Normally I'll write my own content for this blog but yesterday I was informed that a Bill has been introduced in the North Carolina Legislature to have the STATE pay for a feasibility study to eventually allow Hydrofracking. I did not know much about it (out of sight-out of mind) but have spent the better part of the last day and night reading the wealth of information available. This is NOT something I want in North Carolina, or anywhere else, for a number of reasons.
The biggest draw, especially to our politicians and even the average citizen, is that the hydrofracking process creates thousands of jobs across the country, will supposedly allow us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and can pay decent dividends to the land owner(s) who agree to sign leases with the companies who do the drilling.
Just a cursory rundown of the drawbacks include contaminated water supplies (in some cases actually causing the water to become flammable), possible relationship to increased seismic activity, and evidence of increased illness in animals and human beings.
Below is a memo regarding talking points and strategies to be used by representatives when speaking to landowners to persuade them to sign on the dotted line. This is scary enough in itself. The devil is most definitely in the details...
"Beware the Gas Lease or What the Gas Companies Don't Want You to Know
The following is what I was told is a near verbatim list of the Talking Points being used by gas companies to obtain leases in Ohio: Talking Points for Selling Oil and Gas Lease Rights As we position to move into the greater Ohio market, it is critical that Field Agents have a consistent selling plan for that market. The following points will outline our answers to commonly asked questions, including what to talk about and what topics to avoid. Oil and Gas exploration and drilling is meeting increasing resistance from local community groups so it is essential to contact land holders and acquire signatures before sentiment by environmental and other public organizations limits our ability to obtain access to private land for oil and gas development. Remember, if at all possible try not to deliberately mislead the landowner, that only makes our position harder to defend at a later date. It is in our best interest to present our side of the issue in a manner that makes it more attractive. Do not discuss the detracting points of view in a manner that gives them any credibility. Don't feel that you have to discuss every point and question. Do not argue when you cannot win. Successful field agents understand what point to focus on so the benefits outweigh the risks. 1. Know your demographics! - We have paid for an analysis of Ohio and the people. Use that data. i. Ohio is conservative leaning, Mid-west state. The typical Ohio resident will welcome you into their home and allow you to speak. This is critical Face to face interaction can make the difference. Most mid-west Americans dislike confrontation. Even if they disagree on a selling point, they are unlikely to confront you over it. Therefore it is critical to obtain a lease signature in the first meeting, or at least the agreement to sign and take the lease to a notary. Drive them to the notary if you have to. If they have time to think it over, they are more likely to decline the offer. - Provide the overall position of the nation. i. Most landowners will be patriotic Americans, and will desire to free our nation from foreign oil dependence. Make certain you lead with this selling point. CHINA bought more oil than the United States last year. Fear of foreign encroachment is the biggest asset we have in selling our development strategy. Our analysis of Ohio shows that even the most liberal landowners will agree with this point. ALWAYS start your conversation with a new potential signee on a point that they will agree with. This is pure psychology. They will be more likely to let you stay and talk. Studies show the longer you talk, the more chance we have of signing. ii. At any point in the pitch if talk turns to local issues, environmental hazards, etc. a good way to re-direct the conversation is to re-engage over the nation's energy needs and the desire to be oil self-reliant. Come back to the mutually agreed upon point about freeing the nation. CHINA bought more oil than the United States last year. - Talk about our business. We are a small business working closely with state governments when we set up wells. More educated landowners may know that we often sell our land leases to larger corporations. While this is often true, we do not always sell our interests. So it is responsible to that we plan all development in Ohio without partners. [Pxxts] plans do not need to be fully disclosed and they may evolve as we do exploratory drilling. -Hydraulic Fracturing "Fracking" - This technique to develop gas resources is coming under scrutiny, both in the mainstream media with articles appearing in the New York Times and even in Hollywood with the movie "Gasland" Expect questions on this topic and be ready to diffuse land owner concerns. - Stress to the landowners that we are primarily looking for oil resources. Searching for oil is less environmentally damaging than the claims against fracking. Oil exploration has been conducted for centuries, and is safe and effective. Do not deny that gas exploration may be possible but do not