Motley Blog

Through my involvement with Hampshire College's pioneering S. African divestiture policy (first in the US - the year prior to my freshman year) I was able to attend several of the very early meetings of the trade organization, the SRI Forum.

Below is a letter to a Hampshire College Board Member, John Watts, a Texas born investment banker/lawyer. It concerns the board's selection of an investment adviser, post their divestment decision. This letter introduces my John Watts story, below.

I don't know Mr. Watts 'business' profile, but another Hampshire Board member, Gerald Levin, ended up running Time Warner for a time. Purely speculation, but presumably this guy had a hand in it, though I've no idea of the power career of this 1980's investment banker. He's perhaps best know on campus for giving a graduation speech shortly after the Reagan era fall of the Berlin wall. Quote "The wicked witch of the east, socialism, is now dead". No mention of who the wicked witch of the west was, or is, but I'd suspect he had something, or someone, in mind.

I'd been warned about Mr. Watts, presumably because of actions regarding some of the first generation divestiture activists. I only recall one conversation with him. It was about a mountain area in Northern Mexico that we had both visited. (Creel, Chihuahua - a base of Pancho Villa's and a favorite of mine).

Perhaps my big mistake was later suggesting Republican Dan Evans, former president of Evergreen, to replace the outgoing College President. Mr. Evans was a Senate Colleague of Brock Adams, a parent and also a Board Member. Speculating here, but I'd guess that Evans' quick departure from the Senate was Brock's doing (in hindsight, rightly) and Evans in Adams' career ending scandal (in my opinion likely wrongly).

I've got a theory about some of this, with some additional evidence - more current. Not sure if it all would hold up, but it is something that could be investigated.

I tried to post a claim on Wikipedia for inventing the Rave. It survived an initial challenge but later would be pulled down. The production group operated under the name 'Deviant DoubleSpeak', aka the Doctors of Dental Science, DDS. Several events were attempted, only one was funded, 'SpringFire, a Bachnalian Firefest'. The general idea was 'participatory entertainment' with volunteer 'actors' mingling with the crowd with a very loose impromptu oriented 'script'.

Raves are implicitly associated with the drug Ectasy. This event didn't have that connection, however it was within a year or two of when it first started showing up on that Campus, likely one of the first. I think the claim to being the first Rave has some relevance as part of a tradition of partying that includes the Grateful Dead and Warhol type loft events. I actually have never tried that particular drug, a minor regret.

The best evidence of this connection likely comes from an even more memorable event a year later closely following the themes of this one, organized by a participant.

View image

FWIW, I don't think this was the proposal that was funded. I do believe this group did an event themselves, a bit more arts oriented, in the same theme. Very well done.

BTW, Phil and I would probably make a pretty good director/producer team, should anyone have the backing.

Frankly, I have to admit the bullying campaign tactics of Proposition 1 and their ilk have me peeved. This piece is a bit of a rant, and perhaps a pointed gloat at the results from yesterday's election.

Let's start with an example of the type of garbage the Proposition 1 supporters put out - an editorial by Lance Dickie of the Seattle Times.

There are lots and lots of folks who care about transportation who don't like this plan. Dickie evidences what appears to be the final PR strategy of attacking the good citizens of this area who recognize a fatally flawed project when they see one. Calling honest, hard working, folks, no matter what age 'complainers' or 'delusional' is insulting and self-destructive.

There is a reason the project was fatally flawed - it has to do with fatal flaws in the administration of the project. Some folks might blame staff, some the politicians. They certainly have some responsibility - but the lion's share belongs to those who manipulate them - their legal counsel.

That said some recent words I disagree with, but still found worthwhile. The Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Leonard Pitts recently wrote a wordsmith's lingo-centric column on the subject of Political Correctness.

To me political correctness is about actions, not language. But Mr. Pitt's words still shed light on the subject - and are therefore valuable.

Evangelicals may tell you that God is Truth. Let me suggest a contrarian perspective - that it is in fact truth which is god. Words are not reality - they are a way for our species to have conversations about what is real. Those conversations are 'truthful' only if they benefit of the participants - even if it is just one individual talking to him, or her, self.

Truth is found in the living of individual life and the relationships we build. Capitalism and Democracy are useful tools of merging this motley mess into a productive, and respectful, whole.

Anyone who tells tries to tell you otherwise - that there are shortcuts - is dangerous, creepy, and a troublemaker.

Family law is a subject that makes the press regularly these days - it may be gay marriage, domestic violence, or even tax policy. Here, I will argue that perhaps the 'law' does not belong in family situations at all.

