Errata

Errata:




So.... I have begun after 45 years to floss. I don’t know how it happened. Whether it is because of age and maturity? Seems unlikely. It might be because I have started to get things stuck between the awkward spaces between my teef. I mean big things...things that look like...well...you know those hay things....not bales...they don’t do that anymore...but those big rolled up things that look like tank size pieces of shredded wheat....THAT’s what daddy gets stuck in his teeth.
I have been doing it for several weeks and after a few weeks of bloody and distressed gums it seems like it is a good thing but seriously....the crap that pops out of my mouth is unbelievable. Next time I lose my wallet....thats the first place I am looking. Where does the idea of flossing come from? Wikipedia is always helpful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_floss Thy explain a great deal. Levi Spear Parmley invented the stuff using silk. Johnson and Johnson stole and patented his idea and then realized nylon would work better and...well that is where the dream starts. Wikipedia further advises that:
“The American Dental Association (ADA) advises to floss once or more per day. It should be noted that overly vigorous or incorrect flossing can result in gum tissue damage. For proper flossing, the Association advises to curve the floss against the side of the tooth in a 'C' shape, and then to wipe the tooth from under the gum-line (very gently) to the tip two or three times, repeated on adjacent tooth and on all other teeth too.”
Good stuff. This from the American Dental Association web page:
How do I floss my teeth?

• Break off about 18 inches of floss and wind most of it around one of your middle fingers. Wind the remaining floss around the same finger of the opposite hand. This finger will take up the floss as it becomes dirty. Hold the floss tightly between your thumbs and forefingers.
• Guide the floss between your teeth using a gentle rubbing motion. Never snap the floss into the gums.
• When the floss reaches the gum line, curve it into a C shape against one tooth. Gently slide it into the space between the gum and the tooth.
• Hold the floss tightly against the tooth. Gently rub the side of the tooth, moving the floss away from the gum with up and down motions.
• Repeat this method on the rest of your teeth.
• Don't forget the back side of your last tooth.
BRILLIANT!
Soooo...even after two months of flossing I finally go to the dentist for the well overdue cleaning. I know there is nothing interesting about hating the dentist. it does not even interest me but jeeeez I hate the dentist. I always wonder where they get these women with these powerful hands, wrists and forearms who can apply 600-700 foot pounds of pressure to bare in your mouth. Do they breed them somewhere? And they always seem surprised when you thrash around like a fish, gaging on your own bile... do they really do any good?
They are kind enough to tell me in no particular order that:
1. It is great that I am flossing and my gums bleed less;
2. My gums are still receding everywhere and I should be able to expect a major root canal in the future; and
3. My teeth grinding has raised itself to a new level and I am doing major damage to my gums and lower teeth and that I probably need a serious shrink and some medication if I am grinding them that much.
Great News!

****
Sooooo....happy birthday to me...whatever. 46. Seems old. I never met to live this long. Is that an old line? I think so. My dad always said that “only the good die young” and he is still playing tennis at 80 while I seem to be “deteriorating” at every turn. It is weird living this long, but sometimes it is a good type of weird. I hear people talking about this age as “half time” and while that seems like bull shit to me it makes some sense to me as well and I have after all been working for 20 years....and it looks like I will be working for at least another 20 with social security all gone by the time I get there and the fact that “retirement age” will likely be 70....I am not even too half time yet. Shit. That really sucks.
But maybe it does not. Who says that I have to spend the second half the way I spent the first half. My wife doesn’t. She wants me to be happy. My parents won’t make me...they are tired and reasonably pleased with the fact that I have not had to move back in with them. Even my in laws are really happy generally that I have held a job for a period of time. My kids... I need to think about them a little...I am not sure what they want. dad as a lawyer was not a bad gig but i think they too just would like me to feel happy. So, re-reading that paragraph I guess what I am saying is that I am a pretty Blessed (capital b) guy.

Money. Money could be the issue... or at least an issue.... but maybe...maybe that can be gotten around. Maybe not. Money is indeed the route of all evil. Money also offers the chance to make things better for other people and to do some good things for them once in a while. So making money can be a good thing. So is there a way to make enough money to do that stuff and still do something fun or rewarding in the second half? Probably not. But why not take a whack at it anyway.
The family is OK. My problem at half time is all in my head. What if everything I have got is not enough? Does that make me an immature, unappreciative shit? I think the answer could very possibly be yes. What if i am just unhappy with my first half career because I have developed an overdeveloped ability to be unhappy. Would I be unhappy if I did it all differently but in the way I think I would have liked to? I think there is a pretty good chance that the answer would be a great big strip club HELL YES!

Sooooo what to do? I know I like dealing with people on a counseling basis. I know I really have an empathy for high school kids. I know I really like to speak (and listen to myself talk) and I like to write although the last 9 months have satisfied me that I will never be a “writer”. So what do I do with that information or that self knowledge? That is what the future will tell but I am a lot closer to moving back home to my parents basement then I am to winning the lottery.
Possible careers for Mike Becker at 46:

1. Drug Dealer
2. Rock Star
3. Pastor
4. High School teacher
5. Strip Club Bouncer
6. Investment Banker
7. Lawyer
8. Pimp
9. Serial Killer
10. Judge

Thoughts?
46 seems old at this point. Very old. But it seems that there are a lot of choices here. Almost all of them...well... that is not fair...all of them are good. So what does one do with so many good choices?

