Steve Berry's The Paris Vendetta

Steve Berry's 2009 The Paris Vendetta is, in my opinion, one of his weaker efforts. Like his others, the novel weaves some interesting historical facts into a twisting plot peopled by his fictional characters. Cotton Malone, an ex-spy and now bookseller in Copenhagen is again the protagonist. He and his old friend, Henrick Thorvaldsen have a falling out due to Hendrick's obsession with killing his only son's murderer.

Unfortunately, this time Berry is not as convincing as usual in combining a search for Napoleon's secret treasure trove and an attempt by the Paris Club to amass huge fortunes for its members by using terrorism to manipulate the economies of the world. On the other hand, Berry fans will be able to overlook that and enjoy the fast-paced action with its fascinating and unexpected twists and turns.

Childish Republican Senators Refuse to Work

As reported by Huffington Post, Republican senators are refusing to work after 2 P.M.. Using a little known or used Senate rule, senators do not have to attend committee meetings after 2 P M unless the full senate is in session. This appears to be a part of John McCain's threat that Republicans would not cooperate after they lost the Health care fight. (HP 3/27/2010)

How does one say "poor losers"?

Christine Brennan Wants More Blood From Tiger

No sports commentator, it seems, hates Tiger Woods more than Christine Brennan. Like everyone else she is extremely disturbed by his behavior and questions the sincerity of his attempt to change; but, for some reason, she wants him to fire his caddie, Steve Williams, and his agent, Mark Steinberg. Although there is no reason to believe they had anything to do with Tiger's private sexual affairs, she somehow thinks they should have known what he was up to and should have stopped it.

She sets the bar quite high. Should Dwight Eisenhower's aides be held responsible for not preventing the General's affair with his driver? Just as Eisenhower's private affair was not his aides' responsibility, so too Tiger's affairs were not his caddie's and agent's responsibility.

Christine wants more blood-letting.

ESPN "Experts" Were Not So Good

As the second weekend of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament begins, my chances of winning either of the two pools (just kidding, IRS) in which I am participating is fourteen percent.

The problem is I listened to Dick Vitale and the other "experts" on ESPN. Prior to the tournament they were bemoaning the weakness of the field, suggesting that there were no quality teams other than the top 20. In fact. they were laughing at the NCAA for considering expanding future tournament to 96 teams, telling us there were not enough decent teams for a field of 64.

Being the lemming that I am, I believed them. Also, remembering that last year there were just a few minor upsets, the only upsets I picked were among the top 20 seeds.

And then last weekend, they actually played the games. Ohio University (#14) defeated Georgetown (#3) and that was just the beginning. Old dominion, Murray State, Cornelll, and St. Mary were all seeded # 10 or below and won at least one round. A number 9, Northern Iowa took out the over-all number one seed, Kansas.

And then there were the disparaging remarks the experts made about the PAC 10. Again, once the games were played, #9 Washington defeated 36 Marquette and #3 New Mexico. On the other hand, "they" extolled the depth of the Big East, and we know how that turned out--the only one left is West Virginia.

I've learned my lesson. Next year I'll go back to my old system of illing out the brackets--flipping a coin.

J. A. Konrath: "The List"

An action-packed, humorous, mystery-thriller, "The List" by J. A Konrath was a pleasant surprise. The pivotal character, Tom Modrowski, a Chicago detective, in the course of a murder investigation learns that the victim has a number tattooed on his heal just as he does. He and the victim are on a list of people with a similar tattoo, and thus begins his bizarre adventure with a group of "characters."

But do not look for this book in your local bookstore. Since it is available only in Kindle format, one can download it from Amazon for $1.99. Mr. Konrath has been quite successful selling his work in this way which allows him complete control of all aspects of the process including details of cover design and type face. Apparently, he has sold 30K ebooks in the last 11 months.

Although certain aspects of the plot require one to "go along for the sake of a good story," I downloaded another of his works before I finished reading "The List."

San Marco Parish Gets It Right

San Marco Church

Marco Island, FL

Friday evening, Sandy and I had the pleasure of attending a Lenten Fish Fry at San Marco Catholic Church on Marco Island. In addition to enjoying the fish, coleslaw, potatoes, ice cream, and wine, we had a great time meeting the parishioners and other tourists from all parts of the U.S. Later Sandy commented, "This is what the Church does right; it can create an instant community out of this diverse group of strangers." And of course, as always, she was correct. The young and old; Republicans and Democrats; blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians: locals and tourists; even some Kentucky Wildcat fans; all were mingling and having a great time together.

