Dr. Zaius - General Petraeus

There is a great Simpsons musical interlude where the Planet of the Apes' Dr. Zaius is lauded. Basically the good doctor's name is intoned over and over again... "Dr. Zaius Dr. Zaius Dr. Zaius Dr. Zaius..." Why think about this? Because Bush has pushed forward a similar sounding leader "General Petraeus General Petraeus". Already MoveOn.org is rhyming his name with "betray us". Chris Matthews has compared him to a Roman Centurion crossing the Rubicon and acting like a Caesar. So another entire year of this insane war has fallen on the shoulders of this career soldier. President Bush will speak to the nation Thursday night and hide behind his general's views as the troop levels will remain high deep into 2008. Knowing that he is no longer credible, Bush has thrust Petraeus on center stage. When the good general had no answer for Senator Warner's penetrating inquiry on the war's relationship to keeping America safe, the gig should have been up. We are fighting for truth, justice, and the American way! If this means dragging our noble soldiers into more of harm's way - so be it! If this means making things even more complicated for a new administration in January 2009 - let it be! Bush is hell bent on seeing this war to no conclusion at all. Maybe we should throw up our hands, see the absurdity that the Simpsons shined on the original Doctor and sing "General Petraeus General Petraeus". At least we can smile and keep some of our sanity.

September 11

Six years ago. We all lived through that terrible day. We were glued to television to become eyewitnesses to the most horrific one day tragedy in our nation's history. We cried, we cringed, we feared. Yet we were never truly defeated. Collectively we vowed to rebuild and to take down those who perpetuated the evil destruction that cost over three thousand lives. Looking back to such an event does not emote nostalgia but it does reflect on an innocency that no longer is there. Democrat or Republican. Blue or Red. It did not matter. We cheered for the firefighters and police. We were initially led by a courageous Rudy Giuliani who we put much of our trust in. Although absent at first, we even ran to President Bush's side and followed him as he embraced those toiling in the remnants of the trade towers. He said we would find the guilty ones and bring them to justice. We believed. We prayed that he would be the one to help us in the physical and spiritual rebuilding. But now six years past and how we were deceived. Deceived into a wrong turn into a war that might never end. Deceived into allowing almost four thousand more to die in a country which had nothing to do with the infamous act. Deceived into letting thousands more bear the marks of war while we partied and played and followed Paris and Britney. To imagine that on this very day, the long awaited war report from General Petraeus would be heard. How did Congress fall for this? Should there not have been a solemn closing of the government for the day? Instead Bush has gotten his wish. By holding the Iraq hearings on September 11, this new American holy day, the President hopes to permanently link and sear into our brains that his Iraq policy is one and the same with the tracking down of bin Laden and the real criminals of 9/11. The question now is will enough of us be fooled into believing his twisted logic and fall prey to his deceit. If we don't awaken from these lies a whole generation will be defined not by September 11 but by a needless war in Iraq.

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Who Has Family Values?

The old adage is practice what you preach. Why? So that when you point out a problem/concern about someone else, that person should be able to look to you as an example. Jesus was aware of this. He said not to chastise your neighbor if you yourself were just as guilty. With this common knowledge it is amazing how many Republican leaders continue to paint themselves as virtuous family men while chiding the Democrats for destroying the traditional family structure. The last I looked, the top three Democratic presidential candidates were still married to their original spouses and have been so for a long time. Obama, Clinton, and Edwards have preserved their nuclear families. John Edwards' situation is particularly poignant as Elizabeth is in the final throes of cancer. Even Hillary is a champion of the family as she refused to leave/divorce from philandering Bill. Whatever her motive, she has preserved her marriage and is an excellent mother. Meanwhile those who proudly and publicly call out their virtuous ideas to the nation seem to fall short in this area. Rudy Giuliani is on wife number three and from what many can ascertain has little to do with his children. John McCain is a divorced man who married someone younger. Newly minted candidate, Fred Thompson got his high school sweetheart pregnant, did marry her, but also ended up in divorce. Thompson was famous in Washington circles for escorting many younger women and now is married to Jeri, who is twenty-five years younger. There are others but I do not want to belabor the point. Going back to Jesus, he said to pray and do your good deeds silently and in private. Politicians and political movements who beat their chests and loudly claim righteousness need to look in the mirror and see their own reality.

