Dream - Plato's Bed

After waking from my dream of past dreams involving two eating streets and the restaurants I ate at in past dreams (see below), I fell back to sleep and had this dream.

I was at my computer and suddenly the screen was filled with a 3D image of the earth traveling through space. The earth was small, but I could see all the continents and the cloud cover over certain countries in Africa and Europe. Beautiful, of course, enchanting, so enchanting I felt drawn forward toward the receding earth. Then I fell into the computer and found myself flying serenely, slowly, then quickly, in wide arcs as I pursued the earth.

Then I fell into an intense light, down a long spinning tunnel, filled with light, yet I could still see clearly out into star-filled space. At first I was frightened, then I felt calm, then I thought, "Suppose God's there waiting to judge me, I don't think I'll get off easy." Then I basically felt, "So what, let it be."

Then I was gently deposited on a big, wonderfully comfortable bed floating out there in space. With surprise and delight, I said aloud, "Wow, this must be Plato's Bed, the big bed form in the sky. So this is where I'll die. Not bad."

Then I heard a voice saying, with some impatient, "Get over it, you're just waking up." And I did, I woke up, in my own bed.

End of A Dream World

Last night I wanted to visit my two favorite neighborhood eating/shopping streets, one street perpendicular to another. I planned to stroll along, as I always did, passing by my favorite eating places until I spontaneously chose one. The choices were a candy/sundries store selling delicious sandwiches and egg creams; a Jewish deli serving all sorts of tasty goods;  a German bakery with great homemade soups and sandwiches and yummy sweets;  a cafeteria with inexpensive home style meals and puddings; and two Italian restaurants, one simple and inexpensive, the other pricier with delicious regional foods and desserts.

I had eaten at all these places many times, with great satisfaction, but I hadn't visited these streets or any of these restaurants in a long time. So I was doubly eager to get out there and enjoy some great eats.

Then, I heard myself saying, "Wait a minute, this is just a dream." That made me feel disappointed, but I resolved to visit these two streets the next evening. Or perhaps I would go early and take the bus that runs along one of these street out into the beautiful countryside, take a good long walk there, and then catch the bus back to find the right place to eat. Then I heard a voice saying, "But these two streets aren't real. You've only dreamed them in the past. You can't visit them tomorrow."

Then I woke up, scrutinizing my memory to see whether all those wonderful strolling and eating experiences were real, or just dreams. My memories of them were so vivid that I was convinced they were real. But as I thought about it I realized that I had no idea where this place of two wonderful streets was located. In fact, I realized that  I was indeed having memories of dreams, not realities.

I was so disappointed. I heard myself saying, "If they are just dreams I don't want to go there anymore. It won't be the same if I'm not convinced that my favorite restaurants were real. I can't pretend. I just won't have the same wonderful experiences."

I was sad, but eventually I went back to sleep and had the dream about Plato's Bed.

Clear, simple, digestible case for the health care reform bill

Letter from Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in response to my concerns about the Health Care Reform bill. He makes a strong case in simple, clear and caring language. 

Why don't Democrats use this as a basis for media talking points? 

Democrats must keep the message clear, simple, accurate, digestible, usable in Twitter and sound bites. The Democrats have been weak on communicating the benefits of this  bill. And they must allow emotion as well, the main emotion being that the people of the US will be better for this bill and that the bill could have been better but is still a worthwhile accomplishment.

Text of Sen. Whitehouse's letter

Thank you for contacting me about comprehensive health care reform. I appreciate hearing  from you on this vital issue.

Like you, I know this bill isn't perfect, and there are certainly provisions I would add or change if I had sole control over the Congressional pen. Most prominently, I am disappointed that the bill does not include the public option provision I originally drafted in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee with Senators Brown and Hagan. I also believe the bill would be stronger if it included my amendment onmedical bankruptcy, which would have made the bankruptcy process less expensive and more humane and accessible for debtors burdened by medical expenses beyond their control.

That said, I believe the Senate's passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on December 24, 2009 is a landmark achievement and the foundation for a new direction in our broken health care system - this is not the end of health care reform, but a strong beginning. 


Specific benefits of the bill


Under the bill, health insurance would be made available to more than 30 million Americans now without coverage, health care costs would be lowered for small businesses, and our nation's long-term budget deficit would be lowered. The bill will make it illegal for insurers to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and requires all insurance companies to create a fair, effective appeals process for customers whose claims have been denied. In addition, affordable, comprehensive health insurance will be available through newly created insurance exchanges where premium increases are regulated and out-of-pocket costs and deductibles are capped. There are also quality improvements and waste reduction measures that promise to significantly reduce the cost of care, while improving the quality of that care. These measures don't get credit in the scoring of the bill for deficit reduction purposes, but I am confident that they will prove to be very helpful and important ? this is an area where I worked hard. These are just some of the important provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that will not only change the status quo, but serve as a starting point for future reform.