As Vatican II suggested, the people of God are the ones who create community, not the hierarchy.

NCAA Basketball Geography

Excuse my confusion, but in looking over the draw fro the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament I noticed they have the city of Buffalo in the West and San Jose in the East. And then there is the phenomenon of Spokane being in the South and the Midwest. I am sure Purdue was delighted to be the fourth seed in the South, but was surprised that they have to go to Spokane to play in the South division.

I am sure the NCAA has a good reason for this, just as the Big Ten has a good reason for having eleven teams.

Lexus Slips Under the Media Radar

Lexus ES

While Toyota's problems and its inept cover-up have been widely reported, Lexus, the Toyota luxury headliner, has escaped practically unscathed--at least according to Kellley Blue Book which says Lexus' sales are increasing.

But as NYT reports: "...on a per-vehicle basis, Lexus is responsible for more reports of unintended acceleration than the rest of Toyota, federal records show. And more than half of the roughly 300 such complaints to regulators since 2000 about Lexus ES and IS series models--the only two models subject to recall--involve vehicles from years that have not been recalled...... Because Toyota sells about seven Camrys for every one Lexus ES, The ES is linked to more injuries per vehicle." (NYT 3/12/2010)

As we have come to expect from Toyota, their initial response is to divert adverse attention from the Lexus brand with its sales increasing while the rest of Toyota deals with rapidly decreasing sales.

The question is: how long is Toyota going to pretend that their Lexus nameplate does not have some serious safety problems?

Texas Version of American History

Sorry Thomas Jefferson; you have to go. Texans do

not want Deists.

An ultraconservative faction of the Texas State Board of Education has managed to incorporate radical right-wing ideals into the social studies, history and economics curricula that will be taught to Texas students for the next ten years. Apparently, the right-wing nuts were not satisfied with injecting religious bigotry into politics; they want to manipulate the public school system to foster their fundamentalist Christian propaganda. Does that remind you of some other fundamentalist schools? Like masadras in Pakistan?

Last week in Austin, Texas they required Texas teachers to teach:

The Judeo-Christian influence of the nation's Founding Fathers, BUT NOT explain the rationale for the separation of church and state.

Remove Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”

Describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic' rather than a "democratic" government.

Single out the 2nd Amendment among the Bill of Rights.

Eliminate references to important Hispanics throughout history.

The vote, just as in the Supreme Court and in the halls of Congress, was a party line vote.

The unfortunate aspect of this situation is that Texas because of its size and the large number of textbooks it purchases has a a disproportionate influence on textbook publishers. The result will be that these ultraconservative changes will be incorporated in textbooks across the country.

These folks obviously have a difficult time recognizing that our Founding Fathers were Deists, and if they cannot somehow construe them to be Christians, they want to eliminate them. Bye, Bye, Thomas Jefferson! One would hope that the publishers would title the textbooks accordingly, e.g. "The Texas Version of American History"

I wonder: can we give Texas back to Mexico and apologize for stealing it? Probably not, Mexico doesn't need or want these radicals.

"Beware of Ronald Langhals"

The “NOT SO CHRISTIAN” Founding Fathers

Once again within the last few days I heard a radio "personality" tell his audience that America was founded as a Christian nation by our Christian founding fathers. How often are we going to allow this fallacy be repeated? What do historians have to do to convince these demagogues that Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Paine, and John Adams were not Christians.

Granted, the Puritans at Plymouth were, without doubt, Christian; but the American Revolution and the foundation of the United States occurred almost 150 years later: and its leaders who were willing to use the word "religion" in the broad sense, did not consider themselves "Christians" in the way we use the word. They are most aptly identified as "Deists"--those who believe in a Creator of the universe who set it in motion and then abandoned it to its own laws.

They obviously did not consider the Bible to be the inspired word of God. Thomas Paine, who did most to inflame the colonists to seek independence, wrote about the "fable of Jesus Christ," going on to say: "The story (of Jesus), taking it as it is told, is blasphemously obscene." At another point, he refers to the Bible as "a collection of the most paltry and contemptible tales." I will not even bother to repeat what he had to say about the virgin birth and the divinity of Jesus.

In a letter, Thomas Jefferson refers to the Book of Revelation in this way: "It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it and I then considered it as merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of expanation than the incoherences of our nightly dreams." In fact, Jefferson rewrote the New Testament in order to "pick out diamonds from dunghills." He removed the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus, the Lord's resurrection and His ascension into heaven. He referred to StPaul as the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus."