emphasize it. Distance our selling postion from the movie Gasland. We do not want landowners linking that image with our development plans. - Most landowners will not know the difference between hydraulic fracturing and the process of Slick Water Hydraulic Fracturing. Use this to your advantage. Most wells in southern Ohio were drilled and hydraulically fractured to make a viable source of water. Tell them that fracing is safe. There is nothing unsafe about the fracing process, if there was it would never have been used in their wells. If anyone knows about slick water fracturing, avoid the topic. Do not discuss the chemicals and other material used during slick water fracturing. The best strategy is to stress that the chemical [mixture] used are proprietary and are heavily diluted with water when injected. Reassure landowners that no well contamination has ever been documented. Do not mention water contamination in Pennsylvania. We do not wan to associate ourselves with potential ground water issues. Stress to the landowners that we will use concrete and steel well casings to protect the aquifer. Leave your answers vague if they bring up Pennsylvania. Tell landowners that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issues new drilling permits every year. They would not do so if the process were unsafe. - Clean Air and Water Act - Activists have begun using the exemption of the Oil and Gas companies from the Federal Clean Air and Water Act against our industry. While this point is true for the exploration of natrual gas, once again argue that we searching for oil. Draw these lines clearly. Do not get into a debate about the law and environmental protection. State that our company has a good work record, and we follow all environmental rules and regulations set [fxxxxxx] by the State of Ohio. It is Ohio that permits the drilling, not the federal government. Federal law has no bearing on our development. Less government interference is better. Mid-west Americans tend to agree with the proposition that less regulation would be better. ObamaCare is a great example but watch your audience. Check for political bumperstickers as you approach the house. - Manlius vs Utica Shale - Utica Shale [covers] the southern Ohio region that we are targeting. One strategy to defuse the issues on fracing is to discuss the differences between the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Tell landowners that fracing is used in the Marcellus shale for natural gas. We are searching for oil in the [xxxx] and [xxxx] rock formations. will hear the distinction. While it is true that we will be able to evaluate the well in the shale layer for suitability for fracking and gas development, stress the initial hope of finding oil. Any distinction may be enough to finalize the lease. 2. Truck Traffic - There will extra traffic but stress that we do everything to keep it to a minimum. Some activist groups use traffic as a talking point. Just tell landowners the more trucks, the more royalties. Money will normally deflect most arguments. Return to the nation’s energy needs if you need to. 3. Noise - Another argument against drilling is noise. Do not deny that the initial setup can be noisy, like building a home nearby. No one objects to new homes under construction. Say that the noisy portion of the operation is upfront and over quickly compared to the entire operation. This part of the process can take up to a year, but do not emphasize overall time. The well may last for 40 years, to one year of noise is not bad. If pressed for details tell them we monitor noise to ensure it is approximately 80db at 200 feet. They will likely not understand the details, and will not admit that the technical data means little to them. Do not compare to anything tangible, like train noise or airplane noise. Stick to the numbers, they provide the truth but make it hard to understand the exact implication. 4. Well Pad Site - Many people ask about their land and how much will be used. During the initial drilling, pad sizes of approximately 20 acres are necessary. After drilling and fracturing, the well will be on a land size of approximately 5 acres. Stress the five acres. Do not talk about the initial setup unless absolutely pushed on details and timeline for the drilling. After the lease is signed we will be able to deal with landowner concerns. 5. Well Spacing - This rarely comes up. Landowners do not realize that multiple wells will be necessary. Wells are most effective if spaced 40 acres or further apart. this sounds like a large number, use it. Some might ask how many wells will be in a square mile. Don't answer that question. Most landowners will not realize that 10-20 wells can be place in a square mile. Landowners normally own less than 5 acres, unless it is a farm. 40 acres will be a large enough number that wells will seem to be far apart in their mind. 6. Lease Life - Our leases are for 5 years with small plots of land or 3 years with an option to renew for 2 years on larger land tracts. If the landowner has brought the lease to an attorney they may know that if the well continues to produce that the lease is extended for the lifetime of the well, which can be as high as 40 years. Do not deny if pressed on this issue. This extension does not require their approval. If we have an active well then it is within our legal rights to continue development until we turn it off. Stress the 5 year lease unless absolutely pushed on the details. 