It really is up to us, you know

A very poignant political cartoon hit my Facebook wall this morning from Politico.  Unfortunately, Politico doesn't have a share-to-Blogger option.  Since I'm not going to copyright infringe to put the cartoon on this blog, you'll have to go to their site to see it.  There is actually another one on the same page that makes the  point very well also.   On this page look for the one with the oiled pelican on the gas pump and the traffic jam one where the drivers are saying "Dang pigheaded oil companies."
The point of these cartoons is painfully clear:  Our insatiable thirst for oil and a refusal to be personally inconvenienced to any significant degree is a major contributing factor to the necessity for offshore drilling and, by fair extension, the disaster that's going on in the Gulf.
We as a country can be justifiably angry at BP, angry at Minerals Management, angry at the President; truly saddened and heartbroken about what's going on down there.  But until we care enough and are selfless enough to look at ourselves in the mirror and say "Okay, my self-centered perspective and total disregard for the potential ramifications of quenching my thirst contributed to this as well," nothing will change and this will likely happen again.

"It's all that and a bag of chips"

Preferably salt & vinegar chips.  My previous post about the Maine Italian sandwich resulted in a lot of comments about people's favorite versions and places to get it, which has sparked in yours truly the thought of discussing what might be the most traditional take-out Maine lunch.
Requirements:  A traditional Maine take-out lunch must include an entree, a side, a beverage and a little dessert; and all of the elements must be, if not uniquely Maine in origin, at least foods that have become iconic Maine delicacies.  So while lobster may not be exclusive to Maine, a Maine lobster roll most certainly is; ditto the hotdog.  A great hotdog can be found in every corner of this country but a red casing hotdog in a toasted traditional Maine hotdog roll is unique to The Pine Tree State. 
While I do love Italian sandwiches, by the third mention of Richie's Pizza, my memory was suddenly jogged regarding the sandwich that I most often ordered there, the hot ham, cheese & bacon.  Now, you might want to suggest that's just a hoagie by another name but I would counter and ask if you've ever had a sandwich outside of Maine that truly made you think it comparable to a ham, cheese & bacon, hot with mayo.  What makes it different?  I don't know exactly since the ingredients are as straightforward as the words ham, cheese and bacon.  I do know I've never had a sandwich anywhere else in the country on a foot-long hotdog roll.  There's my nominee for the entree.

Ode to the Maine Italian Sandwich

Since it is universally accepted that the Maine Italian sandwich's origins are in Portland, ME and Giovanni Amato, I've included a link to Amato's website, which has a great picture of the sandwich (you can leave the olives off mine, thank you) on the front page and a link to the history of the sandwich. So I won't bother to repeat it here; but it's called an Italian more because it was invented by an Italian than what's in it, which wouldn't necessarily strike you as Italian food.
My purpose here though is to baptize the uninitiated and to swap stories with the choir about our favorite version of the Italian and where we fondly remember getting the "best one around." It is true that you'd be hard pressed to go anywhere in Maine and not be able to find a very good one on the menu of any "corner store," as we tend to refer to mom & pop and general stores here in Maine; but we all have our favorite place, usually one near where we grew up. It is one of those things when we're away from Maine that make us think fondly and eagerly about returning.

Maine Primary open forum

Being fiercely independent as I am, I don't get to vote for candidates in the primaries (and this won't be a pro open primary post...leave that for another day) and so I'm reliant on registered Republicans and Democrats to make smart choices.  Thankfully my home state of Maine is notoriously independent and moderate, which rarely results in far left or right field nominees.  This blog is an open forum to discuss your choice, if you made one, and a plea for continued moderation.
I know there's a lot of angry sentiment on both sides, which nationally is having the result of some extreme nominees, nominees who cannot and will not win, nor should they.  They don't represent anything close to a majority of voters' beliefs.  But what can happen when parties are polarized and extreme blocks of each party push through candidates based on anger and over-reaction instead of reason is that there is the possibility of an open election between two "worthless" choices.
So I ask my fellow Mainers to reflect on what kind of man or woman you want at the helm of state government.  New and fresh ideas are one thing but sacrificing sound judgment and a steady hand to get them is not the way to go.  As an independent, I'd like nothing more than having a difficult decision between two highly-qualified, sensible candidates come November, two candidates that reflect the State of Maine as a whole and who have that necessary commodity of being able to govern.
I encourage you to let us know who you voted for and why, and to also weigh in on the bond issues.

