Why the Stock Market Sucks

The pound today reached $2.
Ths stock market is only bullish if you imagine that the dollar is the only currency.

Bush's Masada

Why is my Rove experience relevant?

The sad, and rather frightening, thing about the Bush regime is its isolation. One begins to wonder WHO these guys are? Rove is still in the WH, but even the most extreme conservatives seem to be abandoning this bad smell.

Rove is not the problem, the problem is a Masada-like White House. Do you remember Masada? A group of Jewish irredentist rebels, fighting for freedom from the Romans, committed suicide rather than give in. Heroic? Yes .. but only because we Jews today see them as part of our two millennia effort to be free. I do not think Bush's Masada will be seen in the same way.

Here is a letter from leading conservatives to Bush:

"The letter concludes by saying, "Attorney General Gonzales has proven an unsuitable steward of the law and should resign for the good of the country... The President should accept the resignation, and set a standard to which the wise and honest might repair in nominating a successor..." It is the first public demand by a group of conservatives for Gonzales' firing. Signatories to the letter include Bruce Fein, a former senior official in the Reagan Justice Department, who has worked frequently with current Administration and the Republican National Committee to promote Bush's court nominees; David Keene, chairman of the influential American Conservative Union, one of the nation's oldest and largest grassroots conservative groups, Richard Viguerie, a well-known GOP direct mail expert and fundraiser, Bob Barr, the former Republican congressman from Georgia and free speech advocate, as well as John Whitehead, head of the Rutherford Institute, a conservative non-forit active in fighting for what it calls religious freedoms."

This list includes the most extreme supporters of the Bush regime. The only (conspicuously missing) names are the far right religous community. The authors would not be going public if the Bush regime were LISTENING.

But who is left? Who is huddled with Mr. Bush in his Masada? Karl Rove?

I get kicked out of the Rove dinner!

The King County Republicans are fools. About two weeks ago I made a reservation to attend their Lincoln Day Dinner. Though I am hardly a Republican I was fascinated that they had invited Karl Rove to speak and not only that, had scheduled this for the anniversary of the assassination of Lincoln!

Unbelievable poor taste! But worse, what local candidate, I wondered, would have wanted to be seen with this pariah?

Anyhow, the KC Republicans took my $100 even though I explicitly asked if it was OK to bring a camera. The man on the phone said sure, we always allow cameras.

The a couple of days later I was called by the Republicans. they had seen some of my posts and worried that I might intend to be disruptive! Really? Well .. maybe it was my fault. I had offered a prize for the best suggestion of how to clown it up when I had my picture taken (for another $150) with the Architect,

I assured the caller that I was hardly a disruptive type and was neither Republican nor Democrat, rather a patriot who photographs and blogs. I asked them to reconsider. They did. They did three times on subsequent phone calls, each time saying cameras were fine.

Anyhow I photographed some of the protesters ... about 30 folks, maybe twice that at its peak, Mostly polite despite some unneeded provocation by the police who may have been disappointed not to have more to do!
One officer, a King County cop named Stephen Gown, seemed esp. concerned about me. After I photographed some of the demonstrators, this burly guy trailed me on my way to the parking lot and then started yelling at me when I photographed the Sheriff van. (There were two of vans, enough for arresting a lot of folks!).
I assured the officer that I was up to no ungood. He kept flexing his muscles and telling me that he wanted me to move on, that I shouldn't be there etc. I told him I was a paid guest at the dinner and had every right to be there. He then appeared with a nice lady who ostentatiously checked a long list of names (she was confused about how my name was spelled I think) until she finally found me. I said "See!:~~~ She said, OK, I could go into the garage.

So I could go to the elevator and got to the meeting but I could not bring my camera!!!!!!!!!! The lady with the clipboard told me I could stay if and only if I let security hold my camera.

I told her the lady, entiled "event manager," that I had explicit permission but she told me the White House did not allow cameras when Rove speaks except from registered news media. I , I , yi yi. I saw no solution. I guess I could have asked to to see a Secret Sevice Officer to be told this was White House policy. What the hell ......

Anyhow, I did take one, I suppose illegal image of the loverly folks before I left, tail between my legs and made some more pictures of the other side.

• When I reappeared outside, officer Gown seemed to be worried about me. At one point he berated me for being in the street to photogrpah some of the arriving cars. Actually I was about 13" away form the curb and in no way 0obstrcuting traffic .. I think the good man was hoping he could find some reason to harass me. I did point out that under the law I was in my rights to photograph anything in public view ... he became a bit upset and told me He Knew the Law too. I assured him that I was POSITIVE that he did. A lttle later I did jaywalk. I noted one of Officer Gown's colleagues eyeballing me ... I guess it wasn;t worth his trouble!

