Another Sailor Slides Beneath the Waves

I’ve spent the greater part of today looking at pictures, sorting out memories. Memories of a person, not known outside of his own family and small circle of friends and acquaintances; a person who tried, and in my opinion succeeded, to get past a rough childhood and became a viable part of society.

He was born in post-WWII America, perhaps one of those “War’s over” babies, to a couple with some baggage and not a lot of resources. When the marriage faltered, then broke, he was placed in an orphanage because neither parent had the means to take care of him and his step-brother. After the father remarried, he took the young boy and his step-brother to live with his new wife and baby in a small town where hopefully they could become a family. It didn’t quiet work out like the picture-perfect 1950’s family.

There was not a lot of financial stability, and “back then” there were no social workers to check on the children and oversee the blending process. Mistakes were made by all involved, mistakes that would surface much later in revolt, distrust, and violence. 

Time, in it’s normal fashion, passed, and two more children were added to the family, and the step-brother left. The young boy became a teen-ager, and typical for rural families, worked on a ranch, raising cattle and hogs, driving a tractor and baling hay. He was not enchanted with high school, and ditched classes to spend time with friends. Those events generally ended with a “strapping” by his father, who in his own way wanted the boy to be a better person then he had himself been. (The father had never entered a high school.) As a teenager, he engaged in “pranks” of minor or major importance, and again, those that were caught ended with sad consequences. He had developed a few close friends, and they became, over time, inseparable in good and bad.

War had broken out in Korea, and the family’s nightly ritual was the evening news during dinner. “Better dead than red” was the father’s motto. The young man had gone to work for a local timber company, cutting trees to feed an ever-growing demand for wood to build homes for the post-WWII families. Fast-forward to the Vietnam conflict, and the draft. Certain he would be found 4-F during his physical, he and his two best friends went for the physical. All three passed, and all three joined up in the US Navy to avoid (they hoped) ground duty in Vietnam.

His father deserted the family in 1964, leaving the mother with four children, a stack of bills, and no money. The sailor sent a portion of his pay home each month to help with the family. His tours of duty saw a violence he could not imagine, and could not escape. Leave was at times difficult; he had learned to sleep with a k-bar under his pillow. The family was cautioned never to touch him while he slept, as he would react in an aggressive manner. He didn’t talk a lot about what he had seen, but he tried, during leaves, to be sure his siblings understood the world was not as safe as it seemed.

After his discharge from the navy, he drifted in and out of relationships, and in and out of his adopted family, never seeming able to create for himself a safe place. He finally settled in Florida, with a person that felt good, and established himself. He worked in several different industries, hampered by a lack of education, and always haunted by his past. His constant connection with his family was his step-mothers sister, she had long-before married the rancher he worked for as a youth.

I re-connected with my brother during a business trip to Florida in 2004. Over several trips, he told me of his life, and of his struggles. While I accept that his was only one side of the story, I came to understand him better. He gave me insight into the life he had, and I can only be grateful for his time on earth.

Harry Edward Hartman, Jr. passed on March 23, 2012, to a better life. May he rest in peace.

"You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through". Rosalynn Carter

About Last Night

It was great, really great! I can’t recall feeling so excited, renewed, and so positive after just a couple short hours. The attention was incredible! And just think: all without food or drink being used to get us together. You could legitimately state that it was even influenced by a Higher Power, as it was in part due to words spoken last Sunday.

No, “that” is not what I am referring to. I am referring to the larger-than-normal turnout at the Democratic Caucuses on Tuesday, March 13th, in Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune reported this morning that a room designed to hold 300 had over 500 in attendance. In the caucus I attended, the numbers were more than 4 times larger than any of the past decade’s turnouts. My precinct alone had 4 times its normal attendance. What factors could possibly have caused such a turnout? Being more than a little curious, I asked several of the new attendees why they had chosen to attend this year. There were two common responses; first, to be expected, is that the individual was tired of not having a voice in the selection of candidates; second, that there had been a letter, read in each of the last three Sundays, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints wished its members to take a more active role in the caucus of the party of their choice.

