A Wandering Mind

I can only figure that Governor Dave Heineman of Nebraska is kidding.  First, buried on the obituary page of the Omaha World Herald on October 3, 2012, is this short article: http://www.omaha.com/article/20121002/LIVEWELL03/710039956 Here, the governor questions the findings of a college professor.  That is fine.  College professors question each others' findings all the time.  But the governor goes on to send a nasty letter to the University of Nebraska president, wherein he essentially threatens the university with funding cuts because a college professor does what a college professor is supposed to do---publish research (well, research that does not agree with the governor's politics, I suppose).  This is not the first time the governor has beat up on the University of Nebraska.  A few months back, he called the NU Foundation, which helps raise money for the State's university system, a bunch of "fat cats."  This is the same governor who has a ta...

When he thought no media people were listening, Governor Mitt Romney said this: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what … These are people who pay no income tax. 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect… my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. Governor Romney’s percentages may be a little low.   Economist Robert Samuelson has suggested during the past year that perhaps as many as 56 percent ...

I do remember 9/11.   I was an officer on the staff of United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.   I was at my desk (well my little cubicle) doing some small bit of military staff work.   That is what the many officers and NCOs on war-fighting staffs like USCENTCOM do:   we work on small projects that eventually find their ways into one puzzle of the larger mission. Someone came into my larger office area composed of about 10 of us and said “you better watch the television!”   We all huddled around the set in a brigadier general’s small office and watched the horrifying replay of the impact of the first plane into the North Tower at 8:46 A.M.   This was later confirmed to be American Airlines Flight #11 from Boston.   CNN was playing the tape over and over again.   We all were wondering what was going on and discussing whether this was an act of terrorism, a pilot gone insane, some other problem with the aircraft.  ...

Last week it was the Republican Convention.   This week it is the Democrats’ turn.   I have to admit that I have not exactly kept myself glued to the television watching these events.   After all, these conventions are not really what they used to be.   There are no floor fights, there are no credential challenges, and they do not truly nominate candidates.   Instead, what they actually do is coronate a party headliner.   That is not to say that there are not important or at least entertaining speeches taking place.   Last night, Wednesday night at the Democratic event, was a good example I am not talking about the speech by former President Bill Clinton.   He had a lot to say, and he is a great orator and cheerleader for his party.   But I missed it.  I did, however, listen to General Eric Shinkseki, wounded warrior and now Secretary of the Veterans Administration.  General Shinseki is noteworthy for a few things.   One, he...

     Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced a bill he calls The Olympic Tax Elimination Act .  The purpose of the act is to provide an income tax exemption for American athletes who win medals at the Olympic Games.  Currently, these outstanding athletes are paid a stipend of $25,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for a silver medal, and $10,000 for a bronze.  That's a pretty good paycheck, unless one considers the thousands of hours in the gym, pool, or track that they put in.  Except for the attention paid by people who are really devoted followers of sports like swimming, gymnastics, beach volleyball, air rifle, kayaking, and all the rest, these extremely skilled athletes labor in anonymity, striving for the opportunity to represent the nation once every four years.  For most of them, one Olympic experience is all they are going to get.      So from a patriotic standpoiont, what Marco Rubio proposes makes a lot of sense....

     I do not agree with Chick-fil-A's chairman Dan Cathy on his view of gay marriage.  My opinion is that it is time that gay marriage achieve recognition in our nation.  That "traditional marriage" is the union between "one man and one woman" does not necessarily square with history.  A read of the Old Testament and other ancient literature should be enough to convince one that the "tradition" of marriage often included one man and several women.  Whether this tradition demonstrates male oppression of women, or whether this tradition is more benign--women simply needed the protection of a male head of family in some societies--is unclear to me.  (For an interesting read on marriage, look at historian Stephanie Coontz's book Marriage, a History:  How Love Conquered Marriage).       Dan Cathy's recent remarks that he supports "traditional" marriage has met with predictable denunciations from the gay commun...

     This summer, a prominent history museum in the city where I live is displaying several pages from the Pacific Railway Act of 1862.  I confess to being a "history geek," the kind of person who drives friends and family crazy by lingering in history museums while trying to "feel" the meaning of the artifacts on display.  People who do that tend to spend a lot longer in the museum than do others.  In the case of the Pacific Railway Act, there are many cognitive and visceral reactions that one can experience.  Of course, it is moving to scan to the end of this document, and see with your own eyes the signature of President Abraham Lincoln.  I wonder if he used numerous "ceremonial quills" to sign this seminal act into law on July 1, 1862.  My hunch is that Lincoln signed the act without the hype that modern presidents have come to employ, in spite of the overwhelming importance of this act.      More important than...