Authorities are also counting...

I'm out on CNN.com reading an article about the tornado in Indiana and the death tolls for Warrick county in Indiana. The article says that the toll now stands at four and that "Authorities also are counting as a fifth death the 8-month-old fetus of one of the victims."

When did we start counting a fetus as a human life? Doesn't the entire argument for abortion stand basically on the premise that the fetus is not a human life? If we are going to start counting fetus in such a manner, wouldn't the argument for abortion need to then turn to women having the right to kill their own children?

Good birthday.

Cute!

Exploration

He's smiling because he knows their destiny...and how good that will taste.

The children seem to believe the camera will take their souls.

And the kids got to take home neck braces as souvenirs.

Just a theory

Here's a theory I've been working on for the last few weeks:

The number of words (synonyms) available to identify something in a given society reflect the relative predominance of that thing in the society.

Here are some examples from the American English language (since I have some familiarity with that one). These are just off the top of my head, and of course done without the aid of a thesaurus.

Weather of all kinds have ridiculous numbers of descriptive words, but rain in particular seems to get a lot of attention. We have rain, showers, drizzle, spitting rain, cloud bursts, thunder storms, heavy rain, light rain, driving rain, etc.

Need we even get into the number of words for the male genitals or sex?

We have a few words for money: buck, dough, cash, and I think they used to also call it "bread", but I don't think we really use that any more.

I'm no linguist, but I understand that the Greek language has three words for "love" and that Hebrew has three words for "God". Again though, just a thought.

The Christian revolution in the society of fruit has begun with the raspberries. Many thought it would be the chinaberries leading the way, what with all the mission work in the last 50 years, but that turns out not to be the case.

Festa Mutante

We somewhat recently went to a street fair here in Boise. They call it a street fair, but I believe a more accurate name would be hippie carnival. It's really a carnival without rides, a lot of booths selling incense, and of course the strong smell of marijuana. They also have some things only a hippie carnival would have, such as a petition for legalizing marijuana, and a booth for the local atheists group, which came complete with bumper stickers like "Born OK the first time".

There was also a "comedy" troupe there that went by the name Circo Mutante. This is apparently a group of young adults (listing toward very hippie) who travel around the country in a bus that runs on vegetable oil and perform skits at these street fairs. The fact that they were far from comedic doesn't really need commentary. However, it was very interesting that when this group announced at the beginning of their show that their bus ran on vegetable oil, they got a big round of applause.

At first I was confused as to why this would be. These people have done nothing extraordinary or courageous. If we're going to clap for someone, let's clap for single moms who work two jobs so their daughters can go to gymnastic practice, or the good public servants, or the volunteers, or the father who does excellent work in the face of a mundane job, or the good soldiers of the world, or the people on the ground in the fight against hunger, aids, human rights, or illiteracy. Young adults without direction driving around in a bus to produce bad comedy are low on the list of those deserving positive recognition.

But I then realized the people were not clapping for the young adults, but for the sacrifice they had made to the god of the environment. That particular god is so powerful in our culture that anything done seemingly in its name is deemed good, right and admirable almost without regard to the actual content of the act. I think it's what would be termed "fundamentalist" behavior if those people happened to be attached to a publicly recognized diest religion.

Ron Paul's commentary on the war

This is really a fantastic read...well beyond the need for any additional thoughts from me.

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2005/cr090805.htm

A note to parents, do not allow your child to stand on a geyser. If they do, follow the man's example and just walk away.

Good times!

The girls just before passing beyond the Skittle threshold, at which point photos become an impossiblity.

The science teacher at work. Also, notice the person on the right taking a picture of us taking a picture.

Tracking the rare and illusive Yellowstone bison.

Pool after the storm.

Beehive Geyser, and Alan

Old Faithful...looks like someone is still throwing the switch on time.

Good old Wyoming in early fall...(it was clear and in the 50s later that day).

Radio talk show host

I just realized why I like this blog idea so much; no interruptions! It's like I'm a radio talk show host and whenever I feel like it I can simply hold forth without someone butting into the conversation to give me their point. It's not that I don't want to hear other's points, but I would really prefer to hear them after they have effectively and actively listened to mine, and then instead of offering up an opinion completely separate from anything I was saying (because they weren't paying attention), it would be refreshing to get a response tempered with context. End rant.

