Friday, October 31, 2008

My retired pastor tells us how he will vote


Here's what he sent out in e-mail ... and not just to people who agree with him:
For the first time in years I’ve decided to tell people how I plan to vote in the coming election and why.

I have followed the race with some interest since early I the primary season. I discovered that some I initially favored had views with which I disagreed, so I dropped them. Others I thought I could support were knocked out in he early primaries.

When McCain and Obama were either nominated or the obvious choice of their party, I went back and forth between the two for some time. Both were strong candidates with good qualities and some qualities that were not so good (in my opinion). One particular quandary was my views regarding Iraq. I opposed the war, thought no good case had been made for it, thought a pre-emptive attack without overwhelming evidence was not good public policy. I feared it would give future enemies a rationale for a pre-emptive attack of their own, or be used by radicals to defend what they had already done. It appeared to me that if everything we had been told was true (and certainly some things were doubtful even before the first shot), it was not sufficient to attack Iraq. When we did attack I told the office staff (all of whom hardily supported the attack) ‘I hope we find so much evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction that it will be obvious even to the greatest doubter.’

However, once we had invaded, we had to make it work. We had to stay until we achieved some kind of stable, democratic government. We had destabilized the entire region, created a haven for al-Qaida that had not existed before, provided an encouragement for many to join them, and precipitated a civil war. Once we got into that, I felt we had to do whatever was necessary to make it work and to re-stabilize the country and region. I wasn’t sure ‘The Surge’ would do it, but we needed to do something other than we were doing to bring some semblance of order out of the chaos. If you have followed me to this point, you understand that I am saying that I thought Obama was right initially about entering the war, but McCain was right about ‘the surge’ once the war had been started.

So, for whom do I vote? I wasn’t sure and went back and forth between them. I had some natural inclination toward McCain since I have been registered as a Republican since 1964, long before it was popular to be a Republican. I also had some inclination toward Clinton and Obama since I think we (the US) has a rather poor record in dealing with sexism and racism. And, of course, as a Christian there is always a recognition that God is at work around us and I want to join Him in what He is doing. So, I kept going back and forth between the two.

When Obama nominated Biden, I felt many of my concerns about Obama and foreign policy issues were lessened. When McCain nominated Palin, I thought it was a fascinating move. I knew nothing about her, was suspicious of what experience governing Alaska provided, but was greatly impressed by her acceptance speech. I talked with a friend with family in Alaska and got a very favorable report about her. So, still I was bouncing back and forth between the two.

Several things happened to push me to Obama.
1) It became apparent there was a major financial crisis unfolding. I watch CNBC (a business channel) which debated the ‘bail out’ proposal. There were positive and negatives. There were things they thought should be added and some they thought should be dropped. Most of the things I didn’t understand. But there was a crisis and something needed to be done quickly. The initial basic proposal came from a Republican administration, surely they would support their own. I watched in dismay the day the vote was taken as Republicans voted ‘no’ and the stock market dropped and I declared, ‘if they are such ideologues that they are going to vote ‘no’ on this then they don’t deserve to be in office.’ A week later they voted in favor of essentially the same bill, but now loaded with ‘pork’ and I found my disgust reaffirmed.

2) I think it was the day of the original vote on the ‘bailout’ package that the vice-presidential debated occurred. I had looked forward to it. After the debate I said to Gail, “I’ve heard ‘oh my gosh’ and ‘gee whiz’ enough to last a lifetime.” The thought of Sarah Palin being next in line for the president behind a person who would be older than anyone at their first inauguration was terrifying.

3) I receive emails from a wide-range of people, much wider than I am send this reflection. (This is going only to my immediate family and a few people whose opinion I value.) Some of those anti-Obama emails were so hostile, negative, overdone, and untrue that in my opinion they constituted ‘hatemail.’ Since most of them were supportive of McCain and opposed Obama, it pushed me further toward Obama. (Maybe that makes me more ‘mavericky’ then the mavericks.)

