An Award Well Deserved

Simpson Housing Services
by Charlie Leck

I want you to meet an organization that really deserves an award it was recently given; and it deserves your attention and your contributions as well.

We support this organization and we urge you to find out more about Simpson Housing Services and to also contribute to it.

Read about the award on MinnPost.

Governor is AWOL

He is no longer the man even Minnesota Republicans voted for!
by Charlie Leck

We no longer have a Governor here in Minnesota. I have a number of readers in South Carolina who will understand this and have some sympathy for us; for our Governor is also Absent Without Leave. Except up here we say: Good Riddance. Why do we need him?

And anyway, he’s not the same guy even the Republicans voted for in the last election.

The emperor has a new set of clothes.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has shifted so far right that there’s no room to go any further. He desperately wants to be the next President of the U.S.A. and he believes he has to go right to do it.

That, of course, is all wrong and history has proved it time and time again. It was the disastrous mistake John McCain made last year in picking his Vice Presidential candidate. The choice moved McCain to the right when he needed to inch a bit closer to the center. You could see it McCain’s eyes that he realized the mistake as the campaign entered its final two weeks.

Now, our Governor is reading the tea leaves incorrectly. He’s been affected by all these scenes from America’s Tea Party. He’s decided to go with this radical message and he is banging home the message in speech after speech as he makes the rounds of the nation.

“Governor, you should understand that the Tea Party is not a conservative organization; it is rather a radical, right wing group of honkers who don’t understand America or American democracy. You are hanging out with the wrong guys!”

This week our Governor put together a blue ribbon fund raising organization to start gathering money to be used in his campaign – though he is officially saying he is not yet sure he will be a candidate (with the emphasis on the yet).

In his current guise there is no way Tim Pawlenty could even carry his home state of Minnesota in a presidential election, so it would be great if the Republicans do select him. He is now way too far out on the right for Minnesota. One must remember he won in the last election by a very slim margin.

I don’t look for Pawlenty to be a national candidate for either the first or second position on the Republican ticket. The Grand Old Party needs to win back some of the middle ground and they’ll make some wiser choices this time.

In the meantime, the air is fresher with Pawlenty spending so much time running around the nation opposing health care and blaming Democrats for the financial disaster his own party wrought with two too expensive wars in faraway places.

And, as in South Carolina, the state is running just fine even while the Governor is off chasing his titillating dream.

Family Differences

My Brother Believes in Rush Limbaugh and the Like
by Charlie Leck

An older brother, who lives out in NJ, wrote me this past week, urging me to join The Tea Party.

"CHL, I know you will not agree, but our President is leading us on a very rocky road. The country is not We the People -- it is Obama, Polosi and Reed.

"We the people (Tea Party's 9-12) don't want socialism, we don't want the DNC removing our freedoms. We will start, through our vote, to change the power of Congress (RNC, DNC, Ind).

"STOP TAX SPENDING

"Hope you and Anne are doing well! Enjoy your blogs."

FL

I intended to quit at this point and just allow my brother's note to me to stand on its own. Yet, I couldn't. This is another case of someone who listens too much to Rush Limbaugh and that liar Beck and others like them. These two guys are inciting so many folks who don't use other means to enlighten themselves. These days, there are a whole host of these dishonest talking heads who know the only way they can succeed in the business is to incite normal citizens through their out and out lies and distortions. Without this kind of bombastic presentation of the news and their views, guys like Bill O’Reilly could not keep working.

Well, I'm certain that my brother is referring, in his comments above, to two legislative activities of the Obama administration, so I'll quickly deal with them.

The Corporate Bail Outs
This is a difficult issue. First, it wasn't begun by Obama. He inherited a policy from George W. Bush. It will probably, one day, be proven to be a good and correct policy -- not a pleasant or cheap one, but a good one. It has probably saved the nation from a depression that would have made the Great Depression of the 30s look miniscule. It's a tough issue and only history will show whether or not President Obama was correct to follow George W. Bush down that murky, muddy trail.

Health Care Reform Legislation
It is on the basis of what Obama is proposing in this area that my brother calls President Obama a socialist. I'll start off, first, telling my brother that Obama's proposals are far too conservative for me. My great hope was that the President would send to Congress a plan for nationalized, universal health care. Of course, the legislation that the President will ask Congress to pass is much more conservative than that. It is so tame, as a matter of fact, that one couldn't even dream of calling them socialistic.