7. Water Usage - This is a question normally asked by farmers. See the Talking Points for Agricultural Land paper to address those specific concerns. Residential owners will not know that we pull water directly from the local aquifer. 8. Radioactivity - Reports have shown that fracing and other oil/gas exploration techniques have increased radioactivity in the groundwater. This is caused by releasing naturally occurring radon from the ground into the aquifer. ENSURE you tell the landowner that we use NO RADIOACTIVE materials. The radioactivity comes from natural sources in the ground and is released by the process but don't tell them this. Most landowners will not know. ell them we are RADIOACTIVE FREE and that should alleviate those fearsT. If pressed, tell them it is natural radiation that is always there, we will not increase it by adding anything. 9. Property values - Multiple studies have shown that property values decrease for land with oil and gas leases on the property. Avoid this topic. Some major banks have stopped issuing mortgages on properties with leases for mineral and oil/gas rights, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and other large financial institutions. This is a no-win discussion point. If backed into this issue, talk about the potential revenues and the overall needs of the nation. China bought more oil than the United States last year. 10. Enhanced Oil Recovery - The overall plan is to drill exploratory wells, and then use more advanced techniques to get at the small oil pockets we find. This will require multiple well heads, where we pump in high volume of water and chemicals, much the same manner as in the fracing process. DO NOT DISCUSS this point. We want no correlation between fracing and enhanced oil recovery processes. We do not want landowners aware that we may have to drill many well heads in a single area. After we have the leases signed we have the freedom to use the land as we see fit. If needed we can even write leases with "no Fracing" position, and even with these lease modifications we can legally drill multiple wells and insert high pressure "extractants". 11 Lease Term - This is another area of concern that you can alleviate with the right wording. The lease is for 5 years. Sometimes landowners will read the lease before signing and realize that the lease renews automatically if any oil/gas are produced from the well. Do not stress this point. Just state that the lease is for 5 years. They don't need to know, or discover through discussion with us, that the lease can extend indefinitely with no further permission from the landowner. 12. Get the lease signed! - This is the most important part of the overall development plan. Signed leases will allow us to re-parcel the land as needed to receive minimum acreage under Ohio law. Even small parcels are important. A resident with 1/2 acre plot can make the difference with the state oversight board to allow drilling. The state does not have to allow drillling even if the unit has 65% or more acreage. Sometimes the board will look at overall numbers of residents, and if the majority are against drilling then they reject permits for fear of local backlash. This is an acreage as well as overall numbers of people game. Get the lease signed. - Men are more likely to sign than women. Men don't like to believe that you know more than they do, so they are also less likely to ask questions. In the state of Ohio the husband can sign the lease without spousal permission. Go that route if required. Tell them it is their decision. Write the lease agreement with only the husband’s name on the paperwork. This will make it more likely that they will sign alone. Men are also more conservative, and more likely to want oil and energy independence. Women will have more concern for the environment and will challenge you more often. Knowing who to approach can seal the sale. -If a landowner is undecided, there are several ways to offer incentives. i. Offer a slight increase in the initial lease payment. Even a $50 increase may be enough to sway a decision. Tell them it is to cover the Notary Public costs. That way you are making a concession without caving and getting into a negotiation. Mid-west Americans appreciate feeling valued. This will work in your favor. ii. Tell the landowner that all their neighbors have signed. Even if the neighbors have not, this often will push the undecided landowner in favor of signing. Remember, the first visit is the most crucial. They will not know if their neighbors have signed, and even if they do they will want to sign so they do not lose out on the potential profits. Once they have signed, then you can show those leases to undecided neighbors for added pressure. iii. As a very last resort, you may offer the amended lease with the clause that no slick water hydraulic fracturing will be used. This limits our future options, but once we carry out initial drilling and testing, we will know the viability of gas extraction from the Utica shale layer. At that time we can re-approach holders of the modified leases and offer incentives to allow slick water hydraulic fracturing. The most important thing is to obtain the signed lease. Modifications can be made later if necessary. A signed lease is often enough to leverage a modification at a later date.
