A question's been bugging me for the last few days: How many trees do we use to make Bibles every year?

A quick Google shows there are about 100 million Bibles sold every year, with a quarter of that coming from the US. Using that information and the data from this site as well as this forestry guide, I estimate at least one square mile of trees (about 192,000 individual trees) is used each year to print the world's Bibles - and that's being very conservative with my estimates; the actual number could easily be 5-10 times that if no recycled content is used and if the trees are spaced farther apart.

Hooray for nerdery!

Debt compromise ranting

The following is a rant. I just had to get it out of my system. If I got my facts wrong, please let me know. You're welcome to raise your own arguments for or against me, but it's unlikely that I'll respond. Again, this is a rant, so my tone is more aggressive and my language more hyperbolic. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Please don't take offense, just know that I'm a bit upset with the latest news from DC. Oh, and when I say GOP, I'm not referring to the whole party - just some of their elected members.

Why is raising the debt ceiling so bad? And why won't Tea Partiers vote for it, even when they're getting $900B or more in cuts? I mean, really? No revenue increases (way to fold, Dems), and you still don't like it? Would you prefer slapping Pelosi in the face and kicking Obama in the shins? Honestly, I don't know why some GOPers on Hannity and CNN were saying, "Yes, it's good, but we still don't think we'll vote for it."

Do you not understand that you can't have everything? In my perfect world, I'd tax the top bracket more, close loopholes in the tax code, try to find a way to increase revenue from multi-national corporations, cut defense by a ton, and increase funding for the EPA, public transit, the Park Service and Forest Service (and that's just off the top of my head). But in the event that I become an elected official, I have to realize that I can't get all those things done. So, as a representative, I would fight for those things, all while knowing I'll likely come up short. I fail to see that basic understanding in freshman Republicans.

I can handle losing. What I can't handle is the other side failing to realize they've won. If this were a football game, it looks to me like the GOP just ran a play for 75 yards but refuses to walk in the endzone because it's only 6 points and they want this play to be worth 9. It's almost like these lawmakers - and I use the term loosely, because they've hardly made any laws - view themselves as warriors on a crusade to reduce the deficit: Their mission is to plant their flag on the Capitol... and anything less is a failure.

You don't trust future Congresses to balance the budget? I don't blame you. But that doesn't mean we need a Balanced Budget Amendment, tying government spending to a certain level of GDP. In WWII, our spending was off the charts, but it was worth it. Furthermore, we all recognize the need to reduce deficits, but we can't do it all at once. Government moves slowly - getting angry because it's not happening fast enough is as useful as getting angry in a traffic jam.

This is the first time I've wished for a primary challenger to Obama, just to make a point. Why try compromise when the other side is out for total domination? In health care reform, in Wall Street reform and in this debt ceiling fight, Dems made changes and concessions to bold ideas, only to gain a few paltry votes. Health care allowed the current broken system to continue by forcing people to buy insurance from private companies. Wall Street reform passed by not having any teeth. And now this "compromise" may pass with absolutely nothing for progressives. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

According to CNN this evening, liberals should be content with this new super Congress, because we'll supposedly get a break with that. Ha! I'm not satisfied for a moment with this super-Congress. First of all, why isn't the regular congress good enough? Secondly, we already had a bipartisan commission last year, also known as the Bowles-Simpson commission. Yet those ideas - which I liked - got nowhere. And somehow this new group will come up with better ideas that will also pass Congress? I doubt it. And finally, the new group will supposedly get something done because if it doesn't by a certain date, we'll have extreme cuts that both parties will hate. Why is this new deadline going to be more effective than the one on Tuesday? If working under a deadline should produce a compromise, why don't we have a compromise now?

Social issues, Wisconsin, and Rich v. Poor

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation." - Michael Steel, spokesman for Speaker Boehner, referring to Obama's decision not to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, which declares that at the federal level marriage is only between a man and a woman.

