See you in September. Work has been even more demanding lately -- I'm working a lot of extra hours. Add to the mix that we're doing construction on our house (word this morning is that we're going to have to wait 1-2 weeks for the severed phone line to be replaced) and I doubt I'll be stopping by much.

After Labor day things look better.

After the Sunset. The whole family went down for the visitation on Wednesday night and met up with three in from Louisiana who were downtown for the procession. I regret missing the procession -- my wife's cousin and his friends were very impressed. They said they could see the details on the jets as they flew by.

We got in line a little before 9 pm -- it was hot, but the sun was setting. We wound our way through a snaking line and after about three hours we were told we were about two hours away. In the old Soviet Union, this is what people did to get toilet paper. How the world has changed -- because of this man.

Joe fell asleep in the stroller, but Em seemed to rev up -- did someone give her some coffee? Sarah was wonderful -- always cheerful and upbeat (except for one moment when she discovered she'd lost one of her magic beans -- we had the whole line [okay, not the whole line, but several hundred people looking for it -- no luck). After awhile -- around midnight -- staffers appeared and started handing out copies of a congressional resolution on President Reagan -- very nice, but I was more impressed that they were there so late at night.

About a half hour later, Joy discovered they were handing out coffee -- she was in heaven.

We talked about his final address to us -- the letter announcing he had Alzheimer's and how, even then, he was both gracious and full of hope:

In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

A little later, we saw Mark, a friend from church and a staffer for Sen. Rick Santorum -- it was nice to see a friendly face, but (repeating myself), I was very impressed that he was there so late at night to help people out.

Many were there handing out water. Those in line were chatting, reading, talking on cell phones; my wife called a good friend in Seattle at midnight. The heat never broke -- before we had to shut off the phones we called weather -- the temperature was 81 (after midnight), high humidity, no breeze.

Finally, we made it through security -- two different checkpoints. Everyone was very friendly (except for the people in the main screening tent -- not sure what was wrong there).

We still had a longer wait on the West porch of the Capitol Building -- beautiful views. I remember a pre-9/11 world when I actually used to run a lap around here in the mornings before work -- very early, I used to observe Newt's Mustang convertible parked on the East side. It was the first time my three youngest had been up there.

The line would move swiftly, but come to a complete standstill every now and then. One of the officers explained that at the changing of the guard every half-hour the viewing was halted. He said it took about 7 minutes.

Soon we were nearing the entrance and I pointed out that this was where the President stood when he was first sworn in -- the first president to face America, instead of facing Europe.

Time to wake Joe up -- he did not want to wake up. Joy pushed the stroller while I tried to get Joe to stand up (and wake up). Emmie went with her Mom; Sarah went with Sarah (from La.). Jared and Tyler (from La.) carried the stroller up the stairs to the Rotunda and we all climbed the stairs...

Then we were there, in the chambers. There was the flag draped over the box that held the shell of the Man. I would like to tell you of how I wept and prayed and cherished my memories of Reagan and observed the majesty of the event and all that happened, but I was a parent wanting to ensure my son understood these things. How well I succeeded? Time will tell.

We lingered as long as possible -- in the back -- and left too soon.

Farewell.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

* * *

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Photo source: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Arlo K. Abrahamson.
Text from Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!

Some Dunce! The following passage is from William Greider's Secrets of the Temple (a book about the Federal Reserve). You may recall (Reagan critic) Greider ran an embarassing "expose" of David Stockman, President Ronald W. Reagan's director of OMB, in the Atlantic magazine. Please pay attention to the final paragraph in particular.

Ronald Reagan, ironically, had a surer grasp of the subject [monetary policy] than any of his senior political advisers -- ironic because, in most realms of government policy, Reagan was a passive executive, with a weak grasp of details. He often left both the particulars and the strategic choices to his circle of advisers. They worked out a consensus among themselves, then brought the decision to him for ratification. When it came to money, however, Reagan knew what he wanted and expressed it forcefully.
"Most of the major players in the White House -- Baker, Meese, Mike Deaver -- don't know much about monetary policy," one of their colleagues explained. "The President probably has the most developed understanding of any of them."
David Stockman elaborated the point:

The President has two metaphors he uses when he talks about monetary policy. One is "zooming the money supply," which meant money was too easy. "Pulling the string" meant it was too tight. The President doesn't have a lot of things right in his head. He is kind of selective about what facts he takes in, but one thing he really believes in deeply is anti-inflation. He used the same cliche over and over: "Inflation is like radioactivity. Once it starts, it spread and grows."