Sighhh. Later on Goldy's radio show a reporter was asked whether there were cameras allowed .. apparently they were, many folks took pictures but non of them were SeattleJew.

I did enjoy taking pix of the protesters ...especially paper mache Bush chain gang! They marched up and down the street, clearly the royalty of the protesters. Most of the folks were actually pretty nice, many had heard of SeattleJew and enjoyed some of what I write here! Cool! Hope they like the pix too.

Sighhhhh

Goldy is likely correct.

A post on HorsesAss shows that a majority of folks are willing to pay taxes for mass transport. Most people are willing to pay directed taxes for things THEY need.

The problem is that we STILL lack any sense of a long term transportation and traffic plan.

Light rail is everybit as important as the beardless young version of Goldy says. But, light rail needs to be done along with other sorts of planning and that is nt happening.

Look at Capital Hill. The panned station is no where near a parking facility. Presumably a lot of folks will use this as there route to the airport. How? The bus ride to Broadway may take as long as the drive to SeaTaC.

Look at Aurora ... or didn't you know that Aurora IS the AllCan, is the Viaduct?

Look for ANY major roads, other than freeways and viaducts, through Seattle! There are NONE. Major NS roads never are the broad boulevards one sees in other big cities .. e.g. Comm Ave or Mass Ave in Boston. We have dinky, narrow wagon wheel paths that are barely wide enough for two cars. Add a bus or a trolley anf there is NO room for anything, not even a bike!

Look over the water to far off Redmond-Issaquah-Bellevue ... has no one noticed the traffic flow in the AM and PM. Seattle has become a bedroom! Folks drive out of here to work in the AM and back at night! This si OK by me, but doesn't it necessitate a rethinking of how we route light rail?

Finally, look at B-B-B-Boeing. Zeus, Apollo and Raven willing, the lazy B will live long and prosper in Everett. The Lazy B is a manufacturer! It makes planes and jobs. Hopefully, the plane factory will lead to other job centers, but this means we need good commercial transport ... aka freeway or toll roads that connect Vancouver BC to San Fran.
Does anyone see Aurora/the viaduct as an answer?

The bottom line, the lack of regional transportation planning makes everything more expensive in the long run and hurts the public support Goldy talks about because people do not see the long term benefits.

I am hardly qualified but here are my thoughts:

1. The Viaduct

Dump it. All the data says we do not need it for commercial traffic and it is absurd to consider Aurora as a viable NS corridor.

Instead create a FULL CITY traffic plan including creating better pathways, esp. boulevard size roads, on the waterfront, connecting MLK/Rainier to Lake City Way, replacing the Mercer mess with a functional road around Lake Union, AND creating a city wide transportation plan ... busses or whatever but DOIT!

2. NS

Seattle is not a sensible stop on a freeway. In the long tterm the rgion needs either to expand 405 or build 605.

3. EW

Recognize that Seattle is a bedroom might mean building lightrail TO/FROM Bellevue and Redmond.

One Jew's ignorant opinions probably do not matter.

Vonnegut Passes on But Bert is Writing Code

Back at Vonnegut,the day after he died

I think we should all feel privileged not only to have lived while he wrote but that Gutenberg's presses will allow this Vonnegut's word to live on. It is great fun t imagine some kid in 2020 reading Cat’s Cradle and getting a clip of Kurt on UTube of the cranky guy commenting on his own work!

I was lucky enough to see a few of Picasso’s last works AND to see the man's comments on the work on TV. Like Vonnegut, Pablo remained productive to the end. One of the best things in the video was watching Pablo "draw" a bull in the free air with a light while the camera captured his motions. My only sadness for both of these is that by death we are robbed of what might have come.

Yet, maybe, maybe … Intel’s 128cor CPU, plus who knows what OS, maybe, maybe in 2020 Vonnegut could live again? One of m,y neighbors, Bert Smith, is working at Microsoft on the next generation fo computing .. the multicore processor. The limits of this thing are not known. Ray Kurzweil has written an estimate of when the first intelligent machines will evolve .. we may be there! One wonders what it would be like if Bert's software can clone Vonnegut's wit and make it immortal/ What happens to a great talent when the limit of death is gone?

........ and so it goes on and on?

More conversions ...

Synagogue on Hosmer Street Mattapan, Mass.

Imus Rutgers' Hos and the Seattle Connection

Imus Rutgers' Hos and the Seattle Connection

There is a tid bit of relationship between the Imus scandal and the UW. Rutgers hired its current over paid Prexy, Richard McCormick away from his overpaid job at the UW. Amongst this man's least charming assets as Husky President were an appalling but phony claim to a commitment to multiculturalism. Under Richard's rule, the term UW African American became a synonym for athletic scholarship. His administration responded to the murder suicide of a white faculty member by a Chinese student instituting a policy that ended up trying to frame another Chinese person for a non existent crime. (In that case the UW was reprimanded by King County Authorities for its abuse of the student). McCormick, unlike Imus, never apologized and to this day, as far as I know, the UW lacks an office of Chinese affairs even though Chinese students are the largest minority on campus.