Memorial Day

First off, let me ask all who read this to join in the National Moment of Remembrance today at 3PM, to honor in particular those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect this country and our freedom. Go to http://www.remember.gov/ to learn more.  Secondly, for those on Facebook, the White House has a great application where you can honor a random fallen soldier. I've been updating mine about every hour to honor another. Go to my profile to find the app.
You all know me to be not much of a "flag waver." I prefer to show my patriotism and respect in my own way, which tends to be with 100 percent sincerity and in my own words, as opposed to doing what others have made and decided is the right way to show patriotism. On this Memorial Day though please take some time to think about what sacrifices have been made, what it's meant to the families of those who made that sacrifice and what it's meant to our country. Also, try to take time to personally thank anyone you know who has served because without them as well this country would not be as free as it is and the ultimate sacrifice could have easily been theirs to bare.
Memorial Day is also a day to remember loved ones who are no longer with us. I tend to do this myself by remembering all the good times shared with them, what wonderful people they were and how much they meant to my life. I won't list all those I miss but will say a special remembrance to my daughter Jennifer Lee, who I never had the opportunity to get to know. Miss you, sweetheart. So while we remember and honor those who've served and those we've lost, let's cherish the time spent with them but also take advantage of the time we still have with those who are still with us. So how about just letting them know in some personal way that you're glad they're in your life.

(cross posted at All Things Zebster)

DADT -- What difference does it make?

As is my tendency, I'm speaking as the devil's advocate.  What is the practical difference between Don't Ask Don't Tell and what things will be like in the military if and when it is repealed?
When I was in the Marine Corps, if DADT wasn't the law, it was certainly the practice.  We all served with people we suspected were gay; and speaking for myself only, it certainly didn't matter in a personal or professional relationship with those folks.  To be clear, I never spent any time in a war-time foxhole and so obviously wasn't in a position to evaluate my feelings sharing that situation with someone I knew or suspected was gay.  I can tell you with all certainty it would not have mattered to me.
But that's really not what I'm getting at.  How will things be any different in the military if gays won't have to conceal who they are?  Do you think all of a sudden there will be openly gay (insert whatever slang here you choose -- flaming, etc) people wearing a uniform?  Do you think suddenly people in uniform will be walking around limp wristed?  Seriously, just because the laws change doesn't mean day-to-day life will change.  There will still be those non-gay members who it doesn't matter to and will be your friend, and there will continue to be those who'll want to take you out back and beat the hell out of you. 
So with that backdrop, gay people know they'll still need to live their daily military lives the same way as before.  There will still be bigotry regarding promotions.  There will still be a military dress code and rules of comportment.
Understand this:  I believe every one should be treated equally and fairly, and I believe DADT should be repealed; but also that I served and realize that the military is a special universe, shall we say, with special requirements.  If I thought for one second that repealing DADT would negatively effect the daily morale of troops or create an environment that could be dangerous to those who are fighting our wars, I would sadly be against it.
What am I missing?

Progressive link day

Unfortunately the full-throated blog juices still aren't flowing on a regular basis, despite the fact that so much is going on and so much is pissing me off.  So while I'm tending to my wife who's home recovering from a couple of hernia repairs (and I had a wisdom tooth pulled on Thursday, which was no sweat at all), I'm reading some good articles and blogs and thought I'd share.
You'd think pulling a wisdom tooth would be more difficult than finding an honest, rational thought from the radical right that has hijacked the modern Republican Party.  Think again.  Am I the only progressive who was at least a wee bit optimistic that after 8 years of monumental fuck-ups that a decent percentage of conservatives would have been interested (just interested) in rethinking their intransigent beliefs?  If we harbored any of that optimism, it went out the window the day of or at least by the day after Obama's election when he was blamed for everything he was served.
I guess if all you care about is your side winning and never having to take responsibility for your support or lack of dispute, the only other option is to act like it never happened until the other team takes the field.  Cowards is the only word that comes to mind.
So with that in mind, let me encourage my progressive friends (ye of open-mindedness, a belief that the best is always ahead, and that smart and thoughtful is always better than closed-mindedness and hate) to hold true to what we know is right and just, and do and say whatever is necessary  to take this country and world in the right direction, as is so very well said in this article by Mike Lux at the Huffington Post, where you can always find something thought provoking.
From the "while I don't always agree with him but he doesn't mince his words" department, I bring you a great rant by Bill Maher, including this excerpt:

For example: to solve our debt crisis, a bunch of Republican senators suggested a bipartisan debt commission, which is the adult thing to do. But when Obama agreed to it, immediately seven of them said no -- now they're against it. Because Obama has cooties. Democrats have cooties, so you can't vote with them, or work with them, and compromise is treason.