Of the former reason, one could reasonably predict people would more concerned than in the past regarding the political process in Utah. The past several years have seen an increase in disconnect between what the people want, and what our elected officials have passed into law. (The much ballyhooed open records law (GRAMA) that passed, was signed, then withdrawn after a huge public outcry; the argument over tuition “vouchers” for private schools, paid for by public school money; and the “no sex sex-ed” bill all come to mind.) Our state was redistricted without any attempt to listen to the voluminous, boisterous public input, by a legislature catering to the needs of the majority political party rather than the desires of the populace for local representation. Senator Bob Bennett was forced out by a group whose only desire was for a hard right-leaning senator rather than looking at the good moderate Senator Bennett had done for all of Utah. These are all good reasons for people to attend the caucus of their choice, and take active part in the selection of delegates to the county and state conventions, followed by active voter participation come Election Day.

The second group had different reasons and concerns. I heard from several people that “the Church says we need to get more involved, so that is why I am here.” One person commented, “I have always been a Democrat, but now I am told it’s ok if we participate. We need to move away from a 1-party state.” One wonders why it is “now” ok to participate, why “now” we need to move away from one-party control. The selection, and election, of our state and local law-makers needs the input of all citizens if the policies and laws are to be truly what is in the best interest of the governed. In my opinion, this is not something new, something that “now” needs to be addressed; this process should have been at the fore-front of the religious leaders since the state was created. Rule in any place by a single party only having token participation by a loyal opposition, is not rule of the peoples; it is rule by fiat, by ideology rather than rule by democracy. If in fact it was the statements from the Church leaders that induced these newcomers to take part in the process, I say thank you (to the Church) for making a point that was obviously heard regarding a citizen’s right & duty to participate. I also say, what took the Church so long to arrive at this point? What kept this life-long Democrat from participating before? I have no known answers to these questions.

As grandmother used to say, “The proof is in the pudding.” If these newly-enfranchised individuals follow through on last nights actions, and continue to grow the ranks and activities of the political parties in Utah, then a major good has been achieved. I can only hope that holds true.

"My Voice Doesn't Count"

For those who say “my voice doesn’t count”, here’s a new flash.: Forty-three (43) advertisers (as of 3/7/12) have pulled their advertisements off “The Rush Limbaugh Show” because of consumer demands.

AccuQuote Life Insurance, Allstate Insurance, AOL, Aquarium of the Pacific, Bare Escentuals, Bethesda Sedation Dentistry, Bonobos, Capital One, Carbonite, Cascades Dental, Citrix, Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Constant Contact, Cunningham Security, Freedom Debt Relief, Geico, Girl Scouts, Goodwill Industries, Hadeed Carpet, JCPenney, Legal Zoom, Matrix Direct, Netflix, Norway Savings Bank, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Philadelphia Orchestra, PolyCom, Portland Ovations, ProFlowers, Quicken Loans, Regal Assets, Reputation Rhino, RSVP Discount Beverage, Sears, Sensa, Service Magic, Sleep Train, Sleep Number, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Tax Resolution, Thompson Creek Windows, TurboTax and Vitacost.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73675.html#ixzz1oXS5Nhgf

We all have heard of Mr. Limbaugh’s comments, and thousands of consumers have reacted by asking/demanding that the companies who were his financial support stop advertising on his program, or they would take their business elsewhere. You may, or may not, have been one of the consumers that complained; that really does not matter for this discussion. What does matter, in my opinion, is that this power-the power to rapidly affect large, multi-national corporations- is much bigger than most of us accept. A “consumer voice” which, if you will, could be used for other salutory effects. Letters, emails, phone calls, social media- all were part of this rejection of nasty, gutter-level politics. 

This overwhelming vocalization was the effect of non-organized, grass-roots action.

Imagine now if “we the people” would get as fired up and start letting our so-called “elected officials” in federal, state and local governments know we are dissatisfied with the decisions they make while in office. People got upset, angry, and decided by damn to let their voices be heard, loud and clear. 

 Can we as citizens get as fired up, as angry about what is being done to us, to our country, our freedoms? Will we? More importantly, will you? You can make a difference, you can let your voice be heard. The time is now, and the need is urgent. This is OUR country, it is OUR government, and we need to make OUR voices heard.

Unless, of course, you are totally satisfied with the status quo.

Education vs Coal

My latest “Letter to the Editor” published in the Sale Lake Tribune March 3, 2012.

