February 2008

William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 82.

Although I have been interested in politics since junior high school, I never knew quite how to classify my own politics. I knew some things that I was not – some things I didn’t believe in. For one, I have never had much faith in group thinking or the “wisdom of the crowd”. For another, I have never had much time for middle men – people who place themselves between me and something or someone of value.

What does this have to do with Buckley’s death? Well, it was not until I started college that I sort of found my political footing, so to speak.

My early days at Central College were marked by a full year of trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life as a profession. At least two or three times a week, I visited the library’s periodical stacks to read about people who I regarded as successful, hoping to discern their success secrets. It was during these frequent “soul searching” sessions that I came across the National Review. This was like having a light turned on. At that time, the original George Bush was president and the original Iraq war was just getting underway. In a world that was changing rapidly and perhaps less certain than ever before, the logic and the pure thought and intellect that were apparent in the pages of National Review gave me a hopeful, positive outlook.

An antidote to the popular press of the time, National Review contained consistently well-crafted prose which was thoughtfully critical when necessary, but not in a cheap, populist way. Continued reflection on and examination of Buckley’s publication was like reading a map that revealed the details of my own political mind.

While it used to be hard to explain my own personal politics, it is easy now to tell people that I am most definitely a conservative, but more importantly, I think it is now easier for me to understand why that is true and what it means to be a conservative.

William F. Buckley Jr., Rest In Peace.

read more | digg story

It has been a while since posting but I am still upright and breathing. Good news for me!

I’ve been dealing with Sinus maximus over the last few days and this, among other things, has taken my attention away from the nocturnal blogging activity.

Hope to be back up in lights with feature posts very soon!

I’m stumbling thru my freezer right now, wondering how old some of those burritos are and if I should plan on taking them to lunch with me tomorrow. I normally don’t start cooking after midnight, but in a pinch, I’ve been known to start making lunch around 1:00 a.m.

That brings me to something of a rarity on this blog – a recipe. Despite my post title, I am certainly no chef. I don’t particularly like cooking, but I do like eating, so the latter forces the former. This little gem will seem juvenile to anyone with real culinary skills but for the rest of us, here’s one of my favorite winter recipes for short notice: Two Can Stew. Quick, easy, cheap and very customizable based on what you have available.

It is almost as easy as popping open a can of commercially prepared stew, and I think it tastes so much better. If you’re having company over and you like beef stew, or if you’re like me and need a quickie lunch item, you might try this (apologies to the vegetarians, but you could actually just skip the meat if you really wanted to).

Ingredients:
1 – 15 ounce can mixed vegetables (small cut vegetables)
1 – 29 ounce can mixed vegetables (large cut vegetables)
1 package stew seasoning mix
1 lb lean meat (I usually use an inexpensive cut of steak), cubed
2 tbsp oil (I use olive oil or grapeseed oil, but vegetable oil is fine)

Brown meat in oil over medium heat, turning to ensure complete browning
Add both cans of vegetables and contents of seasoning packet, stirring to mix
Simmer over low to medium heat for 10 minutes.
That’s it – serve and enjoy!

Also, if you have similar quick, simple, easy and inexpensive recipes, I’d love to hear them!

President Hugo Chavez on Sunday threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States if Exxon Mobil Corp. wins court judgments to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets. “If you end up freezing Venezuelan assets and it harms us, we’re going to harm you. Do you know how? We aren’t going to send oil to the US. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger”

Sometimes you try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this is really difficult to do so with Hugo Chavez. Wow, Chavez needs to give some thought to what he is saying. Undoubtedly the United States is Venezuela’s number one export destination for these barrels. Is his “threat” of $200 barrels of crude supposed to scare us? This is exactly why our country’s energy policy needs to be multifaceted.

We really should address our dependencies on single regions, single resources, and single relationships with an eye toward broad diversification. Our goal should be to develop many energy sources, many supplying regions (both domestic and abroad), and no more “cozy triangles” between government, industry and special interest groups. Click the “Digg Story” link below to read the news account of Mr. Chavez’s banter.


read more | digg story

I am in my den tonight with the lights low and my shoes kicked off, wishing that natural gas was less expensive as I hear the furnace kick on again.  My TV is on mute, serving as an adequate if irregular night light and I’m listening to Chris LeDoux’s “Cadillac Ranch” on the stereo.  I’m pretty sure I’m pumping out too many decibels this late at night in Dunlap, Iowa.  Oh well, if the police come to shut down my party, I guess I will comply since my guests number exactly zero and it is time for bed anyway.

“Cadillac Ranch” is a humorous little song about a farmer converting his barn into a honkytonk and saving the family farm with the proceeds.  This was on the “Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy” CD and is also on the “American Cowboy”  boxed set of CDs.

I’m sitting here remembering all the wonderful evenings spent listening to Chris LeDoux live, from tiny little dive bars with a couple hundred people squeezed inside to sold-out stadiums, he was always a gracious, entertaining, and authentic presence.  I saw him a couple of times in Sloan, Iowa, the closest he ever got to my little hometown.  I trekked down to the American Royal rodeo in Kansas City with one of my best friends in the world “to catch the Chris show” and I watched him at one of his later appearances at a casino show held outdoors – it was so hot with the late June sun soaking into the asphalt parking lot and this was a rare appearance where he didn’t headline the show.

