Oil Crimes

From: http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/30/10-billion-isnt-enough/

Exxon Mobil recorded the highest quarterly profit ever for a publicly traded U.S. company, raking in $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005. The previous record was $9.92 billion, set by Exxon in the third quarter of 2005.

Apparently, that’s not enough. Exxon wants the money it had to pay as punishment for the 1989 Valdez oil spill refunded. Exxon Mobil Corp. urged a federal appeals court Friday to erase the $5 billion in damages an Alaska jury ordered the oil giant to pay for the 1989 Valdez oil spill.

Exxon attorney Walter Dellinger told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the company should be liable for no more than $25 million in punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to deter and punish misconduct. If a company pulls in $10 billion in profits a quarter, a $25 million penalty won’t deter anything.

Does anyone remember this little handout to the oil companies? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072702207.html

So here we have the essence of Bush Administration’s economic strategy at work. While they are telling the automakers that no help will be forthcoming, and telling the autoworkers they need to reeducate and relocate, the already profitable oil giants are not only receiving unnecessary tax subsidies, but now want to skip out on a bill they should have paid 17 years ago!

Here you go average citizen! Your credit card payments and utilities have doubled. Your benefits have been cut. Your pensions are unstable. Your home is washed away by natural disaster. You have to make the choice between eating and medicine. Your new prescription drug plan ends up costing you more than was promised. Every day is getting more expensive to live. You can’t save for the future like you used to.

AND, should you dare to not make one of those payments or to attempt now to claim financial distress, you will find no relief from government. Bill collectors and tax assessors will be swooping down on you like flies on a dung heap. Our government says “Too bad.” This administration dedicates itself to promoting ‘personal responsibility’ and ‘accountability’ unless, of course, your name is Exxon-Mobil or some other large corporation.

Someone explain to me how Exxon-Mobil, after being at fault for one of this nation’s worst environmental disasters, was able to get away with not paying their fines for 17 years? 17 years? If I receive a parking ticket, I had better not be two hours late when making payment or someone issues a bench warrant for my arrest. How does a wealthy corporation, found guilty of malfeasance (drunken captain), manage to evade restitution and fines for 17 years?

These are the same assholes that refused to take an oath when testifying before Congress. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who was a lawyer for Exxon-Mobil before being elected to the Senate, threatened to shut down the hearings if oaths were to be administered. The only man who won’t swear to his word is one who is lying, has criminal intent, or doesn’t think that he or his industry should be held accountable as you and I are.

There has got to be some serious public outcry over this.

See more at: http://www.exxposeexxon.com/

The Exxon case in 9th Circuit is no. 97-35192. Basically, Exxon-Mobil is challenging the punitive damage amount based on constitutional grounds that it violates due process. They are citing a case where a judgment against BMW was reversed because the company had no idea it was ever going to have to pay such a large amount. In other words, since they weren’t warned ahead of time that they would be having to pay a large amount, then they shouldn’t have to pay it.

Punitive damages are designed to deter companies and individuals from conducting business in a manner that leads to injury. The monetary punishment acts as a deterrent to professional malfeasance in many industries and without that potential threat, who knows what kind of corners would be cut in production, quality, and safety? We would have a poorly engineered nation if that were allowed to happen.

Exxon would like to have a predetermined checklist of punitive damages so that they can do a cost-benefit analysis to determine if safety needs to be considered at all. When the bean-counters take power from the safety people, someone is always going to get hurt and not be compensated.

I say we give them that list.

Reality vs. Royalism

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,

Where knowledge is free;

Where tireless striving stretches the arms toward perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habits;

My Father,

Let my country awake!” (Rabindranath Tagore, 1913)

The beauty of the Constitution and the wisdom of its authors become apparent in the simplicity and straightforwardness of their language. Unlike Biblical texts, loaded with prophecies, ambiguities, and willy-nilly interpretations of intangible mysteries open only to the self-ordained holy seers, the Founding Fathers created a statement or purpose and practice easily read and understood by everyone. They were educated and highly literate men, leagues above those they governed in many respects, but they, unlike our present government, felt no need to bury their ideals in lengthy, complicated, and often misleading terms. There was no ulterior motive involved.