Many of the great democratic nations of the earth have nationalized health care systems that work quite well, if not far better than the system we currently have in place. Does one dare say that the following nations are not democratic: Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg and so many more? The system that President Obama is recommending doesn't come close to being as all inclusive and sweeping as those of the nations listed above.

The United States, according to the World Health Organization, is ranked in about 27th place in the quality of the health care services it provides its citizens and in the results it achieves.

I've been down this road before and have told this tale too many times. I won't bore my readers further, but I had to present some sort of defense to my brother who is bloated with Limbaughisms.

Now, if I could get my brothers to open their minds and read some really enlightened material by solid commentators, I'd send them right to Bill Moyers and his latest comments on this subject of the crazy, radical right and its nutty commentators: Conservative Radicals and the Politics of Vengeance. I recommend it to you, my regular readers. Sadly, Moyers argues that "Intellectual Conservatism is dead." The column amounts to a conversation between Moyers and Sam Tannenhaus, the author of The Death of Conservatism.

Enough said! It would be crazy to yak on over the mind and voice of Bill Moyers.

Forest Woodward Photography

It’s Sunday, you know, and I need a break from the constant thunder in my head!
by Charlie Leck

Enough for a few days, anyway, with all the hassle about politics, and health care reform, and racism, and humankind’s stupidity – and my own particular brilliance!

I like to get away from that stuff on Sunday mornings and maybe write about the Minnesota Vikings, or the Twins, or our mule, Reva; or, of course, as I like to occasionally, about photography.

Wow! Did I find a photographer for you! You don’t have to be a photography genius to tell that this guy’s work is special. He’s got a very creative eye and a very special sense for light, color and angles. That’s a photograph of his (above), which I purchased from iStock.com just so I could show you an example.

If you want to see a lot more, go to this particular Forest Woodward Blog, and he has lots of his work on display there that you can enlarge to a handsome size; or, go visit his spectacular web site, where you can see a great deal of his very special portfolio.

Here’s something Woodward says about himself and his photography that I found both interesting and intriguing.

“The relationship that I strive to cultivate between my lifestyle and my photography is one of symbiosis; growth in one fosters growth in the other as I pursue new experiences and horizons. My camera has allowed me to travel to amazing places, meet great people and hear fascinating stories. In return I let the camera share fully in my experiences, opening the shutter to my life and the relationships and lives of the real people… people I am fortunate to call my friends and family.”

Woodward’s photographs have appeared in National Geographic, Men’s Health, Prevention Magazine, Passport, Ask Men, Science Daily, Momentum and Forbes.

If you’re a hobbyist or pro, you can find out about Woodward’s photographic equipment on his web site. He is a very young man – certainly in relation to his success. He was the youngest student ever to attend the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and he’s worked on the staff of that school for the last four years. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa this year from the University of Northern Colorado, with majors in Spanish and sociology.

If you go on to examine Woodward’s photographs, you are in for a real treat. He is a special talent. Below are two more of his photographs.

The Values Inherent in our Constitution

The right to pursue life, liberty, happiness and health is tenuous!
by Charlie Leck

If we don’t protect our core values, find them precious and vital to civilization, they can easily slip away; for our values are a fragile treasure.

Here’s a blog posting, called The Fragile Treasure, that’s really well worth reading. It raises some serious questions about where America is at and what it is all about. Here are just a few takes from it.

“...when a society argues about when it is acceptable to torture someone, that culture has already moved to a place where it is corrupted.”

“The debate in the United States has shifted from whether it is ever right to torture someone, but whether this ‘works’.”

“But it is especially disappointing that the defense of torture is being articulated so forcefully in the United States, where it is a founding principle that moral instincts and impulses should be revered.”

David Williamson writes the blog, Van Peebles Land. It is one of my favorites.

Racism and the Obama Opposition

Jimmy Carter laid in on the line this week! Does he have a case?
by Charlie Leck

Jimmy Carter is viewed as a bad President. My wife won’t agree with you. She thought Carter was both a wonderful man and a good President. Frankly, so did I, but I’ve thought about this question at great length and, I think, in great depth. Most people have not. “You could believe Jimmy Carter,” my dearest said to me one day. “You could both believe him and believe in him.”