1. Go back to school
2. Move back in with my parents
3. Go live under a bridge (with my troll friends)
4. Continue practicing law
5. Becoming a handler for Britney Spears or Paris Hilton or...even Nicole Richie or Lindsay Lohan.

The last are not really career choices but weigh stations and what type of 46 year old goes through the process of a weigh station? I mean seriously...how does that happen? Is it just self involvement and immaturity? I think maybe so but even if that is true...here I am. Lets figure this out.

*****

Ahhhhh the KUDZ Force. it is time to scare us again. Time for Cheney and Bush through the good soldier Petraus to frighten us into not only “staying the course” but taking action against Iran as well. it is important that we be frightened. it is important that we believe that a country with a homicidal mullah and a crazy President can threaten us and our country in a meaningful way. it is important that we be scared so we do not ask why if we pull out Iraq that “the terrorists will follow us home”. That is frightening, where would they sleep? What would they eat? it is important we be afraid so we do not ask why the administration really wants us to believe that by fighting them there we are keeping them another 9-11. Are THEY that easily distracted? And who is “they” anyway? Al-Quaida? A group who pulled off a tremendously criminal and murderous act which we made glorious by.... invading Iraq? Seriously...what were we thinking of? And now the drum is beating for Iran with Cheney, Bush and the Republican (read southern conservative Christian coalition) leadership in Congress in their own new age drum circle...pounding the beat. The nukes in Iran thing did not have traction with the people so now we are trotting out THE KUDZ FORCE again. They are coordinating attacks against our troops. They are deadly palace guard of the Mullahs. I am convinced the only reason we trot them out is because it sounds like they must be nazis.

Anyway...I know most of the oil comes from the middle east and we do not want crazy people able to halt the supply but...isn’t that really the problem? These people have NOTHINg but oil that will run out in 50 or 60 years. Their dictators want to make hay while the sun shines. Seriously...if not for the oil how could we be afraid of these people? They are good with bombs and killing civilians but since we have stepped up our vigilance here...nothing. And shouldn’t we as a country grow up about this terrorism thing? it is a reality for us and our children. We need to recognize that you cannot wage a war on terrorism anymore then you can wage a war on drugs or...the dreaded FOX invented WAR ON CHRISTMAS. You fight wars against countries. Not crazy people. Crazy people will always be able to kill people and as the technology gets better and better, more people each time.

We need to pay attention but we cannot be afraid. We need to stand up, protect ourselves and start to lead by example. Attacking or bombing Iran will not advance the ball. Staying the course will not advance the ball. How about if we spend all that money on health care and on training the next generation for their challenges? That would be something to lead on. But we need to stand up to our leaders right now and refuse to be manipulated by them trying to scare us. We have to.

What No One Will Say

What no one will say.

We ARE tired of this war. We HAVE lost faith in what appears to be a failed adventure and we ARE bitter that we were led into it dishonestly by people who likely had the best intention but when the truth is manipulated so grotesquely to motivate support...how CAN we believe?

Congress with it’s inept thrashing around is embarrassing. The Democratic “opposition” is embarrassing because no one wants to say what everyone knows. We have lost the heart for occupation and subjugation of this foriegn land. because of our actions, our failure to impose Democracy in Iraq is “letting the terrorists win” and they are going to “come after us” again. This is another big lie. Somehow admitting the obvious is perceived as an electoral death wish

There seems to be a fatal lie that the opposition is believing and that is that to question the war and to talk about withdrawal allows the terrorists to "win." Certainly if I am an extremist religious fanatic I am heartened that the religious fanatics in the Bush administration were thwarted. It is North carolina State winning the National Championship. David beats Goliath. This is a HORRIBLE loss and lets put the blame squarely where it belongs, on this administration. They LIED to us and mischaracterized “evidence” so that they could go to war. Their reasons in 20/20 hindsight appear to be to impose a stable democracy and the blessings of capitalism in the mideast. That is a lofty idea and is the nicest characterization of what those motives were because that was NOT what they told us when they took us in. I will not recount the litany of “weapons of mass destruction”, Al Quaida’s alleged connections,” “terrorist bases”.... and on and on. All debunked because they were simply not the truth.
Bush's Five Big Lies That Led to the Iraq Quagmire.

These are the five lies Bush told that Ralph Nader documented to impeach him. Nader might be a nut but given the choice between Bush and Gore... I voted for him.

