1 + 1

For the past 2 years The Rambling Taoist has been the labor of love of one solitary individual. However, as we move into our third year, my younger brother is joining the blog and hence The Rambling Taoist has become The Rambling Taoists.

From my perspective, this is a grand development. One of the central ideas in Taoism is that there are as many different paths as there are different people. To date, this blog has featured the wanderings along only one path. From this point onward, readers can now glean the wanderings of two paths.

While my brother and I certainly agree on many things, there are things we don't agree on or take a slightly different run at. So, the interchange of thought will be a welcome mosaic.

I could say that this change is our way of welcoming in a new year, but I personally view the change from December to January as insignificant. Time is a human construct and, in the overall scheme of things, I don't think any other beings or entities care one wit about moving from one "year" to the next.

Like everyone else, I look forward to Sean's first post here at The Rambling Taoists.

Hang Over

It should shock no one to learn that Saddam Hussein is dead. While there seems to be a lot of jubilation in various parts of the US, a great many Iraqis greeted the news with a shrug of the shoulders. It doesn't mean a lot to them, except maybe even more gratuitous violence.

As I watched CNN, a lot of the talking heads seemed puzzled as to why the former Iraqi dictator was executed tonight. Several pointed out that the crime he was found guilty of -- the executions of about 140 men and boys as a reprisal against an assassination attempt -- paled in comparison to the slaughter of at least 100,000 Kurds. Why didn't they execute him AFTER he was found guilty of this horrendous crime?

I have a theory: The US (i.e., Dubya, Cheney, et. al.) didn't want THAT trial to go forward because it might have proven embarrassing to the US administration. As I hope many of you will recall, the US government was aware of the Kurdish slaughter and voiced little outrage at the time. In fact, this slaughter took place during that period when Saddam was looked on as a friend of US interests (he was at war with the "hated" Iran). I have even read some reports that the US had some complicity in this act of atrocity.

You can be certain that the Hussein defense team would have dredged up these facts and you can be just as certain that Team Bush wanted to avoid this kind of spectacle at all costs.

So, they decided to "kill two birds" at once. Hussein is dead and now the case of the Kurdish massacre most likely is too.

All Wet

When my wife & I moved to Aberdeen from Salem, people told us to be prepared for more rain. That was quite okay with us as we like the rain. Still, this year has been phenomenal. Eighty inches per year is not atypical, but this year -- even for soggy Aberdeen -- it seems we've set a waterlogged record.

We passed 100" for the year two days ago! That's a lot of rain, folks. And there's still a few days and at least one more storm to go.

The stats themselves mean nothing, but it certainly does illustrate how a difference in climate can alter one's outlook or daily routine. When we lived in Pendleton, 14 inches of precipitation for the year -- most of that in the form of snow -- was considered a deluge. We received nearly that amount -- almost ALL in rain -- last January.

I'd Rather Be Wise

My brother and I were talking last night about the group, Mensa. It's a social group for eggheads. There's only one requirement for membership -- an IQ in the top 2% (148 or more). My brother believes that I would qualify. Me thinks he is overestimating his elder brother's mental capabilities.

I'm not suggesting I'm a dummy. As a youth in elementary school, I was placed in the accelerated classes. Yes, I was a youthful egghead. In 6th grade, our class studied college algebra, among other things.

Unfortunately, I was only a minimal egghead. I occupied the bottom rungs of my class. I struggled to keep up. I missed many a recess period while I stayed behind with Dickie Henderson & Nathan Metzger, the three of us struggling to master the most basic elements of algebra or trigonometry.

Years later I told my parents how I wished they would have left me in regular classes. Instead of being one of the dim bulbs, I could have been one of the scholastic stars. Who knows? I might have been at the top of my class!

But that wasn't in the cards for me. Every team needs to have that one last player on the bench -- the one that NEVER gets sent into the game -- and that was me. So, if nothing else, I did serve my classmates by playing a most important role: intellectual doormat.

