and violence.  From an accurate historical perspective, war is invariably about either protecting one’s own wealth or taking someone else’s wealth and almost always, about both.  Thus, war is not the same as self defense, which is protecting one’s physical person.

In war, soldiers are compelled to obey orders from the top down, regardless of how right or wrong they personally believe them to be. Following orders from the top down in WWII, soldiers who may never had previously violently attacked anyone, dropped atomic weapons on a large civilian population.

No side is right in war, because seeds of one conflict trace to a previous conflict.  Just as seeds of WWII trace to WWI and back even before the American Revolution, which was also about wealth; perceived unjust taxation, which was minuscule compared to what U.S. citizens routinely pay today, was a primary revolutionary motivation.

One of the supposedly most “justified” wars in U.S. history is WWII, based on the theory that Japan attacked the United States without provocation.  The problem with this theory is, long before Pearl Harbor, we had gained substantially monetarily by supplying England and France with weapons which were used against Japan.  And at the time, we were attempting to blockade supplies coming into Japan, which was a threat to their population’s survival.

It is not that Japan was right and we were wrong but rather, war is invariably about both sides being wrong.  No nation profiting from a war is guiltless concerning that war.

Perhaps the best American historical example of justifiable self defense in regards to war, is when Colonel Chivington attacked and massacred a tribe of natives, who were sleeping inside their homes with white flag raised.  If there was ever a justified response, it is how American natives responded to Sand Creek.

Jesus taught the way to achieve peace is to lay down our swords. This solution is so obvious, a small child can easily understand what apparently, is too profound for many educated historians and conservative preachers to grasp.  In the book of Revelation, this command is repeated and, those who resort to violence and war as a means to an end, are placed on the wrong side of God, human rights and human history.

Is laying down our swords wise?  Has picking up a sword ever “secured the peace”, preventing war from breaking out again?  Is there a better or any other solution to war, other than laying down our swords?  Are you smarter than Jesus?  You decide.

Link to footnotes and documentation for the above article

Tuesday, October 14th

On my way to work today, I was sitting in the back of my buddy’s van, staring out the window as we went up the hill to Schweitzer.   It had rained all night in town and the question on everyone’s mind in the car…I mean, van…was “How much snow did we get?”  The cars started coming down towards us and there it was … snow.  As we climbed, the rain slowly changed to sleet, then a little snow.  The temp was right on the snow/rain edge.  We rounded switchback five and saw the snowplow heading down.

“Huh… that’s the first time I’ve seen the plow on the road this year.”

The parking lot hadn’t been plowed yet.  It’s always fun making fresh tracks…whether it’s on skis, a board, walking on the sidewalk, or driving across a slush-covered parking lot.  Our little group made our way through the village and there was CK…shoveling away on the deck outside the Mill Building.  I doubt he was as stoked to see the fresh snow as we were, but still… in the back of my mind all I could think was, “is winter really here?”

According to science and nature and all that, the start of winter is the solstice; which is December 21^st.  But I’m sure if you ask any ski bum, they would have a much different answer.

First snowfall
First snow that sticks
After Halloween
After Thanksgiving
After the first movie premier… First ski swap… First freeze…
First…

Whatever your “first” is… I doubt it’s December 21^st.

One of the things I love most about Sandpoint is we have seasons.  I love winter more than most things, but I also like the other seasons.  Spring is my time to travel, I spend my summers on my bike and riding in the fall is great too.  The temperatures are cooler, the dirt is tackier and there are less people on the trail.  Just have to watch out for hunters   But I think it’s that love for the other seasons that makes the coming of winter that much more special.

September is tough.  The first photos of people skiing start to pop up.  Buyer’s Guides start coming out.  Even teasers for the years’ movies appear.  I try to force myself to ignore it.

“It’s way too early to be having powder dreams” I tell myself.
“There’s plenty of biking still to be had.”
But they still have a way of sneaking in.

When I lived/worked at a resort in Northern NM, we had a tradition for the beginning of the season.  Some of my friends had a snowboard shop and we would all pack up the leftover gear from the season before and head to Vail for the biggest ski swap in the US.  Luckily for us, it coincided with a number of important events.

