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2008-04-09
Well, it's that season again here in the United States: Soccer time. Yes, I admit it. I'm hooked. I have been since 2002, and the performance of our favorite local footy team has secured it.
Since it is that time of year, it's also time to post the chart:
After every game, I'll update the running total so we can see how the Revs are doing compared to previous seasons. Can they beat their 2005 point total? The stakes for doing so are greater than ever, and they're on track to do so after falling short with a difficult -- and ultimately MLS Cup-free -- end-run last season.
Those of you who've been reading for awhile know how I feel about the Revs and soccer in the U.S. in general. Those of you who are new to this space will find out if you keep coming back. The Revs won again tonight after clinching the home opener against Houston Dynamo 3-0, and failing miserably on the road in Chicago last week. Tonight we played a fast, solid game and came away from Kansas City with our deserved three points, putting us at 6 for the season: tied for first with KC for now. The week continues, however, and we play Colorado on Saturday at home.
In other news -- and thanks to the encouragement of a friend at work --, I've been recording Federalist Papers
Labels: chicago fire, federalist papers, houston dynamo, kansas city wizards, new england revolution, soocer
posted by S.Gecko at 22:16
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2008-02-23
A number of people with whom I shared the Oath of an American Citizen balked a bit at me using the word "responsibility" in relation to when our government goes awry. Responsibility, their argument went, creates too much of a commitment and renders the pledge too harsh. A better word would be "right", they said. I want to take the time today to answer those concerns.
The fact is that I chose the word "responsibility" over the word "right" on purpose. A right is something one is allowed to or encouraged to do, but it's also optional. Free speech and religion, the right to bear arms -- these are rights. Nobody is required to exercise them, but they're there just in case. A responsibility, on the other hand, is something one must do. It is not only allowed, not only encouraged, but necessary. Paying taxes, defending your home or family. My oath is all about responsibility, because having rights isn't enough. Let me explain why.
There were two attempts at framing a government after the Revolutionary War, and the first was an utter failure. It failed for a number of reasons, but foremost among them was that it didn't properly connect to the citizenry. While the Articles of Confederation did combine the 13 states as a nation and created an overarching federal structure, the citizens felt no responsibility towards it because the government had no power over their lives, and for their part the citizens had no direct voice in the government. The states had that responsibility. Within 10 years, as citizens ignored the national government, the founders could see anarchy on the horizon, their enemies in Europe waiting with bated breath. Their answer was the Constitution.
This second attempt created a federal structure with three branches, one of which consisted of two parts: one representing the states (the Senate) and one representing the people (the House of Representatives). Additionally, the federal government was given more power than it had before: ratify treaties, to raise an army, handle trade, and levy taxes, among them. The Constitution, in other words, gives the federal government direct say over people's lives in very specific ways, but also gives people a direct voice in the government without removing states' rights.
The Republic we are involved in requires full participation from all of its parts in order to be a cohesive whole, and one of those parts is the citizenry -- it's not a "House of Representatives" if they don't "Represent". It has survived -- a second war with Britain, a civil war, the expansion west and the addition of 37 new states, two world wars -- on the assumption that voters will choose representatives who serve their region's needs, but also will have the presence-of-mind to understand those needs on a national scale. However, when a small percentage of a region's voters turn out to vote, representation becomes "factioned". In other words, a specific group becomes represented over a particular region.
And that brings me back to the topic of "responsibility" versus "right". If it is only our "right" to vote, then we can choose not to exercise it. When that happens, it is inevitable that we will become a faction-controlled Republic, and the evidence is mounting quickly that we are already there. Voter turn-out has declined steadily since 1870 to the point where a "mandate" in 2006 was enacted by just 37% of the eligible, registered voters. We can see the results of this kind of "governing by the few".
However, if each of us sees voting as our responsibility to the sanctity of our nation, each citizen sees the fate of the country as partly their task, and each citizen spends their requisite amount of time and energy applying themselves to that task, a faction-controlled government is theoretically impossible. Imagine, for instance, a mandate that was really a mandate. Imagine a president elected by more than a 25% "majority" (George W. Bush received 49% of the vote from 67% of the voters in 2004).
