Wisconsin - A mixed bag

I am at once happy and frustrated with what is happening in Wisconsin.  The fact that the citizens are at the state house protesting is amazing.  That is the level of participation in our government that we should all show.  Them carrying signs calling the Governor Hitler and using words like rape and kill is uncalled for.  Such displays of ignorance disintegrates their position.

The fact they feel a since of solidarity with the Egyptian people and took a cue from them is pretty exciting.  At least it shows that people in Wisconsin are paying attention to world events.  Allegations that the DNC set this up is kind of rubbing me the wrong way.  We shouldn't be parodying what happened in Egypt as a cheap political stunt for one party to gain the advantage.

I'm perplexed by the absence of the Democratic Senators as well.  Their disappearance prevents the Gov. from pushing through the vote in his favor.  Yet it seems wrong to just run away from your job.

The bottom line is that losing their ability to collectively bargain is just the beginning to a situation where the workers will be placed in a position that has no options.  Effectively, having to take whatever is given to them if they want the job.  Eroding away benefits of employees in a recession isn't how we build up the economy.

44 states and the District of Columbia have budget shortfalls this year totaling $125 billion.  How much was that bailout to the banks on Wall St?  Now I don't want to bailout the states anymore than I wanted to bailout the banks.  But aren't the states more deserving than the banks?  Aren't the states "too big to fail?"  Apparently not.

However, cutting state employee benefits to help make up budget shortfalls seems to be the answer for most states.  Shutting down state parks = open spaces for all, and stopping fire and rescue along with social services like libraries have become the norm.  Where was that option when we were talking about the banks?  That bus has left station and there is nothing we can do about it.  But we can stop this absolute dissolution of employee rights.

As for Wisconsin, I'm there in spirit - just lose the hate mongering signs and rhetoric.

What we can learn from Egypt

History has been made!  I can't help but feel excited for the people of Egypt.  18 days of non-violent (mostly) peaceful protests has toppled 30 years of dictatorial rule.  This is truly an amazing event.  Gandhi in South Africa then India, Dr Martin Luther King Jr in our own country and now the citizens of Egypt.  I think we have just seen some of the best of the human spirit.  


There is no doubt that non-violence is the most legitimate form of protest.  Any possible opposition that tries to use force to quell a non-violent protest makes that opposition automatically illegitimate.  But had the world not been watching things may have been different.  If Egypt wasn't affected by the opinions of the international community the citizens of Egypt may have not had the chance.   Burma is a good example of a country whose leadership does not rely on international opinion and therefore the Military Junta can quell any form of protest without reprisal.  So for non-violence to work their needs to be avenues for the international community to participate.  Truly showing how small the world is.  


Yet that isn't the only thing Egypt has taught us.  I can't help but think of the shooting in Tucson, Arizona where so many were killed and injured.  These thoughts quickly turn to all the school shootings that have happened in the past, Oklahoma City Bombings, Ted Kaczynski, and of course 9-11 and the subsequent wars spawned.  But I want to keep the focus on our domestic incidents.  Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary, said the other day, "The threat continues to evolve. And in some ways, the threat today may be at its most heightened state since the attacks nearly ten years ago." [1]  She was talking about the idea of a homegrown threat; American citizens being recruited to conduct terrorist acts.


There is a connection, at least one that I see.  It is of a citizenship slowly being cast to the side and being left out.  Left out of the "American Dream", being left out of the political process, being left out of living in this country.  Every aspect of our culture is cultivating stratification.  It's not just the usual suspects of economic and social classes, though they play a hand, but a stratification of those who run things and those who don't.   


I don't think that anyone would argue that poverty, famine, oppressive regimes, corruption, social neglect, rampant disease, destruction of natural resources, perversion of clean air and the absence of potable water is a pretty good list to describe a failed state.  It's these failed states that give rise to the disenfranchised youth.  Evil people who only want personal gain seize upon this disenfranchisement and channel it into anger and hate.  Then unleash that anger and hate on anything that seems a threat to their personal power.  This is basically the recipe for the terrorism that we are experiencing today.


