Review of The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama

I enjoyed reading this book. Barack Obama writes in a very down to Earth way. I thought he was surprisingly honest when talking about his family and the way he thinks and solves problems.

I realize that this was a memoir written as part of his presidential campaign. It is basically his platform, and he goes through the various issues that at the time he anticipated would be the agenda for his campaign.

He is a liberal Democrat. He is not apologetic about this, nor should he be. The Conservatives have so vilified the liberals over the last few decades that this label is often publicly regarded as slanderous. He sees a role for government in peoples lives. He advocates for laborers and government regulation. But he also advocates common sense and compromise.

I was slow to warm up to Barack Obama as he ran for President, and I still have my reservations. I do not agree with him on every issue. But I do respect his integrity, his intelligence; His willingness to admit and learn from mistakes, and his willingness to compromise.

The thing that was most interesting to me as I read was his accounts of being a very busy working Father. Men do not have an Oprah as a sounding board. It was nice to see how he handled different situations and how he and his wife make it work.

View all my reviews @ goodreads.com.

The Path

the Path

The Metastasis of Bureaucracy

Did you ever get frustrated by having to fill out tons of paperwork? Do you ever sit through long meetings that seem important, but are mostly boring and irrelevant? Did you ever make a phone call, then get transferred three times only to end up being transferred back to the person you called initially? As Pink Floyd said, “Welcome my son….Welcome to the Machine!”

Every facet of our existence is impeded by bureaucracy. Business and organizations are formed to do something. As they grow, more people are added and the scope of the task broadens. As this happens, the tasks of the organization become fragmented and have to be centrally controlled. But the central control is difficult to maintain as the fragments become more fragmented. The rules become more and more generalized, to the point where getting anything done is no longer a merit of hard work or expertise, but of the ability to navigate the system.

This happens to us as individuals as well. Most of us in our competitive American culture, regardless of occupation or status, are compelled in some way to produce. We are often judged by our productivity. When we are productive, we are rewarded. We often use our rewards to buy things. These things accumulate quickly and soon become clutter. Our livelihoods are dependent on consumption.

There is not necessarily anything wrong with being productive, that’s how we progress. We are blessed with a high standard of living and adequate sanitation and public health. One problem is that the option of doing nothing is not often employed or considered. Also, when things are not working well we often keep doing them.

This is how bureaucracies grow. If they keep growing, they can choke off the blood supply and metastasize like a malignant tumor.

One task where you can’t do this is writing. A good writer has the ability to be concise. By editing down the words and choosing them carefully, the final product is clear and to the point. There is no room for the tangential or self indulgent. As Stephen King put it in his book On Writing, “you have to be willing to kill your babies.” If a writer just kept adding things in the editing process, but not taking things away, the end result is an un-digestable mess.

We would be better off if we used our resources more prudently and if we were better at editing how we do things. The inability to say no or take something away is the reason we are innundated with so much useless mental and physical clutter.

“Now a Major Motion Picture!”

Did you ever notice that when a book is adapted to film, it is re-marketed with the words “Now A Major Motion Picture” on the cover?

First off, the book was not transformed into a movie. A film may have been made as an adaptation, but the film is not the book and vice-versa. That would be like taking a picture of yourself, displaying an enlarged version of it on a sign by the freeway, and affixing a label to yourself that says “Bob, Now a Major Billboard!”

Next, why the dramatic adjective “Major?” This is presumptuous and unnecessary. What need is there to distinguish major from minor adaptations? In our more is better culture, we sometimes are given to histrionics. Consider Extra-Strength Tylenol. When you get a chance, look in the pharmacy section of your grocery store. There are 10 different permutations of Extra-Strength Tylenol. Gel-Caps, liquid, tablets etc. But where’s is the regular strength Tylenol? It’s there, you just have to look hard for it. Like the word “Major,” “Extra-Strength” has lost its meaning.

Finally “Motion Picture” Who says this? In today’s world it’s a movie or a film. This is no doubt a reflection of the distant era in which this phrase was originally used. There seem to be certain things in the field of advertising that have not progressed from earlier times. For example, the “As Seen on TV!” label. This is usually printed in bold red exuberant letters on the packaging of cheap household items. That this product was advertised on television does not make it in any way special. When I see it, I don’t have any desire to purchase the item because it was on TV. I’m more inclined to think “this product is probably a real piece of crap!” Similarly, when I hear “Motion Picture,” I tend think “boring old movie.”

