Free Gaza!

(Image Source)

All Philadelphia, pray for the liberation of Gaza!

I get the impression that Israel wants to wipe out Gaza.  Seeing Israel's reckless bombing of shelters, hospitals, schools, and mosques in Gaza, I get the impression that -- if the world stands by silently -- Israel will commit genocide, will commit holocaust!, in Gaza.

All Two-Fifteeners, pray for the liberation of Gaza!

I get the feeling that Israel wants to completely control everything within Gaza, the opposite of political freedom!  I get the feeling that Israel wants to step on Gaza's head, to forcefully keep Gaza at a subsistence standard of living, the opposite of economic freedom!  I thought that the United States was in favor of a world system of free market capitalism, right?  The United States has gone to war over such ideals.  Yet the United States sits by idly as Israel commits economic strangulation on the people of Gaza.

All Americans, pray for the liberation of Gaza!

Tidbits

Since I married Jeannie, I have not removed my wedding ring from my finger, other than rarely fiddling around with it during a meeting or while watching tv.

Seva laughed for the first time tonight.  It was a beautiful and amazing thing to see.  While Jeannie was cooking mac'n'cheese (with tuna & peas) for dinner, I was playing around with Seva.  While standing near the stove, I was holding Seva facing me, with her pelvis held against my mid-torso and her upper body angled away from my body, so she could look up at me.  I periodically dipped down, while smiling at her and encouraging her.  She responded positively and seemed to be having a good time.  And then, she started giggling.  She did it for just a couple of seconds after about a handful of the dips, then she didn't do it again.  When I looked at Jeannie, she had tears of joy in her eyes.  Like I said, it was a beautiful and amazing thing to see.

I also found out online today that there is a Seva Café right outside of Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Virginia.  We'll have to go there some day, maybe soon.

Jeannie and I went a couple nights ago (on Saturday, July 19th) to visit my friend Javi and his girlfriend Gina.  We enjoyed a really nice evening of salad (made of kale, scallops, cashews), dessert (dates, figs, and sunflower seeds), moscato rosé wine, and coffee.  Javi also played some music for us, first on his various flutes, then on his guitar.  Jeannie had brought her guitar, so she played the only song she knows how to play, Blackbird (Beatles song), while Javi played one of his flutes.  At one point, while Jeannie went into the bedroom to feed Seva, I was able to speak en español to Javi and Gina; we discussed politics in Latin America.  All in all, we had a really great time.  I hope to spend time with them again.

I've noticed that Seva now weighs more than the Baby.  Speaking of the Baby, her right ear has been very dirty the last few days.  I clean it out with cotton swabs, but it seems to get dirty again.  And since I bring up the Baby, I should say that Rocky is doing well as always.  This evening he rediscovered the toy mouse that he goes stretches forgetting about; he kicked it around for a while and really had a lot of fun.

Tonight at the Y, I did a chest/arms work-out.  In my final set of bench press, I put up 195 pounds twice.  In my final set of dumbbell curls, I lifted 35 pound dumbbells 8 times each arm.  In my final set of incline bench press, I put up 135 pounds 4 times; that was at the very end of my work-out.  Overall it was a very good work-out.

Oh, a couple days ago, on Saturday, I helped Jeannie's dad move into his new apartment here in Philadelphia.  He's living just a few blocks away from Rittenhouse Square and he's no more than a short 8-minute walk from our place, so he'll be able to see Seva much more often.  This is great not just for him, but for me too in the short-term as he'll be available to watch Seva for short periods of time when I need to run an errand or take care of something and also for Jeannie and me in the medium-term as he'll be available for babysitting services.  I like my father-in-law a lot, so I'm happy to have him close by now.

Well, it's time to take out the trash and I should be winding down since I know Jeannie wants to go to start going to bed a bit earlier at night.  I thank God for all blessings and ask for God's blessing, protection, and guidance every day always, but especially in these next handful of months, when there will be so much change.

Mid-week Musings

Immediately upon getting home from work today, I changed into a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers and walked over to the basketball court at the southwest corner of Marian Anderson Park, at 18th & Catharine Streets.  As a sidenote, the t-shirt I wore was my black Singha Lager Beer t-shirt that I bought on a corner store in Bangkok on the last night of my TLC tour (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia) with Paul.

It felt good to be out.  I was there for over an hour, the first 45 minutes by myself and last 15 minutes or more with Jeannie and Seva.  I was shooting the ball pretty well tonight.  I'll periodically shoot 10 free throws in a row.  When I did so at one point tonight, I went 8 for 10, which is the best I've shot in the few times I've played recently.  After Jeannie got there, we played a game of horse (as we did last time) and I won with only an "H" against me.  I'll grant Jeannie that I was warmed up nicely by the time she got there.  But the point still remains: I was shooting very well tonight.  It felt good and made me miss playing basketball.

