Stuck in a Rut

After my 'breakthrough' posting this past Sunday night--the first entry for almost five weeks, it appeared that I had returned from my blogging 'slumber' and was ready to get back into the daily saddle again. Alas, it was not to be...

Monday is the traditional 'back to work' day for most of us working stiffs and I had the added chore of doing the weekly grocery shopping after leaving the office. After catching the 'nouvelles de soirée' from Bob Scheiffer and the lead non-story about the legal circus out in Boulder, Colorado, I went into mental shutdown during dinner with a double dose of syndicated comedy ('The Simpsons' followed by 'Seinfeld') on our local Fox affiliate. At 8PM, the channel changed to MSNBC but Keith Olbermann was traveling and a sub was hosting so I flipped through Time Warner Cable's other offerings in our bedroom. When I came across the Weather Channel, I noticed that we were receiving severe weather warning notices that would not expire until after midnight so the computer was turned off...without me posting a blog entry.

Last night, I decided to watch a movie that I received in the mail on Monday from Blockbuster Online. "V for Vendetta" received a lot of buzz via television and internet advertising as well as theatrical reviews when it opened last spring. Some of that hoopla centered around Natalie Portman ('Evey') having her long locks of hair shorn down to their nubs (I won't go into the innuendo or discussion that this unorthodox action stirred up on some of the discussion sites I visited). The setting for the movie is Great Britain (at least I think it was still called that) in the not-too-near future (believe about 30 years from now) and they are under totalitarian rule after several biological attacks by supposed religious extremists scared the public to back such a government.

Since I never read the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore, the film version was not tainted by any preconceived notions or expectations. Plenty of readers have vilified the Wachowski brothers (of "The Matrix" franchise) for transforming the original story from a commentary about Margaret Thatcher's governments (Britain's prime minister from 1979 to late 1990) into a Bush-era 'parable', complete with secure underground locations and the main character now posing as a freedom fighter instead of an anarchist. No matter the controversy, I found the movie to be very entertaining and, as the Brits would say, 'spot on' in its criticism of the current American state of affairs.

One of the rewards I get from watching movies that are set in locations where I used to live is that seeing famous landmarks on the screen (the Parliament building played a major role at the end of the film) triggers personal memories of me or my family visiting them. I was fortunate enough to tour through the various halls of the British legislature and we actually got to go inside the House of Commons (they weren't in session so we were able to sit in the seats and pretend we were 'backbenchers'). Normally, you are only allowed to 'peek' inside or step up to (but not cross) the 'blood line' (a red strip of carpet that harkens back to the days when swords were commonplace) that circles the room. Now that sessions of Parliament are televised live (like our own Congressional sessions are broadcast on the C-SPAN networks), the anticipation of peering into a veiled-off part of democracy (and our own past) has subsided.

The other odd recollection was the movie's focus on Guy Fawkes and the famous 'Gunpowder Plot' to blow up Parliament back in 1605 (the movie was supposed to open on the 400th anniversary of that event--November 5th, 2005--but it was inexplicably moved back to the following April). Both times when we were stationed in the UK, my wife and I lived on a military installation and did not get to truly experience English life like the Brits did. We did our share of traveling and going off of the base, but we didn't get that sense of communion with our temporary hosts as someone who lived next door or had over for meals. However, I do remember one year where I noticed fireworks in the distance on a cold November evening. Being a typical 'yank', I thought that Americans were the only ones that used such pyrotechnic displays to commemorate important occasions (like the 4th of July--which in itself is a weird thing to experience when you are physically standing in the country that we broke away from). At work the following day, I asked around my duty section about what I saw the previous night and was then first told about one of history's most famous anarchist/terrorists.

The film uses the lines from a popular British childrens' rhyme that perpetrates the event:

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

So that's where my Tuesday went...well worth it...

