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John Servais' most recent attack on the plan for REPLACING and EXPANDING the Bellingham Public Library simply repeats again the singular and uninformed positions that both he and the Whatcom WIndy have espoused for a long time. Neither critic has bothered to open their ears to the deliberate, candid and accurate arguments the Library Board has proffered after at least 7 years of considering the various options available. Both Servais' and the WIndy's position seem remarkably rigid, opinionated and wrong, which -taken together-motivate this response.
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Reprinted below is John Servais' recent missive, pompously entitled 'Library planning versus needs', from his website 'NW Citizen' dated Mon, Jan 28, 2008. I have inserted my comments in BRACKETS [] below:
"Tomorrow the Bellingham Library Board of Trustees meets and will probably produce a plan for a new grand downtown library building and a bond issue of between 20 to 60 million dollars to pay for it. It will be sent to the city council and mayor for placement on the May ballot - and they will start a "grassroots" campaign to pass the issue with former mayor Tim Douglas leading the "grassroots" effort. The project will contain teaser branch library tidbits as a hook to get voters to approve it. It is all pretty bogus.
[Does Mr Servais have a problem with a duly appointed and confirmed LIBRARY BOARD submitting their duly considered recommendations to the Mayor & Council? If so, what alternate method does Mr Servais advocate? Does he doubt that a strong CENTRAL BRANCH is absolutely essential to any DISTRIBUTED branch system?]
Briefly, here is an analysis and alternative direction for our city.
The Library has not seriously considered any options to the one big building.
[Huh? Are you paying ANY attention AT ALL?]
As such, their statements that branch libraries are more expensive and that our city is not big enough are merely that - statements of opinion without any study behind them. They cite some facts of other cities but have not actually researched our Bellingham situation. They have reacted to neighborhood requests for branches by tossing crumbs in the form of pickup points.
[What research have you done, Mr Servais, that suggests otherwise? Branch Libraries are inherently more expensive!]
An underground parking garage for city and county employees is the real reason behind a new big library downtown.
[This surmise is absolutely false! There are BMC requirements which do specify parking requirements]
There are laws that prevent the city from just building this - and they know the voters would never approve a 30 million dollar bond issue for a parking garage. So they have wrapped it in a library.
[Just exactly what are these laws? How do you imagine any additional parking will be financed?]
Traffic and parking will be worsened with a big central library.
[We already have a 'BIG CENTRAL LIBRARY! We need a somewhat larger one which can also provide the support required for more branches. We also need to be realistic in providing additional parking when we have the opportunity. Additional parking can be provided by Councilmanic Bond, separate from any Bond Issue.]
With branches, people can get full services and school kids can safely go to their branch libraries. In 1992, several of us in the Fairhaven area formed the Friends of the Fairhaven Library when then mayor Tim Douglas and the Library Trustees were preparing to close our Fairhaven Library. We organized south side residents and we stopped city hall.
[Friends of the Library exists nation-wide and function to help Libraries achieve their public purpose! Please do not claim full credit for 'FRIENDS'!].
We wish other neighborhoods could have such a fine facility. Its use has continued to grow each month and year. It serves all five south side neighborhoods and is very efficient on a any number of library measurement criteria.
Enough analysis for this post.
[Analysis and YOUR OPINION!]
There is more analysis that is damming to the city plans.
[What are you talking about, Mr. Servais? More conspiracy theory?]
But here is an alternative plan which I think will provide a much higher level of service to all residents for the same or fewer dollars.
[Where is your factual analysis? This seems based upon nothing more than your own preconceived speculation.]
1. Build a book storage facility in a low cost manner on the north side of town - Bakerview area, for instance. Put the 80% of the books that only get checked out 20% of the time there. Keep the 20% that get checked out 80% of the time at the central and branch libraries. The building needs humidity control but can be inexpensive and efficient for storing and retrieving desired books.
[Who would man this facility, and at what annual cost? Do you have a clue?]
2. Start building full service branch libraries. No bond issue this May. Instead meet with residents in the neighborhoods and plan branch locations and build them one at a time over the years as we continue to grow as a community. The first branches are needed in the Alderwood or Cordata neighborhoods. For years Talbot Company has been offering the city free space at Barkley Village but the library has ignored them till now - when some interest will help pass the bond issue.
[How many branches would be needed, and at what cost? What is the estimated capital cost? What is annual operating cost? Where would additional annual operating costs be funded?]
3. Combine the Bellingham and Whatcom County library systems. Talk about cutting costs and saving tax dollars.
[Are you aware of the restrictions that might prevent that from happening? Are you aware that this possibility has already been investigated?]
Whew.
[That is an appropriate reaction!]
That book storage system with daily van deliveries of books is exactly how the County system works and efficiently runs 9 branches. Combine the two and efficiently run all our libraries. While the two systems cooperate now, we taxpayers are paying double for the administrative services.
[That conclusion is accurate, but legalisms do exist to prevent better collaboration. Please illuminate us to the realities. not the suppositions. DO YOU IMAGINE THAT THE LIBRARY BOARD has not already thoroughly investigated this possibility?]
4. Lets examine just what services and value we want from our library system. The Internet is steadily wiping out reference services. Do you know free libraries were started in the 1800s for - not school kids and not the general public - but to get the blue collar working men out of the bars in the evenings? True. Over the century they have evolved to serve the community. One new service they could efficiently perform is to provide as our public records source for government documents from the city, county, port and other government agencies. This is only one idea of how their services could be expanded to give us more bang for our dollar.
[Directionally, you are correct, but everybody should already know that. The Library Board's desire IS TO GIVE THE BIGGEST "BANG" FOR THE BUCK! How can you imagine anything different would be acceptable?]
5. A final point. Browsing library shelves. Well, when you do, you do not see the most popular books as they are checked out. But new Internet catalog services now allow us to browse a shelf of books at our local library and see all the books. The screen shows the book spines with titles and you can view the title page, forward and even the table of contents. Then you can put a reserve on the book you want and it can be delivered to your branch library for convenient - and environmentally friendly - pickup by you. With today's and tomorrow's Internet, we can browse the actual shelf visually online and see all the books. And that is the service we want and need.
[Of Course! Most younger -and other - folks already appreciate this, but there are still older folks among us who do not depend upon the Internet as much as as some do. Certainty, you would not want to exclude them, would you?]
We citizens need to insist that our city government and library board make a serious effort to compare their big parking garage/library plan with the options of branches, big warehouse storage of materials and combining the city and county systems. That has not been done - but the hype from city hall implies that has been done.
[You are seriously mistaken! All of these considerations are critically important and have been seriously considered by the Library Board. Before you make such accusations, please reasonably apprise yourself of the several years considerations that the Library Board has undertaken.]
We need to insist on real studies. It is worth spending good money on a cost benefit analysis and waiting a year instead of spending tens of millions of dollars on a big library that may be of low value in the future. The parking garage for city and county staff perks is the only high value thing hat we are being asked to fund with the May bond issue. The library is just wrapping for the parking garage.
[Again, you are seriously mistaken! I would hope that you would undertake to attend more than the the 2 or 3 Library Board Meetings than I have seen you attend in the last 6 or 7 years. Please do not undertake to undermine the serious work that at least 7 years of serious and deliberative Library Board considerations!]
[I hope our community will see past the biased and exceptionally uninformed opinions that Mr Servais has posted, and understand that all of these serious considerations have been thoroughly addressed by the Library Board in its deliberations. I can't imagine a group that is better focused on the best interests of our community! While I thoroughly respect contrary opinion, I strongly support the effort put forth by the Library Board in identifying community needs and addressing our community's long term vision.]
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
A Few Belated Responses on MLK Day:
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Let's honor the memory and legacy of Martin Luther King! He was an inspiration to us all, but much is still left to do since his death.
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Since the last posting some stuff has happened.
Nice hike at Point Reyes, Oysters for Dinner, NFL Conference Championship Games, fixing up an old house for retirement, watching the Demo debates in South Carolina, and finally catching up on reading about Bellingham and its 'issues'.
So much information, with so little to add, but some comments anyway from the perspective of someone who has recently served in local office, but is now sufficiently removed from that obligation to comment more candidly and without the caution of 'officially' offending any constituent.
1. Tip Johnson's lament about 'non coverage' of a 'mob' attending a Fairhaven Highlands [Chuckanut Ridge] public hearing is ludicrous!
I've got news for you Tip, it was not a newsworthy event. That is, except for some NIMBY folks who want to manufacture an 'issue'.
This land was zoned for development in 1980 [your watch?], is within City Limits and makes sense for development as long as the EIS conditions are reasonably met. If development cannot occur there, where can it occur?
Didn't this happen on your watch on the City Council?
Before?
Why didn't you take action on it then?
I'm thinking the entertainment value of mischievously taunting local government is more of an incentive to folks like you than any other reason, but what do I know?
I invite advocates of 'saving the 100-acre woods' [actually 85 acres, of which 50 will likely be saved for Critical Areas purposes anyway] to adopt a cause that is more worthy of their effort.
Like maybe protecting the Lake Whatcom Reservoir, truly affordable housing, or meaningful Charter Review for example.
Find another way of having fun, other than at citizen's expense.
I know it is tempting to keep doing what you're doing, and reliving visions of emulating the Chicago 7, but grow up will you?
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2. The brouhaha over GMA Land Supply needs to end as well. The City did its due diligence and came up with a its estimate of future land supply needs, which the County disagrees with for whatever reason. The new Mayor and Council Members are now advocating less land supply, which is their prerogative regardless of whether they participated in the lengthy process of analyzing future needs.
Political reality dictates their pronouncements be honored. Do it! It makes no difference who is right or wrong, because the County has the stroke to make the final decision. But, make sure what the City agrees to conforms to what it can deliver!
To me that means to reduce the percentage of City agreed growth from 51.4% to about 40%. Make sure that happens and I believe the City's liability will be minimal.
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3. Today's Herald story 'Cordata-area residents seek branch library. North-siders say they may oppose bond proposal.
That litany is beginning to sound like the whines of the so-called 'Greenways Legacy' crowd. You know, the ones who were willing to sabotage Greenways 3 if they didn't get their way?
Get serious people! It's hard enough to get folks to vote for the real necessities, much less the wants of every neighborhood in town! Do you have any idea of how expensive any of these projects are likely to be? Public Bond Issues only pay for capital projects. They don't even begin to meet the ongoing operating costs of sustaining a Branch Library, which would likely require 2 or 3 permanent staff at $50k to $75k per year apiece to maintain. That money needs to be provided from the General Fund, and would likely amount to the entire 1% in Property Taxes that the Council is able to approve without a public vote!
The idea of additional branches has been very seriously considered for several years by the Library Board, all of whom are citizen volunteers. If the feasibility is not there, you need to respect that finding. And, without an updated and modernized Central Library, there is no strong Trunk to support the Branches.
