So what's the big deal about the sequester?

To listen to the hysteria coming from both sides, when the sequester goes into effect next week, airport security will collapse, the US will be overrun by terrorists since the military will have been castrated, and dogs and cats will start sleeping together. Hello? Cut 10-20% of budgets, and things will need to be cut. Isn't reducing government spending what the Tea Party is all about? Guess the NIMBY factor remains alive and well.

Biblical marriage

If you are going to espouse the idea of "biblical marriage", you need to support the other tenets - no divorce and no remarriage while the other remains alive.

Men in Black III

FInally went to the movies this weekend as part of dealing with the heat. There were a couple movies I'd been interested in, but the only one still in circulation was "Men In Black III". I'd enjoyed the first two in this series - fun and humorous, with a decent story as well. As with the first two, this one did not disappoint. The chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones remains strong, and the role of young K was well played by Josh Brolin. It took me a bit too long to recognize the significance of the date, but they pulled it off well. Highly recommended. One additional treat is to watch the background screens to see who is identified as aliens living on earth. Lady Gaga was an obvious selection. I believe I also caught David Beckham.

The sanctity of marriage?

Wouldn't it make more sense for those self-appointed arbiters of marriage sanctity to attack the beasts of their own persuasion before attacking those that do not view the world the same way that they do? Rather than spending inordinate amounts of time defining marriage, perhaps spend some time supporting those that already agree. What makes more of a travesty than those who divorce, particularly serial divorcers (Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump, I'm looking at you)? Next look at co-habiters, who flaunt the idea of marriage.

Only after you're done with them should you move to the gay community. After all, the gays disagree on so many levels, why limit the battle to simply marriage?

Smaller government

I truly understand the calls for smaller government, but people, corporations, and industries have proven time and again that without regulation they destroy the environment around them for their own benefit.

Government provides the role of regulator and watchdog. That is what they do - define rules and regulations in the greater common interest. I believe it would be impossible in the current climate to develop such projects as a national highway system.

I weep at the current "me first" political climate.

Holiday Reading

One of the nice parts of the just concluded holiday season is that I have been able to do a lot of reading. I've finally finished a book that has been a work in progress on my night table for a couple of months. Plus I've polished off a couple simpler books in the same time period.

I just started a most interesting book yesterday - "Bob Schieffer's America", a collection of the short pieces he has written for a number of years now to close CBS-TV's 'Face The Nation'. This is a not a program I watch with any regularity, but I have heard some of the pieces re-broadcast on the radio. I wanted to share a small section of his preface, because it struck me so powerfully:

The partisans of the hard right and left who seem to have no purpose but to prove the rightness of their cause will discover little of interest here. I find the professional screamers and their checklists of what constitutes a "liberal" or "conservative" predictable to the point of boredom. As I listen to their arguments on the cable channels and their unwillingness to give an inch on any issue, I still long for the day when someone on one side responds to someone on the other side by saying, "What an interesting point. You may be right." I'm still waiting, but I am not holding my breath.

I have always believed the greater and more intellectually challenging search is finding the things that bring us together rather than the differences that drive us apart.

In these essays, I have tried to follow the rule laid down by my great teacher Eric Sevareid to "elucidate, when one can, rather than advocate."

Patience and Perseverance

It's really tough being in this lost land of limbo - of being between occupational opportunities. Every day I feel like the call is right around the corner. And every day - or most days - there is some activity or follow up that leads me forward, but not the clincher.

I have felt all along that success was imminent. This is both a positive and a negative. It is a positive because it keeps my hopes up, energizes me, and keeps me going. It is a negative because I take my foot off of the accelerator in hunting new opportunities.

What is most troubling is the timelines that exist. Mine is very short. The organizations that I am working with seem to have much longer decision-making calendars. I have had interviews and requests for information all along the way. To date I have yet to close one.

The other thing that makes this tough is that your friends and colleagues don't quite know what to say, or how to approach you. They offer sympathy, and support where they can, but it is an awkward balance. I am thankful for the contact of those that have stayed in touch, and am heartbroken by some I thought were good friends that are keeping a distance.

Irregardless, I have no choice but to continue pressing forward. My own sense of balance and being, not to mention basics of life, rest in the resolution.