Where's The Humanity At Habitat?

It's election season in Kootenai County. The Coeur d'Alene race is well under way with three city council persons and the mayor all up for re-election. They all have challengers. Signs and billboards are popping up everywhere.

You'd have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to know just about every politically connected organization in town is holding candidate forums. Ads for them appear in the paper on almost a daily basis. We're inundated with it.

So what happens? A challenger of a council seat, the executive director for the local Habitat for Humanity, is notified that today is his last day on the job but he'll be paid through the end of the month. What?

It needs to be pointed out this same gentleman challenged an incumbent last time around and rumor had it his job was threatened. I can't verify this as anything other than rumor though I learned of it from another challenger. Where there's smoke there is usually at least an ember, if not a fire.

So this time he is fired. The board claims it's for fiscal reasons. It was time to go back to a managing board. A board of eleven. That will certainly simplify the decision making process!

Naturally the claim is that politics have nothing to do with it. Maybe yes, maybe no.

But you know what really makes me turn away in disgust? The board chairman claimed that not one of the eleven on the board knew a debate was coming up. Excuse me. The man who runs your organization is running for a council seat and you aren't aware of the debates?

The whole board ought to resign for gross incompetence!

See? I get mad. I stay away from this stuff and yet this week I've found myself venting twice. I know people on all sides of the political spectrum in these parts. They are as partisan in their beliefs as any on the national scene. They are also as intolerant of any who disagree with their stand. I've lost many who I had considered friends for not agreeing with them. It was not pleasant.

So, not living in town and therefore not able to vote, I keep my opinions to myself. Unless something so outrageous occurs I can't help myself. This is such an instance. And you know what? If I were voting I'd be voting for the incumbent!

What A Way To Fight A War!

I would think after eight years in Afghanistan, we'd know what our objectives are. First it was al Qaeda, then the Taliban, then al Qaeda again. Let's not forget al Qaeda is holed up in Pakistan for the moment.

Whatever, the troops in country aren't enough to achieve much of anything other than getting maimed or killed. So the General asks for enough troops to accomplish whatever goal the President sets forth. When that decision is going to come is anyone's guess. No rush. We have several months yet. While the soldiers continue fighting a losing battle.

Even though Senate Majority Leader Reid says he and House Speaker Pelosi will be behind whatever the President decides, Mrs. Pelosi bristles at the assumption. Too many House Democrats are against sending in more troops.

Then there is the infighting among the National Security team with the Vice President pushing hard for reduced troops, more targeted attacks and the increased use of drones.

That will get Karzai all upset again when civilians are accidentally killed. Of course, he's stolen the election and is as corrupt as the day is long which makes one wonder why we even listen to him in the first place.

It seems like we aren't even sure why we're there at all. To prevent al Qaeda from returning to use it as a training ground? Well, as I said, for now they are in Pakistan. If they're pushed out of there they can move on to Somalia where they also have bases and followers. Are we going to keep invading country after country while they play hide and seek with us?

The President sure doesn't know. Every one he asks for advice is at odds with one another. Meanwhile the troops are staying the course as best they can. The upshot is their morale is rock bottom. They won't tell you but the Chaplin's will! You know what the biggest demoralising issue is? Not knowing what the mission is. What they are fighting for or trying to accomplish.

We sit here watching the debate over a massive health care overhaul. An effort to reduce costs, we're told. Think of the cost that's going to be incurred with the continual flow of the mentally and physically injured as a result of a war with out a cause! Stop the war. Watch health care costs plummet. I know I'd feel a whole lot better!

What's Wrong With An Educational Read?

There are times I'm glad I have no children needing an education in the Coeur d'Alene schools. They wouldn't be getting a well rounded one.

Once again the controversy of allowable books for class room study has reared it's ugly head. Leading the way are a group of parents who feel educators don't have the insight into which books have a learnable point as they do. Why the school board caves into their wishes is beyond me.

The last time around I actually went to the library and checked out Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I would want my high schooler to read it. I would want every every young man and woman who lives in lily white northern Idaho to read it. They would get a glimpse what it was like growing up black in the South in the 40s. They weren't the days that gave us Barack and Michelle Obama to be sure. Though literature depicting their time should also be read. Why? Because the times that spawned Ms. Angelou gave us Ms. Angelou.

Another is "Snow Falling On Cedars". It reflects the anti-Japanese sentiment and prejudices following World War II. You wouldn't want your kids to know about that, now would you!