4) I listened to the debates and paid special attention to the discussion of health insurance. I found McCain’s approach to be very bad. Some six years or so ago Immanuel had health insurance on Gail and me through the denomination. It was not a Cadillac. It had no dental and no vision. It was a traditional 90/10, 80/20 co-pay depending on whether you used a network provider or not. The network was not robust and I needed to travel 35 miles (plus or minus) for at least one test. That policy cost the church over $17k a year some six years ago because we were in our late 50s! As a result we took Gail off my policy and eventually I was covered by her’s at school. Under McCain’s proposal some $12K of that cost would be considered taxable income. It wouldn’t raise my income or benefits, it would only raise my taxes! I suppose I would have to pay not only income tax on the money, but social security as well. Since a pastor is considered self-employed for the purposes of Social Security (that is I pay both the employers and employees portion) the cost of McCain’s plan would cost at least an additional $2,000 in taxes. By the way, I was never in a high bracket. McCain says he would tax the benefits on pricey policies by rich people. No. What he would do is tax older people. Any figures he quotes for an average is unnaturally low because of the age.

So for the above reasons and since I don’t hear the LORD vetoing my decision, I will vote for Barack Obama next week. If you support McCain you really don’t have to worry. My support amounts to the kiss of death. Since 1964 I have voted in every presidential election. To this point only two men for whom I have voted have been elected. Both of those were impeached! So don’t worry. Or, maybe we should all worry.

Thanks for taking time to read my missive. Woody


My response is
what he said!!

Monday, October 13, 2008

I had to reprint this poem


If you subscribe to Garrison Keillor's Writers' Almanac, you've already read today's gem. There's something to be said for reading a bit of poetry every day.

Warnings

by David Allen Sullivan
A can of self-defense pepper spray says it may
irritate the eyes, while a bathroom heater says it's
not to be used in bathrooms. I collect warnings
the way I used to collect philosophy quotes.

Wittgenstein's There's no such thing
as clear milk
rubs shoulders with a box
of rat poison which has been found
to cause cancer in laboratory mice
.

Levinas' Language is a battering ram—
a sign that says the very fact of saying
,
is as inscrutable as the laser pointer's advice:
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.

Last week I boxed up the solemn row
of philosophy tomes and carted them down
to the used bookstore. The dolly read:
Not to be used to transport humans.

Did lawyers insist that the 13-inch wheel
on the wheelbarrow proclaim it's
not intended for highway use? Or that the
Curling iron is for external use only?

Abram says that realists render material
to give the reader the illusion of the ordinary
.
What would he make of Shin pads cannot protect
any part of the body they do not cover
?

I load boxes of books onto the counter. Flip
to a yellow-highlighted passage in Aristotle:
Whiteness which lasts for a long time is no whiter
than whiteness which lasts only a day
.

A.A.'ers talk about the blinding glare
of the obvious: Objects in the mirror
are actually behind you
, Electric cattle prod
only to be used on animals, Warning: Knives are sharp.

What would I have done without: Remove infant
before folding for storage, Do not use hair dryer
while sleeping, Eating pet rocks may lead to broken
teeth, Do not use deodorant intimately
?

Goodbye to all those sentences that sought
to puncture the illusory world-like the warning
on the polyester Halloween outfit for my son:
Batman costume will not enable you to fly.

"Warnings" by David Allen Sullivan from Strong-Armed Angels. © Hummingbird Press, 2008.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Our pastor has been preaching on James and this is the week that we came to:
James 5
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

So very much for the times we are in!

But we have been reminded by friends visiting Guatemala that it isn't just some other guys who are rich, but it's everyone that was in the church building this morning. I have a refrigerator. I have hot water coming out of a faucet. I have a toilet that always works. I sleep in safety. I have a car.

Yesterday my landlord raised my rent. But I must add that he raised it for the first time in ten years from a ridiculously low rent rate to a less ridiculously low rate.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

In lieu of church



Perhaps because of the change in seasons, my back is hurting. The kind of pain with pangs that feel like electric shocks. Or maybe I spent to long in bed taking a lazy day of rest yesterday. If that's the case the irony is that now I HAVE to lie down. I've got a stack of things to read, so I'm far from bored.

Yesterday I read a bunch of David Foster Wallace stories. Yes he was a genius. And he has infected my thinking, which is already prone to be divergent. He seems to be driving my head today except for the genius part.

This evening I AM going to make it to the "Love Feast" at church. That's the semi-annual foot washing which I found so meaningful in the spring. Pain or no pain.

I'll take some pills and think of all the back to back House episodes I've been seeing recently. (I watch it although I'm so annoyed that he uses a cane in a completely fake way)

I felt like looking at pictures of my great grandmother this morning. I was comparing myself with pictures of her at my age (60). She lived to be 90. She had much better health than I do, but I think I'm a lot like her. My dad wrote the linked description when he was in his fifties.

I also enjoyed this.