07.07.08
The historic rally for Obama in unhateable Portland
06.04.08
Obama clinches nomination
Barack Obama has done it. A half-black African, half-white American who started out in community organizing before he moved on to politics is the democratic nominee for President of the United States. On Oct. 5, 2006, I wrote this in a blog item: “An intriguing matchup would be Barack Obama against John McCain but Obama probably isn’t ready and McCain might not win his party’s nomination.”
Well that’s exactly what we have on June 4, 2008, Obama vs. McCain. I was expressing some doubts, but Obama has proved he is up to the challenge and McCain emerged from a crowded Republican field. Maybe I have a future career as a pollster or pundit. Anyway, Obama has made it this far and if he can draw out the differences between himself and McCain, he ought to be the next president of the United States. America is ready to fix what’s gone wrong.
05.20.08
Doing the right thing: Japanese-Americans get honorary degrees
On a warm, sunny day at the University of Washington May 18, a historical wrong was put right.
Several months after Japan bombed of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Excecutive Order 9066 which barred those of Japanese descent, most of them Ameican citizens, from living on the West Coast. More than 100,000 Japanese-Americans were put behind barbed wire in internment camps in desolate areas across the western United States.
At that time, about 450 Japanese- Americans were attending the University of Washington and they would be forced to discontinue their education there. The university was able to relocate about 58 students to other colleges and a few received diplomas in a makeshift ceremony at the Puyallup Fairgrounds where they were being held. But most never returned to the UW and to get a degree, until now.
About 70 of the students, now in their 80s, attended the ceremony at Kane Hall to receive their honorary degrees, in an unprecendented act by the university. They saw old friends they hadn’t seen in years and were cheered on by their families.
Former U.S. Congressman and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who lived in an internment camp as a boy, gave the commencement address.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” Mineta said. “It’s never too late to rejoice that the right thing has finally been done. And it’s never too late to be grateful to those who do the right thing.”
04.15.08
Not keeping it real: Barack, small towns and liberal elitism
Barack Obama’s comments about small town folks being bitter and clinging to religion and guns may have been politically dumb and elitist, but when taken in context are much ado about nothing. All three candidates have spent most of their lives living in urban environments, so I don’t think any of them can naturally relate to people in small towns without sounding phony. The best that can be said about Obama in this incident is that he was honest, although he made the comments in the safe confines of a San Francisco fundraiser.
As someone who grew up in a small town turned suburb in Oregon, went to college in a small city in rural eastern Washington, and started my journalism career in a small cities in Oregon and northern California, I think Obama’s comments are an oversimplification. I also was born in Pennsylvania and lived in the small college town of Carlisle although I don’t remember it.
Places I’ve lived, Walla Walla, Wash. and maybe Carlisle aside, are probably more liberal than the towns that Obama is referring to but he’s not completely wrong. Anti-immigrant sentiment ran high in my hometown in Oregon when Mexican migrants starting arriving to work in area farms. People own guns and go to church, certainly, but as has been pointed out this is part of a long tradition. Obama probably wouldn’t go to many small towns other than to wrassle votes, but then again neither would Hillary Clinton or John McCain. The question is, as author Thomas Frank asks in “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” why do working class folks vote for Republicans who don’t advocate policies that benefit working class people? Part of the problem, in my view, is liberal condescension of the average person’s lifestyle and paternalism. To this end, Obama may have become a victim of his own education, ambition and success in elite institutions like Harvard and the U.S. Senate. Obama does have a history of “keeping it real” but it happened on the streets of Chicago which gives him credibility among urbanites and blacks but won’t appeal to as much to blue collar whites. Hillary Clinton, other than living Arkansas, doesn’t have this experience either, but for some reason people perceive that she will pursue policies that will benefit them. However, her actions in the Whitewater scandal demonstrate that her love for working class people is abstract.
Conservative George Will, in a column today, jumps all over Obama’s comments and ties them to a history of liberal condescension that he maintains developed after Roosevelt.
Obama has fueled this fire, but in the end, though, this debate is much ado about nothing. The issue is not whether Obama can fit in with blue collar folks, but what he will do as President.
Small town folks don’t need Obama to be their best friend. They just need a government that will care about their jobs, health care and quits sending their kids to Iraq. If he will do that, it doesn’t matter if he is an elitist.
10.29.07
Vote yes on Proposition 1; something is better than nothing
The procrastination, avoidance behavior, caving to special interests and outright incompetence of leadership in managing growth and transportation in the Puget Sound has led to a situation that has damaged the quality of life. Constant gridlock is bad for the economy and the environment. Passage of Proposition 1 for a regional roads and transit system is a first step in managing this problem. This is long overdue. Nearly 40 years ago, a transit plan was shot down that would have benefited this region for years to come.
Environmentalists who oppose this need to get a clue: perfect is the enemy of good. Yes, more roads could lead to more cars, but this is about political compromise, and frankly with the anticipated growth here, there will be more cars no matter what.