-SB31, which would have reduced class size in grades K-3 in our public schools, was killed in committee because, “It’s a good program, but it’s an unfunded mandate and in the future they’ll be back here asking us for money or there will be multitude of problems,” said Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan.
Well, here’s a possible solution: Fund the bill, using the money we will otherwise be throwing away to “take back” federal property in Utah. -

“This week, the Utah House passed a package of bills that demands that the federal government surrender ownership to the state of more than 30 million acres of federal land. If Congress fails to act on the demand, money has been set aside to initiate a lawsuit and permission granted to take other, undefined sovereign actions. The measures are intended to dismantle a national monument, free up trillions of dollars in oil, gas and coal reserves, and give the state authority to set conditions for the use of national parks.” (Salt lake Tribune, March 3, 2012) In a state strapped for cash, where is this money that has been “set aside” coming from? (My comment, not published)

Here’s some background information. Utah consists of, in round numbers, 54 million acres; more 30 million are owned by the United States Government, which pays no state property taxes. The most notable sections of US Government land are: Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capital Reef and Zion National Parks (a total of 837,910 acres); National Forest properties including: Ashley, Cache, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, Sawtooth, Uinta, and Wasatch-Cache National Forests (a total of 8.2 million acres). Utah is home to Hill Air Force Base, Dugway Proving Ground, the Toole Army Depot, and Utah Test and Training Range, numerous government buildings (including an IRS complex); additionally the BLM administers 29.9 million acres which includes the Grand Staircase National Monument (1.9 million Acres). In my opinion, it is this 1.9 million acres in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that creates the largest heartache for Utah legislatures.

In September 1996, President Bill Clinton (not well-liked in Utah), citing the Antiquities Act, established the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (as well as the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, in Arizona) while visiting Grand Canyon National Park. The Utah congressional delegation and the Utah Governor were only given 24 hours advance notice of President Clinton’s plan. At the heart of the issue was a planned exploration of coal resources (The Andalex Coal Mine) which would have created jobs and business in an economically distressed part of Utah. Environmentalists were concerned that many sites of value would be destroyed by the mining operations. Additionally, there was concern that air pollution created by the mining operations would sacrifice air quality over the Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands and Zion National Parks. (Since 2000, numerous dinosaur fossils have been found in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; one a new species Gryposaurus monumentensis and two ceratopsid (horned) species. All of these were found in the area that would have been impacted by the proposed Andalex mine.)

The arguments from both sides are understandable to the thinking individual. Environmentalists are concerned about the damage created by a strip mining operation (such as Andalex proposed); the deterioration of air quality over our National Parks, and the collateral damage of heavy equipment rolling over roads not designed for such use. The Andalex plan had not discussed recovery of the land after mining, the disposition of overburden, or the damage to roads. Neither the state or the proposed mine had put into place any plans for infrastructure improvements, such as housing, schools, water and waste facilities, or noise and pollution abatements. Having lived and worked in a “boom town” environment (Rock Springs, Wyoming); and having studied and seen firsthand the damage done to “boom town” areas, I do understand the concerns raised by the environmental side.

I also understand the economic issues. My family has visited these areas many times, and I have worked with utilities in the area. The promise of good-paying jobs, the lure of new businesses, new opportunities, and increased property values, does have a high luster to people in the area. The proposed Andalex mine would definitely create a great, fast wealth for the communities in the area. Additional oil and gas exploration in the areas would only expand the growth, and the potential revenues, from both personal and taxation-value positions. Certainly, there are arguments on both sides that need to be discussed. Definitely, the mineral resources on the Kaiparowits Plateau should be open for discussion. Without a doubt, there are items of antiquity on the plateau that should be preserved. But, these need to be items of discussion, learned discourse, not unwinable lawsuits that only damage our State’s reputation and economic viability.

But here is the problem for this latest group of “bills” from the Utah Legislature: The U.S. Constitution, the Utah State Constitution, and the Utah State Enabling Act -all three- forbid the state from seeking control of federal lands and all three protect the right of the federal government to hold land it has claimed. If these bills pass the Utah Senate, the State of Utah (that’s you and I, fellow tax-payers of Utah) will pay to defend these message bills until they are thrown out by at least two courts of proper jurisdiction. Additionally, the United States Government will spend money (That’s you and I, fellow tax-payers of the United States), to defeat Utah’s claim. The legal advice to the Utah House and Senate said, in so many words, don’t do this. We are wasting money, money that should be spent on education. This is very short-sighted, irresponsible, and ridiculous legislation. If our state legislature wants to open a discussion about these issues with “Washington,” by all means do so, in a proper manner, through open, proper channels. Don’t waste our limited financial resources on lawsuits Utah will ineveitably lose.