Of course, I've always followed the beat of a different drummer, even during my earliest days. Consequently, maybe I had the highest IQ of our group. Who knows and, for that matter, who cares?

Personally, I think rote intelligence is greatly overrated. I know a great many gifted individuals who have about as much commonsense as a heap of cow dung (ok, maybe that's being a bit unfair to the dung). I also know many other extremely bright people who, though they exhibit a good amount of commonsense, seem to completely lack compassion for others or even a modicum of ethics.

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather keep company with people of average intelligence who possess compassion, ethics and commonsense. Not that intelligence is a bad thing, but it's certainly not THE important thing.

In fact, intelligence can only get you so far in life; wisdom is what will lead you the rest of the way.

That's why I'd rather be wise, than smart.

More Humbug

It should be more than obvious by now that I'm NOT a big fan of the Christmas season. It irks me to no end that a lot of my favorite radio stations switch over to full-time holiday music this time of year. I mean, how many renditions of Jingle Bells and O Holy Night should any person be subjected to?

You can't open the newspaper or turn on the TV without being barraged with glitzy ads selling products that few people truly need, but most everybody wants. (One of my favorites, from year's passed, was the hot dog cooker. All this crazy contraption would do is cook hot dogs, nothing else.)

Everywhere you go people are wishing, "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays", yet their words are superficial, at best. It's like when the cheery sales clerk or casual acquaintance says, "How ya doing?", but doesn't really give a flip how you're REALLY doing. Most times, they don't even wait for an answer before turning to another customer or launching into a long monologue about whatever is on their mind.

Despite how it may appear from my recent posts, I'm not anti-joy or anti-festive. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love to laugh and I do it quite frequently. My chief gripe with this holiday season is that the joy on display is too often artificial. It follows the societal form without getting anywhere near the substance. It's as if too many of my fellow brethren are following a strict recipe, "Add 2 ho-ho-hos, sprinkle in a salutation or two, wish someone you despise 'Merry Christmas', then simmer for 20 minutes."

What's even worse, for me, is that many of the people who are pushing the orthodox Christian version of this one-day observance of "Joy to the World" are the very same people who support the illegal and immoral war in Iraq, the building of a fence along the southern US border and any law that seeks to separate them from anyone who thinks, looks, believes or acts differently than they do.

One day platitudes just don't cut it! If they truly believed in the words of "O Come All Ye Faithful", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "The Little Drummer Boy", then they'd realize that you can't encapsulate love and peace in one day or one season per year. You've got to practice what you preach 365 & 24/7.

But, alas, they don't seem to get this at all! In essence, then, the yuletide season turns into nothing more than a salvation-based form of mental masturbation. It's quick. It's easy. And then you can get back to hating everyone different than you in the wink of an eye.

Humbug! I Say

Though I no longer celebrate the Christmas holiday -- there's no decorated tree, holly or tinsel in our house nor ANY depictions of a bunch of vagabonds standing around a barn looking at a newborn -- the one vestige of the holiday season I still keep is watching Scrooge (1951), starring the great British actor, Alastair Sim. However, as I've aged, the message I get from the movie is far different than when I was younger.

Throughout the early portion of this film adaptation of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol", our title character runs around saying, "Humbug!" to anyone who will listen. Now, according to this tale, he later realizes that there's no humbuggery at all to Christmas and turns over a new leaf which embraces this "giving" season.

Personally, I think he had it right the first time around! Christmas, as it is typically celebrated in this country, comes close to the definition of "humbug".

According to my New World Dictionary, humbug is defined as "something made or done to cheat or deceive; fraud; sham; hoax." And doesn't that pretty much sum up Christmas in our profit-driven world?

Christmas is all about unfettered consumerism -- buy, buy, buy. Buy early and often. If you don't purchase the things your children or other loved ones covet, then you obviously don't carry the meaning of Christmas within you and you should be strung up in the town square.

