Running is therapy

I have been listening the The Killer Angels. It’s a rather good historical novel that is set in Gettysburg during the Civil War.

I am not sure how much of the story is to be believed, but one thing has been sticking out, at least in my mind. The Generals and commanders of the different regiments and corps are portrayed very vividly. Beyond that though, they are also portrayed in very simple terms. Men are either “Good” men or they are not. There is no ambiguity.

This is something I think about from time to time. Great men, men of action. I think our world sadly lacks men like that. I wish there were simpler terms to live by. Simpler ways, simpler litmus tests by which we should be judged, and by which we should ascribe meaning.

Dems seem to be doing well in the upcoming races if that poll is to be believed. I think this is a good thing. Note I don’t mean to say that being a democrat makes you a good person automatically, but right now we need some parity in the government to stop the rubber stamp the current administration has.

A couple of worries of mine. 1. I hope that we don’t find ourselves in the same position we did when the Democrats had the whitehouse and the Republicans had the congress…namely legislation grinding to a halt because of the partisan politics (though I am not holding my breath). I also hope we see some more sanity. Namely the repeal to the recent laws enacted to deprive enemy combatants of the right to habeas corpus and the NSA warrentless wiretapping.

Here is what _will_ happen. Democrats will spend the next two years trying to impeach Bush for breaking the law (I am not necessarily against his impeachment, because I think there is enough evidence that he broke the law that a panel should at least look into it). However in the mean time other issues will be overlooked. Like, why haven’t we tried all the people at gitmo yet? Or what in gods name are we going to do about Iraq…Iran…Afghanistan…North Korea…Pakistan…Isreal…outsourcing…the fall of the american auto maker…drug costs for seniors…social security…health care…the deficet…fuel costs…global warming. China is becoming a world economic power, are we ready to compete?

http://throwawayyourtv.com/2006/10/santorum-for-whom-shame-has-no-meaning.html

Listening to The greatest story ever sold. Frank Rich talks a lot in the beginning about America’s fascination with WWII and that generation. Flags of our Fathers a new WWII movie carries on that tradition. I am looking forward to the film. I must admit that I am one of those people fascinated by that era. My grandparents, in my opinion were interesting people and their stories about the depression and WWII and the surrounding times entertained me for hours on end as a kid. My grandfather served in WWII on a small island in the Pacific Theater. He never saw combat, though he did break a finger playing baseball there :).

I guess my point is that Frank Rich seems to cast this love affair with The Greates Generation in a negative light, and I don’t see it that way. The world changed in ways during thier lifetime that we can only imagine.

While I don’t want another depression or world war, I hope my life is as interesting.

Recently I ran into a bunch of blog posts about a group called Scientists and Engineers for America.

Scientists and Engineers for America, dedicated to electing public officials who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.

I find that very interesting. Smart people looking at candidates and then reporting on how science friendly they are. I will be adding this site to my list of where to get voting information.

If you care about science and think that American politics is not doing it’s part to foster the use of science in it’s decsion making, you may be interested in the site as well.

Hopefully the silver lining in the current political climate is that good men will not stand by and do nothing, rather they will get sick of the rhetoric and ideology and push for change.

I switched to bloglines from yahoo’s rss reader a while ago. It works pretty well. Lately they have been adding some decent dhtml stuff to it and it’s gotten a lot more usable.

Mark Foley has checked into rehab. Not pedofile rehab though, alcohol rehab. What a crock of crap. This is the same tactic Mel Gibson used after his anti-semetic tirade. The difference being Mel WAS drunk when he went off. Last I looked beer didn’t make people want to have sex with children. Don’t be stupid, this is a stunt to cover up this guys real disease. Pedophilia.

**EDIT** I wrote this the other day and forgot to publish it **EDIT**

I had a pretty crappy day…but I don’t want to talk about that…Seems…unseemly when there are so many other important things going on in the world.

Mark Foley. Wtf is going on.

On NPR this morning they had some poll results of the “value voters”. Appearently the Mark Foley incident and the idea that perhaps key Republicans in congress knew what he was up to, and did nothing to stop it…well that has no bearing on how they will vote. It was pathetic, and lends creedence to something I have long thought. Most people do not arrive at conclusions about right and wrong and then act in way which they believe to be the moral high ground…first they FEEL things and then look for ways to make those feelings seem rational. I am guilty of it, but I am also cognizant of it and make an effort to not engage in cognative dissonance.

I am sure there are republicans and value voters out there that really believe in thier ideas, and for them I feel sorry that the party that seems to represent them at this time has failed them so dearly, but if you can, in good conscience look at our current political landscape and think “Aw shucks, everything is dandy”, you have failed as a rational being to use your intellect.

I was replying to a comment in another post and had wrongly (I believe) accused Senate Bill S.3930 as pertaining to American citizens. I changed my response, which was easy enough to do since there are other things to be upset about…however that is not the point of this post.

In editing my comment I did so because I was able to actually look up the Bill and see that the word alien is a modifier in the sentences where Habeas Corpus applies (at least that section, it may not say that other places). However, that isn’t enritirely the point.

I decided to go back and read other parts of the Bill to see if I had missed anything else. Salient points:

`Sec. 949t. Maximum limits
`The punishment which a military commission under this chapter may direct for an offense may not exceed such limits as the President or Secretary of Defense may prescribe for that offense.

So Bush and Rumsfeld decide how long an enemy combatant may be imprisoned. Ok, I can see that, I mean they have made nothing but good choices before, I am sure that will work out and no ones personal liberties will be trampled on.

`Sec. 949u. Execution of confinement
`(a) In General- Under such regulations as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe, a sentence of confinement adjudged by a military commission under this chapter may be carried into execution by confinement–

`(1) in any place of confinement under the control of any of the armed forces; or

`(2) in any penal or correctional institution under the control of the United States or its allies, or which the United States may be allowed to use.

`(b) Treatment During Confinement by Other Than the Armed Forces- Persons confined under subsection (a)(2) in a penal or correctional institution not under the control of an armed force are subject to the same discipline and treatment as persons confined or committed by the courts of the United States or of the State, District of Columbia, or place in which the institution is situated.

Sure that makes sense too. I mean as long as the prison is located somewhere where attaching electrodes to your nuts is legal AND that prison is a prison that United States is allowed to use, well it only follows that that is ethical.

Whew, for a minute there I thought we had lost all moral direction.