People already know where the Central Library is -in everyone's neighborhood- and are using it in numbers that are growing nearly every month, despite Internet use and travel time. The current site was picked largely for that reason, and partly because the City already owns the site. That alone, saves millions on the cost of another site. The 'park' behind the Library will be preserved, but to the south of the proposed new library building, where it can enjoy -above grade- sunshine with closer access to the Childrens' Museum and the Cultural District. And does anyone really doubt there is need for some additional parking?
I hope you good Northside folks aren't really willing to oppose a bond campaign! I -and the entire reading community- certainly hope you will get behind this issue as one that will benefit everyone in our community for many years to come.
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4. The NFL Conference Championship Games sounded pretty good, although I only saw some of the last parts of the 2nd game between the Jints and the Packers, including the overtime.
My sense was that the Jints deserved to win.
Also, that the Super Bowl may be closer than the 14 point spread in favor of the Patriots.
I really don't care who wins as long as it is a close, competitive, well played game.
You know, kinda like local politics.
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Out.
Let's honor the memory and legacy of Martin Luther King! He was an inspiration to us all, but much is still left to do since his death.
--------------------
Since the last posting some stuff has happened.
Nice hike at Point Reyes, Oysters for Dinner, NFL Conference Championship Games, fixing up an old house for retirement, watching the Demo debates in South Carolina, and finally catching up on reading about Bellingham and its 'issues'.
So much information, with so little to add, but some comments anyway from the perspective of someone who has recently served in local office, but is now sufficiently removed from that obligation to comment more candidly and without the caution of 'officially' offending any constituent.
1. Tip Johnson's lament about 'non coverage' of a 'mob' attending a Fairhaven Highlands [Chuckanut Ridge] public hearing is ludicrous!
I've got news for you Tip, it was not a newsworthy event. That is, except for some NIMBY folks who want to manufacture an 'issue'.
This land was zoned for development in 1980 [your watch?], is within City Limits and makes sense for development as long as the EIS conditions are reasonably met. If development cannot occur there, where can it occur?
Didn't this happen on your watch on the City Council?
Before?
Why didn't you take action on it then?
I'm thinking the entertainment value of mischievously taunting local government is more of an incentive to folks like you than any other reason, but what do I know?
I invite advocates of 'saving the 100-acre woods' [actually 85 acres, of which 50 will likely be saved for Critical Areas purposes anyway] to adopt a cause that is more worthy of their effort.
Like maybe protecting the Lake Whatcom Reservoir, truly affordable housing, or meaningful Charter Review for example.
Find another way of having fun, other than at citizen's expense.
I know it is tempting to keep doing what you're doing, and reliving visions of emulating the Chicago 7, but grow up will you?
--------------
2. The brouhaha over GMA Land Supply needs to end as well. The City did its due diligence and came up with a its estimate of future land supply needs, which the County disagrees with for whatever reason. The new Mayor and Council Members are now advocating less land supply, which is their prerogative regardless of whether they participated in the lengthy process of analyzing future needs.
Political reality dictates their pronouncements be honored. Do it! It makes no difference who is right or wrong, because the County has the stroke to make the final decision. But, make sure what the City agrees to conforms to what it can deliver!
To me that means to reduce the percentage of City agreed growth from 51.4% to about 40%. Make sure that happens and I believe the City's liability will be minimal.
-----------
3. Today's Herald story 'Cordata-area residents seek branch library. North-siders say they may oppose bond proposal.
That litany is beginning to sound like the whines of the so-called 'Greenways Legacy' crowd. You know, the ones who were willing to sabotage Greenways 3 if they didn't get their way?
Get serious people! It's hard enough to get folks to vote for the real necessities, much less the wants of every neighborhood in town! Do you have any idea of how expensive any of these projects are likely to be? Public Bond Issues only pay for capital projects. They don't even begin to meet the ongoing operating costs of sustaining a Branch Library, which would likely require 2 or 3 permanent staff at $50k to $75k per year apiece to maintain. That money needs to be provided from the General Fund, and would likely amount to the entire 1% in Property Taxes that the Council is able to approve without a public vote!
The idea of additional branches has been very seriously considered for several years by the Library Board, all of whom are citizen volunteers. If the feasibility is not there, you need to respect that finding. And, without an updated and modernized Central Library, there is no strong Trunk to support the Branches.
People already know where the Central Library is -in everyone's neighborhood- and are using it in numbers that are growing nearly every month, despite Internet use and travel time. The current site was picked largely for that reason, and partly because the City already owns the site. That alone, saves millions on the cost of another site. The 'park' behind the Library will be preserved, but to the south of the proposed new library building, where it can enjoy -above grade- sunshine with closer access to the Childrens' Museum and the Cultural District. And does anyone really doubt there is need for some additional parking?
I hope you good Northside folks aren't really willing to oppose a bond campaign! I -and the entire reading community- certainly hope you will get behind this issue as one that will benefit everyone in our community for many years to come.
--------------------
4. The NFL Conference Championship Games sounded pretty good, although I only saw some of the last parts of the 2nd game between the Jints and the Packers, including the overtime.
My sense was that the Jints deserved to win.
Also, that the Super Bowl may be closer than the 14 point spread in favor of the Patriots.
I really don't care who wins as long as it is a close, competitive, well played game.
You know, kinda like local politics.
-----------------
Out.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
On Libraries, Hiking & A Bobcat!
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Joan & I joined the San Francisco Library down at our Glen Park Branch this past week and were each issued a bar-coded card on the spot that is good to use at any of the 30 locations here in town.
The card, along with a personal PIN CODE also allows use of the Library's computers up to 30 minutes at a time.
Because WIFI is available, we could bring our own laptop and use the Internet connection as long as we want.
The hours of operation each week are as follows:
Sunday - Closed
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - 10 AM to 6 PM
Wednesday - 12 Noon to 8 PM
Thursday - 1 PM to 7 PM
Friday - 1 PM to 6 PM
Saturday - 1 PM to 6 PM
3 or 4 librarians were on duty all three times we visited our local Branch.
Most of the patrons were kids, but a variety of ages were present.
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Wednesday, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and visited Mount Tamalpais State Park for a hike in the sunshine.
Mt Tam is practically unparalleled in the variety of hiking experiences it offers.
The drainages to the North are actually part of the Marin Water District, which carefully restricts the uses allowed, so that the system of surface reservoirs below Mt Tam are protected.
The hike offered terrific views of San Francisco and most of the northern Bay, plus Mt Diablo to the East.
Good ocean views, too, over Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon, out to the Farallon Islands and Point Reyes National Seashore Park.
There was a little haze, but sometimes you can actually still see the High Sierra from these heights, over 200 miles away!
I tried unsuccessfully to download a couple of the digital images I took of a bobcat we encountered, followed for a while and eventually passed on our our way out.
This guy was a healthy specimen, one of about 30 or so that are known to inhabit the Marin Headlands and its surrounds.
At first, we thought it might be a coyote, but a look through binoculars confirmed this was a really good-sized cat!
He -or she- was hunting for dinner, and the preferred menu seemed to have been gophers or other small burrowing rodents.
This particular Bobcat wasn't very interested in us, but when it eventually became aware of our presence, it moved off the trail and downslope about 30 yards or so where it sat in the tall, dry grass and watched us pass, then continued it's hunt.
As luck would have it, the very next night we watched a presentation by Tony Rowell, the late Galen's son, in which he showed some shots of a Marin Headlands Bobcat hunting and pouncing on its prey!
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Here's some general info on Bobcats from Wikipedia, plus a couple of digital images much better than than the ones I took:
The Bobcat (Lynx rufus), occasionally known as the Bay Lynx, is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States. The Bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban edge, and swampland environments. It persists in much of its original range and populations are healthy.
With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the Bobcat resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus. It is smaller than the Canadian Lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby tail, from which it derives its name.
Though the Bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it will hunt anything from insects and small rodents to deer and pronghorn antelope. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the Bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although there is some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The Bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.
Although the Bobcat has been subject to extensive hunting by humans, both for sport and fur, its population has proven resilient. The elusive predator features in Native American mythology and the folklore of European settlers.
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We'll try to spot more wildlife tomorrow, this time at Point Reyes.
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Sunday, January 13, 2008
On Libraries & Football
Does this remind you of goal posts?
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I may have found a new method of blogging while watching football.
You know, like multi-tasking.
What a concept, but like most things a little prior research is useful.
Yesterday’s blog got posted before the Seahawks game was over, at least technically over.
They were a disappointment again, which was no big surprise.
The Patriots showed the Jaguars why they are the champs, but the issue was in doubt during the first half.
This morning’s game between the Chargers and Colts was one of the most interesting I’ve seen in recent years. The outcome was in doubt right up to the end, and it was remarkable how the Chargers managed to overcome the injuries to their best players to prevail.
I doubt they will beat the Patriots, but its good to see some different teams advance to the next level.
I’m rooting for the Giants over the Cowboys now, which is probably enough to jinx that outcome too!
So, with less than 14 minutes left in the game the 'Jints' have taken a 21-17 lead.
Will that last?
You'll have research that final score for yourself -after the game is over.
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Main SF Library
On the subject of libraries, maybe a few facts about the San Francisco library system would be of interest.
You can research this subject yourself at this URL:
http://sfpl.lib.ca.us
Of course, there are some big differences between San Francisco and Bellingham, which need to be recognized.
Considered the second most dense city in the US [16,000 people per square mile] SF has 10 times the population of Bellingham, has a significantly higher median income and has a long established Library system, including a large Main Library and 29 Branches. Only 14.5% of its population are children. Also, SF has a pretty low poverty rate, at 7.8%.
The current Main Branch was completed in 1996 after a long planning and funding process. It was built near the same site as the old Main, which was constructed in 1917.
SF is also a consolidated City & County jurisdiction [since 1856], where the Mayor also serves as County Executive.
An 11-member Board of Supervisors, elected by District, serves as the co-equal legislative branch of government.
Notice each District has nearly the population of Bellingham?
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Glen Park Branch Library
The new, nearby $5.5 million Glen Park Branch Library was opened last October about 3 blocks away, across the street from a BART Station and on 4 Bus Routes. The new 7185 SF space is 6 times larger than the older leased wooden building, which became a bookstore. The new Branch occupies the second floor, above a food market which itself was part of a mixed-use redevelopment that replaced a severely fire damaged older building.
Financing for acquisition and construction of the new branch was funded by a $105.9 million bond measure passed by voters in November 2000 and $500,000 in private funds raised by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library for furniture, fixtures and equipment.
The Branch Library Improvement Program [BLIP] is the largest capital improvement campaign in the history of the San Francisco Public Library. BLIP calls for 17 branches to be renovated, 4 leased buildings to be replaced with City-owned buildings, 2 branches to be replaced with new buildings, and 1 brand-new branch in Mission Bay.
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One point I'd like to make is that while Branches are a great idea, they are expensive to build, maintain and operate, plus they strongly depend upon a Main Branch for support.
But, if citizens want a larger Branch system and will vote to pay for it, it can certainly happen.
In coming to a decision like that, let's be careful about setting up false choices, like the Main versus Branch argument the need for parking and be realistic about the costs and competing priorities.