Finally (for now anyway) I'd like to point you to a long-time blogging friend who reminds us, and warns us, how far some on the radical right will go in attempting to affect the change they want.  RIP Harvey Milk.

I'm likely to update this later with more links.  Feel free to suggest any in your comments or to me in a PM at Facebook.

UPDATE:  Here's a dichotomy link from The Boston Globe, showing what good journalism is and why we still and always will need newspapers, and to show how nepotism and cronyism still controls our politics and bureaucracy.

Thomas Brackett Reed

Another one from the category "See how little you know about your home state."
I'm watching Ken Burns' documentary "The Congress" yesterday when there's mention of Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine.  "Who?," says I.  Click "like" below if you're from Maine and you haven't heard of him either.  How many Speakers of the House are from Maine?  Two, I believe, Blaine being the other.  So you'd think that would be a common name to hear during our educations in Maine. 
Reed was an important enough figure to be mentioned in an hour and a half documentary on a subject as vast as the U.S. Congress, despite the fact that he was Speaker well over 100 years ago.
As I've done with other similar blogs, I won't write a biography as much as encourage you to learn more.
I will tease you with this and include the below link and excerpt.  His efforts to increase the powers of the Speaker were dramatic and lead to the tenure of one of the more powerful Speakers ever, Joseph Gurney Cannon of Illinois.
There's even a street named after him and a statue on the Western Promenade in Portland.
 From Wikipedia
During his time as Speaker, Reed assiduously and dramatically increased the power of the Speaker over the House; although the power of the Speaker had always waxed (most notably during Henry Clay's tenure) and waned, the position had previously commanded influence rather than outright power. Reed set out to put into practical effect his dictum that "The best system is to have one party govern and the other party watch"; this was accomplished by carefully studying the existing procedures of the U.S. House, most dating to the original designs written by Thomas Jefferson. What followed has popularly been called the "Battle of the Reed Rules".

UPDATE:  Author Evan Thomas was on "207" tonight talking about his new book about the Spanish American War, and Reed's name comes up as one of the few prominent politicians who were against the war. WCSH6.com Portland, ME Newsweek's Evan Thomas

That's mighty white of you, America

According to a recent WSJ/NBCNews poll, two-thirds of Americans are in favor of the new Arizona illegal immigration law, even though practically the same percentage feel it will lead to discrimination.
You know, it's always been an easy thing to say you're for an infringement on your rights for the better good when you know damn well you'll never have to worry about it.  No one, and I mean no one, whines louder than white Americans when their rights are perceived to be infringed upon.  We who were born in this country and fortunate to have the correct skin pigmentation take our rights for granted, which is why sadly too many of us who've never had to worry about it carelessly say it's okay for others.
What if the immigration issue in this country involved Canadians, who in most respects look and sound like white Americans?  Do you want to guess what the reaction would be by these same supporters of this law when they're asked to produce proof of citizenship?
What good would it do to have a law like this when nearly everyone looks the same?

Walking away when you're under water

So let me make sure I understand this.  It's morally okay for a home owner to "walk away" from a mortgage they can afford to pay simply because the home is now worth considerably less than its value at the time of purchase?  That's just a smart business decision and nothing more? 
Whatever happened to the concept of "a deal's a deal?"  You're saying your word and your commitment is only as good as the day-to-day economic viability of the deal?  So if you sell me your vintage '60's muscle car on time and six months later the bottom falls out of the vintage car market, making my purchase a bad investment, you have no problem with me just bringing it back to you and no longer making the payments?  Why, that's mighty nice of you.  In fact, if you don't mind, I'm going to drive it for a few months for free while you go through the legal process of repossession, since you're in such a charitable mood.
Let's take this a step or two further because I really want to understand what's motivating your thoughts.  If five years after your purchase the value of the home has doubled, are you going to insist that the bank redo the mortgage and you'll gladly pay it?  No?  But the bank should renegotiate the mortgage if the value drops?
So can I fairly assume that since practically every home in this country is worth less now than it was two years ago, you have no problem with all of us walking away leaving the bank high and dry?  One last consideration:  What are you going to tell your neighbors when your local credit union, the one holding your life's savings and theirs, goes under when we all renig on the mortages they hold?