A-Basin or Loveland was normally open, so it would mean the first turns of the season.
It was over Halloween, and there was a huge costume party that weekend.
And it was usually the first, really big gathering of people that loved the snow.
First…

Movie premier season is upon us.  The first one in Sandpoint is in a couple of weeks.  There’s snow on the mountains…hopefully here to stay.  Ski swaps are coming.  And there are people skiing in the US as I write this.

In my head, winter is here.  No matter what the weather man says…El Nino, La Nina, whatever…I know I’m gonna be sliding on white stuff soon.  I don’t really care if it’s on my skis, my board, or my butt…it’s fun.

Can’t wait to see you up at Schweitzer!

On Tuesday, the Montana Democratic Party sent an e-mail from their chairman and several state legislators praising U.S. Senator Max Baucus for his work on the healthcare bill.

Less than 24 hours later, Baucus sent out his own e-mail (from his campaign account) with the same praises from whom he called “Leading Montana Democrats.”  Offering praise were the current Democratic Party chairman and some state legislators.  Baucus also got some love from Montana’s junior Senator, Jon Tester, in his e-mail.

But some “Leading Montana Democrats” were missing from the “praise-a-thon.”

Quite noticeably missing was Montana’s Governor, the powerful Brian Schweitzer.  Additionally, the former Democratic Party chairman and current U.S. House candidate, Dennis McDonald was missing.  Plus, no other state-wide elected Democrats were quoted in the e-mails offering praise to Baucus.

This is the latest example of the Democratic Party being widely split on the healthcare issue, both nationally and here in Montana.  The split may cause the Democrats to lose a record number of seats in the 2010 election; that is if they don’t hurry up and ram the bill through Congress and hope that the independent voters forget about it before November 2010.

As the numerous healthcare bills are debated in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House in the coming weeks, it’s time to get some popcorn and a cold drink, take a seat in your favorite chair, and enjoy the show.  We may just see a national political party implode.

Another week is in the books!  This week I take a look at the “Peace Prize” as well as a jail sitting empty, some healthcare stuff, investigations, audits, and sports.  I also comment about the weather.  

Give Peace a Chance:

I was a little stunned when I heard that President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize.  I was even more stunned when I heard that nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize closed on February 1, 2009.  Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009.  He had been the President for only 12 days.  What a leader!

Hardin Jail:

Here we have a small community in Montana attempting to bring some economic development to their city and it appears they got screwed over by several people.  The deal with the California company is now dead.

But there’s good news:  Obama has not closed GITMO.

Healthcare-The Public Option:

A few bloggers have commented that Montana’s junior Senator, Jon Tester, is in favor of the public option in the healthcare debate.  I’ve also read where Gov. Schweitzer is in favor of the public option.

It looks like the Democrats have a simple majority who will support the public option, so they will need to use a loophole called reconciliation to get it passed because they probably don’t have 60 votes to cut off debate.  Are they willing to take the chance?  We’ll see, but I kind of think that the GOP might want the Democrats to try it.  If you are a political junkie, you can read more about reconciliation HERE.

By the way, I’m still wondering if the GOP has any leaders.

Healthcare-The big vote:

Max Baucus will get to see if his committee’s $829 billion bill passes next week.  I’ve become a little sad for “Montana’s Max” lately.  He’s in way over his head, he’s nearing the end of his career in politics, and he’s accomplished nothing.  Now his healthcare mess has angered almost everyone and history won’t be too kind to Max Baucus.  I look for “Montana’s Max” to ride off into the sunset at the end of this term, or face a primary opponent from someone like Brian Schweitzer.

Nothing happened, brother:

The “independent” investigation into the Governor’s brother, Deputy State Auditor Walt Schweitzer, found nothing wrong.  Deputy Walt was accused of soliciting campaign funds on government time.  The State Auditor selected the investigator.  Surprised?

That seems to be typical.

We’ve watched U.S. Senator Jon Tester pick a party insider to conduct what he promised in 2006 to be a yearly ethics audit (I think we’re on year three and I’ve only heard of one being completed, and that was in April 2008).

