Kaulapi World

Of all the candidates for president in 2012, the one I’m the most intrigued by is the congressman from TX, Ron Paul.  Following his breakout in the 2008 election cycle for the republican nomination served as an awakening of sorts for me, partly giving some substance to some of the economic and personal leanings that I’ve had for years, but more affirming my growing understanding that the 2-party system serves more to limit the quality of political debate and really serves to maintain the status quo.  The fact is that very few people actually fit neatly in the buckets of either party, the only way someone is a hardcore Dem or Repub is if they lack the intellectual curiosity to really consider and debate the issues.  I kind of liken it to being a sports fan, some people are loyal to their teams on the basis of living in a city, or going to a particular college, and they stick with them no matter how much the team might change, coaching, or style or quality of  play.  The problem is that while this is fine for sports, its a horrible method for electing candidates to office.  I remain very much a political independent, although I have my own leanings towards one party or the other, depending on the issues.

Just like the 2008 cycle, the constant mantra from all the main stream media outlets is that he is unelectable.  I find this very suspicious as to what exactly is electable nowadays anyway?  More importantly, shouldn’t the voters themselves decide what ideas and policies they would like to see in an elected official as opposed to the corporate media? BI had a good short post about the seemingly need to pander to electorate out there, telling them that everything will be fine if they just vote for him, that we can all just keep on buying overpriced homes, keep artificially propping up markets, and keep maintaining an empire overseas with no consequence.  This type of pandering also applies to the media when it comes to candidates running for office.

One of the ways the media discounts Paul’s support is to hold internet polls following the debates and then when he ends up winning them, they put an asterisk next to his name, citing that there were irregularities in the polling to make them unofficial or unscientific, sometimes they fail to mention him at all, skipping to the next candidate as the front runner.  Apparently one effort to suppress Ron Paul’s support in internet polls went a little too far, and now the commentary has had his amazon book list and facebook page overridden by pro-Paul posts and videos. One of the messages is very clear, if he is supposedly so “unelectable” then why the obvious efforts to censor and downplay him?  I’ve come to realize that often when it comes to official media and statistics, you have to consider the alternative message often behind the story, sometimes it is brutally obvious, as ZH offers, it is because he is very electable and is very much a threat.

In a year where there is even more talk of a 3rd party run which would shake things up a lot, I think folks should pay attention to Ron Paul.  Talking to pretty hard core Dem the other day he seemed pretty confident that a 3rd party run by Ron Paul would mean an automatic re-election for Obama, being that not too many Dems have much in common with libertarian thinking.  I can’t help but wonder if this person is too quick to judgment on this one, I’m pretty sure quite a few would seriously consider him as 3rd party candidate if they were to actually sit down and listen to what he has to say.

Coming up on the end of October and we’re looking at the first snow of the year, much earlier than usual.  The forecasts are calling for 1-3 inches in the area, with temps cold enough to have some sticking.  Wonder if the little guy is ready for the cold white stuff falling from the sky.  We just got him the first of his winter clothes, so the timing ended up being just about right.  The colder weather has made it a little trickier getting him out for walks and such, now that he’s up and running.

Meanwhile my work has been coping with the ongoing budget uncertainty and have begun outlining potential actions to make up for a budget shortfall.  We’ve gotten through yet another one hurdle relatively unscathed, a number of concessions in exchange for taking layoffs off the table, but I have a feeling that this trend will continue for the rest of FY 2012 and beyond.  Still keeping an eye on the super committee which is supposed to come up with that $1.2T in cuts before Thanksgiving.  Also technically things could shut down a week earlier based on the current CR.  There have been rumors about another 1 month CR in the works, but then that will just extend the guessing game a few weeks down the road.

All of this coming at a time where I’m enjoying the actual subject matter, day-to-day operations of my work.  Since my transfer to the new division a few years ago I’ve gotten a different perspective entirely.  In retrospect it makes me wonder why I hadn’t make the move earlier given my particular area of interest and developing skill sets.  With all the news of the crappy economy and job market, I can’t help but question whether law school was the best idea.  I’m working in an area and on projects that would be extremely interesting to former law students despite not being officially retained as an attorney.  I could’ve been in this position even if I had never gone to law school.  I’ll be paying for that decision literally for years to come.