In addition to other secret societies, Benjamin Franklin was a member of the exclusive Hellfire Club whose purpose was to mock traditional religion. He admired Jesus' system of morals, but referred to "corrupt changes" in the Gospels and doubted the divinity of Jesus.

John Adams wrote about "the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the historyof mankind has preserved--the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced."

Although he attended church regularly, there is no other evidence that George Washington was a believer. His pastor said he could not think of "any fact which would prove General Washington to have been a believer in the Christian revelation..." Many tried to pin him down, but he always evaded a clear answer. His friends said he was a deist.

What the founding fathers did believe is that the separation of state and church was of the utmost importance. Whatever their theology, they knew that government was not the place for religion. We can be thankful that among all their efforts to create a great democracy, they foresaw the folly of blurring the line between church and state.

Unfortunately, in order to serve their own political interests, the demagogues will continue to refer to our founding fathers as Christians. They will conveniently disregard the fact that the "fathers" questioned the most fundamental of Christian beliefs.

(Although the above facts and quotations can be found in a wide variety of sources, I relied primarily on an article by Chrsitian J. Pinto in "Veterans Today" 3/4/2010)

Cash for Clunkers impact - 3/10/10 - Toledo News - 13abc.com

As reported by 13ABC News, the "Cash for Clunkers" program was quite successful in Toledo, Ohio.

Cash for Clunkers impact - 3/10/10 - Toledo News - 13abc.com: "That study was conducted by Maritz Automotive Research Group in Toledo. It surveyed 36,000 new car or truck buyers in August and July and found only 4 percent of participants in the cars program would have still bought or leased a vehicle without the incentive, 58 percent were trading in vehicles they originally bought used, and nearly 50 percent of all trade-ins were more than 10 years old.

Cash for Clunkers also created jobs. According to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, the cars program added 40,200 new jobs, including 11,000 in Michigan and Ohio."

International Women's Day

Today, March 8th, is designated as International Women's Day. It is observed officially or unofficially in many countries throughout the world. In the U.S., it has been a basis for commemorating the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City in which 146 garment workers, most of them women, lost their lives as a result of the fire and 70 others were injured. Most of the factory's 500 workers were young Italian and Jewish immigrant women who normally worked nine hours a day during the week and seven hours a day on Saturdays. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City until the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

People and horses draped in black walk in a procession of 100,000 in memory of the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of March 25, 1911 in New York City.

International Women's Day is not officially celebrated in the U.S. Yet, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire brought the increased political involvement of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and it helped inspire Frances Perkins, who had actually witnessed the fire from the street below, to push for comprehensive safety and workers' compensation laws as the future U.S. Secretary of Labor in Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential administration and an early woman leader in U.S. government.

(The above is taken from Jennifer Brunner's email of the same date. Jennifer hopes to be the first female senator from Ohio.)

Canadian Health Care Was Worth the Drive for Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin, preaching the Republican gospel, has trashed Canada's health care system and warned Americans of the devastating results of a government-run system like Canada's. God forbid that America give up its present health-insurance-monopoly-dominated system for single-payer universal coverage like Canada's.

Over the weekend, she has admitted that she used to cross the border from Alaska to Canada to receive treatment in Canada's single-payer system. Her explanation:"isn't that ironic?"

Perhaps, it was while she was in Canada receiving treatment that some of those "death panel" doctors removed the rational part of her brain. One cannot trust those Canadian doctors as much as those American health-care, profit-driven, executives.

eva cassidy

Eva Cassidy

Listening this evening to a recording of Eva Cassidy and once again overwhelmed by her voice and presentation. I am wondering why so few people know of her work and therefore are unable to enjoy her talent. Apparently she had a strong and loyal fan base in her local Washington,D.C. area before she died of melanoma at the early age of 33 in 1996. And then a few years after her death, she became extremely popular in the United Kingdom and Europe.

It was thanks to our friend, Doug, that Sandy and I had the good fortune of being introduced to her music. By the same token, we have made an effort to share her music with our friends. It just seems a misfortune that the U.S. music scene, for whatever reason, has overlooked this talented young lady.

If you have not had the pleasure listening to Eva, try it. I am confident that you will be in for a treat.

Daniel Silva: The Defector

Being a fan of Daniel Silva's art restorer/assassin, Gabriel Allon, I am concerned that The Defector may be his last adventure. At the end, he and his Italian wife, Chiara, are retired and living in seclusion in Jerusalem.

