Some Random Thoughts

Once in a while you just hear stuff. On headline news or Today or you see it in the little blurps that show up on your server's hopme page under headlines. They can sound odd or rough or cruel or danmgerous and many of us take them right out of context -- because the little blurp (and I am intentionallyt using that term) takes them out of context. One example is today reading that Presidential Hopeful Romney says that he is not worried about the poor. WHAT???#@!!

If you reasd the aricle he esplains that there are systems in place to help the poor -- a safety net. If elected and he finds that net broken, he will repair it. He also says he is not concerned about the very rich, they can take care of themselves. His focus is the middle class. Now that sounds more reasonable.

Still, I wonder what he defines as "poor." In America. In 2012.

More thoughts:

Today we also are stepping up concern about Iran's nuclear capability and Israel's possible pre-emptive strike response. It makes we think about another situation in which a major power was concerned about the growing strength of another major power and decided to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own. They attacked Pearl Harbor, and that didn't tirn out too well for Japan. Just saying.

On justice: can't we leave that to the courts? In America an accused is innocent until proven guilty, yet under freedom of information, the accused's name is released to the media, where the same person is guiltyu until proven innocent and the damage done by the public opinion garnered in the case can damage that person for life even if they prove nto be innocent.

Thirdly, there is an ad on TV for Tums. Is your favorite food foghting you? Change your diet -- your body is trying to tell you something!

And finally, I leave you with this thought:
Remember, every silver lining has a cloud.

Th, Th, That's all. Folks!

Tiered Flat Tax - the Solution?

It's that time of year again when all good little citizens pick up their tax forms, their pencils, their speed dials or their online tax filing alternatives, trying to understand all the changes in the laws and make sure they don't miss a single deduction. The tax code is cumbersome, complicated, and filled with little loop holes that either thrill you when you find them or devastate you when you learned you missed one after you turned in your forms. It also means a healthy return for some, paid back by the government for taxes collected, but without interest on the amount the government got to use all year that really belonged to you. Of course, interest was a bigger issue when there really was some.

This brings me to a thought process: simpler is better, or so they say. In that spirit I think we safely could strip the tax code down to basics. If you earn, you pay. I think the flat tax idea, bandied about for so long and usually shot down with flaming arrows, deserves a modified look. I would suggest that we adopt it, but not straight across the board at one rate. Instead, make it tiered, as follows (only a suggestion):
Income under $10,000 pays a flat 10%
Income 10,000-49,999 pays a flat 15%
Income 50,000-249,999 pays a flat 20%
Income at $250,000 and above pays a flat 25%

All sources of income should be lumped together and subject to the tax. There should be no deductions and no exemptions (with charitable donations a debatable point), and therefore no need for cumbersome tax forms and multitudinous expert help. Just simple math. This may cause accountants, tax consultants, and the employees at the IRS a little concern, but I am sure they will still be needed, perhaps in monitoring how Congress spends all that revenue.

You may ask, why should I pay more just because I earn more? Why should someone pay more who earns less? I believe that we all have an obligation to the society in which we live, to help that society take care of all its citizens. If that society has provided you with a healthier income -- be it through hard work, sound investment, inheritance, or luck -- you should and must pay a higher share to run that very society.

Besides, 75% of a million bucks is still a lot more than 90% of $10,000. And remember that if our society breaks down, you will have nothing. The so-called one percent needs to understand that they need the other 99% a lot more than the 99% needs them -- to make things, buy things, build things, rent things. If the one percent should ever falter, there are plenty who would replace them.

Three Blog Night Again

Hello, everyone! The weekend hit and things got busy and i neglected my blogging. So, to make up for that I would like to present three blogs.

Friday: My Book, My Gift

The events detailed in Amber Waves happened not long ago – well, some of them happened a very long time ago – in the days after 9-1-1 and the infamous shoe bomber, when most of America began looking for terrorists under every bed in a manner that would have made Joe McCarthy – look him up – proud. The one positive thing I can see to come from it all is a radical increase in foot cleanliness spurred by airport security concerns and resultant required shoe removal. You might call it pedophobia, if there is such a word.

In the context of that time, our travelers found themselves in a place that just didn’t give a damn. The people who lived there had their own set of priorities, and clean shoes were not of paramount concern. But, then, what was worth blowing up in Amber Waves, Nevada?

Many of the events that take place in this book actually happened as part of the historical record. Some did not. I have taken liberties with them all, for dramatic effect. Or comedic interpretation. Or poetic license, or shits and giggles.

Replaying Jason Edwards’ life was like running a highlights reel: although he had many ‘lives,’ re-inventing himself again and again, memory best recalled the most dramatic ones that found him encountering the famous and notorious. The rest were not dull, exactly, just tame and peaceful. And you, Gentle Reader, prefer to hear about the tumultuous and confrontational. Admit it, you do – it makes for better storytelling.

The results are the stories in this book that I have given you.

Saturday: The Disney Movie That's Still On The Shelf

I may have written about this before, I do not remember. Even so, the question bears repeating. The Walt Disney Studios have produced arguably the best animated films of all time. If we add Pixar to the mix, the best recent films join the list.

Every one of these films is readily available on DVD and most on Blue-Ray, at least whenever the vaults are opened to sell them to the next generation. These are timeless classics, like Bambi, Dumbo, Snow White, and more recent classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Up. Yet one remains mysteriously missing. Of course I mean The Song of the South.

I saw it when I was a kid, and that was already a theatrical re-release. I whistled and sang Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, literally, for years, and always felt joy when I did. But the film disappeared. Pirated copies exist, I am sure, but Disney decided to pull the plug on any push to put this one on tape or disc. Why?