They seem to think we’re all fools.

Sports/Football:

I had never seen a team collapse like the University of Missouri football Tigers did on Thursday night.  They entered the 4th Quarter up 12-0 on Nebraska.  They lost 27-12.  No excuses.

I thought that the Missouri Tigers might be the best football team in the state of Missouri, putting the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Rams in second and third, respectively.  Now with the loss to the “Big Red” of Nebraska, I give the Tigers a 50/50 shot of beating the Chiefs and the Rams.  I’m thinking about calling them the Kansas City Chefs and the St. Louis Lambs.  Not original, but still funny.

Brett Favre dodged old age again and led the Vikings to a win over the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.  Sweet revenge (even if Favre won’t say it, I will).  I am sure the Packers were growing tired of Favre’s indecisions when they were preparing for training camp.  Now they may lose the NFC North to Favre and his team – something they tried to prevent when they did not want him.  Hold on, there’s one little trip that people have circled on the calendar, and that is when the Vikings visit the Packers at Lambeau field on November 1.  That will be fun to watch.

Sports/Baseball:

I must say, the tie-breaker game between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday was one of the better games I’ve watched.  It went 12 innings with the Twins winning.  Now they get to play the Yankees.

The weather sucks:

We don’t need no freaking snow in October, period.  Get outa here!

Follow me on Twitter!

“Fericirea este singurul lucru care se dublează atunci când îl împarți” , spunea teologul, muzicianul si filozoful german Albert Schweitzer .

Depuis longtemps, Louis Schweitzer me rappelait quelqu’un, mais qui ? Au cours de vacances oisives en bord de mer breton, j’ai relu l’intégralité des albums d’Astérix. Et l’évidence a surgi : Louis Schweitzer ressemble à l’infâme Acidenitrix, conseiller de Ségrégationnix, le chef de la moitié droite du village. Ce blog dispose d’un lectorat de qualité, capable de faire lui-même les rapprochements qui s’imposent…

Here are some things that caught my attention last week.

Obama came to Montana:

-It was interesting to hear Montana described many times before, during, and after Obama’s visit here as a “red state” (Republican). The last time I checked the Democrats (Blue) controlled all the second-tier state-wide offices in state government; there’s a democrat Governor and the two U.S. Senators are democrats. The Democrats controlled the state House of Representatives last session. The Republicans did control the state Senate in the last session and Congressman Denny Rehberg is a Republican. If the Republicans were some sort of animal, they would surely be on the endangered species list in Montana.

-From reports I read, there was not much rowdiness at the event in Belgrade, and the national media has commented on the fact that people are not as vocal at Obama events. The easiest explanation is that there are hundreds of secret service people as well as other law enforcement people at Obama events. It’s easy math: Someone like Arlen Specter is not as important as Barack Obama. Obama gets more security than a senator. People won’t scream and shout as much if they see security people ready to grab their necks and throw them out.

-One question that I thought should have been asked at the “Town Hall” meeting was, “In the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, democrats touted the fact that republicans were spending taxpayer money at record rates. In fact, the dough boy sitting on the stage with you said congress was spending money “like drunken sailors.” Now that you have tripled the national debt and spent more money that any administration in history, will you say now that you and the democrats lied to the American people about how you would stop the excessive spending?”

-Probably the President was not too happy with Governor Brian Schweitzer’s remarks touting the Canadian health care system. The headline in the Great Falls Tribune had this, “Schweitzer touts Canadian system.”
Who knows, maybe the Governor will start taking people to Canada to get their health care? Folks may remember that Schweitzer took people to Canada by bus to get their prescriptions when he was trying to win a seat in the U.S. Senate back in 2000. He was unsuccessful in that race.

Bresnan Internet and Blackberry:

It was “tech hell” for ol’ Jack this week. Thursday night and almost all day Friday I did not have access to the internet. My provider since it was AT&T @ Home is Bresnan. The internet was down because of a “corruption of routers on a particular type of server.”
Then, my Blackberry Pearl trackball went on the blink. The roller ball gets dirty and won’t move. After cleaning it several times, and getting sick of it not working, I upgraded to a BB Curve. Hopefully it will work better. Life sometimes sucks when the tech stuff fails.