So, while we're told that Christmas is all about giving, it's really about filling the pockets of the big brass of the Walmarts of the world.

Now, I know some of you out there will say that Christmas is all about the baby Jesus and the anniversary of the little newborn's birth has been hijacked by these commercial interests. While I might agree that is the origin of the holiday, things change and, I'm sorry, but that's not what most people are celebrating today.

So, just let me say, Humbug!

But while the consumerism of our society rubs me the wrong way, I've come to realize that the story of "A Christmas Carol" isn't even all it's cracked up to be. In fact, in my estimation, the moral is rather pathetic.

When Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, does this cause him to have a change of heart? No way.

How 'bout when the Ghost of Christmas Past comes to visit? The answer is still no. The Ghost of Christmas Present doesn't do the trick either. While these two spirits do move him emotionally, neither is able to melt the cold fortress of his heart.

What then finally brings him to the gates of redemption? It's the Ghost of Christmas's Yet to Come. Put in the simplest terms, it's fear that moves him to change his hard ways.

In my book, that's one of the worst reasons in the world to do the right thing. If you do something positive only in order to avoid some sort of future recrimination, your focus is on you and NOT the person you aim to help. You're still behaving as a selfish little wretch. Your heart hasn't really changed at all -- only your outward behavior or actions have.

And to that, I shout HUMBUG as well.

If Only Trees Could Fly

According to a recent AP-AOL news poll, over 80% of Americans believe in angels and I don't mean the kind who play pro baseball in Southern California! Not surprisingly, nearly 97% of self-defined white evangelical Christians believe that angels are for real. Not that many have ever seen one, mind you!

What is it about our species that causes so many to believe in what they can't see, explain or possibly know, yet they don't seem to believe in so many things that stare them in the face every day? Yes, most people believe in winged cherubs, but try to convince them that trees or butterflies are sentient beings and all they do is shake their heads and run away from you.

We can see this disconnect in the way our overall society operates.

Take a tree. Far too many folks don't see a living being; they see profit or utility. Some have no qualms whatsoever about mowing down every tree in sight, if it means that someone will hand them buckets of greenbacks.

Do you think such people would so readily strike down a tree if they thought its spirit might hang around? The ghost of trees of chopped down past?

I could make this same kind of argument for a multitude of beings -- rocks, streams, the sun, our air. These are entities we see or interact with daily. In fact, all of these entities sustain us. Without them, there would not be life -- at least as we know it.

Despite this tangible reality, people believe in winged-spirits flitting around the cosmos trying to ensure we stay out of harm's way.

If only trees could fly...

The Santa's List Myth

I'm sure most of us know the story about the morbidly obese man who doles out gifts and trinkets around this time of year -- each and every year. It's about this same time when people start discussing and debating the various myths that encompass the secularized Christmas holiday.

While most folks concentrate on the quantum physics angle of the jolly elf and his team of flying Cervidae, I want to focus on the list.

As the story goes, St. Nick tabulates this never-ending list of who's been naughty and nice -- according to legend, he checks it twice -- so we are all need to be "good for goodness sakes".

The mistake that most Americans seem to make is that they draw a parallel between the words "nice" and "good" when, in actuality, the true parallel that this Claus fellow obviously is making is between the words "naughty" and "good".

Under the capitalist system, nice guys (and gals) finish last. When capitalism is fused with fundamentalist Christianity, the word good takes on a whole different meaning that what you or I might suppose. People who are rich and powerful are good. People who are poor and powerless are bad.

Consequently, since the American ethos is about being #1, it stands to reason that being naughty -- the opposite of nice -- will lead to a good result and, thereby, the naughty people are the good people.

Taking this one step further, the story of Santa Claus makes it clear that being "good for goodness sake" equates to behaving in a ruthless (i.e., naughty) manner by squashing everyone under the weight of our mighty boot on the road toward power and wealth (i.e., goodness).