The day started out on a different note.  I slept in until 11am.  Today, of course, is Wednesday, thus mid-week and I just needed a break to catch up on rest.  Seva has been an absolute blessing, but she has certainly altered our sleep schedule, which is to say that I haven't slept for eight hours straight since before she was born.  Since I didn't have any morning appointments at the office, I figured I would just stay home and sleep in.

It may not have been the responsible thing to do, but I've always been one to follow my intuition.  If my body is telling me to sleep in, then I'll very likely sleep in.  My health is one of my most important priorities.  I know others that pride themselves on being into the office every day by such and such time.  I really don't care about that; I'm not trying to impress anybody.  My goals are staying healthy and getting my work done, even if it's not within the cookie-cutter schedule that some others would prefer to squeeze me into.

A random note from yesterday.  I went to lunch at Beck's Cajun Cafe at Reading Terminal Market.  As you may remember from my post the other day, I've been loving the vibe I get at RTM these days.  And as you can probably easily glean from my posts over the past year relating to work, I'm always happy to be anywhere but at the office.  So my lunch hour yesterday was a win-win.  I had the blackened chicken breast po' boy topped with a sprinkling of their devil dust ("everything seasoning & dry rub") every few bites.  It was pretty good.

Another random note, this time relating to a current event.  Yesterday a federal judge struck down Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage.  And today, Governor Tom Corbett announced that his administration is not going to appeal the decision, meaning that marriage equality has now come to Pennsylvania, the last state in the Northeast to do so, if I'm not mistaken.  I have no problem with this.  In fact, I'm in support of marriage equality.

But all the buzz on social media in support of these current events has provoked a criticism on my part.  I've seen so many friends post and re-post the same couple of articles over and over again on facebook.  It's like they're all parroting each other.  And on a very "safe" position for the year 2014.  It ranks up there with anti-racism against blacks as one of the safest social positions in this day and age.  And this is my criticism: nearly all liberals are too scared to stand up for anything but a non-controversial position.

Can I blame them?  I guess not, most people by nature are going to maintain their self-preservation, most people by their nature want to be liked by the most people possible.  But it's bullshit when everyone is too scared to stick out or do anything contrary to the masses.  For example, it's easy for liberals to be angry at a guy like Donald Sterling, because he says something (wrong, yes) that fits squarely within the "racism against blacks" category, against which all liberals are champions and defenders.  And now, it's easy for liberals to post and re-post articles reporting that Pennsylvania is a marriage equality state, since that fits squarely within the pro-gay marriage category.

If you hear me, then ask yourself: what are the edgy social issues of the future? what are the social issues that are not yet ripe according to the masses, but are still the right thing to stand for today? in what way(s) are the masses complacent to something unfair or biased or bullshit?  Who's going to identify these issues and wake up the liberals who are too scared or blind to see the next step?  As my friend Andrew would probably agree (based on a pendulum theory he shared with me), in what way(s) has the pendulum swung too far in another direction, creating an unfair or unjust imbalance?

Facebook status update

I strongly oppose Attorney General Tom Corbett's lawsuit against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Healthcare reform is necessary for our nation's best interests. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce, and a productive workforce is key to a robust economy.

Class bias

On Facebook, a user can become a "fan" of certain groups. There are thousands of groups for all sorts of interests. The overwhelming majority are non-controversial and harmless. One of them that has always gotten under my skin, though, is a group called "Making Drug Tests Required to Get Welfare." Presumably, "fans" of this group favor a government policy requiring an applicant for public assistance to get a negative result from a mandated drug test in order to be eligible to receive assistance from the Department of Public Welfare.

"Making Drug Tests Required to Get Welfare" would be a waste of taxpayer dollars, not to mention an institutionalization of class bias. Today, courts do not order a drug test unless there is reasonable cause to do so. Requiring drug tests to get welfare would eliminate reasonable cause and replace it with a prejudice against someone simply for being poor.

Groups that advocate this kind of position really anger me. They exemplify one more type of bias that still exists in this world. Stupid people continue to exist and promote policies and programs that reflect their own stupidity.

capitalism/socialism

Capitalism is good when it promotes competition -- which creates better products, more efficiency, and generally pushes everyone -- as individuals and corporations -- to work better.

Socialism is good when it provides essential services to individuals and families who are adversely effected by economic forces beyond their control.

A healthy economy is the positive, mutually beneficial intersection of these two basic goals.

