The Latest Sign 'O the Apocalypse.

The Associated Press is reporting that former Alaska governor and conservative media creation Sarah Palin has inked a deal for a new reality show on The Learning Channel to be called "Sarah Palin's Alaska." The press release states "The series tells stories of some of Alaska's unique features as seen through the eyes of its former governor." The former governor was quoted as saying, "I look forward to working with Mark (Burnett, the producer) to bring the wonder and majesty of Alaska to all Americans," in a statement released by Discovery, which holds the rights to the series. Burnett is known for producing the reality shows "Survivor" and "The Apprentice."

We at The Vagabond Way are eagerly looking forward to this series and have a few suggestions for episode titles and content. We would also like to encourage our readers (all four or five of you) to submit their ideas in the comments section below.

The Vagabond Way recommendations:

"The place where I can see Russia from" - detailing the Palin family back yard/early warning post.

"Tina Fey is goin' down" - one on one grudge match action.

"The Palin family moose massacre" - a heartwarming tale for hunting enthusiasts.

"Wasilla nightlife" - may not be enough material for a 30 minute show.

What do you guys think?

Unforseen Consequences

The mob is a sort of bear; while your ring is through its nose, it will even dance under your cudgel; but should the ring slip, and you lose your hold, the brute will turn and rend you.
- Jane Porter

It is the proof of a bad cause when it is applauded by the mob.
- Seneca (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)


An open letter to the Republican National Committee:

Demagoguery is exhilarating, isn't it? There is nothing quite like the feeling of holding a crowd in your sway, feeding their anger and fear, controlling their collective emotions and inciting them to do your bidding. You start to feel that, with this kind of influence and power, you can accomplish anything. The crowd worships you, repeats your words, chants your slogans, denigrates your enemies and exerts your will. Your exhortations alone can trigger it's power, manifest it's menace. Yes, with the masses behind you, all of your aims will come to fruition . . .

As much as I hate to intrude on your little daydream, I just want to remind you of the reality of your situation. If you continue down this road, it will end badly. Not just for your organization, but for all of us.

Consider a few examples from history:

Alcibiades: Ancient Greek demagogue, political opportunist. His oratorical skills and ability to play upon the base emotions of the crowd allowed him to lead, at various times, Athens, Sparta and Persia to military disaster and famine. He died when his house was surrounded and set on fire by a Spartan mob, causing him to flee the flames . . . into the daggers of the waiting arsonists.

Maximilien Robespierre: French revolutionary, leader of the Committee of Public Safety. Despite a reign of terror that resulted in the formal execution of 16,000 French subjects and the mob lynching of perhaps 40,000 more, he failed to stabilize the French economy and raise the standard of living. He was executed in 1794. The political climate he helped to foster virtually guaranteed the death of the fledgling democracy and fostered the military dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte, leading to a further 20 years of war.

Adolph Hitler: Rose to power in Germany by exploiting the ethnic and nationalistic prejudices of the populace. Upon his appointment as Chancellor, Erich Ludendorff was prompted to remark to Paul Von Hindenburg (President of the Wiemar Republic and the man who appointed Hitler), "By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich, you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action."

You see, at some point, the crowd that you incite, the mob whose fears and prejudices you have played upon, will expect results. Not just legislative results, but real world, "my life is better now" results. How are you going to deliver that? What is your plan? Where is the vision? Thus far, all we've seen is obstructionism, scare tactics and invective. What are you going to do when the mob you've created comes to you for results and your basket is empty? What will that mob do when they realize they've been used and manipulated for cynical gain? What will happen when they understand your true agenda?

You are creating a monster you cannot possibly control. By defining cooperation and compromise as "treason to the conservative cause", by encouraging your own fringe radicals to set the course for your party, you are poisoning the political process and popularizing hate. You have driven all of us who value moderation and compromise out of the party. What can anyone possibly stand to gain in the end?

Pulitzer Prize winning author Timothy Egan writes of this topic much more elegantly than I. His opinion can be found here.

This is a dangerous precedent to set, a perilous road to travel. It will have consequences none of us can foresee. Please stop while you still can.