What's it worth?

It's been a long time since we had a guest post on Inside Zebster.  Hopefully this nice piece by LadyA will be the first of more to come.   She points out in the piece below something that we don't as American  consumers want to think about...we just want it cheap.  How long has it been since the standard of living for the middle class and below in this country even came close to keeping pace with the cost of living?

Please welcome Lady A and leave any comments you'd like.

"For those currently engaged in debate over the “illegal alien” issue, I offer this:

You forget your history. The entire original infrastructure of this country was built on slave/cheap imported labor. From the plantations in the south to the rail lines in the west, land/company owners have never paid decent wages if they weren't required to. As long as American consumers want the lowest prices, regardless of the wages paid to the producers of said products; and American stock holders want the highest returns on their investments, regardless of the working conditions and benefits offered to the employees of said companies; American employers will have to look for sources for the lowest wages. When American consumers are finally willing to pay the>true< full price of the goods and services they consume, there will  no longer be a need for employers in this country to employ these illegals.

After I posted the above commentary on my Facebook the other day, I had a conversation with friends regarding compulsory education for our children between the ages of 8-16. I was again reminded that without laws to prevent it, our business owners will employ the most vulnerable members of the population without regard to ethical practices."

Candlepin Bowling and Bill Chinnock

I came across two things recently that made me remember fondly my youth and teenage years. The first was this feature on "207" about Bill Chinnock, and the second was this article on Boston.com regarding candlepin bowling. I thought I'd share a personal story or anecdote about each and invite others to comment with their stories and or elaborate on mine.
Perhaps the best story, but the one I need help with the most, involves a certain Bill Chinnock concert at the Pittsfield Community Theater, probably sometime in 1979 (one of the very few ticket stubs I can't claim to still have). A handful of us decided that not only did we need to be at this concert but we needed to have flasks or pint bottles of alcohol as well, lest we got thirsty inside. Unlike the famous Dresden ice fishing legend (sorry Chink), getting the alcohol for the Chinnock concert did not involve someone's uncle delivering it to the MCI campus in a black pulp truck. I don't recall where we got it but there's little chance the story is as colorful.
What is most memorable about this concert, aside from getting to see our local music hero, was the fact that not all of us managed to get into the concert with our alcohol intact. Isn't that right, SF? Luckily for us, some of us did! Were we cool or what? If you were there that night, please chime in with any information you have to fill in the story, as my pitiful memory has left me nothing more than what's above.
Regarding candlepin bowling, I'll offer up a couple of quick things. Many of us were on youth bowling leagues or high school intramural leagues at the Pittsfield Bowling Center. Most of my fondest candlepin bowling memories are there, and I'm sure there are plenty of fond memories by others to share. One not so fondly remembered, or better stated as bittersweet, relates to the reward we received in roughly 1972 for winning the Eastern Maine tournament. For whatever reason, that year it was decided that giving jackets was better than trophies. So while my trophies from my glorious youth survived in my mother's attic for many years, that jacket was lost, nay stolen, in less than a year, some idiot 11 or 12 year old having left it on a bench at Manson Park.
Also, any of my MCI classmates who still have the 1980 edition of The Trumpet, go to pages 112 and 113, and in particular look at the names of the teams. Does that bring back some memories? Long live The Zebulons!
I would be very appreciative if you would leave any anecdotes that you'd like to share, elaborate on anything I have said but also if you would please pass this along to anyone who might appreciate it.