It is claimed that the Judeo-Christian ethic played the greatest role in establishing this nation. We know this to be a half-truth. Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, and others were not influenced by Bibles or Gods or even Jesus. These were men of the Enlightenment whose heroes were philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists, shaping their ethical and moral outlook with a reality based perspective. On the national level, there are no Bibles, no Decalogue, and no prophecies at the heart of our Constitution; only an applied rationalism and reality based ethical philosophy reasoned to ensure the freedom and liberty those men understood to promote the highest endeavor of human existence.

This does not mean that religion hasn’t played a role in shaping the nation. While our Founding Fathers were reading Rousseau and Voltaire, there were still 10000s of colonists deeply devoted to Christianity, and that religious morality became part and parcel of local and state law with little, if any, interference from the federal government. The bits and pieces of this nation are, like it or not, borne from a Biblical ethic, this even after the adoption of the 14 Amendment. As influences go, one could do a whole lot worse, and though a large number seemingly backward ideals were preserved, many progressive and evolved social movements also grew from the efforts and ethics of Christian America.

Let us never, however, confuse the two. We call the Constitution ‘sacred’, but it is not sacred like some would call the Bible ‘sacred.’ The Constitution is not an inviolable, infallible work of divinely inspired prophets, rather the effort of plain, thinking men imbued with courage and a reality based foresight, looking through the eyes of history to create a nation free from the treacheries of those Empires which preceded them; and most, if not all, of those empires based their power on the Bible and the infallible rights of monarchy. The American founders, taking the lead of the Enlightenment philosophers, shook off this yoke of faith based ‘royalism’ and built an ideal based upon rational laws and not upon the capricious rule of men – dead, divine, anointed, or otherwise.

The present danger in today’s political marketplace comes from the ‘royalists’ who, though not bowing to monarchs or priests, view the executive branch of their favored government as a providential body, bestowed in some manner with all manner of power and ability not prescribed to it by the Constitution or the law of the land. Others seek to twist and reinterpret the Constitution’s easy to grasp message in very strange ways. Even within the government, many claim a ‘special circumstance’ to avoid or even usurp Constitutional and legal guidelines, even those guidelines designed to address just such a situation. A return to ‘royalism’ is a leap backwards into a world of men above the law and not the laws over men. There is no doubt were Jefferson and Franklin to witness our current situation that they would wonder at which country they were looking.

“The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with its shield all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances. No doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever inverted by the wit of man than that any of its provisions can be suspended during any of the great exigencies of government.” (David Davis, 1815-1886)

Nuclear Greed

“There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed.” (Lao-Tzu, 604 BC - 531 BC, from The Way of Lao-Tzu)

Ohio nuclear plant to pay up for leak

Penalties will total $28 million. Workers had tried to cover up the extensive damage.

By M.R. Kropko

Associated Press

CLEVELAND - The owner of an Ohio nuclear plant yesterday agreed to pay a record $28 million in fines, restitution and community service over the cover-up of an acid leak that nearly ate through the reactor vessel's 6-inch-thick steel cap.

FirstEnergy Corp. acknowledged that workers at its Davis-Besse plant concealed the damage - the most extensive corrosion ever reported at a commercial U.S. nuclear reactor.

The utility and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded that the boric-acid hole had been growing for at least four years and that Davis-Besse's managers had ignored and withheld the evidence because they were more interested in profits than safety at the plant, along Lake Erie about 30 miles east of Toledo.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted two former Davis-Besse employees and a contractor on charges of hiding the damage from regulators.

I would like to ask the free market conservatives out there who oppose strict government regulation of the energy industry what they would do in such a case. After all, were it not for the regulatory agency that routinely inspects and enforces safety codes, this particular problem could have reached catastrophic proportions before coming to light. The owners themselves, left to their own designs, would have never fixed the leak were it not for fear of potential shutdown and prosecution.