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Additional info:
The Main Library is the resource center for the entire San Francisco Public Library system and the libraries of Northern California. Its large collection and extensive programs and exhibits support the Library’s mission of “access to information, knowledge, independent learning and the joy of reading.”
http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/librarylocations/main/buildmain.htm
Other Facts about the Building
About the Library
· Hours & Phone Numbers
· Main
· Branches
· Meeting Rooms
· Kids
· Teens
Financing:
Construction was financed by a $109.5 million bond measure approved by San Francisco voters in 1988. Construction of the Main Library cost $104.5 million.
The remaining funds were used for branch renovations. Furnishing, interior finishes and equipment were financed through $30 million in private funds raised by the Library Foundation of San Francisco.
Site:
Marshall Square in San Francisco Civic Center. The site is bounded by Larkin, Fulton, Hyde and Grove Streets
Chronology and Schedule:
1974: The Library Commission, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, Keep Libraries Alive!, and other citizen groups fight successfully to retain Marshall Square as the site for a new main library.
1985: The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library offers to work with Mayor Dianne Feinstein on the completion of the Civic Center, including use of Marshall Square for a new library.
1986: A task force is created by Mayor Feinstein to complete the design of the Civic Center.
A report by Becker and Hayes/Omni-Group criticizes the Old Main and calls for building a new library in Marshall Square.
The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library inaugurate a private fund-raising campaign for the New Main.
The Library Foundation of San Francisco is established to support a New Main.
(Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library.)
1987: A second study by Becker and Hayes/Omni-Group underscores the use of Marshall Square for a new library. Another study, by Skidmore Owings Merrill, recommends that the Old Main be used for a museum. (Future of the Old Main.)
The mayor calls for a new main library in Marshall Square as part of a Civic Center master plan.
1988: Library bond for 109.5 million passes for renovation of a few branches and construction of a new 376,000 square foot Main Library.
1989: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners of New York and Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein Moris of San Francisco are hired by the Library Commission as architects for the New Main.
1991: The Library Foundation officially announces its campaign for the New Main.
1992: Groundbreaking ceremony is held in Marshall Square.
Special Gifts campaign is launched to seek funds from various local constituencies (affinity groups) for particular collections and capital gains.
1993: On March 15, construction of the New Main begins.
1994: Topping-out ceremony marks the completion of the framing of the new building.
The Library Foundation reaches $30 million fund-raising goal and keeps going.
1995: New Main is completed. By the end of the year, the Library Foundation has raised $35 million.
1996: Opening of the Main is on April 18.
2000: Post Occupancy Evaluation Report (POE): Executive Summary
Seating:
Seating Capacity: 2,043 (5 times that of the Old Main Library)
Public Service Areas: 1,180 (3 times that of the Old Main Library)
Meeting Rooms: 544 seats
Auditorium: 235 seats
Study Rooms: 46 seats (2 in each study room)
Size:
Square Feet: 376,000. Six floors above ground. One floor below ground.
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Saturday, January 12, 2008
On City Government, Football & Other Contact Sports
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What could be better than being in the sunshine again and watching the Seahawks score on a takeaway less than 30 seconds into the Packers game?
We’ll see if that happy moment holds up during the course of the game, but even if it doesn’t it really won’t matter in the greater scheme of things, will it?
Its been over a week since my last blog, time that was spent in traveling almost a 1000 miles south through some interesting weather in a van loaded with stuff destined to remain in San Francisco after we have departed for our next destination.
Reoccupying our former abode and the associated fixing up and reconnecting with neighbors has taken a little time, as has catching up on much needed rest.
And now, as if on cue, the sun has returned and it is time for some fun!
That’s where the Seahawks come in, I hope! [Now they’re up 14-0 with over 10 minutes left in the 1st quarter!]
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Football and fun aside, city government must continue providing essential services and addressing issues as best it can, hoping that the solutions reached will be effective and lasting in value.
I’m confident that the new –and not so new- City elected officials are up to this task, and indications are that the transition has been reasonably smooth so far.
With other things occupying my time and a slow dial-up Internet connection, I haven’t spent much time keeping abreast of things, but from what I have read, here are some comments on a few issues.
Waterfront Redevelopment:
The idea of a Public Development Agency has always made sense in my mind, whether it will cover just the City’s portion of the Waterfront District or not. The Port would be smart to willingly do the same, but their culture has blinded them to this reality.
Also, the lack of information –planning & financial- provided regularly to the City Council has been a major concern that has been expressed frequently.
Now that a Master Agreement and Development Regulations are expected this year, it is not only appropriate, but essential that the Council –and the public- are kept fully in the loop and made aware of the options being considered.
There is a limit to what the City can reasonably finance, and a sequence of providing essential infrastructure that makes sense.
I’m glad the Mayor is forcefully making that point. And, it is good that the Council has decided to establish its own Waterfront Committee to cement better liaison and input to this undertaking.
The issue of Waterfront impact fees also needs re-addressing, either up-front or deferred with certainty of payment. If the Port disagrees, that is their prerogative, but it is the City’s decision!
The Inter-local Agreement and subsequent Supplements clearly allow for such changes, which can be initiated by either party. This has always been the case, despite the persistent claims of some critics.
But the spirit of cooperation between City and Port should be retained and continuously renewed, for that is the foundation of the ultimate success of the Waterfront Redevelopment.
It is also particularly critical to keep the clean-up momentum moving forward since that action will facilitate whatever redevelopment scenario will follow.
Transportation:
Setting up this committee with a more comprehensive purview is a positive step that I hope will also reflect the way the City will consistently address this general subject and its several subsets.
Using the new transportation concurrency requirements will help put teeth into its intent.
Just how the regional transportation planning will be changed remains to be seen, but the issue of UGA arterials and connectors continues to need serious attention.
Parks Recreation & Open Space Plan:
The update due this year will need to correct some obvious inconsistencies that impacted the Land Supply discussion last year and earlier.
The Parks Committee of Louise, Jack and Stan is the strongest I can imagine, and I think they will do a first rate job on this working with the Parks Dept.
Lake Whatcom Reservoir:
We will have to see what progress 2008 will bring on this conundrum.
First, the City & County will need to consummate more than talking about it.
Then, the DOE will need to finally issue its TMDL Study, which has now been in progress for 9 years. [Technically, the Agency has up to 15 years]
The final issuance of that document would give elected officials some official ‘cover’ for taking whatever corrective action they will.
But, we already know what the Phosphorus Limits ought to be, both in urban and rural settings, don’t we?
Maybe the City will also get around to acting on the WAB Recommendations regarding how to care for the watershed properties now owned by the City’s Water Fund.
And then there’s the matter of the County ‘Park’ to be gained by the ‘reconveyance’ of DNR forestlands. That ought to create enough distraction by itself to prevent any other meaningful action to be taken.
Land Supply & Use:
This is a topic that has already gotten too much attention.
Who cares? Besides the developers, the no-growth ideologues, and folks who were duped into thinking the City’s lengthy analysis really meant something, I mean?
Just make sure the City isn’t committing to more growth than it can reasonably accommodate. Otherwise, we’re kidding ourselves in the opposite direction.
Besides, the County likes things just as they are, and it’s their decision!
Library:
I’m glad to see the scoping & planning process is proceeding ahead in anticipation of the public being able to decide on its future needs soon. The process has been very deliberate and slow as is fitting in matters like this. The Library Board is getting good advice from its consultants, who are legitimate experts in assessing community library needs.
While there will always be diverse opinions on such things, these are actually helpful to any rational discussion because they force thinking about options that might not have otherwise been considered. And, if a community can’t have an intelligent discussion on something like a new Public Library, what topics can we discuss?
Aside from fairly assessing future community needs in terms of space & function, the issues of cost, transition plan, parking and branches all come with the territory. All of these are part of the mix that has to be sorted out and presented to voters in the best combination, form and timing possible. It would be great if whatever evolves from this process passes the ballot on the first try. We’ll see soon.
Open Public Meetings:
One item on the agenda for the January 13 meeting is a discussion of how to televise ALL Council meetings –evening and afternoon- and make them more readily available for the public to access in a timely fashion.
Suffice to say I am delighted this is about ready to come to pass!
I believe most citizens do want their officials to meet and deliberate in as open a forum as possible. That’s also the law in the State of Washington. At essentially no extra cost, the proposal now before the Council has no downside that I can see.
Do it!
----------------------------------------------------------
Now, here we are a little later in the Seahawks-Packers game.
Just under 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the Packers are ahead 35-17!
What happened?
Oh well, there’s still time left to play, and there are more important things, aren’t there?
Care to guess the final score?
----------------------------------------------------------
What could be better than being in the sunshine again and watching the Seahawks score on a takeaway less than 30 seconds into the Packers game?
We’ll see if that happy moment holds up during the course of the game, but even if it doesn’t it really won’t matter in the greater scheme of things, will it?
Its been over a week since my last blog, time that was spent in traveling almost a 1000 miles south through some interesting weather in a van loaded with stuff destined to remain in San Francisco after we have departed for our next destination.
Reoccupying our former abode and the associated fixing up and reconnecting with neighbors has taken a little time, as has catching up on much needed rest.
And now, as if on cue, the sun has returned and it is time for some fun!
That’s where the Seahawks come in, I hope! [Now they’re up 14-0 with over 10 minutes left in the 1st quarter!]
----------------------------------------------------------
Football and fun aside, city government must continue providing essential services and addressing issues as best it can, hoping that the solutions reached will be effective and lasting in value.
I’m confident that the new –and not so new- City elected officials are up to this task, and indications are that the transition has been reasonably smooth so far.
With other things occupying my time and a slow dial-up Internet connection, I haven’t spent much time keeping abreast of things, but from what I have read, here are some comments on a few issues.
Waterfront Redevelopment:
The idea of a Public Development Agency has always made sense in my mind, whether it will cover just the City’s portion of the Waterfront District or not. The Port would be smart to willingly do the same, but their culture has blinded them to this reality.
Also, the lack of information –planning & financial- provided regularly to the City Council has been a major concern that has been expressed frequently.
Now that a Master Agreement and Development Regulations are expected this year, it is not only appropriate, but essential that the Council –and the public- are kept fully in the loop and made aware of the options being considered.
There is a limit to what the City can reasonably finance, and a sequence of providing essential infrastructure that makes sense.
I’m glad the Mayor is forcefully making that point. And, it is good that the Council has decided to establish its own Waterfront Committee to cement better liaison and input to this undertaking.
The issue of Waterfront impact fees also needs re-addressing, either up-front or deferred with certainty of payment. If the Port disagrees, that is their prerogative, but it is the City’s decision!
The Inter-local Agreement and subsequent Supplements clearly allow for such changes, which can be initiated by either party. This has always been the case, despite the persistent claims of some critics.
But the spirit of cooperation between City and Port should be retained and continuously renewed, for that is the foundation of the ultimate success of the Waterfront Redevelopment.
It is also particularly critical to keep the clean-up momentum moving forward since that action will facilitate whatever redevelopment scenario will follow.
