Banging the Drums of War

Today is Memorial Day in the US commemorating those who went to war - to both those who came home again, and to those that did not. Thank you to all veterans, their families, and communities who raised them.

Conventional Wisdom

Beginning of a short week made even shorter by my taking off half-a-day on Friday so I can go to the Democratic Party State Convention in Waikiki. I will do a post on Friday but the following Monday I will be off as I extend the weekend to recover from the convention.<G>

While at the convention, I hope to be able to meet with US Senator Daniel Inouye and ask him about his support and co-sponsorship of S. 2048, the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (see my open letter to the honorable Senator here).

Principle vs. Pragmatism

First, let me say this is not intended as a criticism against any particular person. Each of us must decide what we can live with and where we have to draw a line in the sand. Sometimes we do what is expedient and rationalize our behavior, and sometimes we hold the line and stand up for our principles. How and when we do both tells others, and perhaps more importantly ourselves, more about who we actually are than all the words we may use to describe ourselves. For it is through how we resolve these daily dilemma that we reveal the true self.

What are your guiding principles? By that I mean what ideas propel you into action (in other words, what you do, not what you say)? Are you aware of the consequences of your action, or inaction? Are the consequences more important than the principle? Does the ends justify the means?

Everyday we are faced with choices. And in general, we have three possible responses to these choices: fight, flight, or acceptance. I'm not here to say you should always choose one or the other, but you need to be aware of the possibilities and the reasons behind your choice. You need to ask yourself if your choice is something you can live with? That is, if your choice was the lead article in the newspaper, would you feel comfortable with your choice?

Some real world case studies for you to think about:

You are an investigative reporter hot on the trail of a story of greed and embezzelment. You can already feel the Pulitzer Prize in your hot, sweaty, hands. But your editor pulls you off the story because the company you are investigating is a major advertiser in your paper. And with the economy being what it is, to lose the ad revenue could well mean the closing of the paper. What do you do?

The state legislature passes a landmark bill that would spend close to a billion dollars to preserve and protect the wilderness ecosystem that is in danger of being forever lost. But inserted into the bill, at literally the last minute, without the opportunity for public input, is a clause that revises the environmental permitting process. These revisions would make it much more difficult, if not impossible to challenge developer permits making the permitting process a sham. You, as the Governor can either veto the measure or let it become law. What do you do?

The open government laws in your state require governmental agencies to provide copies of all documents, unless it meets one of a very few exceptions. Most of the exceptions deal with privacy issues such as home addresses, Social Security numbers, and medical records. But contrast that with the need for administrators to be able to speak freely about various options so as to have considered all the possible solutions to a problem. For example, the minutes of meetings. Should this be a public document? Should the drafts of your policies be made public even though they may not have relevance to the final recommendation? Where do you draw the line between openness and efficiency?

You are a contestant on a game show. The show is on a distant island in the Pacific where conditions are, if not miserable, at least not the paradise you thought it would be. The rules of the game say that the winner takes all and the losers go home with nothing. You will be on the island for 30 days. During those 30 days you must compete in contests of strategy or endurance. If you win a competition, you are given the opportunity to choose one of 15 tokens, one of which represents the grand prize of $25,000USD. The more tokens you win, the greater the probability you will get the winning token. But all it takes is one, and there is no way of knowing, until the end of the competition, as to who has the winning piece. The kicker is, as people are voted off the island, the losers choose which survivors to give their tokens to. Given these rules, how do you play the game and how do you measure your "success"? What values or principles are you willing to overlook, temporarily of course, to win?

You are a college professor who prides him or herself on always treating his or her students the same without showing preferential treatment to one over the other. On the other hand, once your students graduate, you expect them to provide preferential treatment to you in anything you ask of them. As a student, and later as a graduate, how do you deal with the apparent contradictory behavior of the professor? Does your role as a student versus a graduate play a part in your decision? Should it?

The recording and film industries are trying to pass onerous laws that will help them keep their monopolies and thus, their profits. By purchasing their CDs and going to their movies, you are helping them further their aims. What do you do?

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Col. 2:8) - Aloha!

Welcome to My World

And a crazy one it is. For a short week, there sure is a lot of stuff going on at work and home. I have to revise a draft memo, from the Deputy Director to the Chief Justice, based on comments received from judges sitting on a committee trying to restructure the Judiciary. But since I didn't write the first draft, I can't say for sure what the intent of any particular phrase is. Hence, when a judge asks for clarification or wants a change made I can only but guess what to say. So it goes.

On the home front, we are still trying to get carpets put in. Yesterday we met, or more accurately tried to meet, with a sales person with a certain carpet company. Only, she wasn't in. Again. Even though we had an appointment with her made last week. People say government needs to be more like business. If that's how businesses run, and given my experience with other carpet companies, it is, then I don't want any part of business because all I have seen is incompetence, rudeness, and arrogance. All I can say is I am glad that I don't have to carpet very often. Sigh.

Also on the home front are a couple of small changes to the bathroom configurations. We need to pick new counter tops real soon now. But where to find the time?