Had this particular event been an isolated accident, I wouldn’t be ranting about it. Accidents do happen, though we can proactively reduce the risk by taking proper measures. The real story here is the planned and deliberate conspiracy to cover-up the problem. Needless to say, FirstEnergy kept it well hidden from the public view. It’s not as if anyone from the ‘public’ ever gets a view from the inside of the reactor anyhow. To keep it hidden, however, from the government safety inspectors, who represent the public interest, and to do so based upon profit motive, is just pure and unadulterated evil. It shows that they have no regard for us at all.

I fully support the use of nuclear power for the peaceful and efficient production of energy. It is safe when run properly, but it becomes unsafe quickly when avarice overpowers the needs of public safety. This same principle applies to all industries. A highly regulated energy policy is what we must have to protect the people from the deliberate neglect of safety standards and the environmental hazards created by the burning desire of a few to put a few more schillings in the bank.

I also support the full nationalization of the energy industry. This notion that competition keeps consumer prices down is sheer nonsense. There is no competition! If we nationalize, then we can finally eliminate the obsessive-compulsive desires for huge profits, and what profits do accrue will be returned to the people in the form of social programs or other necessary government functions. The billions and billions of energy profit-dollars currently flowing into the off-shore accounts of a select few robber barons can then flow back to the people who pay from their hard-earned wages for that service.

These corporations don’t care about us at all. It is time we stopped caring about them, too. Let’s call for nationalization. Their greed is making us all poorer while endangering our lives without remorse.

Book Reviews

Most of the time a good book finds you, and not the other way around. I think R.W. Emerson said a similar thing about butterflies and happiness, but I’m not sure. Either way, these books were recommended to be by others who don’t always share my tastes in conversation or reading. All three are informative, enlightening, and in other respects, somewhat disturbing, but what of it? That’s what good reading is all about.

I’m very lucky to have been an introverted, depressed, and shy child. I can’t imagine things otherwise. My self-imposed social restraints turned me into an avid reader and explorer of all things mental; this in spite of my being, as my father would comment, ‘not the brightest banana in the bunch.’ I was equally fortunate to have blossomed socially in recent years and that has expanded the range of subjects I read ten-fold. Readers attract readers, and good books are highly contagious in certain circles. My illness is terminal.

Janice is also a reader from a family of readers. She enjoys mystery, true crime, marketing, and business. She joined a book club called the “Diesel Divas” (named for the original members who work for Detroit Diesel.) I read the books, too, but can’t attend the dinners (it must be a girl thang.)

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (ISBN 0-7679-0818-X)

This is a book about science, scientists, and natural history written by a non-scientist. Bryson uses his straightforward, entertaining, and humorous writing style while conveying some of deep realities of our universe and being, as explained to him by some of our world’s leading scientific minds. This is an awesome book for anyone wanting to gain some background into science and how it works. There is nothing technical here, just an entertaining and well written account of how things are and how we came to know it.

I borrowed the book from a maybe-soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Burned Alive by Souad (ISBN 0-446-53346-7)

This was a very sad and very real account of an attempted ‘honor killing’ in the West Bank as told by the intended victim herself. Souad talks about her family, her culture, her religion, her village, and her own impressions about being a woman in a rigidly male dominated society. Reading this book will probably make you angry at Moslems, yet the message is not limited to that alone. It is also about her rescue, renewal, and recovery. I cried reading her story.

There is one brief passage after her rescue where she wonders why it is that everyone in her village hated Jews so much. After all, none of them had ever seen any that she recalled. (The story takes place long before the Israeli take-over of West bank and Gaza.)

Janice put me onto this one. She bought it for $5.99 at Borders.

Overdosed America by Dr. John Abramson (ISBN 0-06-056852-6)

If you have a vested interest in either the medical insurance or the pharmaceutical industry, you might not want to read this book. Dr. Abramson explains and exposes in a simply-put manner the means and method by which the American medical consumer is being cheated out of both money and health. This book is well written and not loaded with industry-specific technical jargon or nomenclature. The author puts forth a good case for drug reform, insurance reform, and a return to common sense medical practice.

I paid $3.95 for this book. It was on the discount rack at Borders.

Happy Reading!

2 More Things I Didn't Know

Fascism as Educational Policy

The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to report the names, addresses, and phone numbers of secondary school students to recruiters, but the law also specifies that parents or guardians may write a letter to the school asking that their children’s names not be released.

