AOL seems to be having a couple of blogs / journals on Bill Clinton for their Citizen Journalism Daily Pulse Blog. The piece entitled, "Bill Clinton’s Second Act" is trying in part to figure out his post-presidential impact and if it is changing peoples’ minds. On the whole (so far) it seems that if you liked him before, you will like him now. And if you did not, you probably do not like him now. I think it might be a little while before we can know for sure.
On the whole, I think that Clinton was a good president. I think the positives out weigh the negatives overwhelmingly. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. Post-presidency he seems to have had better positive exposure than any president since Carter. With some exceptions he seems to have been somewhat apolitical. Time will tell but after a relatively low profile he seems to be having some very positive impact. I think that he might be staying out of the political spotlight as to not overshadow any political ambitions that Hillary might have.
While he was a solid, progressive democrat he was also a consummate politician (and one hell of a campaigner). He would reach across the isle when needed. He wanted to build consensus and get things done. Now that he does not have a "personal" political agenda, it is much easier for him to partner with whomever makes the most sense. He still knows how to command the world stage. Recently, taking the stage with Laura Bush for "play pumps" in Africa (an initiative she is spearheading) at the kick-off for his Clinton Global Initiative roundtable. This is cause for which he is donating millions. He also partnered with President Bush, Sr. on post-Katrina clean up efforts. Let’s not kid ourselves, he likes the spotlight. But he also seems to take that light and point towards areas of need.
Health, for the most part, has not been a major problem for me. But there have been some significant markers. The one that I think most people do not understand and for which I am only just figuring out myself is the disease of depression. I do not want to suggest that everyone that has been depressed is suffering from a disease. I think it is a lot like alcoholism, not everyone that drinks is an alcoholic, but there are definitely alcoholics and if they are to function they need to manage the disease. Depression manifests itself in much the same way. From what I understand, clinically if one has at least three major episodes of depression they are considered to have the disease. I certainly qualify on that count.
Treating the disease is not straight forward, either. Taken to the extremes, psychiatrists and other MDs want to prescribe drugs, and psychologists feel that it is more of behavioral thing and that it can be shifted through therapy. Different things work for different people, but to me it seems that it tends to be a combination of both. I find that I can get depressed when things are otherwise OK, but it can increase if there are negative situational factors in the environment.
Depression is in much the same way. I am not sure that all doctors even see depression as a disease. But if you look into the pathology of it, you start to see that it is. Depression is, for many people, the moody teenager that will grow out of it; the temperamental artist that must suffer for their art, etc. These characterizations can often deflect the insidious nature of the beast. Jeffrey Kramer, in the book, Against Depression, helped me to see this as a disease and the pathology behind it. The funny thing is that as you see it as a disease it becomes a little easier to treat. In some ways it takes away some of the stigma. I probably do not need to go through the litany of problems that plague a person suffering from depression: wrecked marriages, relationships, suicide, problems with jobs (getting and keeping them), drugs and alcohol, on and on. Marriage, job problems, self esteem and to some degree alcohol seem to be my issues. I would say that from an outward perspective that I cope with it reasonably well. It is the profound sense of wanting to hide from the world that really hits me.
It sneaks up on you and those around you. And it comes up in places that you do not understand, or would not expect. You suppress it one place, it comes out another.
I grew up as a PK (Preacher’s/Priest’s Kid). My father was/is an Episcopal (every where except the US they are considered Anglican) priest. For this and other reasons, we moved quite a bit. Being a PK is a little like being an Army brat, but different. They tend to be wild or quiet, conforming or not. I was kind of the quiet, non-conforming type. Being a little bit of a smart alec did not help either.
It seems that PKs that move around quite a bit, particularly quiet, non-conforming types, fitting in and getting friends did not seem to help much. When I did get friends we would move away. I know that is one of the most painful issues of my separation and impending divorce from my wife is that while we were working on it, we let relationships with good friends atrophy.
It seems that from a fairly young age, I was getting setup for anxiety and depression. In hindsight, I go back and forth on the nature versus nurture. There are definitely some behavioral things that occurred, but I am also of the belief that brain chemistry plays a role. They say that anxiety and depression often have genetic roots. My father is a psychologist, so he essentially does not seem to agree, but I see much of the behavior that I have also in his.