By:Burr Hubbell
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Star Chamber?
I think this was the name of an old movie with Michael Douglas. I suppose I could go look it up on IMDB.Com but it's not that important to this post, so...
To tell you the truth, if I saw it at all I don't remember much about it. I think it involved our Hero (Catherine's lucky husband) uncovering a conspiracy wherein a group of old, rich white guys ruled the world from their little hideaway somewhere.
I am NOT a big conspiracy person which makes me hate "birthers" and "truthers" and now "deathers" all the more. It's also one of the reasons I have such a hard time taking Ron Paul seriously. Truth be told, I think he's a whack job who somehow manages to keep it [mostly] under control. (His son, by the way, is just an opportunist. But I digress...)
Having set all that up for you, if one takes even a quick glance around, there IS something fishy going on. Just in the past two weeks I've read a somewhat buried, casual article talking about how the price of oil recently doesn't really justify the price we're paying for fuel. It appears that the last time gas cost us so much, oil was even more expensive. I don't know if that's true and I probably won't bother trying to find out. I've also read how the average pay for a CEO is now HIGHER than it was pre-recession. Okay, that seems a little reckless to me, but as with the oil/gas question, I don't pretend to be a guru of economic theory. (unlike most of my friends in the business world.) It does, however, seem a bit strange to me that while CEO pay has increased - which is usually an indication that a company is doing better - the unemployment rate is still hovering at 9%. That's where I start having some problems. Somebody's got some 'splaining to do.
Did you notice how in the first few hours after bin laden was snuffed, even Republicans who one might consider "enemies" of President Obama were, naturally, congratulating the military and intelligence communities but ALSO the President on a job well done? It happened. It's in print (if you can still find it anywhere. It appears some of those articles now return 404 Error messages.) By the next day, almost as if someone had turned a switch, the rhetoric became very Pro-Bush and even Pro-Bush policies - Torture anyone?) What the hell happened overnight? My own Democratic Senator, Kay Hagan, can't even bring herself to congratulate the leader of her party in her press releases. (These pieces I'm mentioning really do sort of fit together, at least in my own mind, so hang on dear friends.)
Let's face it: Whether it's because he's a dark-skinned man or the dark-skinned man's policies, or for both reasons, there are more than a few people out there who don't like his being our President and who have made it their goal to make sure he doesn't get another term. I think, by now, it should be clear than many of them will say and do just about anything short of murdering him to make sure he doesn't get a second term. As I've mentioned too many times, FROM THE FIRST DAY AFTER BARACK OBAMA WAS ELECTED, THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO SABOTAGE HIS PRESIDENCY. It started with Rush Limpdick and his infamous "I hope he fails" remark and has continued unabataed since then. NO President in our history has ever faced such brutal opposition from the Republicans in the House and Senate who have blocked his EVERY move (even when they were on record as having supported such moves prior to his taking office) to the "Birthers" and the Tea Party spreading lies and quarter-truths. With our nation in such deep muck last November, all Bitch, umm, Mitch, McConnell could say was "Our number one goal is to make sure President Obama doesn't get another term." I'm frankly amazed at how well that went over with so many people. It seems to me there were and ARE more important priorities to label Numero Uno. (Yes, thank you, I speak Spanish occasionally.)
Does it look to anyone else like there is a well orchestrated, concerted effort to get rid of Obama even at the expense of Our Country? It's sure looking that way to me. I don't think I'm crazy and I'm not running for the tinfoil. Hell, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree but if I can see this, why can't so many other folks see it?
The other day I had a cathartic moment when I ran across the post of one of my California friends on the Book of Faces (Amen). He and some of his friends (and, in fairness to Connor, he is a REALLY decent guy who just happens to be more conservative than me) were discussing the "mysterious circumstances" surrounding the bin laden raid and, of course, it turned into a bash President Obama session. I should have known better and just left it alone but I just HAD to put in my two cents. (Those of you who know me are probably laughing out loud at the thought of me keeping my mouth shut even when I'm in enemy territory.)
