It Was a Near Miss or Perhaps a Near Hit

Last week Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same sex marriage by popular vote. The good people of Ireland determined that two people in love can marry even if they are of the same sex. The reaction of some groups was quick and predictable. One of my favorite groups, Westboro Baptist Church, a group of fundamentalist Christians from Topeka, Kansas was clearly displeased. They posted signs with "God Hates Ireland" superimposed on a flag. The flag is orange, white and green which are the colors of the national flag of Ireland. Unfortunately the fine group of idiots and haters at Westboro Baptist Church printed the flag backwards on their posters. The result is that God apparently hates the Ivory Coast. So close to getting it right. Got the right colors. Got the right first letter in the name of the offending country. Wrong damn continent. Oops. Makes you wonder what else those happy folks at Westboro Baptist Church are wrong about. They claim that "God Hates Fags". Is their spelling as suspect as their flag identification skills. Maybe all these years they have gotten the message from "God" wrong. Maybe "God" hates flags. More likely in my thinking, if there is in fact a "God" my suspicion is that "He" hates ignorant, prejudicial, assholes who cannot even properly identify the country and population they hate. I think the best response to these dumbasses was the person who stated: "And God actually loves Ireland...why do you think it was created before the US?"

The bottom line for this writer is complete support for gay marriage. The fact is that marriage is about love. If two people love one another and they want to get married how does that marriage negatively effect me? Does it mean that my marriage of over 40 years is somehow lessened? I don't see how. It seems to me that too many folks are confusing marriage and sex. Marriage is a legal contract between two adults. Male - male, male- female, or female- female unions; what does it matter to me? Too many folks get upset because they only think about sex. It's two men getting married and they are going to do sexual things together. Ok, so what. If they are conducting their actions in the privacy of their own home then it is none of my business or anyone else's for that matter. We should treat sex like religion. People can think you have it but they really don't want or need to hear about it. It really is the best answer for those folks from Westboro Baptist Church. They should just STFU. If they feel a need to protest somewhere stop by here. It will just be me and the Mrs. and the neighbor's cattle and the dogs. I don't check to see if the neighbor's cattle are having any gay sex. I know they aren't married and there is one bull for over 40 females. Sounds like there is lots of immoral fornicating going on over there. Well I've got to go now. Time for me to protest some inappropriate bovine sex. One cow one bull and before there is any hanky panky you better marry that heifer.

Run

You can spend all the time you want trying to convince someone that the war in Iraq was a good idea. Claim the lies told by Bush, Rumsfeld and Chaney don't matter. The world is a better place without Saddam Hussein. We spent over 2 trillion dollars fighting that war. I'm not as concerned with the wasted money as I am with the 4000+ service men and women who lost their lives. We owe a debt to the family members they left behind we can never repay. What I am going to say about Iraq and the war is in no way intended to tarnish their memory or the service and sacrifice of all who served there.

It is clear, unless you are a complete idiot, that the United States military action in Iraq under President George W. Bush lead to the creation of ISIS. There are claims that President Obama has some responsibility for the problem because he did not leave a residual force in Iraq following the end of the war and subsequent occupation. That claim ignores the fact that the withdrawal of all forces was negotiated by the Bush Administration. Laying blame, however, does nothing to address the issue as it currently confronts the United States. In recent days the Iraqi armed forces lost control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province to the forces of the Islamic State. The United States had been using air strikes to support Iraqi armed forces on the ground. When you look at video of what happened you see Iraqi troops in full retreat. Pedal to the metal, tossing uniforms aside, abandoning military equipment retreat. A retreat that would embarrass French troops. The troops turning tail and running had been described as "elite" units of Iraq's armed forces. Most of the equipment abandoned was believed to be in working condition. So we have managed to arm the group we are attempting by proxy to fight. What exactly are the problems? First the Shiite majority does not want to arm the Sunni tribal leaders with weapons to fight ISIS for fear the weapons will be turned on them. The Kurdish forces are willing to fight but have their hands full defending their territory in Iraq. The force that appears most likely to drive ISIS out of Ramadi is the Shiite militia units that are being trained and armed by Iran. Is that where we want to be headed. Providing airstrikes to support Iranian lead militia units in Iraq against fighters from Syria and that civil war. Do we want to be supporting and fighting beside the dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Iranians? Do we fight with all those forces (Syria, Iraq, Iran and ISIS) and attempt additional nation building where all our efforts thus far have lead to our current mess.? If the Iraqi forces are unwilling or unable to fight for their own country then we need to ask and answer one question. What the fuck are we doing there? The Iraqi's ran. I am suggesting we simply walk away. Provide air support and drone attacks to degrade and destroy ISIS leadership and weaponry. No ground troops. No advisors. No boots on the ground. If you won't fight for your own country then we have zero business there. Zero. None.

