Is selfishness prevailing?

From the Daily Mail in London:

The Pope has addressed the economic gloom in his Christmas message.

Benedict XVI warned that the world was headed toward ruin if selfishness prevails over solidarity during tough times for both rich and poor nations.

'If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.'

This got me to thinking, is selfishness prevailing in this world?

The easy, however unsettling, answer is yes. Selfishness appears to be a cross-cultural phenomenon that binds us together as human beings with something to horde. Selfishness is a luxury, one that we all partake in.

When I think of communities, at least those in the strict sense, I am reminded of how many people in this world live in squalor without the ability to even think in self-maximizing terms. What would this world look like if we thought more like them? What if we didn't perceive our relationships as simply transactions between unequals? Would selfishness still prevail?

Some harsh realities

Eight out of every 10 people in this world live on less than 10 bucks per day. I recently spent 30 bucks on some DVDs. Is selfishness prevailing?

It is only by necessity that human beings are being forced to depend on one another more, and we know what happens in times of plenty. It was just three years ago that the World Bank released this disturbing news: 80 percent of people on this planet live in countries with widening income disparities. Is selfishness prevailing?

An estimated 800,000 children, just children, die every year as a result of malaria alone. There is a long list of preventable diseases that further cut short the lives of children in underdeveloped nations. What if 800,000 children died in one year as a result of diarrhoea in North America? What if hundreds of thousands of children were dying because they lacked access to immnunzation? How would we react? Is selfishness prevailing?

In the United States we use, on average, 600 liters of water per day. 1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within one kilometer consume around 20 liters per day. 12 percent of the world's population uses 85 percent of its water. Could we survive on less? Do we even think in those terms? Is selfishness prevailing?

The World Bank recently released its 2005 numbers regarding private consumption. Did you know that the richest 20 percent of the world account for 77 percent of private consumption? Is there something inherently wrong with that? Is selfishness prevailing?

Did you know that every time your power goes out you become a kindred spirit to roughly 1.6 billion people who do not have electricity now or ever? Is selfish prevailing?

The next time you feel yourself being flippant about opportunities, consider that one percent of the adults on this planet have had the opportunity to go to a four-year college. Do I really ponder not having enough education? Is selfishness prevailing?

These are the best-laid plans?

At the turn of the 21st century, leaders from nearly 200 countries (the United States chief among them) came together to discuss ways to end to extreme poverty (among other global crises), and even staked themselves to timetables. The sad reality, of course, some eight years later, is that many of the aforementioned countries are failing to meet the UN's development goals. Why? Because extreme poverty in underdeveloped countries is not a priority to the richest countries in the world.

Take China out of the equation, and our world's recent record of reducing poverty isn't much to look at. The west has something to be gained from a Chinese middle class, of course. Progress, in this way, is still marred by selfishness.

Grandiose national and global priorities are merely reflections of the personal. If selfishness truly does prevail, it will do so because we've allowed ourselves--at the most basic level--to believe the lies about a hierarchy of humanity. We will have allowed selfishness to prevail.

All that to say this: 'If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.'

And to my Christian friends out there, this: What you have is not your own.

Obama's bad day may turn into bad month

Just a quick prediction about Barack Obama's next month: it's not going to be a lot of fun.

Ever since Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, was charged with trying to sell Obama's now-vacant Senate seat, the microscope of scrutiny has been peering into the relationship between Obama and the busted governor.

It's only going to get worse for President-Elect Obama after his chief advisor, David Axelrod, "misspoke" (that's a laugh) when he claimed that Obama had actually met with Blagojevich to discuss the vacancy.

Whoopsy.

The office of the Presidential-Elect quickly sent out a memo claiming the error for Axelrod which, of course, seems dubious at best.

I'm not saying Barack Obama is guilty of anything, but this is going to get worse for him before it gets better.

This, of course, is what we deserve for electing a politician from the single deepest political cess pool in the western world: a scandal before Inauguration Day.

Who is William Walker?

You've never heard of William Walker.

I apologize if you're a hardcore history buff, but I think it's safe to say his name is generic and altogether unfamiliar to most.

William Walker is, to be blunt, one of the most intriguing men who has ever lived.

This adventurous, albeit sinister, Tennessean actually ruled Nicaragua for a year starting in 1856.

What was a young man from Nashville doing in Latin America at that time you ask? Well, to put it quite simply, Walker was trying to conquer Latin America.

He was like Simon Bolivar, only in reserve and with a hillbilly accent.

Here's his story from The California Native:

The Saga of William Walker

By Don Fuchik

President of Lower California, Emperor of Nicaragua, doctor, lawyer, writer—these were some of the titles claimed by William Walker, the greatest American filibuster.

In the mid-nineteenth century, adventurers known as filibusters participated in military actions aimed at obtaining control of Latin American nations with the intent of annexing them to the United States—an expression of Manifest Destiny, the idea that the United States was destined to control the continent. Only 5'2" and weighing 120 pounds, Walker was a forceful and convincing speaker and a fearless fighter who commanded the respect of his men in battle.

Born in 1824 in Tennessee, Walker graduated from the University of Nashville at the age of 14 and by 19 had earned a medical degree. He practiced medicine in Philadelphia, studied law in New Orleans, and then became co-owner of a newspaper, the Crescent, where the young poet Walt Whitman worked. When the paper was sold, Walker moved on to California, where he worked as a reporter in San Francisco before setting up a law office in Marysville.

When he was 29, his freebooting nature led him to become the leader of a group plotting to detach parts of northern Mexico. Recruiting a small army, he sailed to Baja California and conquered La Paz, declaring himself president of Lower California. He then decided to extend his little empire to include Sonora, and renamed it “The Republic of Sonora.”