It wasn't pretty. It was also rude of me to get so involved on someone else's thread and I went back the next day and apologized to my friend and to the thread group. I should have said my piece and moved on and I MIGHT have except for one pinhead who sounded like so many other Conservatives and "Libertarians" out there: He didn't spout anything but opinions and when I tried to present him with "facts" it became clear he was oblivious. He doesn't KNOW any facts. He only knows what he's been told by God only knows who. Faux News? Rush? Please God, tell me it's not Glenn Beck! Or...maybe he just doesn't like black people. Of course he made sure to point out before it came up that he wasn't a racist and to call me that was just a liberal talking point. *sigh* I guess if the guy, Grady-what's-his-name, who calls black people "nigras" has the gall to say he isn't racist, anyone can say it now. (By the way, I grew up hearing the word "nigra". It was the "polite", less white trash version of nigger. Kind of like saying "cooter" instead of "pussy" maybe?) I don't think I've ever had such a bad day on Facebook. I was physically sick reading the venom that was being spewed by a few of these folks.
One thing stuck with me though and that was a comment made by the worst of the lot that, and I'm paraphrasing, "We don't have to worry about this (bin laden being found and killed under Obama's watch) because if the economy doesn't improve he doesn't have a chance." He may well be right. But if he is, and if so many people in corporate America (YOUR Chamber of Commerce!) want him gone and have no problem saying so publicly, who's to say the game isn't being rigged to that effect? Just like there was some sort of signal (?) suddenly passed among Republicans to spin bin laden's death as a Bush victory, who's to say there hasn't been some kind of signal passed that is keeping American corporations from hiring even as their business is starting to take off again? Who's to say that the reason we're paying more than some think we should be for gas relative to the price of oil per barrel that someone has gotten the "order" to keep gas prices higher as long as they can. How else do you explain, I believe it's, what, 14 billion in profits by Exxon last quarter? Actually, it's almost difficult to come up with any OTHER reason these things are happening. I wish I could because if this is even partly the case, it is truly a sad statement about the death of the Democratic process.
The most frustrating part of this is that I'm not sure there's anything anyone can do about it. If people don't want to do their duty as citizens and become informed, and by "Informed" I mean something besides Fox News (and MSNBC for you liberal types) I, or you, or anyone else can post all we want and they won't bother to read it. If corporate America and Fox News, using their buzzwords like "Socialist", "Hitler", "Nazis", "Atheist", "Godless" and on and on, have convinced average Americans that Obama and the Democrats are a signal of the end of the "American Way of Life", there is NOTHING I can say that is going to get through to them.
I am really fearful about what this country is headed towards. You should be too.
To tell you the truth, if I saw it at all I don't remember much about it. I think it involved our Hero (Catherine's lucky husband) uncovering a conspiracy wherein a group of old, rich white guys ruled the world from their little hideaway somewhere.
I am NOT a big conspiracy person which makes me hate "birthers" and "truthers" and now "deathers" all the more. It's also one of the reasons I have such a hard time taking Ron Paul seriously. Truth be told, I think he's a whack job who somehow manages to keep it [mostly] under control. (His son, by the way, is just an opportunist. But I digress...)
Having set all that up for you, if one takes even a quick glance around, there IS something fishy going on. Just in the past two weeks I've read a somewhat buried, casual article talking about how the price of oil recently doesn't really justify the price we're paying for fuel. It appears that the last time gas cost us so much, oil was even more expensive. I don't know if that's true and I probably won't bother trying to find out. I've also read how the average pay for a CEO is now HIGHER than it was pre-recession. Okay, that seems a little reckless to me, but as with the oil/gas question, I don't pretend to be a guru of economic theory. (unlike most of my friends in the business world.) It does, however, seem a bit strange to me that while CEO pay has increased - which is usually an indication that a company is doing better - the unemployment rate is still hovering at 9%. That's where I start having some problems. Somebody's got some 'splaining to do.