Transportation:
Setting up this committee with a more comprehensive purview is a positive step that I hope will also reflect the way the City will consistently address this general subject and its several subsets.
Using the new transportation concurrency requirements will help put teeth into its intent.
Just how the regional transportation planning will be changed remains to be seen, but the issue of UGA arterials and connectors continues to need serious attention.
Parks Recreation & Open Space Plan:
The update due this year will need to correct some obvious inconsistencies that impacted the Land Supply discussion last year and earlier.
The Parks Committee of Louise, Jack and Stan is the strongest I can imagine, and I think they will do a first rate job on this working with the Parks Dept.
Lake Whatcom Reservoir:
We will have to see what progress 2008 will bring on this conundrum.
First, the City & County will need to consummate more than talking about it.
Then, the DOE will need to finally issue its TMDL Study, which has now been in progress for 9 years. [Technically, the Agency has up to 15 years]
The final issuance of that document would give elected officials some official ‘cover’ for taking whatever corrective action they will.
But, we already know what the Phosphorus Limits ought to be, both in urban and rural settings, don’t we?
Maybe the City will also get around to acting on the WAB Recommendations regarding how to care for the watershed properties now owned by the City’s Water Fund.
And then there’s the matter of the County ‘Park’ to be gained by the ‘reconveyance’ of DNR forestlands. That ought to create enough distraction by itself to prevent any other meaningful action to be taken.
Land Supply & Use:
This is a topic that has already gotten too much attention.
Who cares? Besides the developers, the no-growth ideologues, and folks who were duped into thinking the City’s lengthy analysis really meant something, I mean?
Just make sure the City isn’t committing to more growth than it can reasonably accommodate. Otherwise, we’re kidding ourselves in the opposite direction.
Besides, the County likes things just as they are, and it’s their decision!
Library:
I’m glad to see the scoping & planning process is proceeding ahead in anticipation of the public being able to decide on its future needs soon. The process has been very deliberate and slow as is fitting in matters like this. The Library Board is getting good advice from its consultants, who are legitimate experts in assessing community library needs.
While there will always be diverse opinions on such things, these are actually helpful to any rational discussion because they force thinking about options that might not have otherwise been considered. And, if a community can’t have an intelligent discussion on something like a new Public Library, what topics can we discuss?
Aside from fairly assessing future community needs in terms of space & function, the issues of cost, transition plan, parking and branches all come with the territory. All of these are part of the mix that has to be sorted out and presented to voters in the best combination, form and timing possible. It would be great if whatever evolves from this process passes the ballot on the first try. We’ll see soon.
Open Public Meetings:
One item on the agenda for the January 13 meeting is a discussion of how to televise ALL Council meetings –evening and afternoon- and make them more readily available for the public to access in a timely fashion.
Suffice to say I am delighted this is about ready to come to pass!
I believe most citizens do want their officials to meet and deliberate in as open a forum as possible. That’s also the law in the State of Washington. At essentially no extra cost, the proposal now before the Council has no downside that I can see.
Do it!
----------------------------------------------------------
Now, here we are a little later in the Seahawks-Packers game.
Just under 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the Packers are ahead 35-17!
What happened?
Oh well, there’s still time left to play, and there are more important things, aren’t there?
Care to guess the final score?
----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, January 4, 2008
Driving our KARMA & Curbing our DOGMA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last week I was reintroduced to the Buddhist teachings at the Chinook Center, home of the Whibey Institute.
It was quiet and peaceful there in the soft rain at an old farm converted to a retreat center in the woods.
That quietness alone was a welcome contrast to the hurley-burley of events that swirl continuously in our 'normal' lives! International events & intrigues, National elections & scandals, Local issues & propaganda all tend to sap one's spirit & strength after prolonged immersion in them.
I was ready for a break from all that 'stuff' and it helped me to reassess what is truly important in this life.
Whether one considers themselves a Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, atheist, agnostic or something else is not really that important, as long as certain guiding principles are in one's mind as worthy of practice.
But, just knowing or claiming belief in such concepts is only one step in the direction of right action, and it is the action -along with the intent- that impacts ourselves and others, isn't it?
And, it ain't easy, even if one subscribes to a decent set of principles!
The main attraction that got me to the Chinook Center was the guest speaker, Adzom Rinpoche, one of the greatest living teachers currently residing in Tibet.
There, among incredible hardship, this enlightened human being is constantly doing remarkable things to help people amid problems that we can only imagine.
And yet, this man -Adzom Rinpoche- retains a lightness of spirit and palpable caring that is as truly refreshing as it is inspiring.
My takeaway message was that I need to get way more serious about what is important in this life, and with that in mind, I'm using today's blog on that subject.
Not a lot of original stuff here; mostly off the Internet.
But when you think of it, it's pretty well aligned with the Boy Scout Oath I came to know many years ago:
No one has to read the rest of this -or any of it for that matter- but I must write it before hitting the road for a while.
So, here goes...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: What are the ten virtuous acts spoken of in Buddhism?
A: Three concern the body: one must not kill, steal, or engage in sexual misconduct.
Four others are verbal: do not lie, defame others, speak offensive words, or engage in frivolous conversation, which relates to everything that might be said under the influence of afflicting emotions.
Finally, the last three virtuous acts are of a mental nature: do not develop covetousness or malice and, finally, do not hold false or perverted views, such as the extreme view, close to nihilism, which totally denies spiritual perfection.
What we mean by "erroneous views" generally includes absolutist, eternalist, and nihilistic views.
But in the context of the ten virtuous acts, only nihilistic views are implicated.
It is therefore on the basis of a lifestyle disciplined by ethics that one abstains from committing the contrary acts, the ten non-virtuous acts.
When faced with a situation where you might possibly commit such negative acts, you abstain from committing them.
A life rooted in ethics has at its foundation the abandonment of the ten non-virtues in favour of the practice of their opposites.
===============================
The Ten Non-virtuous Deeds
A misdeed may consist up to four steps. The severity of the misdeed depends on number of steps done and the effort expended at each step.
• Premeditation in thoughts, "I will do this misdeed."
• The deliberate engagement in the act and pursing it with effort (planning to carry out the act).
• Performing the act.
• Rejoice and without regrets after the act.
---------------------------------------
I. Three physical misdeeds
1. Killing, the taking of life
2. Stealing, Taking which is not given
3. Sexual Misconduct
---------------------------------------
II. Four verbal misdeeds
1. Lying, stating something which is untrue.
2. Instigation, speech which cause division between friends, relatives, etc.
3. Gossip,
4. Harsh words
---------------------------------------
III. Three mental misdeeds
1. Covetousness
2. Ill will
3. Wrong Views
---------------------------------------
1. Killing, taking of life.
1. There are three type of killing corresponding to the three poisons.
• Killing resulting from desire (Killing living beings because the desire for their possessions such as killing an animal for its meat).
• Killing resulting from anger (Murder because of ill intention).
• Killing resulting from delusion (Kill without intention such as accidentally stepping on ants).
2. The consequences of killing
• When the fruit of ill-karma ripens, the killer will likely be reborn as hungry ghost if he killed out of desire. The killer will likely be rebound in hell if he killed out anger. The killer will most likely rebound as animal if he killed out of delusion.
• Even if the killer is reborn as human in the next life, the killer will have shorten life span and numerous sicknesses. This is consequence of the "dominate action" of killing in the current life.
• In future lives, the killer will again take delight in the act of killing because of the killer's current habitual tendency.
-------------------------
2. Stealing, taking another person's possession without permission.
1. Type of stealing
• Stealing through force (robbery)
• Stealing through concealment
• Stealing through deceit ("cooking the books").
2. The consequence of the act of stealing
• When fruit of ill-karma ripens, the perpetrator reborn into the three lower realms depending on the severity of the theft.
• If reborn as human being, the perpetrator will have few possessions and be frequently victimized by thievery and robbery. The consequence of having committing the nonvirtuous act in the previous life.
• In the future lives, perpetrator will again take delight in taking what is not given as result from his current habitual tendency.
-------------------------
3. Sexual Misconduct, the act of engage in intercourse with an object of desire with whom one has no authority to do so.
1. Types of sexual misconduct.
• Intercourse with Improper person
• One should not have intercourse with someone under a king's guardianship, such as his queen.
• One should not have intercourse with someone prohibited by the law.
• One should not have intercourse with someone under the parental guardianship (someone is under parental guardianship when residing in his/her parents' home).
• One should not have intercourse with someone (e.g., a relative) which is morally indecent.
• One should not have intercourse with someone under the guardianship of the sacred Dharma such as a monk/nun.
• One should not perform masturbation.
• (Under the following circumstances, intercourse with one's rightful spouse is sexual misconduct)
• Intercourse at inappropriate time: One should not have intercourse at inappropriate time such as during daylight hours, on the night of full moon, on the night of new moon and on the eighth day of each lunar month.
• Intercourse at inappropriate location: One should not have intercourse at inappropriate location such as in the presence of a shrine for the three jewels.
• One should not have intercourse at an inappropriate orifice.
2. The consequence of sexual misconduct
• With ripening of ill karma, perpetrator is reborn into the lower three realms. Even perpetrator takes rebirth in the higher realm, the perpetrator and his spouse will be in disharmony (fighting, etc.).
• The offender's helpers, spouses, etc. in future lives will be unresponsive and show signs of ingratitude.
• In future lives, the offender will continue to take pleasure in sexual misconduct. This is consequence of offender's tendency for sexual misconduct developed in the current life.
-------------------------
4. Lying, stating something that is untrue.
1. Type of Lying
• Lies that neither benefit nor harm.
• Lies that do benefit or harm such as benefiting one person while harming another.
• Lies of having achieving religious attainment when one has not.
2. The consequences of lying
• When the ill-karma ripens, the perpetrator fall into lower three realms (depending on severity of transgressions).
• Even if reborn as human being, other people will find the perpetrator to be verbally unpersuasive. The consequence of having telling falsehood in the current life.
• In future lives, the perpetrator would again take delight in telling lies.
-------------------------
5. Divisive talk, to incite division between friends through speech.
1. Type of Divisive talk
• Public divisible talk, speaking directly to someone's face.
• Indirect divisive talk by hinting or leading in roundabout way.
• Private divisive talk by talking to other individually.
2. The consequences of divisive talk
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender reborn into the three lower realm (the destination is dependent on severity of transgression).
• Even if reborn as a human, one will have few friends and many argument in future lives. He/she will always have many regrets and be disliked by everyone. The person's words will not be trusted.
• In future lives, the perpetrator will take delight in divisive talk again because of the habitual tendency developed in the current life.
-------------------------
6. Idle gossip
1. Type of Idle Gossip
• shamanistic incantation.
• storytelling and word games
• bantering conversion.
2. The consequences of Idle Gossip
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender reborn into the three lower realms
• If reborn as human being, the offender's speech will be undignified, babbling and unconnected.
• In future lives, the offender will take pleasure in idle gossip again because of the habitual tendency to engage in idle gossip in the current life.
-------------------------
7. Harsh words
1. Type of Harsh words
• Verbally exposing someone's faults in public
• Hurting someone indirectly
• Verbally spreading information in private that will hurt another person.