The part of Dr. King's quote that is critical is its reference to those living "in abject, deadening poverty." That's because the existence of those with "superfluous, inordinate wealth" is only really a problem when there exist those who continue to live "in abject, deadening poverty."

Facebook status update

Any two individuals should be allowed to marry each other in a civil ceremony. Any civil marriage law that doesn't provide this is contrary to "liberty" and "the pursuit of happiness," and for those who choose to marry, the definition of "life" itself.

Healthcare now

Squinting his eyes while gazing into the distance,
he thought back to the days of the Pistons:
when Detroit was strong, and days seemed long,
and his wages didn't seem like a pittance.
But now the plant is closed, and so his home is foreclosed,
and all his dreams are nothing but wishes.
To add one more line to this pitiful rhyme:
his efforts at healthcare are fiercely opposed
by forces that seem kinda vicious.

Red, red wine

Last night I finished the book "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway. It was a good book about American and British expatriates in Paris who decide to take a trip to Pamplona, Spain for las fiestas sanfermines, or more popularly, the running of the bulls. Much of the book's action took place in cafes and bars. For that reason, when Julie suggested that we go out for Center City Sips tonight, I told her that I wanted to go to a Hemingway-esque place. We settled on Caribou Cafe, on Walnut Street between 11th & 12th. If you've never been there, the place does a very nice job of recreating a typical Parisian bistro, down to the wicker chairs and "black cat" posters. I drank three red sangrias there. After the first one, I told the waitress to bring the next one without any ice; I knew what I was there for. From Caribou, we walked up Walnut to Rum Bar, where we met Wagner and the girl he's been dating for a couple months, Adrianna. They were there with several of Adrianna's ballerina friends. I drank two red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, I think. After that I was feeling "pretty tight" (to use a phrase from "The Sun Also Rises"). So, after talking politics and law school with Maggie, an attractive 25 year-old girl who was friends with Adrianna, I suggested to Julie that we take a walk to the park. In Rittenhouse, we found a comfortable spot on the grass to lay down and look up at the one star visible in the city's nighttime sky. It was pretty relaxing. A little while later Wagner and Adrianna found us and we all stood up to talk. Adrianna showed us her two tattoos; I showed-off mine. Those guys took off and Julie and I came back to my place to hang out while I warmed up some spaghetti for dinner. I finished it off with a nice salad of greens, tomatoes, dried cranberries, and crumbled goat cheese. Now, since walking Julie home and then returning back to the double-deuce & Spruce earlier, I've been wasting time on the internet all night long. Only now did I decide to post something on the blog. Although I'm vaguely tired, I'm not in the mood to go to bed. That may not make any sense, but I guess I'm in an obscurely restless mood tonight. With coffee earlier today and a lot of wine later in the evening, along with meeting friends, I felt a bit like Jake Barnes, the protagonist in "The Sun Also Rises." It was a good night.

Bangkok airport under siege

While lying in bed this morning, listening to the BBC World News Report on NPR, I heard that anti-government protesters stormed the Bangkok airport, thus suspending all outgoing flights. This is the airport that I flew out of exactly 66 hours ago!

It reminds me of the advice of our taxi driver on our first morning in Bangkok: he said not to wear either red or yellow, because those are the respective colors of the government supporters and the anti-government protesters. As the BBC reported (see the article and video clip HERE), hundreds of yellow-shirted members of the People's Alliance for Democracy broke through police lines and entered the main terminal of the newly-built Bangkok airport.

Bangkok's two year-old Suvarnabhumi international airport is really nice; it may be the nicest airport that I've ever been in. Its architecture is sleek and modern: a steel lattice framework with large transparent windows, all lit up in a cool blue light (good photo HERE). It is spacious without seeming immense. It is multilingual and thus inviting to all visitors. I can only imagine the reaction of travelers at the sight of hundreds of yellow-shirted anti-government protesters; the article describes it as one of "bewilderment", I would guess that it would be one of incredulity along with a sick realization of misfortunate bad timing.

Tokyo, Japan -- evening

I'm here in Asia! It's 5:38 p.m. and I just finished eating a bowl of udon with shredded beef at a small restaurant near my departure gate in Narita Airport. My flight to Bangkok should begin boarding in about half an hour, with a scheduled 7:00 p.m. departure time.

I'm realizing now that it's a bit hard to concentrate, quite certainly as a result of travel fatigue. Due to my normal last minute preparations, I didn't get to bed until just before 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday night. Part of that, though, I must say, was due to watching Barack Obama's historic victory speech on television. It was about 11 p.m. when ABC news projected that he had won enough votes to win the presidential election. Then, at midnight eastern time, after John McCain's gracious concession speech, followed by plenty of commentary by the news anchors, Obama took the stage in Chicago's Grant Park.