It is not that Dr. McCormick is a racist and I would be astonished if he ever called an African American a "nappy headed ho" or used an other politically incorrect term. However, I would be equally astonished to learn that McCormick had undertaken any sincere efforts to do more than make a show of addressing racism at Rutgers.

Personally, I find ethnic humor very unfunny, Dave Chapelle, Seinfeld or Imus, all fit into the same small, tippy boat fueled by the cheap humor of foul language and ethnic deprecation. But this witch hunting over foolish words makes the racism of people like Sharpton too easily ignored.

Where did I put my fucking, piece of shit, schwanztrager? Anyone here know what the Japs mean when they say "Chickshaw?" Anyhow, I think you are a Kafir, Chevy-luving, Hubhcap stealing Spic, Nigger, Kike, Yid, Canuck, Polack, Wop, Ho, Bitch, Freechie, Fag, Slut, Slantete, Hebe, Spearchucker, Yellow, Injun, Chief, Sioux, Honkey, Kraut, Limey, and Fat Cur if you do not agree with this post.

As Synagogues Pass On ....

I have a new hobby .. collecting former synagogues. Here is the first. Temple Adas Israel was built a block from my home when we were the ONLY Jews in the neighborhood! Nice having it nearby but I could never understand why it was built so far from other Jews. I still remember stealing Purim candy from the bima! I also remember when the addition was made .. an odd addition to this elongate, characterless structure.

End of the Publican Era??

Do not confuse Bush's incompetence with the Publican's real threat.

What are the REAL threats of the right wing in the USA?
Is the Democratic Party really able to take on these challenges?

1. Classism: Reward the rich, build a world economy, export jobs whilem retaining capital.

Classism is NOT limited to the Publican party. Just try revising the tax code to balance wealth with income. Can anybody here spell death tax or WA state income tax?

Al Gore is doing many wonderful things, but would he be willing to give up his estate and live a more modest life so that others can go to college?
2. Education: The USA is the ONLY major country that makes education expensive. Not only that, we also have developed a unionized teacher core that insists on dumbed down curriculum ... exept in the special schools for the upper classes.

Which part is more likely to support national standards?

3. Health Care: We spend twice as much for our health care and get no better results overall for the population (classism again). We can not fix this without fixing the classist tax system.

Is either party willing to take on the oncoming issue of paying for Medicare?
4. Immigration: Errr ahhh .. who is the "liberal" here??? Bush, Kennedy, and McCain or ??? What is liberal anyway? Bringing in a large corps of slave labor? Compensating for our fucked up education system by brian draining India???

Do you know any Dems who support a strict immigration policy? Or one bent toward our real needs as an employer? Or one that demands Americans (a labor draft) take jobs?

And how many Dems are ready to deal with the sort of ethnic issues that have arisen in Europe? Can we be tolerant of the Isam described by Ayaan Horsi Ali? Are we ready t legalize polygamy? Female (voluntary) subjugation?

5. Gay "Marriage": I have no idea what Bushie believes really, but I do know that most Americans want equal rights for sig. others but NOT doing away with the term marriage. Are Democrats as tied up in jargon as Publicans?

Is the party of Bill Clinton ready t declare that there is no special realtionship between a Man and a Woman?

6. Affirmative Action: Has any Democrat notices that the average skin tone in the Bush White House is rather err ahhh dark?

Clarence Thomas SHOULD have taught Dems a lesson ... skin color is a lousy measure not only of competence but of ethnic identity. Is the Democratic party ready to divest itself of Farrakhan and Sharpton? 7. The Draft and Taxes: Bush has done huge damage to our national security. We may well need a draft now to deal with this and the taxes t support a draft. The middle class rules the ballot box and the upper class fuels the political campaigns!
Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"

Save Our Schools!

David Della, Cheryl Chow, Sherry Carr

On Tuesday Mar. 20 I attended a meeting of the 43rd Democrats to hear about the search committee for the Superintendent for the Seattle Public Schools. Turnout was pretty crummy but three folks spoke representing the District, the PTSA and the City Council. .

Cheryl Chow, assured us that after much work, the Board she chairs as Council President, had arrived at four key qualities. While I did not take notes, I recall her "truths:"

1. The appointee must be committed to education for all kids
2. The appointee must be able to work with students and teachers
3. The appointee must be able to represent the District to the Public.
4. The appointee must understand the financial limitations of the District.