2. The consequence of harsh words
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn in the three lower realms.
• If reborn as human being, the offender's speech will be offensive to other and will always aggravate them.
• In future lives, the offender will be fond of speaking harsh words because of the habitual tendency developed in the current life.
-------------------------
8. Covetousness
1. Type of Covetousness
• Refraining from giving away your own possession.
• Desiring to make other's possession belong to yourself.
• Attachment to something excellent that belongs to neither oneself nor others.
2. The Consequences of Covetousness
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn into three lower realm
• If reborn as human being, the offender will be born in unpleasant area where there is hunger and thirst.
• In the future lives, the offender will take pleasure in covetousness again because of the habitual tendency developed in the current life.
-------------------------
9. Ill will, attitude of hostility
1. Types of Ill-will
• Ill-will resulting from anger
• Ill-will resulting from resentment
• Ill-will resulting from jealousy
2. The consequences of Ill-will
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn into the lower three realms.
• If reborn as human beings, others would unjustifiably hostile toward the offender. The offender will also constantly have enemies and dealing with lawsuits.
• In future lives, the offender will develop a malicious frame of mind.
-------------------------
10. Wrong view
1. Types of wrong view
• holding non-buddhist beliefs of eternalism or nihilism.
• wrong view of holding a rule or ritual to be paramount such as "asceticism of dogs and chickens."
• wrong view of holding the belief of the "transitory collection."
2. The consequences of wrong view
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn in three lower realms
• If reborn as human being, the offender would be born into area governed by uncivilized tribe and the offender would not even hear the name of three jewels.
• The habitual tendencies of holding wrong view will solidify, and the offender will enjoy fond of holding wrong view in future lives.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Three Poisons:
• Desire - Rooster
• Hatred - Snake
• Ignorance - Pig
========================================
Last week I was reintroduced to the Buddhist teachings at the Chinook Center, home of the Whibey Institute.
It was quiet and peaceful there in the soft rain at an old farm converted to a retreat center in the woods.
That quietness alone was a welcome contrast to the hurley-burley of events that swirl continuously in our 'normal' lives! International events & intrigues, National elections & scandals, Local issues & propaganda all tend to sap one's spirit & strength after prolonged immersion in them.
I was ready for a break from all that 'stuff' and it helped me to reassess what is truly important in this life.
Whether one considers themselves a Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, atheist, agnostic or something else is not really that important, as long as certain guiding principles are in one's mind as worthy of practice.
But, just knowing or claiming belief in such concepts is only one step in the direction of right action, and it is the action -along with the intent- that impacts ourselves and others, isn't it?
And, it ain't easy, even if one subscribes to a decent set of principles!
The main attraction that got me to the Chinook Center was the guest speaker, Adzom Rinpoche, one of the greatest living teachers currently residing in Tibet.
There, among incredible hardship, this enlightened human being is constantly doing remarkable things to help people amid problems that we can only imagine.
And yet, this man -Adzom Rinpoche- retains a lightness of spirit and palpable caring that is as truly refreshing as it is inspiring.
My takeaway message was that I need to get way more serious about what is important in this life, and with that in mind, I'm using today's blog on that subject.
Not a lot of original stuff here; mostly off the Internet.
But when you think of it, it's pretty well aligned with the Boy Scout Oath I came to know many years ago:
Scout Oath (or Promise)
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
No one has to read the rest of this -or any of it for that matter- but I must write it before hitting the road for a while.
So, here goes...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
-His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: What are the ten virtuous acts spoken of in Buddhism?
A: Three concern the body: one must not kill, steal, or engage in sexual misconduct.
Four others are verbal: do not lie, defame others, speak offensive words, or engage in frivolous conversation, which relates to everything that might be said under the influence of afflicting emotions.
Finally, the last three virtuous acts are of a mental nature: do not develop covetousness or malice and, finally, do not hold false or perverted views, such as the extreme view, close to nihilism, which totally denies spiritual perfection.
What we mean by "erroneous views" generally includes absolutist, eternalist, and nihilistic views.
But in the context of the ten virtuous acts, only nihilistic views are implicated.
It is therefore on the basis of a lifestyle disciplined by ethics that one abstains from committing the contrary acts, the ten non-virtuous acts.
When faced with a situation where you might possibly commit such negative acts, you abstain from committing them.
A life rooted in ethics has at its foundation the abandonment of the ten non-virtues in favour of the practice of their opposites.
===============================
The Ten Non-virtuous Deeds
A misdeed may consist up to four steps. The severity of the misdeed depends on number of steps done and the effort expended at each step.
• Premeditation in thoughts, "I will do this misdeed."
• The deliberate engagement in the act and pursing it with effort (planning to carry out the act).
• Performing the act.
• Rejoice and without regrets after the act.
---------------------------------------
I. Three physical misdeeds
1. Killing, the taking of life
2. Stealing, Taking which is not given
3. Sexual Misconduct
---------------------------------------
II. Four verbal misdeeds
1. Lying, stating something which is untrue.
2. Instigation, speech which cause division between friends, relatives, etc.
3. Gossip,
4. Harsh words
---------------------------------------
III. Three mental misdeeds
1. Covetousness
2. Ill will
3. Wrong Views
---------------------------------------
1. Killing, taking of life.
1. There are three type of killing corresponding to the three poisons.
• Killing resulting from desire (Killing living beings because the desire for their possessions such as killing an animal for its meat).
• Killing resulting from anger (Murder because of ill intention).
• Killing resulting from delusion (Kill without intention such as accidentally stepping on ants).
2. The consequences of killing
• When the fruit of ill-karma ripens, the killer will likely be reborn as hungry ghost if he killed out of desire. The killer will likely be rebound in hell if he killed out anger. The killer will most likely rebound as animal if he killed out of delusion.
• Even if the killer is reborn as human in the next life, the killer will have shorten life span and numerous sicknesses. This is consequence of the "dominate action" of killing in the current life.
• In future lives, the killer will again take delight in the act of killing because of the killer's current habitual tendency.
-------------------------
2. Stealing, taking another person's possession without permission.
1. Type of stealing
• Stealing through force (robbery)
• Stealing through concealment
• Stealing through deceit ("cooking the books").
2. The consequence of the act of stealing
• When fruit of ill-karma ripens, the perpetrator reborn into the three lower realms depending on the severity of the theft.
• If reborn as human being, the perpetrator will have few possessions and be frequently victimized by thievery and robbery. The consequence of having committing the nonvirtuous act in the previous life.
• In the future lives, perpetrator will again take delight in taking what is not given as result from his current habitual tendency.
-------------------------
3. Sexual Misconduct, the act of engage in intercourse with an object of desire with whom one has no authority to do so.
1. Types of sexual misconduct.
• Intercourse with Improper person
• One should not have intercourse with someone under a king's guardianship, such as his queen.
• One should not have intercourse with someone prohibited by the law.
• One should not have intercourse with someone under the parental guardianship (someone is under parental guardianship when residing in his/her parents' home).
• One should not have intercourse with someone (e.g., a relative) which is morally indecent.
• One should not have intercourse with someone under the guardianship of the sacred Dharma such as a monk/nun.
• One should not perform masturbation.
• (Under the following circumstances, intercourse with one's rightful spouse is sexual misconduct)
• Intercourse at inappropriate time: One should not have intercourse at inappropriate time such as during daylight hours, on the night of full moon, on the night of new moon and on the eighth day of each lunar month.
• Intercourse at inappropriate location: One should not have intercourse at inappropriate location such as in the presence of a shrine for the three jewels.
• One should not have intercourse at an inappropriate orifice.
2. The consequence of sexual misconduct
• With ripening of ill karma, perpetrator is reborn into the lower three realms. Even perpetrator takes rebirth in the higher realm, the perpetrator and his spouse will be in disharmony (fighting, etc.).
• The offender's helpers, spouses, etc. in future lives will be unresponsive and show signs of ingratitude.
• In future lives, the offender will continue to take pleasure in sexual misconduct. This is consequence of offender's tendency for sexual misconduct developed in the current life.
-------------------------
4. Lying, stating something that is untrue.
1. Type of Lying
• Lies that neither benefit nor harm.
• Lies that do benefit or harm such as benefiting one person while harming another.
• Lies of having achieving religious attainment when one has not.
2. The consequences of lying
• When the ill-karma ripens, the perpetrator fall into lower three realms (depending on severity of transgressions).
• Even if reborn as human being, other people will find the perpetrator to be verbally unpersuasive. The consequence of having telling falsehood in the current life.
• In future lives, the perpetrator would again take delight in telling lies.
-------------------------
5. Divisive talk, to incite division between friends through speech.
1. Type of Divisive talk
• Public divisible talk, speaking directly to someone's face.
• Indirect divisive talk by hinting or leading in roundabout way.
• Private divisive talk by talking to other individually.
2. The consequences of divisive talk
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender reborn into the three lower realm (the destination is dependent on severity of transgression).
• Even if reborn as a human, one will have few friends and many argument in future lives. He/she will always have many regrets and be disliked by everyone. The person's words will not be trusted.
• In future lives, the perpetrator will take delight in divisive talk again because of the habitual tendency developed in the current life.
-------------------------
6. Idle gossip
1. Type of Idle Gossip
• shamanistic incantation.
• storytelling and word games
• bantering conversion.
2. The consequences of Idle Gossip
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender reborn into the three lower realms
• If reborn as human being, the offender's speech will be undignified, babbling and unconnected.
• In future lives, the offender will take pleasure in idle gossip again because of the habitual tendency to engage in idle gossip in the current life.
-------------------------
7. Harsh words
1. Type of Harsh words
• Verbally exposing someone's faults in public
• Hurting someone indirectly
• Verbally spreading information in private that will hurt another person.
2. The consequence of harsh words
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn in the three lower realms.
• If reborn as human being, the offender's speech will be offensive to other and will always aggravate them.
• In future lives, the offender will be fond of speaking harsh words because of the habitual tendency developed in the current life.
-------------------------
8. Covetousness
1. Type of Covetousness
• Refraining from giving away your own possession.
• Desiring to make other's possession belong to yourself.
• Attachment to something excellent that belongs to neither oneself nor others.
2. The Consequences of Covetousness
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn into three lower realm
• If reborn as human being, the offender will be born in unpleasant area where there is hunger and thirst.
• In the future lives, the offender will take pleasure in covetousness again because of the habitual tendency developed in the current life.
-------------------------
9. Ill will, attitude of hostility
1. Types of Ill-will
• Ill-will resulting from anger
• Ill-will resulting from resentment
• Ill-will resulting from jealousy
2. The consequences of Ill-will
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn into the lower three realms.
• If reborn as human beings, others would unjustifiably hostile toward the offender. The offender will also constantly have enemies and dealing with lawsuits.
• In future lives, the offender will develop a malicious frame of mind.
-------------------------
10. Wrong view
1. Types of wrong view
• holding non-buddhist beliefs of eternalism or nihilism.