Anyway, by the time I was done watching that, then shaved, packed, and took a shower, it was nearly 3:30 a.m. My alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. And that's when things got moving, up until and still through the present time.

After breakfast and last-minute check of everything, I walked to 30th Street Station. I had to wait a little over half an hour to get onto an 8:30 a.m. train heading north to Newark-Liberty Airport. Even then, I recall feeling tired. And now, my eyes feel tired, and as of the last time I looked in a mirror, they're a little bit red.

On top of the travelling, though, the jet lag may have much to do with my fatigue. While its already Thursday evening here, the sun having set earlier as I was running around between Terminals 1 & 2, back in Philly it's still Thursday morning; I imagine the sun will be rising there very soon.

The flight from Newark to Tokyo was a direct, 13.5 hour flight; it covered 6830 miles, nearly halfway around the globe. Surprisingly, though, the flight didn't seem so long, mainly because I was in and out of sleep almost the entire time. When I didn't have my eyes closed, I did about ten pages worth of reading, I ate two in-flight meals and a snack, and I listened to some music on my iPod.

Well, I should get packed up here since boarding should begin soon, and I ought to move closer to the gate. Next time I write, I'll have to re-count how I tried to find Paul here in Narita, but was ultimately unsuccessful. I really would have liked to have seen him, since travelling solo like this, especially for so many hours on end, tends to depress me just a little bit. Then again, that probably has much to do with the fatigue too. But hey, I can now say I've been to Asia! Alright, off to Bangkok.

Praise be to GOD

Obama has won!

Sarah Palin booed

Check out the video below of Sarah Palin being booed loudly at the Philadelphia Flyers home opener against the New York Rangers on Saturday, October 11th. Click HERE to read an article in the Philadelphia Daily News about Palin getting booed.

Sarah Palin is not competent to be vice-president or president of the United States. A major component of either position is foreign policy, and she simply has no grasp on international politics. No sane person can disagree with either part of that statement (for the latter part, please cf. Palin's interview with Katie Couric). Thus, logic leads to the following conclusion: anyone who votes for McCain-Palin on Election Day is out of their mind. To friends and strangers alike, I will lose respect for you if you vote for McCain-Palin.



You gotta love the honest reaction of the Philadelphia crowd.

The Chairman says...

Just about every night now I'm tuning in to the Olympics. And every night, right around the 9 o'clock hour, they check in with Bob Costas at the "International Broadcasting Booth." They have him sitting at this desk, with a shot of Tiananmen Square in the background, and over his left shoulder (on our, the viewers', right-hand side) is a clear shot of the larger-than-life portrait of Mao Tse-Tung hanging from the Tiananmen Gate. This got me to thinking about a book that I read three summers ago, during my first summer of law school. The book: "On Guerrilla Warfare" by Mao Tse-Tung.

In the spirit of intercultural exchange, engendered and inspired by the Beijing Olympics, let me offer you some quotes from that book:

Political power comes out of the barrel of a gun.

The first law of war is to preserve ourselves and destroy the enemy.

Historical experience is written in blood and iron.

Without a political goal, guerrilla warfare must fail, as it must if its political objectives do not coincide with the aspirations of the people and their sympathy, cooperation, and assistance cannot be gained. The essence of guerrilla warfare is thus revolutionary in character.

Evil does not exist in guerrilla warfare but only in the unorganized and undisciplined activities that are anarchism -- Mao quoting Lenin.

Guerrilla warfare is the primary war strategy of a people seeking to emancipate itself -- Mao quoting Chang Tso Hua.

Guerrilla strategy is the only strategy possible for an oppressed people -- Mao quoting Kao Kang.

The people must be inspired to cooperate voluntarily. We must not force them, for if we do, it will be ineffectual.

Military action is a method used to attain a political goal. While military affairs and political affairs are not identical, it is impossible to isolate one from the other.

We further our mission of destroying the enemy by propagandizing his troops, by treating his captured soldiers with consideration, and by caring for those of his wounded who fall into our hands. If we fail in these respects, we strengthen the solidarity of our enemy.

[T]he fundamental axiom of combat on which all military action is based [. . . : c]onservation of one's own strength; destruction of enemy strength.

In all battles and wars, a struggle to gain and retain the initiative goes on between the opposing sides, for it is the side that holds the initiative that has the liberty of action. When an army loses the initiative, it loses its liberty; its role becomes passive; it faces the danger of defeat and destruction.

