Derailed Plans

I actually had started making up my collection of thoughts on the Republicans running for president (in a biting, sarcastic format that I was really enjoying as I thought about it) when I suffered a catastrophic hard drive failure on my primary desktop at home. And, since I only write on this blog from home, that was obviously going to be a problem. As it stands, I'm currently writing this on my home laptop - the same laptop that I really hate using since it runs slower than an insurance company paying on a claim and runs on Windows Vista (I guess that could be another blog post all unto itself).

Mind you, this desktop is less than a year old and already has a hard drive failure. I suppose I've been lucky that I've never had a hard drive failure previously (though I have crashed a machine or two). And, discovered today that I could at least retrieve the data from the drive so that is a good thing - my book is currently on that drive so I'm going to have to come up with another plan for saving that data. I may have to finally break down and get an external drive. I know, my own fault if I lose anything but live and learn. Or, as I've been told I can be at times, live and don't learn. Oh well...

Maybe once I get that situation straightened out, I will get back to working on my original thoughts... Cain's suggestion that China was on the brink of possessing nuclear weapons (ALREADY?!) and Perry's inability to remember the names of the the government departments he would shut down if he were elected (hey, the Dept of Energy was so unimportant since he's going to get rid of it, there's no need to remember its name) were the two most immediate ones. I just wish there were some more Democrats to pick on. I hate not being able to be an equal opportunity offender...

Political Disgust

It's only a year until the next presidential election and already I am tired of it. The pursuit of power in this country has become a big game between the rich and powerful and the more rich and powerful. It is nothing more than the pursuit of a new trophy to put on the mantle of those who achieve it. They claim to work for the people but it is, in reality, they work for themselves alone with a veneer of humble public service - and not much of a veneer sometimes. They are often bland personalities who cannot think for themselves and shout rhetorical platitudes designed to inflame passions and reduce logical thought. And, based on the reactions of their frothing partisans, it seems to work. Unfortunately, it is the smaller partisan groups that tend to dominate because they are such a vocal minority and they override the moderate, middle majority who so desperately wants true public servants who are willing to serve for a short time and in the best interests of all not the narrow interests of just a vocal few. And, because they do dominate in such a fashion in the political arena, those who pursue power cater to them and leave rational discourse until the very end - when the general public has become so embittered with the extreme positions staked out by the candidates that those who vote do so only out of a sense of responsibility rather than a sense of genuine trust of their chosen candidate.

There are those who argue that the candidates are as trapped as the general public by the extreme positions of the most rabid politizens (I wonder if this is a new word and, if so, I want the credit for it!). In order for the candidates to win their respective parties nomination for the general election, they must cater to the extreme positions. Even the candidates with the most reasoned and nuanced positions must swerve to the sides of heated rhetoric in order hope to get to the general election within the party framework that has come to command the political system in the US. And as soon as they swerve to one side, all hope of moderation is lost and the debate has moved from one of being in the interest of all to the interest of the few. And, as the nation continues down this path, it is only a matter of time before the many move from their continued blind devotion to the ideals of the republic to the recognition that their public servants are no longer acting in the best interest of the nation as a whole but in the interest of those who wish to maintain power simply for the sake of power. And, upon that time, the issue becomes what will that majority do?

This is not to sound negative nor to imply that this is a fait accompli - merely a scenario that seems to be a likely occurrence given the way things progress today. I hope not.

Short update

It's been almost two months since I last posted anything here and, frankly, it's been a bit of a struggle to find the energy and motivation to write on anything recently. I took on a new job about the same time - coincidence? Probably not. My time has been spent mostly learning new things and trying to keep myself straight with the new job. Technically, it's not a stretch. But relearning a business I last was a part of more than 10 years ago has both positives and negatives. Overall, though, it's not a bad thing. I like the people I work for and with and, to me, that is very important.

I will have more thoughts coming soon (as I find the time and subject material). Or, if there are other things that you think I should cover, feel free to send me a note and I'll see what I can come up with. (Really, did I just end that sentence with a preposition?)

Apathy is pathetic

Apathy is pathetic.

Actually, apathy is a lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting. That sounds like a pretty apt definition of the situation in the United States as pertains to politics for a great number of people. And it seems pretty pathetic when people are so turned off by the practice of politics that they are unsure of who their elected representatives are - and don't care.

This is not to say that everyone should be a political animal but people should at least know who represents them in government and be at least minimally informed on the issues of the day. But there a great many people who are not. And that is worrisome.

