Lie de Jour

Commitments to books – two are complete, one is on an early February deadline – have meant little attention to this personal blog.

I’ve been thinking. I keep seeing and hearing things that are just absolutely wrong. It drives me crazy, and that’s a particular problem in a presidential election year.

They’re frauds. Some big, some small. Lies. Some big, some small.

So, I think I’ll launch a “Lie de Jour.” I’m not going to argue at length – if you believe some of this crap, well, you’ll probably just keep believing it.

And don’t take that “de Jour” thing literally. Here’s the first.

Yesterday, the New York Times trumpeted, with photos and with about the front page territory they gave to 9-11, Iraq Vets Charged with 121 Murders.

Fine, but do the numbers. That’s about the same proportion as the general population, and one fifth - yes 20% - of the homicide rate for the demographic most similar to Iraq vets - males 18-34. It’s “front page stuff” why?

A sidebar says Iraq Vets at fault in 25 traffic accident deaths. That’s also way less than the expected incidence in a similar population. What makes that rate a story?

Has the great paper run out of “...news that’s fit to print?” Has its research failed? Math challenged? An agenda? Or perhaps they’re just plain stupid.

There’s the lie – or stupidity – of the day.

Voting and Bowling

But, Will it do any Good?

New Hampshire votes tomorrow. Obama and McCain seem to be leading. Could we really get two pretty attractive candidates? That’ll seem like the millennium. It seems too soon, but here we are, like it or not, already deep into another national election. Those two make me hopeful...but then I realize that in the end they’ll just have to deal with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Bowling with the Bear

Murphy and I are going to settle in for the football game this evening. We’re ready to cook up a half dozen of the Bear’s Buffalo Wings (I don't need any more weight here, so that’ll be enough.)

Will the 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game from New Orleans’ Superdome be worth watching. Probably. There are plenty of story lines here. The good stuff includes Ohio State’s defense and LSU’s offense. On the list of the not-so-good there’s a suspect LSU defense and an anemic Ohio State offense.

Then there’s Ohio State’s odds-defying bowling record against the South Eastern Conference. Zero, zip, nada...and eight. My Suthren friends are fond of quoting such things. In that regard it’s too bad it’s not Michigan out there, they’re a pretty good 7-3 bowling against the same conference, and an impressive 23-5-1 in regular season games.

Christmas: Savoring the Memories

It was a quiet Christmas here in Salinas. There was no tree. There were no lights. Christmas dinner was cioppino, a fish stew originated by Italian fishermen sailing from the Monterey and San Francisco wharves in the early 1800’s.

I hadn’t recovered enough from Jeannie’s passing to shop, and there was none of that while she was in the hospital. It was the same with Christmas cards. We had plans to make our own again this year.

Still, it wasn’t as gloomy around here as all that sounds. There were calls from family and friends, and every day there were the Christmas and sympathy cards together in the mail box. My mother packed up krumkakke, sandbakkelse, and lefse – even threw in a stick of butter and some brown sugar – and overnighted the traditional Norwegian pastries to arrive Christmas eve. It did. All intact, too.

Before that I’d already decided that I was doing Jeannie no honor by ignoring Christmas, so I dug into the place where the season’s decor is stored. There, clamoring to get out, were her Christmas elves, little creatures that annually have helped us bake, straighten, and clean in preparation for the holiday. Well, I had to let them out, of course, along with the plush reindeer riding in the wooden sleigh and the mousie with the antlers tied to her head.

With our little elf friends scattered through the apartment, and the cards a few gifts arranged on the dining room table, it was almost festive. The cioppino was excellent (Murphy’s got the recipe). With the lefse...and sandbakkelse...and krumkakke, it became a quiet night in which some wonderful memories could be savored.

Christmas Day was consumed with work on a gift from Jeannie to those who loved her. After that’s done I’ll get to the cards of thanks for the kind thoughts and memorials so many of you sent.

I deeply appreciate the support of family and so many friends, and wish each and every one a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.