Yet in Egypt the youth were disenfranchised.  They couldn't find employment and I'm not talking about just this year or the next but for decades.  They weren't included in the political process.  The government was being run by an oppressive regime.  The government was catering to the business elite through corrupt deals.  The Egyptian youth had everything there to take a totally different path.  What is so amazing is the restraint and wisdom shown by the people of Egypt.  


Back to our own domestic problems and what we can learn from the Egyptian people.  I want you to re-read my list of a failed state.  This time think about our poor - how private health care bankrupts our citizens or how our elderly have to live like 2nd class citizens to afford their care.  Look at the corruption in our own government.  All the little extras attached to bills to get them passed.  Just yesterday the House had a panel, mainly made up of business leaders, to discuss how government is hampering business.  Not to mention that they tried to repeal the Health Care Reform.  Look at how the banks nearly bankrupted this country and nothing has been done.  In a couple more years it'll be business as usual.  Obesity runs rampant in our society with diet related diseases topping most of our medical needs. How the Supreme Court just ruled corporations have no limit to how much money they can give to political campaigns because a corporation has the same Constitutional rights as a human being.  Look at the stratification of the rich to poor with eradication of the middle class.  Our environment is being trashed - Gulf of Mexico?  Most of our drinking water is contaminated with agricultural or industrial waste/runoff.  


Scary isn't it that we, as a 1st World Nation, have so many similarities to a 3rd World Failed State?  The point is that I think we are at a cross roads where we have the ability to come together and show the wisdom that the Egyptian people have shown the world.  Or we risk disenfranchising more of our citizens.  I don't condone violence nor do I excuse it on any level.  What I am saying is that the problems we are facing as a nation will take each and every one of its citizens to fix it.  It won't be fixed in the back rooms of Congress.  It won't even be fixed in the halls of Congress without real debate and discussion by each of us.  And I mean each and everyone of US.  We need to have dialogue that includes people not based on their ability to pay for campaigns but is based on their citizenship.  Because what Egypt has really shown the world is that when we come together, and stand together we can change the world for the better.  

[1]  Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/special-report/transcript/administrations-response-homeland-security-threats#ixzz1DhmcHKEv

Day 5: La Jolla Shores (Again) and Wetsuits

I just cannot get used to it.  The coldness of the water.  I anticipate it's sharp shock when the soles of my feet touch the dampened, soft sand.  Between the hard, drained sand that barely leaves a footprint and water.  Sometimes the water rushes to greet me.  This makes the ordeal go quickly.  Other days it pulls away.  The many rivulets draw across my feet and toes slowly.  Causing the shock to last longer.

Of course I have a wetsuit.  Its rated at 3/2.  This means that my core and legs are protected by three millimeters of neoprene while my arms are protected by two.  This is a simple explanation.  It actually is based on the cut.  Its usually thinner where you need movement and thicker where you don't.  So even my arms have three mils of protection on some spots.

I could get a thicker wetsuit.  But a 3/2 is considered a year round suit for SoCal.  When I first went surfing I wore my diving 5 mil suit.  I was warm but the suits are cut differently.  A diving wetsuit isn't made for paddling.  My arms were so tired that day.  I used that suit for a week before I bought a surfing wetsuit.  The first time I tried to paddle in my suit it felt like someone had released wound up rubber bands in my shoulders.  I took off slapping ferociously at the water.

The thing with wetsuits is they have to get wet before they keep you warm.  There is a layer of water trapped between you and the inside of your suit.  Over time your body heat will warm that water to an extent.  I remember being amazed when I learned in physics that there is no such thing as cold.  Only the absence of heat.  Heat moves from high concentrations to low.  So technically mom was right when she yelled for keeping the fridge door open.  The trapped layer of water is caught in a struggle of trying to warm you and the ocean.  After about 45 minutes you start to lose out.