Silva has taken Allon and his readers on a thrilling roller coaster ride around Europe, the Mideast, Russia, and Washington; we can only hope that the ride is not over, and he will find a way to bring the anguished agent back into the murky world in which "The Office" operates.

If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Gabriel, you are in for a treat.

Eros and Spirituality

Father Ron Rolheiser writing about spirituality refers to St. John of the Cross who spoke of "the urgent longings, eros, that are the starting point of the spiritual life and, in his view, spirituality, essentially defined, is how we handle that eros." He suggests that we cannot escape that driving force of our lives, thus our spirituality.

"We all have a spirituality whether we want one or not, whether we are religious or not. spirituality is more about whether or not we can sleep at night than about whether or not we go to church. It is about being integrated or falling apart, about being in a community or being lonely, about being in harmony with Mother Earth or being alienated from her. Irrespective of whether or notwe let ourselves be consciously shaped by an explicit idea, we act in ways that leave us eaither healthy or unhealthy, loving, or bitter. What shapes our actions is our spirituality."

Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing (New York: Doubleday,1999), p.7.

Kafka's "Good" Novel

"A good novel should be like a blow to the head." Franz Kafka

That sets the bar quite high. What was the last novel that smacked you in the head? Personally, I have read many novels within the past year that I considered "good," but I can't remember a single one that was a blow to my head. Nevertheless, Kafka's definition should be the goal of all novelists.

Payday Lenders to Ohioans: Screw You!

In spite of all the money payday lenders spent to prevent it, Ohio Issue #5, a referendum on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Ohio, passed with 63.6 per cent of Ohio voters voting for the issue which capped Ohio payday loan industry's interest rate at 28 %. The capped rate prior to this was 391%. Ohioans were confident that after that the payday lenders would not be permitted to charge those who needed such loans the same usurious rates these lenders had in the past.

But more than 1,000 stores now have obtained licenses to issue short-term loans under different laws that permit higher rates, according to a report by the Housing Research and Advocacy Center in Cleveland, which has worked to lower interest rates.

Using the Mortgage Loan Act, some of these lenders charge interest and fees of $26.10 on a 14-day $100 loan, which amounts to a 680 percent annually.

This practice becomes all the more obscene since many Ohioans are still suffering from the "Great Recession" and are trying to "hang in there" by borrowing from these payday lenders.

Some state legislators are proposing a second round of legislation that would require these loan sharks to abide by the intent of the referendum approved by a large majority of Ohioans. But it is important that the legislature knows that we are aware of what's going on and we expect them to enforce the intent of Issue #5.

Cost of Food-borne Illness

The Produce Safety Project ranked states by "estimated total costs related to food-borne illnesses per year."

As one would expect, the larger the state, the larger the cost. Ohio ranks 6th with an estimated cost of $5.8 billion per year. (cf. The Plain Dealer, 3/3/2010). California ranks highest with an annual cost of $18.6 billion.

Not sure of the details of a solution, I do know that these illnesses are preventable and our society is wasting many billions of dollars each year because of contaminated produce. And that does not address the issue of the pain and suffering of those who become ill because of the contamination.

Atacking Childhood Obesity

Being an OWM (obese, white, male), I read with interest a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 32 percent of children in the country from 2 to 19 years old -- more than 23 million -- are obese or overweight. In addition, studies show that many of these children are heading toward diabetes, high blood pressure, other chronic diseases and an early death. A dire and frightening thought.

First Lady Michelle Obama has dedicated herself to reducing childhood obesity; and although most agree with her objective, it appears the practical steps necessary will face stiff opposition from special interest the lobbyists.

As a first step, the CDC suggested: " A tax of 1 cent an ounce on sugar-sweetened beverages -- about a 10 cent price increase on a 12-ounce can -- would like to be the singles most effective measure to reverse the obesity epidemic." It seems likely the soft drink industry lobbyists will try to prevent that.

Other ideas, like getting junk food from school vending machines and "removing TV sets from inactive children's bedrooms" may be be easier to accomplish because parents and parent organisations can accomplish this on their own.

Another idea, more controversial, is to require schools to provide three gym classes a week

Still another is a shift from a farm policy that now rewards sugar, milk and corn producers to one that rewards growers of healthy fruits and vegetables.

Whatever changes may or may not take place, the bottom line is that it will be up to parents to provide a healthy diet and sufficient exercise for their children. Unfortunately, as with so many other aspects of life, doing this is much easier for the more affluent than it is for the impoverished.