I'll illustrate this position by going a bit to the extreme - the answer, which I don't have - is somewhere in the middle. The only thing I will claim is that the current system is broken and to have a sense of the direction in which we should head. Even that direction is subject to debate - something I would consider a success I was to spark such here.

The law as it applies to families is broken. Law makes more problems than it solves in this arena. One could make the case that this is intentional. I will not do that here, but will note that the same question could also be asked in felony arenas as well. Certainly though there have been cases where misapplied family law has actually sparked felonies. These are tragedies to prevent, not merely falling back on a procedure by which the legal system can claim to avoid responsibility.

I believe that the debate over gay marriange and/or civil unions shows us the way to the solution. Marriage is not a matter for the State and the Law to regulate - it is a matter of religious preference and Churches should have the 'authority' over this societal institution.

Religion is a matter of choice - that choice might be a very traditional Catholic, Jewish, or Native American institution. The church choice though could also be something innovative - fo example, a gay embracing offshoot of an established religion, or even something born anew - say the 'Church of Spouse Swappers' - if that was what 'you' wanted.

There are some issues which should be guaranteed by the State - dissolution from a documented abusive relationship would be one, support for a non-working spouse should be another. The rights of 'civil unions' as negotiated by gay activists are probably pretty close to what heterosexual couples deserve as well. No more, no less.

The issue of children in marriage is another area of State involvement - perhaps no more so neglected than in the area of tax policy, even in homosexual discussions. It is my opinion that there are some tax benefits accruing to couples which are, in part, justified on the assumption that Children are present. I would argue that we should be taxing marrieds, without children, at a higher rate and married, with children, at a lower rate. I'm also dubious about assigning retirement benefits to a non-working spouse when there are no children present in the relationship at that particular time. This, if you will, is a functionally 'progressive' tax position.

The resolution of problem marriages should then fall to the 'authority' of each church - forget restraining orders and the like, but do give the Churches some powers in this area - especially in the area of creating a record of evidence documenting a deteriorating relationship.

I'd also go so far as to give the Churches authority to be insurance providers - divorce insurance would be one product, but I see no reason why Churches couldn't be providers of just about any form of the product. The resulting rates,and actuarial tables, cross tabulated by religion, would be a piece of societally relevant 'economic' information.

Lastly, one potential problem - that of a couple who choose to marry but are of different 'traditional' faiths. That too is a matter for the law, allowing those individuals choices in how to handle the situation - say allowing one spouse to accept the marriage standards of another religion without joining it, per se.

I think the best answer to that potential problem is the idea of pre-nuptial agreements. Church marriages could be considered a standard 'pre-nuptial' aggreement concerning the marriage. Individuals would have the opportunity of drafting their own agreements, including modifications of Church practices, if acceptable to that Church.

Does the law belong in the 'regulation' of drugs in society?

Anthropologists have studied the question of drug use in a wide variety of societies, including those that utilize psychedelics. The generally accepted wisdom, correct me if I'm wrong or out of date, is that societies who have older individuals as mentors for younger users are generally healthy and avoid many of the problems of drug abuse. The role of the native 'medicine man' is perhaps the easiest way to understand this position, at least from my lay perspective.

Certainly drug use can be a contributing factor in crime. Here in Pierce County the current stereotypical problem is the unemployable meth addict looking for income to support drug use in the mix of his or her life's priorities. Not so long ago, and still with us to some extent, would be the similar, but manifestly different, heroin junkie.

The biggest societal problem in this regard though is alcohol and violent crime. In history the provision of alcohol as a reward to fighting troops provided a benefit to the commander - a more aggressive fighter, once the hangover wore off. (not a bad timing factor in the conduct of battle either) The history of marijuana use during the Vietnam era in this regard probably merits continuing historical review (marijuana probably lowers the fighting ability of soldiers).

The trend towards medical marijuana, including in California, federal efforts opposing not withstanding is, I believe, the way to go. And not just for marijuana, but for every drug, including alcohol. Our society has 'medicine men' - they are called medical doctors and they have extensive scientifically founded training as well as strong requirements for social capability manifested as 'bedside manner'.

My thought is that alcohol purchases should be regulated - via the medical profession. The 'administrative' way to do this is something that we should be doing regardless of medical oversight. If you look at the back of your Washington State driver's license it has a barcode. It is merely a minor software problem to require the scanning of this barcode with any alcohol purchase. The benefit of preventing sales to minors alone would justify this wise implementation of technology.