That parents want to instill values in their children is admirable. Shielding them from unpleasant truths is not. Sexual situations, violence and profanity that appears in books is a reflection of real life. Kids know it. Kids are involved in all of it! Especially kids of the age that would be reading these books in school. If the parents don't recognize this, they are more at fault than the educators choosing the books.

One concerned parent had this to say, "My concern is that an ad hoc committee, and a small group of vocal citizens were essentially able to remove four of those recommended novels from the the list." Kudos to you, sir!

Another parent, on the other side of the argument, had this to say, "I'm glad about this recommendation, but...I just want to be sure the other books are not being used for educational purposes..."

I see a huge disconnect here. What are the books to be used for other than educational purposes? Who wins here? A narrow minded group who feel their thinking is the only thinking that should be considered.

Who loses? The children and the community. It leads to a dictated mind set - narrow. Having lived here far too long, I find it the prevailing mind set. Why else would the school board endorse the process such as it is? Caving to special interests serves no one well.

In this day of Twitter and Facebook, blogging and everything else available on the Internet, these very same kids have access to everything the ad hoc committee is fighting. Someone has their head in the sand. It's not the youngsters. That leaves the school board and those who dictate to them.

Why So Many Of Us Care So Much

Twice, maybe three times a year my good friend, Word Tosser , and I brave the highway construction or the "iffy" weather to get together for a long leisurely lunch filled with gossip and catching up and genuinely good company.

Today was such a day. A beautiful, crisp day with brilliant blue sky. Snow shown on the very upper peaks of Schweitzer Mountain just north of Sandpoint, Idaho. We drove to the top and the view over Lake Pend Orielle was spectacular.

I got back home around four and took a few minutes to peruse the headlines since I hadn't posted for a couple of days. Nothing good. More uncertainty on the war, the Arabs considering dumping the dollar, the President breaking precedent by not meeting with the Dalai Lama, police chiefs advocating spying on your neighbor. Sure, there's a lot more to each story than the headlines indicate but, gee, I was in such a good mood!

I just wanted to bask in the afterglow of a very pleasant afternoon and think about the beauty of where we had been. Where else can you drive along a mountain road and find a small gathering of Mule deer seemingly so tame you could reach out and pet them.

This is what I so love about this vast country of ours. The beauty. Maybe it should be mandatory for politicians to get out and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine more often. It gives one a very refreshed perspective.

Tomorrow, however, is another day and we'll be back in the thick of things. Today will be but a lovely memory.

The Unsavory Cheer!

I was listening with interest yesterday as Republicans latched onto the awarding of the Olympics to Rio as equating the downfall of Obama's presidency. Then there were the Democrats laying the blame on Bush. Compare this to we mere citizens who thought neither, but that the President's time and our resources could be better spent than on the games.

Alas, bubble walls are resilient and nearly sound proof. Only occasionally are our voices heard, yet we keep trying. It's what citizens do, having far fewer resources than those we are trying to reach.

I got to thinking about the three categories of people in our nation who live in a bubble, insulated and isolated from reality. One being the politicians who seem to be encased immediately upon being elected to office. Next comes the world of professional sports with their collegiate farm teams used to get potential pros well primed. Thirdly, and these are by no means in particular order, comes the world of celebrity.

Then I thought there is a fourth category. All the rest of us. The main difference is we are held to standards which the others ignore. I think that's why we cheer so mightily when the mighty take a prat fall.

Is this not why many cheered because Chicago lost? Because of the arrogance of many who acted as though it was a shoo in because of the celebrity of the First Lady, the President and Oprah?

Is this not why so many cheered when Michael Vick was brought to justice for his promotion of and part in dog fighting? And booed when the Eagles gave him a contract worth more than most of us will ever see?

Or why we're cheering that David Letterman is getting his and respectively John Edwards is getting his?

Is it why we're waiting with baited breath to see what the Swiss will do with Roman Polanski? One more who deserves to get the book trown at him. Not only for the rape of a 13 year old but for fleeing the country on top of it.

In our world, we'd pay dearly for such indiscretions but the likelihood of them getting news coverage is slim to none. If it did, it would be fleeting.

It's a strange world when we view the spectacular, and relatively infrequent, bad behavior, with more interest than the many more who behave well within the bounds of propriety. Are we jealous? I don't think so. Most of us are relatively satisfied with our lives though a few tweaks here and there might be desirable. We don't tend to extremes as a general rule.

I think maybe we'd just like all those bubbles to burst so we're on a level playing field. That people would be inclined to play nice. The rules are fair. It just doesn't work when someone tries to cheat. The more their compatriots within the bubble have the harder they're likely to fall. And the louder we will cheer.