Did you notice how in the first few hours after bin laden was snuffed, even Republicans who one might consider "enemies" of President Obama were, naturally, congratulating the military and intelligence communities but ALSO the President on a job well done? It happened. It's in print (if you can still find it anywhere. It appears some of those articles now return 404 Error messages.) By the next day, almost as if someone had turned a switch, the rhetoric became very Pro-Bush and even Pro-Bush policies - Torture anyone?) What the hell happened overnight? My own Democratic Senator, Kay Hagan, can't even bring herself to congratulate the leader of her party in her press releases. (These pieces I'm mentioning really do sort of fit together, at least in my own mind, so hang on dear friends.)
Let's face it: Whether it's because he's a dark-skinned man or the dark-skinned man's policies, or for both reasons, there are more than a few people out there who don't like his being our President and who have made it their goal to make sure he doesn't get another term. I think, by now, it should be clear than many of them will say and do just about anything short of murdering him to make sure he doesn't get a second term. As I've mentioned too many times, FROM THE FIRST DAY AFTER BARACK OBAMA WAS ELECTED, THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO SABOTAGE HIS PRESIDENCY. It started with Rush Limpdick and his infamous "I hope he fails" remark and has continued unabataed since then. NO President in our history has ever faced such brutal opposition from the Republicans in the House and Senate who have blocked his EVERY move (even when they were on record as having supported such moves prior to his taking office) to the "Birthers" and the Tea Party spreading lies and quarter-truths. With our nation in such deep muck last November, all Bitch, umm, Mitch, McConnell could say was "Our number one goal is to make sure President Obama doesn't get another term." I'm frankly amazed at how well that went over with so many people. It seems to me there were and ARE more important priorities to label Numero Uno. (Yes, thank you, I speak Spanish occasionally.)
Does it look to anyone else like there is a well orchestrated, concerted effort to get rid of Obama even at the expense of Our Country? It's sure looking that way to me. I don't think I'm crazy and I'm not running for the tinfoil. Hell, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree but if I can see this, why can't so many other folks see it?
The other day I had a cathartic moment when I ran across the post of one of my California friends on the Book of Faces (Amen). He and some of his friends (and, in fairness to Connor, he is a REALLY decent guy who just happens to be more conservative than me) were discussing the "mysterious circumstances" surrounding the bin laden raid and, of course, it turned into a bash President Obama session. I should have known better and just left it alone but I just HAD to put in my two cents. (Those of you who know me are probably laughing out loud at the thought of me keeping my mouth shut even when I'm in enemy territory.)
It wasn't pretty. It was also rude of me to get so involved on someone else's thread and I went back the next day and apologized to my friend and to the thread group. I should have said my piece and moved on and I MIGHT have except for one pinhead who sounded like so many other Conservatives and "Libertarians" out there: He didn't spout anything but opinions and when I tried to present him with "facts" it became clear he was oblivious. He doesn't KNOW any facts. He only knows what he's been told by God only knows who. Faux News? Rush? Please God, tell me it's not Glenn Beck! Or...maybe he just doesn't like black people. Of course he made sure to point out before it came up that he wasn't a racist and to call me that was just a liberal talking point. *sigh* I guess if the guy, Grady-what's-his-name, who calls black people "nigras" has the gall to say he isn't racist, anyone can say it now. (By the way, I grew up hearing the word "nigra". It was the "polite", less white trash version of nigger. Kind of like saying "cooter" instead of "pussy" maybe?) I don't think I've ever had such a bad day on Facebook. I was physically sick reading the venom that was being spewed by a few of these folks.
One thing stuck with me though and that was a comment made by the worst of the lot that, and I'm paraphrasing, "We don't have to worry about this (bin laden being found and killed under Obama's watch) because if the economy doesn't improve he doesn't have a chance." He may well be right. But if he is, and if so many people in corporate America (YOUR Chamber of Commerce!) want him gone and have no problem saying so publicly, who's to say the game isn't being rigged to that effect? Just like there was some sort of signal (?) suddenly passed among Republicans to spin bin laden's death as a Bush victory, who's to say there hasn't been some kind of signal passed that is keeping American corporations from hiring even as their business is starting to take off again? Who's to say that the reason we're paying more than some think we should be for gas relative to the price of oil per barrel that someone has gotten the "order" to keep gas prices higher as long as they can. How else do you explain, I believe it's, what, 14 billion in profits by Exxon last quarter? Actually, it's almost difficult to come up with any OTHER reason these things are happening. I wish I could because if this is even partly the case, it is truly a sad statement about the death of the Democratic process.