What about tonight? More errands after work (our son turns 16 tomorrow and we normally wait until the last minute to plan for such occasions) and a quick run out to the local Taco Bell to pick up some dinner drained any surplus creative energy I might've stored up for blogging. I did catch MSNBC's 'Countdown' broadcast and Keith Olbermann's on-air skewering of Donald Rumsfeld's remarks at the American Legion convention this past Monday (tonight was his first night back from a long weekend away). During that speech, the Secretary of Defense evoked mental imagery and drew deliberate analogies between today's dissenters of the White House's Iraq war strategy and the Chamberlain government of 1930s Britain (the main proponents of 'appeasing' Hitler during his early annexations of his neighboring countries). Olbermann took those comparisons one step further and equated the Bush Administration to those same British politicians in terms of ignoring intelligence and being the only true arbiter of 'truth' in today's political landscape. The video is already posted online and I'm sure it will evoke a 'digital tsunami' of commentary, both pro and con, before it fades to the backburner when another 'crisis' or sensational story grabs the nation's short attention spans.

Listening to such political rhetoric reminds me of Godwin's Law, which states the following:

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

I believe this axiom could be rewritten to fit the 2006 political landscape:

As a politician's platform precipitiously falls out of popular favor and the potential for defeat increases, the probabability of comparing his/her opponent to Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

They (the Nazis or their infamous leader) are the last remaining 'politically correct' group that can be attacked without fear of retribution in this country (homosexuals are just now being allowed to depart that exclusive 'club'--to the detriment of the religious right). However, when you throw out that remaining 'trump card', you are in essence telling your opponent one of two things: a) that you possess no other rational or relative facts for use in defending your own perspective; or b) you are old enough to remember the Nazis and their effects upon your own life or the world at that time.

The '4th Reich' is not the exclusive property of either of America's major political parties. West Virginia Democratic senator Robert Byrd mentioned the Nazis in a floor speech defending an attempt by Republican senators to limit speeches on judicial nominees as part of their proposed 'nuclear option' threat during the recent Supreme Court nominee deliberations. Byrd referred to his GOP colleagues as the 'tyrannical majority' and revived the imagery of Hitler and Mussolini for consumption by the media. In his case (he's 89 years old), he easily meets the b) criteria stated above and, in my opinion, did not trespass into 'desperation' territory. In comparison, Rumsfeld used his epithets as a 'boogie man' to plant the seed of fear into those already in the White House's fold as well as others who may still be undecided on their policies or are starting to lose faith. While Rumsfeld may barely qualify for the latter above, the rhetoric he spewed easily exemplifies a) and the dearth of solutions from the Bush Administration on Iraq and other pressing national issues.

Wow...it's now Thursday (12:25AM)...Wednesday's gone...with a birthday tomorrow, I'm guessing it'll be Friday before I get another chance to put thoughts to keyboard...

Has it REALLY Been Almost Five Weeks?!?

As I've said in a previous posting, I really underestimated the sheer amount of time involved with providing daily inputs to an online blog. My last entry took me a week to put my thoughts into words and that effort has to come out of the 24 hours I'm alloted each day. With my other responsibilities weighing on me, I must choose between what will be accomplished and what will wait until the next day. Needless to say, blogging has not been near the top of my to-do list...until this evening.

What has rustled me out of my 'slumber'? A lot has happened locally and in the world in the 34 days since I've logged in. Our family took a long-deserved vacation down to San Antonio and Houston during a 2-week sabbatical from my job. We used to live in the 'Alamo City' during a military assignment in the late '80s and early '90s (our oldest child was born there). We got the chance to have dinner with our former neighbors (they have two children of their own) and the years seemed to melt away during our shared time at the restaurant.

After we returned, I attended a work golf outing at a local country club. Since these events usually start early in the morning, I had to get up at 5:45AM for a 7:00AM departure. When I turned on the television, the first thing my foggy mind noticed was that I was seeing a British news channel on my set (we used to live in the UK and I am familiar with their screen logo) in place of MSNBC. As the fog of slumber started to lift from me, I started to comprehend something 'big' was happening. Video of passengers standing outside of Heathrow Airport was being shown and the superimposed text indicated something to do with a terrorist attack either happened or was pre-empted. At 6AM, the US news channels started to do their own coverage of the events out of Great Britain. I had to peel myself away from the screen in order to shower and leave for the course so I had a long 'blackout' period where I was 'stuck' with the then-current information until I could get to a radio, television or computer several hours later.

