In all seriousness, I have been working with my webhost (Doteasy) to resolve the problem. The Doteasy team has informed me that it has now cleaned procrasticast.com of its ills (or at least the misbehaving code). I also replaced the WordPress theme with a default theme, just in case the theme presented some problems. As of this writing this site is under review by Google, and I hope things will return to normal soon because I am ready to ponder our 6th anniversary of this blog.

Yes, six years ago this month we began this fun adventure, and then life did its thing with my attention and I wandered off. Sorry if you were left wondering what happened. I’m here. Just not entirely. Please excuse me while I get back to watching the U.S. GOP primary returns. Today is Super Tuesday. Now there is a bad script!

If HTML5 can deliver sound without spinning the fans on my laptop enough for it to consider levitation, then I am a supporter!  I appreciate people like Dominic Szablewski whose time and brainpower improves the way we play on the web.  It might even bring my relic of this website back to life.

Okay, probably not.  But, I do miss creating podcasts and making a podcast today is almost as easy as thinking about it.  If, that is, you don’t count all the hours of producing something worth a listener’s attention.

I’m still here and I miss producing a podcast. But, I’m so very busy every waking moment that I know I do not have the requisite time to do justice. I hope one day, perhaps soon, I can get back to audio creating because I enjoy it so much.

Meanwhile, here’s a look at the logo I designed back in the day but never launched. I just ordered some gear with the logo and it all arrived today, on the 4th anniversary of this little media adventure. What do you think?

Podsafe Music by Roadside Zoo “Chance It”

Bach to the Beach from Brian Rendel on Vimeo.

“…In reality, there’s no such thing as drug policy. As currently understood and implemented, drug policy attempts to isolate a phenomenon that can’t be taken in isolation. Economic policy is drug policy. Healthcare policy is drug policy. Foreign policy, too, is drug policy. When approached in isolation, drug policy almost always backfires, because it doesn’t take into account the powerful economic, social, and cultural forces that also determine how and why Americans get high…”

Endless Parade

People in our culture are trained to believe a test can detect any problem and a pill can fix it. The pharmaceutical industry makes certain that we get the message that pills, not prevention or caring for our health, is what normal people do when they do not feel good or get sick.

I wonder how many of the doctor’s mosquito bitten minor ailment-reporting patients have had the luxury of life-long open access to a nurse practitioner or family doc. I doubt many. Where do people without a healthcare provider learn about their bodies and how to take care of them?

Healthcare is as much an approach to living well as it is treating disease. Commercials, medical drama shows on television, and watching everybody they know take pills, smoke cigarettes or marijuana, drink, or otherwise ingest something to feel better. And when they get confused about a bump that itches, and whether or not it is cancer like that person got on some show they saw, who are they going to ask?

People with no money and no doctor go to the only place that cannot turn them away — the emergency department of the local hospital. Why do you suppose some patients are rude and demanding? Because they are spoiled selfish little brats? No, they are obnoxious because they learned a long time ago being pushy is the way to get service at a place that, were they polite, they would not be seen.

Entitlement the doctor speaks about is not what people feel when they visit his department looking for some professional insight into their bodies so much as the entitlement that those of us lucky to have access to healthcare seem to have when somebody mentions universal health care. “Oh, no, watch out for encroaching socialism!”

No wonder some emergency patients are rude. Too many of us with jobs and healthcare are so far removed from what life is like to go without healthcare that we are unable to imagine it.

The doctor might be ready for a vacation. He probably means well and does his best to hide his bitterness when these frequent flyer patients return with another stupid demand. Yet I would bet a paycheck these cretin patients of his detect his scorn and react accordingly.

This is not about bad attitude. This is about bad situation. If the doctor would step back a bit he might envision how universal health care can virtually eliminate such emergency department visits that drive him to apathy.

Remember. Attitude is almost never expressed in a vacuum. Attitude is determined by the person’s subconscious awareness and assessment of the situation – most of which happens without our knowledge.