What's funny about this comment is that if you switch "President" with "Republicans," you could very well be talking about recent GOP bills that defund Planned Parenthood and redefine rape to restrict access to abortions. My point is this: Each side hates it when the other makes a move on social issues. The offended party claims that it's a distraction from the economy. I'm starting to think that neither side truly cares about the jobs of the middle and working class.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker claims his effort to strip unions of their collective bargaining rights is because of an urgent budget crisis... but he just gave away $67M in business tax cuts? To my conservative friends, I understand this line of thinking: businesses create jobs and that money will end up back in the state's coffers, therefore we should be business friendly. But even if that's true, you're still taking that money away from the state; there's still an initial deficit to overcome. If the crisis is as bad as Gov. Walker makes it out to be, then we should be pinching pennies, not sending them off to businesses in the hopes that they'll return soon. Any investment (including investments in business) requires investment capital, so if Wisconsin is short on capital, it should be loath to sink money into any investment.

Just as a side note on the disparity between the rich and poor: the Dow is above 12K, last night I heard plastic surgery rates are up (and therefore the economy is back), and I've even seen a magazine cover proclaiming the "return of luxury." But all that only concerns rich people - and some of those same folks are the very ones who screwed up the economy in the first place. For the rest of us schmucks, it ain't so great.

As always, I relish respectful discussion and I value correction even more. Happy debating!

Five years!

Five years ago today, my life changed. I've been reflecting on this time given the anniversary, and I hope you enjoy the results. It's kind of fitting that there are rallies across the nation today in response to the recent spate of suicides, because I also came very close to taking my life on this day in 2005. One side note: this is a little patched together from separate attempts to write down my feelings, and I haven't had time to blend each piece. Without further ado...

In the fall of 2005, my thyroid gave out suddenly and I plunged into an acute, suicidal depression. Without question, it was the worst experience of my life: In a matter of hours, the world transformed from a system I knew to a place of darkness and terror. I stayed in bed all day, transfixed by visions of suicide, yet that horrible cinema was my only sanctuary from turning my grotesque screenplay into a grisly one-man show. I couldn’t stay, but I couldn’t go.

I had to leave Wake Forest University after attending for three years to spend a week in a mental hospital. Leaving my friends and life behind to check into a mental health hospital shattered my vision of the world, and it was almost as bad as the initial trauma of suicidal thoughts.

After the first months of shock, I began to build a new life: getting an apartment, finding a job, attending a class the next fall and another in the spring. Even with this progress, I still tried not to focus on why I had suffered and was still suffering so much; I only cried out in pain. For a time I felt numb, going through the motions of my previous life, but looking back, my actions resemble those of a man who stubbornly tends his garden after all his plants have burned. Even now, I am grateful for those plants; even now, they nourish my new life as they disintegrate into the soil below. I had always heard of suffering; now I knew what it was. My faith in God has never recovered; I’ve had to find a worldview that makes sense to me.

I thought I knew my world, but it was only an illusion. The picture in front of my eyes was torn away, leaving me to blink and bleed in a new light. What I took for darkness was reality piercing my retinas, searing them with more information than I could handle. I groped about for my old mask, the old painting, but now it seems darkly cartoonish; a strange distortion of reality. For nearly two years I fiddled with the old picture, but it never matched up with what I saw on That Day.

...and now I have to go to bed. Not one of my best posts, but I promised myself I'd put up something today. There's a second part to this story; hopefully I can post it in the next few days (though I'm not making any promises...).

I have a dream, too... (but it's not as good as THE dream)

I will see your Beck and raise you an MLK.

I love this article. King's words still ring true after all these years. Wish I could write more, but I'm tired. Suffice it to say that I'm finding it hard to limit myself to this blog to talk about politics.

The more I read/hear about the GOP, the more I want to volunteer for Elaine Marshall and David Price. It'll happen, eventually - and sooner rather than later. You know, it's kinda like how I felt toward the Gulf Coast after Katrina: Yearning describes it well. I just knew I had to get down there and help. It took me two years, but I finally made it. Now I have the same feeling about politics; I've just got to get to campaign headquarters and pitch in! I can sit here and harp on the all my major issues, but until I actually spend time affiliated with a campaign it'll be idle chatter (unless I persuade some stray visitor from the internet).

And that brings me to something I've been thinking about recently: How can I bring people to my line of thought? Most folks I know have already made up their minds, as far as I can gather. There's shouting from street corners... but then who listens to that? Talking to strangers is just weird and off-putting for both me and the stranger... so what's left? Ranting on this blog? I want to engage people, to have meaningful discussions and, with some luck, persuade others to join me.

Eh, I dunno. We'll see.

Something New... again?