Whatever these truths, I remember them as more than a bit trite. To make matters worse, later she added that the new Superintendent must be an educator BUT he or she must not bring his or her own ideas about education because the District already has a successful academic policy and a chief academic officer. Also, she made it very clear that there would be NO priority for evidence of administrative or other excellence in non academic spheres.

Lets see .....

these criteria would have ruled out John Stanton, probably the most impressive Superintendent we have ever had. The criteria would also rule out Barak Obama, Dan Evans, Bill Gates, Hyman Rickover, Colin Powell, and of course Norm Rice as potential superintendents of the Seattle Public Schools. On the other hand Ms. Chow, a moderately unsuccessful former principle and administrator in the District, would be well qualified as would several of other recent failures as Superintendent. CHOW for Super?

The other speakers were, perhaps, worse. I had never heard David Della before, but we pay this man about 170,000 dollars a year as a Seattle City Councilman. I had heard good things about David Della. He is a former labor activist and I would guess well intentioned. Past record aside, Mr. Della was dressed in pinstripes, looking for all the world like a salesman at a BMW dealership. Like a car salesman, Della echoes platitudes, reinforcing Chow and assuring us that the City was devoted to focusing ITS resources on helping the underprivileged children who, seemingly, represent a majority of the Seattle School kids. When asked if he knew what proportion of our high school age kids are in the public Schools, Mr. Della had no idea. I have been told it is less than 25% overall and nearly zero in the affluent neighborhoods. The city governed by mr. Della is committed to creating new, costly neighborhoods with NO schools. Can little David spell S-E-G-R-E-G-A-T-I-O-N? Does he think the folks living in 3-4 million dollar condoes in SLU will want to pay taxes to support "kids of color?"

I will not say much about Ms. Carr. She is a striking look-alike for Meryl Streep! I kept expecting weight comments. I honestly can not tell you what Ms. Carr (President of the PTSA) believes except that kids deserve an education. She did seem bored a lot of the time and I gave her some points for that. Oh, by the way, she is very pale. I found it hard to print her skin tone!

Words missing from any of the presentations were: leadership, imagination, commitment, track record, knowledge .... It seems we were being reassured nothing would change.

The image these three gave was of a district comprised ONLY of poor kids whose best chance might be to pass the WASL (our state test to gradyate High School). We were reassured that the Superintendent would not contest with the Teacher's Union or the Principal's Association or any of the activist groups. The bottom line message to any parent was, we know best, we want a superintendent who represents Ms. Chow's constituency (whoever that may be), we have no interest in middle class kids, you should feel guilty if you think your kids deserve the best education THEY can get, etc etc.

Where does this go? It goes to a SSD for and only for the poor. A highly segregated district where outstanding achievements, other than perhaps achievements on the athletic field, is not a goal. Where the assumption is that half of our kids are somethnig called "kids of color" and, I presume the rest are a pale background (like Ms. Carr?). Of course within this tapestry, there are no Koreans or Japanese, Guyanese, or Ethiopians just needy kids pale people can help.

Someone needs to tell Ms. Chow that this sort of condescension helps no one. Educational needs are hardly divided (only) by skin tone. A District meant to serve only the most disadvantaged will offer severely limited horizons to the young lady "of color" who aspires to be an engineer or business leader.

Oh, and someone REALLY needs to tell Ms. Chow that "people of color" is a racist term. We, the pople of Seattle are of several cultures. Some of us do have special problems as a group ...l certainly we still have a lot of poor African Americans and the plight of the urban Salish peoples is a major challenge. The same is true for children (regardless of paleness) of broken homes and some recent immigrants who may or may not have darj skin.

Her use of "people of color" is as much a code word for Black as is the less well intended term used by the comedian Michale Richards. BUT, equating all African Americans with the educationally disabled is racist. And, Ms. Chow, your own ethnic group, those of yellow color do rather well in our schools! Her term is not ill meant, but it is dishonest. To make this point VERY clear the one African American in the room got to ask ms. Chow one of the last questions. Ms. Chow may have answered, I could not tell. She was as condescending as possible, assuming that this man (we were in the University District) could only be concerned with the poorest kids. The speaker is the guy in the LA cap in the picture to the left. I do not know this fellow , but Chow's assumption reminds me of the time in a New Orleans hotel lobby when someone asked a friend of mind, a "person of color" to carry her bags. My friend politely refused and I was emabarased. I wonder how she would react if the man in the LA hat were found to be a Vice President at Washington Mutual?

To be fair. I do not think Ms. Chow is a racist. I think she means well. The problem she and the District faces is a hard one and our unpaid board probably selects against many parents and leaders with too much talent to have the time to serve. She reminds me of a liberal vesion of GW Bush. An overwhelmed ideologue.