Ronald Reagan was a monetarist himself. That label had never been publically applied to him in all his years as a candidate (perhaps because most political reporters were oblivious to the distinction), but Reagan's campaign bromides clearly reflected his monetarist perspective. Inflation originated with the "printing press" money at the Federal Reserve, he said, and in order to brake inflation, the government must halt its excessive production of money.

This was the one thing that the President knows in detail [Stockman said]. He could take a piece of paper and draw a line tracing the money-supply growth all the way back to the sixties. He had one thing that he knew and he always made the same point about the Federal Reserve. The money supply "zoomed" in every election year -- flooding the economy with money," he said -- and then, after the election, the Fed "pulled the string" and the economy went into recession.

--Greider Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country (1987) at 329.

[BTW, the title of this post refers to Clark Clifford calling President Reagan an "amiable dunce." I am recalling Winston Churchill's address to the Canadian Parliament (December 30, 1941) where he noted some in France who said if England fought on, she would have "her neck wrung like a chicken" in three weeks. Churchill observed "Some chicken! Some neck!" Hear Churchill here in real audio.]

More Here is more on the Clifford quote from this site:

Only once in his long career did he step out of character, and that was when he referred to President Ronald Reagan as an "amiable dunce." The remark was made at a private dinner party but, unknown to Clifford, a tape recording had been made so that the hostess, who was ill with the flu and unable to come to her own party, could hear what was expected to be some sparkling conversation. Excerpts from that tape were published out of context.

Clifford explained his remark this way: "In the fall of 1982, President Reagan said he would cut taxes by $750 billion, substantially increase defense expenditures and balance the budget in the 1984 fiscal year. Those were public promises. I made a comment that if he would accomplish that feat, he'd be a national hero. If, on the other hand, it did not work out after such a specific and encouraging promise and commitment, I thought the American people would regard him as an amiable dunce."

Given the opportunity some time later to retract his remark, however, Clifford declined to do so.

We will be there. Right now, I'm figuring we will be in line for about 12 hours, so we're planning on taking a night shift so as to be out of the sun. This wasn't any president, however, this was Ronald Reagan.

Venus Rising. If you haven't heard already, tomorrow will be the "the transit of Venus." Venus will cross the face of the sun, the first since 1882, alas, not visible in the most western portion of the US.

Information here.

From the Movies

From Back to the Future (1985), to be exact:

[Dr. Emmet Brown is doubting Marty McFly's story about that he is from the future]

Dr. Emmett Brown: Then tell me, "future boy", who is president in the United States in 1985?
Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Ronald Reagan? The actor?
[chuckles in disbelief]
Dr. Emmett Brown: Who's Vice President? Jerry Lewis?
Marty McFly: What?
Dr. Emmett Brown: I suppose Jane Wyman is the first lady. And Jack Benny is secretary of the treasury. I've had enough practical jokes for one evening. Good night, future boy.

From the Internet Movie Database

Thank you, Mr. President -- God Bless you, sir.

Goodbye, greatness. William Manchester has gone to glory. My title was stolen from the Arizona Republic. Selections. Status of his last book.

Selective Censorship. Bowing to pressure by the AC(ensorship)LU, Los Angeles County supervisors voted to remove a "tiny gold cross on the county seal . . . it rather than defend it against a threatened ACLU lawsuit." LATimes (reg. req'd).

Curiously, they left alone the image of "the Goddess Pomona cradling an armful of fruit. . ." which takes up about 20% of the seal.

Not to mention the sacred cow in the bottom right quadrant.

Why I Stay. The Episcopal Church USA has left the Anglican Communion and the Christian Church, yet my own Church, Truro Church, still calls to the ECUSA, seeking godly repentance. As much as I think we should shake the ECUSA dust off our sandals, I stay at Truro because it is such a wonderful fellowship. We get great teaching and exhortation from Martyn, Richard Crocker, and Marshall Brown. The fellowship is strong, as is the worship. Each of the Sunday School teachers our kids have had, Mr. Tom and Mrs. Dearborn, most recently are incredible. And Catherine Crocker, who leads my oldest daughter's small group, is a true apostle.

Here is an excerpt from Rev. Brown's recent sermon

There is a lot of money to be made speculating about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are the authors of the wildly popular Left Behind series. To date, LaHaye and Jenkins have sold over 50 million books, spawned a less-than-stellar movie, and have become two of the most popular speakers and authors in evangelical Christianity. The franchise includes 12 best-selling novels, tapes, CDs, graphic novels and even a kid’s series of 26 books.