The book clearly demonstrates -- in its 114 pages (which are really less, since the first 40 pages are a scholar's introduction) -- that Mao was a pragmatic politician who understood the basic principles of politics, which necessarily included a seemingly instinctual, yet well-thought-out and logical, understanding of the masses and the practical need for concentrated, mobile military action to harass the establishment's armed forces in the campaign to gain popular appeal, and thus political strength.

Despite the brevity of the book, one is struck with the simple power of Mao's thinking. And as a result, one is left to understand how Mao continues to convey such influence, even authority, over China -- its government, society, and its people -- and at a more basic level, why you and I saw his face looking at us from the exterior wall of the Gate of Heavenly Peace into our living rooms over the course of these 2008 Olympics.

Women are equals of men -- social conservatives should quit resisting it

Woman-centered, not fetus-centered

In the United States, the debate around abortion has been tactically centered -- intentionally -- around the concept of the fetus. That is to say that not only all discussion, but more importantly, all thought and consideration of abortion begins with the fetus as the protagonist and the anchor around which any debate begins and develops. This 'framing of the issue' -- strategic as it is -- is meant to distract most people from the real protagonist: the woman who has become pregnant.

The effect of this tactical shift from woman-centered to fetus-centered analysis is noted in the book, "Backlash," by Susan Faludi: "[a]s the fetus's rights increased, the mother's just kept diminishing." (p. 432). The end result of this intentional tactical shift by social conservatives from woman-centered to fetus-centered discussion was that, "by the close of the '80s, a fetus actually had more legal rights in some areas than a live child." (p. 430).


Liberty for all, not control by some over others

A woman's right to decide whether or not to abort her pregnancy -- and her concomitant rights to 1) professional medical advice to inform her decision and 2) professional medical services to care for her in the event that she does decide to abort her pregnancy -- are inextricably tied to the concepts of sexual independence and reproductive freedom.

Sexual independence is a facet of the American idea of liberty; sexual independence is personal liberty within the realm of sexual behavior. This means that women have the same scope of sexual freedom allowed men, and that either gender is free to make decisions regarding their sexual behavior without an obligation to consult the opposite gender. As this relates to abortion, as it is presently considered in the United States, this necessarily demands the elimination of the primacy of male family control. And in basic terms, it is important to keep in mind that control is the antithesis of freedom.


Pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion

Those who are pro-choice can be described as those who are in favor of abortion rights, which does not mean that they are proponents of abortion. This is a critical distinction which many social conservatives would prefer to blur; it is a critical distinction which Angela Y. Davis points out in her book, "Women, Race & Class," on page 204.


Reproductive freedom, not reproductive control

From "Women, Race & Class", page 202, by Angela Y. Davis:

When nineteenth-century feminists raised the demand for "voluntary motherhood," the campaign for birth control was born.

"Voluntary motherhood" was considered audacious, outrageous and outlandish by those who insisted that wives had no right to refuse to satisfy their husbands' sexual urges.

Birth control -- individual choice, safe contraceptive methods, as well as abortions when necessary -- is a fundamental prerequisite for the emancipation of women.

Legal analysis of abortion: Roe v. Wade

Any time I hear or read anything from an anti-abortion/anti-reproductive rights proponent about Roe, I wonder to myself whether they have ever read the actual Supreme Court opinion. This is only my own personal presumption, but I would presume that the answer is 'no.' I have a feeling that many of these proponents believe that the court opinion is simply the length of a short paragraph, something like: "Abortion is legal because we say so. We can easily change our opinion later if you elect a Republican president though. Thanks, the Supreme Court."

From "Backlash", regarding Roe: "[t]he landmark ruling is simply a return to status quo. The right to an abortion -- practiced in one form or another since colonial times -- had never been restricted until the last half of the late 19th century." (p. 421). In fact, "[i]n 1800, abortion was legal in every state and popular opinion on it largely neutral." (p. 422).

The fetus-centered analysis, mentioned above and which comprises today's popular opinion, however, is in sharp contrast to the logical consideration of the U.S. Supreme Court, a consideration all the more important because it carries legal force and authority. The Court has unequivocally ruled that "a woman's life and health must always prevail over the fetus's life and health, direct quote 439 U.S. 379, 400." (quoted in Backlash, p. 444). Furthermore, "[t]he courts have long held that parents cannot be compelled to take actions to benefit their children's health." (p. 440). Nevertheless, the weight of popular opinion -- to which the courts are subject to influence being that they are made up of real people -- led to a deterioration of that position; from Backlash: "[b]ut when it came down to a choice between the health of the mother and the rights of the fetus, the fetus began to win out." (p. 440).