Downpour Music Festival:

Although the rain came and it started late and some acts cut their performances short, it was well worth the wait at Centene Stadium in Great Falls.
My favorite band on Friday night was “The Hope Movement” which kicked off the festival around 5:00. Sadly, it started raining again so they cut their performance down a few songs but they left those in attendance wanting more. I’m looking forward to the second night of performances.

I’ll catch you on Twitter this week!

I haven’t felt much like writing over the last two months, mostly because my heart has been AWOL and the rest of me…well, has been on the run.  I’ve spent much of the last 12 months confronting ”my stuff”and honestly, I have grown tired of the daily confrontation.  Sometimes, isn’t it just easier to check out for awhile?  

There is a reason Jesus tells us to abide (or make our home) in him because,  leaving the relative safety of The Path that Jesus has laid out,  I can easily find myself chasing rabbits down a trail until I’m lost in the woods.  For me, it happens slowly, like the hunter who catches sight of his prey and follows after it until, looking back, I realize I have lost sight of the trail.

But Jesus (and Henry David Thoreau) calls us to choose the “road less travelled”…the one that lies beyond “the narrow gate“.  It is less travelled because the Jesus life is not easy to follow.  At first glance, this path appears more difficult to navigate…and it is if we intend to do so in our own strength and using our singular resources.  It is not the path of least resistance.   But the difficulty of this terrain is an illusion because the sheer grace and extended mercy available to us on the Jesus Path are exactly what makes this path the right choice.  The relationship with Jesus as our intimate trail guide gives us something not available on the “wider path”…a tender offer of encouragement during trials, a source of strength in difficult times, a deep pool of water from which to drink when our souls become parched from the journey, a voice of truth to guide us back on to more charted territory.

Writer Howard Macy said “the spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed”.  The Wild Goose is full of mystery - his ways are not our ways…his path is not the well worn one that the world lays before us.  The path, as any avid hiker will attest, requires our full attention in order to navigate the often treacherous landscape.

I’ve spent years exploring the rabbit trails along the Jesus Path and while there can be peace and solitude in that neck of the woods, it is also a place where a man can hide out…induldge himself in the loner role.  Anyway, that is where a good part of my heart has been residing over the past two months.  I am thankful for the gentle prodding of Jesus to get back on The Path and that He doesnt leave me to find my own way back!

Albert Schweitzer said…”The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives” 

The reality for many men (myself included) is that we can be walking on the less travelled path, sure-footed in our recognition of The Path but,  just for a moment, we allow ourselves to be deceived…to think that we know a better way….to trust our own navigation skills.  I believe that the secrets we keep are one of the great culprits of the death he describes.  When we make choices to live a life of secrecy, it chips away at the soul, bit by bit, until parts of us die.  The secrets may be the big and blatant kind, like pornography or alcohol abuse but they can  just as easily be a secret way of thinking…and deep undercurrent of anger, lustful escapism, or greedy focus on the self. 

Jesus so tenderly allows us to experience that death of self because it was part of his plan from the beginning.  Paul reminds us of that in Galatians when he said, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”.  My flesh (and its selfish desires) must die in order for me to fully experience the life that Christ has planned for me and the disparity between a life lived chasing rabbits in the woods pales in comparison to the one we are called to live exploring the path with Jesus.

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.  It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.  We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

—Albert Schweitzer
German-French theologian,
musician, philosopher, and physician

Photo by -12°C on Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.

“The most important thing I achieved today was catching more fish than the director of FWP, ” said Gov’nur Schweitzer.

Last Friday, he was one of the first legal people to float through the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers.   That’s right – the river is ready for floating, and by all accounts, the fishing is just dandy!

“There’s some nice little fishing holes in here,” noted Joe Maurier, acting director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Woohoo! Let’s go!

But, wait.   Don’t launch your boats just yet.  It ain’t legal for you.   YOU are gonna have to wait at least another year.