I urged her to tell me more. “Jimmy Carter didn’t have a huge ego. He was a simple, sincere Christian. He wasn’t going to save his presidency by being a phony. Jimmy Carter wanted to help the underdog. He wanted to help the poor and needy. He wanted to help the hungry and the diseased. For God’s sake, who does that sound like? He was an avid, enthusiastic follower of his Lord. It’s not something we expect of a President, so people were confused and even embarrassed by it. It became easy to think Jimmy Carter was a simpleton. I have a feeling a lot of people thought Jesus was a simpleton also.” I wanted her to add that Jimmy Carter believed that peace was possible. He believed that Israel and the Islamic world could live in peace. Of course he was an idealist! So was Gandhi! So was Martin Luther King, Jr..

Try this on and see how it fits. Most people couldn’t keep up with Carter or relate to him. He spoke from a different perspective and with different beliefs than most people. His presidency came crashing down on him as a result of the Iranian hostage situation and the totally unethical interference in that situation by presidential candidate Ronald Reagan. Reagan cut a deal, outside the law and outside the realm of justice and ethics, for the Iranians to delay the release of the hostages until he took office. In return, he promised the Iranians a healthy amount of military weapons when he got to the White House. Now, with that in mind, you tell me who was the “good” President and who was the “bad” one. For God’s sake people, open your brains just an inch, will you!

We’ve had lots of presidents who’ve pretended to be religious. Jimmy Carter was really, deep down, a man of faith and commitment to his Lord and Master. George W. Bush called Jesus Christ both his hero and his savior. Remember that? I never got the feeling that President Bush really understood what that means. As a matter of fact, I was pretty certain that he did not; but, as a matter of fact, most of my fundamentalist Christian friends haven’t the slightest idea what it means to be committed to Christ. Carter did!

So, when Jimmy Carter says that it is racism that prompts most of the cruel opposition to President Obama, I’m going to sit up and take notice and listen to what he’s saying.

Frankly, this is a red-flag issue. Very few people are willing to sit back and think about it – and discuss it calmly. Hardly anyone is willing to consider Carter’s comments as something worth discussing. Is there any chance that some of this more volatile and ugly dislike of President Obama could find its foundation in racism? I know Obama wants to dismiss it. I would expect that. Yet, the Joe Wilson incident – and the strong hatred that cropped up during the campaign – and the hatred cropping up now during the town hall meetings – and the whole unnecessary and trivial birth certificate incident – make me wonder if there isn’t something more behind all this than just political differences. Look at the right wing protest on the Mall last week. There were Confederate flags in abundance. There was more than one depiction of President Obama in white face. There were also signs suggesting that the President go “back” to Africa.

Does any of this sound like racism to you? Does it come close enough that a discussion of the possibility is warranted? You can bet contemporary historians are looking at this question – and so are sociologists and philosophers and psychologists. To dismiss it out-of-hand, as stupid, is to be indeed stupid. Former President Carter’s comments are worthy of serious and thoughtful discussion.

It is worth adding here, as my proof reader pointed out to me, that Jimmy Carter is a man of the South and he understands the southern perspective more than most. He also understands racism in the South versus racism in the North. He understands the fears of the southern voter. He also understands the southern Bible Belt and the "born again" Christians who are so dominant there.

Personally, I think most “Jesus saves” Christians are idiots -- even understanding that Carter is one of them. Most of them don’t understand “the cost of discipleship.” And, they don’t understand the depth of this man from Galilee. They don’t understand the call that he uttered to those fishermen by the sea that day: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jimmy Carter understood and he dedicated his life to that calling. He became a “fisher of men.” He devoted his life to seeking peace. God bless a man like that; "for blessed are the peacemakers!"

Finn Caspersen Obituary

The New York Times Obit
by Charlie Leck

Just to finish off this subject that has generated dozens of emails from my readers (I wish they'd become commenters instead), here is the NY Times Obituary for Finn Caspersen, a significant citizen of the state of NJ and a contemporary of mine -- and an acquaintance.