In the vein of being a radio talk show host, I'm going to cover a few topics in this post. The first topic will be Qwest. I would like to announce that we have effectively rid ourselves completely of the local phone carrier. That is correct, no land line whatsoever. I am so pleased that I will never again have to call them for a DSL support question (to which the answer was always "Uhh...have you reset your modem?") that I will now dance a jig. In their place we will be using the cable company as an ISP and Vonage for our home phone needs. The cost will be exactly the same as DSL and BASIC phone service through Qwest, but we are getting something like 12 times the bandwidth, voice mail, conferencing, call forwarding, faxes, etc...and the reliability and call clarity cannot be any worse than Qwest. I only wish I'd switched much, much sooner. Interestingly, the ISP asked why I was canceling service, but Qwest didn't. It's as if Qwest doesn't believe they have any competition...and their service and quality show it. Qwest, the freight train of VoIp and cable Internet are blowing the whistle, and you're walking on the tracks with your Walkman, blasting Def Leopard. It's not going to turn out well for you, at least pick a decent band to go out to.

The second subject this evening will be the scapegoat. I'm in the middle of a book from the late 90s called "Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik. The book itself is wonderfully written and as a completely recreational activity (nothing too challenging, convicting, heady, etc.), it's an absolute joy. Last night I was reading a portion of the book in which he compared Bill Clinton to Barney. In order to understand how in the world he got there, and from Paris no less, you'll have to read the book, but he ended up comparing a child's attraction to Barney and an adults' attraction to Clinton. It was really a very insightful chapter.

But, in the middle of his discussion on presidential similarities to the big purple dinosaur Gopnik mentioned how at the time many people in New York were railing against Clinton for one reason or another. This got me thinking, has the president of the U.S. always been a scapegoat for a large portion of the population? I can certainly say that the current Bush fits that bill, as did Clinton apparently, and Sr. Bush. I don't really remember Reagan, but I remember my parents griping about him. I have no idea what went on before that, but I wonder if it wasn't much the same. So here's what I'll say about it: don't be lazy. A situation, any situation, much less a global or national situation is rarely if ever simple enough to lay the blame at the feet of one person and doing so shows an inability or an unwillingness to critically examing the contributing factors.

Let's take Katrina...just for example, and not because I of course need to add my comments to the millions that have already been made. But, let's take a good look at what really happened there and then ask ourselves if we can really start blaming even three people. Firstly, a category five hurricane hit New Orleans. Anyone who knows anything about hurricanes, fluids and gravity knows that this is a very bad thing for a city, built in a bowl, surrounded by water. But, the day after didn't seem that bad. There was some flooding, but no one (the New Orleans population included) seemed to be that worried. Day two was a little worse when the levies broke. Day three got to be very bad with the looting and the rioting and the random snipers and such. Day four the National Guard and the Army begin to show up and things start to at least get sorted out a bit.

So, where does the blame lie? Many, including a good portion of the media have chosen to blame Bush for not responding fast enough. That's fair enough, the federal government was a day late in sending troops, and Bush is the commander in chief. But what about the people who began the rioting and the looting? They certainly deserve some of the blame. The City of New Orleans? Their evacuation plan was clearly a little less than excellent, and where were the police and firefighters? The state of Louisiana? I certainly never heard a clear articulation of their needs until day three.

The point (uninterrupted, might I add) is that to constantly point at the federal government in any situation we find to be displeasing and say, "it's your fault...fix it" is lazy, irresponsible, and dangerous. The federal government certainly has some responsibilities and they should of course be held accountable for those. But, the state, city, AND individual also have their own set of responsibilities and should certainly be held accountable to those, because without those our government and our society fails.

I would also like to point out that when I spell check this, the spellchecker for the blog entry will identify the word "blog" as being an unknown.

Leave it to capitalism

Steven Milloy wrote a very interesting article a few days back on what he calls the "smoke and mirrors" of stem cell research. The most interesting point in the article is that conducting research using the morally questionable destruction of embryonic stem cells is not illegal, so long as the funds being used for that research are private. The reason so many medical researchers are so adamantly opposed to this policy is because the private funding for stem cell research is drying up. The reason for the lack of private funds? As one might expect, investors do not see the promise of a strong return. As my good friend John Fulton put it, "Leave it to capitalism to really show the potential for legitimate success in a venture."

Lessons learned from a bike "gang"

I had the singular honor of attending a "motorcycle run" this past weekend, hosted by the Unknowns. For those of you not familiar with the term, a "run" is a gathering of motorcycle riders in a single location, generally for the purpose of hanging out. This particular gathering happened to be at the home of a member of the club known as the Unknowns. There were members there from Brother Speed, The Highwaymen, The Outsiders, some other clubs I'm sure I missed, and of course people who were not members of any club, such as myself.