A recent article posted on Common Dreams underscores the fact that many capitalists have understood this connection far longer than most of the rest of us. To wit,

The richest 2 percent of adults in the world own more than half the world's wealth, according to a new study released by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University. The study's authors say their work is the most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken. They found the richest 1 percent of adults owned 40 percent of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85 percent of the world's total. In contrast, the assets of half of the world's adult population account for barely 1 percent of global wealth.

Something to think about as you enjoy a cup of nog with the family.

A Tale of Physiology & Football

With the college football bowl season in full swing, it hearkens me back to my pigskin glory days. Ah yes, the roar of the crowd, the parties after the game and any cheerleader I wanted...Oh wait, excuse me. Those must have been someone else's glory days -- I didn't play college football (I earned my varsity letter on the college Bowling Team) nor did I play high school or even junior high school football.

In fact, the only time I played quasi-official football was on my 5th & 6th grade YMCA flag football team. I played the center position. The quarterback was always several yards behind the line of scrimmage -- shotgun formation.

Every play had the same script. I'd look back between my legs trying to figure out how far I had to hike the dumb ball. The quarterback would call out his cadence and, if I happened to remember the snap count correctly, I'd hike the ball at the appropriate time. After snapping the ball, the defensive lineman across from me would give me a big push and I'd land on my keester. While on the ground, I'd stick my legs out hoping to trip a defender or two rushing to kill the quarterback (who I didn't like anyway).

You see, in YMCA flag football, the officials rarely called any penalties. As an offensive lineman, about the ONLY way you'd get called for a penalty is if you tackled someone on the defense, you pulled his hair or bit him! Holding or tripping your adversary was par for the course. And I was a darn good tripper!

While I didn't play on my junior high team, I did go out for it. I soon learned that, in this league, the officials frowned mightily on holding and tripping. I was going to have to learn to block people with proper techniques.

Since I was a robust lad, I stayed on the offensive line, but fortunately was moved to the guard position. This meant that I no longer had to have my head between my legs on every offensive play. I thought this was a good deal.

However, I soon learned that I wasn't cut out for football. You see, according to our gruff line coach, the proper way to block someone was to give them a right uppercut around the Adam's apple and then, while they gasped for air, push 'em down on the ground and maybe stomp on them.

In drills, the coach was constantly in my face because I wasn't employing his chosen technique. "What the hell is wrong with you, Smith?" he would scream. "You got make your opponent hurt!"

And you see, that was my problem. I was okay with blocking someone, but I had no interest whatsoever in consciously hurting anybody. Needless to say, my peaceful sentiments didn't sit well with the coach nor with most of my teammates. I soon after left the football team and became a soccer goalie (we won the city championship, though no thanks to me).

Nearly two decades later I learned I had Klinefelter's Syndrome (KS). One of the telltale traits of KS is the body's inability to produce adequate amounts of testosterone and it's testosterone that creates much of the aggression in males.

So, while most of my classmates were dealing with testosterone-fueled puberty in junior high school, I missed this phase completely. I simply didn't have the physiological make-up at that time to exude aggression and to have the will to impose physical pain on others.

The Great Deflector (with apologies to The Platters)

Oh yes, I'm the great deflector
Pretending that I will stand true
The need is such I deflect so much
To ensure that most states remain blue.

Oh yes, I'm the great deflector
World peace is the name of my game
I'll stand so tall until near the Fall
and then my resolve becomes lame...

I'm showing my age here. Of course, this is a parody of The Platter's 1956 #1 hit, "The Great Pretender". In my version, the song is sung by none other than Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

As most of you have probably heard by now, Kucinich has decided to launch another bid for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Supposedly, his move is being made to give greater voice to anti-war supporters, but, after watching Dennis fold up his tent in 2004 by parroting the party line afterwards, I think there is a far different motivation at work.