What does it help my child’s education to have their information in the hands of the Pentagon and military recruiters? I used to joke about “No Child Left Behind” as a fascist nicety couching recruitment for the war in Iraq. Now I find out that it’s no joke. Oh, and by the way, the Pentagon ignores any letters you send them, and those parents who opted their children out recently discovered their children’s names still on those lists.

Von Bismarck would be proud!

http://www.vermontguardian.com/national/012006/Pentagon.shtml

Drug Dealing Run Amok

For a new drug to be approved by the FDA, it only requires that the drug be tested against a placebo, but not against existing drugs already on the market. It is likely that many new pharmaceuticals do not perform nearly as well as generic ones already on the market at much lower prices.

One example is Nexium or ‘the purple pill”, a highly marketed prescription. Prilosec, a generic over the counter drug costing one-eighth the price, has almost the exact chemical composition as Nexium. The patent on Prilosec ran out, so the drug company alters the formula ever so slightly in order to obtain a patent and the subsequent profits.

The free market actually hurts our health care and makes it more wasteful and expensive.

(From Overdosed America, by Dr. John Abramson. The words are mine, however.)

Induced Miscarriage (Abortion)

כב וכי-ינצו אנשים, ונגפו אשה הרה ויצאו ילדיה, ולא יהיה, אסון--ענוש יענש, כאשר ישית עליו בעל האשה, ונתן, בפללים. כג ואם-אסון, יהיה--ונתתה נפש, תחת נפש. כד עין תחת עין, שן תחת שן, יד תחת יד, רגל תחת רגל. כה כויה תחת כויה, פצע תחת פצע, חבורה, תחת חבורה

Exodus 21:22-25 “When two men are fighting and one of them strikes a pregnant woman and she miscarries, but no other injury occurs, that man must pay according to the claims of her husband and the judgment of the courts. However, if other damage ensues, the injuries fall under the legal category of life for a life, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for a hand, or foot for a foot. Burn for burn, wound for wound, or bruise for bruise.”

If you ask a Christian why he or she opposes abortion they will of course say that it is murder and quote either Exodus 20:13 (You should not murder) or Exodus 21:12 (Someone who kills a man is put to death.) as the source for their position. They assume the abortion or induced miscarriage is a form of murder. The Torah clearly says otherwise. Were it to be considered murder, the assailant in question would not be liable a monetary fine, as established by 21:22, but a capital sentence.

Further support comes from 21:13 where it says, “If the killing was not planned but came about by act of God (accidental), I will provide a place for him to flee.” When we consider the case of 21:22, we do not find that the assailant is expected to ‘flee’, but must pay the compensatory damages negotiated by the husband and the judges. In either case, the killing of the unborn child is not treated as murder or even as involuntary manslaughter.

This does not mean that we should condone abortion any more than we would condone or permit any of the other damages done by one person to another. The Torah does, however, make a clear distinction between murder and induced miscarriage by assigning different remedies. The severity or gravity of the crime is measured by its punishment.

It is probable that Christian will counter by saying that 21:23 (“life for a life”) is meant literally. Even if we were to assume 21:12 to be literal (why shouldn't we?), the law in 21:23 is only referring to the mother, and not to her unborn child. The Torah is reminding us to adjudicate her injuries separately from the fetus in terms compensation.

Kol Tuv

A Joke

(I receive a good number of jokes through email, but few of them actually make me laugh. This is one of the few that did. Enjoy!)

I was a very happy guy. My wonderful girlfriend and I had been together for over a year, and we decided to get married. There was only one thing troubling me. It was her beautiful younger sister. My prospective sister-in-law was twenty-two, wore very tight miniskirts, and generally went braless. She would regularly bend down when she was near me, and I always got more than a pleasant view.

One day "little sister" called, and asked me to come over so we could discuss some of the wedding arrangements. She was alone when I arrived, and as we sat down to review the menu, she sat herself very close to me. Shen then whispered to me that she had feelings and desires for me, feelings that she just couldn't overcome. She told me that she wanted to make love to me just once before I married and committed my life to her sister. Needless to say, I was in total shock and couldn't utter a word. She said, "I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want one last wild fling, just come up and join me."