Labor Day Baseball - National League

Mediocrity. Professional sports are being massaged so that as many teams as possible have a chance to win championships. On the surface this seems like a good thing. Level the playing field by forbidding big market, deep pocket clubs from purchasing the best players. Thus fans in Minnesota and San Antonio have just as much to root for as patrons residing in New York and Los Angeles. Salary caps and revenue sharing are some of the ways that modern sports leagues police the big spenders. But is this the real way to go? Currently, the only sport that has not fully reigned in the rich organizations is major league baseball. Thus, teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, spend what they need to do to ensure ongoing success. These teams have big followings and strive for excellence on the field. Obviously big money is being spent by most major league teams but the level playing terms have created very average clubs the opportunity to stay in the hunt for October and beyond. Last season, a sub par Cardinals squad caught fire at the end of the year and went on to win the World Series. This season, a similar scenario seems to be playing out again. In the National League Central, three barely .500 teams, the Cardinals, the Cubs, and the Brewers are battling for division honors. A similar situation is taking place in the west where teams with no name hitters - the Padres, the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers, and the Rockies - are trying to get into the playoffs. Finally, in the east, the three deep pocketed teams - the Mets, Phillies, and Braves - are fighting off injuries and assorted problems. Where the American League has teams full of superstars, perhaps only the Mets and Phillies, are also rich in top drawer talent. Sports should be about achieving greatness. Whether individually or collectively, players and management should strive to do all they can to award their loyal fans and reach for their dreams. Why else would one follow a professional sport?

Labor Day Baseball - American League

Tradition calls for baseball fans to pause at three prominent holidays during the long season to take stock of where the pennant races stand. The first measure is taken during Memorial Day. Two months into the season can give a glimpse into which teams have gotten off to a quick start and which are already buried with lousy records. Halfway through is July Fourth. Teams that are in contention that deep into the season have to make hard decisions about whether to go for broke and pick up veterans to bolster the roster for the stretch run. Finally, there is Labor Day. The dog days of August are over and one last month (thirty games) are left. With the holiday just having ended it would be fun to see who really has a shot at postseason action. In the American League things are a bit more settled than in the senior circuit. The Red Sox despite being swept by the Yankees are still in a commanding position to win the east. The Angels are running away with the west. That leaves the Indians and Tigers battling in the central with the Cleveland nine having the upper hand. As always, the Yankees are in the mix, but this time for the Wild Card spot. Seattle is playing the Bombers as this is being written but probably will fade. The Yankees pitching could still self destruct allowing the Tigers to slip in but this would be a real upset. So as things look now, it will be the Red Sox, Indians, Angels, and Yankees. Many years ago sports fans would be arguing over this in a passionate manner. But with the preponderance of televised sports and the current popularity with football (both professional and collegiate) one wonders how many followers of the nation's once proud pastime are that emotionally involved with the standings.

Wal-Mart

The battle in my area is over a twenty-four hour Wal-Mart. After three years of reports and meetings, the city of Ontario, California's planning commission unanimously voted to approve the project and send it to the five person city council for final acceptance. Despite over three hundred outraged local residents who showed up at a Thursday night meeting, Wal-Mart is very close to winning this battle. It is obvious that in a growing San Bernardino County, Wal-Mart will have many shoppers drooling to get inside its doors and snap up the low price merchandise. The issue in this battle was not the residents hatred of Wal-Mart's predatory practices and its low salary structure and poor health benefits for employees. Most of those who spoke out against the giant chain did want the store to built in their most residential area. With Ontario busting as the seems and growing into former dairy lands, the residents could not understand why a twenty-four hour superstore had to be put so close to their homes, churches, schools, and parks. North Ontario is home to many older folk who have lived in the city since the 1950's and 60's. These are the people who literally built the city and were Ontario's economic backbone for many years. I went to the planning meeting and was disheartened and brought to a tear or two to see regular hard working folk publicly pour out their hearts only to have a callous planning commission vote against them. There can be no doubt that Wal-Mart is using its power and wealth to pull the strings in this situation. You always hear about corporations and developers getting their way but to see this happen at such a close distance makes one wonder what our democracy has come to.