• Weapons of Mass Destruction. The weapons have still not been found. Nader emphasized, “Until the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam Hussein was our government's anti-communist ally in the Middle East. We also used him to keep Iran at bay. In so doing, in the 1980s under Reagan and the first Bush, corporations were licensed by the Department of Commerce to export the materials for chemical and biological weapons that President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney later accused him of having.” Those weapons were destroyed after the Gulf War. President Bush's favorite chief weapons inspector, David Kay, after returning from Iraq and leading a large team of inspectors and spending nearly half a billion dollars told the president “We were wrong.” See: David Kay testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee, 2004-01-28.
• Tyler Drumheller, the former chief of the CIA's Europe division, revealed that in the fall of 2002, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others were told by CIA Director George Tenet that Iraq's foreign minister — who agreed to act as a spy for the United States — had reported that Iraq had no active weapons of mass destruction program.
• Iraq Ties to Al Qaeda. The White House made this claim even though the CIA and FBI repeatedly told the Administration that there was no tie between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. They were mortal enemies — one secular, the other fundamentalist.
• Saddam Hussein was a Threat to the United States. In fact, Saddam was a tottering dictator, with an antiquated, fractured army of low morale and with Kurdish enemies in Northern Iraq and Shiite adversaries in the South of Iraq. He did not even control the air space over most of Iraq.
• Saddam Hussein was a Threat to his Neighbors. In fact, Iraq was surrounded by countries with far superior military forces. Turkey, Iran and Israel were all capable of obliterating any aggressive move by the Iraqi dictator.
• The Liberation of the Iraqi People. There are brutal dictators throughout the world, many supported over the years by Washington, whose people need “liberation” from their leaders too but unless we have a hidden agenda we use those brutal dictators towards our own ends (see China).



When I say congress and the Democrats are inept I mean that they fail to grasp the truth, or honestly acknowledge the truth that anyone watching knows. We have GOT to get out of there and we are going to have leave with our tails between our legs. We are going to leave a disaster which will very likely include a divided Iraq (now seen as a common sense result) and “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” against the people who are in the wrong places when that division takes place. What Congress needs to realize is that we do not need to be debating it now. Bush is not leaving Iraq. We need to plan for our countries leaving Iraq the day he leaves office and we need to do it NOW. We need to tell the world that at the end of 2008....WE ARE OUT! Until then we have a leader who will continue to pursue his dogged goals “failure is not an option” to whatever end they lead us no matter how strong the American people oppose him. There are so many misconceptions being acted on and advertised by this administration that I cannot catlogue them all. How about the mischaracterization that we are fighting "ONE" enemy in this war. What a gross mischaracterization. We are facing Al Quaida, Sunni Insurgents, Shittes,
Iranian Insurgents and also just some people who want to see us hurt.

And this is what REALLY makes me tired. I believe strongly that a leader MUST have the courage of it’s convictions. He should do what he really believes is the right thing to do regardless of public opinion. The problem is that he has been using manipulated public opinion for the last 6 years and in 2004 with 51% of the vote claimed a “mandate” for his Iraq policy. Well one thing about claiming a mandate is ackowledging that you have lost it. He says the public supported his policy but does not any more but what the public has realized is that this “war” is not a war at all. It is an occupation towards a goal of “winning” which no one can tell you what that means. A war on terror is like a war on drugs. It never ends and can only be held in check by dealing with the symptoms of what lead to to the “problem” whether that problem is drug abuse or terror. Our leadership has no desire to deal with the difficult issues choosing plattitudes of democracy and capitalism “solving” these problems. It is a noble principal. It might work if you were dealing with a country in Iraq that had any concept of it OR if our country had the heart to occupy that country for a lifetime or two. We have neither the heart nor the budget.

So what should we be doing. Every Democrat and republican challenger should announce that upomn election they will begin an immediate pull out from the country of all troops, first withdrawing them back to our bases and then getting them out as soon as possible. Some might go to Afghanistan, some to Kuwait but the great majority will go to Europe and then home. The counrty of Iraq will fail and fall apart. Kurdistan will forment revolution in Turkey and Iran and we will of course try and manipulate that to our advantage stupidly destabilizing those governments hoping they will be replaced by something better. The Shiites will get to work exterminating the Sunnis in some of the bloodiest genocide imaginable and Saudi Arabia and Egypt will need to figure out what to do for their Sunni brothers. We as a country will be further vilified and hated in the Arab world. Our enemies will then get to work on us in Afghanistan...I do not know what will happen there.

We need to retreat. There I said it. I am NOT for isolationism and I do think America has a duty to lead and to a greater or lesser extend protect it’s interests but look at how Bush’s dad it and how Clinton did it. You send out a message that we will come in, do a lot of damage and leave...quickly. With the massive force at our disposal and if people are harboring terrorists they will pay that kind of price. Perhaps over and over again. You want to keep Iraq from nuclear weapons. Spend a billion on intelligence and use it to bomb. Some of these facilities will be among innocent populations. Women and children will die. It will be a tragedy but it is a tragedy our country can live with. Spend your war money on national security. Tighten our borders meaningfully. Enforce our immigration laws whatever those laws might be at the time.

Start speaking the truth to American people. Democracy and freedom costs and it is going to cost so terror at home. We have learned a lot of from 9/11 but as they have in Iraq, the “evil doers” will change their tactics and we cannot become complacent. Imagine a country where we had spent those 100’s of billions of dollars on education, climate change and erradication poverty in our own country. The Audacity of hope...indeed.