• wrong view of holding a rule or ritual to be paramount such as "asceticism of dogs and chickens."
• wrong view of holding the belief of the "transitory collection."
2. The consequences of wrong view
• When the ill-karma ripens, the offender is reborn in three lower realms
• If reborn as human being, the offender would be born into area governed by uncivilized tribe and the offender would not even hear the name of three jewels.
• The habitual tendencies of holding wrong view will solidify, and the offender will enjoy fond of holding wrong view in future lives.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Three Poisons:
• Desire - Rooster
• Hatred - Snake
• Ignorance - Pig
========================================
Thursday, January 3, 2008
ANNOYANCES...
---------------------------
This appeared in my e-mail this morning from a friend.
Think it might be interesting to compose a similar list about local happenings?
---------------------------
---------------------------
20 Annoying Things About 2007
By Stephen Pizzo, News for Real Posted on January 1, 2008, Printed on January 2, 2008
Whew, has this been an annoying year, or what! I figure 2007 has been the most annoying year of my 62. I even did up a list of just the top 20 things I became sick and tired of during the past year.
Here they are, in no particular order:
1) I'm sick and tired of being bombarded by TV ads with American Indians telling me that their casinos are making life better for everyone, not just the ten members of their tribe. Have you ever been in one of those casinos? Just how are casinos making life better for the bus loads of gray-haired codgers who upload their meager Social Security checks into Chief Wampum's slots? And what about all those already over-extended, mortgage-poor, credit card maxed out working stiffs so desperate their last remaining hope is to hit a progressive-slot jackpot? How is the spreading plague of Indian casinos helping those folks?
So knock it off with those phony feel-good ads and replace them with something that at least approximates the truth. Something like this would be more tolerable:
"We had a sweet thing going before Europeans showed up, uninvited, and mugged the living crap out of Indian tribes from coast to shining coast. Well that hunk of Karma has come home to roost at our Indian Casinos where we are now happily, and profitably, doing the same thing to you. We even have a name for you ... The White Buffalo."
Now, that's at least true, and defensible. I can live with that. But even white-guilt has its limits and those spoken-with-forked-tongue, Indian-casinos-are-good-for-us TV ads have pushed that limit well beyond the breaking point.
2) I'm sick and tired of all things bimbo. Paris, Britney, Lohan ... and all those like them. The only time such appallingly stupid people should appear on my evening news is if they should stumble in front of the Presidential limo, get run over but survived and, once out of a coma, scribble out the solution to Einstein's unified field theory. Otherwise I never want to hear their names or see their vacant faces on the news again. They are nature's most useless and annoying creatures. CNN and MSNBC -- don't waste another electron reporting on these people because electrons have more important things to do -- and so do you.
3) I'm sick and tired of having to pretend that Christian fundamentalists are entirely sane when they announce with straight faces that the earth was created in six days, and is not billions of years old but actually just 6,000 years old. And that dinosaurs and humans coexisted because, "In fact, at Answers in Genesis, we call dinosaurs 'missionary lizards.' No sane literate person would -- could -- hold such utter nonsense to be true. Such pronouncements should be treated for what they are -- evidence of ignorance, mental illness or both.
Because they are provably false. They are NOT an equally valid scientific theory. They are the product of mass-hysterical-crazy thinking -- viral nonsense. People who believe such things, and try to get others to believe them, should be treated the exactly how we treat people who walk city streets shouting at things only they can see. And when one of these zombies shows up at a school board meeting demanding religious mythology be taught in science class, they should be politely asked to either shut up or leave. If they refuse then someone needs to call the cops to remove them to the nearest psychiatric facility and placed on a 36-hour hold. (Except in Texas, which we all know is a lost cause.)
4) I'm sick and tired of every politician running for election or re-election testifying that they, too, "believe." Believe what? Well, they keep that kinda of fuzzy. Politicians understand that, when you're seeking the votes of people who believe crazy things, you've gotta stay vague. That's because metaphysical-crazy comes in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins. No two crazies are the same, but they do all have one thing in common; they believe crazies of a different flavor are ... well, crazy. Which is why politicians play their "crazy belief cards" close to the vest. Instead of risking losing crazy votes by getting specific about precisely what kind of metaphysical things they may or may not believe in; they vaguely reassure them with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge -- "Just trust me folks. I'm at least as crazy as you."
5) I'm sick and tired of my country listing among our "friends and allies" creepy, unsavory, smarmy, self-indulgent, utterly despicable regimes -- to wit -- Saudi Arabia and the Saudi "royal" family. John Gotti's family had more royal blood in it than the 7000-odd dictatorial, misogynistic sheiks that run Saudi Arabia. If they weren't squatting atop lakes of oil the only kingdom they'd be lording over would have horns and require milking twice a day. If there's a more despicable bunch of mobsters masquerading as leaders today, I can't think of it. And I'm sick of seeing our moron of a President walking hand in hand with these cross-dressing, lying, cheating, terrorist-financing, rape-victim-lashing Arab home-boys, at the same time we continue embargoing Cuba and shaking a threatening fist at Iran.
6) I'm sick and tired of hearing about how Pakistan is a "valuable ally in the war on terror." No they're not. Hell, they're not even a real democracy anymore. Also everyone knows that the Pakistan army and intelligence services are lousy with al Qaida and Taliban sympathizers. Calling Pakistan an ally is like declaring George W. Bush one of America's most accomplished Presidents. The day Pervez Musharraf fired the whole Supreme Court and replaced them with handpicked Clarence Thomases and Anthony Scalias, we should have given NATO troops in Afghanistan the green light go into Pakistan's tribal regions and do whatever needed doing there. The other thing we should have done a long time ago is to dispatch a team of Navy Seals to snatch A.Q. Khan -- the guy who spread nuclear bomb technology from North Korea, to Libya and Iran. Khan is currently under "house arrest" in Pakistan. Snatching him and bringing him to justice would send a message to anyone thinking of peddling nukes that they'll never live to spend the money.
7) I'm sick and tired of "Billery." Bill and Hillary Clinton have worn out their welcome in my head. I appreciate Bill's accomplishments as President. But fine, can we move on now? I didn't appreciate the Bill and Hillary soap operas the first time around. But now the nation and world are too much in crisis to restart that kind of unhelpful diversions. Hillary is a smart and viciously accomplished pol. But rather than president, her skills could be put to better use as Senate Majority Leader. Ditch the nearly comatose Harry Reid and put Hillary in that important post. Because, unlike Reid, Hillary knows how to jerk leashes -- and actually likes it.
8) I'm sick and tired of the global warming deniers. They should be treated with the same sense of anger and disgust as Holocaust deniers... just more so. Denying the Holocaust only denies the murder of six million humans. Denying global warming and its causes threatens to sentence hundreds of millions, maybe billions, of humans to slow, painful untimely deaths. I can't punch global warming deniers, though I'd like to. But if they persist they and their families should all be required to relocate to the lowest lying atoll in the Pacific.
9) I'm sick and tired of Wall Street and government "economists" blowing smoke about the state of the economy. I cut my journalistic teeth on financial crisis, so I know one when I see one coming. And one is coming. In fact, it's just now arriving. Don't tell me the "underlying strength of the US economy is strong." Baloney! Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the US economy, and those consumers are tapped out. They can't even mug another dime of equity out of their now over encumbered homes. Even those usurious credit card companies won't lend them anymore until they pay off their overdue balances. Hello.....
The truth is we are heading into the worst case of stagflation in a quarter century. So, economists, spare me the happy talk. That crap might buy you some time by creating sucker rallies on Wall Street, but you are about to run out of suckers. Do you have a plan for that? If so, that's what I want to hear from you ... and quickly please.
10) I'm sick and tired of defense contractors, like Lockheed, running TV ads trying to convince me that everything they do is "for our troops in harms way." Gag me with a rocket launcher! Everything defense contractors do is in pursuit of billions of defense tax dollars. That's why they do it --- the only reason they do it. They never seem to mention in their ads that every year... without exception...every year, they are each one caught red handed lying, cheating and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars more. And that, even when caught, not one of them has spent a day in the slammer for it. So, shut up with the "we do it all for our troops," crap, will ya? It makes me wanna reach through the TV and Blackwater you.
11) I'm sick and tired of teachers absolving themselves of any responsibility for the dismal state of American education. When I sat on a school board I suggested we grant teachers even more in pay raises than they were requesting. I only had one condition; that we be allowed to bypass teacher union roadblocks when we wanted to reward exceptional teachers and could promptly fire the well known loser teachers on our staff. Their response -- "No way Jose." You would have thought I'd asked them to undress or something. No personal accountability for teachers, not even if we paid them for it. If private industry had those kinds of rules America would look like Somalia today -- which is why our education system nearly does.
12) I'm sick and tired of hearing that the US has "the best health care in the world." First of all my wife is a health care professional, which means I hear the real scoop every day she returns from work. Tales that curl the blood. We don't have the best health care in the world, we just have the most expensive health care in the world. It's a system run by a bunch of blood sucking private insurance companies that cherry pick the actuarial pool. They insure only those unlikely to need medical care, and reject anyone who just might. Those they refuse to insure eventually end up getting medical care on the public nickel. Wouldn't you love a business deal like that, one where you get to shove your risks off on the government allowing you to pocket all that low/no risk gravy? I sure would. I'm sick of it... pun intended.
13) I'm sick of paying a higher percentage of my adjusted gross income than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The Bush tax cuts have been a bonanza for the already super rich, and a big lump of coal for everyone else. For our national infrastructure the Bush tax cuts were a "who needs public infrastructure anyway!" The truth is that the rich got rich largely thanks to Americas generous, reliable and efficient taxpayer funded infrastructure -- roads, bridges, airports, ports and such. Therefore they should pay taxes that adequately reflect and reimburse the nation for that. At the end of the day, every road is a toll road, and the rich are no longer paying their fair share of tolls.
14) On the same subject, I'm also sick and tired of hearing Republicans spout the nonsense that if you cut a rich person's or corporation's taxes they will use that extra money to "create jobs for working Americans." No they won't. And no, they haven't.
What they have done with their Bush's tax cut bonanza is sock it away in tax-protected family trusts and then lobby Congress to eliminate the estate tax so their heirs can keep every dime of it. If any of that extra money does end up getting invested in a job-creating enterprise you can bet your low-wage bippy those jobs end up in China or someplace like China. So, spare the "trickle down" crapola fellas.
15) I'm sick and tired of spending $60 billion a year on intelligence services that aren't.
16) I'm sick and tired of Neo-con, lap-dog Republicans who have defended and aided administration officials who openly champion views of governance so un-American they border on neo-fascism.
17) I'm sick and tired of conniving, weasely, cowardly Democrats who could have obstructed our nations slide toward totalitarianism -- but didn't -- and still haven't.