So yes, I used "responsibility" instead of "right" and I meant it. It's not easy being a citizen of this experiment that is the United States of America, but then it was never intended to be. Easy citizenship leads to anarchy, fascism, monarchy. The founders expected their descendants to be intelligent and worthy of the mantle of responsibility thrust upon them by the Constitution. Are we, though?
Labels: articles of confederation, constitution, faction, Oath of an American Citizen, republic, voting
posted by S.Gecko at 20:31
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2008-02-21
In today's podcast, I take a look at the citizenship pledge that is given to immigrants who have passed the naturalization exam on their way to become citizens of the United States. In conjunction with that, though, I also present a pledge for people who are already citizens so that we can reaffirm our responsibilities and connection with our society, country, and government.
To read and sign it, grab the citizens pledge here and follow the instructions. If you want to sign it right away, email me your name and state, and I'll get them up on the pledge within 24 hours.
The point of this pledge is for those of us who are natural-born citizens to re-affirm our connection and responsibilities with this country. I've noticed too many times over the years a lack of understanding among too many people of what our responsibilities actually are. I'll be addressing those in later posts and 'casts, but thought this would be a good place to start.
EDIT (22-Feb-2008): The email box was not responding properly, but is now fixed.
Labels: citizenship, democracy, oath, Oath of an American Citizen, pledge, politics
posted by S.Gecko at 01:21
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2008-02-18
Supporters of Ron Paul are working together across the nation to plan a march on Washington, D.C. some time later this year. The date hasn't been determined yet, but signs point to sometime this spring or summer, prior to the DNC and RNC conventions. I support the idea of this march whole-heartedly.
The purpose of the gathering is to show that in spite of how Ron Paul's message is faring within the sanctioned halls of the RNC, there are a vast number of voters across the country who do support the message. To that end, I urge you to sign up in order to find out more information. If you can, attend the march. If not, then please help us get the word out.
The website linked above is being managed by North Virginia Patriots, apparently. The look to be a couple of guys in New Hampshire who run a radio show, so tune in to see what they have to say, too.
Labels: north virginia patriots, revolution march, ron paul
posted by S.Gecko at 19:49
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2008-02-13
Please read this article by Naomi Wolf. It's a great breakdown of the steps to Fascism, and follows the events of the last seven years as moving through those steps.
Is The United States of America becoming Fascist? Some signs point to yes. Please read the article. Please vote your conscience. Don't let the system control you, because the Constitution allows us to control the system.
Labels: constitution, fascism, voting
posted by S.Gecko at 07:37
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It's 6:30 in the morning here, I'm tired, and rushing to get ready for work. In spite of all of that, however, I need to share the book I've just finished reading:"How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative" The author, Allen Raymond, was a GOP campaign manager and operative between 1992 and 2002 and had heavy sway and influence in the messages, tactics, results in elections during that time.
Raymond exposes all of the tactics used by campaigns to twist the truth, distort the message, encourage, and discourage voters from voting. He documents from where these ideas come and shows examples of why and how the work.
The gist of the book, I believe, is summed up in the following paragraphs from the epilogue:
That is everything I can tell you from the inside -- how the system is used by people just like me, in both parties, and that they are paid to win at all costs. The tactics will only get tougher, nastier, more brutal, because the tricks of the trade are known, embellished upon, and passed forward by people like me to more people like me, with the competition growing stiffer and the stakes rising higher with every election. So there it is. Now, what are you going to do about it?
Voters must question every shred of information they receive about each candidate using as many critical thinking methods as possible. The five "W's" from reporting -- who, what, where, when, why -- are valuable here. When voters see or hear and ad, when they receive a phone call or a postcard or letter, they should be asking themselves who it's from, what reason was there to send, where it came from, when it was sent, and why was it sent to them.
More so than the actual message, campaigns use targeted mailings with half-truths at key times to sway voters. Oftentimes the purpose of the message is to discourage people from voting at all. To me, this is the most insipid practice of all and is why I will continue to point out that not voting actually feeds the end-game of the system as opposed to -- as some non-voters maintain -- "sticking it to the man".