Detroit Metro Airport Ranks #1

Detroit Metro Airport

Congratulations to Detroit Metro Wayne County (DTW) airport. It ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction among large airports according to J.D. Powers. Denver International (DEN) and Minneapolis/St.Paul International (MSP), in a tie, were close behind.

Hockey Without Fights?

While watching several hockey games during the Olympics, I had a nagging sense that something was different. I finally figured it out; there were no fights! The majority of these players are from NHL teams, but yet they were able to play three periods without a fight breaking out. There were hard hits and bone-jarring checks, but no fist-cuffs.

Do not hockey fans expect, perhaps even feel entitled to, a few "good" fights in the course of the game? Are not fights necessary to keep the fans interested and maintain an audience? Apparently not. The television audience, both in the US and Canada, set all sorts of records. The attraction was well-played hockey. Most of us were not even aware of the lack of fighting until we made an effort to determine what was different.

Perhaps, the Olympic experience will place the NHL on notice; fighting is not a necessary to attract fans.

Ron Paul Walks the Walk

Congressman Ron Paul and I would disagree on many things political, but I give him credit for walking the walk as he talks the talk. In these days when Republican hypocrisy is rampant in Washington -- take the case of the Republicans who voted against the Stimulus package, but are taking credit for the benefits of the package in their districts -- Ron Paul practices what he preaches.

On March 1, the Congressman, quietly and with no fanfare, returned $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury from his allotted office budget

“Since my first year in Congress representing the 14th district I have managed my office in a frugal manner, instructing staff to provide the greatest possible service to the people of the 14th district at the least possible cost to taxpayers,” said Paul.

How many other members of Congress return part of their allotted office budget to the Treasury?

Taxes and Patriotism

Having finished our 2008 Federal Income Taxes (actually my wife finished them), we are feeling proud and patriotic to have done our fair share to help maintain this great country. Don't get me wrong, I am not always happy about everything the government does with our money. I regret that some of it is being used to fight an illegitimate war in Iraq and that some of it was used to bail out the irresponsible oligarchs on Wall St.; but that is what happens in a democracy. One can disagree with the elected officials and their decisions and still be a patriot.

Unlike the anti-tax terrorist who flew his plane into an IRS facility in Texas, I understand that a citizen of a democracy, instead of blowing up buildings, has to work diligently to influence the government to do right in the interest of the common good. In fact, I find it a little disturbing that Republicans like Sen. Scott Brown and Rep. Steve King were expressing sympathy for the terrorist's grievances.

Taxes can be burdensome (even unfair) at times, but this country is what it is because those who came before us were willing to work together and contribute a portion of their earnings for the good of all, be it the defense of our country, or a vast infrastructure like the interstate highway system.

It is a mistake, I think, to separate taxes and patriotism. Patriotism is just so much hot air unless one is willing to pay her/his share.

Trent Franks' Slant on Slavery

Where do the Republicans get these guys?

Rep. Trent Frank (R) of Arizona is telling African Americans that they were better off under slavery than they are today. One has to wonder what part of slavery Mr. Trent thinks was "better." Does he have any idea of what slavery was like for black slaves?

In the interest of accuracy, he said: "Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery." (The Washington Monthly)

On the other hand, this is the same clown who calls President Obama "an enemy of humanity" and "un-American." Why would we expect a man like this to understand the implications of slavery.

The really scary aspect is that someone like this was elected to Congress.

Kaptur to Toyota and HSA: It's Criminal

While some congressmen were "playing nice" with Mr Toyoda when he testified before Congress last week, one congresswoman from Toledo, OH, said exactly what was on her mind and the minds of many U.S. citizens:

"'Mr. Toyoda I am not satisfied with your testimony,' Kaptur said. 'I am being very forthcoming. I do not feel it reflects sufficient remorse for those who have died.'

Kaptur says the U.S. government is partially to blame to for the Toyota recall problem. She says the government did not look into accidents. In fact, she believes the accidents�were intentionally covered up.

'Now it looks as though there was insider dealing, where Toyota hired some people who used to work for the Highway Safety Administration, then they went back to work with their former colleagues, to eliminate investigation of the vast majority of the cases. It's criminal.'" (WTOL)

Toyota, it seems, has learned how to play the American system: contribute lavishly to certain congressmen from states in which you operate plants, and hire at a high salary people from HSA so they can go back to HSA to squash investigations critical to Toyota.

We can only hope that Congresswoman Kaptur pursues this issue because, as she says, IT IS CRIMINAL. It is also obvious that there are people in Washington who want to surreptitiously protect Toyota.