Let's get the election over with

Last night I was on the phone with my mom and told her I was going to be watching the Obama infomercial. Following is an email she sent me along with my response. I love my mother dearly but could no longer remain silent when she and other family members seem to so easily buy into the false, out of context allegations against someone who I hope in the next 5 days is the next President-elect of the United States. Anyway, it was a chance to write a short essay about my feelings.

On Oct 30, 2008, at 9:40 AM, "Mom" wrote:

RIGHT OBAMA AND HIS ADVISORS----- THE REVERAND AND I USE THT TERM LOOSELY-------JEREMIAH WRIGHT! AND OTHERS!!!!!! AREN'T YOU JUST A LITTLE CONCERNED?

On Oct 30, 2008, at 10:30 AM, Mark wrote:

Hi Mom,

I debated whether to send this, but your message kind of set me off. Just a few thoughts.

I'm not concerned at all. We all have nutty associates in our past, and it doesn't define us. Wright lost a screw along the way but wasn't always like that. Sure throwing Wright under the bus as soon as some of this stuff surfaced would have been the right thing to do politically, but personally I also think it would be hard to immediately disown your pastor.

Listen, I respected McCain back in 2000, and he certainly would have been a better President than what we got. But his campaign this time around has been nothing but lies, deceit, and devoid of any new ideas on how to run the country. His judgement has become questionable (Palin, etc) and his knee jerk and impulsive reactions to almost any new situation and challenge is more than a little worrisome. Back in 2000, the Bush campaign destroyed McCain with some pretty underhanded tactics, tactics using lies, smears and innuendo that he absolutely abhorred.

At the time, McCain essentially said that he would never run such a campaign--he was too honorable to get down in the mud like that. However, for this campaign he ends up hiring the same people and running the same kind of campaign. Where's the honor and honesty in that? And take the week of the initial financial meltdown. McCain "suspends" his campaign to make a big show that he was going to Washington to "handle" the situation. It was such a bogus, grandstanding stunt, and it backfired (even Republicans said he did nothing substantive to help the situation). Besides I want my President who thinks be able to handle more than one crisis at a time--it's called multitasking and that's what they have to do, everyday. And what do I want in a President? I want to be inspired, I want new ideas. Truly, what does McCain offer? The only thing we hear is innuendo about past acquaintances, phrases taken out of context, but nothing substantive about how we get out of the economic and foreign policy holes we're in.

And one last thing regarding Palin--I want our elected officials in such high offices TO BE SMARTER THAN ME. Not some nitwit who can't string two complete, grammatically correct sentences together without having them written out for her or memorized. But what really frosts me is her definition of real America and real patriotic Americans--it'sso narrowly defined and not inclusive of all Americans who love this country, regardless of race, religious and personal choice beliefs, or political affiliation. Her speeches are full of buzzwords that basically say Obama is unAmerican because (a) he's black and (b) has Muslim friends. I have Jewish, Arab, Hindi, gay, pro-choice friends....does that make me less of an American?

Love, Mark

Springsteen: "I want my country back"

Why he's the Boss

"'Hello Philly,

'I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next President of the United States.

'I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

'I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

'I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.

'They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.

'So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising.' "

(Via Joan Walsh in Salon.com.)

Definition of Community Organizer

I swear the Republican Party is on crack and wants to win at any cost. They are sleazy, lying scum bags. I don't think I've ever felt so pissed of during a presidential campaign. One of the points they keep trying to make is when discussing executive experience for governing, Palin and McCain have it, while Obama has only been a "community organizer" (wink wink). The constant reference to it, first by Mr. 9/11 Rudy Giuliani, and then repeated often by Palin, is deeply offensive in so many ways. Joe Klein on Time's Swampland blog laid out just what Obama did as a community organizer:

What a Community Organizer Does:

This morning, I received a press release from a group called Catholic Democrats about the work--the mission, the witness--that Obama performed after he got out of college. Here's the first paragraph:

Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent's work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.  She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street.  In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, 'I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.'  Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice.  

So here is what Giuliani and Palin didn't know: Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed--job training, help with housing and so forth--from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord's work--the sort of mission Jesus preached (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a 'task from God.')

(Via TIME: Swampland.)

Sounds like a faith-based initiative to me. What also upsets me about this is that our son has been developing a very high sense of social justice, and I can see him doing something like this as he moves through college, or even after. He's even talking about joining the Peace Corps. You just have to hope that vomit like this doesn't end up turning the young idealistic people of today away from public service.

I hope people wake up in time to call bullshit on the whole lot of them.

Almost empty nest

We moved our son to his college dorm last week. He started classes today. Strange feeling for both of us. Even though our daughter is home, it really does feel like the end of a major chapter in our lives, and the start of another. Certainly not lacking for things to do though, with work, several home projects to do and complete on the house, the band, and so on.

Maybe even start to write more. I certainly could use some discipline here.

graduation weekend

The long graduation weekend is over. It had its ups and downs, expectations met and not met, joy and disappointment.

Obviously it should have been all positive, yet maybe that's impossible with young adults and their parents, and the parents with their parents.