I guess that net issue is that I suffer from depression, and that it is relating to where I am now.
I think that the above title pretty much says it all — But it is not a lurid message in the least. Pastor Joe Beam of Family Dynamics is trying to point out that it is not a sin in a loving Christian marriage to have and enjoy sex. He backs up his message with book, chapter and verse in the bible. Much of his audiences are married conservative Christians.
There seemed to be a sense that he was giving a sense of relief to those who might already be having sex, and feeling guilty; or permission to those that feel it might be a sin but are interested. He is not giving or suggesting carte blanche, and lays out some rules that basically must be followed — no one can get hurt, between married couples, no animals, etc. Does not believe that pornography and to a lesser extent masturbation should play any significant role if at all in the sexual relationship even if done together.
Before I read the article I was thinking that it might be someone on the fringe trying to come to get out a sex positive message. This is sex positive but it is also not a fringe perspective. The audience definitely was not.
This obviously deals with adult themes so be warned before looking at the videos of this talks and interview. Article and video on MSNBC. Article and video on Wired.
An enormous list of statistics about books. Other statistics include: 57% of new books are not read to completion, 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years, and 70% of the books published do not make a profit.
It looks like Reading is Fundamental is working! I guess when you are one of the 42% that reads after high school it makes you wonder why books are not read. I suppose with the Internet, video games, DVDs, etc. people do not see it as one of their options. But trying to read Dan Brown on line is not very viable either.
I guess the “discussion” on family values was a key lightning rod from many years ago that got people thinking about values and politics. Of course, it was much earlier than that when this has been brought up. For example, Aristotle talks about areas of excellence that the Citizen, or member of the city-state should have to be a model individual in society. In the sense of family values thinking, this was also restricting of the group being focused on. A Citizen was basically an adult male of a certain level of means and breeding.
“Family values” suggests that there is basically one set of values that should be the model for all families which is a kind of ludicrous notion. However, there was/is a segment of the population for which this resonated.
But it does highlight a couple of key themes in politics, the need to communicate ideas and concepts in a manner that is best understood by the constituency you want to reach. This would include modifying your language to heighten the receptance of the message with the chosen audience.
Language is one way we express our values (family or otherwise). By understanding the language or culture of a target group, one can modify the message to best connect with that group.
Rather than sending out a mass mailing, you can send less mailings but based on targetted language to target groups that are congruent with that language. Somthing akin to laser sighting for the mailings.
The possibility of an avian flu pandemic is real. In America, President George W. Bush has sensibly proposed a substantial investment to detect, identify and contain the virus, when and where it begins human-to-human spread. [Read more →]
This article in Businessweek by Peter Burrows, talk about how HP is now going to require that Board members to win a majority of shareholder votes. It is interesting almost ‘HP way’ approach to looking after shareholder interests. However, the board can refuse the resignation. In this post-Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley world it is nice to see this gesture.
It is not quite an earth-shattering move, but it does suggest that there are some leadership moves that are occurring and maybe this will catch to other organizations.
I do not think that this absolves HP of the Compaq merger, but it is at least a start.
“Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America’s Top Schools,” by ISI Books has been published since 1998. It seems a little unnerving that people would choose schools on something as nebulous as “American” values. I guess what they are speaking to is the idea of tradition and the “ideal” family. As one might guess, most of the top 10 are from some religious background or influence.
I must say that I have not read the book, but I saw nothing in the discussion of it to suggest that there is a clear definition of values. It seems to be a synonym for tradition, conservatism and religion. I believe that anyone should be able to choose an educational direction for themselves or their kids. For me, it is just the seemingly presumptious way in which the books suggests.
I could definitely see something like this happening. We will know soon enough. I do not necessarily like her poltics but for some reason, I have always been emamored with her. Maybe part of it is that she is from this area (SF Bay Area — Stanford), or that she is smart as a whip. For that matter, both she and Hillary seem to be more intelligent than the average politico. She seems to have some leadership ability, however, if this plays out we will now for sure .
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