I was stunned and frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs. I stood there for a moment, then turned and made a beeline directly to the front door. I opened it, walked through, and headed straight towards my car. Lo and behold, my entire future family was standing outside, and all clapping! With tears in his eyes, my father in-law hugged me and said, "We are very happy that you have passed our little test! We couldn't ask for a better man for our daughter. Welcome to our family!"

And the moral of this story? : Always keep your condoms in the car.

I Have A Dream

Undermining the Free Market

“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.” (Abraham Lincoln)

The current lobbying debacle going on in the Capitol would make excellent fiction if it weren’t so terribly true. Here we have a giant house of political, interpersonal cards being not ever-so-gently toppled by the jilted ex-lover of one of the major players. “Hell”, indeed, “hath no fury as a woman scorned.” If I were to offer advice to anyone on K Street or in Congress, it would be to keep all your money in your pants and to always keep your pants on when counting your money. Never mix greed and lust. A wise criminal indulges only one particular vice at a time to avoid ‘burning his candle at both ends’ at it were, allowing himself the space to cover his tracks and keep some part of his existence free from worry. Always keep your vices far apart from each other.

Everyone realizes that Washington is no longer a place of debating and voting, but rather a cesspool of trading, buying, and cajoling. The terrible truth, among all the other terrible truths we must face, is that lobbyists are the fellows writing much of the legislation presented before Congress. Whether in carefully worded appropriations bills or as addendums to the Congressional record, our elected representatives represent the interests of the special interests first, and their constituents last. We elect men and women from our home states, but are really sending them to perform the biddings of drug makers, oil drillers, and insurance companies. Even the nominees to our courts are chosen based upon a ‘corporate-friendly’ predisposition.

To be fair, one can fully expect to find this sort of criminality under any loosely policed political structure. The Soviet Union and Red China were no less corrupt then any democratic or parliamentary system. Political corruption and influence peddling are the bane of society and the boon of those lucky enough to become players in the game. Please do not take this rant as a specific attack directed solely at the American government. It isn’t. It is not an attack upon capitalism or the free market either, since even under some communist regimes we find enough shenanigans going on to make pure anarchy seem attractive by comparison.

Contrary to what many Republicans promote as reality, most Democrats in the US are not economic leftists, and continue to support capitalism and free market values. The assault levied upon the Democrats as being “socialists, communists, etc.” is propaganda designed to malign opponents to obscure any real debate, and putting the Democrat on the defensive even before the debate begins. Any attempts to regulate greed and bribery are seen as attacks on the free market or entrepreneurialism, and with the vehemence of a McCarthyist in steroid rage, the industrialist, corporatist attack mongrels hurl themselves at our fences, frothing and growling to scare us from violating their sacred territory.

The Abramoff problem is one that should have most supporters of the free market very, very upset. I would expect to find true conservatives to be generally outraged by the scandal. Influence peddling offers an unfair advantage to one company over another. It means that the consumer in many cases doesn’t get a real choice of product, and that this product or service is contracted without the consent of the consumer at all. Lobbyists undermine the very things that proponents of free market economics cite as reasons to allow free markets. Ingenuity is no longer a matter of making a better, safer, or necessary product; all of that mental effort focuses on the means by which it can be sold through payoffs to elected officials. Those voices among conservatives, if there are any remaining, keep silent because of political allegiances.

Under the present system, we no longer have a world where product A competing honestly against product B for the consumer dollars. When product A is able to influence politician X to write laws that would, in effect, restrict market access for product B, then the system is no longer a market, nor is it free. The makers of product A have every right to advertise to consumers. They should not however be able to enact law on their own behalf, or law that benefits their own specific interest through bribery. I see little difference between K Street and a mafia crime syndicate. Neither one of these blatantly criminal organizations consider hard work, honesty, ingenuity, necessity, or safety as a means to financial success. Those qualities that make the free market a viable economic option take a back seat to the opportunism and the ruthless greed of corporo-political thuggery.