The most frustrating part of this is that I'm not sure there's anything anyone can do about it. If people don't want to do their duty as citizens and become informed, and by "Informed" I mean something besides Fox News (and MSNBC for you liberal types) I, or you, or anyone else can post all we want and they won't bother to read it. If corporate America and Fox News, using their buzzwords like "Socialist", "Hitler", "Nazis", "Atheist", "Godless" and on and on, have convinced average Americans that Obama and the Democrats are a signal of the end of the "American Way of Life", there is NOTHING I can say that is going to get through to them.
I am really fearful about what this country is headed towards. You should be too.
And Jesus Wept
Another drive home punctuated by some folks in the car behind me becoming very animated, pointing and shaking their heads presumably because as they pulled up behind me they noticed the Obama sticker on my rear window. It's a new phenomenon to me, seeing people behave like that over a sticker supporting the President. The man I voted for and still have faith in. OUR President. I don't mind the disagreement but I half expect that one day someone will take it a step further and climb out of their car to try and peel the sticker off, or worse, try to peel me. That could get ugly.
Oddly, I think, as I stopped at a light to turn and they drove by on my right, I glanced at the back of their car, not looking for a McCain/Palin sticker but for any sign that they were part of a Christian group. I was a little caught off guard to realize that was my first thought and I haven't been able to get it off my mind. It really shouldn't have surprised me at all. I hear people talk all the time about The Christian Right hijacking politics but it's really politics that has hijacked Christianity.
Just like any good drama, the story unfolding on the political debate about President Obama has it all. No one can deny the presence of conflict essential to any decent tale. You've got An- and Pro-tagonists - completely interchangeable, of course, depending on which side of the story you happen to be helping to write. There are even other plot lines to follow as this nation-defining circus plays out. One of those subplots (we may find later it was the most important plot all along) is what is taking place amongst the Christian community. I wonder how many "lost souls" have been and will be forever turned away from God and Christianity, or any sort of spiritual awakening at all really, by witnessing the examples of many of our Christian Brothers and Sisters during this time. When I think about American Christianity now I don't think of God's Love for all, doing "good works", sins being washed away by Christ's Love and Sacrifice. I have begun to assume that any Christian I meet could just as easily also be a liar; a hypocrite; a racist; and if not, they probably support those who are. Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally this past weekend wasn't supposed to political (although we all know it was). Instead it turned into a massive prayer group - bent on destroying the sitting President's chances of success.
I can understand religion playing a major part in one's stance on the Pro-life/Pro-Choice debate. If one believes that an unborn being is, in fact a full-fledged human life, then I would think by all means your Christianity and interpretation of "Human Life" will influence your views. What I don't understand is how one's belief in Christ could possibly give justification to those same people to also be against social justice and the government helping those in need. I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees a huge contradiction there, yet many Christians become absolutely enraged by the prospect of their tax dollars going to help the less fortunate.
Oddly, I think, as I stopped at a light to turn and they drove by on my right, I glanced at the back of their car, not looking for a McCain/Palin sticker but for any sign that they were part of a Christian group. I was a little caught off guard to realize that was my first thought and I haven't been able to get it off my mind. It really shouldn't have surprised me at all. I hear people talk all the time about The Christian Right hijacking politics but it's really politics that has hijacked Christianity.
