South Of Someplace: November 2014

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Retail Holiday Displays

Here's a thought about holiday decorations in retail stores.

If a retail store sets up elaborate decorations or window displays for the Christmas season, they should include Jesus somewhere in the display.

He could be represented by a small figurine, a little baby, perhaps, not a full-grown preaching carpenter leading around a dozen apostles. The store can surround Baby Jesus with wreathes and evergreens and gift boxes and teddy bears and toys and stockings and sugar-plum fairies if they think that the presence of a religious figure would be offensive to someone.

(I'm not sure who that someone would be. Just about everyone understands that Christmas is the Mass of Christ. It's not a surprise, and it's not really much of a secret.)

But Jesus should be there, small and tasteful, but prominent. Centrally located. Hard to miss.

It's Christmas. Seasonal decorations just don't seem complete when they exclude the guy who started the whole thing. It would be like designing a presidential library that doesn't have any pictures of the president that it is supposed to honor. ("Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Reagan! No pictures of you will be permitted in your library. I'm sure that you'll understand.")

Presumably, stores decorate during the holidays in an attempt to attract customers. Just about everything that a retail store does publicly is aimed at attracting customers. So, here's the other half of the idea.

If Jesus isn't visible in the decorations, I'm not going to shop at that store. They have officially lost one customer. And not just for the holiday season. For as long as they persist in their non-Jesus holiday decorating.

Now, maybe a whole bunch of other customers who don't agree with me will show support for the store and shop there more often. That's fine. I'm not encouraging a boycott. This is a personal decision based on a personal preference. There are stores that I have been avoiding for years for this very reason. I don't spend my money there anymore. Ever. I'm sure that they don't miss my dollars. But I have convictions, and I'm going to stand by them.

And to be fair, I do still visit those anti-Jesus stores from time to time. I walk in, use the toilet, and leave. After all, to forgive is divine, so I anoint them with my holy water from time to time.

If a store steadfastly opposes displaying Jesus in their store, I support that choice, as well. I'll even continue shopping there if they'll agree to make one small concession. It might even save them money.

Don't decorate. Don't decorate at all for the holidays. If you can't find it in your heart to include one little Babu Jesus figure in your holiday decorations, you shouldn't HAVE holiday decorations. Keep your windows and floor space completely secular, if that's how you feel. I'll honor your wishes, and I'll continue to shop in your store. Just please don't be a holiday hypocrite and put up a bunch of decorations that don't express the true meaning of the holiday.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The Criminal Justice System

One criminal trial - or the lack thereof - does not determine the state of a nation. All kinds of things happen in court. OJ was acquitted. George Zimmerman was acquitted. The guy who shot teens over loud music at a gas station will be locked away for decades. These things go all over the place.

I am sympathetic to the fact that minorities are often the victims of an unfair shake in the legal system, but that doesn't mean that every cop is guilty.

I didn't follow the Ferguson trial closely, but a grand jury spent a lot of time going over the evidence and the testimony. Sometimes the legal system makes grievous errors. And sometimes, they get it right, but the truth isn't very popular.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Accept Your Brain For Who It Is

When I was young, I planned projects and activities meticulously. I believed that a disciplined approach would lead to the best results in the majority of cases. "Winging it" seemed like an undisciplined and irresponsible temptation of fate. I if I had no plan, then surely things would go wrong when my luck ran out.

Over time, I discovered that I perform best when I react to circumstances in the moment and allow my thoughts and ideas to flow freely. I don't know whether I became an improvisor over time as I gained confidence in my creative skills, or if I was inherently an improvisor all along, albeit one who allowed fear and inflexible ideas about control to delay my creative development.

Thankfully, I understand myself better now. I encourage my mind to work the way that it wants to, even when that approach contradicts other people's ideas about how things ought to be done. It was critical to make that leap, or I would have remained stuck in creative first gear.

Bottom line: Your brain wants to work in a certain way. If you fight with your brain or try to enforce some other model of productivity on yourself, your life will be one big headache.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Ever Had One Of Those Days?

It's shaping up to be one of those days.

I woke up with a stiff neck. I needed to shave but didn't have time. I decided to take the subway in an effort to speed up the commute, but an "earlier incident" delayed service and resulted in mobbed platforms. Several trains came through eventually, but each one was so packed that only a handful of people could squeeze on.

I waited for some time. When a train with enough space to board finally arrived, some guy with a full-sized bicycle pushed his way onto the car crowding it even more. What an inconsiderate jerk! He could have waited for the next train instead of pushing on with people who had waited far longer.

During a meeting with a colleague, I dropped my pen in the trash. I went to Starbucks. The cashier dropped my pastry but caught it in her bare hand. She offered to replace it, but I said, "no problem, don't worry about it," and took it as is. I got back to the office, and we had a fire drill. And I discovered that someone whose help I need is about to go on a long vacation.

I'll mention, for the record, that yesterday on the sidewalk I saw a man get into a nasty shouting match with a drag queen. Ugly trash talk was tossed back and forth. Every train car had someone playing music without headphones. Is the full moon rising this week?

Okay, Fate... I've had enough of your shenanigans. I don't know what you have planned next, but I'm ready for you. Throw me that weak-assed shit.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Support for President Obama

President Obama,

I supported you when it was the cool thing to do, but that's not why I supported you. I supported you because you seemed like a fair and intelligent person who had some good ideas.

At the time, the Republicans had nothing but BAD ideas -

- perpetual war (notably in areas with lots of oil and natural gas)

- secret prisons

- state-sponsored torture

- wiretapping and spying on Americans without warrants

- consolidation of power within the Executive Branch (USA PATRIOT Act)

- record deficit spending

- record national debt

- relaxation of environmental protection regulations

- relaxation of regulations on the financial sector

So, I voted for you. And I voted for you again.