I beg of you, read the book. At the very least, start questioning the information you receive from every campaign. As citizens with the responsibility of getting our country back to working the way it should, we must be informed. Not only through the usual channels of mass-media news and information spew, but also through our own reasoning and interpretation skills.
It's not easy, but every campaign out there is counting on us not doing it. Is counting on us giving up and taking whatever it is they say as the ultimate truth.
There will be more from me on this subject, but in the meantime: don't let them win. Use your mind, expose their lies, and vote your conscience.
Labels: allen raymond, campaigns, elections, gop, voting
posted by S.Gecko at 06:32
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2008-02-08
Before I continue my analysis of the U.S. Constitution, I want to explore the topic of voting for a post or two. I'm interested in finding out what voting means to people, why people choose to vote or not, and what the driving issues are behind those decisions.
What I understand from my research so far is that while the voting-age population in the United States has increased since 1930, the percentage of those people who have actually registered and participated have decreased markedly since around 1900. I've got data and fancy charts I'll post in a couple of days.
What I don't understand is why there's this drop-off in participation. We've gone from nearly 95% participation of registered voters circa 1850 to only 69% of registrants voting for the president in 2004 -- meaning George W. Bush won with 39% of registered voters' approval. The participation is even less during the congressional election cycles.
This is where you come in. Do you vote? If so, why. If not, why not? What are the issues that drive you to vote? Do you feel it makes a difference? If you feel it doesn't, what about voting makes you feel that way?
I'm trying to understand what people feel about this topic in order to wrestle my observations and see what I can make of them.
Go ahead and post a comment with your response, and send this on to someone -- or many someones -- you know. Help me try and understand these trends.
I will be posting my findings, calculations, charts, graphs, and analysis on this issue over the next couple of weeks amongst my thoughts on the constitution and the process in general.
Labels: constitution, elections, voting
posted by S.Gecko at 12:36
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2008-02-05
As I begin my exploration of the Constitution in more depth, I'm struck by the concept of "being a strict constitutionalist". Two days ago, I would have said that means limited government, Libertarian ideals, and a move towards local control and self-sufficiency.
The idea now comes into my head, however, that if the Constitution is a foundation or framework for government structure, then who's to say that as long as laws fit within the bounds of the Constitution that they are wrong? What I mean is that if the Democratic party wants to create larger social programs, and their ideas don't violate the foundation of the document nor any of the amendments, then there's nothing unconstitutional about those laws.
Problems arise, however, when laws are created that violate the spirit with which the founders wrote the constitution. As I see it, that is what's happening in our country today.
It seems that our current Congress -- and for many years now, actually -- feels as though it is they who are in power. Laws are being created and bills are being written that violate -- if not the actual letter -- the spirit of our Constitution. The President has consistently exceeded his power as executor of those laws, issuing signing statements, acting as war chief, and otherwise trampling on the spirit of the office. For their part, the Supreme Court seems to be happy ignoring the encroaching trespasses on justice, domestic peace, general welfare, and liberty while also allowing the idea of "national defense" to be turned into a "first strike" mentality.
Unfortunately, what the citizens of the United States have not realized is that the elected officials are not who is in control of the country. Or if they are, it is only through our own apathy. Congress has no fear about being re-elected because the people most affected by their violations of the spirit of our foundational rules don't seem to care. It's that lack of caring that brings me back to my original point.
Being a strict constitutionalist doesn't imply one party affiliation over another. What it implies is a willingness to consistently adhere to the principles and spirit represented in our founding document; to eschew apathy; to transcend the general and pervasive air of defeat. Our representatives in Congress are acting within the laws of the Constitution to create laws that may or may not be beneficial to their constituents. It is the constituents' job, now, to play their part.
Each of us needs to be a "strict constitutionalist". Each of us needs to understand the spirit of the document, the rules it sets forth, and the roles we must play in the governing of this country. This is not a country of government acting on its own, but for too long the government has acted as though it is. This is not a country run by the powerful, but one where "We the people of the United States" are in charge. It's no easy task, but it is our job to manage the direction of our government, and this has to be done no matter the party line or ideological beliefs each of us holds. If not, there will be no Constitution left.