Let’s think more about the situation in our culture. Attitudes will improve as a result.

Yet the Boston Tea Party was about protesting the lack of representation. The tea partiers will not be protesting the lack of representation, but that they no longer want representation!

I have heard many of them suggest that having a federal government is a bad thing. “Get rid of government and taxes,” they say.

Let’s think about that in the context of the last several years. Suppose tomorrow we got rid of the federal government. How soon before the largest corporations would figure a way to fill the power gap? How close do you think weapons manufacturers would make a bid to manage the military? How long before would Haliburton or Blackwater offer to take over for the FBI and NSA? A few deals between a company like AT&T and Walmart and everything would be taken care of by the free market. Right?

In a libertarian utopia gone wild the biggest corporation will ultimately own everything just like the monarchs of old. Walmart will be the new King. They will provide all the healthcare, all the education, all the work, and all the land. And the tea people thought socialism was bad?

Life was simple in the days of kings. And, sure, simple times have sort of a sweet quality. But to keep it all orderly people had to remember their place or get imprisoned or killed.

I realize it takes work to become involved in one’s government. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could pay someone to act entirely on our behalf without so much as us having to express to our representatives a thought or word of communication? Yes?

But that would be preschool, not a democracy.

We all know that to keep a democracy in the hands of the people requires hard work. Sometimes it is very frustrating and slow work. But, overall, when we commit to preserving the union, to protect the fundamental rights of the least of us as well as the most powerful, we all benefit.

My frustrated, hard working, busy, independent-minded well-meaning friends believe in an unregulated free-market. They may not admit to it, but ask the ones owning businesses how they like government regulations in their business? Most will complain that it impairs their ability to make products. Many will mutter that the government is the problem. Ask them how much time they spend telling their experiences to their elected representatives? Many do not even vote, much less get to know who represents them in governement.

Without regulation to watch out for the weak, the young, the impaired, the trusting, survival of the fittest becomes law. The weak grow weaker and the strong grow stronger until the weak and strong manage to kill each other in a complex quest for dignity.

Most voting Americans realize civilized government is in the best interest for each of us. Most of the tea people will admit a need for the military and the police and the roads and the prisons – the every growing, and expanding, and costly prisons. But they insist they do not need to pay for poor people, or sick people, or to educate people. They will deny lack of compassion. So why would we not want to ensure fairness, keep working conditions for people safe, keep products safe, and keep our environment and neighborhoods safe? Why would we not want everybody to be strong, healthy, and pursuing happiness?

Is it fear of competition, I wonder?

But, I thought competition in a free market was a good thing. I wonder what a United Stores of Walmart would say to that? Let them have tea?

Ben Carlson tagged me to find the sixth photo on the sixth page of my Flickr stream and put it in my blog.
Ben’s picture was one of exploring. Interestingly, mine was, too.

So here it is. A memory of a wonderful overnight stay at the Harbor Haus B&B in Copper Harbor Michigan. This view of the harbor was taken from our dinner table just as the Isle Royale Queen was returning for the night from her trip to Isle Royale.

Now, to tag six others… I think I will tag:

Mrs. B, Kosso, P.W. Fenton, Mike D, Adele McAlear, and
Michael Harren

Meanwhile, I would like to recommend the following TED talk. No matter which side of the fence you may have stood during this recent campaign this brief talk may explain how the entire spectrum of thinking – liberal to conservative – is critical for our long term success as a civilized nation and world.

(Note: if you do not see an image below, select either “player 7 or player 8″ below to activate the video player. Or, if you have a high speed connection, you may wish to view the short talk in High Definition here.)

As if candidate Reagan returned to hand off the baton to Obama, here he is making the simple and connected case with a simple but connected question.

Elections in the mid-19th century were festive affairs, and people gathered to carouse, jostle one another and vote. They sometimes cast their ballots on a stage to cheers and jeers. Voting, even their choice of candidates, used to be extremely public.