Capitalists, Anarchists, Theocrats, and Socialists alike should be outraged by this, and too few seem to really care. Where has honesty gone? The barbarians are not merely at the gates; they hold the mortgage.

“Corruption? Corruption is our protection! Corruption keeps us safe and warm! Corruption is why you and I are prancing around in here instead of fighting over scraps of meat out in the streets! Corruption... is why we win!” (From the movie Syriana, 2005)

“Principles, Sir, are becoming corrupt, deeply corrupt; & unless the progress of corruption, & perversion of truth can be arrested, neither liberty nor property, will long be secure in this country. And a great evil is, that men of the first distinction seem, to a great extent, to be ignorant of the real, original causes of our public distresses.” (Noah Webster, 1837)

Another Moocher

These last couple of weeks, a new denizen of our neighborhood has wandered in and out of my home, all the while eagerly partaking of whatever attention, food, and comfort she can readily secure. She is very thin. I suspected she may have worms, but upon closer inspection I think not. She is likely just underfed. I plan to remedy that problem.

I love those green eyes.

Janice calls her "Stilts", and I have been calling her "Sticks" because of her long, thin legs. I am also thinking of calling her "Krista" after a coworker of mine who, as you probably already guessed, is a tall and very slender woman of similar proportions to our new visitor. Whatever we choose to call her, she has a very sweet personality and neither Princess or Silo seem to mind her presence all that much.

(Any other name ideas? Try to be original, please.)

The usual critters are still coming around for meals and I'm happy to say they all seem quite fat and happy for the winter. The raccoons and squirrels are on vacation, but the opossum are still busy foraging and sleeping off their conveniently offered repast under the deck of my humble home. There are four of them now. They don't even take much notice when I come out to greet them. They must love the holidays. I collect the chicken and turkey bones from everyone I know and leave them out on the deck. Janice is afraid that if we dine out I would begin asking people at other tables for their scraps as well.

Some think I'm crazy. If they only knew.

"Everyone safe and everyone fed." That is my motto.

Kol Tuv

The Real Miracle of Chanukah

“The common man prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperament to that deathly inner consuming fire.” (Hermann Hesse)

Many extraordinary and supernatural events go into the story of Chanukah. Not all of them make sense to me. That a nation would seek to throw off the joke of a now-oppressive and vengeful despot comes as no surprise. That they would endeavor to reestablish their own monarchy and religious institutions does not amaze me in the least. That these indigenous religious rebels would be tenacious fighters is no shock either, as we know that native peoples fight harder for their own land than those who seek to occupy it. That there would surface claims of supernatural intervention is expected as well. It certainly appears miraculous to the mind of the man who thinks the odds are heavily weighed against his cause.

In truth, there was no reasonable expectation of victory for the Macabeans. When we look to history, we don’t see many revolts proving themselves fruitful. Most revolts against powerful empires were crushed rather quickly, sometimes helped along by attrition and dissent from within the rebellious ranks. Rebellions don’t always have unanimous support from those they claim to be saving either. Quite the contrary, in fact. The American Revolution, which damned near failed were it not for French intervention, only had the active participation of less than 1/3 of the colonial population, not counting Natives and African slaves. The rest of the nation either enjoyed the British rule or, as is likely, waited for an outcome before pledging any definite allegiances. Risking life and livelihood for a cause that might not really win the day is a hard thing to ask of someone.

It is a reasonable assumption, based upon history in so many other times and places and the human nature to shun radical change, that the Macabeans faced the same problems in raising the call to revolt. We know there was a faction that aligned itself directly with and benefited from the Seleucid monarchs. We can also assume that there were a vast number of people who had finally gotten used to Hellenistic domination and probably didn’t want to go through the hassle of readjusting their lives all over again. We also know that many Jews became fully Hellenized by this point, imbued with Greek philosophy, culture, and attitude. The Macabeans and their allies were in the minority and their enemies were not only the soldiers of a foreign power. The Macabeans had to also fight the inertia of a poor and apathetic Jewish populace.