Sure, everyone knows who Barack Obama (or President Obama) is - even if not everyone likes him. But they do not always know who the senators or representatives are. Heck, I suspect there is a good number of people who do not even know who the Vice-President (Joseph Biden) is. Sure, it is important to know who the president is but it is not (and should not be) the president who drives everything in the country. It is the Congress who should generate legislation but they have chosen to abrogate their responsibilities which, unfortunately, has also rendered them mostly invisible to the general public. Indeed, between their abrogation of responsibility and the high degree of partisan gridlock that has gripped the nation's capital, not to mention the constant campaigning that now consumes the majority of a politician's time instead of actually trying to run the country in a responsible manner, it should probably be no surprise that people pay little attention to their representatives.

In which case, I guess it really is not a big surprise why there is such apathy in the US when it comes to issues that matter in the running of the country.

Everyone has an opinion

...but not everyone can offer valid proof and evidence to support their opinions. Or the proof they do offer is of dubious origin, lies or urban legends among other things. And normally this is not a problem as everyone should have the right to openly express their opinions in my opinion. Heck, I know I have ideas and opinions that many other people cannot necessarily understand or agree with but the joy of being able to express them is rare in many parts of the world and should be appreciated by those who have that ability.

In some ways, that is why I have this blog. It offers me an opportunity to express ideas and opinions to a wide range of people who then have the option to read and either agree, disagree or even argue with me over them. However, to paraphrase one of my favorite quotes regarding the internet - well, I saw it on the internet so it *must* be true! That statement is very apropos when discussing blogs in particular as it is usually rather difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to what you read online. In my own case, I tend to read various news sources to get my news - regional, national and international as well as from varying political angles. The great majority of those news sites are reputable (if not always deliberately propagandistic as in the case of certain sources from countries with less than free media) and there is a clear distinction between news and editorial commentary. And I do read the editorial commentary but at least I have the knowledge to distinguish facts from opinions.

I read very little in the way of blogs when it comes to facts. There are a few I read and most of those have very deliberate political opinions but I read them for what they are - opinions with occasional facts thrown in. I have one favorite that I have mentioned here before - Seeing Red in China - by an American living in China who does the best of any I have yet come across at explaining life in everyday China, without undue praise or criticism, to people who may otherwise never get to experience it. But it is still a blog with the opinions of a single individual and his experiences.

I was recently treated to the antithesis of that blog by another China-related blogger posting ideas that minimized responsibility for Mao for things that happened during his time in power. Against my better judgment, I responded asking for more info to support the writer's hypothesis and instead received the sort of conspiracy theory spouting that is, in my experience, far more common to blog writers who can write whatever they want without any sort of vetting prior to publication as would take place at more reputable news media or research outlets. In the end, I stopped responding as it was simply generating troll-like responses from others on the blog and, quite frankly, I have much less patience for that than I have when I was younger. While I was frustrated by the negative power of such ideas, not to mention the power of the internet to spread such bad ideas with no proof to support them, it did serve to remind me that I am still fairly lucky to not be inundated with such tripe and that hopefully the good will still outweigh the bad when it comes to the power of ideas and the internet.

Look at those foreigners speaking Chinese!

Came across a show on CCTV recently that featured a variety of foreigners (non-Chinese) all speaking Chinese and it caused me wonder what is the fascination with people who can speak Chinese. After all, we don't see television shows in the West feature Chinese who can speak English (or French, German or any other Latin-based language of your choice). So exactly what is the fascination?

Is it because it still seems like such a novelty to find non-Chinese who can speak the language (and, having seen more than a few of these foreigners using the language with relative ease, I can assure you they speak it very well)? Is it because Chinese is so hard to learn that any non-Chinese who can master the language should be showcased to the nation? Or is it because this is a way of showing that China is becoming a major power in the world and and people are working hard to learn about China - the language being the most obvious manner in which to showcase it? Or perhaps a combination of the three - or others that I have not yet considered?