Did you do everything that I wanted you to do? No. But you did a heck of a lot given the fierce (and often senseless) partisan opposition that you faced in Congress.

- You ended the perpetual wars.

- You took a strong stand against torturing prisoners.

- You prosecuted terrorists (effectively) in open court rather than in secret gulags.

- You repealed the tax breaks that raised the deficit but did not help the economy.

- You led us out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

- Your policies saved the American automobile industry from extinction

- You delivered a health care system that is not permitted to discriminate against sick people.

- You reduced deficit spending by a large margin.

- You reduced unemployment to Year 2000 levels.

- During your presidency, the stock market has reached record highs.

- And you brought a certain Mr. Bin Laden to justice.

Mr. President, I still support you, because you did a good job. Because I hope that you'll continue to do a good job. And because the opposition's policies are still dangerously irresponsible.

Friday, November 7, 2014

The Case Against Obamacare

I'm trying to understand why it's unacceptable to provide an opportunity for more people to purchase health insurance.

Could someone please explain that in simple terms?

Such as, if we let more people buy health insurance, ISIS will take over the world.

Or, if we let more people buy health insurance, Iran will nuke Israel.

Or, if we let more people purchase health insurance, the polar ice caps will melt and much of our farm land will turn to desert.

Or, if we let more people purchase health insurance, there will suddenly be a rash of deadly school shootings across America.

Help me out here. I want to understand why the Affordable Care Act is so horrible that we need to focus more energy on repealing it than we do on any of these other issues.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Exit Poll Anger

According to CNN exit polls, 8 in 10 Americans disapprove of how Congress is doing its job. Six in ten voters are either angry or dissatisfied with both the White House and the Republican Congressional Leadership.

So what did the voters do? They put more Republicans in Congress.

Keep in mind also that nationwide, Democrats have a higher approval rating than Republicans (44 vs 40 percent).

So, I'm shaking my head this morning. Apparently, voters prefer the party that for the past four years has consistently blocked legislation, blocked key presidential appointments, opposed immigration reform, opposed funding to care for veterans, shut down the government, cause the United States to default on its debt obligation for the first time in history, and worked hard state by state to keep Medicare from reaching people who need health care coverage.

Hopefully, this is just the result of the Citizens United ruling and the sudden influx of unlimited corporate money in elections. The alternative is to conclude that the electorate is absurdly irrational.

Electile Dysfunction

So much for the theory that the polls would under-represent Hispanics. So much for under-representing young people who don't have traditional land phone lines. So much for marijuana ballot initiatives making any sort of difference. The polls had actually OVERESTIMATED Democratic prospects.

The Democrats were soundly humiliated tonight. They lost every close Senate race except for New Hampshire and Virginia, and those were defensive races for Democrat incumbents. The Reps effectively won a landslide. These are the same Reps that have stalled every progressive policy for four years, forced the government into shutdown, and caused the ratings agencies to downgrade the credit worthiness of the country. Those people won tonight, and they won big.

My working theory of the moment is that Democrats like to complain more than they like to vote. Reps complain, too, but they back up their convictions at the polls. If the Dems had turned out in force in battleground states, the results would have been different. If you don't vote, don't complain.

For the next two years, no meaningful firearm safety legislation will be passed. More family planning clinics will close. The fossil fuel industries will get more tax breaks. Immigration reform will be left to rot in the fields. Environmental protection and alternative energy will be forgotten and unfunded. Net neutrality is in serious jeopardy. Banking and finance reforms will be rolled back. The Affordable Care Act probably will be crippled financially. President Obama's nominees will continue to be blocked, and the President himself has a good chance not only of being impeached, but actually removed from office by the new Senate.

The United States is moving in the wrong direction, wrong for today and wrong for history. Our country is a shell of what it could be, because progressives didn't care enough to vote in large enough numbers. That's the sad and bitter truth.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Please Vote

An article on CNN says that only about 40 percent or eligible Americans will vote in today's elections. Forty percent. It's hard to imagine that the the other sixty percent doesn't care at all. The non-voters will be impacted by the policies that the government sets, just like the voters will.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans will have their right to vote DENIED by cunning and nefarious voter suppression tactics, tactics that target youth and minority voters in particular.

The whole situation is revolting. If you claim to be an American, then be an American, and do everything in your power to vote. And complain like mad if they won't let you do it.

And here's one more thing to remember. People fought and died to keep this country free from the wills of kinds and dictators and despots. People fought and died to preserve this republic which established, and so far, protects the right of each adult citizen to vote. Honor their sacrifice and do your part. Going to a polling station for a few minutes is such a small inconvenience compared with the price that these brave men and women paid for their country. Don't let their sacrifices go in vain. Vote. Please vote. Take a few minutes out of your day, and vote. Just vote. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Marathon Morning

At 6 in the morning I woke up and thought about the marathoners. This was about the time when I caught my bus to the starting corrals on Staten Island. It takes hours to move tens of thousands of runners through the city.

When you get to the corrals, you sit around (if you can find a place to sit), occupy yourself, and try to keep warm for a few hours until they call you to line up. Luckily, I had pleasant weather when I was there. This morning, it's brutally cold with a fierce wind. I fear that some of the runners might catch pneumonia today, or at the very least, a nasty chill.

The NYC Marathon is more than just a 26-mile run. It's a full-day survival event. Best wishes to all of the runners. Please do your best to keep warm and to protect yourselves from the elements!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Trick or Treat!

Darn you, Halloween! Darn you hot looking ladies in your nurse and devil and kitty cat costumes! I thought that I was too old for trick or treat, but now I want some sweets! :-)

South Of Someplace