The new super needs to be more honest and more effective than Ms. Chow. The alternative is a sort of combined District and Poor House, at the mercy of tax payers whose own kids go to private schools and well meaning but not superb folks like Ms. Chow. Am I being as condescending to Ms. Chow she was to the 43d District?

And the super? What is the chance that anyone of quality, irrespective of colored vs pale, will want a job as described by Ms Chow?

Obama nd The Jews

This link is to a very important report on BHO's commtiments to Israel AND the reactins of both Muslim and Jewish communities, I intend to say mor elater, but for now wanted to be sure I posted the link.

Obama Working to Boost Jewish Support

By: BEN SMITH 08:45 AM The Politico

Image: Ethiopean church in Seattle in what I suspect was once a Jewish synagogue.

Jews. Obama, Jimmy, and Compassion

Sighhhh ...

I understand that the need for my people to defend Israel often means moral compromises that are difficult to reconcile with our traditions of liberalism. Alliances with fundies and even with South Africa make my skin crawl. But, faced with extermination what should we do?

One thing, however, is VERY clear. We should never give the moral high ground to others. No issue is more clear in this regard than the virtual apartheid we impose, for good reasons, on the Palestinians in Israeli controlled areas. Showing compassion for our Palestinian brothers and sisters is the right thing to do AS WELL as making strategic sense.

A failure to understand the power of being strong and showing compassion was the source of the tragic reaction of many Jews to Jimmy Carters new book. "Apartheid" correctly compares the life of Palestinians to the life of Bantu people in South Africa's bantustans. This important point of view outraged many irredentist Jews, who need to see everything in stark colors. They were a bit correct. Mr. carter in trying to help us all see the pain of these people, fails to place blame and responsibility of their own leaders. Is there anyone more desirous of Palestinian well being than the (Jewish) PeaceNow movement. We need to pursue peace while being strong. compromises obviously occur, but they should never occur with the loss of compassion for people in pain.

Now there is the following insulting and stupid letter to Senator Obama. Apparently Adelman and other AIPAC members want to hem in Mr. Obama. This is worng headed and NOT in the interest of Israel. I WANT Mr. Obama to be elected and to use his talents as a leader to bring peace to the much scarred semitic peoples. How in all hell can Mr. Adelman hope for Israel to survive without solving the problem recognized by Mr. Obama?

Yitzak Rabin once said he shook hands with Arafat because there was no other choice. if Rabin could shake hands with a momser like Arafat, surely all of us can show compassion for the people suffering the most because of all this.

the letter:

Dear Senator Obama,

I am writing to express my concern with your comments in yesterday’s Des Moines Register (Up-close Obama urges compassion in Mideast; He backs loosening restrictions on Palestinian aid).

As an Iowan, democratic precinct caucus attendee, and leader in Iowa’s Jewish community, I am greatly concerned about the situation in the Mideast and your views on this matter.

I find your statement in yesterday's Des Moines Register that "nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people,” deeply troubling. I would greatly appreciate a response clarifying your statements.

The Palestinian people democratically elected their leadership, part in which, Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. It fails to recognize the right of Israel to exist and encourages terrorist attacks against innocent Israeli Jews, Christians and Arabs.

Again, I respectfully ask for clarification on what you believe needs to be done to bring peace to this region of the world.

Iowa Democrat and AIPAC member, David Adelman

State of the Antiwar Movement

Seattle is voting in a non-binding ballot about whether to rebuild a shoreline highway through the down town or replace the current (falling apart) viaduct with a tunnel. Neither option has any clear financing or idea about how it would impact the city. Instead, the politicians are b;abbering about Seattle's status as a World Class City. Why do we want Seattle to be a "World Class City?" For that matter what is a "World Class City?"


Lets see ...

Do we want to be:

Tokyo ... or Kyoto?
Rotterdam or Leiden?
Munich or Frankfurt?
New York or San Francisco?

It sems to me that the current Mayor equates WCC with lotsa folks living in high rises, I LIKE that idea. I LIKE the idea of Seattle developing an urban, high density culture t fgo along with our traditional neighborhood/Ballard Ya Shure Betcha culture.

But the key words here should be "Seattle" and "Culture." The current growth of high density housing in Seattle has all the urban planning one expects of Marvin Gardens on the Monopoly board.

Look at South Lake Union? No plans for schools, no plans for magnet retail areas, no plans for parks .... forgive me Mr. Allen, but the only reason I can see that anyone would want to live there is a fantasy that this is part of Seattle or, perhaps, the Western end of Manhattan.

How does all tis apply to the tunnel kerfuffle? Other than the surface option and Ron Sims' wise comments, no one has offered a serious plan for the water front. It seems ot me that the City Council cold help by passing legislation requiring any traffic plan in Seattle to include a cultural impact statement, explaining how the work would fit into our overall plan for urban development. Of course this means we need a plan! But why in hell not? Why do we discuss the viaduct as if it were independent of the issues in Rainier Valley or South Lake Union?