The neat thing about Chris LeDoux was that he related almost instantly to people just by the way he lived his life.  He wasn’t simply a good artist, he was also a good man and it showed and people respected that.  But boy, was it fun to be at a show!  Depending on the song, his music could make you laugh or cry, but mostly you were just so thankful to be alive in that particular moment.  It was a palpable feeling shared with all of the folks there, a sort of mini-woodstock for non-hippies and without the mud or the cold pork and beans.

I remember one time shaking his hand after a show in Des Moines, Iowa.  You could sense in him a person who was less than comfortable as his gyrating, booming stage persona, but who was certainly true to what the message of his music and his life were all about.

Chris passed away in 2005 and it seems like just yesterday I read that news.  At the time it didn’t really hit me, I guess mostly because I didn’t let it hit me.  I just kept playing the music, putting off in my own mind the need to think about life after the rodeo legend turned hit musician.

With the vast amount of music he produced, it wouldn’t be hard to convince yourself he wasn’t gone by simply playing through his discography start to finish because it would take so long.

During his musical career, like his rodeo career, he was more than prolific, laying it all on the line and always giving fans something to cheer about.  It was a real shame that he died in his 50’s, and we won’t see another like him.  Music is usually my therapy in trying times and my tonic during good times and Chris Ledoux is one reason why.  Here’s to his memory and to his music.

“Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky and live like you ain’t afraid to die, and don’t be scared just enjoy your ride.”  -from the song The Ride on the album Horsepower by Chris LeDoux

“Our law is by definition a codification of our morality.”

Barack Obama is speaking here about religion & the value of remaining tolerant of others religious views, even if they don’t claim a religion. The video linked here is long, about 40 minutes, but you really owe it to yourself to hear what Barack Obama is saying about religion and its place in the public discourse.

This is something that the democratic party can be proud of. Please don’t interpret this as an endorsement – people who know me know that I certainly don’t carry any water for the democratic party. Also, it pains me to imagine the media hurricane that would result if someone who isn’t from the left made some of these exact same statements.

That said, if ever the democrats needed something, it is a person who can address situations with truth, with reason and with humility. Funded by individuals and not beholden to suspect special interest groups, Senator Obama might be the best hope for the democrats. He is certainly someone without a barge full of baggage and dirty laundry and other assorted political uglies.

read more | digg story

I’ve been thinking in the last few weeks about what it really means to be an American. I guess this must have started when the presidential race kicked off in earnest, but it has come up in several conversations and several contexts since that.

Tonight I’m watching one of my favorite television personalities, Craig Ferguson, as he performs his nightly comedic monologue. The theme tonight revolves around the fact that on Friday, he became an American citizen. Citizenship is something that Ferguson has alluded to numerous times before, light-heartedly feigning a longing. In reality, though, he was longing. And now, he is very proud – you can see it in his eyes and hear it in the way he talks. I forget sometimes that my natural born status is something other people, even famous people, will stand in line to obtain. It appears that a sense of belonging was a large part of the motivation for Craig Ferguson.

Over two hundred years ago people stood in line to fight for the chance to start this whole experiment. Knowing that the fight could end their lives, and knowing that defeat would mean the end of their dream of self-rule, they stepped up, willing to risk their lives simply to have the chance to live in a sovereign nation. For them, self-rule was the motivation.

Even the simple physical reality of being here, in America, is such a dear prize that people will break the law and come here illegally, risking being caught, risking their safety and often risking even their lives to do so. Is it all about simple economics and the chance to make more money than back at home? Some would have us believe that it is, but I think for these people who risk so much to just be here, in our presence, something more motivates them.

Around a century and a half ago, some of my ancestors left on a trip to a much younger America. For them it was a destination half a world away, of which they knew very little. They came here to start a life, not knowing how it would work out. To them being an American represented “the main chance” at a better way of life. While there certainly were financial considerations, one of my forebears supposedly left Ireland in the early 1800’s in order to avoid entering the clergy, which apparently was a foregone conclusion for him. Although he did choose a different path in life, there’s little, before or since, to suggest monetary motives. I think that the chance of self determination was the motive in his case.

Other examples are nearly limitless.

Painters and poets come to America, skateboarders and sculptors choose to make this their home. For them, self expression is the motivator.

Dutch Reformed, German Jews, Russian Orthodox, Irish Catholics, Norwegian Lutherans, all come here to create a home, raise their children and worship as they see fit. Religious freedom calls them to America.

Speaking of different religions and nationalities, back to Craig Ferguson. He ended his program tonight by taking the musical stage with a group called the Wicked Tinkers, a Scottish pipe and drum outfit. Craig beat a drum in true Scottish form, proclaiming that he was doing this to assure his Scottish brethren that he wouldn’t stop being Scottish now that he was American.

Although that is technically incorrect, it is a very natural statement for a person to make. We are indeed a melting pot, but often we each try to keep our little part of the melt at least somewhat intact. This is evidenced in the number of various clubs and groups based on ancestral nationality and heritage (Italian clubs, Irish clubs, German clubs, etc.), fraternal groups (Eagles, Oddfellows, Elks Lodge, Moose Lodge, etc).

For me, to be an American means that you are fortunate to be blessed with opportunities that no other place on Earth can match, but you are also the bearer of heavy responsibility to make something useful of those opportunities. What do you think?