A series of progressive reforms in the late 19th century turned voting into a private affair. Campaign operatives were kept clear of polling stations. People got to vote in secret, and few knew whether their neighbors voted.

Turnout plummeted.

Get out and meet some people this election. It’s fun. Joe and I got to meet our congressman (Rep. Bart Stupak) this weekend when he joined our group for a door-to-door canvassing. No booze, but the pizza at our little party was pretty good.

Obama ’08 – Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

Almost daily Andy asks the GOP Vice-presidential nominee to submit to the press. When the McCain campaign bans the press Andy wonders if this is happening in America .

This is America, Andrew, where we do not let facts obscure our vision.

Idealism of the Sullivan variety is like most idealism. It sometimes forgets where it is when it chases “ought.” Mr. Sullivan looks down on Sarah Palin like a helicopter pilot spotting a pack of wolves from the air who hollers at the armed guys in the passenger seats to shoot while they can, and he is flummoxed when they only stare.

Idealism amuses us Americans. Sure, we are an exceptional lot. Yet, just because we Americans know what we “ought” to do does not mean we are inclined to do it. For that sort of dish we need to be hungry. But hungry we rarely are, because we constantly stuff ourselves with snacks and almost always spoil our dinner.

We snack on simple characterizations, slogans, and tasty fear. A real meal? We do not have the patience and will to prepare lasting nourishment for ourselves, nor do we have the determination to hunt down and kill the beast that might starve our freedom. Here, have another snack, instead.

We avoid the dirty work of reality, which may be why we leave it to others to do. Or, we give it to those who say they will and turn them into superheroes, like Sarah Palin.

There is something superhero-like in Sarah’s schtick. Never mind that she would gleefully shoot your dog if, in crossing her path to progress, the animal might delay her journey. Because superheros know what they are doing we accept the destruction their actions create, all the while hoping Bowser and the rest of what makes life good survives.

Americans value superheros because superheros do what needs to be done. So, why question them? They do our work so we can eat more snacks.

So when Mr. Sullivan idealistically demands Ms. Palin cast herself at the feet of the infotainment pool of what is left of American journalism so they might accurately take measure, he misses the fact that we Americans just do not scrutinize our superheroes. No. We just believe in them while we can. And, who wants to change America?

A few days ago we met a semi-retired farmer and his wife from Paw Paw, a little farming town in southwest Michigan. They were parked in a parking lot of a vacant building not far from here, having brought a flatbed trailer loaded with fresh apples and other fruit from that wonderful part of Michigan known for its delicious fruit.

I used to live in Berrien Springs, not far from Paw Paw, and I remember the area’s abundance of fruit and vegetables. The farmer picked out an apple and said “Try this,” as he handed it to me. The crisp tartness woke fond memories as I grabbed some bags and filled them with food from the land I once called home.

The aroma of cooking apples in my kitchen brought with it memories of simpler times living in Michigan’s fruit belt where I would pick tomatoes by the bushel and devote a day to canning them for chili during the winter. The canning equipment, meanwhile, rests under a thick layer of dust somewhere in the basement having lost its shine long ago.

In 2002 I returned to Michigan’s Alaska where apples are sometimes found in an old orchard but few grow much bigger than the berries scattered around the wild. Until grocery stores began to stock fresh produce people living in this part of the north survived on wild game and a few root vegetables kept cool in the root cellar.

Alaska has been in the news lately. The state with a view of Russia isn’t the only place where Americans learned to make a home out of the wilderness. Moose live here, too. I know because once on a walk in the woods I almost walked into a mommy moose and her baby (cow and calf, I think may be the terms). There is something primal about living in a place where “modern” is a concept that depends on keeping the one road open.