Privacy protections on this information should be high - standards in this age that need review - especially in light of current abuses, including within the legal profession itself. Judgement in the use of this information should also be high. Laws should not be so strict that a person is prevented from hosting a private party without being called an alcoholic. There is nothing wrong with a determined person being able to find small workarounds as a price of protecting liberty for us all. Those workarounds though will require a social network, and those sorts of networks will develop their other problems as well - another case for a law enforcement professional with good judgement.

The availability of alcohol purchase records will also be a useful tool for the law enforcement investigator in the course of sorting through persons of interest and conflicting statements.

I'd argue that all products with psychological effects be regulated to some extent - including stimulants such as caffeine and relaxants. I'm not going to say those products require a bar code scan or age restrictions but their management in that context is definitely appropriate.

I do think psychedelics should be medically regulated products as well, but their use should be among the most difficult.

In my opinion one of the ways to understand a drug is how often you can use it before problems start to appear. Alcohol can be used relatively frequently by some without major problems, even daily in smaller doses. ( I would argue though that this is medically undesirable.) 1-2 cups of Coffee a day is nothing to be concerned about at all, though that too might have minor medical disadvantages. 'Desirable' alcohol use is probably in the area of 3-4 total drinks per week.

Marijuana on a daily, or even weekly, basis does become a dangerous drug. Airplane pilots are regulated on the use of alcohol for a nearly a day prior to flight, as I recall. I would argue those same time frame constraints be placed on anyone in a position of responsibility. In the case of marijuana a time frame from use to work, such as with a truck driver, should be on the order of a week. (that's a lay guess, not scientific or medical judgement) I'd also guess that desirable use of Marijuana is on the order of once a month or so, though it would probably be okay if that was an annual average whereby use was concentrated during a summer vacation or the like.

Psychedelics should most likely be used the most infrequently - as a guesstimate I'd say once a year, maybe twice. Higher frequency use might be okay, but again in the context of annual use as an average, with these drugs though that should be spread out over the course of a lifetime.

Although the emergence of universal insurance may make this moot, it still merits mention as a part of the current conversation on insurance. Making medical insurance a requirement for any drug 'use', including alcohol, would do much to encourage the purchase of that product among groups that are both higher medical risk and less likely to act prudently. The resulting actuarial tables should be a core part of the drug discussion, as well as violent and property crime statistics resulting from relatively more accurate data. FWIW I'd bet there are a fair amount of problem alcohol users trying to scapegoat the marijuana users for some of there own 'problems'.

Lastly, a personal observation. If I am so lucky to die in bed, doing so being stoned during my last days might well not be a bad way to go. Call that a living will, if you wish.

If my calendar is correct the UW Regents will be in Tacoma tomorrow.

FYI, as the evidence and their own law indicates, these folks are legally and morally bankrupt, though, unfortunately, not financially so.

No details today, but, FWIW, all I have to is show up tomorrow and and not say a word and your entire credibility will be destroyed as well as that of your associates. That includes your son, Mr. Gates.

Of course it had already happened 15 years ago - even before I attended a meeting of yours quietly, hanging out with David Brewster.

Again, per your law and your actions, just how do you pay back for 15 years of good living when everything should have been taken from you then and you have nothing now, nor will you ever again?

How about you show some responsibility for once and dedicate your genetically defective bodies to science? That would do it for me.

I do realize that you have supporters, and certainly I'll listen to any of them with credibility, but do be aware that anyone who identifies support for you also runs the risk of being accused of conspiracy.

You are, not by my actions but your own, Scum. Scum multiple orders of magnitude worse than a recently released sexual predator. I'll give you one notch over Hitler, at least to date.

If you wish, you can probably kill me to defend yourself. As Clint Eastwood might say to a younger, less dangerous, punk, MAKE MY DAY.

On the occasion of the Dalai Lama's visit to Seattle let met tell my two tibetan stories. I'm not very religious at all, though I do have some sense of faith - call me, if you will, 20% Budhist, 10% Catholic, 10% Protestant and who knows about the rest.

I had the opportunity to visit one of the last pockets of unblemished Tibetan culture - pockets of which exist in northern Nepal, near the Chinese border. I was 18, less than a year out of High School and it was definitely a formative experience. I did the Annapurna Circuit, half of which had only opened to foreigners the previous year. It's a 3 week hike around the Annapurna Massif, best examples of Tibetan villages are Manang and Pisang. That valley is awesome The floor at the lower end is ten thousand feet up and the ridge above is another 15, all in all probably 30 miles or so long, leading to an 18,000 foot pass.