Before Jenkins and LaHaye, Hal Lindsay had cornered the market on prophecy in the 1970s with his book The Late Great Planet Earth and its many and varied sequels. The bottom line in all of these books is that Jesus will come back unexpectedly one day, whoosh all the Christians off the planet, and then all hell will break loose on the earth, while you and I sit back and watch from a safe distance, at a box-seat in heaven. Many Christians seem to love the idea that the trials of this world can be escaped with one rapturous pass of the Heavenly Hoover, sucking them up into the great beyond.

It’s the stuff great thrillers are made of. Good wins out in the end and enemies are left smoldering in the ashes. It’s no wonder that these prophets are making a profit. But here’s the question we might want to consider before we start pulling the earthly ejection handles: Is this really the point of the whole witness of Scripture? That we simply fly off to heaven in the end and too bad for you if you’re not on the plane? Is that all there is? No validation to this life other than as a torturous preparation for the life to come?

Is the primary focus of our Christian life to simply get off this third rock from the sun before it’s blown away? Maybe. But consider this: If the Christian life is merely about going to heaven, then why is the Bible so thick? Why does it take 66 books to give us all that stuff about loving neighbors and enemies, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, being stewards of the environment, and taking up our crosses? Is it merely something to do while we await the trumpet sound, or is there more to it than that?

The answer to that one is a freebie. It’s time for many who follow Christ get their noses out of the novel and get back into the Book. Yes indeed, you better believe Jesus certainly is "coming soon." No doubt about it. Not to take us away, but to take over!

As they say, you should read the whole thing.

I'm sure it's nuanced. The AP has a story titled, "Kerry Unveils U.S. Defense Plan in TV Ad." Apparently, jfk can explain his defense policy in a 30 second ad.

Sounds about right.

Moving Left, slowly. At the Great White North's Anglican General Synod, the delegates reject the radical choice for the Big Kahuna post, Bishop Ralph Spence, and go with "blessings" advocate Andrew Hutchison. News here.

Advise and Consent, III. If there were a Stevens resignation, President Bush could pick a nominee from the staff of Harvard Law School. The person I am thinking of joined up with Law Professor Lawrence Tribe to oppose the U.S. Navy's bombardment of Vieques and signed on to the Harvard Living Wage Campaign along with John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, and Michael Moore. She has written approvingly of Eleanor Roosevelt and the United Nations.

According to the Boston Globe,

Alan Dershowitz, [her] Harvard Law School colleague and a supporter of abortion rights and gay marriage, described her as "one of the most brilliant and effective and moderate voices at the law school."

"If a woman could be made pope, she'd be my candidate," Dershowitz said.

Yet, Pope John Paul II has selected her on a number of occasions to serve the Roman Catholic Church. In 1995, she led a delegation of the Holy See, at the United Nations Women's Conference in Beijing. [Article on her experiences.] This year, she was asked to head the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

She serves on the President's Bioethics council and writes frequently for First Things magazine.

So what are her drawbacks? Well, she's 65, therefore would not have a long career (as has Justice Stevens who is in his 29th year). Oh, yeah, she's a real Catholic, which means she would put people like Kennedy and Kerry in a real pickle. She's eminently qualified and no right-winger, but, she's pro-life.

Her name is Mary Ann Glendon and she'd be my first choice for the Court.

Advise and Consent, Part II. First, I think Judge Hinojosa, whom I mentioned below, would be a good choice -- especially, if President Bush wants to appoint an Hispanic Justice (I think the case for Benjamin Cardozo as the first Hispanic Justice is a good one. Can we settle for "the first Latino Supreme Court Justice?"). Another alternative would be Emilio M. Garza, a retired Marine.

Nevertheless, I think President Bush could walk in to John Kerry and Ted Kennedy's back yard and come out with a nominee who would have the endorsements of liberals like Larry Tribe and Allen Dershowitz, not to mention the support of folks like Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback.

Oh, and Pope John Paul II...

Tomorrow I'll tell you who.

Advise and Consent, Part I. I believe that Justice John Paul Stevens will announce his retirement from the Supreme Court soon -- by the end of the term in June. Stevens is 84 and has served on the Court for 29 years. He is the most liberal member of the current court, but nevertheless, a Republican from a strong Democrat party town, Chicago. See, Manaster, Illinois Justice: The Scandal of 1969 and the Rise of John Paul Stevens [review] (on the other hand, many bios note, as does this one, "he had never been active in party politics.")

Part of my thinking is shaped by Steven's Republican ties and part are shaped by the knowledge of his abilities as a strategist (namely, he is a world-class bridge player). If you put yourself in Steven's shoes, when would be a good time to turn over the reins?