Today, while the smell of cooking apples filled the house and as I struggled to renew my pie-crust-making skills I thought about the amount of time I was spending to make what I could buy at the grocery store for the same price. Something about making apple sauce and pie felt good but what was it? I wondered if maybe the complex information I accumulate from media sources every day is cheating me out of simple?

By making our lives easier do we lose the point of life? Had I lost the connection between earth and my tummy? Certainly its’ size would suggest otherwise. At what point in our simplified lives where we never need to lift a finger to feel what matters?

I stared at the sticky sauce dripping from my fingers as I turned the wooden mortar – forcing the cooked apple through the mill. I drew my hand to my mouth and licked off the steaming apple sauce and started to feel something. A connection.

Our world seems accessible yet is as limiting to the touch as it ever was. We physically must go and do to touch it – to feel it. For us to internalize a culture or a moment is to physically take it in – eat its food, drink its water, touch its people, and feel their breath on our skin. Television and the internet transports our imaginations to the ends of the universe and introduces us to people and cultures we might otherwise miss. But it cannot substitute first hand experience.

I made the connection. I could easily get apple sauce from the store. But these apples fed my soul.

Republicans want one thing. To eliminate all regulation or oversight of big corporations.

But don’t Republicans care about social issues like protecting marriage and the sanctity of human life?

Please. Sanctity of human life? Show me what Republican policies actually do to human lives.

Republicans since the 1970′s act on behalf of environment-be-damned corporate earth plunderers who would sell out their own mothers before giving up a penny of profit.

How do Republicans get away with it?

By pandering to a group of social conservatives who care only about a few issues. These voters are suspicious of so-called “liberal elitists” and windbags like yours truly. and Republicans know how to stir the pot of anger and distrust by telling this group that Republicans care about their “values.” Republicans give their well-meaning religious pals keys to the club and even call them “Republicans” before stepping out back for a smoke and to snicker about tricking yet another election.

Republicans know the sizable portion of social conservative fundamentalists tend to be a very loyal group. Once they make up their mind, there is almost no changing it. So what better group to have on your team? And ever since the 1960′s and 1970′s Republicans have been feeding to this narrow (but significant) band of the electorate empty rhetoric about protecting marriage, stem cell research bans, and abstinence training for randy teens. Nice. Whatever works.

Republicans when in power are then more able to stay in power by turning government over to what it euphemistically calls “the private sector,” otherwise known as big business. So, 99 percent of Americans grow more dependent on deregulated corporations to get mortgages, provide health care, and deliver energy. Guess who profits? The 1% of the population who need you to vote Republican.

As corporations get stronger and bigger and take over more of the responsibilities of government the little businesses have a harder time competing and the private citizen has less recourse when getting screwed by power.

Simply put, Republicans want corporations to run your lives. Democrats want government to referee the game between corporate America and the little guy. And, libertarians are just Republicans who didn’t manipulate religious fundamentalists to gain power.

The new symbol of rural America is Walmart, who comes to a little town near you and gets to pay little or no tax because it creates jobs. Good thing, because the neighbor kids will need a place to work when Walmart closes the local grocer.

Exxon Mobile made more money this year from high gasoline prices than any corporation ever has. Yet, Republicans want to eliminate taxes and regulation from the oil industry so it can drill everywhere it wants like some kind of stud on an island of virgins who never cares for the kids that later come.

Republican single-minded focus on enabling corporate greed and misdeed is huge. They distract with social issues, which they care nothing about except to trick enough voters to keep them in power.

We may never get the Republican social conservatives to join the social conservatives in the Democratic party and vote with their brains instead of their feelings. But, if we do it will be in no small part because we learned how to talk with them.

posted using Phreadz by attitude

posted using Phreadz by attitude

And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming.”

–John McCain, at the GOP Convention last night apparently acknowledging defeat to the candidate of change.

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack’s experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let’s clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

And it’s no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America’s promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it’s happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

Meanwhile, we still haven’t gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.