The moral of this story:

"All of women's aspirations -- whether for education, work, or any form of self-determination -- ultimately rests on their ability to decide whether and when to bear children. For this reason, reproductive freedom has always been the most popular item in each of the successive feminist agendas -- and the most heavily assaulted target of each backlash." (Backlash, p. 422).

An Unlikely Assortment

Clinton seems to have won Pennsylvania. So the Clinton-Obama battle continues for who knows how much longer. More and more I have the feeling that McCain is gonna win the presidency.

Earlier this afternoon, while walking up Locust Street, having just left Rittenhouse Square and heading home, I saw a girl riding a bicycle whom I recognized. It was a girl who I had gone on a couple dates with back in late October of last year. Of course she acted like she hadn't seen me: typical cowardice. We'd had a great couple of dates, but then she freaked out and sent me an email saying: "I think you are an amazing person. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm amazing for you." That is a direct quotation. Despite my reply to her ("as respectfully as I can say this, please don't tell me what I find amazing."), urging her to reconsider, she made it pretty clear that the wall was up and any further communication would be a waste of time. I swallowed my pride and accepted the inevitable, wondering for a while what the fuck had happened. Over time, I also accepted the hard lessons learned: that I have to slow down and keep my emotions in check next time -- even and especially when -- I meet a great girl, that I have to hide my cards a bit in spite of my innate instinct to always be upfront and honest, and that getting a girl from law school is a long shot due to the lawyer's tendency to choose a guy based on his employer, resume, and/or parents' name (i.e., the typical competitiveness that is bred in law school). Anyway, bringing this back to today's chance observation, seeing this girl definitely brought up a feeling of resentment. And, once again, a reminder of the hard lessons learned the hard way.

Later this evening, while waiting for my clothes in the dryer at the laundromat, I walked down to the Schuylkill River. The sun was setting and there was a warm, auburn hue to the clouds. I sat down on a bench overlooking the water and read some of my book, The 42nd Parallel, book one of the U.S.A. trilogy, by John Dos Passos. The surface of the river was shining and rippling and the air was comfortably cool. Behind me a long train sluggishly crawled by on the tracks immediately alongside the riverside park, pulling away, boxcar after boxcar, clanging and clanking until fading off toward the south, to the train depot.

The Philadelphia Flyers won game 7 against the Washington Capitals, thereby winning the series. Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens is this Thursday. Go Flyers!

Dissection of a Candidate's Claim

On one of these political commercials, a local Philadelphia candidate (I believe it's John Dougherty) says, "I won't give up until crime is down."

Here's my response: So if I'm hearing you correctly, if crime goes down, then right then and there, you'll just give up, right? It won't matter what other issues are confronting the city at that time, you'll stop getting out of bed in the morning once crime goes down.

Which leads to the next logical conclusion: this guy doesn't really expect crime to go down, because if he truly did, then his campaign would reflect his striving -- once crime goes down -- for an unfulfilling job, and this defies logic and human nature.

English-only laws = Bad & Wrong

At work earlier today I got into a discussion with a teammate about the issue of language rights and the status of English -- and other languages, particularly Spanish -- in (North) American society. She asserted the position that immigrants should be mandated by law to learn the English language. I asserted the position that the law should never be used to codify any aspect of the dominant culture, including language, because to do so would infringe upon a person's freedom of speech, here quite literally a person's freedom of how (i.e., in what language) to speak.

The following are verbatim excerpts from my law school thesis, entitled "The Hazleton Ordinance’s English-Only Provision: An Unconstitutional Attempt to Use Language to Expel Racial Minority Immigrants." (Citations will be provided upon request).

On the myth of linguistic homogeneity:

There is a long history of linguistic diversity in the United States. In fact, the United States is not now and never has been an exclusively Anglo, English-speaking, monolingual nation. Despite this, a historical view persists – a myth of linguistic homogeneity – that allows many people to regard English as the only truly American language. The perpetuation of this popular myth is critical for the survival of the English-only movement, since this myth is the primary justification for rejecting other languages. Thus, the converse is that the demise of the English-only movement must necessarily involve, at least in part, a deconstruction of the myth of linguistic homogeneity in the United States.

On the constitutionality of English-only laws:

First, and most notably, the Constitution does not provide for an official language. Second, the U.S. Supreme Court has explicitly proclaimed that the protection of the Constitution extends to all – to those who speak other languages as well as to those born with English on the tongue.