Labels: apathy, congress, constitution, strict constitutionalist, supreme court
posted by S.Gecko at 08:42
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2008-02-04
To encapsulate one's political views by attachment to a single party or platform is -- in essence -- to also limit one's ability to address issues as they truly are. This is a truth, and one that is difficult for some people to understand. The Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green, or any other party is unable to address any issue we face in this country head-on because each member of that party is beholden to a prescribed set of ideals that all lead to the same solutions. One thing I've found in my life is that there is no one set of solutions that fix all problems.
To that end, I remain -- with a Libertarian bent -- an Independent. Proud to owe or show no affiliation to any particular platform, and free to approach each problem our country faces in as objective a manner as possible.
In order to remain objective, one must always have a foundation upon which to build an observation point. For my foundation, I've chosen the United States Constitution. Over the next few weeks, I will be examining it in this space.
There is far too much evidence out there that people don't really understand what the document is, what it really means, and how it can be used to set us all free from the impending tyranny of fear that is rising up in this nation.
I begin with the Preamble:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
For such a short paragraph, there's a lot being said. What is the purpose of government? What are the ideals of the country for which the government exists? Why does this country exist at all?
The purpose of the Constitution is to establish a foundation for a country that would "form a more perfect Union" than anyone had ever seen before. Specifically, however, there are five items addressed; five reasons the founders believed a government should exist:
In the eyes of the founders, then, government should do all of the above: nothing more, nothing less. If at any point anyone of us feels that even one of the above is missing from our lives, the government is not doing what the founders intended. This is the philosophy behind the entire document.
The key, however, to the preamble appears when you read it without the five purposes of government and the reason for the document. "We the People of the United States do ordain and establish this Constitution...". Who establishes the Constitution? The citizens of the country for which the government is established. It's a powerful realization.
The document is not presented by a government, then, but by the combined effort of a people from a shared region who are agreeing to unite in their common causes; who are working together to solve their problems: to establish justice, peace, defense, welfare and liberty for themselves and the future. This is the foundation upon which our country is built.
We are a United States. United for the betterment of all citizens under the Constitution. United in order to better provide for each other. United in order to better defend one another. United in order to form a more perfect union. It wasn't intended by our founders, but we are at the point where each of us must be asking ourselves whether or not we are still working towards the five simple reasons for government. That's how we know if we're moving in the right direction.
So, rather than attach ourselves to a platform or party of supposed ideology, we should attach ourselves to the ultimate platform and actual ideology upon which all others are based: our Constitution. Each party, after all, is simply an attempt at approaching the creation of government in a different way. Choose however you wish, but never forget the five reasons you are choosing: justice, domestic1 peace, common defense, welfare of the citizens, and liberty.
1. Word added as a clarification. See comments thread for details.
Labels: common defese, constitution, justice, liberty, peace, politics, preamble, welfare
posted by S.Gecko at 20:29
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2007-11-27
The United States of America is a broken country. Our dreams have been bent, tarnished, and mis-handled so often and for so long that we -- the 300 million people who call it our home -- have nearly forgotten what it means to live here. The government has gotten us so used to expecting solutions that we've nearly forgotten how to create our own. At the same time, we're not really sure what the problems are that need solving. We know, though, that there are problems. Though nobody has a single solution; though there is no panacea or magic elixir; there is a way to approach what's wrong: a method born out of complex systems analysis.
The following is a sketch of an idea I've been toying with since October, 2007. I'm sharing it in it's draft form here for two reasons: 1) to get the idea into the ether because it's something on which we all need to work and 2) to elicit your feedback. this document (PDF) charts out the idea, and the following few paragraphs are an attempt to get at the crux of the thing.
Complex problems require the ability for all involved in their solution to be able to think clearly, logically, intuitively, and critically. As society becomes more complex and our interactions with each other and our environment become that much more complicated, we need to be able to understand how our decisions and actions ripple out into the rest of the world.
To that end, the architects of our government intended that it be structured as a reverse hierarchy. In other words, the power moved from the people to the leaders and not the other way around. In order for it to work, the people -- us -- themselves must tackle the more complex issues in society: starvation, health care access, abortion, housing, crime. The proxies -- elected officials -- should only be allowed to address issues of a complexity relatively smaller: printing money, international relations, etc.