But you still have to get that first bit of water in there.  Wading out the water gets deeper.  The ankle bone is connected to the knee bone.  The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone.  If luck is with you, you get past the impact zone unscathed.  The point where the waves break.  If not then getting that first bit of water is automatic.  When the day's luck is with me it usually happens as I'm paddling and a wave is building.  We are playing a game of chicken which I will lose.  If, and this is a big if, you catch it right the wave will pull you up it's face and over the crest.  Rather it just moves under you.  But you need to do a little push up on your board.  This allows the crest to move between you and the board.  Otherwise the crest will grab you and pull you down.   It's this moment.  The moment the crest passes between me and my board.  That I actually go through the crest.  The water flows beautifully in line with my spine.  I just cannot get used to it.

Notes:  Wetsuits come in multiple thicknesses.  If it has only one number then it means it is that thickness all over.  Otherwise the two numbers means it is some sort of blend.  A wetsuit should fit snuggly but shouldn't cut off circulation.  Make sure you always try on your wetsuit before you buy it. Getting the thing off is difficult but you shouldn't feel ready to gnaw off a limb to get out of it.  Late spring is a great time to get deals on wetsuits as a lot of surfers only wears boardshorts in the summer. 

For every new follower of the blog I will sponsor a tree

One of the newsletters I get, Green Living Tips by Michael Bloch, has this thing where he will sponsor a tree for every new subscription.  Its a free to subscribe.

I thought this was a great idea and wanted to do the same.  So for every new "follower" (see the right hand column of the blog) I will sponsor a tree.

Follow me and subscribe to his newsletter and you get 2 trees planted! 

Day 4: La Jolla Shores and the Zen of a Bad Haircut

The only thing worse than a bad haircut is waiting an hour to get that bad haircut.  Thankfully I am happily appreciated in my own relationship but if I weren't I surely would date the woman who cut my hair for her extremely generous interpretation of how long 1/2 inch is.  In my world 1/2 inch would have brought my hair to my eyebrows.  Here's her interpretation. 

Angry face

What do you do with a bad haircut?  I was shocked in the store but by the time I was wishing it longer in my visor mirror I was fuming.  I mean I was going to burst.  "A 1/2 inch off the top is what I said!"

So I did the only thing I could do.  I drove off with my Hitler youth haircut and went to La Jolla Shores.  

This is where I learned to surf.  So this place holds a special place in my heart.  It has a great beach break that produces gentle swells.  Sometimes you get really good waves here but most of the time its not really anything to write home about.  This is where I take everyone to show them how to get started.

There were some sets that actually were well overhead and I was getting thumped by them.  I was just off.  I was so darn mad about this haircut.  But what can you do?  Nothing you just got to let it grow back.  What is done is done.  And with that calm approach and clear head I still got thumped. 

So moral of the story is:  A bad haircut sucks and while you might look like a Hitler youth now in two weeks you'll look like Eminem.   Oh, and surfing makes you feel better.

Day 3 of Surfpocalypse - Cardiff Reef & Maple Frosted Donuts

We started off the day at Tierra Miguel Farm doing a little farm work.  We left at noon and headed over to Cardiff on the Sea to do some surfing.  So this is my favorite place to surf (so far).  Not only does it have great waves but it has VG Donuts - the best darn donuts on the West Coast.  Thanks to my buddy Ben for showing us that spot.  Ben you rock!

Here's how we normally work it.  Get up there early - 7ish - and surf for an hour or two, dry off, and go get fresh donuts and coffee.  Sublime!  The last time Mel and I where there we were with my buddies Jon and Chris back in July.  Come to think of it that was my birthday weekend.  Jon and Chris are both ole Navy buddies and Jon is my "let's try and climb Mt Whitney in waist deep snow the past two years in a row" buddy as well.  Chris is currently getting his PhD in Economics so we never see him anymore.  Legend has it he surfs everyday up in Newport Beach.

So we all arrive early and we're loving the waves.  Everyone had a great time.  As we are getting ready to leave, literally walking into shore to leave and go get donuts, Chris gets stung by a stingray in his ankle.  The poor guy is bleeding everywhere.  Mel runs down the beach 1/2 mile to the lifeguard shack, Jon runs up the stairs up the cliff to get the 1st aid kit from his truck, and I run to the water to get a piece of kelp to put over the wound.