I believe it would be this summer. This would allow a Republican president to name a successor, yet force him to go "left" to get a "moderate" through. The thinking being, if Bush nominates a Robert Bork-style conservative, it might galvanize the opposition and tie up the Senate in a heated, distracting debate before the elections. Moreover, if the first candidate is rejected, it could give Kerry a chance to name a successor. Applying a "game theory," this might force Bush to choose someone more moderate, say, Ricardo Hinojosa [interview], thinking it would minimize the opposition and guarantee a less objectionable nomininee not be chosen.

Yet, is this what Bush would choose to do? Is this what he should do?

More later...

Breathtaking. I got up early and drove down to the WWII Memorial – it is very impressive. The word that kept coming to mind was “breathtaking.” (Yes, that’s not a word normally associated with a monument or memorial, but it is fitting for this one.) The Memorial conveys strength, commitment, sacrifice, compassion, liberty, and victory, even without reading the words. [picture]

I was there before sunrise and there were already at least 50 people there. Many joggers pausing to reflect, but also some families were there.

There is a memorial pillar for each state and territory which sent men to fight; interestingly, they are not in alphabetic order or any apparent order which I could discern. I sought out the Iowa pillar to remember my Mother’s brothers, William and Robert, it is right next to the Pacific archway (on the left as you are facing out) and next to the California pillar.

Beneath it is a fountain reflecting the names of some of the great battles of the Pacific, Midway, Guadalcanal and the Solomons, Saipan, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa. I touched the word “Tarawa” and thought of the men hung up on the reefs with the freak hundred-year tide.

So many battles, so many men.

This memorial is truly a worthy monument to the men who gave their lives, to those who fought with them, and to the citizens of this nation who all came together to fight against tyranny. Moreover, it’s placement on the Mall is precisely correct, between monuments to the Father of our Nation and the President who led the nation through its greatest conflict and gave birth to the idea conceived in the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal. Those who gave of themselves; this Nation in the 20th century, came together to bring that ideal to the world at large.

This is a special place.

More.

On the other hand, Ben hated it -- calling it a "dog park"

It is clumsy and bureaucratic. It has no classic line or form. It is as graceless and hollow as the lobby of a modern governmental building.

I strongly disagree.

Bloggie Heaven. No I haven't been sent to Bloggie Heaven, nor even Bloggie purgatory -- maybe limbo. Actually, I can't believe I haven't been back here for 3 weeks. This was unintended.

Three weeks ago, work was a bear -- I was putting in 15+ hours a day -- except those days I took off to bring down some trees and put up a back fence. Altogether, I took down 24 trees (most small) and will be splitting wood all summer long.

Two weeks ago, I had another trip to New Mexico -- Albuquerque, Santa Ana, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas. Best food in NM can be found at Sadie's -- the carne adovada is incredible.

This past week has been a period of just plain catching up.

I should be back up to speed by next week.

Books of Influence: The Comic Book Years. Now, I don't want to mislead you into into thinking that I was an intellectual child -- far from it. My favorite reading was comic books. Yet there are some stories that really stood out and I still think about from time-to-time. For example:

In Green Lantern #61, the story "Thoroughly Modern Mayhem" is about the evil in us all. Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott returns home to find his house ransacked -- it's the final straw, so he uses his powers as the Green Lantern to wipe all evil from the face of the earth. Every single person on the Earth vanishes, including Scott. Hal Jordan, the "main" Green Lantern goes looking for his buddy Scott and finds Scott's Earth depopulated. He has his ring take him to Alan Scott and he finds Scott on an alternate world, along with everyone from earth, in a state of suspended animation. Jordan wakes Scott and they realize what a mistake they've made and send everyone back.

In Superman # 236, "Planet of the Angels" Superman is given a challenge by 3 angels to cross the gates of hell and rescue Batman, Jimmy Olson, and Lois Lane. Ultimately, he realizes that the three angels are intergalactic thugs and the three devils are intergalactic police. Moral -- appearances are deceiving. Or, for the biblically literate, Satan comes disguised as an angel of light.

Books of Influence I, Childhood. Thanks to Cap'n Yip, I've been thinking back to those books from childhood which have had an influence on me. First and foremost, a book I still own and look at from time-to-time, was the Time-Life book on Mathematics by David Bergamini. This book introduced me to Zeno's paradox, the Klein bottle, Fermat's Last Theorem, probability, perspective, calculus, numbers and showed that mathematics is more than just accounting.