Although we may disagree on this matter, I firmly believe that voting against this bill would keep us locked in a health care system that has consistently failed to provide quality, affordable health care options for all Americans. In spite of its limitations, I am proud of what this bill accomplishes, and confident that it is an important step forward in reforming the status quo. I look forward to sending the bill to the President's desk for his signature as
soon as possible.

Once again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. I hope you will stay in touch with this or any other issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,

Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator

The purposes of marriage - way beyond procreation

I have been thinking about two things.  ... 1. What I was taught about marriage in my parochial grammar school .. 2. How the way the Catholic Church talks about marriage now does not sound like what I was taught. ... I do not pretend to be a practicing Catholic, and I certainly do not speak for the Church or other Catholics, and my memories may be embellished, but the following thoughts legitimately apply to the debate about marriage in general and gay marriage.

The points below apply to all, believer, agnostic, atheist.

So here goes.

The purposes of marriage.

1. Companionable love. I was taught that the primary purpose of marriage was companionable love. That is, love between two partners, each admiring, respecting and helping the other and providing pleasure and joy for the other. This love often requires patience and fortitude, working together "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health." In the Catholic tradition companionable love becomes sacramental, a reflection of God's love for humanity, an expression of the passage in Genesis where God creates humankind in God's image, female and male. ... My first musing: In this creation story, and in marriage, we are reminded that we find God, or secular goodness, through relationships, through love of neighbor and, in a special way, through the love of spouse which offers the chance to combine the highest form of erotic love with the highest form of spiritual love. ... My next musing: This purpose of love needs no religious foundation or belief. ... My final musing: This purpose of marriage applies perfectly well to gay marriage, religious or secular. ... P.S. the Protestant tradition does not acknowledge marriage as a Sacrament, but as a sacred institution that should be regulated by the state for the common good, and not be regulated by the church.

2. Generative love. Generative love means contributing to the well being of the next generation, and our descendants.  This was taught as the next purpose of love. Obviously raising your children lovingly and wisely is a great expression of this love. But so is teaching well and wisely, taking care of the environment, showing example to the young of simple kindness, expressing gratitude, etc. This love is open to all, married or single. It also makes it clear that true parenthood can be attained through adoption.    My first using: When single people express this love they also contribute to well being of marriage as the foundation of society. ... My next musing: Gay people, married or single, can share in this purpose of marriage.

3. Practical love/community building/prosperity. We live in communities, which require our contribution to operate properly. Marriage offers people the opportunity to build and share a practical prosperity. I think of my parents community in Europe, where the man or the woman paid a dowry - not to the father but to the spouse - in order to "buy in" to a farm (owned by the man or the woman). This made both spouses equal partners in the farm. The farm was no longer an inheritance for one but a legacy for both, a stewardship, a reminder to to prudently manage and leave the land in good shape for an heir. ... My musing: This practical love applies to gay marriage, in an obvious way. Denying marriage rights to gays deprives them of many property rights.

4. Procreation. This is a basic purpose of marriage, but optional for individuals in marriage. It is not the first or most important purpose of marriage.

Reducing marriage to "procreation" is crude, brutal and graceless. But that is what the church now preaches. How very very sad.

Obama another Ali?

What's Obama up to now? It's the New Year - 2010 - and he's talking about a special tax on corporations bailed out in 2009, that is, all the big banks. What is this, has Obama been playing a Mohammed Ali game all along? Setting the special interests up for a sucker punch? Possibly unconsciously? He must resent the contempt the big bank CEOs have shown for him personally as well as for the elected Congress and people of the US. Is the mild-mannered Obama ready for some payback, for throwing some long delayed sucker punches at the arrogant and complacent banks?

Up to now Obama the Great Compromiser has given the special interest corporations what they want. The banks got, are still getting many many billions, with no accountability, sniffing their mighty noses at the "shit" riff-raff made up of Democratic, Republican, left, right and independent voters. Well, yes, this big bank bailout did prevent a complete worldwide economic collapse. that was good. But letting  the big, badly managed banks continue to "borrow" money from the Fed at near 0% interest  and from the FDIC at 1% interest has been a sham designed to make it look like the banks were performing so well that TARP could be paid back. Meanwhile that "borrowed"  money (no restrictions on use) was used to continue reckless trading practices, dole out huge bonuses, and buy foreign bonds. Not exactly prudent lending. My favorite bit of foolishness is giving them this money at 0% to 1% to buy foreign bonds paying 3%-6% interest, thus shipping huge amounts of taxpayer capital out of the US economy.