If something must be advertised on the cover, I suggest “see the film adaptation, now in theaters.” It’s contemporary and to the point.

A Day in the Life…

I’m writing this post mostly as a test to see if it shows up in my Facebook profile via the Networked Blogs application. I don’t really have a topic, I’m just free-stylin’.

Here’s what I did today…

I was a bit stressed out this morning…I had some residue from a busy day at work yesterday. I was able to go running this morning (I ran 2.5 miles…I’m working up to run a 5K in March, a 10K in June and a half marathon in September) and then went to Starbucks to get a Hazelnut Latte. Afterwards I felt better. My wife and I had some business to attend to, and we were able to get in a Valentines Day lunch at Akai Hana (Love the spicy scallop roll!) I then came home and took a nap. Dinner this evening was a trip through the KFC drive-thru (it’s been years since I’ve eaten there) After the kids were in bed, my wife went over to a neighbors house to chat with her friend. I’m here getting ready for bed and goofing on my computer.

Congratulations! You made it to the end of this post without nodding off or clicking to something else!

More interesting content to follow, I assure you.

Book Review – Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intellegent Design by Michael Shermer

Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design by Michael Shermer

rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting primer on the evolution vs. intelligent design debate. It provides good talking points to arm yourself with if you plan to enter a debate with a creationist.

It is interesting that the intelligent design movement is just a warmed over version of creationism that is trying to pose as scientific. Their main strategy so far has been to refute evolution. They do not have any research or evidence to back up any of their claims.

The whole creationist mind set is based on ancient texts that can not be edited or updated when new evidence comes to light. Since they see the bible as the unerring word of God, they cannot incorporate the evidence of evolution because it renders their texts inaccurate.

The creation myths of Genesis are understandable as a means for a Bronze Age civilization to explain their world. But given the tools and methods of science that we have now, there is no excuse to believe that the accounts of the worlds creation in the Bible are true.

Get this book and read it. Then discuss with your creationist friends!

View all my reviews.

Standing Room Only

Standing Room Only

“Toga Party” by John Barth

This was a very well written story about an elderly couple set in a Maryland gated retirement community.

The story explores the themes surrounding the end of life. The mood is lonely and sad. The author artfully sets the tone by describing the mundane activities with sprinkles of existential angst. It seems that the couple are just going through the motions.

In most ways they are a very typical elderly couple that have lead a good life. They fulfilled all that was expected of them. Now, their children and grand children are very distant and wrapped up in their own lives. Most of their time is spent in the daily routine of meals and light socializing.

When the characters are at the Toga Party, there is a stylistic change to the quick exchanges of a cocktail party. There is good pacing as we see Sam drinking a bit too much, which leads up to him stabbing himself.

The end of the story really ties together the feeling of loneliness as the couple decide to take fate into their own hands and forgo the uncertainty of last stages of life. I loved the ending sentence; “The overhead garage light timed out.”

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Melt

Melt

We don’t need to stimulate the economy, we need to fix the problem.

Here’s the problem: banks are holding on to large amounts of bad mortgage debt and are subsequently not lending money which is freezing up the financial system. This has nothing to do with cutting taxes or re-sodding the capital lawn. We need to do something about the bad mortgages and then apply the appropriate regulations so that this does not happen again.

Here’s a quote from Senator Tom Coburn (R) OK in a recent Wall Street Journal Opionion piece: The Stimulus Package is More Debt We Don’t Need:

What is not in the bill is as troubling as what is. The package does nothing to clear the toxic assets and bad mortgages that helped trigger the credit crisis. It also contains very little meaningful tax relief to make small businesses and American companies more competitive. Instead, the tax provisions of the stimulus are essentially a modest cash handout that repeats the failed policy of George W. Bush’s rebate-check stimulus.

I’m reminded of the old phrase from Abraham Maslow “when all you have is a hammer, all of your problems look like nails.”

There is neither a Republican solution nor a Democratic solution to this mess. Tax-cuts will not fix every problem, and neither will government regulation.  This is not a competition to see which party can out maneuver the other. Granted, it is the job of Congress to negotiate and pass legislation, and to do so they need to deliberate and compromise. But we are so locked in to this false dichotomy between Republicans and Democrats that it is seen as a black and white competition with a clear winner and loser.

Life is just not that simple.