18) I'm sick and tired of hearing American auto makers whine about how they can't possibly meet higher fuel economy standards while the Japanese clean up doing just that. The last time this happened, back in the 1970s, the Japanese whipped Detroit's sorry backside by making higher mileage small cars while Detroit kept spitting out 8-cylinder behemoths. Then Uncle Sam ended up having to bail out Chrysler and put import quotas on Japanese cars so we didn't have to bailout the out GM and Ford as well. The Big Three dinosaurs are at it again, addicted to selling Hummers and gas-guzzling SUVs and fighting every effort to get them to switch to higher mileage and alternative fuel vehicles. Maybe if we hadn't bailed them out of their last self-inflicted wounds they'd have come out with a Prius before the Japanese this time. If GM had an ounce of sense it would change it's name from General Motors to Green Machines and get with the vital program. I'm sick and tired of rewarding and enabling such stubborn, corporate stupidity and public and social malfeasance.
19) I'm sick and tired of soap-opera news stories that have runs longer than most Broadway plays. The next time some guy's wife goes missing, and authorities suspect he killed her and dumped her body someplace, don't tell me about it -- at least until they solve the crime and actually know what happened. Even then such stories are for local news, so why are they on the national news in the first place? I'm sick and tired of these long, drawn out tales of dysfunctional relationships turned deadly. Nothing about these tales matters to anyone except the poor people directly involved, their families and immediate neighbors. There's absolutely no national news value to running these stories night after night, except a sick "entertainment" value. So, unless these sad cases are being caused by some communicable virus that's spreading at an alarming rate and heading my way, I don't want to hear about them -- it's not "news I need" -- or even want.
20) I'm sick and tired of these new "Christians are being persecuted" TV ads. You know, the ones where some Chinese kid narrates how she was forced to walk barefoot through the snow to a detention center because she wrote stuff about Jesus ... blah, blah, blah. The truth is the overly religious thrive on claims of persecution, real or Madison Avenue-imagined. Nothing stirs up the religiously enthralled like a ripping, tear-jerking tale of persecution. More importantly, nothing opens up the wallets of the herd faster either. One might suggest to them that maybe if fundamentalist Christians tried to be a little less "up everyone's nose," every time we turn around these days they might face less persecution. That assumes, of course, they really are being "persecuted" every time they make the claim -- which I doubt. Often what they view as persecution is simple, non-violent, rhetorical push-back from those of us who've heard quite enough about their supernatural relationships of choice. They consider such push back "persecution." We call it self-defense.
========================
This appeared in my e-mail this morning from a friend.
Think it might be interesting to compose a similar list about local happenings?
---------------------------
I think Mr. Pizzo is not starting out happy in the new year, but he's telling it like it is!
---------------------------
20 Annoying Things About 2007
By Stephen Pizzo, News for Real Posted on January 1, 2008, Printed on January 2, 2008
Whew, has this been an annoying year, or what! I figure 2007 has been the most annoying year of my 62. I even did up a list of just the top 20 things I became sick and tired of during the past year.
Here they are, in no particular order:
1) I'm sick and tired of being bombarded by TV ads with American Indians telling me that their casinos are making life better for everyone, not just the ten members of their tribe. Have you ever been in one of those casinos? Just how are casinos making life better for the bus loads of gray-haired codgers who upload their meager Social Security checks into Chief Wampum's slots? And what about all those already over-extended, mortgage-poor, credit card maxed out working stiffs so desperate their last remaining hope is to hit a progressive-slot jackpot? How is the spreading plague of Indian casinos helping those folks?
So knock it off with those phony feel-good ads and replace them with something that at least approximates the truth. Something like this would be more tolerable:
"We had a sweet thing going before Europeans showed up, uninvited, and mugged the living crap out of Indian tribes from coast to shining coast. Well that hunk of Karma has come home to roost at our Indian Casinos where we are now happily, and profitably, doing the same thing to you. We even have a name for you ... The White Buffalo."
Now, that's at least true, and defensible. I can live with that. But even white-guilt has its limits and those spoken-with-forked-tongue, Indian-casinos-are-good-for-us TV ads have pushed that limit well beyond the breaking point.
2) I'm sick and tired of all things bimbo. Paris, Britney, Lohan ... and all those like them. The only time such appallingly stupid people should appear on my evening news is if they should stumble in front of the Presidential limo, get run over but survived and, once out of a coma, scribble out the solution to Einstein's unified field theory. Otherwise I never want to hear their names or see their vacant faces on the news again. They are nature's most useless and annoying creatures. CNN and MSNBC -- don't waste another electron reporting on these people because electrons have more important things to do -- and so do you.
3) I'm sick and tired of having to pretend that Christian fundamentalists are entirely sane when they announce with straight faces that the earth was created in six days, and is not billions of years old but actually just 6,000 years old. And that dinosaurs and humans coexisted because, "In fact, at Answers in Genesis, we call dinosaurs 'missionary lizards.' No sane literate person would -- could -- hold such utter nonsense to be true. Such pronouncements should be treated for what they are -- evidence of ignorance, mental illness or both.
Because they are provably false. They are NOT an equally valid scientific theory. They are the product of mass-hysterical-crazy thinking -- viral nonsense. People who believe such things, and try to get others to believe them, should be treated the exactly how we treat people who walk city streets shouting at things only they can see. And when one of these zombies shows up at a school board meeting demanding religious mythology be taught in science class, they should be politely asked to either shut up or leave. If they refuse then someone needs to call the cops to remove them to the nearest psychiatric facility and placed on a 36-hour hold. (Except in Texas, which we all know is a lost cause.)
4) I'm sick and tired of every politician running for election or re-election testifying that they, too, "believe." Believe what? Well, they keep that kinda of fuzzy. Politicians understand that, when you're seeking the votes of people who believe crazy things, you've gotta stay vague. That's because metaphysical-crazy comes in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins. No two crazies are the same, but they do all have one thing in common; they believe crazies of a different flavor are ... well, crazy. Which is why politicians play their "crazy belief cards" close to the vest. Instead of risking losing crazy votes by getting specific about precisely what kind of metaphysical things they may or may not believe in; they vaguely reassure them with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge -- "Just trust me folks. I'm at least as crazy as you."
5) I'm sick and tired of my country listing among our "friends and allies" creepy, unsavory, smarmy, self-indulgent, utterly despicable regimes -- to wit -- Saudi Arabia and the Saudi "royal" family. John Gotti's family had more royal blood in it than the 7000-odd dictatorial, misogynistic sheiks that run Saudi Arabia. If they weren't squatting atop lakes of oil the only kingdom they'd be lording over would have horns and require milking twice a day. If there's a more despicable bunch of mobsters masquerading as leaders today, I can't think of it. And I'm sick of seeing our moron of a President walking hand in hand with these cross-dressing, lying, cheating, terrorist-financing, rape-victim-lashing Arab home-boys, at the same time we continue embargoing Cuba and shaking a threatening fist at Iran.
6) I'm sick and tired of hearing about how Pakistan is a "valuable ally in the war on terror." No they're not. Hell, they're not even a real democracy anymore. Also everyone knows that the Pakistan army and intelligence services are lousy with al Qaida and Taliban sympathizers. Calling Pakistan an ally is like declaring George W. Bush one of America's most accomplished Presidents. The day Pervez Musharraf fired the whole Supreme Court and replaced them with handpicked Clarence Thomases and Anthony Scalias, we should have given NATO troops in Afghanistan the green light go into Pakistan's tribal regions and do whatever needed doing there. The other thing we should have done a long time ago is to dispatch a team of Navy Seals to snatch A.Q. Khan -- the guy who spread nuclear bomb technology from North Korea, to Libya and Iran. Khan is currently under "house arrest" in Pakistan. Snatching him and bringing him to justice would send a message to anyone thinking of peddling nukes that they'll never live to spend the money.
7) I'm sick and tired of "Billery." Bill and Hillary Clinton have worn out their welcome in my head. I appreciate Bill's accomplishments as President. But fine, can we move on now? I didn't appreciate the Bill and Hillary soap operas the first time around. But now the nation and world are too much in crisis to restart that kind of unhelpful diversions. Hillary is a smart and viciously accomplished pol. But rather than president, her skills could be put to better use as Senate Majority Leader. Ditch the nearly comatose Harry Reid and put Hillary in that important post. Because, unlike Reid, Hillary knows how to jerk leashes -- and actually likes it.
8) I'm sick and tired of the global warming deniers. They should be treated with the same sense of anger and disgust as Holocaust deniers... just more so. Denying the Holocaust only denies the murder of six million humans. Denying global warming and its causes threatens to sentence hundreds of millions, maybe billions, of humans to slow, painful untimely deaths. I can't punch global warming deniers, though I'd like to. But if they persist they and their families should all be required to relocate to the lowest lying atoll in the Pacific.
9) I'm sick and tired of Wall Street and government "economists" blowing smoke about the state of the economy. I cut my journalistic teeth on financial crisis, so I know one when I see one coming. And one is coming. In fact, it's just now arriving. Don't tell me the "underlying strength of the US economy is strong." Baloney! Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the US economy, and those consumers are tapped out. They can't even mug another dime of equity out of their now over encumbered homes. Even those usurious credit card companies won't lend them anymore until they pay off their overdue balances. Hello.....
The truth is we are heading into the worst case of stagflation in a quarter century. So, economists, spare me the happy talk. That crap might buy you some time by creating sucker rallies on Wall Street, but you are about to run out of suckers. Do you have a plan for that? If so, that's what I want to hear from you ... and quickly please.
10) I'm sick and tired of defense contractors, like Lockheed, running TV ads trying to convince me that everything they do is "for our troops in harms way." Gag me with a rocket launcher! Everything defense contractors do is in pursuit of billions of defense tax dollars. That's why they do it --- the only reason they do it. They never seem to mention in their ads that every year... without exception...every year, they are each one caught red handed lying, cheating and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars more. And that, even when caught, not one of them has spent a day in the slammer for it. So, shut up with the "we do it all for our troops," crap, will ya? It makes me wanna reach through the TV and Blackwater you.
11) I'm sick and tired of teachers absolving themselves of any responsibility for the dismal state of American education. When I sat on a school board I suggested we grant teachers even more in pay raises than they were requesting. I only had one condition; that we be allowed to bypass teacher union roadblocks when we wanted to reward exceptional teachers and could promptly fire the well known loser teachers on our staff. Their response -- "No way Jose." You would have thought I'd asked them to undress or something. No personal accountability for teachers, not even if we paid them for it. If private industry had those kinds of rules America would look like Somalia today -- which is why our education system nearly does.
12) I'm sick and tired of hearing that the US has "the best health care in the world." First of all my wife is a health care professional, which means I hear the real scoop every day she returns from work. Tales that curl the blood. We don't have the best health care in the world, we just have the most expensive health care in the world. It's a system run by a bunch of blood sucking private insurance companies that cherry pick the actuarial pool. They insure only those unlikely to need medical care, and reject anyone who just might. Those they refuse to insure eventually end up getting medical care on the public nickel. Wouldn't you love a business deal like that, one where you get to shove your risks off on the government allowing you to pocket all that low/no risk gravy? I sure would. I'm sick of it... pun intended.