Winners and losers

I was just watching the coverage of President Obama signing the health care reform bill into law. I have to admit that my relief at its passing is tempered by a large amount of ambivalence regarding the entire process that led to this historic event. I wonder what the price to this country will be, not in terms of money, but in terms of the endemic unwillingness to allow reason and compromise into the debate. I don't think I've ever seen this amount of divisiveness,or such rabid, bestial behavior on both sides of the issue. To be certain, there have been polarizing issues faced by this country's legislators from the very beginning. Independence from England, the place of slavery in this country, isolationism, taxation, civil rights and separation of powers are just a few of the issues that have caused deep political rifts and spawned epic debate and, eventually, sweeping change for this country. Is it just me, or does this one feel way over the top in terms of ridiculous hyperbole, race baiting, fear mongering and hate? How did we come to this? Who is responsible? How do we make it stop?

It's all too easy to apportion blame, to point the righteous finger and condemn those with whom you don't agree. As any reader of these posts can see, I am as guilty as anyone. I see examples of the most ridiculous opinions being stated as fact, pronouncements of impending doom from both sides of the aisle, and I cannot help but ridicule and belittle the hubris and sheer numskullery I see and hear. I count on my readers to recognize the sarcasm and, when they have a differing viewpoint, to express it. I do my best to consider their views and respond accordingly. I recognize and expect that not everyone will agree. I readily acknowledge their right to their own viewpoint. The sharp point of my sarcasm and scorn is saved for those who revel in ignorance, parrot the spews of pundits, engage in stereotypes and reject independent thought. Until recently I assumed that, media hype and punditry aside, most of us who possess the power of thought did the same.

That is, until yesterday. Yesterday I realized a corner had been turned when a person I've had a friendship with for 12 years allowed our frequent email correspondence to turn ugly. Though this person (a highly educated, highly decorated retired military officer and published historian)and I have widely differing views on politics, we have kept a spirited debate on that subject friendly, and have discussed history, golf, literature and other diverse subjects warmly. Until yesterday. The exchange yesterday rapidly became dysfunctional, insulting and disturbing. This highly educated, intelligent person began to spout the same hate filled invective you can hear nightly on a certain "fair and balanced" network (or, to be fair, the other network affiliated with the evil software giant as well). Read out of the moment and with no context, these emails are laughable and a little sad. In the moment and in full context, they become tragic. A noble force for reason and analysis has surrendered to fear and hate. A scholar dedicated to investigation and unbiased fact has abandoned both. His example is the most glaring to me, but he is far from alone. I speak to my friends and acquaintances and hear varying degrees of the same malaise. Many of us take the easy route, no longer gather facts before forming opinions, surrender reason to hype and spout whatever our favorite pundit says. There is no discussion, negotiation or compromise. Decisions are made based on ideology, not practicality. As we watch, or read the news, we are indoctrinated, not educated.

How did it come to this? How can we make it stop? History teaches us that stagnation, inertia and partisan deadlock in government leads to revolution, anarchy and tyranny, often in a repeating cycle. The Greek City States, The Roman Republic, Ptolemaic Egypt, Bourbon France, Tsarist Russia, Wiemar Germany, the communist bloc and many more governments have failed with disastrous results for these reasons (among others). Is this our future? Is this how it starts? The surest way to destroy anything is to be indifferent to it. Too many of our elected officials have become indifferent to effective governance. They have surrendered to partisanship and become prisoners of the radical fringe. If we, as voters, allow this attitude and behavior to stand then we too are guilty of indifference. Republican Romans felt that their society was immune from tyranny and monarchy because they had cast out their monarch at the founding of the republic. The Roman Senate allowed itself to become hopelessly mired in partisan politics and abdicated any kind of role in the effective governance of the city and its possessions. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus showed them the price of that conceit.

I wonder, are we laying the groundwork for our own Augustus? Will we see the warning signs in time?

Hiatus over . . .

Hello fellow (and very missed) travelers. Vagabond's apologies for the long time span between posts. Just a few other things going on in life like, starting a new job, moving and, oh yes, the news that Mrs. Vagabond is expecting our first Li'l Traveler. As I've been in my self imposed sojourn, the world has moved on and portentous events have transpired. I'll have more in depth later, but I thought I'd start with a bit of a chuckle at the expense of those lovable, right wing fanatics who hate them some commies! Much hilarity can be found here. We'll talk again soon . . .