It would take a feature length movie to give the experience it's full due. One interesting story - Tibetan rebels had operated out of the area with CIA funding. Nepal put a stop to it, and still keeps a small military presence in the area. I had the chance to spend an evening with the Commanding Officer in small Inn. He was probably checking me out, but it was well done. I don't remember his name, but he definitely had an influence on me with his stories.

Second story is about the Dalai Lama himself - I had the opportunity to see him in Eugene in the days before that Nepal trip. It was a date with one of my best relationships ever (in hindsight, sigh) - the crowd was probably less than 50. I do remember making eye contact with him, a strange remembrance as one passes his image in the press and films. Perhaps the best of which is Heinrich Harrer's '7 years in Tibet'.

No great conclusions, save perhaps though I do respect the Chinese history they really should step up here and do the right thing.

In reflecting on comments regarding the Dalai Lama I realize I made an ommission about my religious influences - and a great little story.

I worked for a year as a legal messenger - S. King and Pierce County every day - plus legal service in SE Seattle, a large minority area. The biggest thing volume wise were these small claim suits over bounced parking checks. The biggest dollar wise was probably New Hope Baptist church.

New Hope had been burned a few years earlier and the suit was regarding the construction loan to rebuild, which they had defaulted on, or some such. The reverend, Robert Jeffries, is known as an activist type - taking on Nordstrom most notably. Though he might be a bit of a Jeremiah Wright type he also worked closely with the mostly white Church Council of Greater Seattle. I didn't know him well, but we had met, and I liked him.

In order to get ahold of people for the legal service I had to show up just prior to the Sunday Church service. So imagine, if you will, the white boy entering perhaps the most radical successful black church in Washington when the most faithful have already gathered. Key the church choir warming up and the church elders gathered at the Baptism pool. This is where I needed to wait, until that morning's baptisms were completed. The one face I remember was an early teen female getting the fear of god put into her followed by a quick dunk.

I don't know if that writing captures the experience, but it was certainly quite memorable.

**********

Curiously my earliest memory ever is of playing with black children at one of the first Head Start programs, I believe just as that program was getting started. Mom had been a social worker in L.A. County, getting promoted to supervisor just before getting pregnant with me. She volunteered for this Head Start program - perhaps with an eye to a job.

My memory is mixed - I do think there was some sort of an incident - nothing any more significant than any other non-racial playground incident. I remember that vaguely - the two strongest memories are more emotional ones - I remember stopping going and Mom's emotional state as we left. I was sad about leaving, even in spite of the incident. The overwhelming memor was one of curiosity - of having kids to play with that were very different from me and trying to figure out what it all meant.

My four week trip, in part exploring relocation, was coming to an end, a good one. From a slow simmer in SW Colorado, to the full heat of the Great Basin desert, to the cool green of Oregon it had been a western odyssey of personal significance. Capping things off with a traditional Fourth of July visit with Bro and his kids was great.

On that final day coming home, I came back through Tillamook, crossing over to Longview, via the Wilson River and the Trumanesque/Harley Destination of Vernonia, outside of Portland.

I knew a girl from Tillamook once. She tells a story of a life after death experience, crashing into the Devils Fork of the Wilson River, returning from a High School trip to Portland. It was an event that meant a lot to her, and I think I knew her well enough to be able to plug into at least a small portion of that experience. Call it empathy, call it what you will, but it was certainly something.

My particular travels had never taken me down that particular stretch of road, but as a whitewater guy with several Oregon first descents to my credit it was a river definitely on my list. Like all of the Coast Range rivers the Wilson is a rainfall driven creature, and this was not the time to paddle. But I do think I was able indulge myself a bit healthily in making a guess as to the spot.

Not exactly Freudian, but heck, he was a crack head, at least later... I wonder what Mom's opinion would be... :-)

Eating Raoul

Directed by Paul Bartel

Written by Paul Bartel, with Richard Blackburn

1982

Imagine the Wine aficionado couple from the recent movie 'Sideways' (Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen) ten years later and you have the start of this movie.

Then put on your bell bottoms and other 'inspired' items from the 1970's, light up some Thai Stick and get ready to swing baby! Or, if you prefer, a glass of Pinot Noir or a Fume Blanc!

FWIW Giamatti and Madsen could probably put together a pretty mean Country Restaraunt, but I'd hope they treated the help better than Bartel and his screen wife.

Words of advice for both Obama and McCain:

"What Would Hilary Do?"

A curious legal standard of Gregoire's generation under the law is 'the perception of the victim' .

I'm gonna challenge that bit of abusive double speak here, but first let me note that it is not without a rational basis, no matter how badly misapplied.