I have to admit that seeing non-Chinese (e.g. white Westerners or even black Africans) speaking Chinese is still a bit jarring - even when I am among that group. Granted, I'm not nearly as fluent as I would like to be but I know the effect I've had on people who did not expect to hear me speaking Chinese so I can certainly relate to that. But there is a growing legion of people who can now do that, both in China and among other nations (typically among those who have studied in China), that the novelty is surely wearing off - even among Chinese (particularly in the larger Eastern cities with higher populations of foreigners). Perhaps 15 years ago, when the number of foreigners who could speak even passable Chinese was much smaller, the novelty would have been enough to support the idea of television shows dedicated to Chinese-speaking foreigners but that time has surely passed by now. And the fact that there are so many Chinese-speaking foreigners today (of varying levels) is surely testament to the fact that the impediments to learning it are not overwhelming. Sure, it is a tonal language that is difficult for those from Latin-based linguistic backgrounds, but not impossible.

So could this simply be a political tool or a way or enhancing the Chinese self-image? In other words, is the idea of shows that feature Chinese-speaking foreigners a way of telling the Chinese populace that foreigners are working hard to learn about and even emulate China? Is it a status symbol to show people that China is growing in importance and that the foreigners are now bowing down to the inevitable rise of China? Is it a way of helping to erase the hundred years of shame that the government often considers to be its starting point of history (to help justify its continued singular grip on power) by showing these foreigners emulating the Chinese language (and potentially other aspects of Chinese culture)? And, if so, does that not create a paradox in that the government often touts how China is now coming into its own without the West yet uses these shows as a way of showing how the West now works hard to learn Chinese? A rather puzzling conundrum if that is the case.

Or, it could just be that I am overthinking this and that the significance of these shows is much the same as the glut of "reality" shows that pervade Western television - not much at all.

Random Thoughts

As I noted in my most recent post, I had recently started using Spotify, an online music service. I cannot tell you how absolutely thrilled I am with this service. Granted, I am not necessarily a huge user beyond my office and occasionally at home but the ability to play both the music I already have then the music I find from their site has been absolutely wonderful and opened up new genres for me to appreciate. This evening, I found the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack as well as a variety of music from the various Star Wars films among the music available and have been listening to them with great joy. This does not include the list of music from the 70's, 80's & 90's that I have found and listened to over the last week or so. Granted, they do not have all of the music I would like (I found very little by Peter Schilling who I truly enjoy) but it has been far more of a gift than a disappointment. For music lovers, this site is highly recommended!

For those in the US (not that most Americans are paying any attention to it at the moment other than the various talking heads who have been wailing for the last few weeks), the looming debt crisis has to be rather unnerving. The possibility that the US could fall into a default status is a worrying concern and one that, frankly, should never have reached a critical point such as it now faces (3 days from today). Politicians have whored themselves out to every interest group (I can't refer to them as special interest groups as that would assign them a status that would not be fitting) and created causes for which government money can be spent with wild and reckless abandon. It has deemed itself an integral factor into the everyday life of its citizens and, as a sad result, requires vast sums of money to support itself. And now, both sides are playing brinksmanship in the hope of winning political points (and elections) rather than trying to resolve an issue that has no short-term solution. Democrats are unwilling to cut social programs - let's face it, if you received money from any one of those social programs (and far too many people do), would you vote for the party that took it away from you? Republicans are unwilling to increase the debt limit unless some form of fiscal restraint (and significant social spending but not military cuts) are imposed. And both sides of Congress waited until less than a week before even attempting to pass any form of legislation - and both sides passed bills that they knew would not pass in the other half. It is at times like this that not only Americans but people everywhere look at this form of government and wonder how the US managed to become a world superpower.

And, just to be fair, let's not forget the other burgeoning superpower that is facing a crisis that seems to have only grown in the past week and does not figure to become better with time - the fatal crash of one of its high-speed trains. A nation that has grown increasingly restless with the corruption that has plagued its government leaders found a focus upon which to vent in not just the crash itself but the actions taken by the government that seemed designed to hide any unpleasant facts that may have placed culpability for the crash upon itself. And the fact that there has been little transparency and deliberate efforts by the government to put a rosy picture on the efforts of the government to help the people hurt by the crash (much like the Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 which saw the rise of Ai Weiwei who worked to reveal facts of shoddy school construction that resulted in many children's deaths that the government did not want advertised) has only added fuel to the anger of many people who want accountability. Sadly, the likely outcome of this will be a sop - some poor official who has insufficient ties to higher officials for protection will be held as a sacrificial lamb and likely executed for "corruption". It is worth wondering how much longer Chinese will be satisfied with such sops before they demand real answers and accountability that correspond with the rise of the Chinese nation. For that matter, it's worth wondering how long Americans will be content to live with the decreasing accountability they seem to hold their own officials to...