Too bad so many single-issue voters (e.g., anti-abortion, prayer in schools, right to assault weapons, anti-gay, etc.) are bamboozled into supporting the GOP and its personal agenda of corporate wealth care. While the GOP will tend to favor conservative social agendas, they do so while recklessly inserting the country into war and dangerously push us away from solving our energy problems. Yet, for single-issue voters losing our country to keep prayer in public schools is worth it. Sad, indeed, that the only way Republicans can win is by pandering to Evangelicals.

Giving attention to what people say before Thursday is generally a waste of cognitive resources. Pre-Thursday hype is little more than an orgy of over-acting by a cast of politicians. Nonetheless, I do love the show. But what a stupid time to poll the public.

Remember a convention is not a pre-arranged wedding. Hillary people are there to support Hillary. Why is this so difficult to understand? Obama people support Obama. Everybody goes to Denver to rant and rave for a few days about their candidate and their pet issues. Two days later the party wizards perform magic and the Dems are mesmerized into inviting Obama home for some luvin’. The luvin’ will happen. But, not before Bill yells “last call” Wednesday night. Everyone knows the Clintons are masters who will ignite the enthusiasm of most Hillary supporters who will start to feel the Obama luv by Wednesday close of business. The Hillary people not on board by Thursday are Democrat frauds and should go start their own party or go over and kick the GOP while it is down.

Thursday is when true Democrats will come together in a giant mutual Obamagasm. Four years ago it was Kerryasm. Four before it was Goreasm. This year, the “asm” just goes better with the name Obama.

The weekend will show Obama’s expected brief bump in the polls. It won’t last, however.

Be sure to tune in for all the pundit hand-wringing next week when McCain’s poll numbers get goofy sometime around Wednesday. Those numbers will stabilize and be very close to Obama’s by the following weekend until the election. Why?

Because the media has mostly forgotten there is a huge difference between fair and balanced (thanks Rupert Murdock and FOX). If media see dirt about a candidate media scamper to find equal dirt on the other candidate. If media only report hard news they are labeled a bully by the newsworthy candidate. The media fall for it every time.

Brilliant. Not brilliant because media fall for it, but brilliant because the corporations that own the media know a tight dirty race makes good television and it sells newspapers and pays the talking heads and gives dividends to retired shareholders.

With so many microphones and cameras these days there is no shortage of material. Plenty of lies, distortions, and pot-stirring to go around. The result? Equal poll numbers until the election.

CNN’s “Keepin’ ‘em honest” slogan is not actually what they and their colleagues do best. In fact all big media should be honest and adopt the slogan about their reporting on political candidates “Big Media – keeping ‘em even.”

Media trash, doubt-monger, or swift-boat any candidate moving too far ahead in the polls.

See the problem here? We ignore issues because media irrationally embrace an erroneous definition of “fairness” as meaning “balanced.”

Much of this reductionism to labels, slogans, and truth is a norm of Western culture where we are compelled to find ONE CAUSE for each phenomenon we encounter. We regard with suspicion ambiguous or complex information as less-than-truthy because it doesn’t feel or sound truthy to our stimulus-craving hyper-aroused and attention-disabled FOX News “fair AND balance” conditioned brains.

To reach a Western “truth”:

Step 1: Instantly form a belief about something or someone. (Really, we do it all the time)
Step 2: Scavenge for evidence in support of the belief. (Pay no attention to non-supporting evidence.)
Step 3: Enjoy the resulting “know-it-all” nirvana.
Step 4: Roll eyes when someone doesn’t “get” the truth.
Step 5: Hang out with other people who “get” your truth.

Media talking heads don’t get famous and rich saying “I don’t know.” That boring uncertainty we assign to scientists paid on a scale commensurate to their charm. We smug gluttons of truthy-sounding nonsense giddily wallow our vast land of all-knowing plenty while secretly hoping the sky waits a little longer to fall.

____
p.s. I drink Obama Kool-aid. What do you drink?