Folks who have been abused are sensitive, actions that most of us consider part of the rough and tumble of daily life in the real world can be quite stressful - this may well be a prime indicator of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - whether it be a vietnam era vet or rape victim.

A quick item for your consideration, dear reader:

Would it be possible that many common items of wisdom are in fact a 'projection', en masse, of regular drinkers?

Certainly no one will challenge the connection between alcohol use and domestic violence, bt consider also these possible examples:

Accusations of criminally violent behavior against Pot Smokers

A supervisor 'needing' to discipline a worker who may actually more qualified than him, or her, self.

An American Financial professional foreclosing on an American Worker's house

As the reality of our current financial system begins to dawn on American's I've become aware of a 'mistake' in the economic numbers for our State - we too may already be, "in the shit".

The story, as it's been vaguely reported to me by a credible source, is that the usual summer layoffs from the school system were not reported. This has resulted in 'seasonally adjusted' numbers in the most recent reports that don't include the offsetting regular drop!

I'm not going to accuse anyone of intentional misreporting based on the information I have so far, but it sure seems to happen a lot around election issues in King County and the State.

Some further explorations of important basics that they didn't tell you about econ 101....

Supply and Demand applies not only to specific products or an individual's labor. Supply and demand also effects the organization of our economy - the supply of a particular size and form of an organization is, theoretically, also subject to market forces.

Unfortunately due our current financial system this mechanism is not working - the determinant of success is not the ability to deliver a quality product, but rather one's complicity in the financial system that has just 'disproved' itself.

Though the hypocrisy of the Bush dynasty and Hank Paulson cannot be denied, the current plan to take a partial ownership stake in the bailed out companies is appropriate.

The current plan is for these ownership rights to be without voting rights. At first glance this might seem wrong, but it probably does make sense. However, do recall that the 'management' right of termination, for cause, is always open to the government.

And, FWIW, one that still needs to exercised against firms that the government does not have a stake in.

I am sceptical of those that call for 'regulation' as the solution. Frankly, the way things are working now we get to choose between getting defrauded by Wall Street republicans or Capitol Hill regulators.

The final solution is to put the control of assets in the hands of those best able to manage them, for an appropriate mix of public and private benefit.

Sure, Dems and Republicans are going to disagree on exactly what that balance is, and that is exactly what domestic issues in electoral races should be about.

Law is fairly clear about self defense.

So too is our constitution about the tools available to us to defend ourselves against government. We are guaranteed the right to petition for redress, and the first and second ammendments of the constitution make due process clear.

That standard of what constitutes a threat from a government against an individual citizen must be high, and, bloody hopefully, it should be as narrow as possible.

But, exactly what is that standard, that is my question for you.

The British Economist John Maynard Keynes reshaped the world with his theories of government infrastructure stimulus during the Great Depression. This blog entry is about Keseyian Economics - a bit of randomness inspired by a typo in a comment on a good piece on the current election in Seattle based Crosscut.

Economics according to Ken Kesey would be a very different thing - however one could certainly imagine both of his major novels - 'Sometimes a Great Notion' or 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' - being rewritten for a Wall Street setting.... :-)

FWIW, Kesey's brother continued in the family Dairy business starting Nancy's Yogurt - far superior to ANY other mass produced product, save that from Trader Joe's (and I'd not be surprised if Nancy's manufactures that). This continues a proud tradition of Oregon dairymen, including those of the Tillamook area on the Oregon Coast.

(I usually buy mine at Fred Meyer's, a chain founded in Portland, now under national Corporate ownership.)

Barack Obama has just announced his economic team, including the controversial former Clinton Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers.

The item of concern regards some out of context comments regarding the aptitude of women in math and sciences - concerning the possibility that the sexes were wired differently, not concluding it. This was taken negatively by the politically correct of Harvard, and by the public at large - see the comments on this recent piece.

But consider this - perhaps the mathematically illiterate female members of the Harvard, Massachusetts comunity have a genetic defect which predisposes them to accept the slanders of corrupt Republicans?

Nigger Newt Gingrich - that has a nice ring to it, no? Perhaps one even worthy of going down in the History books, the field where he was once a southern professor? Of course, I certainly hope than no one would even think the term 'nigger Nifong' is controversial at all...

One other thing for sure, anyone who can graduate from Harvard CAN'T blame their upbringing for their failings as a human being.

Our society has thousands of ways of biasing in favor of families with children. This is a good thing, but, frankly, it's not explicitly done, and therefore, easily subject to manipulation. Perhaps it is time to remove those implicit subsidies, 'flatening' the tax struture, while adding explicit subsidies for families raising children.

