Deep Thoughts

9-11

If you haven't been listening to the 9/11 Commission hearings, you're missing out. There's some good insight into what the Clinton and Bush administrations knew and suspected about Al Queda leading up to the attack on 9/11. You can hear it on NPR. The most important part to hear is the testimony by Richard Clarke. Clarke, the fomer Counter-Terrorism Coordinator in the Clinton and Bush administration, has recently come out with a book lambasting the Bush administration. Particularly poignant was when he opened his testimony with an apology to the families of the victims of 9/11--the first person to accept some blame for the events that day.

Most notable for her absence was Condoleezza Rice. She has however been very happy to speak however in front of reporters regarding Clarke's book as the administration is in full spin control. This spin control includes breaking its own rules by allowing news organizations to name Clarke as the official giving a news briefing in 2002.

One thing to note is that Clarke is now the third administration official to speak about a lack of policy discussions in the Bush White House.

Obesity

The CDC announced that poor diet and physical inactivity (16%) are closing in on tobacco (18%) as the leading actual cause of death in the US. In 2000, poor diet and physical inactivity were the cause of 400,000 deaths--now compare that to the 9/11 death toll of 3,000.

The physical inactivity has a lot to do with our standard of living (cars, elevators, etc.) and the design of our cities (too far to walk to stores, no sidewalks, etc.)--not to mention laziness. But what about poor diet? I feel that our government is partly responsible for our poor diets. A lot of agricultural subsidies have made food (especially unhealthy food) too cheap. The biggest culprit? Corn, the most heavily subsidized crop in America. Cheap corn is used to make cheap corn sweetner for all those Super Sized soft drinks and Big Gulps. Cheap corn is also used to feed cattle and give us cheaper hamburgers.

The government has mentioned a few ideas of how to tackle the obesity problem, but they're not considering stopping the subsidies that help make us fat. Unfortunately the agricultural lobby is too strong and no politician will ever touch agricultural subsidies.

Gay marriage

This topic continues to make headlines and battle lines as new fronts are opening up every day. Seattle recently entered the fray as a few couples filed a lawsuit claiming that the county was infringing on their civil rights.

I wonder, of those protesting against gay marriage, how many actually know a gay couple? I'm guessing not many. Bush refers to the the Massachusetts Supreme Court and other judges that approve gay marriage as activist judges--wouldn't an activist judge be one that tries to take away our rights rather than extends them?

My concern is that this issue could help Bush get re-elected. If NASCAR Dads are really one of the keys to the upcoming election, it's not hard to guess where they fall on gay marriage.

Another goodbye

We said goodbye to Lori and Dan (and Leo) this weekend as they start their journey to their new home in North Carolina. Saturday night was a boys' night out with Dan where we feasted on red meat at the Buenos Aires Grill. tonight was a smaller affair where a few of us had dinner with Lori and Dan and said our goodbyes.

It's sad to see them go. As we get older and everyone is busier with spouses, kids, work, etc.; we see less and less of our friends. So when friends move away, we realize how difficult it will be to seem them again. But where the is a will, there is a way. I guess I'll have to start planning a trip to North Carolina.

We're going to the Dance!!!

The Huskies are going to the NCAA Tournament! Early in the season, the Huskies were 5-8 after losing their first 5 conference games. Since then, they've gone 14-3 and finished second in the Pac-10. The Huskies are seeded 8th in the St. Louis Region (I prefer the old regional names) and play UAB on Friday night.

New little people

I'm a bit late but just wanted to welcome some new little people to the world. Lauri and Nok welcomed Andrew on 2/4.

Dave and Margie welcomed Sydney on 2/29 (a Leap Year baby!).

An amazing couple

James Carville and Mary Matalin were on Meet the Press this morning. It's amazing that one of the top Democratic strategists and one of the top Republican strategists are married to each other (since 1993). At the same time, it's a very encouraging statement about love and marriage. I know I've seen them debate separately, but this might have been the first time I've seen them both on one show. They are much more enjoyable to watch than other Democrat/Republican pairings; not because it gets out of hand but rather just the opposite. Their discussions are very passionate but also civilized. The biggest thing I noticed was that they never interrupted each other--unheard of during a talk show. I guess that also says something about how to have a lasting relationship...

Go Huskies!!!

The UW Men's Basketball Team beat the number one ranked and undefeated Stanford Cardinal yesterday afternoon, 75-62. The only bad thing about the game was that I was watching at home rather than in person. The Huskies were the quicker and more athletic team and used it to their advantage, their defense forced a lot of turnovers limiting Stanfords offense. It must be noted however that the Cardinal looked tired after their last second victory against WSU. (Thanks Cougs!) After the game, the crowd rushed down to the court to celebrate. I wish I had been there.

I'm no college hoops expert, but I think the Dawgs deserve to go to the dance. There aren't many teams that have played as well as Washington in the second half of the season.

No more Super Size?

McDonald's announced yesterday that they are phasing out the Super Size fry and drink options from their menu. (MSNBC article on the announcement.) This is a tiny, baby step towards addressing the obesity problem in our country. The health and economic implications of the growing obesity epidemic should concern everyone. A recent study estimated that we pay $39 billion ($175 per person) for obesity through Medicare and Medicaid. This study put the total cost (private & public) at $93 billion in annual medical bills.

Along those lines, check out the the cartoon drawn by a student in France. Rather disturbing that their impression of America is a hamburger, super size fries and drink, and fat kids. If you read the article, you can also see how the French students view our politics/government. One cartoon (not pictured in the article) represented one student's axis of evil: Stalin's Russia, Hitler's Germany, and Bush's America.