View from the Mountain

Lights coming on

An editorial today that the Toronto Star edited and reprinted from the Los Angeles Times had the following question.

The question now is how much worse the political culture will become before it can get better?

That's a great question, and it has nothing to do with liberal or conservative.  What it does relate to is good government.

As the editorial goes on to say, chances of things changing are slim.

So anyone who hoped that the indictment would change the capital's political culture can forget it. DeLay's troubles also continue something of a tradition, dating at least to former Democratic Speaker Jim Wright of Texas, of ethical lapses among those in the leadership of the House.

We just need politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, to break the back of the whole culture of the "best government that money can buy."  Whether Delay is innocent or guilty, the Texas prosecutor, Ronnie Earl, sounds a little more reasonable in this article in the NY Times than the non stop attacks from Tom  Delay.

This is about protecting the integrity of our electoral system and I couldn't just ignore it...

Being called vindictive and partisan by Tom DeLay is like being called ugly by a frog...

We have, over the years, prosecuted a number of elected officials...At last count that stood at 15, 12 of whom were Democrats and 3 of whom were Republicans..

Based on this, I think it is a shame that Ronnie Earle is retiring after the Delay case.  Maybe we should let him run a special commission and give him a shot at all the politicians inside the Beltway.   The last word from the Toronto Star pretty well sums it up.

Hypocrisy is the occupational hazard of politics. DeLay, however, is a special case, a partisan so unprincipled that not even his allies pretend that he stands for anything; his nickname, "The Hammer," comes from his ability to enforce party discipline.

DeLay's indictment will lead to an increase in demagoguery on both sides of the aisle. But the real problem isn't what DeLay may have done, it's what he stands for.

Of course others have said our biggest worry isn't what is illegal.  Actually the biggest danger is what is legal and above board.  That's an even harder problem to fix.

I'll be glad to vote for any honest politician, I'm not very particular what his or her label is.  I just want someone who will stand up for what is good for the country instead of what puts the most money in the pockets of those who paid for their political campaign.

I may have a long wait.

Great fall morning, surprising day

Today started out as an absolutely glorious morning.  It was one of the first mornings where there was a real chill in the air.  The photo on the right is looking northward towards Tinker Mountain.  Interstate 81 runs around the foot of the mountain.  When I'm coming home from Northern Virginia and I see Tinker Mountain's distinctive shape, I know I'm almost home.

Yesterday we got a surprise visit from Lynn, who had been a neighbor of ours for a couple of years. Lynn, my wife Glenda, Sara, Diane, and another neighbor, Jo who has also moved away formed a group that I fondly called the Mountain Magnolias.  They had a lot of fun together, but you could always tell that they could handle almost anything just like the original Steel Magnolias.  We actually have a tulip magnolia on the corner of our property which gets the most wind, so I figure it is also pretty tough like my Mountain Magnolias.

Anyway Lynn's visit attracted both Diane and Sara to come visit with Lynn and Glenda.  By the time that they got  warmed up, I decided that my presence was definitely not needed to keep the conversation going. In fact, it took me about five minutes to get the message in edgewise that I needed to run an errand.

Some large scale photographs that I had at Frameworks were finally ready to come home, some mounted and a particular favorite framed.  I went zooming off in Little Limo, our 1990 Nissan Axxess.  I got  a great surprise when I got to the print shop.  Three of my smaller prints had sold and I had a check waiting for me.  I picked up the rest of the photos and headed home.  On the way home I noticed that Little Limo was running hot.  In fact coming up our hill, it came close to overheating.  This morning I checked all the fluid levels and decided it needed to go to the dealership.  We managed to get it over to the dealership not far from Tinker Mountain around noon, and they promised to have it done if possible by Monday.

Since we have made the decision to replace our Volvo Cross Country wagon, we decided to do some test drives on the way home.  First we dropped into the Honda dealership and drove a Honda Accord Hybrid.  We had driven a Civic Hybrid a couple of years ago so we were not shocked when everything shut down at a stoplight.  The car was smooth, powerful, and reasonably roomy, but the styling was nothing to write home about.  It also had a navigation system almost identical to the one on my Acura so that was a plus.  The price was very reasonable due to special sale. Still I told the dealer I would think about it and get back to him at the end of next week.

We then headed to the Toyota dealership where we got a pretty cold welcome.  I wanted to drive a Prius and/or a Hybrid Highlander.  The salesperson told us we could put our name on a list for a Prius which has a waiting list of about three months or Highlander where the wait was only a month or so.  We got some literature and left.  I not interesting in buying something that I have never even test driven.  When I bought my first MDX, the waiting list was almost a year.  However, Acura had made a special effort to make certain that each dealer kept one as a demo so potential customers could determine it they wanted to order one.  We love Toyotas but I don't buy sight unseen so Toyota probably lost a potential sale today.