There's a tax target here - married folks without children currently have the highest discretionary incomes. Part of this reason is their ability to tag along on some of the implicit ways our society favors families. And this is where I start when deliberating on my own personal conclusions about gay rights. Please note as a single person these ideas would also mean a small rise in the amount of taxes I would pay(mortgage deduction) - though hopefully also less societally allowed discrimination in the workplace.

Marriage, family, is the institution society has created to raise children, though partnerships can exist without kids. Family is also the basis of many religions, and that's fine. Personally, I think we should take current debates on gay rights as an opportunity to clean up some of the implicit practices and biases we have around these building blocks of society, as well as in our tax structure.

Marriage should be considered 'religious' territory on which the state shall not tread.

A brief word here for vitamin 'D' - the sunshine vitamin. I take it seasonally (400 i.u.) and from my personal experience I can't recommend it too strongly - it is much more than just an osteoporous vitamin - personally I think it even helps a bit with the winter blues.

At this point, if you don't take it and you haven't had a sun vacation on snow or sand you will be quite deficient. Personally, I notice the effect right away, and I think you will likely too.

$5 or so, try it out, it is worth the money - you'll likely also find you get sick less at the end of the winter. How much is that worth

(Confidential to Fred Meyer management (Krogers, I believe Southern based) - I made a recent 'one stop' trip to a store of yours to restock my 'D' - though you had a nice vitamin section there was not a single bottle of the product in any brand. Perhaps your customers know something you don't?)

Your City's baby boomer power couple's marriage is based not on love, but power. This is power based on hate that advances itself by putting others down, it is a marriage made not in love and heaven but in hell for profit at the expense of others.

Local couples include Judy and Jon Runstad, Barbara Linde and Greg Canova, and perhaps Mayor Nickels and his wife, though I'm not sure about that one.

New York City vs. Washington D.C.

Ten business days from now, April 5, Microsoft will be holding a virtual 'special' olympics on the servers of the MS network. (The 'real' event was originally founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Schwarnegger's Mother In Law, on the proposal of a Chicago Educator)

**Please note - ridicule of this particular brand of abusive degenerate is not only allowed, but encouraged. Boos will suffice, but if you have personally had your life endangered by these individuals all restraints are removed, per the US Constitution.

Ni - Fong n., prop. A prosecutor caught abusing the law in politically motivated prosecutions of four Duke University (North Carolina) Lacrosse team players. v. A common legal practice in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries where unfounded allegations of sexual impropriety were used by the legal profession to manipulate large organizations, public and private, as extortion. Most common in Washington State, New York City, Massachusetts, California, and Washington D.C. Cited as a major cause of the revolution of 2010. Explicitly outlawed under the first president of New America in 2013, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Enforcement has intially proved difficult as the disorder often manifest in a bi-lateral fashion expressing itself between the actions of at least two individuals most typically man and wife, or republican and democrat. adj. 1, A genetic defect isolated as a partial cause of the behavior, as in ' nifong genetic defect'. 2. a manifestation of alcohol abuse as 'she was a nifong alcoholic'. n. a perjorative term to describe users of the practice, as in "what a nifong".

Nick - els n., prop. Mayor of Seattle during the period leading up to the economic crash of September 2008, symbolizing the corrupt elitism that overtook his City and its role in setting these standards and techniques on a national basis.
n. 1. Homeless camps of the era, 'Nickelsville'. 2.A metaphor for relative poverty among the average American of the time, as in the people had only nickels.

Nim-by acronym; Not In My Back Yard n. A perjorative stereotype with some basis in reality but more often used by those unable to communicate outside of the controlled confines of a public or private corporation - nor able to design a project worthy of survival outside of same. (Ed Note:Abusive behavior does occur in neighborhood groups, curiously though it is most often public servants, usually acting outside of their lower middle roles that do so. The other common type is a victim seeking revenge, rightfully or wrongfully. Note also rhymes with Quimby, a synonym for 'N' word #2, 'Nickels')

I just caught a timely radio PSA with State Attorney General Rob McKenna and King County Sherrif Sue Rahr concerning High School graduation alcohol usage - a good subject, but with a bad conclusion.

The gist of their piece is to discourage parents from hosting events where alcohol is served. I couldn't disagree more - regardless of the law this is a very appropriate way to handle the situation, so long as the proper precautions are made - keeping car keys, etc.