And for those roads proponents who want to pave over Puget Sound for their SUVs, there have to be more options out there with incentives for people to use them.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
The above phrase is credited to Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and one of this country’s Founding Fathers.
It rings true for everyone, but if you’re a racial, sexual or religious minority or a woman in many cases, doubly so.
To maintain one’s freedom, including one’s human rights and the rights of others iis a never-ending fight. Complacency means things don’t get done and it leaves you ripe for exploitation. Sometimes because of illness, injury or bad luck it’s difficult to be vigilant. So you need advocates who can act on your behalf at times. It seems that the way social bonds and connections form are changing, and maybe even eroding. This type of vigilance is becoming more difficult.
While vigilance to maintain freedom may be declining, cheating seems to prosper. Performing enhancing drugs in sports runs deep and Barry Bonds, Floyd Landis and Marion Jones are just the tip of the iceberg. Recruiting scandals are not uncommon in college and even high school sports.
Enron and other corporations have made headlines with accounting chicanery.
Claims to power are often dubiously attained as evidenced by the 2000 presidential election that the Supreme Court handed to George W. Bush and the 2004 Washington state gubenatorial election that went to Christine Gregoire. Bush likes to talk a lot about promoting and defending freedom, but in reality he’s not very vigilant about it or about anything else for that matter. His list of accomplishments on the White House Web site are modest at best and compared to what Clinton got done, should be outright embarrassing. But perhaps that was the purpose. To keep the status quo for the haves. Bush has few priorities besides his misguided foray into Iraq, which continues to result in billions being poured down a rathole for a fruitless cause. Gregoire, despite her attitude of entitlement in her campaign, has fared much better and made some hard choices and has gotten things done. In that case perhaps the ends did justify the means. Maybe racist sororities can assist in launching a good career in politics.
In the end, vigilance requires leadership, something that is generally lacking. And in the presidential lineup for 2008, Barack Obama, clearly has the most potential, although his lack of experience might mean he’s over his head. But really, so is everyone else.
06.08.07
Obama rolls into Seattle
For a $25 campaign contribution I had the opportunity to see Barack Obama June 1 at Qwest Field’s WaMu Theater with 3,500 other people. After a brief delay, Obama came onto the stage amid applause from a fired up crowd after his introduction by U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington democrat. His 30-minute speech drew heavily from previous stump speeches and his most recent book “The Audacity of Hope.” He talked about why he got into the messy world of politics after teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He offered his views on the civil rights movement, health care, education and the environment (he implored Detroit to make more fuel-efficient cars). Most importantly to the audience, based on its response, he addressed the Iraq War (he thinks America needs to pull out by this time next year).
An event with the big money donors followed.
While he said nothing I hadn’t heard or read from him before, seeing Obama appear before a crowd that was diverse by Seattle standards was memorable.
05.24.07
Sermon on the Plain
I’ve attended a discussion group in recent months at the home of a co-worker that revolves around the Christian viewpoint and how truth is defined. The DVD series used as a basis for the discussion is produced by the conservative Focus on the Family organization. Much is made in the DVD series about the cosmic battle between truth and lies. The battleground is the culture war in the U.S., Most of the people in the group are Christian, professional, high-income (doctors, finance professions), and mostly conservative on the issues (evolution is a flawed theory not fact, gay rights, sex roles, etc.). There’s some disagreement, but everyone’s pretty much in the same ballpark. Nice people on a personal level, as I’ve found most conservatives to be.
Framing a dicussion of truth as a cosmic battle, I think is a distraction from what truly ails us (economic inequality and environmental degradation) and encourages some Christians of modest means to sit idle in self-delusion. (The book “What’s the Matter with Kansas, by Thomas Frank, examines why people vote in a way that goes against their economic self-interest).
Christianity like most young religions was revolutionary at its inception with Jesus leading the charge. The Gospels detail story after story of Jesus serving the poor, weak, sick and disenfranchised. But in today’s culture, as Time magazine wrote about a few months back, many Christians believe God wants them to be rich. Charity is something you do, once you’re a made-man, as a mafia-don might say, it seems, not as you go along.
This seems to counteract the message in Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Here’s the real revolutionary part of the message, the part that many of us give lip service to, but find harder to practice.
But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Doesn’t this open you up to exploitation, a critic might ask? This is crazy, even stupid. The last line people mention often. But in a competitive society such as ours that creates winners and losers, the merit lies in adherence to the previous lines.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged;; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
In light of the gay rights debate, I think most conservative Christians make a distinction between condemnation of gays and condemnation of gay behavior, although it took years for an anti-discrimination bill to pass in Washington state so maybe what people do in the polling booth is different than what they say. Most people don’t care what gays do as long as they don’t bother them. Gay marriage is a hot potato for even some liberals. Whatever the case the consequences of the closet are great.
Then it continues with a parable.
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”
This implies you should take care of your own business first before giving advice or helping others. But sometimes the act of helping others infuses an individual with purpose in a teamwork situation. There’s a difference between saying “we ought to do this” and “you ought to do this.” We implies a shared responsibility while you is accusatory. Then again, we can also be disingenous if the person saying “we,” isn’t carrying their own weight.