Since it was now around two in the afternoon, we decided to grab some lunch at Jersey Mike's sub shop.  After that we headed to Brambleton Auto imports and drive a Lexus RX330.  The dealership was very agreeable.  We took a nice long test drive, and were very impressed with the car.  Glenda, however, seemed to think that the dashboard controls were a little intimidating.  We did find one that was just a year old with a reasonable number of miles and features that interested us, but  in spite of being offered the car for the evening, I again said I would get back to them.

We caught Robert outside trying to rejuvenate his drought damaged grass.  Since Robert and I like to talk cars, we spent some time trying to figure out if hybrids really make sense.  I think the consensus opinion was that only a Honda Civic or a Toyota Prius really make sense with the current pricing differential.

While we were talking cars, we got a call that Little Limo had been successfully repaired.  Since it was after four pm, we decided to head back to the Nissan dealership before they closed.  We got before the service area closed, paid our pound of flesh, and decided to stop by the Acura dealership on the way home.  After looking around, we decided to test drive an Acura TL.  We had a great ride down the interstate and then an enjoyable return trip on a very twisty road.  Again I told the dealer sales person that I would get back to him.

We finished our trip home to drop off Little Limo, and then decided to go to the bookstore to pick up a Consumer Reports on new cars.  Since the Bookstore is next to one of our local restaurants, and it was getting close to seven pm, we decided to have some more "home cooking" as the ladies on the hill are accustomed to calling restaurant food.

Unfortunately the restaurant was in control of teenagers.  After our waitress dropped our food at our table she never dropped by again until I had left and was paying my bill.   Had she manged to visit with us she would have found out that my chicken wings weren't exactly steaming hot.  When the cashier asked if my meal was okay, I said that the wings weren't as good as they normally are.  She commented, that she didn't like wings anyway.  Unfortunately that the way it goes sometimes.  When the owner is away the staff will screw things up.

We've narrowed our car choices down and will do a little more research before we decide which direction to go.  We certainly didn't expect to have a day like this, but sometimes you have to go with the flow.

Gathering around the trough

The Washington Post article, "Don't Let Industry Win With Disaster Bailouts," by Steven Pearlstein paints an amazing picture of how some very successful industries, including mortgage and bond holders.  It's a great article to show the power of influence and how our tax dollars can end up in the wrong pockets.

There is good reason for the federal government to step in as a subsidized lender of last resort for individuals, businesses and local governments walloped by natural disaster. But none of that money should cover the losses of sophisticated lenders who took their chances, placed their bets and made tons of money before the dice finally came up snake eyes.

I have to agree.

Live Television

To say that I'm not a Will and Grace fan is a huge understatement.  Yet tonight I watched Will & Grace and thoroughly enjoyed it.  What was the difference?  It was a live performance before an audience.  The almost goofs which would have been clipped by the editors if this had not been a live premiere added a tremendous amount of entertainment value.

Somehow the characters were more real, and lost some of their annoying characteristics.

It would be nice to see more live comedy shows.

The team mentality

David Brooks had an interesting article, "The Designated Hitter," in today's New York Times (paid subscription required).  He talks about politics being a team sport.

Yesterday the DeLay Era ended. DeLay fell victim to his willingness to push right up against the campaign finance laws for the good of the team. Remember, DeLay didn't do anything for personal enrichment. If he committed a crime, he did it for the sake of the team.

Politics is a team sport. Nobody can get anything done alone. But in today's Washington, loyalty to the team displaces loyalty to the truth. Loyalty to the team explains why President Bush doesn't fire people who serve him poorly, and why, as a result, his policies are often not well executed.

Mr. Brooks goes on postulate that we won't learn about "the self-destructive nature of the team mentality."  Unfortunately Mr. Brooks seems to think that team mentality is at the root of our problems.

Having been involved in a number of a very successful teams, I know that a team can be a powerful force and not just for evil.  There is nothing inherently evil about a team mentality, it just depends on the leadership of the team and the goals that have been set for the team.

Proper leadership can create an amazing environment for a team.  Done right, a team can focus on its ultimate goal and accomplish it without ever worrying about who is doing what.  I have seen teams completely drive out low performing individuals who aren't carrying their weight.  It just depends on the people on the team, the leadership, and the environment where the team functions.  You can put good people on teams and bad people on teams. 

Not surprisingly a team with good people who care about things other than just advancing their own agenda at the expense of all rules and morals are more likely to have results that benefit society.

Of course if the team's only goal is to stay in power, then it's likely that it will be a destructive organization.  Power for power's sake will inevitably lead to corruption.

Let's not give up on teams because some bad players with more leadership have left a bad taste.