With that, I'll leave you with this found on the 'net:

Bill Gates dies and goes to hell. Satan greets him: "Welcome Mr. Gates, we've been waiting for you. This will be your home for all eternity. You've been selfish, greedy and a big liar all your life. Now, since you've got me in a good mood, I'll be generous and give you a choice of three places in which you'll be locked up forever."

Satan takes Bill to a huge lake of fire in which millions of poor souls are tormented and tortured. He then takes him to a massive coliseum where thousands of people are chased about and devoured by starving lions. Finally, he takes Bill to a tiny room in which there is a Beautiful young blonde with an alluring look on her face, sitting at a table on which there is a bottle of the finest wine. To Bill's delight, he sees a PC in the corner. Without hesitation, Bill says, "I'll take this option."

"Fine," says Satan, allowing Bill to enter the room.

Satan locks the room after Bill. As he turns around, he bumps into Larry Ellison. "That was Bill Gates!" cried Ellison. "Why did you give him the best place of all!"

"That's what everyone thinks," snickered Satan.

"The bottle has a hole in it and the girl doesn't..."

"What about the PC?"

"It's got Windows 95!" laughed Satan. "And it's missing three keys."

"Which three?"

"Control, Alt and Delete."

It's not what you accomplish in this life that matters, it's what you overcome. - Golfer Jonny Miller - Aloha!

Thanks

Thank you to fellow Daynoter John Dominik for the generous mention in his post here (scroll down a little to find the mention) regarding my post of Monday titled "Principles and Pragmatism". I sent an e-mail to him that I am posting below:

From: Dan Seto
To: John Dominik
Subject: Ethical Dilemmas
Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 11:22:27 -1000

I hope my little post about principles vs. pragmatism was not seen in black or white because that was not my intention. What I was trying to say is that many times there are competing values and interests in a particular situation. And in each situation, we make a decision as to how to reconcile these competing values and interests. Generally, taking one situation in isolation doesn't tell you much about yourself, although I am sure there are specific situations that stand out for everyone. But if you reflect on your decisions, over a period of time, you tend to find themes. What I was trying to get people to think about is what side of the ledger do your themes fall? And let me say, someone who is on the extreme on either side is not someone easy to live with! But I guess, that's not the point either. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide what the point is in their own life.

Aloha - Dan

PS - As I understand it, Brian says (see it here) [that's fellow Daynoter Brian Bilbrey - ed.] he won't go to see Attack of the Clones because it would be supporting the Dark Side. I, on the other hand, probably will go to see it, although I am now kind of waffling on it. Having said that, the "tentacles" of the media conglomerates stretch from not only music and movies, but TV, newspapers, books, magazines, etc. I don't know if there is a practical way to use individual economic pressure against them and still be an informed, active citizen. But hey, "You gotta do what you gotta do."

More power to Brian.

Aloha!

It's Friday!

Man on the Street

We're here interviewing people about the stunning news that the leading Democratic Party candidate for Governor has suddenly, and unexpectedly, on the eve of the Democratic party state convention, dropped out of the race. Our intrepid reporter stops the first person willing to go on record and asks these questions:

Q:Who wins and who loses now that the Mayor has dropped out of the race for Governor?

A: Well, I wouldn't say anyone wins or loses. But I will say some are helped and some are hurt by this move. Those hurt are the Mayor himself because he reveals himself to a political opportunist, not a man of principle or commitment. Also hurt are the people who were running for his job (which is now, no longer open). These people include Duke Bainum - an honorable man who now must scramble to find something to run for, Mufi Hanneman - a man who does nothing but run for office, any office, and Mazie Hirono - someone who's heart is in the right place, but like some of the characters in a Greek play, seems fated to be blown by an ill wind. But these people are all long-time politicians and will find some other office to run for way to serve the public.

Those helped are the other candidates for Governor. Especially, on the Democratic side, Representative Ed Case who must now be considered a credible candidate. If Hirono is playing a star-crossed character, Case is just the opposite - the person who the stars seem to be aligning with. But I think the person most helped is the Republican candidate for Governor, Linda Lingle. Having said that, it's six months to the general election and anything can happen.

Q: The Mayor said he is dropping out of the race because he is so far back in the polls he can not win. Why do you think the Mayor dropped out of the race?

A: Personally, I don't think being behind in the polls had anything to do with his dropping out. For what it's worth, I think there are three likely scenarios: First, the Mayor is making way for someone else to run. Someone who has not declared yet. The other is that the Mayor has information indicating he will is the target of a federal/state/county indictment. Or a combination of both or neither. Remember, it's a dog eat dog out there. And right now, the dogs are being fed exceedingly well.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Is It Just Me?

If your agency just admitted to the world that it was incompetent. That it had warnings that certain individuals from a certain Middle Eastern area were learning to fly planes, but not take-off or land them. That it took those warnings and actively tried to discredit them, or at least, make them go away. Would you then turn around and give them complete dominion and power over your life? Well, join the new Sicherheitsdienst because that is exactly what happened yesterday (see the story here from the UK TheRegsiter or here from the Washington Post) when John "Der Henker" Ashcroft of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt Justice Department gave new powers to the FBI.

So, why doesn't this make me feel all warm and cozy?

No post on Monday as I will be at the convention.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!