05.18.07
Why reading ain’t for sissies
A sixth-grader in a class I tutor in told me last Friday that “reading was for sissies.”
A few minutes before that, the student, who happens to be black, saw a picture of Ku Klux Klan members in a magazine and became incensed.
For the past six months I’ve volunteered each week as a reading and writing tutor in a sixth-grade class at Cedar Valley Community School in Lynnwood.
In that time, I’ve worked with some great youths who have the potential to be great students, regardless of what perceptions might be. But for teachers, administrators and staff at Cedar Valley, having a student going through some sort of crisis is a daily occurrence. Within the Edmonds School District, many of the students at Cedar Valley are have-nots in a sea of mostly haves. Poverty, gangs, having to take care of siblings, having a parent who has done jail time, is reality for some students not something that exists only on T.V. and in the newspaper.
Cedar Valley is the most diverse and poorest school in the Edmonds School District.
As of May 1, 86.1 percent of the students at Cedar Valley qualified for free or reduced-price lunches, according to school figures.
The school is 38.8 percent Hispanic, 34.4 percent white, 13.8 percent Asian, 11.5 percent black and 1.5 percent Native American, according Oct. 2005 figures.
The challenges are immense, but failure is not an option. As Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said: “Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible…” Being able to read and apply what you’ve read has never been more important in the history of the planet as now.
Some students take to reading naturally, especially if reading material is available at home and they encouraged. Some are not as fortunate, or are less inclined.
As fifth-graders, 63 percent of the Cedar Valley sixth-graders passed the reading portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, 10.9 percent below the district average and 13.3 percent below the state average.
As a teacher at Cedar Valley told me, most boys learn to read at a different pace than girls and most start off behind girls when it comes to verbal skills. Sometimes as a coping mechanism, students say stuff like “reading is for sissies.”
The teacher told me she’s experimented with having some of the boys read in boys-only groups.
“They weren’t as off task as when they had a female audience,” she said.
Experiments like that are vital to improving education in schools like Cedar Valley. It goes beyond the WASL.
The sixth-graders recently went on a hike near Granite Falls and wrote about their experiences. Being able to draw on that experiences changes how their able to write and express themselves, teacher Lindsay Wilson said.
Last Friday, several students quickly thumbed through copies of National Geographic and Smithsonian. But a Sports Illustrated grabbed their attention and sparked some lively discussion.
The same student who said reading was for sissies articulately made a case for what would constitute the best NBA team of all time. Most of the players he named from Larry Bird to LeBron James were from the 1980s to the present, but his list was comprehensive. He could write a good essay on that topic.
In the end, much of what determines student success or failure is rooted in socio-economics and sometimes there’s only so much blame or credit educators deserve for that.
But it is possible to turn things around.
Cedar Valley teacher Aaron Gaines, 47, who integrated a white school in Mississippi as a second-grader, is looking forward to attending several high school graduations next month to see his first group of students walk across the stage. One of those former Cedar Valley students who will graduate is Lynnwood High School student body president Liam Ennis.
Gaines said he tries to preach and teach to his students about their responsibility to not only themselves, but their families and their community to try to succeed in light of the sacrifices that people of all colors made during the civil rights movement.
“They haven’t made that decision yet, they haven’t dug in,” Gaines said. “I can sway them to think a little deeper about their next stop before they make that gigantic step to high school.”
Finally, as Obama said in his 2004 Democratic convention speech, “folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white.” Or like a sissy.
03.04.07
Reflections on 2007 State 1A hoops
I spent the last two days getting my fill of high school basketball while covering the Class 1A boys and girls tournaments at the Yakima SunDome. Only two teams go home happy and the other 30 reflect on what might have been. The latter was the case for the King’s girls and boys teams from Shoreline that I was here to cover. Both came into the tournament considered contenders for the title. The King’s girls cruised into the championship game and led early against three-time defending champion Colfax in the final. But Colfax’s intense press got them back in the game, and the Bulldogs finally took the lead after a steal and foul with 24 seconds to left. King’s had a chance to get it back but a pair of missed free throws with 11 seconds left allowed Colfax to close it out and claim an unprecedented fourth consecutive state title. No team in any classification in basketball has accomplished that feat. King’s, the winners of the last two state 2A titles, battled but in the end fell short 31-28 in a game marked by physical play and defense.
The King’s boys were knocked out of the consolation bracket by Bellevue Christian and did not bring home a trophy.
Yakima has hosted these tournaments for years and the tournament staff runs a tight ship. The games on championship Saturday were a bit behind schedule but Yakima is still one of the best state tournament sites if you’re a member of the media or a fan.
On my way to SunDome, I stopped at a taco trailer, something you don’t see a lot in the Seattle area. A burrito and drink for $5 is a good deal and sure beats Taco Bell. I also noticed in the neighborhood between downtown and the SunDome quite a few young ballers, both boys and girls, many of them Hispanic, dribbling basketballs down the streets. Maybe a few of them will be playing in the SunDome someday at state.