Been a few weeks so far for the occupy ___ movement which has gotten a considerable amount of attention and momentum. When it first began I wondered whether it could develop into something significant, whether enough of a movement could build to actually occupy the square. today the DC movement which has been camping out downtown tried to shut down the senate building, although their numbers weren’t very large.

The sound bite in the media is that it is a decentralized movement that while becoming increasingly more organized, it lacks an overall message. I think there are a few themes that are actually very clear. Decouple the amount of money and influence between the financial industry over politicians, and recognize the human toll that our system of debt has had on the majority of Americans.

In many ways I’m recalling a sense of frustration and outright rage that seems to have been building since 2008, but back then a lot of folks still had their jobs, still had some balances in their 401k accounts, still had some positive equity in their homes.

It is becoming apparent that all the hope and promises of change that came with a new party in power have been largely empty, and at least some of the folks organizing in the streets may be waking up to the sorry state of our political systems.

Meanwhile I’ve been reading up on the faces of the 99%, some stories are pretty gut wrenching. I’ve been struck by the number of students and recent grads in pretty depressing situations in terms of student loan debt.

Next two weeks have the potential to be another battle over the 2012 budget that might result in another shutdown.  This time around it sounds like we’re headed to another continuing resolution (CR) that will stretch things out a few months.  With the new super committee set to knock out a few trillion in budget cuts come November, there is some indication that a CR is in the works, and things will keep on plugging along before the last 2 weeks of the fiscal year are up.

The uncertainty hasn’t gone away at all, despite it being relatively quiet in the news lately.  Been keeping tabs on some unofficial sources to try and anticipate whats around the corner, but anyone’s guess is probably close to reality at this point.  I’ve retrenched my positions similarly to hour the April and August budget/debt battles played out, fully ready for the possibility of a furlough or shutdown, a matter of several months now instead of a few.  Looking at some of my account positions I would normally feel a little rich if not for the prospect of having to rely on these balances to keep afloat for an expended period of time.

All of this has created a considerable amount of stress, at the same time I’ve noticed how many of the normal distractions that exist in our modern American society can either serve as healthy coping mechanisms or dangerous blinders.  I’m all for the occasional healthy distraction when things get too intense, but too often I look around and am reminded that none of us can really afford to take the eye off of the ball even for a moment, least we get blindsided.

Lucid dream a few nights ago.  The first part of it is fuzzy, but the main part was very clear in my mind.  I had witnessed a conflict that had been brewing for several years now, and I decided I should just go back in time and see what the origins of the conflict were in the first place, about the time I was born.  Interestingly in the dream I was much older, to the point that I was probably unrecognizable to anyone who knew me back then.

So I end up back home, driving along the road, looking at how the island looked many years ago.  Eventually I decide that I would stick around in that time period.  Why not.  Introduce myself to my parents as a long lost relative, to keep an eye on the little guy, from a distance of course.

Interesting side observation of the dream was as I was driving on the road, an open air tour bus passed me by that was decorated in over the top fashion that it was something out of a tiki catalog rather than something authentically Hawaiian.  It had pili grass trimmings stapled to the sides, and it was blaring out of tune slack key guitar.  An old lady was driving it slowly, and it was completely empty.

I was recently introduced to the cable TV series featuring Madison Ave. advertising executives set in the 1960s by recently, honestly due to my pake tendencies, the mere fact that it was recently made available on demand via netflix.  I had heard a lot about the series in general, but never really looked into it until recently.  I just finished the season 4 finale a few nights ago, which left me looking forward to the season 5 starting early 2012.  Hana is several episodes behind, so I have to be careful not to ruin the various plot lines abound in the day to day operations.