Maybe that's enough said.

another life passage

i can't believe my baby girl is graduating from college this weekend. Where did the time go? It's all the usual cliches. But with things like this, time really does seem to go far too fast.

We head out in the morning for Spokane, then down to Pullman (WSU) for the big day on Saturday.

I'm not going anywhere...

...at least not now. Early last week the oh so very formal "form" arrived in the mail. Just a standard HR form with several lines that could be checked, depending on the purpose of the communication. The line "you were found to be qualified for the position but another candidate has been selected" was checked. No phone call, no feedback. I suppose I could call or email. However, my supervisor (who knew I was interviewing and knows many of the principles) is attending a meeting this week where many of them will be. Maybe I'll hear something through him. Oh, and yeah, it did go to the inside candidate. But he is well qualified.

Would I have gone? Even though I knew it was a long shot, I pretty much had decided that I would probably have taken the plunge. My wife was willing. Time to get my mind back on things here.

Now, we really have to focus on our kids graduating and getting my son to pick a school. One he likes has a soccer program he could probably contribute to, and the coach likes him. It's a very conservative evangelical Christian school a couple of hundred miles away. We have no problem with 99% of the school curriculum and mission. However, one major tenet is the believe that sexual immorality includes homosexuality, and that is a belief that we do not accept. Both my wife and I have had gay friends who are very moral, it's not even a view I've ever considered to be acceptable. So while it's an easy decision for my wife and I, It's a bit tough on my son because he really wants to go there. I wish we had completely read the mission statement before he applied.

more post interview thoughts

I’m writing this on the flight home from West Virginia. It’s a relatively easy drive from the science center I interviewed at to Dulles Airport in Virginia, outside of Washington DC. One can easily visit DC from the location of the center after about an hour and a half drive.

Still mentally decompressing and self-exit interviewing today. I woke up today thinking that I really hope I’m in the running. Before coming I was more ambivalent. It would be such a challenge although I think, I know I could do it. But certainly everything would change. I guess what I think about most is the impact on our parents, and on our kids. That’s the hard part for sure.

Today I was given a tour of the area a very knowledgeable ndividual, who also happens to be a contract officer who covers two local ARS stations. Very quickly one realizes the history of the area, civil war battlefields everywhere, and towns such as Harper’s Ferry, Leesburg, Mecklenburg, and so on. WV is a little depressed economically compared to Virginia and Maryland, and in fact many of the employees live in those states because of the school districts. I guess we wouldn’t have that worry, and one could get a big house and a lot of land for about 2/3 the same thing would cost in Seattle. So while many people drive from 20 miles away or so to work, I bet we could find something much, much closer.

After the area tour, Greg and I toured the station itself and I saw the complete operation, including all of the fish rearing and water treatment facilities. The latter includes both pretreatment (hard water, high calcium because of the limestone), and effluent treatment. Available lab space is more than adequate, as well as office space for techs and post docs. Major equipment is largely shared across projects but there’s everything I could think of needing, thermocyclers, real time PCR, DNA sequencers, micorarray readers, colony pickers, and so on. Project funding seems adequate and they’re sitting pretty good this year and next. There is certainly more detail in the project and reporting process than NOAA, but upon reflection, it doesn’t seem that bad. Research planning follows a five year process, then annual milestone reports.

I’ve gone back and forth all day as to where I think I stand in the process. I know the internal candidate is good, and has the background and history of working at the station. I know the other outside candidate is very good, certainly much more personable than I am, very respected in the aquaculture community since that’s the . What I have over both of them is much longer term government administrative experience, initiating research projects, mentoring students and staff, and so on. There’s probably more I should have talked about, as I expected there were things I now wish I would have said or at least articulated better. Oh well, that’s the experience part of the process.

I’ll be following up with the Area Leader tonight with a few budget questions and a thank you. As I finish writing this I’m thinking I want to be in the running. When I re-read paragraph 2, I’m not so sure!

Interview complete

Well, today was the day. A very long day in fact. As outlined in the last post, I spent the day giving a seminar, meeting with the selection panel, meeting with the lab scientists and general staff, and a final meeting with the selection committee. The process ends tomorrow with a tour and the long flight home.

Do I want this if offered? It would a tremendous change of life and lifestyle. So many things to think about. It would be very challenging job.

interviewing

I've been away from home for a week and a half, three full days to go before returning. The first week was a vacation with my wife--it was a celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary. I'm still on the east coast, attending a conference at which I gave a talk yesterday. Getting a little tired of hotel rooms, and I look forward to getting back home and sleeping in my own bed.

So, I am getting a job interview with the research center in West Virginia (see "options"). it's in two weeks and from all the information sent me, it will be pretty intense. There are three candidates. Besides the the seminar, there is a 3 hour session with an interview panel, tours, meetings with lab heads and staff, and a final meeting with the agency area head. My boss knows, out of fairness I told him. It's a weird feeling. It is so far away and it would mean starting over research-wise. huge life change for my family. It may be very tough on my son, but he will be starting college next year. Really tough on both our moms.

But all this is getting ahead of myself. The other two candidates are very, very qualified, and actually more so because of their closer experience with fresh water aquaculture. It will be a good experience. Nervewracking, but positive.