Whiffs, shanks and duffs

What in the hell is Tiger Woods thinking? Here are the facts: at 2:25 a.m., the highest paid and , arguably, the most recognized athlete on the planet is involved in a single car accident within feet of his house. Woods was rendered unconscious, had to be pulled out of the back window of his SUV by his wife, suffered lacerations to his face and required a trip to the hospital in the back of an ambulance (a neighbor called 911), where he was treated and released. Other casualties include the fire hydrant Woods ran over and the tree Woods crashed into, no word on the extent of their injuries or prognosis. The local police do not believe alcohol was involved and are treating the incident as a traffic accident and not a domestic dispute. The airbags in Woods SUV did not deploy, which would lead one to assume that the accident happened at a speed under 33 m.p.h. (they should deploy at a higher speed) or that the airbags somehow malfunctioned. Local law enforcement authorities have stated that no charges will be filed. The Florida Highway Patrol is conducting a routine investigation (though the accident happened outside their jurisdiction, law requires them to investigate) and Woods has three times refused to give a statement. Woods has also released a statement on his website calling the accident "his fault alone" and praising his wife's courage while offering no substantive comment on the causes and asking everyone to understand that he, and his family have a right to privacy.

Let me get this straight . . . Tiger gets in his car at 2:30 in the morning, drives about 200 feet not exceeding 33 m.p.h., loses control, wipes out a fire hydrant, crashes into a tree, cuts his face, knocks himself out forcing his wife to pull him out of the car after breaking the back window with a golf club and has his face sewn up and the local ER and he is not drunk. OK, I'm with you up to now. What I can't understand is how El Tigre expects the world to not go apeshit trying to track down more information. There could very well be a reasonable explanation for all of this. That, however, is NOT what people will assume. Conspiracy theories will abound, lurid stories will be twittered and blogged and, in the absence of any information from Woods to the contrary, everyone will assume the worst. Especially since he has refused to give a statement to the police. If Woods is acting on the advice of a publicist, that person should be fired. Tiger and his family may have a right to privacy, but no reasonable person in this day and age expects a mega-watt celebrity to get it.

Tiger, please, get real! Mark McGwire tried the "no comment" defense and look where it got him. You can either shape the discussion of this event yourself, or let the likes of TMZ and the National Enquirer do it for you. The facts simply don't add up here and folks know that something is being left out of the story. Maybe you were just out for a box of snuggies and a gatorade, got on your cell phone while driving and . . . ok, I don't really believe that, but it is possible. The point is, it appears as though you are hiding something and the muckrakers of the world will dig until they find it. Your chance to control this thing ended the moment 911 was called and it became part of the public record. Somewhere out there is a hospital worker who needs extra cash, a state trooper who is offended at your lack of cooperation or a neighbor with a video camera. The yellow, or perhaps even legitimate, journalists will find them and offer them money, or a sympathetic ear and get their story. The privacy you're trying to hold on to is already gone. Whatever the situation is, fess up and explain. We all make mistakes, act stupid or behave recklessly at times. It's part of the human condition. Yes, there are those who will condemn, but I believe most will forgive. Your window of opportunity is quickly closing. For the sake of the good you do in this world because of your popularity, wealth and charitable works I hope you act before it is too late.

H0M0 vaccinations for all

Evidently, I'm one of the five living human beings in the western world who didn't know who in the hell Adam Lambert was before he locked lips and simulated oral sex with his male keyboardist during his performance on the American Music Awards. I still can't claim to care about most things Adam Lambert, his music isn't for me, You won't see me dressing that way any time soon, I couldn't give less of a damn about American Idol alumni, etc. What does interest me is the unbelievable amount of breast tearing, wailing and teeth gnashing being generated by a stage performance. Pundits, politicians, television networks, sponsors, bloggers, facebookers, tweeters and my aunt Marge all seem to have decided that a same sex kiss is tantamount to the coming of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Pardon me for asking this but, what's the big damn deal? What is everyone worried about? Take, for instance, the reaction of the Parent's Television Council. You know these folks, poster children for tolerance all. A quick look at their web site reveals that their advisory board and board of directors are chock full of 50's entertainers, bible belt zealots and denizens of the right. Peopled with such names as Billy Ray Cyrus, Pat Boone, republican lobbyist Marybeth Hicks and William Bennett, the council is a true melting pot of far right hypocrisy. Their press release concerning the broadcast is a masterful blending of "holier than thou" and overt threat for any commercial sponsor involved in the broadcast (read here). In perusing the rest of the releases slamming television programming, I find that the PTC dislikes most of the programs I am a fan of. Comfort, at last! Equally critical but more craven are a host of networks and sponsors who are raising white flags in greater numbers than Iraqi conscripts. Good Morning America and The View are just two television programs who have cut appearances by Lambert or vetoed discussion of the topic.