Lets look at some of the successes and goofs of the past. The stadia, aside form all other issues, have pretty well destroyed Pioneer Square. Surely, as part of the deal with Allan and the Mariners, an investment could have been required in development of this desirable property? At the other extreme the loverly convention center WORKS because it was panned with the hotels neighboring the freeway. Other examples abound. The Pike Place Market and the stairs project worked very well. Seattle Center works when and only whenb it fits into Queen Anne and serves the downtown, etc etc.

Back at the via duct .. this vote is stupid. We need planning and better leadership. UPDATE .. the citizens voted both options down.

Gack ...

This is a link to a dreadful schtick by Lewis Black, a comedian whose talent for dengrating his own people .. the Jews, has all the charm of the nigger/hinkley slingers we see in the African American community.

The sad thing is that this link appeared on HorsesAss, the blog run by David Goldstein. David is a wonderful, thoughtful rational person. But, like many Jews, he has bought into the general concept that we are just another people and the acceptance of self deprecation. Black is a sad example of our failure as people to stand up for what WE have top offer.

I am not opposed ot Jewish humor. I loved Victor Borge and Mort Sahl. Jewish humor, sarcastic Jewish humor is part of our persona. Mort Sahl aggressively attacked the McCarthy/Eisenhower era conceptions of morality and did so openly as a Jew. Black is no replacement. Mort Sahl he ain't, hell ... Black is not even Al Franken or John Stewart. Black is gross like the black comics who try to make a living off of calling folks niggers and honkeys. Black makes me want to call him a kike!

What purpose does this diatribe serve ... other than to denigrate Judaism along with Christianity? This reminds me of other puerile humor .. such as the Gay group that dresses like nuns, they remind me of Ann Coulter,

Before anyone here misunderstands, I am a very uptight Jew. I think fundies of all kinds are committing blasphemy in an era where Science, call it God if you want, provides a powerful vision of Reality. I think antisemiut5ism is intrinsic to Christian history. Any exclusivist, any dogma that teaches that all other beliefs lead to Hell is despicable. Indeed one thing I am very proud of is that Judaism has rarely shown this sort Christain/Islamic bigotry. Jews are actually taught, that the goyem can more easily please the Diety because the Unnamed One has made special demands on "His" people.

While even Jewish fundamentalism teaches respect for pious goyem, the reward from the Islamic world and Xtian world is to diss my people. Try as he might, even John XXIII, could not dissipate the smog arising form the idea that the Jewish God was bad and needed to be supplanted by the human sacrifice of the crucification. Millions of Jews (and Muslims and Pagans and ... have dies for that cross.

If Black had decried that, as part of his speech seemed to, I would have been very pleased. Instead, his fowl mouth merely adds to bigotry. Gak,

Regional Answers

The central issues in this debate are the need for the Region to move traffic N and S and the need for Seattle to develop its downtown.

The NS issue effects a lot more than I99. In fact I99 is a lousy solution! What dimwit would want to use any sort of I99 .. that is Aurora with tis dstop lights and cross traffic .. to transport a widget from Everett to Vanc WA? A real plan would address the regional needs. What does this mean? 405 and a new "ring road" .. a "605," should be taken seriously. So should rail based solutions.

The Seattle part of the equation changes once when addresses the NS issue this way. The parameters are fairly clear:
1. Seattle needs to maintian or expand its capacity for NS traffic between commercial districts on the N and the S side of the city. Part of the solution should be a COMMERCIAL toll road that would only be open on a limited hours basis to the rest of the drivers. Another part may be other NS traffic, esp. martin Luther King. Currently connections on the east side of the Seattle peninsula are terrible. You can easily get into the Central District from the North via Montlake or the South via MLK, but these routes do not interconnect in any efficient manner. Finally, esp., North of the canal, there is no good way of getting across Seattle.

That brings us to the real idea .. creating a NS waterfront boulevard. This debate would be a lot easier if the damn Seattle newspapers would publish some realistic numbers on costs. Mayer Nickels' claims about costs are fanciful. We need to know what the thing would really cost. That said, we also need to know the benefit from all this to real estate developers and ow best ti optimize their efforts in terms of both the k,ind of city we get and their willingness to contribute $$ to the effrot.

The obvious example is Allantown ... or Vulcan Villas, my nasty name for South Lake Union. Vulcan/Allan are engaged in a classical visionless development. There is no regional plan for Vulcan Villas, no plans for amenities, very limited retail, no transportation plan (other than the silly street car), and certainly no plans for families to live there 9aka schools). In Vulcan's defense, access to and from SLU is horrible. Mercer s unusable most of the day and the current way the viaduct works makes access form Aurora almost impossible,. This issue grows immensely if we are to take seriosly Vulcan's claim to want mixed development with commercial and residential properties.