Alcohol is a legal drug and having more mature people teach its use is crucial. Sure, when the drinking age was 18 there were problems at High Schools as a result, but this is not the same thing at all - consider the anthropological record, for one.

More to the point Rob, Sue, what about the Republicans in King County who never learned how manage the use of the drug responsibly - like, for example, Jane Hague and Norm Satterberg.

Right? What about them?

This enforcement effort comes across as nothing but disrespect for the law revisiting prohibition at a crucial demographic.

Law is not written in stone from Moses in the First Ammendment, it is living thing based on human judgement and the application thereof. Rahr and McKenna are exhibiting much less of this than the parents buying alcohol for their graduates.

Implicitly holding the average citizen to a different standard than members of the government only justifies DISRESPECT for authority.

Given the historical role of the Republican party in US Business it also raises the question - are these folks really competitive or just drug addicted gang banging and extorting thugs corrupting the law rather than making America strong?

It's kind of ironic, in an Alanis Morrissette kind of way, that the Puget Sound is slowly sliding into a record reaching heat wave just as I finalize my bankruptcy, the likely giving up of my home, and, most importantly, documenting the slow build up of causes that created this situation. All, tellingly, absent legal representation.

Some people say I'm a crazy liberal activist (or a right wing wacko - go figure).

I am reminded of my first publication, a compilation of research on the subject of Socially Responsible Investment - on the heels of an administration occupying expansion of my alma mater's pioneering South African divestment.

The Hampshire College Report on Socially Responsible Investment

Ed. by Doug Tooley,

April 1983.

Preface
In 1976, Hampshire College bacame the first school in the country to divest from companies in South Africa. This opened the door for us to a much larger idea, that of using investments to reflect our ethics instead of those of the capitalistic ideology.

Senior United States Senators were admittedly being frightened by Junior Senator Barack Obama pretending to be United States President.

Leading the pack of screaming old white guys was Joe Lieberman, after this incitement by Rachel Maddow:

Meanwhile, in the real world:

(Seriously, perhaps it is time to get rid of Seniority rules in Congressional leadership - allowing us to, among other things, reward a moderate Republican who is willing to lead from the center instead of destroy from the status quo?)

Where's Lowell Weiker when you need him!

Don't Follow Me I'm Lost

by Richard Rushfield

2009

At the height of the Reagan revolution author Richard Rushfield chose to attend the most prestigious radical institution of higher learning, Hampshire College. This book is his story, and the story of the allied group of artists, producers and marketers that was the Supreme Dicks. It was a coming of age in a moment of political and artistic zen, the time between punk and grunge in the musical world.

The Supreme Dicks were the sperm that fertilized the egg that would become the Universe of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr, and, as a side project, create the first X fueled raves.

In this book RR skewers the pinnacles of the corrupt and hypocritical NE establishment with humor blending Sean Penn in 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' and Hunter S. Thompson. His words are filled with the freshness and perspective of a west coaster wandering free in the strict class society of the east coast.

Rushfield leaves the titans that used Hampshire College, and the Dicks, to forge the abusive corporate and political tool of Nifong political correctness sleeping under the bridge with recently released Priest pedophiles.

You however, will walk away laughing, with a buddha smile of enlightenment and individual empowerment that will carry you through whatever the bastards may throw your way.

Available at Amazon and other booksellers.

(A mea culpa: I was a friend of the group in its early days - I believe I was the one who started calling the civilian security force as a prank, a 'theme' that apparently persisted after my departure from the campus.)

The Tea Party, still not a fully formed effort, has become the focus of much mainstream media attention regarding the potential for violence. What this still forming group will become is not yet known, and I would certainly give little credence to any corporate coverage of this group - and not too much more for their coverage of the Democrats or Republicans.

As to the threats of violence, there are certainly those in both mainstream parties who put their often hypocritical group think ideologies above the foundation of American Law, the United States Constitution. We do have the legal right to overthrow our government, should it lose sight of its protections of individual social and economic liberties. But recall too, that the right to bear arms is the 2nd right, and speech is first.

Given that the Republicans have crucified themselves with their own ideology (and fucked themselves to a corporate communist hell!) perhaps we will be so lucky to have the Tea Party rebirth true conservative ideals in this Constitutional Republic?

Respect for difference of opinion is the foundation of the Constitution, and what is sorely missing in America these days.

Much of the freedom in historical America has been through having a Western Frontier which allowed for the practice of those values, even if they were violated regularly in the Eastern Cities, and pre-civil rights South.

Even though that freedom existed only for northern and western white males, it did exist and the progress it produced was real.