Current trends in education, government, and other aspects of this country seem to indicate a general dumbing down of the populace, however. This dumbing down is having the effect of giving our proxies more power than originally intended and subverting our Democratic Republic into something more akin to a modern-day corporation where strata are clearly defined. If the populace is dumb, it can't make complex decisions.
In other words, by removing the complexity from our lives, by avoiding the difficult decisions at the state, county, and town level we are turning our reverse hierarchy upside down. By definition, a hierarchy only works if the people at the bottom deal with the easy stuff. If we're dealing with easy stuff, then we're at the bottom.
In other words, in order to fix what we all feel is wrong with our country, we have to do it ourselves. This is an Existential world, and there is no one to save us. No superheroes or omniscient politicians. In order to save ourselves, though, we need to be smart, savvy, calm, decisive, and willing to devote ourselves to the cause framed by our founders in the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. The foundation is there, we just need need to build upon it.
I need your comments and ideas on this. If it's a thing, it's not my thing. It's our thing. Thoughts? Concerns?
Labels: constitution, declaration of independence, democracy, politics
posted by S.Gecko at 22:50
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2007-11-25
The temperature this morning registered a nice and crisp 28° Fahrenheit, which is officially our first frost of the year. Having grown up in Vermont, it's very strange to be waiting until after Thanksgiving to mention frosts. Maybe, though, it has very little to do with latitude and more to do with climate shifts overall.
Two weeks ago, there was a day in Boston where the temperature was 60° Fahrenheit. Everyone seemed so happy to be able to walk to work and along the sidewalks in their skirts and short-sleeves and baseball hats. And why not? Winters are hard in New England. Surely we deserve a break or two.
Seeing the frosted-over lawn this morning, however, reminded me that it's been a number of years since there's been snow on the ground much before Xmas, and last year we were hard-pressed to find any day worth playing in the snow.
I'm worried about the climate, but I'm not worried because of the fate of the earth. I'm worried for my son. What will his winter memories be? Will he have the same pleasures we had as kids? Running through waist-deep snow just to jet down the other side of an unknown hill? If climate change needs to be reversed, then we need to reverse it -- not for the fate of all humanity -- for the fate of those closest to us.
Labels: boston, climate, environment, family, humanity, winter
posted by S.Gecko at 01:07
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2007-11-22
Hodie diarium meum Latine scripto. Ingresso brevo est. Donare me si sententiae meae incallidae et fatuae sunt. Hic non obvium est, et verbi incallidi solummodo sentio. Tolerentia tua interrogo. Cras, satius facebo. Vale.
Labels: latin
posted by S.Gecko at 15:31
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2007-11-20
Jazz is by far the music that has had the greatest impact on my life over the years, and thanks to the magic of some intrepid youtubers, I can now share my favorite tunes from my favorite artists.
In this list are the likes of Dave brubeck, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane, etc. etc. The Cool Jazz and Hard Bop eras are my favorite, and I'm partial to the saxophone (playing one myself). I'll continue updating the playlist, so permalink if you'd like your own personal jazz show dee-jayed by Yours Truly.
Labels: adderly, brubeck, cool jazz, desmond, jazz, morello, playlist, video, wright
posted by S.Gecko at 14:41
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2007-11-18
This song represents how I feel today: a little disjointed, but thinking of Latin and strange shapes.
The technology is Audacity on OS X 10.3.9. The instruments are "C" tin whistle, an Oscar Schmidt guitar, Wheelock's Latin, and me.
posted by S.Gecko at 01:51
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It's for the kids.
The cold rain is blowing at an angle across the open soccer field. On the sideline, my bedraggled team huddles reluctantly in this late October maelstrom of rain and fouls and goals. Tired from the weather more than from their running, water bottles lay neglected at their feet.
As I watch them huddle with hunched shoulders in this driving rain, I wish I could tell them I know how they feel. That I know that justice is not being done out there on the field. I'm just their coach, though. I'm not here to teach life lessons on justice and fairness, winning in the rain, or why the game wasn't called on account of the weather. I'm supposed to be here to teach them skills of side-footed passing, defensive off-side positioning, and the elegance of the goalie's leap and catch.