Who I learned about yesterday

I guess I'm on a streak here lately of learning about influential people that I shamefully know very little about. A couple of days ago it was Rachel Carson, and yesterday it was Martin Luther. My task here again is not to tell you who these people are in any great detail but to encourage you to learn more about them.
When it comes to Martin Luther, is it fair to say that most of us are familiar with the name and that's about it? Perhaps we know he was a religious figure, perhaps that the Lutheran religion is named for him. But what else do you know? Did you know he told a Pope, Pope Leo X, and a King, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, that he wouldn't retract his writings; that he was right and they were wrong? That he basically told the Pope he was irrelevant; that he translated the Bible from Latin to a language of the common people, and thus the Protestant Reformation starts with Luther?
He was a devoutly religious man and I'm an atheist but I love rebels and free thinkers. Every freedom fighter from Thomas Jefferson to Martin Luther King were inspired by Martin Luther. It could be fairly said that we as Americans owe our democracy to Luther. So take five minutes or so to become better acquainted with one of the most influential people of all time.
Up next? Cleisthenes.

Rachel Carson

This won't be a biography at all; it's an attempt to get back in the habit of using this blog, forcing myself to write a little something here on a regular basis.
I find it astonishing that the name Rachel Carson is unfamiliar to most Americans, including yours truly. While I'd heard the name and knew she wrote "Silent Spring," I really had no idea who she was or the profound influence she had on the modern environmental movement and the creation of the EPA.
Even that aside, she was a trailblazer for women in education and the workplace. Look at where and when she went to college; likewise, her early professional career prior to becoming a fulltime writer. You'd think that anyone included in Time's 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century would at least have been heard of.
You all know how to use the Wiki, so look her up yourself, or go here http://www.rachelcarson.org/ and decide for yourself whether this is someone with whom we should all be familiar.

No, you're no more American or patriotic than anyone else

Spend some time on websites like Facebook, for example, and you'll see people posting something along these lines: "There are too many people in this country who don't understand what it means to be American, who don't support the troops," etc, etc, and that essentially you don't have the guts or the patriotism to copy and paste that nonsense on your space.

You've seen those posts and you've heard that sentiment around your workplace or in editorials. Did it come as a surprise to you that there are those in this country who get it and that the rest of us don't? Who are these people who get it? Who are these people who don't? Is there a book or manual somewhere that describes what a patriot American does or looks like?

If this sentiment doesn't scare the living shit out of you, well, it should. It serves to divide us. It creates a mentality in people to be watching your neighbors or friends or family for suspicious activity or, even worse, a lack of certain "officially-approved" activity.

Haven't we been here before? Do I have to copy and paste your drivel to prove my patriotism? Do I have to look just like you and think just like you; otherwise, I don't get it, or worse?

I have a news flash for you narrow minded sheep: We all support the troops; we'd all die for our country, be it go to war or jump in front of the President to catch an assassin's bullet. I would've done it for a president who I couldn't have disagreed with more. Would you do it for the current president who was overwhelmingly elected by the people of this country? Or does your holier-than-thou, self-annointed sense of patriotism not cover that?

Get your blinders off, turn off that bullshit echo chamber you're tied into (you know, that one that loves to scare and divide) and get your head out of the ass of organizations that want you to believe there's this huge percentage of unpatriotic people in this country before one of you does something we'll all regret. It takes a lot more courage and patriotism to make up your own mind that it does to follow that little crowd of yours that always tells you what you want to hear.

We're all pulling the same rope and pulling it in the same direction; there's just disagreement about the best way to pull it sometimes. You should be a lot more concerned and afraid of people who want you to think a certain way because it serves their ambitions than to be concerned that your fellow Americans aren't really American enough by your standards.

The most patriotic and heroic people we know are those who do the little and large things proactively, very quietly, never asking for recognition or even support.

So before you run off at the mouth with your nonsense, serving only to help further divide us to be conquered by those who truly don't get it, ask yourself whether you truly know one single person who doesn't support the troops, who doesn't love their country, who wouldn't sacrifice all they have in half a heartbeat to protect, preserve and improve it.

So sadly we've come to the point where it takes guts to say and think we're all together than it does to point fingers at shadows. So let's see if you have the guts to post the link to this.

And don't read this like the ditto-head that you are -- "Wow, that is so true" -- and then put your head back up your ass again...truly think about it and act accordingly in your day-to-day life.

Me? Liberal, atheist, wrote "the blank check" for 8 years and every bit as American as you. I just choose not to use labels when determining whether someone's patriotic or not.