Angelides for Governor

I have voted for Phil Angelides for governor of California. While he may not be the most inspiring candidate, his positions seem fair and reasonable. He had a good record as state treasurer as well. But perhaps the best reason for voting for Angelides is the fact that he is not our current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger . Schwarzenegger may not be a neo-con and has at times been critical of the Bush administration. I appreciate that fact. However, as my friend Gabe has put it, “He has never met a special interest dollar that he didn’t like.” This seems to be a good characterization. Schwarzenegger has spent an inordinate amount of time devoted to raising money for the corrupt Republican party and the President. His policies toward education in the state have been reprehensible and he has certainly devoted more efforts to protecting big business at the expense of our state’s poor. Again, while Angelides may not be the most inspiring candidate, I truly believe that California would be better off with him in the governor’s mansion rather than Schwarzenegger. I encourage all Californians to vote for Phil Angelides.

My "Personal DNA"

My very good friend Tim has posted a link on his blog: Traveling Through Life Without a Map (forwarded from a friend of his) to a very interesting personality test.

I came out as an “Advocating Creator”.  While I may take exception at some of the labels used, I think it is a rather good indicator of my personality.

Advocating Creator

My Personal Dna Report

Battlestar Galactica: A Mirror

I have head it said that science fiction can provide a mirror to ourselves and our society.  This is certainly the case with the new Battlestar Galactica series on the Sci-Fi channel. Tonight is the second episode of the 3rd season of the TV show.  While many people may think of all sci-fi as “hard science fiction” wherein the story is about future technology and its effects, much of modern science fiction (including Battlestar Galactica) takes a different, more human-centered approach.  This show is what I can only describe as hyper-realistic.  The situations are true to today’s political and moral dilemmas. The storylines are not about the technology – in fact there are only enough technological differences in the series and our own current reality to allow a change of setting.  This series takes a hard look at the way we really are and it is often not a pretty sight.  The show has dealt with very relevant issues of the day: genocide, the treatment of prisoners, election-rigging, and terrorism.  Recently the storyline has dealt with the motivations of people held under a foreign occupation.  It puts ideas of terrorism, collateral damage, and morality in a time of war into a new perspective.  This is what science fiction can do at its best – hold a mirror to ourselves and our current situation. If this show had been set in a more “realistic” genre we might have missed the insights that are brought out. To stay with the analogy, in a more “realistic” genre, perhaps the mirror is too close to see the whole reflection. Battlestar Galactica provides a mirror at just enough of a distance that we can see ourselves and our society.

GOP: The Party of Morality?

Another Republican has resigned, this time over a scandal involving inappropriate sexually explicit messages being sent to underage congressional pages. Of course this is unacceptable and likely criminal behavior and should be prosecuted as such. Making this doubly outrageous is the fact that the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives was briefed on the matter, perhaps years ago. The aspects of this particular scandal are being well covered in the media.
However, this is yet another example of the Republicans'’ culture of secrecy and abuse of power. Not only were the personal actions of Mark Foley, the Congressman who recently resigned, inappropriate, but also involved an element of abuse of power and authority. A congressman must be very intimating to a teenage page. It seems that the congressman abused his authority and pressured the pages into illegal actions.
But this abuse of power, and impulse to cover-up if not outright lie seem to be standard operating procedure for the Republican party. It is obvious now that we did not go to war in Iraq over WMD, not simply for the benefit of the Iraqi people, nor to defend ourselves from a clear and present threat to our security. There were no links between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, despite what Vice President Dick Cheney says. We are told that the preemptive war in Iraq is going well. There are billion of dollars that have disappeared in Iraq - funds that were supposed to be rebuilding the country after we invaded it. The government is bent on wiretapping American citizens without warrants, and bypassing a court set up for that purpose. Republicans (and yes, a few Democrats too) have been implicated in charges of illegal and legal bribery - voting for policies based upon unethical campaign contributions. The economy currently is doing well -– with the rich benefiting from government policies that are killing the poor and middle class. Plus, we still don't know what the Vice President and oil executives decided behind closed doors. But we do know that until recently gas was over $3.00 a gallon in most parts of the U.S. The worst hypocrisy is that the Republicans in their self-righteousness have branded themselves the party of "personal responsibility" and morality. Perhaps people are beginning to see the current Republican party and for what it truly stands: Freedom (for the rich from taxes), Liberty (for congressmen to abuse their staff), Justice (for those that can bribe elected officals), and Democracy (One person, one vote - of course it will be counted on a Republican-funding Diebold company voting machine,) and Personal Responsibility (for self-professed Christians until they are caught taking bribes, or abusing minors. The GOP has strayed far from being the party of Lincoln.