EDIT: And just learned that apparently there isn't much in the way of an independent judiciary in China (big surprise!). Or at least it doesn't seem that way when the government tells all lawyers in the vicinity of the train crash they are not allowed to help any victims of the train crash because it "is a major sensitive issue concerning social stability".

Blog Design Change

While listening to music I haven't heard in a while on Spotify (I absolutely love this!), I decided to make some changes to my blog. Well, more precisely, a simple background change since that is a clicky-clicky change and I'm too lazy at the moment to do anything more significant. But I like this one - lots of books in the background to suit my nerdy personality. I may go make some layout changes later but depends on how I feel. With this music, though, I may feel very inclined to do a bit more. Music is one of my passions (listening, not making, since I have no talent in that arena whatsoever) and I associate a great deal to music. It also serves as my muse in many instances - so maybe I'll feel more focused on that in the near future.

Time to think

I just realized that this was a draft from almost two years ago and that I had forgotten to actually publish it. But I thought it was worthwhile so making up for that error now:

Recently, I visited Monticello - the beloved home of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Every American child learns about Jefferson as the third president and his importance in the history of the nation (not to mention, since 1998, his apparent relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings). What may not always be mentioned in those lessons is his other interests and proficiency in many of them. Or, if they are, they are secondary to the larger importance of his place in history.

But I was reminded that Jefferson truly was a renaissance man in every sense of the word. It was his fervent belief that the purpose of government was to secure the natural rights of man, the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While this may seem natural to those of us in the 21st century, it was quite a leap at a time when the right of governance was determined by birth and those who were not so fortunate were subjected to the whims of those who were. Almost every nation in the world was run by kings and leaders whose positions were determined by their lineage, not by their ability to lead. Their people were subjected to lives similarly predetermined by their birth, but not at the lofty level of their lords and lieges. To argue that men had the right to choose their own leaders and to pursue their own lives independent of kings chosen by God was a revolutionary thought in more than a few ways.

These were things about which I was certainly aware though partly forgotten over the years. But my visit to Monticello did remind me and I was grateful for the opportunity to relearn them. I have and will also continue to relearn those lessons for they are no less important today than they were 200+ years ago.

But what caught my interest was what apparently also caught Mr. Jefferson's interest - architecture, science, history, technology and horticulture - among other things. He was an accomplished architect (I believe he designed Monticello), noted the daily weather in a diary for 50 years and filled his home with maps of the known world at his time as well as bones of animals not known in his homeland and artifacts from different cultures. His intellectual curiosity knew no bounds. Combined with that interest, however, was the desire to spread the knowledge out further. The University of Virginia, a highly regarded place of higher learning, was conceived and originated by Mr. Jefferson. Indeed, he was a man of letters (more than 20,000 if I recall correctly) who professed his love of books to his friends. Aside - I had forgotten that the US Library of Congress was founded through the generous assistance of Mr. Jefferson.

Jefferson's legacy is one of the few who can be said to be almost universal. His approach to government, not to mention his contributions to science and the pursuit of higher learning, have endured and are emulated not just in his own nation but elsewhere throughout the world. This is a man to whom great debts are owed and much praise is due. Frankly, I think the world needs another like him who can transcend his own time and similarly provide for the future.

NOW he's illegitimate?!

Syria's Bashir Al-Assad has lost the legitimacy to rule according to Hillary Clinton. Of course, the previous several months when he was shooting, beating and otherwise terrorizing his subjects (yes, I am using that term deliberately) he was still a legitimate ruler and someone that the US was trying to find ways to cajole into behaving better. However, now that he's unleashed his supporters to rampage through the US embassy in Damascus, NOW he's no longer a legitimate ruler.

Ignoring the fact that the US is assuming the role of sole arbiter of who is the legitimate ruler of any nation (other than the US), I'm sure that those who have been sacrificing themselves to promote a better form of government in Syria are now thrilled to know that the US actually agrees with them - months after the fact and only after the US government itself has been the target. Sort of reminds me of Afghanistan which the US essentially ignored (when the Taliban was abusing its citizenry in the late 90's) until the 9/11 attacks and then it was the first target of US revenge.

Yep, I guess if you want to help topple your government and you live in a nation where the leader is cozy with the US, ratchet up the pressure and get the tyrant to personally offend the US if you want any assistance (or even pro-forma support).