"I'm not putting that crap on my foot." Chris says

So the only other thing I have is the ankle cuff to my leash off my 7'-1" yellow board I affectionately call "the banana".  Side note:  My 6'-3" board is called the "potato chip" and my 8'-5" board is called the "cadillac".  I still haven't used the banana till this day because that leash is still dirty!   In awkward situations I tend to go with humor but poor Chris wanted to punch me so in a way it worked.  Long, boring wait in the hospital story made short - we had to wait till after the hospital to get our donut fix and by the time we got there almost everything was gone.

Why did I tell you that story?  Because it was the rational behind what we did.  We decided in the case that one of us (me) got stung by a stingray we should go and get donuts first.  And to somewhat hold to tradition we should get enough to have after we surf too.  I have to tell you the Maple frosted donuts are incredible.  I was going to go back in before we left to get more but Mel made me drive away.  I seriously think I would shank someone for the last maple frosted donut.  As it is Mel and I are in negotiations right now for the last half of her maple frosted donut.  Its costing me a whole chocolate frosted donut.

Cardiff Reef is spectacular.  You have to walk down these rickety-ass, wooden stairs.  Once you are on the beach you have to look up the cliffs to see where you came from.  Its beautiful till you have to walk back up those stairs.  Definitely an iconic surfing spot when I think of California surfing.

I honestly didn't think that Mel was going to get into the water.  She's a fair weather surfer but it must have been my sweet moves in the water that enticed her.  But she braved the cold water and caught quite a few nice breaks.  She rides a 6'-9" (no name!) but covets the cadillac.  So I tend to give it to her and I take her no name and try to surf it.  I still haven't transitioned down to the shorter boards so my fat butt tends to sink them.  But I was dropping in and half-ass standing up.  There's always tomorrow to get it!

“Making Our Future Win-Lose”

“The future is ours to win.” [1] I imagined that Stephen Covey winced at the President's words. This is a clear violation of Habit #4 in the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

“Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Synopsis: Genuinely striving for mutually beneficial

solutions or agreements in your relationships. Valuing

and respecting people by understanding a "win" for all is

ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one

person in the situation had gotten his way.” [2]

Certainly our President is a highly effective person. Certainly we want to be a nation of highly effective people. So why are we starting from a premise of winners and losers? “We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.” [1] This mentality means that for America to win somewhere else people have to lose. Who will have to lose next? Who is after Iraq and Afghanistan? We are 5% of the world's population but we consume 25% of the world's resources. How much more can we take?

Al Qaeda is evidence of what happens when a populace is relegated to the losing side. A population that is grossly under educated, under fed, impoverished, and downtrodden is a seed bed for the kind of fanatics that terrorists are. Just look at how Hitler took power and you'll see some scary resemblances.

“We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook.” [1] Is this truly how we want to be seen by the world? A country that is simply driven by production and reliant on sales. “We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business.” [1] Apparently so.

The President opened the speech with,

“Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever

known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate

profits are up. The economy is growing again. But we have

never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We

measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs

they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer.”[1]

Though I disagree with the way he sees us measuring progress (GDP anyone?) I agree that progress should be measured by the success of our people. But not at the cost of others. So I disagree with this idea that “the future is ours to win.”[1] Don't get me wrong, I found many things to cheer about in his speech.

The President is correct we have to tackle our national debt. It is over $14 trillion and growing. [3] Restructuring the government is a great start. Freezing domestic spending for the next 5 years is a great start. But let's get real about the tens of billions of dollars that the Department of Defense is cutting. It's not even going to make a drop in the bucket. The 2010 DOD budget was over 600 billion dollars. This means if we completely cut the Defense budget to $0 and directed all that money to the debt we could pay off the debt in 20 – 30 years. Kind of like our own national mortgage. Yet there is no way we are going cut Defense completely out. If we only took half of that budget it would take us between 40-50 years. But with half the DOD budget and the savings from capping domestic spending (till the debt is paid off please!) and the idea of restructuring the government, we might just pay-off that national mortgage in 20-30 years.