Ladies and gents, I have an announcement. In an effort to separate my political and non-political internet activities, I will attempt to keep my musings, urgings and protests on this blog, while jokes, chatter and harmless fun will remain on facebook. Lately, I've been mulling over how much time I spend spouting my politics on facebook, and I think that perhaps a change is in order. Now, that's not to say I'll be shying away from political discourse when it comes up, but I'll try not to initiate it. Plus, I'll still pass along forwards/causes that in my mind merit support from all political stripes (like Darfur).

On a related note, I will begin to explore this "blogosphere" that everyone keeps talking about and try to generate internet conversations both here at home and at other sites. I'm a little hesitant to talk to strangers, but perhaps I can find reasonable folks for intelligent, respectful debate (hey, the internet is a big place). If anyone has any suggestions on where to look, I'm all ears.

We'll see how this thing goes. See you in the future!

Happy Ramadan!

"Good morning, news! What do you have to tell me?"

"Well, here's a piece from FOX complaining about the President's comments on the "Ground Zero Mosque."

"Okay, let me take a look... seems to imply that Obama inserted himself in the debate; victims are angry; Peter King claims the President "caved to political correctness;" here are references to the unpopularity of the mosque (70%); oooh, this is nice: Rick Santorum says Islam is not just a religion but a political doctrine, and he goes on to say the imam behind the GZM (Faisal Abdul Rauf) has said the USA was "an accomplice" and "brought about the events of 9/11."

Folks, this really dismays me. Lemme break this down...

First of all, Obama is not jumping into this debate on a whim. He was speaking at the White House iftar celebrating the beginning of Ramadan. If there were ever an appropriate time for the President to talk about a Muslim-American controversy, this was it. In fact, if Obama had kept mum over the affair, it would have been extremely conspicuous.

Next, when a victims' spokesperson claims that the president "has abandoned America at the place where America's heart was broken nine years ago, and where her true values were on display for all to see," not only is she wrong, she's speaking the exact opposite of the truth. America IS religious freedom. If we allow our misgivings about our fellow citizens to overrule our principles and deny innocent people the very rights we hoard for ourselves, we are acting unequivocally un-American. Therefore, madam, you are the one abandoning America.

Let me be clear: I'll never forget where I was and what I was doing on that fateful Tuesday morning. I shared in the national shock as I turned on the news just after the third plane struck the Pentagon, and I looked on in horror as one tower fell, and then the other.

Mr. Santorum, if Islam is a political doctrine, then so is Christianity, Judaism and every other religion under the sun. You refer in your interview to Sharia law; what about Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? Don't they set up a theocracy, too? And even if Islam is a political doctrine (which it isn't), not all Muslims believe the same things or act the same way. Even within Sharia, there are four major branches of thought with varying degrees of tolerance (see here). As far as I know, Faisel Abdul Rauf is not even advocating instituting Sharia, so it shouldn't be a concern in the first place.

Furthermore, the foulest things that FOX can dredge up against this imam are his quotes saying the USA was "an accomplice" and "brought about the events of 9/11," plus he refused to be pigeon-holed into calling Hamas a terrorist organization. It's a tough pill to swallow, but Bin Laden's trigger against the USA was our presence in the Gulf War (read here and here), so in that sense, the imam is right. As for the Hamas quote, try to put yourself in Rauf's shoes. If he calls Hamas an out-and-out terrorist organization, he alienates many Muslims who sympathize with the cause and ignores Hamas' contributions like social services (noted here). If he demonstrates any tolerance at all for Hamas, then he immediately receives the label of "radical." I'll say this, though: Rauf ought to have repudiated the violence of Hamas; instead, he dodged the question and thus allowed Hannity et al. to paint him as untrustworthy.

Now, do I think that this mosque/cultural center is in good taste? No. But just like freedom of speech or freedom of the press, freedom of worship is guaranteed regardless of taste. As long as you don't incite violence or promote destruction of life or property or do anything else against the law, you get a green light. You know what else is in poor taste? Politicizing this issue. If the law says you can build a church or synagogue or grocery store, then that should be the end of it. Let us be gracious enough to let our neighbors worship in peace.

Finally, perhaps the most upsetting facet of this whole issue is that President Obama gave a wonderful speech (which is even better than this post, if you can believe it), and all anybody talks about is the GZM. Take a look:

Well, I think that's it, for now. As always, if I've messed up my facts or logic, please correct me; and if I've overlooked something, please let me know. I crave conversation!