Instead of being a champion for peace, I think Kucinich's true motivation is to attempt to deflect the possibility of a third party anti-war candidate garnering as much support as they might. His campaign will attract most of the support and money because people will say that Dennis has the most viable shot at winning. My response is that Kucinich has as much chance of securing the Democratic nomination as I do of spewing gold doubloons from me arse!

No, it's far more likely that we'll see a repeat of his 2004 performance. In the earliest days of the campaign, he'll come out swinging by speaking the tough talk. As the campaign gets into full swing, he'll tone down his rhetoric a tad. Once the primary season is ushered in and he finds himself coming in near the bottom in each state, he'll promise to push ahead all the way to the convention and to ensure that anti-war voices aren't ignored in the party platform. At the convention, he'll be a virtual no show and next to none of us campaign planks will appear in the party platform. In the end, being a good party man, he'll urge his supporters to back the pro-war Democratic candidate -- just like Washington state's own Mark Wilson!

The anti-war movement doesn't need a part-time candidate! We need to support someone who will carry the banner of peace and justice from Day 1 all the way to Election Day -- just like our own Aaron Dixon. And we need someone who will champion the environment, solar energy, labor rights, universal healthcare, gay marriage, progressive taxation and host of other issues.

Dennis Kucinich has already proven he is not the right person for this important job.

Three Cheers for Lust, Gluttony & Sloth

For reasons I can barely fathom, my wife likes to watch the TV show 7th Heaven. In tonight's episode -- of which I watched very little as I finished my supper -- TV dad Rev. Stephen Camden gets a glimpse of what heaven will be like. In one scene, he's offered all the various foods he's had to give-up due to a heart condition. He gobbles down every last morsel.

From the many Christians I've known and spoken to over my life, this brief scene sums up what most believe heaven will be like -- all the trappings of this life with none of the guilt!

Yes, all of the things that we have been told are bad for us or to stay from are now fair game. You like to engage in sexual indulgence? No problemo! Choose any partner you want or as many as you want (and don't worry about pregnancy or STDs). You've earned it, bud. You're in heaven now!

Are you a gambler? Bet the family fortune every time -- You can't lose!

Tired of housecleaning or picking up after yourself? Don't worry 'bout it! What do you think them angels are for?

On and on and on...

For me, this kind of thinking is completely irrational (and more than a bit self-indulgent). If some omnipotent entity informs us that certain acts or behaviors are bad or negative, what difference does it make where you happen to be? I mean, if these activities are big no no's on earth, wouldn't it also follow that they'd be doubly bad in heaven -- in the house of the Father?

It just appears to me that too many folks view heaven as nothing more than an adult-rated Romper Room.

Good thing I don't believe in the concept of heaven at all.

Looking Back...Or Not

I've always looked far younger than my years. Once, when sent to purchase wine for a party (a rather interesting choice since I don't drink and know absolutely nothing about wine), I got carded. The clerk looked really embarrassed when, after examining my driver's license, she figured out she had carded a 38 year old.

I mention this story because the other day I had a similar experience related to someone being astonished about my youthful appearance (though it didn't involve purchasing an item). The young man asked me if I had entered my mid-life crisis. "No," I replied, "I think I'll skip it."

Many of my contemporaries like to spend time strolling down memory lane. Most are able to laugh about missed opportunities and questionable decisions, but most everyone I know has regrets.

I spend little time looking backward and, though I've made my share of mistakes and missteps, I don't regret them at all. Everything that has or has not happened to me to this point makes me who I am today. If I had not made this mistake or that mistake, I might be a different person altogether.

Besides, each of us could have trod down any number of paths. When we each come to a fork in the road, none of us has the power to see where each road will take us. Some roads look dismal and harrowing, yet bring us into the light. Other roads look easy and well lit, but lead us into darkness.

In essence, life is a crap shoot. Sometimes you roll boxcars and sometimes it's snake eyes. Consequently, for me, it's not that important to analyze the cards you're dealt, how you play the hand is more important and, once each hand is completed, you move on.