Unless you’re a friend of his Lordship.   In which case, he’ll grant you a special exemption and you can float on down at your leisure.   There won’t be any yahoos on their inner tubes and there’s won’t be any noisy speed boats heading the opposite direction.   This little stretch of river is only for the rich and powerful!

It was the sort of thing that happened in England all the time – if you wanted to hunt on someone’s land you had to be invited to the annual hunting party, if you wanted to fish a stretch of river you had to be a member of the local club, and if you were caught on someone’s property picking berries or mushrooms you could expect to be shot.   The royal elite controlled the land and the poor had no rights of access.   And you can be sure the lords and ladies didn’t want to share it with you.

Of course, the thing is, over here every man, woman, (and dog?) is treated equal.   We have public lands that are owned by all of us, paid for by all of us, and part of our common heritage and liberty.   We’re proud of our rivers here in Montana and we don’t much like the government telling us where we can and can’t go.  Its part of our freedom to wander at will, chasing those elusive cutthroats and moseying on through the riffles.

So, why the heck did Governor Schweitzer choose July 4th weekend to remind us that all citizens are created equal… but that some are more equal than others?   Because he can.

On June 6 and 7, The University of Chicago celebrated the 60th anniversary of Albert Schweitzer’s U.S. visit with a concert and symposium (read more here and here). One of the panelists at that symposium was Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade, MD, who directs a multidisciplinary clinical and laboratory research program in cancer genetics at the University of Chicago Medical Center. As a hematologist/oncologist, she specializes in the treatment of aggressive breast cancer that disproportionately affects young women.

In her convocation speech to the University of Chicago’s graduating class this past weekend, Olopade — who came to America after graduating from the medical school at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria — said:

While training in medical school prepared me to take care of the sick, it was experiences outside the classroom that informed my decision to devote my career to eliminating global disparities in both opportunities and health outcomes.

Indeed, traditional medical education–while undoubtedly valuable–does not focus on the health needs of underserved populations or the elimination of health disparities. According to the journal Academic Medicine, even though teaching hospitals “bring students face-to face with poor and uninsured patients on a regular basis . . . an overview of the research available suggests that this contact does not result in students’ greater understanding and empathy for the plight of the poor and may, in fact, lead to an erosion of positive attitudes toward the poor.”

ASF’s programs, by contrast, kindle and support health professional students’ desire to serve populations in need—and give them the tools to make sustained commitment to the underserved a driving force in their careers, as it has been in Olopade’s.

Later in Olopade’s convocation speech, she spoke specifically about Schweitzer:

Now that you have acquired the best education money can buy, what will you do with your knowledge? Last weekend was the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s only visit to the United States, during which he received an honorary degree at the University of Chicago from President Robert Hutchins. The son of a Lutheran pastor, Schweitzer was born in Alsace, a small village, then part of Germany. By age 29, he had already authored three books and made landmark scholarly contributions in the fields of music, religion, and philosophy. He was an acclaimed organist, a world authority on Bach, a church pastor, a principal of a theological seminary, and a university professor with two doctoral degrees. At the age of 30, aware of the desperate needs of Africans, he decided to become a doctor and devoted the rest of his life to direct service in Africa. Albert Schweitzer won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1952. He spoke out against nuclear testing in the now legendary paper “A Declaration of Conscience” at the urging of Norman Cousins using materials from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published at the University of Chicago. For going against conventional wisdom, this is what Schweitzer said: “One thing I know: the ones among you who will truly be happy are those who have sought and found a way to serve.” My father grew up poor in a small village in Nigeria. It was a missionary like Albert Schweitzer who identified the genius in him and gave him a good education. Needless to say, his children and grandchildren will never live in poverty again.

Olopade’s words were incredibly inspiring, and she’s catalyzed unbelievable progress in the global women’s health arena. But a new report from the Guttmacher Institute and the Women’s Health and Research Action Centre in Benin City, Nigeria is a reminder that there’s a long way to go when it comes to maternal health in Nigeria.

The report found that despite government action to combat Nigeria’s high mortality rate for women during pregnancy or childbirth, that rate (1,100 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth for every 100,000 live births) remains one of the world’s highest.

Click here for more info.