On language and politics:

English-only laws take an ethnic trait of the dominant culture, the English language, and give that trait legal, governmental sanction, creating second-class citizenship for Americans who possess different (hence unofficial), but equally American traits. Undoubtedly, the English language is a key symbol of the ethnicity of America’s dominant core culture. English-only laws thus use the language symbol to assert and enforce the dominance of the core culture and to marginalize all other American cultures. Thus, on a symbolic level, the debate about an "official" language (and the concomitant creation of "unofficial," un-American languages) is, at its core, a debate about cultural and political dominance and power. Because politics is human relations, and language is an organic component of such relations, language is politically significant.

On language and national origin:

There is a close correlation between language and national origin, which statistics strongly reflect. A 1984 study indicates that 97 percent of persons who usually speak Spanish are of Latino origin or descent. According to the same study, approximately 77 percent of American Latinos speak Spanish. These statistics demonstrate how close a proxy language is for national origin and, thus, how close a fit language discrimination can be for discrimination because of national origin.

On language and culture:

The assertion of English-only proponents that language is a culturally neutral medium is not defensible. Language is "the quintessential cultural tool." [. . .] For many it is the only means through which members can have access to their histories and through which many of the cultural rituals can be performed.

From the paper's conclusion:

Historically, the United States – including and especially Pennsylvania – has been and continues to be linguistically diverse. The notion that the United States is or ever was linguistically homogeneous is a myth. And in over 230 years of existence, the integrity of the nation has never been threatened on account of its linguistic diversity. Legally, English-only laws unconstitutionally infringe upon First Amendment rights of members of the public to communicate with government in a known tongue. Freedom of speech protects not only the right to speak, but also the right of the public to receive information and ideas. Socio-culturally, language holds a unique place among all other cultural characteristics as it is the medium by which cultural and familial roots are transmitted and by which one’s cultural and ethnic identity is maintained.

My recommendation to the Hazleton court, after reviewing the case-law and scholarship on English-only laws:

Under a textualist analysis [of the U.S. Constitution], the First Amendment says nothing about freedom to speak English only; the freedom refers to speech, without reference to any particular language. Accordingly, this constitutional freedom is not restricted to any language; if it were, it would contradict the very idea of freedom itself.

The concluding sentence of my term paper:

The law has made the mistake in the past of providing favored status to the dominant culture – and subordinated status to a minority culture – on the basis of a socially constructed cultural trait; we must now hope that it does not make this kind of mistake again.

Political-philosophical analysis of the Republican Party

Based upon my basic understanding of the Republican Party, I know that it stands for small government, meaning that government should generally not interfere with freely-existing social and economic forces.

Listening to the radio this morning, it dawned on me that the Republican Party -- particularly President Bush and the Secretary of the Treasury -- is playing a major role in the initiative to intervene in our downwardly-spiralling economy. Personally I have no problem with this government intervention. But the question arose: based on the political philosophy of the Republican Party, why would they be getting involved or even supporting this government intervention in the economy?

Being a political question, the question is ultimately one that concerns the issue of power, which in practical terms, is money. Redefining the question, then: why would the Republican Party actively intervene in the country's economic decline? The answer: because Republicans represent -- and are themselves -- the class that is facing a real loss of power due to their ownership and interest in the U.S. economy.

Now this makes perfect sense. And really, one cannot criticize this policy as anything other than rational decisionmaking: the policymakers are simply protecting their own interests and the interests of those that they represent.

But where this analysis gets interesting, I believe, is when one considers the dialectical opposite: when -- and more importantly, why -- does the Republican Party not support government intervention in the economy (or other social matters)? The answer: when their interests as representatives of the upper-class, corporations, and the economic elite are not at risk; for example, in matters of economic justice and social welfare (read, when the poor lower-class and politically-irrelevant sectors of the middle class are not involved). And this reality -- and its concomitant revelation of the hypocrisy of the Republican Party's political philosophy -- exposes the Republican Party as class-biased.

Now, I'm aware that the idea that the Republican Party is class-biased is not necessarily a novel concept. Interpolating and applying this political philosophy at the individual level, however, is what really concerns me; think about this: the Republican true to her/his party's political philosophy makes a choice to refuse to help an economically-unfortunate lower- or middle-class neighbor, and will only choose to get involved if an upper-class neighbor or corporation's economic health is in jeopardy.

When we then humanize the faces of the lower-class, we see the reality that a majority of this class has some hue of brown skin and lives largely in urban areas. It is at this point that the class bias, perhaps arguably justifiable under a rational analysis or social-Darwin approach, moves dangerously in the direction of racial or ethnic bias, something which is no longer justifiable under any analysis or approach other than an explicitly racist one.

My conclusion here is not that the policy of the Republican Party is a proxy for any particular racial agenda. My ultimate point is that the underlying structure of the Republican Party -- in its philosophy of small government -- is morally indefensible. And even more so because, in real life, this political philosophy is ignored when convenient to those in power, thus exposing the hypocrisy of the Republican politicians themselves.