To quote that notorious purveyor of television violence, cross dressing and prejudice, Bugs Bunny, "what's all the hubbub, . . . Bub?" Are these folks afraid our impressionable youth will see this and . . . what? Want to do it too? Ask mommy and daddy what the funny looking man on T.V. is doing? For all of you parents out there who use the T.V. as a substitute parent, I would respectfully submit you've got better things to worry about. Here's another tip: homosexuality isn't contagious and it's not passed to impressionable, red blooded American youth by racy, weirdly dressed counter culture types either (although I think I just described the plot of several new teenage vampire movies and series!). If your child engages in same sex erotic activity, it's because they're gay and not for any other reason. There's no vaccine they can take or course of treatment (brainwashing)they can participate in to get rid of it, because it's not a damn disease. Deal with it the same way you should if your child asks you an uncomfortable question about what they just saw on T.V. Have a flippin conversation! Be a parent, not a services provider. Better yet, pay attention to what your child is doing and refuse them the right to watch programs that don't fit in with your family values.

One last point for all of those who believe they're doing a public service by condemning Mr. Lambert's act in the most public possible fashion. You are all playing right in to his openly gay, glam rocker's hands. He MEANT to generate controversy and loud complaints. He's a performer and wants as much exposure as he can get, no matter what form it takes. He wants people like me, who don't watch American Idol or follow the latest trends in music to know who he is. It generates millions of dollars worth of record sales and endorsements for him and his record label. It generates meaningful conversation on discrimination against the gay and lesbian community. Look for the book deal next! Well done, folks, well done.

Fear and loathing

Fellow travelers, for me it's no surprise the health care reform debate is grabbing headlines and creating controversy. This is perhaps the most far reaching and important legislation many of us will see in our lifetime. The health care reform bills working their way through our legislature have the potential to effect every American citizen in one form or another. Millions of Americans who have no access to meaningful health care would be covered. Millions more who are paying extortionate health insurance rates would see their burdens eased. This program would not be without cost. Let's face it: we will see taxes raised in a variety of forms if this bill passes. These are all valid points and should be raised in the public debate. There are valid arguments to be made on both sides of this issue. The eventual form any law would take should be open to vigorous debate and end in bi-partisan compromise. Sadly, that will not be the case with this legislation. The Grand Old Party, the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan, has surrendered to it's fringe elements and lobbyists. Republican politicians have made a conscious choice to obstruct, rather than to join in this momentous process.

American politics have always been a contest between conflicting interest groups. Fundamental disagreement between political parties on many issues is to be expected and, in large part, is good for the country. That disagreement should foster the debate that keeps our government healthy and vigorous. Where then, is the alternative plan from the distinguished gentlemen of the right? Where is the Republican vision for the national health care system? Where is their proposed law, detailing the method by which we should, "promote the general welfare," as the preamble to the constitution so quaintly puts it?

As we all know, there isn't one. Rather than share an opposing vision, Republicans have closed ranks with the status quo. Their choice is to condemn the poor, the elderly and the disadvantaged to poor health, quality of life and increased risk of death. Unemployment rates are at a generational high. More American citizens than ever are in desperate need of health care reform. Doctors are prevented from treating patients the proper way because their decisions are controlled by accountants working for health insurance companies. Americans who could be saved, who could enjoy greater quality of life are being abandoned at the expense of large corporations with deep pockets who can pay for things like lobbyists and congressional junkets, but won't pony up for more frequent testing and treatment.

Not that our brothers on the right have been idle, mind you. Their level of activity has been frenzied, to say the least. They have been busy sowing fear and hatred with television appearances, conference calls and web commercials castigating moderates who feel the bill should at least see the Senate floor for debate. RNC Chairman Michael Steele defended this approach by saying the health care debate has been, "anything but open . . .anything but fair." This from the party who has threatened to filibuster the moment they are allowed to speak on the floor, quashing any hope for meaningful debate.

The sad fact for all Americans is, there are undoubtedly ways to improve this bill, to make it more efficient, less costly. There are undoubtedly lawmakers on the Republican side who could help to shape the debate in a meaningful way and bring these ways to light. They won't, though. They have all decided that party loyalty means more that loyalty to constituents, to the American people they have sworn to represent and to the American system of governance as a whole. They prefer to use the tactics of fear, threat, innuendo and exclusion. Their hypocrisy is mind numbing, but then, maybe that's what they're after. Perhaps they seek to drone on, spread fear, play on the fears of the under informed and delay until this whole messy idea goes away and they can accept another fat campaign donation from their corporate bed-mates. Here's hoping the American people holds every one of them accountable in the aftermath and display their loathing at the ballot box.