Soccer has become an obsession among the suburbanly wealthy in America. More children in this country play soccer than any other sport, and the numbers in my own region are just as staggering. In a city of 30,000 people there are will over 2,000 kids ages six to 12 signed up for our program. And that's just for teams who play in town.
With that many playing, a public effort is made at fair play, good sportsmanship, and balanced games. Players are placed on teams randomly, with the exception that we coach our own children. Coaches are given the opportunity to participate in US Soccer Association-sanctioned training sessions. We even make sure that every player plays an equal amount of time in small-sided games.
Back at our game, my goalie is in pain as he places the ball down for a goal kick. His tears mix with the cold rain on his face. He's clutching his side and the referee hasn't noticed. I tell him so. He blows the whistle and I run out to the box to see how he is. Elbowed in the ribs by an opposing player, I call out the substitute and help the injured 3rd grader back to the sidelines. His father runs out into the rain with a jacket. It's the fifth or sixth uncalled foul and unsportsmanlike behavior I've seen today. The game starts up again and nobody outside of this little circle of coach and father, soaking-wet teammates pays any notice the injured boy.
We're down by seven goals. Five of them were scored in the first half. During halftime the other coach comes over and apologizes for being ahead. He's trying to play his worst players, he tells me. Trying to put his worst defenders up front and his slowest forwards in as often as possible. He's sorry he's winning. My team hears every word.
At practices, the coaches all try to cover the same drills and exercises. We try and teach the basics of passing and trapping, dribbling and running, shooting and blocking. Sometimes our team gets to practice on a full-sized field with a goal at either end. Most of the time, though, we're playing on half the normal space and use orange cones to imagine where the goal might be. For the most part, the kids are good about it. We run our passing and shooting drills and work on some defensive positioning. When everyone shows up for practice, I try to run a scrimmage for the last 15 or 20 minutes of the evening. Lately they've been playing like friends.
During half-time, the team asks if they can kick and punch and elbow the way our opponents are. They don't really mean it, but their frustration is palpable. Every one of them is carrying some kind of knock. A stepped-on ankle here, elbowed ribs over there. They tell me most are caused by the ministrations of just a couple players. The players I was told the other day were among the best in the league. Children of the coaches.
We left the field in the driving rain after losing 7 goals to 1. What lesson was learned here aside from those of shame, humility, and the futility of fairness?
They say the purpose of my volunteering my time is for the kids. They say that the kids are the important ones, that they are the reason for the day, that the kids are why we had gathered here in the rain. Why, then, do these kids look so sad?
Labels: coaching, kids and soccer, soccer philosophy
posted by S.Gecko at 01:32
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2007-11-13
Two workmen are building a road on the outskirts of Ancient Rome. They can be seen working under the boiling afternoon sun, shovels and picks in hand, carving the earth while masons lay stone behind them. Their orders are to build to the edge of the Empire that has begun to collapse, and they are disillusioned.
First Worker: Quid fine laboramus?
Second Worker: Fini viae larboramus.
Get it? Huh? Huh?
posted by S.Gecko at 11:20
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2007-11-10
The other day I realized that I don't really know where I've been the past few years. I feel as one who has been wallowing in the middle of truth and fiction; one who looks across a darkening ocean for a future, only to see the past. I feel as though all of that is behind me, though. I've woken up.
I'm returning to my studies of literature, philosophy, and Latin. I've got a career as an information architect that I'm enjoying fully. I'm working to get my dad's poetry to the public. Perhaps the most exciting, though, is today I bought myself new saxophone reeds and am practicing again.
My saxophone is important to me, and it was the trigger for my realization above. I've gone for three years without ever taking it out of its case, without ever feeling the taste and rough-hewn flexibility of a bamboo reed, without ever honking out my feelings through the tube of cold brass, ivory, and wood. Tonight, though, I felt the vibration of that reed against my bottom lip and honked myself silly.
So now why does Deval Patrick have to go and ruin it? Why was it I voted for him? I'm going to write him and find out.
Labels: deval patrick, latin, literature, poetry, saxophone, victor densmore
posted by S.Gecko at 19:54
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1996 - 2007 Sabin Densmore |  |