If we were to travel in time to 167 BCE, we would find this small band of displaced priests, justifiably outraged the desecration of the holiest site and its artifacts, scouring the countryside for others willing to fight the Seleucid monarch. Yet, for all their outrage, they were few in number and had to find some way to communicate that outrage to others and encourage them to overcome the reticence that follows habit and complacency. I know that the way the story is told makes it seem like it was easy, but the history of other rebellions tells another story. There is always an initial sense of fervor and excitement that comes with the hope of victory and new vision for regaining past glory. After the first battles, whether won or lost, the sights of blood and death must have discouraged some from taking up arms again. These were farmers, shepherds, merchants, and priests; not battle hardened warriors or mercenaries. Imagine yourself in their place for just a moment.

This is the real miracle of Chanukah. Somehow, there were just enough of these unlikely sort of freedom fighters to overcome internal and external odds and stick it out long enough to achieve a victory. It was the sheer determination of those least likely to have fought in war, let alone be victorious, that proved to be the wondrous event that truly defines the moment. We heap tomes of liturgical praise upon Matisyahu and his sons for their outstanding leadership, but from them I expected as much. The real praise goes to the farmers, shepherds, merchants, and artisans who overcame inconvenience and fears of death, killing, and war in order to overcome an even greater enemy.

Let’s not forget those unnamed and unheralded Jewish patriots who sacrificed everything and didn’t get to be Kings of Israel, or to be remembered in song and feast. They fought psychological inertia every time they marched out against the Seleucids. They are Chanukah’s real miracle.

Zachor!

“The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”

On Holiday Greetings

As a result of the “War on Christmas” rhetoric of the Republican talking heads on television and in radio, there has developed the notion that atheists or non-monotheists are somehow offended by the mention of Christmas, Chanukah, Kwaanza, Eid, Saturnalia, etc. This ‘War on Christmas” is as much of a canard as is the war in Iraq. It is nothing more than a talking point used to inflame the already over-sensitive into political action. It is very difficult to convince a paranoid person that he or she isn’t being targeted for disaster, but I’m going to try anyway.

Attention all religious zealots! There is no “War on Christmas.” All we ask is that you NOT use the government or public property as a place or means to promote your own personal religious beliefs. I have no problem with the tacky Christmas displays on my neighbor’s lawn or in front of his church. I do not care how I am greeted when entering a mega-store. That a person assumes I am Christian because we live in an overwhelmingly Christian-populated nation does not offend me and I feel no need to correct anyone for making that assumption. You can say ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Chanukah” to me and I’ll tell you to have one also. I really do want everyone to be merry and happy. It’s a much nicer world that way.

This is the first year I can remember where dozens of people apologized to me for not knowing how to greet the “man who celebrates nothing”. Some mentioned ‘Chanukah’ and then back-pedaled off that, some said ‘Christmas’ and then stood dumbstruck as if they’d inadvertently confessed to killing a beloved pet or extra-marital affair. Each and every holiday greeting was prefaced with disclaimers and followed with apologies. Some even asked, “So what do you celebrate?” I did absolutely nothing to bring about this extraneous dialogue, yet somehow I come away feeling that people see me as some sort of Grinch.

The real problem I have with the holiday season is the over-decoration and commercialism. That isn’t a religious or philosophical issue at all. Whether it’s the long lines at the store, the blinking lights, the constant advertising for months on end, the electronic singing Santas, or battery operated dogs barking ‘Jingle Bells’, it is just to damned noisy for my tastes. I feel a strong sense of relief when the commercialism of Christmas is finally over and life gets back to normal. Now, if I can get my neighbor to take down his ten foot Santa before Memorial Day, I will have achieved one small victory in my personal war on noisy and bright displays that stay up way past their period of purpose.

At the risk of foregoing the sadistic pleasure of keeping my coworkers and friends utterly confused as to my beliefs about anything at any given time, I have publicly announced my true feelings on the matter. As long as the world becomes a friendlier place and the food and alcohol remain free of charge, I’m happy, too. Think of me as the cat or dog you would pet and maybe offer a treat; the beast having no concept of temporal references or events and is just happy to receive the affection. As long you don’t force me to wear antlers and pull a toboggan, it is unlikely that I would ever feel offended.

Greet me as you will, and I’ll wish you and yours the very best in return. The very best is the very least we all deserve.