Hi-Yo from Cairo

Tomorrow morning I'll get up first thing in the morning to visit the Pyramids. It's now 9:45pm here, and the city of Cairo is as awake as ever, but this is my last task before returning to my hostel (Sara Inn) to shower up and hit the sack.

We arrived in Cairo around 8:30am, after we caught a 10pm bus out of Siwa to Alexandria, then made the quick decision in Alexandria to just continue on immediately to Cairo. Although I slept on both buses, even to the point of drooling on the Arab scarf that I was wearing around my neck, my weariness is now catching up to me.

Cairo is one of the largest cities in the world. Due to a population explosion in recent decades, the city's infrastructure has not kept up with the number of inhabitants. And so the streets here are jam-packed with cars and with people. In addition there are very, very few traffic lights; I've been told that there are only two in the whole city, and that may be the truth.

As long as we're on this topic, let me relate an interesting adventure I had earlier this evening. I had to catch a microbus from the wealthy neighborhood of Nasr City (near the airport, and where Roland is staying with friends for the night) to the downtown area, in order to return to the hostel where I am staying for the next two nights. While I was catching the microbus, Karim (Roland's friend) was yelling at me to push my way into the microbus; I ended up squeezing my body facing backward while the sliding side-door to the van (i.e., the microbus) was still open while we were moving. At the next stop someone got off and I was able to replace their spot. The ride lasted for nearly 45 minutes through typical Cairo traffic; it's like the Daytona 500, there are no lanes, and every vehicle is constantly jockeying for position and weaving in and out of the other cars. Looking out the window of the van, I observed how much the city reminds me of the boroughs in New York, as there were lots of well-lit commercial establishments all over the place, with tons of people walking around. When I finally reached the last stop I got out and had to find my way on my own back to the hostel, with only a small map on the hostel's business card to guide me. Of course this meant crossing several major roads and intersections, which as I said earlier none of which have stop lights. This part of my trip reminded of the game Frogger, because I literally had to time my jumps from lane to so-called lane to avoid being hit by a car (earlier today while walking with Roland a car tried to turn where I was walking, and it's right front tire literally rolled over my foot before I hit the car with my hand and the driver stopped). As is common among pedestrians here, there were times while crossing the road that I had to wait, between lanes as cars passed by me, until I could proceed across another lane on the road. It was an exhilirating experience, although one that requires total attention.

Earlier today I visited the Egyptian Museum. Although I really like museums, they invariably make me tired and sleepy. But since I was alone I simply took my time and took plenty of rests. The best part of the Egyptian Museum was the exhibit of the Royal Mummies, for which I had to pay an additional entrance fee. This exhibit featured the mummies of such pharoahs as Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis. It was really cool and really surreal.

After my visit to the museum, I had to get lunch. I walked into a local restaurant, ordered two "ful" (bean-filled pita) and sat down to eat. Two men at the next table started talking to me. They asked me where I was from; of course I told them the USA. They asked me my opinion of Bush and I indicated with a hand-motion so-so; they immediately put their thumbs down. They asked me if Barack Obama was Muslim; I told them that he isn't but his father was a Muslim from Kenya; they hadn't known that. They asked me if I was Christian and I said yes; so I asked them if they were Muslim and they said yes; I told them that I love everybody as long as they're nice to me, they gave me a thumbs up. As it turned out, one was a legal advisor and the other was a lawyer. I asked them what they were eating, they told me it was "kofta" and asked if I would like to have one, I said sure; at the end, despite my attempt to pay for it, they insisted that they treat me to the kofta. It was really nice of them, and it was the type of direct personal interaction between people of different countries and cultures that I so enjoy.

Well, that's about all for now. I will fill in more details and clean up my writing on these posts once I get home. So please bear with me for now. Just know that I am thinking about all of you, yes you! And so you can be sure that a part of you is with me here in northeastern Africa.

Finally I'll say that contrary to what you may think the weather here has been relatively cool. This morning when we came into Cairo on the bus I was wearing a t-shirt, a long-sleeve button-down shirt, and a sweater, and I still felt a bit cool. Throughout the rest of the day, although I rolled up the sleeves, I continued to wear the long-sleeve shirt.

Anyway, a part of me is beginning to miss home now. But I know that I have two more days here in Egypt, then three more days in Europe to let it all out before returning to the grind. Feel free to leave a comment or to send me an email, as I am checking every day and would very much love to get a little transatlantic love from my homies. Peace out, y'all! Keep feeling alive in the 2-1-5!