Of course I would not normally be entirely welcome at such a gathering (I'm not really biker material, what with my '97 4Runner with the Thule ski racks, cargo pants, polo shirts, Smith sunglasses, etc.), but my dad happens to be one of the charter members and first president of a club started here in Boise by the name of Brother Speed. We ended up at this shindig because one of the guys he used to ride with thirty years ago came up from Portland to see him and invited him over. Amazingly, there were a lot of people there he knew from his days in the club (he quit some twenty-five years ago), and of course since I was his son, I and my brothers were in.

What I found from hanging out with these people is that they are a community and a family, in the truest sense of each word. They are a community because they provide for one another's needs, and they are a family because they choose to see past the imperfections of individual people and love in practice...by being interested and active in the well being of the other person. I'm quite sure they have their internal issues, but the fact that they continue to stay in contact with my dad after all these years, and can pick-up their friendship after a decade as if they'd seen one another a month ago is a testament to the genuine bond they share. To hear these guys talk about their friends is refreshing and warming because one knows they are talking of their comrades and siblings. Hence the name, "Brother Speed", I suppose.

One member explained how being a part of the community provided for them. She said that whenever they go to a town, as long as that town has a club, "all their needs are met". Even if they do not know those people directly, they are given a place to sleep, meals, a shower, directions, whatever. They are given all of this simply because they are a part of the family, and that's what family does. This is incredible to me because there are so few real examples of community anymore. Many places claim to have community, but I've never really seen in actually lived.

The whole thing sort of reminds me of stories about the early church. It occurs to me that the church maybe has some lessons to learn from these motorcycle clubs. Maybe I should write a book. "Love like a biker. Growing your church by completely forgetting about growth." The motorcycle clubs have once again shown us what people really want; genuine, unconditional, humble love of the person they are right now.

Good news

I'm pleased to annouce that from now until the end of August you'll be able to take advantage of the Scott You Pay What Our Family Pays Plus Plan. If you choose to take advantage of this super special, and unique offer, you'll be able to pay what the Scott family pays for gas, bread, and milk, plus you'll have the chance to wash our dishes and mow our lawn, at no extra cost. Act now, and don't miss your chance!

When I look back

On June 16th of this year, upon receiving his honorary title of Doctor in Laws, Dr. Henry Morgentaler gave an address to the University of Western Ontario. In this address, Dr. Morgentaler outlines his life philosophy, and how this humanist philosophy has led him to pursue his life work of fighting for the legalization of abortion in Canada and creating and maintaining abortion facilities which seek to insure that all women in Canada have safe and easy access to an abortion clinic, should this be their choice. He has been largely successful in his pursuit, having received a Supreme Court ruling in favor of legalized abortion, and having opened clinics in a number of major Canadian cities. Dr. Morgantaler says that as he looks back on his life, he has a sense of pride in his achievements.

I really don't want to get into a discussion as to whether or not Dr. Morgantaler should indeed feel pride for the things he's accomplished. What he's done is certainly impressive, and I would imagine many would envy him his single-mindedness, his determination, and his obvious abilities. I'll leave it for he and Jesus to look back and decide whether or not the doctor should be proud of what he's done.

I do however want to talk about his answer to the apparently frequent question of "Why did you decide to expose yourself to so much stress and danger in a controversial cause, and why do you persist in doing so?" His response is as follows.

I am a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, that orgy of cruelty and inhumanity of man to man. I have personally experienced suffering, oppression and injustice inflicted by men beholden to a racist, dogmatic and irrational ideology. To have had the opportunity to diminish suffering and injustice has been very important to me. Reproductive freedom and good access to medical abortion means that women will be able to give life to wanted babies at a time when they can provide love, care and nurturing. Well-loved children grow into adults who do not build concentration camps; do not rape and do not murder. They are more likely to enjoy life, to love and care for each other and the larger society.

I find it absolutely ridiculous to suppose that abortion can be given even a minute amount of credit for removing any evil from this world. It is truly nonsense to soberly state that because a child is unwanted by its mother, it will become the next Hitler, or Pol Pot, much less an "everyday" murderer, rapist, or domestic abuser. This is without a doubt a classic example of reducing an argument to the absurd, not to mention coming dangerously close to assuming the title of the "God" humanists live without acknowledging. No, we simply cannot accept an argument such as this from the pro-choice camp, if not for moral reasons, for simple reasons of logic.

