Bonds and Babe

Not being a huge baseball fan, I don't consider myself qualified to pass judgment on Barry Bonds as he surpasses the Babe in career home runs. But as a sports fan in general, I can say this: Bonds probably didn't do anything that hundreds of other athletes did, and, no, that doesn't make it okay. Performance-enhancing drugs cheapen the game.

If baseball, and all other sports leagues, wanted to get serious about stopping abuse of illegal substances, one very simple solution occurs to me. Make a very clear list of what is banned, then institute a rule that anyone caught using them more than once will have all his official statistics cleared from the official records and that athlete will be banned from consideration for his sports' hall of fame. One thing that matters to athletes, particularly professional athletes, is their stats and the hall of fame.

So Happy Together

What the hell are Dennis Hastert and Nancy Pelosi yapping about? They seem to be furious that the FBI would dare seek to enforce the law against a fellow Congressman, especially to go so far as to raid his offices. Now, let me see, which part of the Constitution says the Executive Branch cannot enforce the law against the Legislative Branch? Hmm...tell you what, if you find it, let me know.

How pathetic that this is what it takes to bring Democrats and Republicans together on Capital Hill: a mutual threat. I've got an idea. If Hastert and Pelosi are so worried about searches and seizures, they can get serious about stopping the federal government from spying on people without warrants.

Cold, Hard Cash

With regard to William Jefferson, a Congressman whom I must admit I had never heard of until this week, I have been thinking of all the legitimate reasons one might keep $90,000 in one's freezer.

Okay, I give up. This bozo needs to be removed from office and prosecuted immediately. Too bad Ronnie Earle's jurisdiction doesn't extend to Louisisana.

Da Vinci Distractions

I have an admission to make. Perhaps I am alone in the world on this one, but I thought the Da Vinci Code was so juvenile and poorly-written that I couldn't make it through the second chapter. Given the book's outrageous popularity, this probably says more about me than the book, but so be it.

Anyway, with the release of the movie and the anger expressed by some Christians at what they see as an attack on their religion, I really can't see what all the fuss is about. Any philosophy or religion that can't take some criticisim and even slander probably shouldn't survive anyway. Christianity is, however, more than strong enough to withstand whatever this tepid book and movie have to throw at it, so the defenders should just relax. Far better books have taken aim at Christianity without destroying it. If you are interested in a cogent jab at what Christianity has become, take a look at the work of the Jesus Seminar and any of its individual authors, as just one example among many.

Take My Constitution, Please

So CIA nominee Gen. Michael Hayden says the NSA warrantless wiretapping is legal. What else does the Senate need to hear to make a decison on this man? The Bushies can say it's legal all they want, but it doesn't make it true. A little thing called the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution says warrantless searches are not legal, period.

Two things occur to me as I read about this man's testimony. First, nominees for the CIA or the FBI used to at least say the right things about constiutional authority in order to get the job. Sure, once in place, they might disregard the law, but at least they knew that what they were doing was wrong. Today, a man nominated to lead the CIA doesn't even pay the Constitution lip service.

Second, I can't help but wonder what some prominent Republicans of yesteryear would think about the Bush administration's domestic spying program. We may never know, but I truly believe that Eisenhower, Ford, and Papa Bush would not have allowed it. Nixon, Reagan ... maybe.

I never cease to be amazed at how many Americans are ready to hand over the civil liberties that were bought for them at such a high price. Too many, but certainly not all, Americans think that if they aren't violating the law, they have no reason to fear a prying government. The lessons of 1776 are lost on such people, and on my more pessimistic days I think, well, maybe people have to lose their civil liberties every few generations to appreciate them.

Read This, NSA!

Hey, NSA, rumor has it that you're spying on millions of Americans, so I hope you're reading this. In fact, my feelings would be hurt if you aren't. Am I not worthy of your attention? Come on, I say bad things about politicians all the time. If I were you, I wouldn't let me get away with it.

A couple of days ago, I was sitting in a Starbucks, not spying on anyone but unable to avoid hearing a loud discussion taking place among four men sitting next to me, all of whom appeared to be in their 60s. I would guess that this was a regular group of friends getting together for overpriced, fancy coffee, just as I was doing on my own.

They began discussing the domestic spying revelations, and, to a man, they couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Why should anyone worry about having their telephone conversations intercepted if they aren't doing anything wrong?

And I thought, how can people who are old enough to have lived through Vietnam, J. Edgar Hoover, Watergate, 9/11, the bogus weapons of mass destruction, and the Iraq invasion still be so ignorant? These people really believe that their government always looks out for their best interests, doesn't lie, and would never mislead them.

Maybe we should make refresher courses on the Constitution mandatory. The last time I checked, the current administration had not totally obliterated the Fourth Amendment, which states, quite clearly I think, that:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Look it up, while you still can. But be careful because the mere act of making such a search will subject you to scrutiny by the government.

In short, Wake Up, America!

Good for Bad Reasons

Evidently, the only way the US will get serious about energy conservation is when the price of gasoline gets prohibitive. So, for that reason, rising gas prices aren't all bad. But think about this. What we've seen recently is record-high profits for big oil companies, not just record-high revenue. If I understand economics correctly, that means that even if it is costing oil companies more to produce oil, they're still making more off the oil they have. Supply and demand alone don't explain the huge profit margins.

And if you think this is mere conspiracy dreaming, see if gas prices don't come down some in the next few months. Even big oil knows that you don't want to kill the goose laying the golden egg, i.e. they don't really want people to use less gas, they just want it to cost more.

Ultimately, the best argument for energy conservation and, more importantly, for getting serious about alternative energy, isn't the high price in dollars for oil but the high price in national security and autonomy. The only reason Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Russia have the power they do is because they hold so much of the world's oil and natural gas ... period. To understand how much better things could be, imagine for a moment a magical world in which we made all our own energy right here in our own country and were not dependent on any one. Do you see how that would completely change our international diplomacy? We could actually reserve our military for real threats and even indulge in being the world's policemen, if that's what we wanted to do. Or we could just mind our own business and not interfere in other countries. But at least we would be free to choose, which we are not right now.

Thank God for Latvia

So, it has come to this. The United States is second only to Latvia in newborn deaths in the developed world. Are we ashamed yet? Are we ready to get serious about universal health care yet, or do we need some more tax breaks for the richest?

All the chest-thumpers out there who mindlessly shout about their Christianity and their nationalism (as in "God bless the USA, the greatest country on earth") might want to reconsider. Surely we can do better.

Cheney as Protector of Civil Liberties

If it weren't so sad, it would be funny to see the Vice-President lecturing Russia, or anybody, about the importance of upholding civil liberties. Dick Cheney has demonstrated his contempt of an open government and the due process of law whenever he found it convenient to do so, and, as a result, this country's moral authority has diminished. Whether you call yourself a conservative or a liberal, or something in between, any halfway-literate American should be concerned about the galling hypocrisy displayed by this man.

Buy my book! Seriously.

Let's be clear. I want you to buy my novel, Domestic Relations. I'm experimenting with seeing how far I can get without using a traditional publisher, and, so far, it's been going pretty well. The book is for sale on Amazon, and Borders Books and Music is putting together an order for it now. The book has received some favorable publicity in the Dallas Morning News and D Magazine, too. So, if you're tired of the publishing industry serving as a filter on what you get to read and what you never see, take a chance! Buy the book and let me know what you think.