It is a sad historical fact that the fruit that was the civil rights movement of the 60's coincided with the partisan political divisiveness of the Vietnam War and the final days of the frontier in the west. That tragic coincidence continued through the end of the last chapter of the frontier, the completion of the the oil pipeline in Alaska in 1977 and the Corporatist takeover of the economy by Reagan 80's investment bankers and lawyers. (FWIW, the folks running our economy now were sniffing coke at Studio 54 and fostering an continuing alcohol dependency at the time.)

The key to the success of the Libertarian Party, and the future of America is more than just a good PR strategy to counter the likes of the Rachel Maddow attack on Rand Paul on his primary victory in Kentucky early this summer, on civil rights grounds - it is also the Parties ability to include the left - i.e. non-violent anarchists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism_and_violence).

Consider this, what if the white male business America had embraced racial diversity without the need for a civil rights act in 1964?

Running to the government to protect your business is every bit as much an entitlement failure as the so-called 'welfare state'. The hard fact is that if you believe in the free market you **must** be okay with the fact that one of your employees will, one day, out compete you.

Relying on the Judicial Branch of government to create a barrier for your employees to compete by de facto creating a Corporatist Caste system in America contains every evil of Socialism, and more - witness today's America.

One thing this non-violent, limited government, Constitutional Anarchist believes in is the separation of powers among the branches - removing all 'officers of the court' from the legislative and executive branches of government, in as speedy a fashion as practical.

Since the 60's the left has evolved the law to deal with discriminatory abuse - this is a good thing, but misapplied under the direction of the courts. The cycle of abuse is a dangerous thing - in a 21st Century context the American Constitution is designed to prevent exactly that in its protections of individual rights.

There is nothing wrong with determining a persons economic value to society **in part** through governmental decree, including judicial findings of abusive behavior.

It is a true tragedy that it is the abused who becomes the abuser, and in a broader context this is what has happened in America, in the partisan employment spheres of the private right and the public left - under the control of our legal system.

And make no mistake, those individuals that make up our legal system are not victims tragically recreating a cycle, they are fully intelligent humans that have made a conscious choice to abuse via third party for their profit, and sexual control freak.

It is a fact of life that we are not all equal, for the Constitution, and America, to continue to evolve, survive, and succeed, we must do this on merit - and for no other reason.

There are many in right wing America that are using the economic situation they created in failing to realize the competitive economic global environment they operate in to create legions of new members to a financially disenfranchised class. The fact is that it is exactly these people, and these people only - who deserve a government determination of degeneracy - the worst of them no better than a homeless level 3 sex predator.

The word 'nigger' manifests a historical shame in America, never mind the attempts of those that have bought the Tea Party to re-instill racial politics. It is a word we should perhaps not let die - it is a hard fact of life that the human race does produce scum - we just need to make sure it is done justly.

And FWIW, our current legal system can't even manage it's own responsibilities, let along those of the other branches of government AND the entire corporatist economy.

The legal profession has created a monolith - that monolith is most certainly NOT comprised soley of scum, if though led by it. It is however bankrupt - with the responsibility lying along a continuation in direct reverse proportion to position.

There are those that would make it a crime in America today to be poor. But responsibility goes with authority, not the other way around, and if you aren't able to bear the same, you shouldn't be in the game.

Got a problem with that, Nigger?

I've had an obsession with Bret Easton Ellis for sometime, once minor, but slowly growing, perhaps now to dangerous levels with the meta-fictional work 'Lunar Park'.

The movie version of 'American Psycho' (2000, based on a 1991 book), a genius critique of Reagan era Wall Street all the more relevant today, was what first garnered my serious attention. But it was his relatively minor 1987 work 'Rules of Attraction' released to the big screen in 2002 that began the obsession - based loosely on his time at the small radical college Bennington the story reminded me closely of my own experience at the very similar Hampshire College. The fact that I had been involved in a personally impactful triangle that included a Bennington student as a third in a fashion not unlike those of the book sunk that particular 'hook'.

Kudos to Utah based Federal Judge Robert J. Shelby for striking down that state's ban on gay marriage. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Utah

Curiously though this decision may have an impact on another aspect of marriage practice for which the State is even more famous - the historical practice of polygamy.

Aside from the completely evil practices of pedophillic sexual slavery engendered commonly within polygamy is there any difference, fundamentally, between that practice and gay marriage? My answer, very clearly, is no. Both involve non-typical forms of marriage between consenting adults, do they not?

And, FWIW, it would also be completely legal to establish a contractual relationship outside of civil marriage laws between multiple individuals, would it not?