So, by going regional and figuring on the benefit to Vulcan and other developers, we could three very important questions:

1. how does all this development effect all of our taxes?
2. If improved transport will help Vulcan make $$, what should Vulcan contribute to the costs?
3. How does the viaduct issue effect the region and how should the region help defray the cost of NS traffic?

The Equivalent. Scleroderma

I hesitate to show this image. Years ago I discovered that my inner thoughts emerge in my photography. This is the hard to explain idea of the photograph as an equivalent of what we see. The idea developed by Minor White, my long term inspiration. Minor taught us that the discipline of photography could teach us to see .. to see what we would later print. To see what was there in our minds.

Often I am surprised. Well, this last weekend we were in San Francisco to attend the Scleroderma Research Foundation Meeting. I am funded by the SRF, in part because I very moved by the paradox of this disfiguring disease and the Foundation itself.

Sclerodrma means hardening of the skin and the disease is like a diffuse scarring after being burned. The paradox is that the Foundation was founded by a very beautiful woman, a dancer. I only knew her at the latter stages of her disease. Somehow, through her scarring, came the vision of the beautiful dancer. I do not understand the paradox, her disease made her very beautiful. I wish I had had the courage to photograph her. Is this a lesson about transcendent beauty?

Anyhow, as I walked on Jefferson Street, after the meeting, I heard a street musician playing a lute. The music was wonderful. This is what I "saw." The player had affixed what looked like elongate nails to his fingers and was making music with these bizarre fingers. I tried and tried to find a good exposure, but no matter what I did the camera would only overexpose his normal hands, turning them into these white washed objects. The camera made me angry, yet ..this is what I saw too. You read the image for me!

Obama to run as a Republican?

PHLEEZZZZZ

The Publicans DO NOT HAVE a candidate! For better or worse, Bush, Rove and company have redefined the party. How can one be Publican and oppose the Xtian Right Agenda? This makes as much sense as Jesse Jackson ... or for that matter Dan Evans .. running as a Publican!

Ironically, the MOST credible Christian candidates now are all demos! Obama has a story (and a life) that inspire Xtians ... hold that up against Guiliani! Look at what happened in Virginia! ... A devout Xtian beat a posturing Xtian! Hillary, by the way, has spent the last six years attending the fundamentalist prayer breakfasts in the senate. Quietly! Do you suppose McCain was there? Richardson is a devout Catholic with a record of service that has claimed Christian inspiration.

Romney? A believer in Jesus living on as an American Indian? A believer that all people can become God? Running as Christian? Leaving aside dirty campaigning, the fundies are serious folks, they are not going to vote for someone who is a polytheist.

This smells a but like the Reagan era in reverse. It is not hard to imagine that Southern baptists, who have been trying to heal the wounds of the civil war and Civil Rights,
will find a natural alliance with their African Baptist colleagues. Imagine Obama speaking to a Baptist convention where ALL colors are present? Hmmm. Obama, a Christian by choice, a monogamous man with two wonderful (Christian) daughters, running against multiply divorced McCain, Guiliani, or worse .. Gingrich!

Ironically, the closest match to Carl Rove's ideal Publican candidate would have to be Hillary or James Webb or even John Edwards! Any of these people fit the Karl Rove formula better than a divorced catholic who lives with gays, a former house speaker who left under rumors of abusing a past wile, a believer in many Gods, etc. The only believable Christian Republican in John McCain .. or maybe Obama? Lets see .. fiscal conservative, patriotic, 20 year marriage, CHOSE to be a Christian, did voluneter service AFTER being a Harvard success, can EXPLAIN his stands on abortion and prays regularly. Sounds like a compassionate conservative to me.

I smell a new Demo coalition. Built on patriotism, service, America-firstism, and fiscal responsibility. oh yeh, on respect for other nations, jobs, education, jobs, fair taxes, jobs, ....

The Housing Phenomenon on Capitol Hill

We have lived on an area of Capital Hill for over thirty years. We came here to defray our taxes, buying what was for us a very expensive house so as to maximize our tax deduction. What an investment! In the last three decades our $75,000 has become something like a $million.

There is a price for anything. The community we joined was wonderful .. a mix of working class folks, often African American, pioneering Yuppies, UW types like ourselves trying t find housing we could afford near the YooDub, nunneries, priesteries, Rajneeshees, Gayfolk, and the wonderful arts community. Block parties were held at least three times a year.

As time has past, the diversity has declined. No one comes to block parties. Today's owners of homes on our block now range from a few docs, a couple of profs, some Microsoft biggies, a few oddities (us?) left over from the old days and one heir to a major American corporation.

