Well it is finally true, Fred Thompson is out. I guess that means the Ron Paul supporters will be screaming for former Fred groupies to head over to their camp as a sign of the last truly conservative group. Conservatives, Liberals, Democrats and Republicans (or independent if you think that matters) are harder to differentiate as the only thing you really hear from any governing body in America is the continue debate of if you did or did not support the war. Continue reading

Have you ever have a lapse in concentration where it literally stops you in your tracks and force you to re-run steps in your mind of what you did just moments prior to the mental crash you are experiencing? I had that yesterday and with application development buried deep in my cognitive thinking, the first thing I thought of was a failed experience just occurred and though it halted the action, there may be a problem on the controller level with a missed error trapping as this is just an isolated instance that should not affect the model design or most likely there was a disruption to my DB connection as I test my memory by reloading events stored in the transaction log to get me back to the moment of the crash… Well ok, I did not have this level of detail during those couple of seconds as I mentally rebooted but I did mix the application development I am currently involved with to whatever task I was trying to get back to. I am not sure if this is funny, nerdy or just plain scary. Looking at what I just wrote, I will select all of the above.

Georgetown, home of Southwestern University, is where I work. In many ways, Georgetown is similar to Colorado Springs, very conservative with a liberal college in the heart of the town. And just like Colorado Springs, Georgetownians make statements that they do not completely understand why they are wrong. Take this latest example. A Ford dealership, wanting to show off their new A/C seats, used the term wetbacks in a context that was inappropriate. The real problem is the lack of understanding why that term is wrong and should never be used. On our local news, the owner of the dealership has yet to make a statement and the local manager of the dealership, Michael Winot, was quoted saying “I apologize for the error. What more can be said.” That statement alone is very dangerous as it reflects the ignorance many have to the history of this term. Wikipedia has a simple definition of the term describing Mexican Nationals illegally crossing the US boarders through the Rio Grande but the word goes beyond this. It is yet another term to generalize and demean a population through stereotype. It weakens the character and accomplishments of people who truly understand this land of opportunity, lost on many born here. It is a reflection once again that there is a subtle distinction of class based on the color and culture of individuals. Ignorance is not bliss and should not only be corrected when discovered but taken as an opportunity to teach others the fallacy of such logic.

My father’s family legally crossed the border and set roots in south Texas. My father, after becoming a US citizen, joined the Army and was sent to Korea. My mother came to this country unable to speak a single word in what many narrow-minded individuals claim should be our national language, English. Through hard work and taking on jobs many born-Americans would consider to be below them, my parents established themselves comfortably. They came to this country with the understanding that the opportunities granted here could never be achieved in their own birth land. These opportunities are not exclusive to those entering our nation, they have always been here for ALL Americans to enjoy. All it takes is a little hard work and success can be achieved.

Oppression is an interesting word. As I quantified the reasons of why my family should be here and given the same respect as any other, I just realized that this should not have been done. One should never have to quantify their achievements to justify their existence yet here it is, inadvertently, or maybe on purpose, taught by my family to ensure I have the same access as any other. Yet justification is not universal. Without diving into the whole rhetoric of the “one” race holding us down, it was interesting to catch even myself following the line given to me that I did not persue.

I worry for my children at times. In this day and age, you would think cultural advancement would parallel our technical achievements. People are aware, yet we seem to stay in the abstraction rather than practical application. Open racism is not tolerated but closet racists roam free, as discussed above. The struggle continues. It is sad though to review how far we have come only to see how quickly we fall from the lack of understanding by the inappropriate use of a single world…

Watching the sunset puts my mind at ease. Sometimes Katalina climbs onto my lap and watch the citrus colors swim across the horizon. Other times, Keyla hands me beer/wine as we talk about a day that has just ended. The wonderful aspect of our lives is the ability to tune into each other using nature as the catalyst. Little do we realize, or I guess want to, the craziness that surrounds us. Planes that paint the skies with slivers of clouds, carry people or packages to their homes. Who knew that one had nuclear warheads attached to it’s wings. Should we really care? And if we do, honestly what are our options? We are great whiners but in the end, we get tossed a bone and soon things return to the way it was regardless. Bitter as it sounds, I feel that our great nation has spent far too many years cleaning the homes of others. Our security, regardless of what is expressed in the media, is as lax as ever. Do we honestly believe we are safer now than ever before? As a former Cold War child, I felt safer in Germany during the mid eighties than I do now back in the land where I was born. My children are living in uncertain times where the metal toys I loved are replaced by “safe” plastic replicas that are potentially dangerous to their health. Eating a salad may be a danger to one’s health and with a gun-slinging leader, it seems like everyone is potentially our enemy. Say what you will about the cold war, but at least we knew who we were dealing with.

The more you think about it, the darker the skies become. It seems that we have dug such a hole that there is really no way to back out. And staying with this analogy, the hole is the terrible war that no longer, or never did, makes any sense and the dirt removed is a reflection of the state of affairs here in the US. At this point, what makes the most sense? dig or fill?

My frustration is obliviously not an isolated one as the nation mobilize to enact change; however with all the momentum generated from the fallacy of our leadership, I fear the pendulum may swing too far to the left and actions would only become reactionary, hence a bone would be tossed… What we should do is re-focus our efforts state-side. Rebuild our social infrastructure. Restore the nation’s faith into all governing bodies (FDA, FEMA, INS, etc) by providing constant leadership to ensure agencies’ mission are in line with what the nation envision. Rebuild social programs to protect our children. You want a warzone to go to and spend billions? Send our people into the poorest areas of our “great” nation and help rebuild local infrastructure. Grand dream and far-fetched but after hearing horrible stories of millions lost in foreign hands, how much really is this a stretch?

The more I think about it, the more the innocence of this nation is lost. I am sadden that we have lost our direction. So I take a deep breath, take a swig of wine, and watch the sun slowly set in all it’s glory, and somehow my faith is restored… I still believe.

It has been over a week and the dam is still dumping water from lake Travis. We live less than five miles from this structure and hope the hill we live on is high enough should this sucker ever fail. Though this bad boy has been around since 1941, it always makes me nervous to be close to one. But I do have to admit, the water ways around our neighborhood are just amazing.

Speaking about my neighborhood, Keyla and I drove out to the new waterfront properties that are now being built. We took a flyer and were amazed at what 3 million dollars can buy these days. Yes they are lovely homes and yes if I could afford one, I would love to have it…or would I… Doing some research, should the dam ever fail, these lovely homes would be the first to go. I am sure those who can afford such things, have ways to protect themselves of such investments; however with my very limited-funded mind, I just cannot see how anyone could justify such a purchase at such a precarious location. I guess that is what you are paying for and most likely the way I think is the reason why I do not have the ability to make the kind of money that can afford such luxuries. Though I am vexed with the irony of such ownerships, it does not negate the fact that regardless of who you are, objects of wealth is universal. A constant reminder of those who have it and those who don’t. At least I can ride my bike near them!