There are other arguments for the practice of abortion (some of which Dr. Morgantaler touches upon), so let us hear and discuss those. But let's not pretend as if abortion is doing humanity a service by somehow removing people who are destined for evil and destruction. As Dr. Morgantaler himself points out, every person has the potential for a fulfilled, happy, and joyful life; to which I would add that everyone created has the capacity for endless beauty and love.

But must they also insult us?

A little west of Boise lies a small (for the time being) town by the name of Star. I think the population on the sign is something like 1700, though I suspect it might be a bit more now than it was at the time of the census. As one comes into town from the east, there is a large ranch running along the left side of the road, its fields stretching several hundred yards down to the tall cottonwoods of the river. Of course it's quite beautiful. I haven't been out there for several months now, but I drove by the other day on my way to somewhere...or maybe it was on my way to Nampa. Either way, near the road now, just inside the fence that marks the boundary of the ranch is a series of signs. "Get ready...", "for better...", "living." "Naturally.", in yellow letters against a blue background.

I know they are going to completely destroy that lovely ranch and replace it with yet another ghastly subdivision. I know the subdivision won't have any creativity, or style, or substance, or personality, that it will simply attempt to allow for the building of as many homes as possible. I don't necessarily want this to happen, but I don't have a whole lot of room to complain about it. The owner of the ranch sold his or her land to the person or persons who wants to build the repulsive subdivision, they'll call it Rolling Rapids Cotton Heron Grove, and there are hundreds of people in the world (I blame you for this, California) who are willing to trade style and personality of the neighborhood for money. So capitalism marches on, which is fine. It's the best we've got.

But please, please don't insult us by imposing additional inane and misleading messages upon us. We all know that living in your over sized cubicle farm isn't going to make our lives better. In fact, we fairly strongly believe that you'll make them worse. We know there isn't much we can or should do about this, but it would be awfully kind of you if you would just quietly ruin beauty, or maybe put some messages up that indicated your acknowledgement of what you're doing. "Enjoy this now...", "because it's almost...", "gone." "Money."

There was a lot of this on the two day ride from Petersburg to Bellingham.

Petersburg, AM.

We had a lot of time to kill before the ferry left at 3 AM from Petersburg, so we shot some stick in the Harbor Bar.

Checking out the Petersburg fishing derby. The leader at time of departure weighed in at 44 lbs. (King Salmon)

Some artistry along the way...

Hitchhiking back to town to catch the ferry.

We spent an entire day at the Blind River Rapids just watching wildlife. Very beautiful and interesting slough.

The faces sum it up.

This is the "trailhead" for the Upper Twin Creek ski trail. Again, note the absence of any trail, and the sign in the upper right hand corner indicating the hope for a trail in the distance. It's a lie.

This is the view from the top of the Upper Twin Creek ski trail. Notice the distinct lack of a trail. That's the Coastal Range in the background. For you "Into the Wild" fans, The Devil's Thumb is just to the left of the visible peaks.

The cabin at the top of Raven's Roost was very welcoming (and the only dry spot in all of the muskeg).

The Raven's Roost trail in Petersburg. Very pretty, but the same deal with steps going right up a "hill" - this time with the packs on.

...there IS a horse in the background.

Only available tent sites in Petersburg. Not to worry...

Arrival in Petersburg at about 2:15 AM (thank you Alaska ferry system).

These are the important rules aboard an Alaskan ferry.

Leaving Sitka. I guess I can see why they call what we climbed a hill.

We slept under the solarium for most of the trip (this is aboard the Columbia). Notice the heaters hanging from the ceiling.

That 1700 ft. was covered mainly by stairs. I stopped counting at around 700 of these wooden steps. It is a well made trail, and a fine workout.

A "little" day hike outside of Sitka. They called it a hill, but it was about 1700 vertical feet in less than two miles.

Camping in Sitka, about .25 miles from the ferry terminal - very nice and reasonably priced.

The harbor in Sitka.

Beautiful...and the city of Sitka is nice too.

Totem pole in Sitka.

How about just, "Don't throw trash in the ocean"?

Views from the ferry between Juneau and Sitka.

Views from the ferry between Juneau and Sitka.

Views from the ferry between Juneau and Sitka.

Traveling in style aboard the Fairweather.

Heidi in front of the Mendenhall Glacier (Juneau), en route to Sitka.