The answer seems to be a matter of image, if I understand it right. The image that Uncle Remus presents to young people of African-American decent turns out to be a negative one, an Uncle Tom image of the placating, put upon old Black Man (before our current era of political correctness one might have used the “N” word and meant it in every sense possible, especially the ironic ones), subjugated by the white community around him. At least, Disney seems to think so.

Perhaps I saw a different movie. I saw a man of color struggling to retain his dignity while at the same time giving the young white child who loves him and admires him every scrap of education Remus could. I saw a man who was put upon by the society around him, no longer owned as a slave but often treated like one, yet remained the true font of wisdom in the story. I saw the real hero of the story being that marvelous black man, who saved the boy’s soul as well as his life.

Maybe it is reverse discrimination that has kept this fine film on the shelf: maybe the film is so good at portraying how life was for people like Remus that the white community is embarrassed to admit it. But today is a new age, filled with new awarenesses. Disney ought to release Song of the South without explanation or apology. It was the product of its times, and a reflection of a specific chapter in American history but, more, it is a wonderful vehicle for telling every child who will listen that, in the end, it is the clever and witty Br’er Rabbit who will outsmart Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear every time.

Sunday: Silly Men in Training

My grandson is great fun to be around. He will be four years old in March. Already, he displays a remarkable sense of humor and an easy, infectious laugh. Watching his funny bone at work, and admittedly encouraging it at every turn, I have come to a conclusion: either Xander is very sophisticated, or my own humor operates on the same level as a three and a half year old.

Diane says, “No comment.”

But sometimes she can be a real pooh-pooh head.

Acceptance and Rejection

I accept that there is evil in the world.

I accept that we must combat it.

I accept that sometimes evil will win.

I accept that this maxim is true: killing is always bad, but sometimes it is necessary.

I reject utterly that we must become evil in order to combat it.

When someone tells you to hate, it has to do with personal gain. And it is not what Christ or Buddha or Mohammad were about.

It's Not A Diet

So many people are having success with their weight loss programs that I thought would throw us into the ring. Diane and I were both very overweight. In 2007 I went to Holland with my brother, and when I saw photos of myself taken during that trip I realized, really for the first time, that I had gone out of control. Di already knew. We worked hard for the next three years, trying to be a bit more careful about quantities and what we were eating, and slowly dropped a bit of weight. But in April 2010, on the invite of a friend, Di went to Weight Watchers and I went along for the ride.

Doctor Oz reports that WW has the best record for weight loss AND maintenance. We both were morbidly obese when we started. Diane had considered gastric bypass surgery until she learned she would have to give up her Celebrex and her doctor agreed that was a deal breaker. Still, it wasn’t until I turned 60 and she was nearly 59 that we had the necessary mind set not to go on a diet but to make a substantial change in how we approached the food we ate. The first thing was to identify the trigger foods that caused us to overeat and simply refuse to have them in the house. For me thyat included peanut butter and mayonnaise. Second, came tracking what you eat. Third came portion control, and fourth came the support network the meetings provided Di, and through her, me.

I have lost 96 pounds altogether and have remained virtually the same goal weight for over a year. Di has lost 142 pounds so far, 122 on WW, and is still working to lose a bit more. Better still, I have lost the Nexium, Lipitor, and blood pressure meds I was on. Di lost her blood pressure meds as well and has not taken a Celebrex in months, this despite the Montana winter.

WW is not for everyone, but it is a wonderful resource. Whatever gets you to your goals is a wonderful resource. The key is not to go on a diet, as I said, but to look at what you are doing as a new lifestyle focused on eating the right things, making good choices. And guess what? You still can have fun!

The Van Gogh Equation

What I have learned, or remembered and relearned, is that if I put my work out there, in front of everyone, it has a chance to be remembered itself. Even if no one reads it today, someone might discover it tomorrow. Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime, but that did not stop him from painting. And today he is thought to be one of the best, if not the best, artists of all time.

Jan van Gilse – my newest hero – saw his countrymen resist his music as too Germanic, then saw the Nazis ban all performance and try to destroy his manuscripts. Nicholai Miazkovsky composed 27 symphonies, most performed briefly in his homeland Russia, then, like Haydn, chucked aside awaiting the next. They had no staying power, even in Russia, and were ignored abroad == but now we can hear all 27 if we want.

Then there’s Mahler. Always there is Mahler, who rarely got rto hear one of his elaborate and beauty-filled symphonies performed but knew he would be remembered for them someday. Today we consider him one of the greats.

Thousands upon thousands of works of art go unrecognized or enjoyed only by our closest friends and families. I thank you for that, by the way. But fame or value, even after I am dead, yet may come. It’s like the Lotto: you can’t win if you don’t play. You won’t gain an audience if you hide your work. Or, to paraphrase that famous line from “Field of Dreams”: if I write it, they will read.

In that spirit I must be less shy, less anxious, less afraid. Rejections aside, failure would be failure to try.

Back to Writing About Writing

In 1975 I completed a biography of the man whom I considered to be one of the greatest musical geniuses of the Twentieth Century, Dmitri Shostakovich. The book was more than a biography. It was a fun trip through the world of modern symphonic music, written for laymen, like myself.

Soon after I finished the book Shostakovich died. I sold the manuscript, but to fit into the publisher’s series format, the book had to be changed. And changed. The fun went out. What was left was a valuable (of course) biography and musical discussion of Shostakovich’s symphonies, critically well received.

Between sale and publication, four years elapsed. Shostakovich’s own Memoirs came out at the same time as my book, adding vistas to my understanding of Shostakovich the Man and the Artist. After a lifetime of devotion to this man and his music, now I make of him a character in a novel. A ghost, if you will, who wrote music, although it is the ghosts who spoke to him that you will meet.