Socially Ackward

I've been a fan of Dilbert for a long time. I think he hooked me when he explained the "Dilbert Principle". If you are old enough you have probably heard of the Peter Principle. Those of you who are younger or don't read much, rest assured, it has nothing to do with porn or anyone's penis. The Peter Principle is that your boss was promoted to their level of incompetence. In other words they did a good job on one level and then were promoted to a job they were incapable of performing. The Dilbert Principle is that the Peter Principle is just wishful thinking. You would like to believe that your boss used to be good at something. Having worked for state government I understand the Dilbert Principle more realistically reflects how bosses in that system function. Back to the comic strip above.
Totally honesty is most often a problem. While I don't agree with everything Dilbert said there are things there that have come out of my mouth. "I think life is a brief, meaningless event in a random universe that doesn't care." There is no hand above, no supreme being guiding life and taking care of us. If a god that sees all, knows all and controls all sits back and allows, for example, the slaughter of 6 million Jews (allegedly his "chosen people") in the Holocaust or the murder of 20 some children at Sandy Hook School, he or she is unworthy of our worship. Okay, it makes me a jaded nonbeliever. There are those who believe that god loves me. That he died for my sins. However, if I don't do a few specific things, this god who unconditionally loves me will send me to a place of eternal torment. So, it is his way or the hell with me. I think I will stick with a random universe that doesn't care what happens to me.

Dilbert also says: "I think all human actions are driven by selfishness." I am willing to allow maybe one percent or so that are done for reasons other that complete selfishness. Hell sometimes I even do things with no thought of repayment or benefit to myself or my loved ones.  You could argue that I do those things so that I feel better about myself and that is more than likely true. If you look at it with the same jaded eye that I use looking at religion then more often than not I am misleading myself into believing that there is no selfish motive for my acts of kindness.

Dilbert finishes this strip with the question: "Am I still being totally honest or should I act curious?" Being, more often than not, uncomfortable in social situations; it is difficult to know when to ask a relevant question or when to just shut the fuck up. Since this blog post appears to be headed in an awkward direction at this point I will do what I too often fail to do. STFU.

The Challenge

 

Today we go back to the quilt show in Savannah. The subject today is the Hoffman Challenge. The Hoffman company produces fabrics. The quilters who participate in the challenge shown below are allowed to use only the line of fabric included in that year's contest. It may include somewhere around 10 to 15 different fabrics which the participants may arrange in any way they want to create a unique piece of wall art. As you look at the creations keep in mind that each one is using the same fabrics but the results are amazing in their variety.

 

Often Repeated Lies Are Still Lies

I am increasingly disappointed by the continued use of religion to explain what is allegedly wrong with the United States of America. The continued frequent and loud proclamations that these United States were founded as a Christian nation. Bound to and by Christian religious doctrine. The following quote might shed some light on the subject.

"Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual. Religious institutions that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion. Erecting the wall of separation between church and state, therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society. We have solved...the great and interesting question of whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving every one to profess freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions of his own reason and serious convictions of his own inquiries."
Thomas Jefferson
speech to Virginia Baptists in 1808

Daniel Webster in the picture above states that "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible." The thing that I struggle with is determining when exactly we (the United States of America) actually abided by the principles taught in the Bible. Our history is full of conflict with the indigenous peoples who occupied this continent before the invasion and resettlement by Europeans. Many believed we had a Manifest Destiny. This belief had three basic themes. First, the special virtues of the American people and their institutions. Second, it was America's mission to redeem and remake the west in the image of agrarian America. Third, an irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty. So we entered into treaty agreements with the indigenous people of this continent. Agreements which we consistently disregarded when we found them inconvenient. We slaughtered them by the millions. Killed their women and children. Used biological warfare against them by giving them blankets we knew carried the smallpox virus. I cannot reconcile the Christian tenant that we should love our neighbor with what we did to these neighbors of ours. It seems to me at best we pick and choose the "Christian principles" we want to take from the Bible and force on others. It continues to this day. Loving our neighbor does not mean assisting those in need with food, clothing, shelter and medical care. They are lazy leeches deserving of our contempt according to many in modern American. They want to continue to claim this is a "Christian' nation while denying basic needs to millions of their fellow men.

 Is it love when we allow our neighbors to go hungry? Without adequate housing? Without medical care? There always seems to be enough money for another war. Another bomb. Another bullet or tank, or cannon.

 We allow ourselves to be divided worrying that someone is getting something they shouldn't. So if a few game the system we must punish everyone who utilizes the benefits. It seems odd that a businessman who works all the angles, takes advantage of government programs to grow his business and takes every opportunity to lower his tax payments is considered a good person. Someone down on their luck, who has lost their job and applies for government benefits is seen as a lazy moocher. It is wrong and unfair.

We don't have to be a "Christian" or a Christian nation to be kind to each other. The truth is we never were a Christian nation and our founders never intended us to be one. America is not and never has been "exceptional". We are not destined by god to be the rulers of the world. If we want to lead it cannot be by force. It must be by example. We have a long road to walk to become what we should be. It begins when we work together for our mutual benefit. When we stop concentrating on what makes us different and start recognizing what binds us together. It seems to be a lesson we are unwilling to learn.