Marching on to the Colorado River, Walker found himself faced with harsh conditions and a high desertion rate, forcing him to retreat to California, where he surrendered to U.S. authorities on charges of violating U.S. neutrality laws.

One result of this incursion was that Mexico sold a part of Sonora to the United States—the transaction we call the Gadsden Purchase. Acquitted of criminal charges, Walker next turned his attention to Central America. Throughout this region, chaos reigned, as forces known as Democrats and Legitimists fought each other. The leader of the Democratic faction in Nicaragua invited Walker to bring an army and join the struggle against the Legitimists. In 1855, with his army of 58 Americans, later called by stateside romantics,

“The Immortals,” he landed in Nicaragua. Within a year, leading “The Immortals” and a native rebel force, he routed the Legitimists and captured Granada, their capital. His success roused concern in the other Central American countries, especially Costa Rica, which sent in a well-armed force to invade Nicaragua. Walker's army repelled the invasion, but a poorly executed counter attack into Costa Rica failed, and a war of attrition continued, in which disease killed more soldiers on both sides than enemy bullets.

Other enemies plagued Walker. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping magnate, seeking control of the San Juan River-Lake Nicaragua route from the Caribbean to the Pacific, armed Walker's enemies, while the British navy, attempting to thwart American influences in the region, regularly harassed efforts to supply him. In spite of these factors, Walker had himself elected president of Nicaragua. The United States briefly recognized his government but never sent him aid. Soon the other countries of Central America formed an alliance against him, and in mid 1857 he surrendered once again to a U.S. naval officer and returned to the U.S.

Landing first in New Orleans, he was greeted as a hero. He visited President Buchanan, then went on to New York, all the time seeking support for a return to Nicaragua. But support waned as returning soldiers reported military blunders and poor management.

Nevertheless he succeeded in raising another army, and returned to Nicaragua in late 1857. Again thwarted by the British navy, he abandoned his third Latin American invasion.

Still undaunted and seeking support for yet another venture, Walker wrote a book, The War in Nicaragua. Knowing that his best prospects lay in the South, he assumed a strong pro-slavery stance. This strategy proved successful, and in 1860 he once again sailed south. Unable to land in Nicaragua due to the ever-present British, he landed in Honduras, planning to march overland, but the British soon captured him and turned him over to the Hondurans. Six days later, at the age of 36, he was executed by a firing squad. The Walker saga had ended. This enigmatic man had come close to altering the history of the continent. Had he been successful, he might have brought several Central American countries into the United States as pro-southern states, altering the balance in Congress and postponing The Civil War.

Today Walker is far better known in Central America than in the United States. Costa Ricans honor Juan Santamaria, a young drummer boy who became a national hero by torching a fort in which Walker's army was encamped, and a national park, Santa Rosa, commemorates the battle where Walker's soldiers were expelled from Costa Rica.

Rest in Peace, Michael Crichton.

Michael Crichton was one of my favorite authors as a child. He was a brilliant writer who wrote in a genre I call "non-nerdy" science fiction.

My favorite Crichton books: Sphere, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun and Disclosure.

From AP:

Michael Crichton, the million-selling author of such historic and prehistoric science thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said.
He died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after a long battle with the illness.

Chrichton was a brand-name author, known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or dinosaurs running amok in "Jurassic Park," one of his many books that became major Hollywood movies.

"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement.

The 6-foot-9-inch author was also a screenwriter and filmmaker, earning producing and writing credits for the film versions of many of his titles. He also created the TV hospital series "ER" in 1994.

In recent years, he was the rare writer to get on well with President Bush, perhaps because of his skepticism about global warming, which Crichton addressed in the 2004 novel, "State of Favor." Crichton's views were strongly condemned by environmentalists, who alleged that the author was hurting efforts to pass legislation to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.

A new novel by Crichton had been tentatively scheduled to come next month, but publisher HarperCollins said the book was postponed indefinitely because of his illness.

"While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us—and entertained us all while doing so—his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," his family said.

Election 2008: It takes all kinds

I met the most peculiar woman today at a grocery store. I was talking to her about the upcoming presidential election and, as crazy as this sounds, she left me speechless.

When I asked her who she thought was going to win, she didn't give me a straight answer. Instead, she proceeded to tell me that Barack Obama is, in fact, a Muslim and an unpatriotic one at that. She said that one time he was on videotape during the national anthem and (pause for dramatic effect) he didn't even mouth the words!

Before I had the opportunity to pencil her name into the Republican column, she told me that if McCain becomes president our country will be in Iraq forever — and that our boys will return home in every manner of maimed.

I was troubled about this woman and her mental health. How can she deal with the prospect of voting for either an anti-American Muslim or a warmonger?

(In her defense, she did call me an "all-American lookin' guy.")

My favorite reporter moment of the day came when I asked a gentleman named George about the election.

Here was his response:

“I don't think either of them should be president. I couldn't give a crap less one way or the other.”

I love printing stuff like that.

Colin Powell endorses Obama

This endorsement is worth listening to. Colin Powell is a great American and, as much as I discount most endorsements, this one is actually meaningful to me.

Pay close attention to his words regarding the direction of the Republican Party. I share his concern with some of the bigotry on the right with respect to Barack Obama.

He recognizes how the game (read politics) is played, but he is disgusted at what his party has become. I don't have a party, per se, but I agree.

Here goes:

I love a good roast

If you missed this last night, this is your chance to hear what may go down as one of the best political roasts of all-time. Where have you been all election, John?