I'm certainly NOT suggesting that each of us shouldn't learn valuable lessons from our missteps and misdeeds, but nothing good comes from wallowing in the mud of regret. What's done is done; no amount of grousing, regretting or self pity will change that.

So let go of it and cast your gaze forward.

Who's Who?

Over the course of the last 2 years, I've written several times about a strange enterprise -- Linda Christas. It's supposedly an educational institution, but, from my own personal research, it seems to be nothing more than a well put together scam.

The only reason why I return again and again to this topic is because the people from this organization keep returning to my blog and many first-time readers find this blog as a result of a Google search.

So, today, I decided to visit their website again. If you go to their Board page, you'll see a few names that ring a bell like Pat Boone, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. or Sue Grafton. Beyond those names, however, are people who have little, if any claim to fame.

Here's the interesting part. Several of these people are described using words like "pioneering surgeon", "publisher" or "respected education consultant". Yet, if you do a search on ZoomInfo.com (ZoomInfo, the premier summarization search engine, delivers fresh, comprehensive information on over 33 million business professionals and 2 million companies across virtually every industry), the ONLY reference you will find on any of these individuals is...Linda Christas.

What are the chances of that happening? You'd think that at least 1 or 2 of them would pop up with references to professional boards in their field or a published article or something of this nature.

Even more interesting is the fact that, when you type the name of the 3 prominent board members into Google and you add "Linda Christas", the only hits you find refer back to Linda Christas itself or they come from remarks made by others. In other words, these three famous people don't mention their supposed association with Linda Christas on their own websites nor is it reported in any way by the media.

That simply seems really strange to me. If this is such an upstanding organization, why is it so difficult to find any information on their so-called board members?

To review my previous postings about Linda Christas use the following links:
Looking for a Few Good Saps
Getting Out the Heavy Lumber
The Continuing Linda Christas Saga
My "Friends" at Linda Christas

It's a Bioregional Thing

I thought that, once the election season had come and gone, I would have more time to devote to blogging. It seems that I forgot about what would be utilizing most of my time AFTER Election Day -- serving as Coordinator for a bioregional conference and retreat. Maybe I can finally get back to blogging regularly after December 3.

Here's what we have posted on the Green Party of Washington State website:

The Power of Green: Peace & the Post-Oil Economy

In conjunction with our fellow Greens in
British Columbia, Idaho, Northern California & Oregon,
GPoWS will host the
1st Annual Cascadia Greens Conference & Retreat.
This event will establish the foundation for greater
communication and networking among the Green Parties in our bioregion.

When: December 1 - 3
Where: Cornet Bay Retreat Center at Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island

A committee made up of representatives of the participating Green Parties is hard at work developing the framework for a weekend of workshops, presentations, and social time aimed at engendering green solidarity across boundaries of all types.

Some of the programs we've lined up thus far include:

• "Nonviolent Direct Action in a Nuclear World: Responsibility and Consequences" presented by Sister Jackie Hudson of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action;
• Canadian-Style Health Care presented by Fergus Gibson of the Green Party of British Columbia;
• A yet untitled workshop presented by the Puget Sound Network for Compassionate Communication;
• A yet untitled presentation on Energy Issues presented by GPoWS member and energy consultant Steve Garrison
• Internalized Racism, a workshop presented by E. Mandisa Subira of the Conscious Thought Network
• What Greens Can Learn from the Black Panther Party, a presentation by members of the Aaron Dixon 4 US Senate Campaign Team
  

In addition to featuring issue-based programs, we are also going to have several Green Party Nuts 'N Bolts sessions which will provide members with important tools to take back to their communities to increase their effectiveness of their local parties and/or chapters. Here are the Nuts 'N Bolts sessions we have lined up thus far:

• Media - Publicizing What We Do (Make Gills, GPoWS & Joanne Cvar, PGP)
• Fundraising in a Corporate-Based World (Trey Smith, GPoWS Treasurer & PGP Fundraising Coordinator)
• Strategic Planning (Suzanne Nott, Facilitator of the South Puget Sound Green Party)
• Creating a Bioregional Internet Cafe (Erik Douglas of Cascadia)
  
• Bioregional Governance (Janet Jordan, GPoWS Secretary)

Fire & Rain...And Oil

As a species, human beings are quite odd. We spend our lives trying to control everything around us and yet, the few things we're are able to genuinely control are quite insignificant. All the big stuff is truly beyond us.

In Southern California, there have been several major fires as of late. What the folks down there would do for just a scant amount of rain!

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are being inundated with a deluge of precipitation. For example, in the Aberdeen area, 12.5" of rain is the average for the month of November. We exceeded our average on November 11 (13.07"). We now find ourselves less than 4" away from the [recorded] record for the month.

Now, if we humans could control things as we like to think, we would dispatch some of our rain down south to quell the raging fires. Of course, we don't have that power, so southern Cal will continue to burn, while we paddle through the streets to work.

Since we really have no control over the things that truly matter, we seek to control lesser things...like the price of oil.

Has anyone else noticed that, since Election Day has come and gone, the price of gas has magically started to climb? In the past week, the price has risen 11 cents which reverses the pattern for the previous 6 months.

Before the election, many wondered if the appreciable decline in gas prices was the Republican's way of trying to dupe voters into believing our economy was turning around. When many suggested such a gambit, conservatives got all in a huff and denied the connection. The connection seems really clear now!

The Fickle American Consumer

American consumers are fickle, probably more so than any other nationality. For years -- while scientists warned of impending oil shortages and ever-increasing prices -- far too many American consumers thumbed their noses at this reality and purchased, in record-numbers, gas guzzling SUVs, over-sized trucks and spacious luxury cars.

Over the past few years (as had been predicted), gas prices started to climb. These same people started dumping their gas guzzlers and demanded to be first in line for gas-efficient hybrids.

Now that gas prices are falling again -- it's quite interesting that said prices are falling precisely as a lead up to the mid-term elections -- these same people are trading in their fuel-efficient vehicles for a variety of spiffy gas guzzlers. GM and Ford are reporting increased sales as result of the consumers return to the higher priced models.

Of course, this revolving door is bound to repeat itself again as prices will -- at some point -- start their climb upward.

Regardless of the price of gas, fuel-efficient vehicles make sense for the consumer, our society and planet. But try explain this fact to the fickle!

Some Difference!

In most areas of life, lying gets you in trouble. Lie to your parents and most children receive some degree of punishment. Lie in school and you're liable to wind up in the principle's office. Lie in the workplace and you're apt to find yourself looking for a new job. Lie in a lot of other facets of life and you may find yourself in court.

But lie in the political arena and...well...nothing much happens. In fact, lying is par for the course!

Some politicians lie so often that they wouldn't recognize the truth if it fell into their lap.

It doesn't seem to matter which side of the corporate aisle the party calls home. Both Republicans and Democrats lie in equal measure.

Here's but one example. Democrats are having a field day criticizing the Bush administration's folly in Iraq and their campaign ads tell voters that a Democratic Congress would have and will handle things far differently, YET, the vast majority of incumbent Democrats voted in FAVOR of granting the Bush administration carte blanche permission to do whatever it thought best in terms of Iraq.

Aah, but there's even more. Most of these same Dems are saying that, if they knew then what they know today, they wouldn't have supported this blank check to begin with. If this were true, then explain to me why these very same politicians voted unanimously in the Senate and with only 21 nays in the House IN FAVOR of last year's Iran Freedom and Support Act?

It grants the Bush administration the same nebulous leeway which may well lead us toward another foolish war with Iran.

So, how are the Dems any different than the GOP?