For me, I’m especially drawn to the complexity of the characters that come and go in the storyline, no matter how little or brief the side plot around the main character, Don Draper, the writers captured very well the essence of human beings living more than half a century ago, in an America very different to what we see today.  Throughout the series there is this tense nostalgia for the simplicity of the 1950s and the dread of what the future may bring.  Vietnam, Civil rights movement, stagflation and recession, break up of societal norms and values all looming in the viewers mind who have the benefit of being a witness to history. Meanwhile, the characters are dedicated to writing advertisements for consumer products reflecting the norms and values of the times.

Adding to the enjoyment of the series, we have over the years run into more than a handful of people that actually would’ve fit in much better back then as opposed to know.  It seems strange how little nuggets of culture and attitudes linger on several decades later, sometimes unconsciously.  In some aspects, I too may fall squarely in that camp, although wearing a suit and hat all the time wouldn’t quite be my speed.

It’s slightly scary at times, really how despite it being a period piece, there are several parallels to the world of Mad Men that still without a doubt exist today.   Maybe not as brash and out in the open, but the attitudes, hopes and dreams, lightness and darkness still linger in American society.  Especially in professions that command a level of societal power and influence.

Just after midnight, and the winds are really picking up now. Maybe after suffering from some news overload during the day, I started wondering whether the hurricane was going to make much of an appearance inner area after all. We seem to have dodged a bullet here, the storm took just enough of an eastern path that we are just out of the hurricane force wind range, but checking outside real quickly I can definitely say this is much more than an usual dc area summer storm.

Lights just started flickering, and there is a low rumbling outside with the wind whipping around. Some of the larger trees on our street have started to sway, increasingly more just in the past hour or so. Maybe a metaphor how thing don’t seem that different at first, but give it some time for shit to get real.

Probably will stay up at least until the eye if the storm passes the eastern shore, after that I’ve been reading, things will begin to get less intense. NYC is up next on Irene’s warpath. Manhattan in particular, hopefully folks took the evacuation warnings seriously, just in case this thing is as bad as the forecasts have been showing.

Been a busy week for natural disasters, first the earthquake, and now a hurricane on its way in less than 72 hours or so.  Neither of these are very common in the DC area, I should feel more like we’re back at home.  Last time I was in the strike zone of a hurricane came while I was on Lanai a few years ago, thankfully it passed well south of us, but it was enough to make us cancel some of ocean activities planned. The time before that was Hurricane Iniki, which was headed straight for us at one point, bu then made a sharp turn towards Kauai at the last minute.

The best case scenario now sounds like we’ll get a ton of rain and wind, but nothing too serious.  the worst case scenario is that we get a direct hit, and then well that might be interesting.  Will need to do an inventory of supplies around the house and preparations in case the power goes out for an extended period of time. I remember getting ready for Iniki, when I was back at home, it seemed a lot like a camping trip, tying down loose things in the garage with a tarp, filling up the ice chests and lining up canned food, propane, and charcoal for the hibachi.

The naming of storms has an interesting twist on atlantic side, they tend to be names that are somewhat in use like Katrina, Rita, Dennis, Hugo, and Bob, while the pacific storms are more unique, Iniki, and Ewa.  I suppose it makes it a little more friendly sounding, but I have to think that it can also have a dangerous disarming affect as well.

5.8, scale tremor, just before 2pm, EST. Was sitting on my couch at home, just about to log in for work, and it felt like someone was shaking the couch violently. Went to check on the little guy, ready to grab him and get out of the house, he was still sleeping.

Kind of freaky, growing up in the ring of fire, I’ve lived through several tremors, but never while living in DC. The local news stations are talking about how unprecedented this is, bot the size and magnitude of the quake.

Updated to 5.9 now. Epicenter near mineral, VA.

The little guy is walking, no doubt about it this time.  No stumbling, no hesitation, no wobbling, he goes up, down, left right, sideways, pivots, backwards glancing over his shoulder, everywhere and getting into everything.  Daddy has his work cut out for him now.  That is all.