She's Three Today

Lily Lu turns three years old today. No big plans for a birthday celebration but she will get a special meal later today. I will admit that when we got her I was not on board with the idea of having another dog. Candy Mae had passed away earlier in the year and I was determined not to have another dog. No dog could ever be as good, as loving, as well behaved as Candy.


I wasn't sure I would ever get over her loss. If there is a lesson taught to us by dogs it is that as Forest Gump said, death is a part of life. At some point we are going to lose someone who is close to us. Dogs teach us how to deal with that loss. Mine immediate reaction was to crawl in an emotional hole and try to avoid thinking about her. It was tough because she is buried out in our yard and to go to the mailbox you must walk past her grave. Carol wanted another dog later that summer. Nate was working with me and went with us to look at puppies over in Henderson at Crouse's. They had Redbone Coon Hounds and we let them hunt on our property. Carol loves the smell of puppy breath. So we went to see the puppies and Carol decided she had to have one. She and Nate picked out a little girl and Nate named her Lily. I didn't want anything to do with her because I was still mourning the loss of Candy. I referred to Lily as Carol's dog and tried to stay emotionally distant from Lily. It was a futile effort. Lily could not and would not be ignored. Could she be as wonderful a dog as my beloved Candy. Time would show that she could.

I started walking to lose weight back in September. Lily Lu has been my companion on these walks in Illinois and on Tybee Island. We have logged about 1500 miles together. We have be stopped occasionally on Tybee Island and told that she is the best walked dog on the island. She is always teaching me things. The other day she was in the back yard here in her fence compound. We let her run loose there and dig all she wants. I was calling for her and she wouldn't come to me. I asked if she wanted to go for a walk and she came running. She looks forward to our walks as much as I do. It doesn't seem to matter how far we walk, she still has the energy to go more. She is perfectly house broken. She has adopted Candy's habit of greeting visitors at the door and then going and laying down. She is a shameless beggar for food when we are eating. I have no desire to deny her so she shares in my meals. She sleeps in bed with us. It is much easier at Tybee since the bed there is king size and the one here in Illinois is only a queen. She has no problem stretching out and creating her own space.

 

So Candy Mae taught me about loss. Lily Lu has shown me that even after a great loss there is room to recover and love again. It doesn't mean that we loved Candy any less. It was that there was another companion who needed love and a family. We tell Lily Lu how good she has it. What wonderful parents we are. It is the lie we tell her. We are the lucky ones. The ones who have her unfailing love and devotion. Her constant loving companionship that fills our days. When we got her I couldn't imagine life with a dog other than Candy. I was wrong and Lily Lu was the answer to a fuller, richer life. 



I'm Back

I hope my friend Mike takes this as a cautionary tale. Having a home in two states is a difficult thing. We left Georgia over two weeks ago. There is so much to do here and so much to wonder about that is going on there. Torn between two loves. I understand Mike's desire to escape the south for the familiarity of home. At the same time while I am here I miss being there. The sound of the waves crashing ashore in Georgia. The sound of the tree frogs in Illinois. The smell of the marsh. The odor of the cows across the road here. Neighbors on Tybee Island. No house visible from ours in Illinois. The quiet isolation here. The bustle of the island and Savannah. Where to go? What to do? How to embrace and balance both? It is a process we are still trying to learn. When to stay here? When to go there? What to take? What to leave? What to have at each house?

Our return has seen many things that needed to be done. It started with removing the snow blower from the lawn tractor. The mower deck went on and the yard got mowed. It was time to weed the flower gardens. That got started but not finished. It has been warm and wet so the grass is growing like, well like grass does in the spring. It has reawakened from the slumber of winter to the joy of a wet and warm spring. It seems that a day or two after the acres of mowing are done here it is time to start again. In Georgia it is .13 acres to deal with, in Illinois it is 80 acres. Everywhere I turn I see something that needs my attention. Today I sit at the dining room table doing this and watching the rain fall yet again. No time to get my walks in. No diet plan at the moment. Routine is broken. We spent three days last week watching our granddaughters because John and Mandie had to be in St. Louis for their work. Yesterday was Mother's day so our daughter Tammie and two of her three girls came up for a visit. My Mom and brothers came over. No exercise and too much food from the grill. Sometimes life isn't about getting things done but taking a few hours to appreciate what you have and the relationships that fill your life with purpose and joy.

So Mike, there is the reality of it all. When you are here, you will wonder and hope for what is there. When you are there you will feel the tug of gravity trying to draw you back here. Jerry's pizza. Norah's hugs. Budde's beer. Audrey's tumbling. Aledo, Galesburg, St. Pete, Tybee and Savannah. There will always be a reason to be somewhere else doing something else. You already knew this. I'm just learning. Where is the balance? The only thing I can think is the simple solution. Be happy where you are and doing whatever it is you are doing at the time. When I am here I need to be here. It must be as though there doesn't exist because it cannot. If I spend all my time missing what is happening there it means I will miss what is happening here as well. So live in the now. Be present in the present.