As it turned out, the alleged terrorists were nowhere near carrying out their intended actions (no passports or tickets) but the U.S. told the Brits to round them up as soon as possible (Scotland Yard wanted to continue their surveillance to determine if there were more individuals involved than those already identified). As more information was trickled to the media, some news outlets openly wonder if this is another attempt by the Bush administration to push bad or embarassing news off the front page of the nation's newspapers (the recent defeat of Iraq War supporter Joe Lieberman to an anti-war challenger in the Connecticut Democratic senate primary) by superseding it with another 'victory' in the on-going global war on terror. As the host stated, their listing of terror warnings could also coincide with the opening of major chain stores (more on that below); however, the sheer number of coincidences is startling to anyone who chooses to accept the notion that elected officials might choose to put their political needs before the safety of their constituents.


The Greene Town Center finally opened to the public this past Thursday after resolving a lengthy dispute over tax incentives with the Beavercreek School District. Located approximately halfway between two existing malls along Interstate 675 on the outskirts of Dayton, this venture hopes to increase our retail appeal to those outside of the local area and bring commercial prosperity (jobs, money) to the region to reverse recent economic downtrends. Detractors believe this new shopping facility will only attract customers from the older malls and hasten Dayton's already steady demise to its surrounding suburbs. We haven't ventured over there yet but it does look nice (at least from the photographs we've seen in the DDN--which has been non-stop 'Greene' since the cover story in last Sunday's edition). In fact, the coverage has been so over-the-top that today's op/ed page had a special section specifically addressing readers' comments about the fervor of the paper's advocacy for this new shopping center.

On Friday night, I participated in my first fantasy football (FFB) draft. As a person who normally follows the sports pages, channels and websites, I was totally unprepared for the depth and breadth of statistics, ratings and opinions a FFBer must have access to in order to pretend to be an owner/general manager of a football team. We have 10 teams in our league split between two divisions. Each team drafted 18 'players' (some of your picks are entire defenses of current pro teams) and assigns their starters in preparation for our first week of the season (coincides with the NFL schedule). Since I'm a Philadelphia Eagle fan, most of my picks revolved around them (Donovan McNabb as one of my quarterbacks, kicker David Akers, and the entire defensive team). LaDainian Tomlinson was my first round pick (I had the #3 overall) since Larry Johnson and Shawn Alexander were already taken. I even worked out a draft night trade (got Adam Vinatieri for Shawn Graham--turns out that the other 'owner' lives in the same apartment building as the Bengal kicker). I don't know how the season will play out but I know I will have something to talk about around the office come Monday morning.

We are also in the mid throes of (hope Jon Stewart doesn't mind too much) 'Indecision 2006'. With the fate of the Congress (and Bush's second term--and perhaps his presidency if impeachment is in the cards) hanging in the balance, Ohio once again will be a major focal point in the national election process. Already, we have seen national 'heavyweights' in the state stumping for our statewide and Congressional candidates. John McCain was in Columbus last week with Mike DeWine dutifully in tow and he dropped a 'bomb' in terms of dissing the White House on their 'misunderestimations' about the Iraq War--never mind that McCain echoed those same sentiments in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Hussein government in the spring of 2003.

We can expect plenty more from both parties (Hillary, Edwards, Giuliani, maybe even the president himself) in the coming weeks. The airwaves are already getting their fair share of 'mud' from the campaigns. The station I listen to at work has been targeted by the Blackwell for Governor campaign so I get to hear them try to 'out-value' an ordained minister at least three to four times a day (guessing the frequency will increase as November 7th aproaches). DeWine was already cited for 'doctoring' a photo of the Twin Towers (a cheesy graphic with fake smoke superimposed over a photo of the buildings prior to the attack) in an attempt to taint his opponent (Rep. Sherrod Brown- OH13) and his Congressional voting record on terrorism-related legislation. With so much as stake in both Columbus and DC, I'm guessing we've only scratched the surface of the all-out war that is surely to come.

I know I've probably missed some other things but those can be topics for another day...nice to be back!