Simplifying the tax code. Yes please! I'm all for lessening some taxes for corporations if the product they are producing is of value, and their operations directly provide benefits to the community they are in. This isn't to be confused with “free lunch” concessions some states make to attract businesses by shifting all the tax responsibilities on the citizens of that community. By all means come start a business and enjoy fair tax rates. But you better come ready to be a part of the community and ready to bare your portion of the community's tax burdens.

This leads to another quite sticky issue. I'm just as guilty of trying to find every single legal way out of paying my taxes that there is possible. Nearly half of Americans didn't pay federal income tax in 2009? That's incredible. I hate income taxes. I find them burdensome and debilitating to the American people. I am a huge proponent of a graduated consumption tax. This way everyone pays the amount they want and no one escapes their civic duty to pay taxes. Illegal immigrants and all.

Onto illegal immigration. Yes we need to solve this issue. But creating legislation that effectively creates a semi-police state attitude isn't the way. Nor is hate mongering about said legislation and thinking violence is the answer. Illegal immigrants have been stereotyped into this sect of people who take the low-income jobs and live off welfare. Surely this image has those that live up to it or rather down to it. Which makes you wonder how the “illegal immigrants are taking our jobs argument” holds up. But half of the illegal immigrants in this country are in the middle class range and pay taxes. What? They pay taxes? Yes. It is a reality that you have to have a SSN to get a job in this country. So many of them purchase SSNs and pay taxes for years. Never filing for a tax refund because they don't want to draw attention to themselves. What happens to that money?

Our country needs a viable worker program. It also needs clear and concise ways to apply for citizenship. Making applying for citizenship much more appealing than risking their lives to get into the country. Lastly, we need to look at the reasons (NAFTA and corn subsidies are just a few) why people want to get into the country in the first place. Could it be they're just trying to get on the winning side?

Another issue that is always attached to illegal immigrants is health care. Instead of going down that rabbit hole lets talk about health care for US citizens. The Republicans want to repeal the health care law. Well at the least the insurance companies who got the Republicans the majority in the House want the health care law repealed. The President said he'd be willing to talk to anyone to make the bill better. Mr. President the American people deserve health care free from profit driven motives. We must provide government health care to all our citizens. Maybe it will increase our taxes but I have a feeling if we had a consumption tax that everyone paid, and we cut spending as talked about above, there would be plenty of tax dollars to fund national health care. Besides even if you had to pay an extra $100-200 a month in taxes its still better than the $500 a month most families pay for insurance. At the very least it'd cost the same as the cut-rate insurance that doesn't even pay half the expenses.

So we have a ton of work to do internally. But how does that translate to more jobs and a win-win environment for the US and the rest of the world? By focusing on the green technologies and creating the partnerships with other nations. By getting ourselves out of Iraq and Afghanistan and stop creating worthless wars that kill people and tarnish our morality as a country. By lessening our dependence on oil. But stopping tax dollar subsidies to companies earning record profits and polluting our world. Investing in companies who invest in our communities. We need to invest in education and not allow higher education to be another means of social stratification. We do need to innovate but with the rest of the world. The global financial crisis has shown how interconnected we all are. We can't go it alone in the world any longer and trying to take more of the global pie isn't the answer.

But I can't help feeling that it will all be just rhetoric unless we stand up and hold the President and Congress accountable. In this age where the Supreme Court – unjustly - upheld a corporation's right to free speech thereby allowing corporate campaign contributions, it can feel down right daunting to make a difference. But we can!

There are two fundamental truths. The first truth is there are 3 resources that you have that the world covets. They are (1) your vote, (2) your money, and (3) your capacity to produce money. The second truth is that you control all 3 of those resources. We all need to become more informed and take a stance on something. This national sense of apathy abdicates our control over the government. We need to wrest control of our government back.

“Now it’s our turn.” [1] Yes it is Mr. President.

[1] State of the Union Address 2011, Retrieved from Scribd 26 January 2011.

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People, Retrieved from Wikipedia 26 January 2011.

[3] The US National Debt Clock, Retrieved 26 January 2011.