Now we may have gone assymptotic. The house next door used to belong to the O'Briens. A Catholoc family in a neighborhood built for catholic families., Lots kids. dad an ex basketball star from Seattle Univ who went on to a baseball career and ended up as associate manager of the much missed Kingdome. Johny O'Brien was a Seattle Icon. The O'Brien house, a Tudor built on the bones of a Sears' catalog house seemed to be a beauty.

Now for $1.5 million some investors bought Johnie's house. The agent told Johnie that he had hit the Jackpot. What about the investors??? They seem to be afficonadoes of Capital Hill, maybe with romantic ideas about this place. But, as nice as they may be the new owners found a lot of problems .. rot, house built to close to ground ..and now they have utterly gutted the place. All that exists is the framing. The real estate agent tells me they expected most of this! Talking to neighbors .. it seems the investors expect to make a profit! How??????

How can this be? They need to lower the lot by a foot and a half to raise the foundation, replace a lot of the framing, build a new house in the old shell. They MUST have spent a hundred thou just on the disassembly. What is the framing and foundation worth? Do they expect to sell the house for 3 million? Nothing on this street has ever sold for the $1.5 they have already spent. I am not sure what to hope for. I they succeed we could be forced out by the taxes. If they feel, our property values could be hurt. What of they decide to abandon the the project?

Funny thing .. someone emailed we, "Will" claiming I had misspelled "Capitol" as "Capital". Typoes aside, perhaps Freud was helping?

A Funeral

Yesterday we attended a funeral at St Joseph's Church for Bruce Gilliland. Bruce was a Professor at our medical school and one of the calmest, wisest figures i have yet met. This entry is not about him, it is about the funeral.

A lot of people came, many of whom I recognized from the UW Medical School. There was a bagpiper and a priest, 2 daughters, 1 son and a wife named Collins. My understanding is that Bruce was Presbyterian, so the use of St. Joe's .... I assume ... was to comfort Bruce's wife. The odd thing about this is that most of the service was about Jesus and about Bruce going to be with Jesus. This is such a beautiful image. Certainly for the living person it may be a great comfort. Was it Dr. Gilliland's wish as well? I don't think he had converted but perhaps it does not matter. The wish, at the very least, was well meant.

Of more concern to me was the passage from the Roman Bible chosen by Father Paul Fritterer. The choice was Matthew 8. In this passage, Jesus is approached by a Centurion. A Roman Centurion, kind of like a Lt Colonel in Iraq. A Commander of 80 men, Roman soldiers, occupiers of Jesus' homeland.

This Centurion asks Jesus to help, "Et dicens Domine puer meus iacet in domo paralyticus et male torquetur," his servant it seems was ill and the Colonel wanted to ask Jesus to heal the sick person. Jesus was willing but the Colonel demurred, claiming that the home of a Roman Officer was not grand enough to host the great healer. The Officer went further and pointed out that Jesus, as a great man, must have same ability to command that the Officer had himself. Couldn't Jesus just command the healing?

These verses follow:

8:10. And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him. Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.

8:11. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven:

8:12. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

8:13. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.

The good priest saw this as a wonderful message of the faith of a gentile in Jesus. To Father Fritterer the Centurion was being humble about his home, though I wondered if the Roman may have felt unease at asking a Jewish holy man into the hime of an occupier. Perhaps the priest was sending a message to Dr. Gilliland's wife that Bruce's life, while not Catholic, would be seen by Jesus as a life of service and faith?

In that way, Mathew 8 was appropriate and loving. As an aetheist and a Jew I am jealous of those whose loved ones live on in Heaven.

But, I am Jew. I read this differently from Father Fritterer and, that reading is part of the last 2000 years of antisemitism. Why? Imagine that Jesus was a Chassid, a holy Rabbi, in Russian occupied Poland and the Centurion was a Commisar. The Russian is there, and proud of his duty in suppressing the religion and freedom of the Poles. Yet, Jesus not only praises the Comissar for his faith but goes on to exult about the horrors to come under Communist rule. Mathew's Jesus says,

"And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

in simpler words,

"Your faith is well meant to me and I will welcome all gentiles to the worship of the true God, but the Jews will be cast out and suffer pain."

These are the words of the Church of Rome. They are words that forgive the Romans, and their heirs the Church, for what would be millenia of hatred. In the Jewish tradition, the tradition of Hillel the great Pharisee, Jesus may well have said to the Centurion that all good people, even a the lowly servant of a Roman Officer, have equal rights before God. Those words would not have been followed by the prediction of a cruel future for the Jews.

These are words that justify the Jewish wars, the Arch of Titus, the Crusades, the Inquisition and, perhaps, the Holocaust.

I hope it does not offend my Catholic friends to point out how hateful this verse is to a Jew.