Just like any good drama, the story unfolding on the political debate about President Obama has it all. No one can deny the presence of conflict essential to any decent tale. You've got An- and Pro-tagonists - completely interchangeable, of course, depending on which side of the story you happen to be helping to write. There are even other plot lines to follow as this nation-defining circus plays out. One of those subplots (we may find later it was the most important plot all along) is what is taking place amongst the Christian community. I wonder how many "lost souls" have been and will be forever turned away from God and Christianity, or any sort of spiritual awakening at all really, by witnessing the examples of many of our Christian Brothers and Sisters during this time. When I think about American Christianity now I don't think of God's Love for all, doing "good works", sins being washed away by Christ's Love and Sacrifice. I have begun to assume that any Christian I meet could just as easily also be a liar; a hypocrite; a racist; and if not, they probably support those who are. Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally this past weekend wasn't supposed to political (although we all know it was). Instead it turned into a massive prayer group - bent on destroying the sitting President's chances of success.
I can understand religion playing a major part in one's stance on the Pro-life/Pro-Choice debate. If one believes that an unborn being is, in fact a full-fledged human life, then I would think by all means your Christianity and interpretation of "Human Life" will influence your views. What I don't understand is how one's belief in Christ could possibly give justification to those same people to also be against social justice and the government helping those in need. I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees a huge contradiction there, yet many Christians become absolutely enraged by the prospect of their tax dollars going to help the less fortunate.
Karma Kadiddlehopper
So often these daysEating Indian foodPasses for spiritualityI don't meditateI don't prayBut I eat two samosas everyday
-Dan Bern
I've been thinking a lot about Karma lately. Part of that comes from wondering what the hell I might have done, lo those many years ago, to turn my life into one big pile of crap for the past ten. The other part comes, naturally, from wondering when the people who have done me wrong are going to succumb to the karmic retribution they so richly deserve. (And, will I get to watch!) Where those thoughts have taken me is to a place where I don't believe in karma anymore than I believe that Jesus is going to save me or even that I'm, somehow, the Master of My Destiny. It's all bullshit.
Sure, I believe in consequences for my actions but the notion that it's God or some universal judiciary that doles out punishment when I deserve it just doesn't hold water. Relatively speaking, I have a pretty decent life, especially when compared to millions - even BILLIONS - of other people in the world, but it doesn't feel to spiffy lately. When I look at what my life was 10 years ago compared to what it is now, it's pretty evident that the train came off the tracks. I can't help but wonder, constantly, what the fuck happened. We all do it. We all look for some reason when our lives turn into a bad case of the scoots. I just can't find it. Is it all just a crap shoot?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Begin The Beguine
It's said that everyone wants to have themselves published. I suppose as an ex-actor/performer turned call center hermit turned unemployed political activist I have as much reason for that as anyone else. But do I have anything worthwhile to say to anyone who might drop by because they clicked the wrong link from another page? Ay, there's the rub.
You, dear reader, already know that I am lousy at Photoshop - or, at least I was 10 years ago when I chopped the image you were greeted with. It seemed appropriate somehow and the quality makes it even more so. I am not a writer or a great "thinker". I don't have an exciting life to share. All I can offer are the thoughts that keep me awake at night; that keep me the unfocused wreck that I've become; that torment me and that delight me. I can say with all honesty this is for me and not for you. (I'm selfish like that) It may be, though, that someone, somewhere will comment on something I say and, through that, help me achieve some clarity over something I'm perplexed about or, at least, provide me with the comfortable feeling that there are others out there who are as scattered as I am.
At any rate, if you ended up here and got sucked in, for whatever reason, dance with me for a little while.
You, dear reader, already know that I am lousy at Photoshop - or, at least I was 10 years ago when I chopped the image you were greeted with. It seemed appropriate somehow and the quality makes it even more so. I am not a writer or a great "thinker". I don't have an exciting life to share. All I can offer are the thoughts that keep me awake at night; that keep me the unfocused wreck that I've become; that torment me and that delight me. I can say with all honesty this is for me and not for you. (I'm selfish like that) It may be, though, that someone, somewhere will comment on something I say and, through that, help me achieve some clarity over something I'm perplexed about or, at least, provide me with the comfortable feeling that there are others out there who are as scattered as I am.
At any rate, if you ended up here and got sucked in, for whatever reason, dance with me for a little while.
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