So is Obama finally calling the big banks to some sort of justice, some payback, however moderate?

Or is he up to something else? Is he using this talk of special taxes on the bailed-out to distract form the stink that will be raised in the Geithner hearings before Congress? Has Timmy been an agent of the big banks all along, and does Obama need to undermine the stinky Geithner story with another headline story?

Or is Obama trying to get some leverage for passing some sort of improved bank regulations? Not very strong, but improved. Even a mild set of regulations will have the bank CEOs in high dudgeon and their lizard lobbyists slinking around flicking their forked tongues and laying out plenty of disguised bribes.

Or is Obama "just saying," all talk and very little follow up?

Wait and see.

Coaches lie!

Why do co many coaches lie? They keep saying there is no "I" in team. But there is!

The "am" in team implies a subject, which is "I." So there, thank you very much. That's that.

Notice, there is no "you" or "we." Hah!

But wait a minute. Metaphysically an "I" implies a "you." And a "you and I" implies a "we."

OMG, shoot me now!

The Haj by Leon Uris - great read

The Haj by Leon Uris

GREAT READ
This is a very engaging tale but its most intriguing aspect is how it gives you - in an engaging way - the background to the creation of the state of Israel and the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Gives an Israeli point of view but is not unfair. Very good historic research. Published in 1984 but should be reread today, especially if Israel goes ahead with a plan to attack Iran in 2010.

JEWISH-ARAB FRIENDS

The book is built around the complex relationship between the Arab Muslim chief (Muktar),Ibrahim, of a strategic village between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast (Tel Aviv, Jaffa) and a Jewish defense organizer, Gideon, who speaks perfect Arabic and has lived with desert Bedouin. Gideon is part of the leadership that conceives and delivers a modern Jewish state against huge odds. Ibrahim suffers the consequences of the Palestinians' failure to organize a viable state.

The descriptions of the action and politics of the 1948 war makes the treacherous situation understandable, and tragic for the Palestinians.

GEOGRAPHY, THE BIBLE, TODAY

The descriptions of the geography of Judea and Galilee really helps us to understand the Bible as well as 1948 and today's conflict. For instance, I gained a new appreciation of the story of the Good Samaritan. The story takes place along the treacherous road running up to Jerusalem through the Judean hills. The wild hills surrounding this road make it possible for thieves and rebels to hide out even from the well-organized and well-armed Roman and later British forces. Thus the people traveling this road would be in a constant state of fear and in a hurry to keep moving so as not to be beaten and robbed. A traveler seeing a person bleeding on the side of the road might sympathize but could be much too scared to stop. A traveler might even think the injured person was part of a trap by thieves. This makes the courage of the Good Samaritan all the more remarkable. And Jesus's challenge to love your neighbor even stronger.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR - HOW?

The "whole law and the prophets" of Jews and Christians is summarized in two commandments: Love God with your whole heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. Exploring how love of neighbor works, and does not work, is a deep theme of The Haj.

Having the person who shows courageous love of neighbor be a Samaritan reinforces the idea that the idea of neighbor is limited by tribe, nation, race, difficult circumstances, or hard times. Of course Jesus probably never told this story. It was most likely added by the early church community as they worked out what their message to the world would be. If you are religious you would see this story as inspired by the Holy Spirit to gain a deeper understanding of the message of Jesus. If you are not religious you would see it as a further development of the theme of what it means to be human (at least one of the main themes of the Bible as a whole).

A Samaritan was a kind of Jewish "heretic," despised by the Jews and considered automatically sinful and evil by birth. In actually the Samaritans in ancient times were simply Jews who did not surrender their independent worship privileges to the Temple in Jerusalem. David and Solomon wanted to do away with all Jewish worship sites except for the Temple. They succeeded, except for the Samaritans. You can sympathize with both David/Solomon and the Samaritans. Solomon/David saw centralized worship as vital to the creation of a centralized kingdom, the only form of government that could defend the Jews against hostile outsiders. Centralized worship was also necessary to break the hold of fractious tribalism on the Jews. On the other hand you can value the Samaritan insistence on autonomy.

Reading this book, I thought a lot about the separate political directions taken by the Samaritan Jews and the Jews of Judea and Galilee. The Arab Muslims stayed with a tribal organization and hence failed to organize as a nation and found an effective state, as this book so accurately portrays. Looking back from 1948 makes you read the Bible from a different perspective.

If tribalism is the basis of truth, loyalty, virtue, can you love your neighbor.

Does the US, committed now to perpetual warfare, run the risk of developing a tribal mentality that will hasten its economic and moral decline?

Please read this book!