Side Effects

Back when I was a wee lad, the air waves weren't inundated with advertisements for prescription drugs. No, I grew up in a time in which "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz...Oh what a relief it is" and Excedrin headache #12 was about as innocuous as it got. Today, however, you can find an ad for almost any condition that ails you.

Suffering from erectile dysfunction? Migraines got you down? Embarrassed by recurrent acne? Have a weak bladder or too much cholesterol? It doesn't matter what your problem is -- there's a drug to fix it!

Unfortunately, many of these drugs have serious side effects. Often, the side effects are far worse than the original problem.

The pitch goes something like this: Acne got you down? Then ask your doctor about zycloprofen. In just 2 weeks, your acne worries can be a thing of the past. Please note that zycloprofen can cause heart attack, stroke, nosebleeds, fallen arches, genital lesions and/or blindness in some people.

Hmm. Some medicine indeed!

There's one side effect though that I have yet to figure out. There are several drugs being advertised to help one sleep. I don't remember their particular names. What side effect do you think they all share in common?

Drowsiness -- a sleep aide that makes you drowsy.

How is that a side effect? Isn't that the whole point?

Of Cake & Eating Habits

I'm sure we're each familiar with the phrase, "Having your cake and eating it too". While almost everyone is guilty of this from time to time, mainstream politicians seem to immerse themselves in it. It really doesn't matter if one is a Democrat or Republican -- both seem to enjoy large pieces of cake and gorging on it to the point of choking.

Bill Clinton is a famous "cake" eater. He was one of those rare campaigners who could address two opposing sides in the same day, yet have both sides certain that he agreed with their stance or point of view. I'd like to put Dubya in this category too, but he's simply not smart nor savvy enough to pull it off.

Here in Washington State, incumbent Democratic US Senator Maria Cantwell genuinely is wanting her cake and eating it too. She voted for the Iraqi "war". She's voted for every one of the Bush administration's appropiation bills in support of the war. She even voted against the Kerry bill this summer that would have set a deadline to bring US troops home.

DESPITE all these facts, she's trying to convince Washington voters that HER position on the topic is somehow different than our erstwhile president. Lately, she's been blathering about wanting 2006 to be a "transition" year. What in the heck does that mean?

As mentioned above, she COULD have supported the Kerry bill, but she didn't. So what has she done to create this nebulous "transition"? Nada, except repeat it in stump speeches.

Let's face it, Cantwell's position isn't that much different than her Republican opponent Mike McGavick.

However, it IS different than the Green Party's Aaron Dixon. Aaron supports the immediate withdrawal of US troops. And that's why I'm voting for Aaron and why I hope Cantwell loses miserably!

The Stress of Expectations

When I started The Rambling Taoist in late January 05, my expectation was that I would contribute an entry on most days. I met this expectation for the first few months. I then stepped away from everyday writing for about six weeks and then resumed my old frequency of writing.

Of course, as this marks my first entry in over one month, it's obvious my expected frequency has again fallen off. When I went through my first down period, it caused a lot of stress. I actually felt guilty for not writing daily. I knew that I had a regular readership and I felt that I was letting people down.

This time around there is no guilt.

One of the key lessons in Taoism is to give of ourselves WITHOUT expecting any particular outcome for it is our expectations that most often cause stress in our lives. We perform some act and then expect a particular reaction. Since we cannot know if this expectation will be met -- and most often they aren't -- we are setting ourselves up for pain and suffering.

It's a difficult lesson to incorporate into any human life because expectations seem to be part and parcel of the human psyche. We're socialized to EXPECT.

Still, if we can teach ourselves to undo this lesson, then life becomes a lot less stressful.

So, here sits my blog stripped clean of any expectation. There may be times I write a lot and there may times when I write nothing in this space. The Rambling Taoist is like a river -- sometimes the water is placid and sometimes the water will flow like a torrent.

I am content to let the words flow of their own accord without any expectation of when or where they MIGHT flow.