This has the appearance of ”bought and paid for” legislation. Big money interests, namely coal and oil developers, would love to have these areas open to exploration. Our legislature is bowing down to the money, the greed of these developers. They are doing so without regard to the potential impact on the environment, to the children and grandchildren of those people living in the area, and without regard to long-stand federal laws. In doing this, they are making a desperate, sad plea for the coal and oil developers to keep money coming into their campaign funds, perhaps into their own pockets. It’s wrong, in my opinion, and it will cost the taxpayers of Utah dearly over the next several years. The money we will waste would be put to much better use if funneled into education, such as reducing class size.

Your comments and opinions are welcome, as always.

America the Great

When the people in our lives change, particularly without our permission, we can feel challenged, even threatened. The person you thought you knew has new ideas, new habits and/or hobbies, new concerns. Perhaps they have chosen to start exercising more and dining out less; they start bicycling and join a riding club; and you miss seeing them as often. Changing times can influence an individual to begin a new course of study, learn a different language, perhaps seek out a new philosophical direction. Certainly as we mature, we develop new perspectives, a broader world view. This is the normal course of growth in the human experience, and as individuals we should not take affront at the changes, instead we should encourage the growth of the individual. Certainly we do not expect anyone (even ourselves) to stay static, to remain in status quo. In the quiet space that exists between true friends, you ask why, what has excited them about this new idea, this new thought? Your concern regarding a friend’s new behavior is real; you want to understand the thought process underlying the paradigm shift he or she is expressing. Perhaps, in the discussion, you will find that the doctor has given them good medical reason for making changes; conditions beyond your foreknowledge may have dictated the study of a new language or a particular lifestyle. You listen, offering words of good counsel, encouragement, and positive emotion. Both of you are the better for the exchange; you now understand the reasoning for the new direction, and your friend still knows you are a true and trusted companion.

As it is with friends, so it is with countries, even ours. The United States of America has always been, is now, and will forever be, a work in progress. Over the past several decades, America has rightfully developed into arguably the worlds’ foremost, if not only, superpower. Our economic and military strengths have been on display for all the people to see. We may not “control” the world, but it cannot be said that we do not have a huge, and generally beneficial, effect on world events large and small. This time period, this military and economic “superiority” began with President Ronald Reagan and continued though President George W. Bush. 

But, the time for “war” or “spreading democracy” is now passed. The powerful engine of American growth is struggling, groaning under the weight of 10 years of war, a major world-wide recession, and now near-jobless economic growth. It is more than necessary for our elected officials to return to the work of America, creating jobs and building our economy. Our President wants to take our country in a new, America-centered direction, and a percentage of the population is not comfortable with this change. Some, most notably the Republican Presidential candidates, have gone so far as to adopt “remove this President from office” as the standard response to any question such as: If you are elected President, what will you do to secure America’s border with Mexico? If you are elected President, how will you create jobs? To say, “remove this President from office,” is to not answer the question!

No, it is time for America to come together again, to unite in her common ideals and strengths; celebrate her growing diversity, and work hard to re-gain our ability to be a world leader in all aspects of national appearance. It is time for our Congressmen to reach across the isle, to work together in a bi-partisan manner, develop and pass legislation that will be in America’s, and American’s, best interest. As America has demonstrated time and again in our past, we can come together in times of war and national disaster; now it is time to come together in this era of economic stress. There is much to be done, we need an energy program that focuses on reducing our dependence on fossil fuels; a national platform and program that encourages our youth to stay in school, to become the scientists, engineers, teachers, professionals and executives; a real and workable plan to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure; in fine, a national program to improve the lives and existence of all Americans.

It has been said that the American people are not interested in voting. Why should we be, when all candidates do is tear each other down, slinging lies, half-truths, and fictions? If you wish my vote for President, Senator, Representative, State or Local office, then explain to me, and to all the citizens, how you are going to accomplish goals. Don’t give me sound-bites or platitudes; rather explain to me your ideas, your vision for America the Great. Permit me to study your platform, and allow me to understand what you will do to change America for the better. Let us have a discussion of visions, ideas and plans, rather than a Super-PAC funded mudfest. Then the American people can rationally decide who can best lead us, the Greatest Country on Earth!

(As always, comments are welcome and appreciated.)