13) I'm sick of paying a higher percentage of my adjusted gross income than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The Bush tax cuts have been a bonanza for the already super rich, and a big lump of coal for everyone else. For our national infrastructure the Bush tax cuts were a "who needs public infrastructure anyway!" The truth is that the rich got rich largely thanks to Americas generous, reliable and efficient taxpayer funded infrastructure -- roads, bridges, airports, ports and such. Therefore they should pay taxes that adequately reflect and reimburse the nation for that. At the end of the day, every road is a toll road, and the rich are no longer paying their fair share of tolls.
14) On the same subject, I'm also sick and tired of hearing Republicans spout the nonsense that if you cut a rich person's or corporation's taxes they will use that extra money to "create jobs for working Americans." No they won't. And no, they haven't.
What they have done with their Bush's tax cut bonanza is sock it away in tax-protected family trusts and then lobby Congress to eliminate the estate tax so their heirs can keep every dime of it. If any of that extra money does end up getting invested in a job-creating enterprise you can bet your low-wage bippy those jobs end up in China or someplace like China. So, spare the "trickle down" crapola fellas.
15) I'm sick and tired of spending $60 billion a year on intelligence services that aren't.
16) I'm sick and tired of Neo-con, lap-dog Republicans who have defended and aided administration officials who openly champion views of governance so un-American they border on neo-fascism.
17) I'm sick and tired of conniving, weasely, cowardly Democrats who could have obstructed our nations slide toward totalitarianism -- but didn't -- and still haven't.
18) I'm sick and tired of hearing American auto makers whine about how they can't possibly meet higher fuel economy standards while the Japanese clean up doing just that. The last time this happened, back in the 1970s, the Japanese whipped Detroit's sorry backside by making higher mileage small cars while Detroit kept spitting out 8-cylinder behemoths. Then Uncle Sam ended up having to bail out Chrysler and put import quotas on Japanese cars so we didn't have to bailout the out GM and Ford as well. The Big Three dinosaurs are at it again, addicted to selling Hummers and gas-guzzling SUVs and fighting every effort to get them to switch to higher mileage and alternative fuel vehicles. Maybe if we hadn't bailed them out of their last self-inflicted wounds they'd have come out with a Prius before the Japanese this time. If GM had an ounce of sense it would change it's name from General Motors to Green Machines and get with the vital program. I'm sick and tired of rewarding and enabling such stubborn, corporate stupidity and public and social malfeasance.
19) I'm sick and tired of soap-opera news stories that have runs longer than most Broadway plays. The next time some guy's wife goes missing, and authorities suspect he killed her and dumped her body someplace, don't tell me about it -- at least until they solve the crime and actually know what happened. Even then such stories are for local news, so why are they on the national news in the first place? I'm sick and tired of these long, drawn out tales of dysfunctional relationships turned deadly. Nothing about these tales matters to anyone except the poor people directly involved, their families and immediate neighbors. There's absolutely no national news value to running these stories night after night, except a sick "entertainment" value. So, unless these sad cases are being caused by some communicable virus that's spreading at an alarming rate and heading my way, I don't want to hear about them -- it's not "news I need" -- or even want.
20) I'm sick and tired of these new "Christians are being persecuted" TV ads. You know, the ones where some Chinese kid narrates how she was forced to walk barefoot through the snow to a detention center because she wrote stuff about Jesus ... blah, blah, blah. The truth is the overly religious thrive on claims of persecution, real or Madison Avenue-imagined. Nothing stirs up the religiously enthralled like a ripping, tear-jerking tale of persecution. More importantly, nothing opens up the wallets of the herd faster either. One might suggest to them that maybe if fundamentalist Christians tried to be a little less "up everyone's nose," every time we turn around these days they might face less persecution. That assumes, of course, they really are being "persecuted" every time they make the claim -- which I doubt. Often what they view as persecution is simple, non-violent, rhetorical push-back from those of us who've heard quite enough about their supernatural relationships of choice. They consider such push back "persecution." We call it self-defense.
========================
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Sustainability & Buddhist Economics
------------------------
'Our possessions are our sorrows' - Buddhist expression
------------------------
I found this comparison of Buddhist and Western attitudes towards the economy in Chapter 7 of Eben Fodor's 'Better Not Bigger'.
It was reprinted with permission from Mary E. Clark, author of 'Ariadne's Thread: The Search for New Modes of Thinking'.
Since there is a growing awareness of the need for more sustainable practices happening, see what you think about these concepts.
------------------------
LABOR:
Buddhist: Seek right livelihood in order to develop one's faculties and to contribute to society in a way that reflects well on oneself.
Western: A disutility, to be eliminated (the employer wishes output without workers; the employee wishes income without work).
------------------------
LEISURE:
Buddhist: Is complimentary to work.
Western: Leisure is preferable to work.
------------------------
TECHNOLOGY:
Buddhist: Tools are to help humans do creative work.
Western: Technology is a means for abolishing human work.
------------------------
TRADE:
Buddhist: A sign of local economic imbalance and failure.
Western: A sign of economic progress.
------------------------
GOAL OF LIFE:
Buddhist: To perfect one's character through good work which nourishes the spirit.
Western: To accumulate wealth to satisfy unlimited wants.
------------------------
UNEMPLOYMENT:
Buddhist: Is unacceptable; all who want jobs should have them; mothering is a socially-esteemed profession.
Western: Is tolerable; one who is not employed is probably lazy; mothering is not socially useful work, since it is not paid.
------------------------
NATURE OF WORK:
Buddhist: Should be simple, non-violent, sparing of resources, use local materials, and provide satisfaction.
Western: Is energy-consuming, high pressure, competitive, anxiety-producing; often employs imported materials.
------------------------
QUALITY OF LIFE:
Buddhist: Consumption is incidental to living; attachment to wealth interferes with satisfaction; one's role is to blend with the environment, to protect it and to revere life.
Western: Consumption levels measure standard of living; nature is to be conquered and controlled; one should consume whatever comes to hand-one is a fool not to.
------------------------
MATERIAL GOODS:
Buddhist: Should be simple, long-lasting, beautiful, unique, and as few as possible to live well.
Western: Should be complex, mass-produced, cheaply made, short-lived, and as numerous as possible.
------------------------
Economist E. F. Schumacher, is his book 'Small is Beautiful' said:
'[The modern economist] is used to measuring the "standard of living" by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is "better off" than the man who consumes less.
A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum well-being with the minimum of consumption.'
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'We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and to learn what is good for it. We must learn to cooperate in its processes, and to yield to its limits. But even more important, we must to acknowledge that the creation is full of mystery; we will never clearly understand it. We must abandon arrogance and stand in awe. We must recover the sense of majesty of the creation, and the ability to be worshipful in its presence. For it is only on the condition of humility and reverence before the world that our species will be able to remain in it.'
- Wendell Berry, Recollected Essays 1965-1980
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'Our possessions are our sorrows' - Buddhist expression
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I found this comparison of Buddhist and Western attitudes towards the economy in Chapter 7 of Eben Fodor's 'Better Not Bigger'.
It was reprinted with permission from Mary E. Clark, author of 'Ariadne's Thread: The Search for New Modes of Thinking'.
Since there is a growing awareness of the need for more sustainable practices happening, see what you think about these concepts.
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LABOR:
Buddhist: Seek right livelihood in order to develop one's faculties and to contribute to society in a way that reflects well on oneself.
Western: A disutility, to be eliminated (the employer wishes output without workers; the employee wishes income without work).
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LEISURE:
Buddhist: Is complimentary to work.
Western: Leisure is preferable to work.
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TECHNOLOGY:
Buddhist: Tools are to help humans do creative work.
Western: Technology is a means for abolishing human work.
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TRADE:
Buddhist: A sign of local economic imbalance and failure.
Western: A sign of economic progress.
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GOAL OF LIFE:
Buddhist: To perfect one's character through good work which nourishes the spirit.
Western: To accumulate wealth to satisfy unlimited wants.
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UNEMPLOYMENT:
Buddhist: Is unacceptable; all who want jobs should have them; mothering is a socially-esteemed profession.
Western: Is tolerable; one who is not employed is probably lazy; mothering is not socially useful work, since it is not paid.
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NATURE OF WORK:
Buddhist: Should be simple, non-violent, sparing of resources, use local materials, and provide satisfaction.
Western: Is energy-consuming, high pressure, competitive, anxiety-producing; often employs imported materials.
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QUALITY OF LIFE:
Buddhist: Consumption is incidental to living; attachment to wealth interferes with satisfaction; one's role is to blend with the environment, to protect it and to revere life.
Western: Consumption levels measure standard of living; nature is to be conquered and controlled; one should consume whatever comes to hand-one is a fool not to.
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MATERIAL GOODS:
Buddhist: Should be simple, long-lasting, beautiful, unique, and as few as possible to live well.
Western: Should be complex, mass-produced, cheaply made, short-lived, and as numerous as possible.
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Economist E. F. Schumacher, is his book 'Small is Beautiful' said:
'[The modern economist] is used to measuring the "standard of living" by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is "better off" than the man who consumes less.
A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum well-being with the minimum of consumption.'
------------------------
'We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and to learn what is good for it. We must learn to cooperate in its processes, and to yield to its limits. But even more important, we must to acknowledge that the creation is full of mystery; we will never clearly understand it. We must abandon arrogance and stand in awe. We must recover the sense of majesty of the creation, and the ability to be worshipful in its presence. For it is only on the condition of humility and reverence before the world that our species will be able to remain in it.'
- Wendell Berry, Recollected Essays 1965-1980
------------------------
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
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May 2008 be a happy, productive and prosperous New Year for the City and all citizens!
May the political solutions that result from careful consideration of serious issues prove to be fair, effective and provide an enduring foundation upon which future legislation & regulations can build according to needs.
May civil discourse in all public processes become the consistent standard of intrapersonal communications, and may gratuitous and unproductive behavior largely disappear.
May consistent caution and prudence be exercised, with the use of public funds in all fiscal matters be directed to needs that must be sustained and not frills that unnecessarily deplete reserves.
May all public processes be timely noticed and held in public venues with the proceedings recorded for either live viewing or future viewing on BTV10, the City's website or DVDs.
------------------------
The Four Marks of Existence:
• Impermanence
• Suffering
• Emptiness
• Selflessness
Longchenpa - Ancient Buddhist Teacher
------------------------
May 2008 be a happy, productive and prosperous New Year for the City and all citizens!
May the political solutions that result from careful consideration of serious issues prove to be fair, effective and provide an enduring foundation upon which future legislation & regulations can build according to needs.
May civil discourse in all public processes become the consistent standard of intrapersonal communications, and may gratuitous and unproductive behavior largely disappear.
May consistent caution and prudence be exercised, with the use of public funds in all fiscal matters be directed to needs that must be sustained and not frills that unnecessarily deplete reserves.
May all public processes be timely noticed and held in public venues with the proceedings recorded for either live viewing or future viewing on BTV10, the City's website or DVDs.
------------------------
The Four Marks of Existence:
• Impermanence
• Suffering
• Emptiness
• Selflessness
Longchenpa - Ancient Buddhist Teacher
------------------------
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